In Jiazhuang, Zhang Cheng helped Yang Tinglin into the military tent and told in detail the battle between Xuan Dajun and the slave thieves in Jiazhuang. When he told that Lu Xiangsheng died in a cavalry battle with the slave thieves, Yang Tinglin burst into tears.
Zhang Cheng sat next to him and tried to persuade Yang Tinglin. After Yang Tinglin calmed down a little, Chen Zhong came in to report that a large number of people came outside Jiazhuang with knives and sticks.
Zhang Cheng and Yang Tinglin were both surprised. Zhang Cheng thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Could it be that old man Yao Dongzhao summoned the disciples of the three houses to come?"
Yang Tinglin asked doubtfully: "Yao Dongzhao?"
At that moment, Zhang Cheng led Yang Tinglin and the generals out of Jiazhuang. They saw a crowd of people gathered outside the village. They could not see the edge for a while, and they were all young and strong men.
They were all dressed up as common people in Jinan, holding various weapons in their hands, and many of them were holding hoes and white wooden sticks. They were so dark that it was impossible to see the edges. After Zhang Cheng asked carefully, he found out that Yao Dongzhao had heard that Lu Xiangsheng had killed a giant deer in the battle, and specially came to visit him. Come to find his body.
It turned out that after Yao Dongzhao returned, he traveled among the powerful villages to contact each other. In more than two days, he gathered more than 6,000 young men and was about to go to Julu territory overnight to look for Lu Xiangsheng's Xuan army.
However, they met Guan Ning's defeated troops who were fleeing. When they inquired, they found out that Lu Xiangsheng had died fighting in Julujiazhuang three days ago. Yao Dongzhao was filled with grief and anger, and hurried over to find Lu Xiangsheng's body and collect it for burial. .
Zhang Cheng had no choice but to invite Yao Dongzhao and several other village elders into Jiazhuang, and briefly recounted the war in Jiazhuang. Yao Dongzhao burst into tears when he learned that Lu Xiangsheng had indeed sacrificed his life for the country.
Zhang Cheng first expressed his great gratitude to Yao Dongzhao for summoning the villagers to help, and then persuaded him. The two armies of Xuanda and Guan Ning were defeated, and the slaves and thieves were powerful. Yao Dongzhao quickly led the people to choose a place to hide as a good thing.
Yao Dongzhao also knew that what Zhang Cheng said was true, and that Lu Xiangsheng's body had been recovered by Zhang Cheng, so he no longer persisted, and just ordered the people who came with him to leave some of the grain they carried for Zhang Cheng's troops.
He took off the precious sword given by Lu Xiangsheng from his waist, held it in his hand, and said to Zhang Cheng: "General Zhang, this sword was given to me by Mr. Lu in the capital. Today, I will give this sword to General Zhang. I hope the general will not refuse and use this sword to kill the slave thieves and protect us and all the people!"
Seeing that Mr. Yao spoke sincerely, Zhang Cheng knew that he could not refuse, so he took the sword with both hands and said solemnly: "Mr. Yao, please rest assured. Zhang Cheng will never disappoint Mr. Yao's trust, and he will use this sword to drink all the Tartars." blood!"
Yao Dongzhao led thousands of people away with a gloomy look. He faintly heard some of them rudely cursing the court, the cabinet minister Yang Sichang, and the eunuch Gao Qiqian.
Many people also regret that Lu Xiangsheng only knew a "foolish loyalty" and ended up like this!
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On December 18, the mourning halls of Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Yan were located in Huolu County.
Zhang Cheng led more than 700 knights to Huolu at noon. Next to Lu Xiangsheng's mourning hall, he held a sacrifice for Zhang Yan, a counselor in the Xuanfu. A black heart, with all the blood on it dried, was placed next to Lu Xiangsheng's mourning hall. Inside the mourning hall.
Yes, this is Gao Qiqian's black heart. His head has been buried underground in Julu Village by Zhang Cheng.
Everyone was very confused about this heart, but no one asked much. They all thought it must be the heart of a Qing army soldier who had been dug out to pay homage to Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Yan.
Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanzhen Town, Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, and Jiang Mingwu, the staff general, were also stationed outside the city of Zhendingfu. Today, they heard that Zhang Cheng's troops had arrived at Huolu and were stationed here, so they rushed Come and visit.
The two generals, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, only had more than a thousand fine cavalry left under their command. In the past few days, they had gathered some scattered soldiers who had escaped from Julu's defeat, and the number had just exceeded a thousand.
There were only less than 700 remaining soldiers under the command of General Jiang Mingwu, and his strength was actually inferior to Zhang Cheng's.
After several people paid homage to the governor Lu Xiangsheng and the general Zhang Yan, they gathered in Zhang Cheng's room to discuss the future. How to resolve their sin of losing the army in Julu!
At this time, there were only four people in the room, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Jiang Mingwu, and Zhang Cheng. Although Zhang Cheng was only a guerrilla general and had the lowest military rank compared to everyone here, his series of outstanding performances after joining the guard had already won him the title of The two military sects affirmed.
He has vaguely surpassed General Jiang Mingwu's status in the hearts of the two of them. Moreover, Zhang Cheng also has nearly a thousand troops under his command, and his strength is already superior to Jiang Mingwu's.
At this time, the room was quiet, and Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei were speechless for a long time. Both of them felt confused and fearful about their future. The coach died in battle and the army was defeated. How would the court punish them?
Because the future is unknown, he is afraid. Zhang Cheng is also thinking about this issue, but he has gradually made some calculations in his heart.
The Battle of Julu, although the commander died in the battle, ended with a defeat and the loss of the entire army.
But it is true that many slaves and thieves were killed, and each of them still had a lot of military exploits. What's more, Gao Qiqian's Guan Ning army collapsed without a fight. Now, Gao Qiqian himself is missing.
Of course, all the blame should be put on Gao Qiqian and Guan Ning's army. They supported the troops first but did not save them, and they were defeated without fighting. Now, when the court is also recruiting people, should it not treat Zhang Cheng , Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and others drove them to death.
Zhang Cheng slowly said: "Two military sects, Jiang Shenjiang, although we were responsible for the defeat of the division and the death of the commander in Julu, fortunately, we did not abandon the governor's body and ignore it, and continued After two days of fighting, nearly ten thousand slaves and traitors were killed.
It also makes the slaves and thieves frightened and their strength is greatly reduced. What's more, the supervisor Gao Gonggong is afraid of the enemy and is afraid of the enemy. , quickly went to find the new governor, Mr. Chen Xingjia, to follow him and ask him to explain the matter to us.
If Zhang Cheng wants to come, Governor Chen will do his best to save us and prevent us from being wronged! "
Historically, after Lu Xiangsheng died in battle, Yang Sichang also made a series of difficulties, so that Lu Xiangsheng could not be buried in peace after he died for the country. His body was exposed and decayed for 80 days, and he was not allowed to receive compensation for the next few years.
Zhang Cheng wanted to avoid all this in his heart, so that the gods and gods would be loyal to him in vain.
But the most important thing at the moment is to ensure his own safety first. Lu Xiangsheng has already sacrificed his life for the country, and now he must choose a coach to join him, so that he can be exempted from guilt.
At present, Liu Yuliang leads tens of thousands of soldiers in the Beijing camp and is unknown. Yang Tinglin once said that Liu Yuliang led the army to Zhending Mansion, but there was no trace of him. This person is cowardly and cannot be trusted.
Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, was stationed in Zhending Fucheng, and he would soon be appointed by Emperor Chongzhen to succeed Lu Xiangsheng and govern the world's military, but no one in the house had any connection with him.
Moreover, Zhang Cheng knew very well that Sun Chuanting was not easy to get along with. Soon after, he was sent to prison by Emperor Chongzhen and would not be released until three years later.
Now the most suitable person for everyone to seek refuge is Chen Xinjia, the new governor of Xuanda. Zhang Cheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and others have gone to seek refuge. He will do his best to protect them. After all, Zhang Cheng and others are now his subordinates.
