On this day, the sun was shining brightly and there were no clouds in the sky. Chen Xizhen and his gang members were having a secret conversation in his mansion.
Originally, the emperor ordered twelve strong generals to be dispatched to the frontier army to cooperate with Chen Xizhen in his crusade against Liangshan. However, Han Shizhong said that many generals would have to rest for a month before setting off, and the emperor agreed.
However, since the news spread that Liangshan defeated the government army twice and captured Quancheng, for more than half a month, rebels were restless all over the Song Dynasty.
Nearly thirty groups of rebels were fighting against the imperial court in various places. There were still some who, although they did not dare to raise the banner of rebellion, hid in the mountains and forests, or became bandits, resisted taxes and killed officials. For a moment, the sky seemed to be filled with rebellion. The building will collapse.
Emperor Tianming was so angry that he rarely went to court. He became furious and scolded all the civil and military officials. Finally, many ministers made regulations and mobilized armies to suppress the rebellion in various places.
This court, which was already decayed in the hands of Emperor Daojun, was still decayed after it came to the hands of Emperor Tianming, but it also had a record of breaking the Xia Dynasty. In addition to the decay, there were many more emperors who far exceeded the Song Dynasty. of ferocity.
The Emperor Daojun only knows how to squeeze the blood, tears and marrow of thousands of people into useless flowers, birds and stones, squeeze them into palace wonders, flower boat tours on the lake, squeeze them into mountains of gold, silver and jewelry in Bianliang City, and even the ministers who have a lot of money in their homes. No one cared about it until it was eaten away by termites.
But the Emperor of Destiny plundered every layer of the people's sufferings and turned them into swords and guns, which were in the hands of wealthy landlords, local officials, famous relatives, and court officials.
When the imperial edict was issued, the imperial court's orders were suppressed layer by layer, and all the famous private soldiers, wealthy merchants and slaves who were not officially part of the imperial army were mobilized.
The first people the rebels killed were the evil party traitors everywhere, so they had to resist and defend the Song Dynasty.
When the soldiers and generals sent by the imperial court asked them to obey orders, countless family elders and old ghosts in the ancestral hall cried out, "Like a baby looking to its parents", and they all merged into the imperial soldiers and generals.
The imperial court only sent out ten military envoys to cooperate with the local evil parties. In more than half a month, the momentum of the rebel armies in the world was defeated.
But it was just a setback, and it was far from a true eradication, so the Emperor Tianming issued another order to defeat the culprit first.
He sent two more handwritten orders to the border army tent, urging the twelve generals to set off overnight and gallop under the stars to reach Bianliang in advance.
In addition, in today's morning meeting, Emperor Tianming was appointed as the commander of the court.
Order six Taoist officials including the evil-binding master Gou Ying and the demon-subduing master Wang Tianba;
Twenty generals, including Xiantian General Feng Hui and Lingying General Haransheng, Kang Jie, Kong Hou, and Fan Chenglong, accompanied the army on the expedition.
These six Taoist officials and twenty generals are all Chen Xizhen's party members. Originally, he asked Emperor Tianming to transfer Guan Sheng and others from the border army to prevent his own party members from being damaged. Unexpectedly, in just over half a month, the situation changed dramatically, and it was impossible to avoid it.
Gou Ying comforted: "Daozi, the matter has come to this, it is useless to think too much. All the brothers present are also experienced people. If a big event is coming, you are not really afraid of those grass bandits and rebels."
"The holy will has been decided, and I naturally know that there is no room for shirk."
Chen Daozi responded lazily, but his eyes were very uneasy.
Emperor Tianming has not been concerned with government affairs in recent years and has focused on practicing Buddhism. Although Chen Xizhen talks about being loyal and good, in fact, it is inevitable that there are some less respectful speculations in his heart.
But this time, he finally saw the emperor's cruel methods.
Over the years, officials at all levels in the Song Dynasty accumulated wealth and slaves when they had the opportunity, and imposed exorbitant taxes. The clans that had produced officials in various places also took this opportunity to cultivate private soldiers, and they grew abnormally.
Everyone thought they were doing something smart, exploiting the people below and flattering the people above. Everything was done so that the government officials could rest assured, and everyone behaved decently.
But in recent days, it seems that even if the Emperor of Destiny is living in seclusion in the palace, he seems to be kept in the dark. He seems to know the current situation of the world well, and the fat and white "smart people" he raises are just using them. The benefits are completely tamed, and when necessary, they can be trusted to be commanded.
Chen Xizhen even vaguely felt that the emperor had known for a long time that the people of the Song Dynasty were going to rebel in the past few years. Son of Heaven.
After the turmoil, the Song Dynasty still had to support the aloof emperor until he reached the age of 100 and successfully ascended to heaven, or failed and ascended to heaven.
However, the momentum of the rebellion may have been a little earlier and stronger than Emperor Tianming expected. This was the real reason for his displeasure in the court.
After thinking for a few seconds, Chen Xizhen said: "The officials have ordered so many soldiers and horses, and the number of soldiers and horses gathered on Jingdong East Road from all over the country has reached a total of one hundred thousand. It must not only be to kill the culprit Liangshan, but also to kill them." We will also carefully clear out places such as Qingzhou Bandit Village and completely pacify Jingdong East Road."
The innate general Feng Hui was familiar with the art of war and the terrain. At this moment, he said: "Jingdong East Road is adjacent to Kaifeng Mansion, and it also echoes the Liao Kingdom. How can such a big danger be tolerated on the side of the bed? If you want to bring peace to the world, you must first suppress this place, so that even an inch of resistance can be suppressed. My heart doesn’t dare to rise again.”
"good."
Chen Xizhen said, "To satisfy the officials, we must not only win this time, but also reduce the damage. Things must be done beautifully, and I must try my best to protect my brothers."
He made up his mind, nodded and said, "If you want to fulfill your wish, you must invite two more people to accompany you."
At that moment, Chen Xizhen went to the palace to ask for an order to let "Mr. Huayang" Liu Hunchang and "Mr. Dongwei" Wang Laozhi lead the troops together.
Emperor Tianming was in the Cuiyun Pavilion in the imperial garden, tasting the elixir and taking French wine. After hearing Chen Xizhen's request, he didn't even look at him.
Two quarters of an hour later, when the wine was exhausted, Emperor Tianming smiled warmly and asked Chen Xizhen to stop standing outside and sit down in the pavilion.
"It has been less than two hours since the morning court, and you have already learned how to enter the palace to ask me for such a request. You are really able to understand my heart."
Chen Xizhen didn't even dare to say: "The humble minister is stupid, but he is just doing his best for the official family."
Emperor Tianming said: "These two people are both pillars and masters in the cultivation of immortality. Over the past few years, I have asked them to study many secrets of cultivation for me. It's just that such an expert will continue to stay in Bianliang. If you really can’t make the best use of everything, don’t let them lead the army, let them have a name under your account.”
Chen Xizhen was overjoyed. After receiving the order from Xie En, he first went to Wang Laozhi's house.
Wang Laozhi was practicing elixir. He unfolded the edict and nodded slightly: "It will take seventeen hours for me to prepare the elixir. When the army should set off, it will set off at that time. I will naturally catch up with you."
Chen Xizhen asked: "What elixir is so important?"
Wang Laozhi said: "Originally, it didn't have to be so troublesome. It's just that the Purple Qi Divine Sand from Cangshan Mine was not delivered this year. I couldn't stay away from it until I was halfway through practicing the elixir, so I had to invite your old friends Xu Hulin and his family to come and help me." Blowing fire, it only delayed a few more days."
Chen Xizhen's face changed slightly.
Wang Laozhi smiled and said: "After all, I am your friend and an official of the imperial court. I only ask them to spend some cultivation to defend the furnace flame. I don't ask them to pay too much."
Chen Xizhen smiled and exchanged a few words with Wang Laozhi.
After leaving the mansion, he immediately ordered someone to deliver a message to check on the life and death of Xu Hulin's family.
Purple Qi Shen Sand is mainly extracted from the red crystal mine in Cangshan Mountain, and such ores are not naturally generated.
After cultivating the Immortal Way and mastering the Indestructible Golden Elixir, if you still fail to reach the state of ascension, you will become closer and closer to the earth's energy. When you are a hundred years old, you will bury yourself in the ground, which is the so-called " "Dismemberment".
Of course, if you have no nostalgia for the world, you can bury yourself before you are a hundred years old, such as a certain Yuanmiao Mr. Lin Daozhang, but he has become more and more passionate about life in Liangshan recently.
In fact, these "corpse-dissolving immortals" did not die, but entered deeper and deeper dormancy, and over the long years, they continued to sink underground, ten miles underground, a hundred miles underground, and thousands of miles underground.
If during this process, a Corpse Executioner happens to encounter a mineral vein, the breath that the whole body breathes out on its own will cause the mineral vein to gradually change.
The Purple Qi Divine Sand must have happened to meet a certain Corpse Execution Immortal who practiced the "Purple Banyan True Art" hundreds of years ago.
Xu Hulin's family has inherited this technique. When necessary, it can be used to replace the Purple Qi Divine Sand. This substitution can only consume the cultivation level, but it can also directly use the cultivator as a medicinal material.
Fortunately, Chen Xizhen received a reply soon. Xu Hulin and his family were in seclusion for self-cultivation and everyone was still intact.
In fact, demonic practice also has a situation similar to "corpse dissolution". Demonic masters who are unable to ascend will choose to live in higher and higher places after they are a hundred years old, until they penetrate deep into the Nine Heavens Gang Wind and no longer fall, or even Go outside the Gangfeng layer.
There is an old saying that goes, "The corpses of the immortals are dissolved, and the demons chase the sun." This is what happens.
Chen Xizhen went to the Taoist temple where Liu Hunkang was.
The courtyard of the Taoist temple is full of white cranes, each walking and playing.
Liu Hunkang was drowsy on the couch made of bamboo and rattan. When he heard the imperial edict came, he reluctantly cheered up and got up to receive the edict.
"The army outside the city will set off tomorrow morning."
Chen Xizhen reminded, "Master Liu, don't miss the time. Why don't you follow me to the military camp to rest now, so that you can sleep peacefully for a night and set off together in the early morning?"
Liu Hunkang looked sleepy, yawned and said, "It's okay, it's okay."
The Taoist boys and attendants in the Taoist temple immediately became busy.
Chen Xizhen stood aside and watched the brisk pace of those people, frowning slightly, and suddenly glared at the Taoist boy passing by him.
The boy turned around in astonishment, shrunk into a golden bean with a cry, and fell to the ground.
"Hey, what is Chen Daozi doing?"
Liu Hunchang bent down and picked up the bean, blew on it, and the bean flew out. He turned back into a Taoist boy and looked at Chen Xizhen timidly.
Only when Liu Hunkang waved him to go and do his work did the Taoist boy dare to leave in small steps.
Chen Xizhen looked around and said, "It's been a long time since I visited Zhenren Liu's house. Why do all the Taoist boys in this palace seem to be servants enlightened by the art of spreading beans to become soldiers?"
Liu Hunkang waved his hands lazily and said: "The old people don't like to make noise, so those Taoist priests and Taoist boys let them work in other temples in Bianliang. The people transformed by these little beans are all well-behaved and smart. He talks very little, which is suitable for an old man like me."
"Really?" Chen Xizhen chuckled, "Zhenren Liu, your Qingzong on Maoshan..."
"Speaking of which, Chen Daozi's daughter also likes these Taoists very much."
Liu Hunchang sat back on the recliner, took a cup of tea from the side, blew on the hot air and said, "She hasn't been here for a long time. Is there any chores that are bothering her?"
Chen Xizhen's face darkened, and he completely forgot what he was thinking before, and sneered: "My bastard... Liqing's whereabouts, does Mr. Liu really not know what's going on?"
Liu Hunchang's eyes widened a bit and he said blankly: "What?"
Chen Xizhen looked at him, unable to see that the old man was disguised at all, and couldn't help but look suspicious on his face.
He had long suspected that Chen Liqing, the villain, suddenly knew about Taiqing Tianxin Lun, and was secretly instigated by someone with intentions.
Among the four officials in Bianliang, Liu Yongxi was a close friend with him. Wang Laozhi concentrated on refining elixirs and rarely meddle in other people's business. Liu Hunkang was the only one who behaved absurdly and changeably, making it difficult to figure out what his temper was.
But what are the benefits of Liu Hunkang doing such a thing?
Chen Xizhen had never been able to figure this out, and seeing that Liu Hunkang didn't look fake, he temporarily suppressed his displeasure and only urged the Taoist boys to step up their actions.
The Taoist boys prepared the frame of the carriage. Liu Hunkang didn't have anything to pack, so he set off for the military camp outside the city.
Not long after he left, the courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with white cranes, holding some food in their beaks. After gathering some food, they flew away and never came back.
The next day, the army outside the city cooked food. After all the soldiers were half full, they took out the ground minerals and swallowed them for practice. Black smoke billowed, covering less than half of the sky.
When the time came, many generals and Taoist officials came to the army. Guan Sheng, Hu Yanzhuo and others came to see Chen Xizhen one by one.
The army set off, first by land and then by water. When they arrived near Quancheng Mansion, they returned to the shore and set up camp.
Soon Pegasus came to report that in addition to the 50,000 troops here, another 50,000 troops gathered from various places had also arrived in Mengyin and Yizhou respectively. They had plenty of food and grass and could meet up at dusk today.
If everything is calm tonight, tomorrow will be the time to encircle Liangshan.
When dusk was getting darker, Chen Xizhen, as the commander-in-chief, summoned the generals in the military camp: "The movements of the 100,000-strong army cannot be hidden from anyone. Liangshan must respond. I predict that someone will attack the camp tonight and cause commotion."
He took out a formation map and said, "The generals are scattered in the military camp according to my deployment, and they are well ambush. Once they take action tonight, they will immediately capture them and win a small victory."
