Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 414
Compared with the winter outside the pass, the winter in Hanzhong can only be seen as nothing, and it has almost no impact on the cavalry of the Qing soldiers. Therefore, after the Qing soldiers entered Nanzheng, the several raids launched by the Daxi Army ended in failure. Zhang Xianzhong saw that he could not take advantage When it was cheap, he immediately ordered many strongholds to hold out, and no longer fought with the Qing soldiers.

Winning for several rounds in a row made Hauge high-spirited. Ever since he failed in the battle for the position, he has been suppressed by Dorgon. Zeng Jin was once denounced by the Gushan Ezhen Heluo Club for slandering Dorgon with his words. The title of prince was not restored until the Qing army entered the pass.

A few days ago, Tulai, who supported him, died in Huguang, which made Hauge feel that his own power was gradually declining. Now that the battle of Hanzhong has made progress, his depressed mood has improved a little.

At this time, Hauge was standing in front of a map of Hanzhong, thinking with his hands behind his back. Several Manchu Qing officials who came after him were also standing by the brazier and discussing with each other, thinking and discussing how to defeat Zhang Xianzhong and enter Shu.

The Qing Dynasty was not familiar with the terrain of China's mountains and rivers, so every expedition would bring Han officials who were familiar with the terrain as guides. Hauge brought with him this time Wang Zuntan, the governor of Sichuan appointed by the Qing court.

Wang Zuntan is from Shandong. His father, Wang Yan, was a cabinet scholar of the Ming Dynasty. He had a prominent family background. When the Qing soldiers went south, he also participated in the fight against the Qing Dynasty. However, after the defeat, he surrendered to the Qing court in order to save his life.

He shaved his hair and changed his clothes. From then on, he began to concentrate on making suggestions for the Qing court, which was highly appreciated by the Qing Dynasty.

This time Hauge took him as his guide because although he is from Shandong, he has all the geography of China's mountains and rivers in his heart.

At this time, he looked at the distribution of the western army's strongholds on the map, and then knelt down and said: "My lord, since ancient times, there are only three passages from Hanzhong to Shu, which are Jinniu Road, Mi Cang Road, and Lizhi Road. Dingjun Mountain blocked Jinniu Road, Zhang Nengqi was guarding Qingshi Pass, and Micang Road was also impassable, and the entrance of Lizhi Road to the west was in Xixiang, which was in the southeast. No way."

Hauge heard the words, but he was not in a hurry. During these few battles, he already understood the field combat capabilities of the Western Army, which could not be compared with the Eight Banners at all. "Zhang Ni's more than [-] soldiers and horses, if they gather together, the king may still be a little worried, but he abandons the danger and divides the troops, giving the king a chance to defeat each one! Dingjun Mountain is where Zhang Ni's main force is. The king doesn't care about him, the Qingshi Pass guarded by Zhang Nengqi is dangerous, and this king will not fight for the time being, so let's attack Yang County first, what do you think?"

Wang Zuntan said: "My lord is wise, there are six passages from Guanzhong to Hanzhong. The exits of Ziwu Road and Changluo Road are all near Yangxian County. If you take down Yangxian County, you can not only get from the east to the west township, enter Shu from the Lizhi Road, but also enter Shu. It has become safer to use the Meridian Road and Changluo Road to transport materials."

Hauge nodded, "That's the decision, take Yang County first, and concentrate on breaking Zhang Ni's finger first. Well, you all stand back, just wait for the food and grass in Guanzhong to arrive, and the king immediately raises troops."

"Zha~"

Several Manchu Qing officials in the tent beat a thousand children, and then they were ready to file out, but when they reached the door of the tent, the curtain was lifted from the outside, and a Qing general hurried in. In Hauge's ear, he whispered a few words, and Hauge's face immediately changed drastically.

At this time Hauge stood up abruptly. Seeing this, the Qing officials who were about to leave the tent stopped in their tracks. After a while, Hauge said: "The grain and grass sent by Meng Qiaofang was robbed by the western thieves. The person in charge of transporting the grain Lieutenant Ren Zhen was killed by Zhang Dingguo, and only 20 of the [-] food guards fled to Nanzheng."

"The army entered Hanzhong via Chencang Road, and there was no Western army along the way. How could the food be robbed?" Shang Shu Xing Na was surprised.

Hao Ge said angrily: "The food team was robbed near Wudu Mountain. It seems that Zhang Ni has a large army hidden in Wudu Mountain."

Wang Zuntan's face changed and he said: "If there are western bandits stationed in Wudu Mountain, then Qishan Road and Chencang Road will become unsafe."

There are six passages from Guanzhong to Hanzhong, Qishan Road, Chencang Road, Lianyun Road, Baoxie Road, Ziwu Road, and Changluo Road!
Zhuge Liang left Qishan six times, and Jiang Bo made nine expeditions to the Central Plains. Most of them took Qishan Road and Chencang Road. Although the exits of these two roads are a little far from Xi’an, they are relatively easy to walk. Therefore, the cautious Zhuge Liang often took these two roads. One of the reasons why he rejected Wei Yan's suggestion to take Meridian Road and Baoxie Road was that these two roads were too dangerous.

Meng Qiaofang sent Ren Zhen to take the Chencang road to transport grain, firstly because the Qing army had stored a batch of grain in Chencang before attacking Dashan Pass, and secondly because the Chencang road was easier to travel.

Now for Hauge, it is not only because of the looting of food and grass, but also because of the Wudu Mountain of the Western Army's Tibetan soldiers, and the Chencang Road, which is the easiest to walk among the six paths, it is no longer possible to transport food.

The exit of Qishan Road is in Tianshui, Gansu. Hauge will not consider it. Yang County has Zhang Wenxiu’s garrison, and Changluo Road and Ziwu Road are not safe for food transportation. Guan Zhong got in touch.

"Du Lei, you lead the three thousand red flags as the main general, and Li Guoying leads the seven thousand green battalion as the deputy general. When you have enough 1 people, go to Baocheng to garrison immediately." Haoge calmed down, and decided to ensure that he exited the two passages in Hanzhong first, and took control. in their own hands.

Dulei was Manchurian Zhenghong Banner Gushan Ezhen. Li Guoying was originally a general of Zuo Liangyu's army.

Hearing the words, the two knew that the matter was of great importance, and hurriedly saluted: "Zha~"

The two quickly left the account, and Hauge said to Shang Shuxing: "The more than 20 green battalion soldiers who escaped back were all executed in secret, and the news of the food being robbed was blocked."

"Zha~" After saluting, Xing Na immediately strode out of the tent.

When Hauge entered Hanzhong, he marched lightly and did not bring much food and grass. He thought that Hanzhong was an upper-class state capital with a population of over one million, and would be rich, so he planned to send troops to collect food after entering Hanzhong. Who knew that Zhang Xianzhong was better than him? He took the first step to grab the grain in Hanzhong, leaving him with no food to grab.

Right now, if the army knew that the food brought from Guanzhong had been robbed by western thieves, the Qing army in Nanzheng would most likely fall into panic, so he ordered to block all news, and secretly executed more than a dozen soldiers who had fled back to prevent the news from spreading.

After finishing the order, Hauge sat down slowly, frowned and thought for a moment, and then asked: "How much food is there for the army?" "Reporting to the prince, it can last for about ten days."

"Ten days?" Hauge stood up again, annoyed, "Does this king want to retreat to Guanzhong in such a disgraceful manner?"

After the Qing army entered the customs, Dorgon's two brothers, Duoduo and Azig, both made great military exploits, but Hauge didn't have any outstanding achievements. He originally wanted to conquer Hanzhong and Bashu, and performed well Fan, to expand his power and influence, but now he wants to withdraw from Hanzhong in such a disgrace, he is really unwilling.Wang Zun said frankly: "Your Majesty, if the troops are withdrawing at this time, the western thieves will definitely hunt them down. There should still be some grain and grass in Guanzhong. Although Lianyun Road and Baoxie Road are difficult to walk, within half a month, Governor Meng should be able to bring in the grain. The army rations from the sky, save some food, kill some war horses, and you should be able to hold on until the food arrives."

Hao Ge shook his head and said: "That's meaningless. There is not much food and grass in Shaanxi. The [-] soldiers eat horse chews, and the daily consumption is not a small amount. Meng Qiaofang can transport two months' worth of food at most. Now Zhang Ni is sticking to it. Fight, make up your mind to fight with this king for food and grass, even if Meng Qiaofang brings two months' worth of food, this king is not [-]% sure that he can defeat Zhang Ni within two months."

"Why doesn't your lord ask the court for reinforcements and food?" Wang Zuntan continued: "At present, Zhang Ni divides his troops to guard each stronghold. If the court allocates another [-] soldiers and horses to the lord's command, plus hundreds of thousands of grains, the lord will concentrate his strengths. Isn't it easy to defeat the troops one by one?"

Hauge's face turned cold, "Wouldn't it be ridiculous for me to ask Dorgon for help after the battle is over like this, this is absolutely impossible!"

Wang Zuntan said with a smile: "My lord broke through the Hanzhong pass held by Zhang Ni's heavy troops with [-] troops, entered the Hanzhong plain, captured Nanzheng, the prefectural city, and forced Zhang Ni to dare not fight. How can it be laughed at? The slave is willing to give Wang Ye writes a report, which will definitely make the court recognize his achievements and send troops to allocate food for his dispatch."

(Thanks to Huamanlou 66 for the reward, Yuedong Woxin's monthly ticket)
(End of this chapter)