Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 331: Two Soldiers Conspire
"You said they were going to go down the mountain and join the Tianping Army?!"

In the middle of the night, when Wang Zhongfu and his eight companions fled to Pengcheng, they immediately told Meng Qiu that Xu Ji and others from Longji Mountain were trying to go down the mountain and join Wang Xianzhi.

Meng Qiu, the governor of Xuzhou and commander of the Xu-Si militia, couldn't help but feel uneasy when he learned that the scattered Silver Knife Army was trying to unite and join Wang Xianzhi.

"Yes, sir!" Wang Zhongfu stood in front of the other seven people and took the initiative to bow and said:

"I wanted to persuade them to come down the mountain and surrender to the envoy, but when they learned that the Tianping army's rebels were so powerful, they immediately forced me to be their leader and lead them to join the rebels."

"I was terrified, so I could only lie and say that I would lead them down the mountain the next day. I brought my seven brothers down the mountain at night and told the envoy what was going on."

Facing Meng Qiu and Zhao Qian, Wang Zhongfu dared not hide anything. He just whitewashed himself a little and told them the whole story.

Meng Qiu was terrified. After all, the Silver Knife Army was famous, and he thought he was not as talented as Wang Shi, so he was not sure he could defeat the Silver Knife Army.

Thinking of this, Meng Qiu looked at Zhao Qian, who raised his chin towards Wang Zhongfu and the others:

"You guys go to Yin Hotel to rest first. With this merit, it won't be difficult to change into a good body."

"Yes, yes, yes... Thank you, General Zhao, and thank you, Envoy Meng..."

Wang Zhongfu and others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that they had been pardoned, and followed the Changshan Metropolitan Army's guards out of the main hall.

After they left, Meng Qiu looked at Zhao Qian anxiously: "Hui Ming, if the remnants of the Silver Blade Army join forces with the rebels, Xuzhou will be in danger!"

"Don't panic, sir!" Zhao Qian's tone was calm, giving people an inexplicable sense of security.

"Nearly a thousand remnants of the Silver Blade, Door Carving and other armies have been recruited by Wang Jinwu and the envoy. There are no more than three thousand people wandering around Longji Mountain."

"Even if they join the Tianping rebels, I am confident that I can defend Pengcheng. Your Excellency does not need to worry."

"The most urgent task is to see how the imperial court can urge the various towns to send reinforcements to Xu and Si to suppress the bandits!"

As Zhao Qian finished speaking, Meng Qiu gradually relaxed, while Zhao Qian cursed in his heart.

However, he did not think that Meng Qiu was incompetent. He just resented that Wang Xianzhi and his men rebelled at the wrong time.

Before Wang Shi was transferred, he had already told Zhao Qian how to deal with the group of silver-knife escapees from Longji Mountain.

The method Wang Shi gave to Zhao Qian was to boil a frog in warm water and gradually let things go.

If any of the Silver Knife deserters came down the mountain to surrender, we could simply recruit them as civilians and solve the problem of these more than 4,000 deserters in three to five years.

Originally, Zhao Qian and Meng Qiu had been working well together, and nearly a thousand Silver Knife deserters from around Longji Mountain had come down the mountain to accept the amnesty.

As for the remaining 3,000 deserters, 70% to 80% of their problems can be solved with five or six years of hard work at most.

As for those stubborn deserters, they would wait until most of the Silver Sword Army deserters were pacified, and then the Changshan Duya soldiers would search the mountains and seas, find them out from Longji Mountain and behead them as a warning to others.

The plan was a good one, but Wang Xianzhi mutinied and marched north, and even raised his flag in the Xu and Si areas, which disrupted the original plan of Wang Shi and Zhao Qian.

Thinking of this, Zhao Qian cursed inwardly, and at the same time he could only hope for reinforcements from the vassal states outside the Xu and Si areas to suppress the bandits.

With Changshandu's strength, it would be no problem to defend Pengcheng, but it's hard to say about other places...

While Zhao Qian was cursing inwardly, Pang Xun of Longji Mountain sent people to Suzhou to contact Wang Xianzhi as the head of the army.

Pang Xun sent the yamen officer Zhang Guan to Suzhou, and Zhang Guan was very fast.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the strong Zhang Guan led two silver-knife soldiers across the Tongji Canal and arrived at the place where the Tianping rebels were waving their flags in the north of Qi County.

What lay before them was a wasteland covered with snow and a huge camp that stretched between Qi County and the Tongji Canal official road.

The camp was three miles long from north to south and nearly two miles from east to west, and many of the nearby trees had been cut down.

There were rows of tree stumps in front of everyone, but the Tianping rebels did not have many horses. It was not until Zhang Guan and his men were less than five miles away from the camp that they were discovered by the Tianping rebels' pond soldiers.

"The defense is empty, but the pond soldiers are deployed."

"It seems that Wang Xianzhi is quite capable, but he doesn't have many elite troops under his command, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to send out only the Wulitang soldiers."

With just a simple test, Zhang Guan learned the level of Wang Xianzhi and the rebel soldiers through the rebel soldiers of the Tianping Army.

"Stop in front!!"

The Tangqi riding on a draft horse stopped Zhang Guan and others, and behind him were ten Butangs wearing cloth and holding harpoons.

Although they were from Butang, judging from their attire, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were refugees.

"Don't get me wrong, we are soldiers under the command of General Pang Xun, the general of the Silver Blade Army."

"I came here this time on the orders of my general to discuss matters with General Gao Jie!"

Although Zhang Guan looked down on this group of roving soldiers, since he was already here, he decided to go and see Wang Xianzhi, who claimed to be the deputy governor of the Tianping Army.

When the soldiers learned that the newcomers were the legendary Silver Knife Army, they immediately became chaotic.

After a while, they calmed down a little.

Natangqi rode forward and looked at Zhang Guan for a few seconds, then he gestured for them to follow.

Zhang Guan did not hesitate. He took two brothers and followed the Tang cavalry south. Soon they arrived at the camp of Wang Xianzhi and other rebel soldiers.

The environment inside the camp was terrible.

It is true that the Silver Knife Army is domineering, but the basis for their domineering attitude is their strength.

Ever since Wang Zhixing founded the Silver Sword Army, the Silver Sword Army has never dared to neglect training.

The rule of training once every five days and exercising once every ten days is the norm, and occasionally they will go out for training, marching and camping.

The Silver Sword Army has very high standards for building camps. Under normal circumstances, they need to send scouts to explore the surroundings and choose a place with water sources to set up camp.

If there are only small streams or lakes around the camp, the camp will usually be built on the spot.

If it is a big river or a larger river, then the camp must be a certain distance away from the river, and preferably in a place with a high slope, which is also to prevent the enemy from crossing the river at night to cause trouble.

If you choose to camp far away from a water source, the craftsmen in the camp will build a water supply system.

This water intake system is equivalent to using half bamboo pipes to connect the water source and the camp, and then using a cylinder-like facility to allow the water source to flow back into the bamboo pipes, and then the water flows along the bamboo pipes to the camp.

This is just the water source, the more important issue is the sanitation construction in the military camp...

In the camp, hygiene is actually what every general cares about most.

The camp is divided into several large and small camps, each housing dozens to hundreds of people. Each camp has one or two toilet-like facilities.

The toilets in the military camps were not just about digging a pit, but rather a circular pit. Medical officers would then sprinkle herbs on the bottom of the pit and add circulation holes to prevent the plague.

Not only that, the toilet must be far away from water and food sources, and not too close to the soldiers' tents.

Because of the strict standards, when Zhang Guan saw the situation in the camp, he became disgusted with this group of disorderly soldiers.

The Tianping rebels had no plan for the camp. Not only did they build their tents haphazardly, they even dug pit toilets next to their tents.

When Zhang Guan passed by, he seemed to be able to see the filth in the pit, which made him frown.

"If I live in the same camp with a group like this, I'm afraid I'll be infected with the plague before I even start fighting..."

When Zhang Guan was thinking this, he saw many soldiers in the camp wearing tattered clothes and holding various weapons.

They were either joking or picking their feet or fighting, or even picking lice out of their hair.

Faced with their image, Zhang Guan no longer had any expectations for Wang Xianzhi and others.

However, after they walked a few hundred steps into the camp, a small camp surrounded by wooden walls suddenly appeared in front of them.

The gate of the small camp was guarded by a hundred strong soldiers wearing heavy armor. They must be the elite of the Taiping Rebellion.

As Zhang Guan was thinking this, the Tianping rebels at the camp gate let him pass, but the person leading the way was replaced by a captain.

Compared with the group of roving soldiers outside, the Tianping rebels in the camp were obviously well-trained.

The camp was arranged in an orderly manner, with almost no breaks for patrolling, which was a very strict system.

With just a few glances, Zhang Guan knew the quality and combat effectiveness of the Tianping rebels.

He nodded secretly and retracted his previous opinion.

"It seems that they are just relying on the momentum of refugees and bandits. If war comes, they will still have to rely on these chaotic soldiers."

Zhang Guan was very active in his thinking, and at this time he was brought to the tent in the small camp.

There were already many generals in armor standing in the tent. The man in the main seat wore a robe over his armor, showing the difference in his status from the others.

"General, these are the people from the Silver Sword Army!" The captain who led the way bowed to Wang Xianzhi in the tent, and Zhang Guan followed suit and bowed:
"General Wang, I am a guard sent by Pang Xun, the captain of the Silver Blade Army. I have come to discuss with you about going down the mountain and joining forces."

"Don't delay, come in and explain things first."

Wang Xianzhi raised his chin and motioned him to go into the tent.

Zhang Guan was not afraid either. He walked into the tent immediately and then looked at Wang Xianzhi.

Wang Xianzhi was of average build, but had a strong physique, a dark face, and countless calluses on his hands. He was a good weapon user.

"I have heard of the reputation of the Silver Blade Army, but you were defeated by Wang Shi. If you had the strength, why did you wait until today to start the rebellion?"

Wang Xianzhi raised doubts. After all, the Silver Knife Army was famous, and he didn't believe that if the Silver Knife Army had the strength, they would stay on Dragon Ridge Mountain honestly.

Facing Wang Xianzhi's doubts, Zhang Guan also explained:
"To be honest, our army originally planned to spend some money, try some connections, and then go down the mountain to continue our military service."

"But now that Marshal Wang Jie is here, we naturally don't want to hand our lives over to others."

"What man is willing to be a headless, familyless, little colonel?"

"We have a chance today. If we don't try, how can we know that we will never succeed?"

Unlike Wang Xianzhi who was coerced, Zhang Guan and his men from the Silver Knife Army pushed Pang Xun to be the scapegoat.

If the imperial court did not need Pang Xun when it offered amnesty, then they would just get rid of Pang Xun, accept the amnesty, and take the official position.

In just a few words, although Pang Xun was not mentioned, Wang Xianzhi still saw what the Silver Knife Army was thinking.

While sympathizing with Pang Xun, he couldn't help but secretly sneer in his heart: "These guards are really dirty. They kill their own people just because they want to."

While thinking, Wang Xianzhi pondered and said, "Do you want to come down the mountain and rest with me for a few days, or start a new business and raise your own flag?"

"It would be best if we could join your camp, but we still need to know where you will be going in the future."

Zhang Guan and others hoped to be recruited. If they could join Wang Xianzhi's camp, they would go from being the masterminds of the Longji Mountain Silver Knife Army to being the followers of the rebels.

It's just a difference of one word, but the difficulty of being recruited is reduced dramatically.

"You bastard, you bastard!"

Wang Xianzhi cursed in his heart, he also saw that the Silver Knife Army was trying to use him as a springboard.

But after he thought about it for a moment, he felt that it was not impossible.

The Silver Knife Army wanted to use him as a springboard to accept the amnesty, but why couldn't he use the reputation of the Silver Knife Army to recruit more bandits and refugees?
There are many iron mines in the Xu-Si area, and there are blacksmiths among the refugees recruited by the army.

If the Silver Knife Army joined, the imperial court would not dare to mobilize troops against them immediately. At that time, he could take the opportunity to build weapons and armor, and select some elite troops from the bandits and refugees to expand his own strength.

Thinking of this, Wang Xianzhi nodded and said, "The camp gate here has been opened to the Silver Blade Army. As long as Zhang Yaya doesn't mind, you can come here and join me today."

"That's great. I'll take my leave then." Seeing that his plan was successful, Zhang Guan proudly left the tent.

After he left, Shang Junchang and Shang Rang looked at Wang Xianzhi, both of them frowned and expressed their opinions.

"General Jie, this group of Silver Sabre soldiers have a very bad reputation. If they cause chaos, I'm afraid we won't be able to suppress them."

"Yes, Marshal Jie, why did you get involved with them?"

The two brothers were puzzled. After all, the Silver Blade Army's reputation was mostly due to the dirty deeds they did.

However, Wang Xianzhi comforted the two and said, "They need our power to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty, and we also need them to strengthen our momentum."

"Although they are now led by us, when the government troops recruit us, they will no longer have the final say!"

After hearing this, Shang Junchang and Shang Rang felt a little relieved.

Wang Xianzhi continued, "You have all seen the quality of those bandits and refugees."

"Although there are thousands of people coming to surrender every day, most of them are vagrants and stragglers. They are just a burden on the battlefield."

"Right now, I need to use the might of the Silver Sword Army to intimidate the surrounding vassal states, and at the same time seize the iron mines outside the three states of Xu, Si and Su, so that the blacksmiths can make armor."

"The longer we wait, the more new recruits we can train!"

Wang Xianzhi said this and looked at Shang Rang: "I'll leave the task of seizing the iron ore and forging the armor to you."

"Later, you will lead two hundred old brothers and twenty thousand bandits out of the camp. Your brother and I will continue to wave the flag here."

"Yes!" Shang Rang bowed quickly, then took the military order and led 200 veteran soldiers and 20,000 bandits out of the camp and spread out to all directions.

It had been five days since Wang Xianzhi entered Suzhou, and more and more refugees and bandits had come to seek refuge with him, numbering no less than 30,000.

Even if Shang Rang took away 20,000 people, he could quickly build up a team with the help of bandits and refugees in Henan and Huainan areas.

Two days later, Pang Xun got the news from Zhang Guan and immediately began searching for the scattered Silver Blade Army deserters in Longji Mountain, preparing to gather up most of the deserters before joining forces with Wang Xianzhi.

While he was establishing contact with Wang Xianzhi, Meng Qiu of Pengcheng also relied on Wang Zhongfu's confession to write about the joining forces of Tianping and Yindao rebels in a memorial and sent it to Chang'an by light cavalry.

When the light cavalry delivered the memorial to Chang'an, it was already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, only one day away from New Year's Eve.

Li Yi's mood was not good to begin with, and it became even worse because of this memorial.

"What is Linghu Tao doing?!"

The reason why he was in a bad mood was that Bi Zhen, who always contradicted him, died of illness in his mansion a few days ago.

Although Bi Zhen's advice made him uncomfortable, he knew the benefits of Bi Zhen's life.

Bi Zhen's character is trustworthy, and most of the things he advised had their reasons, but Li Yi was unable to solve them.

After losing such a person, he would have to select capable ministers to assist him again. How could Li Yi be in a good mood?
However, he never expected that before he could get over the grief of Bi Zhen’s death, the Xusi area gave him another "surprise".

"The Silver Blade deserters joined forces with the Tianping rebels. There are no less than 3,000 rebels, and tens of thousands of bandits."

"I have long allowed Linghu Tao to act at his own discretion. Why has the army stopped moving forward? After more than half a month, not only has there been no progress in rounding up the rebels, but the rebels have also been allowed to occupy Suzhou?!"

Li Yi threw the memorial in his hand on the Purple Palace. The officials who rarely saw the emperor also bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down..."

"Calm down?" Li Yi laughed angrily. With the current situation, how could he calm down?
Thinking of this, his gaze inevitably turned to the first three rows of the officials' team.

Pei Xiu was bedridden. The only people in the first three rows who left a deep impression on him were Prime Minister Jiang Shen, Vice Minister of War Lu Yan, and Gao Qu (qú).

In addition, there were officials such as Wang Shi and Xu Shang who were transferred to Beijing.

Of course, among them were Zhang Huaiding, whom he was familiar with, and his father Zhang Yichao.

Facing this group of officials, Li Yi felt a little bit difficult.

Zhang Huaiding was in charge of the Left and Right Shenwu Armies, and Zhang Yichao had a Helong background and could not be used.

Wang Shi and Xu Shang had just been transferred to the capital and needed to be examined before they could be granted official positions.

Jiang Shen was not good at military affairs, so he could only rely on Lu Yan and Gao Qu.

Thinking of this, Li Yi asked the two men, "Ministry of War, how should we deal with the current situation?"

"Your Majesty..." Seeing the situation, Lu Yan immediately bowed and said:

"It will take time to deliver the imperial edict. I'm afraid that Minister Linghu has just received the imperial edict and is currently dispatching troops from the four towns."

Facing Lu Yan's optimism, Gao Qu shook his head and stood up, holding a tablet and bowing, saying: "Your Majesty, there are many bandits and refugees in the Hehuai and Huaihe regions. If we cannot quickly resolve the rebellious soldiers, I am afraid it will cause unrest in the two regions."

"Minister Gao is a little too worried..."

Lu Yan was dissatisfied with Gao Qu's opposition to him, but before he could finish his words, Gao Qu interrupted him and asked:
"The bandits stationed their troops in Qi County, only 20 miles away from the Tongji Canal."

"If the bandits cut off the grain transport, will the millions of people in the two capitals have to dig in the ground and eat grass?"

"Ridiculous!" Lu Yan interrupted hastily, bowing to Li Yi and saying:

"Suzhou is surrounded by many towns. If the bandits dare to cut off the canal transportation, they will be wiped out in a few days!"

"Minister Lu, please stop disrupting the court!"

Gao Qu saw that Lu Yan had no foresight at all and kept interrupting his suggestions, so he immediately got angry.

"Who is disturbing the government?!" Lu Yan glared at Gao Qu:

"Since ancient times, I have never heard of rebel soldiers and refugees being able to accomplish anything. Minister Gao, please…"

Before Lu Yan finished speaking, Gao Qu interrupted him and said angrily:
"Have you not seen Chen Sheng and Wu Guang?!"

(End of this chapter)