The West City Gate was reinforced by the veterans, and the morale was greatly increased for a while, although Luo Tai, who was besieging the city, wanted to make meritorious contributions in front of Li Zicheng and be the first person to climb the city, but the defenders had no way to retreat, and they were all fighting to the death, especially the newly recruited five hundred young people, for the sake of silver and silver, they could be called warriors, unless they died in battle or died of serious injuries, they would never retreat.

Luo Tai launched three fierce attacks in a row, but he didn't even touch the daughter wall.

Li Zicheng was outside the north gate, personally watching Liu Jianyi attack the city with four or five thousand soldiers, and the gunners of Liu Zongmin's department escorted Liu Jianyi's soldiers to the city wall, and then completely handed over the task of attacking the city to Liu Jianyi, and the gunners only occasionally looked for opportunities to shoot.

Liu Jianyi knew that the Metropolitan Governor was supervising the battle behind him, and he had the intention to behave in front of the Metropolitan Governor, and after attacking two waves, there was no obvious progress, and he took the lead and climbed the ladder himself, holding a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right hand, to raise morale again.

But the north city head got the reinforcements of Wang Shaoyu's department, the troops were sufficient, and it was two days of recuperation, under the personal command of Wang Shaoyu, the soldiers were fighting to the death and did not retreat, although Liu Jianyi was infinitely close to the city, but in the end it was still a failure, and he left the ladder with injuries.

Liu Jianyi's eyes almost erupted with fire, when did the Ming army have such combat effectiveness? He has already used his strength to eat milk, and he even ignores the affection of his old superior, Wang Shaoyu, but he still ......

The offensive and defensive situation of the four city gates in the east, west, north and south was quickly fed back to Li Zicheng, and the four city gates did not make progress, and the attack of the Heavenly Mandate Army was frustrated!

Li Zicheng sat on the back of the yellow-maned horse, and never spoke, even if the herald sent a message, he only glanced at it, and did not issue new instructions, until nearly noon, the Heavenly Mandate Army of the Four Gates withdrew its troops.

Back in the camp tent in the rear, the firefighters had already prepared hot soup and rice, Li Zicheng was sitting on a rock and nibbling on steamed buns, but Liu Zongmin ran over with a soup bowl, "Governor, why don't you go down and let the brothers of the second regiment try?" ”

"It's only been half a day, and Jiexuan can't help it?" Li Zicheng took a sip of hot soup and said lightly: "Luoyang is a strong city, how can it be achieved overnight?" ”

"The subordinates are also in a hurry," Liu Zongmin approached Li Zicheng and sat on the ground, "Governor, the subordinates are worried that Kaifeng will send reinforcements again, if we can't take Luoyang before the reinforcements arrive, we will fall into a situation where we will be attacked by the enemy!" ”

Li Zicheng nodded, and was about to speak, when suddenly a loud voice came from behind him, "It turns out that the Metropolitan Governor is here, and his subordinates are easy to find!" ”

Without looking back, Li Zicheng knew that it was Liu Jianyi who came, his loud voice was rare among officers, and he didn't look back, and said lightly: "General Liu, come and sit!" ”

Liu Jianyi sat on a pile of rocks, shook his body, almost spilled the hot soup in the bowl, and smiled, "Governor Dadu, my subordinates have really seen it, the meals of the Heavenly Mandate Army are the same as the officers and soldiers, and they have to line up when eating!" ”

"Of course, the officers and soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven are equal, and no one is allowed to cut the queue when eating," Li Zicheng thought of the lack of food in Luoyang City, and said: "However, brothers don't have to worry, the Mandate of Heaven Army has enough food, everyone can eat enough, if the food is not enough, you can take it again, as long as it is not a waste, the firefighters will generally not refuse!" ”

Liu Jianyi took a bite of the next half of the steamed bun, chewed it slightly, and swallowed it, "The Heavenly Mandate Army is good!" He took a sip of broth and lowered his voice: "Grand Governor, how can the Heavenly Mandate Army get enough food?" Even the officers and soldiers are short of food......"

Li Zicheng laughed, and Liu Zongmin hurriedly said: "General Liu doesn't know, the food of the Mandate of Heaven Army can not only protect the sergeants, but also often provide disaster relief to the people, and the people around Luoyang have received the food of the Mandate of Heaven Army!" ”

"Ah......" Liu Jianyi suddenly opened his mouth wide, and he couldn't close it for a while, and even the small half of the steamed bun in his mouth was clearly visible.

Liu Zongmin pointed at Liu Jianyi with his finger, and he realized his gaffe, and he smiled busily to cover up the past.

Li Zicheng had already eaten it, and threw the soup bowl to the soldiers behind him, "General Liu attacked the city today, and he worked hard!" What about the casualties of the brothers? ”

"The casualties are not big," Liu Jianyi's eyes were full of disappointment, "It's a pity that I didn't take Luoyang, and my subordinates have ...... entrusted by the governor."

"Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, Luoyang is a strong city, how can you go down in half a day?" Li Zicheng said: "According to my observation, the morale of the Ming army in the city has not been damaged, and its combat effectiveness is very strong!" ”

"Who's to say it's not?" Liu Jianyi was a little annoyed, "My subordinates personally attacked the city and almost climbed to the top of the city, but it's a pity that ...... It's a pity ......"

"Luoyang is ours sooner or later, General Liu doesn't have to mind," Li Zicheng smiled lightly: "Over time, the Ming army will suffer too many casualties and low morale, and this will be the time when we break the city!" ”

"Governor, the Ming army in the city is short of food," Liu Jianyi said: "Give your subordinates two or three days, and your subordinates may be able to take Beicheng!" ”

Liu Zongmin was still a little worried, "Metropolitan Governor, General Liu, we must take Luoyang as soon as possible, in case the reinforcements of the Ming army arrive, won't we ......?"

Liu Jianyi was a little displeased, and said in a rough voice: "Taking Luoyang in three or five days is already the limit, does General Liu have a way to take Luoyang faster?" ”

Li Zicheng thought for a while, thought for a moment, but couldn't help nodding and said, "General Liu, after lunch, you continue to attack the city, it won't take too long, two hours is enough!" ”

Liu Jianyi was puzzled, "The Metropolitan Governor, even if you don't attack the city overnight, you can attack it for at least three hours in the afternoon......"

Liu Zongmin also said: "Yes, Dadu Governor, the longer the attack, the greater the casualties of the Ming army, the morale will be low, and the difficulty of attacking the city will be reduced!" ”

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "The two generals Liu don't know, there are a lot of Ming troops in the city, and it is impossible to completely consume the Ming army, besides, there are many young and strong people in the city, and the Ming army can recruit young and strong soldiers at any time to replenish the lost soldiers, can they still kill all the young and strong in the city?" ”

Liu Zongmin knew that the Metropolitan Governor had always disliked killing, especially when facing the Han people, but if he didn't kill the Bright Army, how could the Mandate of Heaven Army enter the city? The city walls of Luoyang are too solid, even the city gate is made of iron, the gunpowder bag does not work at all, Liu Jianyi also does not understand, just looks at Li Zicheng stupidly, I don't know what he thinks.

"Luoyang City must be taken, but it does not rely on killing and injuring the Ming army," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Don't you two hear that 'the fortress is the easiest to attack from the inside'?" ”

Liu Zongmin seemed to understand, "Metropolitan Governor, could it be that the people of the Han Qing Bureau have already penetrated into the Ming army?" ”

"The number of people in the Han Qing Bureau is not large, even if they enter the Ming army, they can only add fuel to the fire, the key is the Ming army itself," Li Zicheng glanced at Liu Jianyi and said: "General Liu knows that there is a lack of food in Luoyang City, and the soldiers must have grievances, they were originally 'soldiers eat food', and they don't have much sense of responsibility, once the food and grass are insufficient, we don't need to attack, and the city will be chaotic!" ”

Liu Jianyi muttered: "There seems to be a serious shortage of food in the city, otherwise, the subordinates and General Luo are here to reinforce Luoyang, but there is not a grain of grain in the city......"

Liu Zongmin also nodded, "Governor, since there is a shortage of food in the city, we should storm it, the Ming army will not have enough to eat, and it will face fierce battles, and it will soon collapse......"

"Otherwise, although the Ming army is short of food, in the face of continuous and huge pressure, they have no time to think, maybe they will overcome difficulties, share the same hatred of the enemy, and their morale will also be improved," Li Zicheng said: "On the contrary, we will attack and rest for a while, so that they can not only face the pressure, but also have time to think, and the contradictions will ferment quickly!" ”

Liu Jianyi and Liu Zongmin, naturally half understand such psychological tactics, and they have no right to speak, especially Liu Zongmin, who has already seen the strategy of the metropolitan governor, so he kept silent and waited for the new military order of the metropolitan governor.

Li Zicheng continued: "This afternoon, the four city gates will be attacked, but only within one or two hours, tomorrow morning to attack the city, go down to rest!" ”

Liu Zongmin is better, but Liu Jianyi is with his mouth wide open, how can they understand the "spring theory"? However, Li Zicheng had already issued a military order, and they could only carry it out.

After lunch, the Mandate of Heaven Army launched an attack from the four city gates, in order to reduce casualties, the intensity of the attack was not large, to the time of Shen, the Mandate of Heaven Army collected troops in turn, so that the defenders at the head of the city were stunned, it was only half an afternoon, the Mandate of Heaven Army stopped attacking the city, are they afraid of casualties?

The Mandate of Heaven Army didn't pay attention to what the Ming Army thought, most of the soldiers went back to the camp to sleep, those soldiers who did not participate in the siege of the city, just hanging around outside the city, looking leisurely and complacent, where it looked like a siege, they were clearly coming to Luoyang to enjoy the mountains and rivers!

But in the evening, outside the four city gates, the Mandate of Heaven Army approached the head of the city under the cover of rifles, and the Ming army was in strict formation, thinking that the Mandate of Heaven Army was going to attack the city overnight, but the soldiers of the Mandate of Heaven only fired a burst of arrows at the head of the city, and then retreated.

The Ming army really doesn't understand, what is the Mandate of Heaven doing here? If you want to attack the city, then fight a battle happily, if you don't want to attack the city, then quickly withdraw the army and get out!

But the careful Ming soldiers soon discovered something unusual, the Tianming army shot at the head of the city's arrows, as if there was something entrained, so some soldiers picked it up and took a look, and the arrow was indeed tied to a message.

The message is so simple that any literate soldier can understand it: let you rest for the night, and if you don't surrender, you will storm the city tomorrow!

What does the Mandate of Heaven mean?

It is no wonder that this afternoon, the Mandate of Heaven Army reduced the intensity of its attack and withdrew in less than half a day, originally preparing for tomorrow......

Will there be a big war tomorrow?

……

The Ming army at the head of the city was talking, some scolded the Liukou, some were busy asking about the Liukou's intentions, some were thoughtful, and some were hiding and laughing......

The chief officials of the city gates also can't figure out the intentions of the Liukou, and tomorrow is the siege of the city, why should they tell the city in advance? This is clearly not a letter of persuasion, however......

After the commanders discussed, they quickly reached a consensus: the Mandate of Heaven Army deliberately disturbed people's hearts and affected the morale of officers and soldiers! They immediately issued a ban order, all information must be handed over, no one is allowed to hide it privately, and no one is allowed to discuss it, and those who violate the order will be subject to military law!