Zhu Wu got the news about Qin Rigang's escape immediately.
However, Zhu Wu did not report it immediately. He waited until the morning of the next day before he came to the county government and told Li Zhen the news. When Li Zhen learned about the process of the jailer letting Qin Rigang go, he burst into laughter. Thinking that the jailer was so mischievous that he peed in the wine jar and then deliberately dropped the key to the cell door, fortunately Qin Rigang endured it.
If Qin Rigang doesn't pick up the key, there will be real trouble.
I wonder how Qin Rigang washed his hands after escaping.
Just imagine, Qin Rigang washed his hands countless times, and every time he put his hand in front of his nose and smelled it, he felt happy just thinking about it. After laughing, Li Zhen returned to his normal demeanor and said: "Don't impose martial law for the time being. Wait until noon to post it again." As for the news of Qin Rigang's arrest, Qin Rigang had almost left by then, so I put a little pressure on him before I thought it was hard-won."
"yes."
Zhu Wu agreed and said: "Commander, Li Xiucheng hasn't responded yet, what should I do?"
Li Zhen said: "I gave him three days. It started yesterday and it's only the morning of the second day. There's no rush."
When Zhu Wu heard this, he knew that Li Zhen really did not intend to kill Li Xiucheng. Outside the study, there was a rush of footsteps. A soldier walked in, saluted Li Zhen and Zhu Wu, and said quickly: "Revelation." Marshal, the two regiment leaders Lu Shaochuan and Smith have returned victoriously and will arrive at the county seat in half an hour."
Li Zhen stood up suddenly, with a look of ecstasy on his face.
Although Li Zhen knew that Lu Shaochuan and Smith would win, he was still happy.
Li Zhen looked happy and said: "Let's go out of the city to meet you."
After that, Li Zhen and Zhu Wu hurried out of the study, left the county house, and ran towards the city gate.
…
Changshu County, west of the county seat.
Qin Rigang hid in the city uneasily for a night, and early the next morning he dressed himself as a beggar, with unkempt hair, yellow complexion, dirty face, and his clothes were filled with a foul smell, and wandered out of the county town. , in Qin Rigang's view, he spent a lot of effort to escape.
Especially when he left the city, the soldiers stared at him, which was thrilling.
Standing on the empty path, Qin Rigang put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.
After laughing for a full two minutes, Qin Rigang stopped, turned around and faced the direction of Changshu County, and shouted: "Li Zhen, I will take back today's shame, I will definitely do it."
Qin Rigang raised his hand and thought about what happened last night again.
Put your hand in front of your nose and smell it lightly, but you still feel the smell.
Qin Rigang immediately squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and rubbed it on his hands several times. After feeling that the traces on his hands had been eliminated, he stood up and hurried towards Nanjing. At this time, Qin Rigang just wanted to return to Nanjing as soon as possible. , even if he would be humiliated by Yang Xiuqing and the other kings, he had to go back.
…
County seat, city gate.
Li Zhen, Zhu Wu and a group of soldiers were waiting here. When he saw a figure appearing on the official road in front of him, and then the darkness turned toward the county seat, a bright smile appeared on Li Zhen's face.
Lu Shaochuan and Smith cooperated to defeat Li Xiucheng and Pan Qingyang. They performed extremely well. Although Li Zhen was the most important part, after luring Li Xiucheng and Pan Qingyang out, they still had to rely on their abilities to win with less. many.
After a while, the army arrived at the city gate and stopped.
Smith and Lu Shaochuan, dressed in military uniforms, strode up to Li Zhen and raised their hands in salute. Smith looked serious and said loudly: "Report to the commander-in-chief that the third and fourth regiments have annihilated the troops of Li Xiucheng and Pan Qingyang and returned from completing their mission. "
Li Zhen nodded and said, "Line into the city."
Immediately, Smith and Lu Shaochuan led soldiers and Li Zhen into the city.
After the soldiers settled down, Li Zhen, Zhu Wu, Smith and others returned to the county government.
In the hall, the guests took their seats.
Li Zhen first praised Smith and Lu Shaochuan, and then said: "I already know about the burning of Li Xiucheng by the two of you, but I don't know the process of defeating Pan Qingyang this time. Please tell me in detail." Up to now, Li Zhen has also I just knew that Pan Qingyang was defeated, but I didn’t know what the specific situation was.
Smith smiled and said: "Captain Lu is eloquent, let him do the talking."
Lu Shaochuan nodded excitedly, and began to recount the news about Pan Qingyang's troops, driving the herds of cattle into battle, and flooding Pan Qingyang's 40,000-strong army. The whole process was detailed as if it were unfolding before his eyes.
After hearing this, Li Zhen couldn't help but marvel.
Especially driving the cattle to attack is a very clever move.
After Li Zhen listened, he told what happened in Changshu County and said: "The things in Changshu County have come to an end for the time being. At present, only the armies of Qi Zhenhai and Yang Banhou are left. Although they occasionally launch attacks, they are not the most powerful." Most of them are on defense. Now they are starting to withdraw their troops, join Qi Zhenhai and Yang Banhou, and then fight the bandits. While fighting, they will strengthen their own strength."
Smith frowned slightly and said worriedly: "Commander, although fighting is fun, every battle costs countless money. If you can't avoid sending troops, try not to send them out."
Li Zhen shook his head and said: "With this big victory, the bandits must have suffered heavy losses. Next, what we need is not a large-scale battle, but a small-scale battle to train the soldiers and then make money by selling arms through war." , this is the main purpose.”
Upon hearing this, Smith understood Li Zhen's intention.
Use war to force the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to buy weapons.
"Report."
While the matter was being discussed, a soldier hurried in again and said loudly: "Your Excellency, the emperor has sent someone to deliver the order and has already arrived outside the mansion."
"Oh, the imperial edict is here."
Li Zhen stood up, waved his hand and said, "Welcome in."
The soldier turned and left, and soon the eunuch who delivered the order came in. The eunuch looked at Li Zhen with a smile, spread out the imperial edict, and said in a high-pitched voice: "Li Zhen receives the order."
Li Zhen knew he had to kneel, but he was not angry in his heart, but he still took the opportunity to kneel down on one knee and said, "Li Zhen accepts the order."
The eunuch stared at the imperial edict and read in an ups and downs tone, but he said calmly: "By the fate of heaven, the emperor decreed that Li Zhen is loyal to the country, wise and courageous..., foreigners are attacking Guangzhou, the situation is critical, I make an extraordinary promotion Li Zhen is the Admiral of Guangzhou, and he has to rush to Guangzhou to take office within fifteen days to repel the foreigners and shock our country's prestige."
After the eunuch finished speaking, he handed the imperial edict to Li Zhen and said with a smile: "Admiral Li, you have become an admiral at a young age, and your holy family is so strong that it is enviable. After hearing the deeds of Admiral Li, the whole family was all moved. I couldn’t help clapping my hands and applauding.”
Li Zhen humbled himself repeatedly and immediately asked someone to take six thousand taels of silver and give it to the eunuch.
The eunuch who delivered the order accepted the money with a smile on his face, secretly saying that Li Zhen was indeed as generous as ever, and after being polite to Li Zhen, he said goodbye and left.
ps: Let me report the itinerary to everyone; I am in Nanjing, I will go to Anhui on Friday, return to Nanjing on Sunday, and then take the train back to Chengdu. I am a bit busy, so I will keep updating 4 times a day for the time being. Xiaodong is really upset, so he returned to Chengdu to settle down. Please forgive me if Xiaodong breaks out again.