The devil is coming

Chapter 966 National War ([-])
"It's raining."
Gou Moli, who was sitting on the horse, raised his head and looked at the night sky. The rain was falling on his face drop by drop, with an obvious tendency of getting heavier and heavier.
Beside him were soldiers who were busy, because their commander had just given the order for the army to prepare to retreat.
During this period, some generals wanted to come to the commander's tent to express their opinions after receiving the order, but Gou Moli let his personal guards directly block them.
This is an attitude, a decision that belongs to the coach and cannot be questioned.
Even Chi Lin and Hao Min, seeing that the Sword Master was still standing beside their coach, would no longer insist on making any suggestions and could only continue to do so.
The swordsman in white rarely appears in front of others, but because of this, he can be the spokesperson of the prince to a certain extent.
The Sword Master's Long Yuan had long been given to the little princess in the palace;
But the Sword Master himself was here, as if the prince had sent a Shang Fang sword to Gou Moli.
"Is it uncomfortable, bro?"
Gou Moli turned to look at the Sword Master and asked.
He probably wouldn't feel happy being used as "Wang Ling". After all, Gou Moli knew the Sword Master's temper.
Sometimes Gou Moli would also try to reminisce about the past. If there was no Sword Master who forced the second-grade Slashing Grimu in front of the Snow Customs, would everything be different?
Of course, I'm just thinking about the past, no matter how much I assume, there's no point in making half-assed assumptions.
The sword master shook his head and said, "I'm used to it."
To a certain extent, Zheng Fan had already figured out the Sword Master’s temper;
Of course, Zheng Fan also paid a heavy price for this. Both his son and his daughter were accepted by the Sword Master as his disciples.
"Your temper has really changed a lot."
“Who stays the same?”
"Do swordsmen also change? I thought that a swordsman's sword would always be straight."
The sword master spread his hands and said;
"So now, I don't wear a sword anymore."
"Tsk." Gou Moli sighed in admiration, "Okay."
"You have changed too."
"where?"
The Sword Master looked at the hurried and nervous Junzhai in front of him and said: "You have guessed this scene a long time ago, and then you deliberately played with the big girl's toys there.
Purpose,
Just waiting for the military report to be delivered,
You can react just right. "
"Okay, you've discovered this little trick, haven't you?" Gou Moli stretched out his hand and wiped the rain off his face.
"So does he."
Gou Moli added: "This is called meeting the wise and thinking about them."
immediately,
Gou Moli waved his riding whip,
Road:
"Excuse me, please run with me."
"got used to."
The savage army began to retreat, retreating in a hurry.
On the same rainy night, Xie Zhuyang was riding a horse and leading his soldiers in pursuit.
"Master, I have something that I don't understand." A general next to Xie Zhuyang asked.
His name is Xie Yi, and he is Xie Zhuyang's nephew.
Xie Zhuyang only has one son, so it stands to reason that there will be many nephews around him to help train him.
Of course, the Xie family's Qianliju is so outstanding that even if the main family is a single lineage, the collateral lines would not dare to have any other ideas.
"ask."
"Why did the Yan army withdraw like this?"
For a lone army, when surrounded, the first instinct is to find a way back. This is the safest and most secure option.
But this Yan army actually has other choices, that is, deliberately choosing a path of no return.
Xie Zhuyang glanced at his nephew and couldn't help but sigh:
"I'm afraid."
"Is Yan Jun afraid?"
"No, you are afraid."
"us……"
"In your eyes, the Yan people are already so powerful that they are invincible. You are used to losing to the Yan people, used to avoiding the Yan people's sabers, and used to being cowardly in front of the Yan people.
But... Yan people are also human beings.
You only saw Qu Tiannan and Qingluan's army being slaughtered under Yupan City, but you ignored that the corpses of Yan people were also floating on the Wangjiang River;
You only saw the fire that ignited in Yingdu that night, but you ignored the scene of Yanrenhu Weibo dying in battle by the lake.
The Yan people are not invincible, they are not gods.
It is true that their previous generation had King Jingnan, and this generation has the regent. I admit that they are all first-class talents. But as long as our great Chu can continue to exist, we, the Chu people, can continue to protect our identity as Chu people.
There will always be a day when Feng Shui takes turns to come to my house! "
"Yes, head of the family, I will eventually be taught."
"But this time, what you said is actually correct. If there are other soldiers and horses of the Yan people on the opposite side, it would be perfectly normal to break out to the north now.
But the leader on the opposite side was the wolfdog from the snowfield in the past.
The wolf travels thousands of miles and eats meat;
How could he be willing to just run away like that? "
"Master, the meat he wants to eat is..."
Xie Zhuyang looked at his nephew with a somewhat deep look,
Under the rainy night, everything seemed to be covered with a layer of fog, making it difficult to see clearly, but Xie Zhuyang's eyes seemed to exude a heart-stopping luster:
"It's just... us."
……
"Huh...huh..."
The biting cold wind has kicked up, and the coldness of winter has arrived early.
The construction work south of the Wei River has not stopped.
Military forts rise one after another, and fortifications are built one after another;
From the looks of this scene, if someone didn't know the previous situation, they might mistakenly think that the Chu army was the main attacker, while the Yan army was the main defender.
Compared with the excitement on the Yan people's side, the Chu people's side seemed a little bleak.
At the cost of the lives of a large number of barbarian servants, the Yan people essentially allowed the Chu people to develop the defense of the three counties from local defense to enclave defense as much as possible.
These three counties were supposed to be relatively wealthy areas of the Chu State, but since the first Yan-Chu War, the Chu people’s original sacred land was gradually being eroded. In other words, the overall national power of the Chu State was In a state of constant weakening.
In addition, after Jindong was taken over by the regent after Zhennanguan was in hand, the prince, who never forgot to care about the spiritual civilization construction of his neighbors in the snowy plains, never slacked off in taking care of his daughter-in-law's natal family, and never forgot to bleed the Chu State. .
The fundamental reason why the Chu State's court could continue to persevere and maintain its military strength was that after the Emperor of Chu used external forces to reduce the Chu State's nobles, the court's power was expanded. At the same time, in recent years, the A series of policies to co-opt and divide the Shanyue people in the south also allowed the court to gain further support from the south.
From the perspective of the entire Chu State, it was weak; but from the perspective of "Chu State", it was actually "strong".
But this kind of strength is achieved by overdrafting the blood of the entire country, that is, potential.
"My lord, in fact, the current state of Chu is very similar to the north and south of the Three Kingdoms period."
"During the Three Kingdoms period?" Zheng Fan said.
"Yes." The blind man nodded, "During that period, the north did the best in development and development, but in fact, the south, which was more affluent in later generations, was actually a relatively 'barbaric' place.
This is the current situation of the Chu State. To a certain extent, our offensive against the Chu State has forced your uncle to increase the development of the southern Chu region. "
"So, my uncle has made great contributions to Zhu Xia, haha."
"Ha ha."
Zheng Fan stretched out his hand and tugged on his cloak, and walked up to a lookout with the blind man.
"Blind man, how long do you think the Chu people's logistics can last?"
"We have been focusing on development for the past five years, and they have not been idle."
Hearing this, Zheng Fan nodded and said: "It's mainly because of Daze. The barbarian servants have played a great role, but when the Chu people completely shrink their necks and Daze is relying on them, our army can't cut them off." From the rear, this allows my uncle to continuously provide supplies to the army in front."
In a war, logistics should be dealt with first. This should not be called a habit of a commander, but should be called instinct.
Zheng Fan stopped and added: "However, Chu State is due to its terrain, but when we attack Qian in the future, we can use this move to break through the three sides of Qian State. The north of Qianren is very flat."
"The Lord said so."
The two reached the top of the observation tower. Zheng Fan did not look south, but turned around and looked north.
From there, two armies appeared. Their armor was different from that of the Jindong Army.
"Has it been rotated?" Zheng Fan asked.
"When we return to the Lord, we have already made arrangements. You have specifically given your order. I dare not neglect it."
"Ah."
Zheng Fan faced the south again, stretched out his hand and patted the railing in front of him: "Actually, this national war is much larger in scale than the first Yanchu national war fought by Lao Tian. "
The number of people may be the same, but the number of regular soldiers and the level of logistics are much better than those of Lao Tian.
"It was also planned by you, my lord, personally. Sometimes when my subordinates look at you, my lord, they will feel surprised. They always feel that it is a bit unreal, but now they have gradually gotten used to it."
"The way you praise people is much better than that guy A Cheng. It's foreshadowed and not blunt."
"Thank you, Lord."
Under the observation deck, Manton led his men back. He did not know that the person standing above his head at this time was the regent.
He didn't have the heart to look around because he was in a very low mood.
With the arrival of winter, the people of Chu also stopped most of the necessary production activities and began to shrink.
Ears are not so easy to deal with, and the soldiers of the Chu people are not so easy to chew. They often pay several times more than before to get much fewer ears than before.
The most annoying thing is that groups of cavalry under the banner of the Yan Kingdom began to snatch the jobs that originally belonged to their savage servants.
The explanation above was that they had just arrived and needed a chance to practice their skills.
According to Manton and a group of savage servants' understanding of Dayan, the imperial court of Yan State was also a powerful tribe and was in alliance with the regent's Jindong tribe.
But after all, they are from Yan...
Therefore, when the soldiers and horses of the imperial court entered, the savage servants did not dare to fight with them for meat. Occasionally, some easy targets could only be left to them.
Manton and other savages do not think that they have been bullied, nor do they think there is anything wrong with being inferior to others. Instead, they are more eager to obtain the identity of the standard customer. In this way, everything will be different.
It's a pity that it's still just a little bit worse, just a little bit worse.
Manton led the horse and a group of subordinates into the military camp after inspection, and happened to see the earless Guo Dong hurriedly running past him.
Manton was a little strange, but his identity was not enough to call someone out of thin air. But after seeing Guo Dong running up to the observation tower, he did not dare to delay any longer and went to clean up the position of his ears.
"I humble myself to pay homage to the prince. The prince is a thousand years old!"
Guo Dong knelt down in front of Zheng Fan.
"Is everything in order here?" Zheng Fan asked.
"As far as I'm concerned, Prince, I can't say it's orderly, but it's orderly."
"What kind of word is this?" Zheng Fan couldn't help but laugh.
Guo Dong also smiled, stood up, and stood aside respectfully.
"Is everything okay at home?" Zheng Fan asked.
Guo Dong was flattered and said hurriedly: "As far as the prince is concerned, everything is fine at home."
"I heard that you gave birth to a daughter?"
"My lord, we are two daughters."
At this time, the blind man interrupted: "Two boys were born in Xu An's family."
Zheng Fan's impression of Guo Dong comes more from his past experiences and his "disability", but this disability itself is a military medal for walking.
As for Xu An, the selfless military disciplinary officer, he naturally remembered it more clearly.
"Oh, I remember you two are very close. Did you kiss me?" Zheng Fan asked.
"Replying to the prince, I have never said so."
"Delayed by the war?"
"no……"
"What's the reason for that?"
These days, there is no such thing as free love.
His abduction of the Dachu Princess was a pioneering example of "free love" in this era.
"Replying to the prince, I originally wanted to marry one person, but that guy actually wanted to marry two. I can't stand it anymore, so I won't talk about it."
"Hahahahaha." The prince laughed when he heard this, "He is really good at calculating, but he can't agree, otherwise he will be in trouble with grandma's family."
Guo Dong nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, yes, that's what the prince said."
At this time, Xu An also walked up to the observation deck and was not surprised to see Guo Dong standing next to the prince. He first saluted the prince and Mr. Bei, and then presented a booklet to the prince.
The prince didn't answer, but Mr. Bei did.
Inside is a list, a purged list, some of which are military officers above the rank of lieutenant colonel;
Some were captured directly, while others were killed "accidentally".
For example, the person in charge of logistics suddenly asks you to go out and collect your ears, and then nothing happens.
The blind man didn't open it, but he had finished reading it and nodded to Zheng Fan.
Zheng Fan sighed and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It is the duty of the general to not dare to express his hardships."
"I'll reward you with something."
"The last general dare not..."
"Hey, there is no clear distinction between rewards and punishments. Let's do this. Gu will propose a marriage for your child. Guo Dong, do you agree that Gu will be the matchmaker?"
Guo Dong immediately pretended to have a bitter look on his face and said: "The marriage granted by the prince is the honor of a humble position. Thank you very much, prince."
Xu An also saluted immediately: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Hehehe."
Zheng Fan turned around and continued to look south.
This purge was not for political opinions. In Eastern Jin Dynasty, the prince was the only one with no political differences.
The fundamental reason that triggered this round of purges was that in the early days of entrepreneurship, there was a representative force that played a great role, and that was smugglers from all over the world.
When Jindong needed them most, they came in, allowing Jindong to circulate trade. While they made a lot of money, Jindong also got its own urgent need.
Their relationship with the palace was once very good.
But not every smuggling caravan is the former Fan family.
In fact, even Fan Zhengwen, the emperor's uncle, originally wanted to cede territory for self-government. If he had not been forced into desperation and led his army to rescue him, he would not have taken the initiative to hand over the Fan family's ancestral land. from.
The most important thing is that when Xiao Liuzi and himself in the imperial court issued a declaration to unify all Xia, this group of people became a force hindering this process.
Fortunately, the Jindong side has strong control over the palace. In addition, for the military war groups under the palace, the benefits from foreign wars are obviously greater than those from smugglers, so these guys are Jindong has not become a phenomenon.
Xu An only cleaned up some small miscellaneous fish, and these were the only small miscellaneous fish.
On the contrary, it was more serious on the court's side.
When Ji Laoliu performed surgery, he pretended to die suddenly, and then used Lu Bing as a knife to clean up a group of people. A large part of them were "officials" who colluded with government and businessmen.
After Yan Guoma stepped into the door, a huge void was created, which would always be quickly filled by other things;
And Ji Laoliu, who was still the prince in charge of the household department at the time, did everything possible to support his father in the war. In fact, he, Ji Laoliu, was the biggest smuggling leader in the entire Dayan at that time!
Under his leadership, smuggling has become Dayan's most dependent source of income for a period of time, attracting a large number of vested interest groups.
These smugglers all over the Xia often have their own local backgrounds. They can be the eyes and ears of the Yan people, but they are definitely more than just the eyes and ears of one person;
They will cry and shout, support and look forward to the unification of Dayan, wishing that their hometown would become the land of Yan immediately, and looking forward to the arrival of the King of Yan, but they are the ones who least want unification.
"I think Ji Laoliu will be so angry that he will jump to his feet." Zheng Fan suddenly laughed.
Jindong took action first, which was tantamount to frightening the snake and catching Ji Laoliu of Yanjing by surprise.
The blind man said, "In urgent matters, follow the authority. In fact, my subordinates have already said hello to the emperor."
"Oh, that's good."
When the emperor already knew that the person who corresponded with him in daily correspondence was not him but someone else,
Not only did the prince not feel ashamed, but he felt more at ease and did not reply to the letter in person, leaving all the letters to the blind man. The blind man would only highlight the important points to say to himself.
At this time,
Two guards in brocade robes quickly ran up to the observation deck.
"Report, Your Majesty, there is an urgent military situation in Fancheng!"
This time, before the blind man could pick it up, Zheng Fan personally reached out to take it, opened it, and immediately let out a loud laugh:
"Ha ha ha ha,
Our little dog is surrounded. "
(End of this chapter)