Li Zicheng waited in Guguan for two days before he received a message from Wang Anping from northern Shaanxi: Wang Yongxiang, the general of Hong Chengchou's troops, was chasing the thieves south, and might rush to Longzhou in the near future.

He took the message and watched it repeatedly, the message was passed on by a flying pigeon, and the capacity would not be too large, and Wang Anping was not sure whether Wang Yongxiang would come to Longzhou.

Anyway, Hong Chengchou is moving, it is better than waiting in Guguan, Li Zicheng said in his heart, can you think of some way to let Wang Yongxiang go south faster, it is best to come to Guguanxia.

As long as Wang Yongxiang suffers a defeat in Guguan, Hong Chengchou will definitely gather heavy troops to come, maybe he will come in person, the Mandate of Heaven Army has made all the preparations, and it is better to fight late than early!

Without a big victory, there will definitely be no peace in Longyou, and Mao Taizu's strategy of "ending the war with war" has been tested many times in later generations, especially Ah San, Mao Zi and the Star Spangled Banner.

But what kind of character Wang Yongxiang is, Li Zicheng doesn't know, in the history of later generations, Li Zicheng didn't know that there was such a character.

Wang Anping's rangers are not only expensive, but also small in number, and cannot appear on the battlefield head-on, it seems that they can only rely on Liu Yunshui, the cavalry of Liu Yunshui's department is the most elite cavalry of the Mandate of Heaven.

After thinking for a moment, Li Zicheng asked his soldiers to summon Liu Yunshui.

Liu Yunshui kowtowed to Li Zicheng, and before he could sit down after getting up, he said, "Governor, is there any combat mission?" ”

"Yunshui is still in a hurry," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Yunshui's cavalry patrolled the area of Longzhou, have you ever encountered the army of the imperial court?" ”

"No," Liu Yunshui's head shook like a rattle, "Governor Dadu, what did you say that this civil and military official in Shaanxi, as well as the trilateral governor Hong Chengchou, was eating?" Don't they dare to provoke the Mandate of Heaven? ”

"It's not that he doesn't dare to mess with him, this Hong Laojiu, I haven't been afraid of anyone yet," Li Zicheng smiled faintly, "However, he is too busy to take care of himself now, the thieves in Shaanxi, that is as many as a cow's hair, if we don't get stuck in Guanshan Road, I'm afraid we will also suffer from it!" ”

"Metropolitan Governor, what should I do, I can't just wait," Liu Yunshui couldn't wait until he smashed the square table in front of him to vent his dissatisfaction with Hong Chengchou, but looking at Li Zicheng's understatement, he knew that the Metropolitan Governor must have some good way, "Metropolitan Governor ......"

"Haha, I know Yunshui is impatient," Li Zicheng first took a sip of tea, and said: "There is a way to attract Hong Chengchou's soldiers and horses as soon as possible!" ”

"The Metropolitan Governor ......" Liu Yunshui couldn't wait to immediately pick up his gun and get on the horse, "How to attract Hong Laojiu?" Do you want to hit Longzhou and attract Hong Laojiu's attention? ”

"Yunshui is worthy of being thick and fine," Li Zicheng laughed, "My method is to attract Hong Laojiu's people to the south, and then gather to annihilate them, Hong Laojiu has suffered such a dull loss, and he will definitely not give up!" ”

"Governor, my subordinates understand, do you let the cavalry harass them?"

"Harassment is fine, but harassment in the right place!" Li Zicheng took out the message passed by Wang Anping and said: "Yunshui, we must attract this Wang Yongxiang over, with the current mentality of the officers and soldiers to the advantage of thieves, he will definitely chase after him, and he will ...... at that time."

"At that time, we will concentrate our forces on destroying them!" Liu Yunshui clenched his fists and waved them in the air.

"It can't be completely annihilated," Li Zichengda smiled lightly: "If it is completely annihilated, who will go back to send a letter to Hong Laojiu?" Haha......"

"Hahaha...... The Metropolitan Governor said that he always had to leave a few errands for Hong Laojiu," Liu Yunshui read the message again, "No, Metropolitan Governor, where are these Wang Yongxiang's people?" ”

"An Ping is closely watching, and he will send the latest information," Li Zicheng spread out the marching map, "After Yunshui leaves Guguan, follow the northeast direction, look for Pingliang Mansion and Jingzhou, the number of people is not too much, one general flag is enough." ”

"The subordinates understand that there are too many cavalry, and I am afraid that Wang Yongxiang will be so frightened that he will retract into a turtle shell," Liu Yunshui smiled so much that only a small half of his eyes were left, but he said: "Dadu Dudu, what about the thieves who are being chased, do you want to ......" He suddenly turned pale, and his right hand went down!

Li Zicheng shook his head, "These thieves are not our enemies for the time being, so let them fend for themselves!" ”

He also wanted to take in some thieves, most of them were ordinary people whose families were poor and had no food, and Longyou still had extra land, so it was okay for them to cultivate, but once he took them in, he had to provide them with food.

The Mandate of Heaven Army is facing a large-scale war with the imperial court Shaanxi army, and it is still impossible to predict how long this war will last, and the number of thieves in Shaanxi is too much, the thieves are basically wandering, and everywhere they go, they will create a large number of new victims, I am afraid that even the imperial court cannot know how many hungry people are waiting to be fed now.

They really have no second way except to fight against the government and become new thieves, and at the same time create new disaster areas and create new disaster victims.

From this point of view, the imperial court suppresses bandits, unless all the victims are hunted down, otherwise, the thieves may be more and more, and the encirclement and suppression of the army is actually accelerating the famine!

Armies suppress bandits, thieves run around, create new wastelands, more victims, are forced to join the thieves, are slaughtered......

This is a dead knot that the court can't solve, and the thieves themselves can't solve it!

In the long run, there will be more and more natural and man-made wastelands in the country, more and more thieves, and less and less state revenue.

"The Metropolitan Governor ......" Li Yunshui saw that Li Zicheng was deep in thought, and he was at a loss for a while.

"It's nothing, Yunshui, you go, those thieves, like us, have no food to eat, so they were forced to embark on this road, we can't help them, forget it, don't fall into the well!"

"Yes, Metropolitan Governor, my subordinates understand!" Liu Yunshui saluted Li Zicheng before leaving the camp.

Li Zicheng waited in Guguan for two days, reading the information from all over the country repeatedly, and there was no special concern, and he was about to go to the city to take a look, He Xiaomi's wind and fire came in, "Metropolitan Governor, the ranger is back!" ”

"Ranger? Cloud Water Department? Li Zicheng's heart throbbed, but it was full of color.

"Exactly, he's just outside the gate, do you want to see it?"

"Let him in!"

Li Zicheng has been waiting for Ma Youshui's message, although there are also flying pigeons, but the general language is unknown, this time Liu Yunshui sent a ranger to report in person, and there should be the most detailed results.

It stands to reason that Wang Yongxiang is just a general under Hong Chengchou, his name is not known, and the number of people will not be too many, but Li Zicheng still has some expectations, as long as Wang Yongxiang is taken, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, will definitely not be calm, and the war between the Mandate of Heaven Army and the imperial court will officially begin.

In this way, as long as the war is over, even if it is just a temporary agreement, you don't have to wait in Guguan, Xining and Longyou still have a lot of things waiting for you.

Li Zicheng knows that if you want to openly reach an agreement with Hong Chengchou, I am afraid it will not be easy, in the history of the central country, the Ming Dynasty is the only dynasty that does not compromise with the enemy, as strong as the Han and Tang Dynasties, or to send the princess and relatives, but the Ming Dynasty has never had such an idea, if anyone dares to put it forward, who is the public enemy of the entire court.

What kind of court there is, what kind of generals will there be, how can this Hong Chengchou reach a reconciliation agreement with the Mandate of Heaven Army? What kind of concessions does the Providential Army need to make if an agreement is to be reached?

Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps, mixed with a slight metal impact, He Mi opened the door, and a soldier in Mingguang armor took two steps and knelt down in front of Li Zicheng, "Knock on the Grand Dudu!" ”

"No courtesy, sit down!" Li Zicheng has been facing the opposite seat.

"In front of the Grand Governor, how can there be a subordinate position!" After the ranger got up, he stood in front of Li Zicheng, "Just stand and talk to your subordinates!" ”

He Xiaomi put a glass of white water in front of him and glared at him, "The Metropolitan Governor asked you to sit down, how can there be so much nonsense?" ”

"It's been a hard run this way, brother," Li Zicheng glanced at the ranger, smiled faintly, and said, "It's really not like Yunshui's subordinates!" ”

"Subordinate...... Thank you, Governor! After the ranger thanked him, he dropped half of his butt on the seat, which was more uncomfortable than standing, but to be able to sit opposite the Governor was like drinking honey in his heart.

Li Zicheng took a sip of tea and said, "Where is Wang Yongxiang's department now?" ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, Wang Yongxiang's department is about thirty miles away from Longzhou, because they are all infantry, and they have to constantly pursue the thieves, and it will take about a day and a half to reach Guguan."

Li Zicheng spread out the marching map, found the location, nodded slightly, and said, "How many men does he have?" ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, Wang Yongxiang's department originally had more than 1,000 people, and now there are only more than 800 people in this way!"

"Only eight hundred?" Li Zicheng was slightly disappointed, "There are only eight hundred people, and you dare to run a long distance?" This Wang Yongxiang is not small! ”

Lord Liu also said the same, "The ranger saw that Li Zicheng was approachable, not as strict as the training ground at all, his buttocks were straightened on the seat, and he also showed a smile on his face, leaning forward and approaching Li Zicheng, "Don't hide it from the Metropolitan Governor, it took a lot of effort for my family to attract this fool!" ”

"Ao, tell me how Yunshui attracted him?"

"Lord Liu is worried about scaring Wang Yongxiang, every time he just lets a small flag appear, clearly helping the thieves, but in fact showing them the way, once the thieves lose their traces, the adults will leave a few pieces of horse manure on the way the thieves escape......"

"Hahaha......" Li Zicheng laughed, "This Liu Yunshui is really brave and resourceful!" ”

Even He Xiaomi, who had always been dumb and waiting on the side, laughed loudly and almost bent over with laughter.

"Oh, how many thieves are there? Where is it now? ”

"Back to Dadudu, there were originally two or three thousand thieves, but they were chased and killed by officers and soldiers along the way, and now there are probably more than 1,000 people left, most of them are strong men, the old and weak, women and children can't run fast, and they are gradually abandoned on the way......"

Li Zicheng's heart suddenly became heavy, for his own great cause, this dead thief was wronged, if it wasn't for Liu Yunshui to guide the officers and soldiers, maybe they wouldn't have died so much!

He thought for a moment and said, "Do you know whose subordinates these thieves are?" ”

"According to themselves, it's Zhao Sheng's subordinates who lit the lamp!"

Li Zicheng said: "Light the lamp? Isn't he dead? ”

"According to the thieves, the lamp is indeed dead, and this is the rest of him!"

"You go down first, go back and tell Yunshui, try to protect this gang of thieves!" Li Zicheng waved his hand to the rangers, but his heart was thinking about the future of these thieves.

The ranger was there for a while, and my lord was ...... However, Li Zicheng had already given the order, how could he, a ranger who had given orders, dare to raise objections? hurriedly agreed, saluted and went down with He Xiaomi.