"I once asked you what your purpose in learning martial arts was, and your answer was: to protect your loved ones from harm. That's good, but not good enough. We are all Han Chinese. Seeing the world in chaos and the people suffering, how can we stay out of it?"
"Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country. I don't expect you to unify the world, but at least you have to exert your influence over that region and protect its people from suffering from separation and chaos. Do you understand?" Wu Diao said this solemnly. It was the first time that Zhu Li saw him so serious. Although he usually had a stern face, he always showed warmth. But it was different now.
"Okay, Master, I will do my best." Zhu Li clenched his fists and promised firmly.
"Well, you are not vain or boastful, which is good. If in the end, you have tried your best and still cannot achieve anything, I will not blame you." Although he said this, Wu Diao did not believe in his heart that Zhu Li would be a person who would achieve nothing. It would be strange if such a young man could be ordinary.
Little did he know that the impulse to bow down was actually caused by the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and had nothing to do with Zhu Li. However, with the help of Zhu Li, the king who had terrorized the world during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, it would be difficult for Zhu Li to be ordinary.
On that day, Zhu Li only trained for most of the day. For the rest of the day, he stayed with his sister, letting her ride on his back for a walk, letting her sit on his neck and stretch out her arms to learn how to fly, etc. He tried his best to let the little girl have fun. Her silver bell-like laughter almost never stopped, which made Wu Diao and Pang Honggu very embarrassed. After all, it was their decision that led to the separation of the little brother and sister.
In the evening, just as Wu Dao had expected, Bi Shiduo prepared his army and handed over all the reserve troops to Pang Honggu. He himself led the army and set out overnight to Tanzhou.
Wu Dao discussed with Pang Honggu and asked her to hide the food and grass left by Bi Shiduo at a designated location when she dismissed the women and children, and wait for him to get them when he had time. Pang Honggu naturally agreed.
When they parted, Wu Dao, dressed in armor, carrying a sword and holding a spear, led more than 700 of Pang Xun's former subordinates and set off in a mighty manner under the leadership of Bi Shiduo. Of course, Zhu Li, Zhang Guimou, Zhang Guihou and others also went with them.
Zhu Li was dressed in black iron armor, holding a double-edged spear weighing more than 50 kilograms, and carrying a standard broadsword on his waist. He followed Wu Dao closely with a serious expression and did not dare to slack off at all. After all, this was his first time experiencing such a scene.
But it was different for the brothers Zhang Guihou and Zhang Guimou. When they heard that they had become real guards, the two brothers were in high spirits and looked very excited. They were as happy as if it was New Year. They almost had the words "I am very happy, I am very proud" written on their foreheads.
Bi Shiduo was a veteran general of Huang Chao, and his command ability was definitely not as poor as Qin Yan's. When urgently needed reinforcements, Bi Shiduo first gathered some elite soldiers hidden among the auxiliary soldiers, and then selected other strong auxiliary soldiers. He appointed elite veterans as fire leaders and team leaders, and in an instant he formed a rescue team of more than 8,000 people.
As for Pang Xun's former subordinates led by Wu Diao, Bi Shiduo was also very envious, but unfortunately these people only obeyed the orders of Pang Honggu, and now they were led by Wu Diao, whose background he was not aware of, so it was impossible for him to intervene.
He also intended to let Wu Dao take the lead in attacking, but
Just thinking about it, he knew Wu Diao would not listen to him. Apart from promising him to act according to circumstances, the other party did not make any other promises.
However, Bi Shiduo still had high expectations for them. He no longer had any hope for Qin Yan's troops. No one knew Qin Yan's background better than him. He was a scoundrel, a bandit, and a lunatic. After the battle with Liang Zun, it would be good if he could retain some remnants of the army. There was no hope of turning defeat into victory on him.
The reinforcement army set out, and hundreds of Yue cavalry rushed out and followed closely behind Bi Shiduo.
The sudden appearance of the Yue cavalry surprised Zhu Li very much. He had been in the reserve army for more than half a month and had never seen a horse. Now suddenly hundreds of cavalry appeared. It would be strange if he was not surprised.
Although they were on the march, Wu Dao was still paying attention to Zhu Li's condition. When he noticed that he looked strange, he couldn't help but look at him.
Seeing him coming, Zhu Li immediately came up to him, pointed at the hundreds of Yue cavalrymen marching slowly in front of him, and whispered, "Master, where are these Yue cavalrymen coming from? I have never seen them before."
Wu Dao looked back at the hundreds of Yue cavalrymen following Bi Shiduo and said calmly, "Those Yue cavalrymen are scouts. They have been roaming around us, collecting intelligence. You just didn't notice them. In fact, every once in a while, there will always be a few cavalrymen coming back to report the news."
This answered Zhu Li's doubts and also alerted Wu Dao's attention. He stared at these Yueqi in a trance, and seemed to realize something. He murmured, "Bi Shiduo is not pinning his hopes on these Yueqi. If so, he is really daydreaming. It seems that we should prepare early."
"What preparations are you making?" Zhu Li asked in confusion.
"Bi Shiduo doesn't understand the enemy at all. He deliberately gathered all the Yue cavalry. I'm afraid he wants to use them to deal with Liang Zun. If Liang Zun was an ordinary general, there would be nothing wrong with him doing this. After all, this is the south, with more boats than horses. He might actually succeed. But who is Liang Zun? He is originally a Western Rong. In a cavalry contest, Bi Shiduo is not even worthy of being his apprentice. If he really does this, it will be difficult for us to take advantage of the situation. We must change his mind." Wu Diao frowned and said with some regret.
"Why didn't Master tell him?" Zhu Li asked puzzledly. This was also his biggest puzzle. They were a team now. Shouldn't they prosper and suffer together? And he found that when Wu Diao considered issues, he always excluded Bi Shiduo, Qin Yan and others intentionally or unintentionally. This puzzled him very much.
Wu Dao glanced at him with a half-smile when he heard this, and lowered his voice and said, "Why should I tell them? As a military commander, it is inevitable that you will die on the battlefield, and it is also common for you to become someone else's pawn. Do you think that idiots like Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan are qualified to let me be their pawn?"
Wu Diao's words made Zhu Li suddenly realize that pride was in Wu Diao's bones. To put it bluntly, he looked down on generals like Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan. But if you think about it carefully, it is inevitable that Wu Diao has this pride.
Who is Wudao Tianwang? He is the founder of the Ran Wei regime during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was once the emperor of Ran Wei. Even though he had to assist Zhu Li because of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", he would not call himself a subordinate, but rather domineeringly turned Zhu Li into his disciple. This is his pride. The former emperor
Although he had forgotten his past and lived a new life, he still couldn't change his pride in being an emperor.
After hearing what he said, Zhu Li shut his mouth tactfully; people like Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan were really unworthy of using Wu Dao as a chess piece. With this feeling in his heart, he lowered his head and hurried on his way.
At dawn, the army marched to the bank of the Xiang River. A group of dejected, decadent and numb remnants came to meet them, dragging tattered flags. It was roughly estimated that there were only two or three thousand people. The vanguard army led by Qin Yan had a total of about 11,000 people, but now only this small number was left, with more than 70% to 80% loss. It can be seen how miserably they were defeated.
The leader had disheveled hair and tattered clothes. When he saw Bi Shiduo, he knelt down without saying a word, looking as if he accepted the beating and punishment.
Fortunately, Bi Shiduo seemed to have expected such a tragic situation. He was not as furious as expected. Instead, he jumped off his horse, helped the man up, and comforted him: "Victory and defeat are common in the military. General Qin does not need to blame himself. I have received the battle report. The enemy is too cunning and unexpected. In that situation, even if I were in your place, I would not have done better than General Qin. Please cheer up, General Qin, let's regroup and fight Liang Zun again. I don't believe he is a supernatural person."
Bi Shiduo was also forced into a desperate situation. He received news that Liang Zun had a total army of 30,000, and all of them were well-rested and brave soldiers. He had no confidence in defeating the enemy with only his army of less than 10,000. Although Qin Yan was defeated, he still gathered two or three thousand remaining soldiers. Don't underestimate these people, they are all old soldiers with strong combat effectiveness. Bi Shiduo still expected these people to work for him, so how could he not win them over
Bi Shiduo's performance was very successful. At least it seemed that Qin Yan was very moved. He cried bitterly, wailed and thanked him, swore, and slapped his chest "bang, bang, bang", saying that he would definitely make up for his crime and make up for his mistakes.
Wu Diao couldn't help laughing and shaking his head secretly. Zhu Li also felt a little disgusted. This was too fake. The loss of six or seven thousand people was completely excused with the sentence "victory and defeat are common in the military". It was really speechless.
However, Bi Shiduo was the commander-in-chief, and it was not Zhu Li's turn to tell him how to deal with the situation. Along the banks of the Xiang River, the army quickly completed its second integration.
Of course, among the remnants, there were still one or two hundred of Pang Xun's former subordinates. These people soon joined Wu Diao's army. Now Wu Diao controlled a force of about nine hundred people, which was enough for an entire prefecture.
Pang Xun's old subordinates were originally the remnants of the army left behind when Pang Xun rebelled. Although they are not the original team now, most of them are descendants of the original team. They have been wandering for so many years and have almost never stopped fighting. Those who can survive are the elite among the elite, and their combat power is immeasurable.
After the rectification was completed, it was already midnight. Bi Shiduo convened another urgent military meeting. Zhu Li was fortunate enough to participate in the meeting because he was following Wu Dao. There were about ten participants, most of whom were officers at the rank of captain.
Although Wu Dao is a colonel, he now has nearly a thousand men under his command, which is equivalent to the troops of a medium-sized Zhechoufu. In terms of actual power, his guards are no less than those led by the duwei.
Bi Shiduo sat high up in the big tent and spoke first: "General Qin, you have fought against the enemy before, so you should know the enemy's situation best. Please tell us the details first."