"The Chuang army has retreated!"
"The Chuang army has retreated!
"
Cheers like a mountain roaring and a tsunami rang out in Xing'an City.
Just outside the city, in the wilderness, the last cavalry team that broke into the rear of the army disappeared into the eyes of everyone on the city wall.
The cheers that sounded on the city wall soon spread to Xing'an City.
The people in the city were still wondering what happened at first. The cheers were too loud. They only heard the cheers but had no idea what was happening.
Some people even thought that the intruders had broken through the city, and all the people in the city looked horrified.
The yamen responsible for maintaining order in the streets drew out the sabers on their waists, and the remaining people in the streets also gathered together.
Some of them were holding wooden sticks, some were holding kitchen knives, and some were holding farm tools. They held all the weapons they could find and guarded the market.
However, when the sound of "the robbers retreating" was heard from outside the shop along with the rapid sound of horse hooves, they all finally put down their weapons.
"Woo——"
Cries could be heard from many places in the streets and alleys of the city.
The siege lasted for more than two months, and all normal activities in Xing'an City almost came to a halt. All activities were centered around defending the city.
Every day and night they were afraid that the city would be breached, and they were afraid that when they opened their eyes they would see rogue bandits entering the city.
Now that the haze above our heads has dissipated, many people are crying with joy.
They finally survived...
…
In the east tower of Xing'an City, Chen Wang was sitting on the side of the hall, not on the head seat.
Chen Wang is now Hanzhong's general, a fourth-rank commander.
There are not many people in Xing'an Prefecture who can take him to the bottom position.
And the person sitting in the first seat now is one of them.
Xu Xiuye, the magistrate of Xing'an Prefecture, wore a black veil on his head, a blue robe with a silk coiled collar and a right hem, and a plain silver belt. The fifth-grade white pheasant patch on the front of the robe revealed his identity.
Although Chen Wang's official rank was higher than that of Xu Xiuye, the pattern of emphasizing civility over military affairs had been formed in the late Ming Dynasty.
Although Xu Xiuye did not have the power to govern Chen Wang, Chen Wang still let Xu Xiuye sit in the first place.
Xu Xiuye has a square face, a long beard, and a majestic appearance.
According to the aesthetics of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, he is a handsome man. He has become a fifth-rank magistrate at the age of nearly forty, which may have something to do with his appearance.
At this time, Xu Xiuye frowned and looked troubled. He turned his head and glanced at Chen Wang, who was sitting next to him, and sighed.
"General Chen Shen means that the intruders will come back again. At present, the security in Xing'an City can only be temporarily relaxed, but the city gates are still not open and the people can return home?"
"Although the intruders have retreated to the land of Xunxiang this time, I'm afraid they will turn back soon."
Chen Wang withdrew his gaze from observing Xu Xiuye, lowered his head, and replied.
"Governor Lu mobilized heavy troops in Xunxiang and Xunxiang, and has blocked the way for the intruders to advance eastward."
"The intruder's eastward advance will inevitably hit a wall in Xuxiang, and I'm afraid he will enter Hanzhong again..."
Xu Xiuye looked sad and asked again.
"We have been sieging the city for two months, but why have we still received no reinforcements?"
Chen Wang did not answer Xu Xiuye's question immediately. He thought about it for a moment before considering it.
"Nowadays, there are rogue bandits in all directions, and there are many places where we really have no time to take care of them."
"I have reported the situation in Hanzhong to the Hongjunmen. There is only a rogue group of bandits under Li Zicheng left in northern Shaanxi. I will wait until they are wiped out."
"Hong Junmen will be free to send troops to help Hanzhong."
Xu Xiuye didn't know much about military affairs, but he didn't know anything about rogue bandits. Rogue bandits rarely besieged a city for more than a month.
Chen Wang vowed so emphatically that Xu Xiuye already believed it in his heart.
"During this period, many people in various cities were taken captive into bandit camps. However, there should still be people hiding among the mountains and valleys. Now that the bandits have retreated, these people may return to their hometowns."
Xu Xiuye's eyes first looked outside the city, and then moved to Chen Wang.
"If the intruder comes again, I'm afraid he won't be able to escape his vicious hands. Now that the intruder has retreated, can General Chen send a few troops to bring him into the city?"
Xu Xiuye stood up, faced Chen Wang, leaned slightly, and solemnly asked with his hands raised.
"The food in Xing'an City is quite sufficient and can last for more than two months."
"A few days ago, I have contacted the wealthy households in the city to raise a lot of food. More people in the city will not cause food shortages."
Chen Wang raised his head, a trace of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
When he came to this era, he had not come into contact with many civil servants.
Except for Wang Zhaolin and Hong Chengchou, the magistrates of Chunhua County at the beginning, there is only Xu Xiuye now.
Chen Wang didn't quite understand the rules of the officialdom, so he had always left most of the greeting and delivery matters to Zhao Huailiang.
In addition to various considerations, the subsequent recruitment of people to assist in defense was left to Zhou Yumao to contact the magistrates in various places.
To be honest, Chen Wang didn't want to get too entangled with these local and prefecture officials.
He holds military power in his hands, and if he interacts too closely with local officials, it is easy to cause unnecessary trouble.
As a camp general, he was directly responsible to the governor appointed by the emperor.
"This matter is not difficult. I have a cavalry under my command. When the intruders are almost gone in a few days, we can send them to the surrounding towns to bring these people back to the city."
Chen Wang did not refuse Xu Xiuye's request, but stood up and agreed.
"However, rogue bandits often mix among the refugees. Many cities were attacked just to accommodate the refugees. After the refugees entered the city, we hope that Xu Zhizhou can properly resettle them."
"It's best to place it far away from the city gate and remove all its weapons."
Because of the influence of later generations, he did not have any good impression of these civil servants in the late Ming Dynasty.
But now his views have changed slightly because of Xu Xiuye's request.
After Chen Wang agreed to Xu Xiuye's request, Xu Xiuye did not stay on the tower any longer.
There were tens of thousands of people stranded in the city, and various affairs were piled up. Although he was the magistrate, he did not take away all responsibilities, but took many things on himself.
There are not many government affairs that Xu Xiuye needs to handle every day.
"Although the intruders have retreated from Xing'an City, it is not too safe now. Over in Hanyin..."
After Chen Wang sent Xu Xiuye away, Chen Gong also walked up to him.
He could clearly hear everything Xu Xiuye and Chen Wang said before.
Chen Wang's promise to Xu Xiuye was still very risky.
Although most of the invading army has evacuated now, I am afraid that some troops and horses are still left behind. If they encounter them, it will definitely be an encounter.
At present, there are only more than 900 cavalrymen under his command. The cavalry is not infantry. It is difficult to train cavalry. Every one of them will die.
"I know……"
Chen Wang walked out of the tower slowly, and Xu Xiuye's retreating back came into view.
"After five days, every once in a while, you can take your cavalry out of the city and walk around the suburbs a few times."
Chen Wang looked at Xu Xiuye's back and said calmly.
“Don’t leave the city again until the end of the month.”
Although he agreed to Xu Xiuye's request, he didn't really want to do these things.
The invading army came in force, and many people received the news and hid in the mountains and valleys in advance, and they were indeed able to escape.
But not only Xu Xiuye knew about this kind of thing, but Chuang Jun also knew about it.
Gao Yingxiang's trip to Xuxiang this time was a plan to attack the east and attack the west. He just wanted to attract the attention of the Ming army in Xuxiang and further confuse Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou.
Gao Yingxiang was destined to return to Hanzhong Mansion. He had left a lot of cavalry around Hanyin, so how could he not leave backup in other places.
To lead those people into the city, the cavalry sent out will inevitably encounter danger, and it will also bring danger to the city's defense.
The lives of those common people mattered, but the lives of the cavalry under his command also mattered...
Chen Gong's eyes moved slightly and he lowered his head. He understood what Chen Wang meant.
Facts also proved that Chen Wang's calculation was indeed good.
Gao Yingxiang indeed left a lot of fine cavalry and horse troops not only in Hanyin, but also in Pingli, Ziyang, and Xunyang.
After waiting for a few days, Chen Gong led his cavalry out of the city and encountered some invading army cavalry before they had gone very far.
When Chen Gong encountered a small group of intruder cavalry, he would eat them. When encountering a large group of fine cavalry and rangers, Chen Gong led his cavalry to retreat immediately, never leaving Xing'an too far.
In more than 20 days, most of the rebel cavalry left behind by Gao Yingxiang evacuated from the surrounding area of Xing'an. Chen Gong also captured more than 300 heads, and only a dozen of his men were slightly injured.
But these are nothing to gain.
Although he did not go to Pingli, Ziyang, Xunyang and other places, Chen Gong still took back more than a thousand people.
Xu Xiuye's explanation was there, but he didn't know the specific situation outside the city anyway.
The time when Chuang Jun returned to Hanzhong was later than Chen Wang had estimated.
When the Chuang army appeared at the foot of Xing'an City again, it was already the morning of June 15th.
When the vanguard cavalry of the Breaking Army arrived outside Xing'an City, someone had already informed Chen Wang.
When Chen Wang put on his armor and climbed onto the tower of Xing'an City, a large group of intruder cavalry was roaring past the official road.
There were probably tens of thousands of intruder cavalry. After nearly four hours, it was almost dusk before the intruder troops appeared from the horizon.
They came in huge numbers, and their queue covered the entire official road, and even lined up outside the official road.
This time the invading army did not stop at the foot of Xing'an City, nor did they assume an attitude of attacking the city, nor did they conduct a large-scale siege.
The Chuang army only left a few battalions of soldiers and horses to guard Xing'an City to prevent the Ming army in Xing'an City from suddenly attacking.
The rest of the intruders all marched along the official road, with their clear purpose heading northwest towards Hanyin.
A large number of chariots and horses rolled toward the west, followed by an endless stream of troops and hungry soldiers.
The drought in central and northern Shaanxi seems to have also affected Hanzhong. It has not rained in Xing'an for more than a month, and the water level of the Han River has even dropped a lot because of this.
It's June, the heat is getting thicker, and temperatures everywhere are rising, which also makes the environment drier.
Above the official road, a large amount of smoke and dust slowly rose up with the movement of carriages and horses and the footsteps of people, making it seem as if there was a haze outside the entire Xing'an City.
Chen Gong, Tang Shiping, Hu Zhiyi and others gathered next to Chen Wang.
Chen Wang stared at the large group of bandits marching outside the city. The last time he saw more than 200,000 bandits, most of them were seen from a distance.
But this time, the invading army did not camp outside the city, but passed directly by the side of Xing'an City.
Chen Wang could now understand why Zuo Liangyu and Zu Kuan, who led nearly tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, did not dare to attack.
The queue of intruders was as wide as a mile, and there was an endless stream, rushing past outside the city like a river.
The intruders were as densely packed as a swarm of locusts. They covered the entire official road outside Xing'an City with a black mass, and the carriages and horses stretched endlessly.
In the sight, there were all the invading soldiers wrapped in gray turbans. The dense spears covered the sky above their heads, and countless flags were hunting and moving in the strong wind.
Chen Gong and Tang Shiping both looked solemn, paying attention to the intruders outside the city.
Hu Zhiyi frowned slightly. He noticed something was wrong and said in a deep voice.
"It seems that the troops under Gao Yingxiang's command are not the only ones marching outside the city."
Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, moved slightly, and looked in the direction of Hu Zhiyi's finger.
His attention was previously attracted by the momentum of the army, but he did not notice the details.
In the direction Hu Zhiyi pointed, he saw many rogue cavalry troops. Their team was much more disorganized than the cavalry team of the invading army under Gao Yingxiang's command.
Chen Wang glanced at the passing troops on the official road and carefully observed the soldiers in the team.
At this glance, I found a lot of things that were wrong.
There were indeed not only the Chuangjun outside the city, but also other bandits, and Chen Wang also made a new discovery.
"Have you seen Chuangjun's old camp?"
The "Laoying" in Chen Wang's mouth refers to the old, weak, women and children among the rebels. When officers and soldiers refer to the old, weak, women and children among the bandits, they usually refer to "Laoying".
Tang Shiping, Chen Gong and others who were standing at Chen Wang heard Chen Wang's inquiry and looked at the bandits marching outside the city.
"It seems I haven't seen it yet."
Tang Shiping withdrew his gaze. He looked around and saw only the cavalry and infantry of the brigade, and immediately replied in a deep voice.
Chen Gong's eyes moved slightly and he added.
"There don't seem to be many hungry soldiers in the queue."
Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly, and the hand holding the knife subconsciously tightened his grip a little more.
Although there is little information, some things are certain.
Gao Yingxiang's plan has not changed.
This time.
He still wanted Hanzhong, sent his troops out of Ziwu Valley, and attacked Xi'an!
…
"The Chronicles of the Ming Dynasty Volume 75":
"The Qin thieves have a total of 200,000 men, including the king of the Qin Dynasty. The king of Chuangtian has a command of 170,000 men. They set out from Tongguan to invade Luxiang and Lingbao."
"The large army is marching eastward, the dust is rising in the sky, it is forty miles wide and hundreds of miles long, with the old and the weak in the middle, and the elite riders outside."
"The two armies of Zuo Liangyu and General Zu Kuan are separated by seventy miles from east to west. They look at the top of the mountain in the distance and dare not invite an attack."
