Zeng Guoquan, the commander of the Hunan army who came to support, has been holding his breath in his heart recently!

Just over two months ago, in the border town near Annam, he set up a Hongmen banquet as a high-ranking and powerful Qincha, in an attempt to trap and kill the soldiers of the Heavenly Army who had returned triumphantly in one fell swoop.

He successfully used poisoned wine and poisoned rice to subdue most of the soldiers of the Heavenly Army, and when he was very close to success, he couldn't stand the strong attraction of capturing Mai Ke alive, and rushed forward alone, trying to capture the enemy's head, and the establishment was not a meritorious achievement.

Where did I think that this was Mai Ke's trick to lure the enemy, not only did not capture Mai Ke, but did not capture Mai Ke.

I wanted to capture the thief and capture the king, but I ended up becoming the king of thieves in the hands of the heavenly army.

Qin Chazheng was captured, so that his deputy Li Hongzhang was helpless and passive everywhere, so he had to adopt steady tactics and chase the heavenly army, and finally was broken out of the shell by the golden cicada of the heavenly army, broke through the siege along the lì, and walked away.

In order to save him, Zeng Guofan tried his best, and finally exchanged Zeng Guoquan back in the humiliating way of exchanging prisoners.

In that round of confrontation, Zeng Guoquan could have the upper hand, but the result was extremely bad!

Not only did they lose a lot of money, but they also lost face!

Before he was captured and imprisoned, even his eldest brother Zeng Guofan was also ridiculed a lot.

Because, this Zeng Guoquan's identity as a messenger was actually appointed by Zeng Guofan!

It is not Zhengqincha, but Xiangqincha, and this quota was specially granted by the emperor to Zeng Guofan.

Just like Li Hongzhang and others.

However, this Hongmen banquet was specifically responsible for Zeng Guoquan, so he was the main Xiangqincha.

For the first time, he was entrusted with a heavy task by his eldest brother. Just let him mess it up, he felt very ashamed of his big brother!

And this smashed Cheng dù has reached a very bad Cheng dù, which can be described as far-reaching.

Zeng Guoquan is determined, is the kind of character that becomes more and more courageous, how can the most fierce general among the five tigers of the Zeng family in history be idle?

So since he was exchanged, he has been working hard to get revenge!

His strength is more courageous than lying on a salary.

Objectively speaking, he also has a face inside. A defeated general who suffered a defeat and returned from a prisoner exchange. Not to mention the history of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the entire history is also extremely rare.

It also made him even more depressed!

In order to evacuate these depressions, he vented all his energy on martial arts training and arranging troops.

At this moment, the Zhang family's letter for help arrived!

He immediately asked his eldest brother to fight!

There are two reasons for this.

The first is to keep the heavenly army out of the provincial gates. Keep the passage to the west of Hunan Province.

Secondly. For the alliance with the Zhang family.

Zeng Guofan knew the relationship between the fourth brother and Zhang Long. knows the importance of the Xiangxi Passage even more, and also thinks that it is necessary to send a fierce general like the fourth brother to take charge alone.

He didn't know that it was Mai Ke who was making trouble there, and he already knew that there was smoke everywhere in the country now. Mai Ke is rarely likely to be located in the remote Xiangxi.

If he knew that Mai Ke was there, he might have sent a veteran to go and slowly follow Mai Ke, instead of letting the fourth child go, facing the opponent who had made him suffer so much.

During Mai Ke's time in Zhang's ancestral hall, Zeng Guoquan arrived, and when Mai Ke entered the crypt to inspect the enhanced ambush on all sides, Zeng Guoquan's Xiang Yong had already fought with Ding Guangye.

Although it was only a tentative contact battle, both sides were taken aback!

After going back, they were all sighing at the strength of the opponent's combat effectiveness, which was unprecedented and unexpected!

At this time, Mai Ke was finally able to come to the east gate to face the enemy's reinforcements, and at a glance, it turned out to be an old friend!

Mai Ke couldn't help laughing.

The world is really impermanent, not long ago we met at banquets and negotiation tables, but now we have changed to meet on the battlefield.

When Mai Ke saw Zeng Guoquan, he also knew who his opponent was this time.

That's the unforgettable one, he wants to play against her team, but he is afraid of Mai Ke who plays against him!

It was really midnight!

However, instead of seeing Mai Ke, he listened to the narration of his old classmates.

Zhang Long was kicked out of the house, and the best way out was to defect to Xiang Yong, who was the main army of his old classmates.

These two are both ambitious people, and the four-year friendship is not trivial, and now there is another one - sympathy for the same disease!

Both of them were miserable by Mai Ke.

Seeing that Zhang Long was still sighing for being alone and driving out of the house alone, and his ambition was gone, Zeng Guoquan patted him on the shoulder and said proudly: "Don't sigh! You are much luckier than me! I was caught by him for more than a month when I had an absolute advantage in all aspects, and I suffered so much that I had to exchange people for someone in the end! You said that if I were you, I would not be ashamed and kill myself?"

"What? Why didn't you tell me about such an experience? Do you still regard me as your best friend?" Zhang Long was taken aback!

"It's not a glorious thing, I'm still shouting everywhere? Isn't it because I'm a little depressed, I'll tell you these shameful ugly things? It doesn't matter if a manly man loses a battle, it's a shame that he will never recover!" Of course, Zeng Guoquan couldn't see his old friend depressed.

"I understand this truth, but I'm empty-handed now......" Zhang Long pretended to be a good man in front of his father, and showed his decadent color in front of his best friends.

"This is even more insignificant! With your ability, brother, no one will have anyone, and there will be guns without guns! More importantly, whatever is mine is yours! Otherwise, what else would it call sharing blessings and hardships? Wouldn't you call yourself brothers!" Zeng Guoquan showed his brotherhood at this time.

"In that case, let our brothers work together and get through the current hurdle first!" Now Zhang Long's heart was raised, and he was determined to help Zeng Guoquan fight this battle first, and then talk about other things.

At this time, the former enemy commander of the first major outpost battle came in and reported the battle situation.

"Fourth uncle, nephew is incompetent, ashamed of his uncle's trust......"

"Zeng Chuang! This is the army! Give me a report again!" Zeng Guoquan scolded loudly!

This is a headache for Zeng Guoquan, because these Xiangyong are all family members, relatives, villagers, classmates and other relatives, so they naturally call each other by these natural relationships. But that doesn't sound like that!

For example, Zeng Guoquan's title is commander, and if everyone calls him commander, it is simple and not easy to confuse.

But if it's a more natural relationship, it's a mess.

The fourth uncle, the fourth uncle, the fourth brother, the fourth brother, the four nephews, the old classmates, the old friends, called Mingzi, called the name, everything, of course, there are also titles.

Isn't this called a pot of porridge?

Also, this kind of common name, such as the fourth uncle, unless the two talk to each other. Until specifically referred. Otherwise, there may be ten or eight fourth uncles!

No one can tell whether it is called water.

Therefore, Zeng Guoquan strictly ordered that as long as he was in the army, he must be called an official rank.

"Report to the commander, our army is 300 siege of the city. Fight the enemy. Only thirty men returned, and we killed and wounded quite a few of the enemy. Probably the ratio of casualties on both sides was two to one. ”

"Are we, them?" asked Zeng Guoquan.

"No, one of them, two of us!"

Zeng Guoquan gasped!

These Hunan Yongs of his are all elite soldiers who are one in a hundred. After more than half a year of intensive training, it is no exaggeration to say that one is ten!

In fact, every Xiangyong is cultivated according to the standards of centurions!

Although the siege of the city suffered a relative loss, and so many Xiang Yong died, it still proved that the opponent's combat effectiveness was strong.

Zhang Long had been listening to the military intelligence report, and at this time he had already judged that the defenders of the Heavenly Army were just ordinary soldiers.

"Yuan Fu, what you have encountered is not the elite of the Heavenly Army, if you are on top of those elites, none of the people who make trouble with you will be able to escape, and there will be no casualties on the side of the Heavenly Army. Subsequently, he briefly introduced how the Zhang family confronted the enemy in the large array of the crypt, and as a result, the first five formations were destroyed one after another.

And the cost paid by the Celestial Army to accomplish this is almost negligible.

Zeng Guoquan's intuition told him that this mission had become an impossible nightmare for him.

The worse news is that the trouble with the price increase has been resolved, and Mai Ke is free to deal with these reinforcements.

If it weren't for the task of opening up the traffic to the west of Hunan Province, Zeng Guoquan would have basically been sure that he would have collected his troops and retreated immediately!

To open up communications, he had to attack, but he knew that attacking would not have any good effect.

So, the two of them spent a long time to make sure that Mr. saved it!

If they don't deal with it properly, not to mention that the siege is hopeless, their lives will be lost!

The two quickly reached an agreement on how to ensure their survival and put pressure on the Celestial Army to prevent them from continuing to advance eastward.

Dig a trench and surround the city of Dayong!

Zeng Guoquan has a unique research on this tactic of digging trenches and besieging cities, and he can dig trenches of different structures, and at the same time, the uses of trenches are also diverse.

It can be used for offense, defense, and even for hiding troops! In addition, it can also be used as a resting place.

To make the most of trench tactics, his soldiers were each equipped with an iron catalpa, similar to a sapper shovel, which could quickly dig tunnels and build trenches.

These soldiers were originally peasants, and the iron catalpa was one of their main agricultural tools, which was very easy to use.

Zhang Long knew the surrounding terrain of Dayong City best, so he served as the chief designer and commander of the trench.

After the discussion was properly discussed, Zeng Guoquan gave an order, and the 20,000 army was immediately dispatched, and 10,000 shovels waved and vigorously excavated!

If it came across an earthy area, these trenches were completed in a short period of time, and the trenches were completed in only one hour with a depth of one person, five feet wide, and a foot long.

This work is not enough, and they dig a turnip cellar at home.

If they encounter a rocky area, or a tujia stone geology, they take out a tool, like a T-shaped pickaxe, to deal with this kind of area that the iron catalpa can't deal with.

Zhang Long's familiarity with the terrain helped the Xiangyong avoid pulling those difficult to excavate sections, so the project progressed quickly.

At this time, Mai Ke already knew what the opponent's idea was.

If these trenches were to be broken down by ordinary soldiers in the Heavenly Kingdom, it would be difficult to break them, but if they were dealt with by special battalions, it would not be a big deal.

Mai Ke asked Ding Guangye about the confrontation with the enemy soldiers, and knew that Xiang Yong, who had been greatly damaged, would not attack the city lightly, so he handed over the defense here to Ding Guangye, and did not need to take the initiative to attack for the time being, and then looked at the enemy's follow-up methods.

He himself went back to the city to deal with other pressing issues.

When Mai Ke saw Zhang Tianci again, Zhang Bao had already withdrawn.

This kid had done a great job. tore a hole in the defense line of the Heavenly Army, completed the strategic intention of the pre-war deployment, but did not want to cause a big disaster for the Zhang family, and almost did not break the negotiation with the Heavenly Army.

Zhang Tianci introduced Zhang Bao to Mai Ke, saying that Zhang Bao had made a big mistake and needed him to make meritorious service himself, and then make up for the losses of the Heavenly Army.

Material losses are trivial, and when he attacked the transportation line of the Celestial Army, he caused more than 50 casualties among the second-line personnel of the Celestial Army!

This can't be compensated for with things or silver.

Therefore. Zhang Tianci proposed. Let Zhang Bao lead his subordinates, that is, 1,500 Zhang family members, under the command of the Heavenly Army, until Mai Ke is satisfied.

Mai Ke saw Zhang Bao. A very rough and heroic man. I couldn't help but like it, and I saw those soldiers again. They are also all strong and brave, they are all good soldiers, and they accepted the kindness of the Zhang family at the moment.

But I wondered in my heart. This action is too big to compensate for the loss, is there another mystery?

Actually, it's really famous.

Zhang Tianci had told Zhang Bao about his plans before.

Although he couldn't not surrender to the Heavenly Army on the surface, he was already optimistic about Mai Ke in his heart, especially the scene that happened in the crypt later, which was definitely shocking to him.

He really doesn't know how capable this person is!

No matter how big the unknown ability is, the ability shown so far is enough to make him tilt towards the Heavenly Army!

So, under the pretext of compensating the Heavenly Army, he handed over Zhang Bao and part of the increased force to the Heavenly Army.

He specially told Zhang Bao that from now on, you will be a member of the Heavenly Army, and you must work hard to make meritorious contributions and fight for a place for the Zhang family!

At the same time, he promised him that his efforts would be fully supported by the Zhang family.

After receiving Zhang Bao, Mai Ke originally came to see them running back and forth to be tired, and asked them to rest and adjust; I didn't expect Zhang Bao to be unwilling, he was the first time to defend and employ people, he didn't want to rest, just went into battle to kill the enemy, and made meritorious service to atone for his crimes.

So, Mai Ke sent him to see Ding Guangye, who was defending Dongcheng, and obeyed his arrangement.

After sending Zhang Bao away, the matter of the sneak attack on the Heavenly Army was dealt with, Mai Ke and Zhang Tianci sat down as guests, and after a few words, Zhang Tianci took out a drawing.

"I apologize again for the offense of the dogs in the crypt!" Zhang Tianci said, handing over the drawing.

He continued, "This is the full map of the Great Crypt Array, especially the detailed diagram of the next few formations, I will hand it over to you as a way to express my apologies and the sincerity of the Zhang family, since the main area of the crypt is not in the Zhang Family Manor, I will hand it all over to the Heavenly Army today." ”

Mai Ke didn't expect Zhang Tianci to be so happy, one of the purposes of his coming here was to claim full ownership of that big array, and if he couldn't get it, he would take measures to temporarily seal it off.

Now, Old Man Zhang didn't know which tendon was wrong, so he sent the formation up without waiting for it, and not only that, but also gave him the formation diagram.

This array, which is more precious than that big array, is really the core secret of this powerful magic weapon.

In fact, although Mai Ke did not know too well, he also vaguely felt that this old man did not regard him as an enemy and gave him money, but regarded him as a friend and tried his best to help him.

Receiving benefits from enemies can only be obtained, while receiving help from friends is voluntary.

Since Patriarch Zhang is so friendly and generous, Mai Ke naturally can't be stingy, besides, he is not a stingy person in the first place, and now he has a lot of money, and it can even be said that he has collected the essence of heaven and earth in one hand, and he is even more generous.

First of all, with a stroke of Mai Ke's pen, the ownerless barren slopes and wild ridges around the Zhang family manor were all owned by the Zhang family, and these lands suddenly tripled the ancestral property of the Zhang family!

Zhang Tianci jumped up happily!

Because this is one of his dream goals!

He has worked hard for many years, whether he is good friends with the government or evil, he has not increased the area of his ancestral property.

Wouldn't it make him get carried away with joy when he got it today?

With this alone, he can be worthy of his ancestors and ancestors!

In the commemoration of the younger generations, he doesn't want to be compared with the merits of the ancestors!

Zhang Liang, the founder, is not comparable to him, and the ancestor who received this property with his military merits can write a pen.

I've got twice as much ground!

He was happy in his heart, and he regarded Mai Ke as his lucky star.

In front of Fuxing, shouldn't he be careful?

So, the future talks between the two were extremely harmonious.

Of course, there are intrigues, and there are also calculations.

But this kind of scheming is all for the sake of the other party, and it is all for the satisfaction of the other party.

Zhang Tianci was happy and ordered a family banquet to be set up, this family banquet was of course the highest standard, and it is said that Zhang Liang designed it in order to entertain Liu Bang.

I think Liu Bang was just a pavilion chief at the beginning, and he was often alone when he went out, and he had to sleep in the wilderness and face the infestation of poisonous snakes, otherwise the sword slashing white snake would not have appeared.

At that time, it was good to have food, and naturally I would not be too particular, and I was very satisfied with four dishes and one soup.

But then it was different, it was the famous Han Gaozu, the object of worship of thousands of people, and he couldn't get four dishes and one soup.

In the end, it doubled again and again, reaching the level of 100 orders, 8 dishes and 27 soups.

And Han Gaozu is very nostalgic, and the most unforgettable thing is the Hongmen Banquet, which is really an experience of hanging by a thread and escaping death!

So, he personally named the Zhang family's Yingjun banquet "Hongmen Banquet".

No jokes!

Although Zhang Liang couldn't cry or laugh, he still took three or two drinks to make Liu Bang happy.

In the future, this name will be passed down, and only the most important guests of the Zhang family can reopen the "Hongmen Banquet"!

Today, Zhang Tianci prepared such a table for Mai Ke!

Not only are there a variety of delicacies, but there are also fierce scenes such as sword dances and fights performed by samurai, and of course, there are also singing and dancing performances.

I don't know if there were any of these wheat kes at that time.

Although there is no record in the history books, it must be a matter of course.

The Zhang family must have the most right to speak, this is all a secret that cannot be passed on, and outsiders know it clearly!

Since Mai Ke came, he was safe and became a nobleman of the Han family!.

(To be continued......)