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Li Zicheng was stunned, this is exactly what he needs most, the officers are asking for battle, not the soldiers at the lower levels, he glanced at the soldier in front of him, and said, "How are you shooting accurately?" Can you hit the enemy? ”

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter, and there was no shortage of malicious mockery.

The soldier's face was suddenly flushed, and he felt insulted, and when he peeked at it, the face of the Metropolitan Governor was unusually calm, and he did not mean to look down on them, they were all the soldiers around him, and they participated in the battle...... He stood up suddenly, puffed up his chest, and shouted loudly at the ridicule around him: "Lao Tzu's training time is not shorter than yours, and the accuracy is not worse than yours!" ”

"Really, fake?"

"Don't just shoot giant wooden targets......"

The soldier threw away the bowl in his hand and said angrily, "Don't believe it? Which of you would dare to compare yourself to me? ”

Both sides were not convinced, so they had to agree to compete in public, Li Zicheng considered that one person's archery skills could not represent a group, so he asked each side to send three soldiers and allowed selection.

The auxiliaries who had participated in the battle in the morning and those who had not participated in the battle in the morning were quickly divided into two groups, and after public discussion, their respective contestants were selected.

After dinner, it was getting late, so he lit torches and lit up the training ground as if it were day.

Six auxiliaries, limited to 200 paces, stood in front of their respective wooden targets, each soldier had an independent wooden target, the wooden target was not marked with the number of rings, but there were three concentric circles, the largest one, no different from a human head, the second in the middle, and the smallest one on the inside, about the size of a fist.

Hundreds of soldiers watched, but the participants were all auxiliaries, and the archery skills were not recognized by everyone, so the onlookers did not stay at the edge of the wooden target, but stayed in the far safety area.

Li Zicheng was not sure about the archery skills of these auxiliaries, and he wanted to say a few words of encouragement, in case the soldiers missed the target...... So, he just waved his hand and let the soldiers on both sides participate in the game.

In such a competition, the level of the soldiers may not be high, but it can stimulate their self-motivation, so Li Zicheng will not only not stop it, but will also add fuel to the fire, and it is best for the soldiers to set off a climax of the technical competition.

The six soldiers stood quietly in front of the wooden target, so many companions watching, as well as their commander, and the Grand Governor acting as the temporary referee, it was impossible to say that he was not nervous, and besides, in front of so many people, if he lost...... They were angry just now......

The barrel is slowly raised, the butt at the back is against the shoulder socket, and the flat-end barrel of the left hand, when aiming, the soldiers are engrossed!

Although several torches were set up at the wooden target, the majestic wind was blowing, the shadows were sufficient, and they could not compare to the natural light of the day, and two hundred paces away, the largest circle, in the eyes of the soldiers, was no more than the size of a fist, not to mention that they were aiming at the smallest concentric circle.

The onlookers were also very nervous, this was their companion, they were all in silent prayer in their hearts, wishing their soldiers victory.

Ma Youshui is also watching in the crowd, these are his soldiers, it doesn't matter who wins or loses, the important thing is to be accurate, if someone misses the target, that person will lose a lot! But the game is coming, no one can help them at this time, everything can only rely on themselves!

Li Zicheng was also a little nervous, although his face was smiling, and he looked light, but he was still nervous in his heart, if the soldiers were on the right track, he could add icing on the cake, stimulate the soldiers' will to fight, and boost their morale for the upcoming battle to defend the pass.

Time, like the Xining rifle, seemed to stand still, and the onlookers were holding their breath, just waiting for the moment of the decisive battle and the result of the decisive battle.

"Bang, bang, bang......"

Several gunshots startled the surrounding soldiers, but they quickly calmed down, and in any case, the result was decided, and they began to predict the outcome of the game.

Soon, the four soldiers in charge of checking the results carried six wooden targets in front of Li Zicheng, "Dadu Dudu, the results are out, there are nine bullets in one group, three each in the inner, middle and outer rings, and two in the second group, three in the middle and four outside. ”

Ma Youshui concentrated his eyes, and his face seemed to have a layer of frost, such a result, among the soldiers, should belong to the lower middle level, fortunately he did not miss the target, otherwise his old face would not know where to go.

Among the onlookers, there were many soldiers from the 5,000th and 6,000th households, and they naturally knew that the result was not ideal, so no one dared to speak, and they were all waiting for the Metropolitan Governor to announce the results of the game.

The six players who were in high spirits just now and represented the highest level of their respective auxiliaries were also drooping their heads, and this result was worse than the usual drills, and now they were embarrassed in front of so many people......

Li Zicheng was also aware of the atmosphere, he smiled faintly, and said: "Since it is a competition, there must be a result, it seems that one group has won!" ”

"Ah...... We won...... Hum ......"

The crowd suddenly burst into cheers, most of them were the soldiers of the winning group, and the soldiers also joined in the cheers, while the auxiliaries of the losing side were silent, especially the three soldiers who participated in the competition, their heads hung lower, and they were eager to find a crack in the ground to get in......

Li Zicheng's cheers were a little quieter, and then he waved his hand to calm down the soldiers, "Originally, such a result was difficult to be satisfied, but today is the evening, the flames are moving, affecting the aim, and there are so many brothers onlookers, nervousness is inevitable, you are auxiliary soldiers, and the training has only been more than ten days, such a result is already very rare......

"......"

"Grand Duke, can we join the battle?"

Because the victorious soldier turned out to be an auxiliary soldier of the side that had not participated in the battle, the soldiers naturally asked for an additional "reward".

"Well," Li Zicheng nodded, and said loudly: "The next time the Ming army attacks the city, you can go to the city to fight!" ”

"......"

"We also have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions......

Although the cheers this time were high-pitched, the number was not large, and the soldiers hidden in the crowd did not echo with them, on the contrary, once these auxiliaries participated in the battle, their chances of meritorious service would be reduced, and the number of battles would not be too much, who would like others to share the opportunity for their own meritorious service?

Li Zicheng saw that the auxiliary soldiers on the defeated side had been hanging their heads, so he smiled and said: "The big war is imminent, and the growth rate of the auxiliary soldiers has exceeded my expectations, and you still have one day to train," after a pause, he said: "If the auxiliary soldiers have participated in two battles in which the number of enemies destroyed exceeds their own numbers, they will automatically become soldiers!" ”

"Ah...... Hum ......"

This time the number of cheers was greatly increased, and the auxiliaries of the losing side, for the first time, thundered with joy, and the Governor not only did not blame, but also gave them the opportunity to become soldiers, they had already participated in a battle today in which the enemy had destroyed more than their own numbers, and they would have to do it again...... They can be promoted to the rank of soldiers, and from then on they can enjoy the salary and silver that only soldiers have, and there will be more opportunities for meritorious service.

The cheers continued for a long time, the more than 1,000 auxiliary soldiers of the 6,000th household, after this shooting competition, re-realized the importance of shooting accurately, the Metropolitan Governor just said, they still have a day of training time, we must seize this last time, train the ability to go into battle to kill the enemy, the more enemies are killed, the greater the combat achievements!

The soldiers were noisy for a long time, but Li Zicheng had already left the training ground and went back to the barracks to sleep alone, maybe tomorrow, Hong Chengchou's army would come to Guguan.

When I woke up, I hadn't received any information from the Ming army, but after lunch, the herald reported that the 30,000 horses of the main force of Hong Chengchou's department had passed through Longzhou and approached the valley road east of Guguan.

Hong Chengchou had already received the news that Liu Chenggong had been defeated and died, and thought of Wang Yongxiang and Cao Wenzhao's defeats in Guguan successively, he was very vigilant, what is the difference between the thieves in Guguan and the thieves elsewhere?

He didn't dare to be careless, the army did not enter the valley road, but camped on the north bank of the Huangshui outside the valley road, and the camp leaned on the underwater village, less than ten miles away from Guguan.

On the one hand, Hong Chengchou sent rangers to investigate the terrain near Guguan, and on the other hand, he asked the local people for information about the Heavenly Mandate Army, and the rangers had even come to Guguan City.

However, although the terrain has been checked, they don't know the ins and outs of the Heavenly Mandate Army and the specific number of people, because in the land east of Guguan, the people don't know anything about the Heavenly Mandate Army.

Hong Chengchou couldn't help frowning, the more he couldn't find out, the more worried he was, the dog that didn't bark bites people, he was born as a jinshi, and unlike the mud embryo who was born in the army, fighting is not only about force, but also about strategy.

The officers and troops were defeated in even battles, and the Mandate of Heaven Army was definitely not to be underestimated.

But now he is like a blind and deaf man, he can't find out the message of the Mandate of Heaven Army at all, "know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles", all strategies are based on "knowing", but the current Mandate of Heaven Army ......

Hong Chengchou suddenly had an idea, since he couldn't find out the information, why not so? His predecessor, Yang He, the governor of the Shaanxi Tripartite, was known for pacifying thieves, and although it had no effect in the end, it did not prevent him from sending people to Guguan to explore the truth.

He immediately summoned a clever staff member and explained a few words, asking him to send an envoy to Guguan as an envoy, and the Heavenly Mandate Army defeated the official army in succession, if the court was appeased, it would be reasonable, as for the final result...... Hong Chengchou's face suddenly became gloomy, "As long as you find out the ins and outs of the Heavenly Mandate Army, as well as their actual number......"

"Your Excellency the Governor, if the Mandate of Heaven agrees to accept Zhao'an, or puts forward some conditions......

"Any conditions can be discussed, if it's not too excessive, you can agree on the spot!" Hong Chengchou narrowed his triangular eyes, as if the Heavenly Mandate Army had been tightly held in the palm of his hand.

"Lord Governor......" The envoy still wanted to ask more clearly, but suddenly saw Hong Chengchou's face, he understood everything, "The subordinates understand, the subordinates will send the envoy to Guguan!" ”

In just two hours, the messenger returned to the camp, "Your Excellency, your subordinates are incompetent...... The subordinates didn't even enter the ......"

Hong Chengchou's heart sank, and he once again felt that there was a powerful opponent hidden in Guguan, "Why?" Could it be that the Mandate of Heaven Army is unwilling to accept Zhao'an? ”

"The subordinates went to Guguan City and showed the identity of the envoy, but only one sentence came out of the city: Either fight or surrender!"