It was not until the next morning that Qi Desheng took the remaining hundreds of Qingzhou soldiers and escorted a group of prisoners from Baihu Mountain to Boden County. It's not that he had any ulterior motives and delayed deliberately. He really couldn't go too fast, because firstly, they didn't have horses and could only rely on walking. Secondly, they had already been exhausted from fighting for several days. Even elite soldiers like the Qingzhou Army could not move. It was impossible to fight continuously, and in the end, they needed to guard against those prisoners from Baihu Mountain who would attack halfway, so the journey of dozens of miles took nearly a day to arrive.
When they saw the miserable appearance in Bodeng County, especially the Jurchen heads piled up for viewing, the Qingzhou soldiers who had just arrived were really frightened, until they saw When Sun Tu and the others arrived, these people relaxed a little. Qi Desheng said with an uneasy look on his face: "Captain, here..."
"You have also seen that Boden County was attacked by Jurchen thieves, and hundreds of innocent people were killed. If I hadn't arrived in time with my army, I'm afraid this county would have become a dead city." Sun Tu's eyes There was still some gloom in the place, and just killing more than 80 people here was really hard to eliminate the hatred in his heart.
Qi Desheng and the others were indignant after hearing this, especially after learning that more than ten of the brothers who came to rescue actually died at the hands of the Jurchens, which made these hundreds of Qingzhou soldiers feel the same hatred. : "These Jurchen thieves really deserve to be killed! Governor, what should we do next?" Many people looked at Sun Tu eagerly, and they really wanted to fight.
Sun Tu shook his head. He could see what these people were thinking, but he knew more clearly that this was not the time to really start a war with the Jurchens. Not to mention that the time has not come yet, the combat power of the thousands of people under their control is far from enough. They still need more intense training and tempering before they can fight head-on with the Jurchens in a few years.
Then, he said: "What we have to do now is to stay here, rest for a few days, and help the people here rebuild their homes. In addition, send people back to Qingzhou City to break through Baihu Mountain and kill us all to invade Boden." It is necessary to send back the good news about the Jurchens to cheer up the hearts of our people in Qingzhou." In order to prevent possible revenge from the Jurchens, it is necessary to keep the troops here. As for the good news about the Jurchens, it is not just for praise, but also for the sake of praise. The more important thing is to prevent some people in the city from having other ideas.
It has been more than ten days since they left Qingzhou this time. Now is the time when Sun Tu's power in Qingzhou is at its weakest. There is no guarantee that Murong Yanchao and the others will not take advantage of the situation to regain control. Only by sending back the good news of these two victories can those people be afraid.
At that moment, the officers and soldiers entered the city and quickly took over important buildings such as the four gates of Boden, the Yamen, and the warehouse. At the same time, many officers and soldiers and prisoners of Baihu Mountain were arranged by Sun Tu to enter the city to help the people whose homes were destroyed repair their homes. And when the soldiers really followed the orders to do these things, they immediately won the gratitude of the people in the city, and Sun Tu suddenly became a Buddha-like existence in their minds.
You must know that soldiers in this era are not soldiers of the people. There is even a saying that thieves are like combs and soldiers are like grates. Sometimes the officers and soldiers are even more hated than thieves and bandits. In the eyes of many common people, it is extremely rare for a soldier to do no harm to the common people, let alone ask them to do something for them.
But today
, these Qingzhou soldiers were really enthusiastic about helping everyone rebuild their homes, and their attitude was very kind, without any intention of bullying others. This made the people all over the city extremely grateful to the Qingzhou soldiers, and they were even more respectful to Sun Dujian, who issued this order, and even set up a memorial tablet for him to worship him day and night.
Sun Tu naturally knew the gratitude of the people, and he did not be humble or prevent them from doing so, because this was exactly the result he wanted to see.
Now he has a great reputation in the military, but the hearts of the people in Qingzhou are not yet with him, or in other words, many people in Qingzhou have not really understood him. And this rescue of Bodeng County is an excellent opportunity to quickly increase one's reputation. Once everything here spreads, it will not only be Qingzhou, but also the whole of Shandong. People will also call him Sun Tu when they are mentioned again. A hero and a savior. That way, it would be easier than before for him to recruit more soldiers in the future.
Qingzhou is just the starting point for his advancement, and Shandong is the foundation for his continued strength!
Because he recognized this point, even if Lin Chong and Qi Desheng reminded him directly or tactfully not to make too much noise during this period, Sun Tu just smiled and did not answer. Maybe other people were worried that Sun Tu would be tabooed by the court if his reputation was too great, but he didn't take it seriously at all. Only having reputation or military power would indeed bring trouble, but when the two are combined, he still has his own territory. , the situation is completely different.
He is not the foolish and loyal Yue Fei who would put his life in the hands of the imperial court just because of a few golden medals from the imperial court. As long as he is strong enough and his reputation is big enough, he is not afraid of those voices in the court.
During these days in Boden, Sun Tu didn't just build up his reputation. He still trained his troops in batches. At the same time, he also began to study the situation near Taohua Mountain, which was only a hundred miles away, and thought about it. Should we take advantage of the victory and lead our troops to eliminate the bandits there
Among the three mountain bandits in Qingzhou, Erlong Mountain is the most powerful. It is said that the number of people on the mountain exceeds a thousand. In comparison, the strength of Baihu Mountain and Taohua Mountain is much inferior. Now that Baihu Mountain can be wiped out in just a few days, then the bandits all the way to Taohua Mountain can't stand it, right
As soon as the news was revealed, the soldiers and horses under his command immediately became interested. Officers like Zhou Xing even emboldened themselves to ask for battle several times. They also needed a few victories in exchange for the chance of promotion.
The only thing to consider now is the issue of logistical supplies, such as food and bows and arrows. In fact, the food problem was no longer a problem after the Baihu Mountain was captured. When they first sent out troops, they only brought ten days of rations, but later they captured a large amount of stored food, which was enough for the army for one month. This was also Qi Desheng's victory. Another reason for arriving at Boden with troops so late. After completely taking control of Boden County, in addition to the money and grain sent to the people in the city, a lot of stored grain and treasury money also went into Sun Tu's pocket. These are the confidence that Sun Tu dares to continue the crusade against Taohua Mountain.
But although there was enough food, there were not many arrows left. After several battles, the consumption of arrows was extremely high. If they wanted to attack Peach Blossom Mountain again, if they didn't have enough arrows, the opponent would just shrink back and there would really be nothing they could do against them.
"Perhaps
If you ask people to go back to Qingzhou and dispatch some arrows, there should be no problem..." At this time, Sun Tu was sitting in the lobby of the county government, looking at the simple map spread out in front of him and thinking about countermeasures, but he saw someone. The man strode in, it was Ruda.
What was different from the past was that today's Ruda had a rare look of confusion on his face. After looking at Sun Tu for a few times, he looked like he was hesitant to speak. This surprised Sun Tu: "Brother Lu, what are you trying to say? But you also want to persuade me not to win people's hearts?"
"No, what you did is not wrong. Isn't it still a crime to help people rebuild their homes?" Ruda shook his head: "The Sa family came here for another thing. The two leaders on Peach Blossom Mountain are actually related to the Sa family. We have some friendship, but I really don’t want to see them end up like the Kong brothers in Baihu Mountain.”
As he said that, he glanced at Sun Tu again and added: "Of course, since the Sa family has followed you Sanlang and become a court official, it is naturally impossible to speak for them. The Sa family just wants you to give them a chance, a Opportunities to take the initiative to join us.”
"What does Brother Lu mean?" Sun Tu already understood the other party's intention at this time: "Do you want to persuade them to surrender to me?"
"Yes. The Sa family also has some friendship with them. Now go over to meet them and explain the pros and cons to them clearly. Let them know how powerful our Qingzhou Army is. It is very likely that they will join us. In this way, both It's the best of both worlds to have this friendship and save the soldiers from being hurt. Sanlang, what do you think?" After saying this, Ruda stared at Sun Tu's face expectantly.
Sun Tu thought for a moment and then smiled and said: "If it is true as Brother Lu said, it would be great. I am sending troops this time just to pacify the bandits in Qingzhou. As long as they are willing to surrender to me, If you correct your evil ways and return to the right path, you can forget all the past mistakes. But... I am a little worried about your safety, Brother Lu. If you fail to convince them after you go, but instead make them want to harm you, then... "
Seeing that he was willing to agree, Luda felt relieved, and then he laughed: "Just relax, the Sa family's abilities are not fake, Li Zhong and Zhou Tong can't hurt me. Even in their cottage, I am sure I can kill them!"
"This..." Sun Tu thought for a moment and then made up his mind: "I can agree to Brother Lu's proposal, but you have to agree to a condition if you want to go."
"Just say it." Ruda was delighted when he heard this and said hurriedly.
"Then let Brother Wu go to Peach Blossom Mountain with you, so that we can take care of each other." Sun Tu said his condition with a smile.
"Wu Erlang? He is really a powerful person. If you can go with him, you will be more secure. Okay, the Sa family will agree."
Sun Tu smiled and hugged him with a fist: "In this case, Taohuashan will be left to Brother Lu. If it can be accomplished, it will be a great achievement for our Qingzhou soldiers. I will report it to the imperial court at that time. Please take credit."
"Hahaha, the Sa family didn't do this just for the credit! I did it for our loyalty!" Luda laughed nonchalantly, and he could finally let go of the worries that had been bothering him for some days.