Chapter 939
: King Jin is worried
Chapter 939: King Jin is worried
The breeze is coming,
On the official road east of the capital, enter from the pass of Nanshan Mountain, pass through the mountain, march along the valley bottom, and head south. After a distance of 100 miles, you can find the road heading south. The distance is shortened, but the mountain road is difficult to walk on, winding and winding, and most people are tired from walking.
The carriage of Beijing Prince Shui Rong was escorted by the shadow guards of the Central Army. It was moving slowly and bumpy all the way. Only Leng Lao was with him in the carriage. He lifted the curtain and took a look outside. The Sanshan Mausoleum in the east was right in front of him.
"Your Majesty, the army has already descended the valley. After passing through both ends of Nanshan, we will find the official road."
"Well, I haven't been out for a long time. I didn't expect that it would be uncomfortable to walk such a short distance."
Shui Rong sat forward a little. When he first got on the carriage, he was surprised that Mr. Leng had asked someone to bring a mattress on board. It turned out that it was used to prevent the carriage from being shaken.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Once you get out of the valley and find the official road, the road will be much smoother. I wonder if Your Majesty has thought of a countermeasure when you get there. Jinzhou is still easy to control, but Xihe County, although not as rich as Jiangnan, has a lot of money and the forces are complicated. Your Majesty should make plans early."
Leng Shiwen reminded that it was said that Xihe County was in chaos because of rampant bandits, numerous sects, and refusal to obey the king. The arable land was either in the hands of the gentry or in the hands of those martial arts sects. The people lost their land and could not make a living, so how could there not be chaos? It was a pity that the world was like this, and what could be done?
"Before, I also wanted to go to Jinzhou to reorganize the government army, and then go to the county city to reorganize the army, or wait for General Qi to arrive before going. Who would have thought that Yun Guang would arrive first? In this case, we must act quickly and go to the county city to take over the government army.
Although we need to take steady steps, if the White Lotus Sect really wreaks havoc in Xihe County, this king will lose face. The most important thing now is, how many government troops are there in the county city, or how many people are there who can be used? This is what this king is worried about. "
It seems that those counties are still in the hands of the court, but are the available soldiers really as registered? If there are half of the soldiers, I would be relieved. I am afraid that those people who have drunk the blood of the soldiers may not even reach one-third of the number. That would be troublesome.
"Your Highness, I think there should be half of the soldiers, otherwise, those officials can sit still, but Your Highness should be careful when you get there. Jinzhou's prefect Tian Wen is Your Highness's man. I have already sent him a letter, saying that we can provide Your Highness with 3,000 soldiers, led by the garrison commander Shi Wenshu, to assemble in the county city. Speaking of which, this man is a member of the Shi family."
Leng Lao had already told everyone what he had arranged in advance. The prefectural governor Tian Wenzhe in Jinzhou had already replied that the prefectural army could send out 3,000 men. This showed that the prefectural governor Tian Wenzhe still had his heart set on the palace. The old prince's efforts had not been in vain.
"Well, Tian Wenzhe is thoughtful. It is worth my efforts back then. With the addition of the county city and the garrison of Yangping, it should not be a problem to gather 30,000 troops."
Shui Rong calculated in his heart that the county garrison had 10,000 troops and the prefectural army had 30,000. Even if they were half of the number, they would still have 20,000 troops. Add to that the 5,000 troops from Yangping, and 30,000 would be a little short. With this calculation, plus the 30,000 troops from the Jiangnan camp, it would be no problem to gather a 100,000-strong army.
No matter how much trouble the White Lotus Sect can cause, those powerful bandits in Xihe County are enough for them to keep busy. They can deploy their troops in the county city and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. Who knows, they may be able to win a great victory under the county city of Xihe.
Unexpectedly, Leng Lao, who was sitting beside him, looked more and more miserable, and after thinking for a while, he advised;
"Your Highness, you must not pin your hopes on them. Xihe County has always been in the hands of the Li and Liu families. Even if it is a bit exaggerated, it may not be groundless. Moreover, the prefect of the county, Li Chengliang, is the head of the Li family, and the judge Liu Yunluo is also a difficult person. The most important thing is that the sects and bandits in the major mountains rely on the natural dangers of the mountains and the rivers to do whatever they want."
The shadow guard brought news that among the group of bandits, the largest one is Qingfeng Village. It is rumored that the chief of the village claims to be a descendant of the Xiang family of the Chu State. Not to mention some famous sects in the world, such as Huxiao Sect, Tiezhang Gang, Lingyun Pavilion, etc., which occupy the mountains and are no different from bandits.
"Humph, no matter if they are really difficult or just pretending to be difficult, as long as I gather the troops and prepare the money and food, there will be no trouble. If not, don't blame me for being ruthless."
These people are all local hooligans, they are tough and don't respond to soft words. If they delay their own affairs, they will delay the important affairs of the court. At that time, the law will not show mercy, so don't blame yourself for being cruel and ruthless. Maybe, you don't need to take action yourself, those evil women of the White Lotus Sect will eat them out.
"Your Highness, since it has come to this, you can ask the retainers in the palace to go back and report the news. Many of the disciples of these sects have come to the palace. Since the palace is supporting them, it is time for them to repay the kindness."
suddenly,
A vicious plan came to his mind. Since the White Lotus Sect could use the martial arts sects, why couldn't the prince do the same? He should give them a taste of their own medicine. The disciples of the martial arts sects should develop some skills. Instead of living a precarious life in the martial arts world, it would be better to seek a stable position in the court. If that doesn't work out, those official positions that can be redeemed after making meritorious contributions can all be used.
"This is a good idea. Elder Leng has arranged this matter. If you really make meritorious contributions, you can redeem those empty positions in the court."
Shui Rong narrowed his eyes slightly. How could he not understand what Leng Lao said? If that was the case, he should take advantage of it.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely do it properly."
Inside the car, the voices faded away, leaving only the sound of footsteps of more than ten thousand soldiers.
Jingnan,
The army marched southwards.
The sun rose up in the sky,
The entire camp was completely silent. The army had already assembled in place according to Marquis Luo Yun's arrangement, waiting to catch the Taiping Sect's bandits.
At this moment, Zhang Jinyu was already riding a horse, with his personal soldiers escorting the carriage of His Royal Highness Prince Jin, to the back of the central formation.
Looking at the deserted official road and then at the sun, I thought the Taiping Church would arrive here within an hour. Unfortunately, King Jin urged them to arrive a little early.
"My Lord, why haven't the people from the Taiping Sect arrived yet?"
Just thinking,
The curtain of the carriage was lifted. King Zhou Ding of Jin could no longer bear his impatience and once again stretched his head to look south, but he did not see any figure.
Zhang Jinyu wiped his forehead helplessly. It was normal for an army of hundreds of thousands to move slowly. Even if they deployed their troops, it would take a while.
"Your Highness, don't be anxious. If the scouts haven't reported yet, it means the enemy hasn't arrived yet. We are just waiting for the first wave of scouts to report. If that means our two armies will meet soon, it will be too early."
The explanation was nothing but simple truth, and the soldiers and generals following him hadn't even drawn their swords yet.
"My Lord, what if the scouts don't come to report?"
Zhou Ding was sitting in the carriage and couldn't see clearly, so he simply lifted the curtain and walked out to stand on the carriage, looking south. However, he was frightened by the two eunuchs serving in the carriage, who hurried out to pull him away.
Seeing that His Highness was unwilling, Zhang Jinyu waved his hand;
"It's okay. The enemy troops haven't arrived yet. It doesn't hurt to take a look."
"Yes, sir, I obey your command."
The two eunuchs looked reluctant and looked around vigilantly. It seemed that they were the people prepared by the palace for the prince. That was good, in order to avoid chaos if a fight broke out.
Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Jin had straightened his clothes, Zhang Jinyu explained;
"Your Highness, if the scouts have not returned, it means two things: one is that the enemy army has not arrived yet, and the other is that the enemy army has already arrived and the scouts have all died."
But basically, neither of these two situations will happen, because more than one team of scouts will be sent out, and every half an hour or an hour, a message will be sent back.
"Oh, so that's the case. I was worried and couldn't sleep last night. I don't know if I can do my best in today's battle."
Zhang Jinyu turned around and glanced at His Royal Highness Prince Jin. As expected, there were two slightly dark eye sockets on his fair face. He really didn't sleep well.
"Your Highness, please be at ease. Man proposes, God disposes. Whether it succeeds or not depends on God's will."
As the two of them talked, the imperial guards and the imperial city guards closely guarded the carriage, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
At this moment,
On the official road,
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder. A dusty scout rushed to the front of the battle formation, turned his horse around, and passed by the battle formation until he was in front of King Jin and Marquis Luo Yun. He then suddenly pulled the reins and stopped both the man and the horse in front of them.
"Report! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have been ordered to investigate. The vanguard troops of the Taiping Sect are less than 20 miles away from our army. They are marching very fast, which is very rare," the scout said in a hurried voice, panting. After a burst of mad running, beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks, mixed with gray dust, leaving a trail of mud marks.
The march was fast.
Zhang Jinyu's eyes narrowed. Could it be that the Chu Sect Leader thought the same as he did, using speed to defeat speed?
Upon hearing this, King Zhou Ding of Jin was delighted, his eyes were like torches, and he stared at the scout and asked;
"Can you see clearly how strong the enemy army is? Is the marching team in an orderly manner? Is there anything unusual?"
The scout did not dare to slack off and hurriedly replied;
"Your Highness, there are too many soldiers in the rear of the enemy army, so I can't see clearly, but the vanguard has 50,000 soldiers, and they are very well organized. They look like the imperial court's soldiers, right?"
Hesitation,
He nodded affirmatively again.
Zhang Jinyu frowned slightly. The troops were marching in an orderly manner and at a fast speed. It turned out that these were the troops of the master behind the scenes. My goodness, the coffin was already on top of them.
"Can you see whose flag it is?"
I felt a little confused. Since they had such elite soldiers, the general should not be an unknown person.
"Reporting to the Marquis, there are so many flags in the enemy army, and it is difficult for me to recognize them, but at the front, there is a Chu and another Zuo. I can't see the flags behind, and I am afraid I will be discovered."
When the scout replied, he was a little nervous. He made three explorations, but he could only stay a little further away and didn't dare to get too close.
The word "Chu" in the flag is easy to understand. It means Chu Yiyue, the deputy leader of Taiping Sect. As for the word "Zuo", it is either a core figure of Taiping Sect or a general of the person behind the scenes.
"Okay, I'll give you credit for this. I'll try again."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
The scout clasped his fists, turned his horse's head, waved his whip, and disappeared from sight again.
King Zhou Ding of Jin looked at the people going away, slightly distracted, and asked in a deep voice;
"My Lord, the scout just mentioned that those bandits are somewhat unusual."
After just experiencing a war, there are still such orderly troops. Obviously, it is not right. It is rare. Even the elite troops of the court would not be like this. Luo Yunhou probably meant this when he asked.
Zhang Jinyu looked stern and nodded in response;
"Your Highness is right. It seems that the Taiping Cult thieves have already played all their cards. Now that they have taken action, we will know whether the person behind it is a human or a ghost after a fight."
Looking at the official road in the south, you can vaguely see smoke and dust rolling in, it's almost there.
At the end of Anyang Mountains,
On the east official road,
The Taiping Sect's army marched from south to north like a coiled earth dragon. In the center of the army, the Taiping Sect leader Chu and the former prince's guard commander Zuo Feng walked side by side with solemn expressions. Around them, each of them followed behind several generals, accompanying them all the way.
"Master Chu, you have gone to great lengths to go north, and even asked your master to exchange Guangping for 100,000 reinforcements. Although they are new soldiers, they are still elite troops. I just don't understand why Master Chu didn't listen to the advice of the left protector of your sect and take Daliang City first to rely on, and then slowly make plans. It's better to be safe."
The 100,000 new soldiers were all from the Linshan County Army, as well as the recruited young and strong men. After the bloody battle for the city defense, they were already full of evil spirits. They had originally planned to take them back to Weizhou to reorganize the army, but after receiving a secret letter from His Highness, they changed their minds and took these soldiers north.
He had not figured out whether His Highness wanted to expose himself in advance or had other intentions in forming an alliance with the Taiping Sect. Today was already the beginning of June, and there were only a few days left before the birthday banquet of the retired emperor in the capital. Perhaps His Highness still couldn't let it go, no wonder Lord Yu did not say anything to stop him.
"Commander Zuo, you are too kind. I thought the same as you did before, but time waits for no one. Although the grain in the Linshan County government warehouse has solved the urgent problem and is enough for the army, there are starving people all over the southern part of the capital. Some people even have to trade their children for food. There is no such thing as too much grain, but it is just a drop in the bucket. So many people have died in the siege for several days. Although I have sympathy, I can do nothing about it."
It can be said that the number of people who died in battle was far less than those who died of starvation. Although it is hard to bear, if more people died, one more person could be saved, that's all.
After hearing this, Zuo Feng felt that this person was really weird. A chill rose from the soles of his feet. The murderous leader Chu actually began to feel compassion for the world. The number of slave soldiers killed under the city of Linshan County was not 10,000 or 50,000, but nearly 100,000. Now he was telling him these things, and his goal was not to take over Tongzhou City.
"Master Chu is indeed kindhearted. He still cares about the disaster victims. The court is ashamed to hear this. I wonder if Master Chu is really going to raid Tongzhou, or is he planning to attack the capital?"
The direction he is heading now is straight to the official road between Tongzhou and the capital. It is fine to catch the imperial court off guard, but it is far from the right time to attack the important capital. The White Lotus Sect died under the city of Tongzhou. Although Tongzhou is called a city, it is also a grain storage fortress with high walls and strong fortresses. It cannot be taken in a short time. I wonder what this person is planning?
"Don't worry, Commander Zuo. We will only attack Tongzhou City, and then fight against the Beijing Camp to the north of Tongzhou City. As long as we mobilize troops in the imperial capital, the whole world will be shaken.
At that time, you said that the majesty of the imperial court was still there. It would be best if Tongzhou City could be captured. If not, it would be good to scare those powerful people so much that they can't sleep. Sometimes, you don't have to win every time."
Chu Yiyue smiled. The reason why so many heroes from all over the world came to join the Taiping Sect was because in the capital, in the eyes of the people, killing the imperial guards was as easy as butchering dogs. Only the people from the Taiping Sect could do it.
That was also the battle that made him famous, so instead of being passively led by the nose, he might as well fight hard and fight his way out. I think the White Lotus Sect back then had no choice but to take this step.
Seeing the false sincerity on Sect Leader Chu's face, all the hypocritical words were praising him, Zuo Feng took a breath of cold air secretly. In his words, the lives of hundreds of thousands of brothers were for the justice of the world, then why did these soldiers he brought with him have such a miserable fate? But since he could say these words, he was not afraid that someone would know whether His Highness had other plans. Thinking about what was written in the secret letter, what would they gain by fighting with 100,000 soldiers? The Beijing Camp had more people than them.
"Master Chu, although I don't know what you are planning, I still want to tell you that although Wang Ziteng has some reputation, he is at best a paper-talker. If he loses, then so be it. In the past, the imperial court really didn't have anyone who could do it.
But it is different now. Marquis Luo Yun has been bewitched by the current emperor, and has stayed in the capital city all the time. He has married beautiful wives and concubines, one better than the other, and seems to be enjoying himself. In terms of military strategy, this person is extremely difficult to deal with. Therefore, he should be the one we meet in the capital city, and Master Chu should be careful. "
Although I can't see through the intentions of the people around me, I still need to remind them. At present, it seems that the Taiping Sect has also sent half of its elite troops to the north. If they really lose the battle, the situation in southern Beijing will be reversed, and the Taiping Sect will be at a disadvantage. There is also the White Lotus Sect. By the way, there has been no news from them during this period.
"Don't worry, Commander Zuo. If Marquis Luo Yun is really leading the troops, we should be more careful. Unfortunately, the soldiers he leads are not his trusted troops outside the Great Wall, but those old soldiers in the Beijing camp. Even if we can't defeat them, won't I avoid their sharp edge?"
Chu Yiyue shook his head. If he really met Luo Yunhou leading his troops, he would have to fight. Soldiers are soldiers and generals are generals. Whether Luo Yunhou, who was so old, was really capable or not, would be known after a fight.
Seeing the contempt in Master Chu's eyes, Zuo Feng knew that what he said was not taken seriously by Master Chu, so he stopped talking about it and asked instead;
"Master Chu, there is one more thing. Since the White Lotus Sect has already started an uprising and seized Huaizhou City and the important town of Runan, why didn't Master Chu borrow troops from the White Lotus Sect? Is there any explanation for this?"
"Ahaha, Commander Zuo has misunderstood. Part of the White Lotus's forces, like your master, have gone to the mountains in the south. The rest will have to go north to Xihe County. Their forces are already weak. If they are divided and sent west, there will be no one left to threaten Jiangnan."
"Master Chu, you are joking. The White Lotus Sect has few people?"
There was some suspicion in Zuo Feng's eyes. He believed that the court had few soldiers. Those generals and garrisons were all bloodthirsty, but he had never heard that the White Lotus Sect had few people. When the White Lotus Sect was in turmoil, there were so many people that they claimed to have millions of people. How could there be few people? Not to mention that when they went north to Beijing, there were as many as 500,000 people, shocking the court and the public. If it weren't for the two old Dukes of the Jia family, who led the Beijing Camp and the brothers of the Imperial Guards to fight to the death, who knows what would have happened!
(End of this chapter)