In the Linjiang area to the north of Chuzhou, several large cities were already riddled with holes. Even after a long time, there still seemed to be smoke lingering in the air.
"The Lingzhou army is invincible!"
"My lord is famous for his benevolence in the world. If he were a king, he would definitely be a benevolent emperor for eternity!"
In the Chinese military tent, a middle-aged man with an elegant face was not angry when he heard the treasonous talk outside, nor did he stop it.
He smiled lightly, held up a cup of tea, frothed the tea three times, and then took two sips.
"My lord, are you really going this time? That King of Shuzhou is not a powerful person. He is sitting in the southwest and is about to be surrounded. He wants to ask my lord for help."
In the military tent, many counselors and generals were a little puzzled.
Zuo Shiren put down the tea cup and said, "You don't understand. After we captured Chuzhou, there was a mountain blocking our way forward. To move this mountain... I can't do this kind of thing. So, I You need to find someone to do it.”
"That King of Shu is the best candidate."
"My lord is renowned for his benevolence throughout the world and should be a role model in troubled times."
"Look, you praised me again." Zuo Shiren stood up, his tall and straight posture carried the majesty of a superior with every step he took.
"Heroes in the world include Chang Xiaotang, the overlord, Dong Wen, the young tiger from Liangzhou, Lu Song, the flying eagle from Xiaozhou, and the little boss from Shuzhou who dares to fight and kill... there are many, many of them, which can be called troubled times. A hero. Even Huang Daochong, the wallflower in Kezhou, counts."
"Whoever comes to the end will start a new dynasty. This is an eternal truth."
Zuo Shiren paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, stared in the north direction, and added, "Of course, there are still a pack of wolves in the north... I wanted to go when they refused Beidi. But as you all know, it just so happened. There is a big disaster in Lingzhou, otherwise Zuo Shiren, who is famous in the world, will lead his troops to drive out Di Man."
"My lord, you are famous all over the world!"
"Get changed. It's time to set off. I'll go meet the little Shu King for a while. The war in Chuzhou has basically stabilized. The five armies entering Chu are notified not to massacre the city. You should know that our mausoleum The state army is a benevolent army."
"I will be back in about seven or eight days."
"Lord, how many people do you want to bring with you?"
Zuo Shiren thought for a while and said, "Eight thousand people. Leave ten thousand people behind, outside the Kezhou border, to respond at any time."
"It's not that I'm afraid of death, it's that I can't die. In these troubled times in the Thirty States, there must be a wise leader who cares about the common people and usher in a new dynasty."
"My Lord, you must be the Ming Lord."
"Look, you are praising me again."
Zuo Shiren laughed, and under the guidance of his personal guards, he put on a dazzling golden jumpsuit. Then, he stepped elegantly and walked out of the military tent with dozens of personal guards.
…
"Steamed buns? Brother Tiger, you've eaten them all! Where can I find them for you?" Ma Yi shouted, "We've just crossed Xiangjiang and you've already eaten more than twenty of them."
"I am young and growing. Brother Ma Yi, there is fragrance in your robe."
"Er Cui secretly gave it to me..."
Looking into Si Hu's eyes, Ma Yi finally couldn't bear it and took out a bunch of small grilled fish.
Xu Mu, who was riding on the horse and also smelled the aroma of grilled fish, immediately knew that Ma Yi was about to die.
as expected.
After taking Ma Yi off the horse, Si Hu couldn't tear open the trousers, so he simply picked up the horse and ran into the forest.
"Brother Tiger, if you eat alone, be careful of getting sores!"
"Eat regeneration!" Si Hu's voice came faintly.
Xu Mu also wanted to scold his mother. Just when he was about to speak, he found that the bow dog who was exploring the road ahead had already returned to his horse.
"Longbow, what's going on?"
Go straight ahead to reach the inner city, and turn right to reach Kezhou. Kezhou Prefecture is not very big, with only three counties in total, and there are many swampy areas in the prefecture. It cannot be used as a small granary. At most, it can be used for horse trading and business with the help of two crisscrossing old official roads. transit point.
No one is king in Kezhou. There is only a family named Huang, with a group of small nobles, sitting in the three counties of Kezhou.
"My lord, there are refugees from Chuzhou ahead, about ten thousand of them."
During the war in Chuzhou, it was not uncommon for refugees to appear. What's more, this is still a chaotic time.
Could it be that Zuo Shiren, who is famous in the world for benevolence, did not care for the people?
"Long Gong, sent someone to inform the refugees that they could enter the Shu land and follow the land reclamation. They would be given three meals a day. They would be given dental cards and allowed to build their own houses."
Population is productivity. If he had a territory like Shuzhou when he refused Beidi, and he could recruit more refugees, there would be no harm.
"Lord, don't worry."
Chang Wu continued to move forward. After a while, following Gongou's words, he first saw scattered refugees, and then, further back, there were a large number of refugees fleeing forward.
It was probably Gonggou who sent someone to inform them that many of the fleeing refugees had gone in the direction of Bailu County.
"Ma Yi, send some dry food. If anyone dares to take advantage of the chaos, they will be driven away immediately!"
The three thousand fierce Shu soldiers who followed them were all veterans who were killed in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. If ordinary people saw them, they would be intimidated.
After distributing a round of dry food, Xu Mu remounted his horse in silence and continued moving forward with the people.
It was approaching dusk, and in the gloomy twilight, in his ears, he could hear the rapid footsteps and the cries of women and children among the refugees.
He had seen scenes like this many times. But every time, it was heart-piercing. He once lived in prosperous times, and then came to troubled times. Without contrast, there is no harm.
"Prosperity brings suffering to the people. Death brings suffering to the people."
"Brother Mu, what are you thinking about? The grilled fish is not bitter and is very fragrant." Si Hu ran back with the horse on his back and picked his teeth with a twig.
Xu Mu was startled, then swallowed a chestnut.
…
From Bailu County to Kezhou, it is a journey of about 600 miles. There was no urging, and it took nearly four days to reach the border of Kezhou.
To be honest, this is Xu Mu's first time coming to Kezhou. Of course, if they weren't doing business and selling horses to make money, not many people would be willing to come to such a swampy place.
"Longbow, send a few more teams to investigate nearby."
"Ma Yi, you also send people to find a place with a mountain behind and set up camp first."
Behind, Fan Lu led an army of ten thousand people, not far away. If there was any trouble, he could escape unscathed if he handled it properly.
But in Zuo Shiren's reply, he only said that he wanted to sit down by the river with him and talk about the world together.
This sentence is very nice to say, with a certain touch of literati.
But if you really want to regard Zuo Shiren as a refined scholar, you will probably suffer a huge loss.
Xu Mu only hoped that this meeting with Zuo Shiren could set a direction. At least, the siege of Shuzhou can be temporarily relieved.
Suffering enemies from both sides, Shuzhou's current accumulation and foundation seem to be a bit overwhelming no matter how you look at it. In the past, he could be a wolf, willing to cut himself into pieces, and dare to fight and kill. But it was different now. What he was looking up to was the vast country in front of him.
In order to seek a kingdom, all it takes is one big defeat to make his Xu Jiajun completely withdraw from the stage of competition.
