A few days later, not long after Li Zicheng saw off his wife Gao Guiying, he sat alone in the tent, quietly looking at the map of Shanxi in front of him, thinking about what he should do in the next few months.

One information after another appeared in his mind, and he kept thinking in his heart, comparing the rebel armies from all walks of life with the official army in Shaanxi.

So far, with the natural danger of the Yellow River, the rebel army has built three lines of defense to resist the attack of Cao Wenzhao, Hong Chengchou and others, and keep it west of the Yellow River in Shaanxi.

The first line of defense, needless to say, is the Yellow River; secondly, it is to Taiyuan Mansion in Shanxi and Pingyang Mansion in the westernmost part of Hequ, Yongning, Shilou, Jishan, Wenxi and many other prefectures and counties; Finally, Fenzhou, Qinzhou, Lu'anfu and Zezhou are built as the third line of defense.

His own family knows his own affairs, and no one knows better than Li Zicheng that these three lines of defense are just shows, how fragile they are, and they are simply vulnerable, especially in the face of an elite main force like Cao Wenzhao!

Although Shanxi is not big, it is less than half of Shaanxi. However, people are also a province, how can a 200,000-strong rebel army be able to control it? What's more, the 36th Battalion does not control the whole of Shanxi, but parts of some state capitals, how can it ensure the stability of the three lines of defense?

To call it three lines of defense is simply a big joke, self-deception, and pretty much the same. Li Zicheng was also secretly sneering, very contemptuous!

As the leader of the 36th Battalion, Wang Ziyong is either in the water in his head, or he is simply a fool. At this time, such a layout, to describe it with the word stupid, is a kind of lifting!

At this time, instead of taking advantage of the fact that the main force of the official army has not yet concentrated in Shanxi, he hurriedly shifted to the south, but chose to face the conflict with the official army, and what three lines of defense were constructed, I really don't know what Wang Ziyong thinks?

If the Ming Dynasty is overthrown, there are several people competing for power in Guannai to see who can win the world. Wang Ziyong did this, and Li Zicheng could still understand and agree with this arrangement.

However, the rebellion of the 36th Battalion only improved slightly and did not occupy any advantage. Not to mention the weakness of the troops, the combat quality of the soldiers is even weaker, and they have not achieved any absolute superiority at all. Moreover, Shanxi is still in the hands of the imperial court, there are threats in both directions, and there are threats in both directions, so I don't want to run quickly, but I focus on intrigue, with the help of the momentum of the official army, to weaken the strength of other rebel armies, isn't Wang's own head in the water, or what?

Li Zicheng looked at the map again, and kept thinking that if he wanted to evacuate, he could easily cross the Yellow River south and enter Henan.

However, this was not what Li Zicheng wanted, what he pursued was to fool the vast majority of the rebel army to Henan and withdraw from Shanxi, so as to achieve his goal and get the main force of the official army out of Shaanxi.

Li Zicheng thought about it again, but he still had no good solution, and he didn't know how to fool the rebel army from all walks of life to Henan?

After all, at least on the bright side, the current situation of the rebel armies in Shanxi is very good, and the leaders have not yet realized the impending crisis.

In particular, the last few operations have been very smooth, not only taking Pingyang Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, Zezhou, Fenzhou and many other prefectures and counties, but also expanding the strength of nearly doubled, every leader of the rebel army has tasted the sweetness, from the Yamen's treasury granary seized countless people, some of the leaders of the rebel army are almost rich.

All of a sudden, Shanxi was about to become the world of the rebel army.

However, most of the regions and cities were still under the control of the imperial court, and the officials and troops still had an absolute advantage. Many of the chiefs were blinded by the momentary victory, and did not see such a situation, and most of them were enjoying themselves.

In the end, Li Zicheng came to a conclusion that all he could do now was to stir up the water in Shanxi more chaotically, and make the momentum of the rebel army bigger in his own area, like a spark that can start a prairie fire.

In this way, not only can he Li Zicheng quickly emerge among the rebel armies from all walks of life, and his status will rise sharply, but also bring that day forward.

The Ming army entered Shanxi in a big way, and surrounded and suppressed the rebels with heavy troops, which caused the rebel army to retreat and had to flee south, bringing the battlefield to Henan.

With the initial structure, Li Zicheng's thinking suddenly became broad, and he knew what he should do next.

I don't know when, Li Zicheng walked out of the camp tent, left the camp of the Li family's army, and went straight to the stone tower city.

Soon, in the hall of Gao Yingxiang's residence, as soon as Li Zicheng stood still, he heard a familiar and hearty voice.

"Haha... Hongji, you came at the right time, uncle and I are discussing with the generals, how to take Puxian? You came just in time, just in time to help the staff officers, how can you take it down as quickly and effectively as possible, and reduce casualties as much as possible? ”

Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and then said: "Uncle is really wise and far-sighted, not counting your nephew's subordinates, the strength of your old subordinates has increased to nearly 20,000 at once, and it is the time when you need to expand your territory and seize more grain and silver." ”

"Hehe... Hongji is smart, and you can guess this point of mind of uncle. Gao Yingxiang sighed, and then said: "Hongji, we have been capturing the stone tower for a while, and we have almost touched the surrounding situation, what do you think, how can we capture Puxian?" ”

Li Zicheng only thought for a moment, and then replied solemnly: "Uncle, you also said that we have taken the stone tower for a while. With the stone tower as the center, all the smaller cities nearby are basically controlled by your uncle. All of a sudden, the official and military city defense battalions of the surrounding towns either surrendered or joined other relatively large cities. ”

"Moreover, all the siege methods and methods used in the past have basically been used all over again, and they are well known to the officials and soldiers, so it is impossible to repeat the old tricks. In addition, the city defense battalion of Xi County has long been prepared, and it is even more unlikely that the sneak attack will be successful. ”

Gao Yingxiang listened very seriously, nodded again and again, stroked his beard, and followed in a deep voice with a long voice: "Hmm... Hongji, according to what you say, for the sake of today's plan, if you want to take Puxian, the only way is to attack? ”

"Yes, uncle." Li Zicheng nodded, replied affirmatively, and then analyzed: "However, in this way, with the high walls of Puxian County, many more officers and soldiers have been stationed, plus the officers and soldiers who fled and hid in a few days ago. In today's Pu County, even if there are no 10,000 officers and soldiers in the city, it is not far behind. If we attack, we will definitely suffer heavy losses, but the gains outweigh the losses. ”

"Is that all? Captain Li, don't forget, there are nearly 20,000 brothers under Leader Gao to feed, and the rest of the food is barely enough to last for three or four months. If there is no food, the hearts of the people will be scattered. A man stood up and said questioningly, his face full of melancholy.

Gao Yingxiang added in a timely manner: "Yes, Hongji, Hao Shaoqi is right. Moreover, more and more people are joining us, not only because they are worried about food, but also because they want to get weapons for their new brothers, which need to be solved by capturing new towns. Do you have a good way to take Pu County? ”

Obviously, Li Zicheng had been prepared for a long time, and answered Gao Yingxiang's inquiry without thinking about it.

"Uncle, if we only rely on ourselves to attack Puxian, it will definitely not work. In that case, even if Puxian is captured, the gains will outweigh the losses. In that case, why don't we ask for some help? ”

Hearing this, Gao Yingxiang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he probably guessed what Li Zicheng meant, so he did not interrupt the inquiry, but quietly waited for the next words.

"Uncle, why did you forget? To the north of us, there are old Hui Hui horses guarding them, and they are entrenched in Ningxiang. There are also Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong of Jishan, as well as the leader of the Wang League, who are still in the Yueyang area, and did not leave, and went to Lu'an Mansion. We can ask them for help. ”

"That's right! How did I forget about it? Not to mention much, as long as these people send a part of their subordinates, they can gather tens of thousands of rebel troops in Pu County. Under such a momentum, even if it can't scare the officials and soldiers of Puxian County, it can also make them lose a little fighting spirit. Gao Yingxiang patted his thigh and couldn't help but echo loudly.

At this time, Hao Shaoqi raised doubts.

"Chief, of course it would be nice if you could borrow troops from other rebel armies. Even if Puxian is stormed, the certainty is much greater. However, will the leader of the Wang Alliance and the old Hui Hui agree? After all, this is to help us, what benefits can they get? ”

However, Li Zicheng was not stumped, smiled slightly, and replied very confidently.

"Hehe... Hao Yongzhong Captain Hao, your vision should not be limited to Puxian, but should be more long-term. ”

Li Zicheng paused and sold a pass. Such vague words aroused everyone's curiosity at the same time, but also puzzled, Gao Yingxiang frowned slightly, and asked: "Hongji, what do you mean by this?" Having said so much and discussing for so long, isn't it just to capture Puxian? If so many people are added at once, there will not be many of them in our hands. ”

Seeing that success had attracted everyone's attention, as soon as Gao Yingxiang's words fell, Li Zicheng said in an orderly manner: "Uncle, Captain Hao, and everyone, the ultimate goal of our attack on Puxian is to obtain food and weapons, so as to further strengthen our strength." However, have you ever thought that once we take Puxian, we will be able to revitalize the situation in the northern part of Pingyang Prefecture, and we can capture Fenxi, Huozhou, Zhaocheng, Hongdong and other places in the east; The west can take the Daning area; In the middle, Xi County can be occupied. ”

A word woke up the person in the dream, and everyone woke up for it, and Ge Li couldn't help but say his opinion, with an excited face.

In this way, as long as they are allowed to benefit, they can divide the grain and rice cloth seized from Puxian County. Once we capture Puxian, we can also take advantage of this momentum to take other places in one go. As long as you take Daning or Xi County and other people and a city, you can make up for the losses in Puxian County, and it will be more than enough. ”

Hao Shaoqi suddenly realized, and then said: "In this case, the entire northern area of Pingyang Mansion will be the leader's sphere of influence. ”

"Yes, that's what I meant." Li Zicheng enjoyed everyone's admiring gaze very much, and nodded to everyone in a pretending to be a master.

At this time, Li Zicheng's heart moved, and he thought of a classic line in a TV series, and said aloud in a pretended manner: "The art of war is cloudy, and those who do not seek eternity are not enough to plan for a while; Those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a domain. ”

"Yes, yes... What Captain Li said is really right, they are all good words. ”

Everyone enthusiastically agreed, but no one could understand the meaning of the above two sentences. Because, these people are a bunch of big and rough people, and they haven't read a book for a few days, let alone read a book on soldiers?

What's more, Li Zicheng's last two sentences came from the Qing Dynasty, and at this time, there is no yet. Even famous Confucians will never hear of it. After hearing it, I could only give a thumbs up in admiration.

After some greetings and praises, the hall fell silent again, and all eyes were focused on Gao Yingxiang, waiting for the final decision. After all, it was just deliberation and discussion, and the final big idea had to be taken by the leader.

"Okay, just do it, just do what Captain Li says."

Gao Yingxiang's indifferent attitude surprised everyone. Although he gave a positive reply, he was not as excited or happy as he imagined, and even his address changed, making him seem very distant.

Immediately after, a flurry of orders and arrangements followed.

"Hao Shaoqi, you go to Ningxiang and be responsible for borrowing troops from Lao Hui."

"Ge Li Yan, you go to Jishan and ask Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong for help."

"King Zuojin, you go to Yueyang and ask for help from the leader of the Wang League."

......

After the orders were given, Gao Yingxiang added: "Before you leave, I will give me a handwritten letter." With my handwritten letter, if nothing happens to me, all the reinforcements from the rebels should have arrived in three months' time. ”

This time it was really beyond everyone's expectations, and most people were very puzzled. It stands to reason that the person present should be the closest relationship between Li Zicheng and the leader, and there should also be a corresponding task, the best person to go to the alliance leader for help, but now he has become the most idle person? What's more, Li Zicheng is still the initiator of the plan.

For a moment, there was a faint strange atmosphere in the hall.

"Uncle, since everything has been arranged, the nephew will retire first, and there are still some things to deal with in the camp."

"Well, okay, Hongji, you can go back first."

Gao Yingxiang agreed very happily, without any affirmation and praise, let alone any reward.

However, Li Zicheng, as the party concerned, did not have any discouragement, but gave people a feeling of sudden relaxation, and left the hall very chic and walked out of the courtyard of Gao Yingxiang's residence.

When he came outside and walked on the street, Li Zicheng smiled mysteriously, shrugged his shoulders slightly mockingly, smiled from the bottom of his heart, and muttered to himself: "Hehe... There's nothing to be disappointed about, isn't that exactly what this trip is for? The old guy took the initiative to attack Puxian, but he saved himself some saliva and persuasion. ”