Chapter 152 Cleaning up the mess 2

"Your Majesty, the army still has the strength to fight." Liu Xuanchu said: "This battle is just a defeat with two casualties. With the Luzhou Guards, we may not be able to hold on for several months. Li Dingguo will definitely retreat."

Luzhou Acropolis was the residence of the Luzhou Guards in the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, this city is essentially a military institution. Whether it is its location selection or construction, it is all for military service.

Now Wu Sangui has repaired it since he sent troops. Therefore, although the Luzhou Acropolis cannot be indestructible, it is by no means a place that can be easily captured.

It's just that Liu Xuanchu didn't understand Wu Sangui's thoughts as well as Fang Guangchen.

Fang Guangchen said: "There are no reinforcements from outside, and there is no city to defend inside. Now the morale of the army has been frustrated. And the Xia army is so powerful that it is not a wise move to wait for the enemy to be at full strength. Moreover, once Luzhou Guard City is besieged

.What should we do if the imperial court sends reinforcements to Sichuan?”

"The prince is not in Chengdu? Who can withstand the pressure of the court?"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Xuanchu didn't know what to say.

Wu Sangui slightly twirled his beard and said: "I don't want to think about the current situation, but my Wu family has only this little wealth, but I can't compete with Li Dingguo. Otherwise, it would be better if I win, but if I don't win, Sichuan may not be mine."

What Wu Sangui said about Sichuan cannot be owned by him does not mean that Sichuan will definitely be captured by the Xia army. If Wu Sangui's strength is weakened, the Qing army may extend its hands into Sichuan. By then, Sichuan will not be Wu Sangui's.

.

Even if there is a big victory, if it is a tragic victory, such a situation may not happen.

The previous losses had made Wu Sangui gnash his teeth in distress. He was determined not to suffer any more losses. For Wu Sangui, preserving his strength was more important than a big victory. Now he also felt how strong Li Dingguo was and knew that even if he wanted to win a big victory.

Li Dingguo will also have to pay a heavy price.

And this is the price that Wu Sangui just doesn't want to pay.

"What if Li Dingguo presses harder and harder?" Liu Xuanchu said, "We can't retreat once and for all."

Wu Sangui said: "The news I just received is that the imperial court won a great victory in North Korea, and now the Southern Dynasty is bent on sending troops to resolve the crisis in North Korea. I guess Zhang Xuan will not fight in Sichuan."

Liu Xuanchu said: "Because of this, Li Dingguo cannot delay it."

Wu Sangui's voice was a little cold as he said: "The prerequisite for not fighting in Sichuan is that we have heavy troops in Sichuan. Otherwise, Zhang Xuan may not choose Sichuan. After all, what is North Korea compared to Sichuan?"

No matter how important North Korea is, to the Xia Dynasty, it is just an overseas enclave. So what if it is lost?

But Sichuan is different

Sample.

If the Xia Dynasty can conquer Sichuan, Wu, Chu, Yao and Shu will be ready. In addition, Sichuan's salt industry can also purchase horses from the west. Whether it is from a strategic position or an economic benefit, it will be more important than North Korea. I don't know.

How many.

Wu Sangui thought to himself that if he were in Zhang Xuan's position and found an opportunity in Sichuan, he would rather give up North Korea and go to Sichuan first. And Zhang Xuan may not want to spread both wings.

Of course, this is what Wu Sangui thinks. He is not in Zhang Xuan's position, so he doesn't know how stretched Zhang Xuan's money is. Of course, he never imagined that, after all, in order to support military expenditures, Wu Sangui did not treat the people of Sichuan well.

He never imagined that Zhang Xuan would be so financially conservative.

In Zhang Xuan's position, he doesn't find it difficult if he lets go and wants to generate enough financial revenue.

Liu Xuanchu also heard the impatience in Wu Sangui's heart, so naturally he didn't dare not say anything.

"In my opinion, there is no need to worry, Li Dingguo is pressing forward step by step." Fang Guangchen said: "The terrain here is undulating, which is not conducive to large cavalry operations. Once we reach the Chengdu Plain, our army's cavalry will also make it difficult for Li Dingguo to move."

Liu Xuanchu said: "My subordinates are too shallow. But where should we retreat to?"

Wu Sangui said: "Let's go to the river first."

Under the leadership of Wu Sangui, the Qing army abandoned Luzhou Acropolis and evacuated northward.

It's just that the Xia army suffered heavy losses in the last battle, and Wu Sangui had a lot of cavalry under his command. If he pursued closely, he might be bitten, so he couldn't hold on tightly. There was no more decisive battle between the main forces. The two sides were dozens of people apart.

Inside, one retreated and the other advanced, all heading north.

Even when he arrived at the edge of the Yangtze River, Wu Sangui was not at ease. He had to consider Xia Jun's naval superiority.

If Chongqing's navy intercepted the Yangtze River, Wu Sangui's tens of thousands of troops would be in trouble. Therefore, Wu Sangui only stayed for one day, then retreated across the Yangtze River and entered Luzhou City, where he stabilized the position.

While Li Dingguo was pressing hard, he also sent small groups of troops to regain the cities and chieftains in various places.

Wu Sangui could retreat, but the various chieftains could not. Their family property was here. If they could give up, as soon as Wu Sangui left, these chieftains came to pay homage to Li Dingguo one after another and took refuge in Daxia. Li Dingguo did not blame anyone who came and gave him great comfort.

, and then let them supply the army with food and fodder.

Of course, not many of these chieftains were rich. With their food supply for the army, even if they were all forced to rebel, it might not be enough for the army.

In addition, the Xia army also occupied Hejiang, Naxi, Jiang'an, and occupied Xingwen, Changning, Gongxian and other places south of the Yangtze River in Xuzhou Prefecture. They wanted to escape to other places south of the Yangtze River in Xuzhou Prefecture.

Don’t go out. Although Yang Jingxin is no longer a member of the military, he still uses the name Yang Zhan

Righteousness attracts the common people and the gentry.

There was no need to fight in many places. As long as Yang Zhan's name was revealed, they all surrendered in Kaicheng.

This area was originally Yang Zhan's home base. Yang Zhan protected more than a million civilians in all the wars. These people all missed Yang Zhan's old friendship. Before the great victory, this old friendship was nothing, but the Qing army was defeated.

After that, these came one after another.

After surrendering, some food and grass were also obtained from these places.

It is also a source of food and grass.

The only remaining source of food and grass is Chongqing.

After the victory in Luzhou, He Hutou reported the victory to Nanjing while sending troops to march westward. As he advanced by land and water, the chieftains and counties south of the Yangtze River joined him one after another. In this way, Chongqing, Hejiang, Jiang'an and other counties were all connected.

Already.

And transported a lot of grain and grass from Chongqing to Li Dingguo's camp.

In this way, the army's food crisis will be solved.

More importantly, changes in transportation methods have reduced the consumption of supporting the army by an unknown amount. As a result, although the Sichuan army consumes more, the court may not be able to support it. It even consumes more than these armies stationed in Yunnan and Guizhou.

A little less.

In addition, Luzhou and Xuzhou have several counties south of the Yangtze River. The terrain is also very flat, and the grain output is not large. As long as they take a rest for a year or two, it is estimated that these counties alone can solve many food problems.

The army has been stationed in Sichuan for a long time, which is of great help.

Just in case, while Li Dingguo stabilized the area south of the Yangtze River, he focused on another matter.

It's salt.

Among Wu Sangui's transactions with the Xia Dynasty, the largest commodities were salt and horses.

Horses usually come from the northwest, and Li Dingguo couldn't reach them for a while. They were a little too far, but salt was something Li Dingguo could reach.

Of course, Zigong is the largest salt field in Sichuan. Zigong is not far to the north of the Yangtze River. If Li Dingguo can cross the Yangtze River, Zigong will naturally be able to get it, but Wu Sangui is determined not to give in. The representative of Zigong is real money, so he will not

Easily given up.

However, it is not that except for Zigong, there are no salt fields in other places in Sichuan.

It's just that the Xia army only occupied Chongqing in Sichuan, which was similar to an isolated city. The Qing army was not far outside the city. Even if there were salt-producing places within Chongqing's jurisdiction, they could only be left alone and not mined.

Now after the great victory in Luzhou, this situation has changed.

Although Li Dingguo can't afford any war, it is possible to modify the control lines on both sides, strengthen the protection of several salt fields, and vigorously mine them. It would be better if new salt fields can be opened up. Although it may not be possible to replace them for a while.
Chapter completed!