weaving

Gu Ying led an army to station on the official road fifteen miles away from Zhuxian Town, responsible for cutting off the connection between Zhuxian Town and Kaifeng.

Li Zicheng first inspected the camp they had built. Although the official road had been cut off, the side facing Kaifeng was not strong enough. He instructed that two trenches be dug here and more fortresses be built on the trench walls to prevent the official troops from Kaifeng from suddenly rushing over.

While they were talking, a junior high school officer escorted an army colonel and ten soldiers to see Gu Ying. In his hand, he also held official documents, command arrows, waist badges and other items found from these officers and soldiers.

Li Zicheng was overjoyed when he saw this, but he didn't show it. He asked the principal in a calm tone: "Where did you catch him hooking up with your son?"

The primary school officer replied: "We were ordered by General Gu to ambush in a village facing the main road more than ten miles to the east. These fools took a detour from there to Kaifeng to deliver official business, and they happened to fall into our hands unexpectedly."

King Chuang ordered that the clothes and hats of the captured officers and soldiers should be taken off and put away, and they should be given something to eat. They should be closely guarded and no one could escape.

Then, he and Gu Ying walked to a nearby big locust tree, backed away, and whispered to him: "The little bosses and brothers who captured the prisoners today will be rewarded heavily. In addition, tell them a few pairs of captured prisoners." The matter of taking prisoners must be strictly prohibited from being spread outside the country.

I took away Ding Qirui's letter. The command arrows, clothes, and badges of those officers and soldiers were ordered to be kept closely by a dedicated person. None of them were allowed to be lost, and no one was allowed to see them again. "

After having lunch at Gu Ying's place, Li Zicheng sent a soldier to Li Yan's camp in Zhuxian Town to inform Li Yan to come to the Generalissimo's camp stationed in Liuzhuang to listen to his orders. He also sent another soldier to notify Tian. After Jian Xiu finished blocking the Jialu River, he rushed to Liuzhuang to see him.

Then, he gave Gu Ying a few more instructions, and then led Li Shuangxi and Wu Ruyi to get on their horses and leave.

When Chuang Wang Li Zicheng returned to his old camp, Li Yan had been waiting for him for a while. He introduced to Li Yan the strategy he had decided to defeat the enemy, and asked with a smile: "Lin Quan, what do you think?"

Li Zicheng added: "We are here to force Lao Zuo to flee on the road to Xuchang and make him fall into an ambush. Now there is something that is most suitable for you to do, but you have to work harder and lead your troops. Set off quickly, I'm afraid it will be too late."

Li Zicheng smiled and said to him: "I think in three days or in five days, a large number of officers and soldiers will flee to the Xuchang area, either directly to Nanyang, or to Yancheng or Xinyang.

In some places, deep trenches must be dug to block the way, and in other places, suspicious soldiers must be deployed to prevent them from passing there. These things must be completed within three days. I know that you have always taken the lead and shared the joys and sorrows with your subordinates, so I feel most at ease only if you handle this matter. "

Li Yan had already guessed in his mind that he should be sent to the southwest, so he hurriedly said: "Please let me know from the Generalissimo."

"Okay, without further ado, please lead the troops from East Henan and go immediately."

…………

Tian Jianxiu said very happily: "I will definitely handle this matter well, and I will never let them easily escape from Wei's territory."

…………

Li Zicheng finally said to Tian Jianxiu: "In the battle of Yufeng and Zhuxian Town, we must eliminate Zuo Liangyu. Once he is eliminated, the imperial court will no longer be able to do anything in the Henan and Huguang areas.

After sending Tian Jianxiu away, Li Zicheng remembered going back to his tent to wait for Liu Tichun to send off the Zuoying officer, but he saw Mrs. Gao who had just moved from Yanli Village to Liu Village. She came in with red eyes. .

Li Yan blurted out and praised: "It's very thorough. As long as Zuo Kunshan's army is defeated, Ding and Yang's armies will naturally be defeated."

King Chuang warned him again: "After this is done, you must send someone to tell me immediately. Only after I get your exact information can I launch a fierce attack on the army."

Li Zicheng smiled and said: "You were with me when Hao Yaoqi came to invite me to fight in the morning. Why can't you hold me back now? This time I really want you to lead the soldiers of East Henan to achieve great achievements, but it's not to Chenliu, Go to Qixian. We only need one suspect, and I have already sent someone else."

Li Yan replied very readily: "Yes! I will definitely obey the order and get things done as soon as possible. If the officers and soldiers escape from there, the soldiers of East Henan will definitely intercept and kill them, and the people will rise up and avenge themselves."

Now I want you and Deqi to take your troops to open a few villages in the Weishi area, use the collected food to feed the hungry people, and promote the power of our rebel army to the people.

You lead your troops and set out now. I will give you five thousand cavalry and rush to Weishi County. I estimate where the army will pass when they retreat, and I will cut off all the roads there in advance.

Just as Li Yan left in a hurry, Tian Jianxiu rushed over. Li Zicheng told him the entire military deployment, and Tian Jianxiu nodded while listening.

The important thing is to let them prepare sticks, hoes, knives, and guns. If the defeated army passes by, let them intercept and kill them everywhere to avenge their fathers, brothers and sisters who were harmed by the army in the past.

Li Yan replied respectfully: "Please give the generalissimo's orders, and I will do it immediately. Do you want us to cut off the retreat route of the officers and soldiers between Qixian and Chenliu? The generals in the east of Henan have long thought about fighting for King Chuang, and today is the time. ”

It is this matter that I ask you to consider and handle. The sooner the better, the difficulty is that the officers and soldiers in the Shuipoji area are not allowed to know the news from you in advance. "

Li Zicheng felt strange and couldn't help but blurted out: "What's so sad? You rarely shed tears!"

But Mrs. Gao said to her: "The two tigers just escorted an officer from the army. Please finish this matter first, and I will talk to you later."

As soon as Li Zicheng heard that Liu Tichun was escorting the officers, he didn't bother to ask Mrs. Gao the reason for her sadness, and said, "Oh, please stay for a while, and I will come after I handle this matter."

Madam Gao had just learned about King Chuang's strategy from Liu Tichun, and now she replied to him: "Miss Zuo, I have sent someone to invite you, and you are waiting in my tent now. She heard that from Zuo I was so happy that someone from the camp could send a message back to my adoptive father, and I even shed tears."

After she finished speaking, she ordered a female soldier to invite Miss Zuo to the big tent.

Miss Zuo is the adopted daughter of Zuo Liangyu, the traitor general of the Ming Dynasty. Her biological father's real name is Qiu Lei, and he is Zuo Liangyu's sworn brother. They both made a living in the Liaodong Army when they were young. Later, he and Zuo Liangyu joined the army to rob. The crime was plundered, and the punishment was considered to be beheading. Qiu Lei took the blame alone, allowing Zuo Liangyu to escape from guilt and death, but Qiu Lei was sent to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.

Later, Zuo Liangyu came back to power after being recommended by Hou Xun. In the 13th year of Chongzhen, he donated ten thousand yuan to save Qiu Lei. Now he is the governor of Shandong Province and the deputy commander-in-chief of Shandong Province. However, after all, he was just reinstated and Qiu Lei's subordinates There are very few soldiers and horses, and their fighting power is not strong. Qiu Lei had already given birth to a daughter before he was imprisoned, and his wife died of illness. Therefore, Zuo Liangyu raised Qiu Lei's daughter, and because Zuo Liangyu had no daughter of his own, he regarded her as his own daughter. .

It is said that this girl was good-looking and very intelligent. Zuo Liangyu and his wife loved her like a pearl in their palms, so they named her "Zuo Mingzhu"!

Because Zuo Liangyu often led troops to fight abroad, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, he fostered all his family members in Xuchang City. However, due to a mutiny, Mrs. Zuo and her daughter Zuo Mingzhu were separated. The daughter was only 11 years old at the time. The wet nurse was lost among the people and was captured by Liu Biantou, a local bandit in Suiping area.

At first, Miss Zuo and her wet nurse did not dare to tell their real names. It was two years later that Zuo Liangyu found out their whereabouts. After Liu Biantou knew that she was Zuo Liangyu's adopted daughter, he did not dare to cause trouble for himself. They were treated with great courtesy, and later they followed Zuo Liangyu's advice and sent them to Kaifeng Fucheng to live temporarily.

When King Chuang first attacked Kaifeng, Miss Zuo had just arrived in Kaifeng. Later, because Zuo Liangyu was far away fighting Zhang Xianzhong at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Huguang provinces, Miss Zuo stayed in Kaifeng.

In August last year, Zuo Liangyu specially sent someone to Kaifeng to pick up Miss Zuo, and planned to let her live in Wuchang permanently. However, because bandits were swarming on the road, she was worried about something happening on the way, so she stayed in Nanyang City.

Who would have thought that when King Chuang led his bandits to attack Nanyang City in October last year, Miss Zuo, who had decided to leave Nanyang for Xiangyang, fell into the hands of Li Zicheng. It was also because of her adoptive father Zuo Liangyu that not only She was unscathed and was adopted as an adopted daughter by Li Zicheng and Gao Guiying.

Miss Zuo Mingzhu is only seventeen years old this year. She is tall and light-footed. More than half a year of camp life has made some changes in her demeanor. She no longer likes to apply makeup and makeup like other rich ladies. Colorfully dressed.

She was now wearing light makeup, wearing a military uniform with a sword and riding boots. She was exactly the same as the female soldiers beside Madam Gao. She walked into the tent surrounded by ten female soldiers like a female general.

Miss Zuo first saluted King Chuang and Mrs. Gao, then sat down next to Mrs. Gao, with her wet nurse always behind her.

"Your godfather asked you to come here to see a captured Zuoying officer. If you have anything to say, you can tell him and ask him to go back and report to Commander Zuo so that Commander Zuo can rest assured knowing that you are safe and sound. La."

When Miss Zuo heard Mrs. Gao mention her adoptive father Zuo Liangyu, tears rolled unsatisfactorily in her eyes, making her big eyes red.

Following King Chuang's order, an officer from the army, Mr. Qian, was brought in. He was wearing Zuoying's armor. It didn't look damaged or bloody. There was also a knife magazine hanging on his waist, but the steel knife was in the tent. He was taken away by King Chuang's soldiers outside.

After entering the tent, he knelt down and kowtowed to King Chuang. After some questioning, he found out that this person's surname was Liu Mingzhongwu, a Qianzong general under Zuo Liangyu. He was unable to retreat after the foggy night last night and was captured by the Chuang army.

The Chuang King Li Zicheng first introduced to him Miss Zuo's preferential treatment in the Chuang camp, and then deliberately showed his kindness, saying that he would only give such preferential treatment to the prisoners of the Zuo camp, and then let Zuo Mingzhu talk to him.

Even though Zuo Mingzhu had all kinds of things to say, it was inconvenient for him to say it with King Chuang and his wife here. What's more, he had never seen this president named Liu Zhongwu before, so he couldn't judge the authenticity.

In front of everyone, she only asked some questions about her adoptive father Zuo Liangyu's physical condition, and about her adopted brother Zuo Mengeng's current situation, without having too many words to talk about.

Finally, Zuo Mingzhu asked the wet nurse to come out of the tent to get a small box wrapped in brocade. She held it in front of Liu Zhongwu, the general manager of Zuo Yingqian, and said softly to him: "Open it and see it in person. This box contains my mother's relics during her lifetime." , after her death, these two pieces of jewelry have always been with me, and I dare not lose them.

I often heard my late mother say that her father, the commander-in-chief, bought these as gifts for her when he was a junior officer, so she said that seeing these jewelry would make it difficult for her to forget her kindness in times of adversity. You take this jewelry box back and give it to your handsome father. Don't lose it on the road! "

Liu Zhongwu gently untied the brocade bundle, revealing a small red lacquer box inside. He opened the lid again and saw an jade pipe and a pair of jade bracelets inside.

"Please rest assured, young lady, as long as King Chuang is willing to let me back to the camp..."

At this time, King Chuang Li Zicheng said to him: "You can rest assured. Since I can ask you to come see Miss Zuo, I will naturally let you go back to Zuoying."

He then told Liu Zhongwu: "You go back and tell Mr. Zuo that he doesn't have to worry about Miss Zuo. I will send her back to meet Mr. Zuo soon. You also tell him that I admire him in my heart, but it is a pity that he always There is no chance of seeing him. As long as he can withdraw his troops from Shuipoji and go south, I will never send troops to pursue him. "

Liu Zhongwu felt reassured after hearing what Chuang Wang said, and he also saw that Miss Zuo clearly had a lot more to say, but because King Chuang was here, he couldn't say it out, and he didn't want to spend more time in Chuang Camp. For a stay, it is natural to return to Zuoying as early as possible.

He only obeyed the order, knelt down and kowtowed to King Chuang to thank him, stood up and saluted Mrs. Gao, then saluted Miss Zuo again, and also said goodbye to Wu Ruyi and other generals of Prince Chuang.

Li Zicheng ignored him and said to Wu Ruyi again: "He belongs to Zuo Commander, so be careful to send troops to protect him. After dusk, send him through Zhuxian Town so that he can return to Zuoying without too much trouble." People see it.”

After receiving the order, Wu Ruyi took Zuo Yingqian Commander Liu Zhongwu out of the big tent. Miss Zuo also stood up and bowed to King Chuang and Mrs. Gao before leaving.

…………

After Mrs. Gao accompanied King Chuang to deal with Miss Zuo's matter, she couldn't help but think of the rumor she heard again, and her eye circles turned red again.

Seeing that she looked like this again, King Chuang asked her again: "What happened? Please tell me quickly."

"I just went to Jianfu Camp. Someone there heard someone who had escaped from Xiaoyuan Camp say that Huimei... Huimei... she had committed suicide."

Li Zicheng was also shocked when he heard this: "Is this true?"

"It is said... that the person who escaped also heard what others said."

Mrs. Gao said that her eyes were red again: "After everyone heard the news, the red lady and many girls burst into tears with sadness, and I also felt uncomfortable in my heart. You said... you are doing this for He used his tactics to win over people... and forcefully sent a good girl to death, but now she has ended up like this! "

King Chuang was also sad, but he still managed to comfort her and said: "Since it is a rumor, it may not be completely true."

Then, he said: "Xiao Yuanying, I will definitely destroy it in the future, but it is not the time yet. Now I have to worry about the war. After the battle is over, I will immediately send people to investigate Hui Hui." Mei’s life and death.”

Mrs. Gao sighed and said: "The battle is more important now, you should worry about winning this battle first!" (End of Chapter)