The night rain was pouring down, and the lightning was thundering. Han Dong took more than 50 officials and braved the heavy rain to come to the outside of the residence of King Rui in Yangzhou Mansion, and he shouted loudly: "Old minister Han Dong, with all civil and military generals, implore King Rui to be the emperor!" ”

"Boom!" A thunderclap exploded. The living room was lit up, Liao Heng opened the door, glanced at the people in the torrential rain, and hurriedly greeted: "Why are you like this, there is a thunderstorm outside, quickly hide in the eaves!" ”

"If King Rui refuses to agree to the throne, I will kneel here and not leave!" Han Dong took the lead in kneeling. Liao Heng hurriedly rushed out of the eaves to help Han Dong up,

"Old Han, today this king has made it clear that he will not accept the throne, you are old, why suffer!" Han Dong clasped Liao Heng's arm and asked sonorously: "Lord Wang, the Great Liang Dynasty is suffering the most critical moment since the founding of the country, and the century-old foundation is about to collapse, do you just watch the Zhao family fall into the hands of foreign races!" ”

"Yes, Lord Wang, at the moment, besides you, who else can conform to the will of the people, Fengtianyun, you can agree!"

"Lord Wang, we will help you as the new lord of the world!"

"Lord Wang!" Whether it was true or not, hot tears rolled down his cheeks. Liao Heng raised his head and let the heavy rain wash away, he took a deep breath and resolutely agreed: "Okay, this king promises you!" But it was said in advance that this king will only temporarily take the throne of the emperor, and when the Beijing division is restored, the throne will still be returned to the imperial brother! ”

"His Majesty the Emperor Mingjian!"

"See His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Someone! Quickly prepare the carriage and horse rain gear and send the ministers back to the post; Then send an order to the Yangzhou military camp, and tomorrow I will point troops at the East City Gate and swear to the army! ”

"Yes!" After the civil officials and military generals are sent away. Liao Heng looked up at the rainy night, unwilling to leave for a long time, and he couldn't tell whether it was tears or rain across his cheeks, he looked up to the sky and shouted: "Mother! Have you seen in the Spirit of Heaven that the child has finally done it! ”…… In the spring of the second year of Jianxing, on the ninth day of the first month of March, Zhao Heng, the king of Rui, was proclaimed emperor in Yangzhou and changed the name of the year

"Tian Yuan", led 100,000 righteous troops in the south of the Yangtze River, and personally conquered Xuzhou. Yin Han Dong of Shouchun Mansion led the two armies of Lu'an and Wuwei to Nanjing, and guarded the last accompanying capital.

The rest of the rebel armies, bounded by the Huai River in the Qinling Mountains, held the northern fortress and resisted the Dijon army in the south. This was formulated by Song Che

The strategy of "defending the south and attacking the north" - west of Nanjing, defend on all fronts. To the east of Xuzhou, to defend and wait for attack, with the help of the Qinhuai River and Xuzhou's geographical advantages, firmly resist Dijon in the north.

On the tenth day of March, the Jiangnan Righteous Army galloped along the canal to help Xuzhou. On March 15, the Dijon Middle Road Army, which broke through Tokyo, turned its spearhead and attacked the Hebei prefectures.

On March 20, Dijon's army crossed the Bohai Bay and landed in Binzhou, Hebei, and immediately attacked Jingdong Qingzhou, and the Jingdong Navy and Army resisted stubbornly; On March 23, Dijon was defeated in Qingzhou, and his troops and horses were distributed across Hebei, and a total of 300,000 troops were sent directly to Xuzhou City with the Central Route Army.

On the same day, the 100,000 Jiangnan rebels led by the new emperor arrived in Xuzhou, plus the troops led by Jiang Yuntian earlier, a total of 150,000 soldiers and horses in Xuzhou City.

150,000 vs. 300,000, is there a chance of winning?

"Of course there is a chance to win, and it is a sure victory!" In the big tent of the Chinese army, in the face of a group of generals, Song Che was full of confidence.

Jiang Yuntian said: "Brother Song, you have seen the Dijon army, they are not pirates and slaves, and their combat effectiveness is several grades higher. ”

"The so-called, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, winning a hundred battles, the characteristics of the Dijon army are fast, accurate and ruthless, and the attack is launched with heavy cavalry, which can be described as sweeping everything and invincible; This tactic is suitable for use in the plains, but once it encounters dangerous passes such as hills and rivers, it will be completely ineffective; In the original Bianjing, in addition to the Yellow River, where was there any danger? This is also the main reason why after Dijon broke through, it was pushed to the foot of the capital in less than two months; However, our Xuzhou is located in a different position, although it is in the plain area, it is surrounded by mountains in the southeast and north, and there are three water systems of Yishui, Surabaya, and canals, which can be described as the chosen city. The danger of mountains and rivers is like a high threshold, no matter how fast Dijon iron horses run and jump high, they will never want to cross this threshold; Occupy Xuzhou, the southern materials can be transported continuously, occupy Xuzhou, both offensive and defensive; However, it should be noted that at present, our forces are far weaker than Dijon, so we can only hold this city, and we cannot go out to meet the enemy. ”

"If you only defend and don't attack, when will you be able to drive Dijon out of the Central Plains?" Liao Heng asked eagerly. Song Che sighed: "I don't lack soldiers and generals, what I lack is only war horses." If there are no horses, they will lose their impact power, and if they fight with the Dijon Plain, they will definitely suffer a great loss," he added: "Therefore, the next thing we have to do is to take advantage of the danger of Xuzhou to fight a war of attrition with Dijon, the geographical conditions in the north are limited, and it will not be able to meet the needs of herding horses, if Dijon does not attack Xuzhou for a long time, we will withdraw our troops, and then we will be able to take a breath, recruit troops and horses, and accumulate counteroffensive forces." He looked at Liao Heng again and added: "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and it is equally important to stabilize the court, so don't be too anxious about the expulsion of Tartar slaves." Liao Heng understood Song Che's meaning, frowned and said no more.

"Dijon army, how's it going?" Song Che asked again. Jiang Yuntian said: "According to the report from the scouts, they are already west of Xuzhou City, the farthest base camp is forty miles, and the nearest cavalry battalion is only fifteen miles, and they may come to attack the city at any time." ”

"How many cannons do we have?" Song Che asked. Jiang Yuntian said: "Eighty gates." Song Che nodded, eighty cannons, a high city wall, and 150,000 hot-blooded men are enough to protect the family and defend the country.

"Well, it's getting late today—"

"Report!" The pawn rushed into the big tent: "Your Majesty, General, Dijon has sent envoys, they have arrived outside the city!" Song Che frowned, what kind of operation is this?

Is it for peace talks?

"How many messengers, retinue?" He asked. The pawn said, "There are still many miles, and there are several carriages. "This is even more strange, will Dijon come to negotiate in a carriage?

"What else is there to see, invade our land, harm my people, I will fight with them endlessly, and just bombard them with arrows!" Liao Heng scolded.

"Wait." Song Che said: "This time the Dijon envoys came strangely, why don't we go to the city gate, first probe their mouth, if they ask to be rude, it is not too late to shoot arrows indiscriminately." Liao Heng nodded and sighed in agreement.

And they went up to the wall. Seeing that under the city gate, there were two carriages parked, and in front of the carriage was a middle-aged man dressed as Dijon, who was holding a torch and shouted provocatively: "What? Is the Great Liang Dynasty so gutsless? I didn't even have a single guard with me! ”

"Whoosh!" An arrow struck his horse in the crotch. The horse neighed and wailed, and the middle-aged man fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man got up and just wanted to scold,

"Whoosh!" Another arrow at his feet! He stepped back,

"Whoosh" Another arrow landed on his heel, and he blushed, not daring to make any more movements. Jiang Yuntian put away his hard work at this time, and shouted condescendingly: "Tartar, if I want to shoot you in the mouth, I won't shoot you in the nose, since I am here for diplomacy, I should show some decent etiquette!" The Dijon envoy gritted his teeth and shouted into the carriage: "Come out for me!" The two carriages opened one after another, and about eight or nine officials dressed in the official uniforms of the Great Liang stepped out of the carriage tremblingly, and the leader of them, over sixty years old, with a beard like a halberd, was none other than Jia Taishi!