The sun rose again, and He Quan'an walked out of the cabin and looked at the eastern sky.
In the past two months, it has only rained once in Huguang, which is almost negligible.
The drought is so severe that it has never happened in a century.
At this moment, there is another big problem that Ming Dynasty has to face, which is now the core of this rebellion.
"I have come all the way, why can't I even enter Hengyang City?"
A member of the household who escorted him over with the ship said disdainfully: "How can I let you find out what's going on in the city? Just wait here!"
He Quanan smiled slightly and stood on the bow of the ship and looked around.
He saw the forts along the road. He also saw the military stronghold northwest of Hengyang City and on the hills north of the Heshui River in the distance. He also saw the other military stronghold on the other side of the Xiang River in the east. The flags flying neatly on the walls of Hengyang City in the morning Swaying slightly in the wind.
Not long after, a horse came galloping over: "The Governor has orders to take people to the bridge outside the north gate!"
Hengyang City was built at the confluence of Hao River and Xiang River. To the north of the city is the Hao River, and to the east is the Xiang River. These are the two barriers. If the army attacks from the north, it must first break through several defense lines in the north. Afterwards, it was not easy to cross the river and attack the city, or to go around to the west or south.
Today's Hengyang City Wall was mainly expanded during the Chenghua Period. There are seven gates on the city wall, the south gate is called Huiyan Gate, and the north gate is called Zhanyue Gate. In addition, there are three in the east and two in the west.
To get to the north gate, you must first cross the river.
Above the river, there is a Qingye Bridge. Now that the army has not arrived, there are only guards on the bridge. If they are forced to retreat to Hengyang City, this bridge will probably be destroyed first.
He Quan'an, Huang Yanzhong and Si Cong were escorted to the bridge and ordered to stop on the north side in the middle of the bridge.
They looked south, and in the distance there was a towering mountain named Huiyan Peak in the south of Hengyang City. In the terrain of Hengyang City, the Hao River and the Xiang River are like two snakes, and the Huiyan Peak behind them is like a giant turtle. It is indeed an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place where the turtle and snake lock the two rivers.
There have been no major disasters in Hengyang for many years.
His eyes returned to the north gate of Hengyang City, because the gate had been opened, and a large group of soldiers were leaving the city.
He Quan'an saw two big flags: Pu and Zhan.
His heart sank slightly: Zhan Huabi had really arrived in Hengyang City, and he seemed to have a harmonious relationship with Pu Zitong. As both commanders of the guards, the two of them obviously had different priorities. Why did Zhan Huabi lead his troops all the way from Changde Mansion to defect to Puzitong?
There are naturally residential buildings in the open space on the riverside outside the north gate of Hengyang City. These residents have not yet fled. It seems that the rebellion of the Hengzhou Guards has not affected their lives, and they are not afraid of the upcoming military disaster.
In a short period of thought, several horses had already slowly arrived in front of He Quan'an and the others under the protection of a group of soldiers.
"What position do you hold under Gu Shilong? I have never seen you before."
Pu Zitong looked at He Quanan who was standing in front of Huang Yanzhong and Si Cong, and stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
One is sitting on the horse and the other is standing on the bridge.
He Quan'an was unarmed and Pu Zitong was wearing bright armor. He was not afraid to come within five steps of him and look down at him.
"You have appointed yourself the Grand Governor?" He Quan'an heard the new name of Pu Zitong from the Hengzhou Guards on his way here. He smiled at the words and said, "Who am I? You will know when you meet Prince Rui."
"How dare you! Why don't you kneel down after seeing the Governor?" Upon hearing his disrespectful tone, Baihu, who was escorting him here, immediately kicked him in the crook of the leg.
But after this kick passed, He Quan'an didn't move at all, and then only turned his head to look at him lightly.
Pu Zitong's eyes narrowed slightly, he raised his hand to stop him, and said slowly: "The person sent by Gu Shilong is not a eloquent scholar, but a good soldier? You can't see His Majesty, what does Gu Shilong have to say? Just tell me what you want here."
He Quan'an looked up at him and was silent for a while before asking: "Given the land of one government and this year's harvest, at this moment the Hengzhou garrison and the recruited local warriors have more than ten thousand people's food and salary. Do you think King Fengrui is the leader?" , the day when this conspiracy is accomplished?"
"It turns out that you have a good tongue." Pu Zitong just asked lightly, "Don't you have any other words to say? If I finish talking, I will sacrifice the blood of the three of you to this Haoxiang Ershui."
In his sight, he only saw one of the last two of the three people whose expression suddenly changed.
He Quanjing said quietly: "I am not under the command of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, but the Jin Yiwei Huguangxu Huang Yanzhong. Could you have never imagined that His Majesty gave him the title Rui Wang, and Ling Rui Wang is a vassal in Hengyang? How many arrangements do our Jin Yiwei have in Hengyang? This has been more than a month. , how many suspicious people have you found in the city?"
Pu Zitong heard that he was the Jin Yiwei Huguang walking, and now he dared to come to him arrogantly. Thinking about his lower body that had just been kicked but didn't move at all, he subconsciously felt uneasy.
Although he was unarmed and being watched closely by his own soldiers, Pu Zitong was confident that he was in no danger on the horse, but he really couldn't figure out the meaning of Huang Yanzhong coming here.
How could he be persuaded to surrender after he had already rebelled?
Tang Peiyu would rather escape here than surrender.
Forcibly suppressing the doubts in his heart, he just smiled cruelly: "It's useless to talk about this. How can I worry about a rat or two?"
He Quan'an smiled: "You don't know how Changsha City was captured in one day, right?"
Pu Zitong's face stiffened.
Tang Peiyu escaped first. He didn't know and didn't elaborate. Yan Daniu only joined Tang Peiyu halfway, and he knew nothing about it.
The meticulous work sent to Changsha Mansion was just a reward. The night after Tang Peiyu was defeated and fled, the garrison in Changsha City surrendered.
"I don't need to know this. You came all the way and saw the appearance of the troops under my command. Do you think Hengyang City can be conquered in one day?"
"Conquering it in one day is naturally just the final result." He Quan'an was still very calm, "You must have known that Tang Peiyu collapsed in front of the Shenji camp's selected striker. You still don't know the contribution of my Jin Yiwei in the battle of Changsha. Now, Shenji The battalion's selection of forwards is on the way, and the Fifth Army battalion's selection of forwards who are supposed to enter Sichuan is also on the way. There is also a Jinyi captain in Hengyang City. You can still talk and laugh freely in front of me. I admire you, I admire you."
Pu Zitong really smiled: "Are you here just to disturb the morale of our army? In that case, I don't need to listen anymore. Where is General Yan Shen?"
Behind him, Yan Chunsheng came over and said, "The general is here!"
"Behead these three people and strengthen our army's power!"
"The last general takes command!"
Yan Chunsheng got off his horse and took out the new long knife from his waist.
He also wore a neat set of mountain armor.
Seeing Yan Chunsheng approaching, He Quan'an looked at him, and then said to Pu Zitong: "In the name of Marquis Zhenyuan, I met with King Rui and issued a letter of surrender. If you don't let me see King Rui, you can make the decision for King Rui. You wait. It’s called using King Rui as the master to fight against rebellion, but is it actually you, the self-proclaimed governor, who is above King Rui?”
Yan Chunsheng stopped cooperatively and looked back at Pu Zitong.
A rebellion needs a name, so why raise an army?
Now He Quan'an pointed out the key point: If you don't respect King Rui, then you are rebelling. Don't make trouble with King Rui in the future. King Rui is innocent. If you respect Prince Rui, then the person in charge of Hengzhou Mansion is not you but Prince Rui.
Although he is only a six-year-old child, you must at least follow the procedures.
Pu Zitong's face was gloomy: In the long process of rebellion, King Rui would naturally encounter unexpected events, just like King Xiao Ming back then.
But now, he still needs the brand name of King Rui Zhu Zaiyan.
The world has not yet reached the point where the Ming Dynasty fell apart under the rule of Emperor Jiajing.
Now, He Quan'an came to persuade Zhu Zaiyan to surrender in the name of Gu Shilong. If he didn't even see the real master, Pu Zitong might as well raise the Pu-character flag.
Taizu's success in upholding the integrity of the country made it impossible for the internal ministers of the Ming Dynasty to bypass the emperor's orthodoxy.
In the gaze of everyone, Pu Zitong only stared at He Quanan.
But at this time, He Quan'an looked at the man on the left rear of Pu Zitong: "Is this the original commander of Changde Guard? Zhan Huabi, what do you think?"
"Grand Governor, this officer is here just to disturb the morale of our army. Just kill him." Zhan Huabi grinned, "Your Majesty is already orthodox, how can you listen to the barking of the puppet emperor's lackey?"
Pu Zitong looked at the bridge where there was no one else, and said in a ferocious voice: "What Brother Zhan said is true! General Yan, why are you still standing there?"
It seems that He Quan'an's new round of speeches are still ineffective.
Yan Chunsheng slowly approached with a waist knife in hand, staring at He Quanan: Second brother, what should I do?
He Quan'an also stared at him.
Taking advantage of the current psychology of Hengzhou Wei, Pu Zitong, and Tang Peiyu, Yan Chunsheng successfully penetrated their souls.
But newcomers are unlikely to receive much trust.
Today, I want to use my own head as a certificate of surrender.
After realizing that Zhan Huabi had almost unconditional trust in Pu Zitong and that Pu Zitong wanted to use his head as a certificate of surrender for Yan Chunsheng, He Quan'an laughed and said, "Let's go!"
After that, the skill that he had been hoarding without moving was revealed.
At the same time, Huang Yanzhong and Si Cong seemed to have received instructions and suddenly started to move.
Without any intention, the three of them suddenly rose up and had a clear purpose - without any hesitation, they jumped off the Qingye Bridge in just one or two breaths.
On the bridge, blood was left from the arrows fired by the guards who reacted quickly.
Yan Chun was furious and said: "Get out of the way!"
On his shoulder, he pulled open the newly acquired Twelve Powers Divine Bow, and fired a barrage of arrows downwards.
The water was several feet high, which was too far for him to reach the bottom.
Pu Zitong sent a message to the defenders to intercept them upstream and downstream. When he walked to the Qingye Bridge and held on to the railings to look down, he saw two more bloody flowers rising from the water.
"Follow the blood trail and look downstream!"
Pu Zitong was overjoyed and quickly gave orders.
Yan Chunsheng held his bow and looked around for a while, then knelt down on one knee in shame: "The general will be guilty!"
Pu Zitong didn't take it seriously on the surface: "The thief is cunning and treacherous. General Yan Shen has injured two more people. What crime is there?"
Yan Chunsheng felt heavy in his heart: The second brother made this choice, so he naturally wanted to keep his cards close to his chest. Seeing that his side had indeed been infiltrated by the rebels, he made other plans.
Then, the heavy responsibility will fall on your shoulders.
"You want to see people alive, you want to see corpses after death! Search!"
Once Pu Zitong issued an order, he no longer took it seriously. He is just an envoy to persuade people to surrender, so what if the Jin Yiwei is walking in Huguang? They were hit by arrows on the bridge, and again in the water, where the Hengshui River and the Xiangshui River converged. Upstream and downstream were Hengyang garrison forts. Where could they escape?
What he needs more now is the image of someone who holds the pearl of wisdom.
Therefore, the next step is to take Yan Chunsheng to the north of Haoshui to meet Tang Peiyu.
He did not break his promise of "not dismantling the Changsha Guards". Yan Chunsheng was lower in rank than Tang Peiyu and was also controlled by Tang Peiyu. This "former military commander" controlled many defenders north of Hengyang, and Tang Peiyu could not say a word on the surface.
However, the military stronghold north of Haoshui River and the Guangshan Mountain have become the core of Tang Peiyu's defense, and the Haoyang military stronghold has been guarded by the rebels led by "Yan Daniu" under the "sacred order".
"...I don't understand military formations. I only know that to fight as a soldier, you need to be strong and brave! Let's practice this method of physical fitness first!"
Yan Chunsheng taught the "bandit brothers" and "volunteers" how to keep fit, and then looked towards the lower reaches of the Xiang River.
Second brother, how are they doing?
…
More than 20 miles downstream of the Xiang River outside Hengyang City, three human heads slowly emerged from the water in the middle of the river and were carefully dug into the bottom of a river boat.
This is very dangerous. The current caused by the river boat and the vibration caused by the fluctuation of the water make this behavior of "boat pick-up" a near-death possibility.
But the three of them are all safe now, although Si Cong's lips are white and his whole body is trembling, and He Quanan and Huang Yanzhong are both pale.
"...Are we almost arriving at Leijiabu?"
A little below the confluence of the Xiang River and the Laishui River passing through Anren County is Leijiabu, southeast of Hengshan City.
This means that the three of them have been in the water for more than 40 miles.
He Quan'an made the decision. He just whispered: "Don't worry! The army is coming soon, and Hengshan City cannot be defended. By then, just mix with the refugees and surrender to Lao Shisan!"
If Pu Zitong has scruples and leaves a way out, then they can be used as important hostages and bargaining chips in the future; if Yan Chunsheng succeeds, then they have one more choice; if neither, then there will also be a large number of Hengshan County, Anren Refugees from the county flocked to Hengyang.
It is extremely difficult to rescue Prince Rui and his son; it is also not easy at all to sneak into Hengyang City at this time.
But whether it was him or Yan Chunsheng, since there were already people from the Jinyi Guards wandering around Hengyang City, the Jinyi Guards left in Hengyang City should be ready to respond at all times.
Si Cong was in a daze: "Humble job... humble job's arrow wound..."
Damn Yan Chunsheng, why is he staring at himself and cumming!
However, He Quan'an only reminded: "Cheer up, we are in Leijiabu!"
Gu Shilong couldn't take care of these details.
The imperial court's decree finally arrived: to rescue Prince Rui's mother and son, try to capture the bandit leader alive, and then drive the remaining bandits to the Wuyi Mountains in Jiangxi and Fujian.
Gu Shilong has a big head: Can't we just wipe out all the rebels? Do you want to leave a hole for them?
But the holy will was such, and this order was later passed to Funing Marquis Zhu Qi and Guangdong Chief Military Officers Jiang Xiuyi, Wang Shouren, Yan Song and others.
Wang Shouren, who had already rushed to Ganzhou and joined the Jiangxi general military officer, gritted his teeth and said: "Purchase and store the autumn grains in the five counties of Xinfeng, Longnan, Anyuan, Changning, Huichang and Ruijin as much as possible first, and then collect them to the county seat!"
"Dutai, what about Nan'an Mansion?"
"Secure the four counties of Dayu, Chongyi, Shangyou, and Nankang. Be quick. Within two months, the rebels will enter Jiangxi through Chenzhou!"
At this time, the Huguang army and the Guangxi army finally reached the outermost line of defense of Hengzhou Prefecture: Hengshan in the north, Changning in the southwest, Youxian in the east and Anren in the southeast.
It’s September 16th, Zhu Houcong’s birthday, Longevity Festival.
The capital city was very grand, the main streets were decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and yesterday's sun-gazing party was unprecedented in scale.
And today is the holiday.
The emperor gave a banquet in Qianqing Palace, and the vassal princes, relatives, counselors, and those who were supposed to go to the capital in accordance with the order all arrived.
It has been nearly two months since King Ji rebelled, and the situation among the vassal kings and relatives in the world has become clear because of the imperial edict that they must go to the capital to pay tribute.
Since the construction of the Forbidden City in the Ming Dynasty was completed by Emperor Yongle, there have never been so many vassal kings gathered together as today.
There were so many that there would be no room for them if His Majesty had not opened up Dongnuang Pavilion and Xinuan Pavilion as "banquet venues" for important civil and military ministers.
Now because of the Yangxin Hall, the East and West Nuan Pavilions are no longer used as study rooms, and even the partitions between them and the main hall have been demolished.
The space in the main hall of Qianqing Palace is much larger.
There are already many clans in the Ming Dynasty, but the number of princes registered in the Ming Dynasty is not that many. Zhu Houcong's heirs have not yet been crowned kings. Since Jiajing, there has been only one more King Rui - now the leader of the rebels.
Today, there are thirty-one registered princes in the Ming Dynasty. But this time, the kings of Chu and Liao died, King Ji and King Rui rebelled, King Rong was "burned", and King Yi was convicted. Only twenty-five vassal kings came to the capital and could sit here.
Zhu Houcong led Zhu Zai'an and Zhu Zai'an into the Qianqing Palace, and asked them to "sit down" under the care of Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin respectively. After that, he said: "After today, I will be twenty years old. I was king in the past. Your Majesty, none of your clansmen know each other. Today all the kings are gathered together. In the world, only King Ni Ji does not know the general situation. King Rui is kidnapped. King Yi is in a dilemma. The heir of King Chu is in mourning. The King of Liao is dead. I can see the rest of the kings in person. It’s a time when the clan and family are in harmony, and I feel very relieved.”
After Zhu Jianjun raised the flag, these twenty-five vassal princes did not dare to say a word, and either actively or passively came to the capital in person, which already explained the situation in the world.
Are there any local guards like Zhan Huabi who dare to "turn thousands of miles" to seek refuge?
The army did not dare to act rashly, and the only remaining task was to suppress the bandits.
The atmosphere was very strange, and all the kings expressed their opinions one by one and toasted their birthdays.
"Zaiyuan, you are the eldest son, and I will toast to all the elders one by one with my drinking son."
The emperor's eldest son Zhu Zai'an, who was less than two years old, stood up first when he heard the words and saluted Zhu Houcong with a sweet voice: "My son, I obey!"
After that, under the leadership of Zhang Zuo and listening to his teachings, the elders who came to the hall one by one "toasted."
Zhu Zaiyi, who had just turned half a year old, could only fall asleep in Huang Zuo's arms, paying no attention to the situation in the palace.
Zhu Zaiyan was dressed in special princely clothes, and his etiquette was meticulous. It was obvious that he had been taught a lot.
But he didn't have any stage fright, and he said the same words to these strangers calmly and generously, just changing the names according to Zhang Zuo's introduction.
He only remembered what his father said: Dad is the most powerful person in the world, you don't have to be afraid of anyone.
Anyway, this fresh milk tastes good.
And Zhu Houcong, who was twenty years old, was sitting on the throne with a smile on his face. How dare the kings be disrespectful to the emperor's eldest son?
Being groveling and not even daring is the state in the eyes of Yang Tinghe, Cui Yuan and others.
After Zhu Zaiyan finished his mission, Zhu Houcong picked up the wine glass and said, "I ordered the kings to come to the capital. In addition to me wanting to see you all, it is also because I was the prince in the past and I know the difficulties of the vassal king. Everyone is here today. I will first invite you all to drink this cup, and then we will discuss a major matter."
None of the kings dared to disobey. After drinking this cup, I heard the emperor say: "Since I have understood the new theory of practical dialectics of the principles of heaven and man, I can test it from this and make the kings trapped in the vassal territory. It is not a long-term solution. Tai Our ancestor Taizong is such a heroic figure, how can there be no talented people after the Zhu family? Now, I want all the kings to live in the capital forever, and the children of the clan can serve as officials and show their talents. What do you think?"
Zhu Rangxu, the king of Shu, who had been worried for half a year since Gao Kewei had the audacity to act in his name, was suddenly confused.
If you live in the capital for a long time, can the descendants of the clan be appointed officials?
There are still feudal lords making trouble now, how dare you?
What to do with the domain’s property? What about salary?
But Zhu Houcong was looking at them with a smile.
Yang Tinghe only felt that the emperor had so decisively "forced" the vassal king and his relatives just for this moment. After hearing this, he stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter should be done with great caution!"
Zhu Rangxu did not turn around to look at Yang Tinghe on the left: Have you fucking discussed it? Acting again?
