"Brother Guo'er, is there another story behind the defeat of Wuchang?"
After Li Zicheng heard Li Guo talk about Yuan Zongdi, he thought that Bai Wang had 60,000 to 70,000 men, but they were defeated by an unknown Zuo Xianmei. He was puzzled, so he asked Li Guo again.
Li Guo shook his head and said: "Since Yuan Zongdi's army was far away from Wuchang, the visitor didn't know much about it. They just heard that it was not Zuo Xianmei who defeated Bai Wang, but a woman named Shen Yunying. "
"Shen Yunying? But that Shen Yunying who had her hair tied up and armor, and only led a dozen cavalrymen to break into Zhang Xianzhong's camp and take back his father's body?"
Li Zicheng asked in surprise when he heard this.
Li Guo nodded and said: "According to the visitor, it should be Shen Yunying, the daughter of Shen Zhixu."
Li Zicheng said with some confusion: "After Shen Yunying resolved the crisis in Daozhou, Chongzhen had made her a guerrilla general and ordered her to sit in her father's camp and lead her father's old troops to guard Daozhou."
"Then she should be in Daozhou now, and I have never heard that Zuo Liangyu has an old relationship with her. In addition, Daozhou is more than a thousand miles away from Wuchang. How could she suddenly appear in Wuchang and help Zuo Xianmei? Defeated Bai Wang?"
Li Guo thought for a while and said, "I don't know much about this matter, but I heard someone say that Zuo Liangyu's daughter is very smart. Although she is less than twenty, she is good at dancing and can win people's hearts."
"Many of Zuo Liangyu's advisers were recruited by Zuo Xianmei. Could it be that Shen Yunying was also recruited by her?"
Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "This is unlikely. You must know that Shen Yunying is not an idle cloud and wild crane. He is a person with an official position. He would not dare to leave his post without permission unless he was ordered to do so."
"What's more, even if she is good at fighting, there are only ten or twenty thousand people in Wuchang City at most. How can she defeat Bai Wang's army unless there are elites in Wuchang City!"
Li Guo heard this and said in a deep voice: "I had this suspicion, but people who came here told me with great certainty that there were indeed only 20,000 people in Wuchang City at that time."
"The reason why Bai Wang was defeated was because he divided his forces to attack the nine gates of Wuchang. He was unable to attack for a long time and lost his energy, so Shen Yunying took advantage of the situation and defeated him."
Li Zicheng frowned and said: "If there are only 20,000 people in Wuchang, there is nothing wrong with Bai Wang's move. I am a little surprised how Shen Yunying can guard these nine gates."
Li Guo also had doubts in his heart and responded: "I am also a little confused about this, so I have sent people to investigate. I believe there will be news soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, a personal guard came in and respectfully handed over a secret letter.
Li Guo took the secret letter and was about to hand it to Li Zicheng when he heard Li Zicheng's voice: "Brother Guo'er, just look at it!"
When Li Guo heard this, his heart felt warm again, and he opened the letter with some trembling.
"Brother Zao'er, it turns out that the one guarding the city is not Shen Yunying, but a Dianshi named Yan Yingyuan from Jiangyin, and Du Yinxi also quietly arrived in Wuchang!"
After Li Guo read the letter, he said to Li Zicheng in surprise.
Hearing this, Li Zicheng took the letter from Li Guo and read it before nodding and saying: "That's it. Although Du Yinxi is not a big official, he is famous for his knowledge of soldiers. Moreover, he has been an official in Huguang area, so he is very familiar with the people there." The situation is very familiar.”
"I heard that he is the new supervisor of the Changsha Army. Shen Yunying may be here because of him. It's just that Yan Yingyuan, a mere Dianshi, can guard the nine gates of Wuchang with 20,000 people. He is quite a talent!"
Li Guo agreed: "Yes, I have never heard of this person before. According to the letter, he seems to be from the capital. He did not come to Jiangyin until the 14th year of Chongzhen to serve as the historian."
"When he first took office, he defeated the pirate Gu Sanmazi. I never heard of his achievements after that. I didn't expect that a low-ranking official like him could be so capable. It really echoed Zuo Si's saying, 'What is the world?' No wonder...strange...'"
"There is no such thing as a genius, let's leave him in the grass!"
Li Zicheng saw that Li Guo wanted to tell his favorite poem, but after "strange" for a long time, he couldn't, so he smiled and said.
Li Guo smiled awkwardly and said: "Yes, yes, even if there is no genius in the world, it is left in the grass, but Brother Zao'er is still smart, remember it clearly!"
Li Zicheng smiled and patted Li Guo on the shoulder and said: "You have also made progress, and you have actually remembered Zuo Si. If Zuo Taichong is indeed a great person, his words, 'A man of high rank, a handsome man who is humble to his subordinates'," Isn’t it exactly the current portrayal, and..."
Li Guo didn't have much ink in his stomach. He just wanted to get closer to Li Zicheng, so he deliberately said the poems that Li Zicheng often recited before. Unexpectedly, it aroused Li Zicheng's poetry.
At this moment, he saw that Li Zicheng was in high spirits, so he had to bite the bullet and respond awkwardly.
In fact, Li Zicheng didn't have many poems in his stomach. After showing off, he smiled and said to Li Guo: "I often recite these poems to remind myself not to underestimate the world's heroes."
"You go back and send someone to contact Yan Yingyuan to see if you can win him over. And Du Yinxi, also send someone to try."
"They all have great talents, but now they have such a small official, they will definitely feel resentful in their hearts."
"Fortunately, Chongzhen is ignorant of people, and Zuo Liangyu is also a warrior with great ambitions and talent. We still have a chance to win them over."
Seeing that Li Zicheng finally stopped talking about poetry, Li Guo responded with relief: "Brother Zao'er, don't worry, I'll send someone to contact you later."
Li Zicheng smiled and said, "Okay, I can rest assured that you are doing the work."
"Furthermore, even though you are busy fighting, you should read more books when you have time. Otherwise, when you rule the world in the future and can't even say Zuo Taichong's famous lines, wouldn't you make the officials laugh at you and lose the majesty of the king?"
When Li Guo heard this, his body trembled, and he hurriedly knelt down and explained: "Brother Zao'er, I have never thought about that kind of thing. As long as I can always be by your side, I will be satisfied."
Li Zicheng was very satisfied with Li Guo's reaction. After helping him up with his own hands, he smiled and said: "Okay, brother Guo'er, I know your loyalty. It's just that the war situation is in chaos now, so we still need to plan carefully."
Li Guo nodded and said: "Brother Zao'er, don't worry, I have already secured the fortress of Guangling. No matter how powerful Wu Sangui's cavalry is, it will never be possible to invade this place again."
Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "Just guarding is not enough. Now Zuo Liangyu is coming. Although Yuan Zongdi is there to deal with it, I am still a little worried."
"If Liu Zhong and Liu Rukui had not been transferred, Yuan Zongdi would not have suffered such a big loss..."
"Brother Zao'er, if you go by what I say, you shouldn't have listened to Song Xiance and asked them to besiege Huang Degong, leaving Henan and southern Shanxi without troops to guard..."
Li Guo was very dissatisfied with Song Xiance's deployment of troops. When Li Zicheng mentioned this matter, he accused Song Xiance with a look of dissatisfaction.
Li Zicheng smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, a personal guard came in to report that Song Xiance was outside asking for an audience.
When Li Guo heard this, he immediately looked dissatisfied and said: "Why is he everywhere, like..."
"Marquis of Bo County!"
Li Zicheng stopped Li Guo without waiting for him to finish speaking, and then asked someone to invite Song Xiance in.
"Your Majesty, I am so happy, so happy!"
After Song Xiance came in, although he saw Li Guo looking unhappy, he still nodded to him, and then congratulated Li Zicheng with a smile on his face.
