In the general's mansion in Jiangzhou Xunyang, the new Jiangzhou assassin Shi Gao Chi was writing a letter with a lamp, and after he wrote a book, he handed a letter to the man in black standing behind him.

"You personally delivered this letter to General Yuan Zhen, there must be no mistake."

After receiving the order, the man in black quietly withdrew from the back of the house and disappeared into the night secretly.

After a while, a guard came to report, "General, Qiu Shaocheng, the right supervisor of the court captain, has arrived in Xunyang." ”

"Okay, you let him take him to the scene of the general's death, and after he checked General Yin's body, he will return to Beijing for burial." Gao Chi commanded.

"Yes, General." The guards saluted and went out.

Gao Chi looked at the back of the guard leaving, and a chuckle appeared on the corner of his mouth. He turned around and picked up the holy decree of the capital again, his eyes were slightly hot, he had waited too long for this day.

Early the next morning, Gao Chi dressed in military uniform, rode a white horse and led a group of soldiers to Jiangzhou along the river to check the terrain.

He is tall and mighty, not angry and self-assured, he was originally the Taishou of Xunyang County, but now he is ordered to become the lord of a state, and the innate general temperament exudes without reservation.

"General Li, how is the military deployment in Banzhou arranged?" Gao Chi stood on the wall by the river, looked at Banzhou to the west and asked. Banzhou is another important military base of Jiangzhou along the Yangtze River, in addition to Xunyang, and is the northwest gateway of Xunyang.

Li Li replied: "It has been arranged according to the general's requirements," Li Li was originally a junior general in the general's mansion, but later he was appreciated by Gao Chi and promoted to a general with troops and stationed in Banzhou.

"Okay, let the scouts keep an eye on the upstream movements, and once they see the army coming, do as I told them before."

"Command!" Li Li replied respectfully.

After Gao Chi finished deploying, he returned to the General's Mansion, and as soon as he returned to the house, he bumped into Jiangzhou Don't Drive Teng Yuan head-on.

"General, now there are rumors everywhere in Jiangzhou, saying that it is General Yin who was assassinated by the Yuan family." Teng Yuan said hurriedly,

Gao Chi replied coldly as he walked: "Does Lord Teng think so too? ”

"Don't dare, how can you talk nonsense without evidence, but if you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what happens, if it is really Yuan's hands and feet, then the general has to beware of the upstream!" Teng Yuan said worriedly.

"Thank you Lord Teng for reminding me that General Ben has already made arrangements, and you just need to appease the people." After Gao Chi finished speaking, he entered the hall to discuss with the generals.

At this time, northeast of the Sisai Mountains, a secretly stealthy army arrived near the Sisai Ferry...

"General, the front is Xisaiji, cross Xisaiji, and in another day, we will reach Banzhou." A striker strode over and reported to Yuan Zhen.

Yuan Zhen is the younger brother of Yuan Kai, living in Jingling, guarding the northern border of Dahuan, Jingling is in the north of Xiakou, Yuan Zhen left a general to guard Jingling, and he quietly crossed Xiakou with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses towards Jiangzhou.

Yuan Zhen swept his beard, and there was a smug smile on the corner of his mouth, "Tell me to go down, camp and rectify, rest here today, and cross the river tomorrow." ”

"The last general commands!" The adjutant general beside him gave the order and ordered it to go down.

An elegant man in Tsing Yi glanced at the back of the deputy general, with a worried brow, he patrolled to Yuan Zhen's side and said, "General, has Jiangzhou really surrendered?" As Sima of the General's Mansion, he was still a little uneasy in his heart.

"Taichu, you like to look ahead, you know that the opportunity is not to be lost, and it will not come again, and now there is a vacancy in the history of Jiangzhou Thorn, it is a wonderful time, as long as you occupy Jiangzhou, hum!" Yuan Zhen laughed contemptuously, "Taking Jiankang is just around the corner!" ”

"The general's courage is naturally not comparable to that of the early Taichu, but after arriving in Jiangzhou, the general has to be careful." Tai Chu still reminded.

"What this general saved, my brother will be able to occupy Xiakou tomorrow, and we will have no worries, just take Jiangzhou!" Yuan Zhen laughed proudly, the Yuan family has been under too much pressure recently, so it is better not to bear this false name in vain, and to do a big job.

"Okay." Tai Chu didn't say anything more, but hurried to prepare for camping.

The people of Jiangzhou were panicked, and the Xiakou upstream was almost the same, at this time, in the Taifu Mansion of Xiakou, an uninvited guest was ushered in, that was Sima Xie Kuang of the General Yuan Kai's Mansion. Xie Kuang is the younger brother of Xie Hui, and in the early years, he followed Yuan Kai as the Sima of the General's Mansion.

Pei Fu helped Pei Yan to meet guests in the main hall, Pei Yan glanced at Xie Kuang, his face was slightly cold, and said, "I don't know what Lord Xie is doing on this trip?" ”

Recently, Xia Kou has left a lot of messages, pointing the finger at the Yuan family for the two assassinations, and even he has received a secret report that the Yuan brothers have moved. Therefore, it is inferred that Xie Kuang may have come to Xiakou this time to be a lobbyist.

Xie Kuang saw that Pei Yan's face was not pale, so he didn't go around the bend, and arched his hand: "Taifu, Xie Mou got straight to the point and said bluntly." ”

His expression was calm and calm, "Don't hide it from Taifu, now there are rumors in the government and the opposition, all think that General Yuan is suspected of assassination, General Yuan is angry, he simply doesn't do anything, he has already raised troops in Jiangling, and he will reach Xiakou City in a few days. Xie Kuang's tone was leisurely, as if there was some threat.

Pei Yan said contemptuously and angrily: "Hmph! The old man is waiting in the house to see what Yuan Kai can do with me? "Anyway, I didn't even look at Xie Kuang.

Xie Kuang didn't care, "Kuang originally had good intentions, since Taifu didn't appreciate it, there was no way, Taifu should do it himself!" Then he turned and walked away.

When Xie Kuang walked to the door, Pei Yan behind him floated a sentence: "Don't forget, your brother is still an official in Beijing!" ”

Hearing this, Xie Kuang turned around and glanced at Pei Yan, and chuckled: "This is not too much to worry about!" After speaking, he flicked his sleeves and left proudly.

After Xie Kuang left, Pei Yan sighed heavily,

"Uncle, what do you think you should do now?" Pei Fu was worried, this Xiakou is at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River, if the Yuan brothers send troops down, Xiakou will definitely be defeated.

"Now the Yuan family has to be opposed, even if he remains silent, the court will not let him go, there is still hope for success in raising troops, if my guess is right, I'm afraid Yuan Zhen has already led his troops to Jiangzhou, and Yuan Kai will control Xiakou, and still have the benefits of the upstream." Pei Yan frowned, there were too many traces of time piled up on his vicissitudes of life, and many ups and downs had passed, but this time it seemed that he was not in his control at all.

"So, we're going to have to sit back and wait?" Pei Fu was a little unwilling.

"The history of Wuchang County is Xie Tinglin, you say that he listens to us or his uncle, I'm afraid they have already discussed it." Pei Yan closed his eyes slightly and said weakly,

As soon as he mentioned Xie Tinglin, he became angry, thinking that the Xie family would stand on the side of the imperial court, but now it seems that they are the pawns of the Yuan family, and they are quite disdainful of what the Xie family has done.

"Fu'er, now we can't control this matter, we can only sit and wait for the rescue of the capital, Pei Yun and Su Weixin are not easy to want to fight with, let them fight! Thou hast commanded that from this day forth the doors be closed, and that the food should be stocked up, and that no one should go out or let anyone in. After Pei Yan finished speaking, his body trembled slightly and walked towards the inner room, the once invincible general is now an old man in his twilight, and no one can resist the sharp knife of the years.

After Xie Kuang left Pei's mansion, he called his nephew Xie Tinglin and rode straight to the ferry by the river.

The three big ships in the distance gradually approached the shore, and the guards on the ships were numerous, and the flags were fluttering, and the momentum was like a rainbow.

"General, it's already time to arrive at the ferry in Xiakou, and Lord Xie is waiting at the ferry!" Jingzhou General's Mansion Gong Cao Fang Shou said to the people on the low collapse.

Yuan Kai, who was resting on the couch, slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Fang Shouzheng, his eyes were awe-inspiring, so that Fang Shouzheng, who looked up at him, immediately lowered his head.

Fang Shouzheng didn't dare to come out, just quietly waiting for Yuan Kai's orders.

After a while, a voice came from outside the ship, "Dock!" Dock! The soldiers shouted in unison, and the cheers shook the sky.

Yuan Kai still had an indifferent expression, but gradually got up, Fang Shouzheng hurriedly put on a coat for him, and walked out with him. When he walked on the deck, Xie Kuang and Xie Tinglin had already boarded the ship.

"General, Xiakou has settled down, just waiting for the general to arrive." Xie Kuang bowed his hand.

Yuan Kai snorted, and then moved his gaze to Xie Tinglin, who was beside Xie Kuang, and looked at Xie Tinglin tightly with cold gray eyes.

In the end, it was the general of the older generation who fought on the battlefield, just a faint glance, as if he had seen through the whole person, which made Xie Tinglin feel awe-inspired.

"Tinglin visited General Yuan, the name of the general is like thunder, today I have to admire the general's demeanor, Tinglin is fortunate to have three lives!" Xie Tinglin bowed calmly, although his tone was modest, but his elegant temperament made people dare not look down on him.

Yuan Kai smiled faintly: "With your uncle and nephew, this general can occupy Xiakou without blood." ”

"The general is polite, the general has the virtue of a good life, can avoid the misery of life, and it is also the blessing of the people." Xie Kuanglang laughed.

"The people of Xiakou welcomed the general into the city....... Xie Tinglin added.

"Haha......."

Yuan Kai let out a long laugh, shook his sleeve with one hand, and went ashore proudly...... Then the three of them rode slowly towards the city.

"Master Xie, how is Mrs. Pei?" Yuan Kai held the reins in his hand, looked ahead, and asked,

Xie Kuang, who was following Yuan Kai to the left, replied sideways: "The Pei family has closed its doors to thank guests, and it seems that they are preparing to close the dock to protect themselves." ”

"Well, he can only be like this, he has prestige in Xiakou but no real power, what can he do to me!" The corners of his mouth were raised, and there was a hint of coldness in his tone.

"Then what is the general's plan next?" Xie Kuang asked.

"The 80,000 army has been stationed outside the city, and I'm afraid that the dispatch of soldiers and rations will have to be hard Xie Neishi, as for the rest... Wait for Jiangzhou to take it and then make arrangements. Yuan Kai couldn't see a trace of love on his face, I don't know if he was winning?

Xie Tinglin replied: "Please rest assured, General Tinglin has made arrangements. ”

"That's it!" Yuan Kai rode the horse forward, he didn't worry about Xiakou, but Jiangzhou... Is it really that smooth?