In the golden autumn of October, the light rain on the land of Jingxiang is dripping non-stop, and now it should be the harvest season, but in the thousands of acres of fertile fields, only a small group of farmers who are not afraid of death dare to come out to harvest at night.

On the muddy ground, I don't know when there was a sound of horses' hooves, and then there was a collision of soldiers and a fight between men and horses. Such scenes are played out every day, and the people have long been accustomed to hiding in their homes or deep in the mountains.

Half a month ago, after Hou Xuanyan and Du Yinxi joined forces, there were no less than 300,000 people, and the momentum was strong. In terms of the Qing army, there is Wu Sangui's unified command, this time even the Eight Banners are under his orders, plus the continuous influx of green camp Han soldiers, the number of Qing soldiers is also increasing day by day, and it has reached no less than 200,000.

Hou Xuanyan and Du Yinxi relied on the Yangtze River to hold the line from Wuchang to Yuezhou, while Jingzhou was like a prominent sharp knife, stabbing into the north bank of the Yangtze River. Hou Xuanyan and Du Yinxi personally led the army, and the soldiers pointed directly at Xiangyang, and met Wu Sangui's main force at the foot of the inner mountain. The two sides fought fiercely for a day and a night, and each retreated.

The 200,000 horses of the loyal battalion were originally the generals of Dashun Li Zicheng, these people began to make revolutions in the early years of Chongzhen, and they didn't know how many battles were fought, but they had never been as tragic as this time.

Neither side is willing to take half a step back, just because to retreat is to die. Hundreds of thousands of people covered up, and no one could escape. The battlefield between the two sides continued to spread, and finally a general battle turned into a protracted and fierce battle. In the past half a month, hundreds of thousands of horses fought in various cities, prefectures and counties, and mountains and rivers.

The consequence of this is that both sides have their own losses, but they will not break their bones. But if either side wants to get out, it will have to pay a heavy price.

In a suburb of Xincheng County, Hou Xuanyan's Chinese army camped here, and several generals in the big tent were gathered in front of a sand table.

Hou Xuanyan said to Du Yinxi: "We missed the best opportunity, now the Qing soldiers who have escaped the summer are returning one after another, and the battle situation is gradually falling into a stalemate." I see that in a hurry, no one can eat anyone, and I don't know when this battle will last. ”

Du Yinxi's official position is governor, slightly lower than Hou Xuanyan, he stared at the sand table with his eyes, frowned and said: "Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming of Hanyang have been hiding in the small city of Hanyang, confronting the defenders of Wuchang. I think there must be a trick in this, and I have to guard against it. This team has good combat strength, many generals, and Kong Geng and the others have also been traitors for many years, and they are by our side, which always makes me feel like a man on my back. ”

Hou Xuanyan pointed to the corresponding position of the sand table, and said confidently: "Yuezhou Gu Yanwu and Wuchang Zheng Zunqian are all my generals, and they are on the front line of Wuchang in Yuezhou, which is my first line of defense. The Hunan soldiers recruited by Zhang Huangyan in Changsha Prefecture are in drill, and they can support when necessary, and they are my second line of defense. With them, we are not afraid of the Qing soldiers in Jiangxi and Kong Youde Geng Zhongming. In this way, there is nothing to fear. Even if they turn around and attack, I can mobilize no less than 100,000 people from Yuezhou, Wuchang, and Changsha to participate in the battle in an instant. ”

After listening to this, Du Yinxi's mood calmed down a little, and he sighed: "Alas! As long as we remain here, the north will fall, and the people will be enslaved by foreign Tatars. ”

Hou Xuanyan said in his heart, this is already a big change, if you follow the original pace of history, now only the southwest is still resisting. Thinking of this, Hou Xuanyan suddenly blessed his soul, southwest? Zhang Xianzhong?

Hou Xuanyan raised his head suddenly, and said excitedly: "Zhang Xianzhong of Sichuan and Shu is now fighting against Haoge, Haoge divided his troops to save Jingzhou, can we send someone to get in touch with Zhang Xianzhong." ”

Hou Xuanyan clearly remembered that Zhang Xianzhong couldn't beat Haoge, so he resolutely killed all his children, and said to his godson Sun Kewang: "I am also a hero, I can't leave my young son to be captured, and you will be the son of the world in the end." The three hundred years of orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty may not be extinct, and it is also the will of heaven. When I die, I will return to the light in a hurry, and I will not be unjust. In this situation, he had no reason to refuse himself.

Du Yinxi stared at him, shocked in his heart, he appeased the rest of the Dashun army, and he was scolded by Jiang Dejing, Lu Zhenfei and others, the ministers of the DPRK and China. You must know that Li Zicheng, the leader of the Dashun Army, is dead, and he has been scolded for appeasing them, Zhang Xianzhong is a living monstrous giant, and Hou Xuanyan has a whimsical idea to negotiate an alliance with him.

"Marshal Xiaohou, I advise you to think twice before acting, that's Zhang Xianzhong." Du Yinxi said meaningfully, as a general, he was in favor of uniting all forces hostile to the Qing soldiers from the bottom of his heart. Zhang Xianzhong sits on Bashu, not to mention the steep terrain, the soldiers are good and the food is sufficient, which is a great reinforcement. But in terms of politics, he didn't dare to cross the line easily, if Hou Xuanyan had the guts, he would support it. So Du Yinxi just kindly reminded him and did not express his opinion.

Hou Xuanyan said disapprerovingly: "Although Zhang Xianzhong is rebellious, he is still a Han man, and at the juncture of the destruction of the country and the extinction of the species, any hatred can be put down." Uniting all the Han people who oppose the Qing Dynasty is the right way, otherwise waiting for the Tartars to enter the world, they will not care if you are a thief or a gentry, in their eyes they are all conquered Han people. immediately sent someone into Shu to meet Zhang Xianzhong, and said that I would talk to him. ”

On the one hand, he hoped that Hou Xuanyan could succeed and form an alliance with Zhang Xianzhong to jointly oppose the Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, he also clearly knew that most of the people in the court were in favor of uniting and pacifying. Since Shi Kefa, the Southern Ming court has always hoped to unite Manchuria to build slaves and jointly exterminate Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. It's a pity that they are just wishful thinking, what the pigtails want is to conquer all the Han people.

The one in the court who was really determined to negotiate peace with the Manchus was actually Emperor Longwu. Zhu Yujian, Emperor Longwu, and Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, who was sent to Fuzhou by Hou Xuanyan, although these two uncles and nephews have a bad relationship, they are one of the few hard bones in the old Zhu family. He had been fighting a bloody battle with the Tartars all along, and had never thought of peace talks or surrender.

Du Yinxi finally made up his mind and opened his mouth to persuade: "Commander Xiaohou, do you want to send someone to ask for instructions from Fuzhou, after all, this is not a trivial matter." ”

Hou Xuanyan pondered for a moment and said, "It's okay, it's just that the traitors in the court are in charge, and the powerful ministers bully the lords." Although Your Majesty is sage, there are too many villains, and if they coerce Your Majesty, we can't compromise. For example, everything today must make way for the anti-Qing Dynasty, and any eyeless stone that dares to stand in the way of the anti-Qing Dynasty must be turned into powder! ”

Du Yinxi broke out in a cold sweat and asked tentatively, "What does the commander mean?" ”

"Will be outside, the king's order will not be affected. No matter what the conclusion of Fuzhou is, Zhang Xianzhong, I must see you. ”

In the heart of Du Yinxi, a wave of respect suddenly arose, the young governor in front of him was really bent on driving out the Tartars and restoring China. If it was an ordinary minister, for the sake of prestige, he would definitely not do such a thankless task. Not to mention that he didn't help his power, and he made a commotion, he was bound to be scolded half to death by the civil officials.

"Marshal Xiaohou, I am willing to join hands with you!"