Before Governor Wu could speak, the prince stepped forward and asked urgently, "Then Li Tingke is still on the mountain?" ”

Xu Liang said aggrievedly: "The lower official, the lower official doesn't know." The Li family army on the mountain suddenly attacked, and Xiaguan's military camp was scattered, although Xiaguan desperately resisted, some people still rushed down the mountain. ”

Wang Gonggong's face turned pale for a while, and he shouted at Xu Liang: "Then what are you still doing in a daze, go up the mountain and check it out!" ”

Xu Liang saw that the prince was in a hurry, so he hurriedly gathered his subordinates, lit torches, and attacked the top of the mountain along the mountain road. Seeing this, Governor Wu ordered his own barracks to attack the mountain, and on the other hand, he ordered the Ming army in other parts of Maling to attack.

In fact, the Li family army that stayed on the mountain at this time was less than 3,000 people, and seeing that there was no hope of escape, the Ming army surrounded the mountain, unwilling to be captured, and borrowed the night and the forests on the mountain to deal with the Ming army.

By dawn the next day, the remnants of the Li family army on the mountain had been basically cleared. Xing Zhongshan counted the number of Liang's army and reported the casualties to Xu Liang, Xu Liang heard it, and carefully accompanied Governor Wu and others, but his heart was dripping blood, and he scolded the cunning fourth lady Li Ting's ancestor for eighteen generations.

Because the fourth lady did not act according to the agreement, she turned a good plan to secretly attack the enemy into a night attack on the camp, and the situation could not be controlled, and once the matter was exposed, Governor Wu and others realized that Xu Liang secretly opened the exit and let Li Ting go, so Xu Liang had ten heads that were not enough to cut off.

Xu Liang had no choice but to do his best to fight the entire Liang army and fight hard with the Li family's army, striving to create a false impression that the Liang army was fighting back bravely. However, the cost of death was also quite heavy, and the number of casualties of the Liang army reached about 2,000, which can be said to be the most severe casualties since the establishment of the Liang army.

The Ming army turned the Li family's military camp on the mountain inside and out, but still did not find Li Ting, a descendant of the Wei family. In the former Li Jiajun meeting hall, which had long been empty, Wang Gonggong scolded several leading generals who were standing.

"We have fourteen thousand, huh? I can't even look at a mountain gate! Let people slip under our noses! Wang Gonggong roared, pointing at Xu Liang, who was holding his head with one hand, and roared: "Xu Liang, the county governor of Zhenyuan, what are you doing with the three thousand Liang troops!" actually made people break through the camp and cause such a catastrophe! Are you guilty? ”

Xu Liang fell to his knees when he heard this, and shouted "Father-in-law, my lords, the lower officials are really wronged!" When the Li family's army rushed to the camp, the three thousand sons under the subordinate of the lower officials resisted desperately! Seeing that the mountains were full of enemies, the lower officials hurriedly sent people to the governor for help...... However, the reinforcements have not been seen for a long time, and our Liang army has blocked the Li family army for nearly two hours with 2,000 lives. ”

Xu Liang said aggrievedly, and pointed to the official robe on his body, which was no longer in shape, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, please see, the blood-stained official robe on the lower official is the proof." ”

Governor Wu frowned and glanced at Xu Liang, and shouted in a deep voice: "Where is the Qingyang garrison He Renlong?" ”

He Renlong had already secretly felt bad after hearing that he had run away from Li Ting. He was very drunk that night, and after receiving the order of the Governor's Mansion to rescue Xu Liang, he didn't take it to heart, thinking that his 3,000 men and horses had to guard such a road into the mountain, and the loss of troops and generals was the strictest these days, and this qiē was more or less inseparable from the small Qipinzhi County, so he wanted to make Xu Liang suffer a little and lose some soldiers and horses. He thought about dragging it out for an hour and then sending troops forward, but He Renlong didn't realize that he was already drunk, and he took a nap in the tent with his head on his back, and fell asleep in a daze, until the Governor's Mansion sent someone to order the attack on the mountain overnight, He Renlong woke up that he had made a big mistake.

He Renlong stepped forward and said in a rough voice: "The end will be." ”

"Last night, the Liang army was in an emergency, and this governor ordered you to lead the troops to help, why didn't you come with the troops?" Governor Wu shouted.

"Your Excellency, Governor." He Renlong had already thought of a way to respond, and said eloquently: "At the end of last night, the general received an order from the adults, and was about to bring troops to rescue, but unexpectedly, a team of men and horses rushed down from the mountain and wanted to rush through the pass. ”

"Nonsense!" Wang Gonggong raised his eyebrows and scolded: "Last night, the south side was full of fire, and the fight was lively, and there was no movement everywhere else, the main force of the thieves and soldiers was in the south, where did you get the men and horses to rush to the pass!" ”

He Renlong knew that the situation was strict, and no matter how ugly the prince's face was, he replied with a stiff neck: "What the last general said is true. If the father-in-law doesn't believe it, he can send someone to the pass where the last general is stationed to check, and the heads of the hundreds of thieves who rushed through the pass are still on the side of the road and have not been put away. ”

Wang Gonggong didn't believe him, and sneered: "Now that this Maling Mountain is full of the heads of thieves, General He wants to get together a hundred or so of them, isn't it easy to get tight?" ”

He Renlong's face turned red, and he shouted: "The last general's words are true, why did the father-in-law wronged people?" ”

The prince said coldly: "Hugh has to quibble, come here, take down the Qingyang garrison who does not obey the order, and wait for the fate!" ”

Four Dongchang fans stepped forward and escorted He Renlong away.

"Renlong is not guilty!" He Renlongren went outside, still shouting.

The generals in the hall were secretly frightened, Xu Liang saw the dignified Qingyang garrison general, and in a blink of an eye, he became a prisoner, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Seeing that the prince's gloomy face turned towards him again, he immediately fell to the ground and shouted loudly: "The lower official failed to hold the pass, let that Li Ting escape from the mountain, the lower official confessed, the father-in-law wanted to kill and chop, and the lower official had no complaints." ”

"Yo ho, you're a bachelor!" The prince snorted coldly.

Xu Liang's prostrated body trembled for a while when he heard the words, and he sobbed and said: "It's just that the lower officials still have one thing to ask for, and the pass is lost, and it is a big mistake, and the lower officials bear the blame alone." Only asked the father-in-law to spare the remaining hundreds of Liang soldiers under the lower officials, this time with the governor of the expedition, the lower officials 3,000 Liang troops raised their own food and salary, and others received ten days of grain and grass when they set off from Pingliang, only the Liang army brought their own dry food, but the Liang army all felt supreme glory for being loyal to the country and sharing worries for the saints, even if they ate bran vegetables, they had no complaints. This time, 2,000 soldiers died on the battlefield, and the lower officials only begged the adults to spare these soldiers, so that they could return to their hometown with the robes that died in battle...... Reluctantly invited, I hope that my father-in-law will be fulfilled! ”

Xu Liang said a long word, then put his head on the ground, waiting for the prince who walked in front of him to fall. But I was so nervous in my heart that I was going to die, knowing that this time it was life or death, and it was all in one move, so when I thought about it, the whole body shook even more, like a swing. Everyone in the hall knew that what Xu Liang said was not all true, but they also knew that the Liang army suffered the heaviest casualties in this battle, and besides, there was a He Renlong who had just been escorted down in front of him, if Xu Liang was also taken, maybe the next one would be pulled on him, so thinking about it, he looked at Xu Liang with some sympathy.

Wang Tiqian, the second head of the East Factory, stood in front of Xu Liang, squinted his eyes and looked at the trembling Qipin Zhixian at his feet, looked at it for a long time, and suddenly chuckled.

Wang Gonggong retreated again, and said in a cold voice: "Xu Zhixian, you should get up." We didn't say we were going to punish you. ”

"Huh?" Xu Liang raised his head suddenly, looked at the prince in surprise and joy, and when he saw him nodding slightly, he looked at Governor Wu with disbelief again.

Governor Wu waved his hand and said, "Lord Xu, please get up, the thief escaped this time, and the blame is not on you." ”

"Ah......" Xu Liang cried with joy, knocked his head again and again, and shouted while kowtowing: "Xiaguan thank you for your grace of not killing, the father-in-law and the adult are wise and powerful, and they are discerning, but in the future, they will be sent, and the lower officials will be smeared with liver and brain, and they will die!" With that, he stood up with his hands and feet, wiped his tears with his blood-stained sleeves, and wiped his only clean face into a crimson color, which immediately caused the generals in the hall to chuckle.

The Ming army gathered the troops on the mountain, and the prince was angry and ordered people to dig a pit on the mountain and bury them alive to vent the hatred in his heart. Seeing that the credit of his hand flew away in such a daze, the prince was extremely depressed, and sent all his subordinates Dongchang to find out the whereabouts of Li Ting, hid in the carriage himself, and returned to Pingliang Mansion with the army.

The Liang army of 3,000 people set out, but only 800 people returned, and Xu Liang's mood was very heavy. Seeing that the Liang army had indeed suffered heavy losses, Governor Wu instructed Hong Chengchou, the prefect of Pingliang, to reissue the grain and grass for the Liang army of 3,000 people for ten days, and distributed some of the loot seized on Maling Mountain to Xu Liang.

And Wang Tiqian, the second-tier head of the Dongchang factory, was anxious to find out Li Ting's whereabouts, and quietly left Pingliang Mansion after Governor Wu left Pingliang.

Xu Liang took more than 800 Liang troops, took a few truckloads of grain and grass materials, and was about to lead the army back to Zhenyuan County, when he suddenly reported to the prefect of Hong that he urgently summoned the yamen to discuss the matter. Xu Liang didn't know what to do, and the army of the secret path went back to their own homes and looked for their own mothers, what else did Governor Hong discuss with him?

When I went to the prefect's yamen, I learned that it was about the distribution of food for the court to revitalize the disaster, and several counties and county orders under the rule of Pingliang Mansion had to come to the prefect's yamen, but the time for the meeting was the day after tomorrow. Xu Liang wanted to go back to Zhenyuan first, and then come back the day after tomorrow, but the prefect of Hong was extremely enthusiastic, and said with a smile: "Why is Lord Xu in such a hurry, and he lives in the post house, it just so happens that this mansion also has other things to tell you." ”

The top boss spoke, and Xu Liang had no choice but to stay. Xu Liang ordered Xing Zhongshan to lead Liang Jun back to Zhenyuan first, so as to find out whether the fourth lady Li Ting had released Feng Suqin back to Zhenyuan according to the agreement, because according to Xu Liang's agreement with her, the fourth lady Li Ting should release Feng Suqin back to Zhenyuan County after escaping from Maling.

Xu Liang himself brought more than a dozen Tsing Yi guards to live in the post house, and the next day he was very bored, so he went to the Anton Zhongwei military camp to find Huang Ziren and Long Feng to catch up, and this day was sent away.

April 12 was the day of the meeting set by the Hong Governor's Office, and the magistrates of the counties under the rule of Pingliang Prefecture rushed to the prefect's yamen one after another. When Xu Liang entered the door, he happened to meet Lin Jialuo, the magistrate of Jingzhou, and after walking a few steps, he ran into Lord Pingliang Tongzhi Lu, who came in a hurry. When Lord Lu saw Xu Liang, he squeezed out a smile, approached Xu Liang and suddenly whispered in his ear: "Lord Futai asked me to bring a sentence, no matter what happens for a while, don't act rashly, otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!" ”

Xu Liang listened, stopped and looked at Lu Tongzhi in a daze, but after Lu Tongzhi finished speaking, he talked and laughed with Lin Jialuo, the magistrate of Jingzhou County, and entered the hall of the mansion. Xu Liang looked left and right, and suddenly realized that there were a few more faces on the guards of the mansion, and after a little contemplation, he covered his stomach and walked in the direction of the latrine.