It was as if an invisible giant hand had tipped the scales of power again, and Victory reminded everyone that Saitama was also a member of the royal family, with the blood of Amaterasu flowing through his veins, and had an indisputable right to the supreme position. Just as the number of people under Brother Nishiki's banner grew at the beginning, Saitama's side will grow as fast now.
Moreover, Saitama has one advantage that it does not have - Nambazu is the most important transshipment port from the Seto Inland Sea to Lake Nara. The warehouses are filled with various materials such as grain, oil, and cloth shipped from various countries, and Qitama has When Jade left Kyoto, she took everything she could and burned the rest, leaving only tens of thousands of mouths behind. Time was like a noose around Brother Zhong's neck, getting tighter and tighter.
Now there are only two paths before Brother Nakada: 1. Reorganize the army, attack Nambajin again, and open up the water channel between Asukakyo and other countries; 2. Take the initiative to withdraw from Asukakyo and establish his own court in Omi, and the war has begun. long-term. If you only consider it from a military perspective, the second option is undoubtedly the wiser choice. The forces are intertwined, the terrain is constricted, and the Nara Basin, which has been cut off from the water transportation line, has actually turned into a huge mousetrap. As long as Brother Zhongda is one day, If Nambazu cannot be captured, food must be transported across the Kasagi Mountains from Omi to the Nara Basin; and the lack of food will exacerbate various conflicts in Kyoto. And if you take the initiative to quit, then the world will be brighter.
But from a political point of view, voluntarily withdrawing from Kyoto is unacceptable. The Nara Basin is not only the political center of the Yamato Kingdom, but also the cultural and religious center. From the shores of Lake Nara to the surrounding Ikoma Mountains, Kongo Mountains, and Kasagi Mountains, there are dozens of large and small shrines and shrines, where various kinds of gods are enshrined. There are various local gods, most of which are the ancestral gods of the royal family who founded the kingdom. The reason why the Yamato royal family is able to rule this rugged and inaccessible archipelago largely comes from the common worship of gods. If Brother Naka gives up the Nara Basin to Saitama, it means automatically giving up the recognition of the ancestors and gods, which will be extremely disadvantageous in the subsequent battle for the throne.
"You really are in a dilemma!" The eldest brother showed a wry smile: "If I had known this, there would be no need to rush to attack Namba Tsu, even if it is a stalemate!"
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Namba Tsu, Shitennoji Temple, Sutra Hall.
"The villain of Kuwana County in Ise Province (the title of a person with official rank but no official position in ancient Japan) moved in three rounds. After receiving His Majesty's decree, he immediately summoned his party, boarded a ship and set off to work diligently on the king's affairs. Today there is There are six boats, seventy-three soldiers, and five horses. In addition, we also bring fifty shi of rice, twenty shi of beans, and half a boat of dried fish..."
The air in the sutra hall was suffocating and humid, like a wet blanket wrapping everyone. Wang Wenzuo's fine linen underwear clung to his chest. He turned his head and yawned as quietly as possible. He couldn't blame himself for this. He thought to himself: Anyone who sits upright from morning to night and listens to a group of smelly guys kneeling in the hall and talking about the same nonsense will not be any better than him.
A crisp bell rang, interrupting the chattering voices of the people in the hall. Wang Wenzuo turned his head and looked back through the gap in the bamboo curtain. He saw Qiyu yawning and motioning to the maid next to him to shake the silver bell. Bring someone else up.
"Step back!" The attendant wearing a tall black hat and a mysterious robe said to the people in the hall.
"But, but! I have come all the way from Ise Country, and I have something important to report to Your Majesty!" Kneeling under the hall was a short, stocky man with a red head and nose covered with beads of sweat. He looked quite funny. Ridiculous: "Can you give me a little more time?"
"Nonsense!" the attendant shouted majestically: "Your Majesty is the Supreme Being of Ten Thousand Times. He has so many things to deal with every day. How can he have time to listen to you? Get out of here quickly, or we will punish you for your misconduct. Sin!"
"B-but!"
The aide's expression became more severe: "Quickly retreat, there are many people behind you. If you have something to do, go to the Minister of the Interior! At present, all major military and national affairs are handled by the Minister of the Interior, and then report to His Majesty!"
"Minister?" The people in the hall didn't dare to ask any more questions, and hurriedly kowtowed to the figure behind the bamboo curtain in the hall twice more before bowing and retreating out. Then another person came in, knelt down under the hall, and began to report respectfully. Write your name, place of origin, and
How many people, horses, and supplies came, and then they retreated. Just like that, when dusk fell in the west, the attendant gently knocked on the bronze bell and said loudly: "We are here today. Those who want to see Your Majesty, please wait until Come back tomorrow afternoon!"
"It's finally over!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out as if he had received an amnesty, and said to Saitama behind the bamboo curtain: "I won't come tomorrow. It's too tiring. Sitting in such a formal outfit with a whole outfit. This afternoon is more tiring than fighting a battle!"
"No!" Saitama was taking off the golden crown with the help of the maid, and said coldly: "You are the internal minister and the person in charge of the government. How can it be that the emperor is present but you are not? Besides, you have already agreed, why do you regret it again? ?」
"I agreed, but I didn't expect that there would be so many people all of a sudden!" Wang Wenzuo complained bitterly: "Besides, the most important thing now is to organize these people who came to surrender into a usable army. You asked me to Sitting here all day long, who is going to do anything serious?"
"The chamberlain is a magistrate. It is your greatest responsibility to listen to the reports of subordinates and forward them to the king. Isn't this business?" Saitama walked out from behind the bamboo curtain and sneered: "Don't be ignorant. This seat is only separated from the king by a bamboo curtain. Katsuragi used to sit in this seat during the court meeting. How many people want to sit but can't!"
"Yes, yes, yes! But isn't there a war right now?" Wang Wenzuo said with a wry smile: "No matter how good this person is, it will only be useful if our small court can return to the capital, right? You saw Brother Zhong's army that night, Tens of thousands of people collapsed all at once. If we people don’t practice and practice, we might not be as good as those people!"
Perhaps Wang Wenzuo's words touched Saitama's sore spot. She gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, then you can go and train the army first, but you still have to come to Neili (referring to the place where the emperor lives) every night at dinner to meet with the emperor. I will discuss government affairs!"
"Yes, yes, definitely, definitely!" Wang Wenzuo, as if granted amnesty, quickly got up from the ground and ran away. Looking at Wang Wenzuo's leaving figure, Qiyu snorted and suddenly paused.
After leaving the sutra hall, Wang Wenzuo slowed down. Since the attack on Brother Po Zhong's army that night, the development of the situation was completely beyond his expectation. He originally thought that after winning this battle, the situation could be reversed, and there should be some bold people betting on Saitama within half a month. But the reality is that on the third day after that victory, the first loyalists came with two boats, twenty-one men, two horses, three pigs, twenty chickens, and four dogs. , a lot of eggs. Wang Wenzuo happily accepted this meager gift, made a tooth sacrifice for himself and the soldiers of the Tang Army, and used money to buy the two horses and incorporated them into his small and pitiful cavalry team.
On the fourth day there were three groups, on the fifth day there were five groups, on the sixth day there were nine groups, on the seventh day it was reduced to two groups due to the sea fog, but on the eighth day it suddenly increased to fifteen groups. . Next, Wang Wenzuo didn't bother to count the number of loyalists. Some even came overland over the rugged King Kong Mountains. Wang Wenzuo admired the loyalty and strength of the newcomers.
Later, after asking Pingliu, Wang Wenzuo found out why there were so many loyalists. It turned out that the big and small wealthy families who had surrendered to Brother Zhongda were not good men and women. They also had many enemies in their hometowns (usually because of the competition for land. water sources, mines). Once these people join the banner of Brother Zhongda, their original enemies will naturally become nervous. If Brother Zhongda ascends to the throne, then these successful people from the dragon will definitely come back to take revenge and complain. If they stay in their hometown to see The play is to wait for death.
So these people naturally focused their attention on Saitama. Whether it was for self-protection or revenge, surrendering to Saitama was the only choice. If they were worried that Saitama would not be able to hold up the wall at the beginning, If he was on the wrong team, Namba Tsuna's battle would have dispelled all these people's concerns.
"So that's what happened!" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but dumbfounded after learning all this. He originally planned a plan, thinking that he would play with the Japanese monarchs and ministers in the palm of his hand, but now he realized that the ground was full of dry firewood, and any spark would be enough to kill him. It can cause a prairie fire. These guys who brought their own rations to fight claimed to be loyal to the emperor and to fight against the rebels, but in fact they wanted to kill the mortal enemies who competed with them for the territory and eat the farm. Do you think you used these Japanese tycoons to eliminate Brother Zhongda?
, but didn’t these Japanese local tyrants use Saitama, Brother Naka, and Wang Wenzuo themselves to realize their desire to obtain land?
"The people, only the people are the masters of history!" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but sigh. He could feel that there was a force in the dark. Although he subjectively did not want to solve the land problem for these local wealthy families, this force But he was pushing himself behind the scenes, letting himself lead these wealthy people to the stage of history hundreds of years earlier than real history, intentionally or unintentionally.
"Ming Gong!" As soon as Wang Wenzuo walked out of the sutra hall, Cao Wenzong greeted him: "Your clothes are soaked!"
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "This damn place is really too humid!"
"Yes!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile, "When we go back, we have to ask the soldiers to wax the bows and bowstrings, otherwise they will become loose if this continues!"
"Well, you're right, I almost forgot!" Wang Wenzuo nodded. At that time, the Tang army's bows included single-piece wooden bows, bamboo-wood bows, tendon bows, etc. The bow strings included leather strings, silk strings, and fine linen strings. There are many kinds of strings, gut strings, etc. In humid weather, bows and strings are prone to loosening and bow power is reduced, so waxing, drying and other maintenance methods must be used.
"Ming Gong is only thinking about the world's major events. How can he think of so many things!"
"Come on, Wenzong, please stop flattering us!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "The most important thing in our current situation is to win. Only when we win can we be qualified to consider world affairs. If we can't win, we will lose our lives. What else do we need to consider? Yes." Okay, how many of your disciples were killed in this night attack? How many were injured?"
"Two people died and five were injured!"
"So many?" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "They have indeed made great achievements. Does the deceased Chang An still have family members?"
"One has parents and brothers, and the other's parents left when he was young, leaving only a married sister in the family!"
"Let's do this, you take twenty pieces of silver from me and give them to the parents and sister of the two families respectively!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Send it back together with their bones! If possible, let the brother and sister of the deceased adopt one. If the child comes, he can inherit their family!"
"Inherit the family?"
"Yes, both of them have made great achievements. I will ask the Japanese king and the court for their merits. They should be given by Sanguan and Gianzhuang. Although they have no heirs, it would be nice to have an adopted child!"
"Thank you Ming Gong!" Cao Wenzong lowered his head: "They will definitely be grateful for your great kindness even if they are under the Nine Springs!"
"Hey, everyone is dead, what else is there to say?" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "There is no need for you and me to talk about those deceptive lies. These are all for the living people to see. Night raids are It’s a narrow escape. If we don’t reward you generously this time, who else will be willing to go next time?”
Cao Wenzong nodded. He didn't expect Wang Wenzuo to speak so clearly. He didn't know how to respond for a while, so he had to remain silent. After a while, Wang Wenzuo said: "There is one more thing, please prepare it for me!"
"yes!"
"I plan to organize a shooting ceremony!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Select a group of people who are good at shooting from the Japanese who come here to shoot, and put them on the left and right. They will be useful in the next battle with Brother Zhong!"
"Shooting ceremony?" Cao Wenzong was stunned when he heard this: "This Ming Gong should choose another one! My subordinate has never read any books since he was a child, and he really doesn't know how to do shooting ceremony!"
"Reading? What does this have to do with reading?"
"Ming Gong, archery ceremony is a university subject!" Cao Wenzong said with a wry smile: "Every year, the imperial court organizes an archery ceremony on Longshou Plain in Chang'an. The people who preside over the archery ceremony are all world-famous Confucian scholars. How could one of my subordinates become such a master! "
"I'm not a court, so why are there so many red tapes?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I just need to select strong men who can save lives, and you don't have to worry about other things! Okay?"
"Okay, okay!"
"That's good!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "There are two comparisons: shooting on foot and shooting on horseback. For shooting on foot, shoot 75 steps away. The target is six feet high and two feet wide. If you fire a nine-shot bow, nine of the twelve arrows will hit." It is considered qualified; the cavalry shooter is on a 120-step track. Two straw men wearing armor are placed on each side of the track. There are thirty steps between the straw men. The straw men are ten steps away from the track. The rider
The knight's horse gallops across the track, holding a six-bow bow and shooting at the grass man. The face of the man with the grass in the middle is the upper reward. The unarmored part of the ribs of the man with the grass in the middle is the middle reward. The armor part of the man with the grass in the middle is the lower reward. none. When the time comes, you will be judged based on the pros and cons of exposure! "
