failed to take Yunmeng County, although Zhang Xianzhong was unwilling in his heart, but if he continued to fight, there was no practical significance except for the loss of troops and the loss of food and salary, and in the end he gritted his teeth and decided to withdraw from the siege.

After returning to Yingcheng for the New Year, on the sixteenth day of the first month, Zhang Xianzhong joined the king of neatness and marched to Huanggang.

Walking to the fine stone ridge, there were scouts to report, Qin Yiming and Zhang Tianjing two lines of officers and troops, about 50,000 or 60,000 people, lined up at the foot of the ridge, blocking the way for the army to advance.

"Bai Wenxuan! Feng Shuangli! Order the two of you to be the front, lead 20,000 elite cavalry, and break through the official army from the middle road! Zhang Xianzhong sat on horseback and gave combat orders to the generals in turn.

"No!" Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli, the two generals, stepped forward, agreed, and then led the cavalry to break away from the team and roar away.

"Dou Fame! Neat King! Order the two of you to lead your own men and horses, move to the enemy's left and right flanks, and outflank the rear of the officers and soldiers! Zhang Xianzhong pointed at the two of them with a horsewhip in his hand and continued to order.

"No!" After Dou Mingming and King Qi received the order, they immediately led their respective soldiers and horses and quickly attacked the left and right wings.

Zhang Xianzhong then swept his gaze to the two righteous sons beside him, and ordered: "Zhang Wenxiu! Zhang Nengqi! Order the two of you to quickly use the baggage and carriage to build a defense line on the spot to protect the old camp and his family, and there must be no mistake! ”

"No!" The two agreed in unison.

"Kewang's injuries have not healed, and he can't ride a horse yet, so your brothers must take care of him! Do you hear that? Zhang Xianzhong was a little uneasy, and couldn't help but say another word.

"Father, don't worry, with our brother here, the eldest brother will be unscathed!" Zhang Wenxiu patted his chest and assured Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Dingguo, and yelled at him: "Dingguo!" Take your dragon camp with you, and go up the mountain with me at once! ”

After that, Zhang Xianzhong grabbed the horse's belly, jumped out of the formation, and galloped towards the mountain trail on the side of the fine stone ridge.

All the way up the mountain, Dingguo asked Qi Sansheng to disperse his troops at various intersections along the way, and when they reached the top of the mountain, there were only more than 200 people left around them.

Looking around, this is a huge platform that can accommodate thousands of people, and it is condescending, and the battle situation below the mountain is clear at a glance.

The two sides were in a state of anxiety at this time, and the cavalry of the Western Camp who attacked in the middle faced the hollow phalanx laid by the officers and soldiers, and did not get the slightest bargain.

Usually the solid phalanx is only equipped with firearms on the front, once the front is broken, the entire phalanx will lose the support of firearms, while the hollow phalanx is equipped with firearms on all sides, no matter which side faces the enemy cavalry, it can give the opponent great damage.

In addition, this arrangement means that each soldier must give his back to his companions, which also greatly encourages the determination of the whole array of soldiers to cooperate with each other to kill the enemy. Once a lone enemy cavalry breaks in, it will be quickly strangled by fire from all sides, and it will be difficult to escape.

It was difficult to break through in the middle, and the outflanking of the left and right flanks was not smooth, and the officers and troops had long been prepared for this, and the narrow passages were full of traps and obstacles, and every step forward was difficult.

The fierce battle was in full swing, and the rear of the old camp of the rebels under the ridge suddenly sounded the earth-shattering shouting and killing, Zhang Xianzhong stood on the top of the mountain and heard the sound, and asked with a shocked face: "Bird!" When did the officers and soldiers outflank Lao Tzu? ”

Dingguo raised his eyes and observed for a moment, and then reported to Zhang Xianzhong: "Father, according to the child's observation, the number of officers and soldiers on this road is not large, I believe that with Wenxiu guarding them, the family of the old camp will be safe and sound." ”

But Zhang Xianzhong hesitated for a long time, but still shook his head and instructed the heralds: "The old camp is very important, and it must be ensured that nothing goes wrong!" The order went down, and ordered the front and the left and right wings of the troops to slowly retreat and move closer to the direction of the old battalion! ”

"Father, don't do it, the battle lines of the two sides are staggered, and retreating at this time may change dramatically!" Dingguo was anxious and hurriedly stopped.

However, as long as Zhang Xianzhong decides something, no one can change it, and the herald soon waved the order flag on the top of the mountain and conveyed the order to retreat.

The soldiers of the western camp in front were already fighting hard, and suddenly saw the flag of retreat, and then looked at the back of the old camp with flames, they all thought that the old camp had been broken by the officers and soldiers, and instantly fell into chaos.

The retreat soon turned into a rout, the officers and soldiers took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill, and the Xiying rebels trampled on each other, with countless casualties. The defeated and fleeing army broke up the temporary defensive line built by Zhang Wenxiu and Zhang Nengqi with carriages and baggage, and the officers and troops followed behind the rout, and rushed into the old camp without much effort, and slashed and killed the chaotic Xiying family.

Zhang Xianzhong stood on the top of the mountain, watching the army collapse in an instant, his face was like ashes, and he muttered to himself: "Dingguo, regret not being at the beginning, I didn't listen to you!" ”

Although Dingguo knew that the rout could not be reversed, he still resolutely asked Zhang Xianzhong for battle: "Father, the matter has come to this, there is no need to blame yourself!" The child will lead the dragon battalion to rush down the mountain, or he may be able to reverse the defeat! ”

Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly, which was regarded as acquiescence, and Dingguo immediately shouted to Jin Tongwu on the side: "Old Jin, leave two thousand brothers on the mountain to protect my father!" The rest of the brothers rushed down the mountain with me and went back to the old camp! ”

Hearing the horn of assembly, the soldiers of the Xiying who were guarding the various passages of the mountain road quickly moved closer to the main road and joined the team descending the mountain one after another.

As soon as Dingguo led the army out of the mountain pass, there was a force of officers and soldiers blocking the way, Dingguo did not say a word, shot the horse and raised the gun, charged ahead, the soldiers of the West Battalion followed closely, like a sharp sword stabbed out, the officers and soldiers could not resist, and retreated.

When Dingguo rushed to the old camp, a large number of chariots, horses and materials were scattered all over the place, and there were corpses everywhere, blood flowed like a river, and there was no one alive.

finally caught an official and military prisoner, and after some inquiry, I learned that Wenxiu and the others had already escorted the old camp to break out of the encirclement and went to the direction of Qishui.

The old camp escaped, Dingguo finally breathed a sigh of relief, he originally planned to reunite with Zhang Xianzhong, but there were officials and troops in all directions, even if Dingguo was brave and abnormal, Longxiang Battalion was one as ten, and it was never able to break through the encirclement and interception of the official army.

"Boss!" was fighting hard, Dingguo suddenly heard someone calling him, turned his head to look, and it was Li Yongcheng, who had stayed by Zhang Xianzhong's side before.

"Yongcheng? You didn't stay by your father's side, why did you come here? Dingguo asked in surprise.

"Jing Shuai is breaking through in the direction of the group! You don't have to fight, the camera retreats! Li Yongcheng yelled at Dingguo.

Hearing that Zhang Xianzhong had also escaped unharmed, Dingguo immediately commanded the soldiers of the Xiying who were still fighting, found the gap between the two official and military camps, and jumped out of the encirclement in one go.

In order to reduce the losses, Dingguo decided to temporarily abandon the rendezvous with Zhang Xianzhong and rushed to Qiting by taking a small road. And Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli's cavalry, because they rushed too far forward, the back road was cut off, and they could only retreat to Luotian.

A few days later, the rebels of the various western camps who broke out of the encirclement rushed to Tuanfeng one after another to return to the team.

After a few days of rest in the regimental style, Zhang Xianzhong, together with Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, Lao Hui Ma Shouying, and Liu Guoneng, went east along the river, and joined forces with Ge Li Yan He Yilong, Zuo Jin Wang He Jin and other rebels.

The rebels from all walks of life gathered in the south of the Lujiang River, camped along the river embankment for hundreds of miles, and the beacon fire reached Huai and Yang, and the city of Nanjing was shaken.

By February, Fan Jingwen, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and Shi Kefa, the deputy envoy of Anchi Dao, led their troops to defend the key points and confronted the righteous army across the river.

Seeing that the officers and troops were heavily defended and could not cross the river, the rebel armies from all walks of life immediately turned to attack Anqing. Anqing was in an emergency, and Zhang Guowei, the governor of the Heavenly Patrol, transferred Zuo Liangyu, Ma Yi, Liu Liangzuo and other officials and troops to help.

After receiving the news, the rebel army divided into two routes, with Luo Rucai, Ma Shouying, Liu Guoneng and other troops continuing to attack Anqing, while Zhang Xianzhong led the soldiers and horses of the Western Battalion to the north to block the reinforcements of the official army.

Soon, Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli led the Xiying forward in the periphery of Lu'an and Zuo Liangyu encountered, the two sides launched a fierce battle, and soon Liu Liangzuo's officers and troops rushed to the battlefield, Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli gradually lost their support, and retreated to the suburbs of Shucheng, and joined Zhang Xianzhong's main force.

After the two armies joined forces, Zhang Xianzhong ordered Zhang Kewang to lead 50,000 troops, build a defensive barrier on the spot, intercept the official army reinforcements, and lead the army to take Shucheng.

Who knew that before Shucheng was captured, the news of Zhang Kewang's defeat came.

"This Zuo Liangyu is violent, and he has won two battles in a row against my Lao Zhang, what can I do?" Zhang Xianzhong was in a dilemma, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while.

"The city of Shucheng is strong and cannot be stormed! The father might as well pretend to retire, and the child led his troops to change into official and military uniforms, and under the banner of Zuo Liangyu, he opened the city gate! As long as Shucheng is taken, our army can defend the city and drag the officers and soldiers under the fortified city. Dingguo said generously to Zhang Xianzhong.

"The situation is critical, so you might as well give it a try." Zhang Xianzhong lowered his head and thought for a moment, and finally agreed.

It didn't take long for the defenders of Shucheng to be pleasantly surprised to find that an "official army" had penetrated into the rear of the besieging rebels and launched an attack on the rebels. Suddenly attacked, the Xiying rebels seemed to be defenseless at all, and soon dispersed and fled.

This "official army" then fought all the way to the city, and the first "general" shouted to the city: "I am Luo Dai, the deputy general under the command of the left general army!" The thieves have retreated! Hurry up! ”

"It turned out to be General Luo! I have admired the daimyo for a long time! The general waited, and then went to report it. The officer and military captain on the city tower did not have the slightest suspicion, and immediately went down to the city to report.

After a few moments, the gates were slowly opened.

Dingguo was about to urge the army to enter the city, when suddenly a middle-aged official wearing a cyan official robe hurried to the front of the army, bowed his hand and said: "Zhang Bangyan, the magistrate of Xiashu City, meet General Luo!" ”

"It turned out to be a parent official! I don't know what to say? Dingguo had a fake beard on his lips, sat on horseback, raised his horsewhip, and pretended to be old-fashioned.

Zhang Bangyan was afraid of offending this group of military masters, so he always lowered his head and didn't dare to look at Dingguo. Seeing Dingguo asking, he said cautiously: "General Luo Mingjian, the city is too small to accommodate so many people, and I ask you to temporarily station your soldiers and horses outside the city, and only bring a few personal soldiers into the city, and you will be rewarded and sent to the camp later......"

Without waiting for Zhang Bangyan to finish speaking, Dingguo suddenly lifted the bronze helmet, revealing the hat ornament of the rebel army inside, and shouted: "Dog officer, open your dog eyes and see, who am you and me?" ”

Before Zhang Bangyan could react, Dingguo had already stepped forward and stabbed him to death.

Stepping over Zhang Bangyan's corpse, Dingguo took the lead and shouted: "Brothers, follow me into the city!" ”

The defenders in the city did not expect such a change to happen, and they were killed by surprise, and Shucheng immediately fell into the hands of the Xiying rebels.

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong entered Shucheng with his front foot, Zuo Liangyu, Ma Yi, and Liu Liangzuo were killed under the city.

The Xiying rebels held the city to the death, and the officers and soldiers were repulsed after several attacks, and seeing that the sky was getting dark, they each called gold and withdrew their troops.

Who knew that at night, the remaining officers and soldiers in Shucheng actually took advantage of the exhaustion and sleep of the Xiying Righteous Army to sneak attack and recapture the city gate and lead Zuo Liangyu into the city.

Zhang Xianzhong woke up in his sleep, saw that the city was full of fires, and the governor could not do anything, so he had to rush out of the south gate all the way out of the south gate under the escort of Dingguo, and ran for more than 200 miles, and then settled down in the Tianwang Ancient Village in Tianzhu Mountain in the northern suburbs of Qianshan.

Zhang Guowei, the governor of the heavens, urged Zuo Liangyu to go into the mountains to chase and suppress, but who knew that Zuo Liangyu didn't take Zhang Guowei in his eyes at all, not only did he not go to suppress, but instead went around and abducted women.

He was stationed in Shucheng for more than a month, and it was not until the eunuchs of the Henan Prison Army urged him that Zuo Liangyu left Shucheng slowly.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong had already recovered his vitality, and when he learned that Zuo Liangyu was coming, Zhang Xianzhong immediately led the army to the north, and then went west to Yingshan, where he defended the danger and planted the land.

As for Zuo Liangyu, he was dismissed from his post by Emperor Chongzhen because of his ineffective suppression of thieves, and this time Lu'an and Shucheng were meritorious in breaking thieves, and they were soon reinstated to their official positions.