In the eighth year of Chongzhen, it was October 13th.
Outside Sanyuan City, there was a mess and devastation everywhere.
The air was still filled with the strong smell of blood, and the swarming bandits had disappeared outside Miyuan City.
In the fields outside the city, a large number of young soldiers with their mouths and noses covered with white cloth were carrying corpses and cleaning up the battlefield.
They need to pay for the mess left by the rogues' siege and deal with it.
In the military camp in Sanyuan City, Cao Wenzhao, Zhang Quanchang, He Renlong and other generals were all listed on both sides.
Zuo Liangyu is not here. He has left Jingyang and Sanyuan and led his troops to pursue the rogue bandits heading east.
The current governor in charge of suppressing bandits outside the pass is Lu Xiangsheng. Zuo Liangyu, as a general in Changping Town, is naturally placed under Lu Xiangsheng's command.
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Hong Chengchou looked sad, his eyes full of tiredness.
In the military tent, a general reported the military situation in various places to Hong Chengchou. With each sentence he heard, Hong Chengchou's expression became uglier.
"The insurgent general Li Zicheng harassed Fuzhou and the east of Guzhou in Xi'an Prefecture, with a crowd of nearly 60,000 people..."
"The rogue bandits raided from east to west, spanning thousands of miles... The rogue bandits divided into thirteen battalions and marched eastward. They have broken through Zhuyang Pass, and most of the vanguard has poured into Henan."
The rogue bandits took advantage of the fierce fighting between Sanyuan and Jingyang to head east. Zhang Xianzhong led his troops eastward and galloped 200 miles in one day, detouring and raiding Zhuyang Pass in Henan.
Zhuyangguan and Lancaochuan are the main thoroughfares from Shaanxi Province to Lingbao and Shaanzhou in Henan Province.
When he first entered the Pass, Hong Chengchou ordered two generals, You Shiwei and Xu Laichen, to lead 5,500 troops to guard the two places.
You Shiwei once served as the chief military officer of Changping, guarding Juyong and Changping. He later served as the chief military officer of Shanhai and was promoted to the left governor with cumulative seniority.
Later, under the imperial edict, he and his deputy general Zhang Waijia led five thousand elite cavalry from Shanhaiguan to enter the pass to encircle and suppress the rogue bandits.
Maybe it's destiny that really changes, or maybe it's God's will in the dark.
You Shiwei led his troops to guard the barren mountains for a long time, but the soldiers under his command were not accustomed to the climate and the climate. Just then, an epidemic broke out. There were only three out of ten who could fight in the army.
Zhang Xianzhong came all the way to attack, but You Shiwei could not stop him. He was defeated at Zhuyang Pass. You Shiwei was shot by an arrow in the battle formation and was wounded in defeat.
Xu Laichen failed to restrain the troops, and eventually the army was defeated and died in battle.
The guerrillas Liu Zhaoji and Luo Dai led troops to rush for reinforcements, but were also defeated by Zhang Xianzhong. The army was defeated and injured, so they had to retreat to Lu's.
Then most of the rogue bandits passed Zhuyang Pass, passed through Lancao River, and poured into Henan.
The border defenses in Henan are in turmoil, and all the states in western Henan are boiling with fear.
"King Zhi of Henan and Fatty Zhang sent tens of thousands of people to attack Xiaogan and Yingshan from Ziyang."
"In the Yan'an Prefecture, there were two troops, Tianxing Huidenxiang and Scorpion Block, one raiding the north and the other raiding the south, causing chaos in the northern and southern prefectures."
"Southern Xi'an Prefecture plundered various tribes in Shangzhou and other places, and then went south to Hanzhong Prefecture..."
"General Zuo's soldiers have left Tongguan to join forces with Zu Kuanzu's general soldiers. The two armies have gathered in the township in the east of Tongguan..."
"The rogue band marched eastward, dust rose to the sky, it was forty miles wide, and it was a hundred miles long. The old and the weak were in the middle, and the elite riders were outside. They gathered hundreds of thousands of people. The tribes looked at the top of the mountain in the distance, not daring to attack..."
….
After the last military message was recited, the atmosphere in the entire tent dropped to freezing point, and everyone fell into silence.
The previous victory made everyone feel hopeful. They thought it would be a beautiful encirclement and annihilation battle, and the enemy could be surrounded and killed in Xi'an Mansion.
But reality slapped them hard in the face. The rogue bandits broke into Henan again, and all their efforts were in vain.
Hong Chengchou looked tired, and the failure of his plans again and again made him feel unwilling and resentful.
But he had no choice. Every time, no matter how careful and detailed his planning was, something bad would always happen and make his plan fail.
Fairies and monsters,
Hong Chengchou never believed it.
If the gods, Buddhas and immortals who sit high among the temples really exist in the human world, then why is there so much chaos in the world?
If worshiping gods and praying to Buddha was useful, then this world would have already become a peaceful land.
But now Hong Chengchou's heart was a little shaken, maybe there was really God's will in the dark.
Hong Chengchou raised his head, his eyes flashing with light. He thought of the history books he had read and the theory of destiny.
Maybe...Da Ming really lost his destiny...
Hong Chengchou opened his tired eyes and slowly glanced at the generals and colonels in the tent.
Since the fierce battle in Miyuan, he has not had a good night's sleep. A huge burden has been placed on his shoulders, making it difficult for him to survive and sleep well.
If he really loses and loses Sanyuan, Jingyang and Xijing, he will become the sinner of the Ming Dynasty.
He was nailed to the pillar of shame in history, despised and reviled by thousands of people. He did not want to bring shame to the clan, nor did he want to bear the blame.
Hong Chengchou even thought about what would happen if he was really defeated, what would happen if he did not die in the battle but was captured by the enemy.
He thought about it for a long time, but after all he couldn't figure it out. Later he learned the answer from Cao Wenzhao.
While defending the city, he raised this issue to Cao Wenzhao.
Cao Wenzhao's answer was simple. If the city was really defeated, he would fight until the last moment. If he was exhausted, he would kill himself.
The answer is obvious, he is not as determined as he originally imagined, and he is not ready to die.
Hearing one piece of bad news after another, Hong Chengchou was not as angry as before, and he felt very calm.
The governments in Shaanxi are not yet at peace, and there are problems with border defense in Henan Province.
But now he only has to worry about Shaanxi and Shanxi. The rogue bandits who entered Henan and other places are now assigned to Lu Xiangsheng to exterminate. Now a lot of the burden on his shoulders has been lifted.
The pressure accumulated in Hong Chengchou's heart was relieved a lot.
"How is the situation in Fengxiang and Gongchang..."
Hong Chengchou's voice was hoarse and he asked.
Although he was thinking about other things, he did not put down the affairs here. It was not difficult for him to do two things at once.
"Reporting back to the military gate, the bandits in Fengxiang Mansion have basically been eliminated. There are only three groups of bandits left who have occupied three areas, occupying the mountains, and gathering in the mountains and forests. There are about 16,000 people."
….
"There is no new news from Gongchang Mansion. The latest news is that guerrilla Chen Wang led his troops to Ma Diquan and faced off against the enemy..."
Hong Chengchou frowned slightly and looked at Cao Wenzhao, who was sitting on his right, about to say something.
But at this moment, the sound of reporting suddenly came from outside the tent.
Hong Chengchou waved his sleeves and let him go.
Before I saw the person, I heard his voice first.
"Great victory at Gongchang Mansion!"
A messenger soldier who was dusty and still carrying an order flag quickly walked into the big tent.
The words he shouted changed the originally dull atmosphere in the tent.
"After five days of fierce fighting, we captured 20,000 people, destroyed their three-mountain camp, and beheaded 1,297 people..."
"...Although the cavalry tried their best to intercept, they were outnumbered in the end. Even though they tried their best, they could not do their best. The remaining 4,000 thieves fled towards Qishan..."
Cao Wenzhao, who was sitting on the right, opened his slightly closed eyes a little, glanced at the soldier who was delivering the order several times, and then looked away again.
Hong Chengchou leaned forward slightly, and after hearing the last sentence, his expression finally softened a little.
"Chen Wang..."
Hong Chengchou whispered Chen Wang's name.
He had never met Chen Wang, but he was indeed very familiar with this name.
He personally issued guerrilla military positions and seals.
Marching combat seems to have some tricks
Tao can also be called first-class in military training.
Hong Chengchou knew Cao Wenzhao's character very well. Cao Wenzhao never praised others easily, and he never made any moves to form factions.
Although Chen Wang came from Cao Wenzhao's command and was Cao Wenzhao's servant, Cao Wenzhao's every move now is based on the distinction between public and private affairs.
After the Battle of Chunhua, Chen Wang sent part of the capture to Cao Wenzhao's military camp. Cao Wenzhao also wrote a report and sent the capture to the Biao camp directly under his command.
However, Hong Chengchou naturally returned it. The soldiers under his command were not short of silver, and he himself did not like the captured gold and silver vessels.
But Cao Wenzhao's attitude made Hong Chengchou very satisfied.
As the governor of several provinces, Hong Chengchou was not short of money. He could easily seize hundreds of thousands of taels of silver as long as he let out a little bit of news.
The last words of Cao Wenzhao's evaluation of Chen Wang were, "Drilling, marching, and fighting in formation are all just like the Zhejiang soldiers in the past, and they have fully achieved their form and meaning."
The form and meaning of this refers to the form and meaning of "Ji Xiao Bing Shu" and "Records of Military Training", Qi Jun's form and meaning, which is undoubtedly a very high praise.
Hong Chengchou's frown relaxed a little.
To be honest, he actually still had some opinions and dissatisfaction with Chen Wang's performance in Pingliang Mansion.
Chen Wang had more than 900 Liao cavalry under his command. The tiger that escaped, Li Guo, only had two or three thousand cavalry under his command. It only took some methods to wipe out it.
But Chen Wang chased Li Guo all the way, allowing Li Guo to escape from Pingliang Mansion and all the way to Gongchang Mansion.
But now this dissatisfaction has disappeared with the arrival of this good news.
Rogue bandits are difficult to suppress because there are many fine cavalry and horse troops, and they can move quickly. On the way to escape, they will leave behind all the food, grass and baggage they carry, but the officers and soldiers cannot.
….
The two groups that Gongchang Mansion broke into both belonged to the original thirty-sixth battalion of old bandits.
Li Yangchun, the Four Heavenly King, and Lin Shengquan, the Climbing King, are both not good at fighting each other. They have more than 2,000 elite cavalrymen and thousands of horse troops, making them a considerable force.
To be honest, Chen Wang only has more than 1,400 veterans under his command, and the remaining more than 3,000 are new recruits.
Generally speaking, new recruits do not have much combat power because they have not experienced any battles or seen blood.
Hong Chengchou had his own eyes and ears. He knew that the new recruits recruited by Chen Wang were all hungry soldiers at first. This was no secret.
The reason why Hong Chengchou urged Chen Wang to attack was actually more to confirm whether what Cao Wenzhao said was true, and to see what Chen Wang's military training was like.
Cao Wenzhao had the highest praise for Chen Wang's military training, saying that Shen's military training methods "...are just like those of Zhejiang soldiers in the past, and they fully capture their form and meaning."
The current results far exceeded Hong Chengchou's expectations.
You must know that Li Yangchun, the Four Heavenly Kings, is famous for his good defense, and Lin Shengquan, the Climbing King, is extremely brave and rushes out of the army around him. He has many elite cavalry soldiers under his command. In the past, he and He Renlong were not defeated in several battles. He was also bold and careful. He was not a reckless man. .
But both of them were now defeated by Chen Wang.
Although the three of them led their troops to escape, there was nothing they could do about it.
When Hong Chengchou issued the military order, he did not expect Chen Wang to annihilate them all.
With only 900 cavalry under Chen Wang's command, they could only pursue part of them, and there were no extra troops to surround them on all sides, so there would inevitably be a gap for escape.
"Four thousand people..."
For this number, Hong Chengchou feels that it should be a pertinent number.
"... Our troops have sent a message to Qishan, and our cavalry are pursuing them one after another. This is the report of the Battle of Sanshan."
After the soldier below said the last words, he took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Hong Chengchou's guards.
"Send it up."
Hong Chengchou raised his eyebrows, and then took the newspaper from the guard.
Hong Chengchou opened the newspaper and saw a letter full of words at first, but the next moment,
His eyes were attracted by another piece of paper with a picture on it.
Hong Chengchou did not ask questions. He knew military affairs and had researched on chariots and equipment.
He could tell at a glance that what was drawn on the drawing was a gun carriage carrying artillery.
He also recognized the artillery carried on the artillery cart. It was a cannon, but the artillery cart was a new type of artillery cart.
It is similar to the Hongyi Cannon's gun carriage, but it is different in many places. At first glance, this kind of gun carriage seems to be superior.
Putting down the drawings in his hands, Hong Chengchou turned to look at the battle report.
On the battle report, the details of the battle were clearly written.
Hong Chengchou's eyes slowly changed from calm to shock.
When he put down the paperwork, Hong Chengchou was already feeling quite agitated in his heart, but he still didn't show much on his face.
"Let Chen Wang continue to pursue the rogue bandits in Gongchang Mansion, and be sure to wipe them all out."
Hong Chengchou gave the military order with an expressionless face.
Then he stopped talking about the Gongchang Mansion and named generals such as Cao Wenzhao, Zhang Quanchang, and He Renlong.
Cao Wenzhao led troops to suppress the remaining bandits in Xi'an Prefecture, and Liu Chenggong led his troops to Yansui Town to stabilize the situation.
He also ordered Zhang Quanchang and He Renlong to lead troops to stabilize the situation in Fuzhou, and at the same time go north to Yan'an Prefecture to suppress it.
Hong Chengchou acted vigorously and resolutely. In a short period of time, he had adjusted his mentality and issued military orders.
The generals did not dare to neglect. After obeying the order, they all withdrew from the camp and began to organize their troops.
A quarter of an hour later, only Hong Chengchou and one of his guards were left in the entire tent.
After everyone left, Hong Chengchou's expression gradually became expressive.
"Knowing military training, weapons, and tactics..."
"This Chen Wang is not simple..."
Hong Chengchou's eyes were slightly cold and his voice was low.
How could such a person have been an ordinary servant for eight years?
"I'm afraid this person is not as simple as he appears on the surface. I sent someone to Liaodong to find out his details."
Hong Chengchou leaned forward a little, pushed away all the debris on the table, and looked at the map at the bottom.
His eyes went from Chunhua to Pingliang Mansion, then from Pingliang Mansion to Gongchang Mansion, and finally landed on Hanzhong Mansion.
Luo Xiaoming
