"The thief leader is still in Shangcai City?"

At this time, less than forty miles away from Shangcai, Ye Chang reined in his horse, looked at the few people who appeared in front of him and asked.

An Yuanguang was beside Ye Chang, looking at these people with some surprise, they didn't appear suddenly, but they had been waiting here for a long time, could it be that Ye Chang had arranged the manpower a long time ago?

Thinking back on this journey, An Yuanguang felt very strange in his heart: Ye Chang first lied that he had inspected the snow disaster and left Luoyang, and then left Luokoucang under the pretext of illness, met with two thousand elite veterans halfway, and suddenly went south and went straight to Shangcai. There were supplies along the way, and at every passing distance someone reported military intelligence to him.

"Exactly, the thieves are still in Shangcai City, and the thieves from all walks of life have held a three-day banquet together, discussing whether to continue to go north or make another plan. Yuan Chao has already persuaded the rest of the thieves, and in addition, he has inquired clearly, Da Xikun and Luo Fengxian are not dead, and they have already become thieves."

Hearing this, An Yuanguang's expression changed greatly, and he couldn't help but take two steps back.

Luo Fengxian was his adoptive father, although Ye Chang asked him to restore his old surname, but at that time he was not completely willing in his heart, and he also said "Raising kindness has not been repaid", and now the news he got is that Luo Fengxian did not die in the country, but succumbed to the thief, which was also a big blow to him.

Will Ye Chang still trust him, the adopted son of a thief and a traitorous eunuch

An Yuanguang felt a little sad in his heart, he was born in Hu, admired China, naturalized as a Tang person, and was loyal to the Tang Dynasty, but because he was born wrong, he could only be Luo Fengxian's adopted son, and now this adoptive father has become a rebel again, where can he still be trusted?

Ye Chang tilted his face and glanced at him: "Stay here for the time being, and then move forward when the morning dawns...... Yuanguang"

“…… At. ”

"You're my guard." Ye Chang said slowly.

The surrounding generals were stunned, and Shanzhi didn't react yet, and Wang Yang'er almost jumped out over there: "It's my responsibility to guard the guards......"

"Tonight to Yuanguang, you have enough spirits, there is not much time to rest tomorrow, there will be a big battle." Ye Changdao.

Everyone looked at An Yuanguang, especially Wang Yang'er, with a somewhat unkind expression.

Although An Yuanguang knew very well that Ye Chang was trusting him, when he thought of the news just now, Ye Chang could treat himself like this, and his heart was like a fire burning. On the one hand, although he has a foster father but has no loyalty, and on the other hand, he is a boss who appreciates and trusts him, he almost did not hesitate, lowered his head and said to Ye Chang: "No"

Ye Chang had a cold, and he was galloping on the road during this time, so he put on his clothes early and prepared to sleep. An Yuanguang stood solemnly in front of his door with a spear, although it was cold outside, he stood upright, only occasionally raised his head and looked at the sky.

Thin pieces of snow slowly fell, piling up on top of his armor, gradually piling him up like a snowman.

In the middle of the night, Ye Chang got up to change his clothes, came outside the house in a big cotton jacket, and was startled when he saw An Yuanguang's appearance, and hurriedly pulled him into the house: "Yuanguang, what are you doing?" ”

"Respected by Ye Gongxin, Yuanguang can only talk about his heart by repaying him wholeheartedly, and his liver and brain are smeared on the ground."

"Nonsense, standing in the snow and freezing yourself, even if it is liver and brain?" Ye Chang scolded: "Leave a useful body, this can be regarded as a reward for me"

Pulling An Yuanguang into the house, the two sat down around the fire pit, An Yuanguang knew that Ye Chang was not formal, so he was not too humble, but after sitting down, he still didn't dare to sit all of them, just sat halfway there.

"Yuanguang, there are still thieves in Luoyang City, so I went south this time and set up more suspicions, not only to hide the details of these thieves, but also to hide the eyeliner of some people in the court. I never wanted to know the news of Luo Feng's first thief...... Yuanguang, I won't hide it from you, Luo Feng first buried tens of thousands of soldiers in Cheng Qianli, I intended to punish him, and now I have the news that he is a thief, even if you atone for him with merit, I will never allow it."

An Yuanguang was excited, and wanted to leave his seat to bow and plead, but was held back by Ye Chang.

"Yuanguang, I know what you mean, it's not that I don't spare Luo Fengxian, it's those robes that you died in vain in the army can't spare him, those who scoop food in the same pot with you, protect you when you break through, and the brothers and sisters who cut off for you when the thieves chase him can't spare him"

An Yuanguang still bowed to the ground, and whimpered in his mouth: "Ye Gong, even if this is the case, please open up Ye Gongwang...... Forgive the villain's adoptive father for the death penalty......"

"Private teaching, it's not what I do" Ye Chang pondered for a while: "Although I am a love talent, but Yuanguang, I know that you are a hero, others don't know, if it's just because of your intercession, I will ignore the law of the country...... How do you think this can be convincing? ”

An Yuanguang felt that Ye Chang seemed to have something to say in his words, and after pondering for a while, he suddenly understood: "Ye Gong, I will make a special honor to stuff everyone's mouths."

Ye Chang frowned: "You are a dead eye...... Let's wait until you make a special achievement. ”

After he finished speaking, he went back to the back room to sleep, An Yuanguang was waiting to go out again, but Ye Chang said: "You will guard the fire pit for me, be careful of charcoal poison"

Hearing the sound of Ye Chang going to bed, An Yuanguang was grateful, he thought about it carefully, although Ye Chang's words had the intention of appeasing him, but it was more of a fierce and expectant for him. He is a smart person, if it weren't for his ability, Ye Chang wouldn't have needed to make this kind of gesture at all, and this kind of attention was something he had never encountered before.

The next morning, the snow stopped, but the sky was still gloomy. Ye Chang's spirit seemed much better, and he gave the order to set off early in the morning, and he would rest for half an hour every time. At this time, they had already entered the place where the thieves were active, and they hurried all the way, and in the evening, they arrived at the bank of Rushui, which was only more than thirty miles away from Shangcai.

"Brothers, the soldiers are fast, I will wait until here, the thieves still don't know, take the night and travel quickly, and you can reach Shangcai before dawn tomorrow. Although there are many thieves, they are not worthy of a battle, and the battle of complete merit is at the moment, "Gather the whole army to rest together, Ye Chang ascended and said: "Can you still hold on?" ”

If it weren't for Ye Chang himself, if he changed to someone else, the veterans would definitely not be there, but Ye Chang himself tried the danger, and he still went out with illness, where did everyone not know what to do?

"Ye Gong rest assured, Ye Gong's daughter's body, and he is sick, and he can still hold on to this, not to mention me

"Exactly, we are waiting for Ye Gong's kindness, and this is the time to repay it"

Seeing these sergeants scrambling to express their willingness to die, An Yuanguang closed his eyes slightly.

When he was in Luokoucang, he vaguely felt that Ye Chang seemed to be loyal to the country, and he seemed to be hiding some of his calculations.

Even last night, Ye Chang put his heart to him, which moved him, and he was determined to work with Ye Chang to serve the country.

At this point, he put all these thoughts aside.

There are not so many cranky thoughts, there are not so many speculations and doubts, he understands very well that Ye Chang is like a rolling river, which has merged into the general trend, flowing all the way east, and will never stop or turn back because of a little stone or small mound.

It may bend or divert, but it will eventually flow into the sea to the east.

He can only join this general trend like these veterans, and only in this way can he realize his life's ambitions.

"As soon as the thieves are calmed down, the people of Huainan and Liangjiang Province will settle down sooner, and the business routes of our chamber of commerce will be smooth one day earlier, and you can go back to reunite with your families one day earlier." Ye Chang said again: "This battle merit, as always, in addition, there are still shares of the new chamber of commerce, which can be converted into military merits."

The morale of the sergeants was greatly boosted.

They are all retired veterans who have been placed in the subordinate industries of various chambers of commerce, and naturally know how profitable these chambers of commerce are now. Even if the business route is cut off in the second half of this year due to the war, according to the income of the first half of the year, the profit of the three major chambers of commerce in Datang in the first half of the year is close to that of the whole of last year.

Controlling Anxi and Yunnan, Ye Chang's business routes have been paved to distant territories, although Datang is still Ye Chang's largest market, but foreign income can now account for about a quarter of Ye Chang's income. This quarter of the income is not very affected by the civil war.

Under Ye Chang's encouragement, the troops carried the cold and tiredness, and spent most of the night walking the remaining thirty miles. In the early hours of the next morning, they had already arrived at the periphery of Shangcai.

"Most of the villages in this vicinity are occupied by thieves, and the thieves are like this, not only to use them as a camp, but also to spread the checkpoints. Previously, we could avoid it by night, but now the village cannot be avoided and can only pass by its edge. Fortunately, the thieves were extremely vigilant, and the sentries they sent were all shrunk in the house to avoid the cold. ”

Summoning the generals, Ye Chang pointed to the village in front of him, told the generals about the situation, and at the end he added: "Shall we take this village first?" ”

An Yuanguang held a telescope in his hand to observe the village, as a military general, he couldn't put down this treasure that could reconnoiter the enemy's situation. It was still very early, the sky was hazy, and from a distance, there was no one in the village. However, judging from the size of the village, the people living in it were very scattered, and he asked, "How many thieves are there in the village?" ”

"There are more than a thousand thieves." The scout who came to report said.

More than a thousand thieves, of course, not in An Yuanguang's eyes, he has seen Ye Chang these veterans, although they are older, but they are all vigorous and brave, compared to their Beijing Forbidden Army, the combat effectiveness is only much stronger, nearly three thousand veterans pack up more than a thousand thieves, it is estimated that their casualties will not exceed ten - but they can't silently wipe out all the thieves in an instant.

Ye Chang only brought 3,000 people this time, and rode the snowy night to attack Shangcai for a long time, with the purpose of ending the thief in one fell swoop. After losing the leader of the thieves, these thieves may not even be able to distinguish between the southeast and the northwest, they are wandering around the wilderness, and they are just a few small officials with a villager who can be tied up to offer.

So don't alarm these thieves in the village.

An Yuanguang thought in his heart, moving the telescope, hoping to find a way to avoid the village

If you walk down the village, you don't have to go into the village, or walk the small river on the edge of the village......

Just then, he noticed a lonely house on the other side of the river at the edge of the village, with a large fence in front of it, and dozens of ducks were swaying out of the fence.

"Ye Gong, you can go through the river, now in winter, the river is shallow, and the riverside can pass by" An Yuanguang's heart flashed, and he turned back in surprise: "Send two more people to the other side of the river to drive away those ducks."

"What do you mean?"

"The sound of ducks calling can drown out the sound of us passing by."

Ye Chang's eyes widened for a moment, and then smiled.

"Just as you say"

It didn't take long for the sound of ducks quacking in the distance, and it was very lively. It took a long time for the thieves in the village to sentry and look symbolically out of their heads, driven away.

"How, is it anyone?"

"Where are there any people, there are more people catching ducks to eat these days, and there are only a few dozen ducks left in the hundreds of ducks...... I don't know which one locked up the fence, and the ducks couldn't get out, so naturally they kept barking."

"You go and open the fence"

"Come on, it's such a cold day, let Aye and I warm up first, damn it, those who are leaders can hold the girls in bed and be happy, Aye, I'm enough to blow the snow here, and you want me to take care of the ducks?

He refused to go, and no one else wanted to do much, so naturally no one cared that there was some movement hidden in the duck quack.

After this village, Shangcai City is already in sight. At this time, the sky was hazy, Ye Chang ordered to march at full speed, and when they arrived at Shangcai City, they found that there was not even a sentry at the head of the city.

"The thief is really lax" Ye Chang was overjoyed when he saw this situation, and he looked forward to the left and right: "Pass the news to the past."

One of their scouts came forward and whistled at the edge of the city, and after learning twice, a head stretched out from the city, looked at them, and then shrank back. A moment later, several rope ladders were thrown down from the city, and Ye Chang was about to go up first, but was preempted by An Yuanguang.

"Ye Gong, please give me a chance to make meritorious contributions" Grabbing the rope ladder, An Yuanguang said to Ye Chang.

Ye Chang smiled slightly: "Okay, today's troops will be handed over to you."

An Yuanguang was overjoyed when he heard this, he climbed up to the city first, and when he saw the fine work at the head of the city and smiled at him, An Yuanguang bowed his hand, and then asked, "Where is the thief?" ”

"It's in the west square of the north city, you see, the largest courtyard and that square, all the thieves are staying there," Na Xiaozuo pointed to.

While the two were talking, dozens of soldiers had already climbed up to the top of the city, and they quietly opened the city gates, and the sergeants who had been waiting impatiently for a long time under the city began to pour in quickly and silently.

An Yuanguang quickly came down from the city and climbed on his war horse, he looked around, there were few people he knew, but he didn't care, because he knew that with Ye Chang's order, these elite soldiers would listen to him

He didn't know how Ye Chang discovered his talent, what he knew was that he couldn't let Ye Chang's expectations be disappointed.

Therefore, he raised the horse lance in his hand and pointed towards the west square of the north city.

"Gentlemen, kill"

"Kill"

More than a thousand people followed him, and the tide was generally surging in that direction, although the number was not large, but in this little man Shangcai City, it was already an unstoppable force.

At the same time, Ye Chang also entered the city.

Seeing An Yuanguang rushing out impatiently, he smiled, with a deep meaning in his eyes. An Yuanguang was promoted, not only because of his talent, but also because of his identity.

Forbidden generals.