Chapter 104: Frightened and hungry people, why do you care
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xuanzhen, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs of East Road and North Road, and Commander-in-Chief of the Henan Relief and Suppression Campaign Zhang Cheng and Guard Su Zhuang sat on the general's cart and slowly headed south, less than a hundred meters north of the two camps of the bandit soldiers.
Stopped at every step.
Not far in front of the general's cart is Zhang Guodong's military formation. Not far from it is a pole cart. A sergeant with excellent eyesight is observing the battle ahead with a telescope.
He shouted loudly and passed the observed battle situation to the sergeants below, and then reported it to Zhang Cheng.
Su Zhuang sat next to Zhang Cheng. He was in a state of confusion. According to his idea, Zhang Cheng should rush all his troops to the north gate of Kaifeng, and then he would call for the city gate to be opened, and the army would enter the city to assist in the defense.
Resisting the bandits is the right path.
However, Zhang Cheng wanted to fight with the bandits in the wild. He was worried that if he was defeated, how could he save Kaifeng? Wouldn't his merit of being a civil servant and risking his life and going to the outside of the city to beg for help be lost?
However, I did not expect that the battle situation would be unexpectedly smooth. Listening to the military reports sent back by the flag soldiers, Zhang Cheng's men suffered few casualties, but the rebel soldiers in the north of the city were obviously at a disadvantage.
He was still frightened and reminded: "Shuai Zhang, why don't you let the thief go? Be careful that the thief is trapped and the beast is still fighting, which will increase unnecessary casualties of our army!"
"snort!"
Zhang Cheng snorted disapprovingly and said: "The task of getting rid of thieves is over! Today, since the thieves have met me, they must know that I am powerful, so they dare not underestimate me. There are no good generals in the Ming Dynasty."
…………
Chuang Wang Li Zili stood on a hillock next to the military formation. He was anxious in his heart, but his expression remained as usual.
At this time, Liu Zongmin had organized three more charges. Only the second time he broke into the edge of the car formation, but was still repelled by the sharp cannons in the car formation.
In these three charges, nearly a thousand additional rebel soldiers were lost, and although hundreds of wounded soldiers were rescued, it is difficult to say whether they will survive.
Everyone's eyes were focused on King Chuang to see how he would make a decision. Even Liu Zongmin, the general sentry, looked at Li Zicheng and said to him: "Brother Li, you are so damn hard to fight, like an iron bastard."
, I can’t rush in.”
Li Zicheng looked at the formation of vehicles on the opposite side and asked Song Xiance, "Commander, do you have any good ideas?"
Song Xiance stroked his small beard and said: "The formation of vehicles is strict and equipped with sharp cannons. It is indeed difficult to break through. Unless there is artillery bombardment, maybe you can give it a try.
Furthermore, even if there are no losses and we are surrounded from all sides, there is a possibility of success. However, now I am more worried about the safety of the two tiger generals in the north of the city. King Chuang should send people from the south of the city to the east of the city and order the troops in the north and east of the city.
Retreat to the south of the city and join forces with me.
In this way, we can not only support each other, but also be able to move forward and retreat at our own will without having to be controlled by others!"
Zhang Nai stepped forward at this time and said: "King Chuang, can you send an infantry to attack the army's chariot formation head-on? I will lead the cavalry to suddenly rush out from the flank and give it a try."
Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "No need. As the military advisor said, the army's chariot formations are strict and their guns and artillery are sharp. However, with our infantry and cavalry without artillery, it will be extremely difficult to break through. There is no need to try again."
He ignored Zhang Nai, who had an angry look on his face, but called Li Shuangxi to the side and ordered: "Lead ten cavalrymen to bypass the south of the city. Ask your Uncle Erhu to lead the army to retreat to the south of the city as soon as possible, and join forces with Mingyuan and Gu Ying.
One place to observe the movements of the officers and troops."
After Li Shuangxi left, Liu Zongmin said again: "Brother Li, are you going to just ignore this bastard formation of the army?"
Li Zicheng remained expressionless, and simply said: "No matter where he is from the border army, if we are facing each other, we must feel how hard the rock is."
All the generals looked at Li Zicheng with puzzled faces, waiting for him to continue speaking. A smile appeared on his lips and he said: "Bai Wang, please lead some soldiers to drive away all the hungry people who are coming from Zhengzhou and Zhongmou."
come over."
The generals around King Chuang all looked happy when they heard this, but Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan and others had doubts on their faces. If the offensive formation cannot be defeated, what's the use of driving the hungry people over?
Li Zicheng, king of Chuang, continued to say: "Jixuan, go and prepare. Later, Bai Wang will lead the troops to drive the hungry people to attack the official army's vehicle formation. Xiao Naozi will lead the troops to press behind. You and the cavalry will be ready at any time."
Break into the car formation and defeat him from the inside."
Niu Jinxing was stunned when he heard this, but soon returned to normal, but Li Yan looked panicked. He was about to say something to stop him, but Song Xiance next to him grabbed his sleeve.
He turned back to look at Song Xiance and saw that he was looking at him and shaking his head secretly. Li Yan sighed secretly in his heart and stopped talking.
But his little move was noticed by Li Zicheng, who turned his head and asked Li Yan with a smile: "Lin Quan, if you have something to say, it doesn't hurt to say it!"
Song Xiance was already familiar with Li Yan. At this time, he was afraid that he would say something rude, causing King Chuang's displeasure and causing trouble, but he didn't want to show it openly, so he had to quietly pinch Li Yan's arm by his side.
, I hope he can understand his deep meaning.
Li Yan was a smart and perceptive person, so how could he not understand what Song Xiance was thinking. He just didn't want to see those innocent hungry people die miserably in front of the army's car formation.
Previously, Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, ordered the hungry people to fill trenches and dig cities, which he could not bear. Now he even ordered the hungry people to attack the official and army chariot formations. This was clearly asking them to go and die!
Although Li Yan couldn't bear it and didn't want to, he also knew that no matter what he said at this time, he was destined to be unable to change the fate of these hungry people, because King Chuang would not agree to him not driving the hungry people to attack the army's chariot formation.
Therefore, when faced with King Chuang's inquiry, he did not express his true thoughts. He just said: "King Chuang, I am just worried that even if I drive the hungry people to rush into battle, it will not help. Instead, these hungry people will lose their lives in vain."
.”
An imperceptible hint of evil flashed in Li Zicheng's eyes, and he smiled and said: "Lin Quan is a scholar after all, and a woman's benevolence after all."
He turned his gaze back to the formation of officers and soldiers on the opposite side again, and continued: "As the saying goes, 'Compassion does not lead an army.' Since I raised my army, I have gone through many battles, many ups and downs, and many of the soldiers who followed me have lost their lives. The ones who are still here today are
Old brothers, apart from Jiexuan and the others, there are only about a thousand people.
If I always cared about human life, how could I be here today?
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, droughts are coming one after another, locusts cover the sky, the ground is red for thousands of miles, the crops are all gone, the grass, trees, animal skins, insects and flies have all been eaten. Many people are dying of hunger, and there are many people dying of hunger. Hundreds of miles are deserted, and everything is desolate as far as the eye can see.
They exchanged their children for food and sold human flesh. Eighty-nine out of ten households in every village and town perished.
You, the frightened and hungry people, will die of famine even if you don’t die in the war, so why care about it!”
Li Yan was speechless for a moment after hearing King Chuang's words. Song Xiance next to him kept gently tugging on his sleeves, fearing that he would make another mistake.
Now, there was a trace of disharmony in his heart. He was already secretly reflecting on whether it was right or wrong for him to defect to King Chuang without any hesitation.