Chapter 51: Disguise
"I know you're anxious, but don't be impatient. You can't just rely on brute force to march and fight."
Shen Congwu bowed his hands with an unpredictable look on his face and said, "Please enlighten me, old general."
Xu Dingkun said: "Yang Yuanqing's cavalry is well-known in Xizhou for its fighting ability. He has led his troops into the capital of the Huihe several times. Although Yang Zhao and Wei Huai are gone, the strength of the cavalry is still there, so we must be more vigilant."
"The second is Yang Yuanzhen's infantry. Although their combat capability is not as good as that of the cavalry, they are from the regular army after all, and their fighting skills are much better than ordinary people. If we can't make proper arrangements in advance, it will be easy for us to suffer defeat."
"The old general has thought deeply and is ashamed of his decision." Shen Congwu said he was ashamed, but he didn't hear it at all in his heart.
They are just a bunch of defeated soldiers. This old guy is afraid of everything. If he is really afraid of death, he should go back quickly and make room for himself.
Of course, he was just thinking about it. After all, the other party was the main general and he was the deputy general.
"Otherwise, I will take three thousand cavalrymen to test the enemy's strength first. If we are defeated, we can make further plans."
Yang Ping looked at his grandfather, and they both felt helpless. Most people couldn't stand Shen Congwu's temper, and he was really stubborn.
"Since General Shen is determined to go, Xu Mou will not stop you. But let me be frank. If General Shen is captured, Xu Mou will not be able to rescue you."
"Don't worry about that, General. Even if you can't defeat me, I won't be captured!" Shen Congwu said and left the tent.
"Grandpa, this person is eager for quick success and I'm afraid he's going to get into big trouble!"
Xu Dingkun twisted his beard and said, "Let him be." Good words cannot persuade a damned ghost.
This kid is just like his father. I have tried to persuade him based on his father's past. Since he won't listen, there is nothing I can do.
When Shen Ming and Xu Dingkun were both commanders, Shen Ming liked to take risks, fighting with fewer troops and stealing the show. But in the end, he died on the battlefield at a young age, leaving behind an orphan and a widow.
"Ping'er, whether in the officialdom or on the battlefield, you must remember the word stability. Only when you are stable can you make plans and then act."
Yang Ping nodded and said, "Grandpa, I understand."
*
Shen Congwu immediately ordered his troops to set out after leaving the tent. Three thousand cavalrymen plus five days of food and fodder followed him to explore the way to Xuzhou.
Being timid will not accomplish anything great. I must take Xuzhou in one fell swoop and see what they have to say then!
Three thousand cavalrymen were quickly selected, all of whom were Shen Congwu's subordinates. They rode away from the main army and ran towards Xuzhou.
They kept running until dark, then found a place sheltered from the wind and set up camp to rest. They continued their journey at dawn the next day, and covered nearly a hundred miles in two days.
The further south you go, the harder the roads become to travel on. There is more and more snow on the road and the temperature gradually drops.
Shen Congwu rubbed his hands and cursed, "This year is really strange. There is no snow in the north, but it is snowing heavily in the south."
When they reached Huaining County in Xuzhou, they suddenly encountered a group of rebellious civilians on the road. They were wearing messy military uniforms and armor, and holding all kinds of weapons in their hands.
The leader was Xue Yun, a brave warrior from Huaining County. Because the local county magistrate had oppressed the people and aroused public anger, Xue Yun led the villagers to overthrow the county government.
Hearing that King Chengtian was recruiting rebels, he took his fellow villagers to Xuzhou to join them. However, he ran into the Sheng army led by Shen Congwu halfway, and the group was so scared that they fled in all directions.
Shen Congwu had been feeling very depressed these past few days, and when he finally met the rebel, his eyes were red with excitement.
He cracked his whip and ordered the army to surround these rebels. He was not in a hurry to kill them. Instead, he teased them like a cat teasing a mouse and watched them kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.
He was riding a horse and picked up a half-grown boy with a spear. The spear pierced the boy's shoulder blade, and blood gushed out to the ground. The boy screamed in pain.
"Where are you from and what are you going to do?"
The young man was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. The others begged for mercy, "Sir, please be merciful. We are all local residents."
"For common people to carry weapons privately is equivalent to treason. You are so bold."
The rest of the people were so frightened that they fell to the ground and trembled, not daring to say a word.
The boy's relatives kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, but Shen Congwu was cruel and ruthless. He showed no mercy to the rebels and threw the boy hard against a rock, killing him.
Xue Yun shouted angrily: "I'm going to fight you!" He grabbed the knife and slashed at Shen Congwu.
Shen Congwu clamped the horse's belly and dodged his attack. "You are quite courageous, much better than those quails."
Xue Yun panted and attacked him again, but he was caught in the whip by Shen Congwu. The horse ran and pulled him to the ground, and he immediately fell and saw stars on his head.
"Fuck your uncle!" Xue Yun shouted.
Shen Congwu whipped the horse hard, and the horse dragged him all over the mountains and fields. When he came back, he had been ground into a blood gourd, breathing out more than breathing in.
The others were so frightened that they started to cry quietly. It seemed that they would not be able to escape death today...
Shen Congwu pointed at one of the thin men and said, "You, come out."
"Don't kill me, don't kill me!" The man was so scared that he wet his pants.
Shen Congwu whipped him with disgust and said, "Where are you from and where are you going?"
The thin man told everything: "We are from the nearby Huaining County. Xue Yun wanted to take us to Xuzhou Chengtian King, but we met you..." After saying that, he hugged his head, fearing that he would be whipped again.
Before the whip fell, Shen Congwu's eyes lit up, and he came up with an idea and asked, "How many of you are there?"
"Seven... more than seven hundred people."
"Take off your clothes!"
The thin man's eyes widened with fear.
Shen Congwu impatiently flicked the whip: "I told you to take off all your clothes!"
People did not dare to resist and quickly took off their cotton-padded jackets and stood shivering in the cold wind wearing only their underwear.
Shen Congwu asked his men to pick up his clothes and put them on. He also found a clean set of clothes to wear, and dug some dirt from the ground to smear on his hair and face.
He planned to disguise himself as this group of rebels and sneak into Xuzhou City. When the main army attacked, he would kill them by surprise with the help of both inside and outside forces!
The deputy general saw this and said worriedly: "This... this is too dangerous, let's go!"
"No risk, no gain. The people in Xuzhou are probably no different from this group of anti-people."
"We sneak into the city and use whistling arrows as a signal. The army will go outside the city and fire three whistling arrows, and then we will start in the city."
The deputy general nodded repeatedly: "What should we do with this group of people?"
According to the usual practice, they would be killed directly, but now that a war is about to break out, it would be a pity to kill these people.
Shen Congwu said: "Put them in military uniforms and use them as human targets when fighting."
"yes!"
"You lead your troops back to the camp immediately and notify Xu Dingkun to lead his troops to support us!"
*
At this time in Xuzhou City, cartloads of grain were transported in from outside the city and all loaded into a temporary granary on the west side of the camp. Looking around, the huge granary was piled as high as a hill.
Many soldiers came over to watch the fun: "Why buy so much food?"
"Isn't there going to be a war?"
"We don't need that much food to fight a war!"
Zhao Xiao walked out of the military camp, sent the soldiers back to train, and went towards the place where food was stored.
The person in charge of grain and grass was called An Feng, and he was the soldier who had appendicitis and was cured by Song Yuzhu. He was previously the baggage guard of the Sheng army, and because of his outstanding ability, Song Yuzhu let him continue to manage grain and grass.
He had someone make a thin copper tube that could be inserted into the rice bag to take out the rice inside. This could be used to check whether the purchased grain was moldy or mixed with stones.
Anfeng is serious about their work. They randomly check several bags of grain on almost every truck to make sure that the grain is of good quality before allowing it to be transported in.
"General." Seeing Zhao Xiao coming over, An Feng hurriedly saluted with his fists.
"How many cartloads of food have been brought in?"
"More than a hundred truckloads have been brought in, and I heard that half of them are still outside the city."
"They actually bought so much grain..." Zhao Xiao led a horse and rode towards the palace.
In the palace, Song Yu settled the remaining balance with the two grain merchants and told them that if they could still receive grain, they should give priority to selling it to Xuzhou.
Niu Qingshan and Boss Ye were a little worried when they arrived, fearing that the other party would not pay them for the grain after it was delivered.
After all, this place is quite special. The Chengtian Army is not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. If it weren't for the guarantee from General Sun's Escort Agency, they would not dare to come here.
Now that I see that he is quick and sincere in his work, my worries have been dispelled.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. When we receive the grain, we will give priority to supplying Xuzhou."
After sending the grain merchant away, Zhao Xiao asked, "Why did you suddenly buy so much grain? Even if the Sheng army besieges the city, these grains will not be used."
"The weather this winter is abnormal. There has been a lot of snow in the south, but almost no snow in the north. I'm afraid there will be a drought today."
As I recall, the Little Ice Age was often accompanied by severe droughts and floods. If one really happened, these grains could save many people.
"You...why are you looking at me like that?" Song Yuzhu blushed a little when she was stared at by Zhao Xiao.
"I always feel that you know everything and can do everything. I will never have any worries when I am with you."
Song Yuzhu felt a little embarrassed by his praise, so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "How is the military camp going? Are the two armies getting along well?"
"It's okay. There must be conflicts in the beginning. After all, they have fought each other and killed each other's comrades."
Zhao Xiao's way of managing them was simple and crude. If there was a conflict, they could only fight with fists, not weapons. No matter if they won or lost, they were never allowed to cause trouble to each other again after the fight, otherwise they would be punished by military law!
This is a good idea. Everyone can take revenge and complain, and after venting their anger, they become closer. In the past, they all served their own masters and had no choice but to fight. Now, as comrades-in-arms, they naturally have to share the same hatred and fight side by side on the battlefield in the future.
As the two were talking, a guard came to report that a group of people suddenly appeared outside Xuzhou City, saying that they came to seek refuge with King Chengtian.
Song Yuzhu showed a look of joy. This was the first wave of people to come to him since he proclaimed himself king. The two of them hurriedly drove towards the city gate.
At this time, outside the city of Xuzhou, more than 700 soldiers dressed in other people's clothes, holding various weapons, disguised as rebels gathered outside the city.
The leading man was the thin man. Shen Congwu was afraid that his accent would be exposed, so he simply held this man hostage and asked him to pretend to be the leader and come forward to answer the questions.
Soon the city gate was opened and the guards asked the leader to go forward and answer the question.
The thin man stood up tremblingly, looked back at Shen Congwu, and saw him glaring at him fiercely. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk forward.
Zhao Xiao asked: "What's your name and where are you from?"
The man told the truth: "My name is Tian Dasheng, I come from Huaining County. The county magistrate is corrupt and oppresses the people. We can't stand it anymore, so we rebelled."
"I heard that Xuzhou Cheng Tian Wang is recruiting rebels, so we want to come and seek refuge, and have a meal. Please accept us!" He knelt down and kowtowed. The general said that if he could sneak in with these soldiers, he and his family would be spared.
"How many of you are here?"
"There are...more than 700 people."
Zhao Xiao turned around and asked, "Should we let these people settle down in the city temporarily?"
Song Yuzhu nodded in agreement.
Shen never thought that he could get into the city so easily. He lowered his head, suppressed the smile on his face, and followed a group of soldiers into the city.
(End of this chapter)
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