Chapter 0079 Li
Li Yu had not thought that Li Xiuning would be so wary of him. He planned to let Li Yuan mobilize his forces and instigate the Guanlong family's attack on him after returning. At this time, he was looking at the letter in his hand.
"Who is Liu Yuanjin?" Li Yu looked at the letter in his hand and said, "He invited us to cross the river to Wujun?"
"The letter praises Duke Chu highly. I guess that's why they invited you to go south. General, isn't this perfect? Our goal is also Jiangnan. If we get Liu Yuanjin's help, we can get Jiangnan soon." Fan Jin said curiously.
"Liu Yuanjin has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. If we go, will we listen to him or will he listen to us?" Cen Wenben shook his head. Li Yu didn't even take Li Yuan's solicitation seriously. It was impossible for Li Yu to take a small Liu Yuanjin seriously. He thought about it and said, "However, there is no need to refuse. The general can unite with him. One is in the south of the Yangtze River and the other is in the north of the Yangtze River. Mutual support may give us more opportunities."
“How is it possible that he has hundreds of thousands of soldiers in such a short time? I’m afraid they are all remnants of a defeated army, just a group of farmers who have just given up their careers. These people cannot become elite soldiers. If we unite with such people, we will be the ones who suffer in the end.” Li Yu had never heard of Liu Yuanjin, which meant that Liu Yuanjin had never left any reputation in history and was probably defeated by the Sui Dynasty soon.
"General, you are right. Just because we have a big army doesn't mean we will have the last laugh. But our marching direction is between Jiangnan and Huaihai, so we can make use of it." Cen Wenben said with a smile, "There are a lot of food and grass in Jiangnan, why don't you recognize him as the leader and let him send some food and grass."
"It's just a false title of leader. If Liu Yuanjin wants it, just give it to him. By the way, let him make more noise in Jiangnan, so that the imperial court's troops in Jiangbei can rush to Jiangnan, which will make it easier for us to go to Jianghuai." Li Yu said indifferently. The title of leader is fake. Only interests are the most important.
"General, you are right. These things are useless. Only being strong yourself can make you powerful." Li Yu said, "Hurry up and let Grandpa Gu change our clothes. Let's leave Fangcheng as soon as possible, pass Biyang, and head to the area between Jianghuai." After Li Xiuning left, Li Yu had a bad feeling. The Guanlong family had already broken up with Yang Guang. Who knew what would happen.
Li Yu's troops waited for six days before setting out from Fangcheng and heading towards Biyang. Fortunately, the troops in Wancheng had been surrounded and annihilated, and Yuan Zhao had been imprisoned. The person in charge of Nanyang County now is the county magistrate Lu Zizang, who has few troops and dared not come out to harass Li Yu, allowing Li Yu's troops to wreak havoc in Nanyang County.
An army of 10,000 marched down from Fangcheng, and the villages along the way surrendered one after another, not daring to resist. The lighter ones offered food and fodder, while those who were extremely evil were killed by Li Yu. The food and fodder obtained were distributed to the people, while the gold, silver and treasures were thrown to Gu Chunqiu, who sold them or used them as start-up capital for opening a pawnshop.
When Li Yu's army arrived in Biyang, a pawnshop called Xiuchun appeared in Wancheng. The pawnshop was very large and attracted the attention of people from all walks of life in Wancheng.
At this moment, in a manor in Huxian County, Guanzhong , Li Xiuning met his father Li Yuan, and with Li Yuan was his second brother Li Shimin.
"Sanniang , you have worked hard along the way from Jianghuai. I wonder if you have gained anything?" Li Yuan looked at Li Xiuning with a friendly expression, and Li Shimin also had a smile on his face.
"In reply to father, Xiuning came from Jianghuai and encountered many bandits along the way. However, they saw that there were many guards around my daughter, so they did not stop them." Li Xiuning said impatiently: "Father, the world is about to change. Yang Xuangan's rebellion has completely changed the situation in the world. Although my daughter did not cross the river, Liu Yuanjin in Jiangnan rebelled and had hundreds of thousands of soldiers. There are countless people like Du Fuwei and Fu Gongju between Jianghuai. In Fangcheng, my daughter also met Li Yu."
"Li Yu? But he is Yang Xuangan's son-in-law and Li Zixiong's son?" Li Yuan looked calm at first, but after hearing the last part, his expression changed slightly. He couldn't help but say, "This little thing is not simple! I didn't expect that he could survive."
"Father also knows this person?" Li Xiuning asked in surprise.
"Speaking of which, when I first met Li Zixiong, he wanted to propose to you, but I declined." Li Yuan shook his head and said, "On the one hand, Li Zixiong's family background is not as good as ours, and on the other hand, Li Yu is neither good at literature nor martial arts. I, your father, did not think highly of him. I did not expect that in the blink of an eye, he has beaten Yin Shishi so badly that almost no army in Nanyang County can resist. I was wrong."
"No matter how capable you are, it's useless. Rebellion at this time is a way to death. Yang Xuangan is a lesson for us. Our Li family should accumulate strength at this time and watch the world's situation." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "However, it is a good thing for our Li family to have Li Yu's people charging in the front and constantly consuming the power of the court."
"My daughter once tried to recruit Li Yu for your father, but unfortunately, Li Yu rejected her. Father, is he still blaming you for rejecting his proposal of marriage?" Li Xiuning blushed slightly. She didn't expect that she and Li Yu had such a relationship. If Li Yuan hadn't opposed it, she might have married Li Yu now.
Li Yuan shook his head and said, "No one knows what's going on here. Right now, our Li family is in deep trouble. We can't let the world pay attention to our Li family. Shimin is right. At this time, let someone like Li Yu temporarily attract the power of the court for us. This will buy us some time."
"So my daughter gave him the family token and promised him that if he needed any help, he could go to the Chai family's shop and get our help." Li Xiuning said with a little pride: "I'm afraid he can't hold out for long with his 10,000 troops. Only with our help can they live longer and consume more power of the court."
"That's right." Li Yuan nodded after listening. What Li Xiuning did made Li Yuan feel relieved. It was just in line with the fundamental interests of the Li family.
"Father is going to Honghua County soon. What about the things in the capital?" Li Xiuning said with some concern.
"It's the right time for father to go to Honghua County. At least the emperor thinks the things in the capital have nothing to do with father." Li Shimin took over and said. Li Yuan was not in Guanzhong, which was a good opportunity to handle this matter.
