Zhongmu, just after dawn, the defenders of Xicheng found three or four hundred people running in the distance, looking at the banner is their own people, there seems to be chasing soldiers behind the smoke and dust, these people shouted and asked to open the city gate when they arrived at the city, the accent is still a standard northern Shaanxi accent, the leader of the army looked down for a moment, and couldn't help but be happy.

"Hou Xiaohao, your baby is not in the Tiger Prison, what are you doing here in a hurry? Is your aunt chasing you? ”

"Ghost aunt, the official army is coming, I fought a bloody way to escape here, Ma Lao Wu, open the door quickly, there are chasing soldiers behind."

"Strange thing, Sun Chuanting is as timid as a mouse, and he dares to go out of Tongguan?"

"It's not Sun Chuanting's Shaanxi soldiers, it's Shanxi soldiers from Datong, Xingyang and Zhengzhou are lost, Ma Lao Wu, can you open the door? If you don't talk about friendship, I'm going to die and drag you on the road. ”

"It's strange, Shanxi soldiers dare to beat us!" Ma Lao Wu muttered and led people to open the city gate, grabbed Hou Xiaohao and wanted to ask a few words, but saw a middle-aged man smiling at him with his hands behind his back, Ma Lao Wu was stunned and asked in a low voice, "This big brother is so good-looking, which leader is he high?" ”

"Listen to the accent, you're a Mizhi person, what year did you join the guy? Oh, in the second year of Chongzhen, old brother, Uncle sweeping king Zhang Yichuan, I have one of the 36th camp conference of Hequ, have you heard of it? ”

The old thief is here, when the Hequ Conference was held, he was the leader, and I was a miscellaneous man, this guy is not dead yet-Ma Lao Wu was stunned in place and at a loss, Zhang Yichuan patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the people who gathered you listen to the master's teachings, what are you still doing in a daze, do you want the master to kill?" ”

Zhongmu County is not big, and after a while, more than 2,000 troops gathered outside the west city, and the city wall was changed to the Datong army wearing green cloth military uniforms and red tasseled felt hats. Zhang Yichuan ordered the army to disarm, and then began to make a lot of nonsense: We Yulinwei have heroes, not to mention the current President Li of the Datong Federation, that is, the Datong army in the eagle, mixed 100,000, scorpion block, mixed star, shot the sky and I sweep the king, which has poor qualifications, which has small ability, we don't dare to call the king, what is Li Blind, only a few days of pride on the self-proclaimed king, but also released the "eighteen main artifact" nonsense, as a result of the beginning of the year in Kaifeng was shot blind in one eye, deserved, this is called God's curse, you babies do not know the times, will definitely be unlucky with him in the future.

Zhang Yichuan scolded enough, and set fire to several towers in Zhongmu City, threw the captured knives, spears, and sticks into the fire, and swaggered away at noon, leaving Ma Lao Wuyi and his gang in a stupid daze.

Kaifeng, breaking into the army camp, Li Zicheng sat in the tent of the central army, and next to him sat the deputy marshal Luo Rucai, who had half-closed his eyes, and Niu Jinxing, a man from Baofeng County who defected to the army last year, sat with a paper fan shaking a paper fan, and Song Xiance, the military advisor, wiped his sweat while explaining the current military situation to the leader of the righteous army standing crookedly in the tent.

Song Xiance was embarrassed this time, it was his errand to collect military information, but it wasn't until Zhongmu City Tower was burned that he roughly figured out what was going on, but it's no wonder that he, Sun Chuanting, who had been guarding against Tongguan in the army, would have expected that the Datong army would suddenly insert a lever, and it would hit under his nose in three or five days.

Chuang Jun still understands some of the situation in Shanxi, and even rejoiced for a time - that naturalized uncle is a barbarian, dare to go against the imperial court, but he does not learn and has no skills, dismisses the official army, and drums up group training, which is equivalent to cutting off his siblings, letting the people go, and making decisions in the public will inevitably scatter people's hearts, not collecting land and protecting private property, which is tantamount to giving up financial resources, this is a troubled time, who can squeeze more oil and water from the people, who can dominate the world, this northern captive is too stupid. Niu Jinxing is knowledgeable, telling everyone that this is called inaction, and it must be good for the people, but we can't learn from the camp, there is a fool named Zhang Shicheng who did it like this, and died in the hands of the Ming Taizu, and also caused his subordinates to become cheap, and his children and grandchildren were bitches and poured toilets.

However, Beiyu definitely didn't want to fall into the life of his children and grandchildren as bitches and pouring the toilet, and they took the initiative to knock on the door, Song Xiance wiped the sweat from his forehead again, and said in a loud voice: "According to the detailed report, although the Datong army is menacing, even occupying Luoyang, Xingyang, Zhengzhou and other places, but the soldiers are outnumbered only 30,000 or 40,000, and they dare not defend in the middle of the city, they know that they are afraid, there are 300,000 people of our army under the city of Kaifeng, and the siege of the city to help the battle is even victorious, the morale of the whole army is high, just muster up enough courage to annihilate it, if this enemy is destroyed, then Henan, Shanxi is at your fingertips! ”

"The military advisor is right, now Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue are still breathing in Runing, Sun Chuanting can't shrink in Tongguan, Hou Sui is sitting and waiting to be killed in Huaiqing, Zuo Liangyu is hiding in Xiangyang, and tens of thousands of people in the Datong Military Region are rushing in alone, it is a good opportunity to eat them, and we will win this battle." Liu Zongmin shouted.

"Destroy the Datong Army and let me fight the vanguard, how can there be a reason to bully me and not fight back?" A tiger Li Guo patted his chest and screamed.

Li Zicheng nodded with satisfaction, turned his face to Luo Rucai and asked, "Brother Luo, you are Cao Cao of our righteous army, you have a good idea to talk about." ”

"Strategist, have you ever seen the iron cavalry of the Datong Army?" Luo Rucai opened his eyes and asked.

"See, there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands, just outside Xingyang City." Song Xiance hurriedly replied.

"It's only a few thousand iron horses, too little!" Luo Rucai snorted, more than ten years ago, he and Zhang Xianzhong, Ma Shouying were defeated by Li Yu in Yangcheng Guoyu, and also lost the lives of nine dragons and a gang of bandits, that battle made him fear of the Fengzhou army unabated, and felt the need to remind his accomplices, "What can the Datong army fight, especially the iron cavalry is the most powerful, I heard that Liaodong Jiannu is also afraid of them, although we have a large number of people, but the food and ordnance are in a panic, the brothers lack food, clothing, and weapons, and the common people drink two meals of porridge a day, and only have a wooden stick in their hands, How can you fight with the Datong Army like this? I think it's still the old way is good, when you gather and when you get together, you avoid the enemy's edge, and when you get together, you gather and annihilate the enemy, we turn it into zeros and go south to Huguang, first solve the problem of food and clothing, and this poor place in Henan will be lost to the Datong army, and when they can't stand it and go, we will come back again. ”

"Listen to what Brother Luo means, and you won't fight Kaifeng?" Li Zicheng's face was ugly, he guessed Luo Rucai's intentions, the fifth battalion of Gezuo and Zhang Xianzhong were in the Yinghuo Mountains at the junction of Huguang and Nanzhili, if Luo Rucai joined forces with these two, his strength would immediately increase, and he, the king of Chuang, would have to stand aside.

Luo Rucai is old and famous, although he took refuge in Li Zicheng and became the deputy marshal of the Righteous Army, but his Cao Ying and Li Zicheng's Chuang Camp have always been separate and eat separately, and the Righteous Army is actually a joint army of Chuang and Cao, and the people who broke into the camp have long been dissatisfied with this. Last year, Zhang Xianzhong suffered Zuo Liangyu's defeat, and he took refuge in the camp at the end of the road, Li Zicheng planned to take the opportunity to annex this guy, Luo Rucai not only gave Zhang Xianzhong a message, but also covered Zhang Xianzhong to find the fifth battalion of the left - this is simply eating inside and out, Li Zicheng was also very angry, and hinted several times that he handed over his men and horses so that the whole army could be deployed uniformly, but this guy turned a deaf ear, and today he openly called out.

"Of course I don't fight, Kaifeng has been surrounded by us four times, it is already a ruined city, I heard that the city has eaten human flesh, what's the use of grabbing it, you Lao Li is lucky, he has won a few battles in a row, if a strong army breaks the siege, what will we do to fight with others, I think the Datong army will not have a good time." Luo Rucai was also a little angry, he just wanted to be a thief in his duty, if he liked a woman, he would go to the house, and if he liked the property, he would move it home, and he was also righteous to his brothers, and he did not do less things to stick a knife in the ribs, when Li Zicheng went to Gucheng to seek refuge with Zhang Xianzhong, if there was no him, he would definitely be slaughtered by Zhang Xianzhong, it stands to reason that he does not hinder other people's affairs, but after Li Zicheng claimed to be the king, he wanted to do big things like a demon, and he also remembered his family background, this kind of person is too dangerous, he has long had the heart to get rid of Li Zicheng.

"Deputy Marshal Luo, Kaifeng must be fought, and the people must not be dispersed, I can defeat Fu Zonglong, Wang Qiaonian, Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, and I can defeat that Beiyu." Li Zicheng has a resolute attitude, it is his idea to open the seal, only in this way can he shake the world and pull more people under his banner, if he is frightened by tens of thousands of Datong troops and flees without a fight, won't the "Eighteen Sons Lord Artifact" become a laughing stock?

"Deputy Marshal Luo, Henan has been six or seven out of ten, our army is ten times the enemy, and gathering together can not only defeat the enemy but also protect itself. Niu Jinxing persuaded.

"Yes, dividing the army is to disperse, how easy it is to get together again, break the king, let's fight, I don't believe that 300,000 people can't contain tens of thousands of people." Henan Tukou Yuan Shizhong also said that his little Yuan camp is all locals, and he will definitely fall apart if he leaves his hometown.

Luo Rucai spat and closed his eyes again - the scholar has no good things, touting Li Zicheng as a bird, and comparing him to a little sparrow, and talking nonsense about "the main artifact of the eighteen", as a result, Lao Li was shot blind in one eye in the new year, wait and see, Lao Li will have to be fooled to death by them in the future.

Luo Rucai shut up, but his subordinates Ji Jue and Luo Dayong and a group of generals did not give up, pointing at Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Yuan Shizhong and a group of Henan people scolding, Liu Zongmin, Li Guo and others who broke into the camp immediately jumped up and scolded, and there was a lot of noise in the big tent, and Li Zicheng slapped the table for a long time to stop the quarrel.

"King Chuang, it's better to do this, I'll go to Xingyang and talk to them." Tian Jianxiu, the general of the camp, was a kind person, and said to Li Zicheng with his hand, while winking.

Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted - Chongzhen's four-year righteous army accepted Zhao'an in Zezhou, followed the Fengzhou army out of Tuntian, and walked to the Fen River He led the team to escape and was captured, Li Yu not only did not kill anyone, but also sent some food and weapons to let them fly away, Tian Jianxiu is a member of the old eighth team, and he knows all these things, and he misses the old favor in his heart and does not want the two families to fight. Li Zicheng thought about it and nodded in agreement, in fact, he was also very afraid of the Datong Army in his heart, and of course he couldn't ask for peace between the two families.

"General Tian, you tell that Beiyu, the number of Ming Qi has been exhausted, King Chuang is the destiny of heaven, if he is obedient, please sacrifice rice and thousands of stones, tribute horses, we have the world indispensable for his high-ranking officials." Niu Jinxing added, and Luo Rucai suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him like a fool.

Kaifeng is not far from Xingyang, Tian Jianxiu and Wu Ruyi of the Chinese army in the camp came back in three or five days, and when they saw Li Zicheng, they sighed with emotion - there are really many Yansui fellow villagers in the Datong Army, and they can hear the northern Shaanxi dialect everywhere, and they also entertained them to eat two meals of mutton noodle soup with the taste of their hometown, which is a bit of a feeling of returning to their hometown.

Tian Jianxiu was still reminiscing, and Li Zicheng was impatient: "Lao Tian, who have you seen them?" How did they reply? ”

"President Li has a lot of things, and he will be busy talking to us for a while, and he will send Zhang Mengcun and Hui Dengxiang to talk to us, and they are getting along well now...... forget it, people will ignore the conditions we proposed, and they will write you a letter without mud." Tian Jianxiu said a little frustrated.

Li Zicheng worked under Zhang Mengcun, the old eight team is the number given by Zhang Mengcun, Zhang Mengcun put on the old qualifications, and unceremoniously taught Li Zicheng not to be delusional in the letter, of course, the Ming Dynasty has exhausted his anger, but it is not his turn to sit in the world, if the prophecy of the "Eighteen Sons of the Lord Artifact" is true, it also refers to President Li, the Datong Federation is extremely powerful, and cleaning him up is like stepping on an ant, fortunately, the president is kind and generous, allowing him and Luo Rucai to bring their families and property to immigrate to Datong, and the two camps of Chuang and Cao are also received and resettled by Datong, I hope he will seize the opportunity to pull back from the precipice, and don't make mistakes again and again.

This is simply an order to surrender the army, Luo Rucai laughed when he saw the letter, Li Zicheng was so angry that his face turned pale, and he ordered the whole army to march west to meet the Datong army - not long after, the big camp sounded like a tsunami-like cheer, and the soldiers of the righteous army were full of confidence in the battle, and even the common people were counting on winning the battle to eat a few more full meals, and no one put the twenty or thirty thousand northern captives in their eyes.

In the middle of August, the rebel army under the city of Kaifeng poured out of the nest and surged westward, which was their old habit, and the battle must be numerous, and the opponent could be scared half to death without using his hands. The rebel army stretched for dozens of miles, advancing rapidly, and encountered the Datong scout cavalry near Zhongmu, the other party rode ** accurately, and there was a fire gun in his hand, and the rebel scouts were quickly defeated, but the rebels didn't care, while shouting loudly at the other party to get out, while waving the banner and continuing to move forward - Datong scout cavalry was a little confused, what kind of team is this, there are not a few pairs of armor, and the swords and spears are not complete, most of them are still ragged and barefoot walking people, they actually dare to fight with us!

Li Guo, the fierce general of the camp, led 50,000 people to fight the forward, marched to the west of Zhongmu County 30 miles and collided with the Datong army, Li Guo according to the previous style of play, did not hesitate to pounce on it, and beat the opponent back five or six miles in one breath, at this time, a large number of infantry and cavalry of the Datong army rushed to reinforce, Li Guo did not dare to chase again, beckoned the people behind to hurry up and follow, ready to attack in formation.

The reinforcements arrived, and the defeated Datong army did not panic, and regrouped in formation, Sun Shoufa looked at the defeated soldiers, and said to Xu Sheng and Sun Siwang without smiling: "You two have to take the lead, let the thieves rush back so quickly, don't brag next time!" ”

"It's not that I want to retreat, the thieves are pressed to kill a large area, we have a lot of recruits in the Shanxi Left Association, and we can't help but run backwards, who can shout!" Dadao Xu Sheng blushed and muttered.

"Our big synchronization association is similar, the recruits have never seen blood, and they are stunned when they see a lot of people on the other side, otherwise, you will press the formation in the back, and we will go up to fight again." Sun Siwang was still a little unconvinced.

"Forget it, I'll go up, you two follow the infantry on the left flank to cover, what do you think?" Sun Shoufa waved his hand, turned his face and asked Zhang Ding's opinion, both of them were lieutenant generals, and neither of them could give orders to the other party.

"Sun Dasheng, don't be reckless, there are too many people on the other side, so you should use more arrows to draw it." Zhang Ding, the commander of the Left Association of the Cavalry, reminded that Sun Shoufa was the first in Fengzhou, boasting that he was a whip saint, and got the nickname "Sun Dasheng".

The two sides restarted the fight, the strength of the breaking army was several times that of the enemy, not only from the front, but also sent out cavalry to outflank the two wings of the Datong army, eager to swallow the opponent into the stomach, the Datong army put on a zigzag formation, the infantry left association broke forward, the Shanxi left association and the large synchronization association were separated on both sides, blowing the military horn to advance together. The distance was getting closer and closer, Li Guo had just given the order to attack, and a rapid whistle came from the opposite side, and arrows and guns immediately shot like raindrops, and the intruders who had just rushed a few steps fell to the ground one by one. The bows and arrows and firearms of the invading army immediately returned fire, but a small number of broken bows and broken guns could not suppress the opponent, but attracted more violent blows, and the invading army had no armor and could only be beaten in vain. The front row of the Datong army is like a forest of spears, the back row throws a rain of arrows, and throws out pieces of fire and thunder from time to time, just like a man-eating monster with long thorns running rampant, the army has no strength, and is forced to retreat step by step.

"Brothers, work hard to kill all the thieves, bastards, do you practice five hundred spears a day, if you are afraid of seeing blood, close your eyes and stab forward." Sun Siwang really went out, took the spear to the front row and worked hard, while scolding his subordinates.

"Learn to be a little veteran, who dares to take a step back, Lao Tzu picks his skin." Xu Sheng was not idle, whisking in the team.

With the support of the Fengzhou soldiers, the Shanxi soldiers and the Datong soldiers became more and more confident, not only did they not take a step back, but gradually surpassed the infantry left association, and the Datong army became an inverted formation, and there was a great tendency to encircle and break into the army.

The army was still struggling to support, but the most elite cavalry was defeated first, and scattered in a hurry - most of the horses and mules in the rebel army were bandits, the most resolute in rebellion, the most well-equipped, and the most brave in battle, but they also had the right to run first in case of danger, which was the old rule, and it was said that it was to preserve the fire of rebellion. The cavalry of the Chuang army was taught a lesson by the cavalry Zuo Xie, and hundreds of people died in the fight, and the other party opened his mouth to speak the local dialect of northern Shaanxi, and kindly persuaded them to run away, and they didn't want to live if they beat down, and the old thieves listened to the words of their fellow villagers very much, and ran away first with a pat on their buttocks. The bandits slipped away, and the miscellaneous soldiers who used knives, spears, and wooden sticks as weapons had no intention of resisting and fled in all directions.

Li Guo did not dare to escape, and while asking Li Zicheng for help, he summoned the elite with weapons to fight to the death, but the Datong army did not seem to be in a hurry, and surrounded the righteous army but did not attack, but attacked with bows and arrows and firearms in turn, as if waiting for their blood to drain out.