Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 169: A Quick Look at the Rule

Cheng Da Niao trotted forward, "Commander Zhang, can this really wipe out the evildoers and restore peace to Yizhou? Will it bring eternal peace?"

Zhang Baiyu walked ahead with his hands behind his back. "Of course not. In fact, except for the most heinous crimes, they are basically punished and not beheaded. For example, these local tycoons have so much land, which has been accumulated over generations. It is inevitable that they have taken advantage of it. But after all... after all, they will need people next time. How can they just kill them all? They can only confiscate their land and leave it at that."

"Furthermore, the redistribution of land will naturally create new landlords. Even if this generation of loyal and righteous soldiers are law-abiding, have noble aspirations, and don't compete with the people for profit, who can guarantee the same for the next generation? And the generation after that?

Things change at any time, there is no eternal law. When they do evil, there will naturally be people who stand up like we did today, rewarding the good and punishing the evil, slaying the demons and eliminating the evil."

As they were talking, Zhang Baiyu led Cheng Da Niao to the wounded camp, which was located in the center of the camp. There was a group of a hundred elite soldiers stationed around it. Cheng Da Niao had come here once a few days ago to visit the injured villagers. When he came again, he found that some of the beds were empty.

Zhang Baiyu first went to comfort his subordinates, and then took out a long piece of dried meat from his sleeve like a magic trick, handed it to the doctor-like figure, and asked him to put it in the tofu cooked in the wounded camp at noon.

In this era when killing cattle is illegal, nutrients or high-quality protein are too rare. Liu Huai thought about it for a long time before deciding to use tofu as a meal for the sick.

Tofu can also be dried and baked to make dried tofu, which can be carried as military rations.

Haizhou has begun to use the harvested autumn grain to produce dried tofu on a large scale. The bean dregs can be made into bean cakes and used as horse feed, so there is no waste at all.

Cheng Da Niao watched Zhang Baiyu gather people's hearts, touched his whole body, and found that he was completely hairless. He couldn't help feeling embarrassed, but he still had a thick face. He went straight to the injured villager and asked about his well-being.

A moment later, the two men walked out of the wounded camp.

"Struggle requires strategy," Zhang Baiyu continued, his hands folded behind his back. "For example, if you're trying to kill a tiger, you can either rush at it head-on with a knife or wait for it to fall into a trap and then stab it with a spear. The result is the same: the tiger will die, but the difference is that you'll definitely get hurt if you fight it head-on."

"For example, half of the wounded soldiers in this battalion were injured in the battle with the Jurchen bandits. If I remember correctly, two of your fellow villagers were also killed, right?
If we had controlled the two Jurchens at that time, these Jurchen bandits would have collapsed without a fight and would not have become a defeated army."

Cheng Da Niao's expression turned angry again: "So we shouldn't rebel, and our families deserve to die?"

Zhang Baiyu shook his head: "Rebellion when one cannot survive is the most natural and righteous thing in history. How can you be wrong?
Don't forget, I told you that Liu Dalang scolded you only because of the military hierarchy and because you were disrupting the battle."

Cheng Da Niao lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Are these the principles you thought of, Commander Zhang?"

Zhang Baiyu continued to shake his head. "How can I say these words? They are just what General Liu and General Wei said in their daily lives. We might need them one day when we divide our forces into generals."

As they spoke, Zhang Baiyu and Cheng Da Niao returned to the military camp, led their war horses, crossed the Yishui River along the pontoon bridge, and arrived at the foot of Linyi City.

There, Wei Sheng and Lu You did not even enter the city. They set up a table under the city wall and selected officials from Yizhou.

Among the candidates were scholars who had taken refuge in Haizhou, soldiers from the Loyal Army, and even officials who had previously served in Yizhou. This was to prepare for the subsequent measurement and equalization of land, and even for the cultivation of fertile fields and dredging of water conservancy projects during the winter.

Cheng Da Niao even saw an acquaintance beside the first seat.

To call him an acquaintance wasn't quite accurate, as Cheng Da Niao knew him, while he didn't recognize the little riding slave. "That... no, no, no... is that Luo Qingtian?" Cheng Da Niao pointed at the farmer-like old man from a distance, but felt it was impolite. He quickly lowered his arm, rubbing his hands, and asked, "Has Mr. Luo also joined the Loyalty Army?"

Zhang Baiyu looked up, and saw that the person sitting there was none other than Luo Guzi, the former magistrate of Qushan County.

"Lord Luo didn't join the group." Zhang Baiyu, worthy of being Zhang Rong's biological son, spoke with the air of a bandit. "His two sons both joined the Loyalty Army. Luo Dalang and I are both commanders of the front army, while Luo Erlang is the commander's attendant."

"We invited Mr. Luo here specifically because, between the autumn harvest and the spring plowing season, we need to repair the water conservancy ditches. Mr. Luo is a master in this area. I heard he measured the land here a few years ago and determined the location for digging the ditches. However, for various reasons, he couldn't make it."

Cheng Da Niao sighed quietly, "I know about this. We were the ones who went to pick up Luo Qingtian. At that time, every village sent people to protect Luo Qingtian when he was selecting a water conservancy site. Later, there were a few plots of land that were difficult to identify, and the villages were arguing with each other. Luo Qingtian stayed there for a month but had no choice but to go back to handle official business.

After all, he was an official from Haizhou, unable to manage Yizhou's affairs, and could only coordinate. He never returned after leaving. I heard that he offended Haizhou's Gao Laozhu over the people's land, and was forced to leave when the Shuhe River was only half built. Alas... what a good official he was.

After saying this, Cheng Da Niao felt extremely melancholy. Several of his friends' fields were originally located in the north, which was exactly where Luo Guzi was planning to build the canal. However, there was a severe drought in the past few years and no crops were harvested. Most of their family members died, so they had no choice but to leave their fields abandoned and sell themselves into slavery.

If the canal construction had been successful at that time, perhaps fewer of these partners' family members would have died.

Zhang Baiyu didn't know the inside story. Seeing Cheng Da Niao's expression, he comforted her directly: "This time, our Loyal Army will see the canal construction through to the end. Even the Jade Emperor can't stop us!"

As they were talking, the two of them turned around a small forest, and the noise in their ears suddenly became louder.

"kill!"

“Serve and eat!”

"Sun Er, you're such a bastard. If you take a bigger step on the right side, will your crotch get stuck?"

In the open space around Cangcheng, there were many cavalrymen training back and forth, and infantrymen fighting against each other in formation.

"Duke Wei and Duke Lu are working hard to prepare for the distribution of land to you, and those soldiers are also training hard to protect the land you have been allocated." Zhang Baiyu waved and greeted the captain who was commanding the troops, and his mouth was also busy: "Cheng Dalang, you are a capable hero, and Commander Liu also values you very much. Tell me, do we have to rely on outsiders to protect our future good days?

Listen to my advice, talk to your fellow countrymen, and join the army to defend your homeland."

Cheng Da Niao looked at the bustling parade grounds, then turned back to look at the other side of the Yishui River. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Then... then I'll go and persuade them."

After saying this, before Zhang Baiyu could breathe a sigh of relief, Cheng Da Niao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Since General Liu values me so highly, why doesn't he come and talk to me in person? Could it be that I'm too insignificant to speak so loudly that General Liu doesn't think highly of me?"

Zhang Baiyu looked at him helplessly: "With your status and merits, as long as you join the army, you will definitely get a position as the head of the cavalry. How can Commander Liu look down on you?

It's okay to tell you, the commander-in-chief is personally leading his men north along the Yishui River to explore the terrain."

(End of this chapter)