Ding Yunyi's arrival greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army.
Although some generals were not very fond of Ding Yunyi, thinking that he had stolen the limelight from the Central Plains generals, no one had any objections to his bravery and skill in fighting.
At this time, because Zhang Xianzhong's troops were defeated in Nanyang, only the last force was left:
Li Zicheng!
Li Zicheng marched into Sichuan, conquering more than ten cities at one time, and conquered Ningzhou and Qiangzhou in Gansu, and entered Qipanguan. However, as he repeatedly failed to conquer Chengdu, he was forced to turn to Zitong, where he joined the Ming generals Zuo Guangxian and Cao Bianjiao.
There was a fierce battle, and although there were victories and defeats for each other, the situation could not be opened for a long time.
After a long confrontation, Li Zicheng made the decision to withdraw from Sichuan and re-enter Shaanxi.
At this time, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, accepted Ding Yunyi's suggestion and used the main force to defend Weinan area to the death, looking for opportunities to have a decisive battle with Li Zicheng!
"Deputy Town, we just received news that Li Zicheng has withdrawn from Sichuan." Huangfu Yunjie hurriedly came in and said.
"He will go to the Tao River first." Ding Yunyi looked at the map: "If there can be an elite army to fight Li Zicheng in the Tao River area at this time, then the exhausted Li Zicheng will be hit hard.
It will be much easier to annihilate his main force."
"Is the deputy town planning to go to Taohe to intercept?" Huangfu Yunjie immediately understood what he meant.
Seeing Ding Yunyi nodding, Huangfu Yunjie seemed unwilling to accept it: "Hong Chengchou treated us so much back then, why would the deputy town have to sacrifice his life for him?"
"I am not working for Hong Chengchou!" Ding Yunyi said with a smile: "I am flying the banner of my Tiger Guard, what does it have to do with Hong Chengchou? Huangfu, we have to make our banner louder in the Central Plains."
Huangfu Yunjie thought for a moment and vaguely understood the meaning of the deputy town's words.
Ding Yunyi suddenly said: "Huangfu, what will happen if we intercept and kill Li Zicheng?"
"Of course, kill them in one fell swoop!" Huangfu Yunjie blurted out without even thinking.
"Then what?"
"Then? Then of course the bandits can be settled."
Ding Yunyi smiled: "Yes, the bandits have been eliminated, and the Central Plains can be settled. Then the court can free up its hands to deal with us..."
Huangfu Yunjie was stunned for a while: "Does the deputy town mean..."
"The imperial court sending Lu Qicheng to Hu Ben Guard as a supervisor is a signal." Ding Yunyi said calmly: "Although Lu Qicheng has been bribed by us, if the imperial court becomes suspicious, it can send a second or third supervisor. If
We can still solve the problem of just supervising the army. But if the court really loses trust in us one day and wants to completely solve the Taiwan issue, we will either rebel, or we will clean our necks and wait to be beheaded, what do you think?"
Huangfu Yunjie is a smart man: "I understand, if the Central Plains is uncertain and the bandits are still there, coupled with the threat from the border, then the imperial court will be afraid of another problem in Fujian, so unless we really rebel, the imperial court will definitely not
Move us. But if the bandits were still there, this situation would not have happened..."
"Yes, that's what I mean." Ding Yunyi smiled and nodded: "If we in Taiwan really want to be afraid of no one, it will take at least five to seven years. During this period, there must be no trouble. Otherwise, there will be no trouble.
, we people will all be kicked out."
Huangfu Yunjie still hesitated: "What the deputy town thinks is always right. But if this is the case, why do we need to pursue and suppress those bandits with all our strength? Wouldn't it be better to let them go and let them become more powerful?"
"If the rebels become powerful, the officers and soldiers will not be able to suppress them. Letting the rebels bloom everywhere and run rampant everywhere will be beneficial to us, but it will not be beneficial to the whole world." Ding Yunyi's eyes were deep: "In addition to rogue bandits, the enemies of the imperial court are also
There is the Jinlu. Therefore, we must first suppress the forces of the rogue bandits so that the court can free up its hands to deal with the threats from the border. The Jinlu arrogantly proclaimed themselves emperor and must organize an attack on our Ming Dynasty. If the court wants to defeat them
, then we need to be able to mobilize troops from the Central Plains."
Huangfu Yunjie suddenly realized.
There was not only one bandit, but the deputy town also took into consideration the issue of the Jinlu. And whether it was the court, the bandits, or the Jinlu, they all became pawns in the hands of the deputy town.
Huangfu Yunjie thought for a moment: "What if Li Zicheng loses and can't stand up again in the future?"
"No, no." Ding Yunyi said thoughtfully: "Li Zicheng is sinister, vicious, and very tolerant. As long as his head is still there, he will definitely be able to make a comeback. There are also Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, these
Sooner or later, people will become my great enemy again..."
Huangfu Yunjie completely understood.
"Okay, you go prepare your troops and prepare to set off." Ding Yunyi ordered: "I'm going to see Hong Chengchou."
When he met Hong Chengchou, he judged that Li Zicheng would definitely go to the Tao River, and expressed his intention to lead his soldiers to intercept and kill him. Hong Chengchou thought for a long time: "My soldiers are all over Shaanxi and other places. It is temporarily difficult to mobilize troops to assist the deputy general."
town......"
"No need, I only have 10,000 elite soldiers under my command." Ding Yunyi said immediately: "Li Zicheng's long battle in Sichuan was unfavorable. The soldiers suffered heavy casualties. Moreover, he moved back and forth between several provinces, and his subordinates were already exhausted. Ten thousand elite soldiers are enough!
"
Hong Chengchou nodded slightly: "How does the deputy town want to fight?"
Ding Yunyi was confident: "I am going to intercept Li Zicheng at the Tao River, and then rush towards Minzhou, chasing him all the way. The commander-in-chief can also order to set up defenses everywhere to prevent Li Ni from sneak attacks. In the end, with the combined efforts of several places, Li Ni was driven here.
..."
He pointed at the map: Tongguan!
Ding Yunyi took a breath: "When Li Ni arrives at Tongguan, I will send out all my armies. Li Zicheng will definitely be defeated!"
"Well, Ding Xiangwen is a truly heroic man!" Hong Chengchou praised: "You will lead your 10,000 elite soldiers and set off immediately to the Tao River to fight with Li Zicheng here. I will send an order to all the counties you pass through.
The county has prepared a supply of food and grass for you. Anyone who is negligent will be killed!"
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!" Ding Yunyi said loudly.
This time Ding Yunyi is not afraid that Hong Chengchou will not work hard. An opportunity to completely wipe out the bandits is placed in front of him, and he will spend his capital to fight it no matter what!
But Hong Chengchou didn't know that Ding Yunyi not only wanted to suppress thieves, but also had the idea of "raising thieves" at this time...
He is no longer the Ding Xiangwen who was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and wanted to wipe out all the rebels overnight. He is now Deputy Town Ding who is thinking wholeheartedly about how to protect Taiwan...
...
After Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the rogue bandits, was captured and killed for Ding Yunyi, Li Zicheng was elected as the new "King of Chuang".
Li Zicheng liked guns, horses and sticks as a boy. After his father died, he went to the Ming Dynasty post station responsible for delivering official documents as a postman. The post station system of the Ming Dynasty had many drawbacks. The post station of Chongzhen Yuan Dynasty was reformed and streamlined. Li Zicheng was imprisoned because of the loss of official documents.
He was abolished, unemployed and returned home. He also owed debts. In the winter of the same year, Li Zicheng was sued by Ai Zhao to the Mizhi County Yamen because he could not pay the debts owed by Ai Zhao. The county magistrate Yan Zibin had him "walk around the city with weapons."
"Leave him to death." After being rescued by relatives and friends, at the end of the year, he killed his creditor Ai Zhao. Then, because his wife Han Jin'er had committed adultery with a Murakami named Gai Hu, Li Zicheng killed his wife again. With two lives at stake, the government had to ask,
He had to die in the lawsuit, so he and his nephew Li Tao went to Ganzhou, Gansu Province to join the army in February of the second year of Chongzhen.
At that time, Yang Zhaoji was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Ganzhou Army, and Wang Guo was appointed as the staff general. Li Zicheng was soon promoted to the commander-in-chief of the army by Wang Guo. In the same year, he killed the general Guo Guo and the local county magistrate in Yuzhong due to lack of pay, and launched a mutiny.
In the third year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng led the crowd to join the peasant army leader Bu Mu Mu, and then surrendered to Gao Yingxiang. He was named the general of the eighth team. In the sixth year, after the peasant army leader Wang Ziyong died of illness, he took in more than 20,000 of his followers. Later, he and the rogue bandit leader
Zhang Xianzhong and others joined forces and defeated the Ming general Deng Qi in Lin County, Henan, killed his general Yang Yuchun, and then moved to various places in Shanxi and Shaanxi.
From then on, a big rebel appeared who gave the Ming Dynasty a headache!
Li Zicheng did not expect that he would become the "King of Chuang" so quickly. From this point of view, he had to thank Ding Yunyi, who captured Gao Yingxiang alive.
This time he marched into Sichuan, which seemed to be a wrong choice. Although it was overwhelming at first, he encountered the fiercest resistance he had ever encountered in Chengdu.
After being forced to withdraw their troops, they lost a large number of troops and horses in Tongguan.
This is not a good sign, and it makes Li Zicheng a little irritable. Where should we go now?
"King Chuang." His brother-in-law Gao Yigong rushed in: "I just received news that Zhang Xianzhong fought against Ding Yunyi in Nanyang and was defeated miserably. He was ambushed by Ding Yunyi in Jiahuling and almost died. He has now entered
Within Hubei.”
"Ding Yunyi? Is it that Ding Yunyi again?" Li Zicheng felt a headache when he heard this name.
Ever since this man came into being, he has simply become a nightmare for the rebels.
Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by him in Xinyang, defeated by him in Yingzhou, and defeated by him in Nanyang. Moreover, Gao Yingxiang, the "Chuang King" of the Lian Yi Army, also died in the hands of this man.
The rebels all called him "Butcher Ding", but only Li Zicheng knew best. Butcher just meant that he killed people like crazy. The real scary thing about this man was that he knew how to deal with the rebels.
And what's even more terrible is that whenever this person sees the rebels, he is like a wolf smelling blood.
"King Chuang." His general Tian Jianxiu said at the side: "Zhang Xianzhong has been defeated, and our hope of joining forces with Zhang Xianzhong has also come to nothing. Zuo Guangxian, Cao Bianjiao and those two dogs are chasing us.
It’s very tight, what should we do now?”
Li Zicheng set his sights on Gao Yigong, his brother-in-law, who was very resourceful and hoped that he could find a good solution for him.
Gao Yigong understood Li Zicheng's thoughts, looked at the march map for a long time, raised his head and said: "King Chuang, we can't go back to Sichuan. In Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou is personally commanding there, and we're afraid we won't be able to take it."
What's cheap? My idea is that we can go to Taohe first. The defense of the officers and soldiers there is weak, and capturing it can give us a chance to breathe."
Li Zicheng obeyed his words and was about to agree, but Liu Zongmin beside him shouted loudly: "King Chuang, you are afraid of birds! Who is Hong Chengchou! When King Chuang gives the order, I will personally help King Chuang to kill that bird Hong Chengchou."
!”
"Presumptuous!" Li Zicheng glared at him: "Hong Chengchou is good at using troops, so we can't take him lightly. Gao Yigong's method is good. Let's go to Taohe first, and then we can make long-term plans."
Seeing that Liu Zongmin still looked unwilling, Li Zicheng patted him on the shoulder: "Zongmin, I know that you are not afraid of death and can fight. Among our rebels, you are the most capable general. But fighting cannot rely solely on physical courage.
Well, our strength in Sichuan has been greatly weakened, and if we continue to confront the officers and soldiers head-on at this time, we will only suffer greater losses."
Although Liu Zongmin was still a little dissatisfied, he nodded helplessly.
After appeasing Liu Zongmin, Li Zicheng immediately ordered: "Order the entire army to set off tomorrow to the Tao River, reorganize the troops and horses, and then fight the officers and soldiers for a decisive battle!"
"yes!"
The subordinates walked out one after another, and Li Zicheng stopped Liu Zongmin: "Zongmin, what's wrong, are you still unhappy?"
"Brother, I don't have to hide anything in front of you." As soon as the generals left, Liu Zongmin called out "Brother": "I heard that Ding Yunyi was also with Hong Chengchou. He was the biggest enemy of the rebels. If it hadn't been for him,
King Gao Chuang will not die. Others are afraid of him, but I will not be afraid of him. I want to take his head to pay tribute to King Gao Chuang’s spirit in heaven!"
Li Zicheng smiled: "Why are you anxious? There will be many opportunities to meet Ding Yunyi in the future. Are you afraid that you will not be able to meet him on the battlefield? When the time comes, I will use you as a vanguard to get his head!"
"Well, just wait and see when the time comes!" Liu Zongmin suddenly became excited.
Li Zicheng's face straightened: "It's just that, but you must not be careless about this man. Others say that he is brave enough to champion the three armies, but I think this man is not only brave, but also very strategic. That day he deceived Gao into the king's palace.
As a result, King Gao Chuang was captured, which is a sign of bravery and resourcefulness. I am not worried about the officers and soldiers nearby, I am only worried about this person."
Liu Zongmin said carelessly: "My brothers and I are not afraid of death. Even if he is ambushed from all sides, with the two swords in my hand, I can still defeat him! Humph, it would be better if he killed King Gao Chuang
, let the eldest brother become the King of Chuang, otherwise we don’t know how long it will take.”
"Don't talk nonsense like that!"
Li Zicheng's expression changed and he scolded in a low voice.
Liu Zongmin hit his mark.
After Gao Yingxiang's death, Li Zicheng successfully sat on the throne of King Chuang, but at this moment, he still had a large number of soldiers under his command who were old subordinates from Gao Yingxiang's era.
If you want to achieve great things, you have to rely on these people.
But if Liu Zongmin's words spread, they will not only cause dissatisfaction among those people, but may also trigger a mutiny. At that time, it will be difficult to control the situation.
What he wants now is to try his best to stabilize the military morale of these people!