Three Kingdoms: I, Liu Feng, do not want to die

Chapter 17 The sky cleared up, the rain stopped, and Meng Da was in trouble
Two days later.

The weather is clearing.

The common people of Shangyong City flocked to the streets, greedily breathing in the sunny air.

Small vendors also carried their poles and held up flags with "Liu Lang XX" and started shouting in the streets.

The continuous heavy rain has been very unbearable.

For small vendors who make a living through small businesses, this means they have lost their living income for more than ten days.

This is also due to the terrain of Shangyong City and the fact that the canals within the city are easy to discharge floodwaters.

If the area was low-lying and difficult to drain floodwater, the city would have been filled with puddles long ago.

Liu Feng did not waste time.

After leaving Shen Dan to garrison Shangyong City, Liu Feng took Meng Da and five thousand Han soldiers to Fangling.

Shen Shu accompanied Liu Feng as his personal guard.

The roads were muddy and difficult to walk on after days of heavy rain.

The one thousand infantry and cavalry that Liu Feng brought from Hanzhong were all veterans of the battlefield. They had walked on even muddier roads and marched silently without making a sound.

The reaction of Meng Da's 4,000 Han soldiers was much worse.

This group of Han soldiers had stayed in Zigui for too long and had hardly ever been on the battlefield, so they had no experience with this kind of march after rain.

Meng Da's words, "The roads are difficult to travel after the rain. Moving the troops to Fangling may tire the soldiers and laborers, and damage the general's military prestige and popularity among the people," were not entirely excuses.

These 4,000 Han soldiers, who have lived in peace in Zigui for too long, would really find it tiring to march after the rain!
After walking only twenty miles, the four thousand Han soldiers began to complain bitterly and became dissatisfied. Some even started to pretend to be sick.

Faced with the lazy reaction of these 4,000 Han soldiers, Liu Feng neither rectified the military discipline nor killed them as a warning to the rest.

Liu Feng was dissatisfied with the fact that the 4,000 Han soldiers were moving too slowly, so he led his own troops ahead and let Meng Da lead the troops behind.

This made Meng Da both embarrassed and annoyed.

He usually claimed to have "the ability of Yue Yi" and "the talent of Sun Bin", but these 4,000 Han soldiers were like a mob in front of Liu Feng's 1,000 infantry and cavalry.

"Why did the deputy general leave first?" General Li Fu looked at the direction Liu Feng left and did not see Meng Da's unnatural expression, so he asked directly.

Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian was also very puzzled, but looking at Meng Da's increasingly ugly expression, Deng Xian tactfully did not ask any more questions.

Meng Da snorted coldly, and looked at Li Fu with dissatisfaction in his eyes: "Look at the soldiers you led. They only walked 20 miles and they are already complaining. Those who know them think they are soldiers, and those who don't think they are bandits. You made me lose face in front of Liu Bian!"

Li Fu felt aggrieved: "General, these brothers have never marched after rain before. The deputy general insisted on marching after rain. The road is muddy and difficult to walk on. It is normal for the brothers to have some complaints."

Seeing that Li Fu didn't know he was wrong and was still talking back, Meng Da was so angry that his beard trembled.

A whip was whipped in the air with a crackling sound, and Meng Da shouted, "Inform all the troops, anyone who fails to reach Fangling City within three days will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane."

"Anyone who dares to complain and disrupt our morale in the army will be killed without mercy!"

It takes a hundred miles of mountain road to get from Shangyong to Fangling.

On normal days, there would be no problem arriving within three days, but now the road is muddy after the rain, and walking a hundred miles is equivalent to walking two hundred miles.

It was very difficult for these Han soldiers who complained after walking only twenty miles to reach Fangling within three days.

Li Fu was just about to ask Meng Da to wait for some time, but he saw Meng Da's angry eyes as if he was going to get serious. He couldn't help but feel afraid and didn't dare to complain anymore.

Meng Da's usual kindness and authority still exist.

When the military order was conveyed, although the soldiers were dissatisfied, they did not dare to disobey Meng Da's order.

If you were beaten or beheaded because of marching, it would be a great injustice and misfortune.

Liu Feng ignored Meng Da's advice on how to control his troops and arrived at Fangling City in two days with his own thousand men.

Hearing that Liu Feng was leading his troops to Fangling, Fangling Governor Deng Fu did not dare to neglect and hurriedly led all the officials of Fangling out of the city to welcome Liu Feng. When he saw Liu Feng, Deng Fu was the first to bow and said, "I am Fangling Governor Deng Fu, and I am honored to meet the Deputy Army General."

Liu Feng responded with a greeting, "You don't have to be so polite, Governor Deng. I want to move my troops to Fangling. Please prepare an empty space in the city for me to set up camp."

Deng Fu glanced behind Liu Feng and asked, "Is this all the troops you have?"

Liu Feng shook his head: "Of course there are more than that. General Meng's 4,000 soldiers are still in the rear."

When Deng Fu heard the name Meng Da, his expression froze, and the faces of the Fangling officials behind him also turned ugly.

Liu Feng naturally understood why Deng Fu and others changed color when talking about Meng Da.

The former prefect of Fangling, Kuai Qi, died at the hands of Meng Da's rebellion, which made the people of Fangling fear and hate Meng Da.

"Don't worry, General Meng is under my control now." Liu Feng explained the relationship between him and Meng Da, and then asked, "Does the beautiful jade I gave to Governor Deng earlier still have a good eye for it?"

Deng Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly, "I thank the Deputy Army General for his gift. They are all rare and beautiful jades. I am sorry that the Deputy Army General spent so much money."

Liu Feng chuckled: "A few pieces of beautiful jade, not a token of respect, as long as Governor Deng likes it."

There was a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Deng Fu welcomed Liu Feng into the city.

en route.

Deng Fu also mentioned the impact of the heavy rains on Fangling: "Although the heavy rain has stopped, there is still water accumulation in many places in the city."

"It's not easy to prepare a camp for 5,000 people. I'm afraid the brothers in the army will have to suffer."

When mentioning this, Deng Fu's tone became cautious again.

Liu Feng thought of Meng Da's group of soldiers who complained about the hardship after walking 20 miles on the mountain road, and smiled calmly: "It's okay. We are all soldiers, so it's no big deal to endure some hardship."

Seeing Liu Feng so calm, Deng Fu gradually put aside his worries and continued to introduce the current situation of Fangling to Liu Feng.

All the way to the prefectural government.

Deng Fu arranged for someone to lead Liu Feng's soldiers to set up camp, and then welcomed Liu Feng to the prefect's mansion and prepared a banquet to welcome Liu Feng.

During the banquet.

Liu Feng asked about the battle of Fancheng.

Deng Fu shook his head and said he didn't know: "Please forgive me, General. I have been busy resettling the people in the city affected by the heavy rain these days, and I haven't sent anyone to investigate the war in Fancheng."

"If the general wants to know how the battle in Fancheng is going, I will send someone to find out right away."

After sending out the spies, Deng Fu returned to the table and asked cautiously, "General, are you moving your troops to Fangling to help in Fancheng?"

"Excuse me for being blunt, but the journey from Fangling to Fancheng is long, and the road is muddy and difficult to travel after the rain. Both marching and transporting food are more difficult than usual."

"Fangling has little food and few people, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to sustain it."

When talking about food, Deng Fu became a little nervous.

Fangling was just a county that was changed into a prefecture, and it was a fact that there was a shortage of grain and few people.

Liu Feng's sudden move of 5,000 troops to Fangling had already put a lot of pressure on Deng Fu's military supplies. If he went to Fancheng to help, Deng Fu would really not know what to do.

Liu Feng did not embarrass Deng Fu, and comforted him, "I also know the difficulties of Governor Deng, so I sent people to Zigui to urge for grain before arriving at Fangling City."

"Taishu Deng only needs to prepare the daily food and fodder for the troops stationed in Fangling. I will prepare the rest."

Deng Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, bowed and said, "It is my fault that I have caused the general to worry."

(End of this chapter)