Before the long knife in Zhou Ang's hand fell, he felt a pain in his heart, and his whole body was suddenly lifted up by a strong force.
Big mouthfuls of blood gushed out from his mouth, and Zhou Ang suddenly felt his body suddenly fly up, then fall hard the next moment, and then a wave of darkness drowned his consciousness.
Zhou Ang was beheaded with a casual blow. At the same time, the rebels had already become a mess under the impact of the cavalry.
They were originally a group of rabble-rousers, many of whom were ruffians from Qingyang Mansion and bandits recruited by King Anhua.
If these people are fighting a smooth battle, they may still have some fighting ability, but once they are frustrated, they will definitely be defeated and flee in all directions as soon as possible.
Just like now, if the 20,000 troops fight to the death, they may not be able to create some trouble for Li Huan and others, but it is a pity that these people have no intention of fighting at all.
With just one wave of impact, the rebels collapsed.
Especially after Zhou Ang was beheaded by Li Huan, the rebels who had no fighting spirit completely lost their commander and were directly chased by cavalry.
On top of Ningzhou City in the distance, although He Jin and others, as defenders, could not clearly see the specific battle situation, they could still see something about the battle between the two sides.
When they saw the reinforcements arriving under the banner of "Zhou", He Jin and others couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that they had been saved.
This night was really too sad. I was always worried whether the imperial army outside the city would attack the city. Once the city was defeated, the imperial court would never let these rebels go.
Perhaps the soldiers at the bottom would not lose their lives, but the generals like them would definitely have their families confiscated and exterminated by the imperial court as a warning to future generations.
After finally waiting until daybreak, they finally saw the reinforcements. He Jin and others even saw the reinforcements attacking the imperial army with great momentum.
What He Jin didn't expect was that the reinforcements led by Zhou Ang were so vulnerable. They were completely destroyed by a wave of attacks from the imperial army.
Especially now, looking at the rebels who were being hunted everywhere, even He Jin, no matter how slow his reaction was, knew that there would be no reinforcements in Ningzhou this time.
With a pop, He Jin fell directly to the ground, with a look of despair on his face.
The city of Ningzhou was destroyed.
I saw a group of soldiers surrounding a Baihu official, and the Baihu official was holding several heads in his hands, one of which was He Jin.
Li Huan looked at the hundreds of officials who prostrated themselves before him, with a bit of a smile in his eyes.
Although he knew that Ningzhou could be defeated, Li Huan never imagined that Ningzhou could be defeated so quickly and in this way.
Zhou Ang, He Jin and others in the army chose to support King Anhua in the rebellion, and naturally they brought many lieutenants with them. Not all of these lieutenants were willing to rebel, but they were forced to succumb to the rebels due to the situation.
.
The Baihu official named Chu Liang in front of him was a general who was unwilling to rebel. However, Zhou Ang, He Jin and others had previously suppressed and bloodbathed several generals in the army who dared to jump out, suppressing the generals in the army.
situation.
But this time Li Huan led the imperial court's counter-rebellion army to defeat the reinforcements sent by King Anhua in a battle and killed Zhou Ang. This not only shocked He Jin, the Ningzhou defender, but also shocked some people such as Chu Liang and others.
The imperial army's sergeants and generals saw hope.
So when Chu Liang ascended the mountain and shouted, a group of people immediately gathered. Taking advantage of He Jin's refusal, they directly beheaded He Jin, and then killed several generals who were loyal to King Anhua, and then opened the city.
Door.
It only took one day from the time Li Huan arrived at Ningzhou City to when Ningzhou City returned to the hands of the imperial court.
Li Huan didn't think this was a difficult task. He could only say that the rebels under King Anhua were too vulnerable. As long as He Jin and Zhou Ang had some good generals, relying on the strength of the city, they could hold on for a period no matter what.
time.
Even if we hold on until the Tatars cross the border and move south into the Central Plains, it is not impossible.
If that were the case, King Anhua, with the help of the Tatars, could really bring a lot of trouble to the Ming Dynasty, but it was a pity that King Anhua did not have any capable talents at all.
He Jin and Zhou Ang are just mediocre people. If they can't deal with such a group of rabble, Li Huan feels that he should return to Beijing early.
At this moment, Li Huan looked at the generals in front of him.
These generals led their troops to the gates of Ningzhou City about a quarter of an hour ago. The leader was Cao Xiong, who held the post of Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Governor-General.
Cao Xiongsheng is a strong-backed man, about forty years old. He is a good general at first glance, and several generals under his command are also very impressive.
Not to mention the ability, at least the appearance is really not bad.
When Li Huan looked at Cao Xiong and others, Cao Xiong and others also looked at Li Huan secretly.
Cao Xiong had previously learned that King Anhua had rebelled, so he sent someone to notify Yang Yiqing, the governor of the three sides, and at the same time mobilized troops and generals to recruit troops from the surrounding courts, and directly blocked the line of the Yellow River, thus blocking the rebels under King Anhua at the river.
to the north.
According to Cao Xiong's idea, he only needed to stop the rebels under King Anhua, and then cooperate with Yang Yiqing's army to easily put down King Anhua's rebellion.
However, to Cao Xiong's surprise, Yang Yiqing did not mobilize troops. Instead, the imperial court sent Li Huan to lead an army to put down the rebellion.
Cao Xiong was very puzzled and even thought that the emperor deliberately sent Li Huan to take credit. After all, at least no fool could see that King Anhua's rebellion would not cause any trouble at all.
In this case, as long as the generals who lead the three armies to counter the rebellion are not fools, they can easily put down King Anhua's rebellion.
But no matter how easy it is, it is still a great achievement in quelling the rebellion of the clan princes. Based on this achievement alone, there is even hope of becoming a prince.
Therefore, in Cao Xiong's mind, Li Huan was someone who came to grab credit, so when facing Li Huan, Cao Xiong showed a hint of contempt.
Naturally, Li Huan could see some of Cao Xiong's attitude, and he could also guess Cao Xiong's thoughts.
However, Li Huan didn't care at all. To be honest, Li Huan really appreciated Cao Xiong's moody and angry reaction. It was better than everyone who was extremely gloomy and kept all his thoughts in his heart, like an old man.
The yin is probably stronger than normal.
Li Huan smiled at Cao Xiong and the others and said, "General Cao, you are all here in a hurry. You must be tired. Please sit down and talk."
Cao Xiong raised his hands to Li Huan and said, "Thank you so much, General."
As Cao Xiong sat down, several other generals also took their seats, which shows Cao Xiong's status in the hearts of these generals.
Li Huan looked at Cao Xiong and said, "Li looked at General Cao with a worried look on his face. Maybe he thought that Li came here to grab credit from you all."
The expressions of Cao Xiong and others changed, and they saw Cao Xiong suddenly stood up and said to Li Huan: "The general is joking, how dare my subordinates think like this."
Li Huan waved his hands calmly and said, "General Cao, please sit down. In fact, even if General Cao didn't say anything, Li could have guessed it."
Cao Xiong was about to open his mouth to tell the difference, but Li Huan suddenly straightened his expression and said: "Speaking of it, if it was really just King Anhua who rebelled, your Majesty and the court elders would not even think of sending troops here.
The elite soldiers and generals under the governors of the three sides are enough to put down the rebellion of King Anhua."
Hearing what Li Huan said, Cao Xiong and others couldn't help but raise their heads and look at Li Huan, with doubts in their eyes.
Li Huan said slowly: "Are you wondering why it was obviously the most appropriate thing for Governor Yang to send troops, but Governor Yang did not mobilize any soldiers? Instead, I, the general, led the elite troops from the Beijing camp."
Cao Xiong looked at Li Huan solemnly and said, "Please ask the general to clear up the doubts for the generals and others."
A flash of light flashed in Li Huan's eyes and he said: "Because Dayan Khan has assembled a hundred thousand troops to go south, I am afraid that they have reached the capital city by now."
"What!"
Cao Xiong was not a border general, so he did not know the news about the border, nor did he know the news about the Tatars going south, so he reacted greatly.
"Tatars heading south?"
The expressions of Cao Xiong and other generals changed greatly. As military officials in Ningxia, they didn't know what it meant for a hundred thousand Tatar troops to go south.
This means that even with all the elites from the three sides, it may be difficult to stop the Tatars from crossing the border town defense lines and entering the Central Plains. A bloody battle is about to take place.
At the same time, Cao Xiong had a look of surprise on his face and said: "No wonder, no wonder Governor Yang didn't mobilize soldiers from the three sides to suppress the rebellion. It turns out that the Tatars went south."
Taking a deep breath, Cao Xiong bowed to Li Huan and said: "The general is stupid and ignorant. He has misunderstood the general. Please punish him."
Obviously Cao Xiong was apologizing to Li Huan, indicating that he had misunderstood Li Huan's intention.
Li Huan waved his hand and said seriously: "Li came here just under His Majesty's order to cooperate with Governor Yang to fight against the Tatars. As for King Anhua..."
Cao Xiong and others saw a look of disdain on Li Huan's face and said: "It's just King Anhua. Even General Cao and you can pacify it with your troops, so there is no need for the court to send a large army."
After receiving such praise from Li Huan, Cao Xiong and others felt their faces light up and said humbly to Li Huan: "The general is so complimentary. The general defeated the rebels in one battle. It can be said that he has made great achievements. How can the generals and others do this?"
Comparable to a great general."
As the saying goes, Li Huan was polite to people carrying people in sedan chairs. Cao Xiong and others were all generals in the army, and most of them were straight-tempered. Naturally, they felt that Li Huan was very right-tempered.
Then I heard Cao Xiong say to Li Huan: "Since the general is going to help Governor Yang to fight against the Tatars, the general can also allow the general to lead his subordinates to fight with the general."
Li Huan couldn't help but glance at Cao Xiong and others, which seemed to be a bit beyond his expectation.
Li Huan himself had never thought of bringing Cao Xiong and other local guards officers and generals with him. After all, to be honest, Li Huan knew more or less what the situation in the local guards was like.
Li Huan himself was born in a local guard station, so he was naturally aware of the corruption situation in the local guard station.
Li Huan's previous plan was to let Cao Xiong and others follow the army he led to take over the battlefield, and temporarily stabilize the situation before the imperial court sent officials to Qingyang Mansion.
Now after listening to Cao Xiong's words, Li Huan couldn't help but look at Cao Xiong and others and said: "General Cao has this intention. Li is deeply impressed, but at the moment there are still things to trouble General Cao and others."
Cao Xiong said seriously: "Please give me your orders, General."
Li Huan said: "Ningzhou City is back in the hands of the imperial court. Li still needs to lead a large army to put down the rebellion of King Anhua and conquer Anhua City. Therefore, Ningzhou City can only be handed over to General Cao to take over temporarily."
Cao Xiong couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help but say: "General, the general can send some troops to stay. I also ask the general to allow the general to lead his men and follow the general to fight against the Tatars."
Li Huan looked at Cao Xiong and said solemnly: "General Cao knows that this battle is dangerous and he will most likely lose his life..."
Before Li Huan could finish his words, Cao Xiong couldn't help laughing and said: "There is a scar as big as a bowl on my head. If the general was afraid, he would not ask for orders from the general."
Li Huan gave Cao Xiong a deep look and couldn't help but nod: "Okay, I never thought that General Cao would have this intention. In that case, General Cao led his men and followed Li to destroy Anhua City first, and then we could talk. How about fighting the Tatars?"
Cao Xiong was overjoyed and saluted Li Huan respectfully: "It's just based on the general's orders."
Anhua City
In the palace of Prince Anhua.
Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu sat there with a worried look on his face.
Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps, and a figure appeared in Zhu Zhixiu's sight.
When he saw the person coming, Zhu Zhixiu's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but said: "Mr. Sun, you are here, but is there any news about Ningzhou City?"
Ever since Zhou Ang led 20,000 reinforcements to rescue Ningzhou, Anhua King Zhu Chixiu was filled with uneasiness.
Sun Jingwen shook his head slightly when he heard this, obviously he didn't get any news. However, looking at the worried look of Anhua King Zhu Zhixiu, he couldn't help but comfort Zhu Zhixiu and said: "Your Majesty, you can rest assured. General Zhou Ang has an army of 20,000 people. It is fully twice as many as the imperial reinforcements. General Zhou will go to defend Ningzhou City and block the imperial troops outside Qingyang Mansion. There will be no problem in holding on until the Tatars come."
Sun Jingwen's words made Zhu Zhixiu feel a little more at ease. He looked at Sun Jingwen and said: "It's a matter of success or failure. I feel uneasy, but it makes you laugh."
Sun Jingwen smiled when he heard this and said: "Your Majesty is joking, your reaction is normal, but your Majesty should have confidence in the two generals Zhou Ang and He Jin. No matter what the two generals say, they are better than those sent by the emperor." That Li Huan must be reliable."
Zhu Chixiu couldn't help but nodded and said: "Sir, what you are saying is that Li Huan is just a lucky minister of the emperor. He was lucky enough to be favored by the emperor. He actually wants to command the army at a young age. He really thinks that he is a champion of the Han Dynasty."
As if he was cheering himself up, after Zhu Zhixiu said these words, all the worries in his heart disappeared, and he couldn't help but smile a little and said: "The lonely king is waiting here for the good news of the two generals Zhou Ang and He Jin. "
As he spoke, Zhu Chixiu looked at Sun Jingwen and said with a smile: "The solitary king does not want Li Huan's head, as long as the two generals Zhou Ang and He Jin stop the imperial troops and hold on until the Tatars go south."
Sun Jingwen's eyes flashed with determination and he said: "The two generals will definitely not let the prince down."
King Anhua, who was stroking his beard, looked at Sun Jingwen and said, "Mr. Sun, do you think that if Zheng Wen'an goes here, will the Tatars move south quickly?"
Sun Jingwen pondered for a while and nodded: "If the Tatars are not stupid, they will definitely choose to go south quickly. After all, if the Tatars have the help of the prince, not only will they be able to establish a foothold in Ningxia, but they will also be able to supply various materials by then. The Tatars can save themselves a lot of trouble."
As he spoke, Sun Jingwen looked at Zhu Zhixiu and said: "The Tatars will definitely support the prince with all their strength, and they may not even support the prince in your attempt to divide the territory and proclaim himself emperor to attack the imperial court."
A bright light flashed in Zhu Zhixiu's eyes. Although he was using the banner of Qingjun Side, anyone who is not a fool would know that the so-called banner of Qingjun Side is just a fig leaf.
But among those who rebelled, some did not want to sit on the supreme throne.
When Zhu Zhixiu heard this, he couldn't help but said: "If this is the case, the lonely king will never treat you badly!"
Sun Jingwen coughed lightly and looked at Zhu Zhixiu and said: "It's just that the prince must understand that once the prince accepts the support of the Tatars and proclaims himself emperor, he will probably be reviled by all the people in the future..."
Zhu Zhixiu sneered and said: "So what, think about Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, who once wanted the barbarians to surrender. Taizong Li Shimin also has an alliance on the Weishui River. As long as this king is secure, he may not be able to imitate Li Shimin in the future. History It is always written by the winner. At that time, the lonely king was the winner, and future generations will only know that the lonely king endured humiliation and endured the heavy burden..."
Sun Jingwen looked at Zhu Zhixiu and couldn't help but bow to Zhu Zhixiu and said: "Your Majesty has great ambitions. Sun admires him and is willing to work hard for you."
Zhu Zhixiu laughed loudly and said: "Mr. Sun is the son of the lonely king..."
Just as the two were enacting the scene of a king and his minister enjoying each other, they suddenly saw a palace guard coming hurriedly with a look of fear on his face.
"Your Majesty, something serious has happened."
For some reason, Zhu Zhixiu's heart thumped, he raised his head and looked at the guard, and shouted angrily: "Tell me, what happened?"
The guard prostrated himself on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Back to your lord, I have just received the news that the army led by General Zhou Ang was defeated by the imperial troops and was defeated in a battle. The 20,000-strong army was defeated and dispersed..."
"What, how could this happen?"
Suddenly hearing the news, Zhu Zhixiu couldn't help but swayed and almost fell to the ground. He held the table with one hand and shouted with red eyes: "Zhou Ang mistaken me, Zhou Ang mistaken me..."
At this time, Sun Jingwen looked at the guard with an ugly expression and said, "Where is Zhou Ang?"
When Sun Jingwen thought about it, Zhou Ang led an army of 20,000 people. Even if it was defeated, it was time to return with the defeated army. In any case, as long as Anhua City was defended and persisted until the Tatars arrived, then that would be Watch until the clouds open and the moon shines.
Zhu Zhixiu reacted and stared at the guard.
The guard took a deep breath and said: "General Zhou Ang died in the battle, the army collapsed, and less than a thousand people escaped..."
When Zhu Zhixiu heard this, he couldn't help but slapped his hand on the table and said angrily: "What a waste, what a waste. Only a thousand people from the 20,000-strong army escaped, and even lost their lives. How could the lonely king believe such a person?" If he is useless, send him to command the army."
The rebels that Zhu Zhixiu had gathered these days were only thirty or forty thousand, and Zhou Ang took away twenty thousand, leaving only about ten thousand in Anhua City.
I originally thought that as long as I blocked the imperial army and waited for the Tatars to arrive, everything would become very simple. However, I didn't expect Zhou Ang to be so useless. He was defeated and lost, and he lost 20,000 troops in one battle.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhixiu stared at the guard with red eyes and said: "Where is the imperial army, have they ever attacked Anhua City?"
It can be said that this is what Zhu Zhixiu is worried about.
Now that the Tatars have not crossed the border town defense line, if the imperial army kills him, he is really not sure that he can hold out until the Tatars come.
The guard hurriedly said: "Back to your lord, the imperial army has now arrived outside the city and sealed the four gates..."
With a bang, Zhu Zhixiu directly grabbed the tea cup in his hand and smashed it on the ground, shouting with a look of horror on his face: "How could this happen, how could this happen, why did the imperial army come so fast..."
The helpless Zhu Zhixiu was really frightened at this time.
A moment ago, he was dreaming of ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor, but in the blink of an eye, the imperial army's anti-rebellion army appeared outside the city and surrounded Anhua City. Zhu Chixiu could hardly bear the excitement. I couldn't help but faint.
After a while, Zhu Zhixiu calmed down. He stared at Sun Jingwen like a dying man grasping at straws and said: "Sir, save me, sir, save me. What should the lonely king do..."
Sun Jingwen, who was sitting there, was sweating profusely on his back and was wet. His legs felt weak and it was difficult to get up.
The news was really shocking. Sun Jingwen, like Zhu Zhixiu, never dreamed that the imperial army would arrive so quickly. To be precise, Sun Jingwen did not expect that Zhou Ang would be such a waste. In just two or three days, Time wasted and their plans came to nothing.
Sitting there paralyzed, Sun Jingwen tried to get up several times but felt that his whole body was weak and unable to get up. His legs were really shaking and his whole body was weak.
But in Zhu Zhixiu's eyes, Sun Jingwen was sitting there with a calm expression, giving the impression that he had the pearl of wisdom in hand and was not panicking at all.
Naturally, Zhu Zhixiu, who was panicked and desperate, immediately felt like he had grasped a life-saving straw when he saw Sun Jingwen's appearance.
Sun Jingwen came back to his senses and looked at the panicked Zhu Zhixiu. His heart was full of bitterness. Why was he so confused at the beginning? He thought of tempting Zhu Zhixiu to rebel.
Fortunately, the imperial army's anti-rebellion troops had already appeared outside the city and surrounded Anhua City. It was unknown when Anhua City was breached.
At that time, Anhua King Zhu Chixiu is still the prince of the Ming Dynasty no matter what. As a member of the Ming Dynasty clan, even if he rebels, his life and death will be decided by the emperor Zhu Houzhao.
But for those of them who persuaded King Anhua to rebel and participated in the rebellion as King Anhua's allies, the court would never let them go. What awaited them would definitely be the end of confiscating their homes and annihilating their clans, and the nine tribes were annihilated.
Thinking of this, Sun Jingwen felt despair for a while.
Seeing Sun Jingwen in a daze, Zhu Zhixiu couldn't help but said: "Sir, sir..."
After coming back to his senses, Sun Jingwen looked at Zhu Zhixiu, with a flash of madness in his eyes and said: "Your Majesty, the only plan for now is to defend Anhua City and wait for the arrival of the Tatars. We are the only ones who persist until the Tatars arrive, then we Only then can we have hope of survival.”
Zhu Zhixiu was stunned for a moment, then he cheered up and said: "Yes, yes, there are Tatars, we still have Tatars!"
While speaking, Zhu Zhixiu shouted loudly: "Come here, come here."
The palace guards guarding the door rushed in.
Zhu Zhixiu shouted: "I have ordered all the soldiers in the city to guard Anhua City for one day. I will reward each person with five taels of silver. For five days, each person will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. If you can defend it for ten days, , I will reward each person with twenty taels of silver."
As he spoke, Zhu Zhixiu said with a ferocious look in his eyes: "There must be a brave man under a heavy reward. I don't believe it. A white reward can't buy the lives of the soldiers guarding the city."
Sun Jingwen couldn't help but glance at Zhu Zhixiu in surprise. To be honest, Sun Jingwen really didn't expect that Zhu Zhixiu would suddenly burst out with such courage. If it were true that according to the silver reward offered by Zhu Zhixiu, other than He said that there were tens of thousands of soldiers in the city, and in ten days Zhu Zhixiu would come up with hundreds of thousands of taels of white money.
Not to mention anything else, this courage alone is admirable.
Sun Jingwen suddenly had some hope, and bowed to Zhu Zhixiu and said: "Your Majesty is so courageous. I believe that if the soldiers in the city know that Your Majesty has given out such a large amount of silver reward, they will definitely fight for His Majesty."
As he spoke, Sun Jingwen looked at Zhu Zhixiu with admiration and said: "Those Qiu Bawei's things are gold and silver. As long as the prince can get the gold and silver, it will not be necessary to defend the city for ten days, even for a month." It’s not a difficult thing.”
Zhu Zhixiu watched the palace guards go to convey his orders. At this time, Zhu Zhixiu, who had regained his composure, glanced at Sun Jingwen and said: "It's just money. If you can't save your life, it's all external things. As long as you can hold on until the Tatars arrive, What's the harm in spending tens of thousands of taels of silver to win people's hearts?"
Sun Jingwen was stunned when he heard this, with a look of confusion on his face and said: "With tens of thousands of soldiers, the prince must prepare at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."
Zhu Zhixiu sneered and said, "Why did you use so much?"
The doubts on Sun Jingwen's face became more and more serious, and Zhu Zhixiu glanced at Sun Jingwen, chuckled and said: "Defending the city requires death, Mr. Sun doesn't think that after ten days of defending the city, there will be tens of thousands of horses left in the city. ?It would be good if half of the people can survive by then."
Sun Jingwen was stunned and said subconsciously: "Your Majesty is so calculating."
Zhu Zhixiu said with a hint of complacency: "King Yigu wishes that when the Tatars come, it will be enough to have three to five thousand people left in the city. I will only need to spend at most a hundred thousand taels of silver. "
Suddenly, Sun Jingwen came to his senses and said, "What about those soldiers who died in the battle? Doesn't the prince give them pensions?"
Zhu Zhixiu glanced at Sun Jingwen and said: "What kind of silver does a dead man want? Do you really think that the king's silver was brought by the strong wind? If that damn Zhou Ang hadn't failed to live up to my expectations, I would have spent so much money." Do you want to use the money to boost the morale of the soldiers defending the city?"
Suddenly, the cheers of the soldiers guarding the city came from the city. It was obvious that the guards of the palace had conveyed Zhu Zhixiu's order.
For the generals in the army, Zhu Zhixiu was willing to offer such a silver reward, which naturally boosted the morale of the soldiers defending the city.