Zhang Lianxiang stood by the city, and his heart was so anxious. Yesterday, when the rogue attacked, he had already prepared and organized the army and civilians to be ready for battle. Unexpectedly, this group of rogues did not come to attack the city, and they shook a shot and divided their troops to the south, the purpose of which was obviously Xinning.

He knows the situation of Xinning County very well, the county is cowardly, the township soldiers are few, and the city walls are not strong. There are more than 1,000 guards in the city, and the backbone of them are all servants of the big families in Dazhou. Without these people, it would be impossible for them to resist the wanderers and villagers who were temporarily recruited.

There's a downside. The big families in the state have all moved their family assets and relatives into the city before, and they cooperate with the state to protect the township and the country, rescue Shuli, but just to protect the whole family. Now as long as they stick to the city, it is enough to protect themselves, so that they can go further and take the initiative to attack the rogues out of the city, it is absolutely impossible.

Heavy snow and cold winds blow. Zhang Lianxiang stood worriedly at the head of the city for a quarter of an hour, his hat and shoulders covered with snow, almost like a snowman. Worried left and right, he persuaded loudly: "Taishou, the snow is strong and the wind is tight, so let's go back to the house to avoid it." ”

Zhang Lianxiang nodded slightly, but his feet did not move, and he looked around for a while, and the consultant: "Is there any news from Xinning?" After realizing that the drunkard was not drinking, he sent several groups of people out of the city to the south to investigate the situation.

Shaking his head left and right, he said: "Not yet, I think it's hard to travel in the snow, and there is a delay." ”

While speaking, a famous guy hurried upstairs. Both left and right knew him, and knew that he was Zhang Lianxiang's wife, so no one stopped him.

"What are you going to do?" The city is heavy, and idle people are not allowed to enter. Zhang Lianxiang was a little unhappy, but seeing that his uneven breath seemed to be in a hurry, he still asked gently.

"Master, happy, happy event, madam, madam, ...... in childbirth" Later, because he was too excited and inhaled the cold air, the little guy was so choked that he couldn't make a sound.

The clever officials on the left and right hurriedly gathered around to congratulate Zhang Lianxiang. Zhang Lianxiang was slightly relieved.

Someone said: "Watching the trend of the Liukou will not attack for a while." There are us in charge of the city, and the wife is the most important, so the Taishou can go back to the house to take care of the lady first. ”

Before he could speak, two more came to see him. One of them was a spy sent out of the city, and the other was blind.

"The villain has seen the adult!" The living man saluted, took out a letter from his bosom, and handed it over, "The villain is a servant of Liangshan Tuzhongshu, and the master specially instructed that the lord of this letter must look at it." ”

When he said this, everyone understood. "Tu Zhongshu" is named Tu Yuan, who is an ear shun, originally in Beijing as a scholar of the Chinese Academy, and returned to his hometown a few years ago because of the eunuch party. The Tu family is a big family in Liangshan County, and Tu Yuan is the patriarch, and his qualifications and abilities are second to none in the local area. Last year, Liukou entered Sichuan, and there were no states and counties near and far, only Tu Yuan gathered Xiangyong, defeated Kou in the field, preserved Liangshan County, and moved his name in Sichuan. Chongya, the former governor of Sichuan, and Liu Hanru, the former governor of Sichuan, once jointly asked the emperor to reuse Tu Yuan on the grounds of "governing the Shu soldiers with Shu people", "guarding the Shu soldiers with cautious and solid, and the Shunei domain to resist foreign insults", but they were refused. Soon Liu Hanru and Dang Chongya were both removed, and no one mentioned this matter again. But Tu Yuan's expectations are extremely high in Kuixi.

Since last year, Tu Yuan has used his prestige to maintain a local armed force in Liangshan County, with the children of the Tu family clan as the backbone and supplemented by the villagers. Liangshan Zhixian respects and admires Tu Yuan, and also relies on him to defend the county and township, and cooperates in the matter of preparing for the Liukou, because with the addition of the soldiers in the county, Tu Yuan can actually deploy more than 1,000 troops, no less than Dazhou.

The distribution of the official army in Kuixi is weak, and Zhang Lianxiang has previously written with Tu Yuan on joint defense. In the past two days, I have forgotten about this powerful ally because of my nervousness. While secretly laughing at his own mistakes, he quickly opened the letter and read it.

Seeing him looking at him left and right, he couldn't help nodding, and his originally tense face gradually eased, and he was curious in his heart, and asked a few words tentatively. Zhang Lianxiang didn't say it bluntly, read the letter again, stuffed it into his arms, and said to the Tu Yuan servant: "Tu Gong's meaning, this official has made it clear, you go back to the state office with this official first, and get a reply to bring Tu Gong." After speaking, he was full of interest and beckoned everyone to go down to the city.

Seeing this, the little maid at home hurriedly said: "Master, that lady ......"

Zhang Lianxiang was stunned for a moment, and waved his hand: "The military affairs are busy, you go back, and everyone in the house will take care of your wife, and I will go back in the evening." After speaking, he didn't care about how the little guy was crying and mourning, hugged him back and forth, and went downstairs.

The little guy looked at him far away, bit his lower lip, and muttered, "Why don't you ask if it's a son or a daughter......?"

The reason why Zhang Lianxiang was so eager to write a reply was because Tu Yuan's proposal was exactly what he wanted.

Xinning County is located in the hinterland of Kuixi, with Dazhou in the northwest, and Liangshan and Wanxian in the south and southeast. Zhao Ying's failure to attack this place is already there, and as soon as he moves here, it will immediately attract the attention of many parties.

Tu Yuan was keen, and as early as when Dazhu was broken, he expected that his purpose would end up in Kuizhou, and mobilized the township soldiers in advance to actively prepare for the Kou. He originally thought that Zhao Ying would attack Dazhou, and he originally thought that he would join forces with Dazhou to break the Liukou outside the city, but Zhao Dangshi's action to attack Xinning disrupted his deployment.

But he didn't panic and was improvised. According to his investigation, this stream of rogues is the "Zhao Ying" who plagued northern Sichuan some time ago, and now he has escaped the encirclement and suppression and has entered the Kuizhou Mansion. The number of soldiers in the city is unknown, and the number of soldiers in the foreign war is about 3,000. At present, the heavy snow is closing the mountain, and the officials and troops west of Danqu Mountain cannot be counted on, and they can only rely on the strength of their own government to deal with this group of rogues.

Because he had succeeded in leading troops last year, Tu Yuan was not afraid of the Liukou. He believes that if all parts of the city defend themselves, it is not the best policy to give the rogues a chance to break through, and they should mobilize their forces to attack and defend. The weather is very cold, and the rogues are fighting away again, and it is not difficult for all parties to work together to destroy them.

Therefore, he actively contacted forces near and far and invited each other to work together to fight the thieves. In his letter to Zhang Lianxiang, he mentioned that the Tan clan of Tiansheng City in Wanxian County and Wang Xiang, the general of the forward battalion of Yunyang County, had agreed to send troops, and with the addition of Dazhou and Liangshan counties, the strength of troops was very considerable.

Zhang Lianxiang's worries are not in the city defense, but in the mercury in the Kuizhou Mansion, wandering around. Tu Yuan thought of this with him, how could he not like it? He hurriedly returned to the government office, and immediately wrote a letter, promising the merger, and asked the Tu Yuan family servant to bring the letter.

The Tu Yuan servant did not delay, took two mouthfuls of food on the time when Zhang Lianxiang was writing a letter, took the letter, and left quickly. As soon as he left on his front foot, a spy on his back foot came to report: Xinning has fallen, and the county knows how to hang himself.

Zhao Ying's attack on Xinning was actually not smooth. It stands to reason that the garrison of Xinning County is loose, and Zhao Dangshi and others suddenly came, and they can go down in one go. But the snow was too strong, and Zhao Ying only had a simple bamboo ladder and a wooden ladder, and he didn't bring firearms. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers in the city were unbearable, and several soldiers of the Zhao battalion who turned into the city in front of them were able to fight to the death without follow-up support, and held on until the next wave of reinforcements arrived. After attacking seven or eight times, dozens of people died, and finally the city gate was opened and the city was occupied.

Xinning County is barren, the treasury has no much storage, and Zhao Dangshiben did not expect to get any benefits. After the return of Bai and Liu Erying, they rested for the night, and in the early morning of the next day, Hao Shaoqi took Yousitun to the west of the county to control the pass and ensure that the road was unblocked.

Xu Hui, who was in charge of the situation in Dazhu County, evacuated with Yang Chengfu, Wang Laixing and others after receiving the news. Consistent with previous conjectures, Dazhou did not react. The whole army successfully rendezvoused in Xinning.

Along with Xu Hui and others, there was also news of the actions of the official army. It has been reported that a detachment of men and horses from Liangshan County has entered the Gantangpu on the dam of the plain between Xinning and Liangshan, and at the same time, there are about 500 soldiers and horses in Wanxian County heading west, and even further east, Yunyang has also moved, and the number of troops is not yet known.

This situation seems familiar, similar to the original sandwich between Yuan Tao and the official army. Hou Dagui believed that the elite should be concentrated and attack the Liangshan County soldiers in Gantangpu first. Zhao Dangshi was silent and looked at Xu Hui. Xu Hui coughed lightly and objected.

"It's different right now." Everyone looked at Xu Hui's pointing in front of the simple map, "The three counties of Liangshan, Wan, and Yunyang are linked, and they are obviously not fighting on their own. Today, the Liangshan soldiers will go to Gantangpu first, and the people of the other two counties will gather in a few days. ”

Hou Dagui sneered: "In this way, it is even more necessary to strike first." Once the officers and armies of all roads converge into one unit, how to deal with it? ”

Xu Hui shook his head and said, "This is a bad statement. I am not afraid of the strength of Liangshan's troops, but I am worried that its people will avoid it and not fight. There are many forts between Xinning and Liangshan, Tuyuan has been operating for a long time, and the defense system is perfect. If our army rushes out to attack, the weather will be freezing and the snow will obstruct the road, and it will be easy to get caught in the battle. ”

As soon as he said this, everyone nodded secretly. Although striking at the enemy when his foothold is not yet stable is the simplest military experience, it is also necessary to adapt measures to local conditions and adapt to changes. At present, with the addition of Bai and Liu, the number of Zhao battalions is nearly 5,000, and the Liangshan soldiers are only more than 1,000 people, so it is impossible to fight head-on. Tu Yuan is not ignorant of soldiers, since he dares to garrison the Gantang shop nearby, it means that he must be ready to retreat at any time. It is foreseeable that as long as Zhao Ying sends troops to invite an attack, it will retreat to the south, and its host and guest, coupled with the thick snow, will greatly reduce the mobility of Zhao Ying, and the ability to respond will also decline. If you are in the middle of the ambush, it will be extremely difficult to get out of trouble.

"Are we just going to watch them gather their troops in one place?" Although Guo Hutou agreed with Xu Hui, he was also a little worried and a little unwilling.

Xu Hui was silent and stared at the map tightly.

"If the officers and troops meet at Gantangpu, what should they do next?" Zhao Dangshi thought of Wu Mingfeng and asked him. This guy is a native of Dianjiang, Chongqing Prefecture, and he was mixed in eastern Sichuan in his early years, and he should know the situation in Kuizhou Mansion very well.

Wu Mingfeng didn't even need to look at the map, and responded: "It must be to cross the Lianzhu Gorge to the west and come here along the foothills of the north." "Lianzhu Gorge, located in the west of Gantangpu, has a big pass, which is an important place for transportation.

The generals looked at Yutu as he said. There is no place "Lianzhu Gorge" on the map, and Wu Mingfeng took a pen to roughly describe its location. Zhao Dangshi stared at the "Lianzhu Gorge" where the ink stains had not dried, and suddenly his heart moved, and he continued to ask: "How to go from Xinning to Kaixian?" ”

Kaixian Xinning East, if you go from Lianzhu Gorge, there is no doubt that you have to go around a long way, he pondered, there must be a road nearby that can lead directly to the east.

Sure enough, Wu Mingfeng recalled a little and said: "From here on, the villain who went to Kaixian County only walked once more than ten years ago. I wasn't impressed, I just remembered roughly. There is a mountain road in the east of the county, which is quite difficult to walk, can reach Doushan Pass, and then from Doushan Pass to Linjiang Town and then to Kaixian. ”

Zhao Dangshi asked him to roughly point out the locations of "Doushan Pass" and "Linjiang Town", and looked at it with a frown. Xu Hui was thoughtful and knew what it meant. Although Hou Dagui was impatient, he was also very keen, and he saw that his gaze was constantly wandering between Doushan Pass and Xinning, and he also guessed a few points. In addition to Hao Shaoqi and others, only Yang Chengfu and Wang Laixing looked confused.

At the end, Zhao Dangshi ordered: "Immediately gather the woodcutters in the city." The older the better. ”

The soldiers received the order, and Wang Laixing couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qian, what does this mean?" ”

Zhao Dangshi didn't answer, and Hao Shaoqi's person came from outside the door, and said: "Mr. Qian, the situation in Dazhou." ”

"Say." All the generals present were senior generals in the army, so it didn't hurt to say it directly.

"A group of soldiers and horses came out of the county seat of Dazhou, about 1,000 people, and they were already stationed in the spindle shop before the villain came." The spindle shop is opposite to the sandalwood field where Hao Shaoqi is stationed, and between them is a big mountain pass connected by Dazhou and Xinning.

From this point of view, the operation of the official army is even included in Dazhou. The four places moved together to destroy Zhao Ying in Xinning County. When Zhao Dangshi heard this, he was surprised and delighted. The surprise is that there are more enemies on one side, and the joy is that I thought that Keda was hopeless, so it seems that there is another opportunity.

Zhao Dangshi instructed the man a few words, asked him to bring a message to Hao Shaoqi, and immediately said loudly to everyone: "The officials and soldiers are aggressive, thinking that we can be bullied." Today, I'll give him a 'bright plank road, dark Chen Cang'. It's good that he doesn't dare to underestimate us! ”

At that time, all the generals present agreed in unison. Among them, those who understand are naturally comprehended, and those who do not understand, such as Yang Chengfu and Wang Laixing, are more and more confused.