Chapter 246: The general will take Li Huan's head and present it to the prince
Qiu Ju and Gao Feng were not surprised at all by the emperor's reaction.
As the emperor's close servants, how could they not know Zhu Houzhao's plan? Zhu Houzhao even told them not long ago that when Li Huan's army set off, he would definitely go there in person to support the army.
Zhu Houzhao even told the two of them not to forget to remind him of this matter.
Therefore, not long ago, Qiu Ju and Gao Feng had already expected such an incident when they learned that Li Huan had led the army to leave.
Seeing Zhu Houzhao's surprised expression, the two of them smiled bitterly in their hearts. They did not expect that Li Huan would leave overnight.
Even when they got the news, Li Huan had already led the army and set off. In addition, Zhu Houzhao had just rested at that time, so the two of them did not alert Zhu Houzhao.
With a slight cough, Qiu Ju bowed and said: "Your Majesty, it's all the fault of the old slave. Governor Li was worried about the situation in Ningxia and set out all night. By the time the old slave learned the news, Brother Li Huan had already led the army to set off...
…”
Zhu Houzhao sighed softly, waved his hands towards the two of them and said, "That's all, I don't blame you for this. I didn't expect Li Qing to leave in such a hurry."
Gao Feng, who was standing aside, said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, if Governor Li leads the cavalry to travel day and night, it won't take long to reach Ningxia. King Anhua will definitely be caught off guard by Governor Li's magic soldiers descending from the sky.
A mere rebellion can be decided overnight."
When Zhu Houzhao heard what Gao Feng said, he smiled a little and said with a look of regret in his eyes: "It's a pity that as the emperor, I can't drive and conquer personally. Otherwise, I will definitely lead the army in person this time."
battlefield……"
Seeing Zhu Houzhao's yearning look on his face, Gao Feng and Qiu Ju, who knew Zhu Houzhao's temperament very well, couldn't help but lower their heads and did not answer Zhu Houzhao's words.
Did they know that Zhu Houzhao had a heart in his heart that he wanted to be a general and lead an army on the battlefield?
At that time, Wang Zhen encouraged the emperor to go on a personal expedition, so that when the Tumu Fortress incident happened, they would not be foolish enough to instigate the emperor to engage in a personal expedition.
If the civil and military officials above the court knew about it, they would not be impeached to death by these officials by then.
Not to mention the reaction of Zhu Houzhao and the officials in the court who learned that Li Huan sent troops overnight.
But he said that the land of Ningxia
King Anhua rebelled and occupied Anhua City in Qingyang Prefecture with tens of thousands of troops.
In fact, there were not many soldiers of the border army who were actually bewitched by King Anhua and started a rebellion against the banner. They were just a battalion of soldiers and horses in the frontier army.
There are tens of thousands of border troops in Ningxia border towns. Even if you leave out the free payers, there are at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Otherwise, it would be impossible to defend Ningxia Town, an important town on the nine sides.
The number of soldiers in the first battalion that was bewitched by King Anhua was almost 2,000, and together with the soldiers from the local guard, the total number was almost 10,000.
With tens of thousands of troops in Ningxia, especially when the court is unprepared, they can really stir up quite a storm.
So in just a few days, the rebels under Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu had already occupied the entire Qingyang Mansion, and even recruited people under the banner of Qingjun. Suddenly, all kinds of bandits and refugees came to fight for
Zhu Zhixiu offered benefits and joined the rebels one after another.
In a short period of time, the rebels who originally numbered only tens of thousands quickly expanded to as many as thirty or forty thousand.
It's a pity that although there are many people, they are just a mob.
Of course, the number of rebels is somewhat terrifying. After all, there are so many people that no one dares to underestimate them, even if they are just a mob.
Fortunately, only a handful of people in Ningxia actually rebelled with King Anhua. After the news of King Anhua's rebellion spread, not to mention Yang Yiqing, who was the governor of the three sides, immediately dispatched troops and generals to strengthen the defense of the border towns. Waiting for the imperial court's orders at any time, dispatch elite soldiers and horses to quell the rebellion.
In Ningxia alone, many generals in charge of the army responded immediately.
Tongzhi Cao Xiong, who was originally guarding Guyuan, immediately mobilized his troops to suppress the situation, ordered his men to lead the army to occupy Lingzhou, and sent Lingzhou garrison to collect all the boats along the Yellow River, liaise with soldiers and horses from all directions, and capture the troops under the command of King Anhua. The rebels were vaguely confined to Qingyang Mansion.
Anhua City
In the palace of Prince Anhua, Prince Zhu Zhixiu of Anhua, who was dressed in royal uniform, was sitting in the hall at the moment, looking at the several scribes in front of him with a solemn expression.
With a strange look in his eyes, Zhu Zhixiu said to one of the scribes: "Mr. Wen'an, what did Dayan Khan say? How long will it take for his large army to arrive at the capital city?"
Xidu City is located in the border fortress, adjacent to the border of the Ming Dynasty. It used to be a border city built by the Ming Dynasty in the frontier fortress. However, as the Ming Dynasty's power on the grassland shrank, Xidu City naturally fell into the hands of the great lord. .
It became an outpost of the Tatars heading south to the Central Plains.
Taking the capital city as an outpost, we can immediately go south and directly into Ningxia territory, and then go southeast directly into Shaanxi territory. It can be said that it is an extremely important outpost for the Tatars to invade the Central Plains.
This small town has even always had a tribe of Tatars nomadic around it, which can be said to be quite important.
If the Tatar army arrives at the capital city, then with the speed of the Tatars, it will take only a few days to enter Ningxia.
That’s why Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu was so concerned about the movements of the Tatars, because as long as the Tatar army gathered in Xidu City, then part of Ming Dynasty’s attention would probably be attracted by the Tatars. The pressure on his side will be greatly reduced.
Not to mention anything else, at least the elite armies on three sides hanging over his head like sharp swords will inevitably be restrained by the Tatars and unable to send elites to encircle and suppress him.
Zhu Zhixiu was not a fool. He knew very well that if the imperial court really freed up its hands and mobilized an army to suppress the rebellion, with these men under him and the barren situation of Qingyang Mansion he occupied, He is definitely no match for the imperial court.
Zhu Zhixiu's real support was the Tatars. It was precisely because these scribes in front of him helped him contact the Tatars not long ago and got the Tatars' promise that Zhu Zhixiu made up his mind to rebel. .
Otherwise, even though he had the intention of rebelling, Zhu Zhixiu would not have made up his mind so quickly. After all, based on real history, Zhu Zhixiu would have to wait at least one or two years before choosing to rebel. It will be as hasty as it is now.
The scribe Zheng Ping and Zheng Wen'an, who is about forty years old, is one of the most famous people in Ningxia. Last year, because he offended Liu Jin, he was dismissed by Liu Jin and sent back to his hometown. He became a local celebrity without an official position and a low profile.
Of course, although Zheng Wen'an was dismissed from office, he became famous among literati because of his opposition to Liu Jin. Especially in Ningxia, he was regarded as a celebrity by local literati.
After Zheng Wen'an was dismissed from office, the ambitious Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu sent people to invite him not long after, and worshiped Zheng Wen'an as his confidant.
Zhu Zhixiu had great trust in Zheng Wen'an. It was only under the persuasion of Zheng Wen'an and others that Zhu Zhixiu made up his mind to unite with the Tatars and raise troops to rebel.
All contacts with the Tatars were through Zheng Wen'an.
Zheng Wen'an was stroking his beard, with a hint of wisdom on his face. Looking at Zheng Wen'an's expression of the presence of an old god, Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu felt a little calmer.
"gentlemen!"
Zheng Wen'an raised his head and glanced at Zhu Zhixiu, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Tatars have gathered their troops to go south as agreed. If nothing happens, they will be able to reach the capital city in three days at most. By then, The troops sent by the prince should cooperate with the outside world. If we open a few passes in the border towns and let the Tatars enter, there will be no problem."
A bright light flashed in Zhu Zhixiu's eyes and he said: "Okay, as long as the Tatars enter the customs, the court's attention will inevitably shift to the Tatars. At that time, we can also take the opportunity to strengthen our own strength and occupy Ningxia first. Then go down to the two provinces of Shaanxi and join forces with the Tatars to break up the capital..."
Thinking about his plan, Zhu Zhixiu couldn't help but get excited.
Zheng Wen'an saw Zhu Zhixiu's expression in his eyes, and a strange look flashed deep in his eyes, but with a bit of a smile on his face, he said to Zhu Zhixiu: "I would like to congratulate you in advance, and wish you the best." May the prince achieve his wish as soon as possible, be crowned with great treasures, rule the world, and become the lord of the world."
Zhu Zhixiu laughed loudly and looked at all the civil and military confidants present. He waved his hand and said: "If I can be honored with a great treasure, the Japanese king will definitely not hesitate to reward me. All the princes and princes will live with the country forever."
Everyone bowed to Zhu Zhixiu and said, "I will thank you, Your Majesty."
After a while, Zhu Zhixiu coughed lightly, looked at one of his confidants and said, "Mr. Sun, what's going on with Qiu Yue? Is he willing to serve me?"
The scholar in Qingyi who was sitting at the bottom left of Zhu Zhixiu heard this and bowed his hands to Zhu Zhixiu and said: "Back to the prince, Qiu Yue is suffering from an illness and it is difficult to get out of bed. I am afraid that he will not be able to be used by the prince."
As soon as Sun Jingwen opened his mouth, a general sitting next to him couldn't help but frowned and said, "Qiu Yue is not pretending to be ill."
The person who spoke was none other than Zhou Ang, the commander who had previously supported Zhu Zhixiu and joined forces with He Jin from thousands of households to rebel.
Zhou Ang is now in charge of tens of thousands of troops under the command of King Anhua. Together with He Jin, he is King Anhua's right-hand man in controlling the rebels.
And the Tsing Yi scribe whose status was obviously higher than Zheng Ping and Zheng Wen'an was Zhu Zhixiu's real confidant, Sun Jingwen.
As for the Qiu Yue mentioned by Zhu Zhixiu, he was none other than the guerrilla general stationed in Ningxia, who was quite brave and strategic.
Qiu Yue was threatened by Zhu Zhixiu with his family members, so that he was trapped in Anhua City.
When Zhou Ang spoke, Zhu Zhixiu couldn't help but look at Sun Jingwen.
Hearing this, Sun Jingwen shook his head slightly and said, "The doctor has already gone to see him. Qiu Yue is indeed seriously ill and cannot stay at the hospital."
Zhu Zhixiu naturally had great trust in Sun Jingwen. Hearing this, he couldn't help but sigh: "What a pity. If Qiu Yue can be used by me, my strength will definitely increase greatly."
While speaking, Zhu Zhixiu asked again: "Is there any movement in the imperial court? Is there any movement of troops under Yang Yiqing, the governor of the three sides?"
Compared with others, Zhu Zhixiu is obviously most concerned about these.
Not only Zhu Zhixiu, but all the core members of Zhu Zhixiu's rebellion who were present all turned their attention to Sun Jingwen.
Sun Jingwen sat there calmly, looking at everyone with a bit of solemnity and said slowly: "Thanks to the gathering of the Tatar army, Yang Yiqing, who originally mobilized troops to come and attack us at any time, has been distracted by the Tatars. People are attracted to it.”
Everyone couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.
As the governor of the three sides, Yang Yiqing has managed the three sides well in recent years. The generals of the three sides respect and fear Yang Yiqing, the governor.
If Yang Yiqing personally led an army to suppress the rebellion, among everyone present, there really was no one who dared to pat his chest and guarantee that he could stop Yang Yiqing.
So now that they heard that Yang Yiqing was being held back by the Tatars, everyone naturally let out a sigh of relief, and their expressions suddenly became much more relaxed.
Sun Jingwen suddenly said again: "Yang Yiqing needs to guard against the Tatars, which is good news for us, but the imperial court has sent Li Huan, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army's Governor's Mansion, to deal with us."
"What? Li Huan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Military Governor's Mansion, could he be the imperial envoy who was killed in Xi'an Mansion years ago?"
In the hall, someone immediately exclaimed.
Sun Jingwen nodded slightly and said, "That's exactly the person."
Many people looked at each other with astonished expressions on their faces, obviously not expecting that the imperial court would send such a high-ranking figure as Li Huan.
Li Huan indeed had a reputation for evil. His reputation for the killing in Xi'an Prefecture spread throughout the three regions, so that many people in Ningxia had heard of Li Huan's name.
Zheng Ping suddenly burst into laughter. While laughing, he stood up and bowed to King Anhua: "Congratulations to the prince, congratulations to the prince. God bless the prince!"
Zheng Ping's behavior made many people stunned and looked at Zheng Ping in confusion, wondering why Zheng Ping would behave like this.
Sun Jingwen, on the other hand, glanced at Zheng Ping with a thoughtful look on his face.
Zhu Zhixiu looked at Zheng Ping with a puzzled face, and said with a bit of surprise: "What does Mr. Wen An mean by this? I wonder where the joy comes from?"
Zhu Zhixiu really couldn't think of any happy event. The imperial court sent Li Huan to lead a large army to encircle and suppress them. This was not a happy event at all.
Zheng Ping said with a smile on his face: "My lord, think about it, if the imperial court really sends a veteran general who has experienced battles to lead the army, wouldn't this be a bad thing for us?"
Zhu Zhixiu nodded and said: "What Mr. Wen An said is true. It is really not a good thing for the imperial court to send brave and capable veterans here."
Zheng Ping nodded and said: "But the prince also knows that the person sent by the imperial court this time is actually a young boy like Li Huan who is less than 20 years old and has no experience in commanding troops. What is this if not a happy event?"
Zhou Ang, who was sitting there with an angry look on his face, couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised: "What Mr. Wen An said is true. A mere brat, at the end of the day, he is willing to lead an army and take his head as an offering to the prince."
Everyone who was a little nervous when they heard that the imperial court had sent soldiers and horses suddenly felt much more at ease.
One person said subconsciously: "I heard that the Grand Governor led thousands of elite cavalry to flatten the Huli and Heihe tribes years ago. I'm afraid they won't be that easy to deal with."
Zheng Ping said with a bit of disdain: "Haha, it's really funny. The Huli and Heihe tribes were flattened because of Yang Yiqing, the governor of the three sides. You really think it was the work of that young boy Li Huan. "
Perhaps it was a preconceived idea, or perhaps Li Huan's age was really difficult to convince the public. In addition, Yang Yiqing's reputation in the Trilateral Army meant that Zheng Ping's words were immediately recognized by everyone. , unanimously believed that the destruction of Huli tribe and Heihe tribe was entirely due to Yang Yiqing, but these credits were taken away by Li Huan, who was the imperial envoy.
Zhu Zhixiu's face was full of joy and he said: "It seems that it is true as Mr. Wen An said. That foolish king actually sent a young boy like Li Huan here. God help me, God help us to achieve great things."
"Your Majesty, with the help of heaven, you will achieve great things."
Everyone shouted to Zhu Zhixiu, and for a moment Zhu Zhixiu was in a state of ecstasy.
At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps came, and a messenger came panting.
"Urgent report from Ningzhou, urgent report from Ningzhou."
When everyone in the hall heard this, their expressions suddenly changed and they looked towards the messenger.
The messenger prostrated himself on the ground, holding an urgent letter in both hands and panting: "Your Majesty, urgent report from Ningzhou."
A waiter quickly stepped forward to take the letter, and then hurriedly presented it to Ning Wang Zhu Zhixiu, who almost stood up with a worried look on his face.
Ningzhou is the border of Qingyang Prefecture and one of the several cities controlled by the rebels. If Ningzhou is lost, the imperial army can enter Qingyang Prefecture and directly threaten Anhua City.
It can be said that Ningzhou is the gateway to the south of Anhua City. If Ningzhou is defended, at least the imperial army will not be able to enter Qingyang Mansion from the south.
It is precisely because of this that Zhu Zhixiu is so concerned about the safety of Ningzhou.
Opening the letter, Zhu Zhixiu scanned it with a single glance. His expression suddenly changed and he exclaimed: "How is it possible? Why are the soldiers and horses of the imperial court so fast?"
As he spoke, Zhu Zhixiu handed the letter to Sun Jingwen. Sun Jingwen read it and passed it to Zheng Ping, Zhou Ang and others.
Soon many people present knew the contents of the letter.
Just yesterday, Li Huan, the powerful military general sent by the imperial court to lead tens of thousands of cavalry, appeared at the gate of Ningzhou City.
Fortunately, the guard general of Ningzhou City was He Jin, a close general of Zhu Chixiu, so Ningzhou City was not lost.
But even so, the letter also mentioned that Ningzhou City had insufficient guards and was afraid that it would be difficult to resist the imperial army for too long. It was hoped that Zhu Chixiu could dispatch a large army to assist Ningzhou.
Sun Jingwen said with a solemn expression: "With tens of thousands of cavalry, no wonder the opponent suddenly appeared at the gate of Ningzhou City in such a short period of time."
Sun Jingwen said to Zhu Zhixiu: "Your Majesty, there are only three thousand defenders in Ningzhou City. Please send reinforcements to Ningzhou quickly. Otherwise, if Ningzhou falls, Anhua City will be in danger."
Zhou Ang stood up angrily, his whole body filled with evil aura, and said with a bit of disdain: "He Jin is really a waste. Three thousand troops can't defend a city. Li Huan is leading cavalry. The cavalry attack The city is a joke."
Zhou Ang said to Zhu Chixiu: "Your Majesty, I would like to lead an army of 20,000 to meet Li Huan. I will kill Li Huan and take his head and present it to the Prince."
Looking at Zhou Ang's confident look, even though he wanted to take away 20,000 of the remaining 30,000 troops in Anhua City as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhu Zhixiu only hesitated for a moment and nodded immediately: "Okay. , in this case, I, the king, will comply with the general’s request.”
While speaking, Zhu Zhixiu looked at Zhou Ang and said: "I hope that the general will be able to win the battle here and kill Li Huan for my king, and let the people with lofty ideals in the world know our strength."
Zhou Ang laughed and said: "My lord, don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
Immediately, Zhou Ang stood up and strode out of the hall. As he walked, he said proudly: "Everyone, please wait for the good news from this general."
Many people looked at Zhou Ang's heroic appearance and couldn't help but praise him: "He is really a tiger general."
"With General Zhou taking action, Li Huan can't be easily captured."
"The foolish king is so stupid that he actually sent a junior like Li Huan who is not familiar with military affairs. This shows that destiny is in the hands of the prince."
The flattering words rang out for a moment, which made Zhu Zhixiu dissipate a little bit of the worry he had when he learned that Li Huan had led an army to Ningzhou.
However, although Zhu Zhixiu was praised by everyone, he believed that if his general Zhou Ang took action, he would be able to easily kill Li Huan and destroy the army of the imperial court.
However, Zhu Zhixiu still said to Zheng Ping with some solemnity: "It is impossible to say that Li Huan is the vanguard of the army sent by the imperial court. Even if Li Huan can be destroyed, the imperial troops and horses will continue to arrive, so we still have to wait." Only the Tatars can help."
Zheng Ping stood up and bowed to Zhu Zhixiu and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, my subordinates are willing to visit Dayan Khan again and implore Dayan Khan to send troops south as soon as possible."
When Zhu Zhixiu heard this, he took a deep breath, nodded to Zheng Ping and said, "This will help you, sir. If you are alone in getting a big treasure in the future, I will make a great contribution to you."
Ningzhou City
Ningzhou City is actually just a small city, with a radius of no more than ten miles. Otherwise, King Anhua would not have just arranged thousands of troops in Ningzhou City.
After all, Ningzhou City is so big. Regardless of the people in the city, it can only support the garrison of thousands of soldiers and horses. If tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are really deployed, not to mention whether Ningzhou City can hold it, Ningzhou alone Such a small city cannot bear the consumption of so many people.
A few miles away from Ningzhou, there was a densely populated continuous camp, stationed by the soldiers and horses of Li Huan who came day and night.
At this moment, dozens of knights under Ningzhou City were looking at Ningzhou City from a distance. On the city wall, He Jin, who was wearing armor, looked solemnly at the densely packed black imperial army in the distance.
He Jin was just a Qianhu official in the imperial court. He was bewitched by Zhu Zhixiu and joined Zhou Ang and others to support Zhu Zhixiu and rebel.
Although Zhu Zhixiu has been entrusted with the important task of guarding Ningzhou, the gateway to Qingyang Mansion, He Jin is naturally very satisfied and dominates Ningzhou City before the imperial army arrives. Make blessings.
However, when he stood on the city wall and looked at the endless imperial army outside the city, He Jin felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, and he suddenly woke up.
At the same time, infinite fear surged into his heart, so He Jin immediately sent a messenger to Anhua City to ask for help. At the same time, he prayed silently in his heart, praying that the imperial army would not attack the city.
Under the city, Li Huan, escorted by several military generals and more than a dozen soldiers, looked at the Ningzhou City in front of him.
Of course, while Ningzhou City was in large numbers, Li Huan was also sizing up the defenders above the city. After just sizing it up for a while, a smile appeared on Li Huan's lips.
Chen Ang, Xu Ying and others were all children of noble families. Although they were from family backgrounds, even if they were entrusted with important tasks by Li Huan, this was really their first time on the battlefield.
So at this moment, Chen Ang, Xu Ying and others were also sizing up Ningzhou City in front of them, and inadvertently noticed Li Huan's expression.
With a thought in his heart, Chen Ang and Xu Ying looked at each other, only to hear Xu Ying cup her hands towards Li Huan and say: "Has the Governor come up with a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
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