Daming kill

Chapter 223 Butterfly Wings
On the evening of May 200, in Anqing Fucheng (now Anqing City) on the banks of the Yangtze River more than [-] miles northeast of Susong County.

Zhao Jin and Zuo Menggeng are drinking and talking happily.

Both of them drank a lot and were a little drunk.Especially Zhao Jin, who seemed a bit drunk, he had been staggering for a long time.

This banquet was Zuo Menggeng's reception banquet for Zhao Jin who had just arrived. Except for Zuo Menggeng, everyone else had lower positions than Zhao Jin, and they were all Zuo Menggeng's confidantes.

This not only fully highlights the importance he attaches to Zhao Jin, but also shows a strong sense of intimacy.

Surprisingly, Zhao Jin conquered Susong County again, and only broke through the city on the [-]th, and rushed to Anqing on the [-]th to report the victory, and paid a lot of captured floating wealth. Zuo Menggeng couldn't help but like such a subordinate.

In fact, Zuo Menggeng and Zhao Jin have been close for more than a day or two.

In the late Xiangyang period, Zhao Jin had already begun to undertake the task of guard of honor training for all Zuo Menggeng's personal soldiers, and even some of Zuo Menggeng's personal soldiers were soldiers from Zhao Jin's camp.

These soldiers of Zuo Menggeng trained by Zhao Jin have a standing posture, a sitting posture, and neat steps. They all give people a sense of majesty and uprightness, which makes Zuo Menggeng gain the beauty of being good at governing the army among the troops. Zuo Liangyu's reputation has also been repeatedly praised by Zuo Liangyu.

Now that Zhao Jin has joined the two counties within more than a month, Zuo Menggeng was amazed and delighted, but also wanted to show his closeness to Zhao Jin.

The excavation and promotion of Zhao Jin and Shi Ming have increasingly brought Zuo Menggeng a reputation for knowing people and making good use of them, and at the same time greatly offset the depression that Li Ping, an alternative, brought to Zuo Menggeng.

And not only that, with Zhao Jin's victory in Susong, it is conceivable that local officials in Jiujiang and Anqing will be less noisy about Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and horses again, just like when Huangmei County was captured.

Shoutu is clearly the overriding center for local officials.

This also gave the Zuo family father and son an extra bargaining chip and guarantee in dealing with the imperial court after the northern captives withdrew from the Central Plains.

"Come on, General Zhao. Let's have another drink. I wish you more courage in the battle, and look forward to your new achievements." Zuo Menggeng said the toast as he thought about it more and more happily.

Zhao Jin grinned, and his eyes, which had been squinted for a long time, were opened wide again.

He raised his glass, shook his head and shouted vaguely: "The deputy commander asked me to make new achievements, so I must make new achievements! I will start immediately after I go back, and I will definitely live up to the deputy commander's expectations."

"Where do you want to fight? Don't be brave, you've run out of gunpowder." Zuo Menggeng said with a smile.

Zhao Jin hiccupped and widened his eyeballs and said, "I don't want to be brave. If I agree, I will die and do it. Well...Taihu County is still in the hands of thieves, and it is threatening Anqing. But...Shi Ming decided to stay Susong County, I seem to be a little far away. By the way, there is also Guangji County, which is not far from Huangmei County. Yes, Guangji County, I am going to fight it when I get back, and I will definitely surprise the deputy commander again."

Zhao Jin had already reported to Zuo Menggeng the details of his conquest of Susong County and his and Shi Ming's decision to divide the counties and reside in each other before the banquet started.

Taihu County is located at the foot of Yinghuo Mountain (Dabie Mountain), 150 miles northeast of Susong County, and about [-] miles northwest of Anqing City.

The lower reaches of the Yangtze River from Fuchi to the lower reaches is a large strip-shaped plain area sandwiched by the Yinghuo Mountains and Huangshan Mountains. According to the order of the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there are Guangji County, Huangmei County, Susong County and Taihu County, and then It is Anqing Fucheng.

The four counties of Guangji, Huangmei, Susong and Taihu were all counties once occupied by Zhang Xianzhong, and the two counties of Guangji and Taihu are still occupied by Zhang Xianzhong.Qianshan County and Tongcheng County, which are further downstream, have already been recovered by the commander-in-chief Huang Degong.

Taihu County actually became the last piece of land in Nanzhili occupied by Zhang Xianzhong.

"Guangji County will not bother General Zhao. You have just finished the battle, so you should take a good rest and make up for it! The commander has other arrangements for this." Zuo Menggeng said regretfully while drinking .

Holding the wine glass, Zhao Jin seemed to be stunned for a moment, but then immediately burped even bigger.

Then, Zhao Jin shook his head more sharply and narrowed his eyes again and said, "Guangji County has an arrangement, so I will fight Taihu County. It doesn't matter how far I go. I will fight wherever the deputy commander points out!"

"You should take a good rest and have fun for a while! If you can't do it all, the other generals are already jealous. Eh? You haven't drunk the wine yet! Quickly give me the wine in the glass." Zuo Meng Geng smiled and expressed his clear rejection again.

"Oh! That's it. Then I'll rest." Zhao Jin squinted his eyes, which seemed to be closed, and muttered with regret and indifference.

Then, he swung the large glass of wine in his hand into his mouth.

But after drinking, Zhao Jin bald like noodles and went under the table, as if he was really drunk.

When everyone hurriedly pulled Zhao Jin up from under the table, Zhao Jin's face suddenly changed, and then he vomited directly at the wine table with a "wow".

In an instant, all kinds of indescribable pungent smells filled the entire room, and everyone on the wine table covered their noses and left the table one after another.

"This is too much to drink! Come on, hurry up and help General Zhao to rest." Zuo Menggeng held his nose and said in disgust.

……

After watching Zhao Jin, who kept yelling "I can still drink", was dragged away, a confidant of Zuo Menggeng came to Zuo Menggeng's side and wanted to say something, but he hesitated to speak.

Zuo Menggeng understood, and asked everyone else to go back on the grounds that he also wanted to rest after the banquet.

"Let's talk now!" Zuo Menggeng rubbed his head and said, he really has too much.

The confidant who wanted to talk before immediately said: "This general Zhao Shen wants to attack Guangji County, doesn't it mean that he wants to be with Li Pingzong and give him backing against the thieves? The relationship between these two people From what I've heard, it's not what everyone says it is!"

Zuo Menggeng glanced at this confidant in surprise, and said with some dissatisfaction: "Are you jealous? Zhao Jin originally wanted Susong County, but Shi Ming strongly wanted it. Zhao Jin had to satisfy Shi Ming for the sake of the overall situation. After all, Shi Ming followed He has conquered two cities, but his reputation has earned him, and he is too embarrassed to continue to rob the new Susong County.

Since he wanted to occupy Susong County, it was impossible for Zhao Jin to have the intention of attacking Guangji County.Besides, I really wanted to back up Li Ping. He had just encouraged Shi Ming to join forces with him to attack Guangji County.

Today, when Zhao Jin talked about attacking Guangji County, he was talking too much. He simply drank too much, trying to be brave!I think you are thinking too much. "

Zuo Menggeng explained a lot, and he didn't know whether he was answering his confidant or at the same time solving his own doubts.

"It can be said that General Zhao himself said that Shi Guerrilla wanted Susong County. Shi Guerrilla's consolidating the place in Susong County did not prove it. Moreover, General Zhao was dissatisfied with Li Ping. What I said, but there is no real evidence, I really heard that the two walked quite close." The confidant said unwillingly.

Zuo Menggeng shook his head and said: "You! The heart of a villain. Zhao Jin is a man of great loyalty and righteousness. Otherwise, Mr. Zhao Qian under Yang Wenyue would not have entrusted him with the important task of guarding his family's elders. Zhao Jin It is also even more impossible to protect that young lady of the Zhao family all the way south.

But at the beginning, no matter what the reason was, Miss Zhao's family ran into Li Ping's hands when Du Guerzhan's life and death were unknown. What do you think made Zhao Jin feel ashamed?How could there be no rift between them.

Moreover, Shi Ming, who was very shameless at the time, as the head of the guard of Miss Zhao's family, also resolutely stayed by Zhao Jin's side, which explained a lot of problems.

Shi Ming and Zhao Jin didn't know each other at all, but they were ambitious and smart, so it was unlikely that they would collude with Zhao Jin to deceive everyone.What is he plotting?
As for Zhao Jin and Li Ping still have contact, but it is less and less, and it should be a courtesy.

Having suspicions does not mean that they will become enemies. After all, they still have the source of the same army. Li Ping has always been respectful to Zhao Jin because of Zhao Jin's previous cultivation. There's no need to turn your back.

Stop being suspicious! "

"Oh…"

Although the confidant was still skeptical, he couldn't say anything after the conceited Zuo Menggeng had said so much, so he wisely shut up and chose to leave.

However, Zuo Menggeng did not go back to the house to rest, but soon appeared in Zuo Liangyu's room.

At this time, Zuo Menggeng looked more awake than before.

"Although Zhang Xianzhong was repeatedly defeated by Huang Chuangzi (Huang Degong), Zhang Xianzhong was able to defeat Huang Chuangzi and Huama Liu (Liu Liangzuo) in Jiashan last year. Did you read it wrong?" Zuo Liangyu, who was wearing thick clothes and lying on the chair, wondered.

Zuo Liangyu's health is really bad at the moment, it's not entirely a faux pas.

But the battle report from Susong County still alarmed Zuo Liangyu, and it was obvious that he attached great importance to it.

If Zuo Liangyu concludes that Zhao Jin's victory over Huangmei County is due to luck, but it cannot be luck if he overthrows Susong County.

Either the enemy is too weak, or our army is too strong!
The core of Huang Degong's army is the Yongwei Battalion of the Forbidden Army supervised by Emperor Chongzhen himself for training. It was formerly the famous Four Guards of Tengxiang.

This is an army directly controlled by the Ming emperor and commanded by the inner court, and it is the only one in the Chongzhen Dynasty.The training and supplies are excellent, and they have fought in the north and south all the year round, with brilliant records and rich combat experience, and their combat effectiveness naturally belongs to the explosive series.

Facing such an army, it is not surprising that Zhang Xianzhong was defeated repeatedly, but it would be a surprise to achieve a big victory.This shows that Zhang Xianzhong's strength has been greatly supplemented and improved in the impoverished Yinghuo mountain area, and his combat power is not weak.

Never look at it with the same old eyes!

Moreover, although Zhang Xianzhong was severely injured by Huang Degong in Qianshan and almost captured alive, he still went down to Taihu Lake, Huangmei, Qizhou and other places unstoppably, which shows that his troops are still very strong and powerful.

And I know my own affairs!
The Battle of Xiangyang made Zuo Liangyu have a clear understanding of his rapidly expanding troops. He felt that it was not too much to describe it as "soldiers without fighting spirit, generals without fighting spirit". Not much stronger.

It's okay for his troops to bully and bully the people, but it's really not good to fight tough battles.

That's why he paid more attention to and tolerated Li Ping, and paid great attention to Zhao Jin, who was also famous and good at training soldiers.

But Zhao Jin and Shi Ming's soldiers have always been under his nose. They are not bad, but it is nonsense to say how strong they are.

Could it be that the enemy is too weak?
It is estimated that the strong combat power of Zhang Xianzhong's troops is one of the important reasons why Zuo Liangyu has been more restrained towards Zhang Xianzhong who is close at hand.

Of course, the thought of raising a thief's self-respect must also be there, and it is also a major factor.

Because it is unrealistic to say that Zuo Liangyu feels that Zhang Xianzhong is afraid when he is strong. Not only can Zuo Liangyu have no reason to be afraid of Zhang Xianzhong from the previous battle records, but also Zuo Liangyu's soldiers are weak. After Zhang Xianzhong was defeated in Qianshan The situation that there are not many elite soldiers and veterans can't stand a veteran like Zuo Liangyu.

This old fox probably thought that the thieves and bandits had been almost unified by Li Zicheng. If Zhang Xianzhong was defeated again, his value after the Qing soldiers withdrew from the Central Plains could only be to die in front of Li Zicheng or be regarded as a negative model by the emperor.

Moreover, it is not the first time that Zuo Liangyu has done such a thing as raising a thief to respect himself. Just like when he trapped Zhang Xianzhong in Manao Mountain, Zhang Xianzhong sent an envoy to tell him: "There is loyalty, so the public respects it, and there is no loyalty." There is no justice." Zuo Liangyu believed it and let it go.

Since Zuo Liangyu was able to let Zhang Xianzhong go once, it's not bad for a second time.

But no matter which aspect of Zuo Liangyu had more ideas, first, Li Ping broke the game for him in Qizhou without reporting it, and then Zhao Jin and Shi Ming took the big risk in Huangmei to give him a big risk. He played for a while, and then unexpectedly succeeded.

Zuo Liangyu actually understood what Zhao Jin and Shi Ming were thinking. He understood their desire to consolidate their identities and their higher needs.

Moreover, he really didn't want to publicly obstruct his subordinates' pursuit of battle too much, otherwise, wouldn't it be true for the name of avoiding battle.

But take it when you see it!

Unexpectedly, these two seemingly smart guys didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but they couldn't understand what he said and wanted to beat Susong, and then unexpectedly succeeded.

The result is now forcing him to make changes.

After thinking about it all night, Zuo Liangyu realized that he had to immediately change his original unwavering strategy.

"According to what Zhao Jin said, the enemy's combat power in Susong County is very poor, and there are basically no veterans who offer thieves. It is estimated that elite soldiers and valuable veterans were all taken away by Zhang Xianzhong. This is probably the case when Li Pingneng defeated Qizhou." Left Meng Geng said after deliberation.

Zuo Menggeng actually knew some of Zuo Liangyu's thoughts, but he didn't know or understand all of them.Young and energetic, he has many ideas of his own.

"Maybe!" Zuo Liangyu sighed.

"Who does the commander-in-chief think of sending to attack Guangji and Taihu counties?" Zuo Menggeng asked.

Zhao Jin and Shi Ming cannot be allowed to attack the last two counties of Guangji and Taihu Lake. On this issue, Zuo Menggeng and Zuo Liangyu have surprisingly consistent views.

Moreover, they have not yet confirmed the candidate, and the time for them to make up their minds is still very short.

Zuo Liangyu frowned and said, "Let your Uncle Fang go to attack Guangji County! He was dismissed and needs military service to recover. Guangji County is sandwiched between Qizhou and Huangmei County, so it should be relatively safe.

Although Zhao Jin's method of bombing the city with gunpowder is not new, it seems to be effective.You collect the gunpowder in our army and send it to Uncle Fang Shi to help him. "

"What about Taihu County?"

"Taihu Lake! That place is not easy to fight. It's not only in the mountains, but also there are big lakes everywhere, and the people's customs are generally against thieves. It's okay not to fight, but now I have to fight. I think I sent deputy generals Ma Jinzhong and Wu Xueli to fight good."

"Ah."

"The attack on Guangji and Taihu Lake must be fast and not delayed. We must take it as soon as possible while Zhang Xianzhong's army is still gathered near Wuchang, otherwise there will be no uncertainties!"

"Father Marshal is right." Zuo Menggeng praised.

At this moment, history is becoming more and more deviated from the original track.

In fact, in the original history, it was not until Zhang Xianzhong left Wuchang that Zuo Liangyu's army began to receive and occupy empty cities, and their troops basically did not confront each other.

……

While Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Menggeng were talking at night, Zhao Jin suddenly sat up on the bed in the dark room with his eyes shining, and then listened to the movement outside the room for a while.

At this moment, the previous drunkenness was completely gone from his face.

Then, Zhao Jin scratched his hair angrily and murmured: "Brother, I really can't help you. But after all, someone beat Guangji, I hope I can help you."

(End of this chapter)