In the territory of Chenzhou, in the north of Hutou Mountain in the south of Yuanshui, dozens of horses are galloping, and the iron hooves are excited to fly countless sands.

The rain poured down, flowing into the gap between Zhang Dangxian's armor along the grooves on the pocket, he didn't care at all, through the whistling wind and rain, he could vaguely discern the situation ahead, turned his head to greet his subordinates, and shouted: "Don't let this thief escape!" Turning forward, he tried his best to keep his eyes open, his gaze clouded by the wind and rain pointing straight ahead.

In the showers of rain and waterfalls, there is still a figure galloping more than ten steps away.

"Bastard!" Seeing that the distance between the two sides was getting farther and farther, Zhang Dang first muttered and cursed, there was a dense forest not far ahead, and then dragged it down, and when the target he was chasing escaped in, it would be difficult to search. On the back of the bumpy horse, he decisively inserted the saber that had been drawn for a long time back into the scabbard, and picked up the riding bow hanging by the saddle sheath.

Under the extremely gray sky, with a bang, a lightning bolt split the black clouds, and the electric light illuminated the road ahead, and also illuminated the knights in the distance. His mount was a black horse, pitch black throughout, with white fur at the ends of its hooves, which almost blended in with the bleak landscape.

Perhaps frightened by the sudden lightning and thunder, the black horse let out a long roar, stopped his steps, and began to step anxiously. The knight on the black horse tugged at the reins in an attempt to reassure his mount, but he could see that his own nervousness was just as great.

The night grew fast, and the rain suddenly became heavier, and the raindrops the size of beans fell from the black horse knight's hat and coat, and he turned his horse's head to face the dozens of pursuers who were slowly approaching. In such an atmosphere, he had no idea whether the countless droplets of water on his face were rain or sweat.

"Good chance!" Zhang Dare gritted his teeth first, had no distractions, and opened his bow and arrows smoothly.

A huge thunder suddenly exploded in the sky, and the lightning that followed lit up the four fields in an instant, like day, accompanied by the sound of a landslide and a crack, it seemed that the heavens and the earth were changed.

When dozens of horsemen arrived, only the black horse was left pacing restlessly in the heavy rain, and the knight was already lying in the mud with a feathered arrow stuck in his neck.

"Whew-" Zhang Dang breathed a sigh of relief, put the bow back, and jumped off the horse.

At this time, some soldiers had already examined the corpse and reported: "Chinese army, you can't be wrong, this is the thief leader Huang Erzhi." ”

"Okay." Zhang Dangxian nodded with satisfaction, "Cut the head and take it back." As soon as Huang Erzhi died, the vitality of this cave seedling was greatly damaged, and there was no need to worry. As he spoke, his gaze swept to the restless black horse.

"Yo he, it's a snow horse, maybe this thief robbed it from King Min's mansion." A soldier grabbed the reins and sighed in amazement, "With the help of the divine horse, no wonder we spurred him desperately, and almost told him to run away." ”

"Take this horse back and take care of it." Zhang Dang looked at the horse first, and suddenly had an idea in his heart, instructed, and then gave an order, "Leave the two heads to bury the corpses, and the rest will immediately follow me back to Changde Mansion!" “

"Yes!" All the soldiers agreed in unison, each urging the horses' hooves, and the rolling thunder rose again, the electric rain was mixed, and the wind howled, gradually drowning the dozens of horses in the endless darkness.

Changde Mansion is adjacent to Yueyang Building, Yuezhou Mansion.

In the early years, the literati and the scholars passed through the Yueyang Tower, leaving countless Mobao poems, but the building was destroyed by fire during the Jiading period of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the current Yueyang Tower was actually built in this dynasty. But fortunately, no one in the three people gathered in the top pavilion of this building at the moment cared about this, for them, as long as the scenery was good enough and the dishes were fresh enough, it was enough.

These three people, one Wang Laixing, one Zuo Menggeng, and one Bai Wang.

Halfway through the banquet, Wang Laixing and Zuo Menggeng's faces were slightly red, and only Bai Wang was calm as usual.

"At this moment, presumably our army has already beheaded the thief Qu Huang Erzhi. As soon as Huang Erzhi died, the state capitals south of the river could be said to be safe. Wang Laixing gently tapped the table with chopsticks, with a smug look on his face.

Zuo Mengeng slanted his mouth and smiled: "That's good, it's good news on my side, Zhang Xianzhong touched his nose and ran away." I heard that the imperial court set up a reward, captured Li Zicheng ten thousand gold, and was hereditary. Zhang Xianzhong 5,000 gold. I haven't heard of any reward for killing Huang Erzhi. In his words, he deliberately compared with Wang Laixing.

It was the middle of June, the month before and the beginning of this month, Zhang Xianzhong, who had been flowing along the river from Nanzhili to Huguang, had led his army to harass the suburbs of Wuchang Mansion twice, but was defeated by the Zuo and Bai armies guarding Wuchang Mansion and Hanyang Mansion respectively. said that it was defeated together, but Zuo Mengeng always thought that he accounted for most of the credit, and Bai Wang was just an assistant. Who is Zhang Xianzhong? The giant who is as famous as Li Zicheng has been defeated twice, and Zuo Mengeng's morale has soared, of course he will not take Huang Erzhi and his ilk in his eyes.

Bai Wang was calmer, afraid that the two of them would be young and vigorous, so he coughed and said: "According to my investigation, after Zhang Xianzhong lost one after another in Wuchang Mansion, the water thieves on both sides of the Great River turned to Jiangxi together. ”

Wang Laixing said "oh": "No wonder Jiangxi has been in trouble with thieves recently, it turns out that there are thieves who are making waves." "I have to say that Zhang Xianzhong, as an old man, has the means and courage beyond the reach of other rising thieves. After Yuan Jixian, the governor of Jiangxi and other places, took office, he reorganized his troops and horses, actively prepared for war, and the prefectures and counties under his rule were originally calm. Unexpectedly, just a few days ago, Yuanzhou, which is adjacent to Huguang, fell into the hands of thieves, and then Linjiang and Ruizhou were plundered by thieves. Recently, the military reported that the thieves invaded Jianchang Mansion, and Zhu Ciqi, the king of Yiwang who was there, was already so frightened that his family moved to take refuge.

"Yuan Jixian, the governor of Jiangxi, I have seen it, he is a capable person, even if the thief catches him off guard, he may not be able to gain the upper hand for a long time." Zuo Mengeng pretended to be profound, sipped the wine in the glass lightly, squinted his eyes and said leisurely.

Bai Wang nodded and said, "General Zuo is right, I just received the news yesterday. Lu Daqi, the right attendant of the Nanjing Military Department, led the Nanjing Jiang defense troops to aid Jiangxi. He and Yuan Jixian are both people who know the soldiers, and they go all out, and Zhang Xianzhong can't bargain. ”

Wang Laixing pouted and said, "Lu Daqi, this old gang is indeed difficult enough. "When Zhao Ying entered Sichuan for the second time, he fell into a predicament in Suining County, and almost faced the crisis of annihilation, which was all due to Bailu Daqi.

"Speaking of Lu Daqi...... Bai Wang deliberately mediated the atmosphere, and his face was wrinkled because of the layers of smiling faces, "The current deputy envoy of Chuhe is Kuang Zhao. Hey, in this way, Lu Daqi is partnering with his old partner again. ”

"Kuangzhao?" Wang Laixing was stunned for a moment, and then laughed a few times, "It's a shame that Fengzi is in the north and not in the south, otherwise he heard it, wouldn't he fight for his life?" After that, he raised his glass with Bai Wang, with a playful expression that could only be understood and could not be spoken.

The two of them said that Zuo Mengeng didn't understand the gossip inside Zhao Ying, and he didn't want to ask in detail, but said: "If the thief can't get along in Jiangxi, he will have to go back to Huguang sooner or later." This was not something he thought about himself, but he heard it from the mouths of Jin Shenghuan and other generals, and he just borrowed it at this time to give himself a long face.

"Not bad." Bai Wang also toasted Zuo Mengeng, "If you want to come to Jiangxi, you only need to make adjustments and expedient measures." If he doesn't come to Huguang, when the officers and troops from all directions gather, he will definitely fall into death. ”

Wang Laixing took over and said: "But it is impossible for him to go to Wuchang Mansion again, there is General Zuo and Bai Tongzhi firmly guarded, and he can't step north with half a foot." And said, "Most likely, he will come back from Jiangyou to Changsha and other places." After speaking, he looked at Zuo Mengeng.

Zuo Mengeng didn't know where "Jiangyou" was referring to, and even the specific location of Changsha Mansion was not very clear, so he could only pretend at this time, nodding slightly with one hand on his chin.

"Zhang Xianzhong is good at running thousands of miles, his whereabouts are unpredictable, although our army can roughly guess the direction of his march, but the specific route is incomprehensible." Bai Wang said, glancing at Wang Laixing.

"If you can't find a specific route for the march, how can you capture the thief?" Zuo Mengeng still understands this truth.

"The current situation in Henan is delicate, and the focus of our army is on the north, so it is somewhat difficult to rely on our three troops and horses at present, not only to defend the territory, but also to take thieves." Bai Wang sighed and said, "General Zuo didn't see the story of Inspector Yang back then? At that time, Ling Zun also helped with all his might, and the soldiers and horses in various provinces were scattered, and the number was comparable to us now, but he still let the cunning thief escape. ”

Speaking with facts is convincing, Zuo Mengeng was stunned for a moment when he heard it, and stammered: "Yes...... That's the reason...... but then frowned, "Even so, do I just watch the thieves sacrifice to the troubled lake?" ”

"Of course not." Bai Wang smiled and said, "We can't catch him, but we can block him." ”

"Blocked? What's the blockage? Zuo Mengeng poked his head out and asked curiously.

"Yuan Jixian and Lu Daqi are about to move, and it is difficult for the thief to go east, this is a block." Bai Wang said slowly, "General Zuo is sitting in Wuchang Mansion, and there is still Fang Guoan and Fang Marshal in Huangzhou Mansion, and he will choke his road to prevent him from going north, which is another block." ”

Wang Laixing said: "I and the Bai system are circling around Changsha and Changde, blocking the south, and it is another block. ”

Zuo Mengeng counted with his fingers: "The east is blocked, the north is blocked, and the south is blocked...... Hey, what's the answer to the west? ”

Bai Wangwan said: "General Zuo said that he laughed, if the west is blocked, Huguang will suddenly become a trapped land, do we want to build a wall to raise tigers, and let the thieves flow into chaos?" ”

"Then ......" Zuo Mengeng was very ignorant, and he stopped talking.

Bai Wang said for him: "Circumference three is missing one, leaving a way to live." This is the principle of attacking the city, if Huguang is regarded as a big city, dealing with trapped beasts like Zhang Xianzhong, leaving the west for him to go, can minimize the loss of us and Huguang. ”

Wang Laixing echoed: "The west is open, Zhang Xianzhong judges the situation, and he must go to Sichuan." ”

"Disaster leads to the east, we don't need to spend a single soldier to protect the lake, good strategy." Zuo Mengeng nodded repeatedly, but then shook his head again.

Bai Wang asked, "Does General Zuo have any concerns?" ”

Zuo Mengeng frowned and said: "There is no fixed number for these thieves to come and go, even if we wait for him to be expelled from Huguang today, I can't guarantee that he will come back tomorrow." This goes on and on, when is it a leader? ”

Bai Wangxin said that this kid usually looks confused, but when it comes to the critical moment of his own safety and interests, he is quite keen, so he took the opportunity to say: "Zhao Shuai has made up his mind, and he will not allow Zhang Xianzhong to jump off the beam clown for too long." ”

"Oh? The stepfather already had an idea? Come on. As soon as Zhao Dangshi was mentioned, Zuo Mengeng's eyes lit up.

Bai Wang responded: "We will block Zhang Xianzhong in Huguang and drive him into Sichuan, and then we will annihilate him in Sichuan." ”

"What do you mean by that?" Zuo Mengeng was stunned, "Sichuan is not my father's sphere of influence?" ”

"Definitely. Zhao Shuai was tasked with suppressing the thieves, not only in Huguang, but also in the surrounding provinces. When the thieves enter Sichuan, I will lead the troops to pursue and jointly kill the thieves with various departments in Sichuan. Wang Laixing put the chopsticks down and said it squarely.

What he said was not to bluff people, in fact, as early as half a month ago, Zhao Dangshi had already begun to arrange a series of arrangements for Fu Zhang Xianzhong in the south. When Zhang Xianzhong fled to Sichuan as expected, Wang Laixing led the training camp and Wang Guangyingjing and the rear camp stationed in Jingzhou Mansion to follow and drive into Sichuan. The Guangwen Lujing and Qianying that were originally under the jurisdiction of Wang Laixing and stationed in Suizhou and Zheng Shixinjing and the Zhongying of Chengtianfu were all assigned to Bai Wangjun.

"Sichuan is not the foundation of our army, fighting in a guest place, the disaster is not as good as Huguang, and it can destroy the giant Kou, why not?" Wang Laixing said again.

Zuo Mengeng still had concerns: "But in Sichuan, it may not be possible to move as wide as the lake and annihilate the thieves, is it feasible?" ”

Wang Laixing patted his chest and said: "General Zuo can rest assured, and Zhao Shuai has his own opinions. Even if we can't kill the thief, we have full confidence that we won't let him flow back to Huguang again. ”

When Zuo Mengeng heard this, he stretched his eyebrows and raised his glass to touch Wang Laixing.