Li Xin pulled up Xue Chengping, who was about to kneel, and then squeezed out a smile and said to him: "Ping'er is so old, come to Aunt Li's side." Then she took one by the hand and took the little hands of the two children.

Taking advantage of the fact that the two children were not paying attention, Li Xin glanced at the slutty woman beside her with a frosty face. I saw Li Yuenu with low eyebrows and a bird-like look, as if she was submissive.

“…… Unexpectedly, Yu Fool's ability is not small, and he can toss tens of thousands of recruits to send to the Shaanxi thieves to surround him. He still wants us to save him. Of course, he will be saved, I hope that he will support him for a longer time, then the Shaanxi thieves encountered by our Runing army will be much less. You say, should I give Yu Fool a fool award? Wu Shigong was in the front hall in front of the screen and said to his civil and military officials.

"Haha——!" The front hall immediately erupted in laughter.

"Okay, this oath-taking ceremony is not going to be held or anything, so let's go out quietly. But before we set out, there is something I would like to announce to everyone. Wu Shigong then shouted, "Ping'er! Ying'er! All out. ”

Li Xin hurriedly asked Xue Chengping and Wu Chengying to turn to the front of the screen. Wu Shigong then took the hands of the two children and announced to the civil and military forces: "Send an order to the whole army, and take over the official: Xue Chenglin, the eldest son; Shun: Xue Chengping, the son-in-law; The second son: Wu Chengying, the second son. It will reach the ears of every soldier. ”

"No!" The crowd shouted in unison.

In order to prevent the civil strife in the Runing Army caused by the last succession issue, Wu Shigong reiterated once again that his successor was his eldest son Xue Chenglin. Because Xue Chenglin was in Beijing, it was difficult to guarantee his own safety, so Wu Shigong suddenly formulated the first three candidates for the heir.

And Li Xin, who was listening behind the screen, felt bitter in her heart. Then she glanced at Li Yuenu, who was low-eyebrowed, as if she wanted to transmit the resentment in her heart to Li Yuenu's body through her gaze.

And although Wu Shigong's wives and concubines and children stood behind the screen, they all kept quiet. And Luo Qingjun, who was hiding on the side, secretly glanced at Li Xin who was standing in front, and then looked at his bulging lower abdomen, not knowing what he was thinking.

……

On August 11, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the whole army of Runing Army set out. The generals of the Runing Army were divided into three routes: the right was 35,000 soldiers and horses led by Yang Rusong and Shumo, and the left was 28,000 soldiers and horses led by Zhou Xun and Zhang Biao; The middle road was 42,000 soldiers and horses led by Xue Yongli and Zug. Immediately following the middle was Wu Shigong's Chinese army, with 11,000 guards directly under He Fei and 2,000 personal troops led by Chi Ming. The whole army of 119,000 soldiers and horses was officially engaged in the melee in the Central Plains.

Several spies from the peasant army were taking a dip in the shade of a tree. This is the territory of Taikang County in central Henan, and it is more than 200 miles away from the border of Runing Army and Guide. On weekdays, the scouts of the Runing Army don't come much. So these peasant army spies they met wanted to be lazy.

These spies of the peasant army all spoke the dialect of northern Shaanxi and chatted about some interesting things about their hometown. A wine bag took turns in everyone's hands, and everyone was able to satisfy their cravings. They were talking and laughing, and they were a little happy.

But at that moment they found the earth shaking. The spies looked at each other. I found that the faces of others were a little pale. Suddenly, a man woke up, and he hurried to the tree to untie the reins of his horse. The other spies reacted. They all went to untie the reins, and they didn't even notice that the wine bag had fallen to the ground.

When the spies mounted their horses and climbed the high slopes, they saw only a black line emerging from the edge of the land in the south.

"Run! Go back to the camp and arraign! One of the spies turned the horse's head.

"Brother Liu! Why don't you go up and find out which family it is and how many people there are? Another spy asked.

"What else are you looking for?" The spy who was ready to flee screamed hoarsely, "It must be Butcher Wu." It must be the butcher of Wu, his army is all dispatched. If we don't leave, we won't be able to leave. ”

After saying that, the spy raised his whip first. And his horse ran out of the thrust in pain.

After a while, a group of cavalry of the Runing Army galloped to the foothold of the spies of the peasant army. Looking at the few people who fled, the cavalry captain who led the way drove his horse and stepped on the wine bag, and said with a smile: "Those rabbit cubs can slip away so fast!" ”

……

"Qiao Song! You first arrange for people to control all the places we take. Don't be afraid of the barren and uninhabited land, first establish a system of officials from townships to prefectures and counties, and then things can be done step by step. As for the population, this official will send it to you later. Wu Shigong commanded.

"No!"

"Yan Zhizhou! Then you will have to worry about the affairs of the state and county officials. If there are people who raise people and prison students, as long as their hearts are towards our Runing Army, they can be appointed first, and then they can occupy their positions first. If there is still a shortage of staff, then choose from the best of the students! Also, the negotiations with the imperial court and the governor's yamen are also left to you. Drag is the first priority in everything, and we must ensure that our people are in control of this territory. Wu Shigong instructed Yan Jing, the former governor of Ruzhou.

"Yes! My lord! ”

After sending troops, the Runing army successfully occupied several counties in central Henan. So Wu Shigong immediately asked Qiao Song and Yan Jing to arrange for the more than 1,000 reserve officials they had brought out. But with the continuous expansion of the occupied area, the number of new officials needed also increased, so on the one hand, Wu Shigong asked Runing to urgently arrange another batch of reserve officials, and on the other hand, he was promoted on the spot. The Runing Army wanted to speed up, and took advantage of the fact that the imperial court did not react, and first established the Runing Army's own regime in this anarchic land.

"General! There are local villagers in front of them to condolence the general! A pro-soldier said.

"Good! Let's check it out! Wu Shigong said with a smile.

"The old man looked forward to it day and night, and finally looked forward to the king. Seeing the general's face today, the old decay is not very happy! Several kind-faced old men, with a large number of rewards, knelt down to greet Wu Shigong.

"Hurry up, please!" Wu Shigong said humbly. He also smiled kindly, "All the local sages and consciences are grateful to the Runing Army. This official is also very late, what a shame! Shame! ”

"Don't dare! Can't! ”

Everyone is performing the military and civilian fish and water situation. But Wu Shigong knew in his heart that none of these old men were vegetarians. In the current situation where bandits and homeless people are rampant, it is the local clans that can survive locally. Moreover, these big clans have their own armed forces, that is, the armed forces of some landlords. In normal times, those landlords armed to defend their own clan, and occasionally they also visited the bandits. And these landlord armies also purchased weapons from the Runing Army.

However, in order to stabilize the local area as soon as possible, the Runing Army still had to cooperate with these local clans, and through their strength, they had to resume production as soon as possible and establish an effective ruling system.

"This official has heard that all the families are also from farming and reading families, and the children of the clan are also handsome. And the place is withering, and people are needed to govern it, I hope that all the virtuous people will not hesitate to their own children, let them come out and do things for our Runing Army! Wu Shigong smiled and threw out the carrot.

"That's for sure! That's for sure! Those old men are overjoyed, they are going to establish a close relationship with Wu Shigong today, and find a good future for the children of the clan, "As long as the general can see it, the people in the clan will be selected by the general." There will be no excuses. ”

"That's for the best! Thank you very much! ”

"Haha——!"

After a period of joy for both the guests and the hosts, the performance finally ended. Everyone took what they wanted, and they were all satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.

And the actions of those local clans were very vigorous, and they quickly put together more than 4,000 landlord armies under the command of the Runing Army, and Wu Shigong immediately arranged this army to become the auxiliary soldiers of the Runing Army. And Qiao Song and Yan Jing also accepted more than 100 children of various ethnic groups and immediately arranged them to vacant positions.

And this arrangement is also an expedient measure for the Runing Army. Those officials who join by surprise will be tested in the future, and only those who are truly integrated into the Runing Army will develop in the future. Moreover, in the future, such officials will not be officials in the same place, and they will also be arranged to other places to prevent collusion between officials and localities.

After the meeting, Wu Shigong asked Chi Mingdao: "Where are Rusong and Shumo on the right?" ”

"They have entered Qi County, and they are about to meet the Shaanxi thieves." Chi Ming replied.

Wu Shigong nodded, and then ordered: "Go to Uncle Yongli and Xunzi and give an order, ask them to suppress the speed, don't rush too fast, this time the main attack is Rusong." Don't divide five by two, and the thieves will be frightened. ”

The expedition of the Runing Army was divided into two stages:

The first stage, of course, is to open a passage for Kaifeng City, at least to ensure that grain can be transported into the city, and to let the soldiers and civilians in the city have the confidence to defend the city. Of course, now there is another additional task, which is to rescue Yu Zilian's Black Cloud Army.

And the task at this stage was completed by Yang Rusong and the calligraphy and ink department on the right. And Xue Yongli and Zug in the middle are basically flanking cover. And Zhou Xun and Zhang Biao on the left side will not rush too far ahead. They were also afraid that the Li and Luo coalition forces would be beaten too hard, so that they would not dare to enter Huguang through Nanyang.

And the second stage is to hold on to the Li and Luo coalition forces for a long time. The Runing Army will not take the initiative to attack, and of course it will block the advance of the Li and Luo coalition forces in the front. The Runing army was to fight with the millions of peasant troops, and finally forced the Li and Luo coalition forces to leave Kaifeng City.

In any case, the food supply for a million people is much more than that for a hundred thousand people. The Runing Army has Runing and Guide behind it to supply, if it is said to fight for consumption, the Li and Luo coalition forces can't fight the Runing Army. (To be continued......)