Two days later. The water potential of the Baigou River has receded. More than 200,000 Yan troops crossed the Baigou River under the leadership of Zhu Di and Zhu Quan, and went straight to Jinan, Shandong.

In the camp of the Southern Army outside Jinan, Sheng Yong said to Li Jinglong in a deep voice: "Jinan is the capital of Shandong, if you sit back and watch it fall into the hands of Yan Rebellion, Shandong will inevitably shake ......" and swallowed what he wanted to say back into his stomach.

It turned out that Li Jinglong was really afraid of Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, after the defeat of the two defeats, and saw that although the army under his command was far more powerful than the Yan army, the morale of the Baigou River was weakened, and he really couldn't raise the courage to fight to the death with the Yan army in his heart. At this time, he heard Sheng Yong's advice, and saw that the other party had a look on his face that wanted to speak and stopped, where could he not guess the meaning of the other party's words? As a general of the conquest, he came to quell the rebellion by order, if he retreated without a fight and surrendered Jinan to Zhu Di, he was afraid that when he returned to the court, it would be difficult to think of not dying. ”

"The last general is willing to lead the troops to defend Jinan." Sheng Yong slightly bowed his back and hugged his fist and said.

Li Jinglong frowned and asked, "How many soldiers and horses do you need?" ”

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Sheng Yong pondered for a moment and said categorically: "Fifty thousand soldiers and horses are enough. The grain and grass ordnance is also expected to be transferred to the commander of the last general as much as possible to fight a protracted war. At present, there are still more than 300,000 soldiers and horses under Li Jinglong's command, but although Jinan is also a big city, it cannot accommodate too many soldiers and horses. Therefore, although Sheng Yong knew that Zhu Di was coming with more than 200,000 people, he could not ask for too many soldiers and horses.

Li Jinglong knew that if Sheng Yong could hold Jinan, it would be beneficial and harmless to him, so he immediately issued a military order, asking him to command 50,000 troops to garrison Jinan, and after leaving most of the general's grain, grass, baggage and other ordnance in Jinan, he led the rest of his troops to retreat south.

In the afternoon of the second day, Sheng Yong, wearing armor, slowly paced on the tall and solid city wall of Jinan to inspect, looking at the people at the city gate who rushed into the city to take refuge in the chaos of the army, and his mood was heavy. He has been in battle for a long time, and knows that the key to defending the city is not only the weight of grain and grass and the tall city wall, but also the people's hearts.

At this moment, a thousand households hurriedly came to the front to tell him, saying that Tie Xuan, who was participating in the politics of Shandong, was ordered to escort grain and grass, and had come to the south gate.

Sheng Yong frowned when he heard this and asked, "Is there anything unusual?" ”

Qianhu bowed and said: "The subordinates led people out of the city to check carefully, and there was indeed grain and grass on the car, more than 20,000 stones, and there was no trace of rebels nearby. ”

"That being the case, let it go into the city." Sheng Yong saw that the thousand households turned around and wanted to leave, so he hurriedly continued: "Invite this political suffocator to meet here." "Sheng Yong, as a military general, has never had a good impression of those civil officials who are full of mouths. At this time when the army is in chaos and everyone is rushing to flee south, this civil official named Tie Xuan, who has the audacity to escort grain and grass to his death, makes him feel a sense of curiosity in his heart.

About half an hour later, Sheng Yong looked at the forty-year-old man in front of him, tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, quite heroic, but with Tie Xuan, who was a civil official in a nondescript manner, he bowed his hand and said: "The rebels have come to the city more than 20 miles away, and the adults are transporting grain into the city, which can really be described as a charcoal in the snow." ”

"In the past, Xiaguan was given a word by His Majesty Hongwu, the first emperor, and his duty was to be, and he didn't dare to claim credit." Tie Hyun said lightly. It turned out that when he was studying too much, he was familiar with the scriptures and history, and his grades were outstanding. His talent was deeply valued by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and he was given the word "Keystone".

Sheng Yong bowed his head slightly and said: "Yan is going to lead the army to attack the city in a few days, and the matter of soothing the people in Jinan City will be up to Master Lao." Speaking of this, his face suddenly turned cold, and he turned his head to a thousand households on his side and ordered: "Strictly investigate all the people in the army, if there is any more talk about Yan going against the trend and disturbing the morale of the army, no matter how high or low the official position is, all will be killed, and the head of the city will be high and tell the army." ”

At the beginning of June, more than 200,000 Yan troops came to camp under the city of Jinan, and the soldiers went up the mountain to cut down trees to build a ladder, only to wait for Zhu Di's order, to storm Jinan, the capital of Shandong.

On this day, Zhu Di was discussing with Zhu Quan, Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng and others in the tent about attacking the city tomorrow, but saw a personal soldier come to him, and told him that there was a scholar outside the barracks who came to join the army, saying that he heard that King Yan led his division to come to Tianjing and was willing to serve in the army.

Zhu Di was very surprised when he heard this, and immediately ordered his own soldiers to bring this person to meet him.

After about half a pillar of incense, a man dressed as a scholar was brought to Zhu Di and others in the handsome tent.

Zhu Quan saw this man who was about thirty years old, with a white face and beard, and a rather heroic look, walking into the tent, and his heart couldn't help but be full of curiosity. He knew very well that although he and Zhu Laosi had played the banner of Fengtian Jingjing, in the eyes of many people in the world, especially scholars, he was still heinous and deserved to be a rebellion with a thousand cuts. The man's clothes were covered with grass clippings and dust, and he looked quite embarrassed, and it was obvious that he had come from a long journey. A corrupt Confucian, who came after a hard journey, recommended himself outside the barracks, but he was also quite bold.

Because of Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others, Zhu Di has never had the slightest good impression of those bombastic rotten Confucians, and after glancing at each other with his eyes, he snorted coldly and said: "What a bold spy, he dares to go straight into the army of this king to explore the truth and truth, and he is not afraid of the head of the landing?" ”

I saw that this person turned a blind eye to the wolf-like eyes of the generals in the army who were sitting in two columns in the handsome tent, and bowed to Zhu Di who was sitting behind the handsome case and said: "The villain Ji Gang is a person from Su'an in Linyi, Shandong, not a spy in the city, but sincerely surrendered to His Highness." Between the words, there is an authentic Shandong accent.

Zhu Di was stunned when he heard this, and then laughed and said: "This king has more than 200,000 heroes, and there are countless brave generals under his account, what is the use of asking you to be a rotten Confucian who has no power to restrain the chicken?" ”

The generals in the handsome tent laughed when they heard this. In their opinion, when the two armies are fighting, they are afraid that this rotten Confucian will be so shocked that he will be shocked and pee, what do you say about joining the army to serve? It's just a wild mouth, and I don't know how thick the sky is.

Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, saw that this Ji Gang was deaf to the laughter of the generals, and there was no look of crampedness and anxiety on their faces, and they all looked up to him in their hearts.

Ji Gang waited for the laughter of the generals to stop, and then Shi Shiran said: "The villain is not talented, I am willing to submit a book to the city before the army attacks the city tomorrow, and advise the guard general Sheng Yong, and Tie Xuan will participate in politics and return to His Royal Highness." ”

"If you inquire about the truth of our army today, and then swagger into the city tomorrow on the pretext of delivering a letter, do you think we are all three-year-olds?" Although Zhu Quan guessed that this bold man was not a spy in the city at this time, he still couldn't help but ask so tentatively.

Ji Gang saw that Zhu Quan was wearing clothes similar to Zhu Di, and he had already guessed in his heart that this young man with eyes as sharp as a sword was King Ning, who was in the past and followed Zhu Di, the king of Yan, to raise an army, and bowed slightly and said: "The villain can't study, he has practiced archery and horses since he was a child, and he knows a little about martial arts, and he doesn't need to enter the city to submit books." ”

Zhu Di pondered for a while and asked slowly: "If Sheng Yong insists on not surrendering, aren't you afraid of dying under the random arrows?" ”

Ji Gang smiled slightly and said: "If it is fate that should be like this, the villain is also uncomplaining." He was unwilling to be an ordinary person, and in the past, as a living being, he was expelled from the school because he was stubborn, and he was ridiculed by his classmates. I was deeply resentful in my heart, and I had already sworn a poisonous oath that one day I would make Feihuang Tengda and those who laughed at me afraid of three points. Li Jinglong went to the winter army to defeat Beiping City, but there was no head to the ground, but once again led the army to the north, and the army was defeated on the bank of the Baigou River. Such a strange story has made him, who has always been ambitious, completely see that His Majesty the current emperor has no knowledge of people. As the so-called wealth and danger are sought, since he has been expelled from the academy and cannot enter the imperial examination, he can only take the sword and join the Yan army to serve.

Zhu Di saw that Ji Gang was quite bold, and immediately said in a deep voice: "Since you are so bold, this king will give you a chance to prove yourself, and the two armies will see you tomorrow." After that, he waved his hand and motioned for his soldiers to take Ji Gang out of the tent to rest.

Zhu Quan looked at Ji Gang's departing back, slowly shook his head and said with a wry smile: What a desperate gambler, but he also has three points of vision.

At dawn on the second day, 200,000 Yan troops came in a mighty manner after Zhu Di's order. The dust was flying between the actions of thousands of troops and horses, and the people were noisy and neighing, and there was a great momentum of encountering mountains and flattening mountains, and filling in ravines until they approached the range of artillery and stones under the city.

On the city wall of Jinan, the soldiers defending the city have already been ready under the order of Sheng Yong, the commander of the capital, and seeing that the Yan army is about to attack the city, all of them are knives out of the sheath, and the bow is wound, as if they are facing a great enemy.

In front of the city gate, a government leader with trembling legs was reporting to Tie Xuan, who was participating in the government, that many large families in the city were unwilling to take in those homeless refugees, and asked for instructions on what to do. It turned out that after the news of the Yan army's large-scale southward movement came, not only many ordinary people outside Jinan City fled into the city for refuge for fear of being affected by the pond fish. Many people in the city near the side of the city wall were also panicked, fearing that they would be injured by the artillery stones and arrows that the Yan army flew into the city, so they fled towards the inner city one after another. When Tie Xuan, who participated in politics, inspected the city last night, he saw that many people were helping the old and the young, sleeping on the streets, and the large and small mansions were overcrowded. Unfortunately, those wealthy families have an inextricable relationship with the officials in Jinan City in the past, but it is not that he can afford to be offended by a small government leader, and it is very difficult to carry it out.

Seeing that the Yan army was about to attack the city, Tie Xuan shouted fiercely: "A notice of peace has been posted in the city early this morning, and anyone who disobeys this official's order will be hit with a stick." Speaking of this, after a slight pause, he said fiercely: "First pick those deep mansions and wide gardens, and beat the rich and unkind Diao people to this official." ”

A large number of officials of all sizes in Jinan withdrew south with Li Jinglong, and now the Chinese officials of the city respected Tie Xuan, and when the officials saw him giving such an order, they immediately stumbled down the city tower and led a group of wolf-like servants to suppress the "Diao people" who refused to obey orders.

Tie Xuan turned his head and saw Sheng Yong, who was standing on one side, wearing armor, with a smile on his face, and immediately said: "General don't look at this guy in front of this official, I'm afraid that in this Jinan City on weekdays, in front of the people of Shengdou, it is like a wolf and a tiger." ”

Sheng Yong shook his head slightly and looked at Tie Xuan, who was still wearing an official robe, and said with a smile: "My lord is a civil official, you don't have to come to supervise the battle in person, although the last general Sheng Yong is not talented, he is not afraid of the anti-thief Zhu Di, Zhu Quan is arrogant, and he is confident that he can stick to this city." The implication is that Tie Xuan does not have to take risks in the city, and can return to the government to sit in the town.

"Anti-thief Zhu Di, Zhu Quan is arrogant, this official should be here to watch how the general frustrates the thief soldiers and reaps the benefits of the first battle, so as to encourage the soldiers in the city." As a civilian official, Tie Xuan has never experienced a battle array, and he is somewhat afraid of the Yan army that is densely packed under the city, but he thinks that the imperial army has suffered repeated setbacks since the suppression of the rebellion, and whether the first battle today is capable of defeating the strong enemy under the city is very important to boost the morale of the defenders in the city, so he insists on supervising the battle at the head of the city.

Under the city of Beiping, the fiasco on the bank of the Baigou River is vivid, Sheng Yong can't help but feel a pang in his heart when he hears this, and he no longer speaks of persuasion.

If it weren't for the wind in the open space to stir up the dust on the ground, such a solemn and silent atmosphere would definitely give people the illusion that the air was also frozen at this moment from the depths of their hearts.

Ji Gang took the reins of the horse from his side, tried to stabilize his mind, turned over and got on the horse, his legs clamped under the horse's belly, and the gray horse galloped forward, heading towards Jinan City.

Sheng Yongyao saw a man dressed as a scholar coming alone, and he couldn't help but be suspicious, and waved his hand to signal several sergeants who were already holding bows and arrows on his side to stop doing it for the time being.

Ji Gang came on horseback, and did not stop until he was by the moat, and forcibly suppressed his heart and shouted at the head of the city: "Dare to invite Lord Tie to participate in politics, General Sheng will see you." Ji Gang, a native of Su'an, Linyi, Shandong Province, is here to present a letter today on the order of King Yan. ”

When Sheng Yong was about to answer, he saw a thick eyebrow and big eyes behind Tie Xuan, who was similar in age to Ji Gang under the city, and the scholar in a blue shirt walked forward quickly, and the halberd pointed at the city and scolded: "The bold Ji Gang, he openly rebelled, betrayed the court, and in vain I used to have a relationship with you. ”

After hearing the familiar voice, Ji Gang carefully looked at the face of the other side who leaned out of the battlement of the city wall, and his face couldn't help but blush. It turned out that he was expelled from the school in the past, and he was ridiculed by his neighbors, his classmates, and he was deeply ashamed in his heart, but this person never despised him, and the two always exchanged letters, which can be called the only best friend in his life.