Ming Zuo

Chapter 148 The Worst Person

Outside the barracks, Zhou You, who was staying behind, was quite unwilling and puzzled as he watched the army marching northward.

"Going to Gyeonggi, there are many dangers. Even if the whole army goes out, I'm afraid it won't be able to catch up. Why do you have to leave two hundred soldiers?"

Zuo Menggeng looked around quietly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Believe it or not, there must be Xu Yaqing's eyeliner nearby."

Traveling around can't help but be scary.

"You mean..."

Zuo Menggeng shook his head slowly, his eyes serious.

"Xu Yaqing has no reason to go to Dengzhou for no reason. As for what she is going to do, I haven't figured it out yet. But after thinking about it, a big tiger like me is squatting beside her, and she dare not move lightly no matter what. You have to give her a chance, let her see hope, and she will reveal her purpose."

Zhou You understood.

Zuo Menggeng took the initiative to ask to go to Gyeonggi to join the war. On the one hand, he wanted to use Houjin to train the army, and on the other hand, he also wanted to lure snakes out of their holes.

If he doesn't leave Shandong, Xu Yaqing will definitely be worried and dare not move lightly.

But once someone like Xu Yaqing lurks, it's impossible to find her.

Only by letting her jump out by herself can she have a chance to be eliminated.

Informing Zhou You of his thoughts, Zuo Menggeng then ordered: "Qu Ming's mansion and Zhang Bingxian must keep people, and the two sides must keep in touch. As for Zhuangzi and the military camp, they are not allowed to leave or enter. If someone is spying on you, just kill them directly. Zhuangzi will send a group of people out to strengthen the guards."

While Zuo Menggeng paid attention to military training, he did not ignore the role of the militia.

Therefore, farmers and workers in Zuozhuang must also receive military training in addition to their daily work.

At the very least, these people have mastered basic formation, shooting, and assassination techniques, and they can also follow orders.

This is why Zuo Menggeng rest assured that only two hundred soldiers will be left behind.

After explaining everything that should be explained, Zuo Menggeng rode his horse and whipped his horse to catch up with the army, and all his thoughts were put on the upcoming battle.

Houying went all the way north, under the banner of the Linqing Association.

Just because the entire battalion is too large, if you still use the banner of the rear battalion, people will easily cause trouble when they see that you have so many people in one battalion.

But under the banner of the Linqing Association, it doesn't matter.

With the help of the fleets of various families, the army walked the canal all the way north, and the first half of the journey was very easy.When they arrived in Cangzhou, the water transportation was interrupted, and the army changed to land.

Here, Zuo Menggeng suddenly ordered that the army turn around.

Abandoning the normal Cangzhou-Xingji-Qingxian-Jinghai-Tianjin-Wuqing-Xianghe route, it changed to Jinghe Town, bypassing the west of Dacheng, sticking to Sanjiaodian, and passing through Yangzhou in the middle of the night. On the outskirts of the village, they arrived in the area of ​​Daliang Town, south of Baodi, without anyone noticing.

Now the intelligence department and the reconnaissance brigade have already spread all over Gyeonggi. When the army came all the way, they completed the cover of the battlefield, so that the rear battalion could reach the resettlement point smoothly.

In other words, on today's Gyeonggi battlefield, Hou Jin thought they had opened up the whole map.As everyone knows, there is still such an army hidden in the mist.

Of course, a battalion of the Ming army may not be favored by Hou Jin.

Because of this marching route, it was already November [-]th when the rear battalion arrived at Daliang Town.

As soon as he entered Daliang Town, Zuo Menggeng ordered to cut off the inside and outside and block the news, but there was a disturbance in the end.

"Qianzuo, there is a scholar who refuses to obey the military order and insists on going out of town. Do you think he is following the military order?"

Scholar?

What kind of scholar can go his own way without fear of the army?

When Zuo Menggeng rushed to the scene of the incident, he saw a thin and thin scholar in his thirties who was clamoring.

"Is there really any reason for this? Let me tell you that I have received an appointment from the imperial court and must go to Beijing to serve. What do you intend to do when you obstruct it?"

How could the soldiers care about him, they just held him back with bayonets.

But it can be seen that if this person really breaks through, the soldiers will do it.

Zuo Menggeng approached and bowed his hands in salute.

"I am the local general, I don't know how to call the senior?"

Seeing that it was a young general, the scholar was displeased, and he flicked his sleeves with a rather haughty expression.

"My official, Hou Ke, respectfully offer wine to the Nanjing Imperial College. You young general, you are so courageous, how dare you block the passage without permission?"

Zuo Menggeng laughed out loud when he heard that this person reported his family name.

"I don't know who it is, it turned out that it was Mr. Ruopu in person."

The other party was taken aback for a moment, not knowing where his closeness came from.

"You are……"

Zuo Menggeng said cordially: "Your Linqing Zuo Menggeng, he listened to Lord Ruogu's instruction years ago."

Hou Ke was stunned, and couldn't help being happy.

"Ah, you are Zuo Menggeng? I heard my brother mentioned you earlier, I don't want to meet you here today."

It turns out that Hou Ke is Hou Xun's younger brother, one of the three famous Hou family heroes.

Zuo Menggeng found out after inquiring that Hou Keben served as the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine in Nanjing.Not long ago, he received a transfer order to work in the Guozijian in the capital.

As a result, he went north along the canal, and when he arrived in Cangzhou, he couldn't get through, so Hou Ke had to go by land instead.

Knowing that Houjin was raging in Zunhua and other places, Hou Ke didn't dare to go north, so he turned back to the west, intending to go to the capital via Xianghe, but happened to bump into Zuo Menggeng.

After exchanging pleasantries, Hou Ke still said: "Since you are leading the army, it will be easy. Let them let them go quickly, and don't delay my going to the capital."

Zuo Menggeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he hurriedly stopped him.

"Oh, my Lord Ruopu, you are at war. How dare you run around? You don't know that the Eastern Captives have already arrived at the city of Jizhou? Jizhou is only two hundred miles away, and the cavalry can arrive in no time. If you I met a tartar on the way, how can I treat Mr. Ruogu?"

On the way of the rear battalion's march, the military information was constantly sent in, so Zuo Menggeng knew the situation of the entire battlefield like the palm of his hand.

Still the same as in history.

After the Jin Dynasty laid down Zunhua and Santun camps, it took a short rest.As a result, Yuan Chonghuan was given time to rush to Jizhou for defense on the tenth day of November.

From Zunhua to the capital, one must pass through Jizhou.

So on the [-]th, Huang Taiji marched westward from Zunhua, approached Jizhou, and had a small fight with Yuan Chonghuan's Liao soldiers at Ma Shenqiao not far from Jizhou.

If nothing else, just today, Hou Jinqian crossed Jizhou, bypassed Yuan Chonghuan, and went straight to the capital.

Under such circumstances, how dare Zuo Menggeng let Hou Ke, a frail scholar, go on his way alone?
Hearing his narration, Hou Ke was stunned.

"What should I do? The Imperial Academy ordered me to arrive at the capital on the [-]th."

Zuo Menggeng persuaded: "Nowadays the war is raging, who cares about this? It's better for the younger generation to send you to Tongzhou, where Lord Ruogu is. At that time, it will be easier for you to go to the capital if you want to go to the capital."

Zuo Menggeng had to go to Tongzhou.

In addition to reporting to Hou Xun, you also need to understand the meaning of your superiors, so that you can have a strategy for action.

Hearing that Hou Xun was in Tongzhou, Hou Ke was overjoyed and immediately urged Zuo Menggeng to leave.

During the war, Zuo Menggeng couldn't take care of Hou Ke's body anymore.Throw him on the horse and run all the way to Tongzhou.

For more than a hundred miles, Zuo Menggeng only brought Zuo Rong and Zuo Hua with him.A few people rode lightly on fast horses, and it took only half a day to reach Tongzhou, but Hou Ke was almost bumped to pieces.

When we got to the city, we saw disturbances.

A young man was shoving and yelling at the guards.

"Bastard, let me in quickly. Delaying important matters is an unforgivable crime!"

But the guard just didn't listen, and even pushed him somersault.

"The old man has an order that idlers are not allowed to enter the city. Get out of here, or you will be treated as a Tartar sentry."

Zuo Menggeng stepped forward and happened to see clearly.

"Hey, Brother Geng, why are you here?"

It was none other than Geng Zhangguang.

In September, he signed a cooperation agreement with Zuo Menggeng on behalf of the Geng family, and then went to Shanxi to ask his father for instructions.Since then, Zuo Menggeng has not seen him.

Unexpectedly, I saw him at the foot of Tongzhou City.

It's just that Geng Zhangguang at this time has completely lost the bearing of a noble son, he is very embarrassed in his rags, and his expression is even more panic-stricken.

When he looked up, he saw that it was Zuo Menggeng, and this guy jumped up, as swift as a cheetah.

"Brother Zuo, help!"

Zuo Menggeng jumped off the horse and comforted him: "What happened, don't worry, just speak slowly."

How could Geng Zhangguang not be in a hurry, talking like a cannonball.

"Brother Zuo, my father is in danger!"

It turned out that Geng Zhangguang's father, Geng Ruqi, the governor of Shanxi, received the imperial edict from King Qin at the end of last month, and he dared not neglect, so he and Zhang Honggong, the commander in chief, immediately raised five thousand elite soldiers to support him.

That is to say, the reinforcements from Hexuanfu and Datong, and Shanxi soldiers also arrived in Gyeonggi.

But at this time, something outrageous happened.

"My father led the army at the back, and Zhang Zongrong led the army at the front. He was going to the capital. On the way, he received an order from the Ministry of War to come to Tongzhou. My father didn't dare to neglect, so he turned around immediately. Unexpectedly, halfway through, he received another order. Let go to Changping. This morning, the army had just settled in Changping, but the Ministry of War sent an order to let them go to Liangxiang. The poor [-] army, who traveled hundreds of miles for three consecutive days, had no water and rice, and could no longer support them. Zhang Zongrong is about to be overwhelmed, and mutiny is imminent. Once there is a mutiny, all the troubles will be attributed to my father, so what can I do?"

When Zuo Menggeng heard this, he couldn't help but change his face.

He knew that the unlucky one who had changed the most was about to be born.

　The place names at the village and town level in the Ming Dynasty are really hard to find, so they are mostly described with modern place names. Please forgive me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)