Inside Jiankang City, in the newly cleaned-up hall, the commanders of the various armies, along with Xiaolongnu and the others, gathered. Well, only Wen Tianxiang, the Minister of Education and Rites, hadn't arrived yet!
Xiao Longnu sat on the upper seat with a stern expression... After experiencing the baptism of war for nearly a month, she now looked more and more like an emperor!
"All departments, report your losses."
Xiaolongnu holds a sword in one hand, sitting on the dragon throne, full of majesty!
[Sassy! So cool! Junior Sister, I can do it!]
Di Fan had a serious expression on his face as he stood guard beside Xiao Long Nu...but in his mind, he was madly dissing his own junior sister.
Xiao Longnu automatically blocked out her brother's voice. Since the uprising, he had heard countless similar words, and she was tired of hearing them! Besides, all talk and no action, how shameless was her little sister?
If you like me, why don't you confess? Why don't you come and attack me at night? I'm 22 years old, I can get married!
Well... let's not talk about the psychological fluctuations of the two main characters in this volume for now. In the hall, everyone went up to the hall and began to report!
Shaolin Tianming: "We have taken Dasan Pass without losing any soldiers or generals, and have taken in 10,000 prisoners. We are now reorganizing them, eliminating the old, weak, sick, and disabled, and have a total of 3,000 soldiers, plus 1,000 Wulin reserve troops, to defend the pass!"
Quanzhen Ma Yu: "Kaifeng and Yancheng are both unstoppable. We have now eliminated the local gentry and tyrants who were causing trouble. We have selected dozens of local officials, retained 5,000 reserve troops to garrison, and reorganized 5,000 troops. Hao Datong and Qiu Chuji are in charge of military and political affairs. Defending the city will be no problem!"
Guo Jing, Yue Suo, and He Zudao also reported the casualties of this trip... The situations were similar.
To put it simply, the policy of surrounding the cities with the countryside was very popular. The major cities that had never experienced this kind of warfare were unable to resist. The Wulin Army that was attacked easily united with the local poor to break through the cities, and they had no time to react at all.
Coupled with Wen Tianxiang's personal testimony, all the local border generals and officials with conscience chose to surrender, and the actions of reorganizing the army and cleaning up the gentry were extremely smooth, and progress was very rapid.
There was no joy on Xiaolongnu's face. To be precise, the easy capture of the border was already part of their plan, so naturally there would be no surprises.
"What about Yangzhou City?"
Xiaolongnu glanced at Zhong Mingliang. He was responsible for leading the Taihu base army to attack Yangzhou, and was also the point that everyone was most concerned about!
Compared to the poverty of other border towns, Yangzhou was much richer. Especially after the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital, Yangzhou became the economic and entertainment center of the Southern Song Dynasty. The local gentry were numerous and it was also the biggest challenge today.
Zhong Mingliang also stepped forward and said, "This is where I want to pour a bucket of cold water on you all! The battle to recapture Yangzhou resulted in heavy casualties, and the attack was not going well!"
"The attack on Yangzhou City went smoothly, as the common people helped to open the city. However, during the purge of the gentry and powerful, a huge problem arose!
According to reports from the local Beggars' Gang, there are nearly a thousand gentry and powerful families in Yangzhou City, nearly eight of whom are criminals! During the cleanup process, these eight powerful families gathered tens of thousands of guards, nearly a thousand of whom were recruited from the evil and evil sects, all of whom were acquired masters.
Three hours after we entered the city, before the rebellion was completely quelled, these tens of thousands of people were already killing and burning within the city with impunity! The Wulin Army sent troops to suppress them, but they were far less familiar with the city than they were. Nearly a thousand soldiers were sacrificed before they wiped out these tens of thousands.
I originally wanted to wait for a night's rest before taking action against the landlords, but I didn't expect that they had bribed the cook and poisoned the food!
Fortunately, Elder Liang was on the scene, discovering the poison in the dishes in time and seizing the opportunity to ambush and capture them all, preventing further casualties... But even so, even now, many local gentry have escaped and are hiding within the city, occasionally launching rebellions. Of the five thousand Wulin troops I brought with me, two thousand have already been sacrificed, and the remaining troops must remain in the city to defend it, leaving no additional troops or generals to participate in the battle.
Yangzhou City is already in such a state. You can imagine how severe the rebellion will be when we attack Lin'an! Suzhou, Chengdu, Quanzhou, Yashan, and other places are all places where wealthy and powerful people gather. You can imagine how many troops we will have to leave behind to defend them.
Therefore, I suggest expanding the army, especially increasing the number of garrisons in various locations. We absolutely cannot waste the Wulin Army in local areas, as this will only increase the danger!"
Zhong Mingliang's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads! After hearing the battle report from Yangzhou, the excited flames fell silent.
[I knew the uprising was a bit hasty!]
[It's easy to conquer the world, but it's hard to keep it! How could the gentry have lasted for over three hundred years in the Song Dynasty if they were vegetarians?]
[I think the Mongols are turning a blind eye to our army's attack on the Southern Song Dynasty, hoping to wait until our Wulin army is dispersed and exhausted before launching an attack!]
[No, I have to remind my junior sister that the speed of attacking the Southern Song Dynasty must be slowed down!]
"Alliance Leader..."
Just as Di Fan was about to speak, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out from outside the hall! Wen Tianxiang strode into the hall, his face wrinkled with laughter, full of joy!
"The leader is delighted! My classmate, Lu Xiufu, who possesses the talent of a king's assistant, has arrived with his family!"
Lu Xiufu?! One of the Three Great Men of the Late Song Dynasty? Was he as talented as Wen Tianxiang?
[So, these two are classmates?!]
[Great, great! I was just worried about not having anyone knowledgeable in politics to offer advice, and the whole hall is filled with warriors... I never expected such a powerful person to show up!]
Xiao Longnu was also overjoyed. She knew Di Fan's evaluation of Wen Tianxiang! The arrival of a talent of the same caliber greatly alleviated the enormous pressure of the Wulin Alliance's lack of civil officials and counselors!
"Please come in quickly!"
Xiao Longnu stood up and was about to go out to greet him, but Wen Tianxiang said with a smile, "Alliance Leader, there's no need to do that. He's already outside the hall. Just let him in!"
"Announce, Lu Xiufu enter the palace!"
With a loud shout, Lu Xiufu, his wife, daughter, and servants rushed into the hall. Huang Rong hurriedly met them and ordered his wife and daughter to be taken down the hall and arranged for accommodation. Only Lu Xiufu and a middle-aged servant were left to talk...
Di Fan's gaze fell on Lu Xiufeng. Like Wen Tianxiang, he had the demeanor of a Confucian scholar and an upright figure. Although he had not practiced martial arts, he could feel the other's unyielding pride!
As for the other servant... Di Fan just took a look and frowned tightly!
In history classes, Di Fan had seen many portraits of emperors from various dynasties in books, especially the Song Dynasty. He felt so disappointed with her... After reincarnation in this life, his soul was strengthened, and his past memories gradually solidified!
The servant left behind by Lu Xiufu looked exactly like Emperor Lizong of the late Song Dynasty, Zhao Yun!
[Lu Xiufu, why did you bring the Emperor of Song with you?!]
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