On the night when the envoy of the Black Horse Thieves came to see Zhang Dan, they were in a lishe a little far away from Daluze.
At this time, the lights were dark, and the dilapidated community was naturally silent.
Suddenly, a gurgling sound came.
Then a dark shadow walked towards the inner door, and then several night owl sounds were heard.
This time the sound of the owl was heard several times, and then there was some movement on the inner door.
Then I heard the prison cat behind the inner door here asking:
"Who's out there?"
A smile came from the darkness outside:
"it's me."
The inner supervisor was stiff for a while, and then said to the outside:
"Wait a minute, I'll open the door secretly."
Before he finished speaking, the inner door opened with a creaking sound.
The black shadow muttered:
"Why is it so slow this time? I haven't given you less money and food for a year, right?"
But before he finished speaking, he stopped as soon as he stepped through the door.
I saw five or six strangers looking at me with evil intentions, and my brother who stayed in the village was being tied up and looking at me with horrified eyes.
At this moment, the man's ghost was so strong that he turned around and ran away.
But a strong man came up from behind and grabbed his collar and threw it to the ground. The baggage he was carrying was also thrown out, revealing the luster of golden copper coins.
This person was about to get up, but was held down by someone coming up from behind.
Then he listened to the strong man’s order:
"Light the torch."
After that, someone lit the prepared rosin torch and put it in front of the captured man's face.
Here is a man with a curly beard and broad eyes, with fierce eyes, looking at the strong man fiercely.
The strong man turned to the door supervisor and said:
"Is this person Huang Uncle?"
The prison guard nodded hurriedly and said:
"That's right, this person is Uncle Huang, the fifth leader of the Black Horse Thief."
The strong man laughed heartily and said happily to his subordinates:
"Come on, let's take this man back and take everyone else away with him."
After saying that, he also said to the gatekeeper there:
"Come back and stay with us for a few days. It won't be a problem."
The inner door supervisor had no choice at this moment, so he could only bow and nod.
…
The arrest this time went very smoothly.
The people responsible for this arrest were spies from the Feijun Foreign Army. They had been lurking around here for a long time and finally got some valuable information from these local people.
It turns out that in this place not too close to Dalu Ze, there is actually the Fifth Chief of the Dark Horse Thief.
This man's name is Uncle Huang. He was a member of the local community here in his early years, but later fell into the trap. By various chances and coincidences, he became the fifth leader of the Black Horse Thieves.
The flying army spies lurking here learned from the villagers that Uncle Huang would come back every once in a while to deliver money and food to his family.
This matter is not a secret in the local society, but no one would take the initiative to seek an official position, but this does not hinder their jealousy, so there are many rumors.
After obtaining this information, the spies reported it to the military government. In the end, Zhang Dan and Xun You unanimously decided to use this man named Huang Bo as the breakthrough point in this battle.
After Uncle Huang was arrested, he couldn't hold on for long before he vomited.
Now the Taishan Army not only knew the location of the Black Horse Thief in the swamp, but also knew the route to enter the swamp.
As for how Uncle Huang was recruited? Needless to say, after all, no one wants their child to be without a father, right?
After Zhang Dan obtained this information, he urgently discussed with Xun You and other officials, and decided to quickly launch an attack on the black horse thieves before the news of Huang Bo's arrest was leaked.
From Huang Bo's mouth, we learned that the Black Horse Bandits at this time could no longer be underestimated. Thanks to the funding of the five Han commanderies, the Black Horse Bandits successively annexed many Zezhong water bandits, forming a force of 10,000 bandits on the periphery and 5,000 internal troops.
Card face.
Therefore, in this attack, Zhang Dan decided to take the whole army together to complete the necessary task.
…
Also on this night, the envoys from the five Han commanderies and the black horse thief Zheng Fu were celebrating wine and discussing matters in the water village.
Although the Black Horse Bandits have become more powerful, they are actually still a group of water bandits, so the reception was a mess, with drunken people lying on the ground, people fighting and causing trouble everywhere.
But in the central hall of Shuizhai, Zheng Fu and his followers listened carefully to the suggestions of the five commanderies.
One of them, Diao Liang, was sent from Bohai County. He was talking about the Taishan Army.
His clear voice seemed so out of place with the fishy smell here:
"Chief Zheng, we have more than ten thousand people now, but the plan has not yet been decided, which is a pity. I have always known the Taishan Army Zhang Dan, who is both wise and brave. If we had not planned it earlier, I might have done something unbearable."
Zheng Fu had difficulty listening to these words, but he still listened hard. He respected scholars like Diao Liang very much and always hoped that a few scholars would join him, but it was a pity that who would take a group of water bandits as their own?
thing?
So after listening to Diao Liang's words, Zheng Fu frowned and asked Diao Liang for advice:
"I wonder what Diao Sheng can teach me?"
Diao Liang exchanged glances with the people around him, and then told them all the strategies they had discussed:
"Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, Chief Zheng should take the lead before the Taishan Army pays attention to the leader and before the troops are concentrated. The leader can quickly lead troops to seize Julu, rely on the city walls and seize the treasury. Then send troops
Five thousand soldiers guarded Pingxiang and built fortresses to block the enemies from the west. Later, they joined forces with the Yellow Turbans of Guangzong, saying that if they blocked the Taishan bandits from the west, they would definitely gain their support."
Seeing that Zheng Fu remained silent, Diao Liang continued:
"Once the leader can hold a stalemate with the Taishan bandits at Julu, there will be an empty space behind them. At that time, after I attack the bandits in Anping, Qinghe, and Bohai, I will attack the north of the bandits in Changshan, Zhongshan, and Hejian, and I will definitely capture them in one fell swoop."
But Diao Liang saw that Zheng Fu didn't seem to be very interested in this rhetoric, so he immediately changed it:
"And when the Taishan bandits have trouble in the rear, will they still be able to stalemate with you, Chief? At that time, Chief, you can drive to the west of Julu and plunder the Kingdom of Zhao to strengthen the army. In this way, Chief, you can capture all the land of Julu, and then
When the time comes, I will be the leader and you will be the governor of Julu. I don’t know whether my descendants will be able to guard it, but as the leader, you will have no worries in your life."
When he mentioned this, Zheng Fu's eyes really lit up, but he didn't know what else he was thinking of. Zheng Fu slapped his mouth, and Hu Nong said:
"Drunk, drunk, let's discuss it tomorrow."
After saying that, Zheng Fu pretended to be drunk, hugged a woman and stuffed his face into his arms.
When Diao Liang saw that his strategy was not working for this person, he was upset and left the hall under the influence of drunkenness.
As soon as Diao Liang and others came out, the envoy from Anping, Li Mo, also came out.
Seeing Diao Liang and others blowing in the wind lonely there, Li Mo stepped forward to talk:
"For example, Deputy Diao's plan is the work of a hero. Who is Zheng Fu? He is just a mediocre dog, and he is just a housekeeper. When he heard that he was going to make a fortune, he must have been unhappy in every way. So Deputy Diao made you
It’s playing the piano to a cow.”
When Diao Liang saw that it was Li Mo who was speaking, he snorted coldly:
"Don't talk sarcastically here. Don't you know what the situation is now? Don't talk about me, Bohai County, just talk about your Anping country. There is the Yellow Turban Army in the south and the Taishan Army in the west. It is in danger. It shouldn't be more anxious than our Bohai County.
?"
Li Mo fell silent and said honestly to Diao Liang:
"Brother Diao, you wrongly blamed me. I have no ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, I am here to cooperate with Brother Diao. Now it is hopeless to convince Zheng Fu, so why not listen to our strategy?"
Diao Liang turned his head, looked at Li Mo, and said:
"You? Who else do you have?"
Li Moju told this:
"Now Shen Rong on the Qinghe side and Zhang Jiu on the Hejian side are with us. Do you plan to take another route?"
Seeing Diao Liang's interest, Li Mo smiled and said:
"This water village is full of muddy wine, which is not refreshing, so why don't Brother Diao come to my place and use a few more bottles together."
So, Diao Liang and others started the next scene, but Zheng Fu, who was already drunk in the hall, didn't even know.
The Zefeng is so strong this night, oh, it's so demonic.
…
On the second day, on the wild road to Dalu Ze, an army of five to six thousand people was meandering, surrounded by green willows and red flowers, which actually washed away a lot of the chill that should have been there.
But before the army, this was not the case.
The sentinels, composed of flying army You Yi and spies, began to patrol for thirty miles and monitored all the woodcutter and settlements they saw along the way to ensure the secrecy of the operation.
There are not many settlements on this road, so so far, the Taishan Army's actions are still under control.
It was also on this road that Zhang Danzheng, the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression, was riding a horse and chatting with Xun You:
"Chang Shi, this extermination of the black horse thieves is the beginning. What should we do next?"
Xun You replied seriously:
"After the Black Horse Bandits were wiped out, our army has used thunderous tactics, so the bandits in the swamp must have no intention of resisting anymore. At this time, we must show mercy and attract the bandits in the swamp to come out and resettle. Only by using this combination of suppression and appeasement can we
The continent is flat."
Zhang Dan nodded and agreed with Xun You's judgment. In fact, this was what Zhang Chong reminded him repeatedly. He should not just suppress with violence, but should give ordinary bandits a way to survive.
In this action, Zhang Dan didn't seem to do anything, but behind the scenes that many people couldn't see, Zhang Dan had already made a big move.
Zheng Fu had taken some from Ren County before. Although he evacuated later, he still hid a lot of spies in the city. These people colluded with the small officials in the city. As early as when the city was broken, these spies were hidden in the city.
In order to save the life of his family, he had already sold himself to Zheng Fu.
With the supply and protection of local cunning officials, these craftsmen knew all the situation in the city. It can be said that before the arrival of the Taishan Army's bandit-suppressing army, although Ren County belonged to the Taishan Army on the surface,
But everyone knows that the black horse thief Zheng Fu is the real master of this city.
As soon as Zhang Dan entered Rencheng, he asked Fei Jun's foreign troops to investigate the details of the city's operations. When outsiders thought that the Taishan Army was sitting peacefully, in the dark, the Taishan Army's intelligence system was already at war.
It was only after completely destroying the craftsmen in the city that Zhang Dan decided to send out the army, otherwise he would have been discovered by the water bandits in Dalu Ze.
After Zhang Dan entered the city, he also did one more thing, which was to ask Julu counties to open their warehouses to provide relief to the poor and weak people who lacked food.
At that time, there was still a lot of talk in the army. For example, Pan Zhang advised Zhang Dan:
"The water bandits have not been wiped out in the mainland, and these warehouse rice are exactly what is going to be used for this matter, so it is better not to let them go."
But Zhang Dan smiled, pointed at Pan Zhang and said to Xie Bi:
"Lao Xie, please bring more Pan Zhang with you from now on, this little Pan is still not very smart."
At that time, all the generals present burst into laughter, and Pan Zhang was stunned and didn't know what his mistake was.
In addition to these, Zhang Dan also did something that puzzled everyone, that is, even if he stood still, why didn't he build some beacons, so that after the thieves emerged from the river, they could send troops to support them as soon as possible.
But these people have no idea what Zhang Dan wants. Will Zhang Dan have to fight for several years to kill a thief? And spend money repairing beacons?
Zhang Dan has Zhang Dan's pride. Although he is stable, he has already made plans in his heart to kill the thieves with one blow. For this, Zhang Dan has made too many preparations.
For guides, Zhang Dan specifically found more than a hundred local people.
Each of these locals had a grudge against the Black Horse Bandits, and had either been bullied or had family members die at their hands.
Don't think that the black horse thieves are righteous thieves, or that rabbits don't eat the grass beside their nests. In fact, thieves are thieves, and they need villagers to pass on information and resell stolen goods, not to protect them.
So the black horse thieves only need to collude with a few powerful people. As for other Guizhou leaders? Instead, they have to work with those powerful people to jointly exploit.
Zhang Dan knew the importance of human relationships as soon as he arrived, and also knew that there were friends among enemies and who could become his friends, so he worked hard to find these locals with blood feuds and recruited them as guides.
The road that the Taishan Army is taking now is taken by the locals. It is indeed very secretive, but the disadvantage is that it cannot use large vehicles.
If you can't move a large cart, you won't be able to carry a lot of luggage, and you won't be able to wear armor for everyone. This is definitely risky, but the risk is worth it.
Just as Zhang Dan and Xun You were chatting about the specific details of recruiting water bandits later, a horseman came running from the front and told him a piece of news:
"Xiao Lieutenant, thank Sima Chu from the front for reporting that Xu Jian, a young commander from another unit guarding the thieves, led his troops out of the stronghold to surrender."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Dan frowned, and then asked Xun You next to him:
"Chang Shi, is this news leaked?"
Xun You thought for a while and said to Zhang Dan:
"Colonel Lieutenant, now we have controlled the young commander from another department. Why do we release him first?"
Zhang Dan nodded, and then led the Chinese guardsmen to gallop to the front of the team.
At this time, Zhang Dan saw a group of water bandits lying on the ground like refugees, while Xie Bi was standing next to a black man who looked like an old farmer, not knowing what to say.
Zhang Dan first dismounted, then walked to Xie Bi's side:
"Are you that Xu Jian?"
The kneeling black man was so lean that he seemed to have only a skeleton left. After hearing Zhang Dan's words, the man immediately realized that he was a big shot in the Taishan Army, so he burst into tears:
"It's too late for the general to come. I've been waiting for Taishan's army until my eyes went blind. Those black horse thieves are just a bunch of beasts, and they bullied us so hard."
Later, Zhang Dan learned the whole story from Xu Jian's mouth.
It turns out that Xu Jian and his group were also a group of small water bandits in Zezhong, but they were beaten to death by the Black Horse Pirates some time ago. After being annexed, Xu Jian and others were thrown into this waterway to serve as garrison troops. Obviously, they were not captured.
Treat it as one of your own.
With no supplies and no settlement nearby, Xu Jian and others could only randomly catch some fish and shrimps in the marsh to satisfy their hunger, but the more they ate, the hungrier they became.
It was also at this time that they saw the soldiers and horses of the Taishan Army and knew what was going to happen next. So Xu Jian discussed it with a few of his confidants and decided to surrender to the Taishan Army without stopping.
After hearing the news, Zhang Dan assessed the authenticity in his mind, and then ordered:
"You are doing the right thing by surrendering, but you also need to make a contribution to show your difference from the bandits. I would like to let you be the vanguard and use your boats to lead troops to Zedao. Are you willing?"
After hearing this, Xu Jian suddenly raised his head and said hoarsely with his hungry green eyes: