After Luo Dayong, Yuan Zongdi, and Lin Yangcheng sent the letter to the three, Jingzhou immediately responded, Li Zicheng sent Tian Jianxiu, Luo Rucai sent Ji Jue, and Ma Shouying sent He Yilong to Jingmen - in fact, the righteous army was more anxious for peace talks, Jingzhou and Xiangyang were cut into two sections at one end and one end was uncomfortable, Niu Jinxing was a little worried that the peace talks would shake the hearts of the army, but they didn't dare to say more when they found that the generals' faces were wrong, and the peace talks were successfully decided, and the three families also sent important people.

Tian Jianxiu and the three of them entered the camp of the Datong Army, and first asked to go to Jingmen, the more than 20,000 people trapped there are the elites of each family, but they can't be missed, Zhang Zhiyao, who received them, agreed, and said that the captured rebels have been released, and there are almost 30,000 people in Jingmen.

Jingmen city is so lively, the city gate is wide open and people come and go, the military uniform of the Datong army with red clothes, blue pants and white felt hat is too conspicuous, you can see them and the soldiers of the righteous army laughing together everywhere, some people even sit on the city wall to smoke and play cards, and a few grass huts have been set up outside the city, and the officers on both sides are sitting together eating and drinking - Tian Jianxiu immediately understood that the battlefield has been changed to a fellow townsman's association, this kind of thing has happened in the war with the official army before, as long as the officials don't care, the soldiers will naturally get together when they hear the familiar accent, to be honest, the righteous army has taken a big advantage from it, If it weren't for the fellow villagers in the official army who secretly released water, they would not have survived today.

Luo Dayong, Yuan Zongdi, and Lin Chengcheng had cigarettes in their mouths, and they were eating with oil in their mouths - the main force of the Datong Army returned to Zhongxiang, Zhang Yichuan, Xiao Sigui and others held a reception, and the three of them immediately went out of the city to the banquet, and when they saw Tian Jianxiu and others, they also beckoned a piece to the table, and everyone praised the chef for making a good sheep road while eating, which was exactly the same as the flavor of his hometown. He Yilong was addicted to smoking, and he was cheeky to ask for cigarettes, his old acquaintance Zhang Yichuan casually handed over a bag of top-grade ginseng cigarettes, and Tian Jianxiu quietly stretched out his thumb to Yuan Zongdi, smart enough, Jingmen can't be defended at all, and it is safest for the two armies to mix together.

There are so many Yansui people in the Datong Army, you can hear the northern Shaanxi dialect anytime and anywhere, and there are constantly people invited to dinner, Tian Jianxiu and others soaked on the wine table for two days, remembering that it was time to do serious things, but when they saw the other party's peace talks, they couldn't help laughing - Hui Dengxiang, Zhang Yichuan, and Xiao Sigui have all been thieves, and even Zhang Zhiyao is also a thief, how did everyone get together!

Chaotianxing Hui Dengxiang is the oldest, Chongzhen three years of the Hequ Conference, he is one of the leaders of the thirty-six families, unceremonious to the younger generations, first scolded a few righteous generals - look at what you have done over the years, where to go, you are simply locusts, bastards of the court, you are not a good thing, you have lost the face of the people of Yulin, according to Lao Tzu's temper, you must have killed you, count your luck, Datong people believe in Buddhism and taboo killing, reward you with a way out, and change your life as soon as possible so as not to be unlucky in the future.

"Chaotianxing, your old bottom can't hide it from me, don't be so arrogant, you are lucky to meet the naturalized uncle, change my eyes, better than you," He Yilong is one of the seventy-two leaders of the Xingyang Conference, and his qualifications are not shallow, of course he is not convinced, and he shouted angrily, "Since it is a peace talk, why do you rely on the old and sell the old, don't think that we don't know, Dongyu is calling, and the naturalized uncle is going to Qinwang, but we are not in a hurry, and we will continue to fight if the talk is not good." ”

"That's it, if you want to negotiate peace, you have to be sincere, we don't read much but we also understand the truth of serving the country, we resolutely support the fight against the East, please give a name to the naturalized uncle, and we will also send troops." Ji Jue shook his head and said.

"If you want a name and then you want to be paid, and then you want to settle the old camp on a site, and then you will not be a thief, and you can also use our banner to strengthen your strength, I guessed your mind, when we are fools! If you want to nominate it, you can accept the integration first. Whitden yelled.

Xiao Sigui sneered: "It's good to serve the country loyally, we will send you to Liaoxi." ”

"No, you want to borrow a knife to kill someone." The generals of the rebel army replied in unison.

Datong people burst into laughter, and Zhang Zhiyao said: "Actually, you didn't think about fighting Dongyu at all, and it is true to use the opportunity of peace talks to gain territory and expand your strength, okay, anyway, it is the territory of the Ming Kingdom, we don't care, tell me what you think." ”

"We want the west of Hanshui," Tian Jianxiu opened his mouth and said, but he also felt that it was too much, and said with a smile on his face, "In fact, we have suffered a big loss, the Datong army cannot stay in Huguang for a long time, and the official army is too weak, as long as Guihua Bo leaves Huguang, the east of Hanshui is also ours." ”

"No, I can only give you Xiangyang Mansion, I want to do a good job, Naturalized Bo left Huguang, but I can stay with Tianxing, and it happens to be in Hanyang without mud, how about we compete?" Whitden replied with a sneer.

"Fight, fight, who's afraid of whom!" The rebel general shouted.

The two sides did not give in to each other, and quarreled for a day over the territory issue, and at night, everyone was called to the handsome tent, Li Yu and Du Wenhuan were waiting inside, Zhang Zhiyao whispered a few words, Li Yu coldly glanced at the general of the righteous army and slowly spoke.

"The Donglu front is approaching the Yellow River, I must lead the army north as soon as possible, you are right, the Datong army cannot stay in Huguang for a long time, but I tell you, Huguang must be stable, this is related to the food problem of Datong's five million people, including the 300,000 Yansui people who moved to Fengzhou, those who dare to cause trouble in Huguang will be killed, I come once a year in autumn, at most three years can quell the chaos, if you don't believe it, you can try it," Li Yu's eyes were murderous, staring at Tian Jianxiu and the others lowered their heads and did not dare to say anything, and then waved their hands and said, "You want the west of Hanshui, Okay, I'll give it to you, if the imperial court invades, I can still sell you weapons, but there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the east of the Han River, you are absolutely not allowed to step across the Han River, and Jingmen can't give it to you, Zhong Xiang on the opposite side has the emperor's ancestral tomb, which can be regarded as giving the court a face. ”

"You go back and tell Li Zicheng, don't always want to be the king and dominate the world, solving the people's food and clothing is the foundation of government, we will keep an eye on him, if the people are still living in his hands west of the Han River, then he will wait for death." Du Wenhuan continued.

Zhang Zhiyao wrote the contract, Tian Jianxiu and others didn't dare to talk much, and signed their names crookedly, and the rebels easily got a large piece of land, but they couldn't get excited, and they always felt that Li Yu's knife was on their necks. Li Yu took the appointment letter to find Song Yihe, scared Song Yihe's face white, and slowed down for a while before he said solemnly: You can't lose an inch of Daming's territory, your peace with the thieves is completely illegal, Daming does not participate, does not accept, does not execute, and then asks Li Yu to pay back the money - Du Laoshuai looted the treasury and county treasury, and he became a poor egg.

Li Yu scoffed, it's good for me to keep the east of Hanshui, you have the ability to grab it back by yourself, pay back the money, don't think about it! I will guard Zhongxiang for you, you should pay for it.

After quelling the thieves, Li Yu ordered all the departments of the Datong Army to assemble at Wusheng Pass, and the 20,000 people of the left battalion and more than 100,000 people who volunteered to Tuntian were handed over to Hui Dengxiang, and he hurried to Hanyang, Song Yihe and Li Zhensheng saw that Li Yu was gone, and immediately ran to Wuchang.

Hanyang, Li Yu returned to the prefect's yamen, a group of officials immediately surrounded and complained, since the Huguang gentry and the court officials merged, Datong people were hindered by identity restrictions, and the claws that originally stretched out to the south of the Yangtze River were forced to retract - Datong is indeed a little dirty, Wang Fang is the leader of the White Lotus Sect, Zhang Mengcun was a thief and a giant thief, the two of them have not waited for the court's amnesty for more than ten years, Mao Yuanyi and Yang Tinglin are sent to the body, and they have encountered several amnesties but forgot to ask the government for a pardon document, Fan Erxi is more troublesome, and the crime of fornicating with the Qing country is extremely evil, The name of the court in the morning of the sea fishing documents, the most funny is the former Baoding governor Yang Wenyue, after the loss of Runing, the court issued an edict to arrest this guy who escaped from the battle into Beijing to ask for the crime, scared him to hide in the prefect's yamen and did not dare to go out a step. These people are rampant in their own territory, and they are likely to have lawsuits in Wuchang, Zhou Xuan and Liu Wenzhong can move around casually, but one is a convicted embezzler, and the other is a eunuch who has been released, and Shen Tingyang and Jia Jingzong, who are businessmen, are not treated by Wenchen and gentry, and the king of Chu is busy selling his property and preparing to run away, and it is difficult for the Datong forces to intervene in Wuchang, and they are completely out of control south of the Yangtze River.

"I don't care about the south of the Yangtze River, what is the situation of the three prefectures of Hanyang, De'an, and Huangzhou that we control?" Li Yu waved his hand to interrupt the officials' complaints.

Zhou Yi resigned from Datong to Hanyang, nominally as an ambassador for trade and commerce, but in fact the prime minister was in government, and said: "I Datong recruited 300,000 people to guard Tuntian, plus the people brought by the president from Zhongxiang, there are more than 500,000 ah, we have also opened dozens of businesses in Hanyang, among which the iron factory, cloth factory, and mud factory have been opened, and the Hanyang silver banknote store and debt office are now a little cold, but it will be good in the future, we have money, people, and weapons, and the land of Sanfu has been firmly in hand." ”

"500,000 people, how to solve the rations? A lot of people must have died this winter. Li Yu asked again.

"More than two thousand old and weak people have died, it's good to have spring, we have this," Zhang Mengcun nodded, took out two red bumps from a broken pocket and handed them to Li Yu, "President, you taste it, it's still sweet, there is this thing in the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration", the yield is large and it is easy to plant, not worse than yam eggs, it is said to be passed from Taixi, everyone calls it sweet potato." ”

"Well, good stuff!" Li Yu picked it up and gnawed it, and casually stuffed one into the hand of the King of Chu, "Your Highness, you can also taste it, Wuchang is much better than Datong, and it is your hometown, I think you will stay and preside over the Huguang Bureau." ”

"I'm not stupid, the court can't spare me when I come back, and the thieves will kill me when they come, leaving behind a sure dead end, this king is more than 70 people, and I still want to live a few days at ease, if you naturalize and leave, I will go." King Chu said without hesitation.

"Hermes-Epitek, I have already sent my family to Shanxi, and I will go with you." Yang Wenyue also shouted.

King Chu and Yang Wenyue wanted to run away, Jia Jingzong and a group of businessmen and landlords were also clamoring to flee for their lives, at least let their son bring part of the family property to Shanxi, Zhou Yi's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled business, persuading everyone to deposit the cash into the silver banknote store in exchange for flying tickets, that thing is most suitable for rich people to immigrate, a small piece of paper can be exchanged for silver banknotes and silver coins when it enters Shanxi, which is simply too convenient.

The hall was bustling and chaotic, Wang Fang stood up angrily, pointed at Huguang and shouted: "You only care about your own net worth and property, what should Huguang do?" Is it lost to the government and thieves, I have long said that Huguang must be revolutionary, and only revolution can expel the power of the imperial court, cut off local bullies, unite people's hearts to exterminate the thieves, and return the people to a peaceful world. ”

"Nonsense, Wang Fang, it was you who scared the gentry away by shouting for revolution, this is a troubled time, everyone wants to protect their families and lives, and fools will rebel with you." Zhou stunned and stomped his feet and scolded.

"Shut up! Wang Fang, you come back to Datong with me," Li Yu slapped the case and shouted, then waved his hand to let everyone sit down, and said after a moment of silence, "We are too trusted, the sixteen prefectures of Huguang are vast, and the strength of Datong cannot be controlled at all, I have thought clearly on the road, the separation of the family is not necessarily a bad thing, the signboard of the Joint Defense General Bureau will be given to Wuchang, and the affairs of Jiangnan will be at their own convenience, we will set up Jiangbei Xingtai, and govern the three prefectures of Jiangbei in accordance with the law of Datong. ”

"I don't do it," Zhou shook his head, pointed to Zhang Mengcun, Yang Tinglin and others, "They don't listen to me." ”

"Ben Shuai stays in Hanyang to support you, Nangui, you just have to be bold." Du Wenhuan waved his hand at Zhou Su.

"That's it, you don't have to worry, it's not so easy for anyone to move the three prefectures in Jiangbei, I will leave the four generals Ma Xianglin, Cao Bianjiao, Hu Dawei, and Wang Guangen, and form a new army for you according to the Datong military system." Li Yu nodded, beckoned to Fan Erxi and walked out of the lobby together.

Li Yu entered the study, flipped out a map and looked at it for a while, and asked Fan Erxi in a low voice, "Where are the eight kings at present?" ”

"It's hard to say, this guy only has a thousand people around him, and he often changes hiding places, and he is probably in the mountains near Qishui at present." Fan Erxi pointed to the map and replied.

"With Qizhou as the center, send your eyes and ears to closely monitor all key roads, and by the way, release the news of our army's northward march."

"Is the president going to do anything about this thief? I'm afraid it's too late. ”

"Take a gamble and see if my luck is good, or is it the luck of the Eight Kings?"

The news of Li Yu's plan to split up reached Wuchang, and the gentry of the General Bureau of Joint Defense were anxious, to be honest, the market merchants and rural landlords were not all the way to them at all, and they were in the same boat as the officials from the imperial examination, but the problem was that Song Yihe and Li Zhensheng came back alive, and now it was troublesome, in the good days when there were no governors and patrols, they did not do less officials and gentry colluding to deceive the imperial court, leaking taxes, and violating the law and disorder. I heard that Zhang Xianzhong, a giant who fled back to Huguang, and their lives were also in danger, the officials and soldiers definitely couldn't count on it, and it was more realistic to ask for Datong's protection. These guys made a fuss in Hanyang, told Li Yu that they would never agree to the separation, and also moved the General Defense Bureau back to Hanyang.

Li Yu talked a lot about the truth that the family must be divided, refused to let go, and also publicized the agreement reached with Li Zicheng, and the gentry were even more anxious, and loudly warned Li Yu not to believe the words of the thieves.

"Of course I don't believe in thieves, thieves are thieves, and they will be thieves in another hundred years, and they will definitely be ready to move when I leave, but I have bought you some time." Li Yu replied lightly.

"Naturalized uncle, since you are the prime minister of Henan and Huguang to suppress thieves and military affairs, you can't abandon us Huguang people!" Yin Ruweng shouted hoarsely.

"We are abandoned, you know that the thieves must appease the displaced people and raise food and wages, but you are mixed with the court officials, ignoring hundreds of thousands of Tuntian people, ignoring my Datong army, I'm sorry, we are not family members, you go to the officials and soldiers." Li Yu replied angrily.

"Uncle Naturalization, the old man asks you, how can you protect my Huguang?" He Fengsheng asked a little angrily.

"You have to pay the price!" After Li Yu finished speaking, he turned his head and left.

The next day, Li Yu left Hanyang with the Flying Tiger Battalion, and before leaving, he sent a letter to Song Yihe, warning him to support Tuntian, the three prefectures of Jiangbei, which was a great plan to stabilize Huguang.

Qizhou, at this time the sky is not yet dawn, the county is sleeping, from the northeast of the Qilin Mountain out of a group of people, they did not light the torch, but stumbled all the way to the bottom of the city of Qizhou.

"Lao Xu, are the Beiyu from Datong really gone?" A burly man in the crowd whispered.

"It's true that I'm gone, I've seen them cross the Han River with my own eyes, and it's already the fourth day," the middle-aged man surnamed Xu looked like a scholar, and said a little anxiously, "King, the brothers have had enough of hiding in the mountains, and if there is no more food and salary, the army's heart will be scattered, let's fight, let's take the big city of Qizhou, and hopefully, Wenxuan They will come to meet when they hear the news, and we can regroup." ”

"Let's do it!" Zhang Xianzhong nodded, the military advisor Xu Yixian was right, the righteous army lost in Qianshan and broke through, each hiding in the mountains to live hard, only a big victory can reunite people's hearts, Qizhou is a good target.

The thieves lit torches at the same time, and frightened the officers and people in the city, and desperately beat the gong to call for reinforcements, but the city gate suddenly opened, and the thieves poured in under the answer of the dark line, and then the fire was everywhere, and the cries rang out, and at dawn, the city wall and the six gates fell into the hands of the thieves. The massacre and robbery began, the thieves and the ruffians in the city quickly merged, burned everywhere, Jingwangfu and the big families in the city were looted, the people refused to obey the thieves were also killed, and the corpses in the city of Qizhou were all over the place, crying and shaking the sky, as if falling into hell.

In the afternoon, Zhang Xianzhong was lying on King Jing's soft couch and had lewd fun, and the little minions stumbled in to report the emergency - a cavalry with the flying tiger flag suddenly entered Dongcheng, the brothers were caught off guard, and they couldn't stand it, the king ran quickly, there were Hu cavalry in that team, and it must be the northern captives of Datong.

Zhang Xianzhong's brain buzzed, kicked away the woman next to him, pulled his legs and ran out, he knew the strength of that team best, and he still remembers the beating he was beaten when he was captured. Zhang Xianzhong didn't dare to fight hard, so he pulled up his accomplices and fled—the other party rode in pairs, rode accurately, and had a fire gun in his hand, and he would die faster if he dispersed and broke through, and only by twisting into a force to rush forward and enter the Phoenix Mountain in the southwest would be safe.

The thieves rushed out of Qizhou City not far away, they were caught up by the Datong Iron Cavalry, the other party formed an inverted zigzag, clamped them to the west, when the sun was westward, the thieves really couldn't run, and were compressed on the Yangtze River side surrounded on three sides.