son-in-law

Chapter 816 Spring and Mire

Chapter 816 Spring and Mire

The first month of this year just started, in the Central Plains, Liu Yu carefully fulfilled his responsibilities to the Kingdom of Jin, and sent the prince Liu Lin to lead his troops across the Huaihe River to attack Wu. Mai, Zong Han, Zong Fu and others sent troops to the south - this is not the first time. In the past two or three years, Liu Yu knew that it was impossible to defeat the Wu Dynasty with his own strength, and he was worried about the black flag spies in the court He may kill himself anytime and anywhere, and has been looking forward to Jin Guo going south to solve all problems once and for all.

However, in March, a major incident occurred in the court of the Kingdom of Jin. Wu Qimai suffered a stroke and fell down. Since then, he has been unable to stand up again. The Messenger closes.

When the emperor fell ill, even the Kingdom of Jin had to stabilize its internal affairs first, so the South Expedition had to be shelved.

Liu Lin crossed the river and was defeated, leading the remnants of the defeated generals back, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Jin Guo, looked at the Southwest, the two terrifying forces were quiet and did not move, so that's fine.

For a period of time, everyone was able to survive carefully again...

It was also when the spring was warm and the flowers were blooming. On the thousands of miles of land along the line from Daming Mansion to Zhengzhou, the deserters with their families and their families passed through towns and passes with anxious eyes.The nearby government organized manpower, or blocked, or drove, or killed, trying to keep these hungry people out of the territory.

In relatively affluent areas, people in towns and cities have experienced the violent expropriation of Liu Yu's court and barely survived.Leaving the town and entering the mountains and forests, one will gradually enter hell.Bandits and caravans ran rampant and plundered everywhere, and the fleeing people had no shelter after leaving their hometowns. They gradually gathered towards the place where the rumored "Ghost King" was.The government also dispatched troops to disperse the refugees led by Wang Shitong twice in the boundary of Huazhou. The refugees were like a puddle of muddy water. They were punched a few times, scattered, and then gradually began to gather again.

This flood of refugees happens every year, compared to the Golden Kingdom in the north and the Black Flag in the south, it is not a big deal after all.Killed twice, the army will no longer be enthusiastic.Killing is not enough. Sending troops requires money and food. After all, it is necessary to manage one-third of an acre of land. Even if it is for the affairs of the world, it is impossible to spend all of your time.

Development is also important.

The Yellow River turned a big bend and ran all the way to the northeast. From the fields near Zhengzhou to the mountains and rivers near Damingfu, in many places, there are no chickens crowing for thousands of miles.Compared with the prosperity of the Wu Dynasty, the population of the Central Plains at this time has been reduced to three, and the mud walls of small villages have collapsed, abandoned and deserted, and groups of migrants are walking in the wilderness. Wang's bandits and Juxiao's horse bandits came and went, and most of them were ragged and disheveled.

The surviving villages and capable landlords built watchtowers and high walls. Many times, they were visited by the government and the army, and cartloads of goods were dragged away.The horse thieves also came, they could only come, and then either the horse thieves scattered, or the high wall was broken, and the killing and fire continued.The woman holding the baby was walking in the mud, she fell down at some point, and couldn't get up again, and finally the baby's crying gradually disappeared... In a world out of order, there are not many people who can protect themselves.

The once world of well-connected trade routes and silk and satin is gone in memory.

To the north of Puzhou, Wang Shitong, dressed in tattered black clothes and with messy hair, squatted on a rock staring blankly at the dark, messy crowd, hungry and emaciated people, his eyes had turned the color of blood.

"Wait, wait..." he murmured to his deputy, who was missing an arm.

Spring is warm and flowers are blooming. Many people who went south last year froze to death in that winter.More people gather here every day. Sometimes edible leaves, fruits, and small animals can be found in the woods. There are fish in the water. Some of the people who abandoned their homes and went south after the beginning of spring still have a little food.

They are not hungry enough.

Always hungry.

To the north of the Yellow River, in the original Tiger King's territory, after Tian Shi succeeded to the throne, he carried out massacres and a series of reforms.General Yu Yulin was holding the plow in the field and plowing the fields himself. After he came up from the field and washed away the mud, he saw Lou Shuwan, who was dressed in black, sitting in the grass shed by the side of the road and watching the news.

In the past few years, she had to deal with a lot of things at hand. The woman who worked under the dim oil lamp every night hurt her eyes. elder.After reading it, she straightened her body up, and Yu Yulin walked over, only to realize that the third iron cannon deal with Nanmian Heiqi had been completed.

After last year's coup d'etat, Yu Yulin held a large army and held a high position, and his relationship with Lou Shuwan also became closer.However, since then, he has spent most of his time in the north to stabilize the situation, keeping an eye on Wang Juyun, who is by no means a kind "ally" and the two sides have not met many times.

"A month ago, Wang Juyun's subordinate An Xifu came to discuss with me about the garrison and talked about Li Xizhi. I think Wang Juyun intends to start a war with Li Xizhi, so he came to test our intentions."

Yu Yulin sat down on the chair next to Lou Shuwan. Speaking of these things, Lou Shuwan folded her hands on her knees, thought about it, and smiled: "Wars are your business. What do I know as a woman? Whether it is good or bad, please explain it clearly to General Yu.”

Lou Shuwan's words seemed divided, but Yu Yulin had long been used to her alienated attitude and didn't care: "When the Tiger King was around, there were three of us in the north of the Yellow River. Now that our two families have joined forces, we can push Li Xizhi over. He pushed it away. One of Wang Juyun's meanings was that Li Xizhi is a bastard, and the Jurchens must have knelt down to beg for mercy when they killed her. Wang Juyun made it clear that the chariots and horses were against gold, and Li Xizhi might stab him in the back."

"That's good for them, not for us?" Lou Shuwan smiled.

In the south of Yanmen Pass, the forces on the north bank of the Yellow River are divided into three parts, and generally speaking, they are naturally the territory of Daqi.In fact, Liu Yu's confidant Li Xizhi controlled the east side, and Wang Juyun occupied the most chaotic area near Yanmen Pass, and they did not submit to Jurchen verbally.Among them, the best-developed Tian family power is because it occupies a mountainous area that is not easy to run horses, and instead has both sides.

Yu Yulin, Lou Shuwan and others who presided over the killing of the Tiger King this time can be regarded as the rational faction in the power, together with the radical Tian Shi and others, they have long been unable to stand the many drunken scum who are attached to the relatives of the Tian family. The management has not yet formed an intricate network of interests. After some killings, the internal excitement will be more or less effective, especially the transaction with the black flag, so that their private strength can increase a lot.However, due to the ambiguous position before, as long as they don't break up with the Jurchens immediately, there is always room for change when facing the Jurchens.

"Last year, the hungry ghosts made a big fuss, and the states in the east were empty. Now, as long as there is food, you can eat it. Moreover, with these iron cannons, it is also necessary to pick a soft persimmon to train soldiers. .But the most important thing is not this..."

When Yu Yulin spoke, Lou Shuwan interjected with a smile: "A lot of waste is waiting to be done, where there is still food left, pick a soft persimmon to train soldiers, just pick him. Anyway, we are good people under the Jin Kingdom, and it is only right and proper to take action against chaotic troops."

Yu Yulin also laughed: "The most important thing is not this point, Wang Juyun, An Xifu and others wanted to mess with Li Xizhi and provoke the black flag to attack."

Lou Shuwan was stunned: "Big talk, what's the matter with those people?"

"The black flag is in Shandong and has some operations."

Lou Shuwan looked at Yu Yulin, her eyes were deep, not in doubt.

"It's not just the black flag...Ning Yi used his plan to break Liangshan back then, borrowing the power of several Zhuangzi in Dulonggang. Later, he also trained in Dulonggang, and he has a lot of connections with the two Zhuangzi on the post. Zhujiazhuang Zhubiao and others People also worked under him. Three years later in Xiaocanghe, the black flag fled to the south. Although Li Xizhi occupied Shandong, Hebei and other places, the folk customs were strong, and he could not forcefully take many places. Dulonggang, Liangshan and other places , in it..."

Lou Shuwan naturally understood what Yu Yulin said.At the beginning when Ning Yi broke Liangshan and made friends with Dulonggang, which has a fierce folk customs, everyone didn't realize it too much.When Ning Yi killed the king, many things went back to the past, and people suddenly realized that Dulonggang was actually one of the origins of Ning Yi's armed forces. It was difficult to say how much he left there.

The three-year war at Xiaocanghe frightened the people of the Central Plains. Li Xizhi, who once attacked Xiaocanghe, naturally used troops against Dulonggang after he took control of Shandong, but to be honest, the fight was extremely difficult.The Zhu and Hu families of Dulonggang had no choice but to destroy Zhuangzi under the frontal advance of the officers and soldiers. Afterwards, they wandered around the Liangshan River and became bandits, which made Li Xizhi extremely embarrassed. , that area turned into an extremely chaotic no man's land.

Externally, the force behind the bandits in Dulonggang and Shuibo is actually the enemy of the Black Banner Army - Nanwu.At the beginning of Ning Yi's regicide, many people were involved. The female family members of the great Confucian Wang Qisong's family survived with the protection of the crown prince Zhou Junwu, while Wang Shanyue, the only descendant of the Wang family, was originally an official in the south of the Yangtze River. After the regicide incident, he was protected by his wife Hu Sanniang and went north. , took shelter in Hujiazhuang.After the fall of the Central Plains, he did not forget to worry about the country despite his guilt, and always led the people to deal with the Jurchen and Daqi officers and soldiers. Therefore, on the surface, this place belongs to the resistance forces of Nanwu.

There are not a few forces that care about the Southern Dynasty in the Central Plains, but it is easier to be tolerated. Li Xizhi's crusade failed several times, so he let go of his thoughts, and everyone stopped mentioning it too much.It was only this year that there was movement in the south, and such and such speculations began to float again.

"Wang Juyun feels that there are black flags in the north now, of course there are. Unlike the black flag spies in the court and the army, the one in Shandong is likely to be the black flag elites who have fallen down. If Li Xizhi's internal chaos , with Ning Yi's shrewdness, it is impossible not to come out to take advantage of it. If he wants to take advantage of it, he has to take risks. In the future, when the Jurchens go south, Shandong will definitely be the first priority. At that time, he will have to rely on you and me, at least he will also hope We can last a little longer."

"What if the black flag doesn't move?"

"The interests of Shandong and Hebei will be shared equally between us. If Jurchen goes south, we can naturally hide back in the mountains. Shandong...isn't that great."

"...He is determined to fight the Jurchens."

"The Han people can mess with you and me, but not with the barbarians. An Xifu's original words."

"...Wang Shangshu." Lou Shuwan thought for a while, then laughed. She also saw Wang Yin, the Shangshu of the Yongle Uprising, when she was in Hangzhou, but she was young at that time, and the memory of more than ten years ago now comes to mind. , has also been blurred, but there is a special feeling in my heart.

At that time, the naive and young woman had only fear in her heart, and when she saw those people who entered Hangzhou, she thought they were rough and unprofessional mud legs.At this time, after seeing the fall of the Central Plains, the overthrow of the world, the livelihood of millions of people in his hands, and the fear of the Jurchen threat, he suddenly felt that among the people who entered the city at the beginning, there seemed to be some great men who stood up to heaven and earth. hero.This hero is also very different from the original hero.

"Looks like a great good man." Yu Yulin said, then stood up and took two steps, "But at this moment, it seems that this hero, you and me, everyone in the court, a million troops, and even the world are all like It was played by that person in the applause."

Lou Shuwan looked calm and did not speak. Yu Yulin sighed: "Ning Yi is still alive. It should be confirmed. From this point of view, he was also behind the chaos last year. It's ridiculous that we fought against each other. Death, which is related to the life and death of millions of people, is just a marionette for others."

As Yu Yulin said this, he didn't look too depressed.Lou Shuwan's thumb pressed lightly on the palm of her hand: "Brother Yu is also an outstanding person in the world, so why belittle yourself, the world is prosperous, it's all about profit. He made the best use of the situation, and we got profit, that's all." After she said this, Yu Yulin looked at her Raising her head, she murmured softly: "Among the applause..." For this description, she didn't know what she thought of, and there was a bitter and charming look in her eyes, which was fleeting.The spring breeze blows the hair of this independent woman, and in front of her is the ever-extending green field.

"A few days ago, I met with Master Lin of the Great Bright Sect, and I agreed with them to continue to build temples and preach here. Soon, I also want to join the Great Bright Sect." Yu Yulin looked over, and Lou Shuwan looked forward , said in a calm tone, "Great Guangming Sect's teachings, under Mingzun, is listed as a descendant of the world, and can control the high and low rudders of the Great Guangming Sect here. To recruit monks and soldiers by ourselves. To the north of the Yellow River, we support them and help them develop on the territory of Wang Juyun and Li Xizhi. They collect food from the south, and we can help them take care of it and transport it... Hierarch Lin has great ambitions and has already agreed .”

She smiled: "After a while, people will know that the king is also a god from the sky, he is the living King Xuan, brother Yu, you are also a god general who patrols the sky on behalf of the sky. King Tota is still the king of Chiguo, brother Yu, you may as well Choose yourself."

Yu Yulin looked at her for a long time: "That monk is not a kind person, so be careful."

"In this world, if you don't want to bear children, you can't catch a wolf. I can save it, or he will eat me, or I will eat him."

Yu Yulin stopped talking.The two stood and sat, looking forward for a long time.At some point, there was a low murmur floating in the air.

"...in the palm of your hand..."

"...Sooner or later, I will bite a piece of his flesh..."

The two dignitaries talked for a long time in the field outside, and when they returned to the city in a carriage, a bright sunset glow had already risen from the sky, and the sunset glow fell on the city wall of Weisheng.The road was bustling with people, and there were many beggars beside the city gate, but compared with the land of Central Plains at this time, after more than ten years of peace, this town showed an unspeakable stability and calmness. Despair can always gather vitality and vitality in this corner.

"Guarding the soil, keeping the people safe in the four realms, Miss Lou, it's all thanks to you, you are so kind." Yu Yulin said this when he lifted the curtain of the car.

Lou Shuwan looked at the crowd outside with a calm expression, as it has been for many years, but there are actually not many vivid expressions on her face.

There is no one left to share this with her...

(End of this chapter)