But it was said that Lou Shiming led Lou Shifan and more than 60 cavalrymen hurried back, paying no attention to the fighting behind him. That night they came to the pond under Longquan Temple and stayed in the Yuanjun Temple outside the village.
It is popular in this area to worship Bixia Yuanjun. There are many legends in this area, and there are Yuanjun temples in every village. The Bixia Yuanjun mentioned here is not the goddess from Mount Tai, but the worshiper of Linshui's wife Chen Jinggu from Fujian.
The one in Quantang may be because the village is large, and the ancestral hall is not small in size. There are two courtyards on the left and right, with three entrances on the left and two entrances on the right.
Judging from the shape of the temple, it should have been built in the late Southern Song Dynasty. However, two hundred years later, only the left courtyard still has Taoist priests. The right courtyard, which was originally used for practicing Kun Taoism, is abandoned and only empty houses remain. Lou Shiming and the others settled here.
Lou Shifan was very dissatisfied with his brother's arrangement, but he did not dare to say anything. Lou Shiming looked at the color on his face and sneered in his heart without saying anything. After dinner in the evening, the brothers went for a walk by the pond.
It was just getting dark at that time, and it was a bit cool in late autumn. They were all wrapped in cloaks and sat on a fallen tree trunk in the lee of the shore.
"If it hadn't been for the heavy rain in the afternoon, we might all have returned to Luoqiao." Lou Shifan said.
The corner of Lou Shiming's mouth raised slightly: "If it hadn't been for the heavy rain in the afternoon, Long Hui might still have succeeded."
"Huh?" Lou Shifan turned around: "Brother, do you think he will return without success?"
"I didn't say that." Lou Shiming pointed to the sky: "God has brought such a rain, and the ground in the mountains is slippery. I see that Li Dan's men use a lot of cars and travel at high speeds. Long Hui is just a cavalry, and it is difficult to travel on the mountain road with slippery shoes. , it’s hard to catch up.
Even if you catch up, you can't defeat your opponent. That little thief is extremely naughty. He might have anticipated the rain. I wonder why he was so lazy when he got up in the morning, as if he wasn't in a hurry! "
"Since brother guessed that Long Hui would not succeed, he still turned around and walked back with only these dozens of people. Didn't he ever think of staying to help him?" Lou Shifan asked with a frown. Apparently he had been harboring this doubt for a long time. .
loud unimportant!
What is Li Dan? A child who only knows how to cause trouble, did he come and eat us twice? No! It's just some tricks to make us sick.
His subordinates said that they were just training for the team, so what else could they do? Last time there were a thousand people, this time it was almost the same number. If he were to set up a majestic formation in front of him, do you think his thousand men can stop me or you?
Yes, he used to play tricks on me too. Those are just trivial skills that cannot be put on the stage! Therefore, you value him too much. In fact, he is not that capable, nor is he a 'famous general', he is just a team player.
Is it worth delaying our plans for this guy? Of course it’s not worth it! Which is more important: defeating Shangrao or capturing Li Dan? It goes without saying that you know it.
If I stay with Long Hui and let the Qingshirt team lead us further and further west, who will take the responsibility if the army launches a surprise attack in Beicheng tomorrow? Who should the eldest brother find to command the garrison of the camp outside the north gate? "
"Well, that makes sense." Although Lou Shifan was irritable and willful, he still had the ability to distinguish which words were right and which words made sense. "Second brother, do you think Long Hui can beat Li Dan?" he asked.
"It's hard to say. His soldiers are all selected, veterans of the cavalry. You know that our entire army has only two thousand cavalry, and almost all of them are in the hands of the eldest brother. This time, the eldest brother will definitely send the best. I gave it to him, so I still have fighting strength.”
Lou Shiming confirmed first, then changed his tone and said, "But Li Dan is good at using various tricks to make up for the team's lack of combat strength, so he may not suffer."
"Then..., after talking for a long time, second brother, who do you think will win?"
"Ha!" Lou Shiming did not answer directly, but handed over the gourd in his hand.
Lou Shifan's eyes lit up, and he immediately unscrewed the lid and took a sip: "I understand, the second brother hopes that they will strangle each other, and both will be injured in the end, but neither one will strangle the other to death. This is the best result. Right?"
"Where did you see...?"
"Hey, don't deny it. I knew you and Li Sanlang were in the business of this wine. No one else could find it anywhere, but you just have Fengquan in your hand. What does this mean?"
Lou Shifan blinked: "However, you should take your younger brother with you. After all, I did this with Li Sanlang first. It's not good for you to step in like this and then have nothing to do with me, right?"
"It's okay for you, I'm just afraid that you'll talk nonsense in front of eldest brother." Lou Shiming rolled his eyes and put his arms around his younger brother's shoulders: "But I still have to say, business is business, and we can't destroy our Lou family for the sake of business. This is the premise !
Look, I don’t care who wins this time, Long Hui or Li Sanlang. I left most of the cavalry in my hands for him, so what else could I do?
But I won’t help Li Sanlang publicly. Whether he can rush out or not is up to him. I have other things to do, so I can’t help! Li Sanlang said that there is a special name for this, called...'neutral position'! "
"It's easy to understand that the second brother didn't help Li Sanlang, but why didn't you help Long Hui? I don't quite understand this." Lou Shifan handed the gourd back, saw that the person behind him was far away, and asked softly: "But then Has Long Hui offended my second brother?"
"Hmph, if he just offended me, then it doesn't matter. I'm not that narrow-minded." Lou Shiming then mentioned again the matter of Long Hui making the decision without authorization and almost killing the two brothers, and then asked: "Three Do you know why that guy is like this?"
"Isn't it that he wants to kill Li Dan?" Lou Shifan was surprised.
Lou Shiming shook his head: "He originally joined the army with his father. Doesn't he know that doing so will endanger your life and mine?"
"Hey! Second brother is saying that that guy did it on purpose?"
"Even if he didn't mean it, at least he doesn't value your life or mine so seriously! So what does he value?" Lou Shifan shook his head. Lou Shiming sneered and said, "Let the boss take the limelight and secure his seat. This is what he wants most." Something to care about!”
"Why does this have anything to do with big brother again?" Lou Shifan was dumbfounded.
"You forgot something." Lou Shiming took a sip of wine, laughed while smelling of alcohol, and pointed with his finger: "Long Hui's sister is currently serving Mrs. Fengxian. The handsome father is very satisfied with her and has already said that she will be married before the end of the year. Promote her to be my elder brother’s concubine.”
"Oh, that's what you're talking about. I've heard about it too." Lou Shifan nodded.
Lou Shiyong already had two daughters but no son, so Lou Zishi was very anxious and asked Long to be his concubine because Mr. Lin Quan said "this woman is suitable for a man".
"So?" Lou Shifan looked at his brother, but the latter just drank and didn't answer.
He tilted his head and thought about it, and said in a long voice: "Oh -, I understand. But Long Hui thought that the girl was going to marry the eldest brother, and his uncle wanted to go to the eldest brother, so he didn't take us to heart? "
Seeing Lou Shiming smiling, he knew that his guess was almost the same, and he was furious: "What a good thief, how dare you not treat me as a dish?"
"What do you think?" Lou Shiming pushed him again, pretending to be drunk and waving his hands: "Don't think your surname is Lou, but in other people's eyes you have to stand aside."
Lou Shifan was a proud man, and his teeth gritted after hearing these words. But after a while, he sighed again and said with a wry smile: "It makes sense to stand aside. We were born by my aunt, so we are not qualified to stand by my eldest brother. It's normal that Long Hui doesn't want to see him."
"It's okay if he just doesn't want to see us, but if he doesn't care about our lives, there is a deep meaning here."
After Lou Shiming finished speaking, he turned around and looked at his younger brother: "I asked you, can you think more about it? You are almost 20 years old, but you still don't care about anything. Sooner or later, you will still applaud others even if they die. Miles!"
"Who will come to harm me? Just because of his dragon glory? If you have the ability, you can fight me for 200 rounds!"
"Bullshit!" Lou Shiming reached out and hit him on the forehead: "Don't you see it? The boss has been teasing his father-in-law all day long to 'capture Shangrao, build the capital and become king'. What does he have in mind?"
"Don't you just want to be that prince? I won't steal it from him." Lou Shifan pointed to his brother: "It's you, you two were born from the same mother, he is actually very jealous! Otherwise, why did he send you to guard the grain this time? Transporting grass? You still don’t understand?”
"Of course I understand!" Lou Shiming sneered: "He whispers to his subordinates all day long that he is afraid of becoming the second Li Jiancheng. I understand this too!"
"So, the person who should be careful most is you! Hehe..."
"You are wrong." Lou Shiming shook his head, and while giving the gourd to Lou Shifan, he wagged his finger: "Who said Li Shimin can only be the second child?
Believe it or not, if Li Shimin had died on the battlefield, the boss and the third child, Li Yuanji, would have been facing each other at Xuanwu Gate! "Lou Shifan was stunned, and Lou Shiming laughed when he saw it.
"Second brother, you, don't make such a joke. You know that although I am bold and willful, I have never wanted to compete with my eldest brother!" Lou Shifan's face changed a little, and he hurriedly differentiated.
"I know, but the eldest brother is a suspicious and delicate person. Can you say that he also knows?" Lou Shiming hooked his brother's neck and lowered his voice:
"When did he talk to you from the bottom of his heart like this, when did he go wild and unrestrained with you, and when did he treat you as a brother instead of a subject or a slave? So what if your biological mother is your mother's first wife?
Isn't it true that every time something happens to you, your second brother doesn't come to your rescue? He just sat high in the hall with his hands behind his back. When did he rush out and extend his hand? Third brother, wake up, in his heart we are not as valuable as him. This is true now, and it will be even more true after my father becomes king and emperor! "
Lou Shiming sneered and reached out to grab the gourd and took a sip. He grinned and asked, "Do you know why I persuaded my father to place Xiaosi in Chaoyang?"
"It's safe over there."
Lou Shiming curled his lips and shook his head: "Only half of it is right!" He stuffed the gourd to Lou Shifan again: "Chaoyang Guard Wang Xu is my dead brother. I can rest assured that Xiaosi is protected by him!"
"What?" Lou Shifan was shocked: "You, you mean someone wants to harm Si'er? But he is still a baby, and his father loves him so much...!"
"Yes, my father loved him and his own mother." Lou Shiming snorted coldly: "Then do you know who poisoned my aunt to death?"
"Auntie, isn't my aunt suddenly suffering from dysentery...?"
"Do you believe such coaxing words?" Lou Shiming giggled, and after laughing, he pulled his brother over: "I heard that my aunt was in trouble, so I rushed to see her. The blood was all black and purple...
The poisoner was so ruthless that he put poison on the spoon used to feed Xiao Si'er water. My aunt tasted the soup and felt it was still hot, so she stopped talking to the girls. If not, that night would mean two lives! "
"Oh my God!" Lou Shifan was stunned: "Then, where is the person who poisoned me?"
"He died. He also took the poison himself, so he died without any evidence!"
"Can't you find out who sent it?"
"What can't be found out about this?" Lou Shiming grunted: "If you want others to not know, you have to do it yourself." He said and showed Lou Shifan a thumbs up in his hand.
"Why? If you attack a doll, what is the child doing to him?"
"Because his uncle is Du Jing."
Lou Shifan blinked and understood the mystery inside. Du Jing was Lou Zishi's partner when he launched his army. His family was a well-known tea merchant in western Fujian and even owned four sea-going ships in Quanzhou Port!
In order to smooth the trade routes and smuggle iron ingots overseas in the name of ballast stones, Du Jing married his sister to Lou Zi as his concubine. Later, he not only funded his private army but also helped him train his soldiers.
In the early days of Lou Zishi's army, Du Jing provided thousands of trained private soldiers to help. This team not only became the main force, but also provided almost all middle and lower-level officers for the mining rebellion.
Tie Xiaoan, Sun She, and Luo You have all received training in this private army. Later, Lou Zishi's power gradually expanded and he began to be wary of Du Jing's influence. m.
The two had a fierce quarrel over whether to attack Shangrao. In the end, Du was sent to the small place of Chaoyang as a nominal guard, but in reality, his uncle and nephew were placed under house arrest by Wang Xu.
"So, he is afraid that when the fourth child grows up, with the support of the Du family behind him, he may become another big opponent. But what does this mean?" Lou Shifan finally turned around.
Lou Shiming nodded and sighed: "Poor aunt, she will die without knowing who she offended and why."
"Brother, why do I find these things unbelievable?"
"Brother, read more books!" Lou Shiming smiled bitterly: "Once people are confused by power, even brothers will look like enemies in their eyes.
Moreover, enemies can be extremely jealous when they meet you. When you see this kind of enemy, he will smile and care for you, making you feel that he is so kind and harmless! "
Lou Shifan acquiesced, and after a while he said in a low mood: "If you tell me this, I don't dare to go back to see my eldest brother. He won't use the excuse to kill me because of the defeat, right?"
"Not yet. After all, you are not a weakling." Lou Shiming said half-jokingly: "Even if he gets rid of you, he has to consider whether your subordinates will mutiny, or how he will set up a plan." A Hongmen Banquet will do."
"Don't joke about this, I'm getting goosebumps!" Lou Shifan quickly took a sip of wine to calm down his shock.
"It's okay, third brother. Second brother is here, and I will protect you!" Lou Shiming patted him on the back: "Now you know why I am so opposed to my father being king and emperor, and I don't want him to attack Shangrao, right?
Once the father-in-law takes that position, the Lou family will be in ruins, all the officers and soldiers will come to deal with you, and all the scholars will regard us as rebels. There are no two masters in heaven! We will have to fight to the death with the imperial court.
Third brother, you see, it is so difficult for us to conquer a Shangrao. How difficult is it to conquer the world? How many people will die? Mr. Lin Quan taught us: One general's success will lead to the death of thousands of people, but if an emperor builds his foundation, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people will die!
Third brother, you were shuddering just now when you heard about your aunt’s death. Millions of people died. What would that be like? Does the Lou family really owe the world this blood debt for the title of a king?
Even if we can separate one side or even go further, you have heard Mr. Lin Quan talk about the history of the Tang Dynasty. Zhu Wen later killed the Tang Dynasty royal family to a river of blood. Everyone said it was the retribution of the Xuanwu Sect.
Third brother, do you want this to happen to your descendants? What's more, if the father's commander-in-chief becomes the king, that person's ambitions will no longer be controllable.
Even if he doesn't want to, those people under him, such as Long Hui and Shopkeeper Qiu, will help him think so for the sake of their own power and wealth.
well! I'm really afraid that our brothers will end up fighting each other in the future. Would it be interesting to get there? "
Lou Shiming's words had never been spoken so thoroughly in front of his younger brother, and Lou Shifan nodded repeatedly. "Second brother, do you still want to try your best to prevent my father from becoming king? But can you and I stop him?" he said worriedly.
"It can't be stopped, it certainly can't be stopped!" Lou Shiming shook his head dejectedly.
"Well, isn't it useless for you to say so much?"
Lou Shiming smacked his lips, thought for a moment, leaned closer and said softly: "I have an idea, please help me go through it.
First of all, if the attack on Shangrao fails, let us all advise our commander-in-chief to abandon Shangrao and turn to Qianshan, and then march west to Jianchang from there to join forces with the Jiangshan Army, one in the north and the other in the south.
In this way, whether we go west to Changsha and base ourselves in Hunan, or whether we go south to Shaowu and Jianning to establish separate regimes in western Fujian, it will be more flexible, and the initiative lies with me.
We have been lingering in Shangrao for too long, and the imperial court has had enough time to mobilize troops to besiege us. I am worried that if I persist in clinging to Shangrao, the army will be surrounded from all sides, and it will be too late for me to leave! "
"Well, that's an idea. But what if my father and eldest brother don't adopt it?"
"One word, go!"
"What?" Lou Shifan was shocked: "Are you leaving them alone?"
"Before I came to pick you up, Li Dan abandoned Guangxin and fled north. The Qianzhong Army had already led troops to occupy that city. If my father and brother insist on not listening to the advice, we will go west from Guangxin.
The naval forces are all my subordinates and will cooperate with them. We abandoned Yongfeng and Hengcheng and captured Xing'an, Qianshan, Geyang and Guixi as our foundation. This way, you can not only echo your father's feelings, but also prevent everyone from being trapped in this cage! "
Lou Shifan was shocked. He didn't expect his second brother to have such a big plan. "B-But these territories don't all belong to Yin Tuo now. How can he be willing to hand them over to you and me?"
"Why don't you understand? You and Yin Tuo hate each other for taking away each other's wives. Do you still expect that if you give Mrs. Ru back to him, he will be friends with you?" Lou Shiming punched his brother in the shoulder and scolded him with a smile. road.
"Oh, that's right!" Lou Shifan thought of that delicate girl and quickly patted his forehead: "Then what should we do?"
"Easy to handle!" Lou Shiming smiled grimly: "When he comes back, he must ask me for Guangxin City. I pretended to agree to lead him into the city and set up an ambush to kill him!"
"This..., do you want to tell Father?"
"No need for now, but I think Yin Tuo has been bullying our Lou family for a long time, and my father should be very happy that we merged his team. Besides, he wanted to avenge his personal revenge on you and me at the table, so he was killed in the fight. This is logical. .”
"Just like this, can he convince his subordinates?"
"So I have a reason to lead my troops westward to conquer it, and I have a reason to leave!"
"Oh! Second brother is brilliant!"
At this moment, there were rapid footsteps coming from far away. "Who?" the guard asked.
"It's me. I have something important to report to the two young marshals. The eldest son sent a messenger, and they finally found them. They are resting in the front hall. May I ask the two young marshals, should we meet here or go back and see you again?"
"Hmph, it seems that the eldest brother is still thinking about us." Lou Shiming smiled at his younger brother, then stood up and shouted to the back:
"Wait, let's go back now. Someone, help the third general! Bring the horse over!" After he said that, he turned around and grabbed his brother's arm with one hand: "As long as the second brother is here, I will make sure that the third brother is fine!"
Lou Shifan's lips moved, and he stretched out his other hand to grab his second brother's arm: "As long as the third brother is here, I will ensure that the second brother is safe!" The two brothers looked at each other and smiled, supporting each other, one foot deep and one foot deep. Walking shallowly towards the shore.
Some people died, but not completely...
