Under the protection of his own soldiers, Zhang Huai escaped from Lingqiu all the way, and then escaped for more than 20 miles in Guangling before stopping.
"Sir, we have already thrown away the people with the tiger character flag." Li Kaiyang chased after him from behind on horseback.
Zhang Huai glanced at the few people around him with a pale face, and said with trembling lips: "How many people do we have left?"
"As far as we can see, none of those without horses have escaped." Li Kaiyang glanced around.
Around them, there were only about a hundred or so people who escaped, and more than half of them were soldiers guarding the generals of various families, so none of the soldiers and servants who did not have horses to travel with them followed.
Zhang Huai stretched out his hand to the soldier beside him and said: "Quick, help me dismount."
The soldiers who were following him hurriedly jumped off their horses, walked to the horse that Zhang Huai was riding, and raised their hands to help Zhang Huai get off his horses.
Zhang Huai trembled and turned over to dismount. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, his knees softened and he collapsed to the ground.
The soldiers standing by the side had quick eyes and quick hands and hurriedly helped him up.
At this moment, Li Kaiyang also jumped off the horse and walked to the other side to support Zhang Huai until he sat down on a stone on the side of the road.
Li Kaiyang turned around and said to his soldiers: "Go down with the order and rest on the spot."
"Do you think it's possible that the people from Xinpingbao with the Tiger Character Flag have returned?" Zhang Huai turned his head and looked at Li Kaiyang.
Li Kaiyang turned around, pondered for a moment, and then said: "The general thought that they were not from the Xinping Fort. It is impossible to hide the thousands of troops crossing the border. In addition, your lord, you said that there are still us at the Xinping Fort." The people were watching, and once there was any movement, someone would come to deliver the message immediately. Therefore, the general believed that in addition to the thousands of soldiers and horses on the grassland outside Xinping Fort, there were also soldiers and horses hidden in the Tiger Flag. Until this time, the officers and soldiers It was only through encirclement and suppression that it was revealed.”
"How come the Tiger Flag has raised so many soldiers and horses? Isn't Liu Heng a businessman? Businessmen pursue profits. If you have the money to support so many soldiers and horses, wouldn't it be good to be a rich man?" Zhang Huai said in a slightly stern tone. said excitedly.
Li Kaiyang pursed his lips and said, "It shows that Liu Heng has long been rebellious. If he hadn't been discovered this time, the problem would have only become more serious in a few years."
He had wanted to deal with the tiger-character flag a long time ago, but unfortunately he was stopped by the governor of Datong and Zhang Huai in front of him. If the tiger-character flag had been dealt with at the beginning, such trouble would not have happened now.
"I was ordered to put down the rebellion, but in this situation, if I try to put down the rebellion, I will probably die." Zhang Huai let out a long sigh.
The battle at Lingqiu completely shattered his courage.
Li Kaiyang, who was standing aside, said: "My lord, you have forgotten that there are soldiers and horses from the main barracks on their way over."
The main barracks were all infantry and the march was slow. Zhang Huai, in order to catch the tiger-shaped flag in Lingqiu by surprise before the soldiers and horses with the tiger-shaped flag from Xinping Fort returned, so he and a group of generals led various soldiers. Ding, come to Lingqiu first.
"It's useless." Zhang Huai waved his hand feebly and said, "Even the Beilu are no match for the Tiger Flag. Even if the main barracks dare to come, they are still no match for the Tiger Flag soldiers."
Li Kaiyang did not persuade him again.
As a general from a border town, he was naturally aware of the difficulty of the Beilu, so he was not optimistic about the court's counterinsurgency this time, hoping that the soldiers and horses in Datong Town would be difficult to destroy the Tiger Flag.
Zhang Huai asked for a water bag from the soldiers, drank a few sips of water, put away the water bag, and said to Li Kaiyang: "Send the order and go back to Datong."
"The imperial court's purpose is to suppress the rebellion. How will the imperial court explain it if we just go back like this?" Li Kaiyang said with a frown.
Zhang Huai threw the water bag to the soldiers aside, stood up from the stone, and said bitterly: "I will apologize to the court. From now on, Datong will depend on you."
After saying that, he walked towards his horse.
This time, he didn't need anyone to help him. He walked steadily to the horse, stepped on the soldier's knees and got on the horse.
Li Kaiyang looked at Zhang Huai's back and shook his head with a wry smile.
In the past, he was really interested in the position of Commander-in-Chief of Datong, but now Datong is about to be in chaos, and it is not easy to sit in the position of Commander-in-Chief, and he will be imprisoned if he fails.
Soon, more than a hundred riders galloped away from the official road.
The journey back to Datong Fucheng was faster than Zhang Huailai's trip to Lingqiu. No one had other thoughts along the way. Everyone just wanted to go back.
On the way, Zhang Huai met the soldiers and horses from Zheng Barracks.
However, he did not return with the soldiers and horses of the Zhengba camp. Instead, he left Li Kaiyang in the Zhengba camp, and he took his own soldiers and rushed back to Datong Fucheng.
On the other side, Zhao Yutu took small roads along the way, deliberately avoiding official roads where officers and soldiers might pass by.
As a result, even if he rushed on time, he was still much slower than Zhang Huai. By the time Zhang Huai arrived in Datong Fucheng, he still had more than a day to go from Xinping Fort.
Zhang Huai, who returned to Datong Fucheng, did not go back to the General Military Mansion and went directly to the governor's Yamen.
Many officials gathered outside the governor's office, some came to see the governor, and some were waiting to be summoned by the governor.
Zhang Huai is the commander-in-chief of Datong, and many people know him.
As soon as he appeared, an official came to greet him, clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations to General Zhang. It is said that the Tiger Flag has gold and silver in it. This time I went to Lingqiu to put down the rebellion, and I must have gained a lot."
It was no secret that the imperial court issued an order to suppress the rebellion, and many people had witnessed Zhang Huai leading the way to Lingqiu with great fanfare.
Zhang Huai only glanced at him and without saying a word, he walked past him and went straight into the governor's office.
The official who greeted Zhang Huai looked embarrassed. He flicked his sleeves and robe for the last time and said with an ugly face: "Vulgar, these generals are just vulgar."
It's a pity that Zhang Huai entered the yamen at this time and could no longer hear his words.
Several officials from the side came up and asked, "What's wrong with Mr. Huang? His face is so ugly. Did I just see Mr. Zhang go in?"
"Hmph, these generals are really domineering. I bowed down to greet them but ignored them. I just went to Datong to wipe out a business. What's so cool about that?" Mr. Huang said with a cold face.
Someone on the side said: "Tiger Flag is not an ordinary business. I heard that they have raised thousands of thieves."
"So what." Mr. Huang said with disdain, "It is said that there are thousands of people, but I'm afraid they can't even get the weapons together. What's the big deal in wiping out the bandits in such a short time? If you have the ability to go to Liaodong to kill the Jurchens go."
The Ming army suffered several major defeats in Liaodong and lost several important towns one after another. Today's Ming officials all know that Hou Jin is powerful.
"The Jurchens are not easy to mess with. I heard they are absolutely invincible. Otherwise, our Ming Dynasty would not have been defeated by them one after another." An official nearby sighed.
