Dominate the Country

"During the plum season, every household has rain, and there are frogs everywhere in the ponds with green grass." Raising his hand to catch the drizzling rain, Ling Liang suddenly remembered a line of poetry that Zhao Mingde often said when he was alive. Of course, the word "often" only refers to the past month. Their two armies joined forces to attack Yongfu County on the southern road of Fuzhou Prefecture, intending to separate Chen Jie, who had fought back to Xinghua Prefecture from the Qing army in Fuzhou, and then contact the righteous army in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to join forces to attack Xinghua Prefecture and eliminate Chen Jie, the great threat.

Zhao Mingde was born into a wealthy family, unlike Ling Liang, who had been poor for eight generations. He had studied, fought in the battlefield, and passed the examination for a student, but he did not work hard enough and failed to pass the examination for a scholar. Zhao Mingde also often boasted of being a "son of Zhao Song". But this phrase should be used in the current season, "It is also a fitting scene."

With a faint smile on his face, Ling Liang ordered a group of guards beside him: "Pass my order, the whole army stops and camps on the spot."

"Yes, General." Being both a guard and a messenger is a habit for Ling Liang.

The wind blows slightly, and the drizzle falls on his face, and the coolness that penetrates the heart instantly penetrates his mind. Looking forward, the mist and rain are in the mountains and forests; looking back, a thin long snake is winding in the mountains and forests, and its long back is buried in the misty drizzle.

This is Daiyun Mountain, in Yongchun Prefecture.

Ling Liang's territory is Yanping Prefecture in the north of Yongchun Prefecture, half of Yanping.

Yongchun Prefecture is Zhao Mingde's territory, but Zhao Mingde died in Yongfu, and the whole Yongchun Prefecture was in chaos. As for why Ling Liang, who suffered a loss in Yongfu, appeared in Daiyun Mountain, hehe, hehe!

The Tiandihui righteous army in Fujian was not harmless and united. They were like the righteous army in the late Ming Dynasty, the big fish ate the small fish and the small fish ate the shrimp, and it was not uncommon for them to "annex" each other.

So, Ling Liang... sent out troops! Ten thousand soldiers left Youxi and turned into the rolling mountains of Daiyun Mountain. It was hard work, but Ling Liang also believed that this was just like the Wuyi tea that Jianning had already started to transport north to Wenzhou, which was an absolute road to a bumper harvest!

In the deep mountains in the north of Youxi, a team of ten thousand people formed a long snake seven or eight miles long in the mountains and forests, winding along the rugged and bumpy mountain roads.

With Ling Liang's order, dozens of messengers walked away with their legs, and soon the same shouts spread in the mountains during the plum rain.

The ten thousand troops, some two or three hundred or five or six hundred people, were divided into more than a dozen sections, each led by a leader. Following Ling Liang's order, more than a dozen relatively independent campsites were set up in the forest in a short time.

From Youxi to Daiyun Mountain, the straight-line distance is only fifty or sixty miles. Entering Daiyun Mountain and then walking to Chishui City, that is also fifty or sixty miles. It is only a road of about a hundred miles, but because it is all three places, the army has been marching in the forest for five days, but has just seen the shadow of Yingxue Mountain. Yingxue Mountain is the main peak of Daiyun Mountain. From the north slope of Yingxue Mountain to the south slope, you can see Chishui City. Considering that there is still a long way to go, it would be good to reach Chishui City the day after tomorrow.

Five days of walking in the forest has greatly consumed the physical strength of the soldiers below, and the food and drink are not good, such as now. Under the drizzle, there is no dry firewood in the forest, how can you start a fire and make a meal?

It is also fortunate that Ling Liang's team is all local people in Fujian. If it were the troops in Jiangbei, how many people would fall ill in just these five days?

During the rainy season, the temperature in the mountains is not high. Now it rains, and the coldness of the battle clothes becomes worse, especially at night. If you don't pay attention, it is easy to have a fever or a cold.

However, Ling Liang has no good way to deal with these. When the army set out, in order to carry more rations, they brought very few sundries. Soldiers wearing straw raincoats can block the rain for a while, but it will be useless for a long time.

As for camping, it is also very simple. Just pull up the light oilcloth tent, and don't care whether the ground is wet or not, but it will always be better.

"Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and three more days, these days will be over." Ling Liang stretched out his hand to wipe the rain off his face, and a string of water drops flew away when he shook his hand.

Nothing happened overnight. When it was dawn, Ling Liang ordered people to do another statistics. The number of patients who were unable to get up had increased to 100. Overnight, another 30 or 40 people fell down. The longer this day drags on, the more soldiers will fall ill.

Fortunately, the army was marching in the mountains and forests, and there were trees everywhere. Dozens of simple stretchers were quickly made. Then the whole army lifted hundreds of stretchers and set out on the journey again.

The drizzling drizzle became heavier at noon, and it stabilized at the level of moderate rain in a moment. The original scenery of mist and rain in the mountains and forests was gone forever, and the smile on Ling Liang's mouth turned into an angry and bitter smile: This thief God. Just against him. "My luck is really "bad"!" He sighed in his heart, but he could only order and urge-the whole army to move quickly.

Three days later.

A small valley more than 20 miles south of Chishui City.

Under a rain-proof curtain, Lu Guohua and his three followers were huddled tightly under the curtain. The four people leaned together, but they could still feel the waves of coolness.

"Damn, the rain is getting heavier." He looked outside the tent and saw a few small puddles in the mountains, with raindrops as dense as needles dripping down. "What bad luck!" Lu Guohua sighed.

It had been drizzling a few days ago, but who knew it started to rain a little in the middle of it. The light rain for two days and nights was followed by moderate rain, and today it turned into heavy rain. The weather seemed to have dropped a lot suddenly, and he could feel a chill even while huddled in the curtain, not to mention the Lingliang troops who were marching in the rain.

"Tap-tap--tap--" a subtle sound of treading water reached Lu Guohua's ears, "Jiang Qi--, are you back?" Lu Guohua called out without thinking. There were only six of them who could come to this place at this time - and one was squatting at another location. According to the pre-arrangement, each person went out to guard for an hour. Now that I think about it, it's time for Jiang Qi to turn back.

Jiang Qi, the old man in the Lu family team, is absolutely reliable.

"Fourth Master, the people have arrived -" In fact, Jiang Qi did not understand the identity of the person he brought. Three days ago, he and four other Lu family guards were led by Lu Guohua into the mountains northwest of Chishui City. I came here to stay with some food items. The matter must be important, but I didn't tell him clearly.

But he knows his identity, so don't ask if you shouldn't ask. Sometimes knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing.

After hearing this, Lu Guohua suddenly stood up, and then rushed out of the tent, staring at the person behind Jiang Qi. There is indeed a yellow scarf tied around his head. In addition, the robe and trousers are all the same color of cyan, which is exactly what he was supposed to be wearing!

Looking at his face again, Lu Guohua was suddenly shocked, "General Ling Er, it's you..." The person who came was Lu Guohua, who was very familiar with him. Although the two of them had never spoken a word before, he recognized Ling Dong. This was Ling Liang's biological brother.

"Haha, brother Guohua, it's been a long time." Ling Dong clasped his hands into fists, a comfortable smile appeared on his lips, and he finally arrived.

A kind of flattered excitement instantly filled Lu Guohua's heart. Ling Dong was Ling Liang's brother. Ling Liang was three points stronger than the boss of the Lu family, Zhao Mingde. The Lu family was just a small soldier in Zhao Mingde's army, only Ling Liang. Dong's identity can make Lu Guohua and his eldest brother Lu Guoyun fawn over him again and again. Now being called "Brother Guohua" by Ling Dong is flattering.

"General Ling Er?" Jiang Qi and the others were immediately stunned. Oh my God, the Fourth Master actually called the fourth master a general, and he was still called General Ling Er. Isn't that too ridiculous? Who in Fujian doesn't know who General Ling is referring to?

"Please, come in quickly." Lu Guohua respectfully invited Ling Dong in like a grandson. He followed Ling Dong closely, and when he was about to enter the tent, Lu Guohua stopped, turned around and winked at another guard named Feng Jin, "Go and call Old Wu back."

Old Wu was the personal guard who was squatting at another point. Now that Ling Dong had arrived, Wu Sheng naturally no longer had to squat there to guard.

Feng Jin nodded, then turned and ran towards the woods not far away. Only then did Lu Guohua enter the tent with Jiang Qi and others.

Ling Dong sat in the middle of the tent without hesitation, "Brother Guohua, I wonder how your brother is doing with everything?"

"Second General, don't worry. As long as my news reaches you, we will be able to take action in a short time." Lu Guohua said firmly. Thinking about it, his eldest brother is also the official defender of Chishui City. It is not easy to treat Zheng Haoyou and Ding Yi to a meal.

The most important thing is that Chishui City is not a front line, but a fortress. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has been the main thoroughfare and commercial hub for merchants from Youxi, Datian, Yongchun and other places. But except for a few people from the Lu family, who knew that Ling Liang would come and annex Yongchun Prefecture so soon. There is no tense atmosphere at all in Chishui City.

After a short time, Feng Jin and Lao Wu had turned back. At the same time, dozens of strong men brought by Ling Dong also appeared.

"Second General, this -" After Lu Guohua called Ling Dong, he glanced at the five people present, asking for permission to do serious business.

When Ling Dong saw Lu Guohua, his heart was relieved. At this time, he looked at the five guards present carefully, and then nodded heavily to Lu Guohua.

But it’s time to get down to business. First they captured Chishui City, then Dehua County, and then went straight to Yongchun Prefecture.

His eldest brother Ling Liang has always hoped to be closer to the sea. If he wins Yongchun Prefecture, he will be next to Quanzhou. The mountainside of Quanzhou is the largest salt-producing place in Fujian. Although the quality and output are far inferior to those of Lianghuai and Zhejiang, and the price is also high, no matter how high it is, it can't be higher than the tea silk in your hands, right?

Previously, the Ling family could only exchange tea silk for salt and grain at low prices.

Fujian is a small place with a large population, and the prosperity of the coastal commodity economy and handicraft industry has stimulated the people here to invest most of their limited land resources in the cultivation of cash crops. In previous years, food needs were imported from Huguang, Taiwan and Siam. But now that the war is going on, even if it is only two or three years, the impact here is unimaginably huge.

Folks no longer know how many acres of land have been restored to farmland!

Tens of thousands of troops who had been trekking hard for many days in the high mountains were now quietly hiding in a relatively flat forest land between several connected unknown hills.

Under a tall green pine, the green crown of the tree covered everyone's heads like a big umbrella. A few spears propped up an oil curtain to form a simple tent. Ling Liang had a stern face. He had been sitting upright since his second son, Ling Dong, went out.

"Brother——" Ling Dong's voice came from afar, and he ran into the tent with rain all over his body through the solemnly lined up personal soldiers' camp. He bowed and reported loudly: "I have found the person from the Lu family, and now he has returned to Chishui City to deliver the letter." After that, the water drops on his hair fell again. Ling Dong wiped the rain off his face and threw it away casually.

Ling Liang's mouth curled up immediately. Finding the contact person of the Lu family, this matter is more than half settled.

...

Just when tens of thousands of Ling Liang troops were marching rapidly towards the southeast, Lu Guohua was also trying his best to rush to Chishui City. The continuous rain made the mountain road quite slippery and difficult to walk. When he was going downhill, he slipped and fell to the ground without paying attention. The whole person slid down the slope sideways until he hit a tree trunk at the bottom of the slope and stopped.

However, the muddy rain could not cool down Lu Guohua's fiery heart. What he had been looking forward to for half a month was about to come true today. A huge sense of joy filled his body and mind all the time.

The Lu family was not doing well in Zhao Mingde's hands. Although Chishui City was a good piece of fat meat, it could not be compared with Dehua and Yongchun at all. Moreover, this piece of fat meat was not eaten by the Lu family alone. But with this great achievement sent to Lingliang's account, there would be a day for them to come to the fore.

Turning over and getting up, Lu Guohua wiped the mud on his face, identified the direction and rushed into the rain again---

An hour later, Chishui Town.

In the residential courtyard of Lu Guoyun, Lu Guohua, who was covered in mud, was wiping his face and neck with a dry cloth towel. Then he wrapped the cloth towel on his head, and it was done. "Brother, Ling Liang's troops have arrived, only 20 miles away from Chishui City."

"How many people are there?"

"Ling Er said there are 20,000. I'm not sure. If Ling Liang really brought 20,000 soldiers, Chen Jie could wipe out his old nest."

"No matter how many there are, we can only advance and not retreat. Come on, invite Zheng Haoyu and Ding Yi. I want to invite them to drink." Lu Guoyun rubbed his hands together, his lips were tight, and the muscles on his face twitched from time to time. He was nervous and excited, and his high emotions made him restless.

...

Just when Chen Ming received the news of Zhao Mingde's death, the Fujian dark camp sent another urgent report by carrier pigeon. The Zhao family, whose leader had just died, was annexed by Ling Liang. This man probably just retreated and immediately organized his troops to the south. He had already contacted the insiders to prepare. Chishui City and Dehua were taken without bloodshed, and Yongchun Prefecture was also conquered in two days. "Good fellow, he is a master at annexation!"

In Fujian today, only Jianning Prefecture [Fucheng] in the entire northern part of Fujian still has a small amount of territory controlled by the Tiandihui righteous army. The rest of the land: most of Jianning Prefecture, Shaowu Prefecture and the coastal areas of Funing, Fuzhou, and Xinghua are all under the control of the Qing army.

Chen Ming ordered the First Division and the Guards Brigade to go south to Wenzhou!