On April 25, 20,000 soldiers of the Southern Expedition Army who had arrived in Jiangling were gathered in the open land between Jiangling and Ying County. Marquis Wu Zhong reviewed their formation at Jiangling Tower and announced that they had occupied Yan County.
All other Nanjun counties, including Anlu County, have been recovered, and Hengshan County is also under the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army.
"The king is victorious!"
"The Southern Expeditionary Army will be victorious!"
The soldiers all felt sincerely happy. Hei Fu pressed his hands down to silence everyone, and then let them express their wishes.
First there were hundreds of people, then thousands, then tens of thousands. Many voices came together, and the soldiers at the bottom shouted their wishes loudly to their commander:
"Junhou, we want to go home!"
Han Xin, Qu Ji and other military officials looked at this scene and were worried. Heifu's words "Jingnan has not yet succeeded, Bao Ze still has to work hard" were not down-to-earth enough and could not touch ordinary soldiers. However, they were unable to do anything except stop them.
, I don’t know how to deal with this situation.
I wonder what Wu Zhonghou’s magic method is?
Wu Chen even whispered in a low voice: "I can't stop it. Isn't it because of the words 'I will take you home' that the soldiers followed the king and raised troops and were willing to be driven by him?"
But Heifu just smiled and said loudly:
"I know that most of the second and third sons are from Huaihan. You will join the Southern Expeditionary Army as garrison soldiers, which can last for four years or two years."
"This general joined the Southern Expedition Army late. He only served as a general for two years, but during these two years, he shared life and death with you. Everyone in the Southern Expedition Army is my brother Pao Ze. The younger ones are
He's my nephew."
Heifu looked at the big flag with "Southern Expeditionary Army" written on the side of the three Qin Li. It was made in Lingnan and was already a bit old.
He couldn't help but sigh: "Just like this flag, so many things have happened in two years."
"I and my two or three sons once overcame thorns and thorns, wiped out hundreds of Yue, made the Yue king bow his head, appointed subordinates, and expanded thousands of miles of territory."
Who among the people present has not suffered from the bites of insects and ants and the heat in Lingnan? Naturally, they remember who led them out of that green hell.
"But after the death of the First Emperor, the treacherous ministers and rebellious sons failed the Southern Expeditionary Army and wanted to kill their officials and release their soldiers so that Luliang could be controlled forever. Therefore, in order to return home, the Southern Expeditionary Army had no choice but to follow the First Emperor's imperial edict and raised troops to resist."
"I once won the Battle of Wuchang with 3,000 hand-to-hand weapons, defeated 8,000 enemy soldiers, and rescued more than 20,000 veterans of the Southern Expedition Army who almost perished in the flames."
"I crossed Yunmeng with five thousand warriors again, and fought with the fifty thousand people in Anlu County before they were about to become captives, defeating tens of thousands of enemy troops. Finally, I led the people across the river, leaving the elders in my hometown safe and sound.
thing."
"As for the Battle of Jiangling? You are no longer unfamiliar with it. I took the Huarong Trail, and Han Duwei crossed the river in white. In the end, everyone shouted "Righteousness is in the Southern Army", attacked from both sides, defeated Feng Wuze, and won the decisive battle
A great victory!”
These are all legends created by Heifu. Even if you have not been able to personally participate, you are familiar with them.
It was him who led the Southern Expedition Army invincibly!
Hei Fu sighed: "It's not easy, my dear fellows, to be able to achieve so many great achievements in two years. Everyone in the Southern Expedition Army, from the generals to the officers to the soldiers, is a great person!"
These words touched everyone deeply.
But Heifu changed his voice and talked about the most important thing: "The southern expedition to Baiyue ended half a year ago. I promised to take you home, and I have done it. Now Nanjun and Hengshan have
Again, the army is standing at the door of our house. The soldiers from these two places want to go home and have a look. This is only natural..."
"So, what I want to say today is that you can all go home!"
The 20,000 people in the city cheered and cheered, while all the military officers were shocked: All the soldiers have been released home, how will we fight in the future?
However, Heifu's next words were even more shocking!
He waved his arms: "I would also like to say that the Southern Expeditionary Army has completed its mission and should be disbanded today, right here!"
…
"Just...disband on the spot? Are you kidding me?" As soon as these words came out, even Yuan Yong who was standing aside was dumbfounded.
Han Xin was also anxious and almost wanted to step forward to stop him, but Xiao He stopped him, smiled and shook his head at Han Xin.
As the short soldiers and personal guards spread these words throughout the three armies, the cheers stopped and everyone was stunned.
Even the first people clamoring to go home were a little confused.
"The Southern Expedition Army is gone?"
Because of Heifu's various measures, such as collecting the bodies of soldiers who died in battle and placing them in the loyal soldiers' cemetery, engraving each person's name on the monument, and trying his best to meet everyone's needs for food and clothing, so that they could avoid cold and hunger.
Most importantly, fulfill your promise and take them home.
This makes everyone have a high sense of identification with this army.
When they left home, Nanzheng Army was like their home! And Shiwu Paoze was like a brother.
Now that Wuzhong Hou Daren allowed everyone to go home, they should have been happy, but when they learned that the other "home" behind them was gone, the soldiers were a little reluctant to leave it, and they could not help but cry.
Heifu took the banner of the Southern Expeditionary Army from Mu's hand, raised his head and said with a smile:
"An army without soldiers is nothing but an empty shell."
"A general who has no soldiers to trace is no longer a general, but a common man."
"Rather than do this, it's better to leave."
Now some people quit. Yuan Yong took the lead and shouted loudly with the brothers from Anlu:
"General, they want to go home, but we are not going back. General, please don't abandon us."
"Please Wu Zhonghou never disband the Southern Expedition Army!"
More and more people knelt down to petition, while those who wanted to go home looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
But everyone's urging only resulted in Heifu shouting:
"I've made up my mind!"
After that, he actually lowered the Southern Expeditionary Army flag on the flagpole in front of 20,000 people, folded it very carefully, and handed it into the hands of the military judge.
"From today on, there will be no Southern Expeditionary Army in the world! Those who want to go home should disperse."
There was a moment of silence, followed by howling and crying. Tens of thousands of people couldn't help but kneel on the ground. The soldiers who didn't easily shed tears were crying like children at this moment.
Until Heifu's voice sounded again.
"Besides disbanding the Southern Expeditionary Army and letting the soldiers who want to go home, there is one more thing to do today."
"Before you go back to your hometown to farm and live the good life you hope for, please listen to this incident. What just happened so close to us!"
Everyone raised their faces with tears in their eyes, and Hei Fu waved. At the tower, a young military official wearing linen mourning clothes walked up to Hei Fu, followed closely by his short-sighted soldiers, all wearing mourning clothes, and everyone had a hand.
Holding each tablet...
Although the Southern Expeditionary Army briefly paid tribute to the First Emperor of Qin, it ended after the capture of Jiangling.
Who do these people serve as filial piety?
Hei Fu pulled the young man to the city wall: "You should know him. His name is Gongwei, and he is a Sima of another department under me. His father, Gongao, was my old department, and is now the governor of Guilin."
"As early as more than ten years ago, Gong Ao moved to Yuzhang with his wife and children, and he himself followed me. However, not all the Gong clan moved, and there are still more than fifty people staying in Yan County.
."
"Yan County is the only Nanjun county that we have not conquered, because the Nanyang County Governor brought 5,000 people to settle there. And just yesterday, we learned the news that the Gong clan members in Yan County,
Together with the family members of some local soldiers, they were actually arrested by local officials and clans!"
There were no surprised exclamations, the soldiers just whispered. This was something they all expected.
Although everyone shouted "righteousness is with the Southern Army", in the eyes of the court and Xianyang, they were just treason.
As Heifu's right-hand man, Gong Ao's family will definitely be implicated.
"It's not just the Gong clan, it's not just Yan County."
Heifu sneered:
"Conspiracy, this is the crime that the treacherous minister and traitor who has returned to Xianyang has condemned everyone in the Southern Expedition Army!"
"Do the second and third sons know what punishment they will be punished for treason if they follow the laws of Qin?"
The whispers stopped, and the soldiers fell silent again.
"Qu Ji, tell them!"
"promise!"
The soldier holding the flag of the Southern Expeditionary Army in his hand shouted loudly:
"For the crime of treason, even if the person himself is dead, his body should still be killed, and the owl's head should be abandoned in the market to intimidate Xiaoxiao. Then, according to the criminal law, his three clans will be slaughtered! That is, your parents, brothers, and wives!"
At this time, Lieutenant Gong answered loudly: "They say they belong to the three tribes, but my people in Yan County have long been out of the three tribes, but they were still executed."
This incident is true. Although those cousins are already estranged and were unwilling to follow Gong Ao to Yuzhang and even broke up the family, they suffered such a misfortune today and Gong Wei felt very uncomfortable.
Quji nodded: "Yes, the law says that if five families work together, ten families are not allowed to move without authorization. They supervise each other and report to each other. If they are not exposed, ten families will sit together. How many people are there for those who conspire to rebel? How many neighbors are there?
Dian, Rizzo, and the prison gate must all sit together for detention and interrogation."
"In other words, if Nan County is controlled by the imperial court's cruel officials like Yan County, no one in your three tribes, relatives, or neighbors will be able to escape the torture."
The threats continued, and Qu Ji began to describe the horror of those punishments:
"You have not seen executions at the market entrance in the past, right? The cruel officials will tattoo your face with ink, gouge out your nose, chop off your left and right arms, beat you to death with a whip, then cut off your head, and dump the mutilated corpse on the street
.During the execution, if someone shouts or curses, pluck out his tongue! Only in this way can the people of the world be frightened, so that they will not dare to follow suit, and they will have no choice but to obediently pay heavy rent and serve in heavy service!"
Gao Jianli suffered this punishment in Xianyang, and when Heifu went to Jiaodong to take office, his assassins also suffered this punishment. The Tian Heng brothers rebelled, and many of the remaining party members were massacred.
But now, the former law enforcers have become what the court calls "criminals."
Not only those present today, but also all the soldiers of the Southern Expeditionary Army, who will die if they do not disobey?
At this moment, everyone looked horrified.
Quji was also angry at the soldiers' short-sightedness. At this time, he couldn't help pointing at them and scolding them: "You think that after you leave the army and return to your hometown with the reward given by the king, you can farm well and enjoy it in peace."
Le? What a delusion!"
"I am a military official, and I deal with laws and orders every day. I know that in Qin's laws, there is no law that does not punish everyone, only the sky net is vast, and there are no omissions! So, don't take any chances. Once the Southern Expeditionary Army disperses, you will not be able to pass it.
In a year and a half, the imperial court will send a large army to counterattack, and what awaits you is the family lineage, the massacre of the city, and the rivers of blood!"
"The Southern Expeditionary Army is like a boat. Now that the boat has reached the middle of the river, before it reaches the shore, the people on top are rushing to jump off, but they will be the first to drown."
"Wu Zhonghou is like a big tree. He sheltered more than 100,000 soldiers from the wind and rain, and led us to where we are today. But no matter how big the tree is, it can't support it alone. How can we bear to abandon it? In my eyes
, you are like a group of deserters!"
Qu Ji said the emotional point, and couldn't help but sigh: "I really don't want you to see your parents and wife being killed, and regret it so much that you cried and said before being beheaded: 'I shouldn't have done that on that day.
In the pursuit of temporary comfort, he put down his sword and spear, abandoned Marquis Wu Zhong, and abandoned the Southern Expeditionary Army!'"
The tragedy of the Gongwei family was right in front of them, and Qu Ji's words were so shocking that most of the soldiers who were blinded by the short-term victory and could not see the cruel truth of the future were frightened awake.
They began to realize that once the Southern Expeditionary Army was gone, everyone would lose their shelter, and their peaceful life might not last long.
As a result, many people who wanted to go home, as well as those who had no intention of going back, knelt down and bowed to Mr. Hei:
"Marquis Wu Zhong, I was wrong."
"Please don't abandon us, sir!"
"Please do not disband the Southern Expedition Army!"
"Wuzhonghou! Wuzhonghou! Wuzhonghou!"
For a time, he was calling and calling, just to win back Hei Fu's heart.
Han Xin was impressed and looked at Heifu. He had just given up the stage to his two subordinates. One of them stood on the other side of the city wall with his hands behind his hands, looking at Jiangling City, which had gradually returned to prosperity. He didn't know what he was thinking.
When he heard the chorus of 20,000 people calling from behind him, he just said something lightly.
"An army, once its mission has been completed, is destined to disappear. Gentlemen, the Southern Expedition Army is gone, and it will be difficult to regain it!"
After these words were spread loudly, disappointment swept over everyone present. Everyone lowered their heads and fell into a brief confusion.
Until Heifu came back into their sight.
"But what has disappeared is just a name! As long as the second and third sons do not abandon Heifu, the soldiers and generals will still be there! Even if the name is gone and replaced by another one, the soul of this army will still be there!"
Hei Fu bowed to everyone, his voice was urgent and firm!
"But I won't force anyone to stay. If you want to go home, just go home."
Having said this, no one got up and left anymore. They were more worried about the future, and they were also afraid that when they got up together, Pao Ze's eyes wanted to eat them alive...
Heifu showed a satisfied smile: "The next words are for those who are willing to stay."
"The Southern Expedition is over, but the war is not. We were ordered to conquer Baiyue, and then we fought back home together. In two months, we counterattacked from Lingnan to Jianghan. We repeatedly defeated powerful enemies and were invincible!"
"But from today on, what we have to do has become another thing."
As soon as he finished speaking, a new flag was erected next to Hei Fu, just like the "Southern Expeditionary Army" of the past, with three Qin Li written on it...
The literate military officer raised his head, tried to open his eyes wide, and read out two of them...
"north……"
"Fight?"
"Yes, we should not indulge in short-term happiness. In order to enjoy long-term peace in the future, we should use our remaining courage to chase the poor bandits! Fengtian Jingnan, Northern Expedition to the Central Plains!"
Heifu wiped away the “disheartened feeling” just now and became energetic again:
"The ancients said that every teacher has bells and drums to attack, but no army wants to invade! We are righteous teachers, not rebels! This new flag should not only be planted in Jianghan, but also Nanyang, Wuguan, and Xianyang City!
"
"From this moment on, the Southern Expeditionary Army will be renamed: Northern Expeditionary Army!"
…
ps: The fifth volume of "Yinghuo Planet" is finished.
