"Follow the rules of the barrier and know where the flag stops." [Fu of Huaiqin]
The more than 2,000 able-bodied men Liu Xiongming brought to Yaoguan were not many dead and wounded, and most of them fled in panic overnight. Only a hundred close followers came back with him, and they were in a very embarrassed state.
At dawn, Liu Xiongming finally returned to the camp on Fuche Mountain. Although there were still thousands of men left under his command, most of them were unarmed, old and weak. How to deal with the imperial officers and soldiers next has become Liu Xiongming's biggest worry.
There is a pagoda temple on Fuche Mountain. It is said that it was built by monks from Tianzhu when they came east to preach. All the mulberry gates in it have long since disappeared, and now it has become Liu Xiongming's personal residence.
There is a big mulberry tree in the small courtyard, which shades the ground. There is a huge rock under the tree. Liu Xiongming sat on it, looking to the north with a frown. It was early morning, and the mountains and plains were covered with milky white mist.
.
In the mountains and forests shrouded in clouds and fog, countless flags can be seen hidden among them. Liu Xiongming once had the honor to witness a large army going on an expedition, and he knew that the imperial army had its own fixed organization, from the general to the captain, all had their own fixed military flags.
To unify the troops and direct the battle.
Scouts often spy on the enemy and estimate the number of enemy troops by counting flags.
Liu Xiongming counted the flags in the woods in his mind, and came to the conclusion that the opponent had at least three to four thousand people. It is said that in order to wipe out the three auxiliary bandits, the imperial court deliberately tried its best to let Yu Lin and Hu Ben join the battle. This in the woods
The army that has been pursuing since the surprise attack last night is probably Huben or Yu Lin from the imperial court, right?
While he was lost in thought about this, a group of people came over. Now that they have suffered such a huge defeat, everyone must make a unanimous decision within today on whether to retreat or surrender.
Everyone had just sat down around Liu Xiongming, and was about to discuss it, when they saw a general coming in, clasping his fists and saying, "General, someone down the mountain said he is an old acquaintance of the general, and he has brought ten people to see you. The subordinate has called
They are waiting below, do you want to bring them up?"
"80% of them are here to persuade you to surrender." Liu Xiongming was not surprised. He turned to look at the middle-aged Taoist sitting next to him wearing a leather crown and yellow clothes: "Mr. Luo, what do you think?"
This middle-aged Taoist was named Luo Yao. During the Xiping period, monsters and thieves were on the rise. He first spread talisman water in Sanfu to confuse the people. During the Guanghe period, brother Zhang Jiao in Guandong led the Yellow Turbans of Taiping Dao to cause chaos, and Zhang Xiu in Hanzhong
He gathered believers with five buckets of rice, while Luo Yao taught the people the Burmese method of hiding their bodies in Guanzhong, and hid from the officials in the mountains.
As the military strength of the imperial court became stronger and stronger in Guanzhong and its rule became increasingly stable, Luo Yao had to keep a low profile and led his men to join Liu Xiongming.
What he was interested in was not Liu Xiongming's leadership style, but Liu Xiongming's business in Fuche Mountain for several years. He had sufficient food and grass and gathered thousands of people. The camp was far away from important towns, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Luo Yao tried to use Liu Xiongming's banner.
Recruiting refugees, occupying Yoguan in the north, guarding Wuguan in the south, taking Fuche Mountain as the foundation in the middle, and looking into Guanzhong and Nanyang as the foundation of eternity.
But I didn't expect that the government and army would use their troops so quickly. Before they could secure the defense of the city, they would seize the gate at night. Now that the troops were approaching the city, it was really difficult to deal with it.
Although Luo Yao is good at hiding, he can only take people to hide in the mountains with the help of the terrain. But now he has thousands of old and weak people under his command, the target is so big, and there is no food or water in the mountains, how can he avoid pursuit?
When he was hesitating, the next person did not wait for Luo Yao to express his position. He jumped up and cursed: "These thieves killed so many of our brothers at night, and they dare to come to die! I will kill him!"
Liu Xiongming raised his right hand and said: "Wang Dang! You are just fooling around! Do you really want us to be unable to look back?"
The man named Wang Dang had a sinister look on his face and did not give Liu Xiong any face. He even shouted to himself: "We have gathered a crowd to defend ourselves. We are fighting against the imperial court. How can we get back? There are only a few people around this official who dare to
He went up the mountain to persuade us to surrender. He clearly looked down upon us. I had to kill him to boost the power of the army!"
Liu Xiongming turned blue with anger. He said to Luo Yao: "Mr. Luo! Look at the people under your command, they don't behave well!"
"What did you say? If you hadn't guarded the Pass, why would I have been like this? Do you still have the nerve to talk about me?" Wang Dang took a step toward Liu Xiongming, with an evil look on his face.
These words happened to touch on Liu Xiongming's pain point. He had lost all his majesty because of this incident, and he was worried that he could not cover up and make up for it. Unexpectedly, at this time, Wang Dang mercilessly exposed him. Several strong cronies around him
He immediately stood up and gathered around Liu Xiongming. The two parties immediately drew their swords at each other and glared at each other angrily.
Although Liu Xiongming's side had the upper hand in terms of numbers, in terms of ferocity, Wang Dang's side was the most powerful.
Luo Yao, who had not said a word for a long time, opened his mouth and scolded: "Wang Dang, please step back! Tell the general that you are not doing this."
After all, Wang Dang did not dare to disobey Luo Yao's words, so he reluctantly told Liu Xiong that he didn't want to, and then retreated with his men.
Upon seeing this, Liu Xiongming waved his hand to let everyone around him disperse. He was a generous man and no longer had any arguments with Wang Dang at this time. After calming down a little, he said: "At first, Mr. Liu advised me to stay at the pass to defend myself.
Times change, whether we advance into Guanzhong or retreat to Nanyang, as long as we have troops in our hands, we can go anywhere in the world? This is what Mr. Wang said, right?"
Luo Yao knew that this was not an attack on the enemy, but a targeted attack. It was just that he had misjudged the situation, so he gave in: "I thought that I was far away from Sanfu and in the mountains. The imperial court wanted to cultivate itself, so it would not wait for me.
We have mobilized our troops. Even if we come, we will occupy the pass first and repair it, and there will be nothing they can do. Unexpectedly, I misjudged the situation."
"We can't stop the imperial army. When I heard that the Yulin Army was coming, I gathered everyone and prepared to surrender." Liu Xiongming said slowly: "But you were unwilling to persuade my subordinates to insist on fighting with them.
The imperial court fought to the end, but now it has pushed me onto the tiger's back, with no way to get off."
Luo Yao smiled bitterly and said: "This time it's my fault, I will tell you..."
"No, it doesn't have to be like this."
Liu Xiongming did not need an apology from the other party. Although he was cowardly and greedy for life, he was not stupid. Luo Yao traveled thousands of miles and led everyone to join him. He roughly knew what he had in mind, but he was unwilling to say it out.
That’s all.
But at this critical moment of life and death, he had to be honest with the other party: "I, Liu Xiongming, am a mountain man. I don't want to be a prince or general. I just don't want to see the refugees who follow me suffer, so I took them and hid in Fuche Mountain.
To escape this troubled world."
Luo Yao was moved when he heard this, and he cupped his hands and said: "The general's benevolence and righteousness can win the heartfelt support of everyone, and I have always admired him for this. Now in times of crisis, we need people like the general to come forward and lead us to a way out."
"Sir, you are joking. Where do I have the resourcefulness to do all this?" Liu Xiongming stared at Luo Yao and said in a deep voice: "I don't know the details of your husband, but I know that you and I are the same kind of people, but in my heart
I think it is just a way of survival for thousands of people on this mountain, but my husband thinks more. He is ambitious and has great ambitions. I, Liu Xiongming, cannot compare to him, but please have mercy on these old and weak people. After all, they can't help.
Realize your ambition sir."
Luo Yao understood what Liu Xiongming meant. He took a deep breath and gave up the idea of continuing to persuade the other party to gather a crowd to resist. Instead, he replied: "Then this time, it will be as the general wishes. I just hope that the final result will not be too bad."
It’s just bad.”
The pagoda temple in the book is the real Wuzhen Temple, which is located in Lantian County, Xi'an City. Its history can be traced back to before the Western Jin Dynasty. In the 14th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty (AD 594), the eminent monk Jingye was ordered to build it and officially named it
"Wuzhen Temple". During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Master Shandao founded the Pure Land Sect in Wuzhen Temple, so this is the ancestral hall of the Pure Land Sect famous at home and abroad. The temple is located at the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain, with steep cliffs, winding water, and lush greenery.
With secluded forests, flowing clouds and waterfalls, it has been known as the "Sacred Place and Immortal Residence" since ancient times.