Just when Liu Yan was expanding his army on a large scale, the war in the south also made waves again.

As early as May of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to rebel again in Gucheng, and soon defeated the Ming army guarding Gucheng, killed the county commander Ruan Zhitian and the patrol Yu Shi Lin Mingqiu, demolished the city wall, and robbed the library and imprisoned. Zhang Dajing, Ma Tingbao and Xu Qizuo were forced to surrender.

When Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to leave Gucheng, he wrote in detail the list, number and time of the bribes that officials from all over the government asked him for bribes, which made the surrounding people indignant, and Zhang Xianzhong took the opportunity to expand his troops and pulled up a team of nearly 100,000 people.

When Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again, Luo Rucai and Ma Shouying's troops also responded, and went to Gucheng to meet Zhang Xianzhong's troops. At the same time, Li Zicheng, who was lurking in the Shang Mountain, also regrouped and entered Henan through the Yun and Jun regions of Hubei. As soon as the flames of the army of thieves were extinguished, they once again burned on the land of the Central Plains.

Supervisor Xiong Wencan learned of the resurgence of the thief army, and immediately transferred Zuo Liangyu and Luo Dai to lead the troops to pursue and suppress.

Zhang Xianzhong ambushed the army in Luo Monkey Mountain, west of Fang County, spread a net to set up a formation, and sent a team to feint defeat and retreat, luring the Ming army into the mountain. When most of the Ming army entered the mountains, Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang, Zhang Wenxiu, and Zhang Nengqi led the ambush soldiers to besiege, and the Ming army of more than 10,000 people were all scattered, Luo Dai was captured alive, Zuo Liangyu lost his armor and fled in the saddle, and even the military seal letter was lost.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious when he received the battle report, and in a fit of rage, he removed Xiong Wencan from his post and sent Jinyi Wei to arrest him; At the same time, Zuo Liangyu was demoted to three levels and ordered to make meritorious contributions with the army.

Then, Emperor Chongzhen sent Yang Sichang, a scholar and secretary of the military department, to the Hunan battlefield to supervise the division, and the governor below listened to moderation, and once again launched a large-scale encirclement and suppression of the army of thieves.

Although Yang Sichang is proficient in party and government, he is also quite talented, and as soon as he arrived in Xiangyang, he threw out the strategy of "four positives", "six corners", and "ten-sided nets" that he planned.

Yang Sichang prepared to join 100,000 troops, and the generals of Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Yunyang Zhufu Town, divided into key points, and the main task was to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng's two army of thieves.

At first, Zhang Xianzhong didn't understand the situation, lost one after another, and was very passive. At Zhang Dingguo's suggestion, he continued to send detailed work to investigate the intelligence and find out the details of the Ming army, so Zhang Xianzhong sent people to persuade Luo Rucai to unite the two armies.

Then Zhang Xianzhong led the army to deal with the Ming army with the tactics of "subduing the enemy by walking", "avoiding the real and attacking the false", and infesting the impermanence. At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong stepped up intelligence work, sending many clever sergeants to disguise themselves as businessmen and hawkers to inquire about news. The common people also often told the thieves about the movements of the Ming army, and often served as a guide for Zhang Xianzhong's team.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates were always able to grasp the enemy's situation in a timely manner and quickly adopt corresponding strategies, which caught the Ming army off guard. Then it quickly moved, so that the Ming army could not figure out the whereabouts of the thief army, and it was difficult to launch a pursuit.

After such rounds, all units of the Ming army either fell into the air, or were ambushed and lost their troops. However, it is very disadvantageous for the army of thieves to be trapped in the encirclement of the Ming army, and there is a danger of being encircled and annihilated at any time. For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong believed that it was necessary to completely smash the Ming army's encirclement and suppression plan and jump out of the circle to fight, so as to strike a more effective blow at the Ming army.

So after Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang, Zhang Wenxiu, and Zhang Nengqi, they decided that the whole army would rush out of the encirclement of the Ming army at any cost and turn to the direction of Sichuan.

After these months of fighting, Yang Sichang saw that the Ming army of all departments was embarrassed and useful, and it was impossible to complete the task of annihilating the army of thieves with the soldiers and horses in his hands now.

So Yang Sichang thought of Liu Yan, who had made great contributions in the Battle of Julu and the Battle of Jinan, and wanted to recruit Liu Yan's troops to help in the war.

However, Yang Sichang was scheming and knew that Liu Yan was a subordinate of his sworn enemy Lu Xiangsheng, and the relationship between the two was still very unusual.

And Liu Yan is not necessarily willing to go on an expedition, even if he comes, he will not be able to work, and he will still be just as difficult to do.

So Yang Sichang first sent his henchmen to Jimo Yingcheng and brought a letter from himself to Liu Yan, preparing to contact Liu Yan in private first.

Eight days later, Jimo Camp City.

Liu Yan saw the comer, and saw a tall and thin but very capable man standing in the hall, covered in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

"Who are you? What do you want to see General Ben for? ”

Although Liu Yan already knew about it through the famous post, he still asked again.

I saw the man clenching his fists and saying: "The military department is still a guest in the old mansion of Yang Ge, and the surname of the contemptible person is Zhangminghuan, and he came to deliver a letter on the order of Yang Ge Lao. ”

Liu Yan saw that Zhanghuan was neither humble nor arrogant, and he also had a good impression of him, waved his hand, and Miao Shao beside him took the letter and forwarded it to Liu Yan.

Liu Yan opened it in front of him, only to see the handwriting in the letter, not to mention Yang Sichang's character, this calligraphy attainment is very high.

In the letter, Yang Sichang first praised Liu Yan's repeated military exploits, and the soldiers under his command were all tigers, and even praised Liu Yan as another Optimus Prime after Qi Shaobao of the Ming Dynasty!

Liu Yan just smiled at this, Liu Yan didn't have much good impression of these ministers from the Donglin Party, and what they said didn't have much credibility.

At this time, although the Ming army seemed to have surrounded Zhang Xianzhong's department, it was actually very passive, and it had been pinched by the thief army, and the battle situation could be reversed at any time, so Yang Sichang hoped that Liu Yan would start from the overall situation and lead his troops south to support as soon as possible when he received an order from the imperial court.

After reading the letter, Liu Yan fell into deep thought.

Now the expansion of the new army has just begun, although the soldiers and equipment of each battalion are all in place, but the follow-up supply and the drills of the recruits of each battalion have not been completed, and now the overall combat strength of the new army has declined seriously, and Liu Yan is very resistant to sending troops at this time.

Moreover, from Shandong to Hunan, the army traveled more than 2,000 miles, who would pay for the money and grain? Can supplies along the way be guaranteed? When it comes to the battlefield, whether the friendly forces are strong or not, these are the questions.

So Liu Yan immediately put away the letter, looked at Zhang Huan expressionlessly, and said, "I know the matter, you can go." ”

But he didn't want Zhang Huan to remain motionless, and said, "My lord, Elder Yang Ge still has a few words for me to convey. ”

"What?"

"The first sentence: The battle of Julu was that Yang Ge was too serious, so that he let Lu Duchen and General Liu make a mistake, and I still feel uneasy when I think about it. Therefore, Yang Ge Lao was ready to write to the imperial court to apply for money, food, and military equipment for Shandong, so as to enhance the strength of Shandong's soldiers and horses, which could be regarded as compensation. ”

Liu Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, it seems that the war in Hunan is indeed very critical, otherwise, with Yang Sichang's urine, he would never be so low-voiced, and even took the initiative to admit his mistake?

"The second sentence: If General Liu leads his troops south to help, the treasury of the prefecture and county along the way can be taken by himself, and if someone stops General Liu, he can march the military law together, and the consequences will be borne by Yang Gelao. There is no basis for the words, and when the order of the Ministry of War is delivered, a token of the Ministry of War will be attached to General Liu. ”

"The third sentence: Yang Ge Lao knew that General Liu led his troops to leap into more than 2,000 miles, and the soldiers of the army were bound to be in difficulty, so he prepared to write to the imperial court to apply for money, food, and military equipment for General Liu, and General Liu could mention the specific amount."

Liu Yan asked, "Finished?" ”

"That's it."

Liu Yan pondered, Yang Sichang has already shown full sincerity in this matter, whether he goes or not, the court will order the requisition, and most of Lu Duchen's side can't count on it, and he won't help him disobey.

"What we can do now is to delay as much time as possible and try our best to get more benefits."

After this expansion, the military spending of the new army can be described as skyrocketing, and the income of the workshop of 380,000 taels is also a little stretched, so Liu Yan is ready to open his mouth widely, no matter whether he goes or not, he must first let Yang Sichang bleed.

"Since Elder Yang Ge is so sincere, General Ben will have something to say directly. Are you just doing the Lord? Or do you need to go back and ask Elder Yang Ge in person? ”

Zhang Huan said: "General Liu is bold, please rest assured that General Liu has a word first, as long as General Liu's request does not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, you can agree to it in the next place, and then go directly to Jingshi from here, where there are loyal and upright ministers in the DPRK and China." ”

"Yo-he!"

Liu Yan smiled secretly in his heart: "What a big breath! ”

Immediately, Liu Yan paused and said: "First, please ask Elder Yang Ge to allocate money and grain for the Shandong garrison, the amount is the sum of the military salaries owed in the past ten years." ”

Zhang Huan said with a smile: "Yes, the arrears of the military salary of the Shandong garrison are actually not much, and it is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in ten years, and the imperial court can still afford it." ”

"Second, when General Ben led his troops south, not only could he take the money and grain from the state and county treasury along the way, but also the squires, wealthy households, officials and businessmen along the way, and he would not be held accountable afterwards!"

Joke!

Now that the south has been turned upside down by Zhang Xianzhong and others, how much grain can there be in the treasury of the government? When the time comes, when you open it and see that it is all empty, where can you reason?

Zhang Huan frowned slightly and said, "There are too many involved in this matter, but with Yang Ge's relationship, it should also be able to dredge." This can be done. ”

Liu Yan said with a smile: "Third, General Ben has just expanded the new army recently, and there are 30,000 soldiers under his command, including 10,000 cavalry, and he needs a lot of money, food, and materials. Therefore, please ask Yang Ge Lao to find a way to raise the money, food and materials needed for half a year for the soldiers of our army, which is equivalent to 500,000 taels of silver and 200,000 stones of grain and grass! ”

At this time, Zhang Huan also made a difficulty, and Liu Yan asked for millions of taels of silver in materials, and the court would definitely not be able to take it out.

"General Liu, the imperial court also has difficulties, can you ...... the third condition?"

Liu Yan waved his hand and said: "The Son of Heaven is not short of hungry soldiers, there is no money and food, how can my soldiers run for more than 2,000 miles?" ”

Zhang Huan stood there with his head bowed and pondered, but there was no good way to think about it.

Seeing this, Liu Yan smiled and said: "I don't think it's as good as this, if the imperial court really can't come up with money and grain, it can also be offset with material discounts." ”

"How?"

"There are many good things in Jingshi, such as artillery, craftsmen, high-grade iron materials, etc., and Yang Ge Lao can use these discounts to offset money and grain. However, I can say in advance that even if I use these offsets, the money and grain I get cannot be less than sixty percent, and the materials used to offset the money and grain must also be transported along with the money and grain. ”

Liu Yan said with a smile: "To put it bluntly, General Ben is a miser, he doesn't send troops if he doesn't see money and food, you'd better move quickly, so as not to delay the military plane." ”

Zhang Huan was suddenly very anxious, and after clasping his fists and saluting, he turned around and left, leaving the General's Mansion in a hurry.

After another ten days, Yang Sichang, who had been waiting for the fire to be put on the house, finally received the news sent by Zhang Huan, and learned that the three conditions put forward by Liu Yan had basically been completed, and the Donglin party in the DPRK was very powerful and cooperative.

So Yang Sichang breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately wrote a note, sent a fast horse to Jingshi, and asked Emperor Chongzhen to send additional reinforcements.

Some people died, but not completely......