Nanming Engineer

Chapter 204
This cry was like the wind blowing on the grassland, reaching the ears of the nearby Daxi Army officers. When everyone saw it, it turned out to be the head of Governor Liu Jinzhong, with his unbending eyes still wide open and extremely ferocious.

"It's really Dudu Liu!" A buzzing sound spread like flies in the Daxi army formation. The soldiers whispered to each other and talked a lot. Even the twenty or so soldiers who scolded the formation forgot to yell. He turned to look at Liu Yun, the general who led the team.

Someone ran forward, took off the head tied to the spear, wrapped it in a piece of cloth, and brought it to Liu Yun. Liu Yun recognized Liu Jinzhong, so he took it over and took a closer look. After confirming that it was Liu Jinzhong, he dared not neglect it. , and hurriedly sent it to Li Dingguo who was standing in the rear.

"Liu Dudu's head, the cloth bag sent to the prince is Liu Dudu's head!"

"Liu Dudu is also a mighty general, with tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, he was beheaded by the Ming army and shot at him. From this point of view, the Ming army in the city is not ordinary."

"Shh, keep your voice down, the lord heard that you are adoring others, so he must reward you with a whip."

"But Liu Dudu's head is there, and I didn't make it up. Everyone has seen it."

Discussions like this, accompanied by the fast horse delivering the head ran out of Liu Yun's formation, one after another in the Great Western Army's formation. The soldiers who witnessed this situation whispered in low voices, and the mood fluctuated.

The head was quickly delivered to Li Dingguo's horse. Li Dingguo just glanced at it and motioned to his subordinates to wrap the head and put it away until someone was sent back to Chengdu to give to his family tomorrow.

He also heard the buzzing in the formation, and knew that this was a damaging move by the Ming army to fight back against the scolding formation. It has to be said that the Ming army did a very good move. Morale, but the Ming army is too lazy to scold you, and directly throws down the head of the general of the Daxi Army. Nothing is more annoying than seeing the head of your own general. The morale of the army may be greatly damaged.

Li Dingguo's face turned livid, and secretly thought that the Ming army was making him unable to step down, but the siege of the city was not what he thought, and it was his original intention to motivate the Ming army to leave the city. Anyone who knows soldiers knows that siege is the worst strategy in the art of war, and it is really forced This is dangerous because of helplessness, not to mention the fortified city of Longquan Mountain, and the Ming army on the mountain does not seem to be good at fighting. If they want to fight it down, there will be many casualties.

While he was preparing, he heard another burst of shouts from Liu Yun's formation. High on the top of the city, the unique strong string sound of bed crossbows sounded repeatedly, and spears shot down one after another, leaping forward. Hundreds of steps, before Liu Junjun was exhausted, he smashed into the ground, every spear without exception was tied with a human head, and those in the army who recognized them shouted loudly, they recognized those human heads They are all officers in Liu Jinzhong's army.

The bed crossbow on the top of the city shot down nearly fifty spears in a row, and dropped dozens of human heads. Those heads were grinning, and their faces were stained with blood. The head on the top is erected high, and everyone can see it.

A burst of laughter erupted in the city, which was extremely harsh. Some people laughed loudly, saying that the thieves were good at talking and talking.

It turned out that the Ming army didn't know how to fight back, but had to wait for a slap in the face.

The faces of the twenty or so scolding sergeants were pale, and they pursed their lips, not knowing what to do.They were closest to the spears that were shot down, their senses were the most direct, and they were more stimulated. They were so shocked that they didn't even know what to say.

Liu Yun's face was blue and white, his heart was burning like a flame, and his heart was full of anger. He knew that if this went on like this, the Great Western Army would definitely have to attack, otherwise how would he hold his head up in front of the soldiers in the future.However, Li Dingguo didn't dare to attack the mountain before the military order was issued, so he could only restrain his subordinates so that they would not move rashly.

The people of the Kuizhou Army on top of the city burst into laughter. Zu Bian and Ma Wannian shouted loudly at the people below the city in their respective dialects. They tried their best to scold mothers, returning all the arrogance they had just received. The Great Western Army.

"My lord, your trick is really good." Li Tingyu said sincerely: "Now Li Dingguo wants to lure us out of the city to fight, but now he has to attack the city. No wonder you collected Liu Jinzhong's head. It turned out that you had this intention , too insidious!"

Wang Huan glanced at him: "Is this called insidious? Soldiers are not tired of deceit, and you can't be stubborn. If we don't make such a move, we won't be suffocated to death."

Ma Long interjected: "Junmen, Li Dingguo is so angry that he is fuming, is he going to attack the mountain next?"

Li Tingyu closed his smile, stared and said: "That's natural. If it were me, I would have been unable to bear the order. Li Dingguo can really bear it, and he won't move for a while."

However, Wang Huan shook his head, narrowed his eyes and looked seriously at the middle army of the Daxi Army in the distance, trying to distinguish where Li Dingguo was in the dark figure, and said: "Not necessarily, if Li Dingguo is really worthy of a general, he will not attack mountain."

Li Tingyu's face froze, and he hesitated: "Impossible? We have slaughtered his commander-in-chief, how can he bear it?"

"Because today is not the time." Wang Huan said slowly: "He just arrived yesterday, and he has nothing to attack the city. How can he attack? If he really dares to attack the city now, it will only prove that he is a reckless man, and there is nothing to worry about." .”

He waited a moment and added "Of course, I'm not talking about you."

The latter sentence was addressed to Li Tingyu.

Li Tingyu didn't even blush, he was obviously used to being hit by Wang Huan, so he just asked, "If that's the case, why doesn't he retreat?"

Before the words were finished, there was a sound of gongs under the city, and the peasant army really called for gold and retreated.

Li Dingguo looked deeply at Longquan Mountain City, his slender eyes narrowed slightly, as if he wanted to see clearly who was in charge on the tower.However, his army formation changed in an orderly manner. Liu Yun's two battalion heads slowly retracted first, retracted into the large formation, and then the rear army changed to the front army. , There were two battalion heads behind for vigilance, and the whole army retreated slowly in an orderly manner, maintaining a posture to engage the enemy at any time during the whole process.

The people on the top of the city were a little surprised watching the performance of the Great Western Army, and they were a little speechless.

"Li Dingguo is worthy of being Zhang Xianzhong's number one general. I have never seen such a military appearance among the rogue army, and he is no less generous than our powerful army of the Ming Dynasty." Li Tingyu said in surprise, his eyes gleaming, obviously surprised. The Daxi Army retreated without chaos and retreated without panic.

Zu Bian had already shut his mouth and stopped cursing, and now he said in surprise, "What's more, I think this Li Dingguo is already much stronger than our Ming army, apart from our Kuizhou army, I am afraid there is no other army that can win. .”

Everyone thought it was true, and they all remembered Wang Huan's insistence on going out of the city to fight Li Dingguo at the beginning, and they admired Wang Huan's wisdom from the bottom of their hearts.Wang Huan said that it is not because he is afraid of Li Dingguo's strength. With the current capabilities of the Kuizhou Army, there is little suspense in defeating Li Dingguo, but it will inevitably lose soldiers. The life of every soldier in the Kuizhou Army is precious, and there is no need to waste it Anyway, the purpose now is to hold back Li Dingguo, prevent him from going north to Baoning Mansion, and win opportunities for Ma Xintian. The defense of the city and the field battle are all restraints, so wouldn't it be better to stay safely in the mountain city?Why try to be brave.

Everyone discussed Li Dingguo's military appearance for a while, and then Wang Huan ordered in a deep voice: "There is nothing to do today, but don't be careless. It is estimated that Li Dingguo will not give up and will come to invite battle. All the generals must remember this general order: guard the city with heart , Anyone who goes out of the city to fight without authorization, no matter the winner or loser, will be killed!"

When Wang Huan said this, his face was expressionless, his words were decisive, and his tone was cold, causing everyone to shiver in unison. Even Li Tingyu trembled slightly intimidated by Wang Huan's majesty.

Everyone didn't dare to be negligent, and they bowed together and said: "The last general waits to obey the order of the army!"

Sure enough, as Wang Huan expected, in the next few days, while building siege weapons, Li Dingguo tried his best to lure the Ming army out of the city to fight in the field. The brigade, wait for the Ming army to see that the Daxi soldiers are less greedy for merit.Unexpectedly, the Ming army refused to accept this trick, and still shot down some spears tied with human heads, and shouted back curses and sarcasm, which made the generals and soldiers of the Western Army under the city very bored and returned angrily.Next, an envoy was sent to the door with a white flag and an invitation to fight. He wanted to agree with Wang Huan on a time and place to fight together. Wang Huan scoffed at this bookish and idiot behavior and beat the envoy several times. Ten slaps, tearing up the letter, made the messenger go back with a swollen face.

Wang Huan's hooliganism made Li Dingguo, who was a thieves, angry. He had a feeling that a robber met a kidnapper. After the emissary who was crying and complaining about his tragic experience was told to go down, he fell into a deep contradiction.

How can I do?Is it to invest heavy troops to take down the mountain city that can be seen as difficult to fight?Or give up the plan to go northward through Shunbaoning Mansion from this pass, turn around and go northward directly from Chengdu, chasing Zhang Xianzhong's footprints all the way to Hanzhong.

Give up here, return to Chengdu and then go to Hanzhong, afraid that the Ming army behind me will follow along, picking up prefectures and counties along the way, sticking to the back of the buttocks and eating away the territory of Daxi Kingdom. Not afraid, but the other states and counties are lost, how can I explain to Zhang Xianzhong?Before leaving, the emperor made it very clear that he was asked to defeat the Ming army here and take back the Chongqing mansion by the way.

Li Dingguo was undecided, staring blankly at the blazing charcoal fire in the middle of the tent. The stove was burning thick wood, and the light of the fire shone on the large tent, making the tent of the Chinese army as warm as spring in the cold winter. The warmth made him feel warm. thinking became more and more confused.

He stood up impatiently, put on a sheepskin vest, opened the thick curtain door, and walked out.

The cold wind was blowing outside the curtain, and a gust of cold wind blew into his nostrils, causing him to wrinkle his nostrils. This damn weather is getting colder and colder, and there is an unbearable humidity in the cold The damp and cold made the bedding in the camp seem to never dry. Lying in it at night was almost like lying in a pool of wet mud, and it was impossible to sleep.

Seeing him coming out, the guards outside the tent hurriedly bowed and called softly, "My lord!"

Li Dingguo waved his hand to signal them to relax, and then walked towards the camp.

The guards sent out a group of people to follow him silently and walk with him.

It was almost midnight, and there was silence in the camp. There were no birds or insects singing, which made the winter night even colder. Walking on the wet muddy ground, Li Dingguo felt that his boots were about to freeze.

He stood still and stomped his feet vigorously, but accidentally saw the hand of a soldier following behind him.

Those hands were covered with cracks, bloody and bloody, and looked very scary. Li Dingguo frowned. He knew that this was the opening of the ice. In the cold weather, he did not pay attention to his hands and feet, and his skin was exposed for a long time. very common.

When the soldier saw him looking at his hand, he quickly shrank back with some anxiety and hid his hand behind his back. Li Dingguo smiled, reached out and patted his shoulder, and continued to walk forward.

Li Dingguo set up the barracks outside Shehong County. Firstly, he did so because his army was strictly controlled, and his subordinates were not allowed to disturb the people. Second, Shehong City was too small, and only half of the people in the city could be driven out to free up houses for the army. Come on, it's so cold, it's no wonder those people don't freeze to death.

The camp of more than 2 people was several miles around, and several camps were set up, each with its own support, which was very reasonable. His Chinese army camp was erected in the middle, and there was a watchtower built high in the camp, giving a clear view of anything going on nearby.

Li Dingguo strolled, passing one tent after another, thinking while walking, and before he knew it, he had already walked out of the Chinese army and came to another camp.

He pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what to do. He shook his head and sighed. He felt that there was no longer any delay. Tomorrow, he would use the siege weapons he had built in the past few days to attack the city first. Zhang Xianzhong, in his heart, always had some inexplicable worries. He always felt that Zhang Xianzhong's departure was extremely dangerous, and the Tartars were not that easy to fight. The body of the battle, but seriously, the most difficult bones and the most tragic battles were fought by King Anxi.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the one under his feet. He tripped over a stone. Li Dingguo swayed and was about to fall.

Li Dingguo laughed at himself, turned his head to look, and found that it was Liu Yun.

Liu Yun waited for him to stand still, bowed his hands and said, "Your Highness is patrolling the camp late at night, and Liu Yun is here to protect you."

Li Dingguo smiled slightly and said, "Okay, you can walk with me."

The air he exhaled condensed into white mist in the air, and disappeared without a trace with the wind. Liu Yun hurriedly said: "The weather is very cold, the body of the prince's daughter, don't freeze to death."

Li Dingguo was stunned, and then laughed and cursed: "Frozen body? Liu Yun, this king travels in the world, what kind of hard life did you have to live in those years? Are you afraid of freezing your body? Do you really think that this king is a golden branch and jade leaf?"

It was inconvenient for Liu Yun to start a conversation, so he said repeatedly, "Don't dare."

Li Dingguo laughed, and asked about the business as he walked: "Forget it, we were born in poverty. After being a thief for so many years, we are not used to being rich now, but this is also a good thing. Didn't the book say that from thrift to extravagance?" Easy, is it difficult to change from extravagance to frugality? Keeping a clean and clear, has its own benefits."

Liu Yun listened attentively. Although he had never read a book, he was eager to learn. He also invited scholars to teach him how to read and understand these words. Few people have lost their roots and only want to have fun, forgetting that the world is not peaceful yet, but living a peaceful life first, this is not good."

Li Dingguo looked at him unexpectedly, and said happily: "Yes, it's very good that you have such thoughts."

Liu Yun said modestly: "Follow the prince, and you will know something by hearing and seeing."

Li Dingguo laughed again: "The flattery is becoming less and less visible."

He changed the subject, and then said solemnly: "You are quite right. In today's Daxi, civil servants and military generals are all vying for power and profit. They are trapped in a warm and happy nest without knowing it. If they occupy a corner of Sichuan, they don't know the heights of heaven and earth. Short-sighted, surrounded by powerful enemies and not in danger, what a pity!"

Liu Yun followed his footsteps, slowed down a little by half a step, and said hesitantly: "But the emperor's sage has his own plans for the world, so you don't have to worry too much."

Li Dingguo sighed softly and said in a low voice: "Although my father is wise, he can't get rid of his reckless aura. He just kills when trouble comes. He has too much murderous intent, which is not the way to govern a country."

Liu Yun's expression changed, and he hurriedly waved his hands behind him, telling the guards to follow him a little farther away, so as not to hear Li Dingguo's words, but Li Dingguo was still uttering his words as if forgetting himself: "The saint said, the way to govern a country is to relax one piece at a time. The people suffer for a long time. Now, I look forward to stability, can eat a full meal, and have a shelter from the wind and rain, and I will be satisfied, but in Daxi right now, is there such a possibility?"

At the same time, Li Dingguo seemed to be unable to hold back the words. These words had been suppressed in his heart for a long time. At this moment, in the dead of night, the words he said could not be heard by the three of them. He was 100% assured of Liu Yun, so he spoke very heartily .

Before Liu Yun spoke, Li Dingguo asked himself and answered: "No, Daxi is still a thief. In the beginning, my father could still listen to my advice, stop killing people, open up wasteland for farming, and live in peace with the people. Daxi also has After a while, when things took a turn for the better, and some remnants of the Ming Dynasty rebelled, my father became furious, hit the people with boards, and started killing. As a result, every life in Shu, the land of abundance, was destroyed. It has become another Shaanxi, and in a disaster year, it will be no different from Guanzhong.”

He sighed, and said again: "My father seems to have seen these problems, but he doesn't want to solve them. In his heart, Sichuan is ruined, so he just throws it away. Just find another rich place and continue to be the emperor. , but we don’t know that if we continue like this, we will perish sooner or later! We started our business by rebelling, and now that the Ming Dynasty has been beaten to the south, who else can we rebel against? We can’t rebel against ourselves!”

Liu Yun finally caught the opportunity for him to stop talking and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, be careful what you say! Your Majesty, he has many eyes and ears. I am afraid that your words will be heard by someone who is interested, just in case..."

Li Dingguo let out a long sigh, looked at the dark night sky without a single star, and said softly: "It's okay, what this king said is the truth, and the emperor knows it well, but he just doesn't want to admit it."

(End of this chapter)