allonlinenovel Chapter 194 The Horrifying Tale of Hebei
Chapter 194 The Horrifying Tale of Hebei
"Ren Guang opened the city gates as soon as he saw his old leader Liu Xiu. He had finally waited for him... Liu Xiu and his men were also exhausted. They finally arrived in Xindu. At this moment, they had to say that the ruler and his subjects were going to meet each other!"
"Afterwards, Liu Xiu felt that Xin Du was ultimately no match for four hands, and they should find help. So Liu Xiu thought of Cheng Tou Zi Lu and Li Zi Du, who were bandits in Shandong, with a total of about 200,000 members."
"However, this suggestion was strongly rejected by Ren Guang. He felt that Cheng Touzi and Li Zi were just a bunch of bandits and bumpkins! If we all went to join them, whose advice would we be given?"
"Besides, we're a powerful clan, our social classes are different, how can we possibly have a conversation, let alone talk about something like war!"
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: Pfft! You bumpkin! Hahaha, that's kind of funny!
An official from the Tang Dynasty: Back then, we found the Green Forest Army, but it didn't turn out very well!
A farming expert from the Ming Dynasty: Your analysis is quite insightful!
……
After Liu Xiu learned of Ren Guang's intentions, he no longer planned to seek refuge with Chengtouzi Lu and Lizi Du. However, the problem was that Xindu was geographically isolated in Hebei, so he still needed to find someone to join forces with.
"Just as Liu Xiu was in a dilemma, someone else came over. This person was Pi Tong, one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai."
"He was a powerful clan that Liu Xiu had subdued when he first entered Hebei. After Wang Lang was established, all the prefects of Hebei opened their gates to welcome him. Apart from Ren Guang, the prefect of Xindu, he was the only one who refused to listen to Wang Lang's offer of surrender and closed the city gates to defend it."
"When Pi Tong learned that Liu Xiu had arrived in Xindu, he also rushed over to meet him. Just as someone was suggesting to Liu Xiu whether or not to escort him back to Chang'an, he became furious! He said that all the suggestions you gave were terrible!"
"What Pi Tong meant was: he knew Wang Lang very well. He was just a lousy fortune teller. He was only powerful because he came from the lineage of Emperor Cheng of Han. In reality, his power was nothing but a facade!"
"If we unite the forces of Hecheng and Xindu, how can we not wipe him out! Once we return to Chang'an, we might just squander a winning hand!"
"After hearing the whole story, Liu Xiu couldn't deny that there was some truth to what he said, but it was indeed a bit difficult to put into practice, because no one has the iron cavalry behind that kid Geng Yan!"
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty: But I'm really curious, where did Geng Yan go after he got separated from us?
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: This guy from Hebei Prefecture comes out and claims he can wipe out Handan in one fell swoop. Isn't that a bit too arrogant?
An old man from Dahan who was farming: These days, even fortune tellers can become emperors!
……
"In reality, the economies of Hecheng and Xindu counties were not very developed, so their military capabilities were somewhat lacking compared to the others. They couldn't compare to the regime in Handan."
"But Liu Xiu's current situation isn't too good. In Chang'an, there's Xuan Han; in Handan, there's Wang Lang and Liu Lin; and in Shandong, there's a bandit army."
"Although Liu Xiu may have known that Pi Tong's plan was not very reliable, he still chose to listen to his advice and stay in Xindu."
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Actually, he had no way out. Staying in Hebei was better than going anywhere else!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: There's no way out, I can only keep fighting! Hahaha, anyway, he's the winner, so just follow along!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "I've noticed that people who listen to advice are more likely to make the wrong choices than those who don't!"
……
People from all over the world who heard this couldn't help but marvel at Liu Xiu's great charisma; wherever he went, people would come to him for help!
After Liu Xiu figured it out, he enfeoffed Ren Guang, Pi Tong, and Li Zhong as marquises, and sent the other four out to recruit "desperate soldiers." At the same time, Liu Xiu also knew the importance of advertising. Liu Lin was good at waving a big flag, wasn't he? It's not like he couldn't do it!
"So Liu Xiu also spread the word, raising a big banner that he, Liu Xiu, was leading a million-strong army including Chengtou Zilu and Li Zidu to suppress various rebels. In short, he started by boasting about having a million soldiers."
"Subsequently, whenever Ren Guang arrived at a place, he would not enter the city immediately. Instead, he would burn the vegetation and forests outside the city at night to create a false perspective, making the soldiers guarding the city mistakenly believe that the enemy was at the gates. In the end, Ren Guang captured Tangyang County, Guan County, and other places with almost no effort."
"Ren Guang's actions have led to rumors of Liu Xiu's counterattack in many parts of Hebei. Because of his fame from the Battle of Kunyang, many people in Hebei remember that he once defeated Wang Yi's 100,000 men with only a few thousand men."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: We can finally stand up and launch a counterattack!
An official from the Tang Dynasty: He has quite a few teammates on his side!
"Not long after, Liu Xiu had more teammates. Liu Zhi, one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, was born into a powerful clan in Julu and came to join him with several thousand clansmen."
"Furthermore, as mentioned before, Geng Chun emptied his family fortune to lead two thousand clansmen to join Liu Xiu. Moreover, to prevent his clansmen from having any disloyalty, he burned down all their houses and other belongings, leaving them no way out!"
"It has to be said that Liu Xiu had a lot of charisma. No matter the age, once someone believed in him, they would follow him no matter what!"
Liu Xiu: Don't ask! It's just the charm passed down through generations of the Liu family!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "This guy is a real fanboy! Isn't he afraid of losing everything?!"
An official from the Song Dynasty said: "This shows that Liu Xiu was truly powerful in Kunyang! That's why so many people flocked to him."
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: ??? This guy is really something! He either doesn't gamble at all, or he goes all in!
……
Lin Ke suddenly felt that Liu Xiu's journey seemed quite familiar. Wasn't it similar to her playing a game where she leveled up and fought bosses? She was doing quests, leveling up, and collecting twenty-eight cards along the way!
However, he had actually experienced it, whether it was the Battle of Kunyang or the escape along the way.
……
"Afterwards, Liu Xiu continued to advance northward. Geng Chun attacked and captured places such as Xiaquyang and Zhongshan, and the situation improved significantly. Liu Zhi also provided Liu Xiu with a great help after this—Liu Yang, the King of Zhending."
"At this time, apart from these aids, Liu Xiu had captured a few small towns, and his total military strength was only about 30,000 men, which was still no match for most forces!"
"So Liu Zhi recommended Liu Yang, the King of Zhending, to Liu Xiu, saying that he was related to the King of Zhending and could persuade him. Moreover, Liu Yang had 100,000 men. With these troops, our situation will definitely be reversed!"
"So Liu Zhi raved about Liu Xiu to Liu Yang, trying to make Liu Xiu sound incredibly impressive, mentioning things like a meteorite hitting the enemy camp, this miracle, and that prophecy. But Liu Yang still insisted that if they wanted to form an alliance, Liu Xiu had to become his nephew-in-law!"
Liu Yang: Can you ask your boss for me if he wants a wife or not?
“Political marriages are very common in this situation. After all, marrying a wife can bring a dowry of 100,000 people, which is a good deal for anyone. But whether it is Liu Yang’s niece Guo Shengtong or Yin Lihua, who was demoted from wife to concubine, I think neither of these two women felt it was a good deal!”
"However, Liu Xiu was a rare kind-hearted person in the Liu family. In terms of the number of his offspring, he treated the two of them fairly."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: This is also essential; marriage ties are quite reliable!
A noblewoman from a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: I used to say that I should marry Yin Lihua!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty: The Liu family is heartless and cruel, isn't they? Hahahaha!
……
"After the King of Zhending joined the group, Liu Xiu felt much more confident and successively captured Yuanshi County and Fangzi County. In between, he also fought against Wang Lang's general Li Yu and others, and eventually forced Li Yu to retreat to Bairen City to defend it."
"Here, Liu Xiu was unable to conquer the city for a long time. Just when he was having a headache, he was joined by Jia Fu, a powerful family from Nanyang. Jia Fu had read the Book of Documents and his teachers and classmates praised him as having the talent of a general or minister."