Chapter 284: Pretend to be a ghost

More than 300,000 troops divided the troops into several cities, firmly staunched on the key roads of the Yan army southward, and then began to train the soldiers according to Xiao Fan's order. Not only that, Xiao Fan also wrote a memorial and handed it to the capital, asking the court to allocate silver to the court for rewarding the soldiers.

It takes more than life to fight a war, but also countless snowflakes and silver. It takes more to defeat a war. This is the price of defeat. How to increase the morale of soldiers? There is no other way to be granted officials and reward silver. As for the empty talk such as loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, there is not many people who buy it at this time. Benefits are eternal things and are effective at all times.

When the imperial army occupied the city and restored morale, the Yan army began to siege the city and plunder the land with the power of great victory.

Within a month, the Yan army conquered Jizhou, Baoding and Zhending, and the rebels occupied the territory larger and larger. The morale of the local garrisons and guards was sluggish. They retreated step by step under the storm-like attack of the Yan army. Soon, the Yan army reached the edge of the encirclement arranged by Xiao Fan.

In mid-July, Zhu Di bypassed Zhangde and Daming, who were heavily garrisoned, and suddenly detoured to Shandong. The troops headed directly to Jinan Prefecture, Shandong, - the city guarded by Xiao Fan.

Zhu Di's intention was very obvious. This time, he would take the initiative to force Xiao Fan to fight him again. If Xiao Fan was eliminated, the imperial army would be in chaos and his morale would be increasingly collapsed. The Yan army went south, like cutting melons and vegetables. At that time, the dragon chaises in the imperial city of the capital were really no longer far away from him.

To capture the thief, the king was the first to capture the king. Zhu Di, who had fought for decades, understood this truth more than anyone else.

In Jinan Prefecture, the Yan army will definitely attack it!

The Jinan Prefect's Office has become a temporary tent of the Southern Army.

In the yamen, Xiao Fan slapped the table in a furious manner.

"Geng Bingwen of Zhangde, Guo Ying of Daming, Ping'an of Shunde, Sheng Yong of Dongchang... He didn't fight so many cities, but he ran around so far to hit me. What does Yan Ni mean? Am I a soft persimmon? It feels very touching when pinched?"

Cao Yi laughed and said, "Capture the king first, who told you to be the commander of the three armies? If Yan Ni doesn't hit you, who will you hit?"

Xiao Fan said dissatisfiedly: "What are you saying? Why am I a thief? And he is a thief? He is obviously a thief!"

"Anyway, that's the reason. When it comes to leading troops to fight, how can you, a young man in your early twenties, compare to the scheming Zhu Di? Don't forget that he was in the 13th year of Hongwu and fought with the Tatars in the north for nearly twenty years, with more than a hundred wars. When he led troops to fight the Tatars, you were still a baby. Others fought bloody battles with each other, and you were still wetting the bed at that time, right?"

Xiao Fan said with a gloomy face: "There is no need to say that badly, right?"

"I'm reminding you that our enemies are very powerful..."

"You don't need to remind me that no one is born with war. Didn't Yan Ni wet the bed when she ate milk?"

"Even if they wet the bed, their shape is quite like a northern military map..."

Xiao Fan: “…………”

This was so annoying that Xiao Fan had the urge to lift the table.

The scout's intelligence said that more than 100,000 rebels were only more than a hundred miles away from Jinan Prefecture and were about to reach the city. What should I do now?

Due to the battle in Baigouhe, the imperial army entered the strategic defensive, so Xiao Fan divided more than 400,000 troops very early, and led by his generals to guard several cities. The only army that Jinan Prefecture can use now is only 70,000. According to the principle of "ten encirclements" of military strategy, 70,000 people were enough to defend a city. More than 100,000 people in the Yan army may not be able to attack. Unfortunately, such a war is different from the young and dandy killing people on the street. It is not enough to compare the number of people. Morale is a very important factor. Without morale, even if there are millions of people, it is not a good idea. Dozens of people chasing swords and chasing tens of thousands of people. This is not a fantasy, but something that has actually happened in history.

Xiao Fan was very worried that such a ridiculous and sad thing would happen to him, because he knew that the court had just lost a battle, and the morale of the soldiers under his command was indeed extremely low, which was also the main reason why Xiao Fan dispersed his troops and turned attack into defense.

Whether 70,000 people can defend Jinan City is really a bit unrest. It is too late to transfer troops from other cities now. If Zhu Di really breaks the city, what should I do? Jinan City has no authentic tunnel to escape...

The most urgent task now is to increase the morale of the soldiers in the shortest time, otherwise everyone should abandon the city and run away as soon as possible.

Cao Yi looked at Xiao Fan frowning, and he was also in distress. He knew very well about the situation of the soldiers. The upcoming Jinan City offensive and defensive battle was too uncertain between the victory and the defeat of 55.

After a long time, Xiao Fan slapped the table heavily, stood up and gritted his teeth and said, "The rebels are only a hundred miles away from Jinan. They are coming every day and night. The situation is imminent. We must improve our morale! Brother Cao, call the soldiers in the city and let's hold a oath-taking meeting!"

Cao Yi was stunned: "Kill pigs again?"

Xiao Fan glanced at him and said, "I won't kill pigs this time, I'll tell you fortunes!"

"Who will calculate?"

Xiao Fan smiled, who else could there be? Aren’t there two old charlatans living in the backyard of the yamen?

The charlatans are also divided into levels. Of course, Zhang Sanfeng’s old birthday star cannot be easily invited. People are busy in seclusion and are too lazy to deal with these mundane affairs. The reason why he followed Xiao Fan was completely asked by several wives in his family. The task was to protect Xiao Fan in close proximity. In other words, as long as the knife does not mount Xiao Fan’s neck, Zhang Sanfeng would never be able to take action, let alone such as pretending to be a god without any technical content.

The other one seemed more approachable. He smashed two brothels with a red card girl's close-fitting original bellyband. Taixu was so happy that he smiled and patted his chest with a silly promise.

Isn’t it just to say something good and fool the soldiers like Tianyou’s King Master in front of tens of thousands of soldiers, to give them some confidence and make them become erect as if they were injected with chicken blood and taken drugs? My strengths!

On July 18th, the scout came to report that Yan's rebel troops were approaching Jinan City, and the 30,000 vanguards had camped twenty miles west of Jinan City.

As Xiao Fan expected, the soldiers in the city who had just lost the battle were uproar when they heard the news. The 70,000 defenders were unstable and panicked. More than ten incidents of trouble occurred in succession, and even deserters occurred. Hundreds and thousands of households killed several people to establish their military power. Such high-strength suppression could not be stopped. The morale of the defenders in Jinan City fell to the extreme.

Xiao Fan no longer hesitated and sent his personal soldiers to the camp to spread rumors everywhere. General Ping Ni, Lord Xiao, invited a peerless master who had cultivated a semi-immortal body, was well-versed in heavenly secrets, astronomy and geography, especially good at fortune-telling, marriage and career future and longevity, a group of eight characters, you can calculate what color of underwear your descendants of the family wears in the eighteen generations. In short, this peerless master is very tall, he is simply the helmsman of the sailor of the sea, breaking through the fog and illuminating the future, and accidentally planting onions from the heaven and falling into the mortal world...

Rumors spread throughout the city at a terrible speed, and 70,000 defenders were talking. Perhaps it was because the personal soldiers were very eloquent. It took only half a day to go from half-believing to half-doubting to full belief, and then to worshipping.

Xiao Fan struck while the iron was hot and immediately convened all the defenders at the school ground in the west of the city to start a pre-war mobilization meeting.

In the afternoon, 70,000 troops were lined up in line on the west school ground of Jinan City. The snare drums sounded on the school ground, shocking the soul. Various flags were flying in the wind, and the black people were crowded with people. The soldiers' armor was bright, their chests were raised, and their solemn aura soared into the sky, but the faint low aura between the eyebrows of everyone could not get rid of it.

Surrounded by the generals, Xiao Fan wore silver armor, silver winged battle helmet, and held his sword with his head raised to the point and walked up to the platform.

The soldiers immediately stared at him. Whether this battle to defend the city could win depends entirely on the will of the young coach. His thoughts could determine the life and death of many people, the layout of big figures, the arrangement of big figures, and the destruction of chess, while ordinary soldiers could only faithfully execute the will of big figures, and this is war.

Xiao Fan waved his hand slowly, and the inspiring drum immediately stopped. The school ground was quiet, and tens of thousands of people looked at him without saying a word. The school ground was silent, and the needles could be heard.

Clearing his throat, Xiao Fan's face was calm and shouted loudly: "All the soldiers--"

Swish!

The whole army stood up straight and stood as javelins.

"Victory and defeat are common affairs of military affairs. If you do not be arrogant in victory, you will not be discouraged in defeat. Only then will you be a strong general. We are ordered by the emperor to promote the king's army and quell the rebellion. This is a righteous battle! The name of Dayi is on our side. Since ancient times, those who have attained the Tao have many helpers, and those who have lost the Tao have few helpers. Zhou Zhou of Shang was unkind. King Wen attacked him, and he fought for righteous battles. The seven kings rebelled, Emperor Jing pacified him, which is also a righteous battle! Now my Emperor of Ming succeeded the throne, and be kind and ruled the world. Jing Cong, but the Yan rebels in Beiping raised unrighteous troops to rebel, peeked at the artifacts, and wanted to seek great treasures. The court promoted the king's army to pacify him. We represent justice and great ways. Now the rebels are at the city, and their arrogance is so arrogant. Is my dignified royal army not as good as a group of traitors?"

On the school ground, the soldiers were slightly restless and the discussion was buzzing.

Xiao Fan slowly glanced at the soldiers and said, "Since ancient times, evil cannot defeat righteousness. This is the destiny of heaven. I believe you have heard that Yan Ni wanted to plan for Jinan. Whether he can defend it depends on us. In order to win this battle, I have worked hard to invite a peerless master to ask the heaven for the battle to defend the city today, to tell us the good and bad luck. If the soldiers still have doubts in their hearts, they might as well open their eyes to see this peerless master asking about the will of heaven. How good and bad is we defend the city? Come, please ask the old god!"

The soldiers showed excitement on their faces. It turned out that the rumors were true. Lord Xiao indeed invited an old god. The old god also asked us for help. This is an amazing honor...

Everyone looked forward to it, and the old talisman in a brand new gossip Taoist robe made a debut. He coughed twice majesticly, then stroked his beard with one hand and whisked the whisk with the other hand. He walked slowly to the stage with an illusory pace, and then stood in Taichung with an unfathomable face, with a smile of Zhuang Zhou turning into a butterfly.

Xiao Fan took two steps away, looked very respectful, but secretly despised him. The old liar pretended to be more and more like him. Look at his appearance, he was even more immortal than a god...

Taixu appeared on the stage, and the school was quiet. Seventy thousand soldiers stared at him without blinking, as if Taixu was the representative of God's world, and his words could determine whether they were dead or alive.

Only the wind whistled by in the quiet school field. Facing the expected gaze of the soldiers below, Xiao Fan and the generals on the stage, Taixu slowly stretched out his right hand, his thumb kept counting on his index finger and middle finger. Everyone looked at him with nervousness...

After a long time, just when Xiao Fan felt a little impatient, Taixu's white eyebrows suddenly raised, and his mouth was slightly opened in the thick white beards. Xiao Fan was immediately delighted and fooled. The old liar was about to start fooling...

Unexpectedly, Taixu frowned and said with a serious expression: "Dear soldiers, Yintang are black, everything is not suitable today, there are bad signs..."

Xiao Fan's smile suddenly frozen: "…………”

Fortunately, this is a large campus with tens of thousands of people, and Taixu didn't say this loudly. Except for the several commanders and generals on the general stage, the people below didn't hear it clearly.

Xiao Fan's face turned pale without saying a word. He grabbed Taixu's collar and turned around. Facing the shocked gaze of the soldiers, he carried Taixu to a dead corner of his sight on the side of the platform. Xiao Fan was furious and trembled all over and said in a bad voice: "Old guy, do you want to kill me?"

Taixu said innocently: "I haven't finished speaking just now. Although there are bad omens, I can turn bad luck into good luck..."

"Isn't it over to say good luck? Why do you want to suppress it first and then rise? Do you think this is a fraud on the street? I asked you to fool them, not to scare them, it will kill people!" Xiao Fan's face turned red and he said with gritted teeth.

Taixu smiled dryly and said, "I don't want to create some suspense for everyone..."

Xiao Fan gasped and gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Old guy, listen to me. What I want is to boost morale. Don't have any suspense, just talk straight and straight. If you don't be honest, you will act according to the script. I will make you a human shield and hang it on the city wall tomorrow to block the arrows!"

Taixu snorted angrily, then nodded, and reluctantly walked to the middle of the Dinggang again.

Facing everyone's still puzzled eyes, Taixu stroked his beard and shouted majesticly: "Open the altar, I want to ask the sky!"

The altar that had been prepared was moved to the general platform by personal soldiers, with peach wood swords, ghost painting talismans, incense burners, bells... densely packed with tables, like a small grocery store.

Perhaps he was frightened by Xiao Fan's threat, Taixu was rarely serious. Under the expectant eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers, Taixu trembled all over like cramps, and he was muttering something. Xiao Fan was closest to him, and he heard it clearly. The old guy was not chanting a spell, but cursing him vaguely...

An uneasy old man...

Xiao Fan resisted the urge to grab the bench and smash it on his head, and simply closed his eyes and pretended not to hear it.

Taixu muttered for a while, then his eyes widened, and two rays of light shot out from his old and turbid eyes. Then he shouted loudly, grabbed the peach wood sword on the altar and began to slash like crazy, and sometimes trembled like a slam.

The eyes of tens of thousands of people in the audience were getting wider and wider. Seeing the old god acting like this, the more I saw it, the less I understood it. However, things I didn’t understand must be good things, which shows that the old god was profound in Taoism and was definitely not mortals.

Xiao Fan on the stage became more and more impatient as he waited. Zhu Di was about to attack the city. How long did the old guy plan to suck? Isn’t it enough to fool him for a few words? Why do you have to keep so much trouble?

Just as Xiao Fan frowned and was about to get angry, Taixu's move was finally finished.

He raised his head and took a sip of the strong wine. Taixu squirted hard on the ignited candlestick. The fire was shining brightly, and all the soldiers immediately made a stunning breathing sound.

I don’t know what kind of tricks were used. After the fire was dimmed, I clicked a yellow peach talisman full of words floating above the platform. Taixu’s eyes were fast and his hands were fast. The peach wood sword stabbed out like lightning, and he picked the peach talisman on the sword.

The soldiers' expressions became more and more amazed and admired...

Xiao Fan was a little excited, the show was coming...

Taixu slowly unfolded the peach talisman, and shouted solemnly: "I have lost my cultivation for ten years and finally asked for the foreshadowing of God for you. Is this battle a bad or good? There is an answer given by God on this talisman..."

Everyone suddenly became nervous, and their eyes stared at the peach talisman in Taixu's hand for a moment.

Facing the countless expected eyes of everyone, Taixu stroked his beard and looked up at the talisman. After seeing it, Taixu couldn't help but be shocked and exclaimed: "Oh! This is a divine talisman! I don't know a single word on it, it's so strange..."

The soldiers took a deep breath together, and their expressions were extremely awe...

Xiao Fan was almost crying. At this moment, he really wanted to kill his master and die the ancestor...

I discussed the line script with Taixu in the morning. Even the talisman in Taixu is a standard traditional Chinese character written by Xiao Fan in the morning. How could I not recognize it? I will sign it if I sign it, and auspicious sign will be auspicious sign. What is "the talisman"? Old man, do you want to play me to death?

His eyes were red, and Xiao Fan's face was filled with smiles. He walked to Taixu and couldn't help but look at the peach talisman in his hand...

After seeing it, Xiao Fan also took a breath and smiled brighter. He stretched out his left hand quietly, pinched the soft flesh on Taixu's waist, twisted it hard, and said in an extremely low voice: "Old bastard, why did the peach talisman I wrote with my own hands become an IOU that you can't pay for a prostitute? And... you took it down!"

Taixu was in pain and hurriedly pretended to be trembling and shouted: "Oh! This signature has been solved. God has given you the eight characters to criticize, which is called 'a hundred battles and a hundred victories, great luck'... great luck!"

The soldiers from the audience were excited when they heard this, and then they were ecstatic.

Xiao Fan seized the opportunity and shouted: "I have said that we are the masters of justice. Since ancient times, evil has not overcome justice. The old god asked the heaven for hexagrams. God foreshadowed that victory will eventually belong to us!"

The soldiers were boiling, and their morale suddenly rose to the peak. A murderous aura filled the sky, gradually becoming rich. They raised their swords and raised their arms and shouted in unison: "The King's Army is thousands of victories! The King's Army is thousands of victories!"
Chapter completed!