On precisely this day, the second day of August, Chen Chong arrived in Jinyang.
At this time, Jinyang was a busy scene. Although August in the past was also a busy scene with a good harvest, it could not be compared with the scene today.
In the past August, the fields were covered with golden waves. The farmers who had been working for a year were shirtless, bending down to cut in the golden waves, and sorting the wheat ears into bundles and stacks. Migratory birds such as geese have begun to prepare to move south to warmer places. Overwintering birds such as sparrows, cuckoos, and crows are parked on the treetops in the streets, hoping to take advantage of the farmers not paying attention and take the opportunity to peck at some. Food, but the women had experience with this. They had already ordered their children to stay in the wheat pile. As soon as the sparrows came down, they would wave their bamboo poles to drive them back. This busy scene makes people feel warm at the same time.
But that’s not the case this August. After a year of famine, perhaps due to God's mercy, the harvest in the third year of Chuping improved slightly. Although many areas in the fierce fighting in Kanto may not have harvested anything, there was still joy in the territory of Bingzhou. It's just that there are no adult men busy in the fields anymore. They are all ladies and ladies who usually dare not show their faces. As people who spent their childhood in the fields, they are also good at harvesting wheat. It's just that they In addition to the joy of harvest, there is also a little worry in the eyes, especially when a sergeant passes by on the road.
During these days, every half an hour, men can be seen coming in groups on the road. This is the case every day, as if the journey will never end. It's just that the men are of different ages and body shapes. Some have white eyebrows, and some have no beards. Some have serious expressions, while others have childish faces. But the women all knew that they had been recruited by the state capital and would go to the outskirts of Jinyang to join the army, distribute weapons, and then go to the south to fight. Their husbands, children, and fathers were all among them. They looked at the people passing by discussing something on the road, and their eyes revealed some perseverance. They all thought of their relatives and silently prayed for them in their hearts, hoping that God would bless them.
Chen Chong originally led Xihe's soldiers there. Previously, the county soldiers in Xihe, plus the newly-established Taiping Army, could barely number 20,000, but after he issued the order, nearly 20,000 more people were mobilized from Baibo tribe. More than 40,000 people flowed down the Luliang Mountains from Zishi like a river, and then went north to Zhaoyuze. What he saw was an even more spectacular scene:
South of Jinyang City and on the plain east of Jinshui River, there are all the camps that have just been stationed. They stretch to the sky like a wilderness, like a forest, like stones, and like the wind. The sounds of men training are everywhere. The Xihe soldiers led by Chen Chong no longer had a place to station, so they had to camp directly in Qi County. The entire camp stretched for nearly a hundred miles, and communication between various departments took a day.
Correspondingly, the operation of the county offices in Bingzhou has reached its limit. After entering Jinyang City, Chen Chong walked into the county office. No one who came and went bowed their heads to salute him. Their eyes were dark and their steps were frivolous. It was obvious that these days He hadn't had a good rest every day, and the same was true for Chen Chong himself. Along the way, he rode in a carriage, checking the arsenal data while marching in the carriage. He barely squinted in the carriage for a while in the early morning, and now his mind was a little dizzy.
First, he washed his face with the cool well water. Chen Chong felt a little more awake. Then he took the calculated documents and went to find Yao Gong, who was in charge of Zhizhong. Yao Gong had arrived in Jinyang first and was responsible for mobilizing supplies. Chen Chong came to him. The purpose is to calculate whether the original accounts of the arsenal are consistent with the accounts of the army distribution, and by the way, how many people have gathered in Taiyuan now.
"Excluding the 64,000 and 77 people originally recruited and the 15,000 and 12 people brought by General Duan from Hongnong, this recruitment has recruited 57,947 people. Including the 19,729 people you recruited from Tingjian, the total number of new people is 77,077."
After telling this number, Yao Gong was extremely excited. He held the bamboo slips and smiled at Chen Chong: "There are still soldiers from Xianbei and Xiongnu who have not arrived yet. But even if they are not counted, Ting Jian, the number of troops we can dispatch this time is already It can reach 140,000 people!" At this point, Yao Gong's hands trembled slightly with excitement, as if he already held something similar to destiny in his hands.
The results of this mobilization were beyond everyone's expectations. The speed and the number of people mobilized can be said to be remarkable. The land inspection, demarcation and registration matters that Bingzhou vigorously rectified at the beginning of this year happened to play a role at this time. If it hadn't been for the detection of nearly two million people living in seclusion and refugees, who would have thought that Bingzhou would have such potential?
Chen Chong smiled at Yao Gong. He knew that Yao Gong had lived in the court for a long time and actually did not understand military affairs. He was so excited at this time because he thought he had a chance of winning against the Liang people, but this was not the case. It is said that there are 140,000 people, but in fact, most of the 77,000 newly recruited people will not go to the battlefield, but will serve as logistics and garrison troops to ensure the rear path and logistics of the army, so that they can directly participate in the war. , estimated to be around 90,000. But the Liang people had no such worries. They forced civilians along the way, plundered food, and burned wherever they went. All their soldiers could directly participate in the battle. But Chen Chong would not say these words. The military morale was high because of the large number of people. He needed everyone to believe in victory.
When he was busy in the county mansion until noon, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hoofbeats and honking outside the door. Chen Chong heard the word "尧" twice again, and a man broke in. When he entered the door, he said: "Yao Gong, what I said the day before yesterday Have the 10,000 pieces of autumn clothes arrived?" Chen Chong didn't even raise his head and said directly: "It's here, I shipped them over."
Liu Bei was overjoyed. He strode over and hugged Chen Chong with his long and strong hands. There was a warmth in his chest. He said with a smile: "Ting Jian, you are here too! Then our troops from the five counties in Bingzhou are all here." Yes!" Chen Chong also laughed, loosening his arms and looking at him. He saw that he was dusty, and his trousers and boots were covered with a layer of black mud. He couldn't help but laugh: "Where did you come back from?"
"I went to Yanmen yesterday and talked with two young Xianbei commanders. Even if they don't send troops, they still have two thousand horses. I'm going to come over. They are all good horses!" With that, Liu Bei pulled Chen Chongqiang to the side. In front of the door, it turned out that he himself had brought a good horse as a mount, and now it was just right to show off to Chen Chong. This is a pure black Yeli horse, with four legs as strong as a three-year-old tree stump, a back as tall as a dragon, and a neck as fat as an elephant. When Chen Chong saw it, he couldn't help but sigh: "What a good horse, what's its name?" ?”
"I was going to ask you to pick it up."
Chen Chong thought for a while, and suddenly thought of a saying by Ouyang Xiu of later generations: "I have a thousand-mile horse, and its hair and bones are so slim. It gallops like the wind, and there is no shadow in the day. Xu drives the road, and the steps are in five tones." Now the horse's hair is pitch black. Ruye said, "How about calling it Liuyin?"
Liu Bei was very satisfied when he heard this. He went into the room and said a few words to Yao Gong, sealed some transfer orders, and then took Chen Chong to the last courtyard. Liu Jia had known that Chen Chong was coming, and estimated that when Liu Bei came back today, he would have lunch at home, so he prepared meals early and put them in the house, and waited at the door. As soon as she saw Liu Bei, she handed over a change of clothes and took off his boots for him. Then she said to Chen Chong, "Ting Jian, I made some mutton soup today. I don't know if it suits your taste."
Chen Chong stood aside and watched the couple playing the piano and the harp in harmony. He was very pleased and shook his head and said, "You have to worry about courtesy and courtesy. What else can you choose if you have meat to eat?" Liu Bei said, "He doesn't even have tree bark." I can eat it all, you’re asking too much!”
As soon as he entered the warm room and sat on the leather-covered floor, Liu Bei didn't talk about military matters with Chen Chong. He just chatted all over the world, starting from anecdotes about Xianbei and talking about the customs of various tribes. It wasn't until he finished eating that he said: : "Now that you are here, we are all here. Now we only have to see how many more people we can borrow from the Xiongnu and Xianbei. What do you think of the current situation?"
"Liang Ren's actions are faster than we thought. It is still too late to send out troops in ten days. We can't delay it any longer. They can borrow as much as they want. I think since the recruitment went so smoothly, they can send out troops in five days. What do you think? ?”
Liu Bei slapped the case and said: "I think so too. It is better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. The more times like this, the more difficult it is to face difficulties. In the battle of Kunyang, Shizu's soldiers were less than ten thousand, but he could win against three hundred thousand. I How can we still be conservative when our forces are at a stalemate?”
Chen Chong saw the impatience in his heart and advised him: "No matter you are brave, timid or slow, be calm in front of you, and don't act out of anger."
Liu Bei really didn't care. He remembered something, stood up and took Chen Chong's hand and said, "Speaking of which, you haven't seen Ajian yet!" So he took Chen Chong to the bedroom, where a woman was holding a baby in her arms. The child inside was singing songs from the North to him softly. When Chen Chong saw that the child was neither crying nor fussing, he thought he had fallen asleep. However, when he walked in, he found that he was looking at him curiously with his eyes open. Looking around.
Seeing the two people approaching, the child made a sound of "Ai Ai", stretched out its small palm from the swaddling clothes, and waved it around. Only then did the woman see Liu Bei coming, stood up with the child in her arms and said with a smile: " Young master is really smart, he can recognize adults at only three months old."
It turned out that the child was Liu Bei's only son, and the woman was the child's wet nurse. The woman carried the child to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei carefully adjusted his position until the child laughed sweetly, and he also laughed. He walked up to Chen Chong, pointed at Chen Chong and said to the child: "Boy, this is your uncle Ting Jian."
Chen Chong knew his name. The child was born prematurely one month early. Liu Bei wrote to ask him at that time and said that he only gave him the nickname Ajian. As for the name, he should ask Chen Chong for his opinion. Chen Chong regarded the big man as the virtue of fire and thought of his dead friend Fu Xie, so he suggested that Liu Bei name him Xie. .
Liu Bei returned Liu Xie to the woman and sighed to Chen Chong: "I really hope he can live in a peaceful age."
Hearing this, Chen Chong thought of Chen Ji, his own people, and Chen Shi. After a moment of silence, he replied solemnly: "I hope everyone in the world can live in a peaceful age."
Correct
