On 5 February, Li Zicheng was inspecting the barracks outside the city, when Wang Anping received a message that because the governor Li Xianfeng was suppressing bandits north of the Yellow River, the governor Gao Mingheng had reached an agreement with the civil and military forces in the city that Luoyang City must be recovered as soon as possible in order to appease the emperor's anger over the killing of King Fu.

Li Zicheng immediately left the barracks, returned to the Provisional Governor's Mansion, and opened a very detailed map of the march.

From Kaifeng to Luoyang, the middle must pass through Songshan, Jishan, if the army is ambushed in this area, it is completely possible to ambush the war, the Ming army came in a hurry, as long as there is a slight negligence, it is possible......

However, Wang Anping's message did not mention the number of troops, how many soldiers the Ming army came to attack Luoyang, who were the generals who commanded the army, etc., these important messages were not available, maybe Wang Anping would send more detailed information, but Li Zicheng couldn't wait.

Maybe the space in the small hall was too small, Li Zicheng felt very bored, he got up and bypassed the desk, came to the window, and his heart didn't move: since the Ming army is going to attack Luoyang, there is no need to wait for information, the number of soldiers will not be too small, Luoyang is a strong city, and there are fewer soldiers who can't attack it at all.

The main force of Kaifeng came to Luoyang, wouldn't Kaifeng become an empty city? If you let go of the main reinforcements and attack Kaifeng with surprise soldiers, can you fight down?

In fact, whether Kaifeng can be taken or not is not the key, as long as the Ming army is exhausted, it may be able to achieve the lowest strategic goal!

Li Zicheng stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the tall birch trees outside, thinking a lot......

Immediately after lunch, Li Zicheng convened a military meeting, which was attended by the commanders of the three major corps, the commanders of each regiment, Niu Jinxing, the deputy military envoy of the Provisional Governor's Office, and Wang Yinchang and Li Wan, the deputy civil envoys.

Hearing that the army was going to attack Luoyang, the commanders of all battalions and regiments were very excited, and they all geared up to be the vanguard and take the lead in fighting the Ming army.

It is better to ask for war than to be afraid of war, and although Li Zicheng did not agree to the generals' request, he did not criticize them either.

After the generals expressed their attitudes, Niu Jinxing said slowly: "Governor, near Luoyang, the military heart and the people's heart are available, if you guard Luoyang, as long as the grain and grass are sufficient, with the existing three major corps, you can guard it for at least a year!" ”

"A year?" Li Xin frowned and said, "What about after that year?" Where are our reinforcements? If we are besieged in Luoyang City, there will be a steady stream of reinforcements from the imperial court, won't we wait to die in Luoyang City? ”

Niu Jinxing's face turned red, but he was not convinced, "How many troops have come to Kaifeng, we don't know yet, if it is a decisive battle, the imperial court can accept defeat, but we can't afford to lose, the Mandate of Heaven army has just come to Luoyang, and the foundation is unstable!" ”

Li Ji nodded and said: "Although the Heavenly Mandate Army occupies Luoyang City, its foundation is indeed unstable, however, the imperial court will also have unexpected difficulties, maybe the Ming army is defeated, and the imperial court can accept it, but the generals who command the army are unacceptable!" ”

Li Zicheng's heart moved, could it be that Li Ji saw something? "General Lee's meaning ......"

"Governor, everyone," Li Ji arched his hand and said: "Luoyang City is broken, Zhu Changxun is killed, Zhu Youzhen will be angry, Kaifeng's civil and military officials will definitely be on pins and needles, if they are defeated again, Zhu Youzhen will kill people to thank the world, so the Ming army, like us, can not accept defeat!" ”

"Actually, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers," Li Zicheng said with a faint smile: "All departments of the Heavenly Mandate Army are mainly recruits, if the battle is unfavorable, it is not unacceptable, as long as Luoyang is still in our hands, who wins and who loses, we can't draw conclusions for the time being!" ”

Li Xin raised his eyes and glanced at Li Zicheng, "Is the Metropolitan Governor saying that we can fight a decisive battle outside Luoyang City?" He frowned, and said: "My subordinates understand, 'encircling points to send reinforcements', between Luoyang and Kaifeng, separated by Songshan Mountain and Kei Mountain, if you set up ambushes along the way......"

Li Zicheng laughed and said: "I originally thought of setting up an ambush in the mountains, but you think about it, the Ming army in Kaifeng is going to attack Luoyang, and the number of people is small, and it can't be taken at all. ”

"Is the Metropolitan Governor going to take advantage of the weakness to attack Kaifeng?" Niu Jinxing slapped his palm on the table in front of him, "Good idea, good idea, why didn't my subordinates think of it?" ”

"Raid Kaifeng?" Li Ji and Li Xin praised in unison, the two looked at each other, their faces were happy, Li Ji had already seen the Dadu Governor strategizing, but Li Xin was the first time to see it, the Dadu Governor wanted to take advantage of the false attack to take Kaifeng, not only more clever than the "encirclement point reinforcement", more strategic initiative, "encircling Wei to save Zhao", which can not only make the Ming army tired between Kaifeng and Luoyang, but also can fake the real play, and it is not impossible to take Kaifeng City!

The military council did not last long, and everyone quickly agreed.

Wang Shaoyu's reserve battalion, the fourth regiment of the independent battalion Ma Youyi left in Luoyang, if the war is urgent, you can temporarily recruit troops in the city to assist regular soldiers to defend the city, all the army is controlled by Wang Shaoyu;

Zhang Dingyan, governor of Henan Province, Wang Yinchang and Li Wan, deputy civil envoys, were responsible for the deployment of materials in the city and assisted Wang Shaoyu in defending the city;

The rest of the fourth battalion, the independent battalion two seven regiments all set out to fight, the fourth battalion Niu Kejing walked behind the palace to escort grain and grass, the seven battalions of the expedition, set off before the evening, first crossed Songshan, hidden in the mountains and forests east of Songshan, after the Ming army passed Songshan, and then rushed to Kaifeng, the Ming army was caught off guard.

After the military meeting, the regiments quickly took action, He Xiaomi and other personal soldiers were also preparing for the camp, Niu Jinxing asked to see alone, Li Zicheng sat down, and said: "Sir, do you think there is anything wrong with the combat deployment?" ”

"No," Niu Jinxing shook his head, "How dare his subordinates deny what was decided at the military meeting?" ”

"Military information, ever-changing, how can it be imprisoned by a meeting?" Li Zicheng said: "Actually, the military conference is just a big operational framework, and the implementation still depends on people to carry it out, and there will be subtle differences in the implementation of different people!" ”

"The Metropolitan Governor uses soldiers, does not follow the usual law, and is really a rare famous general in the world, and his subordinates admire him," Niu Jinxing shook his body and said: "My subordinates only have a little suggestion, I hope to enter the eyes of the Metropolitan Governor!" ”

"Sir, please!"

"From the mountains and forests east of Songshan Mountain, even if you march day and night, it will take three days to reach Kaifeng," Niu Jinxing said: "In these three days, Kaifeng City must be fully prepared, Kaifeng is a strong city, and if you want to take Kaifeng City at that time, I am afraid it will be very little!" ”

Li Zicheng smiled and said: "What does Mr. mean, do you really want to take Kaifeng City?" ”

"The subordinates know that the Metropolitan Governor is 'encircling Wei to save Zhao'," Niu Jinxing said: "But, if there is a chance, why don't we take Kaifeng City?" Anyway, the Heavenly Mandate Army is already a thorn in the side of the imperial court, and I am not afraid that Zhu Youzhen will panic again! ”

Li Zicheng naturally will not worry about Zhu Youzhen's panic, when he was from Xining, he set a great ambition in his heart, and now he has come step by step, and initially has the strength to fight against the imperial court, Zhu Youzhen is furious, and he will not care too much about it, the more Ming troops near Kaifeng, the safer Sichuan and Gansu will be.

But Kaifeng is the capital of Henan, and the city is strong, and it may not be easy to take it, "What is the way Mr. can easily take Kaifeng City?" ”

"You can try," Niu Jinxing said: "The cavalry of the Mandate of Heaven Army is the armor of the Ming army, as long as the Ming army passes Songshan, you can send a cavalry, under the banner of the Ming army, to rush to Kaifeng City first, and earn the ...... of opening the city gate."

"Huh?" Li Zicheng thought about it, this may be a feasible method, the Mandate of Heaven army used to attack the city, often using the method of combining the inside and the outside to win the city gate, but in Kaifeng City, even if the main force comes to Luoyang, there will not be too few soldiers left in the city, not the average county town can be compared.

If the number of cavalry is small, it will be difficult to hold out until the main force arrives, and if the number of cavalry is too large, it will arouse the vigilance of the defenders, and this degree is really difficult to grasp.

"Dadu Governor, according to his subordinates, two or three hundred cavalry is enough," Niu Jinxing obviously saw Li Zicheng's thoughts, and arched his hand: "Open the city gate with two or three hundred cavalry, as long as you hold on for half an hour, and then send cavalry to respond, after two or three hours, the main force should also arrive!" ”

Is this a refueling tactic? Li Zicheng secretly said, if this method is feasible, to earn the cavalry of the city gate, it is indeed not too much, as long as it can support for an hour, no, if you use your own personal soldiers, the support time may be longer, the personal soldiers are not only cavalry, but also equipped with rifles, if you establish a defensive formation at the city gate in time, you can use a long-range strike to isolate the Ming army under the city, besides, just saw the rifle of the Heavenly Mandate Army, the Ming army in Kaifeng City, maybe scared stupid......

"Sir's thoughts, I admire them, this crusade, Mr. will follow me!"

"Thank you, Dadu!" After the bull Venus bowed, he said goodbye and left.

After the arrival of the army, the entire Liujiazhai was surrounded and completely cut off from contact with the outside world, but the Mandate of Heaven did not disturb the people, as long as the people stayed in the village, they would not reveal the information of the Tianming Army to the outside world, and the Heavenly Mandate Army did not interfere with the people's work in the fields.

Li Zicheng sent rangers to probe the information of the Ming army on the one hand, and anxiously waited for Wang Anping's information on the other.

In this sneak attack on Kaifeng, the Mandate of Heaven Army used almost all the main forces in Henan, and it will be the largest battle since entering Henan, Li Zicheng had to be very cautious, and if he was not careful, the Henan Mandate Army might be wiped out.

The rangers sent out were all dressed in the service of the people, hiding their war horses in the mountains, and only when marching at high speed, they would use war horses.

The news of the westward advance of the Ming army continued to reach Li Zicheng's side, and on the ninth day of February, he finally waited for the most longed-for message: Chen Yongfu, deputy commander-in-chief of Kaifeng, led the main force of the Ming army, all the way to Luoyang, and had crossed Songshan and entered the territory of Yanshi County.

Li Zicheng did not hesitate, and immediately issued a military order: the seven regiments stationed in Liujiazhai rushed to Kaifeng at full speed!