Three years ago, Zuo Liangyu pursued Zhang Xianzhong and was briefly stationed in Xiangyang City, and the soldiers lived separately in the city's people's homes, but the military discipline was corrupted, and "the state of immorality is unspeakable" so that the people "hate the soldiers instead of thieves". This time, the Zuo family army came to Xiangyang Mansion again, and the officials at all levels in Xiangyang, headed by Wang Chengen, the prefect of Xiangyang Mansion - this Wang Chengen is not the other Wang Chengen, and the official Kuang Yueguang resolutely resisted the Zuo family army to take a step closer to Xiangyang. Zuo Liangyu led the troops into Huguang, and did not take the road from Zaoyang to Xiangyang, but directly from Dengzhou, Henan Province to Guanghua and even Gucheng.

All units of the Zuojia Army were stationed on the west side of Mayao Mountain, and the company camped along the east bank of the Han River for several miles. Zhao Dangshi crossed the water from Gucheng and Jiahezhou, and met with Zhang Yingyuan, the deputy general of the Zuo Xie's battalion, who was in charge of the perimeter guard.

Zhang Yingyuan led Zhao Dangshi to see Zuo Liangyu. At that time, Zuo Liangyu was playing against Luo Dai, the general of Zuo Xiao's cavalry battalion, in the tent, and seemed to be engrossed and distracted. Zhao Dangshi didn't bother, and stood on the sidelines with Zhang Yingyuan to watch the battle. Liangyu on the left is white, and the triangle of the white on the lower right is steady, and at the same time faintly threatens the sunspot. Luo Dai placed a black spot, and immediately opened up the contact between the white triangle left black triangle and the black circle below, and blocked the white triangle with a large block. Although the large block of the white triangle is temporarily unhindered, if it goes down, the wind and clouds are unpredictable, and there are uncertain factors in the end, and it has lost its undefeated position.

Zuo Liangyu pointed at a son, his brows were tightly locked for a long time, and he suddenly threw the sunspot back into the chess basket, got up and smiled heartily: "The noble man has arrived, no wonder Zuo has no heart to play chess." But he ignored the chessboard and faced Zhao Dangshi.

Zuo Liangyu is tall, with red and phoenix eyes on his face and a slightly red face, which is quite similar to Guan Gong in the temple. But unlike Guan Gong, his beard is messy, and his eyebrows are not silkworm eyebrows, short and light, so he is a little less strict and a little more reckless. The two of them saluted, withdrew the chessboard and served tea, Zuo Liangyu put the cup and said: "Brother Wen Zhao beheaded Yu Zaoyang, eliminated harm for the people, and made people happy!" "It's about the death of the sworn enemy Chu Xidi.

Zhao Dangshi replied: "The royal road is clear, how can you allow the clown to run rampant in the overbearing fish and meat township." He added, "This kind of small night is easy to get rid of, but it is difficult to get rid of the thief and the giant thief." Fortunately, Zuo Shuai arrived in time, and I waited for a long drought to get Ganlin! ”

Zuo Liangyu looked at Luo Dai and Zhang Yingyuan respectively, and said: "The thief has a big enmity with me, at the end of the year before last, a certain thief was chased to Nanyang, Luo Shen will sacrifice the thief's left eyebrow in an arrow, and a certain also used a long knife to offer the thief's face, which was greatly injured. The thieves were defeated and injured, and they could have been flattened with one drum, but unfortunately Lord Xiong listened to the slander and insisted on appeasing. Looking at it now, the legacy is far away, the legacy is far away! ”

Zhao Dangshi echoed and sighed a few times, and said: "Zuo Shuai is strong in suppressing thieves, and the world knows it. ”

Zuo Liangyu shook his head, and said with a look of grievance: "What's the use of suppressing thieves with only perseverance, the truth of eliminating evil is as crude as Zuo is clear, how can those people of insight in the government and the opposition be smart and misunderstood." Between the lines, Xiong Wencan was sarcastically ignorant.

"I don't know how Zuo Shuai is going to be this time?" Xiong Wencan hasn't stepped down yet, and Zhao Dangshi doesn't want to chew his tongue too much, so he asked.

Zuo Liangyu thought for a moment and said, "Not much, forty thousand." ”

Zhao Dangshi coughed, took a sip of tea, and pretended to sigh: "With such a strong soldier, the thief will undoubtedly be destroyed." Secretly laughed, the entire Henan officers and soldiers together may not have 40,000, Zuo Liangyu really opened his mouth to come.

The Zuojia Army had four battalions, namely, the regular barracks, the Zuo Xie's battalion, the Zuo Xiao cavalry battalion, and the inner middle battalion, that is, one pacesetter battalion, one surprise battalion, one reinforcement battalion, and one guerrilla battalion. Even if the strength of the Zuojia Army is overswelled, it is impossible to exceed 10,000 people if the four battalions of soldiers, auxiliaries and even civilians are counted. Counting only the soldiers, one of five or six thousand is already unprecedentedly powerful. Not to mention that the Zuo family army can basically only be regarded as a family member, Zuo Liangyu was born in the Liaodong system, and it is a tradition to support a family member, and the proportion of family members in the army can account for two or three percent, so it is estimated that the really reliable Zuo family army is only two thousand.

"Alas, if you have the intention to kill the thief, you can't go back to heaven!" Zuo Liangyu let out another long sigh.

Zhao Dangshi saw that from the beginning, Zuo Liangyu was resentful, and knew that there was a reason, and asked: "Zuo Shuai seems to be worried, it is better to say it and let the little brother share his worries." ”

"You can't share this worry." Zuo Liangyu waved his hand and shook his head, "Lord Xiong refuses to give food." ”

Under the Ming system, the guest army went to the aid of other places, and after three days, it could be used for food in the local area, otherwise the local officials would be guilty of slacking off the army for failing to cooperate in the war. However, in the current season, it is not compared to the past, and northern Chu has been hit by war, ten warehouses and nine emptiness, and the consumption is particularly heavy.

As early as April, Dai Dongmin, the governor of Yunyang, was dismissed for his fierce rhetoric, and Wang Aoyong, the county commander with outstanding political achievements in Yicheng, was exceptionally promoted to the line of fire to take over. But he just took office, and the accounts were counted, and the end was shocking. The storage of the huge Yunyang Mansion is only more than 4,000 stones of rice and less than 200 stones of beans, which reveals the barrenness of the logistics of the official army in northern Chu. He asked Xiong Wencan to transfer rice and grain to Xiangyang Prefecture, but Xiong Wencan turned a deaf ear after reading the official document.

In essence, under Xiong Wencan's instructions, the more than 7,000 stone grains that Xiangyang Prefecture originally planned to transfer to Junzhou, Gucheng, Nanzhang and other places in the prefecture had already been suppressed, and the silver money allocated by the household department to Xiangyang Mansion to attract investment to buy rice and grain to transfer to Yunyang was also withheld. Xiong Wencan was frightened by Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion, and after the panic, he had the idea of fighting up and keeping the money and food in his own hands, just to take the opportunity to coerce all kinds of unruly officials and soldiers for his use.

At the beginning of Zuo Liangyu's army, Xiong Wencan promised him that he would give food when he entered the country, but when Zuo Liangyu really arrived at Mayao Mountain, he turned his face and did not recognize people, neither let him enter the city, nor gave him grain and grass, but instead sent additional envoys to urge Zuo Liangyu to continue to march into the army. In this way, as long as the Zuojia army continues to advance to the territory of Yunyang, the responsibility of supplying grain will fall on the Yunfu Wang Aoyong.

If there is no food, how can Zuo Liangyu's "40,000 male soldiers" be useful?

"At present, there is not much grain in the army, and it is difficult to ride a tiger here in Mayao Mountain, and I am still considering whether to continue to march into the army, or go to Xiangyang to ask for food." Zuo Liangyu was full of displeasure, and his tone became heavy.

Zhao Dangshi knew that according to Zuo Jiajun's original temperament, he would "find" it by himself if he had no food and grass, but the ground in Gucheng had been "intensively cultivated" by Xiying several times, and where was there any surplus grain for him. Zuo Liangyu is a husband, fierce and courageous, and in the face of Xiong Wencan's rebellion, it is not impossible for his head to be hot or go straight to Xiangyang Mansion to make trouble.

Zhao Dangshi didn't want things to go that far. He is now going to pull Zuo Liangyu to beat Zhang Xianzhong, if something goes wrong halfway, it will not be good for Zhao Ying. Therefore, Zhao Dangshi persuaded: "There was news from the DPRK a while ago that Lord Xiong would soon be dismissed, so he had nothing to fear. Zuo Shuai is in a high position, how can he follow that frivolous move, even if he has to get food, once Lord Xiong leaves office, this sensational responsibility still has to fall on Zuo Shuai. ”

Zuo Liangyu was silent when he heard this, and Luo Dai said: "Zuo Shuai, Mr. Zhao is right. Our army has only one mouth, and it needs a day's food, but less than a month's food. But this coercion is not a small crime. ”

Zhao Dangshi continued: "Zhao is foolish, Zuo Shuai has just arrived with troops, and it is the time when the sharp spirit is available. At that time, everyone was looking forward to it, and the Quartet echoed Zuo Shuai, and Lord Xiong didn't want to give food. ”

Zuo Liangyu raised his left eyebrows and asked Zhang Yingyuan: "Old Zhang, what do you think?" ”

Zhang Yingyuan was stunned for a moment, he was in a trance, and he almost didn't listen to the conversation, but at this time, he was suddenly named, and in a panic, he vaguely felt that Luo Dai was facing Zhao Dangshi, so he also learned to nod and said: "Mr. Zhao makes sense." ”

The three of them were all against making trouble, and Zuo Liangyu said to Zhao Dangshi: "Just follow what Brother Zhao said." ”

Zhao Dangshi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and continued: "There is still some food in Zuo Shuai's army, and Zhao also has some funding here. The army advanced to Yunyang, Wang Junmen was in charge of the dots, and Zuo Shuai could be relieved. When the battle is won, Mr. Chen will be dredged in Xiangyang Prefecture, and it will not be a problem to raise grain. ”

Zuo Liangyu nodded and said, "That's fine." ”

Once the issue of grain and grass came to an end, the conclusion was that since it was an army, it turned to the military. Zhao Dangshi fought with Xiying not long ago, and won successive battles, Zhao Dangshi roughly described the process, so as to avoid some boasting. Zuo Liangyu heard it in his ears, and his heart was very unhappy. He is quite conceited, he thinks that marching and fighting is Chu Yu's top spot, especially against Zhang Xianzhong, he has always won more and lost less, but he didn't expect that he was just a few days late, but the limelight was snatched away by Zhao Dangshi, and then he remembered that after entering Chu, he heard the people talking to each other along the way, "How is Zhao Ying", it seems that he is very supportive of Zhao Dangshi, and he is really unconvinced.

"Xian, Cao and the two thieves are still poisoning Fang County a few days ago, march from here, hurry up, and go to Qingfeng Town in the east on the first or second day." Zhao Dangshi said briefly, "The thief is huge and cannot be underestimated. ”

Zuo Liangyu sneered a few times and said: "It's just Zhang Xianzhong, and his subordinates are defeated." "Turn to Luo Dai," Lao Luo, today is eighteen, tomorrow you will be the pioneer to open the way. ”

Luo Dai Yingnuo nodded, and Zuo Liangyu said to Zhang Yingyuan again: "Soldier food does not wait for anyone, and I can't afford to delay." Lao Zhang, you go to rectify the soldiers and horses, and the day after tomorrow, all our troops will be pulled into the mountains. ”

Zhao Dangshi arched his hand and said: "Zhao is familiar with the vicinity of Fang County and is willing to work together." ”

Unexpectedly, Zuo Liangyu's face was expressionless, and he said in a muffled voice: "This is not necessary, Yunyang Xiangnian Zuo has not been here a little, and the road is very familiar." Mr. Zhao is fighting with the thieves and is waiting to rest. Just leave the matter ahead to Zuo. The rear and the grain road are also the top priority, and there is Lao Zhao Zongzhen to worry about. "In a word, you have to go it alone.

Zhao Dangshi could see that Zuo Liangyu was a little tempered, and he must have been stimulated by Zhao Ying's achievements, and he intended to make his own exploits and raise his eyebrows. In addition, although there were many military leaders between Chu and Yu, only he and Zhao Dangshi each led a "Ping Thief General" and "Thief Pioneer General" with the general seal, and it was impossible to say that there was no secret competition. Zhao Dangshi also took a step back and said: "It's okay, Zuo Shuai sent troops, and it was foolproof." "I was secretly overjoyed.

On the morning of the second day of the meeting, Luo Dai took Zuo Xiao's cavalry camp to cross the Han River and went through the Zhao camp camp. One day, Zuo Liangyu personally led the army to cross the valley city and enter Shengkang Town.

Even if Zuo Liangyu is confident, but fighting is not child's play, Zhao Dangshi is not good to ignore it from now on, after the Zuo family army all marched into Yunyang, Zhao Dangshi left the Wuqi battalion stationed in place, and followed up with Han Gon to lead the Feijie Zuo Battalion Horse Army. However, as expected, although the battalions of the Zuojia Army all listened to Zuo Liangyu's military orders, the combination was not as close as the Zhao camp after all, first Luo Dai's Zuo Xiao cavalry battalion explored the road but got lost, and then Zhang Yingyuan's Zuo Camp and Ma Yingxiang's inner middle camp were more or less chaotic.

By the time Zuo Liangyu was furious, he dispatched Tang Ma to recall all the battalions one after another and stationed in Qingfeng Town, and three days had passed. Under the inventory, there were hundreds of soldiers who were missing, their lives and deaths were unknown, and the battle had not yet been fought. Zhao Dangshi was secretly glad that there were no thieves guarding this pass, otherwise Zuo Liangyu's losses would be far more than these hundreds of soldiers.

In turn, Zhao Dangshi also doubted the inaction of Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai. Siping Township and Qingfeng Township have a lot of dangerous places along the way, and they just take advantage of it, why don't you see half of the thieves?

At the end of the month, Zhao Dangshi sent people to Fang County to secretly investigate the rear and found out, perhaps knowing the news that Zuo Liangyu's army had entered the mountain, and Xiying and Cao Ying had abandoned Fang County and retreated eastward.