The next day, when the sun was on three poles, the city gate of Baoji County was opened, and the pedestrians passing by were endless, entering and exiting the city gate. At the four gates, the guards were heavily guarded, strictly checking the passers-by, and only the soldiers who were in charge of checking by the city gates were enough to have twenty or thirty people standing on both sides.

Not only that, there are a large number of soldiers guarding the city gate, waiting for the battle, all of them are clearly armored, the weapons in their hands glow with a faint cold light, and there are even a gate artillery lined up there, facing the outside of the city.

There are also rolling logs and stones piled up on both sides of the aisle on the city gate tower, which are very neatly placed and can be used at hand.

"General, there is a situation, a large number of people and horses are approaching the county seat in the distance, approaching the city gate!"

On the city gate tower of the south gate, with an exclamation from a soldier in charge of the lookout, all the soldiers were shocked physically and mentally, and when they were instinctively vigilant, there was a general who walked out of the city gate tower, trotted out, looked high and looked at the south, his eyes were microns, and under the strong sunlight, he vaguely saw that there was really a group of people and horses suddenly appeared, slowly approaching, and became clearer and clearer.

"Everyone's orders, close the city gates, no one is allowed to enter or leave, raise the vigilance, and once these men and horses get close to the city gates and enter the firing range, they will immediately bow and arrow!"

"Yes, General!"

After the general finished the order, he heard all the soldiers respond one after another, and in a commotion of pedestrians, the city gate was slowly closed and closed, and after it was solidified, he breathed a sigh of relief, his nervous expression eased slightly, and then he ordered the deputy general beside him: "Go and inform the county magistrate Li Jiayan Li immediately, just say that there is an emergency here at the south gate." At the same time, by the way, quickly inform the guards of the other three gates, briefly describe the situation here, and ask them to close the gates as well, just in case. ”

"Yes, General, the last general will do it himself, and send men to the other three gates."

"Well, go and come back quickly, find Master Li as soon as possible, the matter is urgent, the situation is unclear, and we don't know who is coming, it is definitely not something we can deal with alone."

"Yes, General, my subordinates understand!"

After the adjutant general left, another general of the colonel asked, "General, did we overreact?" Looking at the appearance of this group of people who suddenly appeared, it seems that there is no hostility, so it is better for us to send someone to inquire and figure out the situation before talking? ”

The general took a deep look at the general, if he could, he couldn't wait to scold the other party for being stupid, and thought to himself, there are so many people on the other side, at a glance, it is roughly estimated that there are at least twenty or thirty thousand people, so many troops, once they are close to the city gate, with such a higher city and such a small number of troops, how can they be able to hold the city gate, and they will be occupied in an instant.

Although there were many thoughts and doubts in his heart, jealousy and worry, all kinds of emotions were intertwined, and there were mixed feelings, the general still patiently explained: "Don't say that these people are dressed in mixed clothes, at first glance, they are definitely not the troops of the imperial court. Even those rebellious troops recruited by the imperial court, when passing by, they must be ready for battle, and they must not take it lightly. ”

"You have just been transferred from other places, and you don't know how unpredictable the situation in Shaanxi is, even if the troops of the imperial court come, you must close the city gate and be careful. Only after confirming his identity and seeing the seal letter will he be allowed to enter the city gate. Especially those rebellious armies who have no faith, even if they are recruited, they can't easily let them enter the city in large numbers. ”

The general nodded again and again, looking like he suddenly realized, and some information instantly appeared in his mind, recalling all kinds of rumors about Shaanxi.

Sometimes, when you see a unit in military uniform, you should not think that it is really your own people, it is very likely that the rebel army is pretending to be a rebel army and wants to capture the city without bloodshed.

There is no room for many soldiers and generals on the city gate to think too much, that group of men and horses has already come to the city, and it is only one or two hundred meters away from the city gate, far beyond the range of bows and arrows, and it is not within the range of artillery.

The person who came was none other than Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other leaders of the rebel army, tens of thousands of Chen soldiers under the city, and the black pressure was overwhelming, which made the city defense camp on the city gate tower feel shocked, and the generals were secretly afraid, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads, but fortunately the city gate was closed, and everything entered a state of combat readiness.

"Hey... Who are you? Don't get close anymore! Otherwise, we're going to have to shoot our arrows! ”

The general shouted, instinctively tightened the saber in his hand, looked straight into the distance against the sun's rays, and stared closely at the rebels, as soon as he made the slightest move, he would give the order to attack.

"The soldiers in the city, don't get me wrong, we are the people who were appeased by the governor Lord Chen, including the army that was recruited, and the farmers who were repatriated to their hometowns.

With a loud shout from the rebel army, a person immediately walked out of the ranks, holding something in both hands, running in small steps, slowly approaching the city gate, the general waved his hand, stopped the soldiers who were about to shoot arrows, and said in a deep voice: "Let this person come, let him stop outside the city gate, they can't make any trouble, what can a person do?" ”

The man came to the city gate, raised the things in his hands above his head, and then said in a loud voice again: "Master Jun, please see, this is the ticket issued to us by the imperial court to avoid death, and we can enjoy the food provided by the counties along the way. ”

"Made, you untouchables are still meritorious and polite in rebellion, but they are offered like uncles, and the military master is often hungry~" The general cursed secretly, very dissatisfied, of course, he had heard about the death ticket, but he did not reply to the person immediately, but looked at a soldier beside him, and said loudly: "Go and get a rope and a bamboo basket." ”

"Yes, General."

At the same time as the soldier left, the general looked down at the man again and said in a loud voice: "Wait a minute, the distance is so high, General Ben can't see what you have in your hand clearly, and of course he can't tell the truth from it." After a while, put the things in your hand into the bamboo basket, and wait for General Ben to confirm before you can make a later response. ”

"Okay, Master Bing." After the man responded, he smiled softly with a flattering look on his face, and then said further: "General, we don't have any other meaning, we just want to go into the city to replenish some materials and buy some things, and hope that the general will be able to let us go, open the city gate, and let us enter the city." ”

"Don't worry, wait for General Ben to confirm, if everything is okay and everything is fine, you can wait patiently for a while."

As he spoke, a bamboo basket slowly fell under the suspension of the rope, and finally hovered in front of the man, who, without any hesitation, threw the things in his hand into the basket and let it pull up the city wall.

At this moment, an official appeared on the city gate tower, and judging by the style of the official uniform he was wearing, it should be Li Jiayan, the magistrate of Baoji County.

"My lord, you're finally here, please take a look at this."

The general took out the death free tickets and the text from the bamboo basket, and walked quickly to Li Jiayan's side, and while he checked the death free tickets and other things, he repeated some of the things just now.

During the whole process, the general's heart was very worried, and with a hint of hope, how would the county magistrate react? What will be done about this?

From beginning to end, Li Jiayan just nodded lightly, took those things, and did not say that there was too much reaction, but roughly checked the words and the ticket to avoid death, and still did not say anything.

In the process of recounting what happened, Li Jiayan's face was calm, and he slowly walked to the south side of the city wall, looking into the distance, the direction of the rebel army, and didn't know what he was thinking?

Soon after, dozens of large baskets suddenly appeared on the city wall, slowly falling, and dozens of rebel soldiers were waiting to be pulled up the city wall.

At the same time, in the ranks of the rebel army, a little in the front position, Li Zicheng, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and several others stood side by side on horseback, lined up, quietly looking at the direction of the city, and the people sent were slowly pulled up.

"Made, if there is a flying dragon chariot now, there is no need to agree to so many harsh conditions for these turtle grandsons, saying that the brigade is not allowed to approach the city, and only a few dozen people are allowed to enter the city in bamboo baskets."

With Zhang Xianzhong's foul language, everyone glanced at Li Zicheng's direction intentionally or unintentionally.

Obviously, everyone still has a glimmer of hope in their hearts, hoping that Li Zicheng can make a flying dragon chariot.

At this time, Zhang Miaoshou turned his head slightly, looked at Li Zicheng, and asked, "Chuang General, how sure do you think the plan can succeed?" Will the city's officials and guards really be fooled? Will our people really be able to get their hands on it? ”

"Enough choking~"

Li Zicheng spit out two words lightly, ignoring everyone's strange gazes, still looking ahead at himself, and continued to say to himself: "Judging from all indications, the officials and guards of Baoji County are very suspicious and have been guarding against us. Even if our people are disguised as pacification officers, once they get to the city, is it difficult to guarantee that they will not be exposed and exposed? ”

"If the plan fails, Brother Li, what should we do next? Will you storm Baoji County, or will you evacuate and fight elsewhere? The old man interjected and asked.

"Personally, I'm more inclined to the second option." Li Zicheng replied without hesitation, and then explained: "Although Baoji City is not high, it is not something that we can capture at present. If you don't have siege equipment and only use wooden ladders, even if you win it in the end, you will lose a lot of money, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

Speaking of this, Li Zicheng paused, showed a meaningful look, looked at the leaders one by one, and then his expression was a constriction, and he emphasized very solemnly: "Leaders, if the plan fails, Li Jiajun is ready to evacuate Baoji County and move to the surrounding state capitals. ”

Immediately afterwards, Li Zicheng pointed to the direction of the city wall and said sonorously: "You have also seen that the city defense battalion not only has strong bows and crossbows, but also extremely lethal artillery, and there should be rolling wood and stones on the city wall. If the attack is forced, the casualties will be an incalculable number, and it will be difficult for any rebel army to bear this price. ”

"However, Zicheng, if we can't take Baoji City, we can't replenish food, and with this bit of food in our hands, we can only support one day." Gao Yingxiang frowned slightly and reminded softly.

However, Li Zicheng shook his head again and again, and said unbelievingly: "Uncle, there are so many counties around, and my nephew doesn't believe it, is it possible that every state capital and county is like Baoji County, and has already taken precautions?" ”

"Moreover, our rebellion again only happened last night. Even if it is the news of the siege of this Baoji County, it will not take three or five days, and the nearby state capital and county will not be known at all. As long as the action is fast enough, accurate enough, and the timing is right, he still disguises himself as a surrenderer, and he will always fool so many officials and generals who defend the city and capture a few cities. ”

Hearing this, as if they were awakened, everyone nodded frequently, but also their eyes lit up, and Li Zicheng said: "At this time, when the Tartars enter the customs, they are making chaos in Shanxi, and they are constantly moving south, and most of the troops of the imperial court are transferring to support and resist the Houjin army. The city defense battalions left in the various state capitals and counties can have one or two thousand people, which is too much. ”

"There are many of us, sixty or seventy thousand people, after the troops are divided into several routes, and at the same time they attack the nearby state capital and county, and when they are unprepared, there will always be a few roads of men and horses to capture the city. Besides, once the momentum is greatly boosted, the officers and troops will be defeated one after another wherever the soldiers go, and even if we don't attack the city, the officials in the city will have to flee without a fight, even if they don't sacrifice the city. ”

After Li Zicheng said this, such a reminder, everyone couldn't help but think of the past, every time the prestige of the rebel army was shaken, the soldiers were invincible, and many officers and soldiers were defeated without a fight, abandoning the city, and those who sacrificed the city abounded.

For a while, everyone was moved, and immediately looked down on the success of the plan related to Baoji County, and began to breed other ideas in their hearts.

At this moment, suddenly, everyone heard a scream, coming from the direction of the city wall, and Li Zicheng stopped talking, holding a telescope and looking over.

"Sure enough, it was discovered, and everyone was killed by the guards of Baoji County."

No one doubted Li Zicheng's words, and he was even more surprised by the telescope in his hand. Along the way, everyone has already seen the magic of the telescope, although they are envious and want to have one, but no one is embarrassed to ask for it.

Everyone knows that with such a telescope, not only can you grasp the battlefield situation more accurately and timely, but also find the enemy in a more timely manner.

"Leaders, what should be said, Li will not say, take the next step, take a look at other places, see if you can capture other cities and replenish grain and grass materials?"

As soon as he finished saying this, without waiting for the other people's reactions, Li Zicheng rode his horse and left with the escort, which made the others stunned, and then reacted and began to act one after another.

Soon after, tens of thousands of rebel troops were divided into more than a dozen roads, large and small, as if a certain consensus had been reached, and the rebel armies of these dozen roads cooperated quite tacitly, with Baoji City as the center, and scattered in all directions.

For a time, Li Jiayan, the magistrate of the county, had the intention to inform the neighboring state capital and county that under such a situation, there were rebel rebels all around, and they could only be in a hurry and not go out.

I am afraid that as soon as the city gate is opened here, the rebel army will go and return again, and the more than 1,000 city defense battalions in the city will not be able to withstand so many rebel troops.