Daming kill

Chapter 65

After Song Baolai left, when Li Ping wanted to continue to think quietly at night, Zhao Jin came suddenly.

Looking at the already dark sky, and looking at the food box carried by Zhao Liang, the soldier who followed Zhao Jin, Li Ping estimated that Zhao Jin should leave the city when the gate of Xiangyang City was about to fall before dark, and he planned to stay there all night long. The rhythm of the conversation.

Li Ping hurriedly asked Liu Xiaohui to prepare a little bit, and then asked the three soldiers to continue to watch far away, not to let anyone approach.

Fill up the light fruit wine and start to drink it, the topic quickly opens up.

Zhao Jin wanted to have a good talk before Li Ping left. He knew that Li Ping's new camp was some distance away from Xiangyang City, and it would not be easy and convenient to meet again in the future.

Zhao Jin didn't show up these two days, mainly because he was busy inquiring and collecting various information. He wanted to understand as many doubts as possible, not only to remind Li Ping, but also to listen to Li Ping's opinions.

After Li Ping went out on his own, Zhao Jin's strength was not weakened too much. He also got some supplementary troops, about 600 people, and he was also rewarded with some supplies and food.Zuo Liangyu was very considerate in this regard, and it was hard not to have a good impression of him.

Although according to Zhao Jin's understanding, the troops supplemented to them were basically no-name beggar troops, and some even consisted of a large group of homeless mobs for self-defense, with weapons, armor and battle skills.But these people are also the easiest to be digested and absorbed by them, and it is easier for them to transform them into obedient troops. Zhao Jin obviously doesn't like the fact that his men are all alliance-like troops like Shi Ming and Wang Chengwu.

No matter how good a soldier is, it would be better not to be disobedient.

However, the group assigned to Li Ping also needs to be careful.It is said that the leader is a local scholar, and when he has nothing to do, he also gathers crowds to mess around like others. He is very rebellious because of his fame, and has caused a lot of trouble for many officers and soldiers, but because of his status, it is not good. what to do.

This is not surprising.

No matter how violent Zuo Liangyu's soldiers were, the Ming Dynasty ruled the world with scholars after all, and the nobleness of the gentlemen and the lightness of the martial arts have long been entrenched. This Xiangyang Prefecture is also a famous historical city with a rich heritage of poetry and literature. The warriors really have to weigh it if they want to trouble the scholars.Moreover, although Zuo Liangyu was uneducated, he respected scholars very much. As his subordinates, he was naturally more cautious when dealing with scholars.

It is said that it was Fang Guoan's idea to arrange such a group of beggars for them.It is said that Zhao Jin and Li Ping are too young, afraid that they will not be able to suppress those famous and honest people. Once an accident happens, it will be unbeautiful, and it will save the need to force other generals to reluctantly part with each other.

Moreover, such beggar-style troops can be supplemented more, which also seems to be the generosity of General Zuo.

As for the scholar, he said that Li Ping was a little too young, and he might not be able to adapt to the sudden rise to the position. A scholar could just assist him, and it might be another good story.

After Li Ping told Zhao Jin what he learned today about the situation of his three groups of people, both of them felt a little bit embarrassed.

It's really not as good as man's calculation!

Fang Guoan never expected that Zhao Jin and Li Ping obviously prefer troops without roots. What they need most now is not veterans and elites, but control and loyalty. As for combat power, they will train themselves.This may be the gap in vision and knowledge!

Of course, that scholar was a little troublesome, and Li Ping couldn't take it lightly.

After sighing, Zhao Jin threw out a very important news.

Zuo Liangyu's warships were not all built to fight against Li Zicheng, but were also preparing for escape.Zhao Jin has already found out that Zuo Liangyu has already selected the place where he escaped, which is said to be Jiangling County in the south.

This also means that if Li Zicheng goes south after breaking through Kaifeng, Xiangyang will probably be abandoned.

Li Ping is not familiar with the geography of the south, and there is no map, so Li Ping couldn't figure out where the place name Jiangling was for a while, and Zhao Jin didn't know much about it. He only heard that it was on the bank of the Yangtze River, about four kilometers south of Xiangyang. Five hundred miles away.

Not having a map is a major annoyance for the two now.Although the management of maps in the Ming Dynasty was relatively enlightened, maps of the whole country or large regions with relatively detailed markings were still luxury goods, and it was not easy for ordinary people to obtain them.Most people rely on memory and word of mouth for geography.

The two of them are also quite confused about the current historical trend. They don't know whether the history of this time and space has always gone like this, or after they came, they had a butterfly effect on this time and space, and some of them have changed.

However, when Li Ping rescued Zuo Menggeng's wife, something must have changed.Either there was no attack at all, or the attack was unsuccessful because there were more guards, or the success of the attack had an impact on Zuo Liangyu's future life.

But no matter how history changes, continuing to embrace Zuo Liangyu's thigh is still their basic principle and the most feasible way to survive.

But if you want to hug other people's thighs, you have to seriously understand Zuo Liangyu's character traits and ways of doing things, and you must abandon all personal emotions and analyze as objectively as possible.

This is very important to them.

As for Zuo Liangyu, from what they have gradually figured out, he is now 43 years old. He is from Linqing, Shandong Province. He lost both his father and mother when he was young. He is not very literate, but he is very brave and can draw a bow with both hands.

At that time, Zuo Liangyu joined the army in Liaodong, and began to improve with his military exploits.Later, he was transferred to the pass to fight against the peasant army. He defeated many famous peasant armies, including the famous Zhang Xianzhong. It can even be said that he often beat the peasant army into dogs. Discolored characters.

This is not flattery, Zuo Liangyu's large number of former peasant soldiers and generals can testify.Moreover, the former peasant army, regardless of size, would call Zuo Liangyu "Grandpa Zuo" whenever they mentioned Zuo Liangyu, which shows Zuo Liangyu's great reputation in the peasant army.

For more than ten years, Zuo Liangyu has had many impressive records, whether against the Hou Jin Army (the Manchu Qing Dynasty changed its name to Jin Weiqing in 1636) or the Peasant Army, which can be said to be illustrious.

Li Ping was actually a little surprised by Zuo Liangyu's glorious history, and it also surprised him, which was a bit different from the incompetent Zuo Liangyu in his shallow historical knowledge.Especially as time went by in the Zuo army and the more he learned, Zuo Liangyu's true image became more and more full. At least Li Ping already knew that Zuo Liangyu was not an idiot.

It is impossible for an idiot to climb to the pinnacle of power from a small soldier with no background, it is impossible for an idiot to be reused by the Ming court in troubled times, and it is even more impossible for an idiot to lead and suppress an army of hundreds of thousands.

In addition to his outstanding military achievements, Zuo Liangyu's personality is also very strong.

Zuo Liangyu lived a simple life. She was neither obsessed with women nor greedy for money. It can be said that she was very clean.But at the same time, he is very generous to his subordinates, but he often rewards his subordinates if he has money seized, just like the generous rewards for Zhao Jin and Li Ping this time are his decision, and he publicly expressed his son's stinginess and procrastination dissatisfied.

What's even more amazing is Zuo Liangyu's attitude towards the surrendered soldiers and generals.I defeated you, then surrendered you, but continued to let you lead the army alone, such examples abound.Such a bold trust and reuse will not work.

But at the same time, other aspects of Zuo Liangyu are worth pondering and pondering.

Zuo Liangyu's requirements for his subordinates are very loose, and a little too loose. As long as they are loyal to him, they are basically free to how to organize and train their own troops, and military discipline is even less restrictive.

Then, Zuo Liangyu often played the trick of a warlord who supports his own self-respect and refuses to obey orders, which is even more appealing to his subordinates.What's more, Zuo Liangyu, as a leader of the army, actually likes doing things like massacring the city very much, and his subordinates like him even more. It's so easy and fast to make a fortune and rob women.

Zuo Liangyu gained a lot of support by doing this way of faction and running the army, and became the main reason why the peasant army and bandits liked to rely on Zuo Liangyu.

In any case, leaving aside the major blemishes of self-respect, massacres, and lax military control, Zuo Liangyu had always been the most capable of Ming Dynasty before the battle in Zhuxian Town, before Zhao Jin and Li Ping came to this world. One of the generals who are good at fighting and one of the most popular generals, he should be regarded as a real famous general.

So what exactly happened?
Zuo Liangyu would become so unprogressive and unreasonable in Zhuxian Town, that even when he arrived in Xiangyang, he still planned to run away.

Most of Zuo Liangyu's current 20 people are mobs, but they are not incapable of fighting, and they also occupy the eternal natural danger like Xiangyang.

Of course, Zhao Jin didn't come to ask Li Ping questions. He came to discuss Zuo Liangyu with Li Ping after he had a preliminary judgment, or a certain understanding. end.

Zhao Jin believed that the Mutiny in Xuzhou in the 11th year of Chongzhen may be a very important factor, and this is also the latest and relatively important information he has.

At that time, Zuo Liangyu's family members were all in Xuzhou, but they were wiped out in the mutiny, even the uncle's family who raised him were all killed, leaving only himself and his son Zuo Menggeng with him.

According to Zhao Jin's further collection and understanding, that is, since then, Zuo Liangyu has obviously become more concerned about his own safety, and has become more cautious in combat. I have never played the bold implementation that he often plays.

Of course, Zuo Liangyu didn't have a big defeat, or it was a failure that put him in an extremely dangerous situation. He is still a hero that the peasant army cannot underestimate. The successful attack on Linying, Li Zicheng's storage base before the Zhuxian Town battle is a proof.

Zhao Jin thought that Zuo Liangyu might have lost his home, so he began to pay attention to protecting the incense, and this must protect himself first, because Zuo Liangyu must personally escort his son so that there will be no more accidents.

His courage had already diminished, but the accident and tragic defeat in the battle of Zhuxian Town once again destroyed Zuo Liangyu's psychology, and it was like breaking his spine, making him completely lose the arrogance he once had, making him Began to be very jealous of Li Zicheng.

Perhaps, they are witnessing the complete decline of Zuo Liangyu, and it is the history of this complete decline that will be remembered by the world at last, and will remain infamous for thousands of years!

This also means that once Li Zicheng goes south, Xiangyang may really be abandoned.Therefore, if Kaifeng falls, whether Li Zicheng will go south becomes the key, and this possibility is quite high at present, because Henan has nothing to eat.

Therefore, Zhao Jin and Li Ping must be prepared to run.Then how to run?Whether to follow or run away alone is more critical.This involves whether Zuo Liangyu will continue to obey orders to play a big battle with the peasant army after recovering, which is a matter of narrow escape.

Although Zuo Liangyu may have become the escaped general in history, history may have changed after all, and some things are still uncertain.

Therefore, Zuo Liangyu's character is still the key.But this also involves a character that cannot be avoided, a character that Zhao Jin just figured out, Hou Xun.

Hou Xun, a native of Guide Mansion (Shangqiu, Henan Province), a member of the Donglin Party, and the former Minister of the Household Department, is now urgently released from the prison where he has been imprisoned for seven years and replaced the defeated Governor Ding Qirui Baoding in Kaifeng and others Seven Towns Military Affairs.

Zuo Liangyu used to be Hou Xun's handyman, and he was promoted all the way up with Hou Xun's help. Even his word "Kunshan" was given by Hou Xun. The relationship is said to be as close as father and son.

This is also the main reason why Zuo Liangyu is particularly close to scholars and clearly leans towards the Donglin Party politically.

Zuo Liangyu suppressed bandits in Henan for a long time, and he robbed very frantically, but he went to Guide three times, and Duqiu did not commit any crimes. He also went to Hou's mansion to kowtow to Hou Xun's father in person, which shows that his respect for Hou Xun is not false.

This is also the reason why Zuo Liangyu was a little excited after knowing that Hou Xun was appointed as the new supervisor, and specially sent Jin Shengheng to greet him.

However, even with such a relationship, Zuo Liangyu still resolutely rejected Hou Xun's request to order him to lead the entire army northward.You know, if he does this, Hou Xun may have to go back to prison immediately.

The emperor's amnesty and appointment of Hou Xun have made it clear that it is to mobilize Zuo Liangyu.

It's not surprising that Hou Xun couldn't come, because there was a vast area controlled by the Peasant Army in the middle, so there was no guarantee of security at all, and Hou Xun had to stay in a place away from the seal to preside over the battle.

But Zuo Liangyu's uncharacteristically coldness is due to his clear understanding of his own strength, or the habit of self-preservation that no one can deny during the years of fighting. Some things are really hard to say.

However, there is also a saying that Zuo Liangyu did not go north because he got the acquiescence of Hou Xun's private letter.Hou Xun believed that Henan was already a thousand miles away, and there was only one important town left in Kaifeng.But no one dared to say this publicly. There is still a prince surnamed Zhu in Kaifeng.

Of course, now there are too many rumors, too much information, and it is difficult to tell the truth from the false. There are some things that no one can tell clearly except myself, and we can only guess, analyze and judge.

But Zhao Jin also judged that from Zuo Liangyu's experience, he should be very insecure, and his son and military power are probably his last beliefs.

In just a few months, Zuo Liangyu's army has grown from a few thousand to 20. This is not only a miracle, but also shows Zuo Liangyu's dedication to military power.And judging from how he paved the way for Zuo Menggeng everywhere, he definitely gave his best to Zuo Menggeng. He didn't want his son to go through his hardships, but he also created Zuo Menggeng's character like a son-in-law.

Li Ping agreed with Zhao Jin's analysis.However, when it comes to restraining his subordinates, Li Ping still has a feeling that Zuo Liangyu has recruited too many miscellaneous weapons, and even his most capable generals like Jin Shengheng, Wang Guangen, Ma Jinzhong and others are all from the peasant army. Of course, more of them are the garbage weapons of the five scumbags.

If he wants to grow himself stronger, he has to make everyone think that he has the tolerance of all rivers and the convenience of enjoying the shade under the big tree, so that others will vote for him, but it will not be easy for him to restrain the troops, and I am afraid he will not be able to restrain the troops. The bandits and hooligans in the army are the big bosses.

Li Ping also has a feeling that at present they all know that Zuo Liangyu has disobeyed orders many times, and the people in the court may also look down on him. The relationship between him and the court is probably already very bad, and he supports himself I am afraid that he has long thought of self-protection.

Zhao Jin also agrees with Li Ping's judgment.

Regarding the current situation of the two of them, Zhao Jin is also quite at ease.He thought that as long as they stayed honestly under Zuo Menggeng's wing, they would be fine.As for Fang Guoan, although there may be some minor actions, there will be no major problems.As long as Zhao Jin, Li Ping and the others don't rebel against Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Menggeng will certainly not treat them badly on the surface.Otherwise, the Zuo family would be suspicious of even those who fought for his family. How to win the trust of the army, such a foolish old fritter like Zuo Liangyu should not commit any crimes.

Of course, military power is the foundation of everything. It is the best way for Zhao Jin and Li Ping to protect themselves as much as possible. They must be prepared for any possibility.

During such a conversation, Li Ping also suddenly remembered that they should further modify their identities.

In fact, he was inspired by Shi Ming when he saw Zuo Menggeng when he first saw Zuo Menggeng.Now, as their status continues to improve and their time here continues to grow, the original identity explanation and many things they show are becoming less and less applicable. At least it is difficult for others to believe that they are obviously different. From ordinary people.If you keep holding on to the original character set, it will be easy to be considered by others as having ulterior motives.

Zhao Jin also took Li Ping's feelings seriously, and the two quickly continued to discuss...

(End of this chapter)