Zhu Nao

a few days later.

Zhu Nao was walking slowly with the army, when a spy rushed back on horseback.

"Your Majesty," the spy said, "I found traces of Henan soldiers on the east road, and General Xie has already sent people to chase them!"

Those Henan soldiers probably came to inquire about their army's movements, since Xie Wuji had already taken precautions, Zhu Nao naturally didn't have to worry about anything.He smiled and said, "I see. Everything will be done according to General Xie's wishes."

After the Shu army entered the Hezhong Mansion, Chen Fu successfully found his clansman——Shangguan Xian had not had time to attack the Chen family.And the Chen family is one of the big local families in Hezhong, and can gain ties with other forces in Hezhong.So Zhu Nao took the Chen family as a breakthrough point, and frequently threatened and lured the local forces.With the help of the Chen family and the coercion of a [-] army, the Shu army barely encountered any rebels, passed through Huazhou smoothly, and was heading straight for Puzhou City.

Shangguanxian tried to stop them on the way, but Xie Wuji had experienced many battles and carefully searched and prepared any place where an ambush might be laid, which made it difficult for Shangguanxian to stop them.Moreover, the disparity in the strength of the two sides was too great, and Shangguan Xian did not dare to take risks. He had already transferred the main troops back to Puzhou, preparing to fight the enemy in Puzhou.

In two or three days, the main force of the Shu army will also arrive in Puzhou.

Looking at the vast forest in front of him, Zhu Nao said calmly, "Don't hurry, let the soldiers be on guard."

"Yes!" The orderly rushed down to deliver the order.

……

……

Yedu.

It was getting late, Tao Bei went back to the house and was about to take a rest, when a personal announcement came from outside the house: "General, there is an urgent report from Puzhou!"

Tao Bei was taken aback when he heard the word Puzhou, and immediately put on his clothes again: "Send it in!"

Shangguan Xian is a very reliable person with great ability. Unless there are special circumstances, he will not send an urgent report.

After a while, the urgent report was submitted. Tao Bei hurriedly read it by the light of the candle, and his expression changed drastically: "The Shu army sent [-] troops to attack Hezhong?! How, how could this happen!"

He was still happy that Shangguanxian had won Hezhong. It wasn't long before the Shu army made such a big move.Calculating the time it took to deliver the letter from Puzhou to Hezhong, I am afraid that Puzhou has been surrounded by the Shu army now!

After all, Tao Bei was a man who had seen the world.He quickly calmed down, thought for a while, and immediately said: "Let's go and find Grand Master Zhang!"

Grand Master Zhang is Henry Zhang, whose pseudonym is Zhang Ling.Ever since Tao Bei helped Zhu Xin ascend the throne, he promoted Zhang Ling to the high position of Grand Master.However, although the title of Grand Master is high, he can nominally assist the emperor in governing the government, but in fact this position has been a vain job since the previous dynasty. The power of the government has always been in the hands of Tao Bei and his own cronies, and Zhang Ling has little to do with it.

What Tao Bei wanted was a puppet emperor, and he didn't even dare to reuse the people around the little emperor, lest one day his status would be threatened.Although the little emperor Zhu Xin had only Zhang Ling by his side, he did not relax his vigilance.But he also admired Zhang Ling's insight, so he offered a high-ranking vacant position, but in fact he still used Zhang Ling as a counselor.

In the dead of night, Zhang Ling had already fallen asleep, and was woken up by his subordinates, who said it was Tao Bei's visit.He was taken aback and could only get up to greet the guests.

Zhang Ling changed into clothes and came to the lobby, where Tao Bei was already waiting.Zhang Ling asked, "Why did General Tao visit late at night? What's the matter?"

Tao Bei said with a sullen face, "Sir, I just received an urgent report from Puzhou that Zhu Nao personally led an army of [-] to surround Pucheng."

Zhang Ling was stunned for a moment.

Tao Bei asked: "In Mr.'s opinion, what is Zhu Nao's intention? How should Tao respond?"

Before that, Zhang Ling helped Tao Bei analyze Zhu Nao's behavior several times. He seemed to know Zhu Nao better than ordinary people, so Tao Bei came to ask Zhang Ling first in a hurry.

And Zhang Ling was woken up from the bed in the middle of the night, still confused, calmed down for a while, and finally had some ideas.Zhang Lingdao: "General, as far as I know, Zhu Nao is not a man of martial arts. He doesn't move easily, once he does, he must have a plan, and I'm afraid he has a certain chance of winning."

That sounds like nonsense.If there is no plot and no chance of winning, who would wage war for no reason?In fact, Zhang Ling was in front of Tao Bei, so he couldn't raise Zhu Nao too much.What he wanted to say was that Zhu Nao had a vicious vision, and he didn't move easily. Every move was often a fatal blow, or at least it would inflict heavy damage on the enemy.Back then, he and Xie Wuji had surrounded Fenyang for so long without moving, and as soon as they made a move, they defeated the Black Horse Army and Xuantian Sect in an instant!

Zhang Ling said again: "Shangguan Xian is one of the three favorite generals under the general, and he is also very prestigious in the Central Plains army. Zhu Nao's mobilization of the people for Pucheng is probably not for Pucheng, but for General Shangguan! "

Tao Bei frowned severely.So it was aimed at Shangguan Xian...

The reason for this has always been where the dragon's veins are, so the situation is a hundred times more complicated than that of Jiangnan and Shu.There are too many powerful and powerful people in the Central Plains, and in the rapid iteration of power, every person in power leaves a big mess.After Tao Bei came to power, it was impossible for him to uproot all the forces. At most, he could only suppress dissidents and support cronies.And there are three major generals under him, who were appointed by him to be stationed in Ruzhou, Jizhou, and Xuzhou respectively to guard the three sides for him.Among them, Shangguanxian was stationed in Ruzhou, Henan.

Tao Bei himself had just been defeated in Yunyang, if Shangguan Xian suffers another defeat, then his direct lineage will be hit hard.It is hard to guarantee that people in the Central Plains will not change their minds because of this.Compared with foreign troubles, Tao Bei is more afraid of internal troubles.His heel in the Central Plains is not so stable, otherwise why would he use the banner of the young emperor to win people's hearts?He could have proclaimed himself emperor like Jun Nao!

Tao Bei suddenly had a headache, and quickly asked for advice: "Then according to Mr. Tao, what should Tao do?"

Zhang Ling just knows how to read words and expressions and analyze people's hearts better than ordinary people, but he doesn't know anything about marching and fighting.He could only say: "The general should assemble a heavy army, and must break the siege of Puzhou!"

Needless to say, Zhang Ling, Tao Bei also planned this way, he just wanted to ask Zhang Ling if he had any other ideas.Tao Bei didn't know where Zhu Nao's "odds" were, could it be that he was cheating him of insufficient food and salary?

Tao Bei was indeed facing the problem of an empty treasury, but even if he tightened his belt and went to grab and borrow it, it was impossible for him to ignore Shangguan Xian!If Zhu Nao wanted to scare him with a mere 10 people, he would be underestimating him!

Tao Bei saw that Zhang Ling had no more clever plans, so he cupped his hands and said, "Excuse me for resting the Grand Master. Tao will leave."

Zhang Ling said: "Then I will send the general out."

After Tao Bei came out of the Grand Master's Mansion, he was completely sleepless, and ordered people to send messages to the garrisons all over the night, asking them to immediately deploy troops and prepare to go to Hezhong Mansion to relieve the siege of Puzhou.

……

……

Suburbs of Guangchang County.

A mighty army was advancing unhurriedly. Wei Bian, who was riding among the crowd, looked up at the sky and ordered: "After two miles, stop and set up camp."

People around said hurriedly: "Yes, Your Majesty." "Yes, brother."

An officer beside him touched his stomach and muttered softly, "I'm hungry too."

Wei Bian heard it, and persuaded: "Be patient for a while."

The officer blushed, and hurriedly said: "I'm fine, it doesn't matter if I'm hungry for a few more days!"

Wei Bian shook his head amusedly.

After being repulsed by Xie Wuji in Fenyang, Wei Bian led his troops back to Youzhou.Although he took the Youzhou Shepherd that Zhu Nao gave him as a watch, and had Zhu Nao return a batch of luggage to him, his life has not been very good in the past two years.

Youzhou is a place of bitter cold, and there were few fields in the past, and the past two years have suffered from drought and poor harvests.When the Central Plains was in turmoil, he led the black horse army to fight for others, and the money and food he earned were enough for the army.But since Tao Bei pacified the Central Plains and Zhu Nao stabilized the Northwest, the Black Horse Army had lost their livelihood in the past two years.All the stored food has been eaten, and the livestock have been slaughtered. If this continues, they are about to embark on the old road of looting houses!

Wei Bian is absolutely unwilling to be a bandit soldier, but with so many cards, he wants to eat and drink most, and there are many things that he can't choose at all.Fortunately, just when he was about to run out of water, Zhu Nao came to him again!

Several officers rode to Wei Bian's side: "Brother, we only collected so little money from them, will it be less?"

Wei Bian said helplessly: "Just accept it when you see it. Do you think this year will be easy?"

Not long ago, people sent by Zhu Nao asked Tao Bei to send troops. After some bargaining, the two parties finally agreed on the terms.Tao Bei didn't delay at the moment, and soon moved south with his troops.

The officer muttered: "I heard that the army in the Central Plains is strong, and Tao Bei's reputation is not inferior to that of Xie Wuji. If we go to fight the Central Plains Army, I'm afraid it will be bad luck. Our brothers have risked their lives like this, and it should be better. How much is..."

Wei Bian shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm willing to earn this amount of money because it's easy to earn. If I really want my brothers to lose their lives, I certainly don't want this price!"

The officer blinked, somewhat ignorant.He didn't see the situation as clearly as Wei Bian, but if it was true as Wei Bian said, it would be a good thing.They want to live comfortably, and if they can live comfortably without risking their lives, that's of course the best.

In the boundless wind and sand, the black horse army continued to march south...

……

……

Tao Bei sat in the mansion, read the reply letter from Xuzhou, and said to himself impatiently: "Is there no news from Gao Hong?"

Gao Hong is one of the three generals under him and is now stationed in Jizhou.A few days ago, Tao Bei sent an urgent letter to Jizhou, asking Gao Hong to prepare to send troops south to assist Puzhou.

While Tao Bei was upset, someone outside suddenly announced: "General, there is a reply letter from Jizhou!"

When Tao Bei heard this, he suddenly recovered, and hurriedly said, "Bring it!"

His subordinates sent in Jizhou's reply letter, and Tao Bei couldn't wait to open it, thinking it would be good news, but just after reading two lines, a smile froze on the corner of his mouth.He stared at the reply letter, his eyes turned from warm spring to severe winter in an instant.

The confidant next to him sensed something was wrong, and asked cautiously: "General, what happened?"

Tao Bei threw out the reply letter abruptly, and his cronies hurried forward to pick it up. After reading a few lines, his expression changed suddenly: "The Dark Horse Army suddenly increased its troops to the border of Jizhou?! This, this..."

The commander of the Dark Horse Army, the Dark Horse King Wei Bian, was promoted to Shepherd of Youzhou by Zhu Nao two years ago.In fact, Tao Bei had long intended to win over him, but firstly, he was busy with affairs in the Central Plains, and Tao Bei didn't have the skills to spare him;He thought that the dark horse army was not a threat for the time being, so he put it aside.

Now that the Dark Horse Army suddenly marched towards his northern border, there is no doubt that they were instructed by Zhu Nao!

He actually ignored this...