Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 429 Changes in Tongguan!

Faced with the generals' doubts, Zhong Zhen did not get angry immediately. Instead, he suppressed his irritability and anxiety. He glanced sharply at the excited people in the tent, and there was a hint of ruthlessness on his old face.

He slowly walked to the center of the tent, his voice low but with unquestionable majesty: "Everyone, do you think that I am keeping my troops here because I am afraid of Su Yun?
Humph! If you were afraid, you wouldn't have volunteered to come here in the first place!"

He suddenly drew out the sword from his waist, and with a flash of cold light, the tip of the sword pointed directly at the hanging northwest map: "Look at the terrain of Hangu Pass! Su Yun is an expert in surprise attacks and is used to defeating the enemy with fewer troops.

It seems that we have many flaws, but in fact it is a strategy to lure the enemy.

If we attack rashly at this moment, it will play into his hands!"

Zhong Zhen's eyes were like torches, sweeping over those generals who bowed their heads and kept silent, "The cowardice and laxity they deliberately showed in the past few days were all to lure Su Yun into the trap.

If he thinks our army is unstable, he will definitely lead his elite troops to attack us. That will be our best chance to annihilate him in one fell swoop!"

Seeing that some generals still looked puzzled, Zhongzhen slowed down his tone and said in a deep voice: "I have been a soldier all my life and experienced countless battles, big and small. When have I ever fought a battle without preparation?

Although Su Yun is strong, he is not invincible.

The reason for keeping our troops in place now is to better seize the opportunity.

Once he steps into our ambush circle, you all should follow me and attack together, and we will surely achieve unprecedented feats!

By then, the situation in the northwest will be reversed, and you will all have great fame and fortune, won't you all have little?"

After that, Zhong Zhen put his sword back into the scabbard heavily and made a muffled sound: "From today on, anyone who questions military orders and disrupts the morale of the army will be punished by military law!

Go back and reorganize your troops, and be ready for battle at any time!"

The generals looked at Zhong Zhen's resolute expression and listened to his powerful words. Their doubts were slightly alleviated. Although they were still uneasy, they could only clasp their fists, accept the orders, and leave the tent.

After everyone left, Zhong Zhen's tense body relaxed slightly, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. He knew very well that this psychological game was much more difficult than he had imagined.

Zong Shidao saw the pressure in his uncle's heart and said worriedly, "Uncle, what should we do now? Should we continue to waste time in Hangu Pass?"

Zhong Zhen let out a sigh of relief, suppressed his anxiety, and said, "We have passed the hilly area near Tongguan and are now entering the Hanguguan section.
If Su Yun doesn't show up again, we will have to try to cross Mount Xiao. Once we cross Mount Xiao, the road ahead will be flat.

Once we enter Chang'an, with our 50,000 to 60,000 troops and horses responding to Lu's military state, Su Yun will be the one who suffers.

By then, as long as they confront Su Yun near Chang'an, hehe, Yan'an Prefecture has such little wealth, how can it compare with the imperial court? If they waste a year or two, I'm afraid the Jingsai Army will collapse!
Therefore, we have to try to cross Mount Xiao. It is true that Mount Xiao is conducive to ambushes, but as long as we arrange it properly, we can still pass through smoothly. Once we pass through, it will not be something Su Yun can control. "

The two brothers Zhong Shidao nodded in unison.

Then Zhong Shizhong suddenly remembered something and said, "If we pass through Mount Xiao, then the situation in Chang'an will naturally become a moving chess piece, but Tongguan is still our lifeline, so Zhe Keshi..."

Zhong Zhen frowned when he heard this and said, "Zhe Keshishi shouldn't be like this. Although the Zhe family has many conflicts with the imperial court, and has many conflicts of interest with our Zhong family, the Zhe family, the Zhong family and the imperial court still share honor and disgrace.

If Zhe Keshi sells us to Su Yun this time, then his Zhe family will not be tolerated by the court. Even if the northwest is retaken in the future, the court will not reuse the Zhe family. "

When Zhong Zhen said this, the two brothers Zhong Shidao looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes.

Seeing this, the doctor asked, "Why, do you think there is still a risk?"

Zhong Shidao hesitated and said, "After the defeat of Yongle City, my second uncle was still valued..."

When Zhong Zhen heard this, he was horrified all over.

What Zhong Shidao meant was that Zhong Yan had been opposed to building a city in Yongle City from the beginning, believing that Yongle City was not far from the ancient city of Yinzhou, had cliffs on three sides and no springs, so building a city there would inevitably fail.

However, Xu Xi and others did not listen to his advice. Instead, they thought that Zhong Yan was domineering and dissented. In the end, Zhong Yan was ordered by the court to stay in Yanzhou and was unable to participate in the specific construction and defense decisions of Yongle City.

Therefore, Zhong Yan was full of resentment towards Xu Xi. Therefore, after Yongle City was besieged by the Western Xia army, Zhong Yan chose to wait and see and not rescue because of his previous conflicts with Xu Xi and his dissatisfaction with the decision to build the city.

This made Yongle City isolated and helpless when it was besieged, and it lost possible external rescue forces, which aggravated the crisis of Yongle City and was one of the factors leading to its eventual fall.

According to normal logic, Zhong Yan should have been severely punished for not coming to the rescue and causing the court's grand strategy to fail. However, he continued to work in Yanzhou, an important city, until his death. It is hard to say that this is a punishment.

The most bizarre thing about this matter is that Xu Xi was the late emperor's confidant.

The emperor's confidant was killed by his own brother, but he did not punish his brother. If he was killed by Zhe Keshi, would the current emperor punish Zhe Keshi for himself, or would he still rely on Zhe's power to fight against Su Yun?

There is no need to think too much. The power that is still alive is definitely more important. As for the dead, death is like a light going out.

Even if the incident became known to everyone, the government might still have to hold its nose and continue to use Zhe.

Zhong Zhen's expression made the brothers Zhong Shidao and Zhong Zhen feel uneasy. Zhong Shidao said quickly, "Uncle, why don't you let your nephew take a group of elite soldiers back to take over Tongguan? We can't let others control our lifeline!"

Zhong Zhen frowned and thought for a while before saying, "Okay, you brothers, take three thousand elite soldiers and go back to take over Tongguan. If Zhe Keshi dares to obstruct, I will allow you to kill him on the spot!"

The brothers Zong Shidao and Zong Shidao felt their bodies tremble immediately, and then heard their uncle Zong Zhi say: "You are right, being useful is the most important thing, as for whether there are mistakes or not, that is a matter for the future.

Haha, among the younger generation of the Zhe family, there is only Zhe Keshi who is worth looking at. Now that Zhe Keshi is dead, the Zhe family will basically be of no use in the next ten years."

Zhong Shidao and Zhong Shizhong naturally understood Zhong Zhen’s meaning. Zhong Zhen’s meaning was to take the opportunity to kill Zhe Keshi and eliminate the only threat to the Zhe family.

In this way, we can prevent Zhe Keshi from betraying the Zhong family and also make the Zhe family completely decline. From now on, the Northwest will belong to the Zhong family!
The two brothers looked at each other, then nodded together and said, "Uncle, we understand!"

Then the two of them said goodbye to the clinician and left the tent.

But after a while, Zhong Shidao came back quietly and said to Zhong Zhen: "Uncle, I can do this by myself. Let Shizhong follow you. He is naturally intelligent and will definitely learn more from you."

Zhong Zhen smiled slightly and said, "Why, are you afraid that I can't protect you?"

Zong Shidao looked serious and lowered his voice, saying, "My nephew is worried that Zhe Keshi has already taken precautions.

If I return with Shizhong, he might become desperate and gather the Tongguan defenders to fight with us.

But if I go back alone with a few people, he might underestimate me and think I am just testing him. This way, it will be easier for him to act according to circumstances."

Zhong Zhen stared at Zhong Shidao with deep eyes. After a moment of silence, he patted his shoulder heavily and said, "Good! You are worthy of being a son of the Zhong family. You are thoughtful. But this journey is extremely dangerous, so you must be careful.

If Zhe Keshi really has the intention to rebel, you should not attack rashly, but find a chance to escape and come back to make plans later."

As he spoke, Zhong Zhen quickly wrote an order, ordering Zhong Shidao to take over the defense of Tongguan, and then he stamped it and handed it to Zhong Shidao, "Take this order with you. If any of the Tongguan defenders disobey orders, they will be executed first and then reported to the emperor!"

Zhong Shidao took the order with both hands, put it in his arms solemnly, and bowed deeply to Zhong Zhen: "Uncle, rest assured, I will not fail in my mission."

After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the tent.

The night was as dark as ink. Zhong Shidao mounted his horse and was about to quietly leave the camp with three thousand elite soldiers, but was grabbed by Zhong Shizhong by the reins.

Seeing this, Zhong Shidao had no choice but to follow his brother Zhong Shizhong to the side.

Zhong Shizhong said angrily, "Brother, we agreed to go together, why did you ask for orders from uncle in private? As an elder brother, are you afraid that I, your younger brother, will take away your credit?"

Zhong Shidao felt somewhat helpless when he heard this, and said, "What are you talking about? I naturally have my own considerations."

Zhong Shizhong snorted and said, "Is there anything else you are considering that you can't tell me?"

Zong Shidao shook his head, looked around, and then whispered, "This time the risk is too great. Our father passed away early, so there are only two of us brothers. If both of us are killed, then our lineage will be completely gone.

Therefore, I, as a brother, am thinking about going there myself. If this matter can be accomplished, it would be great. If Zhe Keshi takes the initiative, at least you can spread the incense for our lineage."

Upon hearing this, Master Zhong said, "Then you need me to go with you. It will always be a little more powerful if I am here with you."

Zong Shidao whispered, "No, I have more worries. If this succeeds, our Zong family may not be punished, but our brothers may be executed and may not survive. Even if they survive, our future may be ruined!"

Zhong Shizhong was shocked when he heard this and said, "But my uncle..."

Zong Shidao laughed bitterly upon hearing this and said, "In a court, there are various factions, including the old party and the new party. In the northwest, there are also the Zhe clan and the Zhong clan. Can our Zhe clan be an exception?"

Zhong Shizhong suddenly felt a cold sweat on his back.

He suddenly remembered that their Zhong family had three direct branches. Their father was one, Zhong Yan was one, and Zhong Zhen was one. They were the eldest branch, and their brothers were the most outstanding among the younger generation. If the Zhong family rose again this time, it was very likely that they would be the ones in charge of the family next.

If this continues, the sons of the patriarch may become collateral relatives, and it will not be their turn to speak in the future.

But if the two brothers died, or had no future, then the resources that Zhongzhen's reuse this time brought to the Zhong family could revive Zhongzhen's lineage!

Master Zhong said softly: "There is nothing wrong with what Third Uncle did, it is all for the good of the Zhong family. As for who will enjoy the fruits of their labor in the end, everyone has their own selfish desires, so you can't blame him.

However, I hope that it is our lineage that will bear the fruits of this labor, so I will take care of this matter, and you must stay."

Zhong Shizhong said anxiously: "If that's the case, then I should go! Brother, you are much smarter than me. Only if you stay, you can let our lineage enjoy this achievement!"

Zhong Shidao smiled slightly when he heard this and said, "Don't worry, I just think that we dare not do this together, not that I think this will definitely be a bad thing, so you just stay, I believe our luck has come.

Well, that's it! Take care of yourself! "

Zhong Shidao patted Zhong Shizhong's shoulder heavily, then jumped on his horse and rode away without looking back.

Zhong Shizhong looked at his brother's back and stood there for a while.

At this time, Zhong Zhen, who was staying in the tent, looked at the empty tent door and felt an indescribable uneasiness in his heart.

He walked to the map, staring at the location of Tongguan, and muttered to himself: "Zhe Keshi, you'd better not do anything stupid..."

On the other side, Zhong Shidao led the team galloping in the night.

The team traveled quickly and soon approached Tongguan.

From afar, the wall of Tongguan stood like a giant beast in the night, with torches flickering on the top of the city and faint sounds of clappers coming from the air.

Zhong Shidao raised his hand to signal the team to stop, and whispered: "Rest here for a while, and we will enter the city after daybreak!"

Everyone obeyed the order and stopped in a hidden forest.

In the military tent, Zong Shidao was thinking about how to take the opportunity to get rid of Zhe Keshi tomorrow.

Zhe Keshi must die. If he doesn't die, it will be difficult for the Zhong family to dominate the northwest.

But even if he deserves to die, there are still some rules to how to kill him. If you don't know the method, you will end up getting yourself into trouble. You must have a legitimate reason to do so.

While he was thinking about it, a scout suddenly came to report.

Zhong Shidao was a very cautious person. Even in Tongguan, he would not be careless. He had sent out scouts early, and it was time for them to come back and report the news.

As soon as the scout came in, he knelt on one knee and said, "General Zhong! Something is not right!"

When Zong Shidao heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he said, "What's the situation? Tell me quickly."

The scout said, "I have investigated the area and found signs of a large army stationed there. From the things left at the scene, it seems that they are definitely not our imperial guards. Many physical evidences point to the Jingsai Army. It is very likely that the Jingsai Army was stationed near Tongguan!"

Zhong Shidao was very smart. He was shocked when he heard this and said, "You mean, there are signs of Jingsai Army's activities near Tongguan, and Tongguan is guarded by Zhe Keshi. If the Jingsai Army is not allowed to be stationed there, does that mean Zhe Keshi has already joined the rebels?"

The scout said, "I just have this suspicion. We have to continue exploring to find out the details."

Zhong Shidao narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice: "I don't need evidence now. I need your judgment. It doesn't matter if you are wrong."

The scout gritted his teeth and said, "According to my judgment, Zhe Keshi may have already joined the Jingsai Army!"

When Zong Shidao heard this, he was not angry at all. Instead, he said with a little joy: "If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say."

(End of this chapter)