Outside the north gate of Huaiqing City, Gao Yigong and Dang Shousu each led more than 700 people to stand by, located in the southeast and southeast directions, showing a trend of corners, waiting for Zuo Liangyu's arrival, so as to give a fierce blow.

The garrison on the tower was stunned, completely confused by the rebels outside the city. In the morning, the Li family army besieging Huaiqing City was reduced by 1,000 people one after another, which made the defender's heart slightly relieved, and he saw hope, could it be that the chaotic army could not be attacked for a long time, and this was to be withdrawn?

However, with a series of changes later, the guard's heart suddenly hung again, and he stood nervously on the north gate tower, looking at the north. Especially in the sky a few miles away from Huaiqing City, the birds circled, the dust was flying, stretching for several miles, which suddenly made the garrison feel a drum in his heart, and there was a bad feeling.

From the place where the birds appeared, to the distance where the dust continued, getting closer and closer to Huaiqing City, the guard's heart became more and more uneasy, and the hand holding the hilt of the knife was sweating.

"General, it's not a thief, but a reinforcement sent by the imperial court. You see, the leader is Zuo Liangyu Zuo General Soldier, and the deputy general next to him is his son Zuo Mengeng, there will be no mistake! ”

An adjutant general came to the side of the garrison, with a look of excitement on his face, pointing directly to the north excitedly, and even his voice trembled with joy, as if he had seen a great savior.

Hearing this, the garrison was startled at first, then his face was suspicious, his eyes widened, his eyes were far-sighted, and he was also excited, his heart was relieved, and he couldn't help but say: "Yes, yes, it is the Zuo General Soldiers, our Huaiqing City is saved." ”

However, the guard didn't have time to rejoice for long, and his heart sank as the voice of the other lieutenant came.

"General, something is wrong, why are they so embarrassed? You see, there was also an army in their rear, like a pursuer, very similar to the rebel army blocking the city. ”

As he spoke, Zuo Liangyu's army was already very close to Huaiqing City, only about two miles away, and the officers and soldiers on the city tower could already vaguely see that the situation of the reinforcements was not good, as if they were being chased and killed.

The garrison only hesitated for a moment, and then some news immediately appeared in his mind, and when he thought of something, he immediately shouted: "Not good! The Li family army, which besieged Huaiqing City before, must have received the news that General Zuo led people to support us. Therefore, a thousand men and horses will be dispatched one after another to ambush the reinforcements must pass through. ”

As soon as he thought of this, he reminded his subordinates loudly, and then ordered: "All the archers are ready, once the left general army arrives at the city, immediately release arrows to block the pursuers behind and cover the reinforcements into the city!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a partial general reminded: "General, you have to think twice!" If the rebellious army took advantage of the general soldiers of Zuo to enter the city and desperately cover up, Huaiqing City would be lost overnight. ”

However, the garrison had a firm look on his face, and did not mean to change the order, but pointed ahead and said in a deep voice: "You see, the chaotic army pursuing the left general army has 4,000 people, to say the least. If we don't open the city gate and cover the general soldier Zuo to come in, let's not talk about offending the general soldier Zuo. Once the reinforcements were wiped out, or repulsed, Huaiqing City was simply unable to deal with the attack of nearly 10,000 people. ”

"The general is right. In the past few days, the soldiers in the city have suffered heavy losses, and there are less than a thousand people left, and most of them are old and weak. If the troops cannot be replenished, Huaiqing City will fall sooner or later. In this case, it is not weak to gamble and cover the general soldiers of Zuo to enter the city. ”

Another general's eyes flashed, and after his voice echoed faintly, he immediately stayed far away, and added in a deep voice: "It seems that other rebel troops must have received the news, or they were invited by Li Zicheng, and they also sent two or three thousand people to help in the battle and attack Huaiqing City." If the two rebellious armies join forces and take a strong attack, if there is no Zuo General Army and they enter the city to help, Huaiqing City will never survive tomorrow. ”

At this moment, needless to say, all the guards on the city gate tower knew very well that if they didn't cover Zuo Liangyu's entry into the city, only the city would be destroyed and people would die.

At the same time, in the northeast direction, more than 700 Li Jiajun's troops in the camp of the party were ready to launch an attack to block the imperial court's reinforcements to Huaiqing City, that is, to intercept Zuo Liangyu and others, and attack together with Li Zicheng and Li Guo.

Of course, there are also more than 700 Li Jiajun in the west.

At this time, Dang Shousu was about to wave his hand and give an order to intercept head-on, when the flag commander in the distance suddenly ran over and said hurriedly: "Captain Qiyu, the boss has an order from the side, we are not allowed to fight head-on with the reinforcements of the imperial court, and we want to let them go and enter Huaiqing City, we just need to cover up from behind." ”

In an instant, a big hand that was about to be waved stopped and stopped in mid-air, although he was unwilling, but Dang Shousu still obeyed the command and gave an order: "Pass the order, once the vanguard of the official army crosses the ambush circle, everyone will pursue from behind and cover the enemy." Once the officers and soldiers on the city wall shoot arrows, they are not allowed to pursue them! ”

Looking at the north gate of Huaiqing City, which was close at hand, Zuo Liangyu held his breath and concentrated, his whole body tensed, and he galloped selflessly.

Zuo Mengeng on the side was so excited that he couldn't help himself, he couldn't be as calm as his old son, and couldn't help but say excitedly: "Father, as long as we enter Huaiqing City, we will be safe." Moreover, once Lord Xuan gets the news of our defeat, he will definitely send General Tang Jiuzhou and General Li Pei to support and encircle and suppress the rebellious army. ”

"Meng Geng, pass the order, let the people and horses on the left and right think about the chaotic army in front of them, and be careful of being blocked."

After saying this, if he wasn't on a horse, if he wasn't facing the danger of being flanked in front and back, Zuo Liangyu couldn't wait to give his son a mouthful, and he couldn't wait to reprimand him with his head and face, aren't you stupid, didn't you see the chaotic army in front?

I haven't jumped out of the crisis yet, but I fantasize about others coming to support, so there's nothing wrong with my head, right?

Zuo Liangyu's hands clenched the reins, his eyes were cold, his eyes wandered between the two Li family armies of Dang Shousu and Gao Yigong, and he was secretly praying in his heart that the guards of Huaiqing City were not stupid pigs, and they must answer themselves and let their four thousand men and horses enter the city, although they don't know how much they have lost.

Otherwise, once he is blocked out of the city, there is only a dead end waiting for him Zuo Liangyu, and there is no choice.

At that moment, when approaching Huaiqing City, Zuo Liangyu saw that the archers on the city wall were aimed at his side, bending their bows like a full moon, and his heart was chuckling, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably, and his scalp was even more numb, and a bad feeling arose.

However, this feeling only lasted for a while, and a voice came, which made Zuo Liangyu's heart slightly relieved, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"General Zuo, please let your men retreat to the south of the moat first, stick as close to the city wall as possible, and keep as far away from the thieves as possible, and I will let the archers on the city gate cover you to enter the city. Time is running out, please hurry! ”

Hearing this, for Zuo Liangyu, it was nothing less than the sound of heaven, better than anything else, and immediately issued the corresponding order.

At the same time, Zuo Liangyu was also secretly happy, no matter what, he didn't expect that the thieves who were eyeing each other on both sides of the front actually didn't take action, didn't stop themselves, and just let more than 3,000 officers and troops sail towards Huaiqing City, and more than half of them crossed the moat.

However, Zuo Liangyu didn't have time to be happy for long, as soon as the war horse under his crotch crossed the moat, only a few meters away from the city gate, and the sound of fighting came from both sides of the rear.

I saw that Gao Yigong and Dang Shousu acted almost at the same time, each leading more than 700 people to kill the officers and soldiers from two directions.

Moreover, the 5,000 Li family army led by Li Zicheng also caught up and rushed straight to the official army, and the three converged together, and immediately defeated Zuo Liangyu's rear men!

The two wings and backs were attacked by the enemy, and the officers and soldiers who fell behind at the end had already panicked and had no master, and only thought about rushing forward, hoping to enter the city as soon as possible and avoid the pursuit of the chaotic army.

For a time, the blood of the officers and soldiers stained the moat red! There were even panicked soldiers who fell into the river, or fell off their horses, trampled to death by those who followed, and all kinds of screams and wails were everywhere.

This is no longer a one-on-one battle, but a slaughter of one side against the other!

Not long after, when the official army was still fleeing towards Huaiqing City, Zuo Liangyu was already standing on top of the city gate tower, and his son Zuo Mengeng and the prefect of Huaiqing Mansion stood on the left and right respectively.

Seeing more and more soldiers being killed and falling off their horses, or falling into the moat, Zuo Liangyu's brows did not blink, and the whole person seemed very calm. However, at this moment, Zuo Liangyu suddenly shouted: "Release the arrow!" Close the gates! ”

The sudden order came as a surprise to everyone. Especially the prefect of Huaiqing City on the side, he was even more caught off guard, and the whole person was anxious, and hurriedly said: "General Soldier Zuo, no!" Now when Huaiqing City is most short of troops, there are still more than 1,000 soldiers outside who have not entered the city, so they can't just be turned away from the city and let them go. ”

"Execute my generals. Otherwise, the violator will be beheaded! ”

After Zuo Liangyu coldly threw out such an order, he immediately took out something from his arms and handed it to the prefect, but Zuo Mengeng reminded at this time: "Lord Prefect, my father has the emperor's holy decree, although he is controlled by the governor of Henan, Governor Fan, he is responsible for the military affairs of the entire Henan. In other words, when it comes to military affairs, as long as it is the order of the father, no one can interfere, not even Lord Fan. ”

Seeing that the prefect unfolded the holy decree, his expression was very ugly, and Zuo Mengeng further said: "You better hurry up and carry out the order, let the archers release their arrows and close the city gate." Otherwise, you will be responsible for the loss of Huaiqing City. Once the court investigates it, it is not something that a small prefect can afford. ”

While speaking, the Li family army had already killed near the moat, and they were about to mix in the official army, dodge the bows and arrows in the city, and enter the city.

"My lord, hurry up, let's do what Mr. Zuo said. If we don't release arrows and close the city gate, once the rebel army reaches the city gate, we will be all finished! The garrison of Huaiqing City was also in a hurry, and hurriedly came to the prefect and urged.

It is no surprise that the officers and soldiers on the city wall bent their bows and shot arrows, whether it was the soldiers of the Li family army or the officers and soldiers who came to support, as long as they reached the vicinity of the city gate, they would be within the coverage of the arrow rain. Not only that, but the rolling wood and stones were also placed on the edge of the city walls, especially above the city gates.

Crunch...

The moment the city gate was closed, there was a shocking sound outside the city, as well as the neighing of war horses, and Zuo Liangyu looked at all this lightly, glanced at the prefect, and secretly said in his heart: "A scholar is a scholar, too much scholarly spirit, not knowing military affairs, and only making mistakes." ”

Soon, the fighting stopped, Li Zicheng, Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others stood outside the north gate, about six or seven hundred meters away, Dang Shousu rode on a horse, and said happily: "Boss, I finally understand, why don't you let me and Gao Yigong face the official army and block it outside the city?" ”

Gao Yigong also had a look on his face, and added excitedly: "Leave a way for Zuo Liangyu and them to live, so that they have hope of entering the city." In this way, if we follow the striking, we can amplify the effect to the maximum and minimize the loss of soldiers. Look at these dead officers and soldiers, six or seven out of ten of them were trampled to death, or fell into the river. ”

"Oops", before Gao Yigong finished speaking, he suddenly screamed in pain and fell off the horse. No, more precisely, it should be under the falling dog!

I saw that the black ruffian shook his body, the fur on his body exploded, and he glanced at Gao Yigong forcefully, which seemed to say: "Boy, you can ride this seat too?" If it weren't for the master's orders, I would have thrown you into the river instead of falling to the ground. ”

Gao Yigong smiled awkwardly, patted the dirt on his body, glared at the black ruffian hatefully, then returned to normal, turned his head to look at Li Zicheng, and asked: "Boss, Zuo Liangyu is hiding in Huaiqing City, what should we do next?" ”

However, without waiting for Li Zicheng to answer, Gao Yigong's face smiled extremely brightly, and he turned to flattery: "Boss, why don't you take advantage of Zuo Liangyu's heavy losses and unstable military morale, let's take advantage of the momentum of victory and break Huaiqing City in one fell swoop?" ”

After Gao Yigong finished speaking, the others also looked at Li Zicheng expectantly, full of eagerness.

However, Li Zicheng shook his head and said softly: "Clean up the battlefield, the army continues to repair, surround Huaiqing City, and block the exits of the four city gates." ”

At night, Li Zicheng gathered the generals in the big tent, and the calm voice was echoing, and the others were also listening carefully.

"Brothers, you should know that the reason why we are besieging Huaiqing City is to attract the attention of the officials and troops of the entire Huaiqing Mansion and even the entire Henan, so as to cover Mr. Xu and Tian Jianxiu and their crossing of the Yellow River, as well as Wu Ruyi and Liu Fangliang to capture Guangwu Mountain, not really to capture Huaiqing City."

Hearing these words, a flash of realization flashed in Li Guo's mind, and he probably understood something, guessing why his uncle was commanding like that on this day? always put Zuo Liangyu at the most critical time, did not take advantage of the victory to pursue, and beat the water dog.

Gao Yigong, Dang Shousu and Liu Tichun may not know, but he Li Guo knows very well, not to mention that there are still 4,000 Li family troops around Huaiqing City, just the 4,000 people he brought, can sweep the official army, and defeat Zuo Liangyu into an army, how can there be a chance to escape? Even if Zuo Liangyu's father and son were able to escape, they would have to lose at least two or three thousand people. It's like now, just strangled 1,500 officers and soldiers.

Without waiting for Li to think too much, Li Zicheng issued another order, which made everyone stunned.

"Dang Shousu, in the middle of the night, you immediately led two thousand men and horses to Wuzhi County to support Mr. Xu and them, and transport all the materials across the Yellow River as soon as possible. At the same time, let Tian Jianxiu send someone to Guangwu Mountain to see how Wu Ruyi and Liu Fangliang's actions were? ”