weaving

In a dilapidated temple next to Sheqiao Village in Runing Prefecture, Henan Province, in the large tent of the Chinese army of Fu Zonglong, governor of Shaanxi and Trilateral, Yang Wenyue, governor of Baoding, said seriously: "Brother Yuanxian, we want to take it, so I will give it to you; Take one step back, then two steps forward.

This war, of course, is to be fictitious, it is impossible to fight a decisive battle with the thieves from the beginning.

I wait for the time being to avoid the edge of the thieves, in order to save the tens of thousands of horses for the imperial court, and wait for the thieves to take advantage of the gap, and then seek the way to win. This is the perfect strategy! "

Fu Zonglong also had nothing to say at the moment. Although he still had some reluctance in his heart, he couldn't help but think that Yang Wenyue's words were indeed very reasonable.

However, in his heart he still felt that even if he was smashed to pieces, it would be difficult to repay one ten thousandth of the emperor's favor, so he couldn't help but sighed deeply.

Since the people along the way fled before the officers and soldiers arrived, Fu Zonglong's news was not only unknown, but it was also very difficult to replenish food and fodder.

On the night after sending Yang Wenyue away, Fu Zonglong paid homage to his cousin, saying that he and the governor Yang Wenyue had joined forces in Xincai territory, and that they would follow the order and work together to suppress rebellion and relieve the court's worries.

But even though he said so in the worship form, he also understood that it was all lies, so his heart was still very heavy, and he had a premonition that his future was bleak, and the hope of success could be said to be very small.

After watching his own soldiers ride away, Fu Zonglong returned to his military tent, hesitating endlessly, and couldn't help but heaved a long sigh.

These days he had been on the road for days, although he was exhausted on the pommel horse, but at the moment he was so worried that he really didn't want to sleep. Fu Zonglong walked out of the military tent, blowing the night wind in late autumn.

Suddenly, he found that several villages were ablaze with flames rising into the sky several miles away, which looked extraordinarily bright in the silent night sky.

Fu Zonglong was startled, and hurriedly asked his slave Lu San, "Why did those villages catch fire?"

Lu San seemed to know about this, and he lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows, and said softly beside Fu Zonglong, "Master, please open your eyes and close your eyes!"

Fu Zonglong didn't understand the inside story in his heart. He really wanted to prevent this kind of thing from happening, but suddenly he also thought that this was due to payment and lack of food. If he wanted to forcibly stop the officers and soldiers from looting, How is it possible to commit adultery and burn down houses?

But he was even more worried. He couldn't help but think about how such an army and such a situation could fight against the thieves?

But Fu Zonglong was powerless about it, and he didn't feel his helplessness until then. He just watched silently for a while, and after sighing, shook his head and returned to the tent.

…………

At dawn the next day, after Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue had a full meal, they headed north to Xiangcheng.

Fu Zonglong rode his horse and stood on the south bank of Rushui, and urged the soldiers to build several pontoon bridges on Rushui and flood water.

In fact, he had already issued the military order to build the bridge before it was dark yesterday, but the soldiers in the army delayed in every possible way, and in addition to the need for more wood, many houses were demolished.

Therefore, these pontoon bridges were not completed until around Si o'clock today. After the troops of Fu and Yang's armies had crossed the flood river, it was already past noon.

In this way, we went northward for a while, and set up camp that night in a town called Longkou, which is about fifty miles south of Xincai County.

Less than a hundred miles to the north is Xiangcheng, 25 miles to the northwest is Shiyangbu, and [-] miles to the northeast is Wadian. land.

Although the march was only a few tens of miles today, they had been on the road for several days, and the men and horses were exhausted, especially the infantry, and they seemed to be complaining.

Yang Wenyue had long been used to these complaints, but Fu Zonglong had only just been released from prison by the emperor. He had not been in charge of the army for a long time, and he didn't seem to be used to it. He felt that it seemed extremely scary.

In the army, there were also some cronies placed or bought by Fu Zonglong, and they quietly told Fu Zonglong: In addition to cursing the hard work of marching, the most important thing for the soldiers was their opinions on the arrears of salary.

They even complained cursingly, working for the court for nothing, it's so fucking boring, what kind of grandson is willing to fight the thieves!
Complaints like the ones in the Shaanxi and Trilateral Ming armies led by Fu Zonglong are also very common in other armies of the Ming Dynasty. What about fighting the enemy?
The officers of each battalion drank the blood of soldiers on weekdays. At this time, they did not dare to ask more about the complaints of their subordinates. It is easy to be hacked by subordinates for no reason!
In fact, even the generals of the battalions were not willing to fight the bandits, everyone hoped to save their own lives, so when they heard that the troops were going north to Xiangcheng, they were all happy .

After the Ming army settled in Longkou Town, the surrounding area was no different from when it was in Xincai. Flames shot up everywhere, against the background of billowing thick smoke, churning upwards, and the sound of crying faintly came from a distance.

All these made Fu Zonglong, governor of Shaanxi and the three sides, restless in the military tent.

That night, the prefect of Runing sent two urgent official documents and a letter written by him, saying that the two thieves, Chuang and Cao, were about to attack Fucheng, and asked Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue to rescue him quickly.

At this time, Fu Zonglong himself also received a spy report. He knew that the vanguard bandits of Chuang and Cao had indeed appeared near Sheqiao, and it was reported that many ladders for attacking the city were being built there.

At about three o'clock, the commander-in-chief He Renlong also sent someone to report that: when his ranger was sentrying towards Sheqiao, he saw the bandits building a bridge on the Honghe River only ten miles away. pontoon.

It is estimated that there are about [-] to [-] bandits on the other side of the river waiting to cross the river. It seems that they really intend to march to Runing.

Fu Zonglong also felt that there was nothing he could do about it, he thought in his heart: If Chuang Ni really attacked Runing, if Runing made a mistake and King Chong was killed, then he would be blamed.

So, he immediately found the governor Yang Wenyue, and called the generals of each battalion overnight to discuss countermeasures.

In the military tent, all the generals were silent, no one wanted to speak first, the general soldier He Renlong looked at Zhenbao general soldier Hu Dawei from time to time.

Hu Dawei has been under the control of the governor Yang Wenyue since he was transferred to the post of chief soldier in Shanxi and transferred to the chief soldier of Zhenbao. At this time, he is already a trusted general who Yang Wenyue trusts and relies on.

At this moment, Hu Dawei knew that although Yang Wenyue was the governor of Baoding, there were not many soldiers and horses in the towns under his jurisdiction that could fight.

And when he himself was transferred to be the general of Zhenbao, he only brought hundreds of Ding's soldiers. Although he had been concentrating on managing them for the past two years, his soldiers and horses were only a bit in shape.

At the same time, he also knew that the Shaanxi soldiers led by Fu Zonglong also had no fighting spirit. After all, Fu Zonglong first held the seal of the governor of the three sides, and he had not had time to rectify the Shaanxi army.

Just like He Renlong, the commander-in-chief who has some strength, although his soldiers are capable and brave to fight, but he is in a posture of listening to the announcement and not listening to the tune, which is quite difficult to deal with.

However, Hu Dawei also knew that these thoughts of his should not come out of his mouth, so as not to be true, he just looked at the governor Yang Wenyue frequently.

I hope that Yang Wenyue can put forward a prudent proposition at the right time, so as not to rush to a decisive battle with the intruders, resulting in a big defeat and no hope of turning the tables.

How could Yang Wenyue not understand the meaning of Hu Dawei.

In fact, he also knew that several generals in Baoding were unwilling to fight against the bandits, and he himself knew that the official army at this time was by no means an opponent of the bandits.

Yang Wenyue is like a clock, sitting as firmly as a mountain. Not only does his body remain motionless, but even the expression on his face remains unchanged, as calm as water.

Both He Renlong and Hu Dawei were unwilling to say such prudent words, so how could Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, say it casually?

Although he knew in his heart that prudence is the most important thing at present, and avoiding the vandals for the time being is the best policy, but he was afraid that if these words came from his mouth, Fu Zonglong might criticize him in the memorial for "cowardice before the battle, which will delay the military opportunity" .

Yang Wenyue knows very well that the current emperor is a suspicious person, and his temper has been extremely violent in recent years. If he does that, he will undoubtedly be convicted.

In addition, although he and Fu Zonglong are both governors, and it is said that he was promoted to governor a year earlier than Fu Zonglong, the emperor wanted him to obey Fu Zonglong's restraint after joining forces with Fu Zonglong.

This also made him very unconvinced!
It was precisely because of Yang Wenyue's unconvinced heart that he hoped that the burden of decision-making before the battle would be borne by Fu Zonglong, the governor of the three sides.

At the same time, like Fu Zonglong, Yang Wenyue was afraid in his heart. If he really didn't save Runing, once Runing fell and King Chong was killed, both he and Fu Zonglong would be convicted of this, and they might even be imprisoned until they were released from Beijing. Beheading is not impossible.

After a moment of silence in the military tent, Yang Wenyue finally looked at Fu Zonglong. He said, "This matter is very urgent. Whether it is to be saved or not, I ask Governor Fu to come up with an idea, so that the generals can discuss it later."

Fu Zonglong is also very embarrassed about this in his heart, but Yang Wenyue's words have come to this point, he can't avoid it anymore, he has to come up with an idea.

He was nervous, his gray beard was trembling in front of his chest, and even his fingers trembled, but he said generously: "The governor has been in prison for two years, and now I have received a special pardon from the emperor. With the important task of sealing the border, now he is ordered to suppress the bandits, and he can only report the emperor's favor with his death.

Zong Long is almost sixty years old, and he has never been a deserter in his life. Today, he would rather die than be a deserter. I have made up my mind. I will march into Runing tomorrow morning to fight the bandits.

I also hope that you can rise up in front of the battle, repay the grace of the saints, fight hard, and defeat the rebels in one fell swoop! "

All the generals in the military tent heard that Fu Zonglong had made such a decision, and they all chose to remain silent for a while. No one dared to say inappropriate words anymore, but in their hearts, they had their own ghosts.

Governor Yang Wenyue saw that Fu Zonglong had already decided to fight the bandits tomorrow.

He was also ordered to come to suppress the thieves, so naturally he couldn't express any different opinions, but he thought in his heart: In the decisive battle tomorrow, nine times out of ten, he will be defeated. Advise Fu Zonglong to save some troops.

Yang Wenyue didn't say much, seeing that the army's opinion had been decided, he stood up and said goodbye: "Since Governor Fu has decided to fight the bandits tomorrow, I'll go back to the camp and prepare overnight."

Then he looked at Hu Dawei and said: "General Hu, you should also go back to the camp as soon as possible to prepare for tomorrow's battle."

…………

Fu Zonglong sent Baoding Governor Yang Wenyue, Zhenbao General Soldier Hu Dawei and other Baoding generals out of the tent, and saw He Renlong and Li Guoqi, two generals of the Shaanxi Army, were also preparing to leave.

He then said to the two of them: "Two generals, please stay a little longer, the governor still has something to say."

After He Renlong and Li Guoqi heard the words, they were no longer in a hurry to leave. They stood in their tents and waited for Governor Fu Zonglong's instructions.

Fu Zonglong looked at the two with affection in his eyes, and said to them: "It has been more than ten years since the bandits were suppressed. As a general, none of them can work together wholeheartedly. As a result, the bandits are flourishing day by day, but the overall situation of the country is in danger. day.

Today, Ben Du and Yang Du join forces in the south of Henan, and they can no longer avoid fighting without fighting like in the past.

The two generals are now following the governor to send troops from Shaanxi. The success or failure depends on one action. I hope that the two generals will fight hard tomorrow to atone for their past mistakes and make great contributions.

Don't let the imperial court live up to the old man's ardent expectations! "

Although He Renlong and Li Guoqi were thinking about each other, they both pretended to be moved at the moment, and they said loudly: "Yes, yes. I must be loyal and serve the court. Tomorrow, I will fight against the bandits. There must be progress and no retreat, please rest assured Fu Du."

Fu Zonglong was satisfied when he heard the words, and felt deeply comforted in his heart, but he was also afraid that the words and deeds of the two generals of the Shaanxi Army were inconsistent, and they were just perfunctory to him.

Therefore, Fu Zonglong said to them again: "As long as the two generals fight the bandits tomorrow and make a little contribution, even if they have done something indebted to the emperor in the past, it will be considered as a cover-up, and the past will be forgotten.

The governor will definitely play the imperial court, imploring the emperor to show special kindness to the two generals and reward them for their great achievements. "

He Renlong and Li Guoqi hurriedly promised again and again: "I will obey the military order of the governor, fight to the death and kill the thieves, make meritorious service for the country, report the favor of the king, and live up to the governor!"

Seeing them like this, Fu Zonglong felt relieved and sent them out of the big tent himself.

But in his heart, he still felt a bit at a loss as to whether he would be able to fight the thief tomorrow, or whether he could defeat the thief in the decisive battle.

He looked at the Shangfang sword bestowed by Emperor Chongzhen, sighed, and said to himself: "Your Majesty, Zonglong is old. If he fails to fight against the bandits tomorrow, I would rather die on the battlefield than become a fugitive commander!"

…………

For two consecutive days, "One Tiger" Li Guo stationed troops near Sheqiao Village.

While sending people to spy on the movement of the officers and soldiers, he waited for the arrival of the large army of thieves, and at the same time, he also pretended that he was about to attack the city of Runing.

Li Guo ordered the thieves to make ladders and other siege equipment, and collected a large amount of saltpeter, sulfur and other materials from nearby villages and towns to prepare gunpowder, as if they wanted to blow up the city...