Chapter 102: Preparing to Attack

On the way back to Yaogang, Zhang Zhimu was in a much better mood. This Gonggong Li turned out to be a secret agent sent by the imperial court, after a conversation, if Gonggong Li reported his own affairs to the imperial court, plus the matter of opening the siege last time, the imperial court will definitely trust himself more, especially in this troubled era, the imperial court will hope that he can do more for the imperial court. Although Zhang Zhimu did not agree to Gonggong Li's suggestion to take action. But Zhang Zhimu's determination to do it was even stronger. Because the biggest scruple of taking action by himself is still the imperial court, and now even if the imperial court knows that it is done by itself, it will not be dissatisfied with itself. All that's left is how to act.

Looking at Li Jing and others riding horses outside the car window, a few words "special forces" and "special warfare" suddenly popped up in Zhang Zhimu's mind. Then my heart lit up.

Back at Yaogang, Zhang Zhimu saw that Liu Yun happened to come back from Niutou Mountain. It turned out that he took a few people to help Yan Xing train the team.

Zhang Zhimu said to Chen Yufeng: "It just so happens that Liu Yun is back, I have some ideas for a meeting together, let's discuss it." ”

Several giants of the company, Chen Yufeng, Huang Yukun, Yan Boju, Lu Chengxiang, Mr. Ouyang (Ouyang He), Liu Yun, and Li Zhi, came to the newly built command center hall together. In the middle of this place is a large sand table made from the map of Shaanxi carefully checked by Lu Bingyi's disciples. On the wall are the maps of Shanxi and the maps of the Ming Dynasty drawn by everyone according to Zhang Zhimu's memories hanging side by side.

After everyone sat down, Zhang Zhimu told everyone about seeing Gonggong Li. Then Zhang Zhimu said: "One of our most urgent tasks at present is to stop the eight merchants of Zhangjiakou from transporting grain to the Manchus as much as possible. ”

Zhang Zhimu, who has read the history of the Ming Dynasty, knows that in the Battle of Songjin in April this year, the Ming Dynasty was defeated and the elite was lost. The four cities of Songshan, Jinzhou, Tashan, and Xingshan fell, and Zu Dashou surrendered the city, resulting in "the elite of the nine stops, the grain of China, all of them were thrown, and they could not continue to be royal, and the temple community was in ruins!" The Battle of Songjin marked the complete collapse of the Ming Dynasty's defense system in Liaodong, and the last line of defense of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong was only Wu Sangui's department at Shanhaiguan. Since then, outside the Shanhai Pass of the Ming Dynasty, only a lonely city in Ningyuan remains, and the Guanningjin defense line has been completely destroyed.

And it was these eight merchants who delivered food supplies to the Manchus. Now Wu Sangui is guarding the three customs, and there is no threat from Li Zicheng for the time being, as long as these traitor merchants can be cut off, so that the Manchu Qing will cut off the food supply. The Manchu Qing Dynasty could not pass the three customs for the time being. As long as you can support Wu Sangui to persist for a year or two, you will not be afraid of anything.

"I now have an idea, now all the grain of these eight merchants is transported to Zhangjiakou and then transported to the Manchu Qing Dynasty bypassing the blockade of the Ming Dynasty. One road is the one we just opened, the one that passes next to us. The other is from Tianjin to Zhangjiakou via Beijing. We must not let them go on the road in front of us. The problem is the Tianjin Wei road. They are usually transported by sea ship to Tianjin, or directly to Beijing via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and then to Zhangjiakou. I wanted to rob their grain team on the way between Beijing and Zhangjiakou. We can't send too many people to their food teams now. I wanted to take a special operations approach and send a small elite force to complete the operation. It just so happens that Li Jing is here, let's discuss it together and see if this method is feasible. The purpose of this attack is not to loot the grain, but to distribute it to the local people, or burn it if it doesn't work. As long as they are not transported to Zhangjiakou. Zhang Zhimu said.

"I think it's okay, my people have no problem dealing with a hundred and ten dart masters now. The difficulty is that we don't know when they will deliver the food, and we can't wait on the road all the time. Li Jing is eager to try.

"You can get the information from here, Zhangjiakou, and then set off from there to find an ambush. How to obtain intelligence is also a major skill of the special forces, and Li Zhi will give you some help in this regard. Zhang Zhimu pointed to the map and said.

"The information from Zhangjiakou, I can give you some help. I'm going to give you an intelligence lesson before your people leave. Li Zhi said that he took over and said.

Chen Yufeng said: "I have read the cheats of the three masters of Wild Boar Ridge in the past few days. This cheats book is full of tricks that harm people. I'll tell you about it when I have time. Special operations require the use of all means, and the simpler, more direct, and more effective the better. Even if you don't use it, you will know how to guard against these things. ”

"My people will listen to it, too. Also, I just want to open a store near Beijing. When the time comes, my people will go with Li Jing's people, and I will have a companion. Maybe it helps. Li Zhi said.

Liu Yun asked, "Li Jing, are you enough for thirty people?" There are still a few good players on Niutou Mountain, and they are still familiar with Beijing. I've heard them say in Niutoushan that they don't do a lot of business in Beijing. Maybe they have their own line over there. ”

Li Jing said: "Of course, the more useful people, the better. I wanted to disguise the team as a caravan, so that the muskets would be easy to hide in the cargo. ”

Mr. Ouyang said: "Li Jing's team can follow our caravan and go to Zhangjiakou together. But Li Zhi's people who went to Beijing to open a store should leave first, and it is better to leave now, they arrived early, and arranged in advance there. When Li Jing and the others arrive, they may not have time to prepare. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Ouyang is right, Li Zhi arranged for someone to go first. Hit a front stop. ”

Li Zhi said: "Then immediately arrange for Meng Si'er to lead the team over first." When the arrangements are made, Meng Si'er will come back with Li Jing and them. ”

"Since there is no objection, the matter is settled. From now on, Li Jing began to prepare. Try to think things through. Before I go north, I still have to meet with Yan Xing, if he has an informant over there, it would be better to have a little more intelligence sources. Zhang Zhimu saw that everyone had no objections, so he made a decision.

After the meeting was dismissed, Li Jing and Chen Yufeng continued to study the issue of special operations in the hall, and Zhang Zhimu came out and returned to his office.

Yang Yulin said: "That Meng Si'er, I've come to look for you twice." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Let him come over quickly, he has been back for a few days, and he hasn't had a good chat with him except to say hello." This Meng Si'er is our great benefactor. ”

The current Meng Si'er's spirit is different from before. The whole person has completely changed, and you can see the confidence and calmness that emanates from the heart from the eyes of your eyes.

Meng Si'er sat down in front of Zhang Zhimu, and Zhang Zhimu said, "Okay, Meng Si'er." You really give me a long face, Fan Chengkun has a high opinion of you. said that you were brave and strategic, and he didn't want to let you come. But Li Zhi is really short of manpower here, and there are many newcomers, so Li Zhi has to ask you to come over. You're a talent that everybody wants. ”

"Thank you Mr. Zhang for cultivating, I will definitely not embarrass you." Meng Si'er was a little embarrassed by Zhang Zhimu's praise.

"How are you doing at home?" Zhang Zhimu asked while pouring tea for Meng Si'er.

Meng Si'er lowered her head and didn't squeak.

"Talking, a hero who doesn't have mercy when he goes into battle to kill the enemy, what's wrong?" Zhang Zhimu asked very strangely, and there was a compliment in his words. Many people say that talking to Mr. Zhang can make people feel relaxed for two days.

"My father and mother still don't recognize me, don't see me." Meng Si'er, who lowered her head, said cowardly that tears were about to fall.

"Oh!" Zhang Zhimu understood that Meng Si'er had not dared to go home since he ran away, and the old man was sad and did not want to see him. In fact, Meng Si'er is sad, his parents are even sadder, and the old man actually wants to see his son more. It's just that at this time, someone needs to talk about it, so that the old man has a step down.

"This is all your own sin in the past, don't blame the old man. This shows that the two old men are very sensible. I will personally go to the door and plead guilty to the old man on your behalf. Let the old people forgive you, the prodigal son who turned back. Zhang Zhimu said.

"That would be great. I was so worried that I thought I could only ask you for help. You have a big face, and they will definitely give you this face. Meng Si'er stood up as soon as she was happy.

"When I wasn't at home, my parents sold their house so they didn't starve. However, Director Li (Li Zhi) has already sent someone to help me buy the house back, but the old man just won't move back. He lived in a rented shack. Saying that, Meng Si'er's tears were about to come down again.

"Is there enough money to buy a house? Not enough for you to squeak. ”

"Enough. I didn't even use half of my winnings. The brothers in the intelligence department are going to help, and I'm useless. I'm going to build my home all over again. Let my parents see what kind of person I am now. Meng Si'er said a little excited.

"It's okay now, I'll ask Huang Yukun to intercede with me, and I'll finish the matter today. It also makes you less worried about the consequences. Zhang Zhimu said.

"It's great that grandma can go." After Meng Si'er finished speaking, she felt that the name of "young grandmother" was inappropriate, because Huang Yukun is now Mr. Zhang's wife. But as if he hadn't heard, Zhang Zhimu got up and asked Yang Yulin to inform Huang Yukun, Chen Yufeng, and Li Zhi, and let them go together to intercede with Meng Si'er.

When Huang Yukun came over, he didn't get in the car immediately, but went back to his house. After a while, Huang Yukun took a lot of things out. Huang Yukun said to Zhang Zhimu: "You are such a big person, so you go to see the old man empty-handed?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Oh, I just want to intercede." I didn't expect that. ”

Meng Si'er was very moved next to her, and she didn't know what to say.

In this way, a total of two four-wheeled carriages went to Xiurong with a few people. When he arrived at the city gate, the old Wu of the gate army saw Zhang Zhimu and Chen Yufeng, and said with a smile on his face: "I have a good business to find you." How many crossbows and bed crossbows do you want them? ”

Chen Yufeng said: "I'll ask them, and if you want them, let them find you." ”

Lao Wu said: "This time the new bed crossbow costs fifty taels, and there are five; The old bed crossbow cost thirty taels, and there were ten; A strong crossbow costs ten taels, twenty pieces. What do you think? ”

"You're looking for death, how much silver is this?" Chen Yufeng was startled when he heard this, he knew that he was lacking these things now, and he was not short of silver, but this matter was so big, he was afraid that it would be too eye-catching.

"Haha! Now I am not scared to death by the amount of silver. Besides, no amount of money will fall into my hands. I'm just running errands for the old men and moving my mouth. ”

"Okay, I'll ask you when I go back, is there any more black **?" Chen Yufeng asked.

"I'll pull it for you now." Lao Wu said that he was about to leave.

"Come on, someone will find you and prepare two thousand catties." After Chen Yufeng finished speaking, he entered the city. Zhang Zhimu, who was in a car with Huang Yukun, also heard it clearly, thinking that it was strange that the Ming Dynasty did not die.

In Xiurong City, in a shack sandwiched between two houses. There are three people, drinking vegetable paste porridge around a pot. This is Meng Si'er's parents and an old family member who has never left and has nowhere to go. The neighbors on the street led Zhang Zhimu and the others to the shack, and shouted into the shack: "The grandmother of the Huang family has come to see you." ”

Three men came out of their tents. Hearing the neighbors shouting like this, Huang Yukun's face was a little unbearable, and she was even more worried that Zhang Zhimu's face would not be able to hang up. But there was no reaction on Zhang Zhimu's face.

Seeing the two old men, Huang Yukun hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The two old men are suffering, and we are late." Please forgive the second elder. ”

Huang Yukun is still a little famous in this Xiurong, and the two old men hurriedly said: "Don't dare to worry about the young grandmother." ”

Zhang Zhimu came over and said: "Your son Meng Si'er is now a person from our kiln, and his parents are our parents. We should have come to see you two sooner. I beg your pardon! ”

When he heard his son, the old man was angry, and Meng Si'er's father said: "I don't have this rebel for a long time, and I have long thought he was dead." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "How can there be parents in the world who don't care about their sons, it's just that Meng Si'er was ignorant before and did too many bad things, which broke the hearts of your two elders." But as the saying goes, the prodigal son does not change his money when he turns back. Now Meng Si'er has already changed, he hasn't come back to see you all these years, but he has been busy with our company outside. He kept saying that he would come back to see you two elders when he was done. Meng Si'er is a big leader in Yaogang. Now he's sold your house and bought it back. ”

The reputation of the kiln is now very big, and it has been building a lot of buildings, which has also driven the economic development of Xiurong, and many industries have benefited. In particular, the people of Yaogang will put a lot of grain in Xiurong every month, and the price of grain in Xiurong City has not grown too much. Xiurong City has gradually become lively. Of course, the two old men had also heard about the kiln.

After the two old men confirmed that Zhang Zhimu in front of them was the head of the kiln gang, the two old men were a little excited. They didn't expect such a person to come to their shack to visit them in person, and it seemed that their son was really promising. Meng Si'er's mother asked Zhang Zhimu: "Did Si'er really earn the money he earned to buy the house?" ”

"He earned it, I promise him. It cost him less than half of the money, so wait and enjoy with him." Zhang Zhimu said close to the ear of the second elder.

"Why don't you kneel down and excuse yourself for the second elder!" Chen Yufeng saw that the timing was about the same.

Meng Si'er immediately knelt in front of the second elder, and Meng Si'er's mother slapped Meng Si'er twice when she went up, "You rebel!" Then the mother and son hugged each other and wept bitterly.

Zhang Zhimu and the others couldn't help wiping their tears.

Chen Yufeng said: "Let's help move all the things here back to the Meng family!" ”

In fact, there was nothing to move, and the group went directly back to the old courtyard of Meng Si'er's house. This old yard, Meng Si'er has arranged for someone to clean it up again, and it is now very tidy. Meng Si'er entered the courtyard with the old man. The two old men couldn't stop crying again. After they were all settled, Zhang Zhimu asked Meng Si'er to invite a few neighbors to a better restaurant for a meal.

Meng Si'er's reputation in Xiurong has changed all of a sudden, and he has become a typical example of a prodigal son. Zhang Zhimu asked Meng Si'er to stay at home with his parents for two days. But he stayed for a day and then went back. First, he himself knows that there are too many things in Yaogang now, and he can't stay still; Second, his parents also knew that Meng Si'er was now a cadre, and there were many things, so they persuaded him to go back early, saying that everything was fine now, and they looked forward to Meng Si'er's good work. Now Meng Si'er's silver is kept by his parents, saying that it is reserved for her to marry a daughter-in-law.

When Zhang Zhimu was helping Meng Si'er in Xiurong, the family was in a hurry. Because a letter came from Niutoushan saying that the grain team of the merchants in Zhangjiakou was about to arrive.

This Zhangjiakou merchant controlled a wharf south of the Lingshui wharf, and usually their own caravan goods went through this wharf, so Fan Chengkun and they didn't get the letter. Fortunately, Yan Xing's eyeliner was there. The news came back that there were many grain ships and cargo ships with at least 10,000 stone of grain. Now the ship is being unloaded, and there are hundreds of wagons and thousands of camels gathered on the docks.

Chen Yufeng explained the matter of getting the bed crossbow, strong crossbow and ** from Lao Wu to his junior brother, and then returned to the kiln with Zhang Zhimu.

Mr. Ouyang and Liu Yun at home are studying this matter in the command hall. After Zhang Zhimu came back, he said to everyone: "These people are coming so fast. We're waiting for them. Liu Yun asked Liu Chenghuang to leave 100 cavalry and 100 infantry in the smelter. The rest of the night quietly returned to the camp on the other side of the cave to stand by. We're going to pick a good spot to wait for them. ”

"There are so many places to set up ambushes on this road. There are many places where two mountains and one valley are sandwiched. Li Zhi said.

"The key is that after the ambush is set, it is also convenient to transport the grain away. These people will carry at least a few thousand stones of grain at a time. You must first choose a place to store your grain. Mr. Ouyang said.

Zhang Zhimu said: "I think that's it, let's make sure first." The ambush should not be too close to us, so as to reduce suspicion of us. So they set the place where the grain was stored on the heads of the oxen, and after the ambush they had their carts and camels unload the grain in a place that was convenient for us to transport. We then transported the grain to Niutou Mountain ourselves. Then put back their carts, horses and camels, which are not necessarily those of the merchants in Zhangjiakou, and we can't rob them. They brought in a lot of grain by ship, and they probably couldn't do it all at once. Let them go back and transport it again, and we'll take it again. ”

Li Yunhe said: "We now have more than 400 vehicles. It's no problem to pull thirty stone of grain in one cart. ”

"Just go to 300 cars, leave 100 cars, and make a show here, and when their caravan is close to the kiln, we will have 100 cars to meet them and go to Lingshui Wharf, let them know that we are not at the scene of the accident, and the people in the dart bureau have all rushed to Lingshui Wharf." Zhang Zhimu thought of a trick.

"Where is the specific location, Yan Xing will talk about it when he comes, and Yan Xing will arrive tomorrow." Chen Yufeng said.