Soon, all the matters before departure were completed.
On February 16th of the third year of Chongzhen, Liu Chengzong marched to the Xingzi River, looked back at the land that produced long-term management for the first time, and led his army eastward.
Outpost Yang Yao also led his troops back from Ningzhou, Qingyang Prefecture. His team's harvest was disappointing, with only two dozen Guyuan deserters joining them.
It seemed that the Guyuan camp had escaped too much before, and the remaining soldiers had enough to eat. When they went to Qinwang with the chief military officer Yang Qi, there were not many left behind.
But another big fish in their imagination, Qin Wangjun from Gansu Town, seemed to move slower than Wu Zimian.
Yang Yao only received the news from there before returning to the team. They overestimated the endurance of the frontier troops.
On the 6,000-mile Qinwang Road, the vanguard of the frontier army in Gansu Town walked 300 miles, and the follow-up troops walked 200 miles. They mutinied in Anding County, Gongchang Prefecture. The leader Wang Jincai led his soldiers to kill General Sun Huaizhong and seized the baggage. Yin Liang led his troops back west to the Lanzhou camp.
Governor Mei Zhihuan was walking in front. He was alarmed by the mutiny and had to return to Lanzhou to suppress the mutiny.
After receiving this news, Yang Yao didn't want to wait any longer.
They thought very well and planned carefully, and they were sure that King Qin's army would mutiny after marching six thousand miles.
Mutiny indeed.
But people mutinied after walking two hundred miles, and he couldn't reach them at all.
There is no chance. If an army goes on the road, mutinies, is suppressed, and then goes on the road again, the chance of continuing to mutiny a second time is very low.
Liu Chengzong's troops were marching towards Shanxi in Yan'an Prefecture. Thousands of miles away in the capital of Gyeonggi, the commander of Yan'an Guards, Yang Yanchang, was shivering with cold.
Yang Yanchang had been in Jizhen for a while and saw with his own eyes the chaotic command of the imperial court.
According to his understanding, the imperial court's commanding ability in this war was no less than that of the northern Shaanxi thieves who fought with Li Bei in the meander of Yanhe River.
To put it simply, it is better than no command.
Yuan Chonghuan, Man Gui, Zhao Lijiao, Sun Zushou and others were imprisoned and killed in battle. As the prime minister of military affairs, Man Gui was killed in battle, which directly led to the loss of coordination and command of the various armies.
However, it would be useless even if Mangui was alive, because Ma Shilong, a veteran of the Western Army who was subsequently dispatched as prime minister, would not be able to integrate the various Qinwang armies.
For a time, the land of Gyeonggi formed a strange balance, as if there was a line running horizontally on the ground.
On one side was Jizhen, where King Qin's troops gathered from all walks of life. Basically, everyone was transferred here and there. Some people came to King Qin with troops and found that they had no food, so they turned back to eat and then came back.
On the other side was the Hou Jin army who invaded and robbed people and property. They occupied the four cities of Yongping Prefecture: Fucheng, Luanzhou, Qian'an, and Zunhua. They tried their best to cut off the connection between the imperial court and Shanhaiguan, but failed.
They attacked Funing and held on for four days. They turned around and attacked Changli, but were stopped outside the city by the combined efforts of the magistrate Zuo Yingxuan and the garrison stone pillars.
During this period, there was only one battle in which the imperial army took the initiative.
Yang Yanchang was next to Wu Zimian that day, and they were discussing what to do if the court did not provide food and grass later.
A man named Liu Zhilun entered the camp and said that he was going to recover Zunhua.
It's not that he wants to lead eight revenue in Zunhua.
He just told the court to transfer the Beijing camp to help, but the court would not allow it; he also wrote to the Sichuan army general Deng Qi who killed An Bangyan to help, but the court would not allow it.
When Liu Zhilun entered the camp of Wu Zimian in Jizhou, he looked really embarrassed.
It snowed the night before yesterday. He led his troops through Tongzhou, but Tongzhou refused to let him in. He had to lead his troops to sleep in a ruined temple in the snow all night, and then came to Jizhou to ask for an audience with Wu Zimian.
Liu Zhilun explained the situation and said to Wu Zimian: "If everything goes well and I can regain Zunhua, I hope that Wu Shuai will help me move to the Luan River bank to block the reinforcements of the Eastern captives."
Wu Zimian pondered for a moment, stood up and bowed in obeisance: "Young Sima, don't worry. As long as the court provides enough food and salary, I will move to Luanhe. Even if I don't give food and salary, if the attack on the city fails, Young Sima will just retreat, and we will wait for the west." Jun, I will help you block him."
Liu Zhilun understood. He sighed and said nothing more. He took two steps out of the Zhongjun tent, then turned back and bowed his hands in the snow outside, then turned and left.
Yang Yanchang was frightened when he heard this. With so many troops stationed here, how could it be his turn to send troops? Luck is not half bad!
However, seeing Liu Zhilun's majestic back leaving the camp, Yang Yanchang was very excited and said to Wu Zimian: "Wu Shuai, are we going to send troops to fight against the Eastern captives?"
Wu Zimian sat back slowly and turned around as if looking at a fool: "Which of your ears heard that I am going to send troops?"
"He, just now..."
Yang Yanchang was at a loss for words for a moment: "Isn't that man the Minister of War? Didn't Commander Wu also say that he would help him block it?"
"Stop it, look at me bowing to him. That's worshiping the dead. Not to mention the Minister of War, even if he is the Minister of War, I have to listen to Ma Shilong."
Wu Zimian still had a good impression of Yang Yanchang and warned him: "You also heard what he said. Everything went smoothly to recover Zunhua. He recruited more than 10,000 new troops to form an eighth battalion. They were all ordinary people in the capital. They had been trained for less than a month. Will it go well?"
"Editor, the editor has been training for less than a month?"
Yang Yanchang thought, that's not as good as my soldiers.
"When a young man is born, the emperor gives him an official position to repay his kindness. When the troops of the King of Luqin are stationed here, they will be seen as watching each other and fearing the enemy."
The expression on Wu Zimian's face was very complicated, with both contempt and admiration. He shook his head and said: "I admire people like this who go forward even though they know there is a dead end, but who wants me to do this? I'll do it first. Kill him."
As he said that, he turned to look at Yang Yanchang and said, "You don't want to persuade me to send troops, do you?"
Yang Yanchang shook his head like a rattle.
"It's okay if it's not." Wu Zimian chuckled: "You still have a long life, don't be in a hurry to die, take your time, there will be a lot of weird things in the future."
Wu Zimian didn't want to come to King Qin, but when the order came into his hands, he couldn't avoid it.
I originally wanted to dally hard on the road, delaying some time, and wait until March to come to Gyeonggi Province. Then after the war is over, I can lead the troops back, but I never expected that Zhang Mengjing would make himself so angry.
If Zhang Mengjing could live a few more days, he would not arrive so early.
Weird things?
Yang Yanchang thought to himself that it was already strange to come to King Qin.
Unexpectedly, Wu Zimian followed closely and said: "I don't care what you are here for, don't cause trouble for me."
These words made Yang Yanchang's heart suddenly tremble, and his face turned pale: "Wu Shuai, what do you mean by this? I don't understand this humble position."
In fact, Wu Zimian had already discovered that there was something wrong with the commander.
On the first day he met Yang Yanchang, he discovered that there was a huge problem with this command.
From the flag officers to the flag troops, their weapons were polished, their nails and armor were not rusty, their mandarin duck war jackets had no patches, and everyone even wore shoes.
The spirit of the flag army is excellent, lean and strong, with high morale and hard-working.
Passing through private fields and houses, there is no trace of autumn.
This Yan'an Guard, from head to toe, looks like a very high-standard guard flag force.
Wu Zimian suddenly felt like he had just joined the army.
The Ming Dynasty has completely regressed for thirty years.
In particular, Yang Yanchang was not greedy for money. Wu Zimian asked him to restrain the deserters and sent people to escape to bribe him with money, but he actually refused to accept it.
Is this normal?
Is this reasonable?
The imperial court paid less than 30% of the military salary to Yansui Town in three years. As a general in charge of the army, there is no one who is not greedy for money.
Those who are bent on self-interest will be greedy for money;
Those who are dedicated to serving the country must be greedy for money!
Why are you, Yang Yanchang, not greedy for money? Why don't your soldiers loot?
This is not something that can be determined by integrity and discipline.
Because you have it, you look down on this little money, and because your soldiers look down on the people's small grain.
Wu Zimian held the pearl of wisdom in his hands, leaning back slightly with a relaxed expression: "What do you mean? Liu Chengzong is the thief you raised, or you are a thief yourself."
Yang Yanchang's whole body froze, and he forced himself to calm down and said, "Oh, why would Commander Wu make such a joke?"
"I'm not going to sue you, so what are you afraid of?"
Wu Zimian glanced at Yang Yanchang contemptuously. This man was much less courageous than he thought. He was afraid that he would not be able to do such a thing as raising the bandits and respecting himself. He waved his hand and said, "What do you want to do when you go to King Qin?"
Hearing that Wu Zimian said that he would not sue the officials, Yang Yanchang felt a little relieved, but then he was afraid that Wu Zimian was deceiving him, so he said: "I am assigned by Governor Yang to be King Qin."
"Nonsense, I invited you, do you know?"
Wu Zimian said: "I called you Yan'an Guard because I wanted to have more people so that I could ask for food from the court. I originally wanted to send you back if I wanted to get food. I didn't expect that Yan'an Guard has such a banner army... You tell me first , is Liu Chengzong the thief you raised?"
Yang Yanchang shook his head honestly.
"Then you are a thief yourself?"
Yang Yanchang thought about it, but he was still honest and shook his head again.
Anyway, he had already seen it out, and he had no intention of deceiving Wu Zimian.
However, the closest he came to becoming a thief was when he stole a Pearl Cannon from the Yan'an Guards.
I'm afraid this can't be said to be a thief.
After thinking about it again, Liu Chengzong was indeed not the thief he raised.
At most, it can be said that he is Liu Chengzong's commander.
But it’s really hard for people to say it.
So Yang Yanchang added: "Wu Shuai, I did not lie to you about my humble position."
Mr. Wu chuckled lightly: "Then what do you use to support your soldiers?"
Yang Yanchang was at a loss for words and almost couldn't hold back his laughter. He raised his hand and wiped his mouth to hide his smile. He said: "All subordinates in humble positions are capable people."
He doesn’t need to raise his soldiers!
He didn't know who were the soldiers registered in the Yan'an Guard.
Today this one will recuperate, tomorrow the other will repair weapons, and later Liujiazhuang will help people transport food and grass. The entire guardhouse will run automatically without his intervention.
Whenever something happens, someone will call him: General Yang, it’s time to fight.
There was no need for him to speak. Someone put the armor on his body, put the spear into his hand, put him on the horse, and led him to the battlefield.
The enemy would stop before him, the troops would form behind him, and then he would gallop forward, invincible.
Rows of heads would be arranged on the ground.
The entire Yan'an Guard operates automatically.
There is no way to talk to Wu Zimian about these things, and Mr. Wu doesn't understand even after talking about them.
People only know the principle of respecting oneself when one is a soldier, but how can one understand the subtleties of one who respects oneself when one is an official?
This situation was not easy for Yang Yanchang to accept at first, but later he figured it out.
Gradually accept the reality that he is a regional warrior. As long as he is in Yan'an Prefecture, no one can defeat him.
If the government wants to defeat Liu Chengzong, he must be there;
Whoever wants to defeat him is Liu Chengzong.
But Wu Zimian didn't believe a word of what he said. Seeing that he was very tight-lipped, he simply stopped asking: "As before, we arrived early, and the battle with Donglu is unavoidable. What are you doing here? What if? Robbery, I’ll let you go, don’t cause any trouble to me.”
"You are a low-level official who is not familiar with the place. Why are you here to rob? Everyone speaks Shaanxi Mandarin, and you can't even pretend to be a Donglu."
Yang Yanchang smiled and said: "Wu Shuai, don't worry too much. I am really humble because King Qin is here. If you really want to do something, just like Wu Shuai, I just want to take the soldiers back."
He really wanted to take the soldiers back.
"This is the best. The imperial court's 40,000-strong army has been newly mourned. People in both the government and the public are in panic. Liu Zhilun goes east to recapture Zunhua. I think he will probably never come back. I feel sorry for the more than 10,000 new troops."
Wu Zimian warned: "I climbed up from a humble age by knowing what the soldiers were thinking. Don't imitate him. When the emperor gives you an official position, you must repay the kindness of the emperor. The kindness of the emperor is given to him. Yes, it has nothing to do with the soldiers below."
Wu Zimian never thought that he would be a good general after his official position was high.
He is not good, and he knows it very well in his heart.
But he also believed that no one would do better than him in Yansui Town.
When Du Wenhuan was guarding Yansui, he didn't let the Beibei Tatars break through the border wall and go to Yan'an Mansion to burn, kill and loot.
He, Wu Zimian, was guarding Yansui. How could the northern captives break through and not be beaten back?
Yang Yanchang couldn't bear it: "Then, then we just stand still and watch the Minister of War die in Zunhua?"
"Just hold still. I have been a guerrilla in Ningxia, a staff general in Datong, guarding the Chinese Army in Shanhaiguan, and deputy chief soldier in Jizhen. I know more about this than you do."
Wu Zimian slowly recounted his previous official positions and said: "Zhangjiawan in Tongzhou is a big town for storing grain. It is useless to ask Donglu to celebrate the New Year. Now Donglu has food and we have no food. The court cannot organize the towns, and the people We dare not cross the Luan River. We only have 5,000 soldiers along the way, but the Donglu can gather 30,000 to 40,000 people."
"You are a heavenly soldier and a heavenly general. What can you do if your food and salary are insufficient? Who can you expect to rescue you when sending troops? We will wait until the court straightens out the food and salary."
A few days later, battle reports came from the front line. Liu Zhilun led his army to the Niangniang Temple Mountain in the eighth mile of Zunhua City. He was discovered by Hou Jin's troops, and the two armies immediately started a confrontation.
Liu Zhilun formed eight battalions in the city and sent his general Wu Yinglong to take Luo Wenyuguan as a suspicious soldier.
Then two of the eight battalions were defeated by the Hou Jin Army. Liu Zhilun personally supervised the battle, and the remaining six battalions were not defeated. Huang Taiji gathered 30,000 troops to charge forward, and all eight battalions were defeated.
Liu Zhilun retreated to Niangniangmiao Mountain and cursed when Huang Taiji surrendered. Then he fought again and fired artillery bombardment of the Jin army until the artillery exploded and the army was in chaos.
The general asked for orders to form a formation and retreat slowly. The young minister of the Ministry of War, who had a relationship with Yang Yanchang, decided to defend and entrusted the seal to others to bring to the court. He was eventually shot and killed by Hou Jin.
The troops staying in Jizhou did not receive intelligence from the front line until March 2. Huang Taiji had led the Jin army to withdraw from the capital and returned to Shenyang, leaving the troops to occupy the four cities of Yongping.
At the camp, Wu Zimian patted Yang Yanchang on the shoulder: "With Huang Taiji gone, the court should dare to fight. Just wait and see, it's time for us to send troops."
