Wang Shouen and the other two retreated, preparing to launch their attack, but Xiang Xun actually fell down on a military couch and closed his eyes.
Of course, even if he was exhausted physically and mentally, Xiang Xun could not really sleep at this moment. Although his eyes were closed, his ears were raised high. When the sound of soldiers gathering was heard in the camp, Xiang Xun reached out and grasped the long sword he carried.
Soon, Li Wanchao's somewhat angry voice floated from a distance. Although it was vague, you could probably tell that it was Li Wanchao announcing his righteousness, motivating the soldiers, and arousing emotions.
Amidst a burst of shouts, Sergeant Su Rui rushed out of the camp and headed for Jiedu Mansion. Inside the tent, Xiang Xun could feel the vibration of the soldiers running quickly. The sound gradually faded away, and the military camp gradually became quiet. Not long after, there was a burst of shouting for death from Commander Jiedushi's mansion, which did not last long. After that, Xiang Xun fell asleep completely relaxed.
At dawn, the white fish belly showed up in the east as usual, a few miles north of Shangdang City. After a night of rapid march, Ma Quanyi led the army and felt as promised. Even under his urging, they arrived earlier than expected.
To the northwest of Shangdang, there are flat rivers on both sides, with a wide field of vision. You can leap up a hillside on horseback and look to the south, you can vaguely see the city standing on the plain.
"General Ma, Shangdang is ahead!" The leader of the Tanqi army pointed at Shangdang City in the morning mist in the distance and said to Ma Quanyi.
"Send the order, let the sergeants rest on the spot, drink water and eat!" Two battalion commanders were called in, and Ma Quanyi gave the order directly.
Then he ordered the detective horse beside him: "Take some people and go to the city to investigate the situation. Be careful, but if there is any situation, report it immediately!"
"yes!"
Regardless of his slight lethargy, Ma Quanyi considered the situation of the party while waiting for reports from the front. This was the first time he had led an army independently. Although it was within the plan, the task this time was not difficult, but he had never been careless in major military affairs. Coupled with Liu Chengyou's trust and trust, Ma Quanyi behaved extremely cautiously.
According to the low slope, the soldiers of the First Army rested on the spot. Some experienced veterans in the army took this rare time to eat, restore their strength, and be ready for possible battles at any time.
After a night of rapid marching, they only stopped once on the way. Under Ma Quanyi's urging, many soldiers fell behind. By this time, the entire army was exhausted and their combat capability was barely left.
Ma Quanyi didn't have to wait long. When he came back from the expedition, he also brought back the liaison soldiers sent by Xiang Xun. After bringing good news, Ma Quanyi was overjoyed and felt relieved at the same time that Shangdang surrendered.
"General, do you want to advance to the upper party and enter the city to rest?"
After hearing this, Ma Quanyi shook his head, looked back at the exhausted soldiers down the slope, raised his hand and said: "No hurry, wait a moment!"
After dragging on for more than half an hour, Ma Quanyi gave the order to advance to Shangdang City after the soldiers of the First Army recovered. By the time he carefully led his troops to the city, it was already daybreak, the city gate had been opened, and Xiang Xun and Li Wanchao were standing under the city. On the top of the city, two bloody heads hung.
"General Ma!" Xiang Xun came forward immediately and introduced Li Wanchao.
Compared to Xiang Xun, Ma Quanyi is much younger. Not to mention other things, the age gap is there. Although Xiang Xun is now just a guard beside Liu Chengyou, Ma Quanyi does not dare to underestimate him at all. A simple guard will not be given such an important mission.
There was no arrogance in his attitude. He exchanged a few polite greetings and asked about the situation in the city.
Xiang Xun's eyes were a little dark, but his expression was very relaxed. He said with a smile: "This morning, General Li led the soldiers of the Su Rui Army to besiege the commander's mansion and killed Zhao Xingqian and the Khitan Kuo Qian envoy. Now the city is under control , just wait for His Highness to come south!"
"Okay!" Ma Quanyi's face was full of joy, he summoned a cavalryman and ordered: "Send someone to inform His Highness immediately!"
"General Ma, the brothers have been marching hard. The general has ordered people to clean up the barracks and prepare food. Please come into the city!" At this time, Li Wanchao took the initiative to say.
"Thank you!"
Seeing that Li Wanchao's attitude was indeed friendly and he took the initiative to invite him into the city, Ma Quanyi lowered his guard a little. However, he was still vigilant, leading people into the city and observing the situation below the city.
"After entering the city, send someone to Jiedu Mansion immediately!" As he entered the city, Xiang Xun quietly approached Ma Quanyi, his face calm and he whispered.
Ma Quanyi was slightly surprised, then nodded in agreement.
At this time, Jiedu Mansion was a little busy. In addition to cleaning up a few corpses, some soldiers were rummaging through boxes and cabinets and looting property throughout the mansion. What's more, the door of the treasury was pried open, and groups of soldiers were moving outside.
The person who gave the order was none other than Wang Shouen. This guy had just joined the party, and the greed in his heart broke out. In other words, he had already been eyeing Jiedu Mansion.
In addition to the family property of former Jiedushi envoy Zhang Congen, there was also a large amount of money plundered by Zhao Xingqian and Khitan envoy Kuo Qian. After taking control of the whole city, Wang Shouen couldn't wait to lead his people into the handsome man's house at dawn...
In front of the treasury, Wang Shouen was dressed in a brocade robe. His eyes were shining as he looked at the large and small boxes of money placed in the courtyard. Next to him, Gao Fang had a serious expression and seemed to be dissatisfied.
"Your Majesty, the treasury is all national property. How can we embezzle it? Please order the soldiers to stop!" Looking at Wang Shouen, Gao Fang still couldn't hold back and persuaded.
Glancing at Gao Fang, Wang Shouen smiled and immediately called out to several soldiers, pointing to a box: "Carry this box to the high judge's house!"
Hearing this, Gao Fang's face flashed with anger, as if he had been humiliated: "Your Majesty, this is not what I mean!"
"Isn't it too little?" Wang Shou'en was startled, and then his face showed a hint of pain: "Then add another box!"
Hearing what he said, Gao Fang became furious. He stepped forward and grabbed Wang Shouen's arm hard. He turned his head and glared at the soldiers who were trying to empty the treasury, and shouted: "Stop it!"
The high defense officer in Shangdang has a high prestige. As soon as he spoke, the soldiers immediately stopped and looked this way.
Wang Shouen was also dissatisfied, shook off his hand and stared at him: "Judge Gao, what do you want to do?"
Gao Fang looked at him without any fear, and said in an angry tone: "We responded to the Emperor Jinyang's actions for the sake of our family and country, and to deal with the Khitan people! Now that the square flag has been raised, the emperor wants to seize all the treasury. , spread the word, how will the world view us?"
As he spoke, Gao Fang pointed to the treasury and raised his voice a little higher: "How many of these assets are borrowed by Khitan Kuo from the people's fat and oil, so how can you bear to keep them for yourself?"
Gao Fang finished speaking, but Wang Shou'en sneered and said something very "reasonable": "Soldiers are willing to risk their lives and die to follow our righteousness, fight against the Khitan, and get some money to reward their merits. What's wrong with this?" . As for these people's wealth, we can use it as a reward by killing the Khitan envoys to prevent the people of Luzhou from being exploited again, and also prevent us from increasing taxes and gifts to reward the army."
"You!" Hearing that Wang Shou'en was brazenly talking nonsense, Gao Fang was so angry that his beard stood up.
"We are raising our troops in response to the Hedong army. His Second Highness is leading the army to empty the treasury. How will we explain this to His Royal Highness?" Suppressing his anger, Gao Fang asked Liu Chengyou to argue with the Hedong army.
Wang Shouen frowned slightly, looking a little apprehensive, as if he was thinking. Seeing this, he felt that Wang Shouen had listened, and Gao Fang calmed down. Little did he know, what Wang Shouen was thinking was: It was precisely because the Hedong Army was coming that he wanted to make a fortune before they entered the city...
Just as he was about to open his mouth to persuade again, he heard Wang Shouen say in a rough voice, "Even if the Hedong Army comes and His Highness the Second Highness faces you, you should still reward your brother. Otherwise, why should you sacrifice your life for him!"
After saying that, he ignored Gao Fang, turned around and exaggeratedly ordered his subordinate soldiers: "Listen to me, all the money boxes in the courtyard have been moved to my house. Well... give them to the treasury." Leave two boxes inside! Don’t rob or search Jiedu’s mansion.”
