On the 29th day of the first month, in the camp of Tongzhou.

"Brother Liu, am I stupid?" Jiang Cheng kept scratching his scalp, looking worried.

"Brother Jiang, listen to my brother's persuasion, but you have committed ten major beheadings when you leave the camp without an order, you have to think about your family ...... you go! Besides, you and Brother Chen are only 4,000, plus my brother and I are only 9,000. A few days ago, there was news that the 60,000 troops of Inspector Lu and Gao Gonggong were also wiped out. You see? Liu Zeqing advised.

Jiang Cheng wiped his face with his hand and said in a muffled voice: "Guerrilla Chen can't go!" I just fell out with him. ”

"Huh?" Liu Zeqing was greatly surprised, "You two have been anxious about Meng, how could you fall out?" Then you're only a thousand five now! Then it's even more dangerous to get out. ”

Jiang Cheng shook his head and said bitterly, "There are no thousand fives." As soon as I said that I was going to rescue General Wu, some of my subordinates immediately rebelled, and they all voted for Chen's guerrillas, so now only 700 people are willing to follow me. Brother Liu, just send a word! Will you go with me? Otherwise, I'll leave the camp with my son-in-law right away. ”

"Why do you bother?" Liu Zeqing was also forced by Jiang Chengxiang to be quite sad.

"Brother Liu!" may feel that his rescue is more than lucky, so Jiang Cheng said a lot, and said a little upside down, "My family is also a military family, and I know that the battlefield is sinister." However, my second uncle and I were rescued by General Wu several times, and he now came to ask for help, and here in the Tongzhou camp, the camp was full of nearly 100,000 but no one was willing to go. I just pondered: Don't say repay the favor! Should we all work together to fight the Tartars? ”

"Mr. Wu is doing well! Whoever dares to fight with the Tartars is good. But why did he come for help? He also knows that his future is not good! Let's go once, how to rescue General Wu back, this is not in vain our brotherhood! After finishing speaking, the capital looked at Liu Zeqing with a pleading eye.

Liu Zeqing's heart was immediately at war between heaven and man, and he hesitated for a while. Only then did he say to Jiang Cheng: "Don't hide it from you, brother, you know your own affairs." If my brother and I accompany you, as long as I hear that I am going to fight the Tartars, I am afraid that I will not be able to restrain my troops! I'm afraid that most of it will be dispersed at that time. ”

But Jiang Cheng felt that there was a door from Liu Zeqing's words, and he hurriedly patted his chest and encouraged: "Don't trouble Brother Liu, my son-in-law will be the pioneer, and when we encounter a Tartar, we will block it first, so that Brother Liu has time to withdraw." Besides, we didn't go to fight with the Tartars, as long as we successfully rescued General Wu. Then we have achieved our goal. ”

After hesitating for a while, Liu Zeqing sighed and said, "Hey! Just do what Brother Jiang said! ”

After the Tongzhou battalion received Wu Shigong's request for help, several civil officials and supervisors who were in charge here categorically rejected Wu Shigong's request for help. Zuihou or Jiang Cheng and Liu Zeqing saw their friendship with Wu Shigong, and privately took their soldiers and horses nearly 6,000, regardless of the obstruction of those in charge of the Tongzhou battalion. Went out of the camp to aid the Runing Army.

However, even Jiang Cheng and Liu Zeqing also thought that the Runing army would definitely be defeated. Their reinforcement was nothing more than to meet the remnants of the Runing Army and rescue Wu Shigong personally.

February 5th. Inside Texas City.

"Chief Soldier Qiu! The general army of Runing Wu was about to engage the Tartars. It was when the officers and troops gathered to go down with a drum, Ben Fu wanted to point the soldiers and horses in the city to fight together, what was the intention of General Qiu? Shandong Governor Yan Jizu asked Shandong General Soldier Qiu Lei.

In fact, looking at Qiu Lei's languishing appearance, Yan Jizu was a little angry. When Jinan fell, Yan Jizu was shocked and hurriedly transferred Qiu Lei to lead 8,000 troops to aid Jinan.

But Qiu Lei was on the way to lead the troops. I don't know which soldier shouted: "Here comes the Tartars!" Then the whole army broke up. Qiu Lei fled back to Texas with only more than 500 people, and has only collected more than 2,000 so far. In fact, from beginning to end, this army did not even see a single Qing army, and it disappeared like this.

Then, of course, Yan Jizu and Qiu Lei did not dare to lead troops to stop the Qing army's looting in Shandong. Until the Qing army escorted the population and captured it, and returned arrogantly from the side of the city of Dezhou, they did not dare to lead their troops out of the city to intercept them.

At that time, the captured people outside Dezhou City were crying for a long time, and they were looking forward to the officials and soldiers in the city coming to rescue them from the sea of suffering, but Qiu Lei, as the highest military attache in Shandong, burned incense and worshiped Buddha every day, and hoped that the Qing army would leave early, hoping that they would never come to attack Dezhou City.

Originally, Yan Jizu was also made out of temper by Qiu Lei's nest, but Ru Ningjun's request for help made him hope again. If the two armies cooperate and can save King De, then they can make up for it. Even if he can't save King De, at least this kind of rescue operation can be explained to the imperial court, and the guilt of losing his relatives will be much smaller.

But when the current Yan Jizu saw Qiu Lei's appearance of completely losing his spirit, he knew that his plan was in vain. In the end, Yan Jizu's patrol standard battalion is only 3,000 people, and the main force of the official army in Dezhou City is still Qiu Lei's troops, if Qiu Lei does not agree, then there will be no way to send people to rescue the Runing army.

Sure enough, Qiu Lei replied: "Lord Governor! If the last general refuses, the real tartar is too strong. The officials and soldiers in the world are half a pound and eight taels, it's not that the officials and soldiers are too incompetent, how can the Tartars go on a rampage after entering the customs? That General Wu also has a relationship with the last general, and his military strength is also limited, although he is also enthusiastic, but what he does is not a praying mantis blocking the car? Why should we die with him? In order to enhance his persuasiveness, Qiu Lei said that his troops were incompetent.

"But the messenger who came said: General Wu went to the capital and Tongzhou to ask for help?" Yan Jizu still didn't give up.

"Just look! No officers and soldiers will come to help. So be it! In the end, they are all here, and there are not many of us, and if they don't come, we can't beat the Tartars. Don't let the Tartars take advantage of the situation to invade Texas as soon as we get out of the city. Lord Governor! Then our crime will be even greater! Qiu Lei persuaded him.

Seeing that Yan Jizu was still hesitating, Qiu Lei once again strengthened his persuasion: "Lord Governor, although he lost his relatives and lost Jinan, he is indeed guilty. But if you think about it, our crime is not that big. Our whole army is guarding Texas, is that an order from Elder Yang Ge? If you want to be guilty, then you have to treat Yang Ge Lao's sin first, anyway, there is a tall man under the sky, what are we worried about? At most, they will be dismissed from office. Truth be told, we've had enough of these fearful days. ”

Yan Jizu was indeed moved by Qiu Lei's words, he touched his chin and thought quietly. But at this moment, a personal soldier rushed in from outside the door, and he knelt down and said, "Lord Governor! Commander-in-Chief! To the west of the city came an army of more than 1,000 officers. ”

"Oh? Which general led it? Yan Jizu hurriedly asked.

"They said that they were the people of the general army of Runing Wu, and they wanted to go north and fight with the Tartars!"

"Are there really people who aren't afraid of death?" Qiu Lei exclaimed in surprise.

Yan Jizu frowned and thought for a while, and then ordered: "Throw down some grain, grass, wine and meat from the city, even if it is a reward for Benfu!" ”

The news that the Runing army was going to have a big battle with the Qing army spread in the territory of the Ming Dynasty like a ripple, and in public, the people who talked about it also pretended to praise Wu Shigong a few words, but secretly, everyone thought that Wu Shigong's skull was broken.

The most intuitive reaction is that in the stock exchange in Runing, all stocks are falling sharply, and the stocks that businessmen flocked to a few days ago are now selling like waste paper, but there are still no businessmen to pick up this bargain.

However, at this time, Deng Qifan, a senior official of the Runing Army, could not care about the financial market that was about to collapse. On the one hand, they complained in their hearts that Wu Shigong had changed the purpose of sending troops, and on the other hand, they also began to shrink their troops and urgently recruit troops to prevent the chain reaction caused by Wu Shigong's fiasco. And Xue Yongli also urgently mobilized Yang Rusong's two associations to Guide, ready to go north for reinforcements at any time, to meet Wu Shigong's main force of the Runing Army.

In addition, the business of Sihai Commercial Bank, Sihai Qianzhuang and Jimin Reclamation Commercial Bank has also been greatly affected, and many trading partners have suspended trading and are waiting for the outcome of the war. If it weren't for the prestige of the Runing Army in the past, and the fact that their methods of doing things have always been ruthless, maybe some local officials and gentry would have to stretch their claws into the industry of the Runing Army.

In Yangzhou, the salt merchants held three meetings in a short period of time, and in a meeting in Zuihou, they even secretly redivided the salt sales area that the Runing Army was responsible for to each family, and prepared for a "meeting meal" after Wu Shigong's fiasco. Of course, the Lu family and the Guo family are not qualified to participate in this kind of conference.

In Nanjing City, it was rumored that Lu Jiude, the eunuch guarding the town, was ready to dispatch troops, and once Wu Shigong was defeated, they would send troops to unite the official troops of Fengyang and Huguang to seize the territory of Runing and Guide.

Only Hou Fangyu, who is a fan of Wu Shigong's life, still has a few good words for Runing Jun, but mixed with ridicule and regret, Hou Fangyu seems so lonely.

At this time, the man of the hour in Jinling City was Qian Qianyi, who "returned from prison with honor", and he gathered a group of comrades from the Donglin Party, constantly criticizing the government and government, and touting themselves to each other. It seems that as soon as the Donglin Party members come to power, the Tartars who enter the customs and the thieves in the territory will melt clean like spring and white snow.

As for the Wu Shigong they mentioned after dinner? It was nothing more than a lucky, bold, vulgar and stupid soldier, and at this time, they had forgotten that Wu Shigong was also classified as a member of the Donglin Party by them at that time.

Among them, Qian Qianyi's words are the most representative. He said, "Humph! Wu Runing? Stupid pig too. ”

Qian Qianyi had already learned that Gu Hengbo and Liu Ru sent a letter to Wu Shigong a few days ago, and he, a little old man, was already jealous, so he already regarded Wu Shigong as a rival in his heart.

So before the war, no one was optimistic about Wu Shigong, and in this case, the Runing army officially launched a battle with the Qing army. (To be continued......)