On December 16, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo led a team of 5,000 horses to Suzhou, and at the same time arrived at Huang Degong, the general soldier of Luzhou. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

He traveled farther than Sun Kewang, but as soon as he received the message, he ordered all the soldiers and horses to come, and the cavalry of the main barracks specially led arrived at the same time as Sun Kewang and others.

However, due to the urgency of the military situation, he led the horse team first, with only about 2,000 horsemen around him, and the rest of the infantry was far behind, and many of them had not yet crossed the Huai River.

This is also the normal state of the march in the towns of the Ming Dynasty at this time, the generals received the transfer of troops, in order not to delay the deadline, they all led the cavalry to run wildly, and the rest of the infantry rushed slowly, and they may arrive at the destination in ten days and a half months.

The Ming Dynasty even appeared half a year after the infantry arrived, and when they arrived, the battle was already over, and then rushed back.

The situation is not bad, it is very likely that a quarter, or even a third of the men and horses on the march are missing, and do not know where to run.

Lu Jiude, the overseer, also arrived in Suzhou early, and he and Ma Shiying have been in the army for a long time, so they naturally know the shortcomings at this time. Seeing that Huang Degong needed to send 20,000 troops, only 2,000 arrived at this time. Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo need to send 50,000 troops, but at this time it is only 5,000, and they cannot be blamed for this.

However, with the men and horses of Sun Kewang and Huang Degong, at this time, there were more than 12,000 Ming soldiers and horses by the Suishui Bridge near the Fuli Bridge, and there were many horse cavalry inside.

Their tents were densely packed and spread all the way to the south bank of the river.

On the opposite side, there are also countless soldiers and horses who break into the army, forming an endless nest and camp.

When Huang Degong arrived, he suggested that he should march into the army immediately and cross the Suishui, but although a large number of soldiers and horses arrived, but looking at the boundless thieves and horses on the opposite side, the generals were still afraid and silent, Ma Shiying kept groaning, and Lu Jiude, the supervising army, was also hesitant.

On 17 December, when Huang Degong was again persuading, suddenly hoarse cheers rang out on the other side, and all the thieves shouted in unison, and they saw a tall flag erected, the flagpole was silver and white, and the word "Chuang" was embroidered with black satin.

Then I saw the roar of hooves, and countless cavalry rushed in the black pressure on the plains in the distance, and they marched in formation, like locusts.

As they marched, their hooves roared like thunder, and the pressure that rushed over them made the Ming troops in the camp change color.

After they gathered together, all the thieves shouted "Long live" together, and the sound was like an overwhelming sea, and the power frightened many people even more pale.

The prison army Lu Jiude's body trembled, relying on the support of a few little eunuchs, Ma Shiying's face was ugly, and his hand holding the camp trembled a little.

Seeing the thieves on the opposite side showing off their might, Huang Degong said hatefully: "The thieves are too rampant, Ma Du, the last general is willing to take his men and horses, cross the bridge of Fuli, and kill their arrogance!" ”

Li Dingguo also immediately said: "The last general is willing to take the soldiers and horses and kill the thief with Huang Shuai!" ”

The rest of the generals were still silent, and Sun Kewang glanced at Li Dingguo, still silent.

Ma Shiying's limbs are majestic, his appearance is very majestic, he is up and down in the sea, he is old and sophisticated, he praised Huang Degong and Li Dingguo when he heard this, and greatly appreciated their loyalty to the country, but he thought in his heart: "How can I fold these soldiers and horses like Sun Chuanting?" ”

Then he said with a solemn expression: "Two generals, the thieves are powerful, don't talk about the battle lightly, or guard the camp first." ”

Overseer Lu Jiude trembled and said, "Yes...... Oh, yes...... The thieves lined up by the river, and they needed to be prevented from crossing the ......"

The rivers of Huaibei are vertical and horizontal, especially the Sui River because of the continuous overflow of the Yellow River, the sediment is silted, and the bank is full of saline-alkali land and depression ponds. Historically, people have walked on the official road from Fengyang to Xuzhou via Suzhou, but it is difficult to cross the river elsewhere.

At this time, the thieves lined up on the riverside, and after the officers and soldiers passed the Fuli Bridge, it was indeed difficult to prevent them from attacking halfway.

Huang Degong said angrily: "Is it because of this to stop the army and wait and see? ”

He shouted: "Men are not afraid of life and death, they don't want to live, they just want to die as they deserve!" ”

Everyone's faces changed in unison, and Huang Degong's words accuse them of being greedy for life and afraid of death, and cowardly for survival.

Ma Shiying's eyes also flashed with anger, but he was scheming, and he was not angry on his face, he only sighed: "General Huang, be cautious." The thieves are powerful, not as good as before, we must not act rashly, we should endure humiliation and bear the burden, and save the vitality of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Lu Jiude also said: "What Ma Duchen said is extremely true, General Huang has to listen to it." ”

Huang Degong shook his cloak suddenly, and said sharply: "Sons, follow me to kill the thief!" ”

He was about to leave, Ma Shiying's face couldn't help but turn pale, Li Dingguo's heart was boiling, and he was about to follow, but at this time, a loud crying voice sounded: "Dashuai, don't." ”

Then a figure pounced, but it was Tian Xiong, Huang Degong's Chinese army general, and saw him holding Huang Degong's thigh, crying: "Handsome, the thieves are powerful, don't fight lightly!" ”

Huang Degong roared: "Let go of me!" ”

More generals pounced on him, hugged Huang Degong's leg like Tian Xiong, and cried and begged: "Commander, don't fight lightly......"

Huang Degong cracked his mouth and howled like a trapped tiger and lion, and his roar spread far away.

Li Dingguo stopped, he stared blankly, his blood was cold, and his heart swelled with great sadness and helplessness.

Sun Kewang remained silent, his face was flat and expressionless.

……

On the same day, it returned to the city of Defu.

Li Zhenting, the prefect of Guide, looked at the overwhelming thieves outside with a heavy heart, they have been attacking the city for five days, they have exhausted all siege methods, and they have also exhausted all methods to defend the city, but in the end, whether they can hold it or not, he has no bottom in his heart.

The thieves besieged the city in large numbers at the beginning of the month, and it may be that they initially wanted to use the siege point to send reinforcements, so they did not move until the fifth day, and only sometimes some small groups of soldiers and horses would attack the Gongchen Gate in the north of the city.

But perhaps it is slightly less important than Xuzhou to return to Defu City, and there have been no soldiers and horses to come to help, and even the three brothers of Guiyong Staff General Ding Qiguang, Ding Qiyin, and Ding Chenglie, who were supposed to assist Guide City, were transferred to Xuzhou City for defense by order from the Ministry of War.

Waiting for the aid of the soldiers, the thieves may give up, and they begin to attack the city, and they fiercely attack the east gate, the west gate, and the north gate. In the cold winter, the moats in these places began to freeze, which greatly facilitated the attack of thieves.

And they are very determined, vowing to capture the last city of Henan territory, they have been crowding wave after wave, and they have not stopped, and the black and oppressive figures outside have covered the earth.

The shouts of killing shook the sky, the drums inside and outside the city sounded in unison, the sound of bows and arrows leaving the strings and the roar of birds, and the smoke and dust raised by the artillery. Looking at the tragic and bloody battles everywhere, Li Zhenting gritted his teeth and was worried about the situation.

Then he comforted himself that he should be able to hold on, he has a large number of excellent Xuanfu Town birds in his city, and the Shebing Township formed is brave and resolute, plus the battalion of General Yang, Fucheng should be able to hold out for a long time.

Just thinking about it, suddenly there was a cry at the east gate, and then a personal guard staggered over to report that General Yang was killed in battle.

Li Zhenting's heart trembled, what he was most afraid of happened, and then soon a soldier cried and came to report, Hou Fangxia, the son of the governor Hou Sui, saw that the city could not be defended, so he led his family to cut the pass, injured many defenders, and the thieves took advantage of the situation to attack in the chaos. Now Tong Zhi Yan Zekong, Xu Yiyuan, Shangqiu Zhixian Liang Yizhang, Instructor Xia Shiying and others are leading the social soldiers to start a street battle with the thieves, but the thieves have entered in large numbers, and the city cannot be defended.

Li Zhenting looked over there, and sure enough, there was a chaotic sound of crying and shouting, and at this time, his heart calmed down, and the only way to do this was to die to serve the country.

He returned to his mansion and drew his sword, the past vividly remembered, "I have a clear conscience." ”

He was about to kill himself, when the sound of footsteps sounded, Li Zhenting felt that he was hit on the neck, he was dizzy for a while, and then his eyes darkened, and he fainted......

After the fall of Guide Mansion, Li Guo, the general who attacked the city, hated it for holding on, and after breaking the city, tens of thousands of people were captured in the west of the city, regardless of whether they were high or low, and they were killed.

……

December 20, 16th year of Chongzhen, Xuzhou.

Xuzhou is 180 miles east to Pizhou, Huai'an Prefecture, 480 miles to Shouzhou, Fengyang Prefecture to the southwest, 500 miles to Guide Mansion in Henan Province to the west, and 360 miles to Yanzhou Mansion in Shandong Province in the north. Before Li Hualong opened the river, Xuzhou was full of shops, the market was prosperous, there were 37,841 households in the sixth year of Wanli, and 345,766 mouths.

After the excavation of the Luhe River, the status of Xuzhou Caoyun declined, and the apocalypse suffered a flood again, and the state city was flooded, so it was moved to Yunlong Mountain. However, even so, Xuzhou is still the throat of the north and the south, and the important area for attack and defense. It is known as a military town connecting the frontier of Qilu in the north and the road of Liang and Chu in the south.

At this time, Xuzhou city is strange in nine miles around, the city wall is three feet high, there are four doors, three sides block water, only the south can be opened to traffic and horses, as far as defense is concerned, it is stronger than the city of Guide.

However, at this time, there was a panic in the city, because not long ago, the thieves outside the city brought the news of the fall of Guide, and they also hung a large number of heads with hanging baskets. There are the heads of the generals who are to be guided, the heads of the same knowledge, the heads of the county, the heads of the experience, etc., but the head of Li Zhenting, the prefect of Guide.

But even so, it's enough to make people tremble.

In particular, the people of Xuzhou City also got the news that after the thieves captured and returned to Germany, they hated it for sticking to it, and after breaking the city, they actually killed the men, women and children inside, how could this not make people feel cold and afraid?

"Sure enough, jade is not distinguished......"

In the mansion of the general soldier, looking at the large number of heads in front of him, whether it was Liu Liangzuo, the chief soldier of Xuzhou, or a large group of generals under his command, they were all terrified, and their hearts were cold.

"Marshal, the soldiers are in danger, and the number of Ming Qi is exhausted, there is really no need to accompany the funeral."

"Yes, Dashuai, now it's the king's world, you have to think about your brothers."

"What General Zheng said is reasonable, Dashuai, even if you don't think about your brothers, you have to think about the people of Xuzhou City, how innocent are the people, and they want to suffer this catastrophe?"

At this time, the cries and pleading of the generals under Liu Liangzuo were even more earth-shattering, and they had enough reasons to surrender.

Liu Liangzuo's expression was still a little hesitant, and he finally asked, "Jin Shenghuan, what about Ding Qiguang?" ”

A pro-general replied: "The last general has asked them, and they are all willing to surrender, even if they are the governor of Xuzhou, they will no longer be blocked." ”

Liu Liangzuo finally put his mind at ease, and he muttered: "That's it, for the sake of the people, for the common people to no longer suffer and suffer, let's come down." ”

The generals under his command were all relieved, and they praised together: "The handsome man is benevolent and generous, and the people of Xuzhou City will definitely feel guilty." ”

On December 22, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Liu Liangzuo, the general soldier of Xuzhou, surrendered. Those who surrendered together also included Xuzhou deputy general Jin Shenghuan, guerrilla Liu Shichang, garrison Zhuo Sheng, and Guiyong staff generals Ding Qiguang, Ding Qiyin, Ding Chenglie and others. Li Zichengke Xuzhou, the sea shook.

On December 25, hearing that Xuzhou had fallen, Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, knew that he was invincible, so he led his soldiers and horses to retreat to the Huai River.

……

On December 28, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng took Liu Fangliang as the vanguard to fight against Shandong, and galloped through various counties and counties in Shandong.

The text said: "The general who advocated the righteousness and the head of the battalion was ordered to solicit things: since ancient times, the emperors have risen and fallen, and they have been in the hearts of the people. In the Ming Dynasty, most of the numbers have ended. The punishment was severe, and the people were unbearable. Birth to my holy lord, benevolence and good life. As soon as the flag of righteousness is raised, Haiyu returns to his heart ......" (to be continued.) )