Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 287 Two Keys
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The thieves' camp that was not monolithic was easily pried out by Young Master Zhang, but it was also not a monolithic camp of the Shaanxi-Gansu Ming Army, and it was also because of Young Master Zhang's contempt for the generals and soldiers of the Shaanxi-Gansu Ming Army, and the generals and soldiers of the Shaanxi-Gansu Ming Army who treated Young Master Zhang as an asshole. His contempt also gave birth to many cracks. In the early morning of the 22nd, when Young Master Zhang was promoted to his tent, the conflict between Young Master Zhang and the generals in Shaanxi and Gansu broke out once on a small scale.

The conflict originated from the military order issued by Master Zhang. Master Zhang ordered the Shaanxi-Gansu army to build a siege fortification to surround Xi'an City from the east, west and south from now on. The anti-collision fence besieged the thieves in the city, and only the main battlefield at the north gate was used to wipe out the enemy. Prepare for a long-term siege.In this way, even Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou, who were polite to Young Master Zhang on the surface, stopped doing it. Hong Chengchou first fired and asked: "Zhang Butang, your order is really incomprehensible to the lower officials. There are many thieves and I am few. We only have more than 3 troops, and the rebels have as many as 15. Our army is not strong enough. We should concentrate our forces on one point and focus on attacking Xi'an. Only then can we hope to regain Xi'an. Why do you spread your forces and encircle the four places? We can weaken our main attack force by ourselves? And even if such a long fortification is completed, once the rebels break through, where will we go to find so many troops to defend such a long fortification?"

"Hong Futai, what you said is very reasonable, and I understand this truth—but there is no way, I have to do this." Young Master Zhang said calmly: "I also want to concentrate our forces to attack one sect. Take back Xi'an City first, and then use our army's field advantage to gradually wipe out the rebels in mobile warfare! But the question is, can we capture Xi'an City now?"

"Why can't we take Xi'an City?" Hong Chengchou asked angrily.Young Master Zhang asked bluntly: "Since Hong Futai thinks Xi'an can be captured, why did you and Mr. Sun Ge attack for more than a month, sacrificing three or four thousand brave Ming soldiers and consuming two nearby state capitals?" All the military rations in Xi'an are still in the hands of the rebels?"

Hong Chengchou, who was stabbed with the scar on his head, was speechless, but his face turned livid involuntarily. All the generals in Shaanxi and Gansu also had faces that were both green and white. The anger in their eyes was enough to burn Young Master Zhang to ashes. Sun Chengzong of Yucheng Mansion couldn't help but bow down on one knee, and said dejectedly: "I am old and incompetent, I can't get back Xi'an after I lost it, and I lost so many brave soldiers, I lost my teacher and humiliated the country. punishment."

"Please, Mr. Sun Ge, this junior doesn't mean to blame you." Young Master Zhang got up to return the salute, and said with a rather helpless expression: "Besides, it's not a crime of war that you can't attack Xi'an. With such a strong city defense in Xi'an, don't Said Sun Ge is old, you and the Shaanxi-Gansu army, even if the younger generation’s slave slaughter army is attacking head-on, whether they can take Xi’an City is also a big problem. Therefore, the younger generation has no choice but to dispatch reinforcements to reinforce the Xi’an battlefield while preparing for a long-term siege. Prepare, in the future even if the reinforcements come, we will not be able to take down the city of Xi'an, we can also besiege the city for a long time, and when the rebels in the city run out of food, the city of Xi'an will be destroyed without attack."

"Since Zhang Butang looks down on our Shaanxi-Gansu army so much, and looks down on the last generals waiting for the Shaanxi-Gansu generals, then let us all be dismissed!" Wu Zimian, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, couldn't bear it anymore. He tore off his helmet and roared angrily. : "The last general is willing to abdicate to let the virtuous, and please find another capable man who can fight to be the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi!" Shouting in unison: "The last general also asks the minister to dismiss me!" "I am no longer a deputy general, but you can find someone who you think can fight as a minister!" "I quit!"

"Very good, forcing the palace, right?" Young Master Zhang showed no fear, slapped the table violently with a smirk, and growled: "Since you think that I am belittling you, and you also think that you are good at fighting, then which one of you dares to stand up?" A military order to lead the army to attack the city? Take Xi'an, I will kowtow to you and apologize, if you can't take it, you will use your head to rectify the military law!"

There was no sound in the big tent, Young Master Zhang and the generals from Shaanxi and Gansu glared at each other. Both sides were so murderous that Zhang Shitou and Wu Liuqi, two confidants of Young Master Zhang, were frightened. To notify the slave slaughter army to prepare, the two lieutenants of Henan, Rui Qi and Chen Yongsheng, were also sweating, ready to rush out of the tent at any time to mobilize the Henan army to protect Young Master Zhang from the encirclement of the Shaanxi-Gansu army.Fortunately, Sun Chengzong stood up in time, turned his head and shouted to the generals in Shaanxi and Gansu: "What are you doing? What do you all want to do? Put your hats on my old man. Zhang Butang is the governor of the five provinces. You contradict him so much and want to rebel Is it?"

"Did you hear what Sun Ge said?" Hong Chengchou also suppressed his anger, and stood up to help Sun Chengzong coerce the generals, and shouted: "If you still think that you are the subjects of the Ming Dynasty, the officials of the court, put on your helmet immediately and stand up. Go back to your original position! Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I and Mr. Sun Ge will protect you!" The Shaanxi-Gansu generals still did not dare to confront the court, and finally put their helmets back on, and stood back to their original positions.Then Sun Chengzong turned around, cupped his hands to Young Master Zhang and said: "Zhang Butang, this old man is incompetent in running the army. Your subordinates have offended your military prestige. Please punish the Lord Butang."

"Forget it, when the teeth and tongue are still fighting, it's okay to quarrel between superiors and subordinates, and I'm not such a narrow-minded person." Young Master Zhang waved his hand and sat back to his original position.Sun Chengzong straightened his body and said: "One matter is one matter, Mr. Butang, I am still very disapproving of your long-term siege plan. Does Mr. Butang know that Shaanxi and Gansu have been suffering from severe drought for many years, and the fields have not been harvested. Relying entirely on support from the rear and besieging the city for a long time will be a huge test for the logistics and food supply. Can the imperial court provide so much food and military pay to support this plan?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Ge, this point has already been considered by the younger generation." Young Master Zhang deliberately provoked Sun Chengzong, and said with an evil smile: "Taking this opportunity, I also announce a good news to everyone by the way. The military budget is five times that of last year!"

"Five times last year?!" Sun Chengzong exclaimed.Young Master Zhang smiled, nodded and said: "That's right, last year's military expenses for suppressing thieves in the Northwest, including food and supplies, was about 48 taels of silver, but this year the court showed mercy and promised to give me 260 million taels of military expenses, so Our food and wages are very sufficient, so the elder Ge and everyone can rest assured." After that, Young Master Zhang deliberately added something that made Sun Chengzong tremble with anger, "If the 260 million taels of silver is not enough, the court can still consider it. Dial some."

"The annual revenue of the imperial court is less than 500 million taels, how would they give so much to the Northwest to suppress thieves?" Hong Chengchou couldn't believe his ears at all.Young Master Zhang smiled and said: "Hong Futai doesn't know something. Last year, the imperial court confiscated the properties of the eight traitors in Zhangjiakou. I raided the home of the rebel Li Jiaguo in Tongzhou, and got another two million taels. Except for a part of the extra income, I will send it to Liaodong, and most of it will be sent to the Northwest to be used as military expenses for suppressing thieves." After finishing his speech, Young Master Zhang said, In the big tent, the sound of air-conditioning and sucking was everywhere, and the eyes of the poor Shaanxi-Gansu generals were all shining, knowing that this year would definitely make a lot of money. great thing.Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou had complicated expressions, and they cursed Wei Zhongxian's partiality in their hearts, and they simply went to the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea!We have been miserable every year for the past few years. There is no year where the military expenditure exceeds 150 taels. Young Master Zhang has just taken office, and the military expenditure has suddenly risen to an astronomical figure of 50 million taels. If it is not enough, you can add more. It's clear that he wants to use money to give Young Master Zhang the extraordinary feat of exterminating the rebels in the Northwest!After a long time, Sun Chengzong shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The imperial court's trust in Zhang Butang is indeed far higher than that of the old man! But that's okay, with so much military expenditure, no matter whether it is to suppress or appease the rebels, there is no need to worry about it." Silver is worried."

"Whether it is to suppress the thieves or to appease the thieves, we will talk about it later. The most important thing right now is how to take back the city of Xi'an." Young Master Zhang put aside this topic with a wave of his hand, and said, "Okay, since everyone has no objections, let's start." To repair the fortifications, it will take at least half a month for my slave slaughter army to arrive in Xi'an City. During this half month, everyone just needs to concentrate on repairing the fortifications and besieging the city! Remember, there is no order from the official, no matter what happens You are not allowed to attack the city without authorization, and don't let the soldiers die in vain. Disperse the tent."

Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou with complicated expressions led the generals from Shaanxi and Gansu to leave, and the confidants of Young Master Zhang who had been worried all the time also breathed a sigh of relief. Shi Kefa patted his chest and said happily: "It's so dangerous. I was really worried about fighting just now." Song Song Xian Ce also wiped his cold sweat and complained: "Master, the students know that you are intentionally provoking the Shaanxi-Gansu generals, but your methods are too rough. What if you stir up a mutiny?"

"Mutiny? Do they dare?" Young Master Zhang sneered and said, "What kind of face-saving person is Mr. Sun Ge? How dare he take the blame for allowing his subordinates to launch a mutiny and kill their boss? Don't be tough on them, they think I'm easy to bully , it will be even more difficult to lead the Shaanxi-Gansu army in the future!"

"Zhang Butang, as before, let's think of a way to get Mr. Sun Ge away from Shaanxi and Gansu." Wu Liuqi said angrily: "The last general can see that Mr. Sun Ge is good to his subordinates, but he is so good. It's too much, it's simply coddling and conniving. When Yuan Chonghuan killed a second-rank official, he was saved by him. What did Yuan Chonghuan look like when he pampered him? Let him continue to do this in Shaanxi, Gansu, Shaanxi and Gansu. Sooner or later, the Gan army will become the second Ningyuan!"

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, Shaanxi-Gansu wants to become Ningyuan, it's a dream!" Young Master Zhang sneered confidently, but he was really worried in his heart. Should he use some dirty tricks to get Sun Chengzong, a national hero, from Shaanxi-Gansu?Shi Kefa didn't want to speak ill of Sun Chengzong, the idol he admired, so he changed the subject and asked, "By the way, Zhang Butang, what is the purpose of you asking the Shaanxi-Gansu army to start building fortifications from now on? Is it really what you said? , prepare to besiege the city for a long time, and trap all the thieves to death in Xi'an, right?"

"Am I stupid?" Young Master Zhang smirked, "The disaster in Shaanxi and Gansu is so serious, I don't use precious military expenses to appease the hungry people, and use it to siege the city for a long time, even if all the thieves in the city are trapped to death, what can I do? Use? If you don’t root out the root cause of the Shaanxi-Gansu rebellion, if you kill one Gao Yingxiang, there will still be a second Gao Yingxiang and a third Gao Yingxiang.”

"What did you order to repair that hall?" Shi Kefa asked inexplicably.Young Master Zhang smiled and replied: "Of course it is for the thieves in Xi'an city to see, so that they all know that I plan to trap them all to death in Xi'an city."

"What's the use of the thieves knowing this?" Shi Kefa became more and more confused the more he listened.Song Xiance laughed and said: "Xianzhi, you are still too simple, and you don't understand how complicated people's hearts are in this world! There are so many thieves in Xi'an, and their hearts must be uneven. Some want to stay in Xi'an to enjoy happiness. There are also some who want to continue fleeing, avoiding the main force of the officers and soldiers and going to places where the officers and soldiers are weak, and continue to enjoy themselves happily. Seeing Zhang Butang repairing fortifications and surrounding Xi'an City, can these thieves who want to flee be in a hurry? Can they not be in a hurry? Leaving Xi'an City to break through?"

"That makes sense." Shi Kefa nodded, and then asked tentatively: "But even if this trick is useful and divides some thieves and forces them to leave Xi'an to break through, there must be a lot of thieves who are willing to stay in Xi'an. After all, don’t we have to pay a huge price to storm Xi’an?”

"That's why you are innocent, Xianzhi." Young Master Zhang said with a sly smile, "Some thieves are planning to break out of the encirclement and run away. Don't they need military rations and military pay? Gao Yingxiang took the city of Xi'an with great difficulty, so how could he be willing to give away the precious treasure?" Give them military rations and salaries? At that time, we will have a good show. Ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..., Master, you are really bad." Song Xiance smiled knowingly, and then said with some worry: "My master, the students think that although your plan is ingenious and the chances of success are not small, but you still have a good chance of success." Two keys are missing."

"Those two keys?" Shi Kefa, an honest man who was already dizzy, asked subconsciously.The already cunning Young Master Zhang just thought for a while, and immediately said: "Master Song's first concern should be that after the capture of Xi'an, those stupid Shaanxi-Gansu generals thought it was all due to us. Continue to disobey me? As for the second key, it should be the lack of a fuse that can ignite the explosive keg in Xi'an, right?"

"My boss is smart, it's these two keys." Song Xiance nodded secretly with a sigh—how could he be so unlucky to meet such a wise and near-monster boss, so that he didn't even have a chance to show off ?Young Master Zhang said again: "The first key point, I have already made arrangements, and I just need to wait until the time to uncover the mystery. As for the second key point, I also have some headaches, but it doesn't matter, we still have time, I You can also slowly find a way to find this fuse."

………………

Although he was not convinced by Master Zhang's siege plan, under the orders of Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou, the Shaanxi-Gansu generals still commanded the soldiers of the Shaanxi-Gansu army who had nothing to do and began to dig a trap. At the same time, February 1, the ninth year of Tianqi in the lunar calendar is already in the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar, and the land in Shaanxi has completely thawed out. It is also very easy to dig a horse trap, and the progress is not too slow.But in this way, the leaders of the thieves in the city of Xi'an couldn't hold their breath anymore, and they rushed to the city wall to observe the enemy's situation. Soon, all the thieves in the city of Xi'an also discovered the vicious intentions of Young Master Zhang—— Trapped them completely in the city of Xi'an!
"Goddamn the dog officer, you want to surround us completely in Xi'an City, and catch us all!" Gao Yingxiang yelled.The little thief next to him, Xie Zikuai, grinned grimly: "Let's surround it, let them surround it. The food in the city can last for a month. After the food is gone, there are still people in Xi'an City. Let's see who can consume more energy than whom."

"Isn't that right?" Ma Shouying, who came back from the old age, found a big problem, and said suspiciously: "There are far fewer officers and soldiers outside the city than us, and we don't have a good location. The strength of the troops, can't we break through the encirclement with a single charge?"

"Old Huihui, did you sleep with three women last night and got confused?" Luo Rucai scolded, "Puppy officer is the governor of the five provinces, why is he worried about not enough troops? The troops in Shaanxi are not enough, so they can be transferred from Shanxi and Gansu, and from Sichuan. If it doesn’t work, you can still transfer from Xuanfu and Datong, among other things, as long as his mad dog army and Man Gui’s cavalry arrive in Xi’an, they will be able to block the four gates of Xi’an!”

"Cao Tianwang is right, the little mad dog must have the idea of ​​killing you all!" Fan Wencheng said impatiently: "So you should break out into the hinterland of Shaanxi or Sichuan before the little mad dog's reinforcements arrive. Run around with Zhang Haogu’s little mad dog’s nose. When Dajin kills Manzi in Liaodong and the Manzi’s blood flows into rivers, and the Manzi’s court is forced to transfer him back to Liaodong, you will have a chance. By the way, you must burn it when you leave In Xi'an City, leave a piece of ruins to Little Mad Dog, and let him have a headache for the reconstruction of Xi'an."

"If you want to go, go, anyway, I won't go." Several thieves shouted.But there are also a few thieves headed by Luo Rucai who agree with Fan Wencheng's idea-the key is that they can only pick up the leftovers of Gao Yingxiang's army in Xi'an city, and they have long been a little jealous.Luo Rucai echoed: "Chuang Wang, Mr. Fan's idea, you should seriously consider it. Sooner or later, the reinforcements of the puppy officer will come to Xi'an, and sooner or later they will surround us heavily. It will be too late if we want to leave! It is better to take the The present opportunity is to set fire to the city of Xi'an, and take the food, money and women in the city to go elsewhere to have a good time."

Gao Yingxiang certainly didn't want to stay in Xi'an City and wait to die when he was not sure how to defend Xi'an City, but of course Gao Yingxiang was very reluctant to give up Xi'an City just like that.After a little hesitation, the thieves who entered the city later had already fought with the thieves who entered the city advanced. Those who made a profit in the advanced city said that you should get out if you want, anyway, I won’t leave; those who entered the city later said you If you want to stay in the city and wait to die, you can go first, but at least you can get some benefits; the thieves in the advanced city are naturally furious, saying that the city of Xi'an was taken down by the old men, and they will give you some money if you enter the city to station. Your rations are good, so why should you be given food, money and women?Gao Yingxiang was furious when he heard this, and hurriedly scolded: "Shut up, I, the little dog officer started arguing before he came to beat you, you want to court death, don't you?"

Because the Ming army had just started repairing the fortifications, the thieves felt that the pressure was not too great. After Gao Yingxiang scolded a few words, no one dared to speak up again. But after the thieves dispersed, the members of Gao Yingxiang's army began to have opinions again. .Ma Guangyu, who was Gao Yingxiang's right-hand man with Li Zicheng, said in a low voice: "King Chuang, I'm afraid it won't work if this goes on. Look at the dog officer's posture, it's clear that he wants to surround us in the city and catch us all! Although we are not afraid of the dog officer , but being besieged in the city of Xi'an for a long time, food is a big problem, why don't we eat human flesh like those low-level thieves?"

"That's right." Xu Bian, the reincarnated king who had followed Gao Yingxiang in rebellion from the very beginning, also echoed, "Following Luo Rucai and those people, they hide faster than anyone else in wars, and they grab food and women faster than anyone else." What's the use of keeping them in Xi'an city? In the past few days, our brothers have fought countless times with their soldiers in order to rob women. It's better to drive them out of Xi'an city and keep all the food and women We use it ourselves, and when it really comes to a critical moment, we can survive for a few more days.”

"That's right, especially Luo Rucai, that bastard who is the most lustful, with a wife of more than forty and still robbing women in the city every day." Ma Guangyu nodded, "Anyway, this bastard is yelling to break through every day, so it's better to take advantage of it." This opportunity drove him out of town."

Gao Yingxiang is a thoughtful person, why didn't he know that after the city of Xi'an was completely besieged, the large number of people is just a burden, and these thieves who entered the city after entering the city ate and drank their own food, and he just revealed that he wanted to recruit them However, they all pretended to be stupid, and refused to hand over the army in their hands. Gao Yingxiang was already a little dissatisfied in his heart, and being instigated by two subordinates, he would inevitably be a little tempted.While meditating, Gao Yingxiang suddenly remembered Li Zicheng who he relied on the most, and hurriedly looked up to find Li Zicheng, but looked around carefully, but saw that Li Zicheng was not by his side.Gao Yingxiang asked unhappily, "Where is Chuang Jiang? Where did he go?"

"Are you still there just now? Did you go to patrol the city?" Ma Guangyu and Xu Bian were also a little puzzled.Gao Yingxiang said angrily: "Send someone to look for him, call him here, pretend to be patrolling the city all day long, what are you planning to do?" Gao Yingxiang's soldiers left in a hurry, and after a while, the soldiers came back again, He leaned into Gao Yingxiang's ear and whispered: "King Chuang, General Chuang is drinking with the Eighth King Zhang Xianzhong upstairs in the east city, and I don't know what they are talking about."

"Eight Great King Zhang Xianzhong?" Gao Yingxiang frowned, subconsciously recalling those two mysterious orders.Under the dark anger, Gao Yingxiang hurriedly led a group of soldiers and cronies to the East Tower, and sure enough, he saw Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng drinking together in the building. , Gao Yingxiang looked at the second general suspiciously, and couldn't help asking: "What are you talking about here?"

"Back to King Chuang, the last general and the Eight Great Kings are talking about military affairs." Li Zicheng replied honestly: "The officers and soldiers are building siege fortifications outside the city. We are discussing whether we should break through the siege or continue to hold on."

"Oh, then do you think we should break through or stick to it?" Gao Yingxiang asked in a slow tone.Li Zicheng replied: "We are still hesitating. We all feel that it is a pity to give up Xi'an like this. We also know that the little dog officer Zhang Haogu will transfer the Mad Dog Army to attack us sooner or later. If we miss this opportunity to break through, we will try to break through later." I'm afraid it's going to be difficult. It's a dilemma, so we can't make up our minds, and we think it's best to wait and see."

"Oh, that's what I mean too, wait and see." Gao Yingxiang nodded.This matter was about to end, but Ma Guangyu, who had never thought of being jealous of Li Zicheng, said with a smile, "Chuangjiang, Eight Great Kings, you want to wait and see, do you want to take the third way?"

"Fart your mother!" Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were not good characters, so of course they immediately heard Ma Guangyu's subtext, and cursed in unison.Zhang Xianzhong also pointed at Ma Guangyu's nose and cursed: "You son of a bitch, what do you mean? You want to say that General Chuang and I are here to discuss how to surrender to Officer Zhang Xiaogou?"

"Are you kidding me, why are you angry with the Eighth King?" Ma Guangyu also regretted his random joke.But the speaker had no intention, but the listener did. Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but have such a thought in his mind, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng are here, are they really talking about military affairs?

That night, after seeing Li Zicheng go to the city with binoculars to patrol the city, another letter from Master Zhang was shot on the city wall of Xi'an by a bow and arrow. .Another: Although Gao Yingxiang is a rare talent, he is stubborn and stubborn, so it is optional. When the two generals attack, they don't have to worry about the thief's life. If they can be captured alive, they can be captured.Governor of the five provinces of Ming Dynasty, Zhang Haogu!

(End of this chapter)