Sitting on a war horse and looking at the surrounding soldiers and horses that were blocking the sky, Li Zicheng felt quite high-spirited. From the time he escaped into Shangluo Mountain to today, it has only been a short two or three years, but in these two or three years, he has made the world famous.
The situation has reversed. Three years ago, he never imagined that one day he would make a comeback and lead his troops to fight Sun Chuanting again.
He was both familiar and unfamiliar with his opponent Sun Chuanting who was waiting for him in Tongguan City. The familiar thing was that he had fought against Sun Chuanting several times over the years and almost died at his hands during the most dangerous times. The strange thing was that he actually didn't know Sun Chuanting at all.
This time when he led his troops westward to Tongguan, Li Zicheng was not as calm as he appeared on the surface. Sun Chuanting still left a considerable psychological shadow on Li Zicheng. It was precisely because of this psychological shadow that Li Zicheng decided to go on the expedition this time.
Only then will all the capable generals under his command be brought out. Generals like Liu Zongmin, Yuan Zongdi, Li Yan, and Hao Yaoqi are all in the Western Expedition army at this moment.
The 300,000 troops were all the troops and horses that Li Zicheng could bring out to fight. This shows how seriously Li Zicheng attached importance to the upcoming Battle of Tongguan.
The Chinese army camp was set up in Yuling Town, west of Lushi County. This place is fifty or sixty miles away from Tongguan City and Twelve Liancheng City. It can be regarded as the frontier of the battle zone between the two armies.
"General, today our forward reconnaissance cavalry has made contact with the official dogs in Tongguan and Liancheng." Niu Jinxing went to the front of the case in the big tent and reported the latest military information to Li Zicheng.
"We made contact? What was the result?" Li Zicheng heard this and hurriedly asked about the specific situation.
"General Quan Liu Zongmin reported that the official dogs were just huddled in the city and did not dare to go out to fight. Once the army arrives tomorrow, they can attack the city with all their strength."
"The official dog did not dare to go out of the city to fight. It seems that Sun Baigu was afraid of the various families. He sent an order to Zong Min, Yu Feng and other generals and asked them to rush to the big tent overnight to discuss military strategy."
Seeing Niu Jinxing and Xiaobu running out of the tent, Li Zicheng breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Sun Chuanting would lead the army out for a decisive battle, but unexpectedly he was hiding in the city. This was good news for the rebels.
Hiding in the city means that he is afraid of the huge rebel army, and he will fight as long as he is afraid of it. Sun Chuanting is also a strong man but a cadre in the outside. He has won a few battles by luck, but he has only a false reputation. He fights against the government and the army.
After so many years of fighting, Li Zicheng came to an experience. No matter how many officers and soldiers there are in the city, they are not to be feared. And any officers and soldiers who dare to line up in the wilderness, even if they are only 1,800
Everyone should be treated with caution.
That night, the generals of the rebel army, including Tian Jianxiu, Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Hao Yaoqi, Yuan Zongdi, Li Yan, Liu Fangliang, Liu Tichun and others, as well as scribes such as Jia Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, all gathered in the Chinese army tent to discuss military matters.
!
Huan opened one eye, put down the leg of lamb in his hand, and Li Zicheng said: "Today Zong Min has taken Qingqi for a walk under Tongguan City, but Sun Baigu was so frightened that he did not dare to go out of the city to meet our rebels. In this battle, our rebels
We will definitely be able to break through Tongguan and enter Shaanxi!"
"Congratulations, General! Sun Baigu is just an old guy who has been away from the battlefield for a long time. His reputation is in vain. Tomorrow our 300,000-strong army will rush towards Tongguan. With so many people, even if they are surrounded, they can kill Sun thief.
!" Liu Zongmin was the first to express his position. He was the number one general in the camp, and he was one of the eighteen riders who followed Li Zicheng into Shangluo. Naturally, he was a veteran in the camp. He was usually the one who set the pace and expressed his position.
Be the first to come.
"General, I think we should be cautious in this battle. Tongguan Pass is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if we have 300,000 troops, the terrain here is constricted and we cannot take advantage of the large number of people. If the battle drags on for a long time, I'm afraid something might happen." The speaker was Li Yan. Li Yan was not an old man from the camp, but his status had risen rapidly since he joined the camp, and he was considered a very important figure in the rebel system.
He did not agree very much with Li Zicheng's attack on Tongguan. His idea was to stabilize the Central Plains first and then stabilize the Central Plains. Now the entire Central Plains is simply a hell on earth. Years of natural and man-made disasters have caused the people of the Central Plains to not cultivate properly for several years. Food. Think about the fact that nearly 10 million people have been unable to harvest food for several years. How can this place not be scary? As a native of the Central Plains, Li Yan certainly hopes that his hometown will stabilize and regain vitality as soon as possible. However, there is no market for his ideas. A large group of senior generals who broke into the camp all wanted to fight back to their hometowns as soon as possible. At the same time, not all the Central Plains people in the rebel army were as interested in restoring their hometowns as Li Yan. Some of them wanted to go to other provinces to rob. , some people have no confidence in the restoration of vitality in the Central Plains.
Objectively speaking, Li Yan's idea is indeed a bit too naive. Given the current situation in the Central Plains, it is impossible to restore vitality in a short time unless the whole country mobilizes efforts.
"Master Yan, when the army sets out for the expedition, don't say anything depressing. Now that the arrow is on the string, we have to launch it. Could it be that because Tongguan is difficult to defeat, we won't enter Chang'an City in Xi'an Prefecture? Since the army was preparing for the Western Expedition, you have spoken out many times. Just some talk. Don't beg for a son. Are you satisfied if we stay in Zhongzhou all the time?" Hao Yaoqi has always looked down upon Li Yan, a handsome young man with wrinkles. During the military meeting, he heard that Li Yan wanted to When he raised objections to the army returning to his hometown in Shaanxi, he immediately couldn't help but choke on his words. In his opinion, fighting is very simple. He should take life and death lightly and do it if he doesn't accept it. If he wins the battle but cannot win, he will fight it later. What's the use of talking a lot of nonsense before the war? It's nothing but annoying.
Most of the generals in the rebel army thought the same way as Hao Yaoqi. When they fought, they only thought about victory and not defeat. What to do if they lost? If they lost, just take the brothers from the old camp and run away! Anyway, the brothers from the old camp were all cavalry, so there was no point in running away. It's a problem. As long as the brothers in the old camp are not seriously injured, running away is not considered a failure. As for the loss of other soldiers and horses, they don't care at all. These days, it's hard to find other people, but people are the best. As long as you dare to recruit troops , no matter how many people can get together.
Compared with the officers and soldiers, the rebel army is like a cheating device that can infinitely resurrect. Even if the officers and soldiers win a hundred times against such an opponent, the 101st battle will still happen. It is precisely because of this advantage that Therefore, all the generals in the rebel army are extremely bold and do not think carefully about war.
The final result of the deliberation was that early the next morning, all the army would attack in the two directions of Tongguan and Twelve Liancheng, and we would not worry about it until the battle was over.
Rebels like ants were pouring down Tongguan City in a steady stream. Although Sun Chuanting, who was standing on Tongguan City, was well-informed, he was also shocked by this formation. He knew that there were many rebels, but he still couldn't imagine that people would There were so many. After controlling his emotions a little, Sun Chuanting said in a deep voice: "Beat the drums to cheer and let the soldiers defending the city repel these rebels with all their strength. Today's battle at Tongguan is a decisive battle between our Ming army and the intruders. There are Victory without defeat, don't take a step back."