Chapter 116 Alliance (Part 1) We not only need to participate in the alliance, but also...
When the news of Lu Hong and Sun Yannan jointly calling for a meeting of all the feudal lords in the land arrived, it was already the Grain in Ear season.
The people of Jinzhou were busy with their work and didn't care about these world affairs.
But when we attended night school that evening, the teacher specifically broke this matter down and explained it to everyone in detail.
Some more perceptive people realized the deeper meaning behind this.
"Purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate the traitors." Worker A muttered to himself, "Should Jinzhou also send troops?"
Worker B suddenly realized, "That makes sense, otherwise the Master wouldn't have spent time telling us all this."
“This day has finally come,” said worker Bing with a hearty laugh. “Didn’t the history books say that we should first overthrow the rule of the imperial court, and then let the various lords compete for supremacy, and the one who ultimately wins will become the new ruler of the world?”
"The world is going to be in complete chaos," sighed Ding, a fellow worker.
Student A, holding a book, remarked with emotion, "If this alliance can defeat the Lu bandits, there will be a new redistribution of benefits."
After saying this, she felt that the term "redistribution of interests" that she had just learned from the book was really great, and that she had used it very well, so she raised her chin slightly with pride.
Student B nodded, "The goddess won't let this opportunity pass her by." She will definitely make all the feudal lords in the world acknowledge her ownership of Jinzhou.
Student C said, "If only we could seize more territory, the Goddess wants to conquer the world. With only Jinzhou, I'm afraid it won't be enough."
Farmer A said worriedly, "Isn't the imperial court so easy to defeat? I heard that Lu Wei wields immense power and controls a large army."
Farmer B, however, was blindly optimistic: "How was the previous dynasty overthrown? If the previous dynasty could be overthrown, this one can too." It's just a matter of time.
Farmer C thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, “Although the broken ship still has three thousand nails, the feudal lords of the world can afford to wait. If it doesn’t work once, we can try again.”
"As Confucius said, no dynasty lasts forever; this dynasty will eventually become the previous one." Farmer Ding can now confidently discuss politics and history.
"Dynastic changes are commonplace," Lady A said, looking intently at her companions, "but we goddesses are the creators of a new world!"
The woman, with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed, said, “Everyone must be prepared for a long war, perhaps a few years, perhaps a dozen years, perhaps several decades.”
Lady C had blind faith in the goddess, saying, "Then we must do our best to support the soldiers on the front lines!"
“That’s true,” the young woman Ding nodded. “Although we’re not on the front lines like the women in the clinic and laundry, there are many things we can do from the rear.”
He Qinglan, in his capacity as the governor of Jinzhou, issued a proclamation: First, Jinzhou will participate in the alliance meeting. Soon, He Qinglan, Ning Huai'an, Zhu Youchuan, Yun Youning, Feng Jiawei, and others will lead an army of 50,000 to Li County outside Shengzhou City.
Secondly, Jinzhou will take over the southwest region, and Hu Dazhu, Xiang Yuesheng, Mo Jingchun, and Gu Lanying will lead an army of 30,000 southward.
Third, all matters concerning Jinzhou were to be handled by Cheng Hui and Fang Qin.
This announcement surprised many people.
Ah, not only do we have to participate in the alliance meeting, but we also have to fight in the southwest?
...Can we do it?
Neither the imperial court nor the southwest should be underestimated.
The entire administrative office, from top to bottom, carried out orders like emotionless machines, strengthening management, transmitting information, allocating personnel, and preparing supplies...
The farmers continued to plant and harvest according to their original schedule. With the goddess present, the soldiers would not lack food and fodder. With the current granaries in Jinzhou, taking a suitable amount would be enough.
The workshops began to increase production: weapons, firearms, medicines, and clothing. These are all consumables, and if the rear cannot meet the demand in time, it will affect the morale of the soldiers on the front lines.
With countless people working tirelessly day and night in preparation, the day of departure arrived.
Tens of thousands of soldiers stood in neat rows on the square, their battle flags fluttering in the wind.
The area was crowded with Jinzhou residents who had come to see them off. They watched the soldiers in silence, some wiping away tears silently.
He Qinglan, Hu Dazhu, and Ning Huai'an walked onto the stage.
He Qinglan stood at the front, looking down at everyone, and calmly delivered her speech: Why do we participate in the alliance? Why do we fight in the southwest?
Why? To protect the fruits of our labor.
“If Jinzhou is not strong enough, sooner or later someone will attack us, seize the grain we grow, seize the salt, sugar, tea and wine we produce, and slaughter our people.”
"Therefore, we must conquer the southwest region, expand our territory, strengthen our power, and provide ourselves with a stable rear area for development and retreat."
"We must participate in the alliance, defeat the corrupt and incompetent rulers, and ensure that the fruits of our labor will not be stolen." This is the strategy of using force to defend.
"We will use our actual military achievements and our strength to let the world know that Jinzhou is not to be trifled with. Whoever prevents us from farming, we'll plant them in the ground!"
"We will not allow anyone to disrupt the current lives of the people of Jinzhou, nor will we allow anyone to stop Jinzhou from developing. We will do our best to keep the flames of war outside of Jinzhou."
The goddess's speech ignited the fighting spirit of countless people.
The vast majority of the people of Jinzhou had suffered hardship. They had experienced droughts, when their homes were devoid of rice and they were almost reduced to cannibalism; they had experienced floods, watching their houses and fields being submerged and themselves falling into the water; they had experienced war, when the enemy defeated the defenders and was about to enter the city, their sharp blades aimed at them.
They suffered oppression from their elders, making healthy growth a difficult task; their wives and daughters were snatched away by powerful people, and they almost became corpses in mass graves; they could not hold onto their land and property, and could barely survive.
If they hadn't been saved by the goddess, they would never be standing here today, living a good life with food to eat, clothes to wear, and a house to live in.
They have stable jobs, young children can go to school, older children can get married and have children, and the elderly can die peacefully.
They can afford to see a doctor when they are sick, they can afford to buy things while shopping, and they dare to go out both day and night.
Their peaceful and beautiful life is hard-won, and they are willing to do everything in their power to protect it and never let anyone destroy it!
This is a battle for everyone in Jinzhou.
This will continue for several years until they ultimately win or fall.
He Qinglan's cool voice reached the ears of everyone present, "Let's go!"
The soldiers roared in unison, "By the command of the goddess!"
The people shouted, "Keep going!", "You must come back alive!", "We're waiting for your triumphant return!", "Keep going, everyone!"
The auspicious time has arrived.
The two armies left the city, watched by the people.
One goes south, one goes north.
At the same time, the governors and prefects of various states and counties were also considering whether or not to send troops.
After all, it would be good if the Allies won, as they would be able to share more territory and power as participants.
If they lose, they will not only lose soldiers and supplies, but also face retaliation from Lu Wei.
Ningzhou.
"Of course we must send troops." Cao Ruheng covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed for a while. In the current situation, the court and the feudal lords are in a life-or-death relationship. Either the feudal lords overthrow the court, or the court annihilates the feudal lords.
He took the warm water Ye Hui handed him, drank half a cup in one gulp to suppress his cough, and said, "But who will lead the troops to Shengzhou?"
The strategists and generals could not understand the meaning behind Cao Ruheng's question.
Ye Hui's heart stirred. She took the water glass and replied gently, "You are the governor of Ningzhou, so naturally you should go. However..." She paused, "...your health...if you were to travel so far to Shengzhou..."
Zhu Yunwei understood. His first reaction was no, how could he let his wife go to Shengzhou on behalf of the governor? But the next second he thought of He Qinglan.
If He Qinglan is to become the governor of Jinzhou, he will inevitably lead his troops to Shengzhou.
If she can do it, why can't Ye Hui?
Cao Ruheng is in poor health, so it's fine for him to take a trip to Jinzhou for fun. But if he has to go through the trouble of participating in the war, who knows... it would be better to let Ye Hui go in his place.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwei met Cao Ruheng's gaze, and Cao Ruheng smiled faintly.
Zhu Yunwei: "..."
He sighed inwardly, then bowed respectfully and said solemnly, "My lord is not well. Perhaps he should remain in Ningzhou, while Lady Ye leads the troops to the alliance meeting."
Everyone: "..."
They weren't fools, and upon hearing Zhu Yunwei's words, they naturally understood Cao Ruheng's purpose today.
But... isn't it... a bit much for Lady Ye, a frail woman, to lead troops to Shengzhou to participate in the alliance meeting...?
Will the other lords laugh at our lord because of this?
Zhu Yunwei spoke eloquently, listing his reasons one, two, and three.
In conclusion, our lord is in poor health and unfit for the battlefield; it would be better to send Lady Ye instead. Lady Ye and our lord are husband and wife; if Lady Ye goes, it's equivalent to our lord going.
Upon hearing this, one of the advisors' brows furrowed. He pondered for a moment, and indeed, given the lord's health, if things were to change in the future… wouldn't Ningzhou be…
Some advisors suggested that since Lady Ye was a woman, it was inappropriate for her to go to Shengzhou to participate in the alliance meeting.
Cao Ruheng covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed again. After he finished coughing, he said, "Although Madam is a woman, her health is better than mine. If I go to Shengzhou, it is hard to say whether I will be able to come back alive."
Upon hearing this, the strategists and generals exchanged glances, no longer daring to persuade him further. Knowing their lord was unwell, they were insisting he go to the battlefield; what if something truly happened to him…
Xu Dongyang sighed and said, "The new master of Jinzhou, He Qinglan, is also a woman, so Madam Ye is not entirely alone."
That's how the matter was settled.
The strategist and military officer withdrew, leaving only the couple in the hall.
Ye Hui held Cao Ruheng's hand, her eyes filled with worry.
Cao Ruheng smiled and said, "Go ahead. You can make better decisions in Shengzhou. Leave Ningzhou to me. My health isn't good, but I'm still capable of handling the affairs of Ningzhou."
Ye Hui closed her eyes briefly, then opened them a moment later, staring at Cao Ruheng with a resolute expression, and said, "I will certainly not betray your trust, my lord."
Cao Ruheng nodded. "We are husband and wife, one body. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"
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