At this time, Lao Mukong and Liu Tichun finally arrived at Dang Shousu. He came in person, obviously with both expectation and caution.

It is said that they are looking forward to it, but it is actually forced by the situation. If there is a turnaround, Dang Shousu and others do not want to let it go.

It is reasonable to be wary. They are worried that Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng are causing trouble. They have come up with the title of Prince Zhu San to command and mobilize them, and even use this to unify power.

"Dong Yiguo and Duke Jing have left with their troops and their families to join forces with Duke Linguo in Xingshan?" Dang Shousu just picked up the tea and his eyes widened, even though his face was full of beard,

It can also be seen that he is very surprised.

Liu Tichun smiled and said, "Don't be surprised, Marquis Xingping. If it's another day late, my family will also leave for Xingshan."

Dang Shousu's qualifications in the Shun Army are also very old. Although he is not as good as Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongdi, and Hao Yaoqi, he defected to Li Zicheng very early and was a member of the "Old Eight Team" and was even awarded the title of Hou

, once guarded Lanzhou.

Therefore, among the three people including Xingping Hou Dang Shousu, Yidu Hou Ta Tianbao, and Yangcheng Hou Ma Tengyun, he is the leading brother in charge.

It was precisely because he had the final say that he came to find out in person so that he could decide whether to send troops to help.

"So, Prince Zhu San was indeed born, and the envoy sent was also true?" Dang Shousu put down the tea bowl and looked at Liu Tichun.

Liu Tichun nodded and said, "We think it's true, and I'd like to ask Marquis Xingping to identify it again." As he said that, he waved his hand and signaled his soldiers to present the royal token.

Nowadays, the status of the goods sold at that stall has skyrocketed, and they are extremely valuable. The exquisitely carved sandalwood boxes and bright yellow silk immediately have a solemn and noble aura.

"This -" Dang Shousu blinked his big eyes, with a look of shock and awe on his face. He stretched out his hand to touch it, but felt a little disrespectful, so he stopped in the air.

"Marquis Xingping, please take a closer look. You don't have to be so cautious." Liu Tichun smiled lightly and said, "Since it is a token, it is natural for people to look carefully to distinguish it."

Dang Shousu chuckled twice, held up the dagger with great care, looked at it and rubbed it, and then carefully put it back into the box after a long while.

Liu Tichun did not ask any questions, waved his hand for the soldiers to put it away, and said slowly: "Marquis Xingping arrived just in time. Tomorrow I will send a dog to accompany my family to escort this thing back to Xingshan and hand it over to Mr. Huang."

Dang Shousu frowned slightly, nodded slightly, and said, "The messenger's name is Huang Li. I already knew it from the letter."

After thinking for a while, he continued: "Is it Mr. Huang's intention to attack the Qing army again?"

Liu Tichun said: "Yes, this was proposed by Mr. Huang. After Duke Lin agreed, he contacted us through letters and jointly decided to fight to the death again. We cannot sit back and wait for death."

Dang Shousu said with some embarrassment: "In the defeat of Wushan, all the ministries suffered heavy losses, and it will be difficult to recover in a short period of time. It is very difficult to send troops to fight again."

"The Tatars will not give our army time to recover!" Liu Tichun shook his head and said: "Successful counterattack before the enemy's reinforcements arrive should be the only chance for our army to turn around."

Dang Shousu fell into silence again, and after thinking for a long time, he asked: "I wonder where our army's counterattack target is? Wushan is probably not possible, right?"

In order to keep the battle secret, Liu Tichun did not mention the specific place in the letter. Naturally, Dang Shousu did not know that he was pointing his sword at Yiling.

Liu Tichun said briefly: "Counterattack the Huguang Qing army and attack Yiling."

"Yiling?!" Dang Shousu frowned even more and looked at Liu Tichun in surprise.

After confirming that he was not joking, Dang Shousucai said doubtfully: "Yiling City is a strong and vast city. It is the gateway to the Three Gorges. It is also heavily defended. It is not much worse than Wushan."

Previously, the Thirteen Families generally targeted Dangyang to the east of Xingshan, Yunyang to the north of Fangshan, Gucheng and other places, and were able to obtain some additional population and material supplies.

According to Dang Shousu's guess, Wushan in the west cannot be attacked. If we want to counterattack, we can only attack Dangyang, Yuan'an and other places. Although the Qing army is weak there, there will not be much gain.

Liu Tichun didn't know that Yiling was difficult to attack, but once it was conquered, the harvest would be unimaginable.

"This is also what Mr. Huang means." Liu Tichun explained calmly: "He has uncanny skills in destroying cities, and the chance of winning in the attack on Yiling is 60-70%."

After a pause, he added: "Actually, if there are no friendly troops to help, Duke Linguo will have to send troops alone. Of course, Xingshan will be empty, the troops will be slightly insufficient, and the chance of winning will be reduced by one or two points."<

/p>

Dang Shousu blinked his small eyes, his contrasting thick eyebrows knitted into knots, and fell into deep thought.

Obviously, the actions of Liu Tichun and the four other princes put him under great pressure. Of course, this was also related to the slow reaction of the three of them.

In Dang Shousu's opinion, Liu Tichun and others must have known more secrets, and they did not tell the truth about the third prince.

Otherwise, it is unimaginable that they would take such decisive action, and there would be a tendency for the four companies to merge into one.

"If it's just a mere messenger, coming thousands of miles away with only empty promises, it shouldn't be a big deal. Could it be that the so-called messenger is just a smokescreen and that the person who came is the real Third Prince?"

Dang Shousu raised his head and glanced at Liu Tichun. Seeing that he was drinking tea calmly, he couldn't help but stroke the tangled beard under his chin and began to think again.

"The counter-attack on Yiling seems quite confident. With Old Liu's character, it should not be deception. Could it be that the Third Prince or the Third Prince's envoy has a hidden line in Yiling and can he open the door to offer the city?"

"If it really succeeds, the harvest will be secondary. The blockade in the east will be broken, and the situation will indeed turn around a lot."

Dang Shousu thought about it for a long time, and finally made a decision under pressure. He looked up at Liu Tichun and said with enthusiasm: "In that case, we are willing to send 6,000 troops to help in the battle."

Seeing Liu Tichun frowning slightly, Dang Shousu hurriedly explained: "I and the other three departments tried their best to help Wushan. After the failure, we suffered a lot. Excluding the troops left behind, it is indeed difficult to mobilize too many troops."

If each of the three families contributes 2,000, this should be possible. You know, the three of them combined now have only 12,000 to 3,000 people.

Dang Shousu prefers to make a mistake rather than miss it, and does not want to lose this opportunity.

The four princes all gave the third prince face, but also put tremendous pressure on them, squeezing the three of them with no way out.

No matter what, they are still the Ming army, and they still have to hang out in Kuidong. Liu Tichun did not use strong methods before, and decided his actions in a consultative tone.
Chapter completed!