Zhang Xianzhong and Xu Yixian walked back to the old camp while chatting. They found "Cao Cao" Luo Rucai and his military advisor Ji Gui, and wanted to discuss together whether a surprise attack on Xiangyang was feasible. Luo Rucai was naturally in favor of this.
Then, they talked about the news about Li Zicheng's attack on Luoyang. Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but cursed at this. He also said to Luo Rucai: "Cao Cao, we have been dealing with this old guy Yang Sichang for more than a year. We almost lost our lives in it, but in the end we failed. It’s cheap and self-made!”
Cao Cao said, "But if Zicheng really defeats Luoyang, cooks King Fu, and eats the 'Fulu Banquet', it will be of some benefit to us."
"snort!"
Zhang Xianzhong snorted with his nostrils and said: "We were fighting to death with Yang Laogou in Sichuan, but he went to Henan to secretly pick melons and pick bargains. This is the old saying that 'the snipe and the clam stalemate, the fisherman benefits. ’, it’s good for us all!”
Cao Cao smiled and shook his head and said: "Otherwise, Jingxuan. It was indeed difficult for us in Sichuan before. Even though we have left Sichuan now, our troops have been greatly reduced and we have lost all the momentum we had at the beginning. If Yang Sichang keeps watching us again, It's hard to turn over.
But now that he has conquered Luoyang and cooked for King Fu, he has set a fire on Chongzhen's waist and heart, and the officers and soldiers from all walks of life have not rushed to Henan at night to recover him.
Jingxuan, think about it, is the fire that Zicheng set in Henan really good for us? "
Zhang Xianzhong thought carefully about this, but he still resented Li Zicheng for stealing his limelight. He said: "Okay, my brother Cao Cao, it doesn't matter if you want to be the peacemaker. Let's deal with it first." Yang Sichang, the old dog raised by the imperial court, is important.
As for what happens next, we'll just ride on the donkey and read from the songbook, and we'll see. No way, you will know how powerful he is sooner or later. "
Luo Rucai just laughed and said nothing more.
Zhang Xianzhong also turned to Luo Rucai's military advisor Ji Gui and said: "Ziyu, you are an idea maker and a resourceful judge. We are here today to discuss with you and Commander Cao how to attack Xiangyang."
Ji Gui hurriedly said: "The commander-in-chief has given me the reward, but I really don't deserve it. Attacking Xiangyang and copying Yang Sichang's old home is such a clever plan. No one but the commander-in-chief can think of it, and no one dares to think like this."
Zhang Xianzhong felt proud, but he asked again: "In your opinion, can Li Zicheng succeed?"
Ji Gui blinked his little eyes and said: "Please don't just look at it for a moment and mistakenly think that Li Zicheng's great momentum after defeating Luoyang means he is successful.
In fact, it is not necessarily true. After the fall of Qin, when Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, divided the princes, he dominated the crowd and dominated the situation. No princes and kings in the world dared not to follow Xiang Yu's lead. How majestic it was.
Think of Liu Bang who was in Hanzhong, but he finally destroyed Xiang Yu; when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, Red Eyebrow and Bronze Horse jointly served Gengshi as the emperor. They also invaded Chang'an and seemed to have the power of the world, but they were eventually cut off by Guangwu.
Therefore, those who gain power first may not necessarily succeed, and many of them only pave the way for the future emperor. Although Li Zicheng has gained power, it is far from being compared with King Xiang and Gengshi. What is there to be afraid of!
What's gratifying is that, Commander-in-Chief, you can have our Commander-in-Chief Cao do our best to help you, so why can't you worry about the world?
Sir, please rest assured about this matter. "
Zhang Xianzhong squinted his eyes at Ji Gui and asked, "Is what you said the truth?"
Ji Gui replied respectfully: "How dare you lie to Commander-in-Chief!"
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Xianzhong laughed with joy. He patted Ji Gui's shoulder affectionately before leaving Cao Ying with Xu Yixian.
The two of them walked to a deserted place, and Zhang Xianzhong said to Xu Yixian: "It seems that Lao Ji is not a fool after all."
"Didn't I say it before? This person is no better than Cao Shuai, but he is someone who must be guarded against. Sometimes Cao Shuai is really scheming, and he is also very cunning, but there are also times when he is careless and can easily reveal his secrets.
But Ji Gui is really deep, and he doesn't want to expose any of his inner thoughts. "
…………
Over there, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai's plan to attack Xiangyang was still in progress, but Li Zicheng's plan to attack Kaifeng failed. He had no choice but to attack hard. Anyway, he didn't want to go in vain, and he had to knock on a few walls. The big bricks on top come down.
On the gate tower of Kaifeng's west gate, Henan patrol officer Gao Mingheng was nervously looking outside Xiguan. The billowing smoke and dust there were spreading to both sides. Thousands of rogue cavalry had gathered outside Xiguan.
"How arrogant, how dare you come so close to peek at our city defense." Gao Mingheng said bitterly, but there was nothing he could do.
I saw dozens of cavalry escorts and a well-dressed man galloping into the Western Pass. They kept looking at the city tower and pointing at the city gate tower from time to time. They didn't take the guards above seriously at all. Something happened.
"Is that person a trespasser?" Patrolman Gao Mingheng asked the people around him.
Huang Shu, the promotion official of Kaifeng Prefecture, was accompanying him. At this time, he added: "I have heard that this thief does not like luxury. He always wears coarse clothes and felt hats. He is quite good at inviting military recruits. He does look a lot like this thief!"
Su Zhuang, the guardian of the road, and Wang Xie, the magistrate of Xiangfu County, also came here and were accompanying Gao Mingheng. At this time, Wang Xie also said: "Master Gao, look at the big flag among the horsemen and thieves outside Xiguan. There is no doubt that he is a trespasser."
Gao Mingheng looked intently and saw a large flag standing in front of the thousands of mounted thieves outside Xiguan, with the four characters "Fengtian Advocate for Justice" written on it.
He sneered and said in a deep voice: "How dare you call yourself 'Follow Heaven and advocate righteousness'?"
At this time, the governor of Kaifeng, Henan Governor Li Xianfeng, and the military officer and deputy commander-in-chief Chen Yongfu were not in the city. They led their troops to reinforce Luoyang, and Henan Governor Gao Mingheng became the leader of the officials.
Precisely because he dared to do his job, although the troops in Kaifeng City were empty, the officials did not panic. They had long been mentally prepared for the arrival of this day.
Not only the organization of social soldiers, but also the division of labor in all aspects of city defense has been done. Kaifeng's city wall has a total of five gates.
Among them, the east gate is guarded by Mr. Liang Bing, the envoy from Zuo and a veteran in charge of Taoist affairs. Mr. Liang is the oldest among the officials in Kaifeng, so he is responsible for the simple defense and the lightest work.
The Cao Gate is located between the East Gate and the North Gate. Here, Cai Maode, the right-hand envoy, is responsible for guarding; while the North Gate is guarded by Mr. Sang Kaidi, the Tongzhi of Guanhe; and the South Gate is guarded by Wu Shi, the prefect of Kaifeng. Tell the adults to be responsible for guarding.
The most vulnerable point is the west gate. Not only is it facing the direction of Luoyang, but this side of the city gate is the only one without a moon city. It is the most difficult to defend. Therefore, it must be guarded by capable officers. .
This capable person is undoubtedly the Henan patrol officer Gao Mingheng.
In addition, the guardian Su Zhuang, the official Huang Shu, the magistrate of Xiangfu County Wang Xie and others also came to participate in the guarding of the west city gate to share Gao Mingheng's burden.
In addition, Zhu Gongzhen, the king of Zhou in Kaifeng City, was hundreds of times better than King Fu of Luoyang City. He also attached great importance to this. Not only did he provide grain and silver, but he also sent officials Cao Kun and Zuo Changshi Li Yingchun to lead the Zhou Dynasty. Eight hundred guards from the palace participated in the defense of the west gate.
Now that all the officials in Kaifeng City have been alerted, they have all rushed to various gates to arrange various city defense affairs according to the division of labor beforehand!
