Yu Yang Mo came agitatedly, breaking the song of neon clothes and feathers. (Note 1)

In the blink of an eye, in November, the sound of horses' hooves "stomping" startled a group of crows in the dead woods, "wow~wow~" swooped into the air, hovering in the air for a long time, refusing to fall, adding a bit of bleak and killing chill to this winter.

"Report to the marshal, Yingzhou City ahead, the city gate is open, the city is silent, and there is no one in sight. The horse jumped off his horse and fell in front of Du Chongwei's horse.

"I really can't see a single figure? Where did the officers and soldiers in the city, the people, and Liu Yanzuo (Note 2) go? What about the Khitan general Gao Mohan? Could it be that he also ran away?" Du Chongwei was greatly surprised, and shouted again, "Explore again!"

"Yes!" Tanma agreed, jumped on the war horse again, and ran in the direction of Yingzhou City.

Seeing that Du Chongwei's brows were tightly locked, and he was silent in thought, the Ma army in the north lined up so that Liang Hanzhang (Note 3) stepped forward and said: "Why should the marshal hesitate, it's nothing more than a trick, then Yingzhou City can't be faked, take it first." If the marshal suspects fraud, the last general is willing to bring a group of men and horses into the city to check. ”

Du Chongwei shook his head: "Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the place of death and life, and the way of survival, must not be ignored." Naturally, Yingzhou City can't be faked, and Ben Rate doesn't believe that the Khitans will make any trouble in it. What kind of plan to burn and close the city, but he can't help Ben Shuai.

It's just that Liu Yanzuo obviously submitted a letter to surrender, but now he doesn't see half a figure, and there is fraud in this. Ben Shuai is worried about whether the Khitans are ambushed nearby, using Yingzhou City as bait, just waiting for my 300,000 troops to step into the encirclement.

If not, it's hard to explain why the city of Yingzhou is empty. I'm afraid that the Khitan people are worried that there are too many people, and some Han people are in the Great Jin Dynasty and tell us their truth and truth.

If Liu Yanzuo surrendered by fraud and lured me to send troops, of course he didn't dare to come to see Ben Shuai, for fear that my army would be surrounded, and Ben Shuai would sacrifice his head to the military flag. ”

Li Shouzhen nodded again and again on the side, and said, "Du Shuai's consideration is quite reasonable, so it's better to be careful." ”

Liang Hanzhang, the confidant of Emperor Shi Chonggui's favor, was sent this time to serve as the envoy of the Ma army in the north, not without the intention of containing and monitoring Du Chongwei, and he had a little bit of a look at Du Chongwei in his heart, but at this moment he was refuted by Du Chongwei in person, and he couldn't hold it anymore, he lowered his head and muttered in a low voice: "I am afraid of wolves in the front, and I am afraid of tigers in the back, when will I be able to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun?"

Although Liang Hanzhang's voice was small, Du Chongwei was a military general, his ears and eyes were clear, how could he not hear it, and a trace of killing intent suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he disappeared immediately.

Du Chongwei looked up at Li Shouzhen, only to see Li Shouzhen nodding slightly, and he immediately had a plan in his heart, and said with a smile: "General Liang's fighting spirit is commendable for his loyalty and bravery." Anyway, the commander will give you a general order, and you will lead your 2,000 cavalry to pursue north along the way to see where the enemy has fled.

If the enemy army is not found, the garrison will be recaptured, and wait for the next order of the commander.

General Liang, remember, once you encounter the enemy, report immediately, and do not attack without authorization, so as not to fall into an ambush of the Khitans. ”

Liang Hanzhang was eager for meritorious service, where did he think of anything else, listened to Du Chongwei's words, and immediately hugged his fists and said happily: "The last general will definitely behead the thief and general, recover the silt pass, and not disgrace the majesty of the commander!"

In his heart, those excuses that only Du Chongwei did not want him to make meritorious contributions.

"Okay, good, good!" Du Chongwei laughed, most of what he said was said to others, and he never thought that Liang Hanzhang would really obey his general's orders, "General Liang must be cautious when he goes, if he can really win a big victory, he should remember the general's first merit." ”

Liang Hanzhang was overjoyed, lit up the two thousand elite horses under his command, smoked all the way, fluttered the flag, and headed north.

After Liang Hanzhang left, Du Chongwei immediately ordered to set up camp and wait for news from Liang Hanzhang.

Huangfu Yu quietly came to Li Shouzhen's side and said in a low voice: "The last general thinks that it is extremely inappropriate for General Liang Hanzhang to go. This is the northern land, the terrain is complex, the mountains and rivers are steep, and there are too many places to set up ambushes. General Liang didn't answer, and the lone army went deep, in case of an ambush, wouldn't it be bad?"

Li Shouzhen nodded and replied: "Yes, it's not proper, it's extremely inappropriate, but if he wants to go by himself, who can stop him? Du Shuai also said that the purpose of his visit is to spy on the enemy's situation, find the enemy's traces, and immediately withdraw it, and not attack without authorization."

I hope that General Han Zhang can listen to Du Shuai's words in his ears and keep them in his heart. ”

Huangfu frowned and said, "What if General Liang doesn't listen to General Du Shuai's orders and blindly fights to the death? In this case, should we suggest to Du Shuai to send another group of men and horses to protect General Liang's back road and respond to his retreat at any time?"

Li Shouzhen glanced back at Huangfu and asked, "General Huangfu, do you know what the seventeen forbidden laws and fifty-four beheadings in the army are?"

Huangfu was stunned, he was a general in the army, how could he not know the truth of the seventeen forbidden laws and fifty-four beheadings.

The Seventeen Prohibitions and Fifty-four Beheadings refer to:

One: Smell the drum and don't advance, smell the gold more than enough, the flag can't be raised, the flag can't be subdued, this is called rebelling against the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Two: The name should not be called, the time is not reached, the time limit is not reached, and the law of the division is changed, which is called a slow army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Three: Spread the battle at night, neglect and not report, and even more slowly, and the voice is unknown, which is called slacking the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Four: complain more, anger its main general, do not listen to constraints, and teach it to be difficult to control, this is called forming an army, and the offender is beheaded.

Five: Laughing loudly, contempt for the forbidden covenant, and rushing through the military gate, this is called a light army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Six: The weapons used, bows and crossbows, arrows without feathers, swords and halberds are unfavorable, and the flag is withered.

Seven: Rumors and sophistry, fabricating ghosts and gods, pretending to be dreams, wanton heresy, and bewitching sergeants, this is called a prostitute army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Eight: A good tongue and sharp teeth, acting in vain, assigning sergeants to make them discordant, this is called slandering the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Nine: Wherever you go, abuse its people, if you force a woman, this is called a traitor, and the offender will be beheaded.

10: Stealing people's property, thinking that it is their own benefit, taking people's heads, thinking that they are their own merits, this is called stealing the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

11: The army and civilians gather to discuss matters, enter the tent privately, and listen to the military aircraft, which is called visiting the army, and the offender is beheaded.

Twelve: If you hear what you are planning or what you are saying, and you hear the order, and leak it out, so that the enemy will know about it, this is called betraying the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Thirteen: When calling, the tongue should not be stammered, the eyebrows are bowed, and the face is difficult, this is called a ruthless army, and the offender is beheaded.

Fourteen: Out of the army, before and after, noisy words, do not obey the forbidden training, this is called a chaotic army, and the offender will be beheaded.

Fifteen: To avoid conquest, pinch wounds and fake death, so as to escape, this is called a fraudulent army, and the offender is beheaded.

Sixteen: The lord is in charge of money and food, and when he gives rewards, he is a private relative, so that the soldiers have a grudge, which is called a bad army, and the offender is beheaded.

Seventeen: The observation of the thief is not tried, the thief is unknown, and he does not say anything, and if he says more, he will say less, and if he says less, he will say more, which is called a mistake in the army, and the offender will be beheaded.

After thinking about it carefully, Huangfu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

The fourth article of the 17 prohibitions and 54 beheadings is: complain more, anger at its commander, do not listen to constraints, and teach it to be difficult to control, this is called forming an army, and the offender is beheaded.

Isn't this talking about Liang Hanzhang?

And the eighth article of the 17 prohibitions and 54 beheadings: Good tongue and sharp teeth, reckless right and wrong, transfer sergeants, make them discordant, this is called slandering the army, and the offender will be beheaded. What he just said seems to be a little closer to this.

Huangfu understood that Li Shouzhen's words just now were on the one hand to nudge him, and on the other hand, he was also warning him not to meddle in his affairs.

It turned out that both Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen thought that Liang Hanzhang would die if he went. Du Chongwei is planning to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of Liang Hanzhang, a thorn in the flesh. And Li Shouzhen seems to agree with Du Chongwei's approach.

Thinking about this, a wave of anger couldn't help but rise from the bottom of Huangfu Yu's heart.

Even if Liang Hanzhang deserves to die, why should the two thousand elite horsemen be innocent? Is it just to get rid of Liang Hanzhang alone, should the two thousand iron-blooded men be allowed to spill blood?

What's more, how many people are really beheaded according to the 17 prohibitions and 54 prohibitions? If they were really executed according to the 17 prohibitions and 54 beheadings, the soldiers under his command would have been cut down if they did not escape.

Huangfu Yu suddenly remembered Li Fengyun, and the battles he fought with Li Fengyun were so happy, it can be said that he had fought the most painful battles in his career, because he didn't have to worry about his back at all, and he was even more worried about someone shooting cold arrows in the back.

Unlike now, even the friendly troops around him can't be trusted, for fear that someone will find some reason to get rid of them, or they will be deliberately sent to a place of death and die in vain.

I don't know if there will be a chance to fight side by side with Li Fengyun in the future.

Huangfu Yu sighed secretly in his heart, he had no friendship with Liang Hanzhang, and he couldn't anger Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen for him.

In the early morning of the third day, some remnants fled back to report that Liang Hanzhang's 2,000 elite cavalry were ambushed in the northern boundary of Fuyang, and the Khitan general Gao Mohan led 5,000 soldiers and horses to kill and surrounded Liang Hanzhang's 2,000 men and horses. The two armies fought for a whole day, Liang Hanzhang was killed, and the 2,000 elite cavalry led by him, except for more than a dozen people who fought bloody battles to break out of the encirclement, the rest of them were all killed in battle, and the whole army was annihilated.

In the past three days, Du Chongwei's army did not move a step forward.

Hearing the news, Du Chongwei sighed and said, "It's a pity, a loyal and brave general!"

Li Shouzhen also said: "Yes, the Khitan Tartars are too cunning, Han Zhang died well, this matter must be reported to the emperor immediately, and the court will be rewarded!"

Hearing this, the emperor's back was cold.

Du Chongwei immediately ordered the army to withdraw south.

Note 1: Taken from Bai Juyi's "Song of Long Hatred".

Note 2: This Liu Yanzuo is not Liu Yanzuo in the Tiance Mansion, the same name is just that, as mentioned above, he once wrote a letter to Wang Luan, the commander of the Jin State Leshou Prison, saying that he was ready to surrender to the Jin State, and he was a real figure in history. And the latter is a made-up character in this book, so don't confuse it.

Note 3: Liang Hanzhang (898-946), a national treasure, was born in Yingzhou. When he was young, he joined the army of Li Siyuan of Later Tang Mingzong, and was known for his bravery, and successively served as a commanding envoy of the Commando and Fengde.

In the second year of Shi Jingjiao's accession to the throne, he led the history of Qinzhou Thorn. In the third year, he added the inspection of the school and changed the command of the Holy Capital. In the seventh year, he moved to inspect the school Situ and led the Langzhou regiment to train the envoys. In the eighth year, he was awarded the defense envoy of Chenzhou.

After the Khitan withdrew from the south bank of the Yellow River, he was reappointed as the Taibao and Zhengzhou defense envoys, and served as the commander of the guards and horse troops. This year, he led a thousand cavalry to defend Jizhou. In 946, Shi Chonggui ordered Du Chongwei to fight in the north and ordered him to serve as the commander of the northern Ma army. Du Chongwei ordered him to recover the Sikou Pass, and met with the Khitan cavalry of 5,000 soldiers and horses at the northern boundary of Fuyang.

This person is mentioned above, but is not annotated, and is explained in detail here.