Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 92
Chen Qiyu immediately sent people to Chuzhou, because Lu Xiangsheng was leading his troops to Fengyang. The purpose of sending people was to make Lu Xiangsheng change his marching route, go straight from Chuzhou to Shouzhou, and attack the bandits from the east.

He ordered Huang Degong's personal soldiers to return, so that Huang Degong didn't have to rush to Fengyang, but went straight to Shouzhou from Huaiyuan, looking for an opportunity to attack the bandits.According to the information Chen Qiyu obtained, the water volume of the Guohe River is already very small, and soldiers can cross the water without mobilizing ships to transport them, which can save a lot of financial and material resources.

And he personally led two thousand elite soldiers of Fengyang Guard and more than three thousand troops of Guo Taibu to launch an attack from the northeast. If you break into a thief or donate to a thief, you will have to peel off your skin if you don't die.What he didn't know was that there was a Liaodong cavalry of more than [-] people falling behind Gao Chuang, and it was a wolf waiting for an opportunity to pounce and bite.

Chen Qiyu knew very well that if he wanted to continue to make a difference in the court, the only way was military merit.

Especially judging from the situation when the sentry came back, Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang are now joining forces, which is an excellent opportunity to make meritorious service.

Chen Qiyu already knew that Zhang Xianzhong was the culprit who destroyed several buildings of the imperial mausoleum and burned Longxing Temple. It is said that the emperor hated Zhang Xianzhong to the bone, and once threatened that all thieves in the world could be surrendered, but only Xian thieves could not be surrendered.

Zhang Xianzhong was extremely cunning, he knew that burning the imperial mausoleum would make the emperor furious, so since then, he has been following around Gao Yingxiang, using the tall tree to cover himself, so as not to be killed by the officers and soldiers recklessly.

As long as I can capture and kill the thieves this time, my position as a capable minister in the eyes of the emperor will become extremely firm, and my career in the future will be smooth sailing. It is a matter of course to go to court, and it is very possible to join the cabinet. That is the highest honor for a minister. As long as the Ming Dynasty does not fall, the descendants of the Chen family will benefit endlessly.Thinking of this, he immediately ordered that Fengyang Wei and Xuzhou Guo Taibu should prepare immediately, and then the whole army would march towards Shouzhou.

On the official road from Chuzhou to Fengyang, a mighty army is marching.The team was divided into four divisions, the Liaodong cavalry was the front army, the Tianxiong army formed by Lu Xiangsheng himself was the middle army, the more than [-] Sichuan troops were the rear army, and the last was the supply battalion.

Lu Xiangsheng was not in the ranks of the Chinese army, but in the ranks of the Liaodong cavalry of the former army, followed by more than a dozen personal soldiers, and Li Chongjin was a little behind by half a horse's head.

In addition to the [-] cavalry of the Liaodong cavalry to be dragged at the end to protect the supply camp, the remaining [-] cavalry were at the forefront as the vanguard, about ten miles away from the Tianxiong Army behind them. Lu Xiangtong led more than [-] cavalry to become pioneers , Go out twenty miles to check the road conditions and the enemy's situation.

Because of the hot weather, after the army assembled early and had a meal, taking advantage of the coolness of the morning, the front army started to set off around Mao. It was almost noon, and it was nearly thirty miles away from Chuzhou City. In summer, the days are very long. If the sky is dark again Set up camp to rest before coming down. Calculated according to the current speed, we can march about [-] miles today, which is already very fast. From Chuzhou to Fengyang, it is more than [-] miles. If there is no accident, it can be reached in three days.

The official road from Chuzhou to Fengyang is well maintained, wide and flat, and it is more than enough for three riders to march side by side.

Lu Xiangsheng silently calculated the marching route and speed of the bandits, and compared it with the marching speed of the officers and soldiers, he came to a conclusion: Although his side experienced a big battle in Chuzhou, it didn't take long. I rushed to Fengyang early in the morning without any delay.

Although the thief and the thief set off a few days earlier than myself, but based on the huge scale and marching speed of the thief team, and the habit of looting along the way, our side can arrive at Fengyang earlier than Gao Yingxiang, and will be defeated. There is more time to calmly form an army to face the army of thieves.

Of course, all these inferences are based on the fact that Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong tried to attack Fengyang again. If the purpose of the thieves is not Fengyang but elsewhere, and they lead their troops to pursue them, it will be a big detour up.

Looking at the route of the thieves, it is absolutely impossible to go south, only to the north and west.Fengyang is just to the northeast of the bandit's advance direction, and there is no city wall. Zhang Xianzhong attacked it again last year, so he won't be allowed to go and do harm to him. No matter what, the bandit must not disturb the imperial mausoleum again. The importance of Fu County and Fengyang must be equal, after all, they are less important.

Because of the distance and the complicated terrain along the way, Zu Kuanbu has been unable to get in touch. His role is actually to harass the bandits so that they will always have worries.However, the troops are too few to compete head-on with the nearly 20 bandits. Only after the main force arrives, with the cooperation of the infantry, can they attack the bandits.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiangsheng turned sideways and said, "Re-entry, you send five hundred riders to Fengyang first, and inform the governor Chen Daren, so that he can prepare early in case the bandits send a small team to attack. The guards of Fengyang The strength is weak, if the bandits send elite soldiers to attack, I am afraid that they will be defeated at the first touch, if you have five hundred cavalry, it will be difficult for the bandits to succeed."

Li Chongjin was transferred from Liaodong to the Central Plains to suppress thieves, and he followed Lu Xiangsheng for almost a year. During this period, he experienced several battles, from the resistance and opposition to Lu Xiangsheng in his heart to the admiration and admiration now.Now he has unconditionally obeyed Lu Xiangsheng's military orders, and this change is mainly due to Lu Xiangsheng's huge personal charm.

An important official of the imperial court who was born as a genuine Jinshi, he will personally lead the charge in every battle; he is never greedy for the merits of the soldiers, and the spoils captured on the battlefield are always distributed fairly; Fight to the death on the front line.As a general, Li Chongjin's admiration for this kind of loyal person comes from the heart, because it completely echoes the image of a loyal minister and good general in the script.

Hearing Lu Xiangsheng's order, he immediately clasped his fists in response and said, "Here, I'll choose people to go to Fengyang!"

After Li Chongjin finished speaking, he rode his horse forward and was about to dispatch troops, when suddenly there was a rush of hooves sounding from a distance, and when he looked up, a large cloud of dust and smoke was floating in the air, which lasted for a long time.

Lu Xiangsheng stopped Li Chongjin's movements, and said, "Wait a minute! Maybe there is military information coming from the scouts! Hear what he has to say before we go!"

After a while, Lu Xiangtong galloping on horseback appeared in everyone's sight, followed closely by several horsemen behind him.

Lu Xiangsheng took the reins, and Wu Mingji stepped to the side of the road and stopped, waiting for Lu Xiangtong's arrival.

After a while, Lu Xiang and the same number of horses galloped up, and several people reined in their mounts a few steps away in front of Lu Xiangsheng. After a burst of "Xi Lv Lu" neighing from the war horse, everyone got off their horses one after another.

Lu Xiangtong walked a few steps, the sweat washed away the dust on his face leaving traces.He knelt down on one knee and cupped his hands and said: "To the Commander-in-Chief, I was ordered to lead a sentry team, and there is no enemy thirty miles ahead! Just as the Fengyang governor's yamen and the Shan County official army sent people to report, I ordered the rest Wait for the sentry to continue and bring the person who reported the letter! I have seen the waist badge, and the identity is undoubtedly confirmed!"

Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said, "Where is the person here?!"

Huang Degong's personal soldiers were Zhang Dabiao and Mrs. Guo's personal soldiers Liu San sent by Chen Qiyu all stepped forward, knelt down on one knee, and shouted their names to see them after the marching salute.

Lu Xiangsheng said in a deep voice: "Excuse me! Tell us quickly what military situation you have!"

The two stood up, Zhang Dabiao clasped his hands and said loudly: "Commander Commander! My family's general has arrived in Huaiyuan County with the army of the Shan County. Yesterday the general sent a few people to report to Mr. Chen in Fengyang. Knowing that the thief department was in the area of ​​Shouzhou, I ordered my general to lead the army straight to Shouzhou, and ordered the younger one to come to inform the commander-in-chief. Mr. Chen has led Fengyangwei and Xuzhou reinforcements to Shouzhou. Please don't Go to Fengyang and go directly to Shouzhou!"

As the commander-in-chief of an army, not only must he be loyal and brave, but he must also be quick-witted and easy-going, so that the commander-in-chief's military order can be clearly conveyed to the generals at all levels.Although Zhang Dabiao is illiterate, he has expressed the general's situation very clearly.

When Lu Xiangsheng heard that the thief did not go to Fengyang, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded approvingly and said, "You have worked so hard! Xiao Wu, watch the reward! And take the two of you to rest and eat!"

Zhang Dabiao and Liu San hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to thank them, Lu Xiangsheng's personal bodyguard Wu Dading took them down to drink water and eat food, riding a horse for nearly two hundred miles in the scorching summer was indeed very hard work.

After the two left, Lu Xiangsheng ordered: "Bring the map! Re-enter, you come too!"

The soldiers brought the map, Lu Xiangsheng and Li Chongjin dismounted, the soldiers unfolded the map, and the two began to check the surrounding terrain.

The map can be said to be very simple, only the official roads and main cities, mountains and rivers are marked, and some small roads and rivers are not marked.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xiangsheng said: "Although there is an official route from Fengyang to Shouzhou, our army's detour to Fengyang will greatly extend the marching time. Now the only way is to send people west to Dingyuan County to let the government Send people to lead the way, and the army will go straight to Shouzhou from the place in front of you. My colleagues!"

Lu Xiangtong who was drinking water hastily put down the water bottle and said, "Yes! What is the commander's order!"

"You take people to Dingyuan yourself, let the government find someone who can ride a horse and knows the route to Shouzhou, and then return quickly!" Lu Xiangsheng ordered.

Lu Xiangtong clasped his hands and agreed, then turned around and got on his horse and galloped away.

"Find a shady place and get off your horse to rest. After the rear team arrives, the whole army will have a meal!" Lu Xiangsheng continued to order.

Not long after the horse team continued to move forward, they came to a forest near a stream. After sending out a few cavalry for guard, the whole army dismounted, unloaded their saddles, weapons and other things, and took off their armor. The stream washes the horses, or goes into the woods to lie down and rest, waiting for the arrival of the rear team.

(End of this chapter)