At this time, Li Zicheng's (Zao'er) army came from Luoyang from the east, and had just won in Luoyang last month, and the harvest was huge. Luoyang is an important town in the Central Plains and the domain of Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu. Zhu Changxun is the third son of Mingshenzong, and his biological mother is Emperor Shenzong's favorite concubine Zheng Guifei. Because of this, Mingshenzong doted on Zhu Changxun and once wanted to make him the crown prince, but because the resistance was too great, he couldn't do it. Mingshenzong wanted to compensate his son in money, Zhu Changxun spent 300,000 taels of silver when he got married, 280,000 taels to build the Luoyang Palace, and gave him 20,000 hectares of fertile farmland. The Fuwang Mansion in Luoyang was richer than the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Zhu Changxun, like his father, is greedy for cups and sex, indulges in excessive desires, and is as greedy for money as his father. In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, there was a great drought in Henan, followed by a flood of locusts, a grain harvest, a serious famine, and even cannibalism among the hungry people. At that time, the officers and soldiers of the peasant army in Henan were very dissatisfied with King Fu, saying that King Fu had a lot of money, but he let the soldiers go around fighting with hunger. Lu Weiqi, who had been the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, was living in Luoyang at this time, and realized the danger of this resentment, and persuaded Zhu Changxun, the king of fortune, to take out some family wealth, "scatter wealth and pay soldiers, so as to boost people's hearts", and distribute some money to the soldiers to boost morale. But Zhu Changxun didn't react and ignored it.

So, Lu Weiqi did it himself, took out the grain stored at home, and set up a porridge bureau to help the poor. But there was a famine everywhere, and the number of hungry people was getting bigger and bigger, and they wanted to live, so they chose to follow Li Zicheng in rebellion. Li Zicheng's power swelled rapidly, and in the first month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng attacked Henan and approached Luoyang. Wang Shaoyu, the chief military officer, Liu Jianyi, Luo Tai and others led the army to reinforce Luoyang. King Fu held a banquet in the palace to entertain the three generals, and strongly opposed the reinforcements entering the city. On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Liu Jianyi and Luo Tai, who were stationed outside the city, surrendered to the peasant army. King Fu took out his daughter to recruit warriors and sent them to attack the camp of the peasant army, killing and wounding a lot, but he could not repel the peasant army. On the night of the 19th, Wang Shaoyu's personal soldiers killed the defenders of the city, set fire to the city, opened the north gate, and welcomed the peasant army. Luoyang was lost, King Fu's family came out of the city, and Zhu Changxun hid in Ying'en Temple and was searched by the peasant army. Of course, Lu Weiqi also participated in the battle to defend the city and defend the northern city. After the fall of the city, some people in the peasant army knew Lu Weiqi and knew that he had released grain for disaster relief, and persuaded him to flee. Lu Weiqi refused to leave and was captured. Lu Weiqi met the captured Fu King Zhu Changxun and shouted to the Fu King: "King, the gang is always the most important." Wait for the dead ear, don't bend your knees to the thief!" is to remind the blessed king Zhu Changxun that this time it is impossible to escape death, and he must die with backbone, like a prince should be, don't fall into it. Fu Wang Zhu Changxun's eyes widened and he did not answer. Lu Weiqi himself died like a man, was escorted to the Zhou Gong Temple, unyielding and kneeling, "Stretch your neck and die." "That Fu Wang died a little miserable, the "History of the Ming Dynasty" said: "Since the blood of the king of the soldiers, mixed deer to taste it, the name 'Fulu wine'" The peasant army set fire to the Fu Wang's mansion, the fire continued for three days, and the Fu princess Zou and the prince Zhu Yousong escaped.

In this matter, Li Zicheng's rebellious army was forced to a dead end, and it was also Zao'er who showed his resolute attitude to the sixth brother - to overthrow the Ming Dynasty without hesitation.

And Xiangyang City is located on the south bank of the Han River, the center of Xiangfan. Surrounded by water on three sides and backed by mountains on one side, it is an ancient city with beautiful mountains and rivers and pleasant scenery. Because "the city is in the sun of Xiangshui, it is called Xiangyang". Xiangyang Chengxiong is based on the upper reaches of the Han River, Chu is the north of Jinxu has a history of more than 1,000 years; the city was built in the Han Dynasty; the north, east and south of the city are surrounded by the surging Han water, and the west is surrounded by the peaks of Yanghu Mountain and Phoenix Mountain. The city wall was built in the Han Dynasty, after the renovation of generations, now it is basically intact, according to the mountain and water, it is magnificent, the Ming Li Yangong poem praises "the pavilion is out of the mountain, the city is high and forces the space." The city is surrounded by a moat, and it is called "the first city in China" for a while. The layout of the whole Xiangyang City is rigorous, the situation is dangerous, and it has been known as "the Xiangyang of iron" since ancient times. Xiangyang is named because it is located in the yang of Xiangshui, the Han River passes through the city, and the Xiangyang and Fancheng on the north and south banks face each other across the river. Both cities were historically military and commercial towns. The city was built in the Han Dynasty, the circumference is nearly more than ten miles, the widest part of the moat is more than half a mile, it can be called the first city in China, and there is the saying of "Xiangyang of iron beating" since ancient times. The city of Xiangyang is majestic. The quaint and elegant city is integrated with the newly restored Zhongxuanlou Zhaomingtai and other historical attractions, complementing each other, and is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China. There are a total of six gates in Xiangyang City, namely the Great Gate, the Small North Gate, the Long Gate, the East Gate, the West Gate and the South Gate.

Although it is surrounded by water on three sides and backed by mountains on one side, it is not only a regional political, economic and cultural center of the past dynasties, but also a famous military town in ancient and modern times. Because the city wall is solid, the city is high and the pool is deep, easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is known as "Xiangyang of iron". Since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Xiangyang has always been an important battlefield for the competition of heroes, and the smoke of war has constantly filled the sky above it. Today, many military relics still exist here. Xiangyang City was built in the Han Dynasty, changed to a brick city during the Tang and Song dynasties, added a battlement, and built a new city tower. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Xiangyang is located at the southern end of the Nanyang Basin, Xiangyang and Fancheng are interdependent on each other with the Han River in the north and south, "crossing Jingyu, controlling the north and south", the terrain is very dangerous, it is a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times, and it is also the border town of the Southern Song Dynasty to resist the Mongolian army. The Battle of Xiangyang was an important battle in which the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty eliminated the Southern Song regime, and it was a key battle in Chinese history in which the Song and Yuan feudal dynasties changed. This battle began with the attack of the Southern Song Dynasty Xianchun in the third year of Meng's general Ashu, starting from the battle of Anyang Beach in Xiangyang, the anti-encirclement battle of Song Lu Wenhuan, the battle of Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun to aid Xiang, the battle of Longweizhou and the battle of Fancheng, and finally because of the lack of help in the lonely city, Lu Wenhuan in the ninth year of Xianchun was exhausted to surrender to the Yuan, which lasted nearly six years and ended with the fall of Xiangyang in the Southern Song Dynasty. During the Battle of Xiangyang, the Song army skillfully used the terrain advantage and successfully stopped the fierce attack of the Mongol army's catapult weapons. However, the Mongols also found weapons experts in the Arab region, improved the attack distance and accuracy of the catapult weapons, and successfully captured Fancheng, Xiangyang suffered from no reinforcements and no food and grass, and announced its surrender. This battle was a miracle of weapons reform and a miracle of the Han people's resistance to aggression. The loss of the two cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng led to the eventual demise of the Southern Song Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and a new section of the city wall was added in the northeast corner of the city, and it was named Xincheng. There are six city gates in the whole city, which are divided into: Yangchun, Xicheng, Linhan, Gongchen and Zhenhua. Each city gate is equipped with urn city or sub-city, the four corners of the city are provided with corner platforms, the enemy platform and the beacon tower are set up along the line, and more than 4,000 battlements are set up on the city wall. The lowest part of the city wall is more than two zhang high, and the highest part is four zhang long. The six gates of Xiangyang City are towering, the square corner tower is steady, Wang Canglou, the lion tower, the Kuixing tower are embellished with ten miles of city walls, and the drum tower (Zhaoming Terrace), the tower of the tower shines brightly. The whole city is harmoniously integrated. The ancient moat surrounding Xiangyang City is one of the beautiful scenery of the ancient city, and it is also the widest moat in China, which is now preserved as it is. Swimming around the city, but seeing the city walls are high, the battlements are everywhere, the weeping willows are shaded, the shrubs are verdant, as if you are in the painting, it is beautiful. There is an urn city outside each gate of Xiangyang City, which is also called Tunbing City. According to historical records, in the fourth year of Wanli, the prefect Wan Zhensun was the first of the six gates, namely: Yangchun Gate, Wenchang Gate, West City Gate, Gongzhen Gate, Linhan Gate, Zhenhua Gate. Because the West Gate is the only way to worship the Zhenwu Patriarch Temple, it is also called the "pilgrimage gate".

Facing this Xiangyang City, which is known as an iron-beaten city, in fact, Bingzhong has a plan early in his heart. He believes that for the breakthrough of fortified cities and land, there are nothing more than two laws. Since ancient times, it has been broken from the inside and outside, and the so-called inside is the internal disintegration of the fortified city, either from the inside, or from the inside, or from the inside, and so on. The external attack, on the other hand, is nothing more than a strong attack and outwitting. In ancient times, there were methods of warfare by borrowing waterways and also attacking them by means of dry roads, and there were countless ways to win victories, and there were countless ways to enter the city. In fact, Bingzhong already knew this.

Following the pace of Luo Youcai and Ma Shouying, he first went north to the south of the river, and when the Ming officers and soldiers feinted to retreat westward, they made a detour to the edge of Xiangyang City. Before the soldiers and horses arrived at the city, Bingzhong and his party entered the mountain to rest. The four battalions were divided into two places, one was stationed in Zhenwu Mountain, which was not far from Xiangyang City, and the other was stationed in Pipa Mountain, which was nearly six or seven miles away from Xiangfan. As the saying goes: you can't put chickens in one basket the same. Bingzhong ordered each battalion to cage the horses, and rest and wait for the opportunity.

Who would have thought that this rest would be half a month, but it made the soldiers overwhelmed. It was too much time to wait, and Du Weiyang from the Tiger Camp was recommended by each battalion to come to inquire.

The soldiers don't know how to use it on a daily basis, so they have specially sent me here to ask about it? I don't know what the major general meant?

Hehe! I can't wait anymore, I want to show my majesty on the battlefield? Bingzhong made fun of General Du Weiyang Du with an anxious face. This man, for Bingzhong, is quite familiar, if you joke with him on weekdays, and he is more anxious.

Sure enough, Du Weiyang stammered more and more and asked: You, you, you, how can you, me, me!

I, what's wrong with me? As the commander of the Tiger Battalion, you can't hold your breath, what will you do in the future? You still can't believe me? Are you afraid that there will be no battle? Go back early to rest, train the soldiers, and wait for my news.

yes, then I'm gone. When Du Weiyang heard Bingzhong's reprimand, he turned around and drooped his ears, and returned to the camp to stop squeaking.

With Du Weiyang's "asking soldiers", all the battalions were silent and quietly guarded in the mountains.

Within a day or two, Bingzhong got the news that King Xiang was uneasy when he saw that King Fu was executed, and hurriedly sent an envoy to Sichuan to ask for mutual assistance. Bingzhong believes that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if he makes some gains on the way, he will be able to open the gate of the iron-clad Xiangyang City.