Chapter 611 Luo Kong Instructs Liu Xuande
With flags fluttering all over the fields, each with the surnames of the princes embroidered on it, the soldiers were divided into three groups and headed towards Gong County.
The first troops to arrive had 100,000 men, and there were countless more following.
For this great battle, the Han court gathered 200,000 elite soldiers, and the total number of combat troops was over 500,000. If the troops escorting the logistics are included, it can be said that it was a million-strong army that was invincible.
However, these troops are usually recruited in batches and sent to the battlefield in batches.
The vanguard may have already started the battle, and the rearmost army may have just sworn in to set off.
For example, Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou, had already arrived here and claimed to have 30,000 soldiers and horses.
But in fact, Bingzhou is so far away that it is impossible to recruit 30,000 soldiers and horses in a hurry. He came with elite troops, and then asked his subordinates in Bingzhou to continue recruiting local militia to serve as logistics soldiers.
Because usually in such large-scale battles involving hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to the main battlefield, there are also sub-battlefields. The victory or defeat of a local battle cannot determine the outcome of the entire battle.
Both sides continued to add troops, counselors confronted each other to increase their chances of winning, and generals charged into the battlefield to change every part that affected the outcome.
As long as the gap between the advisers and the generals is not too big, this kind of battle will definitely have a winner. Until the last moment, when all the trump cards are used up, both sides will almost play with open cards. In the end, it depends on who has a stronger foundation, who dares to fight hard, and who can withstand it, and who will win. This is a great battle.
Among the first 100,000 people who arrived, the strongest were naturally Luo Kong's 30,000 Western Region Iron Cavalry. These were elite cavalrymen with more than three horses each, and even the light cavalry wore leather armor.
From the moment this army appeared in the Central Plains, it was quite eye-catching because more than half of them had obvious Western Hu faces, many had obvious mixed-race faces, and about one-third had obvious Han faces.
The princes and soldiers living on the border often saw this kind of Hu people's volunteer army and did not think it was strange, but it was the first time for the people in the Central Plains to see it and it was quite strange.
In particular, the Western Regions troops basically all believe in religion, which makes them even more incompatible with the Central Plains troops.
The Western Regions army came from thousands of miles away, and their biggest feeling was that there were really many people in the Central Plains. In terms of prosperity alone, the Western Regions were not inferior to the Central Plains.
The princes who came to support the king gathered together, and it could be said that there were counselors like rain and generals like forest. This campaign to support the king brought together almost the best of all the local nobles and powerful people.
Luo Kong originally thought that Jia Xu was already the top ceiling, but he didn't expect that he would meet two or three people like Jia Xu.
At a glance, they were all children from famous Confucian schools. Even Luo Kong could only sigh that these families were truly loved by God to have so many outstanding children.
As the Taiping Army gradually entered Gong County, although they were dozens of miles apart, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
In the army supporting the king, Luo Kong looked at Guan, Zhang and Zhao in front of him with surprise. There was steam coming out of their heads, and it was obvious that they had just experienced an intense exercise.
Since the day they teamed up to fight Luo Xiao, the three of them have frequently practiced against each other, because they all had a premonition that they would have to fight Zhang Jiao again sooner or later.
Zhang Jue's invincible figure put too much pressure on them. At that time, they didn't know how strong Zhang Jue had become. If he didn't make any progress, he might really die on the battlefield where swords and knives had no mercy.
In Luo Kong's opinion, even if the three men in front of him did not have the talent to be a commander who could lead an entire legion, their martial arts skills alone were enough to make them unrivaled generals who could charge into battle, kill generals and seize flags. There were not many people in the world who could be better than them.
Throughout the long history of the Luo family, there is an advantage that no one else can match. The strength of civil officials is a matter of opinion, but the strength of military generals, the Luo family has a rough standard.
Although it is not as obvious as Ji Zhao's system property panel, for example, 93 and 94 cannot be distinguished, but 94 and 90 can be clearly distinguished.
Moreover, the anchor of this gap is the entire river of history. First of all, excluding Su Wang, the Luo family has actual combat records of famous martial arts masters in history. These are not particularly empty comments, but only discussions of battlefield lethality.
According to this set of standards, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are all capable of taking the heads of enemy generals in the midst of thousands of troops.
In the family's history, our ancestor Luo Wugong was our rival in terms of military strength. That's too powerful to think about.
Luo Kong believed that he could not withstand the charge of three men like this leading the army.
But Luo Kong knew that the Taoist leader of the Taiping Army, Zhang Jiao, was able to defeat four powerful generals of this level alone.
"hiss."
Luo Kong took a deep breath, the more he thought about it, the more terrified he felt, "Who on earth is Zhang Jiao, and how could he be able to suppress the three of you?"
Zhang Fei's face was dark to begin with, and he did not seem to have changed. He said in a muffled voice, "Zhang Jiao must be the reincarnation of King Xiang. I have never been submissive to anyone in my life, and Zhang Jiao is one of them."
Guan Yu's face was always red, he held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand, gently twirled his beautiful beard, opened his eyes which were usually slightly narrowed, and said solemnly: "Although Zhang Jue is a traitor, he is indeed a hero."
Zhao Yun was still wearing white armor and robe, holding a silver spear, looking handsome and extraordinary, and he said in a deep voice: "Since King Xiang, there has been no one who has seen Zhang Jiao's ability.
Yun had heard that when you were in the Western Regions, you liked to lead your troops to charge into battle, but you must be careful this time, don't charge into the battle, just leave it to us.
Anyone who is not capable of defeating ten thousand men may not be able to survive more than one round under Zhang Jiao.
Your Majesty is a man of many gold and is the commander of the Western Regions. You must not place yourself in such a dangerous place."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei nodded at the same time, agreeing with Zhao Yun's words. Luo Kong thanked him and said, "I have taken note of what Zilong said. I will stay in the rear to command the army and will not put myself in danger."
With this thought, Luo Kong suddenly thought about what would happen if Zhang Jue faced the Temple Army?
“Brother!”
“Brother!”
"Lord Xuande!"
Suddenly, the voices of Guan, Zhang and Zhao came to his ears. Brothers who had sworn brotherhood were naturally addressed as brothers. Zhao Yun was now under the command of Liu Bei, but had not yet acknowledged his master, so he was addressed as Lord Xuande. Luo Kong's eyes lit up when he heard this.
There are so many talented people in the world now that Luo Kong feels that the safety of his family is somewhat unstable. He still needs to gather some talents, such as Jia Xu.
Luo Kong knew that it was Liu Bei who came. He turned around and saw Liu Bei coming forward and bowing respectfully, saying, "I greet you, my lord."
Luo Kong admired and envied Liu Bei. Although he was about the same age as himself, he had tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command and could travel thousands or even tens of thousands of miles to serve the king. No matter whether they were provincial governors or county magistrates, once they passed through Liangzhou and entered Sili, all officials in the world had to give way to him.
The governor of Henei fled to his camp at night, willing to give up his position as a vassal and join him as a soldier.
And what about yourself?
When I was young, I dared to point to the big tree in front of the village and say that I should ride on this canopy. Now, so many years have passed, it is not to say that I have accomplished nothing, but I am still far from supporting the great cause of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Bei had always been fantasizing about when he would have such a status and position. At that time, he would be able to work with like-minded people to completely destroy the dilapidated Han Dynasty and restore the great cause of the former Han emperors Xiaowen, Xiaowu and Xiaoxuan.
Luo Kong saw Liu Bei staring at him in a trance, so he smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about, Lord Xuande?"
Liu Bei woke up from his fantasy. When he heard Luo Kong's question, he was naturally embarrassed to say what he was thinking, so he smiled awkwardly and said, "It's just some private matters."
Luo Kong did not ask any more questions. The five of them walked out. Luo Kong sighed and said, "Lord Xuande, the Taiping Army is approaching. I'm afraid the war will start in the next few days.
We will have to rely more on Xuande Gong’s sworn brothers in the future. Otherwise, if Zhang Jiao charges into the battle like Xiang Yu did, and the front army can’t withstand the pressure and blows up the camp, sweeping the middle army and the rear army, I’m afraid we will face a great defeat.”
After saying this, Luo Kong thought for a moment and said, "Lord Xuande, as long as you or Yunchang, Yide, and Zilong make contributions in this battle.
After the war, I will definitely recommend you at least one position of governor or prefect in the prefectures of the Central Plains. You can choose the governor or prefect, and I will give you a thousand elite cavalry and three thousand war horses!"
boom!
Luo Kong's words directly shocked Liu Bei. After all, this was really too generous.
Anyone with insight can see that even if this battle can be won, in order to pacify the current chaotic world, they still have to rely on local governors and prefects.
The provincial governors and prefects will be the most powerful people in the next period of time, and Liu Bei's status will undergo earth-shaking changes in a short period of time.
Luo Kong even took into account that Liu Bei only had a few hundred men at the moment, so he directly gave him a thousand elite cavalrymen and three thousand war horses, so that Liu Bei could secure his position as prefect.
Liu Bei recovered from his shock and bowed deeply, choking with sobs, saying: "Your Excellency's great kindness, I have no way to repay you, I can only risk my life and fight bravely."
As for the possibility that Luo Kong was deceiving him, Liu Bei had never thought of this possibility. This was the real son of the Luo family. For thousands of years, credibility was the most important thing to him. Even the tactic of false surrender was not used by the son of the Luo family.
Anyone who doubts that Luo is dishonest has no brains.
Luo Kong looked at Guan, Zhang and Zhao, and then at Liu Bei. After interacting with Liu Bei and others for some time, he felt that Liu Bei was indeed a great man.
With Guan, Zhang and Zhao, three powerful generals under his command, he will probably be able to take off soon. It would only take a little effort for me to lend him a helping hand.
Of course, there is the most crucial point, which even Liu Bei himself did not know. The thing that Luo Kong liked most about him was that he treated the common people as human beings.
Huangfu Song said that Luo Kong was too soft-hearted, which shows Luo Kong's character. Although he is a veteran on the battlefield and does not care about casualties for the sake of victory, he is a typical member of the Luo family at heart.
Liu Bei's character is so rare and precious.
In the void heaven, Ji Zhao looked at this scene. He knew what Luo Kong was thinking, and he was also quite emotional. Liu Bei was born in this era, but he had such thoughts. How precious is it?
Seeing Liu Bei was moved, Luo Kong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Lord Xuande, everyone is born and raised by their parents, but many people become indifferent to the lives of ordinary people because of their rising power. I don't agree with such people.
You are different, you have a rare kind heart.
I am concerned that you come from a humble background. Although you are a relative of the Han royal family, you are truly a child of a poor family.
It is not uncommon for people to have a kind heart when they are humble.
But when you become a powerful person in the future, I hope you will keep in mind your great wish and ambition today. I don’t want to see you become like Huangfu Song or one of the many loyal princes in the future.”
Liu Bei never expected that Wushuang Hou Luo Kong would actually say such words to him. The two of them had not known each other for very long, and these words really seemed like a case of someone being too intimate with him.
But precisely because of this, Liu Bei could hear more clearly the importance and expectations that Wushuang Hou Luokong placed on himself, especially the last sentence, in which Wushuang Hou Luokong actually compared himself to Taiwei Huangfu Song and the loyal princes.
What else could Liu Bei say?
He smiled bitterly and said, "I, Liu Xuande, am only a lowly official. I have no name in the world and no reputation in the four seas. How can I be compared with you loyal princes?"
Luo Kong laughed wildly upon hearing this. He pointed at himself and then said to Liu Bei, "I won't mention the old things during the Zhou Dynasty. You are all brave generals who charge into battle. You probably haven't read many history books.
Take the Han Dynasty for example. Han Wumu rose from a commoner to become a general of Emperor Gaozu, and Prime Minister Jia Yi was promoted to one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers in just a few years.
There are countless such things. The key is to have the ability and the appreciation of others.
Don’t you, Liu Xuande, have any ability?
Am I, Luo Kong, not considered a noble person?
This war will be over in a year at most. If you survive, you will be a governor with a salary of 2,000 stones in a year. Why can't you be compared with those princes who are loyal to the king?
Those loyal princes are only two thousand stone officials."
Can Luo Kong be considered a noble person?
Of course!
If he doesn't count, then there are few people in the whole world who are qualified. These domineering words actually made Liu Bei a little excited.
He bowed deeply again and said in a clear voice: "My Lord, I understand!"
When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei saw that Wushuang Marquis Luo Kong actually appreciated their elder brother so much, they were surprised and believed that with Wushuang Marquis' support, their elder brother would soon achieve success and fame.
Zhao Yun was born in Jizhou and had always had a good impression of the Luo family.
Now, he heard Luo Kong praising Liu Bei for his kind heart. He thought that Liu Bei was also a very kind and righteous person. He couldn't help but have a deeper affection for Liu Bei. He decided to wait and see. If Liu Bei met his standards, he would make him his lord.
————
In the third year of Longwu, the emperor conferred upon Wushuang Zhongwu Marquis the title of Zhongwu King, remembering his great merits and kindness. He also said to the crown prince and his ministers, "I have always thought of the Zhongwu King. He is virtuous and can win the hearts of the people. He is kind and righteous and can win the hearts of the people. The crown prince should work hard to do so." - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Chronicle of Xuanlie"
(End of this chapter)
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