Baocheng County Magistrate Zong Qian was very depressed.
Yesterday, he received instructions from Lord Fu to evacuate all the people under his jurisdiction to Liangzhou City. However, the officials who returned early this morning told him bad news:
"Sir, the people don't want to leave."
"You have to leave even if you don't want to. This is an order!"
"No, sir, calm down. What the people mean is that since Lord Fu has come and has personally gone to the front lines, and he is not afraid of death, what should we ordinary people be afraid of?"
Zong Qian was stunned. "Then what do they want?"
"They said... they wanted to organize an army and send food to Lord Fu."
"Ridiculous, whose idea was this?"
"Your Excellency, this was your father's idea."
“…”
The Zong surname is a famous family in Baocheng. The Zong clan has a high reputation in the whole Baocheng, especially Zong Qian's father Zong Buyu, the contemporary head of the Zong clan, who was a juren in the 26th year of Taihe and holds a very high status in the whole Zong family.
Although this old man did not hold an official position, he traveled to many places when he was young, was knowledgeable, and had a strong patriotic sentiment.
Now that he has expressed his opinion, what I, the county magistrate, say is meaningless.
But this is Lord Fu's order. If we disobey it, if the enemy escapes from the Jinniu Ancient Road, many people will die!
Zong Qian was extremely worried and asked, "Is my father in the Zong clan ancestral hall?"
"No, the old sect leader went to Weijiapu."
"...Prepare the car. I have to go there myself. Is anyone else willing to leave?"
"Your Excellency, this...really not. Many of the young men in Baocheng have followed the old patriarch. Now, the remaining women, young and old, in each household are steaming dough cakes, saying they are sending them to Master Fu. Also, after the news spread yesterday, many people from Liangzhou City came over. They, they said they were going to the front lines too."
Zong Qian just didn't understand. War is the military's business. Why are you ordinary people getting involved in this trouble?
"They're all fucking crazy!"
The county magistrate bowed slightly and said, "I actually think they are not crazy."
Zong Qian roared, "Could it be that I have gone crazy?"
"No, Your Excellency is not crazy. I have heard from the people that Your Excellency is implementing new policies, wholeheartedly for the benefit of the people, so that they can live in peace and prosperity. However, those villains do not want this world to be peaceful. They are determined to stir up such trouble, making Your Excellency restless and causing the people to suffer from war again. Therefore... the people sincerely want to help Your Excellency quell this rebellion as soon as possible."
…
…
In the eastern part of Jiannan, Xue Dingshan's troops swept through like a whirlwind. Before many officials and civilians could figure out what was going on, Xue Dingshan's troops had already arrived at Qipan Pass.
Are we going to have a war?
Immediately afterwards, Fei An spread the news of Xue Dingshan's rebellion, and the people of Jiannan East Road immediately became unhappy - it was said that His Majesty would set up ten pilot counties this year, and Jiannan East Road was very likely to get two of them.
News from Linjiang Yao County and Pingling Quyi County had already come in, and some merchants had even gone there to conduct on-site inspections. The people in Yao County were now living a prosperous life. Although the workshops in Pingling Quyi County were still under construction, the people there had no worries about food and clothing.
The Zhong family and the Yu family in Linzi, Jiannan East Road, are two of the five major business families of the Yu Dynasty. These two families have already sent their capable people to Wofeng Road and are about to invest a large sum of money there.
But Xue Dingshan rebelled at this critical moment!
You're against me!
Doesn't this ruin everything I've been waiting for?
When the heads of the Zhong and Yu families met, they realized that this couldn't go on. If Xue Dingshan really messed up the Yu Dynasty, Lord Fu would have no time to take care of Wofengdao!
We have to relieve Lord Fu's worries and put down this rebellion as soon as possible, so that Lord Fu won't be distracted.
Just as the two heads of the family were discussing, a servant ran in and said hurriedly, "Master, a carrier pigeon has brought news that Lord Fu is coming from Jinling and is about to arrive at the battlefield."
The two family heads looked at each other and took a deep breath.
The head of the Zhong family, Zhong Zhengdao, stood up angrily and smashed the cup with a "bang". "Quickly gather all the core members of the Zhong family and hold a meeting at the Zhong family ancestral hall!"
Yu Mingxin, the head of the Yu family, also stood up. He stroked his long beard, his stern face stern. "I have to go back and discuss this matter. To eliminate the rebels, my Yu family is willing to offer three million taels of silver to recruit soldiers and place them under the command of General Fei!"
"Good, that's what I meant too!"
Under the impetus of the two major business families, Linzi created a huge momentum in just half a day.
Many young men joined in, and one day later, Linzi formed the first rebel army of more than 80,000 people!
On February 226, the anti-bandit manifestos issued by the Zhong and Yu families spread and reached all the major towns in Jiannan East Road at an extremely fast speed.
After hearing the news, Fei An ordered the garrisons of all the major cities to assemble in Linzi. By February 29th, the Linzi rebel army had reached 280,000! The garrison troops numbered 120,000! A total of 400,000 troops!
Fei An came to Linzi. He spent a day reorganizing the army. On the first day of March, he led the 400,000 troops towards Jianzhou.
This is a standard ragtag army.
Except for the 120,000 garrison troops who were fully equipped with armor, only 80,000 of the remaining 280,000 were allocated armor, and even more than 60,000 did not even receive weapons.
They wore linen clothes, carried hoes, sickles, axes, and hatchets, and followed Fei An without hesitation, running to the front line.
We must win this battle!
Fei'an had never seen such high enthusiasm and fighting spirit!
These people were like chickens with blood pumped up, their eyes red. Ask anyone and they'll say the same thing: "Master Fu can give us a good life, but that damn Xue Dingshan wants to kill Master Fu. We definitely don't want that. Damn him! It's just a life. If I die, my wife, son, and grandson can live a good life. That's worth it!"
Marching in silence, Fei An had many feelings.
That kid... I haven't seen him for a whole year. In this short period of time, he has grown so fast that he has won the hearts of people all over the world. He is truly an extraordinary young man of the Yu Dynasty!
…
In Fei An's mind, this remarkable young man from the Yu Dynasty, Fu Xiaoguan, was now so tired that he sat on the ground like a dog.
He gnawed on a piece of bread, a look of confusion on his face. "It's the first day of March now, so Xue Dingshan's troops should be here. Why haven't we heard anything yet?"
Xu Xinyan was also chewing a piece of bread. How could she know all this? "The road is too long. I'm afraid we haven't met yet."
Hongniang's vanguard army had indeed not yet encountered Yu Chunqiu's main force deployed in Dayan Valley because she encountered a big trouble.
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