The heat was in full swing, and Gao Jie, who was lying shirtless in the tent, was in a worse mood than the weather outside, because he had just received a report from the spies, saying that it was at the head of Yangzhou City, Xu Dingguo's banner was fluttering in the wind, and the former subordinate general Xu Dingguo was talking and laughing with Wang Lanping in the city, which showed that it was an indisputable fact that Xu Dingguo had taken refuge in Shi Kefa and Wang Lanping.

Now where are these tens of thousands of horses going, Gao Jie tossed and turned, he couldn't make up his mind, he sent people to Jiangnan several times, wanting to discuss countermeasures with Ma Shiying, but the spies sent many young and old, all of them were sunk in the sea, he only then understood that Wang Lanping's 30,000 troops were stationed in Xiangshan, fifty miles outside Nanjing, how could he not block any news in Nanjing, it seems that Ma Shiying can't count on it.

It is impossible to return to the Huaihe River defense line, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming's 200,000 troops have already approached the Huai River, and then there are 100,000 Eight Banner soldiers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty Prince Yu Duoduo are coming day and night.

Gao Jie wants to take the army to find Liu Liangzuo again, in the final analysis, they are all generals of the Ming army, and they are generals in the same dynasty, and now the brothers have no way out, feng shui takes turns, everyone should take care of each other.

The messenger sent to Liu Liangzuo's ministry reported that Liu Liangzuo threw it to the ground on the spot after reading the letter, and asked the messenger to bring back a sentence to Gao Jie: The state has national laws, and there will be generals, and each should abide by his duties and not be transgressed.

This sentence shows that Liu Liangzuo's territory can't accommodate Gao Jie's army, let alone Liu Liangzuo, I'm afraid that any general can't tolerate him, his reputation is too stinky, the soldiers regard the people as enemies, and they are also ruthless when they kill the people and kill the enemy.

Gao Jie thought about it, and suddenly slapped up from the bamboo collapse, threw away the pu fan in his hand and shouted outside the tent, "Damn, Lao Tzu is gone, there is no master here, but the master must stay, come, give orders, gather the team, and organize the army."

A group of fully armored generals poured into the tent, they all held back a fire in their hearts, in this wilderness, not eating well, sleeping restlessly, why not let us enter Yangzhou, provoke a hurry, we will pull the flag again to rebel, it is not that there was no rebellion back then (Gao Jiebu was originally formed after Li Zicheng's rebels surrendered to the Ming Dynasty).

"General, you say, what to do, my brothers will listen to you" The generals said in unison.

Gao Jie stretched out his arm, "Take my battle armor, what kind of Shi Kefa, a man with a gloomy appearance, actually made this kind of trick deceive Xu Dingguo, that Wang Lanping is not a good thing, in a few months, he has made a big river on the south of the river, everyone is in danger, the tiger is not powerful, he still thinks that Lao Tzu is a sick cat, pass my general's order, the whole army will be pulled, and take Yangzhou City in one go."

The generals were overjoyed when they heard this, "Okay, my brothers have wanted to do this for a long time, and there are 10,000 defenders in Yangzhou City, we have more than 20,000 tigers and wolves, there is nothing to fear, fight, it's a big deal to fight the city as the king, let's support the eldest brother and sit on the emperor of the world."

The crowd burst into laughter.

This is in Gao Jie's arms, why didn't I think of it, at present, the Central Plains is full of heroes, and there are many people who call the king and the hegemon, even the bandits in the mountain nest gather a thousand people and call it a great emperor, I have tens of thousands of troops in my hands, who dares to treat me as a king, yes, take Yangzhou City, take the wealth of the whole city, recruit troops and buy horses, the emperor takes turns to do it, and today it will be my turn to Gao Jie.

Gao Jie immediately ordered to convene the generals to raise the account, ordered the whole army to rest, eat and drink enough, raise sperm and animal spirits, and launch a surprise attack on Yangzhou City at the third watch tonight, after taking Yangzhou, reward for meritorious deeds, and promise the generals, after the city is broken, the army can rob for three days in a row, such a military order makes all the generals salivate, Yangzhou is the richest city within a radius of hundreds of miles, this time it is not put back the wealth, so this military order came out, no one objected, and kept saying that Shi Kefa and Wang Lanping would be cut by a thousand cuts.

…………

In Yangzhou City, Wang Lanping has not been idle these days, on the one hand, he has to closely monitor Xu Dingguo's movements, and on the other hand, he has to pay attention to the news in Nanjing City and his Xiangshan camp from time to time, and he is so busy that he is going around.

All kinds of news spread into Yangzhou City like snowflakes, the Manchu King Azig led 50,000 troops to enter Xi'an with 80,000 Wu Sangui's Guanning troops, and the Manchu Yu Prince Duoduo led 100,000 troops, which was intended to join Xuzhou's Kong and Geng's 200,000 troops, and his troops were directed to the south of the Yangtze River, and Li Zicheng also set off from Shaanxi with hundreds of thousands of militiamen, looking at its purpose, it is very likely to enter Huguang or Jiangnan Water Town, in order to avoid the siege of Azig, it seems that there is a war report from Xichuan, It is said that the emperor Zhang Xianzhong also sent a bunch of his rabble from all directions, saying that he wanted to dominate the world, and the 60,000 people of Li Zicheng and Li Laixiang's troops entrenched in Anqing Mansion were eyeing Nanjing.

Wang Lanping suddenly felt that the remnant Ming forces were full of enemies in all directions, and all of them were not good, and they were all aiming to seize the world, and even there was a Gao Jie outside the city who was gearing up.

Shi Kefa was worried in the face of such a chaotic situation, but now he had no power and no soldiers, so he could only sigh and set his eyes on Wang Lanping.

In private, Shi Kefa personally came to Wang Lanping's residence, and the two discussed the general trend of the world behind closed doors, Shi Kefa himself had no ability to change the current predicament, but he could see that this Wang Zhuangyuan was very comparable, especially his vigorous and resolute means of controlling the Nanjing camp and the Huai'an army in a short period of time, no one could match.

Shi Kefa and Wang Lanping sat on the ground, in fact, Wang Lanping knew Shi Kefa's intention, this person was worried about the world, but he was too kind-hearted and compromised, and he was too insistent on neutrality, and he had a place for any faction in the court, but he never went deep into it, delusionally thinking that he and the man could reconcile everything and let everyone coexist peacefully, but people's hearts are not as upright as him, there are no extraordinary means, how to do it at this extraordinary time, when it is difficult for ordinary people to do it, so although Shi Kefa's official position is supreme, he has no achievements.

This time he faced Gao Jie's siege, it can be seen that he was afraid of wolves and tigers, he wanted Gao Jie to contribute to the country, and wanted Gao Jie to regard soldiers as brothers, love the people like children, and have no disrespect to the court, how is this possible, in this world, but all those who act cautiously and only promise are destined to become the climate, but all those who are talented are all proud of their talents, and I am the strongest self-confident person in the world, how can I succeed without this self-confidence.

Today, Wang Lanping wants to teach Shi Kefa a good lesson and try to see if this person will be his right-hand man in the future.

Shi Kefa said, "General Wang, have you heard about the emergency reports at various border gates?" ”

Wang Lanping said, "I have heard that the future of Daming is worrying"

Shi Kefa said bitterly, "Daming has fallen into such a situation, what face do our courtiers have to live in the world?"

"Why did Inspector Shi say this" Wang Lanping smiled, "It is at this critical juncture, you and I, as courtiers, should think more about how to contribute to the country and support the Ming Dynasty, how can we be so discouraged"

Shi Kefa shook his head and said helplessly, "Deflated? For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I still do not hesitate to die, but, you have also seen, even Gao Jie outside the city is dissatisfied with me, I ask myself to be worthy of the emperor, worthy of the Ming Dynasty, but the collusion of the ministers in the court, there is no place for me, I have no way to serve the country"

Wang Lanping said disdainfully, "Since you have this heart, why don't you fight with those traitorous ministers, Ma Shiying covers the sky with one hand in the court, but you dare to be angry and dare not speak, the general army of the four towns supports the army and the people, but you let it go and connive again and again"

Shi Kefa said, "Connivance? I want to manage, but I can't manage it, I can't manage it, the court has finally settled down, and I can't be chaotic anymore, if I don't agree with the first assistant, the turmoil in the court will be out of control, and the few major soldiers who are still stationed outside, they have a few arrogant soldiers in their hands, don't punish them for messing with me tomorrow, I can't do it, but you did it, general, so the old man admires"

Wang Lanping said, "It is good to maintain the overall situation, but you must know that the overall situation is not necessarily right, to say something disrespectful, now the Ming Dynasty is rotten from top to bottom, act like you, if you can't wait for the Manchu Qing Dynasty to call, we will die first, and I am not afraid of making taboos, just the two of us here today, let me ask you, can the Ming Dynasty be guaranteed?" ”

Shi Kefa's face changed greatly when he heard this, and he stood up in surprise, "You, what do you mean by this?" Do you want to do it? ”

Wang Lanping said, "Don't worry, Master Shi, listen to me slowly, if you want to reverse the decline of the Ming Dynasty, you must disrupt all of this and re-establish a new Ming Dynasty, which is not broken or established, like Ma Shiying and others, black sheep, and it is useless to stay."

Shi Kefa's face was dripping with sweat, and he trembled, "It's difficult, is it possible that you want to be Li Zicheng's second?" Are you going to rebel? ”

Wang Lanping snorted and laughed, "No, Master Shi misunderstood, I will never oppose Ming, but in this situation, the garrisons in various places are in their own ways, the military orders are not uniform, and the decree of the imperial court cannot mobilize them at all, whether it is Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong, even if the Tatar is coming, the only thing they want is to protect themselves, preserve their strength in the troubled times, so that they can sell it at a good price when the world is unified in the future, and there are even those wolf ambitions, called the king and the emperor, if they want to revive the Ming Dynasty, It is necessary to let all the Ming officials, soldiers and civilians work together and tighten the rope, so that there is a trace of vitality, and this is called not breaking or standing."

Shi Kefa nodded slowly, "I also understand this truth, the old man is old, he doesn't have the same heart as a general, such a feat, the old man is powerless, I can also see it, only you can save the Ming Dynasty, I can't help you anything, only in this Yangzhou City, for the emperor to guard the city loyalty"

Wang Lanping never expected that the words were all on this, Shi Kefa still had such a natural style, he was busy saying, "Master Shi, the Manchu Dynasty is civil and military, you have a high reputation, and the peach and plum are all over the world, if you join hands with me, raise your arms and shout, and clear the world is just around the corner, how can you have nothing to do in Yangzhou City in this small hour"

Shi Kefa didn't want to, but didn't dare, Wang Lanping killed Li Zhi in Xiangshan, reorganized the Nanjing battalion, killed Liu Zeqing in Huai'an, and secretly fought for power with Ma Shiying, this pile pushed himself to the cusp of the storm and became the target of the public, and it could evolve into a Ming army fire at any time, self-destruct the Great Wall, and do things have to be down-to-earth, step by step, like Wang Lanping is so decisive, and he doesn't pay attention to common sense, Shi Kefa thinks that he can't learn it, and he can't accept it, he is afraid that he will achieve a Ming Dynasty Cao Cao.

Shi Kefa said, "Yangzhou City is the gateway to Nanjing, an important town in Beijiang, I am guarding here, how can I say that I have nothing to do?"

Wang Lanping said, "Since the boss knows the importance of Yangzhou, I am angry and boldly ask, Master Shi, do you know the soldiers?" ”

Shi Kefa nodded and said modestly, "Know a little bit about it?" ”

"Know a little bit about it? How dare you defend this important town? There are 10,000 defenders in Yangzhou City, 300,000 Manchu troops in the north are killing, and 500,000 Shun troops in the northwest also want to come to Nanjing. ”

Shi Kefa said, "Loyal to duty, fight to the point of one soldier"

Wang Lanping smiled, "Defend the city after all the deaths?" Can't you think about how to control the garrisons outside Yangzhou City in your own hands and strengthen your own strength? ”

Shi Kefa glanced at this young man, why did he seem to be here today to listen to his training, he was a little displeased, "Bing, there are some outside the city, but the old man has no right to transfer"

Wang Lanping smiled slightly, "I didn't have it before, but I will have it after today."

Shi Kefa was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said, "You, what did you do?" "Wang Lanping's murderous heart is too heavy, he just wants to protect the peace of Yangzhou, let Gao Jie be honest, but don't make any big mess.

Wang Lanping said with a smile, "As soon as Gao Jie died, all his 30,000 people were transferred to Inspector Shi, wouldn't this add 30,000 new troops to Yangzhou?" ”

Shi Kefa exclaimed, "Gao Jie is dead? How, how is that possible? How did he die? ”

Wang Lanping said, "I'm not dead yet, but tonight is his death."

Shi Kefa was a little panicked, "You want to kill him?" Didn't we say yes, just plotting against Xu Dingguo and weakening Gao Jie's strength? Aren't you afraid of Gao Jiejun's rebellion? Will you be able to control the situation? ”

Wang Lanping said, "He doesn't die, how can you receive his military horses, do you still expect Xiao Yi to be righteous and let him follow you to protect Yangzhou solidly?" Delusional, when it comes to chaos, in today's world, only in chaos can we win"

Shi Kefa took a few deep breaths, he knew that this matter was not so simple, Wang Lanping suddenly entered Yangzhou, and he was not at ease, it seems that he killed Li Zhi and Liu Zeqing by this means.

Shi Kefa pointed at his sleeves, "You want to kill Gao Jie, I don't approve or support, my Yangzhou defenders will never participate in the internal fighting of the Ming army, you must not mobilize a soldier and a pawn, you are so self-conscious, farewell" In fact, Shi Kefa said this and also expressed another meaning, that is, how do you Wang Lanping want to collect the military power, I Shi Kefa turned a blind eye, neither against you, nor to help you, if you succeed, the revitalization of the Ming Dynasty is expected, if the thing fails, you are killed by the generals of the world, I Shi Kefa can also be out of the matter, for the Ming Dynasty to keep a loyal army.

Shi Kefa brushed his sleeves away, Wang Lanping looked at his back and muttered in disappointment, "This person is not enough to conspire"

At this time, Song Xian came to report.

Song Xian whispered, "General, everything has been arranged, and the people have been brought back."

Wang Lanping smiled and nodded, "Okay, bring people here, go and ask General Xu Dingguo to come over."