Gentlemen, listen to the sword chant

Chapter 71

The death of Sun Liang moved the world.

In the battle of Jinling, Sun Liang wiped out [-] enemies with [-] soldiers and horses, which can be said to be famous in the first battle.To count the Wuyue Titans, Sun Liang is at the forefront.Sun Liang's influence is not only in the middle and lower reaches of the Qujiang Plain, but in the entire fourteen prefectures. Many generals from various prefectures who participated in supporting Jingzhou's war against thieves could not help but hear the news of Sun Liang's death. Tears flowed down his cheeks; those veterans who had followed him also cried bitterly. They all recalled the experience of fighting side by side in Jiangcheng. The harsh man willingly died on the battlefield.Sun Liang is destined to be famous forever and become famous in history.Since the Dongying people started the war brazenly, Wuyue and Wuzhou have sacrificed countless generals, but it is only Sun Liang and Sun Wentai who really make the princes feel pity. Bearing a crazy reputation for decades" is even more eye-catching.

Although Sun Liang's defeat was glorious, he won the respect of the Dongying people and died well. As a general, he won countless praises before and after him, and he died without regret.

Matsui Yi, the general of the Second Allied Army of Japan, ordered his subordinates to bury Sun Liang in Zijin Mountain in Jinling, and set up a stele to record his great achievements for the world to look up to.

A hundred miles north of Guangling.

Huaiyin.

A team of 3000 people marched slowly in the dense forest. The sergeant leading the way carried a large flag with the word "Chen" written on it, with red stripes on the black background, as bright as blood, followed by well-trained elite soldiers, cavalry Occupying half of them, escorting hundreds of carriages, including gold and silver, grain and horse feed, and shredded tobacco and tea leaves, and after that, there are sad-faced common people. Claret carriage, although the whole army is exhausted, the carriage is restrained and luxurious.This is the team of the son-in-law's statement, and the organization is called "Chen Jiajun".

Since the king of Wu ordered to abandon Wunan and retreat without a fight, Chen Ci also chose to respond to the call at the first time, and promulgated the law of documents in Taoyuan Town. Those who are willing to leave will be rewarded with money. Among them, 1/3 of the people are willing. Follow the statement and leave, and those who don't want to leave will not be forced by the statement.After all, not everyone has family and national feelings. It’s still the same sentence. For those people who only live for three meals and are busy in all seasons, Dongying people are nothing to be afraid of. It’s just a change to leave King Wu. Those in power will still inevitably be squeezed for oil and taxes, and will inevitably be exploited. Besides, everyone is gone, and the Dongying people have come to power, and a lot of waste is waiting to be done. It is the time for employing people, and maybe they can get more land. Let's go. Let's all go.Therefore, in fact, those who are really willing to leave their hometowns and give up their foundations are a small number of people, even less than 1/3 of the total population of Wunan. Those who are willing to leave all have reasons to leave, either military families, or It is a clan family, or a wealthy family.Because they know that when the Dongying people enter the city, in order to supplement the military expenditure, they will definitely kill others to make an example. Those who have mastered most of the resources will become fish on the chopping board. If they don't leave now, when will they wait?Anyway, if you have money, you can live a nourishing and chic life wherever you go.

"My son-in-law, we will arrive in Huaiyin in six days." Fan Chu sat on the horseback, steered the horse closer to the carriage, and said respectfully.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Chen Ci poked his head out, "Is there any news from Jinling?"

Then, Fan Chu told the story of Sun Liang, the governor of Jinling, who fought against the enemy in blood and wiped out 60 enemies. Hearing the words, he was shocked, "He only has 300 banners in the army, and the Dongying army has no less than [-] banners. How did he do it?" Did it?"

Fan Chu shook his head.

"I've heard that Sun Liang of Jinling was a hero in the east of the Yangtze River. He was well versed in how to use troops. He was a famous general in the contemporary era. He really deserved his reputation. It's just a pity that such a hero lost his life in vain. Alas." Chen Ci sincerely felt that Sun Liang died too early. It was a pity to die. Of course he knew the reason why Sun Liang was willing to risk his life for the bloody battle. Without Sun Liang, to put it bluntly, the King of Wu's order to evacuate the people this time might not go so smoothly. Sun Liang resisted it with his life. The iron hooves of the Japanese invasion.

The king of Wu had already written to Mu Xishen of Wuzhou, wanting to lead the army back to Huaiyin, and Huaiyin readily agreed.Huaiyin is the southernmost county in northern Wu, and it is also Xi Shen's first line of defense for the future battlefield. According to the original plan, Xi Shen planned to station 10 troops in Huaiyin, but when he learned that King Wu requested to retreat to Huaiyin, Xi Shen So he ordered the withdrawal of Huaiyin's army and let the king of Wu enter.This is simply a pie in the sky. According to the speed of the invasion of the Dongying people and the current development trend of the war situation, at most one month, the Dongying people will point their swords at the vast land of Wubei. Now there are 15 troops of King Wu stationed in Huaiyin. Xi Shen can be called It is to sit back and relax, recharge your batteries, and preserve your strength. He can't wait to do this.

Seven days later, soldiers evacuated from Guangling, Hailing, Runzhou, and Suzhou gathered in Huaiyin one after another, and Chen Ci was the latest group to arrive in Huaiyin.When Fan Chu reported that he was about to arrive in Huaiyin, Chen Ci opened the curtain and looked at the top of the city tower, where more than a dozen military flags were flying, and soldiers were watching them and their group from the tower.

It can be regarded as arrived.

The road was bumpy, covered with stars and moon, horses screaming in groups, eating and drinking were all on the road, exhausted from marching, even washing face was a luxury, Chen Ci looked at the princess sitting beside him, and said with a smile: "If you don't listen to me telling you to go to the capital earlier, you Look, it's been a pain in the ass."

The princess smiled. These days, she often discusses the nature of war with Chen Ci. She still doesn't understand why a person would take the initiative to invade others with a weapon. War chaos is always bad. Regarding this, Chen Ci is only indifferent. He replied: "Those who have not made war fortune will never understand war, nor will they understand those fanatics who advocate war."

The princess was very puzzled, saying that as long as it is a war, people will always die, and many people will die. War means bloodshed and sacrifice. The statement retorted that all the dead are soldiers, and what does it have to do with the politicians in power ?Soldiers are like pawns, they are only responsible for charging and fighting, and the money-making is left to politicians, regardless of whether the soldiers' hands are stained with blood.The princess asked, where did the money come from? She only heard that the economy and order would be seriously disrupted after being caught in the quagmire of war, and the people would be displaced. , he didn't understand the direct connection between war and getting rich.Admittedly, this question is puzzling, because in order to launch a war, the military expenditures required are sky-high, and it is an existence to look up to. Even so, it was still unable to make up for the financial deficit. As a last resort, I had to follow the suggestion of Chen Ci, wipe out the clans, wipe out those clan forces that monopolize power in the army, and copy their mansions. He only got a large sum of money, that is to say, the king of Wu has done so many mobilizations, all of which are spending money. As for making money, he can't even think about it, so the princess doesn't understand the essential connection between war and getting rich.

In this regard, the statement was blunt: "The essence of war is plunder. What the Dongying people want is the vast land of Wuyue and Yuezhou. Now they can earn back no matter how much they invest in the early stage. It is directly proportional. Sitting on the fertile land of the two states, relying on Japan's superior political system, it can return to the pre-war level in a short time."

The princess still didn't understand.

The statement said: "Just like the people in the wilderness and the prairie people outside the Great Wall in the north, for hundreds of years, they have always been eager to move every once in a while, always thinking about the land of the fourteen states. In order to resist these minority groups, the kings of all dynasties have repeatedly Personal conquest, even if these peoples were driven to extinction, forced to retreat thousands of miles to the depths of deserts and grasslands, after decades, they still dare to fight back, do you know why?"

Princess Bingxue was smart, and immediately said that it was because of the land, the barbarians in the desert and the prairie had been waging wars for more than 400 years, and they wanted the land of the Fourteen States.

"That's right, it's because of the land." Chen Ci knows that in such an agricultural society, land is the most important thing. If survival becomes a problem, what's the point of development?The deserts and grasslands are barren, the climate is harsh, and the temperature difference between day and night is huge. They are not suitable for human habitation, and they are not enough to support sustainable economic development. This is why the people in the deserts and grasslands persist in waging wars and never forget the land of the Great Liang Empire." The Dongying people also think the same, their country is located on the East China Sea, just a few isolated islands, and the development potential is too low."

The princess asked again: "Then why can't we coexist peacefully? My imperial father issued an edict back then, allowing the Dongying people to settle and trade in the land of Great Liang. Aren't they making progress?"

"Your Highness, you are so naive. People's desires are like rolling stones on a high mountain. Once they start, they can't stop. When a poor man has enough to eat, he longs to eat well. When he lives House, no longer starving, he longs to live in a big house and live a better life, princess, you should have heard of the principle of lust when you are full, right? Dongying people are an obvious example, when they depend on and Liang's trade has been developed, the economy is prosperous, and it just so happens that they saw that the situation in the empire is not stable, and their ambitions are gradually revealed."

"However, war is always bad... The suffering people, the soldiers who died, can't we just sit down and have a good talk?"

"Your Highness, this world is different from what you imagined. It is different from what is written in the book. You should walk around more often. You are still too kind and innocent. Let me give you an example. If Ji Wuya hadn't Dunhuang raised troops, did not unify the 14 states, did not establish an empire, so now, the two states of Wu and Yue, no... even the whole world, will be shattered into pieces, and dozens of hundreds of small countries will be born, falling into continuous years of conflict. The flames of war. The war is just to better consolidate politics, Your Highness, don’t you naively think that the court doesn’t know about the wolfish ambitions of the Dongpu people?”

The princess was thoughtful, she held her chin, and fell into deep thought: "Yeah, I don't understand why the court has not taken any action after the war has lasted for several months?" In fact, she originally thought that the reason why the Dongying people Dare to launch a war because of the death of the Emperor Tai'an, the empire has no leader, and there is no one who can stand alone in a short period of time to stand up and provoke the leader. Otherwise, why did the war not start earlier, but wait for the emperor to die before starting the war?
Chen Ci saw through her thoughts at a glance, and smiled evilly: "The water here is very deep, Your Highness, you won't understand it, and you won't be interested in it."

"I... I want to find out."

"Okay." The road was boring, Chen Ci didn't mind discussing this profound issue with the princess, and he said to relieve his fatigue: "First, the Dongying people have been planning for a long time, and they have coveted Wu Yue for many years. The emperor died, and the empire lacked a helm. The first is just one of the reasons. They know that even if there is a new emperor who lacks influence, it will be difficult to mobilize the soldiers and horses of the fourteen states to help Wu Yue in a short time, which gives them an opportunity; The situation in the court is changing, and the treacherous and sycophant are in power. Those ministers who play tricks don't care whether Wu Yue falls or not. Lessons to deter the princes from all walks of life. But I guess it will be soon. Now that Wunan has also fallen, the court should also make moves. I dare to guess that the court will issue a call for thieves at the latest in three months, and make it known to the world , invite all princes to send troops to help."

The words of the statement made the princess stunned for a while, and it took her a long time to recall, "My husband means that the court deliberately watched Wu Yue fall? It even said that some of the court The ministers secretly planned this war, and they supported the Dongying people behind the scenes?"

"That's right." Chen Ci couldn't help but look at him with admiration. The princess was so smart that she could see his hidden meaning.

The princess was terrified, and then felt a little disappointed. After all, if the truth is like this, wouldn't it mean that the tens of millions of people in Wuyue were all reduced to pawns on the chessboard played by court ministers?
"The world is looking forward to, and all living beings are pawns." The statement also became serious, and said: "You know? This is a conspiracy, and war is inevitable. The hawkish ministers will support this for their own purposes. There are wars, some are for money, some are for political influence; some princes may be for the throne, for power; The princes sent troops to Wuyue, but they still failed to eradicate the Japanese slaves, and instead expanded the war. Then on that day, the empire will no longer exist. I am not saying that the people of Dongying can destroy the empire, but that the princes from all walks of life, especially The princes in the south with less imperial power will no longer obey the orders of the imperial court and will declare independence, and then there will be real chaos in the world."

When the princess heard the words, she frowned, worried.

(End of this chapter)