PS: The chapter without discipline is served. Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass.

In August, the autumn tiger did not retreat. Overhead, the sun still casts its excessive light and heat on the land of western Henan.

The land, which had been dry for a long time, was exposed to the scorching sun and became more and more loose. As soon as people and horses walked around, there was a large cloud of dust. With the sound of footsteps and horses like thunder, the smoke and dust of the official road in the distance were overwhelming, accompanied by the smoke and dust, and the crowd of black and suppressed cars and horses came along the official road of Tongguan to Lingbao and Lu's.

At the front of the ranks, there were hundreds of cavalry, in a column of five horsemen, ten paces apart from each other, three or five paces apart from the left and right, and twenty-five paces apart from each team. The knights on the horses all wore eight-petal hats and iron-tipped helmets, and were dressed in iron cotton armor or iron armor. They either carried a stiff bow on their backs, or they had long knives and spears hanging from their saddles. The iron helmets of each man were red, and the bright red cloak flew with the horses hunting, and the armor of each person was painted with red paint, a dazzling fiery red color.

In the Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou once said "Labor with Zhibian Army": "Don't be in the army from outside the army, and carry 80 pounds of war equipment." The helmet and brain bag are heavy, and the items are covered by five theories. Only the armor is covered with forty-five, and the waist knife bone is two, four, six. Twenty-five bows and arrows and their clothes, eight feet of clothes, eighty-eight pounds of armor alone, as well as dry food, water bottles, clothes, etc., these cavalry are all trained and built by Sun Chuanting, and naturally all kinds of equipment are also based on the nine-sided military horses. However, the brigade marched for a long time, and it was a summer day, so this military discipline naturally could not be too harsh.

From Tongguan to Lingbao, the mountain road is rugged and winding, and it is the area of Xiaoqinling and Kunshan Mountain. In terms of road conditions at this time, the hundreds of miles from Tongguan to Baofeng, although there is a post road official road from Tongguan to Luoyang can be relied on, but it has been in disrepair for many years. It is not easy for wind and rain to erode this official road. Over time, the official road was full of rut marks with a height difference of one or two feet, and the carriages were running on it, swaying from side to side as if dancing. Even war horses should be careful not to step into the rutted ditch and break the horse's legs.

The topography of the Lingbao area. It is called "Seven Mountains, Two Plains and One Branch" by the locals. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north, and the altitude gradually increases from north to south, with a height difference of 2105.8 meters from north to south. With the Hongnongjian River as the boundary, the small Qinling Mountains in the southwest enter the territory of Shaanxi from east to west, and the mountains are tall and steep. The main peak, Lao Ya Fork, is the highest point in Henan Province; In the southeast, the Kushan Mountains are gently undulating.

There are more than 3,000 large and small mountains in the territory of the small Qinling Mountains and the Kunshan mountain range, more than 9,000 large and small ditches, and there are six plains and six major valleys in Lingbao from west to east. From west to east, the six plains are: Baoli Plain, Guocun Plain, Chengcun Plain, Loudi Plain, Jiaocun Plain and Tieling Plain; The six major valleys from west to east are: Xiyu, Wenyu, Zaoxiangyu, Zangmayu, Dahuyu and Fenghuangyu.

Even so. Leaving Tongguan and arriving at the territory of Lingbao has already made everyone feel relieved. After all, it is from the deep ditch and the river to the hilly area, out of the Lingbao, that is, to Songxian, Baofeng and other places, it is the hilly area of western Henan, and the mountains and rivers are not very undulating. Compared with the rugged and narrow mountains in Lingbao, the road is also much easier to walk. This Ming army carried a large number of wagons, mules and horses. Each car is covered with reed mats and high baggage materials, which naturally has very high requirements for the road.

Compared with those horse-drawn carts and mule carts, the baggage teams formed by those people used sheep's horns, chicken carts and board carts to transport baggage tents and other things, and they relied on manpower to walk, but they did not have so high requirements for roads. But manpower is extremely expensive, so. It's not going to be fast.

Every time they walk more than ten miles, they have to choose a place in the shade to drink water for the horses, and the riders can drink water and eat some dry food, and take off the armor on their bodies a little more relaxed. The mules and horses that were dragging the vehicles could also take a break in place. Drink water and regain your strength.

Outside Yuling Town, a small river meanders through, the riverbed is very wide, but the water flow is gentle, this is a tributary of the Haoyang River, but it flows from south to north, and will soon flow into the main stream, and then flow directly into the Yellow River together with the Badi River, Hongnongjian River, Shahe River, Yangping River, Zaoxiang River, Shuangqiao River and other rivers.

A short distance north along this small river, on a small hill about three or five miles away from the official road, there was a mountain temple that had fallen into decay and was about to collapse, and the statues of the gods in the temple were mottled and scattered, and it was impossible to distinguish their original colors.

In this temple and on the surrounding heights, at this time, a small group of intruders into the old camp was carefully lurking, now known as the sentinels of the Marshal's army. They were condescending, with the help of trees and half-height wild grass, looking towards the official road, with the help of the telescope in their hands, on the official road, the movement of the Ming army on the bank of the small river, every move, all fell into the eyes.

"Boss, the thieves' brigade has passed in the past two days, that is, this team of dog thieves is here today. However, the Russians are also almost sentry, and I am afraid that there will be no more brigades of officers and dogs behind! This team is a team that transports grain and grass baggage, and if it weren't for the grain and grass baggage, I'm afraid that it wouldn't have delayed two days to get here. It's time to go back and give back to the generals! ”

"Let's go! Go back and return to the generals, we have been aggrieved for so long! It's time to go out to the mountains! ”

"Cut off the grain of Sun Deaf first!"

Dozens of miles away from Lingbao County, at the foot of the winding and majestic Qinling Mountains, the gurgling Zaoxiang River flows in front of the village. The Bodhisattva Hall, a small village named after a temple, is hidden here.

Since ancient times, there have been many mountain names, water names, ditch names and cave names related to Zhenwu Monastery and Liu Xiu's refuge, coupled with the natural scenery of green mountains and green waters, lush primitive vegetation, lush forests, strange stones, and a series of beautiful and moving stories and legends have been derived around Zhenwu Monastery and Liu Xiu's refuge. Especially after the Tang Dynasty, Hanshan has become the holy place of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, good men and women, high monks and hermits come to visit, build a large number of buildings, build temples and temples, become famous all over the world, form a "seven temples, eight nunnery and nine Taoist temples in this Hanshan within a radius of 100 miles, and the bamboo forest of 40 miles does not see the sky".

It's a pity that years of famine and war have made this place sparsely populated and decadent. Let's ask, people are in a precarious situation, and food and clothing are still insufficient, so how can they have the ability to burn incense and make offerings to the Bodhisattva?

At present, this temple has gone through many years, and there are many ancient and famous trees in the courtyard and in front of the house and behind the house, each of which is lush and full of vitality. This temple and its vicinity are the location of Li Zicheng's standard camp, and they come and go, all of which are elite old cavalry.

From the Bodhisattva Hall to the north, the entire Hansan area. Under the shadow of the bamboo forest and trees, shacks and tents were erected everywhere, layer by layer, and the areas were demarcated according to the structure of each battalion, and they were distinguished by banners. At this time, the camp and Cao camp already have the appearance of a strong army.

"Generalissimo. Our sentinels have sent the same information, more than 100,000 people of Sun Deaf have already left Tongguan, and what is in front of us now is his baggage team. Is it possible to give an order to the battalions, go out of the mountains, and tie up the pockets tightly?! ”

Liu Tichun, who was in charge of the camp sentry and the hidden pile, informed Li Zicheng of the latest military situation.

However, Li Zicheng's attention has not completely shifted from the paperwork in his hand to how to cut off Sun Chuanting's baggage guard grain road.

The letter in his hand was written by Wu Xing. Inform him of the summer grain collection in the provinces of Henan.

According to the system of collecting money and grain established by Chuang Ying and Cao Ying, the land of all levels of the clan that originally belonged to the princes, county princes and their descendants up to the lieutenant of Fengguo in Henan was confiscated and handed over to the peasants who were now cultivating the land to continue cultivating. They are regarded as the people of Tuntian who broke into the camp and Cao Ying. According to Cao Cao's method of tuntian, the harvest was divided between the two sides. On the surface, the peasants' burden is very heavy, but the peasants in these tuntian fields only hand over the grain harvest in kind, and do not pay the silver money. At the same time, because of their status as a tuntian, they have already paid more grain. Therefore, all kinds of servitude have nothing to do with them. Count it up. It's still cost-effective.

In addition, all kinds of yeoman farmers and landlords' tenants were in accordance with the 375 tenant rent system set up by Wu Xing, stipulating that the money and grain paid by the tenants were 10% of the harvest. Collect a bucket in unison. The landlord shall not collect more than 207% of the land rent, which is the core part of the 375 tenant rent system.

Although Luoyang Mansion is currently a battlefield, all prefectures and counties are preparing for war, and several cities have been conquered by Sun Chuanting. But. The collection of summer grain in the entire Luoyang area was still completed, and it was very smooth.

"At present, all the grain and grass are put into storage, and Mr. Li ordered all prefectures and counties in Henan Province to issue notices to inform the people that the thieves are going out of Tongguan this time, which is to take back the fields in everyone's hands and re-collect the tenant money and grain according to the standards of previous years."

As a result, Li Yu easily mobilized tens of thousands of people in various prefectures and counties in Luoyang, carrying grain and grass with the army, carrying heavy baggage, transporting wounded numbers, and preparing to provide assistance for the army.

"Generalissimo, King Chuang?" Li Zicheng's nephew, Li Guo, saw that his uncle was wandering thousands of miles there, so he whispered a reminder.

"Supplement, look at Mr. Wu's letter. Summer grain from all parts of Henan has been put into storage. We don't have to worry about military rations anymore! ”

It seems that there are not many grain objects collected in one acre of land, and there are no high-yield crops at this time, so rotation and intercropping are high-tech means. However, it is not possible to support the large arable land area in various parts of Henan. This land is known as China's staple food kitchen! What's more, there is also the food provided by the land of so many clans such as King Fu and King Lu? It is enough to feed the hundreds of thousands of troops of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai!

"Oh! Oh! ”

Li Guo also saw the little stars in his eyes, and he didn't gather troops without food, especially in this year of famine. It can be said that there will be as many soldiers and horses as there is grain in your hands.

"This letter is not allowed to be disseminated! In particular, "Li Zicheng pointed outside the hall. On an old tree at the entrance of the hall, Luo Rucai's "Cao" banner was tied to a branch slightly lower than Li Zicheng's "Chuang" banner.

Li Guo naturally understood what Li Zicheng meant, and he folded the letter and put it in his arms. "King Chuang, our merchants in Shandong have sent a letter, and a large number of ordered grain, grass and ordnance will arrive in a few days. Did you ask Luo Shuai's nephew to make a hard trip? A few days ago, he had just finished beating Zuo Liangyu and was resting in the Xiangyang area. Then go north from the Han River to the border of Henan to pick it up? ”

This is a plan that the uncle and nephew have already discussed. As long as Sun Chuanting's affairs have an eyebrow, he will immediately start to solve Luo Rucai, Lao Huihui, Ge Liyan and others. However, Wang Lung's Flying Dragon Battalion's combat effectiveness made the old battalion stunned, and if Luo Hu's Zhenshan Battalion was transferred to fight hard, Li Zicheng was very reluctant. Therefore, I had to make this decision and turn the tiger away from the mountain.

"Okay, I'll explain this matter to the general in a while, and ask him to give an order to Wang Long!"

"It doesn't have to be a while! Let's order it now! ”

With a haha, Luo Rucai walked in from outside the hall, with a smile on his face, it seems that he also learned the information that Sun Chuanting's entire army was shortlisted.

"Let's not fight hard with Lao Sun. First cut off his food routes, and then, like hunting, frightened his herd. Let his army learn that the back road has been cut off, and the whole army will be panicked. Then, let's just," Li Zicheng pointed at the map and explained his tactical arrangements to the generals of the two families. For the terrain around Lingbao and Tongguan, they are all well aware of it. Coming in and out of here several times, if you're not familiar with it, how many times you've already died!

"Leave a way to live, and there is one missing from the three. Let them flee in the direction of Tongguan! Let this Lingbao mountain and ravine, help us kill at least 10,000 grandsons! Drain the physical strength and morale of his army! Let's just chase and flank! Also give a bad breath to the generalissimo and the brothers who broke into the camp! Revenge for the revenge of Tongguan Nanyuan back then! ”

Luo Rucai's words immediately inspired the morale of the generals who broke into the camp, and the generals of the two families were ready to light up the cavalry and rush out, intercept this grain transportation team, and then cut off the connection between Sun Chuanting and Tongguan!

After a short discussion. Li Guo and Yang Chengzu, the general of the Cao battalion, led 8,000 elite cavalry and 4,000 or 5,000 infantry to set off, preparing to intercept this grain transport team in the territory of Lingbao and turn those grain and grass baggage into supplies and trophies for the Cao family.

During this time, these soldiers and horses of the two families have been ambushing in the deep mountains, sheltering from the summer heat under the shade of bamboo trees, training troops and horses, and now both physical strength and morale have reached a peak.

Eight thousand cavalrymen each set out from their camps. Assemble at the designated location along the mountain road, waiting for Li Guo's order.

Distance. You can already vaguely see the smoke and dust rising from the brigade's vehicles when they walk, but Li Guo ordered the whole army to dismount and rest, and wait for the group of thieves to hit their heads into our knife edges!

Li Guo ordered people to climb to the top of a tall tree to watch the movement of the Ming army. The rest of the rest were scattered among the trees to rest and wait.

The soldiers who broke into the camp did not make a sound at all, and were very quiet. Li Guo walked around the camp. Noticing that the soldiers were all waiting to fight, they were all energetic and their morale was high, and at the same time, he was satisfied that none of his subordinates dared to talk casually. Even whispered conversations were scarce, so he often heard the cries of birds in the trees, the rustling of leaves when the breeze came, and the slight sound of horses grazing. He walked to the bottom of a large tree, where there were more soldiers seated, and there was no one to make a sound, but there was a woodpecker, clinging to the thick trunk of the tree, supporting its body with its tail, pecking at the wood rhythmically, making a sound similar to that of beating a small drum. A GI looks up at a woodpecker, admiring its feathers. Li Guo was happy to see this quiet atmosphere. He said to a general who was following him: "The training of soldiers should be like this, and the orders and prohibitions should be carried out according to the will of the general." Only in this way can we be as quiet as a virgin and move like a rabbit. Then he walked to the place where the soldiers of Cao Ying were resting, but did not go deep inside, for fear of alarming everyone. He only passed by the side, but saw people playing leaf play, some people whispering jokes, some people talking about women, and from time to time there was a small group laugh. Yang Chengzu saw him from a distance and greeted him. He smiled, nodded, and didn't walk over.

A scout who was observing from the tree slipped down from the tree and whispered to Li Guo a little nervously: "General, it seems that something is not quite right. The cavalry vanguard of the Ming thief suddenly stopped moving. Maybe we found out about our ambush! ”

Li Guo secretly screamed to himself! The cavalry of the brigade hid in the woods, no matter how hidden it was, there would be clues! The birds and beasts that have fled far away will silently tell others that there is danger here!

"Call for a stand! Out of the forest! ”

Standing in line, the cavalry of the two families untied their reins, and walked slowly out of the woods, looking at the team after team that appeared silently in front of them, the cavalry that seemed to never finish, and the cavalry of the Ming army guarding the grain transport team was a little silent and timid!

There was a little confusion for a while, and more than 100 families lined up in unison and shouted: "Brothers who broke into the camp, we Shaanxi folks don't fight Shaanxi folks!" We will have something to discuss with you! ”

"Don't get me wrong! Don't let the arrows go!"

Under a hastily made white flag, more than a dozen family guards escorted the generals who were transporting grain and grass and came to the two armies. "The fellow who broke into the camp on the other side is here? Please come out, someone has something to say! ”

What Li Guowan didn't expect was that the general in front of him came to negotiate with him!

Knowing that the general in front of him was Li Zicheng's own nephew, Li Guoshi, nicknamed a tiger, the general laughed even more.

"General Li, we are all villagers in northern Shaanxi, so you might as well come and go when you speak. What I escorted was half a month's worth of grain and grass for Inspector Sun's army of more than 100,000 people, as well as 2,000 barrels of Nanban gunpowder, 200 stone of lead, and 10,000 life-saving kits. They were all transported from Hedong to Guanzhong a few days ago. I will sell these things to you at a price, and you will give me the silver, and open an opening for me, so that I can go back to Xi'an. I will hand over these supplies to your army in good condition, what do you think? ”

"Joke!" Yang Chengzu rode his horse from behind. "Lao Tzu really killed you, and these grains and grasses are also Lao Tzu's! Why should you be given money to let you live?! ”

"This should be General Yang of Cao Ying, right?" The general was also a little bold, looked at the flag behind Yang Chengzu, and sneered twice: "General Yang, you know, rabbits bite people even when they are in a hurry." If I don't make some preparations, how can I come here to talk to you two about business? You may wish to use the clairvoyance in your hand to see that the soldiers in my battalion are urging the people to carry the gunpowder and vegetable oil to the grain and grass carts. As long as you don't agree, then we'll break up. You might as well try, even if you kill all of us, you will lose a lot of brothers, and you won't get so much grain and grass, you can weigh the gap yourself! ”

Sure enough, with the help of the monocular in his hand, Yang Chengzu's face was pale, and with hundreds of carts, the soldiers of the Ming army were urging the people to carry heavy gunpowder barrels and vegetable oil barrels, which were piled up in a mess near the grain and grass trucks. Under the cover of the fire, they either fled or fought with the rebels.

The scene in front of them suddenly made Li Guo and Yang Chengzu embarrassed. Hit, it's definitely no problem. With the combat strength of eight thousand elite cavalry and four or five thousand infantry, it was simply too easy to destroy this team of only a thousand people. However, once the fight starts, those grains and grasses will not only not reach their own hands, but will become accomplices in killing and injuring the brothers of the rebels.

"Good! Since they are all villagers from northern Shaanxi, let's do this business! Li Guo's face turned cloudy to sunny in an instant. When even called the secretary of the army, he ordered him to go to the old camp to get the silver taels, "Give the money according to the market price plus one percent!" ”

"Good! Sure enough, it's a tiger! Talking and doing things is happy! In this way, General Li, these people will also be left to you, and I will take my brother away! ”

The general carefully put away the withdrawal voucher with the secret mark of the secret deposit pattern issued by the secretary of the old camp, and prepared to withdraw the money from several Jin merchants after returning to Xi'an Mansion. Touching the hard mulberry paper in his hand, he had a smile on his face, and he couldn't stop thanking Li Guo for his generosity.

"Go back and tell the brothers in each battalion that we will add one percent of the grain, grass, gunpowder, lead bullets and the like, according to the market price! If you want to change some pocket money, just come to us! ”

Li Guo, like his old friends, reluctantly sent off the general's team to the west. (To be continued.) )