Uncle Zhou sat on the bed, just thinking about his own thoughts. After Mrs. Cui finished her work, she saw that Uncle Zhou was silent and just bowed his head in thought. She felt a little strange and said softly: "Dad, you have been back for a long time without saying a word. What are you thinking about?"
Uncle Zhou sighed and said: "Oh, it's nothing. Originally, our villa was just a family like us, taking care of each other. Living together was nothing more than farming and working, and we were all members of a responsible family. Since this master came here, Well, when I started this school, I thought it was useless. But the second son, the Wang family, and the Zhou family all agreed, so I let them do it. But now they are running a group training Baojia. But the trouble is getting bigger and bigger. I always feel that this matter is getting bigger and bigger. I really don’t know whether it is a blessing or a curse for our villa. Today is a good day, but I am going to sell smuggled salt. This is a matter of beheading. I am afraid it will bring trouble to the villa? "
After hearing this, Mrs. Cui said softly: "His father, although you never said it, I have already seen it. You don't agree with what Zhou Xing did. It's just because of the second brother and the others that you just go along with it. Dad, tell me, how is this kid Zhou Xing?"
Uncle Zhou said in a muffled voice: "When it comes to talent and learning, no one can compare to Zhou Xing. He has such a long and hard work. These children have all grown up a lot and are very diligent and enthusiastic."
Ms. Cui added, "What do you think of our second brother?"
Uncle Zhou replied: "It goes without saying that my second brother has always been a first-class figure in the brothers' business since he was a child. Not only is he smart and capable, but the brothers and nephews are also devoted to each other. In this original villa, why do they If you have any big or small issues, you have to come to me to pick the first one. In fact, most of this is because of the second brother. The third brother is smart and responsible. I, the eldest brother, really got into the hands of the brothers. There’s light!”
Cui smiled and said: "His father, you can see clearly. However, it is not just the second brother and the others who support you. If you were not loyal and honest in your work, you may not be able to convince other people just by being shrewd and capable. You must know that the Wang family, Zhou family, and Chen family are all arrogant people."
Ms. Cui paused for a moment, and then continued: "I know what you are thinking. You hope that our villa will always be like before, with everyone being harmonious, forgive me, and live a peaceful life forever."
Uncle Zhou raised his head, looked at Mrs. Cui and said: "You are right. When you married me into a farmer's family, you persuaded me to move to this mountain, saying that it was too chaotic outside, and only in these barren mountains and valleys could I live a peaceful life. But, haven’t we been living well in the past ten years or so? It’s just a matter of opening a school. What’s the point of training with the Baojia regiment? Why don’t we still go out to fight?”
Mrs. Cui sighed and said: "His father, these peaceful days are naturally good, otherwise I would not be well. I lost our fields and properties outside and persuaded our family to move here. But this valley, although it is remote, , after all, it is not completely connected to the outside. We can move in, and others can come in, so Huang Hai, Zhangjiang and others, didn’t they just have so many people come here at once?”
"If there are only a few people, they will naturally be united and everything will be easy to handle. But if there are too many people, if thousands or tens of thousands of people come in, it will not work just by being friendly. Who knows what someone is thinking? ? We really need a set of rules to control them. Although Zhou Xing's methods are a bit cumbersome, they are really effective, aren't they? Nearly a hundred families of disaster victims have been settled well now. Although our villa is There have been so many people, but they are more united than before. Isn’t this all the result of Zhou Xing’s Baojia and the public rent of public land?”
Uncle Zhou said: "We say that Baojia and Gongtian are not good. I think the regiment is training to be brave. Everyone is busy with work, which is already hard work. They have to practice often and act like an army. That is of no use. .”
Cui said: "Dad, this is your short-sightedness. This villa is getting bigger and bigger. It is inevitable that some blind bandits will come to harass you in the future, or some stragglers will break up. If they come into the valley, , if we are unprepared, then we will be nothing but chickens and fishes waiting to be slaughtered. Dad, you don’t know, the defeat of these stragglers is the most abominable thing. Although we can’t fight, but if it harms our common people, they are all so bold. Cruel and murderous without blinking an eye.”
Uncle Zhou nodded and said: "I also know this truth, but I always feel that Zhou Xing's group training is not as simple as you said."
Cui said with a smile: "That's natural. This kid Zhou Xing is really broad in his approach. In my opinion, as long as his methods are used properly, he can put them in one county and pacify them. Going to a state and making it peaceful is indeed a good way to govern the world and bring peace to the people. To be honest, he is a county prince after all, so his knowledge is extraordinary."
Uncle Zhou said: "What I'm afraid of is that he won't forget his identity as a prince, and he will be so obsessed with it that he will drag down our villa in the future."
Ms. Cui said: "This kid is not the kind of person who is ambitious and wants to make great achievements. He is quite down-to-earth and does whatever he takes. It can be seen that he really wants to do something for our villa. , put in some effort. If it weren't for this, the second brother and the others wouldn't be able to listen to whatever he says."
Uncle Zhou nodded: "Yes, my second brother is more knowledgeable and knowledgeable than me. Since he is very supportive, he must be right. It seems that I am worrying too much."
When Mrs. Cui saw that Uncle Zhou's mind had changed, she extinguished the pine trees and the couple went to have a rest.
At dawn, Huang Hai, Zhou Bao, Zhou Can and Wang Tong packed up their forks, ropes, waist knives and bows and arrows, greeted each other, went out of the mountain and went down the river valley. This riverside road was originally a mountain stream stall, barely passable by pedestrians. It couldn't really be called a road. After walking straight for more than an hour, we approached the official road.
We still don't know how the battle outside is going to be, so the four of them don't dare to be careless. They prepare their bows, arrows, knives and forks, and go to the official road. When they look towards the official road, they see that it is quiet and lifeless. Zhou Can volunteered to explore the road ahead. Zhou Bao knew that Zhou Can was smart, bold and careful, and his martial arts was not bad, so he immediately agreed. The four of them agreed on a whistle signal, one in front and three behind, and walked towards the official road.
Zhou Can was not reckless. When he arrived at the official road, he crouched down in the forest and hid his figure with a tree. He looked carefully to the left and right. He saw the winding pipes extending gracefully along with the mountain. There was not a single figure in sight. And, in the grass and woods beside the road, birds were flying in and out, nothing unusual. Zhou Can imitated the song of birds and whistled, notifying the three people behind him. He followed the official road and relied on the trees and stones beside the official road to move forward. Every few hundred steps he took, he followed the same pattern again. Observe carefully and decide that there is no danger before moving forward. Along the way, we have avoided three hurdles.
Seeing that the sun was in the middle of the day, the four of them followed the official road and approached the mouth of a valley. Although there was nothing unusual outside the valley, Zhou Can did not dare to be careless at all. He still concealed himself and searched the valley carefully. Less than a mile into the valley, I saw a few faint tents set up on the mountain, and there were soldiers moving around. When I looked closer, although there was no human figure, there were lights piercing from time to time in the forest beside the road within a hundred steps. Chan understood that it was the sunlight reflected from the swords of the officers and soldiers who were ambushing and standing sentry. Since there was an ambush, the valley seemed impassable.
Zhou Can retreated quietly, and the four of them went deep into the forest, eating some dry food and discussing their whereabouts.
The mountain road has been blocked, and there is no other way to think of. They go over the mountains and go around. The four of them are young and strong, and they are from mountain households. They are not afraid of climbing over the mountains, so they rested for a while. , the four of them got together, determined the direction, and went straight up the mountain and through the forest. There were some cliffs and valleys blocking the way. The four of them worked together to go around as much as they could, and as far as they could go. Although it was difficult, fortunately I can concentrate on walking and my speed is not much slower.
It took a full three hours to climb over several mountains on the side of the valley. This side of the mountain is the boundary of Sanquan. When the four of them stood on the top of the mountain and looked at it, they saw a huge basin in front of them. The radius is more than 20 miles. The official road passes through the valley in the north, and in the basin, heading south, less than 2 miles away, is the city of Sanquan County.
Although Sanquan City is just a county town, it is located at the entrance of the valley official road leading to Xingyuan, guarding the throat of Chengdu Prefecture Road into Hanzhong. Ever since Wang Jian entered Sichuan from Lizhou and seized the land in the east and west Sichuan, he gradually had more than 100,000 powerful soldiers, and he had long had the intention of plotting against Hanzhong. It's just that King Yuqi Zhou Maozhen's army was not weak and he never dared to act rashly.
King Qi Zhou Maozhen knew that Wang Jian was not a good person, and his main territory was Hanzhong and the southern part of western Guanzhong. Although the court was jealous and would not allow him to take over the Shannan West Road Jiedu Envoy, the current Shannan West Road Jiedu Envoy was He is his adopted son Zhou Jimi, and he is also his true one. As the rear base of King Qi, Hanzhong has always been an important town with strong military strength. Naturally, it will not relax its defense against Wang Jian's Shu army.
There are the troops of King Qi in the north of Hanzhong, and there are high mountains and ridges to the east and west with no roads. Therefore, Zhou Jimi's main concern is on Wang Jian in the middle of Shu. Sanquan County is the throat of the front, and Zhou Jimi is careful. Soon, not only were more than 10,000 elite soldiers deployed, but the city was repaired and repaired again and again, making it extremely tall and strong.
At present, King Qi and King Dongping are fighting fiercely to control the imperial court. In several battles in Guanzhong, King Qi was defeated and was besieged in Fengxiang City. The situation was so critical. Although he knew that Wang Jian was eyeing Hanzhong, King Qi Zhou Maozhen couldn't wait to look ahead and continuously mobilized elite troops and generals from the west road of Shannan to go north for reinforcements. The troops left behind in Hanzhong are much weaker than before.
Wang Jian, the king of Shu, was originally a man of great power and wisdom. The situation in the situation occupied the land of two rivers. If he had this opportunity, there would be no end. On the one hand, he kept secretly writing letters to Zhu Quanzhong, encouraging Zhu Quanzhong to go west to Guanzhong, attack Fengxiang, and fight for control of the imperial court. On the other hand, he claimed that the emperor was threatened and sent an army of 50,000, with his adopted son Wang Zongdi, the former Dongchuan Jiedu envoy, as the general. , conquering Hanzhong in the name of the envoy.
This Wang Zongdi is deep and wise, the most famous general in Wang Jian's hands. After receiving the general's order, with Wang Zongbo, the righteous son of the King of Shu, as the vanguard, the army quickly marched out of Sichuan. The land of Shu was already rich, with sufficient supplies and well-organized soldiers. They marched all the way and were unstoppable. The army was approaching the gates of Sanquan City.
Zhou Jimi, the envoy of Shannan West Road Jiedu, has been stationed in Hanzhong for many years. He is well aware of the importance of the three springs. Although his generals are constantly redeployed and the overall military strength is weak, the garrison of these three springs has not only not decreased, but He gathered 20,000 reinforcements and led them himself, quietly stationed in Sanquan.
The Shu army sent troops for a month, conquered the city, and was invincible. There was some arrogance in this army, especially the forward leader Wang Zongbo, who was even more arrogant. He had long regarded the Hanzhong army as a chicken and a dog. Bing didn't care at all, thinking that Sanquan was just a county town, wasn't it just a drum? Without waiting for the army to gather together, he brought his own vanguard and five days' worth of food and grass, and attacked Sanquan City directly. The Shu army had just arrived at Sanquan City. Before they could station themselves, ambushes arose from all sides. Zhou Jimi personally led 10,000 elite troops and fought out of the city. The vanguard of the Shu army, who had been marching for days, was already exhausted. Seeing tens of thousands of Hanzhong troops rolling towards them, the troops were in panic and fell into disarray. More than 15,000 people suddenly collapsed. Wang Zongbo led his personal guards and fought hard before breaking out of the siege. The Shu army retreated for more than 20 miles and relied on the stronghold the day before to gain a foothold. Wang Zongbo gathered the defeated army and broke it in half, leaving only more than 7,000 people.
Wang Zongbo felt a little frightened when he saw Zhou Jimi's pursuers approaching the mountain stronghold and wanted to lead the defeated troops back to the central army. There was a confidant beside him, Liu Xiuye, who hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "General, don't retreat. The generals in the king's army are all the king's adopted sons. Although the general surrendered his whole family when the king attacked Shuzhong the year before last, he was regarded as his adopted son by the king of Shu." Who can be more trusted than those old people in the army. This time the general has the important task of being a vanguard. If he retreats in defeat, wouldn't he just give someone a handle? When the wall falls and everyone pushes him, the general has many reasons, but I'm afraid There is no escape!”
Although Wang Zongbo has always been arrogant, he is also a famous general and is not a fool. Hearing what Liu Xiuye said was reasonable, he hurriedly asked what should be done. Liu Xiuye said: "In the battle the day before yesterday, although our army was defeated, it was just that our army was defeated." We were caught off guard and were thrown into disarray, and the generals were in chaos. I don’t think two Hanzhong troops can match one of us. If we stick to the stronghold and occupy a favorable position, then even though the Hanzhong army is large and Zhou Jimi has no bravery, we will definitely We can't defeat our army. As long as we persist and don't retreat, we will naturally hold back Zhou Jimi's main force in Hanzhong. Our army can divide its forces and attack Jinniu, Heishui, Xixian and other places."
"Besides, as long as the general leads the troops and has military power in his hands, even if there are villains who are behind and slanders, the king will have some scruples and will not deal with the general. Once time passes and our army captures Hanzhong and defeats Zhou Jimi, the general will hold on today. Great merit. Nine times out of ten, when an army is defeated in an ambush, it is due to strong winds. Even if the king wants to settle the score of the defeated army, it will only be a matter of equaling the merits and demerits, and neither reward nor punishment. It is better than going back now and being slaughtered."
Wang Zongbo admired Liu Jingxiu's words and immediately asked Liu Xiuye to be the counselor of military affairs. While he was reorganizing his troops, repairing the camp and holding on to the danger, he sent a letter to the commander Wang Zongdi, asking him to transport grain and grass and divide his troops to plunder the land. Zhou Jimi, the governor of Shannan West Road, pursued the victory and came to this stronghold. He also attacked with his army and suffered a small loss. Zhou Jimi himself also knew that many of the Han soldiers were not well trained and were not strong in combat.
