Yin and yang, the two poles of heaven and earth. Is it the yin that overpowers the yang, the yang that overpowers the yin, or the yin and yang that strike a balance in the struggle. In short, a military discussion that affected the future situation in Hehuai reached a result acceptable to everyone by the pond of the ancient town of Chengfu, where the water was clear and clear, and in the elegant and tranquil water pavilion.

On the third day after the Father's meeting, several armies left their garrisons at the same time and moved towards their respective targets.

Wang Shicong, the governor of Runan Province in Henan, personally led Ma Jinzhong's righteous son, and set out Ma Weixing's army of several hundred people from Luyi, Henan, and attacked Chenzhou, an important town in southern Henan, and nearby Shangshui County, which had few remnants. At the same time, Ma Yingxiao recovered Liu Zhiliang from Xiangcheng and Shenqiu counties, where the officials ran and the people were scattered.

The southern Henan region has been repeatedly ravaged by tragic wars and fierce natural disasters, and has long since become a hell on earth. Therefore, Ma Ying's recovery of three counties in one state is really a smooth journey and rapid progress.

Nanzhili's side is very different.

On a misty dawn, Yang Guodong, a general of Xiangyang, led thousands of men and horses to suddenly surround Taihe County, north of Yingshui.

Taihe Zhixian, who was suddenly awakened, trembled and climbed up to the city, wiping the foreign objects in the corners of his eyes while thinking hard about how to retreat.

The comer, claiming to be an official army of Huguang, had recently retreated from outside Kaifeng and was ordered to go to Lu'an to reinforce Huang and Liu, hoping to enter the city to repair and buy, and then borrow a boat to cross the river.

For the inferior tricks of the thieves, the scheming Taihe Zhixian scoffed: who doesn't know that the Zuo Ping thieves were defeated under Kaifeng City as early as a month and a half ago, how can there still be Kaifeng routs now!

However, in order to prevent the thieves from becoming angry and angry, and attacking the city in anger, Taihe Zhixian strictly ordered the city head not to reply, not to scold, and not to release arrows, referred to as the three noes policy. In short, there must be no movement in the city, so that the thieves can't figure out the details of the city!

Just as the magistrate was arranging his troops, the officers and soldiers who had been waiting for a long time suddenly lifted the encirclement and rushed to the Yingshui ferry in the south of Taihe City under the scorching sun of the middle sky. They snatched the boat and crossed the river, and soon there was no sign of them.

The officers and soldiers finally left, and the people in Taihe City breathed a sigh of relief. However, before they could catch their breath, another group of people came from the north. Fortunately, the Tanma who went out of the city had bright eyes, and he recognized the leader of the team at a glance: it turned out to be the famous Luyi hero Ding Hengchang!

When the magistrate heard that Ding Daxia was invited by Yang Tong, who was in charge of Yingzhou affairs, to lead the township soldiers to the state city to garrison, he was overjoyed.

If you leave this strong army to help defend the city, you will not be afraid to kill the thieves who pretend to be officials and soldiers!

The magistrate hurriedly opened the city gate and personally went out of the city to greet him. Who knew that as soon as the two met, before the greetings were over, Ding Daxia asked the county magistrate: Can the team of General Yang of Xiangyang be in the city before?

Could it be that the team that crossed the river at noon was really an officer and army? The magistrate was a little surprised.

Yes, definitely! Ding Hengchang asked anxiously, could it be that the county magistrate locked General Yang outside the city?

Of course! The magistrate replied when he mentioned Zhongqi, how does this official know whether it is an official army or a thief? Besides, if it is an official army, the official can't let them enter the city! What virtues do officials and soldiers, you Ding Daxia know better than this official!

Mistaken! Ding Daxia said in a hurry, that General Yang is famous for his lack of guilt! As a result, the story of General Yang scattering his wealth to pay the army, and Lian Huben's self-invitation was told again.

"Oh, this official is wrong to blame a good general!" The magistrate pretended to sigh.

General Yang is good in every way, but there is only one personality flaw, do you want to know, Lord Zhixian?

Of course I want to know!

Surely you will repay!

Could it be that this official is in trouble? Lord Zhixian chuckled in his heart.

You're in trouble! Ding Daxia frightened, adults are in danger!

The sacrifice thief and the Ge Zuo thief are fighting fiercely with Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo, and General Yang galloped thousands of miles to help, but was stopped by you under the city! If the two generals Huang and Liu are defeated, you just wait to hear the ginseng! At least, a sin of mediocrity and misdeeds can't run away!

Nazhi County heard it wrong, and its rich political wisdom was instantly full of blood:

No wonder those martial artists spent half a day in vain under the city, neither attacking the city nor looting, it turned out to be a rainy day for the outcome of the future war, and once they failed, they would use Lao Tzu as a scapegoat!

I can't afford to break the fortune and eliminate the disaster, and it's too late to apologize, so the plan now, of course...... Only by pretending that you are not on site and letting the temporary workers take the blame...... But if the county is not in the county seat, where will it be?

Right! The scheming Taihe Zhixian instantly came up with an idea: on the way to report to the superior leader Yang Tongjuan!

Isn't Ding Daxia going to the state city? Just right, let him and Yang Tongju be a witness together!

In the face of the ardent expectations of the county magistrate, Ding Daxia lived up to the name of a hero, and he responded without thinking about it. It's just that...... Ding Daxia said, the official army has been gone for two hours, but these villagers under his command are all foot soldiers......

Anyway! The magistrate is confident, and the official can rush to the state city with Lord Ding, and he must enter the city before Yang Bu! As for the strong men, please rest in the city!

So......

The magistrate personally shouted under the coercion of the blade and sent Yang Guodong peacefully into Yingzhou City. And the county town of Taihe behind him had already fallen into the hands of Ding Hengchang's township soldiers one day earlier.

As a result, the four counties of Chen and Yingzhou are connected by Yingshui, the largest tributary of the Huai River. Tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in the three water basins of Whirlpool, Ying, and Wei have all become the pockets of the four battalions of men and horses.

This military presence that should not be underestimated suddenly rose in the gap between the two major groups of thieves' spheres of influence, not only out of the expectations of the imperial court and the thieves, but also completely out of the surprise of Zhu Pingjian, the son of Shu who was extremely good at grasping the historical context and thus profited a lot.

……

The good news of the bloodless occupation of Chen and Yingzhou and four counties has just reached Chengfu Town, and for someone who wants the world to fish in troubled waters, another piece of news that comes next is better and bigger:

Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo, who were regarded as the pillars of optimus by the people of Jiangnan, were defeated in Lu'an Jiashan.

Lu Jiude, the eunuch who stayed behind in the central capital, led Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo to retreat to Luzhou in a hurry, and on the one hand, he asked for reinforcements from Ma Shiying, who had just replaced Gao Douguang as the governor of Fengyang, and Xu Shiyin, who had just replaced Zheng Eryang as the governor of An, Lu, Chi, and Tai, while galloping up and asking for punishment.

Zhang Xianzhong fought a great victory with the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo, and naturally refused to return to Yinghuo's lair. But no one knows whether the thief's next move is to go north to Henan and join forces with Chuang Cao, whether to go south to the Yangtze River to attack Jiangnan, or to continue to attack and encircle Luzhou.

Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo, who had never been defeated, were defeated!

It is conceivable how much shock this will bring to the Jiangnan literary field, where singing and dancing, Shengping, mellow wine and beauties, pay attention to exquisite life, elegant taste, and how much impact it will bring to Jiangnan officialdom, which is rich in the world's finances and taxes!

It is difficult to predict whether the hearts and wealth of the people in the south of the Yangtze River will be thrown into the Shu Wangfu and poured into Huitong Qianzhuang according to the beautiful ideas of those who fish in troubled waters.

So the fisherman in troubled waters has to add two heavy weights to the already tilted scales.

The first weight is to make Liu Chao make more trouble there, so that Jiangbei's capital will panic and enter Huitong Qianzhuang;

The second weight is to speed up the infiltration and control of the four battalions, and fundamentally reverse the unfavorable situation of the Shu Wangfu in Nanzhili, which has money, no power, no silver, and no soldiers.

But the world is unpredictable. Before the joy of the fishermen in troubled waters had passed, Yang Tianfu, who was in charge of monitoring Yongcheng, sent back an unexpected piece of bad news, saying that Liu Chao was requisitioning the people and began to build an earthen city around the Yongcheng city wall, which seemed to be planning to defend it.

Liu Chao's move was very abnormal.

It is said that since Liu Chao is determined to rebel, he cannot be trapped in the lonely city. Trapped in the lonely city and not moving, even if it is an iron wall, sooner or later it will run out of oil under the siege of the army of the imperial court.

Ma Shiying, the new governor of Fengyang, lives in Nanjing. According to the procrastination of officialdom to welcome and send off food and invite the formation of the shogunate, he will not be earlier than September when he will be appointed as Fengdu.

Lu Jiude, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo are still licking their wounds in Luzhou, Gao Mingheng and Wang Han on the Henan side are still trying to relieve Kaifeng from Hebei, and Mu Wenshou is holding Fengyang Mansion and the ancestral tomb of the Zhu family and cannot move and is unwilling to move, so that only the four battalions of Wen Ruzhen's department can really pose a threat to Liu Chao. If Liu Chao wants to expand his territory, there is no one to stop him at present.

However, Yang Tianfu's scout, the outpost of the Mo battalion, broke through to 300 steps outside the Yongcheng embankment to reconnoitre, and did not see Liu Chao's soldiers come out to counterattack.

A small Yongzhou City, like the event horizon of a black hole, separates the information inside and outside the city into two spaces. The outside can't get in, and the inside can't get out.

……

In the early morning at the turn of summer and autumn, the sky lights up early. It's still hot, but it's not dry anymore, it's muggy, the hot flashes that precede the rain.

Long Qisheng and his wife led a cleanly cleaned thin miscellaneous horse and walked slowly on the stone road on the bank of the Zhanghe River.

The newly nailed iron horseshoe knocked the stone slabs with a crisp sound, and woke up the piles of homeless people who were reclining and sleeping soundly in the corners of the roadside. They opened their sleepy-eyed hazy eyes and saw that it was Brother Long and Mrs. Long walking by, and they couldn't help but show a respectful and flattering smile.

Brother Long brought food and saved their lives; Mrs. Long gathered the young women and dolls together to work and practice, which was called the Women and Children's Regiment. If you have work to do, you can eat. Although it was just a bowl of gruel, it didn't die of hunger.

I heard that after the autumn harvest, Mrs. Long will take the people to leave and go to the distant and fertile Shu land to open up wasteland and reclaim fields, and live a good life without worrying about food and clothing......

But looking at Brother Long's battle outfit, it seemed like he was going to lead the troops out of Chengfu Town.

Where did he go? Will it leave us behind? The displaced people asked each other nervously, hoping not to hear bad news.

Long Qisheng really wanted to leave Chengfu Town and go to Bozhou.

Yang Guodong led the whole battalion south, and Wen Ruzhen and Mo Chongwen cobbled together 500 men and horses, together with the 1,000 defeated troops that no one wanted, and handed them over to Long Qisheng to defend Bozhou.

Yao Keming, the deputy general of the Mo battalion, was willing to live under the people, and took the initiative to be Long Qisheng's deputy with the respect of a guerrilla general, which made Long Qisheng beat a drum in his heart. Because he used to be just a personal soldier squad leader of Jia Denglian, and after being incorporated into the National Protector Army, he was only a lowest-ranking officer - a platoon commander, who was far inferior to Yao Keming in terms of qualifications, combat exploits and ranks, how could he command Yao Keming?

Long Qisheng led the horse and sank silently, just bowed his head and walked forward.

"You're now the battalion commander of the Protectorate! This is the highest position that Ms. Lau can appoint. Further up, I can only report to the prince for personal approval! Li Cuilan reminded.

Long Qisheng smiled bitterly: "From platoon commander to battalion commander, it is equivalent to going directly from the sentry officer to the capital division, and going straight to the ninth level...... It's not that I'm too small, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to manage it. Fifteen hundred people, that's half a regiment of the Protector Army! ”

"I know." Li Cuilan shook her head full of green silk nonchalantly, and looked at Long Qisheng with her chin slightly raised, "So you have a great responsibility!" You know, these soldiers are what we exchanged for tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is three times more expensive than buying people on the street! ”

"How dare people who buy it on the street use it for military training?" Long Qisheng retorted: "This is Nanzhili, not Sichuan!" ”

"So we'd rather give more money than ask for a good name! Wang Shicong asked you for the first credit in the song, and asked the court to appoint you a guerrilla ......"

Li Cuilan said, with a hint of contempt on her face.

"You have to know that Yao Keming and the others are not under your command, but under the command of the Protector Army, and the command of the prince. This is a gesture, a gesture to move closer to the prince!

Didn't you tell me that your Jia General appointed Zhou Changzhong to lead the troops in the Tongcheng Walled City, which was a show of favor to the prince. Why are you confused at this time?

Wen Ruzhen and Mo Chongwen took Yao Keming and the soldiers as favors, which was also a gesture.

You can rest assured. As long as they beg us, they won't turn against you. Who doesn't know that you were sent by the prince? ”

"Those routs are hard to manage, they are all veterans of looting. Besides, they have no knives, no guns, no armor...... What does it look like an army?

It would be nice if the prince sent a few battalions to the south. Fill people in, and half a month will be a strong army...... Nanzhili is too far away from Sichuan...... You live at the head of the Yangtze River, and I live at the end of the Yangtze River......"

"I didn't think you could recite poetry!" Li Cuilan snorted and laughed, "Your Jia Jiangye is notoriously looking down on literati, how did you, a from a private school, become his own soldier?" ”

"He can't look down on the literati and has to use the literati, otherwise who will he go to for the text? Yang Weidong, that sycophant? Tan Desheng, a coarse man who can't read big words? ”

"It turns out that you are both civil and martial, no wonder I sent you!"

"That Shizi personally tested the name of the last point! On the Bolt Mountain, I led the four brothers of my own army to guard the phalanx of the fifth battalion, and I was the only one left who was not killed or injured......

"I can't believe that you still have the credit for saving the driver!" Li Cui Lanqi said.

"It's not me who saved me," Long Qisheng smiled bitterly, "It's the son of the world who saved me!" ”

"What's going on?" Li Cuilan is even more curious.

"Let's talk about this later." Long Qisheng cut off the conversation and said, "Tell me about the things in front of you." Liu Chao is a veteran of the battlefield. Why is he sitting still in Yongcheng? What do you think? ”

"He's either sitting back and waiting to join forces with the bands; Either they have illusions and think they can recruit peace...... There are many veterans of officialdom who can play tricks in Yongcheng, and Liu Chao is likely to be deceived by them! I have sent a guard to report this matter to Miss Liu, and she will deal with it herself. Don't meddle at will, lest you spoil the overall situation! The first article of military discipline for the protection of the country, don't forget! ”

"Got it!" Long Qisheng sighed lightly.

"You don't have to worry about equipment, Mu Wenshou will give you some armor, knives and guns. His abacus crackled...... Your task is to train your troops wholeheartedly and train a strong army that can fight a war after listening to commands! Remember, you only have a month at most! I'll deal with it here in Chengfu Town, don't worry about the people......"

Li Cuilan was still instructing, Long Qisheng suddenly turned around, stared at her face, and asked, "Cuilan, are we really husband and wife?" ”

Long Qisheng's sudden move caught Li Cuilan a little off guard. Her eyes flashed with a glimmer of panic and guilt, but the glimmer was hidden in the black hole again.

"Of course it's husband and wife, in front of Miss Liu, we worship the parents of heaven and earth together!"

"Then why am I not allowed to touch you? Are you sick? ”

"It's not a body...... It is the will of the prince to have a cadre marriage ban...... Miss Liu also wants to ask for a decree...... Can we talk about this later? Li Cuilan was supportive.

Seeing the Zhanghe crossing, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You have to be careful!" There are two new uniforms I made for you in the backpack, and I sewed the rank and branch symbols with colored thread. If you wear it out when necessary, you can remind Yao Keming and those ruffians at any time that you are a serious protector. The team you lead is also a serious protector! ”

"Thank you!"

Long Qisheng nodded expressionlessly and instructed:

"Mo Chongwen has crossed the vortex river and is approaching Yongcheng. With him in the way, I have nothing to worry about in Bozhou.

It's you, be careful of Wen Ruzhen, the old fox!

Ma Jinzhong stabbed one intestine to the end, with a bit of the cunning of the countrymen; Mo Chongwen is upright by nature, he wants to pretend but can't; Yang Guodong was completely inclined to us, and he had long thought of handing over the army to be a civil servant; Only that Wen Ruzhen can't see through it!

Also, you have to remind Yang Guodong to keep an eye on the south! If the sacrificial thief and the leather thief have head cramps, and they want to go north to camp with the thieves, Yingzhou is the main point of our defense. If you are careless in Jingzhou, don't completely open our backs! ”

After a few words, Long Qisheng led the horse and strode towards the steps at the ferry.

The river is shallow and the steps are high.

Watching Long Qisheng step down the steps quickly, jumped on the boat, took the reins handed by the boatman, and pulled the water-afraid horse onto the gangplank, Li Cuilan's eyes suddenly became sour, and two lines of salty tears flowed out.

The shame in his heart that can't be erased for a lifetime, will the sturdy man in front of him really accept it calmly?