The two armies of Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan were stationed at Dashengguan on the south bank of the Great River and the Xijiang Estuary on the north bank, facing each other across the river. These two places were less than 60 miles away from the city of Nanjing, and it was only half a day's journey down the river by boat, so the defenders of Nanjing quickly entered a state of combat readiness.

The army that can be called near Nanjing City has Liu Kongzhi, Liu Zhaoji, and Zhang Tianlu, Zhang Tianlu's army is stationed far away in Yangzhou, and Liu Zhaoji's army is still on standby in Pukou, Jiangbei, so the commander Cao Jiang and patrols the river to defend Liu Kongzhi as the vanguard of intercepting the left and square armies, and for the first time in his life, he led the army to the expedition. But he was too timid to go too far from the city, and soon after he led his troops out of Qingliangmen, southwest of the city, he stopped his march at Jiangdong Bridge, which was only five or six miles away from the city, and ordered him to set up camp.

"Liu and Zhang, when will they arrive?" The Chinese army's tent was built first, and Liu Kongzhi sat on the stool to consult Shi Dewei.

Shi Dewei was born in Datongwei, Shanxi, a generation of military households, fine cavalry and shooting, and had a strategy, Shi Kefa led the troops during the governor of Anlu, and later liked his loyalty and bravery, and accepted him as a righteous son. This time, Liu Kongzhi sent troops, and Shi Dewei was also ordered to accompany him, not only to assist Liu Kongzhi, who was not familiar with military affairs, to manage the army, but also to supervise the army for the military department, and his status was extraordinary.

"Liu Zhaoji's army is near, and he wants to cross the river and return to Nanjing tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Zhang Tianlu is a little farther away, but he can also arrive in three or five days. ”

"Okay, when they arrive, we'll move again." Liu Kongzhi drank saliva, and then began to beckon the servant girl to make the bed.

Stilwell looked at the maid who was walking around, and was unhappy, and said: "The Jiangdong Bridge and the city wall are close at hand, and if the enemy army comes, the battle will be in the city area, I am afraid that the people of Nanjing will be involved in the war." ”

Liu Kongzhi said: "What do you know, the enemy is outnumbered, and you can't act rashly. Fight against the city, advance and retreat, and defend. And it is a safe move to meet with Liu, Zhang and other armies as soon as possible. ”

Stilwell replied: "There is no danger to defend the Jiangdong Bridge, so it is better to go back to the city and hold on to it if you camp here." ”

Liu Kongzhi put down the kettle, glared and said, "Back to the city?" Do you want the officials to see my jokes, or do you want to drag the subjects of Nanjing into the chaos of war? Our army was stationed here first and waited to see what happened. If the enemy army does not come, when Liu and Zhang arrive, they will march on a large scale and wipe out the enemy army in a battle. If the enemy arrives first and then retreats into the city, it is also reasonable, and it is difficult for others to chew their tongues. ”

Shi Dewei was speechless, knowing that it would not be helpful to talk to Liu Kongzhi about military affairs again, so he said directly: "Please sincerely divide the Chihe camp to Shi, and Shi will lead him to continue to the west, choose a place to set up camp, and barrier the army." ”

Of the three battalions under Liu Kongzhi's command, the Xinjiangkou battalion was the largest, with 15,000 men. The Chihe battalion has an establishment of 3,000, and the soldiers were all recruited by the military department in person, and the order of the ranks is not bad. In the later period, there was too little oil and water in the camp and there was little room for promotion, and the children of the eunuchs were scattered, so in order to make up for the shortfall, a large number of rogue children were recruited, arrogant and difficult to control, and repeatedly committed crimes, and it was the worst in both discipline and combat effectiveness in the three battalions.

The Xinjiangkou Battalion and the Chihe Battalion both went out of the city with Liu Kongzhi to block the attack this time, and the Zhenwu Battalion stayed in the city. Stilwell has a close relationship with the military department and has been serving in the Chihe battalion, and he wants to lead the troops to continue west, but Liu Kongzhi can't stop him.

Liu Kongzhi originally felt that Stilwell was unconvinced and annoyed, but when he thought about it, with Stilwell leading troops to block the current outpost in the west, his danger was much smaller, so he turned his anger into joy, and nodded: "That's fine." Shi commanded a good fight, first go to the front to see the situation, if there is any abnormality, report it in time. "The Chihe battalion set up a tuntian to command one person to manage the military and politics, and Stilwell is in this position.

Stilwell couldn't get used to Liu Kongzhi, so he didn't want to stay longer for a moment, so he stepped out of the account. Not long after, another Mucuna general walked into the big tent and reported the progress of the camp to Liu Kongzhi, with a very respectful attitude. Liu Kongzhi looked at him and thought to himself: "The Chihe battalion is really controlled by the military department, and Steady has no fear before he dares to be rude to me." This Yuan Shizhong is honest and respectful, and can be regarded as a confidant. Now that Stilwell is arrogant and arrogant, he is really besieged by the enemy, I can't save him, and when he is defeated, he just pushed Yuan Shizhong forward and incorporated the Chihe battalion, so that the military department can no longer dictate to me. ”

Thinking like this, Yuan Shizhong in front of him asked: "Commander Shicai Shi took the Chihe battalion to the west, I don't know why?" ”

Liu Kongzhi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about him, let's set up camp by ourselves." At the same time, he asked, "Is there any movement of the enemy forces at Dashengguan and Xijiangkou?" ”

Yuan Shizhong responded: "The Tanma Clipper went out to investigate, but I didn't see any reaction from the enemy. The subordinates speculated selfishly, thinking that the enemy army did not expect that our Nanjing would send troops to intercept it, so it was a mess. ”

Liu Kongzhi said with great joy: "This is very good, it is now afternoon, even if the enemy army sets off immediately, it will have to fall into the night when it arrives in Nanjing City, and the battle will not be fought!" I was secretly glad that this day was finally safe.

Yuan Shizhong nodded, and Liu Kongzhi said again: "For today's plan, the most important thing is to stabilize the camp." When the reinforcements arrive tomorrow, we will be able to repel the enemy in one go! ”

The two discussed for a while, Yuan Shizhong took the order and left, Liu Kongzhi paced back and forth in the tent, constantly relieved, only to feel that a boulder in his heart fell to the ground, which was a lot easier.

It's night, and the moon and stars are scarce.

Seeing that there was no war, Liu Kongzhi couldn't bear it, so he instructed several maidservants who accompanied the army to dance in the big tent of the Chinese army, while he drank for fun. And did not forget to let Yuan Shizhong strictly guard the camp on all sides, report every half an hour, and inform the military. In his opinion, this can be regarded as a relaxation and a defensive balance.

After a few glasses of wine, Liu Kongzhi was slightly drunk, and couldn't help but stand up and dance with the maidservant. was laughing and laughing, suddenly someone suddenly lifted the tent and entered, Liu Kongzhi saw that the person who came was Yuan Shizhong, and beckoned: "Come...... Come...... Old Yuan, let's ...... together" But before he finished speaking, he was shocked to see that behind Yuan Shizhong, there were more than ten armor soldiers rushing in.

Yuan Shizhong didn't say a word, slashed the table with a knife, and shouted: "Take down the national thief Liu Kongzhi!" ”

The maid screamed and scattered, and Liu Kongzhi's wine also woke up most of it. He subconsciously drilled under the bed, but Yuan Shizhong's eyes were quick and he stepped on the hem of his shirt. He was caught off guard and immediately fell to the ground, Yuan Shizhong grabbed him and shouted, "Are you still running?" ”

Liu Kongzhi was shocked and angry, and shouted sideways: "Yuan Shizhong, what kind of sheep's horn wind are you committing!" I am the sincerity of the Ming Dynasty, how can I be a national thief! Let go! ”

Yuan Shizhong took a sip and said: "If you commit the following crimes, against the imperial court, you are a national thief!" ”

Liu Kongzhi was about to refute, when he suddenly thought of something, and his face changed sharply.

Yuan Shizhong said again: "I, Yuan Shizhong, were ordered by Emperor Fan Jing to capture the national thieves and eliminate traitors for the country!" ”

Liu Kongzhi's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but say: "You are Zhao Dangshi's person, you are Zhao Dangshi's person!" ”

"I'm from the imperial court!" Yuan Shizhong reinvigorated, "The left and side armies were also ordered to enter Nanjing, who are you, dare to raise troops and refuse to fight?" At this time, the left and square armies are already on the way, and they will regain Nanjing tonight! ”

When Liu Kongzhi heard this, he cried bitterly and said, "General Yuan misunderstood! The villain didn't dare to go against Tianwei, and led the troops here, because he was coerced and bewitched by the Confucians in Nanjing! General Yuan let the villain have a way to live, and the villain is willing to go up the sword mountain and go down to the sea of fire for the court! ”

When Yuan Shizhong heard this, his big fan-like hand was loosened, and Liu Kongzhi hurriedly retracted his head and sat on the ground gasping for breath. He looked at the fierce and vicious Yuan Shizhong in a daze, and for a while he couldn't figure out how this always obedient subordinate would suddenly turn his face so far.

Xiao Yuan Ying was caress at the beginning, although Zhao Ying secretly pulled the strings, but on the surface, he took the regular path of Zhou Yanru, the first assistant at the time. Beijing's order, coupled with the promotion of Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, Qian Qianyi, a famous man in Donglin, and Liu Kongzhi's own needs, several parties cooperated, and Yuan Shizhong took Xiao Yuan's camp into Nanjing. If Yuan Shizhong claimed to be Ma Shiying's person, He Tengjiao's person, or even Qian Qianyi's person, Liu Kongzhi would not be as shocked as he was now, and he really couldn't imagine how Yuan Shizhong got involved with Zhao Dangshi.

In fact, since Yuan Shizhong came to Nanjing, his contact with Zhao Ying has never been severed. It's a pity that Liu Kongzhi thought that Yuan Shizhong was taken in by him, and he was grateful and loyal, so he didn't think about it in other directions at all, even if he occasionally noticed a little heresy, he didn't pay much attention to it. Now that the facts are in front of us, Yuan Shizhong is indeed the dark line that Zhao Dangshi planted in Nanjing early in the morning. The wood has become a boat, crying to the heavens and the earth is useless, Liu Kongzhi can only secretly scold himself for having a pair of tricks in vain and having a pair of brains in vain.

"Those who know the times are handsome, and sincerity is still too late." Yuan Shizhong pulled the knife out of the table with a "bang" and said with a slight shake.

Liu Kongzhi looked outside the big tent, only to see that the lights were dark and quiet, and there was no movement. It can be seen from this that with more than 10,000 soldiers in the small Yuan battalion, Yuan Shizhong had already completely controlled the new Jiangkou battalion during the period when he was in charge of the new Jiangkou battalion, so that he led the troops to break into the big tent of the Chinese army, and there was no one to stop him, let alone half a wave. Liu Kongzhi, who was accustomed to being the shopkeeper in his hands, thought that as long as he relied on Yuan Shizhong, he could firmly control the army, and in the end he could only reap the consequences.

Dozens of miles away, the reeds swung in the boat and lit up.

The hull of the ship suddenly tilted, Zuo Mengeng knew that someone was on the boat, and just stood up, Xu Yong got into the black canopy, and said straightly: "Master Hou, Yuan Shizhong has captured Liu Kongzhi and is marching towards Nanjing City. ”

Jin Shenghuan said: "Yesterday, Yuan Shizhong sent someone to say that there were only some pickled rammed goods stationed in Nanjing City, and they would collapse at the first touch. Xiao Yuan's camp is here, and the city will be broken. ”

Xu Yong nodded and said, "Exactly." However, the person who met Pingluhou on the middle of the road made a special trip to ask for instructions. ”

Jin Shenghuan said for Zuo Mengeng: "According to the original plan, wait for Xiao Yuanying to take Nanjing City before moving." ”

Zuo Mengeng said unhappily: "What's going on with Fang Guoan, he has been urging again and again all the way, which is so annoying. ”

Xu Yong said with a smile: "Pingluhou is a Jiangnan clan, and I think he is homesick." He added, "When you enter Nanjing, you will have to show your skills in the future." He is familiar with the geography and people in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is only appropriate for him to go to Zhejiang and other places to guard it. ”

Zuo Mengeng knew that it was Zhao Dangshi's instructions to let Fang Guoan go to Zhejiang after taking Nanjing, so he couldn't refute it, so he only muttered: "What's the big deal, at least Nanjing hasn't been taken yet, he has to listen to me!" ”

Xu Yong said again: "There is another matter, Liu Kongzhi divided a group of about 3,000 soldiers and stationed in Zhoutou, three miles away, in the evening, choking the danger, how to deal with it?" ”

Jin Shenghuan smiled and said: "Liu Kongzhi still has this ability, do you know how to deploy in advance?" Then he said, "Don't worry about him, Nanjing City, his 3,000 people can help a lot." It's not that you have to be like those masters and adults in Nanjing City, obediently surrendered. ”

Xu Yong said: "Thanks to the king of Ningnan in advance, let Xiao Yuanying respond, otherwise it will drag on for another day or two, and when the armies from all sides of Nanjing will gather, it will be difficult to fight Nanjing again." ”

Zuo Mengeng said proudly: "I just said that there is a righteous father's arrangement, and taking Nanjing is not a matter of exploring the bag." ”

When everyone heard this, they were all silent. To be honest, before leaving Wuchang Mansion, there was a debate within the Zuojia Army about whether to send troops. Many people think that with only 20,000 people, they want to transfer thousands of miles to stay in Nanjing, and they are advised to resign to Zhao Dangshi. However, Zuo Mengeng himself insisted on obeying orders with an extremely resolute attitude, and Jin Shenghuan and other generals also decided to take one step at a time from the consideration of Zuo's long-term interests, and Zuo Jiajun was transferred from Wuchang Mansion to Jiujiang Mansion. It was this plan of "taking one step at a time" that allowed them to understand Zhao Ying's energy. No one in Zuo Jiajun thought that after taking the first step cautiously at first, what appeared in front of him was actually a broad road of Pingchuan. Whether it is Jiangxi, Fengyang or Nanjing, Zhao Ying has already taken care of everything, and all they have to do is just to execute.

Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku and other generals of the Zuo family finally understood how big the gap between themselves and Zhao Dangshi, Zuo Jiajun and Zhao Ying existed, and the rebellious heart that was still competing with Zhao Ying also disappeared. Even looking at Zuo Mengeng's eyes, he no longer despised it - after all, he had been thinking about it for a long time, and in the end, he couldn't compare to this muddy boy's decision in a single thought. Speaking of results, thanks to Zuo Mengeng, Zuo Jiajun can continue to this day.

After Xu Yongyu finished reporting, he lowered his head to get out of the black canopy, but when he thought of something, he turned around and said: "I remember that King Ningnan has a few outlines of the actions assigned to my Zuo Jiajun, entering Nanjing is the first priority, but after entering Nanjing, there are still many things to do." For example, the gang of Confucians in Nanjing, I am afraid that there is a difference between what is on the outside and what is inside. ”

Zuo Mengeng said: "My father-in-law said that Emperor Fan Jing ascended the throne, and the reason why he has not yet established a cabinet and placed hundreds of officials is because the world's elites gather in Nanjing. It is to choose officials, and it is impossible to avoid Nanjing. If one or two celebrities are in the bag, the four seas will return to the heart, and civil and military talents will flock to it. Let's act accordingly, enter Nanjing, use the obedient, and get out of the disobedient! ”

Xu Yong smiled bitterly: "That's the truth, but I'm waiting to go to Nanjing on behalf of the imperial court to win people's hearts, it's always not good to act rudely everywhere, and I still have to be gentle." ”

Zuo Mengeng raised his jaw and groaned: "What Uncle Xu said is that I was arbitrary. But don't worry, your father-in-law has all set it up. ”

"What's arranged?" Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong and others asked in unison. They had already been convinced of Zhao Dangshi, and when they heard that Zhao Dangshi had prepared in advance, they had no doubts, and some were just looking forward to it.

Zuo Mengeng said: "Didn't my father-in-law ask me to find two people before entering Nanjing City?" He said in his bag that one of these two people can help me break Nanjing, and the other can help me set Nanjing. ”

"Well, King Ningnan has no last resort. One is Yuan Shizhong, so the other is? ”

Zuo Mengeng replied: "Qian Qianyi." The father-in-law said that if Qian Qianyi was invited to Nanjing, the political affairs could be decided. ”