Henan, Zhangde Mansion Tongshan, Liaodong Army Camp.

After Dayong personally sat in the pit and killed more than 20,000 returning soldiers who surrendered to the Lao Hui Department, he was tired and dragged back to the camp with sleepy steps.

"Dashuai, there is a man and a woman outside the camp, the man claims to be Gao Jie, the brother of the thief Kou Chuang General Li Zicheng, and the woman claims to be Li Zicheng's aunt Xing, and the two say that they are here to defect to Dashuai."

"Li Zicheng's mother-in-law?"

The identity of the woman made Dayong grunt and got up, sat on the "bed" spread by hay and rubbed the temples on both sides vigorously, and then shook his head vigorously, and after driving away the drowsiness, he got up and walked outside the tent and instructed Guo Yi: "Bring those two over." ”

Guo Yi saw that Dayong's eyes were red and swollen, and there were black lines on his forehead, knowing that it was because of overwork and lack of sleep, he couldn't help but feel distressed: "Why don't you take a nap first, nourish your spirits, and let those two come to see you again tomorrow?" ”

"No need." Dayong waved his hand, "This man and woman are not very simple, I have to see them now." ”

"Okay."

Guo Yi had no choice but to lead the people over, and after a while, Gao Jie and Xing were brought to Dayong.

Dayong looked at that Gao Jie, with broad shoulders and thick chest, a tiger's back and a bear's waist, at first glance, he was full of strength, and his appearance was also dignified, which was much stronger than before he was not disfigured. Look at Li Zicheng's mother-in-law Xing Shi, who is in her thirties, white and delicate, beautiful and lovely, and can be regarded as a stunner.

Seeing Xing's hand holding Gao Jie tightly, as if he was afraid that this man would run away, Dayong couldn't help but be stunned, and immediately laughed, it seems that the legend that Li Zicheng's wife was abducted is the pair. But I didn't expect that this Gao Jie and Xing would come to join him, and I had the impression that this Gao Jie seemed to be one of the four towns in Jiangbei at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also a well-known man.

"You two must be hungry, Ben Shuai and don't ask why you came to join Ben Shuai, let's find some food to fill your stomach first, Ben Shuai himself is hungry."

After speaking, Dayong instructed Guo Yi to fetch food. Gao Jie prepared a stomach full of things to say, but he didn't expect that the first sentence of this Lushun general soldier was to eat first, and he was a little stunned at the moment. That Xing was frightened by Dayong's face, his mouth opened slightly as if he was about to make a surprised sound, but he reacted quickly and closed his mouth in time, but he didn't dare to look at Dayong again.

The soldiers quickly went to the house to get food, which was very simple, only nest heads and pancakes, and a bowl of soup that did not see much oil and water, and I don't know what it was made of, but meat and wine were not seen.

Dayong motioned for his soldiers to take two portions for Gao Jie and Xing, and then sat down and ate cross-legged by himself.

Gao Jie and Xing didn't expect Shi Dayong, who was the chief soldier of Lushun, to be so casual, they were a little surprised, and they couldn't let go at first, but the two of them were really hungry, and they didn't dare to stop and rest all the way north to avoid the pursuers, so this stomach was naturally very empty, and when they saw that Shi Dayong himself was eating there, they were no longer restrained.

Gao Jie first took two nests and handed them to Xing's, and carefully brought her a bowl of soup, waiting for her to eat herself first.

Dayong saw him on the side, and secretly said that this Gao Jie was a man with affection and righteousness, no wonder the Xing family would follow him.

After a while, Dayong had already gnawed three nests, and the bowl of soup was all down. Because of the march and battle, there was a lot of salt in this soup, and it was really salty, and after drinking it, I felt the taste of salt in my mouth.

After eating, Dayong was not in a hurry, and watched Gao Jie and Xing eat there. After the two found Dayong looking at him, they hurriedly wiped their mouths and put down the bowl.

Dayong smiled: "You don't have to worry about me, it's important to fill your stomach." ”

"Thank you, sir." Gao Jie's voice is quite loud, and when he hears it, he is born with a big voice, and with his burly figure, he is also worthy of the title of hero.

Shi Dayong saw that Gao Jie was already a dry bowl, and there were still some push-wowo and dumpling in Xing's bowl, which was obviously not the right food, so he said: "I'm sorry for the two, there is no vegetable in this nest and dumpling, let alone meat, I also eat these." ”

"I can't imagine that the officers and soldiers are so bitter." Gao Jie sighed in his heart, although he was a thief, he also had wine to drink and meat to eat among the rogues, but he didn't want the dignified court soldiers to eat as well as his former minions.

"Well, it's good that Henan can have a stutter to eat now, and there is nothing to pay attention to when the army is out, just live to fill your stomach. If Ben Shuai wants to eat well, it will be a disaster to the people. Even now, I don't know how many people outside don't have anything to eat. Dayong said it very naturally, and there was no contrived color.

"Dashuai, this is a man who loves the people like a son, not comparable to those corrupt officials." Gao Jie's words are both compliments and not compliments, but from the bottom of his heart, he has equated Shi Dayong and King Nalu Yan in his heart, both of them are good officials, and they would rather suffer themselves than harm the people. If the Ming Dynasty is like these two in civil and military affairs, they will still make a rebellion. But there are not many good officials who love the people like this, so the people can't survive and rise up.

Dayong smiled, glanced at Xing's, and persuaded her: "Although this nest is unpalatable, but after all, you are also hungry, you should eat some, otherwise Ben Shuai will not be able to find a meal that suits your appetite for a while." ”

Hearing this, Xing's face turned red and he whispered, "Thank you, my lord, the folk girl has already eaten." ”

Dayong didn't know if she was full, or embarrassed to eat again, or really unappetizing, so he didn't say anything, but only asked her: "Are you Li Zicheng's mother-in-law?" ”

"Yes." Xing lowered his head, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

Dayong looked at Gao Jie again: "Are you Li Zicheng's brother?" ”

"Yes!" Gao Jie's voice was still loud in reply.

"Then why did you betray Li Zicheng?" Dayong looked at the two of them with a smile.

Xing's face was even redder when Da Yong saw it, and this question was even more difficult to answer, so he looked at Gao Jie.

Gao Jie nodded and said to Dayong: "Back to Dashuai, it's not that she wants to rebel, it's me who deceived her." I liked her, so I lied to her. We rode a horse, and she couldn't escape, so she had to come. ”

"You're a cheerful person." Dayong Ha Luha laughed, glanced at Gao Jie, and then asked Xing, "Are you going back, or are you following him?" If you want to go back, I'll let you go. ”

"How can you go back?" Xing whispered.

"Yes," Gao Jie said, "can you go back and be innocent?" Can Li Zicheng spare her? She is following me, if the handsome man doesn't like it, I, Gao Jie, am willing to work hard for the handsome. ”

"It's not for me, it's for the court." Dayong corrected Gao Jie's statement, Gao Jie came to vote, of course he would not refuse it, and he didn't even have any suspicion, because this Gao Jie had betrayed Li Zicheng, and he had been fighting with Liukou all his life, otherwise why would he become one of the four towns in Jiangbei in the future. This person's life, although there are stains, but he is also a good man, this national integrity is still there, if you can drive it well, you should not lose a good general.

"To give your life to the marshal is to serve the court." Gao Jie can clearly distinguish his current situation, he came to Shi Dayong as a rogue, and his life will be on Shi Dayong's side in the future, the court is too empty, and the Lushun general soldier in front of him is the real object of allegiance. As for the difference between loyalty to the court and loyalty to Shi Dayong, Gao Jie and Wufu naturally don't think much about it, anyway, if he votes for the official army, he is loyal to the court, so it is difficult for him to vote for Shi Dayong or a traitor in the eyes of the court.

"You come to vote for me, it means that you can trust Ben Shuai, Ben Shuai will not refuse you out of the door, from now on, you Gao Jie is a member of Ben Shuai. In the future, if you have merit, you will be rewarded, and if you have a fault, you will be punished, and you will be treated equally with the sons and daughters under the command of this commander, but there is one thing you must keep in mind, the law and discipline in the army are strict, and you must not violate it, otherwise you will blame the military law of this commander for being ruthless! ”

"If there is lawlessness in the army, isn't it like a rogue? Don't worry, I Gaojie knows what to do, if I really come to vote for Dashuai, I will sincerely submit to the court, and I will definitely not do those bastard things in the past from now on. If you really want to commit it, the handsome will kill my head. Gao Jie replied very responsively.

Dayong nodded and asked him, "Is Li Zicheng still with Gao Yingxiang now?" ”

"When I came, King Chuang, no, the thief took Li Zicheng and the sweeping king, Liu Guoneng and Ge Liyan to fight Xinyang, this will be estimated to be still in Xinyang."

"Xinyang?" Dayong frowned, "What are they doing fighting Xinyang?" ”

"There is grain in Xinyang City, who will fight if there is no food. Originally, he was not going to fight Xinyang, Li Zicheng gave the high thief the idea to go north and return to the old back to join their army, and then cross the Yellow River back to Shaanxi, who wanted to go back to Shaanxi with the high thief, so the high thief contacted the sweeping king, and they were ready to go to Huguang along the road of the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong, waiting for the opportunity to cross the Han River and return to Guanzhong, and Guanzhong could not go to Sichuan. Gao Jie knew everything, and told everything he knew about Gao Yingxiang's plan.

"I just sent someone to send Lao Huihui's head to Jingshi, and the thief doesn't want to meet Lao Huihui in this life. However, it was troublesome for him to go to Huguang. Da Yong thought for a moment and asked Gao Jie: "How many people are there in Xinyang?" ”

"There are more than 80,000 people under the high thief himself, more than 50,000 under Zhang Yichuan, the sweeping king Zhang Yichuan, more than 30,000 under Liu Guoneng, more than 40,000 under Ge Li Yanhe Yilong, 50,000 or 60,000 under He Jin, the king of Zuojin, and the 50,000 or 60,000 under the reincarnation king, Li Wanqing, who shoots the sky, and Ma Qingzhong, who is mixed with 100,000, also have 20,000 or 300,000, and I am afraid that there are 300,000 together."

"Three hundred thousand?!" Dayong Ha Lu laughed, and stopped abruptly, "You are not here to vote for me, you are here to bluff me!" ”

Gao Jie was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously shook his head: "No, no, although I am for this aunt, I am also sincere to vote, the peasant army can't beat the official army." As long as the officers and soldiers only suppress and do not appease, the peasant army will be finished sooner or later. ”

When these words came to Shi Dayong's heart, he slowed down and said: "This is good, as long as the officials and soldiers only suppress and do not appease, the thieves will definitely be finished." Didn't you see that Lao Huihui and Guo Tianxing have asked Ben Shuai to cut down, as long as the officers and soldiers elsewhere are the same as Ben Shuai, what kind of climate can Liukou become. ”

"Yes, yes." Gao Jie was shocked in his heart, he had only heard that Shi Dayong's soldiers were killed in Tangyin, but he didn't expect that he had already cleaned up the old Hui Hui and Guo Tianxing, there were 100,000 horses under the command of these two people, not to mention Tianxing, that is, the four or five thousand cavalry under the command of Lao Hui Hui was enough for the officers and soldiers to drink a pot, but I didn't expect that it was only a few days of hard work, and the Lao Hui and Guo Tianxing Department were wiped out, and this Liaodong Army was also difficult to fight!

Gao Jie was shocked, and he was happy to be able to vote for such an official army, if he really voted for an official army that didn't even fight the peasant army, it would be bullshit.

"300,000 people must not be counted, Ben Shuai asked you, how many of them can fight?"

Although Gao Yingxiang tossed in the south of Henan, where Lu Xiangsheng, the prime minister of the five provinces, was in charge, and he couldn't do anything about Shi Dayong, he still wanted to know as much as possible about the real strength of the Liukou, after all, after cleaning up Luo Rucai and the nine dragons, the Liaodong Army might have to go south to Huguang to deal with Gao Yingxiang. If you don't suppress such a big guy, especially Li Zicheng, who is still a general, Dayong's heart will never be able to let go. Since he came, he had to solve it all at once, saving him from having to put out fires everywhere in the future, and he just ordered his belongings like this, and he really couldn't stand running back and forth like this. Don't you see that now the army is starting to eat wowotou again, alas, there is a shortage of food. In addition, it is necessary to provide relief to the victims, collect the displaced people, and maintain the needs of the army, and it is no longer possible to keep up with the transportation of grain from Dengzhou alone. Hou Sui has reported Tangyin's great victory to the imperial court, and he only hopes that the imperial court can allocate some money and food for his own merits in destroying Lao Huihui and Guotianxing, otherwise, Dayong really doesn't know how long Lu Dao can last. Because of the matter of killing and returning, the Henan region has regarded his Liaodong Army as an enemy, and it is unreliable to expect Henan to supply military rations, just as it was unreliable to provide food from Gao Qiqian back then.

Gao Jie thought about it for a while, and replied: "According to my calculations, there are always 130,000 or 40,000 young people, and there are at least 70,000 or 80,000 who can be regarded as elites." ”

"That's pretty much it." Dayong nodded, and asked again: "What is the strength of Zhang Xianzhong who ran to Sichuan?" ”

"There are nearly 100,000 people under Thief Zhang, and there are 30,000 or 40,000 who can fight."

After Dayong knew this, he saw that Xing was very tired leaning on Gao Jie's arms, so he instructed Guo Yi: "You go and pick a tent for them, and take them to rest." ”

"Dashuai!" Gao Jie did not go, but took a step closer, hugged his fists and said: "If the thief enters Guanzhong from Huguang, he must want to occupy Xi'an." Li Zicheng once told me that if they crossed the Han River and entered Guanzhong, they would definitely not go straight to Xi'an from Hanzhong, but would make a detour, first divide some men and horses to drag the officials and troops, and take the small road to take Xi'an, and the commander would have to guard against it. ”

"The matter of Xi'an is the matter of Lord Hong, the governor of the five provinces, and the court did not let me go to Xi'an, it is Lord Hong who should be worried about this matter, and it is not my turn to worry about it. Okay, you and your wife should also go and rest, there are no women in my camp, you have to take care of your mother-in-law. ”

After Dayong finished speaking, he waved his hand, signaling that Gao Jie and Xing could go down. Gao Jie and Xing said thank you again, and Guo Yi led them to the tent. After they left, Dayong asked the guards to find Wu Heyin, and wrote a letter about Gao Jie's intention to cross the Han River to take the small road to attack Xi'an after Gao Yingxiang entered Huguang, and sent two capable guards to report to Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces.

Here, Dayong was about to go back to sleep, but Hou Sui sent someone to say that there was important news from the imperial court.