Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 120

In fact, ancient people were very good at swearing, and they didn't need to use a single curse word.

For example, only women and villains are difficult to raise; rotten wood cannot be carved, walls of dung cannot be moved, etc.

Shao Zongyuan, Zhang Luojun and others were all Jinshi, and came to the imperial examination examination room with thousands of troops, so naturally they also had this level of swearing.

However, at this time, the curse was meant to be heard by the army of thieves outside the city. The best way to do it is to use it in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.

The curse words that Lu Yingjiao and other rough guys came up with are very sophisticated.

The army of thieves is all men. Men are most afraid of being said something, but they know it very well.The most important thing is that it's okay if the content of the curse is made up, but once the content of the curse is true, the lethality of the curse will increase linearly.

Li Zicheng's first wife, Han Jin'er, was killed by Li Zicheng for committing adultery with Gai Hu.

Li Zicheng's second wife, Mrs. Xing, was brave and intelligent. She was responsible for managing the army's supplies and food. Later, she had an affair with Gao Jie and surrendered to the court.Among all the traitors, Gao Jie was the most active in suppressing Li Zicheng.

And Li Zicheng had no sons or daughters.

These things are basically public affairs and everyone knows about them.

Therefore, when the Baoding City side cursed such unpleasant words about Li Zicheng, the marching Dashun Army soldiers suddenly turned their heads and looked at the Baoding City side, with angry faces, and wanted to curse back.

But their marching route was far away from the city wall, and they could only hear the curses alone. In Baoding, the whole city was shouting together. This situation was completely one-sided.

If you can't scold someone, it's natural, so let's start a fight.

I saw groups of Dashun Army soldiers breaking away from the marching team and rushing to the head of Baoding City.This is not just the case for ordinary soldiers, but also for the generals leading the army.

You have to take a step back and say, if your lord is so insulted by the enemy, but you act okay, and your lord finds out about it afterwards, will you be misunderstood and say that you don't take your lord seriously at all?

Anyway, as soon as Baoding City started scolding, the long march of the Dashun Army was broken into two sections.Those who had already left in front left, and those who heard the noise behind them rushed to Baoding City.

For a while, they couldn't attack the city, so they stood outside the city and cursed. For a while, Baoding City was so lively!
When Li Zicheng heard the news that there was such a big commotion, his face was as ugly as ever. If he wanted to massacre the city at this time, no one would believe it!

The generals around him all asked him to fight, vowing to capture Baoding and make the people inside pay the price.

Li Zicheng's face changed for a while, and finally he shouted with a gloomy look: "This is Baoding's method of provoking generals. How can we fall into the trap? It is only right for the army to rush to Zhending. Anyone who dares to stay in Baoding will be beheaded if he conveys Gu's will!" "

This choice is a wise one, otherwise one more day of delay on the road will consume one more day of food.Is it possible that defeating Baoding will solve the army's food and fodder problem?
This is clearly not possible!

Li Zicheng had made up his mind, and when the military order was passed down, the soldiers of the Dashun Army had no choice but to return to their troops and resume their journey.

Just like this, it was delayed for another long time.And this is equivalent to being scolded and not speaking back, which is very frustrating.

Originally, Li Zicheng's affairs were a taboo topic among the Dashun Army.But after being scolded by Baoding City, it was tantamount to humiliating him openly, allowing the Dashun Army to get a serious understanding of what their king was like.

When the soldiers of the Dashun Army left Baoding, it was obvious that their morale and morale had dropped significantly.

Even the generals in the army have low morale.

Not only because there was such a commotion in Baoding City, but also because most of their family members did not escape from Zhending City.Now that they have fallen into the hands of the imperial officers and soldiers, based on their status, even if they are not killed, they will definitely be used as human shields by the imperial officers and soldiers later.

But the food and grass in the city are very important, and they must be snatched back. When the time comes, how will we face Zhending City, where our family is used as human shields?

No one mentioned this matter, but anyone with a small family would definitely be worried!

........................

Perhaps because of this concern, the more than 2 cavalry troops led by Liu Zongmin rushed to Zhending's side as quickly as possible.

Although it stopped raining, the ground was still muddy.The horses' hooves stepped on the mud puddles, and the horses were panting from exhaustion. Under normal circumstances, the cavalry would take pity on their horses and quickly let them rest.

However, at this moment, none of the cavalrymen of Dashun Army paid attention to these horses. They were all staring at Zhending City in the distance.

I saw the flag of the imperial court flying on the top of the city, and the imperial officers and soldiers were waiting there. There was no doubt that it belonged to the imperial officers and soldiers.

After confirming this, Liu Zongmin immediately sent a horse to report the news to Li Zicheng.Then he did not get close to Zhending City and sent his cavalry out, blocking the four gates of Zhending from a distance while searching the surrounding areas.

On the top of the city, after seeing this scene, Zhou Yuji asked Emperor Chongzhen to fight: "Your Majesty, the bandit army is scattered. General Mo will lead the cavalry to charge for a while to kill the spirit of the bandit army!"

From what I can see in front of me, there are more than 1 cavalry in the city, and there are only about 5000 rebel cavalry in one direction. If there are more and fewer, there is an advantage under normal circumstances.

I have to say that Zhou Yuji's idea makes sense.Other generals followed suit and asked for battle.

The great victory in Zhending City made them more confident about victory.

However, after observing with clairvoyance, Emperor Chongzhen still shook his head and said: "This bandit army should be the so-called old camp of bandits. They are all veterans. If you lead the troops to fight, they may not fight you. And they have just arrived. , suffocating in my heart. Our army has the advantage of the city wall, and we will lose it without fighting. The advantage is mine!"

He did not dare to say that his ability in ancient warfare was better than Zhou Yuji's, but the most important thing he remembered was that Li Zicheng wanted to fight to the death most, and he, who had enough food and grass, was least afraid of delay.In this case, just stick to the aspects that are most beneficial to you.

Although Zhou Yuji's statement was correct, it would be the icing on the cake if he could give the bandit army a head-on blow.However, there are no absolutes in war. If something goes wrong and you lose instead, the gains will outweigh the losses.

Unless a battle out of the city is extremely necessary, Emperor Chongzhen does not want to waste his own troops.

Hearing that the emperor did not allow it, Zhou Yuji and others felt a little regretful, but they did not persist.

However, Fang Zhenghua stood by and asked, "Long live Lord, do you want to send out the prisoners in the city?"

He was obviously afraid that when the bandits outside the city arrived, the prisoners in the city would get interested and cause trouble.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and shook his head and said: "No need for now. Some of them are old, weak, women and children, and they are just children of thieves and soldiers. Others have also removed their armor and have no weapons. Just be more vigilant. It’s okay. Wait until the main force of the thief army arrives and they are holding their breath to attack the city, then release them. It’s better if they can interrupt the momentum of the thief army!”

After a pause, he added: "Secretly increase the number of troops and watch, as long as there is no trouble."

"Long live the Holy Ming!" Fang Zhenghua heard this and immediately replied respectfully.

Then, he went to arrange for more guards.

Although all the captives in the city were locked in rooms, they had been in the army for many years after all, and many people had heard the news of the arrival of the cavalry.

No, some people guessed with surprise: "Could it be our people who are coming?"

"That's for sure. Counting the time, we should be almost here, right?"

"Then what should we do? We should cooperate inside and outside?"

"..."

After hearing the conversation between his companions, Li Laiheng shouted: "What are you doing, do you want to kill the young and old in the army?"

He is the adopted son of Li Zicheng's nephew, and his status is considered high.After hearing what he said, the others stopped talking and turned to look at him.Li Laiheng looked at them seriously and said, "Do you think the imperial officers and soldiers are stupid and will leave us alone when our people come from outside the city? You were polite to us before, but if you resist, will they be polite again? "

Hearing this, the others came to their senses and fell silent immediately.

"Not to mention, what are you using to resist? You are unarmed and just want to die. Are you going to kill everyone?"

After hearing these words of Li Laiheng, one of his companions asked him: "Our people are here. Will the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty break his promise and harm us all first?"

After hearing this, Li Laiheng thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really had this intention, he would have taken action in the past few days. It's not like he didn't expect that our people would come!"

"That means you will really let us go?"

Hearing this question, Li Laiheng was silent for a moment, and finally hesitated and said: "Look, I hope the Ming Emperor keeps his word!"

If we really want to let them go, it will be equivalent to having [-] more enemies in the court. Others don't know it. As far as Li Laiheng himself is concerned, he will definitely not do it.But it should be okay for the Ming emperor to speak in public, right?
He was not sure about this!

Others were not sure after hearing this!

As a result, time passed slowly in their anxious mood, and there was not much movement outside the city. It was not until the third day that there was finally a big movement.Suddenly, many people speculated that it was time for their main force to arrive.

Thinking of this, they became excited again.

When it was time to eat, I heard the imperial officers and soldiers outside shouting: "Your Majesty has decreed that the army of Li thieves outside the city has arrived, and they will let you go soon. Therefore, at this meal, the old, weak, women and children will have a meal. To prevent accidents, the young man went hungry first."

Hearing this frank voice, Li Laiheng and others were not angry but happy. So, should they really be let out of the city?

This emperor is really smart. He is not afraid that after they leave the city, they will pick up their swords and guns and attack the city again. There will be tens of thousands more people!

At this time, most of the prisoners of Dashun Army had begun to believe that the emperor was an emperor who kept his word.For this reason, they also admired the emperor very much. Anyway, if it were them, they would not be able to do this.As those about to be released, they not only had a good impression of the emperor, but also felt some gratitude.

Outside Zhending City, Li Zicheng's army indeed arrived.

After driving for more than three hundred miles on a muddy road, they were humiliated by Baoding City. The Dashun army was exhausted and had low morale.

In the Chinese army tent that had just set up camp, Li Zicheng was getting angry at the woman: "I trust you so much in vain. I entrusted you with the food, grass, supplies, and the entire army's family, and you actually lost it? You...what are you thinking about?" ?”

This woman is none other than his own daughter-in-law Gao Guiying.After escaping from Zhending City, she fled to Luan City on the other side of Zhending City and was contacted by Liu Zongmin's cavalry. Therefore, she rushed back when Li Zicheng's army arrived.

But she didn't expect that Li Zicheng would not care about her when he saw her, and instead scolded her.

Of course, she herself knew how serious the impact of losing Zhending City would be on the army, so she had no choice but to answer: "It rained heavily that day, and firearms, bows and arrows could not be used. The Ming Emperor even ordered a strong attack. None of the Ming officers and soldiers They all attacked the city like crazy, and even later, the Ming Emperor even threw their elite soldiers on top of the city, so that the city was caught off guard..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Li Zicheng. His anger had already made Li Zicheng's face turn red: "What did you say? The Ming Emperor threw their elite men on top of the city? Why didn't you explain to the Emperor that The city wall was kicked down!"

When the civil and military officers in the Chinese military tent heard the couple quarreling, they all lowered their heads and remained silent.But at this time, they all looked up in surprise and looked at Gao Guiying, feeling that she was fooling Li Zicheng in order to escape guilt.

Unexpectedly, Gao Guiying pointed at Liu Fangliang who was standing behind her and said, "Ask him yourself. He said that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty could still raise artillery. That's why I guessed that the officers and soldiers of the imperial court who could leap to the top of the city should It was thrown up by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty."

Liu Fangliang could not escape at this time, so he could only nod his head in front of Li Zicheng's cannibalistic eyes and said: "Your Highness, it's true. I will see it with my own eyes!"

Hearing him say this, there was a "buzzing" sound in the Zhongjun tent.

"How is this possible? How could the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty be so powerful?"

"Yes, the most powerful person in our army must be Ruhou, right? Ruhou, can you lift the artillery?"

"Then what kind of artillery depends on it, a few hundred kilograms is fine, a few thousand kilograms of artillery, I am not a god in the sky!"

"..."

When Li Zicheng saw the commotion in the Chinese military tent, he immediately slapped the table and made a "pop" sound, which immediately silenced the Chinese military tent.

Afterwards, Li Zicheng stared at Gao Guiying, still with an angry look on his face and said: "No matter how strong the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is, if he loses his true determination, what do you think we should do?"

Gao Guiying had no idea that Li Zicheng had been scolded in a targeted manner by those in Baoding City. Seeing that the woman was very angry, she became angry when she saw Li Zicheng's attitude of asking her about her crime all the time, and immediately replied: "Okay , then please kill the first one who abandons the city and flees, if it hadn’t been for him, he might have been able to get the imperial officers and soldiers out of the city!”

When Li Zicheng heard this, he immediately said angrily: "Who is it? Gu Bi..."

Before he could say the words "engage in military law", Song Xiance winked at him fiercely. Those who didn't know better would have thought there was some ambiguity between them!

When Li Zicheng saw it, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses, and immediately knew who Gao Guiying was talking about.

Suddenly, he couldn't get hard anymore.

He only has one third brother. No matter who he kills, he cannot kill his own third brother!
What should I do? I'm stuck here?

For a moment, Li Zicheng couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

When Song Xiance saw it, he quickly stepped forward to relieve the siege and said to Gao Guiying: "Mother, I wonder what percentage of young soldiers in the army will escape?"

Upon hearing his words, the generals in the Chinese military tent were all diverted.

Because as long as the young families with some status in the army were under the control of Gao Guiying, they were also considered hostages.

Therefore, this matter concerns most people in the Chinese military tent, and they are naturally very concerned about it.

As soon as Gao Guiying heard this, he turned around and looked around at the expectant eyes in the Chinese military tent. He suddenly felt ashamed and clasped his fists and said, "It's my incompetence. The imperial officers and soldiers attacked too fiercely. Most of the people should be... should be……"

I can't say anything anymore, but the meaning is actually very obvious, so there is no need to say anything further.

When most of the generals in the Chinese military tent heard this, they all felt sad.

Gao Guiying was the empress, so they couldn't question her, and it was Li Zicheng's younger brother who escaped first, so they couldn't blame her.If you really want to blame, then you can only blame them for their own bad luck!
In fact, as long as there are old Dashun Army soldiers who have never died, most of them remarried or had children.After all, a few years ago, they themselves were running around, so they didn't care who was with whom!
Even like Liu Zongmin, when he was besieged by the imperial army in the mountains of Brazil and Yuwei, he killed his two wives to show that he had no worries.

However, humans are not grass and trees, so how can they be ruthless? It must be sad for most people to lose their children.

When the Zhongjun tent was silent, Niu Jinxing came in.He hurried to Li Zicheng's place, approached Li Zicheng, and reported in a voice that only Li Zicheng could hear: "Your Highness, the army only has enough food and grass for six or seven days!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng's face turned ugly. He only had six or seven days of food and grass. This would be fatal!
In a hurry, he came up with an idea, and immediately looked seriously at the people in the Chinese army tent and said: "People cannot be resurrected, so please express your condolences. Now, all the troops led by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty are in the city, and there are only 4 horses." . They are so cruel and unscrupulous that they even kill old and weak women and children. They swear that they will repay their debt with blood. Rest today, attack the city tomorrow, and use the emperor of the Ming Dynasty to sacrifice their souls in heaven with blood!"

After hearing this, the generals in the Chinese military tent immediately came out and responded loudly: "Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

With hatred as motivation, let alone the soldiers of the Dashun Army, even if they just arrived at Zhending, they would start working quickly to prepare for the siege the next day.

After seeing this, Li Zicheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

There is a shortage of food and grass, so the best way is to lay down the truth and take back the food, grass and baggage.Now that the morale has been restored, it is finally a plus. The city wall is really not as tall as Baoding, so we have to pay more for the siege. I hope we can defeat it in one go!
(End of this chapter)