Chang Guoan wanted to leave Cao Ying very early. When he was in Sichuan, he thought very highly of himself and was oppressed by Yuan Tao, and often harbored resentment that he was difficult to comfort. After Chongzhen was defeated by Zhao Ying in eight years, he simply went into Chu and successively attached himself to a number of big camps, but unfortunately as an outsider, he had no roots and no foundation, and his development was not satisfactory. At the beginning of this year, the official army was in a hurry, and he had no choice but to take refuge in Cao Ying, temporarily avoiding the limelight, but he didn't want to be appreciated by Luo Rucai. I thought that Luo Rucai was the master, and he finally got a chance to show his strength, but after a few months of getting along, Luo Rucai's suspicion and suspicion, and the fight against dissidents can be described as a raccoon dog with Yuan Tao, and Chang Guoan couldn't help but be disappointed.

In addition to being disappointed, Chang Guoan could only put his hopes on recruiting security. Xiying, Zhao Ying, etc. have successively returned to the imperial court, and it stands to reason that Cao Ying, who is similar in size to them, should not be left behind, but I don't know if Luo Rucai is not angry or the officials and soldiers are determined to destroy Cao Ying, and Chang Guoan, who is waiting for the imperial edict, has not gained anything so far. The development prospect is bleak, and Zhao'an has not been worded, Chang Guoan gradually lost patience with Cao Ying, and his disappointment turned into despair.

People can't hang themselves from a tree, and out of consideration for the future, Chang Guoan turned his gaze away. At the beginning, he actually planned to contact Xiying first and choose an opportunity to cling to the past, but Hou Dagui's Chengtianfu and his party made Chang Guoan change his course and decided that Zhao Yinghui would be a better choice.

There is still no score on the Xiying side, Zhang Xianzhong has a reputation for tyranny, and Chang Guoan has no bottom in his heart about whether he can successfully join Xiying. On the other hand, Zhao Ying really conveyed his sincerity, and in the Chengtianfu Mountain Temple, Hou Dagui's promise was still echoing in his ears, and Chang Guoan, who was quite desperate, naturally found it difficult to resist such an offer.

As long as he nodded, he would be a serious military attache of the imperial court. After the meeting of the mountain temple, Chang Guoan had several dreams, all of which were the dreams of the ancestors and ancestors who had been digging in the field for generations to boast of his glorious lintel. As an official, the goal that his old Chang family has dreamed of for many generations, from a thief to an official, he can't even think of it. was able to get Zhao Ying's invitation to recruit An, although he was arrogant and rude on the surface, he really had a kind of happiness in his heart that the ancestral tomb was smoking.

It's just that he has his scruples.

First, although Zhao Ying was invited, Hou Dagui was empty-mouthed and white-toothed, and no one could figure out the details.

Chang Guoan has experienced ups and downs, when did he give his heart so easily, or to his former enemy. In the mountain temple, the reason why he let Hou Dagui and others go is nothing more than to leave a way back. He Jin, Lin Yangsheng, Li Wanqing, and Liu Xiyao were also recruited by Zhao Ying, and he was not familiar with these people, so it was difficult for him to conspire, so he decided to observe the contact between these people and Zhao Ying before waiting for an opportunity.

Second, Luo Rucai is sensitive and suspicious, and the party's henchmen are all over the camp, and they must not act rashly if they are not fully sure.

The Xiying and Zhao camps, which have been attached to the official army, and the Chuangying camp in Shaanxi have basically completed the integration of their own forces, and they can generally achieve that the government order is subordinate to one battalion and the soldiers and horses are subordinate to one battalion. Today, the old days of sitting together in the camp on both large and small hills are gone. Unless it is really strong enough, the small battalion head joins the big battalion head, and there is only one end to being completely absorbed. Among the current giants, there are the most miscellaneous gangsters who are attached to Luo Rucai's Cao Ying. All the big and small hills are doing their own thing, and there are not enough means to drive them to one place. The objective conditions also caused Luo Rucai to be more relieved in monitoring the work of various battalions and units.

Third, Zhao Ying's own situation is not clear, Chang Guoan is like a drowning helpless, it is okay to get on the boat, but the last boat that will sink is no different from lingering.

Chang Guoan has no foundation in Huguang, so he will work hard to collect information from all sides to prevent falling into the dilemma of a blind man crossing the river. He inquired that the two camps of the West and Zhao were certainly the imperial courts that had surrendered together, but the two sides were not as harmonious as they appeared to be. And in the bureau, even if he is not a core member of Cao Ying, he more or less knows some of the actions of the Xi, Hui, and Cao three camps to suppress Zhao Ying. In addition, returning to the camp to the north, Cao Ying to invade the south, Zhao Ying was crouched on both sides, and it was a well-known thing that he was defeated and retreated at the beginning.

Because of the above three considerations, although Hou Dagui packed the ticket early in the morning, Chang Guoan was still hesitant. However, a series of events happened in the future, but he felt that the situation had taken a turn for the better.

The first thing was the raid on Zaoyang County instigated by He Jin and others. In fact, Chang Guoan never thought that He Jin and others, who were eager to Zhao Yinglai in the mountain temple, would really do dangerous things and make sacrifices for Zhao Ying. But the more abnormal things are, the more shocking they are, the timing and strategic intentions of He Jin and others are foolish in Chang Guoan's eyes, but they still have no hesitation to make the most dangerous choice for Zhao Ying, Chang Guoan sees it in his eyes and is shocked in his heart. He Jin and the others did not know the motive for their suicide, just looking at the results, he would naturally be affected if he didn't know the inside story.

He Jin and others were defeated and died not long ago, and the news of the elite defeat of the northern camp came one after another, which was undoubtedly more related to Chang Guoan's vital interests than the former. Zhao Ying's worries in the north and the trouble in the south have gone, and the whole situation is very favorable to the officers and troops. Tou Shun Zhao Ying's thoughts couldn't help but sprout again in his heart.

The dry firewood has been built, only the last fire is missing, the sky is not as good as the people, Zhao Ying is not early or late, when he is most uneasy and hesitant, he sent the battalion's deputy envoy for foreign affairs Li Wei to meet secretly. Chang Guoan is not Zhuge Liang, he doesn't need to look at the thatched house, he knows very well in his heart that this time may be the last olive branch handed out by Zhao Ying. He left Li Biqiang, who was originally planned to leave that day, in the camp and hid for a night, and he also sat in a dark room and weighed it for a night, and finally when the dawn appeared the next day, he found Li Biqiang and agreed to Zhao Ying's offer.

"Chang Zhangpan is famous, and it will be reused if you abandon the dark and turn to the light!" Li Wei said at that time.

"It's smiling, it's notorious, it's notorious......" Chang Guoan smiled bitterly, and some of his facts were not good enough for outsiders. Others thought that he went out of Sichuan to join Zhao for the sake of glory, wealth and a bright future, but he knew that the starting point of his series of major decisions was only the word "survival". It sounds humble, but his sincerity. In Sichuan, if he doesn't leave, sooner or later he will be harmed by Yuan Tao; In Huguang, he did not take refuge in the official army, and with the strength of an outsider, he was either exterminated by the official army or swallowed by his battalion.

"Lao Tzu just wants to spend his old age in peace, and it will be difficult for the dog's day!"

This is the most common thing that people who serve Chang Guoan hear him repeat. From this sentence, Chang Guoan's philosophy of survival is derived - do not seek change, and play it sooner or later.

After struggling repeatedly for so long, the final word was finally settled, and the future and life were at stake, and Chang Guoan's attention was unprecedentedly concentrated. Zhao Dangshi, who understood the layout of Cao Ying's position, personally drafted a letter and sent it to Chang Guoan, pushing him to the forefront of the storm.

"This battle is impermanent, and the thief is difficult to destroy."

Standing on the outside of the fortifications on the north side, on the inner steps of the wall, looking around, Chang Guo'an Fu muttered this sentence softly.

It was noon the next day after defeating Liu Xiyao's troops. In the light rain yesterday, Chang Guoan used the words of "Zhao thief attack" to win Liu Xiyao's troops to come to help, and cooperated with the Zhao battalion led by Xu Hui, attacked from all sides, and defeated his troops. Nearly 1,500 people in Liu Xiyao's department died and nearly half of them were lost, and Liu Xiyao escaped the northern fortifications with hundreds of remnants. Under the order of the iron-faced and ruthless Xu Hui, hundreds of captured Liu soldiers were all beheaded, and they were piled up into several small Jingguan with the war dead, blood and water mixed with rainwater overflowing and silting, and the ditches were red.

Today, the clouds are gone, the sky is clear, Xu Hui, Han Gon, Qin Jinxiao, and Fan Jiwei led 1,500 horse infantry to continue to march south and took away 1,000 people from Chang Guoan's department, leaving only Xiong Wanjian and 500 people to assist Chang Guoan, and the remaining 1,000 people to garrison the place.

Even if he assisted Zhao Ying to defeat Liu Xiyao's troops, Chang Guoan still couldn't let go of the sentence in Zhao Dangshi's letter, "This battle is impermanent, and the Cao thief is difficult to destroy". Although he outwitted Liu Xiyao, Chang Guoan believed that if he didn't make his own move, Zhao and Liu would have to fight hard, and Liu Xiyao would not be able to escape defeat. However, it was only at this time, holding on to the wall that exuded the scent of mud, that Chang Guoan woke up to the meaning of Zhao Dangshi's words.

Under the clear sky, on the vast wilderness outside the northern fortifications, composed of two walls in the front and back, three trenches and five layers of hedges, there is a scene of soldiers. Thousands of Cao's soldiers and horses came from the north, forming an irregular phalanx in knee-high weeds. One of the largest phalanxes stood in the middle, the big flag fluttered, and the word "king" was written. In front of the largest phalanx, there is still a small phalanx densely formed, and a flag is slightly smaller in the array, and there is also a "king" word on it.

Xiong Wanjian, who was wearing heavy armor, dragged his heavy steps and walked to Chang Guoan's side with a heavy step against the wall, pointing to the two flags, one large and one small, and asked, "Is this the arrival of the Wang brothers?" ”

Chang Guoan looked at it for a moment and replied, "Not bad." In addition to them, there are also Hu Keshou and Liu Xiyao. He added, "It is estimated that the number of troops is close to 5,000." ”

Xiong Wanjian looked at it and said: "It seems that only Xu Chang is still squatting in the Shi family Xiaochong, and the brothers of the Wang family are pouring out of the nest this time." ”

While the two were talking, the soldiers around them shuttled back and forth, each quickly distributed to the front and back of the wall or trench and took their places, in an endless stream and orderly. Chang Guoan looked back at the soldiers and said with a smile: "You and I are only 1,500 people together, with 1,500 against 5,000, do you have a chance of winning?" ”

Xiong Wanjian replied: "Xu commanded the lord's public opinion, this time against the Cao thief, we must 'set up camp to facilitate the attack and defense', here the wall, the ditch, the hedge and the earth city, the horse pit, the plum blossom pile, the horse pile, the ground thorn, the iron water chestnut are all as good as the sharp soldiers, good to use, although our Ming soldiers are few, the dark soldiers are not necessarily less than the Cao thieves. ”

Chang Guoan nodded and said: "The lord has a plan, he is planning in the curtain, and the victory is thousands of miles away, and every move of the Wang brothers is under his control. ”

Xiong Wanjian smiled and said: "The battlefield has its own duties, there are masters and subordinates, and there are cadres and branches. In this war, we have Xu to control the south, and it is our responsibility to keep the Wang brothers and other thieves out of the northern fortifications. ”

Chang Guoan answered twice and asked, "But I'm in the south, your camp...... No, our battalion also has fortifications in the northern Qianzhuang Village, will these two places be used at that time? ”

Xiong Wanjian said indifferently: "I waited for Zhao Ying to be a general, and I never followed the military order, and I didn't ask anything else." ”

When Chang Guoan heard this, he sighed speechlessly.