The decoration of the flower hall of Shuai Mansion is much more frugal than Li Laiheng expected, but of course it is still many times more grand and luxurious than all the residences of Li Zicheng in the past.
In addition to pear wood tables, chairs and coffee tables, there are also some drum-shaped porcelain stools commonly known as "Xiudun". After everyone entered the room, they all sat down casually. Then Luo Ru clapped her hands, and a group of singing girls left holding pipa and other musical instruments.
Come in.
Niu Jinxing also sat down, picked up a bowl and sipped tea, and said to Luo Rucai: "The musicians in this piece are so beautiful. I wonder where Deputy Marshal Luo found them."
The singers first saluted everyone in the flower hall, and then played their musical instruments. The singers held a person in the middle like a star, with a beautiful appearance and an alluring musk fragrance. She was Luo Rucai
The most favored singer recently took the tea from the girl, took a sip to moisten her throat, and then sang:
Late autumn time.
The west wind passes through the curtain.
Standing by the east fence,
People are thinner than yellow flowers.
Show off many talents,
You can't see it.
Just act and say things differently,
Shang Wu held his clothes and held his hands.
What's more, he was suddenly taught that he had no choice but to surrender.
The weeds and flowers fill the ground with sorrow.
Halfway through the singer's song, Niu Jinxing closed her eyes, and while listening, she beat the rhythm and said: "The ancients said that 'silk is not as good as bamboo, and bamboo is not as good as meat.' Like Xiaoniang, it can be said that 'silk and meat are both good.
'".
But Luo Rucai smiled and said: "What kind of meat? Meat, it sounds so ugly!"
In fact, the "meat" that Niu Jinxing mentioned was compared with musical instruments such as silk and bamboo, and was referring to the singing voice of the singer. When Niu Jinxing was secretly laughing at Luo Rucai's lack of education, the singer continued to sing:
Running on the road.
Too many dogs have been lost.
How can I return to my hometown?
When will fame be achieved?
At this point, Luo Rucai suddenly stood up and said to Li Zicheng: "Zicheng, so many years have passed since we asked Hong Chengchou to drive out of Shaanxi. In those first few years, weren't we just like lost dogs? Running around here and there.
Even if I walk, I can't find a place to stand.
After fighting for many years, we finally gained a foothold in the Central Plains. But the Central Plains is not our hometown after all. I heard that the imperial court called the veterans of our rebel army the old Western thieves and the old Qin bandits. It seems that no matter whether they are
We ourselves, as well as the imperial court, all know that Shaanxi is our root.
Now that Sun Chuanting has been defeated and Zicheng, I think it's time for us to fight back to Guanzhong!"
Only then did Niu Jinxing understand that Luo Rucai suddenly brought this group of singers and musicians not out of pleasure, but to take the opportunity to express his opinions on the next strategic move of the Chuang Army.
He felt that with Luo Rucai's mind, he would not have thought of such a deviant approach, and it was probably due to Ji's plan? This person is deeply scheming, and sooner or later he will be a hidden danger to King Chuang...
Li Zicheng nodded first, and then motioned for Luo Rucai to sit down. Then he turned to Li Laiheng and said, "Brother Cao, let's not talk about this for now. We are here to welcome Laiheng back to Bian today! If anything happens, then I will
I also want to hear Leghorn’s opinion.”
Li Laiheng stood up quickly, put his hands in front of him and said: "I don't dare. Marshal, I have been away from Henan for too long, and I have no understanding of the current situation in the Central Plains. How can I offer any advice? But since Deputy Marshal Luo said so
Yes, there must be some truth in it."
Li Laiheng's words made Luo Rucai's face full of joy and smiles. The generals of Cao Ying sitting next to him, except Yang Chengzu who continued to have the face of a dead relative, the rest of them, such as Luo Dain and Zhao Yingyuan, etc.
Everyone clapped their hands and said yes again and again.
But at this time Niu Jinxing retorted:
"Sun Chuanting still has 30,000 to 40,000 troops, watching him on the side of the Yellow River. How can we just let the powerful enemy on the side of the bed recover and march west into Guanzhong? What's more, although Guanzhong is the country of Marshal Sangzi, but over the years
The famine has turned into a scorched earth. Are the savings of the Chuang army in Henan enough to relieve the famine in Shaanxi? If we cannot relieve the famine in Shaanxi, we will instead seize the food of the Qin people to supply the Chuang army for the war. Many of you here have Qin
How can people tolerate our fellow villagers being in such trouble?"
Although Niu Jinxing did not express his opinion directly, the reason why he opposed Luo Rucai was that in addition to the fact that Shaanxi suffered from successive famines, which was not conducive for large numbers of invading troops to enter Guanzhong for food, he also mentioned that Sun Chuanting still had troops on the north bank of the Yellow River.
It can be seen that Niu Jinxing's strategy is probably to pursue Sun Chuanting, that is, to take Hebei first and go straight to the capital.
Li Laiheng smiled lightly and said: "It is better to use the remaining brave men to chase the poor bandits than to pretend to be an academic overlord. Sun Chuanting's 100,000 soldiers and horses, although there are only more than 30,000 left, are still elite soldiers in hundreds of battles. Sun Chuanting is currently the only one in the Ming Dynasty who can
If a person who controls the overall situation is given a chance to breathe, he may not be able to make a comeback."
When Li Laiheng said this, his opinion seemed to be on the side of Niu Jinxing. Luo Rucai narrowed his eyes and said with a hint of displeasure: "The rebels lack ships. Even if they build a large number of ships now, it will take a while. It will not be possible until the end of the year to cross the river to fight against the old man."
Grandson, right? Besides, if we cross the Yellow River directly, it will become a black tiger that digs out the heart and goes straight to Beijing. If we advance, we cannot retreat. If we fail to win, it will be the result of retreating with no return."
Song Xiance on the side heard this, but he laughed arrogantly and said: "Shuai Luo, don't talk about the end of the year, in more than ten days or a few months, the Yellow River will be frozen. What else can we do to cross the river and go north?
Troublesome?"
Luo Ru didn't think of this just now. When Song Xiance was halfway through speaking, he immediately woke up. He suddenly seemed quite embarrassed and had to excuse himself:
"When I say build a large number of ships, I mean that if the rebels want to control the Yellow River, they must build a number of ships first, just in case, right? It is already the end of October, and we are building a month of ships to prepare for the New Year, so why not
Go directly west to Guanzhong and fight back to your hometown."
Song Xiance replied: "We can wait until next year to build large ships. The Yellow River is about to freeze. Where can we build ships and where can we get into the water? Mr. Luo has listened to too many ditties and confused the time of spring and summer.
Is it already? The water in the Yellow River has been reduced a lot in November, and it will definitely be frozen in December, so there is no need to build a large ship."
Song Xiance's choice of words was already a bit disrespectful to Luo Rucai. Among the generals in Cao's camp, even Luo Dayen, who had always been pro-intruder, frowned. Luo Rucai himself even took offense to the case and spoke directly to Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance.
:
"Don't care if it's October, November, or December. Will the Chuang Army never build ships? And this and fighting back to my hometown in Shaanxi are two different things!"
"The Yellow River will freeze in November and December, so why build ships?"
After Song Xiance finished speaking, Niu Jinxing walked over and patted Luo Rucai on the shoulder, squinting and said, "Shuai Luo, whether we should take Guanzhong to the west or go directly to Hebei, I think we should let this matter go first. Why don't we let Lai Heng and Lao Shuai's sister go first?"
Let’s finalize the marriage? This is a big happy event. The handsome man’s sister marries the handsome man’s adopted son, and we are now completely a family!”
Niu Jinxing emphasized the two points of "the handsome sister" and "the handsome adopted son", which not only made Luo Rucai fall down one level compared to Li Zicheng, but also fell down another level compared to Li Guo.
His somewhat exaggerated rhetoric made Li Laiheng frown. What was Niu Jinxing doing? Did he sing a harmony with Song Xiance to anger Luo Rucai?
Is this an instruction from Li Zicheng?
Luo Rucai suddenly stood up, rushed in front of Niu Jinxing, his eyes widened, but instead of refuting Niu Jinxing as everyone thought, he made an unexpected move!
Luo Rucai actually raised his right hand in front of everyone, slapped his face several times in one breath.
"Is Commander Niu right? Or Commander Niu is right. I, Lao Luo, am just a rough guy. What do I know?"
As he spoke, he slapped himself in the face. This scene shocked Li Zicheng. The other generals, including Niu Jinxing himself, also gathered around and tried to persuade him:
"Shuai Luo, don't be like this, don't be like this...Shuai Luo..."
Luo Rucai's performance deepened Li Laiheng's doubts. Did Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance anger him just to make Luo Rucai look embarrassed in front of everyone?
Or do they want to try to anger Luo Rucai, lure the snake out of the hole, and eliminate the hidden danger of Cao Ying in one fell swoop before Chuang Jun makes his next strategic move?
But what does it mean for Luo Rucai to humiliate herself like this?
It wasn't until Li Zicheng personally stepped down and persuaded Luo Rucai that the farce was over. Seeing how noisy everyone was, Li Zicheng finally decided to make the decision himself, but before that, he seemed to value Li Laiheng's opinion very much. After all, Li Laiheng is now
, in fact, he already has the strength of the largest prince in the Chuang Army, and his military strength is still higher than that of Luo Rucai.
"Laiheng, do you think the strategy of taking Hebei directly or Cao Shuai's westward taking Guanzhong is better?"
Li Laiheng had been waiting for this question for a long time. He crossed his hands and said to Li Zicheng:
"To take Guanzhong from the west, where the land is scorched, and to recruit the exiles, it will take several years to succeed. This strategy is too late. If we go straight to the capital, if we fail to win, we will have nowhere to retreat. This strategy is too urgent. Marshal, follow my instructions.
See, it is better to send out elite cavalry in advance, take advantage of the Yellow River to freeze, quickly capture Huaiqing to protect the Yellow River, and then send soldiers who are good at attacking as a partial division to capture Tongguan and blockade Shaanxi. Then the generalissimo can personally raise an army of 100,000 men.
, take full control of the rivers and mountains outside and inside, first to Jinyang, then to Youyan, only when there is enough room for advance and retreat can we make a comprehensive strategy."
In fact, in the debate between Niu Jinxing and Luo Rucai just now, anyone with a little discernment can see that neither plan is Li Zicheng's favorite choice. When Li Laiheng proposed this new compromise strategy, Li Zicheng's remaining
Sure enough, there was a bright light, and he said loudly:
"Very good! I think this is how things should be done! Liu Fangliang can be the vanguard to break into Huaiqing; Yang Chengzu will supervise the troops to attack Tongguan quickly and block it. Then I will personally raise the troops to attack Taiyuan. Brother Cao... Shaanxi
I'll leave it up to you. After the main force of the Chuang army arrives in Taiyuan, the Ming army will have no choice but to abandon Qin and protect Jin. At that time, Brother Cao will supervise 30,000 troops and take them to Guanzhong?"
On the surface, Luo Rucai still looked as embarrassed as he had just slapped himself in the face, but from the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he was quite satisfied with Li Zicheng's arrangement.
After all, judging from the arrangement of the troops, Li Zicheng gave Luo Rucai great authority, allowing him to take charge of his own affairs and fully control the strategic direction of the rebel army.
Li Laiheng thought of this, and suddenly his heart moved. Luo Rucai humiliated himself like this, and he offered Luo Yanqing to marry him. Is it just to gain Li Zicheng's trust and importance with such an excessively low profile at this time?