Zhang Xianzhong transferred to Sichuan in the seventh year of Chongzhen, and the poison of that time made many people in Sichuan still hear the "Yellow Tiger" color change. The following year, Zhao Ying entered Sichuan, and Sichuan once again jumped chickens and dogs. And this year, Chuang and Zhao Erying joined forces to sweep back, and the momentum is undoubtedly greater than the previous two times.

Hou Liangzhu died in battle, and the erosion in northern Sichuan does not need to be mentioned, and now, as the provincial capital, Chengdu City has also fallen into the dilemma of soldiers coming to the city. Li Zicheng said that he would break through Chengdu and "talk about wine" with Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu. No one believed his nonsense. What the vast majority of people don't believe is that he wants to drink with the King of Shu, but what Zhao Dangshi doesn't believe is his determination to break through Chengdu.

As mentioned before, Zhao and Li tacitly agreed on the policy of eventually leaving Sichuan, but there were also differences between them. Generally speaking, Li Zicheng hoped that Zhao Ying would come to Chengdu, meet with Chuangying, and then choose an opportunity to go out of Sichuan together, but Zhao Dangshi hoped to join Li Zicheng.

There are many reasons for Zhao Dangshi's decision to break away from Li Zicheng, mainly involving two aspects, one is leadership, and the other is living space.

Even though the number of Zhao Ying is currently more than that of Chuangying, the situation of Chuangqiang's strength and Zhao's weakness is difficult to reverse after all. As a result of assimilation, not only did Zhao Ying disappear completely, but Zhao Dangshi and the generals of the Zhao Ying system were also bound to lose military power and gradually become marginal figures. is busy making wedding clothes for others in the end, don't say that Zhao Dangshi can't accept it, and any military general who takes out the Zhao camp will not accept it.

Moreover, through the communication with Li Zicheng along the way, Zhao Dangshi had a general understanding of Li Zicheng's strategic ideas.

It can be said that Li Zicheng is a person with a strong sense of locality, which does not mean that he has a narrow vision, but he always believes that the roots of the camp are in Shaanxi. After leaving Shaanxi, breaking into the camp is like a tree without roots, and it will inevitably be defeated after all. It is also because of this obsession that he still chooses to stay behind under the flow of all the Kou leaving Shaanxi one after another, and does not hesitate to gamble his life with Hong Chengchou and other officials and soldiers. Every time he left Shaanxi, it was as a last resort, just like this time, Hong Chengchou was in Shaanxi and had the advantage, he couldn't help but retreat and hide in Sichuan to avoid his edge. However, he made it clear that entering Sichuan was to gain a chance to breathe and recover, and second, to stir up the deployment of the officers and troops on the Shaanxi side, and the importance of the latter was still higher than the former. The reason why he made such a big move in Sichuan was to force the imperial court and Hong Chengchou to lead the Shaanxi army to aid Sichuan, and he was confident that the deployment of the Shaanxi army would be completely disrupted by taking advantage of the complex and winding terrain in Sichuan, so as to obtain the fighter plane to return to Shaanxi.

Since Li Zicheng wants to go back to Shaanxi, Zhao Dangshi can't go back. Shaanxi is the old nest of the camp, not the old nest of Zhao Ying. Li Zicheng raised his arms in Shaanxi and shouted, he can resurrect the ashes, but he Zhao Dangshi can't do it. And back in Shaanxi, the situation is sinister, either the official army is destroyed, or the camp is swallowed. Zhao Dangshi will not be stupid enough to fall into the net, what he needs is a broader world of development.

The same as the first time he entered Sichuan, he finally chose to go to Huguang.

If from the perspective of the Liukou, Shaanxi has become the sphere of influence of Li Zicheng's camp, then Huguang and even the neighboring Henan and Lianghuai can still be called a group of heroes. There are as many rogues as the Ganges River sand who are active in Huguang and the vast hinterland of the Central Plains, and the largest of them is not under Li Zicheng at all in terms of strength. There are challenges, but also opportunities.

In Zhao Dangshi's eyes, today's Zhao Ying is far from being mature and complete, and is still like a newborn calf. The newborn calf, always following its mother, is cared for or kept in captivity in the fence looking at that small sky, and in the end, it is either slaughtered or tamed into a good animal, which is not Zhao Dangshi's pursuit. He hoped that Zhao Ying could break through the constraints and run to the endless wasteland and thorns to grow savagely, even if he would encounter countless hardships and dangers, as long as he survived, he would have the opportunity to slowly grow into a big bison or even a mad cow that was feared by all beasts.

In troubled times, the most precious thing is not comfort, but danger. Danger brings opportunities, and seizing opportunities is equivalent to grasping the pulse of the times.

Like many people who rose up, Zhao Dangshi was just a member of a destitute family at the beginning. If nothing happens, as a child from such a family, it is the greatest wish to be able to provide for himself when he grows up. But he seized the opportunity, and seized many opportunities one after another, which created today's Zhao Dangshi and today's Zhao Ying. It is difficult to fill the desire, which is not a derogatory term in Zhao Dangshi's view. Only driven by endless desires will he generate a strong enough motivation to forge ahead. Now, of course, he is not the poor man who only wants food and clothing at the beginning, and his ambitions and desires exceed these ten, hundred, and ten thousand times. He was not ashamed of this, but was sure that once he lost his greater pursuit and desire, then he would really not be far from the day of destruction.

After Zhao Dangshi arrived in Zitong, he received a letter from Li Zicheng urging him to go to Chengdu as soon as possible. He wrote a reply letter and handed it to the envoy to bring it back to Li Zicheng. The letter politely rejected Li Zicheng's invitation, and roughly stated his intention to go to Huguang. Of course, in the letter, Zhao Dangshi gave many high-sounding reasons to hide his true thoughts, in fact, he knew in his heart that he was leaving, and Li Zicheng would not stop him. Because when he was in Hanzhong, Zhao Ying was equivalent to helping Chuangying through a difficulty, and with this alone, Li Zicheng should not embarrass himself.

Sending off the messenger, Zhao Dangshi convened an urgent military meeting and officially conveyed the policy of going to Huguang for development to the generals. Except for a few people such as Hui Deng, who expressed their bottom in their hearts, almost all the generals who had accompanied Zhao Ying all the way to the bloody battle have raised their hands in favor. Among them, Hou Dagui and other generals have the most firm attitude. Today, they have indeed become the mainstay of Zhao Ying, whether it is a community of interests or a deep sense of belonging, all in all, Zhao Ying is here, they are here, Zhao Ying is dead, they are dead, it is not an exaggeration.

The rough route was determined to enter Tongchuan Prefecture to the south first, and then go straight down to Dingyuan County, Chongqing Prefecture along the Fujiang River, and then depending on the specific situation, either through Chongqing and into Huguang, or by passing through Shunqing Prefecture, from Kuizhou to Huguang. At the military meeting, some military generals proposed that they could learn from the line of two years ago, but Zhao Dangshi thought it was inappropriate. Because if you want to take the old way, you have to enter Baoning Mansion, but Baoning Mansion now not only has Wang Weizhang himself and a large number of officials and soldiers stationed, but Yuan Tao is also entrenched there. If you get entangled with them again, it will be difficult for a while. In the past two days, there have been a few light snowfalls, and the temperature has dropped sharply, Zhao Dangshi is determined to get out of Sichuan quickly, and he is unwilling to make branches on the road.

Walking Tongchuan Prefecture is a new road, and none of the generals present have walked it, to be honest, everyone is hanging in their hearts. However, because of the suspense, they also have expectations and excitement in their hearts. The uncertainty of the future will chill the hearts of the cowardly, but it will also ignite the enthusiasm of the brave.

The policy has been decided, but the action cannot be started immediately. Mainly because the people from Jianzhou have not been completely evacuated. Previously, Hou Dagui and others took the first step in order to participate in the military conference, and now those who remain in Jianzhou City also have the left and rear battalions of the old army. The rear battalion was full of baggage and accompanying personnel, and the movement was slow, and the left battalion Wu Mingfeng's division returned to Jianzhou from Tieshan Pass, southeast of Jianzhou City.

According to the estimates, two days later, in November, the whole army will be able to move south. It's just that people are not as good as heaven, and plans can never compare with changes, and the next day, a bad news came from Jianzhou, and a group of officers and troops from the north was detected, with a number of about 2,000, and they had passed the Sword Pavilion. This official army came extremely secretively and quickly, and even reached twenty miles north of Jianzhou City before it was noticed by the soldiers and horses of Zhao Ying in Jianzhou.

Zhao Dangshi also learned later that the main general of this official army was Kong Quanbin. This Kong Quanbin was born in Liaodong, and served as the deputy chief soldier under Xiong Tingbi in the late Liaodong Jinglu, and was later transferred to Sichuanzhong, and is now the deputy chief soldier of Songlong. Previously, he had been a guest army in Shaanxi to listen to Hong Chengchou's moderation and assistance, it is conceivable that he must have been assigned by Hong Chengchou here, and Hong Chengchou's move was really wonderful.

It is wonderful not only because the timing of Kong Quanbin's attack is just right, but also because of Kong Quanbin's special identity. According to Zhao Dangshi's estimates, at least before the Zhao camp was opened, Hong Chengchou would have to stop on the Sichuan-Shaanxi border because of the permission of the imperial court. But Hong Chengchou took advantage of Kong Quanbin's special feature as a Sichuan general and successfully overcame this obstacle - Kong Quanbin returned to Sichuan, where his duty was, and he didn't have to worry about the court's punishment. Moreover, Kong Quanbin is familiar with the geography of northern Sichuan, and picks out the remote roads to march, which is very hidden, and completely achieves the effect of surprise soldiers.

The Zhao camp left in Jianzhou, only the left battalion of the old army Wu Mingfeng and the rear camp of Zhang Miaoshou, of which the rear camp was mostly old and weak, women and children, and the soldiers were not trained and formed, so only Wu Mingfeng's 2,000 people were able to fight. Although these 2,000 people were a group of soldiers trained by the Zhao battalion at the beginning and tempered by the Battle of Jianzhou, after all, the formation time was still short, and it was difficult to take advantage of the same number of officers and soldiers independently. Wu Mingfeng was thoughtful, and also thought of this section, he did not go out of the city to fight, but defended the city to the death, and at the same time hurried to ask Zitong for help.

Kong Quanbin was obviously very good at attacking fortifications, and when he arrived in Jianzhou, it was already dusk, and the official army launched three waves of attacks under his leadership, except for the first temptation, the last two almost attacked the city. Wu Mingfeng tried his best to resist, killing and wounding more than 100 people, and only barely dragged the officers and troops until nightfall.

I thought that as soon as it got dark, the officers and soldiers should stop at all, but who knew that Kong Quanbin was quite old-fashioned, and he had no intention of allowing Zhao Ying to rest calmly. He set up camp on a meadow on the west side of the Jialing River, and then sent dozens of officers and soldiers to attack in turn. These officers and men numbered no more than 20 men each, and they did not carry any siege equipment in their hands, but all they carried horns, gongs and drums, and other noisy musical instruments, as well as a large number of small cannons. They came out in shifts one after another, making noise in all corners of Jianzhou City to harass the officers and soldiers. Single-wheel noise, Jianzhou City is so big, you can always find a quiet place, but mental torture is the most important. Later, the soldiers of the Zhao battalion had already understood that the officers and soldiers were only bluffing and would not launch a real attack, but even if they thought so, as soon as they heard the sudden sound of trumpets and artillery, they still had to raise their spirits to deal with vigilance. Everything is speculation, and no one knows what the idea of the official army is. As long as there is one negligence and a loophole for the officers and soldiers, then it will be too late.

Kong Quanbin exchanged the minimum price for the high alertness of all the soldiers of the Zhao battalion stationed in Jianzhou, taking a great advantage. Wu Mingfeng was helpless, and he didn't dare to send people out of the city to expel him, so he could only cover his ears and endure the pain of noisy and sleepless. He was like that, not to mention the ordinary soldiers. After being harassed by the officers and soldiers several times, many of the soldiers of the Zhao battalion lined up at the head of the city showed irritability and fatigue of varying severity.

The officers and soldiers are recuperating, but their own side is being tortured, but looking at Kong Quanbin's posture at dusk, he is afraid that as soon as tonight passes, the sun will rise, and he will launch another onslaught. In the current state, how can you resist the wolf-like officers and soldiers? Wu Mingfeng secretly complained, and he even began to worry about whether he could hold out until the moment when the reinforcements from the Zitong side arrived.

Just when he was worried, sitting on the city steps, blowing the cool breeze and thinking hard, Pu Guoyi found him, and his words suddenly made his dark world reappear a glimmer of light.