: Finding Wealth in Danger

"To protect the territory of Xingguo Prefecture?"

Li Ping hesitated twice in embarrassment and then fell into silence, his expression became dull, and the room soon became extremely quiet.

At this time, they were all sitting in a transparent hall.

After all, guarding Fuchi, a small place with favorable geographical advantages, and guarding the vast Xingguo Prefecture with three counties are two different things. Although Li Ping had vaguely guessed it in advance, he did not dare to agree rashly.

Although he realized at the time that this was a huge opportunity, an opportunity that could bring him huge profits and solve many current difficulties, it was difficult to get excited.

Xingguo Prefecture belongs to Wuchang Prefecture, and Zhang Xianzhong will establish the Daxi regime in Wuchang this year. Promising to protect the territory of Xingguo Prefecture is tantamount to direct confrontation with Zhang Xianzhong, a famous tycoon in history.

Li Ping was completely unprepared for this, and was even more worried.

In particular, Daye County in Xingguo Prefecture is in the plain opposite the Qizhou River. It is unknown whether Zhang Xianzhong crossed the river from there and captured Wuchang City and Li Ping. If true, the trouble and danger are not ordinary.

.

This is definitely not something he can do just by talking.

Suddenly, Yang Ming, who had no prior knowledge and was stunned, stood up in the silence and suddenly said: "My general is just the general of the Zuo General Army. Where to garrison must be based on military orders and has no right to make your own decisions. Everyone."

I’m afraid it’s too hard for someone to do.”

Although Yang Ming's words were a bit over the top, they seemed to be logical.

Ma Yong, who was standing next to Yang Ming, looked as if he was unexpectedly pulling him hard, but in fact, it was more like a deliberate performance.

The visitors from Xingguo Prefecture all looked at each other with disappointment, and then focused their eyes nervously on Li Ping again.

However, Li Ping just glanced at Yang Ming lightly and said nothing.

Tongzhi from Xingguo Prefecture, who was sitting next to Li Ping, sighed deeply when he saw this, and his back bowed a little, as if he had known this would happen.

Of course he knew that Li Ping abandoned Huangpi County, and he also knew that there was a big gap between Li Ping's military strength and Zhang Xianzhong's reported military strength.

Finally, after the awkward silence continued for a while, several squires from Xingguo Prefecture who were sitting at the bottom stood up one after another and continued to plead without wanting to give up.

But Li Ping still didn't speak, and his eyes were always wandering aimlessly.

Yang Ming tried to say something several times, but Ma Yong held him tightly. In front of Li Ping, Yang Ming did not dare to sit down and talk.

Ma Yong would never speculate on Li Ping's intentions in major decisions, let alone try to influence them.

Just as the atmosphere was getting more and more embarrassing, an old country squire suddenly stepped forward and knelt down in front of Li Ping. Then he trembled in surprise when Li Ping sat upright and didn't respond: "General Li, I'll tell you later."

Renyi, I also know your difficulties. But Qizhou is so miserable! It's so miserable! The people of Xingguo Prefecture cannot suffer this catastrophe, we really need generals."

This time Li Ping did not sit idly by, but hurriedly stood up to ask the old squire, and at the same time said sincerely: "Old gentleman, you have to kill me. It is not that I, Li Ping, are ruthless. Although the rebel army is a ragtag army, there are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

, and with the power of a winning streak, its momentum is at its peak. But I only have a few thousand troops, and I am very short of food, weapons, etc., so it is really difficult."

"But I heard that the general's army is to be elite. Today is the first time I saw it, so it is extraordinary. Otherwise, we would not have come here rashly." The old squire who had been helped up said anxiously.

But Li Ping only blinked a few times this time.

"What does the general lack? Let's find a way to satisfy the general." A voice suddenly came over.

It was another country squire, and he heard what Li Ping meant.

Li Ping's eyes lit up.

The old squire was stunned, and quickly grabbed Li Ping's hand and shouted: "If the general is willing to protect the territory of our state, no matter what the needs are, no matter how much food, wealth or women, we will try our best to meet them, and we will never lie."

Li Ping's silence and blank expression just now did not represent his attitude, he was just thinking.

Wealth is sought in danger, and he does not want to give up this golden opportunity easily. There is a huge difference between the support of a state and his own.

"If General Li has any needs, just tell him and we will do our best to meet them. We will never lie!"

"Yes. We will do what we say, General, please consider it."

After several other squires came to their senses, they all expressed their opinions.

Whether to lose everything and lose all lives, or to shed more blood, no one can be stupid enough to tell.

Ma Yong and Yang Ming's eyes widened. They looked at Li Ping in disbelief. They understood that Li Ping was making up his mind.

Amidst the sounds of pleading, Li Ping nodded slightly, then turned back to look at Xingguo Prefecture's fellow magistrate who was sitting on the chair and staring with raised eyebrows.

To this veteran official, Li Ping's performance was more like playing hard to get.

But whether it is true or not, Li Ping himself probably can’t tell.

However, Xingguo Prefecture's Tongzhi immediately sat up straight, and then said seriously: "The fathers and the people all volunteered, and Zhizhou will not have any complaints. Li Guerrilla's righteousness, Zhizhou will only praise."

Although what Xingguo Prefecture Tongzhi said is ambiguous, from the standpoint of the government, being able to say this is actually a statement. If they really said that I will help you get what you want, it would be political suicide.

"Since the elders and common people can help us, I, Li Ping, am willing to give it a try and do my best to defend Xingguo Prefecture against the traitors," Li Ping said loudly.

All the visitors from Xingguo Prefecture were finally happy.

But after they exchanged a few polite words in a happy mood, the magistrate of Xingguo Prefecture suddenly changed the subject and said, "I wonder how Li Guoji plans to protect Xingguo's territory?"

This colleague is not stupid, and most people who can hold this position will not lack IQ.

Everyone can say nice things, but there are too many people who take money but don't work, especially generals like Li Ping who they can't control at all.

Hearing the magistrate from this province boldly speaking out what everyone was thinking, several squires all stared nervously at Li Ping.

They know better what they say without proof.

"Go and find someone to bring me a map." Li Ping ordered Ma Yong.

Amidst the confusion among the people in the room, a soldier soon sent a map.

This is a simple sketch around Fuchi. The reconnaissance company and training unit are still stepping up their efforts to complete it. However, the locations of Qizhou and Xingguo Prefecture and the outline of the mountains and rivers have been clearly marked, because they are related to the possible direction of Zhang Xianzhong's troops once they cross the river.

Fuchi's route of advance.

After carefully examining this strange map with all the key points clearly marked, and hearing that it was drawn by Li Ping's subordinates themselves, the visitors from Xingguo Prefecture all felt slightly relaxed after being surprised.

Some.

It seems that I have only heard of generals who pay so much attention to and are proficient in maps.

They understood that based on this picture alone, Li Ping's reputation as a good warrior was well-deserved.

At this time, Li Ping started explaining the map.

The best way to defend Xingguo Prefecture is to defend the river, directly preventing Zhang Xianzhong's troops from crossing the river, which is simple and efficient.

But the problem is that Li Ping does not have the strength to defend now. He has a serious shortage of ships, cannons and soldiers, and it cannot be solved in a short time.

At present, he can only promise to defend the state and govern Yongxing County and Tongshan County, which is hundreds of miles away in the mountains further south.

The location of Daye County is very bad. Although it is far away from the river and blocked by the vast Yuan Lake (today's Daye Lake), it is also too far from Fuchi Town and Yongxing County. He bluntly said that it is impossible to divide the troops to defend it.

There was no time to rescue.

When the state governs Yongxing County, he will not send troops into the county to defend it, but will mainly guard Fuchi.

The reason is simple.

Division of troops will lead to scattered but not strong forces, which is just one of the considerations.

The plains where Yongxing County is located and the plains where Daye County is located to the north are separated by two large mountains, with only one mountain road in between. If the large army chooses to attack Yongxing County from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River or take a detour, they will have to cross two roads.

As for the main road in the mountain pass, you can only take Fuchi.

Normally, large armies generally would not choose an attack route such as crossing mountains, which is prone to accidents or can be easily blocked. It is only reasonable to attack directly from Fuchi, which can take advantage of rivers and has a much wider area.

But in order to prevent accidents, Li Ping planned to place a small surveillance force across the Qizhou River. If Zhang Xianzhong crossed the river instead of going through Fuchi and chose to attack Yongxing County through the mountains, this surveillance force could quickly withdraw to the mountain pass to block the attack.

And waited for reinforcements sent by Li Ping from Fuchi.

As long as the mountain pass is defended, there will be no problem in Yongxing County.

In this way, Yongxing County only needs to be vigilant to prevent a small group of enemy infantry from crossing the mountain to sneak attack. If Yongxing County is not lost, then Tongshan County will naturally be fine.

If Zhang Xianzhong had not yet attacked, Li Ping, with the full support of Xingguo Prefecture, had built enough artillery and collected enough large ships.

Then he can further move the gunboats and large troops to the upper reaches of Qizhou to defend the river, which will directly prevent Zhang Xianzhong's large troops from crossing the river from this area.

And if Jiang can be defended, Daye County can also be defended.

However, this will take time and depends on the strength of Xingguo Prefecture’s support for him.

Li Ping's detailed explanation of the plan made the magistrate of Xingguo Prefecture and several squires nod their heads.

Only Yang Ming looked confused.

He really couldn't figure out whether Li Ping had a strategy long ago or came up with it on the spur of the moment. If he had a strategy long ago, why didn't he hear any news about it? How could it be a plan that he thought up on the spur of the moment?

And this is too hasty and dangerous.

Zhang Xianzhong is not a petty thief, nor is he the vanguard of the thief army in Huangpi County that is far away from the main force.

Only Ma Yong looked calm, he had long been used to it.

However, the visitors from Xingguo Prefecture did not care whether Li Ping had a plan in advance. What they cared about was whether Li Ping was sincerely willing to protect their territory.

And Li Ping's detailed explanation of the deployment of troops hit their hearts and made them willing to believe it. Especially since Li Ping made it clear from the beginning that he could not defend Daye County, something he felt he could not do at present, it was even more involuntary.
To be continued...