CHAPTER XXII

Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai led the main force of the rebel army and arrived in Xuchang on December 13. When passing through Xiangcheng, because Xiangcheng had surrendered last month, Li Zicheng ordered that soldiers were not allowed to enter the city, so that the officials and gentry in the city could live and work in peace and without panic; just accepted the accusations of the people, sent a small colonel to lead 20 cavalry into the city, arrested Cao Sizheng, the magistrate who was usually corrupt and perverted the law, and took him to Xuchang to be beheaded.

After the army arrived in Xuchang, because Li Zicheng was ill on the road, he temporarily changed the plan: the army stayed in the Xuchang area, waiting for his illness to recover, and at the same time collected mules and horses, grain, bean feed, firewood and grass from nearby prefectures and counties, and some of the old and weak women who accompanied the army and the brothers who were seriously injured in Nanyang were temporarily stationed in Linying City, which is sixty miles south of Xuchang City, and ordered the Red Lady to lead the healthy women's battalion and the boy scouts (that is, child soldiers) to stay in Linying for protection. After a few days, Li Zicheng continued to march to Kaifeng.

On the night of the 23rd, it was the Lunar New Year, and Li Zicheng arrived outside Kaifeng. According to the plan agreed in advance, he stationed the old camp in Yingcheng Junwang Garden, just east of Caomen, about five miles away from Caomen. Cao Cao then arrived and set up the old camp in the Fanta Temple three miles away in the southeast corner of the city, very close to Yuwangtai. When Li Zicheng arrived at the King Garden of Yingcheng County, it was already the third watch. Gao Yigong and Li Guo arrived after dusk, and they had already burned charcoal in the tent in advance, so as soon as Li Zicheng arrived, he immediately convened a military meeting.

It was Li Yu who was in charge of spying on the military situation in Kaifeng for a month. Li Yu has lived in Kaifeng for many years, the situation is relatively familiar, and most of his subordinates are from Qixian County, so after he took on the important task of spying on the military situation, he constantly sent people into Kaifeng to find out all kinds of movements in the provincial capital. When he set out from Xuchang, he was ordered by the king to lead 2,000 men and horses first. Shortly after noon today, he ordered Li Jun to lead 300 cavalry to sneak around to the Yingcheng Junwang Garden and ambush outside the embankment; He also sent seven cavalry to gallop to Caomen, pasted two generalissimo notices on the wooden fence outside the drawbridge, and told the soldiers and civilians in the city to seize the king of Zhou and the officials of Fu as soon as possible, and surrender the city. The seven cavalrymen posted notices and were not in a hurry to leave, shouting to the people on the streets outside Caomen Pass, saying that they were the king's men and horses, and they were sent to capture Kaifeng, and only killed corrupt officials and princes and princes, not the people. Everyone held their breath and listened to the shops on both sides of the street in Caomenguan, but no one dared to arrest them. When the officers and soldiers guarding Caomen chased them out, they rode their horses and galloped away, and in a blink of an eye they reached the outside of the embankment, and there was no trace of them. At the same time, Li Jun sent people to arrest three hawkers who lived in Beiguan, who had only come out of the city before the city gate was closed this morning. I asked them about the fortification of the city around the north gate, and then let them go.

At the beginning of the important military meeting that night, Li Zicheng asked Li Yu about the movement of Kaifeng. Li Yu stood up respectfully and said:

"Because our rangers have been haunting the area of Zhuxian Town for the past three or four days, and the people of Zhuxian Town often see our men and horses coming and going, so the city thought that our army was going to attack the south gate, so they put the main forces defending the city in the area of the south gate. Guarding the south gate was the new governor Gao Mingheng, and his deputy was Chen Yongfu, the chief military officer. Half of Chen Yongfu's soldiers were stationed on Nanmen Street. There are a lot of rolling logs and stones on the city, and every household takes turns to go to the city in the morning and evening. ”

Li Zicheng also inquired about the defense of the other city gates. Li Yu gave the names of the officials and gentry who were responsible for guarding the city gates one by one, and also gave a rough idea of the number of officers and soldiers. They also talked about how much food and firewood were stored in the city, and how long they could support it.

This is the first time that Li Zicheng has sent Li Yu to complete such an important task alone. After listening to Li Yu's report, he nodded frequently, and said, "It's very clear, it's very clear." Then he asked: "Why do you want Wang Xie of Xiangfu Zhixian County to guard the north gate?" ”

Li Yu said: "Let Wang Xie guard the north gate, not for anything else, just for the first time when we came to attack Kaifeng, this person was quite courageous, young and young, and won the appreciation of the officials of Fu and according to the feudal territory, and the king of Zhou was also very appreciative." He had already been promoted to the imperial history, but because of the urgent situation in Kaifeng, he had to stay temporarily. Now let him guard the north gate, because they thought that the moat outside the north city was waterless, and the walls were a little lower, so it was easy to attack. Although there are big officials guarding the north gate, it is not effective, and it is necessary to send an official who can really do things there to supervise the army and the people to defend the city. ”

Li Zicheng nodded, and asked again, "Are the people in the city very panicked?" ”

Li Yu said: "The people are naturally panicked, but no one thinks of surrendering. ”

"Why are the people so united with the government?"

"The government created a rumor that a few months ago, the Kaifeng people shot and injured one of the generalissimo's eyes, and our soldiers swore a curse: the next time they attack Kaifeng, not only the living will be killed, but even the dead will be chopped three times."

Everyone laughed. King Chuang also scolded with a smile: "Fuck! It is no wonder that the people are desperately defending the city. ”

The meeting decided that from tomorrow onwards, in accordance with the predetermined strategy, from the Song Gate to the Cao Gate and the North Gate, an all-out onslaught will be carried out. The various generals redivided their tasks, and the main forces were placed between Caomen and Beimen. After the meeting, the generals withdrew. Liu Zongmin also withdrew from the old camp and went to his own station outside Caomen to reconvene the generals and make arrangements for tomorrow's siege. Li Zicheng left Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and Li Yan behind, talked for a long time, and then rested separately.

Li Zicheng was very sleepy, sat on the hay bunk, and was about to go to bed, but saw Gao Yigong walk in again and sit down by the fire. Self-Composed Question:

"What else do you have to do?"

Gao Yigong said: "Our old battalion soldiers don't drink a lot, which is different from Cao Ying. But now the weather is cold, and on the edge of the Yellow River, the sharp wind is biting, and the clothes are thin, and they are too cold to eat, so all the battalions beg me to ask you to send wine to ward off the cold like Cao Ying. ”

"Any wine?"

"I have prepared a lot of wine, and I can continue to prepare."

"Okay, give everyone wine to drink, half of it compared to Cao Ying. But one thing, you strictly enforce the military order for me, no matter who it is, you are not allowed to get drunk; There is a severe punishment for getting drunk! ”

"Yes. I will strictly enforce your military orders. ”

Gao Yigong still didn't leave immediately, his lips moved, and he clearly stopped saying something. Li Zicheng asked:

"What else?"

Gao Yigong smiled and said, "Li Gubi returned to the camp this spring, and it has been a few months. He always complained secretly that he was not sent on important errands......"

Zicheng intercepted and said: "Give him 300 people to take care of grain and grass, this errand is not important?" ”

Yigong said: "I also said that it was very important, but he wanted to lead the troops to fight, thinking that it was easy to make meritorious contributions in war, and taking care of grain and grass made heroes useless." ”

Li Zicheng sneered through his nostrils and asked, "Did he ask you to send him another errand?" ”

"He begged me many times, but I never spit out."

Zicheng said: "This person is not to be reused. You know, although he is also surnamed Li, he is not from the same family. He is a native of Qingjian County, and only moved to live near Mizhi City in the previous generation. But he usually blows to people who don't know the details, saying that he is my cousin and has not made five clothes; Talking to others behind my back, how to call me 'my second brother' when I mention it, and how to call it 'second sister-in-law' when I mention your sister, it really fools a lot of people. He also likes to brag about his former exploits, and how much I appreciate him. What a fuck! ”

Gao Yigong said with a smile: "I know all these situations, and others also know them. People say that he sells dog skin plasters, so they don't call him Li Gubi, but give him the nickname Li Goupi. ”

Li Zicheng continued: "He doesn't actually have much ability, but he likes to compete for merit. He stepped forward to do superficial work, and when there was something good, he cut his head like a bamboo stick, and when he was in trouble, he shrank back, for fear that it would be sent to him. He fell behind before the battle of Tongguan Nanyuan, and returned to Mizhi's house, and after we broke Luoyang, he came again. How dare a person like him rely on him to lead troops to war? ”

Gao Yigong said: "He said to me, please send him to lead the troops to fight." If he doesn't work hard, he is willing to be a military commander. He also said that this time he would rather die than contribute to you. ”

Zicheng said: "It's a good thing that I really want to fight the war, so ask him to ask the chief whistle Liu Ye to ask for it." Why ask me little things? ”

Yigong said: "He knows that Jiexuan doesn't like him, so he doesn't dare to see Jiexuan, and always pesters me, please talk about it in front of you." ”

Zicheng thought for a while and said, "Send him to Gu Zijie's camp." You sue him that if he violates military rules, don't think that he will tolerate him because his surname is Lee! ”

As soon as Gao Yigong left, Li Zicheng hurried to sleep. But he had just taken off his outer clothes and lay down, when he suddenly heard a violent sound of killing in the distance. He put on his clothes again, and ran out of the house, and saw the light of fire in the direction of the north gate, and heard the sound of cannons and killings coming from there. He didn't know what had happened, so he instructed his own soldiers around him:

"Hurry up the horses!"

Ding Qirui has been running around in recent days. Originally, he was ordered by the emperor to urge him to save Nanyang, but he had already crossed the Tang River, but because he was afraid to avoid the war, he retreated to the junction of Henan and Huguang. After the loss of Nanyang, he was reprimanded by the imperial court, and he was sent to rescue Kaifeng. Although he was very afraid of fighting Li Zicheng, Kaifeng could not help but save him, which made him live in distress day and night. He is a native of Yongcheng County, Henan, and Kaifeng is the provincial capital of Henan, that is, the land of Sangzi, where the capital is located. If Kaifeng is lost, he will not escape the law of the country. For his own life, and for the expectations of Sang Zi's father, he had to follow King Chuang's army and run to Kaifeng. He was originally a chubby middle-aged man, but since he served as a supervisor, especially since he was ordered to save Nanyang and Kaifeng, he has become dark, his beard is gray, and his face is full of haggard and worried. He had a total of 20,000 or 30,000 men, and because he was anxious to rush into Kaifeng, he only transferred some of the elite soldiers he thought were available, together with his staff, personal generals, personal soldiers, family members, and slaves, a total of about 3,500 people, mostly infantry, and hurried lightly.

When Li Zicheng's army completely left Xuchang, he entered Xuchang after a gap of most of the day. And as soon as his men and horses entered the city, they went about plundering, committing adultery, and doing all kinds of evil.

The next day, Ding Qirui's men left Xuchang at dawn. He had just stepped on his war horse outside the line, when suddenly Wu Patrol walked up to him, bowed down and said:

"Lord Qiqi: There is an anonymous poster on the wall. It seems that there are still thieves in this city. ”

Ding Qirui was taken aback and asked, "How is it written on the poster?" ”

Wu Patrol said: "Please take a look at it yourself." ”

Originally, Ding Qirui only had to lift the reins or knock the stirrups lightly, and his mount walked forward ten and eight steps, and he could come to the wall to watch in person; But the habit he had cultivated over the years in officialdom made him put on a show everywhere, so he did not drive his mount, but commanded majestically:

"Tear the poster off and show it to me!"

Wu Patrol didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly ran to tear the poster on the wall. Fortunately, the poster had only been pasted for a short time, and the paste had not yet dried completely, so he carefully tore it off and presented it to the Overseer with both hands.

Ding Qirui hurriedly looked at it, and it turned out to be a seven-character ancient poem, writing:

Sadly went out with a cane to look, and overnight it became vicissitudes.

There are no eaves and alleys, and there are no rubble and crumbling walls.

Poor Wei family palace is poor, and it has been slim for thousands of years.

The whispers of the people in the ears are not thieves and ruined soldiers.

The thief came and didn't hear the iron horse, and the thief went to see the soldiers.

After Ding Qirui saw it, he was angry and afraid. The angry thing is that the person who wrote this poster is not a market person, but a reader, and it seems that the "thief" of the reader has become a trend. What I'm afraid of is that after his people arrive in Xuchang, the discipline is indeed very bad, not as good as the "thief", in case his father and the common people complain to the court, and the official is also impeached in the court, as a supervisor, he has no success in suppressing the thief, but has suffered, and the future is probably a little bad.

But after thinking about it, it is not only his people and horses that are like this, the world is as black as an eagle, even the people of the Beijing camp, led by Liu Yuanbin, a eunuch who is close to the emperor, and the discipline is worse than other officials and soldiers, what can be done? So he felt a little lighter, tore the headless poster to shreds, threw it under the horse's hooves, and without saying anything else, he lifted the reins and knocked the stirrups, and walked towards the city gate surrounded by his own soldiers, generals, and staff.

After the army of Chuang and Cao left Xuchang, they rushed to Kaifeng along Fugou, Yanling, and Weishi in two ways. Within twenty or thirty miles from east to west, there were men and horses and rangers of Chuang and Cao. Ding Qirui didn't dare to fight with Chuang and Cao's men, but he was in a hurry to rush to Kaifeng. At first, he followed the armies of Chuang and Cao, but later he felt that this was too slow and dangerous: if the rebels sent a force to ambush him in the middle of the way, he would suffer a big loss. So he later changed his route, walked from the west of Changge to the north, marched for two days and one night in a hurry, and then bypassed the west of Zhongmu and continued northward, and when he reached the south bank of the Yellow River, he suddenly turned eastward, preparing to enter Kaifeng from the north gate before the arrival of the army of Chuang and Cao. But Chuang, Cao Dajun walked a relatively straight road, and there were a lot of cavalry, when Ding Qirui's men and horses arrived at Kaifeng North Pass, Li Zicheng had already set up camp around Kaifeng, only the north gate all the way has not yet been encircled. As soon as Ding Qirui arrived at the north gate, he found that the situation was very bad, and if he broke through and Cao men and horses attacked, his more than 3,000 men and horses would inevitably collapse outside the north gate. So he hurried to the city, hoping to enter it quickly. When the city heard that the Governor's men had arrived, they opened the city gates and first put Ding Qirui, his cronies, and 200 standard battalion soldiers inside, and then let his brigade enter the city.

At this time, a part of the men and horses led by Yuan Zongdi happened to come to the northern city, saw the official army entering the city, and thought that this was a good time, so they followed the official army and swarmed into the city. When the officers and soldiers saw that the rebels were coming, they were even more anxious to flee for their lives in the city, and they were unwilling to fight; The rebels wanted to sneak into the city, and they did not fight with the officers and soldiers. Both sides scrambled to the urn city.

Wang Xie, who guarded the north gate, was a very alert person, and he found that there were both Ding Qirui's officials and soldiers and Li Zicheng's "thief army" who squeezed into the urn city, and the urn city gate could not be closed, so he immediately ordered the main city gate to be closed, and raised it with stones; I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to hold it firmly, so I stacked the sandbags prepared in advance in the door. He himself stood at the head of the city, looking down on the urn city, and commanded the soldiers and the people to shoot arrows downwards and throw bricks and stones.

At this time, there were already hundreds of officers and soldiers who entered the urn city, as well as hundreds of righteous soldiers, and they all desperately shouted to the city, asking them to open the city gates. Wang Xie ignored it and continued to order people to shoot arrows downwards and throw bricks and stones. The officers and soldiers outside the urn city, seeing this situation, immediately collapsed and fled for their lives. Yuan Zongdi's men and horses also began to move, some officers and soldiers were killed, some knelt down and surrendered, and only a few escaped. Of Ding Qirui's more than 3,000 reinforcements, only two or three hundred entered the city, and the rest were easily wiped out without a fight.

After Ding Qirui entered the city, he ordered all his men and horses to be put into the city. Wang Xie ignored it. Ding Qirui was very angry and ordered in his capacity as a supervisor:

"If you don't let my men and horses enter the city, there is the emperor's Shang Fang sword, and you, the magistrate, don't want to escape responsibility!"

Wang Xie was helpless, and while commanding the soldiers to fight, he sent people to ask the governor for instructions. Gao Mingheng immediately reported to King Zhou. Soon, the king of Zhou sent a minister to the north gate to pass on the decree of the king of Zhou:

Defending the city is important. All soldiers and civilians who are trapped outside the city are not allowed to enter the city!

Ding Qirui didn't dare to speak. At the same time, he also knew that the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers who remained outside the city no longer existed.

After Yuan Zongdi wiped out the officers and troops outside the urn city, he concentrated on commanding the soldiers to seize the urn city. Hundreds of his men and horses rushed into the city, and some of them kept firing arrows at the city; Some of the people brought the ladder and leaned against the urn city. Dozens of people climbed the walls of the urn city and ran straight towards the big city, and they were about to take the big city. Wang Xie immediately offered a heavy reward: anyone who can knock the "thieves" out of the city will be rewarded with an ingot. At that time, there was a big man, holding a long stick, and a few sticks beat down several volunteers. Other officers and soldiers swarmed up, and the rebels were driven back, and some were beaten down into the city and seriously wounded; Some fell to their deaths; Some were killed in the city. The battle to capture the city was short, but it was fierce, and many soldiers and civilians at the head of the city were killed and wounded.

After the rebels were repulsed, Wang Xie immediately ordered the scribes to write down the names of the meritorious service personnel and give each person an ingot, which greatly boosted morale. And he offered a great reward: Whoever was able to block the gates of the urn city was to be rewarded with a great reward. As a result, the soldiers and civilians defending the city carried sandbags and threw them down from the top of the city gate of the urn. One by one, sandbags blocked the gates. In this case, the rebels had no choice but to quickly withdraw from the urn city. Wang Xie also ordered people to light gunpowder and firewood and grass and cast the urn city from the great city. In an instant, in the urn city, there was fire, black smoke, plus crossbow arrows, bricks and stones flew sideways, and the righteous army who did not have time to withdraw and the officers and soldiers of Ding Qirui who did not escape died in the urn city one by one. Ding Qirui's officers and soldiers alone died one or two hundred.

Yuan Zongdi saw that the north gate could not be attacked, and he lost some brothers, so he paused again and again. At this time, Li Zicheng arrived with his own soldiers Pegasus, saw this situation, and ordered Yuan Zongdi to stop the attack. When he saw Yuan Zong's first annoyance, he smiled and said to him:

"Ding Qirui's more than 3,000 horses have been wiped out by you, and you have only lost one or two hundred people, what is there to be angry about? What's more, I didn't let you attack Beicheng today, but by chance, you wanted to sneak into the city. Since this opportunity is not used, even if it is forgotten, it is important to prepare to attack the city within a day or two. It seems that the defense in the city is very tight, and the hard battle is still to come, so you should hurry up and rest! ”

On December 24, the armies of Chuang and Cao all arrived outside Kaifeng, and all the troops camped in the designated places, set up their nests, and set up tents. Those camps that were closer to the city gate also dug trenches to prevent the officers and soldiers from sneaking out of the city at night to attack and harass.

On this day, because the rebels needed to prepare for the siege of the city, the surrounding area of the city was almost calm, only occasionally firing a few shots at each other, breaking the special silence in the tension.

After lunch, Li Zicheng rode out of the camp, intending to inspect the Cao Gate and the Song Gate from outside the north gate to inspect the siege deployment and also take a look at the defense of the city. In order to guard against artillery in the city, you can only walk two miles away from the city. Even if it was two miles away, it was still a dangerous area, because the artillery at that time could already hit very far. However, if they walked too far away from the city, it would not be easy to see the movements of the soldiers and civilians defending the city.

Accompanying him on patrol were Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan, Zhang Nai, as well as Ding Guobao, Niu Wancai, Black Tiger Xingma Chongxi and others. Zhang Nai and Black Tiger Xingma Chongxi were ordered to follow in order to select and arrange the artillery positions for the siege. Ding Guobao and Niu Wancai were ordered to follow, because this siege required the method of digging the city. Most of the rebels who dug the city were miners from Funiu Mountain, and there were also farmers from Shaanxi who were good at digging kilns. This city-digging team was handed over to Ding Guobao and Niu Wancai to lead.

In view of the failure of the first attack on Kaifeng eight months ago, Li Zicheng no longer expected to rely on the success of the surprise attack, nor did he expect his soldiers to be able to climb the top of the city with a ladder. In the past six months, with the assistance of his military advisor Song Xiance, he planned this attack on Kaifeng and made full preparations. Of course, he would love to succeed this time, and he thought there was a lot of hope for success, but he didn't take things lightly. From many detailed reports, he knew that since he attacked the city for the first time, the gentry, soldiers and civilians in Kaifeng City had experience in defending the city, and the other had continuously strengthened the strength of defending the city, and he must not take it lightly. He had been in a hundred battles since the uprising, and he had seen all kinds of tragic battles, but he had no experience in siege battles like this one. He thought that from tomorrow onwards, right before him, the two sides would begin a bloody battle, the sound of artillery would shake the sky, and the smoke of gunpowder would cover the ground, and his soldiers would fall under the walls and by the moats one by one, and rush forward one by one over the corpses and blood of his brothers, and when he did not wave the blue flag, no one would dare to ring the gong, and the siege would not stop, no matter how tragic the casualties were. He also thought that in this bloody battle that he had never seen before, he would also go forward amid the sound of cannons and shouts of killing, and immediately supervise the battle, and it was likely that his own soldiers and beloved soldiers would fall one after another around him, and many horses would fall, and even he and his oolong foal would have the possibility of being hit by cannons and arrows. If this battle could not be successful, wouldn't it have killed and wounded many soldiers in vain? …… Thinking like this, he suddenly felt his heart tighten.

No one around him knew how heavy and excited the commander of the army, who had been honed in battle, but seeing that he looked calm, he walked slowly, and when he thought he needed to watch carefully, he gently pulled the reins, suggesting that the oolong horse was suspended. In one place, Li Zi set up a horse sand dune, looked at the head of the city, held a bridle in his left hand, raised a whip in his right hand, pointed with a whip, and talked with the civil and military people on the left and right for a while. There were many cannons and muskets showing out of the battlements, and flags of different colors fluttered at the top of the city. The soldiers and civilians defending the city peeked out from the gaps in the battlements one by one and observed their movements; There are also people who point fingers. It seems that there were many soldiers and civilians defending the city, and there were also a lot of artillery, and it can be seen from the banner that their troops were neat and tidy, and they were by no means a rabble that had been gathered temporarily.

Li Zicheng reined in the sand dunes, continued to walk and look, pointed out the terrain, and discussed with Song Xiance and others what place was most conducive to digging holes and where was the most suitable place to place cannons. Zhang Nai, Ding Guobao, Black Tiger Xing and others listened attentively to the plans of King Chuang and the military advisors, Liu Zongmin and others, and firmly remembered them in their hearts.

Suddenly a group of horsemen appeared at the head of the city, followed by many soldiers on foot. This group of horsemen came up from the north gate to the east, probably because they heard someone outside the city inspect the terrain, so they climbed the wall. The walls of Kaifeng are very thick, and the head of the city is wide, and sometimes the generals can ride horses on it. Those people kept looking at Li Zicheng's side, and they were also pointing. Walking in front on horseback was a big man, although his face could not be seen clearly, but from his clothes and helmet, it could be seen that he was a major general. He rode a tall jujube red horse, and his coat shone in the afternoon sun, looking particularly powerful.

At this time, Li Zicheng deliberately let the horse walk closer to the city, wanting to see this general riding a red horse clearly. When they were about a mile apart, both sides could see more clearly. Song Xiance suddenly said "ah", and quickly told Li Zicheng:

"This big man riding a jujube red horse is the chief soldier Chen Yongfu. He deliberately rode around the city today to show his majesty. ”

Li Zicheng intuitively felt that this person was not an ordinary person, and then asked:

"Is it really Chen Yongfu?"

Song Xiance said: "I saw him a few times when I was in Kaifeng, and I was invited by him to the Zhentai Yamen, and I approved the eight characters for him, and I saw the appearance, and I was very familiar with him. Lin Quan had also seen him. Lin Quan, you say, could he be someone else? ”

Li Yan said: "It is indeed Chen Yongfu. I don't know him well, but I've met him a few times. ”

Li Zicheng said: "He personally ascended to Beicheng, and it seems that he would guess that we were going to attack from Beicheng." ”

Song Xiance said: "Yes, he is now heading to Dongcheng, and he clearly guessed that we were going to attack from Beicheng and Dongcheng at the same time. ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Since he attaches so much importance to the north and east city, he will definitely move from the south city to the north city, and it seems that the south city will relax a little." ”

Song Xiance shook his head and said: "It stands to reason that it should be like this, but Chen Yongfu is quite experienced, and he will not expose many loopholes in Nancheng." In addition, there are many soldiers and people in Kaifeng, which will not make Nancheng's strength weak. ”

Li Yan said: "They originally thought that it would be more convenient for us to attack the south city from Xuchang, so Chen Yongfu personally guarded the south gate. Now that we have placed our heavy forces in the north and east and Cao Ying in the south city, we know that we are going to attack from the north and east cities. If Cao Ying can seriously attack in the southern city, it will be easier for us to succeed in the northern and eastern cities. ”

Li Zicheng didn't speak when he heard it, and Liu Zongmin didn't speak. Regarding Cao Ying's affairs, everyone felt that it was not so easy to handle.

When Li Zicheng and others were discussing in the city, Chen Yongfu had been monitoring the city. Because the distance was not far, he quickly concluded from the color of the oolong horse's coat and the characteristics of that person's blue clothes, cloak, felt hat and other outfits that the person riding the horse in the middle was Li Zicheng, and the short man to Li Zicheng's right was Song Xiance, and the one wearing a hat and a robe must be Niu Jinxing. An official of the governor's yamen beside him said: "It seems that the thieves are undoubtedly attacking the northern and eastern cities. We might as well send troops out of the south gate at night, first kill the Cao camp, and then defend the north gate and the Song gate with all our might, so that the attack of the thieves is not enough to worry. ”

Chen Yongfu glanced back at him, shook his head, and said, "Don't talk about this matter now, and we'll discuss it when we get to Caomen." ”

He has a lot of experience in fighting wars, and at this critical juncture, he does not dare to take chances. His own men and horses were only a few thousand, and even though there were many Ding Zhuang who could be dispatched in the city, they were not as good as the well-trained officers and soldiers under him. Therefore, it is okay to go out of the city to harass a little, and to defeat Cao Cao or inflict heavy damage on Cao Cao is like a dream.

Seeing that Li Zicheng and the others were still stationed in the horse to watch, Wang Xie, the county governor of Xiangfu, suddenly thought about it and said to Chen Yongfu: "Lord Junmen, why don't you take this opportunity to order the cannon to be fired and the gang of thieves killed?" ”

Chen Yongfu smiled and said, "Our artillery is not aimed now, and they are very close to the city. As soon as our guns move, they will immediately disperse and flee. It is useless to open fire, but it will startle the snake. We can ignore it and see how they snoop and know how they will attack tonight or tomorrow. ”

After listening to Chen Yongfu's words, everyone admired his sophistication and seriousness. However, after a while, Chen Yongfu suddenly had a certainty, turned around and ordered a personal soldier to rush to the corner place, and told the officers who defended the city there to prepare three or four cannons quickly, and aim the muzzles of the cannons on the way to the corner outside the city.

Everyone praised this plan for being very clever and admired Chen Yongfu even more.

Li Zicheng and others continued to ride forward.

They also thought that there might be artillery in the city, so they instructed their soldiers to pay close attention to whether the cannon ports in the city were moving, and if the cannon ports moved, they were not allowed to be careless. When he was about to reach the corner of the city wall, Song Xiance was very alert, and saw three or four cannons facing the road at the corner from a distance, and guessed that the officers and soldiers defending the city would shoot artillery here, so he said to Li Zicheng:

"Please generalissimo don't look any further. Let's go to General Yufeng's camp to discuss important matters. ”

Li Zicheng understood, nodded with a smile and said:

"Okay, don't look at it."

So, they rounded a depression and galloped towards a camp near the garden of the king of Yingcheng.

Chen Yongfu came to the corner and saw that Li Zicheng and the others had changed direction, and scolded in his heart:

"Cunning, don't die!"

He stayed at the head of the city at the corner for a while, observed the geographical situation outside the city, and said to Wang Xie, Huang Shu and others: "Heavy troops and defensive equipment should be concentrated here, and the eastern city is in an emergency, rescue the eastern city; There is an emergency in Beicheng, rescue Beicheng. This corner is very important, and it is necessary to send competent personnel to direct the defense. So he appointed one of his closest guerrilla generals to preside over the defense of the northeastern corner. After the instructions, they continued towards Caomen.

Li Zicheng and a group of people arrived in Tian Jianxiu's camp, leaving the ordinary generals outside the tent, and then a few people discussed secretly for a while, and then Song Xiance led a small number of personal soldiers to the Cao camp of Fanta Temple to convey the decision of King Chuang. King Chuang and his entourage immediately left Tian Jianxiu's camp and rushed to the Yingcheng County King Garden.

At this time, Chen Yongfu arrived at Caomen, where some important generals and local officials and gentry were already concentrated in charge of defending the city. None of the civil officials came, because it was not the big officials who were responsible for actually defending the city, but a few young and strong, shrewd and capable officials, especially Wang Xie of Xiangfu Zhixian County, Huang Shu, the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, and others. Chen Yongfu presided over the military meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, he said:

"This town was ordered by Lord Futai to move the north gate of the town from today. From the Song Gate to the North Gate through the Cao Gate, this section of the city is very important, and it seems that the Li thief will attack the city in this section. As long as I, Chen Yongfu, am here, I will never let the thieves succeed. This town is the general of Henan Town, stationed in the provincial capital, and is never afraid of death; The city survives and survives, the city dies and dies. You are either a current official, or a gentry of the city, or a famous family, and it is your duty to defend the city. Please work together with this town to defend this section of the city wall, repel the attack of thieves, and keep the officials and gentry of the city and His Royal Highness King Zhou safe. I don't know what you think? ”

An official said: "The general's loyalty is a blessing to the officials and gentlemen of the city." However, Cao Cao's elite soldiers were stationed in Fanta Temple, and there were many people and horses. If Cao Cao attacked the south gate, and the military gate was not at the south gate, wouldn't it be dangerous? ”

Chen Yongfu smiled indifferently and said, "Please rest assured. From the perspective of this town, although Cao Cao is also going to attack at the south gate, he will never really fight to the death. The two thieves of Chuang and Cao have different dreams in the same bed, which is well known. This siege was bound to be heavy casualties, and Cao Cao was unwilling to let his men and horses die for the thieves. ”

Another person said: "It is rumored that every time they capture a city, the jade silk of the children they plunder, will be divided into four or six shares. Kaifeng is so prosperous, won't Cao Cao storm the southern city for the sake of four or six spoils? ”

Chen Yongfu shook his head and said, "Cao Cao is much more sleek than us, so he is called Cao Cao." Even if he didn't storm the southern city, as long as the thieves attacked the city from the north gate and the Cao gate, he could also divide the spoils, so why let his own men and horses suffer heavy casualties? People and horses are his capital, and he will not do a loss-making business. ”

Everyone felt that his words were very reasonable, and they felt a little relieved. 黄澍 says:

"I will help guard Caomen, and I will definitely serve the court with a death."

Wang Xie said: "I guard the north gate, as long as the lord of Zhentai also sits at the north gate, I think the north gate can be safe." ”

Chen Yongfu said: "The two masters are so loyal, this town is naturally not far behind you. I am immoral and incompetent, just because a few months ago I repelled the siege of the city with all of you, and the imperial court promoted me from a deputy general to the general of the army. This town is deeply grateful, grateful, and has no way to repay it. This time the thieves came to attack Kaifeng, it was the time for the town to serve the imperial court, even if they were broken, they did not hesitate at all. What's more, this town has been stationed in Kaifeng for several years, and most of the families of the soldiers are in Kaifeng. The survival of Kaifeng is not only the life of the gentry and the people, but also the survival of thousands of soldiers and their families in this town. I have no other intention in saying this, but I hope that all the officials and gentry will work together with my soldiers. ”

The officials and gentry all said, "Please rest assured that Lord Zhentai." We don't care if the officers and soldiers are not in harmony with the gentry and the people in other places, but in this Kaifeng city, the army and the people are united, and they are in the same boat through thick and thin, and they help each other in times of difficulty. ”

Chen Yongfu also said: "According to the town, there will be a big war on the fifth watch tomorrow. The thieves entangled Cao Cao to besiege Kaifeng this time, and they were determined to win. We can't afford to let up our defense. We should always sacrifice our lives for the country, and we must not hesitate to sacrifice our lives for the country, and we must not leave anything to chance. It is necessary to prepare for a big war, to prepare for a hard battle, to prepare for a long battle. ”

The officials and gentry all felt heavy and were silent, and only Wang Xie said: "Please rest assured, Lord Zhentai, no matter how long we fight hard, we will definitely fight the enemy to the end." ”

Huang Shu also said: "As long as you persevere, I believe that the imperial court will come to reinforcements." ”

At this time, a young general under Chen Yongfu said: "We don't expect reinforcements, the reinforcements of Ding Dushi's division collapsed without a fight." We still mean that we rely on our own hands and the military and civilians to keep Kaifeng. ”

Chen Yongfu glared at the young general sternly: "Don't talk nonsense! Although 3,000 overseers were defeated without a fight, today the overseers are stationed in the city, and they are still our reliance. ”

Everyone laughed secretly when they heard this, but they all understood Chen Yongfu's hardships, so they didn't talk anymore.

Chen Yongfu also said: "Today's Caomen meeting, this town is ordered by Lord Futai to preside over it. Now that everyone is loyal and willing to defend the city for the emperor as much as possible, the town has a thin wine, how about drinking and swearing with everyone? ”

Everyone said, "Yes!" ”

Immediately, the Chinese generals brought a large pot of wine and more than 20 bowls, and brought a white rooster, killed the rooster on the spot, and sprinkled the chicken's blood in the wine. Chen Yongfu scooped a bowl of wine first and swore to God:

"I, Chen Yongfu, am deeply favored by the country and vow to repay him with death. Defend the city today, if you cherish your life, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed! When he had finished speaking, he drank the wine down.

Then the various civil and military officials and gentry drank wine and took the same oath.

Chen Yongfu said: "This is the end of today's meeting, and the town will go to report to Lord Futai. His Royal Highness King Zhou is also waiting for news from Lord Futai. Let's go our own way. ”

Everyone left the Caomen Tower with the determination to fight hard and a nervous mood.

On December 25, about four watches later, a cold wind blew from the Yellow River, stabbing the faces of the soldiers like knives. Everyone's ears and noses are frozen. There were thick clouds in the sky, as if it was going to snow. But the occasional moving cloud also cracked, revealing a few cold stars at first, and soon disappeared. The night was dark. There were many torches and lanterns on the top of the city, because the walls were invisible, and the endless lanterns and torches seemed to hang in the air.

At this time, under the cover of night, there were more than 1,000 rebel troops, divided into two groups, one led by Niu Wancai, waiting outside the moat in the east city, and the other led by Ding Guobao, waiting outside the moat in the north city. They took their hammers, hammers, and hammers, and stood still. Although the wind was as cold as knives, they forgot about the severe cold, and their mood was uplifted and nervous, waiting for the agreed signal to move. After a while, I saw a rocket shot in the distance, and the two men and horses galloped at the same time, crossed the moat, and then lifted the door panel on their backs, covered the top of their heads, and quickly ran towards the root of the city. When they arrived at the root of the city, they first used an iron hammer to drive the iron drill into the brick joints, and beat each brick all over the top, bottom, left and right, and then used the iron drill to pry out. Bricks and bricks have been pressed against each other for hundreds of years, and when they were built, they were plastered with lime, and they were stone-like, which was very difficult to dig.

As soon as they began to dig the city, the people of the city threw bricks and stones down with all their might. Some of the bricks and stones fell on the door panels, and some fell directly on people and heads, injuring many people when they landed. At the same time, gunpowder packs and "10,000 enemies" were left behind in the city.

The most terrifying thing is the "10,000 enemies", after being thrown down, as soon as it explodes, there will be casualties. Therefore, the rebels who were digging the city, while digging the city, had people ready to quickly pick up the gunpowder bags and "10,000 enemies" that had just been thrown and then threw them into the distance, although it was very dangerous, but it could reduce casualties.

In order to cover the troops digging the city, tens of thousands of volunteer soldiers stood on the edge of the moat and shot fierce arrows at the head of the city. The soldiers and civilians in the city were constantly killed and wounded, so that they hid in the battlements and did not dare to poke their heads out, so most of the bricks, stones, and gunpowder packs they threw were not very accurate. They also shot arrows out of the city, but because it was difficult to peek out from between the battlements, they could only shoot out from the edge of the arrows, and in the darkness they could not see the target clearly, so they shot high and low, and they were not sure at all. The rebels under the city looked up at the city, although it was also relatively hazy, but the lanterns and torches at the head of the city gave them great convenience. While the arrows were being shot, both sides shouted loudly. Up and down the city, shouting to kill the earth.

The rebels who dug the city were divided into many squads, each of about twenty people, and was responsible for digging a hole. There were also many reserve squads in ambush in the dry trenches, ready to take over the dead and wounded brothers at any time, and to drag the dead and wounded brothers back to the outside of the trenches as much as possible. Some of the wounded were killed by arrows from the city as soon as they were dragged a few feet away. But no matter how fierce the arrows, bricks, stones, and gunpowder packs on the city were, no matter how heavy the casualties were, the digging never stopped.

The soldiers and civilians in the city were very wary of the night attack of the rebels. They also made various preparations on how to deal with the excavation of the city and protect the city walls. Chen Yongfu is a very experienced chief military officer, and Wang Xie and Huang Shu are both shrewd and capable. In the first Kaifeng siege battle, Li Zicheng mainly used the method of digging the city, which made them gain a lot of experience. During the day yesterday, when the rebels were secretly preparing outside the city, the officials and gentry and the people in the city were also stepping up their preparations. The gentry in the city had long expected that King Li Chuang would come to take revenge, especially when the news of the destruction of Nanyang City came not long ago, and the killing situation was exaggerated. They were very worried that if the king and his men invaded the city, they would be killed and the women would be humiliated, and no one would be spared. Because they were in this mood to defend the walls, they kept throwing all kinds of things that could kill and injure the enemy, even though the defenders were constantly being killed and wounded by the arrows of the rebels.

At the time of the second watch, Chen Yongfu handed over the responsibility of guarding the city at the south gate to his son, Chen De, who held the rank of guerrilla general, and moved to the upper temple next to the iron tower. For fear of Cao Cao's tricks, after he arrived at the upper temple, he summoned Chen De again and repeatedly told him to be cautious. After Chen De left, Chen Yongfu did not take off his clothes, sat on a circle chair, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He was so tired that he was about to fall asleep when he was awakened by a shout from the city and beyond. His eyes widened, and he cursed in his heart: "Fuck, it's really here!" Then he took a group of generals, soldiers, and family members and quickly rushed to the city.

Chen Yongfu went to Dongcheng first, and saw that from Caomen to the north, there were rebels digging cities in many places, and the situation was very critical. He looked down from the middle of the battlements, and with a "whoosh" an arrow hit the upper part of his helmet, and shot the helmet down the city. A general pulled his sleeve and said, "My lord, be careful! He ignored it, grabbed a brick himself, and smashed it. Just then, another arrow flew over his head and struck a strong man defending the city behind him. Huang Shu hurriedly ran to him and said to him:

"Lord Junmen, at present, the East City and the North City are digging cities everywhere. In this section of the lower official guard, a total of 15 or 6 places are being excavated, no matter how to throw bricks, stones, and gunpowder, the thieves will not retreat. ”

Chen Yongfu said to him: "Don't panic, be calm, I have my own way." ”

He immediately ordered one of his own soldiers to preach a message in the city, saying that he would personally supervise the battle in the city, and that the soldiers and the people should kill the enemy calmly and not panic. This oracle soon spread from the eastern city to the northern city, and the officials, gentry, soldiers and civilians guarding the city everywhere listened to it, and suddenly their courage doubled, and a sound of killing sounded. A partial general came and excitedly begged Chen Yongfu to let him take 300 people down the city to drive away the thieves who were digging the city somewhere. Chen Yongfu shook his head and said, "Not at that time." Then he said to Huang Shu and one of his generals:

"Order someone to go and get firewood quickly, the more the better, all the quilts and batting, and a few loads of oil."

At the moment he gave this command, many people ran down the city. There are many nests under the city for the soldiers and civilians who defend the city to sleep. For heating and cooking, a lot of dry firewood was piled up next to the bunk. At this time, people carried dry firewood to the city one after another, and even demolished some nests, and carried quilts and cotton wool to the city. Someone else took a lot of sesame oil from the upper temple. Chen Yongfu ordered the dry wood to be lit, thrown down the city, and burned to death the people who dug the holes. So, the dry wood was lit and thrown at the people who dug the hole. Some of the dry firewood was thrown down without being lit, and then the burning cotton wool soaked in oil was thrown down, and the dry firewood was quickly ignited and burned. After a while, from Caomen to the north gate, the city root of the fifteen-mile road was on fire everywhere, like a fire dragon. Chen Yongfu said to another general:

"Then pass on the town's message: This town is now in the city, and the soldiers and civilians defending the city are in danger, and I hope that the army and the people will work together to kill the thieves, and those who dare to go down to the city without permission will be killed!"

And the word spread swiftly throughout the city. People knew that Chen Yongfu was supervising the battle in the city, and when they saw a fire dragon protecting the root of the city, they all felt bold and morale, so the shouts of killing were mixed with cheers, whistles, and smug insults.

At this time, Li Zicheng came to the outside of Beicheng and immediately was less than half a mile away from the moat. Liu Zongmin galloped from Dongcheng, stood with him, and briefly explained the situation of digging holes in Dongcheng. They marched some way to the edge of the moat, and at a distance of less than ten zhang from the moat, they carefully watched the bitter battle at the root of the city. Seeing the city using fire to kill and injure the righteous army, Li Zicheng was very angry in his heart, and he couldn't wait to immediately command the army to climb the city with a ladder. But he wasn't distracted by his own provocation. He knew very well that the method of climbing the city with a ladder would be useless against a city wall so high and guarded by so many people, and would only sacrifice a large number of soldiers in vain.

He continued to watch. In the light of the fire, he saw his soldiers digging the city as they pushed the burning firewood and cotton wool into the distance with their pickaxes. And so on and on

Li Guo, who was in charge of the command outside the northern city, ran in front of him. He didn't wait for Li Guo to report to him, and asked first: "Do you still have it?" His tone was calm, as if he was sure.

Li Guo replied: "All the holes have been dug two or three feet deep, but the soldiers are seriously killed and wounded. ”

Liu Zongmin said to Li Guo: "Make up for it, unless you are seriously injured, a person is not allowed to return, and if you want to die, you will die in the root of the city." If anyone returns without permission, they will be beheaded immediately! ”

Li Guo replied, "I have already given the order." ”

Li Zicheng asked, "What about the national treasure?" ”

Li Guo said: "The national treasure has been hung in two lotteries, I sent someone to replace him, but he refused, and he was still in command of the excavation of the city." ”

Li Zicheng nodded in approval, then glanced at Liu Zongmin and asked, "What is the situation in Dongcheng?" ”

"A couple of holes were dug in. There were many dead and wounded among the soldiers, and none of them retreated. ”

"Where's Niu Wancai?"

"He was seriously wounded, and he was carried on his back; If you change someone, you will die immediately; Now there is a third person in command of the digging of the hole. ”

Li Zicheng stopped talking, took Wu Ruyi, Li Shuangxi and some of his own soldiers, and rode his horse to Dongcheng. While watching the soldiers fighting hard to dig the city, he listened to the movements of the southern city. After listening for a while, he only heard sparse cannon sounds and shouts coming from the south, obviously Cao Cao was afraid of hurting his own soldiers, so he did not use his strength to contain the defenders of Nancheng. He didn't reveal his dissatisfaction. On the surface, he seemed to be concentrating on watching the bitter battle in Dongcheng, but in his heart he scolded fiercely:

"Damn, it's two hearts after all!"

Before the excavation began, Song Xiance had already arrived in Dongcheng and deployed the excavation with Tian Jianxiu. Now when he saw that King Chuang was coming, he rode his horse to King Chuang's side.

Li Zicheng asked: "Advice, the city used fire to kill and injure many of our soldiers, do you see any broken methods?" ”

Song Xiance said: "I had already guessed yesterday afternoon that the city would use fire to deal with the excavation of the city, and sent people to find 500 iron forks and mulberry forks in the nearby villages, which had just arrived, and now I am sending people to distribute them to various excavation places. With iron and mulberry forks, they could easily throw firewood and cotton wool into the distance. ”

Li Zicheng asked again: "Our arrows can't suppress the officers and soldiers defending the city, can we try to shoot artillery along the city?" ”

Song Xiance said: "Of course, the artillery fire is very powerful, but now the hole is only two or three feet deep, and most of the soldiers cannot enter the hole, so it is very dangerous to shoot artillery. If the artillery is high, it will be ineffective if it crosses the city; If the cannon is low, it will hit the head of the city or the high part of the wall, and the falling bricks will injure our own soldiers; If a few cannons are fired a little lower, the shells will fall on the roots of the city, which will increase our casualties and shake the morale of the diggers. Therefore, it is not the time to shoot cannons, and it is necessary to wait for dawn after dawn, and the diggers will enter the cave, and it will be easy to do at that time. ”

Li Zicheng said: "Okay! Then hit the city with cannons! ”

Li Zicheng knew that Cao Cao was not attacking hard in the southern city, so he ordered Li Shuangxi to gallop to Fanta Temple, and asked Cao Cao to send 10,000 elite soldiers to the big sand pile in the northeast corner of the city to listen to Liu Zongmin's dispatch. He also ordered Wu Ruyi to quickly find Tian Jianxiu to discuss the military.

At this time, Tian Jianxiu was not far north of Caomen. He did not ride a horse, but stood outside the moat and shot arrows at the head of the city with his soldiers. The soldiers around him kept getting arrows and falling to the ground. The winter coat he wore on the outside had also been pierced by arrows, but fortunately he was wearing cotton armor and was not injured. Wu Ruyi came near, jumped off his horse, walked up to him and said:

"Brother Yufeng, please take a step back!"

Tian Jianxiu didn't look at him and said, "The soldiers are in a dangerous situation, I can't retreat!" He didn't know that it was Wu Ruyi who was talking to him, and thought it was his own general. He'd heard things like that many times.

Wu Ruyi said loudly: "Generalissimo, please have an urgent matter to discuss!" ”

Tian Jianxiu glanced back at this time, handed over the responsibility of supervising the battle to others, and followed Wu Ruyi to get on the horse.

After dawn, both sides saw very clearly, up and down the city, firing artillery at each other. In the sound of artillery, the soldiers and civilians defending the city and the rebels outside the city continued to be killed and wounded, but the sound of artillery was endless, and the fighting became more and more fierce.

Cao Cao did not dare to openly disobey Li Zicheng's military orders, and sure enough, before dawn, he sent his close general Sun Shenzu to lead 10,000 horses to the northeast corner of the city and obey the dispatch. Liu Zongmin divided them into two groups, 5,000 men and horses went to the east of the city, and 5,000 men and horses went to the north of the city to participate in the siege battle. Zong Min was originally very angry at Cao Ying's performance at night, and then he secretly laughed in his heart and said:

"I can't help you Cao Cao to be sleek, don't want to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight!"

Sun Shenzu himself is a fierce general. He and his soldiers, in order to fight for Cao Cao's face, whether they participated in digging the city, participating in artillery battles, or shooting at the city, they were very serious and hardworking, and did not avoid casualties. This made Liu Zongmin very satisfied, patted Sun Shengzu on the shoulder and said:

"Good! It's like a siege! ”

On the 26th, the excavation of more than 30 holes continued amid difficulties and constant casualties. Because the rebels had more artillery and great power, they posed a great threat to the city, and the rebels at the root of the city had iron forks and mulberry forks, which could fork away the burning cotton wool and firewood at any time, so the city could only rely on throwing bricks, stones, gunpowder packs and "10,000 enemies" to cause casualties to the rebels, but there was no effective way to stop the rebels from digging holes. The rebels were extremely brave, and no matter how dangerous it was, they dug and dug and dug and and

To the north of Caomen, near the corner, a large hole has been dug. Although the casualties were very heavy, they were the most successful after all. On the afternoon of the 26th, in the hole a few feet wide, he had already dug more than two zhang wide to the left and right, dug more than one zhang deep inward, and dug more than one person high. Broken bricks and clods of earth dug out of the cave were piled up on the left and right sides of the mouth of the cave, along with the dead bodies, and were as tall as a man, like two hills.

Chen Yongfu originally wanted to send the next group of people to snatch the big hole, but he thought again: there were already twenty or thirty rebels in the cave, and the artillery fire outside the city was very fierce, so there were fewer people under the cave, so it was useless; There were too many people to be hit by artillery fire or killed by arrows before they hit the ground, so he gave up on this plan.

Throughout the afternoon, from the Song Gate to the North Gate, on the fifteen-mile-long city wall, the smoke of gunpowder rose for a while, and then slowly dispersed, after many times the smoke of gunpowder rose and dispersed, dusk gradually came. There is a gray twilight flowing in the wilderness. Chen Yongfu was standing behind the battlements at this time, and saw that the rebels had brought new cannons to the edge of the city from a distance, not to mention more than a dozen. He ordered the officers and soldiers in the city and Ding Zhuang to stay in the city and half to go to the nest to rest quickly, but they were not allowed to stay. He himself immediately went down to the city, returned to the upper temple, and gathered his close generals, staff, and gentry to discuss secretly. It won't last long. After the meeting, they went to prepare for tomorrow's big war and hard fighting. In addition to more than a dozen of his generals, the civil officials and gentry who defended the city had a heavy look on their faces when they left. Everyone is worried: Kaifeng's fate may be decided tomorrow.

When Chen Yongfu convened a meeting in the upper temple, Li Zicheng and Song Xiance came to the outside of Kaifeng City and inspected several important places. After dinner, he held a military meeting in the old camp in the garden of the king of Yingcheng County. In addition to his own important generals and Niu, Song and others, Cao Cao and Ji Jue also arrived. The meeting lasted for a long time, and the matter of the siege of the city tomorrow was properly discussed, and the matter of entering the city was discussed. Who would enter the city first, how to occupy the major yamen and important streets in the city, and how to prohibit the soldiers from robbing and harming the people had already been discussed, but because the city might be broken tomorrow, everyone discussed it again, redetermined, and abided by it.

After the meeting ended, Li Zicheng left Song Xiance and asked him if he could break Kaifeng tomorrow. It was Ding Mao Day. Song Xiance pinched his fingers, muttered to himself, calculated the dry branches, and then raised his head and replied:

"Storm tomorrow, break the city at the end of the day."

"Can the city be broken?"

"Although it is estimated that the city can be broken tomorrow, the hexagram is easy, and the change changes, and there are often changes. If the city cannot be breached tomorrow, it will not be breached until the middle of the first month of next year. ”

Li Zicheng didn't ask any more, yawned, sent Song Xiance away, and went to bed in his clothes.

The next day, December 27, at dawn, the army began to move. The cannon rang out in bursts until midnight. From between Song Gate and Cao Gate to the North Gate, the onslaught on the whole line began. First of all, in the northern city, the rebels bombarded the city wall with many cannons, and the soldiers shouted, but they actually confused the officers and soldiers, and did not really attack.

In the big cave north of Caomen, the rebels had already retreated at dawn. When he withdrew, he loaded 20,000 catties of gunpowder and installed the lead. At the end of the hour, the lead is lit; Soon, an earth-shattering loud bang was heard, and the gunpowder exploded. Taking advantage of the explosion of gunpowder, about fifteen cannons, including some Western cannons taken from the hands of the officers and soldiers, were simultaneously aimed at the place where the big hole had collapsed. Some artillery also hit the city, the battlements were smashed one by one, and the enemy towers around the corner were also destroyed. Some of the officers and soldiers defending the city died in the enemy towers, and some escaped. The wall above the big hole had already partially collapsed, and it collapsed one by one under heavy artillery fire, forming a gap.

As early as yesterday evening, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Fangliang, and Hao Shaoqi had gathered five or six thousand elite infantry and cavalry and set up a new camp three miles away from the northeast corner of the city to give the soldiers a good rest. After the fourth watch, they were all woken up and had a full meal. When they came to the outside of the city at the fifth watch, the cavalry and infantry set up their positions. When it was about to be crossed, the city wall had been bombarded by cannons into a gap several zhang wide. Suddenly, all the cannons stopped shelling at the gap, and only went to both sides of the gap. Liu Zongmin waved the red flag, and the two infantry led by Hao Shaoqi and Yuan Zongdi rushed straight to the gap, preparing to occupy the city wall from the gap. Immediately, Liu Fangliang's cavalry also came to the dry bank of the city trench, preparing that once the infantry occupied the city wall, the cavalry crossed the trench and rushed into the city through the gap.

At this time, there were no soldiers and civilians defending the city in the place where the gap was directed. The soldiers and civilians defending the city were on both sides of the gap, several feet apart, and they were all hit by artillery so that they could not raise their heads. Chen Yongfu and Huang Shu were both near the breach, threatening to behead the prime minister, forcing the soldiers and civilians defending the city to raise their heads, fire arrows at the besieging rebels, and throw gunpowder and masonry. But almost as soon as the soldiers and civilians defending the city showed their heads, they were killed and wounded.

Chen Yongfu saw that the gap was soon to be occupied by the rebels, and he shouted:

"I, Chen Yongfu, died here, everyone hurry up and kill the thief!"

He led his own soldiers and his family members to personally shoot arrows and set off firearms at the rebels besieging the city. Suddenly, a firearm exploded, and the hands and face of the firearm were injured, causing a burst of self-confusion and the firearm was stopped and fired. But Chen Yongfu's soldiers and family members are all excellent marksmen. A burst of arrows shot down the gap, which was very ferocious, killing and wounding the rebels who approached the gap.

The other soldiers and civilians defending the city also became more courageous when they saw the chief officer disregarding the danger to his life like this. The morale that was almost collapsed just now was restored by Chen Yongfu. Some people threw bricks at the gap, others dropped powder packets, and many more threw arrows at the bottom of the gap. The first group of rebels who had already attacked were killed and wounded one after another, and rolled down. Immediately the second batch came up, and they were killed and wounded one after another, and rolled down. Then a third group attacked. In times of tension, sometimes suddenly the battlefield becomes strangely silent, just desperate scuffle. Suddenly, the shouts and the sound of war drums shook the heavens and the earth. It turned out that Hao Shaoqi was angry, wielding a sword, mixed among the soldiers, and attacked the gap. At this moment, Chen Yongfu took the lead in leaning out again and shooting arrows fiercely with the officers and soldiers. Hao Shaoqi was wounded by arrows on his body and legs and fell. The people on the right and left also fell. This time the offensive was repulsed again. Fortunately, Yuan Zongdi then attacked and rescued Hao Shaoqi.

Liu Zongmin saw that several attacks were repulsed, waved the blue flag, and as soon as the gong sounded, the attack was temporarily stopped. He then ordered Zhang Nai to turn the cannon around and fire fiercely at the gap again.

Chen Yongfu, Huang Shu and others did not dare to leave the gap too far, so they crouched at the head of the city to avoid the shells. Despite this, officers and soldiers on the left and right continued to be killed and wounded. Taking advantage of the fact that one shell had just exploded nearby, and the second shell had not yet been released, Chen Yongfu, the chief military officer covered with gunpowder smoke and dust, got up from his hiding place, bent down and ran to a pier platform where the cannon was placed in the city, and secretly looked at the terrain of the gap from the side, and ordered the firearms in a half-hoarse voice: Quickly move the muzzle of the cannon secretly towards the gap and aim at the outside of the gap. At the same time, he ordered the firecrackers to aim the firecrackers in the direction of the firecrackers.

At this moment, one of the governor's attendants climbed up to the city and told him that the governor was going up to the city to supervise the battle. Chen Yongfu hurriedly said: "Don't discourage Lord Futai, don't go to the city, please Lord Futai will supervise the battle under the city." With me Chen alive, it will be difficult for thieves to enter the city! When the governor's attendant heard this, he hurried down into the city.

However, he said that the governor Gao Mingheng was going to go to the city to supervise the war, but when he heard the retinue come back, he was persuaded by the officials, so he temporarily came to the bottom of the iron tower very close to the city and sat there. He was ready: if the city was broken, he would enter the upper temple, write a few words on the wall, and kill himself. He refused to leave the city, and sat at the foot of the tower for a while, and then ran to the root of the city, and kept asking, "Have the thieves ever climbed the city again?" "The cannons from outside the city crossed the city many times and hit near the iron tower, and some shrapnel also fell on Gao Mingheng's side. Gao Mingheng's face was pale, his legs and feet were weak, and he sat beside a nest shop at the root of the city, thinking in his heart: "I can't leave here, as soon as I leave, I will shake the hearts of the army and the people defending the city." "Sometimes the cannonballs from outside the city rumbled over the city and landed on the north side of the tower, no more than twenty feet away from him. The place where he sat was safe because it was covered by the wall. However, the cronies on the left and right had no experience in artillery battles, and they did not understand that the place where they sat with the governor was a "dead corner" outside the city where the shells could not fall, so they were so frightened that they frequently advised the governor to take shelter elsewhere as soon as possible. Gao Mingheng understood that the cannonballs in the outer city could only fly from a high place overhead, and second, he was indeed calmer than ordinary officials, and when he was persuaded to leave, he ignored them. Later, when he was persuaded in a hurry, he sighed and said:

"This court is the minister of the frontier, it is the responsibility to defend the territory, and An Neng is greedy for life and afraid of death!"

Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, and Song Xiance dismounted and stood next to a large sand dune one mile outside the moat, watching the siege and waiting for the soldiers to attack the city. Li Zicheng anxiously looked at the fortress where the cannon was erected not far to the right, and saw Zhang Nai and Black Tiger Star personally lighting the cannons, their faces were blackened by the smoke of gunpowder, and their clothes were torn, but they were not injured yet. He also saw many of the rebels lying under the breach, some of whom were not yet completely dead, but were struggling there. His heart was very excited, and he ordered to bring in three more cannons, and bombarded them violently, and he must break Kaifeng. Suddenly, a cannonball also came from the city. Liu Zongmin saw the fire flashing in the city, and quickly pushed Li Zicheng behind the mound, and Song Xiance followed with a cat, and the cannonball rumbled over his head.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Nai's cannon fire stopped again. Yuan Zongdi led the infantry, in groups, and rushed towards the gap. Everywhere there were shouts and shouts, and the drums of war rang out violently. Many shouted at the same time:

"Get in! Attack in! Fill it! Fill it! ”

Seeing that the infantry rushed to the gap, Liu Fangliang's cavalry was also ready to rush towards the gap. Everyone thought the gap was about to be grabbed. Li Zicheng said repeatedly:

"Good, good! Soon, soon! ”

Suddenly, the cannon in the city rang out, and a cloud of gunpowder rose up. The rebel soldiers who were about to climb into the gap fell one after another, and those who continued to climb up were also hit by shells, and the dead and wounded pressed one by one. Others continued to rush towards the gap, but were finally hit by shells and firebolts and rolled down. I rushed like this several times, but I didn't succeed. Li Zicheng was unable to attack because of the heavy casualties among his soldiers, and he had the heart to collect the troops, so he asked Song Xiance: "How about the troops?" ”

Song Xiance also saw that Chen Yongfu personally supervised the battle in the city, and the defense was solid, and today the spirit of the righteous army had been weakened, and it was impossible to attack the city, but because he had said the words "break the city at the right time", he did not answer immediately, and looked up at the sky. Li Zicheng knew that he was looking at qi, and he also looked up at the sky. At this time, the sun was bleak, and the head of the city was filled with gunsmoke, but there was a puffy cloud on the smoke that was affected by artillery fire, slightly red, and there was a thin cloud high in the sky, very white, slowly moving southward. Song Xiance first watched from a high altitude, and then looked at the low-altitude clouds, his face was serious, and he nodded silently, if he had a heart. King Chuang asked, "How is the cloud qi?" ”

Song Xiance said: "The book says: 'Those who are white in the clouds will be fierce and cowardly. The soldiers and civilians defending the city were already frightened, and they could have attacked the city, but when they encountered Chen Yongfu was a fierce general, they tried their best to save the defeat, causing many casualties to our army, and they could not attack the city. He pointed to a cloud not far from the city, and then said: "Behold the generalissimo, the cloud that covers the city, as it is written: 'He who is naked before him will not be victorious.' 'The heavens are like this, and the time has passed, let the army be collected and the city may be broken after ten days.' ”

Li Zicheng couldn't see whether the floating clouds in the nearby city were up, and he didn't have time to look closely, so he said to Liu Zongmin:

"Jiexuan, collect the troops, you don't have to attack anymore." He said to Song Xiance again: "Military advisor, you stay here with Jiexuan." ”

With a heavy heart, he jumped on the oolong horse behind the large sand dunes and galloped towards a village outside the embankment to the east where the wounded soldiers were concentrated.

Liu Zongmin instructed Zhang Nai to use cannons to bombard the left and right sides of the city gap, and at the same time gave Ma Shiyao a strict order: immediately lead an infantry team to take back all the wounded soldiers under the city. About a meal later, Ma Shiyao snatched back all the soldiers who were lying under the city and had not yet died, and he himself was wounded in two places, and the soldiers who followed him were also killed and wounded. After Liu Zongmin waited for Ma Shiyao to complete the task, he waved a blue flag, the gong sounded, the cannon stopped, and some of the infantry who were preparing to attack the city half a mile from the trench remained, and some slowly retreated. The cavalry all retreated to a distance of three miles. Some of Zhang Nai's and Black Tiger Star's firearms battalion retreated to the embankment with cannons and gunpowder, and some stayed behind to cover the soldiers digging the city. The excavation of the city continues, so there are still shouts of killing from time to time from Caomen to the north gate.

In this siege battle, the rebels suffered heavy losses, killing and wounding three or four hundred people outside the main attack on the outside of the big cave. Liu Fangliang's cavalry was not used, but it was also hit by the artillery fire at the head of the city.

That night, Li Zicheng summoned some important generals to secretly discuss with Song Xiance and others to decide the method and time of the next attack. It was with a heavy heart that he said:

"Our soldiers are so desperate, Kaifeng will definitely be breached. If I don't break Kaifeng, I will never be reconciled! ”

CHAPTER XXIII

After fierce fighting from the night of the 26th to the morning of the 27th, the siege was temporarily eased.

Li Zicheng's plan suffered a setback and was seriously damaged, but it did not affect the morale of the rebels. After this siege battle, he gained some experience, at least to figure out the defensive strength and defensive deployment of the soldiers and civilians in the city. This time he came to Kaifeng, he was determined to capture the city, so after the end of the battle on the 27th, he was still actively preparing for the next siege.

On the part of the officers and soldiers, although they repelled the attack of the rebels, there were many casualties among the soldiers and civilians. They don't take anything to chance. After the war stopped, they prepared day and night for Li Zicheng's next more fierce attack. The breach in the wall was not too serious, and had been plugged with earthen bags on the afternoon and night of the 27th. And from other places brought in many cannons, birds, crossbows, stones, and "ten thousand enemies". The weak and lightly wounded defenders of the city had already retreated, replaced by another group of able-bodied and young brave men.

The rebels who dug the hole remained in the hole in the wall. The wounded and the tired took advantage of the darkness to change and bring in the new force. I also sent some firewood for everyone to roast and keep out the cold. Quilts, cotton clothes, food and soup were also delivered. Excavation is still ongoing, but slowly. Originally, most of the people who dug the holes were miners, and now the new force is not as skilled as the miners, but they all have the determination to break the city and are not afraid of sacrifice.

In addition, the entire battlefield is being adjusted, so King Chuang is not in a hurry to finish the work of digging holes. He thought that it was already the New Year's Day, and the soldiers should be allowed to rest, and it was not too late to speed up the digging of the hole after the New Year.

The soldiers and civilians defending the city knew that the rebels were still digging holes, so they did not dare to relax, and from time to time threw burning dry wood downward. But now that doesn't work. The rebels are already deep in the cave.

According to the experience of defending the city for the first time, the soldiers and civilians defending the city laid down an empty tank on the inside of the city root in front of every place where a hole was being dug. This kind of jar is also called an urn, and the mouth of the urn is facing outward, and one person often listens to it. As soon as the rebels began to dig holes, there would be a sound from the mouth of the urn, and the digging depth and shallowness could be distinguished from the sound. Judging by the sound coming from the mouth of the urn, the soldiers and civilians defending the city knew that the rebels were not in a hurry to dig the city, and they often paused, so they felt a little relieved.

On the New Year's Day of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the current officials in Kaifeng City, in addition to those who could not leave the city on the city, civil officials above the seventh grade came to the governor's yamen hall, and the political envoys, according to the inspection envoys, prefects, and Tongzhi all arrived. Because of the urgency of the military situation, the generals came less, but Chen Yongfu and the commanders of Henan also arrived.

They all wore court clothes according to their grades and entered the lobby to the sound of drums. It is sung by the salutant officer, and the emperor who is enshrined in the middle of the tablet is bowed five times and kowtows three times, and then Gao Mingheng kneels and reads He Zhengdan's expression. The front of the text is the name of several leading feudal officials, followed by the text:

When it comes to Zhengdan, Sanyang Kaitai, all things are salty and new. Compliment my emperor Shenwen Shengwu, diligent government and love the people. ……

As soon as I read this, there was a sudden sound of continuous artillery from the north and east cities, and some of the shells obviously flew into the city from outside the city, and the rumbling sound was deafening. Gao Mingheng couldn't help but pause, and then continued to read, which was nothing more than the old cliché of singing praises and "goodbye Zhongxing". On the morning of New Year's Day, which is different from previous years, Kaifeng City is under siege, everyone is worried about Li Zicheng's next move, and when they hear the bursts of artillery from the north and east cities, no one has the heart to listen to this annual article. Fortunately, there were only a dozen lines of eulogy, and it soon ended with the sound of drums and cannons.

According to the practice of previous years, after the Emperor's tablet was congratulated, everyone took this opportunity to pay New Year's greetings to the governor, and then had a little dim sum, led by the governor and the cloth and the two envoys, and went to worship the King of Zhou for the New Year. But today is very special, after Gao Mingheng finished reading the form, he bowed to the officials and said:

"Today, the provincial capital is under siege, and the situation is tense. The soldiers and civilians defending the city slept in the open city and fought the enemy in blood. We are either civil servants or military officials, and in this difficult time, we are asking our generation to be loyal and do our best, share weal and sorrow with the army and the people, and protect this dangerous city for the emperor and hundreds of thousands of lives. New Year's greetings in officialdom are all exempt today. ”

Everyone looked at each other silently and did not dare to express objections. The political envoy Liang Bing knew about Gao Mingheng's proposition in advance, and echoed and said: "Excuse me! It's free! ”

Gao Mingheng said: "Last night, His Royal Highness King Zhou ordered his ministers to come and tell the students: The provincial capital is in danger, and it is hoped that the civil and military officials will guard the city with their hearts, and there is no need to enter the palace to congratulate them. Since His Highness has this edict, we have no choice but to obey it. Please go back and do your duty, and do not be negligent. ”

The crowd was withdrawing, and suddenly there was a dense burst of artillery from the northeast corner, as if the siege had begun again. Gao Mingheng hurriedly asked the courtyard:

"What's going on in the city?"

Immediately, one of the patrols of the governor's yamen walked quickly into the hall, knelt down in front of the governor, and said, "Your Excellency, no one has come to the city to report yet. However, the people were coaxing to say that Li Zicheng was going to attack the city again today, which was even more fierce than the day on the 26th, and threatened to attack the city today. ”

Gao Mingheng's heart was beating wildly, and his legs and feet were weak, but he still tried his best to keep his composure on the surface. He looked at the cloth and the second envoy and the officials who had not yet left. All the civil and military officers were shocked one by one, and they were speechless to each other. He turned to Chen Yongfu and asked slowly:

"General Chen has heard something?"

Chen Yongfu said: "This is a rootless rumor, please Futai and all the adults and lords don't have to listen to it......

Liang Bing, the political envoy, intercepted him and asked, "How does the general know that it is a rumor?" ”

Chen Yongfu replied: "The inside and outside of the city are isolated, and the news is not clear, if the thieves are really attacking the city today, how will the people in the city know?" What's more, after the thieves attacked the city the day before yesterday, the digging of the hole has been slow, and last night I did not see more artillery mobilized outside the city, it does not look like a large-scale siege today. ”

Gao Mingheng still felt relieved, and said: "General Chen has seen a lot, but today must be more careful, please Wang Zhixian and Huang Tuiguan immediately work hard, and go to Beicheng and Dongcheng separately to have a look." ”

Wang Xie and Huang Shu bowed down at the same time and replied, "Yes, my lord." ”

At dawn, the defenders of the city saw a number of rebels not far from the northern city transporting timber in the direction of a sand dune. Some of the timber was transported in ox carts, while others were carried by people, one by four or six people. The sand dunes were only a little more than a mile away from the moat, so they could be seen very clearly from the city. The timber was all cypress, and some of the cypress branches had not yet been cut down, and they were clearly cut from the cemeteries of the villages.

While everyone was watching and talking, suddenly two cavalry of the Volunteer Army galloped from near the dunes, came to the outside of the moat, and took turns shouting to the city:

"Today's New Year, don't offend each other. If there is a cannon in the city, Lao Tzu will return it tenfold! ”

Their voices were high-pitched, with a northern Shaanxi accent, and after shouting a few times, they didn't wait for the city to answer, turned their horses' heads, and whipped away.

The defenders of the city understood that the Rebels were transporting timber to build high forts in the dunes. They discussed whether or not to shoot there. Some people advocated firing a few shots, because they were not far away, and they would definitely be able to kill a group of rebels. Some people objected, because there were cannons of the rebels in many places outside the city, and they would also come to the city, so why bother? While arguing, one of the lads recklessly fired a shot. I heard a boom, and the shells went out, and a cloud of gunpowder smoke rose, but the muzzle of the guns was low, and as soon as they hit the trenches, the shells fell.

After this cannon was fired, the artillery of the rebels came from different directions, many battlements were damaged, and some of the soldiers and civilians defending the city were hit by cannons, some died on the spot at the head of the city, and some were wounded. A cannonball crossed the city, entered the city, and landed in the open field southwest of the temple above, but fortunately no one was injured. The rebels fought for a while, shouted and cursed, and asked if the city dared to shoot artillery.

The people at the head of the city complained to each other, saying, "Why should we make trouble, let's spend the New Year in peace and security in the city today." ”

The leader of the firearms battalion did not dare to force everyone, so he had to nod. So there were three cannons, and when the gunpowder was half loaded, it was no longer loaded; There was also a cannon, which, although full of gunpowder, did not hit the ground and did not load the shells, so it stopped. The gunners all found a place to hide. It was very cold in the city, and everyone was so cold that their faces were blue and they were huddled.

After breakfast, Wang Xie was ordered by Gao Mingheng to ascend the city from the north gate and inspect all the way. Approaching the corner, he saw the rebels carrying timber and preparing to build a high fort, and asked the leader of the firearms why he didn't shoot out of the city. Everyone didn't dare to tell the truth, thinking to themselves, anyway, they couldn't hurt the people outside the city, they didn't hide the officials from the officials, they didn't hide from the superiors and the subordinates, and they fired a few shots to meet the situation, and sent Wang Zhixian away. So everyone pretended to be very obedient and hurriedly lit the fuse. The strange thing is that even the three cannons were lit, but there was no sound, only a burst of "out-" was heard, and gunpowder smoke was spewed. There was also a cannon, although there was a sound, and the head of the city was shaken, but the iron was only a dozen feet away and fell in the trench of the dry city.

Wang Xie was furious in his heart, and sternly glanced at the leaders and gunners of the firearms, and shouted:

"Tie it up!"

For a while, the atmosphere was tense, everyone lost color, did not dare to make a sound, and knelt in front of him together. The leader of the officials who came with Wang Xie shouted loudly, "Take the rope," and made a look at the officials and the gunners, asking them not to panic. He knelt down on one leg in front of Wang Xie and said:

"Please calm your anger, maybe our cannon will be attacked by evil spirits."

Wang Xie also regretted that he shouldn't be angry at this time, and asked the firearm leader sharply, "Was it a nightmare?" Say it! ”

The firearms leader said hesitantly: "The lord didn't remind me, the villain couldn't remember it for a while, and sure enough, our cannons were all evil." When the sky was dark, the villain saw the thieves escorting a dozen women, coming to a distance of about two or three hundred steps outside the moat, stripping off their pants, and shouting at the city. After that, our cannons won't be able to fire. ”

A gunner continued: "Song Xiance is good at Qimen Dunjia, this must be the Yin Gate Array. ”

Wang Xie asked, "What is the Yin Gate Array?" ”

The gunner replied, "This cannon is a sacred object, and if a woman stripped off her pants and stood for a while in front of the muzzle, the cannon would not be lit; Even if it was lit, it wouldn't go off, and the shells wouldn't go out. ”

Wang Xie was half incredulous, he was about to borrow the stairs to get off the stage, and asked, "How to break the law?" ”

The firearm leader became bold and said, "Go back to the master, don't be in a hurry. It is not difficult to break this Yin Gate Array, and it can be broken with only the Yang Gate Array. ”

"What is the Yangmen Array?"

"Find a few monks, pull them to the city, strip them naked of their clothes and pants, and scold them outside the city, and our cannons can be fired, which is called overcoming yin with yang."

"Is there a way to do this?"

"I've heard that this method can break through the Yin Gate Formation and make the cannon fire, so we might as well give it a try."

Wang Xie asked again: "Where are the monks?" ”

The crowd replied, "There are monks in the upper temple in front of the tower below." ”

Wang Xie suddenly thought that the abbot of the temple above had a close relationship with him, how could he arrest the monks in his temple? At that time, he did not speak, and he was thinking of a way to find a monk. The leader of the officials saw that he bowed his head and was silent, understood his thoughts, and immediately said:

"Please rest assured, this matter will be handled by the villain."

Wang Xie groaned and said: "The elder of the upper temple is a high-ranking monk, and he has a lot of face among the official gentry, so you can't be rude to him. ”

The leader of the officials said with a smile: "Why use the elders of the temple above to come out, even a monk with a little head is not needed." There are a lot of rough monks in the temple, some carry water, grind noodles, do chores, make tofu, and grow vegetables. None of the monks with a head did not dare to be alarmed. ”

Wang Xie nodded and said, "Come and find it." ”

At that moment, the leader of the government officials took several government officials, plus the soldiers who defended the city, and rushed down the city. When they arrived at the upper temple, they didn't enter the backyard, but caught a dozen monks doing rough work at the gate and in the front yard. The monks were inexplicable, but did not dare to resist. When a monk in charge heard about it, he rushed out of the inner courtyard and asked what was going on. The leader of the officials smiled and said:

"Let them go to the city to help, come back immediately, please don't worry about it, Master."

After a dozen or so monks were dragged to the city, they saw the county magistrate standing at the head of the city, so they quickly bowed down, folded their hands, and asked what they were told. There was a monk who said:

"I'm a water picker. The lord told me to recite the scriptures, but I wouldn't. ”

Wang Xie said, "Listen to them. Do what they tell you to do. I'll let you go back as soon as I'm done. ”

The monks asked the leaders of the officials what they wanted them to do. At this time, the gunners and officials next to him shouted together: "Take off your clothes!" Take off your pants! ”

So without further ado, everyone came up and untied the monks' robes, took them off, and then told them to take off their own clothes and trousers. The monks kept clasping their hands together, saying that the weather was too cold and that they would freeze. But the soldiers didn't listen at all, scolding and threatening at the same time:

"Take off your pants and strip naked!"

A few monks felt embarrassed and refused to die. One of the soldiers went up and was about to beat someone, but he was persuaded by others. The monks were scared, so they had to strip their lower bodies naked, and their upper teeth were knocked against their lower teeth in the cold wind. Then the soldiers came and pushed them to the gap at the head of the city, and ordered them to face out of the city, and shouted at the rebels. In this weather where drops of water turned into ice, the monks were already shivering with cold, where could they still call it? As soon as his mouth opened, his tongue became hard, and he barely screamed and cursed a few times, causing a burst of laughter around him. They helped them to shout and curse outside the city, and they scolded them very dirty, and then while making fun of them, they told them to hurry up and put on their pants and clothes. After putting it on, all of them had blue faces, purple lips, and they couldn't speak, and some people coughed again and again, and their noses flowed out for a long time.

The leader of the officials came to them and said, "When your business is over, go back quickly, roast a good fire, and boil some ginger tea and drink it, so that you don't really get frostbitten." ”

The monks felt that they had been tricked, and they were angry and ashamed, and staggered away from the dungeon. They are all faceless little monks, who are usually angry every day, do rough work, serve the big monks, and no benefits can be shared on them, and today they were brought to the city for no reason, and they were frozen to death, and they had to make a fool of themselves. They were sad and uneven, closed their mouths and did not speak, and walked towards the upper temple.

When the monks were stripped naked and scolded in the city, the rebels outside the city suddenly saw it, and at first they were inexplicable, but then they laughed. Someone came to the vicinity of the moat, stretched out his bow and arrows, and scolded loudly: "We are all men, you are so ugly, what a shameless bald donkey!" "However, the monks' business is over, and they are gone. The rebels scolded a few words, didn't dare to stay, and left with a few arrows.

Wang Xie asked the gunners, "How about firing the guns now?" ”

The leader of the firearms battalion hurriedly replied: "Back to my lord, now that we have broken the enemy's Yin Gate formation with the Yang Gate Formation, the cannon will definitely be able to go off." ”

As soon as he gave the order, the gunners hurriedly loaded the ammunition, filled it to the brim, and hit it very strongly, and then told Wang Xie:

"Please take a few steps back, sir, and now you have to light the cannon."

Sure enough, a few shots were fired, and there was a deafening sound, and the shells were fired far away.

Wang Xie smiled and nodded.

The leader of the official servants joked on the side and said: "I know that the Yin Gate Formation will not be able to break the Yang Gate Formation, otherwise, our cannon will still not be able to fire." ”

Wang Xie knew in his heart that these people were making trouble, but now that Kaifeng was in danger, he couldn't debunk it, so he had to nod and say:

"Well done, well done, keep firing at the thieves, and you can't let them fix the fort."

After saying this, he inspected a section of the city wall, hurried down the city, and rode to report the situation of the city to the governor.

When the rebels outside the city saw a few cannons coming from the city, they didn't pay much attention to it at first; Later, when he saw that the cannonballs were hitting far away, heading straight for the sand dunes, one of the leaders waved his small flag, and more than a dozen cannons were fired at the city in succession, so that the cannons in the city did not dare to fire again.

Soon after, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai appeared near the sand dunes with Liu Zongmin, Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing, Ji Qi and several generals, causing speculation among the defenders of the city. Everyone in the city knows that this morning there was a rumor in the city that last night in the mansion of the king of a certain county, Lu Dongbin descended to the altar, predicting that Li Zicheng would once again storm Kaifeng in two days today and tomorrow. Now Li Zicheng and so many civil and military officials are inspecting the edge of the city, which must be related to the siege of the city.

Huang Shu is patrolling the East City. When he walked to the northeast corner of the city, he saw Li Zicheng and a large group of people who were very close to the outside of the city and immediately inspected. He wondered: "Could it be that the thieves will attack from this section next time?" After a while, he said in his heart: "Kaifeng survives, it is decided within a day or two, but you have to be careful!" ”

After the onslaught on Kaifeng three days ago, Li Zicheng and his subordinates discussed countermeasures twice. After the second meeting on the evening of 29 July, no good solution was still discussed. Li Zicheng was very worried about this matter, it turned out that he also knew that Kaifeng's defense was strong, not comparable to other cities, but he didn't expect it to be so tenacious. After the meeting on the 29th, he spent the night planning alone, barely sleeping. Yesterday was the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and he asked Gao Yigong to personally send Cao Cao 5,000 taels of silver for his New Year's reward. In addition, because the first battalion of Sun Shenzu contributed to the siege battle from the 26th to the 27th, there were many casualties, and a special reward of 1,000 taels of silver. Early this morning, Luo Rucai led dozens of important civil and military personnel under his command to Yingcheng County Wang Garden to pay New Year's greetings to the generalissimo. Zicheng left Luo Rucai and Ji Jue to have breakfast, and by the way, they discussed the siege of the city.

After the meal, Li Zicheng and Cao Cao led a large group of civil and military officials to inspect the city, looked at the east city for a while, and then transferred to the north city to inspect. Then Luo Rucai and Ji Jue went back to Fanta Temple, Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance responded to Chengjun Wang Huayuan, and the rest of the important generals and Li Yan also returned to their respective camps to prepare for the siege of the city.

Most of the Yingcheng Junwang Garden has been abandoned, but the small pavilions and pavilions built in previous years have not been destroyed. Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance lived in the garden. Next to the garden is a village with dozens of families, all tenants of the Yingcheng Palace. This village is called Wangzhuang by the common people. Around this village there were about two or three hundred military tents of various sizes, where the generalissimo's standard battalion pro-army lived. There are also many stables. Li Zicheng led everyone into the garden hall. After sitting down, he looked at the group and asked as he roasted the fire:

"Did you come up with a good idea when you went back yesterday?"

Everyone was silent, looking at Song Xiance, waiting for him to speak first. Song Xiance seemed to have thought deeply last night, so he said confidently:

"The siege of Kaifeng can only be won quickly, not under the fortified city for a long time. From the enemy's side, the defense of the city was quite prepared. The longer we stay, the better prepared the city becomes. This is because Kaifeng has a population of hundreds of thousands and is very wealthy. If it is a small city, it is easy to consume manpower and material resources, but in a city like Kaifeng, even if it is surrounded for a month or two, manpower and material resources are still sufficient, but it makes our division veterans tired. The ancients said: One blow, then decline, three and exhaustion. Therefore, Jiutun Jiancheng is quite unfavorable to our army. What's more, Kaifeng is the capital of Henan Province, and it is the place where the king of Zhou was feudal, and the imperial court must send rescue troops. Therefore, we must fight quickly and win before help arrives, and we must not delay too long. ”

Zicheng asked, "When should the next siege be?" Two days ago, the military advisor said that if the city could not be broken on the 27th, it would have to wait for the middle of the city. ”

Song Xiance said: "According to the hexagram, it is more promising to break the city in the middle of the year. But the matter is man-made, and if Kaifeng is broken in the next few days, it is not impossible. The things of war are changing rapidly, and we must always have the idea of victory in mind before we can make up our minds. ”

Liu Zongmin asked: "What do you think can be done to break the city as soon as possible?" ”

Song Xiance said: "At present, our army has dug more than 30 holes from the Song Gate to the North Gate, ranging in size and depth. What I mean by this is to give the brothers a day off today and continue to dig the city from tomorrow onwards. When all the holes in the city are dug up, gunpowder is transported in, and at the same time it is released, so that the soldiers and civilians defending the city cannot look at the east and not the west, and they defend everywhere and panic everywhere. We have prepared our forces in advance, so that it will be easy to storm the city as long as two or three walls are blown down, the firearms battalion is full of artillery, and the infantry is desperately trying to seize the gap. ”

Liu Zongmin continued: "I have estimated the strength of the city, Chen Yongfu is a strong enemy, and now he is concentrating on guarding the section from Caomen to the North Gate, which should not be underestimated. In order to quickly break through Kaifeng, it is necessary to use the strategy of diverting the tiger from the mountain and transferring Chen Yongfu away from the north gate. ”

Li Zicheng asked: "How to use the strategy of diverting the tiger from the mountain?" ”

Liu Zongmin said: "Please ask the generalissimo to strictly order Cao Ying to attack from the south first, and force Chen Yongfu to save Nancheng at the cost of casualties." ”

Niu Jinxing asked: "There is water in the moat of Nancheng, and the city wall is high, I am afraid that Chen Yongfu will not be afraid of the loss of Nancheng." ”

Liu Zongmin said: "As long as Cao Ying is willing to contribute, things will be easy to do." Now that the water is dry in winter and there is thick ice, the soldiers can step on the ice to attack the city. Or there is another way, let each soldier carry a bag of soil, two thousand soldiers have two thousand bags, in the trench can be cushioned three or four roads, not afraid of the moat to block the siege. ”

Niu Jinxing said: "The city height is also a difficulty. ”

Liu Zongmin smiled coldly and said, "When it comes to fighting, you can't win if you're afraid of death or injury." Cao Ying could first use cannons to make the city stand still, and then there were twenty or thirty high ladders against the city wall. The next strict order ordered the soldiers to climb the city bravely. When the person in front falls, the person behind immediately makes up for it; Batches fell down, batches were made up. In addition, thousands of crossbowmen were ordered to stand on the bank of the moat, shoot arrows at the head of the city, and protect the soldiers from climbing the city. The soldiers who climbed the city were rewarded for their merits, and they were immediately beheaded if they cowered. The generals must not be afraid of death and injury, and go to the city to supervise the battle. In this way, even if he can't attack the city, he will be frightened by Chen Yongfu dividing his troops to save him. When Chen Yongfu divided his troops to save the southern city, the northern city began to storm it. In this way, even if Chen Yongfu has great skills, he will not be able to take care of the south, and the north cannot look at the south. Besides, the city knew that Cao Ying was also desperately attacking the city, and the people's hearts would be panicked and the army's morale would be shaken. Let's put some more cannons in the north city, 20, 30, or even 40 cannons, concentrate on a section of the city wall, and bombard it non-stop, so as not to worry about Kaifeng not being able to take it down! ”

The more Liu Zongmin spoke, the more passionate he became, and he kept gesticulating, and his tone was firm and powerful. If this is speaking to the general in ordinary times, it will definitely move the listeners and lift the emotions of the audience. But today's audience is Li Zicheng, Song Xiance, and Niu Jinxing, and none of the three of them nodded to him, let alone said anything in agreement. His words only caused a burst of silence. After a while, Niu Jinxing shook his head lightly and said, "I don't think General Cao will be so serious and hardworking, right?" There was silence again.

Li Zicheng got up from the brazier and paced around the room.

At this time, from Caomen to the North Gate, there was a sparse sound of cannons. Suddenly, with a gust of southwest wind, the sound of gongs, drums, cymbals, huqins and bangzi was heard, and the cheers and laughter of people could be faintly heard. Everyone wondered. Li Zicheng summoned a personal soldier to come in and asked:

"Where are you singing?"

The soldiers replied: "From the Song Gate to the South Gate, there are several places in the city where opera is sung. Cao Ying's soldiers stood on the edge of the moat and watched the play, and they were fascinated. No arrows were fired at each other from the top of the city and no cannon from the city to the city, and no one harmed anyone. Most of the songs in the city were sour plays, which amused the soldiers of Cao Ying often couldn't help but laugh and applaud loudly. ”

After Li Zicheng heard this, he waved his hand to make his soldiers withdraw, and said with a wry smile to everyone: "There is such a war!" On one side, the artillery fire continued to blow each other; Celebrate the festive season together! ”

Song Xiance shook his head with a smile and said: "I usually pay attention to the history of ancient and modern wars, and I have never seen a war like today in a book!" ”

Liu Zongmin continued: "Maybe Cao Cao will also watch the play in the city immediately and call a few good miles." ”

Li Zicheng said: "I also thought repeatedly last night that it was a good way to order Cao Ying to attack the city from the south to contain the defenders, but this plan was absolutely not feasible. ”

Liu Zongmin asked: "Why is it absolutely impossible?" ”

Li Zicheng frowned, was silent for a while, and said slowly:

"Although Cao Cao is my lord, he is not willing to contribute to me. We must keep one eye open and one eye closed, and not push him too hard. If it is undecided today, Cao Cao is very important; If we push him too hard, he will either surrender to the court, or leave us and rejoin with Jing Xuan, which will be very disadvantageous to us. I heard that Jing Xuan used a trick to break through the Luzhou Mansion not long ago, and the momentum was greatly boosted. Cao Cao was here for a day, no matter what, it was much better than leaving us. Even if he didn't work hard to fight, the court couldn't help but have some scruples, as if we had added 100,000 horses. If he leaves us, he will either add strength to the imperial court or give Jing Xuan a long momentum. Therefore, I thought about it last night, and I would rather Cao Cao not work hard, than force him to be too tight and turn friends into enemies. ”

Song Xiance said: "The generalissimo is very worried. For Cao Cao, he can neither be used without him, nor can he be used as an ordinary minister. If he pushes too hard, he will find another way. Only by not forcing him and letting him work his own can he be safe. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "If you don't force him, can he work hard?" ”

Song Xiance said: "Let him storm Nancheng at the cost of death and injury, that can't be done." But I think it won't be difficult to ask him to send 10,000 or 20,000 more soldiers to the next siege. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "I also plan to do the same, and I can ask him to send another 10,000 or 20,000 horses next time I attack the city." Today, Cao Cao has led his subordinates to come to me to pay New Year's greetings, I can't go back in person, please Jiexuan, offer advice to go to Cao Cao's old camp in Fanta Temple now, on behalf of me and the camp Wenwu to the general New Year's greetings, by the way to see the situation of Cao Ying. If it is convenient to attack the city and send troops, you may as well talk to him face to face. ”

Liu Zongmin and Song Xiance walked out of the garden, and the soldiers rode on horses and ran towards Fanta Temple.

Niu Jinxing remained next to the brazier and asked King Chuang: "The generalissimo has worked hard all year round, and today is the Spring Festival, and the lady is not here, how do you plan to spend time?" ”

Li Zicheng said: "I have already planned, listening to you talk about a passage of "Tongjian" in the afternoon is the best pastime." ”

Niu Jinxing said: "I expected it, and it was really good. The reason why this generalissimo is not comparable to others! He laughed.

As soon as Niu Jinxing's laughter stopped, Li Shuangxi hurriedly came in and whispered to Li Zicheng:

"Father, I went to pay New Year's greetings to Uncle Erhu just now, and it happened that something happened to him. He is secretly deploying his forces and telling me to come back and tell my father to make an announcement. ”

King Chuang was startled and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"Someone told you that the newly surrendered more than 2,000 officers and soldiers are plotting a mutiny."

"Who's telling who?"

"Someone in the surrender is informing."

"What should you do with Uncle Erhu?"

"He's going to report to his father soon."

King Chuang said to Niu Jinxing: "Three days ago, our army attacked the city, and more than 2,000 damned brutes thought that our army had been frustrated and had the heart of mutiny!" ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Please generalissimo don't be angry. This is a trivial matter, and it is easy to eliminate the sprouts. When Dejie comes, he will know. ”

The sound of horses' hooves rushed towards the old camp. Double Happiness said: "It must be Uncle Erhu who is here!" Then he went out. Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing stopped talking and looked out together.

After lunch, Li Zicheng listened to Niu Jinxing talk about "Tongjian". He ordered Gao Yigong, Li Guo, and Shuangxi to come to listen to the lecture. Today is the section of Tang Taizong, Fang Xuanling, and Xiao Yu's comments on "Emperor Wen of Sui is like the lord" in volume 193. Because Li Zicheng admired Tang Taizong Li Shimin the most among the previous emperors. A few days ago, he asked Niu Jinxing to talk more about Li Shimin's deeds of using talents and being good at accepting advice, so today Niu Jinxing chose this paragraph to tell him.

According to the practice of the past, Niu Venus will string the entire text together, play it for a while, and then discuss it. The so-called discussion is that King Chuang expresses his own comments, which are often related to some current and future issues; Observers can also interject and discuss with each other at any time. When they were discussing today, Wu Ruyi hurriedly walked in, and King Chuang saw that he was clearly in a hurry, so he stopped his discussion and asked, "Ziyi, is there something wrong?" ”

Wu Ruyi said: "As for the surrender of the officers and troops plotting to mutiny, Erhu and I have already done what the generalissimo wanted, and only killed more than 30 people who were implicated, and then dispersed all the surrendered troops into various battalions to serve ......."

Li Zicheng saw that he had something else to do, and before he could finish speaking, he asked:

"Nothing else?"

Wu Ruyi continued: "I just got a detailed report, Zuo Liangyu led more than 100,000 horses to rescue Kaifeng ......."

Li Zicheng hurriedly asked, "Is it reliable?" ”

"The news seems to be very reliable, and someone has been sent to continue to investigate."

Li Zicheng asked again: "Didn't Zuo Liangyu fight against the Ge, the Zuo Fourth Battalion and the Lao Hui Hui in the area of Macheng and the mall?" ”

Wu Ruyi said: "According to the detailed report, he received a hurried order from Chongzhen and ordered him to come to Kaifeng quickly. He didn't dare to slack off, immediately put the people in order, and came to Kaifeng. ”

Gao Yigong asked, "Where do you get to now?" ”

Wu Ruyi said: "It is said that we have reached the north of Gwangju, but our Tanma has traveled for another three days, so I am afraid that we have actually passed Gwangju, at least one or two hundred miles." ”

Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing and said: "I expected that the imperial court would rescue Kaifeng, but I didn't expect Zuo Liangyu to come so quickly under the restraint of Lao Huihui and Ge Liyan. ”

Gao Yigong said: "Don't despise Zuo Liangyu. He has been fighting against Jing Xuan in the past few years, and Jing Xuan is not his opponent. He has many men and horses, and he is also more elite. We have to deal with it with all our might. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "He is indeed different from ordinary generals now, since he was named the general of the Ping Thief, he is no longer the status of the original chief military officer." He had many generals and lieutenants under him, and there were more than 100,000 people. In the past, when he was a commander-in-law, he had many fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law, and was often constrained by the governor, prime minister, and superintendent, but now he can fight more according to his own will. This person was born in the army, has a lot of experience, is brave and strategic, and is good at entrapping soldiers. We are not afraid of him, but we are not to be underestimated. At present, we must be ready to break through Kaifeng as soon as possible, and then concentrate on fighting against Lao Zuo. After defeating Lao Zuo, there will be no more strong opponents in the Central Plains. ”

Li Guo said: "To deal with Lao Zuo, we need to start preparing now. ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Yes, yes, you must take precautions. In my humble opinion, at present, I will draw out a group of elite troops and go to the vicinity of Chenliu, or between Chenliu and Tongxu, so that the left army cannot go directly to the outside of Kaifeng. In this way, we can rest assured that we will be able to attack the city. ”

Li Guo said: "We must immediately send someone to Linying, inform the lady and the red lady, and quickly withdraw Linying's men and horses to Kaifeng." ”

Li Zicheng nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Make up for it, this matter is up to you to pass Xu and Chen Liu." Tonight I will draw fifteen thousand men from among the siege men, and at least twelve thousand will draw them for you to take. Sun Shenzu of Cao Ying, also asked him to bring 10,000 horses with you and be controlled by you. Prepare for the day tomorrow during the day, and set out secretly at night, so as not to alarm the officers and men of the battalions. When it comes to Chenliu and Tongxu, you must occupy a good terrain, deep ditches and high bases. When the left army came, it could only defend to the death, not fight. As long as you can delay it for ten days and eight days, so that he can't go outside the city of Kaifeng, your business will be done. ”

He turned his head and instructed Wu Ruyi: "You send someone to the gunpowder factory, so that the craftsmen who make gunpowder will start work from this afternoon, and there will be no rest." Reward them abundantly. The gunpowder we brought with us was used a lot in the artillery a few days ago. To storm Kaifeng, hundreds of thousands of catties of gunpowder must be used to be used, and gunpowder must be made day and night. All kinds of materials, right? ”

Wu Ruyi replied: "After we arrived in Kaifeng, we searched for sulfur, charcoal, and dried willow wood in nearby villages and towns and neighboring counties, and kept pulling them here one by one, which seemed to be almost enough. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "You send someone to Linying quickly, pass on my words, and order Linying's people to come back quickly, and all food and military materials are not allowed to be thrown away." ”

Wu Ruyi said "obey" and retreated.

Li Zicheng said to Li Guo again: "You go and prepare, and discuss it with you." After the discussion, they came to me at night to show me. ”

Li Guo and Gao Yigong also stood up and left.

Niu Jinxing asked: "We have drawn out more than 10,000 elite soldiers, and Sun Shenzu's men and horses have also been sent, isn't the siege force thin?" ”

Li Zicheng said: "This, you have to go for a trip." You go and explain this situation to Cao Cao, and also tell him about the transfer of Sun Shenzu and Buzhi to defend the left army, and ask him to send another 20,000 or 15,000 elite soldiers to participate in the siege. Invite him here tonight to discuss major military matters. ”

Niu Jinxing said, "Okay, I'll go now." Xian Ce and Jie Xuan haven't come back yet, so they can talk to the general there. ”

Niu Jinxing left Yingcheng Junwang Garden and got on his horse and left.

Li Zicheng took Shuangxi and his soldiers to the village and gunpowder factory where the wounded soldiers were treated. On the way, he asked in his heart:

"Can Kaifeng be broken within ten days?"

CHAPTER XXIV

After a bloody battle from the morning of the 26th to the 27th, although the soldiers and civilians defending the city also suffered heavy casualties, they repelled a fierce attack by Li Zicheng and kept the city wall, which increased their courage and confidence. By the second day of the first lunar month, Li Zicheng's newly repaired forts had been completed. These forts are made of cypress wood, about a dozen zhang long, about five zhang wide, and about three zhang high. Because it was erected on top of the mound, with the mound and the fort, it was much higher than the city wall. When the defenders of the city saw this, they felt a great threat, and quickly erected a three-zhang high fort on the city, which was made of large timber, which was much higher than the fort of the righteous army. At that time, in artillery battles, people could not use the parabolic principle to aim at the target, and they could not accurately land the shells on the city. Li Zicheng's troops had to erect forts on high places, so that the cannonballs could reach the top of the city smoothly, but sometimes they also crossed the head of the city and entered the city far away. The defending troops also had to be condescending in order to effectively destroy the rebels' batteries.

From the first to the second day of the junior high school, both sides were hurrying to build forts and looking for ways to destroy each other's forts, which was actually a battle for the commanding heights. After the high platform on the city was built, an artillery battle was immediately fought with the rebels. Although the fort of the rebels was made of relatively strong cypress wood and pressed with sandbags, after all, it could not withstand the bombardment of the cannons, and before it could exert its power, it was destroyed, and many people were killed and wounded. At the same time, the high forts in the city were of no special use. Although both sides no longer used the high batteries, the artillery battle continued intermittently. The soldiers and civilians in the city understood very well: Li Zicheng was preparing for the next fierce siege of the city, and the time was within a few days.

On the third day of the first lunar month, it was overcast and the weather was very cold. The soldiers and civilians defending the city saw that about 20 cannons were transported from the area of Yuwangtai, where Cao Ying was stationed, and transported north through the east side of the Song Gate. There were rumors in the city, saying that Li Zicheng's next siege would be several times more fierce than the last time. Li Zicheng's cannons have increased a lot in the past year, including some Western cannons, some of which were taken from Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue, and some from Nanyang. In short, every time Li Zicheng won a big battle, and every place he encountered, he had to collect and replenish Zhang Nai's firearms battalion. Through the two days of December 26 and 27 battles, the soldiers and civilians defending the city had a deep understanding of Li Zicheng's artillery fire, and now they saw that Cao Ying's cannons were also transported to the north of the Song Gate for use, which added to their fear. In addition, the excavation of the city by the rebels did not stop, and continued to dig deeper, perhaps within a few days, the holes in the city would be dug one by one, and then gunpowder would be put in, the walls would be destroyed, and the cannons would be fired violently at the same time, and it would be very difficult to defend the city.

During the Ming Dynasty, the governor yamen in Kaifeng City, the political envoy Yamen, the inspection envoy Yamen, the command envoy Yamen, as well as the Dao, Fu, and County Yamen, were all concentrated in the southwest of the Zhou Wangfu. There is a tall archway in the north of the West Street of the Political Envoy Yamen, and the word "General Constitution" is written on it. Enter the archway, after a stone's throw away, there are three gates due north. A vertical sign in the middle reads "Henan and other places are sentenced according to the Prosecutor's Division"; There is a sign on the left, which reads "Ask the Corrupt Officials"; There is also a sign on the right, which reads "Justice, wronged military and civilian". This is commonly known as the Yamen.

Today is the fourth day of the first lunar month, and the heavy snow makes the yamen appear more weather-strict. Governor Gao Mingheng first entered the Yamen of Zhentai through the side gate, and then many officials, including the chief soldier Chen Yongfu and the political envoy and the prefect, came one after another. Quite a few of the gentlemen also came. Due to today's severe snow, civil officials and gentlemen are all riding in warm sedan chairs. Only Chen Yongfu wanted to show the demeanor of a military general, refusing to ride a sedan chair and riding a war horse. His military attachés and personal soldiers also rode war horses and swarmed in the wind and snow.

Behind the lobby of the Yamen, after entering the courtyard, there is the second hall. In addition to the middle hall, there are warm pavilions on both sides of the second hall, which is a place for meetings and deliberations. Today, the Governor Ren Jun is in the warm pavilion in the east to discuss the military with the gentry guarding the city. Since Li Zicheng besieged the city, Ren Jun was still more brave and resourceful, and dared to do things, so Gao Mingheng and other feudal officials gradually increased their trust and respect for him.

Today's meeting was not held in the governor's yamen, and inviting Ren Jun to convene it in his patrol yamen is to show respect and dependence on the governor's yamen. After the main officials and gentry arrived, Ren Jun still asked Gao Mingheng to preside over the meeting. Gao Mingheng has been overworked and frightened since the fierce battle of defending the city a few days ago, coupled with the wind and cold, cough and cold, hoarse throat, and mental relief, today is reluctantly here. Then he tried to pull himself together, and slowly said in a hoarse voice:

"Today we are discussing the matter of defending the city, and it is very tight. The thieves have hundreds of thousands of horses, and they have besieged the provincial capital for ten days today. We already knew that the thief's attack on Nanyang was not his real intention, but the intention was to confuse us. We have flown to the imperial court several times, asking for troops to rescue Kaifeng, and also sent 100,000 urgent documents to General Zuo Kunshan and Baodu Yang, asking them to rush to help, but now there is no news from all the rescuers. At this, he couldn't help coughing a few times, spit a mouthful of thick phlegm into the spittoon, shook his head gently, and then continued, "It is estimated that in a few days the thieves will attack the city for the second time, and it will be more violent than the last time." The hearts of the people in the city have been a little fluctuating. Kaifeng survival is the duty of our gentry, and we must not let the important towns of the imperial court be lost in the hands of our generation. In order to report to the imperial court and save the lives of a city, we must repel the thieves and protect the provincial city. I ask you to express your views so that you can prepare for a rainy day and be ready to meet the enemy. ”

The people looked at each other, but before they could speak, they suddenly heard a servant outside:

"Master Wang of Xiangfu Zhixian County and Master Huang of Kaifeng Mansion Punishment Hall are here!"

Hearing this, everyone simply stopped speaking and waited for them to come. Gao Mingheng was also looking forward to them coming to report on the situation in the city today. Some people looked out of the door unconsciously, only to hear the two of them under the porch by the servants to beat the snowflakes on their hats and robes, and they themselves stomped off the snow from their boots, and I don't know whether it was Huang Shu or Wang Xie, blew their noses and threw them down the steps.

Chen Yongfu took advantage of the fact that they had not yet come in, and said to Gao Mingheng: "What Lord Futai said is very true, we must not hesitate to save Kaifeng. From the point of view of our town, it is necessary to encourage the morale of the people and strengthen the defense of the two cities in the east and north, and the most important thing at the moment is ......"

Before he finished his words, the servant opened the curtain, and Wang Xie and Huang Shu came in and simply saluted the officials. Gao Mingheng ordered them to sit down quickly, and then asked, "How are you two inspecting?" ”

Huang Shu bowed and said: "The thieves are digging the city in a hurry, digging a total of thirty-six holes, digging deeper and deeper, and the situation is very tight. According to the lower officials, a big hole will be dug in a day or two, and then they will bring gunpowder into the hole and collapse the city wall, and things will be bad. We must quickly come up with a solution, and we must destroy the enemy and dig the city. ”

Chen Yongfu said: "I was just about to talk to you about this matter, and we must not allow the thieves to succeed in digging the city. ”

Wang Xie continued: "The morale of the army and the people must not be slack. Whether Kaifeng can be held depends on whether the morale of the army and the people can be solidified. Now that the wind and snow in the city are very heavy and bitterly cold, it seems that the soldiers and civilians have complained in private. ”

Inspector Ren Jun asked, "What are your complaints?" ”

Wang Xie said: "Of course, the lower officials will not hear it themselves, but some people under the lowly position will hear it. Now in the city are Ding Zhuang from poor families; None of the people with status were in the city, but lived in the nests under the city, and only occasionally sent people up to the city to ask if there was any movement. Therefore the people of the city complained, saying that they were suffering from the wind and snow in the city, and that the officials, eunuchs, and the rich and powerful lived in their homes to warm themselves. This is something that people often hear, and it is conceivable. If you want to complain, this is a complaint, revealing the resentment in the hearts of some people. According to the lower officials, now that the consolidation of the people's hearts and the hearts of the army is even tighter, I don't know what the constitution of the rank is? ”

Ren Jun asked again: "How to save this urgent situation?" ”

Wang Xie said: "The most urgent thing at the moment is to quickly collect 20,000 felts and quilts and send them to the city, so that the people who defend the city in the east and north cities have a quilt or wool felt to drape on their bodies, which can protect them from the wind and snow." ”

The prefect knew that this was going to happen to him, so he said, "Now it's ...... in a hurry."

Before he finished speaking, Huang Shu looked at Li Guangli, a gentleman sitting nearby, and said to the governor and the prefect: "The matter is urgent, and the non-prestigious gentry in the city can't rush out." ”

The prefect suddenly understood, and hurriedly said to Li Guangmi: "Mr. Xiliang, this matter must be decided by you. ”

Ren Jun also said: "Mr. Li, this is an urgent matter, and we must take care of it. ”

Li Guangli stood up and said: "It is a matter of the morale of the army defending the city, and Guangli should do his best to prepare for it, but the situation is so urgent, if you look for it from house to house, it will not be urgent. If you want to do it immediately, I sincerely ask the Lord Futai or the Inspector to strictly punish the head office. With the adult signage, it will not be difficult to do it this morning. ”

Ren Jun quickly nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I'll show you the cards right away!" Then he called a servant, and gave him a few words, and the servant hurried out.

Gao Mingheng asked Chen Yongfu: "General Chen, what is the way to break the thief and dig the city?" ”

Before Chen Yongfu could answer, there was a sound of gongs, drums, suona, and firecrackers on the street, as if there was something auspicious. Everyone was amazed and listened. Chen Yongfu didn't seem to care much about the happy events on the street, and said: "As long as the army's morale is stable and the people's morale is solid, even if the thieves dig the city urgently, it is not difficult to destroy the enemy." ”

He replied to the governor, but the governor did not listen carefully, because the sound of gongs, drums, suona, and firecrackers was getting closer and closer, and it had already reached the outside of the governor's yamen. Ren Jun asked outward, "What's so lively on the street?" ”

A servant came running in from outside. He came from the street, and when he came to the top of the steps, he stamped the snow off his feet and patted the snow off his body, and then he gasped and went into the house, knelt down, and said:

"Your Excellency, there is great good news outside, and many gentry are saying that the provincial capital doesn't matter. This is really unexpected good news! The gentry have come to report the good news, and they have come here! ……”

Ren Jun asked, "What's the good news?" Speak slowly and don't panic. ”

The servant continued: "It was originally this morning that the south gate was repairing the city and digging the earth, but I didn't expect to dig out two cannons from the soil, as well as a large blue brick, on which two sentences were engraved. ”

The prefect hurriedly asked, "What are the two words engraved?" ”

The servant said: "I went to see it myself, and the two sentences were engraved: 'Liu Bowen, who made a cannon, was used in Renwu Spring.'" ’”

Everyone was pleasantly surprised. A gentleman said: "Alas, Liu Qingtian is really an unpredictable prophet, who can budget for hundreds of years, isn't it Ren Wuchun now?" Alas, there is such a wonderful thing, it can be seen that the number is determined by heaven, and Kaifeng will not be lost! ”

The servant then said, "When the high guard of the south gate saw these two cannons and the green bricks, he immediately asked all the officials and gentry guarding the south gate to carry the two cannons on the ox cart, and the green bricks were also placed on the ox cart, wrapped in red silk, and beat the gongs and drums, and came to report the good news. They heard that Lord Futai, Lord Fantai, Lord Zhentai, Lord Rank, and Lord were all here, so the ox cart went straight to here, and it had reached the bottom of the torii, and they were about to come in and knock on the Lord Rank. ”

The officials and gentry were more and more surprised, and they talked one after another, saying that Kaifeng was blessed by God and was foolproof; Since he left two cannons, it can be seen that he knew more than 200 years ago that there were thieves besieging the city in the spring of Kaifeng Renwu, and he needed to use cannons to kill the thieves. Due to the fear of insufficient firearms, two cannons were left for backup, and it was God's will to dig them out of the ground today.

Gao Mingheng immediately ordered: "Call the high guard to come in quickly." ”

The servant immediately withdrew, and then heard a pager from outside the second hall, and then in the front yard and outside the lobby, and a loud voice continued to pass out of the gate:

"Lord Futai has a message, please come in with a high guard!"

When the officials and gentry were elated, Li Guangli had some doubts in his heart. He secretly glanced at Chen Yongfu and saw Chen Yongfu with a short beard and a smile, which seemed to be happy and mocking. He didn't understand what Chen Yongfu thought, so he had to stand up respectfully with the gentry, congratulate Futai, Fantai, and Zhentai, and add a special sentence:

"This is the blessing of His Royal Highness King Zhou, and it is also the blessing of the officials and gentry of Hecheng, the military and the people!"

The garrison Gao Shangzhi hurried in and knelt down and kowtowed to the governor. Gao Mingheng asked him how he had dug up the cannon, and he re-reported what the servant had just said, and then said:

"Not only did the cannons dig out at the south gate, but I just heard that the Taoist priests of the Guandi Temple in the West Gate also found a few loads of iron behind the statue, and they had ordered someone to pull them to the north city in an ox cart. It can be seen that not only Liu Bowen helped the Kaifeng army and civilians to defend the city, but also Emperor Guan Sheng appeared at this time and gave him several burdens of iron. ”

Everyone is getting happier. Gao Mingheng stroked his beard, nodded frequently, and said to Gao Shangzhi: "You did a good job!" Well done! He also had doubts in his heart, and felt that this matter was too strange, but he refused to guess down, and immediately ordered the cannon to be sent around the city, so that everyone in the gentry and the people would know about it.

Gao Shangzhi kowtowed his head and said in a loud voice: "Obey, obey." He also kowtowed to the civil and military officers of the domain, the commander-in-chief, and the general army, and then respectfully withdrew.

At this time, the tiger head card of the patrol has been sent by the masters, with a simple official title written on it, and the following continues:

Yang Zongshe immediately took 20,000 pieces of quilt felt to protect the soldiers and people of the city from the cold. If it is delayed, it will be done by military law!

Below are the year, month, and day, and the year and month are covered with guards. Li Guangli held the sign in both hands and bowed out.

Gao Mingheng was about to continue to talk to Chen Yongfu about the strategy of breaking the enemy, when suddenly Liu Xunzhuo, who was the governor of the yamen, bowed in and knelt to Gao Mingheng:

"Lord Yu, Lord Yang, the Governor of Baoding, has a wax pill book delivered!"

The gentry were suddenly surprised. This unexpected news made everyone stunned.

Gao Mingheng took the wax pill, opened it and took out the note, glanced at it hurriedly, said yes in a loud voice, and then read out the words in the book to everyone. Some were so excited that they burst into tears. Someone choked up and couldn't speak. Some people say:

"That's it! Within a few days, help will arrive! ”

Gao Mingheng asked Liu Xunzhuo: "Where is the person who wrote the book?" ”

Liu Patrol replied respectfully: "The person who wrote the book is now in the governor's yamen. I put him there to rest, and hurried to report to the adults. ”

Gao Mingheng asked, "How did he come to Kaifeng?" ”

Liu Patrol said: "He made a detour to avoid the patrol of the thieves, went around to the border of Zhongmu County, twenty miles away from the west of the city, and quietly walked to the west gate after dusk, and lost the road several times on the way, but fortunately he met a common man to guide him the way, and only arrived near the west gate at dawn." The thieves usually did not patrol the area around the west gate strictly, and the weather was cold last night, and the snow began to fall, so the patrol was even more scarce, so when he reached the outside of the west gate, he shouted to the city. Seeing that he was only one person in the city, he tied him up, and he was numb from the cold. Now he is being asked to bake the fire and drink hot wine to keep warm. ”

Gao Mingheng asked again: "You didn't ask him where Yang Zhongcheng is now?" ”

Liu Patrol said: "Yang Zhongcheng is now in Chenzhou, and he will come north from Chenzhou in a few days. ”

"How many centaurs?"

"According to the person who wrote the book, there were about twenty or thirty thousand horses, and two thousand cavalry."

"You are a good student to entertain the next scholar and reward him a lot. There is no need to let him rush back, in case he is caught by the thieves, it will leak the military plane. Let him stay at the governor's yamen and wait, and I will be summoned for questioning today. ”

Liu Xunzhu kowtowed, got up and withdrew.

Gao Mingheng looked at everyone and said, "Yang Zhongcheng only has twenty or thirty thousand horses, so his troops are inevitably thin. Why is there no news from Zuo Ping's thief? ”

Chen Yongfu immediately said: "Please don't care about the rescue of the soldiers, you should quickly announce the news of the wax pill book to the soldiers and civilians defending the city to boost morale." ”

Gao Mingheng nodded, turned to Wang Xie, and said, "Wang Zhixian, this matter ......"

Wang Xie didn't wait for him to finish, bowed down and replied: "Such a major news should be announced by Lord Futai, Lord Fantai or Lord Zhentai in person, which can be more exciting." ”

Because Gao Mingheng was unwell, he reluctantly attended the meeting today to calm the hearts of the people; And the political envoy was old and frail, and he did not depend on him for the defense of the city. So the inspector Ren Jun hurriedly said:

"Please don't worry about it, and the lord of the domain doesn't have to brave the snow to go to the castle, let the students go and announce it to the soldiers and civilians defending the city. In addition to the announcement of the students' arrival in the city, a notice should also be issued to make the whole city gentry, military and civilians aware of the matter. ”

Chen Yongfu said: "I'll go to the city with Lord Zhentai." ”

Everyone agreed. Someone said: "This is good, there are both feudal officials and military lords, and the civil and military forces are announced at the head of the city, which can boost the morale of the soldiers and people defending the city." ”

Ren Jun instructed a staff member in charge of copywriting to draft an Anmin notice, and he went to the inner house to change clothes. Gao Mingheng took the opportunity to take Chen Yongfu into the inner room, waved his hand to make a servant who was waiting beside him retreat, and asked in a low voice:

"General Chen, the thieves have dug thirty-six holes under the city, and they can't stop it. If one or two city walls are destroyed, the life of a city is unimaginable. It is not a pity that you and my generation of civil ministers and military generals will die, and the imperial court will seal the territory and pro-vassal He! Does the general have a strategy to defend against the enemy? ”

Chen Yongfu said: "Please don't worry, my town has a strategy to defend against the enemy. Today, we need to select one or two thousand people who dare to die, make some preparations, and tomorrow, fight for the hole with the enemy, so that the thieves have no chance to put gunpowder into the city. ”

"Is it easy to recruit such a daredevil?"

"As the saying goes, under the heavy reward, there will be a brave man."

Gao Mingheng nodded, and asked again: "Look, Yang Zhongchengguo can come to Kaifeng in a few days?" ”

Chen Yongfu shook his head lightly, smiled slightly, and said, "My lord, please forgive me for speaking out." Judging from the current situation, even if the whole city is eager to save it, it is just to quench its thirst. Yang Zhongcheng was defeated in Xiangcheng a few months ago, and he was afraid of thieves like a tiger, so he didn't dare to come to the rescue. Even if you come, it will be useless, and you will give a generous gift to the thief in vain. I think he was urged too much by the imperial court, and if he was perfunctory, he would not dare to really come to the rescue. ”

Gao Mingheng's heart was cold, he was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Why is there no news from General Ping Thief?" ”

Chen Yongfu said: "My lord, it is better to seek others than to seek oneself at present. As long as the army and the people work together, are not afraid of death and injury, and kill the enemy in bloody battles, the provincial capital will be preserved. ”

Gao Mingheng stopped talking, and all his thoughts of hope for help in the past few days were doused with cold water by this experienced general.

The patrol has already changed his clothes and came out. Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu also walked out of the back room, and immediately announced to everyone:

"That's the end of today's meeting."

After speaking, Gao Mingheng walked out of the second hall with all the officials. Everyone first sent him to the sedan chair and got up, and then they all entered their respective warm sedan chairs and left the yamen of the inspection envoy. After sending off the officials, Ren Jun sat in a green sedan chair, and Chen Yongfu rode on his horse and braved the snow to Caomen surrounded by a group of soldiers and slaves.

It was reported in advance that the civil and military officials and gentry guarding the eastern city gathered at the Caomen Tower to wait. The news of the excavation of two cannons from the ground inside the south gate and the discovery of several loads of iron in the temple of the west gate are rumoring among the soldiers and civilians defending the city, and the hearts of the people are excited. Just now, I heard that Yang Wenyue had a wax pill book, and the rescuers came soon, so I was even more happy. Originally, the etiquette on the battlefield was simple, but now it has broken the norm, and there are constantly soldiers sweeping a wide road in front of the brick steps and towers of the city. The snowflakes kept falling, and the soldiers kept cleaning. Although the inspector Ren Jun wore official civilian clothes, he did not lose the style of the feudal minister, which was very different from the embarrassment when the war was tight a few days ago. He wore a red robe in the casual clothes of a fox official, a half-worn green satin purple lamb cloak, and a red satin mink hood on his soft feet, and a rectangular jasper on the front of the hat, and was supported by servants to walk up to the city. The officials and gentry guarding the city greeted them together in front of the tower.

Ren Jun and Chen Yongfu returned the salute and walked into the city tower. Ren Jun faces west, standing in the center, with his back to the god table. Chen Yongfu stood side by side on his right. The castle tower was full of gentry guarding the eastern city. Ren Jun and everyone's expressions were very excited, only Chen Yongfu's expression was serious and calm, as if he was thinking about something. Ren Jun took out the small note of the so-called wax pill book from his sleeve, and read it in a trembling voice with excitement:

Bao Governor Yang Chuanzhi Yu Fugao and Kaifeng defenders of the city gentry learned together: the governor Keri pro-unified army rushed to help, hoping to hold on to the siege.

Renwu Yuan Day

Some of the gentry heard it clearly, some did not, and they asked to reread it. Ren Xun pressed the raised voice to repeat it. Some wept, some choked, and some said words of thanksgiving. Some people peeked at Chen Yongfu and thought that his burden of defending the city was light, and they were happy for him.

Chen Yongfu looked at everyone, smiling, but not excited, and there was still a melancholy look between his eyebrows.

Ren Jun encouraged the officials and gentry again, went down to the city and got on the sedan chair, and turned to the north gate.

When Chen Yongfu went for a while, he asked several more responsible city guards and gentry in detail about the situation of the righteous army's excavation of the city today, and then went down to the city and rode back to his town yamen.

Just after lunch, Huang Shu, Wang Xie and Li Guangli came to see each other. Li Guangli told him that 20,000 pieces of felt had been completed and were being transported to Chenggen. The three of them were very anxious because the rebel army was digging the city faster today, and they came to discuss how to break the enemy.

Chen Yongfu said: "I have already thought of a way. We can't wait for thieves to bombard the city with gunpowder, and we can't save this dangerous city unless we take the caves. ”

Wang Xie and Huang Shu asked at the same time: "How to win the hole?" ”

Chen Yongfu said his plan, and Wang Xie and the others nodded in unison. Chen Yongfu waved his big hand vigorously and said:

"Without further ado. Please help the town prepare for a bloody battle tomorrow! ”

Today is the fifth day.

By dawn, the snow had stopped. As dawn came, the clouds slowly dissipated, and the sun appeared in the east, as big as a wheel, as bright as molten iron juice, and slowly rose from the treetops, shining a silver light on the city, on the slopes of the houses, and in the wilderness. Looking east and north from the head of the city, there is an endless expanse of snow, but within ten miles, there are camps of the righteous army everywhere. Because there is a fire in the tent, the snow on the tent melts as it falls. In the vast snowfield, here and there are patches of military camps, and gray-and-white tents are scattered in high depressions. Even when it snowed, the soldiers of the rebels did not rest completely. In particular, in the northeastern corner of the city, about five or six miles away from the city, there is a large area of temples and houses, which are workshops for making bows and arrows and gunpowder. Day and night, materials for making gunpowder were brought in from all over the country. There are also three milling plates, led by donkeys, and crushing willow charcoal; There were many rebels there "knocking, knocking" to smash the ashes, and there were many rebels sifting through the ashes, sifting out the fine black powder. Some people added sulfur, nitrate, and other things to the willow ash in the prescribed proportions to make gunpowder. A little farther away, cavalry squads constantly patrolled the snow.

In the past few days, Li Zicheng has been anxious about the siege of the city. Last night, he met with Niu, Song and other important generals to discuss the next plan to attack the city until late at night. It was unknown this morning, and as soon as he woke up, he was very agitated. He knew very well that Kaifeng City was very well prepared for the defense of the city, and Chen Yongfu, the self-feudal official and chief soldier, as well as many soldiers and civilians, were trying their best to defend the city, and they were working together, which could not be compared with Luoyang and Nanyang at all. After getting up, he wanted to read for a while, so he turned out the "Zizhi Tongjian", intending to re-read the paragraph that Niu Jinxing told him a few days ago. But after reading a few lines, my mood was very chaotic and I couldn't stand it. Just as he was going out to see how the soldiers were, Gao Yigong walked in. Because Gao Yigong is always responsible for the supply of military supplies for the whole army, he is more aware of many difficulties than others. When he came in, he sat down by the brazier, and while he was making a fire, he said to the king:

"Generalissimo, this siege is good if it can be captured; If it can't be attacked, it can't be stationed here for a long time. ”

King Chuang nodded and said, "I understand, Zuo Liangyu's men and horses are coming here, and we can't fight against Zuo Liangyu while garrisoning the city." ”

Gao Yigong said: "This is only one aspect. Near Kaifeng, a yellow sand flat river, ordinary people rely on crop stalks to burn fires, and there is no firewood. Now that hundreds of thousands of our troops have come here, they have cut down almost all the trees, and the firewood stacks of the common people have almost been burned, and in some places we have to tear down the houses and burn them. If this continues, not only will the lives of the common people be very difficult, but it will also be very difficult for our army to cook on the fire, and it will not be a long-term solution. It's cold right now, and it's freezing with dripping water. The army must be roasted on fire, and without it it will be unbearable cold. Not to mention cooking now, it is not easy to use firewood for baking every day, and in half a month, I don't know how difficult it is. ”

Li Zicheng said: "We originally expected to be able to break through the city in ten days and eight days, but we didn't expect Kaifeng to be so strong. On the 26th, a breach in the wall had been blown up, but the city resisted desperately. This is the first time in more than a decade that the two sides have fought fiercely in this way, regardless of casualties. Fortunately, our military discipline was very strict, and the morale was very high, and after the battle of the 26th, the morale of the army could not be maintained. ”

Gao Yigong said: "Although our morale is very high and military discipline is very strict, the soldiers sometimes have complaints. ”

Li Zicheng was secretly surprised in his heart and asked, "What do the soldiers complain about?" ”

Gao Yigong said: "We have built several forts, which are tall and large, and each fort can accommodate 100 people. It is not easy for the soldiers to build a fort, the cypress trees within dozens of miles nearby have been sawed off, and it is not easy to transport them to Kaifeng City. We were expecting to easily attack the city, but unexpectedly, forts were also erected on the city, and one by one our forts were destroyed by the city, and many brothers were killed and wounded in vain. Therefore, the brothers complained that the military advisors were not well planned, and how could they build forts so close to the city? ”

Li Zicheng was silent for a moment. Regarding Song Xiance's suggestion to build a fort there, Zhang Nai once said that it was too close to the city, and other generals also said that it was inappropriate. But Song Xiance said: "Our artillery fire is so fierce that we can hit the city so that it can't raise its head, and if the city fires artillery, we will fire artillery at the place where he fired the artillery and destroy his fort." "I didn't expect that there were a lot of cannons in the city, and they were very accurate, and the rebels suffered a big loss. Li Zicheng also saw that many of Song Xiance's ideas were not personally experienced, but he refused to show his dissatisfaction with Song Xiance in front of anyone. So he said to Gao Yigong:

"The responsibility for this is on me, and I instructed the offer to build a fort in that place. You have to tell the soldiers that you can't complain about the military advisor. Nothing can go wrong. Even Zhuge Liang still has mistakes, let alone others. ”

Gao Yigong understood Li Zicheng's hard work, didn't speak again, stood up and went out.

After a while, Li Zicheng ordered to prepare the horses, and then took Shuangxi and more than 20 personal soldiers to inspect the place where the gunpowder was made, and then came to the village where the wounded soldiers were treated, and first asked the old god if the medicine was enough. Fortunately, the old immortal had already prepared a lot of medicines to heal artillery wounds and gunpowder burns, and there was no difficulty for the time being. And in the past, every time a county town was attacked, there were some poor doctors in the army, and the old gods selected some young doctors from among them and taught them how to treat burns and gold creations, and now there is no shortage of doctors. Then King Chuang entered the military tent to visit Caihao, and every place he went, he asked everyone for warmth. The soldiers were very moved, and everyone said in their hearts:

"Over the past year, the number of people has been increasing, and it is not easy to meet with King Chuang, now there is so much snow on the ground, the weather is so cold, King Chuang is not in the tent to roast the fire, but he came to visit us early, King Chuang is still King Chuang after all."

There was a serious injury number, and when King Chuang asked him if it hurt, he smiled casually and said, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt." I'm going to attack the city in a few days! ”

When King Chuang heard this, he was also very moved. The soldiers around him were even more moved, and some people knew that this person would not survive, and they couldn't help but be moved to tears.

About noon, King Chuang, together with Liu Zongmin and Song Xiance, led a small number of personal soldiers to the north of Caomen, half a mile away from the moat to inspect. They didn't dare to stand in one place for a long time, so they immediately changed to another place, and after looking at a few places, they came to inspect outside the northern city. There were several times when the defenders of the city fired artillery at their immediate place, but they did not know that he was Li Chuangwang, so the artillery fire was not concentrated, and they were always moving places, and the artillery fire could not be targeted. After inspecting the city, they retreated to a village about four miles northeast of the city, and entered the military tent where Liu Zongmin commanded the battle, and discussed while roasting the fire.

Sparse artillery battles continued on and outside the city, but neither could do much damage to each other.

In the military tent, Li Zicheng asked Liu and Song: "The situation in the city today is different from the past, do you see it clearly?" ”

Liu Zongmin said: "I went to the edge of the city early in the morning and saw that some people were clearing snow at the head of the city, and some people seemed to be piling up bags of earth to plug the gaps in the battlements. I think it must be an attempt to sabotage the hole dug by our army, and it will be clear at dusk. ”

Li Zicheng turned his gaze to the military advisor and waited for him to speak.

Song Xiance said: "Last year, when we attacked Kaifeng for the first time, the soldiers and civilians defending the city dug a hole from the head of the city and killed and injured my brothers in the cave. Now they will still use this method to break me and dig the city. Last year our army did not have firearms, so the enemy dug a hole in the city in broad daylight, and was not afraid of us, but now they do not move during the day, but dig hard after dusk, and in less than a night's work, they will soon communicate with the hole that our army has dug under the city. It seems that the fierce battle will begin before dawn tomorrow. ”

Li Zicheng also guessed this, and Song Xiance's judgment confirmed his thoughts. Although he was secretly worried, he was calm on the surface, and asked:

"Advice, what's the solution?"

Song Xiance said: "Our army has dug more than 30 holes, how easy is it for the enemy to expel our army one by one? As long as our army can keep half of the hole in the ground, continue to dig large, and release it together, we can blast a few gaps in the city wall. Of course, now that the soldiers and civilians defending the city are still strong-hearted and determined to defend to the death, and with Chen Yongfu commanding, they should not be taken lightly. Besides, the enemy is at the head and our army is at the foot, which is very unfavorable to our burrowing soldiers. But we must encourage the burrowers to not give an inch, so that every time the enemy attacks a hole, he will be killed or wounded. I dig a hole to save the soldiers, the cave dies, and those who escape from the hole easily will not be forgiven! ”

Liu Zongmin continued: "Now the soldiers and civilians defending the city have transported all the cannons in the city to the section of the city from the Song Gate to the North Gate, and good crossbowmen are also sent here. It is difficult for us to send reinforcements to the caves during the day, so we are not busy for the time being. After dusk, reinforcements began to be sent to the caves, sending dry food and boiling water, and at that time a strict order was issued: not a hole should be lost, and only the small leader of the hole was asked! ”

Li Zicheng nodded, and was about to speak, when he suddenly saw Wu Ruyi riding a horse to arrive, until he was outside the tent, and quickly dismounted, clearly having an emergency. Zicheng waited for him to enter the account and asked:

"Ziyi, what's the urgency?"

Wu Ruyi said: "Madame sent Tang Ma to fly to the newspaper, and the front team of the left camp was already very close to Linying, only one day away. The food and color numbers left in Linying are retreating to Kaifeng, she led the healthy women's battalion, the boy scouts, and the volunteer people of Linying to defend the city, and when the food and color numbers are retreated, she will leave Linying. ”

Zicheng asked in surprise: "Didn't you ask me to send cavalry to meet you?" ”

Wu Ruyi said: "No. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "She knew that it was not good for us to attack the city here, and she refused to say that she wanted us to send men and horses to help. We must immediately send a cavalry to Linying in the starry night to bring the lady back, and we must not make a mistake. ”

Song Xiance said: "When Madame sent someone, she said that Zuoying was only one day's journey from Linying. Linying arrived here, the cavalry got two days at the earliest, and generally took three days, thinking that the left battalion had already arrived at Linying the day before yesterday. If there are many men and horses in the front of the left battalion, and the lady cannot retreat in time, she will definitely suffer a loss if she resists the enemy outside the city or is overtaken by the enemy on the road. Even if they retreated to the city, they had no choice but to defend the small city, the city walls were not high, the moats were narrow and shallow, and there was no artillery to help defend them, which was also very dangerous. The Generalissimo is requested to send cavalry to meet him at once, so that the Lady and the Healthy Women's Battalion can protect the old and weak women and withdraw safely. ”

Li Zicheng asked, "Jiexuan, who to send to Heyi?" ”

Liu Zongmin said: "How about sending Erhu there? He has a lot of holes in his heart, and he is not a brave and unscrupulous person. ”

Li Zicheng said: "Okay, order him to bring all the 1,200 cavalry under his command, and the infantry to stay to attack the city." Then 500 cavalry were drawn from Cao's camp and went with him, obeying his orders. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "In order to set off quickly, I told Cao Cao on the one hand, and on the other hand, I directly sent hundreds of cavalry from Cao Ying's men and horses who assisted Yufeng in attacking Dongcheng. ”

Li Zicheng thought for a while, shook his head and said, "It's better not to transfer Cao Ying's cavalry, lest you be too careful." Just to help retreat from Linying, it is enough to use the cavalry of the Second Tiger. Jiexuan, you call Erhu and give an order in person. I responded to the Chengjun Wang Garden with the military division, summoned Yufeng and other important generals to discuss and discuss, and prepared for a bloody battle. After you have instructed the two tigers, you should also go to the affairs quickly. ”

Li Zicheng and Song Xiance got on the horse and left.

That night, Li Zicheng received a report during his trip, and sure enough, from dusk, the soldiers and civilians defending the city were in a hurry to dig holes from the top of the city. By about the third watch, the progress was faster.

When digging holes in the city, they first dig a big hole, at least one zhang in diameter, and then gradually shrink to two or three feet in diameter, so that people can jump down without hindrance.

Li Zicheng rode to Dongcheng, called Ding Guobao, the general who commanded the digging of the cave in Dongcheng, asked them in detail about the situation, and told them to prepare for the battle for the cave, and then returned to Xingyuan to rest.

Suddenly, Li Guo sent a flying cavalry to report: it was rumored that there was a war in Linying, and he did not know the victory or defeat, so he had sent Li You to lead 800 cavalry to reinforcements to protect Mrs. Gao's retreat from Linying.

When Li Zicheng heard the news, he was really surprised: there are not many soldiers and horses in Linying now, and Zuo Liangyu's purpose is obviously to capture Gui Ying and the old camp's dependents and rescue his adopted daughter, so the men and horses are lightly armed and very quickly. In the end, what is the good luck, Li Guo's report did not make it clear.

He instructed Wu Ruyi to stay in Xingyuan, and he took Shuangxi to the outside of the moat in the north of Caomen. In his opinion, no matter how tight Linying is, with Mrs. Gao leading the camp of healthy women and children's soldiers, and a few personal soldiers there, Erhu and Li You led two thousand cavalry to help, and it is estimated that they will not be captured. He must devote all his attention to Kaifeng, and strive to break the city as soon as possible. At this time, the night was dark, and the north wind was biting. He immediately stood next to the sand pile, facing the "heart" building. Tamishu was also there.

Li Zicheng asked, "Yufeng, what's the situation?" ”

Tian Jianxiu said: "The enemy is very anxious to dig a hole from above, and he will dig through before dawn and attack our soldiers from above. ”

Li Zicheng asked: "Is there a way to protect the cave?" ”

Tian Mishu said: "All the caves have been replaced with rested elite soldiers, and they are ready to continue digging to the left and right while defending them. Hold on to the cave for another day and you will be able to fill it with gunpowder and collapse the city walls. ”

Li Zicheng asked again: "Can you keep the cave?" ”

Tian Jianxiu said: "At least you can keep the big hole under the word 'heart'." The hole was so big that it was the size of two houses, and forty or fifty people had already gone in. ”

Li Zicheng remembered Ding Guobao and asked, "Where is the national treasure?" ”

Tian Jianxiu said: "The national treasure personally entered the big hole under the word 'heart'. ”

Li Zicheng pondered for a moment. At this time, Wu Ruyi rode a horse to find him and invited him into Tian Jianxiu's tent, which had important matters. Li Zicheng nodded and said to Tian Jianxiu:

"Now the matter of digging holes in Beicheng is under the command of Bai Minghe, and the matter of digging holes in Dongcheng is all under the command of National Treasure, he should not be only in one hole."

Tian Jianxiu understood that King Chuang still had a layer of unwillingness to say, that is, he didn't want Ding Guobao to die prematurely, so he said:

"I'll call the national treasure out right away and discuss important matters."

Li Zicheng and Wu Ruyi entered Tian Jianxiu's tent and retired the idlers, leaving only Shuangxi to stand aside. Wu Ruyi whispered to King Chuang: At dusk today, Li Guo's rangers have caught two fine works and found two secret letters, and now Pegasus has sent them.

King Chuang first read Zuo Liangyu's wax pill book, which only said that he "was ordered to lead a large army to aid Kaifeng, and he could arrive around the 15th of this month." Prepare troops and horses in the city, and attack inside and outside to play a good job". Then I looked at Yang Wenyue's letter, which was a note hidden in a fine cotton coat, which read:

On the second day of the first month, he had joined forces with Zuo Shuai in Chenzhou, and Keri came north, and Zuo Shuai had sent light cavalry to Linying, if he could capture the dependents of the two battalions of Chuang and Cao, the thief army would be in turmoil. If he returns to the master to save Linying, he will be surrounded by himself.

After Li Zicheng finished reading it, he put the two notes on the candle and lit them, burned them, and did not speak. Wu Ruyi asked:

"Do you want to send another team of men to Linying?"

King Chuang paused for a moment and said, "No need. Starting from the fifth watch tonight, within three or four days, the battle of Kaifeng will be clear, and the elite soldiers can no longer be divided. Is the gunpowder prepared enough? ”

Wu Ruyi said: "I asked, the gunpowder is enough, and it is still being made day and night." ”

King Chuang nodded and said, "I'll go outside the East City to inspect it again, and you can go back to Xingyuan." ”

Wu Ruyi came out of the tent first. King Chuang was thoughtful. Double Happiness asked in a low voice:

"Father, if you don't send a large army to help, doesn't it matter if you're in the air?"

King Chuang said: "Zuo Liangyu is trying to divide my forces, why should I play chess according to his ideas?" ”

CHAPTER XXV

On the morning of the seventh day of the first lunar month, the battle for the castle cave began.

The gentry guarding the city were particularly afraid of the giant hole under the north of Caomen and the word "heart". Huang Shu and Li Guangli spent the night near the "heart" building in the city, encouraging the soldiers and civilians to dig through the vertical hole in order to destroy the big hole under the city. At that time, they did not think about taking the big hole into their hands, but only hoped to drive the rebels out of the cave from above, at least so that the rebels could not continue to dig deep and smoothly and could not send gunpowder into the hole. By dawn, the vertical hole at the head of the city had been connected to the big hole of the rebels under the city. The vertical hole is reduced layer by layer, the diameter of the top layer is one zhang away, and many people can stand on it, and it becomes eight feet down, and then it becomes six feet and four feet down, and the original diameter is only one foot when it is connected with the big hole at the bottom. At this point, it is very difficult to dig the hole. The rebels resisted fiercely in the big cave, fighting each other as above. The city hurled stones downwards and poked downwards with spears; There are also archers on the lower side, and arrows are placed upward. Later, the city used a long shovel with a long hand, and the people stood far away and shoveled the earth from around the hole, so that the hole continued to expand and people could jump freely. It was only then that the city considered how to send troops to capture the cave. Because this cave is very large, it is estimated that there are dozens of rebels in it, and the people in the city will be killed by the rebels if they jump down and not gain a firm foothold. Therefore, although the vertical hole had been dug, no one wanted to go down and die.

The leader of the rebels in this big cave is named Wang Chengzhang, who was originally a miner in Funiu Mountain in western Henan. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, when Li Zicheng's garrison won the victory of the village, he led dozens of coal blacks to join the army. Later, more and more people joined the army, and they formed a mining army, led by Ding Guobao, who became an important leader under Ding Guobao. He also has a deputy named Yin Heiniu, who is also a coal blackman for mining. When they attacked Kaifeng for the first time in February last year, they led a group of miners to dig a big hole in the south of the west gate of Kaifeng. The miners have a lot of experience digging holes and fighting in the city at the same time. was digging forward, but unexpectedly encountered rows of large boulders, so he had to give up halfway. Now, based on the experience of fighting while digging a hole in February last year, Wang Chengzhang has prepared six brothers in advance. The three brothers took their bows and arrows and told them to stand in the shape of their feet and wait for the hole above to be dug and shoot arrows upwards at any time. The other three brothers were digging holes with the others and were ready to replace the three archery brothers. A few other brothers were also standing nearby, ready to quickly extinguish the powder packets or "ten thousand enemies" that had been thrown down on them.

After the vertical hole was dug through, stones began to be thrown downwards from above, but because the hole below was large, it did not pose much threat to the rebels below; If you poke down with a spear, you won't be able to poke anyone. Once, as soon as the spear was poked down, Yin Heiniu's eyes were quick, and he snatched it suddenly, but snatched the spear away. The man with the gun above shook his body and threw himself on the entrance of the cave, where he was killed by an arrow from below. Later, in the faint light and starlight, as long as you see a figure shaking above, you will immediately shoot arrows below. They couldn't tell if their arrows had hit each other, but the sound from above made sense. When their arrows are fired, there is often a cry of "Oh my mother!" "Not good!" "Ugh!" At such times, there is a happy scolding from below.

Wang Chengzhang and his brothers knew the importance of this big hole, so they made up their minds not to stop their digging work, no matter how serious the casualties were. He constantly encouraged everyone by saying:

"Dig well, dig quickly, wait until you load tens of thousands of catties of gunpowder, lead a little, the city wall will collapse, and at that time, our men and horses will pour into the city like a tide, and this Tokyo Bianliang will be taken down. Brothers, dig up! Dig fast! ”

The defenders of the city, seeing that throwing stones and bricks had no effect, had suffered a great loss by poking them with their spears, so they began to throw gunpowder packets downward. Wang Chengzhang suddenly saw a bun thrown from above, and the burning lead emitted a little red light in the darkness, and made a sizzling sound. He shouted, "Pour! Two or three brothers quickly poured the crumbs from the dustpan onto the powder packets and crushed the fuse. Then Wang Chengzhang jumped a step, stepped on the lead with one foot, grabbed the gunpowder bag with both hands, and threw it out of the hole. Knowing that the gunpowder bag was ineffective, the castle lit two gunpowder packets in succession and threw them into the hole. Wang Chengzhang shouted twice: "Pour!" "Down!" Both gunpowder packets were crushed by crushed earth to extinguish the leads. Expecting one of the two powder packs to work, some of the rebels would be burned and others would escape from the cave, and crossbowmen had already prepared crossbowmen to shoot all the rebels who escaped from the cave. It is strange that the powder bag that has been dropped now has no effect. They threw down three more powder packets at the same time. This time, sure enough, one of the gunpowder packets was not extinguished, and suddenly the gunpowder burned, burning two or three rebels. This lesson made Wang Chengzhang quickly think of a new idea. There used to be buckets of water in the cave, and there was cool boiled water in them. Then he hurriedly took the bucket in his hand, and when three more gunpowder packets were thrown on it, he shouted: "Pour! Several handfuls of soil fell down at the same time. Wang Chengzhang looked carefully and found that the fire with one lead had not been extinguished, so he immediately poured a little water, and the fire was immediately extinguished. The people of the city were amazed, and they gathered around the bottom of the cave to find out how they could so quickly extinguish all the leads. At the bottom of the cave, the soil layer was only four feet thick, and although the sound of their discussion was not loud, Wang Chengzhang could hear it clearly, and he saw a black shadow shaking at the entrance of the cave, and knew that someone above was secretly looking down. There were two small lanterns lit in the cave, and he ordered the lights to be blown out completely. The burrower continues with experience, by feeling. At the same time, he secretly took a bird gun that he had brought into the cave last night into his hand, and secretly aimed the mouth of the gun at the mouth of the cave. He held paper coals in his right hand, which had been lit. In order not to be noticed by the above, he hid his right hand behind him and held the bird gun with only his left hand. The bird was filled with gunpowder, and on top of it was a handful of iron sand the size of a soybean. When he felt that the time was right, he suddenly turned his right hand holding paper coal out of his back, and quickly lit the two-inch-long lead on the fire door. Wang Chengzhang aimed the gun at the entrance of the hole with both hands, only to see a flash of red light outside the fire door, and a fire light came out of the mouth, illuminating the dark hole on his head suddenly brightened, and at the same time he heard a loud noise, and then heard an exclamation from above: "My mother!" "A man fell head down from the top of the hole. One of the miners below bent down and dragged him aside, slashed him twice with his waist knife, and kicked the dead body out of the hole. Several other men in the cave were apparently wounded, screaming and climbing to the top of the city in desperation. At this time, the sky was already light, and Wang Chengzhang instructed the brothers to dig the hole quickly and not delay.

Liu Zongmin knew that the city was destroying various city caves, so he came to the outside of the city to watch. Later, he went to the vicinity of the "heart" building, hid his war horse behind a sand dune, and he only took about 20 personal soldiers and generals to stand half a mile away from the moat. This distance is the most dangerous, and he has to be careful of the cannon on the head of the city at all times, so he and his soldiers are wearing iron armor and bronze helmets. There were three cannons twenty zhang away from their left rear, and three cannons one mile away from their right rear. Zhang Nai stood behind him, waiting for his orders at any time. In addition, near the moats stood hundreds of crossbowmen, all with shields to defend against arrows. There are also crossbowmen more than ten miles away from the Song Gate to the North Gate, but they are not as dense as the outside of the moat of the "heart" building.

Ding Guobao knew that the battle in the cave under the "heart" building was fierce, and he galloped from elsewhere on horseback. He dismounted in front of Liu Zongmin and asked Liu Zongmin to retreat quickly, saying that it was already dawn and that he should not be seen by the enemies at the head of the city. Liu Zongmin sneered slightly, did not retreat, and urgently asked him how the battle was going. He reported that all the holes from the Song Gate to the North Gate were being contested, and the top of each hole was dug by the enemy to connect with the holes. There is only a large hole near the "heart" building, because the hole is tortuous, turned to the left, so the enemy is not aware of it.

Liu Zongmin asked: "The hole under the 'heart' downstairs is very important, who is in command?" ”

Ding Guobao said: "The leader is Wang Chengzhang, and the deputy is Yin Heiniu. ”

Liu Zongmin nodded, a little relieved. By the time he attacked Kaifeng in February last year, he had already met the leaders of the two miners, and praised them for their combat loyalty. He said:

"You send someone to tell Wang Chengzhang that no matter how the enemy storms from the city during the day today, you can't leave the cave in the ground!" After thinking for a moment, he said, "Send twenty brothers to the cave for reinforcements." I think there must be dead and wounded in the cave, and I will find a way to bring the wounded brothers back, and the dead will not be left alone for the time being. ”

Ding Guobao immediately sent twenty miners to stand on the east bank of the moat. At this time, Gu Ying also came, he was the main general responsible for covering the digging from the Song Gate to the North Gate. He waved the small triangular red flag in his hand, and the crossbowmen outside the city immediately shot arrows continuously at the city, and the fire guns also fiercely hit the city. Taking advantage of this offensive, twenty miners crossed the moat and ran towards the cave. On the "heart" tower and the nearby city head, there were immediately random arrows shooting down, and there were bricks and stones flying wildly. Twenty men had not yet reached the root of the city, but a third had fallen. Liu Zongmin glanced at Zhang Nai, and ordered:

"Knock down the 'heart' building for me!"

Zhang Nai immediately retreated to the place where the cannon was installed in the left rear, personally aimed at it, and personally lit the cannon. Two cannons were lit in a row, and the third cannon had not yet been lit, and the "heart" building had already collapsed. Many of the soldiers in the building were wounded and some were killed. The wounded one escaped. Taking advantage of this time, a small group of reinforcements entered the hole under the "heart" building.

At this time, Li Zicheng sent a personal soldier to meet Liu Zongmin and asked him to go to the high school to discuss matters quickly. Liu Zongmin nodded, walked to the back of the sand dune and got on his horse, and at the same time instructed the two pro-soldiers:

"You sent an edict separately, saying that I have a strict order: the soldiers must desperately keep the holes, prepare to send gunpowder tonight, and tomorrow the five watches will be released together, and those who lose the holes will be killed!"

The city began to suffer a little setback, but it was not discouraged. The officials, gentry, military and people all know that the hole must be fought for, and the victory or defeat of defending the city depends on the hole. After a period of panic, Huang Shu and Li Guangli decided to throw a "10,000-strong enemy" from the entrance of the cave. It turned out that they were also afraid that throwing "10,000 enemies" into the cave would cause too much damage to the city wall. Now it's a last resort. So they chose two brave men from among the people who defended the city. Huang Shu personally commanded:

"You must be bold and careful, and if you have a little medicine line, you must cast it immediately, and you must cast it accurately. If we don't get it right, the '10,000 enemies' explode above the entrance of the cave, and we will all be killed. As long as you vote accurately, and after you vote, you will be killed and injured by many thieves, and you will be rewarded heavily! ”

The two men, one holding the "Ten Thousand Enemies" and the other holding the fire rope, squatted on the edge of the bottom hole, peeked under the hole, and nervously waited for orders. Huang Shu instructed:

"Dot the lead!"

The man with the arquebus immediately lit the fuse.

Huang Shu said: "Vote! ”

The man who held the "10,000 enemies" immediately aimed at the entrance of the cave and threw the "10,000 enemies" down.

Huang Shu shouted repeatedly: "Okay! Good! Good! ”

He and many others looked nervous and happy, waiting for a bang from below, killing and wounding a large number of enemies.

However, he said that Wang Chengzhang followed Song Xiance's instructions yesterday and dug some places in the hole in advance where he could hide from people. He heard the sound of noise and speech above, and understood that the enemy was going to throw down the "ten thousand enemies", and he couldn't help but curse:

"Fuck, it's going to be a killer move!"

He urged everyone to hide quickly, leaving only himself and Yin Heiniu. He took in his hand a large handful of clay that the brothers had prepared, and waited intently with his eyes upward. Seeing that the hole above his head was dark, he immediately raised the basket and held the bottom of the basket with his right hand. The "10,000 enemies" fell with a thud and rolled forward, and a little fire on the lead line burned rapidly. At this critical moment, Wang Chengzhang accurately poured a handful of fine soil down. Almost at the same time, Yin Heiniu pounced and pulled out the lead that was only two fingers long. The movements of the two of them were so swift, and their expressions were so calm, that even some of the rebels hiding in the shadows were stunned. When Yin Heiniu threw the "10,000 enemies" out of the hole, they all ran out of hiding and said witticisms happily. Wang Chengzhang told everyone to hurry up and continue digging holes, and he and Yin Heiniu stood back in their original places, ready to throw down "10,000 enemies" above their heads at any time. He looked up and shouted:

"Hearken, men of the city: Throw down all your magic weapons! I'm waiting. Tell your king and governor of Zhou that I will settle accounts with you in the city tomorrow! ”

After the third watch last night, Li Zicheng received two urgent reports of the military situation from two places in succession, and knew that Zuo Liangyu's men and horses were indeed carrying out: the main force of about 100,000 horses, had already passed through Chenzhou to the north, and went straight to Taikang, it seems that the first step is to occupy Qixian, and the second step is to rescue Kaifeng from Qixian. Qi County has been an important military town near Kaifeng since ancient times, and it is a place where soldiers must fight. To save Kaifeng, we must first gain a firm foothold in Qixian County. In addition, the left army also had 3,000 men and horses to the northwest and went straight to Linying, which was counted as a partial division, with the purpose of attacking and occupying Linying, and seizing the families and part of the baggage of the rebels. In particular, Mrs. Gao and the wives of important generals are in Linying, and his own adopted daughter is also in Linying, so although there are only 3,000 people in this partial division, they are all his elite soldiers, and there are many cavalry. The day before yesterday, Mrs. Gao had retreated from Linying to the north, and when she left, she set up an ambush, and with the help of the people of Linying, she eliminated hundreds of people in the top team of the left army. The people of Linying closed the city gates and resisted the left army. The Left Army is now besieging Linying.

By the time Liu Zongmin arrived at Gao Yigong's military tent in Wang Huayuan, Yingcheng County, Li Zicheng had already discussed with Gao Yigong, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan and others for a while. Without waiting for breakfast, Zicheng went to Fanta Temple with Niu, Song, and Li Yan to discuss with Cao Cao.

Gao Yigong told Liu Zongmin about the emergency military information he had received before the fourth watch, and said that the generalissimo had decided to send another 20,000 men to be stationed near Chenliu, and Li Guo had moved to the vicinity of Zhuxian Town.

Gao Yigong also conveyed King Chuang's instructions to Liu Zongmin: First of all, he asked Liu Ye, the chief whistle, to rest quickly. He had not slept for a day and a night, and he had to rest for a while after breakfast before going to the city to command the battle. In addition, tonight we must transport gunpowder into the hole, and tomorrow morning each hole will burst together to blow up several city walls, at least the city wall under the "heart" building will blow up the gap. No matter how difficult it is, Kaifeng must be broken within three days, and if it is not smooth, the city must be broken within five days. Once Kaifeng is broken, the army will go all out to fight Zuo Liangyu, and it will not be difficult to surround and destroy him.

Liu Zongmin said: "Today, the city will fight for the cave with all its strength, and I can't rest for a moment." Okay, I'm not going back to my account, I'll just have breakfast with you. After breakfast, I had to rush back to the city immediately. One achievement, what matters now is the grain and grass of the army, you are the general manager, what is the situation of the grain and grass? ”

Gao Yigong shook his head lightly and whispered, "Food is very difficult. It is a yellow sandy land, the land is not good, and all the grain and grass for the army are collected and transported from nearby counties. Firewood was also scarce, and the brothers sometimes did not have firewood for their fires, and many of them suffered frostbite from their hands and feet. As for the hay that feeds the mules and horses......"

As soon as he said this, Wu Ruyi hurriedly came, and immediately waved his hand to make the idler withdraw. Gao Yigong saw Wu Ruyi's unusual expression, and hurriedly asked:

"Ziyi, what's the urgency?"

Wu Ruyi said: "The general post is very good here, let me report to you two." One of our spies who just came from Xi'an reported the news of Xi'an to me. ”

Liu Zongmin hurriedly asked: "What is the important news in Xi'an?" ”

Wu Ruyi said: "Wang Qiaonian, the governor of Shaanxi and the three sides, will soon lead his men and horses out of the customs to rescue Kaifeng. ”

Liu Zongmin smiled coldly: "Ziyi, this is no longer important news. When Wang Qiao came to Henan, just like Fu Zonglong, he would not have a better end. Wouldn't it be easy for him to send him to the door, lest we go to him? ”

Gao Yigong also said with a smile: "Wang Qiaonian led at most the three general soldiers of He Maniac, Zheng Jiadong, and Li Guoqi, and these three people are all defeated generals, plus they are not evenly matched, have no fighting spirit, and have corrupt discipline, so they are not vulnerable at all." ”