After losing the field battle, the invading army was forced to retreat to the base camp of Xiangjiao, prepare for war with deep ditches and high fortifications, and turn into a comprehensive defense.

Sun Chuanting continued to push the battle line forward, and led the Shaanxi soldiers to camp in the southwest of Jiaxian County, while Chen Yongfu and other troops of Henan soldiers were stationed in Jiaxian County. Sun Chuanting was not sure that he would conquer the base camp of the invading army in one fell swoop, so he planned to wait for the grain line to be connected before making a plan. The two sides faced each other, and the battle situation entered a state of confrontation.

It was mid to late September, the heavy rain delayed the grain transportation, and after several hard battles, the Shaanxi soldiers were hungry, and many soldiers could not stand it, so they slaughtered horses and cooked crossbows and ate. The wind and rain and the improper meals led to an increase in the number of patients and a gradual decrease in morale.

The army was no better, and there was also a shortage of food, and many soldiers were hungry. In addition, the previous battles were unfavorable, and there were even generals such as Li Yangchun who defected, and the morale of the whole army was even lower than that of the Ming army. In just three days, Li Zicheng ordered the beheading of several generals, some of whom were accused of spreading rumors unfavorable to the invasion of the army, and some were believed to want to follow Li Yangchun's secret collusion with the Ming army.

Killing people can suppress the floating military spirit to a certain extent, but Li Zicheng, who has experienced a hundred battles, knows very well that if he continues to consume like this, it will inevitably be his own army that collapses first.

The rain flowed outside the big tent of the Chinese army, and Li Zicheng was discussing the military situation with Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others.

"The king, three thousand years old and Yuzhai Li Dazhang ask to see you." Wu Ruyi, the general of the middle battalion who was responsible for guarding the big tent of the pro-army, suddenly came to report.

"Please." Li Zicheng stopped discussing and nodded.

"Three thousand years old" Li Zijing and Li Jiyu, the big palm of the imperial village, were immediately introduced into the tent and knelt down to Li Zicheng to salute. Li Zicheng asked the two of them to get up, and after watching the tea and watching the seats, he asked Li Zijing first: "Third brother, you are a rare guest, what do you have to say?" As Li Zicheng's younger brother, although Li Zijing is unruly and fierce, he himself is not very familiar with military affairs, and he used to do whatever Li Zicheng arranged, and rarely took the initiative to come to Li Zicheng.

Li Zijing said truthfully: "Big brother, it's not me looking for you, it's the owner of Li Zhai looking for you." As he spoke, he looked at Li Jiyu, meaning that he was just an introducer. Even if Li Jiyu is the lord of a village, his status in the army is not high, and it is not so easy to visit Li Zicheng directly, so he has gone through Li Zijing's path.

"Oh, Master Li, but it doesn't hurt to say it." Li Zicheng turned his eyes to Li Jiyu.

Li Jiyu's buttocks were slightly raised, and he leaned forward and arched his hand and said: "The villain has been on the periphery for the past few days, and he has heard that the king has been frustrated, and he is so anxious. Recently, I heard that the king ordered to start to uproot the camp and collect baggage, is it possible to retreat from here? ”

Sun Chuanting's Shaanxi soldiers and Henan soldiers won successive battles, and Li Zicheng and some high-level generals thought that they could not compete with them, and some people had already suggested that Li Zicheng should judge the situation and retreat to eastern Henan or move to Shanxi and Beizhili to avoid his front. A few years ago, no one else said that Li Zicheng would do the same, but now that he has built a yamen in Henan and set up officials, he has already established a regime as the king, and if he wants to hand over this hard-working foundation overnight and let people do it again, of course he will be unwilling. Just now, he and Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others concentrated on discussing it, and it was precisely for this reason.

"No, Master Li Zhai doesn't listen to the wind or rain." Niu Jinxing raised his left eyebrow, "It's not easy to chew on your tongue in the army, especially for a high-ranking and powerful person like Master Li Zhai." ”

Judging from the current situation, retreat may be the best way to preserve the strength of the invading army, but the withdrawal action has a great stake, and it is all the more necessary to be careful in the case of unstable military morale; if it spreads out early, it will inevitably cause the disintegration of the army's morale, and I am afraid that the whole army will have already collapsed if we do not wait for the retreat at that time. It was Niu Jinxing who denied it and beat Li Jiyu with words.

"The villain doesn't dare." Li Jiyu hurriedly said, "The villain is here, and he has a secret to report to the king." ”

"Say." Li Zicheng didn't think that Li Jiyu could say anything amazing, but he still gave him the most basic respect and gave him a chance.

"The King's ......"

Li Jiyu glanced around, Li Zicheng understood what he meant, and gave Wu Ruyi a look. After a short time, Wu Ruyi took other officers and guards out of the tent, and there were only a few people left in the tent.

"Say it." Li Zicheng turned around and sat back on the carved dragon chair, looking directly at Li Jiyu. This attitude is obvious, he has already given Li Jiyu enough face, if Li Jiyu doesn't say why, the consequences will not be so easy to end. For a while, there was silence in the tent, and the atmosphere suddenly condensed.

Li Jiyu walked in front of Li Zicheng and said in a low voice: "The villain found out the news, the Ming army set up a grain station between Luoyang and Ruzhou, the location is called Baisha, and all the Ming army food transported from Shaanxi, eastern Henan, northern Henan and other places is stored there, just wait for the weather to be a little better, and it will be transferred to Sun Chuanting's army here." ”

Li Zicheng is also familiar with the place name "Baisha ......", "Where did the news come from?" ”

"The villain's subordinate Xue Zhao had previously been assigned by the king to lead troops to seduce the Ming army all the way to the east, and many of their brothers were captured by the Ming army. A few of them took advantage of the gap to run out and bring back the news. ”

Niu Jinxing said: "King, if the news is true, this sincerity is the key to our army turning things around. ”

Li Jiyu knelt down at this time and said: "The villain dares to guarantee the accuracy of this news with his life!" He was forcibly conscripted by Li Zicheng, and his family was in Dengfeng County, and Li Zicheng could send troops to destroy him at any time.

Li Zicheng's heart was shocked, he jumped up, took a few steps and walked to the map, looking for the location of Baisha.

Everyone in the tent gathered around, Niu Jinxing pointed to a small point and said: "This place is Baisha, at present, the Ming army's troops are concentrated in Jiaxian, putting pressure on my old base camp, and the troops near the city of Ruzhou are empty. ”

Li Jiyu also said: "Baisha is in the west of the villain's palace, and the villain is also willing to send troops from the village to help fight!" ”

"Hmm......" Li Zicheng stared at Yutu with blazing eyes, and after a while, he let out a long breath and ordered, "Call Li Guo." ”

On the banks of Rushui, Hao Mingluan looked at the gurgling river and sighed lightly.

He hadn't closed his eyes for three days, and his chest felt dull and hard to dissolve.

Sun Chuanting sighed in front of him more than once for his father's loyalty and courage, and even did not avoid suspicion, discussing military affairs with him many times and asking for his opinions, which shows his trust. He clearly felt the importance and appreciation of the elderly. But in the face of the other party's sincerity, he couldn't take care of each other.

He came to Sun Chuanting with Zhao Dangshi's military order, but he was confused because of Sun Chuanting's expectations.

When he sent a letter to Yang Zhaofeng about the detailed military situation of the Shaanxi soldiers' grain station in Baisha, he even felt a trace of regret. As he once said to Yang Zhaofeng, if the battle continues, the Shaanxi soldiers will have a great chance of winning, but now, he wants to bury this close victory with his own hands. In the end, he was born as a scholar, and he was inevitably condemned by his inner sense of morality.

"Changing one's life against the sky to save the building from the general to the topp, one person in one life."

Recalling Yang Zhaofeng's words, Hao Mingluan was deeply touched. For him personally, Sun Chuanting is a benevolent elder, but in the past few days when he has been transferred with the army, he has witnessed with his own eyes that for the whole of Shaanxi or Henan, Sun Chuanting is a fierce executioner.

"If the people are not allowed official asylum, what is the way to break in?"

Yesterday, Hao Mingluan followed a team of Shaanxi soldiers to collect grain in the south of Jiaxian County as usual, and broke through the houses of a large family. The parents were already dying, and he scattered his crane hair, and pushed his right foot to the Shaanxi soldiers, and cried on the ground. Not only him, but all the men and women in the family were forced to squat in the courtyard, crying incessantly. When Hao Mingluan passed by, several people looked up at each other, and from their tearful eyes, Hao Mingluan saw only the coldness of despair.

Is this the look that the people should have when they see the officers and soldiers?

Hao Mingluan only felt goosebumps all over his body in an instant.

In Huguang, he had never seen such a tragic situation.

"The people may make it to themselves, but they cannot know it." Sun Chuanting once said to him angrily, "Only when there is a king can there be a people, and only when there is a country can there be a home." For the king, not for the small people, for the righteousness of the world and not for the small things. This is the policy of governing the country and the army, governing the government and the people, and it is also the truth that our generation has practiced to this day. ”

Even though Sun Chuanting's words were completely from the bottom of his heart, Hao Mingluan's heart was deeply uneasy for some reason.

He knew that what he was yearning for was the scene of Huguang that Qianmo traffic chickens and dogs smelling each other, and he remembered more clearly that a screen was erected under the plaque in the main hall of the Sanjun Mansion in Fanhe City, and on the screen was Zhao Dangshi's own handwriting, "Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn a boat", which is also Zhao Dangshi's words as a guideline.

The people and the king, which is more important? Compared with the people, which is more important?

"Seek the elders of the wood, and they will strengthen their roots; Those who want to flow far will dredge their springs; Those who think about the safety of the country will accumulate their virtues. The words of my deceased father came back to my mind, "This is the so-called 'the country is based on the people, and the society is also established for the people', if you are an official in the future, you should follow it." ”

Hao Mingluan listened to the rushing water, and couldn't help but think of Yang Zhaofeng's words again-

"Those who follow the trend prosper, those who go against the trend die, and those who change their lives against the sky to save the building will fall, and one person is just one person. This person, I don't think it's Sun Chuanting, but the lord. ”

This sentence may be Hao Mingluan's heart that he has not been able to say for a long time. This is also the reason why he resolutely stayed in Huguang and worked for Zhao Dangshi. The people's nobility and gentleness are the creeds he truly believes in.

"One life and one person......" Hao Mingluan's footsteps stopped abruptly, and suddenly his mind was clear, and he seemed to have a feeling of enlightenment.

Someone walked over on the pebbles.

Hao Mingluan looked up and arched his hand: "He Dusi." "It's He Zhen.

"Mr. Hao Qian, why are you here, teach me to find it." He Zhen smiled bitterly, "The grain station in Baisha has already stocked the army's half-moon military rations, and the grain line will be connected in two days at most." At that time, the soldiers and horses are full, the three armies are brave, and Sun Junmen is about to launch an offensive against the base camp of the thieves. If you want to be included in the standard army, this is the last chance, have you thought about it? ”

"I've figured it out." Hao Mingluan smiled faintly, looked at He Zhen's expectant eyes and said firmly, "Thanks to Sun Junmen's love, Hao is honored to be included in the standard army." ”

"Okay." He Zhen nodded, her eyes full of relief.

Two days later, at the junction of Chu and Henan, in the north of Tang County, Nanyang Prefecture. The fast horse galloped and rushed straight into Zhao Dang's world.

It was Guo Ruke's Zhongtang soldier who sat in Nanyang Fucheng, and he brought the latest battle situation in Henan.

"Report to the Lord, urgent military situation. Last night, for some reason, the army mobilized from the old base camp in Xiangjia, and took the initiative to attack the Shaanxi army Dazhai, and it is expected that there will be a big battle today! ”

"Good!" Zhao Dangshi suddenly got up, affectionate and solemn. Looking forward to it, the war that lasted for nearly two months finally came to the last moment, and today everything will be settled, "Whether it is successful or not depends on the creation of Fengzi and Hao Mingluan." ”