After the discussion was completed, Li Yan happily left the palace. Net 5,000 war horses, this harvest is really too big. Even if Chen Yongfu gave a discount and gave two or three thousand horses, it would be very good. Three thousand cavalry, even if they encounter the enemy's large army, they have the strength to fight.

But it's not possible now, the cavalry he has trained now is only more than 600 people, and the cavalry that is still being trained is also more than 600 people. So if he wants to have a large cavalry, he will have to wait a little longer. However, it would be good to have war horses, and you can send more back to Qixian County to increase the number of cavalry training.

Chen Yongfu caught up with Li Yan and ordered: "Li Yan, I will lend you five thousand cavalry, and you will set off immediately tomorrow!" Now time is pressing, there is no time for you to train cavalry! ”

Li Yan arched his hand and said with a smile: "As long as Chen Shuai brings the war horse, I have all the cavalry ready here, just wait for the war horse to be used." ”

"Humph!" Chen Yongfu snorted coldly and left angrily. He knew that these war horses were given to Li Yan, that is, meat buns and dogs, and there was no return. The reason why he insisted on borrowing only cavalry was also because he was worried about this problem. After all, the soldier is his, and Li Yan can't snatch it away. But now that it was King Zhou's order, he couldn't completely ignore it.

Li Yan returned to the barracks proudly and told Li Mu and Bai Shixiong about the situation, which made the two of them very happy.

"Fourth brother," Li Mu first said excitedly: "Do you think this will work, I will change with Bai Shixiong, and I will take care of the cavalry team, how about it?" ”

Bai Shixiong said anxiously: "Dashuai, you can't be like this." I have all the credit and hard work, but I still only have more than 1,000 people under my command, and I can't hold it on my face. ”

"Can cavalry compare with infantry?" Li Mu didn't care about the face of his old subordinates, and said in vain: "Three thousand cavalry can be worth ten thousand infantry." Besides, your level is not low, you are also guerrillas, and they are all divisions (3,000 people) like Huang Desheng. ”

Li Yan scolded Li Mou: "Don't make trouble! After that, he instructed Bai Shixiong: "You are ready to receive the war horses, send people to Qixian, and bring all the trained cavalry over." Also, the veterinarian also brought a few more, so many mules and horses, it would not be good if there was an epidemic. ”

Bai Shixiong knew that Li Yan was continuing to let him lead the cavalry troops, and Xiong said excitedly: "I understand, I have thanked the marshal for his humble position." ”

"Go, take good soldiers and make our cavalry a nightmare for the enemy!" Li Yan nodded and ordered.

"The subordinates must live up to the trust of the commander!"

After Bai Shixiong left, Li Mu said in a low voice: "Zhuxian Town is very tightly blocked, and our people can't get through. However, Li Zicheng seems to really have plans to cooperate with us, and he didn't kill our scouts, but just drove things away. The current situation is that the officers and troops are besieged, and defeat is a matter of time. ”

Li Yan frowned and asked, "They surrounded the whole army?" ”

"Yes, on all sides."

Li Yan felt that this was not a good idea, if more than 100,000 officers and soldiers were surrounded, even if it was less, there would be nearly 100,000, how long would it take to defeat it? If he can't withstand the pressure and send troops here, won't the matter of cooperation be in vain?

Li Mu asked, "Is there any problem?" ”

"Originally, the war horse was to delay time, but Li Zicheng was also wasting time!" Li Yan said dissatisfiedly: "Let the scouts pay attention to the situation there and report it at any time." ”

"Okay, I'll tell them."

Zhu Xianzhen.

Li Zicheng's troops besieged the officers and soldiers who came to rescue Kaifeng, and the method used was very simple, that is, they loaded sandbags on the carts, and soldiers pushed them forward. Countless of these vehicles advanced side by side, and the artillery and muskets of the officers and soldiers had no way to do anything, only the hanging of bows and arrows could inflict some damage on them.

But after a hundred paces, their guns began to sound. The officers and soldiers who had already looked stupid were killed and wounded heavily.

At first, the officers and troops wanted to line up to meet the battle, but after a half-day confrontation, they had no courage to fight at all and began to retreat continuously. The area under their control is getting lower and lower, seventy or eighty thousand horses are gathered together, and if there is an accident, the whole battalion will become chaotic.

Zuo Liangyu shouted loudly in the Chinese military tent: "What else do you insist on? It's time to break through! If you hold on for another day or two, these people will all die! ”

Ding Qirui said weakly: "The thieves used the earthen wall, so let's use it too." As long as we hold on, the soldiers in Kaifeng City will come to our rescue. Attacking inside and outside, the battle of the thieves can be determined, and the court and His Majesty will definitely reward them. ”

Zuo Liangyu snorted coldly and said, "Water can be drilled on the spot, but what about grain?" ”

Ding Qirui was also silent. In order to lift the siege of Kaifeng as soon as possible, he led his troops to advance first, leaving the grain and grass behind. Unexpectedly, the thieves came too quickly, and before their grain convoy came, they surrounded them. The main thing is that the thieves used the earththen cart as cover, and the cannon stones could not be broken, which was much better than the effect of the shield car. This caught them off guard and were quickly besieged.

Yang Wenyue said: "Hold on for another day, if there are no reinforcements in Kaifeng City, we will break through." ”

He was also afraid, he didn't expect the thieves to become so strong, nearly 100,000 troops, and said that they would be surrounded. As for insisting on one more day, it is just a gesture, and in the future, if you are held accountable, you can also be punished lightly.

Ding Qirui saw that all the generals were silent, so he ordered: "Then so be it, hold on for another day." ”

After Zuo Liangyu returned to his camp, without a little delay, he immediately asked the troops to prepare, and he was going to break through overnight. This time he brought with him an army of 30,000, and 7,000 cavalry. This is his backbone, and as for the rest of the infantry, he can't care about it.

The command is set, just wait until late at night. Just after the hour, he let the cavalry suddenly charge, and without even notifying his own troops in front, he rushed straight over. This was a sudden rush that the cavalry in front of him crossed the rogue's cart. They threw their hooks on the thieves' dirt carts, and with the speed and strength of their horses, they dragged them away.

However, after the thieves reacted, they moved the artillery to the side and began to fire shotguns from the side into the gap, just like Li Yan did on the pontoon.

However, Zuo Liangyu attacked the faster cavalry, even if Li Yan's artillery came to blockade, it was impossible to stop it. Zuo Liangyu, surrounded by his own soldiers, quickly rushed south. Although his cavalry did not suffer much losses when they broke through, the thieves did not want to let him go, and sent a large number of cavalry to pursue, chasing him all the way for nearly a hundred miles, before finally giving up the pursuit of him.

At this time, there were only more than a thousand cavalry around Zuo Liangyu. So he didn't dare to stay, ran all the way, and went back to his Xinyang camp. After resting for two days in Xinyang, he continued to go south with his troops and returned to Huguang Xiangyang.

And with Zuo Liangyu's unauthorized breakthrough, the officers and troops were in chaos. Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, Hu Dawei and others also broke through in a hurry. But the thieves were prepared, only Ding Qirui and others rushed to the south with the cavalry, and Yang Wenyue and others fled to the east under the escort of the cavalry.

Not many of the other foot soldiers escaped, and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers surrendered to Li Zicheng in despair. Not only did it replenish Li Zicheng's losses in fighting Li Yan and attacking the blockade, but the number of elite soldiers also increased further. This made Li Zicheng feel a lot more confident.

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