Chapter 162
After Gan Huacheng retreated, a group of people moved to the city lord's mansion.
The two sides were about to become people who ate from the same pot. One side was humble and the other side was gentle. They had friendly discussions on the handover of Songhua Prefecture.
During the conversation, Yao Chunnuan and others learned about the heartbeat process of their surrender and offering the city.
Li Yang sighed when he mentioned this. "I'm afraid that if we don't surrender the city, the general will come to the gates one day and the people will secretly sell us out."
Meng Yan also laughed at himself. It was not until he arrived in Yichun that he finally understood how good the lives of the common people here were and how much they loved the members of the City Lord's Mansion.
Yao Chunnuan never expected that the general leading the soldiers to advance in the front, while she led the civil servants of the City Lord's Mansion to be responsible for the management of the rear, would have such a good effect.
She really just focused on building Yichun and her own business, but she was recognized by so many ordinary people.
The generals present were even more impressed. They had never imagined that after Lord Yao had managed the area so well and established a good reputation, someone would actually surrender the entire city, taking over an entire county without even having to fight a single soldier! It was incredible. Could this be considered a victory without even fighting?
Finally, the general said to Meng Yan and the others, "The outcome of the battle with the Northern Di will soon be decided, and we'll have to hurry back to Jiayin County. You should stay in Yichun for two days and take in the new look of Yichun, or perhaps meet up with Jiang Xin and the others. Once the Northern Di retreat, we'll begin the merger of Songhua Prefecture."
Meng Yan and others had no objection to this arrangement. Anyway, what he meant was that he currently did not have the manpower and time to take over Songhua Prefecture.
******
Outside Jiayin County, Beidi Camp
The camp was in a mess. The groans and groans of soldiers who were burned, stabbed, and cut could be heard one after another. The camp was filled with an atmosphere of pain that could not be shaken off.
After a crushing defeat, Wei Xizhe never expected that after becoming the new king of Beidi, he would not be able to break through the city gate built by Yichun to defend them in his first personal expedition.
To say they'd suffered heavy casualties was an understatement. A hundred thousand soldiers were gradually being decimated. Wei Xizhe wondered how this had happened. He'd been so confident before the expedition, but now, even the mere mention of the Yichun army made his heart tighten. They'd managed to acquire weapons from nowhere, and they were as brave as they were, yet also cunning and treacherous. His army had suffered more defeats than victories against them. Even the victories were pyrrhic. Facing this army, even he, the king and commander, felt terrified, and his own people were even more afraid.
Wei Xizhe asked, "Do you know what they used to attack us at night?" It was in the form of an ointment, had a pungent smell, and had sparks on it that would catch fire at the slightest touch.
At this time, his generals collapsed and shouted, "My king, forget about this, let's withdraw!"
Wei Xizhe's eyes were red with pain. He didn't want to withdraw. He had fought so long, invested so many members of his clan, so much military rations, and even diverted the rations of his old family members. In the end, were they going to withdraw in disgrace? He couldn't accept this outcome.
"Your Majesty, our Northern Di army had more than 76,700 men when we set out. Now, there are only 32,800 of our tribesmen still intact, and about 44,000 of them were killed or wounded, which is more than half of the total. The cavalry battalion was basically destroyed, and there are only a few war horses left." The subordinate recounted the story in tears.
Another general also advised, "Your Majesty, please withdraw your troops. At least leave some seeds for us Beidi. You can't kill all the people." If you can't grab the food supplies for the winter, then go back to the tribe and find a way to get food. It's better than continuing to fight and dying here.
After these data were reported, Wei Xizhe was trembling all over. He could no longer turn a blind eye to the casualties of the army. After inspecting the wounded and dead tribesmen, he finally uttered two words with difficulty, "Retreat!"
Beijing, Imperial Palace
After receiving the report from Yichun, the prince spat out blood.
The palace was in chaos and all the imperial doctors were called in.
It took half a day before the prince was rescued.
After drinking the medicine, the prince couldn't help but throw the bowl to the ground. "Haha, Lei Peng lost Yichun, Jiang Xin lost Huining, and Zhu Fugui lost 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers. Now, Meng Yan surrendered Songhua Prefecture. Great, these people are really good ministers of Daliang. How can they be so capable?" The court hasn't been defeated yet, are they so impatient? Defending the city, the longest can last three or four months, the shortest can last a month. Do these people have no dignity left?
The attendants knelt down and pleaded, "Prince, calm down! The Imperial Physician says you really can't get angry any more, or it will harm your lifespan!" The Imperial Physician explained that the Prince was overly worried and had been experiencing bouts of anger lately. His vomiting of blood was a serious omen, and he feared he wouldn't live past forty. He needed to rest and recuperate, ideally without worrying about anything. Otherwise, if he continued to suffer, the Imperial Physician wasn't sure what bad things might happen.
The prince took a few deep breaths and decided to ask something that would make him happy, "How is the progress with the Huo family in the northwest?"
"Replying to the prince, there is no news yet."
"Well, if you get any news, tell me as soon as possible."
Qiannan
Wang Lang had been sending people to gather intelligence about Yichun. He had indeed gathered some information: the Xing family army had used a new weapon during the night raid against the Northern Di army.
They always used fire attacks, and once the fires were started, it was difficult to put out with water. Therefore, every time the Xing family army attacked the Beidi camp, they used fire attacks to great effect.
Look, isn't this similar to the heavenly fire that his father-in-law, Lei Peng, encountered earlier? Thinking of this, he stood up and decided to ask Wei Qiuyu.
As soon as Wang Lang left, Lei Qian received the news, "He went to that bitch again?"
The doorman replied, "Madam, the master did go to West Street."
Lei Qian's face twisted with anger. Who had promised her that they weren't in that kind of relationship?! Now, they were together! She hated Wang Lang, and even more so, that dumb bitch Wei Qiuyu! But because of her father, the Lei family had fallen on hard times. She had no choice but to live at the mercy of her husband, and she didn't dare to argue with him, but that didn't stop her from getting angry.
Wang Lang did not have such thoughts about Wei Qiuyu at first, but later, due to some strange circumstances, they slept with each other. At that time, he wanted to give her the status of a concubine, but Wei Qiuyu refused, as she did not want to live in the same mansion with Lei Qian. Later, he simply bought her a house outside the palace, and she became his concubine.
Wei Qiuyu knew, of course, that a concubine's status was inferior to that of a mistress, but she chose practicality over the pleasantness of the title. Aren't they both mistresses, regardless of whether they were concubines or mistresses? It can only be said that the difference between a concubine and a mistress is fifty steps and the pot calling the kettle black. Not living under the same roof with Lei Qian, at least she wouldn't be tormented by her status as the principal wife. She couldn't speak now, and Lei Qian was vicious, her methods of tormenting people were chilling. If they really lived together, it would be like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, unable to express her suffering.
The main reason why Wang Lang brought Wei Qiuyu with him was that he overheard someone say that Wei Qiuyu had been emphasizing to Shi Mei that she and Yao Chunnuan were from the same place.
Many people laughed at that time, "Yes, you are from the same place, from Jinniu Village."
But Wang Lang listened, and the place Wei Qiuyu mentioned didn't sound like Jinniu Village. But every time Wang Lang asked this question, Wei Qiuyu always felt very painful and couldn't write it down.
Wang Lang told Wei Qiuyu about his doubts and asked if she knew what the secret weapon used by the Xing family army was.
The fire from the sky cannot be extinguished by water. The weapon of the Xing family army is Yao Chunnuan! Wei Qiuyu's eyes lit up.
"That's oil!" Wei Qiuyu wrote quickly. There's oil exposed or in the shallow layer of the oil field. She must have gotten it! Why didn't she think of this? Wei Qiuyu was extremely upset. Yao Chunnuan, you can fool others with your tricks, but you can't fool me!
"What is oil?"
"Petroleum is an oily, flammable substance with a strange smell. It's difficult to put out with water before it burns out. For example, a fire like the one you mentioned at Governor Lei's mansion wouldn't be extinguished with water. Putting water on it would only make the fire worse."
If not enough water is put out on a fire, the water vapor will produce hydrogen, exacerbating the fire. This is common sense, and it's also some of the chemistry knowledge she learned in junior high and high school. She still remembers some of it.
“How is this oil made?”
"It's not artificial, it's formed naturally by nature."
Wang Lang looked at her answer. Although it didn't sound like what people here would say, he could still understand most of it. Anyway, he was a little used to Wei Qiuyu's strange words.
"In other words, we can find this oil outside?" Wang Lang was extremely interested in this oil. What a powerful weapon of war it is.
"Yes!" Wei Qiuyu wrote, "Oil is mainly concentrated in the north, especially in the Jinxifu area of Northeast China."
"Aren't there any in the South?"
Wei Qiuyu shook her head.
"I understand. You have a good rest. I'll go get busy first." After getting the answer, Wang Lang wanted to leave, but Wei Qiuyu hugged him around the waist.
Wang Lang struggled to break free, but found that she was trying very hard and he couldn't get free. So he could only sigh, postpone what he was about to do, and then turned around and hugged her.
…
After the Northern Di army withdrew, the general led his troops back in triumph, and the common people lined the streets to welcome the return of the warriors.
Next, it is the matter of taking over Songhua Prefecture.
The general led his troops back to the Yichun military camp for rest and recuperation, while Yao Chunnuan took an army of 10,000 elite soldiers and a group of selected basic officials, and returned to Songhua Prefecture with Meng Yan and others to handle the handover matters.
Yao Chunnuan's arrival made the entire Songhua Prefecture excited.
"Is this true? Is our Songhua Prefecture going to secede from Daliang and merge into Yichun?"
"It should be true. I heard that County Magistrate Meng arrived at the main city of Yichun two days ago and presented Songhua Mansion to the Lord Mayor of Yichun City in front of General Ganhuacheng and many ordinary people."
"Great! The sheriff's gang finally did something humane."
Meng Yan and others: ...Thank you, but they don’t really want such praise.
"Are the people of Songhua Prefecture going to live as well as the people of Yichun?"
"It should be. Did you see that? Lord Yao brought a lot of people with him. Once he completely takes over Songhua Prefecture, he will carry out drastic reforms."
"Well, Huining is already undergoing reforms. I heard they're also working on a kang recently. The City Lord's Mansion pays, and each household provides two workers. Each household will be given a free kang. If you want more, you'll have to pay for it yourself."
"The City Lord's Mansion pays? Is it that good?"
"It's true. I heard this kang is really good. In the middle of winter, as long as you burn some firewood in the kitchen, the kang in the house will always be warm. Even if you sit on it in thin clothes, you won't feel cold."
That's a bit of an exaggeration. But relatively speaking, for the people of Northeast China, the kang was a great way to beat the cold. It was also the most economical and affordable type, after all, firewood was readily available to any hardworking family.
"I heard that in the rooms with kangs, the people in the government office encouraged and suggested that we grow some vegetables."
"How bizarre! You can grow vegetables in a room with a kang?"
"I heard that someone in Yichun Juntun tried it last year and it works, but it's a little more troublesome than in the summer."
"If we can grow some, that would be great. A little trouble isn't a big deal. We're stuck in the winter anyway." Finally, in this cold winter, I can occasionally eat some lush green vegetables. This year's grain harvest isn't quite enough, so growing some vegetables would help supplement the supply.
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