"Is there such a thing? Alas, this third child really succeeds more than fails!" Yang He frowned. He spent a lot of hard work traveling across mountains and rivers. He originally wanted to rely on a big tree, but unexpectedly all the leaves on the tree had fallen off.
He paused before saying: "Then...it seems I came at the wrong time?"
"Ahem, how can our own family say that?" Lou Shiming stood up with a smile, walked back to the chair and sat down, and said, "As the old saying goes, 'If the east is not bright, the west is bright.' There is still a way."
"Oh? My nephew, if you have any good ideas, teach me quickly!"
Lou Shiming said nothing and pointed his hand towards the west. Yang He thought for a moment after seeing this, then narrowed his eyes and asked slowly: "You mean... you want me to fight to the west?"
"Does uncle think this is a bad idea?"
Yang He snorted unhappily: "I came all the way over the mountains and ridges, but I didn't expect that your Lou family would treat guests like this! It's just a matter of helping others. How could you drive the guests away?"
"Hey, that's what uncle said. You are an elder, why shouldn't I help you?" Lou Shiming showed his white teeth and raised his chin toward the outside of the tent:
"One hundred and twenty stones of military rations have been prepared. It's a small gesture from the Lou family, especially my nephew, to you." After speaking, he patted the back of Yang He's hand:
"Uncle, please don't be annoyed. Guangxin Mansion is only so big. Our rebel army already has 50,000 troops here. There are too many mountains and too little land to bear more.
This is one, and the other is that the Fuzhou side is open and flat, with abundant resources and people. Whether it is going to Jianchang in the south, Linjiang in the west, or even Nanchang in the north, my uncle can do whatever he wants.
And having my father and son around to respond at any time, wouldn’t it be much better than all of us huddled in this mountain and suffering? "
These words moved Yang He's heart. It's right to think about it. Although Guangxin is safe, it is surrounded by mountains and is difficult to use, and raising grain is indeed a problem.
If you really plunge into Fuzhou... Hehe, that place is much richer than here! When your troops are well fed and you are happy, you can go north to raid Nanchang Prefecture. How beautiful it would be!
Thinking of this, he licked his lips, frowned deliberately and said:
"But, dear nephew, you see, before I want to go to Fuzhou, I have to bite off the two tough bones of Geyang and Guixi. Otherwise, it will stab me in the back, which will be unbearable!"
"Why do you need so much effort?" Lou Shiming smiled and waved his hand.
"If you don't attack these two places... you won't let me cross Tianzhu Mountain, right?" Yang He's eyes widened.
"What my nephew means is to ask you to climb over the mountain quietly, and then suddenly appear in Jinxi County, which will definitely catch them off guard!"
"This, this is no joke. To cross Tianzhu Mountain, you have to pass through the territory of the She people. You might even be ambushed by the army on the way. Besides, even the hundred stones of military rations are not enough!"
Yang He really didn't expect that he would have to go up the mountain again after coming down from the mountain, so he couldn't help sighing heavily. Unexpectedly, Lou Shiming was not anxious at all.
"Uncle, don't worry, these nephews you are worried about have been arranged." After he finished speaking, he flexed his fingers and said:
"First, my nephew will inform the various rebel armies scattered in Qianshan, Geyang, and Guixi to attack the government and government troops everywhere, making them confused and huddled in the city and dare not go out.
Second, my nephew has ordered more than a thousand brothers to raid Shanglu. Shanglu is a large town that once served as the seat of Luxi County. It is said that thousands of stones of grain were not transferred to Qianshan due to the war.
My nephew has given an order to leave 70% of the seized grain to his uncle, so grain is not a problem! With this group of men and horses guarding Shanglu, and the uncle's large number of soldiers and horses, the She people's tribes should not make any big moves. "
Yang He immediately beamed when he heard that there was food. "My nephew is really amazing, he thinks of everything for us.
well! Then uncle will go to Fuzhou to show off his skills! However, the journey is difficult and long, so how about you leave me 80%? "
"Haha, okay, okay! Uncle, go ahead with peace of mind. When my father and my son take Guangxin, and coordinate with my uncle's east and west, and advance hand in hand, the officers and soldiers will be exhausted and unable to resist, and the entire Jiangxi will be taken over soon!"
Seeing that he finally agreed to march westward, Lou Shiming was secretly happy. In any case, I finally achieved my goal. Although I sacrificed Shanglu's fat and oily bait, it was still worth it in the end.
The two men talked happily and decided to have a few drinks in this simple military tent as a "strong trip" for Yang He. A soldier brought two or three side dishes and took out a small porcelain jar to pour a glass of wine for each of them.
"What is this?" Yang He looked at it for a moment, and immediately after picking it up, the aroma of wine entered his nostrils. "Hey, this is wine?" He looked at it in surprise and smelled it with his nose: "Why is it as clear as water?"
"My third brother, if he can't fight well, he will do these things." Lou Shiming pointed to the small jar with a smile: "Phoenix milk nectar, hehe, how can he not lose the battle if he is focused on this? But this wine is really good. Drink, uncle, taste it." He took a small sip first.
Yang He sipped doubtfully, smacking his lips and his eyes gradually brightened: "Good wine, good wine! I didn't expect that Xiao San'er has such skills?"
"Where did he get his craftsmanship? I don't know where he found a skilled Du Gong!"
"You three brothers each have their own strengths. Since the third young master likes these, why not just let him do what he likes? Your father is too fond of him.
In fact, I think Anbang Dingguo needs to use the brains of the boss. For the country, I have to say that you, Shiming, are more suitable! "After half a bottle of wine, Yang He spoke without any scruples.
"If you say this, my eldest brother will not be convinced if he hears it."
"Really, Second Young Master! Your ability to lead troops and fight is incomparable to the boss. He is a counselor, so he should do things like Xiao He.
If he insists on becoming the prince, sooner or later he will be Li Jiancheng! I haven't finished speaking yet, don't stop me. Yang He rounded his eyes seriously:
"Most of the commanders in our army recognize you as the second young master. We will be convinced that you will take over the command of the commander in the future. If someone else is chosen, I, Yang He, will be the first to be dissatisfied...!" He breathed out the smell of alcohol and waved his arms as he shouted. .
"Uncle Yang, walk slowly, be careful of the slippery mountain road!"
After drinking and eating, Lou Shiming helped the crooked Yang He back to the road below, and his soldiers helped him onto his mount.
The Chinese army behind him ran over and handed his soldiers a bamboo basket, which contained three unopened bottles of "Phoenix Milk" and six bottles of "Phoenix Spring". Then the group watched them leave and disappear behind the sea of bamboo.
"Alas, the Third Marshal only sent you a few bottles in total, and they were all given away. What a pity!" Zhongjun sighed.
"Don't be such a petty person. Do people who do big things care about a few bottles of wine? Isn't it that the third one has a winery that they can't get? Just send someone to buy some more." Lou Shiming looked at the tail of the team and said.
"Ah? You are his second brother, you still need to pay for it?"
"Then what do you think?" Lou Shiming turned around and laughed: "Who knows how that winery came to be? If you say that it was purely made by the third brother with his own money, I don't believe it without a financial backer!"
"Oh, you mean...?"
"I didn't say anything." Lou Shiming sneered: "My father is too partial, and he sticks to his third brother for all good things. We are fighting here for a long time, and we still don't know who to make wedding clothes for."
After saying that, he looked back at the direction in which Yang He's team was leaving, and whispered softly: "But what Yang Shuai said today really touched me.
I originally thought of sacrificing him in exchange for our rest and development in Guangxin, but now I think it may be wrong to think so.
At least at the critical moment, with this meal of wine, as well as the food, grass, and salary support from Shanglu, Yang Shuai might be able to help me. "
He stood still and thought for a while, then whispered to the Chinese army: "Brothers, please be more strict with your mouth. I will forget everything I heard Yang Shuai say in the tent!"
Also, go back and stock up on fresh food. The summer heat is about to begin. We will send some melons, plums, peaches, fresh lotus roots and young wild rice to all the commanders and generals, and we will also shoot some pheasants and hares.
Well, you might as well give away some of Third Brother’s wine. Since you are doing a favor, then do it to the end! "
Yugan County, Li Mansion.
Li Su was writing on the snow-white paper spread out on his desk. What he was copying was "The Thousand-Character Classic". Li Su liked Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy, but he himself used cursive calligraphy.
Those who have won the Jinshi must have beautiful handwriting. This is what he is very proud of.
In the past, I often regretted that I could only teach my daughters. Now that Li Jin has adopted the eldest son, he can finally have the joy of teaching his children, so it is good to practice in his spare time.
Suddenly he heard rapid footsteps outside the door, which disrupted his mood. The former Yuanwailang couldn't help but raise his head in annoyance, wanting to see who was asking for a beating like this. Unexpectedly, when he met Li Yan's eyes, he was stunned:
"Third brother, what's wrong with you being so reckless?" Now that the family has been separated, Li Yan purchased a large courtyard near the county school.
But he knew that his brother usually liked to be quiet, so he would not visit unless there was something bigger, let alone break into the study like this.
"Brother still has the heart to write, don't you know that there is already chaos outside?" Li Yan said angrily.
"Huh?" Li Su asked, pretending to be a Yangqi master, "Why are you so alarmed?"
"The rebel Yang He suddenly appeared in Fuzhou and captured Jinxi and Dongxiang!"
"No way?" Li Su's hand shook and he didn't notice that a large drop of ink fell in the middle of the words. "This, when did it happen? Why didn't it appear in the newspaper?"
Dongxiang and Yugan face each other across the river, and are two hundred miles apart. Compared with Lou Zi who was far away in Guangxin Prefecture to attack Shangrao, they are almost close at hand.
He looked at Li Yan carefully and felt that he was not joking. He couldn't help but got angry and cursed:
"Where are these damn officials and the officers and soldiers in Nanchang? Didn't I say that I sent 10,000 people to suppress the bandits? How come they were beaten to the door by the people? Are we feeding the dogs while we are donating money and paying taxes?"
"Brother, please don't say such angry words first, it's not the right time!" Li Yan shook his hands wildly in anxiety: "Let's talk about what we should do first? Should we go or stay? As a big family, if anything goes wrong, it will be serious!"
"Wait, wait, have you seen the county magistrate?"
"We've gone. The yamen gate is full of gentlemen and businessmen, all clamoring to ask the county magistrate for his decision. But the magistrate can't see him. Zhou Dutou arranged for the police to stop him at the gate."
"Where's the back door?"
"I've been there, and there are people guarding it."
"That's right! General Zhaoyi's Mansion, go quickly and ask the general what's going on!"
"Oh, yes! Then I'll go now, you wait for me to come back!" Li Yan then remembered that there is a branch training in the city, and the leader is the descendant of the Zhao family's royal family. He turned around, picked up the hem and ran away.
"Hu Qin, Hu Qin!"
"Hey, it's coming, it's coming! What are your orders, sir?" Hu Qin, who had already become the housekeeper of the inner courtyard, hurried over upon hearing the call. He just saw Li Yan running out in a hurry and was asking the boy what happened to make the third master lose his temper like this.
"Where's Changjing?"
"He... seems to be playing with stone locks across the courtyard."
"Tell him to come see me!"
"Yes Yes."
After a while, Li Changjing walked in while wiping the sweat on his eyelids with his sleeves. He bowed first and then asked: "The master is looking for a villain, but what do you want to tell him to do?"
Li Su took a few steps forward, stretched his head to see if there was no one outside, and asked in a low voice, "Can we still contact the people over at E Lake?"
"Okay." Li Changjing bowed and replied.
"What the hell is going on, I'm confused. Didn't it mean that Sanlang went to deliver military rations and was trapped in Fengqiguan?
Why did my third brother just come to tell me that the rebel commander captured Dongxiang? What the hell is going on? You should try to find out quickly. "
"Master, you don't need to ask about this, I know."
"Ah, you know?"
"Yes. When Lou Zi was besieging Shangrao, Sanlang was blocked by his troops and has been unable to enter Shangrao until now.
The man who attacked Dongxiang was named Yang He, a commander who had received the title of Lou Zishi. The two of them are actually allies. Sometimes they cooperate, but most of the time they do their own things and do not belong to each other. "
"Oh, that's it! I thought it was the commander-in-chief of Shangrao who sent troops to Fuzhou. It seems that the commander-in-chief took matters into his own hands."
Li Su's brows gradually widened, and he nodded and said, "It seems that Sanlang can't escape yet. This is better, this is better. It's best if he misses the deadline or loses the baggage..."
"Master, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."
"Um, what?"
Li Changjing looked behind him and told him softly:
"I just heard that although Sanlang was blocked, he fought three battles with the rebels and even killed the You Sanjiang we were looking for.
Now there is news from Shangrao that the prefect has asked Sanlang to inspect the Northland, and he is an official of the ninth rank! "
"Hiss!" Li Su took a breath and gritted his teeth and said: "Oh, this little evil beast, a thief! I didn't expect him to have such luck! Is this a good thing? Is this a good thing?"
"Sir, the villain thought that he was trapped now anyway, just like a fish in a mud pond, he wouldn't be able to struggle for long.
He only has a few men in his hands, but Lou Zi's army of 100,000 people can drown him even if he spits foam and drowns him. Please calm down, it's not worth the rush.
Besides, looking at this situation, it will be sooner or later that the entire Guangxin Mansion falls, and even Fuzhou is not protected. Saburo, he will always run out of luck, don't you think? "
As soon as I said this, I heard Hu Qin's voice in the yard: "Hey, Third Master, you are back, thank you for your hard work!" The master and servant hurriedly stopped talking.
"Brother, I asked the general! He said that there were only more than 3,000 rebels occupying Dongxiang, and they should not be able to divide their troops to come back. He told us not to panic. He also said that the county magistrate had sent people to Raozhou Prefecture to report to the governor. "
Hearing what his brother said, Li Su felt a little relieved, but he couldn't help but think that it would be better for these thieves to fight back and fight against Guixi and Geyang, so that Li Sanlang would never want to come back again!
Some people died, but not completely...
