The morning sun, as big as an ox cart, as bright red as molten iron juice, with a thin burst of light, flashed out from the ridge due east, from the mist that seemed to be nothing, it shone on the plateau covered with a layer of white frost, and on the thousands of troops and horses that were silently advancing on the plain, except for the Chinese army standard battalion marching in the middle with red flags, the rest of the battalions, according to the front and back, the left and right battalions swept different colors of flags. The red, black, white, blue and purple banners, each of their own colors, were waving in the wind among the undulating and winding hills, appearing and disappearing from time to time, and it looked very spectacular.

Li Zicheng, who was surrounded by a group of personal soldiers, rode on his horse and stared into the distance, not knowing where the enemy was waiting for him. At this time, a map of the situation of the mountains and rivers in Henan, which was vividly painted, appeared in front of his eyes.

Because of the needs of marching and combat, Li Zicheng was able to remember the local mountains and rivers and the distance of the roads wherever he passed. Every time I settle down, I also like to ask the locals about geography and customs. Since entering Henan for more than a month, although Li Zicheng does not know the mountains and rivers of Henan, he is also very familiar with them.

After entering Henan, Li Zicheng took the lead with more than 6,000 men and horses of the old battalion to take Pingyang Mansion by surprise, attacked Pingyang Mansion, killed the prefect Wu Mingxin, and thousands of soldiers in Pingyang Mansion died and wounded, and the rest all surrendered to Li Zicheng. After capturing Pingyang Mansion, Li Zicheng had Pingyang Mansion burned down to an open field, and all the mansions of wealthy officials and gentry were looted, and the 50,000 or 60,000 people in Pingyang Mansion suddenly became landless outcasts.

These people, who had lost their land, houses, food, and all the means of subsistence on which they depended, suddenly became homeless people, and in order to survive, they had to join Li Zicheng's rogues, and by coercing these rogues, Li Zicheng suddenly had tens of thousands of troops.

Li Zicheng relied on these means to coerce the people to wander around in the west of Henan, and the team grew bigger and bigger like a snowball, and soon threatened the entire Henan. Liu Yuliang, the new governor of Henan, wanted to send an urgent report to the capital and asked for reinforcements, and at the same time mobilized people and horses to come to Luoyang and prepare to fight to the death with the Liukou.

In this case, Li Zicheng decided to attack Luoyang as soon as possible, and he and his generals all agreed that as long as they could capture Luoyang, Henan would be in their pocket, and they could have hundreds of thousands of troops at that time.

At this moment, on the official road leading to Luoyang, Liu Zongmin, the chief sentinel, led more than 30 partial generals and more than 4,000 rogues with Hao Shaoqi, Liu Fangliang, and Yuan Zongdi. Gao Yiquan led more than a dozen partial generals, more than 2,000 soldiers from the old battalion, and more than 200 child soldiers to protect the old battalion. Li Zicheng took Li Guo and a group of personal soldiers and some soldiers to walk between the front team and the old camp. Liu Zongmin's two wives, Gao Yigong's wife, Li Guo's wife and adopted son Li Laiheng, as well as many dependents of the generals and soldiers who protected their dependents, all rode horses and marched with the old camp.

Looking at the people who were constantly marching in rough clothes and the soldiers wearing various colors of clothing and holding various weapons in their hands, Li Zicheng's face showed a satisfied look, and he smiled and said to Li Guo beside him: "Brother Li Guo, look at it, we have only been out of Shaanxi for more than a month, and the original six or seven thousand men and horses have already expanded to more than 100,000 troops. ”

Li Guo nodded and smiled, "Yes, just two months ago, we were forced into the ravine by the two dog officials Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, but now it's only been a few days, and we have pulled up a large army, otherwise we can't kill these righteous soldiers." ”

Li Zicheng laughed and said: "We have been dealing with officers and soldiers for seven or eight years, how many times have we not been almost wiped out by officers and soldiers in these seven or eight years, and what happened in the end?" We are getting stronger and stronger, and the soldiers and horses are also fighting more and more, and we can eat and sleep when we want, and this is what men should live. ”

"Hahaha......"

Speaking of this, Li Zicheng and Li Guo both laughed and rose......

Just when Li Zicheng led the army of Liukou to Luoyang, the entire Luoyang city was also in chaos, and Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, Wang Yinchang, the garrison of Luoyang, and Lu Weiqi, the former secretary of the military department, came to the governor's palace of Liu Yuliang, the newly appointed governor of Henan, to ask for advice from the highest military and political governor of Henan.

After Liu Yuliang asked his subordinates to serve tea, everyone who came with them turned their eyes to Lu Weiqi, who was about fifty years old, with a long beard under his chin, a thin face, and the standard appearance of a Ming intellectual. Because he used to be a secretary of the Ministry of War, according to the standards of later generations, he was the Minister of Defense, and he could be regarded as a national leader at the ministerial level, and he was regarded as the highest-ranking person here, so it stands to reason that he should speak first.

Lu Weiqi coughed lightly and said to Liu Yuliang: "Lord Liu, now the old man and Lord Li and Lord Wang came to ask Lord Liu for a charter, Lord Liu has won the trust of the emperor and was appointed as the governor of Henan, so all military and political affairs in Henan will be decided by Lord Liu." Now the thieves are about to arrive in Luoyang, and the old man is not talented, in order to prevent Luoyang from falling into the hands of the thieves, he also hopes that Lord Liu will give advice. ”

Liu Yuliang's complexion at this time was not good, he only felt bitter in his mouth, he had just been the governor of Henan for a few days, and he encountered this kind of thing, besides, he used to just play with the pen, and now he suddenly became a feudal official, and he suddenly felt that a thousand things were coming, where could he come up with a way at the moment?

Although Liu Yuliang's mind is almost a mess now, he can't help but answer Lu Weiqi's words, who made him the governor of Henan's military and political affairs.

However, although Liu Yuliang has no talent for military and political affairs, he has one of the biggest advantages, that is, sincerity. Liu Yuliang smiled bitterly, and said to Lu Weiqi and the others: "Lord Lu, Lord Li, Lord Wang, to be honest, this official has just arrived, and he is still confused about Henan affairs. However, here this official would like to ask Lord Wang, how many soldiers and horses are available in Luoyang now? ”

Hearing Liu Yuliang admit so honestly that he had no choice, Lu Weiqi and the others were slightly taken aback, and then some words were unspeakable, and everyone admitted that they had no choice when they first came, what else could you say?

When Wang Yinchang heard the governor's question, he quickly stood up and arched his hand: "My lord, there are still about 7,000 soldiers available in Luoyang now, and if you add the young and strong, it can reach 30,000 or 40,000. ”

Liu Yuliang frowned and said, "Does Lord Wang think that with this little man, he can hold Luoyang?" ”

Wang Yinchang smiled bitterly and shook his head, the seven thousand soldiers were still scraped together from several surrounding prefectures and counties, as for the thirty or forty thousand young men and women who let them help carry things, it was better to let them fight with their weapons and thieves than to let them jump off the building.

Liu Yuliang seemed to think of something, and asked: "What about Kaifeng, Kaifeng should have some soldiers and horses, right?" ”

Wang Yinchang shook his head and said: "There are thousands of soldiers and horses in Kaifeng, but these soldiers and horses cannot be mobilized at will, after all, Kaifeng Night Market is a major place in Henan, how can there be no soldiers and horses to defend." ”

"What then? Could it be that you can't watch the thieves wreak havoc in Henan? Liu Yuliang was angry, Chongzhen only gave him half a year, let him exterminate the rogue within half a year, but when he came to Henan, he found that what he inherited was a mess, as the capital of Henan, Luoyang, not only did not have more than 10,000 soldiers, but Li Zicheng, a thief, not only did not hide from the officers and soldiers, but attacked the big city so actively, which made him embarrassed by the original ambition!

Seeing Liu Yuliang angry, Lu Weiqi and others despised him in their hearts, this scholar Liu really thought that it was as easy as making a fuss about the Liukou to quell the Liukou, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting led tens of thousands of troops, and it took several years to force the Liukou to approach the deep mountains and old forests and it was about to be destroyed, but the emperor didn't know what was crazy, so he transferred Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting back to the capital, and let the ducks that had been cooked run away, which is not counted, and sent a scholar who can only show off his mouth to be the governor of Henan, He thinks that everyone can be as good as Lu Xiangsheng?

This Liu Yuliang has been in Henan for almost a month, but every day he is either writing articles in the governor's palace or reciting poems against people, but he just doesn't do the right thing, and now the rogue is coming, and he doesn't even know how many soldiers and horses there are in Luoyang City, so what's the use of sending such a governor? However, Lu Weiqi and others can't get around him when they do things, who let the family come to Henan with the royal flag and holy decree, without his nod, they can't do anything.

After Liu Yuliang lost his temper for a while, he could only stare at him dryly, and when everyone was looking at each other, Li Xianfeng said: "Lord Liu, everyone, this official has an idea here, I don't know whether to say it or not." ”

Liu Yuliang said impatiently: "Governor Li, if you have anything to say, just say it, and when will you still play that game." ”

"That's the case......" Li Xianfeng said hesitantly: "This official and the governor of Shandong, Wei, are said to be in the same year, and they have a little friendship. This official thinks that we can borrow thousands of soldiers and horses from Shandong, which is also a good policy. ”

"What? Borrowed soldiers? Liu Yuliang, Lu Weiqi and others couldn't help but look at each other, and their expressions were a little strange.

(To be continued)