Chapter 119 "Thank you, you forced me to do this."
On the third day of February, Xie Ci led the Lingzhou and Xiangzhou divisions of the Northern Army into Songzhou City.
The elders and the people of the city lined the streets to welcome him.
Songzhou is one of the oldest cities on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. Facing the water and overlooking the land, it serves as a transportation hub. Its towering walls, built of blue bricks, are rebuilt as old ones become old ones, yet their only constant remains: their strength and durability. The arrow towers and watchtowers atop the walls, the broad bluestone streets leading directly to the city gates, and the rows of tall and short houses and shops all exude a sense of age-old simplicity and prosperity.
Songzhou had a population of 800,000, and they poured out from Wuliting outside the city gate, lining the streets all the way to the city gate. From afar, they could see fluttering flags, and cavalry and infantry marching slowly in formation, their hard black armor, each one at equal distances, silently and majestically. The crowd became agitated, with laughter, cheers, and applause ringing out.
Many soldiers felt excited and proud, and subconsciously straightened their backs to make themselves look more majestic.
Xie Ci rode his horse slowly at the forefront of the troops, and Qin Xian, Liang Fen, Qin Yong, Pang Li and other generals followed closely behind.
Leading the way was a handsome and imposing young general, wearing black armor and a blue cape, his eyes cold and imposing. Zhang Shen, a respected elder of Songzhou who had led the defenses of the city, was already waiting at the city gate. Zhang Shen smiled and said, "This is our General Xie."
Zhang Shenchong clasped his fists in thanks and Xie Ci nodded.
The elders and respected people had already hurried forward and bowed to greet him. Xie Ci immediately jumped on his horse and helped the people in the first few rows up.
Leading the charge was none other than the great hero Guo Bingyuan, a stocky, square-faced man in his forties. He wore a brand new brown-yellow warrior uniform with a right-side lapel. He cupped his fists and said with a smile, "We Songzhou people have long admired General Xie. Seeing him today, I'm convinced that the Dragon and Phoenix Army is truly as mighty as I imagined!"
Everyone was very excited. Some of the older people wanted to speak but were so excited that they couldn't say anything several times.
Xie Ci clasped his fists and said, "Thank you all for your trust today. I will definitely live up to your expectations!"
He said solemnly.
He turned around again and spoke loudly to the people who were lining the streets to greet him, with all his strength.
On the spot, cheers and responses surged like a tide in an instant.
This moment was really heart-stirring. Not to mention thanking him, even the generals behind him such as Qin Xian, Liang Fen, Zhang Shen and Pang Li could not help but show excitement on their faces. They always maintained a serious and resolute image to command the troops outside, but at this moment, none of them could suppress their emotions and looked around.
Even if there is blood spilled and many scars sustained, it is all worth it at this moment.
Xie Ci nodded to his left and right, and the elders such as Guo Bingyuan sat on both sides and made a gesture of invitation: "Please!"
"good!"
Xie Ci jumped onto his horse, and the young generals and lieutenants behind him dismounted to free up their horses and led them forward. Guo Bingyuan and others also mounted their horses. Even the white-haired elder who was originally going to be helped into the sedan chair refused and climbed onto the horse's back with the help of the soldiers and juniors.
They led the way, welcoming Xie Ci and the army behind him, and entered the great city of Nanshui amidst the people of the city lining the streets to welcome them.
…
After the great victory on the Songjiang and Minshui lines, all water routes leading to the heart of Jiangnan were opened.
After resting for seven or eight days, Xie Ci officially led his troops eastward.
Wherever his troops went, the Gao and Min families in Longxi, the Ping and Jian families in the southwest, and the Qiao, Lu and Wang families who went south from Xuhuai all surrendered or fled.
They don't have many soldiers, with the most being around 10,000 or 20,000, and the least being only a few thousand, but the impact on morale is huge.
Xie Ci's army has crossed the Tianhuang River and arrived at the south of Ningzhou.
This is the edge of the heartland of Jiangnan. Once it is lost again, Xie Ci will swallow up the entire Jiangnan, and then turn around and head towards Jingnan with a great victory, and win a complete victory.
In Jiangnan and Jingnan, Xie Ci has already occupied one third and is firmly stuck at the key position where the two intersect.
The war situation took a turn for the worse, with news of surrenders and escapes coming one after another for two consecutive days.
Li Yi is now in the Southern Army camp. Xie Ci is in a very good position, and the Southern Army cannot escape into the city and let Xie's army launch a siege. Both sides are currently stationed in the lake area and the Tianqiu Mountain line behind Tianhuangchuan, facing each other from a distance.
Just now, another surrender message was delivered. Inside the tent, the atmosphere was so heavy that it was as depressing as if it were real.
Li Yi sat at the desk, motionless, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Yuchi Lin was filled with hatred. He tried to hold it in, but he couldn't help it. He suddenly stood up and kicked the small table in front of him. "These bastards! They are so angry that I am——"
They were really filled with hatred. If it weren't for the Changsun, Gao and others, they would never have suffered such a terrible defeat in the battle of Songjiang and Minshui. If only one person on their side hadn't run away, Zhang Jiechi, Guangxing and Zhao Xi wouldn't have died in the battle.
They have been comrades for so many years, sharing life and death together. It is no exaggeration to say that they are brothers of the opposite sex. No one present was not sad and indignant.
But in addition to indignation and sadness, there is also heavy worry about the war situation.
It is now obvious that the situation on the battlefield has taken a sharp turn for the worse. The 50-50 standoff can no longer be sustained. Xie Ci's army has completely gained the upper hand and is pressing forward step by step.
Xie Ci's fighting style is both cautious and fierce, with frequent unexpected moves. He is a natural battlefield commander. He obviously will not make major mistakes in battle that would give them an opportunity to take advantage of.
With the death of Zhang Jie's three generals, only Yuchi Lin and three others are left. The six generals were just enough to maintain the situation before, but now that three of them have been lost, the follow-up efforts will be stretched to the limit.
All the current difficulties and bad prospects are not because the Fanyang army is not brave, but because they are really being held back.
Yuchi Lin, a rough man, couldn't hold back and interrupted the silence with a loud curse.
Li Yi's expression couldn't help but become ferocious.
At this moment, Lin Zhun, the deputy commander of the imperial guards, who was guarding the tent, lifted the curtain and walked in quickly, announcing, "General Zhu and several General Luos are here."
…
At this point in the war, Li Yi is certainly not the only one who is trapped and anxious about the future.
Those who surrendered, or fled when faced with difficulties, were all small forces. The rest, such as Zhu Zhaopu, Luo Zhi's uncle and nephew, and the five major clans of Jiangnan - Xiao, Cai, Yuan, Lu, and Jiang - were either major warlords themselves or had their home bases in Jiangnan, so they could not escape.
Under this circumstance and the oppression of the enemy, these people were actually highly united.
The battle environment is harsh and they must find a way to turn defeat into victory.
At the very least, we must first curb Xie Ci's high morale.
Before Zhu Zhaopu came, he had already notified the others. Uncle Luo Zhi and his nephew arrived the fastest, followed by the Yuan, Lu and Jiang families.
Zhu Zhaopu and Cai Heji had already come up with a good plan. Zhu Zhaopu said coldly, "Doesn't his resignation have popular support and unity? Okay! Let's start from here!!"
Zhu Zhaopu sneered, "Drive out the poor. As our vanguard, charge at the front! Let's see what he can do. Kill him or not?!"
Kill him, and Xie Ci’s altar will collapse.
If he is not killed, he will be defeated!!
Zhu Zhaopu pushed open the military map. There were red and black arrows of different sizes on it. He pointed to the Tianqiu Mountain area in the lake area where the two armies were currently located. This was the next battlefield.
Poor people, is fifty thousand enough? If not, one hundred thousand!
There are poor and ragged people in Jiangnan who are unarmed!
Capture them and drive them to the front lines!
This time, Zhu Zhaopu has ordered all the gunpowder and tung oil in Jingnan to be transferred to the battlefield in the south of the Yangtze River, and to fight a desperate battle with all his strength!
Have the poor fishermen bundle up their fire and powder bags, drive them aboard the warships, and load them with as many matches and tung oil as possible. The east wind is blowing at this time of year, and it's just the right time. Riding on this wind, they rush towards the Northern Army's warship formation in a huge force. Do they dare to shoot them?!
If they were all shot to death, Xie Ci's popularity would be ruined, and his soldiers would probably not be able to bear it.
If you don't shoot them, have you ever heard of the burning of the linked boats at Red Cliff?!
If successful, all the warships and sailors would be burned to ashes, and Xie Ci's navy would be mostly finished.
As for the land battle, it was even simpler. They could drive these hundreds of thousands of poor people to the front lines and see if Xie Ci's army would kill them.
If I don't kill them, they will come and kill me?!
Zhu Zhaopu's eyes were stern. "If this strategy succeeds, Xie Ci will at least lose all his popularity, and we will even be able to turn defeat into victory immediately!"
He stood up suddenly, with a ferocious look of satisfaction on his face.
The Xiao family, the Cai family, and the other five major Jiangnan clans, as well as Luo Zhi's uncle and nephew, all showed great joy and slammed their hands on the table, "That's right! That's right! What a great plan!"
The success rate is very high!
The atmosphere suddenly became excited. None of these people cared about the lives of the poor and treated them like ants and lowly people.
When Tian Jian, Tang Fen and others heard this, their expressions changed drastically. They looked at each other and fell silent.
Li Yi at the top was stunned. Even though he was filled with resentment, he couldn't help but frown.
Zhu Zhaopu saw it clearly, so he said, "Your Highness, please think about it. Let's go and prepare the people first."
After he finished speaking, he sat for a while, called out to everyone, and Cai Heji and others immediately followed him out.
Everyone went their separate ways to prepare.
…
The hurried footsteps and excited words gradually faded away, and the tent became quiet.
At dusk, after seven or eight days of continuous spring rain, the sun came out again, shining on the brown and yellow cowhide tent. The room was a little damp and stuffy.
Everyone looked at each other, hesitant. Yuchi Lin held it in for a moment and whispered, "Are we really going to do this?"
He was a warrior, but everyone present was a little uneasy. In fact, everyone present was uneasy. However, they all knew that if they didn't save the situation, they would be completely defeated.
Everyone was nervous and looked up at Li Yi, who was sitting at the top of the table, waiting for him to make a decision.
Li Yi had also been injured in the battle a few days ago. The spring weather was humid and the wounds had recurred. He took off his armor and was only wearing a dark purple Lu silk coat with a slightly open collar.
Before today, Li Yi had never thought that one day he would face such a choice.
For a moment, he covered his forehead.
He was not completely evil. All of a sudden, scenes from the Northwest battlefield emerged in his mind. He and Gu Guan worked together for the Yunbei warehouse with their blood boiling.
A layer of gloom covered that incredibly handsome face. He had reached his limit. In an instant, it was like the pounding of a bell or drum. His heartbeat was rapid and heavy, his breathing became heavy. He was torn between heaven and earth. How could this happen?!
He clenched his teeth.
But, but he really doesn't want to lose!
He was exiled at the age of four, walked to the northwest, and his parents died tragically. He has walked step by step to where he is today.
"I can't lose!"
"I can't lose—"
All the past events flooded before his eyes. Li Yi's eyes were hot and veins were bulging. He stood up suddenly, gritting his teeth and shouting.
Everyone fell silent. It had been so hard up to this point, and so many people had died. Who would want to lose? They subconsciously clenched their fists.
Li Yi couldn't tell whether it was hot sweat or cold sweat. In an instant, his entire body from head to toe was soaked with dampness, and he felt a shiver of heat and cold.
But being forced to this day, after the electric shock, the balance in my heart finally "clanged"!
He steeled his resolve, and a ferocious look flashed across his handsome face.
He said hoarsely, "Xie Ci, you forced me to do this."
In just a dozen breaths, his voice became unusually hoarse, but Li Yi's expression had calmed down.
He said slowly, "Do as Zhu Zhaopu said."
Inside the dim tent, Li Yi slowly raised his eyes and said, "We must be careful to guard the rear. We can't let Gu Wan and others take advantage of the opportunity to sabotage us."
He was extremely smart and had already thought of the follow-up.
The dark clouds were blown away, covering half of the sky. Like the setting sun, the central army tent was shrouded in shadows.
Li Yi's handsome face was covered with a layer of gloom, and he spoke slowly.
…
On the tenth day of the second lunar month, a major event occurred in Jiangnan.
Countless poor men were captured for no reason and driven towards the Tianqiu Mountains and the lake area battlefield.
Jiangnan is so rich, are there many poor people?
A lot, a lot.
The south of the Yangtze River is a land of dense water networks and fertile fields, with silkworms and silk, but the fields do not belong to the tenant farmers, and the income from the mulberry mountains and silk mills has little to do with the poor.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away in Jiangnan, but it is the country's granary. The country attaches great importance to sending various officials. The officials and gentry are intertwined and greedy, and have long been stalemate. There are many fields, but they are not owned by the original farmers. In the past, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, there were ten registered farmers, but now there is less than one household on average who still owns land.
Where have all the farmers, fishermen, and so on gone? They're still working. Generation after generation, the land they cultivate becomes increasingly scarce, until they eventually become tenant farmers, selling their children and themselves. Those who can't sell their crops face exorbitant taxes and forced labor that increase year by year. Fishermen don't catch much fish to eat, salt vendors wear out their straw sandals, and many children starve to death, unable to eat a single bite of salty food. Boatmen and laborers, emaciated from pulling boats and carrying heavy loads every day, only eat once a day.
There are many poor people in the south of the Yangtze River. Their lives are not much better than those in the north. They are just luckier. They have not encountered droughts, and there are no large-scale deaths. They are able to survive.
The aristocratic gentry of Jiangnan, big and small, headed by Xiao, Cai, Yuan, Lu, and Jiang, colluded with local officials from term to term, and their roots were intertwined and they took advantage of each other. Here, they were the local tyrants and local emperors.
On this day, countless poor people were driven onto the streets and fields, heading northwest, across the lake area, and into the heart of the battlefield.
They were half-naked, ragged, dirty, and skinny. They had no weapons, cried and were at a loss as they were driven to become the vanguard.
There are more than 100,000 of them.
There are many poor people in Jiangnan, and all this happened in just a few days, but Gu Wan and his team, as intelligence personnel, got the news first.
When she heard the news, she dropped her spoon and stood up holding the clay bowl, "Oh my god!"
Oh my god! Is this crazy?!
The army of thanksgivings, with their overwhelming momentum, faced these confused, frightened poor people who were as thin as skeletons and were being driven towards them.
Everyone was in a panic, what on earth was going on?!
All the soldiers looked at each other, and those holding spears and swords could not help but shrink back.
…
So in the next battle, the Northern Army was defeated.
This was the first sudden defeat since the start of the Civil War.
Xie Ci gave an urgent order to retreat to Tianhuangchuan and the Eastern Army’s main camp, stationing troops there and not moving out for the time being.
The battle had just ended, and the Second Marine Division issued a series of orders to stabilize the situation, and the two sides were once again in a stalemate.
No one had time to remove and wash their armor yet. There was sporadic rain and the charred gray of gunpowder smoke. Victory and defeat were common in the military, and they had not suffered much loss. However, everyone's face was more gloomy than ever before, and no one could smile.
Xie Ci was so angry that his hands began to shake: "Li Yi! I will cut you into pieces!!"
He shouted loudly.
Xie Ci's chest was heaving violently, his breathing was as heavy as a fire, and his expression could even be described as distorted with anger.
The Southern Army broke the tacit convention of war and pushed the poor onto the battlefield as vanguards.
The news spread like wildfire, and the whole world started cursing.
However, this boiling emotion did not affect the sudden war clouds in Jiangnan.
Originally, Xie Ci's army was winning victory after victory, and there were many places like Songcheng, and the people in many places were looking forward to it with great joy.
But after the heated debate, it strangely calmed down and became silent. The whole world was watching Xie Ci's army, to see what they would do.
The Northern Army that marched south, and its commander, Xie Ci, the son of the Xie family who drove out the Northern Rong and recovered the country, was suddenly put on the spot.
Without saying a word, the whole world is watching.
But for Xie Ci, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of innocent poor people who were pushed to the front line and public support, there was another very important thing.
He had under his command 800,000 soldiers who followed him through battles and risked their lives.
There was no fighting on land, and because the navy withdrew its troops in time, the burning of the warships was not too serious, but many soldiers were burned.
After Xie Ci returned to the camp, he immediately went to see the wounded soldiers who had been wounded in the water battle. Burns are the most painful and are most prone to ulceration and infection. The entire medical camp was overwhelmed with so many patients, and soldiers were rolling around on their beds and the floor with large blisters and burn wounds on their faces and hands, in agony.
Xie Ci's eyes were hot, and all the generals who went with him couldn't help but sob and cry like him.
These are the soldiers who have been with them through thick and thin!
Xie Ci was also responsible for the lives of more than 800,000 soldiers. They followed him in battles across the country, risking their lives and entrusting their lives to him.
As a coach, you must put the lives of your soldiers first no matter what.
After returning from the medical camp, Xie Ci's face was distorted with anger. He wished he could tear Li Yi, Zhu Zhaopu, Xiao Daluo's uncle and nephew and others to pieces and eat them bite by bite.
But what is more pressing is how to break this dilemma?
There is no middle ground when it comes to thanking someone, you either go forward or you go back.
Either charge forward, or if you remain restrained like this, you will be pinned down and eventually be defeated.
what to do?
The author has something to say:
Li Yi had completely fallen; fate could completely change a person. If this were a peaceful time or other circumstances, the dark side of Li Yi's character would have been covered up, and he might have become a person of praise, such as the one who turned the tide in the Northwest War.
But the part of him that was facing the sun had been completely pulled into the abyss.
I'll catch typos when I come back, huh?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
