On the morning of the next day, at about ten o'clock, in the northwest of Yuzhong County, on the official road near Dingyuan Station, a cavalry infantry walked on the road, going southeast without hurrying, and the troops spread for several miles, as many as several thousand people, black and pressing, like a long dragon wandering.

The cavalry was in front, and the pitch-black armor was shiny and shiny, reflecting the rays of the sun. The war horses were high-spirited, dragging the cavalry slowly, snorting from time to time.

The infantry followed, guarding the baggage, pulling the cannons, and the firearms battalion was impressively in the ranks, belonging to the second echelon, protected by cavalry and other infantry.

At this moment, on a certain hill on the official road, a voice like a mosquito sounded: "Little flag chief, the ranks of the officers and soldiers are so strange." You see, a large number of cavalry acted as the position of the vanguard, and it is understandable. However, the firearms battalion is so powerful, why do you need the protection of other infantry and cavalry? ”

"Hey~ As soon as I heard that you kid was a rookie, the first brother in the army, he didn't understand anything!" Another disdainful voice rang out, cautious and careful.

"Little flag chief, listen to what you mean, what else is in it, just talk about it, popularize it for the brothers."

"Go, let's not talk about these things first, go to someone immediately, report to the boss, the officers and soldiers are about to enter the designated position."

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the grass, and after the sound disappeared, the little flag commander whispered: "Let me tell you, although the power of firearms is very large, the range of attack is very wide. However, it has a fatal drawback, that is, the ignition time is a bit long. In this short period of time, if the enemy's cavalry suddenly kills, it only takes a quick charge, and the firearms battalion has not yet fired, and the cavalry has cut off its skull, how can it exert its due combat effectiveness. ”

"Oh~ I see, the reason why the cavalry is in front and the infantry with bows and arrows and cold weapons are on the side is to cover the thoughtfulness of the firearms battalion, so that they can have a ready to shoot, is this the case, little flag commander?"

"Well, that's it. Okay, don't talk, lurk here. After the boss acted, the officers and soldiers returned here, and they all remembered that all the bows and arrows were aimed at the firearms battalion, and I shot the soldiers of the firearms battalion as much as possible. ”

"Yes, Little Flag Commander, we remember, and we promise to live up to the boss's instructions."

With that, the hill returned to calm.

Among the officers and soldiers, an official rode away, dressed in the flying fish suit of the second grade of the Ming court, walking leisurely, feeling the mighty momentum of the army, he couldn't help but have an inexplicable agitation in his chest, his eyes looked straight away, and he asked without turning his head: "General Zhang, not long after Liu arrived in Shaanxi, before he took up the post of governor, he heard the news of Li Zicheng's anti-thief. not only rebelled, killed the king of the kingdom, but also robbed the forage field of the king of Su, which can be described as extremely arrogant, unscrupulous, and full of banditry! ”

The person who spoke was none other than Liu Guangsheng, the governor of Shaanxi who had just arrived. At this moment, he paused, seemed to think of something, and asked instead: "By the way, Mr. Zhang, have you figured out the details about Li Zicheng?" Where exactly are the people, and how did they get into the army? ”

On Li Guangsheng's side, there was also a general on horseback, his whole body was tightly wrapped in armor, and only one face was exposed to me. Even if the sun is scorching and the weather is extremely hot, he does not have a trace of relaxation, which shows that he is a battle-hardened man, with a well-groomed military appearance, and can endure all kinds of harsh environments and climates.

Hearing the question of his immediate boss, Zhang Zongbing did not hesitate, as if his mind was full of information about Li Zicheng, and he said: "Lord Bao, as far as the last general knows, under multiple investigations, Li Zicheng's original name is Li Hongji, a native of Mizhi County, Yulin, and he used to be a messenger of a post station of the imperial court in Shaanxi. ”

"Since the emperor abolished some post stations, Li Zicheng returned home, and later fought unevenly, killed a bully, and was arrested and imprisoned by the county order of Mizhi County. Later, he escaped from prison, not only robbed a wealthy family property in Mizhi County, but also killed his mother-in-law, and actually colluded with the nephews and nieces of the thief Gao Yingxiang to secretly make peace. ”

......

After listening to Zhang Zongbing's description, Liu Guangsheng nodded suddenly, and then said loudly: "I see, no wonder this Li Zicheng, Ou No, it should be Li Hongji who changed his name and went to Ganzhou to join the army. ”

As he walked, General Zhang's expression began to become solemn, waved his hand to stop Liu Guangsheng's words, and said in a deep voice: "My lord, be careful, the mountains ahead are high and dense, overgrown with weeds, and silent. ”

Immediately, Liu Guangsheng's words stopped abruptly, his face showed nervousness, and he secretly looked at the peaks on both sides of the road in front of him, as well as the dense woods and grasses, and just wanted to say something, but heard Zhang Zongbing suddenly burst out: "Send the order down, slow down the march, and immediately send a few scouts to investigate the mountains on both sides of the front, especially the dense grass and woods." No one can be greedy without my command. Otherwise, the military law will deal with it, and don't blame me for being ruthless! ”

In an instant, the order was forbidden, and the speed of the troops' march immediately slowed down, slower and slower, almost to the point of stagnation.

Liu Guangsheng's heart was very unpleasant, and he didn't like this feeling of dominating the crowd very much, and he was robbed of the limelight.

However, even so, Liu Guangsheng did not have a seizure, but made a calm appearance, and said lightly: "General Zhang, this official is the boss." Without my permission, you can't make decisions like this in the future. Otherwise, if everyone is like this, and the deputy commanders, generals, guerrillas, and garrisons below follow suit, then how can they still fight? ”

"Yes, the Admiral understands that he will never make a similar mistake again."

Mr. Zhang agreed, and put on a very sincere confession, but the corners of his eyebrows rose slightly, and one cheek twitched, feeling very uncomfortable.

There was Hu Tingyan, who pretended to be dumb and deaf, and ignored the anti-thieves. Here is another Liu Guangsheng, all of whom are a bunch of literati, who either turn a blind eye to the chaos of the anti-thieves, or blindly command, and only know how to seize power.

Zhang Zongbing's heart was very aggrieved, and under the command of the two governors of Shaanxi, he had a feeling of being constrained, and he couldn't fight with his fists and feet. Especially this Liu Guangsheng, who has no battlefield experience at all, and I don't know where to read two military books, so he is blindly commanding here, pointing fingers at himself, and completely playing the role of restraining himself.

Thinking of this, Mr. Zhang's heart was not only a little embarrassed: "MD, Lao Tzu has really poured blood mold for eight lifetimes, and he has met two such speechless bosses in a row!" That Hu Tingyan is okay, although he is greedy for life and afraid of death, but he also knows that he has a few pounds and a few taels, and he will not send troops easily, at least he will not affect himself as a soldier. ”

"Hey... It is hoped that this encirclement and suppression operation will go smoothly, and with the absolute superiority of troops and weapons, the rebels in Yuzhong County will be taken down in one fell swoop, and the mutiny of the soldiers caused by food and salary will be completely quelled. ”

However, after silently reciting this sentence in his heart, he looked at Liu Guangsheng who was shouting five and six times, and Zhang Zongbing couldn't help but shake his head, becoming more and more unconfident, and he didn't believe the words of prayer.

These thoughts flashed through his mind and lasted less than a few seconds, although Zhang Zongbing was pessimistic and not optimistic about this encirclement and suppression operation, but he also had to beat his spirit, try to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his heart, and carefully observe the surroundings.

Gradually, as he went deeper and deeper, Zhang Zongbing's calm surface became more and more anxious. Especially from the steep hillside, the dense grass, which was more than a person high, Zhang Zongbing's heart became more and more uneasy, filled with an ominous premonition.

seems to have been affected by Zhang Zongbing's emotions, Liu Guangsheng, the governor of Shaanxi who didn't care about it, swept away the indifferent appearance just now, and his expression became solemn, but he still didn't pay much attention to Li Zicheng's Li Jiajun in his heart.

After all, according to his understanding, although there were more than 2,000 people in the Li Jiajun, they were all recruits, and the vast majority of them were new farmers. Even the soldiers from the Ganzhou garrison to Yuzhong County have no more than half a year of military experience, and they have not experienced any decent wars.

How can these recruits' eggs and mud legs be compared with their own 5,000 strong troops?

At this moment, the vanguard of the officers and soldiers had just entered the edge of the canyon, and before they had entered, they were only under the dense grass, and suddenly, a hundred men appeared from the grass more than one person high on each side, all dressed in quiver boxes, with swords hanging from their waists, dressed in armor, steel helmets on their heads, and armed with bows and arrows.

In an instant, the 200 people who suddenly appeared did not care about 3721, and what was condescending was a burst of fire, directly taking the cavalry unit at the forefront of the official army.

"Ah~ not good, there is an ambush!"

Suddenly, there was a wail in the vanguard of the official army, and people were constantly shot by arrows, stumbling and falling off their horses, and riots broke out!

The cavalry walking on the official road, like a very dazzling target, was caught off guard by the archers who suddenly appeared, and did not dare to gallop and stay away from this area, so they could only dismount one after another, take bows and shoot arrows, and fight back.

After all, the general soldier has already explained that he must not blindly enter the canyon, there is a high probability that there will be an ambush inside. Behind are infantry and baggage troops, and there is no way to be behind, so they can only resist the rain of arrows with the help of war horses.

In less than a few minutes, more than 100 people had been killed or wounded, and even horses were frightened and kept neighing!

It is worthy of being a 5,000-strong force, and it can make Governor Liu Guangsheng so confident and invincible, and his military quality is really not covered. After the initial chaos, he immediately organized an effective counterattack, bent his bow and shot arrows back, and stabilized his position for a while.

Diametrically opposed to the heroic performance of the soldiers, Liu Guangsheng was a soft egg, as soon as he heard the riot in front of him, some soldiers shouted and wailed, he panicked, turned the horse's head, and wanted to let the army retreat, but was stopped by General Zhang in time.

I saw that General Zhang pulled the reins of Liu Guangsheng's war horse, and hurriedly said: "My lord, don't worry, this is just a small group of anti-thieves, don't worry, the battle situation has been effectively controlled!" ”