The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

February 14th, Xiangyang City.

In the palace of the former governor Yang Sichang.

Liu Sheng was reading the battle report sent by Helianyue's people who traveled day and night——

"In the battle at Longtan Ferry, Li Dingguo, commanded by the Second Battalion of the Knight Cavalry, charged into the camp with a hundred cavalry, set fire to the camp, and rioted with three thousand bandits from the Xiao family on the east bank of the Tang River!"

"In the battle of Liao Gang, eight hundred horsemen defeated nearly 3,000 Xiao bandits! Four hundred and seventy-three bandits were killed on the spot, and 27 leaders, big and small, were captured. Xiao Yingxun, the leader of the Xiao bandits, was captured alive by Li Dingguo!

In this battle, nine members of the Cavalry Guard were killed, five were seriously injured, and thirty-seven were slightly injured.

In addition, eighty-eight war horses, weapons and armor, as well as a certain amount of food, grass and baggage were seized..."

"The battle at Guowan Mound should be the most brutal battle since the rebellion started!

Therefore, the battle was a defensive battle, and the number of enemy killed could not be counted. The military and political officers of the two battalions reported that there were approximately five to six hundred enemy casualties.

Among them, the enemy cavalry suffered nearly 200 casualties, and the Ming army infantry suffered about 300 casualties.

The second and third battalions of our Second Regiment of the Rebel Army had a total of 159 killed, 76 seriously injured, and 205 slightly injured!

Deputy Lin Zhanfei of the Third Battalion was hit by a cannonball in his left arm and was seriously injured and disabled.

In addition, eleven generals, including Huang Cheng, a military and political officer at the sentinel level, and Li Dong, a deputy sentry officer, were killed, and eight generals below the sentinel level were seriously injured..."

"The Ming army retreated, and the cavalry guards pursued and attacked them. One hundred and three more enemies were killed, seventy-five were captured, and fifty-seven horses were captured..."

After reading this battle report, Liu Sheng couldn't help but sigh.

Since he established the Yibu Rebel Army, he has indeed experienced some difficult battles.

In the battle at Guowan Mound in Tanghe, even excluding the slightly injured, the two battalions suffered more than 200 casualties, and the battle losses were close to 20%!

It seemed that the damage was similar to that of the Wuyang siege.

But at that time, the rebel army was attacking the city, but in this battle, the rebel army was defending on the spot. Whether it was the mentality or the intensity of the battle, it was definitely incomparable.

According to the battle report, there were more than 3,000 people besieging 1,200 rebels at that time!

While Liu Sheng felt sorry for the soldiers who died in the battle, he was also pleased with the performance of the standing army in this battle.

Faced with three times the enemy's siege on the plains (the Ming army was motivated by money and food rewards in this battle, their combat effectiveness was not weak), and being able to hold on without retreating and suffering 20% ​​battle damage is not something that any army can do.

Moreover, in this battle, the proportion of generals' losses was quite high, which shows that the rebel generals should have played a significant leading role in the battle.

Only after experiencing such fierce battles can the Yibu rebels gradually transform into true elites.

Liu Sheng was sighing with emotion when the personal guards came in after reporting.

"Commander Qi, Zhang Xianzhong's troops are breaking up camp and leaving!"

"Oh? Is Zhang Xianzhong finally leaving?"

Liu Sheng did not make a conclusion prematurely, but went to the Xicheng Gate Tower in person and watched with a telescope.

I saw that Zhang Xianzhong's troops were indeed breaking out of camp and heading towards the official road where Yin Ji was.

Although the Cavalry Guards were sent to escort the fleet, Liu Sheng still left a team of scouts in Xiangyang City.

After Zhang Xianzhong's troops disappeared from sight, Liu Sheng sent ten scouts to follow them from a distance to understand their whereabouts.

It was not until the next day that the ten scouts came back.

The report said that Zhang Xianzhong's troops crossed the Han River near Yujia Lake and headed northeast.

Liu Sheng was too lazy to continue sending people to investigate the specific whereabouts of Zhang Xianzhong - as long as Zhang Xianzhong left the Xiangyang City area, it was none of his business where he went and what he did.

As for the situation that "Zhang Xianzhong coveted the capture of the Wei tribe in Xiangyang City and set up an ambush in Nanyang", Liu Sheng also considered it.

If Zhang Xianzhong really had this idea, he would have come. He and the Yibu rebels were not timid in fighting.

On February 16, the transport fleet and the escorting seven battalions of standing troops, knightly cavalry guards and more than 10,000 civilians came to Xiangyang City again.

On February 17, after the rebels loaded the gold and silver treasures seized in Xiangyang and other important supplies, they all left Xiangyang City.

Of course, Liu Sheng did not forget to forcibly recruit the craftsmen of Xiangyang City this time.

There is also a weapons bureau in the Ming Dynasty here in Xiangyang City. In addition to many blacksmiths, there are also many other types of craftsmen.

In the end, there were about 2,000 craftsmen of various types who were forcibly recruited by the rebels. Counting the families of these craftsmen, there were more than 8,000 craftsmen!

The Yi tribe's rebels had only been away for three days, and Zuo Liangyu's 30,000 to 40,000 troops arrived outside Xiangyang City.

Finding that there were only more than a thousand rural soldiers guarding Xiangyang City, Zuo Liangyu immediately led his troops into the city without ceremony and temporarily took over this important capital.

Zuo Liangyu's military discipline is notoriously corrupt.

Because in addition to the officers and soldiers he brought from Liaodong, Zuo Liangyu's subordinates also had a considerable number of surrendered bandits and bandits. There were so many officers and soldiers from such backgrounds that it was difficult for even Zuo Liangyu to restrain them.

What's more, the military discipline of Zuo Liangyu's headquarters is not good, so how can we restrain the subordinate military leaders?

For a time, the people in Xiangyang City complained.

Both the gentry, wealthy merchants and ordinary people felt that their lives were far worse than when the Yibu rebels were in charge of the city.

If we only talk about military discipline and urban public security, even the Ming government could not do as well as the Yibu rebels.

Therefore, a few days after Zuo Liangyu's tribe entered the city, a small number of people sold their property and prepared to go to Runing to join the Yi tribe's rebel army...

February 20th.

The county seat of Tang County.

After taking a bath, Liu Sheng drank tea in the backyard of the county government office.

Soon a personal guard came to report, "Commander, Xiao Yingxun has been brought to the front office."

"Bring him here."

"Yes."

Soon, Xiao Yingxun was brought to Liu Sheng.

"Grassman Xiao Yingxun pays homage to Marshal Liu!"

Seeing Liu Sheng, Xiao Yingxun fell down and prostrated.

He had been captured by the rebels for seven or eight days.

At first, he had thought of becoming a tough-minded man who would be beheaded by the rebels of the Kuei tribe. Eighteen years later, he would become a good man again, and he would not lose the great reputation he had achieved in the past six or seven years.

But the longer he was imprisoned, the less he wanted to die.

Even in the past two days, I couldn't bear the thought of dying like this.

Therefore, when he learned that he was being brought to see Liu Sheng, he seized the opportunity and bowed to Liu Sheng, hoping to save his life.

Liu Sheng looked at Xiao Yingxun.

I saw that this big bandit leader, who was famous in Nanyang and Runing Prefectures, was more than 1.7 meters tall. In the late Ming Dynasty when most civilian men were more than 1.6 meters tall, he was already considered tall.

He looked to be in his thirties or forties. Apart from a slightly hooked nose and a tall, thin beard, there was nothing unusual about his appearance.

Withdrawing his gaze, Liu Shengcai said calmly and calmly: "We are not in the mood to kneel down and pay homage. Mr. Xiao, please get up."

Xiao Yingxun did not get up, but kowtowed and said: "Please Marshal Liu, please spare the lives of the common people. The common people are willing to work as cattle and horses to repay the kindness of not killing!"

Liu Sheng took a sip of tea and said, "You said you wanted to make cows and horses for me, but you didn't even listen to my words. Isn't this contradictory?"

When Xiao Yingxun heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly stood up and said, "I'm sorry for the offence. Please forgive me, Commander!"

Liu Sheng said: "In our Wei tribe, prisoners like you who commit heinous crimes can only be beheaded.