Chapter 247 The arena is not about fighting and killing
This fight was truly thrilling.

The once beautiful Tiandu Peak was now scarred by the violent fighting.

But neither side showed their true strength.

After all, without using the power of nourishing Qi, how can it be considered a fight between life and death relying only on the power of refining essence?

"boom!"

A huge rock was knocked off the cliff by the Zen stick in Deng Yuanjue's hand. The two sides fought back and forth, and the sound of thunder was endless.

And Fang Jie, who was wearing heavy armor and holding a Fang Tian Hua Ji, also came to Cao Jie with someone in his arms.

The person was not the woman suspected to be "Princess Jinzhi", but a handsome young man.

The son of "Saint Lord" Fang La——Fang Tianding!

The two men bowed and said nothing more. They all looked at the fight between three people not far away, as if waiting for the outcome.

In the Water Margin, the 108 Liangshan heroes have been invincible since they became sworn brothers, defeating Tong Guan twice and Gao Qiu three times. Even after the leader Song Jiang fell under the rule of the mediocre Emperor Huizong of Song, Liangshan could be said to have been doing well, conquering the Liao Kingdom, suppressing Tian Hu, capturing Wang Qing, and winning every battle without losing a single hero.

But many brothers were lost in the process of conquering Fang La.

A total of 102 people followed the army to fight Fang La, but only 36 returned safely in the end.

Although Song Jiang eventually won the victory, the victory could be described as narrow.

When talking about the battle against Fang La, we have to mention the Battle of Hangzhou City, where 12 Liangshan generals were killed.

It's so tragic!

An army cannot be without a commander, and the quality of the commander directly determines the direction of the battle. Just like Duan Kai, the defender of Xiuzhou, who not only did not resist Song Jiang's army, but also welcomed it from afar and handed over the city.

But the defender of Hangzhou City was not someone who would sit there and wait for death. He was Fang La’s son, the “Grand Prince” Fang Tianding.

In terms of identity alone, Fang Tianding can be regarded as the second most important person on Fang La's side. He has a high status and, to some extent, represents Fang La's wishes.

With such a distinguished status, he was naturally surrounded by elite soldiers and generals. He had twenty-four generals and four marshals under his command, a total of twenty-eight people.

Four of the marshals were outstanding men, famous far and wide; the remaining twenty-four were all selected generals, as described in the original text, and were all brave.

But as the saying goes, "A pack of bears always packs a lot of ants." Does Fang Tianding have the ability to control these powerful men?

The answer is yes.

This is also the strength of Fang Tianding.

Facing the losing battle situation, Fang Tianding was not afraid at all. He even said: Now that you have invaded my territory, you officials will all receive important titles. You must serve your country with all your heart and do not be negligent.

After these words were spoken, the generals under him naturally did not dare to neglect them, because Fang Tianding's meaning was: You all receive salaries from my royal family, and now is the time to show your loyalty.

It seems to be a straightforward narrative, but the deeper meaning is that anyone who dares to be a deserter will be directly punished by military law. A kind person cannot lead an army, which is exactly what Fang Tianding's excellent ability to judge the situation has created.

In addition, Fang Tianding's calmness and alertness are also his strengths.

With a powerful enemy at hand, the deployment of troops could not be wrong, and there was not much time for the generals to think. The generals under his command informed Fang Tianding of the military situation through a brief report, and soon made a plan to divide the troops into three routes.

Facts have proved that Fang Tianding's strategy of division and deployment was very successful, and it also laid the groundwork for heavy losses to Liangshan.

According to normal logic, Song Jiang divided his troops into three groups, which not only shared the risk, but was also the best strategy to coordinate internal and external forces. In addition, given the Southern Army's continuous defeat, the Song Army was absolutely confident that they could capture Hangzhou City in one fell swoop.

But this is not the case, not only because Fang Tianding was so good at deploying his troops, but also because Song Jiang made a wrong judgment on the entire battle situation.

In addition, the brutality of this battle was caused by the Song army's loss of geographical advantages and people's harmony. As the saying goes: The weather is not as important as the geographical advantages, and the geographical advantages are not as important as people's harmony.

The terrain of Hangzhou is complex. "Hangzhou is vast and densely populated. There is a dry road in the northeast, a river in the south, and a lake in the west." It is a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is undoubtedly a problem for the Song army, which is used to fighting defensive battles.
It can also be seen in the subsequent development of the story that the Song army's attack on Hangzhou City was a head-on confrontation, until the end when Wu Yong's IQ was online again. There is no airtight wall in the world, and no matter how strong the defense is, there will be weaknesses.

Food and grass were the lifeline of Hangzhou City. The Song army took advantage of this opportunity, pretending to be boatmen, and entered Hangzhou City with the food and grass, tearing open the iron-like defense of Hangzhou City and finally winning the victory.

Although they won the battle, it was a lucky victory. The Song army, which had never lost a general before, lost twelve generals at once, including Dong Ping, Zhang Qing, Liu Tang, Xu Ning, Zhang Shun, Suo Chao, Lei Heng, Deng Fei, Bao Xu, Hao Siwen, Zhou Tong and Gong Wang. It was a tragic victory.

Although Cao Jie was paying attention to the battlefield, his mind was actually on Fang Tianding in front of him.

This person has no military achievements and has never fought on the battlefield, but it is certain that he is definitely not a simple person.

At least he is a qualified commander in terms of strategy and personnel management.

Such people are more important in Cao Jie's heart, so he dare not be careless.

Finally, the three pairs of fighting generals stopped one after another.

The muscles of both sides were shown. Fang Tianding looked at the sea of ​​clouds and said, "Brother Cao has come all the way from Shandong. I, Fang Tianding, failed to welcome you and neglected you brothers. Please forgive me."

Cao Jie smiled and said, "It is impolite of us to come here uninvited."

After some pleasantries, Fang Tianding got straight to the point and asked, "Excuse me, brother, why did you come to Jiangnan to help Buddhism instead of developing in Shandong?"

"No, no, no!"

Cao Jie shook his head and said, "I came to Jiangdong to develop better in Shandong."

"Why?"

"The Song Dynasty lost its power, and the whole world is chasing it. If the southern kingdom wants to rebel, it will be suppressed. If Shandong wants to rebel, it will also be suppressed. Only when all the heroes in the world rise together can the country of Zhao and Song be shaken."

"Brother Cao wants to help the Buddhist sect rebel?"

"Now that Lin Lingsu is promoting the Shenxiao Sect, Buddhism is being suppressed vigorously. It is the right choice to unite with Buddhism to fight the enemy together. Of course, it is also the right choice to unite with your Manichaeism."

Fang Tianding was silent for a moment, then pointed at the ethereal and illusory world of clouds and mist and asked, "Is the Buddhist sect willing?"

"Everything depends on human effort! It just depends on whether you are willing to do it."

"How to cooperate?"

"collaboration!"

"Do you want Shezhou?" Fang Tianding asked.

Cao Jie shook his head: "I will establish a base in Chizhou, Shezhou! How about cooperating in development?"

"Empty words!"

"Since it is a cooperation, we will definitely show sincerity. Brother Fang, there is a long way to go. Don't ruin the world for a little profit."

"Good! A gentleman's word..."

"It's hard to chase a horse!"

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing; Jianghu is about human relations.

Everyone has a common goal, and some minor conflicts can be put aside.

The conflict between Buddhism and Manichaeism was only a weak conflict under Lin Lingsu's constant pressure.

Is there any contradiction more serious than destroying Buddhism?
(End of this chapter)