"The officers and soldiers were stationed in Baoji County in a series of camps. The camps were as many and angular as they were in Mian County. They were staggered from each other. There were many forts on the high slopes along the way, making conflicts difficult..."
In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, February 25th.
Tuo Yangkun led a thousand elite cavalry, more than 3,000 horse troops, and more than 20,000 troops to the eastern suburbs of Qinzhou, and successfully joined forces with the main cavalry led by Li Zicheng.
The troops and cavalry troops Tuo Yangkun brought this time were the elite of the army, and most of the hungry soldiers, old and weak, were left in the Cheng and Jie Mountains.
The troops of 20,000 people have all been trained in military formations. They are not troops who just know how to move forward in a swarm and fight without any structure.
Li Zicheng led 7,000 elite cavalry and 40,000 horse troops. They fought thousands of miles all the way, but not without casualties.
The cold weather in the northwest affected not only the pursuers led by Hong Chengchou, but also had a huge impact on Li Zicheng.
Although there were fur coats exchanged from the Qiang tribe and winter clothes looted to keep out the cold, many people were still affected by the severe cold, and many fell down on the rolling road.
However, they also attracted a lot of generals and troops on the road and recruited a lot of Qiang people. In fact, their combat power increased instead of decreasing.
Li Zicheng now has 7,000 fine cavalry, 36,000 horse troops, and 2,000 Qiang cavalry under his command, for a total of 45,000 people.
Including the troops led by Tuo Yangkun, the total strength was nearly 70,000.
The 70,000 people seem to be much less than before, but those who are able to stay until now have experienced a lot of wars, have seen blood, and have experienced red.
Li Zicheng, wearing a burqa and a Fan Yangli, was riding a horse and standing on a high slope, observing the surrounding situation.
Years of military service and conquests made Li Zicheng develop a cautious character and a habit of observation.
Even though the scouts clearly knew that the pursuing Ming army was still far away from them and the surrounding situation was clear, Li Zicheng did not slack off at all.
"The officers and soldiers arrived quickly."
Li Zicheng snorted coldly. The officers and soldiers were really anxious this time. He had been dealing with Hong Chengchou for many years, and Hong Chengchou had never pursued him as urgently as now.
I'm afraid it was some order from above that made the officers and soldiers become even more crazy.
Li Zicheng's eyes were slightly focused. He had no way to know about those things in the temple, so he simply threw them out of his mind.
The news reported by Tian Jianxiu is now more important to them than the news in the temple.
While listening to the reports from the surrounding generals, he was still paying attention to the disturbances in the surrounding area.
Tian Jianxiu's report made Li Zicheng frown slightly, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes.
It's this Chen Wang again...really...he is still here!
There are many edges and corners, staggered from each other, just like the situation encountered in Mian County.
"Hanzhong Mansion is Chen Wang's defense area, and the camp outside Mian County was his work."
If I remember correctly, when reporting earlier, Sun Chuanting moved to Pingliang Mansion in the northwest to block their way to the north.
After the defense change, it seemed that Cao Wenzhao was stationed in Baoji, Fengxiang Prefecture.
Li Zicheng's eyes turned slightly, and he guessed the inner story in an instant.
"Previously, I led troops into Sichuan from Wen County. To the surprise of the officers and soldiers, Hong Chengchou sent Cao Wenzhao from Lueyang all the way south and passed Qipanguan to pursue from Baoning Prefecture in Sichuan."
"Chen Wang seemed to have been recruited by Cao Wenzhao at that time. When he passed through Mianzhou, didn't his subordinates say that besides Cao Cao and Hou Liangzhu, there was a battalion of soldiers and horses in the east, flying red flags with black stripes? The soldiers and horses in the camp should be the Hanzhong Army under Chen Wang."
Li Zicheng looked south and spoke in a deep voice.
To the south is the rolling and winding Qishan Mountains.
As dusk approached, the red clouds looked like blood, dyeing the sky and the mountains red.
The red sun, red mountains and green water in the distance are all reflected in Li Zicheng's eyes.
Li Zicheng's eyes were deep and his expression was dark.
"Gao Jie...Chen Wang..."
Li Zicheng muttered something in a low voice. His voice was so soft and low that even the people around him didn't hear what he was saying.
The people he hates most are undoubtedly Gao Jie and Chen Wang.
I wish I could eat its flesh, drink its blood, and sleep on its skin...
Li Zicheng looked cold and held the reins tightly. Even his knuckles began to turn slightly white because of too much force.
The main force of officers and soldiers led by Hong Chengchou was in Ningyuan County, more than two hundred miles away to the west.
In Pingliang Mansion in the north are the Qin Army and Xi'an Guards led by Sun Chuanting.
In Fengxiang Mansion to the east, there are Datong soldiers led by Cao Wenzhao...
"Hou Liangzhu is the commander-in-chief of Sichuan and is still in Sichuan. I think the officers and soldiers currently stationed in Baoji County should be Cao Cao and Chen Wang's third battalion."
"Cao Wenzhao has more than three thousand people under his command, half on foot and cavalry. Cao Bianjiao has more than two thousand cavalry under his command. I don't know the details of the soldiers under Chen Wang's command. Last time in Mianzhou, there seemed to be almost two or three thousand people..."
Li Zicheng was thinking in his mind, his brows were slightly furrowed and his voice was slightly condensed.
When he was in Chunhua, Chen Wang devoured 900 Liao cavalry under Zhang Waijia. Later, he also obtained a lot of war horses, so there should be a lot of cavalry under his command.
Li Zicheng's eyes were full of coldness. In the battle of Chunhua, he really lost his wife and troops, in a literal sense.
He killed Zhang Waijia in Sanshui and seized a large amount of armor, gold and silver.
Those things could have helped him rise to the top and become a battalion leader comparable to Zhang Xianzhong.
But the fire in Chunhua burned everything to the ground.
"Sun Chuanting is in Pingliang Mansion, and Cao Cao and Chen Wang are in Fengxiang Mansion..."
Tuo Yangkun's face was gloomy and his heart was depressed. Whether he went to Fengxiang Mansion or Pingliang Mansion, he felt that he had no chance of winning and couldn't get in.
Sun Chuanting was guarding Pingliang Mansion, and the reconnaissance cavalry reported that he had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. Luo Shangwen and Li Yuchun were also there, as well as that boneless loser who had been Prime Minister Tianxing Huiden.
Luo Shangwen and Li Yuchun were not bad, and among the officers and soldiers, they were considered brave enough to fight and charge.
Fatty Zhang, the neat king, was killed by Luo Shangwen, and Li Yuchun also killed Ma Chao, Ma Yu, and two other leaders of the 72nd Battalion.
As for Fengxiang Mansion...
To be honest, if we defeat Pingliang Mansion, we might still have some chance of winning.
But against Fengxiang Mansion, Tuo Yangkun didn't feel like they had half a chance.
Over at Fengxiang Mansion, Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, and Chen Wang were all notoriously evil people.
The Ming court divided the seventy-two battalions of rogues into three major battalions: upper, middle and lower, with twenty-four battalions each ranked according to strength.
Naturally, there are corresponding rankings among the bandits, which are also divided into upper, middle and lower levels.
Civilian governors such as Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Hong Chengchou are also ranked, but they are in another ranking, belonging to the ranking of governors from various places.
Ordinary camp soldiers are generally considered to be in the lower level, while those who are brave and good at fighting, such as Ai Wannian and Liu Chenggong, are ranked in the middle level. Luo Shangwen and Li Yuchun are at this level.
The superiors are the powerful generals such as Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, Qin Liangyu, He Renlong, and Zuo Liangyu.
Among them, the superiors are subdivided into two levels: A and B.
He Renlong, Zuo Liangyu, Hou Liangzhu, Zu Kuan, Zuo Guangxian, Tang Jiuzhou and other generals are all in the second class.
There were originally only three people in Class A. Naturally, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao were ranked first and second.
Cao Bianjiao usually follows Cao Wenzhao, so they are listed together.
The person ranked third is Qin Liangyu.
Although Qin Liangyu did not fight many battles with them, in the battle of Kuizhou, Qin Liangyu led the white pole soldiers to kill the rogue bandits in a frightening manner. The river was full of blood, and there were countless corpses floating on the oars for miles.
The 72nd Battalion did not dare to invade eastern Sichuan again. Even when Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong broke into Hanzhong Mansion through Yunxiang, the army did not cross the salt field and enter eastern Sichuan.
However, since July of the ninth year of Chongzhen, there has been one more person in the Shangjia sequence.
And this person is Chen Wang...
He became famous in Chunhua and killed Li Guo first, then Li Yangchun and Lin Shengquan.
In the first battle of Hanzhong, he defeated 100,000 people, so his reputation spread to southern Shaanxi.
Then he killed Gao Yingxiang in a battle at Heishui Valley...
As a result, Chen Wang was ranked fourth in the top rankings, and his reputation even had the potential to overtake Cao Wenzhao.
"There are wolves in the north and tigers in the east..."
Tuo Yangkun's face was dark. No matter whether he was going north or east, it was a bloody battle. Whether he could win or not was a matter of debate.
Hong Chengchou led the pursuers right behind them. If they could not break through in time, when Hong Chengchou led the pursuers, they would become turtles in the urn and be surrounded in a desperate situation.
The surroundings were extremely empty, but Tuo Yangkun felt a little short-chested and short of breath. He felt like a large invisible net was surrounding them, shrinking tighter and tighter...
The causes, consequences, and process of the Battle of Blackwater Valley were spread in detail.
As the leader of the 72nd Battalion and the leader of the rebel army, Gao Yingxiang naturally wanted to make good use of Gao Yingxiang after killing him.
Because of Gao Yingxiang's death, countless people from all over the country surrendered in despair.
To be honest, even Tuo Yangkun himself thought about surrendering.
Tuo Yangkun turned his head slightly and looked at Li Zicheng, who was standing not far in front.
Li Zicheng has deep eyes like an eagle and a straight nose. He and Gao Yingxiang have several similarities in appearance.
It turned out that Tuo Yangkun had been working with Li Zicheng for a long time, and he was quite familiar with Li Zicheng.
From the time they met last year to now, Li Zicheng has changed greatly. From Li Zicheng, Tuo Yangkun saw many shadows of Gao Yingxiang.
If he hadn't completed the rendezvous with Li Zicheng, and then Li Zicheng led them to defeat Sun Chuanting first, and win consecutive battles all the way, he might have really surrendered...
Tuo Yangkun's eyes darkened a bit again. Although he had won consecutive battles all the way, to be honest, he was actually a little discouraged now.
In Huguang and Henan, both Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered, and the originally powerful coalition forces were now dispersed again.
Nowadays, there are not many soldiers and horses left in Henan, Huguang and Nanzhili.
While Luo Rucai was still in Nanyang, Zuojin King He Jin and Ge Liyan He Yilong fled into Yinghuo Mountain. The remaining people were all scattered, and many of them had disappeared...
Over at Hanzhong Mansion, hundreds of thousands of horses marched into Zhong and surrendered, but the little red wolf was nowhere to be found.
Now in the huge Shaanxi, only the last of their troops are left...
Now officers and soldiers are encircling and suppressing them from all directions. Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, and Cao Wenzhao have nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses. There are many elite soldiers and strong generals.
The official ordered the four squares, six corners and ten sides to set up nets, with a salary of 2.8 million and a recruitment of 120,000 troops.
This time it seems they really can't hold on anymore...
King Chuang is dead, Zhang Xianzhong has surrendered, how long can Luo Rucai, He Yilong and the others hold on?
Failure seems to be doomed...
Perhaps surrender is a way out...
Tuo Yangkun looked at Li Zicheng standing in front of him, hesitating in his heart and wanted to speak, but he didn't know how to speak.
At this moment, Li Zicheng's eyes swept towards him.
Tuo Yangkun's expression changed slightly and he was shocked.
Li Zicheng's eyes were sharp and sharp. His current aura was far from what it used to be. Just one glance made him feel great pressure.
Tuo Yangkun's strangeness was fully seen by Li Zicheng.
The low morale in the army and the thoughts of the generals and commanders under his command were not hidden from Li Zicheng's eyes.
Li Zicheng's eyes swept across the generals behind him.
He had long noticed the hesitation and hesitation on their faces.
Now he is constantly innovating tactics in the army, and the innovation of tactics must first complete the reorganization of his troops.
The strategy of driving hungry troops to siege and using elite cavalry troops to support them can defeat a small number of soldiers, but once they encounter more powerful officers and soldiers, there is nothing they can do.
The advantage in numbers often turns into a disadvantage.
The diversion along the way is not just to throw off the officers and soldiers and drag them down.
Li Zicheng actually had more considerations in it. By now, he had almost completed the changes to the military system.
Currently, the battalion leaders following him include General Qi, King Renyi, King Zhengshi, King Datian, and Tuoyangkun.
Li Zicheng reorganized and trained his army. Now he has a total of elite cavalry under his command. He leads two thousand elites and two thousand Qiang cavalry.
The remaining five thousand elite cavalry were divided into ten teams, each with five hundred people.
Li Zicheng handed over five of the ten elite cavalry teams to five battalion leaders including Tuo Yangkun and General Manager Qi.
The other five teams were given to Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, and Liu Tichun, four generals who had been following him, and the other team was given to Gao Yingde.
In addition to the fine cavalry, each team is also allocated more than 3,000 horse troops.
Each team has about 4,000 troops, and there are ten teams in total, which is 40,000 troops. This is the core strength of Li Zicheng's command today.
Those hungry troops were just consumables, and Li Zicheng did not count them.
Troops and hungry soldiers are usually temporarily assigned to each team during war, and they are handled in the same way as before.
Each two teams forms a battalion, with five battalions including front, rear, left, right and central.
In addition to these five battalions, Li Zicheng also set up a battalion led by himself, called Biao Camp.
The camp was marked with a red flag with yellow stripes, and Li Zicheng changed his banner to a silver pagoda with a white mane.
The left camp has a white flag, the right camp has a red flag, the front camp has a black flag, the rear camp has a blue flag, and the middle camp has a yellow flag.
The color of each camp's banner is the same as the camp flag.
Li Zicheng withdrew his gaze, turned his horse's head again, and looked south.
There are wolves in the north, tigers in the east, and pursuers in the west. It seems like there is no way, but in fact, the bright road is right in front of you.
To the south at this time, there were only a few thousand battalions between the Cheng and Jie mountains...
In Sichuan Province, most of the three Sichuan troops rushing to aid Chengdu have probably dispersed.
At this time, who could have imagined crossing the Guanshan Mountains and breaking into northern Sichuan? !
There should be no water left today, right?
My brain may have been really burned out during this period. Yesterday my mind went blank and I couldn't even write a complete sentence about Ali. Today I have recovered a bit. It's really like being in jail.
(End of chapter)
