Zhang Ling was originally more resistant to Li Zicheng, and his defeat to the rogues made him feel ashamed, but when he thought of Cao Wenzhao and Hong Chengchou, he felt a little strange in his heart, either Li Zicheng was too arrogant, or something happened that he didn't know, thinking like this, he let He Mi untie the rope, he rubbed his numb arms, and unconsciously sat down opposite Li Zicheng.

He Xiaomi knew that the Metropolitan Governor had the intention of subduing Zhang Ling, so he took the initiative to serve tea to Zhang Ling without waiting for orders.

Zhang Ling was silent, sitting opposite Li Zicheng, and he was looking forward to it, what kind of words could this Li Zicheng say?

Li Zicheng only sipped tea, then put down the tea cup, looked at Zhang Ling's eyes, and said slowly: "General Zhang Ling, the defeat in this battle is not your fault, but the equipment. ”

"Equipment?" Zhang Ling met Li Zicheng's gaze, but he had some understanding in his heart.

"On artillery, the artillery of the Mandate of Heaven is comparable to that of the Ming army in terms of range, but the Mandate of Heaven army uses flowering shells, whether it is deterrence or the power of explosion, it is far superior to the Ming army," Li Zicheng said: "On fire # guns, the rifles of the Mandate of Heaven, the best range is 200 steps, the effective range is 400 steps, and the maximum range reaches 600 steps, while the Ming army's guns and bows and arrows should not have a range of more than 60 steps, right?" ”

"Ah......" Zhang Ling seemed to hear the Book of Heaven, but what Li Zicheng said was the truth.

"Six hundred steps against sixty steps, so the Ming army has no chance to shoot at all......"

"No wonder I can't see the soldiers ...... shot"

"Yes, in today's battle, there were no casualties among the soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven!"

Zhang Ling finally avoided Li Zicheng's gaze, and seemed to have knocked over the five-flavor bottle in his heart, Li Zicheng was just a rogue, why did he have such a sharp firearm? Could it be purchased from the Ottomans? Distant Ottoman ...... The legendary Ox Boom is from the Ottoman Empire......

Li Zicheng said: "Therefore, the failure of today's battle is not General Zhang's fault, but the disadvantage of firearms. ”

Zhang Ling's heart moved, and Liukou told the truth!

But does the court know why?

Do the officials of the imperial court know the reason? No, they only spoke with their mouths, no one told him that the firearms of the Liukou were very sharp, even more powerful than those of the Ming army, they didn't really care about the war itself, they only needed a result.

If the war is lost, the imperial court will definitely investigate the responsibility for the defeat of the war, and who will care about the casualties of the soldiers? Li Zicheng said it well, but the officials of the imperial court would not think so, they only needed a scapegoat.

He Zhang Ling is undoubtedly the scapegoat for the Battle of Bishan!

"Fighting with the Mandate of Heaven Army, the chief soldier Hou Liangzhu died, the governor of Sichuan, Wang Weizhang, surrendered, the current prefect of Chengdu under the Mandate of Heaven, Dai Junen, who participated in the politics of Shaanxi, surrendered, Cao Wenzhao had the Tieqi in his hand, and fled for his life, Hong Chengchou's influence was too great, and the Mandate of Heaven Army reluctantly let him go......"

Zhang Ling seemed to have been taken into a fairy tale world, but judging from Li Zicheng's face and gaze, it didn't look like he was lying, "Dadudu, all this is true?" ”

Li Zicheng smiled faintly: "At this time, is it necessary for me to hide it?" Chengdu is not far from here, and it won't be long before you can ask Wang Weizhang! ”

Maybe you don't need to ask anymore, with the combat effectiveness of the Mandate of Heaven Army today, if the number of people on both sides is the same, it is a fool's command, and they may be able to win.

Zhang Ling lowered his head and pondered, and there were already a little ripples in his heart.

"That's why I said that the fault of this battle is not in the general, but in the firearms," although Li Zicheng is not a "weapon-only" person, but in the case of ensuring the quality of soldiers, weapons do play a vital role, "I am not my general exonerated from responsibility, in fact, there are more than 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry in Chengdu, and the result is ...... The general already knows! ”

“……”

"Dai Junen's 20,000 soldiers, except for the dead, all the soldiers have surrendered, Dai Junen is now the prefect of Huizhou; Cao Wenzhao was in Guguan, 3,000 infantry were wiped out, and 1,000 cavalry also lost 30%; Also in Guguan, Hong Chengchou 30,000 horses, almost all annihilated, I don't want Hong Chengchou to be too embarrassed, reluctantly let him go, the two sides reached an agreement in Guguan, not to attack each other! ”

"Guguan?" Zhang Ling's heart moved, he was in Guguan, why did he come to Sichuan?

"Yes, it's the Guguan on Longshan," Li Zicheng paused, and said: "Speaking of which, I want to correct the general's statement, the word 'Liukou' may be more appropriate to use on Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Luo Rucai...... Not only have we established the Mandate of Heaven Governorate, but we also have Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, and if we succeed now, we will add another Sichuan Province. ”

"Ah...... Why haven't you heard of this before? Zhang Ling was suspicious, except for the battle in Sichuan, the rest didn't even know the shadow, and the opponent was still against famous generals like Cao Wenzhao and Hong Chengchou.

The Mandate of Heaven Army can hold areas like Xining and Lanzhou, unlike the Liukou who were driven all over the sky by the army of the imperial court, and can hold the territory, even if it is only a border place like Xining, which shows that the Mandate of Heaven Army can have the strength to confront the Ming Army, has the Mandate of Heaven Army really become the leader of the Liukou?

"Haha," Li Zicheng laughed, "Hong Chengchou was defeated in Guguan, lost his troops, and was forced to secretly negotiate peace with the Mandate of Heaven Army, he dared to make it public to the world?" Of course, such a peace negotiation is beneficial to us, and we happen to develop quietly. ”

"The current Mandate of Heaven ......"

"General Zhang's battle is unfavorable, and there is another reason, which lies in the soldiers," Li Zicheng avoided answering, and continued: "The soldiers of the Ming army, fighting only to be able to eat, once there is a stalemate and hard fighting, it is difficult to persevere, and the soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven are just for the people, so that all the people 'have food, clothing, housing, and land', for the sake of the people, even if there are casualties, the Mandate of Heaven Governor's Mansion will compensate them and their families in time." ”

Li Zicheng recovered Zhang Ling, and naturally said the strengths of the Heavenly Mandate Army and the Heavenly Mandate Governor's Mansion, Zhang Ling seemed to have listened to the Book of Heaven, and had some doubts in his heart, but he had to admire Li Zicheng's scheming.

Not to mention anything else, just rely on the firearms of the Mandate of Heaven Army to be superior to the Ming Army, the Liukou can't do it at all, and they are driven all over the sky by the army of the imperial court all day long, how can they have the time and talent to develop firearms?

The two talked very happily, Li Zicheng let He Xiaomi go to the banquet, and the two drank together, and the atmosphere became more and more active.

Without Li Zicheng's persuasion, Zhang Ling took the initiative to surrender, except for surrendering, he had no second way!

Zhang Ling's accession made the Heavenly Mandate Army another tiger general, although Bishan suffered defeat, but his military talent, as well as his attitude towards soldiers, Li Zicheng appreciated him very much.

The responsibility for the defeat lies not with Zhang Ling himself, but with Zhang Ling not being able to fight against the Mandate of Heaven Army!

"General Zhang, from now on, you and I will treat each other with all sincerity, come, drink this cup full!"

"Treat each other with all your heart!" Zhang Ling raised his glass, took a sip of it, put down the wine cup, wiped the residual wine from the corner of his mouth, and said: "After this battle, what do the governors want to do?" ”

"Take Chongqing, and then go down the river," Li Zicheng has always disliked drinking, but he was happy today, so he drank a few more glasses, "Don't hide it from General Zhang, near Chengdu, there is no danger to defend, at least take Fengjie, in order to prevent the Ming army from Huguang to go up the river." ”

"The Metropolitan Governor," Zhang Ling heard this, knowing that what Li Zicheng said was true, and hurriedly said: "In Xiayuan, he is the general of Chongqing Mansion...... If the Metropolitan Governor can trust him, he is willing to go alone and persuade Sanguan and Chongqing to surrender......"

"Trustworthy, trustworthy, if General Zhang has a different heart, if he doesn't go today, he will leave tomorrow, I have no doubt about employing people," Li Zicheng only knew Chongqing Mansion, and only marked Fotu Pass on the marching map, what three passes, the name was not known, and when he heard the words, he pushed the boat along the river, "The three passes are important, the pass is dangerous, General Zhang goes alone, in case there is an obstacle, how to explain to the soldiers guarding the pass?" ”

"This ......" Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment and said: "The three passes are all standing on the road, the surrounding mountains are heavy, one man is the pass, and it is difficult to overcome ten thousand people, but the soldiers guarding the pass are all subordinates under the subordinates, and only one person will go to the next, and they will definitely be persuaded to come down." ”

Li Zicheng thought for a moment, still not at ease, Zhang Ling was the first time to serve the Heavenly Mandate Army, in order to avoid suspicion, he had to go alone, "They are General Zhang's subordinates, but at this time, each is its master, if one person goes, in case someone is stubborn......" paused, and said: "General Zhang brought a hundred personal guards, when necessary, it will also deter the three passes!" ”

"Thank you for your trust!" Zhang Ling hurriedly arched his hands and saluted.

"No need to be polite," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "When I win Chongqing Mansion, I will reward my meritorious deeds!" ”

When he went back, Li Zicheng did not send someone to supervise, but let him go back to the camp alone, which surprised him, paused, didn't say anything, just saluted Li Zicheng, and then withdrew from Li Zicheng's Chinese army tent, out of the account, and secretly clenched his fists.

Ordinary Ming prisoners of war were not treated so well, and after they were tied up, they were concentrated in the original camp of the Ming army, guarded by soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven.

When the soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven cleaned up the battlefield, they still followed the old rules, leaving weapons and armor, and seriously wounded soldiers were all supplemented with a fatal knife, and only those who were slightly injured and could basically recover on their own without being disabled were left behind and gathered together with prisoners of war.

The body was to be cremated as usual, and the remaining ashes were buried in time, tossed for half the night, and by the time all the cleaning was over, it was already more than a child's time.

At dinner, because they had to monitor the Ming army, the soldiers just ate a few mouthfuls of dry food with clear water, and now that the overall situation of the Bishan battlefield has been decided, they tossed for half the night, and their stomachs were already empty.

According to the instructions of the Grand Duke, the firefighters had already prepared hot soup and rice for the soldiers to eat.

According to the military discipline of the Mandate of Heaven Army, in between battles, as long as it is not a long-distance march, it is generally necessary to exercise in the morning, considering that they rested too late today, Li Zicheng exempted them from tomorrow's morning exercise and let them rest for two more hours.