News about the rebels came one after another, but Zhang Dongtao was still able to hold on and convey the most important ones, such as saying that he was promoted to the general manager of the Guards Battalion, begging to send personnel to his side to help, and that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong intended to fight together, because

The negotiation on the command authority was not successful, etc. You must know that the order Wu Zongrui gave directly to Zhang Dongtao through the Intelligence Department was to lurk for a long time. If there is no particularly important information, do not pass it on. In short, it is just one order, and you must not expose yourself.

After being unable to receive any news for a long time, Zhang Dongtao felt lonely that others could hardly experience.

More than a month after he was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Guards Battalion, the rebel army was attacked twice by the imperial army. The scale was not very large. There was no decisive battle between the two sides. Even Zhang Dongtao felt strange. Could it be that the newly appointed governor of the five provinces

Xiong Wencan's approach is different. Is there any way to deal with the rebels?

Just when Zhang Dongtao was a little overwhelmed, Wu Zongrui's personal letter arrived.

The person who sent the handwritten letter was Zhang Guoxin, Wu Zongrui's personal guard.

Zhang Guoxin joined the rebel army as Zhang Dongtao's cousin and received special care from Zhang Dongtao. Of course, Zhang Guoxin also cherished words like gold and rarely spoke about many matters concerning Zhang Dongtao's ancestral home and hometown.

Wu Zongrui's autographed letter must not be kept. Although Zhang Dongtao received Wu Zongrui's autographed letter for the first time, he was destroyed by Zhang Guoxin in front of him while reading the letter.

After reading Wu Zongrui's letter, Zhang Dongtao remained silent for three days. Not only did the guards around him feel strange, but even Li Zicheng couldn't help but ask. Zhang Dongtao also explained clearly, saying that Zhang Guoxin brought him to his hometown.

There was news about relatives, but none of it was good news. Li Zicheng understood this explanation. After years of famine and starvation, if life in his hometown was better, Zhang Guoxin would not be able to come and join Zhang Dongtao. Therefore, Li Zicheng asked Zhang Dongtao to take good care of his cousin Zhang Guoxin.

Don't think about things at home.

...

Already a hundred meters away from the camp, Zhang Dongtao looked at Zhang Guoxin with a dark expression on his face and spoke.

"Zhang Guoxin, is the letter you brought really written by an adult?"

"Why, do you suspect that the letter is fake? No one in the Denglai New Army dares to offend your dignity. If someone dares to pretend to be your identity and write a letter or issue an order, they will probably die."

Zhang Dongtao looked at Zhang Guoxin for a while, then spoke again in frustration.

"Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are both rogue bandits. Why didn't you talk about the eradication of rogue bandits..."

Zhang Guoxin nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Dongtao and spoke.

"Your Majesty is very knowledgeable about things. I know that you will definitely ask, and you will feel strange. Not only is it about exterminating the bandits, but you are also asked to sincerely assist Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. Don't be merciful to the army sent by the imperial court. At critical moments, you can

Give suggestions to Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, help the rebels win, etc."

Zhang Dongtao was dumbfounded and looked at Zhang Guoxin, speechless. There were indeed many things he didn't understand about the order in the letter. Although he had to execute it, there was always something blocking his mind and feeling uncomfortable.

Before Zhang Dongtao could speak again, Zhang Guoxin continued to speak.

"My lord asked me to tell you three points so that you can remember them firmly."

"First point, whether they are rebels or bandits, they initially rebelled because they could no longer survive. If they rebelled, they would die. If they did not rebel, they would starve to death. It is better to give it a try. Today, most of the bandits who rebel are still like this. The imperial court

No matter whether they live or die, the local officials turn a deaf ear to them. If the court and local officials cannot let them live, then the bandits will always exist. Many places in the north have suffered from famines for years, and the number of refugees is increasing. Sooner or later, these people will be

When you join the ranks of the rebels, rely only on strong suppression, without thinking about solving people's livelihood problems, and never think about annihilating bandits."

"Second point, when it comes to capturing thieves and kings, the key point is to capture the leaders of the bandits, including Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others. They are different from ordinary bandits. Even if the court gives them glory and wealth, I am afraid it will not be able to satisfy them.

So next, you and I need to deal with them, but we need to wait for the opportunity. If our intentions are exposed too early, we will definitely die and we will not be able to complete the task assigned by you."

"Third point, let the rebels go against the imperial army and let the emperor and the imperial court worry about the growing rebel army. Then the pressure on Liaodong, Dengzhou and Laizhou can be greatly reduced, and the emperor and the imperial court will not have so much leisure to pay attention to Liaodong and Dengzhou.

Laizhou, when Liaodong becomes prosperous, adults will be free to do many things."

...

Zhang Dongtao nodded as if he understood. There were still many things he couldn't understand, such as why the bandits were allowed to grow in strength. Even if the bandits were powerful enough to fight against or even defeat the imperial army,

But in the future, when Denglai's new army suppresses the rogue bandits, won't they also face huge troubles?

Seeing Zhang Dongtao's expression, Zhang Guoxin shook his head secretly. In fact, he could not fully understand the orders of the Lord, but as a member of the Denglai New Army, it is his bounden duty to obey orders.

"Zhang Dongtao, don't think so much. We will act according to your request. If we encounter important matters in the future, you and I will decide after discussion. There are too many things in Liaodong that require your concern. It is impossible for you to pay attention to you and me all the time.

, Also, regarding the transmission of information, your Excellency has already thought of a way. In the future, Xinyi Inn will find a way to transmit information specifically for you and me. I will send important information to Xinyi Inn, so that it can be quickly sent to Liaodong."

Zhang Dongtao nodded repeatedly and took a long breath.

"That's fine. Actually, I'm worried that if I do something wrong, I'll cause trouble for the adults..."

Before Zhang Dongtao finished speaking, Zhang Guoxin showed a proud look on his face.

"Don't worry, my lord is a god. You don't know that in this battle of Liaodong, my lord commanded the army and annihilated 60,000 Houjin Tatars. He also seized 200,000 stones of grain and grass from Houjin Tatars. Look at

Well, it won't take long for you to be able to command the army and destroy the Houjin Tartars..."

Hearing Zhang Guoxin say this, Zhang Dongtao's expression suddenly became colorful.

"Zhang Guoxin, tell me about the Battle of Liaodong. I only know about it, but I don't know the details at all."

"Don't worry, I will tell you slowly in the future. As long as you remember, my lord said, you can make great contributions by being by Li Zicheng's side and following my requirements..."

"Is this really what your Excellency said?"

"Then it's still false. How dare I lie to you? To be honest, if the adults hadn't said so, I wouldn't have been willing to come."

Zhang Guoxin's words were like a shot in the arm, boosting Zhang Dongtao's energy and energy.

After being with Li Zicheng for so many years, few people can understand Zhang Dongtao's inner suffering. Many times he would fall into loneliness and confusion. Sometimes he would even worry about whether he would be forgotten by the adults and the Denglai New Army.

Zhang Guoxin's words undoubtedly gave Zhang Dongtao the greatest comfort and support.

...

When a personal guard hurried over, Zhang Dongtao and Zhang Guoxin returned to normal.

"Manager Zhang, King Chuang invites you to come over, and your cousin to come over too..."

Zhang Dongtao nodded, and the guards turned and left.

"Zhang Guoxin, if King Chuang wants to see you, he must be arranging what you do in the rebel army. You don't need to panic. Also, King Chuang will definitely ask about the affairs of your family and mine. Just report the situation according to our discussion. Don't let Chuang

Wang became suspicious..."

Zhang Guoxin looked at Zhang Dongtao, smiled and spoke.

"Don't worry, there will be no problem."

Zhang Guoxin was transferred from the Scout Battalion to the Guard Battalion. Before setting off, he received more than ten days of training and already knew how to deal with possible doubts from Li Zicheng and others.

...

Li Zicheng looked at Zhang Guoxin and spoke slowly.

"Zhang Guoxin, you are Zhang Dongtao's cousin. You came to the rebel army to join Zhang Guoxin. I think you will directly enter the guard camp and follow Zhang Dongtao to do things so that he can take care of you."

Zhang Guoxin quickly bowed to Li Zicheng.

"thanks, thanks..."

Zhang Dongtao on the side quickly reminded.

"Guoxin, please hurry up and thank King Chuang."

"Thank you Chuang Wang, thank you Chuang Wang..."

Zhang Guoxin's clumsiness brought a smile to Li Zicheng's face.

"Zhang Guoxin, I heard that your and Zhang Dongtao's families have suffered misfortune. What is the situation?"

Zhang Guoxin looked at Zhang Dongtao, and Li Zicheng also looked at Zhang Dongtao.

Zhang Dongtao lowered his head and his face became a little ugly.

"If you don't want to say it, forget it..."

Before Li Zicheng finished speaking, Zhang Dongtao spoke.

"King Chuang, I don't want to mention those things. Since you want to know, let Guoxin tell you."

As soon as Zhang Dongtao finished speaking, Zhang Guoxin's face suddenly turned red.

"Cousin, my cousin and my family are all gone. There was a disaster at home. We had no food. We had no choice. We went out to look for food. Who knew we met the military master? He, they said we were bandits. We didn't wait until

We raised our knives to kill people as soon as we opened our mouths. I, I ran faster and they didn't kill me. Wait, when I went back, there was blood everywhere and their heads were gone..."

Before Zhang Guoxin finished speaking, Zhang Dongtao's eyes turned red.

Li Zicheng's face also turned ugly and he waved his hand.

"Needless to say, the officers and soldiers killed innocent people indiscriminately. They have the ability to come after me. Okay, Zhang Dongtao, take good care of your cousin and stay with me. I won't treat you badly..."

Walking out of the barracks, Zhang Dongtao looked at Zhang Guoxin. Zhang Guoxin's performance just now was impeccable. Li Zicheng could never doubt it. Moreover, the imperial army killed innocent people and pretended to be bandits to collect rewards. Li Zicheng also knew that.

.
Chapter completed!