In Zizhou, the autumn wind rolled up the fallen leaves as they left in a hurry. The remaining sewage in the market was giving off a stench. Half of the shops were closed and the knights were anxiously crossing the streets. On the way, the pale faces of the merchants reflected in the discounted shops, causing the city to be in a state of chaos.
The merchant ships left overnight. The people who packed their belongings and prepared to leave also started to leave. Zizhou, originally one of the largest cities in the southwest, became more and more chaotic.
The scholars who had gone forward had already started to retreat. Some stayed behind, swearing to live and die with them. In Zizhou, the anger of the Confucian scholars continued.
"How dare he do this …"
"Is he really not afraid of the world's gossip …"
"The court must send out another army …"
"Wolf's ambition, wolf's ambition …"
In the eighth month of the ninth year of Wu Jianshuo, the advancement of the world suddenly changed. Like a white-hot chess game, the few sides that could compete on this game all made fierce moves. The once undercurrent surfaced and turned into a raging wave. It also woke up some of the people who had been playing on the surface of the water from their dreams.
In this corner of Tiannan, the Wuxiang army that had entered the Liang Mountain area after careful preparation was hit head-on. The hot-blooded Confucian scholars who had come to the southwest to push for the suppression of the bandits were still immersed in the pleasure of pushing the course of history forward. Before they could enjoy it enough, the sudden turn of the battle, along with a declaration letter, smashed the back of everyone's head, shattering the illusion created by the Black Flag Army's preferential treatment of the scholars. In early August, the Black Flag Army defeated the Wuxiang army. Lu Qiaoshan disappeared. Black flags flew out from the plains of Western Sichuan. After denouncing the Wu dynasty, they declared that they would take over half of the Fourth Sichuan Road.
The attitude of the Huaxia army in the declaration letter, other than being impassioned in denouncing the Wu dynasty, was downplayed to the decision to take over the Fourth Sichuan Road as if it was a matter of course. But under the premise that the entire Wuxiang army had been defeated and incorporated, this attitude was not a joke.
Wolf's ambition, dagger revealed … no matter how people defined the Huaxia army's subsequent large-scale actions, or even condemned them, the Huaxia army's subsequent actions showed extreme seriousness. In other words, no matter how the scholars talked about the general trend, reputation, and all the things that a person in a higher position should be afraid of, the king-slayer, who was known as the Inner Demon, would definitely fight his way to Zizhou.
Not only that, but he even acted as if he was being forced by the crowd.
While the scholars were cursing, the Hua Xia army had already meticulously wiped out the troops stationed in the six counties and towns near Liang Shan. They were also methodically taking over the original camp of the Wu Xiang army. After lying low in Liang Shan for several years, the Hua Xia army, which was good at intelligence work, had already figured out the situation in the surroundings. There was certainly resistance but it was unable to form any sort of momentum. This was the beginning of the sweep of the Western Sichuan Plain. It seemed that … it had already foreshadowed the subsequent results.
For the truly wise, victory and defeat often existed before the battle began. Most of the time, the blowing of the horn to charge was just an act of harvesting the fruits of victory.
In the places where the Confucian scholars gathered, such as Pine House and Xingu Hall, the gathered scholars were anxiously denouncing and discussing countermeasures. Long Qifei mediated among them and balanced the situation. He could not help but think of the evaluation of Ning Yi that he had heard from Li Pin in the capital city. He did not expect the one hundred thousand Wu Xiang army to be so vulnerable in front of the Black Flag Army. He had initially thought too optimistically of Ning Yi's great ambition and domineering methods.
But it was too late to say anything now.
The Black Flag Army had sent out their troops. Compared to the commoners who still had a wishful thinking, the more the Confucian scholars like Long Qifei knew the inside story, the more frightened they were. The defeat of the one hundred thousand Wu Xiang army was the first appearance of the Black Flag Army in several years. It announced and confirmed that the combat power it had displayed at Little Cang River a few years ago had not declined. The Black Flag Army was defeated by the Jurchen a few years ago. After that, it could only be defeated. This was one of the previous fantasies of the people. The Black Flag Army with this kind of combat power said that it would not stop at cooldown if it wanted to attack Zizhou.
Forced by the chaotic situation, Long Qifei honestly analyzed the situation in the court in front of the Confucian scholars. In today's world, the Jurchen were the strongest. The Black Flag Army was inferior to the Jurchen. The Wu dynasty was safe and had no luck against the Jurchen. However, against the Black Flag Army, they still had a chance to win. Qin Shumi of the Qin Hui in the court originally wanted to send out a large number of troops and use half of the Wu dynasty's power to defeat the Black Flag Army first. Then, he would use the Black Flag Army's ingenious techniques to support the Wu dynasty in order to seek a chance of survival against the Jurchen. Who knew that the court was difficult to play in and the foolish were in charge. In the end, he only sent out the Wu Xiang army and himself. Now, the inner demon, Ning Yi, took advantage of the situation and wanted to swallow the four rivers. The situation had already become critical.
"Our Wu dynasty is already to the south of the Yellow River. We have lost the Central Plains. Now, the Jurchen are invading the south again with menacing momentum. The money and provisions of the four rivers are important to our Wu dynasty and must not be lost. It's a pity that there are many high-ranking officials in the court who are ignorant and short-sighted. Even now, they still don't dare to fight! " That day, in the Pine Inn provided by the wealthy Jia family in Zi Zhou, Long Qifei told everyone the whole story and sighed softly.
"When I came to the west, I visited Lord Qin in the capital. Lord Qin entrusted me with an important task and said that I must carry out this expedition to the west. Unfortunately … the Wu Xiang army was incompetent. A hundred thousand men were defeated in one attack. I didn't expect this and I don't want to shirk my responsibility. When the Black Flag Army comes, I am willing to face the Black Flag Army in Zi Zhou and live and die with the soldiers in this city! But the situation in the southwest is critical and we must alert the people in the capital. I don't have the face to enter the capital again but I have already written a letter in blood, asking Brother Liu Zhengming to enter the capital and hand it over to Lord Qin … "
Once he said this, everyone was in an uproar. Long Qifei waved his hand forcefully. "Everyone, don't try to persuade me anymore! I have made up my mind! Actually, it's a blessing in disguise. Back then, the officials in the capital were unwilling to send troops because they still had illusions about that Ning Yi's ambition. Now that Ning Yi has revealed his true intentions, the people in the capital can't tolerate him anymore. As long as they can learn from their mistakes and send a large number of troops to Sichuan, this matter can still be done! Everyone is useful. I would like to invite everyone to enter the capital and persuade the people in the capital and the officials in the court. If this matter succeeds, I will thank you in the afterlife … "
He was heroic and stirring, with his death wish and his letter in blood. Everyone was also discussing it. After Long Qifei finished speaking, he ignored everyone's attempts to persuade him and left. Everyone admired his determination and bravery and went to persuade him again on the second day, and again on the third day. Liu Zhengming, who had received the letter in blood, was unwilling to act on his behalf and joined the others in persuading him. A snake can't do without its head. He and Lord Qin were old friends, so naturally, he would be the leader in this matter of persuading the people in the capital. It would be the easiest to succeed. During this period, some people also scolded Long Qifei for fishing for fame and compliments, saying that the whole thing was planned by him behind the scenes and that he still wanted to escape at this time. Long Qifei refused even more firmly, and the two groups of Confucian scholars bickered every day. On the fifth day, Long Qifei's confidante from "Yannan Brothel", the red card Lu Guo 'er, drugged him. Everyone dragged him into the carriage, and this righteous, intelligent, and brave Lu Guo' er accompanied Long Qifei to the capital. Not long after, the love story between the two became a legend in the capital.
Long Qifei and the others left Zizhou. The other person who had been stirring up the situation in the southwest, Li Xiannong, was now in an awkward situation. Ever since the plan in Xiaoliang Mountain failed and the situation in the rear was resolved by Ning Yi, Li Xiannong, who had returned from exchanging prisoners with Lu Qiaoshan, had been dispirited. It was only when the Huaxia army's declaration came out and expressed their gratitude that he realized the evil intentions behind it. In the first few days, people frequently came to visit — most of the scholars in Zizhou could still see Chu Hei Qi's ruthless methods, but after a few days, there were people who were really bewitched and threw stones into the courtyard in the middle of the night.
Long Qifei appeared twice to defend Li Xiannong, and the public opinion was suppressed for a while. When Long Qifei left, Li Xiannong noticed that there were more and more hostile eyes around him. He was so depressed that he left Zizhou that day, ready to go to Cooldown to meet his death. Not long after he left the city, he was intercepted by people. Among these people were scholars and bailiffs. Some reprimanded him for definitely wanting to escape, while others said that he was going to inform Hei Qi. Li Xiannong was eloquent in debating and argued with reason. The bailiffs said that although what he said was reasonable, he was still a suspect, so how could he leave at this time? The crowd surrounded him and beat him up, then sent him back to the prison in Zizhou to wait for the truth to come to light and be dealt with fairly.
Li Xiannong's subsequent experience was difficult to describe in words. On the other hand, Long Qifei and the others' generosity after entering the capital was another heart-stirring story with many talented scholars and beautiful women. The general situation began to become clear. A single person's running and bumping was only a small ripple in a giant wave. In the southwest, the Chinese army, acting as the chess player, was cutting through the four roads. In the east, more than eight thousand Hei Qi elites were still crossing toward Xuzhou. After learning of Hei Qi's ambitions, the court once again set off a wave to encircle and suppress the southwest. However, Jun Wu resisted this proposal and pushed Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and many other troops toward the Yangtze River defense line. A large number of civilian laborers had already been mobilized, and the logistics line was grandiose. It was as if they would rather die than win.
The chaotic world was like an oven, melting gold and corroding iron, cooking everyone into a pot.
On the north bank of the Yellow River, Li Xizhi was facing the first attack of the dark tide after it transformed into a giant wave.
After Lin He 'ao's failure, the Hei Qi army's crazy strategic intentions were displayed in front of this great warlord who had ruled the eastern part of the Central Plains for many years. Below the Daimyo Prefecture, Li Xizhi temporarily suspended preparations for the attack. She ordered the army under her command to spread out and prepare for any changes. At the same time, she requested the Jurchen general Wu Da to lead an army to coordinate with the Hei Qi army's surprise attack.
However, she was refused by Wu Da.
The main force of Zong Fu and Zong Bi's army of three hundred thousand would arrive in a few days. Once this army arrived, what could the Daimyo Prefecture and the Black Flag Army do? What was truly important were the docks and ships for the Jurchen army to cross the Yellow River. As for Li Xizhi, he was leading an army of one hundred and seventy thousand. If he was still afraid in his own territory, then what meaning did he have to the Jurchen army?
In truth, Li Xizhi did not believe that the other side would just attack like this, until the outbreak of war. It was as if he had built a sturdy dam and then stood in front of it, watching the giant wave suddenly rise higher and higher …
On the morning of the eleventh day of the eighth month, war erupted in the plains to the north of the Daimyo Prefecture. As the Black Flag Army finally arrived, the Daimyo Prefecture began to beat war drums. Led by Wang Shanyue, Hu Sanniang, Xue Changgong, and the others, the forty thousand soldiers of the Effulgence Army, chose to take the initiative to attack.
Ten thousand on one side and forty thousand on the other, attacking Li Xizhi's army of one hundred and seventy thousand. If one considered battle strength, even if one underestimated the quality of the soldiers on one's side, it could still be considered an evenly matched situation. Li Xizhi calmly faced this arrogant battle.
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