Xu Liang looked at Hong Chengchou in surprise, and then said with a smile: "It turns out that Governor Hong came to visit General Cao on purpose?" Although the Governor can rest assured, General Cao is recuperating very well from this officer, and in my opinion, there is no problem at all when he goes to the battlefield again. ”

Governor Hong snorted lightly and said, "That's good, Guozhong, why don't you invite General Cao out?" ”

Governor Hong was really worried that Xu Liang would rebel and detain Cao Wenzhao, which would be difficult to do.

Xu Liang looked at Governor Hong helplessly, nodded at the Tsing Yi guards on the side, and after the guards went out, they invited Cao Wenzhao, the deputy chief soldier of Shaanxi, into the governor's yamen hall.

Governor Hong stepped forward excitedly, looked at Cao Wenzhao carefully, and then breathed a sigh of relief: "General Cao, you are fine, and this governor will rest assured." ”

Cao Wenzhao knew that Hong Chengchou was concerned about his safety, and couldn't help but be very moved, and said: "Your Excellency Governor Lao is worried, and the Governor has cared for General Ben these days. ”

Governor Hong nodded reassuringly, then turned to Xu Liang and said, "Since General Cao has also recovered, then the governor will not disturb Guozhong." General Cao, let's go back to Guyuan. ”

Cao Wenzhao naturally happily agreed, and the two of them walked out on their own under the attention of a group of high-ranking officials in Shaanxi.

Xu Liang looked at it indifferently, and when Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao walked to the door, he said faintly: "Governor Hong, General Cao, don't you want to see with your own eyes how this official suppresses bandits and quells the chaos?" ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao listened, their steps were all stunned, and then they paused for a moment, the two exchanged glances, the two slowly turned around, Hong Chengchou looked at Xu Liang, and asked in surprise: "Guozhong, you are going to send troops now?" ”

Cao Wenzhao said sarcastically: "General Ben still thinks that the governor should think about it for a while." ”

Xu Liang shook his head and looked at the two with wronged eyes. said: "The two adults can't help but underestimate my Xu Liang too much." As the governor of Shaanxi, although he can't spit on a nail, he is definitely not the kind of villain who breaks his word and gets fat! Now that the court has allowed my conditions, then, in the civil unrest in Shaanxi, the official will naturally not stand idly by. ”

Xu Liang stood up from his seat. Walking up to Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao, he smiled sincerely, "Today, I will ask Governor Hong and General Cao to be a witness and see how this official can pacify the people's army in Shaanxi!" ”

Hong Chengchou saw that Xu Liang said solemnly, and immediately became serious, nodded, and said, "Okay, since Guozhong is so determined, then the governor will stay and witness it with his own eyes." Then he looked at Cao Wenzhao. He asked, "General Cao, what about you?" ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "The last general will naturally take the governor as the leader. ”

When Xu Liang saw that both of them had agreed to stay, he laughed heartily, immediately beckoned the two to sit down again, discussed the situation in the northwest, and arranged a sumptuous banquet in the governor's yamen that night to entertain the governor of the three sides, Hong Chengchou, and Cao Wenzhao, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi.

That night, the high-level officials of Shaanxi took turns to toast Hong Chengchou, even though Governor Hong drank an astonishing amount of alcohol. But he couldn't help but get drunk.

The next day, after Governor Hong woke up. After the hangover, his head still ached faintly, and he washed up under the waiting of his own soldiers, and ate some breakfast sent by the governor's yamen, and then Governor Hong walked out of the bedroom.

Leisurely walking to the inner courtyard of the governor's yamen, I saw Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi in civilian clothes, dancing and practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard from a distance. Governor Hong is not a person who practices martial arts, so he naturally has no research on sword routines. After watching it for a while, I didn't understand which way Xu Liang was practicing.

When he got closer, Governor Hong saw that Cao Wenzhao, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, was also watching not far away. Governor Hong stepped forward and greeted Cao Wenzhao, and asked casually, "General Cao also knows knives?" ”

Cao Wenzhao's eyes wandered with Xu Liang, who was practicing knives in the courtyard. Hearing this, he shook his head and said, "The last general is good at using guns, but he has no research on knives. However, the world is full of kung fu, and although I don't know how to use a knife, I can also roughly see a good one. ”

Governor Hong sighed lightly and asked with interest: "Then according to General Cao, how is Xu Liang's sword technique?" ”

Cao Wenzhao pondered for a while, shook his head and smiled: "I'm ashamed, the last general has been standing here for a quarter of an hour, but he can't even understand Lord Xu's sword technique." Well, the governor's knife technique seems to have no routines, and it is very chaotic and unorganized. ”

Hong Chengchou listened, looked at Xu Liang for a while, and sure enough, he saw that although Xu Liang was dancing vigorously, he really couldn't see the slightest bit of knife skills...... Simple.

Hong Chengchou thought that this might be Xu Liang's whim, playing at will, so he smiled and said: "Xu Liang is the governor of Shaanxi, an authentic civil official, General Cao can't see the number of roads, Xu Liang's knife skills are just spontaneous, on a whim, there is no road at all." ”

Cao Wenzhao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then stared at Xu Liang carefully, looked at it for a while, pondered for a while, and then sighed lightly: "The Governor is right, Lord Xu's sword technique really has no way. ”

Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "Then you and I will sit on the side and wait for Xu Liang to rest." ”

Hong Chengchou originally thought that Cao Wenzhao would agree, but Cao Wenzhao's eyes were still staring at Xu Liang in the courtyard, but he shook his head and said, "I want to see it again." ”

Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "Guozhong's sword technique is purely fancy, and it is used to strengthen the body, so don't look at it." ”

Unexpectedly, Cao Wenzhao listened, turned his head to look at Hong Chengchou, and said in a resolute tone: "No, Your Excellency Governor, you are wrong. Lord Xu's knife skills are much more beneficial than expected. ”

Governor Hong was taken aback and said suspiciously: "How much is at stake? ”

Cao Wenzhao pointed to Xu Liang in the courtyard and said, "At first glance, Lord Xu's sword technique was out of order, but the last general has been here for almost a quarter of an hour, and the Governor has also been standing here for a while, can we see that Lord Xu has signs of stopping?" ”

Hong Chengchou raised his eyes and looked, and saw that Xu Liang was still dancing the Pu knife in the courtyard, wandering in a small area, the knife technique was messy, but his steps were very steady, and he immediately understood, shook his head and said, "I really haven't seen it for the time being." ”

Cao Wenzhao asked again: "In the opinion of the Governor, if a person dances the knife in an unorganized manner, coming and going with just a few single movements, how long can he last?" ”

Hong Chengchou thought about it again, and then Zhengse said: "If you change the governor, it will be a few times." I am afraid that I have already thrown away my weapons and drank tea aside. ”

"So, Lord Xu is very ......interested," Cao Wenzhao sighed lightly.

This time, Hong Chengchou did not refute, and stood side by side with Cao Wenzhao, while watching Xu Liang dance the knife. While quietly waiting for Xu Liang to stop.

After another quarter of an hour or so, Xu Liang put away his sword, handed over his weapon to the guards on the side, and then walked over to Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao, his face was not red, and he said breathlessly: "The Governor and General Cao both got up quite early." ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao glanced at each other, and they both saw surprise in each other's eyes. Hong Chengchou said with a strong smile: "This governor is worried about the chaos in the northwest, and he is worried, so he came to find Guozhong in the morning." ”

Xu Liang said: "The two of you should have come to ask how the official is going to exterminate the people's army, right?" ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao laughed. Xu Liang beckoned: "Come, two adults, let's sit down and talk." ”

So, Xu Liang took Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao to an octagonal pavilion in the courtyard and sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion.

Xu Liang looked at Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao, and said: "The people's army in the northwest originally had Wang Zuogui, Wang Jiayin and Shen Yikui. Now that all three of them are dead, only the god general Li Dusi is still jumping. As far as I know, though. Not long ago, Li Dusi had led his subordinates out of Shaanxi and went to Shanxi to beg for a living. Since this person has left Shaanxi and entered Shanxi, he will be handed over to the governor of Shanxi to have a headache. ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao frowned slightly when they heard this, but they did not raise any objections.

Xu Liang analyzed: "The people's army that is still in Shaanxi today. Let's not talk about the small ones, there are four main branches with relatively large forces, Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang, Li Ting and Shangtianlong. Among them, Wang Ziyong is in Qingyang. Gao Yingxiang is in Hanzhong, Shangtianlong is in Yan'an, and Li Ting is in Gongchang. There is a saying that shoots people first and shoots horses, and thieves first shoot kings, as long as we defeat these four leading forces, the rest of the people's army will not be worried. ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao nodded slowly when they heard this, regardless of whether Xu Liang was selfish or not, whether he was sincere in contributing to the court, but the ideas analyzed by Xu Liang were basically correct.

Hong Chengchou asked, "Then Guozhong, how are you going to exterminate these four people's armies?" What are the plans not to have? ”

Cao Wenzhao also stared at Xu Liang.

Xu Liang smiled, sat down with a golden sword, and said: "This official fights with a very particular routine, since he has to deal with these four people's armies, he naturally salutes first and then soldiers, first persuades him to surrender, and then sends troops to attack if he can't persuade him." ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao were speechless for a long time when they heard this. Cao Wenzhao said sarcastically: "Lord Xu, this trick of persuasion, the former governor of the three sides, Yang He, has tried countless times, and it turns out that this trick is not good!" You might as well think about other ways. ”

Xu Liang disagreed, waved his hand and said: "Hey, although I said that, Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang and others are also heroes, so before the fight, I have to save some face for others." What if people are waiting for us to come to the door to compile? ”

"Uh......" Cao Wenzhao said angrily, "My governor, even if you persuade these four people to surrender, how can you settle them?" Where did the court get so much grain, grass and military salaries? You must know that when Yang He was in power, it was because of the arrears of food and wages that caused the people's army to fall and rebel. ”

Xu Liang looked at Cao Wenzhao, smiled straightly, and said, "What General Cao said is the old yellow calendar. Now this official is the governor of Shaanxi, as long as the king himself uses them to surrender sincerely, the official guarantees that their grain, grass and military salaries are indispensable. Seeing Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao looking at him stunned, Xu Liang stepped forward and smiled mysteriously: "The two adults probably don't know yet, right?" This official ordered that all the fields under the name of the former Shaanxi Metropolitan Command Department be changed into military tuns, and according to Lord Deng Shuiqing's report, although there was a drought this year, it seemed that the harvest was good. Moreover, the crops in Hanzhong, Pingliang and Xi'an also have some harvests, and the official has these harvests as a guarantee, and it is not a problem to feed an army of 180,000 again. ”

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao listened to each other and were shocked.

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao both thought that Xu Liang's so-called persuasion to surrender was a joke, and they didn't take it seriously, but two days later, they actually saw Xu Liang arrange for someone from the patrol department to bring the persuasion letter of the Shaanxi governor Yamen to the camp of the leaders of the people's army, Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang, Li Ting, Shang Tianlong and others, and actually played the drama of saluting first and then soldiering.

After the letter of surrender was sent, Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, did not seem to be in a hurry at all, neither gathered generals to order troops, nor did he gather the high-level leaders of Shaanxi to discuss the war.

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao lived in the governor's yamen, and saw Xu Liang accompanying the third lady of Xu's mansion, Lou Xian'er, to enter and exit every day, and the husband and wife looked like they were loving. Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao urged twice, and Xu Liang said in a firm tone: "No hurry, no hurry." ”

At the end of October of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Xu Liang finally waited for the long-awaited person: Wang Qinian, who was promoted from Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple in Nanjing to Wang Qinian, who participated in politics in Shaanxi.

Xu Liang smiled and took Wang Qinian to look inside and out of the governor's yamen, and then summoned the high-level leaders of the three divisions of Shaanxi to introduce Wang Qinian to meet with Shaanxi officials.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this Wang Qinian is the absolute confidant of Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, and the person who can get such courtesy from Xu Liang is Wang Qinian, except for the Imperial History of the Imperial Palace.

When Hong Chengchou urged Xu Liang to send troops again, Xu Liang finally replied positively: "It seems that the king himself uses them very little to give face to his own officials, so there is no need to be polite to them." ”

On the third day of the 11th month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Xu Liang held a swearing-in meeting in the governor's yamen, summoning generals and civil and military officials from all over Shaanxi to discuss the major matter of exterminating the Shaanxi People's Army.

In terms of civil officials, there were Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, He Zhun, the political envoy of Shaanxi, Deng Shuiqing, the commander of the command, Wang Qinian, the prefect of Xi'an, Qi Chu, the prefect of Hanzhong, Ding Shiyou, the prefect of Gongchang, Lu Yifa, the prefect of Pingliang, Luo Baiguan and others, the military generals, Cao Wenzhao, the deputy chief of Shaanxi, several major guerrilla generals in Shaanxi, the garrison generals, and Tie Tou, the commander of the patrol department, were all present.

Xu Liang was dressed in military uniform, sat on the main seat of the governor's yamen with a serious expression, held a letter in his hand, glanced at the civil and military forces in the hall, and said angrily: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Shaanxi People's Army has been brutalizing my kind Shaanxi people for several years, which has made my Shaanxi people miserable. Originally, I wanted to try not to use force as much as possible, peacefully absorb those civilian armies, and give them a chance to be a new man! didn't think about it, Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang, Li Ting, Shangtianlong, these leaders of the people's army were arrogant, so disappointed by the hard work of their officials, obsessed, and went all the way to the dark! When Xu Liang said this, his expression became even more angry, and he slapped the letter in his hand on the table with a snap, and scolded angrily: "What's even more infuriating is that the king not only did not surrender, but even returned the official's letter of persuasion!" Don't give the official face at all!! ”

Hong Chengchou sat next to Xu Liang, and when he saw that the letter fell not far from him, he picked it up curiously, looked at the content of the persuasion on it, and when he saw it, he couldn't help but turn blue with anger, glared at Xu Liang, and asked angrily: "Xu Liang, how dare you persuade him to surrender like this?!" ”

"How?"

Hong Chengchou shook the letter with one hand and shouted angrily: "What have you written! What ultimatum, either surrender or withdraw from Shaanxi?! Where do you want to encourage those militias to withdraw?! (To be continued.) )