Anti Qing

Chapter 77 Troubled Times
Standing on the west wall of Longju Village, Ma Shitai watched Li Zijing and his party leave, even with many soldiers of the Dashun Army stationed here, feeling a little more sad.

"General, do you think we can meet again?"

Regardless of Li Zijing's front battalion or the local garrison, most of them are from Shanxi and Shanxi. After a day and two nights, many people in the front battalion and the local garrison have become one with each other.

Ma Shitai's eyes froze slightly, and he sighed.

"The situation in Henan is in dire straits. I heard that Jingxiang is also rebelling frequently. I'm afraid it will be difficult to see King Chuang once he is gone."

The implication is that even he has no hope for Li Zijing.

This has nothing to do with his personal attitude towards Li Zijing, it's just that Henan and Huguang rebelled everywhere, and officials and gentry united with Hu people to rebel.

In addition, the Ming army was harassing everywhere, and their strength was stretched. It was really difficult to get out with the troops from the front battalion alone.

For a while, gloom clouded over Longju Village.

Li Zijing led the front battalion out from the west gate of Longju Village, and headed straight for Wuguan, without stopping at Wuguan, he went straight out of Guanzhong.

From Longjuzhai to Wuguan, there are high mountains along the way, the terrain is uneven, and the snow is heavy. The official road is very narrow, and mules and horses need to be pushed forward, so the march is very slow.

Fortunately, when he was still in Wuguan, Tongguan was not lost, so he didn't have to worry about the enemy's problems, and Li Zijing could free up all his manpower to transport the luggage.

Along the way, Li Zijing and Gu Junen were also discussing what to do next.

According to Li Zijing's speculation about history, after Tongguan's victory, Dorgon will definitely regard Dashun as a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh.

Azig on the North Road has been unable to attack for a long time, and sooner or later he will withdraw his troops and go back to rest, but Duoduo stays in Huaiqing and will soon occupy Henan.

There was not enough time, even in Xiangyang, Li Zijing had only half a year at most to rectify the rear.

The wind and snow filled the air, and the wind howled.

The heavy snow is like a goose feather, and the cold wind is like a steel knife.

The wind was blowing snowflakes, flying recklessly between the sky and the earth, as if to bury the team of the front battalion, almost blowing away people's eyes.

Fortunately, when Qianying left Xi'an, he put on a brand new set of cotton padded clothes. Even though the wind and snow were snowy, his body was still warm.

Feeling the wind and snow blowing against their faces, the more than [-] soldiers under Wu Zhaosheng felt deeply in their hearts for the cotton-padded clothes that the little Chuang Wang Li Zijing had obtained for them.

Otherwise, on this road, many people will die in the snowstorm over the mountains.

Leaving Wuguan and entering the south of Henan with difficulty, it was a smooth road, everyone in the front camp heaved a sigh of relief and changed their appearances.

According to what Ma Shitai said, there is no Dashun garrison in Nanyang Mansion anymore. At the end of last year, they all followed the right battalion leader to withdraw Yuan Zongdi back to Guanzhong.

According to history, southern Henan at this time was a vacuum.

Li Zijing has read relevant historical materials in later generations, and for a long time after Yuan Zongdi withdrew, no one entered Nanyang Mansion.

But now that the Tongguan battle has been won, nothing will be guaranteed in the future. With a flap of butterfly wings, I don't know what to change.

Maybe Duoduo chose a different path from the history and sent people to Nanyang Mansion in order to rest and search for supplies.

For the sake of your life, you still have to be cautious.

As soon as he arrived in the south of Henan, Li Zijing immediately ordered to spread the sentry cavalry within ten miles around, and wait for the report from the pond before talking about the march.

In the front battalion, the banners that were held high were put away, and the army seemed to be marching quietly with their flags and drums silent.

Under Hao Yaoqi's command, sentry cavalry also went out everywhere.

The horse's hooves stepped on the frozen soil, and the rumbling tone was like a war drum, shaking people's hearts.

In the middle of the team, surrounded by mules and horses, Li Zijing was not idle while waiting for the report from the pond. He sat with Gu Junen and listened casually to his description of the current situation.

"Guanzhong is the reason why Jingxiang is guarded. If Jingxiang is lost, Guanzhong cannot be defended. Currently, there are rebellions in Jingxiang area."

"In Yunyang, there are Gao Doushu, Xu Qiyuan, Wang Guangen and others who led tens of thousands of Ming troops. Your Majesty once sent our general Lu Yingbiao to attack, but he was killed and the army was overthrown."

"In the area of ​​Wuchang, Zuo Liangyu won the imperial edict of Chongzhen, and has guarded and operated it for many years. If he wants to attack, the best strategy is to take the three passes."

"As far as the area from Nanyang to Xiangyang"

Just as Gu Junen was talking, there was a sound of horseshoes in the distance, which attracted Li Zijing's attention.

The two stood up and saw that it was Hao Yaoqi.

"Is there any movement ahead?"

Hao Yaoqi wiped his forehead, wiped off whether it was sweat or snow, stopped his mount, and panted.

"With a radius of ten miles, the last general has checked, and there is no trace of the soldiers staying there!"

"Even in Neixiang city, there is no wisp of cooking smoke from a distance, and they should have fled in all directions!"

Li Zijing immediately got up, patted his buttocks, and got on the horse.

"Continue to investigate and report back at any time!"

The guards kept riding, but Li Zijing and Gu Junen put away the map and ordered the army to move on.

During the first lunar month, the climate in the Central Plains and the Guanzhong area was more windy and snowy due to the influence of the small ice river. During the march all the way, the people were hit by wind and snow, and they were very embarrassed.

But along the way, it is colder than the wind and snow.

To be on the safe side, Li Zijing chose to bypass Neixiang City and go directly to Dengzhou, where he rested for a while, and then went south to Xiangyang.

Along the way, the atmosphere of the people in the front battalion was very depressed. This had nothing to do with the morale of the army, but because they were influenced by what they heard and saw along the way.

Neixiang went to Dengzhou for more than [-] miles. Since they did not know the movements of the Qing or Ming troops, the march of the front battalion was relatively slow, and they walked for three days.

On the night of the third day, they arrived at Dengzhou City and set up camp five miles west of Dengzhou City for a short rest.

Li Zijing also sent Hao Yaoqi to lead Jingqi to Dengzhou to investigate the situation and then report back. The situation in Dengzhou city is unknown, so we need to investigate.

In the big tent, the faces of several people were not good-looking.

"When I came to Dengzhou, the territory of Nanyang Mansion was almost empty, and I didn't see a village with a hundred people left."

"Soldiers famine, banditry and natural disasters, the people flee without dying, the fields are desolate, and the villages are almost empty."

"When I was passing through Neixiang, I went to the village where a friend lived to look for it, but there was no one alive in that village."

Li Zijing pressed the table and listened to Gu Junen's words, his eyes were fixed on the location of Dengzhou on the map, he lowered his head, and did not speak for a long while.

In fact, I don’t know what to say. In this troubled world, Dashun ruled in Guanzhong, so it’s okay.

After leaving Guanzhong, what he saw along the way was beyond Li Zijing's understanding.

There are almost ruins everywhere. After walking more than 100 miles in four days, I didn't see any large-scale residential villages.

The only village still inhabited is mostly the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled. The hungry people lying in the village have disappeared, lying on the kang waiting to die.

In such a troubled world, when will it be considered a head?

Li Zijing put away the pity in his heart, put his eyes back on the map, and looked at the position from Nanyang to Xiangyang.

Here is a large granary in Huguang, where the Nanyang Basin is located.

If you want to control the Nanyang Basin, Nanyang Prefecture and Xiangyang Prefecture are indispensable.

Not long after, there was a sound of horse neighing outside the tent.

Hao Yaoqi, dressed in weather and frost, walked in from outside the tent, cupping his fists and saluting.

Li Zijing's voice was very peaceful, and he raised his eyes to ask.

"How is the situation in Dengzhou City? Are there any traces of the barbarians?"

Hao Yaoqi gulped down a large bowl of water, wiped his mouth, and then cursed.

"You motherfucker, this Dengzhou is too miserable!"

"General Zhi, the last general took people to walk around Dengzhou, but he didn't see half a ghost. Finally, he saw two old people supporting each other on the road."

"According to what they said, in the 16th year of Chongzhen, His Majesty planted the seeds in Dengzhou, and came back from exile for a while. There was some prosperity, and the common people also had the hope of peace."

"But after my Dashun was defeated in Shanhaiguan, the local officials and gentry in Dengzhou went to Yunyang to ask for help. Then Wang Guangen brought people over, broke through Dengzhou, and plundered the city."

As Hao Yaoqi spoke, he clicked his tongue all over his face, and when he raised his eyes to see Li Zijing's slightly gloomy expression, he was taken aback, and began to narrate seriously.

"Later, Mianhou led the right battalion to counterattack Huaiqing, won a great victory, and returned to Dengzhou to continue dividing the fields."

"The good times don't last long. Last year, Duoduo aggressively pushed Huaiqing, and the right battalion was alone. The whole division retreated, some retreated to Shandong, and some retreated to Guanzhong."

"Now Dengzhou, named after Hongguang, is actually just a group of former Ming officials and gentry colluding to manage affairs, oppressing the people, and suffering unspeakably."

"The people in Dengzhou and Neixiang have basically run away now."

Li Zijing frowned when he heard this, it was easy to handle.

Duoduo is not here, and the Ming army has withdrawn to Yunyang, so isn't there no one in Dengzhou now?
Li Zijing's expression was fixed, and his fingers wandered back and forth from Dengzhou to Xiangyang on the map.

The Nanyang Basin is a granary. If Xiangyang can be controlled and then connected to Dengzhou, spring plowing can be resumed in this place as soon as possible in the early spring of this year.

Li Zijing didn't have the arbitrariness of Gan Gang, he still asked habitually, and his eyes moved slightly when he looked at Gu Junen.

"If I occupy Dengzhou again in Dashun, military advisor, will it be more beneficial or more disadvantageous?"

(End of this chapter)