Chapter 42 Return to Xuzhou
Xu Bing was stunned for a moment after receiving the news, and it took him a long time to remember who Zhang Yi was.
I muttered in my heart: What is he doing here? Xuzhou is not a hospitable place. I don't know whether I am an enemy or a friend to them, and I don't want to provoke Zhongzhou.
"How many troops did they bring?"
"Reporting to the Lord, there are more than a dozen of them driving carriages here."
Xu Bing was surprised: "No troops?"
The soldier shook his head: "No."
"Then let them in first." This matter is very unusual, and the news must be sent to Master Zhu and the others quickly.
Outside the city, Zhang Yi and his party were told that they were allowed to enter the city. They all smiled, except for the coachman who was a little unconvinced and said, "Why didn't they personally welcome our King Yi?"
Zhang Yi coughed and said, "We are out and about, or on someone else's territory, don't worry about these things."
Only after entering the city did Zhang Yi realize that Xuzhou was very different from what he had imagined.
I thought this place was like Luoyang, full of chaos. Zhongzhou had overthrown the government, the city had no governance, the people were in chaos, the streets were in chaos, and people were fighting everywhere.
Unexpectedly, the streets of Xuzhou were clean and tidy, and the people lived in an orderly manner, and it seemed that they were not affected by the rebellion at all.
The soldiers took them to a building within a building, and as soon as they entered, they found that it was actually a restaurant.
He Qiao put his hands in his armor and sighed: "This Xuzhou City Lord is quite sincere. He knows that we don't have a good meal, so he specially entertained us first."
Zhang Yi frowned. Even if they were to be entertained, shouldn't it be held in the palace? Why bring them to the restaurant?
But the others obviously didn't think so much, sitting around the table, asking the waiter to quickly serve some food to fill their stomachs. They were busy escaping all the way, sleeping in the open without even a sip of hot water, so they were naturally very happy to have a hot meal now.
Xiangyu was watching this group of people from the side. They were noble, but they had no rules when eating. They were noisy while eating, just like ordinary people. But they were dressed in luxurious clothes and wore jade sachets, which didn't seem like something ordinary people could afford.
After a while, Xu Bing came out from the backyard and asked the soldiers, "Why haven't those people from Zhongzhou arrived yet?"
The soldier pointed at the people wolfing down their food in the hall and said, "Sir, they are from Zhongzhou."
Xu Bing was also surprised. He stroked his beard and watched for a while. He walked over when they had almost finished eating.
"How did you guys eat?"
He Qiao picked his teeth and said, "It's OK, the fish is a little bland, and the braised pork is a little undercooked..."
Zhang Yi quietly pulled him, and He Qiao frowned: "You are not very good at it, and it has blocked my teeth!"
Zhang Yi quickly stood up and asked, "May I know your name, brother?"
Xu Bing stroked his beard and smiled, "I don't deserve your honor. I am Xu Bing. If you are full, why don't you go upstairs and tell me why you came to Xuzhou?"
He Qiao then realized that the middle-aged man in front of him in a gray cotton robe seemed to be the mayor of Xuzhou?
He was so scared that he didn't even bother to pick his teeth. He quickly got up and followed them upstairs.
Xu Bing led them into the council hall. A servant brought them tea. Several people sat down awkwardly. Zhang Yi bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Xu. I am Zhang Yi from Zhongzhou."
Xu Bing waved his hand and asked him to sit down: "Zhongzhou Yiwang, I heard a little bit, I wonder why you suddenly came to Xuzhou?"
Zhang Yi's eyes turned red and he started to cry: "I have something important to discuss with the city lord."
Xu Bing said: "Don't be impatient, speak slowly."
"Since we overthrew the imperial court, our power in Zhongzhou has expanded rapidly. The people are jubilant and excited. We see things moving in a good direction, but we didn't expect... the imperial court would send a large army to wipe us out."
"The people in the city were unarmed and were no match for them. I wanted to stand with them. But General He didn't want to see me die, so he risked his life to escort me out. It's a pity that I couldn't save all the people in Zhongzhou."
Zhang Yi beat his chest and pretended to be in great pain. This frightened everyone he was traveling with, and they thought to themselves, you are really good at pretending. When we ran away, you were the fastest!
Xu Bing was silent for a moment after hearing this: "Prince Yi wants us to help?"
Zhang Yi stretched out his index finger and said, "I want to borrow 10,000... soldiers from the city lord to attack back Zhongzhou." In fact, he knew in his heart that Xuzhou would definitely not lend him soldiers, and he had no intention of fighting back at all. He said this just to save his face.
Xu Bing said: "The matter of borrowing troops is of great importance, so let's wait until our city lord comes back before we discuss it."
Zhang Yi was stunned for a moment: "Aren't you the city lord?"
"I am just a small military advisor."
Zhang Yi's face was a little ugly. He had been acting for a long time, but he didn't expect that the other party was just a military advisor? The mayor of Xuzhou City was so proud that he didn't even meet him.
"If you are not in a hurry, you can rest in the city for a while. I will talk to the city lord about this matter when he comes back in a few days."
"May I ask where the city lord has gone?"
Xu Bing said: "They just defeated Yang Yuanzhen in Dongzhou and are now pacifying the people in Dongzhou."
Zhang Yi's eyes rolled around when he heard this. This Xuzhou City Lord seemed quite different from him. He didn't know what kind of person he was. If he could get close to him and flatter him, maybe he could stay in Xuzhou and get a job as an official.
After these people left, Xiang Yu cursed angrily: "What kind of people are you! You eat and drink for free and yet you are picky! Bah!"
Xu Bing smiled and said, "Don't bother with them." Although they were both common people's uprisings, Mr. Zhu was very different from him.
In terms of temperament and scheming, Song Yuzhu is no less capable than the children of noble families in the capital. It is hard to believe that he was just a small doctor in a clinic in the past.
"They want to borrow 10,000 soldiers to fight back to Zhongzhou. When a large army is dispatched, they need money for food, clothing and other expenses. How dare these people ask for money?"
*
The news that Zhongzhou had suppressed the rebellion and that Zhang Yi had gone to Xuzhou was sent to Dongzhou at the same time.
Song Yuzhu looked at the two letters on the table and fell into deep thought.
The letter from Zhongzhou was sent back by the caravan. Although the first part of the letter was short, it described vividly the tragic situation of King Yi's escape and the massacre of local people.
The letter said: Blood flowed a mile away, and the "human mountain" of corpses could be seen from a distance. The escorting caravan was so scared that they dared not enter the city and changed their route to Longxi overnight.
Another letter was sent by Xu Bing, which said that Zhang Yi wanted to borrow 10,000 soldiers to go to Zhongzhou.
It is also said that this man has a good eloquence and has won over many people in the city. Now when he goes out on the street, people flock to him and call him King Yi. Those who don't know him think he is the lord of Xuzhou City.
Deputy General Ma once led his troops to warn him, but the man used some kind of magic potion to deceive Ma Zhenwei into obeying him and calling him a "true gentleman."
Zhao Xiao read the letter and licked his teeth angrily, saying, "This idiot, wait till I get back and see how I punish him!"
He was the one who promoted Ma Zhenwei, and now he has been deceived by a villain and he has no face left.
Song Yuzhu smiled and said, "That Prince Yi is quite interesting. Although he is a fool, he is not completely useless." With such eloquence, it would be a pity if he didn't go into pyramid selling.
"When are we going back?" Zhao Xiao was a little anxious, fearing that if he went back too late everyone in Xuzhou would have changed their surname to Zhang.
Song Yuzhu was quite relieved that Xu Bing was in charge of Xuzhou. He did not believe that Xu Bing would be deceived. Prince Yi was probably only able to fool ordinary people who had little knowledge, so there was no need to worry.
"Don't worry, the first batch of refined salt will be out soon. We will go back after everything is arranged." As long as the salt road is opened, there will be no worries about having no money to spend in the future.
The affairs of Dongzhou will be temporarily managed by Grand Marshal Gongyang Qingdai. Song Yuzhu will give him a three-month probation period. If he dares to betray him or bully the people during this period, he will not show mercy!
The army left Li Jichen and another captain named Zhu to lead 2,000 soldiers to garrison. Li Jichen's sworn brother was still in Xuzhou, so there was no need to worry that he would have any disloyalty.
Everything was arranged properly, and on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Song Yuzhu and his party finally returned.
After being out for more than half a month, a thick layer of snow had accumulated outside the city of Xuzhou, and the carriage made a creaking sound as it pressed on it.
Because we had mentioned and greeted each other, many people came out to greet us before we even entered the city.
Lin Dayong and Tian Xiaobo were riding horses, while Xu Bing was sitting in a carriage. Behind them were Deputy General Du Chong, Liu Yanzi, Bai Yizhou and Taoist Chang Ming, but Ma Zhenwei was nowhere to be seen.
Zhao Xiao looked around on his horse and saw that he was not in the crowd. He became furious.
"Gee!" He rode his horse and ran over first.
"General Zhao, you're back!" everyone called him happily.
"Um."
“Thank you for your hard work!”
As the carriage came over, Song Yuzhu lifted the curtain and waved to them to go back quickly for coming out to greet them in such a cold day.
Song Quan sat aside and chuckled: "Sir, even though we haven't been in Xuzhou for a long time, why do I feel like I'm back home when I see you all?"
Song Yuzhu smiled and said, "Yeah, I feel the same way."
When they got back to the building, Xiangyu came out to greet Song Yuzhu as soon as he got out of the car. She pulled him aside and kept saying, "You're finally back! Everyone missed you so much!"
A group of people surrounded Song Yuzhu and entered the restaurant. The cook Sun Mao quickly brought a bowl of ginger soup.
"Young Master, drink it while it's hot to drive away the cold!"
"Oh, thank you." Song Yuzhu picked up the ginger soup and drank it in one breath.
Sun Mao grabbed the hem of his clothes and said happily, "There's more in the kitchen, everyone please have a bowl!"
Song Quan didn't hesitate to put down his package and went to serve the soup. Everyone in the room had a bowl and no one was left out.
The ginger soup was brought to Xu Bing, who waved his hand solemnly, "Don't worry, I have something important to tell you."
"Go upstairs, Zhao Xiao, you come too."
The three of them went upstairs together. The people downstairs knew that they had important business to attend to, so they didn't pay too much attention. They surrounded Song Quan and asked him to tell them what had happened in Dongzhou recently.
Song Quan was a very articulate boy. He told them how they encountered refugees, were almost burned to death by the fire, and how the young master killed the governor of Dongzhou in anger. Everyone was surprised and gasped from time to time.
Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao sat down upstairs, and Xu Bing walked around anxiously.
He was not worried about Zhang Yi, but was afraid that Sheng's army would attack them.
After the defeat in Zhongzhou, the imperial court had an illusion that the rebels were nothing special and could be easily defeated, and were even worse than the bandits in the mountains.
"The Chinese New Year is just a few days away. I'm worried that they will change their route and head south..."
Zhao Xiao said: "We are not afraid even if they come. We may be able to fight against the imperial court!"
Xu Bing shook his head: "Of course we can fight, but if we lose, what will happen to the people of Xuzhou?"
There is no other way at the moment, we can only fight against the enemy with our troops and block the water with earth.
Song Yuzhu asked: "Where is the Prince Yi now?"
"He stayed at an inn in the city. He has been very popular recently. People in the city tell stories about him every day. The people are like people who have been drugged and they respect him very much."
Song Yuzhu joked: "It's good that you haven't been drugged."
"How could I possibly believe him? Anyone with a discerning eye can tell he's a piece of cake, and nothing he says can be trusted."
"You're right not to believe it. The escort agency sent news from Dongzhou, saying that the court sent troops to Zhongzhou to quell the rebellion. Zhang Yi didn't even resist, he just ran away. His escape led to the massacre of tens of thousands of people who followed him in the city, and corpses were scattered all over the ground."
“What a sin!”
Zhao Xiao couldn't sit still any longer, he stood up and said, "If nothing else, I'll go to the military camp first."
Song Yuzhu and Xu Bing smiled at each other, knowing that the boy was holding back his anger. They just hoped that Lieutenant General Ma would not offend him at this time.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com