As a tall black flag was planted on the tower of Xianyang North City, deafening shouts sounded from inside and outside the city almost simultaneously.
Gao Yingxiang wore a white scarf on his head and a plain white jersey with his right sleeve tucked into his waist, leaving his right shoulder exposed.
Inside, he was wearing dark-black mountain-patterned iron armor, a white battle skirt with dragon patterns inlaid with gold and silver, and was riding a white horse, standing on a hill on the northern outskirts of Xianyang City.
A group of majestic generals in different clothes and armor stood on both sides.
Today, Gao Yingxiang has been officially promoted to the leader of the alliance, commanding all camps.
These people are all the camp leaders of the thirty-sixth battalion. To be precise, it should be the seventy-second battalion.
Originally, during the Wang Jiayin and Wang Ziyong periods, there were a total of thirty-six battalions, but now it has gone through many years of development and changes.
It has expanded to the 72nd Battalion, and Gao Yingxiang has become the official leader by relying on his accumulated prestige.
Gao Yingxiang's eyes were not on Xianyang City, and he was also at a loss for the deafening shouts beside him.
His mind was entirely on the east.
Xianyang City was abandoned by the Ming army on their own initiative, leaving them with nothing more than a half-empty city.
The strength of the Ming army is unpredictable. Hong Chengchou was extremely strong some time ago. As soon as he led his troops eastward, he encountered a head-on attack.
Then Gao Yingxiang received news of the defeat of the Pingliang Mansion and Qingyang Mansion troops one after another.
The Ming army seemed to still have the strength to fight. Although it was divided in various directions, it did not seem to be lacking in strength.
It's just that Gao Yingxiang has no choice now. Shaanxi can no longer find food, and soldiers from all walks of life have already surrounded him.
The number of people gathered now has almost reached 300,000.
Three hundred thousand people eat horse chews every day, which is an astronomical number.
In less than two months, all the food will be consumed.
Once the food supply is exhausted, their acupuncture becomes fish meat on the chopping board.
Gao Yingxiang knew very well that by that time, without waiting for the Ming army to attack, the people under his command would have collapsed and everything would be over.
Gao Yingxiang could not accept this result.
"Cao Wenzhao..."
Gao Yingxiang murmured in a low voice, his voice was so low that no one could hear his words.
There was a flash of resentment in Gao Yingxiang's eyes, but he hid it very well, and the expression on his face did not change at all.
If it hadn't been for Cao Wenzhao, Wang Jiayin would not have died, and the Thirty-sixth Battalion would not have been leaderless, and would not have been chased everywhere like a bereaved dog.
Gao Yingxiang already knew that his younger brother Gao Yingen had also died at the hands of Cao Wenzhao.
And Li Zicheng, who he had high hopes for, was defeated by Chunhua, and he was defeated by a Ming army general he had never heard of.
"Chen Wang..."
Gao Yingxiang's eyes flickered, he knew that his nephew was quite capable.
But now Li Zicheng was defeated by a little-known general in the Ming army who appeared from nowhere.
Gao Yingxiang's expression was dark. Only he and the camp leaders of each camp knew the news, and no one else was told.
Among the Ming army, one or two such people would appear every once in a while. ….
First came Cao and Cao, then Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, and then You Shiwei.
In the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, Lu Xiangsheng appeared again.
Now Chen Wang appears again.
Fortunately, Chen Wang is a military commander, so his influence is limited.
But even if the original three-pronged advance plan went bankrupt, he still had to lead his troops to continue advancing eastward.
For now, the only option is to go to Henan.
Although Gao Yingxiang got the news among the captives who surrendered, the officers and soldiers dispatched a lot of Liao cavalry to go south.
Lu Xiangsheng seems to have been transferred to governor and is now supervising the division in Henan.
But even so, Henan
I had to go, so I had to hurry up as soon as possible.
Soon, it will be the autumn harvest in Henan, and we will take advantage of the autumn harvest to break into Henan.
By joining forces with other battalions still in Henan, Huguang and other places, we will be able to gain the upper hand again.
After years of fierce fighting, the Ming army gradually showed its weakness.
The situation of officers and soldiers in the north was getting worse and worse, with successive defeats over the years.
A new tribe arose in Liaodong, founded a country and called itself "Dajin", and its standing was far superior to the officers and soldiers.
The Mongols who had been fighting the imperial court for hundreds of years in the north seemed to have surrendered to the Jin Kingdom.
Gao Yingxiang saw the situation clearly and had the Kingdom of Jin to the north as a check.
The imperial court simply has no way to attack with all its strength, so this is their chance.
Gao Yingxiang turned his head and looked to the southeast, where he could still vaguely see the flag of the Ming army.
After the Ming army withdrew from Xianyang, they divided into two groups, retreating one way to Xi'an and the other to Jingyang.
Zhang Xianzhong was riding a black horse, standing beside Gao Yingxiang.
He was not wearing armor, but was wearing a dark blue t-shirt with narrow sleeves.
Zhang Xianzhong's complexion is yellower than others, and he has a long beard, one foot six inches long.
Although he calls himself the Eighth King, Zhang Xianzhong is often called Huang Hu in private among the army.
Gao Yingxiang's happiness and anger were invisible, and Zhang Xianzhong couldn't guess what Gao Yingxiang was thinking.
But Zhang Xianzhong doesn't need to guess. Among the seventy-two battalions, his power is second only to Gao Yingxiang.
"Da Cao, Zuo Liangyu, and He Renlong are all in Jingyang and Sanyuan now. They are looking for horses to report back. Zuo Liangyu went south with almost five thousand soldiers and horses. Jingyang is not easy to fight."
When Zuo Liangyu was in Pingliang, he only had about 3,000 men under his command. Now his strength has expanded to about 5,000. It is obvious where these many soldiers come from.
Gao Yingxiang's eyes were slightly focused, and his face was expressionless.
"No matter whether it is difficult to fight or not, this battle must be fought."
"The soldiers from Ningxia and Guyuan are pressing over. If we don't leave, we will be trapped and die in Shaanxi."
Gao Yingxiang knew what Zhang Xianzhong was thinking.
"We were deceived before. Hong Chengchou's troops definitely don't have many troops. If he had enough troops, he would never abandon Fengxiang Mansion. There is no reason for this."
"If he had enough troops, he could just block Fengxiang and Pingliang, and wait for the border troops from Ningxia and Guyuan towns to come and strangle us. All of us would be buried in Shaanxi, but he didn't."
Gao Yingxiang has already figured out the key during this time.
Hong Chengchou was basically bluffing during this period. In fact, he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
If he had marched earlier, he might have made the final decision.
But it was a bit late now. Zuo Liangyu had already led his troops south to rush for reinforcements.
"Even if we include Zuo Liangyu's four or five thousand people, Hong Chengchou only has more than ten thousand people under his command. The advantage is still on our side."
"As long as we don't lose this battle, no matter whether it's a draw or a win, the final plan will be successful."
Gao Yingxiang turned to look at Zhang Xianzhong and said in a deep voice.
"If the war goes unfavorably, you will lead the troops under your command to break into Henan first."
"I will hold Hong Chengchou in Jingyang and Sanyuan."
Luo Xiaoming
