I

"Today, the world is full of exile, and the road is full of bones. The wind is miserable and the ghosts are green, and the forest is green. And there are people who close the door and throw it... There are people who eat thorns and thorns, and there are people who eat earth and rocks. There are those who groan, those who are stuck in the way and unable to speak... There are those who gather thousands of hundreds of people around the corner of the city and expose the pole."

This is a retired Henan official's description of his hometown.

Due to Zhao Han's growth in the south, the financial situation of the Ming court became increasingly difficult, and the exploitation of Henan became more serious. In addition to years of famine, there are a lot of vassal princes in Henan, and many counties have been reduced to ghosts on earth.

First, there was a mutiny in Henan, and the officers and soldiers took refuge in Li Zicheng.

When Li Zicheng led his troops to Henan, people from all over the country joined him. Yidougu and Crockpot, the leader of the local rebel army, were the first to bring their soldiers to vote, adding tens of thousands of people in an instant. Then, there were Yilong, Zhang Panzi, Song Jiang, Yuan Laoshan and other leaders, each of whom had at least 10,000 troops under his command!

Yongning County.

Zhu Caiqing, king of Wan'an (next to the gold letter), and one hundred landlords and evil gentry were brought to Xiguan, the county seat, for a public trial.

Li Zicheng was sitting at the presiding judge's desk, and Niu Jinxing was standing beside him, holding a copy of "The Collected Works of Great Harmony" in his hand.

"Bring the guilty king Zhu Caiqing to the court!" Niu Jinxing shouted.

A soldier then shouted: "Bring the guilty king Zhu Caiqing to the court!"

King Wan'an was pressed to the ground, hissing and wailing just crying, while the surrounding people were excited.

"Hey!"

Li Zicheng shouted and asked, "Zhu Caiqing, are you guilty?"

Zhu Caiqing wept and replied: "My lord, please forgive me. I am willing to give all my treasures. There is still silver in my cellar."

"Let's talk about where the money is first." Li Zicheng said.

Zhu Cai wiped away his tears and said, "Your Majesty first promised to spare me."

"You still dare to bargain, let's beat you first!" Li Zicheng said angrily.

The soldiers knocked Zhu Cai down lightly, and beat him to death with sticks. After a while, Zhu Caiqing cried, "I said, I said, I said where is the money hidden!"

A prince and hundreds of landlords were interrogated within a day, and all of them were beheaded and punished on the spot.

The people cheered.

Li Zicheng said to the people in the audience: "I don't kill civilians, I only kill officials. I am going to fight Luoyang. When the officers and soldiers come, don't pay them. I will come back soon and make decisions for you!"

"Long live King Chuang, long live King Chuang!"

Li Zicheng not only killed the prince and the landlord, but also opened a warehouse to release grain two days ago, which has already won the hearts of the common people.

Today, Li Zicheng's troops are divided into two groups, leading cavalry, surrendered officers and soldiers, Yidougu and Waguanzi troops, and headed straight for Luoyang along Luoshui. The rest of the Henan uprising army is now bypassing Ruzhou and heading towards Luoyang along the official road.

A few days ago, the officers and soldiers were defeated. Chang Daoli, governor of Henan Province, was convicted and sent to prison. The new governor of Henan Province, Li Xianfeng, feared the enemy and dared not fight.

Yang Sichang is sitting in Luoyang at this time!

The strategy of encircling and suppressing bandits from all sides has completely failed. Because there are too many insurgents, it is impossible to encircle and suppress.

Moreover, the imperial court could not provide food and payment, so the generals could only rely on the generals to grab it.

The little people have nothing to snatch, and the landlord suffers again. Some landlords whose families were ruined by the officers and soldiers simply took refuge with Li Zicheng with their families, which led to Li Zicheng now having dozens of scholars in his hands.

Of course, what Li Zicheng trusted the most was Niu Jinxing who was the first to turn to him.

Although the timeline is messed up, Niu Jinxing's obedience has not changed. Because as early as two years ago, Niu Jinxing was framed by a wealthy gentry, and he was sent to serve in the army in Lushi County.

Niu Jinxing's family was wealthy, but he was still a juren, and his family was ruined by the wealthy gentry. Li Zicheng led troops to kill, how could he not take the opportunity to seek refuge?

After Niu Jinxing joined the army, he immediately suggested "fewer punishments and killings, relief for the hungry, and winning people's hearts."

Li Zicheng followed his plan, and after opening the granary to release grain, he really won the support of the people. He no longer killed civilians indiscriminately, not even small landlords, but only big landlords, big merchants and officials.

After the public trial, Li Zicheng began to recruit soldiers.

This time, we did not wantonly expand our troops, but only selected 2,000 young men, and after more than a month of training, we will attack Luoyang in the north.

Niu Jinxing said: "If your majesty breaks through Luoyang this time, you should recruit refugees to settle the land. It will only take a year or two before you will have enough food and no need to plunder in the future. Take Luoyang as the foundation and seek the whole of Henan, and then take down Shanxi. , then you can attack Beizhili from both sides, and seize Beijing and watch the world."

Li Zicheng said worriedly: "It will take one or two years for reclamation. What if there is another catastrophe? Wouldn't it be a waste of time? The gentry from all over the country are powerful and have a lot of food in their families. It is more cost-effective to rob them."

Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty, you have never heard of bandits who conquered the world. If you want to conquer the world, you must have a foundation. Henan is the land of Longxing."

Li Zicheng thought seriously.

Niu Jinxing took out the "Datong Collection" and said: "Jiangxi Zhao Tianwang, sitting on two and a half provinces, has a tendency to flourish. This book is the essence of its political strategy. The strategy is very good.”

Li Zicheng felt that it made sense: "When Luoyang is taken, if the officers and soldiers don't come to beat me again, then try to farm the fields. It is possible to release the slaves, but there is no need to divide the land. Let the refugees and tenants come to farm and farm for me."

The two were chatting, and the soldiers came to report.

"Your Majesty, another rebel army has come to vote, and the leader is still a warlock."

"Bring him in."

Song Xiance was brought in, declared his name, and bowed to Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng asked, "What skills do you have?"

Song Xiance replied: "Qimen dunjia, art of war and strategy, map prophecy and secret art, everything is perfect."

Niu Jinxing frowned. As a former Juren, he hated this kind of magic stick very much.

Song Xiance also said: "There are many white lotus followers in Henan, and there is a prophecy in the White Lotus Sect that says: 'Eighteen sons, the main artifact.' I watch the sky at night and burn incense to divination. The prophecy means that Li Chuang will win the world."

"That must be the meaning!" Li Zicheng was overjoyed.

It's not that Li Zicheng really believed in a magic stick.

It was this prophecy that was spread in the White Lotus Sect. As long as he has something to do with the prophecy, Li Zicheng can gain the support of the White Lotus Sect, or at least cooperate with the White Lotus Sect.

Moreover, the White Lotus Sect has a great influence in Henan, and even ordinary people are often bewitched. Once the "eighteen sons, the main artifact" is confirmed, the people of Henan will be sure that Li Zicheng is the true son of heaven.

When Fengyang was conquered back then, Zhang Xianzhong was eager to proclaim himself emperor, also in order to subdue the White Lotus Sect, because that emperor title was also passed down by the White Lotus Sect.

Song Xiance smiled and said: "I also made up two nursery rhymes: 'Open the gate to welcome the King Chuang, and when the King Chuang comes, he will not pay the food. When the city is built, there must be people who welcome the people who break into the city."

"That's a good idea, sir is really capable!" Li Zicheng became more and more happy.

But Niu Jinxing secretly screamed that it's bad, this magic stick will do bad things.

Confucian scholars hate magic sticks!

...

It is dozens of miles northwest of Ruzhou.

The sun was shining.

Zuo Liangyu stood still and sent a large number of cavalry to find out information.

"kill!"

Meng Ruhu sits in the command of the Chinese army, his son Meng Xianjie, guerrilla Guo Kai and Li Shizhong are fighting hard.

Yilong, Zhang Panzi, Song Jiang, and Yuan Laoshan, the four leaders commanded more than 50,000 troops. They planned to attack Luoyang together with Li Zicheng, but they never expected that the officers and soldiers who suppressed the thieves in Kaifeng Mansion and Runing Mansion would have already quietly killed them.

Just when the formation of the Peasant Army was unstable, General Liu Shijie led two hundred Ding cavalry, and suddenly went around to attack the flanks.

Two hundred Ding cavalry rushed into the formation of thousands of rebels, penetrating like a knife cutting tofu.

The thief's first judge didn't even react, Liu Shijie had already killed him on horseback, and chopped him down here with a single knife.

The thieves are in chaos.

The sentinel rushed back: "General, the bandits will be defeated!"

Zuo Liangyu got on his horse, raised his arms and shouted: "Boys, follow me to kill thieves!"

Zuo Liangyu led his troops to kill, and the thieves were defeated. This guy not only robs people's heads, but also robs property, and divides his troops to plunder the bandits' luggage.

Furious as a tiger, he stopped chasing and killing the rebels, and led his troops to stop Zuo Liangyu: "I will fight hard, and you wait and see from a distance. When the bandits are defeated, you come here to claim credit. Believe it or not, I will fight you today!" !"

Zuo Liangyu knew he was wrong, and smiled apologetically, "Brother, don't worry, all the soldiers under his command don't have eyes, so I will restrain them myself immediately."

The two discussed how to distribute the spoils, and immediately led their troops to hunt them down.

General Liu Shijie pursued him the deepest, and when he reached the vicinity of Niangniang Mountain, a large number of rebels suddenly appeared in ambush.

However, Luoyang was difficult to conquer. Li Zicheng first took the surrounding counties, and heard from the people who fled from the south that many officers and soldiers were found in the direction of Ruzhou.

Li Zicheng immediately led the main force to ambush at Niangniang Mountain first.

At this moment, Li Zicheng's cavalry rushed towards Liu Shijie who had been chasing him for a long time.

Liu Shijie turned pale with fright, but instead of turning around and running away, he charged towards an enemy several times larger than himself. He knew there was no way to escape, so he could only fight hard at this moment, because the horse under his crotch was already tired, and he couldn't outrun Li Zicheng who had been waiting for a long time.

A fierce cavalry confrontation appeared.

Liu Shijie drew his bow and fired two arrows in a row, without checking whether he hit the enemy, he hung up the bow and arrow and raised his gun and moved forward.

It is not a dense cavalry formation, and there is a wide distance between the horses. Liu Shijie stabbed the enemy in front of him with one shot, raised his hand and smashed another enemy, and rode his horse straight to the direction of Li Zicheng's commander-in-chief.

Li Zicheng was equally brave, and rushed towards Liu Shijie with his knife in hand.

When the two fought, Liu Shijie was already injured, and his movements became much slower. Just as he raised his spear and stabbed out, Li Zicheng swung his knife and slashed at him, and he was immediately chopped off by the horse.

"Kill back!"

Li Zicheng's cavalry was not many, and he was defeated in the first two years, leaving only a thousand cavalry, and he expanded to two thousand cavalry.

With two thousand cavalry, he followed the direction in which the rebels were fleeing, and after a while, he saw the pursuit of the officers and soldiers.

During the pursuit of the officers and soldiers, the formation has been chaotic, or completely out of formation.

When Li Zicheng's two thousand cavalry came, the officers and soldiers suddenly collapsed, and the general was completely unable to stop.

"withdraw!"

Zuo Liangyu ran away with the elite directly, he didn't want thousands of miscellaneous soldiers, they could be recruited anytime anyway.

As fierce as a tiger but very upright, he ordered his sons and generals to lead their families to fight.

Song Jiang, the leader of the thieves, was not dead. Seeing Li Zicheng's rescue, he beat gongs and drums and began to gather troops. Soon hundreds of people gathered and returned. Many fleeing insurgents also subconsciously turned around and ran, and more than 6,000 people quickly gathered around Song Jiang.

Meng Xianjie died in battle.

Guo Kai was killed.

The officers and soldiers collapsed across the board, and only the servants were left to persevere.

When Meng Ruhu saw his son collapsed, his heart was bleeding. But this battle has been lost, so he can only escape with the rest of the troops. He really wants to go back and chop Zuo Liangyu who ran away!

If Zuo Liangyu joins forces to attack, there is still room for this battle, maybe Li Zicheng can be defeated.

Outside Luoyang City, the officers and soldiers won a big victory.

Li Zicheng's camp stretched for more than ten li, and it frightened Yang Sichang at first. Knowing that the county town next door had been captured, Yang Sichang immediately dispatched troops to attack the camp outside Luoyang City, beheading hundreds of bandit soldiers, taking more than 3,000 prisoners, and more than 2,000 fleeing.

Both Li Zicheng and Yang Sichang won the battle, but the number of bandits was more and more, and the officers and soldiers were fighting less and less.

The situation in Henan has deteriorated, not to mention that there is Zhang Xianzhong who is doing big in Hubei.

(Ask for a monthly pass.)

(Based on Mr. Gu Cheng's textual research in this book, Li Yan and Hong Niangzi are both fictional characters, so they will not appear.)