In the misty and rainy March in the South, Tong Guan was sitting in an empty rice shop.
He held preserved fruit in one hand and good news in the other, and there was a furnace of ambergris in front of him.
Months of war had depleted the city's food supplies. Grain merchants naturally began to hoard their goods. The price of rice soared, and there were widespread complaints.
The grain merchants were obsessed with making a fortune, but they forgot that Privy Tong had not taken care of his filial piety. Therefore, Privy Tong did not mind appearing as a loyal person who served the country and the people. He personally brought his own soldiers and went to each house to pick up people. The person in charge went to the street to interrogate and behead seven grain merchants in a row and looted all the grain and rice they had hoarded. Sold to the common people at half price.
Of course, this half price is based on the price after grain merchants increased it for more than ten rounds.
As for the money sold, is Master Tong's loyalty this time in vain? Naturally, it is all for personal use, and it is counted as one's own hard work.
Seeing another short-selling rice store, Privy Tong felt full: the people got food to survive, and I made millions. It was the best of both worlds.
The only bad thing is the grain merchants, but who told them to hoard their goods?
Didn’t you see that after beheading the abandoned city, the people spit on the corpse and cheered Tong Qingtian?
Thinking of this, Tong Guan narrowed his eyes, took a bite of the preserved fruit, and chewed it slowly.
After all, he is still sixty-six years old. In this era, he can be called a long life.
Although he prefers to present himself as an iron-blooded warrior, the candied fruits in Suzhou are really tempting. For an old man, having a sweet fragrance lingering on his tongue for a long time on a damp and rainy day is a great comfort.
The preserved fruit is sweet.
Making money is sweet.
Good news is sweet and fragrant.
The good news came from the Xinxing sect who sent a fast horse. This guy marched very neatly. He seemed to be following Lao Cao's trick of getting rid of the main force of the Chinese army - Tong Guan's army was still in Suzhou and he had captured Xiuzhou one after another. The two counties of Jiaxing and Chongde can be said to have great military strength and great speed.
Tong Guan was very interested when he saw Xin Xingzong's meritorious service. What's the reason for this?
It turned out that Xin Xingzong's biological father, Xin Shuxian, was a veteran general of the Western Army. He was famous for his ability in both civil and military affairs. He held the military position of controlling the capital and the civilian position of Huangzhou magistrate. He was loyal to Tong Guan and was always respected by Tong Guan.
Xin Shuxian spent his life as a soldier, taking time off from work, and gave birth to four great sons, named Xin Xingzong, Xin Qizong, Xin Daozong, Xin Yongzong, and a nephew Xin Yanzong, collectively known as the Five Tigers of the Xin family.
The five tigers of the Xin family have grown up under Tong Guan's watch, and are regarded by him as their true direct descendants. If they fight well this time, they will have an excuse to promote them later.
The judge couldn't help but ask, how could this Xin Xingzong fight so well?
But it was said that Xin Xingzong had taken the lead in the Chinese army's tent and seized the vanguard position. The next day, he and Yang Weizhong, another leader of the Xihe army, led his 20,000 troops and set out to kill Xiuzhou.
The prefecture of Xiuzhou is Jiaxing County. The name of the guard general is Duan Kai. He is a wealthy man in the local area. He has always been kind to others in his life. People gave him the nickname "Yi Yiyou". First, it means that his family is rich and he has eaten a lot of fat. He is said to be slippery and has no shortcomings.
At this time, there was a rebellion in Qian La, and the three kings Fang Maung sent their troops to fight all the way. This "one oil" made a prompt decision, took out half of his family property and dedicated it to Fang Maang, saying, "The world celebrates the birth of Maitreya. I would like to use my small wealth and power as military equipment. I only hope that the king will fight." Invincible, shining brightly in all nine states."
Fangmao was overjoyed - he once heard a story told by the elder Wang Gong and Lao Buddha in the church: During the Three Kingdoms period, there was a good man named Lu Su in the east of the Yangtze River. Lu Su had two piles of food at home, and he pointed to one of them and said, "If you want to borrow it, I'll give it to you." Zhou Yu liked his generosity and became a close friend. Later, Zhou Yu died of illness, all because of Lu Su. Su took over and stabilized the situation in the eighty-one prefectures of Jiangdong.
Fang Mang pretended to be part of the story, thinking it was a coincidence, wasn't it? My brother Fang La is like Sun Ce, and I, the three great kings, are like the handsome and unparalleled Zhou Lang. This Duan Kai gave half of his family property, isn't he Lu Su?
He also didn't want to think that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were both unknown cases who died in their prime. He was so beautiful in his erudition that he wanted to promote this "all-rounder" with the style of Lu Su. He wrote to his brother to praise him and work hard. This person was recommended to guard Xiuzhou.
Duan Kai was a pragmatic man, but not very courageous. He heard that Suzhou had been captured by the Song Army a few days ago. His benefactor, the three great kings Fang Mao, were defeated and died. His three souls and six souls were half frightened away. He secretly thought about what to do. Don't pack up the furniture, just leave alone?
It's a pity that all the money and wealth that were donated to the army were taken away. Now what's left is mostly houses and acres of land. How to deal with it in such a hurry? He hesitated for a moment, but unexpectedly, Xin Xingzong was eager to accomplish his feat, and drove his men to rush there. There was a scout horse in the city galloping to report back. He quickly went to the city to take a look, and saw the flags on the road covering the sun, and the mighty army coming. He couldn't help feeling soft and tender. .
Not long after, Xin Xingzong's troops came to the city and marched out in person, calling for battle. Could Duan Kai really fight with him? He quickly shouted loudly: "No need to attack, no need to attack, I have surrendered."
Then he ordered the city gates to be opened, personally held fragrant flowers, lamps and candles, led people to lead sheep and carry wine, nodded and bowed, and came to welcome Xin Xingzong into the city. He said: "This little man is a good citizen of the Song Dynasty. He has a heart of loyalty to the emperor in his chest and serves the country in his heart." Because the traitor Fang La was so powerful, he had no choice but to surrender in order to protect the people. Since then, I have been sleepless every night, washing my face with tears, looking north all day long, and today I finally hope to see the heavenly soldiers!"
He thought to himself that these words were perfect, but Xin Xingzong struck him with a horsewhip, whipped him to the ground, pointed and cursed: "Incompetent rat, grandpa doesn't care whether you want to serve the country or treason, why don't you dare to go out of the city and Grandpa wants to fight? Humph, you, a weakling, got the credit for presenting the city, but grandpa’s credit for killing generals was lost to you!"
After that, he spat at him and marched into the city.
The remaining four of the Xin family's five tigers were all young men in their twenties and thirties. They were all high-spirited and arrogant. They were about to show off their skills in this southern expedition. Unexpectedly, the enemy surrendered in the first battle. He was so angry that everyone spat at him when he passed by.
Duan Kai was so frightened that another general, Yang Weizhong, couldn't stand it. He got off his horse and helped him up, tried to comfort him, and then told him to return to his place.
According to Duan Kai's original idea, he wanted to inform the officers and soldiers of Hangzhou's detailed military situation, as well as the methods and foundations of Fang La's important generals. Now seeing Xin Xingzong's attitude, why would he still open his mouth? Just imitate that gourd with saw beak and let him make a fortune silently.
Xin Xingzong captured Jiaxing lightly and did not delay much. He sent troops the next day and went straight to Chongde County to kill.
Yang Weizhong specifically advised him whether to wait for Tong Guan's army to arrive before sending out troops. However, Xin Xingzong laughed and said, "Wei Zhong is ridiculous! You don't see those three Wu Songs leading thousands of Qingzhou troops to Mingcheng. At first I thought they had some skills, but now I know that Fang La’s army is full of pussies. If you and I don’t take the opportunity to make contributions, how long will it take?”
In fact, both of them are the commander-in-chief of the Xihe Army. In terms of rank, Yang Weizhong is higher. However, Xin Xingzong is the son of a serious Western Army general, but Yang Weizhong's background is much more complicated——
His real name was Kang Jiong. His ancestors were captured into the Liao Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty and became a Haner of the Liao Kingdom. He left the Liao Dynasty and returned to the Song Dynasty when he was twenty years old. He joined the Tibetan army on Huanqing Road as a Xifan and changed his name. Yang Weizhong had become a general by force of martial arts and merit. He didn't want to get unhappy with Xin Xingzong, so he had no choice but to follow his will and kill in Chongde County.
Unexpectedly, when the general of Chongde County heard that the Song army was coming, he also abandoned the city and fled back to Hangzhou. Xin Xingzong conquered the city again without losing any blood. He became more and more arrogant. He wrote a victory report and sent it to Suzhou, and then set off to attack Hangzhou.
Not to mention how he defeated Hangzhou, he just said that after reading the victory report, Tong Guan nodded repeatedly: "Xingzong is light and agile and dares to fight, and he is worthy of being a general! It's just that the bandits in Hangzhou are huge, and he cannot be allowed to become a lone army of 20,000 people. , my commander-in-chief ordered me to send out troops immediately, and command the troops of Hedong and Qinfeng to separate their routes and take Taicang, Jiangyin, Jiading, and Changshu. The rest will follow my commander directly to Hangzhou. Wu Song, Lu Junyi, and Du Bo, He also urged him to send troops to attack Huzhou and Xuanzhou to prevent these two bandits from rescuing Hangzhou."
As soon as the order was passed, all three armies were mobilized. The troops were divided into three groups: the main force was led by Tong Guan Zi, heading south to fight against Hangzhou; the main force was led by Qin Feng's general Ma Gongzhi, and the Hedong general Ji Jing was led by the main force, heading east to attack Jiading and other places Along the way, Wu Song led the Qingzhou Army to the west along Taihu Lake towards Jinling.
Just talking about Wu Song and the other three, according to Tong Guan's wishes, they have recruited more than 3,000 strong men in the past few days, and they have all been issued with Song army uniforms. The total number of troops in the headquarters is 4,000 to 5,000, and they left Suzhou and headed west. At dusk, we arrived at the shore of Taihu Lake, and saw hundreds of people vying for water on the lake. However, it was Lao Cao who received the reward of the scouting horse. He led his brothers and the soldiers and horses they took away from Xishan Island to join Wu Song. .
When the brothers met, Wu Song and others recounted Tong Guan's words and deeds, as well as Tong Guan's various arrangements. After hearing this, Lao Cao looked at General Lu and laughed and said, "Tong Guan's actions and deeds are indeed praised by Mr. As expected!"
It turned out that they had left Suzhou and speculated on how Tong Guan would act. What General Lu told Cao Cao was exactly the same as what Tong Guan actually did. Bian Xiang, Shi Jin and others heard and witnessed it at the time, but now they looked at General Lu and couldn't help but take a high look.
Then he said to everyone: "Brother, I went on this expedition incognito and borrowed Li Dunzi's identity just for this moment. Now you brothers, as well as these soldiers and horses, are following my Erlang to fight in Huzhou and Xuanzhou, but I I want to select a few brothers to go with me to Fang La to be spies."
Wu Song, Lu Junyi and others were all shocked: "Brother, why bother going into that wolf and tiger den to take risks?"
Cao Cao smiled proudly and said: "Last year, I was able to deal with heroes like Aguda with ease, and we did things that changed the world on Fusang Island with no disadvantages. I didn't expect that he, Fang La, could do anything to me? What's more, I'm here. Darkness, He is in the light, there is nothing wrong with it.”
He pretended to be arrogant and wanted to reassure his brother, but Wu Song kept shaking his head and frowning: "Nothing in this world is foolproof. Why should I stand under that dangerous wall? Just let me go when you want to be a spy." Wait, brother, isn’t there someone sophisticated enough to do the job?”
Lao Cao knew that he was showing concern, so he did not show off his authority as an elder brother. He thought for a moment and told the truth: "To tell you the truth, now the Jurchens are strong, like the sun rising, the Liao Kingdom is also They are centipede insects, dead but not stiff, as well as Xixia, Tubo, etc. I want to restore the majesty of the Chinese nation, which may take seven or eight years, or two or three years, before I can compete with these foreign races."
He often said this, and now these brothers have been influenced by him and have extraordinary vision. They all nodded in agreement when they heard the words.
Cao Cao continued: "Because of Fang La's rebellion, it was China's power that was harmed. We had to help the court to put an end to it as soon as possible. However, Fang La had some great talents under his command, but they were far better than the stupid people in the court. That was Fang La himself. , I also intend to use it... Therefore, I went to be a spy this time. One is to make him defeated quickly, and the other is to preserve his energy and strengthen himself. Both of these cannot be planned in advance and can only be acted upon. Therefore, Fang said, it is not I can’t go on my own.”
Wu Song and others nodded silently, with a look of surprise in their eyes: Cao Cao wanted to defeat Fang La and Bao's national power quickly. Everyone had known it for a long time, but only now did they realize that Cao Cao's defeat of Fang La was not enough, and he also wanted to swallow the essence of his power. Such greed and ambition, if you think about it carefully, are truly worthy of the true nature of a hegemon.
General Lu was the first to react and bowed deeply: "My lord's far-sighted thinking and broad-mindedness are so admirable. These are the qualities of a true hero! A young man who can follow Ji Wei and show off his talents is truly a gift from three lifetimes." Fortunately."
The Four Heroes of Taihu sighed silently. This smart man who taught them all wrong not only knelt down to sign the contract, but now also learned how to lick and curl... Fortunately, these are all heroes, and there is only such a smart man...
Then he saw Wu Yong, with a high-spirited face, walking out and bowing to Lao Cao: "Brother Lu's words spoke to my heart. Without my brother, how will the world know about Wu Yong in a hundred years?"
Li Kui and Niu Gao were nervous at the same time and looked at each other: Look! The smart people in the team have begun to speak. If we speak slowly, how can the Qingzhou poets and immortals lose their dignity?
Niu Gao's chest puffed up: "Brother Lu said it very well, Brother Ang said it very well."
Li Kui beat the snake and followed it with the stick: "I, I, I, I will do the same, follow my brother and sweep everywhere!"
The two clapped and high-fived, laughing.
Is it so curly? The four Taihu heroes all groaned, their eyes showing despair.
Cao Cao waved his hand and stopped the other brothers who seemed to be eager to try. He said warmly: "There are three gangs of good men. Without you, a brother who has been through life and death, how can a brother do great things? You say that meeting a brother is lucky, why? With brothers like you, how can it be that God favors me?"
After a few words, all the heroes couldn't help but feel excited. They felt that the most proud thing in their lives was to be Lao Cao's brother.
General Lu swept his eyes and saw everyone's thoughts. He couldn't help but sigh to himself: He is really the overlord!
He clapped his hands and said with a smile: "My lord, what I said is in line with the great truth - as the saying goes, if you have the truth, you will get more help. If you get more help, the world will follow."
Cao Cao smiled modestly: "We can wait until the great things we have planned come true, and then we can talk over wine. What is happening now is that I want to ask for a few brothers that Tong Guan, Liu Yanqing, Fang La and others don't know." , accompany me to be a spy."
When everyone heard this, some of them immediately dropped their expressions - not to mention those with official status such as Wu Song, but also Bian Xiang, Ma Ling and other generals, whom Liu Yanqing had met before. Lu Fang, Guo Sheng, Yang Zaixing, and Wu Yong even grimaced. Although they had no official status, they had stayed in Suzhou with Wu Song and others for ten days, and many of the Western Army generals recognized them.
Cao Cao pointed and said: "Fan Rui, Tang Bin, Liu Tang, San Ruan, Shi Dalang, Yang Chun, Chen Da, Yu Baosi, and the four heroes of Taihu, fourteen of you will come with me - remember them all carefully. We came from Shuibo Liangshan, and on the orders of General Chao Gai, the king of towers, we came to the south of the Yangtze River to help fight the enemy. On the way, we met the four heroes of Taihu Lake. We all share the same goals and will contribute to the great cause of the Holy Duke!"
The Four Elites of Taihu didn't expect that four of them were also selected, and they were immediately ecstatic: Smart people like Mr. Lu can't do things with their brother despite being curled and licked, what do you call this? This is called God loving stupid children!
Li Kui shouted: "Brother, why don't you bring Tieniu with you? My brothers Shi Bao and Monk Deng are also old acquaintances."
Niu Gao sighed and said, "Have you forgotten that you went with me to show your face when my brother beat Tian Hu?"
Li Kui was speechless, suddenly rolled his eyes, and said with a smile: "I remember that my brother once wore a copper mask. I went to find someone to make one - Brother, it doesn't sound good for fourteen people. Bring Tieniu and make a mask." Fifteen, wouldn’t it be perfect?”
There are different teachings: he was an official and general in the expedition to Fang La, and he was a rebel against the bandit and the army. This trip to Hangzhou brings back old memories, and the passion is gone to Jian Lingyun.
I got home late today, so I won’t divide it into chapters.
(End of chapter)
