In August of the second year of Jingkang, Zhu Xing, who fled from Yingtian to Xuzhou, plundered Xuzhou in Liu Fu, Zhuyou, and Zhang Yuan. For a time, Xuzhou was bloody and bloody, and countless villagers were ruined, so they could only flee to other places. Dangshan and other places in Fengxian County, which are close to the south of Yingtian, are even more empty, and villagers have fled to Xiayi, Yongcheng and other places for refuge.

Guarding Xiayi City was Zhao Hong, the deputy commander of the cavalry of the Protector Army, and the sharpshooter. After quelling Wang Shan's rebellion, Yue Fei separated the Protector Army and guarded the border. Zhao Hong led a thousand cavalry to defend Xiayi, Wang Gui led a 5,000-foot army to guard Sui County, and Yue turned to lead a 3,000-foot army to defend Ningling.

All parts of the country have been receiving refugees in an orderly manner. Now that a large number of refugees are pouring into the south of Yingtian, Zhao Hong did not dare to slack off, and sent someone to respond to Yue Fei's report.

After Yue Fei got the report, he immediately discussed with Zhang Xian, Huang Zong, Li Bashao and others to see whether to send troops into Xuzhou. Huang Zong and Zhang Xian strongly advocated sending troops. Li Bashao thought that it was necessary to be cautious, after all, the Protector Army was a local regimental training in Yingtianfu, and its actions in Yingtianfu could be said to be the autonomy of the villagers. Bianliang stayed in Zong Ze and could still open one eye and close one eye. If the front of the army expands outward, it will be tantamount to rebellion. The imperial court will definitely send Zong Ze to lead a large army to suppress it.

Huang Zong flicked the sleeves of his robe and said loudly, "Pengju, the rebellion in Xuzhou must not be uneven. Zhu Xing in Liu Fu, Zhu You, and Zhang Yuan all have enmity with the Protector Army, once they are allowed to sack Xuzhou and increase their troops, they will definitely send troops north. We have to strike first. We can't let the people of Xiayi and Yongcheng be robbed again. ”

Li Bashao actually agreed to send troops to Xuzhou in his heart. It's just that he thinks he must find a reason to send troops that can be put on the table. Now that Yue Fei has become his quasi-son-in-law, he doesn't want Yue Fei to be labeled a traitor by the imperial court.

Li Bashao looked at Huang Zong and said, "But what reason do we have to send troops to Xuzhou?" Although the imperial court is now too busy to take care of itself, it will not ignore the Xuzhou rebellion. After all, Xuzhou is the waist eye of the eastern part of the Great Song Dynasty and the throat of the north and south. In my opinion, the imperial court is about to send a large army to Xuzhou to quell the rebellion. If we send troops to Xuzhou and meet the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, what should we do? ”

Seeing that Li Bashao seemed to be afraid of the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, Zhang Xian was secretly angry, and couldn't help but say loudly, "Old Li is too cautious. If we really meet the soldiers and horses of the imperial court in Xuzhou, then we will do our own thing. The two do not offend each other. Otherwise, we will meet each other. Our Protector Army is not afraid of war. ”

Yue Fei waved his hand to stop Zhang Xian's words, and said slowly, "Elder Li's caution is reasonable. We have to be famous. Especially in a world-important town like Xuzhou. If we send troops to take Xuzhou, it will be a tear with the imperial court. Once we tear our faces with the imperial court, our Protector Army will not want to go north to fight the Golden Dog in winter. Because the imperial court will definitely send people to destroy us. So, we have to be cautious. ”

Zhang Xian hurriedly said, "Brother Yue, can we let Zhu Xing and Liu Fu and other thieves harm the people under our noses?" ”

Yue Fei glanced at Zhang Xian and laughed loudly, "Of course not." But we have to find a reason to send troops. Since it is impossible for the imperial court to issue an order to give us this small place to practice, we can only ask the local gentry in Xuzhou to come forward. ”

Huang Zong's and Li Bashao's eyes lit up, and they immediately understood Yue Fei's plan. Yue Fei's idea was very simple, that is, to copy the strategy of expanding the army of the people in Yingtian. Let the local gentry of Xuzhou come forward and ask the Protector Army to go south. In that way, both the division and the garrison are famous.

However, Yue Fei didn't have the confidence to eat the entire Xuzhou now. In Yue Fei's plan, the direction of the Protector Army's development was always in the north rather than the south. After all, there are golden dogs in the north, but the south is full of Song people. He didn't set up the Protectorate to kill each other. But because of the recent shortage of coal and pig iron in the armory, it is necessary to find a self-sufficient place for the armory. Yingtian is located in the plain, minerals are scarce, can not be imagined, can only from Xuzhou to make an idea.

Xuzhou has coal, iron, and salt, and it can be said that it has all the conditions for raising an army. Therefore, Yue Fei will definitely not let Zhu Xing destroy Xuzhou in Liu Fu. After several people discussed and decided, Yue Fei decided to personally lead his troops to attack Xuzhou.

Xuzhou is located in the border area of Sulu, Henan and Anhui provinces, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through the north and south, and is the most important transportation hub north of the Yangtze River. Hug Qilu in the north, control Jianghuai in the south, Haiyan in the east, and Henan and Qin in the west, known as the "thoroughfare of the five provinces", and was once called the "key to the north" and "the important town of the south" by the famous generals of the previous dynasty.

Although Xuzhou is located in the Huanghuai Plain, but because the Lunan Mountains extend here, the territory is full of low hills and mountains, plus Surabaya, Bianshui, Mushui, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and other rivers flow through the urban area, showing a situation of mountains and rivers around the water, easy to defend and difficult to attack, it can be said that a man is a pass, ten thousand people do not open!

Zhu Xing had more than 20,000 soldiers and horses under the command of Liu Fu, Zhuyou and Zhang Yuan, plus the coerced people, known as an army of 100,000. But Yue Fei didn't take these four people seriously at all. In his opinion, these four people are guest soldiers, but they blindly poison the local villagers. Although the villagers can't do anything about them, as long as a large army comes to destroy them, the villagers will definitely respond.

Under the guidance of the Xuzhou squires who fled to Yingtian, Yue Fei led 5,000 infantry troops and 3,000 cavalry troops to Xuzhou.

Zhu Xingzai couldn't help but be furious when he heard that Yue Fei led the Protector Army to exterminate them. Zhu Xing was sitting in the lobby of Xuzhou Mansion and said to Liu Fu, "Brother Liu Xian, Yue Fei is too deceitful. He is a mud leg in Xiangzhou, and he is not satisfied with the rich Yingtian, and he even wants to attack Xuzhou. This guy clearly wants to kill everything and not let us have a foothold. If we don't want to be a lost dog again, we can only fight Yue Fei again. Is Brother Xian confident? ”

Liu Fu remembered the last time he fought Yue Fei in Yingtian City, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva. At that time, they had an allied army of 20,000 and besieged Yue Fei with 2,000 men and horses, with a ratio of ten to one, but they were killed by Yue Fei. Even the commander Sang Zhong was captured and beheaded by a young general surnamed Zhang. More than a month has passed, and Liu Fu still has lingering palpitations when he thinks of the battle that day. So in the face of Zhu Xingzai's questioning, Liu Fu said hesitantly, "Brother Zhu, Yue Fei is brave, we must think long-term." ”

Zhu Xingzai looked at Liu Fu with contempt, and said in his heart that he would think about it in the long run, and he would think about it. Your kid was obviously killed by Yue Fei. Of course, this will certainly not be said directly. Zhu Xingzai and Liu Fu are both commanders under the command of the marshal Liu Guangshi. Because it is not Liu Guang's lineage. was thrown by Liu Guangshi in Yingtian that day. In the battle with the Protector Army, Liu Fu's troops suffered too much losses, and Zhu Xingzai took the opportunity to merge the men and horses who controlled Sang Zhong under his command, so after arriving in Xuzhou, the two people who were originally equal were separated. Although Zhu Xingzai is still commensurate with Liu Fu's brother on the surface, he has long regarded him as a subordinate. Liu Fu also knew how to advance and retreat, and willingly admitted Zhu Xingzai's leadership.

Zhu Xingzai let out a long laugh, looked at Liu Fu with a smile and said, "Brother Liu Xian doesn't have to worry. In my opinion, Yue Fei is no match for his bravery. The reason why we were defeated by him in Yingtian was only because we were too underestimated. Now we have 100,000 soldiers and 100 generals, are we still afraid of a mud leg? ”

Speaking of this, suddenly his voice was cold, "Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan take the order!" I ordered the two of you to lead an army of 50,000 to the north to Dangshan to meet Yue Fei. Once Yue Fei is defeated, I will allow you to enter the territory of Yingtian. The two generals, now almost all the rich people in the Central Plains are about to run to Yingtianfu, as long as they can take one or two county seats, the gold and silver seas are ours. ”

Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan each scolded in their hearts, "****." "But he could only helplessly clench his fists and respond," Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan ordered. ”

Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan led the troops out of the lobby of Xuzhou Mansion, and Zhu You, who was standing next to him, asked in a low voice, "Big brother, do you think the two of them can stop the Protector Army?" ”

Zhu Xingzai sneered, "Even the Golden Sword Wang Shan can't stop Yue Fei, and Liu Fu is even more free." The role of these two people is only to act as meat shields for us. Brother, you quickly led your troops to arrest all the landlords and old fortunes in Xuzhou City, regardless of whether they surrendered to us or not, they all arrested. After the money was tortured, we immediately led our troops south and crossed the Yangtze River to join the marshal Liu Guangshi. This Xuzhou can't stay. We have to leave as soon as possible. In my opinion, Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan can block Yue Fei for three days. ”

When Zhu You heard that Zhu Xing was ordering him to torture the rich people in the city, his eyes suddenly became bright. He knew he was going to get rich. All the gold, silver and jewelry in the entire Xuzhou City have been collected, and it is estimated that there are at least hundreds of thousands of taels. However, this kid is used to being a horse thief with Wang Shan, and he is still a little dissatisfied in his heart, so he asked tentatively, "Big brother, since we can't hold Xuzhou." Why don't you come to the whole city? Speaking of this, Zhu You stopped and just made a gesture with his hand to wipe his neck.

Zhu Xingzai immediately understood that his cousin was going to slaughter the city. Hurriedly stopped, "No." We didn't go south to be our own boss, but we still had to invest in Zhao Songmen. If we plunder, the emperor will not care. But if we slaughter the city, especially a big city like Xuzhou, the emperor will definitely not let us go. Marshal Liu Guangshi will not take us in. What's more, if we anger this mud leg surnamed Yue and chase after us, it is estimated that our brother will die in Xuzhou. ”

Not to mention that the Zhu brothers "fought local tyrants and killed inferior gentry" in Xuzhou, just said that Liu Fu and Zhang Yuan led the so-called 50,000 troops north to meet Yue Fei. Along the way, the two of them scolded and cursed, and kept cursing the Zhu brothers for not dying well.

Liu Fu said indignantly, "Zhu Xing is this bastard, if it weren't for Lao Tzu blocking Yue Fei's soldiers in Yingtian, his kid would have hung up a long time ago." It's good now, I pushed Lao Tzu out as a meat shield again, and I really regret saving him as a bastard. ”

Zhang Yuan agreed, "His cousin Zhuyou is not a good thing. He and I have been brothers for more than ten years. Unexpectedly, when I came to Xuzhou, he kicked me away. Now I'm going to be a substitute for the dead. I understand that it was because I didn't give him my cavalry. ”

Liu Fu glanced at the more than 2,000 cavalry running in front of the team, and asked a little worriedly, "Brother Zhang, you just fought with Yue Fei not long ago, how long do you think our 50,000 army can stop Yue Fei?" ”

Zhang Yuan shook his head, pointed to the infantry behind him, and said dejectedly, "General Liu, just with us soldiers who can't even compare to horse bandits, if we fight with Yue Fei in the field, we can't stop it for a day, and the whole army will collapse." If you defend the city, there is still a possibility of a tie with Yue Fei. ”

Liu Fu nodded, agreeing with Zhang Yuan's statement. Of the 50,000 troops sent by Zhu Xingzai, except for seven or eight thousand veterans who had been in battle for a long time, the rest were mostly villagers who had been coerced. All of them were ragged and incomplete, and they simply did not dare to count on such an army in the field.

Seeing that Liu Fu's face was a little ugly, Zhang Yuan asked tentatively, "General Liu, since we know that we will be defeated, why do we have to fight to the death with Yue Fei?" It's better to surrender. ”

Liu Fuha laughed, "Brother Zhang thought I would work hard for that Zhu Xing?" But even if it is surrender, we must first fight with the surname Yue. If you can fight, you can surrender. If we go up and surrender without firing a single shot, he will definitely not pay attention to us. We must resist for a few days first, so that the surname Yue has a headache, and then it is not too late to surrender. ”

Zhang Yuan felt that Liu Fu was reasonable. If you want to be reused by Yue Fei after surrendering, you must make Yue Fei realize their value. Otherwise, based on the sins they committed, even if Yue Fei didn't kill them, he would have to be an honest rich man.