July 1, the ninth year of Chongzhen.
There is a mound of ruins in Ziwu Town.
The roads outside the town were covered with marching soldiers.
These soldiers all had gray scarves on their heads, gray clothes, straw sandals on their feet, and their legs were bound. They were all dressed lightly and simply.
The so-called walking belt is actually leggings. Leggings are actually not a rare thing born in later generations. They have been popularized as early as ancient Chinese armies.
Holding the reins in their hands, they led the horses along the official road toward the northeast.
The soldiers who still dare to move freely in the wilds of Hanzhong Mansion today cannot be the Ming army. They are the Chuang army under Gao Yingxiang's command.
Gao Yingxiang was riding a war horse, holding the reins and walking back and forth on the side of the official road. He frowned and raised his eyes to the southwest from time to time, as if waiting for something.
None of the bodyguard cavalry who followed him were wearing armor. They were all wearing green cloth arrow jackets, net scarves on their heads, and carried bows and swords.
Gao Yingxiang didn't wait long, and soon a group of cavalry came galloping from the southwest.
Liu Zhe's horse galloped all the way, and only reined in the horse when he got close.
"How's it going?"
Gao Yingxiangce immediately stepped forward and asked.
"All the rear troops have been arranged, and the materials that cannot be taken away have been left in the camp in the west of Shiquan City."
Liu Zhe took a breath and reported.
"Part of it was given to Yilong and Erlong, and the rest was given to Gao Yingde."
Gao Yingde was Gao Yingxiang's adopted son. His original name was Zhao Yingde. After Gao Yingxiang recognized him as his adopted son, he changed his surname to Gao.
Gao Yingxiang's eyes were slightly stern, and he unconsciously led his horse to look north.
Going north to Ziwu Valley to attack Xi'an, it is naturally impossible to bring all the troops with him.
The plank road is narrow and difficult to navigate. It is not easy for thousands of people to cross. It is also a problem to provide food and grass.
Therefore, the people who can enter Ziwu Road now are all the elite cavalry troops in each battalion. The rest of the troops, the hungry soldiers, the old and the weak, naturally stay in Hanzhong Mansion temporarily.
Just a few days ago, Gao Yingxiang ordered One Dragon, Two Dragons, Nine Dragons, Hengtian Wang Zishun, and Yizi Wang Tuoxianling to lead his troops to evacuate to the Hanyin and Xing'an areas and transfer to Xunyang Mansion. .
Shuntian King He Guoguan, Thousand Rooster Zhang Er, Sky Harrier Wang Cheng, and Horse Racing Chao Ma Yu followed Gao Yingxiang and led his elite cavalry army into the Ziwu Road.
Gao Yingxiang left a small number of elite cavalry and horse troops for Gao Yingde to lead. There were about 5,000 people in this group.
The tens of thousands of hungry soldiers and troops who stayed in Hanzhong Mansion were also handed over to Gao Yingde's management.
It turned out that his brother Gao Yingen had always been in charge of the army and hungry soldiers, but Gao Yingen had already died in Pizhou.
He Guoguan, Wang Zishun and others also left behind their adopted sons and confidants to manage their troops and hungry soldiers.
Most of the hungry troops were left in the Xing'an Prefecture area. They would raise flags and head eastward in early July to act as suspicious soldiers to attract the attention of the Ming army.
The Ming army thought that most of the bandits in Hanzhong Mansion had returned to Xunyang Mansion.
Gao Yingxiang shook his head slightly to dispel the thoughts in his heart, and asked again.
"What's the current situation with regard to food, grass, and soldiers."
Liu Zhe pondered for a moment and quickly gave his answer.
"Our army entered the plank road with a total of 41,120 cavalry, including 43,78 horses and 2,434 mules."
Nowadays, all aspects of the invasion are becoming more and more formal, and it is normal for the number of horses to be in single digits.
The reason why it was slower this time was because soldiers from other battalions including Suncheon King and Hengcheon King also joined in, so there was some confusion.
"According to the original plan, a batch of dry food was made for the soldiers to hang on their saddles, which can last for fifteen days."
Starting from Ziwu Town in the west of Shiquan County and heading north through Ziwu Road, if we follow the normal marching speed, it will take almost ten days.
Ziwu Road has experienced thousands of years of expansion. Although it is still dangerous compared to ordinary roads, it is much smoother than in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Horses and carts can be driven in many places.
"War Horse's Doucao arranged a logistics team of mules to carry it, and prepared nearly twenty days' worth."
Liu Zhe paused and then said.
"Reconnaissance Cavalry reported that there are no pedestrians or merchants on Ziwu Road now, and most of the checkpoints have been abandoned."
"There are currently five hundred reconnaissance riders at the front, one person and three horses, taking turns to explore."
"They are all wearing the clothes and armor of the Ming army, and they are using the flags that Wang Cheng captured from the Hanzhong Mansion camp."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Gao Yingxiang nodded slightly, raised his hand and patted Liu Zhe's shoulder gently, encouraging him.
As the general manager, Liu Zhe has always been responsible for military supplies, money and food. The general's internal management has always been in order, and this time he was not disappointed.
Gao Yingxiang turned his attention to the northeast.
At this time, the Ziwu Road was densely packed with heads and horses, and the sound of horse hooves and footsteps could be heard like a swollen river.
The mountains are continuous and stretch to the end of the sky.
The mist wraps around the mountains like a white veil, making it difficult to see the entire mountain clearly.
Everything is hazy, everything is vague, no one knows what is hidden in the rolling mountains, and no one knows whether this road is a way of life...or a dead end...
The rumbling footsteps echoed in Gao Yingxiang's ears, but he could hear the beating of his heart in his chest.
He now feels the same as Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms. He has always been like a bird in a cage and a fish in a net.
If you win this battle, you will be like a dragon entering the sea and a bird flying into the sky. From now on, the world will be free to roam freely and will no longer be fettered by a cage or net.
But if failed...
Nine years of wind and rain, nine years of frost and snow, and nine years of fighting have already made Gao Yingxiang numb and tough.
In order to be a general, you must first treat your heart.
Mount Tai collapses in front but remains unchanged; elk rises to the left but does not blink.
But this time, Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but think about the result of failure.
A huge burden rested on his shoulders, and a full nine years had passed since the first year of Chongzhen.
In order to survive along the way, he committed countless sins and made countless mistakes...
Gao Yingxiang clenched the riding crop in his hand, and his knuckles could not help but turn slightly white from the exertion.
Now he puts all his chips on the gambling table and the chessboard.
He cannot afford to lose, and he cannot lose...
Gao Yingxiang raised his head high and looked toward the northeast. His eyes slowly became firm again and he murmured in a low voice.
"Life and death have destiny, wealth and honor are in heaven."
Gao Yingxiang's expression was firm, and there was no hesitation in his eyes.
As things stand now, we can only move forward!
Gao Yingxiang took one last look back at Ziwu Town, which had turned into a ruin on the side of the official road. Then he turned his horse's head, and without any further hesitation, he led a group of bodyguard cavalry towards the depths of Ziwu Road.
…
July 5, the ninth year of Chongzhen.
Ming army camp in the south of Xi'an Prefecture and Hu County.
At this time, more than 8,000 soldiers and horses had gathered in the southern part of Hu County, 3,000 of whom were soldiers of the Dubiao Battalion recruited by Sun Chuanting, and more than 2,000 of them were General Li Yuchun of Guyuan Town.
The remaining more than 3,000 soldiers were guards dispatched from various military posts.
The atmosphere in the Chinese military tent was silent. Sun Chuanting looked gloomy. He stood in front of the sand table. All the generals around him lowered their heads and said nothing, looking at their noses and their hearts.
Originally, a total of more than 4,000 guards came, but now there are only 2,000 because half of them, the old and the weak, were sent back by Sun Chuanting.
Among the more than 4,000 people, only a few hundred were fully equipped with armor and armor, and they were all servants of various military schools. The rest of the guards were all in ragged clothes, and few of them were neatly dressed.
Even ordinary red hats cannot be guaranteed to be available to everyone, and there are still many old and weak people.
Sun Chuanting glanced at several guards officers standing in the tent and shook his head.
The weakness of the health center is a problem caused by the general environment. Although some results have been seen after more than a month of rectification, after all, the disadvantages have been accumulated for a long time, and this situation has to be changed for a while.
Sun Chuanting glanced to the left. The person standing on his left was none other than General Li Yuchun.
Li Yuchun was originally ordered to wipe out Li Chuang's remnant party in Qingyang Mansion, and was also tasked with blocking Li Zicheng's westward escape route.
But when the matter became urgent, Sun Chuanting used the power of the governor to negotiate with Hong Chengchou and urgently transferred Li Yuchun.
Hong Chengchou actually felt that it was unlikely that Sun Chuanting's plan for the invading army to march north through Ziwu Valley to attack Xi'an City was unlikely, but he did not reject Sun Chuanting's request.
Sun Chuanting was the governor of Shaanxi and had considerable influence in the court, so his request was not excessive.
Li Yuchun's troops only had 2,000 troops, which was just an arrangement to prevent Li Zicheng from escaping to the west. It was of no importance to the overall situation. What's wrong with being a favor and completely protecting Xi'an.
"The scouting horse reported that a band of bandits had entered the Ziwu Road. The bandits arranged for reconnaissance horses to go ahead to investigate. It was difficult to find out the details of the bandits. However, when looking from a distance, we saw that the plank road was densely packed and winding like snakes."
Sun Chuanting held a long whip, pointed in the direction of Ziwu Road on the sand table, and said in a deep voice.
All the generals in the tent were shocked when they heard Sun Chuanting's words. Many military academies actually complained about Sun Chuanting's sudden southward march to Hu County.
The main force of the rogue bandits was clearly still in Xuxiang, confronting Huguang soldiers and Henan soldiers. The intruders only entered Hanzhong Mansion this time to plunder, so how could they go north to attack Xi'an City.
Moreover, the roads within the plank road are narrow and it is difficult for the army to move. Once discovered, all they have to do is block the pass and it will be a dead end.
Gao Yingxiang was always cautious, so how could he take such risks?
But now they were shocked when they heard the information from Sun Chuanting.
Li Yuchun looked slightly stern and glanced at Sun Chuanting subconsciously.
If he remembered correctly, when Sun Chuanting ordered the army to go to Hu County, he did not receive any news about rogue bandits on Ziwu Road.
"The observation soldiers saw the rogue reconnaissance cavalry appearing in the middle of Ziwu Road. In other words, in five days, the rogue bandits will be able to walk out of Ziwu Road."
Sun Chuanting secretly paid attention to the expressions of the generals in the tent.
He had just been appointed governor, and although he used thunderous tactics to subdue these arrogant and powerful generals.
But Sun Chuanting knew that what they feared more now was just his status as governor.
Although it is taken orally, many people are not convinced.
In order to convince him and gain his military morale, what he needs is a big victory.
There is no soldier who is unwilling to follow an inspector who can win the battle, and there is no general who is unwilling to follow an inspector who knows the military affairs.
Sun Chuanting raised the long whip in his hand, the head of the whip fell on the exit of Ziwu Road, and decided on the strategy.
"After lunch, we will move to Ziwu Pass!"
A group of generals came out in response to the order, and in an instant the camp was filled with people and horses neighing.
…
Just when Sun Chuanting ordered the camp to be moved to Ziwu Pass,
Chen Wang was standing on the tower of Xing'an City, staring at the marching bandits on the official road.
Due to the blockade of information, Chen Wang did not know the specific situation in Hanzhong Mansion.
Among the rogue troops heading east on the official road, he saw Gao Yingxiang's banner, and also saw the banners at the head of each battalion when they passed by Xing'an City.
However, this time the proportion of horse troops and fine cavalry passing through the Guandao Brigade eastward was much smaller than before.
From his observations over the past few days, Chen Wang has determined one thing - Gao Yingxiang has entered Ziwu Valley!
Chen Wang's mind went back and forth a thousand times, and he was thinking about one thing, a matter of taking chestnuts from the fire.
Beside Chen Wang, a group of military academies in the army were ready to go. Everyone's eyes were focused on him, waiting for the military order he issued.
Time passed slowly while waiting, the sun slowly set west from its direct position, and the sky became darker a little bit.
Standing on the tower of the East City, Chen Wang could only see a patch of residual red and dark water.
The molten golden sunlight shines on the city wall from both sides of the tower, proving that the sun has not completely set yet.
But at this time, under the East City, the place where the sun could not shine was already dark.
Braziers for lighting have also been lit in many places on the city wall.
The official road outside the city was in a mess, and the last group of bandits had left Xing'an City and slowly moved toward Xunyang in the northeast.
In his eyes, only a small outline of Mohu Lake was left on the horizon of the retreating bandit team.
When the sun rises again, it will be the sixth day of July.
Chen Wang pressed the Yan Ling Dao on his waist and calmly watched the changes in everything in front of him. He had already made a final plan.
"Pass my general's order."
Chen Wang spoke slowly, and the guards waiting beside him reacted in the next moment.
"Order Hanzhong to guerrilla Zhou Yumao, and immediately lead all troops and horses to Ziwu Town in Shiquan."
Chen Wang turned around and his eyes fell on Hu Zhiyi.
"During my absence, the defense of the city will be decided by Hu Zhiyi with full authority."
Hu Zhiyi knelt half on the ground, bowed his head and bowed respectfully to Chen Wang, and said in a deep voice.
"Humble position, take orders."
Chen Wang glanced around at the military schools standing on the tower and walked down the tower step by step.
Chen Wang was speechless, and neither were the military schools. They followed Chen Wang down the city tower, walked over the city wall, and walked down the horse path.
Behind the city gate, hundreds of soldiers stood on the street.
They were dressed in red, with net scarves on their heads and straps on their feet. They were holding reins to pull their horses and stood quietly on the street.
Watching Chen Wang walking down the horse path on the city wall, watching Chen Wang walk all the way closer.
Their eyes looked extremely bright in the darkness, like torches.
There was not a single sound of people on the huge street, only the sound of the horses' hooves hitting the ground from time to time, and the occasional snort.
