I have a cornucopia

Chapter 223 Dreams come fast, and they break fast
The cavalryman under Li Zicheng immediately put away his sword, leaned forward, picked up Song Yingxing from the ground, and just holding him in his hand, he came towards Yang Feng with his two companions.

At this time they should actually be considered government troops.

To be more precise, it is the Beijing Camp.

Li Zicheng renamed Xi'an as Xijing and established the Ming Dynasty court in Xi'an...

Even the Prime Minister has it!
Li Jiantai is still the Prime Minister.

Of course, the only job of this Prime Minister was to come out and cheer when needed, and express his loyalty to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin. He was just like the clowns kept by European nobles at that time. When he had nothing to do, he would sit in the cabinet duty room and watch the world, and Wang Chengen would often beat him.

Beating him was also Lao Wang's main way of venting when he was in a bad mood in Xi'an.

When he was angry with Chongzhen, he went to beat him.

He was irritated by Li Zicheng's men and went over to beat him.

……

Poor Prime Minister Li.

Since it is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the Beijing Camp must of course be rebuilt, but it will become the main force of Li Zicheng's subordinates.

He now has 300,000 troops in the capital.

His original old camp, the surrendered government troops, and the expansion in Shaanxi, all of which were under the name of the Ming Dynasty Beijing Camp, were divided into ten generals, and then some of them were divided out and led by generals as the core in various war zones. As for the surrendered rebels, local tyrants, and government army generals, they were similar to Jiedushi, and also served as generals, leading their own troops to follow these generals.

To be more precise, it is actually like the Song Army, that is, the system of imperial guards and wing troops.

His Beijing Camp was the imperial guards.

Those bandits who joined together to form a group, surrendered generals, and local tyrants who rose up in rebellion were all the wing troops.

The imperial guards were paid by him, while the generals of the garrison troops supported themselves.

However, as compensation, the generals could do whatever they wanted in their jurisdiction, just like a fiefdom, and they could collect taxes themselves. Generals who performed well would be rewarded by Li Zicheng, so they needed to work hard for Li Zicheng in order to get the money.

As for Li Zicheng's march south this time, he had a total of 100,000 troops from the Beijing camp and more than a dozen generals.

So the ones attacking now are the Beijing camp.

The official Ming Dynasty's Imperial Camp was directly under the Emperor's command and was led by the Deputy Marshal of the Army, Prince Qin. However, the Imperial Camp was composed of bandits, while the garrison was now composed of local militias, so this war was between the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Camp and the local militias. Even the princess did not get involved. The regent court headed by Ma Shiying would not issue any orders to the militias. This could only be a spontaneous civil resistance organized by the people of Jiangxi and other four provinces who refused Li Zicheng's southward advance.

Nothing to do with the official.

After all, if it is related to the official, it would become a regent plotting treason, which is definitely not acceptable. It can only be spontaneous among the people.

Yang Feng was entrusted by the Regent to mediate the matter.

The previous negotiations were also mediation!
"Censor Song, how do you feel?"

Yang Feng said as he looked at Song Yingxing who was thrown at his feet.

The cavalryman was obviously unhappy.

"This bastard officer's cannon is really accurate. At least a hundred of our brothers have been killed by him!"

he said angrily.

"Alright, just act like you are not a dog official now. Now you are all dog officials, so don't say anything about each other. Take this back to Li Zicheng. This is the secret of his accurate artillery fire. It can be used to exchange for his life.

So that you won’t accuse me of favoritism.”

As Yang Feng spoke, he tore off a booklet from Song Yingxing's waist.

He could tell at a glance that this should be a compiled shooting table.

Although Li Zicheng had no shortage of people who could use cannons, after all, he had a lot of surrendered soldiers, including the artillery under Sun Chuanting, but there was really no one who knew mathematics, especially complex mathematical calculations. Although Song Yingxing could not be called a mathematician, at least he was good at mathematics in this era, and there was no shortage of mathematicians in the Jiangxi scholar group. For example, Jie Xuan was under Wan Yuanji and had already stood out...

Wan Yuanji depends on him to fight the war.

It’s just that the status of Jie Xuan’s family is not as high as those of generations of nobility.

So the status is not high.

Before Yang Feng could throw the spear to the cavalryman, Song Yingxing rushed over with grief and indignation, trying to snatch it back, but the cavalryman was also smart and the spear in his hand instantly hit the back of his neck, and Song Yingxing immediately became obedient.

The cavalryman also understood the value of this thing, and with a smile on his face, he gestured to his companion beside him. The latter dismounted and walked directly to Yang Feng, took it with both hands, and then hurried back to mount his horse.

"Let's make a fair trade. You use this thing in exchange for your life. If you say you don't want to exchange it, we won't force you, but we must take your life."

The cavalryman said proudly.

Song Yingxing...

In the end, he didn't say he didn't want to change.

"Then it's a fair trade, neither of us owes anyone anything!"

The cavalryman said proudly.

Then he put away his spear, saluted Yang Feng, and turned away with his companions, leaving Song Yingxing pounding the ground with his fists. As for Yang Feng, he was too lazy to care about their little games and was still watching the defeated militiamen. In fact, judging from the previous battle in Chao County, the combat effectiveness of these Jiangxi militiamen was not weak. After all, they could withstand the tragic casualties. They were indeed not as good as the Qing army in the field, but almost no one surrendered. The Hanshan defenders were completely wiped out. But now it is obvious that the militiamen lack the will to resist, or they are not as hostile to Li Zicheng as they are to Dorgon. This is the real problem.

I really don't dare to surrender.

Their families are still under the control of the gentry.

But it is daring to collapse at the first touch.

"You guys are in a bit of trouble!"

Yang Feng said.

He overlooked a very important issue.

The militia in Jiangxi was different from that in Suzhou, Zhejiang and other places. The latter was elite, with core figures from major aristocratic families as generals, close relatives of the clan as officers, and all soldiers being young and strong from the clan. They were given high military salaries and their families were protected. Such a system naturally had the ability to resist the temptation of Li Zicheng.

But the Jiangxi militia was composed of able-bodied men.

They did not have much time to develop before, mainly because they were faced with hasty recruitment in the face of the Qing army's southward advance.

Later on, due to the huge losses, they even had to capture strong men to be Teletubbies.

How can this kind of composition resist Li Zicheng?
When the latter heard that the rebel leader was coming and refused to pay taxes, most of the Teletubbies immediately became discouraged. It would be difficult for such an army to resist Li Zicheng.

Song Yingxing looked up blankly, obviously he was not aware of this problem.

But at this moment, an attendant with a panda flag on his back walked across the battlefield, ignoring the chaotic battle around him, and headed straight for Yang Feng.

Now the panda flag is equivalent to a neutral flag. Yang Feng came here as a mediator, so he and his followers will not participate in the battle. Carrying the panda flag represents his neutrality. No one from either side of the battle is allowed to attack the panda flag under any circumstances...

Yang Feng was also carrying it on his back.

As for the so-called Zuo Yu Banner, which is actually the Panda Banner, it certainly cannot be held all the time. It can only be shown during negotiations to prevent fighting. However, once the Panda Banner is shown, a ceasefire must be enforced, and fighting can be continued later. However, once the Panda Banner is raised, a ceasefire must be enforced. If there is no ceasefire, the mediator will have to take action. This rule is not bad, as it can prevent the situation from deteriorating when necessary, and it can become a routine in the future.

"My lord, the Zhejiang militia has landed on Xingzi and is heading this way."

The escort dismounted and reported.

"Finally, we're joining forces!"

Yang Feng said with satisfaction. Zhejiang militia is currently the strongest in the Jiangnan militia system. Obviously, in the face of a powerful enemy, they can't just stand still when their allies are in trouble.

At this time, the other side obviously got the news, and then stopped the pursuit, and then regrouped to prepare to fight against the Zhejiang militia on the flank. Yang Feng did not watch the excitement anymore, and turned south with his entourage. As for Song Yingxing, of course he followed. Yang Feng and his party arrived at Sixipu, and the reinforcements of Wanyuanji's troops also arrived from De'an to the north and rearranged the defense in Sixipu, but at this time, the Zhejiang militia had already exchanged fire with Li Zicheng's men, but the battle did not last too long. The Zhejiang militia arrived only as a vanguard. This time, Xu Du led a total of 20,000 Zhejiang militia to reinforce Jiangxi. Li Zicheng's men also arrived as a vanguard. Both sides continued to arrive in succession. After testing each other, they stopped attacking.

In this way, the Zhejiang militia, with Xingzi at its back and Lushan on its right, formed a flank threat to Li Zicheng's troops moving southward.

Wan Yuanji's troops were blocked at Sixipu.

Behind them is Wushimen, the throat leading south to De'an.

The battlefield was confined to a small hilly area west of Lushan Mountain, from Mahuiling to Wushimen.

Sixipu.

The two sides fought again.

Yang Feng was still carrying the panda flag and standing outside the battlefield watching.

"Hold on, hold on! Anyone who deserts the battlefield will be expelled from the clan!"

Wan Wanji, who was beside him, urged the reinforcements beside him to speed up while shouting anxiously.

The militia formation in front of him was still shaky.

However, it can be seen that his regiment is still quite capable. They used the heavy artillery on a mound in the middle as their core position, and formed a large infantry, chariot and cavalry phalanx in front of the mound to fight. There were a small number of cavalry on the left and right, and a large number of infantry in the middle to form a thicker formation...

This makes escape more difficult.

Team training!
Building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle are the standard.

Of course, they would be hit the hardest, after all, the Beijing camp opposite them also had cannons, and the latter really couldn't transport heavy artillery over. The terrain in this area was not suitable for heavy artillery maneuvers, and there was no water transport to rely on, but there were a large number of light red-haired cannons. In the flashing flames of the opposite side, the shells whistled in, and from time to time, shells fell on the militia formation, and the flesh and blood of the militia soldiers splattered when the shells hit them.

The militiamen shouted in horror.

But their formation was too thick, and there was a supervisory team behind them and cavalry on the left and right. Even if they wanted to collapse, they could not escape and could only be confined to the battlefield, facing the artillery shells fired from the opposite side.

Then they fired back with their artillery in front of the formation.

Of course, the heavy artillery on the mound was also constantly bombarding the Beijing camp.

Relying on the advantage of range, the artillery there can aim and fire calmly.

The two sides fired artillery at each other.

The cavalry of the Beijing Camp kept rushing towards this side and shooting with the weapons in their hands, especially the three-barreled short-handled matchlock rifle. This thing was used more and more frequently by Li Zicheng, and it was all enlarged. Although the weight increased, it was still able to withstand the specially selected northwestern men. The militia also fought back with various muskets.

The battlefield was filled with smoke.

"You're not attacking yet?"

Yang Feng looked at the militiamen who were standing there and being hit by artillery shells in silence.

"My lord, these soldiers are not well trained and their defense is OK. If we attack, they will probably scatter. We have heavy artillery and water transport at our backs. As long as the enemy can't get through this line of defense, we will win in the end. We also have Zhejiang militia on the flanks, not to mention the mountains as a barrier. The enemy can only move forward. In the end, it all depends on who has the bigger artillery and who has more ammunition, and this is our strength. As for casualties, there is nothing we can do about it. After all, war is inevitable."

Jie Xuan, who was holding a telescope next to him, said.

He was too embarrassed to say that these conscripted soldiers had no fighting spirit at all. Once they were allowed to attack, they would collapse at the first touch, or even turn around and charge back at their own formation. So the simplest way was to let them stay there and be hit by the shells.

Wait for the enemy to attack.

There's nothing wrong with his design.

Because the terrain is actually a convergent funnel shape, with mountains on both sides and the Boyang River behind them. If they want to go south to De'an, they must exit the funnel and pass through Wushimen.

Then block the funnel mouth.

Then it became a war of attrition.

Li Zicheng was the attacker, and he could not outlast the defenders who had a steady supply of water supplies behind them.

but……

Yang Feng turned his head and looked at the towering mountains behind him.

"Where does this lead to?"

He said.

"Replying to the king, that is to Tongshan, which is hundreds of miles of mountains and ridges."

Jie Xuan said.

Yang Feng nodded.

“Is there a place called Jiugong Mountain?”

he asked.

"Jiugong Mountain is to the west of Tongshan County."

Jie Xuan said.

"So have you considered Li Zicheng's surprise attack from this direction?"

Yang Feng said with a smile.

As he spoke, he leisurely turned around and headed south.

Jie Xuan was stunned for a moment, looking at the sky full of flying birds in the west. He raised the telescope without hesitation. At the end of his field of vision, a group of cavalry were rushing out from the foot of the mountain. At the same time, a large flag with the word "Chuang" faintly appeared...

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Wan Yuanji also saw it and screamed.

……

"Another good example of academics being beaten by practitioners! Armchair military strategists can never beat experienced veterans. I wonder if Li Zicheng is among them or if he passed by Jiugong Mountain."

Yang Feng admired the collapse of the militia and felt schadenfreude.

Jie Xuan was indeed a military strategist.

But the military strategist was only a scholar in his thirties, with sufficient theoretical knowledge, and he had only led troops in battle for a few months. He could command the army to make the right choice on the battlefield, which was the limit of what he could do. But his combat experience was not at the same level as those of Li Zicheng's men who had crawled out of the pile of dead bodies. He felt that with hundreds of miles of mountains behind him, Li Zicheng would not choose this direction.

But almost all of Li Zicheng's men emerged from this kind of environment. They might have quietly moved south from Ezhou to Tongshan during the negotiations at Lushan.

We don't even rule out a surprise attack on Yongxiu, or the one now named Jianchang.

The Japanese invaders in the Battle of Wanjialing were surrounded on this battlefield.

However, there is still hope for the Jiangxi gentry.

Now it depends on the Zhejiang group training.

It's their turn to fight hard.

(End of this chapter)