weaving

Looking at the powerful generals of the Ming Dynasty, such as Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong, etc., they were either fierce and disobedient, or their reputations were not prominent enough.

Only Wu Sangui and Zhang Cheng can be said to be outstanding among them. They both have two common advantages that others do not have. One is that they are young and promising, and the other is that they have a solid territory as their foundation.

But He Chongwu and Ji Youci had only heard about Wu Sangui, but had not seen it in person, and they didn't know what the details were.

But Zhang Cheng is different. Both of them have a close relationship with Zhang Cheng. He Chongwu has worked with him for several years. He was helped a lot by Zhang Cheng when he became the prefect of Huaiqing. Ji Youci is Zhang Cheng's relative. The brother-in-law, who has become a family member, naturally has to side with Uncle Yong Ning.

"Sir, on what day will the army cross the river and march south?" After worshiping the five Dragon Kings of the Yellow River, He Chongwu couldn't wait to ask about the military as soon as he left the gate of the Five Dragons Temple.

Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng just smiled and said lightly: "With the help of Magistrate He and Ji Bingxian, there is no need to rush to cross the river. It will not be too late to cross the river after the movement of the intruders is clear."

Ji Youci reminded Zhang Cheng from the side, saying: "According to the military report from Kaifeng, the bandits seem to have arrived at the gates of Kaifeng City, and they are likely to attack again. Uncle Yongning must be on guard against this."

"Brother, don't be anxious. The thieves are so powerful that they can easily reach hundreds of thousands of people. How can they arrive in a day or night?"

Zhang Cheng didn't seem to take Ji Youci's words seriously. As he walked, he said: "The spies on the south bank of the Yellow River have received news that the bandits' vanguard has arrived outside Kaifeng City and is working hard with the city's defenders to harvest the wheat outside the city."

"what……"

Ji Youci couldn't help being surprised when he heard this. He was very convinced of Zhang Cheng's intelligence source, and immediately said: "Brother-in-law, why don't you take advantage of this moment, before the bandit army arrives, and cross the river with the main force to attack the bandits and drive them back?"

"Hey hey hey..."

Zhang Cheng laughed sarcastically at first. He stopped and looked at his uncle, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, the main force of the bandits is in Zhuxian Town, forty miles south of Kaifeng. If I go alone, I will be captured by others." If you get entangled, you will be able to defeat hundreds of thousands of thieves and bandits alone."

He glanced at He Chongwu again, and then continued: "At this moment, our army has arrived from Jinan and the battalions have not yet rested. With only the troops of the three battalions of Miuhe, Qinglong and Baihu, it is difficult to compete with the rebel army. Even if they continue In addition, there are thousands of people from the Mangshan militia, and there is no chance of winning."

At this moment, the soldiers came closer with their horses. Zhang Cheng took over his mount "Biqongju", jumped up on the horse, and then said: "Kang Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu's troops , If we are still lingering in southern Henan, we have to wait for this general, a common thief, so how can we eat alone?"

After he finished speaking, he added meaningfully: "Say yes!"

"Yes...right..."

Ji Youci stammered and answered. He turned around and saw He Chongwu secretly shaking his head at him, and there was nothing more to say.

…………

Huang Renfa, the former Wuzhi County magistrate, had been following everyone from a distance. Now he saw that he had passed the middle street, and the county government office was on the east street not far away. He couldn't help but trot to catch up, but was stopped by Zhang Chengfang, a lieutenant general. Come down.

You know, Zhang Cheng is now not only the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, he is also the dignified Yongning Bo of the Ming Emperor. How can a small seventh-grade county magistrate just meet him whenever he wants?

Sure enough, after asking, Zhang Chengfang raised his whip and urged his horse to catch up with Zhang Cheng, and whispered beside him: "Father, the former magistrate of Wuxian County has prepared a banquet."

"The military situation is urgent, so please skip the banquet."

After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he seemed to have remembered something, and stopped Zhang Chengfang again and asked, "Do you know the name of the county magistrate?"

"I will ask you now, General Mo."

"Call him here. I have something to say to him."

"Here."

After a while, Zhang Chengfang rode his horse back and reported to Zhang Cheng's side: "Commander Father, Huang Renfa, the former magistrate of Wuxian County, came here to say something."

Huang Renfa originally had a small sedan chair, but he was not qualified to sit in the sedan chair in front of Zhang Cheng, He Chongwu, Ji Youci and other prominent officials, so he abandoned the sedan chair and refused to sit in the sedan chair, unable to follow them.

Finally summoned by Uncle Yong Ning, he ran forward all the way and was still out of breath when he came to Zhang Cheng's horse. Upon seeing this, Zhang Cheng waved his hand to the Chinese officer Zhang Chengfang.

Zhang Chengfang understood and said to Huang Renfa: "Uncle Yongning, I ordered you to take a breather before answering."

Huang Renfa's old face flushed red, and it took him a while to catch his breath. He leaned down and knelt down and said, "Huang Renfa, the former Wuzhi County magistrate of Xianguan County, pays homage to His Highness Yongning Bo."

Zhang Chengce sat on the green horse, holding the reins with one hand, and said loudly: "Forgive me. Huang Renfa, you are good at governing the people, and you are also responsible for guarding the land. This contribution is indispensable."

"Uncle Yong Ning has a great reputation, but I really don't want to take on the responsibilities of a lower-ranking official."

Hearing Bo Yongning's compliments, Huang Renfa was very surprised. He had been working in Yuanwu County for five years and had long wanted to change places to leave this dangerous place where thieves were rampant, but he had no way out.

Just when he was excited, he heard the voice of Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng again: "I declare that tens of thousands of officers and soldiers will assist Henan in suppressing bandits. The old camp will be temporarily set up in your Yuanwu County. You have lived up to my expectations, fully mobilized the manpower and material resources in the county, made overall plans, and assisted our army of suppressing thieves in providing logistical support."

"Uncle Yong Ning, please rest assured that I will do my best to mobilize the gentlemen and people of the county and townships to fulfill their responsibilities."

"Okay. I will ask Huang Zhixian for the old camp of our army. If the suppression of thieves goes smoothly, your Yuanwu County will definitely receive a share of the credit." "Thank you...oh, no...this is the responsibility of the lower official, how dare you Words go well."

Huang Renfa was so ingratiated with Zhang Cheng because he just wanted to climb a high branch and take this opportunity to move down his nest. When he heard Yong Ningbo mention the word "contribution", he was so excited that he began to speak incoherently.

Just when he was regretting his performance, he heard Uncle Yongning's words again: "Do a good job. This uncle will record your name in the old camp. When Governor Zhang of Baoding arrives, he will write it down." He will speak kindly to you."

After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he ignored him, raised his whip and urged his horse, and went straight to the east gate.

…………

Kaifeng Fucheng still stands as majestic as before. Although looking from a distance, bullet marks with or without bullet marks are faintly visible on the high and thick city walls, and the uneven bullet marks on the city walls seem to show to outsiders the battles that have gone through. How intense.

Although it has calmed down for the time being, and there are no scenes of loud shouts of killing and smoke-filled scenes, another kind of battle is being fiercely staged outside Kaifeng City. The two warring parties are competing for both speed and endurance.

Since mid-April, groups of bandits and cavalry have appeared in the Xincheng and Xinghuaying areas more than ten miles southwest of Kaifeng. Although they are not large in number, they are all extremely capable, and they are obviously the masters of bandits.

At the beginning, the army's sentries also went out of the city to harass and block them. However, after dozens of casualties, they retreated to the city of Kaifeng. Even under strict orders from Shangguan, they only dared to move within a few miles of the city wall and did not dare to stray too far from the city.

On April 18, just as Zhang Cheng and the Governor of Baoding were meeting in Zhending Mansion, an army of bandits suddenly arrived and set up camp twenty miles west of Kaifeng City. Almost completely covered by bandits and cavalry.

Beginning on the 19th, many hungry people swarmed out. Under the cover of the bandits and cavalry, they began to harvest the winter wheat that had just matured outside Kaifeng City. Groups of bandits, auxiliaries, and servants came out to harvest. Seeing the wheat that farmers around Kaifeng have worked so hard to grow.

The defenders in Kaifeng City were naturally unwilling to sit back and watch. They also sent out defenders in the city to cover the people who came out of the city to compete with the rebels in harvesting wheat.

The rebels mainly harvested wheat outside the embankment, while the soldiers and civilians in the city harvested wheat fields close to the city inside the embankment. The two parties often met each other accidentally at the boundary between the embankment and the outside, and some incidents also occurred. Sporadic fighting.

But at the moment, the focus of both sides is not on fighting. Their main purpose is to harvest the wheat in the wheat fields, which does not trigger large-scale battles. Sometimes, even though the two sides are very close to each other, they ignore each other and even shoot arrows. Not shooting one at the opponent.

This situation lasted for thirteen days. With the cooperation of the officials and thieves, all the wheat fields outside Kaifeng City were plundered by them. This scene of enthusiastic harvesting of winter wheat has not changed in the history of Kaifeng since its founding. Never before.

Even in the past peaceful years, during the winter wheat harvest season, the scene was very lively, but it was just households scattered around, harvesting the winter wheat in their own wheat fields. How could there be hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians? A grand occasion of working together to harvest and thresh wheat?

That is completely different!

However, the Chuang army was obviously more prepared than the soldiers and civilians in Kaifeng City. Their teams had a clear division of labor. There were those who were responsible for harvesting wheat, and those who were responsible for transporting the bundles of wheat to each battalion. There were also people He was responsible for threshing the field, and finally there were men and horses who transported the threshed wheat to the granaries of each battalion, and all the excess was transported to Yanli Village, where the old camp of the Chuang Army was located.

During the time when the Chuang army and the Kaifeng defenders were harvesting wheat together, Chuang King Li Zicheng was not idle. He was always paying attention to the movements of the officers and soldiers in various places in the Ming Dynasty except Kaifeng. Among them, the left Liangyu's troops received the most attention.

At this moment, the land of Ming Zhongzhou is much calmer than before, just like the moment of tranquility before the storm. Everyone is waiting for the impending war!

There is a reason why Li Zicheng led hundreds of thousands of bandits to gather under the city of Kaifeng, only to seize the winter wheat in the fields outside the city without making any preparations for attacking the city.

One is of course because he has not fully grasped the movements of reinforcements in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, and he does not dare to rashly launch a fierce attack on Kaifeng at this time.

Secondly, it was because of the huge changes that had occurred within the Chuang Army that he became a little timid. Perhaps this reason was the root cause of his hesitation.

And what changes happened within the Chuang Army that made Li Zicheng, the man who dared to claim to be the King of Chuang, also surrender?

It turned out that Li Zicheng personally recruited his new son-in-law - Yuan Shizhong, the leader of the "Little Yuan Camp". He led 30,000 elite troops in his camp to leave Qixian County, the residence designated by King Chuang Li Zicheng, and go to the junction of Henan Province, Ji'nan and Shandong Province. Running away everywhere.

You must know that after "Little Yuan Camp" defected to King Li Zicheng, although after a series of reorganizations, only more than 30,000 troops were left. However, the old and weak Xiao Yuan Camp was eliminated, and it became stronger because of it. Some, their combat power has increased even more.

Let me ask, if such a powerful armed force rebelled against Li Zicheng and left, where could they go?

According to the judgment of King Chuang and the many counselors and generals around him, Yuan Shizhong is very likely to take this team of more than 30,000 elite soldiers to defect to Ding Qirui, the Ming governor in southern Henan, or to Zhu Dadian, the governor of Fengyang. .

In short, everyone around King Chuang thought that since Yuan Shizhong defected and left, he must have colluded with the army and secretly accepted the imperial court's appeasement, so he led his troops to flee and join the army.

The result of their discussion was to send Li Guo and Li Erhu, generals under King Chuang, to pursue Xiao Yuanying...

…………

So when did Yuan Shizhong and his small Yuan camp defect to Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, and why did they leave Li Zicheng?

This is a long story...

In fact, as early as after Li Zicheng captured Luoyang, when local bandits from all over western Henan came to join him one after another, he already had the ambition to compete with the Ming Dynasty for the world.

At that time, although he had not yet decided on a strategy for operating a fixed territory, the purpose of increasing his power and reputation by eating various bandits from various places has become his subsequent military strategy.

And Yuan Shizhong's Xiaoyuan Camp was already a big bandit in the southeastern Henan area that could not be ignored. Its number of troops sometimes numbered hundreds of thousands, and sometimes it numbered no less than 50,000.

Such power naturally aroused great interest in Chuang Wang Li Zicheng. He neither allowed another hungry wolf to look around him, nor allowed someone like Xiao Yuanying to be favored by the court in the future and become his enemy.

Therefore, when Li Zicheng failed in his first attack on Kaifeng and returned to dormant in the Funiu Mountains, he sent people to southeastern Henan to find Xiao Yuan Camp and expressed his intention and attitude of seeking cooperation to its leader Yuan Shizhong.

Li Zicheng's attitude became stronger after Cao Cao and Luo Rucai came to join forces and joined forces with him. At the same time, King Chuang's name gradually became famous in Henan, especially when he defeated the governor Yang Wenyue and killed the three sides. After Governor Fu Zonglong, the negotiations between Chuangying and Xiaoyuanying also began to enter a substantive stage, and the two sides continued to negotiate on the specific details of the joint venture.

And at the end of February of the 15th year of the Chong Dynasty, the Cao Cao bandit army defeated the Shaanxi soldiers in one fell swoop, attacked Xiangcheng, and killed the new governor of the three sides Wang Qiaonian. Yuan Shizhong no longer hesitated and led all the troops of Xiaoyuan Battalion under his command to gallop. Chenzhou in southern Henan met Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang.

Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, was very kind to Yuan Shizhong and tried his best to win over him. For this reason, he even beat up the pair of young generals Zhang Nai and Huimei, and betrothed his wife Gao Guiying's adopted daughter Li Huimei to Yuan Shizhong as his wife, in an attempt to seduce Yuan Shizhong. Tie down and become your own right-hand man.