Due to the abuses of wealthy celebrities presiding over village evaluations and controlling the election process, the inspection system continued to collapse, and a new class emerged in society. They served as officials for generations, and according to the level of official positions from generation to generation, the higher ones were classified as big gentry, or It is called an aristocratic family, a big surname, a high family, and the next one is called a small surname, a poor family. If the ancestor has not been an official, it is a low family.
According to this social concept and standard, the Bingzhou Lu family is definitely not considered a high-ranking family.
Ding Yuan once sent people to investigate Lu Li's family background. Within five generations, there were records of official appointments in his direct lineage:
The founder of the Five Dynasties, Keji, was the magistrate of Taiyuan County.
Gaozu Wen'an was the magistrate of Pingtao County.
His great-grandfather lived in Pingtao County for a long time.
His grandfather Chengji was the chief bookkeeper of Pingtao.
His father claimed to be Cao Cao, a thief in Pingtao County.
Each generation is not as good as the last, and all the officials appointed are ministers and assistants. It cannot be regarded as a family of prominent officials, let alone a noble family.
Of course, compared to those common people in Guizhou, the Taiyuan Lu family was countless times stronger.
In addition, Ding Yuan is not a superficial person who only looks at his family background. After all, he rose from a humble age. If we really talk about it, his family background is not as good as that of Lu Li——
He awakened his fighting spirit at a young age, his future was limitless, and he was born with a handsome face, and his daughter was determined to get married.
Therefore, after some weighing, Ding Yuan felt that he only needed to observe for a while, and if there were no problems with his character, he could decide on the marriage.
When the time comes, I will have a son-in-law and a son-in-law Lu Li, so why worry about not being able to become a marquis and become a prime minister?
Thinking of this, Ding Yuan's eyes looking at Lu Li became softer.
"Meng Ming was joking."
"I'm here, why worry about the young ones?"
As soon as he finished speaking, hearty laughter came from the car.
"..."
Lu Li was speechless for a while.
What on earth is the master planning?
There is no love without reason in the world. Even if he is thirsty for talents, it won't be like this, right?
You know, when my brother Zhang Liao came to seek refuge, he did not enjoy such treatment...
At this time, Song Xian, who was acting as the vanguard officer, came on horseback and raised his voice: "My lord, there is Baiqushui three miles ahead. Is it necessary to build a bridge?"
If there were not many troops, they could just walk across the ice. However, there were 20,000 county soldiers rushing north to help this time. No matter how thick the ice was, they could not support such a heavy weight.
As a veteran, Ding Yuan had rich battlefield experience. He did not hesitate at all and directly issued the order: "Cut down the trees and build the bridge. The rest will rest where they are. Half an hour later, the whole army will cross the river with full stomachs."
"promise!"
Song Xian, who made his presence felt in front of his lord, clasped his hands and saluted, then pulled the reins. Before leaving, the guy nodded to Lu Li, who was serving as General Yamen, with a trace of envy flashing in his eyes.
Not long after, only Lu Li and Ding Yuan were left beside the carriage, while the other guards were scattered around, keeping watch.
However, when there were no other people to disturb him, and he was probably bored, another voice came from inside the car:
"Meng Ming, do you know the art of war?"
"The general is incompetent. If Brother Wen Yuan didn't mobilize him, he might not even be able to figure out the structure of the army."
Hearing this, Ding Yuan frowned slightly, thinking that Lu Li was being humble, so he directly said:
"Young people should not hide their clumsiness, but show their talents. Tell me, if it is spring, what strategy should be used to cross the river now?"
"yes."
Lu Li's mood was complicated, with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. He was happy because Zhang Liao once said that, but he was worried about the attitude of his lord, which was really elusive.
After a brief recollection, he replied:
"The water in Baiqu is dug manually to irrigate the fields. Therefore, although the river is wide, the water flow is not fast. A strange army can be sent to cut down wooden bags and go upstream at night to cut off the flow of water so that the army can cross the river."
My brother once said that this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it is the safest. There is no need to worry about encountering enemy attacks and interference when building the bridge.
Ding Yuan, who was sitting in the car, nodded slightly, stroked his beard under his chin, and asked: "What should we do if the thief takes advantage of our army to cross the river and attacks them halfway across the river?"
Lu Li raised his eyebrows and thought to himself: Could it be that Brother Wen Yuan can predict the future?
As soon as the thought emerged, he was immediately suppressed and responded in a deep voice: "The Huns are vulgar and do not know the art of war. They can make the water overwhelm the dragon!"
Hundreds of years ago, Chu and Han were at war. Han Xin and Xiang Yu's fierce general Long Qie fought in Weishui.
When the two armies were facing each other, Han Xin ordered him to make more than 10,000 cloth bags overnight, fill them with sand, and pile earth bags on the upper reaches of the Weishui River at night to build a dam to block the water. During the day, he led half of his army across the river, attacked Long Qie, and pretended to be defeated. .
Seeing this, Long Qie shouted: "I know that I am a man of faith and cowardice." Then he led the Chu army to pursue him. When Han Xin saw that he had taken the bait, he ordered his soldiers to break the weir and release water. Tens of thousands of Chu troops were cut off from the middle, and their morale was greatly reduced. Han Xin took advantage of the opportunity to counterattack, and Long Qie was killed.
Even the Chu general Long Qie, who was well versed in the use of troops, fell into this scheme, let alone the Huns.
At this time, Ding Yuan laughed out loud again, becoming more and more satisfied with Lu Li as his son-in-law candidate.
"It's February now, so there's no need to be so troublesome. If you are attacked by the enemy, you can rely on the power of bows and crossbows to cover a few cavalry to cross the river first and fight with them first."
With that said, Ding Yuan walked out of the carriage with an unusually relaxed expression, as if he was leading troops on an outing. Perhaps even Zhang Liao, who was guarding the Chinese army camp, could not do this.
Almost at the same time.
Outside Yunzhong County, the Jin clan, who had completed their plunder, was also making arrangements before the battle. He was planning to take advantage of the current strong morale to capture Dingxiang County, where he would meet with the leader of Xiutugehu to discuss important matters.
Suddenly, two riders rushed over.
The scouts sent to explore the road ahead sent military reports that the army had camped and built a bridge at Baiqushui.
Based on the intelligence sent by the Yellow Turban Army not long ago, Jin looked at the tribal leaders around him, remained silent for a moment, and said: "Since the Han army gathered in Jiuyuan, they have been non-stop. In less than two days, they marched nearly a thousand miles and arrived at Dingxiang. We only stayed in the city for one night, and we sent out troops again early this morning, arriving at Jinche Township."
"You are so anxious to fight with us!"
After a brief pause, Jin's tone became solemn: "If the king's prediction is correct, the Han army will cross the Baiqu River as early as tonight."
As the Zuoxian King of the Southern Huns, he was despised to this extent, especially when he killed the governor of Bingzhou and his morale rose sharply. Seeing the Han army being so arrogant, he felt a surge of hostility in his heart and wanted to annihilate them all!
On the contrary, Du Quan, who had just been promoted and initially took control of the military, felt something in his heart and said calmly:
"The enemy is about to cross, what's your plan, Your Majesty? Should we avoid the front for the time being, or attack them head-on?"
When he heard the words "Temporarily avoid the enemy's front", displeasure appeared on the face of Zuo Xian Wang Jin.
When he glanced out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the proposer was the Han man who had made a great contribution last night and presented the governor's head. Jin's face brightened slightly and he said word by word: "Half-crossing attack."
Immediately afterwards, another strong man with disheveled hair crowded over and shouted: "The Han army only has 20,000 people, and they are mainly infantry. They march for nearly a thousand miles, with almost no rest in the middle. The soldiers will be tired." …”
