Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 114: The Tianping Army Should Create Peace (I)

In fact, the soldiers on guard were flattering Pingshan Hu.

How could it be that Pingshan Hu and Liu Huai were fighting? It was purely Pingshan Hu who was being beaten unilaterally.

Neither side used weapons. Liu Huai and Guan Chongyan fought against Pingshan Hu and his cronies, a total of four people.

The generals of the Tianping Army who originally wanted to leave also stopped and watched the scene.

The cause of the dispute was also quite outrageous.

Liu Huai, Guan Chongyan and Luo Huaiyan were bored waiting outside the tent, so they started chatting with each other.

Pingshan Hu was a man who liked boys and his saliva almost flowed out when he saw the gentle and handsome Luo Huaiyan. He could not hold back and started fighting with Liu Huai on the pretext of making loud noises in front of the general's tent.

Liu Huai was a little confused. After responding a few words randomly, he found that the bald man in front of him was just looking for trouble. So he simply kept silent, hugged his arms and sneered.

However, Pingshan Hu thought that Liu Huai had surrendered, so he relied on his numbers to demand Luo Huaiyan in public, and said nonsense like "as long as you give your servant to me, this matter can be resolved."

What greeted him was Liu Huai's sandbag-sized fist.

What a joke! Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang were both in the general's tent twenty steps away. With them around, as long as Liu Huai didn't make a scene and kill anyone, beating up two blind bastards was no big deal at all.

Sure enough, after Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang rushed out of the general's tent, the first thing they did was to scold Pingshan Hu.

Even the usually smooth-talking Li Tieqiang frowned, shouted harshly, and drove the Pingshan Hu out of the central army camp.

"I'll remember you! I will kill you!" Although Pingshan Hu only had bruises and blood on the corners of his mouth, he had been hit several times in the chest and abdomen, which was so painful that he was literally heartbroken. At this time, he was still trying hard to speak harshly.

Liu Huai glanced at him and felt that the villain's words when he escaped seemed to be similar. He immediately replied: "There are many people who want to kill me, who do you think you are?!"

After saying that, Liu Huai didn't bother to care about Pingshan Hu's reaction, and directly led his men and followed Li Tieqiang into the general's tent.

Pingshan Hu covered his abdomen and gritted his teeth, but he did not dare to yell at Xin Qiji. He could only leave cursing with his confidant who was bruised and battered.

"Hahaha, Liu Dalang, I've heard of your great name for a long time!"

As soon as Liu Huai entered the tent, he saw Geng Jing walking down from the commander's seat, striding up to him and extending his hand to shake hands.

Liu Huai naturally would not lose face with the Jiedushi of Tianping Army. He also took a step forward and shook hands with Geng Jing.

"Geng Jiedu is an extraordinary hero, a rare and outstanding figure. My father and I have long heard of his great name since our time in Huainan. Seeing him today, I know that his reputation is truly well-deserved!"

As the saying goes, a fancy sedan is carried by everyone, and everyone likes a high hat, and Geng Jing is no exception.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, finally sat down, and got down to business.

"Liu Dalang, you've seen the Tianping Army's strengths and weaknesses clearly along the way. We're all righteous men fighting against the Jin Dynasty, so I won't waste any more words. I just want to ask, what exactly is your Zhongyi Army like? Where are you now? How many people are there?"

Liu Huai answered frankly, "Our army has a total of 6,000 soldiers. We are currently stationed between the Shuhe and Yishui Rivers, facing the Jin bandits in Linyi across the river." Before Geng Jing could reply, Zhang Anguo, standing behind him, sneered, "Six thousand? You only have 6,000 men, and you dare call yourself a large army? How dare you collude with our Tianping Army? You must know that our Tianping Army has a full 100,000 men! In my opinion, your so-called Loyal Army would be better off merging with our Tianping Army. I can then make the decisions for our chieftain. How about your father and you each taking a leadership position?"

This is the bad guy.

Liu Huai naturally wouldn't indulge this guy: "The 6,000 people I mentioned are soldiers who can actually go into battle. If they can also recruit some civilians like your army, and count some civilians, our loyal army can naturally gather a hundred thousand troops easily."

Liu Huai spread his hands and said, "But what's the use? Aren't these six thousand people the ones who will actually go into battle? This..."

"My name is Zhang Anguo, the seventh child in my family. Liu Dalang calls me Zhang Qilang."

Good man, although Liu Huai knew that he couldn't convict someone based on something that didn't happen, he still looked this famous traitor in history up and down.

This guy is indeed tall and handsome, and doesn't look like a traitor at all. At the very least, he is an underground worker who has infiltrated the enemy.

"Zhang Qilang, your Tianping Army boasts a force of 100,000, but once a battle begins, the number of troops you can actually use won't be much greater than our Zhongyi Army."

Geng Jing found what Liu Huai said very interesting. It seemed to point directly to the questions that had puzzled him for a long time, but there was still a layer of window paper that had not been pierced through, which made him feel anxious.

Zhang Anguo jokingly said, "As Liu Dalang said, isn't it true that too many people are useless, and the fewer people the better?"

Liu Huai shook his head: "Everything in the world is based on people. Only talents are the foundation of everything. How can we be dissatisfied with the number of people? However, even the best people have to be placed in the right place to be of great use."

Liu Huai pointed at Xin Qiji and said, "Take Xin Wulang for example. He's a skilled fighter, and a master at writing poetry and lyrics. But if he were to weave and embroider, he might not be as good as an ordinary woman, and if he were to till the land and plant vegetables, he might not be as good as an experienced farmer."

"Captain Geng, on my way here, I saw that many of the Tianping soldiers were enlisting whole families, including the elderly, the weak, women, and children. What use do you think they are in the army? Do you expect them to defeat the Jin army's armored cavalry? But if they were released back to their hometowns, where they could farm and weave, and with the support of civil officials and a tax collection system, they could receive a steady supply of food and wealth. Isn't that better than letting them die in vain?"

After saying this, Geng Jing was silent for a long while, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long while, he finally replied with a sigh: "How could I not know that men farm and women weave? What are we rebelling for? Isn't it just to have a piece of land to farm, a wife to carry on the family line, and to live a peaceful life? It is precisely because we don't have these that we rebelled. Now, Dalang, you said that you want me to give them these, I really..."

Liu Huai leaned forward in his seat and said, "What you said, Chief Geng, is illogical. With all due respect, at this point, everyone else can just hope for a comfortable life with a wife and children, but Chief Geng shouldn't be thinking about that. Instead, you should be thinking about how to provide that for your subordinates."

"We, including Chief Geng, Xin Wulang, Da Tieqiang, and Zhang Qilang. We also include our loyal army, my father, Duke Wei, Tongpan Lu You, the various commanders, and of course myself. We all carry the hopes of thousands of people on our shoulders."

"To be frank, Chief Geng, why would we allow thousands of people to die for us? Do we have a family history of three generations of high officials? Or do we have immense wealth? Isn't it because they have hope by following us? But if we don't respond to these hopes, let alone gathering a hundred thousand people today, even if we can gather millions or tens of millions tomorrow, we will all lose if we are frustrated."

There was silence in the tent again, and even Zhang Anguo kept silent.

After a moment, Geng Jing's face was half-smiled, and he asked in a deep voice, "So Liu Dalang is here to teach me how to command the army?"

Zhang Anguo immediately started to shout, "That's right, Liu Dalang! You, the commander of the Loyal Army, have come all this way, avoiding the eyes and ears of the Jin bandits, and taking risks, just to say this?"

Liu Huai first glanced at Zhang Anguo, then turned to Geng Jing earnestly, "Captain Geng, this is what I'm going to say. If you think your army of 100,000 can conquer the world, then just treat the above as nonsense. But if you think what I say makes sense, then why not give it a try? And if you want to give it a try, why not join forces with our loyal army?"

When Geng Jing heard this, he finally lost his composure and was completely stunned.

　Sorry, I was delayed on the way...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)