Chapter 8 chapter eight

In just ten days, eight cities were destroyed, and urgent reports flew into Chang'an like snowflakes. Under the auspices of Tian Lingzi, Zheng Tian and others, counties and towns across the country were mobilized one after another: Zhaoyi Jiedu envoy 5,000-step cavalry and the Yicheng Army stood ready to defend the Eastern Capital Palace; Ruzhou, Dengzhou, and Tongguan were on emergency defense ; Xuanwu and Ganhua Jiedu envoys all received secret edicts, and each prepared elite soldiers to escort the money and food to Luoyang safely... However, the imperial court underestimated the resistance of the peasant uprising army.In September, a battle report was sent to Chang'an, and the entire Daming Palace was shocked: Ruzhou fell!Tens of thousands of Wang Xianzhi surrounded the city after more than ten days, and Nancheng was destroyed!Ruzhou Inspector Wang Liao was captured alive!Liu Chengyong, the servant of the criminal department who went to Ruzhou to supervise the army, was killed!At this time, the Daming Palace was already in chaos. Facing the aggressive attacks of Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, the little emperor Li Yan poured out his sulk on Prime Minister Wang Duo: "At the beginning you swore to recommend Song Wei as a recruiter for the camp of all Taoists." In the envoy, Yizhou was lucky enough to win, and he told me that Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the bandits, is dead. But now? Open your eyes and see, Shenzhou, Guangzhou, Luzhou, Shouzhou... are all about to fall into the hands of bandits!"

"Your Majesty, after Song Zhaojue learned that the grass bandits were in chaos in the Central Plains, he led his army to follow the bandits, and he was determined to defeat the enemy army to repay the emperor's kindness. But...now that he is going deep alone, it is really hard to do it alone. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty is not as good Hand over the Chen Xu and Zhongwu troops to the commander of the Song Dynasty Zhao Zhao, this time he has won His Majesty's trust, and he will definitely pay off his merits and bravely defeat the grass army." "Nonsense!" Li Xuan slapped the table and scolded. At this time, he had already forgotten the majesty and dignity of the emperor. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, and his anxious and disappointed eyes were eagerly looking for something, as if there would be someone in the palace. A life-saving straw, as long as you grasp it, the country of Datang will always be able to breathe.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew against the window lattice, making a tight "cracking" vibration sound.Suddenly, there was another gust of wind, and the tightly-covered door of the main hall was knocked open, and the official documents piled up on the dragon case were blown away by the strong wind, scattered all over the somewhat worn-out floor tiles of the palace. Zheng Tian squatted down hurriedly, picking up the official documents and memorials that had been blown away. "Zheng Aiqing..." Zheng Tian's move made him suddenly caught in Li Xuan's confused eyes——Zheng Tian was the first minister who was worried about the rebel army, and maybe he was the life-saving straw that the little emperor was looking for at the moment !

Hearing the emperor calling himself, Zheng Tian couldn't help but stop, and his right hand, which had just picked up a memorial, froze in mid-air.He raised his head and saw the emperor's expectant eyes. "Zheng Aiqing, put down the memorial and let the eunuchs clean it up later. Zhen, I want to hear what you have to say now. How do you think we should deal with this situation?" Zheng Tian's mouth trembled slightly, but he didn't make a sound.He has been waiting for the emperor to ask him this sentence for several months.When he first proposed to the emperor to kill Wang Xianzhi, the emperor didn't care, and even the courtiers scoffed at him; It seems that he has a clear conscience when he does not shy away from relatives.Who would have thought that when Jinhe lost his official position, the sparks ignited by Wang Xianzhi were overshadowed by the singing and dancing in Daming Palace.He was resentful, he was annoyed, he even secretly begged these insurgents to burn the flames more violently, to show the emperor that he had a foresight, and he was wholeheartedly for the court!But he didn't expect that this kind of begging would become a reality in such a short period of time, and it was even worse than his prediction.

"Yes! Your Majesty." He put the few memorials he picked up neatly aside, kowtowed to Li Xuan three times, leaned on the ground with his right hand, and stood up slowly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for lying, Yizhou In the first battle, the imperial court mobilized seven armies to besiege the grass bandits; in the next battle in the city, the loyal military generals defeated Shang Jun and his elders, and were wiped out with 2,000 grass troops! However, Song Gong did not want to repay the emperor's kindness with all his might, and not only disbanded the Taoists The army soldiers, and they lied about their military achievements, which led to today's situation. Since the victory in Yizhou, the bandit leader Wang Xianzhi has become more and more rampant, slaughtering several states, and devastating thousands of miles. The soldiers are self-respecting and drowned in Bozhou. They have no merits of size and have no intention of attacking. Your Majesty, if the bandits capture Yangzhou, Jiangnan will not be state-owned! If this is the case, can Aneng entrust Chen Xu and Zhongwu to him?"

Li Xuan nodded, thinking that every word Zheng Tian said made sense: "Aiqing, can you recommend a good general for me to suppress the grass thieves?" "I am bold enough to still recommend Jin He, the former deputy envoy of the Zhongwu Army Jiedu, as the commander of the battalion! The old general of Jin has been in the army for half his life, and has made great achievements in battle. He took the lead and remained loyal to the Tang Dynasty all his life; although he is old now, but he is summoned by His Majesty, he will reorganize his military uniform and lead the army to serve the country."

"Is this Jin He the burly old general you brought to see me?" "Exactly." Li Xuan frowned and pondered: he had no doubts about Zheng Tian's sincerity, and believed that the veteran he recommended was indeed superior; but when he thought of the fierce look of Jinhe he saw last time, he flinched a little.It is very unrealistic for such a person who has a feud with Tian Lingzi to replace Song Wei as the commander of the camp.Perhaps, such a veteran staying in Chang'an might make him feel more at ease, at least as a last resort, there is the last line of defense outside Chang'an, and this can somewhat follow Zheng Tian's mind.Thinking of this, he said to Zheng Tian: "I know that Jin He is a talented person. You pass on my order and let him come to Chang'an. After I meet him, I will entrust him with a heavy responsibility. As for replacing Song Wei, look at Li Zhuo. How about Zhang Zimian and Zhang Zimian?"

Zheng Tian was taken aback: Li Zhuo and Zhang Zimian were generals whom he recommended to the emperor a few months ago. He did not expect that the emperor could still clearly remember the names of these two when playing games every day.Although Jinhe was not allowed to lead the army as he wished, there are at least two encouraging signs: first, the resignation of Song Wei will make the emperor no longer fully trust Wang Duo, and thus he will have doubts about what Tian Lingzi said , this will be an opportunity to seize power from the eunuchs; second, the emperor is willing to summon Jinhe, which somewhat reassures him.In the past few months, he has been blaming himself for the demotion of his old friend.

Leaving the palace, Zheng Tian hurried back to his mansion with an imperceptible smile. "Master, what made you so happy today?" As soon as he entered the door, his wife lowered Zheng Tiankuan's official uniform.This woman is nearly half a hundred years old, with a few white hairs slightly mixed with her temples.Married as Zheng Yu's wife, decades of ups and downs in the officialdom, the years have taken away her youth, and now she is no longer beautiful, but the temperament of a lady is always infiltrated in her gestures, that kind of dignity is both friendly and respectable .

Zheng Tian smiled and said, "How do you know I'm happy?" Madam laughed aloud: "Master, everything you think in your heart is written on your face. People around can't see it, can't your wife see it?" "Ah..." Zheng Tian sighed, "My wife is the one who knows me! Hehe, at the court meeting today, the emperor promised to call Duke Jin back to Beijing to face the saint... Ever since he left, I have always felt bad, if it wasn't for me Reckless, he will not disarm and return to the field early, making the hero useless! Steward—go and invite General Meng..." Zheng Tian raised his voice and called out the door.

Not long after, Meng Tu stepped into the courtyard in a tight-fitting Hu suit, a shoulder belt, and thin-soled boots: "Your kindness is calling me?" "There is one important matter that I would like to trouble the general with." "Let it be at your beck and call!" Zheng Tian explained in detail what happened at today's court meeting, and finally asked Meng Tu to go to Xuzhou to invite Jinhe back to Beijing. Meng Tu said: "Master En sent me, and I, Lao Meng, took orders. It's just... I'm unfamiliar with the roads around Xuzhou, and I haven't been to Duke Jin's old house. I'm afraid that the road will take too much time and miss the time." "Don't worry about that. There will be someone walking with you. This person is called Zhang Qianyu. He was originally a scholar. He used to follow Jin Gong in Xuzhou. That year he accompanied Jin Guangyuan to my residence. I saw Although he is a martial artist, he likes literature and ink, and has a good understanding, so I recommended him to do some copywriting under Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment. He has followed Duke Jin for many years, is familiar with the roads of Xuzhou, and also knows the hometown of Duke Jin. Tomorrow I will talk to Li Shangshu Come to think of it, he will not force this person to stay." "So good!" Leaving aside Meng Tu and Zhang Qianyu's journey to Xuzhou, the smoke of a fierce battle has just cleared in Jiangxi at this moment. In the Battle of Yizhou, the Zhongwu Army defeated Chai Cun, and became famous all over the world.Song Wei not only played to the emperor, lied that Wang Xianzhi was dead, but also ordered the disbandment of all Taoists.On the way back to Xuzhou, the Zhongwu army received an order from Yang Fuguang, the supervising army, to order Wang Jian to reorganize the army and join up with another team led by him. After that, he went to Jiangxi to attack Xu Tang, a general under Wang Xianzhi. Ju.In Jiangxi, General Zhong Wuxiao went all out and led Yizhou's Yuwei to sweep Hongzhou down in one fell swoop and capture Xu Tangju alive. After the war, the noise ceased, but after a few days of silence, the frozen air gradually melted away.Local businessmen and merchants stirred up an illusion somewhat similar to the prosperity of the past in the market.It was rare that there was a good weather and there was no fighting in the army. Jin Hui felt a little depressed after living in the army for a long time, so he invited Wang Jian to a nearby city to relax.Wang Jian took care of Li Shitai to recover from his injuries, and accompanied Jinhui to the market. Although not far away is still in flames of war, this small town is somewhat prosperous, and the weather is good, and the streets are bustling with people coming and going.The streets of Nancheng are lined with shops, and from time to time there are jugglers and hawkers.Wang Jian said with a smile: "In the early years, my father was a cake maker. He went out early and returned home every day to do small business in the countryside. Sometimes he would come to the city to exchange money for a few months in order to catch the market. At that time, the family was called A poor man! It is very difficult for me to eat the meat pie baked by my father. Since then, I love to eat cakes and my father’s baked meat. After the old man passed away, I want to If you want to eat it again, you can only buy it in the street market, only to find out that the cakes baked by other people are really not good. I regret that when I was young, I only knew how to dance guns and stick sticks, but I didn’t learn this skill.” Jin Hui said with a smile: "Brother has traveled all over the world, met many heroes in the world, and learned some real skills from the old gods. If you really only want to be a baker, you and I will not have the fate to fight side by side today." Said At this point, Jin Hui couldn't help sighing when he thought of the confused future: "Oh, it's just that, if we continue to fight like this one after another, I don't know where it will end..." Wang Jian enlightened: "How many battles have we fought? Although you and I have killed a few bandit leaders, but this little military exploits are not enough to be named Marquis. The future will be long, if you have the opportunity to fight that Shangjun for 300 rounds , I don’t believe we can’t beat him! At that time, you and I will have a half-job, and you will be popular and drink hot food, and you still don’t do whatever you want?” While the two were talking, they suddenly heard a large group of people cheering in front of them.Going forward, pushing aside the crowd, I saw a half-grown child doing a show.It seemed that the child was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but he held a mace in his hand and held it with one hand, dancing with more than majesty. Wang Jiandao: "This single lance is quite similar to the saber technique, and the move just now is really interesting." Jin Hui smiled: "Mynah is proficient in saber techniques, but he doesn't understand this kind of weapon. The routine of this single lance evolved from the sword technique, which is nothing more than chopping, covering, intercepting, blocking, picking, lifting, clouding, and belting. However, when it comes to the weapon itself, it also has the magic of both spears and sticks. As the saying goes: "A spear is eight feet long, which is called a lance. Although this child is half an age, although his training is immature, it is not easy to be able to turn such a martial art on the flat ground." Wang Jian patted Jin Hui's arm: "Good guy, you are really good at weapon spectrum, which has given me a lot of insight. Let's go, I'll be the host today, and we brothers will go to the front and have a drink or two." Go." The two said, pushed aside the crowd, strolled to a tavern, and sat down in a secluded place inside.It didn't take long, the food and drink were ready, after two glasses, Jin Hui quickly forgot the unhappiness of the past few days. Just as the two of them were having a good time drinking, they suddenly heard someone arguing outside the store, and after a while, they heard that the momentum was getting louder.Wang Jian couldn't figure it out, so he called the waiter's waiter over to inquire.Xiao Er put the white cloth handkerchief on his shoulders, and smiled apologetically: "The Huazi want some food, but the masters at the door refuse, so they will quarrel. I don't want a boy from Lianjia to help the Huazi talk. These are boring things, don’t worry if you don’t know, so as not to disturb the interest of the two masters.” Jin Hui heard that there was no big concern, so he wanted to send Xiaoer away, but Wang Jian frowned: "Why is it so boring? Huazi all come from poor backgrounds, and the war is raging here, so it is considered to be able to help a few people." Done a good deed." After saying that, he got up and walked to the door, Jin Hui showed a bit of embarrassment on his face, so he had to get up and go with him. When he arrived at the door, Wang Jian immediately saw the boy who had just envoyed him, and there were several children in ragged clothes, all of whom were about ten years old.The two sides had stopped quarreling, and the kid exchanged two bags of vegetarian cakes for two bags of vegetarian cakes from a baker on the street with a handful of copper coins on his body. , and don’t bully the poor too much!” In one sentence, Wang Jian’s heart lit up, he pointed his thumb secretly, and said: This kid not only has a lot of kung fu, but also has some chivalry.He waved to the door, motioning for the child to come over. The child dragged the lance in one hand, strode into the shop with big strides, and yelled at Wang Jian without timidity: "Are you looking for me?" Wang Jian nodded and said, "Do you dare to ask you to drink two cups of wine?" The kid curled his lips: "It's not poisonous wine, why dare not?" The three sat down.Wang Jian asked Xiao Er to add more wine, and added two more sauced elbows.The boy was also polite, picked up one and brought it to his mouth, chewing it with relish.Jin Hui on the side put down his chopsticks and asked the child, "What's your last name?" The boy tore a big mouthful of flesh, and squeezed three words out of his mouth: "I don't know." Jin Hui was startled and said, "You don't even know your father's last name?" "I don't have a father... my father died a long time ago." "Then what's your name?" "My mother called me San'er," he said, putting down the elbow in his hand, and twitched his nose twice, "The year before last, my mother passed away. My mother's surname is Gan, and the neighbors next door also call me Gan San'er." The food was clean. Wang Jian sighed: "It's a poor boy... Who did you learn martial arts from?" Gan San'er licked the sauce on his lips: "I'm not full." Wang Jian smiled: "Why is this difficult?" Then he called to the front of the hall: "Cut another catty of sauced beef!" A smile appeared on Gan San'er's muddy face: "You are really good to me. I learned this from an old man. He said that if you learn this, you won't beg for every meal. It's a pity that the old man Hanako also died half a year ago." At this point, there was a moment of silence on the table. After a while, Wang Jian broke the silence: "Why don't you just follow us to fight. You're doing well in front of the two armies." Gan San'er immediately regained his spirits: "Of course it would be great if I could join the army and fight! At least I don't have to worry about having nothing to eat, and I don't have to suffer from the cold. Even if I go to join the army a few times, people think I'm young."