Xie Ming

Chapter 63: Confrontation in the Forest (I)

Qiu Zhizhong was walking in the forest, and when he saw that there was no one around, he began to ask Xiao Langzhi about his true thoughts on the Bairui Valley incident.

"Alas, it's hard to lead a team! Especially our current small team of just a few hundred people." Xiao Jingchuan was melancholy.

"The incident in Bairui Valley happened suddenly. What can I do? I don't have time to react!"

"At that time, I was forced to stand there, and the villagers were all watching. The military and the people's hearts must not be broken. We still have to survive in this area in the future!"

"Besides, this happened when the military rules and regulations were just established. I was hit head-on. There is no room for maneuver. I have to do it, otherwise the situation will only get worse!"

"To increase the military's prestige and credibility, it takes hundreds of days and thousands of days to build it up bit by bit, but to destroy it, it can be completely shattered in one day!"

"It's important to be careful!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong continued to speak.

"Haha, Lao Xiao, aren't you afraid that Li Huchen will betray you on the spot?"

"Don't be afraid!" Xiao Lang was quite confident.

"First of all, I believe I have some confidence in judging people. Li Huchen won't do that. Even if Qi Dayong was beheaded on the spot by me, it was in accordance with the military law. Li Huchen won't be that bad. At most, he will have a bad temper and will be difficult to tame in the future! He will definitely not raise an army to mutiny immediately!"

"Besides, Peizhong has already returned to the camp. I am confident that nothing serious will happen!"

"Oh!" Xiao Jingchuan sighed.

"Tiger minister, tiger minister!"

"Originally, my intention was to find a way to win Li Huchen's heart before going out to fight a tough battle!"

"It's hard to find a brave general. It's easy to find thousands of soldiers, but it's hard to find a general!"

"I already have Sun Peizhong on hand, and adding Li Huchen to the fold will make us even more powerful!"

"The next step is to wait until we successfully enter Jiulong Town, then we can recruit more soldiers!"

After saying this, Xiao Jingchuan broke off a branch that was blocking the way with one hand and held it in his hand. It was neither thick nor thin, and quite straight. So Xiao Lang smiled and waved it around casually, using it as a walking stick.

Seeing this, Qiu Zhizhong shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, Old Xiao!"

"You have everything sorted out here, but I have..."

Zhizhong was deliberately complaining, and Xiaolang took one look and asked hurriedly.

"Hmm, what's up?"

"Hi, it's the Crown Prince and the ministers. We have been in the mountains for seven or eight days. Although these old ministers are in the army, they dare not cause trouble openly due to your military power, but they have many complaints in private!"

"Firstly, several ministers, led by Ni Yuanlu, complained that they were hiding in this mountain valley and had no idea about external affairs. They strongly disapproved of continuing to seek the mountain road to the south!"

"Secondly, they think we are moving too slowly. At the current speed, when can we reach Nanjing?!"

"For this reason, I have also tried my best to mediate."

"But, even though I have some friendship with the Crown Prince and the court officials, to be honest, if you continue like this, I'm afraid the Crown Prince will have a rift with you again!"

"After all, those old officials are not only pedantic, but they are also experts at doing tricks behind the scenes!"

“It’s really hard to deal with!”

When Qiu Zhizhong spoke these words, he looked filled with bitterness and hatred.

Xiao Lang heard the words from the side, and suddenly exerted force and threw the branch in his hand away.

"Humph!"

"These old bastards are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything!"

"You have a reputation for being loyal, but it is useless in practice!"

"If I hadn't considered that these people could play a role in balancing the political situation after going south, I would have killed them with a knife long ago!"

After letting out his anger, Xiao Lang paused with his hands on his hips, took out the water bag and drank two sips, then handed it to Qiu Zhizhong. He himself let out a long breath and continued slowly.

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), it's only been a few days! How can there be a saying that a day in the mountains is equivalent to a thousand years in the world?!"

"In seven or eight days, there is no such thing as external affairs. Even if the situation changes suddenly, it will not be turned upside down so quickly. They are really overthinking it!"

"Besides, we only have so many soldiers and horses. If we don't go into the mountains, we won't be able to leave the capital at all before all our troops are used up!"

"In the early stages, we moved slowly and trained the soldiers. We just wanted to be as well prepared as possible."

"Once the war breaks out, we won't have the time to take care of these things!" Xiao Lang said with a frown.

Qiu Zhizhong naturally understood this truth, but he could not tell these words directly to the prince. After all, their requests were different, so it would be difficult to explain in detail.

Xiao Jingchuan saw that Qiu Zhizhong was still in a dilemma and didn't say anything, so he simply put the problem aside and changed the subject.

"Oh, by the way, Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong)!"

"Right now, I have something more important to tell you!"

"Oh? What's the matter?" Qiu Zhizhong calmed himself down and asked.

"It's about our next construction of the Sanpodijie base."

"First of all, we need to eliminate the bandits in the nearby mountains and forests. This is the most urgent task, and we have discussed this before."

"If we don't suppress the bandits, it will be difficult to raise enough money and materials in a short period of time. This is very important. We must suppress the bandits to raise funds, and we must persist in doing so in the future!"

"Besides that, our exploration of Jiulong Town this time is actually very necessary."

"After I have accumulated some wealth from suppressing the bandits, I want to build a core stronghold in Jiulong Town as our first base camp!"

"Here, we have to pay attention to people's livelihood and integrate with the people in the town and surrounding areas!"

"We will build schools, clinics, and military bases when the time comes."

"I have considered this area of ​​the mountain before. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It can be a perfect place to defend!"

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), what do you think?"

Xiao Jingchuan's words were quite unexpected to Qiu Zhizhong. He took a breath and thought deeply.

"Old Xiao, I originally thought that when you said you wanted to build a base here, you just wanted to build a warehouse in the nearby mountains to store troops and food. I didn't expect that you would plan so many things."

"Hehe, it's definitely not just that!" Xiao Lang continued.

"In the future, as long as it is properly constructed, this place can serve as a large rear base for us!"

"Manpower, money, food, and transit support can all be generated from this!"

"But, if you continue to do this, how long will it take?" Qiu Zhizhong was doubtful.

"It won't take too long, as long as the money for suppressing the bandits is in place!"

"I think we should rest here for at least a few days. As for the many things I mentioned, let's just get started!"

"For the remaining matters, we can leave more people here to work on them carefully!"

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), your dark network can also set up a communication stack here. It can radiate and control the hidden stakes around the capital. If you retreat, you can hide in the mountains nearby to preserve your strength, which will make it easier for us to communicate with this place in the future."

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong nodded solemnly.

"As for the candidate for the person in charge who will stay here, as for the military officer, I think Qi Dayong should be left behind!"

"He and Wan Niang had this incident, and they got married, which would be convenient for the military and civilians in the base to cooperate in the future!"

"The civil servants are in charge."

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), what do you think of Xu Zhi and Xu Ruolu, the officers of the Ministry of Personnel's Seal Verification Division who accompanied the army out of Beijing?"

[Xu Zhi, courtesy name Ruolu, was formerly the Director of the Seal Verification Department of the Ministry of Personnel in Beijing, 43 years old]

(End of this chapter)