readx; It wasn't until he entered the Daimyo's Mansion that Lu Xiangsheng heard rumors of the emperor's assassination. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Although he didn't believe it, for the sake of safety, he decided to temporarily stay in the Daimyo's Mansion for a day so that he could use the flying pigeon to pass the news to Kyoshi.

After five consecutive days of rapid marching, the soldiers of the Tianxiong Army finally had a chance to rest. However, Lu Xiangsheng was extremely strict in governing the army, and he set up the military camp outside the city of the Daimyo's Mansion and forbade him to go out for no reason. Many soldiers' homes are in the city, but they are close at hand but cannot go home to visit, which is a little regrettable.

But this was not difficult for the people of the Daimyo's mansion, and the soldiers could not get out, so they took the initiative to come to the door and talked cordially with this group of soldiers through the wooden fence of the barracks. And none of them came empty-handed, and despite the difficulties at home, they carried baskets and handed eggs, dates, and even freshly steamed white steamed buns through the fence.

Of course, the Tianxiong army was strictly disciplined, and no soldier dared to accept gifts from the people privately. These people entrusted Yao Dongzhao to come forward to find Lu Xiangsheng and asked him to accept it no matter what. Lu Xiangsheng was deeply moved, but still resolutely refused: "Old Master Yao, the students and soldiers have understood the hearts of the famous fathers. But this year's harvest is not good, and the people have given us all these things, how can we survive the long and harsh winter? Therefore, it must not be accepted, and I hope that all the fathers and elders Haihan! ”

Yao Dongzhao saw Lu Xiangsheng's resolute attitude, and he was so anxious that he burst into tears, and choked up: "Lord Governor, the people are living a hard life, but the soldiers are even more bitter!" I chatted with them just now, and the villagers all knew: the Tartars entered the Kou, and the Tianxiong Army fought in Xuanfu, but there were also more than 100 soldiers sleeping on the battlefield, and some of them didn't even ask for their daughters-in-law! Now the food in Beijing is extremely difficult, and it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and the governor came out of Beijing and only brought rations for ten days, and then he had to raise money along the way. Could it be that the soldiers shed their blood on the front line to defend their homes and defend the country, and now they are passing by their own doors, and they will not be able to starve! If the Governor doesn't accept these grains, Tosho won't be able to fulfill the villagers' instructions, and would rather die in front of the gate! ”

Seeing that Yao Dongzhao was so excited, Lu Xiangsheng had to accept it with tears. But he knew very well in his heart that this bit of food was really a drop in the bucket for the more than 5,000 Tianxiong Army and the Guanning Iron Cavalry. When he entered the city just now, he went to the government to see it, and although the prefect Zhang Jinyan had run away, the silver treasury and the grain depot were also empty, and although he had a military department, he could not mention a grain of grain. Although Lu Xiangsheng was extremely angry and fiercely participated in Zhang Jinyan in the biography of the flying pigeon, the difficulties in front of him could not be solved.

At this time, Cao Wenzhao also asked Lu Xiangsheng: "Since the army is temporarily stationed, the last general agrees with Cao Bianjiao's proposal, and asks the governor to give an order to let Guan Ning Tieqi go to the vicinity to chase down that group of bandits." The last general once heard the saint say that when he was the vassal king in Shaanxi, he sent troops to suppress bandits many times. On the one hand, it is to protect the territory and the people, on the other hand, those shameless bandits are often so rich that they will have our food and salaries when they get rid of a nest! ”

Lu Xiangsheng was right to think about it, although the emperor's order to himself was to hand over to Hong Chengchou, but now that the rumors have been reversed, before getting the exact news, he might as well clear the bandits nearby. Anyway, my duty is to suppress thieves, and it's the same wherever I kill them. Therefore, he said: "According to the words of the two generals!" However, there are only 500 Guanning Iron Cavalry, and the thieves are unknown, so it is best to send sentinels to investigate first, and then send troops to attack them. ”

Cao Bianjiao was eager to make meritorious contributions, and said to Shang: "Lord Governor, bandits come and go quickly, if you wait for the sentinel to report the news, you are only afraid of delaying the fighter." Besides, our Guanning Iron Cavalry is not strong, and it can be used as a sentry itself, so if we really encounter a large group of thieves, they will not be able to stop us. The last general is willing to make a military order, if he can't eliminate this bandit by noon tomorrow, he will be willing to be a military order! ”

Although Lu Xiangsheng was born as a genuine jinshi, he himself was a bold and fierce man, and he also admired Cao Bianjiao's courage, and immediately said: "Since the two generals have worked hard to take the initiative to ask for help, there is no need to make any military orders, so please open now." However, I want to let Yang Lukai, a lieutenant officer under this officer's account, go with you, he has been in Daimyo with this official for several years, and he is familiar with the nearby geography and scenery, which will be helpful for you to fight. The Holy Lord once warned the officers not to despise any enemy, especially to avoid being surrounded by enemy troops alone, and asked the two generals to be cautious. ”

Cao's uncle and nephew were busy obeying the general's order, and together with Yang Lukai, they ordered the Guanning Iron Cavalry, immediately drove out of the camp, and marched along the already frozen Zhanghe River to Linzhang County, west of the Daimyo's Mansion. The soldiers of the Guanning Iron Cavalry are all from Liaodong, and they are cold-tolerant, plus the Li family, who was born in one of the six great families, everyone has practiced martial arts since childhood, so they naturally don't care about this hard work.

Cao Wenzhao asked Yang Lukai about the geography of the vicinity as he walked, and learned that the Mafu Mountain where this bandit was entrenched was originally called Purple Mountain, which was the remnant of the Taihang Mountains. Just because there is also a Purple Mountain in Nanjing, it was renamed Purple Mountain. And because Zhao Hao, the general of Zhao during the Warring States Period, was buried here, and Zhao Hao was given the title of Ma Fujun by King Zhao, so it is also called Ma Fu Mountain. The location is thirty miles northwest of Handan Prefecture, and it is still far away from Daimyo County, which is one hundred and seventy or eighty miles. Cixian, Linzhang, Wei County and other places between the two places are all the North China Plain of Pingchuan.

Knowing that Mafu Mountain was not precipitous, Cao Wenzhao pondered for a moment, and then discussed with Yang Lukai: "I plan to divide the troops into three routes, you and I will each lead one hundred and fifty horsemen to look for bandit traces in Linzhang and other places, and Cao Bianjiao will lead two hundred horsemen to directly attack the bandits' nest in Mafu Mountain. ”

Yang Lukai was shocked when he heard this, he, like Lu Xiangsheng, was also a straight person, so he said bluntly: "General Cao, the Governor specially instructed me not to take the enemy lightly, why did you venture as soon as you left the camp?" There are only 500 Guanning Iron Cavalry in total, and you have to divide your troops into three ways, once you fall into the siege of the thief army, how can you do it? ”

Cao Wenzhao smiled when he heard this: "General Yang, don't worry, such an arrangement is not presumptuous. Of course, we don't know how many bandits there are or how they are deployed. However, the bandits are also unaware of our existence. In such a hand-to-hand situation, can the bandits still organize a heavy encirclement?

"What's more, what the Guanning Iron Cavalry is best at is plain assault warfare, not to mention bandits with no decent equipment, or Tartar cavalry with more than 1,000 people, as long as they are not white-armored soldiers, they still can't stop the frontal charge of the Guanning Iron Cavalry. Therefore, there is no danger at all between you and me, and the soldiers are divided into two ways to find the bandits faster, because the bandits tend to act in a dispersed manner.

"As for Cao Bianjiao's journey, he has not led the army alone. Young people, there must always be a chance to exercise! Cao Bianjiao, you can see how to fight the battle yourself, in short, you must not only annihilate the bandits, but also minimize your own casualties! ”

"The last general obeys!" At this time, Cao Bianjiao no longer dared to call Cao Wenzhao his uncle, so he immediately made a military salute on his horse and hurried to the northwest with two hundred horsemen. The horse's hooves trampled on the frozen earth, making a rumbling sound, which also indicated that a magnificent Central Plains war was about to begin!