1

Xichuan guard general He Renlong is discussing the military with Song Shui of Zhizhou, suddenly there are scouts to report, about 3,000 bandits in the east of the city from the camp and horses, ten miles in the east of the city to set up a formation, the north of the city, the west of the city, the south of the city in the thief camp everywhere to wave flags, the drum is thunderous, and there are thieves in the camp between the camps, there seem to be signs of siege. He Renlong and Song Shui were shocked and hurried to the city to inspect the military situation.

When they climbed the city tower, they saw that the banners were planted all over the camp of the righteous army, and they heard the thunderous sound of drums, and there were small groups of righteous troops moving back and forth, and the two were shocked.

Song Shui is a civil official, he doesn't understand military affairs, seeing this situation, he can't help but panic, and warned He Renlong: "The thief Kou will definitely attack the city the day after tomorrow, we must be careful and careful, and make careful arrangements, and we must not lose the city." ”

While carefully observing the military situation of the rebels outside the city, He Renlong said to himself: "Strange, Fangcheng, Nanyang, Dengzhou, and Neixiang are frequently in emergency, and it is rumored that Li Zicheng plundered the rich manor, opened a warehouse to release grain, and rescued the people. Although the number one in the world is cunning, how dare a mere 10,000 or 20,000 horses attack my Xichuan Jiancheng, could it be that Li Zicheng is here for reinforcements? ”

Song Shui complained: "A few days ago, the thieves invaded the territory, the official advocated going out of the city to meet the enemy, but the general said that the thieves were in full swing, and after we held on for ten days and a half months, they would inevitably retreat from the lack of food and grass, and then we would take the opportunity to cover up and kill to win a complete victory. ”

He Renlong suddenly laughed, Song Shui Monster asked why, He Renlong said: "My lord, don't worry, the world's first Kou is today." ”

Song Shui was puzzled: "The general can't joke." ”

He Renlong said: "A few days ago, I heard that the thief Kou Dong plundered the Central Plains, I didn't believe it at first, and suspected that it was fraudulent, so I didn't dare to go out of the city to face the battle, and wanted to avoid its edge to hit its sorrow. ”

Song Shuidao: "The thieves' formation is clearly about to attack the city, how can the general say that they are trying to escape?" ”

He Renlong said with a smile: "My lord, please see, there are two lame people among the more than 1,000 thieves, and the ones who walk and limp must be two wounded soldiers, don't look at the thieves who move back and forth in the camps, but there are two lame sergeants in the team every time they move, which shows that they are actually a pair of people and horses, but they have changed their clothes, handsome flags, and changed their formations, so as to confuse us." Adults look at the camp of thieves again, at this time it is cooking time, although there are flags in a camp in Nuoda, there are only three or four wisps of cooking smoke, a pot to cook 30 people's rice, it can be known that at most more than 100 people eat, it is really an empty village. ”

Song Shui listened, tasted it carefully, and said happily: "What the general said is extremely true, this is Tang Hai's plan to hide from the sky and cross the sea, the general has a good eye for deception, and he is worthy of being my great general." ”

He Renlong laughed a few times and said: "The thief Li Zicheng is like a tiger, but after the defeat of the Tongguan army, he has been greatly injured, and now he is just a mad dog, with his strength today, he is not yet able to storm Xichuan City, this time the army is intended to buy people's hearts, expand the army, and fight for the world again." Tang Hai's soldiers were outnumbered, and the food and grass were scarce, and when he saw me holding on to the city, he also knew the difficulty and retreated. My lord, you and I will send troops at this time to capture Tang Hai and present it to the imperial court, which can make immortal achievements. ”

Song Shui was overjoyed and worried: "Since they can't attack the city, why don't they escape overnight, but they have to set up this suspicious plan?" The world's number one thief is extremely cunning, and the general can't be careless! ”

He Renlong laughed and said: "Tang Hai rivers and lakes are rogue, why be afraid? The art of war: the virtual is real, the real is virtual, the thief army retreats eastward, but they are here to prepare for the siege, making a siege illusion, naturally they want to confuse us and prevent me from going out of the city to pursue, I dare to assert that today out of the city, will be able to win a big victory. ”

Song Shui was still not at ease, and said: "There are only 15,000 men and horses in Xichuan City, if the general goes to pursue, he must be careful of the ambush of thieves." ”

He Renlong said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord, I will take 8,000 men and horses out of the city to break the enemy, if the thieves resist desperately, it means that the thieves are not ambushed, and I can take the opportunity to annihilate these 3,000 thieves." If the thieves are defeated by a touch, it must be tempting me to pursue, I can plan the plan, pretend to pursue, and when the ambush is broken, the lord will leave 2,000 people to defend the city, and personally lead 5,000 soldiers and horses to cover and kill, and give the thieves to come to the counter-encirclement, and the thieves can be annihilated in one fell swoop. In short, our army will definitely gain something from today's attack. ”

Song Shui praised: "The general has a thorough layout, admire." ”

The two of them discussed a certain plan, and He Renlong immediately raised the account to point troops, led Hua Hu, Wei Xiu, Lian Zhong, and Chen Gang to lead eight thousand elite soldiers out of the east gate to attack. There were already spies reporting to the dragon, and the dragon changed its formation and set up a goose-shaped formation.

Hua Hu said to He Renlong: "Why did the thieves change their formation? ”

Lian Zhong said: "This goose-shaped array is suitable for attacking, it seems that the thief army intends to fight to the death with our army." ”

Chen Xuan sneered: "It's just right, I'm afraid that he won't fight." ”

Wei Xiu said: "Let's take advantage of the situation to cover up the past." ”

He Renlong smiled: "What do you know?" This is a bluff. He Renlong came to the front of the formation to watch for a while, and ordered: "Huahu with 2,000 people for the right army, Wei Xiu with 2,000 people for the left army, the rest of the men and horses for the middle army, and the three armies will cover up and kill the past." Remember, if the thieves are defeated and retreat, you should not chase too closely when pursuing, keep a distance of two miles from the thieves, if there is an ambush and break the rear, the left army of 2,000 people will stabilize the position, use bows and arrows to block the defeated and fleeing thieves to kill, and the ambush behind will be dealt with by the three generals Hua Hu, Lian Zhong, and Chen Gang. ”

The four generals led the order, and the three armies rushed to kill together, Xiaolong, Wolf Ba, and Lin Yuan first shot with a bow and arrow for a while, and then rushed to kill with a knife, and the two armies fought for a moment. When He Renlong saw it, he sneered in his heart and ordered to be chased and killed according to the plan. After chasing for ten miles, only to hear the shouts on both sides, and if there were two rebel armies cutting off the back road, He Renlong sneered: "How can you hide from me?" Then let Hua Hu and Wei Xiu lead 4,000 men and horses to block the defeated soldiers of Xiaolong, Wolf Ba, and Lin Yuan, and led Hua Hu, Lian Zhong, and Chen Xuan to lead 6,000 soldiers to meet the ambush and kill.

Song Shui watched the defeat of the righteous army from afar at the head of the city, and He Renlong led the army to cover and kill, so he led 5,000 elite soldiers out of the city slowly and followed according to the plan. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of ten miles, he was intercepted by the four generals Tang Xi, Zhang Chuan, Liu Jia, and Lu Qi. Suddenly, I heard the report: "There are 4,000 thieves and soldiers who have killed Xichuan City." Song Shui was shocked, afraid of a loss, and couldn't care about the life and death of He Renlong for a while, so he hurriedly led his troops to retreat, and was chased and killed by Tang Xi, Liu Jia, Zhang Chuan, and Lu Qi, and was defeated for a while.

Song Shui returned to the city in embarrassment, and saw that Xichuan City had been captured by the rebels, and he was immediately panicked. Looking back again, his men and horses were being slaughtered by the righteous army who caught up behind him with a knife, and he couldn't help but feel like a knife, and scolded He Renlong angrily: "No plan He Renlong, lose me Xichuan, harm me not shallow!" After scolding, he took off his official uniform, disguised himself as a pawn, and fled in the chaos under the escort of several personal soldiers.

He Renlong fought with the righteous army, and was looking forward to Song Shui's 5,000 elite soldiers coming to help in the battle, but unexpectedly, waiting for Tang Xi, Zhang Chuan, Liu Jia, and Lu Qi were four generals, and they couldn't help but be shocked. Tang Hai learned that the plan had been accomplished, and he also rushed from Shigou with Shan Yong and Jin Zi to lead a thousand righteous troops, dispatch from the heights, and command the fight. He Renlong's 8,000 men and horses were surrounded by the righteous army, although they rushed left and right, they could not escape the net.

Tang Hai looked from afar, only to see the withered trees and decayed grass, the ancient road was smoky, the blood-red mountain was better than the morning glow, the sound of killing was still amazing for ten miles, the officers and soldiers were killed and wounded countless times, the more the righteous army fought, the more brave they became, they couldn't help but be overjoyed, and they laughed heartily on the horse. The local guide Li Cripple, who came with the army, said: "The general has won the victory, please allow Lao Suo to go first, there is still a flock of white geese in the yard waiting to be fed." Tang Hai said: "Thank you, old man." Then he instructed the gold, "Give the old man some taels of silver." ”

The lame man took the silver, thanked him happily, and went away happily, singing as he went:

This is a Kuwamura filial piety man, who makes the armor soldier go forward.

Ploughing the field is still sad and the soil worms are dead, wielding a halberd but hating can't pierce it.

Slaughtering chickens at home is still cold, and killing people in the field shows a smile.

I don't know each other, are you dead or alive?

Tang Hai listened, frowned, and after a moment, he smiled at Shan Yong and Jin Zi and said: "Kill people, kill people, stop the war with war, fight can also, this old man only knows one and doesn't know the other, blame us for being brutal, don't you know that there is a difference between benevolence and size, and righteousness is high and low, I Tang Hai asks for great benevolence and high righteousness, and the sergeant has never killed a common man indiscriminately, what is wrong!" ”

Shan Yong and Jin Zi nodded yes, and both persuaded Tang Haixiu to listen to the old man's nonsense.

In half an hour, the righteous army annihilated 8,000 officers and soldiers, He Renlong was besieged by Ala Tai, Zhang Chuan, Qiuguang, and Lu Qi, and was stabbed several times, and jumped into the stinky ditch under the escort of two personal soldiers, climbed to the opposite side of the prancing horse and escaped.

Ala Tai, Zhang Chuan, Qiu Guang, and Lu Qi were reluctant to take the enemy's main general, pursued on horseback, and drove more than 20 miles to a three-way intersection, but saw: the left road was flat, and the stream on the side of the road was murmuring; The right road is quiet, and the ancient trees beside the road are towering; There is a large tree in the middle, the bark of which has been cut off in a piece, and there is writing on it. Four close to the front of the closer look, it turned out that someone had just carved it with the tip of the sword, wrote: "Ming general He Renlong swims here, the left is Qingjiang is picturesque, the right is Gao Yao full of red mountains, the human dragon can not be decided, thank you Tang Hai for the generals I decide." ”

Seeing that He Renlong was so arrogant, Ala Tai, Zhang Chuan, Qiu Guang, and Lu Qi were furious, but they didn't know which way he escaped, Lu Qi said: "The left road is flat, I don't think this thief dares to go." Ala Tai said: "Also, the right road is rugged, and He Renlong will definitely take this road." Fearing that they had lost their enemy, the four hurried to the right.

After chasing for more than 20 miles, there was still no trace of He Renlong, so he had to return in a huff. When turning back to the three-way intersection, Tang Hai, Shan Yong, Duan Qi, and Jin Zi led more than 100 soldiers to stand at the intersection.

"Marshal, let He Renlong run away," Alatai said in frustration.

Tang Hai said with a smile: "He Renlong is really cunning, when you chased here, he didn't go any way, just waiting for the four of you to make a decision for him!" ”

The four of them were puzzled, and Alla Tai asked, "What does the marshal mean by this?" ”

"He, like you, came here and didn't know where to flee, so he carved it here to confuse you, and he himself was hiding nearby, spying on the four of you, and if you chase to the left, he will flee to the right, and if you chase to the right, he will flee to the left, in short, the direction of his escape will be decided by the four of you."

Alatai looked at the words on the tree again, and whispered, "The human dragon can't make a decision left and right, thank you to Tang Hai's generals for my decision." Suddenly realized, he paused: "I fell for this thief's trick, alas, ......"

Tang Hai said with a smile: "It's okay, I'll use a little trick to discipline him if he dies without a place to be buried." ”

Everyone didn't know what Tang Hai meant, Tang Hai beckoned Lu Qi to go over and whispered a few words, Lu Qi suddenly smiled, took a sword and carved a few words on the tree, everyone looked at it, it was "Great grace is speechless, and the future will be rewarded." Alla was too happy and said: "Marshal Miaoce, Alla is too admirable!" ”

Sure enough, as Tang Hai expected, Sun Chuanting, the secretary of the Later Ming Court's military department, blamed He Renlong for his ineffective combat and escaped from the battle, and heard that he had been chased by Tang Hai's generals and was cornered and forced to surrender. Therefore, Sun Chuanting suspected his treachery, so he lured him into the military tent and beheaded him to show the public, which is a later story.

After the battle, Tang Hai ordered: "Hong Shi'an led 3,000 men and horses to stay in Xichuan, and the rest of the generals immediately sent troops to Shangji, Danshui, Tianguan, Taoxi and other villages to capture the landlord's manor, rob and kill the powerful bullies, open warehouses to get grain, confiscate money, collect military materials such as iron tools and horses, gather hungry people, and expand the team. ”

All the generals received orders, and each led his men and horses away. Tang Hai suddenly remembered Cao Yin's words: "Poverty may not be good but good, rich may not be evil but evil, and he hurriedly sent Jin Zifu to order all the generals: those who are rich but not benevolent will be beheaded, and those who are noble but not evil will be pardoned." ”

When the people heard that the world's first thief was coming with a sword, they were all happy, and the heroes of the East Village were attached, and the heroes of the West Township came to vote, and within ten days, they got countless military rations, horses, gold and silver. Tang Hai ordered to save the hungry people, divide the large Toda property, and the hungry people were grateful to Dade for the more than 16,000 people, and the military power was greatly boosted for a while, and the officers and soldiers of the counties were like frightened birds, and they did not dare to face the battle.

3

On this day, Tang Hai was discussing with the generals, and suddenly saw Jin Zi reporting: "King Chuang sent someone to pass the word, saying that the heroes from all over Henan were competing against the imperial court, and the officials and soldiers were exhausted and overwhelmed. King Chuang Yogli Yanhe Yilong, Zuojin Wang Lin Chengcheng, Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying, Zhengshi Wang He Jin, Zhishi Wang Liu Xiyao, Wuyang County Haojie Yang Si, Liu Baoer, Qixian Yidougu Ruan Tianyou, Shangcai County Yilong Wei Qian and other people surrounded Luoyang, and King Chuang asked the marshal to move north to the great cause. ”

Tang Hai was overjoyed and ordered: "All the generals will return to the camp and get ready, and set off at noon today." ”

Jin Zi said again: "Marshal, according to the spy report, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai played Xiong Wencan in Sichuan, they robbed the government, killed corrupt officials and robbed big households, and turned the whole Sichuan upside down. By the way, Zhang Xianzhong also broke through Chongzhou, it is said that after the city was broken, the county officials and arresters all surrendered, and the only prison officials refused to open the door and surrendered, Zhang Xianzhong ordered the righteous army to burn the prison city, and burned to death more than 600 prison officials and prisoners inside. Now they have thrown off the official army, left Sichuan, and are operating in the Yuan'an and Dangyang areas. ”

Duan Qixi said: "In this way, the revenge of the Tiger brothers was avenged by Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai? ”

Xiaolong said ruthlessly: "It's too cheap to burn these evil officials, and if you want to rely on Xiaolong, you must chop the jailers alive one by one into meatballs." ”

Tang Hai reassured: "As the saying goes, the wicked have their own wicked grinding, and when the Chongqing jailer met Zhang Xianzhong, it can be regarded as a response to this old saying." ”

Ala Taidao: "Marshal, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai have just left Sichuan, where will they go?" ”

Tang Hai thought about it a little and said happily: "Since the two of them are out of Sichuan, what Jianfeng refers to must be Jing Xiang, I heard that Cao Yin was imprisoned in Xiangyang Prison, perhaps, Cao Yin was saved." ”

Duan Qidao: "I don't think so, Zhang Xianzhong kills people like hemp, when he and Luo Rucai break through Xiangyang, I'm afraid it will be the day when Cao Yin goes to Huangquan in vain." ”

Tang Haidao: "What I said is that I want to send someone to Xiangyang, if Zhang Xianzhong breaks through Xiangyang, I will pay tribute to him, ask Cao Yin to be released, and send him to me." ”

Zhang Chuan smiled: "I'm afraid that Cao Yin will have no face to see the marshal." ”

Ye Yang said: "This pedantic person, let Zhang Xianzhong kill him, what are you doing to save him." ”

Si Ren said: "You don't understand this, save him first, and then kill him after we humiliate him, so as to teach the world who wins and who loses in Xiangshan." ”

Ye Yang said happily: "Yes, he was very arrogant when he fought with the marshal on Elephant Mountain, and today he must be humiliated before killing, so that he can die convincingly." ”

Tang Hai said with a smile: "Cao Yin takes the law as his life, in his eyes, I, Tang Hai, have repeatedly broken the law, and I am heinous and should be beheaded by the law." And I have made my life righteous, and though he hates me, he is a good man, how can I kill him? ”

Xiaolong approached and said: "The marshal is a man, the good people are evil to me and I am also good, the evil people are good to me and I am also evil, Xiaolong admires, Xiaolong is willing to go to the land of Jingxiang to go this way." It's just that I don't know if Zhang Xianzhong will really attack Jingxiang? ”

Tang Haidao: "Xiangyang is the camp of Yang Sichang, the new secretary of the Ming Court, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, there is a lot of grain and grass in the city, and Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, is rich and armory, and now Yang Sichang, Xiong Wencan, and Zuo Liangyu are 100,000 elites far away in Sichuan, and Xiangyang's nest is an empty city. General Xiaolong can bring ten sergeants to go, that is, although Cao Yin is a person of the imperial court, he is a good person, and he has an old relationship with Tang Hai, I hope he will send Cao Yin, Tang Hai will naturally remember his Marshal Zhang's kindness. ”

Xiaolong said: "Don't worry, the marshal, Xiaolong will definitely live up to his mission." ”

4

Early the next morning, Xiao Long led ten sergeants to Jingxiang, while Tang Hai led his army to Yiyang, sixty miles south of Luoyang City, on a five-day march. At this time, Yiyang City had been captured by the rebels, and Li Zicheng gathered the rebels to discuss major matters at the Confucius Temple in Yiyang.

Li Zicheng sits in the first place in the main hall, on the left is Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, on the right is Liu Zongmin, Li Yan, on both sides are the leaders of the rebels, on the east side is Ge Li Yan He Yilong, the king of the world Lin Yangcheng, the old Hui Hui Ma Shouying, the left Jin Wang He Jin, the ruling king Liu Xiyao, Yidou Gu Ruan Tianyou. On the west side is the world's first Kou Tanghai, Shangcai County Yilong Wei Qian, Wuyang County Yang Si, Liu Baoer, sweeping king Zhang Yichuan, scorpion block Tuoyangkun, and the star Hui Dengxiang. Behind the leaders of each battalion stood more than ten big men, and sixteen people, including Duan Qi, Ala Tai, and Liu Jia, also stood behind Tang Hai.

Li Zicheng looked around the hall and saw that there were no less than 100 generals, he was overjoyed, stood up and said loudly: "Rank heroes, become talented, willing to live and die with all the monarchs, share wealth and prosperity, attack Luoyang, and follow the way of heaven." ”

The generals said in unison: "I am willing to listen to the king's orders." ”

Li Zicheng said: "The generals will listen to the order: tomorrow to attack the city, Long Weiqian, Yang Si, Liu Baoer will lead the headquarters to encircle the Heping Gate, Zhang Yichuan will lead the headquarters to encircle the Wenchang Gate, Tuoyangkun will lead the headquarters to encircle the Yongning Gate, Hui Dengxiang will lead the headquarters to encircle the Bemu Gate, He Yilong will lead the headquarters to encircle the Zhuque Gate, Lan Chengcheng will lead the headquarters to encircle the Hanguang Gate, Ma Shouying will lead the headquarters to encircle the Anding Gate, He Jin will lead the headquarters to encircle the Yuxiang Gate, Liu Xiyao will lead the headquarters to encircle the Shangwu Gate, Ruan Tianyou will lead the headquarters to encircle Anyuanmen, and Tang Hai will lead the headquarters to encircle the Shangde Gate, Liu Zongmin took 5,000 elite soldiers to surround the liberation gate, Li Yan took 5,000 elite soldiers to surround Shangjian Gate, Li Guo took 5,000 elite soldiers to surround Chaoyangmen, and the marshal led 30,000 horses to surround Zhongshan Gate, Chang'an Gate, and Jianguo Gate. ”

All the generals said in unison: "Obey." ”

Li Zicheng said: "After attacking Luoyang, all the troops must strictly abide by the military order, do not kill the people, do not plunder the good people, and those who dare to violate the military order will be beheaded." ”

All the generals said in unison: "Don't kill the people, don't plunder the good people." ”

After Zicheng finished speaking, he came to Tang Hai and arched his hand: "Brother Tang leads the troops well, the army passes everywhere, Qiu does not commit any crimes, and Zicheng admires." ”

Tang Hai got up and saluted back: "Breaking the king's strict order, Tang Hai'an dares to rebel?" ”

Li Zicheng said to the generals: "We are waiting for the army, originally for the people, in the future, the generals should take the Tang brothers as a model, the army is everywhere, beheading corrupt officials, killing corrupt officials, arresting landlords, arresting rich people, and must not offend innocent people." ”

All the generals said in unison: "Yes." ”

Tang Hai said: "King Chuang, Tang Hai thinks that if the righteous army encounters a large landlord, there are those who can be killed and those who cannot be killed. ”

Li Zicheng said: "Oh? Everyone in the rivers and lakes knows that Brother Tang has a very good standard for killing people, and he never kills innocent people in vain. ”

Tang Haidao: "Our army is known as the righteous army, and the soldiers are naturally righteous soldiers, handsome for righteous generals, righteous generals, and righteous soldiers, handsome, generals, and pawns all gather for righteousness and fight for righteousness." Every soldier of the righteous army should have good and evil in his heart, hide right and wrong in his chest, have a sword in his hand, destroy evil and establish righteousness, and never kill innocent people in vain. Tang Hai thought that "poverty" was not necessarily "good and good", and "rich" was not necessarily "evil and evil", and that our army should be strict in military discipline, distinguish between right and wrong, and kill officials if they are not visible, and rob them when they are rich, otherwise, they will lose the hearts of the people and be abandoned by the people. ”

Li Zicheng was greatly appreciative, and the generals also nodded frequently.

5

Back at the camp, Tang Hai ordered Lu Qi, Wang Feng, Wang Yu, and Tang Xi to rush to Luoyang immediately, and be sure to enter the city before closing the city gate tonight.

Tang Hai ordered the generals to suspend the army for rectification, set off that night, and rushed to Luoyang early the next morning to camp outside the Shangde Gate. Wang Feng and Wang Yu came to report: "Wang Shaoyu, the chief soldier of the Ming Court, Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu, Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and Shao Shichang, the adjutant of Luoyang, had already heard that the righteous army was going north, and the city gate was closed three days ago, and the people were strictly forbidden to enter and exit. ”

Tang Haidao: "Luoyang is the main road to Qin, and the soldiers must fight, so they can attack quickly, and it is not suitable to be surrounded for a long time." ”

Duan Qidao: "Yes, Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, Wang Qiaonian, the governor of Xi'an, and Qin Yiming, the general soldier of Sichuan, they may come to relieve the siege of Luoyang at any time." ”

As he was talking, Jin Zi came to report: "Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai have left Sichuan and returned to Henan, and there is a great tendency to besiege Xiangyang." ”

Tang Hai was overjoyed and said: "This is better, it can make the court overwhelmed, Jinzi, quickly inform the king of this military situation." The gold took the order and went away. Tang Hai said again: "All the generals will return to the camp to supervise military affairs and prepare for the siege. ”

Fu Wang Zhu Changxun was born to Ming Shenzong Zheng Guifei, the third son of Emperor Shenzong, deeply favored, Shenzong wanted to be the crown prince, inherit the throne, but the ministers inspired to oppose, Shenzong had no choice but to seal Zhu Changxun as the king of blessing, give good land, gold and silver jewelry, salt, countless beauties, rich rival country. In the past few years, the great famine in Henan, the people have changed their children to cannibalism, miserable, tens of thousands of stones of grain in the palace rotted in the warehouse, Zhu Changxun was also reluctant to give alms to the hungry people, the officials and soldiers sent by the imperial court to defend had no food for several months, and Zhu Changxun was unwilling to take out a penny to pay the army, which made the army disheartened and complained.

In the face of the siege of the rebels, the officials and troops outside the city were defeated and retreated, but King Fu still sang and danced and enjoyed himself as usual.

On this day, I heard that the righteous army outside the city was attacking the city very urgently, Shao Shichang, the adjutant of Luoyang, hurriedly went to patrol the city with five guards, and when he arrived at the Fuwang Mansion, he heard bursts of joy and singing in the palace, Shao Shichang came from it, shook his head and sighed: "Fortunately, I am not the lord of the world!" ”

Shao Shichang was just about to lead the troops forward, but he heard a person behind him shouting: "Who are you?" Dare to ridicule my lord? Shao Shichang looked back and saw that the person who spoke was Yan Kui, the captain of the guards of the Fuwang Mansion.

Yan Kui was originally the captain of the Jinyi Guard in the capital, and was arranged to be the personal guard of the third prince Zhu Changxun, and won the trust of the master. It's a pity that King Fu can't be the prince and came to Luoyang to be a vassal king, although he is rich in clothes and food, he often feels humiliated. Yan Kui came to Luoyang with his master, although he was still favored, he no longer had any hope of serving as a general of the forbidden army, so he also felt remorseful.

After coming to Luoyang, Zhu Changxun and Yan Kui are the most unheard words such as "prince", "son of heaven", "emperor", "long live" and so on.

Shao Shichang looked back and said coldly: "Shao Shichang, the adjutant of Luoyang, who are you?" ”

Yan Kui said: "Little adjutant, dare to laugh at King Fu? ”

Shao Shichang said: "You are a slave, and you dare to underestimate the court officials?" ”

Yan Kui was furious and shouted, "Someone." At this time, more than a dozen guards with sticks jumped out of King Fu's mansion, and Yan Kui pointed at Shao Shichang and said, "Take this person down." ”

Everyone rushed up to tie up Shao Shichang, and then forcibly pushed into the mansion, Shao Shichang's five guards saw that there were many people on the other side, and they were blessed with the king's obscenity, so they didn't dare to rescue, and watched Yan Kui and others escort Shao Shichang into the palace.

The five guards didn't know what to do, when they saw two businessmen-looking people come up and ask, "Five military masters, we are the soldiers guarding the city of Shangdemen, and we are looking for Lord Shao Shichang, have you seen them?" One of the guards said, "Lord Shao has been escorted into the Fuwang Mansion." Another guard asked the two, "Why are you dressed like this, since you are a sergeant?" The two men replied, "Our clothes were burned with brimstone while defending the city, and we have just stripped the clothes of two merchants to keep them warm." By the way, the siege of the outcasts outside the city is very urgent, and the brothers are almost unable to withstand it, at this critical juncture, why did they detain Lord Shao? Do you want to keep this city? The five guards said, "Not really! Fuwangfu is too domineering. The two said: "You and the other five go with us to Shangdemen, and we will ask the brothers to come to the Fuwang Mansion to seek justice." The five guards were overjoyed when they heard this, and they all said, "Okay, there are two brothers." With that, the seven of them walked towards the Shangde Gate together.

These two people are none other than Tang Xi and Lu Qi who infiltrated the city. The two saw that the guards of each gate were heavily guarded and could not raid and open the city gate, so they planned to go to the palace to steal the arrows, and happened to meet Shao Shichang with five people out of the palace, so they followed all the way, and after seeing that he was escorted into the palace, the two discussed and set up this plan.

When the seven of them came to Shangde Gate, the soldiers guarding the city recognized the five guards and thought they were here to help defend the city, and asked, "Where is Lord Shao?" Tang Xi rushed to tie Shao Shichang into King Fu's mansion, and everyone was furious, this said: "King Fu is absurd, it's really hateful." The one said: "The palace has millions of money, and it is really unreasonable for us to be hungry and cold." Lu Qi took the opportunity to fan the crowd: "King Fu drinks and has fun, why should we defend the city here and kill the enemy for him?" ”

As everyone was talking, the chief soldier Wang Shaoyu hurriedly came to supervise the battle, and said angrily: "The thief army is attacking the city very urgently, you can't wait to defend the city, what gossip is there, and those who violate our military orders will be beheaded." ”

At this time, the soldiers defending the city were already antipathetic, and Tang Xi said loudly: "General Wang, the blessed king has no way, why should we fight for him?" Today, defending the city is also death, abandoning the city is also death, it is better to open the door to welcome the righteous army into the city, we all have a way to live. Lu Qi also said: "Yes, the king is benevolent and righteous, not to kill or plunder, the main general of the siege outside the Shangde Gate is Tang Hai, the supervisor of the righteous army, and he is a true hero who destroys evil and uprightness, and we open the city gate to welcome him." ”

Tang Xi and Lu Qi rushed to the city as they spoke, and when everyone saw that someone was taking the lead, they no longer defended the city, and ran to the city in a chaotic manner, and they all said: "We don't defend the city anymore, we will go to the king." ”

Tang Xi flew up to the sergeant guarding the city gate, and together with all the sergeants, he killed five or six sergeants who did not want to surrender, and forcibly opened the city gate.

Tang Hai saw that the city gate was opened, and with an order, Ala Tai, Siren, Shi'an, Xiaolong, Wolf Ba, Lin Yuan, Ye Yang and other generals led the righteous army into the city like a tide, and everyone slashed and killed like a devil, Wang Shaoyu saw that the general trend had gone, and hurriedly fled with dozens of personal soldiers.

The righteous army covered all the way, and also opened the rest of the gates, and the righteous army rushed into the city together, and soon occupied the palace and the Fu Wang's Mansion, the government and the officials in the palace fled separately, and the Fu King Zhu Changxun was fat and strong, inconvenient to walk, and could not walk a mile away, and was captured by Ala Tai and others.

King Chuang and Tang Hai and other generals came to King Fu's mansion and ordered the soldiers to escort the fat Zhu Changxun to him, Zhu Changxun saw Li Zicheng, and was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, bowed and bowed, and said "Welcome the general." ”

At this time, a sergeant came to report that there were 200,000 stones of grain in the Fuwang Mansion, 500 boxes of gold and silver, countless gold bowls, silver basins and other utensils, 5,300 horses of silk, 307 boxes of various jade and agate, 430 pairs of calligraphy and paintings, and 120 singers. Zhu Changxun scolded with his finger: "As a prince, you are rich and rival the country, but you are absurd. The world cannibalizes hundreds of people, and you have countless gold and silver, don't give a penny, the warehouse is full of grain, don't give rice, I don't kill you, how can heaven exist? What is the way of heaven? ”

Zhu Changxun was so frightened that he trembled all over, and his words were incoherent, only knowing how to shout "spare your life." ”

Li Zicheng saw that he was so embarrassed and undisciplined, and he despised him to the extreme, kicked him away, and said to the generals: "This handsome man is the way of heaven, he should have cooked this thief, and ate it with the people of the world, how can he be so kind and cruel, and now he beheads this thief and hangs it outside the city, one is to relieve the hatred of the people in the world, and the other is to warn the corrupt officials and corrupt officials in the Ming court." When the sergeant heard this, more than ten people escorted Zhu Changxun out of King Fu's mansion, beheaded him and hung him at the city gate, and the people were all happy.

King Chuang also ordered to open the granary of the Luoyang official mansion, relieve the victims, release the prisoners, and release the Luoyang adjutant Shao Shichang from the private prison of the Fuwang Mansion. After that, the list was appeased, and the list said:

Li Zicheng, the generalissimo of the Fengtian Righteous Battalion, told the people of Luoyang: The princes and generals will exploit the poor people, let them freeze and starve, and show no mercy. I advocate righteousness in the heavens, kill them for the public, sue the heavens, and comfort the people. Today, men over 20 who are willing to join the army will be paid 40 gold a month, and those who are brave will be twice as many as the generals. I am willing to share wealth with all the kings, and die for nothing.

All of a sudden, the people were grateful to Dade and rushed to sign up for the army, and the righteous army was greatly inspired.

6

The army rested in Luoyang for several days, and Tang Hai and other eighteen people trained day and night, not daring to slack off. On this day, gathered in the camp tent, Tang Haidao: "There are three joys today, one is to reward the king for meritorious deeds, and give my camp 10,000 taels of gold, 300,000 taels of silver, 5,000 stone of military rations, and 500 war horses. Second, in this expedition to Luoyang, our battalion recruited 1,000 soldiers and 13,000 recruits. Third, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai have captured Xiangyang, and King Chuang decided to lead his troops to attack the Central Plains and besiege Kaifeng. The task of our battalion is to march to Xuchang and Taikang, clear the officers and troops of the southern line of Kaifeng, and at the same time respond to Zhang and Luo's second marshal. And they were all glad when they heard this.

Alla was too worried: "The righteous army is making trouble in the Central Plains, I don't know what the imperial court is doing, will it send the Liaodong border army to encircle and suppress?" Tang Haidao: "No, the Manchu Qing Dynasty is eyeing the Central Plains, and we will not endanger the Beijing Division, but once the Qing army enters the customs, the Beijing Division will definitely be difficult to protect, so the imperial court will never send the Liaodong border army to encircle and suppress us." ”

"Now that Zhang Xianzhong has conquered Xiangyang, I don't know if Cao Yin has been released, why has General Xiaolong not returned, will there be an accident?" Duan Qi said worriedly. Ala Taidao: "Zhang Xianzhong also has the ambition of being a king, a talented person like Cao Yin, will he stay for his own use?" Tang Hai said with a smile: "Cao Yin is full of loyalty and patriotism, in his eyes, we are all thieves, how can he be willing to serve thieves." After a pause, Tang Hai's face suddenly changed: "Oh no, if Zhang Xianzhong really has this kind of thought, once he is rejected by Cao Yinyan, he will definitely be annoyed and angry......

Coincidentally, at this time, the sergeant came to report, Xiaolong came back alone, Tang Hai urgently asked to enter the account, Xiaolong said: "Zhang Xianzhong broke through Xiangyang, opened the prison, released the prisoners, only Cao Yin remained, to worship him as the secretary of the criminal department, how could Cao Yin refuse to surrender, Zhang Xianzhong was furious, and imprisoned him again, threatening to rest for half a month to go east to Xinyang, when Cao Yin is not satisfied, he will kill him to sacrifice the flag." Although I tried hard to persuade him, Zhang Xianzhong not only did not listen, but also forced me to stay under him as a general, and in desperation, I had to leave ten sergeants in Xiangyang, pretending to walk the horse, and sneaked back. ”

Tang Hai was shocked and at a loss for a while.

Duan Qi said: "Marshal, don't worry, Duan Qi is willing to go to Xiangyang and rescue Cao Yin." Tang Hai pondered for a while and said: "It's okay, General Xiaolong is honest and not good at words, you can go with the wolf tyrant pretending to be a businessman, and you must think of rescuing Cao Yin." ”