Bozhou City, Laojun Temple.
Unlike Suzhou, which is not far away, the authentic wind here is more prosperous than many famous cave heavens. In addition to the troops stationed locally, every household of the local people worships Laojun.
Nothing else, just because this place is the legendary birthplace of Lao Tzu.
In the temple stands a statue of Laojun that is more than ten feet high. The left couplet is "the soil of Qiaodu, the shore of the swirling water", the right couplet is "this is a blessed place, the birthplace of the holy king", and the right couplet is On the wall, there is also a poem left by the former prime minister Sima Guang:
'That is to say, whose son is the son?'
'After the division of heaven and earth, there was a legend from the Holy Master'
In front of the statue of Laojun, the middle-aged man wearing a white robe and offering incense was none other than Li Qiong, the rebel general of the Song Dynasty, the current envoy of the Taining Army of the Jin Dynasty, and who knew the affairs of Bozhou.
Speaking of which, from the pacifier of a state in the Song Dynasty to the military envoy of a town in the Jin Kingdom, this person is even one year younger than Yue Fei, who is already on the rise... I wonder if Laojun is here to envoy It makes people feel at ease. Anyway, this man does not have the aggressiveness of having served in the army for more than ten years. On the contrary, he is very peaceful and gentle.
When the three sticks of incense were put in, this man who looked like a teacher nodded and remained silent for a long time. He didn't know what wish he made in his heart. Finally, he bowed deeply towards the statue of kind-hearted people. After all, he was like this. Then he turned around and looked at the people in front of him.
The first two were Wang Shizhong and Jin Sai who had gone to Beitou with him, followed by many military generals, plus officials of all sizes from Bozhou City. Almost all the high-ranking people in the city were here.
"Tell me what's going on."
Li Qiong straightened his clothes and asked questions to the visitor. Wang Shizhong and Jin Sai exchanged glances, then stepped forward and said:
"Marshal, Emperor Song has arrived in Suzhou."
Although there had long been news that the Emperor Zhao was going on a personal expedition, Li Qiong had never believed it.
Even if the city of Yingzhou was destroyed last year and the Kingdom of Jin suddenly lost three kings, Li Qiong could only be regarded as Uncle Liu Xin's ability, and Emperor Zhao was just a person who borrowed his name.
Just like what he said to Wanyan Wushu back then:
"The Marshal King of the Kingdom of Jin came to the front line to supervise the battle. He looked calm and used troops to win. He was similar to Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. He was really a great talent. If the general was like this, what could the soldiers do? So if the Jin Kingdom could defeat the Song Dynasty, it could win in a day It’s not surprising that a country that has opened up thousands of miles of land within it.”
"The commanders in the south of the Yangtze River are not as talented as ordinary people. Whenever they send out troops, they must be hundreds of miles away from the battlefield. This is called being cautious. Some supervise the gathering of troops, replace generals and officers, and only use one soldier to carry out orders to announce orders. . The decisive victory over the enemy was entrusted to the deputy general, so the smart ones were scattered, and the stupid ones were wiped out. Occasionally, if you were lucky enough to win a small victory, you would get good news frequently, and you would increase the number of prisoners as your credit, and you would also restrain the soldiers. Resentment. Even if some generals come to the battlefield in person, but the momentum is not right, they will definitely run away first. Moreover, Jiangnan's national government has no program. For those who have only minor contributions, they are heavily rewarded. Some have committed serious crimes, but they are shelved and not killed. Jiangnan did not perish immediately. , is already blessed by nature, how can it be cheered up?"
These words seemed to be flattering the Jin people, but they were indeed his sincerity, and they were also some humble experiences he had summed up after serving the Song Dynasty for more than ten years.
Wanyan Wushu is now in charge of the affairs of the Jin Dynasty and is a real and anonymous emperor. He likes Li Qiong very much, just like Wanyanchang, who is in charge of peace, likes Qin Hui. He has even cited the Song general who urged him to go south. I know my best friend. Last time he wanted to massacre the city, but no one could talk to him. Instead, Li Qiong, who had abandoned Bozhou, persuaded him. If Li Qiong hadn't been almost forty, then the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom would have married him no matter what. daughter to him.
With such a backing, Li Qiong can be considered inferior to one person in the land of Lianghuai.
Therefore, Li Qiong understood very well, where the weaknesses of Song State were, and why Jin State was able to win.
When it was confirmed that the old master was in Suzhou, Li Qiong's face was still expressionless, but there was indeed something else in his heart...
When the Song Dynasty has no reason to continue to fail, then do they still have a reason to continue to fail?
"How many people came?"
The person who answered him at this time was Jin Sai. They were good friends, otherwise they would not have risked the danger of the Yi tribe and defected with Li Qiong. They had gotten along harmoniously over the years. They were called subordinates, but in fact they were close brothers.
"It should be Zhang Jun's men... about 50,000 to 60,000, and the tens of thousands brought by Han Chang, plus Zhao Mi and Yang Yizhong's troops, I'm afraid there are already about 130,000 this time."
This number is just an estimate and will certainly not be completely correct, but it is not far off.
Logically speaking, when the officials here heard this number, not to mention panic, they were a little stunned. These were not ants, but living people.
But they didn't, not even whispering to each other. The only old man who was a little excited was an instructor in charge of local students. He came from Shangjing three years ago and was considered a local.
Everyone saw that Li Qiong was silent, and Wang Shizhong continued to talk:
"Marshal... Do you want to talk to the Fourth Prince and ask him to send some troops over... After all, the Song Emperor is here, and the elite of the Song Kingdom are bound to be with him. If anything happens..."
Li Qiong interrupted him directly: "Yue Pengju is in Zhengzhou and is within reach of Tokyo. Don't cause any more trouble with him."
"Come here as you come. Zhang Jun's soldiers have never been elite. Bozhou City is right here and they can't capture it."
He didn't even give half a reason, he directly said that the Song army could not capture Bozhou, but everyone trusted him extremely, and everyone said so.
However, having said that, Li Qiong still did not dare to be careless and ordered:
"Spring plowing is coming soon. Let everyone rest first and stop busy with transplanting rice and sowing... If there is no food for cooking, you can go to the government office to get some food first."
"Let's close the city first and let the people stop interfering in the war... This has nothing to do with them."
The first thing was that although there was not much food in Bozhou, no one had any objections. But the second thing... Wang Shizhong was a little embarrassed:
"I've said it many times, and tried to persuade me many times, but everyone just doesn't listen. They want to do things for our sake, so they don't dare to speak too harshly, which has chilled the hearts of the people."
"This is not child's play," Li Qiong said in a tone that left no room for negotiation. "If there are those who take it upon themselves to deceive the Song army, there are those who are unwilling to enter the city and want to fight for their lives, and there are still those who are still setting up traps outside the city,"
"Lock them all up first."
"But……"
"Just do it!"
Wang Shizhong sighed and finally agreed.
"The Emperor of Song Dynasty was good at killing ministers. Even the officials of Song State said that he was an unruly king. How could such a person think about caring about the lives of the people?"
Li Qiong's tone softened: "Don't be unbearable, this is for their own good."
After saying this, everyone discussed strengthening the city wall and building fortifications for a while. When it started to drizzle outside, and it would be time to have dinner soon, they all dispersed.
This is a major event that everyone in Bozhou City is concerned about. No one dares to neglect it, let alone cause trouble. Everyone just does their job well, and the rest...
Will always win.
If Marshal Li says he will win, then he will win.
When everyone was almost gone, Li Qiong looked at the old man who was standing still and asked:
"Mr. Xin, do you have anything else to do?"
Before he took his people to Zongze, he was just a student in Xiangzhou. He learned how to use a sword, bow, and horseback riding later, and he had an inexplicable sense of belonging to these literati.
What's more, this Xin Zan was an evangelist from Shangjing. I heard that he was originally going to Kaifeng to be the prefect, but he was worried about the talents of the Jin Kingdom, so he came to Bozhou first to do an errand as an evangelist.
So Li Qiong did show some respect when facing him.
Xin Zan stroked his beard and said, "It's not a big deal. It's just that the marshal has heard of the name of layman Yingning."
Liu Zhan of Bozhou is a well-deserved celebrity from the Huaihe River. His writing style is elegant and his poetic skills are wild. He is a talented person... Of course Li Qiong has heard of it, and he is not the only one who has heard of it. Liu Zhan himself is very popular in this war-torn year. , you can also look for teachers and friends everywhere. Many people have heard of his name.
Li Qiong was not surprised when he heard Xin Zan mention it:
"Of course Yingning Jushi Wansheng knows about it, but he has been away from Bozhou for many years, and Wansheng has never seen him before. Sir, I mentioned him, but what's the matter?"
Xin Zan nodded and said: "Marshal also knows about my family's affairs. My son died young, leaving only a wife and one son to take care of. The wife there is virtuous and generous, and the grandson is relatively healthy. Your Majesty also trusts me and allows me to take care of him." To come here to teach and educate people and benefit future generations, logically speaking, I should be content with what I have and should not ask for anything else."
"But most of the time a person lives, he has no control over his own actions. My grandson is already two years old and will soon be old enough to speak and read. So I want to find a wise teacher for him. It is also good that after I die, he will not have to go to school. That's the wrong path."
Li Qiong was a little confused: "You are only a two-year-old child, are you a little impatient sir?"
Having said this, Xin Zan couldn't help but sigh:
"The marshal doesn't know about me, but it's normal. I'm already in my sixties and have wasted dozens of years. I don't know when I will let go like my useless son."
"Think more, it will be good after all."
I probably guessed what he meant, but I really have nothing to do with Liu Zhan... To put it bluntly, even if we have a friendship, is that student so easy to accept?
This is not a matter of words, it is a lifelong matter.
Therefore, Li Qiong was very honest: "Sir, don't blame me. Master Yingning is not in Bozhou, and Wansheng has no contact with him... You came to me, I'm afraid you paid by mistake."
"That's not the case!" Xin Zan waved his hand, "I dare not bother the marshal to worry about this. I have already told him about becoming a disciple, and he has already agreed."
"What do you mean?"
"I dare not hide it. He was already on his way back to Bozhou a few days ago. When he comes back this time, he also wants to work with me to teach the talents of Laojun's blessed land."
"If this is the case, it is really a great thing! It is a blessing for the students of Bozhou to have you and the layman here! Mr. Sir, you are a great virtue, and you should be worshiped by the students!"
After saying that, Li Qiong did not move slowly and bowed directly towards Xin Zan.
The man could not be dissuaded, so he accepted Li Qiong's bow, and then continued talking about his own affairs:
"But this time the marshal ordered the door to be closed, I'm afraid that the layman Yingning will not be able to come in... This man has a weird temperament, and it took me a long time to persuade him to come. In case he has other plans, no matter it is for me I’m afraid it won’t be good for my grandson to be a student from Bozhou.”
"That's why I gave up on this old face and wanted to ask the marshal if there is any way to let him into the city?"
"You mean..." Li Qiong hesitated, "The layman has arrived near Bozhou?"
Xinzan nodded: "Yes."
"Then where are they?"
"Suzhou."
Unexpectedly, it was in Suzhou, but Suzhou was occupied by the Song people, and even their emperor was there.
Even if he is extremely capable, even if Liu Zhan is a figure like Su Shi and Li Qingzhao, no matter how great the benefits to Bozhou are, he still can't take over!
"Sir, I just heard that Emperor Zhao has arrived in Suzhou. I'm afraid..."
He clearly saw the disappointment flashing across Xin Zan's face, but he didn't dare to gamble with the lives of the entire city on one of the great masters, so even though he felt it was a pity, he still couldn't agree to Xin Zan's offer.
"If Bozhou really has no fate with the layman Yingning, then Wan Sheng will accept it. I only hope that the husband can tell the layman his difficulties in the future. I hope that after the Southern Dynasty retreats, the layman and the master can teach the students of Bozhou together."
"At that time, no one can stop you two, and the city gate of Bozhou will always be open to you."
Xin Zan sighed: "I hope, I hope there will be such a day."
The temple fell into silence. A Taoist priest came out and lit a candle. Although the rain outside was falling lightly, it was enough to wash away the world outside.
The green ones are getting greener, the red ones are getting redder, and the bluestone slabs under the steps outside have become like pieces of emerald, making people reluctant to step on them.
"Can Bozhou really be defended?"
Xin Zan has been here for several years, and for the first time he asked about things other than teaching.
Li Qiong stretched out his hand and let the rain fall between his fingers, bringing a slight coolness.
Spring has arrived.
"We will definitely be able to defend it," Li Qiong was very determined. "Even if Yue Pengju and Uncle Liu Xin didn't come, we would definitely be able to defend it."
He and Yue Fei both worked under Zongze. Later, the emperor removed Liu Guangshi's military power at Zhang Jun's suggestion. Originally, he, Wang De and tens of thousands of people were all assigned to Yue Fei, and even the emperor even The Zhao family is used to saying the words, but then regretting it later.
If it was Yue Fei who came to collect troops at that time, I'm afraid he is still a Song general now.
And Liu Qi... When Uncle Liu Xin was fighting against the enemy in Yingzhou the year before last, Wanyan Wushu was not only accompanied by Han Chang, but he was also there.
He only admired these two, and no one else, whether it was Han Shizhong or the dead Wu Jie, Li Qiong looked down upon.
Xin Zan then asked: "What if they come?"
"If they come and Bozhou falls into their hands, it will not be a bad thing after all."
The two fell silent again, and Xin Zan didn't understand the meaning of his words.
"marshal!"
A soldier trotted in, saluted the two of them, and then handed a letter with both hands.
Li Qiong took it, read it back and forth several times, and then held the letter in his hand, clenching it with his fists as if he wanted to crush the letter.
He didn't know what happened, but Xin Zan knew that he shouldn't care about this matter, so he kept silent. After a while, he heard Li Qiong say:
"Sir, Master Yingning... should be able to come back."
His tone sounded both sad and happy, and for a moment, Xin Zan couldn't figure out what kind of mood he was in.
(End of chapter)
