"This time we were able to defeat Quzhou County, Shi Yiyi should take the credit." Although Wei Dingguo, the divine fire general, had previously complained about allowing Shi Qian, who was a thief, to participate in the capture of the city, he saw that Shi Qian would sneak into the enemy city and set fire to it, causing chaos to the enemy. The task of opening the city gate was completed perfectly. If it weren't for the flea on the drum, the number of casualties in the attack on Quzhou County would have been much higher.
Thinking that his previous words had offended Shi Qian, Wei Dingguo was an open-minded person, so he added: "Sneaking into the enemy's city quietly and making thousands of thieves riot by myself. I, Wei Dingguo, admire this ability very much! I, the righteous Shi, was offended by my previous words. , I hope you can forgive me!"
Shi Qian chuckled and said, "What does my meager ability mean? Brother Xiao Tang knows people and is talented. Now there are many capable people around him, even compared to Lord Mengchang of the Warring States Period who had thousands of diners. let."
After hearing this, Wei Dingguo pondered for a moment and said to Xiao Tang: "Supervisor Xiao A is good at appointing people, only based on their talents, trustworthy and employing people with no doubts. You are indeed a good man with a good reputation. I, Wei Dingguo, will also obey you."
Xiao Tang waved his hand and said: "Commander Wei has over-rewarded me. If we don't have the unity of the army and the whole army, how can we defeat the thieves?"
Quzhou County was defeated by Xiao Tang and Wei Dingguo, and Shan Tinggui led his troops. After wiping out the rebels, they immediately demolished the houses to divert water and control the fire. Although 20 to 30% of the houses in the city were burned by the fierce fire, many villagers' houses were also burned. After witnessing the fire and fighting last night, everyone was frightened and crouching like quails, and they dared not speak. However, the number of civilian casualties when breaking through the city was very small, and it was very difficult to control the additional damage to this point.
Xiao Tang and others sat down in the Quzhou County Yamen to discuss the next step of advancing the army. Shan Tinggui clenched his chin and muttered: "Going westward from Quzhou County and passing through the ancient city of Yiyang, you will reach Zhang Di Xinjin Breaking the Mingzhou Prefecture and governing Yongnian City, and then controlling the Loushan Tang Barrier, the two important places in Linmingguan Town form a horn, and it may not be as easy to break the city as it was in Quzhou."
After several battles, Wei Dingguo was in high spirits and immediately said: "Soldiers are noble! Let's rest for one night and take the city of Yiyang in one go. Chen Zhu and Wu Bingyi in the west of Beijing are not looking down on our Hebei generals." Official? Just teach them to just hang around in the south of Mingzhou. We can defeat two cities in a row and teach those guys not to fart!"
Shan Tinggui frowned and said: "When the two armies are fighting, how can there be a battle of spirits? Of course Yiyang City is going to be taken, but the strategy of fighting has not been decided yet, how can we rush forward greedily?"
Wei Dingguo was not angry and said: "What does it mean to be greedy for merit and advance rashly? I can't stand your temperament! Defeating the enemy is like a bird of prey. Is it possible that we just sit here and wait for the king? Zhang Liangjiedu and Wen Dujian, Xue Tongzhi Leading the troops together before launching the attack? How can this be regarded as a vanguard?"
Shan Tinggui shook his head and said: "Those who are good at fighting should plan their actions first. It is a big taboo to go deep alone without knowing the enemy's strength. What is the situation in the towns in the south of Quzhou County now? How many bandit troops are stationed in Yiyang City? To the north, Jize County governs the towns. How many troops can the rebel-suppressing army send out for reinforcements? It is not advisable to find the pearl like you did!"
These days, Xiao Tang is used to seeing Wei Dingguo and Shan Yangui fighting each other on the battlefield, but on weekdays, they often argue and quarrel because of their differences in temperament.
The two men had completely different leadership styles. Wei Dingguo tended to fight instinctively. According to the theory of war mechanics in later generations, Wei Dingguo firmly believed that in addition to strength, the combat effectiveness of the army also depended on mobility and impact. However, when the time came, the offensive must be "invasion and looting like fire". ". Shan Tinggui has been studying the method of water attack for a long time, so he is accustomed to analyzing the enemy's situation, terrain and other information before every battle. He seeks defeat before seeking victory, and safety is the top priority in battles.
The battlefield situation is changing rapidly and cannot be generalized. Regarding the styles of Wei Dingguo and Shan Tinggui, one cannot be said to be better than the other. The two have cooperated for many years, and although they often quarrel during discussions, they can complement each other and gradually gain acceptance. They influenced each other. It seems that Shan Tinggui's most reckless incident was when he and Wei Dingguo stormed into Shezhou City, were ambushed by Wang Yin of Fang La Army and fell into a pit, causing the brothers and comrades who had cooperated for many years to die together.
After taking stock of the enemies killed and prisoners taken during the capture of Quzhou City, Xiao Tang already had an idea in his mind. He said: "What Commander Shan is worried about is that the enemy's strength is unknown. The leader of the thieves will be captured this time." Geng Gong, why don't you tell me that he is coming to surrender. Not only will this give you a general understanding of the rebel army's deployment, but this person will also be of great use."
After hearing this, Shan Yangui said: "I heard that Geng Gong is a green forest strongman who joined Zhang Di with Dong Cheng and Shen Ji. Since his accomplice Dong Cheng is stubborn and stubborn, Geng Gong is Can I really surrender sincerely?"
Xiao Tang smiled slightly. Although people's hearts are unpredictable, since he had read Water Margin several times and knew the characters and deeds in it in detail, Xiao Tang knew very well what kind of person this Geng Gong was.
When the Liangshan Army led by Song Jiang conquered Tian Hu, they used the same counterattack strategy again and again in different ways. Tian Hu's generals were also betrayed one after another. This also shows that Tian Hu is extremely unpopular. Among the great bandits, the ability to control their subordinates was far inferior to those of Song Jiang, Fang La, and Wang Qing (who surrendered to Song Jiang during the imperial expedition, Wang Qing only had Hu Xian, Hu Jun, and Fang La's Jin Jie, Duan Kai, etc.) ) And this Geng Gong was the first leader under Tian Hu to surrender.
Moreover, after Dong Cheng and Shen Ji died in the battle in Water Margin, Geng Gong surrendered immediately without saying a word after being captured. He also immediately helped Lu Junyi, who was the deputy pioneer at the time, to gain Gaoping City again. If you say this person has "knowledge" In the original work, when Tian Hu's national counselor Qiao Daoqing led his army to capture Li Kui, the black whirlwind of Liangshan, he was also a surrendered general from Hebei who had surrendered to Song Jiang. The fierce general Tang Bin risked his life to fight and was arrested together. And this Geng Gong, however, saw that the situation was not good, so he turned his horse in advance and fled.
As soon as this person surrendered, he betrayed his former colleagues (He 1. Tang Bin, one of the surrendered generals in Hebei Province, pretended to surrender because he was coerced by Tian Hu. Qiong Ying and Tian Hu had a grudge against killing their father and mother, and Sun An's subordinates knew about Qiong Ying. In the past, Ma Ling and Ma Ling were captured by Tian Hu with a reward, and later fought a bloody battle with Tian Hu's most courageous Northern Army on the battlefield. In addition, people such as Qiao Daoqing, Bian Xiang, Shan Shiqi and others did not surrender after surrendering. How he drew his sword against his old master, but later went on to conquer Wang Qing with great success) is also quite criticized.
Although in the middle of the fierce battle between Song Jiang and Tian Hu, Jin Ding, Huang Yue, Weng Kui, Cai Ze and others in Zhaode Mansion killed deputy general Ye Sheng and others and then surrendered to Song Jiang, Qiao Daoqing had already been defeated, and Wu Yong devised a military statement saying " If those who surrender will be forgiven and accepted, if they persist in patrolling, then when the city is destroyed, all jade and stone will be burned, and all the survivors will be left behind." At that time, the five leaders in Zhaode Mansion surrendered, and only three were left to fight. The situation at that time was that you could not If they surrender, everyone will die together. Therefore, although Jin Ding, Huang Yue and others' actions are criticized, they also have their own reasons.
After the crusade against Tian Hu, all the Liangshan heroes, including the general Zuo who surrendered to Hebei Province, were not injured. Only Geng Gong was trampled to death when he broke through Qinyuan City and entered the palace of Tian Hu's puppet emperor. From the beginning, he was trampled to death. The second and fifth boys reached the end, and when they saw that they could be pardoned and rewarded by the court, they ended up like this. It cannot but be said that this is quite ironic.
However, although this Geng Gong is not a loyal person, he is now in need of this "man who is well aware of current affairs." Xiao Tang said to Shan Tinggui: "I will meet him. In the current situation, I believe that this Geng Gong will
He is a sensible person.”…
At this time, Geng Gong, his two confidants, and the captured thieves were all imprisoned in the Quzhou County Yamen Prison. His heart was racing like fifteen buckets of water, and he wanted to vote for Zhang Di's bandits to invade everyone.
Geng Gong was very clear about the crime of looting and plundering the state. After being tried by the government, it was not impossible for him to be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts for such an unpardonable crime of rebellion.
Every time he thinks of this, Geng Gong can't help but feel horrified and frightened. At first, just because he had some martial arts skills, he wanted to be free and happy for a while, so he became a green forest strongman in Fenglongshan of Zhending Mansion. But who knew that Dong Cheng, the head of Fenglongshan, heard this?
When Zhang Di was in trouble in Mingzhou, he was not willing to just hang out in a cottage and wanted to invest. He only wanted to do something big.
Geng Gong has been extremely opposed to this in his heart. There is a saying that the rafters will rot first. At this time of year, occupying the mountains and forests, cutting trails and looting, the prefectural government may not take it seriously, but they can raise their banners and fight against the imperial court. How can it be done after a long time?
Don't you want to invite a large government army to conquer? Although Geng Gong is timid, he understands the situation at hand very clearly: how can a mob of strong men from the green forest gathered in a dozen villages compete with the 800,000 forbidden troops and the Xiang troops from various states?
The country's bravery, the countless Tibetan soldiers and native troops, resisted the Song Dynasty?
But Dong Cheng was so arrogant and reckless that Geng Gong couldn't persuade him. He only hoped that Zhang Di would be lucky enough to defeat one or two large army encirclement and suppression campaigns, and be exempted from the blame like he did during the reign of the late emperor. But now, the old and romantic Wang Huan, the Jiedu commander, has the upper hand.
, had entered the territory of Mingzhou, and he had been captured alive by the army, Geng Gong's thoughts were completely shattered.
Geng Gong thought to himself in panic: Now I just want to submit and surrender. Whether the officers and soldiers will use me or not, I have no choice whether to believe it or not... From the beginning to the end, I have never thought about causing trouble and rebelling! Can someone give me some advice now?
A way to survive!?
Geng Gongwu screamed in pain, and suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps. Several soldiers entered the cell and escorted Geng Gong and his two confidants out of the prison. One of Geng Gong's two confidants was called Sun Ruhu and the other was Li.
The man who captured the dragon was trembling like chaff and begging for mercy. But Geng Gong's mind was changing very fast. He was surprised and secretly said: "Now that Zhang Dina is still alive, it is not the time for us to be judged and sentenced by the government."
When you summon us at this time, doesn't it remind you of my usefulness?
Geng Gong and two of his men were escorted to a side room in the county government office. They saw Xiao Tang sitting on it, and ordered the sergeant to untie Geng Gong and ask him to sit down. Geng Gong knew that he had guessed correctly, and he almost cried.
After making a sound, he didn't sit down. He knelt down on the ground and said, "Xiao Renxia is so kind and righteous. Like a captured general like this villain, he is treated with generous gifts. I can't thank you enough!"
Seeing Geng Gong's appearance, Xiao Tang knew that this plan was feasible. He stood up and helped Geng Gong up and said, "There is no greater good than knowing your mistakes and correcting them. If Geng Gong is willing to surrender to the Celestial Empire, I would like to protect Geng Gong and put him in good use."
Surprised and overjoyed, Geng Gong only felt that his legs were weak. Xiao Tang just helped him up, and he knelt down and thanked him: "Since I have received the favor of not killing, I, Geng Gong, am willing to be a pawn under Xiao Renxia's command and atone for my sins!"
"Mr. Geng, I want to use you, so why should I just treat you as a pawn?" Xiao Tang raised the corner of his mouth and stared at Geng Gong and said: "I would like to protect Geng Gong to do a meritorious service. I don't know what Geng Geng deserves."
