From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

Camp outside Huangzhou City.

Liu Wei rode his horse into the camp gate, dismounted in front of the tent, opened the door curtain and went in.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Yang Xingmi with his back turned to him, looking at the map on the wall in a daze. There was an untouched plate of food on the table behind him, which was no longer hot.

Liu Wei sighed: "Brother, you haven't eaten yet. How can you do this?"

Yang Xingmi did not look back, but simply asked: "What's going on?"

Liu Wei: "Our army has taken control of the whole city and is still searching for the remaining enemies. I have ordered people to clean up the governor's mansion. My eldest brother can enter the city tomorrow."

"Has anyone caught it?"

"Not yet. Our brothers have searched every corner of the city, but no trace of them has been found. They must have escaped from the city."

Yang Xingmi turned around with a look of disappointment on his face: "If we don't capture the two thieves, it will be difficult to calm down the hatred in our heart."

"Brother, don't worry. My younger brother has sent extra manpower out of the city to search. I believe there will be good news soon."

"By the way, has Tao Ya's body been found?"

"It has been found and is currently being kept in the Governor's Mansion, but..."

But what?

Yang Xingmi felt nervous for a while.

Liu Wei couldn't bear to say it. He paused for a while and then said bravely: "However, Brother Tao Ya's head has not been found yet."

"What! What, what's going on?" Yang Xingmi was surprised.

Liu Wei explained: "When I first entered the city, I heard from the captured prisoners that Tao Ya's head was hanging on the flagpole at the top of the city. But when I sent someone to pick it up at the top of the city, I found that there was nothing on the flagpole. empty."

"empty--"

Yang Xingmi's eyes widened.

"How is this possible? Who took it first?"

Liu Wei was also full of suspicion: "My little brother is also puzzled. Who could have done it?"

Yang Xingmi raised an idea: "Could it be that the two thieves took it away before they escaped?"

"Then why do they want Tao Ya's head? It doesn't seem to make sense."

Liu Wei thinks it makes no sense.

"That's strange. Who took it?"

Both fell silent.

"Report-"

A guard ran in and reported: "Your Majesty, General Zhang Chong is asking for an audience outside the tent."

"Zhang Chong? Zhang Chong is back! Please come quickly, please come quickly." Yang Xingmi was overjoyed.

Not long after, Zhang Chong was seen striding into the tent wearing a military uniform and carrying a waist knife. You could see the blood stains and scars on his face, and his arms were also wrapped with bandages. He had obviously just come off the battlefield, and he could tell that he had experienced A fierce battle. Behind him was a soldier, holding a wooden box in his hand.

Yang Xingmi's attention was all on Zhang Chong, and he didn't seem to notice the box in the hand of the soldier behind him.

"Zhang Chong, where have you been these days? Why is there no news at all? You are making me anxious." Yang Xingmi was very excited.

"Brother, it's hard to explain in words."

Zhang Chong opened his mouth and tears fell.

"Brother Zhang, don't get excited. Sit down and speak slowly." Liu Wei, who was next to him, quickly found a stool and asked Zhang Chong to sit down.

Zhang Chong refused to sit down and insisted: "The eldest brother is standing, how dare the younger brother sit down first."

Yang Xingmi also brought a stool and sat down: "Come on, everyone, sit down, sit down."

After sitting down, Zhang Chong told what he had experienced in the past few days.

It turned out that since Tao Ya ignored his advice and insisted on going to the city, Zhang Chong had been uneasy all day long, fearing that something would happen. Sure enough, he came to whatever he was afraid of. One night a few days later, Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou suddenly launched a sneak attack in the city. Zhang Chong was caught off guard, his position was in chaos, and he was defeated.

Later, there was chaos everywhere, and Zhang Chong had to lead the remaining troops to retreat to Shuzhou for a while.

A few days after Zhang Chong arrived in Shuzhou, news came about Yang Xingmi's personal expedition. Soon he heard that Yang Xingmi was besieging Huangzhou City, and the city was in panic all day long.

Zhang Chong thought, this is a good opportunity to counterattack.

So he summoned the brothers around him, set off overnight and rushed back to Huangzhou, lurking outside Huangzhou city.

They took advantage of the change of guard between the defenders, climbed up the tower, entered the city, and prepared to raid the governor's mansion and capture Zhu Yanshou, Tian Kai and others alive.

As a result, the plan couldn't keep up with the change, or God can't tell the truth. When they rushed to the governor's house, they found that the door was wide open, there was no one inside, and the house was in a mess.

Zhang Chong slapped his thigh and sighed: It was a step too late, and these thieves escaped.

He must have been unable to catch up. Zhang Chong suddenly thought of Tao Ya's head hanging on the flagpole at the top of the city. He immediately led his people to the top of the city tower, defeating several groups of stragglers along the way. Finally, he ran to the top of the city and saw the flagpole. Hanging wooden cage.

Finally arrived.

Zhang Chong immediately ordered people to bring down the flagpole and take down the wooden cage. Seeing Tao Ya's head in the wooden cage, Zhang Chong burst into tears. He cried with tears in his eyes: "General Tao, you didn't listen to my advice, and that's why today's tragedy happened."

After crying, he ordered someone to prepare a wooden box and put Tao Ya's head in the wooden box. He wanted to take it to see Yang Xingmi outside the city. At this time, he didn't know where Tao Ya's body was, so he could only put the head first. Take it with you.

After listening to Zhang Chong's story, Yang Xingmi noticed the wooden box held by the soldiers behind him.

"That's, that's..." Yang Xingmi had already guessed what it was, and his tears fell instantly.

Zhang Chong ordered his soldiers to put the wooden box on the table. Yang Xingmi wanted to open it but couldn't bear to open it. He hesitated for a few minutes before gritting his teeth and opening the lid.

Seeing Tao Ya's head inside, Yang Xingmi instantly broke through his defenses and fell to his knees, sobbing: "Brother Tao Ya, Tao Ya, why did you just leave like this! Why did you abandon me and leave? We agreed to conquer the world together." , why did you break your promise?"

Liu Wei and Zhang Chong were moved by Yang Xingmi's kneeling, and they knelt down one after another. The tent was filled with an aura of sadness.

Liu Wei advised: "Brother, don't be overly sad. Our plan now is to catch the two thieves Zhu and Tian as soon as possible and avenge brother Tao Ya."

Zhang Chong also said: "Yes, brother, people cannot be resurrected after death. Tao Ya probably doesn't want to see brother like this."

Yang Xingmi wiped away his tears, stood up and said bitterly: "These two evil thieves, I will never let them go. Even if I chase them to the end of the world, I will catch them. Pass on my general's order that whoever can capture these two thieves will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins." , sealed as commander."

As soon as the reward price was announced, Zhang Chong and Liu Wei were surprised. They didn't know who would receive such a good thing.

"Is there any new news today?" Yang Xingmi asked Liu Wei.

Liu Wei replied: "The pursuers have already reached the Yangtze River. We are not sure whether they crossed the Yangtze River and fled south. We are still looking for villagers to ask."

"We need to speed up and capture these two thieves as soon as possible to prevent them from colluding with Du Hong."

"Speaking of Du Hong, what's going on with him recently?"

"I heard that he has been training in Ezhou and has not made any big moves for the time being."

Yang Xingmi pondered: "This is the rhythm of a decisive battle with me."

"Capture the two thieves first, and then defeat Du Hong without giving them a chance to breathe." Yang Xingmi instructed.

On the north bank of the Yangtze River.

In the morning mist, smoke rose from a forest near the river, and many people could be vaguely seen burying pots and cooking in the woods.

The exhausted Zhu Yanshou sat down on the ground, leaned against the big tree, picked up the kettle and drank a few sips of water. He wiped his mouth and looked at Tian Kai opposite.

"Brother Tian Er, what do you think we should do next?"

Tian Kai held a piece of foxtail in his mouth and looked thoughtfully at the fishing boats on the river.

"Hey, you are talking, second brother?" Zhu Yanshou became impatient.

Tian Kai said slowly: "Go get some boats and cross the river."

"What, are you really going to defect to Du Hong?" Zhu Yanshou's eyes widened.