Fengzhou City is located on the Yangtze River. Most of the supplies in the southwest counties of Xia Kingdom pass through this city. Therefore, before Fengzhou, it was one of the largest cities in the southwest of Xia Kingdom, prosperous and prosperous.
It is a pity that the war that spread to the entire southwest of Xia Kingdom was started by the Shao family in Fengzhou. The old Shao family owner was short-sighted and did not think about retreat. Therefore, the local people suffered the most in the entire southwest.
The water transport terminal, which used to be extremely prosperous and filled with ships constantly coming and going, has now been burned to the ground by a fire. So far, the local Xia government has not bothered to repair it.
In Fengzhou City, the former prosperity can be vaguely seen on the wide streets. On both sides of the streets, there are still scattered pots and pans, but no one is picking them up or cleaning them up.
There are a few shops open on both sides of the road. But on the street, there are only a few passers-by with sad faces and hurried steps, with no intention of visiting. The image of all businesses in ruins is particularly desolate.
The Xia Kingdom border military captain, wearing armor, marched on the street with his soldiers.
Seeing the angry looks cast by passers-by on the roadside and their evasive attitudes towards them, the faces of all the soldiers looked a little ugly.
The captain, the captain, glanced at these people coldly, his face was ashen, and he hummed:
"I don't know what's good or bad!"
These Xia troops were the generals under King Qi. After they retreated from the northern border of Yun Kingdom, they attacked Fengzhou City and slaughtered all the generals who had harmed the people.
He was originally the one who came to save them from the fire and water, but now whenever he comes out wearing military uniforms and official robes, he is greeted with cold eyes and full of hostility.
The army came forward to organize the people to repair the water transport terminal and provide work in exchange for relief. This was a good thing, but no one from the people in the city came. Even the soldiers stationed in the city went out to buy things, and no merchants were willing to sell them if they gave them money.
Such treatment naturally made all the soldiers unhappy.
But the ordinary people in the city did not understand which soldiers were the private soldiers of the Southwest General, and which soldiers were under the command of King Qi. In their hearts, they only knew that the people from the imperial court were killing people, causing the death of nine out of ten families in Fengzhou City.
Empty, like a hell on earth.
In today's situation where people's resentment is boiling, Fengzhou City has not expelled officials like some cities, and is still in the hands of the Xia court. There are two main reasons.
Firstly, it was because the large troops stationed in Fengzhou City were transferred from elsewhere by King Qi. Therefore, they were not like those soldiers from the southwest who saw the tragic situation in their hometown.
Secondly, most of the people in Fengzhou City were slaughtered, and nine of the ten houses were empty. The people were weak and unable to muster much strength to fight against the army.
The soldiers behind him saw that their captain's face was livid and seemed to be furious. He quickly stepped forward to stop him and persuaded him:
"Captain, forget it. What happened to the people in this city is indeed terrible..."
When the captain heard this, he was still indignant and cursed in a rough voice:
"Everyone is more stubborn now. Then when the war broke out, why didn't you fight with those beasts? Didn't you even have a kitchen knife at home? Oh, now you know how to show off your face to us, and it's not just because you looked at me
They are so easy to bully! If it weren’t for the commander’s military orders, I would have slashed them to death with a knife. Bah, what a bunch of cowards!”
As he spoke, the captain put his hand on the scabbard at his waist, looked around fiercely, and said with murderous intent:
"If you make me angry, I won't be punished by military law at all, but I have to vent the evil fire in my heart for my brothers!"
When several pedestrians heard the captain's attitude, they panicked and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look again, and ran over quickly.
When the captain saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said haha:
"Hahaha, brothers, look, they are just a bunch of cowards!"
When the soldiers behind him saw this, many of them followed, laughing and swearing.
There were also some soldiers who did not open their mouths to insult, but could not bear the treatment of the people in the city.
But these people also knew that their colleagues had a lot of unhappiness in their hearts when facing the cold eyes of the people. Anyway, it was just a verbal threat, which would not make the situation they were in worse, so they did not say anything to dissuade them.
At this time, a soldier suddenly pointed to an alley and said:
"Captain, there is someone there."
The captain's hand holding the handle of the knife suddenly tightened, and he looked warily in the direction pointed by the soldier.
But in the alley to the side, he saw a ragged figure huddled on the ground, shivering constantly.
Seeing this, the captain glared at his subordinates angrily.
He thought just now that the dirty words he said out of anger really made someone angry.
"The people in Fengzhou City are not dead yet, so why is it so strange to see an individual?" the captain snorted.
Having said this, the captain paused slightly, softened his tone slightly, and said:
"Go and have a look. If there is still hope, take it back to the military camp and have a look!"
"Yes!" A soldier responded immediately and trotted forward to check.
The soldier stepped forward to take a look, but suddenly his face changed drastically. He stumbled and fell to the ground, pointing at the man. His whole body was trembling, and his lips were trembling so much that he could not speak.
When the captain saw this, he frowned and walked towards that side, saying:
"What's wrong?"
"Don't, don't, don't come here, it's like a plague!" The soldier who fell to the ground said with a look of defeat on his face and a hint of crying.
The army is most afraid of plague and is always extremely vigilant about similar illnesses. Therefore, even ordinary soldiers know some symptoms of plague.
When the captain heard this, his expression changed drastically. While preventing his subordinates from approaching, he covered his mouth and nose and stepped forward.
But he saw the skinny man on the ground, his face was sickly red, his forehead was covered with sweat, his whole body was shaking, and there was still yellow-brown feces that was still wet under his crotch.
All kinds of symptoms immediately shocked the captain and said in disbelief:
"Impossible. As soon as our army entered the city, we already cleaned up the corpses in the city. It's winter again, and the corpses haven't rotted yet. Why, why is there a plague?"
The frontier troops who entered the city were all carefully trained by King Qi and could be called elites. It was natural that they did not know how to prevent the plague. As soon as they entered Fengzhou City, they cleaned up the corpses in the city. It was winter again, the weather was cold, and the corpses had not yet rotted.
, logically there should not be a plague!
The soldiers on the side trembled all over, pointed at the man's hand, and said in horror:
"Meat, meat..."
When the captain heard this, he immediately looked over.
Then I saw that in the man's hand, he was holding a piece of rotten flesh the size of a palm, with yellow oil and some blackening.
The captain stumbled, his legs softened, and he almost fell to the ground. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Hurry, go and report to the army!"
"yes!"
-----------------------
A muffled sound of "boom, boom, boom" was heard, the ground seemed to shake, and some small stones scattered on the official road also trembled.
Pedestrians on the official road heard the commotion, looked up, and saw thousands of cavalry in the distance with solemn looks, riding war horses, roaring towards them like huge black waves.
In the battle formation, the banner with the word "Cheng" and the banner with the word "Zhenbei" fluttered in the wind and made a hunting sound, attracting attention.
When pedestrians on the official road saw this movement, they hurriedly got out of the way for fear of blocking the way of these cavalry.
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry roared past, and among the crowds of people on both sides of the official road who were taking shelter, some people suddenly cheered, and some even waved to these cavalry.
A man dressed as a businessman couldn't help but feel a little confused when he saw this scene. He turned around and grabbed the person next to him, and asked in confusion:
"What's wrong with you?"
The face of the person walking beside him turned red with excitement. When he saw him holding her, he leaned over and said in a loud voice:
"What did you say? There was too much noise, so I couldn't hear it clearly!"
The merchant had no choice but to raise his voice and ask loudly:
"I said, who is this person and why are you so excited?"
"Have you seen the banner of General Zhenbei? This is Cheng Zhenbei! General Zhenbei Cheng Bushi, who turned the tide in the north, defeated the Xia Kingdom, and conquered the lost territory!" His face turned red and his eyes were filled with excitement.
.
Upon hearing this, the merchant looked at the cavalry going away, frowned, seemed a little unhappy, and whispered:
"It turns out he is Cheng Bushi!"
At this time, the cavalry had roared away, and the surroundings were no longer as noisy as before. The merchant thought he had lowered his voice, but he still let his companions hear him.
When the people traveling with him heard this, they frowned, looked at the merchant, and said unhappily:
"Your words are extremely disrespectful. Cheng Zhenbei is the one who turned the tide. It is my famous general Dayun. How come you...are you from the Xia Kingdom?"
His words were immediately heard by pedestrians on the side, and everyone immediately looked at him with scrutiny.
The merchant's scalp suddenly went numb under the gaze of everyone.
He rolled his eyes, sneered, quickly raised his hands, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"General Cheng Zhenbei is brave! I, General Dayun, are invincible wherever our soldiers come!"
After hearing this, everyone on the side looked away with satisfaction.
Seeing that he had been fooled, the merchant breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and saw the contemptuous expressions of his men. His face suddenly turned red and he couldn't help cursing:
"What are you looking at? My Dayun soldiers are all gone. Why don't you hurry up and set off!"
Seeing his bullying behavior, the gang couldn't help but cursed in their hearts, and then they shouted and pulled the truck onto the official road again.
Among the cavalry who had just left, Cheng Bushi was wearing armor. He was lying on his horse and galloping.
The soldiers guarding the side looked at the looming city in front of them, quickly rode their horses towards them, and shouted loudly:
"General, it's getting late, why don't we start repairs in the city ahead today?"
Cheng Bushi heard the words, raised his head slightly to look at the sky, and immediately said in a deep voice:
"Entering the city for repairs is suspected of disturbing the people. Send an order not to enter the city for repairs and find a place to station! This place is only two or three days away from the capital. After returning to the capital, I will ask for an order and respectfully request your majesty to reward the army.
!”
When the soldiers on the side heard this, they immediately responded, pulled up their horses, and went down to deliver the order.
Thousands of cavalrymen, after hearing the military order, even though they were exhausted, did not complain and responded in unison. Cheng did not realize the strictness of running the army, so it was easy to reflect this subtlety.
And at this moment, the cavalry scouts in front suddenly reported that a group of men and horses in front, holding the flag of Xia State, blocked the army.
When Cheng Bushi heard this, his brows suddenly furrowed and he immediately raised his whip.
The soldiers on the side immediately shouted orders and the army stopped.
A moment later, under military orders, thousands of cavalrymen stopped their horses and stopped slowly.
On a high slope not far away, King Qi looked at the thousands of cavalry who were well-trained and ordered to stop, and the formation was not chaotic. He couldn't help but said:
"Now when I look at the soldiers under Cheng Buji's command, I can't help but sigh in admiration. My defeat is not unfair!"
In the past battle in the northern border, Cheng Bushi relied on strict military management and caution. He just relied on a military stronghold and a weak force to resist the attacks of tens of thousands of his own troops in turn, and then he seized the opportunity.
Turn defeat into victory.
Feng Chu on the side heard this, shook his head slightly and said:
"I am not good at military formations, but His Highness, a veteran on the battlefield, is also impressed. This shows the ability of this general who Zhenbei!"
King Qi chuckled lightly, reined in his horse, and said loudly:
"Let's go and meet him! It's said that I have been fighting with him for several months, but I don't even know what he looks like. This doesn't make sense."
After saying that, King Qi took control of his war horse and galloped away in the direction Cheng Bu knew.
Cheng Bushi looked at the Xia State delegation's convoy not far away, blocking the official road, with a look of deep contemplation in his eyes.
Next to Cheng Bushi, there were three young Mohist disciples wearing simple clothes and hemp shoes.
Seeing this motorcade with the Xia Kingdom flag, they couldn't help but look at each other.
"Now Yun and Xia have signed a peace treaty. The Xia flag on this motorcade must be the returning Xia delegation!" The leader of the Mohist disciples said to Cheng Bushi.
When another Mohist disciple heard this, he couldn't help but wonder:
"The Xia Kingdom mission is returning, why are they here?"
They followed Cheng Bushi and returned to Beijing from the northern border of Yun Kingdom. Although this road could also lead to Xia Kingdom, for the Xia Kingdom envoy who wanted to return to Jinling City, this was undoubtedly a long detour!
Cheng Bushi squinted at the small group of people riding in front of him and said in a deep voice:
"Let's go and have a look with my general!"
With the support of thousands of cavalry behind him, Cheng Bushi was not afraid that the Xia people would have any evil intentions.
When the three Mohist disciples heard this, they immediately responded.
Cheng Bushi led three Mohist disciples and a group of personal guards, drove out of the army, and faced the approaching King Qi.
At this time, King Qi was not wearing the python robe of the Prince of Xia. However, he was from the royal family and had a graceful and noble aura. He was also tempered in the military, and his temperament was particularly conspicuous. At first glance, he was not a simple person.
King Qi was riding on a war horse, looking at Cheng Bushi not far away, slightly cupping his hands, and said loudly:
"Cheng Zhenbei, in order to meet you this time, I specially waited for a while in Zhongqing City, and even led the delegation to detour to Jiangyang County. It is not easy!"
Cheng Bushi heard the words and immediately understood the identity of the visitor. He immediately cupped his hands slightly towards King Qi and said in a deep voice:
"It turns out to be His Highness King Qi of Xia State. I am wearing armor and cannot perform the ceremony properly. Please forgive me!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I read several books and gained quite a lot of insights.
The secret main line is to develop national strength. But this is not easy to string together, so other things have to be used as the overt main line, so a few things are temporarily added to the outline.
Well, actually, in this special period, I don't want to touch the plague, because the level of review by Dian Niang is really a bit...
But this flash of an idea can make the original story more reasonable. It would be a pity not to write it down. So, let’s write it down first...