Chapter 344 Opportunity [Ask for a monthly ticket on Monday]
Outside the city of Pu County, the northwest rebel camps stretched as far as the eye could see.
However, the leaders from all walks of life did not show any joy. On the contrary, they argued endlessly.
"We have been attacking back and forth for four or five days. So many people have died, but we still cannot defeat them. If we continue to waste our time, the army will be surrounded on all sides, and we will all die here."
When Zhao Sheng, the lamplighter, was talking, his eyes were only fixed on the burly man opposite him, and he could have an attack at any time.
"Let's stay well in the mountains. There's nothing the officers and soldiers can do to us. We just prefer to die and drag the big guys to attack Pu County. Now that the losses are so huge, if we continue to fight, we have this little business in our hands."
But it’s all broken.”
Liu Jiusi, the monkey in the sky, also had the intention of quitting.
A month ago, Gao Yingxiang suddenly called everyone together and said that he wanted to attack Pu County to obtain food and grass. At that time, many people were reluctant.
The rebels had no siege equipment, so they would suffer heavy losses when attacking the county town.
However, the biggest leaders such as Gao Yingxiang, Zijin Liang, the Eight Kings, Cao Cao, and the Sweeping King all agreed, and the other small leaders did not dare to speak against it.
Then the news spread, and everyone knew that Dapu County was Gao Yingxiang's nephew, and it was Li Zicheng's idea.
If Pu County is successfully defeated, everyone will definitely look at Li Zicheng in a new light.
As a result, after five days of continuous attack, all the ministries suffered heavy losses, but Pu County was safe and sound, and the leaders of all walks of life began to complain.
There was a person in the middle of the big tent, looking at the turbulent crowd but smiling.
"King Chuang, brothers are also in a hurry and they speak indiscriminately. You, sir, can understand. But...can we conquer this Pu County?"
The person who spoke was Zijin Liang Wang Ziyong, the current leader of the thirty-six families.
Even though Zijin Liang was just a subordinate of Wang Jiayin, even with the troops he brought out, he was the most powerful among these leaders.
Therefore, thirty-six families formed an alliance and elected him as the leader of the alliance.
However, Zijin Liang was keenly aware that among these leaders, there were some who could not compete with him.
For example, Gao Yingxiang, who is sitting sideways, is also quite popular. Moreover, he has many elite soldiers and generals under his command, and his work is relatively fair.
For Zijin Liang, the most important thing is to suppress Gao Yingxiang and consolidate his position as leader.
After fighting in Pu County for so long, Gao Yingxiang's men also suffered a lot of losses. Therefore, facing the anger of everyone, he had nothing to say.
"Brothers, why did we go down to the mountain to attack the county town for no other reason than to find a way out? Everyone knows that now we have become a thorn in the eyes of the government and a thorn in the flesh. The Governor of Xuanda, Zhang Zongheng, led eight thousand elites, and we are here
Next to us, maybe someone will kill us at some point. Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, has blocked our way to the north again. When the evil star Hong Chengchou comes again, will we still have a way to survive? For the current plan, we must fight to find a way out.
It’s serious.”
The leaders in Shanxi were naturally aware of the situation in Shanxi, but they did not relax because of this.
"Say one thousand, say ten thousand. If we can't conquer the county town, we won't get food and grass, and we will die faster."
What Zhang Cunmeng said is also true.
At this time, only one person is still trying his best to bridge the conflict.
"King Chuang, we all know the basics, and we will never be selfish for the sake of the big guy. Anyway, staying in the mountain will lead to a dead end, so each of us should work harder to find a way out."
The speaker is Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying.
There were many intrigues and intrigues among the leaders of the thirty-six families, but Ma Shouying always adhered to his loyalty and always looked out for and helped each other.
Therefore, he is the most popular among the leaders, and everyone trusts him the most.
After listening to his words, I stopped chasing Gao Yingxiang.
Gao Yingxiang returned to his tent with a rather ugly expression on his face.
"Zao'er, have you been deceived?"
Li Zicheng is only in his twenties now, and he is still young. He is far from the revolutionary king who later turned the world upside down. He is still hanging around with his uncle Gao Yingxiang, and he only earned the title of a warrior.
What depresses him the most is that his uncle always calls him by his nickname.
"Uncle, Guo'er said that the little flag officer under him is brave in fighting and has a lot of strategy. He shouldn't lie to us."
Gao Yingxiang was much more cautious.
"People's hearts are separated from each other, so it's better to be careful."
He thought for a while and said, "Let Li Guo bring the little flag officer here, and let's explore him personally."
Before Li Zicheng could make any move, Li Guo actually came to find him in person.
"Uncle, uncle...uncle, good news."
Just like Li Zicheng didn't like Gao Yingxiang calling him "Zaoer", Li Guo was also reluctant to call Li Zicheng uncle, let alone Gao Yingxiang uncle.
Because he is six years older than Li Zicheng.
But there is no way, seniority is there, and now is not the time to care about it.
Li Guo said enthusiastically: "Xizhou is done. As long as we send troops there, Xizhou can be conquered in a day."
Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng jumped up, their joy beyond words.
"really?"
The real plan is only known to a few people such as Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Li Guo. The rebels are a loose alliance, and they have been recruiting peace with the court in recent years and have continued to rebel. They have no idea who the traitor is.
Attacking Pu County was just a pretense, and the target was Xizhou from the beginning.
The first purpose of attacking Puzhou here is to mobilize the rebel army so that they can easily move towards Xizhou; secondly, it is also to attract the official troops so that they can easily attack Xizhou.
Li Guo was very excited when he came forward for the first time.
"My little flag officer has received the news from Xizhou. As long as we rush over, we will ensure that the city gate is wide open."
Gao Yingxiang regained his composure and said in a deep voice: "Call the little flag officer in and let's ask him."
After a while, the curtain of the tent was opened, and a man like an iron tower walked in, attracting Gao Yingxiang, and Li Zicheng couldn't help but praise him in his heart.
"Liang Yue pays homage to King Chuang. General Chuang. I have already received the news. Please ask King Chuang to send troops to Xizhou immediately. It will be easy to break the city."
Gao Yingxiang stared at Liang Yue, with murderous intent hidden in his tone.
"Brother Liang, you cannot be ignored on the battlefield. Can you guarantee that this battle will be flawless?"
Liang Yue knew that Gao Yingxiang did not trust him. Once the attack on Xizhou failed, he would definitely sacrifice his flag.
But when he thought of his long-cherished wish, Liang Yue knew that this battle was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.
"The younger one is guaranteed by his head."
………………………………
Capital, Forbidden City.
"This one is resigning, the other one is begging for a corpse, am I so unbearable that I actually made my ministers alienate?"
In the Yangxin Hall, Chongzhen's roar made the wind roar, and everyone was in danger.
At this time, only Wang Chengen dared to speak.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu Ge is very old, and it is justifiable to ask for an official position. Mr. Sun Ge and Qiu Zhongcheng have been arguing endlessly. In my opinion, if this continues, it may not be a good thing for Liaodong."
Chongzhen ignored what he said next, or in other words, he didn't want to pay attention to it after hearing it.
"The two cabinet ministers resigned at the same time. People in the world don't understand why and can only talk about my mistakes. Who among these ministers can understand my helplessness?"
Wang Chengen was helpless.
He also understood that Chongzhen's anger was not unreasonable.
Historically, two cabinet ministers have never resigned at the same time. This is different from the emperor dismissing cabinet ministers. If a minister takes the initiative to resign, it can only mean that the emperor has disappointed his ministers.
What Chongzhen cared about most was his own reputation.
Wang Chengen knew best how stubborn and stubborn his master was, so he simply asked: "What does the emperor mean..."
Chongzhen threw the memorial to the ground and said with a cold face: "No, no, no."
Wang Cheng'en was about to speak but stopped, struggled to pick up the memorial from the ground, and left.
It was unbearably hot in the capital in June, but Wang Chengen could not feel any warmth while walking in the sunshine.
In his view, Chongzhen already had some demonic obstacles.
Xu Guangqi's resignation was clear to everyone, and there was no complicated thought. It was just that he was old and frail, unable to bear the heavy responsibility, and needed to go home to take care of himself.
As luck would have it, he encountered Sun Chengzong who also resigned, which suddenly aroused Chongzhen's sensitive nerves, and he felt that the ministers were deliberately targeting him.
Wang Chengen also knew something about the situation in Liaodong.
Gao Qiqian was in Liaodong, and I often communicated with him.
Gao Qiqian was worried and said bluntly that the situation in Liaodong was dangerous. If he were not careful, he might lose everything.
The crux of the problem lies in the conflict between Sun Chengzong and Qiu Hejia.
To be more precise, it was the conflict between Sun Chengzong and Chongzhen.
Because he had lost face in the Jisi Incident, Chongzhen was eager to regain his place in Liaodong and maintain the dignity of his holy king.
But Sun Chengzong knew very well that now in Liaodong he could only hold on and not attack.
This was certainly not in line with Chongzhen's wishes, so he sent Qiu Hejia, who was devoted to obedience. Not only that, but fearing that Qiu Hejia was not powerful enough to compete with Sun Chengzong in terms of prestige, Chongzhen also sent Gao Qiqian to supervise the army.
But what makes Gao Qiqian different from ordinary eunuchs is that he knows how to fight.
Although his level is similar to that of Tong Guan in the late Northern Song Dynasty, it is enough for eunuchs.
At least Gao Qiqian had a clear view of the situation in Liaodong and knew that no matter how hard Chongzhen continued, everything would be doomed.
However, he was just a eunuch who could see the situation clearly but could not disobey Chongzhen's will.
Ministers who are dissatisfied with Chongzhen's actions can still resign. If a slave dares to defy Chongzhen's will, he will only die.
Therefore, while he complained bitterly in his letters to Wang Chengen, he also had to carry out Chongzhen's orders and join forces with Qiu Hejia to force Sun Chengzong to give the green light to build the city on the Daling River.
The most ironic thing in the world is that you can clearly see the outcome, but you have no ability to change it.
Sun Chengzong, who was far away in Liaodong, was like this when he was high and low, and the same was true for Wang Chengen, who was staggering around the palace.