The fact that soldiers from Hou Xunbiao's battalion arrested Yuan Shizhong under the city gate has already caused uproar in the city. The whole city's soldiers and civilians are confused. At this moment, who is the loyal and who is the traitor?
Is Yuan Shizhong, who has traveled thousands of miles alone, really a spy who wants to cooperate with the intruders inside and outside?
Some gentry leaders with connections and channels have begun to mobilize their social energy and try every means to dig out relevant information from the two producers, Hou Xun and Shi Kefa.
Everyone knew that Shi Kefa and Hou Xun were not happy with each other, so Shi Kefa did not work in the general office of the Suppression General. Instead, he set up a separate garden near the office to avoid Hou Xun, and he concentrated on handling ministry affairs quietly.
During this period of time, although Shi Kefa's Bieyuan was not as busy and busy as Hou Xun's official office, it could not be considered quiet. Outside the gate of the Bieyuan, there were also cars of all sizes parked, and people were busy every day.
A leading figure in Xuzhou came to his door and asked to see this world-famous Donglin talent.
Shi Zhitai was a man of great humility and courtesy to virtuous scholars. Although he was well-known throughout Jiuzhou, he also sincerely cared for ordinary scholars who came to see him.
The extra care shown by Shi Kefa towards ordinary young scholars really made the young gentry in Huaixu area greatly admired and admired.
But today, at this critical moment when Yuan Shizhong was arrested by Hou Xun and his life and death were unknown, the gate of Shifu Villa was closed. From noon to evening, countless gentlemen handed over famous assassins and wanted to see Shi Zitai.
When the whole city's hearts were tied to Shi Kefa, he closed the door, leaving no one guessing what Master Tai Tai's intention was!
On Hou Xun's side, his Biao battalion soldiers did not have a personal dependence relationship with Hou Xun himself that had been accumulated over many years of kindness and power.
These so-called "housekeepers" were actually just some rogues temporarily recruited from the streets of Beijing when Hou Xun went south from Beijing.
They had no intention of dying for Hou Xun at all costs. In order to vent his anger, Hou Xun ordered these soldiers to arrest Yuan Shizhong, which not only made the people of Xuzhou feel extremely ill, but also the "housekeepers" of the standard camp.
, and many have objections.
"General Yuan is riding back alone. He is really like the grandfather of Guan Yunchang. Why do our masters of Taiwan have to put him in the shackles?"
Yuan Shizhong has been arrested and taken to Hou Xun's military camp next to the Xuzhou campus. There were some idle Biaoying servants outside the military camp talking about it. Everyone was deeply confused and puzzled by Hou Zitai's actions.
Someone clapped their fingers and sighed, saying: "I don't understand, I don't understand. If Mr. Hou goes crazy, we will all be destroyed. I think there are not many soldiers in Xuzhou who can fight. How many of our brothers are there?"
If we don't find a way out, we will either die at the hands of Donglu or the invaders."
Another person slapped the table and said: "Hey! What are you talking about! Who doesn't know that the young master in Mr. Hou's family was killed in Guide City? His old man now insists on killing Yuan Shizhong to avenge him. Let's
Where can I go to say that!"
"What kind of thing is this? A thief killed the master's son. What does it have to do with General Yuan? Why is the master so ignorant? He is worse than a butcher in the market."
The servants of the Biao camp who gathered in a circle were either sighing and feeling hopeless about Xuzhou's future; or they were criticizing Hou Xun's behavior, completely ignoring the difference between superior and inferior; and some were quick-thinking.
Others have already begun to plan their escape route, preparing to get a boat and quickly escape to the south via the canal.
The servants of Biaoying all looked like this, and the main force of Xuzhou's defenders was even more outrageous.
With such a bleak scene, it is no wonder that Hou Xun was unable to find Li Laiheng, the rightful owner, to seek revenge. He could only bully Yuan Shizhong, who had lost all his troops, and was furious at the incompetence of this strong general who was loyal and devoted to the court.
Hou Xun was very worried about the combat effectiveness of Biao Battalion, so he redoubled his efforts to win over Yongshou and Gao Qian. Although these two did abandon Liu Zhaoji, an ally, and fled before the formation and ran back without authorization, they could not stand it.
They have soldiers in their hands!
And according to Hou Xun's observation, although the two thousand troops of Yu Yongshou and Gao Qian are not very capable and good at fighting, they can still fight much better than his standard battalion troops.
The situation in Xuzhou is now in a state of flux. It only takes a moment for Donglu or bandits to break through.
When that time comes, Hou Xun can only count on Yu Yongshou and Gao Qian to protect him and rescue him to Nandu.
As for what happened in the future, Hou Xun thought that if Xuzhou was conquered, water transportation would be cut off, and the north and south would be isolated. Chongzhen might not be able to deal with him.
That's why Hou Xun suddenly felt a desire for revenge, and was ready to vent the unknown fire in his heart on Yuan Shizhong before evacuating from Xuzhou.
"This generation of scoundrels...hum, a thief will be a thief after all!"
After Yuan Shizhong was captured by soldiers from the Biao Camp and brought to the Xiaochang Military Camp, Hou Xun ordered the soldiers to tie him to a pillar and beat him repeatedly with a whip soaked in water.
It was the slightly cold season after autumn. The whip was applied one after another, and Yuan Shizhong was immediately beaten into a state of disgrace. His skin and flesh were torn and blood flowed across his body.
He had not drank water for several hours, his lips were cracked, and his throat was dry. Only the soldier who was executing the execution next to him could hear clearly the words "I am not guilty" that he managed to say.
The soldier who whipped Yuan Shizhong could not help but feel a sense of compassion in his heart after hearing him say "I am not guilty" repeatedly.
However, Hou Xun urged him to be whipped in every possible way, so he had no other choice but to obey his orders. Both Yu Yongshou and Gao Qian were sitting next to Hou Xun, and Gao Qian had just presented Hou Xun with a copy of his "Diary of Shou Bian".
, the book boasted that he was the main contributor to the Ming army's defense of Kaifeng, and also boasted about how Gao Qian himself was good at dealing with the Chu army.
Hou Xun did not fully believe Gao Qian's eloquent diary. However, the current situation in Xuzhou was so critical that he really had no other choice but to pin his last glimmer of hope on Gao Qian.
Although Yu Yongshou has a higher military rank than Gao Qian, he does not have as many troops as Gao Qian now, so he deliberately flatters Gao Qian and says: "General Gao knows the tactics of the intruders very well. I think if the intruders really dare to come,
By attacking the city, we will definitely be able to repeat the success of the battle to defend Bian and defeat the intruders under the city."
"Cough, cough."
Hou Xun coughed twice. Although the battle to defend Bian was pretty good and lasted for a relatively long time, Kaifeng was not broken by the intruders in the end?
What's more, Li Xianfeng, the governor who guarded the city, committed suicide in the end, and Gao Mingheng, the governor, also retired from office. Only one official, Huang Shu, rose to the top. Although Yunyang was lost, it is said that after he fled to Hanzhong, he gained Sun Chuanting.
reuse.
I don’t want to be like Li Xianfeng and Gao Mingheng…
It's best, it's best to be like Huang Shu, who can save his life and get promoted at the same time.
Hou Xun didn't have much thought about his ups and downs in the officialdom. He just wanted to be able to enter the cabinet, stay as a minister for a year, and then go to Nandu to live in seclusion!
His son also died, and Guide's hometown was occupied by intruders.
The only plan I have left is to go to Nandu to enjoy the forest. God will not and will not allow it, right?
"Hahaha." After listening to Yu Yongshou's words, Gao Qian laughed and said, "Okay, okay, as long as the soldiers and people of Xuzhou City are united, as the saying goes, the one who has the same desire will win, and the intruders are not just three-headed and six-armed people, as long as we don't make mistakes ourselves.
, let alone Li Laiheng, even Li Zicheng would not be able to capture Xuzhou City."
"Um……"
Hou Xun took a sip of tea. He saw that Yuan Shizhong had been beaten half to death, and his own anger was also less than half, so he was about to order to chop Yuan Shizhong with a knife.
Then Hou Xun planned to follow the two generals Yu Yongshou and Gao Qian, and leave first without consulting Shi Kefa.
"Young thief Yuan is really hateful. With so many officers and soldiers in Xuzhou, why did we suffer a great defeat in Xuzhou? It's not because this thief hindered us. He was a spy who broke into the robbers and cooperated with others to seize my Xuzhou city. Let's go first.
After Nandu, if my colleagues in Nandu have any objections, I will show them Yuan Shizhong's head."
Hou Xun was really trying to suppress the governor-general. How could he escape when the intruder army was victorious and the official army was defeated?
If he really wanted to escape to Nanjing, the court would definitely punish him severely.
However, Hou Xun's thinking angle was different. In his opinion, after his "successful transfer", Shi Kefa would definitely not be able to defend Xuzhou.
If Xuzhou falls, transportation between the north and the south will be cut off. Even if the court really wants to punish itself, it may not be able to do so in a short time.
And as long as Xuzhou falls and Shi Kefa and others die, who can say that Hou Xun escaped from the battle instead of winning the battle? He still has the head of the big thief Can in his hand to prove it!
After all, Yuan Shizhong was also a minor prince within the camp, and he could be regarded as a world-famous drama thief at this time.
Even if the officials in Nanjing had any objections to his coming to seek refuge, they could still rely on Yong Shou and Gao Qian's troops and Yuan Shizhong's head to fool them, right?
"Master Taiwan, there is a leak behind the military camp!"