In the tenth year of Chongzhen, November 27th.
Baoning Prefecture, Zitong County.
Tze Tong is in the southwest of Boryeong Province.
If you want to enter Chengdu Prefecture from Baoning Prefecture, you must pass through Zitong County.
On the southern official road of Zitong County, the roaring sound echoed in the fields on the outskirts of the city. It was the sound of soldiers and war horses marching quickly.
From Mioxian County, Hanzhong Prefecture to Zitong County, southwest of Baonyeong Prefecture, you need to climb two mountain passes, Qipan and Chaotian.
Along the way, the mountains are high and the roads are narrow, rugged and difficult to navigate. The road twists and turns for nearly a thousand miles. Even if you travel a hundred miles a day, it will take eight or nine days to arrive.
It is not a problem for cavalry to travel hundreds of miles a day, but for infantry, especially infantry carrying a lot of baggage, this is a huge problem.
But now Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, was in a hurry. Cao Wenzhao ordered his troops to travel lightly and abandoned a lot of baggage. However, it still took him nearly twenty days to reach Zitong County.
Traveling on mountain roads is far more difficult than on flat roads. Even if you travel lightly on steep mountain roads, you can only travel more than thirty or forty miles a day.
The south gate of Zitong County has been opened at this time, and carts of military rations are being transported out by civilians.
All the food along the way is transported from the nearest counties.
The drought has not affected Sichuan yet. The counties in Sichuan still have sufficient food, and officials in various places have also received orders to cooperate with the suppressive army as much as possible.
But now there is also a certain crisis in food.
In the south of Zitong County, under a temporary wooden shed.
Cao Wenzhao frowned and was examining the map placed on the table in front of him.
On the table, in addition to the weight stone, there is also a rather ornately decorated telescope.
This telescope was naturally given to Cao Wenzhao by Chen Wang.
Chen Wang bought a total of five telescopes, all of which were single-cylinder telescopes.
Three of them are large telescopes, which were mainly made for observation at sea. The observation distance is relatively long and the length is also long. They need to be erected or placed on people's shoulders.
The other two are small telescopes, which have a shorter observation distance, but are more convenient and fast.
Chen Wang kept one large telescope for himself, and the other two were given to Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting.
Cao Wenzhao often led the troops in battle, rarely standing on the lookout or sitting in the middle of the army.
So Chen Wang gave Cao Wenzhao a small, portable telescope.
Chen Wang and Cao Dingjiao stood beside Cao Wenzhao, one on the left and one on the right, while the rest of the guards were surrounding the wooden shed.
Mianzhou had been captured by Li Zicheng more than ten days ago and had already become a ruins. Where could any food be supplied?
To be precise, most of Chengdu has been caught in the flames of war.
The number of people under Li Zicheng's command has now expanded to 150,000, and the situation in Sichuan has actually become completely out of control.
The intruders occupied Weicheng east of Mianzhou and set up camp around the mountains for thirty miles, completely blocking the road into Chengdu Prefecture.
The troops led by Hong Chengchou had just arrived in Wen County and had not yet entered Sichuan Province.
Hou Liangzhu and Cao Bianjiao had a small army and wanted to break through Mianzhou, but in the end they were powerless.
A clever woman can't make a meal without rice, and they can't defeat the more than 100,000 invaders stationed in Mianzhou with more than 4,000 people.
Chen Wang stood beside Cao Wenzhao, his eyes always staying on the map on the table.
Li Zicheng did not enter Sichuan through Qipanguan, but entered from Wen County.
The current situation is completely out of control and has completely deviated from its original course. History is changing beyond recognition.
Hou Liangzhu was not dead, and Qipanguan was not lost, but the current situation was even worse.
Chen Wang was very sure that he had remembered correctly. In the original time and space, Li Zicheng had not set up a defense in Mianzhou.
Li Zicheng's movements are already unpredictable, and everything has deviated from the original course...
On November 25th, two days ago, Li Zicheng had led his troops to the northern suburbs of Chengdu...
…
Wenxian County was named after the ancient Wenzhou text.
It is located at the junction of Shaanxi Province and Sichuan Province, in the Qinba Mountains.
When it comes to Wen County, many people may be unfamiliar with it.
But mentioning its other name, many people should know it.
Thousands of years ago, when the three pillars stood in harmony, this place was called "Yinping".
Wei general Deng Ai went all the way south from then on, traveling hundreds of miles of dangerous roads, all the way to Jiangyou Pass.
Ma Miao, the general of the Shu Han Dynasty, faced the Wei army descending from the sky. He was heartbroken and chose to surrender.
Deng Ai then led his army all the way south, conquered Mianzhu, and reached the outskirts of Chengdu. Liu Chan, the queen of the Shu Han, surrendered and the Shu Han was destroyed.
The route Li Zicheng is taking now is exactly the route Deng Ai took when he entered Shu.
After thousands of years of development, the road to Shu is no longer as steep as it used to be, and many places have opened up.
Li Zicheng did not encounter the difficulties that Deng Ai encountered. He led more than 6,000 elite cavalry and more than 20,000 horse troops all the way south through Wen County.
Thousands of years ago, Deng Ai sneaked into Shu from Yinping. When he arrived in Mianzhou, the main force of Shu Han led by Jiang Wei was in Guangyuan.
But this time, Li Zicheng defeated Pingwu first and then Jiangyou. When his troops came to Mianzhou City, Hou Liangzhu and Cao Bianjiao were also around Guangyuan.
In the past, Jiang Wei was restrained by the main force of the Wei army led by Zhong Hui and was unable to rush south for timely reinforcements. Although Hou Liangzhu and Cao Bianjiao were not in the same situation.
However, it is more than 400 miles from Guangyuan to Mianzhou. The mountains are high and the roads are long. It will take at least ten days to arrive.
It was as if history was repeating itself.
Li Zicheng, like Deng Ai, easily defeated Mianzhou, and then moved southward all the way to the northern suburbs of Chengdu.
At the beginning, Deng Ai faced Liu Chan, the incompetent and incompetent queen of the Shu Han Dynasty.
Now Li Zicheng is facing the equally incompetent Sichuan Governor Wang Weizhang.
The originally bustling and bustling city of Chengdu was now extremely lonely.
A large number of Ming army soldiers stood on the city wall holding weapons.
But the weapons in their hands didn't give them much sense of security.
Their faces were filled with fear, and all of them looked nervously outside the city.
The sky outside the city was filled with smoke and dust, and the intruders were as dense as locusts, completely covering the wilderness in the northern suburbs.
"It's over..."
Wang Weizhang stood at the crenel, looking at the advancing troops from outside the city. His face was pale and his whole body was shaking.
If it weren't for the attendants supporting him, he would have collapsed on the ground.
Wang Weizhang only thought that Hou Liangzhu and Cao Bianjiao had been defeated and that Li Zicheng had attacked all the way from Qipanguan. He never thought that Li Zicheng had taken a detour from Long'an Mansion.
If Chengdu is destroyed, he will definitely bear the reputation of losing the city and losing his land, and become a sinner for the ages.
There were less than 4,000 soldiers in Chengdu at this time, but the invading troops outside the city were so vast that one could not even see them, covering the mountains and plains like a sea of smoke. How could one not be frightened?
As the governor, Wang Weizhang was in chaos and lost his mind. Naturally, it was difficult for other people to remain calm.
All the elite soldiers were taken to Guangyuan by Hou Liangzhu, and only a few soldiers stayed in Chengdu.
Many of the more than 4,000 soldiers in Chengdu are temporary guards who have no fighting power.
Panic spread like a plague in Chengdu.
Fortunately, no matter how cowardly and timid Wang Weizhang was, he still did not choose Kaicheng to surrender like Liu Chan.
It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I don’t dare.
Chengdu is where the Sichuan Chief Envoy Si Yamen is located, and the King of Shu is also sealed in Chengdu.
The city was captured and territory was lost, and his relatives were killed. No matter what kind of responsibility it was, he could not bear the responsibility.
The remaining reason allowed Wang Weizhang to still support everything. He knew that once he surrendered, he would be completely nailed to the pillar of shame in history, and even his family members and relatives would be implicated.
…
Li Zicheng's eyes were deep, looking at the city of Chengdu standing in the wilderness to the south.
Along the way, they defeated various cities. All the news proved that there were not many soldiers in Chengdu, and most of the elites were brought to Baoning Mansion in northern Sichuan by Hou Liangzhu.
The city of Chengdu seems ready for a battle...
"Woo————"
The suburbs of Chengdu are filled with swords and guns.
Accompanied by the low sound of the trumpet, a large number of hungry soldiers from the invading army, carrying simple siege equipment, surged towards Chengdu like a tide.
Behind the hungry soldiers of the invading army, there were the cavalry of the invading army that kept wandering. The densely packed flags were spread one after another, spreading to the rear with no end in sight.
The black mass of men and horses seemed to stretch to the end of the world...
Looking down from the clouds in the sky, dense black ants almost covered the entire northern city wall of Chengdu.
Looking from the top of the city, smoke and dust were billowing below, crowds of people were surging, and the shouts of killing were loud.
All in the field of vision were rogue soldiers wearing various turbans and robes.
…
"Brother, there are only more than 4,000 people in Chengdu, and most of the people defending the city are guards. Isn't it possible that we can't capture it by force?!"
Liu Zongmin narrowed his eyes, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and said in a loud voice.
He couldn't understand why Li Zicheng had no intention of capturing Chengdu despite the city being so close.
The current attack looks huge, but in fact it is noisy.
Those attacking the city were all new hungry soldiers, and they didn't have much combat power at all.
How could it be possible to capture Chengdu with these hungry soldiers?
Li Zicheng turned his head slightly, glanced at Liu Zongmin who was beside him, and then glanced at the surrounding generals.
The other generals also had doubts on their faces, and they had the same doubts as Liu Zongmin.
Li Zicheng sighed secretly, feeling a little weak in his heart. No one could understand what he was thinking.
The generals and commanders under his command have followed him all the way to the north and south for many years, but they still haven't made much progress.
"What if we capture Chengdu?"
Li Zicheng raised his riding whip, looked around at the generals beside him, and asked in a deep voice.
Liu Zongmin was stunned when he was asked about Li Zicheng. To conquer the city, he naturally recruited young men, searched for military supplies, and collected military rations...
"Capture Chengdu... Capture Chengdu..."
Li Zicheng's eyes did not stay on Liu Zongmin, but looked at the soldiers who were marching beside him.
His expression didn't change at all, and there wasn't much emotion in his eyes.
"Not to mention whether we can capture Chengdu, even if we do capture Chengdu, it will not be of any benefit to us now."
"Now we have almost 150,000 people under our command. We have already plundered so many cities with military supplies and supplies. Many things cannot be taken away, or even can only be burned."
Chengdu is nothing more than a piece of cake for them.
It is tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away.
Sichuan is mountainous, with prefectures, counties and chieftains coexisting. The relationship between them is complex and many problems are difficult to solve, so it is not suitable as a foundation.
Sichuan is not a place to live for a long time. Sichuan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has rich products and fertile land. It seems to be a treasure land.
But it is difficult to enter Shu, and it is also difficult to get out of Shu. Even if you are as wise as Zhuge Wuhou, it is difficult to succeed.
Li Zicheng does not think that he is smarter than Zhuge Liang, he knows his own abilities.
And even if he could capture Chengdu, he would not be able to occupy Chengdu and control Shu.
Li Zicheng had watched "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and he knew very well that this time he led troops from Wen County all the way south and overcame the interception of officers and soldiers.
Now those officers and soldiers may be like Jiang Wei in history, rushing towards Chengdu crazily for reinforcements.
Moreover, the situation in the Sichuan Shu region at this time was also different from that of thousands of years ago. At that time, most of the troops in the Shu Han territory were almost on the front line, and there were not many soldiers and horses left behind.
But now Sichuan Province is only empty in northern Sichuan, and there are still a large number of troops in southern Sichuan, western Sichuan, and eastern Sichuan. They have definitely received the news at this time, and they will never sit back and watch Chengdu fall.
The troops from southern Sichuan and eastern Sichuan are probably already gathering and rushing towards Chengdu for reinforcements.
In northern Sichuan, the main force of officers and soldiers was led by Hong Chengchou.
Officers and soldiers were encircling them from three sides. If they really occupied Chengdu, it would be tantamount to seeking death.
"Chengdu just looks empty."
Li Zicheng shook his head. Chengdu looked like it could be conquered in a single battle, but actually trying to capture Chengdu was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Deng Ai sneaked across from Yinping, but he did not actually capture Chengdu. It was Liu Chan who opened the city and surrendered that led to the final demise of the Shu Han.
Although Wang Weizhang in Chengdu is now in a worse situation than Liu Chan, they are heading south with great momentum, but they dare not send a troop of troops out of the city to fight, but they have not shown any intention of surrender.
The city of Chengdu is strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is no better than those prefectures and counties that were captured by them along the way.
Nowadays, their army does not have large-scale siege equipment, and they don't even have much time to make ladders for siege.
Even if they really ordered the cavalry to attack by force, they might not be able to capture Chengdu.
Li Zicheng reined in his horse and stopped. His eyes were still on the city of Chengdu in the south, but his mind was already elsewhere.
He has never thought about conquering Chengdu, nor has he ever thought about occupying Sichuan. Everything he is doing now is to realize his other goal...
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province, and the King of Shu lives in Chengdu.
When Chengdu was besieged, the officers and soldiers were bound to go crazy.
Neither Hong Chengchou nor Sun Chuanting could bear the responsibility of losing their vassal.
I am afraid that the officers and soldiers in Shaanxi are now gathering crazily towards Sichuan.
As the officers and soldiers from Shaanxi have all entered Sichuan, the defensive strength of the officers and soldiers in Shaanxi must be unprecedentedly weak...
(End of chapter)
