weaving

Chapter 1183 Don’t dare to do anything to me

"General, Commander Ding sent someone to tell you to come to the headquarters to discuss matters urgently!"

"What? Say it again."

Having decided to escape at night, General Zuo Liangyu, the bandit-suppressing general, stayed up all night, dressed neatly and waited for the fifth watch so that he could lead his troops through the camp and head west to Xuchang.

As he walked forward, he suddenly heard that Commander-in-Chief Ding Qirui had sent someone to summon him to the headquarters for a discussion. Even Zuo Liangyu was panicked: "Could it be... that he discovered him?"

After receiving a very confident answer from the deputy general of the Central Army, Xu Ensheng, Zuo Liangyu hurriedly asked, "How many people came? Where are they now? Have they left?"

"Reporting to the commander, three people have arrived and are still waiting outside the camp for a reply. They have not left yet."

Zuo Liangyu's eyes flashed with an imperceptible murderous intent, and he ordered Xu Ensheng in a cold tone: "Go and ask them to come in to see me."

After Xu Ensheng left, Zuo Liangyu summoned his personal general Zhang Yingxiang and ordered him to take twenty personal soldiers to guard inside and outside the central army tent and follow his orders.

After everything was ready, Zuo Liangyu pretended to be very tired and sat on the commander's chair, waiting for the people sent by the commander-in-chief Ding Qirui to come and see him.

…………

"What's your name, and what's your position in Commander Ding's camp?"

"Reporting to General Zuo, I am Liu Kaishen, serving as the commander of a battalion under the command of the commander-in-chief."

"Yes. It is almost four o'clock now. Commander Ding summoned you so urgently. What urgent military information do you have?"

"Please let the Left Commander know. I learned from Deputy General Yang that at the second watch, more than ten cavalrymen flew into the central army, saying that they were the Yongyi Army under the command of the Xuanfu General and the Earl of Yongning. They came to deliver a letter to the commander-in-chief, inviting my division to join them in attacking the bandits from the north and south."

"Xuanfu...Yongningbo...Zhang Cheng?"

Zuo Liangyu was full of doubts after hearing this. He had previously learned that the court not only dispatched them to the north to rescue Kaifeng, but also recruited the Xuanda border troops to come to Henan Province to help suppress the rebels.

  But how could it be such a coincidence?

Just when he was about to lead the entire army to escape from Xuchang, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army arrived at Zhuxian Town. Was this really a coincidence, or was there another conspiracy?

Although he was full of doubts in his heart, he showed excitement on the surface and said, "Great! I have been worried about this day and night and couldn't sleep all night. Now that the army of Earl Yongning has arrived, we will defeat the bandits today."

He immediately said to Liu Kaishen, the commander of Dingying, "Commander Liu, please go ahead and report back to the commander. I will make some arrangements here and then go to the headquarters to participate in the military meeting."

Liu Kaishen agreed, then stood up and left.

Outside the camp gate, a soldier from the accompanying camp asked quietly, "Commander-in-chief, why do I feel that the atmosphere in the left camp is a little off?"

"Shut up!"

Liu Kaishen turned around and scolded him, then quickly turned around to look around. Seeing that no one cared about them, he finally put his heart at ease. He turned around again and quietly scolded him, "You haven't left the left camp yet, but you keep talking nonsense. Don't you want to die?"

After he finished speaking, he immediately jumped on his horse, whipped his whip and rode out of the Zuo Army camp, disappearing into the dark night...

…………

"Marshal, Commander Ding summoned you for a military meeting at this critical moment instead of earlier. Could there be something wrong here..." Zuo Liangyu waved his hand suddenly to stop Xu Ensheng from continuing. Then he ordered Zhang Yingxiang to lead the soldiers to retreat. He paced back and forth in the central army tent. Xu Ensheng did not dare to leave, nor did he dare to disturb him.

After a long while, Zuo Liangyu finally stopped and said to Xu Ensheng, "Go, prepare your horses, and follow me to the commander-in-chief's headquarters."

"How many troops will you bring?"

Zuo Liangyu looked at Xu Ensheng, who had a serious expression, and said calmly, "We are not going to kill the enemy, so just take four of your personal soldiers with you as usual."

"Marshal, these people are here with bad intentions. We should bring more troops with us to prepare for any eventuality."

Zuo Liangyu glanced at Xu Ensheng and said with a smile, "The commander's headquarters has three layers inside and outside. If it is as you said, how many troops can we take to protect it?"

"Ah! This..."

Xu Ensheng was speechless for a moment. The fact was just as Zuo Liangyu said. There was Baoding Army between the commander-in-chief's headquarters and the Zuo Army. Moreover, that area was full of the camps of Dingying's troops, with more than three layers of defense inside and outside.

If he brought too many people, it would certainly arouse suspicion from the Ding and Yang camps. If he brought too few people, it would be useless. When Xu Ensheng was in a dilemma, he suddenly had an idea and said, "General, since we are all going to Xuchang, why do we still need to meet Ding Qirui and participate in a military meeting?"

Zuo Liangyu's heart was moved when he heard this, and a strange light radiated from his eyes, but it was extinguished in an instant. He sighed and said, "No."

"Marshal, why?"

"If Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue already knew about my plot, their camp must be well prepared. With so many precautions, it will be difficult for our army to break through their camp and advance westward. Another point is, if Zhang Cheng of Xuanfu really leads his troops to help us, and we advance westward at this moment, causing the entire division to collapse, then we will be guilty of a great crime!"

  Xu Ensheng's mind was full of confusion. He couldn't understand why he was not afraid of punishment from the court when he broke through Yang's camp and Ding's camp and fled westward, but now he was afraid of being held accountable by the court?

But he could only figure this question out slowly on his own. He absolutely didn't dare to ask it now. Moreover, even if he asked, Zuo Liangyu might not give him a detailed explanation of the reason.

In fact, the logic here is very simple. If Zhang Cheng had not led his troops to rescue, after Zuo Liangyu escaped, the troops of the Ding and Yang camps would have been defeated. At that time, Zuo Liangyu would have become the only remaining armed force of the Ming Dynasty in the Henan and Hubei areas. How could the court be willing to punish him? Even if it wanted to, it would be powerless.

But now, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng is leading tens of thousands of troops to come to the rescue. If Zuo Liangyu still insists on leading his troops to flee westward, even if he can lead a part of the elite troops to escape, with Yongning Earl in the rear to contain the two thieves Chuang and Cao, then the two battalions of Ding and Yang will not necessarily suffer a devastating blow. If most of them are still alive, Zuo Liangyu will be killed without a burial place.

At that time, the only option left would probably be rebellion, but this was a completely unacceptable outcome for him!

"General, it is too dangerous to go to the commander's headquarters now. If something happens to you, what will happen to these more than 100,000 troops?"

"In this situation... we can only take a gamble."

"Then at five o'clock, shall we still take action?"

Zuo Liangyu's expression darkened when he heard this question. He turned around and walked to the commander's desk, picked up a pen and wrote a military order. He then grabbed the order arrow and said, "Quickly send your trusted men to carry the order arrow to each camp to circulate this letter and tell each general to prepare and not to act for the time being."

He said solemnly in a low voice: "Everything...will be discussed after I return!"

"Yes, Marshal."

After a while, Xu Ensheng arranged everything, turned back to the big tent, and said to Zuo Liangyu: "General, I still don't trust the old villain Ding Qirui, let's bring more troops."

"It doesn't matter. Even if Ding Qirui knew about our conspiracy, he wouldn't dare to do anything to me!"