Immediately afterwards, Li Guo continued to talk about the situation and recent situation of the rebel armies from all walks of life, as well as the situation in the border area of Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan provinces.

Gradually, as the content deepened, Li Zicheng could no longer maintain his initial composure, and his expression became cloudy, he didn't expect the situation to be far worse than he thought, he didn't expect the actions of the officers and troops to be so violent, the situation changed so quickly, there was no sign at all, as if the sky was still clear and the sun was shining brightly just now, and suddenly there was a sudden wind and rain and heavy rain.

calmed down a little, and after Li Guo finished speaking, Li Zicheng said in a serious and deep voice: "In this way, relatively speaking, it seems that the actions of the official army have begun to focus on Huaiqing, Weihui and Zhangde in the three prefectures of Henan. ”

"Uncle, you're right, it's true." Li Guo nodded slightly, and after agreeing with a sentence, he groaned slightly, and then continued: "Look at Xuan Mo's posture, not only is it as simple as blocking us north of the Yellow River, but also wants to drive all the rebel troops away from Henan and into Shanxi. ”

"I can still understand that we are blocked north of the Yellow River, but why did Xuan Mo do that and drive us away from Henan?" Liu Fangliang asked disapprehantly, as if he felt that his question was quite ambiguous, and further added: "No matter what Xuan Mo has in mind, even though he is the governor of Henan." However, he drove the rebel armies from all walks of life north and got them into Shanxi, can Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, agree? The two of them still have to do it, huh? ”

"I don't know, it's just that feeling." Li Guo shook his head, also had some doubts, and continued: "Almost all the fierce generals who can fight in this area of the imperial court have gathered in the three prefectures of Henan, and the troops are gathering more and more. Looking at Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, and Zhang Zongheng, the governor of Xuanda, the general army in their hands is about to fall under the jurisdiction of Xuan Mo. ”

has memories before the crossing, and has seen a lot, Li Zicheng has a different place from Li Guo and Liu Fangliang, knows more, and understands the Tao better. Coupled with the various information obtained, and corroborating each other, of course, I have a better understanding of this situation.

"Guo'er, Fang Liang, you should know that although Xu Dingchen and Xuan Mo are at the same level, they are not subordinates. However, don't forget, there is also Cao Wenzhao in the middle, this is the general who governs this area, and he can be said to be the chief soldier of the general army. ”

"As for why the rebel armies from all walks of life were driven to Shanxi, there must have been some kind of premeditation, so we had to do that. After all, at the beginning, the rebel army entered Shanxi from Shaanxi, and Song Tong, the governor of Shanxi at that time, didn't he try his best to put the responsibility on the civil and military generals in Shaanxi? With the experience of the past, Xu Dingchen was overwhelmed by the rebel army, and he saw that he could stabilize the situation in Shanxi and ask the court for credit, how could he easily give in and let the rebel army enter Shanxi again? ”

"Boss, I can still understand what you said earlier, but for the latter words, I am completely blinded, and I don't understand what it means at all?" Liu Fangliang was full of confusion, and was confused by Li Zicheng's dumb riddle.

Li Guo was not, as soon as Li Zicheng finished speaking, he immediately understood in his heart, looked at Liu Fangliang, and explained: "Fangliang, what the boss means is that Xuan Mo did this and drove the rebel army to the north, and there must be some conspiracy brewing in it. However, even if he didn't know what the conspiracy was, with Xu Dingchen's constraints, Xuan Mo would not be able to achieve his goal easily. In this way, it gives us a chance to breathe and find a way to deal with it. ”

"Oh... So that's the case..."Liu Fangliang nodded lightly as if he didn't understand, and responded with a sentence.

"Uncle, what should we do next? Do you want to continue to avenge the king for his own use? Li Guo didn't pay attention to Liu Fangliang anymore, and looked at Li Zicheng with a solemn expression.

"Revenge must still be avenged. Otherwise, I would not be a man of my word. However, you immediately send additional manpower, activate all the spies, and inquire from many aspects, you must find out what medicine is sold in the Xuanmo gourd, and what is the idea? What kind of conspiracy is being carried out? ”

......

At the same time, in the northeast of Henan Province, the farthest border place, in Anyang City, Anyang County, Zhangde Prefecture, among the post stations, the governor of Henan was temporarily stationed here to guard the security of the south of the Beijing Division and prevent the rebel army from entering the land of Jinan again.

In Xuan Mo's room, the dim light was crystal clear, flickering from time to time, flickering and flickering.

Xuan Mo sat upright, Deng Xi, Zuo Liangyu, Li Bei, Tang Jiuzhou and other generals sat on both sides, looking at Xuan Mo with an unwavering expression, waiting for the other party's instructions.

"Generals, you must also know that the reason why all kinds of rebels have been killed and exterminated endlessly, but they are like weeds, burning wave after wave, and they cannot be eradicated at all. However, although the matter was helpless, everyone also had to work hard to fight and kill the thieves in Shanxi, Hebei and Henan to protect the safety of the Beijing Division. ”

"As the saying goes, capture the thief before the king, only in this way can our action to exterminate the rebel army be completed faster and more smoothly, and live up to the emperor's reuse of us. A few days ago, Zijin Liang, the leader of the bandits, led his army to join forces with King Gao Yingxiang in Wu'an County, but was intercepted and killed by Deng Xi and Zuo Liangyu in Jianshan, south of Wu'an County. ”

Speaking of this, Xuan Mo's words paused for a moment, shifted his gaze to Deng Xi and Zuo Liangyu, and said loudly: "Chief soldier Deng, Chief soldier Zuo, I wonder if the two of you are sure to find out where Zijin Liang is hiding and kill this leader of the thieves?" As long as Zijin Liang can be killed, there will inevitably be new infighting among the thieves. When the time comes, we will not only be able to recruit some anti-thieves and rebels without bloodshed, but we will also be able to gather all our forces to kill those diehards. ”

Zuo Liangyu and Deng Xi stood up at the same time, clasped their fists with extremely tacit understanding, and said in unison: "Lord Qiyu, the last general will never live up to the emperor's grace, and will definitely do his best to find out the hiding place of Zijin Liang and exterminate it." ”

"Two generals, please take a seat, you don't have to be so polite."

Xuan Mo immediately pressed his hands in the air, and at the same time responded politely. After the two sat down, Xuan Mo set his eyes on Tang Jiuzhou again, and said loudly: "General Tang Bing, your task is still the same, or to assist Yuan Daquan, an officer in the defense of the river, and Chen Bing to the north of the Yellow River, completely eliminate the possibility of thieves crossing the Yellow River in the south." ”

As if thinking of something, a look of uneasiness flashed between Xuan Mo's eyebrows, and he further said: "General Tang, as long as you hold the Yellow River, your credit will never be inferior to that of General Zuo and General Deng, and you should be side by side with all the general soldiers." When the time comes, once the rebel army is wiped out, I will definitely ask for the first credit for you. ”

Obviously, no one dared to refute this sentence, not only because of Xuan Mo's official position, but also because his words were reasonable, and the generals present knew very well that holding the Yellow River was not only a major task, but also very difficult, and the defense line was long, and the thieves could smuggle across the Yellow River from any section.

The most important thing is that everyone knows in their hearts that with the temperament of the emperor today, he only looks at the result and never looks at the process.

Therefore, no one envied Tang Jiuzhou's credit, but there was a trace of sympathy and happiness.

As if he hadn't seen the change in everyone's expressions, Xuan Mo continued to speak and began to caress Tang Jiuzhou.

"And, General Tang, don't worry, with the successive victories of General Zuo and General Deng, we have gradually restored control over Weihui Mansion and Huaiqing Mansion. If you destroy the thieves in these two places, your burden will be lightened a lot. ”

"Yes, my lord, the last general understands." Tang Jiuzhou did not stand up, which shows that his mood is not high.

However, Xuan Mo didn't care about the change in Tang Jiuzhou's expression, but raised his eyes and quickly glanced at the generals on both sides, his face was relaxed, and he said slowly: "Generals, after these few months of hard work, the thieves who fled into Henan have been contained, and the situation is gradually effectively controlled. ”

"My lord, drive the thieves to Weihui Mansion and Zhangde Mansion, these are all easy to do." Zuo Liangyu suddenly answered, turned to a look of hesitation, and finally made up his mind to continue: "But my lord, if the thieves are driven back to Zezhou in Shanxi, even with the cooperation of General Cao's soldiers, they can be prevented from escaping to the north of Shanxi. However, can Lord Xu, the governor of Shanxi, agree to do this? After all, once the thieves who fled into Shanxi cannot be effectively controlled, it is very likely that they will develop and grow again, and the imperial court will have a great possibility of being held accountable. ”

At this moment, there was silence in the room, and no one spoke, but most people agreed with this point of view, no matter how much you Xuan Mo said and spit lotus flowers, it was difficult to convince Xu Dingchen.

After all, wasn't the reason why Xu Dingchen was promoted and appointed to the post of governor because his predecessor was ineffective in suppressing bandits, and the thieves ravaged Shanxi and threatened the Beijing Division?

Looking at the people again, the trilateral governor of Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou, and the governor of Shaanxi, Wu Fu, didn't they learn the lessons of the Song Dynasty?

In order to prevent the thieves from escaping back to Shaanxi, the two mobilized almost all the troops in Shaanxi, and guarded them to the west of the Yellow River, and all the Yellow River crossings did not give the thieves a chance to escape back at all.

Moreover, Xu Dingchen is not a fool, it's not that he doesn't know, once the thieves flee to Shanxi again, it not only increases the difficulty of his encirclement and suppression, but also is equivalent to putting a cannon on his head.

If you don't cooperate with Xuan Mo's actions, even if you don't have merit, at least you can save your life. On everyone present, no one would be stupid enough to let the rebellious army return to Shanxi.

Of course, everyone knows very well that Xuan Mo's strategy is definitely the best way to plan and completely wipe out the rebellious army.

After all, no one can forget what Yuan Daquan said a month ago, once it enters the cold winter wax moon, there are some sections of the Yellow River ice surface will be frozen. If, by that time, the thieves had not been exterminated, or had not been driven to other places, the thieves would have easily crossed the Yellow River south and entered the hinterland of Henan.

If it really happens at that time, according to the speculation, the imperial court's plan to encircle and suppress the thieves will be equivalent to a soup, and trying to encircle and intercept the thieves is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack, and it will be even more difficult!

At the same time, everyone knows very well in their hearts that even if they know Xu Dingchen with reason, move with affection, and tell each other these reasons, it is impossible to convince Xu Dingchen.

At the very least, the possibility of persuasion is very small.

Xuan Mo also knew this, the excitement at the beginning disappeared with the wind, and then he looked worried, and finally had to say helplessly: "Forget it, I'll talk to Lord Xu again, I know what's at stake, whether we agree or not, we must clean up the thieves in Huaiqing Mansion and Weihui Mansion as soon as possible." As long as we do this, no matter whether Lord Xu agrees or not, as long as the thieves do not cross the Yellow River, we will have a chance to slowly wipe them out! ”

In Zezhou, Shanxi, the governor of Yamen, although Xu Dingchen did not gather all the generals like Xuan Mo, he also called his adviser Zhang Zai into the study, and discussed things secretly in the dim light.

At this moment, Zhang Zai was quickly browsing a newspaper of the palace, and after reading it, in the process of returning it to Xu Dingchen and putting it on the bookcase, the latter asked calmly: "Zhang Zai, what do you think about this newspaper sent by Xuanmo, the governor of Henan?" ”

Zhang Zaileng paused for a moment, and did not answer immediately, but his eyes quickly swept over Xu Dingchen's face, and his calm expression made him have no gain, in this short process, his brain was also running at high speed, speculating on Xu Dingchen's thoughts.

In just a moment, Jang Jae made a decision and gave the most secure answer.

"My lord, for the overall situation, judging from the imperial court's policy of suppressing bandits, the proposal of Henan Governor Xuan Mo is undoubtedly the safest way to prevent the spread of thieves to other places."

Zhang Zai slowed down his speech and secretly observed Xu Dingchen's expression, although the latter only revealed a trace of complexity, Zhang Zai was still very sensitive to catch it, and his tone also changed, and his performance was very smooth and natural, without the slightest stiffness.

"But, my lord, have you ever thought that once the thieves are driven into Shanxi, if they can't be contained and grow again, if the thieves threaten the safety of the Jingshi again, your situation will be delicate."

"Oh... Zhang Zai, the power of the thieves has been weakened, and there are generals such as Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, and You Shilu stationed in Shanxi, even if they can't be completely wiped out, can't they still be blocked in the area of Zezhou and Lu'an? ”

Xu Dingchen's eyebrows raised slightly, and he asked like this knowingly, but Zhang Zai was secretly happy when he heard it, he had already determined the other party's attitude, and his judgment was more firm in his heart, and the next answer was more confident, and his words were more slow and unhurried.

"My lord, you also know that although Shanxi is not as dry as Henan and Shaanxi, and there is no harvest, the harvest is not very good. In addition, the taxes of the imperial court have become heavier and heavier in the past two years, and more and more people have been displaced, almost everywhere. Once the thieves enter Shanxi on a large scale again, they will definitely develop and grow, and there will be no shortage of troops to replenish them. ”

Zhang Zai's tone was paused, and then it became a little heavier.

"Moreover, my lord, once the thief grows and grows again, and the scope of the spread becomes wider, even if it is true as Xuan Mo said, he is willing to take responsibility with you and plead with the emperor. But, my lord, do you think the current emperor will listen to or adopt Xuan Mo's words? ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Zai's face showed loyalty and sincerity, and he threw out another question almost word by word, which made Xu Dingchen's heart tremble and touched a lot, but he still maintained a calm and calm appearance.

"What's more, my lord, do you really want to put your career and net worth on a promise from others?"

It seems that he has thought of this a long time ago, knowing that Zhang Zai would say this, Xu Dingchen's reaction was very calm, he glanced at Zhang Zai, just said a word lightly, and sent the latter away.

"I see. Zhang Zai, you go down first, let the official think about it again. ”.