Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 152: Many Enemies
At this time, Meng Ganzhi came over and said, "General, Liu Yi and Meng Chang are here, saying they are visiting old friends."

"What the hell is he? Who is his old friend? We are just having fun, who cares about his business?" Liu Zun, this rough guy, kept talking about "birds".

"A guest is a guest, there's no harm in meeting him." Liu Daogui glanced at him.

If it was just Liu Yi, it would be fine, but Meng Chang is another matter.

Not long after, Liu Yi and Meng Chang arrived together. As soon as they met, Liu Yi said sarcastically, "Daozhe's business is getting bigger and bigger, and the money and grain are getting more and more."

There was a sting in his words, directly pointing out the source of Liu Daogui's money.

It seems that he came prepared.

Liu Daogui retorted, "Brother Liu has a big business and is even more courageous."

Liu Laozhi replaced Wang Gong as the governor of the Northern Palace. The power of the Liu family in Pengcheng rose, and Liu Daogui was no match for him.

It is not certain how long he can keep the salt factory in his hands.

"Harmony brings wealth. You can't write two Liu characters with one stroke. We are all old friends from Jingkou. We should interact more often in the future and plan great things together." Meng Chang came forward to smooth things over.

Meng Longfu said with a hint of meaning: "Brother, don't be so ungrateful."

He and Meng Chang are from the same clan.

Liu Yu held a bowl of wine, his expression intimidating without anger. "If Panlong comes to drink today, my brothers will welcome you. But if you come here to make sarcastic remarks, we'd better go our separate ways."

They were both from Jingkou, had met each other several times before, and had heard of Liu Yu's name.

When you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. As long as Liu Yi is still in the Zhenglu Army Headquarters, he is still under the roof of the Liu family in Pengcheng.

The other soldiers looked at him unfriendly.

Everyone was having a good time drinking, but this person insisted on coming out to interfere, making everyone unhappy.

"Yes, harmony brings wealth, and we should make money together. Ji Nu should help me, your brother, more in the future." Liu Yi found a step to step down, picked up the wine, clinked it with Liu Yu, and then with Liu Daogui.

After a few bowls of wine, Liu Yu started to chat and laugh with Meng Chang and Liu Yi.

Essentially, we all come from humble backgrounds and currently have no conflicts of interest, so naturally we can chat together.

At least it should be acceptable in terms of face.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Daogui rushed to Sima Yamen to say hello to Yuan He.

Before sending out troops for such a big matter, it is better to inform Sima Zhenglu.

When he saw Liu Daogui coming in, Yuan He immediately stood up from the couch and asked, "Dao Ze, what's the matter?"

Liu Daogui took out a military order and said, "This is an order from the Jingkou Military Governor's Office. I order my subordinates to lead the army north to resist the Suolu people."

"If Dao Ze wants to go to Lanling in the future, he can go by himself without informing me." Yuan He handed over the Sima seal directly.

"How can this be done? The rules cannot be broken. I am just a soldier in the army, and I still have to report to the higher authorities." Liu Daogui picked up the seal and stamped it.

Yuan He's face trembled. "Well, I'll do whatever Dao Ze says. But... why bother to confront the Yan army head-on? You know the situation in Jiangzuo. Something happened in Jiankang recently."

"What's the matter?"

At the moment, Liu Daogui and he are on the same boat.

He is better informed about the news in Jiankang than others.

"Recently, rumors have been spreading in Jiankang, saying that the Three Officials have appeared and that the Jin Dynasty is about to fall. Prince Xiang was furious and executed Sun Tai, the master of the Tianshi Dao, and over a hundred of his followers. Could it be that the Daoists are unaware of this?"

"I have been in Guangling the entire time and have no idea what is happening in Jiankang."

No one knew who spread the rumor, but it was so accurate and ruthless. The Tianshi Dao was already ready to take action, and now that Sima Daozi had killed Sun Tai, it was impossible for the Tianshi Dao to endure it any longer.

"It's better to wait a few more days. The court will have its own use for the Tao." Yuan He seems to have adjusted his mindset and faced the reality these days.

The Sima family's imperial power now relies on the support of the Northern Palace Army.

The Pengcheng Liu family holds significant weight within the Northern Army, their status within the military administration even surpassing that of smaller clans like the Yuan family. "I can't wait that long. The Tianshi Dao revolt, the court's struggle, has taken at least half a year. Now the treasury is empty, the soldiers are starving, and the arrows are on the string, ready to be fired."

Liu Daogui had thought it through long ago.

It is necessary to expand the living space in the north and obtain more arable land and population, so that if there is chaos in Jiangdong in the future, we will have money and food to deal with it.

The Tianshi Dao has been planning for so many years, and its strength cannot be underestimated, nor is it so easy to deal with.

"Since Daoze has thought it through clearly, I won't say any more."

Three days later, Liu Daogui officially launched his rebellion.

There were 1,600 soldiers from the expeditionary force, including generals Gao Xun, Tan Ji, Zhou Zheng, and Zhao Lun, plus Liu Yu's 200 elite soldiers from the Northern Palace, a total of 1,800 troops.

Quality is more important than quantity in the army, so we don’t need to bring military households with us. The food and fodder are all in Lanling, so there is no need for them to transport them.

It was already very hard to transport food and fodder to Liu Laozhi in Xinting.

Liu Daogui did not want to cause them any trouble. He directly requisitioned fifty warships from the Guangling navy, took all the weapons in the arsenal, and sailed north along the canal.

When they arrived at the city of Qi, they joined forces with the Eight Buildings, totaling 3,500 people.

"Gaoping Murong De's troops marched towards Dingtao, and Lu County Murong Shao's troops moved to Waihuang, aiming at Chenliu." Wang Yuande told the latest changes in the situation while looking at the map.

Liu Daogui asked, "Who are the people defending Lu County and Gaoping?"

"Yan State's newly appointed Yanzhou Governor Murong Zhou is stationed with 20,000 troops to garrison Lu County, and Murong Chui's son Murong Long is stationed with 10,000 troops to garrison Gaoping."

Murong Zhou's military achievements are unknown, but Murong Long is a leader among the younger generation of Yan State.

He defeated the Di Qin generals Shao Xing and Zhao Su, and successively pacified the forces south of the Yellow River such as Cai Kuang, Zhang Yuan, and Zhang Shen. He became quite famous in Yanzhou.

At present, it seems that Gaoping and Lu County are not people that Liu Daogui can afford to offend.

"How about Taishan County?" Liu Daogui looked towards the northeast.

In fact, Taishan County is more suitable as a battlefield. The area is surrounded by mountains and rivers, which can effectively curb the cavalry of Yan State.

But what I thought of, the enemy had already thought of.

"Murong Hui, the grandson of Murong Chui, has 10,000 men."

"Where did the Murong family get so many soldiers and horses?" Liu Zun couldn't help but ask.

Huatai had 70,000 troops, Gaoping had 10,000, Lujun had 20,000, and Taishan had 10,000. That leaves 110,000 troops, leaving at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops in Hebei.

If there were really so many Liu Daogui, there would be no need to fight.

Wang Yuande said, "Back then, Shi Hu only had the two banks of the Yellow River, yet he was able to raise an army of 400,000 to attack Yan. Fu Jian's northern expedition mobilized 800,000 people from the northern tribes. The northern kingdoms were constantly at war, and every man, woman, and child could serve in the army. Murong Chui defeated Zhai Zhao, and all the Dingling troops joined the Yan army."

Liu Daogui frowned. It seemed that it was not easy to snatch food from Murong Chui's mouth.

The situation in the north is very clear.

Gaoping, Lu and Taishan counties formed a straight line, semi-encircling Pengcheng, Lanling and Pei counties.

If any one place is attacked, reinforcements from the other two places will arrive in a moment.

The Yan State has a large number of cavalry and can attack Liu Daogui's retreat at any time.

Gaoping, in particular, has always been an important town in Huaibei, guarding the strategic point of Sishui.

Murong Chui had probably been on guard against the Jin army on the Huaibei front moving north, and had sent strong generals.

Mao Dezu said: "If we raise all eight buildings, we can gather 10,000 troops."

At this time, someone shouted, "Why bother with so much trouble? The Yan army is a motley crowd. We have 3,500 soldiers, more than enough to fight!"

(End of this chapter)