It turned out that after Tian Jianxiu and others were defeated, they fled back to Xinyang. There were only more than 9,000 remaining Long troops, and only 6,000 elite troops of the 15,055 battalion were left. It could be regarded as an unprecedented defeat.
At the same time, after retreating to Xinyang, Tian Jianxiu also thought that Shang Yi would take advantage of the victory to attack Xinyang. Now the thousands of remaining soldiers under his command were defeated, and they were all frightened by Shang Yi. They were no match for Shang Yi, so he could not Dare to stay in Xinyang, he led his troops to abandon Xinyang and retreated to Suizhou within De'an Prefecture. Then he left Bai Jiuhe and Liu Tichun to garrison in Suizhou, and rushed back to Xiangyang Prefecture overnight to plead guilty to Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng couldn't help but be shocked when he learned that Tian Jianxiu had failed miserably and could hardly believe his ears.
Since the uprising in the third year of Chongzhen (1627), although Li Zicheng has suffered many defeats, the only time he suffered such a tragic defeat was when Li Zicheng was defeated by Hong Chengchou in northern Shaanxi in the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1637). Only when the entire army was wiped out can it be compared with it. However, Li Zicheng's foundation was weak at that time, and it took him more than two years to recover. Although Li Zicheng's family wealth is now rich and he can withstand one or two defeats, But I was also heartbroken. Because they were the elite troops of the Fifth Battalion, they lost more than 8,000 people in one fell swoop. This was Li Zicheng’s capital to compete for the world.
Therefore, when Li Zicheng heard that Tian Jianxiu had returned to Xiangyang to plead guilty to him, Li Zicheng couldn't help but became furious. At that time, he wished he could order Tian Jianxiu to be beheaded. Fortunately, the powerful general Liu Zongmin, the controlling general Li Yan, and the prime minister were on his left. Niu Jinxing, counselor Song Xiance, Gu Junen and others all tried to persuade him.
Liu Zongmin said: "King Chuang, Brother Jianxiu has followed you through life and death for so many years and made so many great contributions. Now it's just a defeat. Are you going to kill him? This is too cold for the hearts of the brothers. .”
Niu Jinxing also said: "King Chuang, the enemy is approaching. It will be disadvantageous to kill the general first, so I ask King Chuang to think twice."
Although Li Zicheng established himself as the civil and military marshal of Fengtian and advocated justice at this time, people in his army still habitually called him "King Chuang". Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing were both Li Zicheng's right-hand men, both civil and military. When someone asked for mercy for Tian Jianxiu, Li Zicheng couldn't help suppressing his anger, and his eyes fell on Li Yan again.
Li Yan was both civil and military, and was highly valued by Li Zicheng. However, although he was named a general, he did not lead the army. He mainly played the role of a counselor, and because Li Yan had joined Li Zicheng's subordinates longer than Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing, etc. It was late, so under normal circumstances, after they spoke, Li Yan would not speak easily.
But seeing Li Zicheng looking at him, Li Yan could only cough lightly and said: "King Chuang Rongzhen, no matter whether King Chuang wants to kill General Tian or not, he should at least ask him to come in for a meeting and ask questions. Whether this battle will be lost is due to the bravery of the Ming army or the wisdom of the Ming generals, whether they are outnumbered or careless, or for other reasons. How many troops are there in the Ming army? Who is the leader of the Ming army? These things are also We need to ask clearly so that we can be prepared when we see this Ming army again in the future. As for whether to kill General Tian, it will not be too late to make a decision after these things are clarified."
After listening to Li Yan's words, Li Zicheng felt a little more comfortable and thought it was somewhat reasonable. So he nodded and said: "Okay, Mr. Li said yes, and asked Tian Jianxiu to come in and see me."
After Tian Jianxiu came in, he saw Li Zicheng's face was solemn, while Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, She Waihuaqi and others had sympathetic expressions on their faces, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance shook their heads, Li Yan, and Gu Junen had expressionless faces, which completely matched the atmosphere in the room.
Very dull.
Naturally, Tian Jianxiu knew what was going on. He immediately knelt down in front of Li Zicheng and said, "My subordinate, Tian Jianxiu, has met King Chuang. The last general sent out troops this time and returned with a huge defeat. Please punish King Chuang."
Li Zicheng snorted and said, "Tell me, how did you lose the battle this time? Tell me in detail."
Tian Jianxiu said: "The last general dare not hide from King Chuang. This Ming army is really different from other Ming armies. They are good at using firearms. They are equipped with a large number of artillery and muskets, and they are well-trained. The range of the artillery is extremely far.
Five or six hundred steps, the power is huge, and the fire cannon fires extremely fast, almost continuously, and our army's armor and shields are of no use at all." With that, he divided the battle between Luochuankou and Qianshatan.
The whole process was explained in detail. Finally, he said: "I asked Qingchu about this Ming army. I found out that this Ming army only has seven or eight thousand people. They come from Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong. The general is called Shang Yi, and he is still the commander of the Shandong Garrison Department.
The commander-in-chief is stationed in the state, and he also followed the example of Qi Jiguang and called himself Shangjun. I heard that this man is not very old, less than thirty years old."
After listening to Tian Jianxiu's speech, Li Zicheng became thoughtful. Although Li Zicheng had not learned any formal art of war, he was still a self-made doctor after a long illness. After more than ten years of fighting, Li Zicheng was experienced in hundreds of battles.
I am a man with rich practical experience. Although I find some of what Tian Mianxiu said to be unbelievable, overall, there should not be too many discrepancies.
However, it’s not like he hasn’t seen artillery and gunfire before, and it doesn’t seem to be as scary as Tian Jianxiu said. But Tian Jianxiu is also an old brother who has been with him for many years. He knows his abilities well and will never do it without reason.
was defeated by the Ming army. And judging from what Tian Jianxiu said to him just now, he was not lying to himself. There was nothing wrong with his layout and arrangements. Under normal circumstances, even if he encountered
Sun Chuanting or Zuo Liangyu's troops will not lose. Is it really possible to tell him that the firecrackers and artillery used by the Ming army this time are different from those in the past? And who is the chief general of this Ming army, Shang Yi?
, I have never heard of him before. He is less than thirty years old, and he is still such a young person, and he has become a general with his experience. Is this possible?
Li Zicheng pondered for a while, looked around at everyone present, and said: "Brothers, who among you has heard of this Shang Yi? Who is he?"
After listening to Li Zicheng's question, everyone looked at each other and could not answer. Only Li Yan came out and said: "King Chuang, I have heard of this person before."
"Oh!" Li Zicheng was surprised and said, "Mr. Li, tell me quickly who is this Shang Yi?"
Among the Chuang Army, only Li Yan paid more attention to some trends in the Ming Dynasty, so he heard a little about Shang Yi. However, there were no specialized espionage personnel in the Chuang Army, and the source of the news for Li Yan was just
It was obtained from merchants, visitors, and official documents confiscated from the imperial court after the capture of the state capital. Therefore, although he knew Shang Yi and knew a little about him, most of them were just phrases.
, hearsay, and there are mixed truths and falsehoods.
But after all, Li Yan is also a smart person. Of course, he can distinguish between what is true and what is false, and what is true and false is difficult to distinguish. He also organized the words to deal with it in his heart. When Li Zicheng asked, Li Yan replied: "I heard that This man is still a military commander in Shandong. He is really young. When the Tatars invaded the Central Plains last year, he led his army to garrison in Qingzhou to resist the Tatars. It is said that he killed the Tatars and defeated them. Therefore, he was very popular in the Ming Dynasty. Because of the emperor's respect, he was named Tongzhi of the Shandong garrison department and general of Dengzhou garrison."
After hearing this, Li Zicheng nodded and said: "This man dares to resist the Tatars. He seems to be a character and should not be underestimated." Although at this time Li Zicheng and others did not realize the threat the Qing army posed to the Ming Dynasty. However, due to his ethnic origin, his instinctive dislike of the Qing army, and having heard of some of the ferocious atrocities committed by the Qing army, Li Zicheng somewhat admired Shang Yi for daring to fight the Qing army.
At this time, Liu Zongmin stood up and shouted: "What's so scary about the Tatars is that the Ming army is too useless. If it were us, it would be impossible for the Tatars to come in. What's so great about Shang Yi?" Come, I think his cannons and blunderbuss are just to scare people. King Chuang, let me lead a group of troops and go to recapture Guangzhou. I will definitely capture Shang Yi alive to see you."
Li Zicheng listened, but was silent in thought. Now that he had completely regained his composure, Guangzhou must send troops to recapture it. Otherwise, after Shang Yi captured Xinyang, he could directly take De'an Prefecture and approach Xiangyang. .However, this Shang Yi is by no means an easy person to deal with. No matter whether the artillery and blunderbuss he used are really as powerful as Tian Jianxiu said, Tian Jianxiu was defeated by him. This is true. Therefore, for this person Don't underestimate it.
Just when Li Zicheng was silent again, Gu Junen came out and said: "King Chuang, in my opinion, Xiangyang is still a land of four battles. It is easy to attack but difficult to defend. It cannot be a place to build a foundation. What's more, since ancient times, , Those who want to rule the world must not only take Guanzhong and peek into the Central Plains, and then attack Hebei, Shandong, and Jiangnan, the great cause of the Han and Tang Dynasties, such is the saying. Therefore, there is no need to entangle with the Ming army here, it is better to capture Guanzhong first, as a foundation , then the emperor conquered three sides, used his troops, and then captured Shanxi, he could even attack the capital in one fell swoop. If the capital was defeated and the Ming Dynasty was destroyed, then Shang Yi and Wu Di would have no place to use their force, so they would just surrender and capture the king. The great cause will be accomplished."
Although what Gu Junen said was true, Li Zicheng was still a somewhat educated person, so he could generally understand it. He was just telling him to ignore Shang Yi now and take Guanzhong first, and then take Beijing. Wait until tomorrow. After the dynasty was destroyed, wouldn't Shang Yi naturally win without a fight?
In fact, after the establishment of the political power in Xiangyang, there were two paths in front of Li Zicheng. One was to go down the river, capture Nanjing, seize the land south of the Yangtze River, divide the world into north and south, and then go to the north. The other was Gu Junen According to Li Zicheng’s opinion, he would first go north to Beijing and then go south. Although in Li Zicheng’s heart, he wanted to go north, because northern Shaanxi is his hometown, and returning home in rich clothes is the wish of all Chinese people, not to mention the current situation with the success of the classics What about Li Zicheng?
But at that time, neither of these options was easy to choose, because Sun Chuanting was in charge in northern Shaanxi, and he and Li Zicheng were old rivals. In the south, not only Zuo Liangyu was there, but also Zhang Xianzhong was watching, so Li Zicheng I have been hesitant. But now I have to make a decision.