Chapter 347: One hundred thousand grains and one hundred thousand troops
Liu Ling led an army of 50,000 to station in Laihe County, 150 miles west of Zhengzhou, waiting for Hualing Yangye's army heading north from Tangzhou. Now the situation in the Zhou Dynasty suddenly changed, Zhao Tieguai died unexpectedly, and he could not open the war.
Closing is an issue worthy of discussion.
The total population of Laihe County is only a few hundred thousand. Because it is very close to Zhengzhou, banditry is not very rampant. After hearing about the arrival of the Han army, the magistrate of Laihe County fled away with the magistrate's seal.
When he left, he did not forget to plunder all the money in the treasury. Anyway, after the Han army came, he would not be able to serve as a county magistrate. He might as well run away with the money and find a place with beautiful scenery to become a rich man.
.
Nowadays, the world of Zhou Dynasty is in chaos, and his county magistrate is not doing a practical job. The Han army can attack today, but who knows whether the army of the Zhou Dynasty will fight back tomorrow? It’s not that he has never thought of surrendering to the Han army, but
He was afraid that the Qiu Ba big men of the Han army would smash his head without asking anything. He was also afraid that if the army of the Zhou Dynasty came back one day, wouldn't it be a stain if he surrendered to the Han army? Anyway, how can it be counted?
, he felt that he was on the verge of death, and it would be better to run away than sit back and wait for death.
On the other hand, the magistrate of Laihe County is a tough man. The magistrate has already run away with his family, but he refuses to run away. The civilian heroes under his command persuaded him to leave quickly, but the county magistrate Li Shan said: "
Feeding the emperor's salary is a matter of loyalty to the emperor. Although Laihe County is small, it is also our territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. When the Han army comes to attack, if I abandon the city and ignore it, how can I live up to the official uniform I am wearing? If you are afraid, just run away for your lives.
Even if I am the only one left in Laihe County, we will still fight to the death!"
These words are very courageous and admirable. It is admiration but admiration. There are not many people who are willing to stay with Li Shan to defend Laihe County. Li Shan, the county magistrate, only has 300 brave men under his command. In his spare time, he fights for the peasants.
When they were soldiers, their usual task was to prevent bandits. These civilian warriors only spent three days a month to train together. They were usually busy with their own affairs. Let people like them interact with tens of thousands of incoming troops.
It was simply a joke to have the raging army as an enemy. Therefore, most of the civilian warriors gave Mr. Li Shan enough blessings and inner support, then packed their packages and hurried away with their families.
When the Han army arrived outside Laihe County, there were only about twenty people standing on the city wall behind Li Shan. Li Shan always felt that as long as he was upright, he could defeat fifty thousand Han troops, even if they were one million troops.
So what if the storm comes? Although he is only an eighth-grade county magistrate, he feels that he is the kind of person who can remain calm even when the mountain collapses. He plans to first persuade Liu Ling, the king of Han, to withdraw his troops and return home honestly.
Go to the Han Dynasty and use emotion and reason. If that doesn't work, relying on your invincible skills in defeating Laihe County, it shouldn't be difficult to take Liu Ling's head out of ten thousand troops, right?
There is a saying that the ignorant are fearless, and this statement is very appropriate for Li Shan.
When he stood on the city wall and saw the Han troops pouring in like black clouds, Mount Tai collapsed in front of him without changing his expression, his legs became weak.
I have never seen so many people, so many flags and weapons. From a distance, I only saw the yellow earth being quickly swallowed up by a piece of black. The densely packed people were as dizzying as ants moving. Hao
The mighty troops, the military flags fluttering in the wind, the waves of war horses, and the dark clouds rolling over the ground, the scene is beyond shocking!
The soldiers of the Han army, wearing black uniforms and carrying red battle flags, lined up neatly and solemnly. One by one, one by one, they were high-spirited and walked calmly. Every thousand people formed a square formation, and there were dozens of neat squares.
The formation occupied the open space to the west of Laihe County. At the front of the queue, ten tall and majestic trebuchets were set up. The soldiers put away the powerful gunpowder bags and were ready to attack the Laihe County.
The city gate, which was not heavy, was blown to pieces.
In the middle of the Han army, there was a huge mobile military tent pulled by thirty-six good horses from the Western Regions. On one side of the military tent, a large flag fluttered in the wind. A huge Liu character could be seen even standing on the city wall.
The sound was clear. The horn sounded, and the cavalry divided into two teams and patrolled back and forth to stabilize their position.
Li Gouwa, the leader of the People's Volunteer Team, looked at the black army. His face was pale and his teeth were chattering. He asked his cousin Li Shan, the county magistrate: "Sir, sir... Do you want to fight or not?"
Li Shan's calves kept trembling, and the urge to urinate in his lower abdomen kept gushing out. He forced himself to suppress the urge to urinate, but he didn't realize that it came out because he pressed too hard...
No one noticed that the hem of the county magistrate's clothes was wet, well... it was still dripping.
"Fight...fight...fight..."
Li Shan's teeth were chattering, and he almost bit his tongue. The person Li Gouwa admired the most since childhood was Li Shan. He always felt that his cousin had read books and practiced martial arts, and was one of the top romantic figures in the county.
. He has always regarded Li Shan as his idol and goal. In his eyes, Li Shan is a model of successful men. And because of Li Shan, he also became a member of the Laihe County People's Warriors Team, which was not officially established by the imperial court.
Xiaoguan. Therefore, he never refused to disobey Li Shan. At this time, his cousin, who was already very powerful in his heart, became taller and taller. Fight! Look, how courageous my cousin is, facing
So many Han soldiers only said one word, fight!
Li Gouwa suddenly drew out his sword and shouted: "Did you hear it? I have an order, hit me!"
Li Shan was startled, turned around and kicked Li Gouwa, "Hit her!"
His face turned pale, and he wished he could kill his blind cousin with a knife.
"I mean, open the city gate to welcome His Highness the King of Han into the city!"
Li Gouwa got up, rubbed his sore chin and said: "Open the city gate? Sir, didn't you say that when the Han army enters the city, they will kill all the chickens and dogs without leaving a trace? In order to protect the thousands of people in Laihe County,
Do the common people still fight the Han army even if they risk their lives? Didn’t your lord say that it is better to eat the emperor’s salary and be loyal to the emperor than to live in ruins? Didn’t your lord say that as a man, you must fight to the end?
?”
Li Shan kicked him out again, "Yes, yes, my, your mother!"
Li Shan took a deep breath and ordered to the frightened Min Yong behind him: "Go, beat the gong! Let the common people in the city come out and stand on both sides of the street to welcome the Han army into the city! Go, call all the gentry in the city
Gather them together and ask them to go out of the city with me to kowtow to the Han prince and plead guilty!"
Seeing that the people around him were still standing dumbfounded, Li Shan raised his feet again...
Sometimes, the distance between dreams and reality cannot be reached by riding a Pegasus. Li Shan has read books, so he knows too many heroes. He also wants to be that kind of hero who can protect one side by himself and win a million soldiers.
A hero with the head of an admiral. He wanted to seize this opportunity to become famous in one fell swoop and become the patron saint in the hearts of the people in the city. However, when he saw the countless people, he finally understood that he should wake up from his dream.
Already.
Liu Ling leaned lazily on the large chair and looked at the guy kneeling under the big tent with interest, shivering but still chattering. This man's name is Li Shan, well, that's how he introduced himself just now
.The county magistrate of Laihe County, a junior official who was not promoted to the upper echelon of the eighth rank. This person has no courage, so he talks incoherently. He is holding the Laihe County account book and the small county magistrate's seal in his hand.
, he was kneeling there, and the hem of his clothes seemed to be wet?
Liu Ling smiled, this Li Shan is also a wonderful person.
"You said you are the cousin of Zhengzhou County Governor Wu Zilai?"
Liu Ling finally found some useful information from Li Shan's trivial words.
"ah?"
Li Shan raised his head and glanced at Liu Ling, then quickly lowered his head.
"Yes, yes, Commander Wu of Zhengzhou is Cao Min's cousin."
Liu Ling grunted and said to his attendants: "Go and write a letter to Wu Zilai, the governor of Zhengzhou County, asking him to bring one hundred thousand stones of grain and grass to Laihe County. If you surrender, not a single inch of grass will be harmed. If you don't surrender, not a single inch of grass will be left."
"
The attendant next to him immediately wrote a short message and handed it to Li Shan who was kneeling below and kowtowing. Liu Ling smiled and said: "Take this letter to Zhengzhou to see Wu Zilai. After you leave, you will give the order."
The army will retreat for thirty miles without harming any plant or tree in Laihe County. You can go back quickly, and I will stay here waiting for good news."
Li Shan took the letter and glanced at it subconsciously. The guard under Liu Ling's tent had already walked over and pulled him up. Li Shan did not dare to resist and followed the guard away. Until he left the camp, Li Shan
Shan still seemed to be sleepwalking. He lowered his head and looked at the letter in his hand, and his heart suddenly tightened. If my cousin saw me going to him with the letter from the King of Han, would someone beat me to death with sticks?
?But, if I don’t go….
He turned around and looked at the endless Han army, knowing that if he didn't go, he would be killed immediately!
After hesitating for a long time, he finally chose to go to Zhengzhou. He went back to the county town to find a fast horse, brought some dry food, called two brave men, and Li Shan rode the horse and went straight to Zhengzhou.
Zhengzhou is one hundred and fifty miles away. If Li Shan doesn't delay, he can reach it in just one day and one night. And Zhengzhou is only one hundred and fifty miles away from Kaifeng, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty. The post station can be traveled back and forth with fast horses in one day and one night.
!
Li Shan is insignificant, and Zhengzhou is not Liu Ling's goal. How could a little guy like Li Shan guess what he wants to do?
Zhaoxian bowed and stood beside Liu Ling, looked at the people of Laihe County who had dispersed and asked: "Your Majesty, will Zhengzhou County Governor Wu Zilai really send 100,000 stones of food and grass?"
Liu Ling laughed and said: "One hundred thousand stones of food and grass will not come. It is impossible to say that the one hundred thousand Ding'an Army in Kaifeng will be attracted by a lonely letter. We will set up a small siege to capture the daring people.
Let’s see, the army that breaks the rules is in the small town of Laihe.” (To be continued)
