Tang Jianlong listened and nodded continuously. He was indeed a farmer. He knew that if a farmer harvested 100 kilograms of grain, he would nominally hand over 10 kilograms to the court, but in fact he would have to hand over about 30 kilograms of grain together with the loss apportionment. After deducting the grain reserved for next year and the public grain paid to the ancestral hall, he would only have 40 to 50 kilograms of grain left in his hands. And this less than 50 kilograms of grain was not only for his own consumption but also for raising livestock. Only in a good year with good weather and good harvest could he barely guarantee a full meal for the whole year. If he encountered a disaster such as flood, drought, locust or typhoon, he could only leave it to fate. If Qiu Yizi's measures were implemented, it would be equivalent to letting the people here grow grain for free, and every grain belonged to them. As long as they were a little more frugal and God helped them a little, they would definitely be able to make a small fortune, and maybe even take this opportunity to buy a few acres of land for retirement.
Thinking of this, Tang Jianlong nodded continuously: "I didn't expect that Lord Qiu could still think about the suffering of the people. It's really admirable."
Zhao Chengxiao continued, "Of course. Lord Qiu Yizhi and I have known each other since childhood. We both come from poor families. He can empathize with the people's hard lives. Of course, he would not do such a thing as mistreating the common people."
Tang Jianlong was just sighing with emotion when he suddenly saw Zhao Chengxiao, who was leading the way, stop his horse. He quickly tightened the reins and asked, "General Zhao, what happened?"
Zhao Chengxiao pointed to the ground and said, "General Tang, do you see this pole?"
Tang Jianlong looked in the direction Zhao Chengxiao pointed, and sure enough, he saw a pole more than ten feet high and as thick as the mouth of a wine glass stuck upright in the ground. The pole was painted with tung oil in eye-catching red and white colors. Looking up, he saw that there were other poles of similar appearance inserted on both sides of the pole, about three or four feet apart, extending one by one to both sides.
So Tang Jianlong asked, "I have seen it, but I don't know what these poles are used for?"
Zhao Chengxiao replied, "This is the place designated by Lord Qiu for the decisive battle with Zheng Xin. In front is our army's territory. General Tang, please do not cross the line, otherwise we will punish you as a spy. Military law is ruthless and cannot be compromised. Please pay attention to it, General Tang."
Tang Jianlong listened to Zhao Chengxiao's warm response, which suddenly turned cold. He was frightened and bowed quickly, saying, "I know what's going on. I know what's going on."
Seeing Tang Jianlong's nervous look, Zhao Chengxiao suddenly laughed and said, "General Tang, why do you have to be like this? The Regent Qiu has already issued an order that you can investigate the battlefield situation as much as you want. As long as you don't cross this line, you can do whatever you want. However, our army's camp is behind us. For the sake of confidentiality, please don't go there to investigate at will. If you are caught by me, I'm afraid it will be embarrassing."
Zhao Chengxiao's words were gentle yet firm and reasonable, making Tang Jianlong nod in agreement. After saying a few more words, he returned to the camp.
After returning to his own camp, Tang Jianlong took a breath and immediately ordered people to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then he lay on the table to write down what he had seen and heard that day. Most of the generals who led the army to fight were illiterate warriors, but Tang Jianlong had studied in a private school for a few years when he was a child and knew a few words, so he did not need to ask anyone to help him. He wrote a letter fluently and sent someone to take a speedboat to Zheng Xin in Jiangnan.
Zheng Xin here.
He had been the eldest son of the king and the emperor for many years, and he had countless trusted informants in the court. Some of these people were transferred from important positions by Qiu Yizhi and were resentful; some felt that the world was still uncertain and it was better to diversify their investments; some felt that Qiu Yizhi was a foreigner after all, and it was awkward for him to be in charge of the court - so they communicated various information with Zheng Xin through various channels.
Across the surging Yangtze River, endless stream of news reached Zheng Xin's ears, making him feel that Qiu Yizi's foundation in the court was very weak, and it would be uprooted if it was slightly shaken.
Not long after, Tang Jianlong's second letter also came from Jiangbei, saying that Qiu Yizi had met Tang Jianlong on the third day after his arrival in Jiangbei, and had received the letter of challenge, and agreed to a decisive battle on the day of "Xiaoman".
Zheng Xin thought about it and felt that the "Xiaoman" solar term was less than a month away. Although the climate would be a little warmer at that time, there would generally be no heavy rain or storms. It was just the right time for his army to launch operations without worrying about Qiu Yizi using the climate change to carry out any conspiracy or trickery.
So Zheng Xin made up his mind and wrote a few more words on the back of the declaration of war: "Yes, you should be beheaded." Then he sent someone to send it to Jiangbei.
After receiving the reply, Qiu Yizi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but become nervous - the reason why he arranged such favorable conditions would undoubtedly lead to the home advantage that he occupied being greatly weakened, and the chances of winning against Zheng Xin would inevitably be reduced; but without such conditions, he might not be able to induce Zheng Xin to immediately cross the river and go north for a decisive battle - the strategy he used was a double-edged sword in a dilemma.
Zheng Xin was not a fool without any knowledge, nor was he a coward who was too cautious. He knew that after all, Qiu Yizhi had occupied the center of the court and supported a new emperor. Although he was a legitimate descendant of the Zheng family, he was actually a challenger. Only by defeating Qiu Yizhi head-on could he occupy the royal orthodoxy with dignity. Otherwise, he could only accept the result of dividing the river and ruling separately.
Neither side was sure of victory, but both had confidence in victory. The atmosphere on the Yangtze River suddenly became tense.
After waiting for more than half a month in this uneasy atmosphere, Zheng Xin remained silent. Except for the several thousand troops led by Tang Jianlong who were sent earlier, no other soldiers crossed the river.
Qiu Yizhi was somewhat surprised by this, but he was troubled by the fact that Zheng Xin's river defenses were becoming increasingly tight, and Dai Luanxiang, Zheng Tinghang, Xu Rong, Huang Wangang and others who were secretly connected with him had not sent any news for a long time. He also wanted to contact Li Shengjie who had moved to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and ask him to sail down the river to investigate Zheng Xin's movements, but he was afraid that Zheng Xin would see the Li family's fleet and shrink back in fear, so he had to give up.
Qiu Yizi waited for another three days, and suddenly heard information from the front that countless ships suddenly appeared on the Yangtze River, transporting large quantities of troops, food and fodder to the north of the river.
Qiu Yizi was shocked when he heard this, and immediately called Zhao Chengxiao, Yuchi Jiming and others, and rushed to the riverside to observe the situation. Sure enough, he saw countless ships suddenly appeared on the originally vast and boundless surface of the Yangtze River.
Some of these boats were big, some were small, and some were just rafts made of dozens of logs or thick bamboos tied together. Although these boats and rafts were simple, their number was extremely large, and it was difficult to count them at a glance. Even if we say there were tens of thousands of them, it would not be an exaggeration.
On these boats and rafts, some large and some small, there were hundreds of people, and at least a hundred people, all of whom were fully armed with swords and guns drawn. They were Zheng Xin's troops stationed in the south of the Yangtze River.
Qiu Yizhi was shocked when he saw the scene of hundreds of boats competing for the current. He said to Zhao Chengxiao beside him: "Zheng Xin is indeed not an ordinary person. Judging from the situation today, it seems that he wants to ferry all 300,000 people to Jiangbei at once. You should quickly gather the troops and form a battle array outside the camp. Don't make it look awkward to be caught off guard by the landing troops."
Zhao Chengxiao quickly agreed, turned his horse around, and headed north.
Qiu Yizi looked at the Yangtze River, which was almost filled with large and small rafts, and felt that there was no benefit in staying here, so he turned around and went back to his own camp.
It turned out that Zheng Xin had not been sitting idle in the south of the Yangtze River for most of the month. Instead, he saw that the water network in the south of the Yangtze River was dense, and there were countless boats and rafts in the large and small rivers, harbors, lakes and ponds, and countless boatmen who were proficient in water and good at boating. So Zheng Xin spent a lot of money to recruit all these boats and rafts and boatmen, and took advantage of the opportunity that Li Shengjie's fleet was thousands of miles away and the current and wind direction were suitable for crossing the river, and immediately ordered the entire army to board the ships and cross the Yangtze River to the north.
He did not conduct any drills or make careful deployment before crossing the river this time. Although it was done in a confidential and sudden manner, it involved great risks. Not to mention poor command, even a slight change in the water flow or wind direction would completely scatter this makeshift mob on the water like a pile of loose sand.
Fortunately, Zheng Xin was lucky. He took a risk and transported all 270,000 elite troops under his command to the north bank of the Yangtze River. The operation went so smoothly that it seemed like a dream.
Tang Jianlong, who had been stationed in Jiangbei for nearly a month, received the news and hurriedly led his 3,000 brothers to line up on the riverside to welcome their lord Zheng Xin.
Zheng Xin asked Tang Jianlong a few questions and then asked him to be a guide. However, he did not set up camp on the spot, but arranged the battle formation on the predetermined battlefield. This was to prevent Qiu Yizi from taking advantage of his unstable foothold and launching a surprise attack, driving him back into the river.
However, after Zheng Xin had arranged the battle formation, Qiu Yizi arrived with his troops late. The garrison was out of the range of Zheng Xin's bows and arrows, and began to arrange the battle formation in a hurry.
Zheng Xin really wanted to take advantage of the enemy's temporary confusion and lead his troops to attack, but he remembered that his men had just crossed the river and were still quite tired. He was also afraid that Qiu Yi was using a strategy of confusing the enemy and luring him to attack, so he resisted the urge and quietly observed the enemy's formation.
Qiu Yizi's movements here were considered fast. It only took a quarter of an hour for him to arrange the formation neatly.
Zheng Xin looked into the distance while riding on his horse and saw that the enemy had about 70,000 to 80,000 troops, more than half the number of his own troops. However, the battle formation was quite tight, and the flags and drums were very bright. Knowing that they could not win easily, he ordered his troops to restrain themselves and observe the movements ahead.
Qiu Yizhi did not dare to act rashly. After a while, he sent a general to ride between the two armies and shouted, "Your army is exhausted and cannot stand a fight. Besides, it is not the Grain Full solar term yet. Why don't you rest and recuperate before we fight?"
Zheng Xin saw that although this general was not good-looking, he had a fierce aura and a loud voice, so he did not dare to underestimate him, let alone Qiu Yizi behind this general. He sent a general with him to send a message: "It is not urgent to kill you, little thief. Let you live a few more days, let you go back and explain your affairs after death, and then come back to die."
The person sent by Qiu Yizhi to deliver the message was his personal soldier with the nickname "Black Neck Toad". He was in charge of delivering orders on the battlefield, but he had no say in the matter. After receiving Zheng Xin's message, he rode back to report to Qiu Yizhi.