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War is always changing rapidly. On Yuchun Mountain, Qin Mu was discussing with Liu Meng and other generals how to deal with Zhang Xianzhong's "ant moving" tactics;
Judging from the information continuously reported by the scouts, the number of small groups of troops that infiltrated Zhang Xianzhong was so large that it was alarming. These small groups of troops usually only brought a few days of dry food. Zhang Xianzhong did not seem to mind whether they lived or died after they arrived. As long as one-third of them could play a role, it would cause immeasurable trouble to Yuanzhou and even determine the outcome of the Yuanzhou battle.
Because according to the preliminary analysis of Qin Mu and others, the small groups of troops sent by Zhang Xianzhong totaled no less than 30,000 people, and now almost all of Yuanzhou is in chaos due to these small groups of rebels.
Just at this time, shocking news came from Yuanzhou City. Because Wu Xueli's soldiers had committed excessive plunder in Yuanzhou City, Lu Daqi had to step forward and beheaded two heinous soldiers to appease the public's resentment.
As a result, a mutiny broke out. Thousands of soldiers surrounded the Yuanzhou government office, looking for Lu Daqi to explain, and at the same time retaliated against the people in the city. Lu Daqi had only a thousand Jiangxi soldiers with him, and he did not dare to really clash with the Zuo army, so he was surrounded in the government office and could not move.
The people in Yuanzhou were repeatedly bullied, killed and plundered, and could no longer bear it. A man named Huang Lianshan shouted from a high place, and thousands of people responded with a roar. Yuanzhou was first hit by a mutiny and then a civil riot. The people took advantage of the chaos to burn the barracks and snatch weapons. The fire quickly spread in the city, and thick smoke billowed. When the chaos started, the left army killed everyone they saw, forcing more and more people to resist. In half a day, Huang Lianshan gathered more than 10,000 people and threatened to break out of the city and surrender to Qin Mu.
Because Qin Mu was the only one who treated the people in Yuanzhou well during his stay, prohibited his soldiers from raping and looting, strictly enforced the "Three Major Disciplines and Three Points of Attention", and released grain to help the people. The people in Yuanzhou only remembered the good things about Qin Mu.
More than 20,000 left-wing troops in the city, under the command of General Xie Yishui, brutally massacred the civilians who rose up in resistance. More than 2,000 people died in half a day, but this not only failed to quell the civil unrest in Yuanzhou City, but on the contrary aroused the anger of more civilians. They were repeatedly robbed and bullied, and everything in their homes was robbed. Many women were also dragged into the camp by the left-wing troops and wantonly ravaged. Anyway, they could not survive if they did not resist. So under the instigation of Huang Lianshan, almost all the civilians in the city gave up and joined the resistance against the left-wing troops.
In every street and every house in Yuanzhou City, people were fighting with the left army with sticks, bricks, stones, or stolen swords and guns. They took advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and continuously attacked the left army. At the same time, they organized young and strong men to seize the city gates in an attempt to rush out of the city and join Qin Mu.
Lü Daqi, who had finally escaped from the government office, came forward to arrange for the people, but the people in the city ignored him and threw dog shit on his face. Lü Daqi urgently summoned 9,000 troops from Jiangxi General Xu Kaijin back to the city to quell the rebellion, and at the same time sent someone to ask Qin Mu to lead his troops back to Yuanzhou.
The messenger galloped for 20 miles to Yuchun Mountain. At this time, Qin Mu had already learned about the civil unrest in Yuanzhou and was urgently negotiating.
As soon as Lü Daqi's messenger arrived, Qin Mu made a prompt decision and decided to leave Ling Zhan with 100 men to guard Yuchun Mountain, where there was a lot of food and fodder as well as the previously captured pack horses. Someone had to be left to guard it.
At the same time, Qin Mu also sent a message to Meng Ke, asking him to prepare to lead his troops south to reinforce.
Qin Mu personally led 1,100 men and horses to rush to Yuanzhou. On the road, 1,000 people trotted forward, with the sound of footsteps. Su Jin led more than 100 cavalrymen as the vanguard. Qin Mu, Huo Sheng, and Liu Meng rode together and discussed countermeasures.
"What are you going to do, my Lord?"
"I haven't thought about it yet, let me go and take a look first."
Liu Meng said, "Sir, I think if we really reach the city of Yuanzhou, we will be in a passive position. Which side will we help? I don't think you will help the left army to kill the people. On the contrary, if we help the people to fight the left army, things will only get worse."
Huo Sheng continued, "Your Excellency wants to rescue the people in the city. I advise you not to do this. Not to mention how much trouble this will cause, even if you successfully rescue tens of thousands of people in the city, tens of thousands of mouths alone will be enough to bankrupt us. If you rescue them and ignore them, it would be better not to rescue them."
To be honest, the riot in Yuanzhou came too suddenly. There was no sign of it beforehand, and Qin Mu was not mentally prepared at all. For a moment, he could not think of any good way to deal with it.
He thought and said, "The problem is that this riot must be quelled as soon as possible. The battle at Laohukou is intense now, and tens of thousands of rebels have infiltrated. If this riot cannot be quelled quickly, it will give others an opportunity to take advantage of it. Wu Xueli's 80,000 troops are likely to be completely defeated. At that time, we have to take on the responsibility and fight to the death with Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000 troops. Unless we watch Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000 troops wreak havoc in Jiangxi and attack southern Jiangxi, in short, letting Wu Xueli be defeated like this will be very disadvantageous to us."
"Then your Excellency is planning to quell the rebellion?"
"Let's go to Yuanzhou City first and see what happens next."
"I still think that we should not get involved in this mess. At least you should not go there in person, so as to avoid having to face tens of thousands of people directly and having no room for maneuver." Liu Meng suddenly thought that as long as Qin Mu did not promise anything to the people in person, there would still be room for maneuver.
His words made Qin Mu feel as if a flash of inspiration flashed through his mind, but he couldn't grasp it no matter how hard he tried. However, he decided to follow Liu Meng's advice first: "Okay, Liu Meng, I will not come out for the time being. Su Jin and I will wait and see on the periphery. You will come out. If possible, use your name to appease the people in the city first."
"It's difficult. My Lord, please think about it. The people have already given up. They are at loggerheads with the left army in the city. The left army has also suffered many casualties. Even if the people are willing to listen to our appeasement, will the left army give up? They surrounded the government office, which clearly shows that they don't take Lu Daqi seriously. I think Lu Daqi can't stop them from continuing to kill. In the end, we can only be forced to stand on the side of the people and fight the left army to the death."
Huo Sheng couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, it's like a dog trying to catch a hedgehog, it's hard to find where to start."
Although this analogy is unpleasant to the ear, it is true. To be honest, this feeling makes Qin Mu very unhappy. The most straightforward way is undoubtedly to charge directly into the city and, together with the people who want to surrender to him, chop down the left army in the city.
But doing so is only a temporary relief, and you will immediately have to face bigger troubles. And these troubles will be unimaginably big.
It is not easy to be patient, but if you want to achieve great things, you must learn the skill of being patient.
Qin Mu wanted to be patient for a while, but things were not going to turn out that way. Su Jin, who was in front of him, rode back on his horse. He couldn't wait to say, "My lord, my lord, something bad has happened. General Xu Kaijin of Jiangxi has also started a fight with the left army."
"What? What's going on?"
"Sir, the troops of Jiangxi General Xu Kaijin are all from Jiangxi. The Zuo Army came from Jiujiang, plundering along the way. Many of Xu Kaijin's soldiers suffered because of this. They hated the Zuo Army to begin with. This time, Xu Kaijin's 9,000 troops were ordered by Lu Daqi to return to the city to quell the rebellion. Unexpectedly, they had an argument with the Zuo Army as soon as they entered the city gate. The Zuo Army was like a mad dog, biting anyone they saw. More than a dozen of Xu Kaijin's troops were shot dead for no reason. Xu Kaijin stepped forward to stop the conflict between the two armies, but was seriously injured by the stray arrows shot by the Zuo Army. When his troops saw that their commander was seriously injured, new and old hatreds surged in their hearts, and they fought with the Zuo Army. Now the three troops in Yuanzhou City are fighting together, and everything is in chaos. The whole Yuanzhou City is in chaos."
After hearing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but laugh out loud like a madman.
It's ridiculous. I wanted to consider the overall situation and was going to be patient for once, but who was patient? Damn it, who was patient
Since you don't care about the overall situation, well, just make the mess even more chaotic and the muddy water even more muddy!
"Pass on my order, the army advances at full speed. Su Jin, you lead the cavalry to Yuanzhou City first, and try every means to get in touch with Huang Lianshan, and let him seize the north gate. I will lead the army to support him. Also, send more scouts to the direction of Laohukou, and pay close attention to changes in Laohukou."
"I obey your order." Su Jin clasped his fists and galloped away on his horse.
Qin Mu led nearly a thousand infantrymen and started running, rushing towards Yuanzhou as fast as possible.
Now, Wu Xueli at Tiger's Mouth may withdraw his troops at any time, or even collapse. At that time, Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000-man army will pour in like a flood that breaks the dam... ... ... ... .
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.(To be continued..)
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