Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 99

Dashun Barracks in Tongshan County, Hubei Province.

In order to cover Liu Zongmin's sneak attack on Fengyang Mansion, Li Zicheng resorted to suspicious tactics, crossed the Yangtze River from Hanyang, and led an army of [-] troops deep into southeastern Hubei, traveled around, and contained Huang Degong and Liu Wenbing's troops.

This night, the Milky Way is bright and bright, like a white streak across the sky.

Li Zicheng stood outside the Chinese army's tent, looked up at the brilliant starry sky, and recited: "The sun and the moon are as bright as if they were outside it; the stars and rivers are as brilliant as if they were outside of it. Singing to wine, how many things are there in life. For example, the morning dew, when the sun disappears, Bitter..."

"Your Majesty, you have confused the two poems!" Song Xiance came behind Li Zicheng at some point.

Li Zicheng turned around and smiled and said, "Really? I haven't read many books, so my memory is wrong. But the military commander is really disappointing. I finally had a bit of poetic interest, but you ruined it. If it were Prime Minister Niu, he would definitely flatter me A few words, how can you be so sincere."

Song Xiance said: "People have their own temperaments. I can't imitate Prime Minister Niu's behavior, and I don't want to."

Li Zicheng laughed: "Forget it, you and Prime Minister Niu are my right-hand men, and I like to appreciate you both. Military commander, this situation reminds me of the past days, with the starry sky above my head and the earth under my feet, how happy I am to gallop back and forth ! Ever since I became the emperor, I have not had a few days of comfortable life, why do you say?"

"It's easy to conquer the country, but it's difficult to sit on the country. Your Majesty should adjust his strategy..."

Song Xiance was about to take this opportunity to persuade Li Zicheng, but he heard a rush of footsteps, turned around and saw several guards running towards him with a messenger.

"What's the matter?" Li Zicheng asked, still standing with his hands behind his back, watching the bright Milky Way.

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened!" The messenger knelt down, crawled up to Li Zicheng, and cried bitterly, "The younger one was sent by General Li Guo. The city of Xi'an fell into the hands of the Tatars, and General Li escorted the queen. Escape to the south..."

"Nonsense!" Li Zicheng turned around and lowered his head, glared at the messenger, and shouted, "I know, you are a spy sent by Chongzhen. You spread false news to disturb my army's morale, and you want to trick me into withdrawing troops, don't you?"

The messenger kowtowed and said, "I have been with General Li for many years, and many people in the barracks know me. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can find some veterans of the Zhongzheng Battalion who went south with Yujia to identify me!"

A guard said: "Your Majesty, this person is indeed General Li Guo's confidant, and I have met him several times."

Li Zicheng still couldn't believe it, and stared wide-eyed: "How could the Tartars invade Xi'an City? Absolutely impossible! Tongguan is guarded by Liu Fangliang, and in Xi'an City there are Tian Jianxiu, Li Guo, and Niu Jinxing..."

"Your Majesty, Niu Jinxing and his son have defected to the enemy. Tongguan has long been lost. After the Tatars surrounded the city of Xi'an, it was Niu Jinxing who personally opened the west gate and let the Tatars enter the city!" the messenger cried loudly.

"Ah...you lied to me, you lied to me on purpose, Niu Jinxing is not a good prime minister, he surrendered to the Tartars, could it be that the Tartars invited him to be emperor? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Li Zicheng couldn't believe it, lost his mind in a panic, kicked the messenger over, drew out his knife and said, "I'll kill you!"

Song Xiance hurriedly hugged Li Zicheng's waist tightly, and shouted: "Your Majesty, calm down!"

Just at this time, the cloudless sky suddenly darkened, dark clouds billowed, thunder and lightning flashed, and heavy rain fell from the sky.

Li Zicheng pointed his sword at the sky and shouted, "My God, you are blind!"

Immediately wow, he spit out a mouthful of blood, and fell straight down, the rain hit his face, and his body was covered with muddy water.Song Xiance and others hurriedly lifted Li Zicheng and sent him to the tent of the Chinese army.

……

It rained heavily for three days and three nights, and Li Zicheng also lay down for three days and three nights.He had a high fever, fell into a daze, and yelled a few times from time to time.

On the fifth day, Li Zicheng's fever subsided, and he became sickly and haggard a lot.I haven't taken care of my beard for a few days, and it's as messy as dry grass.

In the past few days, his thoughts were flying like clouds, and his military career of more than ten years kept flashing in his mind.

He remembered the helplessness when he raised the army, the embarrassment of hiding in Shangluo Mountain, the glory of entering the capital, the person he killed for the first time, the Xing family and Gao Jie who betrayed him, and the love he loved so much. past women and brothers...

"No, I want to cheer up!" Li Zicheng secretly said.

After regaining consciousness, he hurriedly summoned his subordinates and issued an order: "Immediately send someone to notify Liu Zongmin to join me in Xiangyang, and then send troops north to recapture Xi'an City. Generals, return to the camp immediately and make preparations. Tomorrow, we will leave the camp and leave here. Go to Xiangyang."

When the generals left the tent of the Chinese army, Li Zicheng struggled to get up, ordered someone to put on armor for himself, and went to survey the terrain himself.

Song Xiance said: "Your Majesty, you have not fully recovered from your illness, so leave the task of exploring the terrain to others. If Your Majesty is worried, I will go through it myself."

"No, the commander-in-chief's surveying the terrain is a tradition of our army and cannot be abolished. Besides, I want all the soldiers to see that I have not been defeated, and no one can defeat me. No difficulty can defeat me!"

Li Zicheng's face was sickly red, and his one eye was piercing.

Whether it was Gao Yingxiang and others in the early days, or Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, and Zhang Xianzhong later, these generals of the peasant army all had a habit of exploring the terrain by themselves when leading troops in action.

Probably because the soldiers of the Peasant Army have limited education and inflexible minds, many things need to be done by the army commander himself, and a tradition has gradually formed.

"Your Majesty still has great ambitions, and I am very pleased!" Song Xiance stopped persuading.

Li Zicheng drank two bowls of hot porridge in a daze, laughed and said: "Lian Po is old, can he still eat? Military commander, I will come back as soon as I go, and when I come back, I will lead you to regroup and fight the enemy!"

Li Zicheng took his guards and rode out of the barracks with more than a dozen riders, watching all the way and heading north.When encountering sporadic villages, they don't stay, just mark them on the map.

The torrential rain had just stopped and the road was muddy.Gradually travel twenty miles away and come to a mountain depression.

Li Zicheng got off his horse, took the map and compared it with the col, and said: "This is it. After passing through this col, we will reach the boundary of Jiayu, and we can leave the Jiugongshan area. Alright, let's go back to the camp."

Just as he was about to mount his horse, he heard the noise and a large group of people running from a distance, at least hundreds of them.

These people approached, holding all kinds of old weapons in their hands, and shouted: "It's a group of bandits, don't let them go!"

"No, it should be the local regiment training! Your Majesty, get on your horse and rush out!" A guard shouted, and rushed to help Li Zicheng get on his horse.

Local regiment training is an armed force formed spontaneously by local landlords and gentry to guard against bandits and peasant troops.These people are not strong in combat, but because they are local snakes, they should not be underestimated.When they encountered a large army, they avoided it far away, and they specially dealt with the small group of people who were alone.

Da Shunjun is highly recognizable because of his white felt hat.The team training members recognized them immediately, and saw that there were only a dozen of them. They were envious of their strong and tall horses, and they moved their hands as soon as they met.

"Kill, this group of bandits have good weapons and horses, we're going to get rich!" Someone said with a smirk.

The guards protected Li Zicheng in the middle, whipped their horsewhip wildly, and rushed out.

Helplessly, the opponent had a large number of people, forming a tight encirclement, with muskets and lassoes, and the surrounding area was tightly guarded. Li Zicheng and others fell into a melee.

In the blink of an eye, several guards were injured, either slightly or severely.What's more hateful is that the road is muddy, the horse's hooves are slipping, and the speed cannot be raised.

Li Zicheng swung his knife and killed an enemy in front of him.Unexpectedly, the mount was caught by the lasso and suddenly fell over. He rolled into the mud, surrounded by weapons, and continued to roll while blocking. The situation was critical.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" The guards rushed over to rescue Li Zicheng.

His Majesty?

The team training members were stunned for a moment, looking at each other, dumbfounded.Good guy, could it be that he blocked a big man and caught a big fish?
One of them shouted: "That's right, that one-eyed dragon is Li Zicheng, I've seen him in the Weihe area before!"

This person is none other than Silly Dazhu who escaped from the disaster a few days ago.Silly Dazhu arrived in Hubei, and by chance, he joined the local armed forces.

"Li Zicheng, is he Li Zicheng? God, let's see who we caught!" Many people screamed wildly, their eyes shining with madness.

"That's right, I'm Li Zicheng!" Li Zicheng finally stood up, and said without anger, "Since you know my name, you should put down your weapons and surrender immediately. My army is not far away, and it will come soon. Get out of here if you don’t want to die!”

Anyway, he was an emperor, and his voice contained great majesty.Moreover, Li Zicheng has been famous for so many years, and everyone in the world knows who is not.

The members of the group training felt a chill in their hearts, and they stood there in a daze. Some even moved back, preparing to escape.

"Aren't you going to retreat?" Li Zicheng roared again, scaring the members of the training team to tremble.

Seeing this situation, a mocking and disdainful smile appeared on the corner of Li Zicheng's mouth, and he walked slowly towards his horse, grabbed the saddle and wanted to turn over and ride on it.

But God no longer favored Li Zicheng, so he met Silly Dazhu today.Silly Dazhu came back to his senses, and cursed bitterly: "The dog emperor, take your life, don't even try to escape!"

Li Zicheng was taken aback, stared at the stupid Dazhu and said: "Boy, don't you know what is good or bad! From your accent, you are from the north, and you should know my reputation. Why are you so stubborn and want to die?"

"It's because I know you so well that I have to kill you!" Silly Dazhu said emotionally, with red eyes, "A few days ago you sent troops to collect food everywhere, and took away all the food left in my house. I had no choice but to kill you." I took my grandfather and fled all the way south. After eating some Guanyin soil, my grandfather was distended and couldn’t walk fast. He was chased and beaten to death by the government servants, and I managed to escape to Hubei.”

"Li Zicheng, if you were the former King Chuang, I, Silly Dazhu, would not embarrass you. But you are no longer King Chuang, you are the emperor. You have changed and started to bully the people. What is the use of an emperor like you?"

"Emperor Dog, give back my grandfather's life! Brothers, if you kill Li Zicheng, do you still worry about your glory and wealth?"

Silly Dazhu roared and rushed straight to Li Zicheng.His last words completely incited the members of the training group, and they attacked like crazy.

If Niu Jinxing's betrayal made Li Zicheng furious, he could still cheer up.

So silly Dazhu's seat is not profound, and the plain and simple words are like five thunderbolts, defeating Li Zicheng's psychological defense, shattering his pride and dignity, and making him feel desperate.

After more than ten years in the army, Li Zicheng has been fighting and losing repeatedly, and he has been full of fighting spirit and self-confidence from beginning to end.Where does his self-confidence come from? Isn't it because the people really support him?

Now, instead, he has become a street rat, a tyrant, and a dog emperor in the eyes of the people. Li Zicheng's faith has collapsed!

"That's all, that's all, I have such a beautiful head, if you have the guts, take it as a reward!"

Li Zicheng looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, then brandished a knife and rushed into the battlefield.

The sky began to rain again, and in the vast rain and fog, the guards fell one after another.The land under his feet turned into a muddy soup, the muddy water splashed everywhere, and the bloody water merged into a stream, flowing out through the mountain depression.

Li Zicheng's armor was cracked, his hat fell off, and his hair fell loose.He was like a demon king at this time, slashing left and right with a knife, roaring again and again, his face was covered with rain, sweat, and blood, which was ferocious and terrifying.

After a while, two of the guards escaped, and the rest were all killed in battle.Li Zicheng retreated to the bottom of the hillside, facing hundreds of enemies with the same red eyes!
Li Zicheng held up the knife, the blade was rolled over, he panted heavily: "Who...who will cut off my head, who can kill me? Come on, it has been a big dream for 20 years, and today is the time to wake up from the dream !"

The group training members stood ten feet away, surrounded Li Zicheng, held their spears and knives in front of them, but were overwhelmed by his boldness and crazy aura, and no one dared to stand out.

The wind and rain were silent, and the blood flowed like a river.

Silly Dazhu knelt down and said: "Li Zicheng, you are a hero! In order to save you some dignity, please kill yourself!"

Li Zicheng laughed loudly: "My good boy, you are a righteous man! Well, I understand if you have the same heart! The heaven and the earth all work together, and the hero is not free when transported..."

As he said that, the hot and frantic light in his one eye dimmed, and a teardrop rolled down, and then reversed the knife, and suddenly plunged into his stomach.Blood was sprayed from the mouth, the body staggered, and finally hit the mud heavily.

When Li Zicheng was dying, he tried his best to turn his head to look to the southeast, and said in a weak tone, "Chongzhen...I...I lost, you can do it yourself, kill...kill the Tartars, protect the Han people..."

Silly Dazhu kowtowed three times, and the team members wiped off their sweat one after another and let out a long breath.

Then they looked at each other in blank dismay, it was like having a long nightmare, everything seemed unreal, wondering if we really killed Li Zicheng?

In the distance came the sound of a large group of people marching forward, and someone shouted: "No, Li Zicheng's army has arrived!"

The members of the training group ignored Li Zicheng's body and ran for their lives.

Silly Dazhu reached out to help Li Zicheng close his eyes, but he couldn't close his eyelids three times in a row. He tore off the seal hanging from the corpse's waist hastily, jumped up and ran wildly.

Song Xiance got a report from the escaped guards and led thousands of people to rescue him, but they came one step too late.

When the soldiers found Li Zicheng's body, as if the sky had collapsed, they first fell silent, and then broke out endless wailing.

Song Xiance stood in the rain, wanted to cry but couldn't cry, he didn't even look at Li Zicheng's body, he muttered: "It's over, it's over..."

Standing in a daze for a long time, Song Xiance picked up the two feathered arrows on the ground in a daze, held them up in front of his eyes and looked at them in a daze, smiled wryly in a daze, and poked his own eyes in a daze.

He left the col without a sound and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)