Recruiting soldiers and horses without permission is a capital crime, and you will be beheaded.

Zhang Shan, the chief military officer of Zhenjiang Town of Liaodong and Denglai Military Regions, who could take leave to return to his hometown to recuperate, was brazenly recruiting troops, and a large battalion had already been erected outside Huangzhou City, and under the banner of the nine-headed bird, a team arrived every day.

In the blink of an eye, the big camp outside Huangzhou City has gathered more than 30,000 people.

But in the face of Zhang Shan's bold behavior, the officialdom of the two lakes seems to be collectively blind. As the supreme commander of the Lianghu Officers and Army, Ma Xianglin, the chief officer of the Lianghu Army, did not care at all that anyone dared to set up another banner in his garrison area. Yuan Jixian, the governor of the two lakes, in Wuchang City, also turned a blind eye to the new army outside Huangzhou City, which was only a river away.

I didn't see any other directors, inspectors, deputy envoys of the supervising army, soldiers and governors, etc.

In the unanimous silence of the two lakes, the battalion outside Huangzhou City played an official banner, and the two lakes practiced as a regiment. Seeing this banner, many people feel that the egg hurts, there are 30,000 people in your regimental training, although you don't need to be called the general soldier in the town, and you also use the plausible establishment of the army division, brigade, regiment, battalion and company, but you are still more than 30,000 people in an army.

Your 1st Army, 2nd Division, 6th Brigade, infantry, cavalry, artillery, and baggage are complete in all arms, and you have such regimental training?

Especially if you go to the regimental training camp outside Huangzhou City to take a look, you can make people even more speechless. This regiment not only has a complete range of infantry and cavalry artillery, but also has a naval division. All units are neatly equipped, all of them are cotton armor and steel helmets, everyone is equipped with flintlock guns, and some are especially equipped with handcuffs, not to mention mountain howitzers equipped to the company level, each brigade has a field artillery battalion, and each division has a heavy artillery battalion.

The equipment of this regiment is completely the standard nine-headed bird equipment, with more than 30,000 people in the whole army, horses equipped with infantry, and horses to pull cannons and baggage carts. There were a lot of them, and I don't know where they got so many horses and mules, not to mention many new sailing gunboats.

But the banner they played was the training of the Lianghu Regiment. Under the jurisdiction of the Hubei regiment training division and the Hunan regiment training division, there are Yunyang regimental training brigade, Xiangyang regimental training brigade, Jingzhou regimental training brigade, Huangzhou regimental training brigade, Wuchang regimental training brigade, Changsha regimental training brigade, and then below there are such as Qizhou regimental training regiment, what Kuizhou regimental training regiment, and then down is the Macheng regimental training battalion, Hutoubao regimental training company

Crucially, they don't need a penny from the local government.

Of course, the most important thing is. Before Zhang Shanshuqi set up camp, he personally visited the officials of the two lakes one by one, up to the governor, down to the prefect, and Bingbeidao, and sent Liu Jun's greetings, and Liu Jun's gifts were also indispensable.

In Liu Jun's letter to the governor of the two lakes, it was very clear that the nine-headed bird entered Liao. For the time being, I can't come back, but now the bandits are getting more and more noisy, and there is a possibility of a comeback or even attacking the two lakes, therefore. Liu Jun came forward to ask Zhang Shan, who was recuperating in the township, to come forward and integrate the militia of the original township regiments in Lianghu to defend against bandits and defend the township.

Building the Lianghu Regiment to train the army is the meaning of the Duke of Chu. Moreover, on the surface, it is only the integration of the original township soldiers and militia groups in the state capitals of the two provinces, and in the current situation of the resurgence of bandits, the bandits in the state capitals of the two provinces are integrated. It seems to be a normal thing to do. Moreover, this regiment training army does not need money from the government or squires to raise donations, and it can also protect the territory and the people, prevent bandits and robbers, and everyone is not happy.

Anyway, from the governor to the governor, down to the landlord and squire, and the peddlers and pawns, everyone is not surprised by the regimental training camp outside Huangzhou.

Everyone is so large for a team, up to 30,000 people. The equipment is so good, with hundreds of light and heavy guns, tens of thousands of horses and mules, and battleship gunboats. All soldiers are equipped with cotton armor and firearms, etc., and they don't think it's rare, and the soldiers who fight the nine-headed bird, even if it's a regimental training, it should be like this.

When the thirteenth year of Chongzhen finally passed, and the fourteenth year of Chongzhen arrived, the regimental training army outside Huangzhou City finally moved, and they pulled out the camp and marched westward, and 30,000 horses were stationed in Xiangyang, Yunyang and Nanyang respectively to guard the line of the Han River.

And immediately afterwards, the tenth town, which had been shouting to the imperial court that it could not open the north, was also replenished after the year after the first association of people and horses was full, and Ma Xianglin led the army to move to the west, stationed in Kuizhou, Yiling, and Jingzhou to guard the Yangtze River.

In the first month, the rain and snow in southern Shaanxi are dying, and it is terribly cold.

When Li Zicheng failed to attack Chang'an, he led his troops back to Wuguan. The attack on Chang'an caused him to lose a lot of soldiers and horses, which caused a great setback to the rebel army, which was already in a good situation.

"Let's go to Huguang, I have heard that business tourism is prosperous for more than a year, and the situation is much better than that of Shaanxi, which is short of food due to famine. Moreover, there are many ordnance workshops of the officers and soldiers, and there are even cannon foundries and salt factories, if we can capture them, we can immediately obtain a large number of equipment. It was Li Zicheng's general, Liu Zongmin, who was on his right hand.

The rebel army attacked Xi'an, and now it is in a dilemma. Especially with the increasing number of people who defected to the rebel army, now the rebel army has more than 30,000 horses, and the daily consumption of grain and grass is extremely large. But now there is no food to grab in southern Shaanxi, and if you can't take Chang'an, you won't be able to get supplies, and even if you fight further north, you will only be poorer over there.

The rebel army had four directions, Sichuan, Huguang, Henan, and Shanxi.

Liu Zongmin's first choice is Huguang, Huguang is rich, there is food, and there are many armory workshops and artillery workshops of the Chu army, and even shipyards, if they can be captured, the righteous army can immediately change guns and artillery, and even take a boat along the river to go south and kill directly to the more affluent southeast region.

"Big brother, don't hesitate, let's fight Huguang, Sichuan, Henan, and Shanxi are also very chaotic, and there is also a famine, and it will be untenable for us to go."

Li Zicheng was very calm at this time, joined the rebel army for so many years, turned to the north and south, experienced the high dynasty and experienced the trough, at the peak he once commanded more than 100,000 troops, fought in Shaanxi and Jiangbei, and turned to Huguang and Sichuan, but when the trough was also beaten, only 18 horsemen were left to flee into Shangluo Mountain.

He also knew that Huguang was rich now, and there were also the Chu army's ordnance workshop, shipyards, artillery workshops and salt factories, if they could really take it, the strength of the righteous army would immediately soar. However, he was worried about the strength of the Chu army, although he had never fought with the Chu army, but at the beginning, Liu Jun stepped on the head of the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong, and even the Tartars outside the gate were beaten by the Chu army led by Liu Jun to lose their armor and abandon their armor, and the Tartar emperors were killed by him, how could it be easy to deal with.

"I heard that although Liu Jiye went to Liaodong, he still left a town of soldiers and horses to take care of his home in Lianghu."

"Qin Liangyu's son Xiao Ma Chao is taking care of his house, don't worry, Qin Liangyu's son is just that, we are afraid of what he will do."

"What about waving flags? Let him go to find out the news, did he come back? Li Zicheng asked.

Yuan Zongdi replied loudly, "I just came back, and I'm going to be eating." ”

"Call him right away."

After a while, Hao Shaoqi came in.

"Waving the flag, how is the situation in Huguang?"

"Back to King Chuang's words, Ma Duyan's tenth town has not left Chu, and he has just led his troops to Jingzhou. In addition, Xiangyang on the Han River also stationed a new army of soldiers and horses, under the banner of the Two Lakes Regiment Training, with tens of thousands of men and horses. Yunyang and Nanyang are also guarded by this army of soldiers and horses. ”

Li Zicheng was greatly surprised, "The tenth town of officers and soldiers did not leave Chu and went to Jingzhou, but Xiangyang was garrisoned by a regiment instead?" ”

"Yes, King Chuang. I heard that the regimental training was led by a general under Liu Jiye, and I heard that he had just returned to Hubei from Liaodong to recuperate. ”

Hearing this return, Li Zicheng always felt very uneasy. I thought that the 10th Town had been transferred to Gyeonggi by order, but now not only did the 10th Town continue to stay in the two lakes, but Huguang also set up a new regimental training army.

"The ninth town guards Jingzhou, and the regimental training army guards Xiangyang, these two soldiers and horses guard the Yangtze River and Hanshui, obviously coming at our righteous army in Shaanxi. It seems that they were prepared. ”

"Big brother, what are you afraid of. A one-eyed, a sick man, why be afraid? Liu Zongmin shouted loudly, he is Li Zicheng's hometown, but also from a poor background, in the early years, his father was forced to rent by the government, his mother became a beggar, and took him to beg for a living, and later his mother died of starvation, he was adopted by his uncle, because of this encounter, he has always hated the government and Haoqiang. Later, at the age of twelve or thirteen, he learned to make irons and became a very famous blacksmith. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, when Li Zicheng's soldiers and horses crossed Lantian, Liu Zongmin defected to the army, and because of his heroic battles, he made great contributions, and won Li Zicheng's trust and respect.

Especially after the defeat of Tongguan and the almost annihilation of the army, now that the army is rising, he has also become the most effective general under Li Zicheng.

"If Yunyang is guarded by Ma One-eyed, we can still think about one or two, but now that it is a group training guarding the Yunxiang area, what else do we have to hesitate. Just killed the past, broke Yunxiang, got grain and grass, changed equipment, and let's fight all the way to Wuchang City. Liu Zongmin continued to insist on his opinion.

Li Zicheng rolled his eyes and pondered for a moment, and finally waved his right hand violently, "Okay, that's it." ”

He then said, "Wave the flag, you can run again." Find a way to find out the security arrangements of Qing Yunyang, and if you can, arrange for some brothers to sneak into the city, thinking that you should respond. ”

This is also the old routine of the rebel army, sneaking into the city, waiting for the siege of the city to kill people and set fire to create chaos, and even take the opportunity to seize the city and lead the army into the city.

"Zong Min, Jianxiu, the two of you each lead a section, for the left and right wings, a certain person leads the Chinese army, let's attack Huguang!"

The movements of the intrusive army were not secretive, and the news that they were killing Yun Yuan quickly reached Zhang Shan's desk, and then Yuan Jixian, the governor of Huguang, also quickly knew.

Yuan Jixian was very worried when he heard that the thieves were coming with tens of thousands of horses. He hurriedly rushed to Xiangyang by boat, and as soon as he saw Zhang Shan, Yuan Jixian immediately said, "The army of thieves is coming, do you want to transfer the tenth town to resist first?" ”

Zhang Shan replied casually, "Please don't worry about the governor, it's just a thief, with my two lakes group training, I will ensure that the two lakes are not worried." It's okay if they don't come, but if they dare to step into Hubei, they will teach him to walk around without eating! (To be continued.) )