A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 382

Of course, these scattered heroes can be recruited, but the crockpots, Yidougu and others who originally took refuge in Li Zicheng have a large number of followers, and Li Zicheng dare not act rashly against them.

And now there are more and more subordinates under his command, and he no longer relies on Yidougu and others to attack cities and conquer territories.In just a few months, everyone in Yidou Valley has tended to be marginalized in the army.For example, when discussing military affairs, crockpots, and Yidougu people are not included in Li Zicheng's invitation.

The city wall of Yongning has been flattened, but there are crowds of people coming and going inside and outside the city. Along the outskirts of the city, various shacks and camps seem to spread to the sky, and the banner with the word "Chuang" is densely covered.

Longtoushan is not far from the county seat, and there is a Yumen River nearby.According to legend, it was the mountain gate that Dayu split open when he was controlling the water, allowing the flood to flow into the Luohe River.In order to thank Dayu, the local people named the river Yumen River and built temples.

Now this temple has gone through many years, and there are many ancient and famous trees in the courtyard, in front of the house and behind the house, all of which are luxuriant and full of vitality.This temple and its vicinity are where Li Zicheng's battalion is located, and there are elite cavalry from the old battalion coming and going.

A large flag several feet high stands in front of the temple gate. The flag tassel is snow-white, but it is made of horsehair.The flag gun is silver, but it is made of silver.The flag billowed in the cold wind, revealing a large Chinese character "Chuang", but it was embroidered with black satin.

The temple is located on the mountain, and the Yumen River is at the foot of the mountain. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the surrounding scenery is in sight.Li Zicheng's residence is located here. Although there is the mansion of King Wan'an in Yongning City, Li Zicheng does not live there, but Niu Jinxing persuaded him to follow the example of Han Gaozu's intention of not leaving the Qin Palace to rest in Xianyang.

The temple is spacious, and there are several pots of charcoal fire burning in the hall, surrounded by the charcoal fire, the hall is full of people, talking about something.

The head is a middle-aged man wearing a blue arrow jacket, a white felt hat with red tassels on his head, a big red cloak, and a sword hanging from his waist.The middle-aged man's arrow jacket and cloak are quite worn out, and the red tassels on the felt hat are also quite scattered. He sits in the main seat and does not move for a long time. All flashed.

The middle-aged man was in his thirties, with high cheekbones, high nose and deep eyes, and a thick beard. His appearance seemed a bit un-Han.That's right, this person is Li Zicheng, the leader of the Chuang army, who was known as Chuang Wang at that time.It is said that he is a descendant of Dangxiang. In history, after Li Zicheng founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, he also took Li Jiqian, a member of Dangxiang, as the ancestor.
Strictly speaking, Li Zicheng and Li Jiqian couldn't match each other. Such a move was only out of the mentality of "recognizing an ancestor" and "my ancestor was also richer".However, Li Zicheng's behavior only shows one problem, he does not consider himself a Han Chinese.

Although Han civilization is a concept of culture and identity, with this identity, even a blond and blue-eyed red hair can be considered a Han.Without this recognition, even a purebred Han descendant can consider him a Yidi.It doesn't matter how you look, the actual sense of identity can prove everything.

Sitting below Li Zicheng are the generals of the Chuang army, including Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Li Guo, Li Shuangxi, Gao Yigong, Yuan Zongdi, Zhang Nai, Hao Yaoqi, Tian Jianxiu and others. He was a well-known figure at this time, and the government hated him deeply, and wanted to get rid of him quickly.

Next to Li Zicheng, there were several literati sitting on the left and right sides. One of them was as short as a boy, with a narrow and long face, and his appearance was very ugly. He looked like a ghost at first sight.He was limping and had a cane by his seat.A Taoist robe was worn on his body and it was empty. At this moment, the man was sitting upright, his eyes seemed to be closed but not closed.

This man was none other than Song Xiance, a quack warlock who took refuge in Li Zicheng not long ago. Because of his short stature, he was called "Song Boy" in the army.Although he looks weird, but people with weird looks, as long as they have the ability, others will beautify them as "born with a different appearance".

There have been many people with "different phases" in history who have succeeded a lot. In addition, Song Xiance was highly regarded by Li Zicheng, and no one in the Chuang army dared to underestimate him.

Sitting below him was a literati in his late forties, with a long beard and a clear face. He wore a square scarf on his head, a green robe in the style of a Ming Juren, and felt boots with powder soles.Touching his long beard from time to time, he looks like he has pearls on his chest, and looks at everyone with a smile from time to time.

This person is also Niu Jinxing, a Juren of the Lu family who had joined Li Zicheng not long ago, and Li Zicheng was very happy to have a Juren of the Ming Dynasty join him.Not only does he value Niu Jinxing very much, but he also intends to marry his daughter to him.

Opposite Niu Jinxing, there is also a man dressed as a literati sitting in his twenties, with a face like a crown jade, his hair neatly tied behind his head with a hair scarf, and he is also wearing the green robe and scarf of a great Ming Juren.He was sitting with a smile, and he had a gentle and jade-like temperament, which seemed to make people feel like a spring breeze when they saw it.

This person is Li Yan, and his father is said to be Li Jingbai, the old minister, a man from Qixian County, who once gave out a thousand stones to help the hungry people, and the folks call him "Mr. Li".He and his elder brother Li Mou surrendered to Li Zicheng.As if Li Zicheng had found a treasure, he immediately entrusted him with it.

Li Yan also lived up to expectations, and helped Li Zicheng to enforce military discipline, compiled a series of ballads, and put forward slogans such as "equal land and no grain", so that the Chuang army grew rapidly.

At this time, Li Yan sat smiling, like a clear spring among the many vulgar rogues.He joined the Chuangjun because he was disappointed with the Ming Dynasty and hoped to meet the Ming Lord, so as to realize the idea that if he is poor, he will be alone, and if he is rich, he will benefit the world and restore the way of the king.

In fact, Li Yan is also a humble gentleman, he is kind to others, and gets along well with all the generals and generals of the Chuang army.At this time, he was mainly responsible for the relief of the hungry people, and he was quite popular among the poor people who received relief.

But for Li Yan, Li Zicheng had other plans to reuse him, because he saw Li Yan's ability to use literature and martial arts.Indeed, in history, Li Yan was named the deputy general of the Zhongying, Yuehou, second only to Liu Zongmin.Chuangjun regards military merits as the most respected, and his military talent cannot be denied, so he is arbitrarily regarded as a weak scholar.

……

A crowd of Chuangjun generals sat in the hall, and their conversations were full of Qin accents. When talking about military affairs, they mainly discussed among the Chuangjun generals.

For Li Zicheng, although he attached great importance to Niu Jinxing and others, he didn't care about their military strategy on paper. When it came to fighting, his instinctive experience gained from years of bloody battles was much better than these boastful literati.

He used Niu Jinxing mainly for the consideration of managing logistics, formulating rules and regulations, attracting people's hearts, and recruiting talents.

The same is true for Song Xiance, a charlatan who specializes in fortune-telling and divination. After joining the camp, he did not have any outstanding military insights.His military talent is not even as good as his subordinates, Liu Fangliang, Zhang Nai, Tian Jianxiu, and Yuan Zongdi's generals.

However, this cripple, who is less than three feet tall, is proficient in Liuren Qimen escape method, as well as prophecy and mathematics, especially in feudal superstition.As soon as they met, they counted out of their sleeves: "Eighteen children, be the master's artifact."

Li Zicheng was overjoyed at that time, which meant that Li's family should be prosperous, he was appointed by heaven, and he had the appearance of an emperor.

It seems that for thousands of years in China, when a generation of heroes is born, there will always be some auspicious prophecies, which are the precursors of hegemony. Except for the Ming Taizu who insisted that he was born as a beggar, the rest of the people are convinced. Li Zicheng of course in this way.

After the prophecy came out, Li Zicheng believed that he was favored by God, given by God, and would be invincible in the future.Facts have also proved this. Every time Song Xiance made divination to predict the outcome, his army always attacked the city without any disadvantage.

Therefore, Song Xiance became Li Zicheng's very important military adviser, and he always took him with him to ask for advice, and he believed in him like a god.

Brother Li Yan thought that since he had just arrived, it was not good for him to dictate the affairs of the army, and he was mainly silent, so these literati were of little use in the military at this time.

The one who spoke at this time was General Yuan Zongdi, because he was mainly responsible for the attack on Luoyang.

"Luoyang City is not easy to fight. The city is nine miles around and the walls are four feet high, all covered with big green bricks. Every city gate has a urn city, and there are towers on the gate. There are 39 enemy towers in the whole city. There are countless faces. There is also a moat outside the city, which is five feet deep and three feet wide, and it is very difficult to collapse because of the water from the Dang River."

"The officers and soldiers in the city have already begun to defend. They have transported a lot of large bluestones from the Luoshui river beach and piled them in the city as a backup for rolling wood and stones. The patrolling and courage training in Luoyang city has also increased. Men and women under the age of 15 must guard the city. All the chiefs and chiefs of the villages in the city are recruited, and they are divided into pieces, and the walls are all divided into guard zones with white ash."

"There are many large and small cannons in the city, more than a hundred. According to our careful investigation, there are eight cannons of the Shenwei Invincible General in the city, and each city gate has two. There are also several Shenwei General Hongyi guns. , all the cannons weighing ten catties..."

There was a glimmer of gloom in Liu Fangliang's eyes, and he could also feel that many people in the field were looking at him.

Yuan Zongdi continued: "The city is so strong, and the protection of the officers and soldiers is also strong. I am afraid it will be difficult to attack the city. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, I and other rebels followed King Gao Chuang to attack Luoyang. 10,000+ people surrounded several God, I couldn't win in the end..."

There was silence in the hall for a while. In November of the eighth year of Chongzhen, most of you present followed Gao Yingxiang to attack Luoyang Jiancheng, but failed in the end.Coupled with the arrival of reinforcements from the government and army, Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng saw that it was difficult to win, so they led the army and fled.In the autumn of the following year, Gao Yingxiang was arrested in Shaanxi and executed Ling Chi.

This lesson is unforgettable, and it is best not to repeat the same mistakes this time.

Yuan Zongdi said again: "It is reported that Luoyang officers and soldiers guard the city. The dog officer Wang Yinchang guards the Ruiguang Gate in the west, the commander-in-chief Wang Shaoyu guards the Gongchen Gate in the north, and the guerrilla Liu Jianyi guards the Changchun Gate in the east. Luo Tai is guarding Dong Fengmen in the south. There are reinforcements coming in one after another, especially Chen Yongfu, the deputy general of Kaifeng city guard, and the troops of guest general Wang Dou have already arrived in Luoyang..."

The hall was even more quiet. After a long time, Li Zicheng said to Liu Fangliang: "Ming Yuan, please tell all the brothers about the matter of Wang Dou's army and horses."

(End of this chapter)