But it was this constant mixing of water that made the combat power of the Guanning Iron Cavalry continue to decline, so that when he was in Ningxiang Township, Zu Dabi thought that he could not fight against the Qing Cavalry in the field, but fortunately, Chi Erhan came to the aid in time to turn defeat into victory.

You must know that the real Guanning Iron Cavalry, even if it is not as good as the Liaodong Railway, is also the most elite unit in the late Ming Dynasty, and its combat power is even higher than that of the Houjin Eight Banners, and it can fight head-on with the Central Protector Army of the Eight Banners Army.

Maybe in the dark, there are days.

After this battle, Wu Zheng, who had never thought of reorganizing the cavalry, temporarily changed his mind.

Of course, there are three main reasons for this, one is the capture of war horses, the Northern Expeditionary Army has no cavalry, and the middle and upper generals alone can't digest so many war horses, and the war horses need to be raised, which is a big expense, and it can't be starved to death, it's too tyrannical.

The second is that Qian Qiaogong happened to return, and using professional people to do professional things has always been Wu Zheng's creed.

The last reason is that Wu Zheng knows very well that in history, the change of cold and hot weapons is not something that can be done in a short period of time, in fact, until three hundred years later, cavalry still appears on the battlefield, and from time to time it is unpopular.

Therefore, in this poor generation, I am afraid that the "king of the battlefield" in the era of cold weapons can still be maintained on the battlefield.

Now that you have a war horse, don't waste it. This was Wu Zheng's real idea of agreeing to reorganize the cavalry.

……。

Wu Zheng did not immediately wait for the Qing court's mission.

Instead, I waited for bad news.

The vanguard of the Northern Expeditionary Army, which had left Guting, sent an urgent military situation, and the Qing army in Yanzhou moved southward, and the advance had already reached Jining Prefecture, and the contact with the enemy was only on the first or second day.

This is not unexpected, Wu Zheng has the psychological preparation of the Qing army to go south to fight for Xuzhou.

To Wu Zheng's surprise, there was a person mentioned in the military newspaper - Shen Zhiyuan.

The chief general of the Qing army this time is Shen Zhiyuan.

What surprised Wu Zheng even more was that the scout forwarded a letter sent by Shen Zhiyuan, and there was only one sentence in the letter, inviting Wu Zheng to meet in Guting Town.

……。

Guting Town already belongs to the boundary of Yanzhou.

Twenty or thirty miles to the south of it, there is a village called Miaodaokou, but Miaodaokou belongs to Pei County, Xuzhou.

Since it is called the temple crossing, it is naturally a temple, not only a temple, but also a lot.

The temple crossing is an important wharf at the intersection of Surabaya and the Grand Canal, and is known as "nine wells and eighteen temples, three mountains and one well".

There is a proverb, "the smoke of Feng County, the wine of Pei County, the singles are out of the temple entrance", the word "single" does not refer to the people who have no daughter-in-law in later generations, but refers to the people who are well-versed and decent, and dare to take responsibility.

The temple in front of Wu Zheng was already dilapidated.

In this kind of troubled times, people can't live, how can they still have the leisure to worship the Buddha?

Ruined, broken walls, cobwebs, musty smells, and occasionally a few frightened rats can run out of the temple, this temple is obviously no longer able to enter, talk about some business.

However, Wu Zheng was particularly interested in the couplet on the wall, and he held his hand behind his back and recited it several times, still savoring it.

"Anyone can be at peace when they stay out of the way.

In the game, who can be calm? ”

Shen Zhiyuan stood behind Wu Zheng with a smile, wearing a green shirt, not luxurious, showing an elegant and free atmosphere.

He didn't bring the army, only brought the yellow camel and two guards, four people and four horses, it can be said that he went to the meeting alone.

On the other hand, Wu Zheng, who brought Qian Qiaogong and the hundred horses that he put together temporarily, seemed to be a little inferior.

Shen Zhiyuan didn't interrupt Wu Zheng, he stood quietly behind Wu Zheng, as if even if Wu Zheng was old enough to read, he was willing to accompany him.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Power?"

"Women?"

"Possessions?"

"Or all three?"

Wu Zheng suddenly spoke, but his body did not turn around, as if he was talking to himself.

But Shen Zhiyuan understood that this must be asking him.

"I don't want any of the three."

"Oh?" Wu Zheng was concentrating on stroking this piece of the wall, as if he was touching a beloved woman, Qian Qiaogong even had an illusion, could this wall be an ancient artifact?

"And what do you want?" Wu Zheng is still the original question, "Three years ago, I didn't give you a chance...... The reason is actually very clear to you. Now, I'm willing to give you a chance, but you don't want it anymore...... I just want to know, what exactly do you want? ”

Shen Zhiyuan smiled, he kept smiling, but after Wu Zheng finished speaking, he laughed even more.

"I thought that in my life, it would be a luxury to be a general commanding thousands of troops, but now, I think I can do more...... You know, I wasn't a quiet person when I was younger. ”

"I know." Wu Zheng nodded and said, "But this can't be done at the cost of the lives of the soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army...... Obviously you've gone astray. ”

"Nope. I can't accept this accusation, in fact, even if I don't attack Hegao and Tongzhou, Dolgon will make Yue Le go south, and at that time, Tongzhou may not be killed or wounded, but the whole army will be annihilated. ”

Wu Zheng slowly turned his face and looked at Shen Zhiyuan silently, this face was so familiar, but so unfamiliar.

"Go back with me."

"Nope."

"You don't even want to see your father?"

Shen Zhiyuan's face changed slightly, but then he shook his head and said, "I am very relieved to have my eldest brother take care of me." ”

"You're ...... Or when I'm the big brother? ”

"You're the big brother."

"Then go back with me."

"Nope." Shen Zhiyuan was a little excited, "You can't stop me...... Since I was a child, I was not as good as you in anything, I was a year behind you in Zhongxiu, I joined the army together, you left, I was caught and beaten by my father, and I was imprisoned for a whole year...... You came back, and on the grounds that you didn't want me to have an accident, you let me stay in Pinggang Cottage for a whole year...... I would like to say that I have dreams too! ”

Wu Zheng looked at Shen Zhiyuan's eyes, was silent for a long time, and asked dryly: "Is the dream to be exchanged for hurting the love of father and son and brotherhood?" Do you want to betray your own people in exchange? Do you want to stain your crown red with the blood of countless comrades? ”

Shen Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled again: "No." I don't accept your accusations, in fact, you know in your heart that whether I attack Tongzhou or not, I am there, and Dolgon can't help me...... He can't kill me, because I have 30,000 new troops. But the reason why I want to attack is very simple, I want the Qing court to accept me, recognize me, and reuse me...... Rely on me. ”

"So, you are here with your army, ready to fight to the death with the eldest brother in your mouth?" Wu Zheng asked calmly.

"Nope." This is the third time that Shen Zhiyuan has retorted, "If the eldest brother is willing to let the brother take a step, this battle will not be fought." ”

These words made Qian Qiaogong, who was originally listening on the side, angry, "Shen Zhiyuan, don't you have to inch in, you don't know what to do!" ”

Shen Zhiyuan smiled at Qian Qiaogong, and then turned back to face Wu Zheng, "Big brother should know how important Xuzhou is to the Qing court...... Without Xuzhou, I can't enter the court. ”