siege
Jingwan brought Chun back to the house and then asked Fangjuan to invite Doctor Ma to come and treat her.
Doctor Ma, over sixty years old, was a highly skilled physician. He was originally going to return to his hometown due to old age, but Lu Chang invited him to stay at his residence, intending to send him off when he was ready to leave.
The experienced doctor, who had seen far more horrific injuries, couldn't bear to look at the young woman before him, who was only about the same age as his own granddaughter. As he examined her finger bones, he scolded her, "They must have used a scissors to break all ten of your fingers. You'll have to be patient; this finger bone treatment..."
Getting up is no easier than being tortured!
The ten fingers are connected to the heart. Chunlai endured the excruciating pain and pleaded, "Thank you, doctor. But if you can cure me, I can endure any more pain."
After Gu Qingchen ordered the family punishment to be carried out, she fainted from the pain. When she woke up, she could not move her hands and even needed to be fed.
A maid in the manor couldn't bear it and secretly brought some medicine for treating external injuries to apply to her, but since her bones were broken, this little medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis was of no use.
In Jianchuan, some servants had been punished for theft. Six months after the punishment, all ten of their fingers were deformed, and they could no longer hold heavy objects. Even combing their hair and using chopsticks became very clumsy, making them like useless people.
Jingwan dared not look any longer, wiping away her tears as she said, "Cui Dongchi is so heartless, how could he treat you like this!"
Chunlai leaned against the headboard, her face pale. She smiled weakly and said, "He wouldn't treat me like that. It's the young lady's order."
"You actually spoke up for him?"
Chunlai smiled weakly, "I used to speak up for him all the time, but not anymore." She lowered her head, looking at her swollen hand, and said, "I just hope my hand gets better, otherwise, how can I go on living?"
But then she thought of something, raised her head, and instructed Jingwan: "Don't tell my young master about this. He is fighting on the front lines. Don't disturb his mind. I will talk to him about it myself when he comes back. And the same goes for Young Master Lu. The war is already tiring enough. Why add more trouble for them?"
Jingwan nodded: "I know."
Dr. Ma prepared the instruments to set Chunlai's bones. Jingwan was feeling very sad and wanted to stay with her, but Chunlai chased her away: "Go away, so I can scream louder when I'm in pain."
Jingwan hummed in agreement with red eyes. She closed the door but did not go far. She sat on the small steps outside the courtyard, listening to Chunlai's crying, as if she were suffering with her.
Unfortunately, Chunlai didn't intend to complain to Cui Dongchi, so Gu Qingchen wrote a letter first. At that time, Cui Dongchi had already led his troops out of Jianchuan and was joining forces with Lu Chang's army.
The world was in chaos. The capital was destroyed, the emperor had died, and the Great Wei was without a ruler. Local armies held their own power, bandits rose up everywhere, and peasant uprisings had occurred frequently since the time of the young emperor. Now, the situation was even worse. After killing all the Hu people in the heart of the Central Plains, Lu Chang divided his army into two routes, east and west, and successively captured the four states of the Central Plains.
Li Ling was unwilling to become a trapped tiger. In addition to occupying the northwest, he also sent troops south. Besides the two prefectures of Yan and Bing, he also occupied most of the northern lands of the Great Wei. With the Pingyuan River as the boundary, he formed a confrontation with Lu Chang.
The situation in the south, where Lu Chang was located, was particularly chaotic. The governors of various states went from independent confrontation to mutual alliance, which made his campaigns difficult. Population uprisings broke out one after another and never stopped. He was trapped in the quagmire of the central region and could not get out. Otherwise, Li Ling would not have had the opportunity to go south.
If the stalemate continues, the army's food supplies will be cut off, and all the previous efforts will be in vain.
Gongsun Jiadao, who came with him, offered him a suggestion: "The refugees are a formidable force and should not be underestimated. Why don't you use them to govern the Central Plains?"
Lu Chang, covered in blood, entered the military tent. Gongsun Jiadao followed behind him, helped him hang up his sword, removed his armor, and waited until he was a little more relaxed before telling Lu Chang his thoughts.
Lu Chang sat imposingly in his commander's seat, his former frivolous air completely gone. The elegance and grace of a scholar he once possessed had been replaced by the stern and murderous aura of a military general. The sharp and dignified look in his eyes was strikingly similar to that of the former General Fuyuan.
Gongsun Jiadao felt this most deeply. When Lu Chang first met him, he was just a steady young man. But now, sitting in front of him was a great general who held the lives of millions in his hands.
Lu Chang always preferred his strategists to speak freely and not mince words. He calmed himself down and listened to Gongsun Jia say, "The refugees were originally people with land, but the chaos of war destroyed their livelihoods. General, instead of fighting them, you should recruit them. I observe that several refugee leaders also have the talent of generals. You should employ them. We have been at war for half a year now. Every time we capture a city, we have to abandon it and move on to another. But then, new uprisings break out in the cities we have just captured. When will this end?"
"Please grant me the state government, General, so that I may distribute the land to the displaced people and let them cultivate the land in peace. Spring planting is just around the corner. If the good season is missed due to war, there will be a famine that year. Even if you conquer this country, the so-called newly established government will be overthrown by these people who have no way to survive!"
He was a man who dared to speak his mind, and Lu Chang happened to like him because he dared to speak and act. Back when they were doing disaster relief in the two prefectures, this man was like Fang Huai, good at doing practical things, and had his own opinions. He did not follow the crowd. After listening to his advice, Lu Chang also made up his mind to do it according to his method.
Having gained control of the state, Gongsun Jia Dao immediately took action. All the people in the state city within Lu Chang's occupied territory were re-registered, and land was allocated according to population. The government issued official documents with its seal, and the land was cultivated by the people. Of the ten kinds of produce that year, the government only collected taxes on three, and the remaining seven belonged to the farmers.
The people were initially skeptical, but when the governors and prefects of the four prefectures personally handled the matter in front of the government office, some people stepped forward to give it a try. Within two months, all the people who were willing to take over the land had already turned over the soil. The government paid for and distributed seeds, seedlings, and even farming tools. The four prefectures under Lu Chang's jurisdiction finally settled down, and there were no more peasant uprisings.
Ultimately, it all comes down to Lu Chang being rich.
Lingnan was unaffected by the war; on the contrary, it became even more prosperous due to the continuous fighting in the central and northern parts of the Great Wei.
During his tenure in Lingnan, he built many roads, making transportation accessible across millions of miles of land, facilitating the flow of people and goods.
As people affected by the war fled south to escape the chaos, the influx of a large population further boosted the development of the entire southeastern part of the Great Wei Dynasty.
Feng Ji was skilled in financial management, accumulating a continuous stream of wealth for Lu Chang. When the list of goods needed by the Central Plains was sent to him, he immediately ordered people to purchase them and transport them to the Central Plains along inland waterways.
However, Li Ling was not as wealthy as Lu Chang. After searching everywhere for the wealth left by Madam Lu without success, even he began to doubt whether the treasure was truly a false legend.
With the war raging and hundreds of thousands of troops to support, and food and silver being spent like water every day, if this dragged on any longer, he would truly be trapping himself.
Li Ling was still pondering his next move when another person burst into the tent. Qin Ziyou, his armor stained with blood, entered carrying a sword and rushed straight to Li Ling, questioning him: "Does Your Highness know that Lu Chang has already reached Fancheng? If he truly captures Fancheng, his next target will be Runan!"
If Qin Ziyou's rudeness was forgiven before out of consideration for the Qin family, then now it is because of Qin Ziyou's military achievements that we continue to tolerate him.
Most of this northern land was conquered by Qin Ziyou. He charged forward on the battlefield like a madman, and his soldiers, inspired by his bravery, were greatly encouraged, leading to repeated victories. If he were to finally meet Lu Chang on the battlefield, he would need this sharp sword to continue fighting for him.
Li Ling knew why he was angry, so he got up and calmly comforted him: "Don't worry, I have sent people to Runan to fetch our relatives. They will be able to come to the Northwest safely in less than half a month. At that time, your Qin family can be reunited." Looking at Qin Ziyou's livid face, he added: "Of course, your maternal grandfather and mother will also come with you."
Qin Ziyou gave him a deep look: "That would be best!"
He left the tent, sword hilt in hand, moving freely as if he were the true master of the command tent.
Li Ling, despite his long cultivation, was still angered by Qin Ziyou's arrogant demeanor. He secretly resolved that once the war was over, the first person he would kill was Qin Ziyou.
Just as Qin Ziyou had predicted, Lu Chang was fighting against Fancheng.
Fancheng was a strategically important location, with the Gujiang River and Xiushan Mountain as its natural defenses. Governor Yu Zhi had moved his troops and civilians into the city early on, and there was a large amount of grain stored up inside. Lu Chang did not want to use force, but Governor Yu Zhi was also unwilling to surrender. He was a loyal minister of the Great Wei, and in his eyes, Lu Chang was nothing more than a traitor.
Yu Zhi even cursed Lu Chang from the city wall: "Your father died for his country. If he knew in heaven that he raised such a rebellious son, he would surely put righteousness above family ties. You rebellious son of the Lu family, don't even think about making me surrender to you!"
At that time, Lu Chang listened to his insults from his horse. If it were in the past, when he was young and hot-blooded, he would have argued with Yu Zhi under the city walls. But after experiencing so much, he knew that talking about the Lu family's affairs was a waste of breath. After he finished cursing, he quietly rode his horse and led his troops back to the battlefield.
Fancheng was difficult to attack. Lu Chang lost more than 10,000 troops there without making any progress, but he did not only have to deal with Fancheng.
Seeing him trapped here, the eastern states were eager to make a move. Lu Chang's eastern army suffered repeated setbacks, so the states of Chang and Xun joined forces and marched eastward, besieging him in Luchuan together with Yu Zhi.
If supplies cannot be brought in, and if Fancheng cannot be captured within five days, the army will run out of food, and the battle will surely be lost.
There was only one path left: a desperate breakout and a humiliating retreat south. But this also meant the failure of the plan to conquer the Central Plains, and all previous efforts were in vain.
That day, Luchuan was free from war, and the land was unusually peaceful. Only the crows cawed in the mountains, and the cold moon in the sky was faintly visible under the thin clouds, its white light pale and pale.
In Lu Chang's army, the generals and soldiers from all sides gathered in front of the sand table to form their battle formation, determined to attack Fancheng again, and not one of them was willing to retreat.
"That old man in Fancheng is easy to talk to. He's the young man who leads troops in Chang and Xun prefectures. I heard he's the son-in-law of the Prince of Runan and the grandson of Prime Minister Qin. His name is Qin Ziyou. He's indeed a brave warrior. Our eastern army suffered a loss because of him."
"What are you afraid of! Just come and fight!"
"General, we are only willing to fight to the death. We will not retreat until Fancheng falls!"
Lu Chang picked up his sword and firmly planted it on the sand table.
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