"These thieves have been sneaking around and being cowardly when I was in great prosperity. Now they have become traitors and they are stubborn to the end."
At the foot of Baiyue Mountain, Li Guo and Gao Yigong were frightened by the fierce offensive and defensive battle.
In the past, they looked down upon Liang Yue and did not think that Liang Yue's soldiers and horses had any strength.
But now, after seeing Liang Jun's fighting style with their own eyes, they understood where Li Zicheng's fear came from.
Tens of thousands of Liang troops were divided into three groups: left, center and right, and they continued to attack the Qing army's positions like a tide.
Several groups of Liang troops ignored the terrain and climbed towards the top of Baiyue Mountain.
Although Jiang Quan and Tang Tong deployed a tight front line on the mountain, causing heavy casualties to the Liang army, the Liang army soldiers were not afraid.
In addition to being brave, Liang Jun's tactics were also quite scientific.
The infantry charged in front, followed by the musketeers.
Although these musketeers were scattered and out of scale, they seemed useless. But each one of them is a sharpshooter selected from thousands of people. They are especially effective in dealing with the exposed Qing army.
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It was with the help of these musketeers that the Liang Army soldiers who climbed the rocks were able to attack step by step.
At the gap in Baiyue Mountain, the battle here is even more tragic.
The fortifications built by the Qing army with huge stones were repeatedly bombarded by Liang Yue with dozens of artillery pieces. The dust was flying and the gravel was raining down.
The soldiers of the Liang army completely ignored the possible accidental damage caused by the artillery and took advantage of the chaos of the Qing army to rush forward.
But Jiang Yu and Tang Tong also tried their best to fill the gap with troops and horses, and blocked Liang Jun's attack.
The two sides fought from day to night, and from night to day. Even though he was exhausted and suffered heavy casualties, he still had no intention of giving up.
Just because both parties understand that what they lack most is time.
Liang Yue needed to defeat Jiang Yu and Tang Tong in the shortest possible time to completely stabilize the situation in northern Shaanxi.
Jiang Yu and Tang Tong need enough time to block Liang Yue and secure conditions for Azige's return.
As for why the two of them became so powerful in combat after they defected to the Manchus?
If Zuo Mengeng saw it, he would know it clearly.
The Ming army is not satisfied with its pay, but it is invincible if it is fully paid.
To put it bluntly, it was Lao Zhu’s family’s fault.
The fierce battle lasted for three days and three nights. Jiang Yu and Tang Tong gradually became exhausted and saw that their defeat was certain.
However, the hurried messengers made Liang Yue look up to the sky and sigh, helpless.
"Ming Jin, withdraw your troops."
The sound of the withdrawal horn sounded throughout the battlefield. The Liang army, which was still fighting desperately, immediately changed its formation and slowly withdrew from the battlefield.
"Prince Liang, why don't we fight? As long as we work harder, we will definitely be able to eliminate the two traitors Jiang Yu and Tang Tong!"
Li Guo and Gao Yigong came in a hurry, looking very dissatisfied.
The opportunity to kill the traitor was clearly right in front of him, so why didn't Liang Yue do it?
Liang Yue's expression was very terrifying, so gloomy that he could drop water.
"What you two don't know is that His Majesty has abandoned Tongguan and retreated to Xi'an. The situation is like this, there is nothing we can do!"
"What? Your Majesty has withdrawn his troops?"
Li Guo and Gao Yigong felt cold all over after hearing the news.
They are originally from Shaanxi and know the topography of Shaanxi very well.
They know very well that if they want to ensure the safety of Shaanxi, Tongguan must not allow any mistakes.
But now that Li Zicheng has actually withdrawn to Xi'an, doesn't that mean that Guanzhong has opened its door to the Qing army?
Liang Yue looked at his soldiers and horses closing up the camp and building the stronghold, feeling depressed.
He also didn't expect that Li Zicheng would be so depressed now.
"Before Azig completed the outflank, His Majesty was already defeated by Duduo and had to retreat to Xi'an. Azig learned of the situation here and led his troops back. Continuing to fight will not help."
Li Guo and Gao Yigong's energy was gone.
At this point, they already understood that Dashun was really at the end of its rope.
"The two of us plan to meet with His Majesty first. I wonder how King Liang is doing?"
Li Guo and Gao Yigong were going to find Li Zicheng, and Liang Yue was not surprised at all. The two of them were like duckweeds without roots if they left Li Zicheng.
But he is different.
"I plan to withdraw to Gansu and then find a way to deal with the Tatars."
Although the Qing army was powerful, Li Zicheng was equally dangerous to Liang Yue.
When it comes to choosing between the two, Liang Yue can only rely on himself.
With the overall situation collapsed, Li Guo and Gao Yigong no longer wanted to play tricks.
After bidding farewell to Liang Yue, they led the remaining defeated soldiers to retreat to the southwest.
Liang Yue did not delay and took another detour through the Hetao to return to Ningxia.
One day later, Azig led a large group of cavalry to return first. Seeing the miserable situation of Jiang Yu and Tang Tong, I couldn't help but feel scared.
"It's all the fault of the two of you that the road behind us is safe and sound. I will definitely report to the emperor and ask for credit for you."
It was rare for Azig to be kind to the two of them.
Jiang Yu and Tang Tong looked at the loss of all their troops and horses, and they really wanted to cry without tears.
"Your Majesty, Liang Yue is a powerful warrior, even far superior to the intruders. I beg you, Your Majesty, to send troops immediately to eliminate Liang Yue and avoid future troubles."
Azig was calm.
"The top priority is to destroy the intruder first. Since Liang Yue has retreated, it is just a futile struggle. When we pacify the Central Plains, it will be easy to eliminate him."
This was the established plan of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Jiang Yu and Tang Tong were powerless and could only suffer the loss of being dumb.
Even without Azig, Li Zicheng had been defeated with Duduo's troops alone.
After Li Zicheng retreated to Xi'an, Tongguan guard general Ma Shiyao chose to surrender.
He also sent a message to Li Zicheng, hoping that as an internal agent, he could turn defeat into victory.
Unexpectedly, the messenger he sent was captured by the Qing army, and all the plans were learned by Duduo.
Duduo took advantage of his plan and slaughtered Ma Shiyao and all 7,000 soldiers and horses.
The Battle of Tongguan, which lasted for thirteen days, ended with the defeat of the Shun Army.
After returning to Xi'an, Li Zicheng had to choose to retreat again.
Just because he understood that Xi'an alone could not stop the two armies of Duduo and Azige.
So Li Zicheng led the civil and military officials and the remaining soldiers and horses after seeing the show in Tiantian, and retreated all the way to Henan through Lantian and Shangluo.
He planned to join forces with the Shun armies in Henan and Huguang, and after integrating their forces, he would find a way to cross the Yangtze River and go to the Jiangnan area to obtain supplies and respite, and then try to survive.
Before leaving, he ordered Tian Jianxiu to burn all the food and official residences in Xi'an to avoid endangering the enemy.
As a result, Tian Jianxiu did not do this. He foolishly took into account his local sentiments and only burned the East Gate Tower and Nanyue Tower, deceiving Li Zicheng.
The intact food and cities finally gave the Qing army an advantage.
The Qing army received a large amount of supplies in Xi'an, quickly regained its strength, eliminated fatigue, and pursued them closely.
And this gave the Shun army no adequate rest time at all, and they had to fight tiredly one after another.
Fight one game, lose one game.
By the time we reached Henan, it was completely unorganized.
Li Zicheng finally reached the end of his life.
