Pirate Song

After Gao Huaiyuan listened to Zhao Fang's words, his heart jumped a few times. He thought to himself, the old guy really thinks highly of me! I have just arrived in Ezhou, and you want to take me to the other side of the river. This is terrible.

It's going to kill me!

Gao Huaiyuan never thought that Zhao Fang would want to send him to Huangzhou as soon as he saw him. He didn't think of this before coming. He only thought that as rural soldiers, they would be in Ezhou at most.

It was enough to just help defend along the river, so there was basically no mental preparation for a tough battle. Zhao Fang suddenly asked him to cross the river to defend against the enemy. Now his plan came out, and he couldn't help but hesitate.

It wasn't that Gao Huaiyuan was afraid of death, because after listening to what Zhao Fang said, Gao Huaiyuan realized how dangerous the battle situation in Jiangbei was. Things were not as simple as he expected. When the Jin army went south this time, An Zhen could say

Plans and preparations had been made in advance. He was the main force to attack the Huangqi Prefecture, while the other Jin troops were to contain the attack in the Tang and Deng areas. This caused problems with the Song army's scheduling.

If he crosses the river to Huangzhou now, he is likely to encounter the main force of the Jin army. A fierce battle is inevitable. And the more than a thousand soldiers and horses he has on hand cannot be said to be a ragtag group, but they cannot

What kind of great army is this? It’s okay to be an auxiliary army.

, but he himself had no idea how effective it would be in fighting a vicious battle. Besides, apart from weapons, only a few of them had armor to defend themselves against the well-equipped servant Anzhen's flower hat.

If the army were to attack, the whole army might be annihilated.

Gao Huaiyuan was not afraid of death, but he was worried about these village heroes. It can be said that when he came to Ezhou this time, he basically recruited most of the strong men from Daye County. These people were all strong men from Daye County.

If Lao Li were to be buried in Jiangbei at once, how would he explain it to the families of so many people!

He couldn't help but start to hesitate, but his hesitation made Zhao Fang feel a little unhappy, so his face immediately darkened, and he said unhappily: "I thought you should be an upright man, but I didn't expect you today.

Are you so hesitant that you are afraid of death?"

Gao Huaiyuan was slightly startled, and quickly bowed and replied: "My lord, forgive me! Let's listen to Huaiyuan's explanation! Although Huaiyuan dare not say that he is an upright man, he has never been afraid of going into battle!

But Huaiyuan didn't dare to deceive you. When Huaiyuan came this time, it can be said that most of the strong villagers in Daye County were recruited. Although these people were initially familiar with archery and infantry warfare after last year's training, except for

Apart from the annihilation of lake pirates in Niangzi Lake, we have never seen a real battle, and the equipment level is very poor. No one has less than twenty bows and arrows, and armor is out of the question.

Huaiyuan is not afraid of death, but if he crosses the river to Huangzhou this time, judging from the current situation, there will definitely be a bloody battle. Although there is no problem for these local warriors under me to help defend Ezhou, there are not many people who can fight.

, once we cross north to Huangzhou, I'm afraid there will be riots immediately!

That's why Xiao Xiao is hesitant. It's not because I'm afraid of death. If Huangzhou really needs human rescue, Xiao Xiao is willing to go there even if he is willing to risk his life. It's just that Xiao Xiao is thinking that even if he goes, Xiao Xiao will go there.

We can only dispatch hundreds of capable people to go there, I hope you will understand the younger ones!"

When Gao Huaiyuan said this, he actually took a big risk, because Zhao Fang, as the establishment ambassador of Jingxi Road, can be said to be in charge of the military and political power of Jingxi Road. When they serve in the army,

It is equivalent to handing himself over to Zhao Fang's control. Whether this head can grow on his shoulders is Zhao Fang's final decision.

Moreover, if Zhao Fang wants to send them to Huangzhou, he has no choice at all, and Zhao Fang does not need to discuss with him at all. Being able to consult him like this is already a great honor to him, so Gao Huaiyuan dared to risk his own

Explain the situation to Zhao Fang. If it were anyone else, disobedience and disrespect would be enough to move his head!

After Zhao Fang listened to Gao Huaiyuan's words, he lowered his head and pondered for a while. He was also a civil servant. He had been the magistrate of Qingyang County before, and he also knew how difficult it was for a local official. What Gao Huaiyuan said was also true. This time he could

Try your best to bring some people from Daye County at once

It can be said that more than a thousand strong local warriors have mobilized most of Daye County's local elites. If they are sent to Huangzhou, once Huangzhou is lost, thousands of families will be mourned in Daye County this time.

For local officials, this kind of thing is very difficult.

Moreover, he is also aware of the critical situation in Huangzhou. Once he sends Gao Huaiyuan there, it can be said that he will take a lot of risks. However, he currently has limited resources. In addition to sending Gao Huaiyuan across the river as soon as possible to support the Huangzhou city defense, he also

There was no better way, so after thinking for a while, he looked up at Gao Huaiyuan and asked in a deep voice: "Then let me ask you! Do you really have the courage to go to Huangzhou?"

Gao Huaiyuan wanted to curse at this moment. You old guy, you can't force me to jump into the fire pit just because I have some skills! I still have very ambitious ambitions. How can you just watch me do something?

Just force me to go to Huangzhou! But at this time, he can't say he doesn't dare.

Therefore, Gao Huaiyuan could only hold his heart together, gritted his teeth and replied: "I am not talented, so I dare to go to Huangzhou!"

After listening to Gao Huaiyuan's words, Zhao Fang's expression softened slightly, and he said: "I also know that Huangzhou and his party are in great danger, but when the country is in crisis, it is also the time to employ people.

Imperial officials, there is no room for change in this matter. Since you have such courage, you should make contributions to the army!

I also understand what you are worried about, so I will grant your wish. I will give you a command arrow today, and you will be allowed to mobilize your own men among the brave men of Daye Township. At least five hundred strong men will accompany you and go to Huangzhou on the other side of the river to help.

! In addition, I allow you to use the weapons and armor to equip your cross-river warriors in the armory of the Ezhou camp. In two days, I will arrange a boat to transport you across the river. You can go down and prepare!"

When Gao Huaiyuan heard this, he thought to himself, now it's okay! The saying that the rafters on the outcrops will die first is really reasonable. He should be the rafter on the outcrops. Who made Daye County the closest to here, and he was the first to run over to help?

This is a good time. If the gun hits the first bird, he will jump into the fire pit now.

However, he could not tolerate him saying no at this time. Gao Huaiyuan had no choice but to bow and reply: "Your Majesty, I will take the order. I will go and make preparations now!"

After leaving Zhao Fang's tent, Gao Huaiyuan was full of anger. He was not angry with Zhao Fang. He also knew that Zhao Fang was putting the Song State first and had no intention of doing anything to him, but the military situation was urgent.

, the decision that had to be made was because the Jin army came at the wrong time. He had not yet been able to train an army that could fight, so he had to go into battle. Based on his guess, it was probably after crossing the river.

, I’m afraid I’m going to have a narrow escape in Huangzhou!

But the matter has come to this, and it is useless for him to go back on his word, unless he abandons his men now and flees regardless of the situation. Like Yao Pingzhong in the Northern Song Dynasty, he ran thousands of miles and hid in a deserted place to spend the rest of his life.

He didn't care about the matter at all, but he was unwilling to do so. After all, he had already done so many things, and it was not worth it to scare him so much, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

After returning to the station, Gao Huaiyuan immediately beat the drum and raised the tent, summoning his group of people to start discussing things. After listening to what Gao Huaiyuan said, everyone suddenly scratched their heads. It can be said that the people in the tent had different expressions.

Excited, worried, in short there are all kinds of expressions.

Most of the excited people were people from Crouching Tiger Village who were trained by Gao Huaiyuan. These people practiced martial arts all day long, and were instilled with militant elements. They wanted to go into battle and fight with real swords and guns all day long.

Have fun.

Most of the worried people are people with families, and most of them are archers. Although they have gone through the battle, they have more worries than the people in Crouching Tiger Village. Don't look at the time they came here this time.

They were all in high spirits, but that was because when they came, they all thought they would help defend and garrison troops in Ezhou. They never expected to be sent to Huangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River to defend against the enemy. It was unlikely that the Jin army would cross south, but they could attack Huangzhou.

But it’s very possible!

Gao Huaiyuan immediately saw their thoughts from everyone's faces, and said in a deep voice: "At this point, you and I have no room to retreat, but this time when we cross the river to Huangzhou, not everyone can

We must go. I know many of you are worried, but since you are here, I am afraid it will be useless. Soldiers should pay attention to military orders. Those who disobey orders and disrespect them will have no choice but to lose their heads!

Each of you will now go down among your people and start mobilizing. I want each of them to send forty brave men to accompany me to Huangzhou to help! I will report the personnel statistics before dinner, and my officer will organize them separately tomorrow!

There must be no mistakes!”

So everyone immediately obeyed the order and started to get busy. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the camp. Gao Huaiyuan thought the matter was too simple. What if this time they all marched out and crossed the river together?

, it was easy to handle, but this time he caused a big trouble for himself, which was to select 500 strong men to go to Huangzhou, and the remaining 800 people could stay in Ezhou to garrison.

In this way, people have a choice whether to go or not. A sensible person will know that Ezhou is much safer than Huangzhou. If you can stay in a safe place, why go to Huangzhou to take risks? There are still people in this world who are afraid of death.

There are more people than those who are brave enough, so as soon as each township started to ask for registration, trouble arose.

After these village heroes from each township listened, it can be said that there were very few applicants. No matter how much the commune leaders and new leaders of each township tried to persuade and encourage them, by the afternoon, there were still only a few applicants from each township.

Except for those who were bold and militant, and those who had confidence in their own kung fu, they basically chose to remain silent and refused to stand up and sign up to go to Huangzhou.

After the news reached Gao Huaiyuan's tent, Gao Huaiyuan didn't say anything. Dong Qiang, who was following him, jumped up first and said angrily: "These cowardly bastards are all acting like cowards! Sir,

, let me take some people down, if I don’t believe it, they dare not agree!”

When he yelled like this, several young men from Crouching Tiger Village who followed Gao Huaiyuan also became angry and wanted to go down and arrest him.

"Wait a minute! Back off!" Gao Huaiyuan immediately scolded them.

These people calmed down and looked at Gao Huaiyuan, waiting for Gao Huaiyuan to say something and come up with a solution.

"Let the chiefs and community chiefs of each capital come to my place to discuss matters! This matter must be handled properly, otherwise, it will cause a big commotion and cause everyone in Xiaoying to be unlucky!" Gao Huaiyuan also had a big headache. What happened this time

He found it himself, and he couldn't blame anyone else. He had to deal with it properly, otherwise, if it caused chaos, he would have to move his head before he could wait for Huangzhou.

When the chiefs and community chiefs of each capital arrived at the big tent, the place was crowded again. Twenty or thirty people stood there with depressed faces. Gao Huaiyuan took a look, except for Gaojiazhuang, there was no one in the capital.

In addition, the rest have not been able to complete the registration tasks, and they are still far from the actual needs.

"What's the matter? Haven't you recruited enough people?" Gao Huaiyuan suppressed his anger and asked the people in the tent.

"Sir, our registration has been completed! And there are seventy people willing to accompany you to Huangzhou to serve!" Zhou Junyue stood up and reported to Gao Huaiyuan.

Gao Huaiyuan nodded and asked Zhou Jun to retreat. Zhou Jun was leading the village barracks in Gaojiazhuang, half of which were his strong men. Adding the villagers from Gaojiazhuang, it was not surprising that there were seventy people.

After listening to Zhou Jun's answer, the community leaders in each township looked ashamed. Why are there so many brave people in Gaojiazhuang? Why are there not so many brave people in their township? Now,

Compared to other village leaders, they felt quite shameless.

After Gao Huaiyuan took a breath, he said calmly: "You don't have to be embarrassed. Gao has already expected this kind of thing. Ants still cherish their lives, let alone humans? Everyone knows that it is very dangerous to go to Huangzhou to help here.

Da, it is human nature to want to stay here in Ezhou.

But since this is the case, it is impossible not to select more than 500 local brave men to cross the river with me. Since everyone is unwilling, then life or death will be decided!

You go down and prepare some chopsticks with one end dyed red. Except for those who have signed up, the rest of the people will draw lots. The person who wins the red chopsticks will follow my officer across the river. The rest will stay here to assist the Ezhou garrison in setting up defenses and tell everyone.

, this is destiny, please accept their destiny!

Those who are drawn must not have any objections, and they must form a team immediately and wait to be released! You must go down immediately and handle it accordingly without making any mistakes!"

After Gao Huaiyuan said this, everyone could only do this. This was their best solution at the moment. It was very fair and there was nothing to complain about. So they immediately obeyed the order and went down to start preparations.

Gao Huaiyuan was sitting in the tent with a wry smile on his face. He didn't expect that he had been busy for a year, and when it was time to hire people, there were still so few people willing to fight for the country. Could it be that the Han people were born without blood? He still

If he doesn't believe this, he prefers to believe that this situation will change sooner or later. No nation, when it is really in danger, no one will stand up to serve the country.

At least this time he also saw the good side. After all, some people from each township came forward and were willing to accompany him to Huangzhou to help. This also comforted Gao Huaiyuan a little.

When Gao Huaiyuan adopted this lottery method, things became much easier to handle. The ancients believed in fate, and even more in gods and Buddhas. Since they did not want to go, they left it to God to decide whether they would stay or go. The vast majority of people did not

They acquiesced to this method and started to line up to draw lots. As for winning the lottery, it was God's arrangement. If they didn't win, it means they were lucky!

So after drawing lots, each township finally counted the number of people. Although the people who were chosen were worried, they were content with their destiny. Only a few people were frightened and refused to accept the destiny.

Cross the river.

At this time, Gao Huaiyuan will no longer care about them. If they continue to make trouble, it will have a big blow to morale. He is not a good man and a believer. He has already taken care of what should be taken into consideration. For such greedy

For people who are afraid of death, even if they are taken by force, it will be a disaster.

Therefore, Gao Huaiyuan waited until the drawing of lots was completed and immediately gathered those who were accompanying him on the expedition in the open space, while those who failed to win were lined up around them.

Gao Huaiyuan's face was as serious as water and he slowly walked onto a temporary wooden platform. He glanced coldly at the people below, and when he raised his eyes, he saw a few people standing in front of the team crying with runny noses.

The timid people who shed tears, these people are probably not bad people. I am afraid they may not even kill a few chickens in their lives, but here, they are the standard black sheep.

"Fellows and warriors! Everyone knows that this time you will go with me to Huangzhou on the other side of the river to help the army and people of Huangzhou defend the city. Whether you are willing or not, this is

Things that cannot be changed!

Now is the time of national crisis. The Jin army wants to invade our land, occupy our fields, bully our children, and massacre our people! Although you were unarmed common people a few days ago, after standing here today, you are my

A soldier of the Song Dynasty!

Regardless of whether you are regular troops or not, you are first and foremost the people of the Song Dynasty. Defending your country is not just a matter of garrisoning troops. When foreign enemies invade, they will not distinguish between soldiers and civilians in their eyes, and they will still wield the butcher knife.

To our necks, you are not only fighting for the country, nor are you fighting for the soldiers and people of Huangzhou, but more importantly, you are fighting for yourself!

Only after defeating the invaders can you farm the fields at home with peace of mind and support your children. If we all refuse to move forward in fear of death, sooner or later you will become slaves of the Tartars! You will lose everything!

By then, no matter what you want to do, it will be too late. Instead of waiting to die, it is better to burn your blood and let the enemy see the backbone of our Song people!

Let me ask you again, are you willing to go with me to Huangzhou to face the national crisis together?" Gao Huaiyuan stood on the stage and asked angrily to everyone standing below.dd