"You will continue to watch until the decree arrives."
After Luo An listened to the report, met a witness, and read some letters, he stood up and hurried toward Yuezhou Mansion in the south.
"Now counterinsurgency is the most important thing, I'm going to Yuezhou!"
The matter involves the feudal lord. Although he, the commander of the royal guards, can make some temporary decisions, the focus is not here.
Now that he is in Huguang, as an extremely important minister around the emperor, Luo An has to step forward.
It can both boost morale and frighten the rebels.
After all, why did the commander of Jinyiwei appear in Huguang so promptly?
Yuezhou Mansion is actually very big.
Even if Luo An didn't hide his identity, he would appear at the same time with the three hundred Jinyi captains who followed him south. It would normally take three or four days to rush from Jiangling to Lizhou, west of Yuezhou Prefecture.
But at this moment, the Jinyiwei commander was on his way without stopping, and the three hundred elite troops were very powerful.
After landing in Gong'an County, they could only prepare more than fifty horses for them in a hurry.
"Old Eleven, you take twenty people with me to Lizhou first. The rest will take a boat via Huarong to Longyang."
Luo An wants to go to Lizhou first to prevent the King of Huayang County there from acting rashly.
This is not just a simple county king.
Because the first generation of Huayang County Prince Zhu Yueyao was moved from Shu to Huguang because of the dispute between his concubines.
Now the rebels are raising their flags, which also involves the great orthodoxy. This choice will have a big impact on the line of Huayang princes from Yongle to Chenghua years.
This is because of Lizhou’s location.
The entire eight hundred miles of Dongting, the waters in the north belong to Yuezhou Prefecture, the southwest corner belongs to Changde Prefecture, and the Xiangkou Lake in the southeast corner belongs to Changsha Prefecture.
The Chief Envoy of Huguang is also too big, and Yuezhou Mansion is really the heart of the entire Huguang geographically. Therefore, in the entire Yuezhou Prefecture, in addition to the Yuezhou Guard whose government office is in Baling County, there are Jiuxi Guard, Yongding Guard, and Tianping, Maliao, Anfu, and Lizhou Guards in the west of Yuezhou. Further west at the junction with Sichuan, there are many Xuanfu Divisions under Shizhou Guard, as well as Yongshun and Baojing Xuanwei Divisions.
The terrain in western Hunan is complex and various ethnic groups live together.
Once King Rong of Changde Prefecture, Changde Guards, and Prince Huayang of Li County also join the rebel camp, and then attack the western part of Yuezhou Prefecture and collect the two guards and four posts, they will be able to rely on Xiangxi, Southern Hunan, and Hunan-Jiangxi. The mountainous area is once again home to fertile farmland on the banks of Dongting Lake, and has established a foothold in the land of Hunan and Jiangxi with dense river networks.
Luo An, with a total of twenty-two men and more than fifty horses, rushed to Lizhou day and night.
As for the news, he knew it all in Jingzhou Mansion, and Prince Huayang in Lizhou City naturally knew it earlier.
At this time, the king of Huayang County was the fourth generation, named Zhu Binming.
His situation is somewhat similar to that of King Ji. His legitimate son has died young, but his legitimate grandson Zhu Chengjuan is still there.
After more than a hundred years, the situation in Lizhou was "cutting half of Li into Zhu Di". In and around Lizhou City, Wangfu Street, Wangfujing, Wangfushan... various place names are clear evidence of the influence of Prince Huayang in Lizhou.
Lizhou is also an important transportation place.
To the east, the Changhe River flows into Dongting Lake through Anxiang County. To the north, Chidao leads directly to Zhijiang River; to the west, Chidao and Lishui can both reach Shimen and Cili counties as well as Erweisuo and Sansuo on the west side of Yuezhou. To the south, Chidao goes straight to Wuling County, the capital of Changde Prefecture, and then turns southeast to Yiyang County and then to Ningxiang County, west of Changsha Prefecture.
If we want to attack Changsha Prefecture from east to west, the western front must stabilize the rear of Lizhou and Changde Prefecture.
Lizhou Zhizhou was extremely nervous.
Ban Zhongping, the chief Qianhu of Lizhou Qianhu Office, was very excited: "Although the Shengzhou Mu, Sungetai and Fantai government orders are in place, Ban has already received military orders. The rebels must recruit Changde Guards and Chenzhou Guards to invade To the west of Yuezhou Prefecture, and then to the north to attack and hold the upper reaches of the river. Now that the King of Liao has just passed away, if there is another rebellion from the Liao vassal, all south and south of Huguang will fall into the enemy's hands. In this situation, why can't you go directly to the prince's palace to express his loyalty and donate food and salary? ?”
Lizhou is a subordinate state of Yuezhou Prefecture, not the Zhili Prefecture of Huguang.
Sheng Wenyi, the magistrate of the state, is from the fifth rank, slightly higher than the magistrate of the county.
The rest of the vassal kings' fiefdoms are from the fourth-rank magistrate to the vassal king. Here, he is from the fifth-rank magistrate to the county king. But Sheng Wenyi did not dare to act rashly: "It is better to wait for the official document to arrive..."
"The military situation is so fierce that there is no time to delay!" Ban Zhongwen suppressed his blush, "Since the rebels dare to raise the flag, they must have been planning for a long time. As long as Chang Dewei switches sides, our front line is only a hundred miles away from Lizhou! Jiuxi It will take at least five days for Wei to come east! If we make preparations as early as possible, the state and city will be more secure!"
He has led the Lizhou Qianhu Regiment and has been ordered to hold on to Lizhou City and wait for the Jiuxi Guards to come for reinforcements.
Although Lizhou Qianhu Station requires more than 1,000 officers and soldiers, in fact, there are only more than 600 capable soldiers, and they have to guard Lizhou and Anxiang County, the gateway to Dongting Lake.
With just such a few people to defend two county towns, Ban Zhongwen needed enough supplies.
In the Huayang County Prince's Mansion, Zhu Binming shook his head repeatedly: "Absolutely not! Don't you see that the Thousand Households have led their troops into the city and are summoning the civilians to rest and reorganize the city defense? Our Prince's Mansion does not even have a ceremonial bodyguard, and those Thousand Households have made meritorious service. Sincerely, if I show any signs of rebellion, I will be taken care of immediately!"
"Grandpa, Sichuan Gao Kewei is plotting rebellion, and the King of Shu must have been suspected by His Majesty! I, the King of Huayang County, come from the King of Shu, how can I be spared?" His grandson Zhu Chengjuan was ambitious, "Now King Ji has appointed the late emperor's heir as the crown prince, and he is still With the Zhengde reign title, King Yi of Jiangxi will definitely be able to hold the banner together. All the princes and relatives in the world will come to Beijing, but Grandpa does not have to go. This is a golden opportunity!"
"You are so confused!" Zhu Binming was so frightened that he covered his mouth. "How can they accomplish this with only the two guards from Changsha and Hengzhou? I am only the king of the county, so what elite soldiers and ministers can help them accomplish this?"
"What people want..." Zhu Chengjuan's mouth was covered but he still spoke out.
Zhu Binming put more force on his hands, gritted his teeth and said hurriedly: "If your Majesty is really suspicious of the King of Shu, we, the king of Huayang County, will have the hope of returning to the main line to attack the King of Shu again. Since Zhu Jianjun is plotting rebellion, Li The state must be the place for the four wars! For this plan, we need to quickly draft a text to refute King Ji, and donate money to help the king's army suppress the rebellion. Whatever the people's will... Now that we have plotted rebellion, we have to fight for who has the strongest soldiers and horses!"
Zhu Chengjuan still wanted to persuade him, but Zhu Binming was so frightened that he ordered someone to guard him in his bedroom first, and then he planned how to refute Zhu Jianjun's position, and also asked someone to prepare food, salary and military supplies.
It was so busy that it was almost nightfall, and a curfew was imposed in the city.
In the north of Lizhou City, the soldiers guarding the city were more slack.
Firstly, because there has been no fighting for a long time, and secondly, if the rebels come, they should come from the south.
But a rush of horse hooves made them nervous.
"Stretch your bow, draw your arrows, and close the city gates!"
After the captain nervously gave his instructions, he hid behind the city wall, slightly poked his head out, and shouted loudly to the distance ahead: "Who is coming?"
"Lord Luo An, the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyi's army, is here! Where are the defenders and magistrates in the city? Go up to the city wall and talk!"
This name immediately shocked the captain who was on guard duty at the North Gate.
Although the commander of the Jinyiwei is only a third-rank official, he is only responsible to the emperor.
Now that the commander actually appeared here in person, the captain said quickly: "Commander Lao Luo, please wait a moment. I will go and report to Ban Qian."
Luo An sat on his horse and looked at the city wall not far away quietly.
He frowned.
The people in the city did not dare to let him enter the city easily, and he actually did not dare to enter the city easily.
What happens to the prince of Huayang County, and what happens to the thousands of households in Lizhou? Now we can't completely determine our position.
The Marquis of Zhenyuan sent people to Yuezhou Mansion, but before that, they had dealt with Yuezhou Guard matters in Baling County, east of Dongting Lake, and that was before Zhu Jianjun's rebellion.
What is the attitude of Lizhou Qianhu Station and Changde Guard now? Luo An only thought about the new information he received on the way: the reason why Changsha Guard and Hengzhou Guard are so bold is because of the two commanders Tang Peiyu and Pu Zitong One of them had stayed in the Yuezhou Guard before, and the other had stayed in the Changde Guard. They were both deeply involved in the interests of the fields and the guard posts built on the banks of Dongting Lake.
The day when the vassal king Xunqi entered the capital was getting closer and closer. By the Dongting Lake, this pool of interests became a trigger due to Gu Shilong's stirring up.
While he was thinking, the fire on the city was bright, and a strong man wearing armor came up.
"But Commander Luo is in person?"
Hearing the sound, Luo An clamped his legs, pulled the reins and slowly stepped forward, but stopped at a slightly safer distance: "It is this commander, you are Ban Zhongwenqian from Lizhou Qianhu Institute. household?"
"That's right for me. Commander Luo, forgive me. I don't recognize Commander Luo. Zhizhou Sheng Wenyi is also here. I wonder if I can use a talisman to verify my identity?"
Luo An waved his hand when he heard this, and another man behind him came up slowly on horseback, took out a token from his arms and handed it to him.
"The tokens given by His Majesty and the command tooth tags are here. Magistrate Lao Sheng and Ban Qianhu will go out of the city with the tooth tags and tiger talismans to verify their identities and receive orders."
From fish charms to turtle charms to the toothpai tiger charms used in the Ming Dynasty, these are the identity documents of officials. The tooth plaques for civilian officials are made by the Ministry of Personnel, and the tiger charms for military attachés are made by the Ministry of War.
This tiger talisman is not only a proof of identity, but also a certificate for mobilizing and commanding the army.
Now Luo An wants the two of them to go out of the city to verify their identities, but Ban Zhongwen and Sheng Wenyi are hesitant.
What if it’s not the rightful owner? What if it was a forgery made by the rebels to trick them into leaving the city and capture all the civil and military officials in Lizhou City at the moment?
At this moment, a voice appeared from behind: "Shengzhou Mu, Ban Qianhu, this is my belt. Commander Luo is indeed coming from outside the city."
Ban Zhongwen turned his head in shock and saw that it was the Xiangyong he had recruited from the city.
Now, he didn't know when he walked up from the place where he rested under the city for the night, and took out a waist card without being humble or arrogant.
"...Are you Captain Jinyi?" After Ban Zhongwen took it in his hand and looked at it, he looked at him in disbelief.
At this moment, he appeared in time. He must have been the person who had been keeping an eye on Prince Huayang and the civil and military personnel of Lizhou in Lizhou City.
This waist badge is only made of copper. On the front it says: "Anyone who encounters a direct sleeper wears this badge and does not use it when leaving Huguang." Eighteen-character regular script Yangwen, which shows that this waist badge was specially customized for Jinyiwei Huguangxing's subordinates. .
The back is bare and grainless.
"I am under the command of Zhou Long, who is under the command of Hu Guangxing, a humble imperial guard. I have met Shengzhou Mu and Ban Qianzong."
"... Colonel Zhou, how did you know that Commander Luo himself was outside the city?"
There were so many people in Jinyiwei. How could he, a small captain, only listen to voices in the middle of the night?
Zhou Long replied calmly: "Beizhi received a secret order from Master Xing three days ago. Master Xing ordered Bei Zhi not to act rashly in Lizhou City. Commander Luo has personally come to Huguang from Sichuan. Moreover, Commander Luo came from Qiandi and was ordered to take charge of the Jinyi Guards. , naturally reviewed his subordinates in batches. Before I left the capital, I was fortunate enough to hear the commanding voice."
Ban Zhongwen looked at the waist badge again, thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and ordered others: "Use the hanging basket to lower me down the city wall. If you don't get my order, you are not allowed to open the city gate! Shengzhou Mu, you wait on the city wall. It’s good to go!”
After saying that, he looked at Zhou Long and said, "Please, Captain Zhou, please come down with me!"
"I understand."
Luo An watched Ban Zhongwen from his horse and came down in a hanging basket after a while. There were two people inside.
Sheng Wenyi was very nervous. The commander of the Jinyi Guards asked them both to go out of the city to receive orders, but Ban Zhongwen asked him to stay in the city.
I saw that Ban Zhongwen did not go far after going down to the city. Instead, he stood at the gate of the city and drew his sword holder next to the neck of the Jinyi Colonel Gao Long and shouted: "Commander Luo, forgive me, the enemy situation of the rebels is unknown. I sent a sentry, Li. Although there are no rebels within thirty miles outside the city, we still have to be cautious in our humble position. This person claims to be a lieutenant under the command of Hu Guangxing of the Jinyi Guards. If Commander Luo is himself, please come forward and talk alone!"
Zhou Long did not resist, and shouted cooperatively: "Your Majesty, Commander, I have the humble rank of Wu Zi No. 2319 Zhou Long. A total of thousands of squads came to repair the city wall and recruit local braves for several days. They were ordered to stand firm and wait for help. Lizhou Qianhu Station There is no rebellion.”
Luo An looked at the two of them, then turned around and asked the person next to him.
Ban Zhongwen opened his eyes wide and saw that the man took out another book-like thing from his arms, looked at it in the light of the torch and nodded to Luo An.
Then Luo An got off his horse and came over without hesitation.
After he came closer, he smiled and said: "General Ban Qian acted cautiously, which is a blessing to Master Wang. I have this token and my commander's belt here. Where is the tiger talisman of General Ban Qian?"
Ban Zhongwen still didn't put down his knife, but he saw clearly the two things Luo An took out.
Luo An's "identity card" was made of ivory, with two beasts carved around it, each holding a hole. There are only eight words on the front of this round ivory waistband: Luo An, Commander of the Imperial Guard. On the back, in the center of the cloud pattern are engraved the words "Auspicious Day in February of the First Year of Jiajing".
As for the imperial token, Luo An didn't need to show it to him. The five-clawed dragon's hidden pattern only contained four words: I am here in person.
Ban Zhongwen quickly put away his sword and knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "The last general, Ban Zhongwen, bows to the Holy Ann! Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!"
"Saint Gong's greeting." Luo An also checked his tiger talisman, and then said, "Commander Ban Qian, please get up. Now that you have verified your identity, please open the city gate and let me, the commander, enter the city first."
Since Ban Zhongwen dared to go down alone in a hanging basket and had Zhou Long as his witness, Luo An did not need to stage a show to ask Sheng Wenyi to leave the city first.
Sheng Wenyi on the city wall saw Ban Zhongwen kneeling down and hurried down the city wall to the city gate.
He is a genuine Jinyiwei commander!
How can you neglect it?
It came so quickly! Your Majesty has already made arrangements!
After Ban Zhongwen spoke, the city gate was immediately opened.
After entering the city gate, Luo An answered them: "The rest of the banner schools under my command are taking the water route, directly to Longyang County, Changde Prefecture. Mr. Ban Qian, is there any news about Changde Guards?"
This episode only proves the seriousness of today's situation.
The troops are very fast, His Majesty's decree has not yet reached Huguang, and it will also take time for Gu Shilong to get here.
In Huguang, there are now several important tasks such as Sun Jiao, Gu Shilong, Gu Dayong, Luo An, etc., but it is necessary for the civil and military officials on the defense line from the south of Wuchang Prefecture, the east and west of Yuezhou Prefecture, Chenzhou Prefecture, and Changde Prefecture to It is not easy to form a joint force and smooth the flow of military orders.
Luo An did not delay after entering the city, and went directly to the Huayang County Prince's Mansion, accompanied by Sheng Wenyi and Ban Zhongwen.
Even if it is already late at night, Zhu Binming must open the door to welcome guests: What time is this?
Seeing Luo An arriving in person, Zhu Binming confirmed his judgment even more: Zhu Jianjun was probably crazy.
He nervously held out the article he had just drafted: "I am about to send people to send a message to Changde and Changsha to refute the rebellion of the rebel king Zhu Jianjun and others. I have also ordered people to donate food, grass and military supplies to the state government. Commander Luo Personally, the traitors are coming!"
Luo An smiled: "Your Majesty understands the righteousness, I will report it to Your Majesty."
This is why Luo An first put down the secret of the death of King Liao and went to the southern front first.
Because he, as the commander of the Imperial Guards, represents the emperor's strategic planning and affects the morale of the king's division and the rebels.
This time, he was bound to take some risks and walk on the front line.
After confirming Zhu Binming's attitude, Luo An still needed him to do more: "Although the prince is a county king, in the Ming Dynasty, only the prince of Huayang County left the main clan and granted another place. He should not be regarded as the same as other princes. May your Majesty live a long life, and the prince should also come to the capital to congratulate you, so I will send the Deli Banner School to escort the prince to the capital first, right?"
Zhu Binming's expression changed slightly. He was not worried about the royal family's property, nor anything else - how could he care about such things given the current situation?
He was worried about his restless grandson.
After gritting his teeth, he said: "How unexpected that I have received such a special favor! I thank you, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty! Commander Luo, I wonder if I can bring my descendants to the capital to congratulate you? Lizhou is the front line, and the palace is the residence of the prince." Master Wang can take advantage of his residence and property. I am incompetent, so there is no better way to go to the capital to avoid trouble."
Luo An was a little surprised, and was very moved when he heard this: "Your Majesty understands the righteousness, Your Majesty will be very happy!"
Zhu Binming’s statement was so cruel!
If you want to avoid disaster, it does come from your true heart.
Luo An understood it as soon as he thought about it. After all, he himself had arrived at his house. Who knew what Zhu Binming was doubting now?
As long as you sit upright, you will at least have one life left in the future. After the war, the emperor always had to appease the clan, right?
If he didn't show his firm attitude now, how would he know if Luo An had brought any secret order to kill him?
Ban Zhongwen and Sheng Wenyi looked at each other.
As soon as Luo An came, the king of Huayang County donated the family wealth of the whole family.
But Luo An did not rest at all. After leaving ten people in Lizhou City, he said to Ban Zhongwen: "Mr. Ban Qian, there is no need to worry about Lizhou City. You quickly order 300 elite troops and follow my command to go south. Go to Changde Mansion!"
There, there was a king of honor and a full body of Changde guards!
(End of chapter)
