Unlike Shaanxi, Huguang, Jiangxi and other places, Sichuan still does not have a strong governor or supervisor who is responsible for controlling the troops and horses, even if Sun Chuanting has the name of concurrently controlling Sichuan, but his foundation is in Shaanxi, Shaanxi has not yet been fully prepared, and he has no time to take care of Sichuan in a short time. Although Chen Shiqi, the current governor of Sichuan, is good at military and strategic, he has been in office in Sichuan for a long time and has made no achievements, just because he is conservative. Sichuan Chinese Wu saw that he was exaggerating, and he was not afraid to obey him, especially the soldiers and horses of various towns and battalions scattered in various places, and even occupied a hegemonic area, went their own way, and even attacked and killed each other, which was almost the norm.

Sichuan's scattered sand is a good opportunity for Zhang Xianzhong, and for Zhao Ying, the opportunity cannot be missed.

After Zhang Xianzhong suffered successive setbacks in Wuchang Mansion, he decisively ran to Jiangxi. He used excellent means, both soft and hard, and soon absorbed many mountain bandits and water bandits in Jiangxi, and the number of people recovered to more than 5,000.

In mid-June, Zhang Xianzhong, who attacked Jianchang Mansion but was fled ahead of schedule by Yiwang Zhu Ciqi, led his army into Ji'an Mansion and approached the city of Ji'an. At that time, Yue Yuluan, Jiangxi's envoy and sub-inspector of Huxi Province, was meeting with officials from various places in the city to discuss the matter of purging Zhang Xianzhong, but he did not expect Zhang Xianzhong to come suddenly. Zhang Xianzhong only held an iron hook with his righteous son Zhang Hualong, hooked the tree to climb, jumped up to the city, and then shouted murder. Only one person was killed, and the officers and soldiers defending the city were all defeated, Zhang Hualong immediately went down to the city, and killed another officer and soldier defending the city, and the officers and soldiers ran away. Zhang Xianzhong led the main force to gallop under the city, Zhang Hualong calmly opened the door to welcome him, and the city of Ji'an changed hands instantly. When Yue Yuluan and other officials heard the news, they fled from the side gate.

Zhang Xianzhong, who captured Ji'an Mansion, then attacked Jianchang Mansion again, snapped his fingers, and then swept Nanfeng, Guangchang and other counties, invincible. After conquering Fuzhou, the force expanded to 10,000 people, and the troops once reached Lianzhou, Shaozhou and other places in Guangdong. However, at the end of June, Yuan Jixian and Lü Daqi gathered officers and soldiers and began to counterattack, recovering many prefectures and counties one after another. At the beginning of July, he arrived at Yuanzhou, which is at the junction of Huguang and Guangzhou, and assembled a group of thieves who called themselves "the king of Daxi".

Although Zhang Xianzhong had been injured in Henan and Huguang before, he had traveled back and forth to Nanzhili, Jiangxi and other places in the past few years, and he had gradually recovered his vitality and ambitions, so he redefined the military system of the whole army.

Because "Mr. Dongxi" Pan Duao and "Mr. Xixi" Xu Yixian were gone, the original "Mr. Four" was changed to "front and rear military divisions", Wang Bingzhen was the former military division, and Xue Zhengxian was the rear military division. It is divided into three battalions, which are under the general control of Wang Shangli and Ma Yuanli, the commanders of the Ma Bu Army. One of them is the elite cavalry battalion, which is the old lineage, the horse army is the mainstay, and the battalion generals Wang Ziqi, Zhang Hualong, Zhang Wenxiu, and Zhang Nengqi are four; The second is the water barracks, most of the soldiers are water thieves recruited along the river, through the water battle, the battalion generals Wang Fuchen, Wang Ziyu, Dou Mingming, Gao Wengui four people; The third is the infantry battalion, which is also a newly attached local bandit, assisting the other two battalions, and the battalion generals Bai Wenxuan, Feng Shuangli, Qi Sansheng, and He Jiuyi are four. In addition, Yang Wu, Di Sanpin, Guan Youcai, etc. will each have their own posts.

Zhang Xianzhong's ambition was not weakened by setbacks, and his vertical and horizontal battles south of the river brought him full confidence, especially after hearing that Li Zicheng called himself the "King of Xinshun", he also impatiently claimed to be the king of Li Zicheng, and began to seriously plan the new stage of military operations.

The advice given to him by the military advisor Wang Bingzhen was to first go to Hunan and Jiangxi Erjiang, and then enter Sichuan, which was in his arms.

Zhang Xianzhong actually began to think about entering Sichuan very early, but he was afraid that he would enter the land of Sichuan Heavenly Prison, and once he couldn't move, there would be no way out, so he was always uncertain. Wang Bingzhen was good at observing words and feelings, and said to him: "Li Zicheng dominates Henan, and he will definitely attack Shaanxi in the near future, and Zhao Dangshi has cast the momentum in Chu." The king takes Sichuan, if it is successful, everything is safe, if there is a case, Beiguan is controlled by Li Zicheng, Nanjiang is cut off by Zhao Dangshi, and our army is in the boiling pot in Sichuan, and it is difficult to maneuver. "Cough lightly," although Zhao Dangshi is strong, he is confined to the north and has a large army, and it is difficult to take care of Chudizhou County south of the river for a while, our army can take advantage of this time to attack Changsha, Changde, Yuezhou and other prefectures, follow the example of the army to open a branch and establish an official office, so that our army has a foundation and a strategy in the downstream, and can also advance and retreat freely in Sichuan. ”

Zhang Xianzhong nodded and said: "What you said makes sense, Changsha Mansion and Yuezhou Mansion are both densely populated and fertile places, and taking them down can not only make a retreat for our army, but also help the army and expand the troops and horses." But frowned, "However, Zhao Dangshi also left some troops in these places, and it is still tricky to deal with." "Recently, in addition to Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan's two armies still sitting in place to control the river defense, Bai Wang, who was originally stationed in Hanyang Mansion, has led the army across the river to Yuezhou Mansion, and he and Wang Laixing of Changde Mansion have a total of seven or eight thousand people, and their combat strength is by no means comparable to those defending the city in Jiangxi.

Wang Bingzhen said: "This is a difficult point, but it is by no means insurmountable. Compared with Zhao Dangshi, Wang Laixing is young and has no record of making a move, and Bai Wang was also unknown before. As long as they plan carefully, the two of them will definitely not be the opponents of the king. And said, "And if the king wants to control the area south of the Great River in Chudi, the capital city of Yuezhou will inevitably be taken." As long as the Yuezhou Mansion is taken, Jingzhou Mansion to the north, Wuchang Mansion to the east, Changsha Mansion to the south, and Sichuan Mansion to the west. ”

"Well, it seems that the battle of Yuezhou Mansion must be fought." Zhang Xianzhong gently brushed the knotted yellow beard and groaned.

There were still some battalion generals present, and Dou Mingming, the general of the water army battalion, said at this time: "King, the villain has a plan, and he can take Yuezhou." He is a native of Huguang Qishui, short and fierce, wise and brave, originally for Macheng "Liren Society" evil less, serving Zhang Xianzhong for a short time, although he is reused, but he is eager to make some contributions to prove himself.

"Tell me about it." Zhang Xianzhong's eyelids raised, and he nodded at him.

Speaking alone for the first time in front of Zhang Xianzhong and many generals of the Western Army, Dou Mingwang endured the excitement and nervousness in his heart, and swallowed his mouth and said: "The capital city of Yuezhou is adjacent to Dongting Lake, and there are many water gates. Conquering the city will inevitably lead to water battles. Therefore, in this battle, the naval army should take the lead. ”

"Hmph, the navy is in charge, are you fucking rocking the boat into the city?" Wang Ziqi, the general of the elite cavalry battalion, sneered, he was a veteran general of the Western Army, and he didn't take Dou's reputation in his eyes at all.

"No, the navy takes the lead, but the decisive victory is still indispensable for the second battalion of horses and infantry." Dou Mingwang said.

Zhang Xianzhong suddenly scolded and said: "Our Lao Tzu let him speak, I didn't let you talk nonsense, and then disturbed our Lao Tzu's interest, no matter what kind of battalion general you are, take the sacrificial army!" Of course, this is Wang Ziqi.

Dou Mingwang saw Zhang Xianzhong supporting him, his confidence was greatly boosted, and he looked at Wang Ziqi, who was dejected, proudly, and was about to continue, but Zhang Xianzhong himself interjected first and asked: "No, if we want to fight a water war, we are all light boats, how can we be the opponents of the official and military ships on Dongting Lake?" "The Western Army has been on both sides of the river for many years, because of the uncertain flow, and most of the people go through the shallow water of the harbor, in order to facilitate the transfer, they mostly use small boats on weekdays and water battles, and the small boats are easy to follow the army, and they are flexible and mobile and can move freely in the shallow bays of the tributaries.

Dou Mingwang said: "The king said that the key is broken, our army wants to take the capital city of Yuezhou, and if the water battle is defeated, there is almost no possibility of pulling out the city." However, Dongting Lake is not as strong as the Gulf Stream, and the lake is vast, which is conducive to the simultaneous advancement of large ships of the officers and soldiers, but it is not conducive to our small boats to meet the battle. Therefore, in order to win the official army, it is necessary to reverse this disadvantage. Licking his lips and saying, "There is Bailuoji near the capital city of Yuezhou, the harbor is full of reeds, and it is the best place for our army to defeat the enemy. ”

"How are you going to lead the army?" Zhang Xianzhong has rich combat experience, and when he heard this, he knew that Dou Mingwang wanted to use an ambush strategy.

Dou Mingwang responded: "Profit and temptation, chaos and take it." The three battalions are encircled, and the battle can be won! ”

When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, and after thinking about it for a long time, he finally nodded slightly.

A few days later, Yuezhou Mansion City Water Village.

When Hu Guang led Liu Maoxian, the leader of the Yuezhou Mansion under the Yamen, hurried to the Chinese military tent, Bai Wang was holding the wide case with a group of military generals, and gathered in one place to discuss the military situation.

"Oh, generals, the thieves are coming." Liu Mao walked first, shaking his sleeves and looking worried.

Bai Wang welcomed him into place and sat down, and said, "Don't worry about Liu Tiling, I can find out the movement of the thief." "Yesterday, there was news from Changsha Prefecture that Zhang Xianzhong led the army from Yuanzhou into Liling County, and began to travel along the Xiangjiang River by boat through the county, and the destination was Dongting Lake. The west bank of the vast Dongting Lake is Changde Mansion City, and the east bank is Yuezhou Mansion City, both of which are likely to be attacked by Zhang Xianzhong, and Liu Maoxian is naturally worried.

"Changde has Chief Wang in charge, and here is my Bai and the brothers in the camp to protect me, and Liu Tiling can rest assured." Bai Wang smiled. At present, there are 4,000 people in Yueyang Mansion City, and there are two battalions of Wuya and Wuya, and Wang Laixing is taking 3,000 people from the training camp in Changde Mansion City, no matter which side Zhang Xianzhong has to fight, he can deal with it.

"The thief came by water, so it can be seen that he wants to fight our army on the water." Chinese officer Zhang Xianbi said. He is a native of Lin'an Mansion in Yunnan, and Fu Zonglong, who was originally from Yunnan, came to Yunnan to recruit troops for the suppression of Kou. After Fu Zonglong's death, he voted for Song Yihe and became the deputy general. Qizhou fell, Song Yihe died, he escaped from death, defected to Bai Wang nearby, and was appointed as a Chinese officer.

"There may be fraud in it." Shi Lang flashed from behind Bai Wang. He followed his uncle Shi Fu to Huguang two months earlier, Shi Fu was sick and did not recover, and was sent to Fan Hecheng for treatment by the doctor Wu Yousex, while Shi Lang stayed in Hanyang Mansion to guide the Wuya Battalion Water Army. Although he is currently only a battalion instructor, he is also eligible to participate in specific military meetings.

"How?"

Shi Lang replied: "Our military ship is big, and the thief ship is small, so the thief will not be unclear about this." Hitting a big one on a small scale on a vast lake is completely self-defeating. Unless there is a sneak attack, we will be taken by surprise, but the thief will take a boat down the river and into the lake with great fanfare, which seems to be intended to attract the attention of our army. ”

Wu Mingfeng, the left sentry officer of the Wuqi Battalion, who was in charge of the recent sentry, nodded and said, "What Coach Shi said is reasonable. The usual trick of the thieves is to rush and sneak attack, and now in addition to the huge momentum of the naval army, it is reported that there are more soldiers and horses in Changsha Mansion to plunder, for fear that we will not know its origin, it is really abnormal, and I have to prepare. ”

Bai Wang pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be that the soldiers and horses that offered the thieves to take the waterway are suspicious soldiers?" ”

Shi Lang shook his head and said: "I don't think it looks like it, Yuezhou Mansion is guarded by thousands of our army, and it is not comparable to the city of Jiangxi." The thieves had no siege equipment, and only attacked by land, and had no chance of winning. So he should want to make a fuss about the water war. ”

"He still wants a water war?"

"Exactly." Shi Lang frowned, "Water warfare hits big with small, relying on the word 'min'." Without the advantage of flexibility, the results can be imagined. The lake is not good for the thieves, but there are many grassy and narrow bays near the city, and it is difficult for our big ships to maneuver, so I think that the thieves may want to ambush our army in those places. ”

Bai Wang said solemnly: "This is reasonable, if the thief really comes to Yuezhou Mansion, only by doing so can he have any hope of winning." ”

"There's one more thing to be aware of." Shi Lang continued, "I heard that the thieves are known for their horse army, and there is a fine cavalry battalion? ”

"Right...... The reason why the thieves have been repeatedly suppressed is only because this old army has always been sound and helped him hold his breath. Bai Wang and Zhang Xianbi glanced at each other. But thinking that this Shi Lang has been in the southeast for a long time, and he has not been in Huguang for a long time, he knows very well about the military situation of the surrounding armies and departments, and it seems that he is paying attention to collecting and understanding military intelligence and military reports on weekdays.

"Officer Wu, do you know who are the thieves and soldiers who are currently causing trouble in Changsha Mansion?" Shi Lang arched his hand to Wu Mingfeng and asked, "Are there many Ma Jun?" ”

"This ......" Wu Mingfeng hesitated, "I didn't explore this, I only know that it is not a water army." ”

Shi Lang said solemnly: "This must be understood, the navy is not a suspicious soldier, but the soldiers and horses jumping up and down in Changsha are very likely to be suspicious soldiers who sacrifice thieves!" ”

Speaking of which, Bai Wang, Zhang Xianbi, Wu Mingfeng and others suddenly understood the meaning of his words, and they couldn't help but feel cold all over their bodies, and they all thought to themselves: "The thief is really cunning, I can expect one, but I didn't expect the other." If it weren't for Shi Lang's explanation, he would still have to suffer the loss of the thief. Thinking about it, he unconsciously looked at the stern-faced young man opposite, and admired him a little more.