After all, Li Guo was still young at this time, and his face was a little tender and he was a little embarrassed by Cao Cao, and he bowed his head and said, "Cao Shuai, you are laughing again!" It caused Cao Cao to burst into laughter. At this time www.biquge.info the pro-soldiers next to him escorted a Ming army officer over, bowed to Cao Cao and Li Zicheng and said: "Cao Shuai, King Chuang, this guy is the thousand general here, and if the garrison dies, he will be counted as a big official!" ”

Cao Cao and Li Zicheng glanced at each other, looked at Mr. Qian, who was covered in dust and looked frightened, Cao Cao asked in a deep voice: "How far is it from here to Nanyang City, how to go?" ”

Mr. Qian was hesitating whether to answer, and Li Zicheng on the side said coldly: "You are not the only one who has been arrested here, you had better tell the truth, otherwise you will know the end!" ”

Mr. Qian's body trembled slightly, knowing that what the other party said was true, and hurriedly whispered: "Here to the south, along the valley of the Yinghe River, you will reach the watershed of Funiu Mountain, and there are eighty miles of road; Over the watershed, along the Kouzi River to the south for seventy miles is Baizhong Mountain; Sixty miles further south is Nanyang! “

"Oh! More than 200 miles, if you leave the old camp behind, it will be more than two days away! Cao Cao estimated a little, and smiled at Li Zicheng: "Zicheng, do you think it's okay?" ”

Li Zicheng did not answer Cao Cao's question, but asked Mr. Qian: "Do you know how many guards there are in Nanyang City?" Who will the Lord be? Are the walls strong? Heavily guarded, isn't it? ”

Hearing Li Zicheng's question, Mr. Qian's body trembled, he already understood the purpose of the thief leader asking him these questions, he wanted to refuse but didn't dare, just when he hesitated, Cao Cao had already seen his thoughts, and said with a smile: "I am Luo Rucai, nicknamed Cao Cao, you should have heard of my name." As long as you tell the truth and lead us to Nanyang City, this work is yours, and after entering the city, you will be allowed to choose any family, and the gold and silver children in it are all yours. How many taels of silver can you have from beginning to end of a year? As the saying goes, wealth and wealth are sought in danger, and if you do this ticket, it will be worth you to be a Qiu Ba for a few lifetimes, so you can think about it! ”

When Mr. Qian heard Cao Cao's words, his face turned blue and red, and a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead, obviously engaged in a fierce ideological struggle. Cao Cao and Li Zicheng didn't bother him, they just waited quietly on the side, and after about half a cup of tea, Mr. Qian raised his head: "Cao Shuai, what you just said is true?" ”

"Hehe, it's true!" Cao Cao said with a smile: "Although I Cao Cao killed officials and rebelled, I also have 10,000 brothers under my command, if my words don't count, how can I command the three armies?" So I swear before them that you will not be suspicious. Speaking of this, Cao Cao pointed to the sky and swore an oath: "The emperor and the queen of heaven are on the earth, if I Luo Rucai violates Fang Cai's oath, he will let me die with ten thousand arrows through my heart!" How is it? ”

Since ancient times, the most taboo things like Cao Cao who fought in front of the battle all day long are these, and Mr. Qian couldn't help but believe it in his ears, so he hurriedly responded: "Believe, Cao Shuai said so, and the villain naturally believes it." There are only more than 1,000 standard battalions in Nanyang City that can still fight, and the rest of the men and horses have been in arrears for a year or two, so they can have a scene on the city, and it is not possible to fight! ”

"What's the point along the way?"

"Tell Cao Shuai, there are a few earthen villages along the way, but there are only 100 people at most, and they will definitely not be able to stop the army!"

"Good, good!" Cao Cao laughed with satisfaction, he turned around and ordered: "Come on, untie the rope from this brother's body, take him below, and prepare wine and meat for a good treat!" ”

"Yes, Cao Shuai!"

"Cao Shuai, are you planning to attack Nanyang?"

"Not bad!" Cao Cao smiled: "Self-contained, our two families have been blocked in the mountains by that Hong Chengchou for a whole winter, and the brothers have suffered a lot." This Nanyang is a good place, I used to hear about the opera and said that there was an emperor here, the water and soil are thick, if you can take Nanyang, the brothers will be able to live a good life for a few days! ”

Li Zicheng did not answer immediately, but frowned and pondered. Cao Cao has been partnering with him for a long time, knowing that he will always think carefully like this before making a major decision, and only make a decision after thinking about the pros and cons of the pros and cons, so he found a place to sit down and wait with peace of mind, and after a while, he heard Li Zicheng say: "Cao Shuai This is a wonderful move, if you win Nanyang, the situation in the entire Central Plains will be alive again!" ”

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, and then smiled and said: "Self-made brothers, I don't think as much, I just want to make hungry thin brothers eat fat!" ”

Li Zicheng broke off a branch from the bush next to him, came to Cao Cao and sat down, drew a few lines on the ground casually, and explained: "Last year, Hong Chengchou worked hard to drive several of our rebel armies into the mountains, and then strictly ordered the officials and soldiers of all provinces to guard the key passes and not allow us to sneak over. And he himself took Luoyang as his line and responded in the middle. Cao Shuai, what do you think he had in mind? ”

Cao Cao frowned, looked at the sketch map drawn by Li Zicheng on the ground, he was an extremely smart person, although he had never read any military books, but he had an extremely keen intuition about war, and he quickly had his own answer to Li Zicheng's question: "Hong Chengchou He occupied Luoyang, which happened to be in the east of us, and he wanted to drive us to the west!" ”

"That's right!" Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Luoyang is a place in the middle of the world, no matter where there is chaos in the world, he can send troops to conscript." If we yearn for the east, we will just collide with him, if we go to the west, whether it is going to Hanzhong, Sichuan, or back to Shaanxi, the officers and soldiers of the provinces will resist desperately, after all, this is their township, and they are guarding the dangerous place, and the victory or defeat is unpredictable. And behind Hong Chengchou is the Central Plains, and it is convenient for the food and soldiers to receive money, so he can first attack the few rebel armies that are still left in eastern Henan and northern Anhui, and then attack us in the west in the autumn to defeat us individually! ”

"That's right, that's the idea that Hong Chengchou played!" Cao Cao nodded: "To be honest, among the few supervisors sent by the imperial court, he is the most difficult to deal with!" Self-contained, what can you do to deal with him? ”

"It's very simple, take Nanyang and kill King Tang!" Li Zicheng sneered: "As long as he kills this vassal king, Hong Chengchou will definitely not be able to stay in Luoyang, and he will lead the troops to chase after him, as long as he moves, this game of chess will be alive!" ”

Cao Cao was dumbfounded by Li Zicheng's words, although the Tang King is just a descendant of Tang Dingwang Zhu Huan, the twenty-third son of Ming Taizu, and the current son is already far from the blood, but in any case, he is also the son of the dragon and the grandson of the phoenix, if Li Zicheng succeeds in this move, it will be the first time since the founding of the country. Even if Hong Chengchou was not dismissed from his official position because of this, it was impossible to continue to squat in Luoyang in the center, and only led the troops to pursue Cao Cao and Li Zicheng in order to eliminate the two as soon as possible to calm Chongzhen's anger, and whether it was Cao Cao or Li Zicheng was born in the northwest battalion, there were many mules and horses in the army, and the speed of the march far exceeded that of the official army. It is their strong point to start a sports war, and this time the initiative and passivity change hands, and the situation in the entire Central Plains will naturally change greatly.

"Yes, that's exactly the reason, as long as we move, we won't be afraid!" Cao Cao slapped his thigh: "Self-made brother, everyone calls me Cao Cao, but in my opinion, you are really smart, I am just a little smart!" ”

"Cao Shuai praised it falsely!" Li Zicheng saw that Cao Cao agreed with his idea, and he couldn't help but be secretly happy in his heart, he said modestly: "Since we have to fight Nanyang as soon as possible, I suggest that we let that Mr. Qian lead the way for us, it is best to deceive this strong city and damage some brothers less!" ”

"What Brother Zicheng said is, then let it be made up, he is good at this!" Cao Cao said with a smile, he can be regarded as selling Li Zicheng a favor, after all, according to the unspoken rules in the peasant army, the first person to break the city has the right to get the best spoils.

"Let's change someone!"

"Someone else?" Cao Cao was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why is this, is there any discomfort in making up for it?" ”

"That's not it, I'm going to let the supplement guard this Luyang Pass!" Li Zicheng explained with a smile: "Cao Shuai, when we fight, we must not only consider winning the war, but also defeating the war. This Nanyang is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and one side faces the Han River, which is like a big pocket, and it is easy to get in but difficult to get out. If Luoyang to Nanyang takes the Three Crows Road, it will be four or five days' journey, if we can't deceive Nanyang City, and we are followed by Hong Chengchou, wouldn't it be a self-defeating net? Hong Chengchou He learned that we will definitely take the fastest Sanya Road when we go to fight Nanyang, as long as we make up for it and hold this Luyang Pass, Hong Chengchou will not be able to beat it for a while and a half, if he turns to Fangcheng Road again, it will take seven or eight more days, and we have a way to go and fight! ”

Cao Cao pondered Li Zicheng's words from beginning to end, couldn't help nodding, and said with a smile: "Yes, this is the reason, Brother Zicheng, don't worry, I Cao Cao is not unreasonable." Supplementing it here is for our two families to break off, picking up the heaviest burden, if you take Nanyang Mansion, half of the gold and silver treasures in Tang Wang's Mansion will be supplemented! ”

Nanyang, Tang Wangfu.

A tall red palace wall separates the Tang Palace's Mansion from the Nanyang Mansion into two fields, and in this small circle, there are gorgeous buildings, singing and dancing, and drinking and feasting, which is in stark contrast to the war outside. The setting sun shines on the majestic yellow glazed tiles, the shadows become thicker in the courtyards, and some of the painted corridors are gloomy. A pair of copper tripods and gilded bronze lions placed on the dan pier in front of the main hall are also shrouded in shadows. In a palace courtyard near the east, the sounds of Sheng, Xiao, and pipa and sandalwood slabs were tapped, and the sound of mans was sung, and in the deep harem, there was also a faint sound of pipa, wafting in the dim twilight smoke of the palace.

In the Fu'an Hall of the palace, Zhu Yujian, the king of Tang, sat in a chair with a carved gold lacquer circle, and behind him stood two palace maids, holding feather fans in their hands. He is a young man who is not yet thirty, and his eyes are blazing on a narrow face unique to the Zhu family, and he looks quite shrewd and capable. Unlike other vassal kings, Zhu Yujian's road to the throne was quite tortuous, the previous Tang king Zhu Shuoxi was bewitched by concubines, and he always cherished the son born to the concubine, but he hated the son-in-law Zhu Qiqi (Zhu Yujian's father) born to his wife. So, he secretly imprisoned Zhu Yujian's father and son in the Chengfeng Division, wanting to starve them to death, when Zhu Yujian was only 12 years old. Fortunately, there was a petty official Zhang Shutang who helped deliver some brown rice, and in the prison cell, Zhu Yujian's father and son survived for 16 years. In a cage, Zhu Yujian immersed himself in hard reading, delved into Confucian classics, and did not waste time. Zhu Yujian's father was dying, and when he was about to get out of his life, he was poisoned to death in 1629 (the second year of Chongzhen) by his younger brother, who was eager to attack the throne of the Tang Dynasty. The old Tang King was ready to crown the son of his concubine as the son, and he also wanted to cancel Zhu Yujian's status as the son. As a result, when the local official Chen Qiyu mourned the Tang prince, he warned the old Tang king that the cause of the prince's death was unknown, and he rashly changed the hereditary candidate, maybe the court would blame him in the future. The old Tang King was afraid that the national law would be investigated in the future, so he hurriedly appointed Zhu Yujian as the "grandson". In the same year, the old Tang King also died, and Zhu Yujian ascended to the throne of the Tang Dynasty. The hard life sharpened Zhu Yujian's will and character, and compared with many other feudal kings at that time, he understood the people's sufferings better and was quite determined to make a difference.

Li Xianfeng, the prefect of Nanyang, was led into the palace by a eunuch, he knelt down to the king of Tang, Zhu Yujian gave him a seat, gave tea, and then asked: "What is the matter with the prefect coming to see the widow?" ”

Li Xianfeng owed a debt to his body and said: "I just got the news that the thieves have broken through Luyang Pass and are waving their troops to the south, and the soldiers are heading to Nanyang!" ”

"What?" Zhu Yujian straightened his back in surprise: "Is this serious?" Doesn't it mean that Lord Hong has driven the thieves into the mountains and will be exterminated in a few days? Luyang Pass is not known as a natural danger, and it is guarded by officials and soldiers, how could it be broken by thieves? ”

"Lord Wang, this news was said by a fugitive businessman, and the lowly has sent spies to investigate, I'm afraid it's true!" Speaking of this, Li Xianfeng sighed: "Governor Hong said in his note to the imperial court a few days ago that the thieves are fleeing westward, let the officials and soldiers of the provinces guard the pass, and don't let the thieves enter, and now it seems that he has fallen for the thieves' tricks!" ”

Tang Wang's face showed a look of panic, and then he calmed down again, and he asked in a deep voice, "Then how does the prefect plan to deal with it?" ”

"Lord Wang, if you want to stick to Nanyang at present, you must stabilize the hearts of the army and the people, and once the people's hearts are gone, the army's hearts will change, and everything will be over. At present, there is just a spring famine, there are thousands of hungry people in the city, and the officers and soldiers defending the city have not been paid military salaries for more than a year, and the army's heart is shaking. If the thieves besiege the city and attack internally and externally, it will be Han Bai's resurrection, and he will be helpless! ”

"So, the lord has come to borrow money and food from the widow?" Hearing this, Tang Wang frowned, and his heart was a little unhappy.

"Not bad!" Li Xianfeng got up and kowtowed, and said in a deep voice: "There are many hungry people in the city, and the soldiers and the people have no solid will, and the complaints are boiling, and they think about the thieves. The gentry were helpless and sat back and waited for the same end. The prince is sealed here, the original period of the country for 10,000 years, if you don't try to defend the city, the country is lost, how to regret it! How to defend the city and protect the country, the time is urgent, I hope His Royal Highness will make a decision quickly! ”

Tang Wang pondered for a while, stood up from the circle chair, and said in a deep voice: "The Son of Heaven regards his home as his country, and the widow is enshrined in Nanyang, and the thieves are besieged, and the widow is naturally in charge. In this way, the widow will give a thousand stone of grain to be given in the city, and another ten thousand taels of silver will be paid to the soldiers! What do you think, Master Li? (To be continued.) )