weaving

Chapter 1165 Sharing Weal and Woe

Outside Shuipoji, in the central military tent of the camp of General Zuo Liangyu, who was suppressing the bandits, he said softly with a worried look on his face, "In the past few days, the military meeting has talked about this matter many times. Although they also said that this was a plot of the bandits to sow discord, they mentioned twice that they sent troops to protect the Marquis' Mansion when the bandits broke into Shangqiu. They took good care of it in every way, as if they were deliberately testing me. Damn it... Who knows what these old sour scholars are thinking!"

Zuo Liangyu became more and more angry as he spoke, and could not help but complain: "I have fought bloody battles for the court for ten years, and was promoted to general. I was also appointed general for suppressing bandits because of my military achievements. Why do they deliberately say this to me? Doesn't this mean they are suspicious of me?"

Zuo Menggeng tried to persuade him, "Please don't be angry, sir, and don't mind it. As long as we are wholeheartedly serving our country, why should we be afraid of their suspicion?"

Zuo Liangyu was silent for a moment before he spoke: "Liu Zhongwu has not returned to the camp yet. I am still worried."

Zuo Menggeng didn't take it seriously: "Maybe... he was held captive by the blind thief. This is not impossible."

"Humph, it's definitely not that simple!"

Zuo Menggeng was shocked when he heard this and said, "Sir..."

Zuo Liangyu shook his head and sighed, interrupting him, saying: "You have followed me in the army since you were young, and now you have been promoted to deputy general in the army. How could you not have such a thoughtful son!"

Zuo Menggeng replied in a panic: "Sir, my son is indeed ignorant and did not foresee the future."

Zuo Liangyu did not bother to argue with him and said softly, "Think about it, Li Zicheng is a treacherous thief. He first kidnapped your sister and adopted her as his daughter, treated her with all kinds of kindness, and even let the little thieves below spread the news. There must be a hidden meaning behind this.

Now, this Liu Zhongwu is neither a famous general in our army nor a trusted person around me. What is the point of the blind thief keeping him in the camp?

What I am worried about is that the blind thief will call him over, provide him with good wine and meat, and then coax him with sweet words, and then order him to bring the thief's letter to me. The blind thief may also order him to visit your sister. Your sister is young and ignorant, and she will cry when she sees him, and then write a letter according to the blind thief's wishes and order him to bring it back.

I'm not worried about him being left in the bandit camp, but I'm worried that he'll be captured by the rangers of the Ding and Yang camps when he returns with the two letters given to me by Blind Li and your sister, and maybe some valuable gifts...

Even if I jumped into the Yellow River, I couldn't clear myself of the suspicion. Wouldn't it be a waste of time to suffer such an injustice?"

  It turned out that at this time, Zuo Liangyu and his son had heard from the soldiers who were released by the rebels that "Captain Liu Zhongwu was called away by the rebels and has not returned yet", so Zuo Liangyu was worried that Liu Zhongwu might have been captured by the soldiers in Ding and Yang's camps!

Zuo Menggeng's eyes widened as he listened, and he suddenly blurted out, "Ah... Sir!"

"what's up?"

"Your Excellency is right. I heard that someone seemed to see the Baoding soldiers capture someone at dusk the day before yesterday, and then there was no further news. I wonder if it was Liu..."

When Zuo Menggeng said this, he suddenly stopped talking and looked at his father Zuo Liangyu with a face full of doubt.

As expected, Zuo Liangyu was shocked and asked him hastily, "Is this true?"

After thinking for a moment, Zuo Menggeng immediately replied, "This story cannot be false, but I don't know why... I haven't heard any news since then."

Zuo Liangyu was silent for a moment, then he said to his son, "Tomorrow you will try to find out secretly whether Liu Zhongwu was really captured by the Baoding soldiers."

"Yes, my lord."

Zuo Liangyu sighed softly again, and said in a low voice with a slightly distressed look: "The emperor is suspicious and skeptical, and is accustomed to listening to one side and believing it, and is always moody.

Now we are trapped in Shuipoji with the armies of Ding and Yang. It is impossible to win the battle with the blind bandit. In the future, Ding and Yang will falsely accuse our left camp of secretly colluding with the blind bandit and refusing to fight sincerely in order to shirk the responsibility for the defeat. This is why we are defeated in this battle." Zuo Menggeng also nodded and said, "Sir, we really need to be careful of this move!"

Zuo Liangyu smiled indifferently and said no more.

However, he understood very clearly in his heart that he was now in a chaotic era with a weakened government. As long as he still had a large army in his hands, no one would be able to do anything to him, not even the Emperor Chongzhen who was far away in the capital.

Zuo Menggeng naturally didn't understand the meaning behind his father's smile. Seeing that it was getting late, he advised him to take a rest.

Zuo Liangyu nodded first, then waved his hand to let his son leave the big tent, but he did not feel sleepy at all. After pacing in the big tent for a while, he still did not feel sleepy. He ordered someone to call Xu Ensheng, the deputy general of the central army who helped him handle confidential matters, and asked him in a low voice: "I asked you to send people to Xu and Qi to spy on the military situation. Have you seen any changes today?"

Xu Ensheng replied in a low voice very respectfully: "Of the five spies who went to Xuzhou, only two returned. One walked about 40 miles, and the other walked 30 miles. Neither saw any trace of the bandits. When we asked the people we met, they all said they didn't see any bandits passing by.

Towards Qi County and Tongxu..."

Before he could finish, Zuo Liangyu interrupted him and asked, "Are there three more spies heading to Xuzhou who haven't returned yet?"

"Yes, Marshal. They may have gone a long way and haven't had time to come back yet."

Zuo Liangyu frowned, but didn't say much. He said calmly, "Okay, tell me about Qi County and Tongxu. Have you found anything unusual?"

"The five spies that were sent to Qi County and Tongxu last night all returned after dusk today. There are many bandit soldiers and cavalry in this area. The people are also spreading rumors that they saw tens of thousands of bandit troops heading to Qi County to prevent the government troops from escaping through here."

Zuo Liangyu nodded and told him, "Let's check again tomorrow!"

He then waved his hand and ordered his deputy general Xu Ensheng to retreat.

Before the final moment, Zuo Liangyu was unwilling to reveal his plan to his subordinates. Now he was just thinking about the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the three armies, which all depended on him. He couldn't help but say to himself in his heart: "I can't stay here and wait for the whole army to be wiped out!"

…………

"It is exactly as the Marshal expected!"

In a side hall of Fanta Temple near Yuwangtai in the southeast of Kaifeng City, all the generals of the Yongyi Army praised Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning.

Wang Pu, the general commander of Datong who had just arrived with his army, also laughed and interjected, "Let's not talk about anything else, just the matter of fighting, in this world, the Earl of Yongning is the person I, Wang Pu, admire the most, worship the most, and believe in the most."

His words immediately won the unanimous approval of the crowd. Amid the echoes of the crowd, Wang Pu seemed a little proud. He continued, "From now on, my Datong Army will fight together with the Yongyi Army, share weal and woe, and be the vanguard of the Earl of Yongning. I will never have second thoughts."

"Ha ha……"

Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, also laughed and said, "Yes, I am the same as General Li. I also cling to the thigh of Yongning Earl and obey Yongning Earl's command. We share weal and woe and have no second thoughts."

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but glance sideways at Jiang Mingwu, the deputy general of Shanxi who came with him to suppress the bandits, and secretly wondered how Jiang Mingwu would express his opinion.