When leading an army into battle, if you only have eight men under you, then these eight men will be like brothers to you, and with further training, their fighting power will be even stronger.
If you have eighty men under your command, even though they all have their own selfish motives, they can still unite against the enemy when facing a powerful enemy.
If you have 800 men under your command, you must divide them among several capable men. Otherwise, if more than a thousand men are lined up in a long line, even the soldiers at the back may not be able to hear you clearly when you shout an order at the head.
If the number of your troops reaches 8,000, things will become more complicated. You will have to use drums, gongs and flags to control the army. Without a unified command, everything will be in chaos.
However, the 8,000 Jiangnan Jiedushi troops under Shanyin City obviously lacked such tacit cooperation. Qiu Yizi watched quietly on the city wall for an hour or so before they could barely line up in an irregular formation. The entire army was exhausted.
Qiu Yizi sat firmly on the city wall, watching this group of ragtag troops struggling to line up their troops. Then a large sedan chair carried by eight people was carried out of the team. An official wearing a full set of third-rank official uniform walked to the bottom of the city gate, surrounded by a dozen officers, and looked up at the top of the city wall with his hands on the parasol.
Qiu Yizi could see clearly from his high vantage point that this person was none other than Yin Chengliang, the governor of Jiangnan Province, who had come personally with his troops.
Yin Chengliang was nearsighted and barely recognized Qiu Yizi, so he said loudly: "Master Qiu! Please open the city gate. I have something to say to you, Master Qiu."
Qiu Yizi was about to delay time, so he pretended not to recognize Yin Chengliang and shouted down: "I received a tip-off that a large group of bandits were going to attack the county town, so I closed the city gates. Although I am a low-ranking official, I have the responsibility to defend the land, so I dare not open the gate easily!"
Yin Chengliang really thought that Qiu Yizi closed the city gate to prevent attacks from mountain bandits, so he said, "Master Qiu, please look down at the city. The soldiers and horses I brought are all wearing official military uniforms, not bandits." He suddenly had an idea and said, "If there are really bandits, it doesn't matter. The official army is now outnumbered. Master Qiu might as well open the city gate and let us in so that we can help defend the city together."
How could Yin Chengliang's tricks fool Qiu Yizi? He just pretended to be confused and said, "Don't lie to me. Although I am a successful Jinshi and a disciple of the emperor, I am also well versed in military affairs. Bandits pretending to be government troops to trick the city gates open and then looting have happened in various places. I tell you, if you know what's good for you, go back and pack up your things and wait for me to come and offer you amnesty. Otherwise, if Lord Yin, the governor of Jiangnan, finds out, you will be doomed!" After saying that, he couldn't help laughing secretly.
Yin Chengliang was speechless for a moment, and simply threw away the dignity of an official, took off the black gauze hat on his head, looked up to let Qiu Yizhi see his face clearly, and said: "Master Qiu, look carefully, I am Yin Chengliang, the governor of Jiangnan. Why don't you open the city gate quickly? I have something to discuss with you, Master Qiu."
Qiu Yizhi had heard that Yin Chengliang was very well-groomed as an official. It was not easy for him to do so. Qiu Yizhi could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, so he had to say, "It turned out that Governor Yin was here. I am really sorry for not welcoming you!"
Yin Chengliang heard Qiu Yizhi's polite words, so he didn't want to get angry, and said, "In that case, please open the city gate, Lord Qiu, and let me in."
Qiu Yizi said, "I have just said that we have received military intelligence that bandits are coming and I am afraid they will arrive soon. Lord Yin is such a distinguished person, please stay away for a few days. I will come to Jinling City to ask for advice after I have pacified these bandits."
Yin Chengliang pointed behind him and said, "Master Qiu, please look, I have brought tens of thousands of soldiers to defend the city for you. All the bandits will be scared away. Master, why don't you open the city gate immediately? We will go into the city to deploy defense matters. Don't delay the opportunity to fight."
Qiu Yizi suddenly had an idea and said, "I am also a soldier and I know a little bit about military strategy. Your Excellency has many people under his command. How can my small Shanyin County accommodate them? In my opinion, no matter how powerful the bandits are, they are no more than a thousand people. Your Excellency has a fierce army and has an advantage in numbers. Why don't you go out of the city to fight? It will be a sure win. When the time comes, Lord Yin will take advantage of the victory to pursue and wipe out the enemy's nest. I believe that your reputation as a man of both civil and military talents will spread throughout the world!"
Yin Chengliang was not a fool. Seeing Qiu Yizhi kicking the ball over, he knew that he was determined not to let him enter the city, so he put on airs and said sternly: "Sir Qiu, the military situation is urgent now. I am the governor of Jiangnan Road. I am not only in charge of Jiangnan government affairs, but also have to control the military here. Now my order is a military order. I order you to open the city gate and let us enter the city. I want to go up to the city to command the battle. You must know that those who disobey military orders on the battlefield will be killed without mercy!"
Yin Chengliang always had the final say in Jiangnan Dao. His stern look and tone had overwhelmed countless Jinshi and senior officials. However, Qiu Yizi was a stubborn person who was "not afraid of heaven or earth". How could he be frightened by his threats that were strong on the outside but weak on the inside
He just gave a few instructions to Zhao Chengxiao beside him. After receiving the order, Zhao Chengxiao ordered two of his brothers to lower a large bamboo basket tied with a rope from the top of the city wall.
Qiu Yizi suppressed his laughter and shouted to the people below the city: "Sir Yin, we are facing a powerful enemy. We are afraid that the bandits have already infiltrated the government army. If we open the city gate, the enemy will rush in and it will be difficult to deal with. If you want to climb the city, please sit in the bamboo basket. Please rest assured, I have tried this basket myself and it is very safe!"
Yin Chengliang saw a broken basket being hung down from the city wall, and the round rim of the basket looked like Qiu Yizi's wide-open mouth laughing at him. Immediately, a fire of ignorance ignited in his chest.
Yin Chengliang took a few steps forward, kicked the basket down, pointed at Qiu Yizi who was sitting on the tower and said, "Master Qiu, I don't have time to waste with you here. If you continue to cause trouble here, you'll have to be careful of your official hat!"
Seeing his timid appearance, Qiu Yizi sneered and said, "Master Yin, I am not wasting time here, nor do I mean to embarrass you. This method of hanging people in a bamboo basket is a rule set by the current emperor when he was still guarding the border for the Han Dynasty in Youyan Road. Please follow it. If you really have something urgent to do, please get in the basket now. In short, this city gate must not be opened."
Yin Chengliang's purpose in this trip was to compete with Qiu Yizhi for the captured criminal and plaintiff in the "Thirteen Lives Case". He originally sent Cai Min to snatch the prisoner, and if he failed, he would go there himself - he thought that with his prestige and qualifications in Jiangnan Road, and with good words of persuasion and the promise of promotion, he would definitely be able to persuade Qiu Yizhi to release the prisoner. If Qiu Yizhi really refused to listen to his soft or hard words, then he would have to mobilize people and forcibly snatch the prisoner.
However, he heard news from his fellow townsman and peers in the court that the Grand Duke was ordered to inspect Jiangnan for the emperor. Although he might not have really found Shanyin County, it was still a problem. Therefore, after receiving a report from Cai Min that Qiu Yizhi refused to release her and had a conflict with the imperial army, he simply ordered the troops to be mobilized along the way, hoping to use force to force Qiu Yizhi to surrender.
But unexpectedly, Qiu Yizi was so confident that she became an iron ball that was impossible to swallow or chew, leaving Yin Chengliang really helpless.
At this point, Yin Chengliang was so angry that he shouted at the top of his voice: "Master Qiu, Master Cai Min has just told me that you dared to resist the government troops. In fact, you have committed the crime of treason. Do you know that? If you immediately abandon evil and open the city gate, I may be able to turn a blind eye to it because of your young age. Otherwise, if I really convict you of a crime - the crime of slow slicing and execution is not a pleasant one!"
Qiu Yizi was not scared by him, and said nonchalantly: "Your Excellency has your own rules, and I have my own rules. If you really think that my crime is unforgivable, you can impeach me in the court. Anyway, the city gate must not be opened today."
Yin Chengliang became even angrier when he heard him speak so harshly. However, he also thought that Qiu Yizhi's personal soldiers might not agree with him, so he said loudly: "Brothers in Shanyin County. Your county magistrate has committed an unforgivable crime. If you can follow the good advice and open the city gate, you will be rewarded! If you are stubborn and become accomplices to the evil, watch out for your heads!"
Qiu Yizhi's personal soldiers had fought with him through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and they were all born as bandits, so they were never afraid of the government troops. When they heard Yin Chengliang say this, they immediately burst into laughter, and all of them stuck their heads out and cursed at the city.
This group of people were the most rude. Although they had been trained by Qiu Yizi and their military discipline was very strict, they were merciless and kept cursing. All kinds of obnoxious slang words were like basins of dirty water, rushing towards Yin Chengliang's face.
When had Yin Chengliang ever suffered such humiliation? His originally elegant and fair face had already turned red, and he began to twitch involuntarily.
Qiu Yizhi saw this and felt that these rough men were really disrespectful to society, so he stopped them and said to Yin Chengliang, "Sir Yin, I know exactly why you came here. Isn't it for the 'Thirteen Lives Case'? I might as well tell you that everything can be discussed, but there is no room for maneuver in this case. I also advise you not to do too much evil, otherwise there will be punishment from heaven!"
Yin Chengliang became even more annoyed when Qiu Yizi revealed his thoughts. He grinned and said, "Okay, okay, very good! Since Lord Qiu says this, I have nothing to say. We can only fight each other." After that, he turned around and got into the long-awaited sedan chair carried by eight people and returned to his own camp.
Qiu Yizhi could see clearly from the top of the city wall that several people in the government army wearing generals' uniforms approached the sedan chair, seemingly to receive orders from Yin Chengliang. But Yin Chengliang was very arrogant and did not get out of the sedan chair. He just lifted the curtain and said a few words before letting the sedan bearers carry him down.
Yin Chengliang's order was not difficult to guess. It was simply to ask the government troops to capture Shanyin County as soon as possible.
However, the Jiangnan government troops came in a hurry, and due to the disadvantage that their own Jiedushi troops were more capable of defending the territory than attacking, they did not bring siege equipment such as ladders and stone carts.
However, several generals in Jiangnan Road were smart enough. They immediately ordered their soldiers to select a large fir tree outside the city that was as thick as a man's embrace, and then cut it down to make a large battering ram. They also selected several strong soldiers from the army to carry the hammer to attack the gate of Shanyin County, which was better than nothing.
Qiu Yizi was a man who had experienced many battles. Of course he knew that the government troops would bear the brunt of the attack on the city gate. However, because he had too few soldiers and horses, he could not defend the city. So he ordered his personal soldiers to collect all kinds of sundries in the city and pile them inside the city gate, just to delay the enemy's offensive.
I continued to sit on the city wall and observe the enemy's movements. (To be continued)