Just when Liu Zongmin thought the war was over, the situation suddenly changed.

The formation of the retreating Qing army soon changed again. The retreating soldiers and horses moved away to both sides, like a landslide and a tsunami, and the rumble of horse hooves suddenly sounded.

The Qing troops of the Eight Banners who were supervising the battle behind the formation were full of energy at this time. Under the leadership of Joluo Bahanabel, they rode up to fight with great vigor.

Liu Zongmin, who was organizing the retreat, reacted immediately and secretly said, "These dog Tatars are hiding behind the formation and will wait until our army is exhausted to attack."

"Quickly, order the army to fight!"

Liu Zongmin roared and led his personal guards to meet him again.

It was just that the Shun army had been fighting for a whole morning and was already exhausted. In addition, they had just ordered a rest, and their morale had already dropped.

As the saying goes, if you make great efforts, then you will decline. Now you are waiting for work, so how can the Shun army still have the strength to fight.

Facing the Eight Banners soldiers who rushed forward like wolves and tigers, a hole was suddenly opened in the Shun Army formation. Some of the Shun Army followed the flag and advanced to attack, while others retreated back. It was chaos.

Liu Zongmin tried to lead his men to block the gap, but in just a moment, the troops and horses he led were rushed to pieces.

When the Manchu cavalry saw that Liu Zongmin was not dressed like ordinary people, they gathered around him with a loud cheer. The barbarian cavalry fired at him with flying arrows like rain.

Soon Liu Zongmin was surrounded, and the soldiers and horses around him screamed and fell off their horses one after another.

Liu Zongmin ripped off an arrow stuck in his armor, waved his long knife, "Charge over there!"

After the Qing army tore through the Shun Army's defense line, they continued to penetrate deeply into the Shun Army, regardless of the Shun Army soldiers fleeing around.

Tian Jianxiu brought a group of soldiers and horses. Seeing that Liu Zongmin was in danger, he rushed towards Liu Zongmin. Looking at Liu Zongmin, he shouted, "The situation is irreversible. General, please retreat to Hanyang City. The emperor's safety is important. General, hold on."

The city keeps the emperor safe."

Liu Zongmin knew that the Shun army's front line had been broken and there was no point in staying here anymore, so he reluctantly retreated to Hanyang City with several thousand people.

When they arrived at Hanyang City, the Qing army did not attack the city, but just attacked everywhere. Any loyal troops who tried to gather troops and horses would concentrate their efforts to kill them.

When Liu Zongmin returned to Hanyang City, a Qing army tried to follow him into the city, but Liu Zongmin turned back and shot him back.

In the evening, the Qing army finally stopped attacking, but the entire Hanyang defense line collapsed, and the Shun army could only defend Hanyang City.

The defending 100,000 Shun troops either died or surrendered, and Tian Jianxiu's tribe who escaped also brought back news that Tian Jianxiu died in the battle while rescuing Liu Zongmin.

The Shun army was in dire straits, but fortunately they stayed in the city and were safe for a while.

Li Zicheng summoned the generals to discuss matters in the palace and reported the news of Tian Jianxiu's death.

From defeat after defeat in Beijing, now Hanyang is almost the last place to stay. Now it is another big defeat, and all the generals are gloomy and gloomy.

Tian Jianxiu died to cover Liu Zongmin's retreat. Liu Zongmin had been fighting all day. Now his clothes and armor were stained with blood and his face was haggard. At this time, he asked Song Xiance with red eyes, "Military advisor, what can you do with the current situation in Dashun?"

way?"

Li Zicheng looked gloomy and looked at Song Xiance, with a hint of powerlessness in his voice, "The military advisor has a good plan."

Song Xiance admired the counselors in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms very much. In the past, he always had a calm look and seemed to be sure of everything he encountered. Now, although he still has a calm look, his face is much pale, and his movements are

He lost his composure for a while.

When Song Xiance heard the emperor's question, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the situation is urgent now, and I have to speak out. If I have offended your Majesty's divine power, it is all because of my loyalty. Please forgive me."

capital offense."

Li Zicheng leaned on the big chair slumped, "Here are some suggestions, I often think about what happened in the past few years. There are many things that I regret very much, but they have all passed. I asked Niu Jinxing to be the head of the civil servants, and treated him as the father and son.

The kindness of people is not unkind, but they abandoned me when I needed them most. Now that you have been following me loyally, how can I blame you? The situation in my Dashun is somewhat unfavorable at present. You should get up.

Tell me, what should our army do?"

Song Xiance kowtowed again, then stood up and said with a slightly trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the current situation is extremely dangerous. Please make proper arrangements in case Dashun is gone..."

All the generals were startled when they heard this. Liu Zongmin scolded him, "What nonsense are you talking about? I still have hundreds of thousands of loyal and brave men in Dashun. We just need to hold on for a few more days. Li Guo brought hundreds of thousands of people from Yulin

The soldiers and horses are about to go south to join forces with His Majesty. If you dare to talk nonsense again, you are such a bad guy, I will cut you with a knife."

Li Zicheng waved his hand to stop Liu Zongmin, "Let him speak!"

Song Xiance continued, "Your Majesty, now Hu soldiers have entered Nanjing, and it will take only an instant to pacify Jiangnan. Although Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor, his power is not strong. Half of Sichuan is still in the hands of Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses, so how can it be

The Manchu Qing could deal with the opponents of the Hu people by sending only one general. Now that the Qing army has occupied the north and south of the Yangtze River, it has swept the world. Under such a situation, our army has no troops to recruit, no food to mobilize, and no troops to mobilize.

We have enough money, but what can we do if we only have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses trapped in one place?"

Li Zicheng calmed himself down and said, "The military advisor's words are serious. In the past, when I was down and out, I only had seventeen cavalry following me. I had no food, no money, and no soldiers. I rested for a year in Shangluo Mountain. Isn't it true that I can make a comeback after I come out of the mountain?"

After saying that, Li Zicheng laughed twice more, but there was a slight vibrato in the laughter.

Song Xiance knelt down on the ground again, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! How could you not know? You have to look at the general trend of the world. Your Majesty, when Your Majesty raised troops to rebel against the Ming Dynasty in the past years, the people were suffering from hardship and longed for the world to change.

There was a change, and at that time, there were barbarian invasions outside the Ming Dynasty, She'an rebellion inside, and all the princes in the Manchu Dynasty were stupid. In this way, Your Majesty was able to repeatedly turn danger into disaster in the Central Plains and make a comeback."

Li Zicheng snorted coldly, "Are you saying that fishing in troubled waters is not my destiny?"

Song Xiance's back was covered with cold sweat and he kowtowed, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am really sincere and worried about my Dashun. I said these treasonous and unethical words. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Li Zicheng was angry and murderous, and looked at Song Xiance coldly.

Since Li Zicheng was defeated in Beijing, he had been filled with doubts. When Li Zicheng retreated to Shanxi in the past, Li Yan advised Li Zicheng to run the army on his own in Henan. Li Zicheng suspected that Li Yan was self-reliant and ordered Niu Jinxing to kill his two brothers.

Li Zicheng suddenly thought of brothers Li Yan and Niu Jinxing and his son. He calmed down again and his anger disappeared a lot.

Song Xiance didn't know the meaning of Li Zicheng's look. He knelt on the ground and said, "Please calm down your Majesty. I was also thinking about Dashun and said some stupid things in a hurry. Please have mercy on me!"

Li Zicheng looked at the palace, sighed leisurely and said, "This palace was so lively in the past, that's all. Now that the barbarians are about to siege the city, I will pardon you."

Not guilty, it’s okay to speak out if you have anything to say.”

Song Xiance kowtowed and thanked him, saying, "Your Majesty is so broad-minded, you are truly a wise king who has never been seen in history. He is a blessing to the people and a blessing to the great prosperity!"

Li Zicheng said, "Continue what you just said and don't say these useless words."

Song Xiance was terrified, but he still said bravely, "There are five major differences between the current situation and the past when His Majesty raised troops."

Liu Zongmin asked, "What are the five major differences?"

Song Xiance said, "One difference is that public opinion is different from the past. In the past, people wanted to change, but now they are thinking about stability. This is one difference. The second is that the barbarians have entered the pass. Now the dispute in the world is not to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, but how to expel it."

The Tartars, after our army was defeated in Beijing, all forces often used the banner of the Ming Dynasty when attacking the barbarians. These are two differences. The third is that the Ming Dynasty used to mainly appease the rebels, and suppressed and appeased them simultaneously. Zhang Xianzhong

The Ming Dynasty did not take any deadly action after surrendering and revolting, and rebelled and surrendered several times. Now the Hu people only want to exterminate, massacring the city and killing at every turn, and their methods are very cruel and bloody. These are three different things. The fourth is that the Hu people came from outside the pass.

Although China is at war everywhere, they have a stable rear and can concentrate their forces to defeat them individually. These are the four differences."

After hearing this, Li Zicheng thought carefully and felt that what Song Xiance said was indeed reasonable.

Liu Zongmin waited for a while, but when Song Xiance didn't say anything, he asked anxiously, "Where's Wu?"

Song Xiance kowtowed and said, "The fifth difference between capital crimes and capital crimes is your Majesty!"

Li Zicheng asked curiously, "You mean me? What's the difference? Please tell me."

Song Xiance said, "As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Your Majesty is now rich in gold. This is no longer the past..."

Li Zicheng immediately understood in his heart that in the past, he was a bandit who fled everywhere. He took a few people with him in the mountains and hid for several months. It was common for him to have lice on his body falling out of the gaps in his armor. How could he bear that crime as the emperor now?

After a while, he couldn't help but sigh, "Old man, now I am no longer a young man in his twenties."

Song Xiance said, "His Majesty is the emperor who was entrusted by heaven in Beijing. This is why the Qing army pursued him so closely."

Anyone in the Dashun Dynasty could surrender, but Li Zicheng could not. When he besieged Beijing, his attitude towards Chongzhen was not the same, but now the situation has changed, and he was forced to Chongzhen's position by the Hu people.

Thinking of Emperor Chongzhen, the patched figure in the dragon robe appeared in Li Zicheng's eyes.

Chongzhen was a good emperor, but why did the Ming Dynasty reach this point?

Sometimes when Li Zicheng recalled the time when he first raised his army, he only thought that the emperor was too stupid to make it difficult for everyone to survive, so he rebelled. But when he reached Beijing, he discovered that the emperor's dragon robe was still patched, and that Emperor Chongzhen was a diligent and caring person.

Emperor, who is the reason why things in the world have reached this stage?

Slowly, Li Zicheng discovered that everything in the world boils down to two things, money and food!

With money and food, we can mobilize troops and horses from all directions and stabilize the hearts of the people in the world.

But the Ming Dynasty spanned the four seas, thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, and millions of people. Where did all the money and food go?

This is the strangest thing, the thing that puzzles Li Zicheng the most. In the Ming Dynasty, not only the people were impoverished and almost starved to death, but why did the emperor also reach such a state?
Chapter completed!