Liu Chengzong reined in his horse and stood on the main street connecting the east and west of Pingliang City, facing north.
In his hand is the Dismounting Monument, facing the Lingxing Gate of Prince Han's Mansion guarded by two soldiers. The glazed tiles of the Prince's Mansion covered by the tall gate tower were blackened by smoke, and the gate with red lacquer and gold nails opened to him.
Zhou Qiang stood under the city gate and waved to him. The messenger from the imperial court and his entourage stood aside, and the eunuch in a python robe clasped his hands on his belly and looked at him.
The faces of the soldiers guarding the city gate showed indescribable joy. Everyone in the Lion Camp understood that of course they could stay here and fight on all sides until they were beaten to pieces.
Liu Chengzong said to himself in his heart, there is only one step left.
There is only one step left to get out of trouble. He will be the king of the West Sea and the co-lord of the snowy area.
Liu Chengzong took a deep breath and walked towards the city gate with his head held high.
At this moment, the sound of hoofs hitting the ground came from the long street to the east. Liu Chengzong turned his head, and there was a slightly panicked Wei Qian'er on the horse.
Wei Qian'er was in a hurry and reined in his mount ten steps away. He was almost thrown off. He turned over and dismounted and walked quickly in front of him. He glanced at the eunuch under the city gate fiercely and then said in a deep voice: "Commander
, something happened."
"An hour ago, Dai Daozi's Tang soldiers fought with Guan Ning's Tang soldiers at Huanglong Waterfall, a hundred miles away. Now Dai's troops gathered Wu Tang's horse soldiers and retreated twenty miles. Guan Ning's soldiers and horses should be more than 2,000.
A man and a horse have entered the Jing River Valley."
"But they are marching westward in a hurry!" Wei Qian'er lowered his voice and said, "It is estimated that they will arrive at Jiangouhe tonight and reach Shishilipu at noon tomorrow."
Liu Chengzong immediately looked at Wei Qian'er and said nothing.
He forced himself to calm down and understood why Wei Qian'er was so panicked.
He also had doubts about this in his heart. He didn't want to know why Guan Ning's army appeared here. He just wanted to know what it meant that Guan Ning's army appeared in the Jinghe River Valley at this time?
It shows that all his early warning arrangements outside of Tangqi, including Fu Renxi at Yonghe Pass, He Yong at Yuhebao, Gao Yingxiang at Lion Bay, Ren Quan'er at the Ansai Institute, and Yang Yanchang, the vanguard of the Guanning Army, all failed.
.
That's why Wei Qian'er is so panicked.
Guan Ning's army will not come sooner or later, but today the palace officials have arrived. Tomorrow will be the most relaxed day for the entire Lion Battalion, with troops approaching the city.
Although he still doesn't know what exactly went wrong, he also knows in his heart that it is not surprising that there are problems in every aspect of what he did.
With his mind spinning, Liu Chengzong suppressed his dissatisfaction and looked as usual.
"The enemy is still eighty miles away, you have done a good job." He raised his hand to straighten Wei Qian'er's wrinkled collar: "Go and ask Mr. Yang and Commander Feng to come to Prince Han's Mansion and summon the right wing of the Lion Battalion.
Outside the sentry, all the troops gathered in the east of the city, put on their armor and prepared their mules, and let our heroes lead the horses."
Liu Chengzong's calmness made Wei Qian'er regain his composure, and he cautiously clasped his fists and accepted the order to leave.
King Han stood at a loss as he heard everything, including Tang Qi's encounter and Liu Chengzong's deployment.
When war comes, even if you are a prince, you are just a small person caught up in it.
So he immediately made his position clear: "Grandma, let me just say that there are no good people in the fourth ancestor's family!"
Unexpectedly, Liu Chengzong just smiled at him relaxedly, very calmly, as if he had expected everything: "Let's go, Your Highness, King Han, let's go get the decree."
It was nothing more than a declaration of war. Liu Chengzong glanced at Fan Sanlang.
In addition to defrauding his relatives for money, King Han's remaining wisdom may have been used to save his life. Originally, Liu Chengzong wanted to be half a step behind him, but he couldn't stand this guy and kept retreating.
In the end, Liu Chengzong could only hold his head high and lead King Han towards Lingxing Gate.
Fan Sanlang was slightly behind. He took out the Franco mobile gun from his waist, loaded the gun, quickly bit the paper cover of the folding paper, ignited the match, pressed the knife and picked up the gun and followed suit.
Zhou Zhouqiang didn't know what happened. He was just happy that the mission assigned to him by Yang He was about to be accomplished in such a hazy way.
Looking back, I was frightened several times, but they were just near misses.
Now that his mission is about to be accomplished, and he does not expect Yang He to fulfill his promise to get him a fourth-grade official position, he plans to resign and return to his hometown in Baoding Prefecture.
There are not many people in the government and the public who have had such an experience, especially during the days when Zhou Qiang and Liu Chengzong were together. Maybe he couldn't feel it himself, but the Ningzhou magistrate of the imperial court had indeed become convinced that the world would be in chaos for a long time.
No doubt.
He plans to go home and write a book, which can not only record what he saw and heard, but also remind the world. Moreover, with the flourishing style of writing in today's political and public journals, it is possible that publishing a book can make more money than a fourth-rank official.
His mind was completely lost in imagining the future, and he turned a blind eye to Wei Qian'er speeding towards him and then speeding away again.
However, he still remembered that he introduced Cao Huachun, the emperor's minister on the side: "Eunuch Cao, that is General Liu."
Cao Huachun had been looking at Liu Chengzong for a long time. Hearing this, he nodded to Zhou Zhou and said, "You are indeed young and mighty. Brother Liu is really lucky."
As he spoke, Liu Chengzong led King Han closer.
Cao Huachun was not satisfied with him walking before King Han, but he didn't say much. He held his hands and said with a smile: "Your Highness, King Han, this must be General Liu. The husband's style is born in the earth and started at the end of Qingping." "The emperor has said that it is not all your fault that the country's innocent son has turned into a thief. Since the general sincerely asks for help, your majesty has the beauty of a man, and it is all your wish."
Chongzhen later let Cao Huachun read the letter that Liu Chengzong handed over to the court, and it was written with sincerity. Therefore, Cao Huachun expected that Liu Chengzong, who had been looking forward to Zixiong just a moment ago, should bow his head to express gratitude.
Unexpectedly, Liu Chengzong just laughed and said: "Then father-in-law, just declare the decree."
Cao Huachun was a man who fought for power and profit in the palace. He could tell at a glance that Liu Chengzong's smile was full of hostility. He took the imperial edict from his entourage and held it in his hand. He was not in a hurry to read it out and just asked: "General, is there something wrong?"
What happened?"
"Nothing happened to me."
As soon as Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he raised his hand and snatched the imperial edict from Cao Huachun's palm.
Neither Cao Huachun nor Sunday Qiang expected that such a thing would happen when they were about to be appointed officials. Even the King of Han beside him did not expect that Liu Chengzong would snatch the imperial edict.
So that everyone was stunned for a moment. Several Jingjun soldiers behind Cao Huachun drew their swords, and at the same time, Liu Chengzong shouted from behind: "Who dares to move!"
Fan Sanlang held the blunderbuss in his left hand and pointed it at Cao Huachun, and the knife in his right hand pointed at the Jing army, blocking Liu Chengzong.
Cao Huachun had never been pointed at like this with a gun. Although he did not show panic or cowardice on his face, he was really sweating in his heart: "General Liu, what do you mean by this?"
Zhou Qiang also said anxiously: "General Liu, good things are coming for you!"
Liu Chengzong ignored them and just unfolded the imperial edict.
The bright yellow satin with excellent texture is embroidered with auspicious clouds and cranes all over by craftsmen using a unique weaving method. There are silver dragons on both sides of the scroll. Above the first auspicious cloud in the upper right corner, the word "Feng" is written in excellent font.
Start another line one space higher than "Tian Chengyun", then start another line parallel to "The emperor's edict said the leader Liu Chengzong", followed by the simple text.
For his meritorious service in leading the righteous people to join Wei Fan, he was awarded the title of Xuanwei Envoy of Qinghai Province, and he was appointed as the governor of the Western Fan Dynasty.
Chongzhen three years, August 13th.
This edict looks like a fake.
Liu Chengzong laughed again: "The majestic king wants to kill me for being reckless, so why should I cheat?"
"Young men don't understand." Cao Huachun was pointed at with a cannon, but his tone was quite firm: "The emperor's grandpa also has a letter for you, and an imperial edict for your brother, and the imperial decree, seal, talisman, crown, and crown are all with you.
Come on, who lied to you!"
"Your Majesty sincerely welcomes you, but you are so disrespectful?"
"Care sincerely?"
Liu Chengzong asked, and the sound of neat running and the clanging sound of horseshoes on the ground could be heard on the long street.
Groups of Lion Battalion sergeants crossed the long street in six columns. The servants who were practicing at the martial arts field in the west of the city separated from the torrent of mules and horses, and filed past the gate of the Han Dynasty Prince's Palace, disarming and capturing all the Pure Army soldiers.
.
Feng Rui came faster, and Yang Dingrui came later. Seeing the situation at the city gate, he stepped forward and said, "Lion, what's going on? I heard Wei Qian'er said that Guan Ning's army entered the valley?"
Liu Chengzong handed the imperial edict to Yang Dingrui and turned to Cao Huachun with a cold eyebrow: "Just use the Guan Ning army that entered the valley to appease?"
"Guan, Guan Ningjun?"
Cao Huachun's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look at Zhou Zhouqiang unclearly: "No, I met Yang Xiuling in Ningzhou before I came here. He said that he had sent a message to Cao Wenzhao that you had hired him and asked him to return to Shanxi!" p>
Sunday Qiang closed his eyes in distress and looked up to the sky and sighed. This was all bullshit. When he opened his eyes again, he shook his head to Liu Chengzong to clear the air and said: "Commander, I have always been by your side and I don't know anything about this matter."<
/p>
The King of Han also asked Cao Huachun: "Eunuch Cao, what is going on? Your Majesty wants to trap Han Fan to death?"
When Cao Huachun heard this, he immediately became anxious: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is definitely not your Majesty's intention. How could your Majesty put the vassal country in danger... General Liu, is this really Guan Ning's army?"
"An hour ago, they attacked my Tangqi a hundred miles away. They were still pretending to be Guan Ningjun. Are there still such talents in Shaanxi?"
King Han had just come out of his fear until now.
He finally confirmed that Liu Chengzong did not kill him even when he was furious, and now his thinking became clearer.
He whispered to Liu Chengzong in a low voice: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, although there are no good people in the fourth ancestor's family, Eunuch Cao was the emperor's eldest companion when he was King Xin. I have not heard that he made any mistakes, so he will not be harmed."
Come in too."
King Han cleared his throat, amplified his voice and said, "I think the general has calmed down a little, so there may be some misunderstanding here."
"Guan Ning will come sooner or later. Today I will be favored, but tomorrow the whole camp will be relaxed. Guan Ning's troops will come to the city and kill me."
Liu Chengzong said: "In the opinion of His Highness the King of Han, hey, what misunderstanding can there be here?"
Cao Huachun took a breath of cold air, touched his bare chin and said to himself: "Is it possible that Guan Ning's army mutinied again?"
Liu Chengzong crossed his arms: What the hell do you mean mutiny again?
But Cao Huachun thought about it and shook his head. Yuan Chonghuan had been imprisoned due to an earlier incident. Zu Dashou led his troops in fear and retreated outside the pass without authorization, but Cao Wenzhao did not run away.
Then he glared again, could it be because Yuan Chonghuan's head was sent to Yansui Town?
Cao Huachun couldn't understand, let alone who transferred Cao Wenzhao's troops into Pingliang Mansion at this time.
Isn’t this an attempt to kill him and the Han vassal kings?
Thinking of this, Cao Huachun said: "General, will you send someone to ask Governor Yang again?"
Liu Chengzong refused flatly. The river valley was only five or six miles wide. Instead of sending people to narrowly escape death to deliver a meaningless letter, it would be better to fight them directly.
He thought that he shouldn't have anything to do with this dysfunctional court.
He feels like he is playing a game now.
The main task of the game is to collect information from the four ministers around you, screen it yourself, and find the information that can be used.
These four ministers are Zhu Danyang, a little expert in saving lives, Cao Huachun, who pretends to have a beard, and Yang He who lives in his lines.
The name of the game is Role Playing of Emperor Chongzhen.
When the country is normal, each of the four people should know what this army does.
Now Liu Chengzong can only extract two useful messages.
First, it comes from the King of Han who will not joke with his own life. Han Fan is not very important, but this eunuch is very important to Chongzhen, which means that this army is not sent by the emperor.
Second, from the eunuch who was very important to Chongzhen, Guan Ningjun mutinied again.
Liu Chengzong felt that the second point was 80% unreliable. In his memory, Cao Wenzhao, who had massacred all sides in Shaanxi and Shanshan provinces, how could he mutiny here?
On the contrary, assuming that Guan Ning's army did not mutiny, then Cao Wenzhao should have come to quell the rebellion.
"Eunuch Cao is right. Since the governors of the three sides sent him back to Shanxi, but they are here, they must have mutinied! Right?"
Liu Chengzong looked at King Han very seriously: "They know that I have been favored, and this is where the Han Dynasty is. Your Highness, these people want to capture the country."
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The King of Han is not stupid. He knows what Liu Chengzong means and whether he cares about Ning or not. No matter what they do, Han Fan is safe now, but it will not be safe when these people come.
If I burn the East Palace later and build a small fort on the east side, I will still owe Liu Chengzong two thousand taels.
He blew his nose and glared: "We can't let them get close to the feudal state."
"That's right. They were not sent by the emperor. They did not respect the orders of the three governors, and the King of Han did not let them get close to the vassal country."
Liu Chengzong is no longer angry, he is even happy.
It's not that he is happy to go to war as a matter of course, but because of this incident, he can justifiably skip the entire recruitment process and still go to war.
"Commander Feng helped Mr. Yang defend the city." He stretched out his hand to get the imperial edict from Mr. Yang. He held the edict shaft upright with his left hand and spread it out. He pointed at his name with his right hand and said: "Qinghai Xuan comfort envoy, Wei Fan has contributed a lot.
I'm going to Wei Fan again to quell the rebellion."
After saying that, he stuffed the imperial edict into Yang Dingrui's hand, turned around and left, but was stopped by Yang Dingrui: "Why don't you wait for work and fight tomorrow."
"I know!" Liu Chengzong said with a smile: "The weather is still dry and hot at noon. I am in the west and he is in the east. The sun is behind me in the afternoon. He has not yet settled down in camp today. I have many horses. I will give him a kick in the evening.
Let’s have a decisive battle with him tomorrow afternoon.”
Cao Huachun didn't even realize why Liu Chengzong was so happy when he heard about the war, and then he saw Sunday Qiang sighing and shaking his head next to him.
"A few days earlier, Governor Yang was appeasing and restraining him, unwilling to start a war; a few days later, he, he, he..." Zhou Qiang waved his hand to the west: "He went to Qinghai and couldn't fight, but today."
He turned his head and sighed again, and said to Cao Huachun: "Eunuch Cao, do you know that Liu Shizi has been waiting for Cao Wenzhao for a month!"
