"Don't trust those you employ, and don't trust those you doubt! Moreover, I believe in Mr. Zhao's virtue." Liu Xiu's words moved Zhao Ying.
In fact, the most difficult thing to achieve in interactions between people is trust.
Liu Xiuneng agreed to live in his home, which was equivalent to putting his wealth and life in his hands. How much trust did this put in him? How could Zhao Ying not be moved?
Zhao Ying bowed to Liu Xiu and said: "I am really grateful that the general can believe so much. From now on, I am really willing to work as a general, for the Zhu Tiandu Department, and for the Han army, and do the hard work of dogs and horses."
!”
Liu Xiu laughed, returned the gift with his hands, and said, "It is also a blessing for our army that Mr. Zhao is willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side!"
Zhao Ying, Liu Xiu and others walked out of the small alley. Zhao Ying's entourage was still looking around outside the alley. When they saw Zhao Ying coming back, people breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward one after another, asking: "Where did you go just now?"
"I happened to meet some close friends and chatted for a while." As he spoke, Zhao Ying waved to Liu Xiu and others. When the entourage saw this, they all bowed their hands and saluted.
As a county captain, Zhao Ying's house was not small, but there were only a few people in it. Zhao Ying was not married, had no wives, concubines, or children. Apart from him, there were only a few servants in the huge house.
After returning home, Zhao Ying personally arranged a place for Liu Xiu and others to live. After everything was settled, everyone went to the study and sat down to chat.
Zhao Ying was the first to get to the point. He asked: "General, what are our army's plans in the future?"
Liu Xiu said: "Stabilize the four counties of Caiyang, Dengxian, Xiangxiang, and Tongling, and then push all the way north, first taking Xinye, then Wancheng, and then capture the county and capture the entire Nanyang County."
Zhao Ying nodded while listening. When Liu Xiu finished speaking, he said seriously: "General, the strength of Nanyang County Army cannot be underestimated!"
Liu Xiu said: "Although the Nanyang County Army is strong, its strength is limited after all, less than ten thousand people. When our army develops and grows stronger, we will have the strength to compete with it head-on!"
Zhao Ying said: "What if the imperial court sends troops to help?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "The capital army has just suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Chimei, and its vitality has been severely damaged. Now it has to use the troops of various states and counties to barely block Chimei's westward advance. How can there be any spare power to control Nanyang?
"
This is true! The strength of the capital army is already stretched thin, and the situation of the imperial court is precarious. A single red eyebrow is enough to give the imperial court a headache. It is indeed difficult for the imperial court to take care of Nanyang.
Zhao Ying smiled and said: "General, if we can successfully capture the entire Nanyang County, our strength will even be better than that of Chimei. By then, we will be able to capture the capital directly!"
Hearing this, Liu Xiu raised his head and smiled. He turned to look at Yan Guang, and saw that the latter's brows were slightly furrowed. He stopped his smile and asked in confusion: "Ziling, do you have concerns?"
Yan Guang said faintly: "The new reckless energy is almost exhausted, but the centipede insect is dead but not stiff. The Lord must not take it lightly and underestimate the strength of the imperial court."
Even though there are now countless rebels across the country, most counties and counties in the country are still in the hands of the imperial court, and the imperial court can still mobilize most of the country's resources at any time.
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "Ziling, I understand what you mean. We can despise the enemy strategically, but in formulating tactics, we must pay attention to the enemy!"
Yan Guang nodded, indicating that he was right.
Zhao Ying looked at Liu Xiu and Yan Guang with bright eyes, feeling that the Zhu Tiandu Department was really not just a bunch of people, but that there were many talented people among them, including many knowledgeable people.
He answered: "General, tonight I plan to invite all the confidants of the county soldiers to my home and persuade them to defect with me."
Liu Xiu thought for a while and said: "Of course this is the best! But the person invited must be reliable, otherwise once the information is leaked, it will be very detrimental to us."
"I see!"
That night, Zhao Ying invited two military captains and eight village commanders from the county army. Zhao Ying had been the county captain of Deng County for five or six years. Basically, the top soldiers in the county army were his close brothers.
At the banquet, Liu Xiu and others did not show up.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Zhao Yingfang told everyone the news that Zhu Tiandu's troops were planning to attack Deng County in a large scale.
After hearing the news, everyone was shocked and broke into cold sweats. People asked one after another: "Sir, is this news reliable?"
"Absolutely true!"
"Then...how many soldiers and horses does Zhu Tiandu have?"
"About thirty thousand."
People swallowed their saliva and looked at each other. Then they all looked at Zhao Ying and asked again uncertainly: "Sir... Sir, how many soldiers and horses are there in the Zhu Tiandu Department?"
"Thirty thousand!" Zhao Ying said word by word.
Everyone's bodies softened and they almost collapsed to the ground. There were thirty thousand rebels, but we only had a thousand. Can this battle still be fought? People lowered their heads, and their eggplants were wilted with frost.
Several people raised their heads for a while and lowered their heads for a while, all looking like they were hesitant to speak.
Zhao Ying cleared his throat and said: "The imperial court was defeated in Chengchang. In order to prevent Chimei from taking advantage of the victory and marching westward, the imperial court mobilized troops from various states to fortify layers of defenses on Chimei's westward march. The Nanyang County Army was also among them. Now the county
The army is marching north, and the whole county is empty. Wherever Zhu Tiandu's troops pass, they are invincible. Tell me, everyone, how can we in Deng County resist the 30,000-strong Zhu Tiandu troops?"
A military commander cleared his throat and said cautiously: "Sir, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. Our military brothers only have... only a thousand people. If you want... to resist the siege of a 30,000-strong army, it is simply...
…It’s just, whimsical…” At the end of his sentence, his voice became smaller and smaller, and his head dropped lower and lower.
What he said was true, but it was suspected of disturbing the morale of the army. As a county lieutenant, Zhao Ying could not kill him with these words. This was because of his deep personal relationship with Zhao Ying and the fact that there was no one present.
Only an outsider dares to say such things.
By the time he finished speaking, the hall was completely silent.
I don’t know how long it took, but another soldier stood up and said: "Old Wei is telling the truth. We will not be able to fight this battle unless the county army comes to help immediately!"
A village chief said: "Mr. Wu, the county army has been transferred to Luyang, which is seven or eight hundred miles away from our Deng County. Even if the county army has wings on its back, it is impossible for it to fly to our Deng County at once."
What's more, the transfer of the county army must be approved by the court. You must apply first and then approve it. It will take at least ten days and a half months. If you want to wait until the county army comes to help, I'm afraid the day lilies will be cold!"
Everyone nodded, thinking that what he said was right. It was simply unrealistic to wait for the county army to come for reinforcements.
The military commander surnamed Wu looked at Zhao Ying and asked tentatively: "Then, what about asking for help from other counties?"
"The county troops in other counties are unable to even protect themselves. How can we have the extra troops to reinforce our Deng County? What's more, the mobilization of county troops must be approved by the state and county governments."
Hearing this, the military commander surnamed Wu looked at Zhao Ying again and said sternly: "Your Excellency, you decide! As long as your Excellency speaks, we swear to live and die with Deng County, and fight to the death against the Chongling rebels!"
The rest of the people also stood up, stepped in and saluted Zhao Ying, and said in unison: "We are willing to follow you, live and die together, advance and retreat together, and fight to the death with the invading enemy!"
Looking at these brothers under his command, Zhao Ying felt deeply pleased.
He waved his hands to everyone and motioned for everyone to sit down. He said: "Zhu Tiandu's troops are coming fiercely. It is only a matter of time before each county will fall, and our Deng County is no exception."
People looked at each other and lowered their heads.
He continued: "I, Zhao Ying, have been practicing martial arts since I was a child. I am familiar with military books and am willing to serve the country with my life. However, today's court is ignorant and unethical, leading to chaos in the world and people's livelihood. Such a court is really worth waiting for.
Are you loyal to the end?"
When everyone heard this, they were all shocked. Zhao Ying said no more, picked up the wine glass, raised his head, and drank the wine in one gulp.
Everyone stood up together again and asked nervously: "Sir, what do you want?"
Bang! Zhao Ying slammed the cup in her hand to the ground and said categorically: "Such a court can't be guaranteed! I am willing to defect to the Zhu Tiandu Department. I wonder what the opinions of brothers from all over the country are like?"
Everyone subconsciously opened their mouths and looked at Zhao Ying blankly. After a while, the two military commanders both drank the wine in their glasses, then threw their glasses to the ground and said: "My subordinates are in the army, and those who follow are not
It’s the court, it’s the adults. Wherever the adults go, the subordinates will go!”
The other eight village chiefs also said in unison: "Wherever the master goes, my subordinates will go!"
"Well, you are worthy of being my brother, Zhao Ying! From now on, I, Zhao Ying, and all of you brothers will share the blessings and share the hardships!"
"We share the blessings and share the hardships!" everyone said in unison.
The military commander surnamed Wei said suspiciously: "My lord, we want to defect to the Zhu Tiandu Department, but...will they accept me?"
Zhao Ying looked up and smiled and said: "General, come out and speak!"
Following his words, the curtain at the side door of the hall was raised, and a group of people walked out. The handsome young man at the head was none other than Liu Xiu.
He entered the hall and saw everyone present looking at him with blank faces. He said with a smile: "I, Liu Xiu, serve as a partial general in the Zhu Tiandu Department!"
Liu Xiu?! Upon hearing the name Liu Xiu, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically.
Without waiting for everyone to react, Liu Xiu continued: "Here, I can assure everyone that as long as they are brothers who sincerely surrender to us, the Zhu Tiandu Department will sincerely accept them and will never wrong them!
"
Zhao Ying took the lead to set an example. He knelt down on one knee to Liu Xiu, stepped in and saluted, and said: "My subordinate Zhao Ying is willing to serve the general as a dog and horse!"
Everyone present woke up from a dream, looked at each other, and then left the table one after another, walked to the center of the hall, then knelt down on one knee, clasped their fists and said, "We are willing to serve the general as hard as we can!"
Liu Xiu took a deep breath, first helped Zhao Ying up, then waved to the rest of the people, and said with a smile: "Everyone, get up! From now on, we are our brothers, we can work together to create a great cause, save the people of the world from fire and water, and overthrow Xinmang
,Recover the great man!"
"Recover the great man! Recover the great man! Recover the great man!" Everyone said three times in one breath.
