Jinxiangping in the south of Jingshan, on the east bank of Zhangshui, twenty-eight horses.

A young knight, young man with a young but old face, walked to the shore and scooped up some water and threw it in his face. The water, like the weather, was cold and cold, and it instantly made him feel a lot more energetic. He couldn't help but rinse his mouth again, and just as he felt the refreshing freshness between his lips and teeth, a knight younger than him walked over and said: "Big brother, there is no doubt that the defense of Xiangyang Mansion is beyond doubt, and the surname Zhao has already pulled out all the troops to the east a few days ago. The slightest heat was rising from the cracks in his hair and armor, and he could see that he was sweating all over his body, and he was in a hurry to rest.

"Very good, this is God help me Xiying!" The corners of the young knight's mouth slanted slightly, "Take a break here, this evening, you must rush to Xiangyang Mansion City!" ”

The two people who spoke, the older one is Zhang Kewang, the righteous son of Zhang Xianzhong, the eighth king of Xiying, and the younger one is Zhang Dingguo, another righteous son, and Zhang Wenxiu, Zhang Nengqi and they are called the "Four Dragons" of Xiying. Since Zhang Guoning, Zhang Sihu, Zhang Keji, and Zhang Huier, who are known as the "Four Tigers" in the battalion, have been killed or captured in recent years, the "Four Dragons", who are rising stars, have replaced them and become the leading figures in the new generation of generals in Xiying. Among them, the third eldest Zhang Wenxiu and the eldest Zhang Nengqi have not yet reached the weak crown, only the eldest Zhang Kewang and the second Zhang Dingguo are slightly older and are more important.

Zhang Dingguo looked around at the crowd and said with a little worry: "Big brother, you said that with only 20 of us, can we make it happen?" When he spoke, he kept glancing at Zhang Kewang carefully, for fear of being reprimanded by him.

"Gua baby, worry about it, how can there be a bad plan set by my father!" Zhang Kewang scolded with a smile and touched Zhang Dingguo's head, "If you follow the eldest brother, you will put a hundred hearts." ”

Half a month ago, the West and Cao 2nd Battalion joined forces with the defeated officers and troops in Kaixian County, such as the Tiger and Liu Shijie, tore a gap in the encirclement network and led the henchmen to break out of the siege, and then rushed into Kuizhou non-stop, Yang Sichang, 10,000 Yuan Ji and other infantry, and could not catch up in a hurry, and waited for 10,000 Yuan Ji to bring Sichuan and Shaanxi soldiers into Tun Baidi City, and the West and Cao 2nd Battalion had already entered Chu.

Downstream, the first to bear the brunt is the Hui Fan sealed in Jingzhou. King Hui and King Fu of Luoyang, King Rui of Hanzhong, and King Gui of Hengzhou are all sons of Emperor Wanli and the uncles of Emperor Chongzhen today. Yang Sichang was afraid that the thieves would invade the Hui Domain, and since he failed to stop the thieves in Kuizhou, he immediately asked Wan Yuan Ji to lead the Sichuan and Chu soldiers to Jingzhou to help the Hui Domain. It's just that Wan Yuan Ji is still halfway there, but Zhang Xianzhong has already changed his tactics and transferred to the north.

Their destination was none other than Xiangyang Mansion in northern Chu.

Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Kewang stood side by side, looking at the sparkling water, Zhang Dingguo said: "Big brother, I just caught a foot merchant over there, and I heard him say that the army has captured Luoyang more than ten days ago. Not only recruited Wang Shaoyu, the general soldier of Henan, and killed Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, but also put the Fu King in Luoyang City and the sika deer into a pot and ate it, called the 'Fu Lu Banquet'. ”

"Oh, there's such a thing?" Zhang Kewang was stunned.

"The foot merchant also said that King Chuang used to kill officials and kill the king to announce to the people, 'The princes and nobles strip the poor people, and regard them as frozen, so I kill them, thinking that if Cao' The words are widely spread in Chu and Yu, and the mansion treasury and the feudal treasury are more open to help the poor, and the hungry people near and far are attached to the banner like flowing water, day and night." Zhang Dingguo said with a smile, as if he was very fascinated by the righteous act of breaking into the camp, "It seems that the momentum of breaking into the army and burning the prairie is no longer extinguishable." ”

However, Zhang Kewang then snorted twice, showing a somewhat disapproving look: "King Chuang is lucky, just see the stitches." If it weren't for my western battalion to lead the main force of the official army westward, where would he have a chance to make a comeback? And said, "When my camp is done this time, the prestige may not be under his camp!" "Just a few days ago, my father led the army to attack Xingshan, and the county seat was taken in only half a day." Our army has come thousands of miles, and it still has this combat strength, will it be worse than breaking into the army? ”

Zhang Dingguo has always respected his brother, and when he heard him say this, he nodded yes.

"The situation in Xiangyang Mansion, have you found out?" Perhaps it was the victory of the Chuang army that stimulated Zhang Kewang, in order to make the operation he led more stable, he asked again.

Zhang Dingguo nodded vigorously and said: "It's confirmed, the Henan bandits have risen, and the army is vigorous again, Zhao Dangshi takes the northern affairs as the priority, and leads the troops to the Chu-Henan border area to deploy defenses." "The people in Xiying naturally don't know the connection between Zhao and Chuang.

"Okay." Zhang Kewang breathed a long sigh of relief, no matter how he pretended to be an understatement, he still showed great nervousness in his gestures.

The pressure in the eldest brother's heart, Zhang Dingguo knows it. Zhang Kewang is the leader of the new generation of generals in Xiying, and since he entered the camp, he has been living with his other two younger brothers. Zhang Xianzhong is called their father-in-law, but he has a lot of military affairs and has no time to take care of and teach them, and Zhang Kewang, who is not a few years older than them, has taken on all aspects of the brothers' lives. Zhang Dingguo's combat skills, military experience, and even literacy were all taught by Zhang Kewang, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the eldest brother is like a father.

Zhang Xianzhong has a lot of righteous sons, each with a group, the four of them are the most iron, it can be said that the four brothers can stand out in the camp and be named the "Four Dragons", to a large extent, thanks to Zhang Kewang's efforts. Without Zhang Kewang, they may not have survived today. This time, Zhang Kewang took the initiative to ask Ying to bring out more than 20 horsemen to fight independently, saying that he was full of confidence, but in fact it was dangerous. But for the sake of the future of the four brothers, he did not flinch at all.

"Big brother, the one surnamed Zhao is gone, but there are Zuo Liangyu and Yuan Jixian in Yunyang nearby, they ......"

Compared with Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang has more opportunities to communicate with Zhang Xianzhong, and he is more familiar with the overall situation, he feels that it is necessary to eliminate the concerns of his cautious second brother when the big event is imminent, so he replied: "Zuo Liangyu will not move." Do you know that in order to block us, Elder Yang Ge transferred his troops nine times in a row, but he was indifferent, and the best opportunity to fight with our battalion has long been lost. Although he is stationed in Yunyang now, he is more waiting to see the changes in the situation between Chu and Yu. Swallowing his spit, he continued, "As for Yunyang Yuan Junmen, my father-in-law has already sent Cao Yingbei to entangle, and it seems that Luo Rucai himself asked for his life." Although Luo Rucai is a waste, it is not a problem to delay the officers and soldiers in Yunyang. ”

Zhang Dingguo pouted and said: "This surnamed Luo will pinch soft persimmons, and this will be positive." Then he asked, "The little brother heard the news, this operation, at the beginning, the surname Luo proposed it to his father-in-law?" ”

"Yes, the surname Luo mentioned it once, but at that time, my father-in-law wanted to fight Jingzhou Mansion, and he was afraid of Zhao Dangshi's fierceness, so he didn't agree. It's just that Zhao Dangshi has left recently, and he happened to have an opportunity, so he changed his purpose. Zhang Kewang spoke, reaching out and taking out a document from the bag hanging next to his horse, "With this opportunity, this matter is really feasible!" ”

Zhang Dingguo looked at the yellow-bottomed gold-edged paperwork, stroked his palms and said: "Yang Ge made a mistake in his busy schedule, it was the talented Xiying!" ”

At this time, two more people came and saluted the two. One of them was Lu Yue, who asked: "Two, I don't know when to leave?" ”

The other was a fellow general, Zuo Wang Jiye, and said: "The blood stains on the robes of the officers and soldiers have just been washed away at the water's edge. ”

Zhang Kewang looked at the sky, nodded and said, "Okay, let the brothers put on the robes of officers and soldiers outside, eat some dry food to fill their stomachs, and let's go." ”

Lu Yue and Wang Jiye agreed in unison.

There was no rain or snow in the sky, but the cold wind was blowing directly, and Lu Zhenguo, the deputy chief soldier guarding the gate under the head of the city of Xiangyang Mansion and the city of Wengcheng, did not feel the slightest chill. The soldiers on the left and right saw that the liquid from his nose was dripping, and they pulled out their handkerchiefs to help him erase them, but they blocked him back with their hands, and then wiped it away with their index fingers.

There are more than 2,000 troops of Lu Zhenguo and Li Anmin in Xiangyang City, and most of them are arranged to guard the "Gongchen Gate" of the Great North Gate and the "Zhenhua Gate" of the East Changmen. Today, Li Anmin is in the east, and Lu Zhenguo is in the north.

When Zhao Dangshi sat on the outskirts of Xiangyang Fucheng, Lu Zhenguo rarely went to the city to inspect, but since Zhao Dangshi suddenly led troops away a few days ago, he suddenly lost his backbone, and it was difficult to sleep day and night, and he climbed to the city almost every day. It seems that looking at the grass and rivers outside the city can make him feel better.

"Is it time?" Looking at the sparse passers-by under the urn city, Lu Zhenguo turned around and asked the prison guard, today for some reason, his eyelids jumped, anyway, there are not many people inside and outside the urn city, and he intends to get up early and close the bridge.

The guard at the prison gate went around the castle tower and came back and said, "It's probably here, and it's about a quarter of an hour." ”

"Get ready to beat the drums." Lu Zhenguo stretched. The door opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, and the drum is beaten.

After a short time, the deep drum sound from the drum tower came out one after another, and the interval was very long. On the periphery of the urn city, pedestrians heard the sound and trotted up in a panic. Two peasant households pushing the cart were panicked, and the wheels were stuck in the hinges of the machine door, and several officers and soldiers hurriedly ran up to help tear them open.

The dusk drum sounded unhurriedly, and in the sound of the drum, Lu Zhenguo turned around and prepared to go down the road to the city to go home for dinner. Unexpectedly, the guard at the prison gate suddenly caught up and said, "My lord, there is a situation. ”

Lu Zhenguo returned to the city in suspicion and looked down, but saw that under the city gate, a horse was blocked by seven or eight officers and soldiers, shouting upwards, and there were more than 20 horsemen standing at the other end of the bridge behind him, which had not yet been hoisted.

These people all had horses and carried blades, Lu Zhenguo didn't dare to slack off, so he stood at the head of the city and asked, "Who are you waiting for?" ”

The knight under the city raised his hand and replied: "We are all old officials, thieves have returned to Chu, and they want to force Xiangyang, but the old man of the pavilion asked me to come to the interrogation first!" ”

The guard at the prison gate looked at Lu Zhenguo and asked, "What is the evidence?" ”

The knight under the city raised his right hand again: "There are documents." This time, Lu Zhenguo saw that he was still holding something in his hand.

The guard at the prison gate took the paperwork and handed it to Lu Zhenguo. Lu Zhenguo also stayed under Yang Sichang for a while, and was very familiar with Yang Sichang's handwriting and seals, and read the documents repeatedly, and there were no flaws. At this time, the dusk drum struck the last few times, and the officer in charge of guarding the bridge and the city gate came up to ask for instructions, and the guard at the gate also said: "These twenty or so horsemen have both official documents and uniforms, and they should be in the pool." Two days ago, the Jingzhou Mansion also sent people to talk about the Liukou returning to Chu and Yang Ge Lao and Wan Jian Ji to pursue them. Presumably, the thief is urgent, so he sent someone to spread the word first. ”

Lu Zhenguo hesitated: "But it says that there are only ten officials, but there are more than 20 people here." ”

The guard at the prison gate said: "The thieves are unpredictable, maybe the documents have been prepared, and the road is dangerous, so it is reasonable to add a few more people to protect the safe arrival of the documents." ”

Lu Zhenguo nodded slightly, the document not only stated the whereabouts of the current Liukou, but also ordered to arrange the defense of Xiangyang City, these people who know about the defense of Xiangyang City will definitely not be able to forge it. The only thing that is still a little strange is that the content of the official document requires Lu Zhenguo, Li Anmin and Zhao Dangshi to jointly defend the city, but now Zhao Dangshi has already moved his troops elsewhere, could it be that Zhao Dangshi did not inform Yang Sichang before he started, or did Yang Sichang not know Zhao Dangshi's actions before he issued this official document?

Before he could think through it, the knight under the city shouted again: "My lord, I will wait for thousands of miles to come, hurry up, and dare not delay for a minute." For two whole days, the grain of rice was not eaten, and the water did not enter, and the people were extremely sleepy and tired, and they had to enter the city office to rest. Wait for tomorrow to rest, and then go elsewhere to inform the old cabinet of the arrangement, you can't afford to delay! ”

The guard at the prison gate advised: "The prison guard is strict and the thief is in a hurry, so he really can't be lazy." ”

When Lu Zhenguo heard him say this, he remembered the set of official bodies that he had worked so hard to obtain, and remembered the neatness of Yang Sichang's dismissal of officials, and secretly feared, so he didn't care so much, and nodded: "Okay, let them in." Immediately after that, the gates were closed. ”

The guard at the prison gate received the order, and ordered the officers and soldiers outside the urn to withdraw to welcome the envoys. The knight under the city bowed his hand to Lu Zhenguo, said "Lord Xie", and immediately turned around to cross the bridge, went back to the remaining twenty horsemen on the opposite side, and beckoned them to enter the city quickly.