In the army, Bingzhong demanded that the ratio of cavalry and infantry in the four major battalions should be "seven horses and three steps", and the main forces, such as the Huben battalion, "everyone has a fine horse or straddles two horses", "the horses are paid, and they come and go like the wind, and they travel hundreds of miles day and night." Everywhere the soldiers went, they captured the heaviest mules and horses of the trophy team, and they didn't care about anything else. Because of the strong cavalry, the history is called "the march of dedication (Bingzhong), its coming is like the sudden arrival of the wind and rain, and its going is also like the ghost is difficult to know." Therefore, in a few months, they can either gallop north of the Yangtze River, or go to Chuyu, ravaging the three provinces, and making the officers and soldiers chase after each other, that is, Sun Tzu's method of 'going out of their way, tending to what they do not want, and avoiding the real and attacking the false'. The handsome man fell into his operation without realizing it. ”

Bingzhong, under Wang Zhaolin's proposal, the art of war strategy brought the initiative with speed, and the peasant army used the tactics of subduing the enemy, avoiding the real and attacking the weak, and infesting the impermanence to deal with the Ming official army. And "initiative" is the key to victory. Zhang Bingzhong rarely fought defensive warfare in his life, which may have been due to the fact that the Guanzhong battalion was not properly trained, and his strategic principle was to avoid holding a corner in any situation and to fight at a high speed. They had no fixed strongholds or targets, never attacked a city to the death, and never defended a city to the death, and the areas they attacked were often the empty areas where the Ming army was most weakly defended. Therefore, in order to avoid the real and win the victory, the Ming officials and troops who often fight were caught off guard. In contrast, the Ming army's operational power was much more cumbersome. They were in the open, garrisoned at every stronghold, and the geography kept them on the defensive, the battle line was very long, and at the same time they were constrained by huge logistics and dragged along by the rebels. As long as the siege cannot be stopped, there will be a situation where you can't catch up.

Under the supervision and training of Wang Zhaolin, Chen Shifang and others, Zhang Bingzhong's team gradually grew in combat strength.

One day, the weather was fine, and Zhang Bingzhong rode out of the camp on a horse. Just come to the top of the mountain, to see the magnificence of the mountains and rivers. I only heard a finch chirping overhead, and when I looked up, it turned out to be my little phoenix. As soon as he raised his left arm, the little finch was anchored on his left wrist. While teasing the little finch, Bingzhong found that there was a letter tube tied to the finch's right leg. When I opened it, I realized that it was a letter from my brother Luo Youcai.

The book says: The local officials treated Luo Youcai as a fat sheep and asked him for money every now and then. Now he is shy and empty, and he needs the help of the sixth brother and makes up his mind. Either continue to be the big sheep, or raise the banner of rebellion and continue to rebel, and there is nothing else to do.

Seeing the letter, Bingzhong rode on the top of the mountain and was silent for a long time. Looking at this magnificent mountain and river in his eyes, he was thinking about troublesome things in his heart. The Ming government did not take the surrender of the begging generals seriously, and they had to exploit them without sound and food, which simply forced people to continue to rebel. But this person's name and the shadow of the tree are not arbitrary. Luo Youcai, Luo Youneng's two brothers' family backgrounds are all from their own side, they have a few catties and taels, and Bingzhong knows best. What's more, I am the same, thinking in my heart: This is related to the life and death of the big guy, and you can't make a premature decision because of your own selfish desires, you have to go back to discuss it and then reply.

Zhang Bingzhong, who returned to the camp, was sullen and was discovered by Zhang Yuniang at a glance. I saw Zhang Yuniang step forward and ask:

Sixth brother, what's wrong?

The two brothers, Youcai and Neng, wrote to them, saying that they were not having a good time. Ask us how we are going to be? I'm also very upset, I don't know how to reply!

Sixth brother doesn't have to worry. I don't dare to say anything about the people on the side, but I am the one who follows you, and life and death depend on you. As for what you want to do in the future, I don't have a word for it. It's just that.......

Just what ......?

It's just something you have to think about, how to account for the lives of these tens of thousands of people!

Yu Niang, what you said is very true, I am worried about this matter. Why did they rebel in the first place? Isn't it just so that these poor brothers have something to eat and warm clothes to wear, so how can they care about their future?

Hehe, then you are compassionate!

I didn't think about it that much, because in times of famine and calamity, it is most important for people to survive.

I think you're a bodhisattva!

Following Zhang Yuniang's unintentional words, Zhang Bingzhong was woken up like a stick. It turns out that the reason for the troubles of Shicai is that he and the big guy have no goal and direction to move forward. Now because of Yu Niang's mention, I know where the direction and goal of my future efforts are. Not only should there be food and clothing, but also a safe place for everyone to recuperate. With this backbone, Bingzhong put his mind at ease and began to prepare. That night, Zhang Bingzhong invited the two major advisers and the commander of the four battalions, as well as the lord of the Eight Banners and others in the Chinese military tent. After all battalions and flags arrived one by one, Bingzhong was not verbose, and directly told the plight of the two brothers, Luo Youcai and Luo Youneng. At this time, the commanders of the battalions were still rejoicing, fortunately, our major general did not allow us to make friends with local officials, not to mention bribing officials, these money. If Yu Qi is otherwise, not only that, but he doesn't know how many military laws and laws will be violated. While everyone was rejoicing, Bingzhong said his thoughts very seriously.

It was originally a discussion, but because Bingzhong was too serious, there were two major schools of thought and thoughts. One faction thinks that we can just raise the flag and rebel, and we don't need to look at others. The other faction believes that let the Luo brothers raise the flag to rebel first, and we will follow the trend and advance. As the saying goes: the strength is in one place, and the soldiers are in one place. Let's just get together, follow King Chuang, and get what we get, which is just a meal and so ......on.

Bingzhong saw that these dozen or so people were gossiping and talking, and he couldn't settle down for a while. Later, he listened to the suggestions of Ouyang Yunfang and Wang Zhaolin, and decided to use the general direction and small strategy to rebel. In layman's terms, it is to attack the east and the west, that is, to feint with Li Chuang's royal department, and then take Sichuan directly. Bingzhong unfolded the map in public, and talked to the generals one by one about the future calculations. It's just that from Gucheng to Xichuan, it is necessary to pass through the important city of Xiangyang City, and if the opportunity is right, it can also remove Yang Sichang's interference and the dilemma of the four corners and six corners. In all these operations, the biggest support still comes from the intelligence of the Big Sparrow Battalion. Therefore, Bingzhong asked Yu Niang to work with Ouyang Yunfang to take care of the livelihood of the Big Sparrow Camp, because it is directly related to the accuracy and success of the action. At the same time, inform the Luo brothers that the soldiers and Li Chuang Wang are together, and several strands of rope are twisted together, which is bound to drag the ten-sided net strategy to a pulp.

In this way, in May of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong re-raised the banner of righteousness in Gucheng for the way of heaven. The rebels quickly defeated the officers and troops who garrisoned Gucheng, killed the county commander Ruan Zhitian and the patrol press Yushi Lin Mingqiu, demolished the city walls, and robbed the treasury to set prisoners on death. Zhang Dajing, Ma Tingbao and Xu Qizuo were forced to surrender.

When Zhang Xianzhong left Gucheng, he wrote in detail the list, number and time of the bribes demanded from officials of all sizes in the government on the walls inside and outside the city, so that the people could see clearly the corruption of politics and officialdom in the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhang Xianzhong rose again, Luo Youcai and Ma Shouying also responded and went to Gucheng to meet Zhang Bingzhong. Bingzhong instructed them, and the big guys and soldiers were divided into three ways to harass Li Chuangwang's troops. Li Zicheng, who was hidden in the Shangluo Mountains, also regrouped with the help of Bingzhong and entered Henan through the Yun and Jun regions of Hubei. The flames of the peasant uprising once again raged on the land of the Central Plains.

When the Ming Dynasty recruited Shi Xiong Wencan, he learned of the resurgence of the rebel army, and immediately transferred Zuo Liang and Luo Dai to lead the troops to pursue and suppress it. Zhang Xianzhong ambushed the army in the Luo Monkey Mountain west of Fang County, spread the net and set up a formation, and sent a team to feint and retreat, lure the official army into the mountain, ambush the besieged, the official army of more than 10,000 people were all scattered, Luo Dai was captured alive, Zuo Liang lost his armor, fled in the saddle, and even the military seal letter was lost. Emperor Chongzhen was furious, removed Xiong Wencan from his post and arrested him; Zuo Liang was demoted to three levels and made meritorious service with the army. Then, Yang Sichang, a scholar and secretary of the military department, was reassigned to supervise the division, and the governor below listened to moderation, and once again launched a large-scale encirclement and suppression of the peasant army.

As soon as Yang Sichang, the superintendent, arrived in Xiangyang, he threw out the strategic ideas of "four positives", "six corners", and "ten-sided nets" that he often used and planned. The main task and goal of the 100,000 divisions and the generals of Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Yunyang Fuzhen were divided into key points, and the main task and goal was to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng with all their might. At first, Zhang Xianzhong didn't understand the situation, couldn't figure out his temperament, and lost one after another, very passive. Later, through the intelligence of the big bird battalion, he found out the details of the official army, and Zhang Xianzhong persuaded Luo Youcai that the two armies united and strengthened the strength of the righteous army.

The rebel army dealt with the Ming officers and troops with the tactics of "subduing the enemy by walking", "avoiding the real and attacking the weak", and infesting the impermanence. At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong stepped up intelligence work, sending many clever sergeants to disguise themselves as businessmen and hawkers to inquire about news. The common people also often told the righteous army about the movements of the officials and soldiers, and often served as guides for Zhang Xianzhong's team. Therefore, they were able to grasp the enemy's situation in a timely manner, take military action quickly, and take the officers and soldiers by surprise. Then it was quickly transferred, so that the officers and soldiers could not figure out the whereabouts of the righteous army, and it was difficult to pursue. The main force of the officers and troops either struck the air or was ambushed and lost their troops. However, it was very disadvantageous for the rebels to be trapped in the encirclement of the official army, and they were in danger of being encircled and annihilated at any time. For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong believed that it was necessary to completely smash the encirclement and suppression plan of the officials and troops and jump out of the circle to fight, so as to strike a more effective blow at the officers and troops.

Under the containment and coordination of Luo Youcai, Ma Shouying, and Li Chuangwang, Zhang Bingzhong took the lead in tearing the net to a sparse sparse mess, so that Yang Sichang couldn't take care of each other, and the left and right couldn't meet the source. By intercepting the message, the message is blocked, and the original garrison is not moved. Then they will focus on the areas where the garrison of officers and soldiers is extremely weak and poor, so that they will never be able to find their traces and where their foundation is. In this way, the rebels gradually came to life. Although he jumped out of the birdcage, he still did not break free from the blockade of the ten-sided net.

Xiangyang is the base camp of Yang Sichang's marching layout, and it is also the old nest and base of the stubborn defense. The city defense is extremely strong, with a large number of rich military salaries and weapons, and it is also the domain of King Xiang. Bingzhong, who had just jumped out of the encirclement, had the idea of attacking Xiangyang City in his heart.