Thief Emperor

Chapter 835 The Village Chief of That Year

The next day, Li Yun climbed to a high place and looked into the distance, observing the Dingzhou battlefield from the front line.

In the morning, the two sides were still in a stalemate. In the afternoon, Meng Qing personally led reinforcements to the Dingzhou battlefield.

As reinforcements arrived, the Jiangdong Army naturally fought more and more courageously. By sunset, the Fanyang Army was already at a great disadvantage. A captain battalion of the Fanyang Army surrendered on the spot under the fierce attack.

Xiao Heng...is still very unpopular after all.

The previous death of General Xiao was already shrouded in mystery. Later, under pressure from Li Yun, Xiao Heng had to impose heavy taxes in the limited states in Hebei Province. At this time, nearly half of the troops in the Fanyang army were newly recruited by Xiao Heng in the past year.

Although these new recruits were incorporated into the veterans, some of them could no longer hold on after fighting for so long.

With the appearance of the first surrendered Duwei Battalion in the Fanyang Army, the situation on the entire Fanyang battlefield began to change immediately. The Fanyang Army began to retreat as a whole, and had already shown signs of "cowardice".

At this time, Zhou Chang personally led the cavalry and broke up the formation of a Fanyang Army Captain's Battalion. Holding a long spear, he killed a Fanyang Army soldier with one spear, and then shouted angrily: "They are all Han people. Surrender and you won't kill them!"

"Surrender without killing!"

As Zhou Chang shouted loudly, the soldiers of the Pinglu Army nearby also followed suit. For a moment, the morale of the Fanyang Army almost fell to the bottom, and many people panicked and fled.

Some people actually laid down their weapons and knelt down in surrender.

Zhou Chang laughed loudly and said, "Leave someone to watch over these prisoners, and the rest of you continue to chase them. Don't let them get away!"

After winning the battle, everyone was of course in high spirits. When they heard Zhou Chang's words, they all rushed forward shouting.

This is often the case on the battlefield. Even if the situation has been a stalemate, as long as the morale of one side collapses, the entire battle will collapse immediately.

Even if there are many people, it will be useless at this time.

Not to mention, the number of Fanyang troops was not large.

As the Pinglu Army rushed forward, the Fanyang Army on the western front of Dingzhou began to flee.

No matter how large an army is, if there is a rout, it means chaos in the formation and a great defeat.

Luo Zhen, the general of the Pinglu Army, was standing near Zhou Chang. He looked at Zhou Chang and said with a smile, "Young General, you seem to be in a good mood."

"Of course I feel good if I can win the battle."

Zhou Chang looked at Luo Zhen, then looked up at the sky, and said angrily: "Damn it! In the past few years, we lost every time we fought, and suffered enough at the hands of the Jiangdong Army. I began to doubt whether I could still lead the troops to fight. If it weren't for this battle today, I would have gone back to Qingzhou and waited for death!"

Luo Zhen also looked at the battlefield. He was silent for a while, then slowly said, "Major General. During this period of time, our logistical supplies, food, and intelligence were all provided by the Jiangdong Army. Major General, you should have felt how powerful they are, right?"

Zhou Chang finally subsided a little after hearing this. He nodded slowly and said in a deep voice, "It's amazing. Apart from other things, the food alone is enough to kill people. If we take these soldiers back to Qingzhou now, they will probably not be able to get used to the food in Qingzhou."

"If you want to take them to fight the Jiangdong Army..."

Zhou Chang shook his head and didn't continue.

Luo Zhen continued, "The most powerful one is still Jiusi from Jiangdong."

He pulled out a few maps from his sleeves, unfolded them and placed them in front of Zhou Chang, muttering, "This is a map of the area near Dingzhou. Recently, the Nine Departments sent me a map every two days. It actually shows the general movement of the enemy army and also marks possible movements."

"There is a huge difference between fighting a war with the Nine Divisions and fighting a war without them."

Zhou Chang nodded silently. He looked at Luo Zhen and sighed, "Uncle Luo, if you want to say something, just say it."

"I want to ask the Major General what he really thinks."

Zhou Chang looked up at the sky and said, "Now that Jiangdong has surrendered, of course I want to be a vassal in the new Jiangdong Dynasty and continue to be the governor of Pinglu in our family."

Luo Zhen shook his head slightly: "Although the King of Wu appears to be kind on the surface, he is an extremely strong person in his heart. It may be possible for the young general to become the governor of Pinglu in the future, but it will probably not be easy for him to control the military power."

Zhou Chang frowned when he heard this. He thought about it seriously, then turned to look at Luo Zhen and asked, "Uncle Luo, what do you think?"

"What I mean is that since you have surrendered, you should not have any other thoughts in the future."

He looked at Zhou Chang and whispered, "Before, Zhong Fan, who followed the King of Wu to conquer Zhending, is now a military lieutenant in Jiangdong."

"It ranks seventh among the military meritorious titles of Jiangdong."

Zhou Chang narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Luo Zhen continued, "After the battle of Dingzhou, the junior general should have asked King Wu for a military honor. I don't think King Wu is a mean person. In the future... in the future, there will always be a place for us in the new dynasty."

Zhou Chang thought about it seriously and said silently: "I understand."

He looked back at Luo Zhen and said softly, "Uncle Hao is now in the Jiangdong Army..."

"He should be a deputy general, only half a level away from the four generals of Jiangdong."

Zhou Chang heard this and sighed softly: "In the future, Uncle Hao's position in the Jiangdong New Dynasty will probably be higher than you and me." Luo Zhen nodded silently, then looked into the distance: "No matter what, the young general has the merit of Dingzhou."

"In Jiangdong, we have established a firm foothold."

…………

In a mansion in Tangchang County, Dingzhou.

Li Yun sat in the main seat, looking at Meng Qing who was clasping his fists and saluting to him. After taking a look, Li couldn't help but sighed, "Over the years, you, a young man in your twenties, have become much more haggard."

"Sit down, sit down and talk."

Meng Qing sat down obediently. He also looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "Shangwei is much calmer than before. I still remember how he looked when I first met him."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea, feeling quite proud: "Was I very powerful at that time?"

"Yes."

Meng Qing answered sincerely: "When I was in power, I was always very powerful."

Li Yun laughed, put down his teacup, and asked with a smile: "In this Dingzhou battle, I only asked you to assist, not to play the main attack. Do the people below have any objections?"

Meng Qing shook his head slightly and was about to speak, but suddenly paused and said, "There are a few idiots in the army who talk nonsense."

Li Yun smiled and said, "There is no other way. We don't have the energy to move anymore. At this time, we need to give Pinglu Army some benefits. First, let Pinglu Army exercise, and second..."

"We need to make the father and son feel at ease."

The great achievement of Dingzhou was almost given to Zhou Chang by Li Yun.

In fact, if this task was given to Jiangdong Army, they would definitely do it more efficiently and beautifully.

However, the Pinglu Army is not Li Yun's direct line after all, and is located in Li Yun's hinterland. If the father and son suddenly lose their minds and start making trouble, even if Li Yun is capable of pacifying the situation, he will suffer for several years.

At this time, if you give benefits openly, it will not work. From the perspective of Zhou's father and son, such benefits will become deliberate appeasement, and it is very likely that after the appeasement, the donkey will be abandoned.

Letting them make achievements on their own will make them feel much more at ease.

Meng Qing looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Don't worry, my brothers have made great contributions. It's just that some rogues are talking nonsense. Most people don't have any objections."

"I can handle this matter."

"As long as it can be handled."

Li Yun looked at Meng Qing with a look of happiness that was hard to conceal on his face. To be more precise, it should be relief.

Among all the young men in Hexi, the brothers Meng Qing and Meng Hai are undoubtedly the two most outstanding ones, but among the two brothers, Meng Qing is almost the general cultivated by Li Yun himself.

Li Yun also tacitly recognized him as the leading figure among the second generation of generals in Jiangdong.

Now, Meng Qing has undoubtedly grown into a qualified general, and he is an excellent one. Thinking of the thin young man he saw in Shidai County that year, Li Yun smiled again: "After the battle in Hebei Province is over, I will take you back to Xuanzhou, and we will go back to our respective hometowns to take a look."

Meng Qing responded and said with a smile: "Then I can go with you this autumn."

He thought for a moment and then asked, "Your Majesty, are you going back to Xuanzhou just to take a look?"

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said softly, "We are going to worship our ancestors."

After leaving Xuanzhou for many years, Li Yun rarely went back.

He returned to Qingyang only once, the year of his marriage, and this time he went back to find the family genealogy and rebuild the ancestral tomb.

Although he was born a bandit, he did have a pedigree. The three of them, the Li family, father and son, were born in Lijia Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. There was no doubt about this.

Now that we are developed, we naturally need to sort these things out.

"I want to go back to Cangshan, worship my ancestors, and do what I need to do."

At this point, Li Yun looked at Meng Qing and said with a smile: "You know I was born in a mountain village, but you have never seen my village. This time I will take you to have a look."

Meng Qing lowered his head and said "OK".

Li Yun thought of Cangshan Mountain and Lijia Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain, and sighed softly.

"I don't know what Lijia Village looks like now, and the old village chief back then..."

"Is it still there now..."

(End of this chapter)