"Reported, Liukou has crossed the Sixia River and entered the boundary of Yingcheng. Commander Zhang (Zhang Pan) failed to stop Liukou from crossing the river. ”

Zhu Shunming led the army to hang far behind Zhang Xianzhong, and followed the retreat of the Liukou army without hurry.

Zhang Xianzhong retreated with more than 30,000 men and horses, and Zhu Shunming only had two or three thousand people. Therefore, Zhu Shunming hung behind the Liukou army and dispatched Zhang Pan and Shi Xuanwei's troops to encircle Zhang Xianzhong's troops by the Zhuanshui River.

Zhu Shunming is not in a hurry, it is time for Zhang Xianzhong to be in a hurry.

………………

Zhang Xianzhong stored a large amount of grain and baggage on the ship, and was bombarded by Zhu Shunming and sank to the bottom of the river. Now the rations of the 30,000-strong army are in question.

When Zhang Xianzhong retreated, he went straight to the direction of Yingcheng. First, he boasted that he had an army of 30,000 and was not afraid of the attacks of the officers and soldiers; Second, there is not much grain and grass in the army, and if you don't return to Yingcheng as soon as possible, I'm afraid that the grain and grass will not be able to meet it. If there is a shortage of food, there is no need for the official army to attack, and the rogues themselves will be scattered.

The more the enemy wants something, the more he has to stop it. Liukou wanted to return to Yingcheng as soon as possible, and Zhang Pan naturally wanted to delay Liukou's retreat as much as possible.

As early as the beginning of the war, Zhu Shunming gave Zhang Pan great freedom and decision-making power, allowing him to lead his army outside and wait for opportunities to move.

Zhang Xianzhong's troops were huge, and the periphery was full of inconsequential homeless people, and Zhang Pan couldn't find a good opportunity for a while.

When Liu Wenxiu went out of the city to attack the Liukou camp at night, Zhang Pan also discovered this fighter. The two of them unanimously chose to attack in the early hours of the morning, played a beautiful match, and gave the rogue a heavy stick.

After that, the rogues strengthened their precautions, and Zhang Pan couldn't find the flaws of the rogues, so he had to continue to hide and wait for the opportunity.

When Zhang Pan's ghost was fighting with the natives in Yunnan, he was haunted and killed. Now in the face of the rogue, he can't find a chance to raid. It can be seen that Zhang Xianzhong's department is still somewhat capable in tactics.

The first hurdle on Zhang Xianzhong's retreat road was the Sixia River, which was more than 100 miles away from Wuchang.

The surface of the Sicha River is not wide, only about ten zhang. If there is a boat and a bridge, it can be easily crossed. It's a pity that Zhang Xianzhong's department not only has no tools to cross the river, but also lacks food, and he is followed by the ferocious wolf of Zhang Panzhong.

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong's troops retreated, Zhang Pan felt that the opportunity had come. The rogues did not move, and the camp of tens of thousands of people did not move. As soon as the rogue moves, the team pulls away, and the flaws will inevitably be exposed, and Zhang Pan's opportunity will come.

Because of the lack of food, the rogues had to scatter and go to the villages to grab food. The fighting raged, and most of the villagers fled into the mountains or into the villages of the landlords and squires to protect themselves.

The Liukou is powerful and fashionable, and there is no way to take these villages with deep and strict resistance and fierce resistance, and now they are like lost dogs, which will naturally attract the resistance of the landlords. Landlords who are bold or have a deep hatred for the rogue will take the initiative to attack the small number of rogue squads.

Zhang Pan's ghost shadow is even hidden around the Liukou, attacking the scattered Liukou.

Zhang Xianzhong sent hundreds of squads to grab grain, but few squads snatched back grain, and more squads disappeared, increasing casualties.

Zhang Xianzhong had no choice but to slaughter the few livestock and horses in the army, and the strong main force was supplied in limited quantities, and the old, weak, sick and disabled were given some bones and soup to hang their spirits.

When they arrived at Xin'andu on the Sichao River, Zhang Xianzhong's army was reduced in various ways, and only more than 20,000 people remained.

Xin'andu was originally a lively wharf market town, and thousands of sails were lined up on weekdays.

But with the flames of war, all the merchants and men fled without a trace, and the boats on the river were either requisitioned by Zhang Xianzhong or hidden. The wide, flat water was filled with only ripples of waterfowl.

"Tear down the house, tear down the trestle, find the water tank, the foot basin...... Anything that can float on the surface of the water, find it...... Lao Tzu crisscrossed the Central Plains for thousands of miles, and would he be stumped by this small Sixia River? Zhang Xianzhong said ruthlessly: "Even if you swim, you have to swim over." ”

Tens of thousands of people were dispatched to tear down a prosperous market town into ruins in less than a morning, and all the door panels, beams, and eaves boards were all tied into rafts, and water tanks, wooden basins and other materials were also used to swim across the river.

As for the weakness of not being able to cross the river...... Let him die! Zhang Xianzhong didn't care about the death of the outlying personnel at all. Perhaps phasing them out will also reduce food pressure.

………………

The officers and soldiers rarely did not harass at night, and Zhang Xianzhong's troops spent the calmest night since the retreat in Xin'andu.

As soon as the morning dawned, Liukou ate fish soup and wild vegetable porridge and began to rush across the Sixia River.

From time to time, there are rogues who are squeezed into the water, from time to time there are overloaded sampans that capsize, and from time to time there are rafts that fall apart...... The whole ferry crossing was a mess.

In early spring, the river is still a little cold and biting. The few rogues who fell into the water climbed ashore, shivering in the cold wind, hungry and cold, and did not know what the chances of survival were.

Zhang Xianzhong ignored the commotion of his subordinates and staged a human tragedy, but was worried about why the officers and soldiers who had been harassing the rogue army behind him these days did not appear? Could it be that the officers and soldiers knew that they could cross the river, and retreated in the face of difficulties?

Zhang Xianzhong himself does not believe in this assumption. If it is the army of Yang He, Chen Qiyu and others, the official army is divided into a system, and they do not command each other, and they will definitely stop in the face of superior rogues to retain their strength.

However, the army of Zhu Shunming, the defender of Wuchang, was obviously different from ordinary officers and soldiers, and was similar to the male soldiers under Cao Bianjiao, Lu Xiangsheng and other generals, and even more difficult.

Cao Bianjiao was brave and Lu Xiangsheng was tenacious, but Zhu Shunming's army was more cunning and greedy, and his style was unpredictable.

The general surnamed Liu, who defended the city, was as tough as a copper wall when defending, and he was resolute and decisive when attacking at night.

These days, the style of the officers and soldiers hanging behind the rogue army is strange and difficult, but they are even more unscrupulous and unscrupulous, sharp, fast and violent when attacking, and disappearing like wind and fog when retreating. How can there be such an army in the world?

There are also the Thunder Sailors who sank their ships in just half an hour, and the generals who guarded Dongcheng to withstand the fierce attack of Sun Kewang's tens of thousands of troops...... How did the little-known Zhu Shunming gather these generals with different styles and outstanding skills?

Zhang Xianzhong regretted it a little. If you had known that Huguang had a tiger like Zhu Shunming, why did you come to Wuchang to make this trip? It is better to go around in circles with Lu Xiangsheng in the Yunyang Mountains than to be beaten by Zhu Shunming in Wuchang Mansion, and he is embarrassed.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong did not know that Sun Kewang's army of 40,000 or 50,000 had already been disabled, Sun Kewang and Bai Wenxuan fled into Huangzhou Mansion with thousands of remnants, and even the general Ainengqi was captured by Wang Fuchen.

The soldiers around him rowed the paddles hard, seeing that the river bank was imminent, and the officers and soldiers who had been attacking and disturbing the Liukou still did not appear, Zhang Xianzhong's heart tightened even tighter.

The sampan at the front of the beach is less than two feet from the shore, and it will soon be able to rush to the shore. As long as he holds a stronghold on the bank, his 20,000 men can cross the river in a steady stream. Could it be that the official army really gave up? Zhang Xianzhong was suspicious.

"Boom ......"

The explosion set off a huge wave several feet high, and the sampan that rushed to the front was hit high by the huge waves and impacts, and fell heavily to the surface of the river, upside down on the water, and the rogue elites on the sampan were thrown out, and after several ups and downs in the huge waves, they disappeared into the turquoise river.

Finally appeared! Zhang Xianzhong's heart fell. The number of officers and soldiers must not be large, otherwise with the urine nature of the officers and soldiers, they would have attacked with great fanfare.