When Zhang Xing made up his mind to attack Xindu to prevent a possible larger-scale all-out war, the Deposed Dragon Gang was inevitably led by the situation into the whirlpool of military confrontation.
By late October, nearly twenty-four battalions of soldiers and horses were approaching the Qingzhang River line. With soldiers and horses still gathering one after another, it was obvious that two heavy troop groups were formed, one in the east and one in the west.
Moreover, the group facing Xindu in the west is particularly elite and has gathered a large number of masters. Xiong Bonan, who is generally considered to be promoted to the Grand Master, is also among them. The veteran Cheng Dan Xu Shiren, Wang Shuyong, Xu Shiying, Jia Yue, Zhai Qian and other famous names are among them. All the senior generals in the world are among them.
In this case, Xue Changxiong didn't dare to gamble at all.
As long as he dares to go north to Youzhou, Zhang Xing really dares and can attack Xindu.
Therefore, Xue Changxiong left his youngest son Xue Wanquan to guard Hejian City, and appointed Murong Zhengyan, who had lost two legs and could only fight on horseback, as the general manager of Hejian defense. Then he personally raised 20,000 troops and entered Changle, the capital of Xin, with the Zhuozhang River at his back. Confronted with the Deposed Dragon Gang across the Qingzhang River.
In this case, many people were really tempted.
In the staff department, someone proposed that General Bai Yousi and Bai Yousi be the main commander, and privately transfer Wei Xuanding's Liaocheng Xingtai and Li Shuji's Yin Xingtai tribes, transport them downstream through the river, form a heavily-armed group, and launch a surprise attack from the Bohai Sea. The plan to seize the river.
To be fair, this is very practical.
The reason couldn't be simpler. The strength of the two sides has been imbalanced for a long time... Just think about it. When the Deposed Dragon Gang went north and Xue Changxiong came out in full force, the theoretical balance lies in the strength of the entire Deposed Dragon Gang and Hebei except Youzhou. Most of the government-military alliances were formed, so Xue Changxiong took advantage of the cold flood season to launch the campaign. However, by that time, the Hebei government-military army had already exposed the deep-rooted problems of disunity with each other, and even the confrontation between the local government and the army, so that the advantage was not formed at all.
Then came the defeat. As the situation developed, various factions in Hebei became divided and confronted each other, and the Deposed Dragon Gang gained a firm foothold in Hebei.
After the recent battle in Xuzhou and the large-scale invasion of the Wu tribe, no matter what, the current situation is that rebels have risen in droves, and the imperial officers and soldiers have also divided themselves into states and counties. This allows the Deposed Dragon Gang, which has the first-mover advantage, to concentrate its forces and attack them. A single enemy in either direction creates some kind of advantage.
Zhang Xing was also moved, because capturing Hebei was still the fundamental strategy of the Deposed Dragon Gang, and the order of capturing Hebei was originally Xue Changxiong first, then Youzhou, and then the western and northern parts of Hebei.
However, he quickly suppressed this desire and directly rejected the plan.
First of all, although the Hejian Camp is relatively weak in strength, it is still not an absolute soft persimmon. And with the total food reserves in the entire Hebei and Eastern Border regions, the Deposed Dragon Gang simply cannot sustain a long-term large-scale battle. At present, The situation is not yet time to gamble.
Secondly, after several interactions, he also realized that the military leaders in Youzhou were by no means idiots. If they really launched a massive attack at this time and had a life-and-death contest with Xue Changxiong, even if they had the advantage, it would probably be self-defeating. Facilitating the merger of the ownerless Youzhou and the Hejian camp with a sick tiger... After all, the reasons are all ready. Li Cheng, the general manager of the state camp.
And if this is the case, it is very likely that the Deposed Dragon Gang will suffer a huge blow due to strategic mistakes such as food shortages, unrest, and the loss of latecomer capabilities. That would be like shooting oneself in the foot.
So, while denying the plan, Chief Zhang suspended Zhang Gongshen from his duties as a foundation-building teacher and asked him to send a letter to Youzhou, asking Luo Shu to complete the basic power layout of Youzhou as soon as possible and control the situation. .
And he himself became the teacher who built the foundation of Jiangling City to show a certain attitude.
It was at this time that Zhou Xingfan and Fan Wang, who were in charge of the pursuit, finally caught up with the fleeing Langya powerful families in Fanshui County, Wuyang County. However, I don't know if it was unlucky or not, but they immediately encountered people from Wei County and Ji County. The obstruction by the officers and soldiers.
The leaders of this joint force were Qin Bao and Li Qingchen.
In fact, at the moment, there is still an important official in the army who has subjective initiative, probably Li Qingchen, but he can still pull Qin Bao out.
When the two sides met, I don't know if it was because of being a big boss, or because he realized that Qin Bao's extraordinary combat power was enough to determine the outcome in such a small-scale battle of thousands of people. Zhou Xingfan unexpectedly calmed down, and did not act like he did last time. He immediately got excited and launched an attack.
"Leader Fan is holding the line. I'll go talk to them and see if I can keep anyone behind." Zhou Xingfan stared at the flag on the opposite side, then reined in his horse and turned back to talk to Fan Wanglai.
Fan Wang frowned slightly, obviously dissatisfied because the duck he got flew away: "It would be great if a leader from Liaocheng Xingtai followed us. We have difficulty moving everywhere in Wuyang County, and we actually have to say hello to each city along the way... ...Otherwise, we would have caught him long ago.”
"What Chief Fan said was that it was my mistake for not calling someone from Liaocheng." Zhou Xingfan was straightforward. "But Leader Fan can rest assured. Since I am in charge of this matter, if something goes wrong, it will be my sole responsibility. I will never let my brothers get past it. Neither the battalion leader nor the leader himself will be affected." …”
"That's not what I meant." Fan Wang continued to frown. "The key is that if things don't get done, people will laugh at me when I go back, and I'm afraid that it will delay the gang's business."
Zhou Xingfan glanced at the other party, nodded, said nothing, just rode forward, calling Qin Bao from a distance to come out and talk.
The people on the opposite side saw the banner with the word Zhou moving forward, and there was obvious commotion. Then unexpectedly, Qin Bao, who was named, did not move forward. Instead, Li Twelve brought the flag and several guards and rode to meet him.
When the two parties met, Xiao Zhou came first and frowned: "Why doesn't Qin Er come?"
Li Qingchen darkened his face at first: "Zhou Xingfan, it's your business to follow Zhang San in your career and seek personal revenge. It's normal for you to belong to two different families and be blind. But every time you see your former colleagues, you insult them first and only treat them as enemies." What does it mean to be denounced as dirt? Believe it or not, if your father hadn't died, you would have followed your loyal father in Jiangdu and cursed Zhang San, right?"
Zhou Xingfan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "So, Qin Er is afraid of me? But if he doesn't feel guilty, how can he be afraid? From this point of view, this person is not hopeless, but you, Li Twelve Lang , the thickest-skinned and the most shameless."
"You can say these words whatever you want, but any frown means that I, Li Qingchen, are as childish and ridiculous as you." Li Qingchen's expression remained unchanged. "So, why did you call us here?"
"The people you just protected are rebels from our Deposed Dragon Gang. Hand them over and pretend nothing happens today." Zhou Xingfan was also expressionless.
"I know their origins." Li Qingchen was not afraid at all. "You don't need to remind me."
"Then just hand it over directly." Zhou Xingfan said impatiently.
"We originally received their request for help and came to provide support." Li Twelve Lang also seemed a little impatient. "How can I make friends with others? Besides, if I don't make friends with others, what can you do to me?"
"If you don't hand over the person, be careful that everyone in Wei County will be implicated because of this matter." Zhou Xingfan raised his head and reminded seriously. "The current situation is that your Wei County is in danger in Hebei and is not an enemy of our Deposed Dragon Gang."
"Not to mention when your Deposed Dragon Gang will be able to deal with Hejian." Li Qingchen was confident. "Even if you deal with Hejian and force you to attack Wei County, Yecheng is one of the five capitals, how can the Eastern Capital sit back and watch? If you dare to come, I will never come back!"
"But I don't know if Dongdu can control Wei County... Has Guanzhong been rescued? When will Cao Zhongcheng leave for the Western Capital to supervise the war?" Zhou Xingfan was still magnanimous.
"Then let's wait until Chief Zhang captures Hejian, and then we can send our horses over before Cao Zhongcheng returns." Li Qingchen replied calmly. "Then let's make measurements on the battlefield... But at this time, I won't talk about Qin Er. I just wonder if you, Zhou Xingfan, have ever condensed elixirs? Are you Li Qingchen's opponent?"
Zhou Xingfan was silent for a moment, then asked seriously: "Li Twelve, are you going to fight to the end?"
"What do you mean by stubbornness?" Li Qingchen finally sneered, showing some expression. "If I am stubborn, you will be rebellious..."
"It's you too." Zhou Xingfan took a deep breath, left four words, and then turned around.
A moment later, as Zhou Xingfan and Fan Wang had a brief discussion, the deposed dragon army actually turned back on the spot... Obviously, the lack of combat power on the spot left Zhou Xingfan with no means other than verbal threats.
Li Twelve Lang rarely let out a bad breath.
After returning to Jiangling, Zhou Xingfan and Fan Wang immediately asked Zhang Xing to plead guilty. In exchange, they received military orders to immediately lead their entire battalions north to the Changhe field camp.
Obviously, as Li Qingchen said, Chief Zhang's attention was all on the north at this time, and he didn't seem to pay attention to such trivial matters.
Even the simple cutting and handling of the Pishan Dao Wang Chenkuo before seemed a bit like a perfunctory shirk of responsibility.
On the other side, Zhang Gongshen came and went in a hurry. In just a few days, he crossed the river, passed through Qingzhangshui, Zhuozhangshui, Hutuo River, and Juma River. He arrived at Youzhou, and then did not enter the prefecture, but directly entered Youzhou. Gu'an County in the southern part of the state.
This is the basic plan of Luo Shu.
And Luo Shu had been waiting here for a long time.
In terms of time, October is already considered winter, and the Youzhou area in the north does have a distinct coolness. This can be clearly seen from the yellow and fallen leaves all over the ground. Zhang Gongshen stepped on the fallen leaves and listened. Hearing the last sound of crickets and facing the geese flying south, he hurried into the city and met his "brother and lord" Luo Shu, who only conveyed Zhang Xing's dictation carefully.
Hearing the words, Luo Shu, who was sitting in the hall of his own mansion, also became a little anxious. He actually stood up and walked around with his hands behind his hands.
"Of course I want to end this matter quickly... No one is more anxious than me about this matter." Luo Shu paced with his hands behind his back, feeling powerless for a moment. "But the situation has changed. This old boy Li Cheng set a trap for me before he left."
Zhang Gongshen was puzzled for a moment, so he only looked at Bai Xiangui, who was sitting beside him. The latter was the older one among the many sworn brothers. He had always been strategic and had always been Luo Shu's right-hand man.
Of course, there was no need for Bai Xiangui to hide it, and he immediately told Zhang Gongshen the whole story: "Before Li Cheng left, he knew that our general was the most popular, the most powerful, and the most suitable person in Youzhou, but he still made a special statement publicly. Along with the letter, he also sent a letter to Dongdu, recommending Helan Shi..."
Zhang Gongshen suddenly realized: "The general had too many arguments with Li Li on weekdays. In addition, Li Cheng was seriously ill before. The general was too impatient and completely hated the Li family and his son."
"Of course it is." Bai Xiangui said helplessly. "But if our generals didn't stand up for local officers many times back then, where would our current prestige come from?"
"That's true." Zhang Gongshen nodded. "And the question now is how to deal with it? Is there any explanation?"
"No." Bai Xiangui answered with a dark face. "The general wrote several times and invited many people to be the matchmakers, but He Lanshi boasted that he had Li Cheng's words and official recommendation and refused to let him go..."
"The Helan family has been deeply rooted in Anle County for many generations. He is a Cheng Dan, has a younger brother who is Ning Dan, and has Zhao Bazhu, the middle man in the marriage, to support him. It is indeed a troublesome thing." Zhang Gongshen analyzed carefully. "However, there are still more supporters in Youzhou headquarters, right?"
"You could still say that five days ago." Bai Xiangui's face grew uglier as he spoke. "But now... just five days ago, He Lanshi married his seventeen-year-old niece to Wei Wenda, whose wife had been dead for two years."
Zhang Gongshen was stunned: "Wei Wenda is thirty-nine or thirty-eight. How can I remember that he is only a few years younger than our general? Is his daughter fourteen years old, and she also said that she wants to marry our young master?"
"It doesn't matter." Luo Shu stopped and sat on the main seat. "The problem is that because Yu Shuwen was in charge on Beidi West Road before, our Youzhou camp did not have a grandmaster. However, among the several Chengdan masters below the grandmaster, Wei Wenda's cultivation level is obviously higher than the rest of us. Not to mention that, before Li Cheng and his son left, they sent me aside and entrusted Li Li's men to Wei Wenda, the third lieutenant general... This guy is now guarding the main stronghold of Youzhou City and controls two General Zhonglang's troops and horses, the arsenal in the city, the warehouse, and the stables in the north of the city are also under his control. He is considered to be very prestigious. This marriage is also considered to be in line, which naturally attracted many generals to directly change their direction."
"This is to draw fire under the cauldron." Zhang Gongshen thought for a while and blurted out.
Isn't that right? The reason why Luo Shu was able to defeat the local snakes in the surrounding small counties before was because he himself led the troops in Youzhou City. After all, Youzhou was too powerful for other states and counties around Yanshan. And the reason why he can defeat the foreign Guanlong disciples in the Youzhou camp is that he is considered the most outstanding local general in the Youzhou base.
It is said that among those who can draw, the one who is best at writing poetry, and among those who can write poetry, are the best at painting, he has the highest average score even if he makes do.
But now, Youzhou City fell under the control of the opponent, and it seemed that the advantage was suddenly gone.
"We have to think of a way." Hearing this, Luo Shu raised his head and sighed. "If this matter cannot be settled quickly and Youzhou is captured, whether there is civil strife in Youzhou or a major chaos between the Deposed Dragon Gang and Hejian, Xue Changxiong is likely to directly take over Youzhou; but if he wants to quickly To settle the matter, He Lanshi made a clever move to drain the fire... To be honest with Gong Shen, after I got the news, I begged Wei Wenda's daughter for Xin'er, but his reply was just perfunctory... So Gong Shen, can you? Do you have any strategies for me?"
"I have two methods that cannot be called strategies." Zhang Gongshen thought about it and spoke seriously. "At this point, we either have to follow the rules of the Deposed Dragon Gang and set up a rule of raising hands, issue a public call, gather people from all over Youzhou who have entered the palace, and elect a general manager. After all, the general has been in business for many years, so he may still have advantages; Or, choose to bring our own soldiers, and invite some other reliable reinforcements to quickly defeat the Second High School of Daidi or Wang Chenkuo of Hengshan... Build up the reputation of rescuing Li Cheng and his son or defeating other places for the Youzhou Camp, and then lead The soldiers returned to Youzhou, took down Youzhou City in an open and honest manner, and then appointed themselves general manager."
"Both strategies are feasible." Luo Shu looked at the roof and narrowed his eyes. "But the latter one was too slow. I was afraid that it would be too late to succeed. Xue Changxiong and the Deposed Dragon Gang started fighting over there. Xue Changxiong, the sick tiger, also took advantage of the situation and directly entered Youzhou; but the former one was not impossible. Wei Wenda and Helan Shidu both I don’t have the guts to engage in coercion and assassination in Youzhou, but even if I got this manager through this method, I’m afraid I don’t have enough prestige and will be suppressed by these people in the future.”
As he said this, Luo Shu did not sit down properly and did not look at Zhang Gongshen, who was still standing in the hall. Instead, he turned his head slightly and looked at Bai Xiangui to one side.
"If we look at the first method, we can actually do it in the opposite direction." Bai Xiangui suddenly said. "Can we move dangerously, pretend to hold this meeting, while Wei Wenda is in the city and Helanshi is in Anle County, and then set up an ambush on the way, gather the strength of our brothers, and use the formation of eighteen cavalry to deal with this man himself? And then we can With this power, go to Youzhou City to control Wei Wenda, and then control the entire situation in Youzhou?"
Zhang Gongshen was startled, and then shook his head: "General, I have to say something, that is, if you want to do great things in this world, you must do something upright. It is not impossible to deal with He Lanshi, but for this If you break people's hearts and cause dissatisfaction, you will always have to pay the debt in the future."
Bai Xiangui and Luo Shu were both stunned, and then looked at each other.
Then, Zhang Gongshen hesitated for a moment, and continued before the two of them: "However, if the general and Brother Bai had already planned... I am entangled at this time, but it seems unrealistic."
This silenced Luo Shu and Bai Xiangui, who were about to speak again.
After a while, Luo Shu suddenly stood up and came forward, and then comforted the other party: "This is just a matter of fact, and it will not be the same in the future. If it comes to pass, I will share the wealth and honor with you brothers."
Zhang Gongshen nodded silently as always. He had always been like this, unwilling to show off.
ps: Thank you Mr. West Lake for joining the alliance.
