Liu Yan followed Zheng Chongjian to the camp of the Qin army, and there was no third person in the camp.

Liu Yan said: "Governor Zheng can say, what kind of business can the last general participate in?" ”

Zheng Chongjian said with a smile: "I learned from the superintendent that the various units of the army are about to return to their respective stations. General He, General He, and Vice General Li are going back to Shaanxi to continue the campaign against Li Chuang, and General Liu is also going back to Shandong. ”

"It's just that General Liu also knows that the Qin army is suffering, this is well known, although my Qin army soldiers are brave and good at fighting, but the equipment is very poor. Let's talk about armor, only warriors and generals in the army can equip it, and ordinary soldiers only have uniforms. There are also firearms, and the firearms used by the soldiers of the Qin army are three-eyed guns and arquebus guns......"

Liu Yan smiled and waved his hand, stopped the chattering Zheng Chongjian, and said, "The last general understands, Zheng Du wants to buy some military equipment from the last general, right?" ”

"Hehe, this governor likes to chat with smart people like General Liu, happy!"

Liu Yan said: "Then what is Zheng Du going to exchange, silver or grain?" ”

Zheng Chongjian said: "General Liu also knows that the situation in Shaanxi is very bad now, grain is more valuable than gold, and the governor can't get much grain. As for the silver, now that the Qin army's military salaries have been in arrears for four months, naturally there is no silver available. ”

"So, does Zheng Du want to take credit?"

"No!"

Zheng Chongjian said: "That's the case, today the governor has been assigned 4,300 veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time, and these soldiers can be exchanged for these soldiers, and three soldiers can be exchanged for a full set of equipment for the new army, how about it?" ”

Liu Yan laughed when he heard this, and said: "Haha, if I guess correctly, the battlefield veterans that Zheng Du said are those defeated soldiers of the Left Army!" ”

"Hehe, exactly. However, General Liu doesn't look at these as routs, but they are veterans who have fought for many years, as long as they are slightly rectified, they will be a strong force! ”

"Such a good soldier, it's better for Zheng Du to keep it himself. Besides, what kind of equipment do my new army soldiers have? The whole body armor, helmet, iron gloves, iron mesh boots, and fine iron flint flint bird guns, such equipment may not be comparable even to the three major battalions of the year, and the three defeated soldiers want to change to such equipment? Zheng Du is really a good calculation! ”

Zheng Chongjian's face was a little unbearable, and he said: "General Liu, this governor is kind and persuasive, he is sincere in doing this business with you, even if the deal fails, there is no need to be so mean, right?" ”

"Genuinely doing business? If Zheng Du is sincere, then take out the silver or food, as for the waste of the left army, the last general will not look down on it! ”

Liu Yan looks down on the Qin army very much, this Zheng Chongjian is a mediocre talent who is not capable, He Renlong is an out-and-out warlord, and he has done no less than Zuo Liangyu to kill good people, lose friendly troops, and disobey military orders.

As for that Li Guoqi, he is also a small character, he has no big skills, he is a straw bag general.

For such a person, Liu Yan didn't bother to do any business, and originally wanted to maintain the harmony on the surface, but when he saw Zheng Chongjian so ignorant of advancing and retreating, he just went back directly.

After speaking, Liu Yan stood up and said, "If Zheng Du has nothing else to do, then the general will leave, please!" ”

Liu Yan ignored Zheng Chongjian, who had an ugly face, and went directly out of the camp tent, called Miao Shao and the others who were waiting outside, and returned to the new army camp.

"Order the soldiers of each battalion to prepare to pull out the camp and return to Shandong!"

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Chen Xun, Wang Yue, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, Xun Jingyun, and Bao Xuezhen heard this, and they all cheered.

Chen Xun said: "My lord, did Yang Sichang announce the order over there?" ”

"Not yet, but that's just a few days ago."

Liu Yan thought for a while and said: "Yang Sichang, as a supervisor, has the right to transfer troops back, so we won't wait here, and we will set off to return to Shandong the day after tomorrow, and I will go to the Chinese army camp tomorrow to bid farewell to Yang Sichang." ”

"I'm afraid that Yang Sichang won't magnify people and go."

Wang Yue looked at Chen Xun who was worried, and then said with a smile: "The battle is over, what reason does Yang Sichang have to prevent the adults from going back?" ”

Chen Xun said: "But the situation in Shaanxi and Henan is still very bad, if Yang Sichang goes there to suppress thieves, he will definitely not magnify people leaving." ”

When everyone heard this, they were also worried.

Liu Yan said very firmly: "Don't worry, Yang Sichang has no chance to exterminate Li Zicheng." ”

The crowd was amazed: "Why? ”

Liu Yan said: "Yang Sichang was already ill before the war, and his condition has worsened a lot during this time, and I don't think he has a few days to live. ”

The crowd was horrified.

The next day, Liu Yan came to the Chinese army again and met Yang Sichang in the big tent.

"So, General Liu is preparing to go back ahead of schedule?"

Liu Yan said: "Please be considerate of the superintendent. At present, not only is the drought still in various parts of Shandong, but the locust plague has also begun to spread, and the last general is anxious to go back and lead the army and civilians to fight drought and provide disaster relief in order to stabilize the localities. ”

"Besides, Shandong is on the edge of Henan, and the last general is worried that the disaster situation in Shandong will not be controlled, and Li Chuang's troops will infiltrate all parts of Shandong, and the army of thieves will be even more difficult to exterminate at that time."

Yang Sichang sighed, then coughed, the violent cough made Yang Sichang's face flushed, and it took a long time to stop, and he hurriedly took a sip of water and pressed it down.

"Alas! The governor originally planned to ask the imperial court for money, food and reinforcements after exterminating Zhang Xianzhong's troops, and then lead General Liu and the Qin army to the north, march to Shaanxi and Henan, and encircle and suppress Li Zicheng and other rogue soldiers. ”

"But the old man's health is getting worse, and he is no longer able to lead the army to fight, so he has to let Zheng Du lead his troops back to Shaanxi first, and stabilize the situation first."

Liu Yan said: "The superintendent cares about the country, and the general will admire it." After the last general led his troops back, he would also try his best to stabilize the place and serve the imperial court. ”

"Alas! It seems that General Liu Shen is determined to leave. ”

Yang Sichang said: "Actually, General Liu Shen can stay, or go to Henan, as long as General Liu Shen sees the place, the governor can recommend to His Majesty to open a separate town for General Liu, with Liu Shen as the general commander." When Bendu's condition improves, wouldn't it be good for us to fight Li Chuang and the thieves together? ”

Liu Yan sneered in his heart, Yang Sichang was still dreaming, thinking that he could control himself by giving a chief military officer, and with the new army in hand, he could continue to make meritorious contributions and let the soldiers of the new army work for him!

In fact, Yang Sichang will not understand that the reason why Liu Yan's heart is strong is because in Jimo Yingcheng, Liu Yan divided the land for more than 28,000 soldiers of the New Army, giving them hope and allowing their families to live.

At the same time, the two ordnance bases of Wangjiazhuang and Fushan Qianhusuo, as well as the rest of the workshop industries, provided the new army with sophisticated military equipment and sufficient supplies of money and food, and these were the fundamental reasons for the new army's strong combat strength.

If they change places, Liu Yan and the officers and men of the New Army will be trees without roots and water, and even if Beijing City is assigned to Liu Yan, the New Army will fight less and less, and the fighting will become weaker and weaker, and it will not be able to maintain its combat strength for a long time.

So Liu Yan hugged his fists and said: "The last general has thanked the superintendent for his love, but the people of Jimo Yingcheng rely on the last general to live, and the last general can't abandon them, please forgive the superintendent!" ”

Yang Sichang said: "Well, since General Liu has made up his mind, it is inconvenient for the governor to stay." ”

"But General Liu can rest assured, the governor will still guarantee General Liu to His Majesty, I only hope that in the future, if something happens, General Liu will be able to lend a hand."

Liu Yan said: "Please rest assured, the last general will remember!" ”

Two days later, Liu Yan led more than 28,000 soldiers of the New Army to return to the north, and although a lot of money and food were used up, they still loaded more than 100 carts, and all the hundreds of soldiers who died were cremated on the spot, and the ashes and relics were loaded into trucks and brought back for burial.

He Renlong, the chief military officer, and Li Guoqi, the deputy general, came to see them off, and the governors of Shaanxi, Zheng Chongjian and Yang Sichang, did not appear.

"Hehe, Zheng Du occasionally felt unwell and couldn't come to see him off, so he specially ordered the two of us to see off General Liu Shen."

Liu Yan looked at He Renlong and Li Guoqi, and said secretly in his heart: "It seems that Zheng Chongjian is not very big-minded, so he won't show up after saying a few words!" ”

"Hehe, there are General Lao He and Deputy General Li, our green mountains will not change the green water, and we will have a chance to see you again in the future."

"Liu Shen will take care all the way!"

"Take care all the way!"

Liu Yan immediately ordered to set off, and more than 28,000 soldiers of the New Army set off in a battalion and battalion, with the baggage and artillery battalions in front, the infantry followed, and the cavalry battalion followed last, and the army set off in turn.

He Renlong and Li Guoqi looked at the various units of the new army, and their eyes were full of envy: "These are good soldiers!" ”

At this time, Yang Sichang was lying in the big tent of the Chinese army, and since he finished talking with Liu Yan, Yang Sichang's condition has taken a turn for the worse, and in just two days, he can no longer get out of bed.

The general of the superintendent battalion was guarding the side, and saw Yang Sichang take out a piece of music and said, "Will, send this music to Jingshi." ”

"Yes, Overseer!"

"Alas! People are not as good as heaven, Lu Xiangsheng has obviously assigned Liu Yanbu to me, but I fell ill and couldn't keep it, it's really a creation to make people! ”

The next day, Liu Yan led his troops all the way north and entered the territory of Shaanxi.

On this return trip, Liu Yan did not follow the original route and took the route of Huguang, Henan, and Shandong, but chose to take the route of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and North Zhili.

This is because Yang Sichang received a military report, just at the time of the battle of Agate Mountain, Li Zicheng broke into the northern part of Huguang, although it was repelled by the official army, but the northern part of Huguang and most of Henan has been completely eroded by the army of thieves, Liu Yan led the troops back the same way, thousands of miles away without the slightest supply.

On the contrary, it is better to take the line of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Beizhili, although there are also thieves and soldiers raging in Shaanxi and Shanxi, but rich families everywhere have built dock forts to defend themselves, Liu Yan went all the way, and he could also spend silver in exchange for some supplies. After walking a few hundred miles in this way, you will enter the boundary of Beizhili, and it will be much more convenient for the army to obtain money and food.

However, as the various units of the New Army entered Shaanxi, what they saw along the way made Liu Yan completely dumbfounded.

Some people died, but not completely......