Henan Governor Yamen, in the back office, Governor Fan Shangxiao sat on the hall, and on both sides sat the squire rich Jia of Henan, all of them were flattering, but their words were constantly complaining, and they were not so respectful.

"My lord, the thieves have entered Huaiqing Mansion. Just a few days ago, Xiuwu City had fallen and been occupied by the rebel army, and it was the turn of Huaiqing City next. ”

"Sir, save us squires! Hurry up and leave Huaiqing City to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng and other thieves, our family and all our savings are in Huaiqing City. Once Huaiqing City is lost, not only will our fertile land be confiscated and distributed to those poor, but even the family's wealth and food, and even their lives will not be guaranteed. ”

"Yes, my lord, you should send troops quickly! With the usual practice of thieves like Li Zicheng, they would really do this, robbing the government and the powerful of grain and silver, and confiscating the land. Even real estate and land will not be guaranteed."

......

However, no matter how the squire complained and how tense the situation in Huaiqing Mansion was, Fan Shangxiao, the governor of Henan, still sat firmly on the top, not surprised, but secretly sneered in his heart.

"Hmph... You who are rich and unkind, and the moths of the society, have all been killed by the thieves. The people of Henan are all because of you, they are squeezed and have no food and clothing. Even the taxes that should be paid often conceal the amount of fertile land at home and not report it, and the public grain handed over is only a little, and you still want the court to save you, think about it? ”

Gradually, many squires said that the stars were flying wildly, and when they saw Fan Shangxiao sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai platform, he did not react, drinking tea leisurely, and finally someone reacted, diverted the topic, and made a side knock.

"Excuse me, my lord, about the last time we made a wish to the imperial court, hoping to send a general into Henan to encircle and suppress the bandits, I wonder if there is any news from the imperial court? What kind of attitude is it? ”

Fan Shangxiao finally reacted, and casually put the teacup on the coffee table on the side, and then said slowly: "Everyone, rest assured, the emperor's will has come down, and in the near future, the imperial court will send Cao Wenzhao, the chief soldier of Lintao, and the deputy general soldier of Zuo Liangyu to enter Shanxi and Henan respectively to encircle and suppress the rebellious army. Moreover, General Zuo will soon lead the Changping Army into Henan to encircle and suppress the rebellious army. ”

Speaking of this, as if he had thought of something, a trace of jealousy flashed between Fan Shangxiao's eyebrows, and he turned to pretend to be sincere: "To tell the truth, as the governor of Henan, it is my Fan's duty to encircle and suppress the rebellious army and ensure the safety of one party. However, everyone also knows that Henan's troops are not much, most of them have been transferred to Shandong and Liaodong, and Henan and Huaiqing together are only a few thousand. Compared with the chaotic army, a battalion can easily have tens of thousands of people, and such a small number of troops in Henan Province are nothing at all. ”

While speaking, Fan Shangxiao was also thinking in his heart, if it weren't for the fact that you people could go to the Great Heavenly Court and talk to some adults in the imperial court, my dignified second-class member of the imperial court, the governor of Henan, let alone explain to you, I wouldn't even have the opportunity to sit here!

The squires on both sides were very cooperative, and when they heard that the imperial court would send generals into Henan to encircle and suppress the rebellious army, they were all excited, and their eyes flashed with crystal light; When I heard Fan Shangxie's explanation again, they all nodded frequently, looking like they were deeply appreciative, and some people immediately echoed and patted their ass.

"It's really hard work! Today's imperial court is in an eventful season, with Houjin in the northeast and Kong Youde's rebellion in Shandong, so that most of Henan's troops have been transferred to these two places. Moreover, Henan has been in drought for many years, and there is no harvest in the fields, even if adults have the heart to re-recruit soldiers, they have no food and salary as backing, which is really powerless. ”

Hearing this, although Fan Shangxiao's face was smiling bitterly, he was secretly scolding in his heart, a group of bastards are all humanoid locusts in the township! Why is there a great drought year after year, and there is no harvest in the ground? Just you guys with fat brains, the warehouse at home is already full of grain. As long as each of you comes up with a little food, why can't this officer be able to recruit soldiers?

Although he thought so in his heart, Fan Shangxiao had to continue to talk with these people and talk patiently.

......

Outside Huaiqing City, Li Jiajun deployed heavy troops at the four city gates and surrounded them. The Flying Dragon Chariot went into battle again, and the Li family army above was using bows and arrows to kill the enemy. However, the rest of the Li family army stood still, standing two miles away from the city gate.

Even so, the battle situation was very tragic, although there was no sound of hand-to-hand combat, but the casualties caused by the arrows and the screams caused by them still made people feel terrifying!

At this moment, outside the east gate of Huaiqing City, Li Zicheng stood on top of a mound, holding a telescope, quietly watching this scene. With the passage of time, at this moment, Liu Tichun suddenly came from a distance, and as soon as he stood still, he couldn't wait to say: "Boss, according to the report from the spies we scattered around, the officials and soldiers in the county town around Xiuwu City began to move, and more and more spies were dispatched. Looking at their posture, it is very likely that there will be a big move in the past few days to jointly rescue Huaiqing City. ”

Li Zicheng put down the binoculars, glanced back, turned to look ahead, and said in a faint voice: "Got it." However, body pure, your vision should not be so narrow, you must see farther, spread our spies a little farther, not only aim at the surroundings of Huaiqing City, but also from Shanxi, Henan to enter the various passes of Huaiqing Mansion, you must pay special attention to the movement of these places. ”

Liu Tichun was stunned for a moment, a little puzzled, and couldn't help asking, "Boss, why did you do that?" ”

At this time, without waiting for Li Zicheng to answer, Gao Yigong didn't know where he came from, his face was depressed, and the whole person looked very bored, and interjected: "Captain Liu, do you still need to ask?" ”

Hearing this, Liu Tichun was stunned again, turned around and followed the prestige, and saw that it was a high achievement, faintly unhappy, thinking that the other party was mocking him for being stupid, but he still held back the anger in his chest and asked calmly: "Captain Gao, where do you say this?" Why can't I ask? ”

Gao Yigong smiled faintly, his expression was very proud, and he didn't realize that he had offended people with his words.

"Captain Liu, these days, following the boss and Mr. Xu every day, my ears are almost grinding out of cocoons, not to mention the small Huaiqing Mansion, that is, the entire Henan, and the army that can be taken is only seven or eight thousand people."

"So what? Even if there are only seven or eight thousand people, with the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers, it is far from being comparable to the troops of our rebel army. And, what does this have to do with what you said? Liu Tichun retorted confidently and looked at Gao Yigong directly.

"Cut, grow the morale of others, extinguish your own prestige..."

Gao Yigong muttered to himself, and when he saw that Liu Tichun was about to have a seizure when he heard this, he hurriedly said again: "Captain Liu, don't forget, I'm talking about the whole of Henan." If all these seven or eight thousand people are sent to Huaiqing Mansion to deal with us, the imperial court will not want other state capitals in Henan? ”

As soon as this remark came out, Liu Tichun, who refuted, was speechless, and Gao Yigong had no intention of stopping.

Therefore, looking at the whole world, especially around Huaiqing Mansion, if the imperial court wants to protect Huaiqing City from being captured, reinforcements can only come from Shanxi, Henan Mansion, or Weihui Mansion in the northeast. As long as you send some people to stick to these passes or official roads, you can get the fastest reinforcements from the imperial court, where does it come from? In this way, the boss can formulate corresponding countermeasures, and our Li family army can retreat calmly. ”

Although Liu Tichun was unconvinced, he was not used to Gao Yigong's appearance, but he was speechless to refute, so he had to keep his head silent and wait for Li Zicheng's next orders.

"After the body is pure, send some spies to monitor those passes and official roads. Tomorrow, if there is no emergency here, immediately send someone to Xiuwu City and tell Captain Wu and Captain Liu that they can act. ”

"Yes, boss, my subordinates will arrange for some spies to go out, monitor those passes and official roads, and at the same time, push the scope of the guard into a radius of twenty miles. In this way, even if there is any emergency, the spies guarding the pass and the official road do not find the reinforcements of the imperial court, and other spies can find clues. ”

Hearing this Liu Tichun say this, Li Zicheng nodded with satisfaction: "Go ahead~!" ”