There are loyal ministers, there are traitors, there are loyal people, there are betrayals, and many times people cannot control their own destiny at all, and have to bow to fate and choose to do things that they are not very willing to.

Wang Zhaolin was unwilling to betray Daxi, even after Zhang Xianzhong died, Wang Zhaolin thought that he could escape and return to Zhang Dingguo's army, thinking that Daxi could rise again. After all, he is the prime minister of the Great Western Kingdom, and he is in a high and powerful position, even if he surrenders to the Ming Dynasty, he will never have the power he used to have.

But when his life was seriously threatened, he retreated, and in order to survive, he had to choose to be a traitor to the Great Western Kingdom, and had to choose to use Zhang Xianzhong's head as a bargaining chip to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, there were many people facing similar choices, such as Hao Shaoqi, who retreated to Zhongxiang, and Zheng Sen, who retreated to Huangzhou.

Hao Shaoqi himself betrayed Dashun and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, so he was naturally not a loyal courtier, and the identity of this traitor also made him quite suspicious in the Ming court. However, if there is no accident, Hao Shaoqi still wants to have a beginning and an end, and is unwilling to betray it a second time. If you betray many times, you will really become a capricious villain! That was what Hao Shaoqi was unwilling to do.

Therefore, when the Shunxi coalition army joined forces to go out of Sichuan, when Jingzhou lost the Huguang governor He Tengjiao's more than 100,000 troops were annihilated, Hao Shaoqi did not choose to surrender to the Shunxi coalition army, but retreated to Zhongxiang with the remnants of the Han River.

However, when the Great Western Army attacked the city and plundered the land and quickly occupied Huguang Jiangxi, Hao Shaoqi was confused and had the idea of using troops to defend himself, after all, for a general like him, the strength in his hand was the capital to gain a foothold.

And as Chen Yue regained control of the Ming Dynasty's military power, and Zhang Xianzhong, who was approaching Jiujiang to attack Jiangxi, Hao Shaoqi was greatly encouraged and happily obeyed the order to lead the army to Hanyang to threaten Zhang Dingguo in Wuchang.

However, the sudden betrayal of the friendly Zheng Sen Department caused Hao Shaoqi's troops to suffer a lot of losses, so that he had to lead his troops to retreat. The internal strife of the Ming army also enabled Zhang Dingguo to lead his troops to highlight Wuchang and march towards Jiujiang, and the situation in Jiujiang was precarious.

Zhang Dingguo was a cunning man, and before leading the army to leave Wuchang, he sent someone to send a letter to Hao Shaoqi, persuading Hao Shaoqi to re-raise the anti-flag and defect to Daxi, and said that he would persuade Zhang Xianzhong to also make Hao Shaoqi the Marquis of any province as an envoy.

On Zhang Dingguo's letter, Hao Shaoqi's subordinate generals discussed endlessly, and persuaded Hao Shaoqi to betray the Ming Dynasty, saying that Jiujiang is in danger at present, and if Jiujiang falls and Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, is defeated, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed at the hands of Daxi.

Hao Shaoqi was very hesitant and undecided, he instinctively thought that the situation in the Ming Dynasty was not good, but for some reason he had a glimmer of hope for Chen Yue, perhaps it was Chen Yue's previous achievements that made Hao Shaoqi instinctively think that Chen Yue could not fail easily.

Chen Yue is undefeated, there is still hope for the Ming Dynasty, and Hao Shaoqi cannot make up his mind to betray the Ming Dynasty. So he was waiting, waiting for the news of the battle in Jiujiang.

And the news came back to Hao Shaoqi shocked and secretly rejoiced, glad that he didn't make a choice easily.

Who would have thought that before Zhang Dingguo led the army to Jiujiang, Chen Yue had already killed Zhang Xianzhong and was defeated, and even spread the news that Zhang Xianzhong had died in battle.

That's Zhang Xianzhong, the king of Daxi who has 500,000 troops! And so it was defeated! is worthy of the invincible Chen Yue, and worthy of being the first general of the Ming Dynasty!

After the news was transmitted back to Zhong Xiang, Hao Shaoqi immediately summoned the generals and began to deploy the battle plan of sending troops to attack Wuchang. Zhang Dingguo led a large army to attack Jiujiang, but left the general Bai Wenxuan to garrison Wuchang to guard the back road. Now that Zhang Xianzhong has failed, it is time for Hao Shaoqi to take the opportunity to show his loyalty.

"General, we only have 30,000 troops, and there are only 200 ships, and they are all small boats, so it may be very difficult to defeat Wuchang." His subordinate Lu Dayou persuaded.

"It's not so difficult, it's impossible. Bai Wenxuan can also be regarded as a strong general in the Western Army, with more than 20,000 troops in his hands, and he is defending the river, I am afraid that it will be difficult for us to cross the Yangtze River safely. But there is no way, now that Qi Guogong has won a big victory, he will inevitably be held accountable for the crime of letting Zhang Dingguo go to Jiujiang without permission, at this time we have to let Qi Guogong know that our army is still loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Hao Shaoqi sighed.

"It was not our fault for letting Zhang Dingguo go to Jiujiang, it was the Zheng Senjun who brazenly sent troops to attack us, so we had to retreat." Lu Dayou said indignantly.

"Don't fucking complain, you haven't followed Lao Tzu in the Xishan Army, and you don't know the temper of Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, he can't rub sand in his eyes!" Hao Shaoqi reprimanded.

Under the supervision of Hao Shaoqi, on the day he received the news of the victory in Jiujiang, Hao Shaoqi decisively ordered to send troops, and 30,000 troops poured out, descending from Zhongxiang along the Han River and marching towards Hanyang.

However, as soon as the army arrived in Hanyang, it was discovered that Zheng's army had also returned from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Hao Shaoqi immediately ordered the whole army to be on alert and defend downstream.

However, to Hao Shaoqi's surprise, Zheng Jiajun did not attack them, and Zheng Sen, the governor of Xiangyang, personally crossed the river in a small boat to meet Hao Shaoqi.

"Governor Zheng is so bold, he dares to come in person, aren't you afraid that I will detain or kill you?" Hao Shaoqi asked with a sneer.

A few days ago, our army had to report that an envoy from the Western Army of Wuchang entered General Hao's camp, mistakenly thinking that General Hao was going to betray the Ming Dynasty, for fear of being attacked by your army and the Western Army on both sides, so he killed the envoy you sent and retreated to Huangzhou.

Now it seems that you have misunderstood you, general, if you really betrayed the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to stand still these days. Therefore, Zheng Mou specially came to apologize to the general, and invited the general to cooperate with Zheng again to attack Wuchang together, capture Wuchang and cut off the back road of Zhang Thief Dingguo! ”

Zheng Sen sincerely clenched his fists and apologized to Hao Shaoqi, and issued an invitation to join forces.

"Said that Lao Tzu wanted to betray the Ming Dynasty, I think your Zheng family is going to betray the Ming Dynasty, so when our army and the Western army were fighting, they retreated without authorization, and killed the envoy of our army. Now that you are talking about a misunderstanding, do you want to erase the past just by virtue of your fluttering apology? ”

Hao Shaoqi was noncommittal about the invitation to join forces, but asked with a sneer. Just an apology to erase the past is a thought! I, Hao Shaoqi, will never be bullied.

"As the governor of Xiangyang, this official crossed the river alone to make amends to General Hao, which is enough to explain my city," Zheng Sen straightened up and said coldly, "As for the past grievances, we can be dealt with by the Duke of Qi and the imperial court, and the top priority now is to capture Wuchang, cut off the back road of Zhang Dingguo's army, and cooperate with the army of Qi Guogong in Jiujiang to completely leave Zhang Dingguo." If the fighter plane is lost because of General Hao's non-cooperation, I am afraid that you and I will be even more guilty at that time! ”

Hao Shaoqi stared coldly at Zheng Sen's glasses, and said half-loudly, "Okay, Lao Tzu will believe in you again, first put aside the previous grievances and win the battle in front of you!" ”

......

"Da Mu, did Hao Shaoqi's guy agree to march together?"

As soon as Zheng Sen returned to the camp, Zheng Hongkui asked impatiently.

Zheng Sen glanced at Zheng Hongkui lightly, did not speak, just nodded slightly.

"I'll just say, Hao Shaoqi is just a reckless man, and it's easy to convince. As long as our two families can jointly send troops to defeat Wuchang, we can prevaricate the past, and our two families have reconciled, and Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, can no longer ask us for guilt. Zheng Hongkui rubbed his hands and said happily.

"Hao Shaoqi is not a reckless man, he is quite resourceful in his heart, and this time it is not that I persuaded him, but that people have already planned to send troops to Wuchang. Looking at the situation and distinguishing the limelight, Hao Shaoqi is no worse than us! Zheng Sen said lightly.

"No matter how you are, you are just a brave man, you have no foundation in Daming, how can you compare with our Zheng family!" Zheng Hongkui said with a smile disapprovingly.

"Hmph, if the Zheng family can't be united, they will also use shameless means against their own people, although the Zheng family is big, it is not far from home!"

Looking at Zheng Hongkui's grinning appearance, Zheng Sen couldn't help but stab.

Zheng Hongkui's face stiffened with a smile, "Da Mu, are you still jealous of your uncle for putting you under house arrest?" It's not that your uncle wants to do that, it's that your father ordered your uncle to do that, and your uncle can't do anything about it! ”

"Those who are sons of men should be filial, those who are courtiers should be loyal, and those who are subordinates should be responsible! I am the governor of the Ming Dynasty, second uncle, you are the chief soldier of the Ming Dynasty, and we are sending troops abroad for state affairs, how can we damage state affairs with the private interests of the Zheng family?

Yu Private, you are my uncle, Yu Gong, I am the governor and the supreme commander of this army, and you are my subordinate. How could a subordinate drug a manager and put him under house arrest? ”

Although Zheng Sen's tone was flat, he pointed out that Zheng Hongkui committed crimes without distinguishing between public and private, which suddenly made Zheng Hongkui's face a little unbearable.

"Things have been done, do you want the court to confess my Zheng family's conspiracy and hand over your uncle to the court for disposal? If you can really be ruthless, then it is up to you, your uncle and I are standing here, whether it is to kill or scrape at your own convenience, you will be your selfless and righteous murderer! ”

After Zheng Hongkui finished speaking, he snorted and threw away. Looking at Zheng Hongkui's back, Zheng Sen could only shake his head and sigh.

"Governor!" The generals Guo Ting and Liao Jing walked into the big tent and saluted Zheng Sen with crossed hands.

"Guo Ting, you are the vanguard, lead a hundred sea ships as the vanguard, and launch a strong attack on the Wuchang thief army camp early tomorrow morning. Liao Jing, you command the Ruishi battalion as the Chinese army, attack with me, and be ready to support Guo Ting at any time. ”

Zheng Sen commanded directly.

"Yes!" Guo Ting Ling listened to the order, but Liao Jing was a little hesitant.

"Governor, Rui Shi Battalion, Rui Shi Battalion is not directly commanded by Zheng Zongbing?" Liao Jing said Ai Ai.

The Rui Shi Battalion is the elite of the Zheng family, although the number is only 3,000 people, but there are 800 iron soldiers, wearing thick iron armor all over the body, all of them are extremely powerful warriors, and they have always been the elite of the Zheng family, led directly by Zheng Hongkui. Zheng Sen's move is tantamount to depriving Zheng Hongkui of the command of the Ruishi battalion, thinking about Zheng Sen's sudden "serious illness" a few days ago, Liao Jing and Guo Ting vaguely guessed something.

"My uncle is not feeling well these days, and he is not suitable to lead troops into battle again, so be it." Zheng Sen said lightly, unwilling to explain.

......

Early the next morning, following Zheng Sen's order, Guo Ting took a hundred warships out of the water camp and attacked the Western Army Water Village on the other side of the river.

The cannon roared and the guns sounded, and the Zhengjia Water Division launched a fierce attack on the water village of the Western Army.

At the same time, the fleet of Hao Shaoqi's army began to cross the river with Hao soldiers.

The Zheng family's naval army contained the Western Army's naval division, and Hao Shaoqi took the opportunity to lead his troops across the river to besiege Wuchang City, which was the battle plan discussed by Zheng Sen and Hao Shaoqi.

The Zhengjia Naval Division is extremely powerful, although there are three or four hundred warships in the Western Army Water Village, they are all small ships, and the big ships were all taken to Jiujiang by Zhang Dingguo. In the face of the Zheng family's huge war ship attack, the Western Army's naval division did not dare to meet the enemy at all, and could only rely on the walled wall to barely defend it, and naturally could not take into account Hao's army's crossing of the river.

In the Zheng family water division, there is no lack of two-masted and three-masted sea ships, loaded with a lot of cannons, under the bombardment of the cannons, the wall of the water village was smashed after an hour, and the Zheng family army took a small boat to kill the water village of the Western Army.

In this case, the Western Army was no longer able to defend, so it could only choose to abandon the water village and flee into Wuchang City.

Zheng Sen led the Ruishi battalion across the Yangtze River, and Hao Shaoqi's army surrounded Wuchang in the south and north, and the Zheng family's sailors were still cruising in the Yangtze River, and Wuchang's western army was already isolated.

Wuchang Mansion, listening to the successive reports of his subordinates, Bai Wenxuan frowned.

Zhang Dingguo led his troops to attack Jiujiang, leaving Bai Wenxuan to guard the back road, saying that Hao Shaoqi Zheng Sen's army had evacuated Hanyang due to internal strife, and Wuchang was not in any danger, so he only left him with less than 20,000 troops.

Who knew that a few days later, Hao Shaoqi and Zheng Sen suddenly attacked together. With Bai Wen's players, how can these people be the opponents of the Ming army? After a little resistance, the water camp was broken by the Zheng family's water division, and the remnants fled into the city. Now the two Ming armies went ashore from the north and south of Wuchang respectively, attacking from both sides, and Bai Wenxuan didn't know how to deal with it, so he could only choose to defend it.

"Report, a letter shot up from outside the North City!" Suddenly, another subordinate ran in, reporting in a panic.

Bai Wen took out the unsealed letter and glanced at it, and immediately understood why his subordinates were so panicked.

This is a letter of persuasion from Hao Shaoqi to shoot up, telling Bai Wenxuan the news of Zhang Xianzhong's defeat and death in Jiujiang, and asking Bai Wenxuan to quickly open the city and surrender.

"The army was defeated, His Majesty died, no, this is not true, it is a trick of the Ming army!" Bai Wenxuan gritted his teeth and said, but the panic had begun to spread in the city.

Because of the asymmetry of the news, the news of Zhang Xianzhong's defeat had not yet reached Wuchang, and even Zhang Dingguo's army had not sent back news for several days, and Bai Wenxuan did not know anything about the battle situation on the front line.

"General, regardless of whether the news is true or not, the morale of our army is already low. The Ming army is attacking from two directions, and if Yinxi is attacked from Yuezhou with the army, we will really have no way to escape.

While the Ming army was besieging the city and not besieging it, let's quickly withdraw from the West Gate and go to meet General Anxi. As long as we meet General Anxi, we still have hundreds of thousands of troops, and we will not be afraid of anything at that time! Aribu General advised.

After Bai Wenxuan thought about it carefully, he thought so, so he led his troops to evacuate Wuchang from the West Gate day and night, and went to Jiujiang by land, to join Zhang Dingguo's army.

Hao Shaoqi, who had been prepared for a long time, sent troops to attack Wuchang at night and successfully occupied Wuchang City.