When the first ray of dawn reached the earth across the mountains, Wang Wenzuo ordered to camp and rest in the forest beside the road. After setting up sentry posts, the soldiers raised campfires and tended to the horses. Wang Wenzuo rode his horse through the camp. The soil after the rain was very soft. As the horses' hooves slowly sank, the wet firewood emitted thick smoke. Rows of horses gnawed on buds and new grass, loaded with rice and fish. Great truck. Finally, he dismounted next to a higher exposed rock. The Chinese military tent was on the top of the brown rock.
"Your Highness, Right Minister, in order to avoid being discovered, we will rest here until evening, and then march all night!" Shoujun Oishi said: "By the time it gets dawn tomorrow, we should be able to reach the southern foot of the Kasagi Mountains. Once we get there, we will rest for half a day, and then we will We can march during the day!”
Wang Wenzuo didn't answer. He looked to the north. The raised Kasagi Mountains were like a high green wall, separating the Nara Basin and the Kyoto Plain. After being defeated in the Battle of Imperial Tomb, Nakadai withdrew from the Nara Basin and returned to his base camp, Omi Country. However, he still deployed garrison troops at several important passes in the Kasagi Mountains as his own outposts.
"I hope that monk Dinghui didn't lie, and that his nanny brother doesn't do anything stupid either!" Yuan Aolie's voice was a little hoarse. He had been infected with cold a few days before departure and had just recovered.
"Sadae is not lying. His brother-in-law's hometown is indeed at the northern foot of Mount Kasagi!" Ijirenbod loudly defended his friend: "With the current situation and his relationship with Sadae, as long as No matter what happens, things will definitely work out!"
"Are you vouching for him?" Yuan Aolie smiled and said: "Let me advise you, even brothers may not be trustworthy at this time, let alone brother-in-law?"
"Of course brother-in-law is more trustworthy than real brother!" Ijilianbod said with a smile: "If you don't believe it, we can make a bet. How about you bet my horse?"
"That's enough!" Wang Wenzuo interrupted his subordinates' bickering. He glanced at Yuan Aolie: "Aolie, Yiji Lianbode, no matter whether Dinghui lied or not, or whether his nanny brother did as he said, I was the one who made the final decision, not him, so I will bear the consequences. You should not ask others to vouch for this matter, let alone bet on it! Soldiers, when it comes to matters of life and death, must not rely solely on luck!"
"Yes!" Yuan Aolie and Yiji Lianbode lowered their heads.
"What's more, I sent Hei Te Changzhi to lead two thousand elite soldiers. The possibility of Dinghui's milk brother changing is very small. With Hei Te Changzhi's caution, even if there is any accident, he should act accordingly , the most you can’t win is that you won’t be defeated!”
Everyone nodded when they heard this. Just as Wang Wenzuo said, some people may ignore the friendship between brothers, but no one can ignore the two thousand elite soldiers standing behind Dinghui.
"Okay, we have to travel tonight, let's all have something to eat and then go rest!" Wang Wenzuo said.
"As you command!"
When the blood-red sunset slowly set behind the Ikoma Mountains, Wang Wenzuo and his cavalry were on the road again. As they entered the edge of the Nara Basin, the road began to become rough. In some sections, Wang Wenzuo even had to dismount and walk, but They did not stop, but when they arrived at their destination at dawn the next day, they had lost at least nearly 10% of their troops.
"Not even one arrow was fired, but there are so many missing!" Yuan Aolie complained.
"In order to win, I can lose more!" Wang Wenzuo sneered: "Li Lie, you and Shoujun Dashi will lead people to search around. The people left by Hei Te Changzhi should be nearby!"
"Yes!" Yuan Aolie responded and rode away. Wang Wenzuo frowned and groaned in pain: "Wenzong, help me dismount, my ankle was sprained last night!"
"Yes, Ming Gong!" Cao Wenzong responded, stepped forward to hold Wang Wenzuo's arm, and helped him get off the horse with difficulty. Wang Wenzuo took a deep breath, spread his legs and sat on a tree root by the roadside. Judging from the inside of his reddish trousers, his inner thighs were also scratched. Cao Wenzong glanced worriedly: "Would you like to ask the doctor to take a look!"
"We haven't reached that point yet!" Wang Wenzuo said with a wry smile: "Asuka Jing has been living too comfortably these past few months, but as a result, he became like this after riding a horse for two days in a row!"
Cao Wenzong smiled and said nothing. As Wang Wenzuo's personal guard, he and Wang Wenzuo were inseparable. Of course, he knew how Wang Wenzuo had been living in Feiniaojing in the past few months.
"By the way, Wenzong!" Wang Wenzuo suddenly asked: "You have made great contributions to Japan this time, but my reward is not much. After this battle is settled, I will naturally compensate you separately!"
"The gold and silver animal skins given by Duke Ming are already a lot!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "To be honest, I didn't expect this place to be so rich before I came to Japan. If it was cultivated a little, it would be almost as good as Yangzhou Yizhou!"
"Really?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "When the war is over, we will build ships, conduct trade with them, and communicate with each other what we have and don't have. In less than ten years, there will be a mountain of wealth, and we will all have hundreds of millions of dollars!"
"Ming Gong's mastery of Tao Zhu's art is naturally good! But doing business with foreign countries is taboo, and I'm afraid it will attract admonitions!" Cao Wenzong said: "In fact, with Ming Gong's great achievements, the emperor will definitely know how to do it. If you are promoted to an official position, you are rich and noble, and your descendants will not be able to enjoy it in full, why should you interfere in these things?"
Faced with Cao Wenzong's admonishment, Wang Wenzuo smiled. Although this subordinate was born in the grass and was a ranger himself, it may be because of the beauty of distance. Just by looking at their surnames, we can tell that these people, whose ancestors were military aristocrats from the Southern and Northern Dynasties, still have unrealistic illusions about imperial power.
Cui Hongdu and the others fought hard in Baekje for three years and learned a simple truth - if the court is reliable, sows can climb trees! Unless he was a powerful man like Wang Wenzuo who was not only able to fight on his own, but also had great luck, could hug his thighs, and capture the Holy Family, it would be a daydream for others to make positive profits under the then military system. The rewards and tax exemptions given by the imperial court to the soldiers were simply a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of purchasing weapons and equipment for expeditions, and the loss of labor force away from production. Not to mention that since Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army's wars have been farther and farther away from the mainland and lasted longer and longer. , the frequency of recruitment is getting higher and higher, and the casualties are getting heavier and heavier, but the rewards are getting thinner and thinner, and the officers are becoming less and less valuable. If they continue to fight like this, what awaits them is the bankruptcy of their family and their own class. decline.
Cui Hongdu and the others had long since transferred their loyalty from the imperial court to Wang Wenzuo. The reason was very simple. If they followed Wang Wenzuo, they would have meat to eat, but if they followed the imperial court, they would only eat shit. But Cao Wenzong hadn't understood it yet. He was still thinking that Wang Wenzuo would become a marquis and prime minister, and that he could follow the chickens and dogs to heaven. What he wanted was nobility rather than wealth, so he persuaded Wang Wenzuo not to get his hands dirty for some money. It was bad. future.
"Wenzong! You have only been in the army for a short time, and you still don't understand some things very well!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "When this battle is over, I will have a good talk with you!"
"Yes, yes!" Cao Wenzong responded quickly.
At this time Yuan Aolie came back, and they had met up with the people left behind by Heijia Changzhi. Wang Wenzuo was very happy. After understanding the situation, he ordered the soldiers to eat and rest. After two hours, they set off again. In the afternoon of the next day, we finally arrived at our destination.
"This is the poor monk's brother-in-law, Xiaori Sanlang Rulu!" Dinghui pointed to the man standing next to him: "Sanlang, why don't you salute His Highness the Right Minister?"
"I'm so scared to see His Highness's face!" The man quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
"Get up!" Wang Wenzuo held up his right hand. He already knew the names of the Japanese people at that time relatively well. Xiaori should refer to the place name, Sanlang is the ranking, and Rulu is his name. Anyone who can give such a name must be from the local area. Rich. Wang Wenzuo looked at the person who came down and saw that he had a thick build, a long round face that is common among people coming from the ferry, long and slender eyebrows, and narrow and lively eyes. He then smiled and said: "The name Rulu is not elegant, so why not change it to Zuoping?" What do you think of assisting the king in pacifying the rebels?"
Before Obasaburo Iruka could react to what was going on, Dinghui on the side was overjoyed and hurriedly pushed him: "Why don't you thank me, right minister? His Highness took a word from his own name and gave it to you!"
Only then did Saburo Kori come to his senses, and he kowtowed hurriedly again. Wang Wenzuo ordered someone to get a pen and paper, write down the two Chinese characters "Zuoping" and give it to Saburo Kori, and said with a smile: "From now on, you will be the king." Risaburo Zuo is defeated, I hope you can serve the court as your name suggests, defeat the rebels, and quell the war!"
"Thank you for the name, Your Highness!" Saburo Sahei said loudly, "I will definitely work to the death for Your Highness and the imperial court!"
"Okay, okay!" Wang Wenzuo wiped the ink stains on his hands and said with a smile: "Where is Black Teeth Changzhi? Let him come to see me!"
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Flies surrounded the long table, making a buzzing sound. Wang Wenzuo stared at the map and seemed not to hear the buzzing at all. After a while, he asked: "Are you sure it takes two and a half days to get to Brother Zhongda's camp from here?" Distance?"
"I'm afraid two and a half days are not enough!" Hei Te Changzhi replied: "If you don't need baggage on horseback, two and a half days is fine, but we have infantry and baggage, so it will take at least four days!"
"That's two and a half days!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "The infantry can be lightly equipped, the rations can be carried with them, and the baggage is not needed. As you said, Brother Zhong has set up his headquarters in the Guosi Yamen, and there are no intact barriers there. Just fences and trenches, right?”
"Yes!" Hei Te Changzhi nodded helplessly: "But it is too dangerous to do this. If there is no baggage, what will happen if the war breaks out?"
"Our cavalry has the advantage. Even if the surprise attack is unfavorable, we can retreat and the enemy will not be able to catch up with us!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Of course there is a risk, but it is worth taking!"
"Okay!" Hei Te Changzhi sighed: "But I will command the forwards!"
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Tell that little rib Sanlang Zuoping to lead 300 people as the forward. We will leave 300 people behind, and the others will be ready to set off early tomorrow morning!"
Black Teeth Changzhi was stunned for a moment, and then he understood Wang Wenzuo's intention. In this way, Xiaori Sanlang Zuoping's family became hostages. If he dared to have second thoughts, something happened during the raid, and the people left behind in his home His family will be wiped out immediately.
"I understand, I'll give the order right away!" Hei Teuchang said.
"Also, we need to arrange double patrols on the outside tonight to prevent anyone from leaking the news that we are here!" Wang Wenzuo said: "At this time, anything can happen!"
"Don't worry, I will personally arrange the outpost!"
Facts have proved that Wang Wenzuo's arrangement was quite foresight. As soon as he applied the ointment and went to bed to rest, someone reported that the outposts outside had caught two people. They probably escaped and leaked the news. Wang Wenzuo thought for a moment and ordered these people to be arrested. The two of you will deal with it without making any noise, and don't let your guard down. An uneventful night passed like this, and together with Kuroto Touji's vanguard, a total of more than 2,200 people left Ori Village and headed all the way to Omi Kuniji. In order to avoid being discovered by the enemies along the way, Wang Wenzuo ordered everyone to carry the white flag used by Brother Zhongda's army and pretend to be supporting Brother Zhongda's army.
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Omi Kuniji.
"How many cavalry do we have now?" Brother Zhong asked.
"More than four hundred, less than five hundred!" Ampere Hirafu replied in an uncertain tone. He looked much older than when he was in Baekje, but his back was still straight, like a dead tree on the edge of a cliff.
"That's it?" Brother Zhong asked disappointedly: "Ampei, didn't you say there are many knights who are good at shooting in the Eastern Kingdom?"
"Yes, but most of them are Ezo people and are not willing to serve us!" Abe Hirafu sighed.
"It doesn't matter, you can give them all the promises, land, official positions they want, and even allow them to establish their own country! Anything is possible!" Brother Zhong said: "Without cavalry, we can't compete with the Tang people!"
"Okay! I will do as you say!" Hirafu Ampere said: "But even so, we won't be able to recruit too many people in a short time. After all, the hatred between Ezo and us has been too deep and for too long. !”
"Hurry up, it's better than nothing!" Brother Zhongda said, "Did you know? The Tang Dynasty envoy named Wang Wenzuo is training cavalry in Feiniaojing every day. He now has six to seven hundred cavalry. If you want revenge, Just hurry up!"
Brother Naka's words stimulated Ampere Hirafu, and a painful light flashed in his eyes: "Okay, I will go to Dongguo myself!"
"Very good!" Brother Zhong nodded with satisfaction: "What Saitama relies on is the cavalry. As long as we can defeat her cavalry, even if the difference is not too big, we will definitely defeat Saitama and avenge your family!"
"Revenge!" Ampere Hirafu repeated the words of the eldest brother, but it was more like a groan. He clenched his fists: "Your Majesty, please do not fight with the enemy before I come back!"
(End of chapter)
