After a brief confrontation between the two armies by the Ju River, the Jingmen Army officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty began to retreat to the north.
"The imperial court was extremely stupid to allow the Tang army to station in Jiangling."
"In the third year of Duanping, Meng Shaobao retreated from Jiangling. Seeing that the important town of Jiangling was surrounded by fertile fields and there was no terrain to block it, he personally laid out the defense line and built fortresses and passes. Now that the imperial court has signed a peace treaty, the rebels have stationed troops in the defense line...
Damn, it’s so ridiculous!”
The general walking further ahead was a civil servant. He shook his head, stroked his beard and sighed: "Jiangling is the vassal capital of the country. If there is a danger, not only will we lose a county, but we will fight for it."
Although I sigh, the peace treaty has been signed, what can these local generals do?
To the south, another small group of cavalry also began to move south.
Lu Xiaoyou just heard that a small group of Jingmen troops were marching south today, so he came over to scare them away, which was considered a small matter.
After the horse ran for a while on the Jinghu Plain, a local Jiangling cavalry member of the team raised his hand and shouted: "General, that's Maicheng over there!"
"Go over and have a look."
Maicheng originally had no city walls, only a section of earthen wall. After thousands of years, the earthen wall has also collapsed, lying like a hill on the bank of Jushui River.
Lu Xiaoyou jumped up on his horse and turned around to look around.
"Is this the Maicheng where Guan Gong defeated Maicheng?"
"Yes, General."
Not much can be seen from this slope, but the legacy of a famous general's defeat here suddenly makes people feel confused.
Lu Xiaoyou's mood became inexplicably depressed.
All the way back to the military camp, a soldier immediately came forward and said: "Xianggong Shi has urgently summoned the general to enter the city."
Lu Xiaoyou did not dare to neglect, and immediately entered the city after arranging defense arrangements.
He had a fight with someone last night and was summoned to the office to await summons, but Li Xia only asked him to return to the camp.
At that time, Shi Jun came out and told him that this was not a trivial matter, because it happened to happen at a time when the people of Jiangling were uneasy, and he might need to be punished a little to win over the people of Jiangling.
In fact, this punishment is just a show, and he will be promoted again soon after returning to Chang'an.
Lu Xiaoyou didn't mind being punished, but what bothered him was the arrogant and disrespectful attitude of those scholars, so he asked, "But they scolded Your Majesty."
Shi Junze waved his hand and said with a smile: "Which dynasty was not criticized verbally and written by the survivors of the previous dynasty when it was first established?"
So Lu Xiaoyou was convinced.
At this time, I strode to the office and met Masilong coming from across the street.
Masilong was turning his head to talk to the soldiers beside him, but he didn't notice someone coming from the opposite side, making a loud voice.
"Anyway, I tell you, you are not allowed to urinate on the ground. What is this? This is military law! Didn't you hear that someone was punished for peeing on the ground last night?"
After teaching these soldiers a lesson, Masilong turned around and quickly greeted them.
One of these two people failed to stop the Yuan army from attacking Jiangling City, and the other attacked the Jiangling scholars. They were both an outlet for the gentry in the city to express their dissatisfaction.
After the ceremony, the two of them entered the government office together and saw many scholars standing inside, including several of the people he had beaten last night.
"Lu Dutong, Ma Tongzhi has arrived."
After someone passed the message, Shi Jun came out of the hall, stood there and looked around at everyone, and said unhurriedly: "Let's go and see His Majesty."
At this point, he gave a rare smile and said: "We might as well get to the bottom of it. Jiangling defeated Ali Hague in the first battle. You have not yet been rewarded for your contribution. You should celebrate tonight."
Lu Xiaoyou and Masilong were both prepared to be punished. They were surprised when they heard this and forgot to reply for a moment.
Shi Jun obviously told it deliberately to the many scholars present, and the scene suddenly became quiet. Although many students from the government did not speak, there were expressions of resentment in their eyes.
Just at this moment, a deep and heavy voice sounded.
"Master Wang defeated the Yuan army. I also want to express my gratitude and admiration on behalf of the Jiangling gentry. How about toasting to the soldiers in Qujiang Tower, is it okay? Also, these ignorant scholars collided with General Lu.
Please give them a chance to apologize, General Lu."
Lu Xiaoyou and Ma Shilong turned around and saw that the old gentleman who was speaking had an elegant and majestic temperament. At first glance, he seemed to be highly respected.
Although they had been on the battlefield for a long time and were not afraid of such a scholar, they still didn't know how to talk to each other, so they all looked at Shi Jun dully in unison.
Shi Junsui put on his airs and said slowly: "Then we will reward the troops at Qujiang Tower tomorrow, and also invite Duke Shen Ning and Duke Cao Chuang to take the time to come."
"Mr. Shen Ning, how can this be accomplished?"
When a group of scholars gathered around Wang Yinglin, Zhou Mi left the office and poured into the government school. Immediately, more respected people in Jiangling arrived and expressed their confusion.
"Do you really want to toast those rebels in public? Thank them for putting the Yuan army into the city?"
"Not to mention that they are all rebels. How can we, who have read the books of saints and sages, bow to these vulgar warriors?"
The reason why someone asked this was simply because they suspected that Wang Yinglin and Zhou Mi had surrendered to Li Xia. But if he had just surrendered and had to bow to the warriors, this would make the Jiangling scholars very uneasy.
"Yes, if you really thank the rebels in public and apologize to the ugly man who defecated in the street for what happened last night, it would be an insult to the gentleman! Dao."
"It's an insult to politeness."
"If you lose your dignity, why not die for your country?"
$.....
All of a sudden, the whole school was full of scoldings of "thief with the army", "tattooed soldier", "chilao" and "vicious ugly".
During the Song Dynasty, the status of military personnel was low. Among those who were born in the military and moved to the Privy Council due to their military exploits, apart from Cao Bin, there was only Di Qing, and Di Qing was regarded as a thorn in the side of civil servants.
Di Qing was a loyal minister, but it was a pity that "Isn't Taizu a loyal minister of Zhou Shizong? But he had military intelligence, so there was the Chenqiao Incident."
This was a disease carried in the mother's womb during the Song Dynasty. The suspicion of martial arts was so deep that as long as the Song Dynasty survived, it was absolutely impossible to change it.
The scholar-bureaucrats in Jiangling City thought very simply. It was okay to join Li Xia, but they had to find two opportunities to suppress Li Xia's favorite generals.
This is extremely important.
For example, let the new emperor know that the scholars in Jiangling are not easy to control; another example is how the Tang army stationed in Jiangling will get along with each other and how power will be distributed.
If we don't fight for these things first, who can join us?
"Mr. Shen Ning, what's the unspeakable secret?"
"Yes, Lord Shen Ning, why did you surrender to the rebels in just a moment today?"
Wang Yinglin is not in a hurry to make the secrets he heard today known to the public right away.
He stroked his long beard with one hand and waved his hand with the other, as if to wave away the noise of the crowd, and said: "I and Cao Chuang have decided to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. As for you gentlemen, please do as you please."
After that, he turned around and left.
Facing scholars, a great Confucian has the confidence to be a great Confucian.
Fang Zongchang returned home in despair, sat down on a chair, and murmured: "Do you really want to apologize to that thief? It's an insult to gentlemen."
What he said was degrading to politeness, but he knew very well in his heart that he had no other choice.
As for Wang Yinglin, Zhou Mi did not join Li Xia. He could criticize him with words and writing, but he still could not resist on the surface.
But now that the two famous scholars have rebelled, when talking about the Jiangling incident in the future, will others believe the two famous scholars, or will they believe him, an unknown government student?
"well."
Just as he was sighing, there was a commotion outside the house.
When Fang Zongchang came out of the house, he saw his old mother grabbing his nephew Fang Zhi's ears, crying and scolding him.
"Your father died only a few days ago, and you went out to make mischief because you wanted to make me angry to death... Zong Ning, my son, please take a look in the sky."
Fang Zhi was not yet ten years old. When he heard his grandmother crying, he quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and cried loudly: "My grandson is unfilial. Grandma, please don't be angry!"
Fang Zongchang was upset, opened the door and left the house, saying: "Mom? What happened?"
"I was so angry that this kid ran to the opposite side of the incense shop to hang out with the lame old tattoo soldier."
"My grandson is not just messing around. My grandson wants to learn archery and kill prisoners to avenge my father."
"Shut up!" Fang Zongchang shouted, stretched out his hand and gave Fang Zhi a gentle slap, "I asked you to study, but you went to hang out with a low-income man who committed a crime and was sent to the army?"
Fang Zhi was hit. Although his face didn't hurt, he was so heartbroken that he burst into tears.
Because the person he respects the most is this uncle.
His uncle was successful in reading and knowledgeable. He was praised by everyone wherever he went. Even in the magistrate, the magistrate always looked kind and cheerful when he saw his uncle.
"Uncle! Uncle."
Seeing Fang Zhi bursting into tears, Fang Zongchang leaned down, touched the child's face, and said: "Even if you want to kill the bandits to avenge your father, you still have to study hard. Remember, only by being named on the gold list can you guard a side. Don't do it again.
After dealing with that kind of whale, you are a scholar..."
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, there was a champion named Chen Yaozi, who was also the Duke of Chen Kangsu in "The Oil Seller". He was good at archery and always hit the mark. Zhenzong once said, "If Chen is willing to change his martial arts, he should be awarded the Jie Yue."
Unexpectedly, Zhenzong's words made Chen's mother furious. She hit Chen Yaozi with a stick and shouted angrily: "You are the first in Ce, and your father and son established the dynasty as famous ministers with their articles. You want to steal a rich salary, and you will be embarrassed by the official.
Can you bear it?"
This is the Song people's attitude towards civil and military affairs.
For scholars, Wufu is just a "shame".
At this time, the young Fang Zhi felt the strong contempt from his grandmother and uncle, and couldn't help but feel ashamed.
"My nephew has realized his mistake...my nephew will never dare to do it again..."
That night, Fang Zhi knelt in front of his late father's funeral hall until he fell asleep on the ground.
While sleeping until the next day, he suddenly heard someone shouting outside the hospital: "Is Brother Changqi at home? Is Brother Changqi at home?"
The other party shouted for a long time, and Fang Zhi had no choice but to rub his eyes and push the door open, and saw several scholars standing outside.
"Isn't Brother Changqi at home? He went to Qujiang Tower, right?"
There was a scholar who was familiar with Fang Zhi's house. He ignored Fang Zhi and went straight in to explore.
"Brother Changqi is indeed gone!"
"What a Fang Changqi, but a weak one!"
"Fang Changqi is also possessed..."
Fang Zhi was furious and shouted: "My uncle is not a weakling!"
But no one paid attention to him, and several scholars left in a hurry.
Fang Zhi looked around, but he also stepped forward and followed behind them.
He wanted to see why these people said such things about his uncle.
Along the way, people could be seen rushing to the south of the city, but there was no chaos, and everyone was muttering.
"It is said that... Magistrate Chen led the Mongolian prisoners into the city, but it was General Ma of the Tang Army who resisted desperately. After reinforcements arrived, he drove away the Mongolian prisoners."
"Prefect Chen? How could a prefect do such a thing?"
"Can it be false? I was interrogated early in the morning at Qujiang Tower in front of the whole city."
"I've seen it. I was examined by a prince who was the Minister of Rites. Prefect Chen admitted it. How can he still be false?"
$.....
Fang Zhi didn't understand much of this, but he could barely tell that the person who killed his father was Magistrate Chen.
He ran a few steps quickly and arrived at the foot of the south city. Looking up, he saw many people standing on the top of the city in the distance.
Among them was an old man dressed in plain clothes and crying in pain.
Fang Zhi was unable to catch up with what was said earlier, but happened to hear the last sentence.
He devoured the blood of the common people and dared to lure the bandits into the city to slaughter the people for his own selfish interests. I would like to use the head of this animal to "lacrifice the heroic spirits of those who died in Jiangling with tears! Pay homage to the deceased and enjoy the feast!"
"Execution!"
Fang Zhi's eyes widened, trying hard to see them beheading Magistrate Chen in memory of his dead father.
But suddenly someone came forward and covered his eyes with one hand.
"Little boy, don't look at it."
Fang Zhi was very angry and stretched out his hand to push but did not push it away.
"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid!"
When the nosy man let go of his hand, Fang Zhi looked up again, only to see a human head being slowly hung up on the Qujiang Tower in Nancheng.