The sunset was red and the sky was pale except for the egrets. Chang Yu was walking alone by the river, looking at Liu Zeqing's camp in the distance, where he was busy with herding horses, making fires and cooking, and there were several teams of people patrolling in the distance.
Liu Zeqing's camp stretched for several miles, and the location of his headquarters was originally a small village called Shaomaying. The farmers in the village had long since disappeared, whether they had fled or were killed by him.
Chang Yu looked at the small village, the killing intent in his eyes getting stronger and stronger, sooner or later he would kill this guy!
In the commander's tent of the camp, Liu Zeqing was discussing with his subordinates the departure of the camp tomorrow. The generals rarely mentioned Chang Yu and others during their conversations. They all had expressions of resentment and resentment on their faces, and kept making all kinds of obscene remarks.
Scolding and scolding, hatred and hatred are all personal vendettas. After listening to Liu Zeqing's various analysis, the generals thought it was feasible to set up camp and send troops. The bandit army was only a few thousand, so it was not difficult to get it. They occupied Hejian Mansion and waited.
If the thieves are defeated, they can take advantage of the situation to besiege and beat up the drowned dogs to share the merits. If the battle is unfavorable, they can retreat and return to Shandong.
A river bird was frightened by Chang Yu. It flapped its wings and fell three feet into the air. Kuang Ren flew from a distance and picked it up. He smiled at the little eunuch and said, "Master, this is the most beautiful way to drink wine."
Chang Yu was amused by him and smiled slightly: "It's a pity that there is food but no wine!"
Kuang Ren understood that this meant prohibition on alcohol. The wine Liu Zeqing sent earlier had been returned in full, so he smiled and said, "You can eat it without alcohol. I will bake it for you."
"The governor has enough food, you can eat." Immediately Chang Yu gave the order to rest for three hours before breaking camp and continuing southward.
At night, the lights were shining for miles along the river. Liu Zeqing was mobilizing in the camp, but Chang Yu and the second battalion were sleeping with their heads covered. However, hundreds of miles away outside Baoding City, there were people who had trouble sleeping and eating.
As Chang Yu expected, Li Zicheng was a little confused at this time. He didn't expect that the situation, which had a good chance of winning, became a little more difficult after the little eunuch was revealed.
First, Zhang Hong, under Liu Fangliang, was ordered to hunt down the young eunuch and was ambushed in Xiongzhou. He fled back to Baoding with heavy casualties. Then Liu Fangliang personally led an army to pursue him, but only found a small Jingguan built with hundreds of heads on the spot.
Li Zicheng was furious when he heard the news, but he was sure that it was the little eunuch, because this method was the same as in Taiyuan.
Later, more information came: Rongcheng and Xushui were attacked by officers and soldiers in the early morning, but not all of them.
The thieves were shocked and felt that the matter was not that simple. Li Zicheng immediately summoned Liu Fangliang, who was hunting in Xiongzhou, back to camp. At this time, spies from far away reported that a large number of unknown troops had been found in Dingxing County, at least tens of thousands or even tens of thousands!
Why is it an unknown army? The spy said that it is really impossible to identify the opponent's identity based on the military uniform. He does not look like an officer or soldier, but he is not a thief either. He feels that he is dressed in strange clothes...
What the hell is the origin of this! The thieves were confused for a moment, and they couldn't figure out that Li Yanbu had changed the equipment of the Qing army outside the pass.
However, as the intelligence became more and more detailed, Li Zicheng and others finally realized that the troops in Dingxing were none other than the traitor Li Yan whom he hated so much!
Then the question came. He had always speculated that Li Yan was with the young eunuch in Zhou Yuji's army, but Zhou Yuji was in Dingzhou, a hundred miles southwest of Baoding, while Dingxing was a hundred miles northeast of Baoding, with two directions: one north and one south.
, how did he sneak there with tens of thousands of troops!
Therefore, there is only one possibility. He was not in Zhou Yuji's army at all, but came from the north. The same must be true for the little eunuch. As for where he came from the north, it is unknown.
It seemed that Li Guo's trip south to Dingzhou to seek revenge on the little eunuch was in vain. Li Zicheng sighed and cheered up. If the little eunuch could not cause much trouble if hundreds of people sneaked around Baoding, how could he have done it?
Thousands of people must be dealt with carefully.
After some discussion, the leaders of the thieves decided to narrow the encirclement of Baoding City and encircle it first without attacking. At the same time, they sent Gu Ying and Liu Fangliang to lead the cannon fodder north to intercept Li Yan's tribe. While consuming the cannon fodder, it was best to kill the traitor!
The plan was decided, Liu Fangliang and Gu Ying raised their troops to march north, and another piece of information arrived: Li Guo arrived in Dingzhou and immediately fought with Zhou Yuji's men. Zhou Yuji was defeated and fled to Tang County in the northwest along the Tang River. Li Guo was afraid.
He did not dare to chase after his defeat, but kept a close eye on him. Another piece of information was intriguing: in Renqiu County, Hejian Prefecture in the east, several groups of detective horses were found and about a hundred people were killed. It was found out that it was a Ming army that went south.
Hundred!
Is he the little eunuch? The thieves discussed endlessly, and finally concluded that the little eunuch should return to Dingxing to support the overall situation. Then a Ming army going south was most likely crossing the border to Shandong for help.
Everyone laughed when they thought of this. They had already discovered that several groups of Ming troops were in Dezhou, Jinan Prefecture. However, they stopped moving forward for more than ten days. It must have been because they heard that several prefectures ahead had been captured and rebels gathered in Baoding Prefecture. They were too timid to go beyond the border!
What's more, at this time, Li Zicheng had already deployed troops on both sides of the northwest border, which could prevent him from going north or westward. More importantly, he believed that with his overwhelming momentum, those officers and soldiers reinforcements would not have the courage to take a step forward. What kind of officers and soldiers could he fight?
After more than ten years, the psychology is still unclear. In the past, there were still a few famous ministers who could shake up the scene, and the officers and soldiers more or less dared to show their faces, but now those famous ministers can bring down the dead to the rest.
They are all junk, and few of them are willing to fight.
When Liu Fangliang reaches the boundary of Dingzhou tomorrow, if Li Yan's troops are defeated, he will immediately attack Baoding City. If Li Yan resists, if the attack is postponed, he will continue to send troops north to fight to consume the burden and at the same time exhaust Li Yan to death. Kill two birds with one stone!
As for Zhou's encounter with the Ji tribe in the west, Li Zicheng sent an order to pursue and block him so that he could not get close to Baoding City. Moreover, his retreat to the northwest had a profound purpose, because the northwest of Tang County was the Maoguan Pass of the Inner Great Wall. He most likely wanted to
With the pass behind you, you are in an invincible position, you can attack when you advance, and you can defend when you retreat. The logistics are also guaranteed, so intercept and defeat this army as soon as possible before it arrives.
The surroundings were well deployed and seemed impeccable, but deep down Li Zicheng always felt a little uneasy, so he walked out of the commander's tent and looked across the Qingshui River at Baoding City more than ten miles away. If he wanted to see any light, the soldiers and civilians in the city would be in panic day and night.
Go to sleep.
Li Zicheng showed a trace of viciousness on his face. He just let the soldiers and civilians of Baoding City suffer this kind of mental torture. He was not in a hurry to attack the city, but used it as a bait. As long as the city was not breached for a day, reinforcements would continue to come to consume him.
load.
The pressure on his shoulders is too great now. Not to mention the hundreds of surrendered troops, or the tens of thousands of refugees at every turn, he simply can't bear it. Not to mention the daily food consumption is staggering!
We must clean up all these burdens, then raid Baoding City and go straight to the capital to chat with the emperor about life. If we can chat with him, we will return in triumph, but if we can't chat, we will go back to our hometown in Xi'an with a bulging wallet and light luggage.
But is it really going as smoothly as he wishes? Li Zicheng's eyelids suddenly twitched violently, and he panicked. The image of the dead eunuch appeared in his mind again. It became a shadow that he couldn't get rid of.
!
Kill! Kill! Kill! Li Zicheng roared angrily and swung his fists around, as if he wanted to chop the eunuch in his mind into pulp. Seeing that he seemed crazy, the guards around him were shocked and didn't know how to respond.
"You castrated dog, I have to peel off your skin and beat your tendons!" Li Zicheng pointed his knife at Baoding City and roared fiercely. Everyone in the tent was startled and ran out. Seeing his appearance, they couldn't help but feel frightened. The master was defeated at the hands of a young eunuch.