As soon as five days passed, Xu Liang really didn't wait for Gao Yingxiang's people. Therefore, the 30,000 Shaanxi soldiers stationed in Hancheng were divided into three routes, led by He Huchen, He Renlong, Tietou and other three people along the Shaanxi border line to begin a large-scale cleanup of the people's army.

Within a few days, large groups of Shaanxi officers and soldiers appeared in Jizhou, Xiangning, Hejin, Wanquan and other places near Hancheng, chasing the civilian troops operating in this area and fleeing in all directions.

In just a few days, several groups of people's troops along the border line were wiped out, their leaders were killed, their ranks were scattered, and their cottages were destroyed. Moreover, the officers and men of Shaanxi fully carried forward Xu Liang's style of not accepting surrender, and the people's army did not surrender and killed, but also killed if they surrendered.

The surrounding area of Hancheng began to be quiet, and the remaining civilian army quickly evacuated from the vicinity of Hancheng like frightened birds.

Just as the government of the Ming Dynasty divided the land and ruled it, the people's army that broke into the development of Shanxi also divided its own territory. And Pingyang Mansion in Shanxi is close to Hancheng, and the place in that district, according to the results of the discussion of the leaders of the people's army, is the territory of Zhang Xianzhong, the eighth king. Now in just a few days, dozens of leaders of Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates, large and small, were killed by Shaanxi officers and soldiers, and the force was seriously damaged, Zhang Xianzhong was also a little panicked, originally he was gathering troops to attack Pingyang Mansion, and now I heard that Shaanxi officers and soldiers have really killed the Shaanxi border, and they can't care about attacking Pingyang City, so they will concentrate their forces in Puxian, vigilantly guarding against Shaanxi officers and soldiers.

In Hancheng, military reports of the victories of the officers and soldiers were sent to the Yali of Hancheng County one after another, and a number of high-ranking officials in Shaanxi were beaming with joy when they heard that the officers and men of Shaanxi had won successive battles outside.

In a small teahouse in Hancheng, near the window on the second floor, there was a pot of steaming fragrant tea, a few plates of peanuts, soybeans, pastries and so on.

Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, was dressed in a Confucian shirt, sitting leisurely on a chair, looking at the pedestrians on the street downstairs under the window, and the cries of the merchants along the street were clearly transmitted.

"Sell osmanthus cakes! Fragrant and sweet osmanthus cake! ”

Xu Liang's eyes wandered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Shaanxi political Wang Qinian, cloth made Qi Chu and the two go up to the second floor of the teahouse at this time, came to Xu Liang's table, and saw that Xu Liang seemed to be contemplative, so he stood quietly aside, waiting for Xu Liang to come back to his senses.

Xu Liang turned around, saw Wang Qinian and Qi Chu, and reached out to signal, "You guys are here, sit down." ”

When Wang Qinian and Qi Chu heard this, they sat opposite Xu Liang, and after a while, the guards in Tsing Yi brought up two new tea bowls.

"What's new today?" Xu Liang asked.

Wang Qinian said: "My lord, Zhang Xianzhong, the leader of the people's army, the eighth king, reduced his forces and concentrated 40,000 soldiers and horses in Pu County. He Renlong's department was stationed in Xiangning, and He Huchen's department was stationed in Jizhou to confront Zhang Xianzhong. ”

Xu Liang smiled, "I heard that Zhang Xianzhong originally wanted to capture Pingyang Mansion?" ”

Wang Qinian smiled: "It's not." Originally, the prefect of Pingyang was ready to abandon the city and run away, but who would have thought that Zhang Xianzhong would be frightened when he saw that we had sent troops, and he actually gave up Pingyang and cowered in Pu County. ”

Xu Liang smiled: "In this way, this Pingyang prefect has to thank this official." ”

Wang Qinian and Qi Chu laughed cooperatively.

Xu Liang laughed for a while, and then asked, "Where is that Gao Yingxiang now?" ”

Wang Qinian said: "My lord, King Gao Yingxiang was near Taiyuan a few days ago, and was caught up by the army of Cao Wenzhao, the general soldier of Shanxi. Oh, Lu Zhigao, the governor of Shanxi, heard that the lord sent troops to Shanxi, and he was shocked to retreat Zhang Xianzhong, and relieved the siege of Pingyang Mansion, so he sent someone to deliver this letter early this morning. ”

Wang Qinian said, took out a letter from his arms, and put it on the table.

Xu Liang glanced at it, didn't mean to open it, and asked indifferently, "What does he mean?" ”

The corners of Wang Qinian's mouth flashed with a sneer, and he said disdainfully: "This Governor Lu is whimsical, and he actually wants our Shaanxi soldiers to rush to Taiyuan and encircle and suppress Gao Yingxiang together with Cao Wenzhao, the chief soldier of Shanxi. ”

Xu Liang smiled dumbly, shook his head, and said indifferently: "He is the governor, and this official is also the governor, why should I listen to him?" ”

Wang Qinian was silent, and Qi Chu, the political envoy on the side, explained and said: "My lord, Lu Zhigao is the deputy capital of the imperial history, the governor of Shanxi, and the grade is from the second grade, which is slightly higher than the adult. ”

Xu Liang sneered: "What kind of thing is grade?" Then Qin King Zhu Younian is always more noble than Lu Zhigao, right? It's not obedient in front of this official. ”

Seeing this, Wang Qinian said in a deep voice: "Lu Zhigao is a pedantic old man, so we don't have to care. But...... There is another thing he mentions in his letter that needs to be taken into account by adults. ”

Xu Liang stared at Wang Qinian.

Wang Qinian's expression was whole, and he said solemnly: "In the letter, Lu Zhigao mentioned conclusively that the court will transfer troops from Liaodong to Shanxi to suppress bandits. ”

Xu Liang's expression also became serious. frowned and said, "Liaodong? Liaodong is Sun Chengzong's territory. Would he easily agree to the court to transfer his men? ”

Wang Qinian hesitated and said, "According to the report of Tsing Yiwei, Sun Chengzong was summoned to Beijing half a month ago. And at that time, it was also the time for the adults to send troops. ”

Xu Liang stood up and pondered while pacing: If Sun Chengzong enters Beijing, then what Lu Zhigao said that the court will transfer troops from Liaodong to Shanxi has some credibility. In the past two years, although Sun Chengzong was depressed a lot because of Yuan Chonghuan's death, but this person did have extraordinary ability, he fought steadily in Liaodong, little by little from the hands of Houjin, ten miles today, five miles tomorrow, which made Houjin's Huang Taiji distressed.

If the situation in Liaodong stabilizes, Sun Chengzong is really likely to free up troops and horses to help the court suppress bandits.

Moreover, with Xu Liang's consistent understanding of Old Man Sun, there are generally things that he mixes, and there must be nothing good. Xu Liang pondered for a long time, and said to Wang Qinian: "Before the new actions of the court are not clear, the order is that all armies are limited to the border activities of Shaanxi and are not allowed to enter the hinterland of Shanxi Province. In addition, send someone to remind Gao Yingxiang that if he ignores the official, the official will go north. ”

Wang Qinian responded in a deep voice.

Three days later, an order from the military department was transferred from the Shaanxi Governor's Yamen to Hancheng, and Xu Liang's face became gloomy after reading this order.

Several henchmen gathered around Xu Liang and checked the orders of the military department one by one, and their faces were a little surprised.

"Zuo Liangyu!" Xu Liang frowned, glanced at the henchmen, and asked, "The person who came from Liaodong is Zuo Liangyu!" ”

Deng Shuiqing, the commander of the capital, said in surprise: "My lord, Zuo Liangyu is not simple, although this person has not read many books, and he can be said to know a few big characters, but this person is proficient in the art of war, extremely strategic, and brave in battle. When Sun Chengzong recaptured the four cities in Guannei from Houjin, the two people who could fight the most were Cao Wenzhao and Zuo Liangyu. Since Sun Chengzong sent Zuo Liangyu out, it can be seen that Sun Chengzong has also put in a lot of effort. ”

Wang Qinian also nodded and said: "Yes, a Cao Wenzhao, plus a Zuo Liangyu, both of them are famous generals in the Liaodong Department, with them, the chaos in Shanxi, I am afraid it will end soon." ”

Xu Liang sneered, and said with an unhappy expression: "Who Sun Chengzong sends here is his business. What the official is unhappy about is that the fools in the military department actually gave the command of Shanxi to Lu Zhigao's waste! ”

As he spoke, Xu Liang shook the military department in his hand with disgust, and scolded: "You actually want this official to also listen to the dispatch of Shanxi Governor Lu Zhigao?!" What kind of stuff is this written! ”

Wang Qinian and others were silent, in fact, according to common sense, Lu Zhigao is the governor of Shanxi, and his own grade is the highest, and the court asked him to be the boss, if he does not consider his personal ability and prestige, it is not wrong.

However, with Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, all this became extremely unreasonable in the eyes of Shaanxi officials.

"My lord, what should we do next? The Ministry of War issued a request for our Shaanxi soldiers to arrive in Taiyuan in five days. Wang Qinian reminded in a low voice.

Xu Liang took a sip, crumpled the paper into a ball of waste paper, and smashed it to the ground. Xu Liang glanced at all the henchmen and said in a cold voice: "The officers and soldiers of Shaanxi have been fighting for more than ten days in a row, and the soldiers are tired, so they ordered all to withdraw to Hancheng to rest. ”

"Huh?" Although the high-ranking officials in Shaanxi were shocked in their hearts, they saw that Xu Liang's face was gloomy, and they were obviously angry, and the officials didn't want to bump into Xu Liang's muzzle, so they closed their mouths one by one and responded in a deep voice.

In the city of Taiyuan, Lu Zhigao, the governor of Shanxi, and Cao Wenzhao, the chief soldier of Shanxi, looked forward to the stars and the moon, and finally looked forward to the reinforcements of the court: Zuo Liangyu, a famous general of the Liaodong Department, arrived in Shanxi.

In the governor's yamen, Governor Lu led Shanxi Wenwu and received Zuo Liangyu with a very high standard.

Zuo Liangyu and Cao Wenzhao were originally old acquaintances, and now they are fighting side by side again, so they are naturally close to each other, and the governor Lu Zhigao deliberately did it, and the atmosphere of the meeting was extremely harmonious.

After he was full of wine and food, Governor Lü left Cao Wenzhao and Zuo Liangyu in the governor's yamen, ready to discuss how to exterminate the large number of people's troops outside Taiyuan in one fell swoop.

The strategy was discussed by Governor Lu and Cao Wenzhao a long time ago, and at this moment, there was more Zuo Liangyu, and Governor Lu explained the strategy to Zuo Liangyu again.

Although Zuo Liangyu is a rough man, he is a veteran of marching and fighting, and he understands this kind of trick of encircling and treachering the people's army. After understanding, Zuo Liangyu pondered for a while, then frowned, and asked Governor Lu and Cao Wenzhao: "Lord Lu, General Cao, the main force of the people's army gathered outside Taiyuan City this time is the soldiers and horses of King Zijin Liang and King Gao Yingxiang of Chuang, with a strength of nearly 80,000 people. And our army is only more than 20,000 people in Taiyuan City at the moment, is it a little insufficient in terms of troops? ”

Cao Wenzhao pouted disdainfully and said, "General Zuo is too worried. The people's army in Shanxi is in turmoil, and its combat effectiveness is low, and compared with the Houjin soldiers, the combat power is not a little low. General Ben led 3,000 men and dared to chase after tens of thousands of people's troops. Now there are more than 20,000 soldiers in Taiyuan City, and although there is a slight shortage of soldiers and horses outside the city, it is not much worse. ”

Zuo Liangyu obviously did his homework before rushing to Shanxi, but when he heard this, he was not moved by Cao Wenzhao's self-confidence, and still frowned and said: "I heard that there are still 30,000 soldiers and horses of Zhang Xianzhong, the eighth king, in Pingyang Mansion, and there are still more than 20,000 people in Huaiqing Mansion in Liu Guoneng. Once we start a war in Taiyuan, it is difficult to guarantee that Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng will not reinforce Wang and use them himself. ”

When Cao Wenzhao heard this, he stopped, no matter how arrogant he was, in the face of these people's troops with a total strength of more than 100,000, he did not dare to say that 20,000 officers and soldiers would win.

Lu Zhigao, the governor of Shanxi, sighed with a complicated expression and said, "It would be nice if Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, could lead the army to come." With the support of 30,000 Shaanxi officers and soldiers, the Battle of Taiyuan will be won. ”

When Cao Wenzhao heard this, his expression was complicated, and he stopped talking.

Zuo Liangyu must have been new to Shanxi, although he had heard of Xu Liang's name, but he did not have a direct understanding of Xu Liang, and he said in surprise when he heard the words: "This general remembers that in the court's writings, Lu Dacai is the commander of Shanxi's bandits, and the officers and soldiers in Shanxi are controlled by Lu Daren!" When did Xu Liang's Shaanxi officers and soldiers arrive in Taiyuan? ”

Lu Zhigao looked embarrassed and embarrassed, "The order has been given to Xu Liang in the early memory." However, Xu Liang not only did not receive orders to increase troops in Taiyuan, but withdrew all the troops originally stationed in Xiangning and Jizhou to Hancheng. Yesterday, on the official document sent from Hancheng, Xu Liang said that the officers and soldiers of Shaanxi fought repeatedly, and they were sleepy and tired, and they needed to rest for five or six days! ”

Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but glare, and shouted: "He is disobeying orders!" Master Lu, we have to impeach him! ”

Lu Zhigao was distressed and did not speak. Seeing this, Zuo Liangyu glared at Cao Wenzhao again, Cao Wenzhao touched the tip of his nose and explained: "General Zuo, the situation in Shaanxi is complicated, and it is not something that can be clearly explained in a few words......

Zuo Liangyu still didn't understand the situation, Cao Wenzhao had no choice but to whisper Xu Liang's consistent style of acting to Zuo Liangyu. Suddenly, Zuo Liangyu's eyes straightened, he couldn't believe that there were such alternative officials in the Ming Dynasty: holding heavy troops, acting depends on personal mood!

After being shocked for a while, Zuo Liangyu looked at Lu Zhigao and asked, "That Shaanxi officer and soldier can't be in place...... Do we still have to carry out this encirclement and suppression plan? ”

Lu Zhigao's eyes flashed with a determined look, he clenched his fists, and said solemnly: "The people of Shanxi have been plagued by these people's army for a long time, no matter whether the officers and soldiers of Shaanxi can come or not, this siege of Wang for his own use, the battle of Gao Yingxiang is imperative." ”

Seeing this, Zuo Liangyu and Cao Wenzhao had no confidence in their hearts, and Cao Wenzhao sighed lightly: "Now, I only hope that Xu Liang's in Hancheng can contain the soldiers and horses of the Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong, so that the war in Taiyuan will be much smoother......"

Eighty miles outside the city of Taiyuan, the 80,000 people's army of King Zijin Liang and King Gao Yingxiang of Chuang was stationed here, and Wang Ziyong and Gao Yingxiang also prepared for a long time for the battle of Taiyuan.

However, the situation was very unfavorable: first, Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, treacherously led his army into Hancheng to pursue the people's army on the border of Shaanxi. Then Cao Wenzhao, the general soldier of Shanxi who was originally in Huaiqing to pursue Liu Guoneng, hurried back to Taiyuan and guarded Taiyuan with Lu Zhigao, the governor of Shanxi.

Immediately afterwards, Zuo Liangyu, a famous general in Liaodong, led the army to arrive again!

In the tent of the People's Army, Wang Ziyong and Gao Yingxiang looked at the map of Taiyuan City, with sad faces, if the situation continues to develop, the plan to attack Taiyuan seems to be in vain again.

"Brother Gao, Zuo Liangyu has also arrived in Taiyuan, and our army has no certainty of victory in this battle. Why don't we withdraw our troops? King Zijin Liang said for his own use.

Gao Yingxiang was very unwilling, staring at the map of Taiyuan with a hideous face, hesitating.

At this time, Shangtianlong stepped forward and arched his hand towards the two leaders: "General Wang, General Gao, in my opinion, if we can gather Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng's soldiers and horses, the battle of Taiyuan, the chance of victory is still on our side." ”

Wang Ziyong couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Liu Guoneng may still be possible." Zhang Xianzhong don't hold out hope, the 30,000 soldiers and horses of Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, are stationed in Hancheng, and Zhang Xianzhong, the eighth king, can be regarded as a great merit if he can contain Xu Liang. ”

Heavenly Dragon's eyes rolled and he smiled: "General Wang seems to have forgotten that after Zuo Liangyu arrived, Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, withdrew all his troops to Hancheng!" ”

"Huh?" Wang Ziyong and Gao Yingxiang's eyes moved, and they looked at the Heavenly Dragon in surprise. (To be continued.) )