The time came on the evening of February 10th, the double moon was like a hook, and the surrounding areas were clear. By this time, the situation of the coalition forces was already very good, and it was not a small good, but a great good. Because on this day, not only reinforcements arrived one after another, but also various troops dispatched separately achieved results.
In Qinghe County, it can be called a continuous victory. The four counties of Linqing, Qingping, Qingyang, and Qingquan were quickly swept away by two groups of troops in two days. The mere thieves were no match for the established army of Dongdu. Linqing and Qingping were both the first battles. It was broken, but today, Qingyang and Qingquan simply looked at the wind and fell.
After capturing the four cities, it indeed had the expected effect - while the Dongdu Army greatly reduced the military pressure on the encirclement by the Qingzhang River, it also alleviated a certain amount of logistical pressure on the coalition forces.
It is said that there are a lot of stored grains in the four cities that were transported by the Deposed Dragon Gang. The field soldiers under the Deposed Dragon Gang were not willing to burn these grains even if they chose to flee, but they gave the coalition forces an advantage.
At the same time, the soldiers and horses of Wuyang County and Ji County also received good news.
First of all, here in Wuyang County, since General Bai Libenbai personally supervised the three armies and nearly ten thousand people came to protect the food, the food road immediately became smoother. The thieves Liu Heihuang, Hao Yide, and Cao Chen did not dare to move at all to transport food. Efficiency has naturally improved, and Duke Yuanbao Cunyuan, the governor of Wuyang County, is far-sighted, proactively stepping aside and handing over the affairs of the county government to a boy;
Secondly, it is in the direction of Liyangcang. The news there has been verified. Although it was indeed an attack, there were no organized troops from Henan coming over. It was just a simple action by some experts. This is similar to the Thirteen King Kong at the camp. The camp attack echoed... In other words, these thieves were gone and had thrown themselves into a trap, and the Henan army did not cross the river in large numbers, so the food road here could be said to have no worries.
Of course, if the Henan thieves dare to come, General Bai and his subordinates, including everyone in Wuyang County, will be short of opportunities to make meritorious deeds.
After saying this, Dou Li looked around and saw that the local gentry and officials in Wuyang County who were present nodded their heads and hurriedly paid compliments. He also felt that he was worthy of hosting a banquet to entertain these people.
Then I felt relieved.
By the way, this place is not in the city, but more than ten miles northwest of Guixiang City, the county seat of Wuyang County. It is a town under the pleasant mountain. It is called the pleasant mountain town. Because it is next to the intersection of the official road, it is particularly prosperous. It is precisely for this reason that a lot of military rations sent from Liyang to the coalition front lines were transferred from here, becoming a link on the logistics route.
In this regard, Dou Li, Dou Junjun, who was responsible for supervising the affairs of Wuyang County, of course wanted to come here for an inspection and gathered the favor and power of the local big families.
However, as the sky turned completely dark, everyone stopped talking about business, and the atmosphere of the banquet gradually reached a certain level. Dou Canjun, who was quite satisfied with the soothing effect, sat at the top and thought about it carefully, but after scanning the banquet I always feel like something is a little wrong.
After thinking for a while, the man suddenly came up and asked: "Are there any prostitutes in the town?"
Almost all the people present were stunned for a moment, but they soon realized that there seemed to be a shortage of prostitutes on this occasion. Dou Canjun’s words were not abrupt. Therefore, several local wealthy people were arguing with the county officials who had followed them from Guixiang. After they looked at each other, they all shook their heads and replied:
"have no idea."
"do not know."
Dou Li couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and laugh: "If you have it, you have it, if you don't have it, you don't have it. It's better for you, I don't know... you are locals, how could you not know it? Or is it just such a trivial matter and you don't want to say more to me?"
"Reporting to General Dou, I really don't know." The leading wealthy man hurriedly avoided the table to explain that his family was in the livestock industry, so he naturally did not dare to neglect. "Because as General Dou said, if there is something, there is something, and if there is nothing, there is nothing. There is no need to be vague about this kind of thing... I'm afraid everyone doesn't know it."
Dou Li became interested instead: "This kind of town was founded because of transportation and commerce. It is close to the county but not within the city. There should be many prostitutes dancing and music, right?"
"Reporting to General Dou, this was the case before the Three Expeditions." The big man answered seriously.
"It disappeared immediately after the three expeditions?" Dou Li couldn't ask further.
"Report to General Dou, it won't be all gone after three expeditions." This local wealthy man said carefully. "There were signs during the Three Expeditions. After the defeat of the Three Expeditions, bandits were rampant in Hebei, and the wealthy families gathered in Wubao to protect themselves... During that period, the surrounding area was particularly chaotic. The life and death of the county guards were as usual, and the whole county was repeated, and the murderers Counting tens of thousands, there are also thousands of people who have been taken into slavery. Therefore, after several incidents occur in the surrounding areas, markets and towns like this without shelter will disperse."
"I understand." Dou Li nodded knowingly, but his doubts remained. "But look at it now, the place is obviously lively again, and you have come back to do business again. Why haven't the prostitutes come back for dancing and music?"
The big man hesitated to speak.
At this time, the chief of the county officials who was first on the left and had been silent finally spoke, and the Hucao from Wuyang County also avoided the seat before speaking, and was as respectful as if he was serving an officer: "Return to General Dou, I'm afraid this matter has something to do with the deposed dragon...thief."
Dou Li suddenly understood: "The Dragon Thieves banned prostitutes. Your place was once assigned by them, so it was purged? Is this what Wang Hucao meant?"
"To be honest with General Dou, the deposed dragon thief has not banned prostitutes. So far, he has not interfered in the affairs of this county, because it is really too late." Wang Hucao bowed his head and became more respectful. "However, since the deposed dragon rebels started releasing more official slaves and redeeming private slaves, they have used this together with cleaning up the acres of land and re-granting land, burning usurious debts, protecting the treasury, distributing food for relief, and building foundations for young people. The basic actions of thieves after setting up a new place... And the deposed dragon thieves did not allow the sale of private and official slaves, but also gathered refugees, sent soldiers to farm, and resettled men and women. Even if the dance, music and prostitutes wanted to open, they would probably have no source. Water and rootless trees, because people have gone over there, we here don’t dare to fight against them.”
"What Wang Hucao said is absolutely true." Another person from a large local household seemed to be familiar with the matter and quickly agreed. "Reporting to General Dou, it is not that there are no prostitutes among the deposed dragon thief or that prostitutes are prohibited. As far as I know, there are some prostitutes in the hometown of the deposed dragon thief in Henan, and there are also large-scale dances and music, but there are relatively few in Hebei; and There are even fewer counties downstream of the Qingzhang River occupied by the deposed dragon thieves. There are some single families who list themselves with half-open doors and do not have big yards. We here in Wuyang have big yards; however, these prostitutes Most households are inside the city, but few are outside the city... So when General Dou suddenly asked, we were confused... How about we send people to look for it?"
"What time has it been? Just look for it." Dou Li waved his hands, as if he was completely awakened. "I'm just surprised that you are so respectful, and this place is so prosperous, but there is no dance music... As a result, the deposed dragon thief tried his best to win people's hearts, and inadvertently spread it... However, they tried their best If we don't know how to do it, how can we be like the British Duke and strike with thunder? Otherwise, we will still be defeated?"
After everyone heard this, they quickly praised and echoed again.
However, when these people lowered their heads to drink again, they couldn't help but look at each other... I don't know whether they thought of the tyranny of the Deposed Dragon Gang, or the scenes in the years before the Deposed Dragon Gang came, whether it was nostalgia or fear, Or confused.
In this way, after the banquet was over and the banquet was over, several county officials also arranged for Dou Canjun, who was the supervisor of the army, to rest in a separate courtyard. Although the wealthy households were relieved, they did not dare to leave easily. They all waited outside the door, preparing to check with the county officials before leaving, otherwise they would not be at ease at all.
After a while, the leader Wang Hucao came out, but his face was a little ugly: "He drank too much, and he still wanted to be a prostitute in his words."
In the dark night, with the lights outside the courtyard, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"I just want it, where can I find it now?" Someone was speechless. "It's not that I won't give it. I've given him a lot of money and flattered him. How can I not find it for him? If he just said he wanted it at the banquet, we would look for it temporarily. We might be able to find it now. Where should we look for it now?"
"Didn't I drink too much at that time to save my face?" someone sighed. "Looking at it this way, it turns out that we are ignorant."
"The key now is where to look?" Someone became impatient.
"Don't complain." Junhu Cao replied with a dark face. "I've thought about it, either to look for it in several buildings in the city. It doesn't matter if the city gate is closed. The county prince has given instructions. I can shout open, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time. By the time the prostitutes in the city come, he will be drunk. They fell asleep, and then without saying anything, they would look for us tomorrow, or look for trouble in the county; or they might look for them at the homes of wealthy families in the town... Don't pretend to be pretentious. In those days, there were seven or eight big hooks in this town, and everyone had dispersed. Now, everyone knows whose concubine she is... When you came back, you didn't bring her back? Just send her here now."
Who sends it?
To whom?
Several big business owners looked at each other again and again, and some of them were quite anxious:
"Wang Hu Cao, you must be reasonable. Although the Deposed Dragon Gang did not take over our Wuyang in a serious way, the trend has been changing in the past few years. In the past few months, it even broke the window paper. Your government has learned to let go. Official slaves, what else do you need to do to build a foundation? We have also exchanged contracts with private slaves. Now the few in the family are serious concubines, why should we send them over?!"
"The Deposed Dragon Gang is in the past! Now it's the Taiyuan Army! It's the supervisory army of Guanlong Dou Clan!" Wang Hucao gritted his teeth and lowered his voice to scold. "The army is approaching the border, and the people outside have gathered from all over the country to transport grain for spring plowing. The princes and princes have been forced to hide in the backyard. Who do you think you are? I really want to go on another three expeditions and take away all your grain, young men, and livestock. ?!!"
The surrounding area immediately became quiet.
"It's OK to roll the dice and draw lots." After a moment, Cao from the same household stamped his feet and urged. "Don't delay things!"
Several large households had no choice but to act on their words.
After a moment, one person was chosen. The person was obviously unhappy, but looking around, he could only feel dejected. He turned around helplessly and followed the two county officials to fetch his beautiful concubine. Seeing this, the others relaxed a little, but most of them seemed a little embarrassed.
"The world is different." Seeing this, Hu Cao seemed to feel that something was wrong, so he had to turn around and try to comfort him. "Whether it's the Deposed Dragon Gang or the Taiyuan Army... the world is changing anyway. We are all small people and just go with the flow. Don't think too much about it."
"Changes have changed, whoever wins helps whom, and whoever listens to the boss." An elderly wealthy man who had been following the crowd tonight finally couldn't help but say something. "But the trouble is, the Deposed Dragon Gang is changing in one direction, and the Taiyuan Army is pulling in that direction...and people are human beings, not things. They have ideas. Once they are pulled in that direction, they will feel This end is unbearable; if you pull this end, you will in turn feel that the other end is unbearable; over and over again, you will only feel that everything is unbearable, and then people will be torn!"
"That's right." Someone else sighed. "Before the Three Expeditions, what is the point of giving a concubine to the children of the Dou family? I even eagerly handed it over a long time ago. But now I feel, I feel..."
The words were not spoken in the end, because Wang Hucao looked over coldly.
After a while, when they saw a satin car with lanterns hanging on it coming from a distance, everyone who had been silent felt relieved and finally dispersed in a rush.
The coalition forces were so powerful that Dou Can's army showed off its might in Wuyang County, which was considered the rear area. The next morning, that is, on the morning of February 11th, someone in Qinghe County, which was considered a war zone next door, also showed off its power... The former Qinghe County Shi Huaiming, a captain who later surrendered and became one of the leaders of the Dragon Gang, and now took the lead in betraying the Qinghe Cui family, was appointed by the British duke and Taiyuan's left-behind Lieutenant General Bai Hengqiu to lead the rebellion. Two thousand troops set off, and Yu Chenjian relied on the internal response to open the door and calmly captured Zhangnan City, his previous residence.
The news reached the headquarters of the Qianlong Gang Corps on the other side of the river at the junction of Qinghe and Pingyuan, and everyone was shocked.
After all, at this time, the two closest cities were Liting City and Zhangnan. But soon, after Wei Xuanding and other big leaders held a meeting, they quickly made a decision - not to move.
The reason is very simple. The gain and loss of one city and one land at this time is of little significance. The key to the problem is the distance between the lost land and the legion. Although Zhangnan is already very close to the headquarters of the Deposed Dragon Gang's legion, it is separated by a clear Zhangshui River after all. , has not yet posed a direct threat.
Of course, after learning from previous lessons, the trio of Wei Xuanding, Chen Bin, and Dou Lide quickly added a plan. Once the enemy broke through Liting City, they would immediately use the Pingyuan City more than ten miles behind them as a support point to build field fortifications in the wilderness. Respond to the enemy.
On the other hand, if the enemy does not break through Liting City, the Dragon Gang's large army will continue to maintain the established strategy of attracting the main force without attacking, and using light cavalry to surround and harass.
However, why is there no plan and discussion for retreat?
"What should we do with Cheng Zhili?"
In the small courtyard where the trio was, Chen Bin, who had obviously lost a lot of weight, asked Wei Xuanding this question seriously at the round table.
"What do you mean?"
Unexpectedly, in just a few days, Wei Xuanding has become accustomed to making decisions. However, the process of making decisions is very simple and straightforward. "Manager Chen."
"I mean, now we can control it... we can call Dalang Cheng over." Chen Bin responded simply. "What if a fight breaks out and he stabs me in the back?"
"I also agree to call Dalang Cheng over, and if I come, I will be protecting him. We will still be brothers in the future. But if we ignore him and leave him there, and the officers and soldiers come in from the front, I will make a big mistake in my heart." Dou Lide actually said I also agree with this suggestion. "However, there is no need to rush to call him now. If it is done too late, it might lead to a big disaster, but if it is done too early, it might make him murmur in his heart and make a mistake... It is better to learn to draw a clear path beforehand. ...If Liting City is gone and you are ready to fight, call him immediately."
"How is it?" Wei Xuanding looked at Chen Bin.
Chen Bin heard this, but only glanced at Dou Lide, and then immediately agreed: "Yes, but you must prepare in advance... In addition to the manpower deployed previously, roads and troops must be arranged. You cannot rely on Cheng Dalang alone."
"That's it, you guys make a plan." Wei Xuan nodded and settled the matter.
In other words, since that day, the working pattern between the three people has become like this. Chen Bin and Dou Lide are still the ones who come up with ideas, but the decision-making power only lies with Wei Xuanding. It seems that after realizing this, Chen Bin and Dou Lide When the two of them came up with ideas and plans, they couldn't help but gradually get closer to each other... The so-called compromise with each other first would seem to get rid of the appearance of "Wei Xuanding decides everything".
"But what did the people sent before say?" After settling down the business, Wei Xuanding paused for a moment when he saw the two of them starting to write a note, and then asked again. "Is there anything unusual about Cheng Dalang?"
"No." Chen Bin blurted out with his head lowered. "Not at all..."
"Nothing at all, just something strange!" Dou Lide almost blurted out, but he said what Chen Bin wanted to say next... Of course, Manager Chen obviously had a certain understanding of Dou Lide's talents at this time, and was not too surprised. .
"Not bad." Wei Xuanding also reacted quickly. "As an in-law of the Cui family, he was deprived of military power because of this matter. However, he fell behind us because of the military situation. He controls several cities. His position and identity are sensitive. There were many rumors before, but he kept silent. On the contrary, It seems strange...does he really still have counter-thoughts in his heart?"
"That's not necessarily the case. It's probably just that I'm at a loss or in a dilemma." Chen Bin finally raised his head and stopped writing, and seriously corrected it. "He is a person who really pursues advantages and avoids harm to the extreme. His final decision must be based on the situation... If the situation holds up, he will not fight back life or death; but if something unexpected happens to the chief on the other side of the river in the west, he will I'm afraid we will rebel immediately, and say that the three of us are harsh and incompetent, and have no tolerance for others, and then we will go to find Li Ding and surrender."
Dou Lide smiled instinctively when he heard this... He really wanted to say that if this was true, Cheng Dalang was afraid that he really said such things, but he was probably just talking about Chen Bin. Dou Lide would have said that his vision was narrow-minded and he was ignorant of monkeys. Wei Xuanding would say that Wei Longtou's woman was so benevolent that she had words but no hands.
Of course, these words were not spoken. Leader Dou just kept his head down and was busy. His clerical skills were too poor, but the more he was like this, the more he had to actively participate. Otherwise, wouldn't this power be given to Wei and Chen, especially Chen Bin?
On the other side, Wei Xuanding nodded again and again, twirling his beard and sighing: "I really hope Cheng Dalang can endure this."
"I didn't know that Wei Gong and Cheng Dalang had a good personal relationship?" Chen Bin disagreed.
"What kind of friendship is there?" Wei Xuanding didn't think so. "If we really talk about friendship, it should be Chief Zhang. It was Chief Zhang who personally found Cheng Dalang that day. Didn't he follow him later? Didn't he fall behind step by step? But this is what I mean. What can this world do to people? There are not many ways left. Although Cheng Dalang has superb martial arts and a high level of cultivation, at his age, it would be nice to have a way to go. If he really goes the wrong way, even the three radiances and four emperors will not be able to save him! I really think we can Can we tolerate these rebellious people?"
Chen Bin, like Dou Lide, remained silent this time.
In other words, the situation is here. Although Cheng Zhili's matter is sensitive, in the overall situation, it is not worth mentioning at all. It is not even as important as Shi Huaiming, who actually became a traitor.
"I have an order from General Ji. General Shi must attack Liting City today." A red-cloaked armored cavalry messenger came outside Zhangnan City and issued a military order on the bank of Zhang River. "First arrange the siege positions and camps. He will arrive tomorrow afternoon, and then we will attack the city together... If we miss the deadline, we will have to engage in military law."
After saying that, without waiting for Shi Huaiming to speak, the cloaked and armored envoy left directly, stepped onto the pontoon bridge that had just been built, and left after speaking.
Shi Huaiming watched the other party leave for a long time, and couldn't help but sneer...but he didn't know who he was laughing at...then he ordered the whole army to cross the river and go to Liting City.
Let's say that Shi Huaiming was a local snake in Qinghe, and his troops were also soldiers of Qinghe County established by Cao Shancheng before. The locals were moving in their previous defense area. Of course they were familiar with the roads, but they actually set out to cross the river in the morning, and then attacked five people before dark. After sixty miles, they arrived at the foot of Liting City, and then set up camp on the cultivated land outside the city. At the same time, they sent people to the city to persuade them to surrender.
It was only at this time that Shi Huaiming breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the bare camp to calm down the situation.
In fact, the situation was not easy to deal with, at least for him... Of course he knew what the Eastern Capital Army meant by driving him to attack Zhangnan first, and then come to Liting City.
Use yourself as a pebble to ask for directions!
Use yourself and your troops to test the bottom line of the Deposed Dragon Gang.
Isn't it just an abandoned son?
Anyway, to the Deposed Dragon Gang, he was a surrender and a traitor. He was caught between the two armies and had no choice at all. Therefore, in the eyes of the Dongdu Army, they could certainly let him do this.
However, Shi Huaiming has his own understanding... He does not feel that he is a traitor, nor does he feel that he is an abandoned son controlled by the Dongdu Army. He has always been very clear about his own understanding. He is a native of Qinghe County. The militia leader!
After the Three Expeditions, Qinghe County was in chaos. It was the locals who elected him to resist the bandits. Later, the bandits in Qinghe were controlled, and he naturally became the captain of Cao Shancheng's subordinates. Then, he chose to surrender to the Deposed Dragon Gang because he included Qinghe. All the powerful local families, including the Cui family, chose to acquiesce to the Deposed Dragon Gang to eliminate Cao Shancheng and replace him. Now he chose to do it again because the local people re-elected the official army and prepared to deal with the Deposed Dragon Gang.
This logic is very clear and simple, and Shi Huaiming is self-consciously magnanimous.
Including returning to the current situation, he also thought very clearly... It was one thing for the Dongdu Army to push him to do the internal affairs of Qinghe County, and it was another thing for him to be helpless, but he did not feel that he should escape from this matter. The thing is, at least half of the soldiers stationed in the city were county soldiers at that time. He should come to recruit or destroy them.
As for the Dongdu Army intending to annex him, then it is just a lie. After they leave, you can find a way to stay. And if the Deposed Dragon Army counterattacks in a large scale, or causes trouble on its own, the Dongdu Army will use itself to establish its authority. , that’s easy to handle, take advantage of your familiarity with the terrain, escape directly at night, and go to Wucheng to join Cui Gong!
How can a grandmaster still be unable to protect himself? And what reason is there not to protect yourself?
All my actions are to protect my hometown.
After some calculations, Shi Huaiming felt a little better...and soon, as the simple camp was gradually erected, the confidant officers who went to Liting City to persuade him to surrender also came back, and brought back a good and not bad person. news.
"Several village chiefs have different opinions, and the leader can't suppress them at all?" Shi Huaiming asked seriously. "Is the leader of the village chief from Qinghe or somewhere else?"
"The accent sounds like a local one, so it's hard to ask. I only know that my surname is Huang." The confidant officer thought for a while and answered seriously. "Looking at what they said, the main objection was that we had few soldiers and would not be willing to surrender. There were also two people who agreed to surrender. They all looked familiar. They should be from the county."
When Shi Huaiming heard this, he knew that the situation was all expected, so he nodded, and felt completely relaxed: "Then wait until the army comes to the border tomorrow, and then try to persuade them to surrender... Also, today's sentry cavalry should stay far away. Go to the back of Liting City, you know what I mean? The main reason is to prevent the main force of the Deposed Dragon Gang over there from taking the opportunity to overwhelm you!"
The confidant officer understood and nodded to leave.
Shi Huaiming had no more pressure, so he ate his meal, turned around and rested in the hastily raised Chinese army tent.
This night was February 11th. The double moon was still like a hook, but it was much thicker. The surrounding fields were like a canopy. It was half dark and half dark. There were already insects chirping... I guess it was because the camp was located in a crop field that had just been plowed in the spring. .
Shi Huaiming listened to the chirping of insects for a while, and the fatigue of a long march gradually came over him, so he gradually fell asleep. The soldiers in the whole camp were tired because they had marched into Zhangnan in the early morning and then rushed here again, so they fell asleep early.
Around the time of the third watch, I don’t know if it was February 12th, suddenly, there were shouts of killing from all sides!
Without anyone shouting, Shi Huaiming woke up in a daze. He had no time to distinguish the situation, but he heard one sentence clearly first, because almost all the shouts were in the Qinghe dialect:
"kill!"
"Kill Shi Huaiming!"
"Only kill Shi Huaiming!"
