From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

In the first month of the first year of Wende (888) of Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty, outside Yangzhou City.

The north wind is howling, the snow is flying, Shubang is covered with snow, the huge military camp is covered with snow, and the "Sun" flag is fluttering in the wind and snow.

It was freezing cold outside the tent, but it was warm and cozy inside. The table was filled with delicacies and luminous glasses of wine and grapes. It was a good day for drinking.

The banquet started immediately.

Sun Ru held a banquet in honor of Bi Shiduo, Qin Yan and others. They abandoned Yangzhou and fled to Dongtang. Soon they heard that Sun Ru's army was coming to attack Yangzhou, so they rushed to Tianchang to join Sun Ru and join forces to attack Yangzhou.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and Yangzhou was still not captured. Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan looked at each other and doubted Sun Ru's combat effectiveness.

Sun Ru also felt this unfriendly look. He felt very uneasy, worried that if the stalemate continued like this, there was no guarantee that these two guys wouldn't betray him and stab him in the back.

Sun Ru is a ruthless character. He has always stabbed others. He cannot tolerate others stabbing him. After thinking about it, Sun Ru decided to strike first and eliminate the hidden dangers first.

The generals attending the banquet were seated one after another.

These people are all Sun Ru's confidants, and they should know to some extent that today's banquet is unusual. They all have serious expressions and say nothing, and no one dares to move their chopsticks.

At this time, a shout came from outside the tent:

"General Bi is here, General Qin is here, General Zheng is here -"

Okay, the protagonist of the party has arrived.

Bi Shiduo, Qin Yan and Zheng Hanzhang strode into the door, took off their brocade robes, shook off the snow all over their bodies, and took their seats directly without being polite.

Sun Ru looked around and saw that everyone was here. He picked up his wine glass and said:

"Brothers, I, Sun Ru, have specially hosted a banquet for you today. You have all worked hard over the past six months. Come and do -"

Only then did everyone dare to pick up their wine glasses.

Sun Ru put down his wine glass and suddenly changed his tone and said: "Yangzhou has been unable to be conquered for more than half a year. Is it possible that someone is acting against the will and having two intentions? Recently I heard that someone was communicating with Zhu Wen in private behind my back. I don't know what their intentions are. for?"

"Brother Bi, what do you think?"

Sun Ru named Bi Shiduo and showed a strange smile to him.

Bi Shiduo trembled violently, subconsciously stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Commander, brother thought... thought..."

The incident happened so suddenly that he was completely unprepared and forgot the words.

Sun Ru didn't give him time to think about his words, and then said: "Brother Bi's boxes of treasures are very heavy. By the way, Zhu Wen's letter of appointment must be hidden well."

After hearing this, Bi Shiduo was shocked: "This...this, I..."

It turned out that Bi Shiduo's subordinate Tang Hong had betrayed him a few days ago and secretly reported to Sun Ru that Bi Shiduo had sent people to Kaifeng to deliver gifts to Zhu Wen. One can imagine Sun Ru's anger. Those who betray me will never end well!

Without waiting for Bi Shiduo to explain, Sun Ru slapped the table:

"Take—"

A group of armored warriors rushed out from behind the screen and controlled Bi Shiduo, Qin Yan, and Zheng Hanzhang.

There was a commotion in the big tent, and everyone looked at each other, speechless.

Sun Ru first reprimanded Qin Yan for betraying Gao Pian and ordered him to be pushed out and beheaded.

Then Sun Ru got down from his seat, came to Bi Shiduo, and asked coldly: "What else do you have to say?"

At this point, Bi Shiduo was too lazy to pretend. He shouted: "If a man succeeds, he will become a king, and if he fails, he will become a bandit. Why do you need to ask more questions? I, Bi, once commanded an army of tens of thousands, and now I can die under your control." Even if you are under the sword, you can rest in peace."

Sun Ru scolded: "You bitch, I don't want to dirty my hands for you."

Then he was ordered to be pushed out and beheaded.

Among the three, Zheng Hanzhang was a fierce general. He did not want to wait for death, so he suddenly broke free from the restraints when the warrior was unprepared. Before anyone could react, Zheng Hanzhang snatched the sword from the samurai's hand and killed several people in one breath, showing his incomparable bravery.

Sun Ru was taken aback and furious: "You are so arrogant even when you are about to die!"

The warriors quickly surrounded him. Although Zheng Hanzhang was brave, he was still outnumbered. He didn't care about the future. Soon he was stabbed several times and fell in a pool of blood.

Sun Ru still couldn't understand his hatred and ordered Zheng Hanzhang's body to be chopped into meat paste to vent his hatred.

The taste is so strong that this banquet is inedible.

After the death of the three, Sun Ru annexed their troops and became stronger, which further stimulated his ambition. Sun Ru, who has strong soldiers and horses, is a little swollen and is ready to do something big.

Li Fan didn't dare to take office, which posed a problem for Zhu Wen. I couldn't go to Yangzhou to take office in person. After thinking about it, I just sold a favor to Yang Xingmi. Zhu Wen turned his face and told the court to request that Yang Xingmi be canonized as the acting envoy of Huainan.

Before Yang Xingmi could be happy, he received bad news. Sun Ru had occupied Yangzhou. After entering the city, he couldn't wait to proclaim himself the military governor of Huainan. I can be whoever I want to be, no matter who gets the imperial commission from you.

Sun Ru occupied Yangzhou, where the Huainan Jiedushi was based, and actually became the de facto Huainan Jiedushi. Yang Xingmi, the acting Jiedushi, was forced to retreat to Luzhou. His territory shrank and he was a bit stretched.

Yangzhou is very close to Luzhou. Sun Ru will attack Luzhou at any time after he establishes a foothold, so Yang Xingmi has to make preparations in advance.

Yang Xingmi knew that it would be difficult for him to defeat Sun Ru at the moment. In order to break the predicament, Yang Xingmi urgently needed to open up a new situation.

In order to accumulate strength to deal with Sun Ru, Yang Xingmi wanted to wipe out some small warlords first, expand his territory and strength, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack and recapture Yangzhou. He was very torn on who to attack first. At first he thought of Zhong Chuan, the Jiedushi envoy of the Zhennan Army in Hongzhou (now Nanchang, Jiangxi), but he was soon poured cold water on it by Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi bluntly pointed out that Zhong Chuan had been in Jiangxi for 30 years, was awarded the title of Jiedushi of the Zhennan Army, and was granted the title of King of Nanping. He was the official of the imperial court. The trees are big and have deep roots, the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, and there is plenty of food and grass. It is not that easy to deal with.

Yang Xingmi was a little frustrated: "Then are we just waiting to die in Luzhou?"

Yuan Xi consoled him: "General, don't be anxious. Although Hongzhou cannot be taken, there is a place that can be taken."

where?

Yuan Xi spit out two words: Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng, Anhui)

Yang Xingmi pondered: "Xuanzhou?"

Yuan Xi continued: "That's right, Xuanzhou. Zhong Chuan has been in Hongzhou for 30 years and has a deep foundation. However, Zhao Huang of Xuanzhou has newly acquired Xuanzhou and his foothold is not stable. In addition, this person is incompetent and cruel. The people of Xuanzhou follow He is alienated from his moral character and his people are not attached to him. The general can pay a lot of money to contact Sun Duan of Hezhou and Zhang Xiong of Shangyuan and ask them to send troops from Quarry (now Caishiji, southwest of Ma'anshan, Anhui Province) to cross the river to attack Xuanzhou. Zhao Huang will definitely send troops to fight."

Yuan Xi pointed to Caishiji on the map and said: "The general can take the opportunity to cross the river from Tongguan (today's Tongling, Anhui) to respond to Sun and Zhang. Zhao Huang is attacked from both sides and will definitely be defeated."

Yuan Xi's plan made Yang Xingmi elated, as if he had instantly opened up the two channels of Ren and Du, feeling refreshed. Great, I'll do as you say.

As the saying goes, money can make the world go round. Neither Sun Duan nor Zhang Xiong are economical lamps. Who doesn't like free money? Besides, they also want to get a piece of Xuanzhou's pie. This matter was easy to talk about, so I readily agreed to send troops.