"Let him in." Li Yan commanded.

At this time, the officials and gentlemen who had just left the hall were about to enter the hall again, but they were naturally stopped by the soldiers at the door.

"Let us in" Shen San reprimanded loudly: "We just came out, didn't you see it?" ”

"No one can enter without the general's order," said the guard at the door, unaccommodatingly.

Master Ye scolded: "Then go and report"

At this time, Li Yan had already seen the officials and gentry crowded at the door, and instructed Sun Sifu: "Let them leave, what does it look like to crowd at the door." ”

And almost at the same time, Ding Qirui's messenger also came in.

The soldiers opened the door and tried to let the messenger in, but the gentry followed suit.

"Li Yan" Master Ye asked loudly as soon as he entered, "What did you mean by the order just now?" ”

Although the messenger was a military general, he did not dare to speak when he saw so many gentry questioning here.

Li Yan frowned and said, "Come on, fork them out"

"Li Yan, you make it clear, what do you mean by the order just now?" Master Liu roared angrily. He had already lost a lot of money before, and this time he had to pay 300 stones, if he really sent troops to rob it, his Liu family would be broken.

"If you dare to trespass into the private house, the court has its own laws, and you can't escape," Master Song also shouted loudly.

The soldiers from outside came in, dragged one by two, and carried the gentry out. The soldiers were still relatively restrained, their movements were quite gentle, and they did not cause any harm to these officials and gentlemen.

Those officials and gentry shouted and were taken out, and they were basically sure at this time that Li Yan really sent troops to their house to steal grain. They realized that after they had insisted on resisting for so long, they had finally made Li Yan lose his patience.

Seeing that there were finally no outsiders in the hall, the messenger clasped his fist to Li Yan and said, "I am on the orders of Premier Ding to send a letter to General Li." ”

After that, he took out the letter from his arms, handed it to Li Yan with both hands, and said: "Premier Ding Jun order, please General Li transfer 3,000 soldiers and horses to Kaifeng City immediately to assist in defense." ”

Li Yan opened the letter, frowned and read it. After that, he put it on the table and asked, "How many reinforcements did Premier Ding bring over?" ”

"Three thousand people were brought from Nanyang." The messenger replied.

Li Yan nodded and said slowly: "Kaifeng has more than 10,000 defenders of Chen Yongfu, as well as thousands of social soldiers in the city, plus the reinforcements brought by Governor Ding, and other reinforcements, which are enough for defense. Ben still has to defend the place here, and there are really no extra troops. ”

"General Li," the messenger said dissatisfiedly, "This is Premier Ding's order, please be sure to carry it out."

Li Yan said unhurriedly: "I am a good woman, and it is difficult to cook without rice, and I really have no troops. ”

"Three thousand is not available, but two thousand is fine." The messenger slowed down his tone and said, "Kaifeng is the heart of the Central Plains, the thoroughfare of the eight provinces, and the throat of Hebei. It is also the place where the king of Zhou is divided, which is related to the morale of the people in the world, and the imperial court will not allow Kaifeng to be lost. If the general can't follow the order, the crows will be in trouble in the future. Why should the general bother himself? ”

Li Yan shook his head with a smile: "I really don't have Yu Bing, I can't let Guide Mansion be ravaged by thieves, right?" ”

"As long as Kaifeng can be kept, even if there are losses in other places, the imperial court will only order merits and do not ask about responsibility." The messenger clenched his fists and said, "This is Prime Minister Ding's promise. ”

Li Yan frowned and said, "Have you ever fought?" ”

"This~" The messenger didn't know how to answer. He is Ding Qirui's general, and he is the general manager in the standard camp. If you want to talk about fighting, he really hasn't fought before, Ding Qirui has never been to the front, and they naturally have no chance to fight. And Li Yan's record, he knows, so he doesn't dare to talk nonsense.

"How long can you defend the city with no reinforcements?" Li Yan said: "The thieves are not tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, but hundreds of thousands, and they can surround Kaifeng. How much food is there in the city? How much firewood is there? How long can it be used by military and civilian use? Hundreds of thousands of people in the city, as well as tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, how long can they hold out? ”

"These Governors of Ding and Governor Gao are naturally comparative. Moreover, Zuo Dashuai's soldiers are in Xinyang, and they will soon be able to come to the rescue. The messenger persuaded anyway.

Li Yan waved his hand and refused: "No need to say it again." You go back and tell Premier Ding that the Guide Mansion is the wing of Kaifeng, as long as the Guide Mansion is not lost, the thieves will have to divide their troops to defend themselves, and Kaifeng will be able to suffer less pressure. As long as you defend well, you will get through this time. ”

"General Li can think about it" The messenger looked at Li Yan and said with some threat: "Whether Kaifeng can live or not, General Li's decision is destined to be punished."

Li Yan waved his hand and said, "Okay, I know, you go back." In the future, I will be punished by the imperial court. If you delay here any longer, I'm afraid you won't be able to enter Kaifeng City. ”

"Okay, then General Li should take care," the messenger said viciously, turning and leaving.

As soon as the messenger left, Sun Sifu came in with a pigeon letter and reported: "Qixian has come to report that the county seat of Tongxu has been breached, and the thieves are moving towards Chen Liu. ”

Li Yan sighed helplessly: "So fast? It's only been a little over a day. Then he asked, "What happened to the grain and the mules and horses?" ”

"Haven't come back yet." Sun Sifu replied: "Each family has sent a wing, even if they resist, there will be no obstacles." ”

Li Yan instructed: "When they take out the grain, they will immediately send five thousand stones to Qixian." If you are surrounded by thieves, you will not be able to enter. ”

"Yes."

"And." Li Yan instructed again: "Send a pigeon letter to Li Zhong, and ask him to reserve more arrows and bombs for each village." If he can't deal with it there, send a letter here in time. The bottom line is the county, and there must be no mistakes."

"Yes, the subordinate will send a letter." Sun Sifu agreed.

Li Yan's most core workshops are now in the county seat of Qi County, if the county seat is lost, and those craftsmen are captured or killed, then his loss is immeasurable.

He thought for a while and ordered, "Call Feng Cheng." ”

The soldiers agreed, and immediately went to find someone. Feng Cheng was originally guarding in Ningling, but after the expansion of the army, he was transferred to Fucheng. However, due to the rush of time, his troops did not have time to run in.

After a while, Feng Cheng came. He clasped his fists and saluted Li Yan and said, "I've seen the general in my humble position." ”

Li Yan immediately ordered: "Take your thousand-person team, and go to Qixian County with grain mules and horses in a while." Your task is to guard the county seat of Qixian, don't worry about the rest, I will greet Li Zhong. ”

"What about Nafu City?" Feng Cheng asked.

Li Yan said sternly: "You don't have to worry about this, you have to guard the county seat of Qixian County for me."

"Obey the order, and the lowly rank will live and die with the city"

Li Yan ordered: "It's not for you to die, but for you to hold the county until we repel the thieves."

"Humble Understanding"

...