"Old Wangtou, you've done me a disservice!"
"I'm a little tired from guarding Qiantang Gate, but it won't cost my life."
"That guy is your son-in-law, but you refused to tell me and asked me to drink wine in Sibeilou..."
"Tell yourself, can you and I afford to offend the people in the Qin Mansion?"
From a distance, Liu Bang heard Ji Wu's complaints.
"Fuck you! You had to go with me yesterday. When did I ever advise you?"
"Besides, what did Uncle Ji say on the boat last night? You want to rebel!"
"Even if this hadn't happened, you still can't keep your bird head. Why don't we listen to the young general's advice and defect to the Yue Family Army together? It's not a loss if we kill two golden dogs."
After knocking on the door, there was no movement in the room. Liu Bang shouted:
"Old father-in-law, I'm here!"
Seeing that it was him, Old Wangtou opened the door, and then slapped him in the face: "You think I can't die quickly enough, don't you?"
After saying that, seeing that no one was following him, he asked again: "Where's the eldest sister? You didn't take her with you?"
Liu Banghun didn't care, nodded towards Yue Yun who was sitting beside him and said:
"Are you so afraid? I'm afraid you don't know what your son-in-law is capable of."
"You have the ability! If you have the ability, would you have suffered a loss at the hands of Qin Liu yesterday? If you have the ability, can you be more capable than Prime Minister Qin?"
Snapped!
Liu Bang slapped the letter written by Yue Yun to Xin Ciying on the table and said:
"It's not worth arguing with a family of slaves. Don't you want to know my name? Let me tell you today that I was a Jinshi in the second year of Zhenghe, a bachelor of the Zhimi Pavilion, and a living scholar of the current dynasty!"
After hearing this, Ji Wu, who was paralyzed on the bed, immediately sat up: "You are a bird boy, you can't even say anything, and you dare to pretend to be a Jinshi."
However, when Yue Yun saw the letter on the table, it was written by himself, and of course it was not fake. He raised his hand towards Liu Bang and said:
"Master Xin, the young general is blind and couldn't recognize you last night."
During this trip to Lin'an, he sent more than a hundred letters in total, but so far he was the only one he met in person.
Earlier today, I learned from the mouth of Su Shangshu that the official family has hurt their brains, and now it is possible for war or peace.
In this case, he should strengthen contact with these main war factions to avoid being taken advantage of by Qin Hui.
Although, the advantage has always been with Qin Hui.
Xin Ciying's rank is not high, but he is a person who can always be by the official's side. Not only did such a person beat the Qin family slave last night, but now he also revealed his identity to meet him.
In any case, this person's attitude is quite clear.
Liu Bang also held up his hands and said: "You're welcome, Major General. Firstly, this trip is to express a certain position, and secondly, I want to tell the Major General something important."
"Xin Shibo, please speak frankly."
Lao Wangtou was originally suspicious, but now that he saw Yue Yun acquiescing to this person's identity, he didn't know whether he was happy or sad for a moment.
Sadly, my daughter was harmed by this man. If it were an ordinary person, he would be an official... The most important thing in the Song Dynasty is officials, but he is an official who can be valued by the young general. .
Then, my eldest sister must be a little girl.
I was happy, but it was also because he was an official. Counting eight generations back, his old Wang family had never married an official.
Liu Bang did not speak directly, but took out two more coins from his waist and said, "Old father-in-law, take them out for a walk and come back later."
Lao Wangtou bowed and took the money with both hands: "Uncle, are we really okay?"
"If I say it's okay, then it's okay... Not only is it okay, your Wang family's good life is yet to come."
"Thanks to my aunt, thank you to my aunt."
After kicking Wang Xiaoer awake who was still returning to the cage, Lao Wangtou took Ji Wu and retreated.
As soon as he went out, the old man's waist straightened up immediately: "Sibeilou! Let you two eat meat!"
The room was completely quiet.
"Xin Shibo, what important event do you want to tell your nephew?"
Liu Bang frowned and looked at him: "The emperor may still want to negotiate for peace."
Just like a drop of cold water dropped into a hot oil pan, Yue Yun's brain exploded instantly.
When others say this, he might think about it, even this person who stays by the official's side every day actually says this!
Could it be that this is God’s will?
Seeing him so disappointed, Liu Bang said: "It's not settled, but there is still an opportunity for improvement."
"Xin Shibo!" Yue Yun almost shouted, "What's the turning point?"
"Whether it's a draw or a fight, it's all about seeing if you can beat him. If you can beat him, then you'd be a fool not to fight. Do you think your emperor is a fool?"
The emperor may not be a fool, but there is no way for a coward to run away.
And isn’t it common sense that he is a coward?
Yue Yun looked at Liu Bang strangely and said: "If we fight, of course we can beat him! Apart from the Jin Wushu, there is no one else in the Wanyan clan who can be a general. This time we can fight against Zhuxian Town. That’s the best proof.”
"If it hadn't been for the official edict to come back, Bianjing City would have fallen into my hands now, and the Jin people would have been driven back to the north of the Yellow River."
Speaking of this, he felt endless regret.
"No." Liu Bang shook his head.
Um?
"Does Xin Shibo also think that we can't defeat the Jin people?"
"You should know Song's defense line better than I do."
"Even if it is, so what?"
"Wu Lin of Xingzhou Prefecture controls the Hanzhong area, which is the Bashu barrier; your father is watching Jingxiang in Ezhou. He can attack the Central Plains if he advances, and defend Huguang if he retreats; Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun are both here in the land in front of Lin'an Prefecture. By taking advantage of the natural moat of the Huaihe River, the Jin soldiers will naturally be unable to attack."
"What's wrong with this?"
"Of course there is no problem. As a defensive line, it should be the best it can be."
"Then..." Yue Yun was a little confused.
"Your father took the Central Plains from Xiangyang, Han Shizhong attacked Shandong from the right, Wu Lin went north from Hanzhong, and the three armies went north together. This is the most ideal route for the Song Dynasty at present."
"However, there are several problems."
Liu Bang closed his eyes, and the map of Song Dynasty appeared in his mind:
"First, the land for raising horses is all in the hands of the enemy. All three armies focus on infantry. If we fight like this in the north, which is full of plains, we will lose a lot of people before the battle begins."
Everyone who has been a soldier knows this, but the Jin people are still weak in attacking the city... Yue Yun doesn't believe that he can't defeat the Jin people just based on the statement that he has no horses.
"Secondly, since the infantry is the focus, their speed will definitely not be as fast as that of the Jin people. They can come and fight the autumn wind and leave, but you can't?"
Yue Yun said: "Don't chase the poor bandits, just take back the homeland."
"Yes, and thirdly, if the Jin people don't defend the city, do you want to let it go to you? If you want it, do you want to send troops to defend it? If you don't, what will you do if they take it back for you? If you don’t want it, then why talk about the Northern Expedition?”
"How many of the 100,000 people your father has left in his hands will be left after Kaifeng is defeated? How many will be left after Xingzhou is defeated?"
Yue Yun was unconvinced and said: "The officials don't know anything about military affairs! When has our Song Dynasty ever lacked people? As long as, as long as..."
"Just what?"
"As long as the Imperial Guards follow us, if the Jin people come, they will fall into a trap, and we will only trap them!"
Of course, after saying this, Yue Yun lost his confidence.
Instead of asking the emperor to use his imperial troops to go to the Northern Expedition, he might as well think about how to persuade Jin Wushu to surrender.
After all, there is still a slight possibility of the latter.
"Forbidden Army? How many people are there?"
He sighed softly. It seemed that the emperor was not the only one who didn't know how to fight.
"Xin Shibo, the officials are worried about this, so they think we can't defeat them?"
"There is one more..." Seeing that he did not answer his question, Liu Bang became interested in the forbidden army, "Xixia."
"Xixia?"
"Yes, it's Xixia."
"You mean, Xixia and the Jin people colluded?" Yue Yun frowned, "Where did this news come from?"
"There is no pass, but we must be prepared. If Xixia takes action, Hanzhong's left army will only be able to protect itself... In this way, the Jin people can penetrate from my left. Your father The farther we go in the Northern Expedition, the greater the possibility of being attacked on both sides."
"But, this is just a hypothesis after all. Xixia has an appointment with me, the Song Dynasty, and will definitely not help the golden dog."
"It's best this way. If Xixia doesn't interfere, more than half of the Northern Expedition will be possible."
"But..." Liu Bang changed his subject, "How to convince the emperor, this is the most important thing."
Yue Yun thought for a while: "I still need to discuss this matter with my father, but the officials have asked Xin Shibo to help talk... This time the Northern Expedition failed, there are already other voices in the army. If the officials decide After negotiating peace, I, the Song Dynasty, may never return to the north again."
Liu Bang actually had an idea in his mind, but Yue Yun didn't ask, and he was too embarrassed to say it.
As for the other voices in the army he was talking about...if it were him, he almost defeated Bianjing, but was called back by the emperor, and then sent back all the places where he was beaten...if he didn't rebel against the emperor That's good.
"When will your father come to Lin'an?"
Yue Yun pinched his fingers and calculated: "It will probably take another seven or eight days."
Liu Bang nodded, full of expectations for this general who was regarded as a god by the Jin people.
The two talked again and reviewed the previous battles.
Yue Yun became more and more surprised as he listened. He did not expect that there would be a civil servant like Xin Ciying in this court.
Liu Bang, on the other hand, frowned more and more as he listened... The Jin man was not as powerful as Qin Hui said, but he was far from comparable to the ordinary Huns.
If we really want to fight, it is really hard to say whether we will win or lose.
After staying here for two hours, Liu Bang also planned to leave. He planned to go back and study the soldiers of the Song Dynasty.
Just as he stood up, he was bumped into by Wang Xiaoer who broke in.
"What's wrong?"
This kid was out of breath, and it looked like he had had enough running.
"Brother-in-law, Si... something happened at Sibei Tower. My father asked me to get you there quickly."
"Why, did you meet someone from Prime Minister Qin's Mansion?"
Yue Yun wanted to leave, but was stopped by Liu Bang: "Qin Hui has already complained to you in front of the emperor about what happened last night. Don't go anymore. Just do what you should do in peace of mind."
"but……"
"I'll just go."
Knowing that now was a critical moment, Yue Yun did not insist and just said:
"If there is any trouble, please let me know as soon as possible."
Liu Bang agreed, and then pulled Wang Xiaoer out:
"What's going on? You should tell me!"
As the two of them walked, Wang Xiaoer told them what had happened.
When he arrived downstairs, Liu Bang glanced at Yang Yizhong and motioned for them to follow him.
It turns out that it is indeed related to what happened last night.
But it was not Lao Wangtou and Ji Wu who had the accident.
But it was the three prostitutes who drank with them in the box last night.
Qin Xi and Qin Liu both suffered losses, and Qin Hui failed to seek punishment from Yue Yun. The anger of these two people was naturally spread on Liu Bang and the other three.
But the whereabouts of the three people could not be found. Qin Xi was lying on the bed so angry that he could not even drink the medicine. Seeing that Wang was about to lose his temper, Qin Liu thought of these three prostitutes.
Others can run away, but Sibei Tower cannot.
So, together with the people from Lin'an Mansion, they took down the three prostitutes.
They were taken down without questioning or detained. Instead, they tied up three people directly in front of the Sibei Building. Qin Liu personally held the whip and tortured them in the street.
The poor three people really didn't know anything and begged Qin Liu to let them go. Instead of letting them go, the guy insisted that they were accomplices of the bandits. He poured hot salt water on the three of them and put them on the ground. Exposed to the sun, it seemed that none of the three people would survive.
Ji Wu wanted to go forward, but was stopped by Lao Wangtou, who also ordered Wang Xiaoer to find Liu Bang, just to see if his uncle could help.
It would be great if it could, but if it couldn't... it would only mean that the lives of her and the three of them would suffer.
For Liu Bang himself, the truth is the same.
He is generally not interested in things that he can't control.
But if you can manage it, it’s still caused by yourself, so you can’t look at it like this.
When he and Wang Xiaoer arrived, they saw that the street in front of Sibei Tower was crowded with people watching the excitement. Qin Liu moved a chair and sat in the shade, covering his face with a cattail leaf fan, as if Lunch break.
But in front of Qin Liu...the three women were already in the world, and now it was May, so they didn't wear much.
Now, all three of them have disheveled hair, no good piece of meat can be seen on their bodies, and they have no voice to beg for mercy.
Lao Wangtou grabbed Ji Wu's sleeve tightly, and his fingers turned white from the pinch. When he saw Liu Bang coming, he managed to squeeze out a smile and said:
"My uncle is here... These three little ladies have suffered a great crime."
"Yes." Liu Bang responded, looking towards the three of them, wondering what he was thinking.
After a while, Qin Liu stretched out his body, took the cattail leaf fan in his hand, stood up and said:
"Everyone has seen it. These three people colluded with the bandits and harmed my young husband. This is what they will end up with!"
After saying this, he walked up to the three of them, raised the chin of one of them with a cattail leaf fan, then spat in disgust and said to the Yamen servant on the side:
"It's almost done. Let's take off their clothes so that the judges can inspect the goods from Sibeilou!"
He said this so loudly that the girls in the crowd turned their heads one after another, and even many gentlemen frowned.
Upstairs in Sibei, the madam was crying like a tearful person. The man beside her said nothing and looked down.
"Um?"
Qin Liu seemed to hear someone talking and approached one of them: "What did you say?"
The girl had long since lost her strength and her body was so numb that she could no longer feel the pain. She paused and finally let Qin Liu hear her words clearly.
Just this time, the slave immediately got angry, turned around, took the whip, and threw it at her fiercely.
