"It's not easy!" Yuan Zongdi said with a smile: "The officials of the imperial court are all eggless goods, such as that Xiong Wencan, who is afraid of being soft and bullying. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info like the common people are eager to pick up the skin and cramp, to us like bed bugs to suck blood, like Liu Cheng's guy, can fight and dare to fight, so he doesn't dare to do anything with them; ”

"Hahaha!" Hearing Yuan Zongdi's words, everyone in the hall laughed, and Li Zicheng said: "What Han Ju said is a bit excessive, but there is some truth in it, but in my opinion, the imperial court is still counting on Liu Cheng to fight Dongyu, and he doesn't dare to tear his face at this time, it's like perfunctory about this matter!" ”

"What King Chuang said is very true!" Song Xiance said with a smile: "According to what I can see, the court originally wanted to lay down a shadow in the future, so as to prepare for Liu Cheng to pacify the East in the future, so as not to lose his tail, and go to a wolf and a tiger, but I didn't expect Liu Cheng's hand to be so spicy, and he directly ate this shadow." Although the imperial court has now covered up this matter, the suspicion between the two sides has been buried. Liu Cheng knows that the imperial court can't trust him, and the imperial court also knows that Liu Cheng is not the kind of person who honestly bows down to orders, what do you think is the result of this? ”

"Sooner or later, there will be a battle!" Li Zicheng replied without hesitation, he who had been a prisoner of Liu Cheng probably understood this person's ambition better than everyone present, and his answer was extremely certain.

"Shine!" Song Xiance clapped his hands and said, "Since there will be a battle between these two sides sooner or later, then why should we care about that silver?" As long as Liu Cheng is reversed, the imperial army's army in the Central Plains will inevitably go north, and at that time, King Chuang is not the sky high and the birds fly, and the water depth depends on the leap of the fish? Xiong Wencan's life is in the pocket of an adult, let alone a little silver? ”

"Mr. Song, do you mean to let us be patient for a while?" Li Guo asked.

"Yes, Liu Cheng is different from Dongyu, he was originally a general of the imperial court, served as a general in Yansui and Xuanda Town, and has a good understanding of the situation of the border army and the Central Plains, and has a good relationship with various departments outside the Saiwai. If he and the imperial court make a move, I am afraid that they will not hold each other in Liaodong for a long time like Dongyu. ”

"What do you think?" Li Guo asked.

"Just like An Lushan and Shi Siming, they drove straight into the two capitals!"

"What? Straight into the two capitals? It's unlikely, right? Li Guo and Yuan Zongdi gasped, they may not know about the Anshi Rebellion, but Song Xiance still knows the two capitals in his mouth, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is divided into two capitals and thirteen provinces, and the north and south capitals each have a set of government teams. If it is like what Song Xiance said, then the Ming Dynasty will basically be finished. Although they are anti-thieves, but the ancestors of several generations are the people of the Ming Dynasty, subconsciously still feel that the Ming Dynasty is an unshakable behemoth, not to mention that in the three hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, although there are frequent thieves outside the country, there is only one loss of the north and south capitals, or the battle of the Yongle Emperor.

"Why is this impossible?" Song Xiance sneered: "Do you think that there are elite soldiers on the nine sides, the kings of the provinces, and the city defense is strong, so Liu Chengcheng can't take the north and south capitals?" ”

Li Guo and Yuan Zongdi glanced at each other and nodded, many of the thieves in Shaanxi were from the border army, and they were very clear about how strong the northern frontier defense of the Ming Dynasty was. Facing the silent questioning of the two, Song Xiance smiled slightly, he removed the clutter on the table, and put down a teapot casually: "This is Jingshi, this is Shanhaiguan, Zunhua, Datong, here is Tongzhou, here is Nanjing ......"

He put the teacups and teapots on the table one by one, dipped some tea with his fingers, and drew a few lines on the table to represent Yanshan, the Yellow River and other important mountains and rivers. After the arrangement was completed, Song Xiance pointed to the map: "The imperial court has set the capital of Youyan, with Liaodong as the right arm and Xuanda as the left arm. And Liu Chengcheng is the general soldier of Datong, and he has another broken arm. Once he got into trouble, he could divide his troops into two routes, go all the way south through the Wuding River Valley, and break through the Bauhinia Pass to reach the city of Beijing; In addition, go all the way to the grassland, take Da'an, Longjing Pass, or Juyong Pass, Dushikou. These two fast horses can reach the city of Beijing in only three or four days, even if there is Qin Wangjun, how can they be in time. ”

"The city wall of Beijing is high and thick, and there are still troops in western Liaoning, and the iron cavalry of Ning can send troops to rescue!" Li Guo retorted.

"General Buzhi, the Jingshi Pass is on the periphery, and if the soldiers come to the city, it will be a big deal. If nothing else, where do the hundreds of thousands of people in the city come from? What's more, if Liu Cheng dared to go south, he would naturally come up with a way to contain the troops of Liaoxi, how could he expect that. ”

"Even so, what about the army of King Qin in the provinces and the defenders of the nine sides? Even if Liu Cheng wins the Jingshi, these places will not sit idly by, right? ”

"I'm afraid not!" Song Xiance sneered: "If the Son of Heaven can escape, it's okay, if not." Speaking of this, Song Xiance stopped when he heard it, laughed dryly, and everyone understood the implication of his words, even the emperor is gone, the dragons are leaderless, whether it is the nine sides, or the provinces, it is difficult to even defend himself, where is there still the heart to make it difficult with Liu?

"What about Nanjing? There is a capital over there, and there will be another son of heaven. Li Guo asked.

Song Xiance said with a smile: "Everyone knows that the elite of the imperial court are all in the nine sides, but the wealth is based in the southeast. If the Beijing division is finished, the soldiers on the nine sides will be out of pay, and the soldiers will be scattered if they are not paid, and there is no need for Liu Cheng to send troops to fight, and the soldiers on the nine sides will be finished. Liu Cheng was born in the border army again, and he worked in both Yansui and Xuanda, and with his ability, he used force to suppress with one hand, and set up a new dynasty with the other hand, and it was not difficult to win over most of it. and then waved his army to the south, but it was just a matter of Gu Jian, if the small court in the south couldn't stop this, it would be overturned. But now it's a chance to break into the king! ”

"My chance?" Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and immediately understood: "Mr. Song, didn't you say that the imperial court was going to let me resist Liu Cheng at that time?" ”

"Yes, as the saying goes, Wu Yue is in the same boat. Wu Yue is the enemy of the world, but he can be in the same boat, sailing on the river and encountering strong winds and waves, and he also has to fight against the wind and waves. It is not that the feud between Wu Yue has been resolved at this time, but that there is a bigger trouble just around the corner. Although Xiong Wencan and the others now regard us as thieves, but at that time, Liu Cheng's knife was in the throat, didn't they come to beg us! ”

"I see!" Yuan Zongdi slapped his thigh suddenly: "Mr. Song, you want us to be patient a little and wait for Liu Cheng to fight with the imperial court before taking advantage of it." ”

"Not bad!" Song Xiance smiled reservedly: "Since ancient times, it is not necessary for those who are strong to win, and those who are strong will definitely lose, the key is to seize the opportunity." In the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin and Chu competed for hegemony, but it was the state of Wu in the south that destroyed Chu; And it was not Wu Guo who had the last laugh, but the more inconspicuous Yue Wang Goujian. Right now, in the eyes of the imperial court, the biggest threat is Dongyu, it is Liu Cheng, as long as we wait patiently, we will definitely be able to wait for a good opportunity to win the world! ”

"Then Mr. Song, how long do you think we have to wait?" Li Zicheng asked.

"Dongyu is not extinguished for a day, and Liu Chengcheng will not go south for a day; The imperial court will not take away Liu Cheng's military power for a day. ”

"So, do you want to wait until you destroy the East Capture first? But can Liu Cheng destroy Dongyu? ”

"Then it depends on your fortune, King Chuang!" Song Xiance said with a smile.

The breath of everyone present became short, and for the people present, most of them were forced to be helpless and seek a way to survive when they followed Li Zicheng to abandon his wife and embark on the road of rebellion. But as the power of the peasant army became stronger and stronger, and the rule of the Ming Dynasty became more and more precarious, everyone's thoughts gradually became more subtle. Especially like Song Xiance, who originally wandered in the rivers and lakes, and later took refuge in Li Zicheng's strategists, who left their relatives, abandoned their graves, and went to the past, from their travelers, they were even more eager for Li Zicheng to stand out among the heroes, overthrow the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and set the world. He can also be as honorable and wealthy as Zhang Liang and Liu Ji during his lifetime, and leave a name in history after his death. It was he who tried his best to persuade Li Zicheng to go down this road.

"This matter is very important, let's think about it in the long run!" Li Zicheng stood up and said in a deep voice: "I'm a little tired, I'm going to rest first, but don't spread the words I just said, so as not to cause trouble!" ”

"Yes, King Chuang!"

Li Zicheng returned to his residence and lay down. To be honest, he wasn't used to lying in bed during the day, but he didn't want others to see the excitement in his heart. Those days of hard labor had become a haunting nightmare for him, and how many times in his dreams he found himself naked all over his body, except for a rag wrapped around his waist, covered from head to toe with soot, still carrying coal and iron ore on the docks of Chaoyi, which could never be moved, until he woke up to the fact that it was just a dream. Li Zicheng knew in his heart that the only way to get rid of this nightmare was to defeat Liu Cheng and cut off the other party's head. He stretched out his right hand, clenched his fist hard, as if clenching something intangible, and muttered: "Liu Cheng, this time I must defeat you!" ”

Ningguta.

The cold wind swept through the treetops, making a rattling sound. Babutai bent down to avoid the oncoming snow, and the flakes of snow hit his unconscious face, and he could feel his cheeks cracked, and blood flowed out of them, congealing with the snow. He tried his best to open his eyes and see the colors of the flags outside the Ningguta, he didn't want to inadvertently crash into the hands of a group of beggars, who didn't care about their identity, who would peel off their skins and make cloaks, and then tie their bloody selves to trees until they froze to death.

A chirping hammer swept over Babutay's head and pinned to an oak tree behind him. Before Babutai could turn his horse's head, a loud voice shouted in Jurchen dialect: "Don't move, jump off your horse, or the next arrow will go through your throat!" ”

Babutai obeyed the order, and he did not reach for the bow and arrow behind the saddle, for his fingers were too stiff to draw the bow. He slowly jumped off his horse and raised his hands: "Who are you, are you from the Blue Flag?" ”

"Not bad! We are the Blue Flag, who are you? Several figures came out of the woods beside the road, led by a stout man in his early twenties, with a whip wrapped around his neck, staring at Babutai vigilantly, and behind him two men drew their bows and aimed them at Babutai vigilantly.

"I'm Babutai! Your Bannermaster's brother! Babutai breathed a sigh of relief: "I have something important, take me to him quickly!" ”

After half a year of hard work, the city of Ningguta has recovered from the last devastating assault on the beggar charm, with new gates, new female walls, new watchtowers, and even newly cast cannons. Thanks to the route opened by Liu Cheng, not only did a large number of iron weapons flow into the beggars, but Lin Heshui and Acton were also able to arm a small elite army, which was mainly composed of Cossack mercenaries, desperate Japanese ronins, and beggar attendants loyal to Acton himself, the total number of this force was only about 1,200 people, but it was very well equipped, not only arquebuses, iron armor, and even several six-pounder guns, which was enough to destroy all the fortresses of the Jurchens on the northern front.

This was the dilemma that Abatai faced when he arrived at Ningguta, although the number of enemies was insignificant compared to the army in his hands, but the problem was that Huang Taiji had given him the task of eliminating this threat as quickly as possible, and the Jurchens did not have the luxury of leaving an entire army on the northern front to defend against the barbarians in the woods. And in the vast forest, looking for these more than a thousand enemies is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack. After a period of intelligence gathering, Abatai determined that the enemy had built a fortress at the mouth of the sea in the distant Sakhalianula (Heilongjiang in Manchu), where the enemy distributed weapons and supplies by sea to the beggars and instigated raids on the northern part of Houjin. The only way to accomplish this task was to launch an expedition to capture the fortress and block the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, blocking the enemy's path of constant input of weapons and resources. However, in this vast primeval forest, the only way for the army to move is the river, which means that the attack can only be started when the river thaws next spring.

In order to avoid being raided by the enemy when he led his army along the river, Abatai spent a lot of effort to reorganize the defense of Ningguta City. And when Babutai arrived, Abatai was directing his soldiers to clear the moat in the winter on the tower of the North Gate.

"Lao Jiu!" Abatai looked at Babutai in surprise: "Are you still alive?" I thought you had—"

"Lao Jiu!" Abatai looked at Babutai in surprise: "Are you still alive?" I thought you had—"

"You think I'm dead?" The corners of Babutai's eyes were also a little moist, but he controlled his emotions: "Seventh brother, I came back alive, and I have a very important thing to tell you!" ”