Chapter 66 Chapter 9 Jiangxi is trapped in a Xunyang Tower, and King Yi writes a poem

As early as when Xiangyong was besieging Wuchang, Yi Wang Shi Dakai was ordered by Heavenly King and Eastern King to come to Anqing to preside over the military affairs of the Western Expedition. Crossing the river from Anqing to Jiujiang.Although King Yi is young, he is an all-rounder in both civil and military affairs, and he is bold, suave and affectionate, and has always had a high prestige in the Taiping Army.A few days after King Yi entered Jiujiang, Wei Jun, Shi Xiangzhen, Luo Dagang, Lin Shaozhang and other people who fled by land also came to Jiujiang from various places to gather under the banner of King Yi.

On the morning when the news of Xiangyong's departure from Tianzhen reached Jiujiang, Shi Dakai decided to personally inspect the defense of Jiujiang City. Lin Qirong said: "Your Highness, I will accompany you." "No need." Shi Dakai said, "Wei Guozong, Shaozhang, Outlaw and others went to have a look. We all wore common people's clothes, so it's not easy to be noticed. Who doesn't know you in Jiujiang City? You will get in the way if you go." Shi Dakai took Wei Jun, Shi Xiangzhen, Lin Shaozhang, Luo Dagang, Zhou Guoyu and others, took off the dragon and phoenix embroidered robe, put on green clothes and cloth shoes, and walked out of the house.Lin Qirong arranged for several guards to follow from a distance.

The Jiujiang City displayed in the eyes of Shi Dakai and others is already filled with the tense atmosphere on the eve of the Great War.There were clear and rapid sounds of horseshoes in the streets and alleys. Groups of Taiping soldiers with long hair and red and yellow turbans were carrying various military supplies and hurried towards the southeast, northwest, and north gates. Neat, solemn expression, from time to time you can see the common people come up to help the soldiers.Thousands of triangular centipede flags fluttered on the city wall, and soldiers dressed in full body clothes ran back and forth on them. Except for the sound of equipment hitting the ground and the brief orders of the generals, there were not many noisy sounds.Shi Dakai was satisfied with the busy and undisturbed military deployment in Jiujiang City.At this time, he suddenly saw a thin and strong man walking on the city wall, his figure was very familiar.Shi Dakai remembered: Isn't that the warrior who burned the City God Bodhisattva when he attacked Changsha two years ago!Shi Dakai wanted to go up the city wall to see this man.

Kang Lu was instructing a dozen soldiers to place a heavy cannon. He turned around and saw Luo Dagang, who was dressed in civilian clothes, and hurriedly said, "Commander Luo, the arrangements are basically ready here, please check." Luo Dagang laughed and said, "Not busy, not busy, just look who's here." When Kang Lu looked intently, it seemed that his eyes suddenly brightened up. Wasn't it King Yi who was smiling behind Commander Luo?He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "I pay homage to His Royal Highness King Yi, may His Highness live a thousand years!"

Shi Dakai asked Luo Dagang to help Kang Lu up, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for two years, how are you?" Just as Kang Lu was about to answer, Luo Dagang was already ahead of him: "King Yi, Kang Lu was brave in battle, and now he is the Commander-in-Chief." "Wow!" Shi Dakai was very happy, "You have now commanded more than two thousand people. If you want to bring all the brothers to be as brave as you, then the strength will be great." Kang Lu hurriedly said: "His Royal Highness Xie Yi praised you, the brothers fought well."

Shi Dakai patted Kang Lu on the shoulder and said, "Look at your city defense." Kang Lu accompanied Shi Dakai and the others to carefully inspect this mile-long line of defense. Shi Dakai saw that there were three 800-jin cannons and two 1,000-jin cannons placed on it. The barrels of the cannons were polished black and shiny, and the backs of the cannons were piled with gunpowder.The soldiers were all in high spirits, some were repairing masonry, some were cleaning knives, and more were carrying knives, guns and food.Shi Dakai praised in his heart. "Kang Lu." Shi Dakai asked the young commander-in-chief following him, "Wuchang fell, Tianzhen was defeated, what do you think is the reason?"

This is a very important question, and Kang Lu has thought about it these days, but he didn't have time to sort it out.He thought for a while, and said: "Reporting to His Royal Highness King Yi, I think the main reason for my humble position is that I underestimate the enemy, and the second is lack of strict discipline and lack of training." Shi Dakai nodded and said: "You're right. Sun Tzu said that if you know yourself and the enemy, you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. You underestimate the enemy, but in fact you don't know the enemy. Zeng Yaoxiangyong, who is dealing with us now, is different from the Green Camp and the Eight Banners. He treats Zeng in the same way as the Green Camp and the Eight Banners. Yao Xiangyong, this is the main reason for our failure." Shi Dakai turned his face and asked Wei Jun, Shi Xiangzhen and others: "What do you think?"

Xiangzhen, Wei Jun and others all agreed with Yiwang's analysis.Shi Dakai added: "The biggest characteristic of Zeng Yaoxiangyong is that he can fight tough battles. We must fight tough battles with toughness." Everyone said yes.Shi Dakai asked Kang Lu: "How is the morale of your brothers?" Kang Lu replied: "Wuchang and Tianzhen failed twice, and my teacher killed and injured more than 200 brothers. A few days ago, many brothers were still in despair, and some even got a little scared when they mentioned Xiangyong." "You son of a bitch, what's so scary about Zeng Yao's Xiangyong?" Lin Shaozhang couldn't help interjecting.

Kang Lu said: "The humble staff also taught them: victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists, and it is not a man who is timid and afraid. He was once a demon head and a human being. Why should we be afraid of him? Not to mention Xiangyong, who used to work in the fields like us. The Yuezhou and Jinggang battles still made them run away with their heads in their hands. If we suffer a loss, we will gain wisdom, and we will be smarter, and with the blessing of our heavenly father and brother, how can Zeng Yao's Xiangyong beat us!" "Well said!" Shi Dakai encouraged, "I think you are a good leader. Are the spirits of the brothers better now?"

"It's much better now. The brothers all said that King Yi came to Jiujiang to command the battle in person, and the day of revenge has come." Everyone continued to watch the defenses on the city wall with great interest, and also put forward some suggestions for improvement at any time, and Kang Lu wrote them down one by one. Shi Dakai asked Kang Lu, "Who else is in your family?" "Both parents have passed away, only one brother." Luo Dagang said: "Kang Lu's elder brother is excellent in martial arts and literature, but it's a pity that he is working hard for Zeng Yao."

Shi Dakai asked seriously: "What's your brother's name?" Kang Lu replied respectfully: "My brother's name is Kang Fu." "Lu Biao." Kang Lu thought that King Yi would scold his elder brother, but he said in an affectionate and bold tone, "You try to call Fu Biao to us, my brother, lost his way and went the wrong way, Don't care about it at all. You just say what I said, as long as you go to the kingdom of heaven, the past is past, and the king will make him a military commander and give him the power to lead the army; .” Kang Lu hurriedly said: "The humble job obeys!" A month ago, a neighbor who joined the army with Kang Lu came back from visiting relatives at the Xiahe Bridge on the Yuanjiang River and told Kang Lu that Zeng Guofan had bought 300 acres of paddy fields for Kang Fu, and asked his neighbor Wang Ai Dad to manage and collect the bills on his behalf. Divided into two parts, one in Kang Lu's name.After Kang Lu joined the Taiping Army, he learned a lot of truths. He was ashamed of his elder brother accepting Zeng Guofan's gift, thinking it was ill-gotten gains.Write a letter to Father Wang, saying that he doesn't want any money.When reporting this situation to King Yi, Shi Da laughed loudly: "Kang Lu, you are too reserved. The wealth in the world belongs to the father and brother, and everyone has a share. Zeng Yao gave it to your brother, your brother Give half of it to you, and you deserve it. Think about it, if you don’t want it, all the income from the 300 mu of land will go to your brother. Why don’t you take over your share and donate to the neighbors?” After being instructed by King Yi, Kang Lu understood. He admired King Yi's broad mind and superb insight, and immediately said: "His Highness King Yi taught that Kang Lu would take the income from the 150 mu of paddy fields. , Distributed to the suffering folks in Xiahe Bridge." "That's right. Kang Lu, Zeng Yao's navy and land armies have come to Jiujiang, and there will be a big battle in two days. You must urge your brothers to stand up for battle and not to underestimate the enemy." Shi Dakai turned to Wei Jun and others again. : "Let's go to the city to have a look!" Shi Dakai and his party went down the city wall and walked to the intersection.Although the atmosphere is tense, shops on the market are still open, and people are purchasing daily necessities.Soldiers are also shopping.They paid the price according to the price, traded fairly, and did not see the phenomenon of robbery and looting.There were still people coming and going in the restaurants and teahouses, and the expressions of the people were not panicked.Shi Dakai couldn't help admiring Lin Qirong's achievements in governing Jiujiang. He thought of the news that the Heavenly King was going to grant great power to his eldest brother and second brother in the past few days, and he felt very uncomfortable.The eldest brother Wang and the second brother can only sit back and enjoy the glory and wealth, how can they have the talent to manage military and state affairs!And now this Lin Qirong is the real talent who can lead the army and govern the people.Yes, after overthrowing the demon head of Xianfeng and recovering the whole country, we must strongly recommend a few great talents like Lin Qirong to the king of heaven, and we must also leapfrog the promotion of generals with brains and abilities like Kang Lu. Wait for the mediocre to occupy the vital points, otherwise, the kingdom of heaven will not last forever. While Shi Dakai was thinking, suddenly there was a majestic shout of "disperse, disperse". When he looked up, five flying horses had arrived at the intersection.The cavalry jumped off their horses, with machetes on their backs, their faces full of murderous looks, and the people naturally dispersed.Someone nearby said softly: "The Taiping army is going to kill the brother who committed the crime again." At this time, a team of more than ten people escorted two prisoners and was walking towards the intersection.The prisoners were a man and a woman, both in their twenties.When the team came to the middle of the street, the two prisoners knelt down consciously, with their heads lowered, the male with a gloomy face, and the female weeping. Shi Dakai heard the people beside him discussing: "This man and woman must be a couple, they were arrested when they met last night." "How do you know? Maybe it's adultery!" "I've seen them here twice, and they're all well-behaved couples, what a pity!" "The discipline of the Taiping Army is good in everything else, but this one is too inhumane." "Yes! Being a Taiping army is worse than ordinary people." "I originally planned to join the army, but after knowing this discipline, I didn't dare to go." "I heard that officials can sleep with their wives." "It's not good to be an official, unless you are a king, like Tianwang, Dongwang, and Yiwang, you can get many wives." Shi Dakai was very sad when he heard this.He still didn't understand why the Heavenly King and the Eastern King made such a law.Among the subordinates under his jurisdiction, he has never seriously implemented it, but adultery, adultery, and new marriages between men and women are strictly prohibited. At the end of the procession was a commander on horseback.He came to the center of the street awe-inspiringly, and a second secretary immediately reported: "My lord, the prisoner has been identified, please give me an order!" As soon as the woman heard this, she suddenly stood up like crazy, ran to the man's side, hugged him and cried loudly.The man also hugged her tightly and shouted: "Sister Yao, I killed you!" The two cried together.The soldiers didn't come over to pull them away, and the military commander just watched blankly, didn't give orders, and made them cry on purpose.The people watching all around shook their heads and sighed.After crying for a while, the man stood up, then helped the woman up as well, and said, "Sister Yao, we will be husband and wife in twenty years!" Then he walked a few steps towards where Shi Dakai was standing.Luo Gang was taken aback, and said softly, "Isn't this Wei Yongfu? Why is he so confused!" Luo Gang was in extreme pain, but he was helpless. He simply closed his eyes, for fear of making eye contact with Wei Yongfu.Shi Xiangzhen thought of what happened with Can'er, and felt wronged for Wei Yongfu.Wei Jun, Zhou Guoyu, and Lin Shaozhang were also disappointed.The voice of the military commander came from the center of the street: "Wei Yongfu, Bai Yaomei, you two, don't blame me for being cruel. I can't help myself, and I am ordered to enforce the law. After you die, I will bury you together so that the You have been a loving couple for generations." After some words, Wei Yongfu and Bai Yaomei burst into tears again.Shi Dakai couldn't stand it anymore, and said to Luo Dagang: "Call that military commander to the silk shop opposite, and I'll tell him to let go of these two people." Luo Dagang couldn't wait for King Yi's words, and immediately jumped into the center of the cross street, shouting: "Keep people under the sword!" The commander-in-chief was startled for a moment, and when he saw that it was a rough and dark commoner, he immediately became angry: "Who are you? How dare you violate the decree of the Heavenly King and the decree of the Eastern King!" Luo Dagang walked up to the military commander and whispered a few words into his ear. The military commander immediately looked solemn, jumped off his horse, followed Luo Dagang out of the crowd, and entered the silk shop.After a while, the commander-in-chief reappeared in the center of Cross Street, and beamingly said to Wei and Bai, "Yongfu and Yaomei, you are really lucky in your three lives. King Yi ordered: If you are a first-time offender, forgive me once, and immediately take a knife to the city wall." , Resist demons and protect the city, make meritorious service and atone for sin." Wei Yongfu and Bai Yaomei couldn't believe their ears, they thought they were dreaming, and they still stood there like stones.The military commander ordered to untie the rope, and two soldiers stepped forward to cut the rope with their knives. Only then did they know it was true. The two knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, and said in their mouths: "His Royal Highness King Yi, His Royal Highness King Yi..." The onlookers finally understood the reason for the sudden change of events, and they all admired in their hearts: "It's still King Yi who is wise!" Someone in the crowd shouted: "King Yi is at the silk shop, let's go see him!" shop, but King Yi and his party had already left. Because Wei Yongfu and his wife were saved, Shi Da was very happy. When he saw the Xunyang Tower standing beside the river, he was very excited and said to everyone: "Let's go up and have a drink!" Everyone climbed to the highest floor of Xunyang Tower in one breath, and the bartender enthusiastically brought the food and drinks.After a few glasses of wine, Shi Xiangzhen remembered losing Wuchang, Hanyang, Qizhou, and Tianjia towns within three months, and suddenly became depressed. Lin Shaozhang, Luo Dagang, and Zhou Guoyu were also depressed.Especially Wei Jun, he was very preoccupied, not because of the failure of Wuchang and Tianzhen, but because he received a secret letter from his brother Wei Changhui not long ago. Wei Changhui said in the letter: Since entering the Little Paradise, the Heavenly King has indulged in women, lived in seclusion in the deep palace, and did not care about military and political affairs, while Yang Xiuqing was domineering and domineering, respected only himself, reused cronies, and rejected dissidents.Although he is called the King of the North, he is actually just a servant of Yang Xiuqing.A few days ago, Wei's eldest brother and Yang Xiuqing's concubine had a quarrel over the house. Yang Xiuqing was furious, beat Wei's elder brother severely, and handed it over to Wei Faluo. Intimidated by Yang Xiuqing's lust and for the long-term interests of the Wei family, Wei had no choice but to punish his elder brother by quartering his body by five horses.Wei is determined to bury the hatred in his heart, and when the time comes, he must kill Yang Xiuqing and avenge his hatred. After reading the letter, Wei Jun was heartbroken over his elder brother's tragic death, but he didn't dare to reveal anything, so he quietly destroyed the letter in the middle of the night.Wei Jun is a meticulous and sensible person, for more than a year, he has seen clearly the actions of the Heavenly King and the Eastern King.He knew that the Eastern King would perform a scene of forcing the palace, but it was only a matter of time. At that time, there would inevitably be a large-scale killing of each other, and it was hard to predict who would win.He knew his elder brother Wei Changhui well.Although Changhui is rich in strategy, but the situation is narrow and the city is too deep. He will never let go of the humiliation that Yang Xiuqing inflicted on him.At that time, my elder brother will be involved in this internal strife, which will only intensify the internal strife and cause more deaths. Even if my elder brother stands on the side of the king of heaven and wins, the vitality of the kingdom of heaven will be greatly damaged; The whole family of the clan will be punished. Although he has a heavy army in his hand, he cannot escape the bad luck of piles of sand, skinning, and lighting sky lanterns.Thinking of this, Wei Jun was deeply worried about the fate of the Wei family and the future of the Kingdom of Heaven. He stared blankly at the wine glass, no longer in the mood to drink. The atmosphere at the wine table was gloomy, which made Shi Da happy unhappy.He didn't know what Wei Jun was thinking, thinking that he, like Xiang Zhen, Shao Zhang and others, was suffering from Qian Xiang's failure.King Yi has always been optimistic and open-minded, he does not care about the victory or defeat of the war, and the war is imminent, and he does not allow these important generals to have the slightest pessimistic and discouraged mood.He left the seat and walked to the window, and a gust of river wind blew in, making him feel very comfortable.But you can see the blue sky and white clouds above your head, shining brightly, and the river below your feet, rushing down for thousands of miles; from a distance, you can faintly see the smoke and clouds on the peak of Kuanglu, and from a close look, Jiujiang City is prosperous and densely populated.What a magnificent and extraordinary mountain and river!A sense of pride rose from King Yi's heart.He raised his glass and said to the crowd: "Brothers, who has not suffered thousands of times for the heroes who have conquered the country since ancient times? Although Wuchang and Tianzhen have fallen into the hands of Zeng Yao, as long as we defeat Zeng Yao under the city of Jiujiang, we will regain the lost land." It's easy as turning the palm of your hand, so why worry and worry! Look at how magnificent the mountains and rivers outside the Xunyang Tower are. An ancient poem says: Lushan Mountain falls to the south as a book table, and the water flows to the east to drink. Brothers, raise your cups and restore us Cheers to the great cause of Heshan!" Moved by King Yi's arrogance, Shi, Luo, Lin, and Zhou all stood up and drank the wine in their cups. Wei Jun reluctantly stood up and took a sip.Shi Dakai glanced at the four walls of the restaurant, and said with a sneer, "Xunyang Tower is a famous building in the south of the Yangtze River. Look at the crooked poems written on its wall. They are either vulgar or vulgar, or decadent. Don't they tarnish its reputation?" Everyone knows that Yi Wang is good at poetry and prose, and they all say: "You write a poem, and suppress those mediocre works!" Yi Wang readily agreed.Luo Gang yelled: "Bartender!" The bartender ran over in a panic: "What's your order?" "Bring a pen and paper, we're going to write a poem." Xunyang Tower has always had a habit of writing poems, the bartender didn't think it was strange, and immediately brought pen and ink.Yi Wang concentrated for a moment, then soaked in thick ink, strode to a blank wall, and wrote quickly: Raise the whip and come to the Central Plains generously, not for enmity or kindness. I just feel that the sky is smug, and I want to save Yuan Yuan with my bare hands. After three years of holding the bridle and winning the horse sadly, the mountains of thousands of people are like sick apes. When the demon atmosphere is eliminated, the world will be at peace, and there will be no traces of tears in the world from now on! When he finished writing the last word, Shi Da opened his pen and stood in front of the powder wall with his hips akimbo like a bronze statue.A crowd of people had gathered beside him, everyone was chanting and admiring, paying respects to the poet from time to time.The shopkeeper of Xunyang Tower was originally an outstanding talent. At this time, he squeezed out from the crowd, walked up to Shi Dakai respectfully, and said, "I am the shopkeeper of this building. This poem by the guest officer swallows mountains and rivers with anger, covers the universe with sound, and makes everyone around." All the poems on the wall are eclipsed. Guest officer, please leave your name! I will send a master craftsman to carve out this poem to make a plaque and hang it here forever." Seeing that the shopkeeper of Xunyang Tower spoke sincerely, Shi Dakai took the pen from the bartender and wrote fourteen words on the left side of the poem "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Left Army Chief General Yi Wang Shida opens the title". They were all surprised.The shopkeeper suddenly knelt down on both legs, and shouted tremblingly: "His Royal Highness Yi Wang is a thousand years old, a thousand years old!" Everyone knelt down and shouted after the shopkeeper: "His Royal Highness Yi Wang is a thousand years old, a thousand years old!" Shi Dakai also knelt down, and Shi Xiangzhen and others didn't understand the purpose of King Yi's move, so they also knelt behind him.With tears in his eyes, Shi Da sang loudly with sincerity and respect: "We praise God." The people in Jiujiang City lived under the rule of the Taiping Army for two years. They were very familiar with the etiquette of worshiping God by the Taiping Army. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, praise the three as one true God.” Shi Dakai stood up, and everyone followed suit.He said excitedly: "Brothers, Jiujiang has returned to the kingdom of heaven for two years. Under the caress of the heavenly father and brother, everyone is living a happy life. Live happily, and the soul will go to heaven after death. Now Xianfeng demon head Appoint Zeng Yao to lead troops to invade us, and the battleship of Qing Yao is about to come to Jiujiang. Brothers, don’t be afraid, the heavenly father and brother are always looking after us. The soldiers of the kingdom of heaven and all the elders will defend Jiujiang City to the death. The monsters are killed here, and they will go to Beijing to capture the head of the Xianfeng monster alive, bury the ugly barbarians, and restore our eighteen provinces in China." Shi Xiangzhen and the others had already ignited the anger of revenge, and Luo Dagang led everyone to shout: "Follow the command of His Royal Highness King Yi, and swear to defend Jiujiang to the death!"