"The long history also knows that I was once a merchant, and I was not abandoned by the general. I was taken out of the market and given the task of driving. The general was tolerant and tolerant, knew people well, and did not think that I came from a humble background. He promoted me to the prefect of Two Thousand Stones, and was responsible for the area. send."
At this point, Wang Qiang paused for a moment before continuing: "In today's world, besides generals, who else would have such faith in a person of my origin? So, even if everyone in Yulin rebels, I am the only one left, and I, Wang Qiang, will never betray the general!"
Wu Dang's expression softened when he heard this. Indeed, perhaps only a unique person like Liu Jing in the world would let a man with a business background serve as the prefect of Two Thousand Stones.
The Han people regard a county as a state, and a two-thousand-stone prefect is a prince in ancient times. No matter how many families have struggled for generations, it is difficult to match it. The Wu family can also be considered a large family. Counting from the ancestor Wu Ba, in the past three hundred years, The prefect can count the two thousand stones he has produced on one hand.
"Now Zhang Jin is coming with a large number of people from the whole state. The forest is full of people, and people are rebellious. I don't know what Chang Shi wants, so I spoke to test him."
Wu Dang immediately put the sword back into its sheath, lifted up his clothes, bowed down, and apologized to Wang Qiang, saying: "My official faulted the Ming Dynasty by mistake. I was so angry just now that I couldn't control myself, and my words and deeds were like Meng Lang's. I still hope that the Ming Dynasty will do so." Don’t be surprised.”
"He who doesn't know is not guilty." Wang Qiang hurriedly stepped forward to help Wu Dang up, and then smiled with lingering fear: "I just didn't expect Chang Shi to be so loyal and staunch. If I hadn't explained in time, blood would have been spilled today."
Wu Dang was indeed a loyal and staunch man. Historically, Sun Quan had a conflict with Liu Bei over the ownership of Jingzhou and sent troops to attack the three counties of Jingnan. Wu Dang was the county magistrate of Ancheng in Changsha at the time. He occupied the city and refused, saying: "Dang is the emperor's son." He was appointed as the (county) chief, knowing that there were Han people, but not knowing that there were Wu people." Later, he fought with Lu Dai and Lu Su. Even though he was defeated, he refused to surrender. After the defeat, he returned to his hometown in Jiaozhou and never served the Sun family for the rest of his life.
Wu Dang said sternly: "A man should be loyal and filial in his life. "Zuo Zhuan" says: 'On the Shengda Festival, the first time you keep the festival, the next time you lose it.' The lower officials were recommended by the generals and became the long history of Yulin. They should fulfill their duties loyally. , live up to the general’s trust, and will never lose integrity to surrender the enemy.”
"Well said! Chang Shi is really a man." Wang Qiang couldn't help but raised his hands and praised. "If Chang Shi is with me, no matter how strong Zhang Jin's army is, what do I have to fear?"
The two sat down again, and Wu Dang leaned forward and asked, "I wonder if the Ming government has any strategy to defend against the enemy?"
Wang Qiang already had a case in his mind and said: "What I just said is certainly to test the heart of the chief historian, but it is also a way to defeat the enemy."
Wu Dang immediately understood and said, "Is the Ming government trying to trick Zhang Jin into surrendering?"
"That's right." Wang Qiang nodded and said, "Zhang Jin is the lord of Jiaozhou. Now he is leading his army into the country. Wherever he passes, he will look forward to the wind and descend, and the journey will be smooth. When he reaches Bushan, he will be arrogant and regard me as his superior. If you pretend to surrender at this time, Zhang Jin will definitely be fooled."
After hearing this, Wu Dang also felt that this plan was feasible, and that feigning surrender was the cheapest but most effective method.
After the feigned surrender is successful, if the enemy relaxes, they can attack them with surprise troops. If there is no chance, they can also delay the attack.
Wang Qiang looked at Wu Dang with bright eyes and said: "I can't go out to see Zhang Jin in person, otherwise it will be a fake surrender and a real surrender. The person who can replace me is none other than Chang Shi. Chang Shi is the deputy of the county and is also the leader of Nanhai. A famous person is enough to win Zhang Jin's trust, but if he doesn't know the long history, can he dare to risk his life and go deep into the tiger's den?"
"Why don't you dare?" Wu Dang naturally knew that Wang Qiang was deliberately irritating him, but he didn't take it seriously. He stood up and said: "As soon as Zhang Jin arrived, the subordinates went into his camp to feign surrender, ensuring that Zhang Jin would not be able to afford it. suspicion."
"That's great! A long history!" Wang Qiang happily praised.
The two discussed for nearly an hour before walking out of the toilet. Wang Qiang immediately ordered the gates of Bushan City to be sealed. No one was allowed to enter, let alone go out. Anyone who dared to try to cross the city would be killed on the spot without reporting, so as to completely eradicate the traitors.
While Wang Qiang and Wu Dang were making various preparations for the upcoming war, Zhang Jin led an army of more than 10,000 people, marched straight along Yushui, and appeared in the western suburbs of Bushan a few days later.
Wang Qiang and Wu Dang stood on the west city wall, observing the Jiaozhou Army solemnly.
As the saying goes, "When there are ten thousand people, there are no borders." There are more than 12,000 Jiaozhou troops, plus thousands of Yulin Han Yi soldiers who have recently defected, the total number of people is close to 20,000, and they have set up a battle array outside the city. It's quite impressive.
In order to show that the enemy was weak, Wang Qiang had already hidden all his elite troops. The guards on the west wall were all old and weak soldiers, which caused the Jiaozhou army outside the city to point and laugh.
Wu Dang slowly looked away and bowed to Wang Qiang: "Ming Mansion, the Jiaozhou Army has arrived. Without further delay, I will go to see Zhang Jin."
Wang Qiang took Wu Dang's hand and said solemnly: "Chang Shi must be more careful during this trip."
"No." Wu Dang bowed again, then turned around and walked down the city wall, leading two hundred soldiers and hundreds of civilians, bringing wine, rice and meat, opened the city gate and marched towards the Jiaozhou Army.
Zhang Jin was not surprised that Bu Shan came to work for the army. Wang Qiang had previously written him a very humble letter asking for surrender, saying that as long as Zhang Jin could continue to appoint him as the governor of Yulin, he would be willing to surrender. drop.
The year before last, when Zhang Jin went north to fight Liu Jing in Quanling, Wang Qiang was stationed at Baqiu and did not participate in the battle. In addition, Wang Qiang was not as brave as Chu Fang and Cai Sheng, but he won with wisdom, so his reputation was not good. Xian. Zhang Jin was very unfamiliar with Wang Qiang. He only knew that he was a merchant and had traveled to Jiaozhou and made a living selling goods.
When Zhang Jin heard about this for the first time, he couldn't believe his ears. A merchant actually became the prefect of two thousand stone. This was so embarrassing for a scholar who had read poetry and books since he was a child in the hope of being able to serve in any country in the future? It was simply unbelievable. The most ridiculous thing in the world.
However, Wang Qiang's surrender without a fight was not out of place in Zhang Jin's eyes, but rather very reasonable. Merchants have always been greedy and profit-seeking. Loyalty, filial piety, justice, propriety, justice and shame are worthless in the eyes of such people.
"Do you still want to continue to be the governor of Yulin?" Zhang Jin couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Liu Jing is not afraid of the world's jokes. He is very scary. If he dares to continue to use Wang Qiang, won't he be laughed to death by Xu Jing and others?
As soon as he entered Yulin, he immediately deprived Wang Qiang of his position as governor. If he was obedient, he would be used as a guide for the army heading north. If he was disobedient, he would be killed directly. There was only one merchant on his side, so it was not righteous.
Zhang Jin looked at the soldiers of Yu Lin who came to work for the army, and saw that they were strong and well-equipped with armor. They looked like elite soldiers, which formed a sharp contrast with the old and weak soldiers on the city wall.
"Could it be that all the elite soldiers in Bushan City were sent here by Wang Qiang?" Thinking of this, Zhang Jin couldn't help laughing and shaking his head.
Wu Dang was led to Zhangjin's chariot, and he bowed down and said: "Wu Dang, the chief minister of Yulin, pays homage to the envoy. I heard that the state army was coming, and I came here to work with the army with cattle and wine."
Zhang Jin sat upright in the car and said with a smile: "Wu Shushan Mountain in the South China Sea is at your feet? No need to be polite, please get up quickly."
Wu Dang pretended to be grateful and said, "I don't want you to have heard of my name."
Zhang Jin nodded and said: "Shushan is extremely filial to his mother. He is familiar with "Poetry" and "Li". He is a talented person in Jiaozhou. He is the only one in Jiaozhou. How can he not know about it?" He only heard this after Wu Dang served as the chief historian of Yulin. Speaking of his deeds, I didn’t even know who he was before.
Zhang Jin added: "It is said that Wang Zijian was a careless man and ignored government affairs. All political affairs in Yulin County came from Shushan."
Wu Dang nodded and admitted: "Wang Fujun was engaged in selling goods in his early years, and later worked in the military. He lacks experience in governing the people. He is the deputy of the county and has the responsibility of assisting the prefect. He should share the worries of Wangfu Jun."
Although Wu Dang's words were respectful, he still showed his disdain for Wang Qiang. Zhang Jin was not surprised. Anyone working under Wang Qiang, a businessman, would not be happy.
Zhang Jin said with a smile: "In my opinion, Shushan is more suitable for the post of Yulin Prefect than Zijian."
Wu Dang sighed and said: "I am not a close associate of General Anyuan, so I was deprived of the position of county magistrate and sent to Yulin to be a long history. Under the command of General Anyuan, I am afraid that I will never get ahead, so I heard that I have made the emperor raise everyone." After I came here, I privately encouraged the prince to surrender the city."
"It turns out that Prince Jian's request to surrender was all because of Shu Shan." Zhang Jin suddenly said, "Shu Shan is a friend of mine and has outstanding talents. He has made great achievements this time, so he will be put to great use."
"Thank you so much, envoy..." Wu Dang looked happy and thanked him immediately.
Zhang Jin then asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time: "Why is Shushan the only one who came to work for the army, and why didn't Wang Zijian come?"
Wu Dang and Wang Qiang had discussed this issue a long time ago and replied calmly: "General Anyuan was born in the market and has always been considerate of his subordinates. Therefore, there are many officials in the city who are unwilling to surrender. The prince needs to stay in the city and keep an eye on them. Don't dare to go out easily, lest they wait for rebellion and seize the city."
"I see." Zhang Jin had no doubts about him. Although the two sides were enemies, he had to admit that Liu Jing was indeed a hero of his generation. He was courteous to the common people and could win people's lives.
After showing off his power under Bushan City, Zhang Jin ordered the rebels who had taken refuge and the surrounding people to build military camps in the wild.
Since the situation in Bushan had already surrendered, only a shallow layer of trenches was dug outside the Jiaozhou military camp, which was enough to cope with the situation, and the outside was simply surrounded by wooden palisades.
In the afternoon, Zhang Jin feasted on the soldiers with rice, meat, and fine wine provided by Bushan City.
The Jiaozhou Army set out from Jiaozhi Longbian and walked all the way to Bushan. It took a whole month. The soldiers traveled long distances and it was very hard. Now that they saw that Bushan had surrendered and there was no need to fight, they were all overjoyed and started eating and drinking.
Wu Dang was sitting in the large tent of the Chinese army, holding a wine glass in his hand, watching all the Han generals and Yi generals, shouting and yelling, making the banquet uproar, but Zhang Jin, who was sitting on the main seat, was indifferent to this. Don't mind at all.
Wu Dang had heard before that Zhang Jin was a minor police officer and was not powerful enough to control the arrogant soldiers below. Today, it seems that this is not a false rumor.
Zhang Jin didn't know that Wu Dang was criticizing him in his heart. When he saw Wu Dang stop his glass, he was stunned and urged: "Shushan, don't be stunned, keep drinking..."
"No." Wu Dang raised his head and drank all the wine in the cup. He didn't usually drink well, but now that he had a heavy responsibility, he could only risk his life to accompany him.
"Drink again, drink again..."
As night fell, the Jiaozhou Army camp became brightly lit, the banquet lasted until late at night, and the soldiers were all drunk and fell asleep.
The situation in the Jiaozhou Army camp was reported back to Bushan from the beginning of the banquet. Wang Qiang saw that the Jiaozhou Army was only interested in eating and having fun and was unprepared, so he immediately decided to attack the camp at night.
When the Jiaozhou Army camp gradually returned to peace, Wang Qiang began to wake up the sleeping soldiers and gathered at the Shun Emperor Temple in the north of the city.
Emperor Shun was on a tour to the south in the past, died in the wilderness of Cangwu, and was buried in Jiuyi in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, there are many Emperor Shun temples in the south of the Yangtze River.
The Shun Emperor Temple in Bushan not only worships Emperor Shun, but also worships Qin Shihuang and the two emperors in the same temple. This is not a unique phenomenon in Bushan, in fact it is the same in many places in Jiaozhou.
Because after Qin Shihuang unified China, he sent 500,000 troops to attack Lingnan and established the three counties of Xiang, Nanhai and Guilin. Guilin was the predecessor of Yulin County. The people of Jiaozhou paid tribute to Qin Shihuang and for hundreds of years, they continued to offer sacrifices.
The same is true in Kuaiji County in the east of the Yangtze River. When Wang Lang was the prefect of Kuaiji, he saw people offering sacrifices to Qin Shihuang. Wang Lang believed that Qin Shihuang was an unvirtuous king and was not worthy of sacrifices, so he eliminated him.
There were three thousand soldiers in Bushan City, Wu Dang took away two hundred, and another five hundred were old and weak. Therefore, Wang Qiang's available soldiers were only a little over two thousand. But now that the decisive battle is imminent, one more man will bring more strength. , so Wang Qiang also summoned the old and weak soldiers.
The only people who knew about the night attack plan were Wang Qiang's confidants from Changsha. The people of Yulin, including the generals, were all kept in the dark. They were very confused and puzzled by Wang Qiang's summoning of them late at night, and the smart people had already fainted. Guessing its purpose, I felt uneasy.
Wang Qiang looked around the crowd and said slowly: "I, Wang Qiang, was originally a man from Changsha. I am now the governor because of the general's trust. Zhang Jin came with a large army. The enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered, so I set up a trap." It was a trick to surrender, to gain the enemy's trust and make them less worried. Zhang Jin was indeed fooled, and now all the Jiaozhou troops are drunk. If they attack at night, they will definitely be annihilated."
As soon as Wang Qiang finished speaking, Yu Linbing immediately started to commotion. Although he did not dare to object due to Wang Qiang's usual power, his expression was frightened and uneasy, with no fighting spirit at all.
There are tens of thousands of Jiaozhou troops, but they only have three thousand. Unless each of them can fight one against ten, there is no chance of victory.
Wang Qiang must give them the confidence to win, which is why he gathered his soldiers in front of Emperor Shun's temple.
Just when Yu Lin's soldiers were feeling uneasy, a black-robed shaman slowly walked out of Emperor Shun's temple. He came to the crowd of scholars and threatened: "The Ming Dynasty asked me during the day to attack the bandits outside the city. What will be the outcome? I will pray in front of the two emperors all night. If the two emperors have the teachings, this battle will be won!"
Superstition has always been common in Lingnan. Wu Zhu's words are far more useful than Wang Qiang's. Wu Zhu said that this battle must be won, so he will definitely win. Yu Lin's soldiers suddenly changed from being decadent and their morale was greatly boosted.
Wang Qiang saw that his morale was ready, so he immediately left only a hundred men to guard the city gate, and sent 2,700 men out of the north gate to smear the enemy and move behind the Jiaozhou Army camp.