When the imperial court defeated Chaohu, Yang Sichang hid in Feidong County and fled to Kaifeng Prefecture overnight, while Huyan Baoshan also fled to Xihua County in embarrassment. Huyan Baoshan could have gone to Kaifeng Prefecture, but he did not go. During this period, he followed Yang Sichang,
But after seeing clearly the face of the imperial court, they were just bandits from Chaohu, but the imperial court was defeated again and again. Are the bandits too powerful? Of course it is impossible. No matter how powerful the bandits are, they are not just a mob?
As a descendant of the Huyan family, Huyan Baoshan did not want to lose the prestige of his ancestors. Since the court was incompetent, why couldn't he submit to the Iron Governor? Huyan Baoshan was not a pedantic person, and this was the biggest difference between him and Sun Chuanting.
In Xihua County, after the news of the imperial army's defeat in Chaohu came, Tie Mo felt a little gloating, but he did not dare to relax too much. After all, it is not a good thing to let Chaohu become bigger. At this time,
In addition to Tie Mo, there were also Zhu Shen and Liu Guoneng in the front hall of the county government office. The three of them were drinking tea and discussing the matter of Chaohu.
"Counsellor Zhu, now that Yang Sichang has been defeated, it is unlikely that the imperial court will take action against the Chaohu bandits in a short period of time. What should we do after this?"
In fact, Tie Mo had already made a decision on how to deal with Chaohu, but he still wanted to hear Zhu Shen's thoughts. On the one hand, he wanted to see Zhu Shen's abilities, and on the other hand, he also wanted to see if there were any omissions in his own ideas.
Zhu Shen understood in his heart that this could not be the first test His Highness had given him. After thinking about it, he cupped his hands and said, "The best option is to take advantage of the imperial court's defeat and try to recruit as many available people as possible for your own use. In addition, Zhang Xianzhong is ruthless.
He is very ambitious. We should take this opportunity to get rid of him as soon as possible, otherwise with Zhang Xianzhong's skill and Lu Tong's shrewdness, something will probably happen."
"Oh, listening to what Counselor Zhu said, we should eliminate the Chaohu bandits as soon as possible?"
"Yes, Zhang Xianzhong should be eliminated as soon as possible before he can get rid of his identity as a bandit. If the governor intends to keep this bandit to cause trouble for the court, he can also kill Zhang Xianzhong first and help Rousseau ascend to the throne!"
After Zhu Shen finished speaking, Tie Mo smiled with his eyes narrowed, raised his hands and clapped, then looked at Liu Guoneng and smiled and said, "General Liu, how do you feel after hearing what Counselor Zhu said?"
Liu Guoneng nodded with satisfaction. He had heard His Highness say that Zhu Shen was not much less intelligent than Mr. Wang before. He didn't believe it at the time. But after listening to Zhu Shen's words today, he really had to believe it. "Zhu Shen is really a great talent in the world. It seems that he is a great talent in the world."
Can this bandit survive? Zhang Xianzhong must die?"
Liu Guoneng asked, and Tie Mo and Zhu Shen nodded at the same time.
The three of them discussed it, and then some soldiers came to report, "Supervisor, you must guard Huyan Baoshan to ask for an audience!"
Zhu Shen and Liu Guoneng looked at each other, raised their hands and smiled at the same time, "Congratulations, Superintendent, you've got another strong general."
"Haha... I am so lucky because of Yang Sichang's blessing!" Inspector Tie was not polite at all. He almost said that Yang Sichang was incompetent. If Yang Sichang hadn't been in a hurry due to insufficient preparation,
Attacking Zhang Xianzhong would not make a famous general like Huyan Baoshan feel discouraged later.
However, this cannot be entirely blamed on Yang Sichang. The imperial court was sending letters one after another urging the war, and he was forced to take action in a hurry. If he had waited until Sun Chuanting led his troops to outflank and complete the plan of setting up a net on all sides, even if the war was unfavorable
, and you won’t be chased and beaten hard by rogue bandits, leading to a disastrous defeat.
Let’s not mention Huyan Baoshan’s entry into the Northern Shan Army. Let’s just talk about the Chaohu bandits. After their great victory over Yang Sichang, the shadow of their previous defeat by the Northern Shan Army was swept away. A banquet was held in the hall, and everyone drank happily. Zhang Xianzhong naturally
I was also happy. After three rounds of drinking, Lu Tong came to Zhang Xianzhong and said something in his ear. Zhang Xianzhong saw that his smile had faded and his expression became more solemn.
Accommodation.
Zhang Xianzhong was not even a little drunk. He sat at the table and asked, "Brother Lu, what's going on?"
"Your Majesty, you will know the contents of the letter after you read it." Lu Tong handed over a piece of paper. Zhang Xianzhong just glanced at it twice and then opened his eyes in anger. It turned out that the paper said that Tie Mo felt that Zhang Xianzhong had the idea of escape.
So before escaping, he had to kill Zhang Xianzhong and replace him with Rousseau. How could Zhang Xianzhong not be angry when he thought of Tie Mo's conspiracy again?
In fact, Zhang Xianzhong was not only angry, but also had many questions. Who spread the news, and who put the note in Lu Tong's room? It is not difficult to imagine that he could put the note in Lu Tong's room quietly.
The one who got hit must be one of his own, which means that there is someone else's traitor in Chaohu. However, Zhang Xianzhong no longer cares about this. At least for now, having this traitor is only good for him and does no harm to him.
"Brother Lu, what should we do now?"
"There is no other way. We must protect our elder brother with our skilled confidants. In addition, we have to find a way out for ourselves. That living king of hell is not Yang Sichang. If he is really determined to attack us, we may not be able to stop him!
"
"It makes sense, but how should we do it specifically?" Zhang Xianzhong had no idea about this, but Lu Tong smiled slightly, covered the corners of his mouth with his hands, and said something softly. Soon, Zhang Xianzhong's face was filled with tears.
Silk smile.
Tie Mo wanted to kill Zhang Xianzhong, so Liu Guoneng prepared a small team to sneak into Chaohu and secretly assassinate Zhang Xianzhong. But then the spies came to report that Zhang Xianzhong had stepped up his guard, not to mention more guards outside, but also Qin Lang and He Rong.
Protect, as if Zhang Xianzhong had known for a long time that there would be an assassination. If the assassination failed, he could only think of other ways. But besides marching to Chao Lake, is there any better way? And Tie Mo did not want to attack the Chao Lake water village.
That would inevitably lead to heavy casualties, and it was really not worth it.
October came soon, but after such a long time, Tie Mo still couldn't do anything to Zhang Xianzhong. Just after Youshi, the sky darkened, Tie Mo sat in a chair with a frown, and Zhi Lan ran in from outside, well-behaved.
He rubbed Supervisor Tie's shoulders and said, "Supervisor, what are you thinking about? The food has been prepared, and Mrs. Xu and the others are waiting."
"Meiling? Don't worry about it. If she can really wait, she will probably eat it soon!"
What Tie Mo said was correct at all. Xu Meiling also waited for a long time for a stick of incense. Seeing that the Iron Supervisor didn't come, she helped everyone eat. As for whether the Iron Supervisor was hungry, she didn't bother to care.
On the third day of October in the eighth year of Chongzhen, something happened that once again broke the hard-won peace in the Central Plains. At midnight on that day, the Chaohu thieves showed their loyalty and raised 20,000 troops to attack Shouzhou. Because the Shouzhou garrison failed to respond in time, the battle took place within half a day.
, Chaohu soldiers and horses came to Shouzhou City and surrounded the entire Shouzhou City. Fortunately, there were Zhou Dingshan and Yang Hu in Shouzhou City. After a fierce attack with no effect, Chaohu soldiers and horses retreated outside Shouzhou City.
Set up camp.
Chaohu bandits besieged Shouzhou, which made Tie Mo frown. At this time, most of the army generals gathered in Xihua County to discuss it, but they couldn't figure out the reason. Tie Mo was really not sure what Zhang Xianzhong was selling.
What kind of medicine was used? What benefit would Zhang Xianzhong gain from attacking Shouzhou at this time? What's more, there were 6,000 soldiers and horses commanded by Zhou Dingshan and Yang Hu in Shouzhou city. Why did Zhang Xianzhong attack Shouzhou?
Just when everyone thought Shouzhou was infallible, the next day, on the fourth day of October, a piece of news came again. Last night, Shouzhou General Reinong opened the west gate of Shouzhou, and Chaohu bandits swarmed in. At that time,
In the chaos of the night, in order to avoid too many casualties, Zhou Dingshan and Yang Hu led their troops to withdraw from Shouzhou and returned to Yingchuan County. Tie Mo didn't feel bad about abandoning Shouzhou, and Zhou Dingshan and Yang Hu's choice was not wrong either.
, Just defend Shouzhou if you can, and give up if you can't. There is no need to do too much damage to Shouzhou. But what makes Tiemo's head swollen is that after Chaohu occupied Shouzhou, he divided his troops and went to Huoqiu in the south. This time
It's even harder to figure out what Zhang Xianzhong wants to do.
In the front hall of the county government office, Liu Guoneng, Zhu Shen and others were all standing around the square table. At this time, there was a map on the table. Zhu Shen frowned and tapped his fingers on the table regularly, Liu Guoneng squinted and frowned, Xiao Kui
He was also stroking his chin, with a bitter look on his face. What is the most taboo thing about fighting is to not understand the intentions of the local government and fight randomly. How can you dispatch troops and horses before you understand the intentions of the Chaohu bandits?
"Could it be?" Liu Guoneng seemed to remember something, but immediately shook his head, "How is this possible?"
Tie Mo looked at Liu Guoneng and said with a wry smile, "What else is possible and impossible? Old Liu, please tell me what you are thinking first."
"Well, Supervisor, please see, everyone, Shouzhou and Huoqiu guard the north of Chaohu Lake, and these two places are also where our troops and horses are stationed. After these two places, further east and south, the imperial troops and horses
It is extremely weak. If the bandits feel that the pressure is too great and Chaohu Lake is not strong enough to defend, they can pass through either Shouzhou or Huoqiu, directly through Yizhou, enter Huainan Haizhou, and then enter the East China Sea islands."
Hearing Liu Guoneng's words, Tie Mo was shocked. Could it be that Zhang Xianzhong was looking for a way out for himself, planning to run to the East China Sea Islands and become a mountain king when the war went against him?
Damn it, who said that time travelers must be able to predict things in advance? Tie Mo cursed in his heart. He didn’t know how those previous time travelers became prophets, and they became prosperous one by one. It was he, Tie Mo, who
Is it too unlucky, or are the ancients encountered by other time-travelers all fools?
Of course, the answer is very simple. How could the ancients be fools? Tie Mo took a long breath, frowned and said solemnly, "Old Liu, no matter whether what you said is true or not, we must be on guard. Send an order to Zhou Dingshan and let him
Go to Linhuai as quickly as possible. If you encounter the Chaohu bandits going south, you must do your best to stop them. In addition, Lu Heng's troops will be mobilized to retreat to Dingyuan and use all your strength to guard the road to Huainan."
"Here!"
Xihua County issued a series of transfer orders. Lu Heng, Zhou Dingshan, Huyan Baoshan and others immediately took action. In just one day, a large net was laid in the southeast of Chaohu Lake. As long as the Chaohu bandits dared to go to Huainan, they would have to escape even if they didn't die.
layer of skin.
When it comes to wiping out Zhang Xianzhong, Tie Mo still has another headache, and that is the Tian Zhao force entrenched in the west of Fengyang Prefecture. Tian Zhao was originally a rebel army under Gao Yingxiang. After Gao Yingxiang's death, he joined Li Zicheng. A few years ago
During the melee in the Central Plains, Li Zicheng was jointly killed by the Northern Jin Army and the imperial army, and was defeated and retreated to Xiangfan. Tian Zhao was originally ordered to plunder Luzhou and other places to the east, so he did not have time to retreat with Li Zicheng's main force.
.
According to normal circumstances, a small group of bandits like Tian Zhao should have been wiped out quickly. But no one expected that after Zhang Xianzhong was trapped in the Central Plains, he would accumulate strength and defeat Fengyang Mansion, so that the entire Central Plains became a mess. Zhang Xianzhong
After digging up the royal family's ancestral graves, all the troops in the imperial court were focused on fighting Zhang Xianzhong, but they ignored Tian Zhao, a rogue bandit. Tian Zhao was not a good person either. While the imperial court was concentrating its forces against Zhang Xianzhong's forces in Chaohu, he continued to develop his strength and unexpectedly quickly
expand.
It has to be said that the northwest of the Ming Dynasty and the Central Plains area are really fertile for rebellion. Due to natural and man-made disasters, coupled with the excessive taxes imposed by the court in recent years, there are people everywhere who cannot survive. These people have long been dissatisfied with the court. As long as
Someone stood up and tried to confuse you, and you can imagine the situation.
Due to various reasons, Tian Zhao's originally several thousand troops quickly expanded to nearly 100,000, sweeping across the eastern part of Fengyang Mansion. Yingtian Mansion wanted to guard against Zhang Xianzhong going south, and had no extra energy to take care of Fengyang Mansion's affairs. In such a situation
Next, Tian Zhao turned out to be the most comfortable gangster in his life.
A few days ago, Zhang Xianzhong withdrew some of his troops to the vicinity of Qingshui River and Xinkai River. It was clear that something was wrong, so he diverted his troops from the direction of Qingshui River and Xinkai River and passed through Tianzhao's sphere of influence. Therefore, he wanted to completely destroy the army.
Zhang Xianzhong must first eliminate Tian Zhao as a bandit. Once Tian Zhao becomes popular, it will be even harder to fight.
In order to coordinate the overall situation, Tie Mo also rushed to Kaifeng Prefecture to take charge. Regarding this matter, Kaifeng prefect Min Zhengyuan said nothing. On the contrary, Kaifeng garrison Li Zhengxian was so happy that he just beat gongs and drums to celebrate. The performance of Kaifeng officials was disgraceful
Yang Sichang was very angry. As the governor of the three provinces, he was in charge of Kaifeng, but he was not as popular as Tie Mo, an outsider.
Tie Mo wanted to kill Zhang Xianzhong, but he had no intention of scheming with Yang Sichang at this time. After Tie Mo arrived at Kaifeng Mansion, military intelligence from all sides of the Northern Shanxi Army also began to gather in Kaifeng Mansion.
At the time of Youshi, Sha Diao came to Kaifeng Mansion in person. Standing in the house, he said politely, "Supervisor, this time Tian Zhao was able to occupy Xiongzhou and other places. It should be Zhang Xianzhong's deliberate move. According to the reports from his informants, it seems that someone gave Zhang Xianzhong
Zhang Xianzhong just ordered the troops to withdraw to the line between Qingshui River and Xinkai River."
Although the news brought by the sand sculpture is not much, at least two things are certain. First, Tian Zhao has not completely surrendered to Zhang Xianzhong. Second, Zhang Xianzhong is using Tian Zhao to make a sword and is planning something big.
After thinking hard but unable to grasp the key points, Tie Mo spread out the map and lay down at the table to think with the sand sculpture. Not long after, Zhu Shen also came to the room. The three of them all had the same expression, that is, frowning.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Shen seemed to have thought of something. He clenched his fist and said with a smile, "Supervisor, I understand!"
"Counsellor Zhu, tell me quickly." Tie Mo couldn't help being happy and ordered. Zhu Shen came to the map, pointed at several places on the map and said with a smile, "Superintendent, General Sha, please take a look at what Tian Zhao is doing now."
The positions occupied. Gaoyou, Xinghua, Hengyang, Tianchang and Sizhou, these places are connected, directly blocking the road from the south to the north of the states, and even the eastern sea route is blocked. Recently, Tianzhao occupied Wuhe County.
Even the last Grand Canal leading to the south is in his hands. In this way, the road to the east is already in Tian Zhao's hands. With no choice, if the imperial court wants to destroy Zhang Xianzhong, it will definitely destroy Tian Zhao with all its strength. This
Tian Zhao is a brave man, and most of his soldiers are outlaws. After this fight, the entire Fengyang area will be riddled with holes and the army will be lacking. At that time, Zhang Xianzhong will use all his troops and horses to do something. Who will do it?