On September 24, martial law was imposed in the capital.
Emperor Chongzhen urgently summoned Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, Du Wenhuan, the commander-in-chief of Datong, and Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, to join the defense.
Originally, the commander-in-chief of Datong at this time was Wang Pu, but due to Chen Wang's influence, the commander-in-chief of Yansui, Yu Chongxiao, died in the battle a year early.
As a result, Wang Pu was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief a year ahead of schedule. Moreover, he was not the commander-in-chief of Datong, but the commander-in-chief of Yansui.
In the previous battle of Cheng and Jiu, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Yansui at the time, was defeated by Li Zicheng because he underestimated the enemy, and Li Zicheng therefore crossed Guanshan again and entered northern Sichuan.
In anger, Hong Chengchou took away Wang Pu's official position and wiped him out.
He was replaced by Du Wenhuan, who was supposed to rise again in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.
On the same day, Chongzhen officially issued an edict from King Qin, ordering troops from Shandong, Shaanxi and other places to march north to defend the capital.
…
In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, October 12th.
A huge temporary camp has been set up on the west side of Tongguan.
Many flags were ringing in the camp, and the north wind blew past, rolling up countless flags.
Although the camp was simple and didn't even have many defensive fortifications, the chilling air that hit our faces still made people secretly frightened.
The camp was extremely quiet. Except for a few soldiers guarding the camp wall and patrolling the camp, the rest of the soldiers stayed quietly in the camp.
It's very cold in Tongguan in October. Even wearing ordinary winter clothes can't help but shiver.
Different from the silence and tranquility in the camp, large groups of cavalry roared past on the official road outside the camp from time to time, and large groups of infantry were slowly approaching from the far side of the road.
On September 22nd and 28th, the bandit chiefs Yue Tuo and Dorgon led troops to invade again from Miyun and Qingshan Pass respectively, with a total of 100,000 troops, known as 200,000.
Huang Taiji personally led the troops to conduct a diversionary offensive against Shanhaiguan. Soon after the two Qing troops broke through the wall, Wu Aheng, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty, and Lu Zongwen, the commander-in-chief, were killed one after another. Zheng Xizhao, the guarding eunuch, fled in fear of the battle.
Yue Tuo and Dorgon led the troops from the east to the west and entered again. They marched straight in, met at Niulan Mountain, and then joined forces.
The news of Beilu's invasion spread throughout the north in an instant.
Although King Qin's order was not issued, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting received the order for preparations very early.
As a result, the entire Shaanxi army was rushing towards Tongguan.
Chen Wang also received the order for recruitment.
The threat from Hanzhong Mansion has now been completely eliminated.
Shortly after Li Zicheng's defeat, King Shunyi announced his surrender in Xinyang, Henan on July 15th.
Chongzhen issued an imperial edict to disband more than 9,500 of his subordinates.
In the same month, six battalions including Luo Rucai, Hun Shiwan, Zheng Shiwan, Shifan Wang, Tuotian Wang, and Xiao Qin Wang also begged Prime Minister Xiong Wencan in Yongning, Henan.
Xiong Wencan sent supervisor Zhang Dajing to Xiguan, Yongning County on August 1 to meet with Luo Rucai and others to discuss recruitment matters.
On the 2nd of the same month, six tribes including Ziweixing, Shetaotian, and Yiziwang who were lingering in Henan Prefecture also sent people to Lushi County, Henan to submit surrender forms and express their willingness to surrender.
If the surrenders of Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng made the 72nd Battalion find it difficult to win, then Li Zicheng's defeat truly made everyone feel despair.
Chen Wang naturally had no excuses or reasons to stay in Hanzhong Mansion. He had to abide by the military orders issued by Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting.
A military order was issued, ordering him to arrive at Tongguan within a time limit. If he was late, he would be punished by military law. Naturally, Chen Wang did not dare to disobey.
This time he went north for King Qin. Although Chen Wang in the entire Hanzhong Prefecture could already mobilize nearly 10,000 troops, this time Chen Wang planned to bring only more than 3,000 men.
One cavalry and two infantry, totaling 3,000 people, combined into one battalion. After all, as the deputy commander-in-chief of Hanzhong Prefecture, the nominal total number of troops is only 3,000.
The cavalry itself only has one Liao cavalry. Although some soldiers with excellent riding skills have been selected to join, the total number is only close to a thousand.
Chen Wang has never been too concerned about cavalry. At this stage, he cannot afford to raise a large number of cavalry, and there is no need to raise a large number of cavalry.
Being able to ride a horse and being able to ride a horse are two different things. The cavalry requires a lot of training and a lot of money to cultivate an excellent cavalry.
The cost of raising one cavalryman is enough to raise five or even ten infantrymen, and not only that, raising cavalry also requires high-quality horses.
Now Chen Wang doesn't have any money or horses, so Chen Wang never thought of training cavalry from the beginning.
The cavalry force of nearly a thousand people already accounts for more than 30% of the total number, which is actually enough to cope with most situations.
When Chen Wang led his troops to Tongguan, most of King Qin's troops had already arrived.
Although Hanzhong Mansion belongs to Shaanxi, it is actually located in a corner. The road was long and rugged, so naturally the last group arrived at Tongguan.
At this time, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses had gathered in Tongguan. Cao Wenzhao, He Renlong, Zuo Guangxian, Ma Ke and others had all been stationed in Tongguan for a long time.
In front of the Tongguan camp, Chen Wang stood on the side of the official road holding a whip.
On the official road, a group of soldiers from Hanzhong Town were arranged in neat formation, walking towards the camp through the camp gate.
Chen Gong, Hu Zhili and a group of generals were all wearing robes and belts, standing beside Chen Wang.
"Brother Wang..."
Hu Zhili immediately stepped forward, raised the whip in his hand and pointed it not far ahead, calling softly.
Chen Wang raised his head and looked in the direction where Hu Zhili's riding whip pointed. He saw a cavalry team of dozens of people galloping towards him in front of the camp not far away.
Chen Wang's eyes moved slightly. His eyesight was extremely good. He could see clearly even the birds hovering in the sky in the distance, but he couldn't see who the person who was coming was.
Chen Wang did not hesitate, waved his riding whip and rode forward directly. Chen Gong, Hu Zhili and a group of bodyguard cavalry followed closely behind.
The distance was less than a hundred steps, and it was already there in a blink of an eye. When there were still more than ten steps away, they all reined in the horses under them in a tacit understanding.
Chen Wang got off his horse and strode forward.
"Chen Wang, a humble official, is a general! He is a general, he is a general, Zuo is a general, and Zu is a general."
Before he even got close, Chen Wang was already half-kneeling on the ground and bowed respectfully to the person standing in front of him.
Behind him, Chen Gong, Hu Zhili and others also bowed down and bowed in greeting.
The visitors were none other than Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong, as well as Guyuan general Zuo Guangxian and Ningxia ancestor Dabi.
To be honest, Chen Wang was not that surprised that Cao Wenzhao came to look for him.
After all, he was originally Cao Wenzhao's servant and a close confidant of Cao Wenzhao. It was natural for Cao Wenzhao to come over.
It's not surprising that He Renlong came over. After all, He Renlong and Cao Wenzhao were familiar with each other.
However, he did not have much contact with Zuo Guangxian and Zu Dabi, and they only had a few meetings in total.
As the commander-in-chief, the two of them came out of the camp to greet him, which was a bit unexpected.
"During my time in Tongguan, I heard that you are quite famous in Hanzhong."
A smile appeared on Cao Wenzhao's tired face, he stepped forward and stretched out his hands, helped Chen Wang up, and said with a smile.
Chen Wang followed Cao Wenzhao and stood up, and his heart tightened when he heard Cao Wenzhao's words.
"take it easy."
Cao Wenzhao saw something different in Chen Wang's expression.
"It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing."
"Lin Daoquan, the prefect of Hanzhong, seems to have a good impression of you and has praised you several times. King Rui also wrote a memorandum some time ago, saying that since you guarded Hanzhong, the bandits in Hanzhong have disappeared, and all places in Hanzhong have been quiet and peaceful. .”
Chen Wang felt relieved when he heard this. He thought that what he did in Hanzhong had attracted Hong Chengchou's attention again.
When Cao Wenzhao explained, he had already thought about countless possibilities in his mind.
"Long time no see, brother Chen."
He Renlong walked over with square steps, like a crab. He was wearing a dark arrow jacket and a large cloak, which looked quite powerful.
It's just that there are a few holes in the cloak, which dilutes this prestige a lot.
He Renlong has now been promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief. In the two battles of Jiangyou and Mianzhou, He Renlong's military exploits ranked first and he was promoted to the new commander-in-chief of Yansui.
Wang Pu, the original commander-in-chief of Yansui, had been dismissed from the position of commander-in-chief due to defeat and dereliction of duty.
"General He's style is still better than before."
Chen Wang cupped his hands and complimented with a smile.
"Hahahahaha."
He Renlong didn't pay any attention to his image, and smiled boldly.
"Brother Chen is still nice to talk to."
Zuo Guangxian and Zu Dabi did not come forward to speak. They stood together and just cast their eyes over.
Chen Wang also devoted part of his attention to observing Zuo Guangxian and Zu Dabi.
There were two Zuo Guangxian in the late Ming Dynasty. One was Zuo Guangxian, the seventh brother of Zuo Guangdou, leader of the Donglin Party, and a civil servant.
The other one is Zuo Guangxian as a military commander.
Zuo Guangxian was tall, with sharp eyes and a rather thick goatee. He was from Yulin, Shaanxi, and initially served as a guard at Shenjing Fort in Xuanfu.
In the second year of Chongzhen, at the suggestion of Yue Hesheng, governor of Yansui, he was transferred to Yansui Town to teach firearms.
Since then, he has been following Hong Chengchou's men to encircle and suppress rogue bandits. He has many firearms and outstanding combat power. He has made many contributions and is known as the "Owl General".
Zuo Guangxian also accumulated merits along the way and was promoted from guerrilla to Guyuan general soldier, commanding a town.
Zu Dabi had a calm expression, a yellow face and a short beard, a Chinese character face, and no anger between his brows and eyes, but Chen Wang did not look down upon him in the slightest.
Because Zu Dabi often charged into battle just like He Renlong, and was even several points more fierce than He Renlong.
He Renlong was called Madman He because he fought fiercely and often charged. Zu Dabi also had the same nickname. He was called "Madman Zu Er".
Zu Dabi was a native of Ningyuan, Liaodong. He was the second son of Zu Chengxun and the younger brother of Zu Dashou. His real name was Tianbi.
When he was in Chongzhen, he fought in various places, and he could be seen successively in Dengzhou to quell the rebellion, in Xuanfu to defend the enemy, and in Shaanxi to suppress the bandits.
I have only written 3,000 words. I feel so uncomfortable that I really can’t hold on anymore. I will update 3,000 words for the time being.
(End of chapter)
