The square in front of the village was very lively, with more than 10,000 soldiers and nearly a thousand their families gathered together, as well as the farmers from Lijiazhuang. The bonfire had been lit, and bursts of tempting aroma wafted from time to time. These were the lambs, chickens, ducks and other meats that the Beggars had brought up from Chao County. Not only did the Beggars eat heartily, but even the people from Lijiazhuang also got a lot of benefits from following behind.
Li Yu, Cen Wenben and others gathered together. The old owner of Manor Li and even Kan Leng were sitting aside. Everyone was talking and laughing . The old owner of Manor Li was obviously not an ordinary person. He built a fort with hundreds of families. They cultivated the land in peacetime and could rely on the fort to resist invading thieves in wartime. In addition, the land was fertile near Chaohu Lake, so even in troubled times, life was quite good.
"If the world is like this, who would rise up in rebellion?" Fan Jin sighed.
"Mr. Fan, when the general takes over Liyang County, I believe that Liyang County will become a paradise. The people will definitely live a good life." Old Manor Master Li was very happy. He looked around and said, "The general has wise men like Mr. Cen and Mr. Fan, as well as brave generals like General Wu and General Xie. The world is so big, who dares to invade Liyang? The three gangs of bandits in Liyang will be destroyed by the general sooner or later."
After hearing this, Kan Leng's face revealed a slightly complicated expression. He did not expect that in the eyes of these ordinary people, Li Yu, the traitor, had become people's hope, while a hero like Du Fuwei had become a bandit. Kan Leng did not know what decision to make for a moment.
"Brother Kan, you are a martial arts master. Now that we are in troubled times, why don't you join us in overthrowing the tyranny of the emperor and benefiting the people of the world? What do you think?" Cen Wenben said with a smile .
Kan Leng is a martial arts expert, at least he can be ranked among the top in Li Yu's army. If Li Yu can recruit such a person, his strength will increase a lot. However, as the leader of an army, it is not easy for Li Yu to recruit him. But as Li Yu's adviser, Cen Wenben spoke out on behalf of Li Yu.
"Yes! Brother Kan, why don't you join us? When you have nothing to do, we can compete in martial arts and drink. How wonderful it is!" Wu Yunzhao glanced at Kan Leng. He admired Kan Leng's martial arts very much. Now, except for Li Yu, Wu Yunzhao could not find any opponent in the army. If he could be with Kan Leng, he would not feel lonely on weekdays.
"This?" Kan Leng was suddenly embarrassed. He was from Qizhou and a fellow villager of Du Fuwei. He had heard of his reputation for a long time. He went south at this time to join Du Fuwei, but he met Li Yu on the way. Although he was very happy to stay with Li Yu and others, and he could feel that Li Yu valued him very much, there was still a hurdle in his heart that he could not overcome when he joined Li Yu at this time.
"Haha, Brother Kan, don't pay attention to this guy. He can't beat me in a fight. Brother Xie and the others are not his opponents. He just wants to find an opponent. Don't pay attention to him. Come on, everyone, have a drink." Li Yu saw the other party's embarrassment, but he didn't care. He was not the destined overlord. If he shook his tiger body, people would come to serve him. Kan Leng was strong and resolute. He was a man with his own ideas. He would not give up his ideals just because he saved his life. Moreover, with Kan Leng's martial arts, hundreds of bandits were not his opponents at all. It was difficult to kill them, but it was still easy to escape. The so-called life-saving grace actually did not exist.
"Thank you, General." After hearing Li Yu's words, Kan Leng immediately relaxed a lot, and a look of gratitude appeared on his face. He picked up the big bowl in front of him and drank all the wine in the bowl in one breath, which caused waves of cheers.
Li Yu also finished the wine in front of him, then poured another glass of wine, stood up, and said loudly: "Brothers, the front is Liyang County, which is also our destination. After Chao County, it is Liyang. After today, there will be continuous battles. I, Li Yu, cannot completely guarantee the life and death of you brothers, but Li Yu will definitely guarantee that I will fight with you. Come on, let's do it!"
"Thank you, General." Li Yu's voice could be heard from far away in the night sky, and cheers came from the army.
It was not until midnight that the cheers gradually disappeared. Except for the patrolling soldiers , the camp was silent. No one knew when a figure, holding a warhorse in one hand and a long sword in the other, slowly walked out of the camp. Outside the camp, he turned around, saluted towards the camp, then jumped on his horse and soon disappeared on the horizon.
After a while, a long sigh was heard, and in the darkness, the figures of Li Yu and Cen Wenben appeared. Cen Wenben looked at Kan Leng's leaving figure and couldn't help but said: "Since the general appreciates this person, why don't you keep him? If the general asks, I believe brother Kan Leng will definitely stay."
"It is not wise to seek repayment for a favor. Kan Leng is a resolute and courageous person. Even if he is forced to stay, I'm afraid he won't be able to stay for long. In this case, it is better to leave a good impression on him and it will not be too late to recruit him later." Li Yu shook his head.
"General, where do you think Kan Leng will go next?" Cen Wenben said with a smile.
"He is from Qizhou. I heard that Du Fuwei is also from Qizhou. There are three forces in the two counties of Liyang. Whether it is Miao Haichao or Zhao Pozhen, they are all bandits with poor military discipline. Although Du Fuwei's military discipline is not much better, it is far better than the other two. Kan Leng must have gone to find Du Fuwei." Li Yu shook his head and said, "I didn't expect that we had such a pleasant conversation today. I'm afraid we will face off on the battlefield in a few days."
"General, you have a broad mind. I believe that Kan Leng will be of use to you in the near future." Cen Wenben said confidently, "It is not easy for ordinary people to subdue a person like Kan Leng."
Li Yu thought about it and suddenly said, "What if Du Fuwei adopts him as his adopted son?" Li Yu had heard of Du Fuwei, but not in the official history. Instead, he was mentioned in the Legend of the Two Heroes of the Tang Dynasty. It has to be said that in this era, some generals like to adopt adopted sons and use this father-son relationship to tie the interests of the two together. Zhu Yuanzhang is a typical example, and the same is true for Du Fuwei now.
Cen Wenben, who had opened his mouth wide, suddenly stopped talking. If this was true, Kan Leng would be really hard to subdue.
"Don't worry, sir. Even if Kan Leng becomes Du Fuwei's adopted son, Du Fuwei will not be able to use him well, because Du Fuwei himself has his own talents. As long as we defeat Du Fuwei, Kan Leng will eventually be used by me, Li Yu." Li Yu patted Cen Wenben's shoulder and said confidently.
After hearing this, Cen Wenben suddenly realized something and said, "Such a powerful general cannot be used by a ruler. Du Fuwei is still a little bit inferior."