weaving

Chapter 1309: Reserve a Way Out

"Father, what do you think the Emperor meant?"

"What does it mean...what else can it mean?"

Yongning Earl Zhang Chengce was sitting on his warhorse, Bicongju, looking at the eunuch Wang Chengen and his entourage who were gradually going away. He continued, "The master in the palace wants us to work for him, but he doesn't want to take responsibility. Isn't this letting Wang Chengen test us?"

"What on earth did Eunuch Wang come here to investigate?"

"He came to test our attitude towards Hou Xun becoming the governor, and to see if we are willing to follow his command."

"Who the hell is Hou Xun? How dare he show up out of nowhere and come to the Kaifeng front to command us? I'm afraid he won't even know how he died by then."

Zhang Cheng glanced at him, his eyes showing no blame, but full of tenderness, and said with a smile: "Don't worry. Nowadays, no one in the court dares to order us around."

After he finished speaking, he ignored Zhang Mingyuan's reaction, whipped his horse, and ran back to his central army camp. Zhang Mingyuan hurriedly called dozens of personal soldiers and chased after him...

…………

The sun is shining brightly in the sky, baking everything on the vast earth.

Xiao Yunshan, deputy commander of the Shanzi Battalion of the Chuang Army, was leading his troops on the road to Tongxu County. They were also being mercilessly baked by the scorching sun, and their bodies were covered with oil.

More than a thousand cavalrymen from the Shanzi Camp, led by their chief Tong Shoushan, had set out for eastern Henan the day before, along with the Chuang army general Li Yan.

In fact, most of the bandit troops in Li Yan's army were from eastern Henan. They were quite familiar with the local geography, customs and practices. This was also the reason why King Chuang sent Li Yan to eastern Henan.

On the night that Li Yan received the military order from King Chuang, he sent out more than a dozen old men from eastern Henan who had joined him in the rebellion. They set out overnight to investigate in Chenliu, Qixian, Tongxu and other places.

There are now a total of seven battalions in the Shan Camp. Among them, the cavalry battalion had already set out with Tong Shoushan, while Yin Wutang's old battalion stayed behind this time and did not go into battle with the army.

Therefore, only five battalions of infantry set out later. Qi Dakan led the front battalion to lead the way, Lu Zhen and Fang Zhengxian led the right battalion and the middle battalion respectively to follow behind, while Yan Mingda and Xiao Yunshan led the rear battalion and the left battalion to cover the rear.

At this moment, Xiao Yunshan and Yan Mingda were riding side by side. Looking at the soldiers of the Chuang army scattered all over the mountains, Xiao Yunshan looked very high-spirited and said very proudly: "Old Yan, I never thought that one day I would command thousands of soldiers and fight in all directions."

Yan Mingda looked at him and said with a smile: "Who knows, when the King of Rebellion becomes the emperor, maybe we brothers can become generals. At that time, we won't have thousands of soldiers."

The two of them had a very close relationship. Of course, this did not rule out the possibility that Yan Mingda deliberately made friends with Xiao Yunshan. In short, they could almost talk about anything.

"What are you talking about?"

Xiao Yunshan immediately asked back: "I heard that the Yongyi Army in the north seems to be a tough nut to crack!"

"So what if it's hard?"

Yan Mingda asked in return: "Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian died in our hands, and the general Zuo who suppressed the bandits and the governor named Ding led 300,000 troops, but they were defeated by us at Shuipoji."

"Hey, Chief Yan, don't blame me for being blunt. The Yongyi Army blocking the north is really different."

"Why don't you tell me how they are different?" Xiao Yunshan rode his horse slowly forward and said, "They can fight. To be more precise, they dare to fight. They are different from the government troops nearby. Not to mention the government troops in Henan, even the Shaanxi border troops brought by Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian are not as brave and capable as the Yongyi Army."

He turned his head and looked at Yan Mingda, and suddenly asked: "Brother Yan, you are also a member of the Xuanda Frontier Army who fought in the Battle of Julu. Do you know anything about the Yongyi Army?"

Yan Mingda was stunned when he heard this. He first glanced at Xiao Yunshan, then looked at the situation of the marching troops, and then slowly replied to him: "We have also asked Mr. Shan about this matter. From the intelligence, we know that the Yongyi Army is the battalion name of the troops under the command of the new Xuanfu General. But when Zhang Cheng was in Julu, he was just a guerrilla. We didn't have much contact with him, so we don't know the specific situation."

Xiao Yunshan said, "This Xuanfu General Zhang Cheng is very courageous. In the eleventh year, he recruited Li Jiyu from Dengfeng and now he is the deputy general of the government army. I heard that the Xiao Yuanying who escaped a while ago also joined him. Yuan Shizhong also got the title of Lieutenant General of the court and led his original Xiao Yuanying troops."

When he said this, he couldn't help but smack his lips, and then leaned close to Yan Mingda and whispered, "Rumor has it in the army that Cao Ying has also surrendered to Zhang Cheng, and is going to join forces with the Yongyi Army to attack our camp."

Yan Mingda's eyes were filled with doubt. He asked, "It's just a rumor. Why do you still believe it?"

Xiao Yunshan didn't seem to be shy about it. He reached into his arms, took out a dirty rag, and handed it to Yan Mingda, saying, "Look, Brother Yan, take a look at this first."

Yan Mingda took it and looked at it suspiciously. He was shocked and asked in a low voice: "Where did this come from?"

"Hey, brother, why are you so anxious?"

Xiao Yunshan continued indifferently, "I think you are our Lord Shan's confidant, so I let you see it."

But when he saw Yan Mingda's serious expression, he explained: "This...wasn't it that the brothers who were exploring the way ahead saw it and tore it up and brought it back."

He then moved closer to Yan Mingda and lowered his voice and said, "Brother, we originally wanted to help King Chuang conquer the world so that we could get the credit for following him, give his wife and children titles, and bring glory to our ancestors.

But now, less than 100,000 brave soldiers have blocked our way north to attack Kaifeng. I think the Ming Dynasty may not be doomed yet."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Brother Yan, take a look, this notice says..." He lowered his voice again and said, "Except for the son of King Chuang, all the other bandits will be pardoned. If you can turn against the enemy in battle, you will be rewarded with a higher level of merit."

Yan Mingda glared and said angrily, "Do you want to surrender to the court?"

"Brother Yan, don't be angry."

Xiao Yunshan continued with a grin, "The current situation of the war is unclear. After all, we have served in the imperial army. If the Ming Dynasty is really not doomed, we should abandon the dark and join the light and find a way out for these thousands of brothers!"

"The damn court has always been dishonest. Do you dare to believe this?"

"Whether you believe it or not is another matter, but it's always good to be more careful."

He still had a grin on his face, and added, "Besides, I don't trust the damn court, but this Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng seems quite trustworthy."

Yan Mingda glared at him and warned him, "Don't dare tell anyone else about this."

"Don't worry, I'll only talk about this with your brother Yan!"