As the old saying goes, good things never go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles.
After Li Yan got Chang Yu's secret letter, he immediately sent people to the other side to spread the news that Li Zicheng secretly came to Beijing and his identity was exposed and the court caught him. This news was undoubtedly thunder on dry land. He traveled thousands of miles a day as if he had wings, traveling from countless villages. Villages and towns drifted by and then entered the city.
Everyone who heard the news, whether soldiers or civilians, were stunned, but most of them didn't believe it. How could it be possible? Dongzheng finally escaped from there and dared to go deeper into the wolf's den. What the hell was he going to do? Is it necessary to go? He is sick.
The common people didn't believe it either, and the soldiers didn't believe it either, but this didn't stop the news from spreading rapidly.
There are those who don't believe, and there are those who believe, and of course there are also those who are half-convinced. Although there are not many of them, as long as there are seeds of doubt, they will take root and sprout. And most of these people are members of the rebel army, that is, some of the leaders of the rebel army. Because there are more and more rumors, they are becoming more and more like this. Song Xiance, Liu Xiyao and others are said to have good noses and eyes. They know that these two people are the negotiators of Dashun country, which makes them feel that things are going wrong. It's not like it was groundless, but what really made them doubt or even believe it was a demonic wind: If they don't believe it, let Li Zicheng come out and show his face!
That's right, as soon as the person involved comes forward, he will be able to tell whether it is true or not. Since the rumors are so certain, it seems that it is very likely!
The news of Li Zicheng's capture in the capital reached Xi'an in just one day, and there was an immediate earthquake in the city. Compared to the ordinary people and soldiers, the thief leaders in Xi'an were greatly shaken, and Most are beginning to suspect that something might be true.
The reason is very simple. Li Zicheng left Xi'an a month ago, saying he was secretly patrolling the front line, and then he never showed up. No one knew where he was. Now that he heard the news that he was captured, it is not certain that he really followed Song Xiance secretly. We’re in the capital!
For a time, people in Xi'an were in panic, or the minds of several big bosses were alive. It is said that in just half a day, dozens of people went to the Prince's Mansion (Li Zicheng's palace in Xi'an) to inquire about the news.
"The Ming Dynasty must have deliberately released false news in order to gain leverage for peace talks, so that we can get into trouble. King Chuang is not a three-year-old child, so how could he do such nonsense? This is the critical moment of negotiations, and the defense of the Yellow River is crucial. , King Chuang did not dare to be careless before going on inspection in person. In order to avoid being discovered by the Ming army, he hid his whereabouts. Don't let the court take advantage of the emptiness. His family would be in chaos first." In the prince's palace, Gao Shiwa Tian Jianxiu denied it and was patient. Appease the thieves.
"They may have found out the news about King Chuang's defense line on the Yellow River, but they were not sure where it was, so they released this news to attract King Chuang to show up to confirm where he is. The leader of the Ming army on the other side is the traitor Li Yan, who has the most evil ideas. He knows us the most, so this plan must have come from him..."
This statement did dispel some of the doubts of the thieves, but...
Who knows that he really didn't sneak into Beijing secretly? Although it is unlikely and unnecessary, as long as he doesn't show up, it is really possible. Therefore, it is better to have Li Zicheng show up as soon as possible to put all rumors to rest.
Mr. Gao readily agreed. Li Zicheng left Xi'an with Niu Jinxing and Li Guo a month ago. Li Guo was in Tongguan at this time. He should know where Li Zicheng was. I believe there will be news in three to five days at most.
All the thieves' leaders then returned home, but they also had Xiao Jiujiu in their hearts. Seeing that Gao's demeanor didn't seem to be fake, it seemed that this matter was most likely a conspiracy by Li Yan, but what if, if Li Zicheng Did he really go there secretly and be captured by the court?
At that time...should we surrender to the imperial court, or should we separate and establish our own family?
Where is Li Zicheng at this time?
Mr. Gao said Li Guo knew.
Li Guo was in Tongguan, an important town that military strategists must fight for. The Yellow River made a 90-degree turn here. To the north was Puzhou and Hejin, to the east was Luoyang and Kaifeng. There was also a Wei River leading to Xi'an. If the Ming army wanted to regain Xi'an and Tongguan are must-visits.
Therefore, the rebel army is heavily defended here, and must send a trustworthy person to take charge. There are many and complex factions in the rebel army. They are not convinced by each other and dislike each other. For example, Liu Zongmin, who is in the second place, is very He was unruly and unruly. Although he and Li Zicheng were brothers, and although Li Zicheng became emperor at this time, he had no respect or awe for Li Zicheng and often acted in excess. Li Zicheng turned a blind eye to this and tolerated it. But Li Guo couldn't bear it, so he and Liu Zongmin inevitably had friction, and he didn't even bother to pretend that he didn't agree with him.
After the Eastern Expedition, the bandits advertised in Dashun that they were returning in triumph, but in fact they knew in their hearts that they had been beaten back, and they were holding back a sense of resentment. In addition, the soldiers on the other side were about to attack at any time. At this time, Li Zicheng must send a fierce general to garrison the most important Tongguan.
Liu Zongmin was his most powerful general, so he was the only one to garrison Tongguan, but at this time Li Guo jumped out and said: I'll do it! If not for any other reason, I just want to beat up the officers and soldiers and relieve the hatred in my heart!
Liu Zongmin naturally knew what he was thinking, but he just saw through it without telling him. In addition, he really didn't want to go to the front line to defend the city just after returning from the Eastern Expedition. He was happy in Xi'an and having fun. Young people are competitive. If you like to fight, go ahead. I like to enjoy. So he just went with the flow and stopped arguing with Li Guo.
Li Guo is indeed competitive and aggressive because he is young. If a young person is not passionate or passionate, is he still a young person? (Baidu found out that Li Guo is six years older than his father, Li Zicheng, which is nonsense.) And the reason why he is aggressive , mainly because he was provoked by Chang Yu. To put it simply, he was unconvinced!
The Eastern Expedition was such a huge formation and such a good situation, but it was disturbed by a young boy who appeared out of nowhere. He first attacked us head-on and then chased us. Who can believe it?
There are also young generals in the thief army, such as Luo Hu and Ma Bao, who are only fifteen or sixteen or seventeen years old. They are all invincible when they press hard, charge into battle and fight in groups, but they are not under the hands of the little eunuch in the Eastern Expedition. They were all holding their anger because they were seeking benefits, especially Li Guo.
In public, Tongguan is the gate of Dashun Kingdom. In private, he wants to compete with Liu Zongmin for credit, and he wants to compete with Chang Yu head-on to decide who is the best! So when Li Guo became the frontline commander, he devoted all his energy to the defense of the Yellow River, from the important town of Tongguan in the south to Chaoyi, Dali, and Hancheng in the north... All military affairs were handled by hand, no matter how big or small, and he worked for several months. When he returned to Xi'an, he only went back to pay his father a New Year's greeting during the Chinese New Year, and then the two of them left Xi'an together. At that time, they were talking about inspecting the frontline defense. When they arrived at Tongguan, Li Zicheng said, "Son, dad." I'm going to the capital for a trip.
Li Guo didn't expect that his first reaction was that you were sick, as others did. Although he was surprised, he could understand his father's state of mind.
After the Eastern Expedition, Dashun's army was unstoppable, and the generals were full of resentment and dissatisfaction. After all, they were so embarrassed on the other side, and their faces were really shameless. And then the eunuch of Dongchang suddenly crossed the river and entered the country without his life. , he went through a lot of tossing and then retreated safely as if he was in no one's land. This was the second slap in the face after the little eunuch sneaked into the camp and assassinated Li Laiheng during the Taiyuan War. He really jumped up and slapped his face. ah!
Uncle Ren and aunt couldn't bear it, so Li Zicheng decided to go over and slap Ming Ting. Taking advantage of the military talks, he sneaked into the capital and walked around under the roots of your imperial city to escape. That was not a slap in the face of the imperial court, but a slap in the face of the imperial court. Kicked in the face!
To fight tooth for tooth can not only relieve the anger in the heart but also inspire the morale of the army. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
but! This must be done under a safe premise.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Li Zicheng would definitely not take this risk. Fortunately, now that the two parties are interested in peace talks, the court will definitely not kill the envoy out of consideration for the impact. Moreover, the court would never expect that he would go there in person. This creates a security context.
Of course, slapping the court to regain his reputation was only one of the reasons for Li Zicheng's stowaway. The more important thing was that he could make decisions with Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing and others in the most timely manner to deal with the conditions proposed by the court.
After all, military talks are the most important thing.
So on the next day, Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing left Tongguan, saying they were going to inspect elsewhere. In fact, they joined Song Xiance and crossed the river east to enter Beijing. Li Guo was one of the few people who knew about this.
In the days after Li Zicheng left, Li Guo did not worry too much about his safety. He still focused his energy mainly on the defense of the Yellow River. Although they took the initiative to propose peace talks this time, they were also mentally prepared to break up the talks and start a war at any time, not to mention this time. The original intention of the peace talks was to delay time. Of course, most people really wanted to end it and have a happy ending.
Although Li Guo also knew that peace talks might be the best outcome in the overall situation, deep down he hoped that the talks could not come to an agreement. He still wanted to fight, and he wanted to differentiate between high and low. If he really surrendered, he would have to do it in that small The eunuch's subordinates were really aggrieved when they obeyed orders and felt too much unwillingness and dissatisfaction in their hearts!
During this time, he often went to Chaoyi and looked at the other side. He wished he could immediately send his troops to conquer Puzhou and capture and kill the traitor Li Yan. However, he thought about it, but he could not act rashly. Li Yan's tens of thousands of troops on the other side were not just paper. Yes, and he has detected that the Ming army in Kaifeng and Luoyang has also moved to Shaanxi County, which is only two hundred miles away from Tongguan. If this military negotiation fails, war may begin immediately!
If a war begins, let's start a war. Who is afraid of whom? The Ming army on the other side was thinking about how to attack and capture the city every day. Li Guo here had the same thought. He knew that once the war started, Tongguan and Chaoyi would bear the brunt of the firepower of the officers and soldiers, so he also focused on defense at these two points. We have put in a lot of effort, but attack is the best defense. If an all-out war breaks out, hundreds of miles of the Yellow River defense line will become a battlefield. Officers and soldiers can cross the river to attack, or they can take the initiative to attack Hejin, Puzhou, and Li Guo. Several sets of attack and defense plans were also formulated for this purpose.
It's just...
Just when he was about to give it a try, a gust of evil wind suddenly blew, and the news of Li Zicheng's capture spread from Chaoyi to Tongguan City in half a day. Upon hearing this, Li Guo dropped the wine glass in his hand!
