For more than ten days, Chen Wang followed Cao Wenzhao in pursuit of the fleeing bandits from Pingliang Prefecture.
During the pursuit, a total of more than 80,000 enemy soldiers were captured, but more of them escaped.
Most of the more than 80,000 people are old and weak, and there are only about 30,000 young and strong people. Most of them don't have any decent weapons. At a glance, you can tell that they are newly attached thieves.
Cao Wenzhao decentralized its jurisdiction and finally handed it over directly to Pingliang Mansion for management.
More than 80,000 people eat horse chews every day, which is an astronomical figure and simply unaffordable.
However, the results looked promising, but in fact the real results were pitiful.
The enemy's cavalry casualties were only two to three thousand, and the only casualties among the elite cavalry were Gao Yingen's elite cavalry who killed and wounded more than 400 people in order to protect Gao Yingen, and Zuo Liangyu who led the troops to intercept and kill more than 200 people. A fine knight under the command of the famous King of Heaven.
The Yizi Wang Tuo Xianling, Chuangtangtian Liu Guoneng, and Chuangtian Wang Gao Yingdeng, as well as most of the elite cavalry and cavalry, all fled to Gongchang Mansion.
This situation is actually just a microcosm of the overall situation of the Ming army's confrontation with the bandits.
Even if it is a great victory, it is reported that many heads have been captured, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands have been defeated, which sounds very powerful.
However, the actual results were very few, because as soon as the enemy was defeated, they scattered and fled, making it difficult to pursue them. When the last few leaders and horse teams fled, the officers and soldiers could not catch up.
In June of the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, Hong Chengchou once said: "There are many thieves and they are well-horsed. Every time they stride double horses, and the officers and soldiers take three steps and seven steps, it will be difficult to chase them."
"The rogues rely on fine cavalry and march non-stop day and night. They can march hundreds of miles in a row. The officers and soldiers march hundreds of miles every day, and they are already exhausted."
Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of the Ministry of War, also wrote: "The thieves and horses move very fast, and ten houses can be reached in one or two days; I walk slowly, and it is difficult to ride in three days. There are few people, hungry and full, and the situation of work and rest is very different. If things hang like this, how can the thieves be leveled?"
Pingliang City is garrisoned by Pingliang Guards, and there are also battalions from Guyuan Town to assist in defense. The King of Han is also in the city. As the capital of a government, the city is solid and solid.
Gao Yingxiang and others did not have heavy siege equipment, and they failed to capture the siege for many days, so they took the route south again and attacked Gongchang Mansion.
And when he arrived at Pingliang Mansion, he stuffed all the captives into the hands of the magistrate of Pingliang Mansion.
It was approaching the end of July and falling into August, and Cao Wenzhao also received news from Xi'an Prefecture.
What was delivered this time was good news.
Gao Yingxiang plundered Fengxiang along the way and led 150,000 troops from the east of Fengxiang Mansion, intending to enter Xingping City, the western gateway of Xi'an Mansion.
Hong Chengchou set up an ambush to the west of Xingping and successfully defeated the front line of Gao Yingxiang's army. Later, Gao Yingxiang's army suffered another setback due to the defeat in the field and evacuated Xi'an Prefecture.
However, the crisis in Xi'an Mansion has been temporarily resolved, but it has not been completely resolved.
Gao Yingxiang retreated from Xingping, re-entered Fengxiang Mansion to the west, besieged Wugong, and plundered Mei County, Fufeng, Qishan and other counties along the way.
But all this was enough to lift everyone's spirits, and the morale of the army improved a lot.
Everyone hoped to wipe out the bandits as soon as possible and then return to their original base. The pursuit was too torturous. Many of them had been away from home for a long time and were already filled with resentment.
Pingliang Mansion and the Ming Army Camp.
Chen Wang stood not far outside the Chinese army tent, looking at the large banner belonging to Cao Wenzhao in front of the tent.
As the general manager, Chen Wang does not have much autonomy.
If it weren't for the fact that the recruits recruited for the third round were originally used as cannon fodder, he would have greater autonomy, otherwise he would basically be subject to the control of the headquarters Qianzong.
The battalion commanded by Cao Wenzhao only had a total of more than 3,000 troops and three thousand headquarters.
Now that the three thousand commanders have been selected, that is to say, the ordinary merits of defeating and killing the rogue bandits will basically not allow him to continue to climb up the ranks within the camp soldiers. He can only make up for the achievements of the guard army. above official position.
After this battle, the words "Testing Hundreds of Households" on his head can be removed, but the official position of the camp soldier is still the commander-in-chief.
Under normal circumstances, the room for promotion would be very limited.
Now only three special circumstances can occur before he can reach the next level.
The first is to wait for General Qian from one of the three divisions to die in battle, the second is to perform extraordinary feats, and the third is to be transferred to the new camp.
Since the launch of the campaign, many of Qian's commanders have died in battle, including the central army, garrison, staff generals, deputy commander-in-chief, and even the commander-in-chief.
But no one can tell when this will happen.
If we were in Liaodong, this matter would be easier to handle.
Because in Liaodong, I don’t know how many generals and generals will die in a year, and even the deputy commander-in-chief and the commander-in-chief have vacancies.
As long as you can survive, add a little more military exploits or just use the money to buy a head, you can be promoted from commander to general. Even if you have more money, it is possible to become the commander of a battalion.
Miracle merit is even more difficult. Wang Jiayin was killed by Zhang Liwei and Wang Guozhong in a conspiracy, and the two were awarded the title of deputy general for their merit.
In other words, at least one famous thief leader must be killed in order to gain the merit of guerrilla warfare. However, Chen Wang is only the leader of the team now. How can he lead the troops to catch up with the thief leader who leads the Jingqi?
Chen Wang's original plan was to finish the Battle of Sanyuan first, and then follow Cao Wenzhao to continue the pursuit and conquest, accumulate military merit and money, and gradually be promoted.
Under the entrustment relationship, he can work as a guerrilla battalion officer for at least a year and a half, or at most several years, and lead a battalion alone. At that time, he will pursue Zhang Xianzhong to Sichuan and seek development in Sichuan.
During the Chongzhen period, basically all places were affected by droughts and floods to a greater or lesser extent, but Sichuan was much better affected than other provinces. Moreover, at this time, Sichuan was densely populated and had fertile land, and it already looked like a land of abundance in later generations.
In the later period, the Ming court's control over local areas became weaker and weaker. In Sichuan, he could rely on the troops under his command to obey on the surface, but in fact they were separatist.
The tricks used in Liaodong to encourage the bandits to respect themselves could also be used in Sichuan at that time.
As long as Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits are still there, local officials and governors will have to rely on him and dare not punish him easily. As long as he is in the military camp, he will be safe.
But now an opportunity appeared in front of Chen Wang.
The survival of Cao Wenzhao caused a huge change in the historical line, and the Ming army won a battle that it would not have won.
But the Ming army also lost a battle that it would not have lost.
A piece of news from Sanshui City in the north of Xi'an broke the original tranquility in the army, forcing them to break camp overnight and rush to Pizhou.
On July 27, just as they had arrived at Pingliang Mansion and were wiping out the remaining bandits in all directions, Sanshui City fell.
Li Zicheng was about to break the city, but his deputy general Zhang Waijia was caught off guard and killed. Most of his troops were defeated.
Then Li Zicheng and Man Tianxing combined 70,000 troops to attack Chunhua and Pizhou, threatening Hong Chengchou's troops stationed in Jingyang in the north.
What Chen Wang was eyeing was the remaining camp under Zhang Waijia...
This is a great opportunity...
