The general who asked his subordinates to move the rescue troops was named Yao Keming, who was the guerrilla general of the Mo battalion, that is, the second-in-command of the Mo battalion.

Yao Keming saw that Brother Long was whipped on the shoulder by Mo Chongwen, and was kicked several times in a row, worried that the main general's emotions would be out of control and cause death, so he hurriedly called Yang Tianfu, the general of the army, to run to the top of the kiln and pull Mo Chongwen who was angry.

The adjutant general and the pro-general both came forward to intercede, and Mo Chongwen had no choice but to order Long Qisheng to be placed under house arrest in the Chinese army, prohibiting his mouth from talking nonsense, so as not to shake the morale of the army. When Kaifeng is lifted, let him go back to Sichuan honestly.

Mo Chongwen was instructing his subordinates when he saw a group of men and horses galloping towards the adobe kiln. The banner of the leader is a "Wen"; The banner that has been dragged behind is a "Yang". When Mo Chongwen saw it, he hurriedly took Yao Keming and Yang Tianfu down to the bottom of the kiln to see.

Yao Keming's long-awaited reinforcements arrived at the most opportune time.

It's no one else. One is the Shangguan of the Mo Battalion, a veteran of the Sichuan Aid Army, Wen Ruzhen, a native of Guizhou (Note 1).

The other is the general of the Chu army, who was also commanded by Wen Ruzhen, Yang Guodong, a native of Chengdu.

Wen Ruzhen is short in stature, with dark and translucent skin, and a furrow on her face. At first glance, he doesn't look like an official general, but like an old farmer in the field.

Like Mo Chongwen, Wen Ruzhen also started in the Battle of Guizhou, and has accumulated many years of work since then, which is why she has today's status.

However, as the commander-in-chief of Sichuan's aid and suppression, Wen Ruzhen did not fight a few battles in Sichuan.

A few years ago, Wen Ruzhen had been suppressing thieves in the Xing'an area of southern Shaanxi, climbing mountains and drilling old forests all day long. Mo Chongwen garrisoned Taiping in northern Sichuan and Zhen'an in Shaanxi, one north and one south, not far away, and the two battalions often fought together.

Once Mo Chongwen went to support Wen Ruzhen, but he was careless, and was surrounded by ambushed thieves on a mountain with no food and water, trapped for nine days and nine nights, and was about to be wiped out. It was Wen Ruzhen who led the troops to disperse the thieves, and Mo Chongwen took advantage of the gap to jump off the cliff to escape.

It is precisely because of this experience that Wen and Mo have a very close personal friendship.

Mo Chongwen left Sichuan and entered Henan, and Wen Ruzhen also received Ding Qirui's transfer of troops. Wen Ying had no choice but to abandon Xing'an, set out from the southwest of Xing'an, and marched to Nanyang through Yunyang and Xiangyang.

Unexpectedly, halfway through, a large-scale plague broke out in the Wen camp. It was not until the end of last month that Wenying arrived at Queshan. Not only did they lose more than two months, but more than half of the 2,000 people died, and only 800 soldiers had combat effectiveness left.

Ding Qirui wanted to cure Wen Ruzhen's crime, Wen Ruzhen wrote a self-defense, and Mo Chongwen also wrote a guarantee. Later, it was confirmed that it was indeed a plague from heaven, and the theory of punishment did not disappear.

However, although Wen Ruzhen was exonerated from the crime, the nickname of "Plague God" had spread throughout the camp. He was weak in his own troops, so he marched with Mo Chongwen. Mo Ying is in the front, Wen Ying is in the middle, and Yang Ying is in the back. These three battalions of more than 6,000 people were like a small group in the ranks of the huge left army.

Yang Guodong's appearance is very different from Wen Ruzhen.

Yang Guodong has a slender figure, a ruddy complexion, and a slender and flowing beard that is neatly trimmed.

The most eye-catching thing for outsiders is not his figure and appearance, but what he is wearing.

I saw Yang Guodong wearing a white dress and a red brocade belt around his waist. There was no helmet on his head, only a large lacquered hat that shaded the sun; The brocade belt is not hung with a war knife, only two strings of handsome sachets and jade pendants.

He doesn't seem to be a general who goes to charge into battle, but a scholar who comes to play in the mountains and rivers.

Yang Guodong claimed to be a native of Xindu County, Chengdu Prefecture, and was the grandson of Yang Tinghe, the former first assistant, that is, the uncle and nephew of Yang Shenyangsheng'an, the champion of the Yuangong. During the Lu'an Rebellion, he joined the army and served as a material officer. When Xiong Wencan was in power, he was transferred from Guizhou to Huguang and became a Sichuan among the generals of the Chu army.

Since he claims to be the prime minister and the clansman of the champion, then he must have a bit of a bookish atmosphere.

Yang Guodong's serious profession is Qiu Ba, but the most despised profession is also Qiu Ba. He seldom called the generals in the army brothers, but he liked to sing poems and harmony with the civil officials and scholars. When others train their troops, they are real swords, real guns, one move, one move, and one style, and his training is to stand in line and walk in formation.

It's easy to understand standing in line and walking in formation, so what is the training?

Two: first, strict military discipline; Second, talk about ideals.

Talking about ideals is nothing more than being loyal to the monarch and loving the country. But strict military discipline, that in the Ming official army, it means a little red in the green bushes.

Yang Guodong is strict with military discipline, that is not a formality. He strictly forbade soldiers to loot the people, and often used the slogan of Yue's army, "Don't grab food if you starve to death, and don't demolish houses if you freeze to death" to ask his subordinates. If it is violated, it will be carried out by arrows and paraded, and at worst beheaded for public display.

The people naturally liked such officers and soldiers very much, so they ...... He was tragic.

Yang Guodong's soldiers were the poorest group of soldiers in the Chu army. For example, the pants of the soldiers of the other battalion are so rotten that they are exposed, while his soldiers wash the pants of the soldiers of the other battalion with bare ditches to earn copper to support their families!

Therefore, Yang Guodong's soldiers wanted to change jobs twice in three days, but the other battalions resolutely refused to accept it, and even if they jumped jobs, they would take the initiative to send them back to Yang Ying.

No one is a fool. Don't leave the soldiers of the Yang battalion behind, and the day before, they will have to paste a set of rotten clothes and pants plus a few bowls of dry rice. Who would do such a stupid thing?

This aid expedition originally had nothing to do with Yang Guodong.

Yang Guodong was a general of the Chu army, and he guarded Xiangyang under the command of Wang Yongzuo (Note 3), the governor of Yunyang, and lived a peaceful life. But one day at the beginning of the year, Yang Guodong suddenly announced in his lecture: He couldn't bear the poverty of the soldiers, so he sold a set of mansions handed down by his ancestors in his hometown Chengdu.

What do you do with the money you sold? As the salary of the whole battalion!

This news is truly earth-shattering! The soldiers wept with joy!

Suddenly, the soldiers of the Yang battalion exchanged guns. The helper is no longer a helper, and the one who pulls the fiber is not pulled; Guanggouzi put on the coveted mandarin duck battle jacket, and married a big girl like a flower and jade for 40 years. The whole camp was jubilant, and Yang Guodong became famous.

Reputation can sometimes be a disaster. Yang Guodong's reputation was great, and he immediately attracted an uninvited guest.

One day, a staff member of Ding Qirui, the governor of the five provinces, returned to Runing Mansion from Chengtian Mansion to the north, passing through Xiangyang, and was warmly received by Yunfu Wang Yongzuo. During the banquet, the staff member scolded Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, for slamming the door and bitterly stated the hardships of the soldiers in front.

Wang Yongzuo drank and talked a lot. He interjected, saying that there is a general Yang Moumou in Xiangyang under the rule of this official who loves soldiers like a son.

When the staff member heard this, he became ill-willed, and after the meal, he quietly slipped to Yang Ying to take a look.

This is a terrible look:

I saw that the officers and soldiers of the Yang battalion were in bright armor and full of energy, and they were clearly a tiger and an eagle!

Unexpectedly, Wang Yongzuo, an old guy, was hiding in the golden house under the eyes of the superintendent!

Not long after, the supervisor Ding Qirui sent a letter to Fu Wang Yongzuo, and wanted to transfer Yang Ying to his supervisor and serve as his personal guard.

When Wang Yongzuo saw the text, he was immediately shocked.

Because there are only Yang Ying and Fubiao in the huge Xiangyang City, there are less than 5,000 people in total. If Yang Ying goes, there will only be more than 1,000 soldiers and horses left in Xiangyang. The thieves are attacking in a big way, and Wang Yongzuo has no other way to go except to martyrdom!

Wang Yongzuo is a two-list jinshi, not Qiu Ba, so his solution is to fight a pen and ink lawsuit with Ding Qirui.

In his reply letter to Ding Qirui, Wang Yongzuo gave a detailed account of Xiangyang's long history, Xiangyang's important position in the Central Plains war, the cruel persecution of the people of Xiangyang by the thieves, the ardent hope of the people of Xiangyang for peace and security, and the major historical contributions made by the Xiangyang government under his leadership to the restoration of Xiangyang's city defense.

In the end, Wang Yongzuo begged Ding Qirui to exempt Yang Ying, lest "Xiangyang be lost again, disturb me!" ”

It should be said that Wang Yongzuo's reply letter is very level, with both overall analysis and small considerations; There are both sincere feelings and covert threats.

It's just that Wang Yongzuo forgot that although Ding Qirui is not good at fighting, he is also a two-rank jinshi, and his kung fu in officialdom is only high.

The message sent by Ding Qirui was much simpler than Wang Yongzuo's reply, and the core was only two sentences.

The first sentence is: Is it important to lose Xiangyang, or is Kaifeng, which trapped the Zhou domain, important?

The second sentence is: Yun Fu is a young man with high virtue, and he is riddled with diseases. If Yun Fu sues the old, Ding Qirui is willing to ask the emperor and recommend good ministers to protect the land and defend the city.

The first sentence is a slap in the face, of course, it is important to trap Kaifeng of King Zhou; The second sentence is temptation, which is the secret careful thinking in Wang Yongzuo's heart.

Wang Yongzuo is a native of Kunshan, Nanzhi, with a rich family capital, and a beautiful small garden in his hometown.

Wang Yongzuo's predecessor, Yuan Jixian (Note 4), ended up in the border barrier of Guizhou because of the loss of Xiangyang. With Yuan Jixian's example in front, last year the thieves went south to feint to attack Huguang, and Wang Yongzuo had to run from Yunyang to Xiangyang to hold on. As a result, the thief didn't beat him, and turned around and went back to beat Fu Chonglong and Yang Wenyue.

Since learning the news that Fu Chonglong's soldiers were defeated and Xiang Cheng was killed by thieves, Wang Yongzuo thought day and night that he would be able to return to his hometown one day. Ding Qirui was willing to push behind his back and let him retire honorably to the safe to receive social security, but he couldn't ask for it. So Wang Yongzuo immediately reached a tacit agreement with Ding Qirui's messenger: Yang Guodong's affairs belong to him, and his retirement matters belong to Ding Qirui.

Yang Guodong, who has always sung a high note to his subordinates, suddenly heard the governor sing a high note for him, and immediately understood that he and his subordinates were sold by this dog official.

Yang Guodong has pretended to be a cultural person for more than ten years, and there is no ambiguity at this time. At the critical juncture of deciding the fate of himself and his soldiers, he made a very convincing suggestion and changed his fate from then on.

Yang Guodong reported to Wang Yongzuo, the governor of Yunyang, from the bottom of his heart:

Although the last general was from Sichuan, there were very few Sichuan soldiers and Guizhou soldiers under him, and most of them were in the vicinity of Xiangyang. In that year, Zhang Xianzhong attacked Xiangyang City at night and ransacked Xiangwang's mansion. Because the people of Xiangyang did not resist, and because the thieves wanted to buy people's hearts, they used the 150,000 taels of silver obtained from the Xiangwang Mansion to help the poor. Say something taboo: the thieves give money, the government collects taxes, and the hearts of the people are naturally on the side of the thieves......

Lord Wang, the last general preaches loyalty to his subordinates every day, always orders his subordinates to abide by military discipline, and reluctantly sells his ancestral property to pay his soldiers military salaries - it is not that the last general is well-trained, and it is not that the last general loves soldiers like sons, but that his subordinates are unstable and have to be like this!

I see!

Wang Yongzuo was taken aback at first, and then the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became: This official is in this half-thief Xiangyang City, if one day the thieves in Xiangyang turn against the water and tie up the official with five flowers to the thieves...... No, this Yunfu can't be deserved for a day!

Taking advantage of Lord Wang's will, Yang Guodong struck while the iron was hot: Lord Inspector asked the last general to lead the troops as the supervisor's personal guard, and the last general was naturally grateful. It's just that...... The last general's soldiers, the last general can't rest assured! If the Overseer is wrong...... In the end, it will be a dead death!

It is said that when Lord Wang Yongzuo heard this, a mouthful of hot tea in his mouth suddenly squirted out. He rushed out of the rear office like lightning and ordered his men to immediately chase down Inspector Ding's messenger!

Then, Yang Guodong and his three thousand tigers and eagle Yang came to Wen Ruzhen's hands, and they were in the company of authentic Qiu Ba like Mo Chongwen.

Note 1: The historical record of Wen Ruzhen is incomplete. I only know that he is a native of Guizhou, and after withdrawing from the Yangtze River, he served as the chief soldier of Chenchang. There is a post that Wen Ruzhen is from the Wen family of Heshan, Guangdong, and is a deputy general in Guangxi, who entered Burma with the Yongli Emperor and became the in-law of Li Dingguo, the king of Jin. Xiangmu doesn't know if these two Wen Ruzhen are the same person, so please check by yourself if you are interested. Don't be like Fang Guoan in the historical materials, make the two Fang Guoans of Wenwu Shutu into one person and make a joke.

Note 2: Yang Guodong has a biography in Wang Fuzhi's "Yongli Record".

Note 3: In real history, Wang Yongzuo was finally pitted by Zuo Liangyu. He was dismissed and expelled from his post because of the loss of Xiangyang again, and after returning to his hometown Kunshan, he initiated an uprising against the Qing Dynasty and died heroically in the battle to defend the city.

Note 4: In the real history, Yuan Jixian was reactivated and served as the governor of Jiangxi, but soon after taking office, he was presented to the Tartars by Zuo Liangyu's rebel son Zuo Mengeng, and he was heroic.