Zhao Tong did not leave the 14th Battalion until the sun turned westward in the afternoon.
Large cars and small cars come home fully loaded.
The two thousand soldiers were all smiling, their clothes were bulging, and their shoes and boots were stuffed with hard goods. Even when they walked, it was hard to move their legs. What's more, their armor and hats were all so heavy that they couldn't lift their heads. .
There are more than a dozen boxes, almost all of which are gold and silver. Even copper coins are rare.
Zhao Tong sent someone to deliver two boxes to his family, and escorted the rest to Wang Qing's palace.
Someone was killed in the 14th Battalion today, and this matter must be reported. As for the collected money, in addition to appeasing the soldiers below, he could not keep it alone, and transported the bulk to the palace.
Wang Qing was overjoyed when he saw this. It didn't matter how many people he killed. He didn't understand killing chickens to scare monkeys. He just had to suppress the people below. As for receiving so much money, he didn't expect it.
Zhao Tong told Wang Qing everything about today, including knocking Pan Zhong off his horse with one punch.
Wang Qing suddenly laughed and said: "Didn't you even pass a single move?"
Zhao Tong said: "Your Majesty, it's just that General Pan was drunk, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to defeat General Pan with just my fists without using weapons."
Wang Qing shook his head and said: "I know Pan Zhong's martial arts. Even if he is not drunk, he is no match for Aiqing."
Zhao Tong said a few more humble words and left immediately. When he returned to the house, he saw two people coming to give gifts.
He was puzzled and asked, only to find out that he was actually the leader of the fourth and fifth small armies.
The two leaders, one named Wu Shun and the other Liu Heihu, each brought five thousand taels of silver. The implication was that Li Fei should not go on patrol in his small army. As for the soldiers below who violated military discipline, they People will be strictly controlled.
Zhao Tong understood as soon as he heard that these two people must have received a capitation fee, so they had to protect the soldiers below. Protecting the soldiers below would be equivalent to protecting their future income.
The money was naturally accepted, and the person sent it away politely. There was nothing else to say, it was all for the sake of money.
In the next few days, people came to give gifts from time to time. Zhao Tong knew that these people were the same as Wu Shun and Liu Heihu. They were not really unable to control their subordinates. They were greedy for money. If their subordinates were strict, who would? Give them money? They can't go and grab it without any reason.
After Zhao Tong collected the money, he had the option to carry out inspections. If he encountered a dissatisfied general, he would fight. This is what the rebel army would eat. As long as you are ruthless and ruthless, and have strong martial arts skills, no one will cry and go to Wang Qing's side. Complaints.
At present, Wang Qing's uprising has not been too long, and many rules have not been established. Any rebellion and uprising has such a process. It is chaotic at first. Only when the king's power is stable and there are many soldiers, there is hope for the Central Plains, and all kinds of people come to vote, Only then will the rules be truly established, and then will the rules be truly binding.
Zhao Tong visited many military camps, was soft-handed with money, and participated in several duels. Not to mention killing people, he gained a ruthless reputation. He was nicknamed Li Yan Wang by the bandits below, and everyone was frightened to mention it.
As for the money, Wang Qing also sent some more from time to time, and Wang Qing even trusted Zhao Tong more and more.
In private, Zhao Tuo went to Du Bu for a drink when he had nothing to do. He made insinuations about Li Zhu's swordsmanship, and he knew a lot of information. According to Du Bu, Li Zhu's sword speed was the fastest he had ever seen in his life.
Li Zhu is nicknamed Mr. Jin Jian. He uses a golden long sword. When the sword is fast, it is as fast as lightning in the dark sky. The color and momentum are almost the same. The only difference is the size.
According to Du Bo, Li Zhu's sword technique is called one-word electric sword, and he was defeated by this sword technique in the first place. As for Li Zhu's other sword techniques, Du Bu didn't know.
Zhao Tong thought that Li Zhu and Zhou Tong had used a total of nine sword techniques in the competition, but it was very possible that they knew more than these sword techniques. But now even Du Bu only knew this one, and almost no one under Wang Qing knew it. There was simply no place to go to find out more.
Zhao Tong couldn't think of any other way to deal with this, and he couldn't deliberately approach Li Zhu to investigate, so he could only make the plan of slowly trying to figure it out.
That night, Zhao Tong held a small banquet in the house and invited Liyana to come over. There were not many dishes on the table. The food in Luzhou City is so expensive nowadays. If he hadn't gotten a lot of silver recently, he might not have had this meal. I can't even invite you to a small banquet.
After the banquet, the two discussed the military situation. Wang Qing reported to the court that the Song army in Haozhou had already reached the halfway point. Many people reported that they planned to send people to intercept the Song army before it reached the gate of Luzhou city.
Liyana asked: "Is the Song Army going to Shouzhou soon?"
Zhao Tong nodded: "Tomorrow at the latest, if nothing happens, I will rush to Shouzhou today."
Liana asked: "What will Wang Qing do?"
Zhao Tong said: "It is certain to send troops to rescue, but no matter whether Shouzhou is lost or not, the war is about to break out."
Liyana said: "I'm afraid that Shouzhou has been captured before the soldiers here arrive."
Zhao Tong smiled and said, "Why don't you just use your three-way strategy to send troops to Luzhou?"
Liyana frowned and said, "I thought about this again. If there are too many reinforcements from Luzhou, they may be blocked on the way."
Zhao Tong smiled and stretched: "Then don't worry. Anyway, I can rest assured about the coach over there. I don't want to worry about it. I just adapt everything accordingly."
Liana looked at him: "The war is coming, you don't want to think too much..."
Zhao Tong shook his head and said: "It's useless to think too much, just adapt to circumstances. By the way, why don't you teach the meaning of the scriptures tonight?"
Liyanaza said calmly: "You still want to open up the scriptures? We have already held three games, and thousands of people have been rotated. Everyone only recognizes the Right Envoy of Light. Even I, the holy aunt, am not as prestigious as you." "
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "How can we tell the difference between each other? We are not the Uighur Ming Cult."
Liyana stared at Zhao Tong with a pair of bright eyes and said: "What exactly do you want to do? I know you are not the crown prince of Song Dynasty. Could it be that you want... This kind of thing is also common in the Uighurs."
Zhao Tong shook his head and sighed slightly: "It's just self-protection. You will know in the future."
Lianaza said in confusion: "Now that you have the power, if you win this battle again and your prestige is even higher, how can you talk about protecting yourself?"
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "The Song Dynasty is different from the Uighurs. It is always complicated. You can't figure it out even for a moment."
After hearing this, Liyanaza was silent for a few breaths and said: "If that happens, we can go back and forth with the falcon."
Zhao Tong laughed and said: "Why is this so important? Is it possible that I still want to be a door-to-door person?"
Liyanaza immediately said in embarrassment: "So what if I come to the door? You said you were going to protect yourself."
Zhao Tong made a hey sound and suddenly said: "That day when we first met, I heard music in the small courtyard. Later I asked Diya, what kind of pipa was she playing?"
Liyana said: "It's called a seventy-two-stringed pipa. It's actually a kind of harp, somewhat similar to... your zither, with seventy-two strings, a wide square body, and a wonderfully sweet sound."
Zhao Tong said: "I have never seen this kind of piano. But after listening to it for a while that day, I felt like an oriole and a lark. I have never forgotten it."
Lianaza looked at him and said, "Do you want to hear it?"
Zhao Tong smiled and said, "Is it lucky?"
Liana said: "You...come with me."
The two of them went out to the house next door, and after a while they walked to the door of a small hall.
Liyanaza opened the door, and Zhao Tao couldn't help but his eyes lit up. The decoration in this small hall was quite elegant and exquisite. Many things were in the Uighur style, which looked unique. Even the floor was covered with large and bright blankets. Clean and tidy right down to the front door.
Zhao Ting looked into the hall, glanced at Liyana's white boots, and said: "This... do you want to go in barefoot??"
Liyanaza was stunned when she heard this and said, "Li Fei, what do you want to do?"
Zhao Tong said: "I heard that Uighurs are good at singing and dancing, and they dance gracefully, especially the kind of dance... they dance with a string of small bells hanging from their bare feet."
Lianaza looked at him confused: "Where did you hear that?"
Zhao Tong said: "Of course I heard about it in Longyou. How could the Central Plains know about it? After all, Xixia is separated from Longyou, so I don't know much about it in temples or markets."
Lianaza whispered: "Bare feet... and dancing with little bells?"
Zhao Tong said: "That's it. If you move it a little, the little bell will make a pleasant sound."
Lianaza suddenly said in a soft voice: "Do you want to see it?"
Zhao Tong nodded hurriedly.
Liyana smiled sweetly: "What a beautiful idea!"
After saying that, she walked into the hall. Zhao Tao touched his chin and followed her in.
There was a piano near the flower wall in the hall, and Zhao Tong could tell at a glance that it was the seventy-two-string pipa.
I saw that the piano was square and wide, with the big head cut off from the side like a zither. The strings on it were densely covered, and I didn't know what rhythm to play.
Lianaza walked behind the piano and flicked it with her fingers, and the piano suddenly made a sweet sound.
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "It was indeed the music of that day, with the sound of birdsong."
Liyanaza smiled and said, "I don't know what song General Li would like to listen to?"
Zhao Tong said: "I don't understand Uyghur music. I just want to pick up good-sounding music instead of the sad ones. I feel depressed after listening to them."
Liyanaza made Uighur etiquette to Zhao Tao, then smiled and said: "General Li, please take a seat."
Zhao Tong sat down on the chair, and saw Liyanaza sitting down gracefully as well. She raised her hand to reveal her slender white jade fingers, touching the surface of the piano, concentrating her energy and thinking.
Suddenly, she moved her fingers, and she heard the beautiful and lively sound of the piano flowing out from her fingers instantly, like a thin stream flowing through her heart, soft, quiet, comfortable and comfortable.
As time goes by, the sound of the piano becomes more and more beautiful, like the tinkling of spring water in a stream, jumping happily, or like the orchid in the valley, the silver bells of running horses, and then suddenly all the birds sing in unison, the tone is clear and cheerful, intoxicating , as if you are in the spring forest, like a dream...
After playing the song, Zhao Tao thought about it for a moment, stroking his hands and saying, "It's such a good song, it's fascinating. If you play it in a beautiful place with mountains and rivers, the sound will be even better!"
Liyanaza looked at him and said: "The Uighurs have many beautiful scenery, with picturesque mountains and rivers, birds singing and the fragrance of flowers. General Li, would you like to go and have a look?"
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "I long for it, but there are so many things to do. I don't know when and what month I will get to see him."
Liyanaza's expression dimmed slightly when she heard this, then she became cold and said, "Are you not even going to Longyou anymore?"
Zhao Tie looked at her, paused and then said: "General Shangguan, why do you think that with my status, I should take over the desolate and barren Longyou Protector's Mansion?"
Liyanaza frowned slightly when she heard this, and the next moment she suddenly exclaimed: "You... what you just said about self-protection?"
Zhao Tong smiled slightly and said: "One day, I can go to Longyou. The sky is high and the sky is far away, so I can advance and retreat well."
"But..." Liya Nazha hesitated: "Li Fei, what you call self-protection, shouldn't you come from the Song Dynasty court? In that case, there is the Western Army over there..."
"The Western Army..." Zhao Tong thought for a while: "The Western Army is indeed a problem, but I'm afraid that when that day comes, the Western Army will have too much to take care of itself."
Liyanaza's eyes flashed and she said: "The Uighurs are beautiful, the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and so are the people."
Zhao Tong glanced at her and said with a smile: "Yes, so the armies that have fought in that area since ancient times have not only fought for grape wine and cantaloupe."
"Li Fei, what do you mean!" Lianaza's face turned slightly red when she heard this, and she said softly.
Zhao Tong stood up and walked to Liyanaza, bowed his head slightly, and said in a low voice: "Dance for me, the kind with little bells hanging on your bare feet."
Lianaza's face turned pink and she said: "Li Fei, don't dream, I won't dance for you. You haven't seen any kind of dance in Tokyo. You and I don't want to see dancing!"
Zhao Tong wondered: "What are you watching if you don't want to watch dancing?"
Lianaza said softly: "You know it yourself!"
Zhao Tong smiled, suddenly stretched out his fingers to lift up his pointed snow-white chin, and said, "What do I know?"
Liyana's eyelashes were trembling, and her eyes were a little hazy. Zhao Tong looked at her peach-like cheeks and couldn't help but lean down slightly...
At this moment, Dia's urgent voice suddenly came from outside: "General, is the general here?"
Liyanaza was immediately shocked: "Diya?"
Zhao Tong said "Hmm" and looked up outside.
Lianaza stood up and went out to look, and saw Diya calling around in the courtyard. Seeing her going out, she hurriedly said: "General, King Huai sent an order for the general and General Li to enter the palace immediately to discuss matters!"
"Enter the palace to discuss matters...at this time?" Zhao Tong looked at the sky. It was already dark, and there were clouds gathering. It seemed that a storm was coming.
Lianaza whispered: "I'm afraid it's not what you said..."
Zhao Tong nodded: "It's very possible. I'll go back and change clothes and enter the palace immediately."
After a while, the lights in Wangqing Palace were brightly lit, and the civil and military teams stood above the main hall.
I saw Wang Qing sitting above with a pale face. He suddenly threw down a piece of paper and cursed: "Zhao Tong is cunning. The Song army didn't come to suppress Luzhou at all. Instead, they turned around and went straight to Shouzhou."
Everyone below was surprised when they heard this. Fang Han said: "Your Majesty, Shouzhou cannot be lost. I think we should send troops to rescue it immediately."
Gong Duan also said: "What Privy Fang said is true. Shouzhou and Luzhou are horns with each other. If Shouzhou is lost, Luzhou will lose its northwest defense and will be exposed to the Song army."
Fan Quan frowned and said: "Shouzhou has the largest number of soldiers except Luzhou, with more than six thousand people. Moreover, the city is high and the river is deep, so they will not be lost so quickly."
Duan Er said at this time: "What's the use of a high city and a deep river? Don't forget how we captured Shouzhou back then!"
Fan Quan shook his head and said: "How can the past be compared to today? Although there were Song troops defending the city in Shouzhou before, they were in vain. Our army only feigned attacks twice, and those Song troops were so scared that they did not dare to defend the city, so they abandoned the city and fled. , now Shouzhou is defended by our Huai army, and with generals like General Yuan Lang, we will not lose it for a while."
Duan Er said: "Since this is the truth, we must rush to rescue."
Wang Qing looked at Li Zhu from above and said, "What does the Prime Minister think about this?"
Li Zhu said: "The Song army did not dare to attack Luzhou directly because Luzhou had many soldiers and generals. They were afraid that if they could not fight for a long time, Shouzhou would sneak attack from behind. Now that they are turning to Shouzhou, they must have planned a lightning attack on the city and asked me to rescue them. There is no rush, in this case not only do we need to rescue Shouzhou immediately, but we also need to send more troops there. As long as we are fast enough, we can still create a pincer attack. Now we have to fight for time, so please send an order for rescue as soon as possible!"
When Wang Qing heard this, he shouted "Okay", glanced downwards, and said: "Fengtai and Liu Yuan, I will give you three thousand troops each, and you will be the vanguard. We will rush to Shouzhou immediately in two groups!"
The two men immediately shouted "I accept my order" and left the palace.
Wang Qing said again: "Gong Duan!"
Gong Duan hurriedly left the class and said, "I'm here!"
Wang Qingdao: "I will make you Grand Marshal of the Army, Du Bo as Deputy Marshal, Li Xiong, Bixian, Pan Zhong, Qiu Fei, Shi Jun, Liu Yijing, Shangguan Yi, Gong Gang, and Xi Sheng as Generals, and you will be promoted immediately." Thirty thousand soldiers, set out at dawn tomorrow!"
Gong Duan shouted to take the order and led Du Bo and others out of the palace. Then Wang Qing looked at Li Zhu and said, "Prime Minister, do you think this arrangement is appropriate?"
Li Zhu smiled and said: "The king's arrangements are very good, there are no mistakes or omissions. Even Luzhou must step up its defense and be careful that the Song soldiers divide into two groups to attack."
Zhao Tong took a peek at Li Zhu after hearing this, thinking that if he was really an old fox, he didn't know what Zongze would do, whether he would attack Shouzhou with all his strength, or he would divide some of his troops to harass Luzhou as Li Zhu said.
However, there is no problem in how to do both. Each has its own advantages. On the battlefield, there are not many things that can be done directly and face to face.
Wang Qing thought for a while, looked down and said again: "Li Fei!"
Zhao Tong hurriedly left the class and said, "I'm here!"
Wang Qingdao: "In the current war, I am temporarily exempting you from the duties of internal and external inspection and appointing you as the left defense envoy of Luzhou to supervise the internal and external defense. You will take office immediately!"
Zhao Tong said: "I accept your order!"
Wang Qing said again: "Zhuomao, I will appoint you as the right defense envoy of Luzhou to supervise the internal and external defense of Luzhou. You will take office immediately!"
After appointing the two men, Wang Qing mobilized some generals and arranged city defense matters before announcing the disbandment of the dynasty.
As everyone left the palace, it started to rain lightly outside.
Zhao Tong cannot return home at the moment. He has been appointed as the left defense envoy, and now he and Zhuo Mao must inspect the city defense.
After a brief discussion, the two of them allocated half of the city to each other, and then led their troops to check it out despite the light rain.
At this time, the entire Luzhou military camp was in motion. Fengtai and Liu Yuan had already ordered three thousand troops and horses each, and rushed towards Shouzhou despite the drizzle.
These two generals, with 6,000 soldiers, did not carry any baggage. They only carried two or three days of dry food on their backs. However, they went into battle lightly and overtook the Song army as quickly as possible, and then waited for a moment to wait for the army from behind to catch up. arrive.
As for Gong Duan's 30,000-strong army, they cannot go into battle lightly, nor can they leave immediately. All preparations must be complete, including food, grass, chariots and horses. Everything is indispensable. They will be busy until dawn, and they will be almost ready.
Zhao Tao patrolled all night and finally arrived outside the North City Gate, where Gong Duan's army was gathering. It was raining lightly, smoke was rising, and the camps were crowded with people and noisy, obviously having a meal.
About half an hour later, the sky was bright, and soldiers from all over the village came out of the stronghold to gather. It was completely dark. I don't know how many people there were. They looked brightly armored, and their swords and guns were cold.
As military orders were passed down one after another, the flags were unfurled, and the sound of horse hooves slowly sounded, followed by the sound of hurried steps, and then various vehicles "squeaked" mixed together and began to move forward.
Zhao Tong had been watching the army leave, and had just turned around to go back to his hometown for dinner. At this time, Zhuo Mao led his people and rushed over. When he saw Zhao Tong, he said: "General Li, please stay. Zhuo has something to discuss with General Li."
Zhao Tong looked at Zhuomao. This Zhuomao was also a famous general under Wang Qing. He was from the same hometown as Li Zhu and both were from Jingnan.
Zhao Tong said: "General Zhuo, what are you discussing?"
Zhuo Mao said with a bitter look on his face: "General Li, it is better for you and me, the Luzhou defense envoys, to fight in front of the battle array. With such daily patrols, there is no chance of rest. I think it is better to discuss a way to not delay the defense, but also to Make it easy on each other.”
Zhao Tong took a look at him and saw that his face was gray and smelled of alcohol all night long. He knew that he was tired of the difficulty and thought, "I wonder what General Zhuo can do?"
Zhuo Mao said: "It was precisely because I couldn't think of a way that I came to General Li for discussion."
Zhao Tong thought for a moment and said, "I have a method here, but I don't know if it is suitable or not?"
Zhuomao heard this and said happily: "General Li, please come and listen."
Zhao Tong said: "It's a waste of time and energy for you and me to patrol half of the city. Not to mention, both of us are still tired. I think it's better to divide the day and night, patrol for six hours each, and then replace the patrol with the next person. That's great. ?”
When Zhuo Mao heard this, he just thought about it and said happily: "General Li's method is feasible. It will not delay things and give you time to rest. I wonder who will patrol during the day and who will patrol at night?"
Zhao Tong smiled and said, "It's convenient for General Zhuo, but I have nothing to do here. I can do whatever I want day or night."
Zhuomao thought for a while and said with a smile: "Brother, I'm going to take advantage. Brother Li, you don't know something. Brother, I'm willing to have a few sips in the evening, but now I'm afraid of getting drunk and getting into trouble, so why not just patrol?" During the day, can Brother Li please patrol at night?"
Seeing his polite words, Zhao Tong also smiled and changed the title: "Brother Zhuo, what are you talking about? I have nothing to do, I just patrol all night, but today I have to trouble my brother to hold on during the day."
Zhuo Mao said happily: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it's just a matter of a few days, so it's settled. Brother Li will go back home to repair it and come and take over for me in the evening."
Zhao Tong nodded and said goodbye, then arranged for his soldiers to change defenses, and went straight back to the mansion.
After he returned, he took off his armor, and Yao Pingzhong came over to lead the horse. The yellow horse had changed its temper a little since the battle with Pan Zhong that day, and was no longer so lazy, but it still looked listless, especially after walking out all night, and it was drooping at the moment. He was holding his head, as if he couldn't open his eyelids, which made Yao Pingzhong frown.
Zhao Tong ate less and went back to his house to rest. He slept until night. After getting up and tidying up, he went to change guard with Zhuo Mao.
After three days of this, a battle report finally came from the front. It turned out that Shouzhou had been lost, and the battle ahead was unfavorable!
(End of chapter)
