Chapter 385 Action
On the night when the envoy of the Black Horse Thieves came to see Zhang Dan, they were in a lishe a little further away from Dalu Ze.
At this time, the lights were dark, and the dilapidated community was naturally silent.
Suddenly, a gurgling sound came.
Then a dark shadow walked towards the inner door, and then several night owl sounds were heard.
This time the sound of the night owl was heard several times, and then there was some movement on the inner door.
Then I heard the prison cat behind the inner door here asking:
"Who's out there?"
A smile came from the darkness outside:
"It's me."
The inner supervisor was stiff for a while, and then said to the outside:
"Wait a minute, I'll open the door secretly."
Before he finished speaking, the inner door opened with a creaking sound.
The black shadow muttered:
"Why is it so slow this time? I haven't given you less money and food for a year, right?"
But before he could finish his words, he stopped as soon as he stepped through the door.
I saw five or six strangers looking at me with evil intentions, and my brother who stayed in the village was being tied up and looking at me with horrified eyes.
At this moment, the man's ghost was so strong that he turned around and ran away.
But a strong man came up from behind and grabbed his collar and threw him to the ground. The baggage he was carrying was also thrown out, revealing the luster of golden copper coins.
This person was about to get up when someone caught up behind him and held him down.
Then he listened to the strong man’s order:
"Light the torch."
After that, someone lit the prepared rosin torch and put it in front of the captured man's face.
The man here had a curly beard and wide eyes, and his eyes were fierce, looking at the strong man fiercely.
The strong man turned to the supervisor there and said:
"Is this person Huang Uncle?"
The prison guard nodded hurriedly and said:
"That's right, this person is Uncle Huang, the Fifth Chief of the Black Horse Thief."
The strong man laughed heartily and said happily to his subordinates:
"Come on, let's take this man back and take everyone else away with him."
After saying that, he also said to the supervisor there:
"Come back and stay with us for a few days. It won't be a problem."
The Limen Supervisor had no choice at the moment, so he could only bow and nod.
……
This time the arrest went very smoothly.
The people responsible for this arrest were spies from the Feijun Foreign Army. They had been lurking around here for a long time, and finally got some valuable information from these local people.
It turns out that this place not too close to Dalu Ze actually has the fifth leader of the Dark Horse Thief.
This man's name is Uncle Huang. He was a member of the community here in his early years. By various chances, he became the fifth leader of the Dark Horse Thieves.
The flying army spies lurking here learned from the villagers that Uncle Huang would come back every once in a while to deliver money and food to his family in the middle of the night.
This matter is not a secret in the society, but no one will take the initiative to seek an official position, but this does not prevent them from being jealous, so there are many rumors.
After obtaining this information, the spies reported it to the military government. In the end, Zhang Dan and Xun You unanimously decided to use this man named Huang Bo as the breakthrough point in this battle.
After Uncle Huang was arrested, he didn't last long before he vomited.
Now the Taishan Army not only knew the location of the Black Horse Thief in the swamp, but also knew the route to enter the swamp.
As for how Uncle Huang was recruited? Needless to say, after all, no one wants their child to be without a father, right?
After obtaining this information, Zhang Dan urgently discussed with Xun You and other officials, and decided to quickly launch an attack on the black horse thieves before the news of Huang Bo's arrest was leaked.
I learned from Uncle Huang that the black horse thief at this time cannot be underestimated. Thanks to the funding from the five Han commanderies, the Black Horse Bandits successively annexed many Zezhong water bandits, forming a frontier with thousands of bandits and an internal army of five thousand.
Therefore, in this attack, Zhang Dan decided to take the whole army together to complete the necessary task.
……
Also on this night, the envoys from the five Han commanderies and the black horse thief Zheng Fu were celebrating wine and discussing matters in the water village.
Although the Black Horse Bandits have become more powerful, they are actually still a group of water bandits, so the cocktail party is a mess, with drunken people lying on the ground and people fighting and causing trouble everywhere.
But in the central hall of Shuizhai, Zheng Fu and his followers listened carefully to the suggestions of the five commanderies.
One of them, Diao Liang, was sent from Bohai County. He was talking about the Taishan Army.
His clear voice seemed so out of place with the fishy smell here:
"Chief Zheng has more than ten thousand people now, but his plan has not yet been decided, which is a pity. I have always known Zhang Dan, the Taishan Army, and he is both wise and brave. If we had not planned it earlier, I might have done something unbearable."
Zheng Fu had difficulty listening to these words, but he still listened hard. He respected scholars like Diao Liang very much, and had always hoped that a few scholars would join him, but it was a pity that who would take a group of water bandits as their own? thing?
So after listening to Diao Liang's words, Zheng Fu frowned and asked Diao Liang for advice:
"I wonder what Diao Sheng can teach me?"
Diao Liang exchanged glances with the people beside him, and then told them all the strategies they had discussed:
"Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, Chief Zheng should take the lead before the Taishan army pays attention to the leader and before the troops are concentrated. The leader can quickly lead troops to capture Julu, rely on the city walls and seize the treasury. Then send troops Five thousand soldiers guarded Pingxiang and built barriers to block the enemies from the west. Later, they joined forces with Guangzong Huangjin, saying that if they blocked the Taishan bandits from the west, they would definitely gain their support."
Seeing that Zheng Fu remained silent, Diao Liang continued:
"Once the leader can hold the Taishan bandits at Julu, their rear will be empty. At that time, after I have attacked the bandits in Anping, Qinghe, and Bohai, I will attack the north of the bandits in Changshan, Zhongshan, and Hejian, and I will surely gain victory in one fell swoop."
But Diao Liang saw that Zheng Fu didn't seem to be very interested in this rhetoric, so he immediately changed it:
"And when there is chaos behind the Taishan bandits, will they still be able to hold a stalemate with you, the leader? At that time, the leader can march west of Julu and plunder the Zhao Kingdom to strengthen the army. In this way, leader, you can capture all the land of Julu. At that time, I will be the leader and you will be the governor of Julu. I don’t know whether my descendants will be able to protect you, but you, the leader, will have no worries in your life.”
When he mentioned this, Zheng Fu's eyes really brightened up, but he didn't know what else he was thinking of. Zheng Fu slapped his mouth and said:
"Drunk, drunk, let's discuss it tomorrow."
After saying that, Zheng Fu pretended to be drunk, hugged a woman and stuffed his face into his arms.
When Diao Liang saw that his strategy was not working for this person, he was upset and left the hall under the influence of drunkenness.
As soon as Diao Liang and others came out, Li Mo, the envoy from Anping, also came out.
Seeing Diao Liang and others blowing in the wind lonely there, Li Mo stepped forward to talk:
"For example, Vice Envoy Diao's plan is the work of a hero? Who is Zheng Fu? He is just a mediocre dog, and he is just a housekeeper. When he heard that he was going to make a fortune, he must have been unhappy in every way. So Vice Envoy Diao made you You are playing the piano to a cow." When Diao Liang saw that it was Li Mo who was speaking, he snorted:
"Don't talk sarcastically here. Don't you know what the situation is now? Don't talk about me, Bohai County, just talk about your Anping country. There is the Yellow Turban Army in the south and the Taishan Army in the west. It is in danger. It shouldn't be more anxious than our Bohai County. ”
Li Mo fell silent and said honestly to Diao Liang:
"Brother Diao, you wrongly blamed me. I have no ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, I am here to cooperate with Brother Diao. Now there is no hope of convincing Zheng Fu, so why not listen to our strategy?"
Diao Liang turned his head, looked at Li Mo, and said:
"You? Who else do you have?"
Li Mo said this:
"Now that Shen Rong from Qinghe and Zhang Jiu from Hejian are on our side, are you planning to take another path?"
Seeing Diao Liang's interest, Li Mo smiled and said:
"This water village is full of muddy wine, which is not refreshing, so why don't Brother Diao come to my place and use a few more bottles together."
So, Diao Liang and others started the next scene, and Zheng Fu, who was already drunk in the hall, didn't even know.
The Zefeng is so strong this night, oh, it’s such a monster.
……
On the second day, on the wild road to Dalu Ze, an army of five to six thousand people was meandering. The surroundings were green willows and red flowers, which washed away a lot of the chill that should have been there.
But before the army, this was not the case.
The sentinels, composed of Feijun Youyi and spies, began to scout for thirty miles and supervised all the woodcutter and settlements they saw along the way to ensure the secrecy of the operation.
There are not many settlements on this road, so so far, the Taishan Army's actions are still under control.
It was also on this road that Zhang Danzheng, the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression, was chatting with Xun You on horseback:
"Chang Shi, this extermination of the black horse thieves is the beginning, what should we do next?"
Xun You replied seriously:
"After the Black Horse Bandits were wiped out, our army has already used thunderous tactics. The bandits in the swamp must have no intention of resisting anymore. At this time, we must show kindness and attract the bandits in the swamp to come out and resettle. Only by using this combination of suppression and appeasement can we The mainland is flat.”
Zhang Dan nodded, agreeing with Xun You's judgment. In fact, this was what Zhang Chong reminded him repeatedly. He should not just suppress with violence, but should give ordinary bandits a way to survive.
In this action, Zhang Dan didn't seem to do anything, but behind the scenes that many people couldn't see, Zhang Dan had already made a big move.
Zheng Fu had taken some from Ren County before. Although they were evacuated later, a lot of spies were hidden in the city. These people colluded with the small officials in the city. As early as when the city was broken, these In order to save the life of his family, he had already sold himself to Zheng Fu.
With the supply and protection of local cunning officials, these craftsmen knew all the situation in the city. It can be said that before the Taishan Army's bandit-suppressing army came, although Ren County belonged to the Taishan Army on the surface, But everyone knows that the black horse thief Zheng Fu is the real master of this city.
As soon as Zhang Dan entered Rencheng, he asked the flying army to investigate the detailed work in the city. When outsiders think that the Taishan Army is sitting quietly, in the dark, the Taishan Army's intelligence system has long been fighting.
It was only after completely destroying the craftsmen in the city that Zhang Dan decided to send out the army, otherwise he would have been discovered by the water bandits in Dalu Ze.
After Zhang Dan entered the city, he also did one more thing, which was to ask Julu counties to open their warehouses to help the poor and weak people.
There was still a lot of talk in the army at that time. For example, Pan Zhang advised Zhang Dan:
"The water bandits have not been wiped out in the mainland. These warehouse rice are exactly what is going to be used for this matter. It is better not to let them go."
But Zhang Dan smiled, pointed at Pan Zhang and said to Xie Bi:
"Lao Xie, take more Pan Zhang with you from now on, this little Pan is still not very smart."
At that time, all the generals present burst into laughter, and Pan Zhang was stunned and didn't know what his mistake was.
In addition to these, Zhang Dan also did something that puzzled everyone, that is, even if he stood still, why didn't he build some beacons, so that after the thieves emerged, they could send troops to support them as soon as possible.
But these people have no idea what Zhang Dan wants. Will it take him how many years to kill a thief? Still spending money to repair beacons?
Zhang Dan has Zhang Dan's pride. Although he is stable, he has already made a plan in his heart to kill the thief with one blow. Zhang Dan has made too many preparations for this.
For the guide, Zhang Dan specifically found more than a hundred local people.
Each of these locals had a grudge against the Black Horse Thieves. They had either been bullied or had family members killed at their hands.
Don't think that the black horse thief is a righteous thief, and that rabbits don't eat grass beside their nests. In fact, thieves are thieves. They need villagers to pass on information and resell stolen goods, not to protect them.
So the dark horse thieves only need to collude with a few powerful people. As for the other Guizhou leaders? Instead, they want to work with those powerful families to jointly exploit.
Zhang Dan knew the importance of human relationships as soon as he arrived, and also knew that there were friends among enemies, and who could become his friends, so he worked hard to find these locals with blood feuds and recruited them as guides.
The road that the Taishan Army is taking now is taken by the locals. It is indeed very secretive, but the disadvantage is that it cannot use large vehicles.
If you can't move a large cart, you won't be able to carry a lot of luggage, and you won't be able to wear armor for everyone. It's definitely risky, but the risk is worth it.
Just as Zhang Dan and Xun You were chatting about the specific details of recruiting water bandits later. A rider came from the front and told a message:
"Xiao Lieutenant, thanks Sima Chu from the front for reporting that Xu Jian, a young commander from another unit guarding the thieves, led his troops out of the stronghold to surrender."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Dan frowned, and then asked Xun You next to him:
"Chang Shi, is this news leaked?"
Xun You thought for a while and said to Zhang Dan:
"Colonel Lieutenant, now we have controlled the young commander from another department. Why do we release him first?"
Zhang Dan nodded, and then led the Chinese soldiers and galloped to the front of the team.
At this time, Zhang Dan saw a group of water bandits lying on the ground like refugees, while Xie Bi was standing next to a black man like an old farmer, not knowing what to say.
Zhang Dan first dismounted, then walked to Xie Bi's side:
"Are you that Xu Jian?"
The kneeling black man was so lean that he seemed to have only a skeleton left. After hearing Zhang Dan's words, the man immediately realized that this was a big shot in the Taishan Army, so he burst into tears:
"The general came so late. We were waiting for Taishan's army until our eyes went blind. The black horse thieves were just a bunch of beasts, and they bullied us so hard."
Later, Zhang Dan learned the whole story from Xu Jian's mouth.
It turns out that Xu Jian and his group were also a group of small water bandits in Zezhong, but they were beaten to death by the Dark Horse Pirates some time ago. After being annexed, Xu Jian and others were thrown into this waterway to serve as garrison soldiers, and they obviously did not regard them as their own.
With no supplies and no settlement nearby, Xu Jian and others could only randomly catch some fish and shrimps in the marsh to satisfy their hunger, but the more they ate, the hungrier they became.
It was also at this time that they saw the soldiers and horses of the Taishan Army and knew what was going to happen next. So Xu Jian discussed it with several of his confidants and decided to surrender to the Taishan Army.
After hearing the news, Zhang Dan assessed the authenticity in his mind, and then ordered:
"You are doing the right thing by surrendering, but you also need to make a contribution to show your difference from the bandits. I would like to let you be the vanguard and use your boats to lead troops to Zedao. Are you willing?"
After hearing this, Xu Jian suddenly raised his head and said hoarsely with his hungry green eyes:
"Can you give us some millet first?"
(End of chapter)