After discussion, Wang Laixing chose Shi Yan to comfort Ma Wannian to lead troops to garrison Luzhou City. The stone soldiers have strong combat effectiveness, and even if the Western Army attacks back, it will be difficult to overcome this obstacle for a while. Moreover, Ma Wannian's letter to Qin Liangyu asking for more troops had already been sent to the rear, and if there was a real response, he could just wait here to answer.

Two days later, Wang Laixing led the army to board the boat in the north of Luzhou Prefecture, traced the water along the Zhongjiang River to the north, passed through Fushun, Neijiang, Zixian, Ziyang and other places, changed to a land route in Yang'anguan, Jianzhou, and soon arrived at the Longquan Town Inspection Division located in the southeast of Chengdu Fucheng. Along the way, he did not hear the news of the flow of the Western Army, it seems that Zhang Xianzhong acted cautiously, although he conquered the capital city of Luzhou, but a big defeat in Jinghejiang County, deliberately hibernate to observe the situation. If the enemy does not move, I will not move, Wang Laixing, Qin Qigong and others have already arranged a response strategy for the Western Army and wait and see what happens.

Wang Laixing sent an order to camp and found Zeng Ying and said to him: "Brother Zeng and Long Junmen can know each other? When our army comes here, we can introduce it on our behalf. "Chen Shiqi did intend to cooperate with Zhao Ying earlier, but it is difficult to say what Long Wenguang, who was the new official, had in mind. It is more stable to let Zeng Ying, who has lived in Chengdu for many years, go to explore the style.

Zeng Ying replied: "Long Wenguang was mostly in northern Sichuan before, and he had little intersection with Zeng. But the governor Liu Zhibo and the official Liu Shidou were both friendly with their fathers, and when Zeng raised troops, they also helped a lot, and they were also able to speak. ”

Wang Laixing arched his hand and said: "Then there is Brother Lao Zeng, our army is coming from afar and urgently needs supplies." And in order to consolidate the defense of Chengdu Fucheng, it is necessary to move the garrison closer to the city, which requires the nod of the Long Junmen. ”

Zeng Ying said heartily: "If you want to come to Chengdu City, there is no reason for you to be disallowed. He added, "Counting up, there are only three troops and horses stationed inside and outside the city of Zhenyuan Battalion, Liu Jiayin, the commander of the Zhenyuan Battalion, Tongzhi Jiasheng, the guerrilla Lu Yinchang, and Hao Xiwen, the instructor of the Shaanxi Commander, and there are many new soldiers and few veterans, and the city may not be well-protected. The army in charge is strong and strong, and it is the charcoal in the snow. ”

After a few words, the two parted, Zeng Ying only took a few companions and rode to Chengdu Fucheng.

As the core capital of Sichuan, due to the three invasions of the Mongol army in the late Southern Song Dynasty, the original four cities of Chengdu from the outside to the inside of the Yangma City, Luocheng, Imperial City and Palace City were completely destroyed. Hongwu four years, the Ming army conquered the Ming Xia, Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong was ordered to run Sichuan, that the old city of Chengdu was narrow and the city wall was low, after planning, the foundation of the inner city of the Han and Tang Dynasty was abolished, and the remnants of the city wall of the Song and Yuan Dynasty were used as the base to build a new city, the city wall was high and the moat was excavated, and the city of Chengdu began to have an outline. In the eleventh year of Hongwu, Ningchuan Weidu commanded Zhao Qing to continue to build the outer city and lay bricks and stones on the outside of the rammed earth. After completion, Chengdu Fucheng is surrounded by more than 20 miles, three feet high and four feet, and gradually becomes a scale. In the twenty-second year of Hongwu, Zhu Chun, the eleventh son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the eleventh son of Ming Taizu, was in Chengdu, and the blue jade of Liangguo Gong adhered to the concept of "non-magnificent, no demonstration", supervised the repair of Chengdu Fucheng, and Chengdu Fucheng was rejuvenated. Since then, Xuande has been repaired for three years and Chongzhen for five years. Up to now, there are five city gates in the whole city, and there are more urn cities outside each gate, although it is not as good as the Chongqing Mansion Chongyong Hundred Pheasants, but it can also match the status of the capital of Sichuan.

Zeng Ying entered from the middle and gate of the southern city, drove lightly, and arrived at the Fucheng Government Office, and passed on the name of the position, which coincided with the Sichuan Governor Long Wenguang and the Sichuan Governor Liu Zhibo in the government office, and was immediately summoned.

Liu Zhibo knew Zeng Ying, and another thin civil official thought that it was Long Wenguang, and after seeing the salute, he stood there and said: "Wang Laixing, the governor of Huguang's Yamen, has led his troops to Longquan Town, and there are also Kuizhou Santan, Shaanxi Zhao 'Ronggui and others accompanying him, requesting to move the army to the city of Fufu to guard against thieves, and Zeng asked for a special request. ”

"Haha, General Zeng is not in a hurry, just sit and talk slowly." Long Wenguang laughed dryly, stretched out his hand and nodded, "The two of us are still talking about this." "It seems that they have already received news of Wang Laixing's march.

Long Wenguang spoke, and Zeng Ying could only sit down patiently. Liu Zhibo stroked his beard and smiled: "On the day of farewell, it has been nearly three months since I met General Zeng. I heard that he had participated in the general and led the troops to fight abroad, and he broke the thief in Hejiang County, which is gratifying! ”

Zeng Ying shook his head and said: "Zeng Mou is ashamed to be a great merit, and he can break the thief, thanks to the strength of the Chu soldiers." Without Chu soldiers, the situation in eastern and southern Sichuan would have been difficult to clean up. ”

Long Wenguang said: "I know a few things about Chu Bing. But I don't know how many soldiers and horses there are in Longquan Town now? ”

Zeng Ying didn't think much about it, and responded: "Together with Zeng's battalions, it is about 15,000 people. "One more sentence," In addition, there are Shi Yan soldiers in Luzhou, and when they meet the follow-up reinforcements, when there are 5,000, they will come over in the near future." ”

"20,000 ......" Long Wenguang and Liu Zhibo glanced at each other.

Zeng Ying leaned forward and said: "The army is coming from afar, and it is tired, first, we need to demarcate the garrison area outside the city as soon as possible, and second, we need the government treasury to allocate military rations to reward the army. He continued, "Although the thieves were defeated, the main force still exists, and judging from the situation of Chongqing Mansion and Luzhou Mansion City, I am afraid that it will be difficult to stop only the defenders in my Chengdu Mansion City." Today, with the help of Chu soldiers, Chengdu is worry-free. ”

When Long Wenguang heard this, he laughed and said, "Zeng Shen said this reasonably. ”

Zeng Ying nodded solemnly and said: "This is the case, and I also ask you to issue a decree as soon as possible to respond to the Chu soldiers." Otherwise...... Otherwise, I am only afraid of drastic changes and affect Chengdu. He spoke very directly, and examples from various places over the years have proved that a soldier without pay is no different from a bandit. The rabbit is anxious and bites, although the military discipline of the Zhao Ying army is good, but once the iron-beaten people have no food to eat, no one can guarantee what will happen.

"There's no urgency in this matter, if you don't say it, I'll think about it later." Long Wenguang squinted.

"By the way, General Zeng, among the 20,000 troops in Longquan Town, how many real Chu soldiers are there?" Liu Zhibo suddenly asked.

Zeng Ying was stunned for a moment, and said truthfully: "About half." "What's wrong?" ”

"It's okay, just ask." Liu Zhibo smiled, and then said: "The Chengdu treasury is full of money and grain, and two days ago, he mentioned to the prince about the chaos of the river, and he is also willing to help the officials and soldiers against the thieves, and sooner or later he will also allocate some money and grain." In this area, Zeng Shen will not need to worry. With a shake of his sleeves, "As long as I can expel the Liukou and keep me peaceful in Sichuan, I will turn over the warehouse, and I will not treat the Chu soldiers and the rest of the town generals badly." ”

Long Wenguang said solemnly: "This is very true, but the allocation of money and food is very important, and it is not feasible in one or two days. In my opinion, it is better to let Chu Bing and others temporarily stay in Longquan Town first, and wait for the books clarified in the yamen to come to Fucheng again. Five days at most, and it will be known. ”

Zeng Ying pondered for a moment, and felt that he was reasonable, so he said: "Okay, Zeng Mou has thanked the soldiers here for the soldiers." ”

Long Wenguang immediately said: "The thief will not be destroyed for a day, and it will be difficult for Sichuan to be determined for a day." Once the Chu soldiers have arrived, the time to join hands with us and others to sacrifice thieves in the future will definitely not be short. The two armies must work together, and the generals need to form friendships and be honest with each other before they can rely on each other. Zeng Shenjun, do you think this is the truth? ”

"Yes, Long Junmen is insightful, Zeng admires."

Long Wenguang folded his fingers and said: "The Duke of Chu Bing is selfless, and he sacrificed his life for my Sichuan affair, so I am really grateful." It will be difficult for the army to allocate money and food for a while, but the two of us plan to hold a banquet in Lichun Xuan, the palace of the king of Shu, tomorrow, and first wash the dust for the chief manager of the Chu soldiers. ”

"Shu Wangfu?" Zeng Ying was a little surprised, "Is the prince the east?" "Two years ago, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai united into Sichuan, and Sichuan was fighting endlessly, when Sichuan was suffering from the plague, fighting rice and thousands of dollars, and the people donated barren beards, and the end was full of devastation. But even if the situation is so bad, Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, still overhauls the pavilions and pavilions, and collects the people's daughters to enter the palace for joy.

Long Wenguang saw his doubts and explained: "This time is different from the past, the thieves have broken the fortified city, and the poison is so bad, if Chengdu is lost, it will be difficult to protect the Shu Domain." The lips are dead and the teeth are cold, the prince has insight into the current situation and wants to lead by example. ”

Zeng Ying didn't doubt him, and said, "Okay, the prince bothered." ”

The principal agreed, Zeng Ying did not stay long, and quickly got up to leave. Long Wenguang and Liu Zhibo sent him out of the hall, and couldn't help but admonish: "Be sure to say that the king is in charge of the banquet, this time it is the prince's personal bureau, it's not good not to give face." ”

Zeng Ying replied: "Don't worry, the military gate, such important matters are related to the overall situation, and General Manager Wang has his own opinions. ”

At that moment, Long Wenguang and the others went back to the hall, Zeng Ying walked a few steps in the direction of the gate of the government office, and suddenly thought that his father had been appointed a few months ago to go to the West Sichuan Ma'er Za Pacification Division to comfort the local Tusi, I don't know what the situation is, so I turned back and wanted to ask a few words. Unexpectedly, not far from the entrance of the hall, he heard Liu Zhibo's voice in the hall: "Does the military gate have to use this method?" When the gates of the city are closed, they starve to death, will it not be easy? ”

Long Wenguang's voice immediately came: "Starving to death? You're underestimating them too much. What kind of person is Zhao Dangshi, in his early years, he was a thief who was on par with Chuang and Dedication. The three Tan in eastern Sichuan and the Ma family in Shiyan, which one is not fierce? The soldiers brought out by such a person, will you be a submissive person? If there is really no food, I am afraid that the thieves will not come at that time, and my Chengdu Mansion will have to make a fuss for them first. ”

When Zeng Ying heard this, his heart shook, his footsteps stagnated, and he didn't dare to go again, so he quietly leaned against the black camphor tree not far from the hall gate and eavesdropped.

But he heard Liu Zhibo sigh repeatedly: "The military gate is a little risky to do this." ”

Long Wenguang said: "The old gentleman is serious, can the situation in Sichuan be dangerous now?" "It was a common practice in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty that if the other party was a peer of his own generation, or a slightly lower position than himself and not a direct subordinate, no matter whether the other party was old or young, he could call the other party an old gentleman and call himself a student.

Then he coughed heavily: "Don't mention the thief, the ghost is not gone, and it wants to explode from time to time." The gang in northern Sichuan is arrogant and lawless. Now there is another Huguang Admiral, hum, what he said on the surface is better than what he sings, to help me exterminate the thieves in Sichuan, but there is no imperial decree, and second, we have not been informed in advance to seek consent, so arbitrary, are you such an old-fashioned and warm-hearted person when Zhao Dangshi? ”

"Zhao Dangshi, born in a rogue, ambition is greater than loyalty."

"That's right, offering thieves into Sichuan, he also took advantage of the weakness to enter, it can be said that the praying mantis catches cicadas and yellow finches behind, if we don't listen to the nonsense sent by Zhao Dangshi, this Sichuan will not fall to the thief, but also to the official thief!" Long Wenguang sighed again and again, "Look at it, the Tan family brothers, the Shi Yan and the Zeng Ying, which one of them was not seduced by Zhao Dangshi." It's ridiculous that Zeng Ying was originally a person under the establishment of my governor's yamen, but now he is urging him to help Zhao Dangshi more anxious than the main master. Look at it, if you let Zhao Dangshi go down, you and I will become puppets for others sooner or later. ”

In less than two or three months, a large area in eastern and southern Sichuan was occupied by Zhao Dangshi's men, and a series of local military towns were all in Huguang Governor Yamen's attitude, which made him even more angry. According to this development, it is foreseeable that the Sichuan Governor Yamen will soon become a grass platform team in name only. He was promoted by the line of fire, and he was originally full of ambition to do something big, but seeing such a result, it was difficult to accept.

Long Wenguang was angry for a while, and then said: "The method that the student said is both rigid and soft, which is most in line with the current situation. Zhao Dangshi's affairs in Sichuan are all in charge of the person named Wang Laixing, let's ask the prince to come forward to earn him, and he will not harm his life, just put him under house arrest, the risk is not as big as you think. The soldiers and horses in Longquan Town are leaderless, so we can take the opportunity to divide and bring Santan, Shi Yanmajia and others under our command first, and then take advantage of the situation to counter the Chu soldiers. You said that at that time, without Wang Laixing's Chu soldiers wandering left and right, can they still be obedient? ”

"This ......"

"Foolproof." The more Long Wenguang spoke, the more confident he became, "With 20,000 people, my Sichuan governor yamen can not only protect Chengdu, but also have nothing to fear from thieves." When the thieves are destroyed, the north of Sichuan can also be determined. ”

"This matter still needs to be discussed."

"Don't miss the opportunity, the time will not come again, whether the big thing is successful or not, it depends on tomorrow's banquet. Let's call Liu Jiayin here. He's my confidant, and he's in charge of it, and there's nothing wrong with him......"

Long Wenguang talked endlessly, Zeng Ying was dumbfounded, only to feel that his heart was like falling into an ice cave, but he couldn't listen to it anymore. quietly found out of the yamen, and at this time, he didn't even bother to ask about his father.