weaving

Chapter 1220 Li Zicheng’s Hypocrisy

"Tong Shoushan, you just said that the one who ambushed Hao Yaoqi was not Hu Dawei, so which government army was it? Do you know?"

Facing the question from the King of Rebellion, Tong Shoushan said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face: "Grand Marshal, Shoushan is incompetent and has not captured a single prisoner to interrogate."

However, he immediately added: "But looking at their uniforms and weapons, they look very similar to the group of government scouts that suddenly appeared to our north not long ago."

"Oh……"

This time, it was Liu Zongmin who asked again: "Are you talking about the border troops from Xuanfu?"

"Yes. If the master hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it."

Tong Shoushan replied with certainty: "Their armor is shiny, and everyone has that... that hand cannon, which makes a loud bang when you raise your hand. It's much more powerful than the three-barreled gun I used before."

He added at the end: "Also, judging from the accents of these bandits, they are definitely from Xuanfu."

Liu Zongmin stopped asking questions after hearing this, and turned to look at Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion. They all had a common question in their minds: What kind of person is Zhang Cheng, and how did his elite cavalry suddenly appear near Chenliu? Is there any conspiracy here?

"Hey. That's right."

Liu Tichun, the general who led Tong Shoushan, defended him and said, "No wonder you and Yaoqi suffered such a big loss. Those night warriors from Xuanda in the north are really hard to deal with. Our scouts are all suppressed two or three miles outside the camp and can't travel far."

King Chuang also said: "Shoushan, you fought very well in this battle, very well."

Li Zicheng's eyes were full of expectation, and he continued, "It's not your fault for waving the flag. It's all because of his eagerness for success, he underestimated the government troops, and rushed forward rashly, which led to this outcome.

You first broke into the government army camp, and then chased the enemy for nearly a hundred miles. You have been fighting for days without stopping for a moment, and you must be exhausted. Go down and take a rest first. I will summon you later and assign you another task."

Tong Shoushan also understood that he was not qualified to stay in the headquarters of the King of Rebellion and participate in the military meeting, so he immediately clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Grand Marshal, Tong Shoushan will take his leave."

…………

"Brother Li, I heard that Brother Yaoqi was captured by the government army. Is this true?" Tong Shoushan had just stepped out of the camp when Luo Rucai stepped in. His voice had arrived before he arrived.

Although Liu Zongmin usually looked down on Hao Yaoqi, they were old brothers who had been thieves together for more than ten years. When he heard the bad news, he felt very heavy and sad.

"Alas. Yaoqi was ambushed by the government troops. Now we don't know whether he is alive or dead."

"Yaoqi is a fierce man by nature, always rushing to the front. I have advised him many times, but he just can't change this bad habit. What happened today is also his fate, and he can't blame anyone. Jiexuan, don't be too sad about this."

Liu Zongmin had never been fond of Luo Rucai, and now when he heard him say this, he couldn't help but glare at him and said, "Yaoqi is my brother. If he really dies in the hands of the government troops, I will chase him to the capital to avenge him. I won't be sympathetic here!"

Li Zicheng was afraid that he would say something more extreme, so he hurriedly changed the subject: "Rucai, you came at the right time. Tong Shoushan brought back news that the people who ambushed and waved flags this time were the Xuan Daming cavalry who were originally in the north."

They had always thought that the government troops to the north of Zhuxian Town were all border troops recruited from the three towns of Xuanda, so they had always called them the Xuanda Border Troops, not knowing that they were actually just the Yongyi Army of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng.

"Oh!"

Luo Rucai showed a surprised expression on his face and said, "Brother Li, this is an opportunity."

…………

King Chuang naturally knew what he meant by "opportunity", but after conquering Luoyang, his behavior had changed a lot and was very different from before.

First, he rarely speaks up, although he used to let everyone speak freely and then make his own judgment based on everyone's ideas, but now it is completely different from before. He often says nothing, only occasionally interjecting a word or two, and he will not make a decision on the spot. He always discusses with a few people such as Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Liu Zongmin before making the final decision.

Second, if someone made a suggestion to him, he would not give a direct and clear answer as quickly as before. He would often just brush it off at the time and never mention it again, and then let it go. For example, the last time Li Yan suggested to him that he pursue Zuo Liangyu, seize Xiangyang Prefecture, and use it as a foundation to set up officials to govern the people.

Third, Li Zicheng began to notice his own internal problems. He felt a little uncomfortable with Liu Zongmin's dominance, but after all, they were brothers from the old Eighth Team who had been through life and death together for more than ten years, and Liu Zongmin was the most loyal person to him. She was willing to kill his wife and abandon his children for him, and had become a benchmark for those who followed Li Zicheng. At this time when his prestige was growing, Li Zicheng certainly could not destroy his own reputation.

Therefore, he began to support Tian Jianxiu intentionally or unintentionally. Although he had no intention of replacing Liu Zongmin with Tian Jianxiu, everyone with a discerning eye had already seen King Chuang's intention - to support Tian Jianxiu in order to restrain Liu Zongmin.

It's not that no one had hinted at this, but Liu Zongmin had a very high opinion of himself. He thought that he was the oldest brother who had followed King Chuang the longest and the most loyal one, and that his military exploits and prestige were second only to King Chuang. Therefore, King Chuang would definitely not do anything to him. If he really did something to him, not only would he have no reason to do so, he would also not be able to explain to his other brothers.

As for Tian Jianxiu, he has always been "generous and prudent", and is deeply loved by everyone. Not only is he trusted and valued by King Chuang, but he is also deeply supported by all the generals. However, he has never threatened Liu Zongmin's position as the number one general in Chuangying.

Everyone believed that King Chuang had these changes because of the influence of Niu Jinxing.

But in fact, these changes of Li Zicheng were just the instinctive evolution of a superior after he reached a certain level. As to whether Niu Jinxing played a role or not, it is certain that he accelerated Li Zicheng's evolution.

Listening to Niu Jinxing’s lectures on “Zizhi Tongjian” every day does have some effect!

…………

"The general's intention is..."

Song Xiance naturally understood what Li Zicheng meant. He knew that Li Zicheng was deliberately putting on an attitude of superiority in front of Luo Rucai, so he cooperated and said, "...are you taking advantage of the opportunity when Xuanda's elite cavalry are out to break through to the north and march to Kaifeng?"

"hey-hey……"

Luo Rucai didn't seem to mind that Li Zicheng didn't respond to his words. He grinned and said, "Military Advisor is worthy of being the think tank of the Grand Marshal. How come you guessed my little tricks so quickly!" He turned around and looked at Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, and said with a smile, "Brother Li, we must seize the opportunity when their elite cavalry are out and destroy his camp in one fell swoop. If it's too late, I'm afraid we won't have this opportunity."

Li Zicheng was not in a hurry to reply to Luo Rucai's words, but turned to look at Liu Zongmin and asked him: "Jiexuan, what do you think?"

Luo Rucai didn't seem to mind that Li Zicheng repeatedly avoided talking to him. He looked at Liu Zongmin with a smile, waiting for him to express his opinion.

"I think it's feasible."

Liu Zongmin first expressed his agreement, and then said: "According to what Tong Shoushan said, there are no less than two or three thousand cavalrymen in Banpodian, and all of them are armed with iron cannons. It can be seen that in order to ambush us, the elite cavalrymen of the government army in the north have already been fully deployed.

According to intelligence reports, the number of government troops in the north will not exceed 100,000 at most, and should be around 60,000 to 70,000. According to common sense, excluding about 30% to 40% of miscellaneous servants, their combat troops should be around 40,000 to 50,000. This is still an overestimate. "

His meaning was very clear, and everyone naturally heard it clearly.

Seeing that Liu Zongmin supported his strategy, Luo Rucai flattered his face and said to Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion: "Brother Li, our two camps have 300,000 or 400,000 troops together. Even if everyone spits, we can drown these government troops from Xuanda. At worst, we can attack them day and night, and we can tire them to death."

After hearing his words, Li Zicheng just smiled but did not respond. Instead, he turned his head and looked at the generals in the camp again and asked, "Yufeng, what do you think?"

Although he asked "you guys", any discerning person could see clearly that he was actually asking for Tian Jianxiu's opinion alone.

"Grand Marshal, I also think the general's strategy is feasible."

When Tian Jianxiu spoke, he emphasized the words "Grand Marshal" and "Grand General", as if hinting at something. While speaking, he did not look at Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, but kept staring at Luo Rucai.

He then continued, "But I think... we should not attack Xuan's camp with all our strength. We should send a general to lead a strong force to bypass it from the flank, dig trenches and build camps behind Xuan's camp to threaten them from behind, and attack them from both sides so that they can't defend their camp with peace of mind."

"Yes, Yufeng's suggestion is really great. Why didn't we think of it?"

Luo Rucai first praised Tian Jianxiu's strategy, and then said to Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion: "Grand Marshal, please make a decision quickly, the opportunity cannot be missed!"

Hearing Luo Rucai finally addressing him as "Grand Marshal", Li Zicheng smiled knowingly and said, "Rucai, why else would everyone call you 'Cao Cao'? You are indeed resourceful and resourceful."

He then went on to say: "Having you and Jiexuan by my side has given me a lot more confidence. You are really my arms!"

"Hey hey hey..."

Luo Rucai cursed in his heart with a sneer on his face: Humph, why are you putting on airs in front of me? You just want me to call you the Grand Marshal. Since you want to be superior to me, I will fulfill your fake face first.

However, he could only mutter these words in his heart, but he dared not speak them out loud. He just followed Li Zicheng's words and said, "It is a blessing for us soldiers in Cao's camp to fight side by side with the Grand Marshal. Everyone praised the Grand Marshal's benevolence and said that they would follow the Grand Marshal to the end."

"Really? Really!"

"Of course, of course, of course it's true!"

Luo Rucai finally turned around and asked the military advisor Ji Gui who came with him: "Don't you think so, Lao Ji?"

Ji Gui had actually been cursing Li Zicheng in his heart, but now that Luo Rucai asked him about it, he quickly put on a friendly smile and replied, "Yes, the general is right."

He turned his head and looked at the King of Rebellion, pretending to be very respectful and sincere and said: "The soldiers are all discussing that after we conquer Kaifeng, we will ask the Grand Marshal to be the emperor. Everyone will follow the Grand Marshal to continue conquering the world and become the Grand Marshal's founding heroes."

After hearing this, the smile on Li Zicheng's face instantly disappeared. He waved his hand and said to Ji Gui: "We attacked the prefectures and cities and fought against the government troops in order to let the poor people in the world have land to farm and have enough food to eat. I am satisfied with this. Don't mention anything else."

…………

Although the current King Chuang already has the ambition to "rule the world and become emperor", he will only reveal it in front of a few close confidants such as Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Liu Zongmin, and Tian Jianxiu.

However, he never mentioned this matter in front of other generals who had broken into the camp. Moreover, today Ji Gui actually brought it up in front of so many people. How could he not stop him?

Li Zicheng knew very well that the general situation in the world was still unclear. Not to mention whether the Ming Dynasty had come to an end, it was still uncertain. Just take the various bandit leaders who had rebelled together at the beginning. In addition to Luo Rucai who had joined forces with him, there were also Zhang Xianzhong, Ge Zuo Wuying and other major forces. It was hard to say what they were thinking for the time being.

Even though Li Zicheng is now thriving in Henan, in fact, in his heart, he is not really prepared to compete with Zhu Ming for the world. It can be said that it is still in its infancy.

Moreover, he was also very worried in his heart. Once he clearly expressed his intention to become emperor and rule the world, would Luo Rucai still cooperate with him? Would he be willing to accept his leadership and serve as his subordinate?

So, how would Zhang Xianzhong and the Gezuo Five Camps react? Would they support him to become emperor, or would they regard him as an enemy?

It was precisely because of these strange ideas that Li Zicheng kept silent about his plan to "conquer the world and become emperor" and did not allow the generals and soldiers in the camp to discuss it in private.

That's why his expression changed at this moment and he stopped Jigui from continuing the topic.

Niu Jinxing had the most contact with Li Zicheng since joining the camp and was always by his side. Naturally, he was very clear about his thoughts. Moreover, as his contact with Li Zicheng increased, he was able to keenly capture Li Zicheng's inner thoughts.

"Military Advisor Ji is wrong. The reason we want to start an uprising is to save the poor people of the world and create a world where everyone has land to farm and everyone can have enough food to eat."

Niu Jinxing said, then changed the subject: "As for who will be the emperor after the Ming Dynasty is overthrown, it will naturally be a person of virtue who is elected by everyone. Only in this way can the people of the world be convinced!"