Chapter 282 A gentleman ignores his conduct and his heart

When Shi Xiu heard Shi Qian say that he was the legitimate ruler, he was stunned for a long time and didn't say anything.

At that moment, he was like a country boy who had returned from a successful journey, looking at his fellow villager who he knew well but was uneducated, and who was pretending to be so in front of him after not seeing him for several years.

I said I was the deputy governor, and you said you were the governor? Are you kidding?

I'm just a thief. I haven't seen you being so concerned about your reputation before. Can't you bear to see your brother doing well?
She must be unhappy about leaving Brother Gongming, so she said this on purpose to satisfy her vanity.

Shi Qian, ah Shi Qian, you are back alive.

"Congratulations, then, Great Commander."

Shi Xiu quickly adjusted his mindset, took a big step to the couch and sat down steadily. After joking, he continued to tease: "As a commander-in-chief of the army, you still have to go out in person to spy on the intelligence? Didn't Commander Yang give you some followers? How come you are not as good as Liangshan?"

"hehe."

Pretending to be rich and being truly rich are two different mentalities, so Shi Qian did not get angry after hearing this. Instead, he looked at Shi Xiu and smiled.

During this time, he led the Night Owl Army to sneak into Taiyuan and had been continuously transmitting important military intelligence back to Weisheng. Since Wushi's troops divided into three groups and marched south, most of the Night Owl Army also withdrew.

Shi Qian saw that the Jin army heading to Fenzhou had more shipping equipment in addition to the troops, so he paid special attention and followed them all the way to Wenshui, intending to wait for an opportunity to burn the ships and cause damage.

The arson attempt failed due to the tight defense of the Jin army, but he unexpectedly saw his former companions in the south of the city and followed them all the way to this inn.

The three of them joined Liangshan together back then, and the comradeship they had together was still in their hearts. Shi Qian had a good time under Yang Chang, so he wanted to win Shi Xiu over as well.

Even thieves have their moral principles, and even robbers have their code of conduct.

Seeing that Shi Xiu was in cahoots with the Jin people, Shi Qian was very rude when they first met. But after hearing the other party's verbal counterattack, he realized his original intention of chasing him, and his tone immediately softened.

"I spent the first half of my life as a thief and a thief. I have seen so much filth in this world. When you and I met in Jizhou, we also witnessed Pan Qiaoyun's scandal. How loyal were you back then? Now that you have followed Song Jiang and surrendered to the Jin people, don't you feel ashamed of your ancestors? It's not too late to stop before it's too late."

“We didn’t throw in the golden man!”

Shi Xiu stood up excitedly and argued: "Brother Gongming and I are working for the Song Dynasty. We are saving the country!"

"Saving the country? Then what are you doing here?"

"This is a confidential military matter. How can I casually tell outsiders? But considering that we have known each other for a long time, I advise you to leave Yang Chang as soon as possible. His good days are over."

"Oh? It seems that General Yang has never been defeated against the Jin people. Where does your confidence come from?"

Seeing Shi Qian's amusing sneer, Shi Xiu's cheekbones twitched, and he added with a serious face: "The situation this time is really different. He can fight against a thousand people alone, but no matter how powerful he is, he is only one person. Can he stop hundreds of thousands of gold soldiers?"

"So you admit that you are in cahoots with the Jin people?"

"No, we are only pretending to be friendly with the Jin people in order to restore peace to the people of the world."

"Forget it. You talk so high-soundingly about the great principles taught by Song Jiang? It's a pity that you forget that this chaotic world was caused by the Jin people. Do you still have the face to do this?"

Shi Qian tilted his head and patted it lightly with his hand.

The scene was playful and provocative. Shi Xiu felt as if the other party was slapping him, and his cheeks felt inexplicably hot.

He was unwilling to be taught a lesson by Shi Qian, so he slapped the edge of the bed and argued angrily: "What a specious argument! The Jin army's southward advance was only part of the reason. The world was in chaos because of the incompetent emperor and treacherous ministers! Brother Gongming and His Majesty have turned the tide, what do you, a mere thief, know!"

“Haha, I don’t understand.”

Shi Qian saw that Shi Xiu was "deeply poisoned" and felt that there was no need to persuade him any further, so he stood up, opened the window and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he turned back and smiled contemptuously, saying indifferently: "Lieutenant Yang once said that a gentleman is judged by deeds rather than by heart. I cannot wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep, so I won't delay you from doing great things. But if you want to make achievements, you can call the golden dog to catch me. Goodbye."

After Shi Qian finished speaking, he climbed out of the window and disappeared into the night with a whoosh.

Shi Xiu was stunned for a moment before walking to the window. He couldn't understand why Shi Qian was scolding him. He lost control of his emotions and let out an angry roar.

"what"

Then, the door banged.

"What happened? Open the door!"

"Stone Control."

"we are"

The two guards shouted anxiously, but were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Shi Xiu opening the door.

Shi Xiu stood under the door frame with his back to the room to block the candlelight. His face, which was not illuminated by the light, looked gloomy and scary.

"I'm fine, I just yelled a few times just now, don't disturb grandpa's rest!"

"Oh"

The two men looked at each other, and were actually stunned by the violent words. Then they turned around and left obediently. They wondered what was wrong with this Han guy, he was smiling while shopping in the afternoon, but now he suddenly had a murderous look on his face.

The Jin soldiers were very arrogant when bullying ordinary people, but they were also frightened when facing Shi Xiu's ferocious face. As the saying goes, young grass fears frost and frost fears the sun, and evildoers will be bullied by evildoers.

Shi Xiu closed the door and went back to his room. He walked to the window again and saw that the night was as dark as ink.

"A gentleman is judged by deeds, not by heart? People like you and me, why should we learn to be gentlemen? It's good enough to be alive like this. What's wrong with bringing back the information? Can Yang Chang take care of it?"

With a creak, the window closed.

Shi Xiu planned to turn off the lights and go to sleep, but he realized that after blowing out the candle, the room would be as dark as outside.

At that moment, he thought he was in the light and Shi Qian fell into darkness, so he ignored the burning candlestick and went straight back to the couch and lay on his back.

The candlelight flickered, and Shi Xiu stared at the shadow on the roof, his eyes open for a long time, unable to fall asleep.

Telling the Jin people? How can I be looked down upon by you?

He knew that the Jin people slaughtered the Han people, and he never wanted to be with them. But for Song Jiang, Zhao Gou, and himself, what was wrong with pretending to be nice? No one cared when he was starving and freezing, and he talked about integrity when his country was destroyed and his family was ruined?
After all, what does the current situation of the Song Dynasty have to do with me, Shi Xiu? And it was this chaos that indirectly created who I am now.

Shi Xiu was born in Jiangnan. His parents died when he was young. His growth experience was even worse than Wu Song. The nickname "Desperate Saburo" means the way of survival he understood. Later, he followed his relatives to Jizhou to trade livestock. Unfortunately, his relatives died on the way, and his business failed, so he could not return home. He had to do hard labor and make a living by chopping and selling firewood.

As a common people of humble status, he was often looked down upon by outsiders. Unlike Wu Song, he did not have a brother to guide him, so he eventually developed an extremely inferiority complex. The more inferior he felt, the more he liked to cover it up with self-esteem.

This is like an uneducated nouveau riche who, after becoming rich, not only wears branded clothes and drives luxury cars, but also likes to pretend to be cultured. The more he lacks something, the more he shows off, but in fact his heart is still empty.

Shi Xiu's extreme inferiority complex made him very sensitive to the people and things around him, even to the point of being overly sensitive. He would secretly watch and remember every unintentional word, look, or action from others. This was also the source of his meticulous nature.

It was precisely because of his sensitive personality that he was particularly unhappy living in Yang Xiong's home. Later, he instigated Yang Xiong to kill his wife and join Liangshan. The cause was also because Pan Qiaoyun sued him for molesting him first, which made him, who had a strong sense of self-esteem, suffer injustice, which led to a series of subsequent tragedies. In fact, according to Yang Xiong's character, the worst outcome would be to divorce Pan Qiaoyun.

Finally, Shi Xiu got his wish and went to Liangshan, where he found his ideal home.

He eats meat, drinks wine, and takes pleasure in taking revenge. Most of the people around him are from the lower class, so his self-esteem is no longer trampled upon. However, as everyone is a ruthless person from the lower class, they have to work harder if they want to stand out. That is why they frequently volunteer to perform meritorious deeds, and even dare to jump off a building to rob the execution ground.

He has finally made a name for himself with Song Jiang, and he will never give up this backer easily.

Even if Song Jiang was secretly colluding with the Jin people, even if Song Jiang wanted to plot against the Liangshan brothers, even if the Zhao Gou that Song Jiang joined was not in a legitimate position,
But tonight, the self-esteem of this workaholic from the seventh rank was hit again, but he could not come up with any reason to refute it.

Faced with Shi Qian's "insult", the self-abased Shi Xiu suppressed his emotions and chose to continue to wait and see and endure.

He and the Jin people walked along Taihang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain, almost around the periphery of Yang Chang's territory. He was very clear about the strategic deployment of the Jin army at the time and believed that Yang Chang was unlikely to be able to hold on.

Shi Qian, when the Jin army breaks through the defense line, enters Weisheng and captures you alive, I hope you will maintain this defiance.

Can't wake up someone who's pretending to be asleep? Hopefully you can still have a conversation.

Thinking of the scene in the future where Shi Qian would be captured and perhaps beg him to live, Shi Xiu's mouth twitched involuntarily, and he fell asleep with a sweet satisfaction in his mouth.

When Shi Qian came to Taiyuan for scout and reconnaissance, Shi Xiu not only did not inform the Jin people, but also asked Puluhu to let him stay in Wenshui. He did not want to go to the front line with the Jin army and be ridiculed by his Liangshan brothers.

When Dai Zong was delivering a letter to Zhending, he would certainly pass by Wenshui on the way. It was reasonable to leave Shi Xiu waiting there. Puluhu then assigned fifty people to accompany him and set out on March 15 to continue his advance.

Pucha Shi Jianu led his troops to Pantuo, blocking Shi Qian's way back to Weisheng. So after meeting Shi Xiu, he sent a team of people to Pingbei to report the news, and he himself took more than a dozen Night Owl masters and crossed the border from Mianshan on the west side of Weisheng.

The road to Mianshan is steep and dangerous, and is not a normal passage. However, when Liangshan attacked Tian Hu before, Hua Rong led his troops across the mountain. Lou Shi also sent people to try to sneak across, but they were repelled by Yang Chang's garrison.

In order to solve the problem once and for all, the then defending commander Zhu Tong ordered the destruction of the original mountain road, making the path across the mountain disappear completely. Only people like Shi Qian who were good at light work could cross it.

When Shi Qian sent the intelligence back to Weisheng, the fighting on the east and central lines of Taiyuan had already started, but the situation in the two places was relatively controllable, especially in Liaozhou, where there was almost no pressure. The Jin soldiers in Wenshui were not only the largest, but also carried a large number of siege equipment, and were obviously the spearhead of Taiyuan's third line.

Zhao Fujin went out again to deliver the message and arrived at Fengyue Pass on March 15th.

During this period of more than half a month, with the help of Yang Chang and Qiu Qiongying's long-range attacks, the Jin army did not gain any advantage. However, the enemy was like a weight under pressure. No matter how much damage was caused, they attacked tirelessly every day and used all kinds of weapons.

Especially seeing how powerful Yang Changfei's stone was, the Jin army used a siege device called Dongzi. "Dongzi" was a large cart similar to the Trojan Horse, covered with thick raw cowhide, which was then reinforced with iron leaves to defend against bows, crossbows, flying stones, etc.

Of course, to deal with this kind of "hole", you still have to use shells to blow up the wheels, or smash out larger stones.

Due to the limitation of raw materials, the artillery shells had little stock at the moment, and half of them were kept in Zezhou and the other half in Weisheng. Although Yang Chang brought hundreds of shells, they were no match for the large number of Jin troops and would eventually run out. Although stones could be mined from the mountains and were almost endless, the only strong men who could throw huge stones were Yang Chang and Lu Zhishen, and Lu Zhishen was in Zezhou and lacked a certain accuracy.

Therefore, Fengyue Pass cannot be separated from Yang Chang, or in other words, with Yang Chang in charge here, the soldiers guarding the pass will feel more at ease.

That night, Yang Chang gathered everyone for a routine post-battle summary and took the opportunity to share intelligence from Taiyuan.

Seeing that no one was talking, Mrs. Gu spoke first: "As expected by the commander, the Jin army in Taiyuan has indeed taken action. However, Liaozhou and Weisheng are limited by the terrain, and the Jin army cannot deploy even with a large number of troops. We think the pressure should not be too great. Pingbei has two passes as a guarantee, so it is estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 people cannot take it. On the contrary, there is no movement in Zezhou. Song Jiang has experience in attacking there, so perhaps his move will be the most dangerous."

"will not."

Yang Chang shook his hand and gave an extremely affirmative answer, then explained softly: "Song Jiang joined forces with the Jin people to fight. Anyone with a normal mind should know that he is courting death. Neither he nor Zhao Gou are willing to make a sincere effort. Even if they tear their faces and start a war, they will wait until we are completely defeated before they take action to get a share of the spoils."

"so"

"As long as the Jin soldiers cannot gain an advantage, Zezhou will remain safe. Of course, just in case, the troops and supplies there cannot be transferred to other places for support."

"It should."

Sun Li nodded and took over the conversation. He looked at his companions from Dengzhou and clasped his fists to guarantee: "The three states in the north are now at war. If the general is worried, he can go to guide them for a few days. I will definitely defend here and will not let the Jin army advance an inch."

Yang Chang did not comment, pinched his chin and turned around, then faced everyone and said seriously: "War is fought for money and food. I started from scratch in the past few years and did not save much strategic materials. I can't afford to waste time with the Jin people, so I still have to take the initiative to attack."

"Take the initiative?"

Sun Li was a little bit unbelieving of his ears, thinking that with the strength of Fengyue Pass, it would be good if they could hold on. He wanted to see the reactions of others, but found that except Sun Xin and Zou Run, the expressions of others were extremely normal, including his sister-in-law Gu Dasao, as if Yang Chang was sure that he could do it.

He swallowed and continued to ask with curiosity: "Where will the general attack from? From our Fengyue Pass?"

"will not."

Yang Chang shook his head and said, "The enemy is well prepared along this route, and their troops and equipment seem to be endless. If we send troops directly from here, our losses will be huge. Moreover, they are obviously trying to attract firepower to create opportunities for the three routes of Taiyuan, especially the route to attack Pingbei."

"So, sir."

"I choose Pingbei."

"what?"

After Yang Chang answered Qiu Qiongying, everyone showed surprised expressions, but this guy had his own ideas.

If we regard this battle as a competitive game, the enemy at Fengyue Pass is obviously the front-line tank. Attacking the tank will fall into the enemy's trap. However, Puluhu, who has the largest number of troops and the most siege equipment, can be regarded as the ADC in this Jin army team. Killing the ADC first may result in a wave of crystals.

In reality, Yang Chang had fought in Pingbei Fenyang once before and was familiar with the offensive route. Most importantly, he could use the navy to solve the problem of insufficient war horses and the transportation of baggage and food.

As for the next war, Yang Chang would put himself in the front row to defeat the enemy, and the Pingbei soldiers would follow and receive military merit.

Seeing Yang Chang's determined look, Zhao Fujin knew that he had a job to do, so he asked softly, "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight."

(End of this chapter)