The White Lotus Sect Zhou Xiuying saw that although the official army on the other side was fierce and numerous, it was not at all as orderly as the "Ming Wu Army" under the command of Fang Cai Ji Qingwen, but it was like a headless fly that only knew how to rush around.

So Zhou Xiuying found a gap between the two armies, and when she saw this flaw, she took the lead and led Su Liu, Qi Yun and the "women's army" she personally recruited, like a silver needle embroidered by her daughter's family, piercing straight into this gap.

When the officers and soldiers saw that the White Lotus Sect was using women as vanguards, they were quite contemptuous, but they didn't expect that these women were extremely fierce in combat, just like tigresses descending from the mountain, using a very unreasonable way of playing, embedded between the junctions of the two official armies, and divided the already very loose formation into two halves, so that the officers and armies could not take care of each other.

When Xu Hongru saw that Zhou Xiuying had a successful blow, he did not hesitate and immediately waved his main force to help in the battle.

These White Lotus disciples are all sworn friends under Xu Hongru, who are deeply bewitched by the cult doctrine and stubbornly do not know how to die when they start a war, and when it comes to the current critical moment of "either you die or I live", they have even burst out with unparalleled combat effectiveness.

The defenders of Nanjing, as the opponent, were only temporarily transferred to quell the rebellion, and the soldiers had their own plans, and they had no intention of fighting to the death with the opponent.

These officers and soldiers were demoralized, and they quickly retreated after a slight attack. retreated in a very disorderly manner, lost his armor and abandoned his armor, and only hated his parents for missing two legs.

Under the elimination of the other's strengths, the morale of the White Lotus Sect was even stronger, as if they had forgotten the experience of Fang Cai's fiasco under the hands of the "Ming Wu Army", picked up the swords that the officials and soldiers threw on the ground at will, and chased after the officials and soldiers.

These swords, which have fallen into disrepair for a long time, and some of them have rusted and festered, but they are much stronger than kitchen knives and rolling pins. With serious weapons in their hands, the combat effectiveness of the White Lotus Sect has increased a lot, and under the leadership of several leaders, they redouble their efforts to chase after the official army.

As a result, there was such a strange scene in the city of Nanjing-

The White Lotus Cultists, who were supposed to be chased in mixed clothes, were actually holding the weapons of the official army, chasing the uniformly dressed imperial court soldiers and horses—although the clothes on these officers and soldiers were not much better than those on the White Lotus Cultists.

Xiong Mingyu, Han Zanzhou, and Liu Kongzhao, the three adults who led the official army, saw that the army under their command was driven down again by the White Lotus Sect members as soon as they made a little contact, and their hearts were suddenly filled with complex emotions mixed with resentment, shame, and anxiety.

In such a situation, if an experienced commander is an experienced commander, he will resort to heavy bounties and the killing of the defeated troops to restrain the army as much as possible and rebuild the confidence of the troops.

But these three officials now, one is a civil official from Jinshi, the other is a eunuch who served Emperor Chongzhen, and the other is a son of a family who is defeated by Jin Yuqi - none of the three has the experience of actually leading troops to lead the army, and in the face of such a situation, they can't come up with an effective way, so they can only helplessly watch the army retreat.

The White Lotus Sect disciples were getting closer and closer, and seeing that they were about to kill in front of these three commanders, Xiong Mingyu couldn't help but be a little scared, and hurriedly discussed with the two adults around him: "Two, two, the White Lotus Sect bandits are really too fierce. Looking at the lower officials, it seems that some kind of witchcraft was used...... Our army is unprepared, and it seems that it cannot resist......"

Han Zanzhou and Liu Kongzhao are also two old foxes in the officialdom, so they naturally know the intention of Xiong Mingyu to say two sentences, but they are unwilling to echo the statement, so they only nod their heads quietly.

Xiong Mingyu had no choice but to continue: "Two adults, it seems that our army can't support it anymore, why don't we retreat first, order the city gate to be closed, and then come to him to catch turtles in an urn?" ”

The battle was going on until now, and the three dazed officials remembered to close the city gates.

However, although Xiong Mingyu said these words thoroughly, Han Zanzhou and Liu Kongzhao only listened to the first half of the sentence, and did not realize the painstaking work of this Nanjing military department secretary.

I only heard Liu Kongzhao say: "What Lord Xiong said is extremely true, I think that Lord Xiong's temporary retreat is just a strategy to delay the army, and there will be a clever plan to turn defeat into victory in the future." ”

Han Zanzhou also said: "The miscellaneous family is not familiar with military affairs, but it is just a sitting. Xiong Shangshu is full of military books, and this deployment must have the intention of Lord Xiong. The miscellaneous family is willing to take Lord Xiong as the head of the horse. ”

The two of them touted it falsely, and it was true that they put the blame on Xiong Mingyu.

Xiong Mingyu is also an old fritter who has been up and down in officialdom for decades, how could he not hear the meaning of these two people's words?

However, now that the situation is urgent, it is too late to fight a quick boxing, and I use kung fu to practice the unhurried routine of Tai Chi.

So Xiong Mingyu gritted his teeth and said, "Since the two adults have no opinions, then I'll take a break and see how the White Lotus Sect bandits move, okay?" ”

Han Zanzhou and Liu Kongzhao were waiting for Xiong Mingyu's words, and immediately nodded in agreement, and immediately left the battlefield and retreated to a safe place under the escort of his cronies.

But they were so busy fleeing for their lives that none of them thought of sending a herald to inform the guards of Nanjing to close all the gates......

With the departure of these three adults, the defenders of Nanjing were even more crushed, and ran along the alleys crisscrossing the city.

Xu Hongru was overjoyed when he saw this, with five points of happiness and five points of regret, and said: "I knew that the defenders of Nanjing were so vulnerable, so why did the deity have to wait until today?" If you start the matter one day earlier, you will succeed one day earlier, and maybe you will have won half of the Ming Dynasty by now. ”

Zhou Xiuying, who was beside him, was shocked when he heard this, thinking that Xu Hongru had some other plans, so he hurriedly advised: "Daddy's words are good, but now that Ji Qingwen's 'Ming Wu Army' is established, we are not their opponents for the time being." Now it's better to follow the original plan and withdraw from the city is the best strategy! ”

Xu Hongru smiled to himself: "Hey, I'm just talking casually." Now there is a wall in front of us, and how to run through the gate to the outside of the city is a problem......"

Before he finished speaking, Xu Daoqing walked up quickly and hurriedly said, "Sect Master, Ji Qingwen is attacking here!" ”

Xu Hongru was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly looked behind him, and sure enough, he saw that the big banner embroidered with the three golden characters of "Ming Wujun" was moving towards him unhurriedly-Sure enough, it was Ji Qingwen who came.

Xu Hongru had just fought with Ji Qingwen, and he was apprehensive about the combat effectiveness of his group of soldiers, so he didn't have time to think about it before passing on the order: "Hurry, go quickly, don't let Ji Qingwen, this little thief, catch up!" ”

Zhou Xiuying was afraid that if Xu Hongru left like this, these Tianzun disciples would lose their backbone, and they would scatter, so she hurriedly suggested: "Daddy, it's not okay to walk around like this." I am willing to lead the female disciples under me to break off, and it is good to block Ji Qingwen for a while. ”

Xu Hongru was still a little reluctant to take Zhou Xiuying's risk, and said: "No, your 'women's army', I still have to keep it for the time to hit the city gate, why don't you let Daoqing lead the army to the queen of the palace?" ”

Xu Daoqing listened to the shock-he was the one who fought with Ji Qingwen the most among the three, and his understanding of the combat effectiveness of his army was also the most intuitive and profound, and he knew that his so-called "palace queen" task was too dangerous, and it was almost to the point of "sending him to death".

However, this Xu Daoqing has a good impression of Zhou Xiuying, if he is afraid of the enemy now, he will fall in front of this "daughter" who is deeply trusted by Xu Hongru, so he can only grit his teeth and agree: "Okay, just ask the sect master to allocate two thousand elite soldiers to me, and I will definitely stop Ji Qingwen, this little thief, for the sect leader and the holy woman!" ”

Zhou Xiuying waved her hand: "Now is not the time to argue about this matter." Xu Daoqing, you still have to protect your father, and then leave the matter to me! ”

Saying that, Zhou Xiuying didn't wait for Xu Hongru to agree, so she ordered the remaining female disciples of the "Women's Army" to turn around on the spot, looked in the direction that Ji Qingwen had advanced, and turned her head and said: "Daddy, there is me here, don't worry, it's better to open the city gate quickly, I will naturally come over to answer ......."

Xu Hongru pondered for a moment, finally made up his mind, said the word "go", and led the army out of the city without looking back.

He had made up his mind to sacrifice Zhou Xiuying, but he didn't expect such a helpless decision, and in the end he not only saved Zhou Xiuying's life, but also his own life.