In early May, Peng Yue's army left Qufu. After overestimating his father's danger, he moved westward. The hills and mountains of Lu Di gradually disappeared, and the scenery was replaced by continuous wilderness and a vast lake with a radius of hundreds of miles.
Peng Yue proudly introduced to Chen Ping: "This is Ju Ye Ze."
Chen Ping looked around and saw dense forests on the banks of the river, blocking out the sun. Rare birds were flying under the blue sky, and strange animals were running through the bushes.
"Qizawa is called Daye, and it truly deserves its reputation."
This large lake is the predecessor of Liangshan Shuibo. It is located in the middle of Wei, Lu, and Song Dynasties. It has always been an area of no concern. Just like this low-lying area continues to collect water, it has continued to attract people from Liang and Lu to flee for hundreds of years. Refugees from the harsh government and generous wealth poured in. They cultivated fields on the edge of the lake, or fished and hunted. Some even gathered in hundreds and thousands and became bandits.
Hundreds of years ago, there was a bandit Zhi here who had nine thousand soldiers and ran rampant among the princes.
As for Peng Yue, he was just one of the bandit leaders who emerged one after another in Juye Ze. He happened to encounter a great chaos in the world, and Qidi was killed by the black husband. It was difficult for heroes from various fields to become successful, so he cooperated with Taishan for Peng Yue who raised troops in Juye. A group of thieves took advantage of the situation and took advantage of it.
Among the people under his command, there are also many wild fishermen, and there is even a unit that supports harpoon and net operations.
"Around this Juyeze, there are a thousand rivers and harbors, eight hundred miles in all directions, mountains and huge waves, and the water reaches the sky. In the past, when the army came to suppress it, people who were skilled in the water were able to stop me, and I couldn't defeat it. So we fled into the swamp, where there were only pools of water and endless reeds. Unless we were locals, we could not find the way. We had no means of fighting, so we chopped bitter bamboos, cut spears, and made arrows out of reed poles, which were as dense as rain."
In short, he was like his descendant Song Jiang, who gathered in the mountains and forests, built camps, and whether he resisted violence, killed the rich, helped the poor, and upheld justice for heaven is a matter of benevolence and wisdom.
But it is undeniable that when Peng Yue led his army back to his hometown of Changyi (Juye County, Shandong Province), he was indeed welcomed by the locals as a hero, and Peng Yue was also very heroic and would march from Jibei and Lu. The extorted food was distributed to the elders, and he even stood in the car and threw money into the crowd...
"The Juye area used to be poor. There was nothing but fish. Even if people gathered to rob Zezhong, life was not easy. When the world was in chaos, I wanted to wait and see, but unexpectedly, I was given armor, gold, and silk. Only then did we have the capital to raise an army."
Peng Yue looked at Chen Ping: "And those money and soldiers were gifts from Jiaodong merchants. Is this the instruction of Chen Jun?"
To this day, Chen Ping does not have to deny: "Two years ago, Duke Xia raised troops in Nanjun, and Jiaodong was trapped by Hu Hai's rebel troops in Linzi and Langya. Thanks to General Peng and the Taishan bandits, Jiaodong's dilemma was alleviated. "
Then Chen Ping, in turn, helped the Qin officials in Linzi and Langya to resist Peng Yue and Long Qie. The war in Qi dragged on for more than a year. Only then could Jiaodong walk safely among the various forces of Qi, Yan, and Zhao. , maintained the balance of power, and protected itself.
Peng Yue said: "Thank you so much. If we hadn't raised the army in the first place, we would not have had the wealth and happiness of the Juye children in the past two years. You and I can each take what we need."
"Because of this friendship, when you come to Linzi to talk to me in person, I am willing to listen to you more!"
At that time, Chen Ping had not yet revealed his identity, so he asked Peng Yue as an ordinary lobbyist: "Does the general know where the world belongs?"
The answer he gave was naturally "The world belongs to Duke Xia".
"The Duke of Xia raised his troops from Jingzhou to attack Yongliang, entered the Pass, and continued the work of the First Emperor. He collected the troops of the world and killed the tyrants and traitors. When he surrendered to the city, he respected his generals, and when he was bribed, he divided his ministers and shared the benefits with the world. Heroes and talents are all willing to be used. However, the Xiang family is tyrannical, remembering neither their achievements nor their crimes. General Peng occupied Xue County, and the Xiang family thought that Xue was the land of Chu, so they did not forget to ask for it. Long Qie They even fought for Linzi, and there was a gap with the general, so that the two countries fought hand to hand. Yongchi first surrendered to Qi and then surrendered to Chu."
"Today the Duke of Xia and Chu are duel in the Central Plains. The soldiers of the world are coming from all directions, and the Shu Han's millet ships are coming down. Send generals to cross the West River to defeat the Western Wei Dynasty, and raise thirty-two cities east of the river. They will fend off the soldiers of Taiyuan on the upper side, and then go down. Changping, killing Lu Goujian; Chi You's soldiers are incomparable to human strength, but a blessing from heaven. This summer, when the father-in-law came out of Hangu, he had taken advantage of the millet in Guanzhong, blocked the danger of Gao, and crossed the Baima River. On the way to the border, far from the mouth of Feihu, those who submit to the emperor will perish first. If a general can go to Xia Gong, wealth and honor can be obtained and preserved; if he does not go to Xia Gong, he can stand up and wait for danger."
Peng Yue felt that there was some truth, but he felt that the other party only sent a small passerby, which was too insincere. When Chen Ping revealed his identity, he was surprised and went down the hall to avoid the banquet.
Chen Ping was full of tricks. He once rebelled against the Xiongnu and settled Jiaodong. He was a good dancer in Yanqi and managed Jiaodong into a peaceful land that was rare in the troubled times of Guandong. Peng Yue knew his name.
In addition, in the early years, Chen Ping sent merchants to secretly fund Juye water pirates to fight against the Qin Dynasty, so he half-believed the matter and listened to Chen Ping. Anyway, Cao Shen in Jiaodong was defending and it was difficult to leave for a while, and the situation in the West was getting more and more wrong. , then agreed to strike with Jiaodong.
But the situation is what it is, and conditions still need to be discussed.
Entering the county temple in Changyi, Peng Yue pointed to the Juye disciples outside and said, "You have also seen that when I make decisions, I not only make decisions for myself, but also consider other people."
"When we first raised the army, we killed many Qin officials. Can Duke Xia, the regent of the Qin Dynasty, really agree to my request and let us keep Jibei?"
Chen Ping laughed: "When we captured Jiaodong, we also killed many mediocre officials who were stubborn and determined to be loyal to the puppet emperor Hu Hai."
"At the beginning, General Peng suppressed violence, resisted the tyranny of Hu Hai, and killed his harsh officials. He was not guilty but had meritorious service. As for making Tian Guang the king of Qi..."
Chen Ping spread his hands and said, "Isn't this a bad idea from a Confucian scholar from Lu?"
Peng Yue stroked his beard: "Indeed, it was those people who lobbied all day long to trick me into establishing Tian Guang. It is really hateful and should be killed!"
Chen Pingdao: "However, Confucian scholars crown branches and trees with the threat of dead oxen. They use many words to say that they eat without plowing and clothe themselves without weaving. They waggle their lips and stick their tongues, and are good at making disputes. In order to confuse the lord of the world and make them If the scholars in the world do not turn against their true nature, but pretend to be a filial brother, but are lucky enough to be granted a title, wealth and honor, they are guilty of a great crime."
"Fortunately, General Peng found his way back. As long as he agrees to recruit people, the door of the Qin Dynasty will always be open to the general!"
"And the regent has promised that as long as General Peng helps Qin attack Chu, the position of Chehou will be the head of a county, and the world will be settled early, Xia Gong will definitely fulfill his promise!"
"In addition, General Peng's soldiers will be given legal status."
"Those with high merit will be appointed to the rank of thirty-six ministers (five or above)."
"Those with low merit will be appointed to seventy-two positions (no higher than above), and all of them will have food and salary. Each one will be the county magistrate of Jibei and a local miser."
"Xia Gong also promised that as long as General Peng is around, the imperial court will never interfere in the affairs of Jibei."
Peng Yue was suspicious and not very sure about what would happen in the future: "Is this really possible? I heard that Chang Yuan of Shu County was moved to Xianyang and put under house arrest."
This big thief was far away in the east and had quite good information. However, Chen Ping smiled and said:
"There is no such thing as house arrest. Chang Yan is to be the right prime minister, and he has been honored as Chehou. As for the other surrendered generals, Yin Tong is now the governor of Yuzhang, while Xinyi is the governor of Changsha, and Lu Yan is the governor of Nanyang. They are all
A long official."
However, Peng Yue still could not appease the suspicion in his heart. Chen Ping stopped his smile and said solemnly:
"If the general is hesitant, you can kill Chen Ping to sacrifice the flag here, send my head to Duke Xia to express his determination to fight to the end, and then send his troops to help Chu and Qin as enemies."
"Xia Gong marched eastward with hundreds of thousands of troops and won the battle. Now he has captured 30,000 people from Xingyang General Peng. Can it really change the situation of the war? Should we keep our current wealth or be buried with the Chu State? I hope General Peng will make an early decision!
"
"How dare you have such an intention? It's just that the heroes of Taishan under my command are partial to the Chu State and are not willing to listen..."
Peng Yue wanted to continue delaying, but at this moment, his subordinate came with a piece of news:
"Half a month ago, Xiang Liang withdrew eastward and reached Xiangcheng. Yongchi, Li Shang and Liangdi County Duke suddenly rebelled against Chu. Xiang Liang's army was divided into two. Qin cavalry pursued Xiang Liang and fought with Xiang Liang in Suiyang.
If you save them, there will be victory or defeat for each other. Now Qin and Chu are at war between Chen and Song!"
"This is the day when Chu will die."
Peng Yue looked up to the sky and sighed. Seeing that the balance of victory was once again tilted towards Heifu, it would be too late if he didn't jump off the ship. He didn't care about anything anymore and made a decision immediately:
"Suiyang is only three hundred miles away from Changyi, and the army can reach it in twenty days. I will go to help Duke Xia encircle Xiang Liang to show my intention..."
This was not Chen Ping's plan. If Peng Yueru led his troops, Heifu had to divide his troops to guard against it, which was not good.
Then Chen Ping said: "There is no need for General Peng to intervene in the Suiyang matter. There is a place where not only is the defense empty, but there are also many noble and important ministers of Chu State. Duke Xia hopes that General Peng can attack it!"
"where?"
Chen Pingping smiled and pointed to the southeast: "Pengcheng, the capital of Chu!"