Chapter 1026
: The White Lotus's Decision
Chapter 1026: The White Lotus's Decision
"Report, Lord, we are still 20 miles away from Runan City. The scouts report that the gates of Runan City have been closed and the city defenses have been tightened."
In front of the army of Marquis Luo Yun, Zhang Jinyu was not sitting in the carriage today. Instead, he was riding a horse, leading the generals in front. When heading north, he merged the two armies of Yin Renchang and Duan Kaiyuan. Now, they have gathered more than 300,000 soldiers and are heading north. Wherever their troops go, they shake the earth.
Magnificent and invincible.
Zhang Jinyu was riding on his horse, looking towards the north, and saw a place slightly higher than the horizon, where there was a vague city standing. It was far away and could not be seen clearly. Although he could see the outline, there is a saying that goes, "If you look at the mountain, you will die." Now that he saw the city, it would take at least two hours to get there.
"Well, now that we have seen it, it must not be far away. Let the army slow down and march slowly."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
The messenger clasped his fists in response and rode away. Then, the army's marching speed gradually slowed down, and it no longer looked like the previous march. However, the generals who led the army were a little surprised when the army slowed down. Not knowing what was going on, they kicked their horses and marched in unison.
The first to arrive were General Yin Renchang of Dingnan and General Duan Wenyuan of Dingxi. When they rode closer, they immediately pulled the reins and clasped their fists, saying,
"General Yin Renchang and Duan Wenyuan greet the Marquis."
"Well, why are you here?"
Zhang Jinyu was thinking about the affairs of Runan City. Seeing the two of them gathered here, he was still a little puzzled. Before he finished asking questions, several generals also came. General Yin, who arrived first, quickly clasped his fists and replied;
"My Lord, I just ordered the army to slow down, but something happened. If we slow down, we may not reach Runan City before noon."
"Yes, Lord, if we can get there earlier, we might be able to raid the city."
General Xuanwu Ling Yuantao was getting impatient. He took advantage of his victory and launched a surprise attack, perhaps catching the thieves off guard.
The other generals moved their mouths and had similar thoughts. Zhang Jinyu frowned when he heard this. They had just won a few battles, but they were so arrogant. Do you think the White Lotus Sect is made of mud? You're still launching a surprise attack?
"General Ling is really brave. He uses such exhausted soldiers to attack a strong city. He is really brave."
The words were a compliment, but they were full of sarcasm, making Ling Yuantao blush and a little confused.
"My Lord, I said something wrong."
"You don't know whether I'm right or not. You'd be tired if you walked all that distance. Besides, you don't know what the situation is in Runan City. If it's heavily guarded, it won't be easier to fight than Linshan County City."
When he spoke, his tone was obviously not good. How could Ling Yuantao dare to refute him? He lowered his head and dared not speak. It was General Duan Wenyuan of Dingxi who spoke to comfort him.
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Our army has just arrived and is exhausted. The enemy army is defending the city and waiting for us to tire out. It is better for us to advance steadily and reduce casualties."
After saying this, he winked at Ling Yuantao, who quickly agreed.
"My Lord, I was impatient."
Zhang Jinyu saw everything the two men were doing, but some things were hard to say. The army was suffering from high casualties. If they continued to fight like that, not only would they not be able to explain to the court, but they would also have no future under the eyes of King Jin.
"After we get there, we will do the same as before. First, we will besiege the city and then test it. If the troops are strong, we will advance steadily and focus on breaking through one point. If the troops are weak, we will besiege all around and decide the outcome with one battle. Then we can go back."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
The generals took orders, looked at each other, and rode away in silence. On the way back, Ling Yuantao was puzzled and asked;
"Brother Yin, why do you think the Marquis suddenly lost his temper? Did I say something wrong?"
Ling Yuantao was still confused, and the others were also a little confused. However, Duan Kaiyuan sighed.
"You only thought about how to fight, but didn't think about your brothers and His Highness's feelings. If it weren't for the Marquis's pressure, we would be guilty."
He shook his head, kicked his horse's belly, and rode away, leaving many people looking at each other in bewilderment. When they wanted to ask, General Duan was nowhere to be found. They watched the horse leave.
"What does this mean?"
Ling Yuantao was still mumbling, while the other generals seemed to be thinking about something. Thinking of the final fate of the two old dukes, they couldn't help but shudder. They all dispersed with gloomy faces, leaving General Ling with a somewhat bewildered expression.
"What's going on? You should tell me or not, huh."
Zhang Jinyu ignored the generals' reactions. After instructing Ningbian to lead the troops, he pulled the reins and approached the carriage. He jumped over and got into the carriage.
Seeing the King of Jin sitting on the couch, reading a scroll in the light from the open car window, Zhang Jinyu asked after he sat in;
"Your Highness is in a very good mood and can even concentrate on reading. This is rare."
Looking at a scroll, I was a little surprised. After all, after the advent of paper, the court documents and printed scriptures had long been printed on paper. These scrolls were all unique pieces. After all, they had to be processed by bamboo, roasted with fire, soaked in oil, and other processes before they could be written and reproduced. It was time-consuming and laborious, and not many were written.
King Zhou Ding of Jin smiled, raised the book in his hand,
"My Lord, please don't underestimate this. I like to read on bamboo slips, so all the books in my house are copies of this. It's just right that my Lord can come and take a look. This book describes the reform strategies of Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty. I have read it many times and have different feelings every time."
Seeing the Marquis sitting opposite him, he handed the book to him. Zhang Jinyu took it with some suspicion, and skimmed through the page that His Highness was reading.
What he wrote was actually Wang Jinggong's strategy for reform. Anyway, he wrote a lot. In his opinion, it was nothing more than strengthening the centralization of power and improving the financial situation of the court. Although it was a good thing, it was useless. As the saying goes, those who are righteous will have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous will have few supporters. This is true for all.
Today, the imperial court is trying to maintain the system, and the military governors and princes of various places have long been deeply rooted. Even the noble families in the capital are unshakable. If the imperial court follows Wang Jinggong's reform method, it will cut itself off from the noble families and become truly isolated.
"Isn't it Wang Jinggong's reform? I have heard about it."
"Oh, I've never heard the Marquis say that before. I wonder what your opinion is."
The King of Jin instantly became interested, and he never thought that the Marquis also knew this.
"Your Highness, please don't joke. I can't say that I have any opinion, but I do know a thing or two."
Zhang Jinyu kept the secret and put the book on the table. Then, he took a piece of fruit from the table and took a bite.
"This Wang Jinggong is quite elegant. There is a river between Jingkou and Guazhou, and Zhongshan is only a few mountains away. The spring breeze has greened the south bank of the river, and when will the bright moon shine on me? But the Southern Song Dynasty is different from today. Although I don't know how to reform, I know that if I follow his method, the reform will inevitably fail."
Zhang Jinyu thought back and it seemed that all the ministers and prime ministers who had tried to carry out reforms had never succeeded. Even if they did succeed, the reformers would be killed or scattered by both the later emperors and the current emperor. So it was better to do a good deed and not touch them.
"How can I explain this? Please enlighten me, my Lord."
King Zhou Ding of Jin looked solemn and did not seem to be laughing. He read Wang Anshi's reform plan over and over again. The more he read, the more he understood. But no one mentioned why it failed.
"Your Highness, let's not talk about the reform for now, let's talk about the fruit in my hand. It was originally in good condition. If I don't take it, if it is left for a long time, it will definitely be broken. If you want to remedy it, you must preserve it well when you first pick it from the tree, so that it can be kept for a long time.
The reason why the reforms of the Song Dynasty were unsuccessful was because there were too many issues involved, and no one could help. I have not read this book, and I cannot understand it, but in the end, it is nothing more than the same result. "
In fact, Zhang Jinyu did not want Prince Jin to make trouble. He just wanted him to be a stable emperor and the court would remain the same. If he learned from the current emperor, getting up early and working late, and working himself to death, and ended up being worse off than he is now, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
The world does not belong to one person, but to a noble family. This has been the case in all dynasties.
Seeing the explanation of the Marquis, the Prince of Jin, who was originally quite ambitious, seemed a little depressed. The Marquis's words were obscure, which was nothing more than saying that the noble families in the capital were deeply rooted, and the princes in various places were ambitious. Even if he had this idea, he could not show it. Otherwise, the position of the crown prince would definitely not be his turn.
He put away the book and bowed to Marquis Luo Yun.
"Thank you for your advice, Your Highness." "You are too polite. Come, have some fruit."
Inside the car, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
On the south gate tower of Runan City,
The helmsman who stayed behind, Lu Chuanjiang, was standing on the top of the city tower at this moment, looking towards the official road to the south with a worried look on his face. In the distance, he saw yellow dust covering the sky and the sun, flying all over the sky. Indistinctly, he felt a surge of evil spirit coming towards him.
Although he had never seen the young marquis command troops, the news from various places in southern Beijing showed that the young marquis was not easy to serve. Thinking of this, his face became more and more worried.
"Master Tian, this is what you said. The imperial army is exhausted and needs to rest in Qinzhou City. They won't come so quickly. How do you explain the army on the official road in Nantou?"
Judging from the speed of the imperial army's march, they will be at the gates of the city by noon.
"How could this happen? It came so quickly. Something is wrong."
The Qinzhou garrison commander behind him, Tian Ziang, the head of the Tian Hall, looked a little unhappy. He had known the news in advance, so he led 20,000 elite troops to the north to Runan City. After all, Runan City was empty.
And I heard that Luo Yunhou's army was exhausted and would definitely stay to rest. So, according to the ten-day deadline given by the leader, we could complete the event. But I didn't expect that the people would show up before three days had passed.
"Whether it's right or not, Runan City is big, and the only elite troops left are the 20,000 religious soldiers you brought with you. How do you think we can defend it?"
Captain Lu had a serious look on his face, and he did not understand what the leader meant. Even his original 10,000 elite religious soldiers were withdrawn by the right protector with a transfer order after Tian led his troops to support. The remaining nearly 100,000 slave soldiers were just a refugee camp. How could they fight against the enemy?
These words had never been said to anyone else, but just saying them like this shocked the Tian Hall Master,
"Captain, are you saying that Runan City has become an empty city? Where did the hundreds of thousands of elite religious troops go? No, don't you have 30,000 religious troops under your command?"
Ru'nan City is such an important city, how can it be treated as a joke? But when I saw the helmsman's ugly face, my heart sank.
"There were some before, but they were transferred away by the Right Protector. Now there are only 100,000 slave soldiers here. I will ask Hall Master Ding to transfer 20,000 young and strong men to make a show."
Captain Lu did not hide the fact that the slave soldiers in the city were just poor people who survived, but the world was like this, what could be done?
"Captain, Captain, it's not that I am trying to boost others' morale and destroy my own prestige. Ever since Marquis Luo Yun led his troops south, no one has been able to take his place. The leader Chu, who is known as the virtuous leader of the Taiping Sect, and the noble General Zuo, have been defeated in three battles, and the news has spread throughout the world. Now that we have no troops, how can we stop Marquis Luo Yun's troops?"
After sighing, he pointed to the west and said;
"The Taiping Cult has gathered nearly 200,000 soldiers in Linshan County City, and the Left Protector is the commander of the troops. They only defended the city for less than five days before they were defeated and disappeared. How can we defend the city with such a small number of troops? If the Cult Leader is willing to send a large number of troops here, perhaps we can still fight."
Although Master Tian did not know how Marquis Luo Yun led his troops to capture the fortified city, he knew that the losses must have been considerable. If Runan City had such a large force, he would have the confidence to hold on. However, Master Lu shook his head at these words.
"Don't even think about reinforcements. The leader has other considerations. But the leader has ordered us to hold out for at least ten days on the Runan front. Five days have passed including today, and there are still five days left. Do you have any ideas?"
I originally thought that if I could hold out for ten days, it would be easy to capture the city. But now it seems that every extra day is torture. If we lose Runan, we will only have Shizhou to defend.
"this,"
Master Tian was speechless. What could he do? Runan City was so big. If the imperial army surrounded it, they would not be able to hold out for a day with the troops they had. It would be better for them to defend a small city for a long time. When Tian Ziang thought of the small city, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
"Captain, since the leader said that we should delay Luo Yunhou's army for ten days and not let them enter Xihe County, the leader didn't say where to delay them, did he?"
"I haven't said it yet. Do you have any idea?"
Seeing the flickering look in the eyes of Hall Master Tian, Lu Chuanjiang was somewhat suspicious. Could it be that there was really a good way?
"Captain, Runan City is too big. If we divide our troops to defend the city, Luo Yunhou's troops will not be able to hold it for a day. In this case, why don't we set up a false formation and then withdraw the troops northward to garrison the strong city of Shizhou?"
"You mean to abandon Runan City and hand it over to us?"
The tone was somewhat unfriendly. If the leader knew about this crime, who would be able to bear the responsibility? Moreover, this place is a strategic point between the north and the south. If it is lost, the whole world will be shocked.
"Captain, you can't say that. The leader's order is for us to hold back the imperial army for ten days. Five days have passed today. It's still a day's journey from Runan City to Shizhou. We are not abandoning the city today. There are still many women in the slave army. It's better to leave them behind to guard the city, close the city gates, and use them as a maze to delay the enemy for another day.
Even if we find them tomorrow, we won't pursue them immediately. This way, plus the journey north, we can delay for two days. When Luo Yunhou leads his army to Shizhou, he may not attack the city immediately, which counts as another day. Finally, relying on the natural barrier of Shizhou, it should not be difficult to hold out for two days."
The words are very convincing. These are just what I thought of in a hurry. But after careful consideration, they are not delusional, so it should work.
Lu Chuanjiang narrowed his eyes and looked at the approaching imperial army. If he didn't leave now, he might not be able to leave.
"Okay, send out an order immediately, let all the women in the slave army stay behind, there are about 30,000 of them, and don't take any of the young and beautiful ones with you. Everyone else, march out of the city immediately. Oh, and seal the city gates before you leave, quickly."
"Yes, Captain,"
Following Lü Chuanjiang's order, the entire Runan City was instantly mobilized. Those numb slave soldiers, no matter who they were, were driven out by the White Lotus Sect's army. All the female refugees were kicked out and placed on the city walls to guard.
All the remaining people were driven to gather at the north gate. Before they could react, the gate was opened, and the religious army, along with the slave army, marched north.
After he left, he never came back until the city gates were closed again. Only those stupid and ignorant women were still guarding the top of the city wall.
On the official road to Shizhou, there were nearly 100,000 troops, not a small number, heading north densely. Because it had not rained for many days, the official road was dusty. This movement made a lot of noise. Captain Lu and Master Tian led the army in front with solemn expressions.
"Captain, we need to speed up the march and not attract the attention of the imperial officers and soldiers. There has been no rain for many days and the land is dry, making it difficult to cover up the traces."
Looking at the huge army passing by, leaving many traces on the official road, the worry on his face became more and more serious.
Captain Lu also nodded. At this point, the only way out was to retreat northward. If they turned back, it would only increase the panic of their men.
"Send the order, march north quickly, do not stay,"
"Yes, Captain,"
After the whole army gave the order, the entire army retreating north suddenly accelerated and quickly left Runan City.
After this departure, the women who stayed in the city, although numb, were not really unresponsive. Several temporarily appointed hall masters all seemed at a loss. One of the women had her clothes intact, but unfortunately, there were spots on her clothes. It was unknown how much grievance and torture she had suffered before. Looking at the women in front of her who were at a loss, she said;
: "Sisters, those thieves have already escaped, and we sisters are the only ones left here, what should we do?"
The women in front of her, although not as charming as her, were also pretty girls from small families. Bruises were visible all over their bodies. It was unknown how much torture they had suffered from those thieves. Suddenly, their eyes became bright and they laughed miserably.
"Sister, we are all guilty people. All our family members have passed away, leaving only Liu Boyun. How can we avenge our family members?"
"Yes, if we were not good-looking, and were taken into the rooms of those high-ranking thieves, we would be like them, not even as good as a prostitute in a brothel."
The faces of the girls were filled with anger. They were originally daughters of wealthy families. If it weren't for the White Lotus Sect and other traitors, how could they have ended up like this?
"Okay, since you sisters all said so, I won't hide it anymore. The imperial army will arrive soon. After all, Runan is a city. They want us to sell our name and pledge our allegiance. I have heard a little about the Marquis Luo Yun. How about joining him and having a place to settle down?"
The girls looked at each other, knowing who their sister was talking about, but what was the point of finding a place to settle down? Which decent man would want a withered flower, not to mention those nobles?
"Sister, is it just selling a place to stay?"
As soon as the words came out, the eyes of the women contained other meanings. The head of the hall, Gong Zhiruo, smiled seductively.
"Whether it's successful or not, we still have to talk about it,"
Not far away, the smoke and dust became much thicker.
(End of this chapter)