Zhu Shengfei stroked his gray beard and said, "Since the general is the commander-in-chief of the East Road, I hope that the general will put the country and the country of the Song Dynasty first and not let the two armies kill each other! This will benefit the Kingdom of Jin."
Han Shizhong nodded, "Master Zhu is thinking the same thing as me. In this case, I will go to Xuzhou to restrain the three armies and never start the war lightly."
……
After Han Shizhong arrived in Xuzhou, according to Zhu Shengfei's words, he kept delaying on the grounds of preparing for war.
At the same time, the army led by Zhao Yingluo and Yue Fei was stationed in Xingzhou, and the [-] army led by Wang Zaixing was stationed in Wei County to guard against any changes in Daming Boyuan stationed [-] naval troops and [-] troops in Chanzhou to guard against Han Shizhong's troops.
Two veteran generals, Zongze and Li Gang, led 5 people from Kaifeng and arrived in Chenzhou and Guide Mansion in five days.
Further south from Chenzhou and Guide Mansion, the garrisons there are no longer under Zhao Yingluo's control.
August [-]th is the Mid-Autumn Festival. If you are in Kaifeng, the autumn corn harvest is in progress, and every farmer's face is filled with a smile of abundance.
The city must also be decorated with lights and colorful and lively at this time.
But in Chenzhou, the fields here are still growing cereals and millets with a maximum yield of no more than three stones per mu, and the farmers here are still living a life of not having enough to eat.
Comparing the two, Zongze felt more and more that it was right to support Zhao Yingluo!Even if she was supported to become the emperor, it was natural. After all, it was she who fed the people of the Song Dynasty, and it was she who made the backbone of the Song Dynasty no longer bend.
At the end of August, a hundred thousand troops led by Liu Guangshi arrived at Chenzhou City.
Under the setting sun, the old general stood on the tower of the southern city of Chenzhou, looking at the amiable fields in the dusk and the sparks of Liu Guangshi's army camp five miles away. Thinking about the upcoming head-on conflict with the imperial troops, a feeling of worry and anger surged into his heart.
The autumn wind blew his gray temples, and he bent his knees with tears streaming down his face, kneeling in the direction of Lin'an.
As soon as he knelt down, all the soldiers on the city wall knelt down immediately.
"The official family, the official family, it's not that I'm disloyal, but it's because you are stupid, provoking internal fratricide in the Song Dynasty, and attracting foreign thieves to steal the land in Hebei! Today, I will continue to perform my courtesy, and tomorrow I will be an enemy. Great Song Dynasty. The ancestors of the Song Dynasty are on top, and my heart is pure and pure for the Song Dynasty. The ancestors and clans of the Song Dynasty have spirit, and I guarantee that they will not be able to survive the war tomorrow."
After performing the courtesy, Zongze stood up and wiped away his muddy old tears, and said to the deputy general Wang Ce, "Send the order, make food at the third watch, and defend the city at the fourth watch! This battle will be a complete victory."
Deputy General Wang Ce took the order and then went down to the city.
……
After the army led by Liu Guangshi arrived in Chenzhou, he became upset when he heard that the man guarding the city on the opposite side was the old general Zongze.
"General Zong is loyal to the king and serves the country. Once he becomes hostile to our army, how can I attack him?"
Deputy General Wang Decao said in a rough voice, "General, our army has been ordered to attack the rebels, so what do we have to worry about?"
"I'm afraid I will be infamous forever!"
"Since ancient times, we have become kings and defeated enemies. What's more, our army is famous for its military skills. History books only praise generals for their bravery."
After some persuasion from Wang De, Liu Guangshi felt much less uneasy. After giving the order to attack the city the next day, he rested early. …
the next day, early morning
Liu Guangshi's army was in position and the siege equipment was ready. They only needed the general's order to attack Chenzhou City.
But Zongze did not just defend the city, but led an army of [-] people to form a formation under the city gate. On the left and right were the [-] fire gun troops allocated to him by Zhao Yingluo, followed by [-] cavalry, and then After that came the archers, and finally ten thousand infantry.
The old general Zongze was in the middle, clamped the horse's belly, and headed in the direction of Liu Guangshi's army. He did not stop until he was less than twenty feet away from Liu Guangshi.
"Please speak to General Liu!"
When Liu Guangshi saw this, he also rode forward, stopped only three feet away from him, bowed slightly and said, "I am wearing armor, please forgive me for not being able to be polite. Don't be offended, old general."
Zongze opened his eyes slightly and said with a vicissitudes of life, "You and I are enemies now, so we don't have to be so polite. I invite General Liu to come out and talk to me. I want to ask whether the general is fighting for the Song Dynasty and for the world." Fight for the people, or fight for incompetent officials?"
Liu Guangshi's expression changed when he saw him openly accusing the officials of being incompetent, "Did the old general's words exceed the rules? How can he say that the officials were not?"
"Is it foolish to reuse Qin Hui and other sycophants?"
"Is it foolish to deny the identity of the imperial sister based solely on the words of the Queen Mother and her family?"
"Is it cowardly to collude with the golden thieves to attack the Central Plains?"
"How can I not hate such a foolish Majesty, even if my old minister is loyal?"
The three consecutive questions made Liu Guangshi speechless. He wanted to refute for the officials, but he didn't know how to refute, so he could only say with high-sounding justice, "The officials are the sons of destiny, and the ministers can only remonstrate and correct the king's mistakes. How can you rebel so easily? I advise the old general to stop his troops immediately and serve the imperial court, and still preserve his reputation. Otherwise, the army will crush Kaifeng."
Zongze laughed loudly, "Famous integrity? When the officials colluded with the gold thieves, did they ever consider the face of the Song Dynasty? Now the officials take advantage of the unknown master, which makes the country uneasy and the people suffer. The general is actually in front of me Talking about Minister's Day? I would like to advise the general, when the two armies are fighting, the golden thief will be powerful. If the general can be considerate of the soldiers of the two armies and the dawn of the world, he must not use his sword lightly. If not, I am afraid that Chenzhou will be the burial place of the general."
Liu Guangshi sneered, "Although the old general is brave, he is old! For me, taking Chenzhou City is like picking something out of a bag."
Zongze smiled disapprovingly, pointed to the fire gun troops on both sides and said, "General, you only know that I am old, but do you know the power of those new weapons? Her Royal Highness the Princess defeated Yan Zonghan's [-] army with only a thousand fire gun soldiers. May I ask? Can the general defeat Wanyan Zonghan? If not, then give up the idea of starting a war as soon as possible."
After Zongze finished speaking, the two thousand gunmen uniformly lit the fuses and pointed their barrels at the sky. Smoke rose and the sound of banging was heard endlessly.
Liu Guangshi was shocked. He only estimated that his own strength was several times that of the opponent, but he ignored the fire gun soldiers!Although he didn't know the true power of the Fire Gun Soldiers, the time Her Royal Highness the Princess defeated Wanyan Zonghan was enough to illustrate the power of the Fire Gun Soldiers.
Zong Ze felt relieved when he saw the drastic change in his expression. Even before coming to Chenzhou, Her Royal Highness the Princess told him that although the Fire Gun Army could not completely determine victory or defeat on the battlefield, its deterrence should not be underestimated, and as expected.
"The general once led an army to fight against the gold thieves for the sake of the Song Dynasty. However, I still advise the general to withdraw his troops and return to the camp. How about seeing Her Royal Highness defeat the gold thieves in Hebei?"
Liu Guangshi's face darkened, "How did the old general know that Her Royal Highness the Princess would win?"
Zongze said unhurriedly, "Because in addition to the Fire Gun Soldier, Your Highness has also created a killing weapon that is several times more powerful than the Fire Gun Soldier! Even without this killing weapon, Her Highness the Princess can still win the battle! There is no reason why He, I believe she can perform miracles."
