nanming man

Chapter 323 Abandon Luoyang
After Gao Yihuan ordered two things, one was to ask Liu Heizi to intercept the grain boats of Shanxi merchants heading north, and the other was to send people to Huguang and Jiangxi to snap up grain, compete with Shanxi merchants, drive up grain prices, and increase the cost of enough grain for Manqing.

This is a two-pronged approach, hoping to disrupt the Qing army's plan to have enough food.

However, Liu Heizi could at best control the roads near Guide, and far away was the area controlled by the Ming and Qing armies. Neither of these two actions could completely prevent the Qing army from obtaining food and grass from the south.

In this way, Gao Yihuan still has to face the problem of running out of food before Duoduo, so he must end his confrontation with Duoduo before May and withdraw to southern Henan for food.

At this time, in the big tent, Gao Yihuan, together with the generals and several staff members, were standing in front of a large sand table.

Different from the simple sand table before, this sand table is much more detailed, and the mountains, rivers, and city passes of the entire Zhongzhou are all included in it.

Since the beginning of March, the Wei army outflanked the Qing army's grain road, and bumped into the Qing army who wanted to seize the Wei army's grain road. After a battle between the two sides, there was no particularly large battle between the two armies except for sporadic sentry battles.

The two armies lived peacefully in Ruzhou for a month, and all the generals had nothing to do, so they worked together to make such a big sand table.

At this time, Gao Yihuan stood in front of the sand table and said to everyone, "It is already the beginning of April. It has been more than three months since the war started in the first lunar month. The commander has already sent a letter to Guanzhong. Within a short period of time, Guanzhong should have strengthened the defense of Tongguan. Our goal of delaying the Qing army’s attack on Guanzhong has been completed. Now we are confronting Duduo. Duduo can’t destroy us, and we can’t defeat Duduo. Consuming money and food, we can end this battle."

Last year, Gao Yihuan helped Li Zicheng defuse the Qing army's attack on the South Road. This year, he and Li Yan dragged Duoduo to Henan for more than three months.

If Gao Yihuan can help Li Zicheng, he will stop here. It can be said that he is benevolent and righteous. If he continues to support him, he will collapse first.

Compared with history now, from 1643 to April 1645, Li Zicheng has occupied Guanzhong for nearly two years, which is more than one year longer than in history, and his foundation is stronger than in history.

Besides, it is now April, and winter wheat can be harvested in June. Li Zicheng only needs to stay there for two months before he can collect grain again.

Considering these points, Gao Yihuan felt that he could withdraw.

After hearing Gao Yihuan's words, the generals couldn't help discussing, Huang San clasped his fists and said, "Commander, now that the army is confronting Duoduo, it may not be easy for Jieshuai to withdraw his troops. Besides, what about Li Jieshuai in Luoyang?"

Gao Yihuan nodded, "Today, I called you here to discuss these two things. First, how to safely withdraw the troops and end the war. Second, see if there is any way to rescue Li Jieshuai?"

After finishing speaking, Gao Yihuan glanced at the crowd expectantly, but the generals frowned after hearing this. These two demands seemed to be exactly two contradictory demands.He wanted to withdraw his troops and stop fighting, but also wanted to save Li Yan, how could this be possible?

For a while, the generals and staff were also silent for a while after hearing this, and everyone looked at the sand table in unison, thinking hard about countermeasures.

After a while, Chen Mingxia cupped his hands and said: "Jie Shuai, the two armies are currently facing each other, and it is not a matter of one family to withdraw troops to stop the war. It is a matter of two families reaching a consensus. We will withdraw troops, and Duoduo also wants to withdraw troops, so that we can stop the war. Purpose."

Gao Yihuan nodded. If Duoduo refused to quit, dragging him and not letting him go, it must be a very troublesome thing for him.

Wei Jun's food can't last long, if the country continues to procrastinate, it will be very dangerous for Gao Yihuan and Wei Jun.

"Chen Juanshu, keep talking, how can you let Duoduo stop fighting?" Gao Yihuan looked at Chen Mingxia and said.

Chen Mingxia thought for a while, then stretched out two fingers, "First, let Duoduo feel that it is not profitable to fight again, and make him feel that he can't get any bargain. In this case, Duoduo should stop fighting. Second , Duoduo's strategic goal of invading Henan is to advance westward to Tongguan. Duoduo is now confronting Jieshuai, mainly because the existence of Jieshuai has affected his westward plan. If at this time, the existence of Jieshuai is no longer a threat It may not be enough for him to go west to Tongguan, and threaten him to go west to Tongguan, presumably Duoduo will agree to strike under such circumstances."

Gao Yihuan frowned and pondered for a while, then said after a while: "Chen Judgment is right. With Duoduo's understanding of Wei Wujun, he must also know that it is not easy to destroy us, but it is not realistic for him to retreat. If you want to quit, he has already retired. Therefore, if you want Duoduo to stop fighting, you still have to combine the second point."

Chen Mingxia clasped his hands and said, "Jieshuai is wise and humble. He thinks that the key problem at the moment is in Luoyang. Duoduo didn't go west to Tongguan because Luoyang was behind him, and Duoduo and Jieshuai were opposed because they were afraid that Jieshuai would affect him. Attack Luoyang. Since Jieshuai believes that the task of containing Duoduo has been completed, Guanzhong should be ready. The humble official thought that as long as Luoyang is abandoned, Duoduo sees that Luoyang is below, and sees that our Wei Wujun is not easy to fight. He may stop fighting and return to Luoyang , and then make preparations for taking Tongguan from the west."

Gao Yihuan nodded slightly. The Qing army found a set of legitimacy for their entry into the customs. Only by defeating Li Zicheng could they justify themselves.

As the South Route Army, Duoduo's main goal is to cooperate with the North Route Army to attack Guanzhong, not Gao Yihuan, a sideline general.

If the Qing army occupied Luoyang, then Gao Yihuan would not be able to cooperate with Luoyang inside and outside. Duoduo only needed to arrange some troops to garrison the Longmen, Hulao and other passes, and the main force would be able to advance westward to Tongguan.

Now Duoduo has found that Gao Yihuan is not easy to fight. If Gao Yihuan can no longer threaten him to go west to Guanzhong, Duduo may stop fighting with him temporarily and go to cooperate with Azige and Wu Sangui to fight Guanzhong first.

"Luoyang is indeed the key to this matter. As long as Luoyang is in hand, Duoduo will not dare to go west to Tongguan. If Duoduo takes Luoyang, the back road will be guaranteed, and he can go west calmly." Gao Yihuan pondered for a while, " Now we have won more than three months for Guanzhong, and all the counties around Luoyang have fallen. If we continue to defend, we will all starve to death in the city. This commander thinks that the time has come for Li Jieshuai to break through. What do you think?"

Gao Yihuan decided to let Li Yan give up Luoyang and end the war as soon as possible.

In this way, he can take advantage of the opportunity of the battle between the Qing army and Li Zi to solve his own food problem first.

Jin Shenghuan frowned and asked, "Commander, now that the army is confronting the Qing army, and Duoduo is blocking the north, how can we meet the Luoyang defenders to break through?"

Gao Yihuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "I have an idea, maybe it's worth a try."

(End of this chapter)