Chapter 245 Li Zicheng adjusted his strategy and went south to Huguang!
In August of the 17th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng convened a meeting of his generals at the palace in Taiyuan. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Xuanhua in early May almost caused the new Dashun regime to collapse. Fortunately, God helped, something happened in Beijing.
Dashun has a chance to breathe.
After resting for three months in Taiyuan, Li Zicheng felt that he had overcome the shadow of the previous disastrous defeat, and Dashun had to think about what to do next.
It’s impossible not to think about it now. After struggling in Shanxi for more than half a year, Dashun’s soldiers and horses have almost caused harm to the entire Shanxi Valley. If they stay any longer, it will be a problem for hundreds of thousands of troops to eat. When King Chuang comes and refuses to pay for food, his strength will be reduced.
The rapid increase has also affected the regime's ability to continue operating. Now, it is not the time to adjust policies. Dashun is forced to continue to transfer food areas and continue to rely on large households to survive.
"Everyone, the defeat of Xuanhua caused heavy losses to Dashun. However, God blessed our court. Something happened to Emperor Dog's family in Shenjing City, giving us a chance to regain our strength. After these few months of rest, we finally recovered.
We have gained some strength. It is already August, the weather is about to turn cold, and there is not much food harvest in Jin this year, so it is not suitable to spend the winter here. Where should the army go, we have to make a plan." Li Zicheng opened the meeting clearly.
The content of the discussion was stated.
He really wants to listen to everyone's opinions. There are many choices before him now. Continuing to run to Xuanhua and fight to the death is one way out. Fighting westward from Taiyuan, returning to his hometown in northern Shaanxi is also a way out. Going south, regaining Luoyang, etc. are all possible options.
It’s huge. Faced with so many choices, it’s really a bit confusing which path to take.
"Long live, I think the army should go south, pass Xiangyang, enter Wuchang, and pass through Huguang." Prime Minister Niu Jinxing took the lead in putting forward his own ideas without waiting for others to speak.
The main person who raised this opinion was Comrade Lao Niu, who was a little scared of being fleeing one after another. Although there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, they still experienced several major fleeing incidents in the past two years. Generals who are good at riding horses are running away.
Convenient, but for civil servants like Niu Jinxing who ride on mules, every time they run away they risk their lives.
After learning from the experience, Niu Jinxing felt that the main reason for these major escape incidents was that the opponents he chose were too tough. Sun Chuanting in the west and the emperor in northern Zhili were not good opponents. It was better to go south and find Zuo Liangyu, a weakling.
secure.
"Going south to Huguang? Prime Minister Zuo, please explain in detail."
"I believe that the founding of our country in Dashun is still short-lived, and we should focus on accumulating strength. Huguang is a grain-producing place in the world, and it is best to continue our efforts and raise troops! After passing through Huguang, the army can also march eastward along the Yangtze River to Nanjing. By then
, our Dashun has truly gained the momentum to sweep the world, and neither the Dog Emperor of Beizhi nor the Sun Thief of Shaanxi are no longer opponents."
"I agree with what Prime Minister Zuo said. At present, the land in northern Shaanxi is poor and there is no way to raise an army. It is difficult to advance into Guanzhong, but there is a strong army in the north. In the world of Huguang, it has become a powerful force sweeping the mountains and rivers." Song Xiance followed closely.
Niu Jinxing expressed support for going south.
Then some generals also began to support the strategy of going south. Although they wanted to return to northern Shaanxi, they also knew the situation in northern Shaanxi. Hundreds of thousands of people had gone there and it was impossible to live. With Sun Chuanting in Guanzhong, it would be difficult to take advantage. Now
In this situation, it is better to find Zuo Liangyu, a weak persimmon. If Zuo Liangyu is defeated, Dashun's generals still have confidence.
After pondering for a while, Li Zicheng also decided to march south to attack Wuchang, which seemed to be a good choice.
But now there is still a question. After the army moves south, what should we do in Shanxi? Should we give up completely, or should we keep someone to guard us? There are new troops from the imperial court in the east of Shanxi, Sun Chuanting in the west, and Chen Qiyu inside. The situation is not good.
"What should we do with Taiyuan City?" Li Zicheng didn't want to give up Taiyuan. He felt that this was his land of Longxing and the current capital of Dashun, so he was reluctant to give up easily.
"Your Majesty, just leave a force to guard Taiyuan. There is Jiang Xiang, the surrendered general, in the north. It will not be difficult to hold on." Niu Jinxing understood what Li Zicheng meant and quickly spoke to reassure Comrade Li.
"Can Jiang Xiang be relied on?"
"He betrayed the Dog Emperor. Now he has no way out. He must be able to rely on him."
"In this case, it will be much easier to defend Taiyuan. I have decided that General Quan Tian Jianxiu will lead 100,000 people to stay in the capital Taiyuan. The remaining troops will follow me south to occupy Huguang and seek to conquer the world." Tian Jianxiu is Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng felt more at ease leaving one of the most trusted generals in Shanxi.
After these years of fighting on the move, Li Zicheng and Chuangying have a relatively in-depth understanding of the country's geography. Therefore, their strategic vision has improved a lot. When talking about strategic adjustments, they will look at it from a more comprehensive perspective.
.Looking at their strategic plans, one does not feel at all that this is a local leopard regime. The strategic choices they make are all based on the national war situation.
Their current shortcoming is not strategy, but the regularization of the army. This shortcoming is not bad when it comes to the previous Ming army, because most of the Ming army is not regular, and the situation is not much better than that of Li Zicheng's troops, and they are all amateurs.
It is composed of soldiers and elite servants. Today, the more professional armies are composed of Sun Chuanting of Shaanxi Province, the new official army of Beizhi, Guan Ning Army, and the Manchu Eight Banners Army. When encountering these troops, the Chuang Army behaves quite amateurishly.
In real history, their situation was also the same. Although Sun Chuanting was defeated by them, his defeat was due to logistics rather than combat power. With their numerical advantage, they almost defeated Guan Guan in a piece of stone.
Ning Jun, this should be the most glorious time for the Chuang Army to fight against a more professional army.
Until now, everyone in the Chuang Army still hasn't realized what their fundamental problem is. They still want to focus on fighting and fleeing. This is the limit for Li Zicheng's side.
After settling in, in mid-August, Li Zicheng led an army of more than 200,000 people south from Taiyuan, crossed the Yellow River and entered the Central Plains, preparing to start operations into the lake. It was not until Comrade Li's army crossed the Yellow River that Jiang Xiang of Datong learned the news.
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After receiving the news that Li Zicheng's main force was going south, Jiang Xiang was furious at Datong General Military Mansion. Dashun's main force went south, leaving only 100,000 troops in Shanxi. This was nothing more than making his situation worse.
It was such a miscalculation. How could I not have the brainpower to surrender to such an ineffective force in the first place?
If there was a regret medicine available, Jiang Xiang would definitely spend all his money to buy it. In the current situation, the court did not even need to send troops to fight, it would scare Jiang Xiang to death. If he had known this, he might as well have let the court adapt his own troops.
Forget it. I heard that the thieves like Tang Tong, Ma Ke, and Bai Guangen are living a pretty good life in the capital. Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy the blessings in the capital like them? There is no way out if it has to be like this.