***
On the East Mountain south of Jingmen County, the sunlight was dim, the east wind was weak, the white soul-calling banners hung low, thousands of soldiers stood still, and the world was solemn.
The remains of the soldiers who fought bravely and died heroically in the Huazishan Valley, including 1,600 of Zhao Jian's men, were being buried. Looking at the bodies of their comrades buried in the mud, many soldiers could not help but shed tears as they thought of their heroic deeds of risking their lives to break through the enemy's lines.
Qin Mu stood in front of the three armies with a solemn expression, his arms wrapped in white silk. He held a wine glass in his hand and recited the eulogy aloud: "Who caused the catastrophe, the horses' hides were torn apart, the insects and sands were transformed, and the miasma and rain and smoke were even more devastating; looking back, the Yue people were annihilated, the Han flag was desolate, this infinite national grief, each of us pays tribute to the end of the world.
Where can Wu Yang be found? The moon is dark over the mountains and the clouds are thick over the frontier, drowning all the loyal souls and righteous spirits. If one day, we are reincarnated in the three realms and saved from the underworld, we all hope to be warriors and return to the battlefield to fight for the same hatred!"
Qin Mu finished reading loudly and sprinkled wine as a sacrifice. The soldiers of the three armies roared in unison: "If one day, the three realms are reincarnated and the nine underworlds are saved, I hope we can all be warriors and return to the battlefield to fight the same hatred!"
"If in the future, I can reincarnate in the three realms and be saved from the underworld, I hope we can all be warriors and return to the battlefield to fight for the same hatred!"
"If in the future, I can reincarnate in the three realms and be saved from the underworld, I hope we can all be warriors and return to the battlefield to fight for the same hatred!"
... ... ...
This is a eulogy and also an oath. It embodies the military spirit of living as heroes and dying as spirits.
Qin Mu's solemn memorial service was both a comfort to the dead and an encouragement to the living.
The two hundred heroes who died bravely could not be allowed to die in vain. Qin Mu wanted to use their heroic sacrifice to forge the soul of the Qin army.
The soldiers of the three armies bowed three times amid the roars. The mountain wind gradually rose, blowing the white flags into the air, making a rustling sound, as if the heroic spirits of the sacrificed were circling in the air. The soldiers wiped their eyes, straightened their chests, clenched their fists, gritted their teeth, and saluted again to the heroic spirits in the sky, their eyes becoming extremely firm.
***
Qin Mu bandaged Zhao Jian's wounds himself and treated him with great courtesy. He also posthumously recognized the more than 1,700 soldiers under his command who died in the battle as heroes and buried them with the same specifications as the Qin army. This not only won Zhao Jian's heart, but also the hearts of his remaining 2,000 soldiers.
"General Zhao, you need to take good care of your injuries. Many of your soldiers are also injured and need to rest. Please tell everyone to focus on recovering from your injuries first. I will make proper arrangements for the rest. I will treat everyone equally in terms of rewards, military pay, food, and compensation for casualties."
"Thank you, sir."
Zhao Jian was only 28 years old, but he looked like he was 40, with a big body, a full beard, and a height of 1.9 meters.
Although Huo Sheng, Ling Zhan and others were also big men, they were obviously smaller than him. Even the tall and mighty Liu Meng was inferior to him. This guy was like an iron tower. His personality was just like his appearance, straightforward and rough.
At the critical moment, it was he who led the troops and fought bravely, which enabled his soldiers to continue fighting in the streets after the city was captured.
"General Zhao, you're welcome. Please rest assured, I will keep my word. When General Zhao recovers from his injury, I will definitely double the number of soldiers for you."
"I am willing to die for you, sir." Zhao Jian clasped his fists, which hurt his wound and made him grimaced. However, he forced himself to salute Qin Mu.
Qin Mu knew that with the current strength of the army, it was impossible to counterattack Xiangyang. Although Liu Tiren suffered a crushing defeat, Yuan Zongde's total force was still more than 40,000. In addition, the walls of Xiangyang City were high and thick. Even if tens of thousands of troops were transferred from Wuchang, it would probably not be easy to capture Xiangyang.
So Qin Mu decided to adopt the strategy of nibbling away at the enemy and sent Su Jin to lead 5,000 cavalrymen to the north, in order to support Li Jiu and to use the power of the great victory to nibble away at the Dashun Army around Xiangyang. If they could attack, they would attack; if they couldn't, they would fight a mobile warfare with the mobility of the cavalry. The Dashun Army couldn't just stay in the city and not come out.
Ling Zhan would take over the defense of Jingmen and Zhongxiang. Zhao Jian would assist in the defense, and Jingzhou would be handed over to Ning Yuan who arrived later. After making these arrangements, Qin Mu did not stay in Jingmen for long and hurried to Wuchang.
***
In Wuchang City, Lu Jiude, who rushed over from Luzhou, was like an ant on hot pan, feeling uneasy. He was the military supervisor of Fengyang. When the news of the fall of the capital and the hanging of Chongzhen came, he immediately reached a consensus with the Governor of Fengyang, Ma Shiying, and decided to support Prince Fu.
After discussing with Prince Fu in Huai'an, he actively worked for this purpose. Ma Shiying sent people to lobby Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie, while he rushed to Luzhou in the west to lobby Gao Jie. After that, he rushed 400 miles a day and flew to Wuchang.
Qin Mu actually controlled Jiangxi and Jinghu, with more than 100,000 soldiers. Although he was not like Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing, who claimed to have hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he controlled the largest territory.
Moreover, last year his small number of troops were able to defeat Zhang Xianzhong's army of hundreds of thousands, and he also wiped out Zuo Liangyu's army of more than 100,000. Such a brilliant record is eye-catching. If we want to support the new emperor, how can we bypass him
Now the others are arguing and manipulating each other over the matter of enthroning a new monarch;
But Qin Mu seemed to have forgotten that supporting a new king was the most urgent task.
He first ordered Huguang and Jiangxi to hold a grand memorial ceremony for Chongzhen, and then the three armies dressed in mourning and marched north to fight against the rebels;
Lu Jiude arrived in Wuchang but found nothing. He heard that Qin Mu was leading a large army in a bloody battle with Li Zicheng's rebels in Jingmen.
Lu Jiude was astonished by Qin Mu's fast march. He heard that he was in Yueyang a few days ago, and in the blink of an eye he was in Jingmen. If it weren't for the continuous battle reports from the front, Lu Jiude would have thought that Ma Yongzhen was lying to him.
"General Ma, Lord Qin..."
"Eunuch Lu, I have already said that Xiangyang is not only the gateway to Jingxiang, but also the strategic point of the entire Jiangnan region. Zuo Liangyu abandoned Xiangyang without caring about the safety of the country, causing the court to lose this strategic point. Lord Qin is now leading his army to counterattack. If Xiangyang cannot be recaptured, no matter who is supported, half of Jiangnan will not be able to be saved. Eunuch Lu, do you remember that the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty began with the loss of Xiangyang?"
"Hey General Ma, the most important thing now is to support the new king. Only in this way can we pacify the world and boost the morale of the army. Regarding the support, has Lord Qin said anything?"
"No, Lord Qin is devoted to fighting the enemy and avenging his king and father. The matter of supporting him will be presided over by the gentlemen in Nanjing." Ma Yongzhen pushed the issue.
It's not his fault. Qin Mu had never mentioned the matter of supporting a new king, and he didn't know what Qin Mu's intentions were, so he didn't dare to make a statement.
Lu Jiude almost jumped up when he heard this. "The officials in Nanjing are in charge of this matter." This sentence reminded him of many things;
Before Qin Mu entered officialdom, he was on good terms with Jiang Yueguang and others in Jinling, and Donglin also supported him. It is said that he was able to be appointed as the magistrate of Huichang County because of the efforts of Hou Fangyu and Mao Pijiang, two of the Four Young Masters of Fushe, to intercede for him.
Qin Mu has such a close relationship with Donglin, and Ma Yongzhen said this. Does it mean that Qin Mu and the Donglin Party have reached an agreement to support Prince Lu
If this is true, with Qin Mu's backing, even if Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie and Huang Degong all support Prince Fu, it would probably be difficult to accomplish anything.
"General Ma, we must meet Lord Qin. I'll take my leave now."
"Eunuch Lu, wait a minute. We just received a report that Lord Qin has defeated the bandits in Jingmen and annihilated tens of thousands of them. He is now on his way back to Wuchang. Eunuch Lu, please wait a few days. Lord Qin will be here soon."
"It's urgent. We can't wait any longer. Please tell me which road Lord Qin took. We will go to meet him right away."
"Since you can't wait any longer, I won't stay any longer. Lord Qin is sailing south along the Han River."
"Thank you, my Lord. Please arrange a speedboat for us. We will report back."
Ma Yongzhen didn't know what Qin Mu was planning, so he didn't make things difficult for Lu Jiude and quickly arranged a speedboat for him.
Lu Jiude hurried upstream to meet Qin Mu.
Like Lu Jiude, there is more than one person chasing Qin Mu all over the world. Zhu Youlang, the son of Prince Gui, is one of them.
Prince of Gui Zhu Changying was the seventh son of Emperor Wanli and was granted the title of Marquis of Hengzhou, Huguang. When Zhang Xianzhong went south to Huguang last year, Prince of Gui and his family saw the opportunity early and fled to Wuzhou, Guangxi in one breath.
When Qin Mu recovered Huguang, the King of Gui was already seriously ill and bedridden, unable to return to Hengzhou in time, so he only sent his son Zhu Youlang back to Hengzhou to take care of the palace.
After Zhu Youlang came back, he found that except for the land explicitly granted by the court, most of the land obtained by the royal palace through "management" over the years had been divided up by Qin Mu. For this reason, Zhu Youlang even prepared to go to Changsha to find Qin Mu to argue.
However, the one stationed in Hengzhou was Ma Liuliang, who was the most bandit-like general among the Qin army generals. Zhu Youlang was tormented by him so much that he almost stopped calling him dad.
Finally, General Liu Liang said to Zhu Youlang confidently: "According to the rules, the princes cannot leave their fiefdoms without an imperial decree. You can go to Changsha to argue, but you must show me the imperial decree first."
When a scholar meets a soldier, it is difficult for him to explain his reason. After being tormented so much, Zhu Youlang became obedient.
Qin Mu ordered a grand memorial service for Chongzhen in Huguang and Jiangxi. However, the news that Beijing had fallen and Chongzhen had been hanged was first learned by Zhu Youlang, who was far away in Hengyang. Zhu Youlang became cunning and tried desperately to please General Liuliang and the prefect of Hengzhou. Ma Liuliang did not dare to act recklessly on such a major matter, so he let him go north.
Zhu Youlang flew to Changsha with a large amount of treasures and even two beauties. Unfortunately, Qin Mu was faster than him. When Zhu Youlang arrived in Changsha, Qin Mu had already led his army to the "Northern Expedition".
Zhu Youlang didn't even have time to breathe, and left his treasures in Changsha. He took the two beauties in his carriage and chased after them. He made the two beauties look pale and weak. After finally arriving in Jingzhou, he heard that Qin Mu was fighting the enemy army in Jingmen. The battle situation was unclear, so he didn't dare to rush into the battlefield.
When the news of the victory in Jingmen reached Jingzhou, Zhu Youlang set out overnight and finally caught up with Qin Mu when he left Jingmen.
When Qin Mu saw him, the guy was covered in dust and looked like a refugee.
The two beauties they brought were not much better. At first glance, they looked like beggars.
But Mr. Qin has a keen eye and can see through the dust on the surface and see the inner essence. Well, not bad, not bad, with beautiful features and a graceful figure, but... ... ..
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ps: Thank you all for your support, thank you.
.(To be continued..)
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