If it was other officials and soldiers who attacked, Li Zicheng might still be lucky, however, it was Cao Bianjiao who killed him this time. He has followed Cao Wenzhao to join the army since he was a child, and his feelings for this uncle, who is also a brother and a gentleman, are extremely deep, so the act of breaking into the camp and killing Cao Wenzhao is tantamount to killing his father's revenge for him.

With full of hatred, Cao Bianjiao worked extremely hard under Hong Chengchou to suppress Kou, and he was the mainstay of the Ming army in Shaanxi. And because of his many horses and fierce and abnormal, in the eyes of Li Zicheng and other rogues, he can really be called the most difficult opponent to deal with.

In northern Shaanxi, Cao Bianjiao's department basically kept chasing the ass who broke into the camp, and Hong Chengchou turned south, he didn't drag the mud and water at all, and immediately moved as ordered. Breaking into the camp and crossing the lofty mountains and mountains into Hanzhong, he detoured from the west to Gongchang Mansion, from Baishui Town, Huizhou to Luoyang. There are more and more officers and soldiers gathered in Luoyang, but before the commander Hong Chengchou arrived, they seized the opportunity to be lazy one by one, and they were unwilling to move, only Cao Bianjiao kept an eye on the movement of the camp. Two days ago, he found out that the front of the army had been out of the Qinling Mountains, the vanguard to the front line of the Muchao Mountain stationed, yesterday, and heard that Li Zicheng may have arrived at the Muchao Mountain camp first, this morning Tianma Ma Liang, he took more than 1,000 elites, secretly out of the city, even rushed more than 100 miles away, the secret Jitou Pass, and unknowingly touched the southern foot of the Muchao Mountain.

Cao Bu's official army actually approached the camp of the army in Muchao Mountain in the middle of the time, but Cao Bianjiao was very patient, and did not rush to order an attack after learning about the situation of the camp banquet, but took the whole army and quietly lurked in the mountains and forests, until the middle of the moon and the generals of the army were drunk and dreamed of death, and then launched a surprise attack.

The unprepared invading army was naturally difficult to resist, even if this was more than 2,000 elites in the camp, but in the face of the morale of the Cao official army, it was still overwhelming. Cao Bianjiao galloped on horseback, killing people when he met them, and more than 1,000 officers and soldiers under his command were inspired by his momentum, and they all fought vigorously, once they entered the camp, they were immediately covered like mercury in every corner of the camp, in addition to slashing knives and stabbing guns, they fired firebolts or fired rockets, and soon turned the entire camp upside down.

"Whoever wins Li Chuang's head will be rewarded with 100 gold!"

This was a slogan that Cao Bianjiao shouted as soon as he entered the camp, and this slogan was spread to the ears of every officer and soldier through his personal soldiers. These officers and soldiers are as fierce as Yama, their eyes are cold, and they are doing their best to find the king Li Zicheng who can be used by them to soar overnight. If Cao Bianjiao knew that Zhao Dangshi was also here, I am afraid that the slogan of "Zhao Dangshi will be rewarded with 100 gold" is also indispensable.

Just as Cao Bianjiao and the officers and soldiers of the department were struggling to find Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng and Zhao Dangshi fled in a hurry under the escort of Wu Ruyi and others. Li Zicheng's large tent of the Chinese army was located in the center of the entire camp, which also meant that no matter which direction he went, he would inevitably be blocked by the officers and troops. Considering that Cao Bianjiao came from the west, Li Zicheng chose to break through to the east.

There were originally fifty soldiers of the Chuang army brought by Wu Ruyi, but at the request of Li Zicheng, half of them were dispersed. Because there are too many people in one piece, it is easy to attract the attention of the officers and soldiers, and besides, if there is really a Cao officer and soldier who has been plagiarized, there is not much difference between 50 people and 20 people.

Wu Ruyi led the way, and Li Zicheng followed closely behind, except for a few of his own chaotic soldiers, he did not encounter the resistance of the official army. Quickly out of the camp, more than ten defeated soldiers fled from the north, saw Li Zicheng, and cried: "The official army is like a ghost asking for his life, the north camp has been burned to pieces, Lu Shuai was burned alive in the tent, and Liu Shuai was also hacked to death." "Lu Shuai and Liu Shuai, that is, the usual names of Lu Gang and Liu Boqing.

When Li Zichengfu heard this, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad, it stands to reason that his generals died in battle, and they should be sad and angry, but it was two stubborn diehards who died, and he was worried about how to deal with the increasingly aggressive threats of these old men in the army.

"How about Liu, Tian and other generals?" Compared with Lu Gang and others, Li Zicheng is more concerned about his descendants and generals. He doesn't care at all if the soldiers are gone, if Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu and others have three strengths and two weaknesses, that is the real blow.

"General Liu has gathered some soldiers and horses in the north, and General Tian and they are all there." Another soldier said, "He also sent a summons to King Chuang, saying that there is no old brother who is damaged, please rest assured." ”

"Well, I know, you go and tell General Liu, let him collect as much as he wants, don't fall in love, and meet in Baocheng." Li Zicheng instructed like this, his expression was slightly relaxed, and he glanced at Zhao Dangshi as he spoke.

At this time, Wu Ruyi led a horse from the front, the horse was full of black and white mixed colors, extremely majestic, and Zhao Dangshi recognized it as Li Zicheng's favorite black horse. At the same time, some soldiers brought other horses, and Zhao Dangshi also found his yellow horse and rode it.

"King Chuang, walk from here, and you can reach Baocheng in the blink of an eye." Since he heard that Li Zicheng wanted to take refuge in Baocheng, Zhao Dangshi pushed the boat down the river and invited him. Baocheng has its own main army, and he Cao has become fierce and fierce, and it is impossible for him to be unscrupulous against Zhao Ying, who is several times his size.

"That's exactly what I mean." Li Zicheng's plan to go to Baocheng was not only because Baocheng had the support of Zhao Ying, but also because of the situation of the soldiers and horses in the northern headquarters. At present, most of the troops still stranded at the mouth of the valley in the north have not left the valley in full, and they are still constantly reorganizing and counting, according to this situation, it is absolutely impossible to resist the fierce Cao Bianjiao. In addition, there are still a large number of military personnel and items from the old battalion there, and Li Zicheng doesn't want to lure Cao Bianjiao over so that his weakness is directly exposed.

Pang Jinming heard the sound of killing behind him gradually approaching, and hurriedly said to Zhao Dangshi: "The enemy soldiers are close at hand, you can leave quickly!" ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded when he heard this, and turned to Li Zicheng and said, "The junior brother will lead the way." "With that, a clamp on the horse's belly, the yellow horse stepped out with flying hooves. Zhao Dangshi leaned over to beat the horse, and from the sound of the wind of "brushing", he could hear the sound of the horse's hooves followed closely by Li Zicheng and others behind him.

Everyone rode their horses and galloped wildly, and Pang Jinming urged the horses to catch up, shouting: "Lord, the son is chasing after you!" ”

Zhao Dangshi turned his head slightly, glanced at the corner of his eye, and sure enough, he found that behind Li Zicheng and the others, there was a large group of knights chasing after him: "How many people are coming?" Zhao Dangshi thought that if there were not many people, it would be okay to simply fight with him.

However, Pang Jinming said: "It is estimated that there are more than fifteen people. ”

Zhao Dangshi's side, plus Li Zicheng and Wu Ruyi, were only 30 people, and in the face of the Cao Bu official army with heavy armor and heavy horses, Zhao Dangshi had no confidence in victory.

After running for a while, Zhao Dangshi only heard the shouting behind him getting louder and louder, and when he looked back, he saw that Li Zicheng didn't know when, and he divided a few men to intercept the pursuers. It was only before those men turned their horses around that they were brought down by the onslaught of the officers and soldiers who rushed in from Pegasus, and there was almost no stagnation effect.

Zhao Dangshi panicked, just turned his head back, and as far as his eyes went, he was surprised to see a river not far away, and the water seemed to be quite turbulent.

"Oops!" Zhao Dangshi secretly complained, he fled wholeheartedly, but he forgot to go to Baocheng from the southern foot of Muchao Mountain, and he had to pass through Wenshui halfway. This water is not wide or deep, but it is now in the flood season, and the river water is at least over the calves, and people and horses can slowly wade through, but the chasing soldiers behind them will arrive immediately, and how can they cross the river slowly?

He was still thinking about it, when he suddenly heard a neigh, and when he turned his eyes, he saw that the black horse that Li Zicheng was riding stood up and raised his hooves, and when he looked at it again, the horse's hips were hit by several arrows, and the blood flowed like an infusion.

The black horse was in severe pain, and he couldn't help it, and Li Zicheng, who was sitting on it, suddenly gave him a few blows, his center of gravity was unstable, and he rolled down. Seeing this, Wu Ruyi immediately beckoned, stopped the soldiers and horses in his headquarters, and all surrounded him to protect Li Zicheng.

Wu Ruyi helped Li Zicheng to stand up, Zhao Dangshi also returned to the horse, Wu Ruyi said eagerly: "Chasing the soldiers, for the sake of today's plan, you can only fight to the death." He also knew that with only a few people like himself, he would not be able to stop the surging officers and soldiers, but he was desperate, so he wanted to fight to the death to repay Li Zicheng.

Zhao Dangshi didn't speak, Pang Jinming immediately came and said: "Lord, General Wu and I stayed to resist the enemy, and you and King Chuang crossed the river on horseback." With that, he stuffed the reins into Li Zicheng's hand.

Li Zicheng said movingly: "This brother ......"

"The villain waits for a rotten life, and then dies, and there is no way. Chuang Wang Chuang will be a real hero, a real hero, and there are still big things to do, and he must not die here. Pang Jinming doesn't have much culture, but under the foul language, he can reflect his sincerity, "Although we can't wait, but if we fight with our lives, we can delay for a while." Without further ado, please cross the river quickly! ”

Wu Ruyi also resolutely said when he heard this: "What this brother said is very true, the two of you must not hesitate any longer. We will do our best to stop the pursuers! As he spoke, he beckoned to the left and right, "You guys, don't go, stay." ”

As soon as he said this, it was like Mount Tai pressing on the top, and none of the soldiers present hesitated, all nodded in agreement, and pulled out the saber at his waist. The nearly thirty soldiers of the battalion all looked solemn, gritted their teeth, and immediately fell into the wind.

Zhao Dangshi and Li Zicheng are not mothers-in-law, seeing the situation, they nodded, and without saying a word, they turned around and led the horse to the river. As you walk, take off your coat and hood belt to reduce the weight you carry after entering the water. As soon as he entered the water, there was a fierce fighting sound from behind, accompanied by the wails of people and the neighing of horses, and it was indescribably tragic and desolate. But the two of them walked indifferently, leading the horses and wading across the river, from the beginning to the end, they were stunned and did not look back.

When they arrived on the other side, the shouts of killing were still there, and Li and Zhao got on their horses and galloped lifelessly. Although they are grateful to Wu Ruyi and Pang Jinming for sacrificing their lives, they are not guilty, on the contrary, they are more calm. Life is like this in the world, everyone has their own mission, as Pang Jinming and Wu Ruyi said, Li and Zhao's heavy responsibilities are not here, on the other side, and Pang Jinming's mission may come to an end here. It is sad that everyone fights and dies for their mission, but it is undoubtedly worthy of respect. Living like an ant, it is far less free and happy than a vigorous afterlife. Zhao and Li are both outstanding people, and they deeply understand this truth, and they will never stick to the benevolence of women, so they are not indifferent, they are just calm.

Zhao Dangshi and Li Zicheng arrived at the Zhao camp before dawn, and the city was warned first, Xu Hui and others led the crowd out of the city to respond, and lined up Guo Xia to wait for the pursuing soldiers, however, since the fight was dumped in Wenshui, Cao Bianjiao did not seem to continue to chase.

How can people who have experienced great storms be obsessed with one victory and one defeat. Zhao Dangshi and Li Zicheng took a break, and their mentality immediately calmed down a lot. The two had dinner, and when it was noon, Liu Zongmin led the crowd to retreat from the north.

I have to say that Liu Zongmin's ability to sit firmly in the position of the number one general in the camp is indeed genuine. He brought more than 1,500 soldiers to Baocheng, that is to say, in a state of scattered chaos, the army of Muchao Mountain still retained most of its vital strength through his efforts, and it was only a loss of three or four hundred people. This is already a miracle for the intruding army, which has completely lost its unified command and has no resistance under the pursuit of the officers and troops.

Listening to Liu Zongmin's words, the official army later successively divided many people to chase after the south, and Cao Bianjiao himself soon left the camp, which provided favorable conditions for Liu Zongmin to gather troops from the side. Now that I think about it, at that time, the official cavalry who chased out of the camp and followed closely behind may not have been led by Cao Bianjiao himself. is the only one who will be desperate, and even abandon the battlefield of victory and no longer command to chase and kill his uncle's enemy.

On the way to Baocheng with people, Liu Zongmin did not encounter the official army again. It seems that Cao Bianjiao missed a blow and did not linger any longer, and now it is likely that he has returned to Luoyang.

It is undoubtedly fortunate to have escaped with minimal casualties. However, the only unfortunate thing is that Wu Ruyi and Pang Jinming are still missing, and Zhao Dangshi later sent people to Wenshui to look for the corpses, only to find that except for a few blood stains and fallen war horses, all the corpses were probably collected by the official army and could not be found.

Zhao Dangshi lost Pang Jinming, Li Zicheng lost Wu Ruyi, both of them were a little sad, Pang and Wu had different responsibilities in the two battalions, but they were both loyal and able to sacrifice their lives for righteousness, it was a pity to lose such subordinates.

It's just that Hanzhong, which can change dramatically at any time, is not a place where there is time for sentimentality and sighing. In Baocheng, Zhao Dangshi and Li Zicheng had a serious and deep conversation after sobering up, and the details of this conversation are unknown, but the two made one of the most important decisions - to enter Sichuan immediately.