Guo Ruke's sudden uplift really startled Chi Qilong. Zhao Dangshi saw that Guo Ruke's brows were tightly knotted as if he was about to have a seizure, so he said first: "Old Guo, but hemorrhoids have been committed again." He was not healed, and he went back to rest. After speaking, he gave Zhou Wenhe a look, and Zhou Wenhe immediately stepped forward quickly and helped Guo Ruke.

"Yes......" The corners of Guo Ruke's mouth twitched, he held back his words, glanced at Chi Qilong, and followed Zhou Wenhe out of the account.

Zhao Dangshi turned to Chi Qilong and said: "Military horseman, you are used to being rude, please don't mind, Your Excellency." ”

Chi Qilong was dumbfounded for a moment, and then said with a smile: "It's okay, it's okay, the contemptible people in the north have already adapted to it." ”

Zhao Dangshi said again: "The expectations of your country, Zhao has written them down here first. But rewarding money and food is a small matter, and ceding land is a big matter. Although Zhao is on the throne, he is still a courtier in the end, so he has to ask the court for instructions. ”

Chi Qilong nodded and said: "It is the right thing to do, the contemptible people come just to pass the message, and when the two countries officially reach an agreement, they will have their own envoys." ”

Zhao Dangshi continued: "Our country has always attached great importance to your country, and Your Excellency is here to shine. Speaking of beckoning, his own soldier brought a plate of gold and silver, "Be careful, please accept it." ”

Chi Qilong didn't push back, and thanked him with a smile.

After the business, the two chatted for a while, and Chi Qilong said: "The prince is entangled in military affairs, and the contemptible people dare not talk for a long time, so I will go back here to return to Prince Rui." If the contemptible people come, even if they are on the line with each other, the prince and the imperial court will send envoys to Beijing again, and they will make their own arrangements. In his words, he seemed to regard Beijing as the territory of the Qing Dynasty.

Zhao Dangshi didn't care, got up and said, "Okay, Your Excellency." As soon as there is news, we will go to contact in time. ”

Chi Qilong left, and Guo Ruke was taken back to the big tent by Zhou Wenhe. Zhao Dangshi didn't speak, Guo Ruke knelt down first and pleaded: "Guo Ruke is full of ugliness, he almost missed the lord's important business, and he is willing to be punished." ”

Zhao Dangshi sighed and said, "Tiger head, your upright temper needs to be changed." ”

Guo Ruke replied: "The envoy of the Tartars said that he wanted my country to cede the sixteen states of Yanyun as a gift, and it was difficult for him to be in a situation for a while. When his subordinates were young, they had heard stories such as Yang Jiajiang and Yue, and knew that the land of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures was really a giant screen in the north of my Central Plains. What the Tartar envoy said was an understatement, but the plot in his heart made people shudder. ”

Gu Junen said: "The Liao State took advantage of the rebellion of the Five Dynasties to seize the sixteen states of Yanyun, and then was able to compete with the Great Song Dynasty for a hundred years. Jin destroyed Liao, inherited its land, and ravaged my Central Plains for a hundred years. The Beiyu Tartars claimed to be descendants of the Jin Kingdom, and since they occupied Beijing, they inevitably had the ambition of restoring their ancestors' inheritance. ”

Xu Yixian answered: "Exactly." Didn't Chi Qilong say that the Tartar soldiers had begun to infiltrate Beizhili, Shandong, Shanxi and other places. ”

Gu Junen continued: "The Tartars are cunning, and they appointed the old officials of the former dynasty to appease the place for themselves to reassure the people. When the raw rice is cooked and matured, the gentry will lose the best opportunity to resist again. ”

Zhao Dangshi first helped Guo Ruke up, and then said: "Cleaning up the old mountains and rivers is not a day's work." In Beizhi, Shandong, and other places, our army is currently beyond the reach of the whip, and we can only wait for Zuo Mengeng and others in Nanjing to complete the rectification of military and political affairs, so that we can have the spare strength to look north. Before that, what our army can do is to take Shanxi one step ahead of the Tartars. ”

Gu Junen groaned and said: "From Chi Qilong's words, it can basically be inferred that in order to steal Shanxi, the Tartars have two moves, one bright and one dark. Ming Qi is an army that set out from Beijing to march into Shanxi, and I am afraid that it is Jiang Hao in my selfish speculation. If the Tartar army arrives in Shanxi and joins forces with Jiang Xuan, it will not be so easy for our army to at least take northern Jin. ”

Zhao Dangshi touched the mustache on his lips and said, "Jiang Huang's belonging to Jinbei is very crucial, and he must be brought over." Didn't Chi Qilong say that he didn't find the prince and prince in Beijing, so if the Tartars wanted to recruit Jiang Jiu, there was no way to use the banner of Daming to deceive. Jiang Hao is an old minister of the Ming Dynasty, he has no choice but to break in, give him a chance Anyway, if he chooses one of the Ming and Tartar, he will inevitably be inclined to my Ming. ”

Even though Chi Qilong was cautious and had a strict tone, he never expected that smart people like Zhao Dangshi and Gu Junen would have grabbed a lot of useful information from just a few conversations before.

Gu Junen said: "The Tartars themselves should be able to think of this, and send the army to Shanxi in a hurry, on the one hand, to conquer the city, and on the other hand, I am afraid that there is a desire to force Jiang Jiu to submit." Just now, his subordinates heard from Chi Qilong's mouth that the Tartars went to Shandong, and Wu Sangui was also listed, indicating that Wu Sangui should get along well with the Tartars at this time. Combined with the ambitious performance of the Tartars, I'm afraid Wu Sangui ......"

Zhao Dangshi said with a solemn expression: "Wu Sangui has surrendered? ”

"I don't dare to say that, but it's very likely. Otherwise, as a minister of King Qin, he should go to Shandong, and he should defend Beijing, clean up the suburbs of Gyeonggi, or pursue the thieves. When you go to Shandong, you can only act on orders. ”

Zhao Dangshi exhaled and said: "Wu Sangui was attacked by thieves, and self-protection is the first priority at a critical moment. Judging from the result of the thief's defeat, he was largely on his knees to survive. When Mr. mentioned Jiang Jiu's situation, didn't he think he would become the next Wu Sangui? ”

Gu Junen responded: "In a corner of northern Shanxi, Jiang Huang suddenly got into trouble, facing several times the thieves, embattled, and the situation was much the same as Wu Sangui at the beginning. At that time, the Tartars rushed to the aid of Wu Sangui, and they were able to take advantage of the situation to coerce, and now they can quickly send troops to Shanxi, and they can also repeat their old tricks. He continued, "When Wu Sangui was in trouble, our army was too far away to take care of it, but Jiang Jiu was not far away from each other, and he could still fight for it and not let the Tartar tricks succeed." ”

"How can I be safer?"

"It is feasible to solicit him in the name of the imperial court to make a wish. However, the main thing is to make Jiang Hao really feel that he has another way to go besides Tartar. Otherwise, his demise is imminent, even if he is crowned king and prime minister, he will not ask for it. ”

Zhao Dangshi condensed his face and said: "What I said is that our army is gathered in Shaanxi, and it is difficult to divide the troops in the short term. Sun Chuanting is fighting Yulinwei, and in terms of mobile troops, only Hou Dagui remains. ”

Gu Junen smiled bitterly: "Hou Dagui only has more than 10,000 people, in the face of the powerful thieves and the surging Tartars, is it too heavy to shoulder the task of stirring Shanxi?" ”

Zhao Dangshi said with a deep gaze: "I don't know what the situation in Shanxi is recently, alas, I don't know what the situation is in Hou Dagui." ”

Hou Dagui is leading the army in a hurry.

Not far ahead, the lush Oolong Mountain lies across the light rain, and the color is faint. Jiangzhou to the east, first to Yicheng County, and then from Yicheng County east out of seventy-five miles, that is, the southeast of Pingyang Province and Zezhou junction, and Wuling Mountain is the boundary mountain.

Wuling Mountain runs from north to south and stretches very widely, but there is a passage in the ridge, which is not difficult to walk. When Hou Dagui led the Wuyi Battalion, Jinghe Zhong Battalion and Yichong Battalion to start crossing the mountains and mountains, the Feijie Left Battalion, Feijie Right Battalion, Changning Battalion, Zhongguan Battalion and the 5,000 horse army of the Heren Pole had already entered the territory of Zezhou.

Two days ago, Hou Dagui was in a dilemma because of the treacherous situation in Shanxi at the military meeting, and Mu Gongchun, who served as a military adviser with the army, made a surprising remark and put forward a strategy to break the situation. His strategy boils down to four words – retreat as advance.

The Shun army saw through the intention of Hou Dagui's army to go north, so Yuan Zong's army fortified in advance to block the road. All the civil and military forces were in a fixed mind, racking their brains to think about how to quickly break through the Yuan Zongdi army with good combat effectiveness, and Mu Gongchun said: "Yuan Zongdi's troops are not inferior to our army, and they are ready to hold each other by digging trenches and erecting fences. "What's more," and the main force of the thieves behind Jiajiazhuang has not moved, even if our army is progressing smoothly, but the defense line of Jiajiazhuang is slightly loosened, it will lead to Li Chuang's rescue, at that time, our army's intention to contain Li Chuang has been achieved, and I am afraid that it will cause fire and it will be difficult to get out. ”

Hou Dagui had won the siege of Runing Mansion under the guidance of Mu Gongchun, and he respected him very much. ”

Mu Gongchun shook his feather fan, followed the map in the south of Shanxi from west to east, and said, "Don't go to the north, go to the east." ”

Hou Dagui was surprised: "The lord ordered our army to go to the north, but now it is going to the east, isn't it a back, a back......"

"The opposite? Not necessarily, I'm afraid Mu Gongchun said with half-squinted eyes, "Rushing north, there are no bones." The move to the east seems to be retreating, but in fact, retreating is advancing, which can contain the main force of the thieves better than fighting Jiazhuang. ”

"How so?" Hou Dagui also walked to the map, stretched out his head, and put his hands behind him.

"Boss, please see." Mu Gongchun feather fan lightly, "Jiangzhou to the east, past Wuling Mountain is Zezhou." To the north of Zezhou, it is Lu'an Mansion, and to the south, it is Henan Weihui Mansion. Lu'an, Weihui, where is it? ”

Hou Dagui replied: "The thieves divide their troops, there is Liu Zhong in Lu'an Mansion, and Liu Rukui in Weihui Mansion. ”

"Yes, Zezhou is located between Lu'an and Weihui, and it is an important place in the throat. As soon as our troops were stationed, the connection between the two places was immediately severed. ”

"Mr. doesn't fight Jiazhuang, but wants to fight these two places?"

Mu Gongchun said: "Whether it is to fight Jiazhuang or Lu'an and Weihui, there is only one purpose, that is, to involve the main force of Taiyuan thieves, so that they dare not move lightly." The combined strength of Liu Zhong and Liu Rukui is comparable to Yuan Zongdi, but they are divided into the north and south, and they fight separately, which is better to deal with. "In addition, there is another benefit to entering Zezhou." ”

"What's the benefit?"

"Our army can join the armies of Henan." Mu Gongchun coughed lightly, "At present, the general trend of Henan has been decided, and only some bandits are in chaos, and there is no need for a large force to sit in charge." And the adjacent Lianghuai and other places are the sphere of influence of our army, and there is no need to worry about the back. You can ask Guang Wenlu to lead the army across the Yellow River and attack Wei Huifu with our army, forgive Liu Rukui is only 5,000 soldiers, how can we be the elite soldiers of our army before and after! ”

Yan Licheng echoed: "Li Chuang arranged Liu Rukui in Weihui Mansion, which should have been used as an outpost to guard against my Henan army, and if the Henan army wants to cross the river to attack the enemy alone, it will indeed be difficult to succeed for a while, but if our army suddenly intersperses, the chance of victory will be greatly increased." ”

Mu Gongchun said: "Exactly, if we take Weihui Mansion, our army can work together with Guangwenlu Army to turn around and go down to Lu'an Mansion." The southeast of Jin is far away from Taiyuan, and when Li Chuang reacts and rushes to help, the overall situation has been decided. At that time, with the momentum of our army, we will join the Shanxi Zhulu Righteous Army, not to mention containing the main force of the thieves, even if it is two rounds with the main force of the thieves, it is really worth half a point! ”

After hearing this, Han Gon also said: "Lu'an and Wei Hui are to break into the southeast corner of the Shanxi defense line, there is a shortage here, the door of Shanxi is open, Li Chuangzi can't go elsewhere with peace of mind, compared to attacking Jiajiazhuang, the containment effect is even better, and it is not a problem to buy enough time for Sun Chuanting's army."

Zhou Yuji smiled and said: "This idea is wonderful and flexible!" If you play well, the future is limitless! ”

Ma Guangchun, Lu Yue and others also nodded yes. They are all under the command of the Ma military battalion, and the Ma army under his command is good at field warfare and is not conducive to attacking fortifications, and as soon as they heard that they had to face the enemy army who was waiting for them to go to the Jiazhuang fierce battle, they had a big head, and they preferred to turn around and attack Zezhou, showing their strengths.

"Please, Boss, decide!" Mu Gongchun took the lead, and all the civil and military in the tent asked for their lives.

Hou Dagui was a cheerful person, and immediately nodded his head and said loudly: "Okay, just do it!" ”

More than 10,000 Ming troops rested during the day, secretly evacuated Jiangzhou at night, and arrived in Yicheng County within a day. Han Gon and the other 5,000 horse troops were fast and advanced, and although the remaining 7,000 infantry also had horses to travel, after all, they had to transport the baggage of the accompanying army, and the progress was a little slow. Up to now, according to the latest military report from Han Gon and other troops, the 5,000-horse army was taking Zezhou City directly, and the officers in the Wuqi Battalion who were in charge of overseeing the army also reported that about 30% of the soldiers had been climbing the mountain.

As early as when Shaanxi and Sichuan were fighting on the move, Hou Dagui was ordered to lead the strange soldiers to overcome thorns and thorns, and walk through mountains and rivers, so Wuling Mountain, where the roads were repaired, was really not difficult and dangerous for him. Approaching dusk, most of the soldiers of the whole army arrived at the western border of Qinshui County, Zezhou, at the eastern foot of the mountain range, and according to this progress, the whole army should be able to gather before nightfall.

"Tonight, we will camp at the foot of Dongwuling Mountain, and leave early tomorrow morning." Hou Dagui looked at the golden crow on the edge of the mountains and was about to be completely dimmed and sunk in the west, and instructed Zhang Xianbi.

Zhang Xianbi had just left with the order, and he rode over at a gallop, it was Yang Zhaofeng, the counselor and overseer of the Feijie Left Battalion.

"Oh, Fengzi." Hou Dagui grinned. He rarely takes the initiative to show favor to others, Yang Zhaofeng is an exception, "What's the progress ahead?" "The 5,000 horse army that took the lead was commanded by the Feijie Left Battalion, and Yang Zhaofeng's visit must be related to the military situation.

Yang Zhaofeng jumped off his horse and said to Hou Dagui: "Chief, our army is about to go to Zezhou, but I heard that Zezhou City has been captured by local rebels. ”

"Oh? Rebels? ”

"Yes, it is Chen Du, Zhang Douguang and others who mentioned the incident in Zezhou and other places early in the morning. They expelled the puppet officials appointed by the thieves, and they had been entrenched in the city for seven or eight days. Yang Zhaofeng said quickly, "Han Tong first sent people to the city to recruit Chen and Zhang, but these two thieves were afraid that our army would seize the city and oppose the guests, so they killed the envoy unreasonably and closed the city to resist." Han Tongzhi then pretended to retreat, Chen and Zhang really hit the plan, out of the city to pursue, our army counterattacked, defeated the people, Han Tongzhi took the lead in two arrows in a row on the battlefield to kill Chen and Zhang, and then covered the army to take the city, and specially ordered me to ask the general manager to lead the troops into the city for the night. ”

Hou Dagui said happily: "This is very good, you came in time, Zhang Xianbi will go away one step later." ”

was about to call someone to call Zhang Xianbi back, but Yang Zhaofeng suddenly approached him and said a few words to him, and Hou Dagui's face changed sharply.