Li Zicheng, who was so confident, did not know that three of his six-pronged horse and infantry army had been destroyed, and the remaining three-pronged army was already in danger.
Especially Li Yan's journey.
However, Li Yan was ignorant of this.
At this time, Li Yan was leading 30,000 cavalrymen meandering northward along the canal.
Li Mou pointed to the railway not far from the left bank of the canal and asked Li Yan: "Brother, what is this thing used for? Why did the Ming court use so much iron to build such a thing?"
"It looks like a road." Li Yan frowned and said.
"But it doesn't look like it. I've never seen a road like this."
"It's a pity that we didn't bring mules or horses with us this time, and we didn't have a carriage either."
Li Mou said with some regret: "Otherwise, if we take all these iron materials back, wouldn't the Bureau of War be short of iron when making cannons? We can build a cannon by taking just a few of these iron materials and put them back."
While the brothers were talking, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly sounded from the north.
When he looked up anxiously, he saw a dozen scout cavalry galloping back from the wilderness. The leader was Li Nian.
"Brother, something bad is going on!" Li Nian urged his horse to come to Li Yan and gasped, "Monster, I saw a monster, there is a monster coming this way along the canal!"
"Monster?" Li Yan frowned.
Li Mou also smiled and said: "Lao San, where can any monster come from in this world?"
"There is really a monster." Li Nian gestured to the top of his head with a look of fear, "There is also smoke coming out of the top of the head."
"Smoke coming from the top of the head?" Li Mou joked, "Lao San, what you are seeing is probably an iron-making blast furnace."
"It's not a blast furnace, that monster can move!" Li Nian shook his head repeatedly, "And the speed is not slow. By the way, there are Ming army cavalry on both sides of the monster, at least tens of thousands of them!"
"The Ming army's cavalry numbered tens of thousands?" Li Yan's face immediately condensed.
At this moment, a loud and long chant suddenly came from the northern wilderness: "Ang..."
"The monster is coming, brother, look!" Li Nian pointed to the wilderness in the north, a look of fear appeared on his face again, as if he had seen the most terrifying creature.
Li Yan and Li Mou looked up anxiously and saw a monster.
"Oh my god, what the hell is this?" Li Mou screamed out in surprise.
Li Yan's face also became more solemn than ever before, because he had never seen such a thing before.
Not only Li Yan, but the 30,000 Dashun cavalry meandering north along the canal also had a look of fear. The unknown is the most frightening, because you have no idea what this thing will bring to you.
Fortunately, Li Yan reacted quickly. Through the telescope, he quickly discovered that the monster spitting black smoke was actually traveling along the unknown "road", and immediately ordered his cavalry to stay away from the railway.
…
Looking at the Dashun cavalry retreating far away, Zhu Cijiong sighed softly.
"As expected of Li Yan, he is much more cautious than this idiot Gao Yigong." Xu Wuniu said sincerely.
"Wu Niu, you are wrong. Gao Yigong is not an idiot." Xia Wanchun corrected him, "He just never saw a train, and he didn't know that we could put a cannon on a train, so he was caught off guard by us."
"But Li Yan is much more difficult to deal with than Gao Yigong." Xu Wuniu said, "This battle will not be easy."
"This is fun." Xia Wanchun said with a smile, "It would be boring if they were all opponents like Gao Yigong. Fighting between masters is more fun."
"You are also wrong. Maybe there is no need to fight this battle."
After talking about this for a while, Zhu Cijiong said to Xia Wanchun again: "Brother Duan, you stay here to hold the battle, and go alone to meet Li Yan."
"Ah?" Xia Wanchun was startled when he heard this, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Your Highness, you must not do it. The son of a rich man cannot sit down in the palace, and you must not risk your life."
"It doesn't matter, Li Yan is a true gentleman." Zhu Cijiong said with a smile.
"Back in Tongzhou, he refused to threaten my father with the three of us brothers. Today, when I meet him alone as an old friend, he will not be able to fight with each other."
"Wuniu, let's go."
After saying that, Zhu Cijiong led Xu Wuniu and ten other riders out of the crowd.
Xia Wanchun had no choice but to send someone to notify Weng Zhili to stop the train, and then asked Wu Baotan and others to move the more than 20,000 cavalry away. If they found that something was wrong, they could come to the rescue at any time.
But this is simply redundant.
Because Li Yan is really a gentleman.
…
"Are you Prince Ding?"
Seeing Zhu Cijiong, Li Yan was a little unsure.
"It's Xiao Wang." Zhu Cijiong bowed his hands and said, "I've met Mr.
"I don't dare." Li Yan hurriedly returned the greeting on horseback, and said with emotion, "I haven't seen him for five years, and Prince Ding looks so tall and burly. I almost can't recognize him."
Li Yan really didn't recognize Zhu Cijiong.
But it's no wonder that the pink and tender young lady back then has grown into a tall, thick and thick man with a curly beard, as if Grandpa Cheng had stepped out of a portrait.
"Sir, you are much older." Zhu Cijiong said, "Is it possible that you have had a hard time these past few years?"
Li Yan's life in the past few years was not only hard, but very hard. In addition to having to fight against the Mongols and slaves, he also had to be on guard against hidden arrows from behind at all times. It really made him feel exhausted mentally and physically.
Thanks to Song Xiance's help, otherwise he would have been dead for a long time.
However, Li Yan didn't show it on his face and said with a smile: "How can I not grow old if I live in the desert and sleep in the open air every day? I am not as lucky as His Highness Prince Ding, haha."
"Little Wang is also working hard." Zhu Cijiong said mockingly, "It's such a hot day and I have to lead the troops on an expedition."
"Brother?" Seeing Li Yan and Zhu Cijiong chatting more and more enthusiastically, like old friends, Li Mou next to him couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and immediately reminded Li Yan in a low voice, asking him to detain Zhu Cijiong.
This is the third prince of the Ming Dynasty. Taking him as a hostage can make the Ming army throw a trap.
Li Yan turned around and gave Li Mou a sharp glance, implying a warning.
Speaking of which, Li Yan is not that pedantic person, he only knows how to stick to small righteousness and great righteousness.
However, Li Yan did have a good impression of Zhu Cijiong who took the initiative to visit him. In fact, even Li Yan himself did not know that it was entirely because of his recognition of Chongzhen's governance.
Although Li Yan is far away from Hetao most of the time, Hetao is not an isolated island.
There are still many traders from Guanzhong who travel thousands of miles to Hetao to buy furs.
From the mouths of these traders, Li Yan also knew a little bit about the great changes taking place in eight prefectures and one state in the south of the Yangtze River.
Not long ago in Jining Prefecture, students from the Beijing Imperial College led by Wang Jiayan and Jin Xuan witnessed with their own eyes a terrifying monster again today.
All these things have completely changed Li Yan's perception of the Ming Dynasty or Chongzhen.
Li Yan no longer believed that the Ming Dynasty was a decadent and cruel dynasty. Whether he accepted it emotionally or not, it had become a fact that the Ming Dynasty was reborn.
In view of this, he did not want to go to war with a court that respected the Confucian ancestral temple and protected the Han family's clothes.
Li Yan even wanted to learn more about the Ming Dynasty from Zhu Cijiong. He pointed at the train and asked, "Wang Ding, what is that monster with black smoke coming out of it?"
Li Mou, Li Nian and other Dashun soldiers pricked up their ears.
"Sir, that's not a monster, but a train." Zhu Cijiong said with a smile, "It's actually a carriage, a larger and longer carriage, but it's not pulled by horses, but by a steam engine."
"Steam engine?" Li Yan said thoughtfully, "Is it the kind of machine that can run by burning coal and drinking water?"
The legend of the steam engine has also spread to Hetao, and Li Yan has also heard of it, but he firmly did not believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. However, today he was slapped in the face by the fact that there really was a steam engine!
"Yes, that's the kind of steam engine." Zhu Cijiong said with a smile, "A steam engine is equivalent to three thousand horses!"
"What, it's equivalent to three thousand horses?" Li Mou exclaimed, "A horse can pull two thousand kilograms. Couldn't this machine be able to pull six million kilograms at a time?"
"Yes, you can lift six million kilograms at a time." Zhu Cijiong nodded.
The three brothers Li Yan, Li Mou and Li Nian were immediately completely shocked.
Zhu Cijiong smiled again and asked: "Sir, would you like to visit the train?"
"Visit?" Li Yan was obviously excited, but hesitant.
Zhu Cijiong smiled slightly and said: "Sir, don't worry, Xiao Wang is not that mean and will never make a fuss about this matter."
After a pause, Zhu Cijiong continued: "If Li Zicheng trusts Mr. enough, he will never become suspicious just because he visited the train. If Li Zicheng does not trust Mr., this reminiscence between Mr. and Xiao Wang will be enough to make him suspicious."
, so Xiao Wang doesn’t deserve to be such a bad person, right?”
Of course Li Yan knew that this was Zhu Cijiong's plan to divorce.
But Li Yan really wants to see what's going on with the train?
At that moment, Li Yan ordered Li Nian: "Third brother, you stay."
Then he said to Li Mou: "Second brother, come with me to visit."
Li Mou shouted, and immediately ordered dozens of cavalry to accompany the cavalry.
But Li Nian whispered: "Brother, are you doing this without consideration?"
Zhu Cijiong heard this, but he laughed and said, "If sir, you are worried about your own safety, Xiao Wang can stay here as a hostage, and then leave after sir."
"It's not necessary. I can trust Prince Ding." Li Yan refused.
Li Nian had no choice but to watch Li Yan follow Zhu Cijiong and leave.
Coincidentally, a general rushed over and reported: "General, Duke Yao has come to reward the army."
"Dong Yaoguo? Reward the army?" Li Nian's face immediately turned serious. He was probably here to supervise the army.
Because this Duke of Yao, Li Ziming, was a younger brother of Li Zicheng. He had no military exploits, but he was named Marquis of Yao after the founding of Dashun. His title was even higher than that of the founding heroes such as Niu Jinxing, Liu Zongmin, and Song Xiance. Only two of them were
Years later, he was promoted to the title of Lord Yaoguo without having achieved any merit, and it is said that he would be promoted to Prince Tuo soon.
While thinking about it, a general wearing a python robe came closer.
Behind the general, there were more than 300 pro-army soldiers.
Li Nian could only mount his horse and come forward to greet him: "Li Nian is here to see Duke Yao."
