In the face of Zu Kuan's pursuit, Zhang Xianzhong retreated all the way to the east, not wanting to accidentally meet an old acquaintance, and broke into Wang Gao Yingxiang.

After the convergence of the two rebel armies, the total strength reached 300,000, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly had the confidence to compete with the official army, he and Gao Yingxiang combined, decided to take the initiative to attack Yanxiang, reverse the current unfavorable situation.

Yan Township is a poor and remote country, coupled with the shortage of soldiers in recent years, it is even more sparsely populated, with only a thousand township soldiers, where can it withstand the attack of 300,000 troops, it was captured by the righteous army in less than half a day.

After receiving the report of the loss of Yanxiang, Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly flew to Zukuan and Zuo Liangyu to send troops to encircle and suppress the Liukou.

The three thousand Liaodong troops led by Zu Kuan are all cavalry, and Zuo Liangyu's troops are all infantry, and the speed of the march is very different, and Zuo Liangyu has always been not very active in suppressing thieves.

Seeing that Zu Kuan's lone army was deep, Gao Yingxiang immediately sent Li Guo to transfer 20,000 elite cavalry, interspersed between Zu Kuan and Zuo Liangyu, and cut off the connection between the two official armies.

But a strange thing happened, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong did not press the main army to besiege Zukuan, but only let Zhang Kewang lead 30,000 troops to intercept it, and he attacked Shaanzhou.

As a result, this side has just taken Shaanzhou, and Zu Kuan and Zuo Liangyu over there have also beaten Li Guo and Zhang Kewang, who were blocking them, to the point that they lost their armor and collapsed.

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong were planning to continue attacking Luoyang at this time, and they didn't want to hear the news of defeat from the rear, so they had to stop the pace of marching.

Luoyang can't go anymore, if Zu Kuan and Zuo Liangyu lead the army to kill, the righteous army will definitely fall into the situation of internal and external attacks, and the enemy will be attacked on the back of the abdomen. The two thought about it and decided to act separately, after all, no matter how powerful Zu Kuan and Zuo Liangyu were, they only had tens of thousands of people in their hands, and it was impossible to divide their troops to pursue.

After learning the news that the rebels fled separately, Zuo Liangyu and Zu Kuan quickly divided their troops, and Zuo Liangyu chased Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng, while Zu Kuan continued to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong.

Since he was transferred to the pass by Emperor Chongzhen, three thousand Liaodong iron cavalry chased from Henan to Shaanxi, and then returned to Henan from Shaanxi, running back and forth for several months, even if this army was strong, at this time, it was somewhat unbearable.

Zu Kuan thought that Zhang Xianzhong was slow to move with the old battalion, and he would not worry about resting all night, so he ordered the whole army to camp on the spot and pursue it the next day. But he thought about it again, in case he ran away from Zhang Xianzhong, it would be difficult to explain to the superiors, for the sake of insurance, it was better to let the deputy general Zu Keyong lead a thousand troops to continue the pursuit, no need to fight, just follow all the way, and not let Zhang Xianzhong escape.

Although he was also exhausted, after receiving the order, Zu Keyong still led the troops to set off without saying a word.

After a night of running, at dawn, Zu Keyong finally caught up with Zhang Xianzhong's old camp near Gejiazhuang. Seeing that the Xiying Rebels were negligent in their defense, Zu Keyong immediately gave the order to attack.

After chasing his life all night, Zu Keyong was holding back his anger in his heart, and now it happened to be all vented on Zhang Xianzhong. With the sound of horses' hooves and deafening shouts of killing, the rebels woke up from their sleep, and when they tried to resist, they were killed all over the field and bloodied in an instant.

Looking at the rebels who abandoned the camp and fled, Zu Keyong did not order the pursuit, after all, at this time, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry was already at the end of the crossbow, and it was too much to chase again.

Zhang Xianzhong suffered defeat and fled all the way to Jiugao Mountain in Song County, and finally got a chance to breathe.

Relying on the dangerous terrain of Jiugao Mountain, Zhang Xianzhong temporarily settled here, recruited troops and horses, and recovered his vitality.

Besides, Zu Kuan led his troops to chase to the foot of Jiugao Mountain, and immediately ordered the whole army to set up camp. Although he also wanted to wipe out Zhang Xianzhong, the Xiying Righteous Army not only had a large number of people, but also condescendingly occupied a dangerous terrain, and it was in the mountains, and the advantage of the cavalry was greatly reduced, and with his only 3,000 people, he would not be able to attack Jiugao Mountain in any case.

Since it is impossible to attack, there is only one way to outwit, and a big drama to lure the enemy into the depths has begun.

In the early morning of this day, Dingguo was carrying a small group of volunteers on a routine patrol in the mountains, and suddenly found a group of officers and soldiers composed of hundreds of people passing through the mountain streams, led by a burly general with bright clothes and armor.

Dingguo had met Zu Kuan several times on the battlefield, and although he was far away today, he still recognized it at a glance, and this person must be Zu Kuan.

Dingguo was puzzled and muttered to himself, "This Zu Kuan actually broke away from the army and went up the mountain alone, what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd?" ”

Thinking of this, Dingguo asked people to continue to track the whereabouts of the officers and soldiers, and on the other hand, he personally rushed back to the old camp to report the military situation to Zhang Xianzhong.

In the past few months, Zhang Xianzhong has lived a very bad life, obviously he has an army of more than 100,000, but he was driven by Zu Kuan's 3,000 Liaodong iron cavalry to flee in all directions, and now he is forced to hide in Jiugao Mountain.

Zhang Xianzhong had nowhere to vent his anger in his heart, this time he finally caught up with the lone officers and soldiers, and the leader was still the evil god Zu Kuan, so he naturally refused to miss it easily.

I saw Zhang Xianzhong slammed his fist on the handsome case, and said angrily: "My old Zhang has been rampant in the world for so many years, and there is only one Cao Wenzhao who can be regarded as an opponent in the past!" But now that Cao Wenzhao is dead, I thought I could live a comfortable life for a few days, but I didn't expect another Zukuan to come! ”

"Capture the thief and capture the king first, today this ancestor Kuan is looking for his own death, but he can't complain about me waiting! The father quickly ordered, and the boy led the soldiers over, and killed his dog with a knife! Zhang Kewang couldn't wait to ask for his life.

Zhang Xianzhong just smiled slightly, reached out and patted Zhang Kewang's shoulder, and said with a conceited face: "Boy! Not this time! I Lao Zhang must personally go out and cut off Zu Kuan's head with his own hands and use it as a night pot. ”

"Father, Zu Kuan suddenly appeared here, the child is worried about fraud! It's better to be careful! Dingguo always felt that this group of officers and troops appeared too strangely, and it seemed that something was wrong, but he couldn't say it for a while.

Zhang Xianzhong laughed when he heard this: "If it's in the plains, forget it, now that you've entered the mountains, can the cavalry be a fart?" I always open these hundreds of thousands of mouths to eat, and I am not only vegetarian! Dingguo, you stay in the old camp, Kewang will fight with me! ”

With the rumbling of war drums, Zhang Xianzhong personally rushed down from the mountain with tens of thousands of Xiying rebels, preparing to wipe out this lone officer and army in one fell swoop.

But what surprised Zhang Xianzhong was that this official army saw thousands of rebels rushing towards them, but instead of being frightened and fleeing, they stayed in place, calmly watching the Xiying rebels from far and near.

Could it be that these officers and soldiers are all scared silly? Just when Zhang Xianzhong was wondering, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry who was ambushed around suddenly rushed out.

These days, the Xiying Righteous Army has been beaten out of the shadow by Zu Kuan, as soon as they saw the Liaodong Iron Cavalry killed, they were immediately frightened, and for a time they were all soldiers, how could they still have the courage to fight, they lost their armor and fled for their lives.

Zhang Xianzhong wanted to stop, but the army was defeated like a mountain, but where could he stop it.

Zu Kuan was not merciful, and led the men and horses all the way to follow the fleeing Xiying Righteous Army to the mountain to kill, killing people along the way, leaving no one alive, and those who ran a little slower became the souls of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry.

There was a rout army in front of the way, and the official army was even more energetic to kill Zhang Xianzhong's old camp, and then fled down the mountain of the righteous army, and was outflanked by the official army into two roads, Lao Huihui and Jiu Long all the way east to Yangong, Zhang Xianzhong all the way south to Ruzhou.

After driving the rebels down the mountain, Zu Kuan still did not give up and continued to divide his troops to chase and kill.

The Liaodong army marched like the wind, rushed ahead of Zhang Xianzhong, and set up an ambush at Gujiamiao, the only way to pass.

Zhang Xianzhong was caught off guard and lost again. Fortunately, the number of Liaodong iron cavalry was small, and the troops were divided before, so although many soldiers were lost, the formation still broke through the Zukuan blockade intact, and continued to rush towards Ruzhou.

After retreating to Qiliu Town, Zhang Xianzhong was planning to collect the rout army and regroup, but who knew that he was once again besieged by the Liaodong Iron Cavalry.

"My life is at rest! That's it, my old Zhang actually has today! Seeing that the old camp was washed away by the officers and soldiers, and his family members were killed and injured countless times, Zhang Xianzhong's mentality collapsed instantly, this time he didn't want to go anywhere, so he just sat on the ground, closed his eyes and waited for death.

This can be anxious for everyone around him, Zhang Kewang, Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Wenxiu, Zhang Nengqi brothers hurriedly moved forward together, and couldn't help but say that Zhang Xianzhong rushed out, and Wang Shangli, the head of the old camp, also took five hundred guards to protect both sides.

I don't know how far I ran out, and I finally got rid of the official army, but when I was rejoicing, I only heard Zhang Wenxiu exclaim: "Xianglian is still trapped in the old camp!" ”

Hearing that Xianglian was in danger, Dingguo was anxious, so he asked Zhang Kewang to escort everyone to go first, and he and Wenxiu together, took Jin Tongwu and all the relatives and soldiers, turned back, and turned back.

At this time, the battle in Qiliu Town has basically ended, the main force of the official army has been sent out to hunt down the scattered rebels, only a few people in the town are cleaning the battlefield, hundreds of old and young family members are tied to hemp ropes, sitting together, there are five or six officers and soldiers guarding next to them.

Zhang Dingguo took the lead in dispersing the remaining officers and soldiers and rescued all the family members, but after a closer look, there was no Xianglian among these people.

"Have any of you seen Xianglian?" Zhang Wenxiu asked anxiously.

Guys, you look at me, I look at you, and shook their heads one after another.

Seeing that he couldn't find a reason, Dingguo asked Wenxiu and his relatives to protect his family and chase after the army first, while he stayed alone to continue looking for Xianglian.

"Second brother, I am a relative of Xianglian, but I will leave it to you." Before leaving, Zhang Wenxiu tearfully asked.

"Xianglian is not my relative, third brother, you can rest assured! She's clever on weekdays, and she's sure she'll be fine. Although he was also very anxious in his heart, Dingguo still calmed down and patted Wenxiu's shoulder to comfort him.

Seeing everyone walk away, Dingguo immediately turned on his horse and searched the town and nearby suburbs. I saw that there were corpses all over the ground for dozens of miles, and the blood flowed like a river, which was unbearable to see.

"Xianglian!" When night fell, Dingguo rode on his horse, shouting as he walked, until his throat was dry and his throat was hoarse, and he didn't get a response.

Just when Dingguo was disheartened, a faint voice suddenly came: "Brother Ning Yu, is it you?" ”

"Xianglian? It's me! Where are you? Hearing this familiar voice, Dingguo instantly cheered up.

"I'm here!" Xianglian shouted with the last bit of strength in her body, and she couldn't support it anymore and passed out.

After searching for the sound, Dingguo finally found Xianglian curled up on the ground in a muddy pit, only to see that she was covered in blood, and I don't know where she was hurt.

Ding Guofei dismounted and rushed to Xianglian's side quickly: "Xianglian, wake up!" Don't scare me! Xianglian! ”

However, after shaking for a long time, Xianglian did not react at all. Seeing that Xianglian's qi was free, Dingguo did not dare to delay, and hurriedly picked her up from the pit, put her on horseback, and hurried towards the direction of the retreat of the righteous army.

In the old camp, the camp of the old gods was brightly lit, and Dingguo and Wenxiu were anxiously pacing back and forth outside the tent, anxious. I don't know how long I waited, but the old fairy finally lifted the curtain and walked out with a tired face.

"What's wrong with Xianglian? You okay? Dingguo and Wenxiu rushed forward in unison.

"The little girl had only a few skin injuries and some cold in the wild, but now she is fine, and she will soon wake up. Two generals, rest assured. After listening to the words of the old immortal, Dingguo Yu Wenxiu looked at Xianglian who was sleeping in the tent from a distance through the curtain, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

A few days later, the rebels met Zu Kuan again in the Longmen and Baisha areas, and this time Zhang Xianzhong held the determination to break the net and fought to the death with the Liaodong Iron Cavalry. Although the Liaodong Iron Cavalry was fierce, after all, there were few people, and under the impact of more than 100,000 people, they had to make way of a gap and let the Xiying Righteous Army go.

Finally escaped, Zhang Xianzhong immediately ordered the whole army to continue to advance eastward and move to the south.