Please ask me to be the emperor

In the end, Zhang Shun accepted Ren Jirong's suggestion and personally led the six battalions of Zhang Sanbai, Xiao Qinhu, Jiang He, Chai Shihua, He Renlong and Bai Guangen, as well as baggage and artillery, a total of 20,000 horses to conquer Nanyang Mansion.

Originally, Zhang Shun planned to send Zhang Sanbai as commander to take charge of this operation.

But then he thought about it and realized that firstly, Zhang Sanbai's prestige was not enough to deter Chai Shihua, He Renlong and Bai Guangen from surrendering; secondly, the battle for Nanyang was extremely important from the perspective of the rebel strategy, and he had to be here in person. To ensure nothing goes wrong.

From Luoyang to Nanyang, it is about four hundred miles.

The general route is to first go to Yiyang and Ruzhou in Ruzhou, then go south through Lushan County, pass through Nanzhao and reach Nanyang.

Now Yiyang and Ruzhou have been occupied by the rebel Li Xin. Therefore, Zhang Shun was not in a hurry when he arrived. Instead, he rushed to Ruzhou with great fanfare, claiming to be "one hundred thousand".

From Luoyang to Ruzhou, Zhang Shun led the army and walked for three or four days before arriving.

After Zhang Shun entered Ruzhou City, he learned that Li Xin was impatient with waiting, so he personally led his troops east to attack Jiaxian County.

Those who came to greet Zhang Shun were Chen Jindou and Wei Jie, who was originally patrolling Henan and serving as a military commander.

It turned out that Wei Jie had supported Lu Xiangsheng with some troops since he received him, and he was in a tight situation.

However, Zhang Rujing unexpectedly made a surprise attack on Ruzhou City.

Lu Xiangsheng from his hometown led his elite troops to Song County to the west to fight against thieves. He spent a while and there would be no team changes in the west, so he transferred troops from other places to defend Dengfeng in the north and Yuzhou in the west. .

But he never expected that the rebel army would suddenly appear at the gate of Ruzhou City like a divine soldier descending from the sky.

Wei Jie's military tactics were far inferior to that of Wang Zhaosheng, the commander of the army in Jinan, Shanxi. Facing the surging rebel army, he was completely helpless.

In no time, after the rebels climbed onto the city wall of Ruzhou, Wei Jie led the remaining soldiers to surrender.

No wonder Wei Jie was so spineless. It turned out that he only thought that Lu Xiangsheng had led thousands of elites and his entire army had been wiped out. Naturally, he had no courage to compete with the rebels.

After the rebels occupied Ruzhou, Chen Changzhen sent someone to bring Li Jiyu's wife's token and recruited Li Jiyu in the name of Li Sanniang.

Li Jiyu was also shocked when he heard that the rebel army had conquered Ruzhou, so he had no choice but to lead his army and come obediently.

When the two sides gathered in Ruzhou, after discussion, it was finally decided that Chen Jindou would lead some of his cronies to stay here, and Chen Changzhen and Li Jyu would lead the main force to attack Lu Xiangsheng. This was the later capture of Lu Xiangsheng in Song County.

Zhang Shun and Chen Jindou have not seen each other for several months since they said goodbye in Dengfeng.

When Chen Jindou saw Zhang Shun coming in person, he couldn't help but let out a plop, knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "My lord, I haven't seen you for a long time, but you have lost a lot of weight!"

"I miss you so much in Dengfeng, but I have government affairs to deal with and I can't escape. I can't follow you and act like a horse for you!"

When he suddenly met Chen Jindou, Zhang Shun felt a bit happy about "meeting an old friend in a foreign country".

As a result, after hearing such flattering words from him, I couldn't even laugh or cry.

Zhang Shun couldn't help laughing and scolding: "With your body and bones, how can you still work as an ox or a horse for me? Firstly, you can't pull a plow, and secondly, you can't pull a cart. What's the use of being a pusher?"

Chen Jindou was thick-skinned and did not blush. He just responded with a smile: "Although I am a helper, I have read a few volumes of heavenly books in my dreams. I can at least advocate some destiny for my lord!"

Zhang Shun quickly asked Chen Jindou to help him up, and called Wei Jie, and the three of them divided their seats and sat down one after another. When Wei Jie saw that Zhang Shun and Chen Jindou were very close, he couldn't help but secretly thought: "It seems like this old guy Chen Jindou is not bragging. He really has the power of 'following the dragon'? I need to be careful!"

Although Wei Jie is a Confucian scholar, he still has doubts about some theories about ghosts and gods. Now he took the opportunity to observe Zhang Shun carefully and was shocked to see that he was, as Chen Jindou said, "born with bones of Fu Xi, eyes of Emperor Shun, and arms of Xuande."

Wei Jie couldn't help but secretly thought: "I heard that a king will emerge within five hundred years. Shouldn't it be this person?"

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhang Shun seemed to realize something and couldn't help but turn his head to look.

His eyes were like lightning. Wei Jie was so frightened that he trembled in his heart. He quickly lowered his eyebrows and cupped his hands and said, "The sinner's surname is Wei Mingjie and his courtesy name is Yingzhi. He has met His Highness King Shun!"

"Are you Wei Yingzhi of Henan Bingdao?" Zhang Shun nodded and asked, "I heard Chen Changzhen and Li Jiyu talk about you before. The uprising and dedication of the city was a great contribution to the people of Ruzhou, but it allowed me to build a lot less Kill the evildoer!"

"Don't dare, don't dare!" Wei Jie couldn't tell whether Zhang Shun meant good or bad things. As a "person who subdued thieves", he didn't dare to make any mistakes, so he had to respond vaguely.

Zhang Shun saw that he was a little reserved, so he asked him warmly what year, which subject, and what official position he had held. These were all things Wei Jie was proud of, and he quickly responded to them one by one.

When the atmosphere was almost calm, Zhang Shun asked with a smile: "As a patrol patrol in Henan and military preparation, do you know the roads and passes leading to Nanyang?"

"I've heard a little bit, I've heard a little bit!" Wei Jie was shocked when he heard it and responded quickly.

Wei Jie's command level is average, but that doesn't mean he has no knowledge. Since Zhang Shun led the army here and asked about the way to Nanyang Mansion, his purpose can be known!

He couldn't help but tell Zhang Shun: "Although Ruzhou is surrounded by mountains, it is also an important place for transportation from north to south and connecting east and west."

"From Ruzhou, go east along the Ruhe River and pass through Jiaxian County, then you will reach Xuzhou in the east and Xiangcheng in the south. If you pass through Baofeng in the southeast to Ye County, then turn southwest toward Yuzhou, you can reach Nanyang. This road is a transportation highway. , the terrain is flat, which is convenient for marching, and it has been an important transportation route since ancient times."

"In the past, the Han Guangwu-Kunyang battle took place in its Ye County territory; Liu Huangshu's ambush at Bowangpo was also in its Yuzhou territory."

Kunyang war? I understand this, meteorite rain! When Zhang Shun heard this, he couldn't help laughing. It's just that Uncle Liu Huang ambushed Bowang Po. What the hell? Wasn't it Zhuge Liang who set Bowangpo on fire?

Zhang Shun subconsciously glanced at Gao Guiying, who was disguised as a man next to him. Unfortunately, Gao Guiying was not Li Xiang or Liu Rushi, who knew as much as he did.

Zhang Shun couldn't help but secretly made up his mind: Next time you go out, you must take Li Xiang or Liu Rushi with you, otherwise these Confucian scholars will always make allusions, which is really abominable!

Well, due to his limited knowledge, Zhang Shun had no choice but to stop talking and continued to ask: "Besides, are there any trails?"

"Yes!" Wei Jie responded, "Going south from Ruzhou, passing through Lushan County, passing Luyang Pass, to Nanzhao, and then to Nanyang Fucheng. Because this road needs to pass through Sanya, it is also called Sanya Road. .”

"Oh? Are they all those three crows?" Zhang Shun asked strangely.

"From south to north, the first crow is Baizhong Mountain, the second crow is the watershed, and the third crow is Luyang Pass!"

"The so-called 'Three Crows', that is, 'Three Passes', describes the land with many passes and steep roads. Therefore, this road has been called the 'surprise road' since ancient times. If the general wants to attack Nanyang, he should use a large army to force him to leave." County and Yuzhou, use surprise troops to come out of Sanya Road and attack behind, and the matter will be accomplished!"