weaving

"Lin Quan, your idea is good."

Song Xiance first affirmed Li Yan, but then he said: "But now it is not appropriate."

"Why?"

"Lin Quan, think about it. Originally, we had more troops and horses when we were working together with Cao Cao. I supported you when you proposed this. But now Cao Ying has left and stationed his troops in Guide Prefecture, and his whereabouts are unknown. The Yongyi Army from Xuanda is blocking the road we must take to Kaifeng, and they are eager to try. Our opportunity to manage Henan has passed.

The most urgent task is to gain a strategic advantage even if we cannot defeat the Yongyi Army immediately. In military strategy, this is called "a good warrior controls the enemy rather than being controlled by the enemy". The most important thing now is how to break the impasse.

Although the Yongyi Army is not as strong as ours, their morale is very high, their will to fight is very strong, and they have excellent armor and weapons, especially their guns and cannons, which are much more powerful. They are by no means comparable to other Ming armies that we have defeated in the past.

The Grand Marshal also attaches great importance to this, and has now dispatched troops from all directions, with the goal of inducing the Yongyi Army to make a mistake, so as to find an opportunity to break the situation, defeat the government army in one fell swoop, and then advance to Kaifeng. "

"Can……"

As soon as Li Yan opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Song Xiance: "Lin Quan, now we have no power and no intention to manage the surrounding counties. Everything must be focused on blocking the government troops in the north. Although your suggestion is good, it is exactly contrary to the military strategy set by the Grand Marshal. It is better not to give advice to the Grand Marshal!"

Seeing that Li Yan looked very disappointed, Song Xiance tried to comfort him, "Lin Quan, if you are still unwilling to give up, you can try it out during this trip to eastern Henan. Once you have achieved some results, you can then make suggestions to the Grand Marshal."

He then became a little worried, and reminded Li Yan: "However, you'd better let the recruited refugees to appoint officials and manage the people, and don't divide the troops for this. Otherwise, if the mission is blocked, no one will be able to protect you!"

Li Yan sighed softly, clasped his fists and said with a lonely look: "Okay. This is the only way."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Song Xiance hurriedly grabbed him and reminded him again: "Lin Quan, your trip may seem ordinary, but it is actually quite dangerous. The scouts of the Yongyi Army are fierce and difficult to stop. Even the elite cavalry of the old eight teams in the army find it difficult to deal with them.

The infantry and cavalry they are sending to our flanks must be equally strong. You must be careful to deal with them and not be careless. In particular, you must not divide your forces too much, lest you be taken advantage of by the government troops!"

"I will never forget your love and care."

…………

June 17th, early morning.

The 1,300 cavalrymen of the Shanzi Camp of the Chuang Army, led by deputy commander Bao Jiqiang, followed their chief commander Tong Shoushan to gather at Li Yan's camp, preparing to march towards eastern Henan.

At the same time, several other groups of the rebel army also began to mobilize. The entire rebel camp area was filled with shouts and neighs of horses. The cavalry, infantry, servants, and hungry civilians were in chaos, as if they had walked into a vegetable market without a manager.

The noise can be heard from miles away!

This is the Chuang army, which is known for its strict military discipline. If it were replaced by other bandit armies such as the Xian bandit, the Cao bandit, the five Gezuo bandits, etc., I am afraid the scene would be even more unbearable than today's.

It was not until dusk that the noise subsided a little, but it was still there. Many servants and hungry civilians were still being urged by the soldiers to slowly leave the camp, dragging all kinds of equipment, and no one knew where they were going!

…………

On the same day, noon.

The noise caused by the rebel army reached the central military headquarters of the Earl of Yongning.

"Do you know what the enemy army intends to do?"

"Reporting to Father, the enemy's intentions are currently unknown. I have sent more scouts to investigate."

Earl Yongning looked at the middle officer Zhang Mingyuan and said in a deep voice: "Tell Li Changsheng to keep a close eye on this matter. Also... go and call Tiger in." "Yes."

Soon, Zhang Mingyuan came back with a sturdy and strong young man.

This man was none other than one of the adopted sons of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng. Although he did not look very old, he was born with a full beard and rough hands and feet. If he were not wearing armor, he might have been mistaken for an old farmer.

"Father!" Zhang Lao Hu knelt on one knee and saluted with his fists clasped.

"Tiger, Father has given you a mission."

Yongning Bo turned to Zhang Mingyuan and ordered, "Bring me one of my golden arrows."

After a while, Zhang Mingyuan took out a command arrow and handed it to the Earl of Yongning. The Earl of Yongning then took out a lacquered secret letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhang Lao Hu together with the command arrow. He said to him solemnly: "Lao Hu, take this command to the northern suburbs of the capital to find Niu Sheng and ask him to invite Yu Shangyou to the carriage and horse company.

After that, I will personally hand this secret letter to Yu Shangyou, and you will stay in the carriage and horse shop for the time being. All your actions in the future will be carried out according to Yu Shangyou's instructions until I give you new instructions."

After listening to this, Zhang Lao Hu also realized that this matter was serious, so he replied in a deep voice: "Yes. Lao Hu will make a note of it."

Seeing Zhang Lao Hu with a confused look on his face, Earl Yongning could not help but remind him again: "This secret letter is of great importance. You must guard it with your life. Hand it to Yu Shangyou in person and watch him read it and burn it. It must not fall into the hands of others!"

Seeing the solemn expression on Earl Yongning's face, Zhang Lao Hu also calmed down and replied in a deep voice, "Please rest assured, father. Tiger will definitely defend you with his life and will never disobey your orders."

"Okay. Go ahead."

After Zhang Lao Hu left the tent, Zhang Mingyuan asked softly, "Father, are you being too hasty?"

Yongning Bo ignored him and walked back to his handsome chair and sat down before saying, "When you are old, you should stay at home with your grandchildren and enjoy the happiness of family life. But he doesn't mind being embarrassed and has to come out and make trouble again."

"But...Father, controlling the ministers is a serious matter. Once it is leaked, it may cause the emperor to be furious, which will be disadvantageous to father!"

"If he had a heart that cared about the country and the people, and had some real skills, that would be fine, but he is just a 'silver-plated spearhead'. If you say he has no real skills, I can tolerate that.

But he is not only incompetent, but also corrupt. If such a person is allowed to continue to control the cabinet, it will not only be detrimental to the court, but also to the emperor, to me, and to the Yongyi Army. "

When Yongning Earl said this, he stood up suddenly, strode to the window of the commander's tent, looked at the ray of sunlight shining in from the window, and said, "As for the emperor, there is no need to worry. Niu Sheng has already collected evidence of the old villain Zhou Yanru's crimes, and there are other censors who will take the lead for us. They don't want me to charge in person. Even if the matter is leaked, it will not be held accountable to me."

He turned around and looked at Zhang Mingyuan with a sly smile, saying, "I have been working on Chen Yan's cold stove for so many years. How much money have I spent on him? Now it's time for him to pay me back."

Just at this time, Zhang Guangzhi, the adopted son's personal soldier, came to report: The chief eunuch Wang Chengen in the palace has arrived, has left Kaifeng City, and is heading this way.

Upon hearing the news, Earl Yongning was stunned: Why did Wang Chengen come here suddenly, and why didn't he receive any information beforehand?

The middle officer Zhang Mingyuan also looked suspicious and asked, "Father, if Eunuch Wang suddenly arrived, would he...?"

"Don't worry about that, just deal with it as it happens!"

Zhang Cheng immediately ordered the preparation of an incense table and incense burners. Although he did not know the purpose of Wang Chengen's visit, he still made adequate preparations according to the etiquette of welcoming the imperial edict, and then led his personal soldiers towards the gate.

At the same time, he ordered the drums to be beaten to gather the generals, and they all went to the gate to welcome the eunuch Wang Chengen... (End of this chapter)