Until this moment, Eunuch Luo was still immersed in Wu Shigong's straightforward actions. He couldn't help but whisper to Zhu Dadian: "This Wu Runing is really well-deserved. He deserves to be the one who dares to angrily scold the young uncle, make a big fuss in the eyebrow building, and look down on everyone."
The murderer!"
Everything Wu Shigong did in Meilou, Nanjing, has long had countless exaggerated versions, which spread throughout the official circles and romantic fields in Jiangnan. Of course, Eunuch Luo, who was the eunuch guarding Nanjing, also knew about this front-page gossip.
After hearing what Eunuch Luo said, Zhu Dadian smiled politely at Eunuch Luo, but thought to himself: "You are a eunuch who can't save yourself, and you are still thinking about this girl. What a vulgar eunuch!"
But when Zhu Dadian saw Wu Shigong with his legs crossed again, his anger suddenly rose, and he immediately yelled at Wu Shigong: "Don't Wu Runing know the etiquette in the hall?"
Hearing Zhu Dadian's criticism, Wu Shigong reluctantly sat upright, but still said something back: "I'm so sorry! I was just offended by that idiot just now."
Wu Shigong's words immediately aroused the snickers of the officials on the side, but these words made Zhu Dadian even more angry. He also raised his voice and shouted: "This is a letter from Wu Runing, but when I say it,
Fu rushed to Fengyang, only to find that our army was nowhere to be found. Now that Wu Runing is late, what reason does he have to explain to me?"
"My Lord Governor, Lord Guard Mingjian!" Wu Shigong sat down and bowed to Zhu Dadian and Eunuch Luo. "On the day Wansheng learned that the Shaanxi bandits had invaded Fengyang, he was immediately anxious. In addition to reporting the news to the Lord Governor and General Zuo, he immediately led
The soldiers rushed to Fengyang overnight. They fought bloody battles with the Shaanxi bandits outside Fengyang City. Fortunately, they lived up to their orders and drove the Shaanxi bandits out of Fengyang City on the night of the 23rd."
Since Zuo Liangyu dared to slander, then Wu Shigong dared to brag. Anyway, he always bragged without making drafts.
"Later, Wan was afraid that the Shaanxi bandits would go and come back. So he followed the Shaanxi bandits regardless of the hard work of the soldiers, and had a fierce battle with the Shaanxi bandits in the Huainan section of the Huaihe River. He defeated the Shaanxi bandits and drove them to the south bank of the Huaihe River. Later I learned that the governor was guarding the Shaanxi bandits.
Your Excellency came to Fengyang, so you arrived a step late. Wansheng here can only apologize to the two adults!"
What Wu Shigong said left the officials in the hall dumbfounded. They had seen braggarts, but never such bragging. Could it be that those officials didn't know whether the Runing Army and the Peasant Rebel Army had happened near Fengyang?
Fight? Could it be that the Bai Ding in front of me is trying to blow the peasant rebel army out of Fengyang with his words, and wants to take all the credit on himself?
Zhu Dadian also stared blankly at the shame of the scholar in front of him. He found that every meeting between him and Wu Shigong was a challenge, challenging the lower limit of the scholar's shamelessness.
Zhu Dadian simply let Wu Shigong blow the whistle, and then asked: "Since Wu Runing said that the bandit army was defeated, what was the result?"
"Kill tens of thousands!" Wu Shigong replied casually.
But this answer almost frightened all the officials in the hall to fall down. How many tens of thousands were there? This bragging really didn't hold up the chin. So Zhu Dadian then asked: "There is no joke in the army, how many people are there?"
ah?"
"How do you know about this late student? I was called over by two adults just after the battle. I saw the corpses of Shaanxi bandits in the Huaihe River and on the river bank. I dare not say how many there are, but there must be 20,000!"
Seeing Zhu Dadian, he still looked doubtful. Wu Shigong then emphasized: "Wansheng also served under the governor. The governor still doesn't know what Wansheng is like? Wansheng never falsely reports his military exploits!"
It doesn't matter if we don't mention this incident. When this topic is mentioned, Zhu Dadian is reminded of Wu Shigong's misdeeds. In Zhu Dadian's impression, Wu Shigong back then not only killed good people and gained merit, but also used friendly forces to
His head was falsely claimed for the war! So Zhu Dadian immediately asked: "Does Wu Runing dare to have someone verify it?"
In fact, at this time, Zhu Dadian still left a ray of hope for Wu Shigong. In Zhu Dadian's view, Wu Shigong's military exploits may have been some, but they were not as exaggerated as he boasted, so as long as Wu Shigong softened his tone, Zhu Dadian would no longer
They chased and fought fiercely. After all, Zhu Dadian did not have a deep hatred for Wu Shigong, and it was not his original intention to force Wu Shigong to a dead end.
Unexpectedly, Wu Shigong replied: "Why don't you dare? My son, who was born late, has been fighting for days. He was already very tired and suffered a lot of damage in the Huainan battle, so he just wanted to return to Runing as soon as possible to rest. Now there happens to be the governor.
If you are willing to put an end to Wan Sheng, then Wan Sheng is just what you want."
Wu Shigong's answer made the officials a little confused. Wu Shigong not only was not afraid of others to verify, but also handed over the work of collecting the corpses to Zhu Dadian. You must know that the heads on the corpses are all military merits! Is this a braggart?
Not bragging?
However, the minds of those officials have also become active. Even if Wu Shigong is bragging a little, it seems that there is no doubt about victory. Even if there are not 20,000 heads, as long as there are 2,000 heads, it will be a brilliant victory. Then
For these guilty officials, it was a great thing to help them in times of need! So they looked at Wu Shigong much kindly.
Seeing that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the hall, Zhu Dadian coughed a few times to calm down the officials. Then he said to Wu Shigong: "I will send someone to handle the matter in Huainan. If there is Wu Runing's contribution, I will report it truthfully."
.However, for the beating of a colleague just now, I will still go to court to impeach you. All merits and demerits will be decided by the Holy One!"
"It doesn't matter!" All the officials did not expect that Wu Shigong would answer like this. "Anyway, Wansheng is already a white body. If he is impeached, he will be a white body at most. It just so happens that Wansheng is tired of fighting. Without an official, he is light, so he should go back and study hard.
Righteousness, let’s strive to be nominated for the gold list! At that time, I would also like to ask the governor, an old senior, to take more care of the younger students!”
Wu Shigong ignored Zhu Dadian, whose nose was crooked with anger. He stood up and circled around, then turned and walked out of the hall. When he reached the door, Wu Shigong turned around and said: "A reminder to the governor.
, the Shaanxi bandits have gone to Luzhou. Wan Sheng will also rush back to Runing with his son and son as soon as possible to guard the Xinyang line for the imperial court. Also, those heads are between you and me! Wan Sheng will say goodbye now! "
Watching Wu Shigong leave, the hall was silent. It was not until Wu Shigong disappeared that noisy discussions began in the hall. This maverick military attache with ever-changing identities left a deep impression on the officials.
On the first day of February, Wu Shigong led Tang Liu and others to rush back to Yingzhou, and met up with the Zhou Xun Department who brought prisoners and captures. Then he took the lead and led the personal troops back to the Runing Army camp on the fourth day of February.
Perhaps because they were fighting at home this time, Wu Shigong's family members were extremely excited. When all the wives saw Wu Shigong, they cried and grabbed him and refused to let go.
Especially the child Wu Chengying, as soon as she saw Wu Shigong, she cried loudly and shouted "Dad——!" and flew towards Wu Shigong.
Wu Shigong was very touched. Other people's families were like newlyweds after a long absence, but his own family was like a father and son who had not been apart for a long time. So he hugged Wu Chengying emotionally, patted his back and kept comforting him.
Unexpectedly, while resting in Li Xin's room at night, Li Xin told Wu Shigong the reason. It turned out that when Li Xin saw that Wu Chengying had grown up, she invited a local scholar to come to the mansion to enlighten Wu Chengying. The scholar was very strict in teaching, so
Wu Chengying was already full of grievances, and he could not get support from his mother, so he was waiting for Wu Shigong's return to seek comfort.
At the end, Li Xin even complained about Wu Shigong: "Other families have strict fathers and loving mothers, but our family is the other way around. My husband has always been a good person in front of the children, so I can only be stricter with Ying'er."
!”
Wu Shigong was speechless in response to this accusation, and could only comfort Wu Chengying's mother. After it was over, Wu Shigong couldn't help cursing his son secretly in his heart: "This brat! You want to play hooky to Weilong?
See how I deal with him tomorrow? Let him have a taste of being a strict father."
But when Wu Shigong opened his eyes in the morning, he had long forgotten what he had thought last night. He was still playing with the children and enjoying this rare family happiness.
After Zhang Xianzhong's troops crossed the Huaihe River, they immediately faced a food shortage problem, because most of their food was left in the hands of the Runing Army on the other side of the Huaihe River. Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong's troops were eager to capture the Luzhou City in front of them.
As the capital of Anhui in later generations, Luzhou is located in the middle of Anhui, at the strategic point between the north and the south, and is an important town in southern Anhui. The wall of Luzhou City is more than two feet high and four feet thick. The moat is one foot and nine feet deep in the east and nine feet deep in the west.
It is 2 feet and 5 feet tall. It has seven gates and is heavily defended.
Wu Dapu, the prefect of Luzhou, saw that the situation was not good. From the 26th, he strengthened the defense, organized soldiers and civilians to build shelters on the city, and carried bricks and stones to the top of the city.
In the early morning of the 29th, Zhang Xianzhong arrived in Luzhou and immediately ordered his troops to surround the city and launch an attack at night. Wu Dapu, the prefect of Luzhou, led the army and civilians to hold on. The city of Luzhou was tightly defended and the walls were strong. There were suspension bridges outside each gate, and the defenders on the city took turns.
Defense.
The peasant rebels bravely charged forward, pressing the door panels above their heads to the city. They burned Shuiguan first, then dug walls under the city, penetrated tunnels, and stormed the North Gate of Yuecheng.
The second king, Zhang Jinjia, took the lead in ascending to the Yuecheng Tower, commanding his troops to climb up the wall and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the soldiers and civilians in the city. Unexpectedly, the Yuecheng Tower they had just occupied was sunk by artillery in the city, and the two kings were shot to death.
The failure of the siege still reflected the peasant rebel army's lack of means to attack the fortified city. That is, after the defeat of Huainan, Zhang Xianzhong's troops suffered another heavy loss. (To be continued...)