Chapter 16: The Price

After the preliminary prayers were completed, Zhou Shengchen ordered military advisor Xie Chong to perform the ceremony in person and write down the ages and birthdays of the five people.

"The world is impermanent, and a dog eating grass is called benevolence. Taking a lesson from one's own actions is the history of a man of bronze. The great virtues should be based on integrity and righteousness. The chaos has subsided, and there is peace and tranquility. We become brothers, and suddenly we become friends..."

After Zhou Shengchen recited, the other four people responded one after another.

In terms of age, Zhou Shengchen is the youngest. Huang Tianhe, Shi Mengyuan, Bashanhu, and Xiao Wen were ranked first in order.

After everyone bowed, Zhou Shengchen raised his hands and said, "Brothers above, if my younger brother Chen has something inappropriate in his words or actions, please feel free to speak up and teach me."

The four people did not dare to accept it for a moment and took a step back.

"If you want to say that my younger brother has the status of a 'king', then fourth brother Xiao is still the second prince." Zhou Shengchen said with a smile.

"Prince Xiao Nanchen was also a prince originally, and he was also the younger brother of the late Emperor Beichen." Xiao Wen said quickly.

Waving his hands, Zhou Shengchen said: "Since we are brothers, if we discuss it publicly, that is another matter. When the four of us face each other, we will treat each other as brothers!"

Huang Tianhe and others saluted again, and Zhou Shengchen quickly returned the salute. After going back and forth several times, everyone laughed.

After praying to the Emperor and the Queen, the five of them drank the sworn wine and broke the wine bowl on the spot.

"The brothers have gone to work, and the younger brother is about to break camp and set off." Zhou Shengchen saluted again and said.

Although Huang Tianhe and the other three felt regretful, they also knew that he had the imperial order and did not dare to stop him.

Xiao Wen cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, uh, fifth brother is going to return to Xizhou immediately?"

Smiling, Zhou Shengchen said simply: "I will take the risk of disobeying the order once."

When Xiao Wen heard what he said, it was inconvenient to ask further questions. Xie Chong over there was surprised when he heard this, but he didn't feel comfortable asking.

Several people walked down the Dingjiang Tower, and Xiao Wen said with emotion: "I don't know when we will be able to gather in this Dingjiang Tower again."

Zhou Shengchen replied with a smile: "This building is so tall that it may make Fourth Brother Xiao look at Nan Xiao on the other side. I will have it demolished immediately!"

Xiao Wen said no need, but Zhou Shengchen insisted. Huang Tianhe, Shi Mengyuan, and Bashan Hu all praised these two people again and again.

Zhou Shengchen raised his right hand, and Army Commander Ma Ganhua immediately came forward with many soldiers and demolished the Dingjiang Tower immediately.

Xiao Wen suddenly felt regretful, and Zhou Shengchen continued: "Although we made a ten-year peace agreement, we all thought that it could be twenty, thirty, fifty, or even forever. If this can be the case, why bother? Do you want to preserve this relic so that future generations will sigh and admire you? Or if you are always restless, you will definitely attract ridicule and abuse from future generations."

He spoke in a relaxed and interesting manner. Xiao Wen listened carefully and kept nodding his head: "King Xiao Nanchen behaves freely and freely, and you can see it from now on."

Dingjiang Tower was demolished, and Zhou Shengchen sent his four brothers to the river bank. Then I watched them board the ship respectively and sail away.

When the boat carrying them disappeared, military advisor Xie Chong approached and persuaded them: "Your Highness, let's prepare to return."

Withdrawing his gaze, Zhou Shengchen walked to the camp silently.

Xie Chong accompanied him and tried to persuade him: "Your Highness, it is already inappropriate to sworn brothers with these people. You, you just said something contrary to the decree. Then, wouldn't that be even more troublesome for yourself? "

Standing still, Zhou Shengchen turned to look at him and said: "As a military advisor, I just need to be Xiao He who is my king. As for disobeying the order, Zhou Sheng is not doing it for himself, but for the sake of the world and all the people, so why should we be afraid?" !”

Xie Chong said anxiously: "His Royal Highness has repeatedly made military exploits, but he is always impeached and reprimanded by the court for trivial matters. Why is this necessary?!"

Zhou Shengchen replied: "The military advisor also taught me that a king should act with the world as the top priority and the well-being of all people as his top priority. I have always been like this, and I have no regrets in my heart."

Seeing his stern look, Xie Chong had no choice but to shut up for the time being.

Returning to the camp, Zhou Shengchen sat in the middle and immediately ordered: "Except for the soldiers and generals who stayed behind, the army will be divided into two groups: land and water. We will go on the land route for ten days, and then we will start on the water route!"

Xie Chong was surprised when he heard this and couldn't help but interjected: "Your Highness, where are you going?"

Zhou Shengchen said indifferently: "Shouyang."

After hearing this, the generals in the tent hesitated.

"Although the imperial court ordered us to return to Xizhou, seeing the injustice in Shouyang makes me feel uneasy. Although it is suspected of violating the decree, since I have made a strong oath long ago, the imperial court will not blame me."

Zhou Shengchen continued speaking and then picked up the token.

Xie Chong gritted his teeth and said to the generals: "His Highness does not care about his own safety, but also thinks about the world of Beichen."

Gan Hua immediately rushed to say: "I will obey the order! Please give the order, Your Highness!"

The generals immediately responded and asked for orders loudly.

Zhou Shengchen immediately ordered military advisors Xie Chong and Gan Hua to lead the troops from the land first and return to Xizhou in the north. He just said that the war on his side would be settled quickly, and then went to chase them.

About ten days after Xie Chong and others set out, Zhou Shengchen immediately boarded the ship with the remaining 30,000 soldiers and headed down the river.

The news of the mighty overland return of the royal army to the north was learned by the rebels in Shouyang and Zhongli.

They were happy for this, and even happier for the upcoming New Year's Day: King Xiao Nanchen returned, and they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The rebels in these two places were preparing enthusiastically for the New Year. Zhou Shengchen's fleet, which was sailing eastward along the Yangtze River, was speeding toward the east of the Yangtze River.

Nan Xiao's army on the south bank detected the eastward direction of this fleet and quickly reported it to Xiao Wen.

At this time, Xiao Wen was still staying in the camp. After hearing the report from the scout, he thought and replied: "King Xiao Nanchen is the most sincere and loyal. Since he has made a peace treaty with us, he will not conduct a sneak attack."

After checking the map again, he couldn't help but praise and said: "King Xiao Nanchen will definitely make great achievements again when he goes down the river."

The other generals were still hesitating, and Xiao Wen continued: "He has been here for three years. He must be hoping to stabilize more places and make more people happy, so he will continue to fight and even risk being punished for violating orders. No matter the risk.”

When the generals saw him praising Zhou Shengchen continuously, they also praised him for his broadmindedness.

As the waterway headed eastward, Zhou Shengchen and his party naturally moved quickly. After passing Ruyin County by water, Zhou Shengchen immediately led his troops to abandon the ship and land ashore, and rushed to Shouyang in the north.

The scout who scouted the road in front returned and reported: "Your Highness, you encountered General Zhang Xiaoheng's reconnaissance cavalry and asked if we are joining forces?"

"No need. Just let them harass the rebels blocking Shouyang. We will attack Zhongli directly!" He immediately ordered.

As soon as this order was given, the soldiers immediately understood: it was to separate Shouyang and Zhongli so that they could not care about each other.

Zhang Xiaoheng received the order and immediately mobilized his troops to harass Shouyang and set up a tight defense line to the east of it.

On Zhou Shengchen's side, he quickly mobilized the soldiers he led to attack Zhongli massively.

The rebels in these two places were preparing to celebrate New Year's Day, but unexpectedly discovered that they had lost contact with each other.

As an original important town, Shouyang had many soldiers and generals, so its defense was still strong at this time. But if they divide their forces to rescue Zhongli, the rebels here can no longer do it.

Zhang Xiaoheng continued to disturb Shouyang day and night, so that they could only temporarily protect their city from loss, which was already a thankful thing.

Zhongli over there was naturally under greater pressure. Zhou Shengchen personally led the team and launched a fierce attack on Zhongli.

From New Year's Day to the beginning of spring, Zhongli's rebels reluctantly reduced their forces and returned to the city, never daring to leave the city to fight back.

After Zhou Shengchen and the generals made an analysis, they immediately launched a siege.

Such a battle would be tragic for both the enemy and ourselves. Defending the enemy from a high position seems to be taking advantage. But because the king's soldiers were brave, the rebels also lost many soldiers when they gritted their teeth and persisted.

When the war between the two sides was stalemate, Zhou Shengchen suddenly received a notice from Xie Chong, the military commander who was the first to return: The imperial court ordered King Xiao Nanchen to return quickly!

Such a decree is simply discouraging. The soldiers of the Wang Army looked at the incomplete Zhongli City Wall, and then at the dead and wounded soldiers on their own side, and had no choice but to turn their attention to their commander for help.

Zhou Shengchen thought for a long time and finally made the decision to continue the attack.

The offensive here is even more fierce. The rebels defending the city are about to lose their support because of the lack of food in the city and the loss of troops and generals due to continuous fighting.

At this time, another imperial edict arrived in the army.

The soldiers of the royal army couldn't help but become anxious, and simply asked for orders: "Your Highness, we have also suffered a lot of losses. If we withdraw our troops at this time, it will not only make the rebels more arrogant, but we will also be sorry for our comrades who died!"

The morale of the army was available, so Zhou Shengchen was cruel and gave the order to continue the attack.

It is now late spring and the weather is quite cool. But every soldier from Zhou Shengchen down knows that if the weather is too hot, the only choice is to withdraw the troops. Because that would not only cause the river water to surge, but also risk an outbreak of disease.

Just as the soldiers of the royal army continued to attack Zhongli City, another imperial edict arrived in the army.

This time it was not an ordinary messenger who came to deliver the message, but the emperor's chamberlain personally came to deliver the message.

In addition to the imperial edict, the chamberlain also brought an oral message from Queen Mother Qi Zhenzhen: King Xiao Nanchen has been fighting abroad for several years, and Gu Po is considerate of his loyalty and bravery. However, the military expenditure was huge, so King Xiao Nanchen quickly returned his troops.

After Zhou Shengchen received the order, he ordered people to receive the servants and others, and he sat alone and meditated.

The reason why Zhongli must be captured is to prepare for capturing Shouyang. In addition, Zhou Shengchen also had another deep meaning at this time; he wanted to test the court's patience with him.

After repeated consideration, he summoned the generals to the army and prepared to announce his decision.

All the generals arrived together, and the chamberlain, who also served as the envoy to supervise the army, also arrived at the scene.

After Zhou Shengchen looked around, he shouted loudly: "We must capture Zhongli within ten days!"

When this military order was issued, the chamberlain immediately became anxious. But as soon as he uttered his rebuttal, he was drowned out by the roars of filial piety from the generals in the tent who could no longer hold back their anger and resentment.

"The people will live and work in peace and contentment, and the world will be full of smoke!" the generals shouted in unison.

The chamberlain waited until the generals' voices subsided and persuaded again: "Your Highness, the emperor's orders and the Queen Mother's decrees have been issued one after another. I am afraid that if your highness continues to disobey the orders, you will be severely punished."

It's okay that he didn't say it. After saying this, he immediately felt the anger of the generals.

Seeing that all the generals looked at the chamberlain with angry eyes, Zhou Shengchen was silent for a moment and said: "The army marches fifty miles every day. Although I delayed it for ten days, my intention for the country and the people can be learned from heaven and earth. Ten After the day is over, we will redouble our efforts to return to the army and will never delay our return date."

The servant was helpless when he heard this, and he also understood the reason why he would not accept the order of the foreign king. The generals were even more angry, and the servants did not dare to say anything else, lest they cause a mutiny in the army due to urgency.

He had no choice but to agree and the chamberlain stepped aside.

Zhou Shengchen immediately ordered the soldiers to continue to attack the city, but he divided his troops to secretly dig the river channel.

He had already made such an idea. The reason for the delay until now, apart from the surge in the river water, is mainly to "test" the patience of the court.

Zhongli's rebels were exhausted by the endless siege by the royal army, and could barely rest for two or three hours at night.

In the early morning of that day, when the rebels were preparing to welcome the royal army's attack again, they discovered that there were several torrents outside the city that were pouring into the city rapidly!

The rebels immediately panicked and quickly ordered to pile earth at various city gates to block water.

If the amount of water is small, that’s it. Several turbulent floods came, not to mention that the gaps at the city gate could not stop the flood, and even the city walls were softened by the water.

There was mud near some city gates, and some walls were crooked. However, the royal army continued to attack from dry places.

Not to mention the physical inability to keep up, the rebel's spirit also completely collapsed at this time.

As part of the city wall collapsed, and as more and more royal troops rushed to the city, the Zhongli rebel defenders knew that surrender would lead to death, so they had no choice but to pull out their sabers and commit suicide.

The royal army poured into the city from all over. Except for the rebels who were killed, tens of thousands of soldiers surrendered.

The chamberlain and Zhou Shengchen stood on horseback at a high place. Seeing the shocking scene in front of them, they couldn't help but clapped their hands and exclaimed: "The reputation of King Xiao Nanchen is indeed well-deserved!"

After that, he raised his hands and saluted seriously: "I congratulate Your Highness on another victory!"

Zhou Shengchen just nodded, and then led people into the city and began to carry out accurate and rapid rectification work.

Zhang Xiaoheng was stationed in Zhongli to repair the city and settle the people as soon as possible.

Those rebels were organized into separate formations and dispersed in Yiyang County, Ruyin County, Huaiyang County, etc. for continuous reorganization and resettlement.

After making detailed arrangements, Zhou Shengchen stood at the top of the city, looking in the direction of Shouyang, and said nothing for a long time.

The chamberlain saluted worriedly and begged: "Although Your Highness is brave and has made great achievements, you really don't dare to disobey the order anymore!"

The generals next to him listened, and their hearts were filled with rage.

Zhou Shengchen raised his hand and patted the city wall a few times, and said regretfully: "Then we have to wait for the future."

The generals had no choice but to obey the order, and the chamberlain couldn't help but let out a long breath.

After returning to the division with some soldiers, Zhou Shengchen made careful arrangements for defense when passing through the other three counties: several joint defenses were held firmly.

After arriving at Yiyang County, Zhou Shengchen immediately ordered Xu Zheng to take charge of the place, while Hong Xiaoyu followed him back to Xizhou.

The official return journey began, and Zhou Shengchen immediately ordered: "All ministries will return at a speed of eighty miles a day!"

The soldiers of the royal army immediately responded loudly, and the servants could not help but frown. Even though he was riding a horse, he still secretly complained about the hard work.

After many days of marching, the soldiers arrived in the Shangluo area. Zhou Shengchen immediately said goodbye to the chamberlain: "Please return to Zhongzhou. I will go back to Xizhou directly."

Knowing that he had vowed "not to return to Zhongzhou" - although both the emperor and the queen mother had said it was invalid, the servant bowed and saluted, praised Xiao Nanchen Wang again for his bravery, and then rode back to Zhongzhou with his entourage.

Watching his back go away, Hong Xiaoyu asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, we have violated the order several times in a row, what punishment will the court give?"