I

The Qinghai envoy led by Chechen Daiqing had just entered the border of Henan, and Li Zicheng also received a reply from Zhao Han.

Li Zicheng held an imperial meeting and said directly: "In this year's war, there is not much food left in Shanxi. People's hearts are also unstable. If Zhao comes again next year, Shanxi will definitely not be able to be saved. I don't know how many civil and military surrenders have occurred. Let's discuss with Zhao. Yes, he agreed to release his captured brother and also gave us a charity for the Marquis of Yinshan."

"We are going to go out to fight, occupy the grassland and become the king. If you are willing to follow, I will take you to the grassland. If you are not willing to follow, just stay and surrender. We are all old brothers. Let's speak frankly today. I don't want to go to the grassland. We don’t force you to herd sheep, who the hell is willing to herd sheep?”

"Don't lose face. There is no need to express your stance today. Those who want to leave with us, or those who want to stay and surrender, go back and prepare secretly."

"Those who want to leave, only take the cavalry with them. Even if you don't have horses, you must at least have a mule. If you don't have a wife, hurry up and find a wife. We are going to the grassland to settle down. Don't go to the grassland and be so damn homesick that you want to come back. Don’t search too hard. Before leaving, just ask local gentry and merchants to pay you, and don’t embarrass those suffering people again.”

"After the spring starts next year, we will schedule a meeting in Taiyuan on the second day of February, the day when the dragon raises its head. Those who come to Taiyuan before the second day of February, I will take you to the grassland. If you don't come, you will be treated as if you stayed and surrendered. Today is our farewell. banquet……"

After Li Zicheng finished speaking, no one in the audience said a word. The news was too sudden.

Finally, someone was about to express his position. Li Zicheng raised his hand to interrupt: "Today, just drink and eat meat, and don't say anything else. If you want to leave, bring troops over when spring begins; if you don't leave, don't show up again when spring begins. If I tell you the truth today, I'll drink too." It’s not a happy outcome. Come and serve some food and wine!”

Good wine and good food were all served. It had been a long time since Li Zicheng had been so luxurious.

A group of old camp brothers seem to have gone back ten years. They changed glasses and exchanged glasses, telling dirty jokes in a wild manner. Li Zicheng also put down his imperial arrogance and ran to hook up with his old brothers.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Zongmin got emotional and said with tears in his eyes: "Our family farmed the land for people, and when we couldn't pay the rent, my father hanged himself, and my mother took us to beg for food. It's better to be a beggar." Ah, I heard that Zhu Yuanzhang worked as a beggar, and Emperor Zhao also worked as a beggar. My mother gave us clothes to wear, and my mother gave us the food she begged for, but she herself froze to death and starved to death..."

Li Zicheng threw his cup and cursed: "They are all corrupt officials. Which one of us is not a good citizen? We are forced to beg for food, we are forced to kill people, we are forced to be bandits!"

"Isn't that true? We used to just farm the land well, and we didn't ask for meat. We were satisfied if we could fill our stomachs..." Liu Fangliang also began to recall the hard days.

Zhang Nai said: "Our parents are both dead, and we are fortunate to be taken in by our adoptive father (Li Zicheng). Wherever our adoptive father goes in this life, we will follow him. Isn't it the grassland? Let's go and occupy the grassland and recommend our adoptive father to be our father." The Han people in the grasslands are sweating profusely!”

After a meal of wine and meat, the bandit DNA of these guys was stimulated, and they returned to the state of being trapped in Shangluo Mountain.

They fled from Tongguanyuan into the mountains, leaving only one or two thousand people, and many of them froze to death in winter. But after the beginning of spring, they burst out of the mountains and quickly swept across Henan.

The current situation is better than that of the past. One winter, I came to collect money and food, and then left with my soldiers in a big way.

After the banquet was over, everyone returned to their station and began to arrest the gentry and merchants intensively.

Regardless of the crime, he was tortured first.

After being beaten to death, he will hand over the money and food.

A bunch of Shanxi merchants who betrayed the country for profit were tortured to death by Li Zicheng's generals without Zhao Han having to deal with them. Some Shanxi merchants had as much as one million taels of silver stored in cellars everywhere. This was the result of being tortured a few years ago.

After the Spring Festival, these Dashun generals, including a few generals who defected halfway, gathered with their soldiers and family members towards Taiyuan.

There were soldiers running away along the way, but it didn't matter. Ordinary soldiers ran away as they pleased, as long as they watched the ones who could ride horses and didn't run away.

After Zhao Han released Li Guo, Gao Yigong and other prisoners, Li Zicheng led the army towards the grassland. When they crossed the Great Wall, they had more than 12,000 cavalry under their command, more than 40,000 soldiers' families and a few civilians. They took away nearly 10 million taels of silver and more than 20,000 livestock of all kinds to carry goods.

Those gentry and merchants in Shanxi had almost all their money and food confiscated. There were only a few who wanted money rather than their lives, and they were beaten to death without telling where the money was hidden.

Today, the north and south of Yinshan Mountain, including the vast Hetao area, are all the territory of the Xitumut tribe.

Although the Situmut tribe has a population of only 150,000, their territory is too large. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was not at ease at all, so they did not give them autonomy, and set up each banner to be under the jurisdiction of the capital. Therefore, it was also called the Naturalized Tumut Department, without even a nominal leader.

Since the Manchu Qing Dynasty declined, the Xitumut tribe became a piece of loose sand. Some tribes are at war with each other, and some are trying to form alliances. How can they resist Li Zicheng's army?

Li Zicheng led his army north out of the Great Wall and was immediately divided into two.

He personally led one of his troops to go west, and Liu Zongmin led his troops to go east. When they saw the tribe of Xitumote, they attacked them.

"kill!"

Outside Tuotuo City (Tuoketuo County), Li Zicheng led the cavalry to attack over a long distance.

Although it is not one person and two horses, it is one horse and one mule.

War horses were used for riding, and mules were used for carrying armor. They ran for three hundred miles to get here directly.

The Mongols near Tuotuo City were completely stunned by Li Zicheng.

After hearing that the Manchus were defeated and fled, the Dalat tribe in the northwest had just come to Tuotuo City to fight. After suffering heavy losses, the Mongols here chose to surrender to the Dalat tribe. Unexpectedly, just after Dalat's troops left, Li Zicheng led his troops to kill them again.

The well-armored Dashun cavalry beat the Mongols to pieces like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

"Your Majesty, what should I do with the prisoners?" Zhang Nai asked.

Li Zicheng said: "Kill all the Mongolian leaders, and their children and grandchildren, leaving only the children who can't remember anything. The Mongolian civilians stay and let them help herd. This pasture is ours! Rest for two days and then kill. The Dalat tribe. Once the Dalat tribe is destroyed, we will attack Guihua City."

Guihua City is near Hohhot, which used to be the Mongol Khanate. Like Duotuo City, Guihua City was also in disrepair and there was no way to retreat into the city and hold on.

It is worth mentioning that farming can be done along the river from Duotuo City to Guihua City. At that time, Anda Khan recruited a large number of Han people, and the military families in the border towns could still divide their fields if they fled. Therefore, a large number of border soldiers could not bear the abuse and fled to the Mongols. Several leaders of the White Lotus Sect also fled to become landlords.

It is a pity that after the death of Anda Khan, the policy of treating the Han people well was overturned. The 100,000 Han people who originally lived in the southern foothills of Yin Mountain are now very few left. They have been either killed, fled, or used as herdsmen.

Li Zicheng took a short rest in Tuotuo City and quickly killed Dalat's tribe.

In a bloody battle, Li Zicheng lost hundreds of cavalry, and Dalat's troops were killed and fled north.

When Li Zicheng led his army to Yinshan and Liu Zongmin led his army to Daqingshan, they captured a total of more than 3,000 Mongolian herders and rescued more than 1,000 grassland Han slaves. They also kidnapped more than 30,000 livestock and grabbed a large amount of grain - grain could be grown in Hohhot and other places, where there were many Han people and Han slaves, and the nearby tribes almost became herders.

They not only attacked the Xitumut tribe, but also plundered the Chahar tribe along the way, because the Chahar tribe was also in disarray, and the internal fighting between them was already going crazy.

Then, Li Zicheng broke his promise and did not lead his troops across the Yin Mountain.

Li Zicheng led his troops to Guihua City (near Hohhot), Li Guo led his troops to Heishan (near Baotou), and Liu Zongmin led his troops to Jining (near Ulanqab).

They planned to accumulate strength here, capture more Mongolian slaves, rob more Mongolian horses and livestock, grow more food in the farming areas, and train the rescued Han slaves into cavalry.

At that time, if the Datong army comes to kill, they will go to the north of Yinshan; if the Datong army does not come, Li Zicheng will dominate here.

The Chahar tribe, which had surrendered to the Nanjing court, cried and sent envoys to ask for help, asking the Datong Army to drive away Li Zicheng.

It can only be said that the Mongolian tribes in Inner Mongolia have been defeated by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, otherwise Li Zicheng would not have gone so smoothly.

Of course, the right wing of Chahar and the Xitumote Department were forced by Li Zicheng to seek an alliance. Only by uniting can they fight Li Zicheng. If they continue to fight among themselves, they will all die.

If Li Zicheng wants to gain a foothold at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain, he must repel the Mongols' joint attack.

No matter who loses or wins, the population of this large grassland will definitely decrease sharply!

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

A fast horse came from the direction of Baotou and galloped to Hohhot.

"Your Majesty, the Dalat tribe that fled to the northwest has returned with the Urad tribe further west. The enemy troops are numerous and powerful, and the general (Li Guo) requests that troops be sent out quickly for rescue!"

"got it."

Li Zicheng immediately summoned the cavalry. Unexpectedly, before setting off, he received Liu Zongmin's request for help. Liu Zongmin was also attacked by a joint attack from the Chahar tribe.

Niu Jinxing rode over and said, "Your Majesty, we are all outsiders. Although the battle went smoothly a while ago, we are now surrounded by wolves. Also, many of those Mongolian herders have fled. We have to change our methods. First, fight a few victorious battles; second, massacre one or two tribes to establish prestige; third, divide and win over some small tribes."

"The Prime Minister is right, but we can wait until the battle is over." Li Zicheng got on his horse.

Niu Jinxing said: "Let General Liu (Liu Zongmin) withdraw, temporarily reconcile with the Chahar Mongols, and first gather troops to completely defeat the Tumut Mongols. We are outsiders and cannot provoke two big tribes at the same time. As soon as we withdraw , Chahar Mongolia is bound to have internal strife again, and it won’t be too late to attack Chahar Mongolia after it has dealt with Tumut Mongolia.”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "Immediately send someone to convey an order to Liu Zongmin, asking him to lead his troops to Guihua City and give up the Jining side to the Chahar tribe."

Less than two months after Li Zicheng occupied Hohhot, he encountered a joint counterattack by the Mongols, and it was not a large-scale alliance of the whole clan. This was enough for him to drink a pot on the grassland.

This guy quickly went to support Li Guo, who had already been defeated and retreated to Lingzhao Temple.

The two joined forces to fight back and won a great victory. They pursued all the way to Bayannur and directly slaughtered the Urad Hou Banner tribe there.

Li Zicheng is not a troublemaker, but a river-crossing dragon living on the grassland.

The war on the grassland will last for who knows how many years.

In the spring of this year, the Qinghai mission led by Chechen Daiqing finally arrived in Nanjing to pay tribute to the emperor.