Chapter 137 Determining a Core
Zhao Yulin felt very stressed when he thought that Zhu Congwen's wife might be a spy, and he kept talking about safety and confidentiality wherever he went.
Before leaving, Chen Xian took out a cloth bag from the safe and handed it to Li Chuan. When Zhao Yulin saw the bulging shape, he knew that it was the reloaded bullets specially made for his 800 million gun. He asked Li Chuan to keep it and said goodbye and left.
After getting on the carriage, Zhao Yulin saw the Cuiping Morning Post on the bench and asked Li Chuan to go to the academy to find Mr. Zhang.
After entering the yard, the old man said that he was in luck, as he had just arrived home. Chen Chen accompanied these old men on a day-long boat trip on the Mahu River.
Haha, Zhao Yulin felt very happy, thinking that Chen Chen was quite capable.
While sipping the old man's tea, he said that he was going to Renhuai to quell the rebellion soon, and asked Zhang Xiangyang to do some publicity in the Cuiping Morning News to let everyone know that the Shenwei Army is one Chinese family, that everyone is equal regardless of race, and that they should unite all those who can be united to the greatest extent possible.
Mr. Zhang certainly understood what he meant. This was to reduce the obstacles to suppressing the rebellion and reduce unnecessary killings. He agreed immediately and generously said that he would publish several newspapers in succession and send them to Renhuai Fort.
Then he sighed again and told him the feedback from the students in the academy. The court had increased taxes again. The people worked hard to grow crops for a year, but the surplus was still not enough to fill their stomachs. Some had to borrow money every year and even sold their children to pay off their debts.
Everyone regards Cuiping Mountain as a Buddhist place. The taxes here are low, and the people have no special burden except paying grain to the emperor. People fleeing famine and disaster are all coming to Cuiping Mountain. In the past two years, nearly ten villages have been opened to the west.
Zhang Xiangyang thinks it is a good thing, but he doesn't think so.
This shows that the burdens passed on to the common people by local governments are very heavy. Otherwise, how could so many poor people flee?
After Zhao Yulin returned with instructions on the propaganda war, Chen Chen asked him to accompany him to eat beggar's chicken, and said that he had already taken him to treat Chen Zhongshun and his wife.
This girl really did what she said when she first came into the family and treated Chen Zhongshun as her father, even closer to him than her biological father Chen Yun.
Zhao Yulin and his wife brought their children to the Beggar's Chicken on the Jinsha River. Chen Zhongshun and his wife were already sitting inside happily. He took his youngest son's hand and said to Zhao Yulin: Call me brother-in-law.
Zhao Yulin stepped forward and picked up his brother-in-law who was less than three years old. Thinking of the lively and lovely Chen Xiaomin, his expression became depressed. Chen Chen, who was watching carefully from the side, happily gave Wu Jing to Chen Zhongshun, who called him grandpa, and called Chen Liu to chase his daddy.
The family sat at the table to eat. A few little kids stretched out their chubby hands and kept grabbing the chicken. They didn't eat much and a lot of it fell to the ground.
Chen Zhongshun happily watched his son and grandchildren running around, and told them cheerfully that they were going to Hanzhong to open a distillery, which would be the winery of our Shenwei Army.
After Zhao Yulin toasted him, he said that he was the one who provided the money in the first place, so it was opened in his own name, and he would donate it when he made money in the future.
The father-in-law said arrogantly that he only recognized him as his son-in-law in his life and that they were all members of the Shenwei Army.
He immediately picked up the wine glass and invited his father-in-law to drink, saying that eggs should not be put in one basket, it is better to divide them up.
Zhao Yulin's business is getting bigger and bigger. He is worried that if the court changes and he is targeted, Wu Gufeng's business will be affected.
After all these years, Chen Zhongshun has become more confident and calm.
After dinner, Chen Chen was in high spirits. He caught him and played with him for a while. Then the couple fell asleep exhausted.
However, Luoyang's Eastern Expedition Army was surrounded by the Mongolian army.
When Cao and his generals saw that the Mongolian army had surrounded the city, they realized they had fallen into a trap and discussed countermeasures with them. Cao Youwan said that they had fought all the way to the city, and no matter how many enemies there were, they should take a day off first.
Du Baiyue told Lao Cao that Commander Zhao had already made arrangements and had support in Zhejiang and Sichuan.
Lao Cao said with regret that the Northern Barbarians must be heavily surrounded in that direction.
Cao Youliang said proudly that we are not afraid of him, Brother Yulin’s people will definitely come up to rescue us.
Cao Youwan said that even if reinforcements were coming, they would be hundreds of miles away, so we must first rush out of the city.
Du Baiyue said with a resolute look that he believed the Second Column of the Shenwei Army would send troops northward. The Mongolian Army had dug up the Yellow River embankment, and the east was a swamp. We would definitely not be able to outrun the Mongolian cavalry. We would kill all the way to Zhejiang and Sichuan.
Lao Cao felt that the situation was full of danger. It was he who took his brothers into danger, which resulted in heavy casualties among the team. He could not escape the blame.
He was determined to die to cover his brothers, so he said that there were still 5,000 cavalry in the city, and he and his second brother Youwan would lead them to cross the Luo River to the east to attract the enemy's pursuit, while Baiyue would lead the infantry to break out to the west to Song County and Neixiang to find the brother troops.
But the generals firmly disagreed and all wanted to serve as bait for Cao.
Lao Cao gave the order in a resolute manner, saying that they were cavalry and could run fast, so they should buy time for the infantry. Everything else was out of the question, and they should act at dawn and take all the people in the city away.
In this way, the Eastern Expedition Army in Guanzhong quickly formulated a breakout plan.
Here, we have to talk about the Mongolian army's first-line coach Hubili. He is indeed young and promising, and even the Khan of the grassland is impressed.
Regarding the Song army's attack this time, his judgment in the big tent was exactly the same as the reality. The most capable fighting force was the Song army in Guanzhong. Not only did they have advanced weapons, but they also had united people. They actually fought all the way through Hangu Pass.
Hubili also took advantage of the geographical location and dug up the Yellow River embankment again, making it difficult for the Song army to trek forward. He first eliminated the fast-running Quanzicai troops, then turned around and let the Song army from Guanzhong enter the empty city of Luoyang again, successfully trapping the 50,000-strong army.
In fact, he was fighting one against two, and with only the 50,000 troops in his hands he was able to deal with the 100,000 soldiers of the Song army.
They say that everything is planned out perfectly, but there are always omissions.
The Song army in the city was about to break out. The Mongolian commander thought that the Song army had deep patriotic feelings and had just entered the city, so he judged that they would have to stay in the city for at least three to five days.
Unexpectedly, Cao Youwen did not play by the rules and immediately led his troops to break out.
When it was daybreak, Zhao Yulin saw Chen Chen was still sleeping soundly, so he quietly got out of bed to practice boxing, but the girl grabbed him and wouldn't let him go.
He smiled and said that it would be better for him to stay in Hanzhong and not come. He couldn't stand it if it went on like this.
The woman burst out laughing and said that he was as strong as a tiger and that even several sisters together could not handle him, so how could he have the nerve to say he couldn't handle it?
Zhao Yulin didn't argue with her. He broke free and went out to practice boxing. He couldn't afford to lose this self-defense item.
After breakfast, Lu Youpeng told him that his brothers had all returned.
He said that time was tight and there were many things to do, so let's not pick a date and go together to bury Old Zhu first.
The group entered the military camp, put on mourning clothes, lowered the military flag, and followed traditional etiquette to send Zhu Congwen's ashes across the river for burial in Beita Cemetery.
Finally, Zhao Yulin held Lao Zhu's child and said, "I will raise this child. When I am gone, my brothers will continue to raise him. Lao Zhu has set an example for us. In the future, we will all cremate the dead, which will take up less land and will not affect the people's farming and food."
After burying Zhu Congwen, Zhao Yulin asked everyone to rest for half a day and discuss matters in the military camp at night.
When he got back, he told Chen Chen that it was time to go out and do some work. After all, Si Niang and Xiao Niang were women of the Zhao family, and it was hard for them to deal with officials directly.
She is the daughter of a provincial governor, and has the support of her father and Zhao Yulin behind her. No one dares to act rashly.
Chen Chen was still taking a nap, and said lazily that it was okay to ask her to do something, but she needed to be served. Zhao Yulin pinched her nose hard and asked if it was over yet? We'll talk about it in the evening.
The woman looked at his back as he left and smiled.
He went to sit in the study and prepared his speech for the evening. Sometimes he envied the carefree Chen Chen, who was so innocent and happy with a smile on his face all the way.
Zhao Yulin shook his head and picked up the brush to write.
After dinner, the main generals of the Shenwei Army entered the operations room for secret meetings.
Lu Youpeng reported the military situation, and Miao Gui read Zhu Congwen's suicide note word for word. In fact, everyone had circulated it one by one.
Lai Chuanfang said with deep emotion that the military advisor asked everyone to believe that the third young master could lead his brothers to victory, lead the Shenwei Army to recover China's territory and achieve national unification.
The military advisor said that the Shenwei Army is a whole and asked everyone to move forward together and never fall behind.
Zhao Yulin started speaking only after he saw that his brothers were silent. He first gave a conclusion about Zhu Congwen, saying that Zhu was the founder of our new-style army, the Shenwei Army, and portrayed Zhu Congwen as the military god of the Shenwei Army.
He asked his brothers, what is faith? Faith is the firm belief in one thing or one truth.
Since its establishment, our Shenwei Army has been working for the people in a pragmatic, fair and just manner, blocking the rain of arrows in order to recover the country's territory and achieve national unification.
We all need to have faith, firmly believe that the command of the Central Army is correct, and resolutely obey military orders. We must firmly believe that the Shenwei Army will grow stronger step by step, go out of Sichuan and Shaanxi to recover all the territory.
Zhao Yulin didn't want to talk about too many big principles. Since the brothers came back, they must have thought a lot along the way. As long as everyone understood that he was the backbone, it would be enough.
Then, he made emergency arrangements, asking Yang Xingyun and the generals of the Eastern Group to take his official ship back to their respective bases immediately to take control of the troops, complete the defense against the Mongolian army, and rescue the defeated remnants of the army.
He thought of a trick. Although this Northern Expedition was doomed to fail, not all of the Song army died on the banks of the Yellow River. There must be many defeated soldiers scattered there. Why not gather them together to form a guerrilla force?
This task was just right for Yang Xingyun to do.
The generals of the Western Group were led by Miao Gui to return to Chengdu. While preparing for defense, they tried their best to persuade Guo Chongma of Gongchang Prefecture and Huizhou to surrender.
Li Yunqing from Partridge Mountain stayed behind to assist in suppressing the rebellion in Renhuai Fort.
Afterwards, Lao Lu arranged for wine bowls to be placed on the table, and everyone swore an oath of blood, vowing to dedicate themselves to the unification of China.
As soon as the day broke, Lai Chuanfang led the team to set off. Yang Xingyun told him not to worry, as the Second Column had already stationed heavy troops in Zhejiang and Sichuan as he had instructed, and would definitely go to support them if they knew that Luoyang was defeated.
Zhao Yulin saw off the brothers from the East Group and discussed Guanzhong affairs with Miao Gui and others for a day before sending them on their way. He greeted his brothers at the dock, wishing them a safe journey and a speedy return to the base.
