Chapter 122 Jiannu is here

The longest night has finally passed.

Li Yan's worries did not become a reality. The government army did not take advantage of the rebel army's retreat to pursue and kill. The government army from the east, north and west gates of Datong did not take the opportunity to go out of the city to sneak attack the rebel army's camp.

Li Yan was puzzled, why didn’t Wang Pu take advantage of the victory to pursue him?

However, even if the official army did not take advantage of the victory to pursue the rebel army, the rebel army suffered heavy casualties. More than 5,000 people were killed in battle, and more than 10,000 soldiers were injured. Among them, the Huihui Camp was the most casualties, with almost half of the more than 12,000 people in the entire camp. Li Xuan's Gushan Camp and Jing Maocheng's Laochao Camp were also injured.

Most importantly, after this war, the morale of the rebel army was depressed and had lost the confidence and determination to attack Datong.

Now, a serious problem has been set in front of Li Yan. Where should the rebel army go? There is not much food left in the army, and Li Yan must make a decision as soon as possible.

There is definitely no chance to stay in Datong. Now the matter has to be turned into other prefectures. It is definitely not enough to return to Mizhi. After all, the food has not been obtained, but in which direction can Mizhi be turned into if it doesn’t return? Should I follow Wang Pu and kill the Mongol territory to the north? Or do I run south to Taiyuan Prefecture? Or simply go east to the capital?

Li Yan fell into deep thought and didn't speak for a long time.

The dozens of rebel generals gathered in Li Yan's tent also lowered their heads and looked depressed. When they occasionally looked at Li Yan, their expressions on their faces were no longer so respectful. It was obvious that this painful defeat had seriously weakened Li Yan's prestige and greatly weakened the cohesion of the thief.

A thief is a thief. When it goes well, it is full of morale, but when it fails, it will become a mess.

The only thing that is thankful is that Ma Shouying and the five of them were already in danger of falling apart after this defeat.

Just as the generals were almost impatient, Li Yan finally made a decision: "Send the entire army to immediately decapitate the camp and go north bypassing the East Gate of Datong!"

"What, head north?"

"Where can you go north?"

"Can you go and grab the Mongols' cattle and sheep?"

The rebel generals in the tent looked at each other, unable to believe their ears. They went to the grassland to grab the Mongol cattle and sheep. This idea was too crazy!

In fact, Li Yan certainly did not think of going to the grassland to compete for food with the Mongolians. Although Wang Pu did it, there were many conditions and restrictions. Li Yan did not think that the rebel army could do it. The reason why he let the rebel army advance north was just to bluff and pose for advancing towards Mongolia.

Li Yandi's real target was the capital. He planned to lead the rebel army to the north first to the Yanghewei area, and then suddenly rushed into the Xuanfu eastward. Then from the Xuanfu to the southward into the capital! Li Yan believed that instead of trapping the poor mountain valley in Shaanxi to deal with Wang Pu, Zhou Yu Ji, and Jiang Xiang's elite official troops, it would be better to follow Wang Pu's surprise attack on Shengjing, lead the army to the capital, and stab the Ming Dynasty with one sword!

This is an adventure!

But Li Yan thought it was worth it. Because if it succeeded, the Ming Dynasty would fall down with a sudden blow, and the Dashun regime of King Chuang could take over the Ming Dynasty and replace it.

Even if this adventure ultimately fails, it will inevitably make the Ming Dynasty frigid. At that time, Emperor Chongzhen will strictly order Hong Chengchou, Wang Pu, Zhou Yuji, and Jiang Xiang to lead all the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty to Beijing to serve the king. In this way, the offensive of the Ming army against Henan will be disintegrated, and Li Yan has an explanation for the King of Chuang.

South Gate, Arrow Tower.

The bearded man rushed into the arrow room and shouted loudly: "General, why do you have to whip the trumpet and stop the army? It's a pity to let go of such a good opportunity..."

"What are you yelling? What's there to yelling!" Wang Pu interrupted the bearded man and shouted sternly. "A careful planning of a counterattack is inevitable, but you have made you fight like this. I'll ask you, how many brothers have suffered a total of casualties in this attack?"

The bearded man whispered: "Sixty-nine died and thirty-seven injured."

"Sixty-nine!" Wang Pu took a breath and was not angry. "These are veterans who have experienced many battles, the battle of Yanyehai, the bloody battle of Sanbulachuan, and the long-distance marches that cost thousands of miles in the ice and snow were unable to kill their lives, but today you were overwhelmed. You really have your beard."

The bearded man's face immediately turned into a pig's liver, and he defended himself: "Hui Zhi...Hui Zhi didn't expect the thief to bury ambush outside the city gate..."

"What's wrong with the ambush?" Wang Pu said furiously, "The guys in your hands are eating. You see the thieves leaning forward, not ordering the brothers to fire with guns, but only with Dragon King cannons. Finally, they are forced to stab with bayonets. What are you, Mr. Qian, doing? Why don't you order fire?"

"Bizhi..." The bearded man's head drooped and he whispered, "Bizhi was also anxious and confused at that time."

"I'm so anxious!? You, you..."

Wang Pu was so angry that he couldn't even say anything, but then he thought that it couldn't be blamed on Big Beard, because Big Bearded, Wang Pu, appointed him, and he was responsible for the failure of the counterattack last night. However, Tongdi's incident also sounded a wake-up call for Wang Pu. The general's abilities need to be improved by these Qian Zhengs under his command.

Fortunately, the opponent last night was just a thief. If it were Jiannu, there would never be only 69 brothers who died. The bearded Thousand-man team, which was not good at doing so, was destroyed, and even Datong might be lost!

But then again, the failure of this counterattack last night was not without gains. At least Wang Pu had a clear understanding of the general abilities of his men, especially the bearded man and scarface. Under Wang Pu's direct command, they are rare powerful generals, but if they want to let them stand alone, it would be disappointing.

"Okay." Wang Pu took a breath and said in a deep voice, "You go down first."

"yes."

The bearded man responded and went down in shame.

Wang Pu sighed and turned around and asked Lu Liu again: "Liu'er, how were Zhao Liujin's two thousand-man teams injured or killed?"

Lu Liu whispered: "The thieves fought fiercely last night. Zhao Liujin's two thousand-man teams suffered heavy casualties. More than 600 people died in battle alone, and more than 200 people were seriously injured. Even if they could be rescued, it would be useless. There were more others who were slightly injured, and almost none of them were intact."

"Well, the casualties are a little bit too much." Wang Pu nodded and said, "But these brothers are all good. They withstood the attacks of tens of thousands of thieves, and they are all good! Liu'er. You immediately take people to the silver treasury to withdraw silver. As long as you have left a breath, you will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver. Those who have already died in battle will be told until the battle is over."

"yes."

Lu Liu agreed and took the order.

Wang Pu asked Xiaoqi again: "Xiaoqi, how did you do what you asked you to do?"

Xiaoqi said, "I have already found out clearly. That guy is named Jiang Xuan. He is from Yulin, Shaanxi. His father used to be the general of Yulin. This guy has been a martial arts since he was a child and is skilled in archery and horses. He was transferred by Zhang Zi'an to Datong to be promoted to Qianhu. Oh, by the way, his eldest brother Jiang Rang is now the general of Yulin, and his second brother Jiang Xiang is also the general of Guyuan Town."

"Jiang Xiang?" Wang Pu said in a lost voice, "You mean this guy's second brother is Jiang Xiang?"

The name Jiang Xiang is Wang Pu. In real history, Jiang Xiang was the general of Datong after Wang Pu. When Li Zicheng led the Dashun army to Dashun army, he led his troops to surrender to the Dashun army, and then he transformed from the Dashun general of the Ming Dynasty to the Dashun general of the Dashun Dynasty.

Later, the Qing Dynasty entered the pass and drove away Li Zicheng, Jiang Xiang betrayed Li Zicheng and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. This guy transformed from the Datong general of the Dashun Dynasty to the Datong general of the Qing Dynasty.

Later, in order to guard against the invasion of the Khalkha tribe in the northern desert, Dorgon sent a large army of Eight Banners to Datong. Jiang Xiang thought Dorgon was going to attack him, so he raised an army to fight against the Qing Dynasty. He then returned to the Datong general of the Southern Ming Dynasty from the Datong general of the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that he was a true "elder of the four dynasties"!

"You can't be wrong." Xiaoqi nodded, "This guy is Jiang Rang and Jiang Xiang's third brother."

"It turned out to be the general's tiger." Wang Pu said with a sigh, "No wonder he was not afraid of danger."

Xiaoqi asked in a low voice: "General, do you want to call Jiang Xuan up?"

"No hurry." Wang Pu shook his head and said. "Let's talk about Jiang Xuan's local affairs later."

"Huh." The young lady on the side suddenly exclaimed in surprise and shouted, "General, the thief seems to be leaving the camp and running away."

"Yeah?"

Wang Pu was shocked when he heard this and looked back with Xiaoqi. Sure enough, he saw that the thieves camp was already busy. Xiaoqi said, "General, it seems that the thieves are really going to turn in."

"It seems that Li Yan already knows that he can't get a bargain in Datong." A faint smile suddenly appeared on Wang Pu's face and said, "I just don't know where Li Yan plans to go? Should I return to Shaanxi on the same road, or go south to Taiyuan Prefecture? Or go north to the desert and east to the capital?"

"That's all right." Xiao Qi said, "It must have been the same way back to Shaanxi."

"No, no." Wang Pu shook his head and whispered, "Li Yan would never return to Shaanxi as the same way, because it is too poor there, and going back will only be a dead end!"

Xiaoqi said: "Where will the thief go?"

Wang Pu said: "It's almost time, you'll know where the thief is going."

Henan, Jia County.

The plan of disintegration and disintegration offered by Li Yan has completely worked. Because of Li Guo and Li Yan's restraint, Ma Shiying's army has retreated to Fengyang, and Fu Zonglong's army has also withdrawn from Tongguan to Xi'an. Now the only enemy opposite Li Zicheng is Hong Chengchou in Xiangyang City.

The situation in Henan has improved, but Li Zicheng is in a very complicated mood. On the one hand, Li Zicheng is happy and promoted to his superiors for the ability of his subordinates like Li Yan. But on the other hand, he is worried that Li Yan will have a strange intention. He is afraid that Li Yan will set up another mountain and want to compete with him.

The urgent secret letter sent from Datong further aggravated Li Zicheng's concerns.

Li Zicheng also invited two confidant advisers Niu Jinxing and Song Xiancai to analyze whether Li Yan would establish a new mountain? If Li Yan really had a strange intention, what should he do?

After reading the urgent secret letter sent by Datong, the chief adviser Niu Jinxing shook his head and sighed: "Awesome, so amazing! King, Li Yan's move is not simple. In ancient times, there were two peaches and three soldiers, and now there were four gates to capture five camps. This Li Yan. He didn't want the ancients to be beautiful than before."

"Two peaches kill three soldiers?" Li Zicheng frowned and asked, "What two peaches kill three soldiers?"

Niu Jinxing shook his head and explained: "It is said that there was a famous scholar named Yan Zi in the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was very knowledgeable and talented. Uh, to put it simply, his knowledge may be a little more advanced than his lower class. At that time, there were three warriors in the State of Qi, Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang and Gu Yezi. The three of them were arrogant and rude to their merits."

"Once Yan Zi passed by them and walked quickly to show his respect, but they did not get up and return the gift. Yan Zi thought that the three of them did not understand etiquette and would definitely become a disaster in the future, so he presented two peaches and asked the three of them to choose the two who had the greatest contribution to eat the peaches."

"Gongsun Jiehe Tian Kaijiang each described his contributions, and they all thought that he had made the most, so they shared the peaches. Gu Yezi also said that his contributions were greater than those of you, so why did you eat peaches but I didn't eat peaches? Take out the peaches quickly."

"Gongsun Jiehe Tian Kaijiang felt that their contributions were not as great as Gu Yezi, so he drew his sword and committed suicide in shame and anger. When Gu Yezi saw that both of them had committed suicide, he felt that he had no face to live in the world, so he also committed suicide. This is the allusion of the two peaches killing three soldiers. Yan Zi used his wisdom to kill three warriors who could only use two peaches to kill tigers."

"I understand." Li Zicheng nodded, "What do you mean is that Li Yan used the same method to kill Ma Shouying and the others, and then seized the military power of the Fifth Battalion of the Lezuo without any blood, right?"

"That's right." Niu Jinxing said, "Ma Shouying and the five of them all think that they have made the greatest contributions and that they are the commander of the Shaanxi rebel army for granted. That's why they fell into Li Yan's plan. They will kill each other and die together, and finally give up the kid Li Yan for nothing."

Li Zicheng said: "When the military advisor's meaning, will Li Yan set up another mountain?"

"Definitely!" Niu Jinxing said without thinking, "This is obvious."

"Is that true?" Li Zicheng frowned for a moment and asked Song Xiance on the side, "What does the deputy military advisor mean?"

"This..." Song Xiance said to him, "This subordinate has been a short time to join the rebel army, and he still lacks enough understanding of General Li Yan. I really don't dare to say whether Li Yan will establish another mountain."

Niu Jinxing glanced at Song Xiance with dissatisfaction and suggested: "King, my subordinates have a plan to test whether Li Yan has a strange intention."

"Oh?" Li Zicheng asked happily. "What's the plan?"

Niu Jinxing said: "When the Battle of Datong is over, the king can condemn another general to Shaanxi to replace Li Yan, and then ask Li Yan to return to Henan to report. If Li Yan shirks his responsibility, he will have a strange intention. If Li Yan returns to Henan, hehe, it doesn't matter whether he has a strange intention or not."

"Well." Li Zicheng nodded and said happily, "This plan is good, but there is no need to wait until the Battle of Datong is over. I will send Liu Zongmin to Shaanxi to replace Li Yan and ask him to return to Henan immediately."

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance quickly complimented: "The king is wise."

"Come." Li Zicheng turned around and shouted outside the tent, "Summon Liu Zongmin to come immediately."

Datong.

Li Yan didn't know that Li Zicheng had already become suspicious of him. At this moment, he was leading the remaining 60,000 rebels to set off and drive away from the East Gate of Datong and the Small East Gate, and heading north with great fanfare.

In the middle army, Li Yan was riding horses with Hongniang, a rapid sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded from the front. When he looked up quickly, he saw dust flying in front of him. Jing Maocheng, who was full of dust, had already rode his horse back. When he rushed to Li Yan's horse, he pulled the reins hard. The mount under his crotch suddenly stood up and stopped the rushing force.

Jing Maocheng bowed to Li Yan on the back of the horse and said loudly: "Master, it's not good!"

Li Yan frowned and asked, "General Jing, what happened?"

Jing Maocheng gasped and said, "Just just now, a large group of cavalry was found twenty miles north of Datong!"

"Big team of cavalry?" Li Yan's face changed and he asked anxiously, "How many cavalry are there?"

"The specific details are uncertain, but there are at least seven or eight thousand cavalry!" Jing Maocheng said with a serious expression, "Because of the fear that the enemy scouts would find out, the horses did not dare to get too close. He took a look from a distance and ran back to report the news. The other party was also a cavalry and came very quickly. It might be less than ten miles away from our army."

“Woo woo woo woo…”
Chapter completed!