Chapter five hundred and seventy-five February westward expedition
Wang Yue soon found his first spy, a man in his thirties named Qi Shun, who lived in the same tent as Wang Yue.
Wang Yue doubted him for two reasons. One was that he had no wife, children or parents, and was alone. Everyone brought their wives and children, and even if they were not married, they would also bring their parents with them, but this man had no family at all.
Secondly, he is not from the Central Plains, but from the same state in Guanzhong, which is even more unreasonable. His family is in Guanzhong, how can he become a refugee?
Wang Yue then stared at him.
That night, Qi Shun got up and went out. Wang Yue pretended to go to the toilet and followed him out. He found that he and several others were squatting behind a large tent.
Wang Yue got into the big tent. There were sounds of snoring in the big tent. Everyone slept soundly after a tiring day. Wang Yue found an empty seat and lay down on his side, but he raised his ears to listen to the conversations of several people outside the tent.
"Everyone is here!"
Wang Yue was surprised. He recognized the voice and it was Qi Shun. He didn't think too much and listened carefully.
"Lord Brigadier, everyone is here."
"Shut up, there is no brigade commander here. If anyone dares to make a joke, I will kill him."
No one dared to say a word. Only the leader said: "The boss has an order. Everyone should stop making trouble now, so as not to alert others. I will go to Hexi in February. When I get to Zhangye, I will find excuses to encourage the refugees to rob the warehouse. After getting the weapons,
, organized the refugees to fight against the Hexi Army, have you all remembered it? No more trouble, stay quiet and lurk."
........
Wang Yue did not listen any more and quietly stood up and left. He went back to his tent first and slept next to Qi Shun's seat.
Not long after, Qi Shun came back. As soon as he lay down, Wang Yue hit him hard on the temple with his elbow. Qi Shun was knocked unconscious immediately...
When Qi Shun woke up, he found that he was lying on the cold ice. He was shivering with cold. He wanted to get up, but he couldn't move. His hands and feet were tied. When he tried to speak, he found that his mouth was blocked by rags.
He was immediately frightened, and when he turned his head, he saw his roommate Lao Wang squatting next to him, slashing his body with a dagger, and blood dripped from his body with every cut.
When Wang Yue saw that he was awake, he said coldly: "I didn't expect you to be the brigade commander. It's an unexpected bonus. I only want to ask you one question. What is your boss's name and which tent he lives in? I will only give it to you once.
Chance, if you don't tell me, you will die."
Qi Shun knew that he had been exposed, and he didn't know what to do. As soon as he rolled his eyes, he said, "Brush!" and one of his ears was cut off with a knife.
Qi Shun screamed in pain, but could not make a sound. He was writhing in pain and whining indiscriminately.
Wang Yue pinched his lower body, held it against him with a dagger, and stared at him cruelly, "If I ask you again, if you don't tell me, I will cut off your eggs and make you a eunuch first!"
Qi Shun completely collapsed and nodded quickly. Wang Yue took out the rag from his mouth. Qi Shun cried: "I will say, I will say anything!"
........
The next morning, Wang Yue met the enemy general Zhou Yaowu who lived in the West Seventeenth tent. He was about thirty-five or six years old, with a long and thin face, gloomy eyes, and no smile on his face.
He followed a large group of young refugees out to cut wood in the early morning and returned in the evening.
Wang Yue remembered his face and the place where he slept.
At three o'clock in the night, Zhou Yaowu was knocked unconscious by Wang Yue's surprise attack while he was sleeping, and was dragged out of the tent. When Zhou Yaowu woke up, he found himself in a military tent, with his hands tied behind his back, sitting on a chair. Opposite him was a three-man soldier.
The man, about ten years old, was dressed like a refugee, but behind him stood seven or eight soldiers in armor.
"General Zhou, it's really not easy! The dignified general is actually wearing rags and wandering among the refugees. Zhu Si should not have done it. He refused to pay his salary and forced the general to become a refugee."
Zhou Yaowu was very shocked, but he bit the bullet and said in Chenzhou dialect: "I don't understand what I'm talking about. I'm not a general, I'm just a farmer."
Wang Yue smiled and said: "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Wang Yue, the commander of the Hexi Internal Affairs Battalion, and also the Zhonglang General. I was ordered to find out the people's situation, but I accidentally lived in the same tent with a man named Qi Shun. I just found out
, it turns out that he is actually a famous brigade marshal, he introduced me to you, should I call you General Zhou, or Boss Zhou?"
Zhou Yaowu felt great hatred that Qi Shun, a weakling, had betrayed him.
He stopped pretending and gritted his teeth and said: "Kill me if you dare, and I won't say anything!"
Wang Yue sneered, "You don't need to say anything, I found this from the middle of your leather belt!"
A long booklet appeared in Wang Yue's hand. He opened the book and said: "There are four hundred and ninety-five people in total. No wonder you can't remember it. If you want to write it down in the book, the first one is you, Zhou Yaowu, the Seventeenth Accountant in the West.
The twenty-eight accounts in the east are all in order, it’s absolutely correct, I will check them one by one before taking action, thank you very much!”
"You bastard!"
Zhou Yaowu stood up and rushed towards him, but his feet were tied and he fell to the ground. Wang Yue didn't wait for him to get up and kicked him unconscious.
"Let you live for two more days, and then I'll deal with you at the end!"
Before dawn, thousands of Hexi Army soldiers began to arrest according to the list. They acted simultaneously, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they arrested all 493 people except Zhou Yaowu and Qi Shun.
The soldiers of the Hexi Army did not disturb the refugees, but took nearly 500 spies to the Yellow River and executed them without leaving any one behind.
For more than 600,000 refugees, the loss of 500 people was as if nothing had happened.
Wang Yue led his men to lurk for another half month, and after confirming that there were no more spies, they changed roles according to Guo Song's deployment. They gradually became the leaders of the refugee factions and stabilized the 650,000 refugees from within.
........
Time flies to the beginning of February, and the time to set off for the Western Expedition finally arrives.
In the evening, Guo Song and his family gathered together for a farewell dinner. After dinner, he would return to the military camp. Before dawn tomorrow, Guo Song would lead an army of 20,000 to set off for the western expedition.
The dinner was very rich, but everyone was silent. Guo Song winked at Xue Tao, and Xue Tao forced a smile and said: "Xiaowei, daddy is going on a long journey, but you still don't offer him a glass of wine. I wish him a safe journey and an early triumph."
Come back!"
Guo Weiwei is three years old. She already understands what it means for her father to go on a long trip, and she no longer pesters her father to go with her like she did last year.
She raised the small cup filled with grape juice and said with a sweet smile: "Xiaowei wishes daddy a safe journey and a triumphant return as soon as possible."
His daughter's tender voice made Guo Song's heart melt. He raised his wine glass and clinked it with his daughter. He smiled and said, "Daddy promises to bring Xiaowei more beautiful ones!"
The child inherited his father's hobby and has a special liking for all kinds of gems.
"Okay! Let's drink!"
The father and daughter had a drink, and Dugu Youlan raised her glass and said with a smile: "I also toast to your husband. I hope that your husband will come back soon and see the birth of the child."
Guo Song didn't expect Dugu Youlan's pregnancy, but it was a good thing. Guo Song raised his glass and said with a smile: "I also look forward to returning soon!"
He simply asked Xue Tao and Guo Weiwei to raise their glasses as well, and said with a smile: "We toast to an early reunion!"
.........
At the fifth watch, the 20,000 troops were assembled. Guo Song gave an order, and the 20,000 troops left the military camp on horseback and marched toward the west. Ten thousand camels loaded with provisions and supplies followed behind the Tang army.
Regardless of his age, Yan Zhenqing came to see Guo Song off.
"I have been thinking carefully these past few days and I am afraid that Zhu Si may have ulterior motives in driving 600,000 refugees to Hexi."
"What do you think Mr. Yan said?"
Yan Zhenqing smiled and said: "Don't you understand this? Your Hexi Army is a poisonous thorn in Zhu Si's back. The poisonous thorn will not be removed. How can he rest assured that he will march eastward? If he is not careful, he will face enemies from both sides.
situation."
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said: "What Duke Yan means is that Zhu Si wants to conquer Bashu and is afraid that I will stab him from behind, so he drives the refugees into Hexi?"
Yan Zhenqing nodded, "That's true, but it may not be a conquest of Bashu. I think their goal is still the Central Plains, or Xiangyang. Attacking Xiangyang is more likely, which can cut off the supply line of the Tang Army in the Central Plains and force the Tang Army in the Central Plains to retreat eastward. This
It's a plan to kill two birds with one stone. If I were Zhu Si, I would also choose to attack Xiangyang. If it goes well, maybe Zhu Si's army can move south and cut off the Yangtze River water transportation."
"Mr. Yan is very accurate, but we ourselves are also troubled by internal and external troubles, so we can't take care of Chengdu. They should be happy for themselves!"
Guo Song got on his horse, cupped his fists and said, "Mr. Yan, please take care of yourself and strive for health and longevity!"
Yan Zhenqing laughed and said, "Your Majesty has spoken to my heart. My husband is going to compete with He Zhizhang. He can live to be eighty-six and see if I can live to be ninety!"
"The Tang Dynasty is very lucky that Mr. Yan can live to be ninety!"
Guo Song also smiled slightly, clasped his fists and saluted again, and urged his horse to set off.
Yan Zhenqing waved to him and watched Guo Song lead the army away.