***
Chu is surrounded by mountains. The southwest peaks are especially beautiful with forests and valleys. The one that looks lush and deep is Langya. After walking six or seven miles in the mountains, you can gradually hear the sound of water flowing out between the two peaks. This is the brewing spring... ... ... ...
The governor and his guests came here to drink. He got drunk easily after drinking a little. He was the oldest among them, so he called himself the Drunkard. The Drunkard's interest was not in wine, but in the mountains and rivers... ... .
The above are some chapters from "The Pavilion of the Drunken Old Man" written by Ouyang Xiu when he was the magistrate of Chuzhou. Langya Mountain is located ten miles southwest of Chuzhou City, which is actually quite close to Qingliu Pass.
Qin Mu and Hong Niangzi left their garrison duties behind, rode their horses to hunt, and walked along the mountain, before they knew it, they arrived at the Drunken Old Man Pavilion.
When the abbot of Langya Temple, Monk Leshan, heard that the King of Qin had come to the Drunken Old Man Pavilion, he hurried out to greet him and entertained him cordially.
Arriving at Zuigong Pavilion, it was impossible not to have good wine. Monk Leshan took out the fine wine brewed by the mountain monks to entertain the guests, and Qin Mu had someone roast the prey hunted by Hongniangzi, and they drank in the pavilion.
During the dinner, the monk Leshan asked Qin Mu to leave some calligraphy. Qin Mu readily agreed and wrote down a couplet:
The old man has been gone for six hundred years, but the land of drunkenness still remains.
Seven or eight miles into the mountain, there are no lone pavilions or shadows.
After receiving the calligraphy, Monk Leshan saw that Hong Niang was a little impatient with discussing poetry, so he tactfully left, leaving a piece of secluded forest and landscape to Qin Mu and Hong Niang.
Zuiweng Pavilion is located beside the mountains and water, elegant and peaceful. Here, ancient trees are swaying, pavilions are scattered, the mountains are picturesque, and the clear water flows. The cold wind from the south is blocked by the mountain peaks. In this cold winter, the temperature in the mountains is relatively warm.
There is a pond near the pavilion, and beside the pond there is an ancient plum tree said to have been planted by Ouyang Xiu himself. The plum blossoms are in full bloom, casting sparse shadows and creating a subtle fragrance.
The mountains are quiet, the wine is fragrant, and the people are beautiful. Qin Mu was very happy. But Hong Niangzi was a little absent-minded. She put down her glass and asked, "Will this work?"
"It's definitely not going to work the way you're doing it." Qin Mu replied with a smile.
"How can you blame me for this?"
"Of course I blame you. Look at you, with a stern face, as if I'm going to eat you at any time. What would people think of you if they saw you?"
"I don't care what he thinks."
"Well, well, that's your fault. What can you achieve by doing this?"
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Let's cooperate well. Let's be affectionate and travel around. It looks like..."
"Why are you going? Go away, you're dreaming!"
It was rare for Hong Niangzi to show a hint of shyness. Her red dress outlined her fit figure in an extremely attractive way, and her breasts that seemed to be bursting from her clothes swayed with her movements.
Qin Mu looked at it and couldn't help but recite: "The drunkard's interest is not in the wine, but in the mountains and rivers!"
Hongniang could tell from his eyes what he meant by "mountains and waters". Under his undisguised burning gaze, he did not even bother to scold her this time and simply got up and left the pavilion in a huff.
Qin Mu picked up a pot of wine, stood up, took her hand, and walked side by side through the mountains and rivers. Hong Niangzi shook his hand twice. Unable to shake off his hand, her eyebrows raised again...
***
Chuzhou area. It was only three months since the Qin army recovered the area, and the administrative structures of many prefectures and counties were hastily built, and the local management was actually still very weak.
With the influx of refugees from the north, the situation became even more chaotic. On Dalin Mountain, only 20 to 30 miles away from Chuzhou, Xia Chengde bit into a freshly roasted fat goose leg, his mouth full of oil.
Since being sent by Duoduo to blend in with the refugees and come south, they have been suffering from cold and hunger. Even the commander Xia Chengde has not tasted meat for many days.
In order not to attract the attention of the Qin army, his three thousand troops dispersed and mixed in with the refugees and headed south. By now, there were only more than four hundred people gathered on the mountain.
Today everyone went down the mountain to plunder and had a good harvest. The fat goose in Xia Chengde's hand was just looted.
"Ugh!" Xia Chengde swallowed too quickly and choked. He leaned over to the stream beside him and drank like a cow before he let out a long sigh of relief.
"General, in my opinion, we should send some people to sneak into An County, and then at night, with the help of inside and outside forces, it may be possible to capture Lai'an." Zhou Chongshan next to him seemed to have had enough of this kind of suffering, and said with resentment. He was the one who followed Xia Chengde to surrender to the Qing Dynasty in Songshan, and was always regarded as Xia Chengde's right-hand man.
Xia Chengde shook his head and said, "There are two Qin troops stationed in Lai'an. Is it that easy to capture? Besides, what's the point of capturing Lai'an? Chuzhou is only a few dozen miles away from Lai'an. Once we capture Lai'an, the Qin troops in Chuzhou will arrive in half a day. Do you want to be trapped and die in Lai'an?"
"But why should we endure hunger and cold?"
"Why? Of course we are attacking the Qin army's food and supplies. Now the Qin army's food and supplies are all in Yangzhou. We will set out at night, hiding during the day and traveling at night, and then hide near Yangzhou."
"General, there won't be any more forests like this to hide in. What if we are discovered by the Qin army?"
"We have to go even if it's dangerous. Otherwise, if we go back in disgrace, will the prince let us go?"
As the two were chatting, one of their men came running up the mountain, panting and saying to Xia Chengde, "General, General... I have heard of important news. Qin Mu... Qin Mu has come to Chuzhou."
Xia Chengde was shocked and asked anxiously: "Qin Mu came to Chuzhou? How many troops did he bring? What's his move?" Not only Xia Chengde, but Zhou Chongshan next to him was also very anxious, thinking that he had been exposed.
"General, Qin Mu only brought two thousand men with him. He came... Damn it, Qin Mu came to meet his good lover, that... that lady Hong who guards Qingliu Pass. I heard that she is very beautiful and has an affair with Qin Mu. When I heard that Qin Mu came to Chuzhou, I immediately went to find that lady Hong. The two of them traveled around and had a great time. When I came back, I heard that they were at the Zuiweng Pavilion in Langya Mountain..."
"Wait, you said Qin Mu is traveling with Hongniang?" Xia Chengde had a complicated expression, mixed with confusion and joy.
"Yes, General. I can see his royal flag from afar. Also, Lady Hong is always dressed in red. I can see that from afar, too."
"How many men did he have with him?"
“There were only two or three hundred men when we went out, but they were all cavalry.”
Xia Chengde frowned when he heard this. He only had a few hundred people around him, and they were all disguised as refugees. Naturally, they couldn't ride horses. Their weapons were mainly short swords that were easier to hide, and they rarely had bows and arrows. It was wishful thinking to want to defeat Qin Mu's two or three hundred cavalrymen.
Moreover, just think about it, the two or three hundred people Qin Mu brought with him must be brave and experienced people. Not to mention that the number difference is not big, even if his own three thousand troops were assembled, they might not be able to do anything to them.
"Chongshan, take some brothers with you and find out the situation more clearly. Remember, be careful and don't alert the enemy and expose your whereabouts."
"Yes, General."
Zhou Chongshan and his companions looked like refugees anyway, so they didn't need to dress up. They just dispersed to the vicinity of Chuzhou and investigated separately.
At dusk, Zhou Chongshan lay in the bushes at the edge of the city and saw with his own eyes Qin Mu and Hong Niangzi returning to the city with two or three hundred men.
On the next day, Qin Mu took Hongniang out of the city to hunt again. The two flirted and chatted intimately all the way.
After Zhou Chongshan and others made inquiries from various sources and confirmed that everything was correct, they rushed back to Dalin Mountain to report to Xia Chengde.
Xia Chengde felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but after thinking about it, he realized that although Qin Mu only had two or three hundred men with him, the garrison of Chuzhou City and Qingliu Pass totaled more than six thousand people.
Qin Mu went out of the city to play during the day and returned to the city at night. Chuzhou now prohibits refugees from entering, so they can only take action during the day, which is almost impossible to be effective.
If all three thousand troops were gathered together, they would be discovered by the Qin army before they had a chance to take action.
It was obviously impossible to use a surprise attack, no matter how sudden it was, there would have to be a strong attack in the end. Xia Chengde thought about it, but he couldn't find a safe way.
Zhou Chongshan suggested: "General, why don't we report this news to Prince Yu and ask him to send troops. General, think about it. It's only two or three hundred miles from Sizhou to Chuzhou. Cavalry can reach there in one day and one night. There are only five or six thousand soldiers in Chuzhou now. If our army suddenly arrives, even if we can't kill Qin Mu in one fell swoop, as long as we surround him in Chuzhou, the Qin army will surely be in chaos. Then, can't we besiege the city and attack the reinforcements and defeat them one by one?"
Xia Chengde felt that Zhou Chongshan's words made sense. No matter what, he decided to report the news to Duoduo first, and let Duoduo make the decision.
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ps: What's the matter with you? That's none of my business. I have no other intention. Writing a book is so tiring, I just want to earn some living expenses. I'm asking for monthly votes and subscriptions, and I look forward to the support of all my friends.
.(To be continued..)
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