This city was better known as Xuzhou in later generations.
A certain transport captain of later generations once commented:
In Xuzhou, there have been more than 50 large-scale conquests in the past dynasties. It is difficult to say the right and wrong. However, historians have all noticed that it was this ancient battlefield that determined the rise and fall of many generations of dynasties. Therefore, there has been a desire to conquer the Central Plains since ancient times.
said.
The importance of Xuzhou’s status can be seen from this.
However, the one stationed in Xuzhou was Xu Shuji, the military governor of Bianzhou.
This Bianzhou was Bianzhou City, the capital of the Song Dynasty, which was also Kaifeng City, Henan Province. However, Bianzhou was still in the hands of the puppet Yan rebels at this time, so Xu Shuji led the Bianzhou Army to station in Pengcheng, preparing to wait for the opportunity.
Recover Bianzhou City.
At this time, we should mention the conflict between Xu Shuji, the governor of Bianzhou, and Helan Jinming, the governor of Linhuai.
After Helan Jinming rebelled in Anlu Mountain, he once rebelled in Hedong and rebelled against Anlu Mountain together with Yan Zhenqing's brother Yan Gaoqing.
Later, Yan Gaoqing was defeated, and Helan went to Lingwu to meet the emperor in the Ming Dynasty. He was awarded the title of Linhuai Military Envoy to guard Linhuai, the gateway to Jianghuai in the Tang Dynasty.
Originally, the emperor was grateful for his contribution and wanted to grant Helan the position of imperial censor of the Ming Dynasty.
However, Fang Guan, the prime minister at the time, thought that Helan Jinming was a villain who only wanted rewards for his merits. When the Zhengshitang issued a formal decree, Helan Jinming was awarded the title of "Linhuai Jiedu Envoy and Chief Yushi Dafu".
With the addition of an additional "leader", Helan Jinming was changed from the official Yushi doctor to the acting Yushi doctor.
And Fang Guan happened to be Xu Shuji's supporter. Helan Jinming and Fang Guan were not on good terms, and the conflict between Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming was forged.
The Bianzhou Army led by Xu Shuji has been on the move since the fall of Bianzhou.
Pengcheng was originally under the control of Linhuai Jiedushi, but Xu Shuji directly led his troops to occupy Pengcheng.
Bianzhou's soldiers were fierce, and Helan Jinming continued to impeach Xu Shuji, but the court just turned a blind eye and sent a censor to mediate the conflict between the two. In the end, Pengcheng was assigned to Xu Shuji as his place of governance.
Nowadays, Helan Jinming and Xu Shuji, one is stationed in Pengcheng (Xuzhou) and the other is stationed in Linhuai (Suqian). Both sides have deployed heavy troops on the border, both of them are afraid that the other side will annex them.
The two Jiedu envoys of the Tang Dynasty left the rebels in Suiyang alone and fought for each other's territory.
Nan Jiyun led thirty cavalrymen to break out of Suiyang and rode non-stop all the way until they finally arrived at Pengcheng.
At this time, in Pengcheng, Xu Shuji was having a banquet in his mansion.
Pengcheng is a place with developed transportation and a famous ancient city.
After occupying Pengcheng, the Bianzhou Army also had a good life. Zhang Wu followed Nan Jiyun into the city, but found that the streets of Pengcheng were full of vendors selling goods.
But the strange thing is that no one is watching these stalls, and pedestrians hide away when they see the stalls.
Zhang Wu took a casual look and saw that the stalls were selling some strange products.
There were various broken weapons, whetstones and other items on the stalls, as well as some strange-looking daily necessities.
Zhang Wu saw Nan Jiyun rushing into the Jiedushi Palace, so he found a tea shop and sat in.
After giving the money to buy a pot of hot tea, Zhang Wu called Dr. Tea and asked:
"Dr. Tea, why are there so many vendors on this street?"
Dr. Cha quickly whispered: "The accent sounds like the guest is from out of town, right?"
Zhang Wu nodded, and Dr. Cha immediately said: "Sir, please don't buy anything from these vendors. It's best not to even look at it."
Zhang Wu asked doubtfully: "Why is this?"
Dr. Cha continued: "My lord, the people buying things are sergeants of the Bianzhou Army. If you look at their things, they will force you to buy them. Many big families in the city will suffer losses."
"If you are really interested in something, these Bianzhou soldiers are very good at business, and they will sell the tattered things at high prices. The key is that there is no place to reason."
Zhang Wu looked at Dr. Tea in shock, what is this? The Osaka Division of the Tang Dynasty?
Dr. Tea said: "My lord, you don't know that this Bianzhou people are very good at doing business, and Bianzhou's profiteers are also famous in our Pengcheng area."
"This time the Bianzhou army was driven to Pengcheng. The Jiedu envoy really had no money to pay the reward, so he asked them to take the spoils and sell them in the market."
"At the beginning, I could still sell some, but now everyone knows their tricks, and no one dares to go over to inquire about prices. I heard that these soldiers are going to cause trouble again."
What kind of operation is this? The military is allowed to do business just because they can’t pay their salaries?
This Xu Shuji is really a logic genius and a little business expert.
Zhang Wu asked doubtfully: "Pengcheng is an important transportation road and the gateway to Jianghuai. How come there is no money?"
The tea doctor sighed and said: "After the Bianzhou army came, they set up cards everywhere to collect money, which scared the merchants so much that they would rather take a detour than go to Pengcheng."
"The trade route was cut off, and the Jiedushi envoy asked the army and soldiers to collect taxes themselves. He said that all the taxes received would be used as military supplies, which scared the surrounding people who were farming and ran away."
“I don’t know how many more days my tea shop can be open.”
Zhang Wu sighed and said that they were a family of soldiers and bandits. This time the Anlushan Rebellion swept the world, and the local area was repeatedly wiped out by bandits and soldiers.
After the thieves and soldiers had finished robbing, they were looted by the officers and soldiers. However, these rogue soldiers who were cruel to the people had low combat effectiveness when they really went to the battlefield.
Nan Jiyun came to Xu Shuji's house with the documents from Suiyang guard Zhang Xun.
Xu Shuji was born in the Xu family of Anlu. His father once served as the military governor of Pinglu. He was appointed by the imperial court for his "knowledge of northern affairs".
But in fact, Xu Shuji and the Bianzhou Army soldiers under his command had no intention of confronting the puppet Yan.
On the contrary, they invaded other military prefectures, occupied Pengcheng, and also stared covetously at Linhuai City, where the Linhuai Jiedushi was stationed.
Xu Shuji was born into a famous family and lived a very luxurious life.
After occupying Pengcheng, Xu Shuji spent all day drinking and having fun in his mansion and did not manage Bianzhou's military affairs.
Nan Jiyun sent Suiyang an urgent letter asking for help. After Xu Shuji read the letter, he said to his left and right:
"The small city of Suiyang, Yin Ziqi, the puppet general of the Yan Dynasty is also a veteran general. It has been besieged for eight months and still cannot be captured. Do you know the reason?"
The generals who were having a banquet with Xu Shuji in the hall shook their heads to express their ignorance.
Xu Shuji said drunkenly: "This is because Yin Ziqi is calling for reinforcements!"
"We besieged Suiyang without attacking, so we were able to stay there for eight months. According to what Nan Jiyun said, Yin Ziqi completely surrounded Suiyang. How did Nan Jiyun get out of Suiyang with thirty horses?"
"Yin Ziqi deliberately released him, asked us for help, asked us to send troops to rescue him, and then swallowed up our Bianzhou army!"
"If the Bianzhou Army is lost and the rebels can go south to the Jianghuai River, then I, Uncle Xu, will be the criminal of the imperial court!"
Xu Shuji's words were so high-sounding that the generals in the hall were happy to follow suit and said:
"Commander and wise!"
Everyone in the Bianzhou Army was unwilling to fight. Xu Shuji's words gave everyone a reason. Naturally, they wholeheartedly supported Jieshuai.
Xu Shuji said: "Nan Jiyun still wants to see him and tell him that our Bianzhou army has court military affairs and needs to defend Pengcheng and cannot send troops to Suiyang."
"Let Nan Jiyun go find Linhuai's governor Helan Jinming. If Helan Jinming sends troops, we will defend Linhuai City for him!"
When the soldiers heard this, they were even more happy. Linhuai was a big city like Pengcheng. If they marched into Linhuai, they would make a fortune.
Nan Jiyun quickly walked up to the hall without even taking off his armor to rest.
He said to Xu Shuji: "Shuai Xu! Suiyang City is in danger. Commander Zhang sent me to ask for help from Pengcheng. The enemy army is already exhausted. As long as Pengcheng sends troops, we can defeat the enemy!"
Seeing Nan Jiyun covered in blood, Xu Shuji, who valued appearance, was a little displeased.
Xu Shuji said: "Last time, your commander Zhang asked me for help, but it was not easy for our Bianzhou army to hold Pengcheng. It was really impossible to send troops to rescue Suiyang."
"General Nan should go to Linhuai City and ask for help from Helan Jiedushi!"
Nan Jiyun's face was full of anger. Yin Ziqi's army was dragged into Suiyang City. What do you have to defend in Pengcheng?
When Nan Jiyun entered Pengcheng, the four doors were open. Pengcheng's business was doing very well, but it didn't look like Pengcheng was in a hurry.
Nan Jiyun sighed, turned around and left without talking to Xu Shuji.
Xu Shuji felt a little unhappy when he saw Nan Jiyun being so ignorant of etiquette.
A Bianzhou military lieutenant who was good at observing people came forward, grabbed Nan Jiyun and said, "General Nan, it's getting late today. Let's rest in Pengcheng for a day and leave tomorrow."
Nan Jiyun pushed the captain away and said, "The military situation in Suiyang is urgent. Nan needs to take leave!"
After saying this, Nan Jiyun walked directly out of Jiedu Envoy's Mansion, mounted his horse and headed out of the city.
Zhang Wu, who was hiding at the door of Jiedushi, sighed slightly when he saw Nan Jiyun storming away.
Sure enough, as in history, Xu Shuji refused to send troops to rescue Suiyang.
Zhang Wu hid until night. After the night fell, the lights in Jiedushi's mansion were still brightly lit, and Xu Shuji was still having a banquet with his generals.
It was not until midnight that the sound of silk and bamboo gradually subsided, and several generals left the Jiedushi Mansion with the support of their subordinates.
Zhang Wu changed into black clothes. He took the hook lock he made and turned into the Jiedushi Mansion from the side.
Xu Shuji's Jiedushi Mansion was originally the residence of the Pengcheng Prefect, with only three rooms in the front and back.
The first entrance is the Yamen office, and Xu Shuji lives in the inner house on the third entrance.
Zhang Wu mainly added agility and endurance attributes. He held his breath and hid in the grass to observe the vigilance situation in Jiedushi's mansion.
Xu Shuji refused to pay the soldiers' salaries, and soldiers often used force to demand their wages. Therefore, Xu Shuji hired a hundred dead soldiers with a heavy sum of money to protect his safety.
Therefore, there were many soldiers patrolling the mansion. Zhang Wu frowned. It seemed that his plan to directly coerce Xu Shuji would be difficult.
At this time, Zhang Wu heard and saw two officers dressed as captains walking toward the bushes where he was hiding!