Considering that the Shenshu people had traveled a long way back to Wuchang, they were already very tired that night.

After Fang Yizhi explained the current situation in the north clearly, he did not delay his rest, so he left first.

As for the chain reaction after Li Zicheng defeated Yang Sichang and Sun Chuanting Zuo Liangyu, the new requirements of the imperial court for the governor of Huguang, and how Shen Shuren should respond, these are all later words, and it will be too late to slowly brush them up in two days.

Before leaving, Fang Yizhi just left a sentence: "Although Yang Ge Lao has been defeated, this matter is definitely not over, Yang Ge Lao has sent people to Wuchang twice before to urge you to send troops." It's just that you're uncertain and you're out with troops, so you didn't know you would.

And I was afraid that when the war between you and the remnants of Zhang Xianzhong was urgent, I pretended to be stupid and didn't send someone to look for you, only saying that I didn't know where your soldiers and horses were now, so I asked Yang Ge Lao to send people to Changsha and other places to find them, so I missed it. Now that you have returned to Wuchang, within a day or two, you will definitely need to give Yang Ge Lao a reward. ”

Shen Shuren was not surprised by this request, and after a little pondering, he came back to his senses.

Even if Yang Sichang wants to promote him and protect him, Li Zicheng's matter will never be finished like this. Even if Yang Sichang dies in the future, Chongzhen will definitely not just ask Sun Chuanting's family to support Li Zicheng alone.

Li Zicheng already claims to have more than 300,000 soldiers, after the victory of this battle, the soldiers and horses will only continue to expand, how can Sun Chuanting, who has just restored power for half a year, be able to fight?

Therefore, Chongzhen will definitely ask the governor of the Huguang region to continue to contribute.

What's more, Yang Sichang had not moved his troops before, and had been waiting for Li Zicheng to defend the city and be consumed until the soldiers were exhausted and depressed before seeking a decisive battle, and this suggestion was given to him by Shen Shuren.

Even if the decisive battle is lost this time, it has nothing to do with Shen Shuren, but it is due to "the three sides lightly attacked the enemy, and did not wait for Shen Shuren to kill Zhang Xianzhong's main force and return to the north to join the division, and then join forces to fight again",

But the "divine prophecies" that Shen Shuren said still have to find a way to verify them. In this way, it is reasonable to get rid of the pot completely. Otherwise, if people say "you can go up and look at it yourself", you can make Shen Shuren have no confidence.

Especially at this juncture, He Renlong was killed, and even Zuo Liangyu fought hard and fiercely, losing a lot of descendants. If Shen Shuren didn't say anything, wouldn't he be even as good as He Renlong and Zuo Liangyu? How will you win the hearts of the people in the world in the future?

Perhaps Chongzhen took advantage of the aftermath of He Renlong's just killing, and finally deterred a supporter of troops. After this wave, Chongzhen will completely lose his ability to control the place. But because of this, the Shen Shuren had to deal with it more and more and couldn't hit the muzzle of the gun.

Of course, how to prove his loyalty to Daming, his willingness to contribute to Daming, and to what extent he proves it, it is up to Shen Shuren to figure out his own way.

You can't do risky things, and you can't afford to break your muscles and bones.

As long as he can get back on the field, save face, and announce that he has won a big victory, even if it does not deal a decisive blow to Li Zicheng, he will be able to explain it to Chongzhen.

What Chongzhen actually needs is a face, he and Li Zicheng are like children beating each other, as long as the last punch is made by Chongzhen and hits the other party, he can get over it temporarily. As for how high the damage of this punch is, outsiders don't know.

……

Shen Shuren had a heavy focus on his affairs and rested for the night. Thinking too much made him sleep very badly, and he woke up early the next day.

Fang Yizhi and Fang Kongzhi and other Fang family members can also spend a day in Wuchang and ask Fang Kongzhi to explain some of the arrangements at home during his imprisonment.

Shen Shuren didn't have the leisure to spend any more time with the Fang family, so he went to see Fang Kongzhi for the last time early in the morning, saying that he had any ideas, and let Fang Yizhi tell him in the future. He was going to go to Xiangyang in a hurry to meet Yang Sichang and listen to Yang Sichang's last instructions.

After Fang Kongzhi learned about it, he didn't leave him: "This is what should be done, when the virtuous nephew entered the official career, it was because of Yang Ge's old chance." My generation of scholars regard themselves as gentlemen, and they should know how to repay their kindness.

As far as I know, Yang Ge Lao was originally seriously ill, and now he is tired from the army, and he has been hit even hard, I am afraid that his life will not be long, you listen to his explanation, and see how to deal with yourself in the future, it is also good.

After all, some of your soldiers and horses in southern Hunan have already returned, and they did not continue to cross the border to pursue Zhang Xianzhong. When you withdrew your troops, your original purpose was to fulfill your promise to Yang Gelao, 'ask him to give him a grace period of three months, and when Zhang Xianzhong is hurt and his threat to Huguang is lifted, he will return to help Li Zicheng'.

If you come back now, but there is no movement, it is not easy to explain. If the imperial historian of the DPRK said that you are afraid of both sides and raise self-respect, it is not a trivial matter.

If you want to block the mouth of the world, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, you have to fight one, give up fighting Li Zicheng, you have to pursue Zhang Xianzhong and never let go, Your Majesty will not let you do nothing. ”

When Shen Shuren heard this, he also nodded and was taught: "The little nephew also has similar thoughts, and listening to Uncle Shi's analysis, it is becoming clearer and clearer in his heart." Indeed, at this point in the difficult season, you must always make sure that your soldiers and horses are always dealing with at least one thief.

If you don't deal with anyone and sit on the ground and defend yourself, you will be criticized by the world. Since you have done the supervision, there is no reason to be alone. ”

Even if it's just for the sake of putting on a show, it has to be done.

Otherwise, you chase Zhang Xianzhong until there are only a few thousand cavalry left, but you don't chase it, what is this? Just because he entered Guizhou, forget it?

This is an excuse, but it is not sufficient, and it is still easy for people to chew their tongues, saying that it is "raising their own dignity and fattening and then killing", or even "arsonists are pioneers".

Therefore, if the pursuit of Zhang Xianzhong is temporarily interrupted, there must be a strong excuse - if it weren't for the fact that Yang Gelao's side was really in danger, Henan was really in crisis, forcing me to reinforce the Henan battlefield as soon as possible, would we let go of the opportunity to directly kill Zhang Xianzhong's last breath? We have already brought Zhang Xianzhong's head back!

……

Shen Shuren simply dealt with the major events accumulated in Wuchang in the past few months, assigned and dispatched, and hurriedly rode his horse north on the same day, and rushed to Xiangyang in a hurry two days later, almost riding a horse for 300 miles a day.

And Yang Sichang has once again completely lost control of Zuo Liangyu after the defeat, almost only brought some personal soldiers, and fled back to Xiangyang to live temporarily, surviving for a long time.

The counties where Nanyang Mansion was still in the hands of the imperial court, as well as the Shangluo areas of Yunyang Mansion and Xi'an Prefecture, were now under Zuo Liangyu's control.

After the defeat, Zuo Liangyu was completely closed, and he didn't listen to anyone's orders, but his temperament changed greatly, and he frantically grabbed Zhuangding to expand the army like Li Zicheng. Considering that he had just lost tens of thousands of people, no one dared to put pressure on him anymore, lest he really force him to rebel directly.

The battle of Zhuxian Town may be the last time Zuo Liangyu unconditionally obeyed Chongzhen's orders, and after suffering a big loss, he swore that he would never listen to the chaos again, and no one could persuade him.

Historically, Zuo Liangyu was also before the Battle of Zhuxian Town, claiming to have 200,000 elite soldiers, and fought to the death with Li Zicheng, but the main force was lost, and only tens of thousands of people remained.

It is nothing more than that Zuo Liangyu was able to flee south to Wuchang in history, and in the following years, he frantically intercepted commercial taxes and salt taxes, looted places, and used all the money and property to expand the army, and finally expanded to the claim of "800,000 troops". It's a pity that these 800,000 are all rabble, and it is said that the combat power is not as good as his 200,000 veterans before the war, and in the end, he did not do any meritorious deeds in history.

And now in this life, because of the butterfly effect, and the rich hinterland of Huguang has long been Shenshu people, even if Zuo Liangyu is defeated, he can't escape south to the south, and he doesn't dare to provoke a civil war and merge with Shenshuren, so he can only rely on the Nanyang Basin and the hilly areas west of Nanyang, which add up to the relatively poor territory of two or three prefectures, and exhaust himself to rely on it.

To put it bluntly, Zuo Liangyu finally became a warlord similar to Li Zicheng, the only difference is that Zuo Liangyu will not pull up the anti-flag, he just wants to keep himself and fight for himself.

And Zuo Liangyu seems to have successfully reached a tacit understanding with Li Zicheng - he no longer listens to the words of the imperial court and takes the initiative to beat Li Zicheng, and as long as Li Zicheng does not provoke him, he will not be hostile to Li Zicheng.

After Shen Shuren arrived in Xiangyang, in just a few hours, he felt the strangeness of the atmosphere.

Before meeting Yang Sichang, he first summoned the Xiangyang prefect Shi Tang and the Xiangyang general Yang Jinjue, and learned from them about the recent military situation in the surrounding areas in recent days, and then inquired about all the news.

Subsequently, he had a draft in his heart, so he went to formally meet Yang Sichang.

……

"Don't come to the old man...... It's better to take care of your body first. ”

After entering Yang Sichang's line, Shen Shuren was led all the way to the bedroom to meet him, and it was obvious that Yang Sichang was already very sick.

Shen Shuren originally wanted to say a few polite words, but in the end, when he saw Yang Sichang's sparse white hair and wrinkled face, he couldn't say the words "don't come to harm", and swallowed it back.

When Yang Sichang heard the movement, his reaction was still a little sluggish, his eyes were extremely cloudy, and it took a long time to twist his neck, and after looking at it for a while, his throat gurgled before he said a few words:

"Tree man? You have come back at last, and you regret not listening to you. When the old man saw that Luo Rucai had the old man under the command of the thief and Liu Zongmin crossed the Yellow River to the north, he felt that the opportunity could not be lost, and he took the order to fight.

If you delay for another month, even if it is only for 20 days, until you come back and fight again, it may not be the current situation. It's a big deal that the old man fought but died, and then took the sin of 'sitting back and watching King Fu, King Lu, and King Zhao be destroyed and not saved', as long as the final battle can be won, and the three vassal kings will die more, what is there to rush to save, Hutu.

Now the old man and Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and horses have lost a total of 30,000 or 40,000 people, and Sun Chuanting in Shaanxi has also lost more than 20,000 soldiers. added up to 60,000 officers and soldiers, and they were lost because of this battle.

Even if you bring your troops back, your troops will not be able to make up for the 60,000 losses of combat power. What's more, Zuo Liangyu has found an excuse after this battle, and he is completely out of control, and your follow-up days will not be easy. ”

Yang Sichang seemed a little embarrassed to say anything more when he said this.

Shen Shuren observed his words, but he already knew that Yang Sichang wanted to point him out and make him understand, "Although you can't beat Li Zicheng, you still have to put on a posture and try to fight a fight, otherwise it will be difficult to explain, and you can't explain why you stopped giving Zhang Xianzhong the final blow."

There is no way, Shen Shuren has already talked to Fang Yizhi and Fang Kongzhi repeatedly, plus on the road on horseback for the past two days, he has already figured out this truth, and there is no need for Yang Sichang to explain.

So he also briskly took care of the whole thing, and directly made his words clear: "Don't worry, the student knows what you mean, it is nothing more than saying that even if the student can't beat Li Zicheng, he must also put on a posture and make some efforts." Even if it is just a limited small victory, it proves that I gave up the final blow to Zhang Xianzhong this time and led the troops back to the north instead, and I will not lose anything, and I will explain the past. ”

Yang Sichang's eyes suddenly brightened a little, and he looked at him a little incredulously, and then he was relieved: "You...... Already figured out this layer? Did you figure it out yourself? Or is there a master to guide and understand along the way?

That's it, no matter what, since you know, the old man won't embarrass you. Actually, the old man has also helped you think about it, how can you explain to Your Majesty-

Now if we want to permanently break the siege and open the city and expel Li Zicheng from Henan, I am afraid that it will not be easy, and our army has too few troops. The only way to add a fig leaf to His Majesty is to pursue the temporary relief of the siege of Kaifeng, or find a way to rescue the King of Zhou, the governor of Henan, and General Chen to help them break through.

It's best to try to search the area of Kaifeng Mansion and Guide Mansion again, and find out where the clans such as King Lu, King Fu, and King Zhao who escaped from Wei Hui and Zhangde are. If these clans can be rescued, even if it is just to win a breakout battle and then lose the territory, Your Majesty will have an explanation for the time being.

When the time comes, the old man, Zuo Liangyu, and Sun Chuanting will bear the responsibility for the defeat of Henan before, and it has nothing to do with you. You're just here to turn the tide and save your allies from breaking through.

Now that Fang Kongzhi has also been questioned, the old man will first show you to take over as the governor of Huguang and take care of your original jurisdiction. If he can really fight back, he may be promoted to governor in the future.

The old man has already seen it, the world's famous generals, either rigid or aging. Counting on Sun Chuanting, I'm afraid there is not much hope. If Da Ming is still saved, it is on your shoulders.

Would you like to command this battle of 'rescuing some friendly forces in Henan to break through'? If you dare to fight, the old man will be on his deathbed, and you will be guaranteed to sit on the governor of Huguang, so as to coordinate the upcoming vicious battle. ”

"Students dare not destroy their families and sacrifice their lives for the country!" Shen Shuren agreed to Yang Sichang's last request with a righteous face.

Yang Sichang nodded, and asked Shen Shuren to tell the maid who was waiting for the disease, and asked her to call the prison soldier Wan Yuanji.

Wan Yuan Ji and Shen Shuren are also old acquaintances, so there is nothing to say. Yang Sichang was so sick that he couldn't hold a pen, so he asked Wan Yuan Ji to write his dying note in front of Shen Shuren according to his wishes.

After writing, Yang Sichang couldn't even read the words clearly, so he asked Wan Yuan Ji to read it slowly, he just listened carefully, and after confirming that there was no problem, he personally signed his name tremblingly, and asked Wan Yuan Ji to help him use the seal.

Shen Shuren could see that Yang Sichang's last signature was so skewed that it was not good, but fortunately, after it was sent to Beijing, no one should mind doubting whether the handwriting was genuine.

After using up the seal, Yang Sichang lay back on the sickbed, hoarse and panting, and had no strength to socialize anymore. Shen Shuren also respectfully retreated.

And Wan Yuan Ji also knew who he should take refuge in the future, and in the afternoon of the same day, before sending someone to send Yang Sichang's testament out, he also notified Shen Shuren, just like looking for a new leader to prepare for the service.

Shen Shuren didn't dare to put up a fight immediately, and only said, "Wan Jian Jun is at his own convenience, this is the order of the elder of the pavilion, why ask me."