Chapter 1031
Don’t Chase the Enemy
Chapter 1031 Don’t Chase the Enemy
Rongguo Mansion,
In Rongqing Hall,
As Shopkeeper Yu spoke with a smile, everyone in the room smiled. When it comes to Luo Yunhou, everyone knows that he and Ningguo Mansion are having a big fight over the marriage. The maid Sanchun has a strange look in her eyes and even casts her eyes on Xichun. After all this, they are still a family.
Even Shi Xiangyun, who was sitting there with them, felt her face blush a little. After coming to the Duke's Mansion, she knew many things, but she just listened and did not interrupt the many small conversations. Fortunately, the three sisters were very easy to get along with.
Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows and looked at the marriage certificate in Jia's mother's hand. If it was done, then how to discuss the marriage and give the betrothal gifts? She would have to find someone new. Who would she find to give the betrothal gifts?
Grandmother Jia also pondered these ideas in her mind. On the old relatives' side, all of them were military merits, and those who proposed marriages needed to find civil officials, and the number of people was very small. On Jia Zheng's side, those who were highly respected might not be able to come, and those who could come were not important enough.
As for Marquis Luo Yun, we can only ask Qin Ye to help, but Sir Qin, otherwise we have to ask Manager Yu to make the arrangements!
"Good, good. Now that the marriage certificate has been written, what do you think about the betrothal gift?"
"Oh, old lady, look at what you said. You can propose whenever you want. I, the matchmaker, will definitely go with you and share in the happiness of your mansion."
Yu Lan did not answer, but smiled and asked Grandmother Jia to make the decision. After all, the imperial residence was still under construction and it involved the palace, so it was not easy for her to make arrangements.
But Jia's mother didn't think so. The matchmaker had to consider the time. Seeing that the old lady had spoken, Yu Lan didn't refuse. After thinking about it, she replied;
"You are really embarrassing me, old lady. I dare not show my ugliness here. Since you asked me to speak, I have to speak. As the saying goes, when the melon is ripe, it will fall into place naturally. Since the marriage certificate has been written, the betrothal can't be delayed. It is better to settle it early. The girl of the Meng family is well-educated and talented. If she can marry into the family one day earlier and bring the Meng family's literary spirit, it will be a double blessing."
Yu Lan's mind turned. Seeing that the Duke's Mansion and the Meng family were getting married, with the Rongguo Mansion taking the lead, would the military honors in the capital also follow the Rongguo Mansion and get married with the civil officials to get closer to each other? In that case, the situation that the Duke of Zhenguo and others had worked so hard to build would probably be gone.
"That's good. If the engagement is made early, we can have less worries. I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Yu to come along when the time comes. Yuanyang, hurry up and give the wedding money."
Jia's mother called out, and Yuanyang came out from behind, holding two gold ingots and handing them over. Yu Lan was surprised. She was given so much, so how could she accept it?
"Old lady, just give me some money. I don't dare to take such a large amount of wedding money."
Seeing that Shopkeeper Yu kept declining, Wang Xifeng became jealous and took two gold ingots and stuffed them into Shopkeeper Yu's hands, muttering:
"You, why are you being so polite? This is the wedding money from the mansion. Your trip here is to help the old lady solve her worries. The sooner the better. When the time comes, I will send someone to inform you."
"In that case, I won't be polite. Now that the good news has been delivered, old lady, I dare not disturb you any further. I will take my leave now."
Yu Lan accepted the gold and left tactfully. Grandmother Jia wanted to discuss things with the second son's family, so she didn't try to keep him and asked Feng Yatou to see him off.
Even after the two of them left the inner hall, Grandmother Jia had not yet come to her senses, and was still thinking about something.
outside the house,
The two girls walked side by side and arrived at the central courtyard. Wang Xifeng couldn't help but ask:
"Manager Yu, what are you talking about? We even brought the marriage certificate. The girl from the Meng family is good, but when I visited her, I saw that she didn't seem to be very willing."
Wang Xifeng recalled that day, saying that she was waiting for the imperial examination to be over, which was obviously to see whether Baoyu had passed or not. During the time when she was waiting for the results to be announced, there was no news that Baoyu had not passed, and she had not received a reply from the Meng family for a long time. If it were not for her eldest sister-in-law, Lang Ge'er would have registered Baoyu for the Imperial College, this marriage would have been ruined.
Yu Lan had already found out everything about this matter. Although this Second Master Bao was good in every way, he had no title or fame. If the family was divided, it would be hard to say what would happen. Fortunately, the Empress in the palace was there.
"Oh, you are the Second Madam, and you are still afraid of these things. Isn't the Meng family also being picky now? They all say that fame and status are good. Your Second Master Bao is now the uncle of the emperor. Who wouldn't want to see him? I think the Meng family is because of this. If the marriage can be settled early, when the palace visits her parents, cough cough,"
suddenly,
Shopkeeper Yu coughed a few times and stopped talking. Wang Xifeng was listening intently, but she woke up after hearing the cough. She realized that there were some things she shouldn't say, so she nodded.
"Shopkeeper Yu is absolutely right. It was me who would never have thought of this. Please."
The two girls each had their own concerns. When they arrived outside the mansion, Wang Xifeng took Ping'er and sent Manager Yu to the carriage. They watched him leave. Seeing him leave, Ping'er called out from behind,
"Grandma, since the marriage is set, you should be happy, why are you still hiding something?"
"Hmph, what do you know, little bastard? If a new bride comes into the family, it will be hard for me, the housekeeper, to do my job. That girl from the Meng family doesn't look simple either. Anyway, where is the eldest sister-in-law?"
Thinking of Baoyu, it was fine. If Meng Jiaya became a lady, it would be hard to say. Thinking of what the old lady had told me, I wondered what the eldest sister-in-law had been busy with these days.
"Replying to Grandma, Grandma has already started to ask the servants to carry things to the backyard of Ningguo Mansion,"
"Okay, let's go and take a look."
Jingnan,
At the Ru'nan City Governor's Mansion,
The courtyard was already filled with smoke, and the house was cleaned up. In the main hall of the county governor's mansion,
Zhang Jinyu sat in the main seat with his broad horse and golden sword, and in the hall sat several main generals and four leaders of the Jianghu. At the last seat sat several women from the White Lotus Sect who had just surrendered.
Not to mention the curiosity of the generals, King Zhou Ding of Jin, who was sitting in the front, kept looking back, his eyes full of questions.
Although no one spoke, they were still waiting for the Marquis to speak first.
Zhang Jinyu glanced around the hall. He was surrounded by personal soldiers. Ning Bian and Ji Yunhui stayed behind the King of Jin to prevent any accidents. The reason why the three members of the White Lotus Sect were allowed into the room was also the result of Zhang Jinyu's careful consideration. It was said that the White Lotus Sect was a professional rebel. No matter who came to power in every dynasty, they would rebel. They were famous for it.
"Master Chu, since you are the defender of Runan City, why are all the soldiers in the city women? Where are the others?"
This question,
Zhang Jinyu didn't understand it either. Could it be that the White Lotus Sect leader was deliberately showing weakness to the enemy? But the huge Runan City was given away without any hesitation. Wasn't it too generous? This gift was a bit too heavy.
"My Lord, there were originally a large number of troops in the city. When my Lord led his troops here, Captain Lu listened to the advice of Master Tian, saying that it would be better to gather troops to defend Shizhou instead of staying in Runan, so he hurriedly gathered troops and marched north out of the city."
Chu Minjun of the White Lotus Sect stood up and clasped his fists. He did not shy away from others and directly called himself a subordinate, which surprised everyone in the room. He really dared to say anything.
Only Lan Yue'er, who was standing behind Luo Yunhou, had a thoughtful look in her eyes. She couldn't understand the White Lotus Sect's movements, let alone others. Could it be that they didn't want to fight with her husband?
"Oh, what a coincidence! He left as soon as I arrived. Who are this Captain Lu and Master Tian?"
Zhang Jinyu is most annoyed by these sect positions. Those who don't know would think they are very important, but in fact they are all cannon fodder. However, he also knows that the most capable fighters under him have to rely on these leaders to lead the troops.
Chu Minjun looked a little uncomfortable. The reason why Captain Lu was able to leave was because he was forced to flee in a hurry by the army of Marquis Luo Yun. Fortunately, she had the opportunity. "No one dares to underestimate the prestige of the Marquis. Captain Lu is the commander of Runan City, and Master Tian is the commander of Qinzhou City. Yesterday, Master Tian led 20,000 elite religious troops into the city. Today, he also gave advice and retreated to the north."
Hearing about this "witch", no, this newly surrendered person, the people in the room seemed a little surprised. Zhang Jinyu found it interesting. It seemed that he had heard General Yin say before that the bandits in Qinzhou City had escaped first. It seemed that this was not a coincidence.
"It sounds interesting. They left without fighting. This means that all the troops in Runan City are gathered in Shizhou City. Runan City is also an important town in the south and northwest of Beijing. When I entered the city, I saw a lot of city defense items piled up on the top of the city. Why did they leave so decisively?"
The more this happened, the more suspicious it felt. If it was the Taiping Sect, they would have fought to the death in every city and place. If the main force had not been wiped out, there would be no telling how many people would be left on the way south. Even if they withdrew, the city would have been burned to the ground. On the contrary, the White Lotus Sect almost handed over everything. There was even a lot of grain and silver stored in the city's storehouse. It was strange to think about it.
"My Lord, I am not too sure, but I heard once that it was a secret order from the leader, ahem, the bandit chief, but I don't know the details."
As if he knew he had said something wrong, Chu Minjun quickly changed his address. The others frowned when they heard it. They cared about the secret order, not the address. Only Lan Yueer stood there, looking at this person strangely. He said one thing and meant another. If he was caught by the leader, he would be stripped naked and punished according to the order.
Zhang Jinyu sat there, thinking for a long time, but he couldn't figure out what the White Lotus Sect's intention was. Could it be that they wanted him to let them go by this method? How could it be possible? Looking at the several commanders sitting in the east, he asked;
"General Duan, what do you guys think?"
At this moment, Duan Wenyuan was sitting obediently in a seat behind the King of Jin. When he first came in, he was a little surprised. Why is there a witch from the White Lotus Sect here? After all this time, he turned around and asked the Marquis, "Why is there a witch from the White Lotus Sect here?"
He moved slightly and stood up, clasping his fists.
"My Lord, I have not figured out why the White Lotus Church made such an arrangement, especially the garrison commander of Runan City and those soldiers, who are all women. I am ignorant and have never encountered such a situation. We cannot rely on these 20,000 women to drag down the army. We can only say that our army will remain motionless and continue to move north. Shizhou is the gateway to Xihe County. If we give it up, the White Lotus Church may be in a dilemma."
"Yes, Lord, it is said that the White Lotus Sect is full of tricks. I don't believe that they can keep these women. As for the group of deserters, they are thinking of the war between Qi and Wei during the Warring States Period, where they used the method of reducing stoves to surround and kill the famous Wei general Pang Juan. But our army has hundreds of thousands of people, so it shouldn't be possible."
The person who spoke was General Dingnan Yin Renchang. Seeing his doubtful tone, he stood up and looked at the women sitting opposite him with a suspicious look. Such a charming thief, could he want to seduce the Marquis and His Highness? This must be guarded against.
As if he suddenly thought of something, but didn't dare to speak, he could only stand there and kept looking around, and gave a look to Hu Shoucheng in front of him. Hu Shoucheng received the signal, but didn't know what it meant. He stood up hesitantly, but spoke quickly.
"My Lord, we still have more than 40,000 cavalrymen. Why don't I lead my troops to chase them and capture some of the enemy soldiers? Then we will know what they are planning. As for what General Yin said about following the method of Sun Bin of Qi to reduce the number of stoves, I don't think so. Now that the two armies are fighting, their main forces are no longer the same as before. There is no siege or ambush. As long as the army arrives at the city, it will be clear at a glance whether they are human or ghost."
What he said was very exciting, which made Zhang Jinyu quite agree. The method of reducing the number of stoves was just a trick to deceive Pang Juan, so that he could pursue lightly and leave the main force. Once surrounded, he would be killed. As for this Chu Minjun, her name was similar to that of the Yuan Dynasty in the previous life. She looked good too. These tens of thousands of women came at the wrong time.
"General Hu, don't worry. What I just said is good. Take a night's rest and head north to Shizhou tomorrow. We will know what the White Lotus Sect leader is up to after we capture Shizhou. Once Shizhou is destroyed, only Yangping and the county city will be left. There won't be much left for the thieves in this world."
Then he looked at the three women in the hall, one female helmsman, two female hall masters, and four sect masters. They were all wiped out in one fell swoop.
"As for the surrendered bandits, leave them all in Runan City and have the Right Guard Song Jin lead 5,000 soldiers to watch over them. Remember, keep your pants safe and don't cause any trouble. The rest of you should also go back and have a good rest."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Everyone stood up, clasped their fists and left. After a moment, footsteps were heard and the people in the room dispersed. Only Zhang Jinyu and Prince Jin sat firmly in their seats.
a long time,
The King of Jin couldn't bear it at first. He felt a little unnatural when he entered the city today. Such a big city was actually handed over. Although he didn't know much about military tactics, if Runan City was lost, the White Lotus Sect would have cut off its retreat. Thinking of this, he asked,
"My Lord, do you think the words of those people are reliable? I always feel a little suspicious."
The more he argued, the clearer the facts became, and the more he spoke, the more reasonable his words became. Zhang Jinyu patted the dust off his trouser legs. He had drunk enough dust all along the way.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. No matter what, Runan City has been taken. The court will win this battle. There are only a group of unarmed women in the city. I will leave them in Runan City to guard them. If they are sincere in surrendering to the court, there will be no problem. If they are pretending, the Right Guard Song Jin knows what to do."
His eyes flashed with a fierce look, and the only thing he wanted to say was "kill". Whether it was the White Lotus Sect or the Taiping Sect, they had killed enough people.
"That's true. My Lord is very thoughtful. But what did General Yin say just now about the method of reducing stoves in Qi and Wei? What was the purpose?"
The King of Jin was particularly curious about this. He had read most of the classics of various schools of thought about the Warring States Period, but had never heard of these. Zhang Jinyu smiled slightly. His Highness was really curious, but he didn't really understand this matter. He probably knew something.
"Your Highness, I cannot explain the details. The general idea is that Sun Bin of Qi and Pang Juan of Wei led their troops to fight each other. In the end, one escaped while the other chased. In order to confuse Pang Juan, Sun Bin of Qi reduced the number of stoves every time he set up camp. Every time Pang Juan led his troops to chase, he would check and thought that the Qi soldiers were fleeing, so he led his elite troops to pursue them lightly, but was ambushed and committed suicide after his defeat."
That's probably what happened. The history books don't record how they chased and fought. Zhang Jinyu touched his chin and felt vaguely that it was somewhat similar to what was happening now, one chasing and the other escaping, except that the numbers were reversed.
"That's not right. How could Pang Juan think that the Qi soldiers were fleeing? Even though there are fewer stoves, the soldiers are eating in batches, so the number of people won't necessarily decrease. Besides, what's the purpose of scouts? We can't just close our eyes and chase after them. Even if we fail in the end, we can still break through, right?"
Zhou Ding was full of disbelief. This time he went south with the Marquis, he learned a lot about military affairs. The soldiers also ate in batches, which had a clear path to follow. This saved space and time, and it didn't get too busy. The whole camp was in perfect order. The famous generals in ancient times were no better than him.
Seeing the King of Jin's confident words, Zhang Jinyu was a little stunned. Thinking about it carefully, it was true. If it weren't for Pang Juan of Wei who was anxious and led the army to march slowly, it might be that Sun Bin was finished.
"Your Highness is indeed a man of insight. So, we should not be impatient in all matters. Just like this time, it seems that the White Lotus Sect is showing weakness to the enemy. Even if we chase them, we may still catch up. However, the soldiers are tired, and the enemy army has left Runan City. The intelligence is not detailed. It is not advisable to pursue them rashly. It is better to have a good rest in the city for one night, send out scouts to find out the situation, and take action tomorrow. Even if there is an ambush, we can break it by force."
These words were spoken with great determination, which shocked the King of Jin. He put aside his worries. He was just thinking, could it be that the White Lotus Sect had set up some conspiracy, especially these thieves who surrendered to him?
"My Lord, are these villains truly willing to surrender to the imperial court?"
"Your Highness is obsessed. It doesn't matter whether they are sincere or not. Since they surrendered, everyone in the world knows about it. They all know that they handed over Runan City to the court. Even if they are false, it doesn't matter. Once they take the first step, there is no turning back. Besides, they are all women. Your Highness has a broad mind, so how can he not tolerate these people?"
Zhang Jinyu sighed quietly. From ancient times to the present, what they feared least was the opponents. No matter how strong the opponents were, they would just fight. What they feared instead was problems within the sect. If this woman really surrendered, she would definitely be on the White Lotus Sect's kill list.
(End of this chapter)