The words are divided into two parts. It was April 22nd when Shen Shuren returned to Xiaogan Camp from Jiangling.
For many days since then, due to the low morale of the bandits and various reasons, the two sides have been at a stalemate. And after Shen Shuren learned the news that He Jin was seriously injured on April 26th, he became more reassured and could rest assured. The wait is over.
As for the bandits, He Yilong heard that Liu Guoneng's home in Xinyang was stolen in the early morning of April 30th. It took two days and one night, and it was only on the first night of May that he decided to kill the seriously injured He Jin. , he forged the news of his death on the second day of the lunar month and spent two or three days annexing He Jin's troops.
Therefore, He Yilong made all preparations and retreated in batches, at least after the fifth day of May.
During these days, Chen Shuren was certainly not idle either.
On the eighth day after Shen Shuren returned to Xiaogan, which was also April 30th, Shen Shuren waited for Shen Fu, who he had sent to Liu Guoneng to deliver a letter asking for help.
Shen Fu had to go further than the enemy's emergency messenger. To be able to come back so quickly, he was almost dying on horseback.
It took him a total of eleven days (counting from the day Chen Shuren left Jiangling), from Jiangling to Ye County, then back to Jiangling and then to Xiaogan. The whole journey was more than 1,800 miles, with two more days in between. I rested for the rest of the day and waited for a reply, and spent the rest of the day riding an average of 200 miles a day.
However, all the hard work was worth it. Shen Fu brought the young master certain news that Liu Guoneng was willing to send out all his troops. He also said that a battalion of Jin Shenghuan's troops promised by Governor Fang had already set off from Jiangling on April 28th. They will take the Yangtze River waterway and go down the river to come for reinforcements.
Departing the troops is definitely more troublesome than delivering a message, so it is normal to set off a day later.
What Fang Kongzhen promised at the beginning was that he must first be sure that "Liu Guo can send troops" as a prerequisite, and then he would come to assist, otherwise he would not give it for free alone.
Jin Shenghuan couldn't take a shortcut like Shen Fu. He had to ensure the safety of the troops' march to prevent them from being intercepted halfway, and also ensure their concealment and surprise. So he could only go around the Yangtze River waterway. Fortunately, he could go down the river. The boat can also travel nearly 200 miles every day.
Shen Fu told the young master that Jin Shubei would need to march for five days and would arrive around the third day of May, so there should be no delay.
"The third day of May? Okay, I guess He Jin and He Yilong won't run so fast. You've worked hard, go down and have a rest."
Shen Shuren knew that Shen Fu was too tired these days and was very haggard. Even if he had other things to do, he would not hire an outstanding employee.
After Shen Fu retreated to rest, Shen Shuren called in several top-level confidant generals and announced the latest situation of reinforcements and the enemy's situation.
Zuo Zixiong, Zhang Mingzhen, and Yan Yingyuan were all very excited and their morale was high. They said that they had spent the past two days recharging their energy and strength, and that when the golden sound came on the third day of May, they would attack together in one go.
Counting the days, the news that Liu Guo can send troops must have spread throughout the bandit camp by then. The bandits must be frightened and their morale is low. Although they are large in number, they are not afraid!
…
After deploying his war preparations, Chen Shuren was not ready to stop there - he always liked to kill two birds with one stone, kill three birds with one stone, and eat more than one fish.
This time we finally have the opportunity to defeat the strong with the weak, pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger. If you don't calculate how many forces will come in, maximize your own interests as much as possible, and wipe everything out, then you would be really sorry for yourself.
That night, Shen Shuren had a few drinks alone, using the alcohol to stimulate him to sort out his ideas, and then turned over and over again the "History of the Ming Dynasty" that he remembered in his mind, hoping to dig out some useful information.
Unexpectedly, I actually sorted out some features for him.
"Historically, Li Zicheng should have already attacked Luoyang and killed the old King Fu at this time, right? Zhang Xianzhong stole Xiangyang and killed King Xiang, which seems to be a little later than Li Zicheng, and it has not happened yet.
It seems that it was my butterfly effect that temporarily suppressed the bandits. Until Huang Taiji entered the army and attracted Yang Sichang's main reinforcements from the north, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were not able to return to the top.
However, I remember that in history, after King Xiang was killed, not only Yang Sichang died of fear of crime, but Zuo Liangyu also seemed to have been demoted and punished, leading the army with Dai Zui, for the crime of not saving his life.
This time Zuo Liangyu is in Wuchang, only across the river from Suizhou, less than 200 miles away. I asked him for symbolic help once before, but he didn't come as expected, so we didn't dare to offend him by pushing too hard. .
Now with the support of Liu Guoneng and Fang Kongzhen, as well as the internal changes among the bandits, victory is inevitable, and we don't have to worry about completely offending Zuo Liangyu. If we fail to kill all He Jin and He Yilong in the end, we can escape If you go there, you can also tell Zuo Liangyu to avoid the war and try to get him to be reprimanded and moved to another town..."
Thinking of this, Shen Shuren felt that this conspiracy was quite feasible. The most important thing was that even if it failed, there would be no loss. Anyway, with the current strength of the military, he could already guarantee victory, and the rest was just a matter of coercion. Building momentum by beating the rabbit with grass.
Warlords like Zuo Liangyu could no longer be completely eradicated by Chongzhen during the fourteenth and fifteenth years of his reign.
In the same period of history, even if he was accused, he only had his official title of "Ping Thief General" removed, but Zuo Liangyu still led the direct troops himself. In addition, the court could give him some "movement" The punishment forced him to move in the direction of Ruchuan to follow Zhang Xianzhong.
For Chen Shuren, after their power has expanded, they will have a surplus of troops - if He Jin is completely destroyed, Chen Shuren will be able to recruit at least tens of thousands more troops. By then, with so many soldiers, they will only defend Huangzhou and Suizhou will be more than enough. .
If Zuo Liangyu can be squeezed out of Wuchang Prefecture on the other side of the river, even if Shen Shuren can't take over Wuchang and Hanyang, he can at least penetrate there. He has always wanted to develop his own industry in Daye Iron Mine in Wuchang Prefecture. , didn’t this opportunity come?
However, in order to achieve all this, Shen Shuren realized that he still had a piece of chess that he had not played, and he had to move it quickly at this moment - that is to completely squeeze Zuo Liangyu and not give Zuo Liangyu a free wind. car opportunity.
Zuo Liangyu was a very slippery warlord. Historically, the time King Xiang was killed, the incident happened too suddenly and he was unable to react in time. But on other occasions, Zuo Liangyu was able to ensure that he had a "proof of presence" and was able to prove his innocence. Not working hard.
Whenever the friendly forces are about to win the battle, he will send some people to show his face. The timing is similar to that of a police officer in a Hong Kong movie. This kind of old-fashioned skill is very difficult to find evidence of his crimes.
This time, to ensure that he has no face to use "proof of presence", Shen Shuren must start from two aspects: first, until the moment before the victory, no outsiders can see that he has any hope of winning.
You have to pretend to be as weak as possible to the outside world, and the more you pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger, the better. But when it comes to taking action, you have to use thunderous means to kill instantly without giving Zuo Liangyu any reaction time to assist.
Secondly, he wanted to worsen the relationship with Zuo Liangyu as soon as possible, so that Zuo Liangyu was not prepared to reinforce him. He even deliberately transferred his troops to other places before Shen Shuren started the group, so that he would not have time to save Shen Dao in the future. "Taiwan" makes excuses.
It’s actually very clear what to do specifically.
…
So, the day after Shen Fu returned to Xiaogan, Shen Shuren made two more moves.
First of all, he sent another confidant to return to Huanggang County on a fast boat to pick up Li Xiangjun and others. On the way, Chen Shuren and other personal maids were also there to watch over and monitor them in case of accidents.
On the first day of May, Li Xiangjun and others arrived at Xiaogan.
When she met Chen Shuren, Li Xiangjun was still a little confused, timid and at a loss. Fortunately, Chen Yuanyuan also came with her. She was not so tender and helped ease the embarrassment in the center.
Chen Shuren didn't explain much. After all, he bought Li Xiangjun at a ransom of eight thousand taels of silver. She was supposed to be his woman. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
From the time I arrived in Huangzhou at the end of February to the beginning of May, Shen Shuren was so busy in the past two months, either managing the local area or dealing with military affairs, so he did not close Li Xiangjun's house, and it has been postponed until today.
After the reunion, Chen Shuren was not polite and went straight to the point. He rubbed Li Xiangjun's cheek a few times and calmly turned to Chen Yuanyuan:
"It's a little late, Yuanyuan, please show off to Junjun first. I'm going to have a banquet tonight and ask the city's gentry to donate to the army and raise money to recruit young men. I'm going to pretend to congratulate Jin and congratulate Yilong with ten times the army. For me, I really didn’t have the confidence to win, so I broke the jar and threw it away.
When drinking to drown my sorrows, I would pretend to spill the beans and hate Zuo Liangyu for being stingy because I had humiliated Hou Fangyu, the son of his benefactor Hou Xun, and robbed Hou Fangyu of the concubine he was going to buy for him. This guy had no regard for the overall interests of the court. , even though it was only more than a hundred miles away from Suizhou, it refused to send reinforcements because of personal grudges.
What you have to do is to use the fastest speed to make Junjun's face look like a newly favored woman, so as not to be seen through by sharp-eyed people.
Yes, not only the hair on the temples needs to be neatly knitted, but also the eyebrows, the inner ones close to the center of the eyebrows are slightly shaved, and the outer eyebrows are drawn a little more, and the outer brow tips should be raised upwards. Anyway, you can draw your own eyebrows in the mirror. !”
Experienced people can tell whether a girl has been around for a long time, but if she has just tasted the forbidden fruit for a long time, she will not be able to tell. So even if Chen Shuren rectifies Li Xiangjun on the spot now, it is impossible to do it between the two. Within three days there was a noticeable change in her appearance.
This is when you need to fake it.
In ancient times, when a woman opened her face, she mainly had to twist the hair on certain parts of her face before getting married, and more importantly, she had to trim her eyebrows. After losing her virginity, a woman's eyebrows would be more pointed than when she was a virgin, and the tips of her eyebrows would be raised easily. The stability of the Ming Dynasty This is how my mother-in-law distinguishes herself.
As for sleeping with Li Xiangjun, let’s take care of the business first.
Chen Yuanyuan seemed to know in advance what he was going to do this time. When he came from Huanggang, he brought a Western mirror with him and immediately helped to create a fake.
Li Xiangjun looked sad and a little dazed, as if he was quite melancholy that a major event in his life had happened on such an occasion and in such a layout.
After all the lies and lies, she couldn't help but get close to Chen Shuren's arms and sobbed: "If I had known this, why would I have done it in the first place? The young master saved the slave family from the fire pit. The slave family should not have any other demands.
But since the slave family is absolutely necessary in the end, why not take the time to get the slave family a month or two earlier, and avoid all this hypocrisy. Could it be that the master dislikes the slave family's ugliness, and only thinks that the slave family is valuable to use from the beginning to the end? Don't you even bother to favor me?"
Li Xiangjun has never experienced anything, so she has no expectations for that matter. But she just wants to have a more normal and beautiful memory. Some things can be done easily.
Chen Shuren let her cry, and after she calmed down, he said calmly and reliably: "You are wronged, and I am still wronged. Do you think that I have no clue and that I have planned all this?"
What do you know about the national affairs that men worry about? Don’t look at my glory. I reached the Taoist platform at the age of twenty-one. Every step I took was made with the blade of a sword licking blood! I have fought many battles in my life, and never have I encountered someone who is much better than myself. Times the opponent! One mistake and you will be shattered to pieces!
I just don’t want to cause more trouble to others. If I wasn’t sure of victory or a firm foothold, if I died, I would let you go free. Why would I destroy your body before I die and let you live in painful memories for the rest of your life? Woolen cloth.
Now I am convinced that I will be able to survive this disaster. Naturally, I will not be vague. After these two days of socializing, I will want you immediately! I can’t do it now. If I make you walk with a limp, you will be in trouble. It’s a big deal!”
When Li Xiangjun heard this, his heart was shocked, and his original unwillingness and self-doubt completely disappeared.
"It turns out that the young master has never wanted the slave family, just because you yourself feel that your life is in danger. The slave family comes from a humble background, but the master is so considerate of the slave family... Don't think so in the future! Since the slave family is the master's family, no matter where the master goes, Everyone in the slave family must obey!"
Chen Shuren slapped her hard a few times as a lesson: "Okay, let's do this for now. I'm not very good at talking nonsense, so I'll stop it now. Remember not to blush when you meet guests later!"
…
The banquet in Xiaogan County that night, the news about the unfavorable war situation, and the rumors about recruiting strong men to resist He Jin were all delivered perfectly as promised.
On the other hand, Shen Shuren also made arrangements at the same time and wrote another very pleading and low-profile letter for help, which he sent to Zuo Liangyu.
Shen Shuren also very viciously asked Governor Fang Kong and Zheng Fang to sign the petition, and Governor Fang strongly demanded that Zuo Liangyu must send troops to Suizhou. Now only Zuo Liangyu in Huguang can save Suizhou——
And all these documents can eventually become ironclad evidence for a lawsuit in the court. Each letter has clear evidence of the date on it.
After receiving the final high-pressure order, Zuo Liangyu also once had the intention of "if there is a chance, he will assist".
But just as he was hesitating, within a day or two, there were a lot of rumors coming from Xiaogan.
I don't know where those big mouths are spreading, saying, "The reason Zuo Liangyu refused to save Shen Daotai was because Shen Daotai had humiliated Zuo Liangyu's benefactor Hou Xun's son, and he was still in Nanjing. When he went upstairs, he openly robbed Mr. Hou and planned to buy it as a concubine for Zuo Liangyu."
Gossip and rumors are always the most tenacious, not to mention that there are still people who deliberately add fuel to the flames.
Suddenly, the Qinghuan court lady from Meixiang House in Nanjing was said to have a nose and an eye for how beautiful she was, and how drunk Shen Daotai was when he held her in his arms and made drunken remarks when meeting guests.
Among them, the description of Li Xiangjun’s beauty is obviously the most valuable part to spread.
People like Zuo Liangyu have always been scornful when it comes to robbing women. Historically, there have been misdeeds where his subordinates gave him women, but when others intercepted them, he snatched the women back and killed them. .
Hearing that the stunningly beautiful concubine who was supposed to be his had been mutilated, he immediately became furious, and his old and new grudges with Chen Shuren also surged into his heart.
He also heard that the Shenshu people in the Battle of Suizhou were in critical condition, and had reached the point where they had to go to the doctor for treatment and wanted to arrest the strong men to silence them. Zuo Liangyu finally made up his mind:
"Humph, at worst, I'll be punished by the court this time for refusing to save my life, so I can take away some of my official positions! Anyway, the emperor can't take away our direct descendants! The official positions are all empty!
What's more, if Shen Shuren can defeat He Jin and survive, the emperor will still feel that Shen Shuren can hold back the defense in eastern Huguang. If Shen Shuren is defeated and dies, the emperor will have to rely on me more and more, no matter how unwilling he is. Guard the eastern border of Huguang! Otherwise, once I am transferred, Huguang will be completely destroyed!"
He decided to bet that Shen Shuren would die! Bet that once Shen Shuren died, Chongzhen would not be able to find a replacement in a hurry! That way, not only would he not have to worry about being deprived of military power, he would not even have to worry about being asked to move the town!