Chapter 3 Undressed (Third Shang) Yuan Tiangang never told who he was entrusted to dissuade Li Xu from crossing the river, nor did he follow his past habit of staying in the Boling Army as a guest for a few months. He only stayed with Li Xu
Xu chatted for less than an hour before he hurriedly stood up and said goodbye. Perhaps to make up for some regrets, the old Taoist priest offered to help the Boling Army recruit civilian ships.
"The Taoist priest has great righteousness, and the younger generation will bear in mind the five inner principles. If the Taoist priest needs the younger generation's service in the future, he has said that if the younger generation can do it, he must do his best!" Xuzi knew that Yuan Shengun had a great influence among the people.
Quickly and respectfully clasping fists in thanks
"There's no need to say any kind words. Even though I'm a poor man, I should say thank you very much!" Yuan Tiangang, who recovered from the shock and disappointment, turned into a worldly master without any fuss.
He bowed his hands and counted it as a return gift. "The general's ambition is beyond the reach of others. I'm afraid there will be many storms along the way. I hope that when the general insists on enlightenment, don't ignore the rules of the world."
After that, he flicked the fly whisk and floated away
With the help of this "half-immortal", the progress of recruiting civilian ships was indeed several times smoother. In less than three days, all the fishing boats and cargo ships within a hundred miles upstream and downstream gathered at Yanci Ferry to wait for the delayed supply camp and the straggler wounded soldiers.
When they arrived, Li Xu gave an order, thousands of sails were raised, and the army was sent across the Yellow River within half a day.
The land on the south bank is already the junction of Bohai Sea and Qi County. Although it still looks dilapidated and desolate, it gradually has some human atmosphere. The army moves southward, and the villages it sees along the way become more neat. Li Xu's champion general is revealed.
flag, so the people did not feel very panic when the officers and soldiers passed by. Some well-informed village owners and fort owners even remembered what General Li did in Qi County back then, and were deeply proud that such a great hero had emerged in the local area.
He actually took the initiative to open the fort gate, brought out many cakes, and came forward to work for the army.
These people are not well-off, including some prominent figures who were elected to meet the general. Their robes are also patched, but their smiles are very candid and there is no hint of hypocrisy.
"It's been more than two years, and they still remember me!" Looking at the sincere faces in front of him, Li Xu sighed with emotion that thousands of people would give out the cakes prepared for the New Year, just to repay him for being there.
The kindness of this man who led the army to suppress the bandits, but before he was taught by General Zhang, the reason why he mounted his horse and wielded the sword was just to gain fame, and why did he think of doing anything for the people? What this man did, perhaps
Just in the blink of an eye, the final result was completely different.
Thinking that General Zhang had been dead for several months, but his legacy continues to this day, Li Xu's respect for the old man deepened. He secretly said that if it weren't for the words and deeds of the old general back then, he would be nothing more than a strong general, and how could he be as respected as he is today?
Wagang and his party had to go. Even if they couldn't get revenge, they still wanted to snatch the head of General Zhang back so that the old man's body could be buried intact on the land of his hometown.
"General Li is here to avenge General Zhang!" A squire asked tentatively after greeting Xu Zi.
"The younger generation will first go to Licheng to pay homage to the coffin of the old general, and then march westward!" Li Xu looked around and announced loudly.
Immediately, there was thunderous cheers everywhere. All the elders said that General Li was kind and righteous, and it was worthwhile to work with General Zhang. Some people immediately proposed to donate part of the baggage to the Boling Army so that the brothers would be more energetic when killing thieves. Li Xu
But he didn't dare to accept it, and hurriedly used the long distance and inconvenient transportation as an excuse to shirk the elders' repeated insistence. Seeing that Li Xu still refused to agree, he had to give up and before leaving, he asked eagerly: "What general is this for General Zhang?"
After taking revenge, will you come back to stay permanently?"
"You old men are so ignorant. General Li is a champion general, and he is not the county magistrate of Qi County. How can you just say back when you have the emperor's orders!" Before Li Xu could think of how to answer, he said
A local official who was ordered to come to greet Shangguan reprimanded in a low voice.
"We, we just hope that General Li can return to Qijun as soon as possible. As for the court, whoever you like can go!" The squire who was scolded took a few steps back and muttered in a low voice.
"You!" The young official was so angry with the daring elders from his hometown that his hands and feet became cold and he was speechless for a long time. He had always been helpless against such "short-sighted" but extremely senior local elders. Moreover, deep down in his heart, he
Why don't I hope that after Li Xu defeats the Wagang Army, he will return to Qi County. Don't leave. With such a great hero, he will definitely be able to keep the place safe in troubled times. Secondly, the Sui Dynasty is a bastard, Mr. Zhang.
The general has already been tortured to death by them, why should Li Xu make the same mistake as the old general again?
"If I can successfully avenge General Zhang, I will definitely return to Qi County and kill Xu Yuanlang in the south, so that he will not frighten everyone!" Li Xu could vaguely guess what the people were thinking and smiled.
Make a promise to everyone
Xu Yuanlang is a new bandit who has moved from Pengcheng to the two counties of Beihai and Donglai. Although he has not dared to attack Qi County for a while, he has already made the people and local officials panic. Li Xu was staying in Yanci County.
, heard the news from the officials. As the successor of the old general Zhang Xutuo, he believed that he had an obligation to continue to protect the old general’s wishes.
"Then General Li is really a good man!" After hearing Li Xu's personal promise, the squires praised him with all their tongues.
At that moment, the army was sent to Zhangqiu City to rest. The next day, it was sent ten miles away by the common people and set foot on the official road leading to Licheng. Although it was almost the end of the year, there was no celebration at all near Licheng.
The atmosphere was scattered at first, and then some larger houses. As we approached the city wall, almost every castle door on both sides of the official road was covered with white linen. The strips danced in the wind, as if they were expressing people's sadness to the passers-by.
Seeing this scene, the four thousand jingqi who had been noisy before felt awe-inspiring. Not only the generals who had served under Zhang Xutuo had tears in their eyes.
Wait, the shock in my heart is indescribable
"It has been more than two months since General Zhang was killed in battle!" Wang Xuba sighed and whispered.
"Two months and twenty-one days, the old general was killed in action at the end of autumn, and now it's almost the New Year's Eve!" Guo Fang thought for a while and replied with a sigh.
"If a person can do this to the people in his hometown after death, it will be considered a worthy death!" Wang Xuba reached his hand to his waist and repeatedly stroked the hilt of his sword. Back then, Zhang Xutuo was the common enemy of almost all green forest heroes.
But today, he just wanted to draw his sword to pay tribute to the old man who died in the battle.
While everyone was grieving, there was a sudden noise in front of the team. Wang Xuba looked up and saw a large number of local officials rushing out of the city and swarming towards Li Xu's horse head.
"General Li is so famous here. Not only is he supported by the people, but also the county and general guards respect him so much!" Wang Xuba looked very strange and muttered to himself. He could tell that he was bowing to Li Xu and saluting him.
The old man was dressed in the uniform of a third-grade local official, and among the team that came to greet him, there were officials wearing robes ranging from third-grade to fifth-grade robes, as well as more than forty six-county consolation ambassadors. Li Xu and the other party had no superiors or subordinates.
Despite the relationship, Qijun put up such a solemn display to welcome him, and he didn’t know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd?
Not only were Wang Xuba and others confused, but Li Xu, who was walking in front of the team, was as confused as a monk Zhang Er.
Wu Qi is an old acquaintance of his. The three of them were used to it casually, but now they are singing official tunes, which is really awkward.
He did not dare to show off in front of his old friend, so he quickly jumped off his horse, bowed to Wang Shouren and Wu Qi, but did not dare to accept his return gift. He turned half a step sideways and said in unison: "Master Li, I will wait for you to kill him."
, If I had known that you would take the same route, we should have gone to the Yellow River to pick up the news, but we were in a hurry, and we were not prepared in our haste. Please don't blame us!"
"Why do you two brothers see each other like this? Could it be that we have been separated for less than two years and you don't recognize Li?" On a cold day, Li Xu had sweat on his head and protested with a red face.
"Your Excellency is a superior who has been given a precious sword by His Majesty. How dare you call me brother and sister again?" Wang Shouren was not a man who could let things go. He was stunned and stammered in response.
"Precious sword, superior?" Li Xu became even more confused after hearing this, his eyes widened, as if flowers had grown on the other person's face.
"Master Li must have arrived in a hurry and missed the imperial envoy." Wu Qi was very smart and understood the reason after a moment's hesitation. "Your Majesty once gave you the golden sword used by the late emperor, and ordered all officials in Henan Province to listen to your orders. Besides,
Your Excellency is now the arresting ambassador of Henan Province, and we are all your subordinates at this moment, so of course we should meet each other with the courtesy of lower officials!"
"What is all this?" Li Xu felt confused for a while, but soon he figured out the crux of the problem. When he was in Hebei, he had heard that the imperial court ordered him to inspect the Henan Province to arrest the ambassador.
However, the imperial edict has not yet crossed the Yellow River, and I have no idea of the specific content. Since Qi County is located south of the Yellow River, when the imperial court issued an appointment to itself, it would usually send a document to the relevant prefectures and counties so that local officials could be prepared.
Therefore, in his own eyes, Wang Shouren, Wu Qi and other guys are still peers who do not belong to each other. In the eyes of the other party, they are already superiors and subordinates, and they have to treat each other seriously.
"I'm afraid that the imperial envoy who passed down the imperial edict is still wandering in Hulao Pass!" Li Xu, who had thought through all the joints, smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Besides, I came to Licheng to pay homage to Brother Zhang, General Zhang, and Brother Yulin as an old minister.
