Unexpectedly, Zhending Mansion, a place where the city was opened to pay money, could actually collect such soldiers and horses.
When someone from Yang Zhi came to deliver a message, saying that he had seen a large army from Zhending Mansion, numbering more than 20,000, Gao Kan was shocked.
20,000, how could those stupid people in Zhending Mansion come up with such people?
So much so that he felt a little moved in his heart.
If Ming collects these troops and horses, including all the troops and horses currently on hand, he will have gathered nearly 40,000 people. By then, won't he be able to pacify Zhending Mansion?
It's just that this matter is easy to think about, but it is very difficult to do it. How to win the general who leads the army is the key.
In Zhending Mansion, of course it would be most appropriate to ask the locals.
The Cao family of Cao Qi has lived here for generations, and he is the commander of the Lingshou army. It should be noted that he is familiar with the generals in Zhending Mansion. Even if he just asks for the details of the people who will lead the troops, he can know himself and his enemy.
After receiving the military order, Cao Qi put down his defense for the time being and hurried back to the Yamen to pay his respects.
After sitting down in the hall, Gao Kan handed Cao Qi the message sent by Yang Zhi and said at the same time: "Instructor Yang sent someone to send a secret message. The troops from Zhending Mansion were sent from the city. They secretly investigated After many days, it was estimated that there were more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, and we were only forty or fifty miles away from Huolu City."
"There are actually so many soldiers and horses in Zhending Mansion's army?" Cao Qi was shocked when he heard this and hurriedly opened the secret message in his hand.
Gao Kan saw that he looked so surprised and knew that there was something inside.
So he asked: "How come, as General Cai knows, there are no such troops in Zhending Mansion?"
At this time, Cao Qi had read the secret letter and hurriedly replied: "I dare not hide it from the young master. As far as the last general knows, the Zhending Mansion has troops stationed in the Yamen. There are always 8,000 elite soldiers under the rule, and there are also prepared soldiers trained by the township army." There are only a few thousand soldiers and horses on the left, and if you add in the rest of the manpower, including all the people with swords in Zhending Mansion, you can only make up 20,000 people."
"That's strange. Where did the 20,000 troops mentioned in Coach Yang's secret letter come from, those rebels in Zhending Mansion?"
Gao Kan frowned when he heard this and asked with a puzzled expression.
Cao Qi knew Yang Zhi well and knew that he was a cautious person. The number of soldiers and horses could not be easily judged or deliberately exaggerated.
Since it was stated in the secret letter that the soldiers and horses they found were like this, then there would definitely not be too much difference.
After pondering for a long time, Cao Qi seemed to suddenly think of something, and said: "According to the last general's knowledge, there is a Guo family village under the jurisdiction of Zhengding. The owner of the village is called Guo Shoucai. This man has always been treacherous and flattering, good at flattery, and clinging to powerful people. , he has been doing evil in Zhengding for many years, oppressing the village, and Duan has done all kinds of evil."
Gao Kan heard this and asked in confusion: "What does this person have to do with the large number of troops sent by Zhending Mansion?"
"Young master, you don't know. Guo Shoucai is good at using treacherous tricks. He has secretly networked with the gangsters in Zhengding and gathered them together in Guo's village to form a private army. Rumor has it that there are more than a thousand people in the crowd."
Cao Qi hurriedly explained: "In addition, Guo Shoucai has three sons. The eldest son Guo Baoyi is known as the 'Little Overlord'. He likes to dance with swords and guns since he was a child. He is loyal to the world and often gets involved with strong men from all walks of life. Those strong men around Zhending Mansion, Most likely they have something to do with him and call him brother."
"The second son Guo Baoyong was born in martial arts. He served as the commander of the Yongning Army in his early years and had a large number of troops under his command."
"The youngest and third son, Guo Baowen, is the chief clerk of Zhengding Yamen. He is known as the 'Second Master'. He is involved with various people and is colluding with him."
Speaking of this, Cao Qi paused for a moment and glanced at Gao Kan's face before continuing to speak.
"Just the two brothers Guo Baoyi and Guo Baoyong in Guojiazhuang have thousands of people from all walks of life involved. In addition, Guo Baowen has connections from all over the country, and there are many people involved."
"The official office of Zhending Prefecture has sentenced the gold thieves to surrender. Zhengding is only a few dozen miles away. I'm afraid Guojiazhuang also surrendered to the gold thieves."
Gao Kan listened to Cao Qi's explanation. Based on this calculation, it didn't seem too weird that Zhending Mansion could draw 20,000 troops.
After all, new troops can be recruited during this period of time, even if they are kidnapped, they can fill some manpower.
However, in this case, most of the 20,000 troops of Zhending Mansion are probably local chickens and dogs. It is not a big concern that only the 8,000 troops originally prepared by Zhending Mansion to manage the army are at the pass.
After thinking about it for a long time, he asked again: "Do you know who controls the 8,000 troops in Zhending Mansion's standing army?"
"Young Master, the original commander of the Xiang Army in Zhending Mansion was Xu Sheng. This man is greedy and has some friendship with the general. If the young master is interested, the general can try to persuade him to surrender." Cao Qi answered with cupped fists. arrive.
"Okay, you go and give it a try. If this Xu Sheng can still understand the righteousness, tell him to gather his troops and wait for the opportunity to cooperate with my army inside and outside to wipe out the rebels and bandits."
Gao Kan nodded slightly and continued: "If he is obsessed with it, then no wonder I will be ruthless and kill him first."
"Yes." Cao Qi answered with cupped fists.
"In addition, when you come into contact with Xu Sheng, you need to be careful in everything you do. Then ask in the army to see if any of your men are familiar with the leaders of Xu Sheng's army. Take the opportunity to contact them and explain the key points."
Gao Kan's eyes flashed and he added: "In short, it would be best if we could accommodate Xu Sheng's eight thousand soldiers and horses."
"You will finally understand."
Cao Qi received Gao Kan's order and returned to the army to summon his men. After some discussion, he ordered his troops to disguise themselves and left Huolu City at night.
Gaokan waited for him to leave and called Lin Chong.
Let's not talk about Xu Sheng's 8,000 soldiers and horses, but the 20,000 soldiers and horses coming from Zhending Mansion. With Cao Qi's inference and explanation, Gao Kan didn't have much worries in his heart.
The most important thing at the moment is the Jin Army cavalry coming out of Cigu Town.
Although there are only a thousand men, they are all elite thick-armored cavalry of the Jin people. If they were to confront the Song Army in a field battle, they would probably kill even 10,000 Song Army infantrymen to pieces.
This time, the soldiers and horses of Tong Guan's special mission have been strangled in Pingshan Mountain. It is said that they have been marching for several days and they should not be far from Huolu City.
But until now, none of the spies who have dispersed have reported back or noticed the movements of this golden army.
Gao Kan estimated that if he captured Lucheng's main force, the opponent would not be the first to attack. Most likely, they would have to wait for Zhending Mansion's troops to attack and defeat him, and then take the opportunity to make a surprise attack.
As long as the thousand cavalry rush into the city, it will be difficult for him to deal with it.
Therefore, it is best to grasp its movements first and try to contain them so that when the troops from Zhending Mansion are dealt with head-on, they will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity to attack.
The spies sent out earlier could not find anyone, so they had to call Lin Chong and ask him to lead the search personally.
Lin Chong came to the government office and met Gao Kan. After hearing what he said, he immediately agreed, then counted his people and left the city.
After waiting for another day, Cao Qi received a reply first.
They have already agreed with Xu Sheng and his commanders that they are willing to abandon the dark side and surrender to Gaokan.
At the same time, he also informed that the troops coming out of Zhending Mansion were commanded by Deng Xuan, the former general judge of Zhending Mansion. This man had many collusions with the Guo family brothers and deliberately oppressed Xu Sheng's troops. He deliberately called the Guo family The brothers replaced Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng had long been dissatisfied with what he was doing, and he was holding back his desire to revolt. However, he had no chance, and the army had neither food, grass, ordnance supplies, nor a place to stay, so he couldn't help but hold back.
