Dengzhou, Haiyang County.
The great sage, who was victorious in both civil and military affairs, Dong Dacheng, did not know that his life would last... for another year.
At this time, he was in high position and full of ambition.
Now the entire Dengzhou Prefecture, except for Dengzhou City and a few county towns, has become the domain of the White Lotus Sect.
Zhang Keda, deputy general of Denglai, had more than 3,000 soldiers and horses in total, and he was unable to annihilate the bandits who were everywhere.
He even dared to leave Dengzhou City, and Dong Dacheng dared to steal his home.
Because the imperial court was unable to suppress the bandits, the White Lotus Sect grew in size. Dong Dacheng looted all the way, and now he has brought tens of thousands of people to the chaos, and he gradually began to become arrogant.
"Isn't Zhang Keda going to send troops yet?"
Dong Dacheng stayed in Haiyang just to wait for news.
He discussed it with Li Shengming.
Li Shengming is now attacking Zhaoyuan, and once he captures it, the connection between Deng and Lai will be completely severed.
I believe Zhang Keda dare not sit idly by and ignore it.
As long as Zhang Keda sent troops, he would pass through Qixia County and take Dengzhou directly.
Once Dengzhou was lost, even if Zhang Keda was not accused by the court, he would have polished off thousands of soldiers and horses.
However, his complacency did not last long. There was a noise outside, and then a large group of people broke in.
Dong Dacheng was drinking and having fun with his men. He was drunk and dizzy. When he saw the person coming, he immediately took care of him.
"Why is His Majesty the Emperor here?"
The person he addressed as Your Majesty was none other than Li Shengming, the leader of the Denglai White Lotus Sect.
Since the uprising, Li Shengming has called himself Emperor Lingbao, and made many official appointments and wishes to Dong Dacheng and others.
In the past, when Li Shengming heard his subordinates address him as "Your Majesty," he was filled with joy.
However, today, his face turned purple, which was quite unnatural.
There was a burst of delicate laughter from behind him, and then a person who was as beautiful as a fairy came out.
It was Xu Yaqing.
"Yo yo yo, I really didn't expect that, Senior Brother Li has lofty ambitions, he is respectable and admirable."
Li Shengming was Xu Hongru's disciple. After Xu Hongru's defeat, Li Shengming fled to Duoshan Taoist Temple in Dengzhou and hid.
This time, the White Lotus Sect took advantage of Hou Jin's attack on Gyeonggi to cause trouble in Shandong, and Li Shengming became the leader of Denglai.
This claim to be emperor is purely due to his expansion.
Li Shengming originally thought that after conquering Denglai and consolidating his power, even if he proclaimed himself emperor, the other Bailian leaders would be helpless.
Unexpectedly, before Dengzhou was conquered, Xu Yaqing came and listened on the spot.
"Aunt Saint has a misunderstanding. They are all these unsatisfactory guys. They drank some cat urine and barked randomly. They can't be taken seriously."
Dong Dacheng was frightened out of his drunkenness and hurriedly welcomed Xu Yaqing to her seat.
The leaders were sitting upright. Although they usually claimed to be heroes, they all remained silent in front of the delicate Xu Yaqing.
"When the incident first broke out, I ordered you to wait and plan carefully. Now that several months have passed, Dengzhou has not been captured yet. Do you want to wait until the army comes and kill you before we stop?"
The leaders were trained so hard that they could not hold their heads up, but they had no choice but to protest.
"The Holy Aunt doesn't know, that Zhang Kedahe is just guarding his Dengzhou City like a turtle. We have nothing to do with attacking the city, and the men are not familiar with battle formations, so we are no match for the government and the army!"
Li Shengming felt that he was wronged.
He worked very hard.
But officials and gentry from all over Dengzhou were all trying their best to defend the city. With a mob like the White Lotus Sect, it was impossible to attack the city as long as the people in the city did not disperse.
Dong Dacheng also said: "It's not that all the officers and soldiers have gone to Shanxi. We won't have anyone here. Why don't we wait for peace of mind to reorganize the army and train a strong force, so that we can be more confident about taking Dengzhou."
Others agreed, saying they just didn’t want to fight Dengzhou.
The officers and soldiers guard the city and deal with bandits like them without any losses at all, and can kill a large number of people.
It has been several months since the uprising started. The White Lotus bandits have looted everywhere and amassed a lot of wealth. In addition, knowing that the officers and soldiers would not come back, these leaders had already developed a sense of slackness.
Xu Yaqing was furious and shouted: "Did you know that Zuo Menggeng has returned to Shandong? In less than ten months, he will lead his troops to kill. If we don't capture Denglai and seize firearms and military supplies, you will all die without a burial place." "
However, the other leaders had never fought against Zuo Mengeng, and did not know how powerful Zuo Mengeng was. They listened to Xu Yaqing's words with one ear and feared them with the other.
Seeing this scene, Xu Yaqing's eyes couldn't help but become subtle.
The Dengzhou White Lotus Sect is showing signs of losing control.
Thinking about it, everyone respected her orders in the past, and that was because Xu Hongru was there. And her skills are superb and fearsome.
But since the uprising, the White Lotus Sect in various places has held hostage a large number of rioters, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands.
With the power at hand, how could these leaders care about her being a mere commander?
The reason lies in the big defeat in Dongchang Mansion.
Xu Yaqing couldn't help but shudder when she thought of the scene of volleys of musketry and roaring gunfire in the rear camp, and the fear in her heart could not be suppressed no matter what.
She has been having nightmares these days.
The horror of the back camp in the dream and Zuo Mengeng's words went back and forth, as if she would really be trampled to death by a random horse.
As long as she thought that Zuo Mengeng would come to kill her at any time, Xu Yaqing immediately became determined.
"No matter what, we cannot be trapped here. Give me the order and the whole army will go north, attack Laiyang first, and then attack Laixi. Zhaoyuan must be captured within ten days. If you don't believe it, Zhang Keda won't come out for a decisive battle."
The leaders below looked at each other, but they had no choice but to disperse and gather their troops.
"Holy aunt, Li Mengming and Dong Dacheng have evil intentions. We stay here, I'm afraid..."
The maid from Dengzhou City still stayed with Xu Yaqing, not without worry.
Xu Yaqing sneered, confident.
"Even if they have wild ambitions, they dare not launch it for the time being. As long as they capture Laiyang, Laixi, and Zhaoyuan counties, they will not be able to make trouble."
Xu Yaqing lost her men in Dongchang Mansion and fled eastward.
Originally, she planned to urge the Dengzhou White Lotus Religion Department to resolve the issue quickly, but now that she found out that Li Mengming, Dong Dacheng and others had two minds, she decided to strike first.
Compared with her father Xu Hongru, the thing she lacks most is prestige.
The best way to get everyone below to obey her is to gain a record.
Li Mengming and Dong Dacheng struggled for several months, but none of the three most important counties of Laiyang, Laixi, and Zhaoyuan were captured. I believe the people below will be dissatisfied with them.
If these three counties are captured under Xu Yaqing's leadership, a large number of believers will gather under her command.
By then, not only will she regain her capital, but she will also be able to purge her dissidents.
"Tell Xue Ji to pay attention to the movements of Li Mengming and Dong Dacheng. If they dare not obey orders, they will be killed without mercy."
The maid went to deliver the order, and when Xu Yaqing was the only one left in the tent, she showed signs of fatigue.
There was a worry that Xu Yaqing did not mention to anyone.
Even if the entire territory of Dengzhou is captured, can Zuo Mengeng really be able to resist him once he comes to kill him?
Firearms like that are simply the tools of gods.
In the tent on the other side, Dong Dacheng approached Li Mengming.
"Your Majesty, do we really want to listen to her as a bitch? The scholar said that what is that... what is the hen tearing, it is not appropriate. We used to be happy here, but she made us fight as soon as she came. The brothers down there should have Complained.”
Li Mengming's face was hidden where the sun could not shine, making it dark and difficult to see.
"No matter what, she is a saint of our religion. There are many brothers in the church who believe in her. If we are not careful, we will die without a burial place."
Dong Dacheng was anxious.
He is different from Li Mengming.
Li Mengming was Xu Hongru's disciple and was naturally afraid of Xu Yaqing.
And he was a native of Dengzhou. He had met Xu Yaqing a few times only after he joined the religion. Of course, he didn't have much respect for the Holy Aunt White Lotus.
I originally thought that if Li Mengming became emperor, I would be able to be a duke, prime minister or something like that. It’s hard to say, but it’s not impossible for a king with a different surname to work.
But now that Xu Yaqing is standing next to Li Mengming, does he still have hope of becoming a marquis or prime minister?
"Then let's just give her our great fortune?"
Li Mengming chuckled, hiding treachery.
"Why are you anxious? She wants to fight Laiyang, so let her fight. You are a native of Laiyang and know what is going on in that county. Can we defeat it? If we cannot defeat it, many brothers will die. , hum…”
Li Mengming's idea was actually similar to Xu Yaqing's.
Xu Yaqing planned to use her achievements to win over people and seize Li Mengming's subordinates.
Li Mengming's idea is that if the war fails and the losses are heavy, Xu Yaqing will definitely lose the hearts of the people.
At that time, how many people will listen to her?
It was in such a delicate atmosphere that the tens of thousands of White Lotus troops entrenched in Haiyang County began to move northward towards Laiyang County.
