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Chapter 433: Reputation like a dragon, greeting gift (asking for monthly ticket)

In the court of Ying State, all the dignitaries remained silent.

Crown Prince Jiang Gao and Second Prince Jiang Yuan were also silent at this moment. Grand Tutor Jiang Su had his hands in his sleeves with a calm expression. Jiang Wanxiang was looking at the battle report, which said that the Qilin Army had invaded the border, defeated our army, and attacked several cities.

The world is so big, with people divided into counties. There are 200 states of various sizes and more than 500 counties under Ying State, and each county has several counties. It is extremely vast. At this moment, the Qilin Army's entry is not a big loss for the Ying State's territory of thousands of miles.

But this is like a sign of the beginning, often a sword that pierces the bone.

Moreover, the empire had been defeated in several battles, and Judah had been defeated. Its rise had been interrupted, and many officials were extremely terrified.

Why Emperor Yingguo didn't care much about Jiangnan before.

But that's just because of this.

Jiangnan covers an area of ​​a thousand miles, but has only eighteen states and more than fifty towns and cities. Compared with the empire that owns thousands of miles of vast land and has hundreds of counties, it is just a separatist force. Therefore, they made the decision to invade so easily.

Moreover, in just over ten days, they almost broke through the eighteen states in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, it took two full years to deal with the State of Chen, and they only fought in a dozen states on the border and never made a direct advance.

This is the difference between a big country and the princes. Now, the small princes who were thought to be easily overthrown and pressed to the ground have suddenly transformed into sitting Pixiu and Qilin with their heads held high.

He bit Ying Guo's palm hard.

And this time the counterattack was so fierce and so painful.

The defeat in Jiangnan was still within an acceptable range.

However, what frightened the officials in the court was the future development.

The defeat in Jiangnan meant that there was no way to stop the rise of Qin Wuhou. Once his mighty force swept down and captured the cities around the waterways in the southwest of the Western Regions, it would not just be a city of a thousand miles in radius, but the foundation of a great country.

Prime Minister Wei Yiwen said, "Your Majesty, the bandits are gaining momentum, but the land of Jiangnan is still far from the heart of our Great Ying. With the strength of Jiangnan, it is impossible for them to march straight in. Otherwise, if our army cuts off the enemy, it will be the end of the Wolf King."

"But we need to be on guard in all directions and defend the city firmly."

"Jiangnan is going out with a large army, and the food for the people and horses is all consumed. They will not be able to hold on for two months."

"Only by holding on."

Jiang Wanxiang said, "You mean, if the enemy enters our country and we cannot fight back, should we stay in the city like turtles and avoid fighting with them?"

Wei Yiwen said: "That's right."

Jiang Wanxiang's chest rose and fell violently, but the old emperor looked fierce for a long time and said, "Yes!"

Wei Yiwen added: "Please ask the Grand Master to lead the Tiger Cavalry to provide assistance."

"Previously, the Grand Master's army was advancing alone in the Western Regions, and the Wolf King attacked our city, so we had to return to provide support. Now the Grand Master is in the country and has his own luck, while Qin Wuhou's army is advancing alone. The situation has indeed changed."

After the court meeting of Ying State ended, Jiang Wanxiang returned to the palace alone. On the Zhaixing Tower, holding the file and reading the battle report, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked sideways and saw Grand Tutor Jiang Su coming.

Jiang Wanxiang held back the pain in his heart and still laughed at himself:
"I underestimated this kid, but he got beaten so badly."

"I won't be seriously injured if I lose this battle, but I will completely lose the possibility of competing for the world in the next ten years. Grand Master, which of my sons do you think I should choose as the crown prince?"

Jiang Su replied: "It is not my place to speak on the general trend of the country."

Jiang Wanxiang said, "Now it's just you and me, let's talk about it."

Jiang Su remained silent, then replied:

"In today's world, Daying and Chen no longer have the possibility to compete for the world. Daying has an opportunity to recuperate and occupy the north. If so, the world will not develop into a complete chaos."

"If you want to rest and recuperate with the people, Crown Prince Jiang Gao is more suitable."

Jiang Wanxiang was surprised, coughed a few times, and said with a smile: "I thought you would say that it was my second son Jiang Yuan who was in line with the way of a king in troubled times."

Even when Jiang Su sat down, he looked very majestic in his black robe. He said:
"If the world is in the future, our country will still be strong and invincible, surrounded by powerful enemies, that would be an opportunity for His Highness Jiang Yuan; but now the world is unsettled, our country has suffered repeated setbacks, and needs to recuperate."

"If this continues, this great country will collapse on its own."

"We must also unite with Chen Dingye of the State of Chen to fight against Qin Wu. There must be no disputes for more than ten years. The foundation of Daying is still there, and the foundation of the court is still there. This cannot be shaken by a few local battles."

"There are still ministers in the army, including Qin Yulong, He Ruoqinhu, and Yuwen Lie. The only general who can be called a famous general in Li Guanyi's army is himself. Although Duke Xue is here, he cannot fight."

"Given the Crown Prince's kindness, I should be able to recuperate for a few years. However, given the Second Prince's character, he is brave and strong but also vindictive. After a few years of his accession, there will be another war."

"At that time, it will be destroyed."

Jiang Wanxiang was surprised, coughed a few times, and said silently: "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

"I am an old man, but I still have some strength left."

Grand Tutor Jiang Su and Jiang Wanxiang played a game of chess and then got up and left. Jiang Wanxiang watched Grand Tutor Jiang Su leave the palace until this time, and finally he could not bear it anymore. Looking at the battle report over there, his face turned pale and he suddenly opened his mouth.

A mouthful of blood spurted out and fell to the ground.

After a swaying, the Emperor Ying, who had been so domineering a few years ago, half-knelt on the ground. His eyes went dark and his heart ached. He raised his head and saw the portrait of the young woman.

Suddenly, I felt that the portrait of my wife was becoming more and more vivid and real, as if she was coming to find me.

The scarlet light was blinding, and the eternal lamp in the Zhaixing Tower suddenly shook violently.

...............

Li Guanyi led his troops to attack the border of Ying State. This time he felt the feeling of a large army far away from the rear and alone in deep territory. The attacking army led 70,000 elite soldiers, but the corresponding logistics had to be increased every hundred miles.

At this moment, the logistics corps has also reached the level of 100,000.

Before Li Guanyi understood the battle formation, he did not understand why the logistical pressure was so great. Now that he has become the lord of a place, he gradually realized that as the army moves forward, the people and horses have to eat and the daily consumption is intense.

To transport food and supplies from the rear, a third-line army is needed.

These soldiers usually cultivate their own fields, train regularly, and have enough food stored for daily consumption. However, once the army sets out and war is mobilized, these soldiers will become full-time logistics soldiers, and all expenses will have to be borne by the Tiance Mansion.

To transport the food needed for 70,000 people to a place thousands of miles away, these logistics troops would have to eat most of it on the way.

The more food that is delivered, the more people are needed.

The more logistical troops needed, the more food will be lost along the way.

The more food lost on the road, the more food must be brought with you when you set out. This is a snowball effect. The deeper the army goes into enemy territory, the greater the consumption.

Therefore, the battlefield is just an extension of the temple, and what is consumed every moment is gold and silver.

Unless Li Guanyi's Tiance Mansion is also like the normal army of this era.

Whenever they arrived at a place, they plundered the villages and towns of the people and forcibly confiscated military food supplies. Those who refused to obey would be killed. Otherwise, they would not be able to hold out for long relying only on the south of the Yangtze River.

But if the Tiance Mansion did such a thing.

Not to mention the changes in the world, not to mention Li Guanyi’s own collapse of state of mind.

Even this extremely brave and powerful army would collapse from within. Li Guanyi looked at the food consumption in the daily battle report and his forehead was throbbing wildly.

This expedition is different from the one in the Western Regions.

When in the Western Regions, Li Guanyi got his food and supplies from Duke Li and extorted a lot of supplies from Duke Li's eldest son. Later, he had more than 60 cities, and the main battlefield was in the Western Regions.

Li Guanyi did not need to bear the cost of a large army marching thousands of miles.

And this time, it's completely different.

Li Guanyi looked at the words drawn in cinnabar on the battle report and murmured:
"It's over..."

"The military rations are being consumed too quickly."

Yan Daiqing had accumulated grain in the granary over the past two years. Li Guanyi spent at least 40% of it on one expedition. And as the expedition continued, the consumption would increase.

It is possible to transport one day's food for an army of 100,000 from Jiangnan.

Seven days' worth of food for an army of 100,000 would be consumed on the road.

This was when Changfeng Tower gave its own food to Li Guanyi free of charge during the war, and only asked Li Guanyi to sign a financial report.

A girl from the Xue family joked:

"The host said that for every contract the Lord signs, he will have to spend one day with my eldest daughter."

"I don't know how many times I can buy your days and nights, for generations to come."

Li Guanyi grinned.

This female businessman is very good at talking and Li Guanyi is no match for her.

I originally wanted to refute harshly, what does it mean to buy days and nights.

He doesn't need gold or silver to accompany the young lady.

However, the daily food loss was too great. Li Guanyi could almost feel with his naked eyes that Yan Daiqing's anger level was rising invisibly. If he ate up all the reserve food that he had accumulated bit by bit in the process of enriching the people and strengthening the army for two years, like a hamster, he would be in trouble.

Yan Daiqing might even faint from seeing black.

No matter what, the brothers under me need to eat.

The prince is feared by all the world, but he is extremely poor and has no choice but to sell himself. That is all.

Li Guanyi signed the order heroically, took the food and left with an air of dignity and arrogance.

The businesswoman's laughter came from the back.

But compared with this prince, he is more heroic!

But even so, it is not a long-term solution.

At this moment, they had entered Ying State over 200 miles away. As they defended the city and the wounded soldiers retreated from battle, the number of troops he led was reduced from 70,000 elite soldiers to 40,000.

Li Guanyi said to himself, "It's almost over."

"It is a good idea to stop while you are ahead."

However, Feng Xiao, the military advisor accompanying the army, told him that the food supply was already insufficient. The situation had reached the point where Feng Xiao didn't even want to drink alcohol. Furthermore, as the logistics could not keep up, they could not move forward rashly.

Feng Xiao bit on a dry tea leaf and said, "Lord, we have conquered all the cities. We need to think of a way to get military rations."

All the subordinates under Qin Wuhou had given up the idea of ​​plundering the people.

He has done nothing wrong and even has a hint of pride in his heart.

But people need to eat.

Li Guanyi asked, "What about the aristocratic family?"

Feng Xiao sighed: "Well, they all ran away."

Li Guanyi was shocked and asked, "Run away?"

Feng Xiao grinned: "Well, Wen Qingyu's methods are too cruel. Even when he took action, there was no trace at all, but those noble families are not stupid. In the past few years, they found that almost all the noble families in Jiangnan were destroyed."

"Old cases were uncovered one after another, and everything was turned upside down."

"They don't understand the methods of Wen Qingyu and Xiao Zhi."

"But they know what happened to everyone in the aristocratic family."

"These guys run faster than anyone else."

"Nothing was left. Before leaving, he collected all the debts from the people and sold the shops to ordinary people at high prices. He then withdrew and made a fortune." There are many smart people.

Li Guanyi sighed and said, "It's a pity that Nangong Wumeng couldn't keep up. Otherwise, maybe he could have dug inside the wall of the family and found something."

Feng Xiao said: "Having Master Xue help us collect the food from the merchant house will at least help our Qilin Army and save 30% of the logistics costs, but continuing like this is not a long-term solution."

"How about we go to the village to buy some food?"

"After all, the Chamber of Commerce has not yet been involved there."

Li Guanyi nodded. At this moment, they had just captured two more cities. Li Guanyi originally thought that attacking the city was extremely difficult, but when he found that the morale of the defeated soldiers was severely hit, these cities were not considered to be strong fortresses.

There is no disgusting giant city wall either.

There is no corridor filled with crossbow arrows.

There is no moat, no inner city or outer city, and there is no city within the inner city that can store enough food to feed 100,000 people for a month. There is no such strong will as steel.

The difficult part is not the siege.

But it was Lu Youxian.

After defeating Lu Youxian, the defenders of each city had no one who could block their way.

Only when attacking other cities could the generals of Tian Ce Mansion understand how troublesome Lu Youxian was. At this moment, the defender in the city was defeated, and the Qilin Army stationed in this city could not move forward due to logistical reasons.

People and horses consume a lot of food, and there are also casualties in battle, so they need to be replenished with medicinal materials.

Li Guanyi changed his clothes and led several personal guards, including Mr. Feng Xiao, to the villages and towns near the city. Qilin lay on Li Guanyi's shoulder. When Li Guanyi and others arrived at the villages and towns, they found that the village was still normal and there was no major chaos.

However, the entire village was on high alert.

There are young and strong men holding hoes, sickles and hammers, guarding the village.

Seeing someone coming, he shouted from a high place and asked who he was. Li Guanyi claimed that he was a student studying abroad. He had fled from the city because of the chaos in the world. It was still quite hot in autumn, so he came here to ask for water to drink.

Feng Xiao is one of the nine disciples of the academy and has his own documents and certificates from the academy.

Fortunately, he didn't use this thing as a drink.

But I heard the old man in the village laugh and say, "Ah, at this time, there are still guests coming here, it's really surprising."

Li Guanyi previously claimed to be a student of the academy, and the people in the villages and towns did not believe him at first, but since he took out things from the academy and said he was willing to use money to buy things, they let him in. When Li Guanyi was drinking water, he saw that the young men around him were on guard.

"Father, why are the people in the village so nervous?"

The old man cursed for a while, then said, "Sir, you don't know, some soldiers came in with swords and knives to rob things. If it weren't for the strong men in our village, I'm afraid we would have suffered a disaster."

Li Guanyi and Feng Xiao looked at each other, both with a slightly frosty expression on their faces.

Li Guanyi asked: "What kind of army is it? The Qilin Army?"

The old man's face turned pale, and he slammed his cane on the ground and said, "Young man, why are you like this? I took you in out of kindness, but what are you talking about the Qilin Army? Everyone knows the reputation of the Qilin Army. It would be great if they came!"

"The ones who came are the defenders of this city. Damn it, they usually collect taxes diligently. Damn it, the Qilin Army came, resisted for a while, and then ran away, relying on their swords to extort money from us."

"He has become a soldier and a bandit."

Li Guanyi and Feng Xiao looked at each other. The defeated army became a collapsed army, and the collapsed army became a chaotic army. The harm caused by a chaotic army was no less than that of bandits.

They listened to the complaints of the common people and then had a simple meal.

Li Guanyi sighed and said, "It is our fault that the people have suffered. The war is so intense that it cannot be resolved in one battle. Our foundations are still far apart."

Feng Xiao found the farmer's wine and drank it: "Ah, yes, yes, my lord, you are right."

Li Guanyi said: "Warmocracy brings disaster to the country and the people, so that's how it is."

Feng Xiao blushed slightly and said, "Ah, yes, yes, yes."

"My lord, you are right."

Li Guanyi said: "Why not leave Mr. Feng Xiao here and let him be a live-in son-in-law, so that he can drink as much as he wants--"

Feng Xiao said: "Ah, right, right..."

He shuddered, his eyes widened, and he said, "Ah, this is not right, my lord!"

Li Guan laughed.

The old man came forward and said with a smile: "Now that the rebels are coming, you gentlemen can stay here for a while and wait for a few days. When the time is right, you can take the small road here. It is only a dozen miles away and you will reach the Qilin Army."

"Then you can rest assured."

Li Guanyi drank the porridge made from yellow rice and ate some pickled radish, saying:

"What do you think of the Qilin Army, old sir?"

The village elder raised his hand and slapped his knee, saying, "What else is there to say? Many people took advantage of the chaos and ran to Jiangnan. Let me tell you, not only are the taxes low, but in addition to the taxes here, there are also head taxes and this and that."

"In Jiangnan, the tax rate is one in thirty, and the taxes are light."

"They also taught people martial arts and literacy, and divided up the land!"

"Even the noble families can't bully the common people. What a great place!"

Li Guanyi and Feng Xiao looked at each other, and suddenly felt even more guilty.

Under such circumstances, Yan Daiqing managed to beat up the aristocratic families while strengthening the army. He relied on business and increased the income of the people when taxation was low to ensure the total amount of tax revenue, enrich the country and strengthen the army, and he managed to save up so much food, gold and silver from the cracks of his fingers.

As soon as Li Guan came back, he raised his arm and started the expedition.

The numbers just plummeted.

Li Guanyi's forehead was throbbing.

Feng Xiao burped and said, "That's great, why don't you go?"

The old village chief said: "Go..."

His face had the vicissitudes of an elder. He stroked his cane and said, "You are still young. You don't know that Qin Wuhou is very powerful now. If he breaks in, we can take refuge there now."

"But if the army of Daying State comes back one day, it would be easy for Qin Wuhou to retreat. What should we do?"

Li Guanyi and Feng Xiao were stunned.

The old man said, "This place was the border of Ying State several decades ago. Outside the river was Chen State. When there was no war, we could cross the river to play. Later, General He Ruo captured the other side."

"Then, Duke Taiping and King Shenwu sent their troops back."

"And Yue Pengwu."

"They are all famous heroes, but since the counterattack of Daying Kingdom, they have to retreat. If they retreat, what will happen to us ordinary people?"

"There is also a way for ordinary people like us to live, that is, we cannot easily choose sides. If we go to support Lord Qin Wuhou now, he will have to withdraw his troops one day."

"What should we do when the time comes and the authorities investigate?"

Li Guanyi said: "His Majesty the Emperor is not such a person."

The old village chief smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know. Even the county magistrate probably wouldn't care. But there are so many officials under the county magistrate. Will they care?"

"And the local elders, if they just say something, tighten their fingers a little, or raise the land tax a little, we will suffer a lot, go hungry, and maybe even starve to death."

The old village chief sighed and said, "We are just weeds in the field. Who cares? We have to be careful and just think about whether we can live longer or not die so easily."

He stood up shakily with the help of a cane. Li Guanyi remained silent for a long time. He asked the old man to buy food. The old man smiled and said, "Sir, you want food. How much food do you want?"

Li Guanyi said, "I don't know how much food there is in the village. Can you give us some? We can use the money."

The old man was stunned and then his face changed.

Li Guanyi said: "I am a member of the Qilin Army... a military advisor."

"This is my deputy."

He pointed at Feng Xiao, who started coughing. The old man's face changed several times. He stood up, not even leaning on his cane, and ran to close the door. He looked at Li Guanyi and the others and said, "The general is from the Qilin Army?!"

Li Guanyi said: "He is not a general, but just a vanguard."

The old man's expression changed several times, and with extremely complicated emotions, he said: "Does the Qilin Army want to continue the battle? Do they want to occupy this place?"

Li Guanyi looked at the old man and said:

"I will protect this place and will not leave."

The old man's expression changed several times, as if he was making some kind of decision, and said: "Each of us can give you a few days' rations... no more, General, food, food is our life."

Li Guanyi said softly:
"To give a day's bread is to give a day's life."

"Li Guanyi, thank you very much."

"I will definitely live up to your trust."

Li Guan led Feng Xiao away. Although Feng Xiao was drunk, his eyes were clear. He said, "My lord, people's hearts can be used. If one village is like this, then the rest of the villages and towns can also get food. If we gather a large number of people, we can fight."

Li Guanyi replied: "Sir, human hearts cannot be used."

“Not with human heart.”

“It’s about standing with people.”

Feng Xiao was slightly startled, and the expression in his eyes changed. He looked at Li Guanyi who was riding a horse and said, "My lord, your spirit is becoming more and more like a lord. Compared with more than two years ago, it is really impressive."

Li Guanyi did not answer: "If they give you one day's food, you will be alive for one day."

“Don’t give up lightly.”

Feng Xiao lowered his head and said, "Yes."

But when they were going back, a scout from the Qilin Army arrived and said, "My lord, Ying State Grand Master Jiang Su has led the Tiger Cavalry here."

Li Guanyi was not frightened, but just said: "Jiang Su..."

"Are you ready for his gift?"

Feng Xiao said, "Jiang Xuantao's body was snatched away by his subordinates and retreated, but it was still trampled into a pulp in the chaos of the army. Only his head was left. We have protected it and put it in a box."

Li Guanyi said: "Okay!"

He tightened the reins, raised his brows, and said:

"Go back and give this gift to Jiang Su!"

"I thought I was waiting for—"

"Greetings!"

………………

After everyone left, someone in the village asked the name of the Qilin Army officer, and the old man just replied: "It seems to be called Li Guanyi, he should be just a simple minor official."

"However, the name Li Guanyi."

"It sounds somewhat familiar to me."

(End of this chapter)