The time when Li Zicheng led his troops from Wen County into Songpan Guards was in early October of the 10th year of Chongzhen.
Less than a month and a half later, Li Zicheng had already arrived at the gates of Chengdu and raised his troops in the northern suburbs of the city.
Li Zicheng's march south was unstoppable. Wang Weizhang, the governor of Sichuan, appealed to the court and sent official documents to all directions asking for help.
The chieftains of the Ming army in western Sichuan, southern Sichuan, and eastern Sichuan were all recruited.
Although Wang Weizhang lost his position and huddled in the city of Chengdu without daring to move, the generals stationed in Sichuan Province were not mediocre.
The She'an Rebellion in Sichuan was completely eliminated in the second year of Chongzhen. Almost all the generals in Sichuan Province were killed in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and few were mediocre.
In fact, Wang Weizhang's request for help was not delivered to Hong Chengchou immediately, but to Xiong Wencan.
Xiong Wencan, whose courtesy name is Taimeng and whose nickname is Kaixin, is from Luzhou, Sichuan. He was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli.
He was first appointed as an official in Guizhou, and later moved to head of the Ministry of Rites and became a doctor. After returning from Ryukyu, he was promoted to participate in politics on the left in Shandong, as inspector in Shanxi, and as political envoy in Shandong on the right.
In the first year of Chongzhen, he first served as the envoy to Zuobu, Fujian Province. At that time, pirates were rampant and raided the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong.
During his tenure, Xiong Wencan recruited Zheng Zhilong, a giant pirate on the southeast coast at that time, and at the same time organized and trained the navy, trained the army, and used both for suppression and appeasement.
In February of the fifth year of Chongzhen, Xiong Wencan was appointed as the right minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of the right Qiandu, governor of the military affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi, and governor of Guangdong.
In October of the following year, the Ming Navy defeated the coalition of the Dutch East India Company and the pirate Liu Xiang with an absolute advantage at Liaoluo Bay on the southeast coast of Kinmen, Fujian.
Since then, Xiong Wencan's reputation has spread far and wide, reaching to heaven and spreading among people.
Yang Sichang took over as Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and adopted the strategy of four rectifications, six corners, and ten sides to quell the rebellion in the pass.
To achieve this plan, two people must be indispensable.
The first person is Hong Chengchou, who is the governor of the three provinces, and the second person is naturally Wang Jiazhen, who serves as the temporary prime minister of the six provinces.
Lu Xiangsheng, who was originally the prime minister of the six provinces, was ordered to serve the king with his troops because Qing troops invaded the Gyeonggi area in the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign.
After arriving in Beijing, he was left in Xuanda. He was the governor of Xuan, Da, Shanxi and other local military affairs, as well as in charge of food and wages, and wrote imperial edicts to him.
Lu Xiangsheng's original appointment as prime minister of the six provinces was temporarily taken over by Wang Jiazhen, the left minister of the Ministry of War.
However, Wang Jiazhen was not capable enough and was not valued by Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang believed that Wang Jiazhen was not worthy of the position.
After all, as soon as Wang Jiazhen took over as premier of the six provinces, Zhang Xianzhong broke through several fronts one after another. The originally good situation was ruined because of the coaching change, and the situation worsened.
Therefore, when Yang Sichang made the plan, he never thought of using Wang Jiazhen to suppress it.
At this time, the well-known Xiong Wencan happened to come into Yang Sichang's sight.
Yang Sichang didn't hesitate much, under his operation.
In April of the 10th year, Xiong Wencan was promoted again and concurrently served as the right deputy censor of the capital. He was also the prime minister in charge of military affairs in Nanzhi, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang and Sichuan, specializing in offensive and offensive affairs.
In late October, Xiong Wencan had already arrived at the camp in Anqing, and he also received a request for assistance from Chengdu from Sichuan Governor Wang Weizhang.
Xiong Wencan had just taken office not long ago, but he still knew a lot about the situation of rogue bandits in the pass through various means.
When he heard that Li Zicheng had arrived at Chengdu, Xiong Wencan did not panic. Instead, he first called in the distribution and number of guards and battalions from various parts of Sichuan Province.
Then Xiong Wencan moved vigorously and resolutely, dividing the army into three groups: Western Sichuan, Southern Sichuan, and Eastern Sichuan. Each of them appointed a general to lead troops and horses to rush to Chengdu and encircle them.
The West Sichuan Road starts from the northwest of Chengdu Prefecture, and goes all the way south through Wenchuan and Guanchuan to Chengdu.
This part of the army was composed of chieftains from Songpan Guards, chieftains from the northwest of Chengdu Prefecture, and local battalions, totaling 17,000 troops.
Along the way to southern Sichuan, the battalions, guards and chieftain soldiers mobilized from Lizhou, Yazhou, Jiading, Meizhou and other state capitals totaled 15,000 people.
Along the way to the east of Sichuan, there were guards and battalions from various places, with a total of 11,000 troops, heading west from Nanchong in Shunqing Prefecture, passing through Suining to Chengdu for reinforcements.
Three groups of soldiers and horses surrounded him from the east, south and west, like a pocket, heading towards the Chengdu general.
In northern Sichuan, Hong Chengchou finally led his troops through Wenxian County in the southwest of Gongchang Prefecture, entered Songpanwei in the northwest of Sichuan Province, and headed south along the road that Li Zicheng took south to Sichuan.
Chen Wang followed Cao Wenzhao to the east of Wei County and met with the two camps of Hou Liangzhu and Cao Bianjiao.
…
It was the third day of the twelfth lunar month in the tenth year of Chongzhen.
Northern Sichuan Province, Long'an Prefecture, and northern Jiangyou.
As the sun set, it seemed as if a giant beast opened its maw of the abyss and swallowed the entire world, and the world fell into darkness.
The Yinping Road, which was once narrow and difficult to navigate during the Three Kingdoms period, has been greatly widened in the Ming Dynasty, and many places can even accommodate several vehicles and horses traveling in parallel.
Heading north from Jiangyou, the mountains begin to become steeper.
Li Zicheng set up a temporary camp on a high slope near the official road in the north of Jiangyou.
Bonfires were lit everywhere in the camp, and except for the soldiers on guard duty and patrol, most people had already fallen asleep.
In the central military tent, Li Zicheng put his hands on his knees, his head lowered, his eyes slightly closed, and he sat on a wooden chair.
Having galloped all the way from Chengdu, with almost no stops along the way, Li Zicheng's physical strength was somewhat exhausted.
However, compared to his physical fatigue, Li Zicheng's spirit was actually worse.
His heartstrings had been tense and unable to relax, and a huge burden was pressing on him.
What he is doing now is like dancing on the tip of a knife, and there can be no mistakes.
If anything goes wrong, the cold tip of the knife will pierce his legs and feet.
Then he fell into the mountain of knives and died from thousands of knives, with no bones left.
With his eyes closed tightly, Li Zicheng's eyes moved slightly from time to time, and his brows wrinkled from time to time.
Li Zicheng was not asleep, he still seemed to be awake, but he was just thinking about something.
He hasn't had any sleep for two days.
From Shaanxi to Nanzhili, and then from Nanzhili to Shaanxi, sweeping thousands of miles and fighting in seven provinces, Li Zicheng had long been accustomed to military service and war.
In the past, he could sleep no matter what the situation was.
But this time, Li Zicheng suffered from insomnia.
Just like when he first rose up, his heart was full of fear, and his mind was filled with what would happen after the defeat.
All along, Gao Yingxiang stood in front of him, in front of all of them, leading them forward.
At that time, he didn't need to think too much, he just needed to do his part.
but now……
No one stood in front of him anymore.
Now it was him, standing in front of the others.
The Chinese military tent was empty except for Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of exhaustion.
Only now did he realize how heavy a responsibility Gao Yingxiang once carried on his shoulders.
He didn't know if the decision he made was correct, and he didn't know if there would be any mistakes in his arrangements.
Li Zicheng raised his head, and there were captured maps placed on the low table in front of him.
Several maps were spliced together to form a larger map.
The proportions of these maps are roughly the same, so there won't be much error.
The main components of this large map are the map of Chengdu Prefecture, the map of Long'an Prefecture, and the last map of Gongchang Prefecture.
Li Zicheng's eyes stayed on the map on the table.
There are many circles and battle flags drawn in red on the map.
Each of these circles and battle flags represents a team of officers and soldiers.
Li Zicheng's eyes fell on Wei County, the gateway to the northeast of Chengdu Prefecture, where he left nearly 70,000 people.
He left most of the troops and hungry soldiers in the Mianzhou and Wei County areas, defending in the mountains and setting up camps to protect them, in order to ensure the smooth retreat.
The soldiers he left behind also fulfilled the task they were supposed to do - ensuring that the road to retreat was clear.
Cao Wenzhao and Hou Liangzhu have not yet broken through the defensive positions he deployed, and the two armies are still in a stalemate.
Li Zicheng's eyes moved south, and finally stopped at Chengdu City in the south.
The attack on Chengdu was just to attract soldiers and horses from all over Sichuan to converge towards Chengdu. Now that his goal had been achieved, there was naturally no need to stay in Chengdu.
He left only more than a thousand horse troops in Chengdu, and more than 40,000 hungry soldiers responsible for siege.
But these hungry soldiers were nothing more than cannon fodder. When Li Zicheng retreated, he ordered a quiet retreat, trying not to alert the enemy, and did not let these hungry soldiers know.
The hungry soldiers and abandoned sons left in Chengdu were just used to attract the attention of the officers and soldiers, while the horse troops were the troops supervising the battle.
To be precise, all the hungry soldiers and stranded cavalry in Wei County, Mianzhou, and Chengdu were just abandoned sons.
The 6,000 fine cavalry and 20,000 horse troops who had followed Li Zicheng into Sichuan from Wen County had already followed Li Zicheng to the north of Jiangyou.
Suddenly there was the sound of rapid footsteps outside the tent. Li Zicheng suddenly raised his head, his eyes sharpened, and he followed the sound.
The curtain was pushed open, Li Zicheng's pupils shrank, and he could clearly see the person coming.
The person who broke into the tent was a general who had followed him all the way to the north and south, named Tian Jianxiu, from Suide County.
"There is already an enemy situation on the Pingwu side. Two days ago, a group of officers and soldiers came from the north."
"There are almost seven or eight thousand officers and soldiers. They are all wearing armor and are all Shaanxi soldiers. The general flags of He Madman and Zuo Guangxian are among them."
Tian Jianxiu walked all the way forward, looking slightly embarrassed, and reported in a low voice.
"Gao Jie's banner is also there...it seems to be the Shaanxi soldiers led by Hong Chengchou himself."
Tian Jianxiu's last words made Li Zicheng's eyes suddenly sharpen.
The heart-stopping murderous intention flowed in Li Zicheng's eyes.
Gao Jie...
In the battle of Chunhua, it was Gao Jie's rebellion that caused him to lose that crucial battle and almost half of his family fortune.
That battle was also the battle for Chen Wang's rise...
Li Zicheng clenched his fists and looked subconsciously in Zitong's direction.
Among the officers and soldiers who came to suppress this time, Chen Wang was also among them. He followed Cao Wenzhao all the way from Mian County.
"Gao Jie is a camp officer. Since he is here, Hong Chengchou must also be here."
Li Zicheng's eyes became calm again, and he had suppressed the excitement in his heart.
Li Zicheng knew very well that he must maintain a calm mind at critical moments and must not be carried away by anger.
Anger can confuse people's thoughts. Anger can also bias people's judgment and lead them to choose the wrong path.
And now he... must not make any mistakes...
Li Zicheng stood up slowly, then leaned over and looked at the situation on the map.
Officers and soldiers surrounded him from all sides, trying to trap him to death in Chengdu Mansion.
"A network of four righteousnesses, six corners and ten sides..."
Li Zicheng sneered. He also knew the four-right, six-corner and ten-faced network proposed by Yang Sichang.
Those adults who are above the temple have never understood the suffering of the people.
With the increase of 2.8 million yuan in salary, I am afraid that the actual military salary that can be implemented is less than 1 million taels.
An additional 120,000 troops were added, and in the end, if we could recruit 50,000 to 60,000 people, it would be regarded as the Qingming Dynasty.
It seems that the government is raising wages and recruiting troops, but in fact it is they who are raising wages and recruiting troops.
The more money the local government provides, the more people will be willing to follow them.
The more soldiers the locals recruit, the more people in those cities will be willing to serve as internal agents and help them open the city gates.
Li Zicheng not only set up defenses in Wei County and Mianzhou, he also set up defenses in Pingwu, Long'an Prefecture.
When he conquered Pingwu, he did not tear down all the walls of Pingwu City as before, but preserved them. The checkpoints along the way were also generally well preserved.
He led troops to sneak into Sichuan from Wenxian County, and the Ming army would probably send people to pursue him along the way to prevent him from returning to Wenxian County and entering Gongchang Mansion again.
All this was expected by Li Zicheng. Although Li Zicheng had not read any military books, he had been fighting for so many years.
Therefore, Li Zicheng left nearly 20,000 people in Pingwu in advance to occupy the checkpoints and block the roads.
"How long can Liu Fangliang hold on to Pingwu?"
Li Zicheng turned his head and looked at Tian Jianxiu.
"The offensive of the officers and soldiers is not strong. There is no pressure from Lao Liu, but it may be that the officers and soldiers rushed here all the way and haven't used their full strength yet."
"The soldiers under the command of Madman He and Zuo Guangxian are both strong. Most of Lao Liu's soldiers are hungry soldiers. They only have one thousand elite cavalry and three thousand horse soldiers."
Tian Jianxiu touched his unconscious nose that was red from the cold and breathed a sigh of relief.
"If the officers and soldiers become ruthless, Lao Liu's side should only be able to block it for three days at most."
"Three days..."
Li Zicheng looked solemn and his eyes were dark.
"That's almost enough..."
Li Zicheng raised his head and looked outside the tent, already having a plan in mind.
"Send a message to the whole army. Tomorrow we will prepare food at the third watch and break camp at the fourth watch..."
"Go all the way north, straight into Qingchuan!"
Li Zicheng lowered his head and stared at the map in front of him, his eyes as bright as torches.
"Let's...enter Guanzhong again!"
(End of chapter)
