The return of the son-in-law

With the scorching sun hanging high, a soldier rushed directly into the large tent of the Northwest Military Camp without thinking about anything else, knelt down and said, "Report! The spies found out that Shao Fang's soldiers in Yongcheng have assembled, and they have left Yongcheng early this morning!"

"What?" Liu Jianhua was taken aback, "So fast?"

Gongsun Zhi, the counselor at the side, was not surprised, and said: "General, there is no need to panic. Two spies were released two days ago. I am afraid they are the ones who sent the news."

"But how could it be Shao Fang?" Liu Jianhua still didn't understand, and murmured, "Hasn't this old guy been hiding in Yongcheng for more than ten years? Why did he make a move at this time? Could it be that those spies were not Guo Zhanan or Jiang’s, but Shao Fang’s?”

It turned out that although Liu Jianhua's subordinates found out that there were spies near the northwest military camp, they only thought it was because Jiang Yannian was imprisoned, so Guo Zhan'an or the Jiang family sent someone to inquire about the situation.Shao Fang stayed in Yongcheng for more than ten years. He didn't even go to the celebration of Li Chonghao's [-]th anniversary of enthronement. Instead, he sent his second son to give gifts. His name has long been removed from everyone's hearts. Never expected that Shao Fang would make a move at this time.

Gongsun Zhi also had a bad heart, but since he was entrusted by the nobleman to bewitch Liu Jianhua, and now he is about to succeed, he must not show timidity at such a critical moment.

"General, Shao Fang's soldiers are only eight thousand, how can they compare with your subordinates? Yongcheng is far away from the camp, even if you go fast and sleepless, it will take more than a day and a half. Now is not the time to panic, please gather the generals quickly Soldiers, take the initiative to attack!"

"Taking the initiative?" Although Liu Jianhua was born under Shao Fang's command, he was a new soldier at that time. Where did he have close contact with Shao Fang?When Shao Fang was in the barracks, the military prestige was serious. Liu Jianhua saw Shao Fang several times from afar, yearning and fearing at the same time.In particular, Shao Fang's three battles and three victories, especially the suppression of the rebellion in the Southwest, are still the box-pressing dramas of storytellers in taverns and teahouses, and it has long been passed on miraculously.

It would be difficult for him to make Liu Jianhua and Shao Fang enemies, let alone take the initiative to attack.

Gongsunzhi saw Liu Jianhua's expression completely in his eyes, knew that he was timid, and hurriedly said: "General Liu, Shao Fang has been serving for more than ten years, and he stayed away from the battlefield early. It’s time to do the pouring. And you are guarding the northwest, and you have faced Tatar’s attacks many times without losing a single defeat. It is time for you to rise. General Liu, you don’t have to be afraid of an old man.”

"Yes, is it?" Hearing what Gongsunzhi said, Liu Jianhua barely managed to calm down, his mouth kept moving, and he asked these two words repeatedly, as if to cheer himself up.

"Exactly!" Seeing that Liu Jianhua was wavering, Gongsun Zhi continued to speak vigorously, "A good bird chooses a tree to live in. Since the general has already chosen the wise master, he cannot back down at this moment. General, victory or defeat depends on one action." !"

This sentence hit Liu Jianhua's heart like a heavy stick.

Seeing that Liu Jianhua's expression returned to normal, he said in a deep voice: "Go on, pass on the order, Huai Enzi Shao Fang raised his troops to rebel, and ordered the northwest soldiers to gather quickly, follow me, and arrest the rebels together!"

Gongsun Zhi clapped his hands and said: "That's exactly what it should be! Don't pass the order quickly, and those who haven't turned to the Ming Lord so far, send more people to watch them, lest they fish in troubled waters!"

"Mr. Gongsun is right, Herald, send the order quickly!"

Besides, Shao Fang and his party were halfway through the march. General Shao suddenly ordered the whole army to rectify in place, and then called several generals under his command to discuss matters in his camp.

Old General Shao pointed to the marching map spread out on the table, and said, "Continuing forward is not an option. There are many more people in the Northwest Barracks than we are, and a frontal assault is no different from hitting a stone with an egg. With such a big march, Liu Jianhua must have already got it." According to the news, it must be gathering troops now."

A soldier on the right of old General Shao said: "General, you don't have to be so careful. Although there are many more people in the Northwest Barracks than us, not everyone has become Liu Jianhua's lackeys. In my opinion, if we fight head-on When Liu Jianhua met, maybe before the fight broke out, the barracks would be in chaos."

Old General Shao nodded and said, "You are right. However, I have been unable to figure out one thing. This Liu Jianhua failed to instigate all the soldiers successfully. Why is he so confident? There are so many people in the barracks, and they will leak out if they are not careful. The rumors. You have also seen that this time we were able to know that Liu Jianhua intends to rebel because he got the news from a few Northwest soldiers. Could it be that he is not afraid of being informed?"

A soldier on the left had his own opinion: "The northwestern border is long, so even if Liu Jianhua wanted to win over everyone, it would be extremely difficult. However, since he wants to hide in the mountains first, he doesn't have to worry about being scattered around the border. It is enough to persuade all the people in the Northwest camp, or threaten them with violence.”

The soldiers on the right still couldn't figure it out: "However, there are as many as 4 soldiers stationed in the Northwest Camp all year round. How can he convince them all? Even if he threatens with violence, how will he deal with so many people?"

Old General Shao frowned and looked at the marching map on the table, and finally said: "How did he subdue the [-] army? It's not too late to ask him after he is caught! In this way, order [-] elite soldiers, I walked around to the back of the barracks together, and caught him off guard! The others stayed here, waiting for Liu Jianhua to lead his troops. This place is not far from Mangshan Mountain, and our numbers are not superior. If there is a frontal conflict, we will be the losers You should rely on the terrain, fight while retreating, and try your best to hold back Liu Jianhua's army. Liu Jianhua committed a capital crime this time, and he will definitely use his entire army to destroy us. At that time, there will not be many guards in the Northwest Barracks. I will lead people around In the past, it happened to catch him by surprise!"

The other three soldiers in the military tent glanced at each other, and the one who had been silent all this time said: "General, let me go with you! The two generals on the left and right have rich experience, and they will definitely live up to the general's trust. Under the circumstances, I am also redundant here. When Shen was young, he went astray for a while, and learned some skills to make a living on the tip of a knife with others. Although the general was lucky to wake me up later, this skill is still there. .”

Old General Shao naturally agreed: "Alright, you can go with me, and I will leave this place to you two."

"Yes, I will live up to the general's trust!"

Old General Shao immediately ordered five hundred elite soldiers, and led them to run along a rare path for half a day, and then stopped three miles away from a certain checkpoint in the northwest military camp.

It was already late at night, and Old General Shao pondered for a moment, then divided the 500 people into three groups, who took turns to watch the night, and he followed the second group to watch the night when people were most likely to sleep.

Just when the second and third batches were about to be replaced, there was a sound in the distance.With a thought in his mind, Old General Shao asked one of the elite soldiers who is good at listening to the sound on the ground to come out.

After the man came out, he squatted down, bent his fingers and tapped the ground a few times, then settled on one place, and brushed off the gravel and rotten leaves on the ground with his hands. Ears pressed to the ground.

After a while, he got up and walked to Old General Shao to report: "General, there are a large number of people moving in the camp. Hearing their footsteps, they are heading to where the left and right generals are."

"Want to make a surprise?" Old General Shao looked at the sky and said, "It's just that there is still half a day's journey away from Mang Mountain. It's already dawn. Marching at night is several times more tiring than during the day. When they reach Mang Mountain, they will definitely be exhausted, and we just come to sit and wait. The way of marching is to go all out, then decline again, and exhaust three times. If you are exhausted, if you fail to hit a blow, you will lose in momentum. Is there only such a person in the court now?"

After hearing General Shao's sighs, everyone thought that Tatar had ravaged the Northwest for many years. Although the city had not been captured, the people in the Northwest were unbearably disturbed. Thousands of people lost their lives in every confrontation, and many people were displaced and their families were destroyed. .

If it were replaced by a general who knew how to use troops better, would the situation in the Northwest improve?

Thinking of this, the impulse in the hearts of many soldiers, which was originally just to suppress the rebels, turned into a passion for benefiting the people of the Northwest.

General Shen Weiwei, who came with Old General Shao, was eager to try: "General, since the army has already left, why not let me sneak in while it's dark."

"No hurry," Old General Shao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Although the army has been raised, it is not too far away. If we are discovered, they will have time to come back to rescue us. We have already waited for two It's been an hour, there's no need to take risks for such a little time, and wait."

After waiting for another half an hour, when the soldiers who were good at listening confirmed that the army was far away from the barracks, Old General Shao finally gave the order to rush forward and take down the front post!

This post was located between the military camp and a small county town on the edge of Xuzhou. On weekdays, few people came, and because there was no need to worry about the Tatars' attack, there were only three or four soldiers standing guard at this post on weekdays.Old General Shao personally led five hundred elite soldiers to attack, and the three or four sentinels were captured before they even had time to resist.

"Where did the rebels come from!" Although one of the soldiers was captured, his mouth was still unrelenting, he spat and cursed, "Dare to attack the sentry point, are you going to rebel!"

"Shut up!" Shen Weiwei was rescued by Old General Shao, and treated Old General Shao like a god. Hearing this man's words, he immediately became angry, and slapped him backhand, "You can scold this one too!"

"Heh, you rebels, what can I not scold!" The soldier slapped his left cheek and his left cheek swelled up immediately, but he still didn't flinch and cursed loudly, "Unless the emperor is here, otherwise even It was His Royal Highness who came in person and snatched the post without saying a word, then I will be scolded too!"

"You!" Shen Weiwei wanted to fight again, but was stopped by General Shao.

"Stop, he's right. We did steal the sentry post, and it's worth scolding." Old General Shao looked at the soldier and said, "But, do you know why we grabbed it?"

The soldier was stunned: "Why?"

"The Tatar army is about to arrive, but Liu Jianhua intends to lead his troops to sneak into Mang Mountain, let Tatar's cavalry attack the northwest, bypass Mang Mountain, and attack the capital directly! Tell me, should I stop it!"

"You!" The soldier was startled, "You spew blood!"

"Haha, I, Shao Fang, am almost 50 years old, why bother to lie to you, you little brat!" Shao Fang said, then got on his horse, "Taste, you take a team of ten people to go ahead and find out what happened to Liu Jianhua. How many people were taken away, and how many of his people are still in the barracks."

Shen Weiwei took the lead: "Yes!"

At this time, the soldier had already thought about it, and the contempt in his eyes was replaced by fanaticism, and he shouted: "You are General Shao! General Shao Fang Shao!"

Old General Shao was quite surprised: "Oh? You also know my name?"

Even though the soldier was tied behind his back, he was still full of excitement: "Of course, I grew up listening to the stories of you and General Di! Old General Shao won three battles and three victories. He shot and killed the King of Southwest in front of the tent, making Southwest forever There will be no future troubles, I know all this! Since it is General Shao, it must be General Liu who caused the disturbance!"

Shao Fang didn't miss the opportunity, and asked, "Let me ask you, has Liu Jianhua behaved strangely recently?"

The soldier thought about it carefully and shook his head.On the other hand, the other two soldiers beside him had already recovered from the shock, and one of them replied: "I was rotated back to the camp [-] days ago, and my chief came to me and said that General Jiang Shen and others intended to cause chaos. Fortunately, General Liu I found out in time and locked up those people, waiting for His Majesty to deal with them. He originally wanted me to guard General Jiang Shen, but later, for some reason, he transferred me back."

The other went on to say: "There is also me. It was just a staff officer next to General Liu who found me. He asked some people where their hometown was and what they were not used to in terms of diet. This staff officer was new, and he said yes. The capital came here specially to resist the Tatar army."

The new staff officer, this is something Old General Shao doesn't know.

While everyone was talking, Shen Weiwei had already sent someone back: "General, there are only a few teams guarding the camp. Shen Shen will lead people to lurk not far away. Let me ask the general for instructions. He sneaked in first. , create a little panic, or wait for the adults to go together."

"You don't have to play tricks, all the boys obey your orders, and join me in the fight!"

Hundreds of elite soldiers behind Old General Shao responded, "Yes!"