Ming Dynasty: I, Emperor Chongzhen, swear not to go to Meishan

Chapter 151 Retreat

In the battle of Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng was severely defeated, and he led more than 30,000 remaining troops to evacuate to Xiangyang. Wherever he passed, all the officials and wealthy businessmen in the county towns and towns were wiped out.

Although Li Zicheng was defeated miserably, there were still more than 70,000 people who fled with him, but most of them were women, children and the elderly. Normally, it was okay to bluff and scare people, but now that he had lost the battle, he had to run away quickly and get rid of the pursuers behind him. Women, children, the elderly and the wounded all became a burden and were abandoned by him.

Military advisor Gu Junen strongly objected, on the grounds that the common people were the foundation of the rebel army. Abandoning these common people would mean losing the people's support and the foundation.

However, Li Zicheng remained unmoved and insisted on going his own way. He only left a small amount of rations for the wounded women, children, elderly people, and left them to fend for themselves.

The frustrated Gu Junen excused his illness and slowed down his running speed. He gradually distanced himself from the large group and fell behind. Finally, he took advantage of everyone rushing to run away and drove quietly when no one was paying attention. Slipping away and missing.

There are rumors that Gu Junen was ordained and became a monk and never interfered in worldly affairs. A generation of strange people withdrew from the stage of history. Niu Jinxing was the only one left among Li Zicheng's four great advisers.

After Li Zicheng got rid of the heavy burden, his marching speed doubled, and he gained a lot by sweeping all the way. He made up for all the belongings he had lost before.

Sun Chuanting led the army to pursue them slowly. Looking at the desperate crying women, children and elderly people all over the mountains and plains, he seemed not to notice and ordered the whole army to speed up their march.

Stop to help these people?

Don't be ridiculous, that will only harm them. The army has always had a tradition of killing good people and taking credit for their merits. Even if they obey Sun Chuanting's orders openly, they will play dirty tricks behind the scenes. By then, God knows how many civilians will be killed and how many will be killed. Will a beautiful woman be ruined? Ignore them and save their lives.

When Zhu Youjian received the news, he couldn't help but laugh. He was even so happy that he tricked Li Xiangjun into coming over. He took her little hand and went into Chen Yuanyuan's dormitory to hold a small concert.

Li Zicheng's defeat in Zhuxian Town was equivalent to lifting the crisis of Beijing being besieged. Even if Li Zicheng made a comeback, Beijing would be safe for at least two or three years, which made Zhu Youjian completely relieved.

Two or three years were enough for him to go crazy and train a new army with strict military disciplines, well-trained, and well-equipped troops. He even developed breech-loading muskets using steel bullets and copper bullet cases. At that time, the absolute disparity in strength between the two sides made Li Zicheng despair.

Li Zicheng fled to the direction of Xiangyang. His purpose was known without guessing. He still wanted to take advantage of the chaos to capture Xiangyang City, and then use Xiangyang City as a base to block Sun Chuanting's army and spend a cold winter with peace of mind.

As long as he is allowed to recover, he still has the capital to compete with Sun Chuanting. It is not impossible to encircle and seal the city again and seize the land of Henan.

When Zhu Youjian ordered Sun Chuanting to lead his army in pursuit, he also did not forget to remind him to be careful of Li Zicheng setting up an ambush on the way and killing him with a carbine or something. He did not ask Sun Chuanting to completely defeat Li Zicheng's army in a short time, he only needed to hang tightly behind him. Just make him unable to boldly capture the city and force him to flee everywhere.

Zhu Youjian knew very well that with the current situation and military strength of the Ming Dynasty, it was simply unrealistic to encircle and trap Li Zicheng in the encirclement like before. He could only continue to weaken his strength in the pursuit battle, and finally kill him. .

The crisis has been resolved, and the qualified new army also needs actual combat training. He still has the Guangxi Wolf Barracks and the Sichuan Army Barracks to protect the palace. As long as he does not force the civil servants and powerful people into despair and raise troops to rebel, he will be safe.

Therefore, he sent Chang Buzhou's Royal Guards Battalion to reinforce Sun Chuanting, with the purpose of training troops in actual combat and preparing for the future decisive battle with Huang Taiji's Eight Banners Cavalry.

Chang Buzhou was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. He couldn't help but want to roar a few times to vent his inner excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Now, the emperor finally ordered him to lead the army on the expedition.

Although Lan Fang happily bid farewell to her fourth son, Chang Buzhou, she felt somewhat gloomy in her heart.

The Guangxi Wolf Barracks under his command trains very hard, and the Wolf soldiers are known for their hard work and tenacity. The training intensity is even greater than that of the Royal Guards Battalion, which is often not thorough, and the progress is the most obvious. It even catches up from behind and is better than the Royal Guards Battalion. Pass all military assessments in advance.

Logically speaking, the emperor shouldn't have asked him to lead the Guangxi Wolf Barracks on the expedition, but why did he send Chang Buzhou to lead the Huangbin Guards Battalion?