Long Yuan's move not only knocked the county soldier on his horse to pieces, but also frightened the faces of the surrounding county soldiers. One of the county soldiers instinctively reacted with a strange scream and aimed a spear at Long Yuan.
Yuan stabbed it hard.
However, his spear did not reach Long Yuan. Long Yuan had already unexpectedly dodged to his side, reached out his arm, and pinched the throat of the county soldier. He did not see how he was accumulating strength.
There was a crisp click, and when I looked at the county soldier, I saw that the cartilage of his throat had been crushed by Long Yuan.
The county soldier's eyes widened in disbelief, and he slowly fell down in front of Long Yuan. Long Yuan didn't even look at the corpse at his feet. He glanced at the hundreds of county soldiers and government servants around him with lightning eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
, asked with a ferocious smile: "Who else wants to fight with me? Stand up now!"
The surrounding county soldiers retreated one after another, looking at Long Yuan in horror, their hands holding spears trembling.
All the young and strong county soldiers had already been transferred away by Deng Fengzheng, and the remaining county soldiers were mostly old and weak, or they were newly recruited soldiers with no experience.
Seeing Long Yuan knocking out one person and one horse, and strangling another person to death, the county magistrate Zhong Wei and the county lieutenant Zhang Qing turned pale and their bodies were shaking non-stop.
Let's not talk about whether Liu Xiu laid an ambush around Chung Ling. With just such a guard beside him, it was already difficult for him to resist.
At this time, Zhong Wei suddenly regretted again. He regretted that he had listened to Zhang Qing's words and insisted on coming to Chongling to arrest Liu Xiu. As a result, he was now riding a tiger and it was difficult to get off. It was neither possible to leave nor not to leave.
Just when Zhong Wei was sweating on his forehead and wondering what to do, Liu Xiu in the courtyard asked again: "Where are Zhong Wei, the commander of Cai Yang, and Zhang Qing, the captain of Cai Yang?"
Liu Xiu's call made the two of them tremble again. They planned to continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb. A young villager raised his finger and pointed at Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing and asked loudly: "County Magistrate Zhong, Zhang Qing
County Lieutenant, His Majesty is summoning you two, don’t you two hear it?”
Seeing Long Yuan alone, the hundreds of county soldiers and government officials present were frightened. The villagers in Chungling became bolder and no longer took the two local officials, Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing, seriously.
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were sweating like rain. They first glanced at the young villager and then looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
They really didn't have the guts to attack Liu Xiu. Although Liu Xiu only brought more than a hundred people, one of them was so impressive, but what about the others?
Just when the two of them were hesitating, the young villager loudly asked again: "County Magistrate Zhong, Magistrate Zhang, your Majesty is summoning you two!"
There were more beads of sweat on the foreheads of Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing. They looked at each other and asked each other with their eyes, should they enter the door of Liu Liang's house, or should they not?
At this time, Liu Xiu asked happily: "County Magistrate Zhong and County Lieutenant Zhang, do you want me to personally invite you two in?"
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were both shocked. They did not dare to pretend to be deaf and mute anymore. They grinned secretly, gritted their teeth, and carefully walked through the courtyard gate and walked into the courtyard.
Seeing this, the county soldiers and government officials behind them all shouted: "Sir?"
Zhong Wei stopped, turned around, and said in a deep voice: "You are all guarding here. No one is allowed to move without my order!"
While speaking, his eyes happened to sweep over Long Yuan, and he found that Long Yuan was also staring at him intently. He felt a chill in his heart and bowed to Long Yuan involuntarily.
Long Yuan snorted coldly, withdrew his gaze and looked at the county soldiers and government officials opposite.
As Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing walked into the courtyard, the people present stood up one after another, and countless eyes focused on them.
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing didn't know how they got through the crowd or how they came to Liu Xiu. After standing in front of Liu Xiu, they were at a loss. They forced smiles on their faces, and their smiles were uglier than crying.
"Bold!" A loud shout suddenly came from beside Liu Xiu, and Fu An shouted.
His voice almost paralyzed the frightened Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing to the ground. They stared blankly at the ferocious-looking Fu An, their bodies trembling non-stop.
"When I see His Majesty, you two stand up without kneeling. Do you know what the crime is?" Fu An asked one word at a time.
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing's knees went weak, and there were two pops. They knelt down on the ground, kowtowed forward, and stammered: "Wei Chen...Wei Chen, I kowtow to Your Majesty..."
Liu Xiu looked at the two of them with a smile.
When he was still in Chongling, Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were already county officials, but they had not yet become county magistrates and county captains. Liu Xiu had met them and knew them, but they had not known each other for a long time.
More contact.
He said slowly: "Zhong Wei, Zhang Qing!"
"Wei...Wei Chen is here!" Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing quickly agreed.
Liu Xiuxiao asked, "Why did you two bring so many soldiers and horses to Chongling?"
"This..." Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing looked at each other and subconsciously raised their arms to wipe the sweat on their faces.
Zhang Qing was bolder than Zhong Wei, or perhaps thicker-skinned. He cleared his throat and said seriously: "When I heard that Your Majesty arrived at Chung Ling, I... led the county soldiers and government officials to protect Your Majesty.
!”
"Haha!" Liu Xiu laughed and said, "County Lieutenant Zhang is really as shameless as ever!"
Zhang Qing bowed and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. I am ashamed that I can't live up to it!"
Liu Xiu said: "I have just made a statement in public that I will exempt Nanyang from taxes for two years. Two years later, I will implement a fifteen-year tax in Nanyang. What do Magistrate Zhong and County Lieutenant Zhang think?"
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing, who originally lowered their heads and did not dare to look Liu Xiu in the face, involuntarily raised their eyes, looked at Liu Xiu in surprise, and said hesitantly: "This...this..."
Liu Xiu asked in confusion: "Do you two have any objections?"
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were shocked, and hurriedly kowtowed forward, saying: "I don't dare, it's just... it's just..."
It's just that Nanyang is not under the control of Luoyang now, but is under the control of Deng Feng. You Liu Xiu, the emperor of Luoyang, said that you can reduce taxes for two years in Nanyang, but that's useless!
Liu Xiu said cheerfully: "Deng's thieves are blocking the countryside with their troops. They want to fight me to the death in Duxiang. When I defeat the Deng thieves, Nanyang will naturally return to the imperial court."
After hearing Liu Xiu's confident words, Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing looked at each other cautiously, and then they said in unison: "Your Majesty is a wise man who loves the people of Nanyang. This is the good fortune of Nanyang! The good fortune of the people of Nanyang!"
"Yes." Liu Xiu nodded with satisfaction and said, "Today, I went back to Chung Ling, firstly to worship my ancestors, and secondly, because I haven't seen my fellow villagers for many years, and I miss them very much."
At this point, he paused, and then Liu Xiu slowly stood up, walked around the table, and came to Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing. The two tensed up and lowered their heads.
Liu Xiu stood still in front of them and said word by word: "After I leave Chongling and return to Duxiang, if the folks in Chongling lose a hair, I will blame you two. What I said
, did you two hear clearly?"
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing had no great ability and were just outsiders. Liu Xiu was worried that after he left Chongling, they would take revenge on the people of Chongling in order to please Deng Feng.
Liu Xiu's words moved all the villagers in Chongling. Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were trembling with fear and said anxiously: "Weichen...Weichen must do his best to protect the villagers in Chungling.
Don’t let His Majesty worry..."
"Okay, you two get up!"
Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing were relieved and stood up from the ground tremblingly.
The coldness on Liu Xiu's face disappeared, and he said with a smile: "It's a coincidence that Magistrate Zhong and Lieutenant Zhang came here. They caught up with me at a banquet for the folks in Chung Ling. You two sit down and have some together!"
"Wei Chen doesn't dare! Wei Chen doesn't dare!" Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing held their shoulders, shrank their necks, and shook their heads.
Liu Xiu smiled and said in a brisk tone: "Now I am treating you two to a banquet."
"Thank...your majesty!" Under Liu Xiu's arrangement, Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing sat down at the banquet.
It can be said that the two of them didn't know how to eat this meal. They didn't know how they finished the meal. When the two of them said goodbye to Liu Xiu and returned to Caiyang City, they felt that their cheeks were about to freeze with laughter.
.
Zhong Wei turned to look at Zhang Qing. The latter understood what he wanted to ask. He shook his head repeatedly and said with lingering fear: "Liu Xiu is not something we can deal with. Sir, you just saw that one of the guards beside Liu Xiu was...
It's so great. If we really take action, we, the hundreds of brothers, may not be enough to fill the gap between people's teeth! The top priority is to report the news to Deng Feng as soon as possible and push the matter to Deng Feng so that we can get out!"
After hearing his words, Zhong Wei nodded and sighed: "That's the only way it can be!"
Before Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing returned to Caiyang City, they sent county troops to Duxiang to report to Deng Feng. They told Deng Feng that Liu Xiu was currently in Chung Ling. However, there were many soldiers and horses around Liu Xiu, and the soldiers and horses were very strong.
Caiyang County can handle it within its capabilities.
It was only through the tip-off from Zhong Wei and Zhang Qing that Deng Feng knew that Liu Xiu had gone to Chongling. He was surprised and furious. He summoned Yancen and Dong Xin and questioned Dong Xin face to face.
It is said that Duxiang is your territory. You have been operating in Duxiang for many years, and any disturbance here cannot be hidden from your eyes and ears. But now? Liu Xiu left the Duxiang military camp and went to Chongling. Such a big place
You know nothing about this?
Under Deng Feng's questioning, Dong Xin was sweating profusely and stammered: "General Deng, during this period, the enemy army... the enemy army really did not make any large-scale movements!"
Liu Xiu was the majestic emperor, but who would have thought that he would dare to go to Chung Ling with only a hundred cavalry, return to his hometown to worship his ancestors, and entertain the people in his hometown in a grand manner.
The war was about to begin, and Liu Xiu's return home really had the effect of removing fuel from the cauldron.
The people of Chongling and Caiyang spread the word about Liu Xiu's governance everywhere, saying that Nanyang was the hometown of the emperor. After Nanyang returned to the jurisdiction of the imperial court, His Majesty would exempt Nanyang from taxes for two years. After two years, Nanyang would implement a tax of 15 per cent.
Two years of tax exemption and one tax for every fifteen years. These two policies are too tempting for the people of Nanyang.
The people of Nanyang have suffered from the scourge of war and have been burdened by heavy taxes for many years. Now the Emperor of Luoyang said that Nanyang will be tax-free for two years, and two years later, a tax of one for fifteen will be implemented. This immediately tilted the balance in people's hearts.
Deng Feng's foundation in Nanyang was the people's support. Now as Liu Xiu's political policies were spread, Deng Feng's foundation was immediately shaken. The people of Nanyang did not want to experience any more battles, no more wars, let alone the pain of heavy taxes.
.
On the frontal battlefield where the two armies were confronting each other in Duxiang, Liu Xiu's plan to pull out all the firepower was not so obvious. However, in the hinterland of Nanyang, Liu Xiu's plan to pull out all the firepower was already beginning to ferment rapidly. This will be evident in the coming battles.
