choke element

The stream in the mountains is gurgling, shaking off scattered light spots against the moonlight, looking along the flow of the light spots, it can be seen that it winds far away.There are lush reeds and shrubs around the stream, which sway gently with the wind.

The night is beautiful, if Guo Ning has literary talents, maybe he can chant a few lines.But if it is combined with the sound of gnats and poisonous insects buzzing among the reeds, and the unique sour smell of sweat from the horses from the stables at the upper wind, it will not feel very good.

The environment of the cottage is also really simple, there are no roads connecting different areas of the village, at most, a few flat stones are moved to step on the steep slopes, which can barely be called steps.

Near streams, this stone becomes saturated with water vapor and becomes slippery.Guo Ning used both hands and feet to climb up, then took the torch from Ni Yi's hand, and let Ni Yi also climb up.The leaders of the Red Coat Army followed suit one after another.

Just now, the two of them had dinner with the soldiers of the Ding Navy in the Lieshan military camp opposite Xiong'er Mountain. The staple food was rice balls made of corn.This kind of rice balls can be stored for a long time after being steamed and dried, and they are very hungry. Because of the imminent expedition, there are also broth and scones. Take a chance.

The meat in the broth belonged to all kinds of birds and beasts. Many birds and beasts in the range of Nishan must have been hunted down recently.It can be seen that Liu Erzu worked very hard to accommodate thousands of Ding navy officers and men.

Because no one expected that Guo Ning would personally participate in this attack, there was no preparation for a big man to settle in the village of Xiong'er Mountain.The officers and men of the Ding Navy warmly invited Guo Ning to live in their barracks, just add a tent, and Guo Ning agreed immediately.

But Liu Erzu quickly gave up his temporary residence in Xiong'er Mountain.He is the host, and Guo Ning has no reason to object.

So Guo Ning finished his meal and crossed the canyon with a torch.To be honest, walking at night in the mountains is really not easy, and he felt that the two rice balls and two cakes in his stomach had consumed more than half of it just for this journey.

Although the Red Coat Army has declined, it is all supported by Guo Ning's secret aid, but as the leader of the Taishan group of bandits, Liu Erzu will have no problem even if he wants to build a house for himself with gold, pearls and treasures.However, he was born as a farmer and had been poor all his life, even when he was old, so the house in Xiong'er Mountain was quite simple, not much different from the dilapidated house that Guo Ning lived in when he first arrived in Tangluo, Hebei.

Liu Erzu followed Guo Ning at the top of the steps and accompanied him to the house.

He initially introduced the furnishings in the house to Guo Ning.For example, the magpie painting bow hanging on the wall was hired by a rich family to go to the frontier for ten years when he was young, and he got it from a tea merchant during the period; and the armor in the corner was captured when he attacked Jeju. .

In the end, his family was also a little embarrassed: "I really didn't expect the National Council to come in person, so it's really simple."

Guo Ning didn't mind at all.

With his hands on his hips, his eyes glanced at the knife rack by the bed, the small shield leaning by the window...these placements are only chosen by experienced fighters.In an instant, Guo Ning simulated in his mind the situation of waking up from sleep, grabbing the knife by the bedside with his backhand, then lifting the shield by the window, and jumping out.

He didn't look closely any more, just went to the corner of the wall out of habit, and sure enough, he found two jars placed side by side.A jar of ointment and a jar of strong wine are used to relieve pain and resist dampness and cold.

This is not a coincidence, but a trick handed down by word of mouth among the veterans.Pu Liyan of the Jin Army and senior Jia Zhengjun often equipped them in this way. Guo Ning did this in Tangluo, and he still maintains this habit to this day.

Guo Ning laughed heartily. Liu Erzu stood behind and looked at his two clay pots. He understood what Guo Ning meant and laughed too.

Whether it is farming or serving as a soldier, they are all humble people with a bitter background.You have to sell your labor, you have to sell your life, you have to endure beatings and insults from officials, you don’t have enough food and clothing, and you struggle in a more difficult environment day by day. Some people can’t survive at all, so they rebel; After defeating foreign enemies, the final path is no different from that of rebellion.

Guo Ning said calmly to Liu Erzu: "Dajin won't exist for long."

"What does the Duke mean?"

"I've always felt that when it comes to war, it's not necessary to count 10 people galloping back and forth, fighting for three to five years. The common people are too miserable. As long as you do it beautifully, it's like wiping your neck with a knife in three or five rounds of fighting between two people. The victory and defeat and life and death are all determined. Therefore, this time not only the Xuzhou road, but also the means of attracting the Kaifeng Jin army's northern line in the Hebei direction, Huainan and even the west of Beijing to make the Song army continue to entangle the Kaifeng Thirteen Captains, all arrangements have been made. I will take Kaifeng, and the small court of King Sui will surely be destroyed."

Guo Ning looked at the deep mountain outside the window, turned around, and continued: "As the king of the country, I personally raised troops and made such great achievements. Why should I be promoted to a second rank in the Central Capital? Wang, in a year or two at most, the subordinates can't hold back anymore, and they want to give me a yellow robe to wear."

What he said was very straightforward. Liu Erzu listened intently, and couldn't help asking at this moment: "Mr. Zhou, do you wear it?"

"The yellow robe may not be comfortable to wear, but if I don't wear it, who would dare to wear it? Naturally, I have to ask the Jurchen to get out of the way, and I will be the emperor."

"As for the Red Coat Army..." Guo Ning lifted a dagger from the knife rack and weighed it:

"My territory has grown, my status has grown, and there have been many ministers from the dragon. In the past two years, I have many old and golden ministers under my command, but in the capital city or other places, there will always be ghosts from time to time. The truly reliable ones will always He is a warrior who started from humble beginnings and has been in the army for a long time. He once fought side by side with me. Therefore, don’t take the small conflicts in the early years to heart. I hope you will make more contributions this time, so that you can be a step up... Get along with each other in the future , and the opportunity for everyone to make contributions is indispensable."

Liu Erzu is nearly sixty years old, and he has seen a lot of people in his life, and he can hear Guo Ning's sincerity.

In the past two years, the big gold loyal minister Guo Ning has been bragging everywhere. The harder the bragging, the more everyone understands what is going to happen.However, as the focus of countless people's speculation, Guo Ning said it so frankly, which is really enough to confide in his heart.

With the current level of status, and the deepness of the city government, he has been acting for more than half a year, just to kill the Kaifeng court with one blow. How could such a person make a promise indiscriminately?

Such a person can still use the rebels who came from a bitter background to put the opportunity in front of them.He even made promises about his later military and political status.If you have doubts again, how is it different from a fool?The current situation is not that the two families are working together to calculate, but that the Red Coats are going to use their skills to open up a future for themselves!
What's more...

If Guo Ning can really destroy the Kaifeng court, and soon overthrow the Zhongdu court, it will be a change of dynasty.Every one of the Taishan bandits went to Huangquan after death, and they could tell their parents and family members with pat their chests that we destroyed the Kingdom of Jin, and I will avenge the blood feud that has lasted for many years in our family for you!

Liu Erzu opened his mouth, and suddenly the door was pushed hard, making a loud bang.

Peng Yibin clenched his fists and entered, staring at Guo Ning: "I don't care about anything else. I just want to ask, Zhou Guogong, you will not continue to be a dog for the Jinren, will you?"

The door of the room was only closed, Guo Ning and Liu Erzu wanted to talk in private, most of the subordinates were far away, only a few leaders gathered around.Peng Yibin was one of the guards standing at the door. When he rushed in like this suddenly, the other two guards were caught off guard and rushed to stop him.

As soon as Ni Yi stepped into the room, he heard Peng Yibin keep talking about dogs.How can you bear this?Ni Yi suddenly became furious: "Damn you!"

He raised his hand and drew his sword. Hao Ding, who originally wanted to control Peng Yibin with him, panicked and turned to dissuade him.

Guo Ning smiled and watched for a while, then said slowly:

"I haven't been a dog in the past few years. On the contrary, those who tried to drive and overwhelm me died very quickly one by one. That's why today's Dajin court, including the sick emperor in Zhongdu, dare to sit down. The person above me is gone. Peng Yibin, of course you don’t want to be the dog of the Jurchens. But, I’m going to spend a whole day in the world and establish a new dynasty, can you stand up for me?”

Peng Yibin's face was flushed, and veins twitched on his forehead: "If you mean what you say, I will be the pioneer!"

Guo Ning laughed out loud.

Amidst the laughter, he stood in front of Peng Yibin: "From here to Xuzhou, to Guide Mansion, and then to Kaifeng for [-] miles, you have to trek through muddy beaches along the way. Are you familiar with the hydrology and roads?"

The Red Coat Army that shrunk Taishan was mostly local peasants and poor people. If it wasn't for the Jurchen oppression, they would never have left their hometown for ten miles in their entire lives.Only Peng Yibin is a knowledgeable person who often travels to contact various parties for Liu Erzu.

He proudly replied: "You can walk with your eyes closed!"

"Being the vanguard of the army, opening roads across mountains, building bridges when encountering waters, attacking difficulties and clearing out the enemies before you, do you have the ability?"

"I don't care if I have the ability, why don't Duke Zhou give it a try? If not, just cut off my head!"

The next morning.

On both sides of the abandoned road under Xiong'er Mountain, small animals and birds suddenly left their lairs in groups.The little beasts felt the ground shaking.

The birds hovered in the air, and they saw groups of armored warriors appearing in streams and valleys within dozens of miles around, and groups of cavalry rode forward one after another.When the birds flap their wings suddenly, they fly high into the sky.Its sight was replaced by flags fluttering in the wind one after another. At a glance, it was like a tide gushing from a deep mountain, and the waves were rolling and boundless.

The remaining Taishan troops of the Red Coat Army did not act according to the plan agreed with Guo Ning in advance.

They came out in full force.