Zhang Xianzhong has nothing to worry about, so he can naturally rely on a ruthless spirit of "I have it if I win the world, and I will destroy the nine clans if I lose", and every time he makes a decision, he blocks everything for himself. If you are unlucky, you will lose your life directly, and if you are lucky, you will continue to block it from the beginning.

It is precisely because of the mentality of these people that they come to this world to block their lives for a while, and block until they die, so after losing all in history, they have nothing left.

It's obviously impossible for the Sinking Tree Man to be so blocked - what kind of ability is the stud? 10,000 gambling dogs everyone put the stud, even if 9,999 people died, in the end there can always run out of a Li Zicheng Zhang Xianzhong, this is a random event, not a real ability.

Therefore, after the Shen Shuren took Linxiang County, they must advance step by step, advance steadily, and confirm the next enemy situation before concentrating their forces.

Otherwise, if he directly ventured into the south with his whole army, but Liu Wenxiu in the west suddenly did not calm down and had the courage to counterattack along the south bank of Dongting Lake and break off the Xiangjiang grain route of Shuren, then the situation would be troublesome.

Zhang Xianzhong can slaughter the city to raise food, and he can also pass through the scorched earth policy and not leave food for the people of Shenshu, but the people of Shenshu can't slaughter the city to raise food, and the combat form in this is not equal.

This gap led to the fact that two days after Zhang Xianzhong's main force had left Changsha and went south, Shen Shucai thoroughly figured out the reality of Changsha, so he went south from Linxiang County.

When he went south, he also had to re-replenish Shen Lian and Li Yu with 6,000 sailors, and then leave a little more than 2,000 or 3,000 infantry to garrison Linxiang and control the waterways and grain routes around Dongting Lake and the Xiangjiang River. The rest of the troops were taken to Changsha by him.

Previously, when the whole army of Shen Shuren went south, the total strength was about more than 30,000, and after all the battles, the officers and soldiers also had a certain amount of attrition, even if there were not many dead, there were definitely many wounded and sick.

After calculation, the total number of available troops has fallen below 30,000, and the lightly wounded are counted. Removing the people and horses left in Linxiang to protect the back road, there are just 20,000 people who go to Changsha.

Of course, it was 20,000 people who were fully equipped and had no wounded soldiers, full of spirit and high morale.

On June 21, the day after the thieves had just broken through Hengshanwei and before they took Hengzhou City, the troops of the Shenshu people rushed to Changsha and began to besiege the city.

Because Zhang Xianzhong's army had not yet found a new base at that time, and was only continuing to flow south and attack indiscriminately, the thief defenders on this side of Changsha City did not know that the king would abandon Changsha in the future.

The order they got was also to defend and try to transfer supplies to the south, if it was too late to transport in the end, and the city was also at risk of being breached, Zhang Xianzhong also asked them to set fire to the city as much as possible, scorching everything with the earth, and destroying the supplies of the Shenshu army's follow-up march.

After all, the end of May and the beginning of June is the season for the summer grain harvest, and now in late June, the summer grain has been harvested for 20 days, and it is almost the time when the sun-dried grain can be put into the warehouse.

If Zhang Xianzhong does not destroy the local economy, the Shen Shu people can raise food anywhere, and the pursuit will be much more confident, and they will not be able to delay the actions of the Shen Shu people.

The thief defenders of Changsha City were mainly newly attached troops, and Zhang Xianzhong was reluctant to leave his brothers in the old battalion in Henan and Shaanxi to carry out this kind of cannon fodder task.

Among them, the most senior has only been a thief for three years. It was Zhang Xian who was loyal to Chongzhen for 12 years, and when he descended and rebelled in Xiangyang and Yunyang, he was coerced in Xiangyang and Yunyang.

Of course, there is a small part of them that the officials and soldiers of the guards in Xiangyang and Yunyang three years ago surrendered to thieves, and this part of the people is strictly speaking more than three years of military qualifications, but with the erosion of the guards, they can't learn any skills, and most of the guards are actually farming.

After the siege of the city, Shen Shuren personally patrolled the city for a week, and asked the generals around him about the situation in the city: "Have you found out how many soldiers and horses are defending the city?" Who leads the troops? ”

Zhu Wenzhen, who was in charge of the cavalry unit, because he had a detour before, captured a small group of thieves who were transporting money and grain from Changsha to the south, tortured and confessed, and rushed to reply at this moment:

"Futai, from the mouth of the captives, the Changsha guard general Li Dingguo general Liu Jinzhong, the specific number of troops, those prisoners themselves do not know, only said that it is claimed to be tens of thousands. That Liu Jinzhong was originally subordinate to Ainengqi, and I heard that it was after Ainengqi's death last year that Li Dingguo was transferred to follow. ”

Shen Shuren nodded: "It's Li Dingguo's subordinate again, and it's also this kind of miscellaneous army that is kicked around." It seems that the so-called tens of thousands of people are also bluffing, mobilizing Hongyi artillery to bombard the door and make a forced landing. Zhang Xianzhong doesn't pay much attention to Changsha, and the defenders' fighting spirit will not be too firm. ”

The officers and soldiers immediately began to prepare, but because the ships carrying the Hongyi cannons came relatively slowly, and it took a long time to load, unload and assemble, it was almost late evening that day, and the cannons were in place, and then the bombardment began.

A fortified city like Changsha, if you want to break the gate by bombarding the city, it will take ten days and half a month, especially the defenders can block the gate and fill the rammed earth in the city gate to reinforce, so the strong attack will definitely become a protracted battle, and the key is to hit morale and make the enemy surrender.

Before, Yin Xianmin, the general soldier of Changsha, surrendered in a few days under the blow of Zhang Xianzhong, could it be that Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates guarded the city, and suddenly became like death?

From the evening bombardment to the darkness, the defenders still insisted, and the officers and soldiers stopped firing because of the poor vision and inconvenient observation, and temporarily withdrew their troops to maintain the siege.

Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry, which had been rested during the day, became busy at night and was asked to lead troops to patrol the gates.

In the second half of the night, the south gate of Changsha City suddenly opened in the dark, some men and horses tried to escape and break through, but were blocked by Zhu Wenzhen's troops, after the fierce battle broke out between the two sides, the Ming army immediately played the fire trumpet, the battalions saw the fire outside the south gate, and came to reinforce one after another, and killed the troops who broke through to the back.

Only a few of the deserters managed to infiltrate. The remaining large number of deserters were driven back and tried to return to Changsha from the south gate, but the defenders had already closed the city gate and did not dare to open it again. These deserters were all annihilated under the city by the officers and soldiers at their own expense.

Because the matter was not big, Zuo Zixiong and Zhu Wenzhen did not disturb Shen Shuren's rest. It wasn't until after dawn that Shen Shu learned the results of last night's battle, and annihilated thousands of enemies, immediately summoned the generals participating in the battle, and asked the captured thief officers to bring them up.

Zhu Wenzhen looked proud, but he didn't dare to make a mistake in front of Futai, but he couldn't help but say: "Thanks to Futai's prudence, let the last general patrol the night, and last night at least four or five thousand enemies were annihilated, but there were only more than two thousand people who were beheaded, killed, wounded and captured, and the rest were afraid to escape." It is also difficult to hunt down in the dark. ”

Shen Shuren waved his hand: "It's okay, there is a big battle, and it is normal to escape some people." Zhang Xianzhong's new attached army, many of them are ordinary people, and I hope that after escaping, they can return to their hometowns to work as farmers, and there is no need to pursue them. I'm afraid that some people have tasted the sweetness of killing people and overselling goods, and they can't hold back. ”

Shen Shuren praised the officers who participated in the battle a few words, and then saw a rogue lieutenant and several brigades being escorted up.

Shen Shuren didn't bother to ask their names and surnames, but just confirmed that Liu Jinzhong was not among them, felt a little regretful, and then tortured:

"Zhang Xianzhong let Er and others defend the city, it can be seen that they don't pay attention to Changsha, the heavenly soldiers are here, why are they still resisting? Why didn't Liu Jinzhong surrender? Don't break through and run away in advance? ”

Those middle-level generals and leading officers didn't have any backbone, they just wanted to avoid death, kowtowed like pounding garlic and said everything: "Lord Futai Mingjian!" It's not that we don't want to retreat in advance, it's really the Eight Kings......

It was really Zhang Xianzhong who gave a death order, so that we could delay the officers and soldiers in Changsha for some time. If you break through without half a month, you will be dealt with by military law when you arrive in Hengzhou. We don't know anything else. ”

What these people said was actually the truth, because Zhang Xianzhong's purpose of continuing to attack Hengzhou in the south would not be told to the ordinary generals below, and saying it would only make morale collapse faster.

Shen Shuren: "Since you will be disposed of if you flee back, why don't you surrender?" If Yin Xianmin had abandoned the city, he would have been dealt with by the imperial court's military law! But he's a thief! Isn't Liu Jinzhong more backbone than Yin Xianmin? ”

The captured officers looked at each other for a few seconds, and then one of them had the audacity to kowtow and say: "We also heard it yesterday when the officers and soldiers persuaded them to surrender and curse the formation, but we really don't dare to believe that surrender can avoid death......

"Shura Warrior God"

Zhang Xianzhong went crazy a few days ago, and before sending troops south, he changed his previous promise not to slaughter the city, slaughtered everywhere, plundered people's property and food, and we were all contaminated with the blood debt of the slaughter of the city, and I was afraid that the account of the slaughter of the city would be liquidated sooner or later. ”

When Shen Shuren heard this, his face turned pale.

Indeed, the troops who slaughtered the city indiscriminately cannot be pardoned immediately, especially if they have just slaughtered the city on the front foot and surrender after a few days, if the pardon is so fast, the thieves will have no scruples about slaughtering the city in the future.

Zhang Xianzhong is forcing tens of thousands of people to "accept a fresh vote"! It can also be seen that he has no intention of mixing in Huguang, so he doesn't care about the people's popularity and reputation.

After this battle, we must do a good job of publicity, and come up with ironclad evidence, so that Huguang and even the nearby Liangguang and Jiangxi garrisons can see clearly that Zhang Xianzhong really slaughtered the city crazily, or broke his promise and slaughtered the city after Changsha surrendered.

In this way, it can provoke other generals and civilians to resist in the future, so that they will not surrender without firing a single shot.

"It seems that even if those who surrender are pardoned, they can only be pardoned ordinary soldiers, and this kind of army that slaughters the city, the thief officers must all be executed! Even if the troops are to be retained, they must be completely dispersed, used as a death battalion, and fight under supervision! Thought it was an aversion to the sins! Otherwise, what is the difference between this official and Chen Qiyu and Xiong Wencan back then? ”

Shen Shuren waved his hand, and he didn't spare their lives just because those lieutenants and brigades confessed truthfully, and it was necessary to execute all the officers who captured this kind of slaughtering troops.

The bandit generals had a face as white as dirt, and repeatedly begged for mercy, but it was still ineffective, and they were soon sent to the tent.

Shen Shuren also learned a lesson and instructed the generals: "Yesterday, our army's slogan of persuasion to surrender was indeed not grounded, and we did not fully understand the situation around Changsha.

Since there was a massacre of the city, I shouted again today, saying only that ordinary soldiers could surrender, and officers were not allowed to surrender. A soldier who kills his commander and sacrifices his head is exempt from the hard labor camp. If the officer kills the official and comes to surrender, he can avoid death! The rest will not be forgiven! ”

The prisoner policy of the Shenshu people is also the best way for the troops with bad deeds to make a forced landing and reform. After many eras of later generations, for the surrendered troops with original sin, allowing the commander to surrender is the most trustworthy for them.

At the same time, after the order, Shen Shuren also briefly discussed with Zuo Zixiong, Jin Shenghuan, and Zhu Wenzhen: "Since Liu Jinzhong did not dare to surrender and did not dare to escape in advance, the reason has been figured out, do you think Liu Jinzhong will be martyred with the city?" ”

Zuo Zixiong scratched his head, thought for a while, and said frankly: "The last general thinks ...... He has no other way but to enjoy it before he dies, fight and wait for death? ”

Shen Shuren shook his head: "Don't use the heart of a gentleman to live the belly of a villain, how can this kind of abandoned son be so resolute?" In my opinion, it's not that he doesn't want to break through, but he knows that he can't go to Zhang Xianzhong anymore after breaking through.

When he is really anxious, he may want to escape from the city, or go incognito, or set up his own door. In this way, we can pretend to continue to besiege the south of the city with heavy troops, preventing him from breaking through the siege and going south to find Zhang Xianzhong's division.

But in fact, it was loose outside the west of the city and tight inside, showing the enemy to be false, but in fact, it was hiding ambushes. Go west from Changsha, go southwest, and enter Luoxiao Mountain, which is enough for Liu Jinzhong to set up his own door and prevent this road. ”

Zuo Zixiong, Jin Shenghuan, and Zhu Wenzhen listened to it, and they all admired the views of Lord Futai, indeed from a geographical point of view, the surrounding areas of Changsha should escape, and they could not go south but only west.

The Ming army immediately laid out the situation according to the new deployment, loosened the outside and tightened the inside, and then attacked the city in a step-by-step manner for two or three days.

As the defenders in the city felt more and more pressure and psychological offensive, there were really troops who killed officers who secretly opened the door and went out of the city to surrender, and several times they were almost seized by the Ming army to take advantage of the situation.

If it weren't for the defenders' gatekeepers who were all loyal henchmen of Liu Jin, they fought desperately to recapture the city gate as soon as possible, I am afraid that Changsha City would have been recovered.

Liu Jinzhong's troops were shocked overnight, and even if they had more than 20,000 troops of the newly annexed army, they did not dare to hold it for a long time.

On the night of June 25, the fourth night after the official army began to attack the city, another group of thieves who had killed the officers made a disturbance in the city and took the city gate for a time.

This time, Liu Jinzhong's descendants finally failed to control the return to the city gate at the first time, and the officers and troops poured in, and the two sides launched a bloody and chaotic battle.

Liu Jinzhong's subordinates had no choice but to follow Zhang Xianzhong's previous order to set fire to the city, wanting to burn a little more materials that could not be taken away. Then Liu Jinzhong took 5,000 diehard soldiers to open the West Gate and break through the chaos, and sure enough, he didn't dare to vote for Zhang Xianzhong, but wanted to go to Luo Xiaoshan to stand up for himself.

Zhu Wenzhen was already waiting for work there, Liu Jinzhong immediately used 2,000 cavalry as the main force when he passed, and Liu Jinzhong was shot by the pistol cavalry of Zhu Wenzhen's front army in turn, and was killed on the spot.

Most of the rest were killed and wounded in the chaos, and in the end two or three thousand people were captured, and only a few hundred escaped—thanks to the fact that the Shenshu people had confessed several days in advance that they were to set up an ambush in a dangerous place on the road west of the city. The officers and soldiers came prepared, so few escaped this time, and they basically fell into pockets and surrounded.

The thieves and defenders of Changsha have been basically annihilated so far.