(0370)

"It's a bit strange. The military deployment of Ningxia Town does not seem to be directed at us. It should be someone else..." Xu Xingxia said slowly.

"Ah? Not targeting us?" Zhang Tianhao and others were a little surprised.

It was not targeted at them, who was targeting? In Ningxia Town, what other goals could be used to mobilize the troops of Ningxia Town so frequently? It would not be somewhere else, and someone would launch a ***, so Ningxia Town needs to send troops to suppress them. By the way, they have never received similar information! It is impossible!

However, they could not refute Xu Xingxia's words. Because they were all purely blind in military strategy. Perhaps they could still use some skills when fighting on the battlefield. If they talk about military reasoning, it would not work. Thinking about strategic issues requires the commander to understand a lot of knowledge and master a lot of information. Generally speaking, only the commander at the highest level is qualified to consider strategic issues. At best, ordinary officers consider tactical issues. Even tactical issues may not be mastered well.

Xu Xingxia's military talent was nothing if he was placed in later generations. He had never received formal military education and had not systematically studied military theory. However, at this late Ming Dynasty, his personal qualities were relatively high, and he still had basic strategic vision. The so-called vision was actually the number of resources and intelligence mastered. Most of the advantages were actually caused by information asymmetry.

At least, he knew a lot of war examples and some basic military principles. He had read many novels about the late Ming Dynasty and had a certain understanding of the people and things of this era. From this perspective, the information he had was completely beyond other people. No matter how clever the commander was, he could only guess and be uncertain about the future. However, Xu Xingxia could be sure what would happen in the future.

Based on all aspects of information, Xu Xingxia concluded that the defense of Ningxia Town was more like to prevent outsiders from entering Ningxia Town. Yes, that's it. It's external, not internal. Frequent military mobilizations basically appear in the southern part of Ningxia Town, including the junction of Guyuan Town. The Ming army in the northern part of Pinglu City, Hongguang Fort, Yaofu Fort, Changxin Fort, Li Gang Fort, etc. were not moved.

Obviously, if Ningxia Town wanted to take action against the White-Clothing Army, the Ming army in these places would not be unmoved. This is the front line for attacking the White-Clothing Army. The imperial army must start from here to contact the White-Clothing Army. If an attack is launched directly from Ningxia City, the march would be too far. Since the Ming army in these places had no movement, it means that they are not ready to launch an attack for the time being. The spies of the White-Clothing Army are also the most closely guarded by these spies. No movement can be hidden from the eyes of the spies of the White-Clothing Army.

In fact, from another perspective, such military deployment cannot stop Xu Xingxia's attack at all. Unless Li Guozhen is so stupid that he is very powerful, he is really not targeting the White Army. If the White Army suddenly attacks and takes action in advance, his deployment will easily be broken and completely destroyed by the White Army. However, it is unknown who he targets, or who is going to break into Ningxia Town.

In an era without telephone and radio, the spread of information is actually very difficult. Unless you send someone to know it specifically, you may not know what happened dozens of miles away. In two different counties, the news may be completely isolated. Xu Xingxia can only estimate that something big happened outside Ningxia Town, so that Ningxia Town would react like this. But, what exactly happened?

"Wang Qinian, is there any other news?" Xu Xingxia asked anxiously.

"There is no other valuable news for the time being." Wang Qinian replied regretfully.

"Nothing? Is there anything there in Yansui Town?" Xu Xingxia was a little unwilling to accept it. There was nothing. There would be so many military households in Yansui Town who fled? There was nothing. Ningxia Town would put forward such a military situation. Good things, why did the military households escape collectively? Good things, why did the troops in Ningxia Town frequently mobilize?

There must be some internal connection here. Everything they see on the surface is definitely driven by an invisible black hand. Finding this black hand is equivalent to finding the root of all problems. The problem now is, what is this black hand? The power of Xuanying Guard is still a bit insufficient, and there are no valuable clues yet.

"There is a horse thief named Gao Yingxiang in Yansui Town making noise, and the movement seems to be a little bit loud. There is nothing else except that." Wang Qinian shook his head and said.

"What did you say? Gao Yingxiang?" Xu Xingxia's eyes suddenly shined. Gao Yingxiang, such a familiar name! Isn't this the King of Chuang? Among all the people he has met, the most famous one is probably Yuan Chonghuan. The second one should be Zuo Guangdou. The third one is probably this Gao Yingxiang. Of course, the premise is that he must be the Gao Yingxiang in history, not just the passerby with the same name.

"That horse thief leader is called Gao Yingxiang... Xu Qianhu, you..." Wang Qinian said strangely. He could feel that Xu Xingxia seemed to be very concerned about Gao Yingxiang. His eyes had completely betrayed his heart. This surprised Wang Qinian. Because, in Wang Qinian's impression, Xu Xingxia's cultivation skills were still very good. If it weren't for a very earth-shaking event, he would not have reacted like this.

However, judging from the information he had, Gao Yingxiang was obviously an ordinary horse thief! This time, there was just a tiger in the mountains, and the monkey was called the king, and it was his turn to make trouble. Judging from the result of his trouble, it seemed that he could not hold on. A large number of government troops surrounded him and he was about to perish. Why can such a person attract Xu Xingxia's attention? No, no, there must be some ulterior motive secrets here!

"Gao Yingxiang? Ansai people? Horse traffickers? Extremely strong arm strength? Good at riding and shooting? Have relatives Gao Guiying, Gao Yigong, Gao Jie and others?" Xu Xingxia asked anxiously. His top priority was to determine whether Gao Yingxiang was really the King of Rebellion. If he was really the King of Rebellion, it was necessary to get to know him. If possible, it would be best to recruit him. What he liked was not Gao Yingxiang's talents or his wealth, but his family. Of course, Gao Yingxiang's ability to lead the team is also good.

By the way, there are a lot of people next to Li Zicheng's side, such as Li Zicheng's wife Gao Guiying, who is capable of working as a general Gao Yigong, Gao Jie, etc. These people, their families, relatives, etc., have several thousand people in total. If they can migrate to Heishan Camp, they will undoubtedly greatly strengthen the strength of Heishan Camp. However, this is not what Xu Xingxia is most looking forward to. What Xu Xingxia is most looking forward to is that through Gao Yingxiang's relationship, all the military households that cannot survive in Yansui Town will be attracted to Heishan Camp and further strengthen the strength of the White-Clothed Army.

"Yes! Huh? Sir, do you know this person?" Wang Qinian said a little strangely.

"I...haha! I don't know! I've never heard of it!" Xu Xingxia shook his head and said, but he was secretly expecting it. Ansai is a horse-trafficking man, with great arm strength and good at riding and shooting. Who is Li Zicheng's father-in-law Gao Yingxiang? It is impossible that there are people in Ansai with the same name and surname as Gao Yingxiang, and they run the same business, right? That's a coincidence. But he has been rebelling ten years later? Why is it starting to make trouble now? Is it because of his arrival that has changed some of the history?

Wang Qinian was obviously full of doubts about Xu Xingxia, but he was not good at asking directly here, so he had to continue saying: "This Gao Yingxiang secretly smuggled horses and was intercepted. The two sides fought hard, and the situation became increasingly serious. During the confrontation, he shot dozens of officials and soldiers, and attracted a large number of officials to siege. He could not resist the siege of the officers and soldiers, so he rushed westward. On the road, his accomplices responded from time to time, making it impossible for the official army to pursue them in time. The three-sided governor ordered all regions to strengthen defense and seek to arrest Gao Yingxiang."

With such an explanation, the reason why Ningxia Town frequently mobilized its troops can basically be determined. They targeted Gao Yingxiang, not Xu Xingxia. Of course, this definitely does not mean that the superiors do not want to kill him Xu Xingxia, but that they think that between him and Gao Yingxiang, Gao Yingxiang is obviously easier, so they want to kill Gao Yingxiang first.

At that time, in Shaanxi, there was a very traditional smuggling business, which was to sell horses. There were a large number of cheap horses around Ningxia Town or the grasslands outside the border. With a little bit of access, you could buy a good war horse at a price of more than ten taels of silver. If these horses were transported to the mainland, the price could be several times higher, and the profit in the middle was quite generous. If it was a good war horse, one could even make 100 taels of silver.

As an important strategic material, war horses were all sold in all dynasties and were not allowed to participate in private. At that time, horse trade was in the hands of Taipu Temple. Taipu Temple was an institution in charge of the national horse politics and was under the jurisdiction of the inner government (eunuchs), and had great power. However, no matter how powerful the Taipu Temple was, as long as the profit of selling war horses was high, there would definitely be people who would take risks and secretly sell horses to obtain huge profits. Taipu Temple wanted to ensure its own profits, of course, it would vigorously crack down on horse smuggling.

This principle is actually the same as selling private salt. No matter how strict the country's policies are, as long as there is a huge profit, there will naturally be people taking risks. The greater the profit, the more people smuggled, and the more darkness and blood there are. Huang Chao was born as a private salt dealer, but now Gao Yingxiang is born as a horse dealer.

Since it is smuggling, confrontation is naturally indispensable. The struggle between smugglers and anti-smugglers is always bloody, either you die or I die. The two sides have no room for maneuver for interests. In the fierce battle, personal force is very important. People like Gao Yingxiang are good at riding and shooting. His arm strength is stronger than ordinary people, and the range of arrows is naturally farther. People around him, such as Gao Yigong, Gao Jie and others, are also good at fighting. Ordinary anti-smugglers will scream unlucky when they encounter him.

However, the so-called "many mountain climbing" will eventually meet a tiger. Gao Yingxiang's name has gradually become familiar with the government. Gradually, the government has increased its attack on him. The confrontation between smugglers and anti-smugglers has continued to escalate and become more and more intense. This time, I don't know why it caused such a big storm. Even the three-sided governor spoke, and it is estimated that Gao Yingxiang is going to be finished. The few people around him cannot have the strong combat power of the White Army!

Xu Xingxia said flatly: "Old Wang, arrange elite personnel immediately and pay close attention to Gao Yingxiang. If you have his accurate news, inform me immediately!"

Wang Qinian said a little strangely: "Sir, is this necessary?"

Naturally, his understanding of Gao Yingxiang is not as deep as Xu Xingxia. In his opinion, a person like Gao Yingxiang is not worth Xu Xingxia’s attack!

Xu Xingxia said seriously: "It is necessary, very necessary."

Wang Qinian didn't say anything else. Since Xu Xingxia was so persistent, he just did it. As for why Xu Xingxia did this, let's understand it carefully if you have time in the future!

Xu Xingxia thought about it and said cautiously: "If possible, it is best to contact him. Just say I am interested in meeting him, so we can have a good talk."

Wang Qinian hesitated and said, "What if he is desperate and wants to move here?"

Xu Xingxia said without hesitation: "Promise him! As long as he is willing to come, we will accept him! If he cannot break away from the government's official ***, I can go and answer him!"

Wang Qinian nodded and said confidently: "Okay! It should not be difficult to contact him."

...

Sure enough, two days later, Xu Xingxia received news from Gao Yingxiang. The news was sent by Wang Qinian. Gao Yingxiang, the one that Xu Xingxia was particularly concerned about, was surrounded by the official army near Ciyao Village. There were only a few dozen horse thieves around Gao Yingxiang, but there were thousands of officials who surrounded him. Fortunately, the local terrain was very complex and conducive to hiding, so he was not at risk for the time being. However, as time went by, the possibility of him being arrested or killed was getting bigger and bigger.

Gao Yingxiang expressed great gratitude for Xu Xingxia's help. He made it clear that as long as he could overcome this difficulty, he would only follow Xu Xingxia's leader. Xu Xingxia called him to the east, he would never go west. Xu Xingxia told him to go left, he would never go right. Although Xu Xingxia would not take his statement seriously. However, judging from Gao Yingxiang's statement, his situation was indeed a bit bad. If the White Army could rescue him, his own strength would definitely be enhanced. During the war, there would definitely be more people and great strength!
Chapter completed!