On November 6, news from Sichuan reached Xiangyang. After Zhang Xianzhong defeated the army again at Zitong and Mianzhu, he crossed the Mian River to the west and passed through Mianzhu southward to Shifang, Deyang, Jintang and other counties. The counties he passed through were easily captured.
Zhang Xianzhong captured the city. He "escaped wherever he reached the empty city" and "the treasury was completely empty." On November 2, Zhang Xianzhong arrived at the capital city, and the whole country was shaken.
Li Zhi no longer stayed in Xiangyang. The army broke out of camp and pursued Chengdu. Since Yang Sichang was determined not to support Li Zhi, Li Zhi could only defeat Zhang Xianzhong on his own.
In early December, Li Zhi arrived in Guang'an Prefecture, Sichuan, which was still 600 miles away from Chengdu. At this time, news came from the front line that Zhang Xianzhong had given up attacking Chengdu and instead went to Luzhou to take advantage of the city gates to open and allow officers and soldiers to enter and exit.
Attacked Luzhou.
Li Zhi abandoned Chengdu and rushed to Luzhou.
On December 8, Li Zhi chased Zhang Xianzhong, who was fighting on the move, to Yongchuan County, not far from Luzhou.
The magistrate of Yongchuan County has been worried about Zhang Xianzhong's bandits coming to attack the city every day these days. Every day, everything is covered with soldiers. At this time, he was very happy to hear that the army of Li Zhi, who was famous throughout the world, had arrived. He left the city ten miles away to welcome him. The magistrate led people to reward pigs and sheep.
The government army allowed Li Zhi's soldiers to eat a fresh meal. The Huben Division marched outside and only had white rice and dried meat soup to eat. Li Zhi's soldiers had been drinking dried meat soup for a month, and they had already faded away.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the local officials, Li Zhi took the opportunity and purchased five thousand shi of rice with the county magistrate to provide food for the march.
After buying food, Li Zhi did not stop and went directly to Luzhou in the southwest. The county magistrate was very reluctant to see the officers and soldiers coming and leaving, so he rode Li Zhi all the way out of the county.
Before they even left Yongchuan County, Li Zhi's scouts reported back on horseback: "There are Zuo Liangyu's 20,000 troops ahead, stationed at the foot of Dengjialing Mountain in the southwest of Yongchuan County."
Li Zhi was stunned when he heard the news and asked the county magistrate: "Since Zuo Liangyu has 20,000 officers and soldiers in Yongchuan, why does the county magistrate need to be so worried about bandits?"
The county magistrate sighed, shook his head and replied: "Master Taibao, you don't know that Zuo Liangyu's soldiers are very arrogant. They robbed grain, pigs and sheep, robbed and raped women all over Yongchuan, and their actions were worse than thieves. How could they be considered as such?"
Officials and soldiers? The people ten miles away from Zuojun's camp seemed to have suffered a disaster. They all abandoned their homes and fled." After a pause, the county magistrate continued: "And this Zuo Liangyu will not fight Zhang Xianzhong at all. If Zhang Xianzhong really comes, he will
He ran away early and would not be able to guard Yongchuan County."
Li Zhi did not expect that after not seeing Zuo Liangyu for three years, he became more arrogant than before.
Zuo Liangyu's army was stationed in the south of Yongchuan County, stuck on Li Zhi's path. Li Zhi captured Zuo Liangyu's soldiers in Anqing three years ago and refused Zuo Liangyu's rescue.
It was a festival. Li Zhi didn't expect Zuo Liangyu to come out to entertain him, so he walked through with his soldiers.
Arriving at Zuo Liangyu's camp, Li Zhi found that the camp was backed by mountains and facing water, and was very well-arranged.
Li Zhi used a telescope to observe the inside of Zuo Liangyu's camp, and found that when he passed the outskirts of the camp, the left soldiers in the camp were all wearing armor and staring at the passing troops and horses on his side, as if they were facing a formidable enemy. That way,
It's not like the official army met the official army, but like the bandits met the official army.
Li Zhi shook his head. For warlords like Zuo Liangyu who plundered the people, the Ming court had nothing to do. Instead, it had to rely heavily on them, which shows the decline of the country. It is really a joke to rely on such self-respecting warlords to suppress thieves. No wonder the thieves are getting more and more suppressed.
more.
Farewell to the magistrate of Yongchuan County, Li Zhi's troops continued to rush to Luzhou. Zhang Xianzhong was in Luzhou, and many officers and soldiers were chasing him nearby. Li Zhi entered the border of Luzhou, and halfway there, he met Cao Bianjiao, the general of Yutian.
The troops of the newly appointed Sichuan Governor Long Wenguang.
Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, was lured into the mountains by Zhang Xianzhong and died in June in June. Long Wenguang was his successor and had just taken office in September.
When the two heard that Li Zhi's army was coming, they marched out ten miles to welcome the crown prince and Taibao Li Zhi.
Fortunately for Cao Bianjiao, he had seen the soldiers of the Huben Division before and knew how powerful the troops and horses of the Huben Division were. But this was the first time for Long Wenguang to see the Huben Division and he was startled by the elite of the Huben Division.
Long Wenguang had only heard about Li Zhi's powerful army before, and had an impression of it, but seeing it with his own eyes today, the impact he received was completely different. The fire blunderbuss, cannons, armor, the extremely sophisticated equipment of the Huben Division, and the 10,000 men
The style of imposing orders and prohibitions made Long Wenguang feel a little shocked.
Long Wenguang secretly said that among the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhi was definitely the strongest. In front of Li Zhi, Guan Ningjun and Zuo Liangyu could only accept defeat.
As soon as they saw Li Zhi, Cao Bianjiao and Long Wenguang walked up to greet him and greeted Li Zhi.
Li Zhi was also very happy to see his acquaintance Cao Bianjiao, and dismounted his horse to return the favor.
Li Zhi and Cao Bianjiao, and Long Wenguang walked into Long Wenguang's Chinese army tent. Li Zhi was originally going to sit under Long Wenguang, but Long Wenguang said: "The prince Taibao has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he has a lot of ambitions in his heart."
We have millions of heroes. We are leading the world's strongest troops to assist Shu. It is the time to go down with a single drum to wipe out the Xian traitors. How dare we be the first among the Taibao? Taibao, please take your seat!"
Li Zhi laughed, sat on top of Cao Wenzhao and Long Wenguang, and took a sip of tea.
"General Xiao Cao, Dong Nu was in Tianjin at that time. You helped me guard Fanjiazhuang. I still owe you a favor!"
Seeing that Li Zhi still remembered this favor, Cao Bianjiao laughed loudly and said, "The Taibao still remembers this?"
"Why don't you remember? I'm still thinking about how to return this favor to you!"
Cao Bianjiao smiled and said, "Is the Taibao going to annihilate the Xian thieves alone this time?"
Li Zhi said slowly: "Although there are many soldiers and horses to suppress the bandits this time, there are only a few soldiers and horses with fighting spirit. Zhang Xianzhong is in Luzhou, surrounded by officers and soldiers, but they are all waiting and watching. I cannot command the soldiers and horses of other generals.
, we can only lead our troops to attack Luzhou City and capture Zhang Xianzhong."
Cao Bianjiao and Long Wenguang looked at each other and said nothing.
Li Zhi asked: "Governor Long, how many soldiers do these traitors have now?"
Long Wenguang replied: "Now Luo Rucai, Hui Deng and other thieves have joined the Xian thieves. The Xian thieves have 30,000 infantry, 15,000 old thieves, and 8,000 Tang horses." After a pause, Long Wenguang
Said: "Sometimes the Xian thieves would gather some hungry soldiers. But the Xian thieves moved to various parts of Sichuan and marched very fast. These hungry soldiers often dispersed after running for dozens of miles. Those who have been following the Xian thieves are still these more than 50,000 soldiers and horses.
.”
It turned out that there were more than 50,000 soldiers and horses in the army. Li Zhi pondered for a while and said nothing.
Cao Bianjiao looked at Long Wenguang, raised his hands and said to Li Zhi: "Master Taibao's army has arrived in Luzhou. The situation between us and the enemy has changed drastically. We can only capture the head of the thief in the day or night. Our four thousand cavalry are willing to accompany Taibao in the battle and are willing to help."
2. I just want to achieve meritorious service by killing the thief."
Cao Bianjiao was a smart man and knew that Li Zhi was definitely going to capture Zhang Xianzhong this time.
With such an opportunity in front of him, Cao Bianjiao certainly wanted to take advantage of it. He was willing to hand over the command of his four thousand troops to Li Zhi and become Li Zhi's deputy general, just to get some credit and be promoted and make a fortune.
Although Yang Sichang hinted that the armies should not assist Li Zhi, Cao Bianjiao was too lazy to pay attention to Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang had lost power, and the emperor no longer trusted him. Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong were not the only ones who dared to disobey his orders.
Moreover, Cao Bianjiao is different from other military attachés. Cao Bianjiao and Li Zhi have some friendship. Li Zhi still remembers Cao Bianjiao's favor, which shows that Li Zhi is a kind person. Cao Bianjiao said to himself: If he helps Li Zhi defeat Zhang Xianzhong, he will repay the favor when the time comes.
Naturally, he will not be missing the first level of military exploits.
Cao Bianjiao's official position was Zuodudu. If he could go to war with Li Zhi and perform meritorious service, a prince's Shaobao or even a prince's Taibao would not be able to escape.
Seeing that Cao Bianjiao was willing to fight with him, Li Zhi smiled and was about to agree when he heard Long Wenguang also said: "Master Taibao, I am also willing to go with you to fight. I have eight thousand Sichuan soldiers and I am willing to listen to Master Taibao's instructions."
