Song Dynasty

Chapter 112 Borrowing and Levying ([-])

Step through the small door guarded by guards.

"Report to the military envoy, Fang Worong and Yan Yuemeng have arrived."

Chen Da led the two men back from Macheng into a small courtyard in the back office of Si Xingyuan, the defense envoy of Huangzhou.Like all yamen in the world, the Huangzhou Yamen is divided into two parts. The front is the Zhizhou lobby and the offices of the defense envoys, and the back is the back garden where Wang Daosi and his family live.

It is not accurate to say that it is a garden. The Wanyanchang Department of the former Jurchen West Route Army crossed the river from the Zhang family in Huangzhou, and they have completely destroyed this place.Like other places in the city, this place is also full of ruins. Several houses have collapsed, and the remaining houses still have traces of fire.

As for the seedlings in the garden, they have already been pulled out by Jin Jun.I heard that after the gold men entered the state government, because they didn't know the goldfish in the fish pond, they all fished them up and cooked a pot of fish soup.The water in the lotus pond was also released, and the lotus roots were also dug up and eaten.

Burning Qin and Cooking Cranes probably refers to the situation in front of you. Su Shi's "I came from Huangzhou, and I have passed the three cold meals." Huangzhou has become like this, which makes people feel sad and angry, but also unwilling.

"Chen Da, go down." There was a clear voice, not in a hurry.

The sun is shining today, and the spring breeze blows only when it is warm.

At noon, as soon as they entered the back garden, Fang and Yan's eyes happened to be illuminated by the sun, and it took a long time to recover their eyesight.Looking closely, I saw a young man with a shirtless upper body hooking the insteps of his feet on a wooden pole horizontally tied between two big trees on the edge of a deserted lotus pond already covered with grass. Hanging in the air, holding his head with his hands, he kept bending his body upwards, just like the sit-ups used by soldiers in the army to build up their strength.

Different from the usual training of the soldiers, this person's movements are quick, and he can do dozens of ups and downs in an instant.

It was as if a spring had been installed in his body to be swift and agile, and his shadows filled the air.

This person is the defense envoy of Huangzhou and the commander-in-chief of the Sizhou Army, Wang Shen Wang Daosi.

In the past, the two of them had only talked to Wang Shen once, and the time was very short, and then they were sent by him to work for Du Shu.At that time, Wang Shen was a Confucianist, gentle and elegant, more like a scholar than a general who commanded thousands of troops.

Today, his body was heaving up and down quickly, and his slightly bronzed body was covered with scars from knives and arrows.There were at least [-] or [-] scars, large and small. The strong muscles on his body were tensed, stretched, and then tightened again, like cold eyes, which made people tremble in their hearts.

It feels as if there is a fierce tiger pounced on you in front of your eyes, and the hairs all over your body stand on end.

I don't know how long it took, Wang Shen who was on the wooden bar suddenly turned over and jumped down, the glistening sweat on his body rolled down the satin-like skin one after another.

"Father, please change." Qin Sizhao handed over a linen shirt.

After Wang Shen put on his clothes, his aura subsided, and he returned to the gentle appearance he had when we met last time.

Both Fang and Yan let out a long breath subconsciously. Today's feeling is very strange. How should I put it, it's like seeing a steel knife with a cold light that just came out of its sheath.

At this time, he is like a fierce tiger who has killed countless enemies on the Jianghuai battlefield!
It's just that because there was no war some time ago, Wang Daosi restrained his edge.Now, the fall of the whole territory of Qizhou and Macheng has completely angered him, and the steel knife has been unsheathed.

"This subordinate has seen the military envoy." The two of them stepped forward to bow down at the same time.

After working hard for a long time, the sweat on Wang Shen's body was still oozing, and the thin linen shirt on his body was soaked in a short while.But his breathing was unusually steady and long.

"Get up, sit down and talk." He pointed to the long stone bench next to him: "Fang Worong, someone said that you used to be a student of Nanjing Yingtianfu. I see that you look thin and small, with no hands bound The appearance of chicken strength. But I don’t want to be able to kill two bandits and capture one, but I have learned martial arts before?”

"Returning to the army, although Xiaosheng was born thin and small, because of his poor family, he has been farming in the fields since he was a child. He has some strength, but he has never learned martial arts."

"Haven't learned martial arts? That's strange. As far as someone knows, most of Kong Yanzhou's soldiers are from Hebei. Later, he joined many soldiers from the Western Army who were exiled in Tokyo. After Zong Rulin's training, their combat effectiveness is pretty good." This time, there are ten bandits in the bandit army, why are you beaten to shame by a scholar like you?" Wang Shen was curious.

Fang Worong was a little embarrassed, and said: "Report to the military envoy, Brother Yan and I walked on the road for two days that day, and we were watched by those thieves for a long time. When he came up, he rushed up with his weapon. After killing the two people in one breath, the culprit was scared and scattered. At that time, the subordinates were only concerned about getting angry, and couldn't think too much. It feels like a dream.”

"Anger makes people brave, interesting, interesting." Wang Shen couldn't help laughing.

Fang Worong: "It's not that Xiaosheng is excellent in martial arts, and it's not that the thieves can't fight. In fact, Kongbu used to be a sergeant of our Song Dynasty. Now he is a bandit, turning his swords and guns on the people of our Song Dynasty. Although the thieves are vicious, they can But it is false. As long as I kill two people, they will naturally not have the will to fight, and they will immediately disperse."

Wang Shen nodded: "Well, what you said makes some sense. Tell me about the news you have been investigating in Macheng for the past two days."

At that moment, Fang Worong cleared his throat and told in detail what he and Yan Yuemeng had seen and heard in the northern area of ​​Huangzhou in the past two days.

Wang Shen listened attentively, and interrupted his words from time to time, asking him to repeat what he said just now.

After a long time, after Fang Worong finished speaking, Wang Shen said seriously: "Thanks for your hard work, by the way, Fang Worong, if you go through that situation again, are you still sure to kill the bandit army?"

Fang Worong nodded: "Actually, this battle is nothing special. After my subordinates came down, they also thought about it. Fighting on the battlefield is just like that. Don't think too much, just rush forward."

"Well said, don't think about anything in a life-and-death fight. However, the most important thing is to obey the officer's order and strictly follow the officer's order." Wang Shen smiled and looked at Fang Worong: "Can you ride a horse?"

"Scholars travel around the world to study, and they can ride naturally."

Wang Shen: "That's good. There is still a shortage of people in the Tabai army I lead personally. Are you willing to go? Of course, you are a scholar. If you don't want to join the army, someone will not come forward."

"Why don't you want to? It's my generation's long-cherished wish to join the army and serve the country. If scholars can't join the army, how can they come to Ban Dingyuan to pacify the Western Regions and Wang Xuance to destroy a country by himself? So, what's the use of reading more books?"

"Well said!" Wang Shen nodded, and called out to the boy next to him: "Si Zhao, lead Fang Worong to General Guo Ya of the Tabai Army. Isn't he missing a Marquis of Yu? I'll make up for him today." superior."

After finishing speaking, he waved his hand to signal the two to back down.

Hearing that Fang Worong was going to take up the post of Marquis of Duyu, Yan Yuemeng's eyes were red with envy.

That's right, it doesn't sound good for scholars to go to the army.But what is Tabai? It's the army led by the defense envoy. He dangles in front of General Wang all day long, and the chances of being promoted are more than ordinary people.Moreover, the treatment of stepping white cavalry is excellent, and the military salary is enough to support a family.

This is Fang Worong's high promotion. Who told him to behead two ranks and capture one alive to make a great contribution?
Yan Yuemeng was anxious in his heart, he also knew that the opportunity to meet Wang Shen today was rare, if he didn't make good use of it, he might not see him again in the future.

It can be seen that Wang Daosi likes warriors, how can I, a weak scholar, catch his eyes?
For a moment, thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind.Suddenly, he remembered the situation in Zhangjiawa that day, and an idea came to his mind.

Therefore, Yan Yuemeng immediately took out the IOU that had not yet been returned to the state government from his arms, and handed it over: "Military envoy, let's take a look at this."

Seeing the IOU in his hand, Wang Shen wondered, "What's the matter?"

Not only him, even Fang Worong, who was about to retreat, stopped in surprise and turned to look over.

Generals like Wang Daosi are busy with affairs and don't have much time.Yan Yuemeng didn't talk nonsense, and asked directly: "As far as my subordinates know, the army of Confucian bandits attacked, with a total strength of an astonishing [-], and they are all veterans on the battlefield, with certain combat power. However, compared to my Si The prefectural army is still far behind. No matter how the Kong bandits can fight, it is impossible to be stronger than Jurchen and Khitan. But in the past few days, our army has abandoned many counties in Qi and Huang and taken a defensive position. It must be impossible, but not Yes, probably because the army is short of food and unable to fight in the field. I dare to ask, how many days of food and grass are there in the army?"

Hearing this, Wang Shen's eyes flashed brightly, as if a knife was being stabbed, he just looked at Yan Yuemeng so sternly, but didn't speak.

Yan said that Meng was timid, he just felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.He forced his mind back and said: "The army has not moved, the food and grass go first, my Sizhou army has 5000 troops, stationed in various places, and the Israeli army may support them in front of them if they eat. But if they gather together, they don't have so many supplies. If we really want to fight, we have to disperse before the Kong bandits come to attack. Military envoy, I wonder if your subordinates are right?"

"You can see it clearly." Wang Shen's face softened: "Actually, this matter cannot be hidden from Kong Yanzhou. He chose to attack at this time of failure. It is obvious that he has planned for a long time. Soldiers, life and death, life and death The way to do this is not to be careless. This is also the reason why a certain has been holding back. In fact, the food and fodder in the army is only enough for ten days. Yan said Meng, when you mentioned this in front of a certain, you must have made a point, saying Come on. If you can gather enough food and fodder, if our army can wipe out the Kong bandits in the future, you will be the first to contribute."

Hearing this, Yan Yuemeng said that the long-awaited opportunity has come, and said: "The matter of food and fodder is easy, it's just borrowing and requisitioning." As he spoke, he presented the IOU, Said: "This IOU can be used to pre-collect this year's summer and autumn taxes from the people."

(End of this chapter)