Chapter 3: Soldiers march to Qinghai to achieve hegemony
However, it is said that after Li Zicheng was defeated in Xi'an, he fled westward in embarrassment and barely settled in Lanzhou.
At this time, the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command were only 40,000 to 50,000, and most of them were cavalry and few infantry. Not to mention counterattacking Xi'an, even raising the army became difficult.
Moreover, at this time, Liu Zongmin, the most trusted general in power, also died of serious illness, which was a huge blow to him.
In addition, Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Bai Wang, He Jin, Gu Dacheng and other close generals surrendered, died, or disappeared, causing him heavy losses.
At this time, there were five generals under his command, headed by Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Hao Yaoqi and Li Laiheng.
Among them, Li Laiheng, as a representative of the younger generation and Li Guo's adopted son, was highly trusted along the way.
Not long after staying in Lanzhou, Li Zicheng had no choice but to go northwest again and came to Ganzhou.
Here, he reorganized the troops again and formed five battalions headed by Tian Jianxiu and others.
Each battalion has 10,000 people and two lieutenants each, which is barely enough.
Everyone started discussing the next path.
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it's better to go back to Xi'an. Guanzhong is much better than here in the northwest."
Hao Yaoqi raised his head and his voice was loud.
"No, we still have to go to Yulin, which is our hometown. We can gather 100,000 troops with a wave of our hands."
Liu Fangliang shook his head, he had a soft spot for northern Shaanxi.
Li Zicheng was sitting high, and opposite the military attache stood Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other literati. Their faces were sallow and their bodies were thin. They had obviously suffered a lot along the way.
A few months after this defeat, Li Zicheng finally cheered up a little. Liu Zongmin took over the hustle and bustle, and he finally felt a lot quieter:
"Prime Minister, what do you think?"
Liu Jinxing trembled when he heard the inquiry, bent down, and said in a deep voice:
"Although the veteran is just a scholar, he also knows that the infantry and equipment needed to attack the city are the most important, but the most we have here is cavalry. How can we defeat Guanzhong?"
"Although the Guanzhong frontier army is dilapidated, it is still invincible. What's more important is that our people are eating horses and chewing, and the military rations are not enough."
Li Zicheng's single eye showed a look of thought.
He thought of Xi'an and the big defeat.
In a piece of stone, being chased for hundreds of miles, the shadow of Manchu Qing was in my heart, but in Xi'an, there was another Ming army.
He had to fall into deep thought. In the past, he couldn't defeat an army of 200,000 people. How could he defeat tens of thousands of people now?
The generals showed dissatisfaction, gritted their teeth, and prepared to retort, but without Liu Zongmin taking the lead, no one dared to interrupt.
Seeing that Li Zicheng was silent, Niu Jinxing tilted his head slightly, looked at Song Xiance beside him, and signaled him to take action.
Regarding this, they had already reached a consensus with Niu Jinxing. One person was in charge and the other was the mastermind. Song Xiance had no choice but to leave the team and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, to the north are the Mongols and to the east is Guanzhong. They are both barren lands and are not where the royal family is."
"Oh?" Li Zicheng then looked at him and asked, "It's impossible to go west, right?"
"You can't go to the west. It's all desert and Gobi. You can only eat dirt."
Tian Jianxiu, who was always cautious, immediately persuaded him.
Other generals also came out to persuade and looked at Song Xiance angrily.
Although Ganzhou also has more sandy soil, it is where the Xingdu Division of Shaanxi Province is located and the Hexi Corridor belongs to the Han Dynasty.
Gu Shi
To the west, in their perception, it was a land of yellow sand and barbarians.
"No!" Song Xiance waited for everyone to vent their anger, then he shook his head, stepped forward, cupped his hands and said with a smile:
"Even if the generals don't tell me, I won't go to the west."
"With my small body, I would die on the way."
After saying this, there was a burst of laughter.
He then said slowly: "As far as Wei Chen knows, there is a valley hundreds of miles south of Ganzhou and west of Huangshui River. The water and grass there are rich and abundant, which is much better than Guanzhong."
"You're talking about the Tumut Department?"
At this time, Niu Jinxing was also surprised. He immediately raised his hand and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a country named Tuguhun on the bank of Huangshui River, which lasted for more than three hundred years..."
"Today, the person who occupies this place is Gushi Khan of the Outer Khalkha Mongolia. He even took over the former Tubo homeland, Uzang."
"Tubo?" Li Zicheng's eyes lit up when he heard the name: "But the Tubo who compared with the Tang Dynasty and forcibly married the princess of the Tang Dynasty?"
"That's right!" Seeing Li Zicheng's interest, Song Xiance hurriedly said: "Uzang has a vast area, a lot of supplies, and a large number of people, and Tumote has tens of thousands of Mongolians who can form an army."
"Tatumote?"
Li Zicheng fell into thinking.
Niu Jinxing couldn't wait to add: "Your Majesty, Tumut has many cattle and sheep, which can greatly improve our food and grass problems. Moreover, it can also replenish war horses in time, which is indispensable in counterattack."
The last sentence of counterattack made Li Zicheng's eyes turn red. He gritted his teeth and said: "That's all, whether it's Mongolian or Han, as long as it can help Dashun recover, what's the harm?"
Having said that, in July of the third year of Yongchang, that is, the second year of Hongguang, Li Zicheng personally led an army of 50,000 people and marched south in a mighty manner.
Among them, Tian Jianxiu stayed in Ganzhou and was responsible for transporting grain and grass and supervising the stability of Shaanxi Xingdu Division.
Due to the terrain of the northwest region and the long and narrow distance, the news did not reach the Guanzhong region until winter, which was delayed for several months.
When Li Zicheng led his troops to the Qinghai area, he finally realized that what Song Xiance said was true.
Almost 90% of Qinghai is a desert wasteland, but the Hehuang Valley is one of the few livable places in the entire northwest, with rich water and grass and outstanding people.
Of course, Xining, the later capital of Qinghai Province, was also here, with two-thirds of the population living in less than one-thirtieth of the province's area.
After half a month's journey, the army finally reached the Hehuang Valley before running out of water and food.
"It's no wonder that the Mongols don't want to leave when they come here!"
The war horses trampled on the grass, making a creaking sound, as if they had stepped on water. There were grasslands all over the mountains and fields, and you couldn't see the edge.
There are a large number of streams and rivers running freely, and the water resources seem to be overflowing.
Li Zicheng looked at the white cloud-like tents not far away and said with emotion: "This place is really the foundation of kings and hegemons."
Song Xiance was even more excited and said: "Your Majesty, if farmers are moved here, millions of people can survive and 100,000 soldiers can be saved."
Li Zicheng's single eye flashed with light. Looking at the cavalrymen whose fatigue was gone, he seemed to feel that his blood was beginning to boil.
The war horse under the crotch is also eager to try, as if it wants to wash away the humiliation of many years.
He needs a victory, and Dashun also needs a victory. The Hehuang Valley is the ladder for his rise.
"kill--"
As soon as the order was given, the plateau was suddenly filled with smoke and cattle and sheep were running around.