In the courtyard outside the lobby of the Pingle Mansion, the wind and rain are still raging. The wind carried a light rain under the eaves, and the eaves and thresholds of some of the offices were wet.

There were a number of officials and a few generals in the lobby, sitting and standing, talking to each other from time to time, as if waiting for something.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, but everyone is obviously not waiting for the celebration of the festival, and the atmosphere is not right.

What's more, Wu Gao's official army crossed the river in the middle of the night on the 12th three days ago and left Pingle Mansion; When the strength of Pingle City was very empty, the current Han King rebel army (Chen Zhenbu) had arrived in the city.

The envoy of the rebels outside the city was in the signing room behind the lobby. The officials of the government no longer clamored to send the envoy to the official camp, and they were all waiting for the result of the discussion between the prefect and the envoy inside.

Chen Yongsheng is not very old, probably in his thirties. He was the governor of a government at a young age, all because of the opportunity for Emperor Taizong to be promoted by his personal order.

The rebel envoy stood in front of the table, he was a young scribe, and then he arched his hand and said, "Lord Chen, don't hesitate any longer! As you sent an envoy to the King of Han to say, Wu Gao had promised that he would protect the safety of Pingle Mansion with his vow, did he guarantee it? Wu Gaojun is now being pursued by the Han army, and fled north in the rain overnight......"

When Chen Yongsheng heard this, there was a faint anger in his eyes. Obviously, anyone who is blatantly deceived will not feel good in their hearts.

However, Chen Yongsheng did not show his anger obviously, he said quietly: "Emperor Taizong has the grace of knowing Weichen, and the minister dare not forget it. ”

Before the words landed, the envoy immediately said: "The king of Han is also the concubine of the first emperor, and it is precisely because the first emperor was killed by gangsters that the king of Han raised an army to ask for the crime!" You can't live up to the emperor. ”

This is a statement with no real evidence and hard facts. We are on the official side, obey the decrees of the Guangxi political envoys, and the political envoys obey the orders of the imperial court, respect and order, and do their duty. Chen Yongsheng frowned.

The envoy hurriedly shook his head and said, "If you wait for the Han Wang's army to enter the city, Lord Chen's reply like this, I'm afraid that the two ends will not be able to fall well...... Lord Chen, you should continue to suffer from it! ”

Chen Yongsheng said: "You go back first." The official will consult with his colleagues in Pingle Prefecture. ”

The envoy persuaded again: "Governor Chen, you can't be confused......

Chen Yongsheng raised his hand to stop the envoy and said, "Please wait for news at the South City Gate, General Chen." Don't bring this to you. ”

Seeing off the messenger, Chen Yongsheng walked to the lobby. All the civil and military officers came over one after another, and couldn't wait to ask, "What about the Tang Zun?" ”

Chen Yongsheng said: "This official is a Ming official, and he only obeys the orders of the imperial court and the political envoys of Guangxi, how can he be coerced by the rebels?" ”

Everyone looked heavy when they heard this, and the lobby was very quiet.

Chen Yongsheng looked back left and right, and then said: "This official leads the imperial court, and he will never surrender!" Unless someone kidnaps him and takes him to ask for mer......it," he paused, "but the people of Pingle City are innocent, and this official has to persuade the rebel envoys with kind words, I just want to implore them not to hurt my people after they break through the city!" ”

In less than an hour, Chen Zhen had deployed more than 10,000 main forces in Nancheng. Then the gates slowly opened in the light rain!

I saw an official in a bright red robe tied up by five flowers and walked into the rain under the escort of everyone. He didn't wear a hat, his body was soaked in the rain, and he was held around his neck with two knives!

It was a square-faced official in his thirties, although he was tied, he held his head high, and shouted loudly with a heroic and righteous body: "If you want to kill this official, don't hurt the people in my city!" ”

…… On the west bank of the Li River, the wind and rain were fluttering on the official road, and the ranks of the officers and soldiers were slowly creeping like a long dragon. People staggered and trudged on slippery and muddy roads.

Coughing could be heard everywhere, and many people looked listless and in pain. Long weapons such as spears were turned into crutches, and some people supported each other and walked slowly.

There were still many people on the side of the road, some of them sitting in the mud, and they couldn't get up no matter how much they urged them.

Of course, the ranks of the various departments will not stop casually and wait for those soldiers who stop without permission. Those people had to be left behind, and even when all the soldiers and horses were gone, they were still far behind.

Most of the soldiers who fell behind were sergeants who were sick with the wind cold. Suddenly too many people in the army fell ill, and some people spread the panic of the plague. Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin, asked someone to find out a few sergeants who were confusing the army's heart, beheaded them in public, and ordered that all those who spread rumors and malicious intentions be condemned to death! Only then did the rumors curb the rumors a little.

However, in the hearts of many people, they still quietly suspect that it is the plague. So last night, a lot of people ran away in the rain!

Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin on the side of the road, was riding a horse, and the water continued to flow down from the wide-brimmed iron hat on his head. His expression was very solemn, looking at the team on the official road, he hadn't said a word for a long time.

At that moment, a rider came running from the fields beside the road, and the muddy water was trampled on all sides by the horses' hooves. The knight ran to Wu Gao, turned over and dismounted, and walked up quickly to salute with his fists, but he did not say a word.

Wu Gao understood, leaned down and listened to the knight whispering: "Chen Yongsheng, the prefect of Pingle Mansion, has been kidnapped by the city's Chinese martial arts!" The group of people who had been deceived below gave the city to the rebels. The last general and others originally wanted to go into the city to urge the army to supply food and medicinal herbs, but when they learned of this situation, they could not make the trip. ”

Wu Gao's pupils contracted for a while, but there was no expression on his face, and he was stunned for a while before he said coldly: "Ben Shuai knows." ”

The knight folded his fists and returned to his horse.

After a while, another military general came, and the deacon asked: "Dashuai, it's not yet noon, and at least one or two thousand people have fallen behind!" What to do with them? ”

What else can be done? Wu Gao knew in his heart that he could only ignore it, and those who were sick would not be able to be whipped and urged; It is already difficult for the army to march in the mud, so it is impossible to carry them away.

Now that the Pingle Mansion has fallen, those sick soldiers will surely become prisoners, and even become enemy soldiers soon!

Wu Gao was silent for a while, and finally couldn't bear it, and said: "There are some villages nearby, send people to gather people on the road to the village, and take care of the illness first. Let them go north when they are well and return to the army. ”

The military general hugged his fists and said: "The last general has an order!" ”

Wu Gao raised his head and looked at the countless raindrops coming at him, and he suddenly wanted to scold God!

Wu Gao, who had fought many battles, understood that it was so difficult to win a battle when facing a powerful enemy. Not only is it important not to make mistakes, but luck is also very important......

By noon, all the troops of the army would rest on the spot, and everyone would drink some cold boiled water from water bags and eat some dry food.

The generals came to the Chinese army and surrounded Wu Gao. Wu Gao's son-in-law, Geng Hao, finally couldn't help but take the lead in persuading: "Dashuai, let's wait for the rain to stop before leaving!" ”

For a time, many people seconded it. When the generals saw their men and horses struggling in the mud, most of them did not want to continue marching in the rain.

However, some generals objected: "When can the rain stop?" This morning we thought it was going to be clear, but it started to rain again after a while. Besides, the scouts detected that the rebels were also marching in the rain; If we stop, Yangshuo County will be occupied by the rebels. ”

"It's good to let the rebels occupy the ...... of the broken county town" "Let's rest for two days first, and wait for Pingle Fucheng to transport the medicinal materials over to appease the army's ......"

At this moment, Wu Gao finally spoke: "Pingle City, you have surrendered to the rebels outside the city. ”

When the generals heard this, there was an uproar, and someone asked, "Where did the rebels in Pingle City come from?" ”

Another person next to him immediately said in a decisive tone: "The rebel vanguard we defeated in Luorong County." At that time, although the officers and troops won a great victory, they could not destroy them; At this time, those people relieved themselves and followed to Pingle Mansion. ”

A military general suddenly scolded and waved his fist and said: "These defeated generals have broken the army, I knew to kill them all before leaving!" ”

The official army marched on the prefecture and county of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no need to carry too much grain and grass. At this time, the food in Wu Gao's army was not sufficient, but it could last for a while. Originally, the military rations could support the army until it reached Guilin Mansion; But suddenly the rain was endless, and the speed of the march was greatly reduced, and if it dragged on like this, it might not be able to maintain Guilin Mansion.

So Wu Gao still wanted to occupy Yangshuo County first. Although the county seat is small, there is always some grain in the warehouse, and there will be a "righteous warehouse".

Yicang is the grain that the people in each township usually accumulate, let the famous squire take care of it, and in case of natural disasters, they will take out the grain in the warehouse and divide it among everyone. (Therefore, in the event of a natural disaster, the imperial court does not need disaster relief, unless the harvest is not good for many consecutive years, it will cause local famine.) ）

The officials and soldiers took the grain from Yicang, and wrote to the imperial court to exempt the local land for two years, and let the villagers deposit the land in Yicang.

However, Yangshuo County is not the most critical place, the most critical city is: Guilin.

The reason why Wu Gao did not dare to stay was because the rebels were also marching in the rain. With the Han King's powerful use of troops, Wu Gao believed that the Han King could judge the goals of the official army; If the Han Wangjun arrives at Guilin Mansion first, then Wu Gaojun will be desperate!

Wu Gao was silent for a while, and then he suddenly spoke, and said categorically: "All generals know that there will always be difficult situations in war. We must brave the rain to walk to Yangshuo County! Send someone to order the magistrate to prepare medicinal materials for typhoid fever. ”

He looked at a pro-soldier general not far away, and the general immediately hugged his fists and said, "The last general has an order!" ”

"It's only a few dozen miles!" Wu Gao's tone softened slightly, "Let's go to Yangshuo County first, and then try to intercept the rebels and find a decisive battle!" As long as we find an opportunity to defeat this pursuer, we will be able to march north. ”

The general said: "It's raining, firearms, bows and crossbows can't be used......"

Wu Gao said coldly: "What does that have to do with that?" The rebels can't use it either! On the road to the east, there were also many sick soldiers of the rebels. ”