On June 5, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the battle of aiding Bian, which was later called the "Battle of Zhuxian Town", came to an end.

Yang Dezheng's admonition to brave the death and Zuo Liangyu's first retreat became the direct reasons for the collapse and flight of the officers and troops.

The thief army followed closely in the footsteps of the official army and fled, chasing and killing for more than 400 miles.

Several generals in the official army, Zuo Liangyu, the general of the Ping Thief, first fled into Xinyang, and then abandoned Xinyang and fled to Xiangyang, the old nest;

The general soldier Yang Dezheng led the remnants of the army to flee to Xiangyang with Zuo Liangyu. As soon as he entered the city, he was ordered to be arrested by Zuo Liangyu and sent to Runing Mansion to be handed over to Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue;

The commander-in-chief, Hu Dawei, led the army to escort the superintendent Ding Qirui and the protective governor Yang Wenyue to flee into Runing, and when they turned around, they fought fiercely with a small group of pursuers, cutting off 100 heads, thus stabilizing the battle line on the periphery of Runing.

After the commander-in-chief Fang Guoan left the battlefield, he rested for several days near Chenzhou (Note 1), where the whole city had been slaughtered, and then retreated to Laochao De'an Mansion through Macheng in Huguang in an orderly manner. While collecting information on both the battlefield and the officialdom, he sent out rangers to collect the stragglers who had fled. After this war, the number of troops of the Ministry of State Security of Fang not only did not decrease, but increased by 10,000 or 20,000.

On the side of the thieves, the two thieves, Chuang and Cao, captured about 20,000 officers and soldiers, captured more than 5,000 mules and horses, as well as mountains of swords, guns, armor, guns, guns, artillery, vehicles, and grain.

When a thief recruits an officer, he is an officer, and when an officer surrenders, he is a thief.

The vast majority of the 20,000 professionally trained captives will be enriched into the camp of the thieves, becoming the elite of the thieves' army.

Mountains of military funds will neither recruit nor surrender, and whoever occupies them is their master. Their arrival will make the new owner abandon the bad habit of "thieves", besiege Kaifeng City with the firmest determination, and completely pocket this great city in the Central Plains with the most ancient method of starvation.

At this time, even ordinary people without any war experience can see through the situation on the battlefield in Henan at a glance.

In the four counties and one state south of the Yellow River, the imperial court was almost completely lost. Kaifeng, Luoyang, Nanyang, Guide, Runing, these five famous cities through the ages, only the dead city of Kaifeng, which lacks food and few soldiers, and Runing, the isolated city of being attacked on all sides, are still struggling to support. It is only a matter of time before a thief falls into the hands of a thief.

The ominous omen of "losing the principle of losing the middle and losing the world" has been clearly placed in front of the world.

The Central Plains is lost, so where is the next place?

Is it Hubei, Shaanxi or Huanghuai? Whether it is the princes in power of the imperial court or ordinary scholars, the common people are speculating.

However, at that time, not many people noticed that the Ming Dynasty suddenly appeared a military presence in southern Henan and Huaibei.

On the one hand, this military presence wantonly recruited and reinforced the Bian's defeated army, and on the other hand, it combined with the local people, displaced people, and regimental training and armed forces. Their numbers grew rapidly, and within ten months, there were twenty or thirty thousand.

They are caught in the encirclement of friends and foes, and their future situation is becoming more and more dangerous. But they were still immersed in the joy of escaping from the city of Kaifeng, and they did not find that a huge conspiracy was coming.

……

Liu Chao's regimental training was recruited by himself, but the silver and food for recruiting the regimental soldiers were raised by the gentry of Yongcheng.

Liu Chao forgot this, but the gentry of Yongcheng would not forget it.

Liu Chao wanted to be the chief soldier of the imperial court, but the idea of the gentry in Yongcheng was that you could be the chief soldier, but you should leave our regimental training behind. If you want to take the regimental training away after becoming a general soldier, then I'm sorry, we have a way to clean you up!

However, Liu Chao is a veteran of the army, and he is very good at leading troops to fight. The soldiers he recruited and trained were not something that others could easily take away.

However, tigers also have times when they take a nap.

The Liu Chao brothers bought a large amount of grain in Yongcheng, Mengcheng and other places, and escorted them to Bozhou with troops, which provided an excellent opportunity for the wealthy gentry of Yongcheng to realize their ideas.

In the middle of the night of June 5, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, in the narrow streets and alleys inside the arch gate of the north gate of Yongcheng, there were four old guys who were close to the age of sixtieth year and were quietly moving with their own families.

These four people are Wanli 40 years of Jinshi, successively served as the head of the household department, Langzhong, Shandong according to the inspector, Zhang Xing of the Guanglu Temple Administration, Wei Jingqi (QI), who was dismissed with the title of imperial history, Zhuang Zejin, who was reprimanded by pedestrians, and Qiao Mingkai, who was raised by Yongcheng.

The four families of Zhang, Wei, Zhuang and Qiao are all generations of scholars in Yongcheng and wealthy families. Of course, they are only second- or third-class nobles in the wealthy group of eastern Henan (Note 2).

First-class Hao, naturally the Ding family in Yongcheng and the Hou family in Guide, etc. The Ding family produced Ding Kuichu and Ding Qirui's uncle and nephew; The Hou family has three grandchildren: Hou Zhipu, Hou Sui, and Hou Fangyu.

In the dead of night, these four old guys don't fall asleep with their beautiful concubines in their arms, of course, they have some intentions. The target of their action was a small inn by the city walls.

After months of secret inquiry, they finally got a reliable news, saying that it was Zhang Xiance, the thief chief of Guide, who learned that Liu Chao was "unrewarded for his merits and resentful", and that he was the object that the righteous army could win and unite, so he sent someone to lobby Liu Chao and let him rebel against Yongcheng and unite with the righteous army of Guide.

This thief army lobbyist lives in this shabby inn.

If they can capture the lobbyists in one fell swoop and prove from the lobbyists that Liu Chao has indeed colluded with the thieves, they will be able to bring down Liu Chao in one fell swoop, so as to take away the 6,000 regiments of trainees in his hands, so as to keep their wealth and status in the troubled times.

But just as the arrest was about to be carried out, an unexpected good thing came to the door: a sneaky figure slipped into the inn.

According to an entourage Ding, the person's figure and walking posture are very similar to Liu Chao's confidant Ren Hong!

Ren Hong is a poor scholar in Yongcheng, who took the imperial examination for a lifetime, and finally failed to achieve his wish even to show off his talents, and later put himself into Liu Chao's mansion and made a living as a museum and counselor. Liu Chao recruited, and Ren Hong jumped up and down, very positive. If Ren Hong and the anti-thief lobbyist can be captured together, and then Liu Chao is implicated through Ren Hong, then Liu Chao can't tell clearly!

The next day, it was bright.

The heads of several other wealthy families in Yongcheng soon learned of the results of last night's operation: the lobbyist was captured alive, Ren Hong was also detained, the two were enjoying the big punishment, and it was only a matter of time before they signed the confession.

The evidence is conclusive, but the sophisticated wealthy families did not immediately attack Liu Chao.

Instead, they chose to hide the news from the county and take the lead in Beijing.

This person who takes the pen as a brother is the long-term royal official of the Yongcheng wealthy family: Fang Shiliang in the military department.

Fang Shiliang once pulled Zhu Dadian, the hero of Dengzhou's rebellion, off the horse, and his reputation shocked Beijing. Recently, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, was impeached for deliberately leaking money negotiations with the Tartars, which caused an uproar in the whole dynasty, and it was a time when the limelight was in full swing.

Fang Shiliang came forward to impeach Liu Chao, and the probability of success is very high.

……

It was also late at night on June 5, in a secluded alley 100 steps away from the Huai'an Prefecture Office, a man with black eyes, a mouth stuffed with rags, and his hands cut behind his back was pushed and squeezed into a solitary road on the side of the alley.

After the man stumbled and turned a few corners, he finally heard a whispered reminder:

Lift your feet! Raise the point, there is a threshold!

If there is a threshold, you will enter the courtyard gate. And this courtyard gate, since it leads to the mezzanine road, should naturally be the back door.

Long Qisheng counted the number of steps he walked after being blindfolded by the back-tie, and concluded that he was still in Huai'an City, but he was only deliberately led by someone to turn a few corners.

I didn't expect the CIA to have more and more tricks!

Long Qisheng smiled bitterly in his heart, and was about to raise his legs to move forward, when he heard someone shouting: Stop! It's time to get there!

Immediately, a huge force came from his shoulder, pressing his legs trembling. Before he could straighten his waist, he was kicked in the crook of his leg, and he immediately softened and fell to his knees involuntarily.

One person ripped off the rag in Long Qisheng's mouth, freeing him from the pain of suffocation. Before he could take a few breaths of fresh air, the voice had already asked.

"Honestly! How that money order got to you! Half a fake word, immediately kill and throw it into the canal! ”

"This brother from the MIA!" Long Qisheng smiled bitterly and said, "Can you let the little brother sit down and drink saliva?" I rushed from Kaifeng City, I'm afraid I ran more than 1,000 miles! ”

"I don't show anything, and I still want to drink water?" The voice became more and more severe, and the hands that were pressed on his shoulders also strengthened, causing Long Qisheng to feel pain in one arm.

"That's it!" A soft and crisp Wu language suddenly interrupted the strength on Long Qisheng's shoulder, "Give him water to drink." When it's all said and done, Allah is sleepy! ”

It turns out that the main owner is a woman, and she is a woman from Wu Land!

Long Qisheng's brain was running rapidly, could it be that she was ......

An oil lamp came in, seeping through the cracks of the blindfold. With the slightest light comes a hint of attractive body fragrance. It must be Miss's maid who has come in!

Long Qisheng knelt on the ground and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"Say it, say it all at once!" There was an indistinct yawn in the young lady's nice voice.

"Since you know the Military Intelligence Agency, then report your identity and position first, especially the time and place of joining the Protector Army!" The man growled.

"Long Qisheng, the commander of the 14th Regiment of the Protector Army, was the commander of the personal platoon under the joint account of Jia Deng. At the end of January this year, while recuperating from injuries in Jinchengzhai, he participated in the "Protecting the Country and the People" study class, and the gentleman of the study class was Wang Xingwu, the captain of the Yilong County Huzhuang Brigade and the supervisor of the army.

After the injury was healed, I went to Baoning Mansion with General Jia to see the prince, but Baoning Mansion was holding a meeting of important ministers, and we had to wait.

During this period, I was recommended by Jia Jiangye to participate in the short-term training course of the Military Intelligence Bureau in the military camp in Jinping Gate......

After the battle of Bolt Mountain, I went to Huguang with Jia Jiangye's handwritten letter. I've already talked about the rest in Huitong Bank......"

"How did you know about the Boryeong Ministers' Conference?" The man's voice asked sternly.

At that time, General Staff Officer Zou and Director Sun invited Jia Jiangye to drink a meal, and they were talking about the reorganization of Jia Ying after the meeting of important ministers. As a personal soldier, I was pouring wine on the sidelines......"

"Chen Ying, he is his own person. Loose! Cuilan, bring some tea, see that his lips are chapped, he must have suffered a lot along the way! "That young lady's beautiful Wu Nanyin sounded again.

Blindfold removed.

Under the bright oil lamp, a young girl dressed in red reclined in a circle chair, her chin in her hand, and a pair of delicate eyes on her sleepy face;

A maid of medium stature and unrecognizable face stood beside the young lady, carrying a tea tray in her hand;

And next to him is a stout man in a strong suit.

"Thank you, Miss!"

Long Qisheng moved his sore shoulder and drank the tea handed by the maid.

The fragrance of tea soaked in the spleen, the water was warm and moistened the throat, Long Qisheng couldn't help but sigh:

"The 180,000 army of the imperial court has collapsed, and what is missing is this saliva! The ghost place in Henan is like Shura Hell, it is so hot everywhere that it is smoky and burning, and the grass and trees are burned everywhere! I really don't know what the thieves are fighting for! ”

"Alright, let's get back to what we just said." The young lady impatiently instructed Long Qisheng, "What did General Staff Zou and Director Sun say with your Jia Jiangye during the banquet?" How much alcohol did they drink, drunk and talking nonsense? ”

"My subordinates have already given it just now: it is the reorganization of Jia Ying. Jia Jiangye slapped his chest to the two adults, saying that as soon as the decree of the prince was issued, he dared to go to the sea of fire and dare to go down ......"

"Miss Ben didn't ask you Jia Jiangye, but Mr. Zou...... and Mr. Sun. ”

At this time, Long Qisheng had already understood the identity of the young lady.

He was amused in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it, so he had to continue to pretend to be stupid:

"Oh! The subordinates will report it carefully! Mr. Sun also asked Jia Jiangye's wife, children, and relatives about their relationship, and asked him to fill out a cadre registration form according to the form format and file it with the military headquarters of the superintendent. Mr. Sun explained that this is the rule of the Protector Army, and every officer in the Jia Battalion will have to fill in the ...... in the future Mr. Sun himself filled in the ...... It's just that General Staff Zou doesn't have a wife and no parents, so there are few things to fill in......"

"Don't you have to fill in the fiancée who is engaged?" The disgruntled voice of the young lady immediately came, "You men, you don't talk about serious things when you drink!" ”

"It's not clear. The subordinates have no wife, and they don't get along, they are alone and have nothing to worry about, so the Intelligence Bureau and Jia Jiangye sent their subordinates to this nine-life errand! ”

"Nong's mouth likes to talk!" The young lady laughed, but in a blink of an eye, she gave Long Qisheng a slap in the face, "Nong's bill of exchange indicates that it was issued in Baoning Zhuangzi and cashed in Jingzhou Zhuangzi, but Huai'an Zhuangzi cannot be cashed." This is the rule of the money bank, and it is not easy for me to change it! ”

Long Qisheng was anxious and blurted out: "Miss Liu, your subordinates know your difficulties. But thousands of people in Bozhou have to eat every day! If they don't have anything to eat, they have to grab it! In the future, if they are reorganized into a national protection army, it will damage the reputation of the prince! Besides, they took refuge in the Shu Palace, which was also the means of the prince of the world. If the Protector Army sees death and does not save them, they will turn against each other and strike a blow, but it will be self-defeating! ”

"Since Platoon Commander Long already knew my nickname, then Platoon Commander Long deliberately fooled me when he said Mr. Zou!"

Liu Hongting was not annoyed at all, but pursed her lips and laughed.

"It's just that Nong said that it was the means of the prince, and Miss Ben didn't know. Since the matter is urgent, I don't sleep anymore, so I listen to Platoon Commander Long tell the matter as it is! ”

Note 1: "Chongzhen Records Volume 15" records: "Xin has been, Li Zicheng ...... Shocked and migrated, the south slaughtered Chenzhou. ”

Note 2: See the sixth related work, "The Bleaching of the Military Elite"