stubborn thief

“Brother Zhang, I’d like to propose a toast to you!”

The Yamen lobby in Yaozhou City was bustling with people.

The generals of the government and the army were exchanging cups with the rebel generals.

Zhang Zhen, the bee-tailed needle, sat at the top, held up the porcelain wine glass with a smile on his face, and greeted Yang Yanchang at the bottom, smiling: "General Yang is so polite!"

After saying that, he looked next to Yang Yanchang. Sitting on the tea seat over there was a young Ming army officer. He was wearing a red cloth armor and his alms bowl was placed on the tea table. He neither drank nor drank tea, but just put his hand on the tea table. On the tea table, there is a Yanling knife.

Bee Tail Needle looked at it again and again, drank wine in his throat, turned to Yang Yanchang and said: "It looks like it, it looks so similar."

Yang Yanchang knew what he was talking about. The young officer beside him was named Liu Chengguang.

Yan'an old Liu Jiayao's ancestor Guangzong was one of the eight members of the Yunshun Jiachang group, and he was considered to be Liu Chengzong's distant cousin.

Compared with Liu Shizi, he is a little shorter and thicker, but his face and cheekbones are almost carved from the same mold.

Yang Yanchang sneered in his heart, not only does it look like it to you, but it also feels like it to me.

In the past two years, the Yan'an Battalion has been stationed outside and camped on the front line. When special situations occurred in the middle of the night, Yang Yanchang was often awakened from his deep sleep by his subordinates.

Every time Liu Chengguang came, Yang Yanchang was confused and thought it was Liu Shishi who came to fuck him with a knife and ax.

In fact, this is outrageous. Yang Yanchang has never seen Liu Chengzong carrying a knife and axe.

But the deepest impression he had on Liu Shizi was that he was wearing plain clothes stained with blood and carrying a knife and ax.

At that time, Liu Shizi rebelled and invaded the county government. Yang Yanchang only provided ordnance support for the Yan'an Guard. However, due to his status as an officer, he was stationed at the Yan'an Guard's Nanguan siege and did not participate in the war.

This image comes from the fact that after Fushi County was captured, the people in the city said Liu Chengzong was invincible.

Of course, there are many legends circulating in Yan'an Fucheng.

He, Yang Yanchang, is also on the list. He is a ruthless character like a god of war who can single-handedly kill seven in and seven out of the rebel army. He defeated Liu Chengzong several times and returned home in defeat.

Bee Tail Needle poured another glass of wine, and this time he raised the glass and offered it to Liu Chengguang, but Liu Chengguang didn't drink with him, and Zhang Zhen didn't take it seriously and drank the wine with a smile.

Then he asked Yang Yanchang: "Where is General Liu? What position does he hold now?"

Liu Chengguang, who had been silent until now, spoke: "General Manager of the Yan'an Camp."

Beetail Needle was shocked and looked at Yang Yanchang with wide eyes: "How can you, General Liu, be so talented that you can only be ranked as the commander-in-chief? Why not let him be a staff general and General Yang be the thousand-year-old general."

This was just a joke to Yang Yanchang, but Mi Layin and Ding Guodong, who were sitting silently on the other side of the hall, looked at each other.

They both knew that Zhang Zhen was serious about what he said, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Because bee-tail needles can really do this kind of thing.

Yang Yanchang, on the other hand, had a good temper. He spread his hands with a smile and said, "I also want Chengguang to be President Qian, but President Qian Xiangshan is Chengguang's father."

"damn it!"

Zhang Zhen was speaking well, but suddenly he began to curse. He turned to Ding Guodong and Mi Layin and said, "I regret it. We three brothers should not have surrendered to the imperial court."

Ding Guodong and Mila Yinxin said, you pretend to be quite similar, isn't this just the commander's tactic to delay the attack.

Just when the battle was about to start in the south, the officers and soldiers of the fifth battalion of the North Road heard that Yaozhou had fallen, and immediately went south from Jinsuoguan to Tongguan County, Yaozhou, then crossed the Ju River and Chenbingsi Valley Plateau to surround the north of Yaozhou.

The officers and troops of the fifth battalion were huge, and Zhang Zhen and Ding Mi, two generals, led the three small battalions of Gansu Province with only a few generals. They immediately retracted their defensive posture and were defeated.

Then they sent envoys to communicate with each other, stating that they were all Gansu frontier troops of the imperial court and wanted to rectify the situation anyway, and asked the government and army to send people into the city to discuss surrender matters.

The two sides hit it off.

It's not that the generals of the fifth battalion immediately hit it off with the surrender of the third battalion of Gansu. In fact, four of the five people didn't believe it.

However, since three of them have different levels of ulterior motives, and the other two have relatively simple ways of thinking, they have come to highly consistent results.

After some discussion among the generals of the fifth battalion, they easily came to the decision to communicate and report to the court first.

First, there was He Renlong, who was Liu Chengzong's commander when he was in the army, and also participated in the Hehuang Battle. He was a general who was relatively familiar with the Marshal's Army.

He would rather believe that pigs can fly than believe that Liu Chengzong's army will take the initiative anyway.

Especially the Gansu Third Battalion, the guest troops brought from Gansu to Guanzhong to fight, it is impossible for them to stop before the imperial court regains Gansu.

What's more, He Yong was sent by He Renlong to inform the Marshal's army.

Because he was a vanguard, and the officers and soldiers of the fifth battalion had a huge momentum, hoping to scare away the marshal's army entrenched in Yaozhou.

The outcome of the battlefield ahead was still uncertain. If the situation turned bad, he would have to lead his troops to flee, so he would first try to recover the city.

Unexpectedly, He Yong went over and contacted Zhang Zhen. Instead of being scared away, he instead said he wanted to surrender - He Renlong knew there was a scam inside.

But he doesn't tell others.

He himself felt uneasy before it was too late, fearing that the defenders in the city would use a stratagem to alienate him and tell the other battalion commanders that someone had tipped him off.

As for Cao Bianjiao, he was in a very confident period.

Because the Pingliang army he led was well raised by the King of Han, and they trained very hard on weekdays, and their quality was very high.

So his idea was relatively simple. Regardless of whether he surrendered or not, the army was not ready to attack the city anyway.

They went south from Qingyang and walked through mountainous terrain. They did not bring any siege equipment with them, and they did not reach level ground until they entered Yaozhou. At this time, if they attack the city by force, they will inevitably suffer huge losses.

The top priority is to rush to make equipment on the Sigou Plateau.

You can use the excuse of discussing surrender anyway to prevent the defenders from leaving the city to cause trouble, wonderful!
In just a few days, the equipment was built, and the defenders in the city surrendered. If they didn't surrender, they would all be killed for military exploits. What's even better!
Of course, among these five generals, Cao Bianjiao was more radical, and Yang Yanchang was very opposed to him.

Yang Yanchang had always been at odds with General Guan Ning's army. Many years ago, they had never been against each other when they first joined forces in Shanxi. He and Cao Bianjiao could quarrel over anything.

What's more, Yang Yanchang thinks that it's a good thing that people are willing. We should accept them, otherwise how can anyone surrender in the future?

Say it again... There is no more words left. Yang Yanchang only dared to whisper in his heart: If they change the situation anyway, then I don’t have to surrender!
But General Ren Quan'er obviously had a different opinion: "What the hell, how can the thieves surrender? They must be pretending to surrender. Let them put down their weapons and go out of the city to be reorganized. General Xiao Cao will kill them all. No one will be wronged!"

Cao Bianjiao then introduced Ren Quan'er as his confidant.

Little Cao Xin said: I can't tell, Commander Ren's attitude towards traitors is very similar to my old uncle, he hates evil as much as he hates it!

But Ren Quan'er's thinking direction is the opposite.

If these people were pretending to surrender, they would never lay down their weapons and leave the city.

If they put down their weapons and go out of the city, they will most likely surrender and let Cao Bianjiao kill them. In the future, no one of the commander's subordinates will dare to surrender!

I let Quan'er strategize, and he made great contributions to the superior without showing off, which was a pleasure.

If they put down their weapons and go out of the city to accept reorganization or fake surrender, then they will be considered killed by Cao Bianjiao and have little to do with Ren Quan'er and me.

At most, the commander will lose several thousand troops, so there will be no need to resort to false surrender tactics in the future.

Anyway, the result is the same. None of the officers and generals dare to surrender.

Mixed success and failure!

The only person who could treat Zhang Zhen with a normal attitude was Zhang Yingchang.

Zhang Yingchang really didn't think that much. He had the highest official position among the five generals and was considered the commander of this battle. Just coordinating the five battalions of generals and soldiers around him was already exhausting him physically and mentally.

My head almost exploded.

He Renlong was always dissatisfied with him, and Cao Bianjiao had his own set of guest army values, so he asked Quan'er to let him have some peace of mind. He would always be superior to superiors and inferior to superiors. He would always smile when he met, and he could bow his head and obey.

The most difficult thing to handle is Yang Yanchang.

This person seems to be quite normal, but his words and deeds are inconsistent with his appearance. He often agrees to something, then turns around and leads the army in the opposite direction. He still has the virtue of responding to requests when they meet again.

The whole person seemed to be suffering from some strange disease that could not control the facial features and limbs.Zhang Yingchang really felt that he could report to the Gansu Third Battalion to practice state affairs. If these three small battalions of 2000 people were successful, at least he would have an army he could trust.

Because of this, Bee Tail Needle Zhang Zhen's request to surrender was actually reached an agreement among the five generals who had their own thoughts. It took only one day for both parties to push forward the matter.

However, Zhang Zhen refused to leave the city until he saw the court's acceptance of the documents, but allowed the Ming army to send a general into the city to interview him.

Ren Quan'er and Cao Bianjiao vehemently refused to be interviewed, and both believed that the matter was fraudulent.

He Renlong also refused. He also thought it was a fraud, but he had a secret in his heart and did not dare to express his position as fiercely as Ren and Cao.

Zhang Yingchang felt that if he entered the city and was killed, the Ming army would have no hope.

In the end, everyone turned their eyes to Yang Yanchang, who couldn't control himself.

Yang Yanchang was also afraid of being killed when he entered the city, so he brought Liu Chengguang, a non-staff member of the Marshal's Mansion.

However, after entering the city, the security in Yaozhou City was not bad, and Zhang Zhen and others treated him well, not to mention respectful, at least very cordial.

This approach made Yang Yanchang feel relieved.

It's just that they all have their own agendas and are suspicious of each other, so the issue of recruitment and surrender is stuck here, unable to make any progress.

When he heard that Zhang Zhen said that he regretted it, Yang Yanchang's heart immediately rose to his throat: "Brother Zhang, why did you say this?"

Bee Tail Needle looked normal, shook his head and sighed: "Unparalleled heroes like Generals Yang and Liu are only subordinate to the posts of generals and commanders. What kind of official position can Zhang get by leading the troops? The imperial court is ignorant. The wisdom of man!”

Yang Yanchang let out a breath, leaned back with his straight body, and quickly waved his hands and said, "Brother Zhang, don't worry about this."

"General Zhang outside the city has reported the matter to Lian Futai on flying horse. The official positions he sought for the three generals are a deputy general, a staff general, and a guerrilla. They will never be lower than these official positions. .”

He comforted Zhang and Zhen for a while, then leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice: "But Brother Zhang, there are no outsiders here. Why don't you tell me the truth, are the three generals really surrendering or are they pretending to surrender?"

"Don't worry, whether it's true or false, I can help you."

After Zhang Zhen heard this, he turned his head and closed his eyes, rolled his eyes, and sighed in his heart: Whether it is true or false, he can help. Is the commander-in-chief's relationship in northern Shaanxi so hard?

Then he denied this in his mind and concluded that Yang Yanchang was lying to him.

He clearly remembered that when Liu Chengzong handed over the mission to him, his original words were that Ren Quan'er, He Renlong, and Yang Yanchang had an old relationship, but he did not say that they could be trusted.

In other words, the generalissimo had no idea about the three of them.

Where did Zhang Zhen come from?
He immediately decided not to take the bait, opened his eyes, frowned at Yang Yanchang and asked: "Where did General Yang's words come from? I am now in the Commander's Mansion, and I intend to do whatever it takes; the General is in the court, but he said such words. "

After saying that, Zhang Zhen stared at Yang Yanchang's expression seriously: "Then please tell me the truth, General Yang. Where are you from?"

which side?
Yang Yanchang thought: I don’t know either!

I am a fully automatic general, and you ask me which side I belong to... This kind of question is too profound.

In fact, as early as a few years ago during the siege of Wei Nanguan in Yan'an, Yang Yanchang had thought about this issue when he saw the fishing rod Ren Quan'er left for him at Fan Gongjing.

He is greedy.

He is greedy for the power of the guards officers and is unwilling to follow Liu Shizi to join the army and become a desperado.

He is greedy for the false reputation of Yan'an's regional warrior, and is unwilling to completely cut ties with the leader of the rebellious peasant army.

He was greedy for the official position given to him by the Ming court, the salary given to him, and the imperial edict issued to his mother-in-law; he was also greedy for the support given to him by Liu's family in Yan'an Mansion, and he was greedy for the Tongbao that defeated Liu Chengzong.

Although he is controlled by others, he still covets the comfort of life in Yan'anwei, and is eager to maintain this kind of living state of both sides indefinitely.

When Liu Chengzong only had one lion camp, he could have both sides between Liu Chengzong and the Ming Dynasty. At that time, his road was wide.

But as Liu Chengzong's power expanded like a bubble in urine, the military conflicts between the Ming Dynasty and the commander's office intensified day by day, and his path became narrower and narrower.

Yang Yanchang already knows that if he continues, there will be no return.

But he couldn't.

"It's okay to tell the truth."

Zhang Zhen's question caused him to fall into deep thought. After thinking for a moment, Yang Yanchang raised his head and said with a complicated smile: "I am a member of the Yan'an Guard. Wherever the Yan'an Guard is, I am on that side."

Zhang Zhen's eyes flashed, confirming that Yang Yanchang was not a handsome man!

However, this person is not firm towards Ming Dynasty and seems to be a wallflower.

At this moment, an officer from the Liangzhou camp quickly walked into the yamen, cupped his fists and reported: "General, there are two groups of messengers knocking at the south gate. One is the messenger from General Yang's camp. He is here in a hurry, and the other..."

The officer glanced at Yang Yanchang, walked up to the hall, and whispered to Zhang Zhen: "The other one was sent by the commander-in-chief. The two groups collided outside the south gate."

Zhang Zhen nodded slowly: "Let everyone in."

When Yang Yanchang heard that a messenger was coming from outside, he waited anxiously for a moment. When two messenger cavalry with similar uniforms entered the hall, he quickly took the letter from his soldiers and read it.

Zhang Zhen was also reading the letter, and his brows relaxed greatly after reading it. The letter was sent by someone sent by Liu Chengzong, telling him that the Huguang coalition forces in the south had been defeated, and the main force was heading north at this time.

When Yang Yanchang saw the letter, he was obviously surprised, causing Zhang Zhen to ask: "I wonder what news the general has received. Can you tell us?"

"Heh, that's good news." Yang Yanchang forced himself to calm down and laughed, and said, "Report from the west. General Cao led the Ningxia Army to join forces with Zuo Shuai, recapture the Qinzhou Guard, and lead the army to attack Fengxiang Mansion."

"The Sichuan Marquis General in the southwest has also sent General Long Zaitian to enter Fengxiang. Now he has broken through Dashan Pass. Anyway, it is a great opportunity for the general."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhen put away the letter in his hand and said with a smile: "Sure enough, the court has also learned the news. I said here that the rebel general Luo Rucai has been defeated and fled to Fengxiang Prefecture to rule the city... General, this is it?"

While he was still here pretending to be relaxed and joking, he saw that Yang Yanchang had already stood up and left the table. He clasped his fists and said goodbye: "There is something urgent in the camp that requires me to leave the city. I would also like to ask General Zhang to order someone to open the city gate."

"No!"

Before Zhang Zhen could speak, Ding Guodong, who was sitting next to him, had already stood up and looked at Yang Yanchang and said, "The general is in such a hurry to leave. Is it true that the imperial court's victory is false and that the army is preparing to storm the city?"

These words made Yang Yanchang so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead, and he denied it repeatedly. Liu Chengguang beside him grasped the handle of his knife and stood up. Looking at his posture, he was ready to force his way out of the city.

Zhang Zhen stretched out his hand to stop Ding Guodong: "General Ding, in front of General Liu, you must not make any mistakes... I believe that Brother Yang is a man who must not have the army to attack the city, right?"

Yang Yanchang nodded quickly, cast a grateful look at Zhang Zhen, and said, "There really is something going on in the camp."

"Then general, don't worry and go back to handle military affairs. Someone will open the city gate."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Yanchang turned around and walked quickly outside the Yamen. Liu Chengguang followed suit and walked to the door of the Yamen. He turned around and saluted Zhang Zhen, who had always respected him, with a fist in his hand, and then left.

At this moment, Mi Laoyin also stood up, walked to Zhang Zhen and said: "Brother Feng is trying to avoid the rat, but I think this boy and the commander-in-chief are not of the same mind. If he is really killed in the city, the commander-in-chief will not blame him even if he comes." .”

"You have the final say?"

Bee Tail Needle smiled bitterly and said to Mi Layin: "The three of us are the retainers who work for the handsome master. The boy you call is the handsome master's family."

"Even if he doesn't have the same heart as the handsome master, he deserves to die among thousands of armies because of his bad brains, and he can't die at the hands of the three of us... Don't worry."

After saying this, Bee Tail Needle said with a relaxed smile: "The handsome man has already won the battle in the south. I see that Yang Yanchang is walking in such a hurry. It seems that he is not attacking the city outside the city. Let's go to the city to take a look first."

"Even if they want to attack the city, we can hold it until the handsome man comes to help."

Outside, after leaving the Yamen, he got on his horse and galloped towards Yang Yanchang at the north gate.

Liu Chengguang saw the city gate with his own eyes, and then asked Yang Yanchang: "General, doesn't it say we won by the west, so why are we leaving in such a hurry?"

"Is this still urgent?"

Yang Yanchang stared at Liu Chengguang: "I have no choice, damn Ren Quan'er!"

"What's wrong with Ren Quan'er?"

Yang Yanchang raised his hand and pointed to the south: "The letter says that the west will win, but after receiving the news of the west's victory, Ren Quan'er led the Yan'an guards to break camp and run south to join Liu Chengzong! Come on, come on, we have to go back to the camp and chase him. .”

"It doesn't matter if he lets Quan'er run away. Our family members in Yan'an are still in his hands. Now it's better. The West might as well lose!" (End of Chapter)