weaving

The troops of the Xuanfu under Yongningbo Zhang Cheng stayed around Ningyuan City for ten days, but there was still no movement from the Qing army. Finally, at the urging of the eunuch Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua, they led the army out of Shanhaiguan and returned to Xuanguan. government.

The wounded soldiers of the Xuanfu Army had already gone to the capital with the artillery battalion of the Shenji Battalion before. After all, there were so many cannons in the Shenji Battalion and their movements were slow, so they moved first.

It was precisely because of his slow marching, and because he was a soldier of the Beijing camp, with sufficient and timely supplies, that Zhang Cheng specially ordered Wei Zhice to lead the car camp and go back to Beijing with him, and the wounded soldiers of the Xuanfu army were in the car camp. among.

Two days ago, almost all the battalions of the Xuanfu army pulled out their camps. They formed a strict army formation, sang loud and clear military songs, and marched towards Shanhaiguan with arrogance and arrogance.

From today's hour, Guo Yingxian, the veteran general of the Xuanfu, led the army of the Supervising Biao Battalion and the Left Wing Battalion to march out. Looking at the soldiers of the Xuanfu Army who were drifting away, Zhang Cheng was filled with emotion again.

This time I led the army to aid Liao, it lasted for seven months, and there were nearly [-] casualties. I only won an earl for myself. I really don't know if it is worth it?
However, this trip to Liaodong was not just about using the lives of thousands of soldiers to win the title of Bo Yongning for Zhang Cheng. The most important thing was to fully prove the strength of the Xuanfu army through this really tough battle. .

Eunuch Wang Cheng'en, Supervisor of Rites and Bingbi, was also standing on the city wall. He looked at the Xuanfu army slowly heading west, and said to Zhang Cheng, "Uncle Yongning, what are you thinking at this moment?"

Zhang Cheng turned around, smiled and clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, this uncle is thinking, if the slave chieftain Hong Tai was able to be killed in one fell swoop last time, the slaves and thieves will surely fall apart, and the various forces will continue to fight for power and profit. If this is the case, the Liao affairs will be safe."

As he spoke, he turned his head, looked in the direction of the Daming capital, and said: "At that time, I will be free to gather the best soldiers and generals from all over the world, and gather in Yu Province. Don't worry about the bandits not being wiped out, the rivers and rivers not being calm, and the people not being at peace. ?”

Wang Chengen raised his hand with a very gentle expression, habitually stroked his bald chin a few times, and then said to Zhang Cheng in a kind tone: "Bo Yongning is loyal to the king's affairs, and he is worried about his family and country. He is really the king of the country." pillars."

As he said that, he turned his head to look at the capital, bowed and cupped his fists with tears in his eyes, and said with tears in his eyes: "The emperor really saw the right person!"

At this moment, seeing Wang Chengen's sincere performance, Zhang Cheng felt a fleeting touch in his heart. If he hadn't been a man in two lifetimes, Zhang Cheng would have really sold his life to Huangming Zhu's family because of this.

Fang Zhenghua, the internal supervisor who came to pass the decree, had already been guarded by the big Han generals of the Beijing camp a few days ago, and returned to the capital to report to Emperor Chongzhen. Only Wang Chengen and Zhang Ruoqi were still sitting in Liaodong.

At this time, Zhang Ruoqi interjected: "Uncle Yongning is loyal to the emperor, and the world can learn from it. He is indeed much better than many rotten scholars who have read the books of sages."

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and he went on to say: "If my Ming Dynasty can have fewer rotten Confucians with a decent face and more loyal pillars like Uncle Yongning for the country, why worry about captive cavalry coming and attacking, why worry about the bandits not being wiped out!"

When Zhang Cheng saw this, he knew that Zhang Ruoqi was deliberately boasting about himself, but he was also afraid that his words would go too far, so he immediately said: "I am really ashamed of Zhang Jianjun's words.

As ministers, we should be loyal to the king's affairs and share the worries for His Majesty.This is our duty, and I really dare not accept such a beautiful word from Director Zhang. "

Wang Chengen was obviously very satisfied with Zhang Cheng's performance of taking credit for his credit, and in his opinion, Zhang Cheng was not putting on airs, he did as he said, devoted himself to the emperor's order, and did not flinch in the face of danger, which is indeed rare.

Immediately said to him: "Our family will be sent here today, I wish Uncle Yongning a smooth journey back. When we return to Beijing, we will visit Uncle Yongning at the mansion."

"Wang Gonggong really broke Zhang Cheng with his speech like this."

Zhang Cheng hastily clasped his fists to salute, and said again: "Thanks to the prince for not giving up, Zhang Cheng will definitely wait for the prince's triumphant return in Beijing, and then he will definitely go to visit and learn personally."

After Zhang Cheng bid farewell to Wang Chengen and Zhang Ruoqi, he led the Tiger Guards army, accompanied by Wang Pu, Li Fuming, and Chen Jiugao, and hurried towards Shanhaiguan.

…………

At the beginning of October in the 14th year of Chongzhen, when more than [-] troops from the Ming and Qing Dynasties fought fiercely on the banks of the Xiaoling River in the south of Jinzhou City, trespassers were also raging in the land of Zhongzhou, Henan Province, and there were also continuous battles.

Generals "One Tiger" Li Guo and "Two Tigers" Liu Tichun under Chuangjun's command had already killed the Governor of the Three Sides of the Ming Dynasty outside Xiangcheng and Master Zonglong, and returned to the camp of Chuangjun.

The Allied Army of Chuangcao was worried that Zuo Liangyu, the commander-in-chief of the governor and Tongzhi, would attack. The horses stood still in the Guangshan, Yingshan, and Qichun areas.

Seeing that Zuo Liangyu was so timid in fighting, Li Zicheng's heart grew stronger, and he began to plan with "Cao Cao" Luo Rucai to attack Kaifengfu City again.

In the first ten days of October, when the fierce battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties outside Jinzhou City in Liaodong was in full swing, the Chuangcao Allied Forces had already crossed Xiangcheng and did not attack. They suddenly attacked Xihua, Fugou and other counties in succession in the north, and it seemed that Kaifeng was about to besieged immediately. Potential.

But at the time when King Zhu Gongzun of Zhou in Kaifeng City, Censor of Youqin Capital, Governor Gao Mingheng of Kaifeng, and officials below Chen Yongfu, General Soldier of Henan Province, were worried and preparing for the war, Chuang Cao's army suddenly turned to move southwest.

Insurgent Li Zicheng also sent people around to spread rumors, saying that the bandit army had adopted the strategist Song Xiance's strategy and wanted to divide his troops into two groups to attack Nanyang City first, and then go back to his hometown in Shaanxi through Dengzhou and Xixiakou, breaking Shangzhou and taking Xi'an.

Sure enough, after the Chuangcao Allied Forces attacked Wuyang County, they split into two groups.

All the way, Cao's soldiers and horses took advantage of the trend and went south, passed Yuzhou, and went to Bowang. The rangers actually appeared on the bank of the Baihe River more than ten miles away from the eastern suburbs of Nanyang City, spying on the Nanyang city defense.

The other way is for the Chuangjun to go northwest and attack Ye County to supplement the grain needed by the army.

At the same time, Li Zicheng, in the name of "Fengtian Advocating Justice, Civil and Military Marshal", sent letters to various states and counties near Nanyang, telling local officials and gentry, etc., that those who surrendered to the city would continue to work as usual, and the common people, regardless of poverty If you are rich, you can live in peace and prosperity as usual.

"However, if anyone dares to resist and refuse to surrender, he will be slaughtered!"

Ye County, known as Kunyang in ancient times, is located at the north entrance of the Nanxiang pass. The famous "Battle of Kunyang" in history took place here. From then on, 120 miles south is Yuzhou, and there is a place in the middle It is called Baodian, and it is sixty miles away from Ye County and Yuzhou.

Twenty miles southwest of Baodian, there is a small village with only about [-] households. Because there is only a single big tree next to the main street of this village, people habitually call this place Dushu.

In the area of ​​Baodian and Dushu, there are continuous rolling hills, dilapidated villages, sparsely populated areas, weeds everywhere, foxes and rabbits in groups, it is a desolate scene.

Now, however, there is a large army gathering, and the main forces of the old battalion of Chuangying and Caoying are all stationed here, about four or five miles apart, and set up their camps separately.

Less than ten miles away from the city of Ye County, Liu Ye, the general sentry of the Chuangjun Battalion, led a group of soldiers and horses to station here. He was commanding "a tiger" Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi, and Cao Ying's general Sun Shengzu to step up their efforts. Wai Da Ye County.

At this moment, the firearms battalion led by Zhang Nai had already arrived outside the city, and the artillery positions were all installed, but the siege had not yet begun, and was waiting for the arrival of Chuang Wang Li Zicheng and Cao Cao Luo Rucai.

Within a few miles around Ye County, there are barracks everywhere, like a star dotted with chess and cards. At this time, the deputy commander-in-chief Liu Guoneng is in charge of the city defense. Mobilize all manpower and material resources in the city to arrange defense matters.

Liu Guoneng, a native of Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province, was originally one of the heads of the rogues, nicknamed "Chuangshatian". He seemed to have read some books and knew some characters, and he was quite famous among the rogues.

There was a severe drought in Shaanxi in the early years, and the people were in dire straits. For some reason, Liu Guoneng rose up almost at the same time as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui and other thirteen thieves from the 72nd Battalion gathered in Xingyang, Henan, and Liu Guoneng was already one of the most powerful bandits.

Liu Guoneng is still a very filial son. He took his mother with him when he started the rebellion. He has never been separated, and he is filial to him every day.

Although his mother was born in the countryside and could not read much, she was a very assertive and upright old man, and Liu Guoneng's mother had almost the same problems as Yue Fei's mother and Song Jiang's father.

That is, she has been heavily influenced by the mainstream "loyalty and filial piety" thought of this era. She always educates her son, hoping that he can serve the court, contribute to the country, and add luster to the ancestors, instead of being a thief who ruined the reputation of the ancestors.

Therefore, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, Liu Guoneng, who had always had a rift with Zhang Xianzhong and was always worried about being annexed by him, finally comforted Xiong Wencan, the governor of the five provinces in Suizhou, who was in charge of suppressing bandits.

When Liu Guoneng took the initiative to express to Xiong Wencan when he was in charge, "The foolish people have been trapped in injustice for ten years, and Mr. Lai has been washed and reborn. I hope that all of you will join the army and do your best under the command."

It can be seen from this that Liu Guoneng was really cared for by the court, and Xiong Wencan was also overjoyed when he heard the words. He comforted Liu Guoneng and won him the post of garrison, making him temporarily under Zuo Liangyu's command.

From then on, Liu Guoneng began to be restrained by the imperial court, and he joined the army to conquer bandits and bandits from all over the country.

Later, he was ordered to attack the bandits Li Wanqing's troops, and took them under his command. He led Li Wanqing and others to attack Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits who had rebelled, and stationed in Yunyang.

But now, the cavalry who broke into Cao's bandit army moved around Ye County every day, almost completely sealing off the entire battlefield, and they even went as far as Xiangcheng and Lushan to check.

Soon, the thieves began to besiege Ye County from all sides, and saw the "rumble" of guns and shouts and roars one after another.

Chuang Wang Li Zicheng and Cao Cao Luo Rucai stood on a high ground in the southwest of Ye County and talked for a while while observing the bandit army attacking the city.

Li Zicheng asked Luo Rucai to try his best to persuade Liu Guoneng to return to the side of the bandits as soon as possible, lest the soldiers on both sides be killed or injured innocently in the siege battle, and the people in the city would be harmed.

Luo Rucai agreed very readily, and he told Li Zicheng that he would call Liu Guoneng to the top of the city to speak at the right time, and then act accordingly, trying to pull him back to the side of the bandit army.

Although the words were very straightforward, Luo Rucai really didn't want to meet Liu Guoneng again in his heart. Apart from some suspicions when they were thieves together, the main reason was that he was afraid that things would change in the future, which made Li Zicheng suspicious of himself.

After Luo Ru got on his horse and led the soldiers and generals away, Wu Ruyi, Li Zicheng's general, asked King Chuang in a low voice, "Generalissimo, I'm still a little worried. If Cao Shuai goes alone, will he send Liu Guoneng this way without permission?" Are you going to let me go?"

Wu Ruyi's eyes were full of doubts and worries, and he continued: "The two of them are also sworn brothers, and they are very friendly here!"

Chuang Wang Li Zicheng rolled his eyes when he heard the words, and then said indifferently: "No. You have never mentioned the matter of Manao Mountain, but you hate it very much. You must not let Liu Guoneng go."

However, having said that, on the way back to the military tent, Li Zicheng couldn't help but have doubts: "Really, you will not let him go secretly..."

…………

The rumble of cannons outside the city has gradually stopped, and it seems that today's siege has come to an end, and the soldiers on both sides are taking turns to eat.

There used to be a small earthen city outside the south city of Ye County, which was first occupied by the bandits, and there was also a small earthen city outside the north city, which was also captured by the bandits the day before yesterday.

Now, all the officers and soldiers led by Liu Guoneng have retreated to the brick city. After he accepted the consolation, the more than [-] bandit soldiers under his command were dispersed among the officers and soldiers of each battalion by Xiong Wencan. There are more than [-] elite soldiers.

So he didn't have enough strength at all to organize a counterattack out of the city, so he could barely defend Ye County and wait for reinforcements.

From time to time, some people in the bandit army called out to the soldiers and civilians defending the city. They persuaded Liu Guoneng and his subordinates not to sacrifice their lives for the dog court, but to attack the city together when they came back.

He even loudly persuaded the army and civilians in the city to tie Liu Guoneng to surrender as soon as possible so that he could avoid being slaughtered. Otherwise, once the bandits broke through Ye County, it would be the wealthy gentry and common people in the city who would suffer.

A group of more than ten soldiers with loud voices stood on the Tucheng outside the south gate, yelling at the soldiers and civilians on the wall, and some even ran out of the Tucheng, and went all the way to the edge of the moat, shouting loudly. .

The soldiers and civilians on the city wall neither fired artillery nor fired arrows. Sometimes when they saw that Liu Guoneng's soldiers were not nearby, they would stick out their heads one by one to look at the bandit soldiers outside the city.

Some of them were so courageous that they even talked to and chatted with the bandit soldiers outside the city.