Zheng Rong's side did not stop.

On the night when Youyan's army celebrated the success, Zheng Rong ordered Zheng Xin, the eldest son who was sitting in Bozhou to transport grain and grass, to come to Tongguan immediately - one to strengthen the Tongguan guard; the second is to choke the passage of the fortress to ensure the transportation of military rations and baggage; Third, there are still places in Henan Province that have not been completely pacified, and it is good to direct appeasement matters in Tongguan nearby.

This order was reported with the battle report of Youyan's army to conquer Tongguan, and it was transmitted to Zheng Xin in one day and one night with eight hundred miles of expedited horses.

Zheng Xin was worried and happy after reading it.

What worries me is that the battle of the army is progressing smoothly, and I have lost the opportunity to make meritorious contributions. The good thing is that my father has not forgotten himself after all, and has given himself the power to transfer grain and grass and appease the place, in fact, he has pinned all the military and political power behind Youyan's army on himself.

So Zheng Xin immediately ordered his confidants and guards, and entrusted the affairs of Bozhou to Lao Chengren, and immediately rushed south to Tongguan.

Early the next morning after taking Tongguan, Zheng Rong summoned Zhong Likuang, Zheng Sen, Zheng Miao, Qiu Yizhi, Cui Nan, Wei Hu and others to discuss the next battle plan in the Tongguan Arrow Tower.

Tongguan Arrow Tower was originally a place for the military generals to observe the battle situation and discuss military affairs, and it has its own wide meeting hall. Zheng Rongzi sat down on the tiger skin chair in the middle of the hall, the strategist Zhongli Kuang sat down at the bottom, and the rest of the people also sat on the horse in order.

Zheng Rong raised his eyes and saw that his generals and strategists were gathered, and he was happy in his heart, so he said: "Since everyone is here, then Zheng Miao will first report the casualties of our army in this battle, and report it to you!" ”

When everyone heard this, they all looked at each other - they had a night of drinking yesterday, but they didn't expect Zheng Miao to complete the casualty statistics overnight. Thinking about it again, Zheng Miao has always been known for his calmness, but he is extremely quick and reliable, and it is not difficult for him to count casualties overnight.

I only heard Zheng Miao get up and say: "In this battle, our army invested 80,000 elite soldiers, 6,019 soldiers were killed, 2,743 people were seriously injured, and the rest were slightly injured......

Everyone was in an uproar when they heard this, and thought to themselves: The Youyan Army has always been a strong army in the world, and the loss of more than one-tenth of this battle is a major loss that the Youyan Army has never had since its formation.

Zheng Rong saw the expressions on the faces of several of his subordinates, and said, "Our army's casualties are indeed heavy, but the losses of the imperial court are even more serious. Not only was Tongguan of the capital barrier taken by me, but the elite forbidden army was also beaten like a frightened bird, compared to this loss, it was already a million benefits. ”

Although Zheng Rong's army is strict, he also has the command name of "loving soldiers like sons", but he didn't expect to say such a metaphor for doing business today.

When Qiu Yizhi heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious in his heart, but he heard Zheng Rong continue: "Because of this, now the gate of the capital Luoyang has been completely opened to our army. It has only been three months since the rebellion began, and it is really beyond Lone's expectation that there has been such progress, and it all depends on your hard work! ”

When everyone heard this, they couldn't sit still, got up from the horse, and said, "It's all thanks to the prince Hongfu!" ”

Qiu Yizhi was thinking about it, and got up a little later than the rest of the people, and his voice also lagged behind, which seemed a little uncoordinated.

Seeing this, Zheng Rong raised his eyebrows slightly, ignored him, and said, "Everyone, please take a seat." However, although our army has not lost its vitality, it is also a fact that its combat strength is greatly weak. Whether to reorganize the troops in order to fight again, or immediately send troops to besiege Luoyang, Lone Zheng is undecided, I don't know what your plan is? ”

When Zheng Sen heard this, he immediately got up and said: "Why should my father be worried, please allocate me 50,000 elite soldiers, and I will send troops to the west to capture Luoyang for my father!" ”

After the battle of rebellion began, several of Zheng Sen's brothers had made great contributions, and even Zheng Xin, who was in charge of logistics in the rear, was constantly praised. Only except for some small achievements, he did not make any great achievements, but was reprimanded by his father for his defeat under Dai Luanxiang. Therefore, Zheng Sen secretly thought that after capturing Luoyang, there was no merit, so he immediately got up to fight.

Knowing his son Mo Ruo's father, Zheng Rong's thoughts, of course, Zheng Rong knew, so he said: "Zheng Sen's courage is commendable, but the march and battle are not based on the courage of a horseman. Have you forgotten about the defeat at the hands of Marshal Dai? ”

Zheng Sen scratched his head and said, "Father, which pot can't be opened?" The famous generals of the court were either killed by the emperor, or captured by our army, or they had defected to their fathers, where are the talents? If I lose again, I'm willing to be punished! ”

"Humph! You say it lightly. The walls of Luoyang are tall and well-defended, you Zheng Sen can't command the attack, and you are not as resourceful as your righteous brother, why do you dare to pack tickets here? Zheng Rong cross-examined.

Zheng Sen just wanted to take the errand in his hands first, as for the specific strategy for capturing Luoyang, his father Zheng Rong and his master Zhong Likuang would naturally explain it, and when the time came, he just had to follow the steps.

Therefore, Zheng Sen's mind was blank when he asked his father Zheng Rong this question, and he couldn't speak with his mouth open.

When Zhongli Kuang saw Zheng Sen's embarrassed appearance, he didn't get up, so he taught: "Zheng Sen must be thoughtful when he speaks in the future, and he can't be open-mouthed, do you know?" Why don't you sit back for me? ”

Zheng Sen listened to Zhong Likuang's lesson, but as if he had been amnestied, he hurriedly sat back in his place, and kept wiping his sweat with his sleeve.

But seeing Zhong Likuang slowly get up, he bowed his hand to Zheng Rong and said: "The student is having three strategies: slow, medium and urgent, dedicated to the prince, I wonder if the prince is interested?" ”

Zheng Rong also hurriedly got up and saluted: "Please also teach me!" ”

Zhong Likuang made another move, pacing in the conference hall, and said slowly: "Let's talk about the slow strategy first-our army will use Tongguan as a stronghold to consolidate the defense of Henan Province, accumulate strength for the winter, and then attack Luoyang after the weather warms up in the spring of the next year." The middle strategy is - our army is repairing the army, while sending troops to besiege Luoyang, waiting for the opportunity to break the army of the king of Qin, gradually depleting the fighting spirit of the defenders of Luoyang, and also waiting for the spring of next year to send troops to attack the city. Finally, there is an urgent plan - in addition to leaving one part of our army to guard Tongguan, the main force immediately sent troops to Luoyang, and immediately took the capital before the morale of the imperial court was low, so as to achieve a great cause. As for what to do, please ask the prince to decide. ”

In the end, Zhong Likuang had already turned around in the conference hall, returned to his original position and sat down, playing with a folded folding fan in his hand, looking at Zheng Rong, the prince of Youyan.

"Sir, this is throwing the problem back to Lonely!" Zheng Rong said with a smile, and pondered for a long time, "It's too slow to look at the slow plan, and it's too slow to plan in a hurry, but the middle plan is just the right one." ”

Zheng Rong saw Qiu Yi's thoughtful look again, and knew that his son was resourceful, so he asked, "I don't know what Yizhi's plan is?" ”

Qiu Yizhi was thinking: Stepfather Zheng Rong's mind to be the emperor is hot now, and he can still endure the temperament and choose the "middle strategy", this city government can't learn by itself......

Suddenly, hearing Zheng Rong's question, Qiu Yizhi couldn't help but be stunned, stood up "suddenly", settled down, and then said: "The righteous father's choice of the middle strategy is both safe and safe, Yizhi is just a yellow-mouthed child, how can he have a beak?" However, the father-in-law also knew that Yizhi was an urgent son, and if he divided another 20,000 or 30,000 elite soldiers when the army swept, he might not be able to capture Luoyang......"

"Yi Zhijiu has been in Luoyang for a long time, and the defense of the capital has seen some of it. Thinking about the 100,000 people of Youyan's whole army, maybe he can barely capture Luoyang, what is the use of 20,000 or 30,000 partial divisions facing Luoyang, the capital city with a radius of more than ten miles? Zheng Rong said.

"With gunpowder, you may be able to blast open the city wall of Luoyang!" Qiu Yizhi replied.

When Zheng Rong and Zhong Likuang escaped from the capital city of Luoyang, they had both seen the power of the gunpowder explosion, and the earth-shaking sound and the choking smell of sulfur were as if they were yesterday, making them unforgettable.

But he heard Zhong Li Kuang say: "The gunpowder is huge, but at the beginning, it only barely blew up half of the Jianchun Gate. The capital is very large, what is the use of opening a passage with half a door? ”

Qiu Yizhi replied: "This matter has been reviewed many times, and I have re-read the classics of the Tianzun Sect when I was in Guangyang. I think that the amount of gunpowder was insufficient, and the second was that the weak point of the capital city wall was not found, so the power was very small at that time......"

"According to Yizhi's statement, it is not difficult to dispense more gunpowder, but where to find the weaknesses of the capital wall?" Zheng Rong interrupted Qiu Yizhi's words.

Qiu Yizhi replied again: "Does my father-in-law remember that Shi Dajian, who is good at digging tunnels? He once told me that although the walls of the capital are tall and strong, the foundation is not very stable. ”

Qiu Yizhi paused and continued: "The dozen or so bandits who came down from Yunmeng Mountain under my command have all learned some skills from Shi Dajian to dig sand and make holes, if they dig a tunnel to the foot of the Luoyang city wall. Then bury gunpowder in the tunnel, take advantage of the laxity of the defenders of Luoyang, and collapse the city wall in one fell swoop, and then there will be chaos in Luoyang City, and the big thing can be decided. ”

When Zheng Rong heard this, he was silent for a long time before he said: "Using gunpowder to blast open the city wall, this kind of tactic is unheard of, I'm afraid it's still too risky, right?" ”

Qiu Yizhi nodded and replied, "The righteous father is reasonable. Many castles in are guarded by city walls, so why don't my father-in-law choose a stronger city wall and try the power of gunpowder first. If the gunpowder is powerful enough, immediately send troops to attack Luoyang and capture the Jingshi before the New Year! ”

This can be regarded as talking about Zheng Rong's heart.

Zheng Rong's brother Zheng Hua died at the beginning of the year, and according to the practice of the Han Dynasty, this year is still Zheng Hua's era name. Therefore, if Zheng Rong can ascend the throne and become emperor before Chinese New Year's Eve next year, it will completely erase the current emperor Zheng Yao from the annals of the Great Han Dynasty. In this way, the legitimacy of Zheng Rong's ascension to the throne and emperor can be greatly enhanced.

So Zheng Rong only pondered for a while, and then said: "Yizhi's words can be considered thoughtful. Province Yanshi Castle (wrong location, please ignore it) is just on the left, and there are still thousands of defenders in the city. Yizhi doesn't have to wait for tomorrow, just find all the raw materials today, prepare gunpowder, and use this Yanshi City to start the knife first! ”

Zheng Rong instructed again: "This matter must be kept secret, except for everyone present, this kind of tactics must not be passed on to the outside world." It is also lest after the world is settled, the small people will plot against each other. ”

After Qiu Yizhi received Zheng Rong's order, he immediately searched for saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal and other materials nearby, and prepared 500 catties of gunpowder on the same day. He also ordered the eighteen bandits who came down from Yunmeng Mountain to carefully recall the excavation skills they had learned from Shi Dajian, and to build special tools overnight.

Early the next morning, Zheng Rong personally led the army, and took Zhong Likuang, Zheng Sen, Cui Nan, Qiu Yizhi and others to send 30,000 soldiers to Yanshi City. Zheng Miao and Wei Hu led the remaining Youyan army, still stationed around Tongguan, waiting for Zheng Xin's arrival.

A few days ago, the forbidden army retreated from Tongguan, with more than 5,000 people, and fled to Yanshi City. The Yanshi County Commander was afraid that these people would disturb the people after entering the city, so they refused to open the city gate, and only allocated some grain and grass for the defeated soldiers to eat.

However, it was late autumn and early winter, and the weather was getting cooler, and the nights were even colder. The defeated Janissaries had nowhere to spend the night, so they had to drive the people around the Yanshi, demolish their houses, and look for shelter everywhere. The people of Yanshi were distressed by this.

Therefore, when Zheng Rong led Youyan's army to Yanshi and defeated the remnants of the forbidden army entrenched near Yanshi in one fell swoop, the people of Yanshi were all overjoyed and greeted Zheng Rong with wine and food. It seems that the Youyan Army is not a rebel army of the imperial court, but a serious royal teacher.