In Gaoyang City, the front pavilion of the old Sun Chengzong's house, in the inner hall of the atrium, candlelight lingers, and a variety of exquisite dishes are placed on the four Eight Immortals tables, and the aroma is overflowing.
Zhang Cheng sat next to Sun Chengzong and didn't even take a few bites of food. Sun Chengzong pulled him and kept asking about the details of the battles against the Qing army. When Zhang Cheng was telling the story, he often interrupted him and asked various questions. formula question.
Whenever he heard something happy, he would hit the table with his palms and cheer loudly. He looked so energetic that he didn't look like a seventy-six-year-old man at all.
Zhang Cheng's narration is naturally not as exciting as that of Datong General Soldier Wang Pu, let alone Wang Pu's lifelike performance.
However, his narration was truthful. Although his voice was not loud, it was extremely penetrating. Everyone at the table listened quietly. Every time there was a crisis, everyone at the table felt as if they were actually there. The feeling can't help but lift my heart into my throat.
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The celebration banquet lasted until the end of the Youshi period. Sun Chengzong seemed particularly happy. He took Zhang Cheng's hand and said to Lu Xiangsheng: "Jiandou, it is all thanks to the brave and bloody battle of Xuanda generals that the people of Gaoyang were saved today.
I would like to offer a bowl of celebration wine to all the generals, to express my gratitude to the people in Gaoyang City, and to proclaim the bravery of all the generals. I would like to congratulate Mr. Lu and all the generals! "
Lu Xiangsheng was quite embarrassed. In his heart, he had always admired Sun Chengzong, the old man in the front cabinet. Now, at the age of seventy-six, he led his whole family to personally go to the city to fight against the Tartars. With this loyalty to the king and the country, , which made him admire him endlessly.
However, although the slave thieves retreated, there was no guarantee that they would not turn back again. The military situation was changing all the time, which would inevitably lead to trouble. He really did not dare to let his generals drink, so he could only say softly with a very embarrassed look on his face:
"Mr. Lu is so kind that I shouldn't refuse, but although the slave thieves have retreated, they are still afraid that they will gather troops to attack Gaoyang again. The military situation is changeable, so it is not allowed to drink alcohol and miss the military. I hope that Mr. Ge will understand me."
Sun Chengzong was extremely interested. In his twilight years, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope in Zhang Cheng, although he was still not sure whether what he saw was correct.
However, Zhang Cheng's performance since joining the guard, Lu Xiangsheng's evaluation of Zhang Cheng, and his impression after talking with Zhang Cheng at the banquet convinced him that Zhang Cheng was definitely different from the three general managers at the other three tables. soldiers.
In his opinion, Zhang Cheng's ability may have yet to be verified, but Zhang Cheng's knowledge and vision are much better than those of Yang Guozhu and the other three generals. If there are no surprises, this son's future achievements will definitely be higher than those of Yang Guozhu and others. superior.
In his twilight years, seeing such a young hero made Sun Chengzong happy. He couldn't suppress the inexplicable excitement in his heart, and said to Lu Xiangsheng again with an old face:
"What Jian Dou said is indeed true. I shouldn't have invited you any more, but today I'm celebrating the generals' victory, how can I not have wine? Give me a thin noodle, and let the generals drink a bowl of water and wine. I won't do it." Just drink more.
How is it? "
Lu Xiangsheng looked embarrassed, but Sun Chengzong had spoken like this, which made him unable to refuse. After thinking about it for a while, he replied: "That's alright, just as Mr. Sun Ge said, Xiangsheng needs to use water instead of wine. It is advisable to lead all the officers and men to pay respect to Mr. Sun Ge and all the village elders to express their thanks for their hard work."
Sun Chengzong stood up, held up the wine bowl in his hand, and excitedly ordered his sons to get the wine quickly. He would personally pour the wine for the Xuanda generals.
After everyone's persuasion, Sun Chengzong, Yang Guozhu and three other generals filled the wine. Then he poured wine for Zhang Cheng himself. Zhang Cheng was flattered. He quickly stood up, holding the wine bowl in both hands, and respectfully handed it to Sun Chengzong. .
For the remaining generals, Sun Chengzong's sons filled the bowls on their behalf. Sun Chengzong loudly ordered Sun Yao to go to the courtyard and fill a bowl for each of the generals' personal guards.
Lu Xiangsheng straightened up and was about to stand up when Yang Tinglin beside him pulled the corner of his clothes and gave him a wink. He understood what Yang Tinglin meant and shook his head helplessly, but he did not stand up to stop him.
The banquet is extremely joyful, but there is a time to gather and disperse.
After Sun Chengzong toasted with wine and everyone said some words, Lu Xiangsheng led the Xuanda generals to say goodbye and left Sun Chengzong's mansion.
Originally, Sun Chengzong had arranged for his people to prepare guest rooms and beds, but Lu Xiangsheng insisted on returning to the camp, so he could not force him to stay. He sent Lu Xiangsheng and other generals out of the house, and also asked his second son, Sun Xuan, and his fifth son, Sun Yao, to stay there. Lu Xiangsheng and others were sent outside the north gate.
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On the tenth day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, in the morning, Lu Xiangsheng wrote quickly and reported the facts of the battle against the Eastern captives the day before yesterday, asking for credit for the generals of the Xuan Dynasty.
Sun Chengzong also wrote a memorial in handwriting, telling Gaoyang County Magistrate Lei Zhibo to abandon the city and leave the city without caring about all the people in the city. He failed to fulfill his responsibility to protect the land and repaid the truth. In the memorial, he also reported to Lu Xiangsheng that he led his people to help. Zhang Cheng, The deeds of Wang Pu and other generals who bravely killed the slaves and fought the captives in bloody battles were written in a special book, asking for merit and reward for the generals of Xuan Da.
Lu Xiangsheng sent a team of more than 100 sergeants, led by Zhang Guodong, the Qianzong Commander of the Biao Battalion he supervised, to escort the captured Donglu heads, as well as the banners, golden drums, broken armor, and military battles full of blood. etc.
As for his memorial report of victory, he sent elite cavalrymen and fast horses to deliver the victory report to the capital. Sun Chengzong's second son, Sun Cheng, also led several servants to accompany him to the capital. Sun Chengzong's memorial was brought with him. Send it to the capital in person.
That day, afternoon, dusk.
The ground was pale, and the general general of the Liaodong towns, led by his 40,000-strong army, arrived late. He did not say that he had been waiting and watching all the way, and that he had failed to overcome his expectations.
Lu Xiangsheng was falsely accused of being greedy for merit and rushing forward without waiting for him to join forces to attack the Qing army under Hauge's tribe, which caused the slave thieves to retreat. They were unable to annihilate all the captives and cavalry in one battle, so they achieved full merit.
Fortunately, Sun Chengzong's memorial was reported to the capital together with Lu Xiangsheng's good news, so that Yang Sichang did not dare to stop it, so the true situation under Gaoyang City could be uploaded to Tianting.
Although Chongzhen had learned about Lu Xiangsheng's military exploits in rescuing Gao Yang, defeating the Hauge tribe's slave thieves, and beheading more than a thousand people, he still believed Gao Qiqian's report to be true and naively believed that Lu Xiangsheng was greedy for merit.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be better if thousands of Tartars from Haug's tribe could be cut off at once?
On the evening of November 14th, Emperor Chongzhen's imperial edict was delivered to the Gaoyang army. Although he greatly praised Lu Xiangsheng for relieving Gaoyang's danger and killing more than a thousand slaves, he also scolded him for being lax in his command and attacking without waiting. Gao Qiqian completed the encirclement and missed the opportunity to annihilate the enemy in one blow.
This matter reached Sun Chengzong, and even he felt angry and aggrieved for Lu Xiangsheng, but he was also helpless because he was far away from the court.
During this period, Zhang Cheng was invited many times to visit Sun Chengzong's home in the city. He also took the opportunity to persuade Sun Chengzong that it would be best for his family to leave the city and live temporarily in Baoding in the near future.
Although the Donglu attacked Gaoyang once, they were driven back by Lu Xiangsheng and other generals. However, Lu Xiangsheng could not stay in Gaoyang permanently. Once the army moved to fight elsewhere, and the Luqi attacked again, Gaoyang would not be able to hold on due to the current situation.
Sun Chengzong was reluctant to leave Gaoyang at first, but he couldn't stand Zhang Cheng's persuasion and reluctantly agreed. After a few days, he took his family to Baoding to stay for a while.
It happened that there were dozens of wounded soldiers in his camp, and they were going to be relocated to Baoding for recuperation. He originally wanted to leave Sergeant Yijia to take care of him for protection, but Sun Chengzong volunteered in Sun Yao, the fifth son, that there was no need to leave sergeants to take care of them, and these wounded soldiers would be handed over to him. He will keep the wounded soldiers safe and take good care of them.
