After charging and defeating the enemy, they immediately marched away in full view of everyone. The soldiers of the second battalion were in high spirits and galloped for more than ten miles to the bank of an unnamed lake to drink and rest their horses. When they saw a village nearby with several farmers, they asked for directions.
I learned that the village was called Dongyao Village and said that I could go south to Dezhou and walk twenty miles along the South Canal to enter the country.
After a short rest, the second battalion broke camp and headed south, traveling more than ten miles to the intersection of three rivers. They saw a large river south of the river, which they knew to be the South Canal. Seeing that it was already noon, they ordered them to rest and eat on the spot. The horses were scouted ahead and reported: twenty miles ahead.
There is a Ming army stationed by the river outside, and they are Liu Zeqing's men.
Chang Yu was overjoyed when he heard this and asked Gao Jie and Huang Degong where they were.
The spies reported that on the banks of the Qingliang River, nearly a hundred miles west of Dezhou, the two camps were more than ten miles apart from the north to the south.
The Qingliang River has a wide basin and its source is unknown to Chang Yu, but he knows that it flows to the west of Fucheng. If he had known this, it would have been much easier for him to go south along the river in Fucheng. He might have been in Huang Degong's camp at this time, because he was the first person on this trip.
The one I want to find is Huang Degong.
Marching and setting up camp was impossible without water, and all three troops chose water to live in. Liu Zeqing was the closest to Jinan, but after a month of delay, he just arrived in Texas, so he simply stopped camping.
Huang Degong and Gao Jie went north from Yongcheng and Xuzhou in Henan Province at the same time. They arrived in Dezhou and camped at Qingliang River, but they also stopped moving forward.
In the late Ming Dynasty, these three people were all Ming generals who dominated the mountains without tigers or monkeys. When the court hired people, they respected their troops and did not move. In history, Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly urged them to go to Beijing and King Qin failed, and even gave them all in one breath.
He was made a count, but...
In the Southern Ming Dynasty, a few people went even worse. They gathered their troops in one place and did not obey orders. There was constant friction between them. Poor Shi Kefa was caught in the middle and rushed to adjust but in vain...
To put it simply, there is nothing good about these three. Gao Jie is rude and unintelligent, Huang Degong is loyal and courageous but has no plans. As for Liu Zeqing, he is a low-level person. He has a cruel and vicious character, and he will retaliate. He is also a wallflower, and he is the person Chang Yu must kill.
.
Among the three, Chang Yu valued Huang Degong the most. Although he had no plans, the most important thing about his bravery and loyalty to the court was his loyalty to the court. When he came to urge the troops, he wanted to meet Huang Degong first to discuss a plan to kill Liu Zeqing.
Unexpectedly, Huang Degong was still a hundred miles away, but Liu Zeqing was right in front of him.
Chang Yu was very serious about killing Liu Zeqing, but he had to carefully consider it at this time. Although he could enter Liu Zeqing's army camp and kill him suddenly, he was worried that his military morale would be too chaotic and he would be unable to suppress it. The consequences would be very serious, not to mention that it was the time when he was fighting with Li Zicheng.
crucial moment.
Let him live a little longer, and first go see this capricious villain.
He made up his mind, and after the men and horses had rested, he broke camp and headed south. At this time, Chang Yu's face showed anger. Why?
Since he had already explored the location of Liu Zeqing's camp, they should have informed each other of his arrival through news. After all, he was the dignified admiral of Dongchang. Even if Liu Zeqing did not come to greet him in person, he should have sent someone over, but in the past half an hour, no one had been seen.
silhouette.
This guy is really arrogant and domineering in the extreme. No wonder he turned a blind eye to the emperor's edict of diligence. No wonder he turned a deaf ear to Shi Kefa's repeated orders to quickly go north. No wonder the admiral of Dongchang is extremely rude when he comes in person.
"This animal is extremely rude. If he doesn't enter the camp, he will be killed." Li Tiezhu and other confidants were furious.
Although Chang Yu was angry in his heart, his face was calm and calm, and he signaled his subordinates to move their cameras and not be rash.
After walking another five miles, I saw a troop of men and horses running towards me. About a hundred people arrived in a blink of an eye. The first general dismounted his horse and saluted: "The humble minister Cheng Yuntao has come to greet the Lord Governor on the order of Commander-in-Chief Liu!"
Hu Ling was about to step forward and yell, but Chang Yu waved his hand to stop him and said calmly: "Lead the way!"
After walking a few miles, they met a village and heard loud cries. Chang Yu frowned, and Cheng Yuntao, who was leading the way, looked slightly embarrassed: "Master Governor, brothers are here..."
Chang Yu ignored him and gave Wuzhong a look. Then Wuzhong led more than ten people into the village. After a burst of curses and screams, he led six or seven people to the horse, but they looked like officers and soldiers. Needless to say, they were looting.
Tribulation.
It is not uncommon for officers and soldiers to plunder, but it is rare for Liu Zeqing's men and horses to plunder wherever they go, just like thieves. In history, Emperor Chongzhen asked him to serve the king. He said that he broke his foot, and the court also gave him forty taels of silver.
He was comforted and asked to go to Baoding to suppress the bandits, but he robbed Linqing so much that the people mistook them for bandits. Later, when the city of Beijing was destroyed, he led his troops southward, looting, burning, and killing all the way.
And now he was camped on the bank of the South Canal in the north of Dezhou City. He was also mobilizing troops to rob and implement the three-guang policy. But unfortunately, this group of people met Chang Yu passing by.
"I have something that I don't understand." Chang Yu ignored the officers and soldiers kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, but glanced at Cheng Yuntao.
Cheng Yuntao quickly got off his horse and said, "Excuse me, Lord Governor. I have nothing to say."
"This place is only more than thirty miles away from Jingzhou City. Since you are plundering, why don't you enter Jingzhou territory?" Chang Yu asked calmly.
Cheng Yuntao was indeed direct: "There are bandit troops stationed in Jingzhou. Didn't the governor encounter them when he came?"
Chang Yu sighed slightly and was speechless for a moment. No wonder when he came to ask for directions in Dongyao Village, he saw neither the rebels nor the officers and soldiers. Both parties knew that the other side was nearby and did not disturb each other. Instead, they made the place become a mess.
Safe buffer zone.
As it turned out, Chang Yu slowly dismounted from his horse, walked to the six or seven kneeling officers and soldiers, and suddenly drew his knife, slashing three of them in an instant. The others were shocked and just about to run away, but were immediately chopped down by Wu Zhong and others.
Cheng Yuntao and others were also horrified. Some people around them even couldn't help but draw out their swords, but suddenly they heard a sharp voice: "Are you going to rebel?"
Tu Yuan was as majestic as a killing god. The two battalions of soldiers behind him unsheathed their swords and cocked their arrows. The frightened man dropped his sword to the ground with a clang, and hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no, I don't dare..."
"Rebellion? The green bird in my governor's hand is a precious sword given by the emperor. It is specially designed to kill rebels. Who wants to rebel?" Chang Yu carried the sword to Cheng Yuntao's horse with a sneer on his face.
Cheng Yuntao hurriedly dismounted his horse and fell to the ground, shouting, "Don't dare!"
"You are an official, but you are no different from a thief. Should you be killed or not?"
"Governor, have mercy on me. I didn't participate in the robbery because of my humble position!" Cheng Yuntao shouted: "What team doesn't have a few black sheep? A rat ruins a pot of soup. These bastards deserve to die!"
"So they did it in private and were not instigated by others. How dare they act so boldly?" Chang Yu sneered.
"Of course, we are officers and soldiers, how can we be no different from thieves? General Liu has repeatedly issued orders to strictly observe military discipline and not to disturb the people, but there are always some who are daring and reckless, and they should be killed, they should be killed..."
"That being the case, I will not pursue the matter any further." Chang Yu got on his horse and led the second battalion southward in a hurry. Cheng Yuntao did not dare to neglect and quickly led the way.
Five miles away, Liu Zeqing's military camp could be seen by the river. Soldiers were herding horses and drinking water by the river. Military tents and flags stretched for several miles. It looked like it was no less than 20,000 people.
While observing, he saw another group of people running out of the camp. There were more than 2,000 people. Chang Yu raised his eyebrows, the real master was here!