As Li Zicheng speculated at the beginning, Zhao Dangshi really wanted to destroy the Ming Court in Beijing through the hands of the Shun army. Now that the Shun army is making rapid progress, it has the potential to level the northern posture within two or three months, and Zhao Dangshi can no longer watch from the sidelines.

Li Zicheng went on the Northern Expedition and brought more than 100,000 soldiers and horses from the five battalions of the main field, even if Shaanxi and Henan still had more than 100,000 Shunjun troops to defend the rear, but this was the best time for Zhao Ying to forge ahead. If Li Zicheng captured Beijing and then returned to the south to reinforce the south, the pressure on Zhao's battalion would be even greater, which was a situation that Zhao Dangshi, as the commander-in-chief, needed to avoid as much as possible.

Zhao Ying wants to use troops against the Shun army, only in two directions: Shaanxi and Henan. In these two directions, the military tendencies of the Zhao battalion were very different.

Hanzhong and Guanzhong in southern Shaanxi are separated by the Qinling Mountains. The Qinling Mountains are high and steep, and the valley roads such as the Baochuan Road, the Fu Luo Road, and the Meridian Road are all tortuous and roundabout, deep and steep, which is not conducive to the transfer of materials and large-scale troop transfer. It is okay to use these valleys to surprise troops, but it is very disadvantageous to attack on a large scale. Previously, the Shun army Wu Ruyi's department was the pioneer of the way, and once it was defeated, Tian Jianxiu's main army wandered in the northern part of the Qinling Mountains, and it was difficult to advance an inch, which is a good precedent. Zhao Ying strictly guarded the key passes such as Baogu, Fugu and Wugu in the south of Qinling, and the Shun army also fortified the exit of Sanguan, Luogu and Zigu in the north. It is difficult to attack and easy to defend, and whoever takes the initiative on both sides will not be pleased. Using troops to judge the situation, Zhao Dangshi did not want the elite main force under his command to fall into an unfavorable situation, so the core of the military significance of Hanzhong Mansion for Zhao Ying in the overall situation was "defending" and waiting for the opportunity to forge ahead. Zhao Ying's frontal offensive battlefield, Zhao Dangshi was set in Henan.

On the Henan side, although the north-south confrontation between the Shun and Zhao armies was quite similar to that of Shaanxi, there was still a big difference. The forces of Nanyang Mansion and Runing Mansion are intertwined, each with its own merits, but after all, there is no insurmountable natural barrier between Henan and Huguang, which is convenient for enterprising. In addition, there is an extremely important point, that is, to fight in Henan, the Zhao Ying army is backed by Huguang, where the old capital is located, and it is very convenient to provide supply support regardless of manpower and material resources. In contrast, the newly pacified resources of Sichuan behind Hanzhong have not yet had time to integrate and complete, and once the Zhao battalion uses troops against southern Shaanxi and the Shun army breaks out into a large-scale battle, logistics will inevitably be tight. Taking into account all aspects, Henan became the key direction of Zhao Ying's troop use.

The main body of the army that Zhao Ying invested in Henan was Hou Dagui's army stationed in northern Chu, Guo Ruke's army stationed in the southern part of Nanyang Prefecture, and Huang Degong's army stationed in the southern part of Runing Prefecture. Among them, Hou Dagui's army had 16,000 soldiers, Guo Ruke's army was 7,000, and Huang Degong's army was 15,000, totaling nearly 40,000 people. In addition to them, although there are still 7,000 Zuomengeng troops in Wuchang Mansion and 5,000 Fang Guoan troops in Huangzhou Prefecture, these two soldiers and horses Zhao Dangshi have other uses and do not follow the expedition to Henan.

According to the information from the Secret Service Division's investigation of life and death, the Shun army deployed in Henan has a total of 35,000 troops from Yang Yanchang, Gao Yigong, Ren Guangrong, Wang Wenyao, Xie Yinglong, and other subordinate troops, and the number of vassal troops such as Li Jiyu, Liu Hongqi, and Shen Wandeng is about 20,000. Even though the other party's book strength is nearly 60,000 people, considering that there are still scattered Ming troops such as Xu Dingguo, Liu Zeqing, and Bu Congshan who are currently stranded in Henan and around them, which have caught the attention of many Shun troops, Zhao Dangshi, Gu Junen, Xu Hui and other civil and military analysis, the Shun army may not be able to rest assured that all the main forces will be escorted to Zhao Ying. Moreover, the vassal army led by Li Jiyu was relatively weak in combat effectiveness and did not have enough threat, so the field troops that were able to effectively use the direct threat to Zhao in the whole of Henan were also floating around 40,000, which was on a par with Zhao's battalion.

Of course, for the sake of safety, Zhao Dangshi decided to subsequently separate Xu Hui's army from Hanzhong Mansion and return to Yunyang Mansion, first, as a flank to protect the frontal battlefield of Huguang in Henan, and second, to ensure the smooth passage of Yunyang so that the necessary military movement between Hanzhong and Huguang could be carried out. Xu Yixian, the division of the Right Army, originally proposed to transfer Wang Laixing's army from Sichuan to Hanzhong with him, so that Zhao Dangshi's army, which had stronger combat capability, would have room to withdraw and move more flexibly. However, the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes, and the two departments of Pi Xiong and Wang Xiang, who had gone north from Guizhou and Banzhou and wandered on the border of Chongqing Prefecture earlier, seemed to really covet Sichuan. After receiving several warnings from Zhao Ying, the negotiations still went their own way and remained unmoved. Wang Laixing's latest report to Hanzhongtang clearly stated that he was about to lead the army to Chongqing Mansion to deal with the matter, and the soldiers and horses in Sichuan could not be counted on for a while.

Therefore, on the whole, Zhao Ying's strategy of using troops against Dashun can be summarized as "Shaanxi defending, Henan attacking, and Sichuan and Chu succeeding" ten words. However, Zhao Ying's actual problems are far more than this cross.

Above the verdant mountain gate of Mt. Shomuro, it is drizzling.

The cave of the mountain opened, and a sturdy man with a black outfit raised his eyes, and a monk forty years old walked out of the temple slowly. This monk is not very old, but he has his own dignity and majesty, and his robe made of gold silk is dazzling in the gray robe clusters of other monks, which looks extraordinary, and his treasure is even more solemn. Behind this monk, he also followed several young monks, but among them, there was a unique figure dressed as a layman.

"Presiding, Pang Jinming, the Yamen of Xia Chu, has been absent for a long time."

"After a few years, Pang Tanyue has added the spirit of dragon and horse, and Chubei is really a blessed land for raising people."

Pang Jinming smiled and said a few words, and when he saw the middle-aged man in layman clothes among the monks, he bowed and saluted: "Pang Jinming greets His Royal Highness King Dechang, His Royal Highness is blessed and healthy." ”

Zhu Yousong, the king of Dechang, smiled reluctantly, and turned his head to look at a middle-aged monk standing beside him: "Thanks to Master Yongsu, this king can be regarded as healthy." ”

Pang Jinming followed his gaze to look at the middle-aged monk, the middle-aged monk and Pang Jinming glanced at each other, then lowered his head and put his hands together and said: "Amitabha, this is the karma of the little monk." After being able to saddle the horse for the prince, the little monk is really excited. His speech was soft and smooth, calm as water, and his countenance was kind and even a little humble, and it was clear that a few years ago he was a thief who was on the battlefield with blood on his hands.

Since he took refuge in Zhao Ying in the Battle of Xiangyang, Yongsu, whose real name is Wang Jiye, was sent to Shaolin Temple, and worshiped the presiding officer Haikuan on the other side as a teacher, and practiced Zen Taoism, but secretly shouldered the heavy responsibility of monitoring Zhu Yousong, the king of Dechang placed in the temple, for Zhao Ying. At the beginning, Zhu Yousong didn't trust Yongsu at all, and was on guard day and night, although Yongsu was in charge of Zhu Yousong's daily life, eating and drinking, but the two hardly talked more than two sentences a day.

It wasn't until later that Yongsu was influenced by the atmosphere in the temple, Pan Lin Geyin, and slowly became interested in Buddhism, and Haikuan on the other side often taught his apprentice. Yongsu, who had once fallen into loss and pain as a monk, gradually lifted the shackles in his heart and accepted and faced up to his new identity by studying Buddhism

With the sun and the moon, Yongsu accepted himself, and his heart also changed subtly, which made Zhu Yousong, who was like a frightened bird, slowly let go of his defense. The estrangement between the two gradually disappeared over time, never forgetting his mission, but he could also serve Zhu Yousong sincerely, and Zhu Yousong in turn regarded him as his only friend who could speak in the boring and simple Shaolin Temple. Therefore, Zhu Yousong's sentence "I have to have Master Yongsu" is not a lie, if there is no careful care of Yongsu, the prince who lacks the ability to take care of himself and is used to drinking in the past will definitely not be able to survive such a long time in the temple of Qingping.

"You swore to the king that the short time would be one or two months, and the long one would be March and May, and you would clear the thief atmosphere in Henan and take me out of the temple. But who would have thought, this wait is three years. Zhu Yousong smiled bitterly, and his eyes were slightly red.

"The villain is too late to take over, please forgive the prince. It's just a matter of the world, and it is not for lowly people like us to decide, and Zhao Shuai can't rashly take the prince out of the temple and put him in a place where jackals, tigers and leopards are rampant, and he can't help himself. ”

Zhu Yousong shook his head and said, "Then you are here to pick up this king out of the temple now, has Henan been pacified?" Has Luoyang recovered? ”

Pang Jinming paused slightly, coughed lightly and said, "Don't hide it from the prince, Henan has not yet been called a recovery." But Zhao Shuai has done his best, has managed Huguang into a peaceful land, and will not allow small nuisances, and now he sent villains to come, and is going to Huguang to live temporarily in order to welcome the king. ”

"To Huguang?"

"Not bad. Huguang is guarded by Zhao Shuai's millions of soldiers, and the security is prosperous, and the arrival of the prince can be described as the icing on the cake. Pang Jinming said solemnly, "In addition, Zhao Shuai has built a palace in Xiangyang Mansion to wait for the king, although it is difficult to compare with the glory of the Fu Domain, but for the prince to settle down temporarily, I want to be satisfied with the prince." ”

Zhu Yousong nodded and sighed: "Zhao Shuai is so attentive, this intention really moved the king, I don't know how to repay it in the future?" "He was born in the sound of dogs and horses, even if he has been immersed in Shaolin Temple for many years, but after all, he is a guest residence, and he has not completely converted to Buddhism like Yongsu, and his heart is still difficult to tie. Even if you have eternal companionship and talk about comfort, in the end, the pain is greater than the comfort. It was not easy to get out of the temple at this time, and I heard that Zhao Dangshi was extremely sincere, and I was moved.

Pang Jinming hurriedly said: "The prince is a nobleman of the imperial family, Zhao Shuai and the villain are all the courtiers of the emperor, and it is right to do things for the prince." Zhao Shuai only hated that he couldn't sweep away the thieves earlier and send the prince back to his hometown, so he could only use expedient measures to take the prince to Huguang now, he was already ashamed, and he just asked the prince not to blame him, where would he dare to ask for repayment. ”

Zhu Yousong greeted the light rain, looked up to the sky and sighed: "I have Zhao Shuai such a loyal minister in the Ming Dynasty, why worry about the thief and the injustice!" ”

Pang Jinming continued: "Zhao Shuai admired Huguang, Xiangyang Xiang Domain, Wuchang Chu Domain, Changsha Ji Domain, Jiangling Hui Domain, Wugang Min Domain, Changde Rong Domain and other royal palaces are all smooth and unharmed. The prince can be greatly relieved when he goes. And Huguang is close to Henan, and it is also convenient to wait for Zhao Shuai to kill all the thieves in Henan and send the prince back to Luoyang. ”

Zhu Yousong was happy in his heart, but looking back at the mountain gate of Shaolin Temple, he sighed and said: "There is no banquet in the world, I have been in the temple for a long time, and I am about to part, but I am a little reluctant." ”

Haikuan smiled on the other side and said: "When Zhao Shuai calms Henan, the prince has returned to Luoyang, which is close at hand. ”

Pang Jinming was afraid that Zhu Yousong would come up and delay it, so he quickly said: "Lord Wang, Henan is undecided, there are still Li Jiyu and other bandits wandering near this Shaomu Mountain, we will sneak over while the gap to ensure that the prince arrives in Huguang safely, but there can be no delay." ”

When Zhu Yousong heard this, he hurriedly said: "This king knows that the luggage has been packed, so let's leave now!" ”

Pang Jinming nodded, and saluted Haikuan on the other side: "I'm really embarrassed to disturb the host for so long." Although Zhao Shuai was detained in the army, he often mentioned the story of Shaolin in the past, and always wanted to go back to the temple to see. ”

Haikuan said: "Zhao Shuai is the younger brother of the little monk, and the Shaolin Temple is his home, so he can come whenever he wants." Even if we didn't have time to come, we and other monks would recite and pray for him day and night in the monastery, and we never stopped for three years. I just hope that Zhao Shuai will have no distractions, bravely kill the thief, and wait for Kuang Fu Justice to return Henan Taiping, and it will not be too late to meet again. ”

Pang Jinming said: "Thank you for presiding." Then he said to Zhu Yousong, "Lord Wang, the horse is not far away, let's go." ”

I didn't want Zhu Yousong to respond at this time, but his feet hesitated motionlessly, Pang Jinming muttered in his heart, hugged his fists and said, "What other concerns does the prince have?" ”

Zhu Yousong pointed at Yongsu and said, "Isn't Master Yongsu going?" ”

"This ......" Pang Jinming didn't expect Zhu Yousong to ask this, to be honest, take Zhu Yousong out of Shaolin Temple, even if Yongsu completes the task, as for how he arranges next, there is no instruction and no one has thought about it.

Zhu Yousong saw that Pang Jinming was silent, and pulled Yongsu over and said: "This king goes to Huguang, and there is only one request, that is, to go back with Master Yongsu." As he spoke, he asked Haikuan on the other side, "Presiding, can you tolerate one or two?" ”

On the other side, the sea said broadly: "It doesn't matter, the little monk has also traveled abroad for more than ten years in the past. The Dharma is boundless, not only in the Buddhist scriptures, but in the vast world. If Yongsu has a Buddha heart, he can understand the Dharma wherever he goes. Speaking of this, he smiled and said, "As long as Yongsu wants to go, Shaolin will never stop him." ”

Zhu Yousong asked Pang Jinming again: "What about you?" ”

On the other side, Haikuan expressed his attitude, and Pang Jinming didn't want to make anything wrong at this juncture, so he said: "As the host said, it's all up to Master Yongsu to decide." ”

Zhu Yousong clapped his hands and laughed, looking at Yongsu. Yongsu's lowered head slowly raised in his laughter, and his originally slightly dim gaze flashed with clear brilliance at this moment.