Chapter 628: Temporarily Abandon Shanxi
Not only did Li Yan and Li Mu go smoothly here, but Qian Er's direction in Dai County was also very smooth, and after half a day to collapse a corner of the county seat, Li Zicheng's troops in Dai County also all withdrew south. However, Qian Er did not waste time, and chased south with his troops, and Daixian was handed over to the defenders of Yanmen Pass to take care of.
When Li Guo received the news that his subordinates had withdrawn from the Yellow River, he had already arrived in Baode. At this time, he had no choice but to cross the Yellow River with his escort troops.
However, after he crossed the Yellow River, he got another bad news, Li Yan's troops actually crossed the Yellow River with him, and were preparing to attack south, and there were many soldiers and civilians who retreated south on the way. Of course, most of these people are the families of the soldiers, and the rest of the people have no desire to migrate.
Li Guo had no choice but to follow south and go to Yulin to meet Liu Fangliang. The hundred and ten people around him couldn't stop Li Yan's army of 100,000. This 100,000-strong army is a legend from the mouths of the defeated soldiers and the people, and of course he knows that it is false. But Li Yan's troops should not be less than 10,000 people, right? That's enough to scare him.
Li Yan and Chen Yongfu advanced eastward slowly, and after easily blasting open the wall of Shouyang County, Li Zicheng's troops continued to retreat westward and rushed directly back to Taiyuan. Li Yan was still not in a hurry, and continued to rest the troops, and then slowly marched towards Taiyuan.
Li Zicheng, who was in Xi'an, was furious.
"Can't resist! Can't resist! Li Zicheng roared angrily in the Jinluan Palace: "What else can they do?!" Since exiting Beijing, everything has changed! In the past, he was invincible, but now he only knows how to retreat! Retreat! ”
Tian Jianxiu said weakly: "The opponent is different. Before, we were able to destroy all the way to Beijing, and the opponent was the army of the former Ming Dynasty. But after that, the first opponent was the Qing army, and the current opponent is Li Yan, who defeated the Qing army. ”
"What about Li Yan?!" Li Zicheng's one-eyed fire spewed fire, and he still roared angrily: "There are 10,000 troops in the pass, and they were all defeated in just one day, and they escaped across the Yellow River, and let Li Yan's troops also chase after them!" 10,000 people! If you have the heart to defend to the death, you can hold on for three or four days, and then the rescuers in Yulin will be able to pass! ”
Gao Yigong reminded: "The matter has come to this point, let's talk about how many people to send to Taiyuan and how many reinforcements to send to Yulin." ”
Li Zicheng stared at Gao Yigong with one eye, feeling that the tone of his brother-in-law's speech was wrong.
Tian Jianxiu immediately played a round game: "Yigong is right, what should be discussed now is how to save the battle." Yulin is an important town in northern Shaanxi, and there is no room for error. Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi Province, which controls mountains and rivers. If Taiyuan is not guaranteed, Shanxi will also not be guaranteed. In the future, the east of the Yellow River will no longer be easily touchable. ”
Li Zicheng finally sat on the dragon chair with a snort, he realized that the generals under him were not in a good mood at this time, and he couldn't be too strict. At the same time, he also remembered that when he was in Beijing, he also retreated without resistance, which may have given his subordinates a bad start.
"Now there are 80,000 elite soldiers in Xi'an, and Li Yan has about 10,000 in the north of Yulin, if you want to defeat this enemy, you must have 50,000 or 60,000 horses." Yuan Zongdi slowly analyzed: "Counting the 20,000 troops in Yulin, we have to transfer 30,000 or 40,000 from here. And Li Yan's troops in Taiyuan should exceed 20,000, and the additional reinforcements that need to be sent are at least 50,000 or 60,000 horses. And both of these are urgent tasks, but we can only take care of one direction at most. ”
Gao Yigong suggested: "You should go to reinforce the direction of Yulin first." Li Yan's troops there were a lone army, and as long as they were surrounded, they would have no food and ammunition to replenish. When the ice on the Yellow River melted, Li Yan's army was finished. And Taiyuan has a general outpost, and it has been prepared for so long, so it can always hold on for some time. Even if you can't hold on, it's a big deal to abandon the city and go to Jinnan. As long as we destroy the enemy in the north, we can attack Shanxi again, and it will be very different. ”
Tian Jianxiu saw Li Zicheng looking at him, so he also spoke: "Well, what Yigong said makes sense." However, I am more worried about the direction of Tongguan. ”
Yuan Zongdi immediately asked: "Unlikely, right?" Li Yan is now divided into three troops, how many troops can he have? Can you continue to attack Tongguan? ”
"He doesn't have that many soldiers." Li Zicheng also said: "He still has so many Great Wall passes to guard against, how can he still have such a large number of troops?" ”
Tian Jianxiu insisted: "You can't just look at how much place he has to defend, but also how much territory he occupies and how many people he governs." He now sits on the land of three provinces, and there should be no problem in supporting an army of two or three hundred thousand. Moreover, he used the method of handing out land to the soldiers, and the need for money was not great. And Henan under his rule is his granary, there are all kinds of workshops, fields, and other things are not lacking, and the soldiers' fighting spirit is naturally higher. ”
"You also agree to give up Shanxi for the time being?" Li Zicheng asked in frustration.
Tian Jianxiu nodded: "Shanxi is Li Yan's battleground. If you don't give up Shanxi, then you have to organize a big war in Taiyuan. However, the troops we have at hand are limited, and if all of them are used in Taiyuan, then Xi'an will be in danger. Li Yan's 10,000-strong army was enough to fight from Yulin. ”
Li Zicheng sat motionless, and waited for a while before he ordered: "Send a decree to the party Shousu, and ask him to immediately recruit half of the troops in the northwest, especially those under the command of the former Ming commanders." Let him be sure to rush to Xi'an within a month. ”
Then he immediately ordered: "Give Liu Zongmin a decree and let him decide for himself the defense of Taiyuan and even Shanxi." When necessary, they can withdraw to Shaanxi. However, he can only use the existing troops in Shanxi to fight, and I can't do anything here. ”
"Why didn't Your Majesty say that you would give up Taiyuan?" Gao Yigong said: "In that case, if tens of thousands of troops can come back, Xi'an will be more stable." ”
Li Zicheng reprimanded dissatisfiedly: "Ming, how can you let me say it clearly?!" Only he knows what is going on there! Few of the reports I've seen are true! All of them are Hou Ye and Uncle, they are people with status, not only the family business has become bigger, but even all kinds of deception and concealment in the Ming Dynasty have also been learned! ”
At this time, everyone lowered their heads and did not dare to speak. The officials they use now are either their own relatives or former Ming officials, and the staff members are either people or jinshi, and those bad habits will naturally be used without learning.
After waiting for a while, Li Zicheng read the decree in the court, and then used the seal to immediately ask his relatives to go to Liu Zongmin and Dang Shousu to pass the decree.
After that, he ordered: "Let all the troops and horses be ready, and set off in three days." Yufeng, you stay and watch the house. I want to go north in person to destroy Li Yan's lone army! Completely stabilize people's hearts! ”
"Yes!" Tian Jianxiu and the others stood up and clenched their fists to receive their lives. Although Li Zicheng no longer wears a dragon robe, he is still the emperor of Dashun and their leader, and they still show enough respect.
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