On September 25, Shao Shude led the Tianxiong Army, the bodyguard army and the newly arrived National Defense Army, with more than 30,000 people, heading eastward to Bajiao Town.
Before leaving, news was received that Zhu Quanzhong had arrived in Wansheng Town, and the defenders of Guandu City dispatched to pursue him.
Shao Shude had no hope for them, because most of these people were infantry and would hardly cause any trouble to Zhu Quanzhong.
In fact, it was almost the same. After Zhu Quanzhong arrived in Wansheng Town, he joined thousands of Bianzhou Township soldiers who stayed behind.
After resting for half a day, he saw that the Xia army was about to pursue him, so he took the supplies and ran eastward. After they left, the native soldiers immediately collapsed on the spot. Every home was beaten like a bird, and the king of Liang also ran away.
We are on the way, so we might as well escape home to save our lives.
On the 26th, Zhu Quanzhong arrived at a place more than ten miles north of Dashiqiao to rest his horse and inquire about the news.
"What do you think of this journey?" Zhu Quanzhong sat directly on the ground and asked while devouring the biscuits.
Jingxiang was also eating vinegar pancakes with pickles. The taste was not very good, but it was good to eat some, so you can’t be too picky.
"Your Majesty, the Xia thieves have very few soldiers in the north. The main force should be concentrated in Zhongmou and Bajiao. They will probably come to Bianzhou now." Li Zhen replied directly: "There are still more than 20,000 soldiers in Bianzhou. We must guard the city.
enough."
Bianzhou has the Guangsheng, Shenjie, and Tianxing armies, and his adopted son Zhu Youwen is in charge of the city's defense.
The guards commanded Zhang Lang to serve as the beheading envoy to maintain discipline throughout the city.
Shi Yan resigned as street envoy, and now has more than 2,000 people under his command, most of whom are students from military schools, and has taken over the security of the city.
The probability of them surrendering was low, so Li Zhen believed that Bianzhou was safe.
Zhu Quanzhong nodded, and then turned his attention to the south, where the sound of horse hooves could be heard in a less urgent manner. After a while, he saw Han Qing, the deputy commander of Tabaidu, leading his people back.
General Zhu Youliang stepped forward slightly, trying to block Zhu Quanzhong.
Zhu Quanzhong gave his nephew a vague hand, stepped forward in person, and asked, "Are there any traitors?"
"Your Majesty, there are bandits riding on the north bank of the big stone bridge, but there are not many of them. The last general led his troops to charge and killed more than ten thieves. Then another two to three hundred horses rushed from the south bank. The last general did not know the depth and did not dare to go deep, so he retreated.
Come back. Looking at the appearance of the thieves, you should summon the left and right cavalry to come for reinforcements. The general is worried that the king will suffer a loss, so he retreats." Han Qing replied.
"Thank you for your hard work, General Han." Zhu Quanzhong forced a smile and started thinking.
Now it seems that his guess was correct. The Xia thieves sent almost all the cavalry that could be mobilized to all directions in Bianzhou to intercept and blockade the defeated troops and prevent them from returning to Bianzhou. This realization made him very depressed and unable to return.
We're home, what should we do?
"Your Majesty, it's better to look in other directions." Li Zhen suggested.
"That's fine." Zhu Quanzhong nodded. Seeing that everyone was almost rested and the horses had recovered most of their energy, he ordered: "Go to the east of the city and have a look."
Without saying a word, everyone got on their horses and headed east.
Jingxiang keenly noticed that several people moved slowly, fell behind halfway, and then disappeared.
Maybe it's because my horsepower is running low and I can't keep up, or maybe it's for other reasons. But I can't go into it, and I can't make it public.
King Liang used to give everyone a lot of things, money, women and other privileges, but that was before.
What can I give now? Nothing can be given.
The reason why everyone is still following may be because they are grateful for their past kindness, or they may be out of habit. Even if someone leaves privately, as far as the King of Liang is concerned, he will never pursue it. On the contrary, he can only pretend to be generous and let them go.
.
This is the human heart, it is extremely mysterious.
******
The atmosphere in Bianzhou City was solemn and extremely tense.
The street envoy Shi Yanci went into the palace to meet his sister Shi, and then returned to the Yamen.
He now has a separate office and has more than ten assistants to assist him in handling official duties.
His subordinates are also very different from before. It can even be said that they have completely changed their appearance. General Bianliang and the sons of rich families have replaced the original smooth people, and their combat effectiveness has improved.
With two thousand people, well-equipped and most of them skilled in martial arts, maintaining order on the streets and in important urban areas is a piece of cake.
But this is normal.
What about abnormal situations? For example, when people’s hearts change suddenly.
"My boss, Xia thieves and scouts are out in all directions, covering the mountains and plains. I don't know how many people there are. Looking at their actions, it seems that they are trying to hinder the return of King Liang to Bian." An aide came over and whispered.
The staff member is from Chenliu, Bianzhou. He is not young, but he looks like a sharp-mouthed monkey. In a country that pays attention to appearance, he is not very popular. However, he has read a lot of miscellaneous books and has some crooked talents, so
He was hired by Shi Yanci to serve as his personal staff and give him advice.
"Did King Liang lose in the west?" Shi Yanci asked with a calm expression and a low voice.
"I'm afraid that both father and son will lose." the staff member replied.
There was a look of gloating on his face, which made Shi Yanci very unhappy. After all, King Liang was also the one who gave me wealth, how could he be like this?
"Tens of thousands of troops have been destroyed, and the situation in Bianzhou is over. Even if we hold on, how long can we hold on? It may not last for a year." The staff seemed unaware and continued: "It's time to think of a way out.
.”
Shi Yanci remained silent after hearing this.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he also felt that what the staff said was probably true and would not deviate too far from the truth. It was the look and tone of this guy's words that made people very unhappy. He looked like a villain who was successful and gloating about his misfortune, and even had a faint hint of it.
A hint of obscenity?
There was a reason why he was poor. Shi Yanci gave the old man a disgusted look.
"What's the escape route?" Although he was conflicted in his heart, Shi Yanci was very honest and asked in an inaudible voice.
"I heard that Shao Shude is very beautiful, and my boss may be able to save his life and wealth," the aide said.
Shi Yanci was thoughtful and asked: "My sister-in-law is still young. She is only twelve years old this year. She is a bit too young."
The staff member suddenly laughed, as obscene as he wanted to be.
The veins on Shi Yanci's forehead were exposed, and he almost chopped the guy with a knife.
"How powerful King Xia is, what kind of woman does he want?" the staff laughed.
Generally speaking, the emperor is not available to all women. In fact, it is very complicated, and the choice is not as wide as everyone imagines. But that is for the conservative king when the dynasty is stable. For the late Tang Dynasty warriors and the founding emperor,
All the seeds were ineffective. They would take whatever they liked and take them home, and the people below would also think of ways to offer them to beauties from all over the world, with talents, looks, and everything.
Therefore, what the staff said is absolutely correct. Shao Shude wants a beautiful woman, which is really nothing. It can be described as trivial.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Shi Yanci became impatient and asked directly.
"The king of Xia has dozens of states and millions of people. The territory is so vast and the power is so great that it makes all the princes in the world eclipse him. If he wants a beauty, it is a trivial matter. But the king of Xia likes to conquer. If he conquers an enemy town, he will
A handsome thief, his wife, and his daughter will definitely accept him, as there is Hu Feng in the grassland." The staff member stopped after pointing, and said with a mean smile.
Shi Yanci resisted the urge to punch him in the face.
This old man is a humble man, but he is very good at judging people. Although his little sister is pretty, to be honest, with his status as King Xia, others are begging him to give him beautiful women, and her appearance, figure, and talents are not as good as those of my sister.
Bad. But the eldest sister, Shi Shi, was always favored by the Liang Wang. With this status, King Xia couldn't hold on to her.
The old man was right, King Xia was Hu Fengshilie, and the title of Supreme Khan was definitely not in vain.
On the grassland, there are customs such as step marriage, continuation marriage, middle cousin marriage, uncle-nephew marriage, etc. In this regard, King Xia was simply cold and unscrupulous.
Ahem, the so-called step marriage means that after the father dies, the son takes the wives and concubines of his father other than his biological mother; when the uncle dies, the nephew takes the wives and concubines of the uncle; when the brother dies, the brother takes the wives and concubines of the brother. For example, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi
, the matter of Empress Wu.
Successive marriage, as the name suggests, means that after the death of the elder sister, the younger sister continues to marry, and after the death of the aunt, the niece continues to marry. This is quite common in the Central Plains.
Cousin marriage, that is, marrying the daughter of an aunt, uncle, or aunt, is also very common in the Central Plains.
An uncle-nephew marriage can also be understood literally. There are many grasslands and fewer in the Central Plains. For example, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty Liu Ying took the daughter of his sister Princess Lu Yuan as his queen, and Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty Liu Jin took the daughter of his cousin Princess Xianyang as his queen.
, Emperor Wu Jing and Sun Xiu took the daughter of his elder sister, Princess Xiaohu, as his queen.
King Xia can have as many stunning beauties as he wants, but he is not very interested. He is playing with status.
"Now if you want to vote... you have to..." Shi Yan's words were unclear.
The mean smile on the old man's face became even thicker, and he said: "There are many soldiers in the city, but Zhu Youwen, Wang Tan, and Hua Wenqi are the most important, each with more than 7,000 soldiers and horses. He Delun only has a few hundred horses, and Zhang Lang
There are only more than a thousand soldiers, and your boss has more than 2,000 soldiers. It is difficult to do anything, and you still have to find helpers."
"Where is the help?" Shi Yanci stopped pretending and asked directly.
"Commander of the Shenjie Army Wang Tan," the staff member replied.
Shi Yanci nodded slightly.
Wang Tan is a native of Jingzhao. His great-grandfather was a general in charge of military affairs. He was General Zuo Jinwu and the defense envoy of Longzhou. His grandfather was also a general in military affairs and served in the Pinghuangchao Rebellion. He became acquainted with Zhu Quanzhong. Quanzhong went out to control Bianzhou.
After that, Wang Tan followed, and later his whole family moved there.
Such an identity and background is not unusual in the country, but there may be an opportunity now.
"Does Wang Tan still have any relatives in Chang'an?" Shi Yanci asked.
"Most of them are distant relatives." The staff replied: "Actually, there is no problem. In today's situation, all we need is a reason. Wang Tan was born and raised in Guanzhong and learned martial arts. Shao Shude also rose from Guanxi. Wang Tan
Wouldn’t it be justifiable to surrender?”
"You old guy, I used to think you were a bit crooked, but now it seems you're full of bad ideas." Shi Yanci laughed and scolded.
"It's not just for the glory and wealth of the boss!" the staff member yelled.
"The dancer in the mansion, Cuihong, rewards you." Shi Yanci was in a good mood, so he generously rewarded a beauty and went out.
The staff's eyes lit up when they heard this, and inspiration broke out, and they reminded: "Xie Yanzhang and Zhang Guibian are still under house arrest at home, and their boss may be able to rescue them. These two men successively took over the Tianwu Eighth Army, recruited soldiers, practiced many times, and promoted them
I don’t know how many generals have been killed. At critical moments, it may have miraculous results.”
Shi Yanci immediately looked at this staff member with admiration.
"Also..." The staff member put on his trademark cheeky smile again and said: "Over there at Kaiyuan Temple, pay more attention...there are rare things to live in..."