68 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.
但樂雲又知道，她是不甘心，在府裏即便做丫頭都是绫羅綢緞遍身，冬日蓋鵝毛暖被，王妃又大方，有些穿過一身就不穿的上好裙子襖子就這麽賞給她們。可出去之後就不同了，不是每個人在大富大貴之後，還能小富即安的。
所以，樂雲勸道：“總會有機會的，如今到處在打仗，咱們主子素來謹慎，你也別放在心上，就連我沒有召喚也不能常去的。”
冬順笑道：“說起來還是秋豐好，嫁了府裏的家生子，夫妻和睦，還跟在主子身邊伺候。”她不羨慕福桂，是因為福桂不成婚，她覺得代價太大了。
她這麽一走，樂雲的男人黃大夫從屏風後頭出來。
“王妃讓她過好日子，必定是不肯見她的，怕她再見富貴，又不安生。”
樂雲點頭：“是啊，由儉入奢易，由奢入儉難。我看王妃也是這個意思，讓她安生過日子，未必日後沒有出頭之日，她那男人可是讀書人，才學不錯的。況且，王妃也沒阻止下面的人幫她的忙，她恐怕不懂這些。”
黃大夫笑道：“來日方長，人嘛，有一時不到，人家就生埋怨，王妃就是太明白這個道理了，所以也不願意見她。”
要說璟兒的生辰，徽音只接了辛氏過來，吳太妃那裏她也送了一桌酒席過去。
因為放了璟兒半天假，這孩子可高興了，辛氏笑道：“世子這般，看起來真活潑，個子這樣高，将來畢竟是龍章鳳姿，青出于藍而勝于藍。”
“我看璟兒像哥哥，自古外甥似舅，這個說法是沒錯的。我哥哥自小就長的高，璟兒也高大。”徽音笑道。
辛氏看着這一片歲月靜好，不由得道：“不知你哥哥他們在兖州如何？”
兖州此地，李澄在去年把宋刺史趕走之後，雖然趕了回來過年，但期間對兖州的布置沒有少，可到底剛接管這個地方，衛铎又打了過來。
可以說是意料之中，也可以說是措手不及。
別看李澄平日行事總是十分神速，在打衛铎時，卻是商量許久。
實際上鄭放和李珩也都在看李澄的實力如何，鄭放親自出去剿匪，他經驗比裴朔足一些，一身猛力，比裴朔要強點，但也覺得這些土匪們不大尋常。
似乎是有誰在背後支持，否則那些土匪怎麽會有這樣新的武器？
所以，他也在密切留意李澄這場仗能不能打，若能打，那說明李澄的确頗有實力？
戰場上的形勢是多變的，衛铎老奸巨猾和郭家兄弟不同，正如同現在，李澄在前線正和裴朔宇文當等人商量的時候，下人來報，說糧草被燒。
“什麽？”李澄不可置信。
宇文當等人道：“我等都以為衛铎也算是當世英豪，怎會如此？”
李澄伸手阻止他們說的話：“自古兵不厭詐，是我大意了，所謂打仗，不是光明正大，多半都是各種計策都用上，只要能贏就成。裴将軍，這是手牌，你親自去調一千石的糧草過來。”
還好，還好有徽音那些糧草，他又寫信給徽音表示感謝。
裴朔沒想到李澄居然還有後招，立馬領命而去，他是騎兵，馬行的很快，這是頭一次李澄交任務給他，他不能懈怠。
卻說徽音收到信之後，暗道那一千石糧食恐怕不夠用，如此李澄就很容易速戰速決，然而速戰速決就很容易出錯。
突然，她想到了一件事情，迅速回信讓士兵八百裏加急趕回去。
衛铎那邊倒是很歡喜：“李澄小兒到底是年紀小，這麽快就中計了。”
“丞相好手段，某等自愧不如。”
屬下們歡呼，衛铎卻并不驕，反而讓大家盯住衛铎。
又說李澄糧草被燒一事傳到建業，最高興的不是謝九儀，卻是曾經的魏王妃霍氏，她女兒明年就要出孝了，到時候就要嫁到衛家，若是能靠衛家把曾經魏王的地盤收服回來，霍家就取代那謝九儀罷了。
“你去跟殷次妃說，讓她帶着豫章王過來，我和他姐姐也好久都沒見到他了。”霍氏燃起了鬥志。
現在魏王都死了，她也不必再裝賢良人了。
這些李澄不知曉，他見裴朔不足三日就運來了糧食，在心中滿意，考較人可以先從小事看起，裴朔做事的确是全力以赴，不把自己的安危放在心上。
但裴朔也道：“這一千石并不能抵過幾日啊，主公。”
“我也這麽想，我已經讓人去催兖州民衆之賦稅了，這些人故意讓衛家軍隊進來燒我的糧草，我也不必與他們客氣。”李澄十分生氣，他是氣自己被衛铎坑了，現在要複盤，一直複盤，想出對策過來。
幾人正商量，卻見外面有八百裏加急道：“主公，王妃派标下送信過來，說是緊急公文。”
李澄心下疑惑，卻不知徽音要做什麽，他接過信，信上寫着：【王爺鈞鑒：妾身當年嫁過來之前就與米商家的少奶奶感情極好，她曾經給妾身一件信物，說拿此玉佩可以直接在每家店鋪支取一百兩……】
信上又說他之前收服吳郡時，胡夫人已經掌控了夫家生意，讓李澄先拿信物支取糧食，之後，她會從內庫拿出一百萬貫去向曹家、江家還有胡家買糧。
“王妃真乃我神女是也。”李澄歡喜道。
曹家去年就捐獻了米糧，今年未必還有那麽多庫存，江家做的是鹽商生意，能調過來的也是有限，然則胡家，卻是吳中有名的糧商，糧食遍布天下。
裴朔不解：“不知王妃如何？”
王妃是他親妹妹，他最是關心。
李澄道：“我們糧食的事情不必再管了，但要省着些用，還是看如何對付衛铎。”
又說徽音拿出一百萬貫之後，先請了曹夫人過來，她說了要買糧的事情，不讓曹家吃虧。曹家倒是十分配合，但正如曹家所說去歲他們的糧倉有一大半都獻給李澄，現下能夠拿出來的就是二十萬石了。
但這二十萬石不能全部給了，否則，曹家也沒法子做生意，因此直接給了十萬石。
江家雖然做鹽的生意，但是糧食也有，江家反而給了二十萬石。
很快徽音的信到了胡嬌嬌手中，當年她從上京嫁過來，夫君又有心上人，她可謂是如履薄冰，還好當年有淮陰王妃送的禮物，她扯虎皮做大旗，自稱和王妃是手帕交，如此才在夫家站穩腳跟。
去歲，吳郡歸了淮陰王，她過來拜見王妃，王妃賞賜了她不少玩意兒，對她簡直就是如沐春風。聽到自己掌家了，很是高興，還讓王爺多照顧自己的生意。
因此，她還得了一道榷令，可以把生意做到其餘在淮陰王治下的州縣都暢通無阻，且免賦稅。
十萬大軍，一日口糧食一千七百石左右，李澄帶了八萬精兵，至少也要一千多石，而曹家和江家給的糧草已經可以支撐兩百天左右，實際上已經是盡夠了。哪裏知曉胡嬌嬌想，此時正是好機會，她直接拿了三十萬石送過去。
“如此一來，想必将來淮陰王對我愈發信任。”胡嬌嬌笑道。
在亂世中做生意，可都要有靠山。
這些軍糧送過來，李澄卻讓人密密藏住，只對人說戰士們機警，甚至開始吃草樹皮。衛铎還聽探子報道：“據說李澄的軍隊中，不少人餓死的都有，李澄恐怕只能速戰速決了。”
“也不可大意，讓衛雷率軍前去罵陣，這叫趁他病要他命。”衛铎笑道。
衛雷是衛铎長子，平日多謀，他知曉父親讓他去探虛實。
第一場戰，衛雷就發現不少士兵打着打着就昏厥過去了，就連李澄打了幾個回合，還想沖過來，卻被其內兄裴朔拉住了，撤兵退回去了。
衛铎捏須道：“李澄到底年輕氣盛，如今少糧了還想速戰速決，我卻不能讓他這般。咱們先熬，熬他三日，出其不意攻其不備。”
三日人就更餓了……
人一餓就沒力氣，到時候就別怪他了。
殊不知三日之後，衛铎見李澄的确身體虛浮，心頭一喜，李澄卻畏懼如虎，只往回跑，衛铎是窮追不舍。
只是沒想到沖動當中時，一陣箭矢射過來，衛铎吓了一跳，卻見周圍的人都在笑。
那李澄分明立在馬上，看起來身強體健的，他指着衛铎道：“好老兒，你玩的什麽手段，如今該上當了吧。”
衛铎這才反應過來，李澄是故意将計就計，誘敵深入。
是他小看了李澄，正要跑，卻見李澄笑道：“絕不放過此人。”
……
徽音收到兖州大勝的消息之後，很是欣喜，也不枉她幾乎把內庫的銀錢都拿出來了，于她而言，這些銀錢若能打勝仗，從此李澄的名氣再也不會局宥于淮陰此地了。
辛氏還有缪夫人幾乎都來恭喜徽音，徽音也打算等李澄回來慶功時幫曹家的女兒說一門不錯的親事，再有胡嬌嬌生了個兒子，給她兒子一個诰封。
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?