"Early tomorrow morning, let's have a four-sided encirclement and catch turtles in the urn!" Zhu Pingjin excitedly told his subordinates about the plan.

Everyone agreed, except for Shu Guoping.

He said: "When the last general entered the city, he asked the residents of the city, and there are five gates in this Yazhou city, one on the east, south, and west sides, and two on the north side. Outside the north city is the Tsing Yi River, and outside the east and south is the Lijiang River. The last general thinks that if we occupy the east and west gates tonight, leaving only the south gate, we will not oppress the rebels too much, and we will leave them with the illusion that they can leave the city freely......"

"What if the rebels flee at night?" Song Zhensi asked.

"Brother Gao has a lot of cavalry under him. If Brother Gao's cavalry can make a detour to the south gate and guard the passage and bridge between the city wall and the Lijiang River, we can wait for the rabbits, come out to catch one and catch one, and come out to catch two and catch a pair of ......."

Zhu Pingjin's reaction was quick. He slapped the table and said: "In the art of war, it is said that 'surround three queyi', and Mr. Shu added 'leaving a way to survive and setting up a pocket in secret'!" Okay, quickly invite the Fu brothers and ask about the width of the river, the flow of water and the bridge. Mr. Shu, Mr. He has been appointed as the battalion supervisor of the Tusi Battalion by this Shizi, and now the chief of staff of the whole army is still vacant, why don't Mr. Shu give in for the time being? ”

"The last general obeys!" After these days, Shu Guoping's scholarly anger has faded a lot, and his speech and work are very much Song Zhenzong's posture. I want to come to 'the one who is close to Zhu is red, and the one who is close to ink is black. This sentence is very appropriate for Song and Shu.

Shu Guoping went downstairs and interrogated the Fu brothers. After a while, they found out the situation and reported it: the Lijiang River is in the south gate section, although the river is narrow, but the bank of the river is steep, and the water flow is very fast. Even in the dry season in the middle of winter, it is very dangerous to wade in hiding. There are three wooden bridges outside the south gate, not far from each other. The bridge facing the south gate can be used for large vehicles, and the other two are small bridges. With the strength of the Tusi cavalry, there was no problem in blocking the south gate. In addition, they also inquired about the fact that the Zhizhou and the Yamen guarding the Qianhu Office on the high ground in the southeast corner of the city were said to be still held by officials and soldiers.

Grasping the situation, Zhu Pingjin quickly made a decision: the caravan was commanded by Song Zhenzong and immediately set off to occupy the east gate; Half of the Tusi infantry took possession of the west gate. The north gate and the west gate were commanded by Xu Hanqing; The cavalry, commanded by Gao Rongxuan, covertly blocked the south gate and captured the rebels who had fled from the city. Early tomorrow morning, the north, east, and west will work together to clear the city and drive the rebels into the encirclement outside the south gate. In order to command the rescue of the state government nearby, Zhu Pingjin's Chinese army will move to the East Gate Tower with the caravan.

After a simple arrangement and mobilization, the troops quickly set off along the city walls. Zhu Pingjin walked with his escort in the queue of the caravan. In order to maintain concealment, there were no torches in the ranks, not a single star in the sky, only a few fires in Yazhou City, which could illuminate the direction of the troops' advance.

The attack on the east gate went smoothly, and there were almost no rioters to be seen. It's no wonder that there is nothing to grab near the city gate, what fool would do it to watch others get rich, but he himself comes to guard the gate. The East Gate Tower is also two-storey, and Zhu Pingjin occupied the top floor as usual for his own safety, and put the camp headquarters and guards of the caravan on the lower floor. After hastily arranging the place, Zhu Pingjin called He Youyi, Gao Antai, Chen Youfu and others to arrange tonight's highlight.

Gao Antai's task was to lead his retinue and three reinforced squads to occupy Peng Yuanke's house. A total of nineteen people were captured in Feixian Pass, of which eighteen were beheaded and their bodies were thrown into the Tsing Yi River. Only the family member who was captured by Wang Sanniu was lucky enough to save Xiang Shang's head, and his use was to lead the way tonight. This is Zhu Pingjin's tailor-made opportunity for Gao Antai to take revenge, and it is impossible for Gao Antai to refuse, so he immediately gritted his teeth and agreed.

Chen Youfu's task was to lead his platoon and four reinforced squads to occupy the house of Fan Wenguang (Note 1), a former member of the household department in Nanjing. Fan Wenguang and Peng Yuanke's houses are not far away, probably belonging to the same wealthy area, and Chen Youfu and Gao Antai can support each other. According to the two brothers of the Fu family, the Fan family was originally the first big family in Yazhou, and since Fan Wenguang became an official, the Fan family's family business has become more and more prosperous. Tens of thousands of acres of land, dozens of shops, just the house, in the east gate occupies a whole block. Last year, Fan Wenguang's Lao Tzu died, and he is now worried at home. The person who led the way was named Fan Zhen, who was rescued by Zhu Pingjin in the prison of the hundred households of Feixian Pass. Fan Zhenben was a distant relative of Fan Wenguang and worked as a shopkeeper in a silk shop in Fan's family. Two months ago, Fan Zhen took more than ten guys from the store to Lushan County with a batch of goods to sell, in exchange for more than ten good horses. As a result, the horse was intercepted and swallowed by Peng Yuanke halfway, and the person was locked in a prison. Peng Yuanke released his words, saying that the Fan family was suspected of smuggling and asked Fan Wenguang to ransom people with money. When Fan Qian's mother heard the news, she hurriedly begged the head of the Fan family, who was Fan Wenguang, who knew that Fan Wenguang turned his face and did not admit the matter of buying a horse, but asked Fan Qian's mother to return the silk money. Fan Zhen's mother couldn't ask for help, and hung herself on the beam of the house in despair. As soon as Fan Zhen's mother died, Fan Zhen had no one to save him. Peng Yuanke began to think that strange goods were a place to live, and regularly supplied Fan Zhen and others with wine and meat, but when he saw that the Fan family had not moved for a long time, he threw them in prison and left them to fend for themselves. After two months, Fan Zhen's men all died of freezing and starvation, and in the end, Fan Zhen was the only one left. Fan Zhen learned the news of the Fan family's failure to save and the suicide of his mother in prison, and vowed to destroy the Fan family. As soon as he was rescued, he volunteered to lead the way for Zhu Pingjin.

"Chen Youfu, your task is to exterminate the Fan family's evil thief! If a woman or child asks you for intercession, will you be able to do it? Zhu Pingjin was not very relieved of Chen Youfu's class position, so he asked.

"The prince has great kindness to us, as long as the prince gives the order, the villain would rather be ruined!" Chen Youfu said firmly: "Such corrupt officials and beetles, I don't know how many innocent people have been killed. Today's catastrophe is all their own fault. The villain figured it out, only with the knife and gun in his hand can they understand what should be taken and what should not be taken! Only when the corrupt officials in the world die, will the world be peaceful! ”

Zhu Pingjin was very satisfied with Chen Youfu's statement, patted him on the shoulder and asked him to do a good job. Of course, he won't tell Chen Youfu that the corrupt officials in this world can't be killed.

Gao Antai and Chen Youfu took the order and left one after another, and only He Youyi was left in the house. He asked He Youyi, "Is Mr. He ready?" ”

He Youyi replied yes. Zhu Pingjin said: "Mr. He has a great responsibility. Whether the Yazhou Rebellion can be gained this time depends on Mr. He's trip tonight. If Mr. can win and return triumphantly, he should be the first contributor to this battle! ”

The night was deep, and the cold wind whimpered.

On a hill in the southeast corner of Yazhou, hundreds of women and children crowded together in the woods and grasslands next to the state government and the thousand households of the yamen camping and resting. From time to time, someone was woken up by fright or cold, and a few sobs and low sobs were heard. Most of these people were side branches or subordinates of large families, and because the rooms in the yamen were limited, they were arranged to sleep in the wilderness. The men, whether they were servants or servants, were assembled, some of them blocking the several passes up the hill, some of them at both ends of the wall behind the hill.

Hong Qihui and his two younger brothers, Hong Qiren and Hong Qixin, as well as his four classmates Zhang Shilin, Tang Mo, Zhong Zhishou and Hu Dasheng, could not sleep. They sat in the open space in front of the yamen, silently watching the sparks under the hill. Hong Bo, the housekeeper of the Hong family, hurriedly walked over and said, "Young Master, Ruan Qianhu wants us to pay three thousand taels of silver for each family, and the master said please have an idea!" ”

Hearing Hong Bo's words, Hong Qihui and the others all stood up. Hu Dasheng snorted and scolded: "Wang Guochen and Ruan Shiqi, the two dog officials, don't forget to reach out and get money at this time!" Brother Hong, we jointly wrote to Ertai (governor, patrol) to sue them! ”

Zhong Zhishou shook his head and said, "Lord Zhizhou may have something wrong!" However, before the reinforcements arrive, we must still unite sincerely, so as not to take advantage of the rebels. ”

Zhang Shilin saw that the two of them were going to quarrel, so he hurriedly persuaded him: "Brother Qihui, you have many ideas, we listen to you." ”

Hong Qihui patted the dust on his buttocks and said with a smile: "Wang Guochen and Ruan Shiqi, the two dog officials, are preparing for the back road. Saying that, he said to Nunu in the direction of the yamen: "Do you think, if such a big thing happens in Yazhou City, can the governor still keep Wusha?" Don't think that if you keep the yamen, they will get away with it! How did these rioters get into the city? Why are the gates wide open when the rebels enter the city? Everyone robbed the chaotic people, and killed everyone, why didn't they rob the yamen and kill the officials and soldiers? My house has been burned, and the two dog officials want to take advantage of the fire to rob! Bah! They dream! ”

Hong Qihui's words aroused the resonance of the classmates, and everyone gossiped about the strange behavior of Wang Guochen and Ruan Shiqi. Hu Dasheng volunteered to contact Liu Daozhen, Cheng Xiangfeng and other gentry and refused to pay the salary.

Tang Mo blinked and asked Hong Qihui: "Brother Hong, you said that the two dog officials know, will they drive us down the mountain?" ”

Hong Qihui smiled contemptuously: "Dog official An Dang'er! The contemptible people have long found out that there are only a little more than two hundred officers and soldiers on this mountain, and we and the other families and courtyards together have more than the officers and soldiers! Without us, his little shrimp soldiers and crab generals still want to guard the yamen? We, now the scales can't be separated from the scales, and the scales can't be separated from the scales! A grasshopper on a straw rope, no one can do without anyone! ”

Hong Qihui was talking, and a group of people came up on the forest path next to him. A nurse in the crowd who led the way shouted to Hong Qihui from a distance of more than a dozen steps: "Young Master, we are saved!" Who do you see coming? ”

"Yuan Xiu, Yuan Lan! Didn't your Fu family escape from the city? How did it come back? Hong Qihui had good eyes, and he recognized his classmates in the dark just by the figure of a walker, and a group of people hurriedly surrounded him to say hello.

The two brothers of the Fu family exchanged a few words with their old friends, and then let He Youyi behind him out: "Let me introduce to you, this is Mr. He, the supervisor of Baoning Mansion!" ”

He Youyi arched his hand to the crowd and said: "The contemptible He Youyi is a copywriter for the prince of the Shu Domain." Today, on the orders of the Prince, I have come to see the Lord of the Kingdom and all the gentlemen. ”

The prince of the Shu domain? Hong Qihui wondered in his heart. Yazhou is more than 300 miles north of Chengdu Mansion, this Shu prince does not stay in the palace to spend all day drinking, what are you doing here? At that moment, it was as if an invisible finger touched a sensitive nerve deep in Hong Qihui's heart.

Perhaps seeing the doubts of Hong Qihui and others, the two brothers of the Fu family smiled and recounted how they abandoned their homes and fled for their lives, how they met Shu Shizi and Tianquan Tusi soldiers on the road, how they were willing to ask Shizi to send troops to suppress thieves, and how they saw with their own eyes that the officials and soldiers cut melons and vegetables to eliminate the chaotic people. In the end, Fu Yuanxiu said Zhu Pingjin's request.

Note 1: In the history of the Ming Dynasty, Fan Wenguang was a native of Neijiang, and after offering thieves to Shu, he went to Qiong and Yaju as volunteers, and spoke highly of him. The plot needs to be here, and Xiangmu borrowed it, and there is no meaning of needle depreciation.