Chapter 549 Preserving the Fire
On this day, Wu Ren, Ji Dashao and Tao Xun got together for a rare occasion.
A rare look of relief appeared on the faces of the three of them.
They have been really busy recently and finally delivered the food and supplies to the designated location.
In Governor Lu's last letter, he mentioned that Pingzhou was going to send troops to attack Donghai, and asked them to help solve some of the food and grass problems. He also gave several alternative locations where they needed to secretly transport the food and grass.
After discussing it, the three of them picked a place that everyone thought was good, and then divided the tasks, with each person responsible for a part.
In order to complete this mission, they all worked hard.
Needless to say, Tao Xun has a geographical advantage. After all, the Tao family has been in Qingzhou for many years and has a solid foundation, which can radiate to the nearby Xuzhou.
As for the Ji family, they were wealthy and powerful, with branches in Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Donghai.
Although the Ji family branch was abolished and became useless after Donghai became the separatist territory of King Jin, there are still some pieces of iron in the rotten ship, and they can still be used by scraping it.
After Ji Dashao and Tao Xun finished their parts, they looked back and saw that Wu Ren had also finished.
Young Master Ji and Tao Xun: ...
For them, it was the most unexpected thing.
Tao Xun asked Wu Ren secretly, "Did you use the Hu family's connections?"
Young Master Ji was more direct, "You sacrificed your looks?"
They said that the head of the Hu family was a woman named Ding Xiang, also known as Manager Ding. Her husband died before she married into the Hu family, and she became a widow.
The Hu family has few members, but they have enviable wealth, and all their relatives covet them.
This woman was good at business and very bold. After she got married, she became the head of the household and supported the Hu family.
After the Pingzhou Uprising, the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce was put on the list of prohibited transactions by the Dali court, and she even came to them specifically to seek cooperation.
Young Master Ji and Tao Xun watched coldly, the relationship between the two seemed a little unusual.
Wu Ren rolled his eyes at them and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
It is true that he borrowed Dingxiang's relationship, but she also took the opportunity to discuss some conditions that were difficult to negotiate before. She is definitely not the kind of person who would be blinded by emotions.
Tao Xun was quite curious about Wu Ren's thoughts, "Old Wu, what do you think?"
Young Master Ji stroked his chin and continued, "If I remember correctly, she is two years older than you? Besides, this Shopkeeper Ding is not very good-looking."
Lilac is not that beautiful.
Hearing this, Wu Ren said calmly, "In this world, a smart brain is more useful than a pretty face."
In this chaotic world, you must first ensure your own survival before you can plan for the future.
If it were not a time of chaos, but a time of prosperity or peace, he could be a little willful and marry a beautiful wife, at least the offspring he would have would also be beautiful.
Hearing this, Young Master Ji gave him a thumbs up and said, "Very insightful. Governor Lu is really good at training his disciples."
Wu Ren smiled faintly. His master had said that reading makes one wise. When they first met, he could clearly feel the gap between him and Young Master Ji. Later, as he improved, this feeling became less and less. His master's constant flow of books was worth it.
Chang'an
Another urgent memorial arrived from Sun Ming, traveling six hundred miles.
Taiwei Xiao Qun handed it to the emperor silently.
Song Mo took it and read it. This time the memorial no longer urged the court to send troops for support. Instead, it stated that if the court was unable to support Yanmen and Daijun, he would request to withdraw his troops from Yanmen and Daijun and retreat to Xinxing City and Zhongshan City for defense elsewhere.
This was Sun Ming's only option, as the imperial reinforcements had not yet arrived.
Of the 100,000 soldiers in the Sun family army, only 50,000 are still combat-ready, and there are more than 10,000 wounded soldiers.
Of course, the Xianbei also suffered heavy losses.
But Sun Ming now just wants to keep some spark for the Sun family army and not wipe it out.
Song Mo looked at the memorial expressionlessly. His plan with Xie Zhan to eliminate the two kings was at a critical moment, and no changes were allowed.
Song Mo gave a cold order, "Tell Sun Ming to hold on and not retreat!"
I told myself that I had to make some choices. Besides, Sun Ming and Pingzhou were still together, so even if the Sun family army was gone in the end, it wouldn't be a pity.
…
Yang Yingqin, the general of Zhenxi Army, received the emperor's order and was galloping on the official road with 100,000 soldiers and horses, preparing to go north to Yanmen to support Sunjiamen. Unexpectedly, when passing through Tianmen, he received a secret order ordering him to lead his troops to turn south to encircle and suppress the rebellion.
The confidant was puzzled, "General, aren't we going to support the Sun family army?" Besides, hadn't the court already joined forces with the two kings to encircle and suppress the traitor Xie Zhan? Why did they also want them to join in the fun? It was obvious that the military situation in Yanmen in the north was extremely urgent.
"Just obey military orders. These are not your business." Yang Yingqin looked at what was written on the secret decree, which asked him to go to the south and obey the orders of the person who held the other half of the Tiger Mansion. He knew that something was wrong.
Southland
Fang Xinkai is a general under King Cheng, and is also the main general who led 50,000 troops to encircle and suppress Xie Zhan in the southwest.
The general leading the troops on the King of Jin's side was Zhao Biao.
Fang Xinkai looked at the Lingnan South Gate and said to Dong Guowei and Zhao Biao with a smile, "This gate will be broken in less than three days."
Dong Guowei and Zhao Biao are not talking to each other. Isn't this something that anyone with a discerning eye can see?
Fang Xinkai recommended himself, "General Dong, how about our army be the vanguard starting tomorrow?"
As soon as he said this, everyone knew what he was planning. He wanted to take the credit.
Dong Guowei didn't say anything, but his trusted general next to him had something to say, "Why?" Their imperial army had been fighting the South for such a long time, and they were about to win, but he wanted to reap the benefits. Why?
Fang Xinkai saw that Dong Guowei didn't say anything, and it was obvious that he didn't agree with his proposal. Zhao Biao next to him was even more concerned.
Fang Xinkai returned to his own military tent with an unexpected look on his face.
At this time, his confidant hurried in, "General, General, I have good news!"
Fang Xinkai was in a bad mood. Seeing his confidant's happy face, he lazily asked, "What good news?"
"I just learned that there's a small path that can bypass the city gate and go straight to Huanglong."
"What? Tell me what happened?"
"This is what a soldier from the Southern Expedition Army who I used to get along well with told me..."
After Fang Xinkai found out the truth, he asked one of his subordinates to take people to secretly verify the authenticity.
Prince Cheng and Governor Xie had previously formed an alliance, and their armies had cooperated before. And then there were always those one or two who hit it off immediately and got along well. Now that the Southland was in imminent danger, it was possible that the other side might use this secret path to surrender.
Later, Fang Xinkai was delighted to learn that the news was true. He clapped his palm on his confidant's shoulder like a palm leaf fan and said, "Good job! Well done!"
Fang Xinkai asked someone to call his subordinates over.
During this period, he paced back and forth in the military tent, wondering whether he should give it a try.
Under the command of King Cheng, there were two great generals, one was him and the other was Wei Kuang. But Fang Xinkai could sense that King Cheng clearly relied more on Wei Kuang.
Fang Xinkai felt that if he made great contributions in the battle to encircle and suppress Xie Zhan, he would definitely surpass Wei Kuang and be valued by King Cheng.
After his subordinates arrived, he asked for their opinions on the matter.
Someone agreed, "General, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we can capture Xie Zhan alive, wouldn't it be a great achievement?"
Fang Xinkai stroked his beard and thought so too.
Some people disagreed, "General, we should proceed steadily and cautiously, not seeking merit, but avoiding mistakes."
Fang Xinkai didn't think so. The prince had already agreed to surrender. In the future, his chances of making meritorious service would be much smaller. Only by attacking Pingzhou or Xianbei would he have the opportunity to make great merit.
Moreover, whether it is a war with the Xianbei or Pingzhou, the war will probably be very difficult and there will be few opportunities to achieve great merit.
This time, we have to give Xie Zhan, the fallen dog, a good beating. This is a rare opportunity.
"Be careful, there might be a trap." The subordinate reminded.
Fang Xinkai's confidant knew that their general was already tempted, and immediately refuted those who disagreed, "You are overthinking it, General. Even if it is a trick, don't forget that we have 50,000 troops. We can march straight in, even if we face the central army of the Southland, we don't have to offend. What can Xie Zhan use to plot against us?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
