Sooner or later, I'll run out of strength and be squeezed to death or fall into a deep ditch and break my neck, but it's better than staying here and waiting to die. As long as he can escape the valley controlled by death and smoke and find a horse, he can escape and start over. For his riding skills and martial arts, Li Zicheng is very confident.

I don't know how long it has been, almost a century has passed in Li Zicheng's feelings, and he feels that the pungent smell in the air that makes him feel like fire is much lighter, and his side is a lot empty. Li Zicheng wiped his face with his sleeve fiercely, and opened his eyes hard, Taniguchi was already behind him.

At the top of the slope, Liu Cheng squatted on the edge of the steep slope, motionless like a statue, completely ignoring the danger of being shot by a stray arrow. Smoke rose from the valley below, and desperate thieves were dropping their weapons and fleeing towards the valley, but most of them fell halfway through. Du Guoying watched in amazement as he watched what was happening below, and beside him, several soldiers were laboriously pushing the last set of "swarms" to the side of the slope, a weapon that loaded multiple rockets into a specially made wooden barrel. As a disciple of the general, Du Guoying of course knows the weakness of the "swarm of bees" - that is, the low hit rate is scary, the defects in the manufacturing process and propulsion fuel make the flight trajectory of this primitive rocket uncontrollable at all, and there are often cases where it is launched not far away and suddenly turns around and plunges into the launch position, so the Ming army came up with a "swarm of bees" This weapon - since it is difficult to aim, then launch more at a time, and there will always be a few shots. There are two reasons why this time can cause such a good effect: 1. The distance is close enough, and the straight-line distance from the top of the slope to the road below is only about 30 meters; 2. Liu Cheng made a small improvement to these rockets, adding a balance bar to the tail of the rockets, that is, imitating the British artillery colonel William at the end of the eighteenth century. The Kangreve rocket, one of the most notorious weapons in human history, was used to attack fixed targets such as cities. The biggest difference between this rocket and the rockets commonly used in ancient China is that there is an extra balance bar at the tail of the rocket, so that the rocket can roughly maintain the direction of flight, although it cannot be compared with smoothbore guns and smoothbore guns. But compared to the original "swarm of bees", it is naturally heaven and earth. The only pity is that because this weapon is still used for the first time, the number of reserves is limited, and it is gone after firing two waves, and it has to be replenished with bird guns and bows and arrows.

"How?" Liu Cheng patted Du Guoying's shoulder with a smile: "These things are okay!" ”

"It's more than passable! It's just, it's just-" Du Guoying's face turned red, and the whole person stammered, Liu Chengdu was a little afraid that the other party would suddenly foam at the mouth, and said with a smile: "Invincible, isn't it?" “

"Yes, yes. Invincible, the name Adult is well named! Du Guoying's head was like a chicken pecking rice, and his eyes shone brightly: "With this invincible, what kind of trapping, what kind of Dongyu, aren't they all local chickens and tile dogs?" Can flesh and blood still resist it? “

"How can it be so powerful!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "This is a favorable terrain, the thieves are in the aisle of the slope, the place is limited and they can't dodge, if they are on flat ground, they are also open-legged, how can there be a reason to stand there obediently and be beaten!" ”

"Even so. It's also very powerful! Du Guoying just wanted to say a few more words, when suddenly the soldiers on the side made a noise, he turned around, and saw a flame rising in the sky above the old camp of thieves not far away. He turned his head in surprise. saw a smug smile on Liu Cheng's face.

"This, what's going on? Isn't it yours too—"

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng nodded: "When the thieves saw the fire in Dongguan, they sent troops to rescue, and the reinforcements were ambushed halfway. The defenders of the old battalion hurried out to support, and were invited by Min Min Taiji's cavalry halfway. In the open field, ten steps are less than one ride. What is the suspense of the victory or defeat of the cavalry team against the foot soldiers of the frightened bird? Mr. Du Qian. ”

"The last general!" Du Guoying instinctively bowed down to receive the order.

"After a while, when the smoke clears, you will immediately go down to clean up the battlefield, be sure to find the whereabouts of the thief leader, and see the dead or the corpse!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Dugu!"

"The villain is here!"

"You go to the city immediately, you must ensure the safety of Mr. Ma and Lu Zhizhou!"

For Ma Ziyi and Lu Boqi, fate was so impermanent in the late spring of Chongzhen's fifth year, and in less than ten days, they became prisoners of the rank and gentry, and were rescued again, from prisoners to guests. This kind of whirlwind change is not something that everyone can adapt to, so when the heavily armed Liu Cheng led his generals and his followers to rush into the mansion, both of them instinctively stood up and asked nervously: "Lord Liu (General Liu), how is the situation outside?" ”

"More than 1,300 people were captured alive, more than 600 were beheaded, and more than 2,000 displaced people were killed." Liu Cheng took off his helmet and threw it on Du Gu's hand behind him: "It's just that the thief hasn't been caught yet, and I don't know if he's dead or escaped!" “

"Really?" Lu Boqi almost couldn't believe his ears, he already knew through the mouths of Qi Jiu and Zhao Youcai that Liu Cheng only brought four hundred cavalry, and the main force was still lagging behind, in his opinion, Liu Cheng was already burning high incense if he could come out of himself, and if he could recapture the city, it would be the blessing of his ancestors, and he didn't expect Liu Cheng to be able to wipe out almost all of this bandits.

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "This time, I have to ask Lord Lu to be a witness, and when the time comes, I will be biased towards Lord Lao." “

"That's nature, so to speak! Say! Lu Boqi said with a smile, at this time his psychology has undergone a little subtle change, if at the beginning he was completely disdainful of Liu Cheng as a Ming civil official for the martial arts as a slave and a servant, then when Liu Cheng cleaned up the military tun, built Pitang, and did a lot of work in Juzhou, Lu Boqi's view of Liu Cheng became disgust mixed with admiration - that is, disgusted with his rampant style, and admired his ability to help the people; And now it has completely turned into gratitude and jealousy, that is, gratitude for his life-saving grace, and there is an old man who is about to end his eunuch career to envy the person who has achieved prosperity in official fortune. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, an official like Lu Boqi who lost his state and county because of negligence should at least be demoted.

"Lord Liu, Ma Gong. After I leave my post, I will bother a few people to help me sell these things in Dunzhou! Lu Boqi sighed and said to Liu Cheng and Ma Ziyi, all the accumulation of his half-life eunuch bag has become the land property of Yanzhou, and he originally planned to get a job in the Pitang Bureau after retirement, so he took root here. But after this incident, it is obviously impossible, and the crows of the Metropolitan Procuratorate have nothing to do and still like to make trouble, not to mention that he, a criminal who has lost his land, is full of tricks all over his body. Only by selling all these fields can you take them home, but if you sell so many fields in such a short time, others will definitely take the opportunity to lower the price, and the only ones who can help you are the two in front of you.

Ma Ziyi was stunned when she heard this. He was about to open his mouth to answer, but he heard Liu Cheng smile and said, "Go to work? Why did Lu Zhizhou say that? “

"Lord Liu!" Lu Boqi's face showed a painful expression: "The guards have lost their ground, and they have been spared the disaster of the axe, can there be other situations?" “

"Lost ground?" Liu Cheng smiled: "Where did Master Lu lose?" Isn't the city of Juzhou good now? “

"This-" Lu Boqi was stunned when he heard this, Ma Ziyi on the side heard a little from Liu Cheng's words, reached out and patted Lu Boqi's arm gently, and said with a smile: "Lord Liu is very true, but I am afraid that some villains will listen to the wind and rain and slander Lord Lu in the back!" “

"Lord Lu is sitting up straight, are you still afraid of crooked shadows?" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "This time, a large number of thieves are attacking the city. Lord Lu defended the city with state soldiers, and the thieves did not go down for many days, and he was extremely tired. In the end, this will be able to take the opportunity to attack inside and outside and wipe out this group of thieves. If there is a villain who slanders Lord Lu. The last general and the soldiers under his command will definitely not agree. ”

Hearing Liu Cheng say this, Ma Ziyi also laughed, clapped his hands and said, "Yes, if there is such a villain who has no heart." The squire fathers and elders of Dunzhou will not agree. ”

"Lord Liu, Mr. Ma-" Hearing this, Lu Boqi was already in tears, and dozens of strong emotions such as moved, surprised, and ashamed filled his chest. He didn't know what to say for a while, so he could only weaken his knees and fall to the ground.

"Lord Lu, what are you doing!" Ma Ziyi hurriedly stretched out his hands to help the other party up, but Lu Boqi didn't get up, Ma Ziyi turned his head and said, "Lord Liu, come and help the handle." ”

"Lord Lu, please get up!" Liu Cheng also stretched out his hand, and this time Lu Boqi finally got up: "Lord Liu, you have the virtue of rebirth with the old decay this time, I really don't know how to repay it." “

"Why should Lord Lu do this?" Liu Cheng laughed: "The way of civil and martial arts, one by one, I offended a lot when I was in Dunzhou, and Lord Lu's measurement will always be admired." If you are dismissed from office this time and replaced by an ignorant one, it will not be me who will be in trouble? Helping others is helping yourself! “

Speaking of this, Lu Boqi couldn't hear Liu Cheng's voice, and hurriedly smiled: "What Lord Liu said is very true, civil and military affairs are one, and in the future, this official will definitely work together with Lord Liu and put national affairs first." “

The three of them talked in the yamen for a while, and Liu Cheng said that he still had military affairs with him, and got up to leave. Lu Boqi couldn't keep it again and again, so he personally sent Ma Ziyi out of the gate before going back. When Liu Cheng returned to Dongguan, he asked his subordinates to send Du Guoying, and asked: "Has the bandit leader surnamed Li, who calls himself 'King Chuang', ever taken it?" “

"Tell my lord, I have already counted the captives, and there is no thief leader Li Zicheng, only the thief's third master, Tian Jianxiu, was taken down by Hao Shaoqi."

"What about corpses? Is it inside the corpse? “

"The last general is counting, and the inventory has not been completed for a while."

"What about his nephew Li Guo?"

"Tell my lord, some of the captives said that Li Guo led his troops to Dongguan early in the morning, and the last general thought that it should be the group of thieves we let go in the morning, and I heard that the captives said that the small group of thieves fled when they saw that the situation was not good, and Li Guo should be in that small group of thieves!"

Hearing that Li Guo also escaped, Liu Cheng's face became more and more difficult to see, compared to the victory of this battle, he cared more about the life and death of Li Zicheng, after all, it is recorded in the history books that if Li Guo is in that group of thieves, then the probability of Li Zicheng's survival is very high, after all, it is recorded in the history books that Li Guo and his uncle have a very close relationship, if Li Zicheng was still in danger at the time, Li Guo did not try to rescue his uncle and escaped is not very likely.

"Intensify the search and report to me as soon as there is a result!"

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Cheng was the only one left in the room, and as soon as he sat back in the chair, he felt that his throat was dry and almost smoking, and he felt better after pouring two sips of herbal tea. Because of Mr. Guo Moruo's "Jiashen Three Hundred Years Sacrifice", many people regard Li Zicheng as a short-sighted loser. But in Liu Cheng's view, Li Zicheng is eloquent and popular, indomitable, and never gets down, at least the top three on the big stage at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and there is only one reason for his failure - bad luck. There are different opinions on the cause of Li Zicheng's death in the history books, but the most famous one is about the second year of Shunzhi (1645) in May in today's Hubei Tongcheng Jiugong Mountain near the local villagers killed, when Li Zicheng was separated from the army, there were only more than 20 guards around him, and at that time the Shun army east and west armies added up to more than 200,000 people, his death was completely accidental. And he himself is only thirty-nine, which is the golden age of a politician and military strategist. It was precisely because of Li Zicheng's death that the dragons had no leader, which caused the Shun army, which originally had more than 200,000 troops, to collapse, either to the Manchu Qing Dynasty or to the Southern Ming Dynasty, and was quickly wiped out. Later, Li Dingguo, the king of Jin who was the "famous king of the two Turks", was only one of Zhang Xianzhong's four righteous sons at this time, and there were only more than 3,000 people when he fled to Yunnan. A heroic figure like this will either be killed or taken under his command, and sooner or later it will cause a catastrophe if he is placed outside.

Just when Liu Cheng was distressed and got away from Li Zicheng, there was a rush of footsteps outside, Liu Cheng raised his head, and saw Min Min walking in quickly, his originally fair cheeks were covered with excitement. The girl saw Liu Chengcheng rushing up and hugging the other party: "It's really unfair, I just tasted victory for the first time today, watching the heroic warriors break up the ranks of the enemy, chase the enemy like a goshawk chasing a hare, a hound chasing a fox, shooting them down one by one, cutting them down, trampling under the horse's hooves, this feeling is sweeter than anything else." (To be continued.) )

PS: Just now Weber saw a book friend in the discussion forum asking me that he had just found this book, and felt that he had suffered a loss by subscribing to it from the beginning, and it was a loss since I subscribed now, so he started to subscribe to chapter 101. To this question, Weber can only say that I write with my conscience, without irrigation, without nonsense; Suffer losses or suffer losses, I can't manage everyone, so I can't talk about this?

Napoleon said that after defeating the enemy's army, he should seize the enemy's camp and baggage as quickly as possible, and if he lost his baggage and camp, the enemy's defeated army would soon collapse.