After repeated arguments among the disciples, everyone finally understood Si Mang's intention and their voices stopped.
Si Mang said: "When Tang Wei enters Jiang, the envoy must come out. Otherwise, Jiangcheng will be attacked. At that time, I still hope for you, sir!"
All the disciples said: "I honor your order!"
After a few more words of condolence to all the guests, Si Mang took his leave. Mr. Cao suddenly said: "Although the Wei army has occupied the city, there are many undesirables. The captain cannot travel alone. I am a commoner and should be a bodyguard!"
Si Mang said: "I am poor and impatient to serve. I would like to put an end to this!"
Mr. Cao said: "The captain has not returned to the country. If something unexpected happens, no one, including the common people, will be allowed to return."
Si Mang said: "Since we went out to the army, it has been several months, but I haven't seen any teachings from you. Now that we are in the city, how can we teach you about life and death?"
Mr. Cao said: "At that time, a large army surrounded them, and idlers could not get close, so the common people could not serve. Now, there are tens of thousands of people in the city, but the soldiers are only 2,000, and they are all exhausted. The idlers often approach the captain. Before, this is the time when we are doing our best for the common people."
Si Mang said: "As a gentleman, I can't bear to face my difficulties. I hope you don't worry, sir. Although I have done a little work, I can't get close to you easily." He said the courtesy and said goodbye.
Tang City originally had thousands of soldiers and two military camps, which was roughly similar to the situation in Huayang. There are now more than 2,000 Wei soldiers stationed in Tangcheng, but of the two schools, one is for garrison and the other is in camp. Although the military camp is very crowded, it is normal. Because the three hundred horsemen had to feed their horses, they set up a camp outside the city, staying close to the fodder and not stationed in the city. All the divisions and commanders lived in the original camp division's mansion. They did not live in the city lord's mansion. Instead, they surrounded the city lord's mansion and the city captain's mansion, and they were not allowed to come in and out freely.
Although the cavalry army only had 300 riders, it formed its own battalion and appointed a battalion commander, who was directly led by Si Mang. Si Mang came out of Nili where his disciples were staying. He did not go to live in the Yingsi Mansion in the city, let alone the city lord's mansion. Instead, he came outside the city and rested in the Ma Army Camp. The horse army camp chief was in Xinling, a small city. Because there was no one who could ride a horse, he was promoted to acting camp chief. Although the Horse Camp Division was only a temporary position, he did his job very conscientiously. The horses, fodder, drinking water, and soldiers' duties were all arranged in an orderly manner. Si Mang made a tour and felt very satisfied, so he rested in Ma Jun's camp. Tell the business manager to wake up at midnight. Then he lay down with his clothes on and had a good sleep.
At midnight, the camp chief came to call Si Mang. Si Mang had already woken up, leaning on a ridge, stretching his legs and sitting in a very graceless manner, looking at the sky, as if he was thinking about something. Seeing the Ying Si coming over, he calmed down a little and asked, "What time is it?"
The camp commander said: "Of course."
Si Mang said: "The whole battalion sets out to meet the rear army at the foot of the mountain."
The camp commander left and the trumpets were blown to assemble. After a while, people and horses gathered together. Si Mang jumped on his horse and led everyone around the city and straight down the mountain.
When I got to the bottom of the mountain, I looked up and saw many people on the mountain staggering down the mountain. It was the rear army who was suffering from injuries. Since all those who can fight have followed Si Mang down the mountain, all the structures on the mountain have been disrupted. Those Si Mang and leaders who are sick have no appeal and are humming among the soldiers. The whole team is like A group of refugees fleeing from famine.
Seeing this scene, Si Mang ordered the cavalry troops to dismount, adjust their formation, control the horses and wait, watching each army go down the mountain. Although they could see each other at the top and bottom of the mountain a long time ago, it was already an hour after the first person came down the mountain.
Everyone who came down the mountain was called by Si Mang and ordered to sit down and rest in the open space in front of the cavalry army. Si Mang observed silently that all the sergeants naturally gathered in groups according to the towns where they lived in Xinling. The chiefs of various li, yi, and townships who served as uncles, si, and leaders rushed to Si Mang and greeted him with greetings. Si Mang returned the salute one by one and asked them to sit down and rest in front of him. These leaders don't usually get together. When they met at this time, they each exchanged greetings.
Prince Jiu has completely lost his aristocratic air, and his retainers are all covered in dust and vicissitudes of life. When Si Mang saw them, he handed his horse to the horse army next to him and walked over to greet them. Si Mang whispered to Prince Jiu that according to Tang Wei's account, Jiangling's seizure of the envoys and horses was entirely out of misunderstanding, thinking that they were horse dealers; he had asked Tang Wei to go to Jiangcheng in person to explain. Young Master Jiu said bitterly: "If Jiang disobeys his order, I will not spare him lightly!"
Coming down the mountain with Mr. Jiu, there were also herds of animals. These nearly a thousand cattle and horses occupied a large area of land. The soldiers guarding the cattle and horses were already exhausted. They only tied the reins to their wrists and sat down on the spot. The cows and horses were all so tired that they were foaming at the mouth. Although he couldn't bear it, Si Mang still forced the soldiers to lead the animals around and not let them stop immediately.
The soldiers who were dragged to the end were the most seriously ill soldiers. They could hardly walk. They supported each other and walked down the mountain step by step, creating a large distance from the large army. Commander Mang ordered the cavalry troops to come forward and let the soldiers rest in another place, separated from the main group here.
It was not until dusk that the group of wounded people basically came down the mountain. Si Mang no longer waited, and ordered the leaders, si, and uncles in front of him to display their own banners and reorganize their troops. The soldiers shouted to the left and to the right, and the soldiers on all sides were quickly gathered and lined up in the open space. But it can be seen at a glance that the numbers of each team are already very uneven.
The school leaders, led by ten township chiefs, reported to Si Mang that the team had been assembled. Si Mang jumped on his horse, rode it to a high slope, and shouted to everyone: "Thanks to the power of the king, the Wei army has defeated Tang City!"
Hearing this sentence, the morale of the Wei army was greatly boosted. They struck the ground with their sticks and shouted loudly: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
Si Mang continued: "The elite soldiers in the front will stay in the city, and all our troops will return to their towns. This is Han territory, not my own country, and we are all enemies wherever we go. The troops must not be careless. This is where we should call our home!" Then Si Mang continued. Mang arranged the camping sites for the ten schools one by one, and asked Ma Jun to lead them through the countryside at the foot of the mountain to four gates outside the city. Each battalion division chose a suitable town to set up camp. Those responsible for feeding cattle and horses camped around the city wall so that grass and fodder could be collected from inside the city.
Finally, Si Mang came to the open space where the wounded soldiers were concentrated. He signaled to the wounded soldiers not to move, and said to them: "We have left Shangdang and are gradually arriving at Anyi. How can we survive in peace! Tangcheng in front has been conquered by my front, and Jiangjiyi will also come to our aid." . If you are injured or it may be difficult to travel far, those who wish to live in the Tang Dynasty or Anyi should be satisfied. Those who wish to return to the Wei Kingdom should do so!"
An older soldier said boldly: "What the captain said is that he sympathizes with the sufferings of the people. Our family members are all in Xinling, how can we bear to abandon them? However, the injuries are so severe that it is difficult to move forward. It would be a blessing if we could be accommodated nearby. .”
Si Mang said: "Those who wish to stay in the Tang Dynasty should come forward!"
About half of the people, about four to five hundred people, walked out. Si Mang took Ma Jun and led the group of people into a nearby town. They designated houses one by one for them to live in. The opinions of the owners of the houses were completely ignored. When the owner of the house saw the army approaching and wounded soldiers entering the house, he did not dare to resist.
There are ten people in one house, and it takes about forty or fifty houses to arrange them. The remaining four to five hundred people were unwilling to stay, so Si Mang led them towards Tangcheng through the night. Place them next to the horse army camp.
The soldiers who stayed in the city had already had dinner. The soldiers who have just come down from the mountain will cook porridge for them in the town where they live. Xin Lingcheng used an ox cart in the city to deliver vegetables, fruits, salt, plums and other products to each camp. Each camp cheered and shouted long live. Grass and drinking water for the livestock were also transported from the city, and two to three hundred grooms were recruited from the city to help feed the horses and cattle. This latter item has never happened even in Ji, because the people in Ji only know how to herd sheep and have never seen cattle or horses.
Xin Lingcheng also invited doctors to treat the wounded soldiers in the camp. But this time there was no simple solution. The doctor only saw a dozen people, and each made his own plan. It was too late, so he gave up and went home. After everyone looked at this prescription, they probably had to go to the city to get medicine and cook it with great effort. The patients themselves felt it was troublesome and decided not to treat it.
In the evening, Simang entered the city. After the city gate was closed, the police and patrol posts in various parts of the city were inspected, and the areas that needed improvement were explained to the commander and the commander. After everything was safe, Si Mang climbed onto the tower and looked into the distance. The ups and downs of the past few days put a huge strain on his nerves. After resting for a few days, go to Anyi, then you can go out of Taihang and Zhiguan and return to Nanyang; take a boat from the Yellow River to Jishui, go down to Xingyang, and then go straight to Daliang via the chasm. Then when you get home, you can take off this burden! He wished he could rush to Anyi in one day and reach Daliang in one step. However, the long and difficult march seriously reduced the physical strength of the soldiers and the epidemic of diseases forced him to rest in this place. Fortunately, they are far away from the battlefield. Although this army of more than 10,000 people is tired, it is not something that can be provoked casually. He can use both soft and hard tactics to strive for a better rest and recuperation environment for himself.
Tomorrow I will send a few gentlemen to return home first and report the situation to Lord Xinling. He decided secretly.
There was no major incident that night, but Si Mang still inspected three times. The next day, Si Mang ordered the drums to be beaten to gather the troops. Then the big drums on the four gates were beaten together, and the soldiers of each battalion and the people in the city also lined up. The school leader reported the situation of each battalion. Interestingly, the elders of each township also went to the city to report the situation of the militia gathering in their respective towns. Si Mang was amused in his heart, but he praised them seriously and asked Tang Ling to meet them. Tang Ling asked them to entertain the Wei troops in various towns and provide them with everything they needed. The elders of each township responded to the order and left.
After ordering the troops, a fire was set up in the city to cook porridge. Xin Lingcheng directly used the money from the treasury to ask merchants who came to the city to sell vegetables, fruits, seasonings, etc. to directly bring the goods to each camp and pay according to the price. The host of Nilu still tried his best to flatter all the guests. After breakfast, each battalion left the city and conducted formation training in the open area for about an hour. It can be regarded as restoring strength, and at the same time, it can deter the surrounding forces. If people find that the military camp is lifeless, what will the surrounding forces think?
