Gentlemen, listen to the sword chant

Chapter 96 Xi Shen Actively Prepares for the Battle, Lu Qian Abandons Hailing

Xuzhou city.

Xi Shen looked at the letter paper on the case and fell into deep thought. This is a secret letter sent by Uesugi Qi. The content is also very simple and domineering. Attack Hailing, drive straight into Huaiyin, and attack from all sides to completely annihilate the Taozhi Mountain Rebel Army in Hailing, the Western Regions outside Runzhou, and the Xueguo Allied Forces.He sternly demanded that Xi Shen abandon the dark and turn to the bright, launch a mutiny, lead troops to control the major transportation fortresses, cooperate with the Dongying army inside and outside, and wipe out the Allied forces of Daliang.

Between the lines, apart from domineering, it is still domineering, not giving Xi Shen a second choice at all.

Military advisor Chen Jian looked at Xi Shen's changed expression, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, this is our only chance, but I think that the allied forces are already in the same shape as Lin Guming and King Wu are extradited back to Beijing." Scattered sand, no matter what, can't resist the iron hooves of the Dongying people. If we surrender at this time, we can also help the imperial army obtain military merits. In the future, we will reward the emperor for his meritorious service. After passing this village, there will be no such shop. "

Xi Shen felt disappointed: "Why don't I know this truth." So this time Shang Shanqi didn't even leave him with the second choice.

If Xi Shen does not send troops to participate in the war this time, the Dongying people will come to Xuzhou in the future, and he will have a pot of food.

"My lord, why are you still hesitating?"

Chen Jian was puzzled.

Xi Shen looked far and wide, staring at the dark night, his fingers tapped on the bronze table, making regular and rhythmic sounds, his eyes narrowed, and said: "The imperial delegation has been assassinated, Uesugi Qi They were also assassinated, judging from the reactions of both of them, it seems that they pretended nothing happened, but precisely, this is the most terrified thing, and it can be ruled out that the two of them were intentional."

Chen Jian was even more puzzled.

suddenly.

Chen Jian's complexion changed slightly, his pupils shrank, and he seemed to think of something: "My lord, are you worried about... them?"

"Yes, it is them."

This "they" are the so-called missionaries of a hundred schools of thought. The reason why Xi Shen has been hesitant to openly surrender to the enemy and betray the country is because he is afraid of these missionaries who secretly hide in every corner of Wuyue and cannot see the sun. The human heart, spreading thoughts, is very scary.What Xi Shen is most keen to see is that the Dongying people and the Great Liang Allied Forces are fighting like water and fire. It is best to fight for a lifetime, ten years, a hundred years, and a thousand years. If the fight continues like this, it is best that the fire will never burn him. It would be better to be in front of his house, but this is impossible, no, it has affected him now, and he has no choice.

What Xi Shen is afraid of is that it is easy to hide open guns, but hard to guard against hidden arrows. If he surrenders to the enemy and betrays the country, and assists the Dongying people to eradicate the rebels in Wuyue, from the outside world, Wuyue has fallen into a short-term peace, and he is the same as Juquan He became the superficial king of Wuzhou.In this official position, he should be making money, and he should be unrestrained and unrestrained, but these are all appearances. Those missionaries will definitely stand up and incite the people. He will be a sinner, nailed to the pillar of shame, and left infamous forever.

"Your Majesty, but you have no other choice now, just take one step at a time." Chen Jian lowered his eyebrows and nodded.

Xi Shen didn't speak, but still sighed.

After a long time, he seemed to have made up his mind, and he gritted his teeth: "Pass my military order and order all the legions to rush to the counties in the name of actively preparing for war and escorting food and grass, waiting for orders."

"As ordered."

……

Huaiyin.

Both the imperial delegation and Uesugi Qi were assassinated. Although a great battle broke out, there were no casualties. Even with the blessing of both sides' high-strength martial arts, one or two assassins were beheaded, and the matter was left alone.But the statement was kept in mind. First of all, Uesugi would not send people to assassinate Yan Dong and Sun Yu, which was contrary to Uesugi’s purpose. Secondly, it was even more impossible for Yan Dong and Sun Yu to send people to assassinate Uesugi Qi, there must be someone else.Everything has cause and effect and benefit.The assassins assassinated the two at the same time, nothing more than wanting to trigger a conflict between the Zhongzhou Iron Army and the Dongying Army, to provoke a war, and they did not want to see the two sides cease fighting.Who is keen on seeing the two sides get into an endless war?Here, Chen Ci boldly guesses, first, the most suspect is the fanatical right-wing elements who advocate war among the Japanese themselves, because there is news that the cabinet and the right-wing elements of the military government have written to Uesugi Qi many times, sternly demanding He executed Lin Guming; secondly, either it was the treacherous ministers in the imperial court who manipulated the military rations and entrapped the Allied forces this time, and both parties had motives for killing; There is also a high possibility of being a family missionary from the Jianghu people.Chen Ci also probably knew the purpose of these missionaries. They just wanted to see the imperial court represented by the Zhongzhou Tiejun fighting against the Dongying people and weakening the imperial court.Strictly speaking, this group of hundreds of families supported the independence of the vassal kings from all walks of life. They intended to split the empire first, then start from the local areas, gradually expand the uprising team, and finally sweep the whole country, and then change the current situation.

After thinking through these relationships, the statement was horrifying, and he thought of a terrible result, that is, will the Japanese people continue to wage war at this time?
You must know that the Huaiyin negotiation was just a negotiation, and the signed agreement was only to unconditionally release Lin Guming, but the details have not been made public, which gave countless people room to imagine.The negotiation in Huaiyin did not announce the truce between Great Liang and Japan, on the contrary, it was just a harbinger of the coming of a bigger war.

At this moment, Fan Chu came over and said softly, "My son-in-law, Yang Wanli asks to see you."

"Please."

Chen Ci put his mind away, went out of the gate, and ordered someone to heat up a few dishes of wine and vegetables, and prepare a pot of dirty wine. Yang Wanli had a sad face. This rough guy, since King Wu resolutely planned to return to Beijing to plead guilty two days ago, he has never smiled again. , has always been so preoccupied.Seeing that General Yang Wanli, who used to be big and round and very heroic, became so haggard, Chen Ci poured wine for him, insinuating his intentions: "General, did King Wu give you any military orders when he left?"

"My son-in-law, don't inquire about those things anymore. I'm here today to ask for something."

"General but it doesn't matter."

Yang Wanli sighed, took the bowl of wine handed to him by Chen Ci with both hands, drank it all, and said: "To tell you the truth, my son-in-law, when King Wu left, he ordered me to dismiss the troops. As the settlement expenses of the soldiers, there is no need to fight to the death for Jiangdong Sheji..."

"Ah?" Chen Ci pretended to be surprised. In fact, he knew King Wu's plan a long time ago, so he asked, "Don't you feel regretful? Soldiers, with so many compatriots dead, if you say no to fighting, will the general be willing?"

Yang Wanli's eyes were red, and he stared straight at Chen Ci. Immediately, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes: "Of course I am not willing, but the military order is like a mountain... Besides, King Wu is right to worry, ah, keep fighting , It’s nothing more than increasing casualties, so let’s just leave it like this, there’s no extra money in the treasury, and there’s not much food, and at the end of the day, the ammunition and food are exhausted, so just add more bones.”

King Wu had expected this result a long time ago, so he simply returned to the capital with Yan Dong and his party, and waited for what happened. The Ministry of Finance had a large sum of money and was unable to repay it. He wanted to exchange the 400-year title of Murong's hereditary clan for the remaining lives of Jiangdong's remnant troops.

"then you……"

Yang Wanli clasped his fists in a hurry, and said forcefully, "The general has something to ask, I hope the son-in-law will accept me, and I am willing to join the son-in-law's tent and be a soldier of the son-in-law."

The astonishment in the statement is on the surface.

You know, my own soldiers are quite small, only a mere two thousand people.

With Yang Wanli's skills and status, he is always a guest wherever he goes, so why come to join him?But soon, Chen Ci understood Yang Wanli's intentions. Yang Wanli is the governor of Runzhou, and his status is respected. He is not inferior to the leader of the 28th town's reinforcements. Now most of Wuyue has fallen, and even the king of Wu has left, leaving it to Yang Wanli. The choice is either to recruit troops and buy horses to do it alone, or to join the allied forces, but he has no soldiers and no generals, and he has served as the governor. The generals of those local states will naturally be vigilant. The last choice is to join Wuzhou Mu Xishen's camp up.But he, Yang Wanli, looked down on Xi Shen the most, and because he had a gap with Wu Beijun, this option was rejected, so Yang Wanli had no choice but to come to make a statement.

Chen Ci pondered for a while, but did not refuse. The battle is tight now, and it is time to employ people, so he immediately nodded and said: "General, you are welcome to join."

"My son-in-law, do you agree?" Yang Wanli didn't expect Chen Ci to agree so quickly.

"Well, it just so happens that although I have two thousand troops, I don't have any good generals. Although Fan Chu has both civil and military skills, he wants to protect the princess. Now the general is willing to join my camp so that he can lead the troops for me."

Yang Wanli was ecstatic, and immediately half-kneeled, saluted with fists in his hands, and said solemnly: "Master Yang Wanli, thank you for your praise, and I will definitely be your son-in-law, and I will go through fire and water, and I will not hesitate."

"The general please rise, the general asks, the words are serious."

Then, Yang Wanli said that he still had more than 3000 soldiers who were unwilling to leave. They were all his trusted troops, most of whom were widows. There is no military pay, as long as they are given food and can beat Dongying people.Chen Ci readily agreed, but after all, it was for the generals. How could the soldiers not pay the military for their own sake? He immediately waved his hand and said that the military salary must be paid normally, so Yang Wanli didn't need to think about it.

The next day, Yang Wanli officially dismissed his troops, and the military flags of Wunan armies that had been planted on the Huaiyin City Tower were replaced with those of Chen Ci. In this way, Chen Ci's troops replaced Wunan Army and entered Huaiyin.

……

Hailing.

Today Lu Qian can be said to be in high spirits, with a red face, and he is ordering his subordinates to open the military grain treasury in Huaiyin that originally belonged to Tojo Goro's Kyushu Legion. Hearing the news, he ordered his subordinates to take away all the food, and searched around the sheriff's mansion, taking away everything that could be taken away, even the pots and pans, making people think that Lu Qian was The starved ghost is reincarnated.

Originally, Lu Qian regained Hailing at a small cost, which was regarded as a victory for Lin Guming's battle.Lu Qian led more than 4 soldiers to eat and drink in the city for a few days, enjoying the love and affection of the people, and everywhere he went, he was arrogant, and he had reached the pinnacle of his life, as proud as he could be.But after half a month of this kind of life, after Huaiyin negotiations, Uesugi released Lin Guming, and Lin Guming returned to the capital, Lu Qian felt that something was wrong, and immediately ignored everything, mobilized his subordinates, and wanted to evacuate Hailing.

The lieutenant general was very puzzled, saying that our army occupied Hailing, it can be said that we have taken advantage of the right time, place and people, here we eat well and sleep well, why did we leave?
Lu Qian sighed and said, "You only know one thing but don't know the other, if you don't leave, Hailing will be the burial place of our army."

The lieutenant asked why.

Lu Qian said: "Look, we occupied Hailing, but we didn't see the allied forces come to join us and help defend together. Instead, we were busy with our own affairs. Isn't this a joke?"

The deputy general didn't think so, and said: "The general is worrying too much. It's a good thing if they don't come. Everything in the city belongs to us. If they come, we will still share their supplies. Isn't it a blood loss?"

"Do you know why you are the deputy general and can only go to fight, but I am the chief general, ordering you to fight? You are an idiot, you only have this interest in your mind." Lu Qian cursed angrily, kicked him, and said: "If the allied forces don't come to help defend together, even if we occupy Hailing, we will be snatched away by mobilizers sooner or later. A few days ago, the Japanese pirates were busy with Lin Guming's affairs and couldn't spare their hands. Now Lin Guming is letting go." Let’s go, if we don’t leave, the Japanese pirates will come. Do you think that Lin Guming wiped out hundreds of thousands of troops, and with only tens of thousands of us, can you be sure that you can defend Hailing?”

"Uh..." The deputy general blushed.

"Pack up your things, take everything you can take."

The lieutenant nodded. He seemed to be thinking of something, and said in a low voice, "General, do you want to..."

Seeing his wretched expression, Lu Qian immediately understood what he was thinking, and immediately slapped him on the face, cursing: "This is Wuyue, not Fujian and Guangdong. We are not bandits now, but serious rebels. Do you know what a rebel army is? You fucking want to rob the common people? Damn, I can’t beat you to death, and the Dongying people didn’t rob the common people. If you dare to rob the common people, wouldn’t it ruin our reputation? If we regain In which county town, the people can still be so docile? Can you sleep well?"

The deputy general looked ashamed, lowered his head, and said embarrassedly: "Forgive me, General, I am not... I am used to living in poverty when I was in Taozhi Mountain..."

"Snapped"

Lu Qian raised his hand and slapped him again.

"Do you know how much food we have now? You will be shocked when you say it, 20 shi. Do you know what 20 shi is? If we eat it for three to five years, do you know how much gold and silver we have obtained? Say Going out to scare you to death, the gold that was looted from the treasury, and the gold that the Dongying people didn't have time to take away, is worth tens of thousands of taels, how can you criticize this open mouth to rob the common people?"

The lieutenant was even more ashamed.

"Okay, pass on my military order, all ministries pack up quickly, we'll set off tonight, the sooner we run, the better."

"Where are you going?"

"Snapped"

The lieutenant answered with a slap.

Lu Qian rolled his eyes, and said bitterly, "Of course it's Huaiyin, don't talk nonsense, hurry up, my eyelids keep twitching, maybe the Dongying people will call tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)