Zhongxiang County is on the verge of Hanshui, located in the middle of Xiangyang and Wuchang, is the only place for Gaojiajun to go to Wuchang, she is not only the location of Chengtianfu, but also the place where the Ming court is located.

Xianling is located in the northeast of Huguang Zhongxiang County on the Chunde Mountain, was built in the 14th year of Ming Zhengde (1519 AD), until the 45th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1566 AD), it took 47 years to build, it is the father of Emperor Jiajing of Ming Shizong Emperor Gong Ruixian Emperor Zhu Youqi, the mother of the Empress Cixiao Xian of the joint burial tomb.

However, it was said that Li Zhensheng, the imperial history of Xianling, learned that Gao Junshan was coming to fight Zhongxiang County, and immediately summoned Qian Zhongxuan, the general of the tomb, to discuss with Xu Chengde.

Li Zhensheng said: "Hundreds of thousands of thieves are like a surging flood, attacking Chengtianfu, I Xianling is the first to bear the brunt, is the main target of the thieves' attack, we have no way out, only to hold on and wait for help." At the moment of the great enemy, only by uniting can we hold on to the end. ”

Qian Zhongxuan is the chief officer of the Xianling Tomb Army, with 5,600 people under his command, whether this battle can last to the end, his determination is the key, he stood up and said: "Lord Yushi, I swear to live and die with Xianling, the thief wants to step into Xianling, unless he steps on me!" ”

Deputy General Xu Chengde also said: "I, Xu Chengde, am willing to live and die with Xianling, for the sake of Xianling, I will not hesitate to break my bones!" ”

Li Zhensheng said with satisfaction: "The two brothers have this determination, I, Li Zhensheng, am willing to advance and retreat with the two, and I will ask the two to plan more militarily." ”

Qian Zhongxuan said: "The city wall around Xianling is the weakest in the Wailuo City Gate, if the thieves come to attack, they will definitely attack from there, and we should strengthen the defense over there." ”

There is a city gate of Wailuo in the tomb, there is a pond of water on the west side of the big red gate, there is a pond of water in front of the Lingen Hall in the mausoleum, these two pools of water are called "outer pond" and "inner pond" respectively, the former is oval, the latter is round. A waterway with five bends passes through the Lingnan area from north to south and flows into Mochou Lake in the west of Lingxi.

The entrance at the front end of the Wailuo City Gate is affected by the Waiming Pond, and there is a gap of nearly 100 meters in the Wailuo City. In order to strengthen the protection of the mausoleum, the Xianling Guard erected a wooden fence at the entrance and close to the outside of Wailuo City to protect the safety of the Xianling.

Li Zhensheng thought for a while: "General Qian is very worried, only some wooden fences there can't stop the offensive of the thieves, and I also ask General Qian to put more effort into strengthening the defense of the Wailuo City Gate, and I will also gather some people there to strengthen the defense." ”

What Li Zhensheng was worried about was how many people he could muster, because there were only three or four hundred mausoleum guards under him, most of whom were many years old, and he didn't know whether he could organize a team of 200 people.

When Qian Zhongxuan and Xu Chengde returned to the barracks, they took the horses to the Wailuo City Gate and stationed them, and reinforced the wooden fence.

"General Qian, can we hold it?" Xu Chengde asked Qian Zhongxuan worriedly.

Qian Zhongxuan's confidence was also insufficient, he sighed and said, "It's man-made, let's do our best!" ”

"Did you send someone to Chengtianfu to ask for reinforcements?"

Qian Zhongxuan shook his head: "Regarding the request for reinforcements, Lord Yushi is already ahead of us, and we don't need to worry about it anymore." In my opinion, if you send more brothers out to find out the movements of the thieves, we will have a countermeasure. ”

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

……

On the 11th day of July in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642 AD), the brothers sent out by Xu Tangde came back to report, unbelievable, the thieves were coming very fiercely, advancing by land and water, there were three or four hundred thousand people (in fact, only 210,000 people), coming to Chengtianfu.

One of them said, "Oh, I have seen it, their big ship, it is tall and big, and that ship has five or six floors, and there are cannons on each floor, and I have never seen such a big ship in my life." ”

Qian Zhongxuan scolded that person: "Don't increase the prestige of others!" No matter how big someone's boat is, it's useless, he can't drive a big boat to hit Xianling! ”

Although you can't drive a big boat to attack Xianling, you can drive a big boat to attack Chengtianfu. Everyone knows this.

At the head of the third day, these mausoleum guards stationed in Xianling heard the rumbling cannon sound from the direction of Chengtianfu, and everyone invariably looked in the direction of the cannon, only to see the gunpowder smoke billowing there, although it was only seven miles away, listening to the sound of the cannon, it seemed to be ringing in the ears, and one by one they felt heavy, knowing that the war would soon burn in front of them.

The rumbling cannons rang out for a whole day before it quieted down, and the garrison spent this difficult day in uneasiness, looking from afar, the city seven miles away was shrouded in black smoke, and there was a deathly silence, I don't know what the war over there had developed, the soldiers hid behind the wooden fence, and the fear of death crept up in everyone's hearts.

"Reinforcements are coming!" I don't know who shouted, as if the soldiers were all stimulant, and raised their heads one by one to look around.

Reinforcements came, but not foreign aid, it was Li Zhensheng who led one hundred and twenty or thirty mausoleum guards who had never fought before to make up the numbers.

Although it was here to make up the numbers, it also brought a touch of life to the lifeless tomb guards, and enlivened the dead and fearful air.

"You don't have to come here, it's our soldier's duty to defend against the enemy." Qian Zhongxuan politely said to Li Zhen.

Li Zhensheng said impassionedly: "It is the responsibility of all of us to guard the safety of the Xianling, so I, Li Zhensheng, am willing to fight with you!" ”

His voice was very loud, although he didn't talk much, but it played a role in inspiring the morale of the army, and the soldiers saw that Lord Yushi was on the front line of the battle like them, and their fear was quickly calmed down, and their blood began to rise.

That night, the moonlight was bright, and although it was not yet fifteen, the moon hanging high in the sky seemed to be rounder than fifteen, and the city wall was illuminated.

Although the soldiers had already eaten dinner, they all had difficulty sleeping, looking at the shadows of the trees, thinking of the upcoming battle, and their feelings were very complicated.

The chief soldier Qian Zhongxuan inspected a circle of wooden city walls, returned to the military tent, and saw that Li Zhensheng had not slept yet, so he said to him: "Lord Yushi, sleep well, the thieves are attacking Chengtianfu, and they can't attack it in ten days and eight days, so you can rest assured that you can sleep." ”

Li Zhensheng glanced at Qian Zhongxuan gratefully, and said: "The cannon sound of the thieves is very urgent, I am worried that Song Fujun and Wen Guozhen will not be able to withstand it!" ”

Qian Zhongxuan said: "Lord Yushi, don't scare yourself, a group of thieves are just a rabble, they can't attack for a long time, and they will naturally disperse." ”

Li Zhensheng said timidly: "The cannon has been fired for a day during the day, what is this done by thieves!" ”

"Sleep!"

……

Before the fifth watch, outside the wooden city wall, a large number of troops suddenly appeared.