Chapter 115 Surrender of the City 27
Lü Zhi thought this to herself, but she couldn't really remain silent. She solemnly asked Wei Sheng Jiujiu what his expectations were for the donated grain.
If this question were asked by someone during the Three Kingdoms period, the answer would simply be to support the Han Dynasty.
However, this was the end of the Qin Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty didn't even exist yet, let alone be restored. So there was no way to talk about restoring the Qin Dynasty.
Saying that is sure to stir up hatred.
In particular, a month ago, Qin Er Shi ordered the minting of new coins, forcing all the people in the country to use the newly issued coins, which were severely underweight.
Qing'ai had previously made a sarcastic remark that Qin Er Shi was knowledgeable about finance and was very shrewd.
The results confirm this; no one else has managed to collapse the economy in such a short time.
Leaving aside the people of the former six states, the people of Qin were filled with resentment.
At this point, saying that one should support the Qin dynasty would undoubtedly incite hatred, so Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu thought for a moment and gave an answer: "For the sake of all the people under heaven."
Lü Zhi subconsciously counted five words.
She smiled, bowed, and said, "The people of Pei County will never forget your great kindness and virtue."
She only mentioned the people of Pei County because the grain was already in her pocket and couldn't get out. Her territory wasn't that big for the time being, so she only talked about one place. As for the whole country... she would leave that for another day.
The grain that filled dozens of large warehouses was transported out. Su Tong and his companion didn't feel any heartache. Grain is grown to be eaten; it would be a waste to let it rot and stink.
Even if they could only save this one place, even if they could only prevent Liu Bang's men from looting at will, they still played their part.
Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu calculated that he had cleared out half of the food stored in his space in one go, which also earned him a lot of reputation, which could be converted into a considerable amount of points.
The optimized grain varieties are still available, so overall he made a profit.
He gave up what he lacked and gained the reputation and points he desperately needed. After that, when the people of Pei County saw him, they no longer felt the fear and awe that arose from his killings, but only respect and admiration.
The matter of donating grain was something Zhu Qing'ai and he had agreed on long ago, not for any other reason than for the little conscience she had left. In times of chaos, it can be said that there is no difference between soldiers and bandits; not everyone is a member of the militia.
So her idea was to have as much grain as possible, at least to deter Liu Bang's men from looting. If they had enough grain to eat and were still going to rob commoners, then they should be dealt with directly.
Given the persona Liu Bang has established, he will undoubtedly spare no effort to maintain this situation.
As for why I'm donating now, it's because I want to see how they handle things.
To outsiders, it seems that Wei Sheng Jiujiu only believed the rebels' intentions after seeing that Liu Bang and his men had actually launched an uprising, and thus donated his family fortune to support them.
After spending several days sorting out the affairs of the county, Lü Zhi also sent some grain to Liu Bang. The distance to attack the nearby cities was not far, and if the journey was fast, sending grain would only take a few days.
When Liu Bang received the letter from Lü Zhi, his eyes lit up, and he also felt that Lü Zhi's analysis was very credible.
Don't be fooled by the current chaos and the lack of soldiers and generals, or the lack of skilled warriors. In reality, food is still the most fundamental element. Without food, there are no soldiers, and there's no point in talking about conquering the world.
Compared to soldiers and generals who might be viewed with suspicion in the future, it is clear that such a talented farmer is more popular, because no matter what, a ruler would not be so foolish as to kill someone who can double the yield per acre.
Generals are not safe, but farmers are extremely safe.
In his reply, Liu Bang wrote that if possible, he should learn the secrets of farming from Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu's subordinates.
He himself disliked farming, but he was not unaware of its importance. His reply showed his concern for it. However, he also had a misconception: he thought the fields were cultivated by Wei Sheng Jiu Jiu's subordinates, not by Wei Sheng Jiu Jiu himself.
This misunderstanding may only be resolved when he sees Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu personally working in the fields.
At this time, Liu Bang was leading his troops to attack Huling County. However, the one in command was not Meng Tian but Liu Bang himself. This was partly because Meng Tian was a little reserved, and partly because Liu Bang wanted to show off his abilities.
Although his command revealed his unorthodox methods, Meng Tian had to admit that people with talent are different. He might not be as good as professionals, but he was better than some and worse than others.
Huling County originally had soldiers who went out of the city to fight, but after several battles, they had been driven back into the city by Liu Bang. The enemy kept hiding inside the city. Although the city walls of this small county were not very high, it was still a geographical advantage. So the troops temporarily withdrew and camped outside the city.
At the same time, another letter arrived. The handwriting on the bamboo slips was familiar, and Liu Bang recognized it at a glance as being written by Lü Zhi.
But the contents of the document shocked him. It stated that the governor of Sishui County had already led troops to besiege Fengyi. This was nothing serious; at worst, they could simply lead their troops back to defend it. The governor's clear purpose was to force them to abandon their attack on Huling and return to defend it.
What truly shocked him was the latter part: Lü Zhi said that she had led people to provide support, and that Liu Bang's fourth brother was watching over the city.
Fengyi was where Liu Bang had lived for many years, so naturally he had to save it. But that didn't mean he wanted to lose his wife. Regardless of how much he loved her, Lü Zhi was indeed very beneficial to him.
Love may not be very strong, but an alliance of interests is unbreakable.
So he hurriedly led his troops back, and along the way he received a letter saying that Lady Pei had arrived in Fengyi safely.
As everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Cao Shen made a slight joke: "The Duke of Pei and his wife have such a good relationship; we are all quite envious."
Fan Kuai, who hadn't left Liu Bang's ranks since he went to invite him back to Pei County, nodded frantically: "I'm so envious!"
As a single man, he was extremely envious.
"Haha, you're not envious of me, you're just thinking about starting a family, aren't you?"
The atmosphere relaxed, but the pace of their journey did not slow down. There were more than two thousand people here, not all of them from Fengyi, but quite a few. Being besieged by the imperial army in their hometown, they were all anxious. Liu Bang did not need to urge them; they could run as fast as they could.
****
When everyone returned to Fengyi, Liu Bang saw Lü Zhi, who was dashing and simply dressed. He realized that she was different, not the same as before.
When Liu Bang heard that Lü Zhi had led several hundred men to defeat the governor of Sishui County, he praised her lavishly. Lü Zhi did not ask her brothers for help; all the credit went to her alone. Liu Bang tacitly understood this and did not ask if Lü Zhi's brothers had helped. All the praise was directed at Lü Zhi.
Empress Lü smiled modestly and said, "It was merely a matter of repelling the enemy. If we wish to defeat the Qin army, we will still need to rely on you all."
The people present were all Liu Bang's confidants, and none of them were fools. They took such polite words with a grain of salt and no one looked down on Lü Zhi because of her humble words.
The discussion didn't avoid her afterwards; everyone gathered together to discuss whether to accept the challenge.
We definitely have to fight, but we need to come up with a specific plan on how to fight.
In the end, Liu Bang's opinion prevailed, and two days later Liu Bang sent troops to meet the enemy, while Meng Tian led a troop of soldiers to provide support.
In this battle, they defeated the Qin army and won a brilliant victory. The brothers Zhou Ke and Zhou Chang, soldiers from the opposite Sishui region, surrendered.
This time, Lü Zhi did not go to the battlefield, but coordinated and managed things in the rear. Logistics were also very important. After discussing it that day, she led the people she brought back to Pei County.
After defeating the Qin army, Liu Bang trusted Meng Tian to believe that he was truly willing to fight alongside him to conquer the world. Therefore, he ordered Meng Tian to lead Yong Chi to defend Fengyi, while he himself led his army into Xue County to fight a major battle with the Qin army.
When the war was basically over, the governor of Sishui was defeated and fled, and was killed by Liu Bang's Left Sima. Only then did he lead his army back to Pei County.
Upon returning to Pei County, Liu Bang was greeted by a large crowd of local residents. Empress Lü Zhi personally led a group of people to welcome him. Liu Bang dismounted, took Empress Lü Zhi's hand, and walked ostentatiously towards the magistrate's residence.
Apart from the portion of the troops who remained in Fengyi, almost the entire force returned safely. A few others sustained injuries of varying degrees and were taken to the city's traditional Chinese medicine clinic.
It wasn't that Liu Bang was particularly brave in battle; the main reason was that the Qin army itself didn't really want to fight at that time.
It's important to understand that Qin Er Shi's rampant minting of coins and his forced use of them caused economic collapse. He was robbing people of their property, which naturally included the Qin army.
Would anyone genuinely work for someone who steals their money? Even if they outwardly agree, they'd be resentful inside.
Therefore, there were righteous armies in all four regions, which is why the Qin army could kill the Quanrong and prevent them from advancing south, but could not stop the peasant uprising armies.
They went out and fought, and the number of rebels not only did not decrease, but actually doubled.
The grain donated by Weisheng Jiujiu before has been put to use, so at least there is no need to worry about the extra soldiers not being able to be fed, which would cause soldiers to secretly go out and plunder civilians.
During the month that Liu Bang spent resting and recuperating in the city, he witnessed Lü Zhi's abilities firsthand and felt even more at ease leaving her at the base camp to guard his home.
Although Fengyi was his birthplace, Pei County was more important to him at this time, so Meng Tian was sent to Fengyi to guard it, while his wife, whom he trusted more, was sent to guard Pei County.
During his recuperation, Liu Bang also discussed with Wei Sheng, who was ninety years old, his so-called way of training soldiers. It was the first time he had seen this man talk so much, and it was also the first time he realized that this man was truly a polymath.
If Wei Sheng Jiujiu were to bring out gunpowder again, Liu Bang, with his thick skin, would probably have to become sworn brothers with him on the spot. Of course, this was not in Su Tong's plan. The ones fighting now are their own people. Their own troops are on the other side. If gunpowder is used, the battle will be faster, but their troops will be gone. It would be a loss.
Zhu Qing'ai has already found a place for gunpowder to shine: Maodun Chanyu in the north. He hopes that Maodun will like this gift and become a talented singer and dancer.
Hehe~
****
Liu Bang led his troops on another expedition, this time targeting Huling County, which he had failed to capture before. However, the highest-ranking official guarding Huling this time was the Supervisor of Sishui Commandery, who was the same person he had defeated last time.
Xiao He suggested trying to persuade them to surrender. Liu Bang pondered for a moment and then agreed. He sent Xiao He and Xiahou Ying with him to persuade the Sishui County Supervisor who was guarding Huling City to surrender.
At this time, the custom of not killing envoys during battles was still maintained. The prefect was not stupid; if he wanted to live, he would not move these two people to anger Liu Bang.
Under Xiao He's persuasion, and knowing full well that he was no match for Liu Bang in the current situation, he readily surrendered the entire city after initially appearing hesitant and conflicted.
He personally welcomed Liu Bang and his men into the city. The people in the city had long heard that the prefect had surrendered, and the name of the righteous army made them yearn for it. However, reason told them that in the chaos of the world, they should first protect themselves.
Therefore, when Liu Bang entered the city, he saw that all the doors on the street were closed, and there was no one else on the street except for the prefectural supervisor and soldiers who came to greet him.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 14:19:42 and 15:40:40 on July 10, 2024!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Feixue (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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