Outside the south gate of Jiangling City, the stout Zuo Mengeng, dressed in linen and filial piety, was sitting in the reception pavilion. Three thousand servants of the Zuo family in white clothes and armor lined up outside the reception pavilion, just waiting quietly.

This scene looks a bit like reviewing the army and preparing to go out for war. The expression on the face of each servant of the Zuo family is not sadness, but the kind of breathless and nervous feeling that only appears before the war is approaching.

Atmosphere. Ever since Zuo Mengeng, everyone has been uneasy.

The general soldiers of each battalion who had arrived in Jiangling to attend Zuo Liangyu's funeral also wore white clothes over their official uniforms. Each of them had a ponytail, and they all sat outside the reception pavilion and waited. Look at me, and I'll look at you.

Then he looked away and no one said anything.

All the generals, big and small, under General Zuo are not here yet. There is also a shortage of General Jin Shenghuan, the general guarding the Chengtian Mansion with tens of thousands of troops stationed in Yiling, who has not arrived yet!

Today, everyone followed Zuo Mengeng out of the city and arrived at the Jieguan Pavilion on the bank of the Yangtze River to greet He Tengjiao and others who came to Jingzhou Mansion to express their condolences to Zuo Liangyu.

Officials from Hunan have all rushed to Jiangling, but Jin Shenghuan, who is near Yiling, does not come to Jiangling. This is wrong no matter how you look at it!

When Zuo Liangyu was still alive, Jin Shenghuan was inseparable from the Zuo family and formed an independent entity. Now that the old man is gone, can Jin Shenghuan still be reliable? This guy is not a direct descendant of Zuo Liangyu for many years, but a rogue bandit.

.He could be recruited by Zuo Liangyu before, but now he can't be recruited by Zhu Cihong?

After all, Zhu Cixiang was the prince of Fujun, and he held great righteousness and a lot of money! Jin Shenghuan switched to Zhu Cixiang, who not only wanted an official position and money, but also became famous in history. What reason did he have to be loyal to the Zuo family?

Moreover, Jin Shenghuan was certainly not the only one who had the intention of abandoning Zuo Tou Ming. Now Zhu Cihong had stationed troops in Wuchang and was confronting Li Zicheng who was entrenched in Hanyang, and seemed to have the upper hand.

Once Zhu Cihong defeated Li Zicheng, what good would happen to the Zuo army who retreated to Jingzhou Prefecture? When the prince of the Fu army, who had defeated the Qing army and the rogue bandits one after another, came to attack, would the Zuo army be completely wiped out?

So many people have been waiting for Prince Zhu’s emissary to come and bribe him. The problem now is that they have been waiting and waiting, but they haven’t seen the emissary wearing the golden beauty official hat. They are really anxious!

Now I suddenly received a message from He Tengjiao, accepting the invitation to bring high-ranking officials from Hunan to come to Jingzhou Fucheng to express condolences to Zuo Liangyu. Could it be that this He Tengjiao was actually a loyal minister loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, and was preparing to join forces with the Major General to serve the emperor?

A group of general soldiers from the left army who were like grasshoppers were a little unsure for a while.

After Zuo Menggeng received the message from He Tengjiao, he immediately began to prepare to welcome him. At the same time, he informed his generals about uniting the heroes with King Qin to reassure him; at the same time, he transferred all his direct relatives to Jiangling City, and at the same time, he

The troops of Zhang Yong and Ma Jiaolin, who were unreliable, were transferred to Shizhouwei and Yuezhou (west of Dongting Lake) for garrison.

As for the troops left behind by Zuo Menggeng inside and outside Jiangling City, in addition to his own direct lineage, they were the men of the four generals Li Guoying, Lu Guangzu, Xu Yong, Hao Zhongzhong, and the guards of the Prince of Chu's palace. The four generals were all under the city.

The stronghold was built to prevent Li Zicheng from unexpectedly leading troops. The guards of the Prince of Chu's Palace were stationed in the city. Zuo Menggeng could not drive the soldiers of the Prince of Chu's Palace out of Jiangling City no matter what. Jiangling City was the territory of the Prince of Chu's Palace!

But Zuo Mengeng is assured of his cheap girl Zuo Mengmei. This ignorant girl dreams about being a queen all day long, and she even points her finger at Zuo Jiajundong as the Qin King! How is it possible to stage a coup in Jiangling City?

The military deployment was completed, and people's hearts were a little more stable. The day for He Tengjiao and others to come to Jiangling to express their condolences also happened to arrive. Zuo Mengeng then brought out all his officers and waited for He Tengjiao and others at the reception pavilion outside the south gate of Jiangling City.

people.

To the south of Jieguan Pavilion is a wide pontoon bridge, which connects both sides of the Yangtze River. This pontoon bridge was built by Zuo Menggeng after he retreated to Jingzhou Fucheng, so that when Li Zicheng's soldiers rushed towards Jiangling City, they could withdraw immediately.

Go to Gong'an County in Jiangnan.

Now that Li Zicheng has not come, He Tengjiao and the others are the first to take the pontoon bridge and come to Jiangling City to throw themselves into a trap. Moreover, they have formed a group to throw themselves into a trap! Not only is He Tengjiao, the governor of Hunan, but also Chang Yanling, Fu Shangrui,

Yan Qiheng, Zhang Kuang, Wu Jinxi, Zhou Daqi and many other warlords and bureaucrats in Hunan Province.

If all of them are caught, the whole province of Hunan will be in the hands of Zuo's army. But these people did not come alone! They are the "Seven Heroes of Hunan" who divided Hunan Province among themselves. Who doesn't have more than ten thousand men?

Soldiers and horses who can fight and charge? After traveling so far to Jiangling, and at this time of war and chaos, how could it be possible without escorting soldiers?

According to Zhang Yingyuan, a confidant sent by Zuo Menggeng to greet He Tengjiao and others, the number of soldiers from various families who came with He Tengjiao and others totaled no more than 15,000, and they brought so many soldiers and horses to mourn the deceased. There is something wrong with this.

That’s not right!

Zuo Mengeng had a vague feeling in his mind that things were not that simple, but he was unwilling to give up the opportunity. Two thoughts were fighting back and forth in his mind, which made him feel irritable. In the end, he just let out a long breath.

Huang Shu, who had returned from Li Zicheng, was also sitting outside the reception pavilion. When he saw Zuo Menggen sighing, he got up and walked into the reception pavilion. He got behind him, leaned over Zuo Menggen's ear, and whispered: "

The emperor’s soldiers will arrive soon!”

The "emperor" he mentioned was of course not Chongzhen, but the Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng!

Huang Shu did not come back from Li Zicheng empty-handed, but brought an edict from Li Zicheng conferring Zuo Menggeng as the Duke of Xiang and the Military Envoy of Hunan.

Li Zicheng was not very good at conferring titles on people. People of the same level as Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu and Li Guo were just a marquis. Now that he has conferred the title of Duke of Xiang to Zuo Menggeng, it can be said to be a great compliment. Moreover, Lao Li

He was also given the title of Hunan Jiedushi. With this title, Zuo Mengeng became the top leader of the Dashun Dynasty in Hunan.

In addition, Li Zicheng also asked Huang Shu to send a message to Zuo Menggeng that Dashun's 100,000 heavenly soldiers would be here soon! If Zuo Menggeng could use a "Hongmen Burial" to capture He Tengjiao and others, then the land of Huguang would be Beipei.

Li Nanzuo shares it all

Zuo Menggen glanced at Huang Shu, but remained silent. Huang Shu explained to him in a low voice: "My lord, even if He Tengjiao cheats, we still can't defeat him with so many elite soldiers at hand? The emperor also sent Bohou to garrison Jingmen to ensure that everything is safe."

of!"

Zuo Mengeng sighed and looked back at the three thousand Zuo family servants waiting in line dozens of steps away. With them here, are they still afraid of the tens of thousands of weak soldiers brought by He Tengjiao?

At this moment, more than a dozen people on fast horses came galloping from the official road on the south bank of the Yangtze River, got on the pontoon bridge, and shouted towards Zuo Mengeng from a distance: "He Futai is here, Mr. Chang."

Rong has arrived too!"

Zuo Mengeng stood up suddenly and straightened his mourning clothes. Under the mourning clothes was a piece of chain mail passed down by his father. It was made very finely and made of excellent materials. Then he pressed the knife on his waist with his right hand.

The handle was pinched hard.

Huang Shu was afraid that he would lose his temper, so he quickly reminded: "My lord, let He Tengjiao and the others enter the city first, and then we can catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Zuo Mengeng took a deep breath and nodded: "I know!"

On the horizon across the Yangtze River, a flag of the "Commander of the Three Armies" fluttering in the wind and a large banner with He Tengjiao's official title finally appeared on the horizon. At the same time, there were more than a dozen other flags of various kinds appearing, fluttering, and then

It was a field of sharp spear points, lined up in rows, like a forest. Looking at it from a distance made people feel a little numb. After a while, they saw more than a hundred knights, surrounded by a tall and thin man.

Wearing a red python robe, a beard that reached to his chest, a man in his fifties with a high nose and bright eyes, he boarded the floating bridge that connects the north and south of the Yangtze River.
Chapter completed!