Chapter 135 Pan Lin, where are you going to run?

May 15th.

Jianye County, Danyang Prefecture.

Jin Mao arrived with nearly 6,000 land troops and 1,000 female soldiers. Five thousand civilians transporting food and supplies returned to Piling under the escort of the navy.

The army has over 10,000 troops, especially divided into land and sea forces. Relying solely on the soldiers themselves to transport food and fodder is no longer enough to meet the needs of war.

"Grandmaster Zhou!"

"Governor Jin!"

Jin Mao and Zhou Xin greeted each other at the port.

Zhou Xin lined up to greet them. He was very curious about the deployment of Jin Mao's army. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the female soldier and asked, "I didn't expect that Governor Jin would have such a refined taste?"

"It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone. Governor Jin, can you let me enjoy it too?"

Jin Mao looked in the direction and immediately understood Zhou Xin's idea. The female soldiers no longer wore armor like before, and their weapons were replaced with clean bamboo strips, straw ropes and herbs. It was understandable that this caused others to think wrongly.

"Don't worry, Governor Zhou." Jin Mao promised with a smile, "Once the war begins, they will surely entertain you!"

Zhou Xin was overjoyed, but he couldn't figure out how to have fun during a war, so he couldn't help but ask Jin Mao.

The latter immediately knew that the other party must be thinking in a more devious direction, so he did not explain much and said mysteriously: "Just leave it as a surprise, you will know when the time comes."

Zhou Xin was full of anticipation, and the two of them led their generals into the big tent to discuss matters.

Zhou Xin played at home on the left, while Jinmao played on the right, but he didn't care much about it.

The scholars and generals of both sides stood side by side, and the gap between them was immediately apparent.

There are various expressions and sitting postures on the left, all in a mess.

Everyone on the right is sitting in the same posture with serious expressions, like sculptures, except Xi Zhicai, who is sitting on the second right, just like Jin Mao, with a unruly look.

Zhou Xin was born into a famous family and had no problem with his manners. His confidant, the Gongcao of Danyang County, was naturally the best of the best, so there was no problem with that either.

If the leaders of both sides were swapped, it would be perfect. It would be like a group of rabble facing a group of elites!
Now, it’s like two elites leading a mob versus two mobs leading elites.

Zhou Xin glanced at Jin Mao's men more than once; he was very envious of the quality of the soldiers.

"Governor Jin, you have a good way of training your troops."

On the other hand, Jin Mao was very envious of the strength of the generals of Danyang County. They were so strong without any training and could withstand the siege of 50,000 young and strong men without being defeated.

"You are too kind, Governor Zhou." Jin Mao said modestly, "If I were facing a hundred thousand rebels, I would be in a state of panic."

"But Governor Zhou remained calm in the face of danger and was able to repel the rebels. I really admire him!"

"I might as well."

Zhou Xin waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't deserve it."

The two of them praised each other's business, and their relationship immediately became closer.

"I heard that Governor Zhou's ancestral home is Shanyin, Kuaiji." Jin Mao asked in confusion, "Why didn't I mention your reputation?"

Zhou Xin smiled and said, "My three brothers studied abroad in their early years and were not well-known in our hometown."

"So you are famous!" Jin Mao flattered again: "I wonder where your brother is now?"

"You are too kind. My two younger brothers are stupid and still studying."

Jin Mao praised: "The Shanyin Zhou family has three outstanding people. I admire you!"

Zhou Xin waved his hands repeatedly and said, "The Wushang Jin family is not bad either. They are descendants of the royal family and have a talent like you. They have a bright future!"

The two of them exchanged business praises, and their relationship was further strengthened.

"You are older than me, and your position is too unfamiliar to me, so why not I call you brother."

Without waiting for Zhou Xin to refuse, Jin Mao asked, "Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, Brother Zhou, can you teach me anything?"

With the previous business exaggeration, Zhou Xin didn't mind. He called him "brother" and stood up to scratch on the feng shui map, saying, "Please look!"

"Our army resisted the enemy at the Yangtze River, and Lujiang County Governor Lu Kang resisted the enemy at Chaohu Lake."

"As far as I know, Danyang County can still be defended, but Lujiang County may not be able to hold out for too long. It is unexpected that Governor Lu can hold out until now."

Jin Mao had known about this for a long time, but this was the first time he had heard about Lujiang County. His eyes flickered as he asked, "How are the bandit soldiers distributed?"

Jin Mao had no hope for Wang Lang, so in his mind, it would be a good thing if Lujiang County was lost, and the local gentry could be massacred, just like in Jiujiang County.

It is no exaggeration to say that Jiujiang County is now a barren land.

Zhou Xin didn't know what Jin Mao was thinking. He pointed at the geomancy map with his short stick and said, "There is a 30,000-man garrison at this point on the Yangtze River, and the leader of the bandits is Pan Lin."

At this point, Zhou Xin looked directly at Jin Mao. He already knew that Pan Lin was once Jin Mao's subordinate, but now he has become a bandit. He doubted very much whether Jin Mao was involved.

"Brother Zhou, please don't misunderstand me." Jin Mao obviously knew this and explained, "Pan Lin was disobedient and I expelled him two years ago."

"Last year, Pan Lin defected to the Wujun traitor Yan Baihu. I led my army to destroy him, but I don't know how he escaped capture."

This was the first time Zhou Xin had heard of this, and he apologized to Jin Mao, saying, "I apologize for any offense."

"No problem." Jin Mao asked generously, "Brother Zhou, do you have any questions?"

Zhou Xin shook his head.

Jin Mao stood up and said, "That's good. I have some questions I would like to ask Brother Zhou."

Zhou Xin sat upright and said, "Please speak!"

Jin Mao also took a short stick and pointed at the geomancy map and asked, "Where is Brother Zhou's army? How many soldiers and horses are there? How much food and grass are there?"

Finally, he asked a heavy question: "Brother Zhou, have you ever thought about how to annihilate Pan Lin's troops?"

As expected of a famous master, Zhou Xin was not stumped by the question. He stood up and pointed at the geomancy map with his short stick and said, "Please look!" "My army has 10,000 people in total, 7,000 in Jianye County and 3,000 in Danyang County. The food and supplies can still support one month."

"If you want to fight across the river." Zhou Xin shook his head and said, "I don't agree with it."

Then he pointed to the other side of the Yangtze River and described in detail the deployment of Pan Lin's troops.

The three camps were arranged in a triangle shape, each with tens of thousands of young and strong men, supporting each other from afar. Once one of the camps was attacked, the other two camps could respond quickly.

"Pan Lin is a rare talent." Zhou Xin couldn't help but sigh: "You missed a great talent."

Jin Mao chuckled and said, "Brother Zhou, you worry too much."

He raised his hand and said, "Any one of my generals is ten times stronger than Pan Lin!"

"He's just a discarded general, he can be killed at any time!"

At this time, the generals on the right side clearly did not move, but their momentum forced the generals on the opposite side to be on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.

Zhou Xin was also shocked by Jin Mao's domineering attitude. He wanted to speak out and refute many times, but he didn't know how to open his mouth.

Seeing this, Jin Mao knew that his goal had been achieved and he could explain his next plan.

If you want the Danyang soldiers to cooperate, you have to intimidate them. Although Jinmao doesn't really need much help from them, it's a good thing to reduce the burden a little.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the tent.

"Who's making noise?!"

Jin Mao was furious. If this wasn't someone else's territory, he would have directly chopped the troublemaker to pieces.

"Reporting to the two governors, the governor of Kuaiji County requests to come into the tent to discuss matters."

Wang Lang?

Jin Mao frowned, but Zhou Xin stood up and said, "Hurry up and invite Governor Wang to come in to discuss matters!"

"Let me go and meet them." Zhou Xin hurriedly stood up and walked out of the tent.

Jin Mao sat back in his original seat in a very disgusted manner. These celebrities were so damn disgusting.

Xi Zhicai seemed to see what Jin Mao was thinking and said, "My lord, you must make preparations early."

Jin Mao knew what he was talking about. On the way here, the two of them had carefully analyzed how to deal with Wang Lang's success and failure.

Everything will be fine if Lu Kang can be convinced. If things fail, it would be better for Wang Lang to go back to where he came from. Otherwise, Jinmao will make him disappear mysteriously.

After a while, Zhou Xin led the two of them into the account.

Jin Mao knew Wang Lang, but he didn't know the other person.

"Lujiang County Gongcao Zhou Jie pays a visit to Governor Jin." Zhou Jie is Zhou Yu's cousin, and his father is Zhou Chong, the current head of the Zhou family.

"My Lord has ordered me to say hello to Governor Jin."

Jin Mao was stunned at first, then he realized that this was Lu Kang sending his confidant to express his attitude. He walked down happily, helped Zhou Jie up kindly, and said, "Last time I visited the Zhou family, you didn't have time to go home and see me."

Zhou Jie was very touched and thought that Jin Mao really wanted to meet him. He said, "Thank you very much, Governor Jin, for your appreciation. I am really too busy with official duties to spare the time."

"It's okay." Jin Mao held Zhou Jie's hands and asked, "Did Governor Lu give any instructions?"

Zhou Jie bowed again and said, "Lujiang County is in a state of emergency. Please ask Governor Jin to send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible!"

"Is this true?" Jin Mao looked at Zhou Xin and said, "Brother Zhou, there is no time to lose..."

"Haha! I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious." Zhou Xin interrupted, "Congratulations, you'll soon be promoted to the governor of Yangzhou!"

Wang Lang was very upset. Zhou Jie had snatched all the roles that originally belonged to him. He took out Lu Kang's memorial and shouted, "Congratulations to Governor Jin on his promotion!"

Jin Mao took the bamboo slips from Wang Lang's hand with surprise, opened it and read it again and again, unable to contain his joy.

"My lord, the governor of Wu County has not yet written down the document." Fortunately, Xi Zhicai reminded him in time: "Your position as governor is not yet secure."

Jin Mao then remembered the plan they had discussed. He regrouped and said to Wang Lang, "Grandmaster Wang is new here."

"The battle situation on the front line is fierce. Please go to Wujun for shelter first."

"There is one more important thing I need to ask of you, Lord Wang." Jin Mao said with a smile, "Please be sure to get Sheng Xian's memorial!"

At the beginning, Xi Zhicai said that no matter whether Wang Lang was good or bad or what his purpose was, as long as he was dedicated to doing good things, he was a good person.

If you don't do things or do bad things, you are a bad person.

Jinmao has never been lenient towards bad guys.

Wang Lang also knew this very well. He cursed in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. He said helplessly: "Please rest assured, Governor. I will live up to your trust!"

Jin Mao was very happy. Then he remembered that Zhou Jie was still lying down. He quickly turned around and helped him up. He said seriously, "Today I am temporarily taking over as the governor, and I must perform the duties of the governor."

"Zhou Xin, listen to my orders!"

Now that you have been promoted to the position of Governor, there is no need to say more.

"I need you to lead 5,000 men to help me in the battle. Gather here in two days!"

"Yes." Zhou Xin lowered his head, a little dazed.

Is this still the Jinmao that we used to call brothers?

Turning faces is faster than turning pages!
After giving the order, Jin Mao said to Zhou Xin in a friendly manner: "Please understand, Brother Zhou, the military situation is extremely urgent."

"As the commander-in-chief, I have to be ruthless."

Zhou Xin understood very well and said, "You are right!"

(End of this chapter)