Chapter 113 Li Yan

Li Yan should be considered an anomaly among the intruders.

He is from Kaifeng and won the imperial examination at a young age. After joining the bandits, he repeatedly advised the bandits to calm the people and prohibit burning, killing, and looting. Therefore, he was at odds with other thieves under the bandits who were used to burning, killing, and looting.

Li Yan once accused Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, saying that they failed to fulfill their responsibilities of assistance, so they were hated by Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others.

He is inside the circle but outside it.

In the circle, it is because he has become a thief. He is outside the circle because he is different from a thief. Therefore, it is not reused by intruders.

Perhaps Li Yan also regretted taking refuge in the thieves, but once he joined the bandits, there was no turning back and it was too late.

There is only one way to reach darkness.

When Li Chuang saw Li Yan coming in, he said calmly: "There is a change in Nanyang. I want you to lead troops to guard Xiangcheng County. Niu Jinxing will tell you the details."

After saying that, he walked away.

Li Guo bowed and waited for the intruder to leave, then straightened up and looked at Niu Jinxing.

"May I ask the military advisor, what happened in Nanyang?"

At this time, not many people knew about the incident in Nanyang. The matter in Nanyang is not serious. People like Li Guo, Liu Zongmin, and Hao Yaoqi are all Li Chuang's right-hand men, but tens of thousands of people are trapped in it. If it is allowed to spread, it will definitely shake the morale of the army.

So they killed all the defeated troops and blocked the news. Li Yan is not a core figure, so naturally he doesn't know.

Niu Jinxing laughed when he heard this: "It's not a big change. King Chuang heard the news and said that Ding Qirui led his troops to the south. Now that the city of Kaifeng is about to be destroyed, it cannot be disturbed, so a force of troops is stationed in Xiangcheng, just in case. .”

When Li Yan heard this, he thought it made sense and said, "I wonder how many soldiers and horses King Chuang will give me?"

"Eight thousand." Niu Jinxing said without changing his expression.

"Eight thousand..." Li Yan thought for a moment: "If we are to defend the city, eight thousand is enough."

Niu Jinxing chuckled: "This matter cannot be delayed. General Li must set off quickly to avoid accidents. I will ask someone to allocate troops and horses to General Li."

Li Yan cupped his hands and said, "Thank you."

...

"King Chuang is short-sighted, Niu Jinxing is not a human son!"

The army set out and headed south towards Xiangcheng. On the road, riding with Li Yan was a female general. The female general wore a mandarin duck coat, tied her long hair with a red scarf, had a long whip around her waist, and a sword hanging from the side. She looked very heroic.

She spoke carelessly, causing Li Yan's expression to change and he said: "Stop talking nonsense. King Chuang has given me an important responsibility..."

"A heavy responsibility?" The female general sneered: "These old, weak, sick and disabled people have a heavy responsibility? I am laughing to death."

Li Yan looked slightly gloomy: "King Chuang probably doesn't know, Niu Jinxing... I have a rift with Niu Jinxing, so he will inevitably put on my shoes."

The female general raised her eyebrows and said: "In the midst of a great battle, Niu Jinxing is still fighting like a dog. Niu Jinxing deserves to be damned! With these old, weak, sick and disabled people, if you can't defend Xiangcheng here and the good situation is ruined, what should you do? Why don't you go and find Chuang Chuang?" Wang? Are you stupid? You just accept whatever that bitch Niu Jinxing gives you?"

Li Yan was speechless.

The female general was still angry: "Why do I, the red lady, fall in love with you! Li Yan, speak up!"

Li Yan sighed: "Niu Jinxing is an old man who has followed King Chuang for a long time. Do you think King Chuang believes in me or Niu Jinxing?"

The female general's expression froze and she was speechless.

Li Yan said: "The left and right are guarding the city. Although the eight thousand soldiers and horses are old, weak, sick and disabled, based on my understanding of the Huguang soldiers, they may not be able to defend it. Don't worry."

The female general was silent.

...

First mountain.

The Yellow Emperor collected copper from Shou Mountain to make swords. This Shou Mountain was Bishou Mountain.

Zhu Bingkun and Zheng Wu led their troops in a hurry and rushed to Shoushan to find a dangerous and important road and set up camp. They stayed up all night to spy on the ground in Xiangcheng.

Soon, Zhang Shi's Ye Bushou investigated the situation in Xiangcheng County. Zhu Bingkun and others knew that Xiangcheng was almost an empty city.

It turns out that during the Henan War last year, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court and the soldiers and horses of the bandits fought fiercely around Xiangcheng, and Wang Qionian, the governor of the three sides, died here. After the defeat of the imperial army, Xiangcheng County was swept away by bandits. Now, except for some desperate civilians hiding in dark corners, Xiangcheng is almost in ruins.

After learning about the situation in Xiangcheng County, Zhu Bingkun and Zheng Wu discussed for a while and planned to divide their troops and occupy Xiangcheng County first.

Zhu Bingkun quickly occupied Xiangcheng with his 2,500 men, while Zheng Wu and the remaining 5,000 men were still stationed at Shou Mountain, forming a horns-like position with Zhu Bingkun, watching each other.

When Zheng Wu returned to the camp at Shoushan from his inspection, soldiers came to report: "Bubu Zhu is coming."

When Zheng Wu heard this, his expression moved slightly and he quickly walked into the camp.

When Zhu Bingkun saw Zheng Wu coming in, he stood up immediately: "Old Zheng, there's a situation."

Zheng Wu's expression tightened: "Could it be that the army of thieves has arrived?"

"Although it's not a hit, it's not far." Zhu Bingkun pulled down the map and said, "I just received a report from Ye Bushou, saying that nearly ten thousand soldiers and horses were coming from the direction of Kaifeng. When I came, I was already fifty miles away. We must reach Xiangcheng before dark."

Zheng Wu hurriedly asked: "Nearly ten thousand soldiers and horses?"

Zhu Bingkun nodded: "It is true that there are only nearly ten thousand troops. And most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled."

"Oh?" Zheng Wu looked puzzled and joked: "Could it be that the intruder knew that we had come a long way, so he made a special trip to give us a head?"

Zhu Bingkun laughed, and then said seriously: "The intruders sent more troops one after another, but they were all captured by the lord. If you and I are the intruders, how can we not take it seriously? I can't understand why the intruders only sent nearly ten thousand troops and were old and weak. The sick man came and was confused, so he hurried to discuss it with you.”

Zheng Wu thought for a while, shook his head and said: "I can't figure it out either. But it's only about ten thousand old, weak, sick and disabled. Lao Zhu, do you think it should be eaten?"

Zhu Bingkun muttered: "There is no need to worry about the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. I guess the troops sent by the intruders may not be here to fight. Maybe..."

"Perhaps we just want to garrison Xiangcheng." Zheng Wu took over the conversation: "Xiangcheng is not big, and nearly 10,000 troops and horses are more than enough to garrison. Garrison here and guard the main roads to prevent our army from going north."

Zhu Bingkun couldn't help but nodded: "Maybe the intruders had this idea. Xiangcheng has been occupied by my troops. Now that the thieves are here, how should we deal with them?"

He added: "My lord's order..."

Zheng Wu nodded: "My lord, I will only teach you and me to guard Shou Mountain - I think we might as well give up on Xiangcheng. The left and right are only old, weak, sick and disabled, so it will not be difficult to get them back. If we fight with them, they will definitely stimulate the thieves, and there is no telling. It will be difficult to handle a hundred thousand troops in five days..."

Zhu Bingkun couldn't help but nod.

He said: "It's better than this. The lord will arrive later, and the thieves will not arrive at Xiangcheng until nightfall. I won't move for now. If the lord arrives first, I will let him drive me. If the thieves arrive first, there is no harm in fighting - I will ambush my troops inside the city, and you will pull the troops to lurk outside the city. When the thieves are halfway into the city, you and I will attack from both inside and outside, and catch them all, making sure that no one can escape. In this way, the intruders may not know this place in a short time. The situation, by the time the intruders react, the lord has already arrived, why are you still afraid of a mere thief?"