The great man will live forever

Chapter 226
At night, Liu Xiu sat by the fire, using a brush dipped in ink to write down the names of his deceased relatives one by one on the tombstones made of wood. Each stroke he wrote was like carving a knife into his own heart.

From victory to defeat, Liu Xiu felt completely different in just one day.

On the other hand, Liu Xiu's eldest brother Liu Yan was also having a hard time. He regretted and was upset. How could he underestimate the enemy?Why did you bring all your relatives to the battlefield?

He looked at the sword in his hand, burst into tears, and even had thoughts of suicide.

At this time, the third sister Liu Boji came in with food.

"Bah!" Liu Yan knocked the food to the ground and turned his head. He didn't dare to look at his sister and said helplessly: "Didn't I tell you not to come in?"

"Brother, you haven't eaten for a whole day, please eat something."

"Bang!" Liu Yan threw away the sword and slapped his ears with both hands. "Bang, bang, bang!" He opened his bow left and right, making a snapping sound.

"Brother, don't be like this. What are you doing?" Liu Boji quickly pulled him.

"What to do? Nothing I do now will help. It was me who killed them all. When I was in Jiyang, Uncle Wen reminded me to pay attention to this Cen Peng.

But I insisted on going my own way and did not listen to his words. So many soldiers and relatives left their families and careers to follow me, Liu Yan, to join the army. But in the end, it was me who killed them.

Let them throw their bodies in the wilderness with their heads in different places. I killed my second sister, my second brother, and all the soldiers. I have an unshirkable responsibility for their deaths. Do I still have the honor to live in this world? "

Liu Yan was so excited that he took the sword and wanted to commit suicide. Liu Boji quickly stopped him.
"Clap!"

Afraid that he would do something stupid, I slapped him directly, "Brother, you are heartbroken, but I am not heartbroken? I watched my second brother die in front of me, my second sister, and my three nieces. We have followed you in raising an army. Putting life and death at risk, is there anyone who will not die in a war?
Are you worthy of them if you give up on yourself now?We must regroup, fight back, and avenge them. "

"Yes, we have to fight back, otherwise they died in vain."

Liu Xiu also came in from the outside at this time, his eyes were red, the three of them looked at each other, tears fell like rain, and they hugged each other and cried.

If the body is not suffering, the blessings will not be great; if the mind is not suffering, the wisdom will not be enlightened.All those who have attained great enlightenment have struggled in purgatory without any cure. If the mind does not die, the way will not be born.If you crush yourself into pieces and then crush yourself again, if you are at the end of your rope, you will be in dire straits...

This night, the three of them grew up. After experiencing death, especially witnessing the death of their loved ones, and seeing the cruelty of the battlefield, how could they not grow up?
The negative impact of Liu Yan's huge defeat was widespread and extremely serious.

First of all, the officers and soldiers began to gain momentum. They felt that Liu Xiu's gang of thugs were nothing more than that. Many forces from the New Mang Dynasty that had originally held a wait-and-see attitude began to take the initiative. On the one hand, they rounded up and executed the rebels and their relatives, and on the other hand, they On the one hand, they vigorously pursued the rebels.

After the great victory, this old guy from Zhenfu mobilized all his troops, claiming that 10 soldiers crossed the Huangchun River south. The vanguard arrived at Xianshui and set up camp between the two rivers. At the same time, he demolished the bridge over the Huangchun River to pay homage to his idol King Chu Bawang. Paying homage shows a resolute attitude of breaking the cauldron.

At the same time, in the Green Forest Military Camp, a soldier came in to report.

"Reporting to the general, Zhen Fu and Liang Qiuci left the baggage in Lanxiang, Xianshui County. They led 10 elite troops to cross the Huangchun River south, and the forwards reached Xianshui. They camped between the two rivers and at the same time dismantled the structures on the Huangchun River. They also offered a reward of a thousand taels to anyone who surrendered Liu Yan, no matter which side he belonged to."

At this moment, Wang Kuang, who was sitting on top, suddenly looked a little panicked, and he quickly said: "Stay back."

"No." The soldier who reported the news retreated.

At this time, many generals from Xinshi and Pinglin were sitting below, mainly Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Ma Wu, Zhu Tun, Zhang Xuan and Pinglin from the Xinshi Army, Chen Mu and Liao Zhan.

The Green Forest Army mainly consisted of three parts. One was led by Wang Chang, Cheng Dan, etc., and went west to the Lankou area of ​​Nanjun (now Jiangling, Hubei Province) to plunder, and was called the Xiajiang Army; the other was led by Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, and Ma Wu. Led by , Zhu Yu, Zhang Xian and others, they went north to Nanyang and were called Xinshi soldiers. Zhang Xian and others called themselves generals.

Another group was led by Chen Mu and Liao Zhan. They gathered more than a thousand people to respond to the Xinshi soldiers and rebelled in Pinglin (now northeast of Sui County, Hubei Province), and they were called "Pinglin soldiers".At present, Wang Chang's troops going down the river have not yet joined them.

Zhang Xuan was the first to speak, and suggested to Wang Kuang who was sitting above, "Brother, I think it's better to hand over Liu Yan and get a thousand taels of gold."

This guy had never dealt with Liu Yan, and he wished that Liu Yan would be unlucky.

"What nonsense are you talking about? We rebels are in the same boat. Do you think that if Liu Yan is handed over now, he will honor the reward? Wouldn't it be weird if he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to annihilate us together?" The person who spoke was the second-highest-ranking speaker. Wang Feng, this guy is extremely rational.

"Yes, what General Wang Feng said makes sense." Chen Mu and Liao Zhan agreed.

Wang Feng continued to add, "Besides, do you want others to accuse our Xinshi Heping Lin Army of being treacherous and adding insult to injury? Stupid!"

Zhu Tun spoke, "This Zhen Fu is mainly targeting Liu Yan. How about we avoid his attack and retreat for the time being? Preserving ourselves is the most important thing."

He was obviously scared. He was not the only one who had such thoughts. After the new defeat of the Xinshi and Pinglin armies, they had already developed a strong fear of the official army.Now seeing that the official army is pursuing them, and their military strength and equipment are far superior to those of the rebels, most people are not confident in defeating the enemy and plan to break away from contact and quickly flee south.

Wang Kuang, who was sitting on top, nodded repeatedly when he heard what he said. There was one person who wanted to speak, but did not dare to speak. He was Liu Xuan. He was naturally cowardly. Although he wanted to help the Liu family, he wanted to help the Liu family several times. He stopped talking.

"No, more than half of the Han army suffered casualties this time, and Liu Yan's casualties were even more heavy. Now is when their morale is at its lowest. If we withdraw at this time, we will break the alliance with them. Don't talk about it yet. Don't ally with them, just say that our own brothers will also be disappointed. By then the morale of the army will be gone, and our army will not be far from defeat."

The one who refused to retreat was Wang Feng. It must be said that he was far-sighted. No wonder he could be the second in command.

Zhu Tun asked back, "If we don't leave, why don't we stay and confront Zhen Fu's [-]-strong army? Isn't that just throwing an egg at a stone?"

At this time, the atmosphere was particularly serious. Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and for a moment they didn’t know what to do.

Wang Kuang didn't know what to do. He had a headache and said helplessly: "Let's do this for now. We'll see what happens later."

After the meeting, Liu Xuan secretly went to Liu Jia and said, "Brother, if the Han army splits now, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but the whole army will be in danger of being annihilated. You should ask Bo Sheng to figure out a way as soon as possible. Wang Kuang and the others want to retreat." ."

"Okay, thank you cousin."

"No, I am also a Liu family member. How can I bear to watch Liu family disciples die?"

Here, Liu Jia quickly found his elder brother Liu Yan. After telling him, Liu Yan was so angry that he threw away his sword and cursed,
"They are greedy for life and afraid of death. I, Liu Yan, am not afraid. At worst, we will die together. Let them leave. No matter what, I will fight Zhen Fu to the death."

"Brother, I'll go with you." Liu Xiu said hurriedly.

"No, third brother, you are the last bloodline of my Liu family. You stay in Jiyang and take good care of your family."

"Brother, what are you talking about? We are brothers and we will live and die together. And don't be pessimistic. Zhen Fu is greedy for success and arrogant. This time he thinks he has a chance to win, so he will definitely take it lightly. Although our vitality is greatly damaged, , but the mourning soldiers have always been tough. If the Xinshi and Pinglin troops withdraw, our chances of winning will be slim, so we must find a way to stabilize them..."

After summarizing the situation, the two brothers both believed that if the two friendly armies of Xinshi and Pinglin were withdrawn, it would be difficult to defeat the enemy with the troops they commanded alone. They must try to stabilize the two friendly armies and work together to fight the enemy together. A surefire strategy.

At this time, a 5000-man Xiajiang army commanded by Wang Chang and Cheng Dan arrived in Yiqiu (now southeast of Tanghe, Henan).Liu Yan was determined to persuade this unit to participate in the battle, so as to strengthen the fighting power against the official army and stabilize the other two rebel armies that were wavering.

Another good news came. Li Tong joined them. This guy's whole family was killed, but he escaped and brought some people to seek refuge. Liu Xiu was overjoyed when he saw him, and the two hugged each other tightly. , it was he who instigated Liu Xiu to raise an army in the first place.

So, brothers Liu Xiu and Liu Yan went with Li Tong to the Xiajiang soldiers stationed there. When Liu Yan saw the Xiajiang soldiers, he said, "I would like to meet a good general from Xiajiang to discuss important matters."

Cheng Dan, Zhang Ba, and Yang Mu all recommended Wang Chang, so Wang Chang came to see Liu Yan.

Wang Chang was originally from Hu County, with the courtesy name Yanqing. His father Wang Bo moved to Wuyang County, Yingchuan County (today's Wuyang County, Henan Province) during the periods of Emperor Cheng and Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty.

In the last years of Wang Mang's life, Wang Chang avenged his brother, concealed his name and fled to Jiangxia.In AD 17 (the fourth year of Tianfeng), Wang Feng, Wang Kuang and others raised troops in Yundu Green Forest (now Green Forest Mountain, Jingshan City, Hubei Province), called the "Green Forest Army", gathering tens of thousands of people.

Later, after Wang Chang joined the Green Forest Army, he was appointed deputy general and attacked neighboring counties.In AD 22 (the third year of Emperor Dihuang's reign), Wang Chang, Cheng Dan, Zhang Ba, and Yang Mu divided their forces to attack Lankou, Nanjun, known as the Xiajiang Army.

Liu Yan did not beat around the bush and said directly to Wang Chang: "Once you revolt, there will be no return, either victory or defeat. If you wanted to be surrendered, you would not have revolted in the first place. Now is the critical moment, and the thieves are powerful. If we don't unite, there is only one way to defeat. To rebel is to fight tooth and nail. If you don't dare to fight, there is only death..."

Liu Xiu and Li Tong on the side also persuaded, "Yes, brother Yan Qing, if we don't unite now, we will only be defeated one by one by Zhen Fu."

After a few people spoke eloquently and righteously, they succeeded in turning Wang Chang into a little fanboy. He immediately expressed his willingness to follow the Liu brothers. He said: "Wang Mang usurped the Han and killed the king. He was cruel and tyrannical in the world, and the people missed the Han. Therefore, Heroes rise together. Now that the Liu family is reviving, it is God. I really want to dedicate myself to help and help achieve great success."

Liu Yan patted Wang Chang on the shoulder and said, "If it comes to pass, how dare I enjoy the victory alone?"

This is also similar to what Chen Sheng said back then, "Chen Sheng is from Yangcheng, with the courtesy name She. Wu Guang is from Yangxia, with the courtesy name Uncle. When Chen She was young, he tried to farm with servants, but he stopped farming on the ridges. He felt regretful for a long time and said, "We will never forget each other if we are rich and noble." The servant smiled and said, "How can you be rich and noble if you farm for servants?" Chen She sighed and said, "Oh! How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?" '"

It’s also like the bosses of later generations trying to spread the pie, patting employees on the shoulders and saying, “Do a good job, and I’ll pay you dividends when the company goes public!”

But Liu Yan probably meant it sincerely. This guy was completely straightforward and had no bad intentions.

Here Liu Yanxin, Liu Xiu, and Li Tong left Yiqiu with satisfaction and prepared to continue fighting.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the front foot left, the soldiers in Xiajiang immediately started to disagree.When Wang Chang told Cheng Dan and others about his intention to cooperate, they strongly opposed it and argued that they should not be controlled by the Liu brothers.

They did not support Wang Chang taking brothers Xia Jiangjun and Liu Yan to gnaw hard bones. This kind of thing was too risky.

Besides, why should we listen to Brother Liu Xiu?Now that Liu Xiu and the others are defeated, they don’t have many people, so why should they listen to them?
However, at this time, Wang Chang had already returned to the Han Dynasty and had a great personal profile. He advised the generals in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River: "Whatever the people complain about, God will leave. What people think about, God will give it to them."

Those who do great things must obey the people's will immediately and conform to God's will, so that the success can be achieved.Today, the Liu Ju clan in Nanyang has raised troops. Those who came to discuss matters have deep plans and great considerations. If the talents of the princes and princes are combined with them, they will achieve great success. This is why Heaven is blessing my subordinates. "

A few words persuaded the generals who went down to the river. They said that if they did it, people would die and birds would look up to the sky, and they would not die for tens of thousands of years.

The determined momentum and attitude of the Xiajiang Army, in turn, affected the Xinshi and Pinglin armies, which were originally preparing to escape. They said that we also had courage and wanted to try harder.

In the end, the three rebel armies decided to unite with the Nanyang Rebel Army commanded by the Liu brothers to fight back against the Xinmang army.

Liu Yan and Liu Xiu were very happy about this. They and the leaders of the Green Forest Army "made a treaty with the sergeants and made an alliance", rested for three days, and at the same time formulated a careful battle plan.

On Jiazi Day of the first month of the year 23 AD, Allied Commander-in-Chief Liu Yan led the entire army and sang "Nine Songs of National Remembrance" in front of the graves of the rebels who died in the battle and their relatives:
When driving Wu Ge, one wears rhinoceros armor, and one's chariot has the wrong hub, so there is a hand-to-hand encounter.

Jing obscures the sun and the enemy is like a cloud, and the arrows are falling, and the scholars are vying for the first place.

Ling Yuzhen lingered for the rest of the line, left and right edge wounds.

Two rounds of smog, four horses, and drums for aid.

The weather is full of anger, the spirit is angry, and the wilderness is abandoned.

You can't go in and out, and you can't go backwards, and the plain suddenly goes far.

With a long sword, Xi is holding Qin Gong, and his heart is not punished.

Sincerity is both brave and martial, and in the end is strong and can't be overthrown.

Since the body is dead, the spirit has become a spirit, and the soul has become a ghost!
Thousands of people shouted, shaking the world. Everyone's eyes filled with tears. Thinking of their dead relatives, the misery along the way, and the oppression of the imperial court, their morale was extremely high.

"Soldiers, for our loved ones and for the people who are oppressed like us all over the world, if we have to fight to the death, victory will definitely belong to us!"

Liu Yan gave an impassioned speech to boost morale, and then divided the entire army into six units. With the cover of darkness, they launched a joint attack and seized the official army's logistics base in one fell swoop, "taking all their supplies."

The next morning, brothers Liu Yan and Liu Xiu led troops to attack Zhenfu's army from the southwest, and Xiajiang troops attacked Liangqiu Ci's army from the southeast. The two sides fought to the death. During breakfast,

"Pfft!"

Liu Xiu saw the right opportunity, captured the thief first and captured the king, and shot Liang Qiuci to death with one arrow.

"The general is dead."

"Good job, Show!"

"Haha! Those who surrender will avoid death!" Liu Yan looked at Liang Qiuci who fell to the ground, excited, clapped his hands and shouted, leading his army to charge.

"Run."

"Help!"

One, two...then four or fifty people, and Xinmang's army began to flee.

Following Liangqiu Ci's death, his army's position immediately became chaotic and his soldiers fled.

Seeing this, Zhenfu's army immediately lost the courage to resist and fled one after another. The rebels were in hot pursuit. The fleeing officers and soldiers were forced to the Huangchun River. There was no bridge to cross, but they were unable to fight. They were killed or drowned. More than [-] people, including Zhen Fu and Liang Qiuci, were also killed.

This battle was a major victory achieved by the joint operations between the Liu brothers and the Green Forest Army. They not only eliminated Wang Mang's elite division in Nanyang, but also captured a large amount of weapons and supplies. It also made the Green Forest Army realize the outstanding achievements of the Liu Yan brothers. Military strategy and command skills.

(End of this chapter)