On the tenth day of June in the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the sky was still bright, and the sun's scorching rays still shone on the earth as usual.
The Gonghuan Gate on the north side of Chang'anling Fort was wide open, and a group of capable knights galloped out of the Gonghuan Gate. Each of them had a white cloth on his head, and the soul-calling flags were also held high by the knights.
Along with the cavalry, there were four carriages galloping out of the Gonghuan Gate. At the head was a flat carriage, with an exquisite coffin clearly placed on the carriage board, and white flags hung around the carriage.
Behind him was a sedan, and Zhang Cheng was lying in the sedan. There were two layers of mattresses on the mattress underneath him. Next to him were Wei Zhice and Shi Jianneng, the medical officer of Chang'an Lingbao.
It turned out that after Zhang Cheng arranged everything in the official hall of the Thousand Households of Chang'an Ridge Fort, he insisted on setting off immediately in case something changed. Although Liu Shizun tried his best to dissuade him, he could not stop him.
He also proposed that he would take his two hundred warriors back to Chicheng with Zhang Cheng and work together to kill the traitor Wu Youlu. However, Zhang Cheng did not want him to participate in the dispute on the North Road, so he dissuaded him and said:
"World Honored One, I fully understand what you are thinking. Although this matter occurred under your jurisdiction, it originated from the North Road after all. Your Chang'an Ridge is the territory under the jurisdiction of the capital. It is not appropriate to be involved in the disputes on our North Road. Lei Zhan The soldiers in the city are staying with you to recuperate, so you can stay and take good care of them."
Zhang Cheng's tone was firm, and Liu Shizun had no choice but to send Shi Jianneng, the Fort's medical officer, beside Zhang Cheng to follow him back to the North Road so that he could take care of Zhang Cheng's injuries along the way.
Behind the sedan car that Zhang Cheng was riding on, there were two more flat cars with four coffins. Inside were the bodies of the bodyguards who were killed in the valley road.
More than fifty capable knights escorted the convoy through the valley road, gradually disappearing from Liu Shizun's sight.
…………
On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, at the end of the unitary hour, the sky was already slightly dark, and a cool breeze was blowing on the willow leaves on both sides of the official road, making a rustling sound.
In a forest two miles south of Diaohao Fort, there were nearly two hundred war horses gnawing on the grass on the ground with their heads lowered in the forest. There were many strong men guarding the official road near the forest.
To the north of the woods, there are dozens of people scattered around on guard. There are more than ten people in the middle, who seem to be discussing something, but the person in the middle is lying on the collapse. It is Zhang Cheng, Wei Zhice, Chen Zhong and others. .
It turned out that Zhang Cheng and his party met Zhao Shihu who was rushing from the top of the tree. They were resting in the forest. Less than half an hour later, Liu Quan led more than 60 knights and rushed over.
Now they have more than 50 cavalrymen from Zhang Cheng and Zhang Guodong, more than 30 cavalrymen from Zhao Shihu, and more than 60 cavalrymen from Liu Quan, which makes them nearly 150 elite cavalrymen.
Because Liu Quan and others had galloped all the way, they rested here to allow their horses to regain their strength. Liu Quan and Zhao Shihu were extremely angry when they saw Zhang Cheng's current weak appearance. They were eager to set off immediately. He marched into Chicheng and massacred Wu Youlu's entire family.
Zhao Shihu even knelt in front of Zhang Cheng and said bitterly: "General, although Shihu is a deserter, he still knows his loyalty in his heart. General Meng will not give up. He treats us Zhao Shihu as an individual.
He values us so much that we stand guard at the top of the wooden vine for the general. The general trusts and values ten tigers so much that we can repay him with a fountain of water. Today, that Wu Dog thief dared to plot to rob and kill the general.
We, Zhao Shihu, were the first to be unable to bear it. We didn’t even bother with the general’s orders to Shihu, let alone the Wu Gou thieves who wanted to plot rebellion. Even if we wanted Shihu’s head now, we wouldn’t even blink an eye. "
Seeing Zhao Shihu speak so impassionedly, everyone was moved by it, but Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "Brother Shihu, there is no need to be like this. I wanted you to still be a bandit to show off to everyone, because I wanted to keep you as an outside line.
There is no need for that now. After this matter is settled, you will officially be under my command. How about being the general manager first? "
Zhao Shihu was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his head again and said: "Zhao Shihu is entirely at the mercy of the general, and he doesn't dare to complain."
Among the people, only Wei Zhice had a solemn expression on his face, as if he had something on his mind. He looked deeply at Zhang Cheng, who was lying on the couch, but he hesitated to speak.
Zhang Cheng spoke again at this time: "Liu Quan, Shi Hu, you two will lead the cavalry under your command, secretly go eastward along the Nanhe River, look for opportunities to cross the Nanhe River, sneak along the Baihe River Valley Road to the south of Chicheng and wait until I arrive. .”
Then he called Chen Zhong and ordered: "You quickly arrange for four horses to run towards Dushi, go all the way through the castle and report the death of this general. Two of them run to Yunzhou to find Chen Zheng, and ask him to lead his troops to Chicheng as soon as possible. Waiting for my general’s coffin in case of any eventuality.”
After saying a lot, Zhang Cheng stopped to take a breath before continuing: "Have a rest for a while and set off at night. We must rush to Chicheng before dawn tomorrow. Without further delay, everyone go and prepare."
Chen Zhong continued from the side: "General, you'd better hurry up and hurry up. We'll go to Chicheng first and destroy the Wu thieves."
"It doesn't matter. After all, that guy is a fourth-level guard. What's more, Chicheng still has a military constitution and a food road. It may be difficult for you to completely control the situation. Once it gets out of control, we will be passive. For the current plan, the only way is It's better to use a sharp knife to make trouble without giving the thief a chance to react."
Everyone dispersed and made preparations before departure, but Wei Zhice stayed. He looked around and then said softly to Zhang Cheng: "General, Wu Youlu and Xue Liang deserve to die, but they are fourth grade after all. If you don't report your official rank to the imperial court, how can you kill without permission? General, don't forget the disaster of Yuan Chonghuan!"
Zhang Cheng was lying on the soft floor. He looked at Wei Zhice, who had a sincere face, and knew his scruples in his heart. After all, Wei Zhice was a man who had read books, and he still had loyalty, integrity, and the rules of the court in his heart. This advice was indeed for Think about Zhang Cheng.
But Zhang Cheng had no choice at this time. The bow was fully drawn and the arrow was on the string, so he had no choice but to fire.
He didn't want to waste energy and have a protracted entanglement with Xue Liangqing, Wu Youlu and the like. The belief in Zhang Cheng's heart was:
How could Xiao Xiao be frightened without a river of blood!
I just heard him say to Wei Zhice: "Zhice, what you said is indeed reasonable, but I can't do it that way. Now the North Road is in decline. If we don't vigorously eliminate the shortcomings, how can we talk about cultivating fields to support the army?
Nowadays, not only the Tartars are eyeing our land of China, but all the bandits that the imperial court had previously recruited have also revolted. War has begun again in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. However, we spend a lot of time on insidious villains like Xue and Wu. Why? Is it critical to save the country and the dynasty? "
Looking at Wei Zhice who was deep in thought, Zhang Cheng continued: "Not only do I want to directly capture the traitor Xue Wu, but I also want to eradicate him. I will take this opportunity to kill the disobedient people on the North Road, wipe out the demons, and clear away the haze. .”
After hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Wei Zhice's majestic body trembled, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely complicated.
