Standing next to this big man was a particularly tall horse with a short mane and tail. The horse was covered in dark gray with white spots, and its hair was curly, much like dragon scales. It was a famous black horse.
This big man is tall, with broad shoulders, bulging cheekbones, a plump nose, a high nose bridge, deep eye sockets, thick eyebrows, and a pair of bright, big eyes that are gazing forward and thinking deeply. Such eyes often give people a
With a sense of perseverance, calmness, and wisdom, he is the famous bandit leader Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng was wearing an old white pointed felt hat often worn by northern farmers, with the tip of the hat folded down. Because the weather was not cold at this time, he was not covering anything outside his armor, just a thin
Gray robe. In order to make it easier to take off in the battle that may happen at any time, all the buttons on the robe are loosened and only tied with a belt. There is a bow slung on his back and a handle hanging on his waist.
The sword and a cowhide quiver made of red lacquer and gold, with a dozen or so sharply carved arrows inside. Perhaps in the eyes of later generations, the color of this quiver can only arouse a kind of beautiful imagination, but they don't know that it also contains
The political significance of resolute rebellion against the imperial court.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, stipulated that only the utensils used by the royal family could be decorated with vermilion lacquer and gold, and others were prohibited from using them. In the 26th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang also made strict regulations: the quivers of officers and sergeants were not allowed to be decorated.
It is accurate to use red paint and gold, and those who violate it will be punished by death. However, Li Zicheng has been carrying this quiver since the year he started to rebel. In the past nine years, this quiver has traveled tens of thousands of miles with him, spanning half of the Ming Dynasty, and has gone through many battles.
Some parts of the quiver are worn with sulfur, and some have knife wounds and arrow marks, and almost the entire quiver has lost its color due to the wind, sun, rain, snow, and flying dust over the years.
.
Li Zicheng looked south intently, as if waiting for someone. To the south, across some hills ten miles away, there were faint lights of fire. Looking at these fires, Li Zicheng's eyes showed a trace of melancholy from time to time. He knew that that
It was the officers and soldiers who were setting fire to prevent their own side from taking the opportunity to break out. These days, the encirclement of the officers and soldiers was getting tighter and tighter, and the area where they and their brothers could move was getting smaller and smaller. It seemed that in a few days there would be no place for them to move.
Already.
Just a few days ago, he led his brothers from the old camp to fight He Renlong's men. Although the guy nicknamed "Crazy He" was beaten back in this battle, his old camp also suffered a loss.
There were more than two hundred people. This loss made Li Zicheng feel heartbroken and bleed.
The men and horses in the old camp are the best among his own elite. They are all old brothers who have been with him for more than three years. The number has never exceeded 3,000. Even one casualty makes him feel distressed. This time, more than 200 casualties were enough.
Make him vomit blood.
A young soldier slowly walked up to Li Zicheng and said softly: "King Chuang, the night is already dark. You should go back and rest first. If you can trust me, I will wait here for you, General Shuangxi."
Li Zicheng turned around and said with a hearty smile: "Forget it, that kid from Shuangxi took a huge risk to inquire about the situation. What's the point of waiting for him here? Let's just wait."
"Yes!" Seeing that King Chuang had made up his mind, the soldier did not dare to persuade him any more, so he had to retreat.
Another half hour passed, and the sound of horse hooves came from the south, getting closer and closer. Then a small group of people and horses appeared outside the sparse bushes, galloping towards me under the moonlight.
"King Chuang, General Shuangxi is back." The soldiers in front shouted in surprise.
Soon, this group of cavalry arrived in front of Li Zicheng, led by a young knight about 20 years old. There were two bloody human heads hanging next to the saddle, which kept shaking as the horses ran.
They came to the hillside. The leading young knight dismounted and walked to Li Zicheng, knelt down and clasped his fists, saying, "My child has seen his father."
"Good boy, get up quickly, do we two still need this trick?" Li Zicheng helped the young knight up, looked at it carefully and said with a smile: "Very good, the guys are all still there, nothing is missing.
thing."
The knight touched his head and smiled honestly, "Thank you for your trouble, dad. The child is fine."
This young knight is Li Zicheng's adopted son Li Shuangxi, who has always been famous for his bravery in King Chuang's army.
Seeing that his adopted son was fine, Li Zicheng was relieved and asked: "Double Happiness, what did you gain from this visit?"
Li Shuangxi smiled softly, "It's nothing, I just killed a few blind dog thieves, and I also got some information along the way."
After finishing speaking, Li Shuangxi took out a notice from his arms and handed it to Li Zicheng. After Li Zicheng took it, he saw that there was a human head painted on it, which was slightly similar to the soldier's appearance, and the song "Moon on the West River" was written below:
This is Li Chuang, the traitor, and now the dog is dying.
Things ran away in a hurry.
Heavenly soldiers from all over caught up.
Cast a dragnet and let him have nowhere to hide.
Soldiers and civilians were tied up to surrender, and they were given jade belts and brocade clothes to reward him.
Behind the song "Moon over Xijiang" are written Li Zicheng's name, age, place of origin, appearance and characteristics, as well as different rewards for being captured alive or killed.
Li Zicheng looked at it and laughed contemptuously. His laughter became louder and louder, shaking several mice out of the surrounding bushes.
Li Shuangxi waited until Li Zicheng had laughed enough, and then continued: "Dad, I also heard some good news. That dog officer Sun Chuanting is about to withdraw from the army."
"Oh, is it true?" Li Zicheng was overjoyed. He couldn't help but grab Li Shuangxi's lapels with both hands and asked in surprise, "Is that thief Sun Chuanting really going to retreat?"
"Yes, it's absolutely true." Li Shuangxi's eyes also lit up with joy, "My child has already found out. Yesterday, the dog official Hong Chengchou came to Tongguan. I don't know what he discussed with the dog thief Sun Chuanting. From today on
, the people and horses surrounding us have gradually withdrawn and started to drive towards the capital. After grabbing a few tongues and asking, I found out that the dog officer Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Xuanda, was beaten to death by the Tatars in Julu a few days ago.
Now that the capital is empty, the emperor in the Forbidden City is afraid of death, so he hastily transferred Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting and others to the capital to protect himself."
"Okay, okay!" Li Zicheng was overjoyed. These days, he was almost breathless by officers and soldiers such as Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting. Now when he heard that the officers and soldiers were about to retreat, his heart felt as if he was going to explode with joy.
"It's a good time that the Tatars are here. That dog officer Lu Xiangsheng died in the battle, forcing the emperor to send troops back for reinforcements. It's really wonderful. As long as we are given half a year, we can raise tens of thousands of troops.
"
Chongzhen, who was in the Forbidden City at this time, did not know that his order to order Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting to withdraw their troops was actually releasing a tiger that could bury him into the forest...
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