Zhu Shengfei stroked his gray beard and said, "Since the general is the commander of the East Road, I hope that the general will focus on the Great Song Dynasty and the society, and don't let the two armies kill each other!" To the benefit of the country. ”

Han Shizhong nodded, "Lord Zhu is the same as I think, since this is the case, I will go to Xuzhou for a trip, and I will definitely restrain the three armies, and don't start a war lightly." ”

……

After Han Shizhong arrived in Xuzhou, according to Zhu Shengfei's words, he kept delaying time on the grounds of preparing for war.

At the same time, the army led by Zhao Yingluo and Yue Fei was stationed in Xingzhou, and the 50,000 army led by Wang Zaixing was stationed in Wei County to guard against the movements of the Daimyo's Mansion. Wen Boyuan commanded 10,000 sailors and 30,000 troops to garrison in Shanzhou, beware of Han Shizhong's troops.

The two veteran generals, Zong Ze and Li Gang, led 50,000 men from Kaifeng and arrived at Chenzhou and Guide in five days.

Further south from Chenzhou and Guidefu, the garrisons there were no longer under Zhao Yingluo's control.

August 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival, if in Kaifeng, the autumn corn is harvesting, and every farmer's face is filled with a smile of abundance.

The city must also be lit up at this time, and it must be very lively.

But in Chenzhou, the fields here are still planted with grains and millet with a yield of no more than three stones per mu, and the farmers here are still living a life of eating the last meal without the next meal.

In contrast, Zong Ze felt more and more that it was right to support Zhao Yingluo! Even if she supports her to be the emperor, it is a matter of course, after all, she is the one who feeds the people of the Great Song Dynasty, and it is she who makes the backbone of the Great Song Dynasty no longer bend.

At the end of August, an army of 100,000 led by Liu Guangshi arrived at the city of Chenzhou.

At sunset, the old general stood on the tower of the southern city of Chenzhou, looking at the gentle fields in the twilight and the sparks in the military camp of Liu Guangshi's army five miles away, thinking about the imminent confrontation with the men and horses of the imperial court, and a sense of anxiety welled up in his heart.

The autumn wind blew his white sideburns, and I saw him bend his knees, old tears, and kneel in the direction of Lin'an.

As soon as he knelt, all the soldiers on the city wall knelt on one knee.

"The official family, the official family, it's not that the old minister is disloyal, it's really the official family that you are confused, provoking the internal cannibalism of the Great Song Dynasty, and leading foreign thieves to steal the land of Hebei! Now the old minister will do his courtesy, and tomorrow he will be the enemy. The ancestors of the Great Song Dynasty are on top, and the old ministers have a pure heart only for the Great Song Dynasty, and the ancestors and ancestors have spirits, and they can't afford to fight tomorrow. ”

After the courtesy, Zong Ze got up and wiped away the muddy old tears, and said to the deputy general Wang Ce, "Pass the order, make food for the third watch, and guard the city for the fourth watch!" This battle is sure to be a big victory. ”

The deputy general Wang Ce received the order, and then went down to the city.

……

After the army led by Liu Guangshi arrived in Chenzhou, he was uneasy when he heard that the old general Zong Ze was defending the city opposite.

"General Zong is loyal to the country, once he is hostile to our army, how can I crusade?"

Adjutant General Wang De said in a rough voice, "General, my army has been ordered to crusade against traitors, what do you have to worry about?" ”

"I'm afraid that I will be infamous through the ages!"

"Since ancient times, the king has been defeated, not to mention that my army is famous, and the history books will only praise the general's bravery."

After Wang De's persuasion, Liu Guangshi's heart was much less uneasy, and after the order was ordered to attack the city the next day, he rested early.

……

The next day, early in the morning

Liu Guangshi's army set up a formation, and the siege equipment was also ready, and he could attack Chenzhou City as soon as the main general gave an order.

But Zong Ze did not only defend the city, but led an army of 20,000 to set up a position under the city gate, left and right were the 2,000 firearms army allocated to him by Zhao Yingluo, and then 5,000 cavalry, then archers, and finally 10,000 infantry to press the formation.

The old general Zong Ze was in the center, with a clip on the horse's belly, and walked in the direction of Liu Guangshi's army, until he was less than twenty zhang away from Liu Guangshi before stopping.

"General Liu, please!"

Seeing this, Liu Guangshi also rode forward, stopped only three zhang away from him, bowed slightly and said, "The armor is on my body, forgive me for not being able to salute all of them, don't be surprised by the old general."

Zong Ze opened his eyes slightly, and said in a voice of vicissitudes, "You and I are now enemies, there is no need to have this etiquette, please ask General Liu to come out to talk, do you want to ask the general whether he is fighting for the Great Song Dynasty, fighting for the people of the world, or fighting for the mediocre and incompetent officials?" ”

Liu Guangshi saw that he openly accused the officials of being incompetent, and his face changed, "Is the old general's words out of line?" How can you say that the official family is not? ”

"Is it mediocre to reuse Qin Hui and other ministers?"

"Relying only on the words of the Queen Mother's family, is it mediocre to deny the identity of the imperial sister?"

"Is it mediocre to collude with gold thieves to attack the Central Plains?"

"Such a mediocre majesty, even if the old minister is loyal, how can he not hate it?"

He wanted to refute for the official family, but he didn't know how to refute, so he could only say with high-sounding righteousness, "The official family is the son of the Mandate of Heaven, and the minister can only die and be the fault of the king, how can he easily rebel?" I advise the old general to immediately quit the army, for the use of the imperial court, and still be able to preserve the honor, if not, the army will set foot in Kaifeng. ”

Zong Ze laughed, "Mingjie? When the official colluded with the gold thief, did he ever consider the face of the Great Song Dynasty? Now that the official family has lightly raised an unknown division, which has caused the society to be uneasy and the people to suffer, the general is actually talking about the minister's festival in front of me? If the general can sympathize with the soldiers of the two armies and the dawn of the world, do not use the sword lightly, if not, I am afraid that Chenzhou is the place where the general's bones are buried. ”

Liu Guangshi sneered, "Although the old general is brave, he is still old!" As far as I'm concerned, taking Chenzhou City is like taking something from a bag. ”

Zong Ze smiled disapprerovingly, pointed to the firecracker troops on both sides and said, "The general only knows that I am old, can I know the benefits of those new weapons?" Her Royal Highness the Princess defeated Yan Zonghan's 100,000 army with only a thousand firearms. Dare to ask the general if he can beat Yan Zonghan? If you can't fight, take advantage of the idea of starting a war. ”

After Zong Ze finished speaking, the two thousand firecrackers lit the fuse in unison, pointed the gun barrel to the sky, and the smoke rose up, and the sound of banging was endless.

Liu Guangshi was shocked, he only estimated that his strength was several times that of the other party, but he ignored the fire soldiers! Although he didn't know the true power of the firecrackers, the time when Her Royal Highness the princess defeated Yan Zonghan was enough to show the power of the firecrackers.

Zong Ze saw that his expression changed greatly, and he was much relieved in his heart, long before he came to Chenzhou, Her Royal Highness the Princess told him that although this fire gun army could not completely decide the victory or defeat of the battlefield, its deterrent power should not be underestimated, and sure enough.

"The general once led the army to fight against the gold thieves, for the sake of the Great Song Dynasty, the old man still persuaded the general to collect the troops and return to the camp, and see Her Royal Highness the princess defeat the gold thieves in Hebei, how about it?"

Liu Guangshi's face sank, "How does the old general know that Her Royal Highness the princess will win?" ”

Zong Ze said unhurriedly, "Because in addition to this fire gun, His Highness has created a killing weapon that is several times more powerful than the fire gun!" Even without this killing weapon, Her Royal Highness the Princess can still win the battle! For no other reason, the old man believed that she could create miracles. ”