On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Pang Gang left Luoyang with 500,000 taels of silver and a large amount of grain and grass and went to Kaifeng Mansion.

Because there was too much grain and grass, the baggage camp really couldn't bring so many things on the road, so Pang Gang had to store the grain and grass in Luoyang, let Cheng Kai, who was stationed in Luoyang, guard it, and send someone to pick it up later.

"Pimple Pimple"

There was a sound of horses' hooves, Wang Zhice followed up, walked to Pang Gang's side and said: "My lord, if you leave Cheng Guerrilla and his five battalions in Luoyang, our strength will be reduced by half in an instant. ”

Pang Gang smiled a little, "Wang Guerrilla, I don't believe you don't know the significance of our men and horses stationed in Luoyang, now that we have a firm foothold in Shandong, it's time to develop outward." ”

"My lord, do you mean to say" Wang Zhi looked at Pang Gang in surprise, could it be that the adult really decided to expand outward?

In fact, Wang Zhi's joy is well-founded, with the further expansion of the army in Pang Gang's hands, the number of people is increasing, and the generals under him are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the status quo. Now the strength in Pang Gang's hands has reached 30,000, and in two months, after 20,000 recruits are trained, it will be 50,000, plus the rapidly expanding sailors, Shandong has nearly 70,000 troops, Pang Gang has a strong strength at the same time, but also has a kind of expectation in the hearts of many of his generals.

Since Chen Sheng and Wu Guang shouted the words "The prince will have a kind of Xiangning", since then, this sentence has been firmly engraved in people's hearts. Those generals who have completely tied their interests to Pang Gang have long hoped that Pang Gang can lead them to seize higher interests and glory.

The relationship between Pang Gang and the imperial court, all the officials and generals in Shandong know, the difference is to tear off the skin and publicly erect the anti-flag, although many people's hearts are ready to move, but they are all forcibly suppressed by Pang Gang, but their hearts are all looking forward to the arrival of that day, now that Pang Gang has taken the first step to stretch out his hand to Shandong, is it far from the day when he openly pulls up the anti-flag?

Looking at Wang Zhi's surprised appearance, Pang Gang couldn't help but shake his head and smiled: "You, you're still too anxious, now is not the time to openly tear your face with the imperial court, let's continue to bury our heads in developing our strength, in short, just one sentence, quietly enter the village, don't shoot a gun." ”

Although Wang Zhi couldn't understand the allusion of Pang Gang's later sentence, the meaning was understood, Wang Zhi nodded again and again, "Don't worry, my lord, I will know how to do it." ”

"Do you really get it? Not necessarily, right? Pang Gang looked at Wang Zhi with a smile, "But it doesn't matter, when it comes to Kaifeng, I believe you will really understand."

Just when Pang Gang rushed to Kaifeng Mansion unhurriedly, Li Zicheng also led tens of thousands of troops to hurry to Kaifeng Mansion, when they arrived at Kaifeng Mansion Qi County, they met a person who had a great relationship with his career, and meeting this person was also a turning point in Li Zicheng's fate

Qi County belongs to Kaifeng Mansion, and there is a family living here, and there is a person named Li Yan in this family.

Li Yan's original name was Li Xin, a native of Qi County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan, and a native of Ding Mao Nian of the Apocalypse. His father, Li Jingbai, was the governor of Shandong and the rank of secretary of the military department, and in the early years of Chongzhen, he was convicted of "befriending close servants, and secondary, three years in prison, and losing for the people" in the Wei Zhongxian rebellion case. In the officialdom of the late Ming Dynasty, this is actually nothing, therefore, Li Jingbai's reputation in his hometown is not bad, although he was cut to the people, but the Li family is still one of the top squires and rich people in Qi County.

Li Yansheng's surname is generous and bold, and he often helps the poor; He also loves to fight grievances and uphold justice. His surname is like a chivalrous warrior, he likes to make friends, he has a good reputation in Qi County, and the people call him "Li Gongzi".

Li Yan's reputation among the people is very good, but this does not mean that he has a good reputation among another group of people in Qi County. As the old saying goes, it is impossible for you to take all the good things in the world, since Li Yan has a high prestige among the poor, then the parity among the other group of people is naturally very low, and the bad thing is that this small group of people is the group of people who dominate the fate of Qixian.

In view of the fact that Li Yan, as a landlord, did not speak for his own people, but turned his elbows outward everywhere, many gentry in Qixian County would launch a series of actions against Li Yan in conjunction with the Qixian county order, and the subsequent results proved one thing, the truth in the world is always in the hands of a small number of people.

So Li Yan was tragic, his family property was confiscated, and all the servants were gone, in the words of later generations, from a bourgeoisie to a proletariat. From a rich man to a poor bastard, this huge gap is not something that everyone can face calmly, and Li Yan is no exception.

When Li Yan and his daughter-in-law Tang were living on the streets and homeless, Li Zicheng came to Qi County, and his heart was full of resentment towards those who framed him, Li Yansuo, who was surnamed Broken Jar and Broken, and took his daughter-in-law to Li Zicheng overnight.

And Li Zicheng, he is a little person born as a post man, he can't even recognize all the Chinese characters, from the second year of Chongzhen's rebellion to the present, his subordinates are all rough people with mud legs, and there is not even a character around him who can give advice, and now there is actually a scholar from a person who came to defect, to say that he is not excited is false.

From the following conversation, it can be seen how happy Li Zicheng was for Li Yan to vote, after they met, Li Yan said to Li Zicheng, "I hate to see you late", Li Zicheng said to Li Yan, "Promise not to come thousands of miles away, and increase the loneliness and conscientiousness." Li Yan also said, "The general's kindness is in the people, and he is willing to follow the forerunner", and Li Zicheng also said, "The dragon and the tiger are Hongtao, the heroes and the heroes, and they will be able to share the righteous deeds with the orphans, and the founder of the foundation of entrepreneurship is also." It can be clearly seen from this that the two hit it off and hated to see each other late.

After Li Yan defected to Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng, who listened to Li Yan's advice, quickly captured Qi County, and under the leadership of Li Yan, a local, the army killed the rich gentry and rich households in Qi County, including the county order, and finally avenged the framed.

In front of a building that looks quite ancient in Qixian County, countless flags are fluttering in the air, and countless people wearing various costumes and holding weapons will guard this building firmly, and the guards are so strict that even mosquitoes can't fly in, and this building is the county government of Qixian County.

At this moment, Li Zicheng, Li Yan and a kind of general were sitting in the hall of the newly captured Qixian County Government for a meeting, and Li Zicheng was asking Li Yan for advice on future development strategies.

Li Yan is of medium height, with clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, wearing a cyan gown, thin-soled fast boots, and a fan in his hand, looking like a standard Ming scholar.

Li Zicheng said to Li Yan sincerely: "Dare to ask Li Gongzi, at present, my righteous army has captured Qixian, although it has obtained some gold, silver, grain and grass, but Qixian is too small after all, it is impossible to support my tens of thousands of troops, I want to lead the army to attack and open the seal, what do you think?" ”

After hearing this, Li Yan shook the fan in his hand, and the originally open fan was immediately closed, and his appearance was indescribably chic, and he saw the envy of the peasant generals around him, and said in his heart that this scholar is different, and even the fan is much better looking than our mud legs.

Li Yan struck the fan on his left hand, shook his head and chuckled: "King Chuang's move is thought to be absolutely unacceptable!" ”

"Oh? Why? Li Zicheng asked curiously: "Our brothers have already inquired, the defenders of Kaifeng Mansion are only five or six thousand, as long as we fence Kaifeng Mansion, we can take it within five days." ”

"That's right, let's all investigate, the defenders of Kaifeng Mansion are only five or six thousand people dead, can't we still fight a small Kaifeng Mansion with our fifty or sixty thousand troops? Li Gongzi, your courage is too small! Liu Zongmin on the side was very displeased, attacking the Fengfu was the result of the joint discussion between their generals and King Chuang, but this white-faced scholar who had just come vetoed their decision in one sentence, which made Liu Zongmin very unconvinced.

"Jiexuan is rude." Li Zicheng shouted at Liu Zongmin: "Let's listen to what Li Gongzi said first." ”

After speaking, Li Zicheng turned his head to Li Yan and said, "Li Gongzi, why can't you beat this Kaifeng, I hope you can teach me." ”

Looking at Liu Zongmin's seven disobedience and eight dissatisfaction, Li Yan secretly shook his head in his heart, these people are really bandits, but they said: "General Liu is right, the Kaifeng defenders are indeed only five or six thousand defenders, and the combat power is indeed very unbearable, how can students not know this!" ”

"Then why did Gongzi prevent our rebels from attacking the Fengfu?" Liu Zongmin's face had eased a lot at this time, especially when he heard Li Yan call himself a general, his heart was even sweeter. Originally, in the army, people called Liu Zongmin either Liu Ye or Liu Zongshao, and people knew that he was a bandit when they heard it.

And now? Listen, Li Yan calls himself a general, a general, it makes people feel so comfortable when he hears it, he is worthy of being a scholar, he can speak, and for a while, Liu Zongmin's good impression of Li Yan has risen a lot, and he speaks a lot kinder.

After listening to Liu Zongmin's words, Li Yan did not rush to answer, but looked around before asking with a smile: "Students dare to ask, do all the generals think so?" ”

"Isn't it?" Hao Shaoqi on the side asked incomprehensibly.

"Hehehe" Li Yan laughed, "Do you all think that Kaifeng Mansion at this time is like a ripe peach, as long as the army arrives, it can be easily picked, right?" ”

Everyone including Li Zicheng was silent, and Li Yan glanced at everyone before sighing: "If you all think like this, then the students can be sure that it is not far from the destruction of our righteous army!" ”

As soon as Li Yan's words came out, everyone's faces changed a little, and Tian Jianxiu, the general under Li Zicheng, said unhappily: "Li Gongzi, we respect you as a scholar, and we are polite to you in every way, but your words are too alarmist, I think my righteous army has been in the second year of Chongzhen, and I don't know how many times after the encirclement and suppression of officers and soldiers, but now it's not good, even if the attack on the feudal mansion fails, we can also leave, how can we say that it will be destroyed?" ”

After Tian Jianxiu finished speaking, the people around him said: "That's it, Li Gongzi, you are new to the city, and we can all understand if you want to make meritorious contributions, but you don't have to scare everyone with these words." ”

Li Yan saw that not only the generals around him at this time, but even Li Zicheng looked at him with suspicion, and he knew that if he didn't show some real skills, he might not be able to gain a foothold in this army in the future.

Li Yan cleared his throat and said loudly, "Everyone, please listen to the student. ”

Although Li Zicheng was also a little comfortable in his heart, he still pressed his hand in the air, "Everyone is quiet, listen to what Li Gongzi said." ”

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on himself, Li Yancai said: "Students dare to ask you one thing, who of you can capture Kaifeng Mansion within two days, and who dares to pat their chests and say that they will be able to capture Kaifeng Mansion within two days?" ”

Li Yan said, while looking around at the crowd, at this time everyone avoided his gaze, two days to capture Kaifeng Mansion is a difficult task, don't look at everyone just said Kaifeng like a paper place, as long as you kick Kaifeng to kick to rot, but in fact, everyone knows that although Kaifeng only has five or six thousand soldiers, but if the righteous army really attacks the city, there is no five days of hard work really can't gnaw him.

Li Yan continued: "Besides, the city of Kaifeng is no worse than Luoyang, and the prefect of Kaifeng, Cen Zhi, is not a wine bag and rice bag, the student dares to guarantee that with Cen Zhi here, our righteous army will not say five days, even fifteen days will be difficult to break Kaifeng." Fifteen days later, the reinforcements of the imperial court are turtles, and they can climb to Kaifeng. Besides, when other officers and soldiers came, the students were not worried, and what the students were most worried about was that the Qingzhou army, which had made our righteous army suffer a big loss, came to us, and we were really cornered at that time. ”

Li Yan's words were not loud, but every sentence was like a thorn that pierced into everyone's hearts.

The battle under Luoyang City woke up the people who were full of confidence because of the rapid expansion of strength, and they realized that the army they were proud of was as vulnerable as a chicken and a dog in front of the other party, and the army of more than 100,000 people was beaten to the ground in less than a few days, and now they hated and feared it when they heard the words "Qingzhou Army".

Seeing the ugly looks on everyone's faces, Li Yan also knew that it was enough to stop at the point, otherwise he would really annoy everyone and he would really be alone in the army in the future.

Thinking of this, Li Yan's words changed, "Although we can't fight in Kaifeng for the time being, we may not have any other way to go." ”

When Li Zicheng heard this, he immediately asked, "What way?" ”

Li Yan smiled: "This road was originally set by King Chuang, that is, to go to Hubei, according to the students' point of view, going to Hubei is indeed a very suitable road for our righteous army." Hubei is constantly a large grain-producing province, but also the hinterland of the Central Plains, to the west to Sichuan, to the east can take Anhui, to the north can be fought back to Shaanxi, to the army to refer to Hunan, as long as we capture Hubei, we can attack and retreat, as long as I have more than a year of cultivation time, with a large number of food and population in Hubei, we can train a strong army that can be comparable to the Qingzhou army, then it is the time to win the world. ”

When everyone heard, huh? yes, isn't that the truth? It seems that our King Chuang is really clear-sighted, and now everyone looks at King Chuang differently, it is a mixed admiration and admiration.

"Good!" Li Zicheng was also overjoyed when he heard it, grabbed Li Yan's shoulders with both hands and said excitedly: "What Li Gongzi said is exactly what I want, it really speaks to my heart." ”

Li Zicheng couldn't help but be excited, in order to break a way out, going south to Hubei was just a last resort choice, but after Li Yan's analysis, the strategy of going south immediately became a very wise move, and Li Zicheng also became a boss with a lot of foresight.

Looking at Li Zicheng with a smug face, Li Yan just smiled, he was very smart, and he knew that as long as he could gain the trust of King Chuang, he could gain a foothold in the army, and everything else was secondary. And he also has a series of plans for the future of the Chuang army, as long as the king can listen to him, he is confident that he will develop this army, and then overthrow this rotten dynasty in one fell swoop

Three days later, when Pang Gang came to Kaifeng Mansion, the Chuang army had disappeared without a trace, and according to the report of the night no, they had already gone in the direction of Xiangfan.

"Xiangfan? It turns out that their target is Hubei! ”

After several days of carriage and horses, Pang Gang's face was full of dust, and after receiving the report that he did not receive it at night, he realized that the original army had changed his mind and did not attack the Fengfu, which made Pang Gang's plan to take this opportunity to hit the army again failed.

"Li Zicheng has really become smarter, and he can give up the rich town of Kaifeng Mansion, which is not like the usual style of the rogue." Pang Gang sat on horseback and muttered to himself facing the direction of the south.

"My lord, it's a good thing for the thieves to escape, maybe they were frightened by the prestige of our Qingzhou Army." Wang Zhi on the side saw that Pang Gang was in a little unhappy, and couldn't help but comfort him.

Pang Gang smiled slightly when he heard this, pointed to the village in front of him that was rising and the misty smoke was rising, and said: "I'm not unhappy, I'm just strange that according to the virtue of the thief Kou Yan plucking his feathers, since they came to Kaifeng, even if they don't attack Kaifengfu, they have to plunder around it, but you see, the surrounding towns and villages have no signs of being plundered, don't you think it's strange?" ”

"Huh? That's right! Wang Zhi also wondered, "Have these thieves changed their surnames, why didn't they loot?" ”

"Maybe they've got a clever figure, who knows?" Pang Gang said leisurely: "But I have a hunch that we will definitely meet those thieves again." ”

"Newspaper" A personal soldier rode over and reported: "My lord, Cen Zhi, the prefect of Kaifeng City, led a group of officials from Kaifeng to greet your lordship. ”

(To be continued)