Yang Peng said depressedly: "How could something like this happen?"
Yan Ji said angrily: "You don't want to be good at taking advantage! Humph, you have taken advantage of all the advantages, and you still say such things!" Yang Peng smiled bitterly and sighed: "This wine is really not good. Thing, no wonder people often say that alcohol can cause sexual incest!" Thinking of Liu Yan's incident, he asked strangely: "Didn't Liu Yan disappear? Why did she suddenly come back?"
Yan Ji sighed and said: "It was really dangerous! That day when the Tianzhu people massacred the city, Sister Liu Yan and the others hid in a cellar. The Tianzhu people did not find them, so they escaped. Afterwards, they I have always wanted to escape from the city, but there was no chance. Fortunately, not long ago, the Tianzhu army was defeated and retreated. The Tianzhu army in the city was in chaos after receiving the news. They killed a group of Tianzhu soldiers and stripped off their armor. Then they disguised themselves as Tianzhu sergeants and took advantage of the chaos to sneak out of the city. Later, they heard the news on the way that the enemy army was defeated and our army was still firmly in Dali City, so they came straight here. At last, they were not in danger. ." Then he glanced at Yang Peng and said angrily, "I didn't know that I would be bullied by a villain like you as soon as I came back!"
Yang Peng was very embarrassed, coughed and said: "Well, it is auspicious to come back safely, haha." Yan Ji rolled her eyes at Yang Peng, and then said seriously: "Husband, although these concubine's sisters were born low, they are all She is a rare good woman, I hope my husband can consider them as concubines and treat them well!"
Yang Peng reached out and held Yan Ji's delicate hand and said: "Although this is not what I wanted, since it happened, I will never treat them badly!" Yan Ji showed a happy look, and then said angrily: " How annoying! I would actually push other women to my husband!" Yang Peng burst out laughing. Then he stood up, pulled Yan Ji's delicate hand and said, "Let's go." Yan Ji asked, "Where to go?" Yang Peng smiled and said, "Didn't you say that I ruined both Zhao Xiang'er and Liu Yan? ? I have to go take a look." Yan Ji smiled sweetly.
Three days after the 100,000 direct army soldiers led by Duan Zhixian arrived in Dali, Duan Zhixian impatiently came to request Yang Peng for the attack. Since the Manchu leaders in the south had not yet replied, Yang Peng temporarily dismissed Duan Zhixian's request, which only made Duan Zhixian anxious and restless.
As the days passed, the internal affairs in various parts of Dali were quickly getting back on track, and the barbarians from all walks of life in Dali also swore allegiance to Daming and Yang Peng.
At dinner time that day, Yang Peng, Yan Ji, Shi Liancheng, and Duan Zhixian had dinner in a waterside pavilion in the palace. Before he had eaten a few mouthfuls of rice, Duan Zhixian couldn't help but said: "Brother, you said at the beginning that you would wait until all the barbarians in the south surrendered before you could advance into the army. Now not only the barbarians in the south, but also all the barbarians in Dali have surrendered. Now, it’s time to send in troops, right?”
Yang Peng and Duan Zhixian both smiled. Duan Zhixian was puzzled by the laughter of the two of them, his eyes bulging. Shi Liancheng smiled and said, "Before Duan Zhixian came just now, my eldest brother made a bet with me on how long Duan Zhixian could endure. I bet you would have to drink a few glasses of wine before making any request. But my eldest brother said you would wait." Let’s talk about it if you don’t want to drink, it’s true that the eldest brother is better!”
Duan Zhixian rolled his eyes and said angrily: "You two are quite leisurely!" He looked at Yang Peng and said anxiously, "Brother, you should give me a sure word! Otherwise I will be anxious to death!"
Yang Peng deliberately teased Duan Zhixian and poured himself a glass of wine slowly. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to wait until he drank the glass of wine before speaking. Duan Zhixian couldn't help but snatched away Yang Peng's wine glass and said angrily: "Brother, don't just drink!"
Yang Peng smiled, pointed at Duan Zhixian with his finger, and said with a smile: "Well, you monk is so courageous!" After a pause, he said: "I'm afraid now is not the time, because the situation in Bagan is not very clear yet." Duan Zhixian said anxiously: "Then what's unclear! The Bagan people first destroyed an army of 200,000, and then an army of 500,000. How many people can there be in Bagan? Now they must be in a state of survival! As long as the army arrives, the problem can be solved overwhelmingly!"
Duan Zhixian shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's not that simple!"
Duan Zhixian glared at Shi Liancheng and said angrily: "What trouble are you making, Liancheng?"
Shi Liancheng laughed and said: "Duan Zhixian, don't be anxious, listen to me. According to the reports from the scouts and the barbarian leaders these days, the situation in the south is different from what we expected before. It is very dangerous! The mountains are high and the forests are dense. , and there are also miasma poisonous insects! Our army is not afraid of any enemy, but facing such an environment, I am afraid that if we are not careful, we will suffer heavy losses before we even see the enemy!" Duan Zhixian frowned.
Shi Liancheng continued: "Just before Duan Zhixian arrived, my eldest brother and I discussed it and thought that if we want to march into Bagan, I'm afraid we can't mobilize a large army. Otherwise, it will be difficult to supply logistics, and there are not enough herbal medicines and medical officers. I'm afraid it will Losing troops and horses in vain." Yang Peng continued: "So Shi Liancheng and I have the idea to send at most 30,000 troops to Bagan south, and use the southern barbarians as guides to cooperate in the battle. In this way, supply difficulties and environmental problems can be solved It's a bad problem. However, as a result, there are not many troops. If Bagan still has considerable strength, this battle will not be worth the gain, but it will restore the confidence of the Bagan people to fight against us. If this is the case, It would be better not to fight this battle. Therefore, we have to wait until Hua Xu, who is lurking in Bagan, sends back intelligence before we can decide how to act."
Shi Liancheng was depressed, as if a ball had been lost.
Yang Peng and Shi Liancheng looked at each other and smiled. Shi Liancheng picked up the jug and filled Duan Zhixian's wine, and said with a smile: "Duan Zhixian, you can't rush this kind of thing, so don't think about it. Now you can drink in peace and contentment!" Duan Zhixian picked up the wine bowl and drank it in one gulp, raising his eyebrows. As soon as he raised it, he praised: "What a good wine! His grandma's, you can't drink when you are leading the army, so why don't you just drink it to your mother's delight now!" Shi Liancheng laughed and poured another full bowl for him. Then he filled himself up with wine. The wine bowls in front of Yang Peng and Yan Ji were both full, so Shi Liancheng didn't give them two pourers.
A secret guard officer hurried over and said, "Your Majesty, someone has come outside the palace gate and wants to see your Majesty!"
Yang Peng took a bite of food and asked casually: "Who is it?"
The officer said: "They are a group of common people, old and young, men and women. According to the elderly commoner who leads them, they are common people from Bagan who came to seek help from His Majesty."
Yang Peng and others were greatly surprised. Yan Ji frowned and said, "What's going on?" Yang Peng asked the officer, "How many people are here?" "Your Majesty, there are more than a dozen people here." Yang Peng said, "Just let me. Let the leader come in." The officer promised and ran down.
Soon after, everyone saw an old man in ragged clothes, with withered skin and a stooped body, probably in his sixties, coming in.
The officer pointed at Yang Peng and said: "This is our Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"
When the old man heard that he was the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his expression was shocked. He immediately knelt down and worshiped: "Common people, common people pay homage to your Majesty! Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!" "Old man, there is no need to be polite, get up and speak." But the old man cried out: "Your Majesty , please send troops immediately to rescue the villagers! If Your Majesty does not send troops, the villagers will be killed by those damn beasts!"
Yang Peng left his seat, helped the old man up, and said, "Don't be anxious, old man. Speak slowly. I don't even know what happened? You are from Bagan. Are you Han Chinese living in Bagan?"
The old man nodded with tears in his eyes, "Your Majesty, we are all Han Chinese living in Bagan! Cao Min's parents and grandparents are also Han Chinese living in Bagan!"
Yang Peng nodded and asked: "What happened? Since you live in Bagan, why did you come to me for help?"
The old man showed an expression of anger and sadness, and said: "The Bagan army was wiped out by the Ming Dynasty's army in one fell swoop, and Pu Lipeng finally escaped back to the country. They couldn't do anything to His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty, but they vented their hatred on those of us who live there. Regarding the Han people in Bagan, they slaughtered Han people everywhere and plundered Han people's property. The villages where we Han people live are like hell on earth! All of my children..." At this point, I was already crying.
Everyone couldn't help but became furious when they heard this. Duan Zhixian punched the table and cursed: "What a coward! Bagan people are really impatient!"
Yang Peng frowned and said: "I heard that there are a lot of Han people in Bagan. Don't you resist?"
The old man shook his head and said sadly: "We have always been kind to others and do not participate in any disputes in Bagan. I didn't expect, I didn't expect..."
Duan Zhixian couldn't help but scolded: "It's bullshit to be kind to others! To be kind to others is to seek death! Why are you so stupid! Since you want to go there to live, you should create a world of your own! Give the knife to others, and others will not come to kill you. You are the weird ones!" The old man saw Duan Zhixian's ferocious appearance and was furious. He couldn't help but be so frightened that his face turned pale and his whole body trembled.
Yang Peng shouted to Duan Zhixian: "Duan Zhixian, calm down!" Duan Zhixian closed his mouth, but remained angry.
Yang Peng looked at the trembling old man in front of him and couldn't help feeling a little emotional. He thought of the Han Chinese who were struggling overseas and felt that they had all been harmed by Confucianism. When they went outside, they followed Confucian teachings and thought that by being kind to others, they could live and work in a foreign land. However, the bloody history was not like this.
Yang Peng thought again: In fact, it is not their fault. They are also victims. Their fighting spirit has been wiped out by Confucianism, and they no longer know how to fight and fight with others. In fact, this is what the rulers of all dynasties hope to achieve, to wipe out It would be easy to rule if we lose the people's fighting spirit and spirit of struggle, but if this happens, this nation and its people will suffer a lot.
Yang Peng sighed secretly, recovered his thoughts, and asked the old man: "How many Chinese are there in Bagan?"
The old man did not dare to look at Duan Zhixian, who looked as fierce as an angry lion. He thought for a while and said with some embarrassment: "The common people don't know this very well. They just know that many villages and towns in the north are all Chinese villages. I'm afraid there are not hundreds of thousands of them! Others! There are not a few Chinese in the local area, especially in the port cities along the coast. I heard that the Chinese in those places are very prosperous in business." Then he frowned, "But recently I heard news that in those cities your The Chinese were all confiscated, their homes were confiscated, and their families were exterminated. Countless people died, and their property was confiscated!"
Duan Zhixian couldn't help shouting: "Straight bitch! Damn it!"
The old man was so frightened that he didn't dare to say any more.
Duan Zhixian glared at the old man and asked angrily: "The enemy is so cruel, so you just let them slaughter you and don't resist?"
The old man's eyes showed surprise, as if Duan Zhixian's request for them to resist was completely unreasonable. I saw him murmuring: "Being kind to others is the way to live and work. If we resist, won't we be slaughtered more cruelly by the other party, and the result will be even more tragic! Besides, besides, we are resisting, Also, it’s impossible to fight against them!”
Duan Zhixian said angrily: "You are so cowardly that you are being massacred more cruelly by others! Why don't you understand that others bully the weak and fear the strong? The more you dare not resist, the more aggressive they will be! You should risk your own life by yourself Save, how can you expect evil people to be kind-hearted! You, you..." Duan Zhixian didn't know what to say to these people. The old man was trembling with fear, lowering his head and not daring to look at Duan Zhixian. He looked like an old tree in the cold wind, which made people pity him.
Yang Peng gestured to Duan Zhixian to calm down, and then asked the old man: "Old man, since you are afraid that if you resist even a little bit, you will suffer more cruel retaliation, why do you have the courage to come to us for help? Aren't you worried about Bagan? After people find out about this, they won’t be able to spare you?”
The old man looked at Yang Peng pitifully, suddenly knelt down, kowtowed and begged: "None of us can live anymore, so on behalf of everyone, the common people risked their lives to come all the way to see your majesty, and beg your majesty for the sake of being of the same species and race." You can send troops to rescue us from the sea of suffering!"
Yang Peng helped the old man up and said to him: "Since we are of the same species and race, how can I sit idly by and ignore it." The old man was overjoyed and thanked him quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yang Peng helped the old man up again and asked : "How many troops are there in Bagan now?"
The old man blinked blankly and said, "This commoner doesn't know."
Yang Peng thought for a moment and said to the old man: "You have come a long way and have worked very hard. Let's go to the post house to rest first." The old man responded, and then asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, um, that matter of sending troops ..." Yang Peng smiled and said: "Don't worry about this. Since I said I would send troops, I will definitely send troops. Just for these few days. You can rest peacefully. When the time comes to send troops, we will need you as guides to lead the way for our army! "The old man promised repeatedly. Yang Peng said to the secret guard officer who led the old man in: "Take them to the post house to rest." The officer agreed and led the old man down.
Duan Zhixian couldn't bear it any longer and cursed angrily: "These people are so infuriating! They all seem to have no bones!"
Yang Peng sighed: "This is the power of Confucianism! The influence of Confucianism for thousands of years has completely distorted their thinking! People influenced by Confucianism actually no longer have the ability to survive!" Duan Zhixian raised his eyebrows. , scolded: "What a scumbag Confucian! What a disaster!"
Yang Peng returned to his seat and sat down, thinking: "It seems that we are going to send troops in advance!" Duan Zhixian said happily: "Great! That's how it should be!" Shi Liancheng frowned and said: "Brother, at present, the number of troops in Bagan is The situation is not very clear yet, and if we send troops in advance, the results will be unpredictable!”
Yang Peng nodded and said: "Of course I understand this. But we can't ignore the fact that our compatriots living in Bagan are being massacred! Although I am very angry at their cowardice, no matter how angry I am, I cannot help but save them!" Duan Zhixian echoed loudly: "Brother, this couldn't be more true! Although those guys are frustrating, they are our people after all, and we can't let outsiders bully us!" Shi Liancheng nodded.
Yang Peng frowned and thought, "I'm afraid Pu Lipeng didn't massacre and plunder the Han people just to vent his anger. His defeat had a serious impact on his reputation, so he needed to find an excuse to divert his attention. Pointing the finger at the Han people in his country and putting all the responsibility for the failure on them is undoubtedly a good way to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, you can put the responsibility for the defeat on those Han people, minimizing the impact on your reputation. At the same time, we can also take the opportunity to seize the wealth accumulated by the Han people over the years in order to make up for the loss of energy caused by this defeat." He glanced at Shi Liancheng and Duan Zhixian, "The enemy has such a purpose and will never slaughter and plunder the Han people. They may give up easily, but they won’t stop until they kill all the Han people! In view of this, if we don’t act as soon as possible, we may not see a single Han person when we enter Bagan in the future!”
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Yang Peng looked at Duan Zhixian and said, "Duan Zhixian, go get ready immediately and set off tomorrow." Duan Zhixian clasped his fists in agreement and hurried away without even bothering to drink or eat.
Yang Peng called a messenger and ordered him to send an order to the southern tribes to gather their troops and prepare to cooperate with the imperial army. At the same time, he sent a messenger to Zhanjin Kingdom in Fengyu County and ordered him to immediately lead his Xuanjia War Cavalry southward to fight with Duan Zhixian. The troops gathered together and marched south together. In this battle of the Southern Expedition, Yang Peng only used 32,000 men and horses, of which 30,000 were elite infantrymen directly affiliated with the legion, and 2,000 were black armored cavalry under the command of the Kingdom of Jin. The reason why only two thousand cavalry are used is because of the geographical climate in the south. The mountains in the south are dense, the roads are difficult to travel, the weather is rainy, and there is miasma. This geographical climate is very unfavorable for the cavalry army to fight, so this The first battle must be dominated by infantry.
The herald agreed and hurried away.
Yan Ji couldn't help but sigh: "If it were the previous dynasty, I'm afraid they wouldn't have rashly used troops for the people living in other countries!"
Yang Peng snorted coldly and said: "For the sake of diplomatic relations between the two countries and taking the overall situation into consideration, you will ignore the life and death of your compatriots! This is like a family completely ignoring the persecution and abuse of their relatives in order to have a good relationship with another family! This is not Taking the overall situation into consideration, this is no sense of responsibility, this is cowardice and incompetence!" Shi Liancheng and Yan Ji nodded in agreement.
The focus turns to a village on the northern border of Bagan. The buildings in this village and town close to the border of Dali are completely different from those in Bagan's general rural areas. It has the charm of rural areas in the south of the Yangtze River in the Central Plains, with tall stilted buildings, sloping roofs, fish scale-like tiles, and carved windows. There are Chinese knot patterns and round lanterns hanging at the door of many houses, but the plants in front of and behind the house have been replaced by banana trees instead of green bamboo and willows. This village is called 'Longtou River'. It is the largest and most famous Han village within a few hundred miles, with a population of nearly 10,000 people. It is also the largest trading center in the surrounding area.
In the past, 'Longtou Creek' was very prosperous and busy, but at this time, every household has closed its doors and windows, and there is not a single soul on the street, making it a desolate scene. A gust of wind came out and blew the banana leaves, as if with a whimpering sound, which made people shudder. An old yellow dog ran over from one side, then turned into an alley and disappeared. It's midsummer at this time, but it feels like a harsh winter here.
Rumble...! The roar came from afar, approaching quickly, like rolling summer thunder. "No! The army is coming!" The shrill shout broke the tranquility of the village and town, and then the whole village and town burst into excitement. Families fled out of their homes in panic and fled towards the mountains behind the village and town. However, they escaped too late. Before they could leave the village, they were surrounded by Bagan soldiers and horses. Seeing this scene, thousands of people were extremely frightened and had no idea what to do!
All the Bagan soldiers looked at the lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of them with ferocious expressions. The leading general gave an order, and all the Bagan officers and soldiers rushed forward like hungry tigers, slashing with their swords. For a moment, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and screams were heard. The scene was too cruel even for the slaughter of chickens and ducks. Some Han people rolled around and ran in all directions, but they could not escape. They were chopped down to the ground by Bagan officers and soldiers. Others knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but they could not move the Bagan officers and soldiers. , but it made them even more crazy; women's cries rang out loudly, and young women were snatched away like trophies amidst the weird laughter of Bagan officers and soldiers, while the men next to them were still suffering. Begged. This miserable scene is reflected by the wild laughter of Bagan people.
Whoosh! A sharp sound broke through the air suddenly. Before anyone could react, the Bagan general was shot through the neck by a sharp arrow. The wild laughter suddenly froze on his face, and then his whole body turned to one side and fell off the horse. All the Bagan officers and soldiers were stunned. At this moment, roars suddenly came from the alley on one side. All the Bagan officers and soldiers were shocked and hurriedly followed the sound, and suddenly saw a dozen brave and tough men in black rushing towards them with long swords!
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
