There was a roar of people and horses neighing inside and outside Yanshi County, and Zhang Cheng's army was leaving the city in formations.
It turned out that Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, had just garrisoned at the gate of Gong County and received the information about the fall of Luoyang City reported by Zhang Cheng. Before he could calm down in his panic, the prince of Fu Fan was sent to Gong County again.
Li Xianfeng listened to the story of Zhu Yousong, the crown prince of Fu Domain, about how powerful the rebel army was, and the panic in his heart intensified. He ignored the obstruction of deputy commander Chen Yongfu and went his own way, leading thousands of troops under his command to escort Zhu Yousong, the crown prince of Fu Domain. On the pretext of taking refuge in Huaiqing, he broke camp and marched north that day, crossing the Yellow River.
Zhang Cheng had just received the news that Li Xianfeng had abandoned Luoyang. Before he could react, he had to report that Bao Jiqiang, an officer of the Ranger Department's left sentinel unit, had returned from Luoyang and brought back important military information.
While he hurriedly ordered Lin Fangping to summon the generals of all battalions to attend the military meeting, he took Wang Yuanjing to meet with Chen Zhong and Bao Jiqiang first.
In a side room of Yanshi County Yazhong Hall, Zhang Cheng was sitting alone in the middle of the table. Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai were standing behind him. Wang Yuanjing and Chen Zhong were sitting on the left and right sides of the table. There is also a small table with tea sets on it.
He opened his mouth and said: "Chengfang, please move a chair for Captain Bao. Jintai, go and order the following to bring some meat dishes, and remember to warm up the wine."
"Well, Jin Tai will do it now."
Zhang Jintai took the order and turned around and left the room. Here, Zhang Chengfang made a chair and placed it on the lower right side, and then moved in a small table.
After watching Bao Jiqiang sit down, Zhang Cheng asked: "Bao Jiqiang, what information did you bring back this time? What is the situation of your left sentry? Where is Tong Shoushan now?"
He opened his mouth and asked three questions in a row. Although Bao Jiqiang was also an old brother from the days when he was King of Qin, he was just a team officer at that time. He was separated by the commander and the sentry commander, so he didn't have many opportunities to see Zhang Cheng.
He was so excited that he stood up and was about to reply, but was stopped by Zhang Cheng: "Oh, you are tired from traveling all the way. If you sit there and reply to me, this is a military order!"
Bao Jiqiang was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He shouted loudly: "Here!"
After he sat down, he hurriedly said: "Master Tong is hiding in Luoyang City with sixty brothers. There are also more than sixty people from the right sentry Wan Guang Jin Wan Ye entering Luoyang City."
Bao Jiqiang took a sip of warm tea and then said: "Half of our left and right sentries are hiding in the valley far outside the city, and the other half are hiding in the city on standby.
Now the thieves are plundering the city. Prince Fu and the high officials, gentry, landlords and wealthy merchants in the city have all been detained by the thieves. They are searching house by house for money, food, valuables, and other valuables..."
He then told Zhang Cheng, Wang Yuanjing, Chen Zhong and others in the room what he saw and heard, including what he knew about the layout of the bandits inside and outside Luoyang City, and the equipment of the bandits he saw.
As well as the process of Fu Wang Zhu Changxun and Lu Weiqi's subjugation, the views of the people in the city on the traitors, etc. Finally, he took out a neatly folded notice from his arms and presented it to Zhang Cheng with both hands.
Bao Jiqiang said: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, this is a notice posted by the intruders inside and outside Luoyang City. It is called "Nine Questions and Nine Admonitions". We can only read less than half of the words on it, but when I heard it read by the literate people in the city, I thought what was written on it was unusual, so we took the risk and uncovered a copy outside the city."
Seeing that he was serious about what he said, Zhang Cheng also looked at it carefully with a serious face. The more he looked at it, the more pale he became, but in the end he returned to normal.
He handed the proclamation to Zhang Chengfang behind him and said, "Chengfang, show Counselor Wang the proclamation of this thief king."
He then said to Wang Yuanjing: "The words are concise and concise and easy to understand. What's even more rare is that they rhyme with the same tune and are easy to be sung among the people. There are capable people around the intruder!"
Gu Wang Yuanjing saw that although Zhang Cheng looked relaxed, he was serious when he spoke. He also took the notice with a serious expression and studied it carefully.
Here, Chen Zhong was a little worried. He asked: "Commander, what did the bandits say in this notice?"
Zhang Cheng smiled and said to him: "Haha, these are all words to persuade people to rebel and become thieves."
"Snapped!"
Wang Yuanjing slapped his palm on the table and said urgently: "This is terrible. Commander, this message must not be spread in Henan Province, otherwise it will be unthinkable."
Chen Zhong rarely saw Wang Yuanjing angry and anxious. Seeing him like this now, he felt even more anxious. He couldn't wait for Zhang Chengfang to deliver the proclamation to him, so he got up and walked quickly to Wang Yuanjing to take the proclamation and stood there to read it. got up.
At this time, Zhang Jintai pushed the door open, followed by several sergeants carrying a plate of bacon, a few white steamed buns, a large bowl of broth, and a pot of warm liquor.
Zhang Cheng stood up and said, "Bao Jiqiang, just eat some food here, drink a few sips of strong wine to relieve your fatigue, and rest here tonight."
After he finished speaking, he walked out the door. Wang Yuanjing also stood up and followed him out. Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai knew that the two of them seemed to have something to talk about, so they followed from a distance without getting too close.
Wang Yuanjing accompanied Zhang Cheng to the pavilion in front of the West Flower Hall of the county government. A gust of cold wind blew by, and he couldn't help but shiver, but he saw Zhang Cheng looking up at the moon hanging in the night sky.
He was standing next to Zhang Cheng, and suddenly he heard Zhang Cheng whisper: "It's almost the full moon again, but our Ming Dynasty is full of devastation and is in great danger of being torn apart. When will the world be at peace, the world will be conquered, and my mighty power will be restored?" ah!"
Zhang Cheng's words seemed to be talking to himself, but also seemed to be asking him a question. Wang Yuanjing himself was not sure, but he still said softly: "Is the commander-in-chief worried about the bandit proclamation?"
Zhang Cheng turned around and smiled at him, and said in a relaxed tone: "Although Li Chuang is no longer what he used to be, judging from his recent behavior and looking at this announcement, he is indeed determined to compete for the top spot."
He raised his head to look at the moon again, and continued: "Not long ago, I heard that the down-and-out judge Niu Jinxing, the charlatan Song Xiance, and the Lu family member Li Yan had defected to the traitors. The intelligence brought back by Bao Jiqiang today also confirmed it. I guess The intruder's notice was written by these three people.
However, the bandits are still bandits after all. They are greedy for profit and are nostalgic for their homeland. Looking at the intruder Li Zicheng, he is indeed much better than the Eight Kings, Cao Cao and other thieves, but he has never read a book, and his vision is ultimately more short-sighted. It’s still hard to become a great success.
Even with the help of Niu Juren, Song Warlock, Li Gongzi and others, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve great things. After all, the gangsters owe their fortune to Shaanxi old people, and the core is still his old Eighth Team! "
When Zhang Cheng said this, he turned around and looked back at Wang Yuanjing, and asked quite meaningfully: "Where does Yuan Jing think our army should go at this time?"
Wang Yuanjing had never expected such a question. He lowered his head and thought for a while before replying: "Yuanjing thought that he could either march to Luoyang in order to recover; or he could guard Yanshi and Dagu Pass to prevent thieves from invading eastern and southern Henan; At the worst possible situation, we should return to the defense of Kaifeng to ensure that the provincial capital is not lost and that the King of Zhou is safe, and we must not cause the King of Zhou to suffer again!"
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Cheng laughed and said: "The best strategy is to take things unexpectedly. The three strategies you mentioned just now are indeed the right path, but if you want to achieve something, you must take the wrong path!"
