Yang Ji had been training in the northwest for many years, had fought in battles, and was also a top scholar in the imperial examination.
He fully deserves the title of a man of both civil and military talents.
The officialdom in Jiangnan was extremely complicated and the aristocratic families were deeply rooted. Countless officials had failed in Jiangnan and were either thrown into prison or became corrupt.
Being in the officialdom of Jiangnan, wanting to keep oneself out of trouble, or even make a career, before Yang Ji, all this was just a pipe dream.
Only Yang Ji, in just a few years, not only overthrew the former governor of Jiangnan, but also overturned the officialdom of Jiangnan.
The earthquake in the officialdom of Jiangnan was caused by him.
He single-handedly cleaned up the officialdom in the south of the Yangtze River and became famous throughout the world.
He offended countless people, and countless others took him as an example.
Especially the scholars outside Jiangnan, they openly wrote articles to flatter him, calling him a famous minister of the time and a role model for our generation.
Those who hate him would like to skin him alive and drink his blood.
Those who admire him would like to build a temple for him and honor him as a sage.
Now the emperor and empress have ordered him to take charge of the southern military, and it is obvious that they want to make use of him.
If nothing unexpected happens, the next Minister of the Central Secretariat will be Yang Ji.
Yang Ji was a famous minister of the time. Although he was still very young and many people were dissatisfied with him, seeing that the king's uncle Gu Ting was willing to obey his orders, the other arrogant and powerful generals could only swallow their resentment and anger and listen to his command.
The war broke out, and everything from the imperial court to the local government began to move rapidly around the war.
Meanwhile, war was also going on in the northern steppes.
But the scale of the war was far less than that in the south.
…
Yuan Yong had a hard time.
The Great Zhou Dynasty allied with King Anxi and cut off his trade routes.
All checkpoints were replaced by people from the Northwest Marshal's Office to guard them strictly.
The supplies were cut off and there was no way to get even a grain of rice.
The days of eating meat and drinking wine in big mouthfuls are gone forever.
The purpose of the Northwest Marshal's Office was to trap Yuan Yong to death due to the lack of supplies.
Yuan Yong was forced into a corner and had to plant sweet potatoes on the ranch to solve the food problem.
Because of the lack of supplies and demoralized people, growing sweet potatoes cannot solve the problem.
The people under him were a motley crowd, consisting of dozens of small tribes, so there was certainly no question of their loyalty.
When the wind was favorable, everyone roared and shouted, and everyone respected Yuan Yong as their leader. They were willing to be ordered around by him and eat under him.
When the wind is against you, everyone is full of complaints, complaining about being poor and suffering.
They never thought that their lives were even harder before they followed Yuan Yong.
All they know is that the good days are over.
Yuan Yong was blacklisted by the Zhou court.
There is no need for the Northwest Military Governor's Office to send troops to fight them. One day Yuan Yong will be trapped to death.
Continuing to follow Yuan Yong will lead to death.
To escape or not?
How to escape?
Each small tribe has its own plans and is ready to break away from Yuan Yong at any time.
But before leaving, I have to do something good.
People were in a panic, and everyone's eyes were like those of hungry wolves, ready to be bitten back at any time.
Uncle Chen was very worried and frightened.
He rode a horse and found Yuan Yong by the river.
"Sir, people are stirring up trouble! If you don't take action, I'm afraid someone will rebel against you."
Yuan Yong took his knife and dug out a sweet potato.
"Look at how well these sweet potatoes are growing. By autumn, we'll be able to harvest at least hundreds of thousands of pounds of sweet potatoes. They're excellent for making dry food or brewing wine. Barbarians are barbarians, they only see the petty gains in front of them and never make long-term plans. Beirong's defeat at the hands of the Great Zhou was not unjust."
Uncle Chen was filled with worry. "Those barbarians, if you let them eat sweet potatoes, they'll kill people right away. They want wine, tea, and carefully prepared food and drinks, and..."
"You're an ungrateful wolf that can never be fed. If that's the case, why not just kill it?"
When Yuan Yong talked about killing people, his tone was nonchalant, as if he was saying that the weather was really nice today and what to eat.
Uncle Chen stepped forward and asked, "Who do you plan to kill, sir?"
Yuan Yong sneered, "Whoever jumps the loudest will be killed, tonight. I want to make an example of him."
"I understand. I'll go and get ready."
Yuan Yong waved his hand, he was very confident in Uncle Chen.
Late that night, there were loud shouts and cries of killing in the camp.
The night sky was dyed red with blood. Uncle Chen led his trusted men and slaughtered three or five small tribes with a population of over a thousand in one night.
The killing lasted from late at night until dawn, and the blade of the sword was chipped and curled.
There were splatters of blood everywhere on the tent.
A thousand heads were piled outside the camp gate, visible to everyone.
Those who were still alive had numb expressions and fear in their eyes.
Those who were originally clamoring to leave now all calmed down.
Yuan Yong stood on the high platform. "In three days, we will march south to raid the Grass Valley! During these three days, everyone should conserve their energy. If anyone has a different idea, these 1,000 heads will be your fate. I can make you eat delicious food and drink delicious drinks, but I can also make you lose your heads. Respect me as your leader, and anyone who dares to disobey my orders will be killed without mercy."
Yuan Yong used simple and brutal killing methods to intimidate his men.
For the time being, due to the fear of being dominated by a thousand heads, no one dared to leave secretly at this time, and no one dared to disobey Yuan Yong at this time.
Three days later, Yuan Yong led his men south to raid the valley, intending to plunder and improve the situation.
He avoided the cities and went deep into the countryside.
At the beginning, everything went smoothly.
After plundering several villages, the food supply improved and people's hearts became more stable.
When people’s hearts are determined, they will develop greater ambitions.
There's no point in plundering the countryside.
We still have to plunder the city.
If they don't dare to plunder big cities, they can probably plunder small counties.
Everyone is clamoring to make a big splash.
As the leader, Yuan Yong must not do the opposite at this time.
Just when the battle was going his way, if he dared to go against the trend and say he was going to retreat to the grassland, his men would have sneaked into his tent in the middle of the night and killed him.
Yuan Yong had a clear understanding of the loyalty of these tribesmen.
He sent out a large number of scouts to confirm that the defense of a certain county town was sparse and could be attacked, and then he led his men to attack.
After two days' march, they arrived at the mouth of the valley.
After crossing the mountain pass is the county town.
The barbarians in the tribe could no longer control their bloodthirsty emotions and began to howl.
Yuan Yong looked at the narrow entrance to the valley, feeling uneasy.
He whispered, "Uncle Chen, if anything unexpected happens, retreat immediately."
"Sir, are you worried about an ambush ahead?"
"We have to be on guard! Judging from the way those people from the Northwest Grand Commandery march and fight, if they knew that I was going to rob the county, this would be the perfect ambush location. They wouldn't miss the opportunity."
Uncle Chen was startled. "Sir, why don't you retreat? Let's retreat back to the grassland now."
Yuan Yong looked at the tens of thousands of barbarians whose eyes were red with excitement, "Now I am riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off. The county town is just ahead. We can retreat. But we must not retreat at this time."
Uncle Chen observed the situation in the army and sighed.
We really can't retreat at this time.
"Young Master, guard the rear, and I will lead the charge."
"Let those tribes that are shouting the loudest go ahead and test the waters. You stay with me."
Uncle Chen named several tribes.
The person who was called out rode his horse, holding a knife, and rushed into the valley with a roar.
The long and narrow valley finally comes to an end.
Passed successfully.
Yuan Yong was suspicious.
He waited until two-thirds of the team had passed before he drove his horse forward.
boom!
The sky is falling and the earth is splitting!
The horses neighed and galloped wildly.
The barbarians, who had never seen the power of cannons, were as frightened as the horses under them.
"Is there an earthquake?"
"This is a punishment from heaven!"
"Anyone who dares to spread rumors and mislead the public will be killed without mercy!"
boom!
There was another loud bang, and the team was cut into three sections.
Countless soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty emerged densely from various hilltops and rushed down from top to bottom.
The two sides fought a brutal life-and-death battle in the narrow valley.
Chen Zhuangshi, with his personal soldiers, was riding on horses on a hilltop.
"That person is Yuan Yong!"
"Keep a close eye on him. If he escapes, chase him! The Empress has issued a death order; we must bring Yuan Yong's head back to the capital. If we fail to kill Yuan Yong, my head will be on the line here."
"Not good! Yuan Yong is hiding his true strength and might try to escape."
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and ambush him. We can't let him escape."
With Yuan Yong's ability, if he escapes back to the grassland, it will be extremely difficult to catch him.
His Majesty and the Empress only gave the Northwest Military Governor's Office one year. Seeing that most of the time had passed, everyone in the Northwest Military Governor's Office was very anxious.
If you fail to complete the task, His Majesty and the Queen will not be polite.
In order to capture Yuan Yong, the imperial court even transported cannons.
Chen Bo led his men to charge and created a way for Yuan Yong to survive.
"Sir, hurry up!"
Yuan Yong gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle Chen, you must stay alive."
"Sir, hurry up!"
On the top of the mountain, Chen Zhuangshi pressed his hand down heavily, and a group of heavy soldiers rushed to the foot of the mountain from halfway up the mountain.
puff!
Puff puff...
The weapon pierced the body, making a noise.
Uncle Chen, whose hair and beard were already gray, lowered his head and looked at the spear that pierced his body, with a lot of blood spurting out of his mouth.
He looked up into the distance, and the sunlight came out from somewhere, the light was dazzling.
Sir, you must escape.
I can no longer follow you, sir.
"ah……"
With a roar, Uncle Chen completed his final mission with his flesh and blood, and remained loyal forever.
puff……
More weapons pierced his body.
His final desperate attack ultimately failed halfway.
But even in death, he never gave up the weapon in his hand, never gave up his loyalty, and never let Zhou Jin down.
Sir, I tried my best!
He finally took his last breath.
He died with his eyes open!
Open your eyes wide and look into the distance.
Sir, you must escape!
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