Good guys, the four-way army, at least 100,000, right? This does not include the army in Shaanxi is about to leave Tongguan, it seems that the money and grain of the imperial court are not completely consumed in Liaodong, there is not enough money and food, how to feed these troops? Li Zicheng carefully read the message again, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After the Mandate of Heaven army withdrew that night, only the troops outside Xicheng returned to the camp in Xiguan, and the soldiers and horses who attacked the city on the other three roads did not withdraw, but camped outside the city gates.

After Li Ji came to Kaifeng, he did not participate in the siege of the city, and was stationed in Xiguan with the first regiment, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth, for four consecutive days, the first regiment was recuperating.

Chen Yongfu, deputy commander-in-chief of the Ming army, returned to Kaifeng, and must pass through Xiguan Town, Li Ji was summoned by the governor of the capital, so he discussed with Zhao Lie, the head of the first regiment, to set up an ambush in the area of the Lonely Soul Altar, and it was best to make Chen Yongfu a lonely soul and a wild ghost.

After nightfall, all the soldiers of the first regiment went out of the camp tent, braved the cold wind and traveled more than ten miles to the west, and came to the Lonely Soul Altar, Zhao Lie put three thousand gunmen on an open official road, and the other two thousand soldiers, led by Li Jiqin, hid behind them hundreds of paces, not only to meet the front, but also to prevent the Ming army from fleeing from both sides.

The Lonely Soul Altar is not a pass, but a small raised dirt slope next to the official road, and the children who died unnaturally in the city are generally buried here and become lonely souls, so the local people become "Lonely Soul Altar".

Because it is close to the official road, the terrain is relatively open, suitable for large-scale operations, so it was selected by Li Ji as an ambush location, however, the terrain is open, but also on the unfavorable side, once the Ming army is defeated, it is very likely to flee to both sides, and it is difficult to form a gathering and annihilation.

Five thousand soldiers, it is impossible to rely on a small dirt slope like the Lonely Soul Altar to completely hide, but fortunately it is night!

A bright moon hung high in the sky, and at a distance of dozens of steps, you could see the figure clearly, and dozens of steps away, if you didn't send out a ranger, it would be difficult to tell whether it was a figure in front of you or a small forest.

Zhao Lie asked the soldiers to sit on the ground to rest, and on the other hand, he asked the rangers to reach out twenty miles to the west to keep track of the movements of the Ming army at any time.

Although he was the commander of the first regiment of the fourth battalion, Zhao Lie had not participated in the battle since he was appointed in Luoyang, and this was his first time commanding the troops, and his heart was full of anticipation and a little nervous.

Three thousand of the most elite gunners of the Heavenly Mandate Army, two thousand substitutes, against six thousand Ming troops, and it was an ambush battle, it seemed that there was no need to worry about defeating the Ming army, the key was whether it could be completely annihilated, there was only one chance to fight, once the Ming army was defeated and dispersed, it would be difficult for Zhao Lie to get the full credit.

Outside Kaifeng City, all kinds of Ming troops are flocking in, far exceeding the Mandate of Heaven Army in numbers, the Mandate of Heaven Army can not fight a protracted war, only each breaks, and Chen Yongfu's battle, the key is only tonight.

Fortunately, General Li Ji is behind him, and in case the Ming army slips through the net, General Li can completely control the overall situation.

Zhao Lie crouched down in the crowd under the arch of his own soldiers, he barely suppressed his excitement, and actually looked forward to the arrival of the Ming army soon.

In order to return to Kaifeng, the Ming army was rushing to the east at night, but their messages were constantly transmitted to the Lonely Soul Altar, and Li Ji and Zhao Lie were calculating the distance of the Ming army.

At the beginning of the unitary period, the figure of the Ming army finally appeared in the sight of the soldiers on the periphery of the Heavenly Mandate Army, hazy, shadowy, and boundless.

Although Zhao Lie was excited in his heart, he didn't take any action, he knew that the Ming army was still hundreds of steps away, and the range of the rifle was simply out of reach.

"This Chen Yongfu, how to be the main general, has left the lockdown so closely, and there is not a single ranger, is it really that the Heavenly Mandate Army is a rogue?"

The Mandate of Heaven army continued to lurk on the ground, not daring to move, until the Ming army entered a distance of two hundred steps, before slowly getting up from the ground, three thousand soldiers, automatically divided into three rows, the soldiers in the front row knelt on one leg, holding rifles in both hands, and began to aim at the Ming army opposite, the gunners in the middle row and the back row, all got up and stood, holding guns in both hands, and staring at the figure in front of them with their eyes firmly in front.

The Ming army seemed to sense the danger ahead, although they didn't see the soldiers of the Heavenly Mandate Army, Chen Yongfu still asked the soldiers to stop advancing, "Not far ahead is the camp of the Liukou, soldiers be careful." ”

The distance between the two sides was about one hundred and fifty paces, and Zhao Lie didn't plan to shoot, but seeing that the Ming army had stopped walking, he was worried that the Ming army would flee, so he simply ignored it.

"Bang"!

Zhao Lie personally raised his rifle and fired a shot at the Ming army on the opposite side, this shot was the order to shoot, as soon as the gun fell, more than 1,000 gunners in the front row quickly pulled the trigger, "bang" sound, endlessly, more than 1,000 bullets, faster than the arrow off the string, without waiting for the Ming army to react, hundreds of soldiers fell.

The gunners in the middle and back rows relayed the bullets over, and this round of salvos, 3,000 bullets, was pushed over like a stone wall, and the Ming troops in front were basically knocked down.

At this time, the injured Ming military cried out in pain, crying miserably, crying dad and mother, and rolling on the ground......

Chen Yongfu knew that when he was ambushed by a rogue, although he couldn't really see it under the moonlight, the number of casualties was definitely not a few, and the wounded soldiers who were called out alone were no less than hundreds......

However, the Ming army had 6,000 people, and these were the main force of soldiers, even if there were some casualties, they had to rush to the city quickly.

The moonlight is not clear enough, but the firearms of the rogue are mainly concentrated in the middle and on both sides of the official road, and further afar, the faint sparks emitted by the firearms are barely visible.

Chen Yongfu made a choice in the shortest possible time: the army divided into two columns, went around the rear on both sides, passed through the ambush circle of the rogues, and rushed to the city as soon as possible!

The Ming army quickly divided into two columns, left and right, avoiding the firearms in front of the Liukou, but dodging to both sides, Chen Yongfu personally led the Ming army on the left, shouting all the way to the side of the front.

The guns of the Mandate of Heaven Army became tighter and tighter, but the Ming army separated, they couldn't react for a while, and the hit rate of the rifle actually dropped a few points.

Chen Yongfu fled with the Ming army, and the Ming army on the periphery used cold arrows from time to time to prevent the Heavenly Mandate Army from approaching, but most of the Heavenly Mandate Army was outside the range of bows and arrows, and there were not many casualties.

The Ming army had just bypassed Zhao Lie's Heavenly Mandate Army, and there were gunshots in front of him, Chen Yongfu was shocked, could it be that Liukou had calculated that he was going to divide his troops?

There is an interception in front and a chasing soldier in the back, Chen Yongfu can't establish a defensive formation, nor can he organize a counterattack, so he can only use his shield as a cover, and rush forward, as long as he rushes to the Kaifeng city wall, he will be received by the soldiers in the city.

After being shot by the Mandate of Heaven for so long, the Ming army finally sacrificed his shield, but fortunately, the bullets from the rifle could not penetrate the shield.

Chen Yongfu did not dare to rush directly into the formation of the Heavenly Mandate Army, but continued to move to both sides, trying to leave the position of the Heavenly Mandate Army.

Zhao Liebu and Li Jibu of the Mandate of Heaven are pursuing forward, but the rifle loading is very inconvenient, and every time they load, the soldiers must stop and carefully press the bullet into the barrel, so that they will be thrown away by the Ming army, and in less than half an hour, it has opened a distance of more than a mile.

Li Ji knew that the Ming army was running for their lives, basically running away, and the Heavenly Mandate Army couldn't catch up at all, so Ming Jin collected his troops, sorted out the queue, and slowly followed behind the Ming army.

Chen Yongfu ran out of three or four miles before he got rid of the Heavenly Mandate Army, and he couldn't hear the gunshots behind him, so he didn't have time to count, and with the remnants of the soldiers, he quickly turned east and ran towards Kaifeng City.

After four or five miles, the front is Xiguan Town, from the west gate of Kaifeng City, but ten miles away, as long as you work harder, you can feel the city in half an hour.

The Ming army on the right side could no longer hear the movement at this time, and he didn't know if it was completely annihilated, or it was a long distance, Chen Yongfu couldn't care about it, he personally took the lead, and hurriedly ran east.

Suddenly heard a noisy sound, a group of soldiers, from the town of Xiguan killed, the first one, tall, sitting on horseback, half a black tower, he held a spear, rushed to the front, the Ming army rushed to pieces.

This person is Liu Jianyi, Li Zicheng asked Li Jibu to set up an ambush in the Lonely Soul Altar, worried that the Ming army would take advantage of the night to take the road away, so he hid Liu Jianyi's department in Xiguan Town, and when he heard the message of the Ming army, the Heavenly Mandate Army immediately killed him from the town.

Liu Jianyi besieged the city for four days in a row, and the soldiers suffered a lot of casualties, but they did not make an inch, and their hearts were on fire.

Five thousand soldiers, like tigers descending from the mountain, did not hesitate and directly entered the ranks of the Ming army.

Chen Yongfu secretly complained, but at the moment of the great enemy, he did not dare to retreat, waved his knife and struggled to cut down a rogue, and shouted in his mouth: "Don't stop, everyone has killed Xiguan Town, and Kaifeng City is in front." ”

The Ming army fought and walked, constantly retreating to the east, Liu Jianyi pursued closely, with the advantage of numbers, entangled the fleeing Ming army, and constantly divided and surrounded the backward Ming army, as long as it fell into the encirclement of the Mandate of Heaven Army, it was difficult for the Ming army to get out.

Liu Jianyi divided the soldiers to cut and surround the Ming army, and on the other hand, he pursued and killed the fleeing Ming army in front, he was not chasing after the tail, nor was he worried about the casualties of the soldiers, as long as he caught up with the Ming army, it was a ruthless killing, and the nest under the city of Kaifeng could only vent to these Ming troops.

Chen Yongfu fled to Kaifeng City, and the soldiers around him were less than five hundred, and he did not have time to grieve, so the soldiers shouted to the city.

The Ming army at the head of the city had already been alarmed, but they didn't know what was happening outside the city, and even thought that the Heavenly Mandate Army was going to attack the city at night, and they were already very nervous, and the bows and arrows in their hands were already aimed at the city.

Hearing that it was the Ming army that came to help, they couldn't believe it, and they didn't dare to open the door, but they reported back to Gao Mingheng, the chief officer of the West City Gate, Gao Mingheng didn't know Chen Yongfu, thought for a while, and brought Chen Yongfu's son Chen De over.

Liu Jianyi's Heavenly Mandate Army killed all the way to the city, Chen Yongfu was so frightened that his face turned white, so he had to ask the city for help.

Gao Mingheng knew that at least one of the two armies under the city was the Mandate of Heaven army, and since the army in front had crossed the moat, within the range of the bow and arrow, he couldn't run if he wanted to, so he should shoot the pursuers behind first.

Countless arrows on the head of the city were shot at Liu Jianyi's department, Liu Jianyi's department lacked the protection of gunners, and did not dare to get too close to the city wall, so they circled outside the moat, as long as Chen Yongfu left the protection of the city head, they would immediately kill.