Chen Wang raised his head and stared at the lone red flag on Xi'an City above the sand table.
The truth has been peeled off from the layers of context and presented before his eyes.
Chen Wang's eyes were bright, and the huge sand table in front of him slowly turned into a chessboard in his eyes.
The mountains, rivers and rivers on the sand table are criss-crossed, like the lines on a chessboard separating cities and armies.
Those erected red flags and black flags are like two-color chess pieces on a chessboard, distributed on the chessboard according to the layout of the chess players.
The sequence of events gradually became clearer, and the situation and pattern became clearer.
Gao Yingxiang regarded the world as a chess game. In the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, he traveled thousands of miles to fight, quietly burying hidden chess pieces one after another.
Since returning to Shaanxi, Gao Yingxiang may have already started his own layout.
Starting from Xi'an Prefecture, the troops were divided into two groups, one to capture Pingliang Prefecture and the other to plunder Qingyang Prefecture.
Gao Yingxiang personally led his main force to attract Hong Chengchou's attention, first to Pingliang Mansion, then to Gongchang Mansion, and finally to Fengxiang Mansion.
After plundering the three prefectures, they gathered the manpower of the three prefectures and marched into Guanzhong in three groups. They camped for seventy miles, and the beacon light shone on Xijing.
Gao Yingxiang gathered 300,000 troops and besieged the city of Xi'an.
This was Gao Yingxiang's first game of chess, and the player he played against was Hong Chengchou, the trilateral governor who controlled the world's military campaigns.
The first game was a draw, with Xi'an City still there, Gao Yingxiang not winning, and Hong Chengchou not winning either.
The final ending temporarily came to an end with Gao Yingxiang sneaking into Henan.
When everyone turned their attention to Henan, no one noticed that when Gao Yingxiang played the first game of chess and attacked Xi'an, he had already begun to prepare for the second game.
Perhaps Gao Yingxiang knew from the beginning that it would still be difficult to capture the strong city of Xi'an.
Gao Yingxiang laid secret moves in Fengxiang Mansion, Gongchang Mansion, and Yan'an Mansion in advance.
The second chess game started after the endgame of the first game. This time it was not only Hong Chengchou but also Lu Xiangsheng who played against Gao Yingxiang.
Lu Xiangsheng's strength far exceeded Gao Yingxiang's imagination. Gao Yingxiang fell into a disadvantage at the beginning of the chess game, and the big dragon that had finally gathered together was easily cut off by Lu Xiangsheng.
However, Gao Yingxiang remained calm and collected at this time. It was at this time that Lao Huihui Ma Shouying and Cao Cao and Luo Rucai escaped into the Shangluo area in the south of Xi'an Prefecture.
Seeing that the officers and soldiers were strong, Gao Yingxiang led the main force all the way east. His purpose was very clear-South Zhili.
The purpose of his attack on Nanzhili was to make soldiers and horses from various places move closer to Nanzhili, so as to weaken the power of other places.
Then Gao Yingxiang moved all the way to fight, and continued to locate in Henan, Huguang, and Nanzhili, leaving some of his troops to enter the mountainous areas of various places to act as a containment.
In order to stabilize the situation in various places, Lu Xiangsheng could only continue to divide his troops to suppress these small groups of bandits wandering around.
It was not until he entered Xunyang Mansion that Gao Yingxiang finally won a big victory with a clever move and temporarily stabilized the situation.
At the beginning of the second game, Gao Yingxiang had already thought about how to end the game.
The city of Xi'an is strong and solid, so it is known as Xijing.
Most of Xi'an's city walls are more than 12 meters wide, and the top width of the city wall is between 12 and 14 meters, which can be used to mobilize large groups of soldiers and horses.
Without large-scale siege equipment, trying to capture Xi'an just by relying on ant siege is tantamount to wishful thinking.
If Yifu Siege wants to capture Xi'an, it must be extremely weak in defense...
Everything Gao Yingxiang did in the second game was to weaken Xi'an's defensive strength.
The main force of the Ming army was divided into two parts, one part was led by Lu Xiangsheng, and the other part was led by Hong Chengchou.
If you want to capture Xi'an, these two Ming armies cannot be located near Xi'an.
His plan was to first spread chess pieces to weaken Lu Xiangsheng's troops, and then use himself as bait to attract Lu Xiangsheng's pursuit and hold back the main force of the Ming army under Lu Xiangsheng.
The Xunyang Mountains and the dense river network around them were the best barriers, which could block them from the Ming army's pursuit.
The troops in South Zhili were struggling to deal with the rogue bandits scattered throughout the country. The troops in Huguang were locked up in Xiangyang City, while part of the Henan soldiers led by Lu Xiangsheng needed to clear out small groups of bandits in various places, while most of the others were left behind. Nanyang Mansion.
It is more than two thousand miles from Nanyang to Xi'an. If Xi'an is in emergency, Lu Xiangsheng has no way to quickly rush to Xi'an from Nanyang Mansion, even if he has wings.
Although the process on Prime Minister Hui Deng's side is different from that in history, the Ming army led by Hong Chengchou is now attracted by Li Zicheng as it was in history.
Gao Yingxiang's layout has been decided, but neither Lu Xiangsheng nor Hong Chengchou saw through Gao Yingxiang's plan at this time.
Hong Chengchou focused all his attention on Li Zicheng. He mobilized a large number of troops to annihilate Li Zicheng in one battle and quell the Shaanxi bandit rebellion.
Li Chongzhen and Zu Kuan were also seconded by him to go north this time in order to completely annihilate Li Zicheng.
And Lu Xiangsheng is now attracted to the Han River area by Gao Yingxiang.
Everything Gao Yingxian did in Shaanxi, Henan, and Huguang provinces was to weaken the defense force of Xi'an City, and he did it.
Chen Wang had completely figured out the key at this time.
Historically, in May, it makes sense why Gao Yingxiang once again turned from Hanzhong Prefecture to Xunyang Prefecture and Xiangyang Prefecture in the east.
The reason why Gao Yingxiang returned to Xunyang and Xiangyang this time was to set up a maze to conceal his intention to raid Xi'an Mansion, so that Lu Xiangsheng could continue to lead troops to guard Nanyang Mansion, and also to prevent Hong Chengchou from focusing on Xi'an. The leading troops continued northward.
Gao Yingxiang deceived Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng.
Gao Yingxiang had always been cautious and cautious, so neither Hong Chengchou nor Lu Xiangsheng expected that Gao Yingxiang would be so bold this time.
History books are too small to contain a person's magnificent life.
The history book is too big, covering five thousand years of China.
A page in the book that is turned over casually, and the content that is written down with a pen, is the life of many people.
In the five thousand years of Chinese history, heroes have been like carps crossing the river, and advisors and state officials need to be carried in vehicles.
There are countless pearls submerged in the vast history books and buried in the sand...
Gao Yingxiang's reputation in history is completely inferior to that of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
Most impressions of him are just that of the first generation "Chuang King".
If Li Zicheng had not inherited Gao Yingxiang's title of "King of Chuang", perhaps his reputation would have been even lower.
Being in the middle of the game, even as an opponent, Chen Wang was impressed by Gao Yingxiang's courage and strategy.
How can a person with such courage and come up with such a plan not make people feel surrendered?
After Gao Yingxiang's death, no one stood up and could call on everyone to follow him.
Chen Wang shook his head. It turned out that he was reading this period of history and did not think deeper.
Most people just thought that Gao Yingxiang was defeated one after another, and when they were desperate, they took a dangerous move and tried to raid Xi'an through the plank road.
But in fact, the strength of Gao Yingxiang's men at that time was not greatly damaged and they were able to persevere.
The officers and soldiers in Huguang and Nanyang Mansion were simply not enough to force him to a dead end.
The raid on Xi'an was Gao Yingxiang's own choice, not a desperate move.
Unfortunately……
Gao Yingxiang made a mistake despite all his calculations.
It was this one that caused him to lose everything.
The person who put down this fatal chess piece was the new governor of Shaanxi - Sun Chuanting.
Chen Wang looked at the chessboard in front of him, and chess pieces began to appear one after another in his eyes.
Gao Yingxiang, Lu Xiangsheng, and Hong Chengchou seemed to be right in front of him. At this time, the three of them were sitting in front of each other and playing games.
Gao Yingxiang raised his hands to spread out the chess pieces one by one. In the eyes of others, he was at the end of his rope and was sealed in the mountainous area of Xunyang. All he did at this time was just a desperate struggle.
Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou were sitting on the other side of the chessboard. They did not pay attention to the murderous intention hidden in the chessboard. They already felt that they were sure to win.
The chess game is continuing, and the pieces are falling one after another. The distance between Gao Yingxiang and achieving his goal is also constantly decreasing.
Gao Yingxiang kept making moves, and every move he made made the situation look even more unfavorable to him.
He even lost his mind and placed his son again in a place where he was destined to be swallowed.
In the eyes of Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou, Gao Yingxiang was already a bird in a cage and a sparrow in a net.
But they didn't know that they had already fallen into Gao Yingxiang's trap and were falling deeper and deeper.
Gao Yingxiang has prepared the final move - to send troops out of Ziwu and attack Xi'an.
But before Gao Yingxiang played his last move, the player opposite him was no longer Hong Chengchou or Lu Xiangsheng, but Sun Chuanting.
The chess pieces that Sun Chuanting dropped had eaten half of the chess pieces he had arranged in Shangluo, and also blocked his way north and his chance to make a comeback...
…
In March of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Gan Xuekuo, the governor of Shaanxi, was dismissed from office due to circumstances. Sun Chuanting was ordered to take over as the governor of Shaanxi and take on the important task of wiping out the peasant army.
April 6th.
Emperor Chongzhen summoned Sun Chuanting in the Bian Palace to ask what kind of help he needed, and Sun Chuanting asked for sufficient military pay.
Sun Chuanting's request was naturally not agreed to. At this time, the country's finances were already extremely difficult, and Chongzhen had no way to give Sun Chuanting enough military pay.
In fact, Sun Chuanting knew very well that the country was in dire straits and had financial shortages at this time. The reason why he made this request was to allow Chongzhen to agree to his real request - to raise his own salary.
In the end, Sun Chuanting naturally got Chongzhen's consent, and it was gaining this power that allowed Sun Chuanting to flex his muscles in the future.
May 16th.
Sun Chuanting entered the Qin Dynasty to perform his duties. During this period, he recruited 3,000 powerful troops, actively rectified the military affairs of Shaanxi, and revitalized the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.
One month later, Sun Chuanting led his troops to suppress Shangluo and won successively. King Zhangxian of Tibetan was killed by his formation, and the Shangluo bandits were greatly weakened.
What happened next is clear to everyone.
In July, Gao Yingxiang led his troops from Ziwu, Chencang, intending to raid Xi'an.
Sun Chuanting was in Xi'an Mansion at this time, and perhaps it was destiny.
Good luck never comes in pairs, and misfortune never comes alone. When Gao Yingxiang led the army to march on the plank road, they were suddenly hit by a continuous heavy rain.
This heavy rain wiped out all Gao Yingxiang's hard work.
This heavy rain also caused Gao Yingxiang to lose the last possibility of a comeback and his last chance of survival.
This heavy rain made all Gao Yingxiang's plans and planning go to waste.
Sun Chuanting's last piece captured Black's largest dragon on the chessboard, saving the chess game that was about to overturn. White once again had the upper hand.
The remaining black chess pieces on the chessboard are also surrounded by heavy siege...
Gao Yingxiang put down the chess piece in his hand, looked up at the sky above his head, and then focused on the chessboard.
In the end everything turned into a long sigh.
"Woo——————"
The low and desolate horn sound interrupted Chen Wang's thoughts.
Immediately afterwards, waves of earth-shaking killing cries swept from behind Chen Wang.
Chen Wang opened his eyes.
The illusions of Gao Yingxiang, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting and the Shanhe chessboard all disappeared in his mind.
In front of him was just an ordinary sand table.
"Winter!" "Winter!" "Winter!"
The rapid sound of war drums sounded immediately, and Chen Wang turned his head to follow the sound.
The sound of trumpets was the sound of the invaders launching an attack, while the sound of drums was the response of the defenders on the tower.
Chen Wang turned around and looked outside the door.
Outside the door were groups of soldiers marching quickly.
Wearing iron armor and high-top helmets, the military officers held Yanling knives in their hands and calmly issued orders one after another.
The soldiers wearing faceplates and helmets carried out military orders in an orderly manner.
Although the Minzhuang men in civilian clothes and the militiamen in green clothes looked frightened, no one stopped what they were doing.
For Gao Yingxiang, Xing'an City is his training ground. He wants to rely on Xing'an to select fierce and brave soldiers from these hungry soldiers.
For Chen Wang, Xing'an City is also a place for military training.
After the expansion of the army, nearly half of the soldiers under his command have never experienced bloody battlefields or the baptism of fire and sword.
In a sense, Gao Yingxiang actually helped Chen Wang.
Chen Wang held down the Yan Ling Dao at his waist. He walked out of the tower, walked to the edge of the city wall, and stood at the crenellation.
Looking down from the crenel, countless invading soldiers in disorderly clothes have covered the entire front of the city, densely packed like a colony of ants.
Chen Wang raised his head and looked further into the distance. Just behind the large formation of hungry soldiers, on a mound that had been piled up not long ago, a purple banner stood out among the messy banners. Particularly noteworthy...
…
"Sun Chuanting's Epitaph":
"Gao Yingxiang took Heishui Valley from Hanzhong to attack Xi'an."
"The thieves are planning to come far away. The road is difficult and the rain is pouring. The people and horses are exhausted. They fight against the mountains and choke them. If there is no way out, the thieves can be pushed and captured!"
"Lead Gubiao across the Wei River to counterattack and defeat them."
"Governor Hong Gong heard that the thieves had been defeated, so he led his troops to march all night until tomorrow to fight again, and captured Gao Yingxiang alive in the formation, and presented him as a prisoner at the foot of the palace."
