Outside the south gate of Jiangling City, the stout Zuo Mengeng, dressed in linen and filial piety, was sitting in the reception pavilion. Three thousand servants of the Zuo family in white clothes and armor lined up outside the receiving station, just waiting quietly.
This scene looks a bit like reviewing the army and preparing to go out for war. The expression that appeared on the faces of every servant of the Zuo family was not sadness, but the breathless and tense atmosphere that only existed before the war. Since Zuo Mengeng's death, everyone has been uneasy.
The general soldiers of each battalion who had arrived in Jiangling to attend Zuo Liangyu's funeral also wore white clothes over their official uniforms. Each of them had a small ponytail and sat outside the reception pavilion to wait. Look at me, and I'll look at you. Then he looked away and no one said anything.
All the generals, big and small, under General Zuo are not here yet. There is still one missing... Jin Shenghuan, the general guarding the Chengtian Prefecture who has tens of thousands of troops garrisoned in Yiling, has not arrived yet!
Today, everyone followed Zuo Mengeng out of the city and arrived at the Jieguan Pavilion on the bank of the Yangtze River to greet He Tengjiao and others who came to Jingzhou Mansion to express their condolences to Zuo Liangyu.
Officials from Hunan have all rushed to Jiangling, but Jin Shenghuan, who is near Yiling, does not come to Jiangling. This is wrong no matter how you look at it!
When Zuo Liangyu was still alive, Jin Shenghuan was inseparable from the Zuo family and formed an independent entity. Now that the old man is gone, can Jin Shenghuan still be reliable? This guy is not a direct descendant who has followed Zuo Liangyu for many years, but came here as a rogue bandit. He could be cared for by Zuo Liangyu before, but now he can't be cared for by Zhu Cihong?
After all, Zhu Cixiang was the prince of Fujun, and he had great righteousness and a lot of money in his hands! Jin Shenghuan switched to Zhu Cihong, who not only wanted an official position and money, but also became famous in history. What reason did he have to be loyal to the Zuo family?
Moreover, Jin Shenghuan was certainly not the only one who had the idea of abandoning Zuo Tou Ming... Now Zhu Cixiang has garrisoned in Wuchang and is confronting Li Zicheng who is entrenched in Hanyang, and seems to have the upper hand.
Once Zhu Cihong defeated Li Zicheng, what good would happen to the left army who retreated to Jingzhou Prefecture? When the prince of the Fu army, who had defeated the Qing army and the bandits one after another, came to attack, the Zuo family army would not be completely wiped out?
So many people have been waiting for Prince Zhu's emissary to come and buy him off... The problem now is that they have been waiting and waiting, but they have not seen the emissary wearing the golden beauty official hat. It is really anxious to death. !
Now I suddenly received a message from He Tengjiao, accepting the invitation to bring high-ranking Hunan officials to Jingzhou Fucheng to express condolences to Zuo Liangyu... Could it be that this He Tengjiao was actually a loyal minister loyal to Emperor Chongzhen and was preparing to join forces with the Major General to serve the emperor? ?
A group of general soldiers of the left army who were like grasshoppers were a little unsure for a while.
After Zuo Menggeng received the message from He Tengjiao, he immediately began to prepare to welcome him. While telling his generals about uniting the heroes with King Qin to reassure him, he also transferred all his direct descendants to Jiangling City, and at the same time transferred The troops of Zhang Yong and Ma Jiaolin, who were unreliable, were transferred to Shizhouwei and Yuezhou (west of Dongting Lake) for garrison.
As for the troops left by Zuo Menggeng inside and outside Jiangling City, in addition to his own direct lineage, they were the troops of the four generals Li Guoying, Lu Guangzu, Xu Yong, and Hao Zhongzhong, as well as the guards of the Prince of Chu's Palace. The four commanders of the army all followed the city and went to the stronghold to prevent Li Zicheng from unexpectedly leading his troops. The guards of the Prince of Chu's Palace are stationed in the city... Zuo Menggeng can never drive the soldiers of the Prince of Chu's Palace out of Jiangling City. Jiangling City is the territory of the Prince of Chu's Palace!
But Zuo Mengeng is assured of his cheap girl Zuo Mengmei. This ignorant girl dreams about being a queen all day long, and she even points her finger at Zuo Jiajundong as the Qin King! How is it possible to stage a coup in Jiangling City?
The military deployment is completed and people's hearts are slightly more stable. The day for He Tengjiao and others to come to Jiangling to express their condolences had just arrived. Zuo Mengeng then brought out all his officers and waited for He Tengjiao and others at the reception pavilion outside the south gate of Jiangling City.
To the south of Jieguan Pavilion is a wide pontoon bridge, which connects both sides of the Yangtze River. This pontoon bridge was built by Zuo Menggeng after he retreated to Jingzhou Fucheng, so that when Li Zicheng's soldiers rushed to Jiangling City, they could be the first to It was time to evacuate to Gong'an County in Jiangnan.
Now that Li Zicheng didn't come, He Tengjiao and the others were the first to take the pontoon bridge and came to Jiangling City to throw themselves into a trap. Moreover, they formed a group to throw themselves into a trap! There was not only He Tengjiao, the governor of Hunan, but also Chang Yanling, Fu Shangrui, Yan Qiheng, Zhang Kuang, Wu Jinxi, Zhou Daqi and many other warlords and bureaucrats in Hunan Province.
If all of them are caught, the whole province of Hunan will be in Zuo's army's pocket... But these people didn't come alone! They are the "Seven Heroes of Hunan" who carved up Hunan Province. Who doesn't have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses who can fight and charge? After traveling so far to Jiangling, and at this time of war and chaos, how could it be possible without escorting soldiers?
According to Zhang Yingyuan, a confidant sent by Zuo Menggeng to greet He Tengjiao and others, the total number of soldiers from various families who came with He Tengjiao and others was no less than 15,000... He brought so many soldiers and horses to mourn the deceased. , there is something wrong with this matter!
Zuo Mengeng vaguely felt that things were not that simple, but he was unwilling to give up the opportunity. The two thoughts in his mind were fighting back and forth, which made him feel irritable. In the end, he just let out a long breath.
Huang Shu, who had returned from Li Zicheng, was also sitting outside the reception pavilion. When he saw Zuo Menggen sighing, he got up and walked into the reception pavilion. He got behind him, leaned over Zuo Menggen's ear, and whispered: " The emperor’s soldiers will arrive soon!”
The "emperor" he was talking about was of course not Chongzhen, but the Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng!
Huang Shu did not come back from Li Zicheng empty-handed, but brought an edict from Li Zicheng conferring Zuo Menggeng as the Duke of Xiang and the Military Envoy of Hunan.
Li Zicheng didn't have much power in conferring titles on people, and people of Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and Li Guo's level were just a marquis. Now that Zuo Menggeng has been granted the title of Duke of Xiang, it can be said to be a great compliment. Moreover, Lao Li also gave him the title of Hunan Jiedushi... With this title, Zuo Mengeng was the top leader of the Dashun Dynasty in Hunan.
In addition, Li Zicheng also asked Huang Shu to send a message to Zuo Mengeng - Dashun's 100,000 heavenly soldiers will arrive soon! If Zuo Menggeng can use a "Hongmen Burial" to capture He Tengjiao and others, then the land of Huguang will be shared by the North, Li, South and Zuo...
Zuo Mengeng glanced at Huang Shu but remained silent. Huang Shu spoke to him in a low voice and said, "My lord, even if He Tengjiao cheats, we still can't defeat him with so many elite soldiers at hand? Your Majesty even sent Bohou to garrison Jingmen Station... It's foolproof!"
Zuo Mengeng sighed and looked back at the three thousand Zuo family servants waiting in line dozens of steps away... With them here, are they still afraid of the tens of thousands of weak soldiers brought by He Tengjiao?
At this moment, more than a dozen people on fast horses came galloping from the official road on the south bank of the Yangtze River, got on the pontoon, and shouted towards Zuo Mengeng from a distance: "He Futai is here, Mr. Chang." Rong has arrived too!”
Zuo Mengeng stood up suddenly and adjusted his mourning clothes - underneath the mourning clothes was a piece of chain mail passed down by his father, which was very finely made and made of excellent materials. Then he pressed the handle of the knife at his waist with his right hand and squeezed it hard.
Huang Shu was afraid that he would lose his temper, so he quickly reminded: "My lord, let He Tengjiao and the others enter the city first... Only after they enter the city can we catch them all!"
Zuo Mengeng took a deep breath and nodded: "I know!"
On the horizon across the Yangtze River, a flag of the "Commander of the Three Armies" fluttering in the wind and a large banner with the official title of He Tengjiao written on it finally appeared on the horizon. At the same time, there were more than a dozen other flags of various kinds appearing, rolling and rolling, and then there was a field of bright spear points, forming rows and columns, like a forest. Looking at it from a distance makes people feel a little numb. After a while, I saw more than a hundred knights, surrounded by a tall and thin man in his fifties, wearing a red python robe, a beard that reached to his chest, a high nose, and piercing eyes. A pontoon bridge connecting the north and south of the Yangtze River.
This man was none other than He Tengjiao, the imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty who was the governor of Hunan and knew the affairs of the Changsha Prefecture!
