"Okay, I believe you, but no matter what kind of outrageous things Zheng does for the military commander, your actions must follow his arrangement, and you must not act without authorization, otherwise military law will be involved. This is my token, no matter what method you two use, you must rush to Tianguan before the early hours of tomorrow morning, pay attention to the secrecy of your actions, and especially do not leak this news. Wang Zhuo saw that Zeng Zhaoli and Tang Bin were full of confidence, especially Zeng Zhaoli's eagerness to try, and he was afraid that he would accidentally leak the news, so he told him again and again.

"Yes, General Wang, we will definitely obey Commander Zheng's arrangement, you can rest assured, we are leaving. Zeng Zhaoli took the token, pulled Tang Bin and turned around and walked out.

"General, look at Brother Zeng, whether he is up to the task. Wang Zhuo still felt a little uneasy.

"You don't have to worry about this, with Tang Bin supervising him, it shouldn't be a big deal, not to mention, I will also rush to Tianguan tomorrow to assist Zheng Ti. "For Zeng Zhaoli, of course Yingxue is confident, although he usually giggles, but when he encounters important things, he will also become cautious, not to mention that Tang Bin is with him, Yingxue is more assured.

"Since the general is so confident, it seems that I am overly worried. Wang Zhuo said with relief.

"Brother Wang, as soon as this battle is over, we will march south and prepare to go straight to Kyoto, and at that time, the three northern provinces will bother you again, so I am ready to set up a marshal's mansion in the three northern provinces, and Brother Wang will serve as the marshal, I don't know what Brother Wang wants?"

"Marshal! This title is too big, how can I, Wang Zhuo Hede, receive such a high position, no. No, I'd rather follow the general south. To serve as a staff officer, the general is also asked to choose another meritocracy. "Wang Zhuo knows what he can do. Now he was already feeling a headache, and if he took the post of marshal, wouldn't it be even more troublesome to him.

"This can't be shirked, if Brother Wang doesn't hold it, then who else has the ability to hold this position, and if Brother Wang goes south with me and becomes a staff officer, wouldn't it cause everyone's criticism, rest assured. I'll give you an assistant, what do you think of Tang Bin? If he is your assistant, you will definitely be very relaxed. "Yingxue has already made up her mind, how can Wang Zhuo refuse.

"Brother Tang is deeply hidden, he looks at problems more carefully, and he is sober-minded, since the general recommended him, I think he should be able to do it, but. As for my position as a marshal, I think the general should choose another meritorious. "After Wang Zhuo was asked by Yingxue to lead the three armies last time, Wang Zhuo felt too much pressure. It's really a little overwhelmed, this time he won't agree to anything, he would rather follow Yingxue's side as a staff officer. It's a lot easier for him.

"That's it, Brother Wang. Let's discuss this matter in the long run, and I'll talk about it after I return to the Northern Capital from Tianguan. It's too early to say anyway. In this way, let's go and see Zhang Luo, Li Li, Yang Yuhai, Zhou Ming and others first, and see if they have encountered any difficulties in forming a new army. Ying Xue saw that Wang Zhuo tried his best to shirk the position of marshal, so she had to put the matter aside for a while and talk about it later.

Zeng Zhaoli and Tang Bin did not mention their respective mobilization of troops, and said that after Zheng Ti, Ma or the two of them made a plan of action with Yingxue, Ma or retreated to their posts according to the plan - Xiongling Pass, which is the second important pass after the Tianguan, Zheng Ti and Ma or the two are responsible for guarding these two passes, which is also Wang Zhuo's most important resistance barrier, if this barrier is lost, Wang Zhuo will become a turtle in the urn, only the share of being trapped and beaten, so this Tianguan and Xiongling Pass are the most important passes, and they are the most important passes that Wang Zhuo relies on to defend against the enemy, and there is no room for loss.

Since the last time Zheng Ti was punished by Wang Zhuo for violating military law, the enemies who were eyeing Tianguan felt that there was an opportunity, so they immediately sent their own envoys to win over Zheng Ti, Zheng Ti was not moved, after discussing with Yingxue, he selected the general Lai Rong and the guerrilla general Zhu Xiaochun, the two more powerful forces, however, Zheng Ti still pretended to resign, after Lai Rong and Zhu Xiaochun's envoys mobilized and rebelled, Zheng Ti also nodded, expressing his willingness to surrender to them, Zheng Ti secretly contacted the envoy they sent, and made an insatiable look, wantonly asking for food, and Lai Rong and Zhu Xiaochun in order to win over Zheng Ti, and seeing that Zheng Ti was just such a greedy person, they also met Zheng Ti's request and sent him a large number of gold coins, Zheng Ti also did not refuse to accept them all, but Zheng Ti tried his best to deal with the envoys sent by these two forces, because this matter must not be leaked, nor can it be known to the envoys of both sides, otherwise, Zheng Ti may not be human inside and out.

Fortunately, the time did not drag on for too long, it was only a short seven days, Wang Zhuo's secrecy work was not bad, and the matter of conquering and eliminating Gao Yuanhao was not leaked. And Lai Rong and Zhu Xiaochun, the envoys of these two forces, sought merit, in order to show their merits, of course, they got a lot of benefits from Zheng Ti, and went back to report Zheng Ti's surrender, of course, they spoke to Zheng Ti, so that Lai Rong and Zhu Xiaochun both thought that the capture of Tianguan was a matter that could be captured and was just around the corner, and they completely eliminated their vigilance against Zheng Ti.

When Yingxue came to Tianguan the next day, Zhu Xiaochun sent a messenger, it seems that he has been a little unbearable, and he doesn't want to drag the time too long, just want to take over Tianguan as soon as possible, he saw that Zheng Ti was already willing to surrender to him, so he couldn't wait to send a messenger to Zheng Ti to say that he wanted to talk to him about the surrender in detail, and asked to meet Zheng Ti tonight, Yingxue still appeared as Zheng Ti's guard, Zheng Ti listened to the words of the messenger, did not hesitate, immediately agreed, of course, and gave the envoy a lot of gifts, making the messenger smile, praising Zheng Ti is an understanding person, and Zheng Ti is naturally old-fashioned, asked Zhu Xiaochun's envoy to give himself a lot of good words, and to find a better position in Zhu Xiaochun's army, the messenger said straight General Zhu will not treat Commander Zheng badly, and the two sides agreed on the time, Zheng Ti sent the envoy out of the city secretly.

Seeing that the envoy had left, Ying Xue said to Zheng Ti: "General Zheng, the two of us can go tonight." I don't think Zhu Xiaochun will do anything to us, this matter should not be dangerous. Too many people get in the way and easily attract the attention of others. However, for the sake of safety, you should take care of the aftermath, and the defense here will be taken over by your four brigade commanders for the time being, tonight, we must make Zhu Xiaochun believe, and we must make an agreement with him to let him take over Tianguan tomorrow night, and then it will be carried out as originally planned. ”

After hearing this, Zheng Ti hurriedly nodded yes. Expressed complete agreement. As soon as night fell, Yingxue and Zheng Ti secretly went out of the city and came to the camp of the guerrilla general Zhu Xiaochun, fifty miles away from Tianguan.

didn't expect Zheng Ti to come alone, which was much beyond Zhu Xiaochun's expectations, but he believed in Zheng Ti's sincerity even more, and Zheng Ti was also respectful to Zhu Xiaochun during the conversation, which made Zhu Xiaochun feel even more reassured, believing that Tianguan was already in his bag. Zheng Ti completely believed in it, and swore that Zheng Ti was appointed as the commander of the army, and still led his original team, Zheng Ti was of course very grateful. Expressing his loyalty to Zhu Xiaochun, Zhu Xiaochun and Zheng Ti agreed to lead the army into Tianguan at midnight tomorrow night, and Zheng Ti expressed his willingness to surrender to Tianguan. The two agreed that tomorrow night, the flame would be the trumpet. As long as the flame signal is issued, Zheng Ti will open the gate of Tianguan. Greet Zhu Xiaochun's army. After the two agreed on the details, Zheng Ti excused that there were still some things that had not been done in Tianguan, and there might be some resistance from individual brigade commanders, so he was in a hurry to go back to deal with it, and after the general was settled, he paved the way for the arrival of General Zhu, and Yingxue said goodbye and left Zhu Xiaochun's camp.

After Yingxue and Zheng Ti returned to Tianguan, it was already midnight, and after the two discussed for a while, they immediately came to Lai Rong's camp according to the code agreed with Lai Rong's envoy, Lai Rong's envoy saw Zheng Ti coming in person, knowing that the matter was urgent, and immediately passed on Lai Rong, after Lai Rong listened to the report, he saw that Zheng Ti came in person, so he had to get up and come to meet Zheng Ti.

"General, the matter is really urgent, and my subordinates have to come late at night to disturb the general, and I ask the general to understand, if the general doesn't help this time, then our plan to surrender will be all in vain. Zheng Ti's words made Lai Rong nervous for a while, he didn't know what was going on, seeing Zheng Ti say it so strictly, he knew that something was unusual.

"Commander Zheng, don't worry, take your time, General Ben will call the shots for you!" Lai Rong was very relieved to see Zheng Ti call himself a subordinate in front of him, since Zheng Ti believed in himself so much, then his surrender must be real, I didn't expect that he dreamed of getting the Tianguan so easily, Lai Rong was really relieved.

"General, according to reliable sources, because his subordinates refused Zhu Xiaochun's surrender, he was actually angry, tomorrow night he is going to attack Tianguan, I will garrison Tianguan with the strength of an army, it will definitely not be able to hold it, but if I ask for help from the horses of Xionglingguan, then our plan will be difficult to achieve, because he is a person I know very well, it is impossible for him to surrender to the general, but if he comes to reinforce me, then it will be difficult for me to open the gate of Tianguan and welcome the general into the city。 The subordinates felt that the situation was serious, so they came to report to the general late at night and asked the general to decide. Zheng Ti said anxiously.

"Commander Zheng doesn't need to worry, how many people know about this?" Lai Rong asked Zheng Ti with a stern expression.

"The subordinates have detained this information and have not reported it to Wang Zhuo, at present, it seems that only you know, the general, have not leaked it for the time being. Zheng Ti replied respectfully.

"Okay, although this matter is a little dangerous for you, but it is very beneficial to our plan, since he Zhu Xiaochun is willing to come, then I will tell him to go and not return." "Lai Rong was originally a general of the border country, and he had been fighting for many years, he had never seen any kind of scene, and he already felt that now was a great opportunity.

"Could it be that the general already has a countermeasure, and he asked the general to tell his subordinates, so that his subordinates can rest assured. Zheng asked with a pretended panic.

"Hehe, don't hide this matter from you, you don't have to be bored, I will immediately convene a meeting of the commanders of the various armies, and you will understand immediately. Come, convene a meeting of the commanders of the various armies immediately. Lai Rong ordered loudly to the guards, it seemed that he was already in the chest. After Zheng Ti and Ying Xue glanced at each other, they sat down on the chair to see what Lai Rong had to do, and then make a plan.

"Commanders. An emergency meeting is being held tonight because there is something urgent. Everyone knows that Tianguan is the key to our success or failure, and I won't say much about it. Now that our opportunity has come, Zhu Xiaochun will attack Tianguan tomorrow night, and I am ready to destroy him in Tianguan, I don't know what you think?" Lai Rong said confidently.

"General, I don't know where I got this information, can this information be true?" asked a military commander who stood up.

"Hahaha, of course it's true, oh, I forgot to introduce it. This is the commander of Tianguan, Commander Zheng, Commander Zheng has been subordinated to me, and his position will still be the commander in the future, this time the information was reported by him overnight, and the details will be explained by Commander Zheng, everyone will work together in the future, they are all their own people, and they must take care of each other and support each other. Please don't worry about Commander Zheng. Lai Rong said happily.

"Thanks to the general's refusal to give up, Zheng Ti swears allegiance to the general, and I would like to ask you for more advice in the future. Let me introduce Zhu Xiaochun's situation to you, in fact, the situation is very simple. Because I refused Zhu Xiaochun's surrender, he was afraid that I would surrender to the general, so he wanted to strike first. Take advantage of my unpreparedness and attack the Tianguan first. Fortunately, the spy I sent to him got the news, so he immediately rushed to report it to the general. Zheng Ti hurriedly stood up and saluted the army commanders.

"He turned out to be Zheng Ti, the guard of Tianguan. I really didn't expect it. ”

"It seems that he has truly surrendered to us. ”

"Congratulations to the General, my wish has been granted. ”

The military commanders present collectively congratulated Lai Rong, of course Lai Rong was very happy in his heart, but he knew that now was not the time to invite merit and commendation, he must first eliminate Zhu Xiaochun, and then the three northern provinces could all belong to him, so that he could completely control all the territory of the three northern provinces and the east, at that time, he could fight back and attack Kyoto, however, these are all future matters, and now the top priority is how to eliminate Zhu Xiaochun, he held back his smugness and said to everyone: " Everyone, now let's talk about how to eliminate Zhu Xiaochun, my opinion is to set up an ambush, wait for Zhu Xiaochun's arrival, then we will be surprised, attack him unprepared, be sure to eliminate him in front of Tianguan, and then we will advance into Tianguan, eliminate Wang Zhuo and Gao Yuanhao, and unify the three northern provinces. ”

"As soon as the general orders are ordered, we are willing to go to the soup and fight the fire, do our best, and do our best. Everyone swore that Lai Rong usually made the decision, and Lai Rong was also relatively dictatorial, so they didn't need to worry about it at all, as long as they obeyed Lai Rong's orders, they just carried it out.

"Well, good. Lai Rong glanced at everyone, expressed satisfaction, and then said: "Zhu Xiaochun, Tianguan and our three forces are each other's horns, since Zhu Xiaochun wants to attack Tianguan, he must pass through the dragon path, which is overgrown with grass and trees, and it is the best ambush location, so we will set up an ambush here, and when Zhu Xiaochun's men and horses arrive, we will kill him by surprise and be sure to annihilate them in one fell swoop." After Lai Rong finished speaking, he asked Zheng Ti: "Does Commander Zheng know how many troops Zhu Xiaochun dispatched this time?"

Seeing that Lai Rong asked about him, Zheng Tian stood up and said to Lai Rong respectfully: "There are about three armies and 120,000 people. ”

"Okay, in this way, we will send the troops of the four armies to ambush him, and there will be Commander Zheng to meet us at that time, the forces of the five armies are combined, I believe that Zhu Xiaochun will definitely be wiped out, hahaha!" Lai Rong laughed happily, as if he was already in control.

"Since the general has made a clever plan, then ask the general to use the magic flame as the number, and his subordinates will immediately go out of the city to meet the general, and we will attack back and forth to eliminate that Zhu Xiaochun in Tianguanmen. Without further ado, the subordinates will go back to prepare, and after eliminating Zhu Xiaochun tomorrow night, the subordinates will open the gate of Tianguan and welcome the general to take over Tianguan. In order to show my sincerity, I will take down the guard of Xiongling Pass, Ma Or, and use him to coerce the guard of Xiongling Pass to open the city gate as a greeting gift to the general, to show the sincerity of my subordinates. Zheng said flatteringly.

"Okay, since you have this heart, then this matter will be fully entrusted to you, tomorrow we will join forces, and after eliminating Zhu Xiaochun, we will all meet in Tianguan, and then we will be rewarded for meritorious deeds. Since Commander Zheng is busy with military affairs, please go back quickly to avoid changes. Lai Rong said happily.

"Yes, my subordinates will go back and wait for the good news from the general. After Zheng Ti listened to Lai Rong's words, he said goodbye to him.

"Okay, General Zheng, please. Lai Rong knows that now is a critical time, and he can't make any mistakes.

After Ying Xue and Zheng Ti left, Lai Rong's advisors asked with some concern, "Does the general really believe in this Zheng Ti so much?

"Hehe, General Ben doesn't believe him, but, the information he sent today I think is absolutely true, Zhu Xiaochun is what I have always wanted to destroy, since there is such a good opportunity, how can I let it go, as for this Zheng Ti, wait for me to see if his surrender is also sincere, and then make plans, this person is just an insatiable person, but he still has the value of use, since he has boasted of Haikou today, tomorrow after we enter the Tianguan, if he does not capture the horse of Xionglingguan to see me, I will slowly punish his crimes, otherwise, will not be true, who will be willing to surrender to me in the future, we will not cut off our own way。 Now I am preparing that the commanders of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth armies will go to Longjing to set up an ambush now, and when Zhu Xiaochun passes through Longjing tomorrow night, he must be eliminated at Longjing, and I will personally lead one army to meet him, and the rest of the armies will stay in the base camp in case there is a loss! Everyone, success or failure will be done tomorrow, and you must do your best to wait for this general to unify the three northern provinces before rewarding meritorious deeds. Lai Rong said with a lot of experience.

"Yes, I didn't wait for the general's orders, and I went to prepare immediately. The four army commanders who were ordered by Lai Rong, after hearing the order, immediately prepared to set off overnight, lurking in the dragon path in the night, preparing to ambush Zhu Xiaochun.

"Okay, the four generals must pay attention to hiding your traces, and don't let Zhu Xiaochun discover your traces, otherwise we will be doomed and defeated. Lai Rong said with a stern expression.

"Yes, please rest assured that the subordinates will definitely act carefully, and the subordinates will retire. The four commanders said in unison.

After Yingxue and Zheng Ti returned to Tianguan, Zheng Ti immediately convened a meeting of brigade commanders and informed the brigade commanders of what had just happened, although the brigade commanders were surprised, after all, such a plan was too bold, but this was also a dangerous victory, and the brigade commanders immediately said that they would destroy the enemy army to the death, after all, they were all Zheng Ti's confidants. Zheng Ti saw that everyone had no objections, so he ordered the brigades to prepare for battle, ordered 10,000 elite soldiers to bring enough dry food, divided into two teams on the left and right, and rushed to the mountains of Xiongling Pass overnight to lurk, and in the early morning of the day after tomorrow, with the fire in front of Xiongling Pass as the signal, from the left and right flanks to impact the enemy's formation, and cooperate with other brigades to eliminate Lai Rong's in front of Xiongling Pass, and the remaining three brigades were divided into two parts, one part walked in front of the enemy, the first to kill the enemy by surprise, and the other part was mixed with the enemy, ambushes and reinforcements from Xiongling Pass wiped out Lai Rong's troops. (To be continued......)