Chapter 93: No blood turns into a river, how to deter Xiao Xiao
On the tenth day of June in the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the sky was still bright, and the sun's scorching rays still shone on the earth as usual.
The Gonghuan Gate on the north side of Chang'anling Fort was wide open, and a group of capable knights galloped out of the Gonghuan Gate. Each of their heads was covered with white cloth, and the soul-calling flags were also held high by the knights.
Along with the cavalry, there were four carriages galloping out of the Gonghuan Gate. At the head was a flat carriage, with an exquisite coffin clearly placed on the carriage board, and white flags hung around the carriage.
Behind him was a sedan, and Zhang Cheng was lying in the sedan. There were two layers of mattresses on the mattress underneath him. Next to him were Wei Zhice and Shi Jianneng, the medical officer of Chang'an Lingbao.
It turned out that after Zhang Cheng arranged everything in the official hall of the Thousand Households of Chang'an Ridge Fort, he insisted on setting off immediately in case something changed. Although Liu Shizun tried his best to dissuade him, he could not stop him.
He also proposed that he would take his two hundred warriors back to Chicheng with Zhang Cheng and work together to kill the traitor Wu Youlu. However, Zhang Cheng did not want him to participate in the dispute on the North Road, so he dissuaded him and said:
"World Honored One, I am fully aware of your intentions. Although this matter occurred under your jurisdiction, it originated from the North Road after all. Your Chang'an Ridge is the territory under the jurisdiction of the capital. It is not appropriate to be involved in the disputes on our North Road. Lei Zhan
The soldiers in the city are staying with you to recover from their injuries, so you can stay and take good care of them."
Zhang Cheng's tone was firm, and Liu Shizun had no choice but to send Shi Jianneng, the Fort's medical officer, beside Zhang Cheng to follow him back to the North Road so that he could take care of Zhang Cheng's injuries along the way.
Behind the sedan car that Zhang Cheng was riding on, there were two more flat cars with four coffins. Inside were the bodies of the bodyguards who were killed in the valley road.
More than fifty capable knights escorted the convoy as they sped along the valley road, gradually disappearing from Liu Shizun's sight.
…………
On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, at the end of the Youshi hour, the sky was already slightly dark, and a cool breeze was blowing on the willow leaves on both sides of the official road, making a rustling sound.
In a forest two miles south of Diaohao Fort, there were nearly two hundred war horses gnawing on the grass on the ground with their heads lowered in the forest. There were many strong men guarding the direction of the official road near the forest.
To the north of this forest, there are dozens of people scattered around on guard. There are more than ten people in the middle, who seem to be discussing something, but the person in the middle is lying on the collapse. It is Zhang Cheng, Wei Zhice, Chen Zhong and others.
.
It turned out that Zhang Cheng and his party met Zhao Shihu who was rushing from the top of the tree. They were resting in the forest. Less than half an hour later, Liu Quan led more than 60 knights and rushed over.
Now they have Zhang Cheng, Zhang Guodong's fifty cavalry, Zhao Shihu's thirty cavalry, plus Liu Quan's sixty cavalry, which makes them nearly one hundred and fifty elite cavalry.
Because Liu Quan and others had galloped all the way, they rested here to allow their horses to regain their strength. Liu Quan and Zhao Shihu were extremely angry when they saw Zhang Cheng's current weak appearance. They were eager to set off immediately.
He marched into Chicheng and massacred Wu Youlu's entire family.
Zhao Shihu even knelt in front of Zhang Cheng and said bitterly: "General, although Shihu is a deserter, he still knows loyalty in his heart. General Meng will not give up. He treats us Zhao Shihu as an individual.
He values us so much that we stand guard at the top of the wooden vine for the general. The general trusts and values ten tigers so much that we can repay him with a spring of water. Today, that Wu Dog thief dared to conspire to rob and kill the general.
We, Zhao Shihu, are the first ones who can't bear it. We don't even need to pay attention to the general's orders to Shihu, let alone the Wu Gou thieves who want to plot rebellion. Even if we want Shihu's head now, we won't even blink an eye."
Seeing Zhao Shihu speak so impassionedly, everyone was moved, but Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "Brother Shihu, there is no need to be like this. I wanted you to still be a bandit to show off to everyone, because I wanted to keep you as an outside line.
Now there is no need for that. After this matter is settled, you will officially be under my command. How about being the general manager first?"
Zhao Shihu was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his head again and said: "Zhao Shihu is entirely at the mercy of the general, and he doesn't dare to complain."
Among the people, Wei Zhice was the only one with a solemn expression on his face, as if he had something on his mind. He looked deeply at Zhang Cheng, who was lying on the couch, but he hesitated to speak.
Zhang Cheng spoke again at this time: "Liu Quan, Shi Hu, you two will lead the cavalry under your command, secretly go eastward along the Nanhe River, look for opportunities to cross the Nanhe River, sneak along the Baihe River Valley Road to the south of Chicheng and wait until I arrive.
.”
Then he called Chen Zhong and ordered: "You quickly arrange for four horses to run towards Dushi, go all the way through the castle and report the death of this general. Two of them will run to Yunzhou to find Chen Zheng, and ask him to lead his troops to Chicheng as soon as possible."
Waiting for my general’s coffin in case of any eventuality.”
After saying a lot, Zhang Cheng stopped to take a breath before continuing: "Have a rest for a while and set off at night. We must arrive at Chicheng before dawn tomorrow. Without further delay, everyone go and prepare."
Chen Zhong continued at the side: "General, you'd better hurry up and hurry up. We'll go to Chicheng first and destroy the Wu thieves."
"It doesn't matter. After all, that guy is a fourth-level garrison. What's more, Chicheng still has a military constitution and a food road. It may be difficult for you to completely control the situation. Once it gets out of control, we will be passive. For now, the only way is to
It’s a quick and easy mess, and it’s better not to give the thieves a chance to react.”
Everyone dispersed and made preparations before departure, but Wei Zhice stayed. He looked around and then said softly to Zhang Cheng: "General, Wu Youlu and Xue Liang deserve to die, but they are fourth grade after all.
If you don't report your official rank to the imperial court, how can you kill without permission? General, don't forget Yuan Chonghuan's disaster!"
Zhang Cheng lay on the soft floor. He looked at Wei Zhice, who looked sincere, and knew in his heart his scruples. After all, Wei Zhice was a man who had read books, and he still had loyalty, integrity, and the rules of the court in his heart. This advice was indeed for
Think about Zhang Cheng.
But Zhang Cheng had no choice at this time. The bow was fully drawn and the arrow was on the string, so he had no choice but to fire.
He didn't want to waste energy and have a protracted entanglement with Xue Liangqing, Wu Youlu and the like. The belief in Zhang Cheng's heart was:
How could Xiao Xiao be frightened without blood flowing like a river!
I just heard him say to Wei Zhice: "Zhice, what you said is indeed true, but I can't do it that way. Now the North Road is in decline. If we don't vigorously eliminate the shortcomings, how can we talk about cultivating fields to support the army?"
Nowadays, not only the Tartars are eyeing our land of China, but all the bandits that the imperial court had previously recruited have also revolted, and the war has begun again in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. However, we spend a lot of time on insidious villains like Xue and Wu. Why?
Is it critical to save the country and the dynasty?"
Looking at Wei Zhice who was deep in thought, Zhang Cheng continued: "Not only do I want to directly capture and kill the traitor Xue Wu, but I also want to eradicate him. I will take this opportunity to kill the disobedient people on the North Road, wipe out all the demons, and clear away the haze.
.”
After hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Wei Zhice's majestic body trembled, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely complicated.