It was September, and autumn was beautiful. On the land of Sanxiang, the mountains rose and fell, green, yellow, and red leaves mixed together. There was a river running through the mountains, and by the river was harvested farmland. Small villages were scattered among them.
Amidst the grass and trees in the mountains, people could be vaguely seen gathering. In a trench that was formed by water and messy gravel, nine figures were gathered together. Qu Qing, who was in the lead, placed a few small stones on the ground next to a simple soil composition. He spoke in a low voice.
"… The news has been confirmed. There are more than a thousand people chasing us. There are also one or two thousand people coming from Pingjiang. It seems that Liu Quusheng and Bucktooth Yu have made their choice. We can escape to the west or south, but they are the local tyrants. Once we meet them, we will be in a passive position. So let's get rid of Liu Quusheng first. "
"… Liu Quusheng has more than a thousand people, and there are more than sixty fast horses in front. The leader is called Wang Wujiang, and he is said to be a fierce general. Two years ago, he led his men to attack the bandits at King Lu's Village. He took the lead and the soldiers put their lives on the line, so his men are very obedient to him … Then this time, it's more like the old rules. Their troops will come from that side, and the mountain road will narrow, so we can't see the back. The front will be blocked first, and the cannons will hit the weak spot first. Li Ji, your platoon will attack the back first, and make some noise. Zuo Heng will be responsible for support …"
"… They are locals. More than a thousand people chasing our team of two hundred, and they never get separated. They are already cautious enough … Once the battle starts, we can't see the back of the mountain. Wang Wujiang has two choices. He can either return to help, or he can wait and see. If he doesn't move, Li Ji, Zuo Heng, you guys try to attack the back and push them to the front. Once Wang Wujiang starts to move, we will attack. Zhuo Yongqing and I will lead the team to separate the horses and focus on Wang Wujiang. "
"… Yu Chen, in charge of the partition here, prepare grenades and crossbows. Whoever rushes to save us, stun them …"
Qu Qing had already made the arrangements. The squad and platoon leaders nodded and took their orders. Qu Qing raised his binoculars to look at the surrounding mountains, still speaking in a low voice.
"… Wang Wujiang's goal is to chase, so we can't be too slow. Although there will be scouts, there is a high chance of avoiding them. Even if we can't, Li Suwen and the rest will intercept them on the mountain. As long as we kill them on the spot, Wang Wujiang won't be able to react. Brother Zhuo, change your hat. "
As he spoke, he untied the small bundle at his side and threw it to the side. Zhuo Yongqing caught the bundle and threw the one at his side to Qu Qing. There was a helmet in each bundle.
At this moment, in the bundle in Qu Qing's hands, there was a long scarlet tassel on the top of the hat. This was the conspicuous symbol of Zhuo Yongqing's troops when they left Chengdu. When it came to negotiating with others, Zhuo Yongqing would wear this high crown with red embellishments and a blood-red cloak on his back. To the outside world, he would say that it was his spoils of war from killing Lou Shi back then. He was especially arrogant.
Zhuo Yongqing and Qu Qing would take turns to wear the hat when they were ambushed or baited. In the nine months since they left Chengdu, their group had been ambushed many times and suffered many casualties. The two of them were lucky enough to survive. At this moment, Zhuo Yongqing's body still had unhealed injuries.
He opened the bag that Qu Qing had thrown at him, put on his protective helmet, and shook his neck. After more than nine months of hardship, although there was still a team secretly supporting and protecting them, everyone in the team, including Zhuo Yongqing, had already experienced the vicissitudes of life and was overflowing with hostility.
"That's good. You lure Wang Wujiang here, and I'll personally kill him … Damn Liu Qusheng, he was laughing on the surface and then sent people. Traitor, I'll remember him …"
The enemy had not arrived yet, but Qu Qing did not take out the helmet with red embellishments. He only said in a low voice, "In the previous two negotiations, the people who turned hostile on the spot all died inexplicably. Liu Qusheng guessed that we had people lying in ambush. When we left and the backup in the dark also left, he sent people to chase after us. I think the internal investigation has already begun … Don't look down on Wang Wujiang. This guy opened a martial arts school in the past and was known as the number one saber in Xiangbei. He is very skilled in martial arts and is very difficult to deal with."
"Oh …" Zhuo Yongqing thought for a moment. "The number one saber in Xiangbei is so domineering … How does he compare to Liu Dabiao in the past? How does he compare to Mister Ning … "
"Uh, it is precisely because of the Tyrannical Saber Manor in Miaojiang that no one has dared to name this place as the number one saber in Huxiang for decades. But compared to Mister Ning … "Qu Qing seemed to have thought of something, and a complicated expression appeared on his face for a moment. Then he reacted and said with certainty," Yes, of course not. "
"I knew it …" Zhuo Yongqing nodded confidently. The two of them hid in the trench with bushes behind them. After a while, the serious expression on Zhuo Yongqing's face collapsed, and he could not help but burst out laughing. Qu Qing laughed almost at the same time, and the two of them laughed in low voices for a while.
"When we go back, I'll tell Mister Ning about this," Qu Qing said.
"Huhu …"
"… When the time comes, he will hit you in the face with the Flipping Sky Seal and let you know the consequences of making fun of your superior. You will die like Lu Tuo …"
"Haha, cough, cough …"
Zhuo Yongqing finally could not stand it anymore. He hit his head on the muddy ground and trembled for a while while holding his stomach. In the Huaxia army, the fact that Ning Yi liked to pretend to be a martial arts master was only spread among a few people. It was a strange "leader's anecdote" that only the senior officers could understand. Every time they talked about it, they could appropriately reduce the pressure. In fact, Mister Ning was now one of the most powerful people in the world. Qu Qing and Zhuo Yongqing had a sense of pride when they teased him with these anecdotes.
The afternoon sun gradually turned. On the road under the mountains, the pursuing troops stirred up the dust and circled around. In the front were the armed horses, and in the middle and the rear were the infantry who had slightly lost their shape during the pursuit. In the bushes on the mountain, the veterans of the Huaxia army, who had long been used to all kinds of combat forms, roughly understood the level of the enemy's quality at first glance.
Passing through the bushes, Qu Qing raised his right hand and silently bent his fingers.
Three.
Two.
One.
…
The sound of cannons roared.
Zhuo Yongqing wiped his cheeks stained with yellow soil, and his eyes had completely calmed down. He pressed the handle of the saber.
On the mountain road, there was a soaring blood light —
*****
At the northwest end of Dongting Lake, on the outskirts of Huarong County.
The majestic procession passed through the mountain path, and the army camp in front of them was in sight. Liu Guangshi lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the flag of the Wu Dynasty fluttering in the air in front of the army camp.
Not long after, the convoy arrived at the military camp. The general who had been waiting for them came out and led Liu Guangshi and the others into the camp's main tent. The general who was stationed here was called Nie Chao. He had more than forty thousand elite soldiers under his command. Under Liu Guangshi's instructions, he had occupied this area for more than two months.
Passing through Huarong and heading east, they entered the area of Dongting Lake. At this time, Liu Guangshi had led more than three hundred thousand soldiers and firmly occupied the area north of Dongting Lake. However, the areas south of Dongting Lake, such as Yueyang, were still being fought over. Further south, Changsha had been occupied by Chen Fan. If the Perfected Woman didn't come, no one would be able to drive them away.
Miaomiao Dongting Lake was the rear of Liu Guangshi's management. Once the Wu dynasty completely collapsed, the front line would be untenable. Liu Guangshi's army would enter the lake to defend, and they would be able to hold on for a while. After Nie Chao occupied Huarong, he invited Liu Guangshi to patrol several times. Liu Guangshi had been managing the front line. At this time, he finally finished all the preparations in the north to face the Han dynasty and rushed over.
Withdrawing from Xiangfan to the south, he tried his best to disperse the army to the north of Dongting Lake. He tried his best to protect as many autumn fruits as possible. In the past few months, Liu Guangshi had been running around everywhere. His hair was almost completely white and he looked a bit tired. After the promotion, he gave each of the generals under Nie Chao's command some words of encouragement. After everyone left, Nie Chao took out all the accounts and gave them to Liu Guangshi. Liu Guangshi looked through them under Nie Chao's gaze.
After a while, he propped his head up and whispered, "Wen Kai, have you ever thought about what will happen next?"
When Nie Chao heard the Commander-in-chief's question, he cupped his hands and said, "We martial artists only die for our country."
"Yes." Liu Guangshi nodded. "That's why you want to bring people to Jiangning to rescue the Emperor."
Nie Chao was still cupping his hands. At this time, he was stunned. The atmosphere in the tent became solemn. He lowered his head. "Commander-in-chief is wise. How can we, the soldiers of the Wu dynasty, see the Crown Prince trapped in a desperate situation at this moment and do nothing? Since the Commander-in-chief already knows, it's much easier to talk … "
"Do you know that all of you will die on the road?"
"It's not just me, it's not my army, it's not just me who will die on the road. As long as enough people die, we can rescue the Crown Prince … We were discouraged before because … the higher-ups are incompetent and the civil officials are in chaos. Therefore, the world has declined to this point. Now that a wise ruler like the Crown Prince has killed his way into Jiangning and fought against the Jurchens for several months without saying a word of defeat, how can we not die for him?"
"Do you know that the advisor who persuaded you to send troops, Rong Kuang, has already joined the Jurchens?"
Nie Chao was slightly stunned.
Liu Guangshi took out a stack of letters and pushed them forward. "These are … the letters of him and the Jurchens having an affair. Take a look."
"How is Rong Kuang? Earlier, he said he wanted to go home and bid farewell to his mother … "Nie Chao picked up the letters and opened them with trembling hands.
"His bid farewell to his mother was fake. His meeting with the Jurchens was real. When we arrested him, he resisted stubbornly … He's already dead," Liu Guangshi said. "But we found these letters."
"Rong Kuang and I have known each other since childhood. If he wanted to meet with the Jurchens, there was no need for him to go out. Moreover, since there were letters, why would he use visiting his mother as an excuse to go out and take a risk?"
"General Nie, I think he wanted to settle down his family and also meet with the contact person. General Nie, I have all the investigation documents and the process here. I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, so I brought them all."
"How do you know these things aren't fake?"
"How can you doubt me like this?" The white-haired general looked at him.
Nie Chao looked back. "Because … what Rong Kuang said makes sense. It was this general … who wanted to rescue the Emperor."
"Nonsense." Liu Guangshi emphasized each word. "You've fallen into the Jurchens' trap."
The big tent quieted down. The two generals stared at each other. After a while, Nie Chao held the letters with sadness in his eyes.
"Let me … think about it."
Liu Guangshi nodded. When Nie Chao retreated to the door, he said, "General Nie, since I'm here, I'm not unprepared. No matter what decision you make … please think twice."
"… Yes."
Nie Chao slowly retreated.
The big tent was lit up for a while. After the curtain was put down, it became dark again. Liu Guangshi sat quietly. His eyes flickered as he listened to the sounds outside. After a while, someone came in. It was an advisor who came with him.
"How is it?"
"It seems that … General Nie did not act impulsively."
"That's good …" Liu Guangshi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. He heard the aide say, "As long as nothing happens today, it seems that General Nie won't make a move. Marshal can replace him in half a month …"
"Sigh …"
Liu Guangshi responded to the advisor with a heavy and tired sigh …
…
In the few months since Zhou Yong fled to the sea, there was almost no peaceful place in the whole world.
Near Changsha and around the Dongting Lake area, conflicts and frictions broke out gradually. Like a drop of water dripping into boiling oil, the oil kept boiling.
These frictions were not large-scale military conflicts, but the constant collision of people's different minds. People who wanted to protect themselves, people who were at a loss, people who were brave and generous, and people who went with the flow … Under the manipulation and persuasion of various forces, they gradually began to express their views and began to break out countless small-scale fights.
Since July, the Hua Xia army's lobbyists have been on the move, the Nu Zhenren's lobbyists have been on the move, Liu Guangshi's lobbyists have been on the move, and the people who have the Wu Dynasty in their hearts have been on the move. Around Changsha, from Tanzhou (later known as Liuyang) to Pingjiang, to Miluo, to Xiangyin, to Linxiang, big and small forces have broken out countless times.
In mid-July, the magistrate of Pingjiang, Rong Ji, suffered two assassination attempts and fled in fear.
In late July, the river and mountain bandits near Miluo attacked a county in the name of reviving the Wu dynasty. Linxiang, more than three hundred people called themselves the Hemp Clothing Society, took to the streets with knives and forced the government to express their allegiance to Liu Guangshi. The army in the city suppressed them and blood flowed like a river.
In August, more than seven thousand Wu dynasty troops were stationed in Xiangyin, under the persuasion of the Jurchens spy and the former magistrate of Changsha, Niu Baoyuan, the former magistrate of Changsha, expressed their allegiance to the Jurchens. The rebels immediately rose up. The fighting in the city lasted for two days and almost half of the city was burned down. After that, the heads of the rebels were hung on the city wall.
In mid-August, in late August … similar conflicts continued. This was, in fact, an intense display of hoarding and looting before and after the autumn harvest. Although Chen Fan had taken Changsha, the total number of troops in the Miao Territory was originally small, and defending the city was already the limit. A few special forces that had withdrawn from Jiangnan were active in the city and seized a lot of victory resources. They also lobbied and won over some forces to express their allegiance to the Huaxia army.
However, in early September, the three surrendered Han armies that had been stationed on the Jiangnan West Road, a total of one hundred and forty thousand soldiers, began to march toward Changsha. The conflicts between the forces near Changsha gradually subsided. Gradually, more and more forces began to express their allegiance to the Jurchens, or not express their allegiance.
…
As the sun set, the mountains were filled with smoke and the smell of blood.
The fleeing soldiers scattered into the distance, or they were driven to run across the fields, jump into the nearby rivers, and float downstream. On the battlefield that was littered with corpses, the soldiers reined in their horses that were fleeing in disarray. Some were counting the wounded and captives, stabbing the tips of their spears into the bodies of the warhorses that were on the verge of dying from the explosions.
Zhuo Yongqing, who was wearing a helmet and a helmet, walked up the hill with a human head in his hand. Qu Qing sat next to a few corpses. Half of his body was covered in blood, and a doctor was bandaging the wound on the left side of his body.
"Ahhh, it hurts …" He hissed through his teeth.
Zhuo Yongqing took off the red tasseled iron crown on his head and said, "It's good that you are still alive. I took some horses, they can carry you."
"Yes, we need to hurry. What are you doing with the human head?"
"The best blade in Xiangbei, let me show you."
"What bad luck …" Qu Qing grinned, then looked at the head again, "Alright, don't walk around with it. Although he's from the Green Forest, he used to be a hero, serving justice, helping his neighbors, and exterminating the mountain bandits, he was also a brave and heroic person. Before we went to look for Liu Qusheng, Feng Zhen asked around. When the time comes, we can consider fighting for this hero. "
"In other words, he might let us go even if he chased after us with more than a thousand people." Zhuo Yongqing picked up the human head and looked at it.
"…" Qu Qing glanced at him, then said, "It hurts."
Zhuo Yongqing's question naturally did not have an answer. In the past nine months, they had been through dozens of life and death situations. They could not place their own safety on such a small possibility. Zhuo Yongqing stuck the human head on a stick by the side of the road. When he came back, he saw Qu Qing on the ground, calculating the situation.
"Chongyang's Liu Qusheng, Pingjiang's Yu Daya. If the two sides join forces and join the Jurchens, this area will be connected. There are tens of thousands of soldiers and soldiers over a hundred li of land. Yu Daya looks like he was born in the wilderness, but he did such a thing at the end of the day. He wants to use you as a proof of allegiance and make a good impression in front of the Jurchens … "
Zhuo Yongqing sat down. "When will Guo Baohuai and the others arrive?"
"Guo Baohuai's fifty thousand, Yu Gusheng's forty thousand, and Li Touhe's forty thousand. Three directions. Yu Gusheng is the first to arrive. I estimate that he will reach Pingjiang in five to seven days. Just the Han army alone has a hundred and forty thousand. Adding those who are coming and those who are surrendering … On our side, there are only fifteen thousand people from Changsha and us stragglers …"
Qu Qing drew a map on the soil. When he reached this point, he looked back and saw that the small battlefield below had been cleaned up. The wounded on his side had basically been treated, but the traces of the bloody slaughter and the scattered corpses would not disappear. He didn't know why, but he almost laughed out of anger at the disparity and despair of the situation he spoke of.
"Motherf * cker, how are we going to fight this war …" Qu Qing found a common curse word in the General Staff Department.
Zhuo Yongqing also sighed. "Yeah."
The two of them sighed for a while. Not long after, the troops were reorganized and ready to leave. Qu Qing used his foot to wipe off the map on the ground. With Zhuo Yongqing's help, he climbed up the horse with difficulty.
"… There are still five to seven days. Feng Zhen's side is probably playing tricks. Yu Daya, that animal, has set us up. Let's go around and see if we can think of a way to kill him …"
"I'll listen to you."
"Think about it. When have you ever used your brain? Brother Zhuo, I realized that you are getting lazier and lazier. You were not like this in Zhang Village …"
"Brother Qu, I trust you."
"… Forget it. Next time you wear the red hat, it's pretty good. I won't fight with you. Anyway, even if your brain gets blown up, it won't be a big loss to the Chinese army."
"Hahahaha …"
As the sun set on the horizon, the troops who had just experienced a fierce battle turned towards the other side of the mountain path. Zhuo Yongqing's heroic and hearty laughter was carried over by the evening wind.
It was the middle of September. This was only one of the countless scenes of fierce fighting around Changsha. Not long after, the first batch of over one hundred and forty thousand surrendered Han soldiers would arrive. They would launch their first wave of attack on the ten thousand strong army.
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