Escorted by a team of Praetorian cavalry, Zhao Sheng, who lit the lamp, went to Yijun County to meet with Lu Xiangsheng, the commander of the army, and conveyed Zhu Youzhen's will.

"What else did Your Majesty say?" Lu Xiangsheng's face was calm and asked lightly.

Lu Xiangsheng and Shangluo soldiers Beidao Liu Yingyu and his troops have besieged the thieves in the Phoenix Valley for more than 20 days, under the command of Lu Xiangsheng, the Ming army divided troops to build camps in various places out of the valley road, and set up beacon towers in high places. Relying on a strict defensive system, he thwarted the thieves' attacks many times, in order to force the thieves out of the valley for a decisive battle.

According to the interrogation of the captured captives, the thieves in the valley almost ran out of food, and most of the thieves survived by digging plant tubers and wild vegetables.

Just five days ago, Wang Zuojiao personally led the Liumin Army to attack the Ming army's defense line, wanting to break the Ming army's blockade and leave the Phoenix Valley area. However, under the powerful firearms of the Praetorian Guard, the thieves left more than a thousand corpses behind and retreated, and hid in the hills and ravines.

Lu Xiangsheng did not want his subordinates to suffer heavy casualties, so he did not pursue and kill, and took measures to continue the siege. There will come a time when the thieves will be so hungry that they will continue to attack or simply surrender, rather than send an army to attack.

Right now, the emperor sent someone, and Lu Xiangsheng thought that the emperor was urging him to launch an attack as soon as possible to pacify the thieves, but he didn't expect to persuade him to surrender.

Persuasion is in line with Lu Xiangsheng's intentions, the thieves on the opposite side were originally ordinary people, and they took risks because they couldn't survive, and Lu Xiangsheng didn't want to kill.

It's just that the emperor sent such a former thief leader, which surprised Lu Xiangsheng.

"Your Majesty's will to Lord Lu is all in this letter." The Praetorian Guard officer who escorted Zhao Sheng said respectfully.

In the letter, Zhu Youzhen told Lu Xiangsheng of his plan to set up a rural system, and asked him to quickly solve the displaced army opposite, and then carry out rural restructuring in Yijun County.

"Rural!" Lu Xiangsheng took a deep breath, in fact, he had already known what was happening in Qingjian County, but he didn't expect Zhu Youzhen to continue in Yijun again.

It seems that His Majesty is going to set off huge waves in the entire northern Shaanxi, Lu Xiangsheng said secretly.

Lu Xiangsheng disagreed with Zhu Youzhen's approach, thinking that it should not be so simple and rude, but although he held the title of imperial historian of the capital, his actual position was to be in charge of the military envoy of the Praetorian Guard, and he was not in his position or seeking his own politics, and he was not ready to advise. What's more, in Lu Xiangsheng's heart, the gentry in northern Shaanxi are not innocent, and Zhu Youzhen's actions are all out of love for the people, for the sake of these countless displaced people. If northern Shaanxi can be pacified and the displaced people can live a normal life as soon as possible, it is a matter of course that some people will be sacrificed!

"What do you want?" Lu Xiangsheng looked at Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng said respectfully: "The villain has no other requirements, just give me a mule or donkey to walk." ”

Lu Xiangsheng immediately ordered someone to bring a mule to Zhao Sheng, and after Zhao Sheng rode on, he went towards the Phoenix Valley.

"Is it reliable to let such a person persuade him to surrender?" Shang Luo Bingbei said, Liu Yingyu questioned.

Lu Xiangsheng said lightly: "He is also the leader of the thieves, it is more convincing to let him show up, if the thieves in the valley have plans to surrender, then they will be formally appeased." ”

As soon as Zhao Sheng rode a mule out of the sight of the official army, a dozen ragged homeless people came out of the ravine, and dragged him off the mule without saying anything.

"I am Zhao Sheng, the leader of the righteous army in Qingjian County, and I want to see your king and hang the king." Seeing that some homeless people were using knives to compare their necks, Zhao Sheng shouted in fright.

"What bullshit lighting a lamp, I haven't heard of it." One of the leaders looked impatient and said, "It must be the Ming army's meticulous work, cutting it, pulling the mule back and killing it, just in time to open the meat." ”

"Okay." A homeless man drooled and held up a notched broken knife.

"I am here to surrender on the order of Emperor Daming, I am the messenger of Qin, if you kill me, the emperor will be furious, and he will immediately send a large army into the valley, and all of you will have to bury me with you!" Zhao Sheng's face changed greatly, he no longer said his identity as lighting the lamp, and began to pretend to be bad.

The homeless who was going to cut him was stunned, raised his broken knife and did not dare to take it down. Even if it is revealed, the identity of the emperor is still very bluffing.

"Just you, messenger?" The leader looked Zhao Sheng up and down, and said disdainfully.

Zhao Sheng straightened up: "Exactly, why don't you take me to see your boss soon, if something happens, will you take care of it?" ”

Not to mention, Zhao Sheng's identity as a scholar, with fine skin and tender meat, is completely different from ordinary farmers, and he is quite bluffing when he is serious. The leader did not dare to make a mistake, and hurriedly led him back to the camp.

In a wide ravine, there are hundreds of caves dug in the loess wall, which is the base camp of the displaced people.

Zhao Sheng was blindfolded with a black cloth and brought to Wang Zuohang, the leader of the Wandering People's Army.

Wang Zuohang is more than 30 years old, originally a Yichuan farmer, because of his mother's illness owed usury, forced to sell only a few acres of land to the local squire, and then to the squire to raise horses and farm, hard work for a year, the grain obtained is not enough to repay the debt, just when I heard that the second king of Baishui led the people to revolt, Wang Zuohang did not want to make cattle and horses for the squire, so he gathered a group of tenant brothers to rush into the squire's manor, killed the squire to open a warehouse to release grain, and rebelled. Because he is generous and able to convince the public, the strength of his subordinates has grown rapidly, and other nearby homeless leaders Big Red Wolf, Miao Mei, and Feishan Tiger have come to vote, breaking through more than ten nearby squire manors, and the team has grown to 20,000 or 30,000 old and weak women and children, including two or three hundred cavalry, and the strength is very strong.

Unexpectedly, the official army reacted too quickly, and before Wang Zuojiao could lead his troops to advance to Yan'an Mansion, Lu Xiangsheng had already led the Praetorian Guard to attack from Baishui. Wang Zuojiao led his troops and Lu Xiangsheng to fight several battles in a row, and after successive defeats, he hid in the thousands of ravines in the Phoenix Valley, relying on the terrain to familiarize himself with the pursuit of the official army.

However, in less than a month, the food carried was exhausted, and many people could only survive by eating wild vegetables and even leaves and grass.

When he was at a loss, he got the news that the emperor had come to surrender, and even ordered someone to bring Zhao Sheng.

Wang Zuo hung his head and asked, "Are you really the emperor's envoy?" ”

The news that the emperor drove to northern Shaanxi had already spread, and Wang Zuojiao had also heard about what happened in Qingjian County.

Zhao Sheng held his head high with his hands behind his back, and said with a strong attitude: "Exactly, you are the king of the left?" ”

"It's me." Wang Zuo said suspiciously, "But listen to what my subordinates say, what do you call yourself Zhao Sheng, who lights the lamp, are you the master of Qingjian lighting the lamp, or the emperor Qincha?" ”

Zhao Sheng smiled and said: "It's not only a lamp, but also a messenger." His Majesty personally led the Praetorian Guard to Qingjian, and I was defeated by His Majesty, and I was captured by His Majesty. His Majesty's imperial grace was immense, and he did not pursue the crime of killing officials and rebelling, but thought that we were all pure and good people, and we were forced by the inferior gentry and evil officials to have no way to live, so we took risks.

Your Majesty pardoned thousands of displaced people including us, and punished as many as 100 bad gentry and evil officials in Qingjian County. I heard that there were also homeless people rebelling in Yijun County, and His Majesty didn't want you to die in vain under the official saber, so I asked me to come to recruit Fuer and others. ”

"The emperor has such a good heart?" Before Wang Zuojiao could speak, a man with a full face sneered.

Zhao Sheng looked at this person: "May I ask Your Excellency?" ”

"I'm a big red wolf, let me ask you, does the emperor want to lure us out and then kill us." The big red wolf asked fiercely.

Zhao Sheng reprimanded angrily: "You need to talk nonsense, Your Majesty's kindness can actually be suspected?" If you don't believe it, you can send someone to Qingjian to inquire and see who Your Majesty is! ”

Wang Zuohang thought for a moment, waved his hand and asked Zhao Sheng to be escorted down, and then summoned all the leaders of his subordinates to discuss.