Gentlemen, listen to the sword chant

Chapter 108 Hidden dangers in the past, drought in Wanzhou

Xuzhou city.

Xi Shen, who was wearing a black python robe, came to the main hall, and he summoned Yan Yue.Looking at the entire Wuzhou, the only person Xi Shen can trust at this time is Yan Yue, who is the most powerful fighter under Xi Shen's tent.In the past, Xi Shen openly surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the country, the army was in turmoil, and countless generals rose up. Only Yan Yue, he unconditionally believed in every move of Xi Shen.Although Yan Yue was upset, but he was kind to Xi Shen, even if Xi Shen asked him to kill his father and mother, he would not frown.Therefore, Yan Yue straightened up the military discipline immediately and avoided the chaos in Xuzhou City.

"Yan Yue, how long have you been with me?"

Yan Yue did not hesitate to think: "Reporting to my lord, in the 11th year of Tai'an, the Lianchi Rebellion, the last general was recruited into the army, and went to Jingzhou to fight with eight thousand soldiers from Jiangdong. When Tai'an returned to Xuzhou in the 13th year, you will be the last general. Counting it down, there are eleven winters and summers.”

"It's been 11 years, how many 11 years are left in life?" Xi Shen smiled wryly.

Yan Yue remained silent.

"Yan Yue, you know that I have devoted myself to being a national traitor, why don't you abandon me?"

Yan Yue sonorously said: "Because of the Lord's kindness, I will never give up."

After a moment of hesitation, Yan Yue added: "The general believes that there is a reason for everything my lord does. As the leader of Wu Bei, everything you do is for Wu Bei."

Xi Shen's wry smile deepened. He walked over, patted Yan Yue's shoulder, and said with a smile, "I know you're holding back your breath, and followed me as a national traitor. I'm going to Guangling soon. You listen to my military orders. Ten days later, you lead your troops to secretly go to the counties in northern Wu, and wipe out all the Dongying soldiers in Xuzhou, Xiaxiang, Haizhou, Piaocheng and Huaiyin."

Yan Yue's pupils shrank slightly.

"My lord, you..."

"Don't worry, these days, I've already poisoned the food in the counties, so I'm sure I'll be sure."

Yan Yue's face was full of shock.

After being shocked, Yan Yue was in a good mood, and said with a heroic smile: "My lord, the general knows that you are making compromises, just to wait for this day."

Xi Shen smiled and said nothing.

……

Zhongzhou, capital city.

It was summer, and the weather turned hot. In the past, from July to September, emperors of all dynasties would take a carriage to the palace fifty miles south of the Eastern Capital to escape the heat.The exception was last year and this year. This is also a rare period since ancient times. The huge empire has not elected a new emperor for more than a year?Fortunately, the foundation of the empire is solid. Even now, all the princes in the fourteen prefectures have small thoughts and independent hearts, but the empire is still stable.The prison country and the empress are governed in an orderly manner, and there is no chaos in the world.

"My lord, the young master from Qishan went to Wanzhou in a carriage, and it was the fourth prince who secretly helped him." A Jin Yiwei came to report.

Huang Shi sat by the lake, closed his eyes and fell asleep, holding a fishing rod in his arms, and nodded when he heard the words: "Got it."

Jin Yiwei looked troubled, hesitated for a while, and said again: "My lord, there has been an unprecedented drought in Wanzhou this year..."

Huang Shi frowned, "Drought? The harvest will be finished in two months. There will be no drought sooner or later, but this is the time for drought, so? He once set up a reserve and saw that the Allied forces were defeated, and he couldn't sit still. He wanted to be independent? "

Jin Yiwei lowered his head, pursed his lips, and gritted his teeth, "Master Jian Guo, Master Zeng is waiting outside."

"Oh?" Huang Shi restrained his cold smile, replaced it with a little surprise, "Go invite him in."

"As ordered."

After a while, Jin Yiwei walked in with a white-haired old man. Zeng Lichu was wearing a scarlet red robe, his face was haggard, and he looked like he was in the dust. He walked behind Huang Shi and bowed: "My lord Jian Guo."

As long as those who are familiar with Huangshi are familiar with Huangshi, they dare not despise them. As for those who are arrogant in their bones, like Prince Gong, who call him "eunuch of the eunuch" in private, it is really a minority.Huang Shi followed the late emperor since he was a child, reading and writing, practicing martial arts and kung fu, eating and sleeping together, whether it is martial arts or influence, Huang Shi is top-notch.Just above the court hall, although there are people with ulterior motives secretly scolding the Huangshi cholera court gang, but to be honest, who dares to say a word?No, no one.

"Master Zeng, is the drought in Wanzhou true or false?"

Zeng Lichu said sadly, "It's absolutely true, Lord Jian Guo, since last month, the tributaries in Wanzhou have shown signs of drying up. I ordered all counties to open water canals, but it will not help."

Wanzhou has been known as the granary of Great Liang since ancient times, but its geographical location is awkward. It is between the Yellow River and the Qujiang River.

Huangshi pondered, "Since the drought in ancient times, there must have been insects."

Zeng Lichu said nothing.

In fact, both of them knew well that the drought in Wanzhou did not happen overnight.Since the end of the Battle of Jingzhou, those who rebelled against the party and had nowhere to go, dug canals, broke dams, opened embankments, and released the rolling water of the Qujiang River, flooding the counties, so that after the war, The people were displaced, and the annoying floods and insects were like a soft knife to cut people. It has continued to this day. Although it has improved, it actually still leaves the root of the disaster.Although it has been ten years since the Battle of Jingzhou, the grain production of each state has still suffered setbacks and has not yet recovered.It's no secret that there are occasional droughts in Wanzhou. After all, it's time to come.

Zeng Lichu came this time to explain the reasons. One is about this year's taxation issue; the other is to distribute food to the court to relieve the victims.Because of these two points, the 70-year-old man traveled thousands of miles to the capital to report.

Huang Shi held his chin in silence and said, "If you do this, you can lead these pests to Jiangdong. If you can do this, I will guarantee that you will have food in Wanzhou this year to survive this winter."

……

Chen Ci stayed in the Purple Bamboo Forest for a long time, and he was about to come out when he was free. Every day, he heard the chickens dance, washed up, and listened to Jiang Ziqi's lectures to brainwash him. These days are too boring. This morning, Zhang Qiaoqiao came to find Chen Ci and said that there was news about the princess. Zhang Qiaoqiao ordered the missionaries in Yuhang to inquire, saying that the princess was raised by Shang Shanqi in Cheng Shouyu's manor. She was safe for the time being, so Chen Ci could rest assured.

"Since it's at Shangshanqi's place, it's fine for now."

As for Uesugi's character, the statement is still reassuring, but after all, it is a time of war, and he and Uesugi are on political opposite sides, and he still can't let go of it in his heart.

"My son-in-law, don't worry about it. A battle is about to start. Don't think about running away. When you leave the Purple Bamboo Forest, all the Dongying people will be staring at you. When the time comes, you will be killed." You are held hostage, but no one can save you." Zhang Qiaoqiao joked.

"You missionaries, you pride yourself on being noble. To put it bluntly, you are nothing more than mice hiding in the dark. You don't care much. You only take advantage of the fire to do some business, and you don't dare to do real things with the Dongying people." The statement. Said sarcastically.

Zhang Qiaoqiao took it for granted, hugged her undulating breasts, and smiled charmingly, "My son-in-law, please don't provoke the slave family, the slave family is just a girl, not a hero, if the son-in-law is not in a hurry, wait a little longer, and he will naturally know We have made a plan, this battle is to be fought, right now the enemy is strong and we are weak, we should avoid their edge."

Chen Ci also knew that if they really managed to kill Xi Shen, Wuzhou would be in chaos.

For the rest, we can only wait and see.

Chen Ci was thinking in his heart, if Xi Shen died and Wuzhou was in chaos, would he take the opportunity to escape?Staying under the fence of Zizhu Forest, it is better to go out and look for opportunities by yourself. Unfortunately, Fan Chu died, and all the followers brought out from the prime minister's mansion in the capital were also killed. His statement really became a lonely family.

……

Tai'an 24th July [-]th.

The puppet Wu Wang Xishen supported by the Dongying people arrived in Guangling in a carriage.

There were Dongying soldiers escorting him along the way, and Xi Shen came to Guangling without a single soldier, which can be said to have shown his sincerity.On the tower, the female general Chizuru Honma in battle armor held a long knife, condescendingly looked at the gorgeous carriage below the tower, frowning, she realized that she had miscalculated, she realized that she seemed to be unable to read deep.

"Xi Shen, there is something."

Qian Hezi commented.

Shigeru Miyamoto didn't know what to say, and asked suspiciously, "Commander, what did you say?"

"Do you think people like Xi Shen are fools?"

Shigeru Miyamoto thought for a moment, "That's definitely not the case. I have studied Xi Shen's files and files. This man's palace is extremely deep, like a dormant army. He should not be underestimated. He can definitely be called a treacherous and cunning generation."

Qian Hezi smiled, "I misread Xi Shen before, but I don't want to, this time I am still wrong."

Shigeru Miyamoto was stunned, "What?"

In Qianhezi's heart, she thought that Xi Shen would be crowned vigorously this time to show the whole state, and Xi Shen should be able to guess her intentions, that is, to take this opportunity to kill him to prevent future troubles. I thought that Xi Shen Wouldn't it be surprising that he would bring a large number of soldiers and horses, but he was alone?
Then.

There are several possibilities.

First, Xi Shen knew that this trip was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. He knew that the Dongying people were afraid of his disobedience and self-reliance, so he decided not to lead troops at all, letting the Dongying people relax their vigilance and express their determination to be loyal.This is a strategy of retreating to advance. If the Dongying people really kill him, it will be beneficial to the moral side first, which will make people laugh.The people from Dongying were able to take over the counties in northern Wu so smoothly, thanks to Xi Shen. If the people from Dongying took the opportunity to kill Xi Shen, who would dare to be this puppet?
Second, Xi Shen has other ideas, and there are some conspiracies and tricks that you can't understand by outsiders. For example, he ordered his subordinates in advance that as long as he died, he would immediately launch an attack on the counties in northern Wu.

At this time, by coincidence, Xi Shen, dressed in a black python robe, stepped out of the carriage, enjoying the hypocritical cheers of the people, he raised his head, looked towards the tower, and looked at Qianhezi Honma from a distance.

"chuck"

Honma Chizuko was stared at by the imperceptible smile that appeared on the corner of Xi Shen's mouth.

"Master..."

"It's okay."

Qian Hezi retracted her gaze and took a deep breath.

……

Chuzhou City.

Lin Gusheng, the arrogant young son of the handsome mansion, secretly followed a group of bodyguards to Wanzhou through hardships and obstacles. He suffered a lot along the way, with unkempt hair and stubble on his face.Finally arrived at the destination, Lin Gusheng got out of the carriage, stretched himself, and walked towards the street.Chuzhou City is a well-known county town in the northern part of Wanzhou.

Row upon row of houses are scattered in the street, wine shops, restaurants, workshops, everything that one expects to find, crowded with people, full of fireworks in the world.

Lin Gusheng hummed a little song, took a leisurely walk, and came to a restaurant at random. The busy child saw that Lin Gusheng's face was as black as charcoal and looked dusty, but he took a closer look, hey, the quality of the gown covered in mud Very good, it is made of high-quality fabric, with a sword pinned to his waist, and he doesn't look down on people with dog eyes, so he leaned over and asked with a smile on his face, "Master, what do you want?"

"Whatever you want, just serve good wine and good food, I have plenty of money." Lin Gusheng sat down carelessly, and put the exquisitely crafted sword inlaid with gems like a work of art on the table.

The waiter in the shop was taken aback, and immediately beamed with joy, thinking that what the shopkeeper said was good, and he still can't show his face to others these days, don't look at this young man who is scruffy, but with a pure Zhongzhou accent, he has such a high-spirited aura, I'm afraid that some people who meet him on the road Wealthy children who fled from danger.Xiaoer greeted him with a smile, and hurriedly ordered the kitchen to do it. Lin Gusheng opened the satchel, unfolded the map, looked carefully, and thought that this was Chuzhou City, and he would reach Xuzhou City after four or five hundred miles to the south, so he had to go Buy some fast horses.

Not long after, the waiter in the shop brought out several plates of high-quality meat and wine, although it was inferior, it was not bad in this kind of workshop.Xiaoer has seen the big world. Although Chuzhou City is small, it has close contacts. Qingzhou, Wuzhou and Ganzhou all have to pass through here if they want to go to Zhongzhou. The children of the big family cannot do without rewards.

Although Lin Gusheng came from a wealthy family, he is used to eating coarse grains, what are you kidding about?Qishan Commander's Mansion, Lin's children, which one is not a strong man who wants to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy?How decent is it to be as delicate as a woman?If you are not used to eating simple food and go to the battlefield, how can you share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers?
He picked up a piece of stewed meat with chopsticks and tasted it, then nodded with satisfaction.Following the bodyguard all the way out of Zhongzhou, it was regarded as a smuggled immigration. He couldn’t eat well and sleep well. In order to avoid being interrogated by the officers and soldiers, he didn’t have a good meal. After finally entering the city, he was far away from Zhongzhou.

At this time, Lin Gusheng suddenly saw a few ragged children looking at him pitifully not far away, no, to be precise, they were looking at the food on his table, their eyes were burning and drooling.

Lin Gusheng is good everywhere.

There is only one downside.

That is not to see the suffering in the world. In the words of his elder brother Lin Guming, it is the benevolence of a woman, which is hard to be generous.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Gusheng generously called the waiter from the store, and pointed to the vagrants, "Wanzhou has been known as 'the world's granary' since ancient times, how can there be such a situation where there is nothing to support and no food to eat? Could it be that the prefect of your place has increased taxes privately and done some outrageous things?"

He said, staring at him.

The shop clerk smiled awkwardly, pinching his nose, "Master, you are a nobleman from Zhongzhou, you don't know, this year there are droughts everywhere, and there are pests, and this year's taxes can't be paid, and the common people are all saving food. I can’t save it, otherwise I’m afraid there will be no food for the winter, it’s hard.”

"Huh? You bastard, you are full of glib tongue, cheating me, right? It's only July, and there is no autumn harvest, so why are you afraid of a drought? What about your masters in the state capital? Why don't you divert water from the canal to repel insects and pests? Don't you just watch it?" Drought and pests ravaging?"

Xiaoer smiled wryly: "Speaking of it, it's an old problem. How can the adults of the state government not know about it? It's just that there is no way to do it. Those rebels opened a canal in Jingzhou and released the water, and it has always been a blue hole. Until now, There is no solution. In recent years, the governors of the state government have paid great attention to it, but how can it be so simple to divert water for a short time? I am afraid that it will not work for a year or so. The villain guesses that this year's drought is a foregone conclusion, and there is no way to recover. Damn, I don't know how many people in Wanzhou will starve to death."

(End of this chapter)