Although there were some commanders of the Zhejiang soldiers who wanted to return to Huguang, these officers were not well-known and lacked combat experience, and had no understanding of the terrain in Huguang. It was impossible for Deng Ming not to send anyone to help. After thinking about it, Deng Ming felt that the most reliable officer in his hands was Zhao Tianba. He was knowledgeable, had been in several provinces, and was bold and meticulous. So Deng Ming called Zhao Tianba and asked him to bring a few guards to serve as guides for these Zhejiang soldiers.

At first, Zhao Tianba seemed a little reluctant, but after hearing Deng Ming explain that he was the most capable candidate, he agreed to take charge of the work. However, he could see that he was very reluctant and muttered when he left the camp: "It's me again!"

This sentence made Monk Deng Minger 2 unable to touch his mind. He didn't remember having given Zhao Tianba a similar job before. Where did the word "you" start?

The nineteen guards who followed Deng Ming, seventeen of whom had participated in the Battle of Kunming, and their names also appeared in the open letter. The only trouble is that many people changed their names and needed to explain to the curious Zhejiang generals who were among them. Although it was a lot of trouble, the respect they received was no less than Zhou Kaihuang. Wu Baoping explained to the Zhejiang generals that he was Wu San, and also received a lot of sincere "long-term reverence". Even Mu Tan's reputation was louder than Zhao Tianba, because in the open letter professing to assassinate Hu Quancai, Deng Ming listed his guard's name again, and Mu Tan was also on the list, only Zhao Tianba proudly refused, saying that he was unwilling to admit his credit. If someone with unknown reasons asked about his passing curiously, Zhao Tianba would not say that this matter was purely fiction, but just said that he did not participate in the action.

"You go to Anqing Prefecture along the Yangtze River first. When I came to Anqing Prefecture, I asked that there are not many soldiers in the city. As long as you are careful, you should pass safely. Then you can go directly from Anqing Prefecture to enter Huangzhou Prefecture." Before breaking up, Deng Ming told the generals of the Zhejiang Army not to follow the Jiujiang route. The reason he gave was: "The Tartars in Huangzhou Prefecture and De'an Prefecture have all gone to Wuchang, and there are no left-behind troops in the local area. As long as you enter Huguang, it will be easy."

Soon the Zhejiang Army took the banner of the entire army advancing westward, and set off from Wuhu in a mighty manner and headed towards Huguang.

At this time, although Anqing Prefecture did not wait for reinforcements from the Green Camp in Jiangxi, a fleet of Huguang ships arrived.

"We are the Green Camp in Yuezhou and the Dongting Lake Navy." Qianwei took the seal to Anqing Prefecture to ask for the magistrate. After seeing the local officials, he immediately reported: "At the order of the governor of Hunan, we come to Nanjing to help. Please allocate military rations as appropriate."

"How did you arrive?" After seeing the envoy, the officials of Anqing Mansion felt a little strange: "Many days have passed since your outpost."

Although the situation in Huguang was also very tense, Anqing also heard that in order to slow down the offensive of the Ming army, Zhang Changgeng even promoted local tyrants and asked them to send troops to fight the Ming army. However, after being in danger in Nanjing, the Qing court still asked Zhang Changgen to send the Dongting Lake Navy to Nanjing first, and try to squeeze out troops to ensure the safety of Nanjing.

After seeing the seal submitted by the visitor and reporting it to him, An Qing immediately realized that this was a symbolic force sent by Zhang Changgeng, mainly water camps. Although it was said to have 8,000 troops, it was probably all auxiliary soldiers and sailors, and at most there were only more than a thousand armored soldiers who could barely participate in land warfare.

"Our outpost?" The envoy of the Jingzhou soldiers seemed a little confused: "After we were ordered to set off from Wuchang, we dared not delay the journey, and we did not stop in Jiujiang. We did not rest. We immediately set off after getting the allocated military rations. Where can we have outposts?"

"Yes, there were a team of cavalry less than ten days ago, with a total of twenty people, and they were also from your Jingzhou Water Camp. Yes, they were also holding the waist card of the Dongting Lake Naval Division. They were a Hu Zheng." Seeing that the messenger was still confused, the receptionist further inspired: "Hu Yidao, Hu Zheng."

The messenger thought for a while, suddenly his expression became serious and asked hurriedly: "Twenty people? Can you describe the costume of Mr. Hu? And the appearance of the person he accompanied."

...

Wuchang, Huguang Governor's Office.

Today, the Wuchang Prefect hurriedly brought the captain to the governor again, and was very dissatisfied with the prefect Zhang Changgeng. Two days after Zhou Peigong reached an agreement to sell weapons with the Ming army, the prefect came to urgently ask for a meeting, saying that he found that there seemed to be a Ming army conducting secret activities on the Yangtze River. It seemed that the Ming army's ships and water camps were secretly crossing Wuchang for two consecutive days, and they always secretly crossed Wuchang at night for three days. They were divided into several groups, obviously trying to cover up their eyes and might have been the idea of ​​sneaking into Wuchang from behind. This report of course scared Zhang Changgeng, thinking that the Ming army was going to break the contract to attack the city, so he hurriedly prepared for the whole city to be on guard. After several days of trouble, there was no movement, which proved to be a false alarm.

After being scolded by Zhang Changgeng, the prefect was still determined to serve the country. He always pointed out the matter of making weapons and armor by the governor, saying that the cost of making armored soldiers was too high and the materials it cost was too much, and he must have been deceived by the craftsmen. He also volunteered to go to the workplace to supervise the workplace, claiming that with the same manpower and material resources, he could increase the output to more than three times that of now. As a result, he was ridiculed by Zhang Changgeng and drove away without hesitation.

Today, the prefect looked worried again. After seeing Zhang Changgeng, he shouted: "Governor, something is not good!"

"So what?" Zhang Changgeng asked with a long voice: "I found out that the thief was hiding again, or did he find someone stealing pig iron, and he was lazy and sloppy and was really a proof of being lazy and sloppy?"

The prefect stood aside and turned to the Wuchang chief inspector and said, "You can't report to the governor quickly?"

"Zhe." The captain hurriedly knelt down and reported to Zhang Changgeng with a smug expression: "Five days ago, the villain discovered a group of people with mysterious whereabouts. The villain did not dare to alert the snake, so he secretly followed and monitored them. He found that these people bought a large amount of gold. The villain was very strange in his heart, so he paid more attention. As a result, he found that more than these people were active in the city, smuggling a large amount of silver every day, and then secretly snatched out of the city after changing it to gold."

Zhang Changgeng had an indifferent expression, but when he heard this, he became serious. He leaned forward and looked at the headmaster with concern.

Seeing that the governor was interested, the captain was even more proud: "The price of gold in Wuchang City has been stable for many years. One tael of gold has never changed for eleven taels of silver, but in the past half month, it has risen to one tael of gold that can be exchanged for thirteen taels of silver. And not only in Wuchang, the villain inquired about the market in Hanyang the day before yesterday, and it has risen to one tael of gold that can be exchanged for thirteen taels of silver!"

After he carefully observed the report of the captain, the people who came to buy gold were related to the Ming army. Although he did not know why the other party bought a large amount of gold, the captain did not dare to neglect it and hurriedly informed the prefect: "These people went out of the city and entered the city, and they had to cover up such a large amount of gold, silver and wealth, and the villain concluded that there must be an insincere among the constables, so the villain did not tell the other captains, and even the constables under his command did not know at this time."

The gold left by Deng Ming was not enough to pay the kickbacks and bribery funds to Zhang Changgeng. After the reserves were exhausted, Mingjun bought gold everywhere, but where to find so much gold in the wilderness, he had to send people to put on makeup and buy it from merchants in Wuchang and Hanyang.

"This person is very cautious in doing things." The Wuchang prefect took the conversation and praised Zhang Changgeng: "He came to report to the lower officials, and even the minor officials in the lower officials' office were concealed. Here is a list of local gentry to cover up the thieves." As he said that, the prefect took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Changgeng: "There are many people participating, which is shocking."

Zhang Changgeng hurriedly took the list over and looked at it carefully. The prefect did not retreat but took the opportunity to take another step forward, and analyzed it to the governor of Hunan with certainty: "The officials have calculated that if they want to increase the price of gold so much, it is definitely not something that a small transaction can do. The thief has purchased at least tens of thousands of taels, or even more than fifty thousand taels of gold!"

"What do the thiefs want so much gold?" The prefect further reasoned: "It must be used to bribe officials from Wuchang and Hanyang to have an affair with them. The subordinates beg the lord to send it quickly..."

"Nonsense!" Zhang Changgeng roared without warning, tearing the list in his hand to pieces, and turned a deaf ear to the analysis and reasoning of the Wuchang Prefect, pointing to the headmaster who was still kneeling below and cursing: "Can gold be eaten or drunk? If you say that the thief buys a large amount of grain, I might believe it. Do they buy so much gold and have no place to spend it? And where did the thief get so much money? Besides, the people on this list are all well-known local gentry, who are full of loyalty and patriotism. I know very well. Don't you want to slander people."

"Sir..." The Wuchang prefect still wanted to speak.

But Zhang Changgeng didn't give him a chance at all, and shouted: "Come on, let me give this thief who falsely accused of loyalty and good things and beat me! Beat it to death!"

The yamen runners of the Governor's Office rushed up and dragged the captain who was constantly shouting for justice out of the hall. Zhang Changgeng's anger was not yet gone, and he continued to scold the prefect: "Now the thieves in Kuidong are north of Hanyang, and the whole city is united and working together. Just now, the thief clearly wanted to fish in the water and sued a few wealthy local gentry to seize their wealth. Why are you so confused? If you succeeded by this thief, wouldn't Wuchang want the scholars and people to be disloyal and give the thieves in Kuidong to take advantage of the opportunity? If you go down, don't mention this matter again. Do not leak the news and make the gentry feel disappointed, otherwise you will only ask!"

After bombing the prefect of Wuchang, Zhang Changgeng ordered his confidant to invite Zhou Dazi and Wuchang Ma Jun Admiral's father-in-law - the old gentry was at the top of the list just now.

After hearing Zhang Changgeng's remarks about Xu Wan, both shouted "It's so dangerous". Then the old gentry blamed Zhou Peigong with dissatisfaction, thinking that it would be too reckless if he didn't buy the prefect. This time it was Zhou Peigong's turn to shout for wrongdoing. The prefect was originally from Henan, without local local feelings, and he was also thinking about making contributions to the Qing court and making progress. How could Zhou Peigong dare to reveal the news to him?

Zhang Changgeng also confirmed that what Zhou Peigong said was true. The governor of Hunan also sent people to send money before. Of course, the excuse was that local gentry donated a lot, and the Wuchang prefect should be rewarded. However, the Wuchang prefect is most concerned about the future, not the money, so he refused Zhang Changgeng's reward and said that it is better to reward soldiers and build weapons.

After hearing this, the old gentry frowned, came up with a plan, twisted his beard and asked, "Has this guy never done anything wrong?"

"The old man is very good." Zhou Peigong suddenly realized, and he immediately said to Zhang Changgeng: "He always takes money for the money, so students will go to see witnesses now."

"No," the old gentry immediately expressed his objection: "Corruption is just a small matter. Now the thief in Ming... north of Hanyang has not yet retreated. Do you want the governor to write a book about him at this time in the name of corruption?"

Zhang Changgeng laughed, nodded repeatedly, and smiled at Zhou Peigong, "The old man means that if this guy had an affair with a thief and intended to offer the city, I can take action first and then report to take him down."

"Students are dull, students understand." Zhou Peigong immediately stood up and apologized: "The students will go to find the real evidence of his collusion with the thief tomorrow."

"It must be made into an iron case." The old gentry instructed: "There should be many letters to communicate and understand clearly. The thief leader should be close to the title of this guy, and do not leave any trouble for the governor in the future."

After Zhou Peigong left, the old Jinshen and Zhang Changgeng chatted for a while. Since the incident started today because of the price of gold, the old Jinshen suggested: "The price of gold is good now. If the governor has any relatives and friends who have gold for sale, it is a good time."

Zhang Changgeng thought for a moment, shook his head and smiled, "It's not too late to wait a few more days."

...

Anqing.

News came from Chizhou that the entire Wuhu Zhejiang Army advanced westward, and the Ming army was in great power, and dozens of camps were camped every night. There were only a few hundred Green Camp infantry in Chizhou Prefecture. I thought the Zhejiang soldiers were vulnerable and wanted to make some contributions, but I didn't expect that tens of thousands of Zhejiang soldiers rushed over. Although not many of them had armor, everyone was desperate. Seeing this, Chizhou Green Camp turned around and returned to the city without saying a word. After entering the city, it blocked the city gate and sent an envoy to notify An Qing, asking them to try to block it.

Although he knew that the Zhejiang Army had the intention of rushing into Huguang and joining the Kuidong Army, the elite troops of the Anqing Green Camp had also gone to Nanjing long ago. Although they were stronger than Chizhou, there were more than 2,000 green camps in Anqing City, but only half of them had complete soldiers and more than 100 cavalrymen. No matter how you look, you don’t seem to be able to block tens of thousands of Zhejiang troops alone.

The Jingzhou Water Camp was about to set off after getting the food and grass, but Anqing informed them after receiving the news. Although he did not think that this group of Zhejiang troops, which seemed to be the same as the bandits, had the ability to capture Anqing, but as the saying goes, was prepared, Anqing felt that if the Jingzhou Water Camp was willing to stay and assist, it would not only ensure Anqing's safety, but also cut off the water route. If the Zhejiang army had to pass by land, the Jingzhou Water Camp and the Anqing defenders would also have the opportunity to leave a part of the Ming army.

After receiving the news, Jingzhou Water Camp did not set off immediately. Anqing said it was right. Now that Nanjing has been rescued, they have no contribution to rushing there. It would be better to try to kill some Ming troops here, which is not a waste of time.

After making up this decision, the Huguang soldiers landed ashore and set up camps beside Anqing. When Anqing's guards went to the friendly camp to contact each other, they were taken aback by the Huguang soldiers' troops.

The guard thought that Zhang Changgeng sent this army just to deal with his errands, but he didn't expect that there were more than 3,000 armored soldiers and five thousand auxiliary soldiers, who were all strong and organized, and they cooperated very well at work. At first glance, they were not the farmer who caught the numbers temporarily.

The commander of the eight thousand Jingzhou soldiers was also named Hu, and his name was Hu Laoxiao. At first, when the Anqing guard general heard this name, he guessed that he was a local tyrant. Because the situation in Huguang was tense, he was given an official position by Zhang Changgeng. The other party's official position also proved the judgment of the guard general. Not long ago, Hu Laoxiao had just obtained the position and seal of the deputy general of Yuezhou. Perhaps because the time was still short, he did not have time to change his official name.

Although he was very happy to see that this army had combat effectiveness, while secretly lamenting that Zhang Changgeng was kind, he began to worry whether this powerful local bun could control the army. Moreover, the guard was a little confused: why was a newcomer who was just a newcomer commanding the strong army in Jingzhou?

However, after seeing Deputy General Hu, the doubts of An Qing's guards disappeared. Hu Laoxiao looked very young, only about thirty years old, but he was quite brave, as if he had commanded thousands of troops. After learning that tens of thousands of Zhejiang troops were approaching, Hu Laoxiao slapped heavily on the table and shouted: "How many thousands of Haibians can kill me?"

The momentum of Mr. Hu slapped the table, which made An Qing guard general stunned. The other party was majestic, and the sound of golden swords was filled with the sound of golden swords, which made people feel admiration and intoxicated. An Qing guard general was amazed in his heart: It was indeed a natural general, no wonder Zhang Changgeng would be relieved to hand over the army to this person.

However, compared with the mighty Hu Laoxiao, the performance of his subordinates was much colder. When the scout leader rewarded, the guard Anqing was also listening to their actions. At first, he was very satisfied with their performance: the scouts under Hu Laoxiao clearly understood the surrounding terrain and geographical detectives, and their familiarity with the surrounding terrain in just one or two days was no less familiar with the surrounding terrain than the local soldiers of Anqing. But before the guard general praised Hu Laoxiao's scout's ability, he heard the leader report in a daze: "General, Anqing said that a marriage is about fifteen taels of silver, which is much cheaper than ours."

This made An Qing general laugh and cry. If the scout cares about the price of grain, it would be a big mistake to ask about the price of his wife. What is the price of his wife? Moreover, the general thinks that buying a farm girl in fifteen taels is not very cheap. Is the marriage in Huguang very expensive? No, it is said that Jiangnan should be higher than Huguang.

Originally, the Anqing garrison wanted to use the local army as the main force and assist the foreign army, but after seeing Hu Laoxiao and his army, the garrison immediately gave up the idea and insisted on using Huguang troops as the main force. The Anqing local army assisted from the side. Hu Laoxiao did not refuse and took over the heavy responsibility of the commander. His proposal was to attack head-on and defeat the Zhejiang army in the field outside the city, so as not to allow a Ming army to escape to Huguang.

Such a proposition was also expected by the Anqing general. If he had the strong army under Hu Laoxiao, he would never have considered defending the city and looking for an opportunity to intercept the Ming army's rear team. Although the Zhejiang army opposite was large, according to the reconnaissance, they obviously did not have much armor and their weapons were far from being excellent. A large number of people were holding wooden sticks and wooden spears.

Now Hu Laoxiao has eight thousand soldiers, including three thousand armored soldiers. Anqing can also provide one thousand armored soldiers and the same number of armored soldiers. At least their armored soldiers also have steel knives. The Zhejiang Army looks messy, as if it is not much better than the organization of bandits. Ten thousand Qing troops will fight out and catch them all in one go.

After the Zhejiang soldiers approached Anqing to set up camp, Hu Laoxiao invited the generals of Anqing to move the army out of the city and then go to his army to discuss matters.

After the Anqing generals rushed to Hu Laoxiao's central army, the other party immediately said his plan: "I plan to capture the thief and capture the king first."

"Great insight." An Qing general praised. If he could capture the thief's head in one fell swoop, it would certainly be easier to win and the losses would be minimal. However, what he wanted to know most now is how to do this. Is it a surprise attack in front of the formation or a night-death camp? However, a surprise attack in front of the formation is not easy, and a night-death camp also needs to carefully reconnaissance the enemy's deployment to ensure that he can hit the enemy's central tent with one blow.

The generals of Anqing also concentrated their breath and waited for the following sentence of Mr. Hu.

"I plan to trick all the thief leaders into the army and then take them all down." Hu Laoxiao continued to introduce his plan.

"Gao...high opinion." An Qing guard still praised, but he was suspicious in his heart: the other party is not a fool, right? How can he deceive the army and all the tricks!

"I wonder how General Hu plans to trick all the thieves?" An Qing general expressed his doubts. In his opinion, this was impossible.

"They are already here." Hu Laoxiao smiled slightly, then shouted: "Bring it up."

With this loud shout, the three Ming troops stalked in, and the fully armed Jingzhou soldiers followed them, and after they entered the camp, they stood densely outside the tent.

The leader faced the eyes of the camp without fear and said loudly: "I am Zhao Tianba, a thousand households of the Jinyiwei."

The guard Anqing frowned and thought for a moment, without recalling any news related to this person's name, and made a judgment in his heart: the nameless person.

"Hu Litao." Another Ming army followed and said, "Hu Erqi, who made a big fuss in Kunming, is me."

"I am Jiang Nan, Kunming Ge killed Hong Chengchou, Zhong Xiang killed Hu Quancai, I have a share!" Another Ming army behind the leader also reported to leave the house.

"ah!"

As the two names were reported, the camp exclaimed immediately. The guard of Anqing jumped up, took two steps back, and knocked the chair over. All the generals of Anqing were focused on Hu Litao and Jiang Nan. Without anyone looking at Zhao Tianba, these two were all fierce and famous bandits to the Qing army.

"General Hu!" An Qing guard stared at the two of them without blinking, and shouted anxiously: "Why don't you take down the thief's capital?"
Chapter completed!