At the same time, heavy snow covered the entire northern Shaanxi, the Loess Plateau was shrouded in white, and the potholes and earth walls disappeared.
Yan'an City in Shaanxi Province was completely lost at this time.
Prince Ying and General Jingyuan Azige led the troops to pacify the Western King Wu Sangui, and King Zhishun Shang Kexi was waiting for Manchu. More than 30,000 Mongolian and Han troops left Shanxi for Shaanxi.
The huge northern Shaanxi was almost completely occupied.
However, Yan'an Mansion was too big and deserted. Even if Yan'an City was captured, the entire army would still have insufficient food and grass.
"Shaanxi Province has indeed been severely damaged by bandits and bandits, and there is almost no human habitation."
Shang Kexi said with a gloomy look on his face: "Currently, the food reserves are only enough for ten days. People eat what horses chew. If we don't make long-term plans, Shaanxi Province will not be able to survive."
Azig nodded and said: "Duduo set out from Henan to attack Tongguan, but I don't know what happened."
"After all, our team is just providing cover for them. We just want to hold back the intruders."
On the side, Wu Sangui glanced at the two of them, hesitated for a while, and then said: "This battle has reached Yan'an, which is still hundreds of miles away from Xi'an. I am afraid that if the enemy breaks into the strong wall and clears the wilderness, we will be in trouble."
"Tongguan is the first pass in the world after all..."
"With the red cannon, Tongguan is no problem!"
Shang Kexi hurriedly patted his chest and said: "Now in Yan'an, no matter how difficult it is, we have to persevere."
Azig's round face was deep in thought.
In the situation where the Manchus entered the customs, although he was highly trusted as Dorgon's elder brother, in fact, because he challenged Dorgon's status, there was a lot of suspicion behind him.
This victory is just that. Once defeated, the stingy younger brother will not let him go. It is certain that Niu Lu will be reduced.
"Report that Li Zicheng has personally led the army and has set up camp outside the city."
At this time, the scout came to report.
"What?"
Azige was stunned: "Tongguan is in danger, but he still dares to come to Yan'an!"
Shang Kexi and Wu Sangui were also secretly surprised. Li Zicheng came in person, and he must have brought many troops.
It seems that we are really going to have to fight a tough battle.
For a moment, several people had inexplicable emotions.
Wait until you board the tower and look out.
I saw an army of more than 100,000 people, densely surrounding the entire city of Yan'an. Countless military tents were placed next to each other, and it was impossible to see the edges at a glance.
A large number of cavalry were wandering around, seemingly looking for fighters.
Near the north gate, it looks a bit weak and there are not many people.
What surprised them was that two huge red cannons slowly appeared in front of them.
"Surround three towers and one tower."
Shang Kexi gritted his teeth and said.
"Red Cannon!!!"
Azig was completely shocked, his eyes widened: "Where did the intruder get the red cannon?"
To be honest, Wu Sangui was also surprised: "According to the rules, generally only Beijing can make robes. Where can the craftsmen come from Xi'an?"
In the Liaodong region, the power of the red cannon has been completely witnessed. Siege warfare is the skill of the red cannon. Thinking about the tens of thousands of people under his command, how can it be possible to defend Yan'an?
The three of them were trembling in their hearts, and they were eager to retreat.
Outside the city, Li Zicheng looked at the huge figure of the red cannon and couldn't help but be filled with emotion.
"Your Majesty, where did we get the cannon?"
Gao Yigong looked hard and couldn't believe it.
"It was ripped down from the top of Xi'an City."
Li Zicheng rode on his horse and said in a deep voice: "I heard that Zhu Yixi, a little thief, built eight gates in the first place, with six gates in Tongguan and two gates placed in Xi'an City."
"As long as Xi'an is safe, I will dismantle it and drag it to northern Shaanxi to deal with the slave construction."
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng sighed secretly.
I never thought that until now, I would still have to rely on Zhu Yixi’s light.
If it weren't for these two cannons, he would really have no way to deal with these tens of thousands of cavalry.
However, Zhu Yixi is willing to settle in Xi'an City, so he should have a lot in his hands!
Hateful! Hateful!!!
Li Zicheng clenched his fists, feeling extremely agitated.
The generals present didn't care about that. As long as they could drive away the Manchu cavalry, they were happy and filled with joy.
Liu Zongmin curled his lips and said: "Your Majesty, if you have the red cannon, why bother surrounding three towers to give Wu Sangui a way to survive?"
Li Zicheng was silent for a long time before saying: "Since last year's defeat, the morale of the army has been in turmoil. The soldiers have to recharge their batteries. This battle is just to drive the Qing army out of Shaanxi Province as soon as possible."
"Revenge should not be rushed."
Li Zicheng was deeply touched by the importance of territory, and he felt extremely regretful.
Therefore, he fully accepted the advice of his advisers, based in Shaanxi Province, spread to Shanxi and Henan, and recuperated.
Behind the crowd, Bai Guangen and Zuo Guangxian were hugging each other for warmth, looking at the excitement in front of them and not wanting to get involved at all.
"I heard that King Yu killed Duduo?" Zuo Guang first rubbed his injured left foot and couldn't help but sigh.
"That's right!" Bai Guangen couldn't help but feel regretful in his heart. He saw others building tall buildings, but he didn't have any light on them. Not to mention how sad he was.
"Liu Zongmin also suffered a loss and was scolded by the emperor."
"Tell me, this Liu Zongmin is arrogant and domineering, and has been defeated repeatedly. Why does the emperor still trust him so much?"
"How do I know this?"
Zuo Guangxian said in high spirits: "Maybe it's the friendship between fellow villagers!"
The two of them fell silent again.
This broken ship of Shunjun was about to sink, but I never thought that it still had a few nails to slow it down.
But the future is bleak.
Azig and the other three were much more decisive than Dodo.
Seeing that they could not take advantage of the numbers and could not defend the city, they simply broke out of the city and headed north.
Yan'an City became the territory of Dashun again.
But Li Zicheng couldn't be happy: "This is not my ability, this is the majesty of artillery, it is Zhu Yixi's ability-"
…
And in a blink of an eye, it’s the end of the month.
Wubao from various places in Henan continuously gathered in Luoyang, preparing to accompany the Ming army to withdraw to Nanyang.
There are about 49 families in Wubao, with 7,000 households and a population of more than 30,000.
According to Zhu Yixi's estimate, this is only 20 to 30% of the relocation. After all, it is difficult to leave the homeland. The remaining Wubao in Henan obviously do not have that much perseverance.
However, enough is enough.
"Your Highness, there are not many forts south of the Yellow River, and there are even fewer people who are interested in the imperial court."
Feng Xianzong rode clumsily next to King Yu and said seriously: "Zhangde, Weihui, and Huaiqing are adjacent to Zhili in the north. If the Manchus and Qing Dynasties want to go south, that will be their bridgehead."
Having said this, he tilted his head and said with a smile: "The gentry there, many of their disciples have recently gone south, and we can use them for help. It's easy to find out the news."
"The world is not that simple."
Zhu Yixi sighed, looked back to the north, and murmured: "I won't be able to come back in a short time."
In just a few days, the news about Hong Chengchou's command of the Central Plains had spread all over the world. This old thief had such a great reputation.