When Hou Xuanyan returned to Yuezhou with people, he found that Xia Wanchun had already arrived first, and the cavalry of the Fengzi battalion was the mainstay, and the marching speed was indeed fast.

Gu Yanwu and Zheng Zunqian stood on the city tower, and the moment they saw Hou Xuan's performance, they were relieved.

The city gate of Yuezhou was wide open, and after Hou Xuanyan entered the city, he found that the atmosphere was a little wrong. The streets were full of people coming and going, and the defenders on the towers of the city were also increased. He lowered his voice and asked, "Is there any movement in Yuezhou?" ”

Gu Yanwu sighed and said: "The Tong Dynasty of Wuchang Mansion recruited troops in Wuchang, and when Azig retreated north to escape the summer, he appointed him as the "Governor of the Eight Provinces Military Gate", and the Huguang Army that stayed in Wuchang Mansion was swept and annihilated by him. Now the entire Wuchang Mansion has fallen. ”

Hou Xuanyan screamed secretly when he heard it, Wuchang Mansion is the only way for Jinling and Yuezhou, so he and his old base camp were cut off by the waist. Having lost the grain and grass transported from Jinling, and having no foundation in Huguang, how could he fight with the influx of Qing soldiers? Hou Xuanyan didn't dare to slack off on such a big event, and said: "Go back to the Yamen quickly, call all the high-ranking people in Yuezhou City, and discuss it carefully." ”

As soon as he arrived at the Yamen, Gu Yanwu pointed to a middle-aged man at the door and said, "Commander, this is Yuan Jixian, the right attendant of the military department and the right servant of the imperial history." ”

Hou Xuanyan looked at him, stroked his palms and sighed: "Could it be Yuan Jixian who "is born with blood and does not change, and Cun Dan stays and reports to the king"? ”

When Yuan Jixian heard that he was reciting the poems he had recited when he was twelve years old, he was happy for a while, and said busily: "It is Yuan, I have long heard that Wu Yuebo is young and promising, and today I see that he is really a hero and a young man." ”

Hou Xuan's high position is low, and his official position is not even as big as Yuan Jixian, so Lao Yuan simply called him a knighthood. After all, this is Hou Xuanyan's territory, if he is treated with courtesy from an official, it is estimated that these arrogant soldiers under him will not agree. After blowing a wave of blows between the two people, they held hands and entered the yamen.

Hou Xuanyan asked casually: "Lord Jiuwen was coerced by Zuo Mengeng's traitor, and when I arrived in Jinling, I took Jinling Daxun and didn't find Lord Yuan, who knew that I would be lucky to meet here today." ”

Yuan Jixian's face was angry, and he sighed: "At that time, the army was in chaos, I don't know who took Jinling, and took advantage of the chaos to flee back to Changsha. Who knew that He Tengjiao's eyes were narrow, and he really laughed at others when he said his idea. This fool actually wanted to clear the army and break into the arms, and he sat on the mountain behind and watched the tiger fight. ”

Hou Xuanyan was surprised: "Didn't the Chuang army surrender to block Yinxi, but also formed a loyal battalion, and is holding on to the Qing soldiers in Jingzhou." As the governor of Huguang, doesn't he even know this? ”

Yuan Jixian shook his head, Hou Xuanyan showed a clear look, and said: "It seems that he is knowingly committing a crime, okay, let's not talk about him for now, there are more important things now." ”

Hou Xuanyan brought everyone to the lobby, and his subordinates had long known his habits, and a sand table was placed in the center of the lobby. Above are the veins of mountains and rivers, where the enemy and our soldiers and horses are stationed, they are clearly marked.

Hou Xuanyan stared at the sand table, holding a wooden pole in his hand, and counted silently while pointing, and asked, "How many people are there in the Tong Dynasty of Wuchang Mansion?" ”

Gu Yanwu replied: "Ma Bujun has a total of less than 10,000. ”

With a bang, the long pole in Hou Xuanyan's hand broke in response, and Hou Xuanyan angrily threw the two truncated poles onto the sand table: "Less than 10,000 people, how did you take down a huge Wuchang Mansion?" ”

Yuan Jixian sighed: "The defenders of Wuchang Mansion are not He Tengjiao's descendants, and they have always been jealous of him. The soldiers were not paid, and they were so hungry that they had to grab food on the spot and plunder the people. Then He Tengjiao played the Son of Heaven, saying that they were the party to the disaster and a group of thieves. These people were eager to eat He Tengjiao raw, and as soon as the Qing soldiers arrived, they surrendered. ”

Hou Xuanyan gritted his teeth, and spit out word by word from between his teeth: "A good Huguang, it could have been used as a southwest barrier, and Xiangyang City could withstand the sixth year of Mengyuan in the strongest period, no wonder it was in He Tengjiao's hands, it was the same as his mother's paper paste." With such a governor, why worry that the Ming country will not perish, and the Chinese race will not perish. ”

Gu Yanwu said faintly: "He still wants to kill Lord Yuan, if it weren't for a righteous man to save him, Lord Yuan would have died at the foot of Yuelu Mountain." ”

Hou Xuanyan laughed angrily and said: "This battle of Jingxiang involves the overall situation, if it is taken by the Qing soldiers, Jiangnan will have no danger to defend." Qing soldiers can march east from Wuchang Mansion at any time, and Jinling is under their noses. This kind of battle of national fortune must not be broken in the hands of a He Tengjiao. ”

These words were murderous, and the old subordinates who were familiar with him were secretly frightened, although Xia Wanchun was young, he had been acting with Hou Xuan for the longest time. He rubbed his palms and said cautiously: "He Tengjiao is a member of the imperial court, and the people at home are extremely high..."

Hou Xuanyan sneered and said, "What do you think I went to Fuzhou in danger?" In the last battle of Changzhou, I played the Son of Heaven and asked He Tengjiao to welcome the Holy Driver, and he pushed back. I went to Fuzhou a long time ago, and I have already obtained His Majesty's secret decree, killing the top is in accordance with the will of heaven, and the bottom is in line with the hearts of the people! ”

Although Yuan Jixian was almost killed, he still cared about Jiangshan Sheji, he had a sad face, and said: "The strong enemy is in front, we are killing each other, didn't we give the Qing soldiers a chance?" ”

Hou Xuanyan's eyes narrowed into a slit, and he said after a moment of silence: "What qualifications does a mere He Tengjiao have to kill each other with me, with those overseers and Fu troops he recruited from Guangxi, dare to compare with my Fengzi battalion?" However, the most important thing now is to recover Wuchang and open up the road with Jinling. Otherwise, we are alone, and it is not a long-term solution to rely on Yuezhou. In case the wall is planted by Yinxi, our Yuezhou will become the second Jingzhou. Changsha He Tengjiao's affairs, you don't have to worry about it, I have my own decision. ”

Gu Yanwu, Yuan Jixian and others in the hall still didn't want to fight in the same room from the bottom of their hearts. Hearing Hou Xuanyan's words, they breathed a sigh of relief, and Gu Yanwu asked: "Tong Dai has incorporated the defenders of Wuchang Mansion, and his strength has increased greatly, how does the commander plan to fight the enemy?" ”

Hou Xuanyan picked up half of the wooden pole, pointed to Jinling and said: "The Tartars keep transferring their troops to Huguang, and they are simply unable to cross the Yangtze River to invade, and Li Haoxian's 100,000 soldiers and horses are guarding Zhenjiang, which is useless. Send people to make a detour back to Jinling to give an order, let Yan Yingyuan and Zhu Dadian divide their troops to defend Zhenjiang, and transfer the fire camp to the west. ”

"It's not too early, go back and rest, there is still a battle to fight, take care of your body." Hou Xuanyan glanced at Xia Wanchun and said. Xia Wanchun understood and did not leave with others.

Everyone retired one after another, and Xia Wanchun said suspiciously: "Commander? ”

"Order all the soldiers and horses, bring only the cavalry, unload the baggage, and follow me out of the city to Changsha."

Xia Wanchun was stunned and froze in place, and then arched his hand and said: "The last general will take the order!" ”