Withdrew the troops back to Yongcheng and told Zhangsun Wuji about Zhang Xutuo's situation. Changsun Wuji, who was born as a son of an official, was also very worried about the consequences of offending Zhang Xutuo in person, but the matter had come to an end, no matter how regretful and worried he was, it was useless. Changsun Wuji could only follow Chen Yingliang's arrangement and immediately start investigating and grasping the various situations on the battlefield in Menghai City, so as to be prepared for any eventuality.
Meng Haicheng is located in the middle of the northern part of Liang County, not far from Yongcheng, and the traffic is quite convenient. Considering that the intelligence of the friendly army may not be reliable, Chen Yingliang simply arranged for a few reliable gangsters to surrender and let Ma Sanbao rescue them at the beginning. The next little bandit soldier led the team northward to understand the situation on the front line. At the same time, Chen Yingliang secretly told He Er and the others that as long as they could spy on the enemy's interior, they would even take the risk of joining Meng Haigong's bandit army.
Of course, the intelligence of friendly troops is also very important. On this point, Chen Yingliang had to send envoys to Yang Wang, the general guard of Liang County. As a result, Yang Wang, who had befriended Pei Hongce, was very painful for Chen Yingliang's distant uncle. He copied a copy of the Meng Haicheng information he had obtained and sent it to Chen Yingliang. At the same time, he scolded Chen Yingliang in a handwritten letter, accusing Chen Yingliang of repeatedly offending Zhang Xutuo, the favorite minister of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, let alone rejecting Zhang Xutuo. Tuo's invitation refused to send troops to Meng Haicheng, and by the way helped Yang Wang solve the big trouble on the northern border.
Chen Yingliang, who has long been used to being scolded by his elders, of course doesn't mind Yang Wang's accusations, but only cares about the specific situation of Meng Haigong and Meng Haicheng, and judging from the information Yang Wang provided, Meng Haigong is indeed an extraordinary thief. The officers and soldiers of Liang County and Jiyin County fought without temper, and they also pioneered the construction of a city in Zhouqiao, his hometown. Rang, Dou Jiande, Zhang Jincheng and other thieves are still only building copycat bandit dens in the mountains and lakes. A thieves like Meng Haigong who built their own castles are still scorpions shit on the land of the Central Plains—the only one.
As for Meng Haigong's life experience, the information provided by Yang Wang was very vague. He only said that Meng Haigong was a rich landlord and rich man in Zhouqiao. As mentioned, it is estimated that Liang Jun did not care about this reason at all. However, Yang Wang can be regarded as a Tongshou who only knows how to eat for nothing, so he attached a sketch of Meng Haicheng to Chen Yingliang, so that Chen Yingliang could understand some details about Meng Haicheng in advance.
When looking closely at the sketch provided by Yang Wang, Chen Yingliang discovered that the Menghai City built by Meng Haigong is a structure of two cities in the north and the south. Between the two cities is a small river called the Hulu River, which connects to the nearby Makeng River. The specific water situation is unknown, but from Menghai City Judging from the need for a bridge connection between the north and the south, the water potential should not be small. The perimeter of the city wall is protected by trenches. The length from north to south is more than five miles, the width from east to west is about four miles, and the height is more than three feet by visual inspection. The Liangjun scouts have not found out how many houses, streets and villages there are in the city. Naturally, Liang didn't know, anyway, that's all Chen Yingliang could understand.
After carefully studying the information provided by Yang Wang, Chen Yingliang came to a conclusion and concluded: "This city is not easy to fight. If Zhang Xutuo only uses the tactics of frontal assault and encounters Meng Haigong who is a little proficient in defending the city, Zhang Xutuo Not to mention breaking down the city quickly, it is not impossible to be forced to retreat by being exhausted by Meng Haigong!"
"Brother, if it were our Qiaojun army, would you be sure to take this city?" Changsun Wuji asked curiously.
"With the strength of our Qiaojun army, we will never be able to take down this city. It is too weak." Chen Yingliang replied frankly, and then said: "If we want to break this city, we have to join forces with Zhang Xutuo's team. Together with Zhang Xutuo, we don't have much hope of a frontal breakthrough, and even if we can break through this city in the end, we will have to pay a heavy price."
"Then brother, do you have a way to break the city with a clever plan?" Changsun Wuji asked, and said: "If there is, I think you can't hide your secrets, brother, it's best to give it to Zhang Xutuo as a favor, and keep a line of life , so we can meet in the future, Zhang Xutuo's official status is extraordinary, and maintaining a friendly relationship with him will do us more good than harm."
Chen Yingliang shook his head, frowned and said: "The information provided by Yang Wang is too rough. I just rely on these information to imagine the strategy of breaking the city out of thin air. It is not realistic at all. If I want to break the city by skill, unless I go to the scene to investigate, maybe there is still a point or two left." hope."
"It's okay, brother, you don't need to worry." Changsun Wuji comforted, and then suggested: "Since there will be no plan to break the city for a while, let's just continue to wait and see what happens, while continuing to collect information about Meng Haicheng and Meng Haigong. Let’s see how Zhang Xutuo fights this battle. It would be best if Zhang Xutuo can take down Menghai City. If he can’t attack for a long time, we will send troops to help him immediately if we are sure, and give him help in a timely manner. The effect of this easing relationship is that It might be better.”
"That's the way to go." Chen Yingliang nodded sullenly, knowing that Changsun Wuji's suggestion was the safest, but worried that Zhang Xutuo would send troops out of anger and severely damage the Qi County team he had coveted for a long time—Zhang Xutuo is not someone who likes to be calm People, when they are impulsive, dare to lead four cavalry into the enemy's line.
Just like what Chen Yingliang worried about, Zhang Xutuo's fiery personality made it impossible for him to act calmly. After four years of fighting in the South and North, Zhang Xutuo just let Qi County The soldiers rested for just seven days, and then immediately sent troops to Menghai City. At the same time, they also ordered the army troops from Liang County and Jiyin County to send troops to help in the battle. Hearing this news, Chen Yingliang could only shake his head and sigh, still not very optimistic about Zhang Xutuo's siege operation this time - because Chen Yingliang vaguely remembered this period of history, Meng Haigong seemed to survive until Zhang Xutuo died in battle and was not wiped out .
Chen Yingliang really remembered this period of history correctly. Historically, Meng Haigong did survive until Zhang Xutuo died in battle, and at one point he took over two whole counties and called himself King Song Yi. However, this was not because Zhang Xutuo could not destroy Meng Haigong. It was because Zhang Xutuo had been busy killing other thieves and had never fought Meng Haigong at all. This time Zhang Xutuo decided to conquer Meng Haigong entirely because of the butterfly effect brought about by Chen Yingliang's demon moth wings. However, the history changed by Chen Yingliang's monster moth effect is not limited to Meng Haigong...
…
On the evening of the second day after Chen Yingliang received the news of Zhang Xutuo's dispatch of troops, in a peaceful and peaceful small village in the southern outskirts of Yongqiu County, Liang County, a well-to-do family was holding a wedding ceremony. The owner of this family was named Wang Xiucai is a well-known chivalrous man in the entire Yongqiu County. To the surprise of the villagers, Wang Xiucai held a wedding ceremony not for his son, but for his fifteen-year-old daughter. A door-in-law son-in-law, or a dark-skinned son-in-law in his early thirties.
There were not many guests attending the wedding. Apart from the people in the village, there was only a young man in his twenties. No one knew his identity, except that he was a distant relative of Wang Xiucai and the son-in-law of Wang Xiucai. My friend, I have been living and eating at Wang Xiucai's house during this time. During the banquet, some young men in the village wanted to drink with him, but he was completely indifferent and arrogant.
In the middle of blowing and hitting, the heaven and the earth were worshipped, and the ordinary-looking but kind-hearted son-in-law was also blushed by the guests, and his neck was thick. The old Wang Xiucai refused to let him go, and in the midst of the commotion, an outsider suddenly broke into the wedding scene, whispered a few words in the ear of the visiting son-in-law, and the visiting son-in-law's face immediately changed. Went to a remote place to talk in a low voice, then immediately returned to the venue, and gave Wang Xiucai a wink, Wang Xiucai agreed, and Weng and his son-in-law immediately found an excuse to leave the front hall temporarily, and went to the back room to talk alone .
After entering the back room, the son-in-law who came to the door carefully checked that there were no outsiders following him, then closed the door, then immediately knelt down on one knee to Wang Xiucai, and solemnly said: "Forgive me, son-in-law, I must bid you farewell immediately. "
"Why? What happened?" Wang Xiucai asked in surprise.
"My brother-in-law sent someone to send the news." The son-in-law who came to the door said in a deep voice: "The tyrant Zhang Xutuo decided to gather soldiers from Qi, Liang and Jiyin counties to attack Menghai City. My son-in-law thinks this is a rare opportunity. Therefore, I decided to bid farewell to my father-in-law's family and go to Menghai City to join Meng Haigong and help him resist Zhang Xutuo's conquest."
"Zhang Xutuo?" Wang Xiucai was startled, and said, "That's the effective lackey of the tyrant, a famous general in the world! A good son-in-law intends to do great things, why do you want to be hostile to him?"
"Don't worry, Yuezhang, Zhang Xutuo is nothing to be afraid of." The son-in-law who came to the door was very contemptuous, and said with a sneer: "My son-in-law has carefully studied his battle examples, and knows that this man is indeed brave and invincible, but he can hardly fight with soldiers. They all rely on bravery to win. He is a brave and foolhardy man. He is nothing to be afraid of! He was invincible before because he had never met a decent opponent. If his son-in-law commanded a If the army fights against him, my son-in-law is 100% sure that he will easily defeat him!"
"My son-in-law is amazingly talented, of course I know." Wang Xiucai reminded: "But son-in-law, you don't have an army to fight Zhang Xutuo?"
"So my son-in-law decided to join Meng Haigong." The son-in-law who came to the door replied: "From what my son-in-law and my brother-in-law know, Meng Haigong has more than 20,000 troops, including many elite warriors who have experienced battles. A strong city can be defended, as long as the command is effective and the tactics are applied properly, not to mention defending the city, even defeating Zhang Xutuo is also very promising."
Speaking of this, the tone of the door-to-door son-in-law became a little excited, and said excitedly: "Please think about it, my father-in-law, if my son-in-law assists Meng Haigong to defeat Zhang Xutuo, and defeats the tyrant Yang Guang who is relying on the Great Wall of the Twelve Counties to arrest the ambassador Zhang Xu Tuo, shattering the myth of his invincibility, how shocking will the world be? How shocking will be the various rebels on Qingxu Qilu land? How can the morale of those rebels who are afraid of Zhang Xutuo's despotic power not be boosted? The truth? As long as the volunteers from all walks of life fight bravely and no longer fear the power of the government, the tyrant Yang Guang will be destroyed one day! Such a god-given opportunity, my son-in-law must not miss it!"
The son-in-law at the door spoke excitedly, but Wang Xiucai remained silent. After the son-in-law at the door finished speaking, Wang Xiucai thought about it for a while, and then said: "Two questions, first, after you go to defect to Meng Haigong, how can you get his reuse?" , let him obey you? Second, what about my daughter? "
"Please don't worry, Mr. Yuezhang." The son-in-law who came to the door said confidently: "The son-in-law can be regarded as a little famous, and Meng Haigong is being attacked by Zhang Xutuo. He is afraid of Zhang Xutuo's vicious name. He must panic and lose his mind. The son-in-law only needs to speak If it is appropriate, if you offer a plan to help him defeat the army for a while, Meng Haigong will definitely rely on his son-in-law as his confidant and obey his words."
"As for Xiaofang..." The son-in-law who came to the door hesitated for a moment, then knelt down to Wang Xiucai, and said in a deep voice: "Master Yuezhang, you don't think my son-in-law is poor, you don't care about your son-in-law's background, and you are not afraid of danger." As a result, the son-in-law betrothed his only beloved daughter to his son-in-law, and the son-in-law was very grateful, but after all, the son-in-law is a court criminal and a person who is destined to lick blood on the knife's edge. The son-in-law really couldn't bear to hurt his father-in-law's beloved daughter How about this, my son-in-law will not enter the bridal chamber tonight, but will leave tomorrow morning, please ask my father-in-law to choose another son-in-law for Xiaofang!"
"You can go, but you have to consummate the marriage with my daughter tonight!" Wang Xiucai said solemnly: "In order to overthrow the tyrant and relieve the sufferings of the common people, almost all of your family have been killed, and you are going to fight on the battlefield. Three ups and downs, isn't your Li family about to end? Tonight you and my daughter consummate the house, if she can give birth to a boy and a half girl for you, you can have peace of mind on the battlefield between the two armies."
"Yuezhang..." The son-in-law's voice trembled a little.
"That's the way!" Wang Xiucai waved his hand decisively, and said again: "Go to the bridal chamber, I will prepare your luggage and dry food, and prepare a letter for you to recommend to Meng Haigong."
"Yue Zhang, do you know Meng Haigong?" the son-in-law who came to the door asked in surprise.
Wang Xiucai nodded and said: "A few years ago when the world was peaceful, I traveled all over the world. I once had a relationship with Meng Haigong in Zhouqiao, but I don't know if he remembers me. Also, Meng Haigong's wife, Ma Saifei, I also I have seen her, she is quite greedy for money, I will prepare a gift for you, you take it to her, she will definitely speak for you in front of Meng Haigong."
"Yuezhang..." The son-in-law who came to the door burst into tears, choking with sobs and said: "You have donated your money all these years, and you have already wiped out most of the family property. My son-in-law really can't bear to burden you any more."
"I'm even willing to marry you as my only daughter, let alone money?" Wang Xiucai asked calmly.
It was night, under Wang Xiucai's repeated request, the door-to-door son-in-law finally went into the bridal chamber to perform the couple's ceremony. The next morning, when his wife was still asleep, the door-to-door son-in-law had already quietly left the house, and said goodbye to his father-in-law, Wang Xiucai. , led his only companion, rode a war horse quietly sent by his brother-in-law's family, and rushed towards Meng Hai City, which was about to be caught in the flames of war. At the same time, when he was on the road, the only companion said to him: "You are really willing, although the daughter of Wang Xiucai's family is a mountain girl, she is still a bit pretty, and she is only fifteen years old, so you are willing to give up." Just be a couple for one night and then leave immediately, that's really cruel."
"It's not that I'm cruel, it's that we run out of time." The son-in-law who came to the door replied calmly: "Zhang Xutuo sent troops to Menghai City two days ago, even if his team is huge and walks slowly, the time left for us is already enough. Not many, we have to hurry to Meng Hai City as soon as possible to help him, Duke Meng Hai, to take charge of the defense and resist Zhang Xutuo's attack."
Speaking of this, the door-to-door son-in-law paused, and then said: "Besides, compared with me, our nemesis Chen Yingliang, the little thief, is the real heartless one. Three generations of single passers-by. After getting engaged, he can't even get married, so he will act immediately. An errand from Qiao County came to work in this land of Qingxu, which is full of wars. If we want to avenge our revenge, we must learn his ruthlessness. A thief's opponent?"
Hearing the name of the enemy mentioned by the son-in-law at the door, the companion snorted heavily, and then said: "Speaking of the little thief Chen Yingliang, Meng Haicheng is not too far away from Qiao County, and I asked my father's old department to mobilize you for the little thief Chen in the court." Speaking of errands, what if the little thief Chen Yingliang also comes to Meng Haicheng?"
"As long as Meng Haigong can accept my correct opinion, I would like to see Chen Yingliang, the little thief, come to die!" The son-in-law who came to the door said confidently: "Although that little thief is treacherous, he has never fought a siege battle, and his strength is not enough. , if he dares to go to the battlefield in Menghai City, he will just give us a chance to avenge our shame!"
"I hope so." The companion said something in his heart, and then said: "Okay, I will trust you one more time, and I will bet with you again, let's go!"
The visiting son-in-law was really confident in his strategy and strategy, and was lucky that he didn't encounter any accidents on the road. He arrived in Menghai City very smoothly in just over two days, and was ahead of Zhang Xutuo's army. I rushed to Menghai City, but after carefully observing the geographical situation of Menghai City on the high ground outside the city, the face of the son-in-law who came to visit changed a little, and said worriedly: "Meng Haigong's city site selection is a bit risky. There may be a huge flaws."
"What's the flaw?" The companion asked suspiciously: "Is this city very strong? The north and south cities stand across the river, forming horns of each other. The fortifications are also very complete. They should be built after the regular city. I don't see any flaws?" "
The son-in-law who came to the door did not answer, but observed for a while with a gloomy face, and then said: "It's just a possible flaw. Whether it really exists needs to be investigated on the spot. But if this flaw really exists, then the city may be destroyed. It’s hard to hold on for long.”
"What is the flaw?"
Just as the companions were about to ask, there was already a stern voice from behind them, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Peeping at our city, are you spies sent by the government?"
The son-in-law and his companions turned their heads and saw that the person who was asking questions was a small group of bandit soldiers in ordinary clothes. The son-in-law who came to the door hurriedly smiled, and said to the band of bandit soldiers: "General, we are not spies from the army. Meng Haigong, Meng Lushi, is still my father-in-law’s friend, my name is Li Mi, please lead the way to your camp, I want to pay your respects to your Meng Lushi, and report important military affairs to him.”