If the fathers and elders of Xuzhou before the war still had a little doubt about the strength of the Protector Army, then when they saw the invincible Imperial Cavalry fleeing, they completely fell to the Protector Army.

Of course, businessmen have a natural fear of soldiers, and they still don't dare to let these Xuzhou families negotiate terms with the Protector Army. So they targeted Li Bashao, who had just entered the city.

Li Bashao did not come to Xuzhou alone. Instead, he came to Xuzhou with a large number of Yingtian merchants. Since Huang Zong and Yue Fei both wanted to take Xuzhou in order to find a base for the Protector Army that could attack and defend, Li Bashao decided to use the power of commerce to tightly bind the merchants of the two places together by profit. Li Bashao knows the psychology of these big families. They may also preach morality, but more often than not, they put profit first. The Protector Army can use good military discipline to win the hearts of the people of Xuzhou, but if they want to gain the support of these families in Xuzhou, it is not enough to return the gold, silver and jewelry to their homes, but also let them see the prospects for development.

Li Bashao originally arrived in Dangshan with Yue Fei and Zhang Xian, because he wanted to appease the Dangshan gentry, Li Bashao stayed for a day, and then rode a fast horse to Xuzhou. When he entered Xuzhou City, Li Bashao's face was very bad, after all, he was an old man in his sixties, and it was difficult to recover from a long journey.

But Li Bashao still showed twelve points of enthusiasm, and had a long talk about cooperation with the big businessmen and gentry in Xuzhou that night. As a result, early the next morning, the people of Xuzhou City learned a good news. At the strong invitation of the gentry of Xuzhou, the Protector Army will be stationed in Xuzhou in the future to protect the people of Xuzhou.

Because the prefect and a cadre of officials were killed by Zhu Xingzai Liu Fu and others, Xuzhou City elected a representative prefect, Shi Buyu. This person was a jinshi who had served as a county magistrate on the southeast coast, and because he offended Zhu Mian, the king of the southeast, he was removed from his post and returned to his hometown.

He is also the outer brother of the Shi family of the Xuzhou family, and has a good reputation in Xuzhou City. Zhu Liu also invited this person to enter the curtain when he was in turmoil, but Shi Buyu decisively refused the invitation of the two, and as a result, he was imprisoned and almost tortured to death.

Shi Buyu already had no hope of survival. But he didn't expect that he was not only personally invited out of prison by Li Bashao and Yue Fei, but also elected him as the acting prefect of Xuzhou by the gentry of the people of Xuzhou.

Shi Buyu was immediately moved to tears, held Yue Fei's hand and said, "The one who knows is dead." I will never dare to fail the people of Xuzhou and the people's army. ”

Yue Fei said with a smile, "As long as Lord Shi lives up to the people of Xuzhou, he will live up to our people's army." ”

Shi Buyu didn't speak anymore, but just held Yue Fei's hand more tightly.

Just as Yue Fei was preparing to meet Zhang Jun's next wave of army, and Li Bashao was about to continue to negotiate business with the gentry of Xuzhou City, Zhang Jun, who led the army to Huaibei, changed the direction of his attack.

When the imperial cavalry fled to Huaibei, it happened that Zhang Jun and Liu Bao had just arrived. Looking at the 2,000 cavalry soldiers who had lost their armor, Zhang Jun thought that he was dazzled. It wasn't until the soldiers of the imperial camp who fled back knelt in front of Zhang Jun that Zhang Jun confirmed that his imperial cavalry army was defeated by the hands of the five thousand Yingtian regimental training. This made Zhang Jun, who was full of confidence and ready to suppress Xuzhou first and then destroy Yingtian, really helpless.

Since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, it has lost the land of horse breeding. So there is an urgent shortage of war horses. Although the imperial camp is a descendant of Zhao, each battalion only has 3,000 cavalry. At this moment, the imperial cavalry that fled to Pei County was only 2,000 people, that is, a third of the cavalry was lost in the first battle. How can this not make Zhang Jun's heart ache?

When the soldiers of the imperial camp said that Zhang Tiehammer was unable to fight Ji Qian first, and when the two armies charged, he was captured by Yue Fei and others, which couldn't help but make Zhang Jun have a trace of fear. Zhang Tiehammer has followed him for several years, and he has always been brave and unmatched, and he has never lived under the hammer. I didn't expect to be vulnerable in front of the Protectors.

Zhang Jun has never been a fearless warrior, and at this moment, seeing that the Protector Army was not as easy to deal with as he imagined, Zhu Xingzai and others were killed by the Protector Army again, and Zhang Jun suddenly lost interest in fighting.

Anyway, he knows his master too well. Fear of war has never been a crime. As long as everything goes according to the master's interests, it is to withdraw the army back to Jiankang at this moment, at most it will be fined for three months.

However, just when Zhang Jun retreated, the general Liu Bao gave Zhang Jun an idea.

Liu Bao pointed to the north and said, "My lord, at this moment, the elite of the Protector Army is all in Xuzhou, why don't we lead our troops to take Ying Tianfu directly?" According to my calculations, it is estimated that Ying Tianfu is extremely empty at this moment, as long as our 9,000 army attacks it, won't Ying Tianfu be captured? ”

Zhang Jun's eyes lit up, patted Liu Bao on the shoulder and said, "Surround Wei to save Zhao, it's a good idea!" Then he said in an uncertain tone, "But according to the information we received, there are fifteen thousand people in the Ying Tianfu regiment." Even if 5,000 come to Xuzhou, wouldn't there be 10,000 elite soldiers in Yingtianfu, which should not be underestimated. ”

Liu Bao said contemptuously, "What kind of team will a local regimental training envoy drill? I think he must have led the most elite army out in order to defeat Zhu Xingzai. It is estimated that the villagers who remained in Yingtian were all villagers with wooden sticks and hoes, and they were not able to deal a blow in the face of the thunderous wrath of the army of the adults. As long as we take Ying Tianfu, Yue Fei will return to the army in a hurry. At that time, I will personally lead a large army to intercept and kill this person on the road, and kill this person in one fell swoop. Isn't the rebellion in Xuzhou all peaceful by adults?"

Zhang Jun was impressed by Liu Bao's calculation, laughed, and swore to Liu Bao, "As long as I can take Yingtianfu, General Liu should be the first to take the credit." ”

Liu Bao hurriedly said, "Thanks to the courage of the Lord, we can achieve this miraculous feat." ”

The two of them had decided, and they really avoided Xuzhou and turned around and entered Yongcheng County, Yingtianfu. Although this move was unexpected, they underestimated Ying Tianfu's military strength. also underestimated the ability of the Yongcheng defenders.

Yongcheng County has 500 people guards, and the general who defends the city is named Kou Cheng, who is the leader of Jiqian Cottage. A big gun in his hand is also known as bravery. After the expansion of the Protector Army, he was promoted by Yue Fei to the head of the infantry and stationed in Yongcheng County.

Since serving as the head of the capital, Kou Cheng has been conscientious and conscientious, and he does not dare to slack off in the slightest. Catch thieves and chase criminals, and do it in an orderly manner. Within a month, the public order situation in Yongcheng County had greatly improved. On this day, Kou Cheng was leading dozens of cavalry troops to patrol outside the city, and suddenly saw smoke and dust rising from the south and the sound of horses' hooves.

Kou Cheng jumped onto his horse and stood on tiptoe to look at the incoming army. The big banner held high by the coming army is also vaguely written in Yue. But with just one glance, Kou Chengcheng's face changed greatly, and he quickly gave two orders, "Xu She, you take twenty brothers and quickly send a message to the nearby towns and villages to tell them that there is an enemy attacking." Let the villages and towns tighten their vigilance. Then you quickly rush to the sky and go to the rescue. The rest of the people, hurry back to the city with me, and prepare to meet the enemy. ”

As soon as the gates of Yongcheng County were closed, Liu Bao's 2,000 cavalry troops were killed under the city. But looking at the drawbridge and the densely packed defenders standing at the head of the city, Liu Bao couldn't help scratching his scalp.

When Zhang Tiehammer was still there, Liu Bao was not favored under Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun obviously prefers the stupid and black Zhang Tiehammer. If it weren't for Liu Bao's obvious command ability, he might not be able to achieve the position of infantry commander.

After Zhang Tiehammer was captured, Zhang Jun handed over the 2,000 cavalry troops who had fled back to Liu Bao's command. Liu Bao knew that this was Zhang Jun's face for his strange plan. But if he can't establish a miracle by himself, this deputy position of control will definitely not be long in coming.

Therefore, Liu Bao personally led 2,000 cavalry troops and quickly attacked Yongcheng County. In order to better confuse the defenders of Yongcheng, he also deliberately made a large banner with the word Yue written on it. But what he didn't expect was that Kou Cheng saw through his strategy, not only closed the city gate in time, but also sent soldiers to the villages of the four directions to report the news.

Liu Baole held his war horse and looked up at Kou Cheng at the head of the city. Kou Cheng is forty years old, but he has a wrinkled face and looks like an old man. Although the armor is pierced, it still can't get rid of the peasant appearance.

Liu Bao sighed, he didn't expect an old peasant-like figure to be so vigilant and make his surprise attack plan fail. The disadvantage of being a teacher suddenly made Liu Bao doubt his strategy. Looking at these soldiers with bright armor at the head of the city, you know that there are still elite soldiers left in Tianfu.

Liu Bao froze, pointed at Kou Cheng with a big knife, and shouted loudly, "Bold traitor, the imperial court has put down the rebellion army in the city, and you still don't open the door to surrender?" Stubborn resistance will only destroy the whole city. ”

Kou Cheng held the long green brick at the head of the city with his hand, and then carefully looked at the Yuezi flag held high by Liu Bao's army with his eyes, and suddenly laughed. laughed so much that Liu Baozhang and Er King Kong were confused.

After Kou Cheng laughed, he asked abruptly, "Is the general's surname Yue?" ”

Liu Bao didn't know why Kou Cheng asked like this, so he shook his head. There is a royal camp general fox fake tiger shouted, "Bold traitor, my general is Liu Bao, the deputy commander of the imperial camp, how can his surname be Yue?" ”

Kou Cheng sighed, as if he had just suddenly realized, "It turns out that you are trying to cheat the city." ”

Liu Bao asked, "How can you tell that we are not the Protectors?" Liu Bao really didn't understand this, because the cavalry was dusty when he galloped, and he couldn't see people's faces clearly when he was far away. When you can see the faces of the cavalry, it will be too late to close the city gates. But looking at the appearance of Yongcheng County, it is clear that preparations have been made in advance. So Liu Bao wanted to see where there was a flaw in his strategy.

Kou Cheng pointed to the place where Liu Bao's cavalry had walked, and the soybeans that were about to ripen were trampled to the ground. Kou Cheng said coldly, "Liu Bao, even though you are treacherous, you have forgotten the name of our army. We are the Protectors. Our army, whether cavalry or infantry, will never trample on the crops of the villagers. Those who practice a harvest will be chopped. And although your cavalry also walked on the road, most of them came from the vast bean fields, and they could not hide from me. ”

Liu Bao looked at the soldiers at the head of the city with strange eyes, and thought to himself, is there really such an army in the world that does not disturb the people? But looking at the soldiers standing at the head of the city, and the increasing number of people standing at the head of the city with weapons, Liu Bao knew that Kou Cheng was not lying. The Protector Army is indeed very popular with the people in Yingtian.

Liu Bao decided to try to persuade him to surrender again, he ordered the army to raise the banner of the army in front of the imperial camp, and then said to Kou Cheng, "I look at the general's wisdom and bravery, why bother to be obsessed with the bandits all the way." It's better to open the city and surrender, I, Liu Bao, swear to the sky, I will definitely protect you in front of the emperor. ”

Before Kou Cheng could answer, Yongcheng County ordered Liu Wenxue to lead dozens of officials to the city. Liu Wenxue looked at the people under the city, and suddenly said in surprise, "Kou Dutou, this is really the imperial camp, and it is the people sent by the emperor." Hurry up and get them in. Otherwise, the emperor will blame him, and we can't afford it. ”

This Liu Wenxue turned out to be a talent in Yongcheng County. Because the county order and a group of people were killed by the people of Yongcheng, Liu Wenxue was quite favored by the people because he was usually upright and outspoken, so he was pushed to the position of the county order. He was an honest official and was well received by the people. Kou Cheng's impression of Liu Wenxue is also not bad. But he didn't expect Liu Wenxue to say the words of Kaecheng and surrender.

Kou Cheng said in disbelief, "Lord Liu, this army tramples on the soybeans that are about to mature the people, and it is no different from the bandits, we can't open the door to thieves." ”

Liu Wenxue said impatiently, "Kou Dutou, the emperor personally sent a large army to save our Yingtian people, what is it to trample on a little crop." The citizens of Yongcheng will definitely not care. Speaking of this, Liu Wenxue hugged his fists and said to Liu Bao under the city, "General Liu, the contemptible person is Liu Wenxue, the commander of Yongcheng County." Then I will command the gates of the city to be opened. ”

Liu Bao laughed and said, "It turns out that Liu Xianling and I have the same surname." Please Liu County order to open the city gate, the imperial army is ordered to come to quell the chaos. ”

Liu Wenxue is earnest, he is a talent who has tried and failed, although he was promoted by the people as a county order, but he always felt that his county order was not properly obtained and was not approved by the emperor. Now that he saw the imperial army coming to Yongcheng, of course he wanted to make a great contribution. But Liu Wenxue repeatedly ordered Kou Cheng to open the city gate, but Kou Cheng was just silent.

Seeing that the envoy did not move Kou Cheng, Liu Wenxue snorted coldly from his nose, and ordered a few of his servants to go to Kaicheng. However, when several officials walked to the city gate, they were knocked to the ground by the Protectors.

Liu Wenxue said angrily, "General Kou, do you want to rebel? The imperial army came to Yongcheng in person, why didn't you open the door, but turned away the imperial army. ”

Kou Cheng ignored Liu Wenxue, he pointed to the trampled crops outside the city, and said loudly to the villagers standing at the head of the city, "Fellow villagers, are you willing to let such an army into the city?" This person has been saying that he is here to quell the chaos, but I would like to ask General Liu Bao, as well as our Liu Daxian Order, should there be chaos in Tianfu now? When did Ying Tianfu have such good public security? If you are willing to let such an army into the city, then I will immediately lead the Protectors out of the city. Folks, would you like to? ”

Liu Wenxue didn't wait for the people in the city to answer, and hurriedly said, "Of course I do." Under the whole world, it is not the king's land. Although the imperial army trampled on some crops, the people could only feel the emperor's grace. Kou Dutou, you better open the city gates. ”