"How could this happen? Wasn't the White Lotus Sect wiped out? Even their leader was killed in the battle. Why is it coming back to life?"
"Hmph, what does this Tianshui County Magistrate do? He actually let the White Lotus Sect occupy the county seat. I think he is a piece of shit."
"Should you put this idiot aside for now? Let's think about what to do. I heard from the news that the White Lotus sect that broke through the county was composed of elite soldiers from the White Lotus sect's collapse. The followers who followed were mostly fanatical believers. Although the number was only
Tens of thousands, but their combat power cannot be underestimated."
"All the soldiers from the Jiangnan camp have been withdrawn, and the county soldiers from various prefectures are still training. What can we do to quell the chaos? We can't use new troops, right?"
"What can this do to allow the Jiangnan camp to return to defense? The new army has just formed an army. How can it fight against the elite soldiers of the White Lotus Sect?"
In the new army camp, Wang Xu was sitting in the main seat, and below him were the generals who were arguing constantly.
The order for help from Tianshui County was sent out in all directions. The surrounding prefectures and counties all received the order, and the New Army camp where Wang Xu was located was certainly no exception.
Judging from the current situation, the only one that has the strength to support and can provide support is the new army that Wang Xu is training.
The new army has now been organized and trained for more than three months, and its combat strength has begun to be established and is worthy of a battle.
But having said that, the Bailian believers who occupied Tianshui County were the elite divisions that had been defeated on the battlefield before, and they numbered in the tens of thousands.
It's good to be able to recruit surrender in front of the formation. If they can't recruit surrender, they can only destroy them. The new army will inevitably kill a thousand enemies and suffer eight hundred losses.
"Report..."
While they were discussing, a sergeant burst in from outside the door, holding a letter in his hand: "Sir, there is a flying eagle from the state capital coming to report."
"Bring it up."
Wang Xu asked someone to come up, and then took the letter and read it.
Seeing this, Pastor Xiao, the magistrate of Jiaozhou, ordered the new army to set off and go to the sky to level the chaos without making any mistakes.
Look further down, no matter the cost.
"snort!"
Putting away the letter, Wang Xu snorted coldly and said with full of displeasure: "You don't need to discuss it any further. Mr. Zhou Mu has personally ordered our new army to set off immediately and assess the rebellion in the shortest possible time."
"Captain, didn't you mobilize the Jiangnan camp to return to defense?"
"no..."
With a cold look on his face, Wang Xu raised the letter in his hand and said: "Our Lord Zhou Mu has finally sent away the plague god from the Jiangnan Camp, how can he let the army come back? Didn't you read the letter?
No matter what the cost, even if you defeat all the new troops, you can still practice again when you go back, look how easy it is to say that!"
The Jiangnan Camp has a very high standard. If it stays in Jiaozhou to quell the chaos, even the state herdsmen will be under its control.
After finally putting down the White Lotus Rebellion and sending away a bunch of plague gods, how could we invite them back again?
As for the new army that was organized and trained, the Jiaozhou Rebellion had just ended, and there were not many other things except a large number of refugees.
Not to mention that all the 500,000 new troops are exhausted, even if all 5 million are exhausted, the gap can be blocked with refugees. They are just miscellaneous soldiers anyway. It will be better if they are exhausted and then trained.
"Captain, shall we obey orders?"
Qin Yun, as the lieutenant general, stood up and raised his hands and asked.
Wang Xu squinted his eyes, knocked on the armrest of the chair, and said after a moment: "In Jiaozhou, soldiers and civilians from all over the country are reorganizing. The only ones who can fight are the New Army. I'm afraid it won't work if we don't go."
At this point, Wang Xu paused slightly and then said: "Qin Yun, Qin Wu, please gather 200,000 troops and horses, and follow me to Tianshui."
"Yes, Governor..."
With light vehicles and simple equipment, 200,000 troops and horses were soon on the road.
The White Lotus Sect has been suppressed, and some of the recurrences are just scabies. Except for Tianshui County, which was conquered by the resurgent White Lotus Sect, the other prefectures and counties are under the control of the imperial court. Once the army passes by, it is just a matter of gathering food and grass locally. There is no need.
Bring too much food and supplies.
With only three days of dry food, Wang Xu marched out.
The first 30,000 cavalrymen rode horned beast horses with monster blood, followed by 20,000 crossbowmen, 50,000 spearmen, and 100,000 light armored sword and shield soldiers.
Two hundred thousand troops lined up in a row, stretching for several miles, with the new flag and the king flag fluttering in the wind, looking like an earthen dragon from a distance.
Ten days later...
The army galloped thousands of miles and arrived in Tianshui County in only ten and a half days.
As soon as I saw it, the resurgent White Lotus Sect believers had already occupied Tianshui County. I looked at the city wall and saw that it was filled with White Lotus Sect soldiers, looking like they were going to gather together to defend the city.
"Captain, I have been waiting for you."
As soon as the army arrived, the magistrate of Tianshui County who had abandoned the city and fled with his servants pulled the gathered Xiangyong and came over with runny noses and tears.
Wang Xu was riding on the horse and lowered his head to look at the Tianshui County Magistrate. He saw that his eyes were red, his face was full of sorrow, and even his official uniform was damaged.
"Are you the Magistrate of Tianshui County?" Wang Xu looked away and asked in a calm tone.
The Tianshui County Magistrate bowed repeatedly and replied bitterly: "The lower official Liu Shizhuang, who was a Jinshi in the 27th year of Tianping, is now the Tianshui County Magistrate and is in charge of the administration."
"In the twenty-seventh year of Tianping, it seems that you have not been serving as Tianshui County Magistrate for long."
Wang Xu was the top scholar in the 24th year of Tianping, and Liu Shizhuang was the Jinshi in the 27th year of Tianping, which is his next term.
According to the usual practice, when a new Jinshi is assigned to serve as an official abroad, he or she needs to be admitted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to be filled. Instead of taking the post immediately after winning the Jinshi, it often takes 1 to 3 years to wait for an official position.
Based on this calculation, Liu Shizhuang was awarded Jinshi four years ago. I am afraid that he has served as Tianshui County magistrate for at least one or two years, or at least for one and a half years.
"I have only been in this humble position for half a year..."
The bitterness on Liu Shizhuang's face was even stronger. He was originally a Jinshi from the top three, and his resume was somewhat inferior to those from the first and second grades.
In addition, there was no one in the court, so he, who was over 40 years old, waited in the Ministry of Household Affairs for more than three years and asked for countless help before he was released as the magistrate of Tianshui County in the spring of this year.
At that time, the Bailian Rebellion in Jiaozhou had just subsided, and Liu Shizhuang was about to show his ambition and make a career.
Unexpectedly, God failed to fulfill his wish. As soon as he got acquainted with things in the county government, the White Lotus Sect came back again. If he hadn't run so fast, he might have lost his head in the county government.
What's even more irritating is that the White Lotus Rebellion broke out during his tenure, and even the county seat was lost. He didn't need to think about it to know that his career was over.
In the past few days, Liu Shizhuang had been drinking to drown his sorrows, and he suddenly became more than ten years older.
"I would like to ask you, how many people are there in the White Lotus believers who have occupied Tianshui County, who is their leader, and what conditions have they proposed to you?" Wang Xu did not care about Liu Shizhuang's inner changes. Instead, he felt that these White Lotus believers were so grandiose.
Capturing the county seat revealed something was wrong inside and out.
After all, the main force of the White Lotus Sect has been annihilated, and even the leader of the White Lotus Sect has been killed in the battle. These people are just bereft dogs, living a simple life, escaping into the mountains and forests to become bandits, or turning into gangsters and working as wild people. How can they dare to be so wanton.
"Sir, there are more than 80,000 members of the White Lotus Sect occupying the city. Most of them are elites. There are no old, weak, sick or disabled people.
The one in the lead calls himself the Grand Marshal of the Dang Army. In private, people call him the Master of Nantuo Sutra, who knows the art of military warfare.
As for the conditions, they didn't tell me that they couldn't come out after occupying Tianshui County, and they didn't know what they were doing inside.
However, I sent someone to investigate, and it seems that this Nan Tuo Sutra master is not the mastermind behind the scenes. I can't guarantee that there is a big shot behind this person."
Liu Shizhuang answered everything he knew, and said it again as if he were pouring beans.
After Wang Xu heard this, he thought thoughtfully and whispered: "It's interesting not to disturb the people, nor to recruit strong men to fill the army, but to occupy the county seat without moving."
"Sir, in my opinion, could it be that the Master of Nantuo Sutra wants to issue a decree?"
Qin Yun came on horseback and whispered beside Wang Xu: "There are many bandits and bandits who come from poor backgrounds and use the banner of walking for heaven, and they all like to go to Zhao'an after they become big. The White Lotus Sect will definitely not be able to survive.
As the leader of Nantuo Sutra, he has tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but he doesn't want to fall into the trap of bandits or become a barbarian, so Zhao'an is probably the best choice.
When the time comes, the imperial court will appoint several seventh- and eighth-grade military officers and directly transfer them to join the border army to fight against the monsters in the north. Naturally, everyone will be happy."
"possible..."
Wang Xu nodded slightly, and then said: "Set up camp ten miles away, don't rush to attack now, let's see what tricks the White Lotus Sect demons want to do. Now that the new army has just been formed, against the elite division of the White Lotus Sect, even with three times the strength, it may not be possible
It is best to be able to win easily and not to fight."