In the eighth year of Chongzhen, on this day of the first month, in Kaifeng Mansion, Henan, near Xingyang County, on Guangwu Mountain, in the middle of Overlord City, in the hall of a certain house, Li Zicheng and Xu Xiake sat side by side, and Wu Ruyi stood opposite, reporting relevant information.

"Boss, Li Guo just sent someone to send intelligence, due to the intercession of the governor of Shanxi, Wu Fu, and the maneuvering of the military department, Cao Wenzhao was not sent to the border, but was reappointed as the chief military officer of the aid and suppression, so that he could make meritorious service and atone for his crimes."

"Oh... In this way, Cao Wenzhao is leading his troops to come? Li Zicheng's eyebrows rose slightly, and he asked abruptly.

"No, Boss." Wu Ruyi replied, and then added: "Because of gratitude to Wu Fu, Cao Wenzhao made a detour to Shanxi to help him encircle and suppress the rebel armies in Shanxi. ”

"And, boss, at this time, the rebel army in Shanxi is in a very bad situation, not only Cao Wenzhao's elite division, but also Tiger Dawei, fierce as a tiger, Cao Bianjiao and other fierce generals who can fight well, the leader of the rebel army Gao Jiaji was killed, and almost the entire army was wiped out. As a result, the rebel armies from all walks of life, which had just entered Shanxi, saw that the situation was not good, and withdrew to Henan one after another. ”

"Also, Zuo Liangyu in Zhangde Mansion is not simple, under the battle with the rebel armies from all walks of life, not only is it overwhelming, but it has also collected many disabled rebel troops, and the strength has increased significantly."

......

Listening to Wu Ruyi's narration, Li Zicheng's eyes flickered, and he was silent, and when the words ended, Xu Xiake said with some unnaturalness: "In this way, not only the rebel armies that entered Shanxi are not in a good situation, but even the leaders who entered Huguang are not progressing well. Although Hong Chengchou is still in Shaanxi, he is already commanding by remote control, chasing and killing the rebels from all walks of life. ”

"Yes, Mr. Xu, most of the rebel troops are withdrawing towards Henan." Wu Ruyi nodded lightly.

However, at this moment, Li Zicheng suddenly turned to ask: "Ruyi, how is the matter with transporting materials and transferring personnel from various base areas in Shaanxi to Shanxi?" ”

"Boss, the material has stopped for the time being, as for the army that entered Shanxi, it did not withdraw from Shanxi with the other rebel armies and entered Henan, but joined Li Guo and entered the base area of Pingyang Mansion and Zezhou."

Speaking of this, Wu Ruyi paused, seemed to think of something, and then said: "By the way, boss, Li Guo and they have already confirmed, and it has been verified clearly that the two major families of Han Duan did have an affair with the Tartars, not only selling grain to Huang Taiji, but also providing relevant information. This time, Huang Taiji suddenly led an army to attack Shanxi, which had a lot to do with them, and provided news to the Tartars, and the main force of the official army was encircling and suppressing the rebel armies in the southwest. ”

"Boss, since it has been determined that the two Han Duan families are fornicating with Huang Taiji, do you want to let the brother troops in Shanxi solve them?" Wu Ruyi asked again.

"No, you don't." Li Zicheng shook his head, showing a thoughtful expression, and then explained: "Although Han Yun and Duan Yuan colluded with the Tartars, it is also of great use to us, especially the opening up of the new base area in Shanxi, and we still need to buy food from them. Moreover, information on the purchase of grain by the officers and soldiers, the route and time of the escort, and so on, still need to be provided by them. ”

"It's too~" Wu Ruyi nodded lightly, revealing a look of deep understanding, and continued as if talking to himself: "Sometimes, all kinds of materials in Shaanxi cannot be transported to Shanxi in time, and at that time, it is necessary to rely on the purchase of grain from the two families of Han Duan, so as to ensure the successive development and stable operation of the new base areas. ”

At this moment, Li Zicheng did not tell another reason, that is, the existence of the Han Duan family, and there is a greater benefit, once the official army is strong, it can lead to Houjin through them, so as to contain most of the troops of the imperial court and win more development space and time for the rebel armies from all walks of life.

At the same time, Li Zicheng sensitively caught Xu Xiake's expression change, looking preoccupied and wanting to speak, as if he had guessed the other party's thoughts, and said in a loud voice: "Mr. Xu, don't worry, for these villains and national scum, once we get into trouble, I will never let them go." ”

Xu Xiake's expression was obviously much better, but he was still a little unnatural, and responded softly: "Boss, don't worry, the old man can still understand the importance, if the Han Duan family is solved now, it will not be of any benefit to us." ”

Immediately, Li Zicheng did not dwell on this issue, but showed a solemn expression, changed the topic again, and asked: "Mr. Xu, although Shanxi has opened up several new base areas, the progress is still very slow, far less than the development speed when the various base areas were established in Shaanxi, do you have any good ideas to speed up the construction and development of Shanxi base areas?" ”

Hearing this, Xu Xiake's expression was very solemn, and he did not answer immediately, but showed a deep expression on his face, and after thinking for a while, he slowly replied: "Boss, there is no problem with the big strategy formulated by Gu Junshi, the biggest problem in the slow development and development of Shanxi's base is that Shaanxi's materials cannot be transported to Shanxi unimpeded, so that Shanxi's various base areas can only rely on themselves. ”

"If we want to solve the current problem, it is to further shift the battlefield to the south, and it is best to pull it to the Jianghuai and Huguang areas. In this way, the imperial army's army will inevitably move southward, and the transportation of things from Shaanxi to Shanxi will be smoother. ”

"Yes, Mr. Xu, I think so too." Li Zicheng agreed, nodded slightly, and then said: "However, if it is close to our family, it will be difficult to attract the official army to the south. What is difficult for me now is how to bring together the various rebel armies and persuade more than half of them to attack the state capital and county seat along the Jianghuai region. ”

At this time, without waiting for Xu Xiake to speak, Wu Ruyi replied first: "Boss, why are you smart and confused for a while?" ”

"What do you mean by that, Ruyi?" Li Zicheng asked at the right time, and Xu Xiake looked at Wu Ruyi with surprise and curiosity on his face.

"Boss, look, I think we just entered the territory of Henan, and the troops were divided into three routes, and now at this time, the two roads that go deep into Huguang and Shanxi have been frustrated one after another, and almost most of them are in Henan, why don't you convene them and hold a conference?"

While talking, Wu Ruyi was happy about his proposal, and the more he talked, the more excited he became, and the more he spoke, the more confident he became.

"With the prestige and appeal of the boss and the high leader, as long as you occupy a city in Henan, raise your arms and send out an invitation, even if you can't gather all the rebel army, it should be no problem to call most of them."

"Moreover, except for those rising star rebel army, all those who have developed a little longer have more or less received our grace, and Li Jiajun once rescued them. Just send out an invitation, always give a face, come for a while. ”

Hearing this, Li Zicheng's heart moved, and his mind immediately became active, and Xu Xiake couldn't help but nod and cheer, "Okay!" Then he continued: "Boss, just south of Guangwu Mountain, in Xingyang City, a large number of our personnel have long been mixed in. At the slightest command, you can take it down and use it as a venue for a meeting to send an invitation to the leaders of the rebels. ”

While speaking, Xu Xiake's eyes bloomed with excitement, and his words became even more excited.

"The most important thing is that once the rebel army gathers in Kaifeng Prefecture, the attention of the official army will be focused on Xingyang County. When the time comes, we can take the opportunity to take down several granaries in Henan, and launch the internal response of Yuzhou and Chenzhou, and the combination of internal and external affairs, and take the Guangjicang and Yongjicang in one fell swoop. ”

"Okay, that's it!"

Li Zicheng didn't hesitate any longer, he agreed, then stood up, and said as he walked out: "I'll leave Guangwu Mountain now, go to Xingyang County, meet with Gu Junshi, and after taking Xingyang City, send out an invitation letter with Leader Gao." ”