Going to war in the cold winter is an ordeal for either side.

The advantage of the thick armored cavalry was consumed by the knee-high snow of Yu Jingjing. And the Mongols' high horsemanship and rudimentary armor turned into an advantage.

Not long after the Lantern Festival, the weather is still cold, and it is time to prepare for the war in spring.

The road was undulating, and Li Hu tightened his leather jacket, which he had received from Yan'an Mansion twenty days ago. General Zuo raised more than 2,000 furs from the Mongols in the steppe, all of which were owned by the soldiers who had fought thousands of miles from Nanjing.

Shaanxi is now divided into four kinds of people, the Ming army from the south is the first class, the righteous army is the second class, the young and strong who accept the imperial court to assist in defending the city are the third class, and the remaining old and weak women and children are the fourth class. The few supplies are given priority to people with high grades.

It was no different on the Qing side, except that Azig could get enough food and grass from Henan and Shanxi, while Zuo Ruo had to loot the people's fat and ointment to keep the army alive.

The war horse under the crotch sneezed, and this horse was also obtained from the Mongols. I heard that General Zuo owed a lot of money to the Mongols, and Li Hu couldn't control that.

More than ten years ago, he was a cavalryman, and there were more than 100 soldiers in the army who went south from the north back then, and the worst mixed was also Qianzong. Shaanxi has no grassland and can't afford to raise too many soldiers and horses.

The status of these 300 cavalry under Li Hu in the army is extraordinary. You know, you can feed five or six more people with one horse.

The scattered scouts were concentrating, and it was time to make their way home.

A soldier came to Li Hu's horse with hot air and said, "My lord, I have all investigated, and there is no one in a hundred miles here. The livestock were all collected, and there were people who could not survive here. ”

"Fart!" Li Hu scolded: "How can no one appear to smoke cooking." ”

Last year, Zuo Ruo ordered all the people east of Yan'an Mansion to move west. However, the time was urgent, and the disposal was rushed, and all the people could not be moved. After the Qing soldiers crossed the river, the Ming army often had soldiers patrolling in Qingjian and Yanchang generation, and when monitoring the actions of the Qing soldiers, all those who met the Han people were forcibly taken away.

The soldier was a native of Shaanxi who had been newly recruited into the cavalry battalion, and muttered: "There are many ravines here, and there are people hiding in caves, where can they be found." Even if they don't want to leave home, they may not be able to survive when they arrive in Qingyang Mansion. ”

Li Hu's face was gloomy, and he resisted the urge to whip and whip.

Because he knew that the people who were forcibly relocated to Qingyang Mansion were indeed miserable. The young and strong are okay, and half of the old and weak have not survived this winter. Shaanxi has been dying of famine since the third year of Chongzhen, and it seems that it has not changed for more than 20 years.

Half an hour later, the scattered patrol soldiers returned, Li Hu finished counting the number of people, turned his horse and shouted: "Go"

The 300 cavalry walked slowly on the high hills in the desert like a team of camels, walking in the thick snow in the direction of Yan'an City.

Shaanxi is like a mud pit that can never be cleaned, and whoever reaches in and touches it will be stained with oil.

When the Ming court ruled Shaanxi, there were righteous troops here. After the Qing captured Shaanxi, there were righteous troops here. Now that the Ming army has regained Shaanxi, there are still righteous troops here. These newly recruited rebels from Shaanxi were far worse than the regular soldiers who went north, and not only could not strictly carry out their orders, but often had their own ideas. Last month, General Zuo killed two rebel leaders in Qingyang who were trying to lead their troops out of the army, so that those people could converge.

Zuo Ruo was ruthless to the disobedient rebels, but he strictly forbade his subordinates to abuse the Shaanxi rebels. He is a native of Shaanxi, and he can still be forgiven by the people of Shaanxi for doing it himself, if the arrogance of the soldiers in eastern Zhejiang in the army bursts out, there will be no need to fight this battle.

Yan'an is not far away, but the snow is thick and difficult to walk, the road has to spend the night in the icy and snowy wilderness, the next afternoon Li Hu arrived outside Yan'an, he saw hundreds of tents neatly arranged in the east of the city.

"Are the Mongols coming?" Li Hu's heart moved slightly. When he received his leather jacket last year, he heard that General Zuo had asked the Mongols to enter the customs to help in the war.

His cavalry was free to enter the city. After entering Yan'an City, the cavalry entered the Dongcheng barracks, and he rushed to the government to resume his life.

There were also more than 20 Mongolians standing at the entrance of the government office, talking to each other.

Li Hu didn't look at them, and directly asked the guards to report inside.

A moment later, the guards came out and ushered him in.

Walking to the main hall of the mansion, Zuo Ruo was busy with something, writing and drawing with a piece of paper. After he paid his respect, he waited for a long time before Zuo Ruo reacted and asked him to calm down.

Zuo Ruo put down the work at hand and asked, "Li Hu, you are back, has anything happened on the side of the Yellow River?" ”

Li Hu said: "It seems that the Qing soldiers and horses are not ready to return to Shanxi. Yichuan's supplies are piled up, and they are afraid that as soon as the ice and snow thaw, they will kill them. ”

"Hmm" Zuo Ruo groaned slightly, and said: "The Yellow River is about to thaw, it seems that they want to store enough food." Last year, they fled to Shanxi in fright, but this year it was not good. ”

"The Mongols can't be relied on to fight tough battles," he didn't lie in front of Li Hu, "Have you seen the Mongols outside the city?" ”

Li Hu nodded, "I saw it."

"Those people will be under your control immediately," Zuo Ruo gestured three fingers in the air, "There are three thousand Tumuts and half of the Chahars, you go to get acquainted with them in the next few days, and then lead them to Longxi in five days." ”

Li Hu was very depressed, but he didn't expect this task to fall on him.

He gritted his teeth and arched his hand: "My lord, there are more than 20,000 Qing prisoners on the west bank of the Yellow River, and Yan'an City is not as strong as Xi'an, so I am willing to stay in Yan'an to defend the city." "The people in Zuo Ruo's army are not afraid of vicious battles, they are afraid of idleness. What's more, Li Hu has always been Zuo Ruo's vanguard officer.

"Do you think I let you go to Longxi to play in the spring?" Zuo Ruo's voice slowly increased, at first from the depths of his throat and eyes to the thin hairspring, and finally to the fury of thunder. He gave orders and never allowed anyone to bargain.

"Whether the road in Longxi is smooth or not, directly related to the overall situation of Shaanxi, the spring famine is coming, if I don't transport some grain over, I will use a knife against the Shaanxi people

Li Hu was frightened when he was scolded, and he didn't dare to breathe.

In the past six months, Zuo Ruo has been very bitter and aggrieved. The regent wanted him to use the Mongols, who were not as reliable as their own people. He would rather believe in the Rebels than in the Mongols.

Zuo Ruo said: "As long as I have money and food, I can gather 100,000 soldiers and horses in Shaanxi, and Zong Mao has become confused when he takes office as the head of the household department."

Only Zuo Ruo is qualified to say these words in Shaanxi, and when Li Hu heard it, he had to forget it immediately.

Li Hu didn't dare to speak, and Zuo Ruo continued to convey the order: "You go to Longxi, including your 300 cavalry plus the Mongols, a total of 3,300 people, if you can only maintain the trade routes in Longxi, you will also lose the life of the vanguard in our army." You have to find the right opportunity to cooperate with Wu Sangui to flank the Azig army south of Xi'an. The pressure on the southern front is less, and I can let go on the western front. ”

Li Hu said loudly: "The last general obeys orders"

Zuo Ruo's expression was firm, and he said: "As long as I can survive this year and let me free my hands, the Manchus can only escape from the customs." ”

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