Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 100 Peace of Mind
The night was getting dark, and a full moon rose high, hanging in the dark blue sky. The silver moonlight covered the earth, and the whole field was illuminated brightly and clearly.

The north gate of Shouzhou City was wide open, and a long and winding black belt stretched into the city under the moonlight. This was the Shandong official army entering the city.There was no clamor of neighing. Every soldier, including the civilians in the supply camp, had sticks in their mouths, and their horses had rings in their mouths. Nearly [-] riders were divided into several teams, and they marched without gathering to prevent a big attack. sound.

Huang Degong and Liu Zhiyuan stood at the top of the city, quietly watching the slightly tired army enter the city.It has been more than two hours since the vanguard entered Shouzhou for five thousand officers and soldiers plus two thousand civilian men who drove cars to carry the load.

As the main general, Huang Degong took the lead in entering the city to contact Liu Zhiyuan and others, and to understand the specific situation inside and outside Shouzhou City.He declined the banquet arranged by Liu Zhiyuan, and after a hasty meal, he led his soldiers to inspect the three camps arranged by the state government successively. These three camps were all near the south gate, and the grounds were spacious and flat.Seeing a large amount of rice noodles, vegetables, and firewood piled up in three places, huge water tanks filled with clean water, and ten freshly slaughtered pigs, live fish, and several bags of salt in each camp, Huang Degong was very satisfied.Marching continuously on a hot day, although the soldiers did not dare to speak out, they still had a lot of complaints in their hearts. As long as they have a good meal tonight and then sleep soundly, all the dissatisfaction will disappear when they wake up tomorrow.

After communicating with Huang Degong's soldiers, Liu Zhiyuan immediately sent Wang Wei to choose a camp, and then Wang Wei led a large number of civilians to prepare the necessary supplies for the army.When the gentry and common people in the city heard the arrival of the reinforcements, they again rushed to donate food and materials first. The state government used the government treasury to buy dozens of live pigs and a large number of live fish for the army to eat.People are here to work hard, what is a little money for food?As long as the lives of the entire city can be saved, no matter how much it costs, it is worth it.

Soldiers have already arrived at the camp led by generals.Because the supply battalion was last, the soldiers who arrived first could not set up tents. The exhausted soldiers just found a place to lie down with their clothes on. The weapons, bows and arrows were also placed beside them, and they were not neatly arranged in units of battalions.

This march is not like when we rushed from Shandong to Fengyang, handing over all the armor and weapons to the supply battalion.Because he has already reached the range of the bandits, although some scouts have traveled tens of miles, just in case, Huang Degong still asked the soldiers to dress neatly before marching. This made the soldiers who have been accustomed to marching lightly for more than 20 days feel a little uncomfortable. , so although the marching distance is similar, the fatigue is stronger.

After inspecting the camp, Huang Degong came to the city wall of the south gate, took a look at the camp of the bandits, and then went to the north gate. Not long after standing on the top of the city, Liu Zhiyuan also came to find him. Looking at the marching army in the moonlight.

Liu Zhiyuan was the first to break the silence, and said: "The rogues outside the city are coming fiercely, with hundreds of thousands of troops. Once they attack with all their strength, is General Huang sure to be able to defend?"

Huang Degong smiled slightly, and the yellow teeth under the beard glowed faintly golden under the moonlight: "My lord, this time it's not a question of being able to defend or not, but a question of how to hit Gao Chuang hard!"

Liu Zhiyuan was taken aback, and asked hastily: "What does General Huang say? Does General Huang want to severely injure hundreds of thousands of rogues with thousands of people under his command? He is the most powerful intruder and dedicator among the rogues." Thief? I'm afraid this is a bit too arrogant!"

Huang Degong shook his head and said: "My lord, don't misunderstand me, I'm not so arrogant! My lord just watched the bandit camp, my lord, I'm sorry to say it bluntly, breaking into thieves and offering thieves is a big deal!"

Liu Zhiyuan nodded and said: "That's true! The thieves have been in Shouzhou for several days, except for looting the village, they have never assembled to attack the city. Only today did they send people to attack, and the thieves they sent were not like strong soldiers. I'm about to collapse. I, Wang, Xu, and Commander Li are also puzzled. General Huang has been in the army for a long time and has learned a lot about battles. Can you explain this to me?"

Huang Degong showed a puzzled look on his face, and said frankly: "I didn't even think about it! It is said that there are more than [-] thieves. Why did they gather outside the south of the city instead of dividing the troops into four groups and attacking together! Really, Shouzhou The city might be broken in an instant! But Gao Chuang only sent people to attack the southern wall, and it was just a feint! Could it be that the bandits are waiting for something?"

Liu Zhiyuan shook his head and said: "If you don't understand, don't think about it. Just now General Huang said that he would severely injure the intruders. Could it be that the general has no support? Could it be the governor Chen's reinforcements?"

Huang Degong looked around, lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "If it's just the subordinates of Xiaozhi and Mr. Chen, there will be no problem in defending the city, but if they want to severely injure the bandit army, they will be powerless! Not only because of the large number of bandit soldiers, What's more, the intruder's subordinates are more skilled cavalry, and I wait for the most infantry, and the cavalry team is weak, so I'm afraid they are no match for them in field battles!"

Liu Zhiyuan rolled his eyes secretly, and thought: You don't need to say, don't you know the virtues of the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty?When you meet a thief who is weak and chases after you, you fight fiercely; when you meet a thief who is strong, you will be speechless!
Seeing Liu Zhiyuan's impatience, Huang Degong hurriedly got to the point: "Your Excellency's theory is known to you. When you were ordered to come to Shouzhou, Master Chen informed you that Lu Xiangsheng, the Prime Minister of Military Affairs in the Five Provinces, had led his troops to wipe out the siege. The enemies of Chuzhou are on their way to Shouzhou!"

Liu Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he forgot his official prestige in an instant. He grabbed Huang Degong's robe tightly with both hands and asked repeatedly: "Is what you said true? Don't lie to me! Duchen Lu is coming? Is it really Duchen Lu?" ?"

Huang Degong gently opened Liu Zhiyuan's fingers, and thought to himself: "This old man is so strong! I have thick skin and thick flesh, and it hurts to be pinched! Aren't civil servants powerless? Could it be that this old man is a practicing family?"

"My lord, don't worry! Don't worry!" Huang Degong said with a smile.

Liu Zhiyuan didn't pay attention to his rude behavior, and instead of ordinary times, the civil servants put their hands on the general's arm, which is called showing affection;

He cleared his throat and asked with his hands behind his back: "What General Huang said is true? As far as I know, the governor has been farming in Henan for the past six months. When did he suddenly arrive in South Zhili?"

Huang Degong said: "Last month, Governor Lu led his troops out of Henan after receiving the news that the intruders were fleeing to the south. At the same time, he issued a troop transfer document to the humble officer, ordering him to go to help Fengyang. When the humble officer came to help from Huaiyuan, he sent people with him. Dude Lu got in touch, so I know Dude Lu is on his way!"

Liu Zhiyuan was finally completely relieved this time.Shouzhou now not only has more than [-] people from Huang Degong's department, but also reinforcements from Fengyang's nearly [-] people are expected to arrive soon.Although I don't know how many officers and soldiers Lu Xiangsheng can have under his command, Lu Xiangsheng's reputation as a good fighter is enough to calm people's hearts.

Before Huang Degong finished speaking, he went on to say: "There is another good thing that I am afraid you don't know: there is a Liaodong cavalry falling behind the intruder! My humble judgment, the reason why the thieves did not dare to attack with all their strength was because they were afraid of a surprise attack by the Liaodong army when they attacked the city." Back! When Du Du and Master Chen arrive, the five soldiers and horses will attack together, and the 20 rogues outside the city will be defeated!"

Liu Zhiyuan was secretly delighted. First, Shouzhou was able to be preserved, and he and his family were finally spared, and the people of Shouzhou were spared from suffering. Second, Shouzhou soon became the focus of attention of the imperial court, and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers would fight here. 20 thieves, if they win this battle, their name will appear in front of the emperor as expected. In the future, the officials will test their merits. This will be a rare qualification, which will lay a good foundation for future promotion.

The pessimistic mood of being precarious under the pressure of thieves and soldiers was swept away, and he smiled and said: "I have long admired the name of Governor Lu, but it is a pity that I am fortunate to meet the most skilled warlord among the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty this time." Man, what a joy! General Huang! In your opinion, if the bandits attack tomorrow, what will happen? How should the officers and soldiers respond?"

Huang Degong pondered for a while, and said: "Tomorrow, if the bandits attack as perfunctorily as today, then let the soldiers of the Shouzhou Guards fight with them; Soldiers are the mainstay. My department’s assistance in the battle is mainly to prevent bandits from breaking through the city.”

Liu Zhiyuan asked puzzledly: "The strength of the soldiers in the guards is worrying, and the people are not well-trained. If the bandits gather and attack, even with your help, I am afraid that they will suffer huge casualties! Why don't you use reinforcements? Instead of local troops and people defending the city? Could it be that you want to preserve your strength?"

Huang Degong asked back: "My lord, did you forget what you said just now? This time is an excellent opportunity to severely injure the thieves! At present, both Lu Du and Mr. Chen have not arrived. If our troops show up, the thieves' strong attack will be blocked, and thieves are good at fleeing." From the perspective of nature, trespassing and presenting thieves are likely to abandon Shouzhou! If the thieves transfer to other prefectures and counties, even if Master Lu and Master Chen lead an army to arrive, the thieves have fled to other places, and the officers and soldiers can only continue to follow The tens of thousands of troops consume countless money and food every day, and the movements of the rogues are erratic, looting all directions for their use. The officers and soldiers can only rely on the food and grass they carry. , it will be difficult to gather and annihilate them in the end!"

Liu Zhiyuan felt ashamed when he heard the words, he only wanted to reduce the casualties of the army and civilians in Shouzhou, but ignored the fundamentals of suppressing thieves, it was really a waste of reading sage books, not as good as a warrior's vision and mind.

He bowed to Huang Degong and said: "It's the officer who wants to go wrong! General Huang is the one who seeks the overall situation! Now the only way to show the enemy's weakness is not to scare the bandits away. This officer apologizes to General Huang!"

Huang Degong's affection for Liu Zhiyuan soared in his heart. He knew the virtues of civil servants, and his eyes were high above the top. He thought that he could do anything after reading the sage books. Synonymous with the source of disaster.The behavior of this person in front of him is really different among civil servants.

He hurriedly returned the courtesy and said: "My lord is only eager to guard the land. The chief officer of one party cares most about the lives of the soldiers and civilians under his rule. Don't do this, my lord. You will ruin me!"

Liu Zhiyuan went on to say: "As for the matter of guarding the city, I have given the full authority to General Huang! I only hope that this time the head of the intruder can be taken down, so as to dispel the hatred of the Holy Majesty!"

Huang Degong laughed and said: "This time, I will not disappoint you! When the army arrives, my old Huang will cut off the head of the intruder among the thousands of troops!"

(End of this chapter)