Lin Shuhan nodded, and just as he was about to step into the door, he heard Wu Ruofei laughing and saying, "Mr. Lin is a master of calligraphy and painting, but he doesn't even understand this kind of romance. It seems that Mr.'s calligraphy and painting are only temporary and can't be passed down from generation to generation, right?"
Lin Shuhan was extremely conceited, claiming that he was a master of poetry, calligraphy and painting. If someone said that to him, he would walk away in anger at best, or even break off relations with them at worst. However, Wu Ruofei was his nemesis. After hearing what Wu Ruofei said, Lin Shuhan could only shake his head as if to make fun of her, and said, "If you are not right, then I will retreat and reflect on the past."
But Wen Lingjiao appeared beside Qiu Yizi, blushing and lowering her head, she said, "Mr. Lin must be looking for you for something important, so please come in and talk!"
Wu Ruofei was the most popular girl on the banks of the Qinhuai River in her day. Although she was a performer who did not sell her body, she was used to seeing affairs between men and women. Seeing Wen Lingjiao's flushed face and wandering eyes, she had already tasted what was going on. She stepped forward and squeezed past Qiu Yizi, held Wen Lingjiao's hand, and said, "Sister, why are you paying attention to them? Let's go into the house and talk, and let them starve here." After that, she pushed Wen Lingjiao back into the room, closed the door with her backhand, and went away to say something else.
So Qiu Yizi and Lin Shuhan looked at each other, smiled bitterly, and walked side by side towards Qiu Yizi's study.
Lin Shuhan said, "Your Excellency did a great job in winning over the troops outside the city today. I really admire you very much!"
Qiu Yizi waved his hand and said, "Why should I admire you? I used the golden order arrow, and I relied on the emperor's prestige to subdue them. It would be the same for others."
Lin Shuhan smiled and said, "Master Qiu is really too modest. If someone else took out this treasure, wouldn't others be suspicious? Even the emperor himself might not be willing to give him such an important thing."
Qiu Yizi smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Lin, do you think this is a good thing? I carry it with me every day, and my stomach has calluses on it. I dare not leave it for a moment. Occasionally, when I can't see it, I get anxious like a headless fly..."
“Hahaha!” Lin Shuhan laughed a few times and actually recited a book, “When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his mind tired, his body hungry, his body empty, and his actions frustrated, so as to stimulate his heart and endure his nature, and increase his ability to do what he cannot do…”
While he was reciting, Qiu Yizi had already let him into his study. Seeing that his room was damp and cold, he asked someone to bring in a charcoal basin. When the room was slightly warmed up, Qiu Yizi said, "Mr. Lin thinks highly of me. I don't have any great ambitions, and I can't take on any great responsibilities. It's just that I feel sorry for these people, and I'm afraid that they will have nowhere to go and harass the local area, so I took them in. In the future, they will be useful to fight back against the King of Lingnan."
Lin Shuhan smiled and recited the book again: "He does not show off, so he is clear. He does not think he is right, so he is famous. He does not boast, so he has achievements. He does not boast, so he is superior. It is because he does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him..."
"Alright, alright." Qiu Yizi interrupted, "Mr. Lin was frightened just now. Why are you in such a good mood today? You even shook your schoolbag. I am just a seventh-rank county magistrate. I have argued with the governor, and now I have to argue with the Prince of Lingnan. Sir, please let me take a break!"
Lin Shuhan finally stopped reciting and said with a smile: "I'm afraid that if you don't compete with others, others will compete with you..."
After hearing what Lin Shuhan said, Qiu Yizhi had guessed the meaning behind his words and quickly changed the subject, "I was just lingering with Miss Wen, and Mr. Lin pulled me out of the gentle place. Could it be that he didn't say these idle words to me?"
Lin Shuhan also knew that Qiu Yizhi didn't want to continue the conversation, so he followed his lead and said, "Of course not. I was thinking that now most of Jiangnan is in the hands of the Lingnan prince, and the land and sea routes have been cut off. Your Excellency has lost the daily income sent by Zhou Cijing and Li Zhi, and now you have recruited so many thousands of soldiers. These thousands of people are just thousands of mouths to feed. I wonder if your Excellency can afford to support them?"
Qiu Yizhi pondered for a moment and said, "I have thought about this on the way to Shanyin County. Now I have saved 100,000 taels of silver, and nearly 20,000 in cash. If it is just food, it can support 10,000 people for a year. Therefore, I only promised these people to feed them well. As for the military pay and reward silver, they will be settled together after the rebellion is quelled."
Lin Shuhan nodded as he listened, and said, "Your Excellency is indeed smart, this method is very good. However, from now on, I am afraid that more defeated soldiers and refugees from Jiangnan Road will gather under your banner, and I am afraid that by then there will be more than ten thousand people..."
Qiu Yizi replied, "Of course. But you don't have to worry about this, sir. When the number of people increases, I will lead the army to fight against the Lingnan Road army. When the time comes, we will capture cities and territories, and seize the food and silver money of the Lingnan army. In addition to distributing some to comfort the people, we can also use it to support the army. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"
After hearing this, Lin Shuhan clapped his hands and exclaimed, "I am good at literature, but I don't know much about military affairs. Lord Qiu's words today are better than what I have read for ten years. I finally understand the principle of 'a wise general must get food from the enemy, and one catty of enemy food is equivalent to twenty catties of ours'."
As Lin Shuhan expected, the news that Shanyin County under Qiu Yi's jurisdiction was safe and had food spread quickly. Not only did the refugees from the Jiangnan Road gather there, but refugees from as far away as Bashu, Yunnan and Guizhou also rushed there upon hearing the news.
Qiu Yizi felt sorry for them and took them all in. In less than a month, 50,000 to 60,000 civilians had gathered outside the city, and there were nearly 10,000 soldiers. The makeshift military camps and tents surrounded the small Shanyin County with three layers inside and three layers outside.
Qiu Yizhi was thinking that although there was enough money in the city, the stored food was already stretched to the limit, and there was nowhere to buy food in the chaotic times. Just as he was worrying, he heard the "Black Neck Toad" come to report: "My Lord, the army is coming. They are flying the flag of the Jiangnan Circuit Army."
Qiu Yizi was worried, and after hearing this, he said impatiently: "What kind of thing is it? They are just some defeated soldiers who came to surrender. Why don't you just tell your brother Zhao? What a trouble!"
The "Black-necked Toad" said, "Sir, these people are well-organized, they don't look like a defeated army..."
Qiu Yizhi was startled when he heard this, thinking: "Could it be that the Lingnan Army is pretending to be the Jiangnan Army and wants to launch a surprise attack..." But he asked: "Can you tell me clearly how many troops are coming?"
"Black Neck Toad" said loudly: "About 500 people. The spies in the front post brought the news."
After hearing this number, Qiu Yizi felt relieved and secretly speculated: "A mere 500 people should be just troops from Lingnan Road coming to test the situation. To deal with these people, there is no need to mobilize the Jiangnan Jiedu Army under my command. With just these soldiers under my command, I can wipe them all out based on my familiarity with the terrain. However, this is a great opportunity to give these defeated soldiers a chance to take advantage of the situation and boost their morale..."
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Go down now and tell Zhao Chengxiao to keep a close eye on the enemy's movements and gather all the troops. I will lead the army to quell the rebellion!"
Black Neck Toad had fought in a few battles before, and he felt that it was not worth sending out the entire army for five hundred enemy soldiers, so he asked for confirmation: "Sir, do you mean all the troops?"
"Yes, all the troops! Bring along all the Jiangnan Jiedu troops who came here to surrender. We need to make a big show of it!" As he said that, Qiu Yizi tied the precious sword from the Western Regions on the table around his waist and walked out the door.
Outside the city gate, Zhao Chengxiao, Zhang Qi and others had been waiting for some time. When they saw Qiu Yizi coming out, they all saluted.
Qiu Yizhi returned the greeting. Seeing that the Jiangnan Jiedu Army had already formed a strong momentum after a month of drills and training, he was delighted and gave the order, "Let's go! Follow me to suppress the rebellion!"
After saying this, he mounted his blue Arabian horse and, escorted by his eighteen personal soldiers and elite cavalrymen, headed towards the path to the west that he had walked countless times.
Not long after the army had set off, scouts came to report that the enemy was moving very quickly and was only half an hour away from our army.
Qiu Yizi was a little surprised but not panicked. He led his soldiers to ambush in the dense forests on the mountains on both sides of the road. Zhao Chengxiao led the "Dangshi Camp" and a part of the Jiangnan Army Jiedushi Army, a total of 300 people, to meet them in front, intending to block the enemy's advance and then attack from all sides to annihilate the opponent.
After some time, the enemy army had bypassed a high mountain and entered Qiu Yizi's sight.
Qiu Yizi looked carefully and saw that the approaching army was indeed wearing the uniforms of the Jiangnan Jiedu Army and carrying the flag of the Jiangnan Jiedu Army. Although their clothes were a bit worn, they were in very good spirits. They lined up in two columns along the path and marched quickly through the mountains and forests without saying a word.
According to Qiu Yizhi's current deployment, with a wave of the flag, the soldiers and horses ambushed on both sides of the road would fire thousands of arrows at the same time, and the 500 people at the foot of the mountain would all be shot into mud. But when he saw this group of people, he was actually a little curious, and hurriedly sent someone to pass the order, asking Zhao Chengxiao to test the opponent's strength in the front, and he would wait for an opportunity to attack the opponent's flank, not to kill them all, and it would be best to capture them all alive.
The "Black-necked Toad" who was in charge of running errands and delivering messages went down for a long time, but Zhao Chengxiao did not make any move. After a while, Zhao Chengxiao took the lead and started chatting with the enemy's commander.
Qiu Yizhi knew that although Zhao Chengxiao did not have a strong desire to kill, he was always swift and resolute in his actions. Just when he felt a little strange, he saw the "Black-necked Toad" hopping down the mountain and said with a smile: "Sir, it's not the enemy, it's an acquaintance. Go down and take a look!"
Qiu Yizhi was even more surprised after hearing this, and hurriedly asked, "You only said half a sentence, who is this acquaintance? What's his name? Tell me clearly."
The Black-necked Toad scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "I have seen it before, but I can't name it. You will know if you go down and take a look, sir."
Qiu Yi had no choice but to order Zhang Qi, who was beside him, to take command. He then led 18 personal soldiers and Yuchi Jiming, and went down the mountain under the leadership of "Black-necked Toad".
As soon as he ran down the mountain, he saw Zhao Chengxiao walking quickly towards him. He bowed and said, "Sir, look who is coming?" After that, he stretched out his hand and pointed forward.
Qiu Yizi looked forward in the direction Zhao Chengxiao pointed, and saw a military general standing opposite him. Although his armor was a little dull, he was holding a long spear, standing with his head held high and his chest puffed out, looking very majestic.
Qiu Yizhi looked carefully again and exclaimed happily: "Wu Changxi, why are you here?"
The general was also very happy to hear Qiu Yizi calling out his name. He hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of Qiu Yizi: "My lord, it's been a long time since we last met. How are you?" Tears welled up in his eyes.