Chapter 50 Can'er, a prostitute in San Xuetao Lane, really fell in love with the long-haired leader of the rebel

Five days later, the 7,000 troops of Ta and Luo who marched from the middle road came to the city of Wuchang smoothly all the way.Yang Zaifu and Li Mengqun's 10,000 sailors who marched by water were blocked by Zeng Tianyang in Chenglingji, and Chen Huilong and Chu Ruhang were killed.Yang Zaifu packed up his troops, took advantage of Zeng Tianyang's victory and relaxed his vigilance, attacked the Taiping Army at night, and killed Zeng Tianyang.The navy broke through Dongting Lake, and since then, it has flowed eastward without encountering any major resistance.The 3,000 troops led by Hu Linyi and Li Yuandu on the East Road marched quickly. The Taiping Army stationed in Chongyang and Tongcheng did not expect this move.Hu Linyi achieved the greatest results along the way: he regained Tongcheng and Chongyang, obtained 200,000 shi of grain, and countless horses and grass, and reported his victory to the court first.Ten days later, the three teams will meet under the city of Wuchang.The navy is in the north, the middle road is in the south, and the east road is in the east, forming a three-way encirclement of Wuchang City.Xiangyong and the Taiping Army fought fiercely, and both sides won and lost each other.Due to the seizure of a large amount of grain and grass from the two cities of Chong and Tong, the Xiangyong army was stable, but after the Taiping army got the news, panic broke out inside.

A few days later, Zeng Guofan sent Peng Yuju to sneak into Wuchang City.After several twists and turns, Peng Yuju suddenly appeared in the residence of Peng Yulin and others late at night in the well-built Liu's house next to the governor's yamen.When Peng Yulin saw Peng Yuju, he was both surprised and happy, and the two exchanged information.Peng Yuju said: "The Xiangyong Old Camp is located at the foot of Hongshan Mountain. Mr. Zeng is eager to know the situation in the city." Peng Yulin said: "Although Shi Ni and others are very enthusiastic about us, we can't break into his inner layer, and the secret is still unknown."

Peng Yuju said: "Master Zeng hopes that you will sneak into Princess Iron Fan's stomach like Monkey Sun, wait for the opportunity, destroy their lair first, and then seize the two city gates, and take Wuchang by combining inside and outside." Peng Yulin and others discussed with Peng Yuju in the middle of the night, and agreed that Peng Yuju would come every three days to exchange information on the situation inside and outside the city, and to report any special incidents at any time. Two days later, Kang Fu said to Peng Yulin: "I have been shopping around the city for the past few days, and I saw a notice to ban prostitutes posted at the gate of the department. Just looking at it, a woman in her 40s or 50s was in the crowd. People, spit on the notice, and cursed as they walked: 'Damn long hair, I cut off my business.'”

"That must be a madam who runs a brothel." Bao Chao interjected.He is most interested in these things. "You are right, she is indeed a madam." Kang Fu glanced at Bao Chao, and continued to say to Peng Yulin, "I followed her and saw her enter an alley. There is a wooden sign at the entrance of the alley, Write the three characters 'Xuetao Lane'." "This is where the madam lives." Peng Yulin said. "Why is Xuetao Lane a brothel?" Bao Chao asked strangely. "You don't understand this, study with me for a few years after the war!" Kang Fu said with a smile.

Bao Chao said unconvinced: "What kind of book do you need to read? I think you must have visited prostitutes in Wuchang City before, so you remember the name of this alley, and now you are coming to tease me again." "Fart!" Kang Fu ignored Bao Chao and said to Peng Yulin, "I want to find a prostitute to give someone away." "To whom?" Peng Yulin asked curiously. "The long-haired leader Shi Xiangzhen is only in his twenties, such a man as strong as a tiger, how can he survive without a woman by his side?" Bao Chao interjected again with a smile: "Kang Fu's flattery with Shi Ni is pretty good. I'm also a man like a tiger. Why didn't I think of sending me a prostitute?"

"What's the use of giving it to you? This is Fan Li's plan to send Xi Shi." Peng Yulin said: "This kind of beauty trick has existed in all dynasties, but I have always despised it. It is not the work of a gentleman." Bao Chao disapproved of this and said, "Brother Xueqin, you are so pedantic, why do you want to do something important! It doesn't matter if he is mean or not, as long as it is good for us. We are good at doing things, if they sell us overnight as a couple for a hundred days, it will be a joke in the end." Kang Fu said: "Brother Bao has been talking for a long time, and only these two sentences are serious. But don't worry, madams and prostitutes love money. Give them a thousand taels of silver, and then tell the soldiers how hard they are. Forgive her would sell us."

Peng Yulin said: "In order to fight Wuchang, let's do a beauty trick against our will! I heard that Changmao's discipline is very strict, and men and women cannot mix. Except for the false kings of heaven and the false kings of the East, North, and Wings who can have wives and concubines, even husband and wife Intercourse is not allowed, offenders will be beheaded. How can Shi Ni openly marry a woman? This matter has to be discussed in the long term." Kang Fu lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and came up with an idea. In the evening of the next day, Peng Yulin came to the headquarters of the Western Expeditionary Army and said to Shi Xiangzhen, "General Shi, Mr. Peng prepares a glass of thin wine today. Please, General, appreciate it."

Shi Xiangzhen asked: "What day is it today, you invite me as a guest?" "Today is the lowly birthday, let's take advantage of the general's tiger power to add color." "Okay, I congratulate you." Shi Xiangzhen said with a hearty smile. After speaking, he and Peng Yulin went out of the gate and came to Liu's house. A sumptuous banquet has been prepared here, and Kang Fu and Bao Chao are all dressed up.Seeing that Shi Xiangzhen was the only one coming, Kang Fu didn't wear glasses.After the ceremony, the four sat down to drink.Everyone talked and laughed, very happy.After a while, Peng Yulin called out, "Can'er, come out and pour wine for General Shi."

As soon as the voice fell, a person came out from the back room.Shi Xiangzhen saw that although the person who came was dressed as a man, he was extremely slender, and when he walked, he was slender and twitching, just like a woman.Look at that person's face again, with slender eyebrows and beautiful eyes, and a mouth like a cherry, the more you look at it, the more strange it becomes.Seeing that Shi Xiangzhen was staring at him intently, Can'er walked towards him, smiled sweetly, and looked at Shi Xiangzhen with sparkling eyes, which seemed to contain a thousand kinds of tenderness and affection, which made Shi Xiangzhen's heart flutter.After pouring the wine, Peng Yulin said, "Can'er, sing a tune for General Shi!"

Can'er went back to the back room, took out a pipa, sat down generously by the banquet, plucked the strings lightly and slowly, cleared his throat, and sang a piece of "Linjiang Immortal" by Xiaoyan: After the dream, the tower is locked high, and the curtain hangs down when the wine wakes up. Last year, when Spring Hate came, Luohuaren became independent and Weiyan flew together. I remember the first time I met Xiaoping, the word Luo Yi with double heart. Say lovesickness on the strings of the pipa.At that time, the bright moon was there, and it once returned home according to the colorful clouds.

The singing is clear and melodious, endlessly lingering.In the twenty-eight years since his birth, Shi Xiangzhen had never heard such a beautiful and elegant song. He was completely intoxicated by Can'er's people and singing.Bao Chao yelled: "Can'er, that song just now is nice, but it's not easy to understand. General Shi is a hero among swords and guns. I'm sorry he doesn't like to listen to this kind of literary song. You can play a more vulgar one." Come on! General Shi, what do you think?" "Okay, okay!" Shi Xiangzhen kept his eyes on Can'er's face, and agreed casually.I only heard Can'er singing again: "Silly sour horn, my brother, put together a piece of yellow mud and pinch the two of us."Pinch you, pinch me.It's like pinching it.Squeeze to sleep in the same bed.The mud was smashed, and the water overlapped.One more you, one more me.There is also a sister in the brother, and a brother in the sister. "Good singing, really enjoyable!" Bao Chao danced happily.After Can'er sang the song "Brothers and Sisters", Shi Xiangzhen finally realized it. He smiled and said to Peng Yulin: "Brother Peng, Can'er is a girl!" Peng Yulin nodded and smiled: "General's insightful eyes, I finally figured it out. Can'er is the sister of a cheap wife. She is eighteen years old this year. Since her uncle has no boys, Can'er has been dressing up as a boy since she was born. When she grows up, Can'er is used to making men's clothes, so she doesn't love her daughter Fendai anymore." Shi Xiangzhen laughed loudly: "Interesting, interesting! I think it's better to dress up as a daughter. Can'er will be more beautiful after applying powder and grease." Peng Yulin said to Can'er: "Since General Shi likes it, you can go back to your room and change your clothes!" When Can'er changed clothes and came out, Shi Xiangzhen felt his eyes light up suddenly, but saw her drawing two slender crescent eyebrows, carefully applying light eye shadow, and smearing a thin layer of rouge on her white cheeks. His lips are painted with bright red lipstick; on his head is a flower inlaid with eight jewels, and on his ears are pearl rings; he is wearing a red embroidered tight-fitting jacket, and a jade crepe skirt with emerald flowers. .It was the first time that Shi Xiangzhen, a young and vigorous man, saw such a beauty, he stared blankly, fascinated. Kang Fu smiled at Peng Yulin, as if to say: "How is it? The fish has taken the bait!" "General Shi." Yu Lin whispered to wake up the drunken Shi Xiangzhen, "Please drink." Shi Xiangzhen realized that he had lost his composure, and smiled embarrassedly: "Okay, Mr. Peng Zhuang please!" "General Shi." Peng Yulin called out again affectionately, "Can'er is the jewel in the palm of my uncle and aunt. Although she is eighteen years old this year, she is not married. Can'er is very cautious and will not marry unless she is a hero." Today I see that she is so obedient to the general's wishes, she took off the man's clothes and put on the daughter's clothes, she must have taken a fancy to the general. Can'er and the general are really a natural pair, a natural pair. Peng dares to ask, general Would you like to form this marriage with Peng?" After hearing this, Can'er blushed with shame, turned around and went into the back room.Under the light, Shi Xiangzhen saw Can'er's blushing face, like a delicate peony in full bloom, that ray of soul had already followed her.Hearing Peng Yulin's words, he was overjoyed: "I am twenty-eight years old, and I am not married. My aunt looks like a fairy, like a fairy. Hey," Speaking of this, Shi Xiangzhen suddenly sighed, "It's just that I, Shi Xiangzhen, don't have such a good fortune!" Peng Yulin feigned surprise and asked, "Why did the general say that?" Shi Xiangzhen said discouragedly: "Brother Peng, you may not know that my kingdom of heaven strictly separates men and women. Men belong to the men's battalion, women belong to the women's battalion, and men and women are not allowed to combine. As the commander-in-chief of an army, how can I take the lead in violating the prohibition." Peng Yulin said solemnly: "General, please forgive Peng's false statement that everything is fine in the kingdom of heaven, but this discipline is greatly inhumane. The ancients said that when a husband and wife are married, there is a great bond of human nature. If men and women do not combine, how can they Is there a group of people to reproduce? And the kingdom of heaven is not fair in this matter. The king of heaven, the king of the east, the king of the north and his younger brother, the king of Yi, can have a group of queens, but the brothers cannot even marry a wife. This is convincing, Is it a comfort to everyone? General Shi, you are a seven-foot man who has won the three armies, can't you marry a woman in a dignified way? I don't think there is any need to worry about this matter." "National law is unforgiving!" Shi Xiangzhen smiled bitterly, closed his eyes tightly after speaking, and fell into extreme pain.Kang Fu said to Peng Yulin: "Brother Peng, doesn't Can'er love men's clothes, so let her serve General Shi in men's clothes, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds!" Peng Yulin smiled and said, "I still have a solution, that's all. I'll give the general a servant tonight." Shi Xiangzhen laughed happily, and took Can'er in men's clothes back home that night. Shi Xiangzhen was busy commanding and fighting every day, so he hardly had time to talk to Can'er during the day.Can'er, who was dressed in men's clothes, did not attract the attention of other people in the Western Expeditionary Army headquarters.But after getting along for seven or eight days, the prostitutes in Xuetao Lane were in an extremely contradictory mood.That day, Can'er received three hundred taels of silver from Kang Fu.Kang Fu asked her to work with Shi Xiangzhen for ten and a half months to steal his military secrets and report them at any time.After Xiangyong captured Wuchang, he must redeem her to leave Xuetao Lane and return to her hometown in Tianmen.Can'er was a poor child. Her father died when she was seven years old, and her mother took her and her nine-year-old brother to live a difficult life. At the age of 13, her brother was seriously ill and was dying.In order to save her son and find a way out for her daughter, the mother was ruthless and sold Can'er to a middle-aged woman who came to recruit actors.Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman is not a singer, but a madam in Wuchang City.When she was sixteen years old, the bustard forced Can'er to pick up the guests.Can'er was in tears for more than a year, and it was not until nearly half a year that she finally calmed down.She thinks her fate is miserable, and crying is useless, she just hopes to save some money, and then she will redeem herself and marry a good man in the future.The Taiping Army banned brothels, breaking her dream, and she didn't like the Taiping Army.Kang Fu gave her three hundred taels of silver and promised to help her escape the fire pit and return to her hometown. She was grateful and willing to work for him.In the past few days, Can'er felt more and more that the rebellious long-haired leader beside him was actually a man of indomitable spirit.Can'er has received no less than a hundred customers in the past two years.Those who are called men are either playboys, Gaoliang children, bad old men, bastard hooligans, none of them are real men.But this Shi Xiangzhen is different, he is handsome and mighty, dignified, with a strong masculinity in his body; he is bold and open-minded, magnificent, surrounded by tens of thousands of troops outside the city, he treats it like nothing. He is considerate and caring for himself, and regards himself as his sweetheart, not a plaything. "This is a real man in heaven and earth." Can'er often said to himself like this.For the first time, Can'er's girlish affection germinated, and she fell in love with the leader of the rebellion from the bottom of her heart.Especially every night before going to bed, Can'er leans on the window to watch Shi Xiangzhen dance sword on the lawn.Under the stars and the moon, the cold light is shining, and the figure is vigorous.Can'er was dumbfounded by that heroic and unrestrained scene.Hero, this is the real hero!Can'er felt that she was small and humble in front of Shi Xiangzhen, and she was really willing to follow him for the rest of her life and serve him sincerely.But he is also a rebel leader who has been sentenced to death and wiped out the nine clans!Thinking of this, Can'er was terrified.Kang Fu said that there are tens of thousands of officers and soldiers surrounded outside, and they will attack at any time, and not even a long-haired one can escape.Hey, forget it!No matter how good Shi Xiangzhen is, he can't really marry him. As long as he gets out of the fire pit in the future, with his appearance, he will definitely be able to find an honest and honest man, and live a peaceful life. Although suffering is better than fear.Thinking of this, Can'er changed into a coat and hat of the Taiping army's second commander, and walked out of the headquarters gate with a man's pace, and came to the Liu's house nearby. "Lord Peng, I have a very important secret." It was the first time Can'er did such a big thing, her heart was beating violently, her face was flushed, and her expression was tense. Peng Yulin poured a cup of tea and said, "Don't worry, speak slowly." "Early this morning, I was cleaning Shi Xiangzhen's room, and I heard him talking about the war with another long-haired leader next door. I only heard them say that King Yi's reinforcements had set off from Jiangxi, and they would arrive at the city of Wuchang in four days. They happily said that as soon as King Yi's soldiers arrived, they attacked from inside and outside the city, annihilating the troops from Hunan in one fell swoop." Peng Yulin was startled secretly, and asked, "You heard them say how many reinforcements are there?" "Forty to fifty thousand." "What else did they say?" "Later they went out to eat together, and it was hard for me to follow, and I didn't know what they were going to talk about." Can'er said anxiously, "I'm leaving. I've been here for a long time, and I'm afraid he won't find me and become suspicious." .” "Go back!" Peng Yulin handed out ten taels of silver to Can'er, "What you said just now is very important. Whenever you hear about the war these days, come and tell us." After Can'er went out, Peng Yulin said to Kang and Bao: "The situation Can'er talked about is very important, and Mr. Zeng probably doesn't know about it. Wuchang City must be broken before Shi Dakai's reinforcements arrive. Otherwise, we will be at the mercy of the enemy." Adversity is dangerous." Kang Fu said: "I'm going out of the city right now and report to Mr. Zeng, and I will definitely come back before the gates of the city are closed today." After listening to Kang Fu's report, Zeng Guofan felt that the situation was very serious.It has been more than twenty days since the three passers-by have besieged Wuchang.Wuchang City is large, 20,000 horses can't surround the city to death at all, and the Taiping Army in the city can still obtain food and grass from outside.Xiangyong attacked the city several times, but was repelled by the Taiping army.The protracted time has already made Zeng Guofan distressed, and now their reinforcements are about to arrive, and Xiangyong is all concentrated here, if this battle is defeated again, it will be completely over.In order to plan a strategy to capture Wuchang, Zeng Guofan stayed awake all night, sometimes lying on the bed, sometimes wandering around in his clothes, unable to come up with a good idea. The next morning, when Zeng Guofan was still thinking about a strategy to attack the city, Peng Yuju came in and reported, "My lord, there is a scholar outside the door asking to see you." Although Zeng Guofan hated it when someone interrupted his train of thought, he heard that the person seeking to see him was a scholar, so he sent an order to see him. The visitor was about fifty years old, dressed like an old school teacher.Zeng Guofan wanted to end this untimely meeting early, so he asked straight to the point with a gentle attitude: "What's the matter with you, sir?" The man's answer was also straightforward: "I would like to offer my lord a plan to attack Wuchang." Zeng Guofan was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked, "What's the master plan?" "My lord has been stationed outside Wuchang for more than 20 days, and I have been paying close attention to the outcome between your lord and Changmao. Judging from the situation in the past 20 days, Wuchang may be difficult to capture if you don't adopt a unique strategy. My lord has few soldiers. , and came all the way from Hunan, the supply of food and wages is not easy, so it is better to fight quickly without delay. Moreover, Changmao still has hundreds of thousands of horses in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. If you send troops to rescue, you will be in danger." Zeng Guofan nodded slightly and said, "The old man is right." "My lord, at the end of the year before last, Chang Mao came to attack Wuchang. At that time, Chang Zhongcheng and the two admirals were defending the city. Chang Mao couldn't take the attack for a few days. Later, he dug several tunnels and stuffed hundreds of catties of explosives in each tunnel. Only then did the city wall be knocked down. Later, the tunnels were filled up, and people gradually forgot about them. But I remember that Changmao dug more than a dozen tunnels, and more than half of them did not explode. Come out, clear out the previous explosives, and pile up double the good explosives, so you don’t have to worry about the city wall of Wuchang not falling down.” Zeng Guofan asked: "After more than a year, can those tunnels still be found?" "I can find them. I will write down their locations one by one at the beginning, let alone just over a year, even ten years later." There are such caring people in the world.Zeng Guofan was feeling relieved, and suddenly remembered the lesson of Jinggang being deceived. He didn't dare to trust this stranger easily, and even suspected that the teacher might be a spy sent by the Taiping Army.Zeng Guofan changed his chilling sharp eyes, stared at the old teacher in front of him for a long time, and then said slowly: "Old man, our army has been stationed in Hongshan for more than 20 days, and no one has talked to me about authentic things." ...Why did you memorize it so carefully the year before last, for today's siege. Does the old man have the ability to foretell? " Seeing that Zeng Guofan didn't trust him, the school teacher felt very uncomfortable, and said: "My lord, I don't have the ability to predict the future. The purpose of writing it down at the beginning was just to record Chang Mao's crimes. Chang Mao burned down the school everywhere and insulted the saints. Trying to replace Confucius, Mencius, Cheng Zhu with God Jesus, I hate these thieves in troubled times to the bone. I can’t use a knife to kill thieves, but I can write a straight book to make their crimes known to the world and tell future generations. The long-haired tunnel The matter was written down by my subordinates. If the adults don't believe me, I will leave now." Seeing that what he said made sense, Zeng Guofan immediately smiled and said, "Don't be angry, old man. When the two armies are fighting, I have to be careful. Tonight, I will ask the old man to lead us to the tunnel entrance." That night, the school teacher took Zeng Guofan to find five or six unexploded tunnels to prove that what he said was true.Zeng Guofan offered fifty taels of silver as a reward, but the school teacher declined several times and accepted it. Before dawn, Peng Yuju sneaked into Liu's house again, and agreed to attack at midnight on the 22nd, hoping that Peng Yulin and others would escape from the headquarters of the Taiping Army. If they could kill Shi Xiangzhen, they would make a great contribution.