On February 12, the sun was setting in the afternoon.

Kaifeng, on the tower of the West Gate City, a guard soldier saw the dust in the distance, and hurriedly reported the situation to the West Gate guard.

"The whole army is on alert, expel the people!"

The guard Zheng Chunyuan walked out of the gatehouse and saw a group of cavalry in the distance moving rapidly towards his side, so he immediately gave a loud order.

The soldiers immediately picked up their sticks and drove the people into the city.

A flurry of chickens and dogs jumping......

The sturdy soldier turned the winch with all his might, pulling up the drawbridge over the moat.

Another group of soldiers pushed the gates, and with a creak, the thick gates were closed.

A moment later, more than three hundred cavalry appeared outside the city.

Zheng Chunyuan fixed his eyes and saw that the uniforms worn by the soldiers and horses who suddenly "visited" were actually owned by his own family, and hurriedly asked in a loud voice:

"Whose army is under the city? Is there a common instrument? ”

"Brothers in the city, we are the soldiers and horses under the command of Vice General Chen, and on the way to attack Luoyang, we had to come back to transport grain due to a shortage of food."

A man with a local accent in Henan replied in a loud voice.

Zheng Chunyuan actually didn't think that the other party was a thief army, because within a radius of a hundred miles, there was only the Ming army that could have such a cavalry army.

He still did his routine: "Grain and grass are easy to say, but please bring the documents to you for inspection." ”

"Please put down the bamboo basket, I will put the paperwork in the basket, and the general can look at it carefully."

"That's very good."

Zheng Chunyuan waved his hand, and the soldier threw down a large basket large enough to hold people.

A rope tied to one end of the basket was firmly grasped by the soldiers.

One of the city's horsemen dismounted, put the paperwork in the basket, and turned to mount his horse.

The big basket was pulled up, Zheng Chunyuan took out the document and looked at it, and sure enough, it was a pass document issued by the Yamen of the Henan Governor.

"Drop the drawbridge!"

With Zheng Chunyuan's order, the suspension bridge was slowly lowered.

The cavalry generals who had just answered below the city showed a hint of cunning in their eyes.

However, just then, the unexpected happened.

A city guard named Xie San shouted to stop the city guard from opening the door.

He came to Zheng Chunyuan, hugged his fists and said, "General, the city gate can't be opened!" ”

"Why?" Zheng Chunyuan looked unhappy.

"Because the cavalry under the city is definitely not an official army."

Xie Sanyan replied conclusively.

Zheng Chunyuan was stunned for a moment and asked, "How did you see it?" ”

"The discipline of the officers and soldiers is sloppy, there is no good armor, and they are hungry all day long. On the other hand, the soldiers and soldiers in the city were well-groomed, and in the face of the people and women in the city, they neither beat or scold, nor molested. ”

Xie San said: "The thieves have captured Baofeng County and Jiaxian, not far from Kaifeng, and eighty percent of his team is pretending to be an official army. ”

Zheng Chunyuan suddenly realized: "I almost missed a big thing." ”

He hurriedly ordered: "Quick! Pull the drawbridge up. ”

The soldiers under the city looked at it, and they let him easily take back the drawbridge.

"Tell the king!"

Under the leadership of Hao Shaoqi, the cavalry actually charged directly, and at all costs, the drawbridge was controlled first.

They drew their bows and arrows and shot at the towers.

For a time, arrows flew like rain.

Because the big forces are right behind.

How did you know that when the cavalry charged, they frightened the guards of the city, neither pulling the drawbridge, nor throwing rolling stones or shooting arrows under the city.

They were all frightened by the rain of arrows, and their legs weakened, and they fled for their lives.

"Don't run!" Zheng Chunyuan brandished the Yanling knife, "Give Lao Tzu back to defend the city!" ”

As he spoke, he caught up with a fleeing soldier, and with a knife in his back, he slashed to the ground.

Only then did the soldiers stop fleeing.

"Go, pull up the drawbridge and return fire with rolling logs."

Zheng Chunyuan shouted, waving the steel knife in his hand.

At this moment, dust rose again not far from the city gate, covering the sky and the sun.

"The thieves are coming!"

I don't know who howled, and the soldiers fled again.

Zheng Chunyuan was frightened by the momentum from afar, so he had to flee with the rout.

In this way, Hao Shaoqi's soldiers took the West Gate bloodlessly.

However, it is impossible to push open the heavy gates by manpower.

Li Zicheng and the others came in a hurry, and they did not bring a rushing car for siege. I had to erect a ladder nearby, ready to storm the city gate.

The empty gates seem to be within reach.

As a result, at this time, I encountered the "miracle" of the iron tree blooming.

A large group of men and horses appeared in the city tower and began to defend the city.

Rolling wood and stones, arrows raining down.

This made the soldiers carrying the ladder at a loss.

Li Zicheng was also a little confused, and immediately ordered a temporary retreat.

Why is such a strange thing happening?

It turned out that the Ming Dynasty clan in Kaifeng, Zhu Gongfang, the king of Zhou, heard about this, and quickly found Gao Mingheng, the governor who stayed in Kaifeng, and said that he was willing to pay money to fund the army and civilians to defend the city.

Zhu Gongfang not only told the reward for defending the city, but also asked the servants to take out the silver from the silver cellar of the palace and carry the boxes to the governor's office.

At this moment, the soldiers and civilians of Kaifeng were excited.

So, the scene just now.

Li Zicheng did not go far, camped in Wuli outside Kaifeng City, personally arranged the light and dark sentry posts and patrol generals, and found Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others to discuss the siege of the city.

"The bad luck of the real grandmother, who would have thought that the military discipline was good but would be discovered."

Hao Shaoqi was still annoyed, "If I knew this was the case, I should have behaved badly." ”

The crowd laughed.

Li Zicheng also laughed: "You and I never expected this, so you don't have to blame yourself." The sneak attack failed, and the only way to attack was to attack. It's just ......"

Thinking of the soldiers and civilians defending the city during the day, Li Zicheng was a little hesitant.

Niu Jinxing said: "Zhu Gongyu has some insight, and he knows that at the critical moment, he has to spend money to recruit the military and civilians to defend the city and keep his family business. It's a pity that people like him are rare. More are like Zhu Changxun and others, who are vulnerable. ”

"It seems that the only way to attack Kaifeng is to take Kaifeng before Chen Yongfu returns."

Li Zicheng heard what Niu Jinxing meant, and there was no good way for the time being.

If there is no good way, then use the stupid way.

Fortunately, the Ming army in Kaifeng City went to attack Luoyang, and there were not many Ming troops with combat experience.

Li Zicheng believes that as long as his offensive is more violent, he may be able to capture it.

However, the soldiers and civilians of Kaifeng gave him a slap in the face.

The next day, the twenty-third.

The army attacked for a whole day, but failed to take any of the gates of Kaifeng.

"Why is that?"

Looking at the people guarding the city like crazy on the city tower, Li Zicheng frowned: "It's said that it's spending money, won't I send them money after I finish Kaifeng?" ”

"King Chuang, just like there are good fighters in the Ming army, and there are wretched people. There are good people and bad people among them, and they cannot be imagined as monolithic. ”

Song Xiance comforted on the side.

"It's not a way to fight like this."

Li Zicheng touched his beard and was thinking of countermeasures.

"I have a plan, but people can start digging tunnels tomorrow, using the method of earth escape, and infiltrate the city."

Niu Jinxing said on the side.

When Li Zicheng heard this, he nodded in agreement.