Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 839: Meeting of the Left Account in South Beijing
The night is bright, and the clear light shines all over the earth.

The sky was cloudless, and the stone railings around were carved with exquisite cloud patterns, which were lifelike. The moonlight was mottled on the stone road, and the light and shadow were intertwined, like a dream. The pavilions and towers in the distance were looming in the night, like a fairyland.

It is truly a masterpiece of nature. This location is well built. Because it is on the south side of the mountain, the main ridge of Yunshan Mountain blocks the view behind it, so you can only see the west city and the south city, but not the north. You can't see the Natural Palace either. So, the old craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry have good skills and have chosen an excellent Feng Shui location.
There is a saying from the ancients: It is really beautiful to look far from a height.

"Ningbyon, look down there, the lights of thousands of houses are truly spectacular."

Not far away, the lights were on brightly. Nowadays, in some city districts, the Bingmasi Yamen allowed the market to close three hours later. As a result, the night market was more lively than the daytime. The lights everywhere gave the entire capital a lively atmosphere.

"My Lord, our Pingyang City outside the Great Wall is no worse than this place. I still like my home, where there are not so many rules."

Ning Bian was mumbling behind him. These views were not attractive at all, causing Zhang Jinyu to turn around and glare at him, which was a real bummer.
"You, you are such a spoiler. I am also a little bit tempted to go outside the Great Wall, but unfortunately, if there is no movement, it will be difficult to go back. Now, I just need to gain a foothold in the capital."

Zhang Jinyu also knew that if he really had to go back, it would not be now. There were so many interests involved. It could be said that there was silver everywhere in the interior of the country. If he didn't take it now, when would he get it?
"Yes, Lord, I know I was wrong, but I believe what the Prince of Han said just now. The mountains east of Wuzhou are not impassable. There are many springs in the mountains. When it rains, there will be more water. As long as there is water, we can survive. It rained a lot a few days ago, so those people may have escaped from the south of Beijing."

Ning Bian thought about it and realized that in the Marquis’ study, there was a topographic map of the entire southern part of Beijing with clear records on it, so those refugees did not lie.

"You are right, and I believe it. However, at this point, even if you know what is the use, the fight still has to be fought. We can only leave it to fate."

Zhang Jinyu didn't need anyone to remind him. It was too late to say anything now. It all depended on whether Wang Ziteng received the secret letter tomorrow and whether he could keep his footing, or lead his army to raid Lianshan County City and arrest all the officials. If it worked, even if they had any plans, it would be too late. The walls of Linshan County were strong and high, so it would be no problem to defend it for ten days or half a month.

But according to Wang Ziteng's personality, it is really unlikely that he can proceed step by step. In this case, the result is hard to predict.
Just as Zhang Jinyu and his group were preparing to go down the mountain, behind them, Bai Guangju, the Marquis of Xiangyang, trotted over and followed them, shouting;

"My Lord, my Lord, wait a moment, wait a moment."

Hearing the shouts behind him, Zhang Jinyu stopped and looked back, only to see Bai Guangju jogging after him. The other people had just left the palace gate.

"Brother Bai, slow down, what's the hurry?"

"My Lord, can you trust what the Prince of Han just said about the people of Linshan County under Wuzhou City?"

He looked anxious. Although he was not very proficient in military affairs, he was not completely ignorant. With the time difference, anything could happen.
Estimating the time, those Taiping Sect bandits arrived at the place earlier than the imperial army, so Wang Ziteng's troops were not in much danger.

Zhang Jinyu saw that Xiangyang Hou was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He smiled, grabbed Bai Guangju's sleeve, and walked down the stairs.
"Brother Bai, no matter it's true or not, even if it's true, do you think you can decide what will happen tomorrow? Wang Ziteng is now resting in Daliang City, and tomorrow's actions are still unclear. Even Pegasus can't fly there, so how can we pass on the order? I think everything is false, and strength is the most important thing. We will know after fighting."

After saying that, he raised his foot and stepped down the jade steps. Bai Guangju just stood there in a daze, speechless. There was some truth in what he said, but those people had taken longer to prepare, so wouldn’t they be at a disadvantage if a fight really broke out?

"What the Marquis said makes sense, but I still think that the bandits are better prepared. If a fight really breaks out, they will suffer."

Listening to Brother Bai's words, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but laugh out loud. It wasn't like they were playing in the mud and fighting.

"Brother Bai, you are joking. When two armies face off, life and death are left to fate. Whoever wants to retreat will surely lose. No matter what conspiracy the other side has, if the imperial army can't fight desperately in the field battle outside the city, how can they win?"

This is also the opinion of Zhang Jinyu's family. Even if the soldiers and armor are excellent and the food and grass are sufficient, if they can't even fight a field battle outside the city, then let alone other things, the general leading the troops might as well go home and sleep with his wife.

The tone was a bit heavy, so Bai Guangju couldn't refute it even if he wanted to. The Marquis was right. If we were afraid of even those rioters, what was the point of fighting a war?
"Your Majesty is right. I am just worried. I lost the initiative and am at a disadvantage. Your Majesty, wait a moment."

The two men talked as they went down the mountain one after another. The other marquises who fell behind them had solemn expressions. No one dared to say a word about what was happening here. After all, it involved Wang Ziteng's troops in the Beijing camp. If any disturbance was reported back to the capital and alarmed the palace, they would not be able to bear the responsibility.

So, at this moment, all of them kept silent and didn't say a word. Even Marquis Jinxiang walked to the side. Only Marquis Chuanning Miao Dayong followed him, opened his mouth, moved a little, and muttered something.

In the main hall of Honglu Temple,

Only a few princes of the royal palace are left.
They sat down separately again. The prince of Zheng, Zhou Zhengbai, touched his sleeves, his eyes fixed, and asked Zhou Xingshan, the prince of Han, who was sitting below him;

"Xingshan, are you sure those people came from Linshan County in southern Beijing?"

This question,
The atmosphere in the room became tense again. Except for Prince Zhou Lianghao of Wu, who didn't care about it, even Zhou Yewen and Zhou Yunfu were a little alert. The disaster victims from southern Beijing had arrived in Wuzhou, which meant one thing: either the county city was lost, or the thieves from the Taiping Sect had arrived there first. It was still unclear whether the county city was lost or not.

"Brother Shi, I will never speak carelessly about this matter. You also knew on the road that the convoy was behind me. I disguised myself and went ahead. When I met them, they were already in a mess. Although I didn't ask them in detail, their appearance didn't seem fake."

Zhou Xingshan nodded and thought about it. Although it was only a one-time encounter, it was unlikely that he could fake it to that extent. After all, the route he was taking was changed at the last minute.

Upon hearing this, the other princes all knew the truth, because they were also in the same situation, secretly disguising themselves, blending into the caravan, and sneaking into the capital. So what he said was true.

Zhou Zhengbai pondered for a moment, raised his head and smiled slightly.
"It is said that the Taiping Sect's bandits are refugees who can't achieve anything. This prince thinks that they are no worse than the White Lotus Sect back then. Although the imperial court has the upper hand, the enemy's troops arrived first and must have made preparations. Although I don't know what's going on in the south, it will be difficult for Wang Ziteng's troops to win."

He was a little unsure. He thought the imperial army would win the battle and become the overwhelming force. Who could have thought that a small matter would make Jingnan so confusing? Moreover, the entire imperial court did not have any news about Jingnan. It was too weird.

"That's true, but are those peasants that powerful? The walls of Linshan County are strong and high, and a few peasants want to take it for themselves? I don't believe it, I don't believe it."

Zhou Yewen, the prince of Song on the other side, was not willing to believe it and shook his head. Let alone other things, although he had never seen a war, he knew that it was nothing more than the advantage of weapons and armor, and sufficient food and grass. How much strength could a group of mud legs have?
"Yes, Brother Shi, the reputation of the Taiping Cult began at the beginning of the year when they robbed silver in the capital. They were said to be brave, but unfortunately they had no weapons or armor, and they didn't know how to fight. They were quickly wiped out. They did have some fame, but if the two armies really fought, how could they win? After all, those government troops were also separated from the Beijing camp that year."

Zhou Yunfu, the son of Prince Chen, once had the honor of leading a battalion of soldiers. He understood some strategies of battle formations. It would be difficult for him to defeat the imperial army.

"Haha, well said, but you overlooked one point. Now that Lin Yue Mansion in southern Beijing has been lost, we have the weapons and armor we need. If we take over the county city, we will also have food and grass. In this case, if it were you, you would not be afraid of the imperial court's troops. We must fight, just in case we win!"

Zhou Zhengbai paused, then smiled slightly. If the imperial army was defeated, the news would definitely spread to the capital, causing a stir in the world. At that time, all the people who should and shouldn't come would come out. Their chance had come, and whether they could succeed or not depended on their own abilities.

Several princes were shocked, and kept many words in their hearts, thinking carefully.
At this moment, silence was better than words. Everyone clasped their fists to say goodbye and hurriedly left the hall.

Under the city of Daliang,
In the big tent of Zuoying,
Wang Ziteng sat in the main seat with a gloomy face. The two sides of the hall were filled with the main generals of the army. The two generals of the central army guarding the flanks, Wang Ren and Jia Lian, stood there with pale faces.

"Why did you two come back at this time? And with so many wounded soldiers, what kind of troops did you encounter?"

This question attracted the attention of many generals in the tent. Jia Lian swallowed his saliva and looked at his eldest brother Wang Ren. He saw that Wang Ren's left arm was stabbed and had just been treated with medicine. The wound was still bleeding.
I spoke up with all my heart.
"General, General Wang and I each led 5,000 cavalrymen to quickly march south to check the situation in the county city. We thought that a quick march would take half a day to go back and forth, but when we were less than ten miles away, we saw that the main force of the Taiping Sect had set up camp on the north side of the county city, and there were heavy troops guarding the official road. General Wang and I were afraid that there would be changes in the county city, so we led our troops to raid their left camp. What a pity."

Jia Lian was still a little frightened, and in that instant, he rushed forward. Fortunately, his personal soldiers protected him and he escaped.
Wang Ren stood aside.
The corners of my mouth twitched, the wound was torn all the way, and the pain was somewhat numb.
"Unfortunately, the other side had already prepared. After we tore open the hole, some of the scouts rushed over. We led our troops to fight with them, and in just half an hour, we lost more than half of our troops. But the scouts came back and told us about the situation in the county city?"

Wang Ren had not expected that those bandits were so powerful. Although he broke through the enemy's formation and killed many of them, he himself suffered heavy casualties. The loss outweighed the gain, and he felt a little regretful in his heart.
Wang Ziteng, who was sitting in the main seat, frowned. He didn't care how many people died. In a war, there would always be casualties.
"What did those scouts say?"

"Reporting to the commander, the scouts said that the enemy army is besieging the city and attacking the three gates at the same time. The attack is very urgent. I am afraid that the situation is very dangerous. A large number of soldiers and horses are gathered under the south city. The number of people is unimaginable."

Wang Ren swallowed his saliva, raised his head with difficulty and replied,
“Can you estimate how many people there are?”

Lu Daiyuan was also a little bit unbelievable. Why were there so many people? He asked anxiously,
"To the Jiedushi, there are no less than 350,000 people."

These words were spoken by Jia Lian with a trembling voice. How could he fight against an enemy force that was twice his size? He was still a little scared. Why did he just rush forward? Although he did not kill any enemy soldiers with his own hands, he was almost confused.

After hearing the two's explanation, the remaining generals all looked solemn. They sat there with their heads held high, thinking about what was going on.

"No way, with so many people, how many armored soldiers are there?"

Lu Daiyuan was a little skeptical and asked in particular, "No matter how many soldiers and armor there are, without armor, they are just a mob. If they are equipped with armor, it will be troublesome.

Wang Ren and Jia Lian looked at each other. They themselves were a little bit unconvinced, but the 100,000 troops who were blocking their way were all wearing armor, and they were all standard imperial armor. How could they explain it?
"Reporting to the commander, Lü Jiedu, there are nearly 100,000 soldiers blocking the road. Everyone is wearing armor, and they are all from the imperial court, the imperial court's standard armor. It is difficult to tell whether they are from the imperial court or the Taiping Sect."

As he spoke, cold sweat ran down his cheeks. He dared not say anything nonsense.

"How is it possible? There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and armors, and they are the imperial court's military equipment. Who gave them this?"

Lu Daiyuan exclaimed and stood up from his seat. This was a big deal. One hundred thousand soldiers and armors were as many as them. How could they fight against three hundred thousand people?
Hu Le, the right-hand officer of Hongnong, was also a little skeptical. He calculated in his mind that if there were really 100,000 soldiers and armor, the odds of winning or losing would be fifty-fifty. After all, the enemy had three times as many people as them. Even if they had cavalry to help, they still had to rely on infantry to fight. There were many advantages in battle formations. Perhaps they were just some rioters who put on armor to boost their morale. When this thought came out, even he himself felt skeptical.
"General Lu, don't worry. I don't know who gave them these weapons and armors. Since the county city is under siege, Linyue Mansion, Chenzhou City, and Weizhou and other places in the south must have been lost. There are many weapons and armors in the warehouses of these cities, especially Linyue Mansion. There are more than ten thousand weapons and armors in the inventory alone. So, if they can gather all these, they really have the ability."

This was also Hu Le's guess. Although he was not clear about the situation, it should be about the same. The Hedong General, Peng Shiying, on the opposite side, was horrified and refuted;

"General Hu, according to your calculation, there is no place in the entire southern part of Beijing that is controlled by the imperial court? One hundred thousand soldiers and armors is not a small number. We can only plunder the treasuries of all the prefectures in southern Beijing and concentrate them together. So, what you said is not accurate."

The voice was a little strange. Peng Shiying was not deliberately making things difficult. It was really unbelievable. When did the south of Beijing become so chaotic? The capital, and even the whole country, didn't know about it. But I remember when the White Lotus Sect was causing chaos, the whole world was shouting about it, and even the borders knew about it.

Seeing that his words were questioned, Hu Le sneered.
"General Peng, who do you think can defend the various prefectures south of Beijing against an army of 300,000? If you were to lead the troops to defend the city, your fate would not be much better,"

The irony was so strong that Peng Shiying was shocked.
"you."

"Okay, let's talk, but it's not proper to argue like this."

at this time,

Wang Ziteng slammed the table and scolded,
Seeing this, the two men shut up, clasped their fists, bowed to Wang Ziteng who was sitting at the main seat, and

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

They sat down and everyone looked at him. Wang Ziteng took out the secret letter from his sleeve. After a moment of silence, he spread the secret letter on the table.
"Jia Lian, pass this secret letter down one by one."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

The more mysterious it was, the more curious people became. Jia Lian was not surprised. He took a few steps forward and took the secret letter on the table in his hand. He glanced at it and was shocked. He did not dare to neglect it. He took it from Jiedushi Lu and showed it to Jiedushi first.
Lu Daiyuan took the secret letter with doubt. After just one glance, he was shocked. He said nothing and passed the secret letter to Jia Lian, who then passed it to General Peng. After going around in a circle,
Until the end, General Hu, who was sitting on the left, finished reading the secret letter and put it back on the table in front of the general.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Wang Ziteng pondered for a moment and asked;

"Everyone, I have read the letter and learned about the enemy's movements. Linshan County City has not been lost yet. The capital has also issued two military orders, one is to go straight to the county city and defend it, and the other is to defend Daliang City. Now, the city has not been lost, but we are a step too slow. If we do not move here, I don't know how long the county city can hold out. So, should we advance or defend?"

at this time,

Wang Ziteng, who was originally cautious, also felt a little regretful. If he had been faster on the road, he might have arrived at Linshan County City earlier. However, he thought about the secret letter from the capital, and the officials in the county city were not trustworthy. He didn't know whether it was true or false, so he was in a dilemma.
To rescue them, he needs to lead the troops south and fight them head-on. If he doesn't go, the county city will be lost, and he will have to watch the Taiping Sect grow stronger. The attack and defense will be reversed, and the situation in the south of Beijing will deteriorate, and even spread to the Central Plains. That will shake the whole country, and the court will be unstable. His tenure as the governor of the Beijing camp will also come to an end, and by that time, even a hundred deaths will not be enough to atone for his sins.

This question made the whole tent

Suddenly it became quiet.

There was only the bonfire in front of the tent door, burning vigorously and making crackling sounds. All the generals were silent in the tent. In the middle of the tent, Jia Lian and Wang Ren were still standing there. Wang Ziteng also felt sorry for them and waved his hand, asking them to find a place to sit down.

Jia Lian nodded and helped his elder brother Wang Ren to sit at the lower seat. As soon as he sat down, Wang Ziteng asked him:
"Jia Lian, now that you have seen those thieves, what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)