weaving

When Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi returned to the old camp of Xiaoyuanying, the three thousand taels of silver and two hundred pieces of silk and satin rewarded by King Chuang Li Zicheng had already been delivered, and Liu Jingyi had already accepted them all.

The deputy military adviser Zhu Chengju, the reporter Liu Jingyi, as well as the big bosses Wang Shikui and Liu Dengkai, as well as Yuan Shizhong's cousins ​​and brothers Yuan Shitai and Yuan Shiyou, etc., were all waiting in Yuan Shizhong's military tent.

Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and the big bosses Wang Shikui, Liu Dengkai and others witnessed Liu Zongmin mocking Liu Yuchi in public at the banquet. They all had suppressed emotions in their hearts and were deeply worried about the future of Xiao Yuanying.

After they returned from Zhou Shipu's house, they gathered in Yuan Shizhong's handsome tent and refused to leave, because they wanted to know what Li Zicheng had discussed when he and Liu Yuchi were left behind.

At the beginning, reporter Liu Jingyi and big boss Wang Shikui were skeptical about surrendering, and even expressed their opposition clearly.

However, because the faction in favor of surrendering to Chuang had the upper hand, and Yuan Shizhong also had this intention, especially when Yuan Shizhong went to Lincheng to meet King Chuang, and got the good news that he promised to marry his adopted daughter to Yuan Shizhong, the good news was sent back to the army. The whole camp was filled with joy, suspicion and opposition. One faction also lost its voice.

However, since joining forces with Chuang and Cao, especially after the capture of Suizhou, the voices of the skeptics have reappeared and become more and more popular. Even Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi have some regrets.

Especially after arriving in Shangqiu, the 30,000 horses of Xiaoyuan Camp were sandwiched between the hundreds of thousands of horses of Chuang and Cao camps, and they were not allowed to have freedom everywhere. Moreover, the old cousins ​​in Shaanxi had a strong sense of localism, which not only brought down all the people in Xiaoyuanying. They treat them as foreigners and look down on new converts.

In the military tent, Yuan Shizhong and Liu Yuchi repeated what King Chuang and Song Xiance had just said to everyone present. Everyone was deeply surprised and worried. Wang Shikui even blurted out: "This is not to eat our little one." Yuan Ying?"

When they were discussing the countermeasures, Aunt Lu, the attendant of Yuan Shizhong's new wife Li Huimei, came to the door to ask for a meeting. Everyone immediately fell silent, only hearing Aunt Lu say that it was Mrs. Gao and Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Liu Zongmin and others. The wives of all the generals came to Huimei's tent and asked him to come and see him.

Just after Aunt Lu finished speaking, someone else came to report that Mr. Ji Gui, Cao Shuai's military advisor, had also come to visit Yuan Shizhong and had entered the military camp to ask if Yuan Shizhong would come out to greet him.

While Yuan Shizhong was still hesitating, he heard military advisor Liu Yuchi say to Second Aunt Lu: "Second Aunt, please reply to Madam. The general will go to see Madam Gao and all the aunts immediately. Madam, please be sure to stay with Madam Gao and all of you." Auntie, prepare some food and wine, the general wants to toast Mrs. Gao and all the aunties."

After Aunt Lu received the letter, she immediately went back to resume her life. However, Yuan Shizhong grabbed Liu Yuchi and said hurriedly, slightly annoyed: "Yuchi, why did you reply like this? I still want to talk to Military Advisor Ji."

Liu Yuchi took his hand and said softly: "That's bad. The general just needs to accompany Mrs. Gao and her party to talk tonight, and leave Ji Ziyu to Yuchi to deal with it."

He pulled Yuan Shizhong inward for a few steps, then leaned close to his ear and lowered his voice and said: "Ji Ziyu is here, even though it is a casual visit, but he must have the intention of testing my little Yuan camp. At this critical moment, It is not appropriate for the general to meet him.

What's more, Aunt Lu just now knew about Ji Ziyu's visit. She would definitely tell the new Madam and Madam Gao about it when she returned. Therefore, the general had to go quickly to talk to Madam Gao in order to avoid suspicion and avoid causing trouble for nothing. The good news aroused Wang Chuang's suspicion. "

Yuan Shizhong also lowered his voice and asked: "What about Ji Ziyu..."

"Ji Ziyu, Jade Ruler will accompany him. I have also prepared a banquet, and I will drink and talk with him in the evening. He came here to test my mouth. Don't you know that we are also going to use this to test his mouth in Cao Ying?" "

Liu Yuchi finally told Yuan Shizhong solemnly: "After the general sends away Madam Gao, just stay in Madam Gao's room and don't have to come back again. If Ji Ziyu betrays what happened tonight, Yuchi will accept the slaughter and will never use it." The general and Xiao Yuanying are implicated."

Yuan Shizhong was also a smart man and immediately understood Liu Yuchi's good intentions. He held Liu Yuchi's hand firmly, smiled and nodded with him, then stood up and walked out...

…………

The king of Chuang, Li Zicheng, spread across the land of Zhongzhou. For a time, his power was so great that almost no one could control it. However, there were still two major events in his mind, which gave him a headache.

The first is Kaifeng. His attack on Shangqiu City this time is to sweep away Guide Mansion, clean up the periphery of Kaifeng, and prepare for the upcoming three Kaifeng.

Having already failed in two attacks on Kaifeng, it had a very bad impact on the morale of the Chuang army and was extremely detrimental to King Chuang's personal reputation. Now that three attacks on Kaifeng were inevitable, whether or not Kaifeng city could be successfully breached was extremely critical.

No matter the imperial court or Emperor Chongzhen, they will not give up Kaifeng, let alone the land of Zhongzhou, Henan, so this time they opened Kaifeng three times, Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu, Yang Wenyue and Hu Dawei, and the new governor Zhang Fuzhen. The army will definitely come to help, how to deal with it?

Moreover, according to reliable information, Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu who fought against him during the first attack on Kaifeng, is said to have returned to the Xuanfu from Liaodong. Will he come to Henan this time?

Kaifeng must fight, but how to fight is the key!

And once Kaifeng is conquered, will they follow the suggestions of Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan and others, proclaim themselves king in Kaifeng, start setting up officials to manage the people, accumulate strength, and compete with Zhu Ming for the world?

If this is the case, this leads to the second question - will Luo Rucai truly support him?

In his opinion, the most difficult thing to do is how to maintain the relationship with Luo Rucai. No less than Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Liu Fangliang and others, they are both brothers and subordinates.

Luo Rucai, like Zhang Xianzhong, was Li Zicheng's sworn brother. He started the rebellion almost at the same time as him. In his early years, his reputation was even higher than that of Li Zicheng. Now he was only temporarily frustrated, so he took refuge under the reputation of King Chuang.

Once his wings are full and his strength is restored in the future, he will not be willing to remain under Li Zicheng for a long time. Especially in recent times, Cao Ying and his camp have become seemingly inseparable.

Moreover, since the defeat of Suizhou, Cao Ying's generals seemed to have Luo Rucai's tacit approval. They secretly stepped up their recruitment of strong men, expanded their own troops, and even sent people to collect grain from Dangshan in Xuzhou Prefecture, Nanjing, and were active in Fengyang Prefecture. Zhang Xianzhong and Ge Zuo's fifth camp in Yinghuo Mountain seemed to be preparing to break away from King Chuang.

In fact, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others who broke into the camp were not unaware of the various recent signs in Cao Ying. They went to King Chuang to advise him and asked him to beware of Luo Ru before they got Cao Ying. However, they only received a sentence from Li Zicheng: "At present, we should try our best. Let’s work together and don’t overthink it!”

Even Liu Zongmin, the chief general of the camp, persuaded him personally, but was persuaded by Li Zicheng's words: "Don't look at the upper eyelids and only see the lower eyelids, and don't care too much about trivial matters. As the saying goes, 'It's not good to have too clear water. Raising fish'. You can turn a blind eye or close your eyes on small things, it doesn't have to be a small thing or a big thing."

Gao Yigong, brother-in-law of King Chuang and general manager of the old mansion, also felt deeply wrong about Cao Ying's unauthorized actions and couldn't stand it anymore. He went to King Chuang to persuade him to be prepared, but he heard King Chuang say: "Yigong, you are also confused. As long as Cao Cao is willing to follow my banner, it will be of great benefit to us, and the rest is just trivial!"

It's not that Li Zicheng didn't realize the potential dangers of Cao Ying, he just believed that the time had not yet come. For him, the first priority at the moment was to capture Kaifeng City, because this would be an important turning point in Li Zicheng's fight for the world.

As for how to deal with Luo Rucai's Cao camp, in fact, no matter whether it is divided or combined, the decision can only be made after Kaifeng is captured, but before that, no clues should be revealed, lest Cao Cao notices it and leaves early, which in turn will Self-defeating.

Therefore, he did not allow Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong and others to care too much about small things, and he did not dare to reveal to them what he was thinking in his heart, for fear that they would be distracted by their actions and make things worse.

…………

Although everyone in Chuangying and Caoying knew that Li Zicheng was determined to conquer the world, so far there has been no official establishment to manage the people. Every time Chuangying and Caoying captured a city, they only stayed for three days to collect food and grass and recruit soldiers. Zhuang joins the army. And every time before leaving, they would organize brave soldiers to tear down the city wall, which was called "shoveling the city."

Now in Shangqiu, there is no exception. Gu Ying, the general of the Chuang camp, is under the full command. The king of Chuang, Li Zicheng, wants him to complete the task of "razing the city wall of Shangqiu" within three days.

Gu Ying recruited nearly 30,000 people from around Shangqiu. In addition, he also mobilized 10,000 soldiers from Chuangying, Caoying and Xiaoyuanying. They also participated in the operation to seize the city and took on the responsibility of supervising the recruitment of young people.

Naturally, General Li Zicheng did not need to worry about the matter of razing the city. At this moment, he, Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan and others were riding their horses slowly on the way back to Laofu. They were discussing the march when they had nothing to do. Attack on Kaifeng.

Li Zicheng saw that Li Yan's face was full of hesitation, as if he had something to say but was holding back, so he asked him with a smile: "Lin Quan, what are you worried about today?"

Li Yan leaned over and replied: "I don't have anything on my mind."

King Chuang smiled again and said: "I see you have something on your mind. We talk about everything from heart to heart. Our division is about to besiege Kaifeng again, which is of great concern. If Lin Quan has any brilliant ideas, why not tell us? How about we discuss it together?"

Niu Jinxing was also advising: "Yes, Lin Quan. If you have something on your mind, why don't you tell us and let us discuss it, and it can also be used for the Grand Marshal's decision?"

Li Yan first looked at Li Zicheng, then at Niu Jinxing, and then at Song Xiance, Liu Zongmin and others who were looking at him. He didn't want to say anything at first, but at this moment he was afraid that Chuang Wang, Niu Jinxing and others would guess elsewhere, so he didn't. good.

He thought for a moment and then said: "I was thinking about the capture of the city in Shangqiu, but I was afraid that I didn't see it deeply enough, and I was afraid that speaking out might not be appropriate, so I didn't dare to speak out boldly..."

Liu Zongmin suddenly interrupted Li Yan and said, "Lin Quan, you don't want mother-in-law and mother-in-law. We don't need to be so cautious when we talk together! Say what you have to say directly, don't hide it in your heart, right or wrong, It’s only after everyone has discussed it!”

King Chuang seemed to see a clue, and couldn't help but smile and said: "Lin Quan, don't you agree with 'possessing the city'?"

Li Yan said: "Yes, Yan really dare not hide anything from King Chuang. In my humble opinion, if a place like Shangqiu is abandoned, it is better to leave troops to defend it. Now I have Chuang's troops." With the rise of the times, the situation is completely different from the past.

However, it is still the same as in the past. Every time a city is conquered, it is abandoned and not defended. It can neither expand the territory and build a foundation for the people, nor can it rectify the exiles, restore farming and mulberry trees, and make the people have the joy of recovery. It seems that they have won the city in this way. If you don't keep it, won't you lose the hope of the people who have been in chaos for a long time?

At present, the land of Zhongzhou is empty of officers and soldiers. Even though it can barely manage to collect hundreds of thousands of troops, there are various factions within the country. People's hearts are divided and it is difficult to unite them. The army has no fighting spirit and the soldiers have no fighting spirit. It is really not something to be afraid of. And if the officers and soldiers are not If we try to save Bian, we will be unable to attack Shangqiu. If we attack Shangqiu, we will be unable to save Bian. How can we take care of both?

Kuang Shangqiu is only more than 300 miles away from Kaifeng, and there is a flat plain along the way. This is where our cavalry can be used. If the army comes to attack Shangqiu, we will have tens of thousands of warriors on horseback, as fast as the wind. It will only take two days, and the enemy soldiers will be there. If we are stationed under the strong city of Shangqiu and are attacked by us from both inside and outside, we will definitely lose.

Once our division conquers Kaifeng, we can divide our forces and advance from Shangqiu to the Jianghuai River, occupying Xu and Dang. Water transportation will be cut off, the capital will be trapped, Nanjing will be shaken, and the power of the world will be..."

After hearing these words, Li Zicheng couldn't help but feel moved. He reined in the horse's head and said, "Lin Quan, please stop for a moment. Let's sit down and talk about this matter."

He took the lead to get off his horse, walked about ten steps to an abandoned temple, sat down on the roots of a cypress tree outside the door, waved to everyone: "Let's sit under the shade of this tree and listen to Lin Quan finish his talk." Good advice. It has been many days since I listened to Lin Quan’s high opinion.”

Everyone dismounted and sat down next to King Chuang. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance also sat on a section of cypress roots exposed above the ground. Li Yan sat on the remaining bricks of the ruined temple, while Liu Zongmin and others just sat down. Sitting on the grass next to King Chuang.

Many of the soldiers and generals also dismounted. They rested not far away from a few people, casually keeping an eye on the surroundings to protect the safety of King Chuang and all the civil and military personnel.

Chuang Wang Li Zicheng looked at Li Yan and nodded with a smile, encouraging him: "Lin Quan, keep talking!"

Li Yan saw that King Chuang was very interested in what he said, and he couldn't help but feel refreshed. He picked up a small branch and drew on the ground while talking about his thoughts. From time to time, he picked up small clods of soil or broken tiles to express certain ideas. The location of some state capitals.

He pointed at a slightly larger piece of broken tiles from his branch and said: "This is Luoyang. Send a group of troops to occupy Luoyang, go west to Shaanxi Province, seal the old pass of Hangu, cut off the Qin army's eastward aid, and send another group of troops. Go south to Xuzhou and Yexian, and reoccupy Nanyang and Dengzhou.

At this point, the Central Plains is in my hands. From Weishi and Fugou to the south, the area around Runing and Chenzhou, and the south banks of Yingshui and Rushui, there are hundreds of miles of fertile land. They are all fertile land. They are not very dilapidated and easy to use. Restoring mulberry farming can provide enough food and support for soldiers.

In the autumn when the world is in ruins, there is a fertile land in Zhongzhou, which is enough to look in all directions. If you manage the world with this, there will be no disadvantages. If the world is powerful, you can achieve great things in becoming a king. "

When Li Yan said this, he paused for a moment. He looked at the crowd, but saw King Chuang smiling and saying nothing. Niu Jinxing had no expression on his face, so he threw the branch on the ground and stopped talking. .

Song Xiance knew very well that the generals in Chuangying Laofu had a strong sense of local sentiment. He deliberately reminded Li Yan and asked with a smile: "Should we enter Bingguanzhong next?"

Li Yan was reminded by him, and he suddenly understood what he meant, and hurriedly added: "Of course we must enter Bingguanzhong, encompass Qin and Jin, and go straight to Youyan."

He picked up the small branch again and continued to draw on the homestead while saying: "As soon as the overall situation in Henan is decided, we can divide the troops into two groups to enter Guanzhong from the west, one to enter Tongguan from Lingbao, and the other to enter Guanzhong from Dengzhou via Shangzhou. Among them, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, also entered Xianyang from Shangzhou.

The last general is short-sighted and has secretly pondered over and over again. Now he makes a bold statement, asking the generalissimo to leave troops to defend Shangqiu, and then divide the nearby prefectures and counties to serve as wings, occupy Dangshan Mountain in the east as a shield, and then use the main force to attack Kaifeng in the west. This is the best policy.

Why tear down the Shangqiu city wall and abandon it instead of defending it? Wouldn’t it be a pity? "

After listening to Li Yan's words, Li Zicheng did not immediately express his position. Although he agreed with Li Yan's words, he felt that dividing the troops would make them weak. It was not as strong as joining forces in one place, so that he could always control the enemy without being restrained. to the enemy.

In the past two years, he has used his troops according to this strategy and won step by step. Now is the critical moment to attack Kaifeng. The imperial court will definitely use all its strength to save Jingzhou and must not lose Jingzhou.

If Kaifeng can be conquered in one fell swoop within a few months, or if all the imperial reinforcements can be defeated, the Central Plains will no longer have any obstacles, the situation will be completely changed, and the government and army will have no power to counterattack.

At that time, the pustule in Cao Ying can also be cured, and then the Yuan organizational system can be changed, the troops can be divided into territories, and government, state, and county officials can be selected to manage the people. Everything will be easy, so why be too impatient?

But he did not express his inner thoughts, but looked at Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance with a smile, and asked them for their opinions with his eyes... (End of Chapter)