Nanming Engineer

Chapter 224 After I die, you will return to the Ming Dynasty
Chen Xiang and his twenty or so men rode donkeys and mules pulling the cart, abandoned the cart, slipped out of the supply camp at the first moment of the collapse of the Daxi Army, and fled towards the direction of the Jinniu Plank Road.

They also stole two Chuan horses for pulling carts and gave them to two clever men. Chen Xiang wrote two secret letters with wax balls on the back of the mules with charcoal pencils, and handed them over to the two men to send them to Boryeong on horseback. Fuma Xintian Chu and Wang Huan Chu, who was still near Shehong, informed them of Zhang Xianzhong's defeat.

On the road leading to these two places, the Kuizhou Army spy team has set up multiple contact points, which can be relayed from one station to another. It is very easy to travel four hundred miles a day. At the latest, Wang Huan and Ma Xintian will be able to see To Chen Xiang's secret letter.

Chen Xiang slipped away quickly, and ran away before the rout of the brigade blocked the plank road. Zhang Xianzhong was not so fast. The army of more than [-] people crowded on the road in a disorderly manner, blocking the Emperor Daxi behind. If it weren't for Wang Shangli Desperately resisting, he used his life to withstand the pursuit of the Qing army, and Hauge had no intention and powerlessness to kill Zhang Xianzhong's more than [-] people in one battle. After the victory, he did not have the heart to chase after him, and Zhang Xianzhong might have fallen under the city of Nanzheng. .

Amidst the outrageous losers, Zhang Xianzhong plunged headlong into Jinniu Road in disgrace. This road was originally a small road, only three feet wide, barely enough for the unique wheelbarrow in Sichuan. From the beginning, it was continuously widened and reinforced. After several dynasties, it is now possible to pass two-wheeled vehicles pulled by livestock.

Passing through dangerous passes such as Qipanguan, Qingfeng Gorge, and Mingyue Gorge along the way, some of the troops guarding the pass were left behind. Zhang Xianzhong fled until he reached Guangyuan before he stopped to take a breath and count the number of soldiers and horses. He was so angry that he almost spit out blood.

A total of [-] troops, only a little over [-] fled with him, and more than half of them were missing. What is even more heartbreaking is that there are only less than [-] people left in the Imperial Battalion, the elite combat force of the Great Western Army. After being judged by Zhang Xianzhong, Wang Shangli confessed most of them to the city of Nanzheng, and even Liu Wenxiu, king of Funan, died in the rebellion.This is the reliance of following Zhang Xianzhong all the way from Huguang, Shaanxi to Sichuan. Everyone is a precious asset, so he lost his life in vain.

When Zhang Xianzhong was in shock, he finally received good news. His adopted son, Li Dingguo, King of Anxi, rushed over from Shehong with [-] soldiers and horses.

Li Dingguo was good at fighting, and the soldiers he led were all soldiers. His arrival made Zhang Xianzhong feel a little relieved. Two of his four adopted sons had died. Sun Kewang also had a bandage on his shoulder, and there were many governors and generals under his command. They were running away to death, but there were only a few people who could be used. Li Dingguo came in time.

That night, in Zhang Xianzhong's temporary palace at Puzhong Temple in Qiqu Mountain outside Guangyuan City.

Zhang Xianzhong happened to visit this temple when he passed by last year. He discovered that there was an inscription with the surname Zhang in the temple, which was the same as his grandfather's name. He immediately took it as an oracle and expanded the temple to serve as a family temple. They celebrated it happily.When I came here again, I felt sad and happy at the same time, in a state of despair and panic.

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo sat opposite each other in the side hall of the temple. They were summoned to wait for Zhang Xianzhong to discuss military matters.

Sun Kewang was half naked, and the white cloth where the arrow was wounded was stained with red blood. The two were relatively silent, sitting on the futon with their heads down, thinking about their thoughts.

Li Dingguo was silent for a while, raised his head and asked softly: "Brother, why did you lose so badly? No matter how weak our Great Western Army is, it is also a mighty army with a thousand battles. The generals are like clouds. Why did we collapse in one battle?"

Sun Kewang's face was pale due to blood loss, he gritted his teeth and shook his head and said, "Before the battle, I thought the same way as you. No matter how fierce the Tartars are, we are not bad. The brave man wins the battle between the two armies. I never thought that the Tartars would use shields The chariots attacked me, and the infantry were heavily armored and dead, directly smashing our front army. Once the front army was defeated, the central army was slightly confused, and the Tartar cavalry attacked with two wings, so the whole army was defeated and could no longer recover."

Li Dingguo frowned, and looked at Sun Kewang in disbelief. He saw that this normally majestic and mighty fighter was ashamed and decadent. He felt a little dazed. The calm and wise King Pingdong?How terrible is the Tartar that beat him into a quail?
The side hall fell silent again, the two shut their mouths, waiting for Zhang Xianzhong's arrival.

The temple in the night is quiet and lonely, and the hustle and bustle of the remnants and defeated soldiers inside and outside Guangyuan City are so far away that they can hardly be heard.

In this tranquility, several screams sounded, accompanied by the short cries of women and children in the inner courtyard outside the side hall. Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo heard it at the same time, and they were shocked. It's the emperor's palace, why would someone scream?They couldn't help but stood up together, pulled out the long swords around their waists, and rushed out.

As soon as he broke through the gate of the palace, he saw all the guards in the courtyard kneeling on the ground, touching their heads to the ground, not daring to move, but a big man striding out from the gate of the inner courtyard, with disheveled hair, glaring eyes, his sallow face flushed with excitement and anger. His face was flushed red, he was holding a big knife in his hand, the blade was dripping with blood, it was frightening to watch, but it was Zhang Xianzhong.

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were extremely surprised. They quickly sheathed their swords and knelt on the ground and shouted long live. However, their hearts were full of doubts. They glanced at each other and looked at Zhang Xianzhong's expression and movements. It seemed that they had just killed someone. This was the inner courtyard of the palace, and everyone lived there. They were relatives of the concubine, who did he kill?
Zhang Xianzhong ignored the guards kneeling on the ground, and sat down on a chair in the middle of the side hall with a big knife and a golden horse. He threw the bloody knife aside, stared at Sun and Li and shouted: "Why are you standing there? Come and sit down." Down!"

The two of them trembled, they didn't dare to sit down, they stood respectfully in front of the hall, Sun Kewang was the supervisor of the army, and he wanted to get closer to Zhang Xianzhong, seeing him grab a jar of tribute wine from the side hall and pat open the mud and drink it, Without the usual reserved manner of being an emperor, he felt even more strange in his heart, swallowed his saliva, and bravely asked: "Father, why do you hold a bloody knife at night?"

Zhang Xianzhong put the wine jar aside, and said nonchalantly, "I killed all the empresses and concubines, and the prince was young, timid and crying, and I killed them too!"

As soon as these words came out, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were empowered like a thunderbolt, their faces turned pale, and they shouted loudly at the same time: "What?"

"Kill the queen and prince?"

Zhang Xianzhong frowned: "What's your name? I killed him, what's wrong?"

Li Dingguo's opened mouth could hardly be closed, and he stammered for a long time: "Father, father, why is this?"

Sun Kewang also trembled in despair: "Yes, father, why bother?"

Zhang Xianzhong slammed the wine jar in his hand, smashing it to pieces on the ground. The fragrant wine flowed all over the floor, and for a while the whole room was filled with the aroma of wine.

With his hands on his thighs, he held his head up and his chest up, his hair all over his hair, his teeth and claws stretched out, his eyes were red, like a lion about to eat people, staring so that Sun Li and Sun Li took a step back involuntarily.

"I am a hero. I rule the world. I am famous in the world. Now that I am defeated, I must not leave my youngest son, wife and concubine to be captured by others. It will only increase the laughing stock. Therefore, I will kill them!"

Zhang Xianzhong's voice was like thunder, and he almost roared: "The two of you are also my sons, and they are expected to grow old, and will eventually be the sons of the world. After a hundred years, I am expected to inherit everything from me. You two brothers, you must support each other forever. Don't turn against me!"

Sun Kewang trembled all over, his knees went weak, he knelt on the ground, and said sadly with tears streaming down his face: "My father is in the prime of his life, why do you say this? Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists..."

Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand and interrupted: "Don't be so irritable, just listen to me!"

"The Ming Dynasty was orthodox for 300 years, and I have fought with Li Zicheng for more than ten years, but I have not replaced him. It shows that the will of God is manifest, and the Zhu family in the Ming Dynasty may not be extinct. If I die, I will return to the Ming Dynasty. It is not unjust." He resolutely Said: "The barbarians outside the Tartars are not my race. If you are greedy for wealth and glory, fearing death for survival, and surrender the Tartars, I will not spare you under the nine springs!"

Zhang Xianzhong stared and asked forcefully, "Do you agree?"

Li Dingguo also knelt down, shed tears together with Sun Kewang, kowtowed again and again, and responded loudly and loudly: "I will obey the orders of my father!"

Hearing the sound, Zhang Xianzhong breathed a sigh of relief, brushed back his long hair that was loosely hanging from his forehead, and said in a rough voice, "Okay! Now that we've finished our business, go, find some more jars of wine for me, and share with me." Have a drink!"

(End of this chapter)