In August, the sun is shining and the scorching heat is irritating. There was not a trace of wind in the sky, no leaves on the trees swaying, and the afternoon sun was unbearable.

Thousands of troops in the woods were lying or leaning in the shade of the trees, all of them listless.

When he was in the territory of Texas, Zhao Yingyuan still had more than 10,000 people, but now there are only four or five thousand old and weak people left.

At the end of April, Zhao Jiding, the squire of Dezhou, Shandong, the imperial history of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Xianzhen, the director, and Xie Majesty, the younger brother of Xie Sheng, a university scholar, launched a rebellion, and elected Zhu Shuaiqin, the lieutenant of Fengguo, the Qing Domain of the Ming Dynasty, as the leader of the alliance. Shandong responded in groups, occupying more than 40 prefectures and counties such as Jinan, Dezhou, and so on in one month. Dashun's rule in Shandong collapsed in an instant, the main force of the army retreated westward, and Zhao Yingyuan had to abandon Shandong and go west.

However, before the army left the Shandong boundary, it was shocked to hear that Li Chuang was defeated again, and he also folded Qi Hou Gu Ying, was chased and killed by the Qing soldiers, and escaped into Shanxi.

At this time, the news of Li Chuang's defeat in a stone outside Shanhaiguan had spread all over the north, and the gentry loyal to the Ming Dynasty in Henan also took advantage of the situation, and the Qing army also took advantage of the situation to enter and take the three mansions of Huaiqing, Zhangde, and Weihui north of the Yellow River.

The westbound road was immediately blocked, and the helpless Zhao Yingyuan had to lead a large army to flow between Shandong and Henan. However, the army was not supplied, and rumors spread in the army, which caused the Zhao army to desert continuously, and the number of people shrank by half in a few months. Seeing the gradual decrease in the number of people who had finally pulled up, Zhao Yingyuan's heart was full of bitterness.

At this time, he leaned against the tree, his armor was hanging on him, and the original majesty no longer existed, replaced by exhaustion and decadence.

Zhao Yingyuan is not the only one who is worried about this army, Wang Yan is also thinking about what he can do.

He didn't die because of his status as a scholar.

Before the beheading, his behavior of looking south and worshipping made Yang Wang Xiu, who was beside Zhao Yingyuan, a relative in his heart, and he was also a disciple of a saint, so he saved him.

Zhao Yingyuan's current situation really needed the assistance of scholars, so he agreed to Yang Wangxiu's request and changed the death penalty to twenty rods, sparing Wang Yan from death.

Although he was lucky not to die, Wang Yan, who had lost too much blood, was also beaten to death by this military staff. Then the wound festered, and he had a high fever that did not go away, and when he woke up, the army arrived in Henan, and he lost the opportunity to find Xu Yanyan.

This made him worry in his heart, but there was no way, he had a serious arrow wound in his leg, and he couldn't walk at all, so he had to honestly let people carry it and move with the army.

After a month, the hope of finding someone no longer existed, so he relieved himself to help Yang Wangxiu deal with some chores in the camp.

In the past two days, the army has turned back to the Shandong territory, and the grain and grass in the camp are no longer enough for three days' food, and if there is no food, the army will inevitably collapse completely, and it can be said that it has now reached the last moment of the Zhao army.

Although there were still four or five thousand people in Zhao Yingyuan's department, like all the peasant armies, the vast majority of them were old and weak women and children, and they were the families of Zhao Jun, and there were only four or five hundred people who were really capable of fighting.

This point of people can't even beat the larger villages, so they can only get some supplies from some scattered villages, but the world has been in chaos for so many years, and what can be robbed has already been robbed, how can four or five thousand mouths be enough to eat?

Regarding the current situation, Wang Yan had long expected in his heart that the Zhao army was isolated from the main force and had become a lonely army, and if he wanted to survive, he had to surrender.

Compared with Jiannu, the same kind of Daming is undoubtedly easier for it to accept, and Zhao Yingyuan and Yang Wang Xiu were both Ming officials, one was a deputy general in Henan, and the other was a soldier, and now it is easy for the two to accept the Ming Dynasty.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wang Yan thought about taking advantage of the army to rest and take the opportunity to persuade the Zhao army to surrender.

Under the big tree, Zhao Yingyuan and Yang Wang Xiu were talking, their faces were full of frustration, and when they saw Wang Yan coming over, their already bad faces were even more depressed.

Since Wang Yan recovered from his injury, he has been helping Yang Wang Xiu manage the grain and grass in the camp, and everything is in order, which makes the two of them have a lot less trouble. It's just that the camp has often run out of food recently, and every time Wang Yan comes out, he urges food, and when the two of them see him, they subconsciously think that the food in the camp is exhausted.

"Shiheng, but the food in the camp will be exhausted again?" When Wang Yan walked to him, Yang Wang Xiu said with a bitter face.

Hearing this, Wang Yan was slightly stunned, then reacted, saluted the two, and said, "It's still enough for a three-day eclipse!" ”

Seeing that it was not urging food, the two couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

These days, although Wang Yan has helped deal with the things in the camp, Zhao Yingyuan knows that he has not returned to his heart, and usually does not take the initiative to come to see him.

"General Zhao! Lord Young! Now that food and grass are becoming more and more difficult to obtain, even if we spend these days, what will happen in the future? Can the two adults make a decision? ”

A person like Zhao Yingyuan, who has been rolling in troubled times for many years, is by no means a straw bag, and naturally has his own set of ideas in his heart, but because of weighing the pros and cons, he can't make a decision for a while, and what Wang Yan has to do today is just a little guidance.

His words made Zhao Yingyuan silent for a while, and King Yang Xiu on the side had to say when he saw it: "What countermeasures does Shiheng have?" Let's get it straight! ”

Wang Yan smiled slightly, saluted again, and then spoke: "Now that the main force of the Shun army has been defeated again and again, there is no possibility of advancing eastward, our army is trapped in Shandong and isolated from the main force, and has become a lonely division. ”

Zhao Yingyuan actually had the idea of surrendering, but he couldn't make a decision, he listened to Wang Yan's words, and he was already a little moved, but he had already made a mighty general in the Dashun Dynasty, and now he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty with a little remnant of the army, what benefits can he get?

And there is a Qing Dynasty in the north, and the strength seems to be even stronger, although he will not be a traitor as a last resort, but after all, that is also a way out, so he did not answer Wang Yan, but wanted to listen to him analyze and analyze again.

"Shiheng asked me to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but now that the land of Shandong and northern Henan have fallen into the hands of the Qing court, I have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and I am still trapped in Shandong!"

Seeing that Zhao Yingyuan was a little moved, Wang Yan was still a little happy, but after listening to his words, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Wasn't Shandong recovered by King Ji?

Why did it fall into the hands of the Qing court again in the blink of an eye?

Wang Yan didn't expect that in less than three months, Shandong changed hands again, and he almost squirted out a mouthful of old blood!

After careful questioning, he learned that Zhao Yingyuan and Yang Wangxiu were talking about this matter just now.

From their mouths, Wang Yan learned that in June, Dolgon first sent his subordinate Wang Aoyong to appease Shandong in the name of the servants of the household and the second ministry of the workers, and then sent Gushan Ezhenjue Luo Bahana and Shi Tingzhu to lead the troops south.

After the traitor Wu Sangui defeated Li Zicheng and captured the Beijing Division, he vowed to "never be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty for the rest of his life".

On June 21, the Qing army arrived outside the city of Dezhou, the king of Ji, Zhu Shuaiqin, and many officials and gentry still wanted to refuse their orders, unwilling to surrender to the Qing, but their subordinates were all rabble, defeated again and again, did not dare to fight with the Qing army, and could not get the support of Shi Kefa and others who were cowering in the Jianghuai area, Zhang Youfang, the governor of Dezhou, was afraid that the Qing army would slaughter the city, and the place was troubled, and lobbied everywhere, and the Qing court canceled the shaving order when the Qing court occupied the time, and the king of Ji was forced to disband his subordinates and surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

A large number of prefectures and counties in Shandong were handed over to the Qing court.

After listening to Yang Wang Xiu's narration, Wang Yan felt a pain in his heart.

Historically, it was as weak as Nan Chen, Shang Si Northern Expedition, and recovered mountains and rivers.

The Ming Dynasty still has half of the mountains and rivers, and the six departments in Nanjing are complete, and there are more than 500,000 strong troops that can fight, which is much better than the situation of Jin and Song Nandu. But the southern ministers did not advance and sat back and watched their homeland fall. The land of Qilu, the road of grain transportation, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains fell into the hands of foreign races so easily.

Wang Yan was so angry, he almost turned his back on it!

Since ancient times, the river must be guarded, and the land of Shandong will be solidified, and the old mountains and rivers can be restored, and the retreat can be settled in the southeast. Now that Shandong is lost, Jiannu Bingfeng pointed directly at Jianghuai, and he had no choice but to be safe.

At this time, Wang Yan couldn't help but think of the picture in the dream, and suddenly he had a spirit, and a cold sweat broke out on his body.

When he looked at the two adults again, he had already made up his mind that no matter what, he had to persuade Zhao Yingyuan to do his best to save the situation.

He knew what Zhao Yingyuan was thinking in his heart, but he was worried about his identity as a thief, and the strength in his hands was weak, so he would not be reused after he descended. If you want to convince him, you must let him see enough benefits and hope for becoming an official and knight.

Wang Yan thought for a while in his heart, and he already had a countermeasure, he bowed his hand to the two adults, and said confidently: "The general naturally wants to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, the Jiannu is a foreign race, and the general surrenders to him, but he is just a minion, and he can't be reused or trusted." But if the general descends to the light, he can give you a fame and wealth in his later life! ”

Wang Yan's words aroused Zhao Yingyuan's curiosity, "Oh? What fame and wealth? ”

"Just now, I heard Lord Yang's words, Jiang Hao in northern Jin has surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and is fighting fiercely with the Dashun army, and the Qing soldiers in Shandong have returned north to support. Manchuria is only 200,000, to deal with the main force of Dashun, and to guard the north Zhili, Shandong must be empty, why not take it, raise the righteous banner of supporting the Ming to resist the Qing, the world will inevitably shake, when the time comes to connect the two Huai Ming army, the big event can be decided, and the general will also be rewarded by the imperial court! Wang Yan mentioned the spirit.

Although Zhao Yingyuan is a military general, he has been rolling in troubled times for many years, so he is naturally not a person who can be persuaded by a few empty words, he frowned slightly, and pondered: "Uh~, Shiheng is right!" But I am still uneasy in my heart, not to mention whether the two Huai Ming armies will support it, just say that it is difficult for me to fight a small county town with this little man, how to fight a big city and occupy Shandong? ”

"Shandong's loss and recovery will be of great benefit to the situation, unless the southern princes want to be pointed out by Qianfu, and they don't believe that the Shi Pavilion can ignore this second chance." Wang Yanqiang argued.

Hearing this, Zhao Yingyuan was silent for a while, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed in Wang Yan. Seeing this, Yang Wang Xiu on the side suddenly spoke: "I have an old relationship with Li Huaxi, the right attendant of the military department, and he is now being ordered to recruit the Yudong Righteous Army, I can go to visit in person, and I think I should be able to invite reinforcements from Lianghuai!" ”

Hearing this, Zhao Yingyuan couldn't help but be overjoyed, and then looked at Wang Yan and said, "It's so good!" ”

Wang Yan also seemed to be encouraged, and said: "The general doesn't have to attack the city, Wang Aoyong sits in Qingzhou to appease, we can pretend to surrender and take the opportunity to enter, and the Heng domain is also in the city, we can support the throne hall, support the domain to resist the Qing, and the world will inevitably shake." ”

After listening to the words, Zhao Yingyuan secretly thought about it and felt that it was very feasible, and the decadent atmosphere was swept away, and he immediately slapped his thigh, stood up and laughed: "Haha?? I am not mistaken, Shiheng is really talented, I will listen to your plan, enter Qingzhou, and take Shandong! ”

(There are too many descendants of the old Zhu family, so that the words with the five elements are not enough at all, many words are made by the old Zhu family themselves, King Ji was originally called Zhu Shuai (钅火owed), the author really doesn't know, and he can't type, so he can only change it to Zhu Shuaiqin.) ）