After the combined troops rushed out of Tongguan, the 13th battalion of the righteous army immediately turned into pieces, copied all roads, intercepted and burned the grain and grass of the officers and soldiers, and the grain roads of the officers and soldiers were cut off for a while.

Zhang Xianzhong and Lao went back all the way, first stationed in Lingbao County, and made a posture of preparing to cross the river from Maojin and peek into Shanxi. This frightened the governor of Shanxi, Wu Fu, hurriedly mobilized the troops of the whole province to defend in the Pujie area.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly shook a shot, turned around and crossed the Huayin Nanyuan Ridge, and entered the territory of Lushi County at the junction of Shaanxi and Henan.

Zhuyang guard general You Shiwei and his brothers You Shigong and You Shilu are known for their bravery, because their troops are all elite soldiers, so Hong Chengchou ordered him and the general Xu Laichao to guard the Lancao River and Zhuyang Pass respectively, and repeatedly admonished: "These two places are the gateway to Shaanxi, you two must not take it lightly!" ”

You Shiwei led his troops to Zhuyang Pass, always kept Hong Chengchou's entrustment in mind, and immediately began to repair the pass, hoard ordnance, grain and grass, and actively prepare for war.

On this day, he suddenly heard that the rogue had invaded the realm, and You Shiwei quickly gathered 5,000 elite soldiers to go out of the customs to intercept it.

Let's say that the Xiying Righteous Army went all the way over the mountains and mountains, traveled a long distance, and was already exhausted when they came to Lushi County. Before he had time to rest, Unexpectedly, You Shiwei suddenly led the army to kill. In a hurry, the Xiying rebels suffered numerous casualties and had to retreat to the mountains around Shangzhou and Yunan.

In order to prevent Zhang Xianzhong's comeback, You Shiwei ordered the whole army to be stationed in the wild mountains and firmly block the only passage out of the mountain, and on the other hand, he sent people to contact Xu Laichao, a general stationed in southern Luonan, in an attempt to intercept Zhang Xianzhong at both ends and completely trap Zhang Xianzhong in this mountain.

Just when Zhang Xianzhong was in a dilemma and embarrassed, God actually gave him a big gift at this time.

It turned out that after Xu Laichao received the report that Zhang Xianzhong's army was defeated and was fleeing towards his own jurisdiction, he immediately ordered 3,000 men and horses, led by himself, and went to meet the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the lack of food and salary in the army, coupled with the difficult conditions in the mountains, the soldiers complained after a few days. Xu Laichao was eager for meritorious service, but he ignored it, and all the officers and soldiers were excited, noisy, and refused to move forward half a step anymore.

Coincidentally, this scene was seen by the rebel scouts who were ordered to go down the mountain to inquire about the military situation, and the scouts immediately rushed back to the army and reported to Zhang Xianzhong. Zhang Xianzhong was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately urged the army to kill down the mountain.

The Xiying Righteous Army was condescending, killing from the mountains like a storm, and the official and military positions were loose, and they were about to be unable to withstand it. Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Laichao left behind 3,000 officers and soldiers, and fled by himself.

The main general took the lead in running, and the rest of the officers and troops lost their fighting spirit, and they collapsed in an instant, fled in all directions, and were wiped out in less than half a day.

Zhang Xianzhong was in full swing in Luonan, and You Shiwei's life was not easy.

At this time, it was already autumn, the temperature difference between day and night in the mountains was very large, the officers and soldiers were dressed in single clothes, and all kinds of poisonous insects were infestation, and there was a serious outbreak of disease in the army. Taking advantage of the great loss of the combat strength of the officers and troops of You Shiwei's department, Zhang Xianzhong once again crossed the mountain and quietly approached the official army camp under the cover of night.

The poignant sound of the horn broke the silence of the night, Zhang Xianzhong took the lead, the prancing horse and the horizontal knife took the lead in rushing into the gate of the official army, Zhang Kewang and Zhang Dingguo led the army to follow, and the sound of killing shook the sky in an instant, resounding in the night sky.

They quickly spontaneously organized resistance, relying on various favorable terrain in the village, and fought fiercely with the Xiying rebels, and the two sides fought together and fell into a stalemate.

You Shiwei woke up from his sleep, didn't care about putting on his armor, rushed out of the big tent with his bare feet and dragged a long knife, and joined the battle array.

Although the officers and troops resisted desperately, their numbers were far inferior to those of the rebels, and due to the impact of the epidemic, their combat strength was not as good as before, and they gradually became weaker. You Shiwei was afraid that Zhang Xianzhong would divide his troops to attack Zhuyang Pass, so he hurriedly ordered the whole army to retreat, retreat to Guancheng, and defend it with danger.

The officers and soldiers fought and retreated, but Zhang Xianzhong was in hot pursuit, and the two sides burned the flames of war all the way to Zhuyang Pass.

Because the terrain of Zhuyang Pass is narrow, which is not conducive to large-scale operations, Zhang Xianzhong let Zhang Kewang and Dingguo take the lead and lead 5,000 troops to launch an attack on Zhuyang Pass.

Zhuyang Pass is located in the south of Lushi County, Nantong Xiangyun, west of Guanshan, is the intersection of Henan, Shaanxi and Hubei provinces, is not only the gateway to Shaanxi Shangluo in the west, but also the throat of Wanxiang in the south, has always been the place where soldiers must fight.

There were still more than 2,000 officers and soldiers who had returned to Guancheng, plus the 5,000 who had been left behind, for a total of 7,000 people. Thanks to the fact that Zhuyang Pass is surrounded by mountains, the terrain is steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. And guarding the pass is not better than defending the city, there is no need to worry about the enemy being surrounded on all sides, just hold the front, so although the officers and troops have been damaged, they can still occupy an advantage in the number of local people.

In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, You Shiwei built the Chinese army on top of the Guancheng Tower, personally supervised the army's defense, and sent someone to urgently ask Hong Chengchou for help.

On the side of the Xiying Righteous Army, after the fiasco of Weinan, the dozen or so cannons captured earlier were all discarded, and without the cover of artillery fire, they could only attack hard.

Zhang Kewang and Dingguo immediately gathered their troops and launched a fierce attack on the city wall from the left and right sides of the city.

You Shiwei sat on the castle tower and ordered the crossbowmen to be divided into three teams, the first team stood in front of the battlements of the city wall, drew bows and arrows, and aimed at the city; The second team squatted behind the women's wall, staring through the lookout holes; The third team lined up neatly on the stairs to the city, with their heads held high, ready to be called.

Seeing that the rebels entered the firing range, You Shiwei gave an order, and the first and second teams of crossbowmen took turns to get up and release arrows alternately. As soon as someone falls, someone from the third team immediately steps forward to fill the position.

"Collect the bow, roll the stone and prepare the wood!" Seeing that the Xiying rebels rushed desperately to the city, You Shiwei waved his hand, and the crossbowmen retreated one after another.

At the same time, a large number of stones and sassalwoods were thrown from the battlements of the city walls.

Some of the besieging rebels were smashed to the point that their brains burst, and some were crushed by the boulder in the lower half of their bodies, and before they could struggle, they were crushed to death by the sassal wood that followed.

Due to the lack of siege tools and You Shiwei's efforts to refuse, Zhang Kewang and Dingguo failed to take Guancheng for a whole day.

Taking advantage of the night, You Shiwei ordered 500 strong men to go down to the city, trying to sneak attack the camp of the rebels. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xianzhong had already taken precautions against this, and 500 heroes fell into a heavy siege and all died in battle.

Stealing chickens does not become a counter-erosion, and since then, You Shiwei has been more determined in his combat strategy of sticking to and waiting for reinforcements, and no matter how provocative the Xiying Righteous Army is under the pass, he will not go out of the pass for half a step.

You Shiwei refused to go out of the pass, Zhang Kewang had to let Dingguo continue to attack the city to attract the attention of the officials and soldiers, and he took 500 people all the way to quietly dig the tunnel under the pass and stuffed explosives into the tunnel. I heard a loud bang, and the city wall was blown out of a gap in an instant.

Seeing the collapse of the city wall, the siege rebels cheered and rushed up, wanting to rush into the city from here, who knew that You Shiwei had already taken precautions against this, and a deep and long trench was dug behind the city wall, and the ditch was covered with sharpened bamboo thorns.

Seeing this, the Xiying rebels who were the first to rush into the city hurriedly stopped, but the people behind them did not know why, and they continued to move forward.

The crossbowmen of the official army were also in position at this time, and they fired arrows in the direction of the gap, and the Xiying rebels who entered the city were in a mess, with countless casualties and countless corpses left in the trenches and gaps.

Zhang Kewang had to order the retreat again, and when the Xiying Righteous Army retreated, the officers and soldiers quickly blocked the gap with dirt bags.

"Second brother, if we can't break through Zhuyang Pass as soon as possible, as soon as Hong Chengchou's reinforcements arrive, we will really be trapped here." tried all kinds of methods, but failed to take Zhuyang Pass, Zhang Kewang couldn't help but be a little depressed.

"Big brother, this is the end of the matter, and give me five hundred people, let me try again." Dingguo frowned tightly and decided to personally lead the team to rush to the city.

Hearing that Dingguo was going to go in person, Zhang Kewang hurriedly shook his head to stop: "Second child, don't do it!" If you make a mistake, how can I explain it to my father? ”

Not long after the second king died, he also suffered Zhang Xianzhong's fifty military sticks for this, Zhang Kewang didn't want to repeat the mistake again.

However, the decision to make up his mind has been made, and he resolutely said: "Big brother, if you can't break through the Zhuyang Pass as soon as possible, everyone will have to die here, let me give it a try." ”

Seeing that he couldn't persuade the country, Zhang Kewang stomped his feet violently, gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, this sword mountain and sea of fire, my brother will accompany you today!" ”

The two of them then turned over and dismounted, strode to the soldiers of the Xiying who had just gone through a fierce battle and were resting and recuperating, raised their arms and shouted: "Brothers, who is willing to fight to the death with the two of us to attack the city?" ”

The soldiers of the Xiying camp were stunned for a moment, knowing that they had reached the critical moment of life and death, and in an impassioned roar, a death squad of 500 people was formed in a moment.

All the daredevils unloaded their armor together, shirtless, with a short knife in their hands, in units of ten people, carrying fifty ladders, roaring angrily, like mad bulls, rushing towards the fortress.

The officers and soldiers at the head of the city were stunned by such a desperate attack by the Xiying Righteous Army, and they forgot to release their arrows for a while, allowing this death squad to rush to the bottom of the city and quickly set up a ladder.

"Come with me, brethren!" Zhang Kewang and Dingguo took the lead, chanting slogans, and took the lead in climbing the city.

The crossbowmen of the official army also came to their senses at this time, threw down their bows and arrows one after another, drew their swords, and fought with the righteous army of Dengcheng, and the two sides launched a fierce white-knuckle battle on the narrow city wall.

Dingguo slashed and killed the officers and soldiers who were close to him, and shouted at the daredevils who were climbing the city wall one after another behind him: "Brothers, kill me!" ”

Before the words fell, I saw Dingguo bend down and pick up a shield from the side of a dead official soldier, put the short knife in his mouth, jumped down from the city tower, and killed the city gate.

Inspired by Dingguo, the daredevils were all like chickens, and they were like chickens. The city gate was quickly taken by Dingguo, and as the heavy city gate was slowly pushed open, a large number of Xiying rebels immediately swarmed in. The officers and soldiers died, those who fled fled, and the whole army was defeated.

You Shiwei and the guerrillas Liu Zhaoji and Luo Dai were also seriously wounded, but fortunately, thanks to the desperate protection of their own soldiers, they broke through.

With the breaching of Zhuyang Pass, Hong Chengchou's strategy to block the rebels in Shaanxi once again failed.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that Hong Chengchou was only in a corner of Shaanxi Province and was unable to cope with it, and now that the righteous army was out of the customs in a big way, he must be even more powerless. Therefore, it was decreed that Premier Lu Xiangsheng should be directly under the military affairs of Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, and Huguang provinces, and give Shang Fang the sword, which would be specially responsible for the defense of the Central Plains.

At this point, the east and west were responsible for their own responsibilities, and instead of carrying out large-scale cross-provincial encirclement and suppression, they attacked the rebel army in the area under their jurisdiction separately.

After Lu Xiangsheng became the premier of military affairs, he immediately made major changes to the military deployment, and he mobilized the main force of the official army, with the Liaodong Army of Zu Kuan, Zu Dale, and Li Chongzhen as the backbone, and the rest of the troops cooperated to hold on to Luoyang.

In October, Zhang Xianzhong arrived at Lingbao through Ruxiang, and at the same time, the three thousand Liaodong iron cavalry led by Zu Kuan also rushed towards Lingbao.

Knowing that there were only 3,000 officers and troops, Zhang Xianzhong was quite disapproving, thinking that he had an army of more than 100,000 people, and dozens of people were against one, could it be possible to lose the battle?

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong did not take Zu Kuan in his eyes, and immediately set up a position, ready to defeat the Liaodong Iron Cavalry in one fell swoop.

However, the progress of the situation greatly surprised Zhang Xianzhong, and the three thousand Liaodong iron cavalry led by Zu Kuan only used one charge to rush their hundreds of thousands of troops, and for a time the corpses were all over the field and the blood flowed like a river.

It was only at this time that Zhang Xianzhong woke up to the fact that his hundreds of thousands of troops were just lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry.

At this critical juncture, Zhang Xianzhong made an extremely wise decision to run away.