Zhu Dashan took the Fuming battalion to rush all the way while it was still dark, and it was already dark when the army walked out for only ten miles. Most of the soldiers in the Restoration Camp were emaciated and malnourished. More than eighty percent of the people have chicken blindness, Zhu Dashan saw that everyone couldn't see the road, but now he is going to attack Baoning, and there are two passes on the way. So he couldn't ask everyone to light torches, and in the end, Zhu Dashan had to arrange all the people who didn't have chicken blindness to lead the way in front, and then the people in the back grabbed the belts of the people in front and groped their way forward.

In this way, the speed of the army's advance slowed down instantly, and Zhu Dashan looked at the team like a turtle, anxious but there was no way. I had to follow the team all the way to Boryeong.

The road from the south to Boryeong is not easy to walk, although there are no dangerous checkpoints in the whole south, but the south is mountainous. Therefore, the whole official road turns left and right along the mountains, sometimes up the mountain, sometimes down the slope. Zhu Dashan led the team all the way for another hour, but he only walked five miles. I thought that when I first left the city, I had traveled ten miles in less than an hour. At such a speed, Zhu Dashan was very worried about whether he could arrive at Hexiguan before dawn.

Fortunately, the moon finally broke out of the clouds at this time, and it was thirteen today. The moon was big and bright, and the whole earth was illuminated as if it were day. Finally, the Restoration Battalion was able to speed up its march.

Zhu Dashan led the team all the way, and finally arrived in front of Hexi Pass at the time of the hour. Zhu Dashan hurriedly ordered everyone to use the trees on both sides of the official road as cover, and then informed Gou Xingwang to follow slowly with the team, but he took about 20 soldiers who were not blind to the chicken, and took the lead in touching Hexiguan.

Gou Xingwang saw that Zhu Dashan wanted to touch the pass by himself to fight, and was startled and said: "Don't be handsome, you are the master of an army, how can you easily go up and fight." Let me go! Zhu Dashan glared at Gou Xingwang and said, "Nonsense from there, can you go if I don't go?" We're going to sneak up on it, and we're asking for a quick fix. We can't make too much movement yet, otherwise we will be found by Nanjin Pass, which is not far from here, and we will lose all our efforts. Are you up to the task? ”

Gou Xingwang was scolded by Zhu Dashan and was speechless for a while. I had no choice but to say: "But when we came, Uncle Cai instructed you that you are now the head of the army and want us to protect you." And now it's up to you to make up your mind. If you have any accidents, we're going to die. When Zhu Dashan heard what Gou Xingwang said, he was moved in his heart, but he didn't expect that in just a few days, everyone would agree with him so much.

But Zhu Dashan still decided to go by himself, and explained to Gou Xingwang: "I didn't mean to fight for it, we have occupied the southern county for ten days, but the reaction of Baoning Mansion is too strange. I'm afraid that Boryeong Mansion will not send troops, so I will set up a trap and deliberately lure us to attack, and wait for us to fall into the trap so that we can be caught all. When Gou Xingwang heard this, he hurriedly said: "If you can't let you go like this, Dashuai, you can wait for me here, I will ensure a quick decision, and I will not make a big move." ”

Zhu Dashan shook his head and said: "It's better for me to go, I'll go to the front, if Baoning Mansion sets a trap for us, I can find it in time." If there is a trap, it is better to retreat to the south in time. Gou Xingwang said: "If that's the case, let's just retreat to the south." Zhu Dashan smiled bitterly: "It's probably not easy to retreat to the south." At that time, there was only one way to Kuizhou. ”

Gou Xingwang finally failed to convince Zhu Dashan to let him go. Zhu Dashan led twenty people, wearing the armor of the yellow flag. Quietly touched the Hexi Pass and looked at the wall in front of him. admonished: "Look at the wall, there is no one patrolling, wait for everyone to sneak in." It can be solved quietly and try not to make a noise. ”

Hexi Pass was not an important pass in the first place, and the main purpose of its construction was to inspect passing merchants. In addition, there has been a salt boiling industry in the south since ancient times (most of the salt boiled in the south is well salt). Moreover, this place belongs to the only way of the Southwest Tea Horse Ancient Road, so Hexi Pass originally belonged to the tax customs, and the wall was only one zhang high. Later, the Qing troops entered Sichuan, and the Sichuan people resisted fiercely, and they counterattacked Baoning several times, so the Qing soldiers strengthened the guard of Hexiguan. The Qing soldiers were mainly cavalry, field battles, after entering Sichuan, Haoge fought Zhang Xianzhong, Li Guoying and other places in eastern Sichuan were first defeated in the field battle, although the Qing soldiers strengthened the guard of Hexi Pass, but did not increase the height of the wall. Now most of Sichuan is under the control of the Qing army, so Hexiguan is obviously unimportant. Coupled with the massacre of the Qing soldiers in Sichuan, few businessmen dared to come. So the Qing soldiers only left a general flag in Hexi Pass to lead 50 people to guard the pass.

Zhu Dashan chose all strong people, all of whom were flexible. I saw that Zhu Dashan gave an order, and the twenty people he brought got up one after another, and the three of them climbed the wall by a ladder.

After Zhu Dashan entered the pass with everyone, he saw that the guards in the pass were actually sleeping, and the ten people who were originally standing guard and patrolling also found a place to hide and be lazy. Zhu Dashan and the others almost effortlessly controlled the entire Hexi Pass. Zhu Dashan sent someone to ask Gou Xingwang to lead the brigade into Hexi Pass, but he interrogated the guards of Hexi Pass.

Zhu Dashan asked someone to escort the guard to the upper floor, and the guard was still hangover and did not wake up. Zhu Dashan asked him to wake up with water, and after the guard opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Dashan, he calmly closed his eyes and fell asleep. Zhu Dashan saw him and said: "No wonder the guards of Hexi Pass are so lax, and the guards are so lax in military affairs, it is not surprising that they lost the pass." But this is the best, so that we can easily take this and Xiguan. Then he had the guard dragged out and cut down. The guard general listened to Zhu Dashan's words in front of him, but he didn't see his reaction. It was only when I finally heard that I was going to kill him, so I smiled miserably: "Finally, we still have to settle down." It's a good thing, I deserved to die nine years ago, and I suffered from these nine years of wretchedness. Today I can finally be liberated. Zhu Dashan sneered: "I deserved to die nine years ago, and I can live like this for nine years, which can be regarded as a well-deserved death." Then the general said, "This general, my dying man has a request, and I hope that the general will have mercy on me, a dying man, and shave the braid on my head when the general kills me." Let me go clean and meet my ancestors underground. ”

Zhu Dashan said: "What kind of liquidation, we are here to attack the pass." And you're going to die and still care about the braids on your head, it won't be clean if you keep them? "In the later generations where Zhu Dashan is located, I have never seen any strange releases. In this life, he was a farmer and had little education. Besides, in troubled times, I am always running for my life. There is no time to pay attention to these details.

When the guard saw Zhu Dashan say this, he immediately said angrily: "If you don't want to agree, why humiliate you." Zhu Dashan said: "Why did you humiliate you, and besides, didn't you just say that you have lived for nine years, and you are still afraid of humiliation?" The guard general was even more furious and said: "Dog Tartar, I was born a Han Chinese, and I was forced by the situation to live, and I surrendered to Tartar in humiliation." Isn't it true that if I die now, I can't be a Han ghost again, and I must take this ugly braid to see my ancestors? ”

Really at this time, Gou Xingwang walked into the Guan Building from the outside. I heard the guard scolding Zhu Dashan for being a Tartar. He shouted: "Blind your dog's eyes, you are a Tartar, and your whole family is a Tartar." See clearly, we are the dignified Ming army - the Restoration Battalion" After speaking, he asked the guards behind him to go outside to bring a flag and wave it in front of the speech.

The general heard Gou Xingwang say that it was the Ming army but didn't believe it, but after seeing Gou Xingwang coming to the flag. But trembling walked over and gently touched the flag with his hand. Although this flag is different from his own memory, only the word Daming is rusted on a banner, but this is indeed not the flag of Tartar. I also saw a red flag erected on the wall outside, embroidered with the word "Restoration of Vision". Turning his head to Zhu Dashan, he asked, "Are you really the army of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Dashan knew that the guard would see that he was wearing the armor of the positive yellow flag, and everyone had braids and misunderstood.

Zhu Dashan didn't ask too much for clothing and hairstyles because of his own reasons, so the people in the Restoration Camp still wore braids. Zhu Dashan didn't think there was any problem before, but tonight made this guard mistakenly think that he was a Qing soldier. When the other guards saw the armor of the yellow flag, they did not dare to resist. This was a surprise to Zhu Dashan.

Zhu Dashan said to the guard: "We are indeed the army of the Ming Dynasty. We came from the south and prepared to attack Boryeong. The guard general exclaimed: "A few days ago, someone came to report that there were rioters in the south, is it true? I thought it was a refugee talking nonsense to go to Boryeong! ”

Zhu Dashan hurriedly said: "Why did someone go to Boring a few days ago to report the news?" The guard said, "Someone came to me to report the news, and I saw that the man was unclothed and thin-skinned, and he was locked up as a refugee who wanted to go to Boryeong to beg." ”

Zhu Dashan asked, "Then have you reported this matter to the Baoning Mansion?" The guard said: "No, I was already excluded from this place to collect taxes, if it was just a few refugees who talked nonsense and reported it, and then there was no such thing, wouldn't it be another humiliation?" More is better than less, I don't care. Zhu Dashan said happily: "That is to say, Baoning Mansion still doesn't know about our army in the south." The guard said: "I guess I don't know yet, after all, this is the only official way." I don't know if there are any other people who have taken the path to report the news. ”

Hearing this, Zhu Dashan was overjoyed, if Baoning Mansion really didn't know, then the chances of winning Baoning would be higher. At this time, the guard general said: "How many of your soldiers and horses dare to fight Baoning? Gou Xingwang said proudly: "We are only the front team now, and we have a total of 500 people." The guard shouted, "Five hundred men, you dare to fight Bao Ning, you are going to die." ”

Zhu Dashan said: "We have our way, and besides, what are you doing when the people who are going to die are worried about these?" The guard said: "I see that it is not easy for you to live, and I want to give you a wake-up call, so as to give the Han people some backbone." Even if it is to atone for my sins in the past nine years, let my sins be lightened. It's not safe to die if you don't die. ”

Zhu Dashan didn't want to delay any longer, and he wanted to talk about it when he saw Gou Xingwang. Hurriedly stopped: "Don't be verbose, go and assemble the team, and then send someone to inform Zhou Dazhu and them, so that they should also speed up." We're going to hit Nanjin Pass. Be quiet when you get out of the country. Gou Xingwang didn't dare to say any more, and hurriedly agreed to go out to sort out the team.

At this time, the guard general said: "It seems that you are really the army of the Ming Dynasty, for the sake of you who only have 500 people and dare to fight Baoning City, I will give you a big gift." As for what your final outcome will be, it will be up to Providence. Zhu Dashan said: "What kind of gift can you have with a small general flag?" Seeing that Zhu Dashan despised him, the guard general was not angry and said: "Don't look at me as a general banner now, nine years ago, I was a general." Zhu Dashan heard that he was a general nine years ago, and he was also shocked: "General, how can you still live as a general flag in those nine years?" ”

The guard general smiled bitterly and said: "Nine years ago, I was Liu Yingnan, the general of Huayang Hou Yang Zhan and Yang Houye, and Yang Houye was killed by the conspiracy of Yuan Tao, Wu Dading and Li Gande, and the generals from all walks of life in Sichuan were infighting. Yang Houye's eldest son, General Yang Jingxin, was desperate and surrendered to the Tartars, and then called the old troops of Yang Houye to surrender, and at that time, I also had the deputy generals Lin Kejia, Xin Chaoliang, and Huang Jinxiu to surrender the Tartars. In the past few years, the Tartars have been doubly wary of us, Xin Chaoliang soon died of depression, and Lin Kejia and I were also squeezed out as the general banner. I will guard this and Xiguan, and Lin Kejia will hang the general flag and take one hundred and fifty people to guard Nanjin Pass. That's why I said I could give you a big gift. ”

Zhu Dashan was ecstatic and said: "Could it be that Liu Zongqi can say that Lin Kejia is moving?" Liu Yingnan said: "Lin Kejia and I were both excluded, so the two of us walked very closely. It is not difficult to move him to dedicate the pass. Besides, in the past few years, we have surrendered to the side of the Tatars, and we often want to return to the Han people. But his strength is weak, and he is always on guard by the Tartars, so he has never had a chance. Now I can help you, but I want to. ”

Zhu Dashan was overjoyed and said: "In this way, there will be General Banner of Lao Liu." If you can capture Baoning, you should remember the first contribution of Liu Zongqi. Liu Yingnan shook his head and said: "The first merit or something, there is no need, if the general can defeat Baoning, I just hope that the general can let me die in the clothes of the Han family." Zhu Dashan hurriedly said: "If it can be done, how can Liu Zongqi die with great merit." Liu Zongqi must not say this again. ”

Liu Yingnan looked at Zhu Dashan and asked, "By the way, why do most of the generals and soldiers wear armor with the Yellow Flag of Tartar?" Could it be? Liu Yingnan suddenly thought of the Qincha team that had gone south from Boryeong a few days ago. There seems to be a cavalry with a yellow flag in the team. It can't be that they annihilated the Qincha team! That's the real Tartar elite cavalry with the Yellow Banner!

Liu Yingnan thought about this, and looked at Zhu Dashan in surprise, Zhu Dashan just nodded to Liu Yingnan with a smile and didn't say anything. Let Liu Yingnan guess for himself.