"Lady, why are you crying?" Wang Pu stretched out his hand and gently picked up Chen Yuanyuan's pink chin, and said in amazement, "You should be happy that Xianggong is back, come, give Xianggong a smile." ”

Chen Yuanyuan was still in tears, and his tone of voice changed in distress, and he said gloomily: "Xianggong, you have lost weight like this, you must have suffered a lot on this expedition, right?" ”

"No, look, your father-in-law's body is strong." Wang Pu stretched out his hand to wipe away the tears on Chen Yuanyuan's cheeks, slapped his chest loudly, and after finishing it, a wicked smile flashed across his face, leaned over to Chen Yuanyuan's pink ear, and said in a volume that only the two of them could hear, "Don't look at your father-in-law's thinness, there are places where you are not thin, hehe." ”

"You hate it." Chen Yuanyuan glanced at Wang Pu, and finally broke into laughter, Wang Pu was still in the mood to make this kind of joke with her, it seemed that the body was really not much of a deal, Chen Yuanyuan's hanging heart fell to the ground again, and turned around and instructed the young lady, "Young lady, you go to the kitchen and let someone bring a few buckets of hot water, and then let someone move the big bath bucket of Xianggong to the warm pavilion." ”

"Whoa."

The young lady answered crisply, and went briskly like a happy little lark.

When the young lady left, Wang Pu's hands began to become restless, in the past, Chen Yuanyuan would definitely not and did not want to resist, they were all allowed to be reckless and frivolous, but this time she uncharacteristically gently pressed Wang Pu's hands, and then looked at Wang Pu with affection, and said softly: "Xianggong, don't provoke the slave family again." ”

"Why?" Wang Pu leaned into Chen Yuanyuan's ear and asked softly, "Don't you want to?" ”

"Of course the slave family wants to, and now I want to." Chen Yuanyuan looked at Wang Pu with a vein, his beautiful eyes were almost dripping, and after saying this, a blush rose in his ears for no reason, and he whispered, "But the slave family, the slave family......"

Wang Pu asked softly, "What's wrong with you?" ”

Chen Yuanyuan raised his pink face, and the breath of Rulan was on Wang Pu's face, Wang Pu couldn't help but feel excited, and the desire that had been suppressed for more than a month burned vigorously, if it weren't for the dirty body on his body, he hadn't taken a bath for more than a month, he really wanted to press Chen Yuanyuan under him immediately.

Chen Yuanyuan gently bit the bright red cherry lips with his jade teeth like braided shells, looked at Wang Pu shyly and timidly, and plucked up the courage for a long time before whispering: "Xianggong, the slave family has ...... Pregnant. ”

"Got it?" Wang Pu didn't understand for a while, and asked confusedly, "What's wrong with you?" ”

"If you have it, you have it." Chen Yuanyuan lowered his head, a faint flush appeared on his face, and he said softly, "The doctor said that after you are pregnant, the slave family can no longer wait for you." ”

"Which doctor said that?" Wang Pu said casually, and suddenly seemed to understand, and asked in a fixed voice, "What, what did you just say?" Are you pregnant? ”

"Hmm."

Chen Yuanyuan responded lightly like a mosquito.

The great joy immediately tolerated Wang Pu, he hugged Chen Yuanyuan and laughed: "Lady, are you pregnant?" I'm going to be a dad, hahaha......"

Seeing Wang Pu dancing happily, Chen Yuanyuan suddenly felt full of heart, very happy and satisfied.

"Hey, Brother Zhuzi, be careful, don't spill the water."

"Don't worry, young girl, it won't spill."

Outside the warm pavilion, there was a sudden sound of the young girl's crisp voice, and then the sound of the pillar, Chen Yuanyuan quickly broke free from Wang Pu's arms, tidied up the crumpled Luo Shang on his body and combed the hair on his cheeks, and when he looked back, the pillar had already walked in with two large buckets of hot bath water.

Behind the pillar, there were two subordinates who carried Wang Pu's large bathtub in.

The young lady walked in with the last step, commanded the subordinates to put the bath bucket away, and asked the pillar to pour hot water into the bucket, and after testing the water temperature, it felt a little hot, and asked the pillar to carry two buckets of cold water.

I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

When he came in just now, Wang Pu's mind was all on Chen Yuanyuan, so he didn't pay much attention to the young girl, but he took a closer look and found that this girl was only wearing a floral blue cloth jacket on a cold day, with a double bun on her head, and two bulging balls on her chest, a pair of big eyes were black and bright, the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and she looked like she was smiling when she wasn't smiling.

When Wang Pu was observing the young girl, Chen Yuanyuan was observing him.

When she went to find the osmanthus pancreas and prepared to give Wang Pu a bath, Wang Pu asked Chen Yuanyuan: "Lady, why is this cold Tianneng Niang only wearing a single jacket?" ”

"What, it's distressing?"

The corners of Chen Yuanyuan's mouth curled slightly, and there was a bit of coquettishness and banter in his tone.

"No, I'm just afraid that she'll get sick from the cold." Wang Pu explained, "People don't know and think that we abuse the young lady." ”

"Xianggong, don't worry." Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Nenniang, she has been practicing martial arts with her father since she was a child, and she is in good health, and she often only wears a single shirt in winter, and she is used to it. ”

"That's right." Wang Pu nodded and said, "That's why I'm too worried." ”

Chen Yuanyuan originally wanted to tease Wang Pu for a few words, but when he thought that he was pregnant, and he would not be able to serve Wang Pu for nearly a year in the future, he felt a little guilty in his heart, and said softly: "Xianggong, the slave family is pregnant, and I can't wait for you in the future, or ...... You took the young lady into the house, right? ”

"What, young girl?" Wang Pu almost dropped his jaw when he heard this, "She's still a child." ”

It's true that the young lady is a little beauty embryo, but she is only fifteen years old, and her body is not mature at all, just like a green ginseng fruit, no matter how precious it is, it tastes nothing, Wang Pu is not a middle-aged unscrupulous uncle, and he does not like the bad habits of "little Lori", he can't get this black hand.

"The young lady is fifteen years old, and she can already marry according to the law of Da Ming." Chen Yuanyuan pursed his jade lips and said softly, "Besides, the young lady is handsome, and she is well-behaved, and you have saved her life, she will definitely serve you wholeheartedly, and with her by your side, the slave family will rest assured." ”

"Yes." Wang Pu hurriedly said, "Don't mention this." ”

It happened that the pillar came again with two buckets of cold water, and the young lady also found the osmanthus pancreas, Chen Yuanyuan had no choice but to give up, and put this matter down for the time being, and waited for Wang Pu to untie his clothes with the young girl, Wang Pu also treated the young girl as a little girl, so he had no scruples, and he took off the torn robe on his body, and took off only a pair of bullnose shorts and jumped into the bath.

It wasn't that Nen Niang hadn't waited for Wang Pu to take a bath before, and she didn't usually see her uncomfortable, but today I don't know if she overheard the conversation between Chen Yuanyuan and Wang Pu, or for some other reason, when her little hand rubbed the fragrant pancreas on Wang Pu's body, a faint flush swelled up on her white pink face.

Wang Pu took a hot bath comfortably and slept beautifully.

It wasn't until the next day that she got up lazily, Chen Yuanyuan had already prepared breakfast for him, although she was pregnant, she still personally cooked for Wang Pu to make her best white fungus lotus seed soup, Wang Pu took the bowl is a burst of gobbling, that looks like a hungry ghost lifting a fetus.

"Xianggong, you eat slowly." Chen Yuanyuan persuaded softly, "Don't choke." ”

Wang Pu was eating, Xiao Qi suddenly came in and said, "General, Mr. Zhen is here." ”

"Talented?" Wang Pu said, "You let him come in immediately." ”

Xiao Qi answered and took the order.

Wang Pu put down the bowl, got up and threw an apologetic glance at Chen Yuanyuan, and said: "Yuanyuan, Xianggong just came back, and there are still some things to be busy in the past few days, but Xianggong promises you that when you are done with these things, you will stay at home and accompany you, and you will also accompany the baby in our belly, hehe." ”

Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Xianggong, go and get busy, don't take care of the slave family." ”

Wang Pu didn't care that the young lady was next to him, he leaned over and kissed Chen Yuanyuan like a dragonfly on his red and gorgeous jade lips, Chen Yuanyuan just smiled and slapped Wang Pu lightly, and then glanced at Wang Pu very charmingly, the young lady covered her mouth and ate and chuckled, lowered her head and stepped forward to pack up the dishes and chopsticks and follow Chen Yuanyuan into the inner room.

Zhen Youcai almost trotted into the warm pavilion, seeing Wang Pu couldn't help but sigh, the corners of his eyes were actually faintly filled with tears, seeing Zhen Youcai's expression, Wang Pu also has the feeling of being a human being in two lives, now looking back and thinking about the decision to attack Sanbula River is really risky, the facts have proved that this is indeed a complete adventure, but also a crazy gamble, Wang Pu and his thousands of soldiers almost can't come back.

"General." Zhen Youcai choked up and said, "I'm really worried about my humble position, I'm really worried about ......."

"Hehe, worried I won't be able to come back?" Wang Pu smiled, sat down on the pit according to Zhen Youcai, and said, "My life is big, I can't die, even if I die, the old king of Hades won't dare to accept it, so I still have to let me back." ”

Zhen Youcai snorted and asked, "Along the way, the general and the brothers must have suffered a lot, right?" ”

"Okay, that's a long story." Wang Pu said, "Let's talk about you first, what happened to those two things?" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "Let's not talk about those two things, there is one of the most important things that we have to do quickly." ”

Wang Pu asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Zhen Youcai said: "Early this morning, Zhang Zi'an personally came to the gunpowder bureau and told the humble post that the palace had sent Jinyi Wei to Datong, and he hid it in the palace of the acting king. ”

Wang Pu frowned and said, "Is the news reliable?" ”

"Absolutely." Zhen Youcai said, "Therefore, the veterans who came out of the Datong border army have to hide, and they must not be allowed to show up in front of people, let alone fall into the hands of Jinyiwei, these veterans and the thousand-person team brought by Zhao Xin, Zhang Zi'an has already reported to the court that he died in the battle in Monan, if Jinyiwei is caught alive, and then find out that they have followed the general to the desert, then the matter will be a gang." ”

"Makes sense." Wang Pu nodded and said, "Right now, Tang Sheng, Zhao Xin, and more than 2,000 brothers are stationed in the Lei Gong Mountain camp, it's not safe there, it seems that we have to find another place quickly, and this place can't have anything to do with our Wang family, otherwise it will be easy to be targeted by the Jinyi Guard!" ”

Zhen Youcai blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "General, the humble duties are all calculated." ”

"Oh?" Wang Pu hurriedly asked, "Tell me about it." ”

Zhen Youcai said in a low voice: "Lu Mountain! ”

"Mt. Queshi?" Wang Pu's heart jumped, and he said in a condensed voice, "You mean ......?"

"That's right." Zhen Youcai nodded and said, "Just let them occupy the mountain as the king, and be bandits for a while, and then talk about it, there is only this way now." ”

"Good idea." Wang Pu said, "I'll go to Lei Gong Mountain." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "I will go with you." ”

"It's fine." Wang Pu nodded and said, "Some things happen to be talked about at Lei Gong Mountain." ”

Wang Pu asked Lu Liu to take people to the stables to lead dozens of fast horses, and asked Xiaoqi to go to the ear room to order dozens of family members, and the group rode fast horses and went straight to the camp of Lei Gong Mountain, the camp of Lei Gong Mountain was only a few dozen miles away from Datong, and the fast horses arrived in less than two hours, and when Wang Pu and Zhen Youcai arrived at the camp, the brothers were just having lunch.

The bearded, scarface, Tang Sheng, Zhao Xin, and Monk Zhang, as well as more than 2,000 brothers, all squatted in the open space with a rice bowl, eating white noodles and drinking gruel in a hurry, eating happily, the posture was like thousands of starving ghosts competing for food, and the momentum was quite terrifying.

Wang Pu has a habit, as long as he is in the army, whether he is out or staying in the camp, he must share the joys and hardships with the soldiers to eat a big pot of rice, Wang Pu is not only doing this in the hearts of the people, there are not a few generals in history, this has an obvious advantage, that is, the main general can know the physical condition of the soldiers through his own physical condition.

Wang Pu not only asked himself and the soldiers to eat a big pot of rice, but also asked his generals to eat a big pot of rice with the soldiers, and return to their respective homes.

Wang Pu didn't disturb the brothers to eat, but just asked Lu Liu to call Tang Sheng and Zhao Xin to Xingyuan.

Zhao Xin saw Wang Pu and hurriedly said: "General, you must not have eaten lunch yet, let's hurry up and go to the room, if you go late, the white-faced nest head should be robbed by those hungry ghosts." ”

Wang Pu Zhengse said: "Don't be in a hurry to eat in advance, let's get down to business first." ”

Zhao Xin and Tang Sheng also quickly straightened their faces, and said in a deep voice: "If there is anything, the general just orders." ”

Wang Pu said: "According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, the military attache at home is not allowed to lead troops to the battle, you should know this, right?" ”

The two nodded in response, "Yes." ”

Wang Pu said: "Therefore, according to the law, General Ben is not qualified to lead the border soldiers to the battle, but if you take the Wang family's family to go on the expedition, it will not be considered a violation of the law, so before the expedition, Zhang Gonggong and the general agreed on an expedient measure, from the day of the expedition, you and your four thousand soldiers are no longer the border army of Datong Town, and they are already the family members of our Wang family." ”

Zhao Xin said: "These lowly positions are known, and the brothers also know them. ”

"It's good to know." Wang Pu nodded and said, "But now someone has sued General Ben in front of the Long Live Lord, and wants to use this matter as a reason to kill General Ben, Gonggong Zhang has just learned the news, and Jingshi has already sent someone to investigate this matter, so he has no choice but to wronged the brothers for a while." ”

Tang Sheng hurriedly said: "General, just say it directly, what should the brothers do?" ”

Wang Pu said: "Tonight, you will take your brothers to Lulu Mountain, and become the king of the mountain for a while!" The monk is more familiar with the terrain in that area, so let him go with you, you two remember, after arriving at the mountain, you must restrain your brothers, the military order is like a mountain, no one is allowed to go out alone, let alone go home privately! ”

"Understood." The two of them replied in unison, "Humble office must bind the brethren." ”

■■■

Acting Wang's Mansion, partial hall

Acting King Zhu Chuan Qi Zheng was discussing with Wang Zhan and Li Zhan of the palace.

Zhu Chuanqi asked: "Wang Zhanshi, Li Zhanshi, what do you think about Wang Pu overstepping his duties and abusing his authority during the Ding Wei period and commanding the Datong border army to use troops against the Mongolian Tumut Division?" ”

Wang Zhan said: "The matter is obvious, how can Zhang Zi'an win the Tumut Department with Zhang Zi'an?" ”

Li Zhan said: "Before sending troops, Wang Pu took 3,000 border troops to train in Leigong Mountain for more than a month, which can be said to be well-known in Datong, Wang Pu and Zhang Zi'an did not intend to hide anyone, in fact, they couldn't hide it. If the palace sends someone to investigate, they will definitely say that the three thousand border troops are just Wang Pu's family soldiers, and Wang Pu's family soldiers will not be considered to have exceeded his duties and abused his power. ”

Although the scale of the three thousand families is larger, the Wang family is the richest man in Shanxi after all, and Wang Pu is the current concubine and a relative of the emperor, which is not too out of line, at least the group of imperial historians in the court can't find any thorns.

Zhu Chuanqi said: "Zhang Zi'an and Wang Pu really dare to do this? ”

Li Zhan said: "I'm afraid I've already done this." ”

Wang Zhan said: "As long as Zhu San and the others don't catch the witness, no one can say anything about this matter, and in the end, it can only be stopped!" ”

Li Zhan said: "And Long Live Lord doesn't necessarily really want to investigate this case, I am afraid that sending Zhu San and them to Datong is just to make a statement, so as to block the mouths of the Qingliu people in the DPRK and China." ”

Wang Zhan said: "Brother Li is reasonable, regardless of whether Wang Pu overstepped his duties and abused his power, but it is a fact that he appeased the mutiny of the Datong border army, and the battle against the Tumuts is the biggest victory of my Ming Dynasty over the Mongols in the past hundred years, just the cattle and sheep obtained from the plunder are enough to make up for the arrears of Datong Town, Long Live Lord will not ignore this, Chen Xinjia and Zhou Yanru are afraid that they will also seize this point and make a big fuss and come forward to exonerate Wang Pu." ”

It's not surprising that Wang Zhan would think so, after all, what happened in Jingshi has long been known to everyone, Zhou Yanru took the lead to protect Wang Pu is not made up, as for Chen Xinjia, he was moving around when Wang Pu was detained in prison, plus Wang Pu and Princess Changping's relatives are still Zhou Yanru, Chen Xinjia, Zhou Guozhang and Tian Guo's uncle joined forces to protect the big media, in the eyes of the world, Wang Pu, Zhou Yanru, and Chen Xinjia are together.

Li Zhan said: "Take a step back, even if Wang Pu is convicted of overstepping his duties and abusing power, it is a big deal to be reprimanded by the Lord of Long Life, and at most he will be fined for a year and a half. I thought that there was no need for the prince to get involved in this matter, and he couldn't offend Wang Pu because of this matter. ”

"Hmm." Zhu Chuanqi nodded and said, "Mr. Li's analysis is very reasonable, then this matter will be handled by the two gentlemen, these days with Zhu San they have a good meal and fun in Datong, if they ask about Wang Pu's case, they will say that this king has already led someone to investigate, and there will be news soon." ”

Wang Zhanshi and Li Zhanshi took the order.

■■■

Lei Gongshan camp, Wang Pu Xingyuan.

Zhen Youcai had already made a detailed report to Wang Pu about the two things that Wang Pu had confessed, and also took out the account book he carried with him and handed it to Wang Pu for his eyes, and said: "General, the account details have been recorded on it, and there are three entries in the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, one is the 2.17 million taels obtained by the uncle from selling the Wang family's property, one is the gold, silver and jewelry taken from naturalization, and the 120,000 taels obtained from the sale of Jingshi, and the other is the advance silver returned by Zhang Zi'an, 100,000 taels, so that the silver deposit in the treasury is 460,000 taels, A total of 2,850,000 taels! ”

"There are four items, one is to purchase 800 flintlock muskets and 8,000 dragon king cannons, with 24,000 taels of silver, one is to purchase raw materials for weapons workshops and gunpowder bureaus, with 37,000 taels of silver, one is to buy Zhang Zi'an's cattle, sheep and livestock, with 1.2 million taels of silver, and one is to hoard grain in Beitongzhou, with 120,000 taels of silver, a total of 1,381,000 taels of silver, and 1,469,000 taels of silver in the silver treasury."

Wang Pu nodded and said with a smile: "No wonder Zhang Zi'an is hiding now and doesn't dare to come to see me." ”

"That's it." Zhen Youcai said with a smile, "General, you think that you helped him pacify the mutiny of the Datong border army, the 100,000 taels of pension was paid by the general in advance, and the battle of surprise attack and naturalization was also fought by the general, and if it weren't for the general, you led the troops to attack Sanbula River and led away the cavalry of the Horqin people, Zhang Zi'an would not have gotten a cow or sheep at all, general, you have done so many things for him, but now the benefits are all owned by him, what face do you say he has to come to see you again?" ”

"Also, there is another meaning that he doesn't dare to see you, that is, he is afraid that you will reach out to him and ask for silver. This old gelding also secretly sold some of the cattle and sheep to five other companies at market prices, making a profit of 200,000 yuan, plus the 1.2 million yuan we offered, a total of 1.4 million yuan, deducting 600,000 taels of arrears and the soldiers' rewards, at least 700,000 taels remaining, and he made a fortune. ”

Wang Pu said with a smile: "We are not red with Zhang Zi'an's silver, as long as this old gelding is still in Datong, this silver will not fly, sooner or later it will still be ours, but what happened to the three weapons workshops and the two gunpowder bureaus?" The flintlock musket and the dragon king cannon with a handle must be built quickly, and seeing that April is approaching, it is necessary to create at least 2,000 muskets before Jiannu sends troops. ”

Zhen Youcai said: "A few days ago, I carefully checked these workshops, as long as there is enough fine iron, the three weapons workshops can make at least 600 flintlock muskets every month, and if the Gunpowder Bureau has enough raw materials, it can also produce enough gunpowder, and at the moment there is enough charcoal and nitrate, but there is not enough sulfur on the market." ”

Wang Pu said: "My eldest brother is in business, so let him do the matter of buying sulfur." ”

"Hmm." Zhen Youcai said, "When I turn around, I will go to the uncle to discuss." ”

Wang Pu said: "There is one more thing, we should also sum it up." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "The general is saying, what reason should I find to continue to stay in Datong?" ”

Wang Pu said: "That's it, the holiday is almost full, it's time to find a suitable reason." ”

Zhen Youcai is not a ghost is Wang Pu's dog-headed military advisor, he has already thought about this matter, and said at the time: "General, this matter has been thought about, you can pretend to be sick first, if you can't pretend to be sick anymore, then let Zhao Xin and Tang Sheng make something out, it is best to do it at night, and the general can continue to stay in Datong." ”

■■■

Jingshi, the Forbidden City Qianqing Palace.

The Jinyi guard sent to Datong finally had news back, Zhu San urgently sent a letter of fire paint chicken feathers directly to the celebrant with six hundred miles, and Wang Chengen directly submitted it to Emperor Chongzhen, after reading Zhu San's letter, Emperor Chongzhen sneered and asked Wang Chengen: "Chengen, what do you guess Zhu San said in the letter?" ”

Wang Chengen replied respectfully: "The slave really can't guess. ”

"There is no evidence!" Emperor Chongzhen slammed the chicken feather letter in his hand on the imperial case, and said angrily, "There is no evidence!" ”

Wang Chengen hung his head and didn't dare to make a sound.

"It seems that Wang Pu has a good connection in Datong." Emperor Chongzhen sneered, "Zhang Zi'an, this slave doesn't say anything to him, even the acting king is sloppy with me, hum." ”

On the one hand, Emperor Chongzhen values Wang Pu very much, and hopes that Wang Pu can lead the troops well and exterminate the slaves and thieves for the Ming Dynasty, but on the other hand, Emperor Chongzhen has a strong suspicion of Wang Pu, and the more outstanding Wang Pu's performance, the heavier this suspicion is.

What tricks did Wang Pu and Zhang Zi'an play, a discerning person knew at a glance that there was no need to send someone down to investigate, this matter had to be put on others, it was not a matter at all, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and passed, this army is chaotic, what is it to overstep one's duties and powers? Meritorious service for the imperial court is the most important thing.

It is precisely for this reason that Zhang Zi'an dared to let go and let Wang Pu lead the army to the expedition, because Zhang Zi'an believed that Wang Chengen would definitely carry it for him, and Long Live Lord would not care too much, after all, Wang Pu is Long Live Lord's son-in-law, how can there be a reason why the old man can't get along with his son-in-law?

Besides, although Wang Pu overstepped his duties and abused his power, he appeased the mutiny of the Datong border army after all, and through the use of troops by the Tumut people, the problem of arrears of wages in Datong Town was also solved, and there was no need for the household department to pull out the silver, not to mention, Datong Town also paid 500,000 taels of silver to the treasury of the Inner Government, with these cases, the great sins were enough to offset.

But Zhang Zi'an didn't know, this matter was resting on Wang Pu, then it would not be like that, Emperor Chongzhen would not be happy, he would only be more suspicious of Wang Pu.

"Cheng Eun." Emperor Chongzhen asked again, "Has the official document for Wang Pu to return to Beijing been sent?" ”

Wang Chengen hurriedly responded: "It has been sent down, and it should be able to reach Datong in the next few days." ”

Emperor Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief and didn't speak again, just looked at the chicken feather letter on the imperial case in a daze, didn't know what was going on in his heart, Wang Chengen didn't dare to speak easily, and waited honestly on the side, at this time, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the hall, when Wang Chengen looked back, he saw Gao Qiqian trotting into the main hall, and said excitedly: "Long live Lord, good news." ”

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said, "What good news?" ”

Gao Qiqian gasped and said: "Lord Hong defeated the thieves in Zhuxian Town, beheaded 50,000 people, and the siege of Kaifeng has been solved." ”

"Really?" Emperor Chongzhen said happily, "What about Tang Bao?" What about Hong Aiqing's Tang newspaper? ”

Gao Qiqian said: "Lord Hong's Tang report has been sent to the Ministry of War, Lord Chen is about to enter the palace to meet the driver, and the slave maid is the first to say hello to the Lord Long Live." ”

"Okay, great." Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be overjoyed and said, "Hong Aiqing really didn't disappoint me. ”

■■■

Compared with Wang Pu, who was born as a military general, Hong Chengchou, who was born as a soldier, made Emperor Chongzhen feel much more at ease, since Jiannu withdrew his troops from Songshan, Hong Chengchou redeployed the defense of western Liaoning, and managed the four cities of Jinzhou, Songshan, Ningyuan, and Xingshan as solid as gold, plus Jiannu was busy competing for the throne at that time, and had no time to look south, and the situation outside the gate was temporarily silent.

At this time, the thieves intensified in Henan, following the fall of Luoyang after the killing of King Fu, dozens of cities were broken by the thieves, except for a few large cities such as Kaifeng, almost the entire Henan fell under the control of the thieves, Emperor Chongzhen was forced by the situation and sent Hong Chengchou and Cao Bianjiao, Bai Guangen two towns of elite soldiers from outside the customs to Henan to suppress the thieves.

Hong Chengen is worthy of being the dry city of the Ming Dynasty, Cao Bianjiao, Bai Guangen's two towns army is also worthy of the elite of the border army, they did not disappoint Emperor Chongzhen, just arrived in Henan and defeated the thieves in Zhuxian Town, Yutian General Cao Bianjiao is an arrow through Li Zicheng's left eye, so that Li Zicheng almost died.

The thieves were defeated and took Jiaxian, and the siege of Kaifeng was solved without a fight.

Hong Chengchou knew that Emperor Chongzhen was worried about state affairs and was always worried about the situation in Henan, so he sent a report to Beijing to Tang with an urgent 600 miles to play the victory of Chen Zhuxian Town.

■■■

In Jiaxian County, Henan, the 200,000 troops of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai were temporarily stationed here.

It is said that it is 200,000 people, in fact, there are about 50,000 elite troops with real combat effectiveness, and the rest are either the families of the army or the old, weak, sick and disabled, although the battle of Zhuxian Town a few days ago was won by the official army, but the thieves did not suffer much loss, not to mention the wounded muscles and bones, Hong Chengchou reported that the beheading of the imperial court was 50,000 is blown, and there are about 5,000 thieves killed in Zhuxian Town, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled.

In other words, the thieves took the initiative to retreat, not were repelled by Hong Chengchou.

Li Zicheng decided to withdraw from the army for two reasons, one is because of Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou can be said to be the old opponent of the thief, Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, died in the hands of Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou's hands can be said to be stained with the blood of the thief, but it is undeniable that Hong Chengchou is a ruthless character who is difficult to deal with, and Li Zicheng does not dare to be careless when he fights with such a powerful character.

The second reason for Li Zicheng's retreat was to gather heavy troops, and then defeat Hong Chengchou with one blow.

Since recruiting a large number of scholars such as Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Li Yan, Li Zicheng's thieves have changed their previous war strategies, no longer wandering around, robbing houses, but sending troops to garrison every city they conquer, and then sending officials to govern the local people.

Therefore, when Hong Chengchou led the elite border troops of Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guangen to Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng did not have many troops under him, like Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Li Yan, Li Shuangxi, Tian Jianxiu, most of Li Zicheng's henchmen and generals were outside the army, and they were fighting everywhere, attacking cities and plundering land, Li Zicheng did not know that it was his old opponent Hong Chengchou, and only took a small number of troops to Zhuxian Town to meet the enemy, but he was defeated miserably and almost gave his life.

However, Li Zicheng is not good at stubble, this guy does not have any vision in politics, at best he is just a straw coward, but after so many years of war training, he is already quite old and spicy in military affairs, Li Zicheng, who came back to taste, did not hesitate to retreat in stride, and withdrew directly from Kaifeng to Jiaxian, and at the same time urgently ordered Liu Zongmin and other generals to lead the army to assemble in Jiaxian, preparing for a decisive battle with the official army.

In less than a few days, Liu Zongmin and other henchmen and generals led the army to Jiaxian, and the army of thieves gathered in Jiaxian County soon increased to more than 600,000, as well as the old Hui Ma Shouying, Ge Li Yan He Yilong, Zuo Jin Wang He Jin, Liu Xiyao, the king of the reincarnation, and the five battalions of Ge Zuo led by Lin Yangcheng, the king of the troubled times, came to defect, and the momentum was even greater.

However, not all the good news that reached Li Zicheng's ears was good.

When the army of thieves continued to gather in the area of Jiaxian, Li Zicheng's old opponent Hong Chengchou was not idle, Hong Chengchou was also transferring troops to punish generals, arranging the encirclement and suppression offensive of the thief army, Sun Yingyuan, the general soldier of Beijing, and Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, had led an army of 30,000 to Kaifeng, plus the army of Cao Bianjiao, Bai Guangen's two towns and Chen Yongfu, the army of Chen Yongfu, the Ming official army in Kaifeng has increased by 100,000 people!

Fu Zonglong, who had just supervised Shaanxi with the rank of squire of the Ministry of War, would also lead 80,000 troops out of Tongguan with the commander-in-chief officers He Renlong, fierce as a tiger, and Zuo Liangyu, and Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, together with Jiang Zuo's fierce generals Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, and Gao Jie, supervised 30,000 troops to go north to Yingzhou, and the two armies were pressing towards the left and right flanks of Jiaxian, and the army of Hong Chengchou stationed in Kaifeng was far away, and a vague encirclement posture was formed for Jiaxian.

When the various probes spread the movements of the three-way official army to the Jiaxian camp, Li Zicheng did not dare to slack off, and urgently summoned Li Yan, Liu Zongmin, Luo Rucai and other generals, as well as Ma Shouying and other leaders of the fifth battalion of the left to discuss countermeasures.

As soon as Niu Jinxing finished speaking, Luo Rucai said without thinking: "What else is there to discuss, more than 200,000 officers and troops are pressing over from three directions, we will definitely not be able to resist, let's run away quickly, now that Zhang Xianzhong's house occupies Huguang, we will go to Huguang and rob this guy's territory." ”

Luo Rucai, nicknamed "Cao Ying", was originally a figure on an equal footing with Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, at that time Li Zicheng was only a small leader under Gao Yingxiang, but time has passed, and now the status of the two has completely reversed, and Luo Rucai has become a general under Li Zicheng.

Originally, Luo Rucai had been following Zhang Xianzhong, but for the sake of a few women who finally turned their faces with Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai took his own men and horses to Li Zicheng in anger, and Luo Rucai proposed to transfer to Huguang to grab Zhang Xianzhong's territory, obviously with the intention of revenge.

Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying and other leaders of the Fifth Battalion of the Revolution also nodded in agreement, they were the same as Luo Rucai, they also defected from Zhang Xianzhong's account, Zhang Xianzhong was short-tempered, liked to kill, beat his brothers at every turn, and often killed people because of a little thing, and the leaders of the Fifth Camp of the Revolution Left had some grudges with Zhang Xianzhong.

However, Li Zicheng is already quite old and spicy in military affairs, he obviously will not be swayed by Luo Rucai and several leaders of the fifth battalion of the Gezuo, he has his own ideas, in Li Zicheng's view, Henan has been his base camp for several years, and the people here support him, and he must not give up easily until he has to!

But Luo Rucai's words are not all unreasonable, although the army gathered in Jiaxian County is claimed to be 600,000 people, plus the 5th Battalion of Gezuo is as many as more than 700,000, but there are too many old and young women and children, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and there are only 300,000 strong men who really have the strength to fight, and there are less than 100,000 who can be called elite!

Li Zicheng has a very clear understanding of his own strength, if the opponent is only Hong Chengchou in Kaifeng City, he still has a fifty percent chance of winning, if you add Fu Zonglong and Ma Shiying's two-way army, then Li Zicheng's chance of winning is less than one percent, he doesn't think that only 100,000 elites are enough to defeat the siege of the three-way official army.

Li Zichengyuan opened his eyes widely, his eyes swept over the faces of the generals, and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any different ideas?" ”

"King!" General Li Yan suddenly came out of the ranks, clenched his fists and said, "The last general thinks that our army can't easily evacuate Henan. ”

Li Zicheng asked, "Why?" ”

Li Yan said loudly: "Our army has a very good foundation in Henan, the people of Henan hate the Ming Dynasty and support us, we are here like in our own home, we can get the support of all the people, we do not worry about the source of soldiers, we do not worry about food, but if we leave Henan, we will lose our foundation, we will repeat the old road, wander around, live a wandering life of hunger and precariousness, we just fell into the trap of Hong Chengchou." ”

Li Zicheng said: "But what you said is also reasonable, with the current strength of our army, it is difficult to defeat the combined attack of the three-way official army. ”

Li Yan said: "The Ming officers and troops are divided into joint attacks, and we can also divide and disintegrate." ”

"Huh?" Li Zicheng said happily, "Let's talk about it, what kind of differentiation and disintegration method?" ”

Li Yan said: "The king can send an elite army south to Fengyang with great fanfare, and put on a posture of digging the ancestral grave of the Zhu family again, and Ma Shiying's 30,000 people will definitely shrink back." ”

"Wonderful!" Song Xiance praised, "If the ancestral grave of the Zhu family is dug up again, then Ma Shiying's head will definitely not be saved, so in order to save his head, Ma Shiying will definitely obediently retract back to Fengyang and defend the ancestral tomb of the Zhu family, this is indeed a wonderful move!" ”

"Hmm." Li Zicheng nodded, and said, "Then how should Fu Zonglong's 80,000 army be divided?" ”

Li Yan said: "The Ming Dynasty has been fighting for many years, last year and the new defeat of Songshan, the border army of Shaanxi and Shanxi has been drawn most of it, this time Fu Zonglong mobilized 80,000 troops to go out of Tongguan, the rear of Shaanxi, Shanxi provinces must be empty of garrison, plus the two places have been three consecutive years of drought, the people have no way to live, the king only needs to send a general to sneak back to Shanxi and raise his arms, the local people will rise up, gather in Jingcong, at that time, Fu Zonglong is too busy to take care of himself, where is the ability to attack Henan? ”

Niu Jinxing said: "But has General Li thought about it, it takes time to send an army to attack the ancestral tomb of the Zhu family in Fengyang for a long time, and it also takes a while to send people back to Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces to incite the people to rebel, but it is imminent for Hong Chengchou, Fu Zonglong, and Ma Shiying to besiege Henan." ”

"No, it won't." Li Yan said categorically, "Hong Chengchou, Fu Zonglong, and Ma Shiying's three-way army came in a hurry, and the grain and grass baggage are definitely not fully prepared, with Hong Chengchou's cautious surname, it is unlikely that he will rashly launch an attack without preparation, and the general will think that it will take at least one to two months before the official army will launch an attack." ”

Li Zicheng's single eye suddenly flashed with a dazzling essence, and he shouted: "Li Guo listens to the order!" ”

Li Zicheng's adopted son and confidant Li Guo hurriedly took a step forward, hugged his fists and responded: "The end will be." ”

Li Zicheng said: "Lead the headquarters of 5,000 elite cavalry and march to Fengyang immediately!" ”

"Yes!"

Li Guo suddenly agreed and took the order.

Li Zicheng's eyes flashed again, and he shouted categorically: "Li Yan." ”

Li Yan hurriedly clenched his fists and said, "The end will be." ”

Li Zicheng then shouted: "Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin, Liu Xiyao, Lin Yang." ”

The people who were called by Li Zicheng came out one by one, and they all clenched their fists and responded: "The end will be." ”

Li Zicheng's eyes swept over the faces of Li Yan and the five leaders of the Fifth Battalion of the Revolutionary Left, and shouted: "With Li Yan as the main general, Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin, Liu Xiyao, and Lin Yang have become deputy generals, and each of the elite soldiers of the headquarters will set off immediately, and return to Shishan and Shaanxi to encourage the people to rebel, there must be no mistake!" ”

"Yes!"

Li Yan, Ma Shouying and others suddenly agreed to the promise and left one after another.

Li Zicheng sent Li Yan, Ma Shouying and others back to Shanxi, which can be described as well-intentioned, and he took all factors into consideration.

Li Yan has the ability and courage, and can be said to be the only general under Li Zicheng who can block one side alone, which is not even comparable to Li Zicheng's number one henchman Liu Zongmin, so the candidate for the commander of the Shanxi Righteous Army can be said to be Li Yan, and sending others to it will definitely not be able to complete the task of disrupting the situation.

But Li Yan joined Li Zicheng's command after all, after all, it was not long, and Li Zicheng was not very trustworthy to Li Yan, so he wanted to send Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin, Liu Xiyao, and Lin Chengcheng to serve as Li Yan's deputies.

In addition, Ma Shouying and they are all old men killed in Shanxi, and it is easy for them to develop and expand their own forces in Shanxi, which they have an advantage over Li Yan, so that a situation will be formed in which the Fifth Battalion of the Left Wing will be formed to balance Li Yan, and Li Yan will be prevented from covering the sky in Shanshan and forming a situation of confrontation with Li Zicheng.

Don't look at Li Zicheng as just a post man, but he has already played a lot of tricks to control people.

(To be continued)