besides.
In the past few days, troops have been sent to wreak havoc on the nearby towns and villages of Liang State, and many people in Youzhou have been rescued.
At first Li Kuan felt strange why they were in Liang State.
Ask and learn.
After the Turks robbed a large number of Youzhou people from Youzhou, some of them were given to the Liang State because of the friendly relationship between the Turks and the Liang State.
Liang Guochongcheng felt that there was little farming, so Liang Shidu arranged some Youzhou slaves in the countryside to help the locals farm, collect firewood in the mountains, and other hard work.
Many people were rescued, more than a thousand people were rescued in a few days, but Li Kuan was not entirely convinced that they were slaves.
The Han people in Liang State here are not as simple as those from Turks. Liang State itself is a country composed of Han people and foreign races, and there are many Han people.
Maybe some of them were Han people who originally lived in Liang State. When they saw the Chu army coming, they could not escape, so they pretended to be Han slaves.
This is all possible.
after all.
In terms of survival, people's intelligence index will increase dozens of times, and some methods may even be useless.
Can't tell for now.
However, they were rescued all at once, arranged to live in one of the living areas in Floating Water Town, and placed under strict supervision.
It's equivalent to an inspection.
If the inspection is successful, the successful people will be treated as Han people rescued from the Turks.
As for the success criteria for this inspection, Li Kuan didn't say anything, and he didn't plan to say it either. Let them just guess.
At this moment, in one of the rooms in the largest house in Floating Water Town, a White Tiger Guard came over to report.
"Your Highness, Captain Yang is coming to see you."
Li Kuan was writing something and without raising his head, he said, "Let him come over."
"clear!"
The White Tiger Guard quickly retreated and brought Captain Yang in.
Captain Yang used to be one of the captains under Chai Shao's fierce cavalry army, and since he rescued more than 10,000 Youzhou people and soldiers from the Tiele tribe, Li Kuan asked him to temporarily be their spokesperson.
Equivalent to General Baihu commanding the entire White Tiger Camp, Captain Yang is responsible for more than 10,000 Youzhou people and soldiers. He can solve minor problems by himself, or he can seek help from the White Tiger Camp or the White Robe Army.
As for big problems that cannot be solved, you need to come to him, Li Kuan.
at this time.
After the White Tiger Guards left, Captain Yang said, "Your Highness, you are looking for me."
"Um."
Li Kuan nodded, put down the brush in his hand, and said with a smile: "I have something important to do with you today. Please go and take care of it."
Very important thing….
Captain Yang suddenly felt a lot of pressure. It was important to be praised by His Highness. He was worried that he would not be able to handle it well with his ability.
Can't help it.
He straightened his chest and seemed to cheer himself up.
"Your Highness, please tell me."
Captain Yang said seriously.
Li Kuan smiled and said: "Captain Yang, what do you think is the situation in Floating Water Town now?"
Captain Yang's eyes wrinkled: "Fushui Town is already on the right track and looking prosperous."
This is true. Captain Yang has good organizational skills and almost every citizen of Youzhou can find a job.
After working, they eat meat-filled meals, then work and then eat, and so on. Although it is simple and boring, the people see Fushui Town getting better and more beautiful day by day, and the people feel very comfortable and motivated to work.
In other words, there is hope for the future.
Be happy in whatever you do.
"Yeah, everything is thriving."
Li Kuan stood up and looked at the sky outside, sighing, and then looked at Captain Yang: "So, some things need to be arranged."
"It's like this, Captain Yang, I want to ask the people and soldiers of Youzhou for their opinions and see who wants to go back to the Tang Dynasty. Gather them all together. In the future, I will ask General Baihu to lead the army and escort them back. .”
Captain Yang was slightly shocked when he heard this.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, what do you mean, you want to send someone back to the Tang Dynasty?"
He thought he heard wrongly.
Li Kuan nodded: "Not bad."
"Are you sure about this?"
He couldn't believe this was true.
Although everything in Floating Water Town is developing in a good direction, it is still very short of manpower. Sending people back at this juncture is equivalent to cutting off an arm. In addition, General Baihu will escort them, so a lot of soldiers will have to be dispatched.
From Liang Guo to the border of Datang, it takes half a month to travel, but if it is a common people, considering the existence of old people, it will take more time.
Doing this kind of thing is completely thankless!
Li Kuan smiled and said, "Sure."
"Captain Yang, I know what you are thinking. You are indeed right, but not everyone wants to stay in a foreign country."
"Most of the more than 10,000 people who were rescued are indeed alone, but there are still people who have relatives in the Tang Dynasty. Their home is not here."
Li Kuan paused after saying this and looked in the direction of the Tang Dynasty: "It's the Tang Dynasty in the distance."
"I, the king, want to send them back to reunite with their families."
In this day and age, few people live in two separate states.
After all, there are traffic and travel restrictions.
But just because there are few, doesn't mean there are none.
Some people live in Youzhou, but their wives or sons are in other states and counties. These are all available.
The most prominent among them are the soldiers. Many soldiers were recruited into the army and their families were not in Youzhou. Therefore, Youzhou was ravaged by the Turks, but their families were still fine.
"Your Highness, you..."
Captain Yang's eyes flickered, but he hesitated to speak.
He didn't know what to say.
Spending so much military power and reducing our labor force just to...send them home.
He really didn't know how to evaluate this, the former God of War of the Tang Dynasty.
"correct."
Li Kuan seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile: "After organizing the people and soldiers who are going back, I apologize to them for my king. They should have set off back to Datang a few days in advance, but Fushui Town was not very busy at that time. It’s stable, so I suppressed it.”
Hearing this, Captain Yang felt mixed emotions.
This man, this man….
He was still as gentle as the rumors said.
Externally, he is arrogant and arrogant, but internally, he is as gentle as water.
He always treats his people so tenderly, always like this, always like this...
When Captain Yang was in Youzhou before, he saw King Chu's way of dealing with the people of Youzhou. He was very gentle and gentle.
But he didn't expect that.
At this time, that man was still so...gentle...
"Your Highness, I understand."
Captain Yang sighed.
"Well, please."
Li Kuan nodded, and then chatted with Captain Yang for a few words before letting him go down, and then sent someone to invite General Baihu.
"Your Highness, what do you want from me?"
General Baihu asked bluntly.
Li Kuan laughed and then told him what happened just now.
"What!"
"Your Highness, do you want to send those people back?"
General Baihu's eyes were stunned, and he spoke again without waiting for King Chu's reply.
Because after a brief period of shock, he knew that His Highness was serious.
He knows His Highness very well.
What a stupid thing His Highness would do!
"Your Highness, this is not advisable! According to your plan, we are preparing to establish a country."
"Which country only has more than 10,000 people? It's a small number in itself, but you still send people back, and the military strength is much empty after I leave. What if the Liang Division sends troops to attack?"
Li Kuan smiled and said: "Bai Hu, don't worry, Master Liang won't even come."
"Originally, I asked you to escort them back a few days ago, but I have been holding back and waiting for Master Liang to come with his troops."
"The things we did in the Liang Kingdom are too numerous to describe. We went so far that Master Liang could easily arouse the hatred of the people and send mourning troops to attack us."
"The fighting power of the mourning soldiers is several times that of ordinary soldiers, but he never came. Although he is incompetent, he still knows the opportunities for war. If we don't send troops to encircle and suppress us at such a good time, he will not come again in the future."
"So, just relax and go back. No one will come to attack us, at least... until spring comes."
As I told Captain Yang before, sending him back every few days was to get Floating Water Town back on track. That was perfunctory, and this was the real main reason.
General Baihu made a "bang" sound and pressed his hands hard on the table: "Your Highness, we can't send the labor force back. We need manpower very much! They like it here too!"
Li Kuan turned around and rolled his eyes at him: "Bai Hu, is this your first day meeting me?"
General Baihu was stunned.
When King Chu said this, he couldn't help but think of those things in the past. King Chu always behaved like this.
The thing that impressed me the most was that many years ago, His Highness saved many people and gave them a choice of armor or farm tools. Most of them chose farm tools.
Then, in the war to save other people, the soldiers fought less and less, but the farmers fought more and more.
The Four Beast Generals, General Suzaku, General Qinglong, including him, as well as the Six Seats and other senior officials, all advised His Highness to recruit troops, but he never listened. He was always so gentle and let the rescued people choose their own farm tools and armor.
This is true even if Wang Shichong's army kills all the people under his family.
That time was the most dangerous time for the King of Chu. If not for the fact that many farmers finally put down their farm tools and chose armor, they might all be dead now, and there would be no King of Chu or the King of Chu in the world.
He gives those people free choice, always will, and will never change...
General Baihu suddenly lost his temper and said with an angry smile: "Your Highness, it seems that I can't convince you anymore."
"If Floating Water Town is attacked after I leave, don't blame me."
Li Kuan laughed loudly: "Hahaha, Bai Hu, do you think this king is you? I will only arrange for you to leave after making sure everything is safe! Do you understand?"
General Baihu waved his hands in annoyance: "Okay, okay, I understand."
Arrogant, he did not admit his failure that day.
So it's extremely perfunctory.
Li Kuan didn't care and continued: "Don't come back this time. Take all the White Tiger Guards back to Jiangdong."
General Baihu was stunned.
Li Kuan sighed and said: "This time the Turks encircled and suppressed them, if they hadn't had a weakness in their haste, even I would have been hard-pressed to rescue you."
"Bai Hu, you almost died, just a little bit... Do you know? My prince's sons were also almost killed by you."
"Go back. When you left with me, I promised your wife, Lu Liuli, to send you back safely."
"Over the years, Lu Liuli has sent you many letters, and she has also sent many letters to me. The content is to ask me to watch you carefully and not to let you lose your life because of your arrogance."
General Baihu gritted his teeth angrily: "You bitch, how could I die so easily? And Your Highness, even if you didn't come, I, Pei Xingjian, would have been able to get out of trouble. What kind of death situation? I don't admit it!"
Li Kuan rolled his eyes: "Just be stubborn, I am too lazy to argue with you."
"When you go back this time, go back and meet Lu Liuli. I haven't seen you for several years. She misses you very much. Even before the Xuanwu Sect incident, she learned that we were going to do something big and wrote a letter to the king. The letter gave instructions I must protect you, and I can see the wrinkles in that letter, which was written by Lu Liuli while crying."
"She's too worried about you. Go back, go back..."
"There is no war in the Tang Dynasty now. Let her take a good look at you and see the changes you have made in the king's army over the years."
"In addition, you should also bring back all of my sons and daughters to me. Most of them have relatives, children, and wives. Their homes are not here, but over there... in the Tang Dynasty..."
Having said this, Li Kuan looked towards the direction of the Tang Dynasty again and sighed with emotion: "The Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, how beautiful it is..."
"If we don't have to, who would be willing to leave it and leave our home?"
Looking from General Yu Baihu's perspective, he could see the nostalgia on King Chu's face. He knew that even His Highness would be homesick.
"In that case, Your Highness, let's just go back!"
"The Weishui Incident has not long passed. Even if Admiral Nace is extremely capable, he will not be able to control the devastated Youzhou in a short time. We have many connections in Youzhou. If we can switch back and go back, we can all go back!"
Li Kuan shook his head: "No."
"Why?"
General Baihu asked.
"Why?"
Li Kuan turned around this time and looked towards the Liang Kingdom and the Turkic Grassland, his eyes full of ambition: "Hahaha, that's naturally because I want to conquer a huge territory here!"
"Let the rescued people of Youzhou have land to farm, a reliable city, and soldiers to protect!"
"We must also completely exterminate the Turks and the Liang Kingdom! This is the promise I made at that time! The people of Youzhou must be avenged! The anger in my heart needs to be vented!!"
At this moment, General Baihu looked at the King of Chu and felt as if his Highness was covered with a layer of light.
General White Tiger laughed, this man was always like this, always restrained them in this way, making them willing to sacrifice their lives for this man.
What binds them, what binds these madmen, such as General Qinglong, White Tiger, Twelve Nights, etc., to the King of Chu's camp, has never been about strength or leverage, but the damn personality charm.
They were attracted by this man, and they all came with their own ideals in mind. Some wanted to take revenge, some wanted to make achievements, some wanted to protect their families and the country...
People from all over the world, with different ideals and goals, are all bound by this man's charisma.
Deadly... willingly... bound...
Under this man's account, even if their own death is meaningless, as long as it is for this man, they will be willing to die for that hot cause.
They couldn't tell why.
They just think that this man has a magical power that makes them think it is an honor even if they die.
There are so many damn guys...
Let them all think that dying for him is honorable and without regrets.
Damn that guy, damn the King of Chu.
Regarding their war mode of King Chu's army not being afraid of death, and even being proud of death, the enemies called them madmen, as was the case with all enemies.
Madman, madman, life-threatening madman...
Those people always call it that.
It’s always like this….
but!
Some scholars and scholars among the people of the Tang Dynasty stood in a neutral position, neither favoring the enemies of the King of Chu nor the King of Chu.
They prefer to call the King of Chu and the King of Chu's faction, the ideal faction.
Just like Liu Bei's forces during the Three Kingdoms period, they were a group of people fighting for their ideals. The entire military group was like this...
General Baihu let out a long breath and said with a smile: "Your Highness, please don't die."
"There are still many people in Jiangdong waiting for your return."
Li Kuan didn't even look back, he looked up to the sky and said with a smile: "Hahaha! Yes, the Turks and the Liang Kingdom are not enough to kill this king!"
“This place is destined to be filled with the flags of King Chu’s army!!”
Arrogant.
Even more arrogant than his white tiger.
However, General White Tiger did not question, but his eyes were intense: "Well, we all believe in you."
"That's the way it is from beginning to end."
finally.
General Baihu was convinced that in the future he would be responsible for leading the team to protect those people who wanted to return to the Tang Dynasty. Return to the Tang Dynasty.
.
…….….….….….
Floating water town.
A group of Youzhou people who were responsible for cleaning went to have a meal after taking over their duties with other people who took over during their break time.
Eat that, the meal they look forward to most!
An all-meat feast!
In the Tang Dynasty, after years of war and being in Youzhou, most people were hungry and could only eat one meal a day.
Sometimes meat is a luxury, and I only dare to kill a chicken to eat during the Chinese New Year. I usually eat vegetarian food.
In Floating Water Town, you can eat as much meat as you want! I’m afraid you won’t be full! !
"Oh, Lao Wang, hahaha, give me a big leg of lamb quickly."
The common people, who were called Lao Guo, were delighted and ran over quickly.
Lao Wang, who was in charge of serving the ladle, rolled his eyes and gave him a big leg of lamb out of anger: "Here, you are the fastest runner!"
Lao Guo took the leg of lamb and said with a smile: "You can't say that, Lao Wang, I work a lot. When I work enough, I get more tired and need to eat."
Even more tired, how could you run so fast?
He always has his own way of convincing himself that being the first one on the team to come to dinner is the right thing to do.
Lao Wang rolled his eyes again and ignored him. He continued to serve the ladle and bring meat to anyone who came.
Lao Guo picked up the leg of lamb and took a big bite: "Hiss, it feels good! This meat is so delicious! It's worthy of being from the grassland!"
"Um?"
At this time, Lao Guo discovered that there were a bunch of people surrounding the notice and looking at it non-stop.
"Hey, Lao Wang, what happened over there?"
Lao Wang took a look and said with a smile: "Oh, over there, I heard from some scholars that His Highness will organize people who want to go back to the Tang Dynasty, gather them together, and then let General White Tiger escort them back in a few days."
boom! !
As soon as he finished speaking, Lao Guo felt like he was struck by five thunders.
He didn't even eat the meat and stared blankly over there.
"Old Wang, you...are you telling the truth?"
Lao Wang nodded: "Can I still lie to you? By the way, I remember that your family is in Liangzhou. Are you going back?"
"You shouldn't go, right? After all, without King Chu, we wouldn't be able to be as comfortable as we are now, so we should repay him well."
Lao Guo put down the leg of lamb and held his head in his hands, feeling a little headache: "I, I don't know, I don't know..."
On the one hand, he is a lifesaver, and on the other hand, he goes back to see his relatives...
Two choices.
He was confused.
It's not just him.
That night, many people were confused and confused.
….….….….….….
A few days later.
The list of people who wanted to go back was given to Li Kuan two days ago. A total of more than a thousand people wanted to go back, most of them were soldiers, and today is the time for them to go back.
now.
When they wanted to go back, the Youzhou people and soldiers who packed their bags split up in different places, leaving their houses in Fushui Town in twos and threes and heading south.
When they walked to the main square of Floating Water Town, they found that there were many people and soldiers here. Those were the people who chose to stay and were willing to become soldiers and people of the new empire.
The Tang Dynasty had hurt them too much, and King Chu had the grace to save them, so they chose the new empire.
Those who were going back found that the people, whether they were in logistics, cutting wood, making briquettes, etc., did not go to work today. Instead, they all came out and looked at them calmly.
Those who wanted to go back to the Tang Dynasty felt guilty and moved forward with their heads lowered.
Some of them went back to the Tang Dynasty because of their families, and some of them wanted to go back to the Tang Dynasty because they were afraid of death. There were many reasons. No matter what, they were all cowards! They are all white-eyed wolves! They are all guys who don’t know how to repay kindness!
They are not worthy of these people standing together, and they are not even qualified to look up at the people of the new empire.
They all think so of themselves.
And when everyone who was going back passed by one by one, no one knew who spoke, with a high-pitched voice filled with passion.
“Brothers and sisters who are helping to return home, have a safe journey!!”
The sound falls,
All the people and soldiers in Youzhou, even the little kids who were still babbling, all looked at them with stern eyes and saluted with one hand.
Not just nearby.
In this place where the flow of people spread for several miles, all the people and soldiers of Youzhou, 12,000 in total, saluted.
This is what King Chu taught them, the New Empire Salute.
They seemed to have been told early on that they should send these people off with the most solemn etiquette and leave as equals, rather than letting them leave as "deserters."
This scene is too shocking.
It shocked those who were going back to feel turbulent, horrified and ashamed.
Along the way,
All the people who stayed behind looked at them quietly, saluting with blazing eyes.
No one was looking at "The Deserter," they were looking at their friends back home.
All the way, all the way.
Really...no one looks down on them...
Most of the people who wanted to go back cried bitterly.
It was obvious that what they were doing was "deserting", and it was obvious that they were all white-eyed wolves. They forgot about their life-saving grace and wanted to go back to the Tang Dynasty, which had hurt them deeply.
But, these people, these people who stayed...
But he turned a blind eye and treated them as equal friends! !
There was a man who wanted to go back, unable to withstand the torment in his heart. He knew that he was a "deserter" and a coward, not a bullshit brother or sister. He was not worthy of being a brother or sister of these people. He shouted heartbreakingly: "Why, why You won’t leave!”
"This is a foreign country. There are hundreds of thousands of Turkic cavalry, and the Liang Kingdom is eyeing us. We only have a broken town. How...how can we survive!"
"Why... why don't you leave!"
"We... shouldn't we go together? Why... why do you want to stay here and die together with His Highness the King of Chu!"
He collapsed, grabbing the nearest remaining person and roaring loudly.
That man maintained a saluting posture, his eyes were clear, he was calm and full of pride.
"Because I have no home."
"This is our new home."
"But you are different. You still have your family over there, and they are all waiting for you to go back."
(End of chapter)
