At the same time, on the other side of the Huai River, Yiyang County.
Although Gao Xunzhi was there, they still acted without reporting to the emperor later. Song Shuo wrote an urgent letter overnight about their plan to send troops to Yiyang, and as soon as the letter was sent out, Gao Xunzhi allocated troops to Di Fazeng.
Since it was a surprise attack, they did not leave in broad daylight, but instead sneaked away in the middle of the night, all marching quickly towards Yiyang.
The Huai River was heavily guarded, and the soldiers of Nanyong were watching the movements in the north on the river every day. So they did as Gao Xunzhi had said at the beginning, taking the land route from Jingzhou, crossing the Ying River, detouring to Nanyang County, and sneaking to the city of Yiyang without alerting the Huai River defenders.
Zhang Biezhi was full of doubts, because he really didn't know how Di Fazeng was going to take down Yiyang with just these ten thousand people. But Di Fazeng spoke so confidently, as if Yiyang was easy for him to capture.
When they reached a hillside, Di Fazeng asked everyone to hide. Zhang Biezhi squatted beside Di Fazeng and couldn't help asking him, "You don't want to climb in from the city wall, do you?"
The walls of Yiyang were not as high as those of Shengle. It was easy to climb, but what would happen after climbing in? There was no king among them to charge. When the two armies faced each other, it would still be a matter of numbers. With only 10,000 people, it was hard to say whether they could defeat the defenders of Yiyang City.
Di Fazeng looked at him and asked him, "Do you know who the governor of Yiyang is?"
Zhang Biezhi: “…”
He didn't know, but he didn't want to admit it. After trying hard to recall, he actually found some impression: "It seems to be someone from the Yang family?"
Zhang Biezhi remembered this person because he was related to Yang Zangyi, who almost killed all of them.
Di Fazeng nodded and said, "Yang Shizhen, he is the cousin of Prime Minister Yang. He has been the governor of Yiyang since the Yang family moved south ten years ago. The places near Jinling have been divided up by those noble families. Yiyang is the territory of the Yang family, so the court has never replaced him."
Zhang Biezhi looked at Di Fazeng irritably: "Does this have anything to do with how you plan to get in?"
Di Fazeng looked at him who seemed to know nothing and sighed without any surprise.
Zhang Biezhi: “…………”
I don't even dislike you, how dare you dislike me?!
Before Zhang Biezhi got angry, Di Fazeng said, "Yiyang does not belong to the court of Nanyong, but to the Yang family. The guards here listen to the Yang family, and Yang Shizhen has been operating here for many years. He is the person whose words have the most influence."
This time Di Fazeng's words were more obvious. Zhang Biezhi looked at him numbly. He tried hard for a while, and finally waited until a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He asked in a low voice: "You mean, to catch the thief first, catch the leader?"
Di Fazeng turned his head and curled his lips in a rare gesture: "Yang Shizhen has a concubine who is settled in Jiangxia County. The woman is the illegitimate daughter of the Yang family in Jiangxia. She is not presentable, so he arranged for her to stay outside. But he likes that woman very much and visits her once or twice a month. Yang Shizhen's wife is the legitimate daughter of another family. He has an average status in the Yang family and cannot afford to offend this lady, so he has been hiding his affairs from her over the years. When he went to visit that woman, he did not dare to bring too many people or his own private soldiers."
Zhang Biezhi understood what he had said: "While Yang Shizhen is visiting the woman, we will intercept him halfway and use him to threaten the Nanyong people guarding the city to open the city gate. With Yang Shizhen in our hands, they will definitely not dare to act rashly. Besides, we can also beat Yang Shizhen up outside the city and find out how many defenders there are in the city."
Di Fa Zeng: "..."
"No need to be so complicated. Yang Shi is the most fearful official I have ever met. You will know once you catch him. He will do anything you ask him to do."
At this point, he snorted and laughed: "Open the city gate? That's too easy. I want them to voluntarily lay down their weapons and surrender obediently."
Zhang Biezhi blurted out: "Who would be so stupid! What are you daydreaming about?"
Difa glanced at Zhang Biezhi, but this time he didn't explain.
There are differences between cities, and between soldiers. There are almost no aristocratic families north of the Huai River, so Zhang Biezhi has no idea how terrible the control of aristocratic families over a place is. This is their tricky point, but also their fatal point.
Nanyong was established ten years ago, and Di Fazeng had also been in Nanyong for ten years. Even though he had never entered the court of Nanyong, after so many years of observation, many things had naturally been imprinted in his mind without him having to think about them. This was a corrupt land, very similar to his hometown of Rouran. Although one was a slave system and the other was a feudal system, the difference was really not that big. People at the top would always find a way to trample on people at the bottom, no matter whether the other party had the status of a slave or not.
Even if Di Fazeng were to say so, he would think that Rouran was stronger than Nanyong, because Rouran slaves also had blood, and they knew how to make trouble from time to time to give the slave owners a headache, while Nanyong, from top to bottom, was full of cowards. …
Because the situation north of the Huai River was too chaotic and the commission paid was not as much as that in Nanyong, Di Fazeng seldom went to the north often. Even if he went there, it was only to carry out missions and he had no time to pay attention to the characteristics of the north.
Therefore, it was not until this year that he discovered that the people of the Central Plains were not without blood, but had lost their blood due to the suppression of the court and the aristocratic families. When there was an opportunity, they would immediately seize it, such as studying, joining the army, and improving their lives. Verbal criticism can indeed make a major force gradually lose its status, but when facts speak louder than words, the role of words is not so great. The Zhenbei Army must win.
The King of Zhenbei will surely ascend the throne of the Nine Fives.
This was a fact that Di Fazeng gradually realized. Xiao Rong's eloquence at the beginning did not really impress Di Fazeng. He was still hesitant and even unwilling to show his true ability. After realizing this fact, Di Fazeng immediately changed his attitude towards the Zhenbei Army.
People tend to seek benefits and avoid harm. Since he already knows that this is a team that is bound to win, why doesn't he join it?
For such a young King of Zhenbei, the throne will not be the end of his life. There are more and brighter things in his future. Following such a monarch is like standing in the arena for a lifetime. Just thinking about it makes people's blood boil.
It’s not that Di Fazeng doesn’t like to laugh. He just won’t show his emotions in front of people he doesn’t trust. When he starts to trust the people around him, he will also show various expressions.
Just like now, Di Fazeng's eyes were burning with ambition, and the gate of Yiyang seemed no longer a gate, but a stepping stone for Di Fazeng. His glorious life would start from here, and the identity of a mercenary became a thing of the past from this day on. From now on, he no longer lived for guarding, but for conquering.
Every cell in Difazeng's body was clamoring for something, and he felt his heart beating violently, completely different from his previous half-dead state. Difazeng was enjoying this moment of transformation, but before he could enjoy it for long, he was suddenly hit on the shoulder by someone, causing him to stagger and almost hit his face on the pit opposite.
Di Fa Zeng: "..."
He turned his head. After a brainstorm, Zhang Biezhi finally came back to his senses. He asked Di Fazeng in confusion: "How do you know so much about Yang Shizhen?"
Di Fazeng: "...in the summer of the third year of Shengde, he hired me as a guard to escort him from Yiyang to Jiangxia. Two months later, he kicked me out."
Zhang Biezhi: "It's been three years. What if that woman is already dead?"
Di Fa Zeng: "Not dead."
Zhang Biezhi: "How do you know?"
Di Fazeng: "Because when I was in Jinling, I heard that woman was still looking for me. She wanted to hire me back as a servant."
Zhang Biezhi: “…………” He asked unnecessary questions.
And why can a woman be attracted to a man with such a dead look like Di Fa Zeng, and why can he, who is so lively and considerate, only touch the woman's hand when drinking wine, and can only be avoided on weekdays? !
No one knows the answer. …
Because of the ground law, they soon found the governor who was about to meet his lover in secret. This governor was really afraid of death. He kept repeating "Don't kill me". He also wanted to pay Zhang Biezhi, but Zhang Biezhi didn't want to touch his money. Seeing that this way didn't work, he looked at Zhang Biezhi in horror. It was unknown what he saw. He suddenly cried out and shouted, "Please spare my life, warrior! If the money is not enough, I have twelve concubines for you to enjoy! If you like women with strong sexual desire, you can also give me my wife!"
Zhang Biezhi: “…………”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
