In the first month of the second year of the Ming Empire's Longwu, the Shaanxi thief Li Zicheng, the Sichuan thief Zhang Xianzhong and the Han Dynasty annihilated Wu Sangui were forced by the strong pressure of the central army, and finally released their previous suspicions and formed a strategic alliance.

In the same month, in order to alleviate the famine in Guanzhong, Shaanxi thief Li Zicheng took his nephew Li Shuangxi as the main general, Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu as the deputy generals, and raised 180,000 troops to the south.

Due to the invasion of the thieves, Wang Pu was forced to cancel the plan to attack Shanxi, and instead ordered the Red Lady to lead 20,000 cavalry south to Huguang to cooperate with Zhao Xin to resist the invasion of the thieves.

After arranging all this, Wang Pu secretly returned to Nanjing.

For Wang Pu, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's attack is nothing at all, Liu Ru has three musket battalions plus artillery battalions, Zhao Xin has three mixed battalions, and Red Lady and Monk Zhang have six cavalry battalions.

And now it's time to let Liu Ru is one side stand alone, no matter how hard Wang Pu can work, it is impossible for the family to solve all the problems alone, it's time to find someone to share the pressure, and Liu Ru is already his woman, there is no problem in loyalty, hand over the main force of the Central Army to Liu Ru is, Wang Pu doesn't have to worry about her becoming a separatist warlord at all.

Of course, there is another more important reason why Wang Pu is in a hurry to return to Nanjing, that is, the steam engine!

The iron machine tool of the Jiande Arsenal has been built, and the machining accuracy has been substantially improved compared with the wooden machine tool, Wang Pu is eager to know whether the boring machine of the Jiande Arsenal can be boring out the cylinder with enough finish?

The original quantity of the steam engine is very simple, its key part is the cylinder, if the accuracy of the boring machine can not be guaranteed, the cylinder with high finish can not be bored, the steam engine is a castle in the air, only the accuracy of the boring machine is good enough, the cylinder with sufficient accuracy can be bored, the emergence of the steam engine is possible.

Needless to say, the important surname of the steam engine is a sign of the industrial revolution!

With the steam engine, the Ming Empire will undergo earth-shaking changes, when the time will be on the land there will be trains, there will be ironclad ships on the ocean, there will be a large number of factories in big cities, and roaring machinery, if the Ming Empire can spare no effort to support the Academy of Military Sciences, coupled with Wang Pu's guidance, the Ming Empire may even enter the era of electric steam in a very short period of time!

All this, thinking about it made Wang Pu so excited that he couldn't sleep, he couldn't wait to put on his wings and fly to Zhejiang immediately, so he hurriedly explained the main tasks of the former enemy headquarters, and Wang Pu hurriedly set off with two brigades of personal soldiers.

■■■

Taiyuan, Shanxi, Wu Sangui Mansion.

Wu Sanfeng hurriedly entered the warm pavilion with a look on his face, and said to Wu Sangui: "Second brother, I heard that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have already started?" ”

"Hmm." Wu Sangui bowed his head lightly and said, "It's already done." ”

"Oh?" Wu Sanfeng said, "How many troops did Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong dispatch?" ”

Wu Sangui said: "This time Li Zicheng dispatched nearly 200,000 troops, and the army that Yan'an Mansion originally used to guard against our Wu family was almost exhausted, and the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong also mobilized nearly 100,000 troops, and nearly 300,000 troops gathered in Xunyang, and now they are confronting Zhao Xin at Qingtong Pass." ”

"Good boys, 300,000 troops?" Wu Sanfeng stammered, "This is enough for Zhao Xin to drink a pot." ”

Wu Sangui said coldly: "Hmph, an army of 300,000 sounds like a lot, but it can also be called an army?" ”

Wu Sanfeng said: "Anyway, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and the imperial court are only good for our Wu family. ”

"That's right." Wu Sangui said, "Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong raised 300,000 troops to attack Huguang, this change has disrupted Wang Pu's overall plan, and in return, at least 20,000 Henan cavalry have gone south to Huguang to fight with Zhao Xin, and Wang Pu's main force of the Central Army has also moved to Nanyang, ready to respond to Zhao Xin at any time." ”

Wu Sanfeng said: "In other words, it is impossible for the Central Army to attack Shanxi in a short period of time?" ”

Wu Sangui said: "The junior brother has long said that at least before the spring of next year, it is impossible for the Central Army to attack Shanxi. ”

Wu Sanfeng's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness, and he said in a condensed voice: "Second brother, why don't you take advantage of the vicious battle between the Ming army and Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to attack Henan, and give Wang Pu and the Ming court a ruthless blow?" First, you can train soldiers, secondly, you can collect some food and grass supplies, and you can also avenge the dead third brother. ”

Wu Sangui frowned and said, "Big brother, are you confused?" ”

Wu Sanfeng was stunned and said, "What did the second brother say?" ”

Wu Sangui asked rhetorically: "Our Guanning Army needs to be trained, but is the Ming Central Army an ideal training target?" ”

Wu Sanfeng shook his head and said, "Of course not." ”

Wu Sangui said again: "Is our Guanning army short of food and grass? ”

Wu Sanfeng said: "It's not very lacking. ”

Wu Sangui said again: "Then if we go to attack Henan, can we kill the Red Lady and Wang Pu?" ”

Wu Sanfeng said: "Of course this is impossible. ”

Wu Sangui said: "Since this is the case, then we will not get any benefits from sending troops to attack Henan, but may lose valuable troops in vain. ”

Wu Sanfeng said shamefully: "Foolish brother owes consideration. ”

Wu Sangui sighed and said gloomily: "Big brother, if the third brother is killed, no one will feel good in their hearts, but revenge for the third brother is a small matter, the life and death of our Wu family is a big matter, and the Guanning army in Shanxi is the foundation of our Wu family, and we must not take them to merge with the Ming army." ”

■■■

Nanyang, former enemy headquarters.

Liu Qingyan took the information gathered from the entrance of the White Lotus Church from all over the country into Liu Ruye's room, and said: "If it is a sister, the information from the halls of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Sichuan has been summarized. ”

Liu Ru looked up from the map and asked happily, "Oh, what information is there?" ”

Liu Qingyan said: "Wu Sangui of Shanxi is not moving, it seems that he does not plan to take this opportunity to send troops. ”

"And that's to be expected." Liu Ru bowed his head lightly and said, "Compared with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, Wu Sangui is from a family of generals, and he is more cunning and difficult to deal with. ”

Liu Qingyan said: "Let's talk about Li Zicheng, this time Li Zicheng dispatched about 200,000 troops, and the leader of the army will be Li Zicheng's nephew Li Shuangxi, as well as generals Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu also went out with the army. ”

"Two hundred thousand?" Liu said, "The total strength of Li Zicheng's thieves is only about 300,000, and it seems that the famine in Shaanxi is already very serious, otherwise Li Zicheng would not be able to make such a desperate bet." ”

"And Zhang Xianzhong." Liu Qingyan said again, "In addition to Qin Liangyu who was trapped in the stone pillar, the officers and troops of various departments in Sichuan Province were basically broken by Zhang Xianzhong, this Eastern Expedition, Zhang Xianzhong sent his righteous descendants Kewang and Li Dingguo as generals, leading about 80,000 troops, so that with Li Zicheng's men and horses, the total strength of the thieves is nearly 300,000, and the pressure on General Zhao Xin and Qingtong Pass is not light. ”

Liu Ru pondered for a moment, and said lightly: "Not necessarily." ”

Liu Qingyan said: "If it's a girl, how do you say this?" ”

Liu said: "Although there are nearly 300,000 thieves, most of them are rabble, and the most people who really have combat effectiveness will not exceed 100,000, and the thieves also have a fatal weakness. ”

Liu Qingyan said: "What weakness? ”

Liu said: "The thieves lack unified command! Because there is no unified command, the two thieves will inevitably look like each other, each has its own calculations, the Shaanxi thieves hope that the Sichuan thieves will take the lead, and the Sichuan thieves also hope that the Shaanxi thieves will take the lead, both sides want to take advantage, the result is mutual suspicion, each other's skin, the situation in Qingtong Pass seems to be dangerous, but in fact it is not enough to worry. ”

Liu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief and said with relief: "So that's the case." ”

■■■

Xunyang County, Qingtong Pass.

Zhao Xinqin led a mixed battalion of the Central Army stationed on Qingtong Pass, firmly blocking the road of Shaanxi and Sichuan thieves to the east, before the capture of Qingtong Pass, the thieves did not dare to rashly go east, after all, the current thieves are no longer the thieves of the past, they also have grain and grass baggage, not like where to eat before.

However, after a small group of thieves returned to the side of Qingtong Pass, things happened from time to time, which brought disaster to the people of Xunyang Mansion.

It wasn't until the Red Lady led the three cavalry battalions of the Central Army to arrive that the situation changed, and the arrival of these three cavalry battalions posed a fatal threat to the thieves, and the thieves were forced to hug together, and no longer dared to go out in small groups to loot around, otherwise it was easy to be surrounded and annihilated by the cavalry battalions of the Central Army.

This made the situation of the thieves worse.

Originally, due to the lack of trust between each other, the Shaanxi thieves and the Sichuan thieves were unwilling to attack Qingtong Pass with their strength, so the army was stationed under Qingtong Pass for more than half a month, but they never launched a decent offensive! However, nearly 300,000 troops are stationed under Qingtong Pass, and the amount of grain and grass consumed is not a small amount!

Originally, relying on the small group of thieves sent to loot everywhere, they could barely maintain the use of the army, after all, the people of Xunyang County also planted sweet potatoes, and every household had hundreds or even thousands of catties of storage, but now as soon as the cavalry battalion of the Central Army arrived, the small group of thieves no longer dared to go out to loot, and the food of the thieves immediately began to be urgent.

■■■

Outside Qingtong Pass, the thief battalion.

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were invited to Li Shuangxi's tent to participate in the military meeting, Li Shuangxi sat high in the handsome chair, the military advisor Niu Jinxing and the generals Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu were on the left side, and Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were on the right side.

Li Shuangxi's eyes swept over everyone's faces, and he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the army has been stationed outside Qingtong Pass for more than half a month, but the war has made no progress. I wonder how you feel about this? ”

"The last general is still the same sentence." As soon as Li Shuangxi's words fell, Liu Zongmin said loudly, "If we don't solve the problem of unified command, this battle can't be fought." ”

The corners of Sun Kewang's mouth immediately bloomed with a sneer, unified command? It's a nice thing to say, don't you want to take the opportunity to annex the army of the Great Western Kingdom? Why did the army of the Great Western Kingdom have to be commanded by the generals of the Great Shun Kingdom? In terms of qualifications and ability, what point can he expect to be inferior to Li Shuangxi?

Li Shuangxi's cold eyes fell on Sun Kewang's face like a knife, and he asked in a condensed voice, "What does General Sun think about this?" ”

Sun Kewang said coldly: "This marshal still says the same thing, the army of the Great Western Kingdom can only be commanded by the generals of the Great Western Kingdom, and it is impossible to hand it over to the generals of other countries to command." ”

Tian Jianxiu sneered: "When is it now that you are still so petty? It's just not a unified command, and it's not to take the opportunity to annex the army of your Great Western Kingdom! Do you have to wait until the camp runs out of food and grass, and then the two families are forced to withdraw? Sun Kewang, what are your intentions? ”

"Angry?" Sun Kewang said hungrily, "Since you Dashun people are generous, it is better to hand over the Dashun army to the unified command of the commander." ”

"Fart!" Liu Zongmin shouted, "Our Dashun army has 200,000 people, but your Daxi army only has 80,000, how can there be 80,000 people to command 200,000 people?" ”

"Hey, hey." Sun Kewang sneered, "The combat effectiveness of an army is not determined by the number of troops!" If this commander is not mistaken, last year General Liu led an army of 100,000 troops to invade Hanzhong, but was repelled by my second brother with less than 20,000 troops, and General Liu himself was seriously injured, is this true? ”

"You!?"

Liu Zongmin was furious, like a puppy that had been stepped on by his tail, Huo Di jumped up, and said sharply, "Sun Kewang, there is a kind of heads-up!" ”

"Heads-up is heads-up." Sun Kewang snorted and said coldly, "Ben Shuai is still afraid of you?" ”

Seeing that Sun Kewang and Liu Zongmin were tense and the fight might break out at any time, Li Dingguo on the side had already frowned.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Niu Jinxing had to shout and say: "Enough, General Liu, General Sun, the enemy is not thinking about how to kill the enemy at the moment, but you are thinking about attacking each other, what kind of business is this?" ”

"Master Niu, generals." Li Dingguo couldn't help but come out and clasp his fists and said, "The last general and his brother came with the army under the orders of their father-in-law, but they came to help the war, not to quarrel, since the two armies of Dashun and Daxi could not reach an agreement because of the unified command, the last general had a compromise proposal, I don't know if I should say it?" ”

Sun Kewang's brows furrowed for a moment, and he turned his head and glared at Li Dingguo fiercely, obviously blaming Li Dingguo for being troublesome.

Although Li Shuangxi of the Dashun Army is the nominal commander of the expedition, everyone knows Niu Jinxing's transcendent status in the Dashun Army, and more often than not, Niu Jinxing has the final say. ”

(To be continued)