Zhu Li's thanks made the two old monks feel relieved.
To be honest, they really didn't see anything different about Zhu Li, but Guo Qizuo, whom they valued, was willing to work for him, which forced them to treat this young man with caution.
Although the matter of borrowing grain had a very satisfactory result, there had been some dirty dealings between the two parties after all. Zhenru Temple would not keep them for tea or dinner. Wu Dao led everyone down the mountain after Fangzheng and Fangyuan loaded the cart.
Guo Qizuo followed closely behind Zhu Li, mixed in with the crowd, and left Zhenru Temple together.
Zhu Li was extremely courteous to Guo Qizuo, fearing that he was not taking good care of him, and spoke to him in a friendly and low voice. With his 21st century concepts and knowledge, he was able to have a pleasant conversation with Guo Qizuo.
Even the ideas he occasionally proposed would surprise Guo Qizuo, and even Wu Diao beside him would frequently look back and look at him with eyes that seemed to recognize him again. In this regard, he could only scratch his head awkwardly and give no explanation, because he had no way to explain.
When they escorted the food and fodder back to the camp, Guo Qizuo became more energetic when he saw Pang Xun's former subordinates and the remnants of the Cao army that Wu Dao had personally trained for the past two months.
He could see that these guards were definitely veterans who had survived hundreds of battles. Not only were their ranks neat and uniform, but their training and formations were also orderly, their steps were firm and their morale was high. Everyone was training very hard, and there was not even a single lazy person. Only those who had experienced life and death would understand that working hard in peacetime would ensure their survival in times of war.
"Mr. Guo, these guards are quite pleasing to your eyes, right?" Wu Diao saw Guo Qizuo's praise for the guards and asked with some pride.
Now there are only two of them on the parade ground of the camp. After Zhu Li, Zhang Guiba and others came back, they arranged the food and grass and started the training. There was nothing special about it.
Upon hearing this, Guo Qizuo nodded silently and said in admiration: "I originally thought that the Cao army was a group of rioters with no discipline, no faith, and no morale, but these guards now make me look at them with new eyes. Even the regular guards of the Tang court are no more than this."
"Hahaha, sir, you are too kind. Your original understanding was not wrong. These guards have achieved such results after two months of training by me. If you had come a few months earlier, you would have been greatly disappointed." Wu Diao looked proud because these were all his work.
It is a very happy thing to be recognized by others, but Wu Dao is not an ordinary person. He knows that this kind of self-satisfaction can be achieved occasionally, but one should not indulge in it. Therefore, he changed the subject and said, "Sir, you once said that with your army, solving the problem of food and grass is not a problem at all. I wonder if this is true?"
Guo Qizuo looked at Wu Diao in surprise. Although they had only been together for half a day, Guo Qizuo still felt that the relationship between Wu Diao and Zhu Li was a bit strange. He could see that Zhu Li seemed a little afraid of this seven-foot tall man, or it would be more appropriate to describe him as awe, admiration, or even adoration.
And this high-spirited man, like an old cow protecting its calf, cares for Zhu Li in an ambiguous way. The situation seems like that of father and son, but in fact they are not father and son, which is puzzling.
Zhu Li was under this person's command, and Guo Qizuo knew this. He publicly stated that he had surrendered to Zhu Li, but Wu Dao not only ignored it, but from Guo Qizuo's secret observation, it can be seen that this person seemed to be happy to see it happen and had no grudges at all. This was even more
This made him confused.
Now he brought up the issue of military rations again. Was he trying to test himself? Guo Qizuo thought for a moment and said calmly, "Right now, the grass army is rampant. The thing that the Tang Dynasty lacks the least is refugees. Among the refugees, there is a kind of people who are not only very hateful, but also cruel and deserve to be killed. They are not only quite powerful, but also have soldiers and food. Why did the military commander turn a blind eye to this?"
"Could it be that what Captain Wu once said, 'I care about my country and my heart is with the people', is just a gimmick?" After thinking about it, Guo Qizuo added another sentence.
Wu Dao's eyes lit up at Guo Qizuo's words, and he said happily, "As a man, Wu Dao speaks from the bottom of his heart. How dare he speak nonsense? However, you said that they were refugees, and they have soldiers and food. Apart from the Cao army itself, they are bandits. Do you want me to go and suppress the bandits?"
"Yes."
"Bandits are bloodthirsty and brutal, ruthless and cruel. Eradicating bandits and clearing up an area will benefit the country and the people. This is the first point. Suppressing their power and taking their soldiers will increase the source of troops. This is the second point. Any bandits with some power will inevitably occupy an area. There will always be surplus food in their territory, more or less, so we can take their food and grass for our own use. This is the third point. Bandits also have families. The elderly, the weak, women and children can be taken in as our subjects. This is the fourth point. We can kill four birds with one stone. Why not do it?" Guo Qizuo spoke eloquently and recited fluently.
However, Wu Diao frowned when he heard the last reason, and said helplessly: "Sir, you are right, but we don't have a fixed territory, how can we support the people?"
The reason why Guo Qizuo added the last point was because he saw the biggest drawback of the Cao army: they had no stable territory, and if this continued, the Cao army would surely be defeated.
Wu Dao's question hit the mark, and he said seriously, "Throughout history, people's rebellion has always been defeated. Why is that?"
"The people are rebelling because they can't survive. They are attacking cities and taking other people with them. They are just robbing and destroying without thinking about management. How can this last long? We should have our own territory and our own rear base. What do you think, Commandant Wu?"
Guo Qizuo could see it, and Wu Diao could see it too. However, their power was still in its infancy, and it was a pipe dream to want to own their own territory. It was not that Wu Diao had not thought of it, but that he was not strong enough. So he frowned and said, "To be honest, sir, there are less than 2,000 guards here, and half of them are borrowed. It would not be easy to occupy a piece of territory with such a meager force."
"Hahaha, it's great that the captain has this plan. I don't necessarily want the captain to capture a piece of land right away, but this idea must be there. I won't say too much. As long as the captain has eliminated the bandits in Jiangxi, by then, won't there be a shortage of men under his command? Jiangxi is a land of seven states."
After some discussion, the two of them quickly decided on the decision to send out strong troops to suppress the bandits. When they broke camp and set out again, Wu Dao sent out several teams of scouts to investigate the traces of bandits in the surrounding areas. At the same time, generals such as Zhu Li and Zhang Guiba also received orders to train troops to suppress the bandits.
The army continued to march eastward along Xiushui River. The remaining food and fodder, even with the twenty carts of support from Zhenru Temple, could probably only last for a month or so.
After six or seven days, they didn't encounter many large groups of bandits, but dozens of small groups of bandits were killed. The number of people increased by hundreds, but they didn't get any food or fodder, which made Guo Qizuo and Wu Diao very suspicious.
This day,
As the troops were marching, a scout came running over. Upon seeing Wu Dao, he immediately knelt on one knee and reported, "Captain Wu, I have discovered a large group of bandits."
Ever since he incorporated the remnants of the Cao army, Wu Dao promoted himself to the rank of captain. He was the most senior person here, and since he was being promoted, no one dared to object.
"Oh, where is it?" Wu Dao was shocked when he heard this and asked immediately.
The scout did not dare to neglect the matter and said quickly, "There is a mountain called Meiling about 200 miles southeast of here. I saw with my own eyes that the gang of bandits looted the property and disappeared into Meiling. That should be their lair."
"Meiling?" Guo Qizuo looked slightly surprised when he heard the scout's words.
"What? Mr. Guo thinks what he said is inappropriate?" Wu Diao asked in confusion.
"Meiling is a sacred place of Buddhism in Hongzhou, how could there be bandits?" Guo Qizuo questioned. Of course, he was not questioning the scout, but the fact that there were bandits in Meiling. (Hongzhou: Nanchang today)
However, Wu Dao narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, looked at the scout who was prostrating on the ground, and asked, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong? After looting the property, the robbers entered Meiling?"
"Captain, I guarantee with my head that everything I said is true." The scout did not dare to be negligent and quickly made the assurance.
"Then let's go and take a look." Guo Qizuo looked at Wu Diao and suggested indifferently.
"Okay, pass the order down and turn to the southeast." Wu Diao finally chose to believe this scout. After all, they were the soldiers he led, and he didn't believe that the other party would dare to lie to him.
Meiling Mountain is located in the southwest of Hongzhou, adjacent to Poyang Lake. The mountain has rapid streams and ravines, strange rocks reaching into the clouds, and the scenery is very beautiful, giving a feeling of being a fairyland.
Before the Western Han Dynasty, Meiling Mountain was not called Meiling, but Feihong Mountain.
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Mei Fu, the lieutenant of Nanchang County, retired to Feihong Mountain in the western suburbs to resist Wang Mang's usurpation of power. To commemorate his noble character, later generations built the Meixian Altar on the ridge and the Meixian Temple at the foot of the ridge. Since then, it has been called Meiling.
During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism flourished. Many monks took a fancy to Meiling, a fairyland-like paradise, and built temples here. The place was filled with Buddhist sounds and became a holy place for worshiping Buddha.
After stationing the army in a secluded place under Meiling Mountain, Wu Diao immediately sent a large number of scouts into Meiling Mountain to investigate the whereabouts of the robbers. Since he had decided to suppress the bandits with strong troops, the first shot must be fired beautifully. If the first shot was stumbling, how could the suppression of the bandits be carried out smoothly? Even if Wu Diao insisted, the soldiers under his command must have been nervous and their morale was low.
In early April, when spring is in full bloom and butterflies and bees are flying around, the beautiful scenery of Meiling Mountain is refreshing. The soldiers stationed at the foot of the mountain, who do not need to train, are fascinated by the beautiful scenery with thousands of pairs of eyes.
At noon, another scout came running over, kneeling down and reporting to Wu Daohui: "Captain Wu, we have indeed found a large stronghold deep in the forest. We are 80% sure that this stronghold is the robbers' lair, but..."
"But what?" The scout's hesitation made Wu Dao look unfriendly.
"However, this stronghold seems to be very famous. The name of the stronghold is Shenmen Stronghold. It is presided over by a pair of brother and sister. Its reputation has spread far and wide, and even the officials nearby show respect to them." Although the scout hesitated, he still told the truth and did not dare to hide anything.