Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 444 Soldiers go to Qinghai to dominate the industry

But it is said that Li Zicheng fled westward in embarrassment after his defeat in Xi'an, and barely settled in Lanzhou.

At this time, the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command were only [-] to [-], and most of them were cavalry and few infantry. Not to mention counterattacking Xi'an, even how to raise an army became difficult.

And at this time, Liu Zongmin, the most trusted first general, also died of a serious illness, which was a great blow to him.

In addition, Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Bai Wang, He Jin, Gu Dacheng and other trusted generals surrendered, died, or disappeared, causing him heavy losses.

At this time, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Hao Yaoqi, and Li Laiheng are the five leading generals under his command.

Among them, Li Laiheng, as the representative of the younger generation and the adopted son of Li Guo, has been trusted along the way.

Not long after staying in Lanzhou, food and grass became unsustainable, so Li Zicheng had no choice but to go northwest again and came to Ganzhou.

Here, he reorganized the armies again, forming five battalions headed by Tian Jianxiu and others.

There are [-] people in each battalion, and there are two lieutenants each.

For the next road, everyone discussed and discussed.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it's better to go back to Xi'an. Guanzhong is much better than our place in the northwest."

Hao Yaoqi held his head high and his voice was loud.

"No, we still have to go to Yulin, which is our hometown, and we can gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses with a wave of our hands."

Liu Fangliang shook his head, he had a soft spot for northern Shaanxi.

Li Zicheng sat tall, and opposite the military officer stood Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other literati. They had sallow complexions and thin bodies, obviously they had suffered a lot along the way.

A few months after this big defeat, Li Zicheng finally cheered up a little bit. Liu Zongmin's hands were all over him, and he was noisy. He finally felt a lot quieter:
"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

When Niu Jinxing heard the question, he trembled all over, bent down, and said in a deep voice:
"Although the veteran is only a literati, he also knows that the infantry needed to attack the city is equipment, but we have cavalry at most here. How can we take down Guanzhong?"

"Although the Guanzhong frontier army is dilapidated, they are invincible. What's more, we eat horse chews, and the army food is not enough."

Li Zicheng's only eyes revealed the color of thinking.

He thought of Xi'an, and also thought of the big defeat.

In a piece of stone, being hunted for hundreds of miles, my heart is full of the shadow of Manchu, but in Xi'an, there is another Ming army.

He had no choice but to fall into deep thought. In the past, 200,000 troops could not defeat them. How could these tens of thousands fight now?
The generals showed displeasure, gritted their teeth, and prepared to refute a few words, but no one dared to intervene without Liu Zongmin taking the lead.

Seeing that Li Zicheng was silent, Niu Jinxing tilted his head slightly, looked at Song Xiance at the side, and signaled him to go out.

In this regard, we had already reached a consensus with Niu Jinxing, one in charge and one mastermind, Song Xiance had no choice but to leave the team, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, to the north are the Mongols and to the east is Guanzhong. They are all barren lands, not where Wang Ji lives."

"Oh?" Li Zicheng turned his eyes and asked, "Is it impossible to go west?"

"You can't go to the west, it's all desert Gobi, you can only eat dirt."

Tian Jianxiu, who was always cautious, immediately persuaded her.

The other generals also came out to persuade, glaring at Song Xiance.

Although Ganzhou also has a lot of sandy soil, it is in the end where the Xingdusi of Shaanxi is located, and the Hexi Corridor belongs to the scope of Han soil.

To the west, in their cognition, there is a piece of yellow sand, a land of barbarians.

"No!" Song Xiance waited for everyone to vent their anger, then he shook his head, took a step, cupped his hands and said with a smile:
"Even if the generals don't tell me, I won't go west."

"With my small body, I have to die on the way."

After speaking, there was a burst of laughter.

Then he said slowly: "According to what I know, there is a valley hundreds of miles south of Ganzhou, along the west of Huangshui River, where the water and grass are abundant, and it is several times stronger than Guanzhong."

"You mean, but the Tummet Department?"

At this time, Niu Jinxing was also surprised by his cooperation, and immediately cupped his hands and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a country named Tuguhun beside the Huangshui River, and it has enjoyed the country for more than three hundred years..."

"Today, the one who occupies this place is Gushri Khan of Outer Khalkha Mongols, and he even ruled the former Tubo hometown, Uszang."

"Tubo?" Hearing this name, Li Zicheng's eyes lit up: "But the Tubo who is compared to the Tang Dynasty and forcibly married the princess of the Tang Dynasty?"

"That's right!" Seeing Li Zicheng's interest, Song Xiance hurriedly said: "Uzang has a vast territory, a lot of supplies, and a large number of people, and Tumed has tens of thousands of Mongols, who can form an army because of it."

"Hit Tumet?"

Li Zicheng was lost in thought.

Niu Jinxing couldn't wait to add: "Your Majesty, Tumed has a lot of cattle and sheep, which can greatly improve our food and grass problems. Moreover, it can also replenish war horses in time, which is indispensable in counterattacks."

In the last sentence of counterattack, Li Zicheng's eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, whether it's Mongols or Han, as long as they can help Dashun restore the country, what's the problem?"

After all, in July of the third year of Yongchang, that is, the second year of Hongguang, Li Zicheng led an army of [-] and marched southward.

Among them, Tian Jianxiu stayed in Ganzhou, responsible for transporting grain and grass, and supervising the safety of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division.

Due to the terrain of the northwest region and the long and narrow distance, the news did not reach the Guanzhong region until winter, which was delayed for several months.

When Li Zicheng led his troops to the Qinghai area, he finally realized that what Song Xiance said was true.

Almost [-]% of the huge Qinghai is deserted and Gobi, but the Hehuang Valley is the only place with rich water and grass and outstanding people, which is a rare livable place in the Northwest.

Of course, Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in later generations, is also here, with less than one-thirtieth of the province's area, two-thirds of the population lives there.

After half a month's journey, the army finally arrived at the Hehuang Valley before the water and food were cut off.

"It's no wonder that the Mongols came here and didn't want to leave!"

The war horse trampled on the grass, making a creaking sound, as if it stepped on water, and the grasslands were full of mountains and plains, with no end in sight.

A large number of streams and rivers are criss-crossing, and the water resources seem to be overflowing.

Li Zicheng looked at the white cloud-like tent not far away, and said with emotion: "This place is really the foundation of kings and hegemons."

Song Xiance was even more excited and said: "Your Majesty, if farmers are relocated here, one million people and one hundred thousand soldiers can be saved."

Li Zicheng's only eyes lit up, looking at the exhausted cavalry, he seemed to feel his blood began to boil.

The war horse under his crotch was also eager to try, as if he wanted to wash away the humiliation he had suffered over the years.

He needs a victory, and Dashun also needs a victory. The Hehuang Valley is the ladder for him to rise.

"kill--"

With an order, the plateau suddenly burst into flames, and cattle and sheep ran.

(End of this chapter)