The night is cold and the stars are shining.

Li Dingguo stood by a tree, his figure hiding among the shadows of the refuting trees. From a distance, he watched Ainengqi and about thirty people quietly touch Li Yan's military tent.

Not long ago, Li Zicheng, who had been taking a defensive in Luoyang, suddenly exerted his strength. First, a tiger Li Guo suddenly led his troops northward and defeated Yang Wenyue's troops who occupied Mengjin in one fell swoop. Not only did he recover the previous lost territory, but he also drove the latter army to the north of the Yellow River. Immediately, Li Zicheng personally led elite soldiers to the east out of Hulao Pass, killed deputy general Feng Dadong, captured Gao Qian alive, and deputy general Zhang Pengyi led less than 2,000 remaining defeated generals to retreat north in a panic.

Taking advantage of the victory, the rebel army first defeated the official army west of the Sishui River. Then they crossed the river by boat, captured Xingyang, the important town in northern Henan, and then captured Xingze, Xushui Town and other places, raging northern Henan. Yang Wenyue was blocked in Hebei, and Wang Qiaonian was far away in southern Henan, and could not provide any assistance. Under the strict order of the newly arrived supervisor Ding Qirui, the governor of Henan, Gao Mingheng, ordered the general officer Chen Yongfu to lead 3,000 elite troops to rescue Xingyang, and at the same time initiated a request for help from Wang Qiaonian, the general in charge of the new commander Ding Qirui.

In fact, the rebels who went out of Luoyang to attack northern Henan were just luring troops. Their real purpose was to be in Kaifeng. After learning that the Kaifeng defenders had gone out of the north, thousands of rebel cavalry suddenly attacked Kaifeng. Although they were unable to succeed in the end because of the strict preparations of the defenders, the subsequent army cooperated north and south, trapped Ding Qirui in Xinzheng.

A few days later, Xinzheng City was broken and Ding Qirui died in the chaos. Chen Yongfu escaped alone and ventured into Kaifeng City.

Afterwards, nearly 150,000 rebels gathered outside Kaifeng City and surrounded them. The local local gangsters of Kaifeng, Yuan Shizhong, Wagu, Yidougu and others also came to surrender one after another, and the momentum was extremely powerful.

This series of information was continuously transmitted to Nanyang through scouts, and Sun Kewang was very confused about it. He hoped that Li Zicheng could continue to win to attract more official troops and reduce his pressure. He also did not hope that Li Zicheng would break through Kaifeng and completely suppress him. Before, when both sides gathered in Nanyang, Li Zicheng secretly poached nearly 20,000 soldiers through various means. If his strength was expanded, more people would probably go to surrender to him.

Xu Yi was conspicuous and cruel, thinking that the Ming court would be destroyed and would inevitably perish in the future. In the end, those who could compete for the world would be Li Zicheng and his own army. Instead of waiting for Li Zicheng to become powerful and annex himself in the future, it would be better to act in advance and annex more than 10,000 troops led by Li Zicheng in Xinye Li Yan. At that time, let Li Zicheng disrupt the Central Plains and attract the attention of the official army, while his own army would take the people south to Huguang, and then seek Nanjing and seize the world.

However, most of the more than 16,000 people led by Li Yan were elite troops of the rebel army. The battle was too great and the official army was on the side. In the end, Pan Duao offered a plan to capture the thief first. Li Yan and Li Shuangxi were staying in their own camps, and only Liu Tichun was leading the troops outside. The elite troops could be sent to hold Shuang Li first, and then raid Liu Tichun with superior forces in order to capture them at the lowest loss and as fast as possible. The 50,000 army had been recruited, and when they succeeded, they would start to raid Liu Tichun's troops set up a battalion five miles away.

Li Dingguo disdained to do such dirty things. He always felt that this was too untrustworthy to his allies. But Sun Kewang was suppressing him, Xu Yixian's plan, and Ai Nengqi, who had been very unhappy with Li Shuangxi, kept instigating him. He could only suppress his dissatisfaction and agreed to the matter. He was unwilling to do it himself, so he said to Ai Nengqi, "Try to catch the living" and avoided it from afar. Just when the latter captured Li Yan and Li Shuangxi alive, he led his troops to attack Liu Tichun.

Li Dingguo saw that the guard at Li Yan's door was tightly tied by Ainengqi's troops before he could shout, and more than a dozen people shouted and rushed into the tent. He sighed silently in the letter, thinking that Li Yan was also a talented person, and he fell into the hands of Xu Yixian, who hated him, and he might be dead in the future.

After a while, Ainengqi stepped forward to Li Dingguo, with no initial excitement on his face.

"What's wrong? I didn't catch the living?" Li Dingguo's heart sank.

"Zhi Niang, this tent is empty, there is no one inside. The captured guard said that one hour ago, Li Yan and Li Shuangxi changed their clothes and went out secretly, and had already escaped."

Li Dingguo's face changed slightly, he was silent for a moment, and said, "Let's go, go to their camp immediately."

Torches were lit all around, and the night was shining like daylight.

Li Yan was wearing soft armor and a serious face. He held the sword tightly in his hand and stood at a high place in the camp.

Outside the camp, countless antlers were placed. At the door, two thousand shield soldiers stood in a semicircular ring, which was arranged outside to resist. The pirates lined up behind them, and the formation was neat, with a cold light flashing on the head of the gun. The archers were divided into two parts, one standing on the outer edge of the camp, holding the bow and arrow in their hands; the other part was located on the lower side, with five people in a row, arranged in a zigzag shape, and the target was aimed at the open area outside the camp. As long as someone attacked, a rain of arrows was enough to slow down the opponent's attack rhythm.

Li Dingguo saw the formation formed by Li Yan, rode forward alone, bowed to Li Yan slightly, and smiled faintly: "I have always known that Mr. Li is good at planning, but I didn't expect that he is so proficient in marching and formation. If I lead my troops to attack this place, I'm afraid I will have to pay more than 10,000 soldiers!"

Li Yan bowed his hand and replied with a smile: "Second Commander, you are polite. When it comes to marching and fighting, I am far inferior to you. But I know that although this camp is slightly higher, the land is flat and broad and there is no danger to defend. As long as the second commander leads his troops to break through the obstacles on the front side, you can instantly take this place. I think you can't use more than 10,000 soldiers at all, and you can easily capture this place."

Li Shuangxi stood beside him, listening to Li Yan's words, and was shocked. There was no one who reported his own fault before the war began. Wasn't this intentional way to attract the opponent to attack? He couldn't help but say, "Young Master Li, you..."

Li Yan waved his hand and said aloud: "When Li Ershuai was young, he was called the enemy of ten thousand people. Later, after a long battle formation, he became the number one general under the Eight Kings. He has long been a famous general. Even if we don't talk about our advantages and disadvantages, he must have seen a long time ago."

Li Dingguo raised his head and said, "Since the result is destined, why don't Mr. Li go out of the village to surrender? I promise not to hurt you at all."

Li Yan smiled and said, "Life and death are small, loyalty is great. The King of Chuang trusts Li and trusts the army with great force. How can I let him down and hand over the army to Sun Shuai. If the second coach comes to attack tonight, I can only hold on until the last moment."

Li Dingguo's face was gloomy and he was silent for a moment: "You are seeking death by yourself, no wonder I am."
Chapter completed!