weaving

Chapter 1184: Do you recognize me?

Outside Ding Qirui's main camp at Shuipoji, Zuo Liangyu ran into Hu Dawei, the general of Baoding. He smiled and said hello, "Oh, General Hu is here too."

Hu Dawei usually despised Zuo Liangyu's character, but now everyone was in the same trench, so they had to at least save face. Otherwise, how could they work together to suppress the bandits?

"General Zuo, I heard that Earl Yongning is leading his army to help us and has already arrived at Zhuxian Town."

"Yes. The commander summoned us here, it must be for this matter!"

"I haven't seen my friend Zhang Cheng for a few years. He has made great military achievements and has even become an earl. This really makes me, his elder brother, ashamed."

"Oh, so it seems that General Hu and Earl Yongning are old friends."

"Haha."

Hu Dawei laughed loudly and said, "We are not old friends. When I joined the imperial guards in the eleventh year, Zhang Cheng was only a cavalry commander. He and I once fought a bloody battle with the enemy in Julu, but unfortunately we were defeated in the end."

"Oh. I also heard about the war afterwards. Lu Duchen died for his country in Julu."

"Ah. Let's not talk about what happened back then..."

"General Hu, don't be sad. Since Earl Yongning has led his troops to help us today, we will first defeat the bandits and save Kaifeng from danger. I also want General Hu to introduce Earl Yongning to me and let me get drunk with three hundred cups. How do you think?"

"Haha. That's great, of course. Zhang Cheng is also an expert in drinking. Commander Zuo can't underestimate him."

"Hahaha……"

At this point, the two of them burst into laughter. Just as they were about to ride into the gate of Ding Qirui's central camp, the sound of hooves in the distance caught their attention.

The two of them turned around and saw that it was General Fang Guoan who was leading 200 elite cavalrymen, galloping over. As they came closer, they bowed and said, "General Zuo, I haven't seen you for a few days. I miss you so much."

Zuo Liangyu smiled knowingly and said, "Guoan, this is a bit too much."

Fang Guoan smiled and replied, "There are many bandits and spies recently. It's not safe on the road. Bring more people with you in case of any emergency."

He then noticed Hu Dawei and clasped his fists and said, "So Hu Shuai is here too. Fang Guoan has met Hu Shuai."

The three of them rode side by side into Ding Qirui's camp, with Zuo Liangyu in the middle and Hu Dawei and Fang Guoan on both sides. However, Zuo Liangyu just talked and laughed with Hu Dawei beside him, and didn't pay much attention to Fang Guoan.

Fang Guoan did not feel embarrassed at all. He even chatted and laughed with Zuo Liangyu's deputy general of the central army, Xu Ensheng, and seemed to be very familiar with him.

Fang Guoan, whose courtesy name was Panshi, was a native of Zhuji, Zhejiang Province. When he was young, he was a well-known rogue in the village. He once participated in a cattle-stealing gang, was despised by his clansmen, and was even expelled from his hometown. Later, he joined Zuo Liangyu's camp as a soldier, and was promoted to deputy general because of his bravery in combat and his meritorious services.

After Zuo Liangyu's power grew, the court wanted to divide his followers and weaken his power, so Fang Guoan was promoted to commander-in-chief.

Although Fang Guoan had been promoted to the rank of general, he still secretly depended on Zuo Liangyu and obeyed his orders in everything. It could be said that he was just Zuo Liangyu's external camp.

This time, Zuo Liangyu knew very well that there were many dangers in Ding Qirui's camp, but he only brought Xu Ensheng and four personal soldiers. In fact, it was not because of his confusion, but because Fang Guoan was ordered to bring 200 elite cavalry.

  Fang Guoan——that is his trump card!

…………

When Zuo Liangyu, Hu Dawei and other three generals entered the tent, the former governor Yang Wenyue had already arrived and sat next to Ding Qirui, chatting and laughing. Another general Yang Dezheng was also already there, obviously arriving earlier than the three of them. Among the four generals, Yang Dezheng belonged to the line of Ding Qirui, the governor. Even Yang Deqin, the deputy general of Ding Qirui's battalion, was his cousin. Among the four generals, Yang Dezheng's troops were second only to Zuo Liangyu's. Although they were not as elite as Hu Dawei's troops, they had many more men and horses than Hu Dawei.

Seeing Zuo Liangyu and others coming in, Yang Dezheng hurriedly stood up and greeted them with a smile. Even Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue stood up to show their respect for Zuo Liangyu, which was considered to be giving him enough face.

"Commander-in-chief, I heard that Earl Yongning led his troops to the north of Zhuxian Town. Is this true?" As soon as Zuo Liangyu sat down, he asked directly about Earl Yongning's coming to help.

Ding Qirui glanced at Yang Wenyue before waving his hand to Yang Deqin and saying, "Deputy General Yang, please introduce him to the generals."

Yang Deqin stepped forward and first introduced the matter of Wan Guangjin coming to Dingying to deliver a letter. Then he mentioned that there were two teams of scouts under the command of Yongning Earl, who were going to Yang Wenyue's Baoding army to deliver a letter, agreeing to hold out in Shuipoji for a few more days in order to attack the rebels from both sides.

After he introduced the situation, he introduced Wan Guangjin to Zuo Liangyu, Hu Dawei, Fang Guoan and others, and took out the letter sent by Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng and Wan Guangjin's badge and other items.

Zuo Liangyu took the letter and only glanced at it. There was no military information written on it. It only said that the Yongyi Army had set up camp 20 miles north of Zhuxian Town, and asked Ding, Yang, and Zuo to hold on for a while.

This is understandable. After all, delivering letters is not a safe thing. The cavalry may be intercepted by the enemy on the way and either die or be captured. Once such a thing happens, the letter will naturally fall into the hands of the enemy, so the letter will naturally not be written in too much detail.

After Zuo Liangyu handed the letter to Hu Dawei, his eyes never left him. Hu Dawei's reaction was what he cared about most now!

After all, among all the commanders and generals present, only Hu Dawei and Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng are old friends. Hu Dawei is the only one who has the final say on whether the person who came to deliver the letter is real or fake.

  Of course, at present, Zuo Liangyu is the only one who has this idea in his heart!

Although Hu Dawei was a military general, he had also been in the army for a long time. How could he not understand Zuo Liangyu's little tricks?

"Wan Guangjin, do you know me?"

After hearing Hu Dawei's question, Wan Guangjin stepped forward from the back row, clasped his fists and said, "I was fortunate enough to have killed slaves alongside Hu Marshal in Julu, so how could I not recognize Hu Marshal?"

"Ah."

Hu Dawei nodded and said, "I remember that you were a captain back then. What position do you hold under the command of Earl Yongning now?"

"Replying to General Hu, I am currently the commander-in-chief of the Yulin Cavalry of the Weiyuan Battalion of the Yongyi Army, with the title of deputy commander."

"Yes, I have achieved everything."

Suddenly, Hu Dawei blurted out, "I remember that you were the captain-general when Zhang Cheng was defending the king in the eleventh year. How come you became the deputy captain-general when Zhang Cheng has been expanding his army over the years?"

"Reporting to General Tiger, back then the captain only had three teams of soldiers, but now he has more than 500 elite cavalrymen. Things are different now."

"Oh, it's my fault for being so abrupt. I forgot that you are now a governor."

Hu Dawei seemed to remember something and asked again, "You were under the command of this kid Chen Zheng back then, right?"

"Yes, General Chen was my chief sentry at that time."

"What is his current position?"

"Master Chen, you are now the commander of the White Tiger Battalion of the Yongyi Army with the rank of lieutenant general."

"Ah. How fast it has been. When he entered the capital in the eleventh year, he was still a centurion, and now he is already a lieutenant general!"