Tian Jianxiu returned to Xi'an and returned to Li Zicheng.

"Yufeng," Li Zicheng asked lightly, "How is Zong Min's situation in Taiyuan?" "He has already received the news that the peace talks have not been reached, and he does not care. He sent Liu Zongmin to Shanxi just to control the situation and stabilize Shanxi, and he did not expect the peace talks to be fruitful.

As soon as Tian Jianxiu saw Li Zicheng's expression, he knew that Li Zicheng also knew about Liu Zongmin. He smiled and said, "Don't you know everything, that's what it's all about." ”

Li Zicheng still said lightly: "I know that I know, what you say is what you say, it's different." ”

Tian Jianxiu had no choice but to report truthfully: "Zong Min killed Wu Sangui's family, and the corpse was thrown into the Yellow River, leaving only Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan." He has been hanging out with Chen Yuanyuan in the inner house these days, and the matter of guarding against Li Yan is still handed over to Ma Chongxi. Hao Shaoqi was responsible for the defense around Taiyuan, but he didn't miss anything. ”

"If he weren't our old brother, huh!" Li Zicheng snorted angrily, but he didn't finish speaking, but looked at Tian Jianxiu with one eye.

Of course, Tian Jianxiu understood what Li Zicheng meant, and hurriedly persuaded: "Zicheng, but be calm." Zong Min is not Cao Cao, he can do it if he says it. And Cao Cao's original subordinates are not so subservient on the surface. If we have another internal strife here, without Li Yan and Qing Guo's action, we will be finished ourselves. ”

Li Zicheng saw that Tian Jianxiu, who was the most popular in the battalions, clearly opposed it, and he couldn't use it against Liu Zongmin. But how can it be punished? This is a difficulty. He couldn't move his titles and official positions, he didn't have any salary, and he couldn't cut the troops. Thinking about it, I can only say it verbally.

Originally, he wanted to sell Wu Sangui a good one, and at the same time, let Wu Sangui and Li Yan fight to the death, so as to contain Li Yan's energy. But now it's good, he himself has become Wu Sangui's mortal enemy.

Tian Jianxiu said: "Actually, it's nothing, Wu Sangui is outside Shanhaiguan, whether there is this thing or not, it will contain Li Yan." ”

The matter between Liu Zongmin and Chen Yuanyuan was known to the people of Taiyuan City, and they didn't think of any way to release fake news. If false news is sent, not only will Wu Sangui still be their enemy, but he will also be laughed at by the world.

"A girl, it's not that he hasn't seen a beautiful mother-in-law, but he is fascinated! Unpromising! Li Zicheng snorted angrily and said: "You have to send someone to warn him, otherwise I don't know what will happen in the future." ”

Tian Jianxiu agreed: "Well, yes, it's time to reprimand." ”

Li Zicheng no longer talked about Liu Zongmin's problem, since the matter has been done, and there is no way to punish it, then it has to be left as it is.

He continued: "Then let's deal with the problem of the northwest, where more than 100,000 of our troops are consumed, too much." ”

Tian Jianxiu shook his head and objected: "If the peace talks with Li Yan are completed, then there will naturally be no problem, as long as we don't take the initiative to provoke, Li Yan will not do it." But now that we haven't reached a deal, it's hard to say. If we send some troops to the northwest, will Li Yan do nothing? If those generals of the former Ming Dynasty were transferred to Shaanxi, in case of a mutiny, it would be even more dangerous. ”

Now that Wang Genzi of Yulin has been killed, those former Ming generals in the northwest have strengthened their vigilance and are ready to go to war at any time. Even if he wanted to be transferred to Shaanxi one by one, he couldn't do it. Once the order is issued, it is a signal for war. Moreover, these border generals have some relationship with the Mongols outside the border wall, and once the war starts, maybe the Mongols and Qing soldiers will also be brought in, so that they will not dare to make any moves.

"Alas!" Li Zicheng sighed and said, "We still underestimate the enemy." I never thought that the Qing army would enter the customs, let alone that the combat power of the Qing army would be so strong. Until now, even those vulnerable former Ming generals dare to bare their teeth at us. ”

Tian Jianxiu persuaded: "No one has front and back eyes, and there is no way to do it." It's better to train well, if you can have a strong soldier and a sharp weapon like Li Yan, you don't have to worry about those former Ming generals. Even against Li Yan, he won't suffer too much. ”

Li Zicheng said helplessly: "Training is not an easy thing. ”

Shi Jincai, who is now in charge of military training, is also powerless.

The soldiers' salaries can only allow them to survive, not to mention their families, where is there still the enthusiasm for training. Every day is just a false story, waiting for three meals a day.

In the past, he would have been able to motivate his men with loot. But now that they have become official soldiers, they naturally can't loot anymore, and the landlords and gentry have almost robbed them. He also has no good way to deal with the soldiers who are messing around. So don't look at him, he is also urging the soldiers to train every day, but the effect is greatly reduced.

Then there is the issue of weapons and equipment. The reason why Li Yan was invincible was that excellent artillery was the key factor. Hit farther than the enemy, the quality is excellent, and you are not afraid of exploding. But the artillery they used, except for which tiger squat guns were of good quality, the other cannons were not reassuring.

Especially for those newly cast artillery, there is not enough copper, so it is mixed with copper coins, bronze utensils, and old artillery remelted and cast. Originally, there were a lot of impurities in it, and when it was mixed like this, the metal ratio became more and more out of balance. The artillery that was made was also often blown up, and the artillerymen did not dare to operate it.

Like Li Yan, distributing fields to the soldiers, he didn't think about reporting it to Li Zicheng. But in the end, he still didn't report it. The current fields are all the generals in the army, how can they be distributed to the soldiers? So the only thing he did was to grab some of the land when he divided it. He divided the fields among his descendants, making his 5,000-strong troops more cohesive.

Li Zicheng called Shi Jincai over and asked, "How many troops have you trained?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, nearly 80,000 troops have been trained." Shi Jincai clenched his fists and replied.

Li Zicheng then asked, "Maybe fight with Li Yan?" ”

Shi Jincai bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the quality of the artillery in the army is uneven, and the range is far inferior to Li Yan's artillery. However, if it is defended by relying on a strong city, it can resist one or two. ”

Regarding the quality of artillery, Li Zicheng also only has a headache. Several craftsmen have been killed, but nothing has changed. He didn't dare to continue killing, and without craftsmen, he couldn't even make a tiger squat cannon.

Li Zicheng instructed: "All the troops that have been trained recently have been transferred to Shanxi to resist Li Yan. You have to train hard and not slack off. ”

"Your Majesty, please send more food and wages." When Shi Jincai heard that he was going to deal with Li Yan, he immediately suggested: "When the soldiers are well fed, they can withstand high-intensity training, and when they have spare money, they can be more proactive." ”

Li Zicheng instructed: "Well, I know, you go down first." ”

After Shi Jin left, he sighed: "Money and grain, where is there so much money and grain?" Looks like we're going south as soon as possible. ”

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