In this moment, Qiu Yizi had prepared himself for the possibility of both sides being destroyed. Instead, he calmed down, asked Liu Qing to sit down, and personally poured him a bowl of cold tea. He smiled and said, "Come on, Liu Jiedu, you must be very busy, right? It's a pity that all the shop owners here have fled to avoid the disaster. There is not even a cup of hot water. Please don't be surprised."
Liu Qing stood up and bowed, "Your Highness Yi, what are you talking about? It's too late now, why would I think like that?"
Qiu Yizi laughed and said, "What do you mean by righteous prince or unrighteous prince? Now you and I are brothers who will live and die together, why do we still need to pay attention to those empty formalities?"
Liu Qing thought about it and realized that it was true. He sat down and drank the tea in one gulp. The cold air of early spring made the tea extremely cold. Liu Qing drank it all in one gulp and felt refreshed. He smiled and said, "This tea is really good. I have never tasted such good tea in my life. I have no regrets if I can have such a good taste before I die."
Qiu Yizhi was very happy to hear Liu Qing's bold words, so he drank the cold tea in front of him and said, "Then how about we use tea instead of wine and agree to walk the Yellow Spring Road and cross the Naihe Bridge together?"
Liu Qing was about to agree when he saw a soldier from the government army running in from outside the door. He stood in front of the three men, panting, and said, "General, the Lingnan army is coming! There are about 200 of them. General Zhao asked me to come and tell you."
When it came to the moment of life and death, Liu Qing was still a little nervous. He trembled and said to the soldier who delivered the message: "Got it. You go down and continue to investigate. If you find anything, just report it."
He watched the soldier retreat, and then asked Qiu Yizhi: "Your Highness Yi, the King of Lingnan has finally arrived. How should we respond? Please give me your instructions."
Qiu Yizi had already heard the report from the messenger soldier, and when he heard Liu Qing's question, he suddenly stood up from the chair, used all his strength to smash the empty tea bowl on the ground, cleared his throat and said loudly: "Even if others are the butchers and I am the meat, I will still stamped a few times on a half-dead fish on the chopping board. There are only about two hundred people in this group of people. Let's annihilate them first. Even if we die, we must not let the King of Lingnan look down on us." After that, he strode out the door.
Although Lin Shuhan was just a scholar, he was calm and composed. He stood up and followed Qiu Yizi out of the door. At the same time, he did not forget to unfold the folding fan he carried with him and fanned his chest calmly a few times.
Liu Qing was the most impatient among them. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and made a great determination before quickly following.
The official troops who came to deliver the message were a little exaggerated. The troops who came to attack Yanziji Wharf were not led by Lingnan King Zheng Gui himself, but a small team of about 200 people. This team attacked from south to north along the main road, and happened to avoid the official troops in the tall buildings and alleys. Therefore, the advance speed was very fast, and they arrived at Yanziji Wharf first.
Before the team arrived at the dock, they did not encounter any fierce enemy attacks. They thought that the imperial troops in Jinling City had become frightened birds, so they did not send troops to explore the way ahead. They rushed into the defense range of Qiu Yizhi's troops in a daze.
These Lingnan troops were careless and did not hide, so their whereabouts were immediately discovered by Zhao Chengxiao who was commanding the front. After calling a government soldier back to report, he ordered the soldiers on both sides of the road not to make any noise. After these soldiers approached, they would shoot arrows at them and annihilate them.
This group of Lingnan soldiers were too complacent and fell into the trap set by Zhao Chengxiao without thinking. Before they could engage in close combat with their opponents, they were mowed down by countless arrows like a rainstorm. Only thirty or fifty of them managed to escape.
By the time Qiu Yizi led Lin Shuhan and Liu Qing to the front of the battle, the short battle had ended. There were twenty or thirty soldiers in the uniform of the Jiangnan Dao Jiedushi army picking up the arrows that had been shot.
This was Zhao Chengxiao's instruction. He knew that now was the time to fight back. He had no backup or supplies except himself. Even the last crossbow arrow or the last sword would play an irreplaceable role. As for the bodies of the Lingnan soldiers who were shot dead in front of the battle, there was no time to bury them.
Seeing this scene, Lin Shuhan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He smiled bitterly and said to Qiu Yizhi softly, "Although this battle was exciting, the Prince of Lingnan must have guessed that you must be at Yanziji Wharf, and I'm afraid he will lead a large force to attack us."
Qiu Yizi waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "The King of Lingnan is not a fool. Although Jinling City is big, it is just a slightly wider iron barrel. How can we hide it from him here? Sooner or later, he will know our whereabouts. It's just a matter of time. What's the big deal?"
When he saw Lin Shuhan nodded with a smile, he kicked the two sacks on the ground and said, "It's a good thing to talk about heroes in this desperate situation. I have some questions I want to ask you, Mr. Lin, could you please enlighten me?" As he said that, Qiu Yizi sat cross-legged on the sacks.
Lin Shuhan, who usually takes great care of his appearance, didn't care about his appearance at this moment. He looked at the sack on the ground, not even bothering to brush off the dust on it. He also sat down cross-legged and said with a smile, "How dare I? A dying man speaks well. If you have any questions, I will answer them."
At this point, Qiu Yizi no longer needed to be shy and said, "Now the city of Jinling has actually been conquered by the King of Lingnan. As a result, all of the land south of the Yangtze River has fallen into the hands of the King of Lingnan, except for Huguang, where the Right General Wei Hu is still holding on. It is no exaggeration to say that the King of Lingnan has taken over half of the country. I wonder how the general situation in the world will develop?"
After hearing this, Lin Shuhan laughed out loud and said, "Your Excellency, this question is really big! Even if I write ten or eight ten-thousand-word essays, I may not be able to analyze this topic clearly. Seeing that the King of Lingnan is about to come, your Excellency still asks such a grand topic. Aren't you trying to embarrass me, Lin?"
Qiu Yizhi and Lin Shuhan were close friends, and knowing that he liked to keep things a secret, he smiled and said, "If it were someone else, they might not be able to figure it out even after two or three years, but with your talent, you must have already figured it out, right?"
Lin Shuhan could not stand being flattered. Thinking of the status and intelligence of the person who flattered him, he felt indescribably happy. He shook his folding fan again and replied, "Your Excellency thinks highly of me. I am just a poor scholar. These statements about the world situation are just nonsense. Your Excellency has listened to them and considered them. Don't take them to heart..."
Hearing this, Qiu Yizi said, "Even if I take it to heart, how long can I let it go? Please enlighten me, Mr. Lin."
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the adults. In my humble opinion, Prince Lingnan is still doomed to lose." Lin Shuhan said firmly.
"how do I say this?"
Lin Shuhan was silent for a moment, and after organizing his thoughts, he continued, "Although human power can deflect major events in the world, the laws of nature are so great that they cannot be easily reversed. Previously, I had discussed with you about the right time, the right place, and the right people. Now, even if the court has lost Jinling City, these three are still on the emperor's side. How easy is it for the King of Lingnan to reverse it?"
After hearing what Lin Shuhan said, Qiu Yizhi remembered that Lin Shuhan had analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Emperor Zheng Rong and Lingnan King Zheng Gui with him, and finally concluded that the court would be able to successfully suppress the rebellion. At that time, Lin Shuhan's words strengthened Qiu Yizhi's confidence in resisting the enemy, and made him make a big fuss in Jiangnan Road.
Then Lin Shuhan continued, "I have already said these three points, so I will not repeat them... My Lord, now that the King of Lingnan has reached a standoff with the Emperor, don't think that I was wrong. I think it will only take a moment for the King of Lingnan to fail."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi was shocked and said, "The King of Lingnan is now in full swing. I'm afraid the whole world is in a panic. How can Mr. Lin make such a judgment?"
"The battle line is too long and there are too few talented people. The so-called unworthy position refers to people like the King of Lingnan." Lin Shuhan said.
Qiu Yi thought: What kind of person is the King of Lingnan? His status is extremely noble and second only to Emperor Zheng Rong. His civil administration can make the barbaric Lingnan Road obedient. His martial arts can occupy half of the country in less than half a year. However, such a person was only described as "unworthy of the position" by Lin Shuhan.
This made Qiu Yizi quite confused, and he looked at Lin Shuhan who was sitting next to him with wide eyes.
Seeing this, Lin Shuhan seemed to have guessed Qiu Yizi's thoughts, and smiled and said, "The King of Lingnan is a great man in both war and administration, but this 'great man' is still a 'man', and there is still a world of difference between him and the true dragon emperor. Let's not talk about anything else, just look at how many talents the King of Lingnan has under his command? In terms of leading the army to fight, there is not even a single commander who can take charge of a situation on his own. The King of Lingnan has to do everything himself, otherwise he will fail miserably. And what about the emperor? Let's not talk about Generals Cui Nan and Wei Hu, the three princes alone are all outstanding, and there is still a 'first famous general in the country' Dai Luanxiang in the court. If you can have these talents to help you and submit to you wholeheartedly, that is the posture of obeying the will of heaven. Someone like the King of Lingnan is just a local overlord and can't accomplish anything great."
Qiu Yizi listened to Lin Shuhan's endless speech and felt that what he said did make some sense. Although King Zheng Gui of Lingnan was powerful, he was still a long way from Emperor Zheng Rong in all aspects.
However, he had suffered several losses at the hands of the King of Lingnan in the past year, and they were all disastrous losses. He had no reason, no qualifications, and no face to agree with Lin Shuhan's judgments. He just smiled bitterly and said, "If I didn't know that Mr. Lin was a man of great talent and strategy, ordinary people would think that you were just talking nonsense. Sir, you see, aren't we being forced into a desperate situation by a 'dominant overlord' like the King of Lingnan who is 'unworthy of his position'?"
After hearing this, Lin Shuhan thought Qiu Yizi was questioning his judgment, so he got a little angry and raised his voice and said, "To achieve great things, one must do one's best, but one must also obey fate. There are countless heroes in the world who died before they could achieve their goals. Take you for example, among all the people I have seen in my life, you are the best in literary talent, military strategy, character, and mind. You are much better than the Prince of Lingnan..."
Qiu Yizhi was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly whispered: "Mr. Lin, please don't say anything nonsense. If it gets out, people will think I have rebellious intentions..."
"Now our lives are hanging by a thread, what is there to be afraid of?" Lin Shuhan replied, "With your talent, and the help of Zhao Chengxiao, Yuchi Lianghong and his daughter, Tianzun Sect Leader Wen Lingjiao, and Lin, if you were in troubled times, you would definitely be able to achieve great things. It's a pity that God is jealous of talents, and you will die in a place like this at such a young age. It shows that it is difficult to defy fate..."