At the junction of Nangong County and Julu County, Lu Xiangsheng's army was stationed in the camp. Yao Dongzhao led hundreds of volunteers to venture outside the camp gate to see Lu Xiangsheng.
Yao Dongzhao saw that Lu Xiangsheng was determined, but he still did not give up. He took another step forward and said generously: "Sir, since the second year of Chongzhen, the Donglu have invaded the invaders several times, each time going deeper than before.
In addition to the martial law in the capital, the imperial court was helpless when the captives invaded the capital. They always allowed the captives to run rampant and ravage Jifu, prefecture, and county officials. They would only run away after hearing the news, and few people stayed in the city.
The wealthy local gentry all fled upon hearing the news and took refuge in the fortified city. No one was willing to think about the country and showed no loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, let alone calling on the people to protect their country.
Even if some officers and soldiers arrived, they would all be as fearful of the captives as tigers and leopards, and they would be as ferocious as wolves to the common people.
Every time the captives invaded, wherever they passed, houses were burned down, women were raped and humiliated, cattle, farm tools, livestock, property, and grain were all plundered, corpses littered the fields, and young men were also taken away.
We, the common people, cannot rely on the imperial court at the top or the government at the bottom. We are afraid of slaves and thieves as well as officers and soldiers.
But just being afraid is not the solution, so I called on my children from the three prefectures to rise up, defend their homeland, and vow to deal with the captives.
Now I see that the imperial court is afraid of the captives and has promised to make peace. Although the officers and soldiers from all walks of life are called Qinwang, they are actually disturbing the people. However, you are willing to fight with the captives. Therefore, I can't bear to see you sacrifice your life in vain and do no good to the country, so I came here to help you.
, I hope you will not lose the support of the people of the three prefectures, and do not demoralize the people of the three prefectures!"
Lu Xiangsheng stepped forward with admiration and said: "Mr. Tunchu, since the first time the Tatars committed a crime, you have called on the people of Jifu to rise up and fight against the Tatars, so you are known as a righteous man.
However, it is inevitable that today's Xiang will be promoted to the national festival.
The war is about to begin, Xiang Sheng only knows how to serve the emperor on the battlefield, life and death have long been ignored, the elders of the three palaces love and care for him, Xiang Sheng can only remember it in his heart."
"Sir, I have recently heard that the Cavalry is wreaking havoc around Julu. Please lead your troops to retreat temporarily, avoid the fierce attack of the Cavalry for a while, and delay for ten days to find another battle with the Cavalry. How about that?" Yao Dongzhao said sincerely.
"Why is this?" Lu Xiangsheng asked with confusion.
"If you can temporarily escape the captives for ten days, Dongzhao and the elders of the three prefectures can summon tens of thousands of their children to come to help you." Yao Dongzhao said with some excitement.
Lu Xiangsheng grabbed Yao Dongzhao's hand, pulled him, walked away a few steps, and looked at him excitedly with slightly moist eyes. After a while, he sighed and said: "Mr. Tunchu, Xiang Sheng's current situation
, you don’t fully understand, sir, you do have good intentions, but how can you expect me to treat you with him for ten days?”
"Why can't we treat each other?" Yao Dongzhao was also puzzled by Lu Xiangsheng's difficulties.
"First, the student has been deprived of the title of Shang Fangjian and Shangshu by the imperial court. I don't know when Tiqi will come to arrest him and bring him to the capital for questioning. If the student is arrested and brought to the capital within ten days, it is better to fight with the prisoners here.
, It is better to die for the country than to die in many imperial edicts and prisons.
Second, looking at the direction of the captive cavalry, they are likely to penetrate deep into Shandong, block the canal, and threaten Jinan. If we do not meet it as soon as possible and thwart its ferocious flames, dozens of states and counties in Shandong may be disintegrated. By then, not only the imperial court will be able to govern students, but also threaten Jinan.
What will the students do to the people of Shandong if they commit the crime of allowing the enemy to penetrate deeper?
Third," after saying this, Lu Xiangsheng lowered his voice again before continuing:
"At present, the morale of the officers and soldiers is sluggish, and they are as afraid of the enemy as tigers. Especially now that food and grass are scarce, the morale of the army is even more shaken. There are now more than ten thousand hungry and exhausted troops. It is because of the loyalty and patriotism of the students that they can't bear to treat each other with sincerity in peacetime.
If you leave, you can barely fight.
If we wait a little longer, once the morale of the military collapses, even if the students want to fight, they will not be able to do so."
"So, how about waiting for me for five days?" Yao Dongzhao looked at Lu Xiangsheng with earnest eyes.
"Five days?...No, no."
"If five days doesn't work, please wait for me for three days!" Yao Dongzhao grabbed Lu Xiangsheng's hand, his eyes full of hope.
According to the military reports in recent days, it is difficult to judge the movements of slaves and bandits, but several groups of captives have appeared around Julu. Each of them has a horse. Those armored soldiers, even one person with multiple horses, can gather together in a short time.
Soldiers in one place.
Lu Xiangsheng was also hard-pressed to decide whether he would fight Luqi within three days. However, at this time, he could no longer refuse Yao Dongzhao's kindness, so he replied: "Okay, the old man will go back and call on the disciples of the three prefectures."
Don't let the captives and cavalry drive southward.
I'll have news here within three days. I see that the enemy's cavalry is in great danger, often like the wind and rain. I'm afraid that if the old gentleman wants to help me, it will be too late.
Tomorrow, I will move the general's army slightly southwest and enter the territory of Julu in order to coordinate with the Guan Ning Army of the High Supervisory Army. Julu is Mr.'s hometown. I hope that Mr. and I can meet again in Julu."
He and Yao Dongzhao had finished speaking and walked back to the crowd hand in hand.
At this time, the fellow villagers who came with Yao Dongzhao took out the few grains they had brought with them and presented them to Lu Xiangsheng.
One of the elders said with a trembling snow-white beard: "Sir, the common people came in a hurry and didn't know whether they would meet the adults, so they didn't bring much grain. They only showed a little of the thoughts of the people in the three prefectures.
If your Excellency can move the army to Guangzhou, please, we people in the three prefectures still have a sense of loyalty to resist the Tatar invasion. Although the life is difficult, we are willing to donate all the food we have for the winter. It is better than being attacked by the Tatars.
They were looted and much better."
Many of them are poor villagers near Julu. Since the Qing army invaded, the wealthy and wealthy people have already fled to the fortified city, leaving only these poor people in the countryside who are unable to escape.
Originally, they all fled and hid in the nearby mountains, forests, and grassy beaches. Recently, they heard that Yao Dongzhao was looking for Lu Xiangsheng's troops and horses, and wanted to persuade him to move his troops to Guang, Shun, and then deal with the Tartars.
I also heard that Lu Xiangsheng was determined to fight the Tatars, but was suffering from almost no food supplies in the army. Yao Dongzhaozheng called on the elders of the three mansions to donate food to him, and they also buried the food on the bedside and hid it in the wall holes.
All the grains hidden in the cellar were taken out and delivered outside the camp gate.
An old lady with a full face and a colorful face, carrying a small basket made of rattan in her arms, with some red dates in it, followed the others panting on crutches.
With tears streaming down her eyes, she held the dates in front of Lu Xiangsheng with both hands, and said even more choked up: "Sir, there have been severe droughts and locusts in recent years, coupled with the war and chaos, the common people have also lost their homes.
The family is short of food.
As a lonely old woman, I have nothing else, so I give these red dates to the adults to cook and eat, and I will kill a few Tatars for us."
"Old lady, don't you have a son?" Lu Xiangsheng asked.
"Oh, what a miserable life! The old woman has lost her two sons! The last time the Tatars came to this area, one son was killed and the other was kidnapped by the Tatars who killed him with swords. There is no news yet!"
The old woman cried and said.
"I have so many officers and soldiers in the imperial court who will only harass the common people. Who dares to fight against the Tatars?
The common people deserve to suffer, they are being robbed, what can be done?"
Lu Xiangsheng originally refused to accept her dates, but the old woman was unwilling to accept them, so in the end she had no choice but to keep them.
Zhang Cheng had been by Lu Xiangsheng's side and witnessed everything. He thought in his heart: These ordinary people are indeed simple and sincere. As long as they can have enough food and clothing, they will accept the oppression safely.
Just now, whoever can avenge them and kill the Tatars for them, they are willing to give everything!
But at the same time, he remembered the curse of the past: all the disorder in the last dynasty was started by peasant uprisings, but peasant uprisings almost always ended in failure.