Song Dynasty

Chapter 238 All parties ([-])

Hot sweat oozes out, Li Heng sighed and kept wiping his forehead with a hemp towel.

Although he said he was depressed, he was extremely unwilling.In his mind, he quickly went through all the troops and related forces in the Jianghan area. After the bandit army retreated, Wang Shen's troops had dispersed into many groups, marching all the way to recover the prefectures and counties that were occupied before.Not to mention the north, there is Xiangyang occupied by the Jurchens, and Wang Shen has no signs of chasing Cao Cheng and taking the initiative to provoke the Jin soldiers.

To the west is Jiangling Mansion, which is still in the hands of the imperial court.Although the prefect of Jiangling has a great official position, he can't control Wang Shen, and he doesn't listen to me, Li Heng, so it can be ignored.

To the south... To the south is Dongting Lake...

Ever since Zhong Peng and his gang of cultists rebelled, Lizhou in the Dongting Lake area and Dingzhou and Chenzhou in the south have been corrupted.

Zhong Xiang's Manichaean demons were murderous and bloodthirsty, and the imperial court was full of civil uprisings in the south, so they couldn't spare any troops, so they had to send Li Cheng's troops to hunt and kill.

Now, Li Chengbu and Zhong Xiang are fighting together in Dingzhou and Chenzhou.Although Li Cheng had the upper hand, his subordinates were not good at water warfare, and neither side could do anything to the other, and they were entangled and confronted in the Hunan area.

I heard that Li Cheng's soldiers and horses are all the elite of the Northland, capable of conquering and fighting, and Li Cheng has the courage beyond all means.If you lure him to Jianghan, you can check and balance Wang Shen.

Thinking of this, Li Heng lifted his spirits, pointed to a few stone benches under the banyan tree, motioned the staff to sit down, and slowly expressed his thoughts.

Finally, he blew his nose and said, "Everyone, do you think this can be done?"

One of the staff frowned: "You can't be a gentleman. Xiaosheng heard that Li Cheng was recruited by Wang Shen at the beginning, and the two of them have a good personal relationship. If Li Cheng is recruited, the two of them will be more troublesome. Wang Shen Although he is arrogant and domineering, his actions represent Du Chong's face anyway, and he may not be willing to do things absolutely. And this Li Cheng is very gangster, and no one knows if he will be of the same mind as his husband. If we tear our faces, wouldn't we attract a head for nothing? Evil tiger?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Xianggong, think twice." All the staff members were worried, just as the person said just now, although Wang Shen is hateful, he still has a bottom line in doing things.But when Li Cheng was in Lianghuai, he attacked states, plundered counties, and robbed people, but he could do anything.Thinking of Li Cheng's cruelty in slaughtering the people in Lianghuai, everyone was terrified.

Li Hengweng said in an angry voice, "You won't know until now. That's right, Li Cheng was recruited by Wang Shen, but it was in the name of Zhang Deyuan and Zhang Xiang. This kind of affection must be recorded in Zhang Deyuan. It has nothing to do with him, Wang Shen. Our officials in the Song Dynasty are officials in the court, and the most important thing is their background. Now Li Cheng is from Zhang Deyuan, and he, Wang Shen, is Du Chong’s favorite student. Zhang Xiang and Du Chong Chong Nai is a political enemy. Just for this alone, it is impossible for the two of them to collude. Otherwise, what should they think of the husband on their heads? Also, Li Cheng killed Du Chong's family in Kaifeng back then. It's as deep as the sea. Tell me, does Li Cheng dare to get close to Wang Shen? Another analogy, even if Wang Shen has no intention of taking down Li Cheng because of his past affection. However, if Du Chong ordered that Wang Shen Do it, Sizhou Army dare to disobey orders?"

"Wang and Li are both tiger generals in the battlefield. It is said that one mountain cannot contain two tigers. No matter how good their personal relationship is, even if there is no relationship like Du Chong, the leaders of the two armies will fight for territory and strength. .In the eyes of lowly soldiers, what are the so-called morality, ethics, and righteousness?"

"Si..." Hearing Li Heng break the words into pieces and explain the truth thoroughly, all the staff took a breath, and there was a strange flicker on their faces.

"My husband is brilliant, I admire him."

"However..." A staff member asked cautiously: "Mr. Li, I still have a concern and would like to ask for advice."

Li Heng blew his nose for a long time, his nose turned red, he opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath: "Say it."

The man said: "Yes, just as the gentleman said, Li Cheng and Wang Shen have different masters. Moreover, because Li Cheng killed Du Chong's family back then, they had already formed a deep hatred, and the two could not be united. But Even if you lure Li Cheng to Jianghan, Mr. Xiang, he may not be willing to listen to Mr. Zhang. Don’t forget, Li Cheng is the man of Mr. Zhang Deyuan. In the end, if Li Cheng occupies Jianghan, it is Mr. Zhang’s prestige that will strengthen us. I was so busy that I made a wedding dress for Zhang Deyuan instead."

"Yes, it makes sense!" Everyone echoed.

"You are also short-sighted." Li Heng smiled lightly: "The reason why Zhang Deyuan went to Shaanxi this time is because he likes to do things and lead troops; second, he has lost the trust of officials in the court. Li Cheng, as a disciple of Zhang Deyuan, will inevitably be affected. Moreover, Zhang Junyuan is in Shaanxi, far away from Hunan, so he can't take care of Li Cheng at all. If I were Li Cheng , What I’m thinking about now is to find another backer. For those who lead troops, like Wang Shen, changing the court is as simple as drinking water. If Li Cheng is smart enough, he will naturally know how to choose.”

After finishing speaking, he stood up and slammed the wet towel covering his forehead on the ground: "The pen and ink servant, I want to write a letter to Li Cheng. In addition, in the name of my governor, Si Xingyuan, to Wang Shen Order, order him to send troops to Ding and Chenzhou to cooperate with Li Cheng to destroy the rebels in the lake area, at least let the two have a face-to-face first. Don't be afraid of chaos, the more chaos the better."

*************************************************
As an old soldier who lived in a military camp since childhood, in the past two years, from Kaifeng to Huaibei, then to Jiangnan, and now to Hunan, Chen Lanruo has seen too many lives and deaths.

There are too many scenes where the bones are exposed in the wild and there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles.

However, no place can compare to the tragic situation in Hunan at the moment.

At this moment, she is leading a dozen soldiers of the cavalry army in a deserted village where there is no living person.

Before, Chen Lanruo followed Li Cheng's army to eat all the way and never stayed in one place for a month.But now they have been to the south of Dongting Lake, it has been March, and they have experienced countless battles, large and small.

Only now did she deeply realize how much damage the war has done to the place and how miserable the people are.

The army has not moved, the food and grass go first, and where does the food come from?If it is in the Taiping era, all the supplies of the army are free to be spent by the treasury.However, in today's troubled times, the imperial court cannot protect itself, and everyone can only find a way by themselves.As for the method-it is nothing more than two means of levy and robbery.

In the end, it must be implemented on the heads of the people one by one.

When the army passed by, every day people ate horse chews was a huge sum.As long as the people in the locality are not dead, they must all be recruited into the army, either as soldiers or civilian husbands.The people's belongings were robbed, but the population was taken away, and the crops in the fields were left uncultivated.

After a few months, if there is no harvest, it will be an unprecedented famine.

Li Tianwang and Zhong Xiang repeatedly fought back and forth in the lake area for more than three months. There were tens of thousands of dead bodies on both sides, and the bones filled the valleys.The flames of war spread to three states and counties, all the food was robbed by soldiers and horses from both sides, and all the people were conscripted.In Dingzhou, where the war is most intense, according to the statistics of the people in the state government, there are more than [-] household registrations left.Depending on the situation, there are not decades that cannot be recovered.

Moreover, this war is still going on, so maybe the population of more than 1 households will also die cleanly.

When Zhong Xiang is suppressed, the three states of Ding, Chen, and Li can't stay anymore. In the future... where can they go?

It was already midnight, lightning flashed outside the house, and there was a faint sound of thunder.But there were no clouds and no rain, and the air was maddeningly hot.

Chen Lanruo thought of these things, but her heart was icy cold: fighting, fighting, charging, fleeing... When will I end... I am so tired.

She took off her jacket, leaving only a piece of obscene clothing, and was wiping her sweaty vest with a wet towel.

In the swaying light and shadow of the bonfire, the embroidery all over her body is circling and twisting, as if she is about to come alive.

In the flower embroidery, there are many scars, large and small, so that not only does it not cause people to be afraid, but coupled with her graceful and tall limbs, there is a kind of shocking beauty.

Compared with a year ago, Chen Lanruo is a little fatter.No, it should be more fit
This is the unique heroic beauty that belongs to the daughters of the Northland. Compared with the gentle and fair in the south, it has a great visual impact.

However, the cavalry around the bonfire eating wine did not respond to the soul-stirring beauty of the general. They could only pour southern rice wine into their mouths, and cut off the beef leg on the fire with a knife. A piece of meat came, and then he grabbed it with his hands covered in black mud, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it.

The soldiers whispered and laughed, as if they were discussing what they had captured a while ago.

Seeing these subordinates who turned a blind eye to him, Chen Lanruo suddenly felt an indescribable resentment in his heart, followed by boundless depression: These murderers no longer regard me as a woman.In their minds, I am just an invincible brave general who can lead them to survive on the battlefield and get the spoils of war.For me, they admire, respect, and fear... But, I am just a woman, and what I want is not these!

She married Ma Gao when she was 16 years old. She was still young and didn't understand the relationship between men and women.The order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker, anyway, just go to the Ma's house according to the orders of the parents.As for whether the thief is good or bad, it doesn't matter.

After Ma Gao died under Du Chong's sword, she felt sad.However, reality does not allow her to grieve.Hundreds of soldiers, thousands of war horses, promise everyone, so many people want to eat and drink, all count on her eagerly.

(End of this chapter)