Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 272

Chapter 272 Bingfa Dengzhou
Shortly after Li Daozong left, a few shuttle boats slid over from the river. It was Qin Mubai’s sentry sent to Jiangbei that came back. The ship was carrying a few sergeants from Baiji. Although Li You’s rebels in the north of the Yangtze River had also imposed a blockade and martial law along the river, to the capable soldiers of Baiji, such a line of defense was simply a thousand wounds and a hundred holes. It would be as easy to infiltrate and discover the military intelligence as the palm of one’s hand.

The three scouts all brought back the same information. This proved the reliability of the military intelligence, which was also one of the reasons why Qin Mubai had arranged it this way.

Knowing one’s enemy and oneself was naturally the first priority in the battle between the two armies.

The sentinel reported that in just a few days, Li You had led more than 2,000 soldiers under his command to raise their flags and rebel. Then, almost overnight, all the local officials under his control were captured. Coercion, temptation, and rebellion. Then, he appointed Yin Hongzhi as the commander of the army (equivalent to military counselor), with Zan Junmo and Liang Mengbiao as generals, led his troops to sweep across the seven counties under Deng Zhou, namely, Exa County, Nanyang, Xinye, Xiangcheng, Lintuan, Inner Township, Jutan, etc., opening treasuries to collect money, collecting weapons, buying chariots and horses, recruiting refugees to join the rebellion.

Within a few days, Deng Zhou ruled over a radius of several hundred kilometers, and immediately hell. The so-called “army” led by people like Liang Mengbiao and Zan Junmo were mostly street hooligans and rogues of Jianghu. What good could they do? Tribulation treasury robbed treasures, killed and abused officials to seize official seals, robbed civilians to rob food and livestock, and also captured a large group of brothels or women from good families, sent to the military for lewd entertainment, day and night to expose their ugliness.

Under the high price of recruiting troops and coercion, the Dengzhou rebel army quickly grew to 30,000 in a few days. They made their own banners and flags to form the army, imitating the formation of the Tang army, and formed the three guards of the Dragon Legion, the Tiger Legion, and the Divine Pivot. They were led by Liang Mengbiao, Zan Junmo, and Li You.

Sentinel also reported that Yin Hongzhi and the others persuaded Li You to proclaim himself emperor and fight against Chang’an, but Li You did not comply and still called himself “King Qi”. Later, in order to persuade Fu Yin Hongzhi and the others to use the official system of the Eastern Palace to “increase their rank”, the Crown Prince’s Guardian, the Crown Prince’s Grand Master … they would give it to them at will.

Qin Mubai laughed coldly when she heard these rewards, “What a clown, bathed in monkeys!”

Military intelligence reported that two days ago, the pseudo-general Liang Mengbiao led three thousand pseudo-troops and seized the naval port of Xinye County in Dengzhou. He had prepared more than thirty warships of various sizes, and along the river, there were arrow towers and beacon towers. They were extremely heavily guarded, and they were ready to fight.

“Explore-” Qin Mubai gave the order and sat down again.

When Pang Fei and the others saw that Qin Mubai did not move at all, their suppressed belligerent emotions could no longer be suppressed. They all asked, “General, the fake general Liang Mengbiao is just a gangster in Jianghu. How about we kill him across the river in one go and flatten Xinye Military Harbor to kill him?”

“What’s the hurry?” Qin Mubai said indifferently, “How can a mere mob stop our army across the river? I don’t even dare to crush that clown Liang Mengbiao to death for fear of dirty hands. Just wait!”

“General, what are you waiting for?” Pang Fei asked softly.

The corner of Qin Mubai’s mouth slightly curled into a fine line and said, “You’ll know soon.”

About an hour later, a fast horse from the secretariat’s mansion galloped over and reported that King Wu had invited General Qin Mubai back to receive the imperial edict.

As expected!

Without saying a word, Qin Mubai brought a few servants out of the boat and onto the horse, heading towards the secretariat’s mansion.

The imperial court emissary arrived so quickly that it was only seven or eight days before Li Ke submitted his letter. It was enough to prove the Emperor’s importance to this matter. Moreover, the imperial envoy sent here was not a trivial person. He was a former living dormitory and was now the emperor’s confidant secretary, Chu Suiliang!

He was also an old acquaintance of Li Ke and Qin Mubai. Previously, he had participated in the Jiangzhou case.

When they arrived at the secretariat’s mansion, officials of all sizes stood in two rows on both sides of the main hall. They turned around and watched Qin Mubai walk in with large strides in his uniform. Li Ke wore a purple deer robe and dressed up as a court official, waiting for Qin Mubai to receive the decree.

Chu Suiliang looked at Qin Mubai seriously as he walked in and said, “General Qin is here. This official will announce the decree immediately.”

“Chu Zhongshu, please wait a moment.” Qin Mubai took a step forward and said, “Your Majesty has clearly said that you want to receive the decree with the Prince of Wu?”

“Yes.” Chu Suiliang answered simply and affirmatively.

“Then I will receive the decree.” Qin Mubai clasped his fists and bowed. Li Ke spread out his front robe and bowed down, all the officials in the hall doing the same thing.

“Destiny! Quan Wanji will be the governor of Xiang Prefecture for Li Ke to settle state affairs. He will enter the capital immediately. Qin Mubai, Dunsu Military Force, and protect the citizens of Xiang Prefecture. Do not act recklessly. I admire you!”

Chu Suiliang quickly finished reading the imperial edict.

Li Ke and Qin Mubai exchanged glances. Their faces tightened at the same time, but they did not reply for a long time. Behind him, Quan Wanji hurriedly said, “Your Highness, General Qin, quickly receive the decree!”

“General Mo, I don’t dare to accept the decree!” Qin Mubai suddenly shouted.

“What are you talking about?” Chu Suiliang was shocked and asked in surprise.

“Your Highness, take the decree! The general is outside, and the military orders are unacceptable. At the end of the general, you dare not take the decree!” Qin Mubai stood up and said forcefully.

Everyone in the hall was shocked. Everyone looked at him in panic, their eyes wide open.

Chu Suiliang was calm. He slowly closed the imperial edict and handed it to Li Ke, saying, “Then is His Highness Prince King Wu willing to accept the edict?”

“This lowly official, receive the decree.” Li Ke took the decree with both hands and stood up. He stared at Qin Mubai and said in a deep voice, “Qin Mubai, do you know what you’re doing?”

“I know. I will be resisting the decree at the end.” Qin Mubai said calmly, “His Majesty the Emperor is thousands of miles away. I wonder if the military situation in Xiang Province is based on strict orders. At the end of the day, however, I would like to invite all of you to take a look at the river. The enemy’s puppet army, Private Chen Zhou, flaunted his might and might attack Jiang Lai at any moment. Could it be that I, someone Qin, am going to be a cowardly turtle, bringing along more than 2,000 hot-blooded men to be slaughtered by others? I’m sorry, I can’t do it! ”

Chu Suiliang knitted his eyebrows and said, “If the enemy and the puppet army attack Jianglai, they will counterattack at the right time. Fan Chou, who is in charge of protecting the people, naturally will not blame the general. General Qin, you should accept the decree!”

“If you say you won’t accept it, then you won’t accept it.” Qin Mubai said resolutely. He took out a military intelligence memorial from his chest pocket and tossed it to Chu Suiliang. He said, “Chu Zhongshu, please take a look at what the enemy and the puppet army have done in Dengzhou. They have committed all sorts of crimes! I, Qin Mubai, can’t watch the enemy and the puppet army bully us!”

Chu Suiliang opened the military newspaper in shock and took a deep breath. “I didn’t expect Li You to do this! He is at least the prince of the Great Tang. He is ruled by his own people. How can he bear it?”

“Humph!” Qin Mubai sneered, “If he knew human relations, he wouldn’t have done what he did today.” The so-called generals he appointed were all rogues from Jianghu. What good could these people do? I thought that His Majesty would send a decree that I would kill the thieves across the river at the end of my life to fight against the rebellion. Who would have thought that I would be a cowardly turtle at the end of my life! Even if the general at the end of the cold face is ignored, at the end of the generals under the soldiers, also won’t agree! Many of the people on the other side of the river were relatives of the people of Xiang Prefecture. The entire Military Manor was already filled with intense fighting spirit. “If you continue, I will be worried that the morale of the army will mutiny!”

Chu Suiliang took a deep breath and said, “General Qin has said so many reasons, but there is only one purpose-you want to resist the decree and arise, right?”

‘”Chu Zhongshu is a smart person. I guessed correctly in a moment. Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare a prize for you. The military intelligence is like fire. I don’t have time to argue with you here-goodbye!” Qin Mubai grinned.

“Slow!!” Chu Suiliang shouted and took a few steps forward to stand between Li Ke and Qin Mubai, saying, “Your Highness King Wu, you should at least try to persuade General Qin. General Qin, you should also know the consequences of your actions.”

“The Governor and the Commandant are ranked by each other, but they are not subordinate to each other. This King has no right to give orders to General Qin.” Li Ke said indifferently, “Besides … this king has already packed up and left for the capital, how can I dissuade General Qin?”

“You!” Chu Suiliang fiercely smashed a soft nail, then smiled bitterly. He already understood that the two of them had clearly planned this long ago. Under the eaves, how could he not lower his head? Even though he was an imperial envoy, the imperial order could no longer suppress Qin Mubai. He, Chu Suiliangguang, had a mouth. What could he use to stop the determined Qin Mubai?

“It seems that this official is useless to say more.” He shook his head and smiled bitterly, “General Qin, do your best. This official will report everything to His Majesty the Emperor truthfully.”

“Very good.” Qin Mubai looked at Chu Suiliang and nodded. “The two armies are about to engage in a war, and the roads and rivers are blocked. His Highness Prince King Wu will have to wait for three to five days before heading to the capital to avoid being caught in a military disaster. At the end of the day, I will say so. Goodbye!”

After saying that, Qin Mubai took large strides and flew away in the same manner as he had when he arrived.

Chu Suiliang looked at Qin Mubai’s back and shook his head with a bitter smile.

Li Ke took the imperial edict and walked to his side and asked in a low voice, “Chu Zhongshu, why are you smiling bitterly and sighing?”

“Nothing.” Chu Suiliang smiled and shook his head. “I’m just sighing. When did I become so ignorant of current affairs?”

Li Ke also smiled, “Sir, why did you say that?”

Chu Suiliang looked around at the officials in the hall and shook his head with a smile, “Forget it, don’t say anything! Since it’s inconvenient to leave now, why don’t you ask His Highness King Wu to arrange a good place for us to look up and see Qin Mu’s White Water Battle Soldiers?”

“Good! It’s exactly what this king wants!”

Qin Mubai had only just taken a few steps out of the secretariat’s mansion when he gave the order to his attendants, “Holding my seal, quickly return and give the order-the entire army should be cleaned up, men and horses boarding the ship, ready for battle!”

“Yes!” The little soldier took the seal and rode away on Juechen.

‘”Hmph!” Qin Mubai snorted heavily and thought to himself, “It’s finally time to vent the resentment that I suppressed for so many days!”

Abducting my Ling’er, trapping me in injustice … Yin Hongzhi, you must die!

Li You, you will definitely pay the price for your indifference, ignorance, and foolishness!

Qin Mubai tightened his grip on the hilt of the “Returning Righteousness Saber” at his waist and thought to himself, “Compassion for the enemy is cruelty to oneself.” Since it’s a slaughter, I should be decisive. I have to be ruthless! … Ling’er, forgive me!

Upon returning to the military port, Pang Fei, who had received the military order, had already ordered all of the 2,400 soldiers in the military mansion to board the ten Divine Fish ships neatly.

Eight hundred White Wave Navy, four hundred Central Army elite cavalry, a thousand crossbows and infantry Mo machetemen, clean up on standby.

When Qin Mubai’s horse stopped at the harbor, more than 2,000 people from the army chanted in unison, “General, please give the order to cross the river and kill the thief!”

Its momentum was boundless, and its might shook the heavens!

‘”Alright!” Qin Mubai shouted. He walked up to the flagship armor and stood on the bow of the ship. He pulled out his saber and pointed forward–

“Pass on my orders, the navy will be dispatched to destroy the enemy!”

“Wuwu–Wuwu!”

Eight long metal horns that were as long as one person blew towards the sky on the sergeant’s shoulders, shaking a hundred miles. The flag bearer waved his flag, and the drums of the five warships of the former army flew in the sky. The enormous and majestic Divine Fish spaceship chopped through the waves and advanced forward, provoking a thousand layers of rage in the water of the Han River!

Li Ke and Chu Suiliang looked at the lighthouse at the ferry of the Eight Ghosts Crossing. Even though they were several miles away, they were still shaken by the sound of the drum horns that shook the heavens, causing their eardrums and hearts to beat.

“To seize the initiative, a mere two thousand soldiers and horses possess such military might. How strong!” Chu Suiliang couldn’t help but sigh, “Seeing that the ship is moving in a decent manner, its military might is grand and its morale is high. Qin Mubai is indeed a talented general!”

“Why do you say that?” Li Ke curled his lips and said with jealousy, “Even the old Jiang Xia king in the army said the same thing. What can Qin Mubai, a kid who has never led troops to war, do?”

“Haha!” Chu Suiliang laughed loudly, “In the past, Jiang Dongchou was the weak champion, didn’t he lead the troops from his mother’s womb?”

“Just him, can he be compared to Zhou Yu?” Li Ke sneered, “At the very least, Zhou Yu has Xiao Qiao, but he doesn’t!”

“King Wu really knows how to joke.” Chu Suiliang smiled and said, “General Qin, isn’t this Little Qiao who went to save Guan Yi?”

“Really, really.” Li Ke nodded seriously and scolded, “This brat is obsessed with lust. He tried his best to disobey the imperial edict, but he still wanted to show his courage and go to the hero to save the beauty.”

Of course, Chu Suiliang knew that Li Ke was deliberately pretending, so he shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed, “This water of the Han River is really deep!”

“Then this king doesn’t know.” Li Ke said seriously, “This king can’t swim and has never been in the water.”

“Look-there’s a fight!” Chu Suiliang raised his hand and pointed. The two of them looked forward with rapt attention.

At this time, the five Divine Fish ships were in the shape of arrows and had already rushed to the other side of the enemy and puppet army’s water stronghold. Liang Mengbiao had already begun to prepare for this. With the ships pulling the arrow tower, it was quite decent. In front of the Ninja Navy harbor, he had built a three to five mile long water stronghold with more than ten arrow towers. The gate was pulled up, and more than ten warships of all sizes rushed out from within. They beat the drums and shouted, firing arrows at the Divine Fish ship with their ancient brains.

However, this level of attack was like tickling a Divine Fish ship that was like a tank on the city wall. Among these so-called enemy and puppet “navy”, the most powerful were some idle men who could swim. How could they shoot an arrow well when they had a stupid strength? Before many arrows could reach the deck of the Divine Fish spaceship, they withered and fell down.

Pang Fei, who was on the first flagship, grinned coldly and waved the command flag in his hand, “All troops, listen-release the rocket!”

Hundreds of White Wave Navy soldiers neatly erected strong bows and crossbows and fired rockets 45 degrees upwards.

Immediately, the sparks arrowhead covered the sky like a storm. It was as if a firework had suddenly bloomed in the night, completely enveloping the enemy battleship!

‘”Ah!” Originally, the enemy and puppet army had been terrified when they saw such a large warship. If it weren’t for Liang Mengbiao cutting off their heads, very few people would have dared to charge out of the water stronghold to fight. Now that the fire arrows of the canopy had descended, how could there be a desire to fight? As soon as the first round of fire arrows landed, miserable cries rang out in all directions. Many of the arrows fell into the water, either dead or injured. The remaining people were so scared that they desperately paddled back. There were also some cowards who were so frightened that they cried out for their parents and jumped into the water.

At this time, the cabin of the Divine Fish ship suddenly opened. Countless ten to twenty feet long Ge Yu stabbed into the water randomly. The enemy and puppet troops that fell into the water screamed miserably, causing bloodstains to blossom in the water and buried them at the bottom of the river.

“It’s not a competition at all. The cannons are killing mosquitoes.” Qin Mubai sneered when he saw this on the flagship.

At this time, Pang Fei stood at the bow of the ship and waved the command flag in his hand, “Crash into the enemy stronghold, break its formation, destroy its army!”

“No–”

Countless laborers in the cabin desperately stepped on the boat’s pedal. The five Pioneer Divine Fish ships accelerated at the same time. The hard bow of the ship collided ferociously against the so-called “water stronghold” that Liang Mengbiao had built!

The more than ten enemy ships that attacked were so frightened that their gallbladder shattered. They could not dodge the impact of the Divine Fish ship even if they paddled and paddled desperately.

‘Ah!!-‘ screams!

“Kacha–cha!”

The enemy battleship and the water fortress fence were like paper models. Under the impact of the Divine Fish spaceship, which was a gigantic water surface barrier, they instantly collapsed, as if they were being torn to shreds!

Liang Mengbiao, who was standing on the bank of the river and commanding the battle craftsman, was instantly covered in cold sweat. The command flag in his hand almost fell to the ground.

“Horse, horse! Bring the horse!” He shouted in shock.

The attendant hurriedly brought the horses over. He hurriedly rolled over and flapped his horse, shouting, “Quickly retreat!”

With a group of surviving minions, Liang Mengbiao fled. At this moment, he was fortunate that he did not board the ship or enter the water stronghold. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even know where to find the corpse!

‘”Such a strong water fortress made of water fir wood, iron rivets and leather ropes was actually torn apart like a piece of paper! Qin Mubai’s water army is too terrifying! There is no chance of winning on the water, so there is no way to fight it!” Liang Mengbiao gritted his teeth and said hatefully, “I’ll deal with you when we reach the shore!”

Qin Mubai raised his eyes and looked over. He could clearly see a group of enemy and puppet troops on the riverbank fleeing without armor. He sneered and thought to himself, “The mob is a pile of scattered sand!” Such trash is not worthy of being my opponent!

At this time, Li Ke and Chu Suiliang, who were on the watchtower, said in unison, “Too much disparity!”

Li Ke sneered, “No one under Li You really knows how to lead troops to war. He only knows how to associate with some crooked characters. How can this Jianghu bandit Liang Mengbiao be Qin Mubai’s opponent? In fact, if it were a year or two ago, the Xiangzhou Navy would be almost the same as the other side. It’s really uncertain who wins or loses in a battle between the two sides.”

“Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a general for a thousand troops.” Chu Suiliang nodded and smiled. “I saw that Qin Mubai only sent out one deputy to lead a mere five battleships to a complete victory. The enemy escaped while watching the wind.” He hasn’t even made a move yet. Those five battleships just now were so skilled in tactics that they could be regarded as a model for the navy. Although I have never brought a soldier with me, I have read quite a few books on this subject. Water warfare was harder than land warfare. The reason for this was that when a person reached the water, it would be better to stay on the shore. The ship had to be steered, the wind had to be controlled, and the speed of the current and the soldiers’ natural fear of the water had to be taken into account. If it weren’t for the fact that they were well trained and trained, no matter how formidable the army was, they would still be unable to withstand a single blow. When the water battle collapsed, it would be even more tragic than the land battle. Just like before. ”

“Fighting a war is really a university question.” “Normally, I only pay attention to the details of Qin Mubai’s conduct and life. I really didn’t care about his military matters. I didn’t expect that he would actually do so many things in less than a year in Xiangzhou,” Li Ke said with a tsk tsk.

“He’s very outstanding.” Chu Suiliang said succinctly, “In all aspects.”

“It seems” Li Ke nodded deeply.

At this time, the enemy and puppet navy in New Wilderness Military Harbor had either died or fled. Within the newly pulled water stronghold, the raging fire burned several zhang high and instantly turned into ruins. The army strongholds and battleships were all reduced to ashes by the fury of the Fire God.

Pang Fei ordered again, “Bind and capture, dock and disembark. Build a dock to clear the way for the retreating army!”

The eight hundred navy troops had almost zero casualties, and they had won by leaps and bounds. They landed on the side of Xinye Military Harbor one after another, and the soldiers chased after the captives who had fallen into the water and fled along the river. They used military shovels and other tools to quickly excavate the dock suitable for the docking of large warships. Put up the sampan, pull up the water piles, and set up a defensive formation with a flag.

Everything was in order. Hundreds of soldiers took their positions, sweating like rain.

Qin Mubai put his hands on the ship’s side and looked at the scene in front of him. He nodded in satisfaction, “Brat, you did well. You haven’t worked in vain these past few months.”

“General Qin, General Pang has cleared the enemy and puppet water strongholds and is rushing to repair the harbor’s riverbank. General Qin, please give the order!”

‘”Order Ponfey to use the crossbows to prevent the enemy from invading. The Fire Legion will bring enough rice and cooking utensils to make food for the army. Two hours later, the entire army will land. They will eat and drink for an hour. The navy will not be stationed in the warships. The army will attack lightly and attack the city!”

“Yes–”

Qin Mubai heaved a sigh of relief and thought, Liang Mengbiao must have reported the news to Li You after the loss of the New Wild Military Harbor. The puppet army under Li You was just a mob, unable to withstand a single blow. Even if there are thirty thousand people, my two thousand men are not afraid of him. I’m afraid that he might use Ling’er to do something … Ah, Ling’er, I don’t know what’s going on now.

At this moment, she was the one who suffered the most in the entire world!