The time came to the evening of the 10th day of February, with double moons like hooks, and the surrounding areas clearing up. By this time, the situation of the coalition forces was already very good, and it was not a small good, but a great good. Because on this day, not only reinforcements arrived one after another,
In addition, the soldiers and horses dispatched by different groups have achieved results one after another.
In Qinghe County, it can be called a continuous victory. The four counties of Linqing, Qingping, Qingyang, and Qingquan were quickly swept away by two groups of troops in two days. The mere thieves were no match for the established army of Dongdu. Linqing and Qingping were both in the same battle.
It was broken, but today, Qingyang and Qingquan simply fell in the wind.
After capturing the four cities, it indeed had the expected effect - while the Dongdu Army greatly reduced the military pressure on the encirclement by the Qingzhang River, it also relieved a certain amount of logistical pressure on the coalition forces.
It is said that the four cities have a lot of stored grain that they had previously transported for themselves, and the field soldiers who helped their subordinates were not willing to burn the grain even if they chose to flee, but they gave the coalition forces an advantage.
At the same time, the soldiers and horses of Wuyang County and Ji County also received good news.
First of all, here in Wuyang County, since General Bai Libenbai personally supervised the three armies and nearly ten thousand people came to protect the food, the food road immediately became smoother. Liu Heihuang, Hao Yide, Cao Chen and the thieves did not dare to move at all to transport food.
Efficiency has naturally improved, and Duke Yuanbao Cunyuan, the governor of Wuyang County, is far-sighted, proactively stepping aside and handing over the affairs of the county government to a boy;
Secondly, it is in the direction of Liyangcang. The news there has been verified. Although it was indeed an attack, there were no organized troops from Henan coming over. It was just a simple action by some experts. This is similar to the Thirteen King Kong at the camp.
The camp attack responded... In other words, these thieves are gone and have thrown themselves into a trap, and the Henan army has not crossed the river in large numbers, so the food road can be said to have no worries.
Of course, if the Henan thieves dare to come, General Bai and his subordinates, including everyone in Wuyang County, will be short of opportunities to make meritorious deeds.
After saying this, Dou Li looked around, and when he saw the local gentry and officials in Wuyang County present, they all nodded their heads and hurriedly paid compliments. He also felt that he was worthy of hosting a banquet to entertain these people.
I felt relieved.
Let's say that this place is not within the city, but more than ten miles northwest of Guixiang City, which is under the jurisdiction of Wuyang County. It is a town under the pleasant mountain. It is called the pleasant mountain town. Because it is next to the intersection of the official road, it is particularly prosperous.
It is precisely for this reason that a lot of military rations sent from Liyang to the coalition front lines were transferred from here, becoming a link on the logistics route.
In this regard, Dou Li, Dou Junjun, who was responsible for supervising the affairs of Wuyang County, of course wanted to come here for an inspection, and gathered the favor and power of the local big families to express his gratitude.
However, as the sky turned completely dark, everyone stopped talking about business, and the atmosphere of the banquet gradually reached a certain level. Dou Canjun, who was quite satisfied with the soothing effect, sat at the top and thought about it carefully, but after scanning the banquet,
I always feel like something is a little wrong.
After thinking for a while, the man suddenly came up and asked: "Are there any prostitutes in the town?"
Almost all the people present were stunned for a moment, but they soon realized that there seemed to be a shortage of prostitutes on this occasion. Dou Canjun's words were not abrupt. Therefore, several local wealthy people were arguing with those county officials who had followed from Guixiang.
After they looked at each other, they all shook their heads and replied:
"have no idea."
"do not know."
Dou Li couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and laugh: "If you have it, you have it, if you don't have it, you don't have it. It's better for you, I don't know... You are locals, how could you not know it? Or is it just such a trivial matter and you don't want to talk to me more?"
"Reporting to General Dou, I really don't know." The leading wealthy man hurriedly avoided the table to explain that his family was in the livestock industry, so naturally he did not dare to neglect. "Because as General Dou said, if you have it, you have it, and if you don't have it, you don't have it.
, There is no need to expose this kind of thing... I’m afraid everyone doesn’t know about it.”
Dou Li became interested instead: "This kind of town was founded because of transportation and commerce. It is close to the county but not within the city. There should be many prostitutes dancing and dancing, right?"
"Reporting to General Dou, it was like this before the Three Expeditions." The big man answered seriously.
"It disappeared immediately after the Three Marches?" Dou Li couldn't ask further.
"Reporting to General Dou, it is not that the Three Expeditions will be gone in one go." This local big man said carefully. "There were signs during the Three Expeditions. After the Three Expeditions were defeated, bandits were rampant in Hebei, and the big businessmen gathered in Wubao to protect themselves...
…At that time, the surrounding area was particularly chaotic. The life and death of the county guards were normal, and the whole county was in chaos. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and thousands were robbed and enslaved. Therefore, after several incidents happened in the surrounding areas, things like this
Markets and towns without shelter will disperse."
"I understand." Dou Li nodded knowingly, but his doubts remained. "But look at it now, things are obviously lively again, and you are back to do business again. Why haven't the prostitutes come back to dance and play?"
The big man wanted to speak but stopped.
At this time, the leader of the county officials who was first on the left and had been silent finally spoke. However, the Hucao from Wuyang County also avoided the seat before speaking, and was as respectful as if he was serving an officer: "Return to General Dou,
I'm afraid this matter has something to do with...the thief."
Dou Li suddenly understood: "Thieves forbid prostitutes. Your place was once assigned by them, so it was purged? Is this what Wang Hucao meant?"
"To be honest with General Dou, the thieves have not banned prostitutes, and so far they have not interfered in the affairs of this county, because it is really too late." Wang Hucao bowed his head and became more respectful. "However, since the thieves started, many
Release official slaves, redeem private slaves, and use this together with clearing acres of land and re-granting land, burning high-interest debt, protecting the treasury, distributing grain for relief, building foundations for young people, and creating a new land for thieves...
The thieves did not allow the trading of private slaves or official slaves, but also gathered the refugees, sent soldiers to farm, and resettled men and women. If they wanted to open a dance, music and prostitute house, they would be like water without a source or a tree without roots, because everyone would go there.
Well, we don’t dare to confront him here.”
"What Wang Hu Cao said is absolutely true." Another person in the local big family seemed to be familiar with the matter, and he quickly agreed. "Reporting to General Dou, it's not that there are no prostitutes among the thieves or that prostitutes are prohibited. As far as I know, the thieves in Henan
There are some prostitutes in the hometown, and there are also large-scale dances and music, but there are relatively few in Hebei; and in the counties downstream of Qingzhang River occupied by thieves, there are even fewer, and some are listed on their own with half-open doors.
Shan's family does not have a big yard, but we here in Wuyang do have a big yard; however, most of these prostitutes are inside the city, and few are outside the city... Therefore, General Dou asked suddenly, but we are confused...
No, let’s send someone to look for it?”
"What time has this happened? Just look for it." Dou Li waved his hands and seemed to have completely awakened. "I'm just surprised. You are so respectful and this place is so prosperous, but there is no dancing music... As a result, it turned out to be
The thieves tried their best to win people's hearts, but they accidentally affected the country... However, they have exhausted all their methods, so how can they be like the British Duke and give them a thunderous blow? Aren't they still going to be defeated?"
When everyone heard this, they quickly praised and echoed him again.
However, when these people lowered their heads to drink again, they couldn't help but look at each other... I don't know whether they were thinking of the gang's tyranny, or the scenes in the years before the gang came, whether it was nostalgia, fear, or confusion.
.
In this way, after the banquet was over and the banquet was over, several county officials also arranged for Dou Canjun, who was the supervisor of the army, to rest in a separate courtyard. Although the wealthy households were relieved, they did not dare to leave easily.
They all waited outside the door, preparing to check their vitals with the county officials before leaving, otherwise they would not be at ease at all.
After a while, the leader Wang Hucao came out, but his face was a little ugly: "He drank too much, and he still wanted to be a prostitute in his words."
In the dark night, with the lights outside the courtyard, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"I just want it, where can I find it now?" Some people were extremely speechless. "It's not that I won't give it to you. I gave you a lot of money and flattery. How can I not find it for him? If he had just said that he wanted it at the banquet,
We are looking for it temporarily, and maybe we can find it now, but where should we look for it now?"
"Didn't we drink too much at that time to save our face?" Someone sighed. "Looking at it this way, it turns out that we didn't know what was going on."
"The key now is where to look?" Someone became impatient.
"Don't complain." The county household Cao replied with a dark face. "I have thought about it. Either I can search in several buildings in the city. It's not a problem if the city gate is closed. The county man has given me an explanation. I can call
He opened it, but he was afraid that it would be too late. By the time the prostitute in the city came, he would have fallen asleep drunk, and then without saying anything, he would come to us tomorrow to cause trouble in the county; or he would come to the house of a wealthy family in the town... Don't pretend to be pretentious.
, everyone in the seven or eight big hooks in this town knew where the people had dispersed and whose concubines they had become... When you came back, you didn't bring the people back? Now you just send the people here.
.”
Who sends it?
To whom?
Several big business owners looked at each other again and again, and some of them were quite anxious:
"Wang Hu Cao, you must be reasonable. Although the Gang has not taken over our Wuyang in a serious way, the trend has been changing in the past few years. In the past few months, it has even broken the window paper. Your government has learned to let the official slaves go.
, what else is there to do to build the foundation? We have also exchanged contracts with private slaves, and now the few in the family are serious concubines, why should we send them away?!"
"The gang has passed! Now it's the Taiyuan Army! It's the supervisory army of the Dou clan in Guanlong!" Wang Hucao gritted his teeth and lowered his voice to scold. "The army is pressing down on the border, and the people outside have gathered from the geographical area to transport grain for spring plowing. The county
The public is forced to hide in the backyard, who do you think you are? Do you really want to go on another three expeditions and take away all your food, young men, and livestock?!
"
The surrounding area immediately became quiet.
"You can just throw the dice and draw lots." After a while, the Cao from the household was still urging, stamping his feet. "Don't delay things!"
Several large households had no choice but to act on their words.
After a while, one person was chosen. The person was obviously unhappy, but looking around, he could only feel dejected. He turned around helplessly and followed the two county officials to fetch his beautiful concubine. Seeing this, the others relaxed a little, but there were many
Seems a little embarrassed.
"The world has changed." Seeing this situation, Hu Cao seemed to feel that something was wrong, so he had to turn around and try to comfort him. "Whether it's helping or the Taiyuan Army... Anyway, the world is changing. We are all small people, just drifting with the tide.
Don’t think too much about it.”
"Changes have changed, whoever wins helps whom, and who listens to whoever is in charge." An elderly wealthy man who had been following the crowd tonight finally couldn't help but said something. "But the trouble is, whoever helps is
To change in this direction, the Taiyuan Army is pulling in that direction... But people are human beings, not things. They have ideas. Once they are pulled to that end, they will feel that this end is unbearable; if they are pulled to this end,
On the other hand, I feel that the other end is unbearable; over and over again, I will only feel that everything is unbearable, and then people will be torn apart!"
"That's right." Someone else sighed. "Before the Three Expeditions, what's the point of giving a concubine to the Dou family's children? I even eagerly handed it over a long time ago. But now I feel, I feel..."
The words were not spoken, because Wang Hucao looked over coldly.
After a while, when they saw a satin carriage with lanterns hanging on it coming from a distance, everyone who had been silent felt relieved and finally dispersed.
The coalition forces were so powerful that Dou Can's army showed off its might in Wuyang County, which was considered the rear area. The next morning, that is, the morning of February 11th, someone in Qinghe County, which was considered a war zone next door, also showed off its power... The former Qinghe County
Captain Shi Huaiming, who later became one of the leaders of the Surrender Gang, and now took the lead in rebelling with the Cui family in Qinghe, was appointed by the British duke, General Bai Hengqiu, who was left in Taiyuan, to lead two armies.
Qian set off, and Yu Chenjian relied on his inner response to open the door and calmly captured Zhangnan City, his previous residence.
The news reached the Gangda Corps station at the junction of Qinghe River and plains on the other side of the river, and the whole place was shaken.
After all, at this time, the two closest cities were Liting City and Zhangnan. But soon, after Wei Xuanding and other big leaders held a meeting, they quickly made a decision - not to move.
The reason is very simple. Gains and losses of one city and one land at this time are of little significance. The key to the problem is the distance between the lost land and the legion. Although Zhangnan is already very close to the station of the legion, after all, it is separated by a clear Zhangshui River.
No direct threat posed.
Of course, having learned their previous lessons, the trio of Wei Xuanding, Chen Bin, and Dou Lide quickly made additional preparations. Once the enemy broke through Liting City, they immediately used Pingyuan City more than ten miles behind them as a support point to build field fortifications.
Facing the enemy in the wilderness.
On the other hand, if the enemy does not break through Liting City, the gang will continue to maintain the established strategy of drawing the main force without attacking, and using light cavalry to surround and harass the enemy.
However, why is there no preparation and discussion for retreat?
"What should I do with Cheng Zhili?"
In the small courtyard where the trio was, Chen Bin, who had obviously lost a lot of weight, asked Wei Xuanding this question seriously at the round table.
"What do you mean?"
Unexpectedly, in just a few days, Wei Xuanding has become accustomed to making decisions. However, the process of making decisions is very simple and straightforward. "Mr. Chen."
"What I mean is that now we can control it... we can call Dalang Cheng over." Chen Bin responded simply. "What if the fight breaks out and he stabs me in the back?"
"I also agree to call Dalang Cheng here, and if I come, I will be protecting him. We will still be brothers in the future. But if we ignore him and leave him there, and the soldiers come in from the front, I will make a big mistake in my heart." Dou Lide actually said.
I also agree with this suggestion. "However, there is no need to rush to call him now. If it is done too late, it may lead to a big disaster, but if it is done too early, it may make him feel guilty and make the wrong call... He should still learn
We made a clear path before...if Liting City is gone and we are ready to fight, call him immediately."
"How is it?" Wei Xuanding looked at Chen Bin.
Chen Bin heard this, but only glanced at Dou Lide, and then immediately agreed: "Yes, but you must prepare in advance... In addition to the manpower, roads, and troops deployed previously, you must not place your hopes on Cheng Dalang alone."
"Then let's make a plan." Wei Xuan nodded and settled the matter.
In other words, since that day, the working pattern between the three people has become like this. Chen Bin and Dou Lide are still the ones who come up with ideas, but the decision-making power lies only with Wei Xuanding. It seems that after realizing this, Chen Bin and Dou Lide
When the two came up with ideas and plans, they couldn't help but gradually get closer to each other... The so-called compromise with each other first seemed to be able to get rid of the appearance of "Wei Xuanding decides everything".
"But what did the people sent before say?" After settling down the business, Wei Xuanding paused for a moment when he saw the two of them starting to write a statement, and then asked again, "Has there been any change with Cheng Dalang?"
"No." Chen Bin lowered his head and blurted out, "Not at all..."
"Nothing at all, just something strange!" Dou Lide almost blurted out, but he said what Chen Bin wanted to say next... Of course, Manager Chen obviously had a certain understanding of Dou Lide's talents at this time, and was not too surprised.
.
"That's right." Wei Xuanding also responded quickly. "As an in-law of the Cui family, he was deprived of military power because of this matter. However, he fell behind us because of the military situation. He controls several cities. His position and identity are sensitive. He has been there before.
There are many rumors, but they remain silent, which seems strange... Does he really still have counter-thoughts in his heart?"
"That's not necessarily the case. It's probably just that he's at a loss or is in a dilemma." Chen Bin finally raised his head and stopped writing, seriously correcting himself. "He is a man who seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages to the extreme. His final decision must be based on the situation...
...If the situation is sustained, he will not rebel for life or death; but if the chief really has an accident on the other side of the west river, he is afraid that he will rebel immediately. He will also say that the three of us are harsh and incompetent and have no tolerance for others.
Then go find Li Ding and turn the corner to descend."
Dou Lide smiled instinctively when he heard this... He really wanted to say that if this was true, Cheng Dalang was afraid that he really said such things, but he was afraid that he was just talking about Chen Bin. Dou Lide would have said that his vision was narrow and he was ignorant of monkeys.
Wei Xuanding would then say that Wei Longtou's woman was so benevolent that she had words but no hands.
Of course, these words were not spoken. Leader Dou just kept his head down and was busy. His clerical skills were too poor, but the more he was like this, the more he had to actively participate. Otherwise, wouldn't he be giving up this power to Wei, Chen, especially Chen Bin?
On the other side, Wei Xuanding nodded again and again, twirling his beard and sighing: "I really hope Cheng Dalang can endure this."
"I didn't know that Wei Gong and Cheng Dalang had a good personal relationship?" Chen Bin disagreed.
"What kind of friendship is there?" Wei Xuanding didn't think so. "Really speaking of friendship, it should be Chief Zhang. It was Chief Zhang who personally brought Cheng Dalang here that day. Didn't he follow him later and fell down step by step? However,
This is what I mean. There are not many paths left for people in this world. Although Cheng Dalang has superb martial arts and a high level of cultivation, at his age, it would be nice to have a path to take. If he really takes the wrong path,
Even the three splendors and four emperors can't save him! Do you really think we can tolerate these rebellious people?"
Chen Bin, like Dou Lide, remained silent this time.
In other words, the situation is here. Although Cheng Zhili's matter is sensitive, in the overall situation, it is not worth mentioning at all, and it is not even as important as Shi Huaiming, who actually became a traitor.
"I have an order from General Ji, General Shi, to attack Liting City today." A red-cloaked armored cavalry messenger came to the outside of Zhangnan City and issued a military order on the bank of Zhang River. "Let's set up the siege positions first.
He will arrive with the camp tomorrow afternoon and then attack the city together... If we miss the deadline, military law will be required."
After saying that, without waiting for Shi Huaiming to speak, the cloaked and armored envoy left directly, stepped onto the pontoon bridge that had just been built, and left after speaking.
Shi Huaiming watched the other party leave for a long time, and couldn't help but sneer...but he didn't know who he was laughing at...then he ordered the whole army to cross the river and go to Liting City.
Let's say that Shi Huaiming was a local snake in Qinghe, and his troops were also soldiers of Qinghe County established by Cao Shancheng before. The locals were moving in their previous defense area. Of course they were familiar with the roads, but they actually set out to cross the river in the morning, and then attacked five people before dark.
After sixty miles, they arrived at the foot of Liting City. They then set up camp on the cultivated land outside the city and at the same time sent people to the city to persuade them to surrender.
It was only at this time that Shi Huaiming breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the bare camp to calm down the situation.
In fact, the situation was not easy to deal with, at least for him... Of course he knew what the Eastern Capital Army meant by driving him to attack Zhangnan first and then come to Liting City.
Use yourself as a pebble to ask for directions!
Use yourself and your troops to test out the bottom line of the gang.
Isn't it just an abandoned son?
Anyway, to the gang, he was a surrender and a traitor. He was caught between the two armies and had no choice at all, so from the perspective of the Dongdu Army, of course they could let him do this without hesitation.
However, Shi Huaiming has his own understanding... He does not feel that he is a traitor, nor does he feel that he is an abandoned son controlled by the Dongdu Army. He has always been very clear about his own understanding. He is a native of Qinghe County.
The militia leader!
After the Three Expeditions, Qinghe County was in chaos. It was the locals who elected him to resist the bandits. Later, the bandits in Qinghe were controlled, and he naturally became the captain of Cao Shancheng's subordinates. Then, he chose to surrender to the gang because it included the Cui family of Qinghe.
All the local powerful people, including the powerful ones, chose to acquiesce to the Gang to eliminate Cao Shancheng and replace him. Now he chose to do it again because the local people re-elected the official army and prepared to deal with the Gang.
This logic is very clear and simple, and Shi Huaiming was self-consciously magnanimous.
Including returning to the current situation, he also thought very clearly... It was one thing for the Dongdu Army to push him to do the internal affairs of Qinghe County, and it was another thing for him to be helpless, but he did not feel that he should escape from this matter.
The thing is, at least half of the soldiers stationed in the city were county soldiers at that time. He should come to recruit or destroy them.
As for saying that the Dongdu Army is going to annex him, then it is just a lie. After they leave, you can find a way to stay. But if the army counterattacks in a big way, or causes trouble on its own, and the Dongdu Army wants to use itself to establish its power, then
It was easy to handle. Taking advantage of my familiarity with the terrain, I escaped at night and went to Wucheng to join Cui Gong!
How can a grandmaster not protect himself? And what reason is there for not protecting himself?
All my actions are to protect my hometown.
After some calculations, Shi Huaiming felt a little better...and soon, as the simple camp was gradually erected, the confidant officers who went to Liting City to persuade him to surrender also came back, and brought back a good and not bad person.
news.
"Several village chiefs have different opinions, but the leader can't suppress them at all?" Shi Huaiming asked seriously. "Is the chief the leader from Qinghe or somewhere else?"
"The accent sounds like local people, so it's not easy to ask. I only know that my surname is Huang." The confidant officer thought for a while and answered seriously. "Looking at their words, the main objection is that we have few soldiers and are unwilling to surrender; those who support surrender
There are two of them, they all look familiar, they should be from the county ranks."
When Shi Huaiming heard this, he knew that the situation was all expected, so he nodded and felt completely relaxed: "Then wait until the army comes to the border tomorrow, and then try to persuade them to surrender... Also, today's sentry cavalry should be spread far away.
Go to the back of Liting City, do you understand what I mean? The main reason is to prevent the main force of the gang over there from taking the opportunity to overwhelm you!"
The confidant officer understood and nodded to say goodbye.
Since Shi Huaiming was no longer under any pressure, he ate his meal, turned around and rested in the hastily raised Chinese army tent.
This night was February 11th. The double moon was still like a hook, but it was much thicker. The surrounding fields were like a cover, and it was half dark. There were already insects chirping... I guess it was because the camp was located in a crop field that had just been plowed in the spring.
.
Shi Huaiming listened to the chirping of insects for a while, and the fatigue of a long march gradually came over him, so he gradually fell asleep. The soldiers in the whole camp were tired because they had marched into Zhangnan in the early morning and then rushed here again, so they fell asleep early.
Around the time of the third watch, I don’t know if it was February 12th, suddenly, there were shouts of killing from all sides!
Without anyone shouting, Shi Huaiming woke up in a daze. He had no time to distinguish the situation, but he heard one sentence clearly first, because almost all the shouts were in the Qinghe dialect: