"The leopard hides in the morning in the south, and the ape sings in the night in Wu Gorge." [Ode to the Mist]
As expected, a heavy fog arose at dawn, and the surrounding fields were indistinguishable in a vast expanse of white. The bonfire, which had begun to weaken, gradually extinguished in the moist and cold fog, and finally turned into a puff of green smoke and melted into the fog. :(/
The city gate slowly opened with a creaking sound, and a group of people lined up and came out. They were wearing light armor and white or gray linen clothes. These forty or fifty people left the city quietly, and no one said a word.
Under the leadership of the two young men, we took advantage of the thick fog and walked out.
Also following them was Lantian Diannong Captain Liu Xiongming. When he heard the news, he specifically asked Pang Tong to plead guilty and meritorious service. Pang Tong agreed after thinking about it for a while. First, he thought that Lu Meng and others were still young, so there was no guarantee that something would not go wrong.
, Secondly, Liu Xiongming is quite prestigious among the troops, and having him there may help get twice the result with half the effort.
"Amon, whatever we do later is up to you." Ling Tong was excitedly gearing up. He was not as resourceful as his opponent, but his martial arts was much better. At this time, he did not expect that Lü Meng could convince the county magistrate Pang Tong to let him
The two imperial students came out to lead troops to fight against thieves, and now they had the opportunity to perform meritorious services. After returning home, they might not need to study at the Imperial Academy anymore, and instead would be recommended by Zhou Yu to join the army.
Lu Meng seemed more steady than Ling Tong at this time. He held the hilt of his sword tightly and said: "Charge the enemy. After a while, he naturally went straight into the enemy's formation. He killed Wang Zifu and others first, and the others were frightened.
If you go down, you will definitely be restrained."
Ling Tong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood that the other party still wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge, regardless of whether the prince was coerced into becoming a thief.
Thinking of this, he sighed in the thick fog, but didn't say anything. The outline of the camp in the distance gradually became clearer, and it seemed that a lone flag could be seen standing in the middle of the camp, swaying slightly, as if waving to them.
.
On the city wall, even though he couldn't see anything below, Pang Tong still tried to look down and muttered: "I didn't expect the fog to be so thick that I can't even see the human figure."
"Didn't you already know that there would be fog today? Now you look surprised, which makes people look strange." Xu Shu was holding a sword in his hand. He never left his sword.
"Lantian is mountainous, and the clouds and fog are the heaviest at this time of year. This is something you and I didn't know until we were here for more than a year. I just didn't expect that these two people had discovered this truth after just a few days here." Pang Tongyi held his hands on the city wall.
, while looking sideways at Xu Shu, he said with a smile: "It seems that if you send them there, they will definitely achieve great results."
"Jiangdong is extremely talented!" Xu Shu said with emotion: "There is Xiang Yu far away, Sun Ce nearby, and Zhou Yu in the court is also very strategic, which should not be underestimated. In the future, Jiangdong's civil and military forces may occupy a place in the court."
"Jianghuai, Yanyu, Hebei, Jingxiang..." Pang Tong counted them one by one, his breath blending into the vast fog, making it difficult to distinguish: "Mencius once said, 'It is not difficult to govern, and it is not difficult to offend a wealthy family.' Now
The imperial court issued several edicts, all of which were aimed at the powerful sects of the world. It seems that Emperor Guangwu once controlled the fields and suppressed the people, and now he is going to do it again."
"Isn't it good?" Xu Shu asked unintentionally. From the perspective of his poor background, this is naturally a good thing, but from the perspective of the other party, it is not necessarily the case.
Pang Tong hesitated for a moment and did not answer directly. Instead, he said: "It depends on what the country is thinking. There are still many nobles from wealthy families joining the court to serve the country. Among them, there may be some who have a true public heart for the country.
There are those who take advantage of the chaos. If the state resorts to ruthless measures, then it will really offend the wealthy family. Even I can’t predict what will happen next. But if the state has a sense of proportion and will stop at it, why should we go against its trend?
, A mantis's arm is like a chariot? After all, although the country behaves like Emperor Guangwu, the results are far better than that."
Xu Shu was so smart that he quickly understood the meaning of the other party's words. Although the emperor currently had a large number of troops, he was targeting long-term evils such as privately built barriers and organizational units. A man of insight could maintain the long-term peace and order of the court or
Anyone who wants to make money from chaos will support the court's decision-making to varying degrees. But in Xu Shu's view, the country is now doing what Emperor Guangwu has not yet done. Will it follow Emperor Xiaowu's example in the future? After all, the country is still young and the days are still so long.
Of course, Xu Shu did not express these doubts verbally. Looking at Pang Tong's calm and determined expression, he also knew whether to say it or not. In fact, the other party had already thought about how to proceed.
In the military camp outside the city, Lu Meng, Ling Tong and others had successfully eliminated the sentry post and rushed in at once. They were not afraid of being discovered at all. They shouted loudly along the way and ordered people to wave flags constantly, creating a feeling of a huge army.
He made a false appearance and shouted loudly: "The Northern Army infantry battalion is ordered to quell the rebellion! Those who abandon their weapons and kneel down will avoid death!"
The rebels who woke up from a clear dream saw figures in the thick fog, flags flying, and shouts shaking the sky and earth. How could anyone not believe it? What's more, at this time, Pang Tong on the city heard the noise and immediately ordered people to attack him.
He encouraged the troops and agreed to the county captain's request to fight, and ordered the county soldiers to go out of the city to support him.
In the rebel camp, Zheng Gan, Wang Zhao and the others who had instigated the uprising were running around like ants on a hot pot. They were originally Feng Yi's bandits, but by chance they were surrendered and accepted and integrated into the garrison.
The current rebellion was also secretly instigated and instigated by others. They thought that the world was once again in chaos, that the short-term unification was just a reflection of the past, and that the Han Dynasty was still in danger, so they increased their ambitions enough.
As they forced the prince to conquer the countryside and attack Lantian County, they were unstoppable along the way, but before they could be happy for long, the imperial court officially launched a counterattack.
"Lantian County only has about a hundred soldiers and horses, so why should we be afraid? Now we should go out to stabilize the morale of the army and not mess up our own position. After defeating this group of people, won't Lantian County be easily obtained?" Zheng Gan coaxed anxiously.
After scolding him, he managed to calm down everyone in the camp. Then he looked at the prince who was forced to sit in the middle with a gray face and said, "You are the leader of an army, please say a few words!"
"Don't mix me up with you, I didn't agree to rebel with you." Wang Zifu glared and reprimanded him unceremoniously.
Zheng Gan smiled sinisterly: "Are you stubborn now? If you had been like this earlier, or stood up to resist, or died to serve the country, we would have obeyed you. But you followed half-heartedly until now, and it's not like you didn't come up with ideas on the way. Now
I want to clean myself up, but it’s too late!”
There are a total of five Diannong Sima in Lantian County, and almost all of them are refugees. Only Wang Zifu comes from the famous Northern Army. Whether it is integrating the army or marching to fight, he is much stronger than everyone else. So this is also the case.
After Diannong Captain Liu Xiongming escaped, everyone supported him as their leader.
At this time, Wang Zifu seemed to be stabbed in the heart with a dull pain. He jumped up from his seat and cursed: "You are talking nonsense!"
Zheng Gan was about to say something when he saw another Dianong Sima running in from outside and shouting: "Oh no, everyone coming outside is the Northern Army!"
"How is that possible!" Zheng Gan and the prince's suit shouted in unison.
The former is surprise, the latter is doubt.
"How is it impossible? Tell me!" Wang Zhao noticed something was wrong in the tone of the two, so he rushed over, put the knife on the prince's neck and threatened: "If you lose this battle, you will not be able to escape death!"
"The rebellion of two thousand people, how can such a small momentum allow the Northern Army to come in person? If it is said that the soldiers from outside are Jingzhao County soldiers, it is somewhat credible." The prince's neck shrank and he said subconsciously: "
This must be intentional deception."
Only then did people's hearts settle. If this was really the Northern Army, there would be no need to fight. We could just capture them together. If it wasn't the Northern Army, there would still be a slight chance of victory.
"I'll go out and take a look first!" Wang Zhao walked out of the tent with a knife and began to gather his troops in the thick fog to prepare for a counterattack.
Listening to the constant noise outside the tent, and the sound of swords clashing getting closer and closer, someone began to tentatively say: "It's hard to fight in such a heavy fog. How about we retreat to the mountains first, or go along Wuguan Road?"
Going to Luo and Shang County?"
Zheng Gan also thought this was a good idea after hearing this. Shangluo and other places were even more remote than Lantian County. Wherever they went, they could absorb the local farmers to increase their strength, and then seize Wuguan before the imperial court could react and flee to Jingzhou.
Or the Panhuan Mountain Road, where you can advance, attack, retreat or defend.
He was making up his mind and preparing to give orders, but he heard Wang Zifu suddenly shout: "No!" At this time, he took the initiative to come up with an idea and said: "The autumn harvest has not yet been harvested, and there is insufficient food and grass. If we escape to the mountains, we will definitely be cut off.
Not to mention that Shangluo Chengjian was already prepared..."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Zheng Gan thought that the prince was afraid that the court would hold the other party accountable and was sincerely planning for them, so he hurriedly came over and asked.
Prince Fu said without thinking: "Of course I will work hard to defeat the invading enemies and then march into Lantian. Once we have weapons and food, it will not be too late to go back and forth to Wuguan Road."