The day was dark, continuous rain, the car canyon seemed to be wrapped in the yin wind, the wind howled, sometimes slow and sometimes urgent, heavy rain poured Tuotuo, watering this canyon, the two are intertwined, raging the car box gorge.

The mountain roads were smooth or muddy, and the rebels were struggling to make their way. Compared with the exhaustion before January, there is more worry and panic now, and the mentality has fallen to the bottom, and a trace of despair is lingering.

Under a raised rock, Li Zicheng and everyone were sheltering from the rain, resting while Gu Junen was reporting the matter.

"Boss, since being ambushed by the official army half a month ago, our Li family army has lost nearly a thousand people. The other rebel armies suffered even heavier losses, and according to rough estimates, the total number of casualties of all the rebel armies was nearly 10,000. It rained for nearly ten days in a row, and many people were suffering from wind chill and high fever, and could barely continue their journey. ”

Speaking of this, Gu Junen's tone was stunned, his expression darkened, his face showed a solemn expression, he could not hide the strong worry, and he turned to say in a low voice: "Moreover, boss, the continuous heavy rain for several days has caused the water level of the streams in the canyon to rise sharply, and some slightly lower positions are already flooded, submerging the shelters of some rebel troops. ”

At this time, Gao Yigong also said: "Not only that, there was a mudslide two days ago, and a small group of rebels were all buried alive with men and horses. And those officers and soldiers, like ghosts, when the rain subsides slightly, and when it is briefly cloudy and sunny, they will appear on the cliffs and throw huge boulders into the valley, killing and injuring many people. ”

Li Mou's face was solemn, and then he spoke: "In order to deal with the rebel armies from all walks of life, those officers and soldiers can be said to be unscrupulous, once the army passes by or hides in the woods, they will set fire. In less than a month, the number of casualties among the rebels was at least 20,000 or 30,000, and the number is still increasing. ”

Bai Guangen ran from a distance, came to the bottom of the rocks with a hat, and while constantly patting the rain on his body, he said loudly: "The situation is even worse, the official army has blocked all the entrances and exits of the canyon and piled them up into simple tower walls, and the rebels can't get close at all. Because the road is very narrow, it is impossible to give full play to the absolute superiority of our troops, and as soon as we get close to the tower wall, there will be a rain of arrows. Even if it's a strong attack, the effect is not great. ”

"There are also some rebels who have long been short of food and grass, and have been cut off for several days, and they have begun to gnaw on tree bark, grass and trees, and kill war horses. If this continues, even if the officers and soldiers do not throw stones from the cliffs on both sides and sneak attack us, we will starve to death. ”

Li Zicheng quietly listened to everyone's reports, his expression became more and more ugly, more and more gloomy, and after everyone finished speaking, he looked at Gu Junen, with a solemn look on his face, and asked solemnly: "Military advisor, do you have a good way?" It can help the army tide over the difficulties and relieve the current crisis. ”

"Boss, you give me a little time to let my subordinates think about it."

For a while, there was silence under the rock, everyone was waiting quietly, Gu Junen's brows were sometimes furrowed, sometimes stretched, and the cycle was constantly repeated, changing uncertainly.

In the end, when everyone was waiting restlessly and impatiently, Gu Junen showed a deep expression on his face, hesitated for a moment, and said earnestly: "Hmm... Boss, there is only one way to get out of the current predicament and crisis, there is no other way......"

"Strategist, what method?" Gao Yigong asked in unison, and with excitement on his face, he interrupted Gu Junen's speech.

A few people wanted to say something, but they were stopped by Li Zicheng's reprimanding eyes, and swallowed back the words that came to their mouths, Gao Yigong's expression was even stiffer, and the chrysanthemum was tight, and he turned to an unnatural look, and said apologetically: "Gu Junshi, don't worry about us, you continue." ”

"Boss, the solution is very simple, there is only one, that is, to repeat the old tricks, and then make a false surrender strategy."

Hearing this answer, it was seen that Gu Junen said extremely seriously and solemnly, not like a joke at all, everyone was stunned, even Li Zicheng was skeptical, and Gao Yigong exclaimed in disbelief: "Strategist, what are you kidding?" Half a year ago, we just used the method of fake surrender, and it hasn't been long since then, and Chen Qiyu is not a fool, how could he believe it? ”

"Yes, Strategist, how could Chen Qiyu make the same mistake?" Li Mu also raised doubts, and further said: "What's more, the reason why there is today's situation, Chen Qiyu led a large army to surround and intercept us, is because of what happened half a year ago, we used the strategy of fake surrender to cross the Yellow River south. ”

At this time, Tian Jianxiu hesitated for a moment, and said in the same way: "Military advisor, even if Chen Qiyu is unambitious and short-sighted, he wants to end the battle as soon as possible and accept our surrender. But those in the imperial court will accept it? Especially Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen, who suffered a loss once, will he agree to appease him again? ”

Although Li Zicheng didn't say anything, just in terms of attitude, he expressed everything, but his expression had some playfulness, and he was not as nervous and anxious as others.

At this moment, Gu Junen was extremely confident and very patient, and after everyone finished speaking one by one, he raised doubts, then looked around and looked back, and finally his eyes stayed on Li Zicheng's body, and his expression became extremely sincere and serious.

"Boss, captains, I understand your concerns. Indeed, under normal circumstances, if you surrender again, it will be very difficult and almost impossible to gain the trust of the officers and soldiers. ”

"However, it is not impossible, and the possibility of success is very high. As long as the strategy is properly planned, there is at least six to seventy percent certainty that Chen Qiyu will accept our surrender. Once Chen Qiyu is in place, there will be no problem in the capital, and nine times out of ten he will agree. ”

"Strategist, what is your basis?" Tian Jianxiu asked in a timely manner, and it was the same doubt in everyone's hearts.

"Captain Tian, boss, I think you all know that the internal corruption of the official army has long been unbearable, corruption is rampant, and it is commonplace to deduct military salaries. At this time, among the officers and soldiers, most of the officers and soldiers are as timid as rats, afraid of death and war, and if possible, they are eager for the imperial court to blindly advocate a strategy of appeasement, rather than some encirclement and suppression. As long as we spend a lot of money, open it up layer by layer, bribe Chen Qiyu's surrounding generals, and then hand over the letter of surrender, it shouldn't be a big problem. ”

"As for the capital, things are even easier, Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, not only won the emperor's trust and trust, but also had a close relationship with Chen Qiyu. As long as Zhang Fengyi mediates and reconciles with it, Emperor Chongzhen, who is only twenty-three years old, will definitely be fooled into agreeing to appease. ”

Everyone nodded frequently after listening, and they were already very inclined to Gu Junen's suggestion.

However, to everyone's surprise, no one expected that Li Zicheng would agree so happily, without any warning before, almost as soon as Gu Junen finished speaking, he immediately responded: "Okay, just do it!" ”

Of course, the reason why Li Zicheng agreed so happily was that Gu Junen's words only accounted for a small part, mainly because he vaguely remembered that in a book that he had read, when the Carriage Gorge was surrounded, the historical Li Zicheng was reborn by using a fake surrender strategy!

While this information flashed in his mind, Li Zicheng looked at the people with big eyes and small eyes, all of them looked strange and felt surprised, seeing this situation, Li Zicheng finally realized that he was abrupt, and he agreed too quickly and too resolutely, right?

Immediately, Li Zicheng coughed lightly twice, mind hiding his embarrassment, and then added: "Anyway, there is no other way now, you might as well try it." We didn't have wings either, so it was impossible for us to fly out of this cart gorge, and if we continued like this, we would either starve to death or be stoned to death by the officers and soldiers. And, not without the possibility of success? ”