"The Change of Heaven"
Volume 2: The Horizon
Chapter 138: The Luàn in Lingling
"Most of these bandits are going after our baggage." I quickly put on my armor and said to everyone, "General Bo, follow me into the city. Lie Ya, you take charge here temporarily. Song Yudong, Tian Jian, you distribute all the weapons, armor, and dry food we can get. In a moment, let all the brothers get up, eat something, and get ready to leave."
There was no unusual chaos in the city, but soldiers were constantly seen coming and going in a hurry.
All the generals in the hall had also gathered, dressed neatly to discuss the matter. Our arrival immediately caused them to make room under the rack with the sheepskin map, so that we could stand inside and take a closer look at the situation here. Su Fei began to introduce the situation, "The escaped soldiers came to report separately. Taoyang reported first, and Duliang came a moment later. Later, Xingba sent people to report that there were robbers in Shi'an and Lingling. When the news from these four cities was gathered, it was discovered that they had all been killed together this morning. According to what we know now, the robbers are in Duliang, Taoyang, Lingling, and Shi'an counties. Yue Hou, your military food and supplies are stored in Lingling. Don't worry, Xingba is there, and Lingling should still be in our hands. And it seems that except for Lingling, only the cities of the other three counties have been killed, and there is no movement in the villages."
Suddenly, the wind outside the hall blew into the room, blowing the flame of the oil lamp to flicker constantly, and also focusing everyone's eyes on the lamp from time to time, or on the door swinging back and forth over there. Although several people quickly went to close the door, they could still hear the whistling outside.
"What do you think?" I asked everyone.
"If they are robbing at this time of winter, they must be going for the stored food and clothes; but if they are robbing at the same time, it must be premeditated; they must have heard that your army is coming, but if they dare to do this, they must have external aid. However, since they have just finished stockpiling, they may not know that you have arrived." Su Fei summarized the results of everyone's discussion. Indeed, our ships did not dock along the way. I shook my head, and Bō also shook his head.
"The four counties are all adjacent to Wuling in the west?" I looked at the map again, thinking about who the perpetrator was. Ba Hou, it's impossible, he won't get any benefits, and will be counterattacked by the teacher; my brother, it's impossible, his position is unstable, it's impossible for him to attack us. Even if he fought with Wuling Man, Zheng Ge helped Wuling Man, he wrote me a letter to ask why, instead of fighting with us; we are outsiders, but we are his special support, especially now that he has been rewarded by the Han Dynasty, he will definitely not make himself unhappy; but as for the only possibility Wuling Man, I think I have to re-examine them, their wisdom is too surprising to me. So I quickly thought of a terrible possibility, because it is not impossible.
But I decided to return to the urgent matter at hand. I asked the person next to me who was frowning in thought, "General Bō, how do we defeat the enemy first?"
"I don't know what's behind those bastards. If they are here to deal with the grain and clothing department, then we will send a large number of troops to attack the Luan army on the edge of Lingling; set up ambush troops on the main roads of Lingling; and send light cavalry to launch a surprise attack on their nest, then they won't be able to hold themselves back." Although this strategy is very simple, it was given by this gentleman moments after he came in and learned the basic situation. From his tone, it seemed that this was a nearly random tactical arrangement, but it made a lot of sense.
Naturally, bōcai's opinion was quickly accepted by everyone. After being amazed, they became interested in this uncle. For this reason, I have to specifically introduce this general who looks like a farmer and is full of wisdom.
Bōcai is a very nice person and has a better memory than me, so he can easily call out everyone's name, but I don't know if everyone can easily understand their own name. Because in Bōcai's mouth, Yan Rou became pickled meat; E Huan was starving; Zhang Hua became a swear word; Chen Ying was a fly; Guan Hai was spoiled, etc.
But we can't think that everyone has no idea and has to wait for us to make a decision. In fact, everyone was waiting for me. Because it is located in the inland, Lingling's army is not very large. Su Fei's entire county has only more than 3,000 soldiers, and now half of them are in Lingling. The other counties have to step up their vigilance. Therefore, as guests passing by, we have to do what the host should do. But this is reasonable, especially for me, not only because the food and supplies are ours, but also because I am from Jingzhou.
At that moment, I decided to keep the garrison in Quanling, and everyone stayed in the city. However, I recruited Yan Rou, E Huan, Guan Hai, Sun Yu Hai, Ye Jian, and Wang Wei, who I was familiar with and had experienced some battles, into my account. And guides who were familiar with the local terrain naturally needed to be recruited, and then the next thing was my business. On the way, I specifically told E Huan that the matter in Jiaozhou should be put aside for the time being, and the peace was the most important thing at the moment. After the peace was pacified, he would report to me in detail. I didn't have the energy to think about the matter over there for the time being.
I showed my map to them who had gathered again in the tent. Before we start, it is better to listen to everyone's opinions, because fighting is never an easy matter. I first talked about the situation that Su Fei introduced to me, and then put forward my opinion: "Lingling is 110 miles southwest of here. Riding horses does not consider the terrain barrier. We only have more than 3,000 horses, some of which are used to pull carts, so there are fewer saddles. It is not clear yet how many people can ride horses to fight. The four cities that are in the rebellion are all on the west side of the water, so horses can go there quickly and boats can go there conveniently. Lingling is where our food, clothes, weapons, and armor are stored. These people who rebelled are going after our things, and as soon as our things arrived here, the four cities rebelled together. Obviously, there must be someone behind these people who instigated and instigated them... However, I suddenly thought that since these people rebelled, there must be some problems with us. If the common people were not unable to survive, who would take this risk? Most of the brothers here have also experienced this and know what to do. Everyone can do it on their own when they are on the battlefield."
"Hey, General, let's do this. I will take everyone on a boat to Shi'an directly. After the battle, we will take Lingling's things downstream. Without their things, those people will not make any more trouble. We will go straight down the river to Jiaozhou. We will arrive there. Let's act quickly and catch them off guard." Han Xian looked at the map in my hand. Obviously, he could see that the water flowed all the way from the Xiang River to the Li River.
"Our big ships can't pass through the Lingqu Canal." I pointed to the connecting line between the Xiangshui River and the upper reaches of the Lishui River. It really doesn't look that narrow. These things were taught to me by Yinling back then. I didn't expect to use them today. "The Lingqu Canal is only wide enough to transport food and grass. You will have to stop soon after passing Lingling. The waterway is more than two meters wide and is surrounded by dense forests. It is difficult for a large army to defend the ships, and the Wuling barbarians are likely to ambush us."
Everyone immediately started discussing, but since they were not clear about the basic local situation, most people agreed to march all out to Lingling, splitting into two groups, one cavalry group marching quickly overland, and one infantry group riding boats and following the still strong north wind, all marching to Lingling.
I agree with this view. With food in hand, there is no need to panic. Now no one knows how many Luàn troops there are, so it is more appropriate for the entire army to go there.
Just as we were about to set out, another incident occurred. Su Fei's men came again, but this time they were not here to report military intelligence, but to deliver a letter, "A scout on his way to Duliang encountered a child outside the city. The child brought him back to you, Lord Marquis. Also, the bandits from Duliang have set out to the south an hour ago."
"How do you know?" But he didn't need to answer. I had already seen a few words carved with a knife on the wooden board of the cover: "The thief went south for eight hundred."
The words were carved very illegibly, which might mean the situation was very critical.
But I immediately noticed the words written on it: "Brother-in-law, Ping An Fengyun Hou, Xie Zhitai."
It was Huang Xin! No, it should be Huang Yi. She wrote to me.
You guys don't know what I was thinking at the time, and I don't know what my expression was at the time. I waved my hand, indicating that there was nothing important, and asked everyone to go down and prepare. I ordered Bō Cai to supervise the army, and except for a small number of soldiers to help defend the city, the rest of the army was ready to set off. I opened the letter in the tent and read it:
September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival is in full bloom. Sleepy eyes are suitable for sunset, fragrant tea is afraid of the wine of illness; I am tired of dressing in the mirror, and I look thin when I see each other. It is the day of missing you the most, and only memories are left. Suddenly I remembered that when I was young, I threw away all the thick silk clothes, and wanted to be a gentleman, but it was hard to throw away the worries of the body. It is better to go with the flow than to take a boat, the river flows in vain, the stars move, the waning moon is like a hook, but only the mountains are whistling, and the shadows of the pool are leisurely. It is better for you to be so arrogant, and become a love and hatred for several generations; or if the snow comes overnight, pick the plum blossoms and brew spring wine; get drunk in the spring breeze, rest on the spring willows; eat spring bamboo shoots in the spring valley, eat spring tan and spring chives; the spring breeze hits my face, and the spring rain dispels my sorrow; I still remember the things of the past, and I am still ashamed when I think of them. It's a pity that I suddenly woke up from the dream, and autumn became autumn overnight.
(This is not a poem. It is a form of fu that was popular in the Han Dynasty. People at that time also used parallel prose when writing letters. Many of them used irregular rhymes just to ensure that they were easy to remember. I have written it in a very modern style, but I don’t know how to use many ancient characters, so I didn’t use them. Author’s note)
There is no signature, but I end with a sigh.
Spring blossoms and autumn bears fruit. She once had a severe winter, touched spring love, but did not go through the luxuriant branches and leaves of summer, so naturally there was no autumn fruit. Just like the relationship in memory, it disappeared just after it began. She left, perhaps to go north to walk the road I had walked before. When she left, she handed her brother to me.
That child should be Huang Tian, the sensible child in my memory. It was us who were too restrained. I suddenly found a pen and added a few words at the end, "I can only sigh and think of you, my heart is broken, go, go, this feeling is hard to keep." Then I closed the letter and slowly closed my eyes. For a long time, I couldn't calm down the unspeakable feeling in my heart.
I don't know when the lady came to my side. When I noticed her approaching, I handed her the letter and read it without saying anything.
"This woman is really good at writing. She can write good articles. But she is depressed and can't speak out. Zirui..." I held her mouth and shook my head: "I can't do anything. Let her go by herself."
Guo Pei heard Yin Ling mention Huang Xin or Huang Yi and me, but I don’t want to mention it anymore.
I stood up suddenly and embraced Guo Pei. Ignoring her stunned expression, I looked at her with a slight smile, feeling guilty and apologetic. "Madam, follow me. Thank you for your hard work. But this time, I need you and some soldiers to stay in the city."
She smiled and nodded, looking at me as if she had something to say to me, but in the end she just buried her head in my arms.
"General Bo, you lead the army and follow the guide to Lingling. I got the news, as you just heard, that Duliang City is empty, I'll go now. After we take Duliang, the rebels will surely rebel. I'll take advantage of the situation and go south to attack Taoyang. If they can break through, I'll conquer them. If not, I'll harass them. When Lingling is settled, you'll send troops to pacify Shi'an, and send another one to support me in dealing with the Taoyang rebels. Everyone should bring three days of dry food. I remember we still have several days of food and grass, so it won't hurt to bring more. When you get there, you'll discuss everything with General Gan Ning." My tone was hurried, and I didn't know if Bo could understand everything.
He nodded and said he understood everything, but he suggested that I go to Lingling and he could go to Duliang. I said that I had someone I knew in Duliang who could help him, but he didn't know him. He gave up, but when he heard that I only needed 200 people, he refused again. It would be easier for me to act with fewer people, so I had to let him go because it was an order.
"Si'er, come with me." I said to Po Liu Han Lie Ya, and then I said to a few people passing by: "Gao Sheng, um, He Yi, you two should also follow me."
Finally, I had to find a few old brothers I had found: “Follow General Bō and listen to him;
We boarded the boat and crossed the river. Following the guide's instructions, we lowered our flags and charged forward. Behind us, Bōcai led the cavalry and Han Xian led the navy. Both of them set out for Lingling. Bōcai should arrive tonight, and Han Xian should arrive tomorrow morning. Although I only need two hundred, they are all soldiers who can fight on horseback, and they have complete weapons and armor. Among them are some Xianbei people. Most of them are wearing rhino armor, which you can tell at a glance that they got it from hunting rhinos in Yuzhang. Unlike the two groups over there, I saw several brothers and uncles carrying hoes and hoes waiting to board the boat.
On the way, I rode close to Gao Sheng and asked him a question: "If I besiege the city and persuade you to surrender, and you defend the city, is it better for me to intimidate with bloody swords or persuade with gentleness?"
Although the sound of horse hooves was urgent, he still understood what I said.
"It's better to be gentle." He shouted back: "If you use force, others will get angry and fight to the death."
I also asked He Yi, but he didn't hear it clearly. After several times, he replied "Ah! What?", so I gave up.
Less than an hour later, before dawn, we arrived at the fork in the official road. The north-south road ahead leads to Taoyang in the south and Duliang in the north. We asked someone to investigate and found many clear footprints. The Ming bandits had passed by, but they were in a disorderly manner and some were barefoot. We also found that the terrain here was relatively flat, easy to attack but difficult to defend. We thought about it and made a decision immediately.
"Put out the torch and head south with me." I made the decision and took a risk.
"Why not go north? They are just empty." On the way, four people shouted towards me.
"It is best to wipe out their scattered soldiers and use prisoners to persuade the two cities in the north and south to surrender." We didn't bring any siege equipment, and I have always had an idea that siege is the worst option, and Sun Tzu's Art of War also thinks so. However, this is my own idea, and it may be because I have seen the high city walls of Xiangyang before. Sometimes I even think that Sun Tzu thought so after seeing the city walls.
We saw a fire in less than an hour, and I think they heard the sound of our horses' hooves. At that moment, my brothers and I shouted to each other to pass on our opinions, and stayed closer until my team could feel the faint light from the torches in front. I waved my hand, and there was a shout of killing behind me, and Po Liu Han Lie Ya led some people to attack from the flank. I didn't hesitate, Tian Lang waved his hand, and everyone rushed towards the fire.
They were tightly huddled together, holding torches and weapons, facing outward. This was the only impression I got before I rushed in. I had no thoughts, only opinions.
But they have no fighting ability at all, they are just a mob. This is the conclusion I came to in my mind when I forcibly made a path. This time it was an idea. If this is true, they should have extinguished the torches early and found places to disperse and hide. However, if I really took myself in, thinking that the enemy seemed to be so powerful, everyone would lean together, and the torches would seem to be more reassuring. So, almost immediately, I had to shout loudly, "Those who abandon their troops and surrender will not be killed."
I should have shouted earlier. Although they outnumbered us, I never thought that they were just a mob at most. Although they were young and some were strong, they were just ordinary people. Compared with the Yellow Turban Army and the Xianbei people who had fought against the government army, they were simply no match for us.
At daybreak, the bandits' torches went out.
I was tearing my mouth with my teeth, feeling very uncomfortable. Suddenly, I saw Lie Ya killing the people who were fleeing. I shouted, "Bei Hai! Stop! That's enough!"
The ground was full of people, and there were only about thirty captives kneeling on the ground. The others were either lying on the ground, dying, groaning, or dead, and some had escaped, including the leader of the team, who also escaped.
We had almost no casualties. Of course, some were killed by running into other people's guns, and some fell off their horses and were trampled to death by the people behind them. But overall, our record was okay, though we're ashamed to mention it.
This was just a civil uprising, perhaps not even a rebellion.
"Gao Sheng, He Yi, take half of the soldiers and some captives to Duliang to persuade them to surrender. You can shout whatever you want, but remember to raise my flag and make a big show. If there is a child outside the city, about thirteen or fourteen years old, he is the son of an old friend of mine. Bring him back for me. Well, you don't have to go looking for him, he will find you on his own."
After sending them away, I turned around and looked at Si: "Be gentle next time."
"Yeah." I didn't know what he had done wrong, and felt a little aggrieved and suffocated. I just let it go and patted him on the shoulder.
"You follow me." I said to the four, then looked at the ground and pointed at a few of the prisoners, "You stay and take care of the people lying on the ground. The rest of you, follow me."
Suddenly, those people seemed to not understand what I said, and pointed at themselves for confirmation. Seeing them like this, I was a little angry: "Why do you want to rebel? Do you know how many brothers from Jingzhou died?" But I had asked this question as soon as the battle was over, and their answer was that they were doing corvée in the summer, which delayed the farming season. Although they got money, they couldn't even buy food when they returned home. The rice merchants took the opportunity to raise the price, but the officials and merchants didn't have rice, so they had to wait for a few days. However, some people had rice in Lingling, and they even said that all the surplus grain would be given to Yue Hou. There was no rice this year, and some people said that the law could not punish the masses, so why not go out together to grab some? As the group of people were dragged, they rose up and eventually caused a civil uprising.
I have to take some responsibility for this action. If I hadn't been trying to save trouble, I wouldn't have given those guys the opportunity to take advantage of it and caused a civil uprising. But now is not the time to regret.
At daybreak, we had arrived at the city of Taoyang. Taoyang is a city. As soon as I raised the flag, spoke some soft words, and took some prisoners, the rebel leaders in the city were killed by the common people under my command.
"It's a good thing I brought a few more flags." I looked at the open city gate, turned around and looked at my Ping An Feng Yun Hou Xie's flag: "I didn't expect it to be useful."
"I want the big flag, too." Si pretended to be a child and acted like a rogue.
"I'll do it for you when we get to Jiaozhou!" I glanced at Si, "But if you want to be fierce, you'd better defeat Liu Han."
"It's awesome," Si immediately laughed, "Po Liu Han isn't a Chinese surname, it's too conspicuous."
I smiled, then suddenly turned around and ordered the ropes that bound the captives to be untied: "If you want to go back, then go back. If you come in with me, I'll give you some food before you leave."
They looked at each other and suddenly smiles came to their faces. If I didn't think about the person lying on the road, such smiles would really make me happy.
The county magistrate and county lieutenant of Taoyang City were all imprisoned. The county magistrate had been killed by the leader of the rebellion, and most of the rebels had gone to Lingling. They could only release them first and then find a few locals. When they asked, the situation was similar to that of Duliang.
Although the common people have stopped making trouble for the time being, their hearts are already unsettled, so I know I have to find some people to start with: "Catch all the rice merchants in the city!"
Unexpectedly, we soon received such news that these rice merchants actually used soldiers from their own families to guard their courtyards, responding to each other, and it looked like a city within a city. When the common people first started to make trouble, these people just guarded their homes like this. The common people wanted to ask them for food, but they had no choice but to rush in and get some official food.
"He's rebelling! Long Xing, take your men to... Wait! Bring them back alive!" I shouted.
"I obey your command!" He was very disciplined, and I almost kicked him in the butt with a smile.
I believed in Long Xing's ability, so half an hour later, I saw a group of people that looked like three bunches of Xiliang grapes appear.
I was furious at the time. I pointed at the county magistrate and said, "You go and interrogate!" Then I pointed at the county lieutenant and said, "You go and distribute the grain... According to the household registration, each household, regardless of gender, will be given one dan per person. Those under 15 will be given half a dan per person. First give one dan to those who came from Duliang (a dan of wheat in the Eastern Han Dynasty was 9 catties, and a dan of millet was 7 catties. At that time, most people in Jingzhou grew rice, and a dan of rice was about 30 catties, author's note). Let them go home. After distributing it to the people, the remaining grain will be confiscated."
I also instructed the chief clerk: "Find someone to take the official road to the north. There are many injured people there. Transport them back, or send a doctor directly to treat them."
Then I quickly turned to Long Xing and said, "Take some people to Duliang to distribute grain. If the rice merchants there are in the same situation as here, use the same method as I did." Suddenly I grabbed his hand, stared into his eyes and warned him, "Don't kill people recklessly. If the city doesn't surrender, you can lead them to station there first."
Long Xing took the order and left. I told everyone to guard the city, and in view of the civil unrest, I asked Gan Xingba and Bō Cai to solve it. I think their solution should be better than mine.
I thought I could take a short break, but suddenly I heard the county magistrate ask, "What crime are they being tried for?"
"The crime of hoarding and profiting from the goods is to incite civil unrest." I pointed to the hall, and everyone shuddered. But when I saw that even the children were tied up, I felt sorry for them, so I added, "The owner will be severely punished, his wife will be implicated, and his relatives will be punished. Other servants, young and old, will not be questioned."
Two days later, the four cities were all pacified. However, it took a few more days for Gan Ning to reassign troops to the four cities, and the matter was temporarily resolved. Gao Sheng and He Yi brought back a message from Duliang, which should be interesting: that night, Duliang was not defended at all, the drawbridge was not confiscated, and the entire city was simply free to enter and exit. The city was quiet, and the people were sleeping. It didn't look like a rebellion at all. The two of them muttered to themselves for a long time. However, as soon as they entered the city, they immediately closed the city gates and raised the big flags to be on guard. However, nothing happened that night. However, early in the morning of the next day, hundreds of Wuling barbarians suddenly came from the west, rushed to the foot of the city with weapons, and demanded that the city gates be opened. Naturally, our people on the city wall asked, "Who are you?" They seemed very proud and said, "It's us! Call your leader!" Our soldiers were really honest and went to call Gao Sheng and He Yi who were on the south side of the city. Gao Sheng and He Yi were of course puzzled because they were not from Jingzhou and did not understand what was going on. They carried my flag over, but before they had time to ask, as soon as the gang saw the flag, they all ran away in a commotion, and it was said that they ran very fast.
Huang Tian also came with me, but he fell asleep in the bushes that night and was awakened by the sound of horse hooves in the morning. He ran into Si's army. Si also knew about this and brought him back to me. He had a cold and kept sneezing. I asked the doctor to check him out, but fortunately he was fine.
This incident was just a civil uprising. Lingling was quelled after Bōcai arrived that night. Instead, Gan Ning and Bōcai stared at each other for a long time, one on the city and the other under the city. Gan Ning didn't know who this guy was, and Bōcai was afraid that this man was also a rebel, because it was so easy to defeat the enemy along the way that it seemed like nothing had happened. The people of Taoyang and Shi'an were dispersed by Bōcai without any resistance. He always felt that Gan Ning was also a rebel, and might set an ambush for him in the city. Fortunately, he brought Ye Jian and E Huan with him, so they were relieved and went into the city to settle the matter. Including Duliang was taken over by us that night, Taoyang was pacified by me, Shi'an persisted for a day, and surrendered under the siege of Gan Ning, Bōcai and Han Xian. Fortunately, this incident did not make a big fuss.
But I am still very worried about the people behind this incident.
However, I was still worried about whether Long Xing had done anything in Duliang. After this incident, I was stationed in Lingling. One day, I specially summoned him to ask him how to solve the Duliang incident. He followed my instructions and "did not kill anyone", because the county magistrate of that city was killed by the rioters, and the grain merchants used their servants to defend the high walls. The people had no way to deal with him, so he went to pacify the place. Then he also distributed the grain on his behalf. However, he did not hear my last words to the county magistrate, so his handling method was a bit excessive. He used the wooden wheels of the grain transport cart as a measure, and all those who were higher were executed. This is an old rule on the grassland. I was very angry about this matter, but I couldn't blame him. It was my fault and I didn't clear it. But I still told him, he couldn't figure it out, I patted him and said, "I didn't clear it with you. After all, it's also life! The Xianbei people's life, the Xiongnu people's life, the Han people's life, everyone's life, since we can still live together, it's best if there is no hatred and killing."
"What if someone wants to kill me, or everyone else?" He started talking to me.
"Of course we have to fight back and kill them!"
"That bunch of Xiliang people killed so many of us that you almost died. But didn't you let them go, brother?" He turned around, sat down, and sat on the steps in the hall with his back to the emperor, looking very angrily.
I sighed, walked over slowly, and put my hand on his shoulder. He was still in a bad mood, and shook me a little, but didn't shake it off. He was angry, so I let him go first, and then I sat down next to him slowly: "When I was in the north, the Wuhuan people came whenever they wanted and killed whenever they wanted. Even the Xianbei tribes wanted to start a war, and they would beat you whenever they wanted. What's the logic of them? Do we deserve to die? They..." He pointed to the north, but couldn't speak. He slapped his thigh and snorted.
"I understand what you mean. I also want to kill those bastards in Xiliang, but it's hard for me to kill them now that they're captives. Besides, killing a bunch of irrational guys is just dirtying the knife." I sighed, "I almost died that day, and everyone in the city died too, but they still think they are heroes. They feel it's glorious to kill them. Killing them won't bring the dead back to life, so it's better to let them live the lives of the people they killed. I hope they can understand the crimes they have committed. But when they understand, there's no point in killing them."
I suddenly grabbed his neck, making him feel uncomfortable: "Human lives are at stake. If you kill me, I will kill you. It will be endless and meaningless."
I loosened my hands, patted them, looked at my hands, and continued, "If you put yourself in each of their shoes, maybe you can understand. For example, a maid, maybe because of poverty, she sold herself to that rice merchant, worked like a slave, and finally had a way to make a living. Did she break any law? Did she hurt anyone? She died, and she was unwilling to accept it. You also have a daughter. If she was killed for no reason, what would you do?"
He finally fell silent, and I stood up: "The people suffer. Just to make a living, they have to pay taxes, pay grain, do labor service, and sometimes have to fight and... be killed because of people like us."
I feel in my heart that I understand more, but I can’t express it. I feel that there is something hidden behind everything, but I don’t understand why.
"The people are suffering! Listen to me, think before you act next time." Suddenly I saw a soldier hesitating at the door, so I asked, "What's going on?"
"Lord Song and Lord Tian invite you over!" This messenger is better than the one in my family. If it were the one in my family, he would definitely say "Two skinny men are looking for you."
"Oh, where are they?" The two of them came to see me, it must be something urgent.
"It's in the lobby of the county government office." This is what a professional messenger should be like. The one in our family will not stop until he causes trouble for you.
"Just let me know and I'll go right away." I turned around with satisfaction. He was still sitting there thinking, "I'll go first. You make arrangements for my sister-in-law and Xue'er. They shouldn't go to Jiaozhou for the time being. Let them stay here or somewhere else for a while until we get there and put down the rebellion."
My two military advisors brought me news that confirmed my initial guess, but this is by no means good news, because the guess is a worse possibility. Recently I found that my luck is going downhill again, and all the bad things I think will happen will definitely happen.
"There may be Xiliang people among the Wuling barbarians. We checked many people in these four counties. Some of them are obviously Han people among the Wuling barbarians who come here frequently, and they don't speak with local accents." As soon as I took off my shoes and went up the stairs, the two of them bowed to greet me. Song Yudong glanced behind me and immediately whispered, "I'm familiar with Xiliang accents, and they sound like this. These people seem to have connected with the Wuling barbarians, and we suspect that they already have spies in Jingnan."
"My lord, do you know about the news that E Huan brought?" Tian Jian also stepped forward and pointed to the door, which was to the south.
"Well, I haven't asked him in detail yet. How is it?" I had just finished exchanging greetings with them. After hearing the previous words, I was already deep in thought. When I heard what he said, I suddenly felt that there was some connection here.
"E Huan only brought back information about rebellions in various places. There is no way to find out all the ins and outs, but it seems that Xiliang people have infiltrated there, because the means they adopted are the same. Now there are many rebel armies in Yulin County, which is close to Tiannan. They echo each other and have the greatest momentum. There are also some bandits and refugees in Cangwu, Nanhai, and Hepu counties who are rebelling. Jiaozhi is relatively stable, but Jiuzhen and Rinnan have also rebelled."
"Oh, it's quite serious." I was a little surprised. "How did these Xiliang barbarians get here? Wasn't Mingzi blocked?"
"Because the south of Yizhou, today's Nan country, its internal affairs are extremely complicated. Although Meng Jie is the king of Tiannan, it is more of a cover. Many low-level state leaders have a lot of autonomy. They are hypocritical to Meng Jie's central court and cannot be united when they go into battle. With internal troubles, it is not surprising that Meng Jie and his people have always been at a disadvantage in fighting against Dong Zhuo. Meng Jie's father died in Dong Zhuo's hands. Although Meng Jie hates, he can't do anything. In this way, many of the mountain kings who rely on Dong Zhuo may have defected to Dong Zhuo. Although Dong Zhuo's army dare not go out to fight us because of the national hatred with Tiannan, Dong Zhuo can still send some people to defect to us, specializing in some instigation and separation, attacking us, and then plotting a way out of the mountains. This is one of them. Jiaozhou is afraid that there will be something waiting for us." Song Yudong accompanied me to meet Meng Jie. Obviously, he has done a lot of homework on Tiannan's national politics. Even if it is a guess later, it is a reasonable deduction, not a wild guess.
"This kind of scheming is not my forte." Although I was angry, I had no other choice but to ask for help: "Do the two military advisors have any good ideas?"
"We have discussed a plan. We can cut off Dong Zhuo's arm without using any soldiers." Song Yudong said more.
"Hmm? I've heard the details." I immediately became interested and hurriedly pulled the two of them to sit down in the inner hall to talk slowly.
I wrote two letters, the first one was to my brother in Tiannan: "My dear brother, the King of Tiannan, please understand: Recently, there has been a turmoil in Jiaozhou. I was ordered by the emperor to go south to serve as the commander of Pingnan. When I passed Lingling, I encountered the Wuling barbarians who were instigating the people of Jingnan to riot. Although my army was able to pacify the people in two days, I felt uneasy. Why? It was because I had never seen the Wuling barbarians act in this way. I was suspicious and found out the root cause. I was shocked to learn that the people of Xiliang were behind the scenes. Originally, this was the country of the Duke of Chu, and its ruler, Duke Wei, was a minister of the state and an important minister of the country. If there was a major event, the whole country could be used to resist it. The Marquis of Dongba was originally a county marquis in Sichuan, but was granted a title outside Sichuan because he was a relative of the emperor. "The Wuling barbarians are trapped between the four of us. If only one of their sons dies, it is unlikely to cause any major trouble. However, given the current situation, we must know that the Dong thief is related to him. If the two sides collude, we will all be on one side, and you will be a threat on both sides. I am afraid that you will be the worst offender. I advise you to make peace with Ba Hou Chu Gong to prevent trouble. If there is any emergency, please tell me quickly. I will lead the army to drive them out. I bow again with my wisdom and concern."
The next letter was to Ba Hou. For this reason, I specifically asked them who knew the relationship between Liu Hui and the emperor. Tian Jian was the one who knew the truth. He was once ordered to help manage the various needs of Jiange Hou. It turned out that according to seniority, the emperor was still Liu Hui's uncle. This was different from the past. I heard that in the time of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, most of the princes outside the county were the emperor's uncles, because at that time the eldest son succeeded to the throne. Now in the past few dynasties, it is the opposite, and the youngest is often established. Thinking of this layer makes people sigh. Isn't today's incident caused by this? Without thinking too much, I just asked this for the sake of a greeting: "Respectfully write to Brother Liu, Marquis of Ba, I have something to pay you a visit: Recently, the barbarians in Nanling have been causing trouble, making a fuss, instigating the people, disturbing Jingxiang, and causing chaos in the four cities of Lingling. Although I have retreated, they will definitely cause trouble in the future. Because the mountains where they live are mostly south of Wuling, and within the territory of Brother Ba, I dare not rashly lead troops into it, but I am afraid that they will cause trouble to you. If something happens, I will respond to your request. I pay you a visit again."
The letter to Meng Jie did not mention his internal affairs; the letter to Liu Hui did not mention the relationship between Wuling Man and Dong Zhuo. But they can easily find the problem, and it is their own business to find out how to deal with it. In this way, two hands will come over to cut off the connection between Wuling Man and Dong Zhuo. But whether they will join forces to deal with Wuling Man in the future, I will no longer ask, in fact, it is not easy to ask.
I was naturally very satisfied with the solution of this matter, and in my mind I had already begun to think about how to arrange the positions of each person and the matters under their jurisdiction.
Speed is of the essence in war. Because of the civil uprising in Lingling, we were delayed for a while, so it was soon time for us to set off again. We gave up the water route and chose the land route. Obviously, the "new road" built by the Qin people was the most convenient way for us, and it happened to run from the south of Lingling County to Guangxin, the seat of Cangwu County in Jiaozhou.
It was still a bit cold in the north of Nanling in winter, but it gradually warmed up after entering the Xindao. That day, I was wearing my Lingxi armor and holding the Tianlang, standing in the team, watching the passing army and the carts carrying food and fodder. I didn't think about what to do first after entering, but the most important thing at the moment was whether we would be ambushed by someone. At this moment, my right shoulder sank forward, and a force mixed with pain pushed me forward to the right. In a moment, an arrow pierced through my ponytail-like hair hanging on the right side of my face and stabbed directly into the wheel carrying food and fodder.
It seems that my original view on my recent luck was correct: because while I was still wondering whether we would be attacked, we were actually attacked!