It was already noon, and Li Muxian set up a table of wine and food in the Yamen to congratulate Chang Yu on his merit. The merit was the achievement of a surprise attack, and the happiness was the happiness that broke Anqing.
Although Dongliu County is a bandit-controlled area, it has not been overly plundered and ravaged by the bandits. At least the people's livelihood is still very good. Materials are also very rich. It is not as barren and scarce as the Gyeonggi area. Even the roots and bark of the trees are not eaten. , so Li Muxian easily prepared a table of rich food and wine, and specially invited a famous local chef to cook the dishes.
While preparing for the banquet, Chang Yu went back to his room to rest temporarily, or rather to listen to secret reports. The two eunuchs from Gongziying sent by Fan Jiaqian were in the room respectfully answering Chang Yu's various questions.
Gongziying was originally a front-line combat force. Its members were all strong eunuchs in the palace. After Chang Yu's special training, they became a brave and capable royal special forces team. They followed Chang Yu in the north and south and made great achievements in battle. As Chang Yu became more powerful and had more resources at his disposal, Gongziying retreated to the second line and was responsible for inspecting military discipline in the army and monitoring the generals.
To put it simply, they are still Chang Yu's sharpest sword, but this sword is not used to kill enemies, but to intimidate his generals.
Chang Yu, the man sent by Li Yan, has already seen it. Compared with the report from Gongziying, there is not much difference in essence. It is just polished. Moreover, the various performances and actions of Li Yan and the generals during this period , nine out of ten were under the supervision of Gongziying. Based on the discussion, Chang Yu could roughly guess the various situations at that time.
What was a little surprising was that he never told Li Yan directly that he wanted to get rid of Liu Zeqing, but Li Yan actually took the initiative to do it for him. The key person in this process must be Gao Jie, because he revealed some things in order to recruit Gao Jie. Voice.
To be precise, Gao Jie used a borrowed knife to kill people, and the reason why Li Yan was willing to use it was just to share his worries.
It's really easy to have such knowledgeable and capable subordinates.
"Are you two guilty?" After listening to the secret report from the two eunuchs, Chang Yu shouted softly, and the two eunuchs knelt on the ground: "You deserve to die for your humble position. You regretted it immediately after you made a careless statement in your humble position. Please punish me by the governor." .
"Since you already know the crime, why did you commit it?" Chang Yu snorted coldly.
"Everyone in the army knows that Chief Fang is a close confidant of the Governor and also from Dongchang. I didn't think much about it at the time. He just asked and said..." The two hesitated, Chang Yu sneered: "A close confidant? The Governor's. The confidant can only be the eunuch of Dongchang!"
"I am ashamed of my humble position, and I am guilty of my humble position." The two of them lay on the ground, feeling extremely remorseful. Chang Yu stood up and said, "Gong Ziying was established and promoted by the governor. He personally did everything big and small and devoted all his efforts to achieve what it is today." , He is also the person whom I value and trust the most. If you can make such a low-level mistake, it will be difficult for you to remember it without punishment."
"I am willing to be punished for my humble position." The more they listened to Chang Yu's words, the more guilty and uncomfortable they became. They lay on the ground and began to cry. Chang Yu stepped forward and kicked the two of them: "Everyone in Gongzi Camp is standing up to the sky. Immediately, man, when did two crying women come?"
The two of them quickly wiped away their tears and knelt down again.
"Go back and tell Fan Jiaqian and Hu Ling that they are not strict with their subordinates and have neglected their duties in teaching. They will be fined three months' salary and twenty military sticks each."
"Duke..." The two of them were startled. When they looked up and saw Chang Yu's eyes were cold, they quickly shut up.
As the saying goes, you can eat by relying on mountains and rivers. There is a lot to eat in Dongliu County, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The delicacies of the mountains and wild game and various delicacies from the river are very popular after being cooked by famous chefs. It can be said that the whole table of meals is all to Chang Yu's taste. He let go of his posture and ate his food, which was much better than the chefs in the palace.
Everyone had never eaten anything from the palace, and they all asked curious questions. Chang Yu also didn't mince words: It was more delicate than delicious.
In fact, there were not many people attending the celebration banquet. Chen Wangting and Wu Zhong were injured and could not attend. The Chen brothers and their troops would not be able to return to the city until at least evening, including Li Muxian, Kuang Ren and some personal guards. They were the scapegoat and the salt dealer. At this time, they already knew Chang Yu's true identity, and they didn't dare to take a breath while serving him.
"Duke, Anqing has been captured. Do we need to head west urgently? To Wangjiang County or Pengze County..." A guard asked during the banquet. Chang Yu was silent for a moment. After Li Muchian was ordered, he He became cautious. Seeing the little eunuch's expression at this time, he knew that he had not yet made a decision in his heart, so he shouted to save the situation: "Wangjiang and Pengze are both hundreds of miles away, and they are only a small town the size of a palm, and there are no thieves." The army's private treasure cannot be harvested without the army going deep. When Li Yan's army comes up, it won't be easy to capture, right, Lord Governor?"
Chang Yu nodded: "What Fang Taoist said makes sense, but what our family is more worried about is that if the bandit army hears that Baiwang has defeated Anqing City, I am afraid that these thieves will loot the city and escape, which will be very detrimental to the people." ".
Li Muxian immediately frowned and said in a low voice: "Is it possible that the governor still wants to take the risk? This..."
Chang Yu shook his head: "We don't want to go, but someone must go. Our purpose of suppressing thieves and quelling chaos is to let the people live and work in peace and contentment. How can we drive the thieves away before our eyes, but let them fall into a place of eternal destruction? In order to prevent The bandit army is in a hurry to jump over the wall and seize the city to escape. We must send troops to suppress the opponent."
"Governor, I am willing to go because of my humble position." Kuang Ren stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Ten people are enough."
Chang Yu smiled: "We have enough manpower, so we won't let you go there alone and weakly." Kuang Ren was startled: "Right now, there are only less than twenty people in the city that can be used... If we wait for the Governor to call in troops and horses, we will not let you go alone." I might be a little late, which would be a pity."
"No," Li Muxian continued: "The news about our raid on Dongliu and Zhide has not spread yet, let alone the news about Anqing and Chizhou, so there is still time to mobilize troops. Hopefully, The river is on the other side of the Yangtze River, so Li Yan can send a troop of troops to go there by water, and Peng Ze is on the south bank. The governor can wait until the Chen brothers return to the city before going there."
"What the Taoist Master said is what I think." Chang Yu nodded: "During the lunch break just now, our family ordered Li Yan's people to go back, and ordered him to send troops up the river to rush to Wangjiang County, Pengze, To make a living, we must arrive as quickly as possible before the thief can react. As for whether the people in front of our family can go or not, let’s discuss it later.”
In the afternoon, the sky was covered with clouds. Chang Yu and Li Muxian left the city and went to the riverside dock outside the west gate. They found a secluded area under the shade of a tree to fish with a pole. The river breeze was refreshing and refreshing. In the distance, there were people farming in Jiangxin Prefecture. Li Muxian sighed: " The people here are far richer than those in the capital, at least they will not be without food or shelter."
Chang Yu nodded: "Although it is not as good as the land of fish and rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it is still smooth. Unfortunately, there are too many natural and man-made disasters in the Gyeonggi area." Then he turned to look at Li Muchian and suddenly asked: "Do you think Taoist priest Fang should continue to march westward or return to the court?" ?”
Li Muchian frowned and thought for a while before saying, "It depends on the governor's next move."
"Wish you to hear the Taoist sergeant." Chang Yu walked to the grass behind him, and Li Muchian sat down cross-legged: "At this time, Anqing has surrendered, and Bai Wang has been defeated and it will be difficult to make trouble in a short time. Although there are Wangjiang, Pengze, and Hukou ahead. The five counties of Duchang, Duchang, and Xingzi are still in the hands of thieves, but these are all small counties. The thieves only have more than a few hundred soldiers and the thieves are leaderless. When the army approaches the city, they are vulnerable to a blow. The only thing that is difficult to chew is the white grass in the mountains. Wang's den of thieves is safe, but at this time Bai Wang has been defeated and his life or death is unknown. All his generals have been lost, and his military strength is also very few. The governor only needs to send one strong general to wipe out the whole process without having to come personally, unless... "
Chang Yu smiled: "Unless what?"
"Unless the governor wants to point his sword elsewhere." Li Muxian also smiled: "Either Zuo Liangyu of Wuchang, or the bandits of Jingxiang."
Phew...Chang Yu sighed and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the river: "Did Zuo Liangyu's family touch him?"
"The mercenaries in Wuchang are self-respecting. They claim to have an army of 200,000. They are waiting for opportunities to move without advancing or retreating. If the governor had confronted them head-on earlier, he might not have been successful and would have even angered him. But now Bai Wang was defeated. He must be frightened, at least he does not dare to underestimate the strength of the imperial court, but he also knows that the imperial court has been at the end of its strength after successive battles in the past few months, so he may not dare to do anything to him." Li Muchian thought for a while and whispered.
Chang Yu nodded: "The Taoist priest means that he dare not rebel now, but our family can't actually do anything to him, right?"
"That's exactly what Pindao means." Li Muchian stroked his beard and nodded: "The timing is wrong. He can move but shouldn't move. There is no need for the Governor to be tough with him. Let's test him first and then talk about it."
Chang Yu's eyes narrowed: "Let him go to Jingzhou?"
"Yes, if he refuses to go, it means that he is still dissatisfied and not afraid. If he goes, it means that he knows the current situation and knows how to get off the donkey. The governor can contain the Jingxiang bandit army, and you can withdraw your hands in the autumn. Then he crossed the Yellow River and regained Xi'an."
"But what if he doesn't go?" Chang Yu frowned: "I really don't want to use my troops and energy to deal with him, thereby delaying the opportunity to suppress the bandits."
"That depends on the governor's methods. If you should kill him, kill him!" Li Muxian smiled half-heartedly, as if he was pointing. Chang Yu's lips twitched and chuckled: "It's not that easy to kill him. If he is wary, I'm afraid I will It is difficult for the governor to set foot in Wuchang. The Yangtze River is a natural chasm and there are 200,000 troops. Even if he rebels, it will be difficult for the governor to do anything to him for a while!"
"The imperial court treats him well, and the situation is getting clearer. He will not rebel rashly." Li Muxian shook his head slightly. The reason why he supported his troops and waited to protect himself a few months ago was actually because the Ming Dynasty was really strong at that time. It was too dangerous. Li Zicheng's troops from the east approached the city in two groups. The Tatar army of 100,000 took the opportunity to enter the pass, and Bai Wang went down the river... To be honest, hey, if you are a poor man, you have to watch the wind. Fortunately, Lord Governor. He was born in the sky, and fought hard for several months to keep our Ming Dynasty from falling, making the situation clear... Now if the news of Bai Wang's defeat reaches Zuo Liangyu's ears, he will not rebel easily, and he will not even dare to obey orders. , it is very likely that he will do so as ordered."
Chang Yu smiled: "These are all your guesses. I just ask, what if it is true that he will not obey the order?"
Li Muxian was stunned, and shook his head with a wry smile: "I don't know how to deal with it at the moment, but I won't start a fight. In that case, it will be really cheaper to sacrifice and trespass. Regardless of victory or defeat, there will be no recovery in one or two years." But come here, it means that we will not be able to launch an attack on the bandit army within a year or two, and we may even have difficulty defending."
