"Report, the bandits led by Li Zicheng are still 150 miles away from Tongguan..."

"I know, let's investigate again..."

Sun Chuanting's face was ashen, and he had nowhere to vent his anger. The huge crisis was already lingering in his mind.

Two days have passed. The deputy general of the Qin Army led 40,000 Qin troops to storm Tongguan. They suffered heavy casualties, but failed to capture the east gate of Tongguan, causing tens of thousands of troops to gather near Tongguan Guards.

Sun Chuanting never expected that the seemingly weak bandits would burst out with huge fighting power at critical moments. According to the Qin Army's deputy general's report, the bandits stationed at Tongguan Guard also suffered heavy casualties, and the East Gate area was already surrounded by the smell of blood.

There was not much time left, Sun Chuanting had to make a decision again.

Either give up the attack on Tongguan and lead his army to march quickly in the direction of Yunyang, Huguang, or use all his strength to capture Tongguan and ensure that the army returns to Shaanxi, or turn around and start a fight with Li Zicheng.

It is no longer possible for the army to march in the direction of Yunyang, Huguang. It is not only a problem of insufficient food and grass, but also how to deal with Li Zicheng who is chasing after him. How to ensure that Xi'an Fucheng is safe and sound. Turning around to fight with Li Zicheng's troops, the chance of victory is too slim, and

The two armies entered a stalemate, and the problem of insufficient food and grass would once again trouble Sun Chuanting.

The best choice, or the only choice, is to capture Tongguan

The deputy general of the Qin army and the commander-in-chief Yansui stood in front of Wu Zongrui.

The deputy general of the Qin Army looked defeated. He never expected that the bandits guarding Tongguan would be so tenacious. He remembered the most intense fighting. A small number of Qin Army sergeants had climbed up the city wall using ladders. The bandits on the wall,

He actually hugged the Qin Army sergeant and jumped down from the city wall together. After falling to the ground, the rogue who had already fallen to death did not let go until his death.

At that moment, the deputy general of the Qin army felt great fear, and he also had awe in his heart. On the battlefield, everyone will respect a strong opponent.

"At dawn tomorrow, we will launch an attack on the east gate of Tongguan. We must capture the east gate of Tongguan to ensure that the army can return to Shaanxi. Do you understand..."

Sun Chuanting was not polite. He looked at the Qin Army's deputy general and Yansui Commander-in-Chief, and spoke expressionlessly.

There was no way out, so Sun Chuanting's words were quite polite.

"Go and get ready. The attack will begin at 00:00 tomorrow..."

Seeing the deputy general of the Qin army and the commander-in-chief Yansui leaving, Sun Chuanting had a desolate look on his face.

After a while, the soldiers brought Ma Jinzhong over.

Sun Chuanting looked at Ma Jinzhong.

"Ma Jinzhong, didn't you say that the former army of the rogue bandits is not strong in combat effectiveness? The commander is Zhang Dongtao and the deputy commander is Li Yan. Why are they so stubborn? Do you think it is possible to get them to surrender to the imperial court..."

Ma Jinzhong calmed down his emotions slightly and spoke.

"Sir, I'm not lying. The combat effectiveness of the former army is indeed not strong. For this matter, there was a conflict between Zhang Dongtao and Niu Jinxing. There are 100,000 sergeants in the former army, among which there are only 10,000 sergeants in the old camp, which is not yet an elite.

.”

"But Zhang Dongtao has very strong combat capabilities and has won many battles..."

Ma Jinzhong recounted the several victories Zhang Dongtao led in battle.

The expression on Sun Chuanting's face changed again. He looked at Ma Jinzhong and waited for a while before speaking.

"Oh, is Zhang Dongtao so powerful? I really didn't expect that I have already planned to launch a general attack on the east gate of Tongguan tomorrow. I must capture the east gate and ensure that the army returns to Shaanxi smoothly. This Zhang Dongtao is a talent.

Can you let him be used by the emperor and the court..."

Ma Jinzhong's heart skipped a beat and he did not answer. In fact, from Sun Chuanting's words, he had already noticed other meanings. It should be said that after the Battle of Mi County, he, Ma Jinzhong, had become Li Zicheng's mortal enemy, and the rebel sergeants also hated him.

, after all, he had betrayed many family members of the rebels. If caught by the rebels, Ma Jinzhong could not imagine what kind of torture he would encounter.

Sun Chuanting didn't think that much. In order to allow his army to return to Shaanxi, as long as it was useful, he had to adopt it and try it out.

Sun Chuanting had already had the idea of ​​asking Ma Jinzhong to persuade Zhang Dongtao to surrender, but he felt that the possibility of success was too low, and it seemed unreasonable to throw Ma Jinzhong out like this.

The deputy general of the Qin Army, led by the Qin Army sergeants, has launched a two-day strong attack, but still failed to capture the east gate. Therefore, Sun Chuanting is not sure whether tomorrow's general attack will be able to capture the east gate of Tongguan.

Seeing that Ma Jinzhong did not speak, Sun Chuanting showed a look of displeasure on his face.

"Ma Jinzhong, how is your relationship with Zhang Dongtao?"

Sun Chuanting finally made it clear, and Ma Jinzhong sighed inwardly. He didn't know why his luck was so bad. It was a blessing, not a curse, and he couldn't avoid it. Now that he had reached this point, he should simply feel more relaxed.

"Sir, my relationship with Zhang Dongtao is average. We were just acquaintances in the rebel army. If you want to recruit Zhang Dongtao, I am willing to do my best. If you need me to do anything, please give me your orders..."

Ma Jinzhong said this, and Sun Chuanting felt a little unbearable in his heart.

According to the current situation, once Ma Jinzhong falls into the hands of rogue bandits, he will undoubtedly die, and the ending will be very tragic. However, Sun Chuanting has no choice. For the nearly 100,000 soldiers under his command, he must throw Ma Jinzhong out. Maybe the rogue bandits have obtained

The resentment in Ma Jinzhong's heart will be relieved. At that time, Sun Chuanting orders the army to attack forcefully. Maybe he can successfully capture the Tongguan guards and ensure that his sergeants return to Shaanxi.

The unbearable emotion in his heart quickly disappeared, and Sun Chuanting made up his mind.

"Ma Jinzhong, you know the situation facing the army. Since you are familiar with Zhang Dongtao, Li Yan and others, then go and persuade them to surrender on my behalf. As long as Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan can surrender to the imperial court, I will definitely appeal to the emperor and the imperial court.

Recommend them..."

...

Tongguanwei, East Gate.

The color of the stone steps outside the city wall is dark black, which is caused by countless blood stains. The color on the city wall is not much better. There is a layer of sticky black stains on the ground, which are all the blood left by the sergeants.

Zhang Dongtao slowly walked up the Guanlou, with Li Yan following behind him.

After two days of fighting, the front army suffered heavy losses, but the official army failed to capture Tongguan Guards.

"Deputy General Zhang, I don't know when the army led by King Chuang will arrive. It's been two days, so they should be arriving..."

Li Yan's tone was obviously dissatisfied.

In fact, Li Yan had expressed his dissatisfaction more than an hour ago. Zhang Dongtao's decision to lead the front army to defend Tongguan and prevent Sun Chuanting and his army from evacuating Henan was a very bold decision. This meant that Zhang Dongtao and the front army led by Zhang Dongtao

The army was about to fall into great danger. This decision was supported by Li Zicheng, so the army led by Li Zicheng would rush over quickly and fight with the army under Sun Chuanting.

Two days have passed, and the army led by Li Zicheng has not yet arrived at Tongguan Guard, which makes people have other thoughts.

Zhang Dongtao looked at Li Yan and sighed softly.

"Li Yan, there is no need to complain. We have kept everything in mind. Two days have passed. Sun Chuanting must not be able to bear it anymore and will definitely launch a more violent attack. After two days of fighting, our casualties are close to

Ten thousand people, you and I have to thank our brothers for their bravery. If we hadn't tried our best, Tongguan Guard would have been lost long ago."

Li Yan nodded and watched Zhang Dongtao speak again.

"Deputy General Zhang, this is because you have extraordinary prestige among the rebels, so brothers will work hard. If I were to command the battle, Tongguan Guards would have been lost long ago. In fact, what I just said is that two days have passed, which is not the case.

It's my personal complaint, but the brothers below have this view. I have told them that the army led by King Chuang will soon arrive at Tongguan Guard..."

Zhang Dongtao reached out and patted Li Yan on the shoulder, lowered his voice and spoke.

"Li Yan, don't forget what I said. King Chuang is changing, and the rebels are also changing. When Luo Rucai and Gao Yingdeng were killed, it seemed normal to us. You and I actively supported it.

But why Ma Jinzhong surrendered to the imperial court, you and I need to think carefully about it and be prepared for anything, and we must make all preparations."

A chill spread throughout Guanlou.

According to Zhang Dongtao's estimate, the army led by Li Zicheng should have caught up with Sun Chuanting and his army in about one to two days. However, this was not the case. After two days of fierce fighting, the officers and soldiers outside the city were still there.

There was no restlessness, which meant that it would take some time for the army led by Li Zicheng to reach Tongguan.

Zhang Dongtao had to analyze why such a situation occurred. In his opinion, either Li Zicheng did not want to start a decisive battle with Sun Chuanting in the Tongguan area, or someone gave Li Zicheng advice not to march quickly and wait until the front army and the imperial court

When the army was exhausted, Li Zicheng led the army to attack again.

Regardless of the possibility, Zhang Dongtao felt chilled. This time Sun Chuanting entered Henan to fight, Li Zicheng sacrificed the lives of nearly 100,000 new battalion sergeants in exchange for annihilating the chariot battalion under Sun Chuanting. This seemed very cruel and ruthless.

In terms of overall combat deployment, Zhang Dongtao can also be used as bait to a certain extent, equivalent to the nearly 100,000 sergeants of the new battalion who were abandoned by Li Zicheng.

At this time, Zhang Dongtao suddenly understood why Wu Zongrui ordered him in the letter to vigorously develop his strength among the rebels.

A sergeant hurriedly ran up the gate.

"Report to Deputy General Manager Zhang and General Li, there is someone outside the city who claims to be Ma Jinzhong and wants to see Deputy General Manager Zhang..."
Chapter completed!