"Roujia is betrothed to Li Bao?" Zhao Chen was slightly taken aback. "That's a good thing!"
Zhao Shen knew what Zhao Chen was thinking; he guessed Zhao Chen was using Roujia to control Li Bao and gain the army's support.
This idea is too naive. Not to mention whether you can control Li Bao through Roujia, it's questionable whether Roujia is even willing to help you.
Don't forget, there are other princes as well.
News has come from Tokyo again: the princes in the imperial harem are being born one after another.
"Duke Chongguo should try to capture Aliben."
Zhao Chen nodded; this was indeed his most pressing issue right now.
The Song army marched at full speed and arrived at Lingdingyang about ten days later.
Busy figures could be seen everywhere outside Hong Kong Village. After half a month of continuous work, everyone was exhausted.
The rebels kept coming, launching a new attack every day from the coast.
Eight days ago, Xiao Yi could no longer hold out, so Xu Yunsheng, who was originally ordered to remain stationary, had to land ahead of schedule to support Xiao Yi.
What was most worrying was not the exhaustion from fighting all night, but the fact that many people died during the battle. July is the height of summer, and the weather in Hong Kong Village is extremely hot and humid, making it easy for corpses to decompose.
Even with specialized personnel to handle it, it's impossible to clean it all up in time.
Therefore, the stench of corpses permeated the surroundings.
And what's worse, the river water is no longer drinkable.
To prevent the spread of the epidemic, military-supplied drinking water was activated five days ago.
But the remaining water can only last for another seven days at most.
On a high slope, Xiao Yi's brows were furrowed tightly.
Xu Yunsheng said, "Judging from the distance, the Commander-in-Chief should be back soon."
"These rebels are truly despicable; how could they kill their own people like this!"
“Brother Xiao, I saw many barbarians among the rebels. They are not our own people! It seems that this rebellion was started by those barbarians!”
Xiao Yi sighed. After all, he was a graduate of the Imperial Military Academy, a disciple of the Emperor.
He was still young and full of enthusiasm, thinking he could make great achievements, but he never expected the sudden rebellion to make the situation so passive.
Xu Yunsheng said, "If the commander's reinforcements don't arrive by the day after tomorrow, we'll retreat back to the ship first. If all else fails, we'll temporarily return to Quanzhou for reorganization!"
He clenched his fists so tightly that blood seeped through the bandages, and veins bulged on his forehead: "I'm not reconciled! If reinforcements don't arrive by the day after tomorrow, you take the brothers and the villagers of Hong Kong Village back to Quanzhou, and I will fight to the death here!"
"Brother Xiao, why bother? As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild. I'm sure even if Commander Li were here, he wouldn't agree with you."
Xiao Yi frowned deeply: "I entered school in the third year of the Jingkang era and graduated four years ago. I remember on the first day of school, His Majesty personally came to visit us. He said something to us: everyone has their own value, and people must find their own value. The value of a soldier of the Great Song Dynasty is to protect the country and defend the homeland! And my value is to protect the peace of the Lingdingyang. Now that there is a riot in Guangzhou, I dare not act alone!"
Just as Xu Yunsheng was about to say something more, the bugle call suddenly sounded from below.
"The enemy is attacking!"
Xiao Yi immediately stood up, grabbed the musket that was lying to the side, and rushed forward with great speed, with his guards following closely behind.
Xu Yunsheng quickly followed.
Xiao Yi opened the Thousand-Mile Gazette and saw a large group of rebels landing on the shore and moving in this direction.
The leader was a bearded man named Feng Bao, a notorious pirate from the Lingdingyang.
He was originally from Panyu, with ancestral roots in the Central Plains. During the Huang Chao Rebellion, he moved south from the Central Plains and settled in Panyu.
In the first year of the Jingkang era, the imperial court was still in disarray and the four corners of the country were in ruins. Taking advantage of this, Feng Bao became a pirate and plundered passing ships in the Lingdingyang.
In the seventh year of the Jingkang era, the Song Dynasty was politically efficient and its navy was growing stronger. Feng Bao was arrested and originally sentenced to beheading, but was rescued by someone who offered a huge sum of money.
In the eleventh year of the Jingkang era, a riot broke out in Guangzhou, and Feng Bao took the opportunity to plunder.
Xiao Yi said viciously, "This Feng Bao, don't let me find out who let him go, or I'll dig up that person's ancestral grave!"
"Commander Xiao, prepare for battle immediately!"
Squads of musketeers quickly assembled, and the sound of gunfire echoed through the woods.
Feng Bao was wearing a worn-out naval officer's uniform, which he had specially paid money to get from someone else. He liked the outfit and felt a great sense of accomplishment.
He brandished his broadsword and cackled, "Brothers, bring out the muskets! These bastards are running low on bullets!"
The pirates charged forward like madmen, each carrying a flintlock musket. Although it was a third-generation flintlock musket from the eighth year of the Jingkang era, its power was not to be underestimated.
The trees in the woods were riddled with bullet holes, and people were being shot from time to time.
Several scouts rushed over: "Lord Xiao, a large number of rebel troops have landed in the west!"
How many?
"Approximately ten thousand people!"
Xiao Yi's face immediately darkened, and Xu Yunsheng, standing to the side, also looked extremely unpleasant.
At this time, in the Chen residence within Guangzhou city.
The head of the family, Chen Zhaohong, sat in the center of the main hall, flanked by his sons Chen Jialuo, Chen Jiaxin, Chen Jiaming, and Chen Jiadong.
On the other side were several merchants from the Abbasid Caliphate and Chorian.
There were three people in the Abbasid Caliphate: Aliben, Ammid, and Baishar, as well as a charioteer named Kapil.
These four people have been living in Guangzhou for more than ten years.
Since the new policies of the imperial court were introduced, a group of foreign merchants have made a fortune in the Song Dynasty, and these four people were among them.
"There are no reinforcements at all. Your court officials are indeed all greedy, pig-brains." Ali Ben said with no small amount of sarcasm. "Lord Chen, you've misjudged. I've won this gamble. Ten thousand men will land at Hong Kong Village, and the Song army there will be wiped out today, not a single one left!"
Chen Zhaohong smiled awkwardly. Indeed, he had misjudged the situation. The rebellion had been over for almost three months. Hadn't the imperial court sent Li Bao south? Why were there only a few thousand Song soldiers?
Kapil laughed and said, "So, Mr. Chen, aren't we being a bit too hasty in recruiting soldiers? To use a phrase from your Han Chinese, isn't it?"
What he meant by recruiting soldiers was actually the forced conscription of men.
"There's no rush. Let's prepare for the battles to come!" Chen Zhaohong was actually quite uneasy, knowing that the imperial court would definitely send more troops.
"When will your country's reinforcements arrive?"
Aliben laughed and said, "My biggest feeling during this period is that your court's soldiers are too weak and cannot fight. I have already mobilized five thousand brave warriors from our country, who can completely help you establish your country."
Chen Zhaohong exclaimed in surprise, "Only five thousand! Five thousand is probably not even enough to get Lingyamen here. What happened to the fifty thousand you mentioned before?!"
"Don't be impatient, you Han people are too weak, five thousand is enough!"
Piccard, a merchant from Chorian (southern India), laughed and said, "I also requested two thousand men to be transferred. Combined with the number of soldiers we recruited here, that's enough!"
Aliben laughed and said, "From now on, you'll be the emperor here! We'll all support you!"
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