In November of the second year of Longwu, the Qing court was overjoyed because of the surrender of Liu Jinzhong, the general of the Western Army. He sent someone to issue a false edict: Zhang Xianzhong's previous disturbances were all the affairs of the Ming Dynasty. If you judge the time of heaven, you will lead the people to come back. You should be promoted to the descendants forever. If you delay watching and do not accept the surrender early, the army will arrive and regret it.

Although Zhang Xianzhong had no choice but to live with Li Zicheng, there was one thing that was the same, and he refused to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. At this time, ordinary people had to kneel down and kowtow when they saw a county magistrate. Who would dare to rebel if they were not strong? He tore up the edict, chopped off the heads of the edict, and cursed: "I have money. If I change my name and hide as a rich man, I will not be a slave to a group of Tartars." The civil and military officials in the Great Western Army were embarrassed and speechless... Fortunately, Zhang Xianzhong often said such shocking words, and they were all used to it.

At the same time, Hou Xuanyan, who received the news, wrote a letter asking Emperor Longwu to recruit Zhang Xianzhong. Emperor Longwu disagreed with the public in the hall of the Forbidden City in Nanjing and said to the ministers: "Zhang Xianzhong is different from Li Chuang. Although he did evil, he did not harm my king and father. If Duke Yue could recruit this person, it would be a great contribution."

Zhang Xianzhong sent his adopted son Zhang Wenxiu to go to Huguang to have an interview with Hou Xuan.

Hou Xuanyan sent a battalion of troops to greet him and informed Sichuan Governor Ma Qian that he would not use rash weapons.

Ma Qian was originally a magistrate of Guang'an Prefecture. Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan and the governor of Sichuan died in battle. Sichuan soldiers and civilians jointly recommended Ma Qian to temporarily exercise the power of governor. Ma Qian did not disappoint the expectations of the Sichuan people and recovered Chongqing in one fell swoop. Zhang Xianzhong sent troops several times, but they were all defeated by Ma Qian. Zhang Wenxiu, who came this time, was also his defeated general.

Ma Qian looked at Liu Ting of Qianxiang Camp, his old face was full of reluctance. He took off his official hat and held it in his hand, and his voice was surprisingly loud: "During the Chongzhen Dynasty, Xian Ni surrendered several times, and none of them were impermanent. After all, Duke Yue was young, so don't be fooled by this old thief easily."

Liu Ting bent over with his fists and said, "Don't worry, Governor, the Duke has requested Your Majesty, and Your Majesty also agreed to recruit Zhang Xianzhong."

Ma Qian snorted coldly and said, "Since that's the case, let Zhang Wenxiu leave here. I'm asking me to let them fight to Huguang. Zhang Xianzhong has so many soldiers and horses, and it's not too late to surrender after leaving the customs and taking Xiangyang."

Liu Ting looked embarrassed, but fortunately, Ma Qian also agreed to Zhang Wenxiu by using Chongqing Prefecture.

In mid-November, Hou Xuanyan led his troops to the Jingzhou front line, guarding a bonfire and looking at the river from afar with Du Yinxi.

"The commander-in-chief, Jingzhou was in the past, and the navy ships fell to the enemy. Although we recruited many ships, if we wanted to cross the river and fight, we might be intercepted by them."

Hou Xuanyan breathed a sigh of relief, put his hand in front of the bonfire, and said, "The current situation is that the enemy is strong and I am weak. Although we are determined to fight the Northern Expedition, we have to admit that we are still on the defensive position now. I have thought about it carefully, it is really unwise to cross the river and fight to the decisive battle."

Du Yinxi sighed and said, "I'm afraid that if we drag it like this, people's hearts will change. The military pay we spend every day is like the flowing water on the river. Some people in the court have long said that we are afraid of fighting and not fighting for a long time is not a solution."

Hou Xuanyan stood up, and the soldiers in the camp behind him were trembling with cold. Although Jiangnan had transported the cold clothes to protect the cold, it was still difficult to withstand the winter of this little ice river.

"Why not, let it go and fight again."

Du Yinxi's face changed. He took Jingzhou with his life. Let it go and fight again. Should he hand over Jingzhou?

Even Du Yinxi knew Hou Xuanyan's nature, he was a little suspicious. Did this young general who had never lost even a single defeat have seen too many defeats in Jingxiang, which shakes his mind. He advised: "Little General Hou, victory and defeat are common among military strategists. Although we have won fewer victory and more defeats in several battles, we have never been hurt. Is it a bit too early to give up Jingzhou?"

Hou Xuanyan shook his head and said, "I'm not saying retreating to Jingzhou, I'm saying retreating to Yuezhou, and we can even retreat to Changsha."

"What? No!" Du Yinxi's face turned red and he said, "It's fine if we can't recover our hometown, how can we abandon our country? If so, you and I will become sinners for the ages."

Hou Xuanyan was about to speak, but a personal guard stepped forward and said, "General, Zhang Xianzhong's people are here and have arrived outside the tent."

Hou Xuanyan said lightly: "I know, I'll go now." After that, he turned to Du Yinxi, whose emotions had not stabilized, and smiled and said, "Let's go, let's meet Zhang Xianzhong's people first and discuss with you."

Du Yinxi said: "No matter what, we cannot retreat easily, otherwise we will not be able to explain to these people, let alone to His Majesty."

When he came to the tent, Zhang Wenxiu was one of Zhang Xianzhong's adopted sons, and he was a more elegant person. However, he also looked like a powerful general, which shows that Zhang Xianzhong's aesthetic is like this.

After Hou Xuanyan sat down, he said, "Thank you for your hard work in General Zhang, please sit down quickly."

When Zhang Wenxiu saw Hou Xuanyan, she was so young, she was a little surprised. After he became polite, he said, "The adoptive father sent me here and I am willing to attack the Qing Dynasty with the Governor Hou."

Zhang Xianzhong called himself emperor, so Zhang Wenxiu naturally did not dare to call him his father in the Ming military camp.

Hou Xuanyan chuckled and said in his heart that Zhang Xianzhong might not want to be this emperor too much. But Li Zicheng became emperor in Beijing. Zhang Xianzhong hated Li Zicheng the most in his life and wanted to fight with him everywhere. Now that Li Zicheng is dead, he is not very addicted to the emperor, so he should be able to touch him.

"As the saying goes, the enemy is the allies. Now that the Qing Dynasty is raging, we are all Han people, and we hope to fight against the Qing Dynasty together. Look, this is the governor of Du Yinxi Du. His 200,000 troops are all Li Chuang's men. If the emperor is willing to remove the imperial title, I would like to guarantee that his Majesty will let him station in Sichuan."

Du Yinxi's face turned red. He was about to speak, but Hou Xuanyan kicked him off the desk.
Chapter completed!