Chapter 89: Scythe Swung Down, Seizing by Stratagem

Chapter 89: Scythe Swung Down, Seizing by Stratagem

Chapter 89: Scythe Swung Down, Seizing by Stratagem

As the days passed, the atmosphere in the Northern Yuan Dynasty court became increasingly tense.
The dispute between the two princes seemed to have reached an irreconcilable point.

In the past, their quarrels were only outside the tent.
But now, even if the soldiers meet in the camp, they will fight and insult each other.

They became mortal enemies.

This attracted the attention of many grassland people and also made some unusual movements in the grassland royal court become silent.

For example, the Royal Court's imperial guards were transferred northwards, and the various divisions selected criminals outside the camps.
The wealthy and powerful were no longer stingy with their money and purchased weapons, food, and war horses from the people.

Such a heated scene was mistaken by the common people as the start of a fight for the throne, and the two princes planned to start a war.

This also led to the collapse of the grassland exchange price previously set according to the Ming Dynasty's "Tea-Horse Trade".

War horses can be exchanged for a certain amount of tea in Hezhou, Qinzhou, Taozhou and other places of the Shaanxi Xingdusi.

The rule is that a mounted horse can be exchanged for 120 catties of tea, a medium horse can be exchanged for 70 catties, and a dismounted horse can be exchanged for 50 catties.

Most of the war horses in the hands of the grassland people were dismounted horses, which could be exchanged for three cows or ten sheep on weekdays.

But because the grassland nobles bought up war horses in large quantities,
As a result, one dismounted horse can now be exchanged for five cows and fifteen sheep.

At one time, the trend of selling war horses spread throughout the royal court.
The wealthy and powerful vied with each other to offer high prices to buy the war horses from the people.

Countless herdsmen and common people brought their war horses back to Wangzhai from horse farms all over the country.
So much so that the entire royal court was filled with a strange smell.

As the second prince's confidant, Lu Yunyi naturally participated in the plan and was one of the main forces in purchasing war horses.

In less than seven days, he had already obtained 13,000 war horses of various kinds, and countless cattle and sheep flowed from his hands.
But most of them were not fulfilled and only circulated in the list!

If the herdsmen want to withdraw cattle and sheep, they can just take the booklet to the pasture to make allocations.

Lu Yunyi, who knew everything, felt cold all over.
The gluttonous behavior of these grassland nobles was eye-opening.

It is no wonder that Ortai once said that every migration is a good opportunity for the royal nobles to make a fortune.

The same is true today
On the sixth day, more and more civilians and herdsmen learned some news from the soldiers.
Although there are few of them, there are more people than herdsmen.

As the news came together bit by bit, a horrible truth emerged before their eyes.

The Ming Kingdom is about to attack.

For a time, the entire grassland royal court was in a panic, and the prices of cattle and sheep plummeted like a waterfall.
The prices of weapons, armor and war horses are skyrocketing!

The price of a dismounted horse became twenty cows and fifty sheep. The reason for this situation was looting.

A small tribe in the royal court has at least ten households. If a household has five people, at least sixty war horses are needed to take away all the property.

In exile, war horses, weapons and armor are more important than anything else. Only with them can one survive the migration!

The royal court has only been in Bui'erhai for a few months.
The common people and herdsmen had never expected that the royal court would continue to migrate in such a short time.

This also led to most of their war horses being exchanged for cattle, sheep, jewelry, salt, iron, tea and other necessities of life.

What's more, this time it was different from previous migrations, because it was the Ming army that attacked.

Weapons, armor, and war horses became increasingly important.
Lu Yunyi could see the herdsmen wandering around the tents every day.
The skin on their faces has been baptized by wind and sand for many years, and is dark, wrinkled, and reveals anxiety.

They took the cattle and sheep books and went to ask each one, and bowed to each tent.

He hoped that the Lord would sell him some war horses and long swords to protect his family.

The price called out was several times more expensive than the price sold a few days ago.

The gap is chilling.

However, no matter how high the price offered by the rich and powerful was, there were still common people and herdsmen who came to buy back the war horses they had sold in the past.
This represents the hope of continuing to live.

At the suggestion of the ground guard slave, Lu Yunyi
All of the more than 2,000 war horses that were injured and had clumsy legs were sold in exchange for a total of more than 40,000 cattle and sheep.

Because he sold enough war horses, he was given the title of "Skinned" in the royal court and was subjected to a lot of abuse both openly and covertly.

But even so, many people and herdsmen suppressed their anger.

They came to him one after another, hoping to join his army and kill the enemy in battle.

Lu Yunyi knew that these people were not really fighting to kill the enemy, but were really trying to protect their families.

Once the royal court began to migrate, the royal court's soldiers became ruffians.
If there is no one to protect them in the army, the family will be destroyed at best and people will be killed at worst.

Lu Yunyi naturally refused, and the local security guard also sent people to keep an eye on the people and herdsmen who were buying the war horses.

It was because the war horses they sold were old and had inflexible legs and feet, and could not run long distances.
If the Ming people really attack, those who fall behind the majority will die sooner or later.

Keep an eye on them in advance. If they die, confiscate all their property, cattle and sheep.

Lu Yunyi found this extremely absurd and once again gained a deep understanding of the weakness of the grassland.

He even came up with a strategy specifically designed for the situation at the Northern Yuan Dynasty court.
All we need is a large force of more than 10,000 people to fall behind, chasing but not fighting,
The Northern Yuan Dynasty naturally fell apart and its strength was greatly reduced.
He had made an accurate calculation and concluded that as long as the pursuit could continue for 20 days, all the food, grass and water of the grassland people and herdsmen would be depleted.
There were only two paths left for them.

One is to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, and the other is to fight back and seize food from the grassland nobles.

Lu Yunyi is more inclined to the first one. In recent days,

There were frequent chaos in the court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but the common people and herdsmen did not rebel.
On the contrary, there are more and more devout believers.
They believe that this is a sin from the previous life and needs to be repaid in this life.
Seeing this scene, Lu Yunyi gave up his plan to stir up trouble and just waited quietly for the army's reply.

Finally, on the eighth day,
Liu Heiying rushed excitedly into the military tent where Lu Yunyi was, his face solemn and his eyes excited!
After he entered the military tent, he pulled down the curtain, ran quickly to Lu Yunyi's desk, and said in a low voice:

"Brother Yun'er, there's a letter!"

Lu Yunyi suddenly raised his head, his eyes sharp, and quickly scanned the surroundings before reaching out his hand: "Give it to me."

Liu Heiying took out a letter from his arms, which was a small cylinder that had been folded repeatedly. He handed the letter over and appeared in front of the military tent in a flash.

He gently lifted the curtain, revealing a small gap, and stared at the passers-by cautiously, his eyes full of vigilance.

Lu Yunyi quickly opened the small cylinder and unfolded the letter.

I read it again as quickly as possible and memorized it in my mind.

Without thinking too much, he handed the letter to the candlelight beside him. The dim yellow candlelight began to burn.
Lu Yunyi's fingers flexibly folded the paper, trying to use the small piece of letter paper to cover the candle flame.

Even some of the flames had touched his fingers, but he didn't care.
When all the paper was burned, Liu Heiying smelled the scent of incense ash in the air.
He gently opened the curtain, fluttered back and forth twice, and went straight back to the table with an expectant look on his face!

"Brother Yun'er, what's going on?"

Lu Yunyi suppressed his excitement:
"The army has been on the march for seven days. If nothing goes wrong, they will reach Bui'er Lake by the end of the month. The difference is less than one day!"

"So fast?" Liu Heiying's eyes widened.

It took them about ten days to search all the way from Qingzhou to Buerhai.

If one person rides two horses without stopping day and night, they can reach the destination in four or five days.

But this is the time when the cavalry is on the move. A large part of the Gyeongju army is infantry.

It is extremely difficult to reach Buihuer Lake in more than 20 days.

Lu Yunyi thought for a moment with excitement on his face: "It should be that our proposal for the outpost was adopted by the general.

We cleared out the secret agents and scouts of the Northern Yuan Dynasty along the way.
The army's food and fodder can be shipped ahead of time just like in the country.

As for most of them, they only needed to travel light and fast, just like in the country. The only hindrance was the transportation of weapons.
But with donkeys, mules and horses, it's not a problem." "Great!!! Brother Yun'er, you have done a great job again."

Liu Heiying could not help but get excited, a smile bloomed on his young dark face, and he could not help but hold the armrest of the chair tightly.
He could already imagine in his mind the miserable scene of the Northern Yuan royal court fleeing in all directions when the army arrived.

These days, he has seen all the exploitation of the common people and herdsmen by the royal court dignitaries.

Although they were enemies, he still felt a little uncomfortable when he saw the people and herdsmen howling and kneeling on the ground begging.

He suddenly thought of something and asked:
"Brother Yun'er, does Dibaonu want us to resist the army?"

Lu Yunyi put away the smile on his face, thought carefully, stretched out his hand and gently tapped the documents on the table:

"Look at what good things Dibaonu has made us do these days.
They exploited the people, forcibly conscripted soldiers, and wantonly amassed wealth, and also asked us to actively stir up disputes with most of the Tianbao slaves to attract attention.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, it's clear that he's using us as pawns."

Hearing this, Liu Heiying showed anger and said with gritted teeth:
"That day, Bao Nu went too far and ordered his soldiers to rob the small tribes around him.
Every day they could bring back a lot of cattle and sheep, causing the generals under Wu Wang Duoer to clash with Wu Fuliu all day long.

When I came back just now, they were fighting again at the gate of the camp.

These bastards. No wonder they are becoming less and less useful.

Now, with this kind of behavior, even the soldiers are a little distracted, and the morale of the army is hard to use."

Lu Yunyi nodded. He had heard about Wu Fuliu's experience in recent days.
Because Wu Fuliu had already been informed that the two of them might become abandoned by the resistance army.
Therefore, Wu Fuliu treated other soldiers without courtesy and often took the initiative to fight, relying on the fact that the royal court would not punish him, General "Borshu".

Just as Lu Yunyi was thinking, there were screams from outside.
"Sir, please be kind. Sell me a warhorse and I will give you a hundred sheep."

"Sir, I will give you 10 kilograms of salt and tea, and 20 cows. Please be kind."

Lu Yunyi and Liu Heiying frowned and looked at each other.

But soon they heard the soldiers' shouts:

"Go, go, go and seek somewhere else,
We won’t sell them here. We don’t even have enough for ourselves. Where can we get war horses for you? Don’t you see what you are…”

Then, the sound of knives, guns, sticks and clubs hitting flesh and blood rang out, accompanied by wailing, and slowly faded away.

Liu Heiying stood up and walked to the door of the military tent, gently pulling open the curtain.

What came into view was a dozen middle-aged men staggering away into the distance.

His arms kept shielding him from the blows from all directions, and bruises could already be seen on his exposed skin.
Apparently this wasn't the first time they had encountered this.

Liu Heiying's eyes became colder and colder, and his heart became more and more silent. He walked back to the table with heavy steps without saying a word.

The Chinese New Year had just passed, and Liu Heiying was already nineteen.
Whether in the Ming Dynasty or on the grassland, he was already a capable man at home.

Looking at these men who were praying for war horses outside, hoping to bring some temporary safety to their families,

Liu Heiying felt some empathy and some sympathy in his heart.

"Brother Yun'er, these Northern Yuan nobles are really worthless. There are enough war horses in the royal court now, but they still exploit them wantonly and make up excuses."

"Everyone hopes to have more horses under his command when disaster strikes.
The more war horses and armor you have, the more young and strong you can recruit, and the safer you will be.
Ortai is right. Every time the grassland encounters a disaster, these people will make a fortune. "

As Lu Yunyi spoke, he looked at Liu Heiying with a half-smile and asked:

"How is Yarong? I heard that she is kind-hearted and has helped many people and herdsmen these days. Some people regard her as the reincarnation of a god."

Speaking of Yarong, Liu Heiying blushed, slowly lowered his head, and nodded gently:

"She is indeed a good person. These days she and the princess have been wandering around the royal court.

Giving food to those unwanted 'sinners' may be a drop in the bucket, but it can always help them live a little longer."

Now, most of the criminals outside the camp have been picked up by the major tribes, and the rest are the old, weak, sick and disabled.

If nothing had happened to the royal court, they could have survived for a few more years.

But now, things are changing everywhere, the powerful are exploiting the common people and herdsmen,

The herdsmen and common people went to plunder the few silver and food they had, which resulted in hundreds of corpses being buried outside the camp every day.

Lu Yunyi looked at Liu Heiying and said, "There are countless dead bodies outside the camp now. There may be an epidemic. I suggest Yarong not to go there often."

Liu Heiying shook his head slowly:
"She went with the princess. I tried to persuade her, but she said that if the princess wasn't afraid, then she wouldn't be afraid either."

"The army will arrive in a few days. It's not too late for you to change your mind now. It's just a female captive.
Then let her change her appearance and don’t let the news spread.”

Hearing this, Liu Heiying fell silent for a moment, his whole body filled with sadness, his eyes filled with reluctance, but in the end he shook his head:

"Now that I have made my decision, I will not change it."

Forced to cheer up, Liu Heiying smiled and quickly diverted his attention:
“Brother Yun’er, don’t you plan to keep Surina and Saren?

I see they took good care of you, and you seem to have gained some weight.”

Lu Yunyi laughed, picked up the teacup beside him, and drank the tea in it:

"A torn garment can be mended; a severed limb cannot be repaired.

As long as my brothers are safe, that's enough.

Just two women, nothing."

Liu Heiying had expected this answer. He nodded slightly, with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Brother Yun'er has always been like this, cold-blooded and heartless, with a heart of stone from childhood to adulthood.

Unlike him, he falls in love with every girl he meets and forgets every girl he leaves.

After chatting with him for a while, Lu Yunyi waved his hand and asked him to go to the door of the military tent to watch.

And he had to write down the tactics and replies he had thought of over the past few days.

The military tent became quiet, with only the rustling sound of Lu Yunyi's brush writing.
The noise outside the military tent did not diminish at all, but became even louder.

Even so, Lu Yunyi's mind was empty and he wrote quickly.

The movements of the soldiers and possible evacuation directions that we have learned in recent days,
There are also secret codes for meeting and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers they bring.
Everything was detailed, and slowly a whole piece of white paper was filled with small words, so densely packed that the white paper seemed to turn black.

After the last stroke was made, Lu Yunyi nodded with satisfaction, and then he gently folded it up and stuffed it into the bamboo tube.
"Okay, send this letter over quickly."

Hearing this, Liu Heiying immediately came over, took the bamboo tube, and said seriously:

"Brother Yun'er, Yuan Ting may be about to set off."

"So fast?"

Lu Yunyi suddenly raised his head, stood up quickly, and walked to the door of the military tent in three or two steps, looking out along the gap.

The people around were terrified and rushed back to the military tent at a fast pace.
The cow dung, firewood and dried goods that were hung out to dry were all collected, and many donkey and mule carts drove over, with large and small bags of luggage stuffed on them.
It was like a scene of a family fleeing for safety.

At this time, Lu Yunyi saw a familiar figure.

Ortai, wearing armor, walked quickly from outside the camp, and his destination was obviously his military tent.

(End of this chapter)