Xingze was vast, and Zhang Dan and others took a boat to hide in the center of the city, but there was no danger for the time being.
But with the fire outside and the noise of the enemy troops outside, the soldiers on the right were in a state of torment. Many people were looking at Ye Bianzhou in the far right corner, where Captain Zhang Dan was.
Fan Chang, the chief clerk, and Zhang Dan were sitting on a small boat. Seeing Zhang Dan in a daze, he stepped on him with his foot and pointed to the surrounding boats.
Fan Chang thought that Zhang Dan would be defeated when he went out to fight and was confused, but in fact he underestimated Zhang Dan a little.
Zhang Dan's daze was actually meditating.
He was thinking about why an ambush failed.
He thought about a few things. One was that his bait was too unprovoked. For example, he let Pan Zhang and others go to the roadside to lure Han cavalry, but he never thought about why a Yellow Turban Army would appear here? When the people on the opposite side
When the general of the Han army asked this question, he would naturally conclude that this was a decoy, and he would naturally take advantage of it.
The second is that he underestimated the eliteness of the enemy's army. It's not that the Taishan Army has never fought against the main force of the Han Army before, but it would have been fought by Zuo Xiaowei Guan Yu. In fact, Zhang Dan had always fought against the local Hanting County.
The county soldiers and powerful troops were far behind the main force of the Han army. However, Zhang Dan used his past experience to control the Han cavalry, and he was so arrogant that he ambushed the enemy's 3,000 cavalry with 2,000 sharp soldiers.
The third is that he didn't really think about how to retreat if the ambush failed. This is not to say that Zhang Dan didn't think about the retreat, otherwise he wouldn't have prepared a boat in the middle of the river. What Zhang Dan reflected on was that he didn't think further.
.For example, if he leads his army to retreat into the middle of the river and the Han army surrounds the river, what should he do? Does Zhang Dan have reinforcements? Does Zhang Dan have a reserve force to attack from a flank? Obviously, these were not arranged before the war.
Zhang Dan kept reflecting on this, and it was not until Fan Chang stepped on him that he came back to his senses.
Zhang Dan knew from the look on Fan Chang's face that he thought he had lost courage, but Zhang Dan didn't explain much. He turned around and looked around at his subordinates. There were old soldiers and new recruits, all looking at him eagerly.
Own.
Zhang Dan laughed, then stood on the bow of the boat. At a glance, he saw a general squatting on a nearby boat. He had a dark complexion, eight feet in length, and a burly appearance.
Zhang Dan pointed at Nashi and said:
"Shi Da, you were just a horseman for the Han army in Fengqiu. You fed the horses chow all day long. You used to be proud of your strength and did not want to be an ordinary person. That day you sighed: 'A man bends his bow.
"Sanshi, why do you raise horses for others?", but I heard it. I felt that you were a man of lofty ideals, and I didn't want you to waste your time, so I recruited you into the army. After that, you also strived to achieve your best, being able to bend a bow of a hundred pounds and dominate with your strength.
What have you done? What can you say?"
This man named Shi Da was named Shi Bi in the army, but those he knew more often called him Shi Da. Seeing that the captain ordered him, Shi Bi hurriedly knelt on the bow of the boat and said respectfully:
"Colonel, I, Shi Da, am just a rich man. Without the captain, I, Shi Da, would have starved to death in a ravine long ago in this troubled world, let alone accomplished anything. So, the captain doesn't just treat me.
It is the grace of Jian Ba, and even more of the grace of survival. This kindness is as deep as the sea, and even nine lifetimes cannot repay it. Therefore, whenever you give orders, Captain, I, Shi Da, will take the lead in the charge."
Zhang Dan nodded, and then he successively nodded to several generals nearby. They were either old men in the army, and many of them had followed the Taishan Army since Mount Tai. It was the Taishan Army that pulled them out of a dying mountain hut.
There are also some powerful disciples from the Laiwu area. With the help of the Taishan Army, their families have become yeoman farmers and have their own fields and houses. They join the Taishan Army to exchange their lives for the Taishan Army and to repay their kindness.
of.
Following Zhang Dan's point one by one, all the generals knelt down one after another. Finally, even General Shi who was a little further away knelt down even though he didn't know what was happening.
Zhang Dan smiled and said to the generals:
"Back then, Commander Qu took one hundred and four of us to another marsh not far from this big swamp and swore an oath with many of our brothers: Brothers, if we live, we will live together, and if we die, we will die together.
.Although the oath says so, we brothers know very well that even if we give up our lives, we cannot let him die. Because this world can be without brothers like us, but it cannot be without him.
Without Qu Shuai, we people would have died in that fire long ago. Qu Shuai saved us. So what if he gave up his life in order to repay this kindness?
Over the years, many of the old brothers who swore an oath in the forest have died. Some of them died in battle, some died in going to the countryside, and some died after sleeping at home. There was even one who betrayed the old man.
Brothers, in the end, they repented and saved his handsome brother with their own lives.
You said that they exchanged their lives for Qu Shuai's kindness in the past. Is it true that no matter how great a favor was, they would repay it? But before they died, these old brothers had only one thing to say to their brothers and nephews: Follow Qu Shuai, and he can lead a good life for everyone.
From that time on, I knew that the bond of brotherly kindness that we had back then had grown stronger, and it had become a mission, which is the current mission of our Taishan Army. That is to lead the poor people in the world to live a good life.
And this good day is very simple, it is to let everyone in the world have food and clothing, and keep everyone warm and fed. But with such a mission, those powerful people will not satisfy us. If we have food, clothing and dignity, then they still have
How to servile us? If you don’t servile us, how can you be a superior person?
In this case, let’s fight. So Qu Shuai led us from Mount Tai to fight thousands of miles here. Every time we conquered a place, we eliminated the powerful, helped the poor, and shared the land. Let more poor people know that there is such an army as our Taishan Army.
The army is fighting for them. And this is how many of you joined our Right Colonel Corps.
Now, many of you, like our old brothers back then, have come to repay our Taishan Army with kindness. But you will eventually understand that since you joined the Taishan Army, you have joined a war.
This is a war for the poor to survive at the hands of the rich. And I can tell you clearly that this war will be very long-lasting. It may last five years, ten years, twenty years, or even our generation.
Even if we die, the next generation will continue to fight.
But I firmly believe that victory will eventually belong to us. Because no one can stop the determination of 40 million poor people to live a good life. Your strength will change the world."
After saying so much, Zhang Dan's mouth was actually dry, but he had no idea at this time. The more he shouted, the hoarse his voice became, but his momentum became stronger and stronger. He pointed at the Han cavalry outside:
"Brothers, you can surrender to the Han cavalry on the periphery. Your oars are in your own hands. If you want to surrender to the Han soldiers, no one will stop you. As long as you are still willing to live like a cow and a horse, let
Your children and grandchildren will be in this miserable world again, and you can go.
But if you have the slightest bit of disbelief, the slightest bit of unwillingness, and want to see the days when every household has a house and every tiller has land, I implore you to stay and continue fighting with me. I will tell you that if we fight this battle, we will end up with it.
If you lose, I will definitely not die behind you.
Let me tell you one more thing. Two days ago, I sent a letter to Commander Qu to ask for reinforcements. We will stay here for three days. If reinforcements come, you will fight out with me and annihilate those Han soldiers. And
If there are still no reinforcements after three days, I will take you out, and then even if we die, we will show these Han soldiers whether any of our Taishan troops are kneeling."
After saying these words, Zhang Dan had nothing to say anymore. He only looked at these subordinates to see their choices.
Time passed little by little, and still no one spoke. Just when Zhang Dan was heartbroken, a song suddenly came from the soldiers:
"Raise swords and soldiers, exchange for peace, and restore the Qingming Dynasty to the world!"
"Plow the fields, live in houses, and leave health and well-being to all the people!"
The sound became louder and louder, more and more people began to hum, and for a while this magnificent song floated in Xingze.
After Zhang Dan heard this song, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. He covered his face with his hands and cried:
"Thank you for believing in me, Taishanjun, and Qushuai. You are the cutest people.
…………
Xingze's floating song floated far away, all the way to the Han army's formation outside the city.
There was a man standing by the pond, listening to the singing for a long time. This man was Liu Bei and Liu Xuande.
Logically speaking, he would never be here. Didn't the deputy commander-in-chief give him the task of rescuing Zheng Hun before?
But no one expected that when Liu Bei prepared his troops and horses in the camp and was about to set off, Zheng Hun appeared in front of the Han army's camp dressed as a woodcutter. After that, Liu Bei's mission was cancelled.
Thought so much.
Later, Liu Bei found out how Zheng Hun appeared here. It turned out that before the Taishan army encircled him, he kidnapped a woodcutter, put on the woodcutter's clothes, and deserted the army at night.
Although he was not ashamed of Zheng Hun's behavior, when he thought that if he went south to rescue him, he would probably be able to take him alone. Wouldn't he abandon the army and leave? Thinking like this, Liu Bei felt relieved.
After that, Zong Yuan led his army south to attack the partial division of Taishan Army, and Liu Bei followed with his Youzhou Rangers. During the process of going south, the so-called Taishan Army was still as devastating as before.
I also thought that the Taishan Army was very good at fighting. I heard that the Han court lost their troops and generals, and even the old commander Huangfu Song was injured in their hands. But today, they were unable to fight. It seems that their Youzhou Cavalry was too strong.
.
But just now, the singing voice coming from the lake made Liu Bei in a daze. He was thinking who wrote this song? What kind of hunger and suffering did this person see among the people? What he sang, he
Can it be completed?
Liu Bei thought of the abandoned corpses they had seen on the roadside when they went south, as well as the remains of some that had been eaten and had bones left behind. He had seen a lot of these in his hometown, but no matter how many times he saw them, he was still worried.
In his hometown before, he thought that his hometown was on the border and life was already difficult. Their taxes in Youzhou had never been able to support him. Every year, Jizhou in the south transferred 200 million yuan in taxes to Youzhou.
Only in this way can we maintain this team of county officials.
But now, they have all arrived in Xingyang, which is already in the Gyeonggi area. It should be said that it is the richest place in the world. But what? Everything he saw, this road was exactly the same as what he had been in Youzhou.
of despair.
At this time Zhang Fei came over and handed Liu Bei a piece of cake.
Smelling the fragrant Hu cake, Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei:
"Brother, do you think this big man can be saved?"
Zhang Fei ate half a piece of cake in one mouthful. Hearing his brother ask this question, he knew that his brother was suffering from hysteria again, so he said casually:
"Afraid you can't?"
"Oh, why?"
Zhang Fei chewed hard with his cheeks, swallowed and said:
"Brother, look at how there are no soldiers in this Han Dynasty. The ones who can fight now are either us from Youzhou or Liangzhou. But look at how the imperial court treats us border warriors? Not to mention the Liangzhou people.
Even if he dies of poverty and starvation, it has nothing to do with me, Zhang Fei.
But you are talking about us Youzhou people. Your senior brother was impeached for killing people like that on the border, saying that he started provocations without permission and was not conducive to the unity of Hu and Han. But once the Hu invaded, the imperial court was the first to pursue the responsibility.
They will chop our heads off. In the final analysis, the Han court regards us as chamber pots. They use it when they are in a hurry. Once everything is fine, they hold us down there, for fear that the smell of our sweat will accidentally infect them.
.
How can the Han court treat us warriors like this for a long time? In addition, the core force that the Han court relies on has been greatly damaged in this counter-insurgency. Brother, just wait and see. Either we Youzhou people will cause trouble later, or they will cause trouble.
The people of the state are in trouble. Now that Tai'a has arrived, those Manchu ministers are still dreaming about the great dreams of the Spring and Autumn Period in the past. Don't you think it's interesting?"
Liu Bei nodded. He knew that his Fei brother was a talented person. Even though he looked rough, he had extraordinary experience. Now that he mentioned it, he had gained something.
So Liu Bei also expressed his thoughts:
"I also feel that the moral fortunes of the Han Dynasty will not last long. These Guizhou leaders are living too hard and miserable."
Zhang Fei laughed, and he knew that his brother was hysterical. He asked his brother:
"Brother, tell me which dynasty and generation in Guizhou didn't suffer hardship? Not to mention that a thousand years later, these people were still slaves. Even now, they are not as valuable as a big animal. Brother, this world has always been in chaos.
It's not because these Guizhou leaders are having a hard time, it's because we powerful people are having a hard time."
Zhang Fei pointed at himself and continued:
"Brother, I, Zhang Fei, am also from a powerful family in my hometown, but so what? I don't have to sell my blood in this battlefield to earn a little military merit. But what about my family of Confucian classics? As long as there is inheritance at home and teachers outside,
You can just lie at home and earn the credit."
"And what you told me about your senior brother. Brother Gongsun is a hero, but didn't he still want to gamble his life back then? Look at you, brother. You are a descendant of the imperial family and a born noble. But what about now?
?But you have to sell blood with us. How unfair is it?"
After swallowing the last half of the cake, Zhang Fei wiped the oil from his mouth and said:
"Nowadays, the way to rise in the world is controlled by those poor Confucian scholars who are maliciously suppressing us border warriors. Brother, just look at it. One day, someone will break through the bones of Lord Tianjie and let these clear streams sink into filth again."
Seeing Liu Bei still meditating there, Zhang Fei added another sentence:
"Brother, troubled times are coming. The warriors who suffered injustice in the past will eventually break the current order, but they can mess up the world but cannot stabilize it. And I, Zhang Fei, have long seen that you are the hero who can calm down these troubled times. You have both
You are of noble blood, and you are our warrior, and you have a heart to help the world. You will definitely be able to lead our three great men to re-establish a new order in this troubled world."
After hearing so much, Liu Bei finally asked:
"Then does all this really have nothing to do with the Guizhou leaders?"
Zhang Fei answered very seriously:
"It has nothing to do with them at all, because this is a stage for heroes."