Astral Apostle

After sending a message for the imperial court, Cao Shengyu waited for several days before he was finally summoned privately by Fan Zong again.

Fan Zong's attitude was a lot warmer this time, and he invited Cao Sheng to take a seat.

He was cold for a few words, then went on to talk about the topic, and said solemnly:

"That Chen thief gathered a crowd to rebel, I was only coerced, but in fact, I didn't have the heart to rebel. I wanted to abandon the dark and turn to the light early on. Now that the court looks up to me, I am willing to be recruited and be an internal response for the official army."

Cao Sheng was overjoyed when he heard the words: "Then the thief Chen raised the flag of rebellion and acted in reverse, and sooner or later failed. Brother Fan, this is a wise choice!"

Fan Zong waved his hand to interrupt and continued:

"However, after all, Chen thief is very powerful now, and it is not easy for me to fight against him. It is not easy to do this. If the news leaks, he will surely die without a place to be buried. I can only open the gate here for the convenience of the officers and soldiers. When the imperial court takes this place and drives straight in, I can no longer go back to Longwangzhai, I have to retreat to the rear and not fight on the front line."

"I can't decide this matter, I have to report back to the court."

Cao Sheng hurriedly replied that he was not afraid of bargaining, and it was not his decision in the end anyway.

Fan Zong nodded and said solemnly:

"Although there is an old saying that those who know the current affairs are handsome, and the thief Chen is fierce and powerful, if I turn my back on him, I will definitely incur revenge, but although I am a green forest and grass robber, I have a heart to serve the country with fists and fists, and I want to be loyal to the emperor. , to help the community, the blood is hard to cool...-...I am inseparable from the rebels!"

"Okay! Big brother is loyal to the country, distinguishes right from wrong, and is a first-class husband!"

Cao Sheng agrees and praises it, sending flattery

The two chatted for a while before Cao Sheng left excitedly.

A few days later, Fan Zong received a letter from the officers and soldiers, expressing his acceptance of his conditions, and the inscription was Cheng Liqing, the commander of the imperial troops and horses along the way.

Next, Fan Zong and Cheng Liqing, through the intermediary Cao Sheng, kept sending and receiving letters, conspiring to cooperate with each other and conquer this pass.

In order to avoid being seen by others, the imperial troops and horses feinted to attack the pass from time to time, forming a stalemate.

Days passed, and finally the day of the conspiracy came

According to the agreement, Fan Zong needs to send his subordinates to open the gate, control the portal, and welcome officers and soldiers to enter.

Occupy this pass.

Things were going well. The officers and soldiers approached quietly while taking advantage of the darkness. Fan Zong got the signal and attacked from within. He seized the pass and opened the door to welcome the officers and soldiers.

When Cheng Liqing led his troops into the pass, he saw that the battle was over, and the officers and soldiers completely controlled the pass.

He was quite satisfied, and he was very proud of his plan.

"This will be a little tricky, and I will take this place without any blood. Hehe, the bandits in Longwangzhai, in my opinion, are only Chen Thieves, and the rest of the people are all idiots that can't be used. Waggle, mentally retarded, rude and stupid.

Cheng Liqing smiled at the adjutant.

As an envoy sent by the imperial court, he despised these reckless people. He consciously knew the art of war, was brave and good at fighting, and was well educated.

At this time,

Fan Zong came in a hurry, expressing his urgency:

"General Cheng, there was a small accident. Fang Zhen, the head of the gate, saw that the situation was not good, and he had already abandoned the gate with a group of leaders and personal soldiers. We were unable to capture this person."

Cheng Liqing frowned: "This person responds quickly."

Fan Zongxian said: "General, this party is really the sixth master of the cottage, and he has good skills. He is also the sworn brother of the thief Chen. If he catches this person, he will definitely threaten the thief Chen, and he cannot be allowed to escape like this."

"Well, it makes sense. I understand that this bandit can't run very far. It's better to chase after the victory... Quickly gather your troops and leave the big army here to guard the gate, and the rest will follow me to chase the bandit leader!"

Cheng Liqing agreed and ordered immediately.

Soon, he led thousands of soldiers and horses out of the customs, followed the scattered footprints on the road, and chased the enemy troops who abandoned the customs and fled.

The group, dressed in moonlight, chased all the way, followed the footprints to the rugged trail, and finally found a group of defeated thieves in front of a forest.

"Ha, thief, go away!"

Cheng Liqing was overjoyed and ordered the soldiers and horses to kill the generals.

The face of this group of thieves changed greatly, and they got into the woods and fled in a panic.

Seeing this scene, Cheng Liqing didn't even care about getting into Lin Mo, and called for troops to chase after him, all he wanted to do was capture the leader of the bandit army.

However, after chasing in the woods for a while, the officers and soldiers were always hung behind, and gradually became a little scattered. Cheng Liqing realized that something was wrong.

"No, I'm afraid it's a scam!"

Cheng Liqing's eyelids jumped, and he woke up suddenly, and he was about to order the entire army to assemble and withdraw.

But at this moment, the forest suddenly broke out one after another, shouting and killing,

"Go on!"

Large swaths of thieves sprang up from the ground, surrounded and killed in all directions, and immediately caught the officers and soldiers by surprise.

"Hahaha, the officials and thieves are subdued, children, kill with me!"

Fang Zhen broke out of the ground, burst into laughter, and rushed into the army of officers and soldiers with a copper-headed stick. Each stick could split several enemy troops.

After two years of practicing advanced martial arts, his martial arts have also made great progress. According to the percentage system, it has risen from 88 to about 93, and he has initially entered the ranks of top masters.

"No, it's a hit!"

Cheng Liqing was horrified, and quickly turned back with his personal soldiers. After a bloody battle, he finally broke out of the siege and ran away.

He managed to run out of the woods with great difficulty, and there were only two or three hundred of the thousands of people around him, and the rest were all caught in an ambush.

Cheng Liqing didn't care about anything else, and ran wild with the remnants, returning to the pass on the same way, to return to the main force.

However, when they approached the pass, they were stunned to find that the fire inside the pass was soaring into the sky, screaming again and again, and the smell of burnt smell wafted out.

The officers and soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the pass have disappeared.

"Oops, the gate has changed, and the way back is broken!"

Cheng Liqing was shocked.

Before he could react, shouts of killing suddenly exploded on both sides of the road.

"kill!"

It turned out that there had already been ambush here, and the number was far greater than this remnant, and they swarmed up directly.

Cheng Liqing was frightened and angry, carrying an iron-backed spear and struggling to kill several minions, but in the end, he was overjoyed and tied to the ground.

The fire in the pass burned for a full night, almost completely destroying the place.

The bodies of the officers and soldiers were stacked and stuck together, most of which were burned to death and choked to death.

However, this is a military fortress, and there are no residential buildings around, so it doesn't matter if the villagers are involved.

It was only then that the cottage soldiers and horses hidden in all directions returned to the pass and cleaned the battlefield.

On the other side, the minions led the disheveled Cheng Liqing into the temporary tent.

Entering the military tent, Cheng Liqing raised his eyes and saw that Fang Zhen, Fan Zong and others who were guarding the pass were all present. His eyes were red, and he didn't know where he was tricked.

"Fan Zong! You son of a bitch, it turned out to be a fraudulent surrender!"

Cheng Liqing roared furiously and struggled hard. If he hadn't been tied tightly, he would have rushed up and desperately.

Fan Zong heard the words and laughed

"The soldiers are not afraid of deceit, you are not as good as others, what is there to say? I have devoted myself to the green forest for decades, how could I go to the court with just a few words from you? You are also in the game, who can blame? If you lose your mind and go crazy, you will turn to the court!"

At that time, when he received a letter from the imperial court persuading him to surrender and recruit Ankou, Fan Zong had a scruple, that is, he would take care of it.

In fact, under normal circumstances, Fan Zong does not reject recruiting security.

However, in the current war situation, the imperial court was clearly at a disadvantage, and was beaten by the main force of its own village. Moreover, Chen Feng's bravery shocked the world. Wei Jia Hai is truly a hero of the world. If he turns his back on this person, there is no way to go to heaven.

Due to these two factors, I still "abandon the darkness and turn to the light", isn't that the birthday star who eats arsenic?

Although Fan Zong was not very successful in Longwangzhai, he did not intend to seek death, so he might as well take this opportunity to make merit and show his loyalty.

So how to choose, he already knew.

However, Fan Zong only reported the situation, and the specific strategy was not formulated by him, nor was it conceived by the arrogant Fang Zhen.

After the incident was reported, the third master, Duan Yunfeng, came to secretly support him.

Based on the correspondence presented by Fan Zong, Duan Yunfeng roughly judged the enemy general's temperament, and formulated a special strategy.

Lead the king into the urn and take a fire attack!

Defrauding Kaesong, using this place as a bait to lead the court troops and horses to enter, while the thieves are lurking in the tunnels, where the gates are set on fire, the enemy troops are completely wiped out, and there is not a single living hole left.

Duan Yunfeng didn't even blink an eyelid when he set up such a poisonous plan to burn tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to death.

In the end, the plan was successful, and the effect was remarkable.

The threat of the imperial troops and horses along the way has been cleared in the first battle, and there is no need to worry about someone endangering the backyard of Longwangzhai.

At this moment, Duan Yunfeng sat on the main seat of the military tent, scolded Cheng Liqing coldly, and said slowly:

"A defeated general, who dares to demand Zhang, come here, push it out and behead it, with his head hanging on the flag, there is no need to leave him a whole body for this kind of thing."

The voice fell, and the personal soldiers immediately pushed Cheng Liqing out.

Soon, there was a short scream outside, and it stopped abruptly.

Fang Zhen retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "Brother Duan is really both civil and military. If a plan succeeds, this battle should be the first."

"A mere rhetorical question is nothing."

Duan Yunfeng waved his hand, not taking credit.

He paused, narrowed his eyes and said:

"The victory in this battle can be regarded as a solution to the danger in the rear of the cottage. Now the owner of the village is wandering outside with his troops and horses, harassing the officers and soldiers, and making the enemy stand on the left and right, but we can't rely on the owner of the mountain alone to support the war...  

Brother Fang, you captured thousands of officers and soldiers alive last night. I have a plan to choose a group of elites from the cottage to change into officers and soldiers' clothes and deceive the nearby officers and soldiers fortresses. That surnamed Cheng ruined the main force in this direction, and it was time for us to expand the results. "

Fang Zhen's eyes lit up: "I see it, just do it!"

He's not a smart person who likes to use his brain, but Duan Yunfeng is a ruthless and clever person, and he doesn't mind listening to the other party's instructions.

The imperial army attacked Longwangzhai in several ways. Under Duan Yunfeng's strategy, the strength of the army in one direction was severely damaged, and it was difficult to maintain a strategic role.

The battle situation led to the whole body, and there was less siege all the way. The pressure on Longwangzhai suddenly decreased, and the situation was getting better and better, gaining the upper hand with the wave of snowballs.

Ma Zhen received the battle report and was so angry that he drew his sword and cut the case.

He is the commander of the army, but the efficiency of the information transmission of the middle cadres is limited. Most of the time, he blames the commanders and generals of other troops and horses to play by themselves, and cannot micro-manage the front line at any time... Although he really wants to do so.

"Cheng Liqing! Being held back by incompetence, so underestimating the enemy and rashly advancing, ruined my overall situation!"

Ma Zhen was furious.

Yu Wenyan frowned: "Commander, calm down. Now that the boat is done, I can only think about remedying it."

At this time, there were only three top decision-makers, Ma Zhen, Huang Ping, and Yu Wenyan, in a private meeting.

Ma Zhen let out a breath, calmed down, sat down again, and said solemnly:

"The situation is unfavorable for me. The Dragon King Race has solved one side of the siege and it is difficult to block it again. Then the thief Chen is constantly attacking and harassing the outside world. The army of my court is already in decline. If you want to drag out this winter, I am afraid you will have to pay tragic casualties. , and it doesn't work much anymore."

"The commander's meaning is..." Zi Wenyan probed.

A cold glow flashed in Ma Zhen's eyes:

"Continuing a long-term battle will only increase the number of injuries, and the chances of winning are quite extreme. It is said that if the delay continues, it will inevitably be good in private, but the court sent me to fight. If the casualties are too large, it is not easy to deal with each other... Since this battle cannot be won. Now, it's better to preserve the vitality for the court."

He and Pang Hong are still a little different. After becoming Duke Yi, if the country is unstable, the family will suffer even more, so it is inevitable to think more.

After speaking, Ma Zhen turned his head to look at Huang Ping, and said coldly:

"Since we are going to withdraw our troops, naturally we can't return empty-handed, and I want to give Chen Thief a big gift. The plan to end the household that I said at the beginning will be implemented by your ministry. If it is successful, even if Chen Thief wins this battle, it will not be a few years. It can't be slowed down, it means that the brains of this group of Ju Jing's troubles are slowed down in disguise, giving the court a few years of respite, and it is still a great achievement after returning to Beijing!"

Hearing this, Yu Wenyan couldn't bear it.

It seems that the commander has made up his mind, and in the end, he has to use the plan of breaking the embankment and the bay to turn Huyang into a thousand miles of Zeguo.

As soon as this plan came out, it was equivalent to treating the whole of Huyang as an abandoned child, ignoring the people in vain, just to hurt Chen Feng's group.

But then again... the rebels want to overthrow my Daxia Jiangshan, but they are enemies of life and death.

As long as the final result is valid, it is acceptable for Fushang and Manchu civil and military officials to pay such a price in order to maintain the stability of the country.

After all... if there is no country, what is the use of the common people?

Yuwen Yan secretly sighed.

Although he still had some conscience left, as a noble class with vested interests, he naturally would not object to this decision, so he nodded slowly and acquiesced.