Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 294
As the saying goes, soldiers are expensive and fast, because it takes at least ten days to enter Hanzhong from Ziwu Valley, and it takes another few days to rush from Hanzhong to the battlefield. On the same day as the customs clearance and evacuation, the messenger Fei Ge sent a letter to report that the white soldiers had followed the order.Young Master Zhang immediately made a decision to hand over the main force of the Shaanxi-Gansu army to Wu Zimian, the commander-in-chief of the various roads in Shaanxi. With Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's surrendered troops as the vanguard, he acted according to the plan. A total of more than [-] recruits and veterans of the Slave Slaughter Army set off overnight, copying the Meridian Valley Trail day and night to reinforce the main battlefield in Hanzhong!
This decision of Young Master Zhang has caused a little bit of a stir in the army. This is not because the Shaanxi-Gansu soldiers think that Young Master Zhang’s plan is unreliable, but because the appointment of Young Master Zhang’s personnel is somewhat unexpected—Governor of Shaanxi-Gansu Sun Chengzong was appointed Young Master Zhang named him to stay in Xi'an, but the command of the main force was handed over to Sun Chengzong's subordinate Wu Zimian. This was the first time that Sun Chengzong had taken office.So much so that Wu Zimian, who was named by Young Master Zhang to command the main force, couldn't sit still. While the soldiers of the slave slaughter army were arranging various matters to prepare for the expedition, he quietly found Master Zhang's account and told Master Zhang what was in his heart. Confuse.

"My lord, you asked the last general to command all the main forces in Shaanxi and Gansu, should you think about it again?" Wu Zimian, who had performed mediocrely in the previous battle against thieves, said cautiously: "The main force in Shaanxi and Gansu was formed by Mr. Sun Ge and Hong Chengchou. Although the last general is named as the commander-in-chief of the various roads, he is actually just the deputy of the two adults. He has never commanded the entire Shaanxi-Gansu army alone, and rarely has the opportunity to lead the army alone. Ge Lao and Futai decided to make the last general the commander-in-chief of the various roads. Soldiers, it is only because the last general is relatively popular among the armies of Shaanxi, Gansu, and can help Sun Gelao and Hong Futai to appease and reconcile the conflicts between the various armies. The combat experience of the last general is not as rich as that of the three generals Du Wenhuan, He Huchen and Zhang Yingchang. This time, Mr. Meng, you will not give up and call the last general to lead the entire army to fight alone. Although the last general is honored, it is also true. It’s because I have no bottom in my heart, if the general accidentally misses your important matter, my lord, then the general will die.”

"General Wu, I know what you said, and I have a solid mind." Young Master Zhang said lightly while packing up the books with him, "There are also a few times you have commanded battles. The officer has also carefully read the records. In all fairness, your combat style is indeed very conservative. You only like to seek stability. You would rather miss the opportunity than take risks. There is a serious lack of flexibility. That is the order of the second-rate commander!"

"The last general also knows his faults, but he just can't change it." Wu Zimian replied dejectedly.Young Master Zhang smiled, and said: "But it doesn't matter, I just appreciate you, and think that this time you are more suitable for commanding the main force than Sun Ge, so I didn't choose Sun Ge, but chose to let you command the main force in Shaanxi and Gansu." ! Know why not?"

"I don't know the end." Wu Zimian shook his head blankly.Young Master Zhang put down the portable books he was sorting out, and said with a smile: "Then I will tell you, because this time the main forces in Shaanxi and Gansu want the word 'steadiness'! This time you command the main forces in Shaanxi and Gansu to fight, and I don't want you to do anything." No matter what tricks the surprise soldiers use, don't kill too many enemies. As long as you are as cautious as usual and fight steadily, if there is no opportunity for the thieves to take advantage of, then you can complete the task and ensure the victory of our army. As for the fierce attack, In fierce battles and bloody battles, General Man Gui and Hong Futai are both experts in this field, and Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng are also talented generals. Don't worry about it. What you have to do is to use your stability to make up for their stability. The flaw revealed during the steady charge! Do you understand, my own Marshal Wu?"

"Understood." Wu Zimian suddenly realized, and after nodding his head, Wu Zimian tentatively asked again: "Zhang Butang, Mr. Sun Ge is also a very stable commander, and he is highly respected and won the hearts of the army. What do you do?" And it is said that the last general is more suitable for commanding this battle than him?"

"I'll tell you that too." Young Master Zhang smiled, and said to Wu Zimian in a low voice: "You think that Sun Ge is always a steady commander. You are very wrong about this. If he I'm really as stable as you, and I won't believe that false surrender led to the defeat of Liuhe and the loss of Xi'an, and Mr. Sun Ge's character is too stubborn and stubborn. If I continue to let him command the main force this time, maybe he will do it for greed. What kind of mistake did you make? But I believe that you will never make such a mistake, so I believe you even more." After finishing speaking, Young Master Zhang patted Wu Zimian on the shoulder again, smiled and said, "Marshal Wu, to myself Be more confident and believe that you will not be inferior to others! You used to be mediocre because your bosses Sun Gelao and Hong Futai were too strong and overwhelmed you. You have never had the opportunity to show your talents That's all, this time I give you this chance, you must not let me down."

"Zhang Butang..." Wu Zimian was very moved, knelt down on one knee to Young Master Zhang, clasped his fists and said solemnly: "Please rest assured, Mr. Butang, I will definitely do my best in the end, and I will never let down your kindness of knowledge and understanding. I will never let you down in the slightest." Young Master Zhang laughed, and then helped Wu Zimian to instruct him to encourage his confidence - laying the groundwork for the future of Sun Chengzong's complete elimination.But Wu Zimian remembered something again, and hurriedly asked: "By the way, my lord, the last general has something else I want to ask. In addition to naming the last general to command the whole army, you also named Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong as two surrendered generals." Vanguard, the last general is on the battlefield, how should we treat them?"

"Give them more trust." Young Master Zhang pondered and said, "Don't discriminate against them just because they were thieves, treat them like regular officers and soldiers, and deal with them fairly when other generals bully and discriminate against them. When they are in danger, send troops to rescue them. Human hearts are fleshy, as long as you treat them as brothers, they will also treat you as brothers in return. Do your best, even if they are really wolf-hearted, you will You can have a clear conscience.”

"Understood, please don't worry, the minister, I will definitely follow your instructions in the end." Wu Zimian clasped his fists in agreement, asked Master Zhang for a few more words, and then left.But as soon as he left, the soldiers outside the tent came in to report again, saying that the two generals Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were asking to see him. Young Master Zhang smiled and ordered: "Let them come in, and by the way, send someone to arrest Tang Chuan, the Shaanxi-Gansu Supervising Army. Please come, Eunuch Tang, and ask him to bring the two supervisors I asked him to prepare earlier."

The soldiers took their orders and went away. After a while, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong entered the tent together to salute Young Master Zhang. Young Master Zhang waved his hand with a smile, and asked knowingly, "You two generals, why are you here to see me?" Sure enough, Zhang Xianzhong immediately replied: "Zhang Butang, the last general came here to ask for an audience. He wanted to boldly beg your lord to take back his order. Don't let us fight with the Shaanxi army. Please allow us to lead our army south to Hanzhong and rush to Hanzhong. Kill the enemy on the battlefield."

"Yes." Li Zicheng echoed: "Master Zhang, it's not that we don't want to be the vanguard, it's just that we want to fight side by side with you and charge forward for you, because we think that only under your command can we be happier."

"Why?" Young Master Zhang asked calmly: "Is it possible that someone in the Shaanxi-Gansu Army insulted and bullied you again? Who is it? Tell me, I will make decisions for you."

"Not really." Li Zicheng replied dejectedly: "Since Your Excellency severely punished Zuo Liangyu, no one in the Shaanxi-Gansu Army has dared to insult and bully the last generals, but they..."

"Their eyes make us uncomfortable, as if they are staring at us all the time, suspicious of us." Zhang Xianzhong said frankly: "The general is worried that after the adults leave, no one can restrain them, and they will say some sarcastic remarks again. It has stimulated us. There is also that Wu Zimian, who fought with us many times on the battlefield before and killed many brothers of each other. We are worried that he will hold grudges."

"You two generals, if you think so, then you are very wrong." Young Master Zhang said slowly: "You have a lot of enmity with the Shaanxi-Gansu army. As the saying goes, blood debts are paid with blood, but have you Have you ever thought that blood debt can only be resolved with blood? If I take you to Hanzhong, the conflict between you and the Shaanxi-Gansu army will never be resolved, and their doubts about you will never be eliminated. In the future, even if you are in my Don’t you understand that even if your subordinates have made countless achievements, they will also poke your backs in the back?”

"This...." Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were a little hesitant, and began to be moved by Young Master Zhang's words.Young Master Zhang smiled again and said: "I decided to let you cooperate with the Shaanxi army. There are two reasons. The first is that your army is mainly infantry, and it will slow down the slaughter of slaves when you cooperate with the slave army that is all cavalry. The mobile speed of the army; the second reason is that I want to take this opportunity to let you prove your determination and value in the Shaanxi-Gansu army with blood, so that they will have nothing to say from now on, and at the same time let you and the Shaanxi-Gansu army The army resolves grievances, establishes blood friendship, and becomes brothers and sisters. Can you understand my painstaking efforts?"

"The last generals can understand, but..." Of course Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are not stupid, and they also vaguely guessed that Young Master Zhang wanted them to integrate into regular officers and soldiers as soon as possible, but the second general was more worried that this was just Young Master Zhang's wishful thinking .After hesitating for a while, Zhang Xianzhong gritted his teeth and asked directly: "Master Zhang, your plan is good, but after you left, Wu Zimian and other generals took the opportunity to clean us up, so what shall we do?"

"Don't worry, this is already in my consideration, and I have already arranged it for you." Young Master Zhang said with a smile: "I have already greeted Mr. Tang Chuan, the Shaanxi Supervising Army. If you are treated unfairly, You can directly report to Eunuch Tang, and ask Eunuch Tang to make the decision for you. Don’t curl your lips, the supervisor of our Ming army still has a lot of power. At that time, you can bypass the leader of the army and directly report the truth to your superiors or the court, and with him as your backing, you can go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds."

"With the supervising army as your backer, you can rest assured." Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng nodded secretly, and Li Zicheng asked tentatively: "Master Zhang, we all understand your painstaking efforts and kindness, but we have no friendship with Eunuch Tang. , can he take care of us in every possible way like you?"

"About this question, let our family answer for Zhang Butang." There was a hearty laugh at the door of the big tent, Tang Chuan, a tall and thin Shaanxi military supervisor, led two young eunuchs in, and laughed and said: "General Zhang, General Li, do you know that our family is the nine thousand-year-old godson, Zhang Butang is the nine thousand-year-old biological son, our family and Zhang Butang are brothers, Zhang Butang told our family to take care of you, our family can still Won't you take good care of you?" As he spoke, Tang Chuan pointed at the two young eunuchs behind him, and said with a smile, "Did you see? Our family has made arrangements for you, these two little guys are our family's bosses. Sons, one is Gao Lou and the other is Yang Ge. Our family has arranged them to serve as supervisors in your army. If you really have any grievances, you can directly tell them that they can handle it for you. If they can’t Yes, you can also report directly to our family, and our family will come forward in person to avenge your grievances."

"General Li, General Zhang, you probably don't know that almost all the generals in the Ming Dynasty did not get along very well with the supervising army, but this officer is different." Young Master Zhang said very proudly: "This officer leads the troops to fight. Since then, there have been five or six father-in-law supervisors successively, and all of them are as close as brothers to this official."

"Of course, Tanhualang, you are not only the nine-thousand-year-old son, but also the bosom friend of us useless people." Tang Chuan said with a smile: "Back then, Tanhualang, you wrote that poem in the Imperial College, and we were fooled by the emperor." Slaves, but all of them can memorize memorization by heart! The princes in the family are very old-fashioned, and their deeds are worthy of praise and criticism. Immediately smashed the barbarians, smashed the gold and beat the drums and the barbarians collapsed. Be loyal to the country and the people, and set things right anyway. The world is the same. Talk about it Confucianism is all upright, and there is a factory owner with a sword and a bow! If nothing else, just rely on your poem Tanhualang, and none of us who are in charge of the army will embarrass you!"

"That's great." Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were overjoyed, and finally completely relieved, they saluted Young Master Zhang and Tang Chuan together and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your consideration for the general, and thank you, Eunuch Tang, for your careful arrangements for the general. There are Eunuch Yang and Eunuch Gao, and I will trouble you to take care of them in the future." The two young eunuchs agreed with a smile, and Young Master Zhang and Tang Chuan looked at each other proudly, very satisfied. Don't make them feel disgusted, and even make them feel grateful.

........................

It took a lot of time to finally deal with the internal problems and hidden dangers of the Shaanxi-Gansu Army. It was already the evening of March [-]th, and more than [-] slave-killing troops had already prepared. Young Master Zhang led his own army without hesitation. Gou Shaojun, a direct descendant of the iron rod, went on the road and sneaked into Hanzhong through Ziwu Valley.Fortunately, because the Governor’s Yamen of Shaanxi Province had been moved to Hanzhong Prefecture in the first year of Tianqi, in order to strengthen the transportation connection with various prefectures north of the Qinling Mountains, even the remote trails such as Ziwu Valley have been widened and reinforced. The march of the slave-slaughter army of the cavalry is very beneficial. At the same time, because Hanzhong is relatively rich and has sufficient food and grass, the slave-slaughter army without carrying too much food and grass can also free up precious carrying air force to carry a large amount of drinking water with the army. This also solves the drought and water shortage in the Meridian Valley. serious problem.Therefore, the marching speed of the slave slaughtering army is also faster. It took only seven days to pass through the Ziwu Valley, which is more than [-] miles long. It took nine days to arrive at the southern entrance of Meridian Valley - Meridian Town!

"Report—!" The messenger of the vanguard army rushed to Young Master Zhang, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, our army's forward Ji cavalry team has arrived in Ziwu Town. I heard that the forward of our army suddenly went outside the town, mistakenly thought that our army was an army of rebels, and had already abandoned the town and fled."

"Abandon the town and run away?" Young Master Zhang's nose was almost out of breath, and he shouted: "Send someone to catch him, beat him with thirty army sticks before bringing him to see me! Damn, how dare you abandon such an important position Fortunately, they are officers and soldiers, if it is really a rebellious army, will they pay back?"

The soldiers were ordered to go away, Young Master Zhang continued to lead the troops forward, and after another five or six miles, Ziwu Town appeared in front of him. Seeing that it was too dark, Young Master Zhang ordered the army to enter the town to disturb the people, so he ordered the army to set foot in the town. They camped outside to rest, and when Young Master Zhang just sat down after the soldiers built a bonfire, Liao Chaoqun, who had already been beaten to the ground, was dragged in front of Young Master Zhang.Seeing Young Master Zhang, Liao Chaoqun, whose buttocks were bloody and bloody, did not dare to neglect. He hurriedly climbed up and kowtowed, crying in a crying voice: "The last general, Liao Chaoqun, pays his respects to the governor of the five provinces, Zhang Butang. , I am lost and welcome, please forgive my master."

"Whether you welcome me or not is a trivial matter." Young Master Zhang said with a sneer, "You are not cowardly. I just heard that there is an army coming from Ziwu Valley. It's fine if you don't set up scouts to identify the enemy and yourself. How dare you abandon it?" Fleeing from the town - the general fled before a fight, what crime is this? Tell me!"

"Death...capital crime." Liao Chaoqun replied in fear, and screamed like a pig: "The Ministry, the last general deserves to die, but this can't be all blamed on the last general, the master of Futai put the soldier in the last general's hand They were all taken away, and there were only fifty or sixty defenders in the town. The last general was afraid of being wiped out by the enemy, so he rushed back to report the news. I don’t know yet! It’s just that the general never dreamed that the person who suddenly came to Ziwu Town in the middle of the night was you, Lord Butang. Lord Butang, please spare your life, spare your life!”

"Although it's a sophistry, it still makes sense." Young Master Zhang snorted coldly, and quickly asked: "Ziwu Town is such a critical location, how can there be such a small force in the town? So tight? What's the situation ahead?"

"My lord, there used to be more than 700 defenders in the town, but [-] were taken away last year, and [-] were taken away a few days ago, so that's it for now." Liao Chaoqun was overly nervous and said incoherently: " I don't know what's going on ahead. I heard that the thieves have entered the Dasan Pass. Hanzhong City is in a panic now. People with a little money in the city are all running to Sichuan, and there are people from Sichuan and some running to Hanzhong. , I also heard that some thieves are making trouble, preparing to welcome the thieves into Hanzhong. By the way, I also heard that Mr. Peng is going to supervise the battle in person. Mr. Xie sent his wife and children to Jinzhou yesterday... .”

"Shut up!" Young Master Zhang shouted impatiently: "I am asking you, where are the thieves going now?"

"I don't know." Liao Chaoqun answered very simply.Young Master Zhang was also so angry that he kicked him to the ground, pinching his smooth chin and pondering, "The slave slaughter army walked through the Ziwu Valley for a total of nine days, and the army of rebels is huge. It is also difficult to get out of the Qinling Mountains in time, and after the thieves find out that I have ordered to abandon the Dasan Pass, they will definitely suspect that the Qinling Mountains are a trap, and they will not take the risk of entering Sichuan in all likelihood. They must check out the situation before heading south into Sichuan , plus the dispute between the Southward faction and the Westward faction within the rebellious thieves, it will take a little time. That is to say, I still have plenty of time and can arrange it calmly, but the most important thing right now is to find out about Hanzhong first. Let’s talk about the various situations in the mansion.” Thinking of this, Young Master Zhang kicked Liao Chaoqun again, and shouted: “Liao Chaoqun, as an official of the imperial court, you don’t know the enemy and you flee before fighting. Do you want to die or live?”

"The last general wants to live, who doesn't want to live?" Liao Chaoqun said with a mournful face.Young Master Zhang nodded and ordered: "If you want to live, you can. I will give you a chance to make meritorious deeds. Your people have been familiar with the terrain in Hanzhong for a long time, so send a reliable person to ride a fast horse and go to Hanzhong City overnight to find Peng Haogu Peng, the inspector. My lord, let him come to Ziwu Town along the official road with all the military information and battle reports, and report the military situation in Hanzhong to the official! Remember, the news that the official has secretly led the army into Hanzhong can only be known by Mr. Peng, and the slightest bit of wind can be leaked. Go, watch your head!"

"Yes, yes, I will let my brother-in-law deliver the letter." Liao Chaoqun didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly arranged for his absolute confidant to deliver the letter to Peng Haogu.When Shi Kefa wrote the order according to Young Master Zhang's dictation, Li Dingguo, who had been incorporated into Young Master Zhang's personal army beside him, asked curiously: "Father, our army has already entered Hanzhong, why do you keep secrets from the soldiers and civilians of Hanzhong? Listen to this General Liao said that people in Hanzhong are panicking now, so spreading the news of our presence in Hanzhong will help stabilize people's hearts?"

"There are many reasons. The main reason is that I was worried that the thieves would infiltrate Hanzhong. After I figured out the situation, I didn't dare to go south. I chose to fight my way out of my encirclement. Then my efforts these days will be in vain." Zhang Da The young master explained a sentence by the way, and then smiled: "Also, foster father is going to give a surprise to someone who almost became your godmother."

(End of this chapter)