Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 730 The Stage is Set
In the courtyard of Hanyuan Palace,
Watching the two people gradually approaching,
In the light of the fire, Zhang Jinyu and the other two also saw the appearance of the people who came, and they were all a little surprised. It was neither the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lord Shen Zhongxin, nor the censor Yan Cong as guessed by Luo Yunhou. The visitor was actually Feng Yongwen, the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, and Meng Li, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. It turned out to be them by a sense of connection.

Zhang Jinyu touched his face awkwardly. He had just vowed that Yan Congbi would be the first to come. What happened? That kid was so slow. Where did the energy he had when he beat the drum at the Meridian Gate go?
Feng Yongwen and Meng Li were a little surprised when they entered the yard. It was like entering a military camp. The barricades and braziers on both sides of the gate and the marching tents were all set up. They walked along the bluestone road.

Walk into the yard.
I saw a bonfire burning not far away, and behind it were Marquis Luo Yun, Marquis Xiangyang, and Master Chu Nian from the Wuying Palace sitting side by side.

The two did not dare to neglect it, and hurried forward, bowed, and said;
"Your humble servant Feng Yongwen (Meng Li) pays homage to the Marquis,"

Zhang Jinyu, who was sitting in the middle, smiled. It was a good time for them to come. He never expected that the two of them would come together.

"You are here very early, worthy of being Lord Feng and Lord Meng. Please clean up first, and then you two will lead the soldiers to check the officials who come in later. The things they carry should follow the rules of the Imperial Examination Hall. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord, I understand. However, the things I brought need to be checked by Lord Marquis. We cannot break the rules."

Feng Yongwen and Meng Li both bowed and agreed, and asked the Marquis to check the things they brought with them first.
So, Zhang Jinyu winked at Ning Bian.
Ning Bian understood, put down the long sword in his hand, and walked in front of the two men with his personal soldiers.

"My lords, I'm sorry!"

Subsequently,

The personal soldier behind him reached out and checked them all over, and also looked through the packages carried by the two men. He only found the pens, ink, paper, inkstone, dry food, water bags, pickles and other items, and nothing else, so he tied up the things and returned them.

"My Lord, the two lords did not bring anything with them."

"Okay, in that case, first find a room for the two adults and pack up their things. Then let the brothers work hard and go to the big tent in front to wait. When people come, go to the tent to check. After the inspection is completed, come in and make arrangements."

"Yes, sir,"

Ning Bian responded and led the two adults to the side hall in the east first, while the personal soldiers who followed took their men to the gate of the courtyard to wait.

Seeing how well-organized Luo Yunhou's arrangements were, Xiangyanghou sighed;
"My Lord is really careful. If it were me, I wouldn't know how to check it."

"Brother Bai, you are too polite. It is nothing more than everyone doing their own job. The officials have been arranged, and the rest will naturally be done by others. But tomorrow, Brother Bai, you will take the officials to the account and be responsible for the inspection. Anyone who dares to cheat will be arrested."

Zhang Jinyu was a little worried. After all, those who could come to Hanyuan Hall to take the imperial examination all had "backgrounds." There were probably quite a few arrogant and domineering ones. Tomorrow, they might need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

"Don't worry, my Lord. Tomorrow, I will go to the big tent in front and Lord Chu will go to the other one. If we check both places at the same time, it should be faster."

Speaking of which,

Zhang Jinyu was a little surprised. He had never thought about these things. It seemed that something was missing.
"Master Chu, for a general inspection, can two or three people do it at the same time?"

"My Lord, of course I can. Look at your military tent. It is spacious and can accommodate three people at the same time."

Chu Nian stroked his beard and replied with a smile, "In this way, there will be three people at a time, and two large tents will have six people. I think it won't take much time to test more than a thousand candidates."

"That's good, but, my two friends, how about calling the bet a draw?"

Zhang Jinyu also felt relieved. Since it was possible, he would not delay it for too long. He was not so anxious about the exam the next day. However, it seemed that he had lost the bet.
"According to what the Marquis said, it is indeed somewhat unexpected."

Lord Chu and Marquis of Xiangyang all nodded. They wondered why Lord Shen was late. Could there be something else going on in the Ministry of Revenue?
At this time, many people came to the gate of the courtyard one after another. I think the examiners have arrived.
"Report, Commander, there is nothing unusual fifteen miles ahead."

"Report, General, there is nothing unusual in the rear 10 miles."

"Report. Marshal Jie."

On the official road heading south,

Hundreds of thousands of troops were still on the official road, continuing to move forward slowly.
At the front,

Wang Ziteng led many generals and stood on a slope, looking far to the south, and asked;

"Envoy Lu, how far is Daliang City?"

The governor of Daliang City, Lü Daiyuan, wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the surrounding terrain. Under the moonlight, he could still see the outline. It was the place where they had camped before. He still had a vague impression of it.

"Reporting to the commander, this is a fork in the road. It will take another four days to reach Daliang City."

"Oh, there are still four days of journey left. It seems that we are moving quite fast. What do you mean by the fork in the road?"

Wang Ziteng was quite satisfied. After one day of steady march and one day of rapid march, no one fell behind and no one complained. This showed that the soldiers under his command were willing to fight. Until this moment, Wang Ziteng's confidence increased greatly.
Therefore, we have to walk faster and wait for two more hours tomorrow to rest and then discuss the next step.

As for the fork in the road here, I felt a little confused. I looked around and found that this place was empty. There was only one official road heading south. How could I not find the so-called fork in the road?

"Replying to the commander, this place is called a fork in the road because it is an important road connecting various places. It is less than fifty miles away from Tongzhou behind us. Not far ahead, there is a tributary of Anhu Lake. The river is not far from the official road. The terrain is flat and we can set up camp.

As for the west, many people don’t know that there is a mountain road here. After crossing the western hills and marching northwest for four days, you will reach the important town of Anyang in Qingchuan County. However, the journey is long. Going southeast, you will reach Jinzhou in Xihe County. Therefore, this place is a fork in the road, but it is unknown to the public! ”

It's no wonder that Jiedushi Lu was so familiar with the place. When the old Duke of Jia went to war, he fought against the vanguard of the White Lotus Sect here and defeated it. He won the first battle and then divided his troops here to take a detour and resolve the crisis in Daliang City.

The conversation between the two was ignored by all but the veterans.
The rest of the officers and soldiers were looking around, memorizing the place by heart, especially the officers led by Kang Mengyu of the Imperial Guards, who almost never left the capital. They lit torches and drew circles on the map, as if they were memorizing something.
Jia Lian and Wang Ren were surrounding him, also standing there looking at the map and the surrounding terrain. Jia Lian was secretly shocked. After walking for several days, he had only walked less than half of the distance. Moreover, the surrounding terrain was extremely unfamiliar. Although he had traveled south to the south of the Yangtze River and had gone on a long journey, he had always taken the canal. He was returning to his hometown, which was very familiar to him. But here, he had never been here before, and he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

Looking at his elder brother Wang Ren beside him, it was obvious that he felt the same way.

Wang Ziteng frowned. It was obvious that the journey was quite far and such a march would be extremely exhausting. Looking at the officers and soldiers around him, all with tired faces, he knew that it was not appropriate to march any further.
"Okay, in that case, let's find the river ahead and set up camp. Let the brothers have a good rest. Tomorrow, three hours later, after lunch, we will head south."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

The generals accepted the order with great joy, showing that they were really tired. When they were about to leave,
Only Hu Le, the commander of Hongnong, did not move. He hesitated for a moment and then bowed.

"General, I have some objections. Tomorrow morning, the central and rear armies can rest more, but half of the vanguard troops under Governor Lu must march south first and hold the city of Daliang until the main army arrives."

This sentence made the officers who were about to disperse stop and look back. Even Jiedushi Lu, who was about to leave, stopped and asked, not knowing why.
"General Hu, what do you mean? Daliang City still has 10,000 elite soldiers, so defending the city is naturally not a problem. Besides, those bandits are not heavenly soldiers, so how can they fly over here? Haha."

The laughter did not relieve General Hu's tense expression, but made him even more nervous.
"What Jiedu Lu said is correct. Daliang City is safe and secure, but what about Linshan County? Since the army set out, regardless of whether the officials of Linshan County know about it, the people of the Taiping Sect should have known that we are leading the army south."

Hu Le's face was heavy, and he clasped his fists to the people around him again. He was vaguely uneasy, and cold words came again;

"But, until today, at this moment, there is not a single messenger coming from the south. It is so quiet. Isn't it too strange? I find it strange."

Hu Le's question made the relaxed generals suddenly change their expressions. Yes, according to reason, Linshan County, whether it is the government or the garrison, should send people here to report the situation in the south. But now, after walking for a few days, not even a bird's feather has been seen.

Wang Ziteng squeezed his right hand. This was also his question. Ever since he led the army out of the capital, it was as if he had gone blind. There was no news from anywhere, as if everything in the south of the capital was safe and sound. On the official road, when it was close to the capital, there were still many people, but the further south he went, let alone the Chamber of Commerce convoy, he didn't even see any civilians. It was really puzzling and unreasonable. There must be trouble.
"General Lu, what do you think?"

Lu Daiyuan, who was laughing just now, stopped laughing at this moment. He also realized the problem. However, Daliang City had his order and the city gates were tightly closed, so nothing should happen. As for Linshan County, he did not order an investigation, so it was neglected.
"Replying to the commander, General Hu is absolutely right. I was negligent. Tomorrow, as General Hu said, I will personally lead all the troops of my department to the south and wait for the commander's army in Daliang City!"

As he spoke, Lu Daiyuan felt a little uneasy in his heart, and was even more worried about the safety of Daliang City. So he rushed south and returned to Daliang City first. No matter what, he had to make sure the city was not lost.

Only Wang Ziteng remained silent, still pondering the matter in his heart. Daliang City had well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, so there shouldn't be any problems. On the contrary, Linshan County was really weird. In addition, General Gu Ping of Jingnan seemed to have disappeared without a trace. He might have met with an accident. It was a pity to lose tens of thousands of troops.

"General Lu, you will have to work harder. Tomorrow, according to the agreed time, you will go south first, and then defend Daliang City. Send out rangers to investigate the situation in Linshan County. If there is any military intelligence, report it immediately."

"General, there is no need to go to such trouble. You lead the central army to set up camp and rest. I will lead my men to head south overnight. We will meet under Daliang City and rest for a night. I am afraid there will be changes."

At this moment, Lu Daiyuan couldn't wait any longer. It would take a whole day to return along the official road. He could save more than a day by going southeast from this fork in the road. His anxious answer made Wang Ziteng reluctant to agree.

It was General He Yong who spoke up.

"General, since the situation in the south is unclear, it's not impossible for the old general to go back. But there is one thing. After you arrive, you must keep an eye on the movements of Linshan County City. Don't send troops rashly. Wait until most of the central army arrives before making plans. Don't fall into the enemy's trap."

"Humph, General He, don't worry. When I was leading the army to fight, those little brats of the Taiping Sect on the other side were still struggling to survive."

Lu Daiyuan was not stubborn, but was confident. He never took those bandits seriously. The 50,000 soldiers under his command were all elite soldiers with complete weapons and armor. How could he be afraid of those bandits?

But the tone of the words was unpleasant, and General He was choked by the old general's words and stopped talking.
now,

Wang Ziteng thought about it again and again, and finally gave in. He thought that they could divide the troops and they would be able to gather together in just two days. He thought nothing would happen, so he agreed.

"Okay, since the old general insists, I agree that the old general should go south first, but the old general must not engage in battle with the enemy at will, okay?"

"Well,"

Lu Daiyuan nodded heavily, clasped his fists and left.

After a while,
Then came the sounds of the vanguard army's marching footsteps and the shouts of the captains accompanying the army!

"The Daliang City defenders continue to move forward and turn eastwards without stopping."

"Keep going, turn east, and don't stop."

In an instant, the vanguard of more than 40,000 troops left the front of the central army, turned to the southeast road, and soon disappeared in the dark night.

Only Wang Ziteng and his group of generals were left standing on the slope, staring ahead for a long time.

"Everyone, set up camp and have a good night's rest. Tomorrow, General Hu will lead his troops as the vanguard of the central army, take the official road, and continue to march south. Kang Mengyu will lead his cavalry to replace General Hu's vanguard on the left wing. The rest of the people will remain in their positions."

"Here, I obey the commander's orders."

The generals clasped their fists and accepted the order, but as the breeze blew, they suddenly felt empty in their hearts.
And Linshan County City,
The city was still bustling with people, bustling with people, and brightly lit. Although the city had been under martial law, the abnormal prosperity was still evident in the city. It was a bit abnormal. The wine shops, brothels, and gambling houses were all crowded, as if the war outside the city had not occurred at all.
Former Crown Prince Zhou Yongxiao, with his personal guards, sat in a private room on the third floor of Hongyuefang, drinking quietly and watching the people passing by on the street. He suddenly asked;

"Military Advisor, do you think that old man Wang Ziteng will be fooled? There are about 250,000 people in the Taiping Sect now. They are almost at the border of Chenzhou. It will only take two days to reach Linshan County. Sect Leader Chu readily agreed to the cooperation we discussed before, but the actors have arrived, but the audience has not. I can't help but worry!"

Opposite the table was an old man in a rough black robe, with dishevelled clothes and messy hair and beard. Only his pair of piercing eyes could capture people's attention. In addition, inside the room, there was also Commander Zuo Feng, with his secret guards, guarding the perimeter. The one pouring wine for the two of them was Zhu Yongcheng, a disciple of military advisor Xun Wen, who was waiting by the table.

Hearing His Highness's question, Military Advisor Xun Wen could not help but toss his sleeves, pick up the wine and drink it all in one gulp, and smacked his lips.

"Your Highness, good wine. It's rare to be able to drink so happily. Besides, the food on the table in front of you, who can tell that Jingnan is short of food? With money and food, there will be no shortage of soldiers and horses. Now there are 100,000 troops in the city. Among the fleeing civilians, General Kong has already recruited more than 60,000 young and strong people. There are weapons and armor in the treasury.

Plus, with our 50,000 elite troops, we are no less powerful than the imperial army heading south. Even without the Taiping Cult's troops, the outcome is still a 50-50 chance. Your Highness, the actors are on stage, and whether the audience comes or not, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just perform well."

Xun Wen's face flushed, his eyes sparkled, and he looked like a wild and unruly person. He held a wine cup in one hand and a chicken leg in the other. He fiercely tore off a piece of meat and chewed it. His hands were greasy, and he touched his body again and again. He took out a letter and handed it over.

"Your Highness, we can defeat them with our strength. This is a secret report from Daliang City, saying that Wang Ziteng's army has been divided and moved south, and Lu Laofu's troops have hurried back to Daliang City."

After saying that, he pushed the secret letter over.
Zhou Yongxiao did not mind these. He put down the tea bowl, reached out his hand, picked up the secret letter, and with the help of the oil lamp on the table, he opened the envelope and took out the letter. It said that the troops of Daliang City would go south first. This was a good opportunity. If Wang Ziteng was to defeat their vanguard army, he would be in a dilemma.
"Military Advisor, can we first mobilize the army and kill them halfway? At the very least, we can destroy old man Lu's army first. Then Wang Ziteng will cry a lot."

Even Commander Zuo, who was standing next to him, was delighted and said;
"Yes, if we ambush them before they arrive and wait for them to tire themselves out, we can definitely inflict heavy damage on Lu Daiyuan's troops. If there is a chance, we can directly capture Daliang City. Then Wang Ziteng will have no place to stay and will be in a dilemma."

Even the military advisor's student, Zhu Yongcheng, who was serving on the side, had a happy look on his face. Dividing the troops was a big taboo. Wang Ziteng was short-sighted and didn't understand the art of war. Only the teacher remained silent, gnawing on a chicken leg. What was going on?
Obviously, Zhou Yongxiao also saw this scene, but the military advisor was unmoved. According to the military advisor's temperament, this matter could not be done. Why?

"Military Advisor, I haven't considered everything carefully, and there are still some omissions."

Xun Wen had already finished eating the chicken leg in his hand, wiped it on his body casually, drank the wine on the table, and burped.
I thought he was still as crazy as ever, but his face straightened up, he straightened his body, and tapped the table with one hand.

"Your Highness, the stage has been built, and it's time to start the show. What do you think? If the person who is supposed to be performing suddenly wants to go under the stage to look for the person who is supposed to be watching the show, will the person who is supposed to be watching the show dare to come?"

“That’s it!”

(End of this chapter)