Yang Mo said loudly: "We are all relying on Master Zhong's spiritual protection to be our disciples this time." The disciples also shouted, and for a while, the sound resounded throughout the sky. Then, Yang Mo stood up and took the sword from the incense table. , cut off the heads of the two big roosters prepared nearby, and dripped the chicken blood into a large bowl. Yang Mo placed the large bowl on the incense table, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes tightly, and muttered something in his mouth. The surroundings were very quiet, and the believers knew that the Great Sage Heavenly King was communicating with Zhong Xiang's soul at this moment. Sure enough, after a while, Yang Mo opened his eyes and said loudly: "Master Zhong's oracle, if we send troops this time, we will definitely win Yue Pengju's." Head."
The disciples cheered loudly and beat gongs and drums, as if celebrating a victory. They all believed that Master Zhong would protect them and kill all the officers and soldiers.
As people continued to surrender, Yang Mo's military operations were no longer a secret to Yue Pengju. After the Baotaishan meeting, Yue Pengju quickly learned of their attack plan, and immediately arranged to deploy Ren Shi'an, Xu Qing, Wang Gui and others to fight separately.
The vanguard of the water battle was naturally the surrendered general Huang Zuo. He and Yang Qin knew each other well, and the tactics of both sides were similar. They used sticks attached to boulders to throw boulders at each other's hull, and weapons such as wooden crows and arrows. But Huang Zuo Adopting the suggestion brought by King Qin, a new weapon called a gray cannon was used. It was a thin earthen jar filled with poison, lime, caltrops, etc., and was thrown into the opponent's ship, causing a puff of smoke to rise immediately. , making it impossible for the opponent to open his eyes. The two sides fought for a long time, and both sides suffered casualties. At this time, Xu Qing and others came for reinforcements and fired rockets. Yang Qin could not resist and fled back in defeat.
On land, Zhong Ziyi and others rode a yellow gelding. To show his identity, he used a large white silk flag with three purple characters "Prince Bell" embroidered on it. This flag was so conspicuous that it became the primary target of attack by the officers and soldiers. Ren Shi'an and others spotted the target and immediately captured the thief and the king first. When Zhong Ziyi saw the officers and soldiers coming to kill him, he pulled out the sword that his father had used before his death and muttered: "The master is practicing law in heaven and teaching us how to destroy evildoers."
However, Master Zhong did not appear, and officers and soldiers came to kill him like a tide. When the believers saw that their spells failed and their psychological defenses collapsed, they immediately fled and were completely defeated. Zhong Ziyi waited for Huang Cheng to protect him and ran fast to escape with his life.
The defeat on land and water was a heavy blow to the morale of Yang Mo's army. When Yang Mo saw Zhong Ziyi and others who had escaped, he said angrily: "Today's defeat is nothing to worry about. Tomorrow I will see my own troops go out to fight and kill this monster Yue Pengju." "
Zhong Ziyi advised: "Our army has suffered a new defeat. We should take a long-term approach and not rush into another war."
Yang Mo experienced this kind of defeat for the first time and was completely intolerable, so he said: "With such a huge defeat, if we don't fight and win once, how can we convince the people?"
Yang Mo did not listen to the advice and personally led 10,000 people to attack Qingcao Lake. This time, Yue Pengju, in addition to Ren Shi'an, sent Zhang Xian, Niu Gao, Dong Xian and other main forces to fight. Yang Mo did not have the upper hand in troops, and his people were uneasy. , In addition, Zhang Xian organized a group of loud-voiced officers and soldiers who did not fight. They took advantage of the gaps to wander around, shouting loudly, and broke up and surrendered. The crowd soon became a mess, discarding their helmets and armor. Yang Mo fled alone on horseback, carrying " The "Great Sage and Heavenly King" flag was also seized by officers and soldiers.
More than 18,000 officers and soldiers were captured this time, and they were collectively escorted to the Yuejiajun camp outside Tanzhou City.
According to the rules of the officers and soldiers in the past, most of the bandits that were eliminated were killed on the spot to avoid causing further trouble. Yue Pengju asked his staff: "How should we deal with too many prisoners?"
Li Ruoxu said: "I don't know how much rice it will cost to support 20,000 people. Now that military expenses are tight, it is better to put them back. But to prevent them from doing evil, we might as well confiscate all their weapons. But when the traitors go to war, there must be some murderers." Inside, one must be killed to serve as a warning to others."
Yue Pengju nodded and said he was good. He sent people to select five of the fierce-looking men and escorted them forward. Knowing that they were going to die, the five people cursed: "Master Zhong will definitely appear and get rid of you evildoers."
Yue Pengju remembered his wife's last words, and with a move of his hand, six sergeants came forward and tore the three captured flags of "Prince Bell", "Great Sage Heavenly King" and "Dian Shuai Huang" into pieces. He said loudly: "Yang Mo When a crowd gathered to rebel, they claimed that the rich and the poor were evenly divided, and that they were blessed by the gods. But Yang Mo and his wife and concubines gathered in groups, and you and the others were starved of food. It was false to say that the rich and the poor were evenly divided. Although Yang Mo prayed for blessings from heaven, Mr. Zhong did not bless you. Wait, what kind of gods are there?”
Everyone was speechless.
Therefore, he ordered that the five people be executed on the spot, and the remaining more than 18,000 people were taken to the nearby Longyang County and released.
After defeating Yang Mo's land and water armies this time, Yang Mo was no longer able to fight, but still relied on the favorable terrain to hold on to the remaining thirty-three stockades; while Yue Pengju, on the other hand, tightened the encirclement, but did not take advantage of the victory to advance. military operations.
In the past few days of the war, Yue Pengju worked in the camp all day and night, and could not even go home. Naturally, Hua Rong was not at home, but quietly rode on horseback to observe the situation in various places. This victory, based on her experience and understanding of her husband It doesn't take long to understand the combat habits and know how to capture Yang Mo.
She felt a little sad in her heart. In the face of the war, things like infertility and concubinage were temporarily put on hold, but what about after the war? What happened after Yue Pengju's great victory? Having a concubine in his arms is the best reward for him
She slowly rode her horse back to the family camp. Along the way, the family members were very happy. The children saw her carrying arrows on her back and riding a war horse. They had not seen her dressed like this for a long time, so they gathered around and shouted out of curiosity: "Mr. Hua, Mr. Hua, please teach us how to ride a horse..."
Senior Sister Gao responded. These days, she learned from Li Qiaoniang that both Hua Rong and his wife had agreed to take concubines, and Li Qiaoniang had even put on the hairpin given by Hua Rong. Li Qiaoniang's status as Mrs. Ru was already a certainty. When she saw Hua Rong riding a horse with a heroic appearance, she sighed in her heart that there was such a generous woman in the world. According to Confucian ethics, she could be regarded as a first-rate virtuous woman.
She enthusiastically called "Mrs. Yue". Before Hua Rong could answer, she only heard a howl, and her eyes blurred. A woman with disheveled hair rushed over, knelt on the ground, and cried loudly: "Mrs. Yue, you have to do it for me." Call the shots…”
Hua Rong turned over and dismounted from the horse. Fourth sister Gao had already helped her up. She turned out to be the wife of Yue Pengju's brave general Wang Gui.
Mrs. Wang's face was bruised and purple, her hair was disheveled, and she was crying so hard that she couldn't breathe: "The slave family is really miserable. My master has newly married a beautiful prostitute in Tanzhou City. As soon as he entered the house, he didn't take the slave family seriously. , However, the master is partial to her and does not care about the friendship between husband and wife. What is so good about that little coquettish fox? But because of his youth, he is only seventeen years old, and he has lost two of his souls... "
Hua Rong stood there, speechless at all.
Mrs. Wang was still crying: "Mrs. Yue, my husband has only obeyed Xianggong Yue in his life. You must ask Xianggong Yue to reprimand him. You must make the decision for the slave family. That little vixen is so rampant..."
The two of them tried to persuade Wang. Fourth sister Gao secretly complained in her heart. She peeked at Hua Rong's face from time to time, but saw that there was nothing strange about her, so she felt relieved a little.
Because of this obstruction, it was already late when Hua Rong returned home, and soon after, Yue Pengju also returned.
Yue Pengju stayed up late these days, looking tired and his eyes were red. As soon as he sat down, he covered his eyes and groaned. Hua Rong asked hurriedly: "Pengju, what's wrong with you?"
"I have an eye attack."
It turned out that Yue Pengju rushed into the sea of fire to save her, burning his eyebrows and hurting his eyes. He did not pay attention to it at the time, leaving hidden dangers. Now that he has an attack, he is simply miserable.
Hua Rong stood up and was about to serve him, but Li Qiaoniang had already taken the handkerchief and said anxiously: "My husband's eye disease has attacked again? It's a pity that there are no famous doctors here to treat eyes..."
Hua Rong stood there, watching helplessly as Li Qiaoniang put the veil over her husband's eyes with skillful movements. Only then did she realize that this was not the first time her husband's eye disease had occurred.
She regretted and felt guilty. During this period of time, she had indeed neglected to take care of her husband and did not even know about such a big thing. But, Li Qiaoniang, she has always been there to serve her, right? What does it matter if you have yourself or not
After a while, Yue Pengju's pain subsided a little, and Li Qiaoniang said softly: "Congratulations, sir, congratulations, sir, for another great victory."
Yue Pengju was in a good mood because of his victory, and nodded with a smile.
Hua Rong saw the two of them flirting with each other, and slowly said, "In that case, why not have a double happiness come to your door, take care of the wedding, and give Qiao Niang a status."
Yue Pengju sat up and said, "Yes, Qiao Niang has been so wronged these days."
Li Qiaoniang bowed slightly in submission: "It is a great blessing for me to serve my husband, so why bother?"
"In this case, the matter must be resolved immediately, and procrastination is not the answer." He turned to his wife, half-smiling but not smiling, "Sister Seventeen is virtuous and always considers her subordinates. If I don't agree, wouldn't I be ignorant of good and evil?"
It's like someone stabbed him hard, and he can't wait? Hua Rong forced a smile and nodded: "Okay, it's up to you."
Li Qiaoniang was overjoyed and knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you for your grace, sir, and thank you for your grace, madam."
… …
Yue Pengju lifted her up with his own hands, took a closer look at her, and then said: "Qiao Niang is so talented and beautiful, it is really unfair to be a concubine. I must prepare a decent pomp for you, and I will never let you live in poverty."
"Thank you so much, sir. I wish I could give birth to a son and a half for my husband. It would be a great blessing."
As if someone had slapped her hard in the face, Hua Rongqing couldn't help but move her steps quietly, but her legs felt like they were filled with lead and she couldn't move at all.
She stared blankly at the two of them, the majestic and heroic Yue Pengju, and the infinitely shy Li Qiaoniang. They were both in their best years, with talent and beauty, a match made in heaven. Suddenly, she thought of Wang Gui's wife, who had grown old and had a beautiful concubine enter her house. One day, she was disgusted by her husband, unable to stand on her feet, disheveled and ugly.
"Sister Seventeen, how much savings does the family have?"
Yue Peng asked her something, but his eyes looked at Li Qiaoniang. Hua Rongqing couldn't help but follow his eyes, but she saw that he was full of affection. Maybe it was because his status was confirmed and he no longer had any scruples. But Li Qiaoniang was the one who lowered her head the most. Gentle, revealing the charming charm of a girl.
Yue Pengju has always been thrifty. Over the past few years, his salary and meritorious service rewards alone should have made his family rich. But all the remaining wealth was used to supplement military supplies. Wherever the two of them went, almost all their belongings were there. Looking around, except for every I searched all over the place for some lost books, calligraphy and paintings. Although they could not be said to be empty, they were antiques and there were not a single one. Hua Rong himself had no valuable jewelry.