No one asked such stupid questions as "Why should we withdraw our troops?"
It's because Pei Sui and Cheng Jingjun know very well: If they don't want to become the eternal sinners of Daliang and really don't want to rebel from Nanliang, they have to retreat as soon as possible.
The reason is: regardless of whether Li Chengzhi's plan succeeds or not, whether the relatives of Chang Yizhi, Pei Sui and others will fall into the plan and escape Jiankang. However, it will only wait for the confidants he secretly sent or be bribed by him.
, or those prisoners who were coerced by him will return to Jiankang, Chang Yizhi and the other three people's secrets will naturally be known throughout the city.
It is precisely these secrets that are like a certainty and cannot be true anymore. In addition, Li Chengzhi fabricated "Chang Yi's plot to become self-reliant" and "Chang and Pei wanted to lead an army to surrender to Wei" and other rumors fabricated accordingly.
There will be a clamor in the dust, making it impossible for Xiao Yan and the Southern Liang Dynasty to distinguish the true from the false.
However, since the Jin Dynasty, every generation of the Southern Dynasties has committed the following crimes, using ministers to kill the king to steal the country. It has gone through five dynasties, including the current emperor Xiao Yan.
Therefore, Xiao Yan behaves like a benevolent emperor, but everyone in the Southern Liang Dynasty knows that the most taboo thing for the emperor is for the generals to support their troops with self-respect. The most worrying thing is that there are people like Liu Yu of the Song Dynasty and Xiao Daocheng of the Qi Dynasty.
Like Liang Zhixiao Yan, he also wants to taste what it is like to be an emperor.
By then, the Emperor of Nanliang and the court would be in panic. The best outcome left for Chang Yizhi, Pei Sui and others is to return to the capital immediately and actively avoid suspicion. It is also possible that those who came with the decree will still be there.
There is an imperial envoy conducting a secret investigation.
The saying that the house leaks only when it rains all night long refers to the situation right now: when the situation is unpredictable and the wind and clouds are turbulent. If there is another sudden change of generals, it will be even worse.
This time, that time. No matter who comes this time, even if Xiao Yan comes in person, even if Fuluo, Yuan Li, Yu Zhong and others are talking happily and bursting into tears, the new commander will never believe that "Li Chengzhi is a gift from heaven."
, "You can make decisions thousands of miles away in the temple", and rhetoric such as "thunder from the sky".
Just like Chang Yi's firm belief that "hearing is false" and seeing is true, no matter how cautious the new general is, he cannot imagine Li Chengzhi's various methods. Therefore, once he engages in battle, he will definitely be defeated like a mountain.
Falling thousands of miles apart.
By then, how many of these 100,000 troops can escape back to Nanliang alive?
And even if Nanliang's national strength is not weak, how many more times can it recruit "a hundred thousand troops"?
For such a big defeat, someone must take the blame. You can even guess with your toes that it won't be the emperor. Then only Chang Yizhi or Pei Sui will be left, or they may be brothers in trouble.
Therefore, instead of losing, losing troops and generals, and being infamy for the rest of your life, it is better to just let it go.
It won’t be too late to explain to the emperor when everyone returns to Jiankang...
After learning from the painful experience, Pei Sui gritted his teeth and said, "Then retreat!"
"Retreat immediately...Immediately send an order to Lan Ziyun to withdraw to Chencang..."
Chang Yi nodded firmly, "When we return to the south bank, we will dig up the upper reaches of the river dam. When night falls, we will return to Chencang overnight..."
"Okay!"
Pei Sui summoned his confidants with a bitter look on his face and sent orders everywhere.
Chang Yizhi turned around and looked at his cronies who were kneeling on the ground and Cheng Jingjun who was slumped on the couch: "Don't be afraid...it's a top secret and will be known to the whole world soon, so why do you need to keep silent? As for Jingjun...
…”
He pondered for a while, "Since ancient times, people have always been filial and loving. Furthermore, Your Majesty is lenient and will definitely give you a wide berth, so don't worry..."
The two of them agreed repeatedly, and Chang Yizhi waved his hands and walked down the hall: "My son, Mr. Li, has prepared a generous gift for me. Then come with me to see what novel things they are... Yuan Ming is here too."
..."
The henchman quickly helped Cheng Jingjun up. After hearing this, Pei Sui whispered a few words to the henchman who had given the order and walked over.
"When I came, my husband gave me all kinds of explanations and gave me some small gifts. I also hope that the county magistrate will not take it too lightly..."
Li Rui took the lead and was about to open the box for Chang Yi, but Chang Yi shouted: "It's no trouble... Come on, please open the box for me..."
Following the words, several soldiers immediately opened the curtain and entered, standing between Chang Yizhi and Li Rui.
Li Rui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: Is Chang Yizhi preparing for his sudden assassination?
He was so embarrassed that he stepped back obediently and made a gesture of invitation, which meant that he could have his trusted aide in the tent do the work for him.
Li Chengzhi warned him when he arrived, saying that as long as Li Rui honestly delivered the letter and put the words on his behalf, most of the plan would be completed. He must not have any evil thoughts or make unnecessary moves, otherwise it would ruin his big event.
.
So Li Rui has never had such thoughts.
Furthermore, when the gift box was brought into the account, it was roughly inspected by Chang Yizhi's confidants, and Li Rui did not hide anything, telling him that the box contained swords, armor and other items. Therefore, Chang Yizhi had to guard against...
Seeing the soldier opening the lid of the box, Li Rui introduced it with great satisfaction: "This box is the unique 'white knife' of our Li family in Jingzhou... It blows hair and breaks hair, and cuts iron like mud. It can be called the world's greatest treasure..."
”
As the lid of the box opened, he felt a silver light stabbing him, and Chang Yizhi narrowed his eyes involuntarily.
Afterwards, Pei Sui and Cheng Jingjun also lit up their eyes.
"The white sword... even when I sent it to Xuzhou, I heard a little bit about it. It was rumored that it was made by the Li family in Guanzhong who obtained meteorite iron from the sky. At that time, I thought that it should be made by the Li family in Longxi, but unexpectedly it was actually made by Li family in Jingzhou.
Family?"
Chang Yi was amazed in his mouth and even more amazed in his eyes. He stretched out his hand and took the knife into his hand.
"Yuan Ming, come and see, is it really just as rumored? This sword is really as bright as a mirror?"
Pei Sui heard the words and moved forward. Before anyone could get closer, he first saw a human face appearing on the mirror-like blade.
He has a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, isn't he Pei Sui?
Pei Sui stretched out his hand to take the long knife, and was surprised and suspicious: "I heard that this knife is indestructible. It can cut even a two-minute-thick stainless steel armor leaf in two?"
This was a bit exaggerated. Li Rui couldn't respond directly. He just said with a smile: "Now the sword is in the hands of the county master. You will know it once you try it."
Just try it.
If it is broken, it proves that it is a rumor spread by the world, let alone a treasure, so there is no need to feel bad.
After a few shouts, a soldier immediately sent a pair of armor.
Li Rui could tell at just one glance that either the craftsman was lazy or the craftsmanship was not good, and the armor leaves on this armor were still mixed.
If it were a beetle like this, it would really be possible to cut it into two pieces...
Just as he was thinking about it, the soldiers rolled up the armor into a ball and placed it on the ground. Pei Sui raised the sword above his head, exhaled and chopped it down with the force of an axe.
As the swords and armor struck each other, I saw a flash of sparks and heard a crisp "ding" sound.
Looking carefully, the two armor leaves struck by the blade were cut open with a gap that was more than a minute deep. Even if it was not broken, it was only missing a little.
The sound of soldiers and confidants sucking in cold air suddenly sounded in the tent. They knew very well that if the armor leaves on the left and right sides had not withstood such a strong force, the two armor leaves would have broken long ago.
Seeing that the truth was just like the rumors, Pei Sui was not happy but was shocked, with a stern look on his face: "This knife happened to be delivered to three people. Could it be that the county magistrate, me, and General Bingcheng each took one bite? Li Chengzhi is trying to frame us and others.
, are you really willing to give it up?"
"The county has misunderstood. Although this sword is sharp, it is far from as rare as the rumors in the world... Just because our Li's Weapon Workshop can forge more than a thousand swords every day, there is no such thing as 'framing' or 'giving up'.
, It’s just a small gift from Mr. Lang to the three of you..."
Thousands of weapons are made every day, do you think these are weeds in the field?
Pei Sui sneered: "Is it possible that the sky sent a meteorite mountain to your Li family?"
"Just as the county son said, the sky did not drop a meteorite mountain to give me the Li family! But how can the county man believe that this knife must be made of damaged stone? Just like the thunder that day, when I asked the late emperor, my family
Didn't Mr. Lang also swear that it was made from chickens?"
Heavenly thunder is made from chickens... Are you coaxing ghosts?
Li Rui's expression was extremely serious and respectful, but in Pei Sui's eyes, it was extremely hateful.
At the same time, he finally understood that Li Chengzhi's name was to give a gift, but in reality it was a demonstration: he could make more than a thousand swords in one day, doesn't it mean that all the Wei troops today are equipped with this sword?
A famous general is worthy of being a famous general. Although Chang Yizhi is also very angry, he is not as angry as Pei Sui. He is more or less rational.
He waved his hand to ask Pei Sui to calm down, and then ordered the left and right to open all the wooden boxes in the tent.
There was also a box of sabers, but there were ten of them, and there were no three white knives. One of them had a beautiful scabbard and was oiled.
Only the blade and the surface of the blade are stained with rust.
Cheng Jingjun came over and asked in a low voice: "County Marquis, what does Li Chengzhi mean?"
"If even ordinary soldiers are equipped with such treasures, how could Yuan Li and Yu Zhong not know about it? Therefore, Yuan Ming did not guess wrong. The three white knives were actually framed by Li Chengzhi... If it is not what I expected,
This box was used by Li Chengzhi to show off his power..."
Chang Yizhi sighed sadly: "Yuan Ming still remembers that the hundreds of soldiers who came with Li Rui were all equipped with this sword... Well, let's give it a try..."
After thinking for a moment, Pei Sui suddenly realized: Are they really exactly the same?
Immediately, a soldier came forward, picked up a handful, and chopped it down with the armor on the ground.
Hearing a ding sound again, and taking a closer look, although it was not as deep as the white knife cut just now, it was still quite close.
The corners of Pei Sui's eyes twitched slightly, he took a step forward, glanced anxiously at the other boxes, and ordered the soldiers to try them one by one.
A pair of iron-forged full armor: as thin as paper and as light as silk and linen, it only weighs about thirty kilograms in your hand at most, but it is not strong enough.
Pei Sui asked the soldiers to try it as if he didn't believe in evil. He even struck twice with the white knife, but only two shallow marks were left.
An iron bow, the back of the bow and the arrows are all made of fine iron. Judging from its size, it is only a few buckets, but it can pull a stone bow. Pei Sui used his strength to pull the bow, and the bow arm was only slightly bent.
Turned.
When he summoned the warriors in the army, he realized that the bow cost at least three stones. As long as it could be fully drawn, an iron arrow weighing nearly a kilogram would be able to shoot a hundred feet away.
Chang Yizhi and Pei Sui both thought that sending this bow was to demonstrate Li Chengzhi's bravery. Don't they know that they were wrong?
"The three bows are combined into one crossbow, so it is called a three-piece crossbow, also known as a ten-stone crossbow. Its power is extremely heavy, and it can shoot a crossbow gun as thick as a child's arm to a distance of two hundred bows, which is enough to penetrate gold.
Split stone. Because it is light, it can be used not only to defend the city, but also to attack the city...
When marching, you only need to carry a cart and a horse to carry it, and you can go anywhere. If the cart and horse are inconvenient, it can be divided into three, and ordinary infantry can also carry it..."
Listening to Li Rui's words, Pei Sui gritted his teeth in hatred.
He finally understood that these armors and bows all have the same purpose: even with the power of this sword and armor. I, Li Chengzhi, will never be afraid of you. If you want to fight, then fight...
Just as I was secretly feeling resentful, I heard Chang Yizhi ask again: "What is this?"
When he heard the sound, he looked over and saw his bodyguard taking something out of a box. It seemed to be a wooden cart, just as large as possible, as if it was a child's plaything.
It was given to Chang Yizhi’s youngest son... How could Li Chengzhi be so kind?
"It seems like... a stone cannon?"
Chang Yi Zhiji muttered something strangely, but as soon as he finished speaking, his face suddenly froze.
There is a line of small words written on the arm of the cart: Even if you retreat to Chencang, you can't hold it!
Seeing him stunned, Pei Sui approached him suspiciously. After just a few glances, his face turned the color of pig liver.
"Child Li... is he too bully?"
The murderous aura in Pei Sui's body was so real that even if Li Rui took two or three steps away, he could feel it.
He couldn't help but leaned closer to Chang Yizhi, thinking that this old man was almost driven to a dead end by Lang Jun, and he was even more annoyed to the extreme. He wouldn't hate Wu Jiwu and kill him with a knife on the spot.
?
"Don't just look at the word, look at the car..."
Chang Yizhi sighed sadly, "This thing is so ingenious and unique that it must have been made by Duke Li, right?"
Li Rui responded respectfully: "The county magistrate has good eyesight... With the advice of Lang Jun, the craftsmen in the camp worked day and night to make it for two months. Now we have more than 3,000 cannons in our army... If they are placed on the ground, fifty cannons can be
Thousands of pounds of stone bullets were thrown a hundred feet away..."
After listening to the two of them bragging, Pei Sui suppressed his anger and took a closer look.
As Li Chengzhi once said: Any craftsman with some experience, or someone who has led military expeditions for many years, can see how simple this thing is after just one glance: it just omits the connecting rod and the rope for pulling the knife.
Just replaced it with a stone.
Sending such a model to Chang Yizhi at this time can certainly enable the Southern Army to see the true appearance of the thing a few days in advance, but the pressure is not so great: I wonder if the small Chencang Pass can withstand three
How many rounds will more than a thousand stone cannons smash?
Moreover, Li Chengzhi’s back tricks don’t end with this trick.
Li Rui pointed to the last box: "There is still this thing. Can Li demonstrate it outside the tent for the county magistrate?"
It was an iron can about the size of a human head, with a faint smell of strange smell. Chang Yi's heart moved: "Thunder?"
What are you dreaming about?
Li Rui shook his head: "No...this is fire oil that is still flammable in the water. Qingshui County was destroyed in half a day because of this..."
Even if it is splashed with water, it will not be destroyed, like a maggot attached to a bone...
Chang Yi suddenly thought of what Fu Luo once said, and gritted his teeth: "Then let's act it out!"
There was a commotion and everyone came out of the tent.
There was a puddle dug in the camp to attract water for the horses to drink. Li Rui poured the kerosene from the jar into it and explained: "If it was a war, the kerosene would be filled with porcelain jars, and the hair would be decorated with match ropes."
, ignite before ejection. When the oil tank falls into the city or the formation, it will break into pieces, and then the fire will start...just like this..."
Li Rui blew the fire stick with a puff, took a few steps back, raised his hand and threw it into the water.
With a "boom", it was like a fire dragon emerging from the ground, and the entire puddle was on fire.
Just like seeing a fierce ghost, Chang Yi's eyes were about to burst: "Chang... is convinced..."