From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

Xuanzhou Governor's Mansion.

Xu Wen and Tao Ya are back, and Yang Xingmi only cares about one issue, Tian Kai's whereabouts.

Xu Wen spread his hands and said: "We chased them to the border of Shezhou but failed to catch up. According to the villagers, they saw them crossing the mountains and heading towards Jiangxi two days ago."

"Going to Jiangxi?"

Yang Xingmi pondered: "Could it be that they passed the bell?"

Xu Wen analyzed: "Defection is not a problem. Tian Bo is arrogant and arrogant, so it is impossible for him to like Zhong Chuan. Besides, Zhong Chuan has been ill for a long time and his time is running out. Several of his sons are eager to snatch the throne. Tian Wei If Kai goes to Jiangxi at this time, he probably wants to take advantage of the chaos to seize Hongzhou."

"As soon as you say it's really possible, if Tian Kai takes Hongzhou, it will be troublesome. Hongzhou is upstream of us, and if Tian Kai controls it, it will pose a serious threat to us."

Yang Xingmi's words revealed deep worries.

Tian Kai is a tiger general. If he is determined to confront Yang Xingmi, then Yang Xingmi will face a very troublesome enemy, which he does not want to see.

In particular, Tian Kai also took away two-thirds of the main force of Crouching Tiger Camp, and only Tao Ya had a part left. If Xu Wen's dark clouds hadn't been there, the situation would have been even more serious.

Thinking of this, Yang Xingmi told Xu Wen: "Send additional personnel to Jiangxi to inquire about Tian Kai's movements, and report immediately if there is any situation."

"Brother, don't worry, I've already sent someone."

"That's fine."

"We will leave for Yangzhou tomorrow. According to Liu Wei's report, Zhu Wen's army arrived at the Huaihe River the day before yesterday. Haozhou is in danger. Liu Wei has limited manpower and cannot rescue. We must go back immediately." Yang Xingmi talked about the battle situation in Huaibei.

"How to deal with the aftermath here in Xuanzhou?" Xu Wen asked.

Considering that Tian Kai had just escaped, Xuanzhou was still very unstable. In addition, Tian Kai had been guarding here for many years and left behind many buddies. The pressure of the cleanup was also great. He had to choose someone with strong ability to clean up the mess in Xuanzhou.

"Xu Wen, who do you think is suitable?" Yang Xingmi asked Xu Wen's opinion.

Xu Wen thought of someone: "Brother, what do you think of Li Yu?"

Yang Xingmi nodded and said: "He is a talented person, brave and resourceful. He was particularly careful when dealing with Cai Chou's rebellion last time. I am very relieved when he handles things."

Xu Wen: "My little brother means the same thing."

In the end, Yang Xingmi decided to call Li Yu to Xuanzhou immediately, appointed him as the new Xuanshe observer and governor of Xuanzhou, and stayed in Xuanzhou to calm people's hearts. In the following years, Xuanzhou quickly returned to its former prosperity under Li Yu's governance, and the ancient city gradually emerged from the haze of war.

After handling the matter in Xuanzhou, Yang Xingmi returned to Yangzhou and summoned Dai Yougui, Yuan Xi, Gao Xu and others who had stayed behind to discuss how to deal with Zhu Wen's threat.

Yuan Xi pointed out that Haozhou is an important gateway on the Huaihe River. Historically, to guard Huaihe, one must first defend Haozhou. Defending Haozhou also defends the Huaihe River defense line. Haozhou was called Zhongli during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was also the front line of the confrontation between the North and the South at that time. Fierce battles broke out here many times between the North and the South. However, Zhongli was always controlled by the Southern Dynasty troops, making it impossible for the Northern Dynasty troops to cross the Huaihe River and capture the city. Huainan region.

Today, Zhongli has become Haozhou, but what remains unchanged is its importance. It is still a focus of competition for all parties.

Due to his limited military strength, Yang Xingmi did not station heavy troops in cities close to Zhu Wen's territory such as Haozhou and Shouzhou. He only deployed a small number of local troops. This arrangement could not stop Zhu Wen's army from attacking. Haozhou was already in a hurry.

If Haozhou falls, Luzhou will be next, followed by Yangzhou. This domino could not fall, so Yang Xingmi decided to fight in person again and rushed to Haozhou to stop Zhu Wen's army.

This time he only brought Yuan Xi and Xu Wen, which showed that he valued Xu Wen more than others.

As soon as Yang Xingmi left Yangzhou, news of the fall of Haozhou came. The critical situation forced him to speed up and rush to Haozhou. In order to recapture Haozhou, he ordered Xu Wendai Heiyundu to set out first. He must recapture Haozhou and prepare for the counterattack.

When Xu Wen rushed outside Haozhou City, he happened to encounter a heavy army transporting food and wages to Haozhou. Xu Wen had an idea and had an idea.

He led his men to ambush in a hidden place outside the city. When the baggage troops passed by, he suddenly launched an ambush and wiped out the enemy troops. Xu Wen then ordered his men to put on the other party's clothes and pretend to be a team escorting food and wages, intending to sneak into the city.

In this way, this disguised baggage force slowly arrived outside the city gate. The garrison at the top of the city was Zhu Wen's general Ge Congzhou's troops. After conducting a routine inspection, they opened the door and let them go.

After Xu Wen sneaked into the city, he immediately organized his soldiers into small groups and ordered them to disperse and lurk in the streets and alleys of the city to wait for orders.

Xu Wen wanted to capture Haozhou before Yang Xingmi arrived. If Haozhou hadn't been captured by the time his eldest brother personally launched the attack, there would be trouble. At this time, it's time for his best show, the beheading battle, to show up.

On a dark and stormy night, Xu Wen led a small group of people into the Haozhou Governor's Mansion in the dark, where Ge Congzhou lived.

They easily killed the guards and broke into Ge Congzhou's bedroom. Ge Congzhou was drunk last night and was sleeping soundly, defenseless. Xu Wen spotted Ge Congzhou on the bed and slashed with his knife.

Everyone hit the target together, and Ge Congzhou died with a scream.

After succeeding, Xu Wen immediately released firecrackers, which was their communication code. The Heiyundu action team ambushing in the city saw the firecrackers and knew that Xu Wen had succeeded, so they lit fires at their own locations, and the whole city instantly burst into flames.

The fire woke up Ge Congzhou's army from their sleep. They didn't know that Ge Congzhou had died under a knife. Since no one came out to organize, it became a mess and they were running around. Xu Wen took the opportunity to launch a general attack, and figures of men in black from Heiyundu could be seen everywhere in the city.

The leaderless Ge Congzhou army was completely defeated. Except for some who escaped from the city, most of them became Xu Wen's prisoners.

After dawn the next day, Xu Wen had taken control of the whole city. He promptly posted announcements and ordered people to go around putting out fires, cleaning the battlefield, and destroying the remaining enemies. He was so busy that he didn't even bother to eat.

At noon, Yang Xingmi, who was riding a tall horse, entered the city accompanied by Yuan Xi and others. On the street at the city gate, they saw Heiyundu escorting groups of prisoners out, including many childish children.

Yang Xingmi asked: "Who are these people?"

Xu Wen replied: "They are all prisoners captured from last night to this morning. The enemy is cunning and changeable. In order to prevent their generals from mixing into these people, I plan to screen them one by one today."

"Where is Ge Congzhou?" Yang Xingmi was very concerned about this issue.

He died last night, and his body is in the governor's mansion, waiting for his eldest brother to see it.

Yang Xingmi was about to go to the Governor's Mansion when a group of prisoners passed by him. Yang Xingmi accidentally discovered a child with delicate features in the group and was instantly attracted by the child's appearance and temperament.

He held the horse's head down and said to Xu Wen: "Go and bring the child over."

Xu Wen followed the boss's gaze and saw that there was indeed a child. He quickly stopped the team and walked forward to take a look at the child. He saw that the child was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was wearing a monk's robe and had a childish look on his face.

Xu Wen was a little surprised: "Hey, it's a monk? Come with me, kid. Big brother wants to see you."

When the child saw Xu Wen waving to him, he walked out of the team and followed Xu Wen to see Yang Xingmi.

Yang Xingmi carefully looked at the child in front of him, and he vaguely saw some shadows of himself when he was in trouble. Maybe he thought of his own predicament from this child and developed a kind of sympathy. Maybe this child did have some similarities to himself. In short, Yang Xingmi had a good impression of this child.

So he asked a few more questions:

"What's your name, where do you live from, and why are you wearing a monk's robe?"

The child was not timid and answered openly: "My name is Li Pennu, from Pengcheng. My parents died, so my uncle sent me to Kaiyuan Temple for foster care."

After Yang Xingmi heard this, he couldn't help but feel more pity in his heart. Isn't this exactly the same as my experience? Could it be that this is my long-lost brother?

Thinking of this, an idea came to his mind that he would adopt this poor child.

Although he didn't know why he had such a strange idea.