The incident that happened in Qingzhou this time was really too big, and its impact was even more difficult to estimate. Sun Tu, who already had control over the entire territory of Qingzhou, didn't dare to hide it anymore.
On the fifth day of October, he executed hundreds of officials and their families. On the tenth day of October, a memorial detailing the ins and outs of the incident was sent directly to Bianliang, Tokyo, by a six-hundred-mile expedited route. At the same time, there was also a letter written by him. The letter to Tong Guan, if you want to minimize the consequences this time, you must rely on the privy envoy to intervene.
However, Sun Tu believed that Tong Guan would find a way to excuse him after knowing what was happening in Qingzhou and the prestige Sun Tu had established in the army. After all, Murong Yanchao was originally Liang Shicheng's man, and eradicating him now would be a relief for him. At the same time, Sun Tu's replacement of Murong Yanchao in Qingzhou would also be a big help to Tong Guan.
Of course, he also knew that this time the trouble was a bit big. In a hundred years, no military general had dared to take the initiative and kill civilian officials. This would definitely arouse the sensitive nerves of the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty. There may be many people shouting and killing him, so in addition to Tong Guan, he also needs the help of other forces.
Smoothing Erlong Mountain and establishing absolute prestige among the Shandong army was his second means of self-protection. When the imperial court discovered that attacking them would lead to chaos in the Shandong army, or even a mutiny, then they would have to consider the consequences of attacking them. What's more, Sun Tu is not a foolish and loyal person who is willing to hand over his life like this. If things really come to an irreversible point, then he will give it a try. He has already seen through the virtues of the Song Dynasty's officers and soldiers, and he has already seen through it. I'm really not afraid of being questioned by the court.
Of course, the top priority now is to quell Erlong Mountain as soon as possible in order to achieve greater success. At the same time, all troops in Shandong will know their own strength and lay a solid foundation for the future.
So after the tenth day of October, the Qingzhou Army, which had returned and integrated, once again devoted themselves to boring and high-intensity training. Time waits for no one, seizing the day and night. It won't be long before they will embark on the journey again.
The scene of intensive military preparations in Qingzhou City was quickly reported back to Erlong Mountain. Deng Long and others, who already had a guilty conscience because of their previous failure, were even more panicked when they heard about this incident.
If they could comfort themselves before, thinking that the reason why the army could easily defeat the White Tiger and Peach Blossom Mountains was not because the other two mountains were strong enough, but because the other two mountains were too weak, then after the collapse of the battle with the Qingzhou Army, These leaders who fled back to the mountain village in embarrassment were really afraid of the Qingzhou Army. After learning the news, they were even more panicked all day long. Some of them planned to leave the mountain quietly to escape for their lives.
Although Deng Long remained calm on the surface and kept cheering for his men, he was also nervous inside and kept thinking about what to do. If we only rely on the danger of copycats to defend, can we really defend it
In this tense atmosphere, Han Benshan climbed the mountain again to ask for an audience. This time, the attitude towards him from the top of Erlong Mountain became even worse. Almost all the leaders stared at him with knives in their hands. Then, before Deng Long opened his mouth, someone shouted: "Han Benshan, you are still... Have the courage to come to Erlong Mountain! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have lost so many brothers, let alone have such a deep hatred with the Qingzhou army!
Han Benshan remained calm and composed. He just smiled when he heard this: "This leader's words are too unfair to Han. Do you think that without the previous proactive attack, the officers and soldiers would let you go? This time, although not We can win, but at least we have achieved some results, at least annihilating many officers and soldiers, and at the same time testing their quality, right?"
"Huh, but I, Erlong Mountain, have also paid a heavy price." Deng Long said gloomily, then stared at him and said: "Why are you here again today? Do you still want to encourage me to wait until I go down the mountain? Are you going to fight to the death with the army?"
"Of course not. In fact, the combat power of the Qingzhou Army did greatly exceed my expectations." Han Benshan smiled bitterly and shook his head. This is the truth. He thought that he had calculated everything and the officers and soldiers had fallen into the trap, but it turned out that It was a huge defeat, which forced him to examine himself and re-examine the Qingzhou Army.
"Actually, after this battle, I can conclude that the Qingzhou Army may not be able to defeat the Qingzhou Army with only the strength of Erlong Mountain and one stronghold, or even if we combine the strength of the three mountains in Qingzhou. With the current plan, there is only one way to win. That is to contact copycats from other places to come for support, such as the people from Liangshanbo."
Deng Long and everyone were stunned when they heard this, and Lu Yuan even frowned and said: "Liang Shanbo has strong soldiers and horses, and there are many skilled soldiers in the village, but how can they help us send troops to attack the Qingzhou Army?"
"This depends on the sincerity of Master Deng. As long as Master Deng can promise to join his servants and defect to Liangshanbo after the incident is completed, I think Chao Gai and others will not sit idly by with their magnanimity."
"How brave, are you going to let the leader of this village be subordinated to others?" Deng Long suddenly changed his color and scolded.
"Master Deng, do you have any better countermeasures now? Although I burned all the food and grass in Qingzhou City with fire before I came here, as long as the officers and soldiers can let go of their hands and feet, they can still obtain There is a large amount of food, grass and baggage. When the army and the army are on the border, Erlong Mountain is in danger. How long can you hold the position of leader of the village? Master Deng, this is not an alarmist statement by Han. This is the fact. I hope you will think twice. .”
After Deng Long stared at his face for a while, he suddenly laughed ferociously: "Han, could it be that you had this idea from the beginning? I used the excuse that the army wanted to annihilate our Erlong Mountain to make me rush to send troops. , but in the end ended up losing the army. Then you asked me to beg Liangshanbo, so that they could justifiably annex my Erlong Mountain... You really made a good plan!" It's no wonder that he would give birth to such a child. Suspicion came from the fact that it was just too much of a coincidence, and he also needed a way to blame others.
Han Benshan saw that the people around him had unkind expressions and seemed to be ready to make a move, but they were not nervous at all. He still smiled and said: "I have never interacted with people from Liangshanbo, and I can't help them to harm the leader of Deng Village. Yes. I said that all I did was to avenge my brother and the others! I came today just to make up for some of my previous mistakes. If you don’t appreciate it, Master Deng, then forget it. You are stubborn. I will defend Erlong Mountain and see if the Qingzhou Army is able to defeat the stronghold."
After saying this, he turned around and left. Can be ignored
Bian suddenly jumped out of the two of them, blocking his way: "Han, don't leave easily until the matter is clear! I, Erlong Mountain, are not a place where you can come and leave whenever you want! "
"Master Deng, I came here to persuade you out of good intentions. As for the attitude of your brothers... I'm afraid he won't be able to keep me based on them, right?" Seeing the other party's aggressiveness, Han Benshan became angry and flipped his wrists. , the chain dagger hidden on his body had fallen into his palm.
Right here that day, he shocked the entire audience with his first move, and today he is confident that no one can stop him. Deng Long and the others knew this very well. Seeing him holding a knife in his hand, the faces of these people changed. The two leaders blocking the road subconsciously took two steps back. They knew at a glance that it was Afraid.
As soon as his momentum increased, Han Benshan simply spoke again: "Master Deng, if I really had evil intentions, I would have killed you all with my own ability, so why do I have to make so many calculations? If you are willing to believe me, Send the most capable people in the stronghold to accompany me to Liangshanbo. Maybe we can ask for reinforcements to break the siege of Erlong Mountain. If you don't believe it, just pretend that I have never been to the stronghold again, and I will not be your enemy."
"You..." Deng Long was so angry that he was shaking all over, but he knew that no one here could stop him, and he felt really aggrieved.
Just when everyone in the palace had darkened faces and seemed to have no choice but to let him go, a rough and arrogant voice rang out from outside the palace: "You really have such a loud tone, you bastard, you really think there are no heroes in Erlong Mountain." Are you ready?" As he spoke, a tall and plump figure appeared in front of the palace door, blocking his way.
Han Benshan raised his eyes and saw a fat monk staring at him with rounded eyes. Next to him was a similarly tall man with gold seals tattooed on both cheeks. Although the two sides did not fight, the intimidating aura exuded by these two people still made his heart tighten, and he blurted out: "Who are you?"
"Sajia Lu Zhishen, this is my brother Wu Songwu Erlang, we are all from Erlong Mountain." The monk looked at them without giving in and reported their names.
Lu and Wu, who had disappeared long before Sun Tu left Boden, now actually appeared in Erlong Mountain and Baozhu Temple! And the two of them actually became Erlongshan’s brothers!
This thing seemed strange, but it was actually arranged by Sun Tu in order to have more confidence when attacking Erlong Mountain in the future. After all, Erlong Mountain has always been known to be easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even with Sun Tu's elite Qingzhou Army, he was not very sure that he could easily capture this mountain.
That's why he asked Luda and the two to defect to Erlong Mountain as fugitives. In fact, if Erlongshan hadn't suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Qingzhou Army, Deng Long and the others might not have accepted these two people.
But even so, after going up the mountain to join the gang, the two of them failed to get attention. When discussing important matters like today, they couldn't even enter the palace gate and could only stay outside.
The two Ludas, who have been looking for opportunities, have only just found an opportunity to show their strength. Seeing Han Benshan trying to leave after overwhelming the audience, they immediately stepped forward and blocked each other's way!