It was raining continuously, and the fine raindrops soaked Pei Renji's Henan arresting ambassador Shuai flag, and he stuck it to the flagpole weakly, motionless. The owner of the Shuai flag, Pei Renji, stood alone under the flagpole, looking at Hulao Pass in the distance Letting the rainwater flow along his gray beard and hair, his gaze looked weaker than the drenched banner, and the armor on his body was completely soaked by the rain just like the banner.
Pei Renji was completely desperate. Emperor Sui Yang only gave him 30 days to recapture Hulao Pass. The Eastern Capital refused to send troops to help, but only provided food and military supplies. Troops were dispatched from the seven counties in the south of the Yellow River to join the war. The soldiers and horses arrived as scheduled. The nearest governor of Xingyang, Yang Qing, did not dare to leave the county administration city without authorization because of the serious thieves in the county. He was defeated by the bandit army and was forced to retreat to Licheng. The garrisons of the other five counties were also afraid to leave the garrison due to rampant bandit chaos, or were intercepted and defeated by the bandit army. I know whether the garrison there is hiding and refuses to obey orders, or whether they have been wiped out by the bandits.
There is no friendly army, only more than 10,000 exhausted soldiers who have been fighting for years, and the opponent is the main force of Wagang with a number of more than 50,000. Even in a decisive battle in the field, Pei Renji does not have much confidence to defeat the opponent head-on, not to mention that the opponent is sitting in the famous city of Xiongguan , mastering the initiative on the battlefield, Pei Renji is helpless even if he is a god. He bravely launched two sieges, one frontal attack and one sneak attack, and was easily defeated by the heavily guarded Wagang Army. He lost a lot of troops, but ended up gaining nothing.
The third siege launched yesterday was even worse. The general Wang Quanzhong, who made great achievements in the defense of Luokoucang, died for his country. ——The only Henan arresting army that rushed to Luokoucang for reinforcements in time was Wang Quan forcing Pei Renji to send reinforcements. At that time, Wang Quan also contradicted Pei Renji. Now that Wang Quan died in the siege, everyone would suspect that Pei Renji sent him on purpose to die.
The soldiers asked Pei Renji to go back to the tent several times to avoid the rain, but Pei Renji ignored them until Jia Runfu, Pei Renji's second-hand deputy, came to persuade him, Pei Renji moved a little, and said in a hoarse voice: "The time limit set by your majesty, only It's been ten days, what should I do?"
The very resourceful Jia Runfu was speechless and could only bow his head. Seeing his appearance, Pei Renji didn't ask any more questions and could only sigh: "Could it be that this old man really wants to wait until His Majesty makes an order to kill him?" To steal the house?"
Jia Runfu continued to remain silent, and after a long while, he said in a low voice: "Commander, last night, Xiao Huaijing and Xiao Jianjun sent someone to Dongdu to send a memorial. If there is no accident, it should be about General Wang Quan."
"Let him alone, you don't have to worry about debts, you don't itch if you have lice, I don't care anymore." Pei Renji smiled bitterly, and said, "As long as I have a clear conscience, it's true that I sent the royal power to the battlefield, but I didn't hurt you." his mind."
Jia Runfu nodded, and also believed that Pei Renji's methods were not so dirty, but said bitterly: "God is really short-sighted. On the day Hulaoguan fell, he didn't let that man die in the rebellion, but let him He fled to Guancheng and joined His Highness King Xun, and then came back here to harm us."
Pei Renji didn't go along with it, but hated himself for being greedy for meritorious deeds back then, and for being so ignorant that he left the Hulao, which led to today's desperate situation. He also hated his distant nephew for holding grudges and refusing to send reinforcements to him, otherwise, he would not be able to take down the Hulao Guan, it will not be as hopeless as it is now.
At this time, an orderly came to report in a hurry, saying that Pei Renji's nephew Pei Xingfang came from Luokou Cang again to ask for an interview, and that he was ordered to check the amount of grain and grass that Luokou Cang sent to the Henan arresting army. Pei Renji was furious when he heard this, and shouted: "Let him wait in the big tent of the Chinese army!"
Of course, there is a reason why Pei Renji became so angry with Pei Xingfang. Half a month ago, Pei Xingfang, who had already served under Liu Changgong's account, visited Pei Renji in the camp. Because the Eastern Capital refused to send troops to aid him, Pei Renji also had his last hope and asked his nephew to replace him. Xiu Xiu wrote a letter to Chen Sangliang, trying to impress his distant nephew by using the kindness of Pei Hongce and his son to Chen Sangliang. Unfortunately, Pei Xingfang not only politely refused, but also went to speak for his distant cousin, repeatedly explaining that Dongdu could not send troops now Due to various reasons, the uncle and nephew broke up in the end, and Pei Renji was of course very dissatisfied with this cousin who was crooked at the elbow.
Guessing that Pei Xingfang had already entered the tent of the Chinese army, Pei Renji and Jia Runfu returned to the tent, but when they entered the tent, Pei Renji became even more angry—Pei Xingfang, his cousin who should have worked for him unconditionally , was actually having a heated fight with his deadly rival, the Superintendent Xiao Huaijing, in the tent, and the conversation was full of topics about the excessive consumption of food and grass by the Henan arresting army. Seeing Pei Renji come in, Pei Xingfang obediently saluted, but Pei Renji waved his hand and said directly: "Excuse me, what are you doing here?"
"My nephew was ordered to check the grain and grass accounts, and also came to see if my uncle is well." Pei Xingfang replied respectfully.
"The old man is very good, you don't need to worry about it." Pei Renji waved his hand again, and said angrily: "Check the amount of money and food, right? Doctor Xiao, you are the supervisor of the army, and you also have the right to supervise the food, grass and military supplies. I'll leave this to you , Take Pei Canjun down to check."
Little Uncle Xiao Guo promised in a very gracious manner, but Pei Xingfang, who had another purpose, was a little embarrassed, and wanted to beg to have a private conversation with Pei Renji, but there were two unreliable outsiders, Xiao Huaijing and Jia Runfu, in desperation, Pei Xingfang could only be Singing promises, followed Xiao Xiaoguo to the back camp to find the quartermaster to check the accounts. During this period, Xiao Xiaoguo naturally had to pick the bones in the egg, and the one-in-one liter of grain and grass should be recorded on the record, leaving it to Pei Renji to waste Or the crime of embezzling military rations is hard evidence, and Pei Xingfang continues to make false claims with Uncle Xiao Guo, maintaining a superficially friendly relationship.
At the same time, when he arrived at the back camp, Pei Xingfang discovered that the current situation of the Henan arresting army was indeed not good. , these wounded soldiers could only lie on the damp straw mats to receive treatment. They were both hurt and damp and cold, moaning all over the camp, and occasionally they could hear desperate cries, "Let me die! I will die!" I'm dead! I'm dead!"
"My brother was right. Uncle really can't use these elites well." Shaking his head and sighing secretly, Pei Xingfang also became more determined to persuade Pei Renji to pretend to be wounded and withdraw from the army - to ask Pei Renji to inflict some wounds on himself, claiming that he was the one who took the lead. Injured, take the opportunity to withdraw troops to avoid the crisis. In this way, the representative of the old Pei family will have something to say in front of Emperor Sui Yang, and Emperor Sui Yang should not want Pei Renji's head anymore.
Although the abacus was done well, what made Pei Xingfang dumbfounded was that he never found a chance to talk to his uncle alone. During the period of checking the accounts, Pei Renji never showed up. My uncle has been lingering around all the time, and Pei Renji has always been accompanied by his confidant Jia Runfu. He wanted to stay on the excuse that it was getting late, but Pei Renji shouted impatiently: "Go back quickly after finishing the official business. This place is only ten miles away from Hulao Pass. The thieves may leave the city to attack at any time, it is not safe for you to stay here, go back immediately."
"Uncle, can I take a step to speak alone?" Pei Xingfang had no choice but to ask directly.
"Is there anything that you can't say directly?" Pei Renji was still not in the slightest of a good tone.
"It's about Sister Cuiyun." Pei Xingfang had no choice but to ramble, "Sister Cuiyun has a few words that I want me to bring to you."
Pei Xingfang made the wrong excuse and mentioned that Pei Renji's precious daughter who was going to marry Chen Sangliang as a concubine, the little uncle Xiao Guo who was next to him immediately laughed out loud. Hearing this vicious laughter, Pei Renji became even more angry Chu came and shouted: "In the military camp, there are no children's matters, and the old man will not listen! Even if she has a big matter, I will wait for the old man to finish the war at Hulao Pass! Don't be wordy, come and send Pei Canjun out of the camp." !"
"No wonder you always can't climb up. You deserve it for your temper!" Pei Xingfang was extremely depressed, but Pei Renji's personal soldiers had already come up to see off the guests. Pei Xingfang had no choice but to say goodbye and leave. Pei Renji still has ten days left, but Pei Xingfang is not in a hurry.
Pei Xingfang left, knowing that Pei Renji didn't want to see him, Xiao Guoshu also left soon, but as soon as Xiao Xiaoguo left, Jia Runfu immediately approached Pei Renji again, and asked in a low voice: "Commander, What do you think of the letter sent by the Wagang bandit just now?"
Pei Renji stretched his hands into his sleeves, pinching a letter hidden in his sleeves, with a complicated expression on his face, and then whispered after a long time: "Let the old man think about it."
…
The distance was not very far, and Pei Xingfang returned to Luokou Cangcheng to give orders to Liu Changgong just after dusk, but Liu Changgong didn't even look at the account, threw it aside and dragged Pei Xingfang to the back hall for a drink. General Liu was frightened and Pei Xingfang hurriedly refused with the excuse of being a strong enemy, but Liu Changgong waved his big hand and said with a smile: "I'm afraid of a ball, your uncle is in front of it, and there are Kan Ling and Ma Sanbao guarding the Luokou warehouse." Come on, we don't need to worry about it, just drink! Brother Yingliang handed you over to me, if I don't treat you well, how can I be worthy of brother Yingliang?"
I really can't make excuses, of course Pei Xingfang was drunk by General Liu. Fortunately, he had nothing to say at night, so there was no delay. The next day he was busy assisting Liu Changgong with military affairs. In the evening, Pei Xingfang just wanted to Thinking about what excuses to go to see Pei Renji to take the opportunity to offer advice, but Liu Changgong came to the door again, pulling Pei Xingfang to drink again, and said that he must lead Pei Xingfang as bad as Chen Sangliang in the past. Pei Xingfang drank to his heart's content, so he only had drinking companions in the future.
Pei Xingfang, who still had business to do, dared not agree to anything this time, but Liu Changgong was holding on to his life. While he was arguing, a soldier came from outside the door, saying that there was an envoy from Dongdu holding a talisman When Pei Xingfang curiously asked about his identity, the soldiers replied: "He covered his face with a cloth, so he couldn't see what he looked like, and he refused to reveal it." identity."
Upon hearing such a strange thing, Liu Changgong was immediately surprised, and Pei Xingfang was also very curious, so he hurriedly accompanied Liu Changgong to meet the envoy, but when he went to the living room, he saw a man with a black cloth on his face sitting in the living room. , I couldn't see the figure but I was very familiar with it. When Liu Changgong and Pei Xingfang were recalling, a more familiar voice came, "Close the door and don't let outsiders see me."
Hearing the sound, when he subconsciously closed the door, Pei Xingfang immediately lowered his voice and exclaimed: "Brother, why is it you?"
The black cloth was torn off, revealing Chen Sangliang's greasy face. Liu Changgong and Pei Xingfang were even more startled, and said in unison: "Brother, brother Yingliang, why did you come here suddenly? Something happened to Dongdu!" ?”
"There's nothing wrong with Dong, but you're probably going to have something happen here." Chen Sangliang looked very serious, and asked in a low voice, "Is there anything unusual about the Henan arresting army recently?"
"Anomalies in the Henan arresting army? No?" Liu Changgong and Pei Xing looked at each other in blank dismay.
"It's fine if you don't have one." Chen Sangliang breathed a sigh of relief, and then quickly asked, "Didn't Xiao Huaijing disappear when Hulao Pass fell? How did he return to Ambassador Pei's tent? When did he come back?"
Liu Changgong shook his head. Fortunately, Pei Xing just had contact with Xiao Huaijing, and reported: "I know, I heard from Xiao Huaijing himself that when Hulao Pass fell, he disguised himself as a commoner and escaped from the east gate of Hulao Pass. The road was blocked and unable to return to the pass, so I first went to Guancheng to join His Highness King Xun, and then returned to my uncle's tent. Hey, brother, how did you know Xiao Huaijing came back?"
"Xiao Huaijing impeached Uncle Pei for avenging his personal revenge, which led to the death of General Wang Quan, so I know." Chen Sangliang explained casually, and then asked: "Xiao Huaijing disguised himself as a commoner and escaped from Hulao Pass. Can someone else testify? ?”
"Probably not, Xiao Huaijing himself said that he escaped from the Hulao Pass alone." Pei Xingfang explained again, and then a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he said in surprise: "Brother, do you suspect that Xiao Huaijing was arrested after being captured by the Wagang bandits?" Rebellion, intentionally released by the Wagang bandits, acting as a traitor for the Wagang bandits?"
"If it was just that simple, I wouldn't have come to Luokou warehouse in person." Chen Sangliang shook his head, his face still very serious - because Chen Sangliang clearly remembered a historical fact, the old department left by Pei Renji and Zhang Xutuo was completely suppressed Uncle Xiao Guo forced him to surrender to the Wagang Army.
After shaking his head, Chen Sangliang hurriedly asked Pei Xingfang if he had any contact with Pei Renji. Pei Xingfang nodded, and hurriedly reported what happened yesterday to Chen Sangliang, and carefully mentioned that he had never been able to find a chance to talk to Pei Renji alone. thing. Chen Sangliang was not very satisfied after hearing this. After a little calculation, Chen Sangliang asked again: "My dear brother, when you saw Uncle Pei yesterday, what did he look like? How was his mood?"
"He has a big temper, and he doesn't treat me in the slightest." Pei Xingfang shook his head, introduced the situation of meeting Pei Renji in detail, and then added: "By the way, uncle is very depressed now. When he first saw me , his whole body was basically soaked, his hair and beard were all stuck together, as if he had been drenched in the rain for a long time."
Chen Sangliang's heart sank. It was clear that Pei Renji's emotions must have been extremely lost and desperate. Maybe he would do what he had miscalculated before. Without saying a word, Pei Xingfang gradually came to his senses, surprised Said: "Brother, are you worried about Uncle...?"
Chen Sangliang nodded calmly, and said, "You can think about it for a while. If you were in his current situation and wanted to keep your head, what choice would you have other than the method you came up with?"
Pei Xingfang's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "What about Auntie, Brother Xingyan and Sister Cuiyun? Uncle doesn't care about their life or death?"
"Brother Xingyan is stationed outside the city, as long as you receive news, you can run away at any time." Chen Yingliang said with a gloomy face: "As for your aunt and Cuiyun, with me around, even if they suffer some grievances, they will not be too much. "
Pei Xingfang's face changed even more, and when Chen Sangliang's words got to this point, Liu Changgong could tell something was wrong no matter how sloppy he was, and said in surprise, "Brother Ying Liang, are you worried that Ambassador Pei will defect to the enemy?"
Chen Sangliang instructed Liu Changgong to keep quiet, and said in a low voice, "Brother Liu, keep your voice down. At present, we are only suspicious and worried, and there is no evidence yet. You must keep this matter secret, and you must not let it out, which will lead to more trouble." What a surprise."
Liu Changgong nodded quickly, and rarely used his head to think carefully, and then said in a low voice: "Brother Yingliang, you are right to worry, Lao Pei is in a very miserable situation now, and the time given to him by the emperor has only nine days left. Hulao Pass will definitely not be defeated, and His Majesty will definitely condemn him, if I were him instead, maybe he would do the same to save his life."
"Brother, what should we do?" Pei Xingfang hurriedly asked, "Should I go see Uncle again and use the original strategy to help him get out of trouble?"
Chen Sangliang shook his head and said, "It's useless. I agreed with you before because I thought that Xiao Huaijing had died in Hulaoguan City without supervision. Uncle Pei could do whatever he wanted. Now Xiao Huaijing has returned , and came back so mysteriously, if you try to persuade him to do that again, even if he agrees, it will be hard to hide it from Xiao Huaijing's eyes, and things may get worse by then."
Recalling that Xiao Huaijing had to record even the one-in-one-liter grain misreconciliation, Pei Xingfang quickly agreed with Chen Sangliang's judgment, and after quick calculations, Pei Xingfang suggested: "Brother, why don't you come forward to persuade How about a warning? Let uncle know that you are already suspicious, even if he has this suspicion, he would not dare to... "
Before he finished speaking, the potential Pei Xingfang shook his head and denied himself: "No, you can't do this. Brother, you are staying behind in the Eastern Capital. Uncle is the envoy of Henan. Brother, you have no right to control uncle. Do this Maybe it will actually drive uncle into a desperate situation.”
"Brother Yingliang, why don't you send troops here just in case." Liu Changgong suggested: "First send tens of thousands of troops to Luokou Cang to guard here. If Pei Renji dares to act recklessly, take him down immediately!"
"Brother Liu, it's more dangerous to do this." Chen Sangliang shook his head and said: "A large-scale deployment of troops will definitely not be able to hide from the eyes of those who are interested. Once Uncle Pei has this idea, he will definitely act first and act first! "
Liu Changgong scratched his ears and cheeks, Chen Sangliang considered for a while, and quickly made up his mind, saying: "There is no way to speculate here, I have to go to the Henan hunting army camp to understand the situation on the ground, and then Decide what to do."
"Brother Yingliang, I have to advise you, don't take any risks." Liu Changgong rarely spoke seriously, and said, "Ambassador Pei's current situation is not good, and you have a heavy responsibility, so you have to prevent him from attacking you." .”
"Don't worry, I won't go in public." Chen Yingliang said: "Just find an excuse, send the army to send something to the Henan arresting army, I will disguise myself as an ordinary soldier, sneak into the army and enter the camp together, and then contact Marshal Zhang to stay. If Uncle Pei really has that thought, Dashuai Zhang’s old department will definitely hear some rumors.”
"Brother, but what can you do even if you find out about the situation?" Pei Xingfang asked worriedly: "No matter whether uncle has that intention or not, after nine days he will not be able to break through the Hulao Pass, and he still cannot explain to His Majesty?"
"I've already thought about it." Chen Sangliang replied: "If Xiao Huaijing is what I suspect, and is the mole deliberately released by the Wagang bandits, I will use him as a scapegoat and blame Uncle Pei. If he is not, I will I will help Uncle Pei design to lure the enemy, and win a battle to explain to His Majesty. Therefore, the fact that I came to Luokou Cang must be strictly kept secret from the outside world. Once the Wagang thief knows that I am here, they will definitely not dare to be fooled casually."
…
At almost the same time, in the camp of the arresting army in Henan, Pei Renji, who had not closed his eyes for two days and one night, suddenly slapped the table in front of him heavily, and said hoarsely to his confidant Jia Runfu: "Reply to King Zhai, Military Division Bing, Just say I promise."
"Marshal, you should notify your family and let them prepare." Jia Runfu hurriedly reminded.
"It's enough to inform Xingyan. Madam and Cuiyun live in the city, and it's hard to get away. Maybe that girl Cuiyun will inform Chen Yingliang." Pei Renji lowered his head, as if he had aged ten years suddenly, and said, "Okay With Chen Yingliang... and some conscience, Cuiyun and the others won't suffer too much grievance."
…
The letter sent by Pei Renji's confidant to Hulaoguan, of course, made the Wagang generals headed by Zhai Rang cheer for a while. After the cheers, Zhai Rang immediately decided to accept Pei Renji's surrender, and adopted Xu Shiji's suggestion, demanding that Pei Renji Falsely defeated and fled into Luokou Cangcheng, and then suddenly launched an attack, the inside and outside cooperated to help the Wagang Army take Luokou Cang in one fell swoop!
Of course, the task of writing the letter must be handed over to the military adviser Bing Yuanzhen, but Bing Yuanzhen, who was transferred from Wagangzhai after Li Mi left, did not dare to take it lightly. Treacherous, but we must also prevent him from swindling the enemy to lure us out of the customs and then wait for an ambush. Prudence is the most important thing, we'd better make an arrangement... "
"That dog officer is Li Mi's man, how could he obey our orders?"
"His trick is in our hands. Didn't the prisoner we captured before confess? He never confessed to Pei Renji that he had been captured. Wouldn't it be a pity that we didn't use such a good trick?"