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

Chapter 44: A Group of Thieves Follows the Tigers and Wolves (Part )
"Luo Guzi! Don't think that I won't kill you just because you were a county magistrate!" At the same time, Gao Anren was almost furious and pointed at the middle-aged man in front of him and cursed.

A middle-aged man named Luo Guzi, who was said to have been a county magistrate, was dressed like an old farmer in shorts. Although he was surrounded by more than ten armored soldiers, he remained calm and even sneered: "I am right here, unarmed, come and kill me!"

At this time, he was standing at the door of a wealthy family in the town, and behind him were the people who had fled, filling the wealthy family's courtyard.

Gao Anren gripped the knife handle and paced back and forth in front of the door, his face full of anger, but he didn't even pull out the knife.

It's not that he couldn't attack the landlord's compound, although the compound was at the northernmost end of Dayi Town, built next to Dayi Mountain, with high walls and only one main gate, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

But how could the servants kept by ordinary wealthy families be as good as elite soldiers?
However, Luo Guzi not only served as a county magistrate and managed the Shuhe River, but also opened a private school after resigning from office, teaching everyone. Although his family was poor, he was highly respected and had a great reputation in Haizhou.

For this kind of person, let alone killing him, even tying him up would cause serious trouble.

Didn’t you see many captains of the signed army, and even the chief of the personal guards, coming over and whispering to Gao Anren to be patient and not to take action?

After the two sides confronted each other for two moments, a royal guard came galloping over and whispered something in Gao Anren's ear. Gao Anren became extremely angry.

He pointed his spear at Luo Guzi and cursed, "Old bastard! Do you think I'm doing this just for my own selfish desires? Do you understand? The Song dogs have arrived! The Wuxing Army has broken camp and headed for Bianliang! All the wealth in Haizhou has been handed over to the court for the southern expedition! Tell me, if I don't do this, where will the troops come from? Where will the wealth come from? Tell me, what should we do now?!"

Luo Guzi laughed heartily.

There was a small path behind the mansion that led directly to Dayi Mountain. He was blocking the door not to really get an explanation from Gao Anren, but to buy time for the people hiding behind the mansion to escape.

Of course, the common people couldn't run fast with their families. If Gao Anren had really sent troops to chase them, he would have been able to recover a lot. But in the dark, the guards were naturally loyal, and the local soldiers in the state had families and jobs, so they were also fine. However, the conscripted soldiers were inevitably doomed to disperse.

Maybe the number of people caught back is not as many as the number of people who escaped!
Seeing Gao Anren's face turn the color of liver, Luo Guzi did not continue to provoke the warrior. Instead, he said loudly: "Things have come to this. I have a solution. I wonder if Gao Dalang is willing to listen?!"

Gao Anren paced back and forth a few times like a wounded wolf, then gritted his teeth and said, "Tell me!"

"Stop the killing immediately! I will organize the young and strong into signed soldiers and the old and weak into auxiliary soldiers to fight the enemy together!" Luo Guzi said calmly, "Gao Erlang, you must think carefully and issue orders quickly, otherwise once the people are slaughtered by the chaotic soldiers, you will really have no one to rely on!"

Gao Anren's cheeks twitched a few times, and he forced a smile: "Mr. Luo has a good trick. I am convinced."

After saying this, Gao Anren ordered his personal guards to blow the horn to gather the troops. The personal guards and cavalry guarding the city gates immediately sent people back to gather troops along the way and drive away the surviving civilians. Any disobedient or rage-seeking soldiers would be killed immediately.

The chaos in Dayi Town gradually subsided.

Gao Anren glared at Luo Guzi and sneered a few times, then he said, "Mr. Luo, I will gather all the people in the city to the east. The rest is up to you."

After saying that, he turned to look at the head of the guards: "Wu Ye, send a few people to serve Mr. Luo!"

After Gao Anren left, Luo Guzi relaxed and sat on the steps like an old farmer who finally had a break after hoeing the fields for half a day. He picked up the bamboo tube tied around his waist and took a few gulps of cold tea.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Luo Guzi frowned and turned back: "Da Lang, didn't I ask you to follow me up the mountain? Why are you back?"

A sturdy young man wearing a double-breasted breastplate and holding a broadsword emerged from behind the mansion's gate. "How can a father stay here to ward off disaster while his son escapes? How can this be justified? Erlang has already escaped, and if things don't go well, the son should die first." Luo Guzi patted the wet stains on his hands and said, "Don't even talk about death. Enough have died tonight. There will be even more tomorrow."

The young man was Luo Guzi’s eldest son, Luo Shenyan.

He looked at the ruined Dayi Town by moonlight and firelight and whispered to his father, "Is this the only way tonight?"

Luo Guzi sighed, "It can only be this way. This happened too suddenly, and the one responsible is Gao Anren, a warrior. If we do anything more, he might just turn his mind and kill everyone without a care in the world."

Luo Shenyan also sighed, heaving his machete over his shoulder. "Those who survived were also drafted. Sigh... the suffering involved, I really don't know if it would be better than dying today."

Luo Guzi shook his head: "As long as you are alive, there is hope for everything. When you die, there is nothing left."

"Father, do you think the Song people will have a good chance of conquering the north this time?"

Luo Guzi sneered, "Northern Expedition? Northern Expedition? Northern Expedition? Apart from anything else, you've accompanied me in the Shu River expedition, and you've also explored the hydrology of the Yellow River and the Si River. How could you not know what's going on in Huaiyin and Huai'an? And you're marching north from this muddy fork? Humph, in my opinion, the Song army is probably trying to trick the Southern Dynasty Emperor Zhao into giving them money and grain, right?!"

After saying that, Luo Guzi patted his buttocks and stood up, looking at the fire in the town and said, "Let's go, and quickly do our best to resolve this matter, so that everyone can suffer less."

……

At the same time, Wei Sheng stood on the high ground on the south bank of the Shu River, looking silently to the north.

Behind him, the army was entering the simple camp in an orderly manner.

This place is about twenty miles away from Dayi Town. The fire in the distance is just like a candlelight here. However, Wei Sheng has been in the army for a long time and can judge a lot of things from this little firelight.

The gold thieves are coming so fast!

Wei Sheng then looked towards the huge shadow in the northeast and asked Lu You, who was standing beside him, "Is that where Dalang and the others are hiding?"

Lu You had spent the entire day looking for a ferryboat and building a floating bridge, and although he was exhausted, he still stood beside Wei Sheng and replied, "Indeed!"

Wei Sheng nodded and wanted to speak, but found that he couldn't say anything.

He wanted to scold Liu Huai and blame him for leading the cavalry to death, but he had to admit that Liu Huai's move directly pulled the Song army back from the situation where they might have been blocked on the south bank of the Shu River.

When the armies were fighting, suddenly more than a hundred armored cavalry rushed out from behind. It was exciting to think about it.

After standing on the high ground for a while, Wei Sheng turned back to the camp: "Set up camp quickly and rest today, and the whole army will cross the river tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)