stubborn thief

Shen Shikui's Dongjiang Town Island soldiers were looting in the south.

Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Army in the north was also unwilling to fall behind, and they wanted to advance into Liaodong.

However, the border wall of Liaodong was the first obstacle he had to overcome.

The Liaodong border wall is difficult to break through, not because the wall is high. In fact, the border wall in the northwest of Shenyang is built on an artificial earth hill and is not too high.

Even the city walls looked crude in some places. They were just a meter-high stone wall made of rubble, without even rammed earth, and one could just climb up.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the border wall is built along the Liaohe River.

The Liao River itself is a large river about one or two hundred steps wide, which is an exaggerated width, so you have to use a boat to cross it.

All the ferry boats were taken to the other side by the Eight Banners. The Tangqi ran along the coast for a long time but couldn't find the ferry.

In addition to the river itself, there is silt and sand land nearly a thousand steps wide on both sides of the river. This thing itself is a natural barrier, so the city walls in some places are built in a simple manner.

This kind of river channel is formed because of its high sand content, just like the Yellow River, which always changes its course. As the flow rate changes, river sand accumulates in a certain section to form sandbars that raise the riverbed, and the river water flows to other places.

Therefore, there is a saying that the Liaohe River flows from the east one year and from the west the next.

This river state is certainly not a good thing for the residents on both sides of the strait, but it is a good thing for Liu Chengzong.

While the army was cutting down trees in the surrounding area, it also sent the Tangqi to move south along the Liao River to look for shallows where they could wade on horseback.

They didn't find a shallow ford where they could ride a horse and wade across the river, but the soldiers ran all the way south and found a Niulu village on the bank of the river mouth where the Heli River meets the Liao River.

All the people, livestock and property in the village were moved away, but Liu Chengzong's soldiers encountered the scouts of the Guanning Army at the intersection of the village.

Two groups of people, one in the north and the other in the south of the village, were rummaging through the houses, picking up useful things, leading their horses out of the house, and heading straight for the other side.

The scouts of the Guanning Army wore blue cloth face armor with a dragon pattern, iron armbands, helmets, spears, and helmets.

The Marshal's Juntang Cavalry wore a red cloth face armor with a dragon pattern, and also wore an iron armband and a top-bound bowl helmet.

Both sides were tense. They drew their bows and raised their guns as soon as they met. Then they stared at each other, staring at the same uniforms and armor. They were speechless for several seconds and their brains were frozen.

Tangqi spoke first: "Guan Ning Army?"

The Guanning Army on the opposite side opened their bows and shot directly. The squad formed a formation and fired three-barreled guns to cover them, shouting as they fired: "It's the fake Tartars!"

Upon seeing this, the Tang cavalry immediately used their war horses as cover and started firing their three-barreled guns.

There were a total of ten people on both sides, five Tangqi and five Sentinelqi.

There was a continuous sound of gunfire, and then they drew their swords and hammers and fought to one place. The soldiers from Zuojintang heard the gunfire and rushed over. Soon, they used their superior troop numbers to hammer the five Guanning sentries so hard that they couldn't get up.

They led the horses, tied up the captives, and did not dare to stay in the village for long. They retreated all the way north to the headquarters of Tangqi Baizong.

When Bai Zong saw the captured Guanning Army, he did not dare to neglect them. After a brief interrogation, he ordered his subordinates to quickly remove the armor of the three who were still able to move and take them to the central army.

The other two were injured by lead bullets. If they were left alone and underwent surgery, they might survive. However, they would definitely be dead if they were sent to the central army.

The person was sent to Liu Chengzong and was tortured again.

The Yulin Huben soldiers in the central army of the Marshal's Office must be nice to them.

Soon, Liu Tichun ran to the central army with the information he had obtained through torture, and said happily: "General, two pieces of information. The Guanning Army in Jinzhou has reached Sancha River, 200 miles away. Those Guanning scouts know that there is a shallow spot along the Liaohe River where we can cross the river, and it is very close to that village."

"Sancha River?"

Liu Chengzong took the information and looked at it.

This Guanning Army belonged to Zu Dashou.

They sent troops because Zu Dashou's son, who was captured and brought to Shenyang in the battle of Dalinghhe, wrote to him, saying that the slave soldiers were robbing westwards and they could take advantage of the opportunity to attack.

Zu Dashou was determined to send troops, but his generals had different opinions. He also saw the Eight Banners soldiers patrolling at Sancha River at the mouth of the Liaohe River inside the Liaodong border wall, and received a letter from Huang Taiji sent from Shenyang, so he was undecided.

"Don't worry about Zu Dashou for now. Let Ma Xiang lead the prisoners to the shallows. The Zongren Camp and Beiyuan Camp should follow. The Zongren Camp should build a bridge and tear down the side wall, while the Beiyuan Camp should be prepared for defense."

He said to Liu Tichun: "Whether we can get in or not, we have to tear down the wall first, and make as many holes as possible."

Liu Tichun immediately went out of the tent and conveyed the order to the Yulin Cavalry.

Liu Shizi looked at the information and pondered for a moment. Suddenly he looked up, handed it to Qian Shisheng in the account, and asked, "Has Lord Qian met Zu Dashou?"

During the days of marching along the border wall, he tried to figure out the correct use of the Grand Secretary.

At least for now, it seems easy to get information from Qian Shisheng.

This old gentleman is like a human library. He is knowledgeable and has a strong memory. He knows everything about the classics, history, and literature. Being at the core of the country, he has a deep understanding of national affairs and personnel matters. He is truly talented.

The disadvantage is that he is a bit stubborn and self-righteous, and his understanding of local conditions is superficial and a bit out of touch.

Qian Shisheng himself also enjoyed the process of being tricked - he felt that Liu Chengzong, the great bandit who ruled the world, was conquered by his intelligence.

Qian Shisheng shook his head slowly: "Zu Zhen is a famous general in Liaodong. I have served in Nanjing for a long time, but when I was in the Ministry of Rites, I heard people say that Zu Zhen's thumb..."

As he spoke, he looked at the fingers of Liu Chengzong's right hand, but he didn't see any protective gear for archery, so he continued with some confusion: "He wears a ring on his thumb, and the ring fits the finger flesh without a mark, which shows how hard he worked in the war."

Liu Shizi was delighted when he heard it.

He understood what Qian Shisheng meant. The ring he mentioned was a 韘, also called a shooting hook, a ring or a trigger.

Qian Shisheng's metaphor was completely misplaced.

Liu Shizi reached into his bosom and pulled out two tooth-like sloped arrows with small holes drilled at the end, each with a silk bracelet hanging from it. "This is what the elder is talking about, the arrow."

The rope that brings it down is tied to the wrist. One reason is that the arrowhead may sometimes be caught by the bowstring and fly out. This is very common when the movement is deformed after losing strength.

Secondly, most archery sticks are made of bone, but there are also some made of jade, porcelain, copper and iron, but they are relatively rare.

Especially the Mongolian-style cylindrical thumb ring, which is a piece of bone or deer antler, and can be used after drilling it through.

Regardless of the texture, the purpose of shooting determines that it is very smooth.

When you use a knife with this on, you can only use 70% of your skills.

Therefore, Qian Shisheng's words not only failed to reflect Zu Dashou's hard military service, but instead proved to Liu Chengzong that Zu Dashou had worn a ring all year round and had not had surgery for many years, so that the ring had grown together with his flesh, indicating that he was very old.

Maybe he still shoots arrows sometimes, but he certainly doesn't wield swords or guns anymore.

However, Liu Chengzong did not say it, because although Qian Shisheng's argument was wrong, his point was correct.

"Zu Dashou is indeed a famous general."

Liu Chengzong nodded, looked at Qian Shisheng and asked: "But Lord Qian, he is a famous general of the Ming Dynasty and a famous general of the Qing Dynasty. Isn't the court afraid that he will surrender to the enemy?" Qian Shisheng thought to himself, what's the use of being afraid?

The imperial court had a set procedure for dealing with generals it distrusted.

At that time, Liu Xingzhi of Dongjiang Town killed Chen Jisheng and acted arrogantly on the island. The imperial court did not say that Liu Xingzhi should be killed, but only said that Liu Xingzhi should execute the Jurchen soldiers under his command. The court also let the news leak, which triggered a fight among Liu's followers.

Shen Shikui, Zhang Tao and others automatically joined the match and killed all the Liu clans of Pi Island. Only then did the court send Huang Long to take over.

Later, the same trick was used on Zu Dashou who ran back from Dalingh River.

Zu Dashou has two Yi camps, both of which are the most elite Mongolian Yi Ding recruited in recent years.

Those who were familiar with him changed their surnames to Zu and were sent to various camps to help him control the army. Those who were not familiar with him were sent to the Yi camp as his personal soldiers. These two camps would be wherever Zu Dashou went.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the Guanning Army spread the secret order from the capital, ordering Zu Dashou to execute all the Mongolian soldiers from the left and right camps who had surrendered.

Sang Ang of the Jiangyi Left Camp took the lead in the rebellion, plotting to kidnap Zu Dashou and defect to the Later Jin.

Because there was no so-called execution of all of them, he was the one who spread the news, and the court's secret order was for Zu Dashou to kill him.

As a result, the news that Sang Ang wanted to kidnap Zu Dashou was reported to him by the Mongolian soldiers, and Zu Dashou knew about it.

The Yi camp had not taken off their armor for three days, and it seemed that a fight was inevitable.

As a result, Zu Dashou ran into the Yizi Camp to explain the misunderstanding and told Sang Ang: If I kill you, how can I live? If you kill me, how can you live?

The two sides once again became united and treated the court's secret orders as nonsense.

The court has no idea what to do with Zu Dashou!

"Zuzhen is only for self-protection."

Qian Shisheng spoke very artistically, and said to Liu Chengzong confidently: "The court trusts him."

Liu Chengzong smiled silently.

He nodded: "Then I will believe him too."

Qian Shisheng was surprised by this, and he said happily: "Does the Grand Marshal intend to attack Shenyang with the Zuzhen army? If so, I can go on his behalf. The Zuzhen army is now advancing to Sancha River, and they must intend to attack Shenyang."

Liu Chengzong smiled even more, nodded, and asked, "If we form an alliance, how many troops can Zu Dashou have to support me in attacking Shenyang?"

"There are 110,000 Guanning troops, and Zu Zhen is in charge of 53 battalions and 68,000 cavalry and infantry. Not counting the garrison, there are still 19 battalions of cavalry and infantry with more than 20,000 soldiers. This will definitely make the Grand Marshal even more powerful!"

Just at this moment.

Qian Shisheng noticed that Liu Chengzong's smiling face suddenly cooled and became cold.

He didn't lower his head, but his eyes dropped, as if he was thinking about something, and he muttered, "Twenty thousand, it's not that hard to beat."

As soon as these eight words came out, Qian Shisheng was greatly frightened. He thought that Liu Chengzong wanted to borrow the strength of Guan Ning, so he revealed Zu Dashou's military strength.

But now, from what Liu Chengzong said, he actually planned to attack the Guanning Defense Line.

Qian Shisheng was dumbfounded.

This is completely different from what he has understood about Liu Chengzong and the entire Marshal's Army during this period!

Although he had suspected Liu Chengzong was going to join forces with the Eastern Tartars to attack the Ming before he went on the mission, as soon as he entered Liu Chengzong's camp, he already believed that Liu Chengzong was coming to fight against the Eastern Tartars.

Why now?

He could not keep up with Liu Chengzong's seemingly jumping ideas at all.

"Hey, Marshal, isn't the Marshal going to attack the Liaodong border wall and enter Shenyang?"

Qian Shisheng couldn't speak clearly, and stretched out his hands to grab and wave them in front of him: "Those Guanning scouts didn't know who was the enemy when they attacked. I, no, just a letter, can clear up the misunderstanding."

In fact, let alone Qian Shisheng, even Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Tichun in the general's tent did not follow Liu Chengzong's thinking.

Zhang Xianzhong was also confused, and even followed Qian Shisheng's advice: "Marshal, the Guanning Army is also capable of fighting. If we join forces with them to attack Shenyang, we may be able to destroy the Eastern Tartars in one battle. This..."

The Eighth Prince was halfway through his speech when a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on his face. He took off the green hat on his head and said, "I understand now. We cannot join forces with them. If we are destroyed by the Tartars, the Ming Dynasty will turn around and fight to the death with the Marshal's Mansion."

"Brother, you don't understand!"

Liu Chengzong looked at Zhang Xianzhong with disdain and said, "You are thinking too far ahead. Daming is an old man who is terminally ill. He can fall to his death if he takes two steps on flat ground without you kicking him. How can I be afraid of him?"

"It would be a good thing to kill Dai Qing first, but things can't go that far."

After saying that, Liu Shizi also realized that neither of the two people in the tent could understand his thought process.

He walked a few steps, pulled over a chair and sat down, pointing at Qian Shisheng and saying to Zhang Xianzhong: "Didn't Lord Qian just say that Zu Dashou only wanted to protect himself, and the court trusts him?"

"The Guanning scouts confessed that Zu Dashou's son in Shenyang sent a message that Shenyang was empty, so he led his troops to Sanchahe."

"The elder just said that Zu Dashou's shooting skills are as good as his flesh."

Zhang Xianzhong and Qian Shisheng looked at each other, and both nodded confusedly, still unable to connect these words together.

"I have never met Zu Dashou, but I believe in Mr. Qian, so I also believe in Zu Dashou."

Liu Chengzong spoke very sincerely, spreading his hands as if it was natural: "It is precisely because of this belief that he joined forces with me to attack the Eight Banners?"

"Zu Dashou is an old veteran who hasn't fought in battle for many years. He is old and tired. He has no big ambitions and only wants to protect himself."

"His son was in the enemy's capital, but he was not killed or abused. He was able to send a message to tell him that Shenyang was empty and was well taken care of. Why?"

"After Yuan Chonghuan died, he fled outside the Great Wall without permission. The emperor loved killing people so much, but he forced himself to let him live, not only did he not demote him, but he even promoted him to a higher position. Why?"

Without waiting for the two to answer, Liu Chengzong raised his hand and tapped the table where the map was placed, and gave the answer and coaxed them: "Because he is the commander of the Ming army's Jinzhou front, then who is his enemy?"

At this moment, Zhang Xianzhong felt a great sense of closeness to Qian Shisheng psychologically.

Because when he couldn't help but look at Qian Shisheng, they ended up looking into each other's eyes, and he saw his own confusion in the other's confused eyes.

This shows that it is not a problem of his intelligence. The intelligence of these high-ranking civil servants, such as the cabinet ministers and the ministers, are all at the same level.

Zhang Xianzhong was a little unsure, and asked uncertainly: "His enemy is... Huang Taiji?"

Liu Chengzong's expectant eyes dimmed.

He sighed a little tiredly, raised his hand and traced the Jinzhou line on the map with his finger: "If the battle line advances, he will be meaningless to the Ming court; if the battle line retreats, he will be meaningless to Dai Qing."

"There is no one else in the world who wants the status quo outside Shanhaiguan to be maintained more than he does. The Ming Dynasty, Dai Qing, and the Marshal's Office are meaningless to him."

He gave the two a moment to digest his thought process: "Whoever disrupts the status quo is his enemy. Here I come."

"Since Lord Qian wants to send him a message, tell him that I am here to get the silver and go to Shenyang. Tell him not to move in Jinzhou. If he dares to cross the Liao River, I will go to Jinzhou to get it."

(The previous chapter did not promote the plot, this chapter is free) (This chapter is finished)