I

  Chapter 548 545 [Rush to Xi'an]

  After Liu Tichun killed Dang Mengan, he charged desperately with his fierce soldiers, and there were few Datong troops nearby, so he escaped alive with all his tails.

  Tian Jianxiu came back with the cavalry, but when he saw the rout of soldiers all over the ground, he had to continue to gather.

   Not long after, the rout soldiers downstream were also brought by the cavalry.

  After Liu Tichun fled back, Tian Jianxiu glanced at the troops, made a rough calculation, and suddenly felt cold.

  His cavalry suffered little loss, but his infantry suffered heavy casualties.

   In other words, there were too many fleeing infantry, and many fled directly to Zhongtiao Mountain in the north, and they didn't want to come back to continue fighting at all.

   More and more Datong troops crossed the river, gathering troops nearby, and there were more than 20 positions along the bank.

  The Dashun infantry who were sent out to block the attack gradually lost their fighting spirit and spontaneously retreated in the direction of Fenglingdu, and the artillery even dropped their artillery and fled.

   "Retreat to Fenglingdu first!"

   Tian Jianxiu gave the order, he can return to Tongguan.

   If the Datong Army wants to take Tongguan, they must go to the narrow place in the northwest, cross the Yellow River again, and then cross the Weishui River, so that they can go around to the back of Tongguan.

  Even if the Datong army trapped Tongguan to death, Tian Jianxiu would still be able to hold on to the pass.

  Tongguan has a lot of food, and now the Dashun army has lost its strength. It is no problem to hide in Tongguan and hold on for half a year.

  Tian Jianxiu led his troops back to Fenglingdu, and found that there were also some remnants here, and they were voluntarily rowing to flee back to Tongguan. He was a little relieved, and ordered the whole army to cross the river. After returning to Tongguan, he carefully counted the number of people, and there were more than 8,000 people left.

  After the Datong Army occupied Fenglingdu, Liu Zhu was also counting the battle damage.

  Busy until the evening, missionary officer Lin Ruzhao came over, feeling a little depressed: "1,094 people were killed, 685 were missing, and more than 1,400 were injured, 152 of whom were seriously injured."

  For the Datong Army, this was another tragic casualty.

   Liu Zhu sighed and said: "After the cremation of the remains of the soldiers, take them to Daqing Pass for rest, and send them back to their hometown after winning the battle."

  Daqingguan is Pubanjin.

   Tian Jianxiu did not return to guard Daqing Pass because of the change in terrain.

   During the Jiajing period, the Guanzhong earthquake caused the Yellow River near Daqingguan to move 30 miles westward. In the next few decades, the river course changed repeatedly, and now it is more than ten miles west of Daqing Pass.

  There used to be a chain bridge there, but it was also destroyed by the earthquake.

  The Daqing Pass, which was built with a lot of manpower and material resources, has lost its strategic role, standing alone there and gradually falling into disrepair.

   Liu Zhu went to visit the wounded soldiers in person, and he was the first to find Wang Hui. He asked the military doctor, "How is General Wang's injury?"

  The military doctor replied: "I was wounded in twelve places all over my body. Fortunately, I was wearing armor, and none of them was fatal. However, I was disfigured. Half of my ear was bitten off by the enemy general, and a piece of flesh was bitten off my chin."

  Wang Hui suddenly said: "It's okay, we're not a swinger, we use our face to seduce the little girl."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

  As soon as this remark came out, the wounded soldiers nearby couldn't stop laughing.

  Liu Zhu scanned the past and saw all the wounded, some of whom were even in a coma.

   Alas, one will succeed and ten thousand bones will dry up.

   In the next few days, the logistics supplies will be transported over by serious wooden boats, and the war horses will be transported to the north bank one after another.

  As long as they are not disturbed by the enemy, even if the horses are transported in the turbulent water, there will be basically no accidents, and at most they will be washed further downstream.

  Jiang Liang stayed on the south bank all the time, so as not to be killed by the enemy from Tongguan, cutting off the Datong Army's retreat and food roads-the military food is not delivered at one time, if you want to fight for a few more months, you must have a steady stream of follow-up supplements.

  The cavalry had priority in crossing the river, and on the day of the battle, the cavalry came quickly.

  At noon the next day, Cao Bianjiao and Chen Tangong headed north with the dragoons.

  Daqingguan, also known as Pubanjin during the Three Kingdoms period, gradually appeared in front of Chen Tangong.

   There are not many defenders here, but the news of the Datong army crossing the river has been received, and it was spread by the broken soldiers who fled there.

  Hearing that Tian Jianxiu was defeated, the defenders here were frightened. The dragoons were still on the other side of the Sushui River, and the defenders directly chose to surrender, and even crossed the river in small boats to meet the Datong Army.

  There is nothing to guard, and it is useless to guard.

  Even if Tian Jianxiu divides his troops to garrison Daqing Pass, the Datong Army can just ignore it. Going up the Sushui River, you will soon reach Jiezhou and Anyi (Yuncheng), where you can take it easily, because the defenders have been drawn away long ago.

  The enemy troops at Daqing Pass surrendered so simply that Cao Bianjiao and Chen Tangong couldn't believe it.

  They crossed the river carefully and successfully received Daqing Pass.

  This dilapidated place has been in disrepair for a long time, and one part of the Guancheng collapsed, so the war started again, and the gap was hastily blocked with earth and stones.

   After resting for half a day, a small number of soldiers were left to garrison. Cao Bianjiao and Liu Tangong led the troops to continue northward.

   A few miles away is Puzhou (the west side of Yongji). The horses of the dragoons were not running, and they met a group of people kneeling to welcome them to surrender.

  It was Yin (prefect) of Puzhou County, who led the gentry of Puzhou, two miles out of the city to meet the Datong Army.

  The civil servants under Li Zicheng's rule had no power at all. The gentry under Li Zicheng's rule did not enjoy any preferential treatment. Civil officials and gentry were bullied by generals, and Li Zicheng couldn't control them.

   Datong army is here just in time, surrender counts!

   "Welcome the heavenly soldiers, the master of the king will win!" County Yin Sun Yuanen prostrated himself on the ground, leading the gentry and shouting in unison.

   Only one person did not kneel. He came over and said, "How precious are the scholars of Datong. I pay my respects to the two generals."

  Cao Bianjiao bowed his hands to return the salute, and said with a smile, "So it's Mr. Xu's man, so I'm sorry!"

  He Qigui said: "General, please leave five cavalry. With this, I can form a city defense team. There is no need to keep more Datong troops stationed in Puzhou City. Even, I can contact the gentry and provide food and grass for the Datong army on the spot."

   "That's good!" Chen Tangong was overjoyed.

  He Qigui also said: "The land of Xihe, please take it quickly. As soon as the Datong army arrives, the cities will surely surrender."

  Cao Bianjiao and Chen Tangong did not doubt it, and immediately divided their troops into two groups, leading the cavalry all the way north.

  During the ten-month period, after Puzhou, more than a dozen cities, including Jiezhou, Anyi, Linjin, Ronghe, Wanquan, and Wenxi, all changed their banners and became prefectures and counties of the Datong court.

  Fengling Ferry.

  Liu Zhu said to Wang Hui: "I will give you a military order, can you do it?"

   "I will die!" Wang Hui stood up and said.

   Liu Zhu said: "Take the wounded soldiers and defend Fenglingdu, and don't let the enemy cross the river to harass you."

   "Follow the order!"

  Wang Hui answered loudly, and then muttered: "I'm afraid that I will die in battle, so I won't be allowed to continue fighting."

   "Heal up and fight again." Liu Zhu comforted.

   Liu Zhu took the army to station in Puzhou, and he was not in a hurry to cross the Yellow River to take Tongguan.

  The area between the east of the Yellow River and the west of Luliang Mountain is called Xihe area. Qin State and Jin State, Qin State and Wei State fought an old-fashioned battle in order to compete for the Xihe area.

  Why are you crossing the river?

   Let’s occupy the land of Xihe first!

  Officials, peasants and soldiers were continuously brought in, and after receiving the city, they established their residence and divided the fields. There was no resistance, because too many people had died, the place was already sparsely populated, and immigrants were even needed to enrich the population.

   Even transferred a division of troops from Henan.

  Tian Jianxiu had no choice but to write to Li Guo, asking Li Guo to lead troops to rescue—Li Guo was in Hanzhong, in case the Datong Army sent troops from Sichuan.

   There is really no way to prevent this. The Xihe area is too narrow and long, and the flat area adjacent to the Yellow River is only two to three hundred miles away. It is impossible to prevent the Datong army from crossing the river.

  Chen Tangong headed north all the way and quickly reached Hongdong County.

  Cao Bianjiao crossed the river smoothly in Hejin, and took down Hancheng on the opposite bank. Then he went down the south of the river to capture Heyang (Heyang), and fought until Chaoyi before encountering resistance.

   "Don't care about Chaoyi, this time we have to make a great contribution, let's go to Xi'an!" Cao Bianjiao was already crazy.

  Of course it is impossible to fight directly. Cao Bianjiao led the cavalry to march towards Chengcheng after Chaoyi hit a wall. The magistrate of Chengcheng immediately surrendered. Cao Bianjiao did not stay, but only rested for half a day. After a little supply, he went west to Baishui, and then took Pucheng.

   Didn’t even bother to enter the city, only let the magistrate who surrendered deliver food, and the men and horses rested for a while before setting off again.

  Cao Bianjiao's attack speed is faster than the speed of news spread!

  Because the flag was not displayed, when Cao Bianjiao led his troops to Xi'an, Shaanxi State Mu even thought it was some Dashun army coming.

   "Hurry up and prepare food and drink, and go out of the city with me to work in the army!" Zeyao, the king of animal husbandry in Shaanxi Province, ordered.

  State pastor, governor, and county governor are all official positions established by Li Zicheng.

  As for Wang Zeyao, he served as the governor of Miyun in history. After he surrendered to Li Zicheng, he also presided over the imperial examination for Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng persuaded Wu Sangui to surrender, and it was Wang Zeyao who took Wu Xiang's letter to Shanhaiguan. Wu Sangui handed Wang Zeyao to Dorgon, and Wang Zeyao was killed rather than surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

  Because Chongzhen lived a few years less, Wang Zeyao did not become the governor of Miyun, but he still surrendered in Beijing.

   Moreover, Wang Zeyao felt that Li Zicheng was very benevolent, so he followed him all the way, and did not leave when Li Zicheng fled. In this way, he won the trust of Li Zicheng, promoted all the way, and took charge of Shaanxi, belonging to the few civil officials with real power.

  Cao Bianjiao was thinking about how to defraud the city, but saw that the city gate was not closed. After all, it was two or three hundred miles away from the battlefield, and Tian Jianxiu's army was blocking it at Tongguan.

  Who would have thought that the Datong Army would make a detour?

   "Go straight in!" Cao Bianjiao laughed.

  The Governor of Xi'an was on the top of the city tower, with an ugly expression on his face, he said: "These arrogant soldiers entered the city against the order. Your Majesty said that guest soldiers are not allowed to enter the city."

  The official next to him said, "Why don't you close the city gate?"

  The Governor of Xi'an shook his head: "Don't close the door, the government dare not offend these killers."

   Just like that, Cao Bianjiao led the cavalry and rushed into the city without hindrance. The costumes of the dragoons were different from other cavalry, and no one had doubts from the beginning to the end.

  Wang Zeyao could tell the difference, but he didn't come to see it in person. Even the news of the "Dashun Army" coming to Xi'an was reported to him by his officials.

  Wang Zeyao was still urging food and drink, while Cao Bianjiao's cavalry had already charged all the way to Zhou Mu's mansion.

   "Master Zhou Mu, soldiers have entered the city!"

   "Nonsense, saying that guest soldiers are not allowed to enter the city, these arrogant soldiers will make trouble again!"

  Wang Zeyao ran out of the yamen with his men, but saw a group of cavalry rushing on the street.

  The old man was dumbfounded and exclaimed for a long time: "This is not His Majesty's Dashun Army!"

  (end of this chapter)