In the tenth year of Chongzhen, March 24th.
Shaanxi Province, Hanzhong Prefecture, south of Jitou Pass.
Just south of Jitou Pass, on the hillside highlands on both sides of the official road, the area that should have been deserted is now covered with military tents.
Red flags fluttered and military tents stood in rows.
Jitou Pass is located in the north of Baocheng City. At the pass there is a large stone shaped like a chicken head, hence its name.
The throat of Qin and Shu is far away from the Han family.
The wind and clouds protect the temple and the people coming and going in Lingzhao Pavilion.
Jitou Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It was called the throat of Qin and Shu in ancient times.
In the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, when the bandits marched southward in large numbers, the magistrate of Baocheng County, Yidaocui, cut off the plank road and isolated Jitou Pass, so that Hanzhong Prefecture was not affected by the military disaster.
In early March, Chen Wang received the military order from Hong Chengchou, and then led his troops to rush to Jitou Pass to prevent the rogue bandits currently entrenched in Fengxiang and Xi'an from going south into the hinterland of Hanzhong Prefecture.
In late February, Li Zicheng and Gao Yingde met in Jingyang.
Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou divided their troops to guard the east and west areas, hoping to besiege Li Zicheng and Gao Yingde in Jingyang.
However, on the eve of the battle, Sun Chuanting's general Xu Zhong rebelled, and Li Zicheng personally led the elite cavalry to launch a night attack. Thanks to the internal and external cooperation, the Ming army suffered a major defeat and suffered heavy losses.
Sun Chuanting retreated all the way to Sanyuan, relying on the tens of thousands of Xi'an three guards he had summoned before to temporarily stabilize the situation.
However, the original encirclement network was broken. This time, Li Zicheng went out to run in the mountains, leading all the elite cavalry and horse troops, turning like the wind.
And Gao Yingde, Scorpion Block and other subordinates are all elite cavalry troops, who can march day and night, covering hundreds of miles in one day at the fastest.
After Li Zicheng broke through the defense line set up by Sun Chuanting, he led his troops directly towards Xianyang without much hesitation, and then turned towards Fengxiang Mansion to the west again.
Hong Chengchou led his troops to garrison in the southwest of Jingyang, but the total number of cavalry under his command was only 5,000, so it was impossible to defend it without leakage.
Li Zicheng led his troops into Fengxiang Mansion, and then divided his troops into two groups, one going to Gongchang via Chencang Road, and the other going to Longzhou as support.
Originally, guarding Feng County and isolating Chencang was the best way.
However, in the previous civil uprising in Feng County, the entire Feng County was burned to the ground. It had already turned into scorched earth and could not be used as a fortress.
And more importantly, everything happened too quickly. By the time Chen Wang received the letter, Li Zicheng had actually led his army through Feng County and entered Gongchang Mansion.
Soon after, Chen Wang received the second military order.
"Govern Mianxian and Jitouguan and prevent rogue bandits from escaping into the hinterland of Hanzhong."
As the second military order was passed, Chen Wang also learned more things.
Li Zicheng can now be said to have a strong army and strong horses in the true sense. The horse army exceeds 50,000 people. The 72nd battalion under his command has nine leaders and nearly 10,000 elite cavalry.
After Li Zicheng entered Gongchang Prefecture through Feng County, he was broken into pieces and scattered in the deep mountains and valleys of Lueyang, Fengxian, Liangdang, Huizhou, Chengxian, Taozhou, Minzhou, Jiezhou, Wenxian and other places. .
The reason why Hong Chengchou ordered him to guard Mioxian County and Jituguan was because there were many rogue bandits operating around the two places.
In the southwest and southeast areas of Feng County, there seems to be the Little Red Wolf and Hun Shiwan among the seventy-two battalions.
As for the activities in Lueyang area, it was King Renyi and General Manager Qi.
The Ming army has now lost all control of the Lueyang area in the northwest of Hanzhong Prefecture.
The rogue bandits moved in as fast as lightning. Yuguan had already been damaged. Lueyang was still damaged due to the previous rogue bandits' damage. It had already been conquered by the troops led by King Renyi as early as mid-March.
Although Chen Wang is the deputy commander-in-chief of Hanzhong Prefecture, he does not need to bear the responsibility for losing Lueyang.
After all, he nominally only has nearly 3,000 battalions under his command, and the field strength of the Guardsmen who assist in defense cannot exceed 6,000.
Because the previous order issued by Hong Chengchou was to guard Xing'an and be on guard against Yunxiang. The place of defense has always been Yunxiang to the east, but now the danger is from the west and north.
Hong Chengchou had already divided his troops for defense in places like Lueyang, but the defenders he left behind were not able to reverse the situation.
Lueyang fell, and the order issued was naturally to guard Mian County.
Since it is no longer possible to prevent the bandits from Gongchang Mansion from going south, it is better to directly
Chen Wang only brought four troops this time, one cavalry and three infantry, totaling only more than 3,600 people.
The remaining troops were still stationed in Xing'an under the leadership of Hu Zhiyi.
There are still a large number of rogue bandits in the Yunxiang area, and they have not been completely wiped out. The threat has not been eliminated, so they naturally still need to be guarded.
At Jitou Pass, Chen Wang stood on top of the gate tower, looking at the mountains in the distance with a solemn expression.
Chen Wang had already discovered something wrong with the information coming from the north.
He had never heard of the high deservingness, but the intelligence showed that he led Xie Zikuan and Zhang Miaoshou back to Shaanxi, entered the Xi'an mansion, and met with Li Zicheng outside Jingyang.
The ensuing Battle of Jingyang turned out to be the end of the Ming army's defeat.
If the original process is followed, it should be that under the siege of Sun Chuanting, Xie Zikuan and Zhang Miaoshou suffered heavy losses, and suffered successive setbacks and surrendered to Sun Chuanting.
But in the current situation, Xie Zikuan and Zhang Miaoshou did not surrender. Instead, they followed Li Zicheng and fought a victorious battle into the central and southern part of Gongchang Prefecture and entrenched themselves in the northwest of Hanzhong Prefecture.
Everything was completely different from the original process, which had stirred up the situation in Shaanxi. Mantianxing and Huntianxing had died early in the battle, but Tianxing Huideng did not rebel again.
Prime Minister Hui Deng was under the supervision of Sun Chuanting. Together with Yi Dougu Huanglong and Qian Gongji Zhang Er, they led troops and horses to suppress the rogue bandits in the Shangluo area in the southern part of Xi'an Prefecture.
Chen Wang knows that the huge advantage of history is now getting smaller and smaller, and everything in the pass is slipping towards an unknown ending.
A rush of footsteps suddenly came from under the gate tower. Chen Wang tilted his head slightly, and in his peripheral vision, Chen Gong had already climbed onto the gate tower.
"Mian County reported that Zhou Yumao had arrived around Mian County the day before yesterday."
Chen Gong stepped forward, and Chen Wang handed over the task of guarding Mian County to Zhou Yumao. Following Zhou Yumao, there were more than a thousand regular troops of Hanzhong Guards.
These regular troops were all the original troops of Hanzhong Guard. Chen Wang did not mobilize the troops from the two Qianhu Stations on the right and rear to join the battlefield.
Now is the busy time for farming, and the spring planting has not been long gone. The two plants are now in dire need, and the manpower is completely insufficient.
Farming, ordnance making, many things are simple to say and easy to think about, but in practice they are actually extremely difficult.
In order to ensure the irrigation of cultivated land, we first need a large number of water diversion canals and the construction of waterwheels. Otherwise, relying solely on manpower will probably exhaust the people cultivating the land until they collapse.
Chen Wang held his hand on the railing and pondered in his mind.
Originally, he asked Zhou Yumao to go to Mian County to guard because he knew the history clearly beforehand.
Li Zicheng's situation in history was much more difficult than it is now. Gao Yingxiang died, the army was leaderless, people were panicked, and many people surrendered.
Li Zicheng's march route went south from Gongchang Prefecture via Lueyang of Hanzhong Prefecture to attack Ningqiang Prefecture, and then advanced through Qipanguan Pass through Ningqiang Prefecture and into Sichuan.
But now it seems that there are countless more changes.
Chen Gong frowned slightly, as if he remembered something, he took a step forward and asked in a low voice.
"Zhou Yumao's side, including the guards, only has 3,000 people. I heard that Li Chuang's elite cavalry army has more than 60,000 people, and the infantry troops already numbered more than 100,000 people before they entered the mountain."
Chen Gong paused, thought for a moment and then continued.
"The number of soldiers under Li Chuang's command now is probably much greater than before."
"Even with the help of terrain barriers, Zhou Yumao may not be able to withstand Li Chuang's massive attack."
Chen Gong is not an alarmist. All of these things are indeed possible, and the probability is not small.
But now that the situation has been decided, Li Zicheng's next plan is unknown, and it may not be too late to mobilize troops from Xing'an.
The soldiers who were guarding Jitou Pass with him now could not move without permission. He remembered that the little red wolf now entrenched in Feng County was the one who entered Hanzhong Mansion from Feng County in the tenth year of Chongzhen in the original time and space. It was He Renlong who led the troops to rush for reinforcements and solved the siege of Hanzhong Mansion.
After thinking for a long time, Chen Wang had already made a decision.
"Send an order to Hu Zhiyi and order him to lead his troops to rush to the aid of Jitou Pass."
Reinforcements must be mobilized, even if it is too late, they must be mobilized. If they cannot defend Mian County, they must defend Hanzhong City.
After Chen Gong responded, he immediately went down to the gate. Every minute and every second now is crucial. The threat of rogue bandits is not far away. No one knows how the rogue bandits will act.
Chen Wang walked into the building, found a seat and sat down. The complexity of the situation had gradually exceeded his expectations.
After he rescued Cao Wenzhao, he triggered a series of chain reactions, which were not significant at first.
But as time goes by, one thing after another continues to change, and everything now is gradually becoming beyond recognition.
Chen Wang frowned, thinking about how to deal with it.
Chen Wang wanted to reassure himself not to worry about things unfounded, but in fact it was indeed possible for rogue bandits to enter Hanzhong Mansion.
Li Zicheng's troops are now considered to be strong. Although they are much worse than Gao Yingxiang in his heyday, they should not be underestimated.
Chen Wang is confident that Hanzhong City can be saved, but all the newly cultivated fields may suffer.
Moreover, if one or two cities in the Hanzhong Mansion were lost, Chen Wang would probably lose his official position like He Renlong and make meritorious deeds.
Chen Wang raised his head and looked outside the building.
It was now March of the tenth year of Chongzhen. He remembered that during this period, a figure extremely important to history came into Chongzhen's sight, and then he suddenly became a very important person in the Ming court.
…
In the West Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, the capital.
A young man wearing a red cloud-shouldered sleeves with straight body and a pterodactyl crown on his head was frowning at the memorial in his hand.
Naturally, the only person who can be in the Qianqing Palace and wear dragon-patterned clothes is the emperor.
Ten years have passed since I took the throne when I was young.
Chongzhen is actually only twenty-six years old this year, but his face looks like it is difficult to associate him with a high-spirited young man.
Twenty-six-year-old Chongzhen's face looks like an ordinary person's thirty-sixth.
There were no charcoal fires anywhere in the Nuan Pavilion, but it was as warm as spring.
Chongzhen was not sitting alone in Xinuang Pavilion. Under his desk, Yang Sichang, the newly appointed Minister of War, was sitting.
Zhang Fengyi, the former Minister of War, committed suicide out of fear of crime, and his successor was Yang Sichang.
Yang He, the governor of the three sides who was dismissed because of the unfavorable campaign, was Yang Sichang's father.
Yang Sichang was in a peaceful state. At this time, he was wearing a beam crown, a red python robe, and a jade belt around his waist, sitting upright below.
Yang Sichang has a long beard, a deep black beard, and a little sparkle in his eyes. He has inherited his father's appearance very well. Just looking at his appearance, people can have a lot of favorable impressions at first glance.
Yang Sichang was familiar with laws and stories, was good at writing letters, and was rich in eloquence. He was very different from Zhang Fengyi's dull and dull appearance.
Chongzhen put down the memorial in his hand. The memorial contained suggestions submitted by Yang Sichang, and he had read them all.
But for some of the details, Chongzhen still feels vague in many places.
"Can you briefly explain to me what the four rectangles, six corners, and ten sides of the net are?"
Yang Sichang's eyes moved slightly, his body leaned forward slightly, and he was confident.
The question Chongzhen asked was something he expected, and he already had a plan in mind on how to answer it. "
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the so-called Four Righteousness refers to the establishment of four governors in Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei for separate suppression and dedicated defense."
"Liuyu refers to the six provinces of Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. The six governors also defended and suppressed separately."
"There are ten provinces in the four main and six corners. Each of them will set up troops and horses to coordinate the attack. The ten provinces are called the ten sides."
"The governor and the prime minister follow the thieves' direction and attack them exclusively. This is the so-called four-fold, six-corner, and ten-sided net!"
Chongzhen's heart moved slightly, but there was still not much change on his face.
After many years on the throne, he has learned how to hide his emotions.
Chongzhen has been the emperor for ten years now, and he is no longer the young man who was ignorant of all government affairs when he first ascended the throne.
Chongzhen took a cursory look at the strategy proposed by Yang Sichang. It was hundreds of times better than those ministers in the court who could only talk empty words.
Although Chongzhen's expression did not change, Yang Sichang had been in the officialdom for many years, and he had already reached the level of proficiency in understanding people's hearts.
"When fighting foreign forces, peace of mind is the first priority. Strengthening the army is based on adequate food. Only by protecting the people can we defeat the bandits."
Yang Sichang knew that Chongzhen still had hesitation in his heart, so he was ready to add the last fire to completely gain Chongzhen's trust.
"The rogue bandits cause trouble deep within the heart."
"Foreign troubles cannot be alleviated, but internal worries should be more urgent."
"Toxins flow from the abdomen and heart, the internal organs are ulcerated, and the essence and blood are dried up, making it difficult to survive."
I've been experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 recently, including splits and a head as big as a bucket. The quality of today's chapter may not be very good. I'm really sorry.
(End of chapter)
