The night wind became stronger and stronger, and a large number of fires were carried to the northwest by the strong wind. In spring, warblers flew and grass grew, and the fire burned in the fields.
When the sun rose in the early morning, there were still intermittent fires burning in the fields.
The belatedly arriving officers and soldiers from Heziguan stepped into the unburnable ruins and fiddled with them a few times.
The corpses burned to black charcoal were carried out one by one, some of which were already bones and shattered into ashes when touched.
Magistrate Lin had a frown on his face and walked back and forth with his hands behind his back. He was full of anger and had no place to vent his anger, so he pointed at these officers and soldiers and scolded them.
The officers and soldiers lowered their heads and endured it, continuing to carry it.
An officer and soldier suddenly ran from a distance: "Sir! Your Excellency!"
Several county officials looked up at the same time.
Lieutenant Li, who was standing outside, scolded: "What are you yelling about? Speak up!"
"General Cao Chunshan is here, sir!" the soldier panted and ran closer.
"What?!" Several county officials were shocked.
Lieutenant Li called out: "Who is coming?"
"Cao Chunshan, General Cao! He came with his troops, let alone eight thousand people! They have arrived at Liuzhi Village!"
"So many!!" Several officials were shocked.
Cao Chunshan was not an ordinary military commander, he was a big shot with a background, coming from the Cao family in Dingtao County.
Cao Yijun, the famous offensive commander in the court, was Cao Chunshan's cousin.
Magistrate Lin looked at the county magistrate, handed everything here to him, and then stepped onto the official sedan: "Go to Liuzhi Village quickly!"
The county captain also went with him.
Liuzhi Village is very close to the south of Heziguan, but no matter how close it is, you have to walk for an hour and a half.
When the county magistrate and the county lieutenant's bearers were shouting and walking past, Cao Chunshan's soldiers and horses were already approaching.
Feeling the vibration of the horse's hooves from afar, County Magistrate Lin asked the sedan bearer to stop. He took County Lieutenant Li and several government officials and hurriedly went to the middle of the road to set up the pose.
Before Cao Chunshan was even close, County Magistrate Lin raised his hands, bowed his hands, and shouted loudly: "Heziguan County Magistrate Lin Chenjun has seen General Cao!"
The county captain and the officials who had followed him all the way also hurried to pay their respects.
The horse galloped all the way, and Cao Chunshan, the leader, suddenly reined in the horse. Due to inertia, the horse still ran several feet away, causing dust to fly.
Magistrate Lin waved in front of him and coughed repeatedly.
"Nonsense!" Cao Chunshan said angrily with a loud voice, "If you don't stand on the side of the road, what are you doing in the middle of the road? How many lives do you have to be hit by this general's horse?"
Magistrate Lin was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and said, "General Cao atones!"
"General Cao makes atonement!" The parrots behind him also shouted.
"Get away!" Cao Chunshan shouted.
Magistrate Lin quickly took the people away.
Cao Chunshan paused, but then said: "Get back!"
How did County Magistrate Lin leave and how did he come back? He raised his hands and bowed: "General!"
"How far away is the fire last night?"
"If you go back to the general, the Hezi Guanyi Station is three miles ahead!"
"How many casualties?"
Magistrate Lin paused and his voice became lower: "General, the statistics haven't been completed yet."
"Trash!" Cao Chunshan yelled, "How long has it been since the fire started last night? There are still no statistics? Then if I ask you about the whereabouts of the Zhongxin Army, you will definitely not know either!"
County Magistrate Lin blinked and looked at him in confusion: "The Loyalty Army... is it?"
"Go away!!" Cao Chunshan was furious.
Soon, Cao Chunshan led his troops and horses to the Hezi Guanyikou.
It was a vast ruin, with dozens of houses burned down to their shells, and only a few houses made of stone barely remaining empty.
The corpses were still being carried out one by one. Cao Chunshan led the soldiers down to help. Cao Chunshan took the left and right lieutenants and the accompanying generals to the post office.
The entire post office and the residence behind it were in a state of charcoal. Many corpses were pressed under the stone slabs. Several soldiers were yelling "one, two, three" and trying their best to lift them.
"It should be Han Hejun," General Zhang Zihou came over and said, "Killing people and setting fires, leaving no one alive. Han Hejun has always done this."
"Don't call us the Hanhe Army," Cao Chunshan said coldly, "change it to the Loyalty and Faith Army."
"There's no one left," Zhang Zihou sneered, "Changing your name four times a month is like child's play!"
"Qian Fengrong is a ridiculous person," Cao Chunshan said angrily, turning around and walking towards the original wine shop and teahouse. "There is an old tea shop here. The old man who runs it is from a bad background, but he is kind. His cakes and fruits are...
It must be delicious, and the tea is a penny a bowl. You can drink as much as you want without charging a penny extra. When I came here last month, I even said that I would find a matchmaker for him. This kind-hearted old man said that he was not rich and had a hunched back.
He was lame, so he didn't bother the woman, so he pushed me! He just died in the hands of a traitor!"
"General, don't be angry. Qian Fengrong's reputation spreads far and wide, and everyone in the world will find him and punish him!"
"Yeah, you stinky rat shit. He's the first one to offend so many passers-by."
"Report!!!" A soldier came running from the official road south, "General! Report!!!"
After getting close, the soldier dismounted and hurried over, handing over the military report document in his hand.
"General, Changyang was attacked, Li Qian came with five thousand troops, the magistrate of Wentai County was beheaded, and the military and political affairs were sidelined!"
"Damn it!" Cao Chunshan was so angry that his head hurt. He grabbed the document, looked at it briefly, and threw it to the ground. "When will you not come, come now!!"
Zhang Zihou stepped forward to pick it up, read it carefully, and said to Cao Chunshan: "General, it's not Li's cavalry that's here, it's Guan Ning's march."
Vice General Fang next to Cao Chunshan said: "General Zhang Lang, Guan Ning's march is not something we can defeat."
"This subordinate feels something strange. Before Li Qian sent troops, he always raided Huguang and never touched Changyang. Why did he suddenly kill the magistrate of Wentai County in Changyang this time?"
Vice General Fang spoke impatiently: "People can kill whenever they want, why should they reason with us? While our army is being transferred to Mouye, they can come and harass us after we form a formation!"
"There is the Zhongxin Army in front, and Guan Ning is marching later, damn it!" Cao Chunshan had a splitting headache and looked at Vice General Fang, "You take three thousand soldiers and horses back, then gather all the soldiers and horses in the camp, and rush to Changyang immediately. Tomorrow
You must arrive before Chen hour. If you neglect, you will be punished by military law!"
Vice General Fang responded: "Yes, I will retire at the end of the day!"
Cao Chunshan looked at his other men: "Get on your horse immediately and follow me to chase this bastard Qian Fengrong!"
Returning to the main camp thirty miles south, Lieutenant General Fang hurriedly entered the camp, where one person was waiting early.
Vice General Fang closed the curtain of the camp tent and stepped forward and said anxiously: "What's going on? Why did you send troops to Changyang? And you killed the magistrate of Wentai County?"
The visitor was in his thirties, with an unattractive appearance and a medium build. He said solemnly: "Madam, you rescued Queen Nangong from the palace."
"What does this have to do with Guan Ning's march?"
"This was planned by the general. It was he who instigated Guan Ning to march to Changyang, so that he could drag Song Zhiyi into the chaos in Changyang. The emperor would definitely need a large number of troops, so he would dispatch the Bi family army to Changyang. In this way,
Come on, if something happens in the palace, the emperor will be wary of the battle situation on the front line, so he will not dare to embarrass the Bi family too much. As long as we buy time and distract the emperor's attention, the general can settle down all the Bi family members in Hejing."
Lieutenant General Fang sighed deeply: "This is feasible. But if I go to Changyang now and encounter Guan Ning's march, should I fight?"
"Fight, the general said, the more aggressive the better!"
