Li Zicheng went south to Huguang this time and divided into two routes, one was led by his eldest nephew Li Guo, and went south through Lexian Bridge and Hushi, first taking Jingmen, and then going down to Jingzhou. This way is a partial division, that is, the rear battalion army commanded by Li Guo, and it is not the whole army dispatched, but only 8,000 soldiers plus 8,000 auxiliaries, a total of 16,000 people.

Relying on this bit of men and horses, of course, it is not enough to break through the well-defended Jingmen Prefecture City, and Li Guo does not have to take Jingmen Prefecture City - although Jingmen Prefecture is known as the northern gate of the Jianghan Plain, but the east of Baota Mountain to the east of the state city is the plain, and the army can completely bypass.

Therefore, after discovering that Jingmen Prefecture was relatively tightly guarded, Li Guo chose to surround it but not fight. First sent troops to take the pagoda mountain in the east of Jingmen Prefecture, and then dug a trench to besiege the city with 6,000 people (half of the soldiers and half of the auxiliaries). He himself and Li Laiheng divided their troops to attack Zhanghekou, Xianjukou, Yiyangsuo, Neifangshan, Jianyang Town, Jingmensuo, Xincheng and Dangyang County around Jingmenzhou City.

Different from the previous method of fighting only taking large cities and ignoring small counties and towns, after determining the mobilization strategy of "calculating the land and repaying debts," the Dashun army began to take the line of "encircling the cities from the countryside."

Jingmen Prefecture City can be kept first, and the surrounding villages must be taken first.

Moreover, everywhere the army went, it put up notices announcing that "the land would be exempted from debts" and began to count the population and divide the land equally. Now that King Chuang has 70,000 or 80,000 veteran battalion soldiers who have enclosed land and divided the land, his execution ability is not what it used to be, and he can truly implement the policy of "Juntian debt exemption"!

Although this style of play while advancing while Juntian is stable and can establish a base while advancing, the action is still too slow. Therefore, the road that Li Guo is responsible for is not the main force of the Dashun army, but only a partial division used to grab territory.

The real main force was led by Li Zicheng and marched east along the Han River by land and water to the 80,000 army (also half of the war auxiliary). The main army of 80,000 arrived at Zhongxiang, the city of Chengtianfu on the second day of the first day of November, and there was no such figure as Jing Muqing in Zhongxiang City, so before the Dashun Heavenly Soldiers arrived, the gentry and wealthy merchants who could run in the city went to Hankou. The rest of the people could only open the door to welcome and surrender, and welcomed Li Chuang's soldiers into Chengtianfu City.

After entering the city, Li Zicheng was not burdened by the mundane affairs of "Juntian debt relief", but only rested for a day, and led the main force of 75,000 people early in the morning of the fourth day of the new year (leaving 5,000 in the area of Chengtianfu City) to continue to advance eastward along the Han River.

Two days later, on the evening of the sixth day of November, the vanguard led by Liu Fangliang occupied Qianjiang County, an important town on the west bank of the Han River. Li Ziben himself arrived in Qianjiang on the seventh day of November, and entered Qianjiang County under the welcome of the poor people around Qianjiang County.

Li Zicheng, who was in a good mood because he felt the people's desire, convened the generals in the Qianjiang County Ya that night and began a military discussion.

The generals who participated in the military conference were all beaming, and the pioneer officer Liu Fangliang was the first to speak, saying: "This time you have entered the army, but you have won the support of the people more than ever before!" Along the way, I saw the people helping the old and the young to greet them, and the thieves and soldiers and officials of the Zhu family all fled from the wind, and they were not vulnerable at all. I thought that there were still some inferior gentlemen who didn't take it upon themselves to pull up some group exercises and fight with their foreheads, but this time they were gone. It seems that it won't be long before the land of Huguang will be the emperor's territory. ”

Prime Minister Niu Jinxing also followed Li Zicheng to act together, listened to Liu Fangliang's words, and said with a smile: "We have really won the hearts of the people this time, and we are all about money, and we are free of debts and interest...... The poor men of Huguang have gained real benefits, how can they not support us?

In addition, our operations in Xiangjing, Nanyang, Shenyang, and Hanzhong have also been effective, and this time the southern expedition dispatched more than 100,000 troops, and the required grain and straw are all self-prepared, no longer with the war, and the nuisance to the people along the way is much less. ”

Tian Jianxiu sighed: "We should have been like this a long time ago...... At the beginning of last year, we should not have gone eastward, but should have spent more energy to manage the territory of Shaanxi, Huguang and Henan. If we have managed our turf and then hit Beijing, we will not suffer so many setbacks. ”

Liu Zongmin said with a smile: "It's all hindsight, who knows at the beginning of last year?" ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said with a wry smile: "It's not too late...... It's not easy to dominate the world, but there is always a three-point. ”

Yuan Zongdi said: "Why are there only three points? Now the hearts of the people are on the side of the forehead, and they occupy the geographical advantage of the upstream. If you look at it for a few years, you will be able to keep the emperor floating into the river and pacify the southeast. The southeast has returned to the emperor, how long can the Tartars last? ”

Everyone nodded their heads when they heard this. Li Zicheng also smiled: "Of course, three points are temporary, the forehead first Pinghuguang, and then Bashu, the east is the trend of breaking bamboo, hard work for ten or eight years, are you afraid that you can't have the world?" ”

Most of what he said was to inspire people, the big guy followed him, and of course it was best to dominate the world, and there was a situation of Jingxiang Bashu in three points, and it would not last long to look at it.

Li Zicheng asked again: "What news is there from Wuchang Mansion and Hanyang Mansion?" ”

"Emperor, there's some news." It was Gu Junen, the division of the Second Army, who took over the topic, and this time Li Zicheng did not take Song Xiance with him, but ordered him to stay in Xiangjing with Chen Yongfu, while waiting for the opportunity to send Zhu Cihuan, Gao Yushun and Yuan Guifei to Huaibei together. Therefore, it was Gu Junen who followed Li Zicheng's side to give advice and was also responsible for intelligence work.

Gu Junen paused, and then said: "Emperor, I just got the news this evening that Zuo Liangyu's soldiers have left Wuchang Mansion and Hanyang Mansion by water, and have gone to Jingzhou Mansion along the Yangtze River. ”

"What? The left thief is gone? ”

"That's great!"

"Emperor, don't delay, hurry up and march to capture Hanyang and Wuchang!"

As soon as the generals heard that Zuo Liangyu's army had left, they all came to the momentum, and they all shouted to march faster.

Li Zicheng turned his head to look at Gu Junen, "Hanyang and Wuchang are both empty cities?" ”

"The city of Hanyang is almost empty," Gu Junen said, "but there are still many people crowded in the city of Wuchang and Hankou Town, all of whom are gentry and profiteers from Hubei. These gentry and profiteers carried treasures with them, and because the ships were taken by the left army, they could not escape.

If we move faster, we may be able to take Hankou Town and Wuchang City lightly. If Hankou and Wuchang are all in my hands...... It will be much easier to go down the river in the future! ”

"Only Hankow, Hanyang?" Li Zicheng asked.

Gu Junen replied: "The minister suggested taking Hankou and Hanyang first, and leaving Wuchang for the little prince of the Zhu family." Because Wuchang is south of the Yangtze River, our sailors are not as good as Zhu Thief after all. If it is defeated on the river, the army that enters Wuchang will become a lone army. Now the Zhu thief has many Xiyi cannons, and Wuchang City is not enough to defend it. If Wang Shi is frustrated in Wuchang, it will be greatly detrimental to the morale of Huguang's people. ”

Li Zicheng squinted one eye, frowned, and seemed to weigh it repeatedly, and only asked after a while: "How many Hongyi cannons are still available?" Can the Yangtze River be controlled? ”

The artillery battalion general is Li Zicheng's henchman Wu Ruyi, who is taciturn, but he is very reliable, and when he heard Li Zicheng ask, he opened his mouth to answer: "Emperor, the Hongyi cannon is difficult to cast, and they have been unsuccessful in casting it several times, so only four old cannons that were captured before can be used." I heard that many warships on the Zhu thief's side were also equipped with Hongyi cannons, and the four guns of the artillery battalion were afraid that they would not be able to control the Yangtze River.

In addition, the Hongyi cannons weigh thousands of pounds, and it is inconvenient to transport and place, so if you want to use them well, you have to build a fort, put the cannon on a high place, and then protect it properly. ”

The artillery level of the Dashun army is not as good as that of the Qing army, and the Hongyi cannons they have have no gun mounts that can be moved in the field, and they are all shipped in large carts, and then build artillery wagons or forts and forts when they go to the place.

"If you can't lock the Yangtze River, you can't occupy Wuchang!" Li Zicheng pondered for a moment, "It's better to be safe, first take Hankou and Hanyang, and then find a high place outside Hankou to build a fortification, and use Hongyi cannons to block the Yangtze River...... Hehe, first stand undefeated, and then slowly consume with him! Now it is the desire of the people, the teacher of the king, and there is time. ”