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

Chapter 280 Hidden Dragon in the Abyss, Scales and Claws Raised

"Xi Yong, why are you running away? Weren't you shouting and clamoring to kill the Jin thieves just two days ago? Why are you scared now?"

Dong Cheng frowned, looked at the young man who was escorted by his personal guards, and asked in a low voice.

The young man named Xi Yong, a captain of the Left Army, was from Shandong. Hearing this, he raised his head stubbornly, his hands clasped behind his back. "I think Commander Dong is scared! The whole army wants to fight, to fight the Jin thieves, yet he's still cowering in this cowardly shell. Commander Dong, do you still have that string in your crotch?"

"presumptuous!"

Dong Cheng's personal guards were furious and immediately hit Xi Yong on the back with their scabbards.

Dong Cheng waved his hand to stop the guards from continuing to use violence, and instead said, "Xi Yong, are you going out this time just to fight the Jin bandits alone?"

Xi Yong said angrily, "If we don't kill the loyal and righteous army of the Jin bandits, there's no point in me staying here. The Jin bandits are plundering everywhere, and my family might be in trouble too. I'm going home with a few of my companions to look after the village. Since General Dong doesn't dare to fight the Jin bandits, we'll fight them to the end!"

Dong Cheng sighed, "Xi Yong, this isn't how you guys do it. Think about it carefully. With us holding firm in Rizhao County, most of the Jin bandits will be stuck outside the city. If our army rushes out and suffers a crushing defeat, with over ten thousand Jin bandits scattered and utterly destroyed, wouldn't that lead to a catastrophic disaster?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Yong just sneered and said nothing, looking ready to be killed. It was clear that he did not believe Dong Cheng's words.

"This matter ends here. You all return to your respective armies and pretend that nothing happened." Dong Cheng was not surprised. He simply waved to his guards, signaling to release the man. "I'll give you an explanation in a few days."

Xi Yong rubbed his arm and said, "General Dong, please don't try to deceive me. You were kept in Haizhou by Duke Wei and his men because you didn't dare to fight the Jin bandits. That idiotic Zhang Diwan is also a worthless piece of shit with an empty reputation. The Jin bandits chased him like a dog from Mizhou back to Juzhou. I don't trust you. Even if you let me go, I'm still leaving!"

Dong Cheng was so angry when he heard half of it that he almost drew his sword and killed the man. But when he heard the end, he felt helpless again: "Since you said so, I really shouldn't let you go. But you are a deserter, after all, to fight against the Jin army, so killing you is not appropriate.

How about this, Abang, you take this guy with you and go with Li Gongzuo later, and let him see what we are waiting for.

The guard named Liang Bang bowed and gave Xi Yong a shove. "Let's go, you brave man who isn't afraid of death. Do you still need me to carry you?"

Xi Yong wanted to say something back, but he found it boring and was pushed out of the tent by Abang.

Indeed, if he is not afraid of death, how could he be afraid of Dong Cheng playing some tricks?
Soon, Liang Bang brought Xi Yong to Neidu in Rizhao County, where a group of soldiers were already waiting. The leader was dark and strong. Although he was not wearing armor, his figure was not much different from that of an armored soldier.

As a captain, Xi Yong had seen senior military officers before, and he recognized at a glance that this man was the son of the rumored Li Bao, the general Li: Li Gongzuo.

"We are finally here. Let's set off without further delay." After seeing Liang Bang and others, although Li Gongzuo was surprised to find that there was someone being detained among them, he did not waste any words and directly invited everyone to get on board.

"Do you want to throw me into the sea to destroy my body?" Xi Yong thought so, but immediately felt that he was overthinking.

He is not a big shot, so why execute him in such a private way?

To put it bluntly, the punishment can serve as a warning to others!

Just as Xi Yong was daydreaming, the thousand-ton steamship carrying the sailors had already passed through the water gate and arrived at the sea.

Because the water gate of Rizhao County was built against Shijiu Mountain, and there was a military camp on the mountain, if the Jin navy wanted to attack the city through the water gate, they would have to endure a rain of arrows first. Therefore, although the Jin army had ships, they had long given up the idea of attacking the city through the water gate.

Therefore, Li Gongzuo's warships did not encounter any obstructions and sailed steadily southward for three or four miles following the north wind.

A small boat was lowered at a shallow beach, and twenty people, including Liang Bang and Xi Yong, went ashore on the small boat with twenty horses.

After hastily covering the boat, Li Gongzuo and others drove their horses at full speed along the mountain path. After passing the area on the south side of Jiuxian Mountain, which was a mixture of hills and foothills, the view in front of them suddenly became clear.

Xi Yong calculated that they had only traveled forty miles and were right in the open space between Daqing Mountain and Jiuxian Mountain. If he remembered correctly, this place should be called Chentong Town.

What are you doing here? Is it possible to station a large army here?

They encountered several checkpoints at the mountain pass, and after verifying their identities, Li Gongzuo and the others finally arrived at the mountain plain. Xi Yong took a closer look and was shocked. Wow, there really was a large army hiding there!
From his perch at the mountain pass, Xi Yong took a quick glance down and roughly estimated based on the tents that the army must be no fewer than 5,000 men. Furthermore, their camping was meticulously planned. Instead of rushing headlong into Chentong Town, they established four camps around the town, one large and three small, supporting each other while maintaining sufficient distance from one another to prevent the entire army from collapsing in the event of a surprise attack.

And the familiar "loyalty" flag was flying high in the center of the camp.

As for the two smaller "Han" characters and the Flying Tiger flag, they were the flags of Liu Huai, the Flying Tiger, whom Xi Yong had only heard of but had never seen in person.

Isn’t it not just Liu Feihu who came this time, but even Duke Wei came as well?

Such a large army quietly gathered here, naturally they were not here to enjoy the autumn scenery of Jiuxian Mountain, so there is only one possibility:
The Zhongyi Army and the Dongping Army were brewing a plan to wipe out the Jin navy in one fell swoop.

At this moment, thinking about what he said in anger in front of Dong Cheng, Xi Yong felt a little ashamed, his heart was in turmoil, and his face turned pale and blue.

"Now you know you were wrong, don't you?" Liang Bang saw this and taunted him. "Duke Wei, Flying Tiger, and General Dong, they gave up their luxurious lives in Jiangnan to come to Shandong and fight the Jin bandits. And you actually think they're scared, that they dare not continue to kill the Jin bandits. Tell me, what do you think?"

Xi Yong glared at Liang Bang and muttered, "Isn't it because I saw the Jin thieves abuse the villagers...Isn't it too much?"

As they were talking, the group had already arrived at the military camp area, but Xi Yong discovered that between the large and small military camps in the north and south, near Chentong Town, there was actually a small market. Not only were there people buying and selling clothes and mats, but there were also many middle-aged women setting up stalls doing sewing and mending work. Some of them even sold chickens, livestock, fruits and vegetables.

It was already past breakfast, but the people were still steaming pancakes in big pots and selling them to the soldiers on their official business.

Liang Bang had come secretly several times to deliver messages for Dong Cheng, so he was not surprised. When passing by a stall, he threw a few copper coins, took the vegetable buns handed over by the shopkeeper, and threw two of them to Xi Yong.

"I didn't eat breakfast this morning to catch you guys. You've been busy for several hours, so you must be hungry. This time, I'll treat you."

Xi Yong took the hot vegetable bun and felt hungry. He lowered his head and took two bites before he realized what was happening. He looked back at the stall and said in surprise, "How dare they set up a stall here?"

The civilians have no ability to resist the army. This does not mean that the army will definitely massacre the civilians, but that no civilians dare to entrust their lives and property to the mercy of the army.

So when ordinary people see the army, they will run as far as they can.

Even if they can't run away, they won't take the initiative to go in front of the army. The risk is too great.

"Ah... I was also confused at first... hiccup..." Liang Bang munched on a vegetable bun. "This cabbage is fresh... so I asked the brothers I knew in the front army. They didn't know much either. They only said that Feihu Langjun was strict in rewards and punishments, and that military discipline was strict. He gave every reward and punishment that was due. The lightest punishment for looting was expulsion from the army, deprivation of land, and special criticism at the trial meeting.
If someone dies, they will be beheaded as a warning to others. After three or four times, everyone is not stupid, so why would they violate such a taboo just to save a few copper coins?

When we first came to Chentong Town, the people stayed indoors, but some soldiers would still come in to buy things. The people were not fools, and after a few fair transactions, some people would naturally make money. No one would mind the hot copper coins, right? "

As he spoke, Liang Bang looked at Xi Yong, who was completely stunned. A sense of superiority came naturally from the information gap. He patted the other's shoulder and said, "Because the Left Army stayed in Haizhou and was not under the supervision of Duke Wei, the military discipline was a little relaxed, but sooner or later they will have to go through this.

But don't worry, we are all upright men who pay for our meals and never bully others. We are upright and honest. Even if the military discipline is strict, the devil's sword can't cut us. "

Xi Yong stuffed the remaining half of the vegetable bun into his mouth and swallowed it before saying, "I just don't know why Duke Wei and Flying Tiger Young Master did this."

Liang Bang sneered: "Why do you care about him? Why bother with this? Didn't you listen to Sima Zhongda, the prime minister of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period? He had nothing better to do than to disguise himself as a woman. Did he delay his fight with Prime Minister Zhuge Liang?"

Your reward is still there, so just think of it as the Duke of Wei having a quirk. It's better than asking the soldiers to build him a big house."

Although these words were far-fetched, they left Xi Yong speechless.

However, the doubts in his heart became deeper.

Isn't this kind of thing the key to peace in the world? How can it be just a personal preference?
Thinking of this, Xi Yong looked at Liang Bang again and felt that although the other party was carefree, he didn't seem to want to make deep conversation.

Liang Bang seemed unaware of anything. After finishing his vegetable buns, he clapped his hands, continued to hold Xi Yong's horse reins, and followed Li Gongzuo to the largest camp.

(End of this chapter)