Chapter Fourteen: The One He Had Always Wanted to Fight Was the Landlord

  "Ah, people say that sleeping until you wake up naturally and counting money until your hands cramp are the two greatest pleasures in life. Now, it's just the opposite - I have a lifetime supply of grain in the warehouse, but when I wake up, my waist is sore, my back hurts, and my legs cramp. It seems that being a landlord isn't all fun and games." With a sigh, he stretched his lazy waist as he walked out of the inner courtyard.

  In the middle of May, the city of Xingyang was already quite sultry at noon, but the excitement of strolling on the street was a carefree and contented look, as if it didn't feel the scorching sun on its head at all.

  Looking at the neat and orderly streets, the occasional passerby's smile on their face, I feel satisfied and relieved in my heart, and the fatigue on my body has all disappeared. The hard work of 16 days was not in vain. Thinking about the prosperous Xuyi City now, it is already a world of difference from when I first came here. My mouth corners can't help but reveal a happy smile, no wonder the landowners are popular all over China.

  For the ordinary people of Xuyi County, Zheng (Gao) Changgong was kind and gentle, loving the people like a son, just like a Bodhisattva; for those landlords who bullied and occupied good land, Gao Changgong was no different from a blood-sucking devil, greedy and shameless, especially hateful.

  The recovery of land deeds and property originally excited the landlords, although they had to pay some military vehicle fees, but in their opinion, it was just that the Lord of the Interior Ministry was short of money, which was normal, and for the wealthy Tan family, it was just a drop in the bucket.

  At first, Gao Changgong's attitude was very gentle and smiling. However, after a few pleasantries, what shocked and angered everyone was that Gao Changgong did not hide at all, and finally opened his bloody mouth to them, wanting to take back the things from their homes, they had to pay one-third of the value of these things in grain to get them back, except for gold and silver, other currencies were not accepted.

  In fact, Gao Changgong's words were very tactful and sincere. "The war is approaching, but the city of Xuancheng is slack in military preparations, the treasury is empty, and it will be difficult to resist Chen's army. Some time ago, some rough merchants in the city took the initiative to find me and donated some of their family property to help me resist the bandits, but that was just a drop in the bucket, far from enough. You are all high-ranking officials and also masters of Xuancheng City, with roots here, shouldn't you make more efforts? If Xuancheng City is broken, everything will become an illusion!"

  What made the landlord most resentful was that Gao Changgong said that the rich merchants in the city had come to ask, they still wanted to donate some money and grain, but there were many family members at home, and they still had to make a living. They heard that Hou's house had a large number of ownerless fields and houses, could they be sold to them at a price slightly higher than the market price? On the one hand, it would be considered as making contributions to fight against the enemy, and on the other hand, their families would not starve.

  Gao Changgong told the landowners that time was pressing, and the city of Xuyi was in a precarious situation. Under duress, he had already agreed to sell his land and house three days later.

  Scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, the social system, the guidance of the ruling class, the division of classes, had a great impact on the values of ancient people. Countless businessmen, although wealthy and powerful, seemed to be in a high position, but in fact their status was extremely low, few people could look up to them, they were often the objects of oppression and attack by the ruling class, just a tool for making money, a commodity in general.

  In ancient society, whether it was merchants or officials, the first thing to do with idle money was to buy land and make more money, buying more land, thus creating a cycle. This led to severe land annexation in feudal society. Once the living space of farmers was compressed to the extreme, uprisings and wars would erupt.

  Landlords without land will lose their luxurious life and the position that commands respect and fear. Although they know that Gao's purpose is to oppress them, they can only follow Gao's orders obediently.

  Newton said: Any object has inertia. Excited to say: History also has inertia.

  On May 3, the city of Shiliang was breached, four days later than the historical record of the 29th. Although Gao Zhan had rushed to reinforce Shiliang and kicked the wheel of history, saving Longsun Honglue from dying in that war and not allowing the 40,000-strong Qi army to be completely annihilated, Longsun Honglue still failed to overcome his fate in history and died under the city of Shiliang on May 3.

  It is said that one should not fear an opponent who is like a god, but rather a teammate who is like a pig. Wang Lin and Chang Sun Hong's tragic fate was that they did not encounter an opponent who was like a god, but instead had a superior who was like a pig, even more terrifying than a teammate.

  On April 26, the defeat was decisive. Gao Yan's courage was chilled to the bone, and after reuniting with Wang Lin, he reorganized and rallied his troops. Originally, there were 40,000 Qi soldiers, but now only 25,000 remained, with only 22,000 still having combat effectiveness. Due to Gao Yan's reckless arrogance, more than 10,000 Northern Qi soldiers fell on the battlefield in a short period of time, and their deaths had no positive significance whatsoever.

  The imperial court ordered Wei to assist Shiliang City again, but he was afraid of war and did not advance, camping more than 30 miles outside Shiliang City. Not only did he not actively cooperate with the defenders of Shiliang City to attack Chen's army, but he also made preparations for withdrawal and retreat at any time, watching as Shiliang City was gradually destroyed. On May 3rd, Wang Lin and Longsun Hong jointly tied up Wei and led the army to attack Chen's army, but everything was too late.

  The city of Shiliang had already been breached, and was captured by Chen's army half a watch before Wang Lin arrived. With the city walls to rely on, the Qi army lacked siege engines, and after attacking without success, Wang Lin could only order a retreat.

  Wang Lin's failed attack undoubtedly gave Wei Bao a pretext to launch his own campaign. Wang Lin had always been known for his good reputation in the army, being generous with wealth and loving his men, having an extraordinary memory, able to recall the names of all low-ranking officers, earning him deep respect and admiration from his soldiers. As a result, internal strife broke out.

  The more tragic thing is yet to come. As the number one general of Chen, Wu Ming Che, who was famous in the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties for his bravery and strategy, was not an ordinary person. The Qi army was initially hesitant to advance, but suddenly launched a surprise attack, which seemed suspicious. He decisively issued the order to pursue. The Chen army, with their great victory momentum, met the Qi army, who were in low spirits and infighting, and were completely unprepared. The outcome is self-evident.

  Wei Pohu shed his armor and fled on horseback, while poor Longsun Honglue steadfastly fulfilled his duty as a soldier, dying in battle to cover King Lin's retreat to Yangping Commandery.

  Shiliang City was broken, and the morale of Chen's army became even more powerful. On May 8th, Waliang City surrendered to Chen Jun. On May 11th, Lujiang City was captured by Xu Xian, the governor of Nanyue County in Chen State. On May 12th, Lishui County in Northern Qi resisted fiercely but eventually surrendered to Chen's army. However, after Chen's general Huang Faqu slowed down his attack, they continued to defend the city. Huang Faqu was furious and launched a fierce attack on Lishui, breaking through the city walls. The entire garrison of Lishui was slaughtered. Huang Faqu then led his troops to attack Hefei, which surrendered to Chen. By this point, the first line of defense along the Yangtze River had almost completely collapsed, and Chen's army advanced on all fronts.

  Countless civilians fled north with their families, and the good weather in May caused the crops to wither and abandon. The rumor that Xuyi Hou Zheng Changgong treated refugees well led to a large influx of refugees into Xuyi County within a short period of ten days, exceeding 100,000 people, bringing great pressure to Gaoxing father and son, and making Gaoxing busy.

  Fortunately, in the summer, even without a house to live in, as long as there is food to eat, refugees can survive. About 20,000 young and strong men were selected to join the army. The remaining 30,000 men, nearly 1,000 people with carpentry and blacksmithing skills were selected, and children under the age of 10 were excluded. The rest, regardless of old or young, were divided into groups of ten, some engaged in opening up wasteland and building villages, while others repaired city walls and built water conservancy projects. As for women and children, they were also organized, but their work was to raise silkworms and weave cloth.

  In his past life, Gao Xing had always regarded crossing over as the ultimate ideal. With the "Longevity Incantation" by his side, he possessed exceptional memory and could recall everything at a glance. Under his guidance, Lu Ping improved the CAO knife, while Gao Xing himself upgraded the loom and even manufactured large water-powered spinning wheels from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. With the town of Xuancheng situated near the Huai River, the efficiency of weaving with the help of these water-powered spinning wheels increased by several dozen times.

  At the same time, a thousand or so craftsmen were gathered together under Lu Ping's leadership to begin large-scale production of wooden furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The most exquisite and luxurious pieces were transported by Gao Fu and presented to Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou through Han Zhangluan, one of the three nobles of the Northern Qi dynasty.

  Gao Wei was delighted to see his cousin come from afar with these things, and Han Changling, who had received benefits, speaking well of him on the side. The dragon's face was greatly pleased, and Gao Changgong's vigilance relaxed a bit. He also ordered Gao Changgong to prepare military equipment and block Chen's army.

  Chairs, in terms of both aesthetics and comfort, far surpass the kang. Moreover, with their exquisite craftsmanship and high prices, wealthy officials and nobles all clamor to buy them, using them to show off their noble status, which fills High Inn and Ye Jin with joy and delight.

  After more than ten days of busy work, the preliminary work finally came to an end. With a sigh of relief, he thought that tomorrow was the day when he would compete with Gao Changgong. He wanted to go to the military camp to take a look. In these more than ten days, apart from taking turns to maintain order in the city, they had not abandoned the strict training of the army according to the plan given by Gao Xing.

  From afar, the passionate shouts from the military camp could be heard, and a satisfied smile involuntarily appeared on his face, secretly praising Shang Buqi.

  Excitement quickened his pace, and as soon as he entered the military camp, a sturdy black figure blocked his way. Excitement was taken aback, wondering who had the audacity to block him, when an angry voice burst into his ears.

  "Good, you've finally shown up! It's about time! Come on, let's have a match with General Ben!"

  Delighted at hearing this, he immediately knew who the person was and laughed: "General Xiao, it's been a few days since we last met. How is your fiery temper today? Are you still getting used to living here?"

  Xiao Mohan hummed and said angrily, "What are you used to? Today I'll say whatever it takes to defeat you, so go home!" His tone was not only angry and urgent, but also had a hint of worry.

  Delighted eyebrows wrinkled, asked in surprise: "General Xiao, why are you so anxious, have you forgotten our agreement?"

  Xiao Moye impatiently interrupted him, saying: "Less nonsense, today no matter what you and I will have a try!" Xiao Moye's heart was floating with anxiety, his eyes were wide with anger, and he immediately took up the stance.

  The soldiers in training heard the commotion over here and became distracted, making mistake after mistake. Shang Zhen was furious, yelling at them repeatedly and punishing many of them. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. Although they had already witnessed the excitement of martial arts once before, they were unclear as to just how powerful it was. No soldier wanted their commander to be a useless person.

  Gaoxing laughed and said: "Alright, as you wish." Xiao Moye was overjoyed and wanted to attack immediately. Gaoxing glared at him and said: "What's the hurry?" After that, Gaoxing walked up to the commanding platform by himself.

  "Halt!"

  "See General!" The officers stopped training under Shang's command and thought about happily paying their respects.

  Looking happily at the over a thousand soldiers below the stage, after a month of hard training, their momentum has become more solid and sharp, and they already have some semblance of an army.

  "Generals, brothers, a month ago, I made a bet with Master Hou that the generals I trained would surpass his in a month's time. Tomorrow is the day of the trial, do you think we can win?" he exclaimed loudly.

  "We must win! We must win!" The waves surged forward, shaking the mountains and valleys, with a majestic momentum that pierced the sky.

  As the noise subsided, Gaoxing raised his hand and all sounds disappeared. Gaoxing then loudly declared: "Today I want to ask you brothers to bear witness, I am willing to engage in a duel with General Xiao Mohe here. If I lose, let him go, even if I die unfortunately, you must not obstruct him in the slightest. If I win, General Xiao Mohe will sincerely surrender to me and from now on cut off all ties with Chen Guo! General Xiao, please!" Gaoxing looked at Xiao Mohe with sincerity and confidence, making a gesture of invitation.

  "Good!" Xiaomohe didn't say much more, gave Gaoxing a deep look, and strode to the stage.

  "Beat the drum!" Shang Buqi shouted, and with a loud "Boom! Boom! Boom!", the deep and muffled sound of the cowhide drum shook the air. The dense drumbeats and intense rhythm ignited the passion in the hearts of the men, slowly igniting the atmosphere of war. All the soldiers stared intently at the two figures standing opposite each other on the stage, Gao Xing and Xiao Mohai.