Zhu Shunming sent scouts to find out the details of the Liukou.

The rogues who attacked Jingshan County were the bandits such as Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying of the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo, and it was Zhang Xianzhong's troops who attacked Yunmeng County. There is no news of Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng.

But the number of rogues exceeded Zhu Shunming's expectations.

Even if he was driven out of Yunyang by Lu Xiangsheng, there were still more than 100,000 Liukou, and most of them were strong men.

Such a huge destructive force is wreaking havoc in the hinterland of Huguang, and it is scary to think about it.

………………

In addition to Zhang Pan's ghost, the army brought by Zhu Shunming to Wuchang also included Liu Wenxiu's former Changsha Wei, Shi Xuanwei's sailors and Peng Canglang's sailors and marines, totaling more than 5,000 people.

The arrival of Zhu Shunming and his army greatly stabilized the hearts of the people in Wuchang City. Wuchang City abandoned martial law, the city gates were opened, and the normal order of life in the city was gradually restored.

Zhu Shunming was not in a hurry to go out of the city and fight fiercely with the rogue. He did not have great feelings and ethics for the country and the people in his heart, but kept making his own small calculations.

As early as when he took control of Changsha, Zhu Shunming had driven the mob to clear the landlords and bureaucrats who were blocking his path.

Now in the face of a scavenger like Liukou, Zhu Shunming will certainly not miss it. First of all, let the Liukou plunder in the lake for a period of time, and clean up the local landlord and bureaucratic families for themselves, so that they can implement the new policy after entering these places.

Zhu Shunming's official rank is the general army of Huguang, and he is subordinate to the command of Huguangdu. However, Deng Zuyu, the commander of the capital, died, and before the imperial court had time to appoint a new commander, Zhu Shunming honestly and unceremoniously took over the rights of the commander and began to lay out in Huguang.

Liu Wenxiu's original Changsha Wei was changed to Wuchang Wei and Wuchang Zuowei; Zhang Pan's ghost shadow was expanded to Hanyangwei; The newly established Huangzhou Wei, with Li Ke in the ghost shadow serving as the commander of the guard; Shi Xuanwei's sailors were expanded into Wuchang Sailors and Huangzhou Sailors.

Of course, Zhu Shunming's strength is still less than the previous one, but the structure of the army has been drawn up first, and military commanders at all levels have been appointed one after another, and as soon as there are suitable soldiers to fill it, the strength of the army can be multiplied immediately.

………………

When Zhu Shunming was busy expanding the army in Wuchang, the liukou north of Wuchang were not idle.

The 5th Battalion of the Left Wing captured Jingshan County and plundered the county seat, and the momentum was great.

The fifth battalion of the left side of the revolution coerced a large number of displaced people, and marched towards Zhongxiang County, the government of Chengtianfu.

Wang Yangji, the prefect of Chengtian, was so frightened that he kept asking for help from Wuchang and Yunyang, and was ready to flee at any time.

Who knew that the 5th Battalion of the Left Wing of the Revolution shook a shot at Zhongxiang, leaving untrained homeless people to scare Wang Yankee. The main force of soldiers and horses bypassed Zhong Xiang, went north to Yicheng, and took Yicheng in one fell swoop, and the soldiers pointed directly at Xiangyang.

It seems that Lao Huihui and others of the Fifth Battalion of the Revolution were a little unconvinced by the loss to Lu Xiangsheng, and went south and west for a big circle, and finally went north to Xiangyang and caught Lu Xiangsheng off guard.

Originally, Zuo Liangyu was stationed in Xiangyang and had strong troops. However, Lu Xiangsheng transferred Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and horses to the Yunyang Mountains, and Xiangyang City was empty for a while.

Tang Xianyue, the prefect of Xiangyang, was very dissatisfied with Lu Xiangsheng, who had monopoly power.

Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, hated Lu Xiangsheng, who was a little domineering. The rogue soldiers are pointing directly at Xiangyang, but there are no soldiers in Xiangyang City, how can this be good?

………………

Zhang Xianzhong's troops did not take Yunmeng County.

Zhang's attack on Yunmeng County came to a halt, and then Zhang Bu spread out in Huangzhou, plundering the countryside, attacking the stockades of the landlords and gentry, burning down the houses of the peasants, and coercing the peasants to join the ranks of the rogues.

Zhu Shunming saw a hint of strangeness in Zhang Bu's flow.

"Zhang Xianzhong wants to attack Jiangxia County (Wuchang Prefecture)." Zhu Shunming pointed to the map and said: "The Zhang Department is scattered and impermanent, except for looting property, they are constantly moving closer to Wuchang. ”

The 5th Battalion of the Left Wing of the Revolution went north to attack Xiangyang, and Fang Kongzhi was not in a hurry at all.

Although Xiangyang Mansion is under the jurisdiction of the Huguang Chengxuan Political Envoy Division, it is also under the jurisdiction of the Yunyang Governor. Encountering the powerful Lu Xiangsheng, Fang Kongzhi had to give in and cede the management of Xiangyang to Lu Xiangsheng.

With rights comes a natural need to take responsibility. Lu Xiangsheng transferred the soldiers and horses of Xiangyang away, and let the Liukou go south. In case something goes wrong, Governor Lu will bear it.

However, Zhang Bu plundered Huangzhou, and Fang Kongzhi, as the governor, had to urge Zhu Shunming to send troops to drive the Liukou out of Huguang as soon as possible.

Zhu Shunming saw through the flow trajectory of Zhang Xianzhong's department that Zhang Xianzhong was playing a big move, not as simple as robbing a few rich people in the countryside.

"Zhang Xianzhong's number one general, Sun Kewang, appeared in Huangpi County, Ai Nengqi appeared in Yangluo Town, and Bai Wenxuan appeared in Tuanfeng Town." Zhu Shunming said: "The three of them can enter Wuchang along the waterway. ”

"General Zhang Xianzhong appeared east of Wuchang, but Zhang Xianzhong himself was nowhere to be seen." Zhu Shunming raised his head and pondered: "If Zhang Xianzhong leads the soldiers and horses of his headquarters to hide under Yingcheng Township, he can go down the Han River and appear directly outside Wuchang City." ”

"Let's go out of the city now, looking for traces of the Liukou, but the army of Liukou suddenly appeared under the city of Wuchang." Zhu Shunming said with a smile: "My lord, even if the Huangzhou Mansion is all destroyed, as long as Wuchang is not lost, the position of the adult will be safe." If Wuchang falls...... Even if Zhang Xianzhong is killed, the adult will not be able to escape the blame. ”

Fang Kongzhi was born as a scholar, and he is a master of science, Wen Tao is good, and Wu Lu is also good. As soon as Zhu Shunming pointed out, Fang Kongzhi immediately understood the pros and cons of sending troops and not sending troops.

As long as you hold Wuchang Mansion, you will be invincible. As for killing the Liukou or driving them out of Huguang, it is not the main responsibility of himself, the governor of Huguang.

Chen Qiyu, the governor of the five provinces, commanded the soldiers and horses of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan, and was responsible for exterminating the Liukou; Yunyang Governor Lu Xiangsheng took office in the firing line, with the aim of eliminating the homeless people entrenched in the Yunyang Mountains.

There are two full-time powers to deal with the rogues in front, and as long as Fang Kongzhi holds Wuchang, it is enough to deal with the difficulties of the imperial court.

Zhu Shunming saw that Fang Kongzhi accepted his suggestion, and continued: "My lord, the Ming Dynasty is full of smoke, and there are too many people who have nothing to eat. How much power we have to do a lot of things. If Zhang Xianzhong comes to attack Wuchang, let's give him a profound lesson. If the rogues don't come, let's bury our heads in development and accumulate strength. ”

………………

Zhang Xianzhong is less than thirty years old, tall and thin, with yellow faces and high cheeks, and a fierce appearance.

He came out of the landlord's boudoir, still dissatisfied, and his face was gloomy.

"How are the ships collected?" Zhang Xianzhong asked.

"All the large and small ships along the Hanshui have been collected, and there are more than 1,000 ships, enough to transport 50,000 troops." Xu Yixian replied, "But...... The water level of the Han River is low, and it may be difficult to carry large boats. ”

Zhang Xianzhong showed a mysterious smile and said, "Tell the army to get ready, let's surprise attack Wuchang Mansion on a rainy day." ”