The latitude shifts southward, and the time rewinds to September.

An autumn rain has been falling for nearly half a month, and the weather in the mountains in Fangxian, Zhushan, Zhuxi and other places has plummeted. The already sparse pedestrians on the road are even more sparse.

The pines and cypresses in the mountains were washed by the autumn rain with a hint of chill, and the flexible bodies of several clumps of green bamboos in the mountain bay trembled in the autumn wind.

Due to Yang Sichang's supervision, the Ming army gradually made some progress in the war against the peasant army, and in the summer and autumn of the thirteenth year, several battalions led by Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were forced to eastern Sichuan and surrounded on all sides. Most of the battalions of Fang Jun's ninth battalion led by Luo Rucai surrendered under pressure.

In order to get rid of the pressure of the Ming army, Zhang Xianzhong dragged Luo Rucai to the hinterland of Sichuan. In order to eliminate the two most powerful bandit leaders at present, Yang Sichang had to go from Hubei to Chongqing to chase and suppress.

On the surface, Xian and Cao are running around in Sichuan, and they are already at the end of their rope. As long as the chasing towns and departments exert a little force, these two streams that have been flowing between the Daming River, the Huai River and the Han Dynasty for many years will be wiped out. However, this optimism can only be stored in the recital to Chongzhen, and as for the private correspondence between the superintendents, it is not so optimistic.

On the one hand, he had to deal with the thieves and bandits who were scattered all over the country, and on the other hand, Chongzhen also constantly urged Hong Chengchou to command more than 100,000 troops to march to Songshan, Xingshan and Tashan to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, and urged Li Shouhan to transfer the grain, rice and other materials that should be allocated to the inner treasury in the 13th and 14th years to the front line in Ningyuan and Jinzhou.

And right now, the war in Sichuan is confusing. The future is unpredictable, and in Shandong, northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, southern Zhili, northern Sichuan, Henan, and Shaanxi, hungry people are swarming everywhere. If it weren't for the Nanyue army that sent a large amount of grain and rice north by sea, I am afraid that the hungry people in Shandong, northern Jiangsu and other places would have already robbed the Caoyun, and the civil and military officials and soldiers in the capital would have been hungry.

In the summer and autumn, not only the drought and locust plagues in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the provinces in the Huaihe River basin were particularly severe, but also drought and locust plagues occurred in the south of the Yangtze River, on which the imperial court depended.

Under the emperor's strict orders, Yang Sichang hated to eat Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were erratic all over Sichuan, in one bite. But there is nothing that can be done. The military horses of each town are well versed in the truth of the cunning rabbit and the dead lackey. Keep Zhang Xianzhong. They have military salaries and official positions, and without Zhang Xianzhong, they burn and kill and plunder the people everywhere, just afraid that the emperor will immediately send them to arrest and kill the head of the Jinyi Banner School.

And among the troops of He Renlong, fierce as a tiger and others. It is also quietly circulated in private that Zhang Xianzhong's generals Ma Yuanli, Bai Wenxuan and others quietly passed through Zuo Liangyu's generals. is also a thief from Shaanxi, King Xiao Qin and Zuo Liangyu secretly communicate with each other. Twenty thousand silver dollars were offered. Five hundred taels of gold, and dozens of treasures such as pearls, agate, antiques, and jade.

A letter that circulated from somewhere quietly circulated among several adults in the town: "Zhang Xianzhong, the commander of the Xiying Volunteer Army, bowed to General Kunshan again: General Onyx Mountain won." It is enough to snow the shame of the Monkey Mountain, and the mouth of the suspicious general. Not only temporarily eliminated the heart of the Yang Pavilion to seize the seal, but also invited the court to reward him. The general is now full of ambition. However, if there is loyalty, the general can support the army and respect himself, and keep the wealth and nobility for a long time; If you die today, the general will follow tomorrow. After ten years of hard work, the general will inevitably be arrested in Beijing and beheaded in Xishi, which is a precept for those who have always been arrogant and arrogant, and who have always been arrogant and arrogant. Therefore, the loyalty and the general appear to be an enemy country, but they are actually lips and teeth. The lips are dead and the teeth are cold, this reason is clear, I hope the general will think twice, don't force the loyalty too much. And victory and defeat are often the norm, how can luck be obtained again? If the general loses the battle again, can he keep the wealth and the leader? The meaning is not exhausted, and Ma Yuanli will present it on his behalf. Beware of Fei Yi's counts, and beggar. Leaning on the horse and looking north, I am afraid to be on standby! Zhang Xianzhong nodded. ”

The general Zuo Liangyu of the main force of the anti-thief war was like this, and the people of Nahe Renlong and Fierce Tiger were even more happy to be idle.

The war was going on intermittently, tightly and loosely in this very strange atmosphere, and Yang Sichang only hoped that Wu Biao's model brigade could train the 5,000 Sichuan recruits as soon as possible, so that the military towns would have a trump card.

Just when the Ming Dynasty and the opposition were watching the war in Sichuan, and the concubines of Chongzhen's Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian, and Concubine Yuan Guifei also burned incense and worshiped Buddha in the palace, praying that Sichuan could have good news as soon as possible, a figure who had disappeared from everyone's sight for a long time quietly appeared in Fangxian, Wushan and other places.

In the middle of the night, the first quarter moon had set, the shadows of the mountains were dark, and the trees were as colorful as ink. Nearly 100 miles away from Zhuxi County, a cottage stands on a small hill, three sides are cliffs, only one side has a winding path leading to the bottom of the mountain, a big temple at the intersection of the mountain has long been destroyed in the war. Now there is a peasant army stationed in this main road.

Many years ago, there was a mountain street in front of this big temple, dozens of residents, and three or four restaurants, which was a place for merchants and pedestrians from the south to the north to stop, and they met every other day to buy and sell oil, salt and groceries. Because of years of war, this mountain street is now completely in ruins, with piles of rubble and barren grass. Some of the houses of the Great Temple were burned down, some collapsed, and very little remained. Some of the three or four hundred peasant troops with Shaanxi accents lived in the dilapidated Daxiong Treasure Hall, some lived under the mountain gate, and some lived in tents. A shabby banner fluttered faintly in the night wind, and the leader quickly scolded the soldiers in a low voice, and carefully rolled up this banner that exposed the hidden line.

At this moment, more than a dozen tents have been dismantled, bundled into bundles, and ready to be carried away. The soldiers gathered in heaps in a leeward place to make a fire. War horses are gnawing on half-withered grass, and some are eating beans. The saddle is placed next to the horse and can be saddled at any time. The fireheads were divided into several places to cook. Wood from the hearth was burning, and smoke was rising from the cauldron.

In the village on the hill, Li Zicheng's old camp is quietly lurking here. There are only seven or eight households in the village, all of which are dilapidated thatched hermitage huts. His troops could only live in temples and tents at the foot of the mountain, and a team of more than 1,000 people packed the two small villages nearby.

Because there is no news of the officers and soldiers around, the farthest large forces are also more than a hundred miles. Li Zicheng's troops, who had marched all over the place, did not intend to stay here for a long time, but only wanted to rest here for a short time.

Li Zicheng lived next to the shrine of the Guandi Temple in the village, and the hay spread on the ground was counted as a sleeper, so he finally found a low square table and a few stools and grass mounds, and placed them in front of the statue of Master Guan.

At this time, he was a little more calm than when Lancaochuan broke through, kneeling on the straw mat in front of the statue of the god, contemplating. Recently, news has been coming from all over the place. It was very bad for him and his companions.

First, I heard that Zhang Xianzhong was defeated in Agate Mountain. Almost captured; I also heard that Yang Sichang had exterminated Xianzhong within three months, and had already mobilized more than 100,000 troops from several provinces to gather in the border areas of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei to rearrange a tight encirclement of Zhang Xianzhong.

His troops, like a small fish, recklessly swam into the net that was originally intended for big sharks like Zhang Xianzhong and Cao Cao. Although interspersed with roundabouts. Try to avoid contact with nearby officials, soldiers, and villagers. so as not to set yourself on fire. But people have left a name and a goose has left a voice. A team of more than 2,000 people went around this mountain, how could there not be a single rumor leaking out?

After several small engagements and encounters, Li Zicheng's troops lost dozens of men. The worst thing is that hundreds of stone of grain were lost. Wu Ruyi, the Chinese army who managed the baggage of the whole army, did not know where he had gone in the chaos.

For half a month, the roads were muddy and difficult to walk, and the army was starving, and the morale of the army was unstable. Dozens of people have already deserted. The departure of these people made Li Zicheng very distressed, this is his old eighth team, and he has never been separated in the harshest war. Now he is gone because of hunger.

After half a month of rain, the horse's hooves were rotted by the rain, how did the peasant army, which had always been dominated by walking, increase its speed?

"Could it be that I didn't die in Tongguan Nanyuan, I didn't die in Shangluo Mountain, but I want to be trapped and die in this Badong Mountain?" Perhaps due to the strong psychological hints of the weather, Li Zicheng's originally very strong psychology has also become fragile.

Seeing that there was no one around, he wanted to untie the stumbling armor silk around his waist, and prepared to end his life in the temple of the old man Guan in this Datong township, so as to leave a whole corpse.

His hands had just touched the silk tape, and he couldn't help but feel excited by the stimulation of his cold hands, and suddenly sobered up, "Joke! How many times have you come from the corpse mountain and the sea of blood, what is this little rain?! ”

He stood up and rearranged the stumbling armor, only to find that Li Shuangxi, one of his adopted sons, was standing behind him.

"Double Happiness, what are you doing here?"

"Dad, the eldest brother of Buzhi and the chief whistle Liu Ye have come back from outside. The brothers who came to deliver the letter said that they had found the team of Wu Ruyi of the Chinese army. ”

Li Zicheng couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in his heart, if he had just found a short sight with a narrow heart, wouldn't he have heard the good news that he had found it?

A rough voice sounded like thunder at the gate of the wall: "King Chuang!" We're back! Wu boy, we also found it! ”

The man who spoke was nearly forty years old, very burly, with an angular face and full of weather. The face is rough and bold, like a steel needle and a halberd with a short beard. He wore an iron helmet and heavy iron armor, two long knives pinned to his waist, and a blood-stained cloak on the outside.

It was Liu Zongmin, the first general under Li Zicheng, who was born as a blacksmith in Lantian and was the most brave and resolute.

Behind him is Li Guo, nicknamed "A Tiger", Li Zicheng's nephew of the same age.

Seeing the return of the two capable generals, Li Zicheng's face showed a smile that he hadn't seen for a long time. hurriedly beckoned the two to sit down, roasted the fire, and told Shuangxi to go to the room to see if the meal was ready.

"King Chuang, don't be in a hurry to eat. It's not too late to eat after listening to my old Liu explain things to you. I'm afraid that King Chuang will have no intention of eating at that time! ”

Li Zicheng heard Liu Zongmin say this, and suddenly a trace of vigilance arose in his heart, is there any bad news?

"Xiao Wu, after they were separated from us that day, they covered the baggage team and fought and left, but fortunately, the officers and soldiers did not know the details of us that day, and they didn't dare to pursue too hard, so they grabbed a few mules and horses and left."

Wu Ruyi led more than 200 people to escort more than 100 mules and horses, and in a panic, he just picked up the deserted place to walk, and then went into the deep mountains. I finally found a small village to settle down, and I was about to send someone out of the mountains to inquire about the situation of my army, not wanting to be trapped by the rain.

"However, Xiao Wu, this young man, is indeed loyal to our camp, and he came out when he saw that the weather was a little better. When it rains, find a place to stop, and ask all the way to find it. However, it is also because of this incident that there is another chance! ”

Li Guo excitedly said to Li Zicheng, dancing with his hands and foaming at his mouth, looking at their excited crimson faces, he couldn't help but infect Li Shuangxi, who was standing on the side and had been a little depressed.

"Brother Buzhi, what's the good thing, look at how happy you look!"

In the courtyard of the Huang family in the mountain village where Wu Ruyi and the others were hiding, there was another team that was also trapped in this deep mountain deserted village because of the continuous autumn rain.

Li Zicheng and the others looked with interest at Wu Ruyi, a Chinese army who had not been seen for half a month.

He was wearing a brand new armor that looked a bit like cotton armor. It was full of large and small copper bubble nails. And it's easy to move, and there is no nail leaf colliding with each other to make a rattling sound. But judging from the thick Cheng dù of the armor, I don't want ordinary cotton armor, I think it is a layer of armor leaves sandwiched in the cotton board. Act as a protective layer. When making zuò cotton nails. It is to soak the cotton. Then beat it repeatedly to make a very thin cotton sheet, and decorate several of these cotton sheets into a thick cotton cloth. An iron sheet is placed between two layers of cotton cloth, and the inside and outside are fixed with copper nails, and the cotton armor is made.

Such armor has a very good defensive effect on firearms, and it can also protect against cold in winter.

However, looking closely, Wu Ruyi's half-body armor full of thick copper nails is a thick leather armor.

"Xiao Wu, where is your iron armor? Could it be that he went to the pawnshop? ”

Li Guo knew that his uncle was in a very good mood today, so he joked with Wu Ruyi.

"Brother Buzhi, this is no worse than my iron armor that I have worn for almost seven or eight years! And it's warm! With a bit of showing off, Wu Ruyi took off the armor on his body and handed it to Li Zicheng.

According to the merchants, this is a dragon produced in the extremely hot and humid land of the South China Sea, and the natives took advantage of the full moon night when the dragon mated and laid eggs from the water to the land, and set up multiple fishing nets on the dragon's path, wrapped around the dragon's claws, so that it could not move, and then bombarded the dragon's abdomen with spears, fire guns and other objects. After it is killed, its skin is sawed open with a saw, and after cutting, it is connected and inlaid at key points with copper nails about an inch long, and this armor is made! ”

This leather armor, although it is made of whole leather, is very different from the leather armor that usually overlaps several layers of leather and is sewn, but it is only connected with leather strips at some joints and joints, in order to move without restrictions. Although sewing with multiple layers of leather increases the thickness and toughness of the leather, judging from the situation of this set of armor, it seems that the thickness is no less than that sewn with multiple layers of cowhide.

Li Zicheng took this set of armor with both hands and weighed the weight with his hands, which was heavier than cotton armor, but much stronger than the iron armor of the official army. Judging from the surface of the armor, it is not the kind of official army that is made of wool iron hastily, but it is beautiful in appearance, and it can be compared with the tofu scum armor with two eyes in one arrow.

Regarding this kind of goods that are united and only embezzle materials, Qi Jiguang once angrily retorted: "...... Now my armor is new on the outside, and iron leaves on the inside, with several eyes. The rust is rotten only in the shape of iron, it is still good, its emptiness is like a sieve, the enemy can penetrate it, and the knife can break it......"

Therefore, the ten ridiculous folk songs circulating in the capital ridiculed like this: "Guanglu Temple tea soup, Tai Hospital prescription, God optimistic prayer, arsenal division knife and gun, camp division field, nursing home clothing and food, teaching workshop mother-in-law, Metropolitan Procuratorate Constitution, Guozi Supervision School, Hanlin Academy article." "That's what they say, and they don't live up to their name.

An arrow passed, and the dragon leather armor hanging from the tree swayed slightly twice in mid-air, and the arrow was inserted diagonally in the leather armor, but the arrow shaft and arrow feathers were still trembling, trying to get into the leather armor.

"King Chuang, this was given to me by the caravan who lived in the same village as me." Faced with the inquiries of Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, Yuan Zongdi, Gao Yigong, Hao Shaoqi and others, Wu Ruyi told him calmly. "In addition to this leather armor, there are also many kinds of armor and utensils, and more salt, cloth and meat."

People who had not known the taste of meat for several days could not help but swallow their saliva when they heard this.

"Wu boy, why didn't you say it earlier? If we said it earlier, we wouldn't be in a hurry to come back! Go back directly, let's hack them, these canes, knives and guns are ours, not to mention, those salt cloth meat can just be used by the brothers! Li Guo's tiger strength came up again, and he was eager to try, ready to set off at once to rob the caravan.

"Master Li, do you think we didn't have this idea?" Wu Ruyi smiled bitterly, "When we crashed into this village and found that the village was full of mules and horses, the brothers wanted to do it. But when we turned around, we found that there were four or five hundred people on the other side, and they were all young men with knives and guns in their hands. I had to lie to them that we were also businessmen, and we were blocked by the rain, so we had to stay in one place. ”

"King Chuang, Master Liu, now I break into the camp and memorize the words, and this bit of belongings can't withstand the loss. There were only two thousand people in the old camp, including the family members, the boy scouts, and the grooms, and the men, and they were all pressed down, and against the four or five hundred people in the caravan, I am afraid that they may not be able to bargain, and in my opinion, it is better to ......."

After listening to Wu Ruyi's analysis of the stakes, everyone present no longer shouted, but just turned their eyes to Li Zicheng. (To be continued......)