Chapter 485 Face-to-face instruction
Chapter 485 Face-to-face instruction
Yuan Wenzhen smiled slightly and said, "You are not ready, and neither is Xiao Xia. He is busy recruiting soldiers and training them, and the armor of the new soldiers has not yet arrived. Moreover, he has no idea about the situation of the Shanyue tyrants. I believe that even if he notices something, he will not act rashly. At most, he will send a few troops to control Wu County, Piling County, and Danyang County. These are the territories he already controls, so he can rest assured to station troops there.
More importantly, he only has 30,000 troops, which is less than yours. You have nearly 50,000 troops, and you have the advantage of time, place and people. He should be afraid of you, not you afraid of him."
Yuan Wenzhen's words dispelled everyone's worries and gave them confidence. Lan Zhaotian nodded and smiled, "Mr. Yuan is right. There are many mountainous areas in the southeast of Jiangdong, and the terrain is complex and changeable. The people generally hate the Sui Dynasty, and the low-level officials are basically our people. If his army arrives, we can completely break up the whole into small pieces, attack his logistics, and cut off his supplies. If we don't fight him head-on, he can't do anything to us unless he kills all the people in the seven counties in the southeast of Jiangdong."
Shen Faxing also agreed, "Patriarch Lan is still very clear-sighted. As long as we learn from the lesson of 20 years ago, we will not fight back, but conduct small-scale attacks and assassinations instead of fighting him head-on. He will not be able to do anything to us."
The three of them unified their thinking and came up with an effective and feasible rebellion tactic, and their confidence was boosted again.
Xiao Xia's fleet was heading north. Inside the cabin, Lu Xieting was drinking tea and talking with Xiao Xia. Although the Lu family had accepted Xiao Xia's betrothal gift, the southern gentry were generally more conservative. Even taking a concubine had to have a corresponding ceremony. Before the ceremony, the woman could only be called unmarried, and no substantial relationship was allowed. Lu Xieting also adhered to this principle, and was very cautious when traveling north with Xiao Xia, fearing that Xiao Xia would do something inappropriate towards him.
Of course Xiao Xia would not force her and treated her with courtesy along the way. Lu Xieting's vigilance gradually disappeared and he gradually became familiar with Xiao Xia.
Lu Xieting drank a sip of hot tea and said softly, "My mother is the daughter of the Yu family in Kuaiji. When I was a child, I often followed my mother to my grandmother's house. I felt that the Han people and the Shanyue people there got along very well. Although their customs and languages were different, their principles of being human were the same, and they all treated others with kindness. My mother's wet nurse was a Shanyue person, and she loved me the most. Although I didn't understand what she said, I could feel her love for me, and there was no need for words to express it."
Xiao Xia asked with a smile: "What do you mean by incomprehensible language? Is it a dialect, or another language altogether?"
"It's somewhere in between, Mandarin and Shanyue are mixed together, it's very difficult to understand, my mother can understand it, but I can't understand it at all, but most of them speak Mandarin, and they only speak their native language when they communicate with each other."
"Does your mother's family have any dealings with the Shanyue tyrants?"
Lu Xieting thought for a moment and said, "We have business dealings, and we also give gifts during festivals, but we don't intermarry. We southern nobles attach great importance to bloodline."
"But it seems that the Wuxing Shen family intermarried with the Shanyue people?"
When talking about the Wuxing Shen family, Lu Xieting's face was a little unnatural. She still whispered: "The Wuxing Shen family is very large, and they also have separate houses. Several concubines intermarry with Shanyue people, but their main house is very conservative and will never intermarry with Shanyue people. Otherwise, our Wumen family would not have intermarried with the Shen family."
"I see!"
Lu Xieting lowered his head for a while and said, "I had an engagement with the Wuxing Shen family before, did you know that, young master?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Of course I know!"
Lu Xieting sighed faintly, "Broken off the engagement three times! Sir, don't you mind at all?"
Xiao Xia held her hand and said softly, "Your marriage has long been destined to be with me, so no matter how your family arranges it, God will not make it succeed. You can only blame me for coming too late and causing you to suffer so much."
Xiao Xia's last two sentences instantly broke Lu Xieting's defenses. Her eyes suddenly turned red and she couldn't help but burst into tears. Thousands of feelings surged into her heart. She could no longer control herself and fell on the table and burst into tears.
Xiao Xia did not try to persuade her, but waited quietly for her to cry and vent.
After a while, Lu Xieting calmed down. Xiao Xia took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her face and said with a smile: "It's all in the past. Live happily in the future."
Lu Xieting nodded gently, "It's getting late, I'll go back to the cabin first!"
"Go!"
Lu Xieting slowly stood up and left with the two maids. When she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and looked back at Xiao Xia, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude.
Xiao Xia walked forward and held her gently in his arms. Lu Xieting snuggled in Xiao Xia's arms, silently feeling his powerful protection. At this moment, neither of them spoke, but it was better than a thousand words.
Xiao Xia kissed her smooth forehead and said softly, "Go and have a rest!"
Lu Xieting nodded shyly, turned and left. When he reached the door, she looked back and smiled, her eyes full of tenderness.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Xia was woken up by Xiaowanzi, "Your Highness, wake up!"
"whats the matter?"
"The soldiers said that the army from Jiangdu has arrived!" Xiao Xia sat up and asked, "Is it General Luo Shixin's army?"
The guards outside answered, "That's right!"
"Please ask him to come aboard and talk to us in the main cabin!"
The main cabin was on the first floor. Xiaowanzi helped Xiao Xia put on her clothes, and then Xiao Xia went downstairs.
Xiao Xia's fleet encountered 10,000 cavalrymen who were urgently heading south, led by Luo Shixin and Wang Bodang.
The fleet had already docked, and the cavalry was resting on the spot. Luo Shixin and his deputy general Wang Bodang boarded the ship to pay a visit to the King of Jin.
The main cabin was brightly lit, and a dozen soldiers stood outside the door with long spears in their hands. Inside the cabin, Xiao Xia asked the two to sit down.
Luo Shixin took out a letter and handed it to Xiao Xia, "The princess asked me to give your Highness a letter from home!"
Xiao Xia took the letter, smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to come so quickly. It seems that you can cross the river quickly!"
"Your Highness, there are hundreds of warships that will take us across the river. Although they are a bit old, they will have no problem sailing."
Xiao Xia was overjoyed, "It's good that the warship can still be used!"
Luo Shixin asked anxiously again: "Your Highness, what happened?"
Xiao Xia's order came very suddenly, and no one in the General's Office knew what had happened, but Luo Shixin immediately carried out his lord's order and led his troops south.
Xiao Xia said slowly: "The Shanyue tyrants in the southeast of Jiangnan are showing signs of rebellion. I am worried about the loss of Wujun, so I ordered you to station in Wujun to guard against the rebels in the south!"
Luo Shixin said without hesitation: "In this case, why don't the army go directly south to sweep away the Shanyue tyrants?"
Xiao Xia glared at him, "What is the first principle of my army's combat?"
Luo Shixin lowered his head and said, "Before the troops move, the intelligence comes first!"
"You know that and you still say stupid things?"
"I just blurted it out. I won't go south without permission."
Xiao Xia also knew that he had made a slip of the tongue, and continued, "We only have 30,000 main forces, and the new recruits are not yet combat-ready. Once we suffer a crushing defeat, it will be difficult to turn the tables. We must not take risks on things that we are not sure of, even if there seems to be a chance."
Luo Shixin said with a face full of shame: "I know I was wrong!"
Xiao Xia then turned back to the main topic and said to the two of them, "The news we got this time was very hasty. I will arrange for intelligence spies to go south after I return. Even if we send troops to eliminate the rebellion, it will take two or three months. The only thing I am worried about is the taxes in the south, but even if I am worried, we cannot rush in. In short, you must obey my orders and are not allowed to go south without permission!"
The two men bowed together and said, "I obey your orders!"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Let's go to Wu County first! I've already told Governor Xiao, he will arrange for the troops to be stationed and supplied, you can just go find him directly."
The two of them bowed again before saying goodbye and leaving.
Xiao Xia stood at the bow, his eyes revealing a trace of anxiety. It was now late February, the time to pay taxes. He was worried whether the taxes from the seven southern counties could be paid, as they might be snatched away by the rebels.
Luo Shixin and Wang Bodang led 10,000 troops to continue southward. An hour later, Xiao Xia's fleet also set sail and returned to Jiangdu.
(End of this chapter)