Tang Hui couldn't wait to chop up the King of Chu with a knife, and then copied his Chu Palace.

It's come to this critical juncture, and they actually use Emperor Taizu to pressure them, and they are not even willing to pay military salaries to the army, if they don't pay military salaries, how can this battle be fought, and how can this Wuchang Mansion be defended? Could it be that Wuchang has been broken, and you, the king of Chu, can live?

But none of the three divisions were stunned to get angry at the King of Chu, and the big guy didn't dare to do anything gaffe in front of the golden chair rewarded by the grandfather, otherwise he would be impeached in the name of the impure Emperor Taizu in a minute, and then it would inevitably end up being a military contender.

Tang Hui retreated with the officials of the three divisions and returned to the governor's yamen, and Tang Hui's heart was even more bottomless.

The 30,000 army still needs a military salary of more than 100,000 taels of silver, especially the 10,000 army transferred back from De'an, which has not been paid by the imperial court for five months, and the total amount of arrears has reached an astonishing more than 50,000 taels.

Not to mention that there are other expenses such as grain, grass, baggage, etc., without 200,000 taels of silver, he Tang Hui can't command these 30,000 horses at all, which can make Tang Hui's hair turn white, where can he, the governor of Huguang, get so much silver for a while.

Thinking about it, the whole city is rich in the palace of the king of Chu, but the king of Chu has nothing to do, and if the 30,000 army does not pay the silver, I am afraid that if it is not good, it will have to mutiny.

Outside the city, Mo Qian's 30,000 troops were camped outside the city, and 20,000 people were arranged on the periphery, and these 20,000 horses were the logistics personnel of the army and could not go to the battlefield.

However, because the 20,000 horses were far away from the city, they were farther away, and the defenders in the city could not figure out his specific strength, so they only dared to shrink into the city.

However, Mo Qian was not afraid that Tang Hui would open the city gate and go out of the city to fight him, what he was afraid of was that Tang Hui would shrink into the city and not come out.

If you really want to fight in the field outside the city, you don't need new recruits to play, I'm afraid that your own battalion of veterans will be able to clean up Tang Hui's rabble.

Mo Qian was preparing troops and horses outside the city, building a large catapult to prepare for the siege of the city, and at this time the people in the city were already panicking.

Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers pointed to Hanyang Mansion, and Hanyang sentenced Yuan Chong to lead his troops to resist Zhang Xianzhong's attack alone after fleeing to Wuchang in the prefect's mansion.

Outside the city of Hanyang, Zhang Xianzhong ordered people to shout and curse under the city.

"The officers and soldiers inside listened to me, and those who knew each other immediately opened the city and surrendered, and if they surrendered, the grass and trees would not move, and if they resisted, they would not be left behind!"

Yuan Zhan heard the shouts from the city, and scolded back: "You group of thieves who killed heaven, God will not let you go." ”

After speaking, Yuan Zhan ordered someone to shoot arrows at the shouters.

The shouting soldiers failed to escape, and were shot into hedgehogs by the officers and soldiers in the city on the spot.

When Zhang Xianzhong saw this scene, he was immediately furious, and he ordered: "The whole army is dispatched, and after the city is broken, the sword will not be sealed for three days!" ”

The army launched a fierce attack directly on Hanyang City, and in the afternoon of the same day, the official army and Zhang's army fought until the evening, and Hanyang City remained unmoved.

Although Yuan Chong was a civilian official, he took the lead, personally fought against the thieves with a big sword, and personally beheaded three enemies, which shocked the morale of the officers and soldiers for a while.

At this time, the people in the city also took up arms to help the battle, Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers and horses plundered outside the city of Hanyang, and killed the people not knowing much, and the people hated it deeply, and they went to the city to help the officials and soldiers defend the city.

Zhang Xianzhong stormed for a day, furious, that night, the thief army burned and looted outside the city of Hanyang, all night long.

Lu Zhao, who was in charge of commanding the Rebel Army's naval division, immediately sent someone to report to Mo Qian outside the southern city of Wuchang after seeing Zhang Xianzhong's onslaught on Hanyang.

When Mo Qian received the report, he was immediately shocked, he didn't expect Zhang Xianzhong to go far, but to stay on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Lu Zhao wrote a letter saying that Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers and horses were slaughtering the people in the north of the Yangtze River, and whether his fleet would go ashore to support.

Mo Qian couldn't make up his mind, so he could only urgently convene a pre-military meeting and call all the generals and civilian officials in the army together for a meeting.

At the meeting, Mo Qian asked dozens of people who sat down: "After Zhang Xianzhong's fight with me in Huanggang, although he was defeated and retreated, his strength still exists, this thief is currently storming Hanyang Mansion in Jiangbei, and General Lu came to the news that Zhang Thief killed very heavily in Jiangbei, and the people outside Hanyang City were almost extinct, and tens of thousands of people died.

Mr. Lu asked me if he was allowed to lead his troops ashore and chase after Zhang Thief, what do you think? ”

As soon as Mo Qian finished speaking, a Qian general stood up and said: "Marshal, the last general thinks that the thief is strong and strong, we have already fought once outside Huanggang City, although our righteous army has won, but the losses are also relatively heavy, if we fight with the thief again, I am afraid that there will be insufficient troops to fight Wuchang Mansion at that time." ”

"Yes, Dashuai, we are here to Wuchang Mansion this time, and we are not here to fight with that Zhang Xianzhong, fighting with him, there is no benefit in winning, we will suffer if we lose, we can't do this kind of loss-making business!"

The words of the two thousand presidents have been widely recognized among the generals in the army, and everyone thinks that it is not cost-effective to fight with Zhang Xianzhong, and they are working hard with this kid for a group of people, but they are doing a loss-making deal.

After asking the generals, Mo Qian looked at Li Banghua and other civil servants again.

"Li Gong, what do you think?"

Li Banghua didn't make a sound, he didn't fight Zhang Xianzhong, but he knew that in the battle of Huanggang, the rebels actually suffered heavy casualties, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while.

It was Mei Zhihuan beside him, seeing that Li Banghua didn't speak, he took the lead in standing up and said to Mo Qian: "Lord, although Hanyang is now under the rule of the imperial court, but the people are innocent, the lord wants to be the hero, then the people are the lord's greatest confidence, if the lord can't accept the hearts of the people in Wuchang, how can he collect the hearts of the people of Huguang, can't accept the hearts of the people of Huguang, and talk about the hearts of the people of the world?"

Since ancient times, those who have achieved great things have not put the people first, the people first, the people as the precious, the king as the light and the people as the noble!

In the past, Liu Xuande fell into Xinye, Cao Cao's army pressed the border, Liu Xuande was willing to take the people to travel dozens of miles a day, rather than abandon the people, so he was able to divide the world into three parts and retain hope for the Han family.

Today, the lord has entered the land of Jingxiang, if he can't collect the hearts of the people of Jingxiang, how can he talk about chasing the world? ”

After Mei Zhihuan finished speaking, he immediately bowed to the end.

After Mo Qian listened to Mei Zhihuan's words, he suddenly felt that his mouth was suddenly opened.

He got up and said: "Well said, Mr. Mei is very right, if you see the people falling into the water and don't save them, what kind of hero is I, the person who is determined to conquer the world, and what kind of master of troubled times."

The order went down, and General Qian led 8,000 troops to sit outside Wuchang City, and the rest of the people followed me across the river to the north to exterminate the Zhang thief and rescue the people! ”

After listening to Mo Qian's order, Mei Zhihuan and Shi Zhanglie suddenly had tears in their eyes, at this moment they understood that their surrender was undoubtedly correct, a person who loves the people, and is willing to help save the people who are not under his rule, is worth following.

"Lord, although my Mei Zhihuan is over sixty years old, this old bone can still be used, I am willing to be the vanguard of the army, cross the river to the north first, and fight to the death with that thief!"

"Okay, Mr. Mei is full of enthusiasm, how can the younger generation turn a blind eye, according to the old man's meaning, I will allocate 3,000 soldiers and horses of the old battalion and Mr. Mei, and cross the river with General Cao Yan, the general of the second brigade, and first exterminate the small force of Zhang thieves on the periphery of Hanyang, and then I will lead the troops across the river and fight to the death with that Zhang Xianzhong!"

As soon as the military order was given, the army quickly marched, and the herald bypassed Wuchang City, boarded Lu Zhao's flagship by speedboat, and brought Mo Qian's warrant.

After reading the warrant, Lu Zhao was overjoyed when he learned that Mo Qian was going to fight Zhang Xianzhong first.

He has been following Mo Qian for a long time, and he has become accustomed to protecting the people, and seeing the people of Jiangbei being slaughtered by Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers and horses, Lu Zhao really hated the root of his teeth.

He immediately allocated half of the warships to the wharf on the south bank to pick up the troops and horses to cross the river.

On the city of Wuchang, the defenders saw that Mo Qian's army did not attack the city, but instead bypassed the city and got on the boat, and everyone was puzzled for a while.

When the news reached Tang Hui's ears, Tang Hui was also stunned.

"Isn't this thief preparing to attack us immediately, why did he suddenly lead his troops north, could it be that this thief wants to attack from the north shore?"

General Cui Wenrong immediately stood up and said: "It is impossible, Wuchang Mansion faces the river on both sides, Mo Thief wants to attack Wuchang, he has to attack from the southeast side, he transferred troops across the river, there must be other plans, but we don't know!" ”

Tang Hui nodded and said: "It doesn't matter what he does, let's prepare to defend the city, whether it is him Zhang Xianzhong or Mo Wen, the goal of the two is our Wuchang, we must not take it lightly, order the whole army, increase patrols and guards, and give me my eyes wide open for twelve hours a day!" ”

On the eighth day of the fourth month, in addition to Qian Dayou, the Jiangxi Righteous Army, led 8,000 troops and 20,000 militia auxiliaries who transported grain, Mo Qian led an army of 20,000 across the Yangtze River and landed on the north bank of Hanyang.

Mei Zhihuan and General Cao Yan were the vanguard of the whole army, and as soon as the army landed, they immediately looked for Zhang Thief and killed a small group of soldiers and horses on the north bank.

Zhang Xianzhong's 2,000 stragglers scattered outside the city were wiped out by the rebels, and none of the survivors remained.

After landing on the north bank, Mei Zhihuan saw more than a dozen villages burned to ashes, and the corpses of ordinary people lying on the ground.

Most of the men were hacked or stabbed to death, and the women were all humiliated.

There were hundreds of pregnant women, whose bellies were cut open with knives, and the children in their wombs were dug out, and the deaths were horrific.

Mei Zhihuan wept bitterly and ordered the people to be buried.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong, who was storming Hanyang, suddenly saw a large number of warships on the river, and hurriedly called his righteous son Kewang to ask: "My son, what happened to the south?" ”

Sun Kewang replied: "Father-in-law, it's not good, then Mo Wen from Jiangxi didn't fight Wuchang Mansion, but actually crossed the river to the north and killed us here!" ”

Zhang Xianzhong was shocked when he heard this, and immediately scolded: "Fuck this dog's surname Mo is on the same line with my old Zhang, right, don't you have to kill everyone to be at ease?" Come, prepare soldiers and horses for me, I will fight to the death with that thief! ”

The second son, Li Dingguo, was born at this time and said: "Father-in-law, that Mo Wen has just crossed the river, and now he must be unheard, I am willing to lead the troops to break him!" ”

Zhang Xianzhong was overjoyed when he heard that his righteous son took the initiative to ask for battle.

"Okay, Dingguo, I'll give you 5,000 soldiers and horses, and I'll slaughter the dog from Jiangxi!"

"Yes!"

Li Dingguo left Hanyang Mansion with 5,000 cavalry, and rushed directly at the rebels who were still landing on the shore.

Anyway, now that Hanyang is being fought, 5,000 cavalry will not be useful, so it just happens to be used to avenge his father-in-law and get angry!

On the bank of the Yangtze River, Lu Zhao saw that Zhang Xianzhong had divided the cavalry to attack, so he immediately ordered the warships to line up, and took the artillery to fire at the cavalry on the shore.

Eighteen ships with artillery opened fire together, and there was a burst of gunsmoke.

Li Dingguo didn't expect that this Jiangxi man would even have artillery on the ship, and he immediately suffered a lot of losses.

Five thousand lost more than two hundred before they could get close.

However, Li Dingguo's army has not yet completely landed, and his position has not yet been established, so he is definitely not his opponent.

But before the cavalry could get close, hundreds of large jars flew towards their cavalry army.

Seeing this thing, the cavalrymen were not calm at that time.

This thunderstorm has now become a nightmare existence in Zhang Xianzhong's army.

Outside Huanggang City, the Jiangxi people relied on this thing to fight the cavalry, and suffered heavy casualties.

When everyone saw this thing coming out again, they screamed at the moment, and they wanted to stop their war horses one by one.

Li Dingguo didn't expect that this Mo Qian would have so many means, and even this earth bomb was ready.

This time the cavalry suffered a lot of losses, and nearly 500 people died.

Seeing Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry deflated, Lu Zhao, who was standing on the flagship, couldn't help but sneer at the corner of his mouth.

"The marshal has already guarded against you and used the cavalry again, Lao Tzu even moved the trebuchet to the ship, just waiting for you to attack!"

After saying that, several rounds of earth bombs were thrown over, and there seemed to be hundreds of people on Li Dingguo's side.

The cavalry lost a quarter before they could see the faces of others, and Li Dingguo suddenly became a little worried.

At this time, the morale of the cavalry army became more and more unstable, and from time to time the cavalry began to fall behind, and gradually, more and more people fell behind, and by the time Li Dingguo was about to kill the shore, there were less than a thousand people left around him.

Li Dingguo looked behind him and saw the soldiers who were turning, and immediately scolded his mother angrily: "They are all cowards who are afraid of death!" ”

At this time, the soldiers around him shouted to Li Dingguo: "General Zhang, look over there!" (Li Dingguo was accepted by Zhang Xianzhong as his righteous son, and his surname was changed to Zhang, and after Zhang Xianzhong's death, he took refuge in Nanming and changed his surname back to Li)

Li Dingguo looked at it, only to see that tens of thousands of troops suddenly came out of the east, Li Dingguo knew that he had been fooled, it turned out that Mo Qian's landing outside Hanyang City was a cover at all, and the real main force had landed downstream.

The defeat was decided, and Li Dingguo could only flee back to Hanyang City with more than 1,000 people and plead guilty to his father-in-law Zhang Xianzhong.

When Zhang Xianzhong heard that Li Dingguo had been defeated again, he was shocked, and immediately ordered to stop the siege and retreated quickly with nearly 30,000 troops.

Zhang Xianzhong's horse army was frightened by Mo Qian's soil bombs, and the number of people gathered together for a while was less than half, and at this moment eighty percent of the army were infantry, with more than 7,000 people, and more than 20,000 family members of the army.

The more than 20,000 family members of the army did not have the slightest combat strength at all, and fighting a war could only be a drag.

Zhang Xianzhong wanted to retreat to Huangpi with 7,000 infantry first, but he never thought that he had just walked less than five miles, and suddenly another army was killed in front, with no less than 5,000 people.

An old man in a sixtieth year and a young general rode on a horse, and the young general held a long knife and shouted: "Zhang Xianzhong, where is the dog thief, take your life!" ”

Lewen