Chapter 68
◎Two chapters in one◎
Li Cheng has always been a man who does what he says. What makes him different from Zheng Fang is that Zheng Fang still sticks to the old cavalry ideas, how to arrange formations and how to march, and does not use many new weapons. During these battles, Li Cheng hired many craftsmen to make all kinds of weapons.
Especially after taking over Yuzhou, Yuzhou and Qingzhou were responsible for supplying food, while the taxes of Xuzhou and Wu County were specifically used to raise troops and manufacture weapons.
Therefore, he had already set up an elaborate network between Wu County and Wei, some of which were weapons that the Guo brothers might not have seen before.
Xin also heard about it and hurried over to test Huiyin's attitude. Huiyin said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. The Guo brothers are cousins of the late King of Wei. King Wei trusts them very much, but when it comes to fighting, he still wants our prince and General Xie to go. He knows that these two are not capable. Don't worry, everything will be fine."
In fact, Huiyin was worried. Not everything in the world was certain. If she panicked, the people below would be even more worried. Moreover, Li Cheng might not be unaware of the news. If she ran away without permission and was caught, she would lose everything.
Seeing Huiyin so calm, Xin was relieved and didn't mention it. However, Huiyin told Concubine Wu about it.
Concubine Wu cursed, "Damn you two, you bastards, you want to invade our territory. The Guo family is not even worthy of pouring our foot washing water."
Of course, the Guo family suddenly became prominent because of the birth of the King of Wei's mother. Where have you heard of this before? Although the Guo brothers are also military men, they are far inferior to Li Cheng.
Huiyin said: "I am just telling you, the Concubine Dowager. Don't be afraid. The prince has his own plan to deal with it."
"I have nothing to be afraid of. Cheng'er has been in the army since he was fifteen or sixteen years old. I don't know how many hidden attacks he suffered to end up like this today." Concubine Wu sighed upon hearing this.
It is also said that the Guo brothers were not reckless people. They went to Wu County first and found out that the current gatekeeper of Wu County was their old acquaintance Xie Qian.
Guo Dalang said to his brother, "This Xie Qian was originally a small clerk under the King of Wei. Later, when the King of Huaiyin attacked Xuzhou, he specifically asked for him. I have some friendship with this man, and I know one of his hobbies."
"What hobby?" Guo Erlang asked curiously.
Guo Dalang laughed and said, "This man doesn't like young girls, but prefers beautiful women. He loves them like crazy, just like that old thief Wei Duo."
The men all understood what he meant. Guo Erlang couldn't help but ask, "Where can you find such a person now, brother?"
"As the saying goes, money makes the devil work. Wu County was under my jurisdiction before. When Li Cheng wanted to take the land back, I planted a nail." Guo Dalang knew that after the death of King Wei, even if King Yuzhang grew up, he would be on good terms with the Huo and Xie families, and his family would not get anything. This Wu County is a big piece of fat meat. If you have Wu County, you don't have to fight in the future, and it's good to be a rich man.
Guo Erlang had always believed in his elder brother and knew that his elder brother had many ideas, so he sent people to swim secretly through the river at night and then enter the house through the tunnel.
After Prince Huaiyin handed over Wu County, the Guo family had the final say here. Guo Dalang was a very smart man.
However, they did not know that Li Cheng had strict rules in the army and did not allow women to enter the barracks. He also enforced the rules very strictly. Previously, a deputy general thought he had done something secret and was beheaded on the spot by Li Cheng.
Once word got out that someone was planning to attack Wu County, almost the entire territory began to enter a wartime state, and personnel were controlled everywhere.
Not to mention the beauty trap, even the people who deliver food and fodder need triple-core status.
Xie Qian had received an order from Li Cheng a long time ago to have scouts investigate nearby. The Guo brothers wondered how long they had been cultivating in Wu County, but they didn't know that this place used to be the fief of King Wu. Now that it had been taken back, Li Cheng made a special trip here last March.
He was usually highly regarded by Li Cheng, who was very kind to him, but he was still far behind Guo Zhao. His official title was now the governor of Wu County, while Guo Zhao was the governor of Yuzhou. Even Pei Shuo of Jizhou had joined the prince, so if he failed, his position would definitely be replaced by someone else.
"It's a good opportunity to use these two people to test out our newly made thorns. When we attacked Yanzhou, this thorn almost knocked Old Man Song off his feet."
Guo Dalang and Guo Erlang were a little panicked when they found out that the spies they sent out had not sent any message yet. Xie Qian deliberately sold a broken ribbon when he left the city. The Guo brothers rushed over, eager to make a contribution, and besides, food and fodder were in short supply, so they couldn't let them delay any longer.
The Guo brothers used a trebuchet, which was made by craftsmen summoned by Li Cheng at the time. The trebuchet can throw stones and can destroy city walls and gates. However, Xie Qian first used a battering ram, which was used to hit ladders, and even used a pitchfork and a flying hook, all of which were used to prevent the enemy.
In the end, they used Yaksha's pestle and caltrops to kill most of the soldiers led by the Guo brothers. Xie Qian then called in archers, deliberately made a noise to lure the two men forward, and then shot them like a sieve.
The arrow was poisoned with a strange poison, which caused the Guo brothers to die.
When the news reached Jianye, Xie Jiuyi said to Yin Liyi, "Tell your sister first to keep the news a secret, otherwise Concubine Wei will be worried that something bad will happen to her."
Yin Liyi was stunned for a long time before she said, "They stabbed the Guo brothers into bloody holes. We worked together before. Isn't this too cruel? The army led by the Guo brothers may have helped Li Cheng fight in the past."
"We're already at war, they're the enemy, and being kind to the enemy means being lenient to yourself." Xie Jiuyi thought his wife still cared about their past relationship, but he didn't realize that people's desire for power is more important than anything else.
Yin Liyi looked at her husband and asked, "What should we do? Are you going to continue fighting?"
Xie Jiuyi shook his head: "We have suffered heavy casualties in the battle against Nanjun, and our food and grass are almost all gone. It is only spring planting season now, so we cannot afford to fight."
Fighting a war requires more than just talking; it requires financial support.
Yin Liyi comforted him, "At least they only beat the Guo brothers to death and didn't continue to attack us."
"I'm afraid it will be too soon." Xie Jiuyi retracted his gaze.
Yin Liyi went to see Yin Lifang and told her what Xie Jiuyi had told her. Yin Lifang was very surprised: "How could this happen? Don't worry, Concubine Wei and Mrs. Huo are living together now, and not many people come here on weekdays."
Yin Liyi nodded: "That's good."
"Since Li Cheng took back Wu County, he got half more tax money. No wonder he dares to fight against Wei Duo in Yanzhou now." Yin Lifang thought of her own son again. After all, he was too young, so the Guo brothers did not take others seriously.
Compared to the people in Wei who were like losing their parents, Huiyin was relieved. The gentry in Xuzhou had more and more faith in Li Cheng. Apart from other things, since Li Cheng took over Xuzhou, the government was stable and the people were harmonious, and trade was promoted. Even the people of Xuzhou would no longer suffer from war.
It was Jing'er's birthday, so needless to say, gifts had already been sent to her from all over.
Madam Miao, Madam Xue and other local Xuzhou noble families came most frequently. Even Jiang Biluo from far away Yuzhou and the Cao family who had just come to seek refuge sent generous gifts.
After Huiyin had Fugui register the items, she said, "Put all of these in the warehouse."
"Yes." Fugui smiled as he wrote the gift list, and couldn't help but say, "You always give most of the gold and silver to the prince as food and fodder, which is really thoughtful."
If it were someone else, they would definitely be tempted by the sight of money.
Huiyin laughed and said, "If I don't take money from my own treasury, do I have to exploit the common people? If I exploit the common people too much, even selling their children, it would be a tragedy of human nature."
In fact, Huiyin had more to say. If the people have no vitality, they will easily cause trouble, and then their lives will become even more miserable.
If you want to be the ruler of the world, you must have the world in your heart and the people in your heart.
Therefore, Huiyin only seemed to be quite extravagant on weekdays, but in fact, it was because she was afraid of being looked down upon by outsiders. Once she started to save money, outsiders might guess that Li Cheng had no money for the war. This was not good for Li Cheng, who had just conquered several states. Such frugality would be waiting for her to become the empress one day, and then she would set an example for others.
Fugui didn't understand all this, but she said, "Master, you are always merciful."
Huiyin smiled. They also said that Leyun and Dongshun also gave gifts to the prince. She said, "They are very thoughtful. They said I know."
Le Yun's husband was a doctor, so she gave her a medicinal pillow that she had made herself, two hats, two pairs of shoes, and a box of spices. Dong Shun gave her two bundles, one containing clothes and the other containing snacks that she had made herself.
However, during emergencies, Huiyin would not eat snacks sent by outsiders.
In her previous life, when she was in the palace, someone even sent her son clothes with smallpox and plague on them, but luckily she didn't put them in the warehouse. Le Yun was fine, she knew that Jing'er was often given gifts by others, and the palace had people who specialized in sewing, so she sent them to show her love, but Dong Shun wished that Huiyin could see his love, and still love him as before, and call him over to talk.
She sat here with Le Yun for a long time, and looked at Le Yun expectantly: "Why didn't the princess let anyone come?"
"I'm busy today. How can the princess have time to meet so many people giving gifts?" Le Yun comforted.
Dong Shun lived a good life among ordinary people, even pretty good. Whenever there was any problem at home, he could find the connections he knew in the former palace and almost all of them could help solve it. However, he could not really meet the princess as he did before.
"I know, there is no way the princess can see us. Originally, I just wanted to kowtow to the master and pay my respects." Dong Shun still felt it was a pity.
But Le Yun knew that she was unwilling to accept this. In the palace, even as a maid, she was dressed in silk and satin, and covered with goose feather quilts in winter. The princess was generous and gave them some of the best skirts and blouses that she would never wear again. But it was different after she got out. Not everyone could be content with a small fortune after becoming rich.
Therefore, Le Yun advised: "There will always be a chance. There are wars everywhere now. Our master has always been cautious. Don't take it to heart. Even if I don't summon you, you can't go often."
Dong Shun smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Qiu Feng is still better. She married a woman from the mansion, had children, and the couple lived in harmony. She also served the master." She did not envy Fu Gui because she felt that the price Fu Gui paid for not getting married was too high.
As she left, Le Yun's man, Doctor Huang, came out from behind the screen.
"The princess wants her to live a good life, so she must be unwilling to see her, fearing that she will see wealth and fame again and become restless."
Le Yun nodded: "Yes, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. I think the princess also means this. Let her live a peaceful life. She may have a bright future. Her husband is a scholar with great talent. Moreover, the princess did not stop the people below from helping her. She may not understand these things."
Doctor Huang smiled and said, "There is a long way to go. If a person does not come for a while, he will complain. The princess understands this very well, so she is unwilling to see her."
As for Jing'er's birthday, Huiyin only invited Xin to come, and she also sent a banquet over to Concubine Wu.
Because Jing'er was given a half-day off, the child was very happy. Xin smiled and said, "Your Highness looks so lively and so tall. He will be a dragon and a phoenix in the future. He will be better than his master."
"I think Jing'er looks like my brother. It has been said since ancient times that nephews resemble their uncles, and this saying is correct. My brother has been tall since he was young, and Jing'er is also tall." Huiyin said with a smile.
Xin looked at the peaceful time and couldn't help asking, "I wonder how your brothers are doing in Yanzhou?"
In Yanzhou, after Li Cheng drove away the governor of Song last year, he rushed back to celebrate the New Year, but he had made many arrangements for Yanzhou during this period. However, just after he took over the place, Wei Duo attacked again.
It can be said to be expected, or it can be said to be unexpected.
Although Li Cheng usually acts very quickly, he took a long time to discuss the matter with Wei Duo.
In fact, Zheng Fang and Li Heng were also watching Li Cheng's strength. Zheng Fang went out to suppress the bandits personally. He had more experience than Pei Shuo and was stronger than Pei Shuo, but he also felt that these bandits were a little unusual.
It seems like someone is behind this, otherwise how could those bandits have such new weapons?
Therefore, he was also paying close attention to whether Li Cheng could fight this battle. If he could, it would mean that Li Cheng was indeed quite powerful, right?
The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. Wei Duo is cunning and different from the Guo brothers. Just like now, when Li Cheng was discussing with Pei Shuo, Yu Wendang and others at the front line, a servant came to report that the grain and straw were burned.
"What?" Li Cheng couldn't believe it.
Yuwen Dang and others said, "We all thought Wei Duo was a hero of the time, how could this be?"
Li Cheng raised his hand to stop them from saying, "Since ancient times, soldiers have never tired of deception. I was careless. In war, people don't fight openly. Most of the time, they use all kinds of strategies as long as they can win. General Pei, here are the cards. Go and get a thousand stones of grain and fodder yourself."
Fortunately, he had Huiyin's food and straw, and he wrote another letter to Huiyin to express his gratitude.
Pei Shuo didn't expect that Li Cheng actually had a trick up his sleeve, so he immediately took the order and left. He was a cavalryman and his horse could move very fast. This was the first time Li Cheng gave him a task, so he couldn't slack off.
However, after Huiyin received the letter, she thought that the 1,000 dan of grain might not be enough. In this way, it would be easy for Li Cheng to make a quick decision, but a quick decision could easily lead to mistakes.
Suddenly, she thought of something and quickly wrote back, asking the soldiers to rush back at 800 miles.
Wei Duo was very happy: "After all, Li Cheng is still young. He fell into the trap so quickly."
"The Prime Minister is very resourceful. I am ashamed to say that I am inferior to him."
His subordinates cheered, but Wei Duo was not proud. Instead, he asked everyone to keep an eye on him.
It is also said that when the news of Li Cheng's burning of grain and straw reached Jianye, the person who was most happy was not Xie Jiuyi, but the former Princess of Wei, Huo. Her daughter would be out of mourning next year and would then marry into the Wei family. If the Wei family could recover the former King of Wei's territory, the Huo family would replace Xie Jiuyi.
"Go and tell Concubine Yin to bring Prince Yuzhang over. His sister and I haven't seen him for a long time." Mrs. Huo's fighting spirit was ignited.
Now that the King of Wei is dead, she doesn't have to pretend to be a virtuous woman anymore.
Li Cheng didn't know all this. He was satisfied to see Pei Shuo had delivered the food in less than three days. He thought that when judging people, one should start with small things. Pei Shuo really did his best and didn't care about his own safety.
But Pei Shuo also said: "This thousand stones can't last for a few days, my lord."
"I think so too. I have already sent people to urge the people of Yanzhou to pay taxes. These people deliberately let the Wei family army come in to burn my grain and grass. I don't have to be polite to them." Li Cheng was very angry. He was angry that he was cheated by Wei Duo. Now he has to review it, keep reviewing it, and come up with a solution.
As they were discussing, they heard a voice outside saying urgently, "My Lord, the princess sent a subordinate to deliver a letter saying it is an urgent document."
Li Cheng was confused, but he didn't know what Huiyin was going to do. He took the letter, which read: [Prince Junjian: Before I got married, I had a very good relationship with the young lady of the rice merchant. She once gave me a token of trust, saying that with this jade pendant, I could directly withdraw 100 taels from every store...]
The letter also said that when he conquered Wu County, Mrs. Hu had already taken control of her husband's business, and asked Li Cheng to use the token to withdraw food first. After that, she would take out one million guan from the inner treasury to buy food from the Cao family, the Jiang family and the Hu family.
"The princess is truly my goddess." Li Cheng said happily.
The Cao family donated rice and grain last year, so they may not have that much stock this year. The Jiang family is in the salt business, so the amount they can transfer is limited. However, the Hu family is a famous grain merchant in Wuzhong, and their grain is sold all over the world.
Pei Shuo was puzzled: "I wonder how the princess is doing?"
The princess is his biological sister, and he cares about her the most.
Li Cheng said: "We don't need to worry about food anymore, but we need to save some of it. We still need to see how to deal with Wei Duo."
It is also said that after Huiyin took out one million dan, she first invited Mrs. Cao to come over, and she said that she wanted to buy grain so that the Cao family would not suffer losses. The Cao family was very cooperative, but as the Cao family said, most of their granary was donated to Li Cheng last year, and now they can only take out 200,000 dan.
But the 200,000 shi could not be given away in full, otherwise the Cao family would not be able to do business, so they gave 100,000 shi directly.
Although the Jiang family was in the salt business, they also had grain, so they gave 200,000 shi of grain.
Soon Huiyin's letter reached Hu Jiaojiao's hands. When she married from Shangjing, her husband had a lover, so she was walking on thin ice. Fortunately, she had a gift from the Princess of Huaiyin. She used the gift as a banner and claimed that she and the princess were close friends. Only in this way could she gain a firm foothold in her husband's family.
Last year, Wu County was returned to the King of Huaiyin, and she came to pay a visit to the princess, who gave her many toys and treated her like a spring breeze. When she heard that she was the head of the family, she was very happy and asked the prince to take care of her business.
Therefore, she also obtained a monopoly order, which allowed her to conduct business unimpeded and tax-free in other prefectures and counties under the rule of Prince Huaiyin.
A 100,000-man army needs about 1,700 dan of food per day. Li Cheng brought 80,000 elite soldiers, so he needed at least 1,000 dan. The food and grass provided by the Cao and Jiang families could support them for about 200 days, which was actually enough. Hu Jiaojiao thought that this was a good opportunity, so she directly sent 300,000 dan over.
"In this way, I'm sure King Huaiyin will trust me more in the future." Hu Jiaojiao said with a smile.
To do business in troubled times, you need a backer.
When these military supplies were delivered, Li Cheng had his men hide them, and only told people that the soldiers were alert and had even started eating grass and tree bark. David also heard from spies that "it is said that many people in Li Cheng's army died of hunger. I'm afraid Li Cheng can only fight a quick battle and end the war."
"We must not be careless. Letting Wei Lei lead the troops to attack the enemy is like trying to kill them while they are weak." Wei Duo said with a smile.
Wei Lei is Wei Duo's eldest son. He is usually scheming. He knows that his father asked him to find out the truth.
In the first battle, Wei Lei found that many soldiers fainted during the fighting. Even Li Cheng fought for several rounds and wanted to rush over, but was held back by his brother-in-law Pei Shuo and retreated.
Wei Duo stroked his beard and said, "Li Cheng is young and hot-tempered after all. Now that he has little food, he still wants to end the battle quickly. But I can't let him do that. Let's wait it out for three days and then attack him by surprise."
After three days, I became even hungrier...
When a person is hungry, he will have no strength, so don't blame him then.
Little did he know that three days later, Wei Duo saw that Li Cheng was indeed weak and was delighted. However, Li Cheng was terrified as a tiger and just ran back, with Wei Duo chasing him relentlessly.
But he didn't expect that when he was impulsive, a volley of arrows shot towards him. Wei Duo was startled, but he saw that everyone around him was laughing.
Li Cheng was clearly standing on his horse, and he looked strong and healthy. He pointed at Wei Duo and said, "My good old man, what tricks are you playing? Now you've been fooled."
Wei Duo then realized that Li Cheng was deliberately using his own trick to lure the enemy deeper into his territory.
He underestimated Li Cheng and was about to run away when Li Cheng smiled and said, "I will never let this man go."
…
Huiyin was very happy after receiving the news of Yanzhou's great victory. It was worth it that she took out almost all the money in the inner treasury. For her, if this money could win the battle, Li Cheng's fame would no longer be confined to Huaiyin.
Almost everyone, including Xin and Madam Miao, came to congratulate Huiyin. Huiyin also planned to find a good marriage for the daughter of the Cao family when Li Cheng came back to celebrate the success. Also, when Hu Jiaojiao gave birth to a son, she would give her son a title.
Only then will people be willing to work hard for you.
"Sister-in-law, I heard that my brother was very helpful this time. I am so happy for you." Huiyin still remembered Xin in her busy schedule.
Although the battle was won, Li Cheng could not return immediately. He had to recruit soldiers and collect taxes in Yanzhou, and also arrange for people to guard the place, which would take time.
When Huiyin was waiting for him to come back, she received a letter from him. She thought it was another arrangement, but she didn't expect that the letter said, "If I have my wife, God will help me. If Cheng is unfaithful in this life, he will be struck by lightning."
Huiyin's face was filled with anger and a slight blush. What kind of fool is he saying?
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