In the central military tent of the Quanrong, General Mei Zang Pei Zhen sat in the commander-in-chief's seat with a gloomy face.
All the generals were silent, no one dared to speak.
Liang Yi, the commander of the right corps under his command, said, "General, although Bianzhou is a strategic point, it is isolated from the mainland of Jin. Our army can bypass this city and directly attack the lands of Wei and Song, or go south to attack Chu and Yue and other fertile lands south of the Yangtze River."
"This time our army has besieged Bianzhou for more than a month, and all the vassal states in the Central Plains have stood by and watched. The Marquis of Jinyue is not a person who repays evil with kindness, so he will certainly not lend them a helping hand."
The wounded Wei Mingshan stood up and said, "I think what Liang said is right. We don't need to use our troops in Bianzhou, which is a strong city and does not affect the overall situation. The army can bypass it and go straight to Caoxian and Dingtao in Song State, or go north to take Puyang in Wei State. If we destroy these cities and force small countries like Song and Wei to surrender, then Bianzhou, an isolated city far away from the country, will fall sooner or later."
Mei Zang Pei Zhen snorted: "General, are you no longer as brave as you used to be? How can you boost the enemy's morale here? We personally led the army to besiege the city for a month, but we couldn't even take Bianzhou. They even took a detour and passed by. How can I save my face! I will kill all the soldiers and civilians in Bianzhou, stepping on the blood of the city, singing and dancing, and then take Song and Wei. Wouldn't it be great then!"
Wei Mingshan's face flushed red, he endured the humiliation and patiently advised: "We have besieged the city for more than a month, but still cannot break it. Now the Lord of Jin has personally led tens of thousands of soldiers to help. I would like to ask if you have a plan to win?"
Mei Zang Pei Zhen sneered, "General, just because your hands and feet were injured by a slave, do you not even have the courage to attack the city? Tomorrow I will lead the army to break the city, and you just need to rest and recover in your tent."
Wei Mingshan was both ashamed and angry, and left the table with his sleeves thrown up.
The tent door opened, and a messenger rushed in to tell the soldier: "Report to the general, Huangchi is in danger! Last night, the Jin army's light troops attacked our Huangchi garrison and set fire to our baggage and food, which were countless!"
All the generals were horrified. Pei Zhen stood up and said with gritted teeth: "You little brat of the Marquis of Jinyue! How dare you bully me, the Quanrong, who have no one! I will definitely capture Bianzhou and take this boy's head!"
The soldiers in the camp were urgently deployed. Some needed to rush to support Huangchi, and some had to prepare for another siege.
Wei Mingshan was shirtless, wearing an outer robe, watching the messengers running around in the camp. His troops were only assigned to guard the rear this time. Wei Mingshan felt very aggrieved, and the bandage on the arrow wound on his arm was bleeding, but he didn't bother to pay attention.
His military rank was lower than that of Mo Zang Pei Zhen, so he had to obey him in everything. But Mo Zang Pei Zhen was a man who loved to show off his achievements, which was totally incompatible with his random and cunning fighting style, which made Wei Mingshan passive in every aspect and unable to exert his power. He could not help but miss the days when he was stationed in Zhengzhou and could handle things on his own.
Liang Yi came up behind him and sighed, "When we were besieging the city, I advised the general to surround the city on three sides to leave a glimmer of hope. The soldiers and civilians in the city saw that there was a chance of escape, so they would not fight to the death. But the general said that the Jin army should not be forgiven lightly and vowed to massacre the city to deter all parties. Now our army has lost its supplies, and the enemy's lord has brought reinforcements and their morale is high. I'm afraid this battle will be difficult to fight."
Wei Mingshan snorted coldly.
Liang Yi continued, "Looking at all the soldiers in my Quanrong army, I only admire you, general. To be disrespectful, if Mei Zang Pei Zhen was not the nephew of Queen Mother Mei Zang, how could he be above you, general?"
Wei Mingshan did not respond. You, Liang Yi, are a member of the family of Queen Liang. Now that the Queen Mother is in power, the conflict between your Liang family and the Mei Zang family is deepening. Who doesn't know this? If you want me to get involved in this mess, forget it.
Let’s see which of you wins. It’s not too late to come find me then. I just want to concentrate on fighting. I don’t have the patience to care about your twists and turns.
He left Liang Yi and walked towards the deer horn side of the camp, where the prisoners of war were held.
Many Jin army prisoners were tied to the railings, some of them were ordinary soldiers, and some were even slaves.
Wei Mingshan looked at a slave with a slave seal on his shoulder and thought of the enemy who was dressed in a red robe, covered in blood, unable to even lift his hands, but swore to fight to the death. That man was also a slave.
"Are all the slaves in your Jin State so loyal to their masters?" Wei Mingshan asked.
The slave glanced at him, turned his head away and said nothing.
"I really can't understand. Living at the lowest level of society, being ordered around and beaten like animals, they have actually developed slave mentality?" Wei Mingshan reached out his hand from his outer robe and touched his chin. "Not only do they not resist, but they are willing to sacrifice their lives for their masters?"
The slave said, "You barbarian, what do you know? Last winter, if the master hadn't set up porridge huts and arranged a place with a roof and thatched grass for us to spend the winter, I would have frozen to death. It's worth it to live a few more months and give my life back to such a master."
"Why bother talking to this barbarian. How can he understand the kindness of the lord?" A soldier of the Jin army interrupted, "On the coldest day of winter, our family had no food to eat. I went to the porridge stall, and it was the lord who personally made me a bowl of porridge. From that day on, I swore to be loyal to the lord. What's more, even if I die, my family will still have land to farm and money to earn, and my son can still inherit my title. Even if I die..."
After all, the young soldier was still somewhat afraid of death, so he did not dare to utter the following heroic words in front of the enemy general who was like an iron tower, and swallowed them back into his stomach.
There was a serious look in Wei Mingshan's eyes.
This Jinyuehou is a tough guy, and I'm afraid I'll suffer a great loss if I don't hide Pei Zhen this time. I'd better take care of my brothers and wait and see what happens.
Mei Zang Pei Zhen personally led the army to attack the city.
This time, the Jin army in Bianzhou City did not hold out as usual. The city gates were wide open, battle flags were flying, and Jin soldiers and horses poured out, forming battle arrays and confronting the Quanrong from a distance.
The two armies met each other and each shot arrows to stop the enemy's formation.
When the Quanrong army raised their flags, a general dressed in bright clothes and armor, with a tiger body and a wolf waist, emerged and challenged the army.
A young general in black clothes and black armor appeared from the Jin army, rode his horse forward without saying a word to join the battle.
As soon as the drums sounded, the war horses crossed each other, and in one move, the tall and strong general was knocked off his horse by a spear.
The young general in black robe did not give up. He turned around and drew out his sword. With a flash of cold light, he cut off the enemy general's head and held the head of the man who died with his eyes open high in the air.
A roar broke out in the Jin army. Everyone drew their weapons, eyes red, and rushed towards the enemy camp.
…
Mo Qiaosheng led the new army of Jin State and charged bravely, killing several enemy generals in front of the battle line and directly killing their way into the enemy's core formation.
When Mei Zang Pei Zhen saw the general of the Jin army coming right in front of him in the blink of an eye, he was so flustered that he retreated in panic. The various troops lost their command center and immediately fell into chaos.
Helan Zhen led his troops to the scene, and together with Mo Qiaosheng, they attacked from the front and back, with the sound of killing shaking the earth. The blood flowed like a river, and the corpses piled up like a mountain.
The 80,000-strong army of the Quanrong collapsed.
The soldiers scrambled to flee along the Bian River. In a moment, the Bijiang River was dyed red with blood, and the corpses almost blocked the river.
Mei Zang Pei Zhen took a few elite cavalrymen, stepped on the corpses and crossed the Bian River. They fled for dozens of miles before they escaped.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Wei Mingshan quickly dispatched his own troops, gathered the scattered remnants along the way, and headed straight back to Zhengzhou.
The Quanrong army, which had besieged Bianzhou for more than a month, was finally defeated.
The soldiers of the Jin army seized the military supplies discarded by the Quanrong army when they retreated. All kinds of baggage were piled up like mountains, and it took several days to move them.
The soldiers and sergeants were rewarded for their merits, registered their household registrations, and applied for land. The soldiers and civilians in the city were all beaming with joy.
In the headquarters where Cheng Qianye was stationed, the generals were even more excited and full of fighting spirit.
"My lord, with the great victory in Bianzhou, our army's morale is high. I would like to lead an army to pursue the victory and take Zhengzhou directly!" Helan Zhen volunteered.
"No, no, we won't attack Zhengzhou. If we take Zhengzhou, the hatred of the Quanrong will be directed entirely at our Great Jin. There is no need for us to do that." Cheng Qianye stood in front of a large military map on the wall.
She raised two white fingers and pointed at a point on the map. "Next, we'll take this place."
All the generals in the hall turned to look at Mo Qiaosheng, and Mo Qiaosheng's face turned red.
Qi County.
The fact that Han Quanlin had exchanged a city for Mo Qiaosheng had already spread throughout the army.
Cheng Qianye's finger stretched from Zhongmu through Qi County all the way to Bianzhou.
"Open up this road. Then Bianzhou and our Great Jin will be connected." She looked at Mo Qiaosheng, "General Mo, are you willing to lead the new army to fight?"
Mo Qiaosheng said nothing, but clapped his hands vigorously, lowered his head, and saluted with his fists.
If he wasn't in front of so many people, he would have cried.
Cheng Qianye's lips curled up into a smile. Qiao Sheng must have been waiting for this day for a long time. Fortunately, he came not too late.
In the Sun and Moon Spring in Xishan,
Cheng Qianye and Yao Tianxiang leaned on the white marble steps, soaking in the spring water with wisps of white smoke, watching the maple leaves above their heads occasionally fall slowly.
Yao Tianxiang breathed a sigh of relief: "This is what it's like to enjoy. I've been so exhausted these past few days. I've never suffered this kind of pain in my life."
"Who told you to run around like that? Just stay in the yard and take a rest. Why make yourself so tired?" Cheng Qianye said with a smile.
"You think I want to?" Yao Tianxiang rolled her eyes at her. "Look around you, even that ugly maid and a girl as tall as a toad are busy all day long. I am your legal wife after all. How can I lie in the room and play?"
"Why don't you have any decent servants around you? There's only one Lu Yao who looks pretty good, but she runs around with account books all day long, as if she's obsessed with money. It's really unfashionable. And I heard there's a Xiao Xiu, but I haven't seen her. There are only some big and strong women, and a few ugly maids. Do you still look like a king?"
"This is how you look beautiful." Cheng Qianye touched his chin, "I have Princess Tianxiang to support me, that's enough."
Yao Tianxiang gritted her teeth and pinched Cheng Qianye's arm with a smile.
The two laughed and joked for a while.
"Hey," Yao Tianxiang buried her body in the water and raised her chin towards the outer door of the villa, "Are you sure he won't peek?"
Cheng Qianye smiled, "If he sees it, I will naturally tell him the truth."
At this moment, outside the bathhouse, sat Mo Qiaosheng, dressed in black. He held a sword in his arms, sat upright, expressionless, and looked like he was doing his duty.
Bursts of laughter came from the door on the other side of the wall.
That's the lord and his wife.
Mo Qiaosheng warned himself again and again.
He repeatedly tightened and unclenched the hand holding the sword.
What does this feel like, why does my chest feel so sore and painful.
Mo Qiaosheng didn't know that the two people in the garden were also quietly talking about him.
"Would you be willing to send him out to fight?"
"This is his true inner desire. He is a shining gem, and I don't want to just lock him in his box and hide him from people."
"Before you let him fly, you have to punish him. Don't blame me for not reminding you. This man might really fly away if you let him go."
"Not to mention that we haven't reached that level yet," Cheng Qianye smiled, "even with my current status, I can't afford to make any mistakes in what I want to do."
"I know, I know. You're afraid that you might get pregnant by accident." Yao Tianxiang whispered in Cheng Qianye's ear, "I have everything. I'll give you a complete set. It's brand new. I guarantee that you can make him obedient even if you don't reveal your identity."