The sun shone on the dew on the leaves, refracting a rainbow of colorful colors, and no one had ever counted whether these small rainbows also had seven colors, and everyone was in a hurry.

After breakfast, the soldiers immediately packed up their tents, took advantage of the cold morning, went up against the water, and continued southward.

Qiu Shike went south alone for more than ten miles last night to camp and rushed to break through the Jiehe Pass, Li Zicheng didn't know how his plan was going, so he sent two personal soldiers to take the lead and rushed to the Jiehe Pass to inquire about the information.

Like yesterday, the remaining soldiers of Lanzhou Wei are still walking in front of the team, leading the way for the army, Ma Youshui is the rear army, holding the grain and grass behind the palace, and in the middle is Li Zicheng and his own soldiers, although they all have war horses, they can only walk with the infantry.

After traveling more than 20 miles to the south, the peak where the Jiehe Pass is located is already in the distance, and the two probing soldiers have just returned, they turned over and dismounted, and saw Li Zicheng, "The Metropolitan Governor, the Jiehe Pass has been taken!" ”

"Ao," Li Zicheng motioned for his soldiers to get on the horse, "Let's talk while walking, don't delay the trip!" ”

"Yes, Grand Duke!" The two pro-soldiers saluted, and then got on horseback, tail behind Li Zicheng, "Metropolitan Governor, Qiu Shike rushed to Jiehe Pass early in the morning, and now he is waiting for Dadu Governor in the pass." ”

"Tell me about the specific situation," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Have you ever witnessed them knocking on the gate?" ”

"No, no, when we passed, Qiu Shike took the soldiers, still outside the pass, because he was afraid of ruining his plan, he didn't dare to get too close," a pro-soldier said: "We entered the pass after Qiu Shike succeeded, and the guard in the pass was a hundred household officials, and there were more than 20 soldiers, all of whom had been bound, and Qiu Shike's department had no casualties." ”

"Haha, this Qiu Shike is becoming more and more like the Heavenly Mandate Army," Li Zicheng patted his horse's buttocks, "Let's go, let's go over, enter the customs quickly, dispose of the city first, and don't affect the infantry's itinerary." ”

At that moment, Li Zicheng took his own soldiers and rushed to Jiehe Pass first, and the infantry also accelerated their speed and went to Jiehe Pass.

After a while, Li Zicheng came to the front of the Jiehe Pass, Qiu Shike saw the cavalry, knew that Li Zicheng was coming in person, hurriedly greeted him from the pass, and bowed to the ground, "Villain Qiu Shike, meet the Metropolitan Governor!" ”

"The guerrilla general doesn't need to be polite, get up quickly," Li Zicheng turned over and dismounted, and handed the reins of the horse to the soldiers behind him, "Taking the Jiehe Pass, the guerrilla general is a great achievement." ”

"It's still the Metropolitan Governor's command, if it weren't for the Metropolitan Governor's point, how could the villain have thought of such a strange scheme?" Qiu Shike stood up and stood beside Li Zicheng, "Governor, the defenders in the pass are all tied up, what should we do with it now?" ”

Li Zicheng pondered for a moment and said, "What happened?" How are they? ”

Qiu Shike paused and said, "After we entered the customs, they did not resist, so there were no casualties on both sides, and they are now completely controlled by us!" ”

"Enter the customs first, and then see." Li Zicheng wanted to see the mental outlook of the defenders in the pass, surrendering without a fight was unimaginable in the Heavenly Mandate Army, even if he knew that the opponent was stronger, he could not be captured, it was estimated that these soldiers would have a chance to join the Heavenly Mandate Army.

Different from the initial expansion of the army, the Mandate of Heaven has gradually established a reserve system in Gansu, and if it is necessary to expand the army, it will directly select people from the reserve soldiers to ensure the quality of the troops.

As the territory occupied by the Mandate of Heaven Army became larger and larger, the confrontation with the imperial court gradually surfaced in writing, and it was imperative to expand the army.

This time the eastern expedition to Longyou, the imperial court's garrison in Longyou, will be one of the sources of expansion of the Mandate of Heaven Army, but whether these soldiers can finally join the Mandate of Heaven Army depends on their own creation.

The Mandate of Heaven Army is gradually getting better, if it needs to expand the army, it naturally needs high-quality soldiers, and it can't make up enough numbers, but if the soldiers of Longyou can't join the Mandate of Heaven Army, what will they do?

Li Zicheng was surrounded by his own soldiers, and went to the Guancheng, the Guancheng is not big, the circumference is only three miles, there seem to be no people in the whole city, and there are no dwellings in sight, except for the military camp in the northeast corner, and the training ground connected to the military camp, only near the north and south city gates, there are also some houses for soldiers to garrison.

The original defenders in the city were tied up in the shade of a tree outside the barracks at this time, and when they saw everyone gathered on both sides of Li Zicheng, knowing that this was an officer of the Heavenly Mandate Army, they immediately became nervous.

Li Zicheng looked at their frightened eyes, and suddenly felt a pang in his heart, such a soldier can also be regarded as a soldier? No wonder Qiu Shike was able to take the Jiehe Pass without blood!

At this time, Qiu Shike stepped forward and shouted at the troops: "This is the Metropolitan Governor of the Heavenly Mandate Army, why don't you come and kowtow?" ”

"Knock on the Grand Duke!" Although the soldiers were tied hand and foot, they still rushed to bow down in front of Li Zicheng, and their bodies were bent like crayfish.

Li Zicheng glanced at it and said, "Which of you is the official of the hundred households?" ”

One of them wanted to stretch out his hand to signal, but his hands were tied, so he had to twist his body, "Go back to the Dudu, villain...... The villain is the official of the hundred households here! ”

"You?" Li Zicheng's eyes widened, and when he saw the cowardice in the eyes of the hundred officials, he already had a plan in his heart, "Which army do you belong to?" ”

"Lord Hui, we belong to Lintaowei!"

Li Zicheng nodded slightly and said, "Since you have been captured, are you willing to return to the Heavenly Mandate Army?" ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, villain...... The villain and others are willing to submit to the Mandate of Heaven army, and only ask the adults to spare the villain's life......"

"The Mandate of Heaven Army will not raise people who eat idle meals," Li Zicheng still had a calm face, and said: "You have lost the pass like this, and you don't even have the courage to fight back, the Mandate of Heaven Army doesn't need people like you......"

The hundred household officials also knew that a person like him who was purely mixed with food and salary, no army would like it, the Heavenly Mandate Army was a thief, and he would not look down on himself, if he refused to accept his submission, then his own fate would ...... Could it be that the Mandate of Heaven will let itself go? Such a good thing, don't think about it, he raised his eyes, and said bably: "The Metropolitan Governor ......"

"If you can make meritorious contributions to the Heavenly Mandate Army, we can accept you as auxiliaries," Li Zicheng said coldly, "Otherwise, you should know your fate......

"The villain is willing to make meritorious contributions to the Mandate of Heaven Army, but I don't know the villain...... What can the villain do for the Metropolitan Governor? ”

Li Zicheng waved his hand, "Bring him into the barracks, I want to question him in detail!" ”

"Yes, Grand Duke!" Qiu Shike hurriedly led the hundred household officials into the military camp on the side.

The barracks were very simple, there were only a few simple horses, not even a square table, Li Zicheng had to sit down on a small horse, He Xiaomi, Qiu Shike stood on the left and right sides like guards, and the hundred household officials were still bound, but they were standing opposite Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng looked at it for a moment and said in a deep voice: "How many soldiers are there in Lintaowei now?" Where to garrison? ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, there are now more than 1,000 soldiers in Lintaowei, except for Jiehe Pass, they are basically stationed in Lintao Mansion, and there are no garrisons in each county."

Li Zicheng knew that according to the establishment of the early Ming Dynasty, each guard had 5,600 soldiers, but hundreds of years have passed, because the land of the government soldiers was annexed, the food and salary were seriously insufficient, and many soldiers fled.

"If you are given the opportunity, can you knock on the gate of Lintao Mansion for the Heavenly Mandate Army?"

This is the key, Li Zicheng doesn't need a soldier like him, but he needs him to knock on Lintao Mansion to reduce the impact of the war on the people in the city, after all, the entire Longxi is his goal.

"Governor, this ......"

Qiu Shike whispered from the side: "The Governor ...... Dadu"

"Did the guerrilla general think that once he was released, he would flee without a trace?" Li Zicheng smiled coldly, "I will find out his family, if he dares to escape, I will even pick up his ancestral grave!" ”

"Don't worry, the villain will never dare to run away, and the villain is willing to serve the Duke!"

Qiu Shike glanced at the hundred households contemptuously, the corner of his eyes was closed, and said: "Dadu Governor, I can follow the original method to open the city gate for the Heavenly Mandate Army!" ”

"Guerrilla general, this method can only fool the river pass, and when you get to Lintao Mansion, I'm afraid it won't work," Li Zicheng smiled faintly, "If you use their own people, the situation will be different, and the possibility of success will be much greater." ”

The hundred household officials hurriedly looked at Li Zicheng, "Metropolitan Governor, the villain is willing to serve the Heavenly Mandate Army, the villain ...... The villain must do what the governor asks, and he will never run away, and the governor can monitor the villain......"

Li Zicheng then said: "What is the name of your adult?" What are your special hobbies? ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, our general's name is Tao Zhiyong, in fact, he is neither 'wise' nor 'brave', he is stingy, greedy for money and lustful, and recently married an aunt's wife......"

"Let me ask you, the highest officer in the guard, was originally called a commander, but now why is he called a general?"

"Back to the Governor of Dadu, since Lord Cao came to Shaanxi to suppress bandits, the original guards have been rectified, the government soldiers are all disarmed and returned to the field, and those who remain are all soldiers, so it is according to the establishment of the soldiers, and now all the food and salary are distributed by the guards...... In fact, Lord Cao is the chief soldier of Lintao and controls the entire Longyou, but Lord Cao wants to suppress bandits, and he is not in Longyou on weekdays......"

The last time Li Zicheng saw the generals and guerrilla generals in Lanzhou Wei, he had some questions, and he forgot to ask Qiu Shike, and when he heard such information again, he signaled to Qiu Shike with his eyes, as for Cao Wenzhao, the general soldier of Lintao, he was not resident in Lintao, and was directly ignored by Li Zicheng.

Qiu Shike nodded hurriedly, and whispered again: "Because the food and salary in the guards are insufficient, therefore, there are only more than 1,000 soldiers in each guard now, Lord Cao said, although there are fewer soldiers, it is better than standing on the side of the thieves!" ”

Li Zicheng said in his heart, this Cao Wenzhao is really a talent, but people are not as good as heaven, the fewer soldiers, the greater the possibility of the success of the Heavenly Mandate Army, and his thinking turned to the hundred household officials, "You said that Tao Zhiyong is stingy, greedy for money and lustful...... What was the name of the woman he had recently forcibly taken? ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, that woman's name is Lu, and she is the daughter of a common family at the foot of Mahan Mountain!"

"Lu's?" Li Zicheng muttered silently, and his heart moved, and finally had a way to knock on the city gate.