In the ninth year of Chongzhen, March 7th.
Hanzhong Mansion, Xing'an City.
As the largest city in the eastern part of Hanzhong Prefecture, Xing'an City has been bustling with activity for many years.
But today is different from the past. Nowadays, there are no shops open in the streets and alleys of Xing'an City.
The atmosphere in Xing'an City is depressing. There are only a few pedestrians coming and going, and there are only a few cars and horses. Even the occasional pedestrians seen among the neighbors are mostly women.
The reason for all this is that the vanguard of the invading army has now arrived outside the city.
All the young and strong men in the city were recruited and went to the four walls to help defend the city and strengthen the city's defense.
There were only a few government officials left in the city, and they led some militiamen to maintain order in the city.
The vanguard of the invading army outside the city was on foot and on horseback, numbering tens of thousands.
A large group of intruders and horses wearing gray armor roared across the wilderness outside Xing'an City, and wild laughter could be heard in the distance.
If there are ten thousand people, it will be boundless; if there are one hundred thousand people, it will extend from the earth to the sky.
Looking up, I felt that the mountains and plains were filled with enemy troops, and an unknown number of cavalry were rushing toward them in a dark mass.
The troops of the invading army spread out, trailing branches and dust behind them, as if they were suspicious of soldiers, making it difficult for people to see clearly what was going on behind them.
On top of the city wall, Chen Wang stood at the entrance of the crenels, frowning, staring coldly at the intruders rolling in outside the city.
Rao Shi has experienced countless battles and even personally led troops into battle many times.
But Chen Wang couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster when he saw the big flags embroidered with the word "Chuang".
Among the peasant armies in the late Ming Dynasty, the ones known to most people in later generations were Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
But in fact the person who really should be remembered should be Gao Yingxiang.
Among the rogue bandits in the late Ming Dynasty, there were only two people who could be called leaders and heroes.
One is Wang Jiayin.
After Wang Jiayin's uprising, responders swarmed in, and then even defeated the officers and soldiers in a row.
At that time, the entire Shaanxi rebel army followed Wang Jiayin's call and acted together.
Under the leadership of Wang Jiayin, the war raged throughout Shaanxi and spread to Shanxi, Ning, and Gansu provinces.
The other person is Gao Yingxiang.
After Gao Yingxiang's death, the peasant army, which was already on the verge of forming one, began to fall apart soon after.
Gao Yingxiang's prestige among the peasant armies was extremely high at that time.
After his death, many people felt desperate, and countless leaders of the 72nd Battalion begged for surrender.
Although Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong left far longer pages in history books than Gao Yingxiang.
But the two of them are far inferior to Gao Yingxiang.
After Wang Jiayin and Wang Ziyong died, it was Gao Yingxiang who stood up and stabilized the 36th Battalion that was about to fall apart.
It was also under the leadership of Gao Yingxiang that the democratic revolution team was able to develop stronger and stronger.
But when Gao Yingxiang died, neither Zhang Xianzhong, nor Ma Shouying, nor Li Zicheng were able to take over the leadership of the 72nd Battalion.
Since then, the peasant military rebellion in the late Ming Dynasty has been in a state of division, dissatisfied with each other. Although they were still united most of the time, they seemed to be in harmony with each other.
Li Zicheng was not a wise master. When faced with people who were unwilling to surrender to him, what he was thinking about was not how to make them submit. Instead, he chose to use the simplest method to deal with them-kill them!
In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong was defeated in Xinyang and defected to Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng wanted Zhang Xianzhong to become his subordinate from now on. If Zhang Xianzhong refused, Li Zicheng prepared to kill him directly.
However, later on, Luo Rucai's persuasion caused him to hesitate.
Finally, Zhang Xianzhong escaped at night, and a grudge arose.
In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zi became the unified leader. He directly killed Luo Rucai and He Yilong and annexed their subordinates.
It was precisely because of this simple and rough handling that laid the foundation for Li Zicheng's subsequent downfall.
Chen Wang looked solemn. Although there were more than 6,000 soldiers under his command in the city, this did not bring him much sense of security.
Smoke and dust billowed from the invading army formation outside the city, and the sound shook the sky. The sound of trumpets and drums almost never stopped.
All the soldiers and civilians on the city wall were frightened and panicked. Some of the timid ones even had their legs shaking like chaff.
The scout cavalry of the intruders roared past the city wall. They relied on their horses to gallop quickly and kept wandering outside Xing'an City.
From time to time, he would suddenly rush forward on horseback, and then shoot an arrow at the city wall.
Although the missed arrows did not cause any damage at all, they still caused Minzhuang who was guarding the city on the city wall to panic.
The cavalry of the invading army roared away in a mighty manner, but they did not attack the city.
With great momentum, they set up a military camp on a high ground thirteen miles east of the city.
Two days later, it was noon on March 10th.
Gao Yingxiang's main army appeared outside Xing'an City.
The queues on the official road were winding and the troops and horses were densely packed and stretched endlessly.
If you look down from a high altitude, all the official roads outside Xing'an City are covered with soldiers wearing gray turbans.
Unlike ordinary noisy bandits, these soldiers were surprisingly silent as they marched.
A group of soldiers marched in formation, with long spears on their shoulders.
Countless spears gathered together like a forest made of steel. The spear tips were pointed at an angle, giving off a bit of cold light under the sun, which was breathtaking.
The army is vast, like the roaring water of the Yellow River, ferocious and violent.
The troops carrying spears on their shoulders rolled forward and soon gathered into an endless forest of spears and halberds in the wilderness outside Xing'an City.
The intruders in the front line have covered the entire front, while the intruders in the rear seem to be endless, constantly coming from the distant horizon.
Even though they were three miles away, the chilling aura emanating from the troops' ranks still hit us.
Feeling the pressure coming towards them, all the militiamen on Dongguan looked pale and trembling.
Chen Wang looked to the left and right, and the soldiers under his command on the city wall had different expressions.
Although some of the veterans who followed him all the way through the war had some fear on their faces, their eyes did not waver much.
Most of the newly recruited soldiers looked embarrassed and could not hide their fear.
Some were shaking all over, some were bowing their heads, and some were breathing rapidly.
But it stopped there. They were still standing on their posts, and no one dared to touch them.
But the militiamen on the city wall were terrified, all of them looked pale, and some couldn't help but retreat in small steps.
This is true for militiamen who have been on the battlefield, let alone those who have been recruited.
Chen Wang did not issue any military orders to respond. The battlefield is the best training ground.
Defending the city is no better than fighting in the field. No matter how strong the invading army is, they cannot fly over the city wall and directly enter the city.
The invading army came all the way and didn't have many siege equipment at all. Even the simplest ladder took a long time to make.
In the early days of the uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, the peasant army used the clumsiest and simplest methods to attack the city.
One is a ladder, the other is a tunnel, they don't even have a siege engine.
The ladder here is not a large siege ladder that can carry a large number of troops, and even has barbs on the ladder body, but the simplest long wooden ladder and bamboo ladder.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, records of rogue sieges were recorded. In many cases, "hundreds of roads advanced simultaneously in the Yunti cave".
It sounds very powerful, but in fact it's like attacking a city with ants, taking human lives to pile them up, and using human lives to fill them.
In troubled times, the least valuable thing is human life.
The densely packed intruders rolled in like a swarm of locusts, first covering the entire front.
But after it covered the entire facade, the wave did not stop flowing.
The waves continued to surge and spread to the south and north of the city, enveloping the entire Xing'an City like a pocket.
Chen Wang glanced at most of the intruders who were slowly unfolding outside the city. After a brief period of confusion, he had returned to his normal state of mind.
Among the bandits who broke into the army, officers were called Guan Dui and Zhang Pan. Although the names were different, they were actually similar to the military system of the Ming Army.
Either they were adapted according to the camp and sentry system, or they were adapted to the flag bureau system. The so-called titles such as team management, commander, etc. also had their corresponding positions in the Ming army.
In the early days, the bandits from various places were mixed, and their organization was chaotic.
However, as a large number of Ming troops who could no longer survive rebelled and joined, they gradually began to gain order, establish their organization, and their combat power began to become stronger.
The Chuang army was the elite among them, and the military system adopted by Gao Yingxiang was that of the Yansui town soldiers.
The lowest unit is a team. Each team consists of twelve people, with one captain, two deputy teams, and a team flag.
The army formation outside the city was so densely covered with banners that it was impossible to count them.
According to a rough estimate, the number of flags of the invading army on the front alone is more than 4,000, which is about 40,000 to 50,000 people. There are also many soldiers passing by the front to go north and south.
Not counting the number of people who followed, there were already more than 100,000 people stranded in Xunyang.
I am afraid that the number of people who will follow Gao Yingxiang into Hanzhong Mansion will exceed 200,000.
"The four cities' assisting defense ministries have all been arranged. Each battalion has 3,000 men, divided into ten battalions in total, and they will assist in the defense in a circular manner."
Just as Chen Wang was observing the enemy's situation, a general wearing an iron-pointed helmet and a hood came over, lowered his head and reported in a low voice.
The armor leaves are exposed outside, and they make a clanging sound when walking. Both arms are equipped with iron arm armor, and a belt knife is hung on the belt.
The general was none other than Du Wugang from the Qianhu Office in Xing'an. He was about thirty years old, with a slightly yellow complexion and a beard and eagle eyes.
Du Wugang's Qianhu was not hereditary. The former Qianhu of Xing'an Qianhu Office died in the hands of Wang Cheng. Du Wugang was originally the deputy Qianhu of Xing'an Qianhu Office.
Holding fifty-six heads of bandits, he defeated another Qianhu, and won the official position of Zhengqianhu by virtue of his military merit.
Du Wugang was followed by more than 20 servants. These servants were all wearing double-breasted cloth masks, high-top helmets, and swords and bows. They had an extraordinary aura. Just by looking at them, you could tell that they had been in battle. A bloody warrior.
There are more than 800 guards under Du Wugang's command, which is already considered a large number.
Even though they were from a thousand households, Guan Qilin didn't have so many guards or servants under his command.
Chen Wang inspected the guards led by Du Wugang. Compared with the beggar soldiers under Guan Qilin, the guards under Du Wugang were slightly better.
At least half of them were still wearing red military hats, and they could also wear a protective jacket over their green skirts. Although the armor was quite tattered, at least they still had it.
"All the people, livestock, and grain from the surrounding suburbs have been moved into the city. They are currently being counted and are expected to be completed in the evening."
"All the wells outside the city have been filled with soil, but the intruders came too quickly, and only half of the surrounding forests were cut down."
Filling in wells and cutting down trees are all trivial matters. These are all orders given by Chen Wang, in order to strengthen the wall and clear the country, create as much trouble as possible, and slow down the invading army's siege.
Chen Wang turned his head and looked at Du Wugang, frowning.
"The people who entered the city were placed in the central area of the city."
"Neither residents inside the city nor residents outside the city are allowed to approach the four-sided city wall. Anyone who dares to approach the city wall gate will be treated as a collaborator."
Most of the cities that were captured by rogue bandits were basically due to internal responses.
Zhang Waijia died in the hands of Li Zicheng in this way, and there were many lessons in history. Chen Wang was naturally more cautious.
There are currently 6,300 soldiers directly under his command, more than 2,000 of whom are new recruits. During this period of time, they have only undergone simple queue training and military formation training.
The militia totaled more than a thousand people. Originally there were about two thousand people, but one thousand of them were transferred to Xunyang by Chen Wang.
There were more than 30,000 Minzhuang recruited to assist in the defense, but these 30,000 people had never been on the battlefield before, and many of them even did not have weapons.
During this period of time, these militiamen and minzhuang were transferred by Chen Wang to train with the new soldiers under his command.
Due to time constraints, they didn't train for long, but they were better than no training at all. At least their stances were all right, and they also understood what a queue and a military formation were.
But that's all. If he were to hold a weapon and fight the bandits in the wild, the battlefield would definitely be one-sided and he would only be massacred.
However, it can be shielded and protected by city walls, and as long as it is directed properly, it can also play a huge role.
As a state city, Xing'an City has taller walls than ordinary county towns.
The city wall is two feet and five feet high, with bricks and stones built inside and outside.
There are urns and towers at the gates on all four sides. Because the river water often rises, the city is surrounded by the Imperial Waterfall.
Not only was there a moat outside, but a moat was also dug around the city. In order to prepare for the upcoming war, Chen Wang also ordered people to continue deepening and widening the moat. Today, the moat around the city is two feet wide and seven feet deep.
Even if the invading army wanted to fill up the trench, it would take a lot of effort.
When they filled up the moat and attacked, they had to find a way to cross the moat.
There are urns and towers at the gates on all four sides. Because the river water often rises, the city is surrounded by the Imperial Waterfall.
In order to prepare for the next war, Chen Wang also ordered people to continue to deepen and widen the trench. Today, the trench surrounding the city is two feet wide and seven feet deep.
…
The military department all gave the following words to Chang Ziyu:
"There are hundreds of thousands of rogues, but the strongest one has no fault and is the King of Chuang. He has surrendered many times to the Han Dynasty and has strong armor and iron cavalry."
"There are ninety people in the Thieves Qu, King Chuang is the strongest. Most of his subordinates are descended from Ding, their armor is well-organized, and their troops are not disordered. They are not comparable to other Rat Thieves."
"It is appropriate to combine the power of the world, and you will definitely get the first one if you pay a heavy price. If you get the first one, the remaining thieves will not be able to defeat you."
Lu Xiangsheng said:
"The king of Chuang is also the most powerful. Who can be the leader? There will be an uproar in Yu and Chu."
