From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 343

Zhou Yuan, who hadn't had a good sleep for many days, slept until noon before waking up slowly, and Wang Xiong had been waiting for a long time.

"General, everyone is here. There are soldiers who have already integrated here, and some who have not integrated but are already testing."

"A total of 248 people, all gathered together on the flat ground at the entrance of the village, and arranged secret guards to ensure vigilance."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Let's go and see what these soldiers are thinking. I plan to have a good chat with them."

He walked out slowly with Li Yu'an, and Shi Yi and Wang Xiong followed behind him with serious expressions.

They knew very well that this was a matter of principle. If something went wrong, these soldiers would probably be finished.

At noon on a hot day, the sun was scorching, and more than 200 soldiers stood in the sun, sweating profusely.

After seeing Zhou Yuan coming, they all knelt down immediately.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "Sit down on the ground. I guess you all know why I'm looking for you. I also want to share my opinion on this matter."

The soldiers looked at each other, with more fear in their eyes.

Zhou Yuan looked at the sky and smiled slowly, "It's so hot. Today is the second day of May. It's summer. I really don't want to stay in this ghost place."

"I want to go back to Shenjing, lie in my own house, lie on ice cubes, eat fruit, and sleep leisurely."

"When it's cool at night, go for a walk on the street, buy some small things, or go to a brothel for a few drinks and find a beautiful girl to talk to."

The people below were distracted by what they heard. Who wouldn't want to live that kind of life in such a hot day?

Zhou Yuan continued, "I am not short of money, and my position is high enough. I could have lived a good life and never had to worry about my livelihood."

"But now I am here, in this place called Gujing Village, accompanying you to bask in the sun."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, "Why do you think this is?"

These soldiers were already guilty, so they didn't dare to answer, and they all lowered their heads.

Zhou Yuan said: "Let's talk about you. You are a group of elite soldiers who fled from Shandong to Shenjing. Whether you were bewitched or just to have a meal, you had a hard life before."

"My family starved to death and I had nothing. I trained in the Fifth Army Camp for two months and then was pulled to the Central Plains."

"This is a really good place. There are ready-made houses for you to live in, and ready-made women to take care of you. They treat you as husbands and the pillars of the family."

"This is home! Your family is broken up, and it is a good thing to find a ready-made home here. Of course you want to stay, right?"

Zhou Yuan sneered: "After all, who doesn't want to have a home? I want to go back to Shenjing now."

"But it still comes back to that question? Why don't I enjoy the blessing and come here?"

"Because I am a soldier."

The wind blew, and the smoke and dust rose.

Zhou Yuan looked at everyone present and shouted, "Soldiers can't just think about their own homes. Soldiers have a mission!"

"What is the mission of a soldier? It is to let everyone have their own home!"

"When you were refugees before, no one helped you. The same is true for the refugees here."

"We came here to fight, just to end it all and create a peaceful world!"

"With a peaceful world, everyone can have a home, instead of letting you use your body to feed widows and build a home for yourself."

Zhou Yuan pointed at the group of people and cursed, "You lie in the soft quilt and forget your mission. ? Don't you know what you are doing here?"

"If there is no food in the future, can this family stay?"

"Then we have to disperse!"

"I recruited you to the Fifth Army Camp, fed you and clothed you, and taught you skills, not to let you come here to be cowards!"

"You are real men! What you have to do is big things! It is a big thing to let everyone have a home!"

"If I have said it clearly enough, and you have heard it clearly enough, but you still haven't changed your mind."

"Then come to me before tonight, and I will give you freedom!"

After speaking, Zhou Yuan turned around and left.

Li Yu'an followed behind and whispered: "Why are you so kind all of a sudden? If someone really comes to find you, will you give them freedom?"

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "I can only let them die. Military discipline and regulations cannot be broken, otherwise it will become a joke."

Li Yu'an said: "Sure enough, this is your temper."

...

Fifth Army Camp, in the tent.

Li He carefully took out a pot of wine, opened the cork, took a deep sip, and immediately narrowed his eyes.

He quickly took out a bowl and filled it, then took a sip, tasted it and exhaled, and felt that the whole person was refreshed.Amazing.

Xiang Yong walked in and saw this scene. He frowned immediately: "What's going on? Brother Li, drinking during the march is a taboo! If the people below know about it, it will be difficult to lead the team."

Li He smiled and said: "What are you afraid of? There is no mission now. The road back to Kaifeng has been cut off by the 30,000 troops sent by Yingcheng. There are 30,000 troops in Songyang moving eastward."

"To the south are the troops of Runing and Nanyang. What we need to do now is to wait for them to come and then defend them to the death."

Xiang Yong said: "The commander said that whether the negotiation can be successful depends on our value. If we fight If he doesn't show his value, Zhang Bailong won't come in person."

Li He was silent for a moment, then reluctantly put away the wine, sighed slowly, and said: "To be honest, it's really torturous. This is the first time I've seen a battle where I can only lose but not win, and I have to fight at a high level."

"It's easy to command myself, but difficult to command others!"

"Sometimes I really don't understand the commander's orders, especially this time, he insisted on us pretending to surrender. If we fail, all these tens of thousands of brothers will be left here."

Xiang Yong said: "You just think too much. You are obviously not smart, but you have to go. I don't know what the commander is going to do, but I will do it and believe in him. "

Li He nodded and said, "It's not that I don't believe in the commander, but I'm unsure. Lao Xiang, these soldiers have been with us for so many years, I don't want them to die like this, I don't dare to wait here for Zhang Bailong to attack, what if the other party doesn't agree to negotiate and kills directly? "

Xiang Yong waved his hand and said, "The other party won't do that. We have 50,000 people. If they want to annihilate us, Zhang Bailong will have to pay a higher price, at least 50,000 to 60,000 people will die. "

"He is the one who lost Having lost more than 100,000 troops, it would be difficult for them to bear the loss of tens of thousands of people this time. After all, these are all farmers. If they are gone, who will farm? "

"It is inevitable to seek peace. Marshal Jie has already calculated everything. Don't worry."

As soon as the voice fell, the spy outside ran in and said anxiously: "Deputy Governor, the army of Nanyang has arrived, and the tens of thousands of troops of Runing have also left the city. The secret guards have been withdrawn."

Li He stood up immediately and said in a deep voice: "I have been waiting for more than ten days, and it is finally coming. I am dying of suffocation."

"In any case, let's fight them first. "