Chapter 67 1.fall apart

The mighty Dashun Army finally came to the point of collapse. Just after Wu Sangui and Azige stopped pursuing, under the command of Ruhou Liu Zongmin, the Dashun Army in Shanxi once organized a counterattack, and once broke through Guguan, went straight into Hebei, and ordered far and near counties to rise up against the Qing; Liu Tichun He also replaced Li Yan and led an army of 30,000 to counterattack Huaiqing in Henan Province. Although the two armies achieved some victories, they were unable to penetrate Lu Jinye at the end of their efforts. Under Wu Sangui and Azig's attack again, they finally retreated steadily.

This time Wu Sangui took advantage of the victory to enter Shanxi and took Taiyuan directly. Li Zicheng sent Chen Yongfu to stay in the provincial capital, and gave him less than 5,000 soldiers. It only took the army two months to occupy the huge Shanxi, and this time it only took two months to lose the huge Shanxi.Just when the whole territory of Shanxi was not punctual, the Qing army's attack on Shaanxi also began. In September in cool autumn, the grass outside the Great Wall declines.In previous seasons, when the autumn was high and the horses were fat, the barbarians invaded aggressively and the border was tight. Now the barbarians don't have to break the border wall. It stretches for nine fortresses, and there is no defense for a single soldier. Under the leadership of Tangtong, Azig After crossing the Yellow River from Baode Prefecture, within two months, they swept through Suide and other counties, and went to Li Jiqian Village to destroy Li Zicheng's ancestral tomb again. Li Jin, Gao Yigong, Hao Yaoqi, etc. They resisted, but they were defeated like a mountain. By the end of November, Azig's army in the north went south and pointed directly at Yan'an; Wu Sangui crossed the Yellow River from Shanxi to attack Hancheng; Heading westward, until the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the Qing soldiers finally approached Tongguan.

Li Zicheng first guarded Tongguan by himself. After learning that Yan'an was in an emergency, he handed over the responsibility of sticking to it to his general and third-rank general Ma Shiyao, while he retreated to Chang'an to make the next step.Ma Shiyao had been guarding for less than half a month. Seeing that the Qing army was powerful, he resorted to a tactic of feigning surrender to welcome the Qing soldiers into the pass. , Can Weinan be an iron wall?It is less than three hundred miles away from Chang'an, and it can be reached with a whip. What's annoying is that Zhang Xianzhong still came to take advantage of the fire at this time to loot - he sent his adopted son Li Dingguo to attack Hanzhong, and Hanzhong's defender Ma Ke retreated in a row under the attack of the Daxi Army.

Hundred and Erqin Pass, being devoured by whales and divided by beans day by day, Emperor Dashun, who was trapped in Chang'an, was frowning and helpless all day long.He carefully counted his capital. It should be said that the current Dashun Army still has no less than 500,000 soldiers, but they are scattered all over the place, among which there are not many soldiers capable of fighting, and most of the elite were brought to Beijing, where they have long since disappeared; The rest were dotted, and they couldn't gather for a while. Once Tongguan was broken, only Liu Tichun, Dang Shousu and other remnants were left behind in Chang'an.On the eve of the New Year's Eve, Li Zicheng finally recalled Liu Zongmin from the Weihua front to discuss a plan to counterattack Yan'an.

Since Shanhaiguan was defeated and his beloved woman was forced to hand over again, Liu Zongmin became more and more dissatisfied with Li Zicheng, thinking that he only had eyes for a sycophant like Niu Jinxing, but he regarded his brothers who had been in trouble in the past as thieves, defending left and right Now, when he heard that he was asked to lead the troops to rescue Yan'an, Niu Jinxing was sitting on the side, thinking that he had already discussed it, thinking that saving Yan'an was nothing more than keeping his ancestral grave. At this time, there are no ancestral graves Woolen cloth?So he turned his head to the side, looked at Li Zicheng as if he were looking at a stranger, and said in an ordinary tone:

"Zicheng, why are you so confused? The braided soldiers in the east have captured Tongguan, only a few miles away from Chang'an? What's the use of saving Yan'an now?" Li Zicheng was taken aback by his title, then immediately smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's useful. As far as I know, the Qing soldiers in the east have never moved westward since they captured Tongguan, probably because they were afraid that the lone army would go deep." We will be fooled, and we just take advantage of this to divide our troops to save Yan'an." Niu Jinxing also chimed in and said: "General, I think the emperor's idea is good. Although the braided soldiers are sharp, they are far away and don't know the details of our army. They are hesitant to move forward. They are either afraid or waiting. Wait for the northern one to go south so that we can join them in Guanzhong, if our army can defeat the northern one first, the eastern one will not dare to rush westward."

When Liu Zongmin saw that Niu Jinxing interrupted, he couldn't help but glared at him, and reprimanded him: "You are really a scholar, talking about wars on paper, and those who believe in you can only perish! Do you know that the Qing soldiers in the east killed Ma Shiyao and occupied Tongguan , Can we not learn the reality of Chang'an from the mouths of our prisoners? Once the troops are divided, he will attack immediately, and then the head and tail will not be able to look at each other. Ever since he heard the news of Jiang Yu and Tang Tong's rebellion, Li Zicheng also understood that sooner or later Guanzhong would not be able to defend Guanzhong. Seeing Liu Zongmin's words now, he also felt that it was reasonable. With a wink, he signaled him not to argue, and he asked in a very gentle tone: "Then what's up to you?"

Liu Zongmin sneered again and again and said: "In my opinion, the situation is very obvious. Chang'an can't hold it anymore, so we can only retreat to Xiangyang. If our army gives up Chang'an, the southern opening will be opened, and the Qing soldiers will go south to attack Sichuan through Hanzhong. Didn't Zhang Xianzhong claim to be the Emperor of the Great West, and let the Emperor of the Great West have a taste of the braided soldiers." When Li Zicheng heard this, it was indeed a good idea to blame Cao, so he nodded repeatedly, even Niu Jinxing had nothing to say.

After the discussion, Li Zicheng immediately made preparations to evacuate Chang'an.On the one hand, he ordered Li Jin and Gao Yi in the north to withdraw quickly to the south, and on the other hand, he asked General Tian Jianxiu to arrange to load and pack all the supplies for the southward withdrawal. Arrangements had just been made, but at this moment, his nephew Li Jin fled from northern Shaanxi in embarrassment, and rushed in without waiting for an announcement. The grave of the Li family ancestor in Mizhi was dug by Bian Dashou in the Ming Dynasty, and Azige in the Qing Dynasty came to dig it again. Thinking of the humiliation of his ancestors underground, Li Zicheng felt uneasy, but when he saw his nephew was injured again, hanging on his arm The bandages were covered in blood, and when he saw Li Zicheng, he immediately stood upright, silent, with tears in his eyes. Li Zicheng wanted to blame him, but he couldn't bear it anymore.He raised his finger and pointed to the seat beside him, motioning for Li Jin to sit down, but Li Jin still stood timidly and said:

"My nephew came back to ask for help. Yan'an has been destroyed, and Yanzhou is in danger. My nephew lost the important town in northern Shaanxi, and he didn't even keep his ancestral grave. He deserves death. Please punish him by the emperor." As he spoke, he knelt down and got up.Glancing at his blood-stained nephew, Li Zicheng couldn't help but let out a long sigh, shook his head, and said calmly: "Hey, the victorious army is like a tiger, and the defeated army is like a mouse. Now even Chang'an can't be defended, so who is to blame? Everyone is late, you better get up."

Hearing what the emperor said, Li Jinshi thanked the emperor for his kindness and stood up.He still doesn't know that Tongguan has been broken, and the emperor has decided to abandon Chang'an, so he still said: "Your Majesty, please give me another 30,000 elite soldiers. Only 30,000 is enough. I must take Yan'an back." Li Zicheng shook his head, called Li Jin by his nickname, and said, "Forget it, Double Happiness, Tongguan has been lost, so what's the point of defending Yan'an, I'm about to recall you all." After speaking, he told Li Jin about his plan to abandon Chang'an, and then whispered: "Shuangxi, we are leaving Maicheng now, you should be more careful." At this moment, in Emperor Dashun's heart, he even thought of Huang Chao's end. When Huang Chao was trapped in Tiger Wolf Valley, didn't even his relatives and nephews also plan to hit him on the head?But the words were too vague, and Li Jin, who didn't have much ink in his stomach, couldn't understand. Seeing this, Li Zicheng told him about Liu Zongmin's domineering.Upon hearing this, Li Jin couldn't help saying angrily: "Hmph, he, blacksmith Liu, won't be here today if he doesn't come with us? Don't worry, he and I will still have one meritorious service, and we will stay with him every step of the way. If he changes his mind, let me deal with him." Here uncles and nephews are discussing how to guard against Liu Zongmin, and Niu Jinxing, who does not want to be trusted by the emperor, is also seeking a way out. On the way back to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Niu Jinxing was thinking, if Chang'an is not guarded, can Xiangyang be guarded?If the Qing soldiers went south in pursuit, where would the Dashun army go?Because of Chen Yuanyuan's matter, Liu Zongmin hated himself to the bone. He is the number two man in the imperial court. Although the emperor is guarding against him now, but with his merits and prestige, in this place where he speaks with a knife, he So what if it's the prime minister? Thinking of this, as soon as he returned to the mansion, he immediately sent someone to call his son Niu Quan. Although Niu Quan was not even selected as a scholar, he became the chief minister of the prime minister's mansion.A few days ago when he was in Beijing with his father, Niu Quan was very proud. Unexpectedly, the good times were just beginning, and the Dashun army was defeated in Shanhaiguan. He retreated with his father, complaining a lot along the way.Niu Quan, who was born in a scholarly family, is quite a son-in-law. Although he reluctantly followed his father and voted for Li Zicheng, he had doubts about whether this group of people could succeed. He hid gold and silver in a hidden place on the outskirts of Beijing, and secretly let go of the ministers of the Ming Dynasty who refused to surrender. These days, he even nagged in his father's ear every day, persuading him to leave Li Zicheng and find another way out. Right now Niu Quan rushed back as soon as he heard his father's call. Seeing his father's serious face, he knew something was wrong and it was inconvenient to talk deeply in class, so the father and son went into the secret room.As soon as he entered the door, Niu Quan said impatiently: "Father, should we stay or go?" It turned out that Niu Quan had also received the news of the fall of Tongguan. It was expected that Li Zicheng called his father to discuss the defense of the war, so when they met, they went straight to the point. Niu Jinxing shook his head and said worriedly: "The army has been defeated like a mountain, can we defend it? I can't imagine that in just a few months, this mighty Emperor Dashun will be finished." Niu Quan didn't have the same concerns as his father, and said with a very relaxed smile: "What's the end? It's the end of the Li family's world, not the end of the Niu family's world. What are you anxious about? They tortured the empress, tortured and plundered the whole family. Officer, we don’t, we are innocent, we have done nothing outrageous, we just surrendered the thieves, many of Chongzhen’s courtiers have surrendered, they have been appointed wives and sons for generations, and have eaten the salary of Emperor Chongzhen , we didn’t, we were just civilians who surrendered to thieves, besides, it’s not the restoration of the Zhu family right now, who will hold you accountable?” Niu Jinxing said: "You can't say that. You've got mixed up with them now. Even if you want to get out, it won't be easy." Niu Quan smiled lightly again, and said: "It's not easy to go. Storytellers know that He Li comes from the east, and I'm going to the west. I'm afraid that you, the old man, will not be willing to part with this imperial treasure." Niu Jinxing said: "Go, go, I have made up my mind, if I continue to follow, don't say that my life is in danger, even if they don't kill you, you can only follow them to become a bandit, as he often said, in What happened in Shangluo Mountain? It’s not just the behavior of the king of the mountain. When it’s going well, he weighs gold and silver and eats wine and meat in a big bowl. How are you doing?" After speaking, he told his son about the conflict with Liu Zongmin tonight. When Niu Quan heard this, he couldn't help being surprised and said: "This Blacksmith Liu is a devil who kills people without blinking an eye. Although Li Zicheng is jealous of him, he is deeply entrenched and cannot move him for a while; but it is very easy for Blacksmith Liu to move you. You have realized it today, okay, as long as You have made up your mind, just leave everything to your son, if he insists on sticking to it, it will be difficult for us to escape, as for him also wanting to leave, that is another matter." Niu Jinxing stared at his son closely, and said: "Look at what you said so lightly. This group of people are all top-notch, and they are all ruthless. If you don't pay attention, you will let his one eye stare at you like Li Renzhi, and you will be suspicious." It’s up, but it’s a catastrophe.” Niu Quan thought for a while and said: "Don't be afraid, Li Renzhi taught his son to understand that his misfortune came from his mouth. Although your old man has not become popular in the past, he is not black, and he didn't say any taboo words to displease him. What are you afraid of, besides, they have a lot of things to do right now, and they can't take care of us." Niu Jinxing was still a little worried. He said, "Where are we going after we leave them?" Niu Quan said confidently: "Father, don't worry, there is a saying that there is no place to keep you here, but you have a place to keep you. The world is big, I dare say, their group has no way out except to go to the dark; We are different, right now they are employing people, if we go there, I guarantee that although you will not be prime minister, you will have a lot of wealth in your life." As he spoke, he leaned over and whispered something in his father's ear, Niu Jinxing nodded repeatedly.