Chapter 1055 Li Zicheng in a dilemma (2)

(1055)

Since Li Zicheng was stationed in Guyuan Prefecture, the number of troops has not increased, but has decreased a lot. The main reason is that there is no chance to fight, and there is no way to plunder more wealth and food. The entire Shaanxi ground, including Xi'an Prefecture, is basically a piece of white land.

Without wealth and food, you naturally cannot afford to support too many troops. Li Zicheng tried to follow the example of the Hu Ben Army and relied on his own and had enough food and clothing in Guyuan Prefecture. However, after all, there was no improvement. In the past three years, the grain output in Guyuan Prefecture and surrounding areas has always been insufficient. Li Zicheng had to reduce more troops and invest more manpower to produce to ensure that he would not starve to death.

There are many reasons for insufficient food. Some are subjective and objective. Most areas of Shaanxi have severe droughts and do not have enough water to irrigate the fields. Guyuanzhou and surrounding areas have almost the worst droughts. Most fields cannot be sown at all. Even if they can barely sow seeds, the yield per mu is only about 100 kilograms.

As a time traveler, Zhang Zhun understands the importance of crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and vigorously promotes these drought crops in places where there is a drought and lack of water. Zhang Zhun's order is that no fields are allowed to be lost. If you really have no one to manage them, then insert sweet potato vines and the like into the fields and don't worry about them in the future.

Sweet potato vines that are not managed by anyone are either very lucky and can bear fruit. Perhaps single vines have very few fruits, and it is also good if there are too many. Or, they are very bad luck, and there is not even a sweet potato. However, even if there is not a sweet potato, they can be used to feed cows or pigs. In short, it cannot be wasted.

Of course, it would be even better if you don’t plant sweet potato vines and plant alfalfa instead. The Hu Ben cavalry forces need a lot of forage. Alfalfa is one of the indispensable forage ingredients. In short, no matter what you plant, you can’t lose the waste. Every time Zhang Zhun passes by, if he finds the lost fields, it means that someone will take responsibility.

However, Li Zicheng and the people around him did not know this. Perhaps they had realized this, but they could not do it. Or they were unwilling to do it. Their level limited their performance in internal affairs. Due to Zhang Zhun's arrival, the historical track was changed, and Song Xiance and others changed to join Li Yan's army and under the command of the Hu Ben Army. There was no outstanding scholar support by Li Zicheng and others.

In fact, in terms of dividing land and land, the rebel army did not do completely. After the rebel army settled down, there were actually many people who wanted to be a big landlord. Everyone hoped that they would get as much land as possible. Under the control of power, the senior leaders of the rebel army occupied a large amount of land themselves.

For example, Gao Yigong himself took away five hundred acres of land. Liu Zongmin had a little more, more than six hundred acres. Li Zicheng had the largest number, with seven hundred acres. Other senior officers also had more or less land than others. To some extent, this also weakened the cohesion of the officers and soldiers of the uprising army.

Of course, Li Zicheng did not realize this problem. What he saw was that although the number of the rebels decreased, with only about 20,000 people, the quality had improved. In the past, the rebels had no time to conduct formal training, and they all learned combat skills in combat. Now, they can be systematically trained.

Therefore, Li Zicheng had sufficient reason to believe that the combat effectiveness of his troops was stronger than before. The strength of the troops made Li Zicheng feel that there was no need to be so humble in front of the Hu Ben Army. Perhaps Li Guo’s proposal to separatist Guanzhong could indeed be considered seriously.

Even if you cannot divide the entire Guanzhong, you must at least divide the northwest area. If it really doesn't work, retreat and retreat to Ningxia. The Hetao Plain in Ningxia is still relatively wealthy and has sufficient water sources to irrigate. The local landlord armed forces in Ningxia are not particularly strong, and they are definitely not the opponent of the rebel army.

According to the information, the current main war generals in Ningxia are the three sons of former Ningxia general Ma Shilong, Ma Xiantu, Ma Chengtu. These three are loyal to the Ming court and will definitely not surrender to the rebel army easily. However, the military command capabilities of these three are not strong, and Li Zicheng is confident that he can definitely destroy the three of them.

Restraining various thoughts in his heart, Li Zicheng asked Li Guo to read the information, looked at each of his subordinates with a cold expression, and slowly said: "This is the situation. What do you think about this?"

Zhang Nai said casually: "Do we want to attack Xi'an Prefecture together?"

Everyone around them subconsciously glanced at Zhang Nai, but didn't say anything.

Zhang Nai's meaning is obviously a bit pleasing to the Hu Ben Army. Attacking Xi'an Prefecture can give the Hu Ben Army a good impression. If in the future, well, if the rebel army really has to rely on the Hu Ben Army, the Hu Ben Army will definitely give the rebel army some good treatment.

Of course, this also means that from then on, they will become the team of the Hu Ben Army. With the ability of the Hu Ben Army, it is probably impossible for them to play the carbox gorge. With Zhang Zhun's personality, they will not give them the opportunity to play the carbox gorge.

If at this time, he refused to take the initiative to send troops to Xi'an Prefecture to help the Hu Ben Army take over the court, then it means that the rebel army will lose its last chance. After passing this village, there will be no store, and the opportunity will be fleeting. It will be difficult to please the Hu Ben Army in the future.

Besides, there is another reason that cannot be stated explicitly. If the rebel army assisted the Hu Ben army in attacking Xi'an Prefecture, they might be able to fish in troubled waters and gain some benefits. If they do not participate, then all the benefits will fall into the pocket of the Hu Ben Army. A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and the court in Xi'an Prefecture, no matter how poor it is, it will be better than the rebel army.

Liu Zongmin frowned and said, "King of Chuang, I object!"

Li Zicheng nodded and signaled him to say in detail.

Liu Zongmin said in a loud voice: "We will defend Guyuanzhou and don't do anything! We will neither help the court nor the Hu Ben Army! Let's watch the fun next to us! We occupy Guyuanzhou and see how his Hu Ben Army attacks us!"

The Shaanxi Uprising Army had never had a direct contact with the Hu Ben Army, and Liu Zongmin did not know much about the combat effectiveness of the Hu Ben Army. After the Uprising Army arrived in Guyuan Prefecture, it strengthened the city walls, gates, and other defensive fortifications. Therefore, Liu Zongmin felt that Guyuan Prefecture was already a solid city in the world and was foolproof.

When going to Xi'an Prefecture, there is nothing more than helping the imperial court to fight the Hu Ben Army, or helping the Hu Ben Army to fight the imperial court. There is no third choice. Liu Zongmin felt that neither of these choices was good. It is not easy to catch fish in troubled waters. There is no accurate information. If you are not careful and just put it in it yourself, it will be a loss.

"How much do we know about Xi'an Prefecture? What will the Hu Ben Army do after Wu Sangui surrender? If we send troops to Xi'an Prefecture, Wu Sangui and Wang Dou will seize our way? Don't think that the people in the east will help us stop us. I'm sure they have long been thinking about Xi'an Prefecture. As long as we go out, they will definitely follow us."

"The information before said that in front of Tongguan and Puzhou, Shanxi, there were the main force of the Hu Ben Army. One of them was the Qinglong Army transferred back from the Liaodong battlefield. This shows that the Hu Ben Army has enough ability to take the opportunity to attack us while solving Xi'an Prefecture. We must not be fooled."

Liu Zongmin spoke key questions.

"It's right!"

"I agree!"

Liu Yuliang immediately applauded.

The other generals of the rebel army, look at me, and look at you, and nodded involuntarily.

That's right, Liu Zongmin's words were quite accurate. You must not be blinded by Xi'an Prefecture, but your lair was raided. Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were in the east of Guyuan Prefecture, were probably more likely to be more coveted by Li Zicheng. As Liu Zongmin inferred, their covetousness of Xi'an Prefecture is probably higher than Li Zicheng. As long as Li Zicheng moves, they will definitely go all out and come from behind. When it comes to looting, no one is Zhang Xianzhong's opponent!

If the movement of Guyuanzhou and Pingliang and Qingyang followed, then it is conceivable that Wang Dou and Wu Sangui could easily search all the lairs of the three families. The combat effectiveness of the Wang Dou army may not be very good, but Wu Sangui's 5,000 Liaodong cavalry had to be guarded. What's more, now is when Wu Sangui needs to be the most famous, so he must work hard. If he copied the lairs of the rebel army, it would definitely be a heavy lair!

In fact, most of the people in the Shaanxi Uprising Army were still unwilling to surrender to the Hu Ben Army. The reason is very simple. The Hu Ben Army was born into a group of poor military families. They were also from poor military families. Everyone turned out to be muddy and equal. Why did they surrender to the Hu Ben Army? If Zhang Zhun was born into a noble family, then you can consider it.

"But, can we keep Guyuan?"

After a moment of silence, someone whispered carefully.

When everyone heard this voice, they couldn't help but turn their heads and look at the person who was talking. Li Zicheng, all of them were obviously surprised. Liu Zongmin's surprise was even more obvious. He obviously didn't expect that the first question was the second grandmother of high school. Zhang Nai, Liu Fangliang and others even thought to themselves that today was a bit strange. The second grandmother of high school actually spoke on his own initiative. It turned out that the person who asked this sentence was the youngest courageous senior high school master.

The timidity of senior high school students is definitely not that he does not have the courage to fight and is afraid of death when he goes to the battlefield, but that he always speaks in public like a young lady who has just passed the door, timid. Usually, if Li Zicheng doesn't name it, he will basically not speak. He finally asked him to say a few words, but as a result, once he is questioned or refuted by others, he will immediately blush and be at a loss.

Li Zicheng's wife Gao Guiying is generally called Gao Jianiang, and she will only call her Mrs. Gao or Mrs. Li in formal occasions. Gao Yigong is a relative of Gao Guiying, so some people call him Gao Erniang behind his back, so naturally they make fun of him for being shy every time he speaks. Gao Yigong also knows this nickname, but he is never annoyed.

Today I don’t know if Gao Yigong took the wrong medicine or the sun came out from the west, but I was the first to question it actively. Moreover, the person who questioned it was Liu Zongmin. Everyone knows that Gao Yigong and Liu Zongmin had no conflict. Since he took the initiative to ask, it means that he was indeed worried that Guyuan could not hold on, and that he was also very worried.

"Why can't you keep it?"

Liu Zongmin said without hesitation.

He also knew that Gao Yigong had no grudge with him, and it was right and wrong. It seemed that Gao Yi Niang was indeed worried that Guyuan Prefecture could not be defended. Liu Zongmin could not just laugh it off when he could make Gao Yi Niang so worried. So he patiently told his judgment and tried to convince Gao Yi Niang as much as possible.

"Look, our city wall..."

"Look, our newly built urn city..."

"Look, we have installed dozens of crossbow machines at one city gate..."

Liu Zongmin carefully explained one by one. Guyuan Prefecture, which is the original Shaanxi Town, has been quite solid after their continuous repairs. Liu Zongmin felt that if the Hu Ben Army came to attack, it would not be able to easily capture Guyuan Prefecture. As long as the two sides remained stalemate for a period of time, the rebel army could put forward conditions to the Hu Ben Army and gain more benefits.

Most of the people present agreed with Liu Zongmin's opinion. After staying in Guyuanzhou for several years, they gradually got used to quiet days and their circle gradually closed. They didn't seem to know much about everything outside. The Hu Ben Army was not very clear about the actions of Taiwan Island and the Shaanxi Uprising Army. If they knew about these situations, they would definitely not be so optimistic.

"Then... just stick to it."

The second-year high school girl is indeed the second-year high school girl. After Liu Zongmin finished explaining, he immediately changed his words.

"Does other people have any opinions?"

Li Zicheng said loudly.

Everyone present shook their heads gently.

"All right!"

"Let's stick to it!"

Li Zicheng nodded and said.

The meeting ended like this and everyone dispersed one after another.

Li Zicheng returned to the room and Gao Guiying was tidying up the bed. When she saw her husband's face, she seemed a little bad, so she asked with concern: "What's the result of the discussion?"

Li Zicheng said bitterly: "Stand tolerate."

Gao Guiying said with some concern: "Then..."

Her and Li Zicheng's thoughts are actually quite similar, but she feels that she is waiting for death passively here, but she is afraid that it will be a dead end. They have to do something to change the fate of such passive waiting. However, Liu Zongmin, Zhang Nai, Liu Fangliang and others do not agree to take the initiative. Gao Yigong is the second mother of Gao Er, and she is unwilling to stick to her own ideas. In this way, Li Zicheng will not be able to speak.

It’s not that Liu Zongmin tried to underestimate him, Li Zicheng, and take over the power himself. Li Zicheng believes that Liu Zongmin does not have such thoughts or such a conscience. However, his views represent the views of many people. In fact, to put it bluntly, this view means that everyone is used to a stable life and doesn’t want to make trouble easily.

The most obvious example is young generals such as Zhang Nai and Liu Fangliang. In the past, they were all good men on the battlefield and were brave and good at fighting, but now, they are all starting to pay attention to their own small family. Zhang Nai has three wives and Liu Fangliang has four. It is probably the fundamental reason why they are unwilling to leave Guyuanzhou.

"well!"

In the dark night, Li Zicheng's helpless sigh came.

Suddenly, Li Zicheng seemed to have made a decision and stood up. He walked around the yard, shook his hands vigorously, and then returned to Gao Guiying's side.

Gao Guiying asked casually: "Are you not sleeping yet?"

Li Zicheng whispered: "I'm going to let Zui'er go to Ningxia."

Gao Guiying was slightly stunned, then reacted and nodded, saying, "You will transfer half of the troops of the old camp to him. Give him another 800 cavalry. The Ningxia official army has a large number of cavalry and there is no strong cavalry, so it is difficult for Guoer to do things."

Li Zicheng nodded and expressed his agreement. Then, he thought for a moment, and then said slowly: "Eight hundred cavalry are probably not enough. I will give him all the cavalry. What should I do when defending the city?"

Gao Guiying glanced at her husband and was full of gratitude. It seemed that her husband did treat Guoer sincerely. At this time, the first thing he thought of was to save Li Guo and let Li go to Ningxia. This is to attack and retreat or defend. Even if the situation is corrupt, Li Guo has a chance to escape. The sky is high and the earth is far away, and no one can control it!

She couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Why can't Li Zicheng's infertility be cured? How good would it be if she could have a few children for Li Zicheng! She lowered her head and thought for a while, and said with a little concern: "Guo'er... can he really do it? The three horses in Ningxia seem to be quite large! We only have three thousand cavalry..."

Li Zicheng said helplessly: "You can't let me go in person, right?"

Gao Guiying was speechless.

Li Zicheng said: "Actually, we just let Guoer go to play a front-end station. There is such an opportunity to let Guoer exercise alone. From now on, he always has to stand alone. If the situation in Guyuan is wrong, we can retreat to Ningxia."

Gao Guiying said, "Then...I'll go and find Guo'er now?"

Li Zicheng said: "Okay! We don't have much time, so it's best to set off early."

Gao Guiying turned around and went out.

However, after a moment, what she brought back was not Li Guo, but a spy from Xi'an Prefecture. The spy knelt in front of Li Zicheng on one knee, panting and said, "Report to the King of Chuang, the court, the court, the court, surrender! The Hu Ben Army has entered Xi'an City!"

"What?

"Has the court surrendered?"

"Have the Hu Ben Army entered Xi'an Prefecture?"

This news was like a bolt from the blue, and Li Zicheng couldn't bear it.

His first reaction was that this time it was a big trouble!

...
To be continued...