The river breeze is blowing, outside the Xunyang Building, the soldiers are surrounded. It was bright and bright, but everyone was holding a burning torch in their hands.

"Quick!"

Under their command, some of the soldiers quickly sealed the doors and windows on the first floor of the Xunyang Building, and even used hammers and nails to completely seal them, while the other part of the soldiers kept piling up firewood downstairs with firewood, and at the same time poured hot oil.

"Master Hou, do you really want to do this?" Xu Yong stood with his hands in his hands, looking at the busy scene in front of him, with a hesitant look on his face. Standing beside him was the commander of the Zuojia Army, the commander of the Ming Xingping Marquis and the general Yin Zuo Mengeng.

Zuo Mengeng, who had grown a beard, looked a lot more mature than before, he raised his head and chested, and said in the direction of Xunyang Tower: "I don't know whether I am alive or dead, if you want to harm my father-in-law, this can only be the end!" ”

A few days ago, Xu Yong took the initiative to inform Zuo Mengeng of the secret contact between Yin and Yinxi, which was also his decision after a long ideological struggle. As he expected, Zuo Mengeng was furious, and almost immediately wanted to lead his troops to Qizhou to find He Tengjiao to show the color, but he gave up under the strong persuasion of Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku and others.

Jin Shenghuan suggested that Zuo Mengeng should be quiet first, and talk to He Tengjiao and the snake, as the so-called "putting a long line to catch a big fish", Zuo Mengeng may not be aware of it, but their generals all know that this is a great opportunity to help Zuo Jiajun make contributions.

Most of the military generals of the Zuo family, such as Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku, and Lu Guangzu, had no good impression of Zhao Dangshi before, but they had to temporarily bend their knees and be sent by Zhao Ying due to the situation. Zuo Mengeng is not stupid, and he can feel it. It is strange to say that since the news of King Dechang's ascension to the throne in Fan Jing reached Zuo Jiajun, these people seemed to have changed overnight, and they actually began to be a lot more respectful to Zhao Dangshi between words. For example, Jin Shenghuan used to call Zhao Dangshi by his name, at most he called "Zhao Du" in public, but now, he is a "King of Ningnan", earnestly from the bottom of his heart.

In order to make a final decision, He Tengjiao informed Xu Yong of the plan to support King Gui, and Zuo Mengeng decided to pretend to agree to He Tengjiao's invitation to come to Xunyang Tower for a banquet, taking the opportunity to find the whereabouts of King Gui. Several entourages who came in the same boat as He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi were all standing outside the building and waiting, but at this time, they were all controlled by Zuo Menggeng's soldiers, and none of them escaped. Zuo Mengeng interrogated the small harbor where King Gui's canopy boat was anchored from their mouths, and sent Gao Jinku to quickly lead troops to search. In this way, in Zuo Menggeng's eyes, He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi lost their last use value, and they only hated them.

"These two thieves not only want to harm my father-in-law, but also subvert the imperial court, they are really traitors and thieves of the country. I burned them on fire, and did the way for heaven, why not? Zuo Mengeng shouted. As he spoke, the soldiers threw torches from all directions. The flame was dipped in hot oil and ignited, and after a while, the tongue of fire accompanied by thick smoke immediately wrapped Xunyang Tower tightly.

"Open the door, open the door!"

In the closed Xunyang Building, He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi shouted in a panic, knocking on the doors and windows with their hands and feet. Under the smoke and fire, his cries slowly replaced by violent coughing.

Xu Yong listened to the footsteps of He and Du running back and forth upstairs and downstairs in a panic, and persuaded Zuo Mengeng: "He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi are court officials after all, and they are rashly burned to death, and if the matter spreads, it will not be good for Hou Ye and King Ningnan." ”

Zuo Mengeng said unhappily: "Just say that Xunyang Building is going to the water, who dares to check on me?" ”

The fire is spreading, and the whole Xunyang building is peeling up and down, and the river wind blows on people's faces with heat waves one after another, hot like a steamer. Xu Yong knew that he couldn't persuade Zuo Mengeng, who was impulsive, and turned around to look at Jin Shenghuan, who was holding his hands and watching. Jin Shenghuan knew what he meant, nodded, and then walked two quick steps to Zuo Mengeng, and said a few words to him. But seeing that Zuo Mengeng was stunned, he immediately raised his hand and shouted at the soldiers: "Slow down, put out the fire!" ”

The soldiers who were still in full swing to fill the oil and firewood looked at each other, and Zuo Mengeng shouted again: "Put out the fire immediately!" The military order was handed down, and the inexplicable soldiers began to hurry to the vicinity to look for buckets and other utensils.

There was a commotion outside the building, and a soldier who went to the river to fetch water suddenly shouted: "Someone jumped into the river!" ”

Zuo Mengeng hurriedly led the crowd down to look, and sure enough, he saw two bodies floating on the undulating river. Several sturdy soldiers with good water skills stripped off their clothes and jumped into the river, and worked with each other to drag the two bodies ashore. After identification, it was He Tengjiao and Plug Yinxi. It turned out that the two of them were desperate and jumped off the fence on the second floor of Xunyang Building, but the building was higher at the end, and their posture was not correct when they fell into the water in a panic, resulting in a backlash and a coma.

"Take these two guys back and take care of them." Zuo Mengeng glanced at the two of them and ordered coldly.

Back on the road, between the fires, the soldiers threw water back and forth to extinguish the fire. A horse galloped from the far end, Zuo Mengeng saw it and shouted: "Uncle Gao, have you found King Gui?" "He who came was ordered to search for King Gui's high entry into the warehouse.

"Found it!" Gao Jinku immediately began to reply, smiling, "There are our people staring there." Funny to say, King Gui was so frightened at first that he almost fell into the water. ”

"Hmph, the courage is not as big as a mouse, and you still want to be an emperor?" Zuo Mengeng snorted, "Bring King Gui back to the camp first." At the same time, he beckoned and called several generals of the Zuo Family Army who were present together, "Uncle Gao, Uncle Jin, Uncle Xu, Uncle Lu, let's discuss the next thing." ”

"Good ......" Jin Shenghuan and the others responded, looking at each other. In the past, Zuo Mengeng was completely in charge of the shopkeeper when he encountered an accident, and even if the matter came to an end, he didn't care about it. Now it is really strange that he has changed his face and taken the initiative to make trouble.

A few people stayed away from the fire and found a shady place to talk. Zuo Mengeng said first: "A few uncles know that the king of Ningnan sent me to Jiujiang Mansion to really want me and Fang Guoan to drive directly to Nanjing in the future. Although the new emperor ascended the throne in Fanjing, Nanjing is the orthodox capital, and the sooner he won Nanjing, the sooner he entered Beijing, the sooner he helped the new court to be justified. Capturing He Tengjiao and intercepting King Gui is just a temporary trivial matter. ”

Jin Shenghuan was surprised by Zuo Menggeng's clear mind, and nodded vigorously: "What Hou Ye said is extremely true. Although He Tengjiao's conspiracy is appalling, it is only a matter of handling it casually for our army, and it will not hinder the overall situation. In the follow-up, King Gui and He Tengjiao were sent back to Huguang first, and the main task of our army should not be delayed. ”

Gao Jinku saw that Zuo Mengeng's serious appearance today did not look like a muddy person, and he also put away his past contempt, and said seriously: "Our army has been stationed in Jiujiang for nearly a month, and there are three purposes. One is to raise food, the second is to recruit troops, and the third is to suppress bandits. Coughed lightly, "The matter of raising grain, I am docking with the governor of Jiangxi, Yuan Junmen is generous and righteous, very cooperative with our army, and so far, the money and grain transferred from the city treasury to the military camp have been fully delivered, and Yuan Junmen will make up more as compensation for the loss in the future." In terms of the supply of money and food to Nanjing, our army can rest assured. ”

Zuo Mengeng stroked his palm and said: "Yuan Junmen is a very good person, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, and good neighbors like him are rare." In the future, we will be developed, and we will have to treat him to a few meals. He added, "Thanks to my father-in-law's face, it saves my army a lot of energy." ”

Gao Jinku said: "The land of fish and rice in Jiangxi has plenty of money and grain. King Ningnan has this foresight, which is admirable. ”

If Yuan Jixian, who is currently sitting in Jiangxi, is a hostile force, then not to mention that the march along the Yangtze River will be greatly resisted, and the logistics supply will also be a big headache if the advance is thousands of miles. Zuo Mengeng said that Zhao Dangshi relied on face to get through Yuan Jixian's joints, but Lao Chengru Gao Jinku and others naturally knew that it was not a day's work to wear water drops and stones, and it was not just the word "face" that Yuan Jixian could be mobilized to raise military food for the whole province. The fact that Yuan Jixian can help with this part is enough to show that Zhao Dangshi has been befriending him for a long time and has always maintained a solid relationship. Raising soldiers for a thousand days is used for a while, if it weren't for his extraordinary vision and extraordinary patience, Yuan Jixian's line would never be as smooth as it is now.

Zuo Mengeng said with a smile: "My father-in-law is far-sighted, and I still have a lot to learn." ”

"Yes, yes......" Gao Jinku and others were busy responding. Their attitude towards Zhao Dangshi has changed. Looking at it from another angle, I gradually found that Zhao Dangshi does have a lot of admirable decisions and layouts.

After raising food, Zuo Mengeng turned his eyes to Lu Guangzu and said, "Uncle Lu, how are you recruiting?" ”

Lu Guangzu patted his chest and said: "It's generally ready, all of them are alive and well, and the prospective Marquis is satisfied!" ”

Zuo's army does not count the two battalions of Zhang Yingyuan and Wang Yuncheng, who followed Zhao Dangshi in the foreign war earlier, and there are still 7,000 veterans of the lineage who can be deployed. But when he went to Nanjing to go deep into the guest land, Zhao Dangshi sent a special letter to Zuo Mengeng, asking him to recruit more soldiers and horses in order to stabilize the situation in the future. Zuo Mengeng happily promised that in addition to the old battalion leaders such as Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku, Lu Guangzu, and Xu Yong, he promoted Hao Xiaozhong, Xu Ensheng, Wu Xueli, Chang Deng, and other old men of the Zuo Army, and sent them to recruit troops on both sides of the river, which was fully coordinated by Lu Guangzu. Judging by the confident performance of Lu Guangzu's faction, the recruitment of troops should go smoothly. As a result, the combined size of the Zuojia Army and Fang Guoan's armies that marched to Nanjing exceeded 20,000 people.

When Jin Shenghuan heard this, he took the initiative to say: "Then I'll talk about the bandits." ”

Jiangxi is mountainous and watery, Yuan Jixian provided money and food to Zuo's army, and also asked Zuo's army to help clear out the mountain bandits in the province. Although the thieves such as Hui, Ge and Zhang Xianzhong were destroyed one after another, there were still stragglers left behind by them who were in danger on both sides of the river. Even if these thieves do not have the strength to attack the city and conquer the village, they still cause a lot of damage to all parts of Jiangxi. Among them, there are Huang Guizi and Li Zongma in Jiujiang Prefecture, Shi Guanglong in Duchang County, Nankang Prefecture, and there are empty thieves in Raozhou, which is far away, which is far from being peaceful.

Jin Shenghuan has been leading troops to fight everywhere for most of the month, clearing thieves and burning thieves' villages, and has achieved a lot of results. At the moment, he also told some anecdotes encountered during the period, which caused everyone to laugh from time to time.

"In the days when my left army was in charge, the atmosphere of thieves was clear. Not to mention other places in Jiangxi, it is not an exaggeration to say that every house inside and outside Jiujiang Mansion does not close its doors at night. Jin Shenghuan touched his short beard and said, "At least in the short term, the thieves in Jiangxi dare not raise their heads, Yuan Junmen, I told him about the situation, and he is generally satisfied." ”

"Good. The thieves in Jiangxi disrupted the supply lines of our army, and in the end it was us who suffered. helped Yuan Junmen suppress the thief, helped him and helped himself, killing two birds with one stone. Zuo Mengeng clapped his hands and smiled, "He is upright on the surface, but he can't help but praise me in his heart, saying that I am really decent!" ”

Jin Shenghuan and the others saw that Zuo Mengeng was grinning and a little stupid, so they all forced a smile and nodded yes.

So far, the fire in the distance has been much weaker, and many ashes have drifted in the wind, sticking to the heads, shoulders or clothes of Zuo Mengeng and others.

Zuo Mengeng was about to go back and take a look, when someone walked through the forest, bowed down and said, "Master Hou, I have something to report." ”

Speaking is the Rong Banner Battalion General Lu Guangzu camp camp Sima Jinzhong, he was originally a giant Kou, nicknamed "mixed 100,000", as early as the end of the eleventh year of Chongzhen in Henan surrendered Zuo Liangyu, since then has been serving in the Zuo Army.

"Say." Zuo Mengeng snapped his fingers.

Ma Jinzhong said: "The Marquis of Pinglu just asked people to go to the camp to find the Hou Ye, saying that there was an urgent military discussion. ”

Pinglu Hou is Fang Guoan, and Zuo Mengeng jointly operated, and today he was guarding Jiangfang, and he did not come to Xunyang Tower together as Xu Yong and He Tengjiao said.

"Emergency military? What did he say? Zuo Mengeng was taken aback and looked at Jin Shenghuan and the others.

"I didn't elaborate, but I just said that the scouts reconnoitred a troop of soldiers and horses along the river in Wangjiang County, Anqing Prefecture on the north bank, with more than 10,000 troops, and their intentions were unknown."

Zuo Mengeng swallowed his spit when he heard this, and his old state relapsed, and he only turned his eyes to the uncles who looked at him for help.