It was late afternoon when he left the abandoned inn. Changsheng was penniless at this time and had no money to give alms to the victims along the way. The plague and disasters in Jiangnan were almost inspected. After setting off, he had no other focus and drove all the way at a high speed. Go north.
He was at the junction of Jiangnan West Road and Jiangnan East Road. Chang'an was thousands of miles northwest of here. If he wanted to rush back to Chang'an, he should go northwest, but he went straight north. His next destination was not Chang'an. But Shuzhou in Jiangbei.
Shuzhou is the base camp of Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu, but he did not rush to Shuzhou to meet his three senior brothers, because he had previously entrusted Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu to raise money for the court, and they should be outside at this time Running around, at most one person was left to look after the house. He went there mainly to mobilize troops.
Previously, Ji Wang Li Bao and Li Maozhen led troops to attack the palace, and captured Qingyang on the way. The city was lost, and the 50,000 soldiers and horses stationed there were naturally gone. A few days ago, Song Cai had released carrier pigeons to notify the Ni family from the Western Regions. According to Ni Zhuo's style of raising grain and grass, he would collect and ship it immediately after receiving the news. Qingyang was the only way from the Western Regions to Chang'an, and the court had to recapture Qingyang before the first batch of grain and grass arrived.
To fight a war, you must have soldiers. Zhang Shan originally had an army of 300,000, but he has lost more than 100,000 in recent times. Regardless of whether Luoyang was captured this time, the troops cannot be separated. Shuzhou has 20,000 troops. This is the direct line unit of Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu. When he was recruited by the imperial court, he took the initiative and left 20,000 troops for the two of them. It was originally intended to be used to deal with Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates were very energetic in the previous Silla War. Hurt, there shouldn't be any trouble in a short period of time. If the matter is urgent, I will first transfer the 20,000 troops and horses.
There are pontoons and ferries on the river, but Changsheng does not need these. When he reaches the river, he directly activates the pure yin spiritual energy, which spreads out through the four hooves of Black Master, condenses the ice plate, and provides support.
It was already time to arrive in Shuzhou. Compared with the miserable situation in the south of the Yangtze River, the situation in Shuzhou was much better. First of all, Shuzhou was adjacent to a large river in the south. There was a lot of water transport trade and it could collect a lot of taxes. Secondly, Wu Yusheng knew about his relationship with Li Zhongyong and others. No matter how poor the household department was, he could still take care of the cities in Shuzhou and Pingzhou.
Since it was already getting late and the city gate was closed, Changsheng didn't bother to alert the gatekeepers, so he directly rode his horse into the air and jumped over the city wall.
Arriving in front of the Defu Yamen, Changsheng got off his horse and led the horse through the door.
The soldier on duty at the door didn't recognize Chang Sheng. Seeing him walking straight in, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, "Stop, who is he?"
"I am Li Changsheng, who is in charge in the house?" Changsheng asked casually.
There were four soldiers standing guard at the door. Hearing Changsheng's words, one of them reacted first, "Li Changsheng? Are you Prince Chitose?"
Changsheng nodded and handed the horse's rein to the soldier who spoke, "The horses are fed with fine feed. I can't stay for a long time and will leave at the second watch."
"You, you, you are not dead, dead..." Several soldiers looked frightened.
Seeing the expressions of several people, Changsheng knew that the official document announcing his safe return from the imperial court had not yet been sent to the local prefectures and counties, otherwise everyone would not be so surprised. However, he naturally would not be as familiar as a few soldiers guarding the gate. When he moved forward He asked casually, "Who is at home? General Li or General Chen?"
"General Ba," a soldier quickly followed Chang Sheng, "Are you really Prince Chitose?"
Hearing the soldiers' words, Changsheng frowned slightly. He didn't expect that Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu would leave Batulu here, but after thinking about it, it became clear. Batulu acted recklessly and there were many dangers in the tomb. Batulu's companions are prone to causing trouble.
The guard didn't know what Chang Sheng was thinking. When he saw him suddenly frowning, he just thought he was angry. For fear of being punished, he hurriedly explained, "Inquiry and interrogation are our duties. I hope you will forgive me."
"Okay, don't be nagging, just follow." Chang Sheng impatiently waved his hand.
Changsheng walked forward quickly, and the soldiers followed behind. Seeing that Changsheng was going to Batulu's courtyard, the soldiers hurriedly pointed out the way and said, "Your Majesty, General Ba is drinking with several generals in the back hall and is not in his room."
After hearing the soldiers' words, Changsheng turned around and headed north quickly.
Not long after, the two went to the backyard and saw an offering table in the middle of the yard with several offerings on it. There was also a brazier on the ground with ashes of burning yellow paper in it.
While Chang Sheng was looking around in confusion, the soldier quickly ran forward and knocked on the door eagerly.
"Who is it?" Batulu's voice.
"General, the prince is here," the soldier said loudly.
"Prince? Which prince?" Batulu had a big tongue and was obviously drunk.
"Elder brother, it's me." Changsheng stepped forward quickly.
There was originally a lot of chatter in the back hall, but as soon as Changsheng opened his mouth, the back hall fell silent for an instant.
Changsheng stepped forward and opened the door, only to see Batulu drinking with three generals. He recognized all six generals under Chen Liqiu. Those in the room at this time were Qin Chuan, Chen Xuanyi, Wang Zhendong, Cai There is only one, a big basin, and I don’t know what kind of meat it is, and a big jar of wine for each person.
Batulu and the generals were all flushed with alcohol. Seeing Changsheng suddenly appear at the door, the four of them stared in shock at the same time, stunned on the spot.
"Elder brother, don't look at it, it's really me." Changsheng stepped through the door.
Hearing Changsheng's words, Batulu's eyes turned red instantly, "Lao Wu, are you worried? Are you coming back to see us?"
Batulu's words made Changsheng dumbfounded, "Elder brother, what are you talking about?"
"Today is your 100th day. We were saying just now that we didn't know if you would come back, but we didn't expect you to actually come back." Batulu sobbed and shed tears.
Hearing what Batulu said, Changsheng recalled and calculated in his heart, it seemed like it had been a hundred days since the incident happened.
While Chang Sheng was pondering his memories, Batulu had already left his seat and stood up, walking towards him, "Lao Wu, are you suffering a lot over there? Why are you so thin? Oh, it makes me so sad. ”
Seeing Batulu's grief, Changsheng was very moved and said, "Elder brother, don't talk nonsense. I'm doing well. Look at the ground, isn't there a shadow?"
Batulu quickly stepped forward, hugged Changsheng, and cried loudly, "The court has held a state funeral for you, how can you still be fine? Tell me the truth, are you talking to Master?" It’s the same way to defraud corpses.”
Batulu cried with snot and tears. Changsheng took out a handkerchief to wipe it with. At the same time, he looked at Qin Chuan aside, "General Qin, how much did he drink?"
Hearing Changsheng's words, Qin Chuan and the others came back to their senses, hurriedly left their seats, knelt down on one knee, "See you, Your Majesty!"
"I'm not an outsider, so there's no need to be polite," Changsheng raised his hand and turned to Batulu, "Elder brother, stop crying, I'm really not dead."
"Will you come back in a hundred days before you die?" Batulu was heartbroken. "Old Five, do you have any unfulfilled wishes? Tell senior brother and I will help you complete it."
Changsheng was so helpless by Batulu that he couldn't move even after being hugged tightly by him. Seeing this, Qin Chuan and the other three people hurriedly stepped forward to explain, but Batulu was afraid that he would disappear as soon as he let go, no matter what the three of them did. To pull is to not let go.
"Elder brother, I haven't eaten for a day, can you let me eat?" Chang Sheng sighed helplessly.
Hearing what Changsheng said, Batulu hurriedly pulled him to the dining table and pointed to the bowl of meat on the table, "These meat bones were originally prepared for you. Can you eat them?"
Batulu was a little drunk, and Changsheng didn't bother to explain to him. He just pulled up a chair, sat down, grabbed a bone, and ate it.
Batulu stared at Changsheng intently, and when he saw him devouring the food, he suspected that he might not be dead. Then he took the candlestick and looked for the shadow, and found that there was something there.
"Lao Wu, are you really alive?" Batulu asked nervously.
"I'm really not dead," Changsheng said casually, "Don't stand next to me, sit down quickly, and I will tell you what happened."
Hearing what Changsheng said, Batulu sat down uneasily. After sitting down, he was still worried and moved his chair to the left, closer to Changsheng.
While Changsheng was eating, he told what happened in a concise and concise manner.
After confirming that Changsheng was really alive, Batulu cried with joy again. Seeing him become so thin, he felt even more distressed, "Oh, Fifth Brother, I feel really uncomfortable. How much sin do you think you have suffered?" .”
"Okay, senior brother, don't cry. Can you let me eat in peace?" Changsheng said.
"Okay, okay," Batulu hurriedly reached out to rummage in the basin, "come on, come on, the ribs are good for chewing, eat this."
Batulu had been blowing his nose just now, but Changsheng naturally would not dislike him. There were many reasons why Batulu was so excited. First, he drank a lot of wine and became emotional. Second, Changsheng was still a child when he first met them, so Batulu always treated him as a child. In his impression, the youngest should be protected, but he died. Furthermore, Batulu is not very smart and is not good at controlling his emotions. If it were Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu, he would definitely not be so gaffe-like.
Changsheng didn't have a big appetite, and soon he couldn't eat anymore. Seeing the two brothers reunited, Qin Chuan and the others got up and left, allowing the two of them to calmly reminisce about the past.
"Don't leave in a hurry, sit down first," Changsheng pressed his hands to the three of them, "I came here this time to mobilize troops. The second and third senior brothers are not here. This matter cannot be delayed. I will tell you directly. "
The three of them exchanged glances and said in unison, "Please give me your permission, Your Majesty."
Changshang was concise and concise, trying to be concise, "Now there are famines everywhere, and the court has no rice and grain for disaster relief. I can only recruit grain and grass from the Western Regions. However, Qingyang was captured by Li Maozhen some time ago. Qingyang is the only way from east to west. Qingyang was lost." Rice grains from the Western Regions cannot be transported to Chang'an. Now Zhang Zhenzhen is fighting against Zhu Quanzhong and Sun Ru. I can't mobilize his troops, and the troops and horses temporarily mobilized from other places cannot be used for heavy tasks. Our soldiers have experienced many actual battles, and this hard bone We can only chew it ourselves.”
Hearing Chang Sheng's words, the three of them all nodded. Wang Zhendong asked, "How many troops and horses are needed, and when will they start?"
"This battle is not easy to fight. Not only must it be won, but we must mobilize all our 20,000 soldiers and horses as soon as possible," Changsheng said. "Regulate the army tonight and set out tomorrow. We will go to Chang'an first. I will send back the official troop deployment documents from the Ministry of War." I will replenish you later.”
Wang Zhendong did not answer immediately, but first exchanged glances with Qin Chuan and Chen Xuanyi to make sure that they had the same ideas as his, and then said, "Okay, let's go back and prepare right away."
"My second senior brother and third senior brother are on errands and can't get away," Changsheng said, "I will lead you in this battle."
"Yes!" The three responded in unison. Although they were subordinates of Chen Liqiu and Li Zhongyong, they all knew how deep the feelings between the Changsheng brothers were. Even if they did not discuss it with Chen and Li in advance, the two would not agree. Sheng is dissatisfied, not to mention that Changsheng is still a prince of the imperial court, and he can mobilize them both in public and private affairs.
"Hey, hey, here's me, I'm going too." Batulu shouted eagerly.
"You can't go, you have to stay and look after the house." Changsheng waved his hand.
"You have taken all the soldiers away, and I am left as a bare-bones general to look after my family. If it doesn't work, I have to go too." Batulu blushed angrily.
"I'll leave you two thousand," Changsheng said.
"Then I will go too. I am the general, and they are all under my control." Batulu shouted.
"You are the general who fights Japanese pirates," Changsheng said. "You have the final say when dealing with Japanese pirates. We are not dealing with Japanese pirates this time, so you don't have to go."
Batulu had no choice but to lie, "I don't care, I have to go anyway, Chen Xuanyi, you stay for me to look after the house."
Hearing Batulu's words, Chen Xuanyi looked helplessly at Changsheng. The reason why Batulu asked him to look after his house was because he was kind and easy to talk to.
Chang Sheng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "That's fine, General Chen, I'll let you stay in Shuzhou."
"Yes." Chen Xuan bowed and responded.
The three of them stood up to say goodbye. Changsheng also left his seat and stood up, "Elder brother, I have to leave too."
"Why are you so anxious? Your ass is still hot from sitting. Let's stay here for one night." Batulu said reluctantly.
"No, I just went to Yezhou when I came back. There are still a lot of things waiting for me to deal with in Chang'an." Changsheng stepped out.
Seeing that Liu Changsheng could not survive, Batulu could only accompany him. When he came to the courtyard, he saw that the copper basin where the paper money had been burned was still there. He kicked it over with a flying kick and said, "Fuck you..." "
