In a military camp outside Xuzhou City, Li Yan was frowning and looking at the map, while Bai Wang on the side was walking around impatiently.

The peasant army traveled lightly all the way, day and night, and finally arrived in Xuzhou when the new army did not return, Bai Wang ignored Li Yan's dissuasion, and recklessly ordered the peasant army to attack the city, but he did not expect that the city of Xuzhou was impregnable, and he did not even touch the city wall, so he lost nearly one-third of his troops in vain. Li Yan was so angry that he almost killed Bai Wang on the spot.

"I said Li Gongzi, whether to fight or leave, you have something to say." Bai Wang couldn't bear it anymore and shouted urgently.

"Sit down for me!" Li Yan was angry when he heard this, "I told you several times, everything is arranged by me, don't be reckless, you are good, you don't listen to my advice, you have lost so many people in vain, and now you still have the face to shout at me?" ”

Bai Wang didn't expect that Li Yan, who was gentle and elegant on weekdays, would launch a fire and be no weaker than Li Zicheng, so he had to sit down stupidly.

"Then you say, it's not a way for us to wait here, in case this new army comes back from Kaifeng, won't we be in danger."

"You don't have to worry about this, they won't let go of Kaifeng, I'm afraid that the new army in Luoyang will come back." Li Yan saw that he sat down honestly, and he also put away his fire and said patiently.

"Alas, I don't care, tell me when you're ready." After speaking, Bai Wang snorted, stood up and walked out of the tent without saying a word.

"Xianggong, do you think this Bai Wang will ruin our big things?" The red lady on the side reminded in a whisper.

"No, although Bai Wang is reckless, he is not a scheming person. Now I'm really having a hard time riding a tiger. Li Yan shook his head and said.

"It's really not going to work, let's withdraw. Anyway, I can't beat others, didn't King Chuang say that let our husband and wife go to southern Henan to develop? ”

"Well, but I'm always a little uneasy, and I don't know if what King Chuang said can be fulfilled. By the way, ma'am, what have you been doing mysteriously these days? Li Yan suddenly asked.

"This ......" the red lady is hesitant.

"You and I are husband and wife, do you have anything to hide from me?" Li Yan said gently.

"I didn't tell you about this, I'm afraid you'll be angry," the red lady looked at Li Yan's calm face and said tentatively, "I went back to the main hall a few days ago and met with Senior Brother Lin of the White Lotus Sect. ”

"What are you looking for him to do, doesn't he want to protect the court?" Li Yan frowned when he heard this. He naturally knew the origin of the Red Lady, and he also knew that Wang Cong, the current sect leader of the White Lotus Sect, was a drunken man, and all the teaching affairs were handed over to his first protectors, Lin Wanshan, and the Holy Son Wang Chen. The two fought against each other, but Lin Wanshan had the upper hand and took most of the power in the sect. It's a pity that Lin Wanshan has already been secretly bought by the imperial court, and he spares no effort to maintain the Ming court, and he can't figure out why his wife wants to deal with him.

"It's not what you think, I went to negotiate an agreement with Senior Brother Lin, and he asked Senior Sister Bai Ling to cooperate with me to assassinate Zhu Hao." Seeing that her husband was unhappy, the red lady thought that he suspected that he had a personal relationship with Lin Wanshan, so she told the assassination of Zhu Hao in a hurry.

"What do you say?" Li Yan was furious when he heard the case, "I told you, although Zhu Hao is a member of the court, he has a great favor to me, and the husband stands between heaven and earth. ”

The red lady saw her husband's anger trembling all over, and she also knew that he was really angry, and she was terrified, but the matter had already been done, even if she admitted her mistakes, it would be useless, and she also stiffened her neck and said: "I am also doing this to break into the king's great cause and husband's career." Zhu Hao is extremely difficult to deal with, if we don't get rid of it as soon as possible, our righteous army will lose more people because of this, which is more important, don't you know? ”

"You, you still dare to use strong words!" Li Yan was even more furious, pointing at the red lady and unable to speak, and it took a while to calm down his emotions.

"That's it, that's it, for the sake of breaking into the king's great cause, I, Li Yan, will bear this unrighteous name. It's a big deal, when King Chuang is done, I will apologize to myself! After a long time, Li Yan spoke, his expression extremely sluggish.

The red lady was startled when she heard this, he knew that her husband had always been the same, and hurriedly said: "Husband, don't be angry, although I sent someone to assassinate me, but after the incident, our personnel were all wiped out, and Zhu Hao's body was not found." ”

"Oh, so he still has any hope of surviving? It's better that way, so that I can have comfort. Li Yan was overjoyed when he heard that Zhu Hao might still be alive.

"Hmph, having said that, you must not have any more dealings with the people of the White Lotus Sect in the future, and you are not allowed to do this again!" Seeing that the red lady also had a relieved expression, Li Yan said with a straight face.

"Yes, Xianggong, the slave family will never dare anymore." At this time, the red lady dared to talk back, so she could only follow him in a low voice.

"Xianggong, then what should we do next, I think this is a good opportunity, as long as we announce that Zhu Hao was assassinated, Xuzhou City will definitely be in turmoil, and when the time comes, we may be able to succeed." Seeing that the matter had subsided, the red lady cautiously suggested.

"It's unlikely, Xuzhou City is not so easy to beat. Since Zhu Hao is missing, I estimate that the new army in Kaifeng will abandon the city and return to the division early, so it is better for us to leave early. You call Bai Wang in, and I have something to tell him. Li Yan said lightly.

Xuzhou City Marshal's Mansion.

Chen Xiyao was presiding over an emergency meeting, and Wang Boda, Wang Fuzhi, Wang Yinzu, Zhang Dacheng, Wang Jingwen and other left-behind backbones were all gathered together.

"Madam, according to reliable sources, Li Chuangjun, who was stationed on the outskirts of Xiaoshan, withdrew last night, and the ban on Xiaoshan has been lifted." Wang Boda took the battle report.

Zhu Hao had already made arrangements before the expedition, and Chen Xiyao was in charge of internal affairs, and Wang Boda, the king of military affairs, and Wang Fuzhi, who was in charge of political affairs, held meetings to discuss major events or matters that were difficult to decide, but there was one thing, no matter what the situation was, we must stick to Xuzhou.

"Don't worry about the safety of Xuzhou, the marshal has already planned before he goes on the expedition, and the city defense is up to Boda, and Li Yan is destined to return in vain. I'm just worried about the safety of the handsome, and somehow, I've been restless these days. Chen Xiyao reiterated Zhu Hao's arrangement and sighed.

"Madame, don't worry, the handsome and auspicious people are natural, even if they are in danger, they will save the day." Hu Million, who has some fortune-telling skills, comforted.

"I hope so, Boda, you send more people from the intelligence department and the Green Guards to go out to investigate, just say that it is my order, and report back as soon as there is news of the commander!" Chen Xiyao commanded worriedly.

However, it was said that Li Yan summoned Bai Wang and other generals, announced the withdrawal of troops, in order to confuse the new army, the peasant army pulled out the camp overnight and left, but this time Li Yan did not return to Luoyang directly, but went directly to Xuchang through Guide, and after a fierce battle, captured Xuchang City and annihilated the defenders of the nearly Wanming army. After the peasant army was replenished, it grew from 6,000 to more than 15,000.

Li Yan planned to follow Li Zicheng's strategic plan, take Xuchang as the center, slowly build a base, expand outward, and finally achieve the strategic encirclement of Kaifeng.

However, what Li Yan didn't expect was that this happened to be the way of Niu Jinxing and Liu Zongmin, since Li Yan led the development of the army alone, Niu and Liu often praised and depreciated in front of Li Zicheng, and gradually as Li Yan's power became stronger and stronger, Li Zicheng couldn't help but feel jealous of it, and the rift between the two was formed, laying the groundwork for Li Yan's tragic end in the future.

And Bai Wang, the general who was originally loyal to Li Zicheng, was finally impressed by his charm because he followed Li Yan for a long time, and finally took refuge in him.

On this day, a guest came to the Marshal Mansion of Xuzhou City, who was dressed as a scribe and had a rather sloppy image. The strange thing is that the guard next to him is actually Liu Maozong, the deputy commander of the personal guard team beside Zhu Hao.

Liu Maozong is the confidant of the handsome, so the identity of this scribe must be extraordinary, the doorman did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly welcomed several people into the inner mansion, and immediately told Chen Xiyao.

"Who is this gentleman?" When Chen Xiyao saw Liu Maozong, she asked in surprise.

"Mrs. Bing, this gentleman is the advisor that the marshal has just appointed, Mr. Wang." Liu Maozong hurriedly explained.

"Wang Lang pays homage to Madame." When the scribe saw the mistress's inquiry, he hurriedly saluted.

It turned out that this scribe was Wang Lang whom Zhu Hao met in Zhengzhou, and Zhu Hao was in distress that day, and everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot pot. After searching for several days without a trace, Wang Langbu made a hexagram, which was auspicious, and calmed down everyone's emotions a little. As soon as several people discussed, the matter was important and could not be concealed and not reported, so Liu Maozong escorted Wang Lang to Kaifeng City first to tell Li Dingguo about the matter. Li Dingguo is a great general, although he is also very anxious, but he still acted decisively, sent a regiment to break into pieces and continue to expand the search area, and the other troops held Kaifeng and resolutely carried out Zhu Hao's orders, Kaifeng must not be lost.

Li Dingguo's sneak attack on Xuzhou was already known to Li Dingguo, and he immediately sent a force to follow Wang Lang and his party to hurry back to Xuzhou.

After a polite discussion, Chen Xiyao asked about Zhu Hao's situation, and Liu Maozong reported the truth.

As soon as she heard that Zhu Hao was in distress and her life and death were uncertain, Chen Xiyao suddenly lost her complexion, and her body shook a few times and almost fell. The maid beside her hurriedly supported her and stabilized her mind.

"Madam, don't panic, I've already calculated, the handsome man should have this fate. It's just that there is no danger, and it is estimated that it will not be long before the handsome man will return safely, and Mrs. must take care of her body. Wang Lang hurriedly relieved.

When Chen Xiyao heard this, her face changed slightly, and she said: "Since the marshal has appointed Mr. as an advisor, it can be seen that there is trust, so everything will be arranged by Mr., come and call Wang Boda and Wang Fuzhi." ”

After a while, the second king came and greeted Wang Lang, and when he heard that Zhu Hao had an accident, he was also surprised. However, these two people are also outstanding people, and they quickly calmed down and obeyed Chen Xiyao's disposal.

"Mr. Wang is now the advisor of the Grand Marshal's Mansion, so let him make the decision on my behalf. I'm tired, go back and rest, listen, don't let the other ladies know about it. Chen Xiyao said weakly.

"Yes!" The attendants answered.

"Mr. Wang, what should I do now?" Wang Fuzhi asked. Although he and Wang Boda are representatives of the political and military circles, they always lack a person who grasps the overall situation and gives advice, and now Zhu Hao values Wang Lang so much, this person must have extraordinary skills, so the two of them did not hesitate to obey the order.

"The two adults are polite, this is an extraordinary time, and a certain bento is not to be committed. According to the previous deployment of the marshal, Xuzhou City must not be lost, so Xuzhou can not be chaotic, the two of them should do what they should do as usual, and send additional manpower to closely monitor the whole city, except for the marshal's mansion, all important departments and mansions must be monitored. Don't let some details see the clues, there is an opportunity. There was Staff Officer Li in Kaifeng, and the responsibility of searching for the marshal was handed over to him. I don't think the news of the commander will come in ten days. Wang Lang said indifferently.

After hearing this, Wang Boda and Wang Fuzhi invariably tightened their nerves: this Wang Lang really has some means, and this arrangement is foolproof!

Xuzhou Garrison Mansion.

A big man with thick hair was walking around, his face solemn. A junior officer next to him couldn't help but say, "Big brother, how is it, do you do it or not?" ”

"Wait for another opportunity, now is not the time." The thick-haired man frowned.

"Is it still time for you to forget the promise of the Lord?"

"Shut up! Don't bother me, let me think about it! The thick-haired man rebuked angrily.

After a while, a subordinate hurriedly ran in and said, "Report to the general, there are suddenly a lot of Green Guards and people who don't know the origin of the city, and they are wandering around each yamen mansion. ”

As soon as they heard this, the thick-haired man and the junior officer glanced at each other, and both of them saw shock and solemnity in each other's eyes.

"It's a good thing I didn't do it, otherwise it would have been unimaginable." The junior officer said with some fear.

"You kid practice for a few more years, if Zhu Hao is so easy to deal with, he won't be able to reach today's height, hum!" The thick-haired man snorted coldly.

"It's big brother, I know, so what should we do?"

And so on. Wait for an opportune moment, now the power in our hands is too weak, and it is not the time to do it. ”

"Then how will the capital respond?"

"Drag! It's up to you to decide what to say. The thick-haired man waved his hand and ended the conversation.