In comparison, although Zhang Xianzhong's troops had strong combat capabilities, they acted in groups and were easily discovered, pursued, and suppressed by the army, while the two groups of bandits preparing to rebel were just two groups of loaches.
If you look at the literal meaning of Ge Zuo Wuying, you will understand that it is composed of "Old Strawberry" Ma Shouying, "Ge Liyan" He Yilong, "Zuo Jin King" He Jin, "Change King" Liu Xiyao, and "Chaos King" Lin Develop a joint venture formed by these five people.
On the surface, they are just a big bunch, and they can look after each other in battle, but when it comes to life and death, after all, they are five bandit leaders who all have selfish motives. They may be divided into five directions to break out. No matter how wide the official and military network is, it will be difficult to catch them all.
In this regard, a certain prince had no good solution. He could only ask Sun Chuanting to send four general soldiers to keep an eye on them. Each one of them would target a group of people, and then concentrate the superior force to first annihilate the group of bandits closest to his troops, and then continue like this. Like this.
Of course, looking at the overall situation, there is another way, which is to surround Luo Rucai's troops first. Luo Rucai is good at adjusting the relationship between the bandits and resolving conflicts. Others will be willing to cooperate with him, and they may also do so when "Cao Cao" is in danger. Lend a helping hand.
Luo Rucai and three relatively weak followers, "Yizhangqing", "Xiao Qinwang" and "Yilong", are all stationed in Yun County. Luo Rucai himself said that he was willing to put down his armor and return to the fields. He declined the imperial reward and became a farmer again. In fact, he and Zhang Xianzhong were flirting with each other, and his subordinates were also lurking and waiting for the opportunity to raise troops.
There is also an undercover agent in the "Little Five Camps" who are "supported" in the Junzhou area, namely Wang Guangen, Hui Dengxiang, Chang Guoan, Wang Guoning, and Yang Youxian.
Wang Guangen did not participate in the revolt. It is said that he bit his finger on the spot and made an alliance with his blood, vowing that he would never rebel again in his lifetime. Later, he fulfilled his promise at the time. He led his troops to guard Yunyang and desperately resisted the attack of the rogue bandits.
To deal with these nine people, a certain prince had no other good strategy. He could only hope that the seven leaders except Wang Guangen would see the overwhelming army of officers and soldiers and take the initiative to hug Luo Rucai's lap. Only then could they be annihilated together.
If they break out from the four directions of southeast, northwest, I really don't know how long it will take to catch them. There are not many people on each road, and there is no chance of winning against the hard steel of the official army, but as long as they are not eliminated for one day, it will be a disaster.
Sun Chuanting's task was actually heavier than that of Hong Chengchou, because the enemies he faced were more scattered and more cunning, making it very difficult to carry out a war of annihilation.
Therefore, a certain prince increased the strength of Big Toad, striving to inflict heavy losses on Zhang Xianzhong's troops, and then return to his division to surround the thirteen bandits with Sun Chuanting's troops.
If the forces of the two commanders are balanced, it means that they will not be able to give Da Zongzi a head-on blow, but they will also be easily restrained by the thirteen bandits. When the time comes, it will be difficult to get off the tiger, turning the Huguang battlefield into an unsolvable mess.
Thinking of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders, Sun Chuanting looked at the map before asking for instructions: "Your Highness, I am bold, thinking that I will first take Rucai's troops, and then send my troops eastward into the Dabie Mountains to pursue the fifth battalion of Gezuo!"
The two targets are too far apart, so we can only launch an attack on Luo Rucai's group first. After they are eliminated, we can free up our troops and head east out of Huguang to attack the 5th Gezuo Battalion in the western mountains of South Zhili.
Hearing what Lao Suntou said, a certain prince suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake, that is, he had mistaken the activity area of the 5th Gezuo Battalion, and thought that these five guys had surrendered.
The other two people present knew that this was a huge mistake, and did not tell them directly. They were afraid that the prince would lose face, so they accepted everything Shangfeng ordered without any objection, so Yaoji finally found out.
It's not a big deal to admit his mistake frankly. Fortunately, he discovered it in time: "Oh~! I think it's my fault. I was a little self-righteous in the previous episode. Fortunately, Aiqing reminded me in time. In this case, let Ge Zuo go first. The fifth battalion, concentrate its superior forces to attack the Luo Rucai Group and Zhang Xianzhong’s headquarters, strive to eliminate them as soon as possible, and then send the troops eastward to wipe out the fifth battalion of Gezuo in the mountains!"
As soon as Yaoji saw the specific place where the Gezuo Fifth Battalion was operating, he was heartbroken. They were in the Dabie Mountains at the junction of Huguang and Nanzhili. This was a good place to attack and defend.
To the north, you can go directly to Fengyang, the place where the Ming Dynasty flourished. If you go down the river, you can threaten Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty. To the west, you can meet up with "Big Zongzi", and to the south, you can go into the southern part of Jiangxi.
Not to mention that the imperial court does not have the extra troops to attack and suppress them. Even if Hong Chengchou leads all his troops to go over, it will be difficult to kill them all in a short time.
Sun Chuanting also realized that what he said was wrong. This was tantamount to pointing out the prince's mistake to his face, and hurriedly made up for it: "Your Highness is busy with everything, and such trivial matters cannot be explained. It is all due to the negligence of the minister and his failure to explain it in time!"
Saying it after the fact was tantamount to helping the prince make a mistake. Sun Chuanting began to regret it, but he could only take the responsibility.
No matter what era, the thicker the skin, the safer it is. Yao Ji waved his hand and said: "This matter has nothing to do with your love. Right is right and wrong is wrong. If you can't face your own mistakes, how can you accuse the mistakes of the world? You two As the commander-in-chief, I can report my mistakes directly in the future without covering them up, so as not to add mistakes to mistakes, and I will forgive you. If one mistake is covered up by a hundred mistakes, I am afraid that in the end, even the smallest mistake will turn into a big one. What a big mistake, don’t imitate Yang Sichang, who was so clever that he was misled by his cleverness!”
This guy colluded with Gao Qiqian and let Lu Xiangsheng take the blame alone. This trick can fool the blame dumper, but not a certain prince.
Even if Wang Pu doesn't come, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, and Yang Tinglin can serve as witnesses. Who made Lu Xiangsheng, who "oversaw the world's reinforcements", finally fight alone, will soon come to light.
If it were just military affairs, then the frontline commander-in-chief would still be taking the blame. But the governor Zhang Qiping refused to pay him, which was not something Gao Qiqian could decide.
Gao Qiqian was relieved, but there are many people involved who are still alive today. If Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Yang Tinglin, Zhang Qiping, and Shunde prefect Yu Ying were tried by the Metropolitan Procuratorate at the same time.
Who will take the blame in the end? Is there any need to say? It must have been carried by that fat guy who was imprisoned!
It was better for him to die alone than for everyone to go in and suffer the consequences. With everyone talking about it, and with the statement of Yang Sichang's follower Yu Zhenlong, it was strange that this guy didn't die.
After Yu Zhenlong inspected the corpse, he came back to report to Yang Sichang that Lu Xiangsheng was really dead. However, how did Yang Sichang tell the dumper?
Once the confessions of both parties are inconsistent, the majority party with highly consistent views will eventually prevail. If Yang Sichang's confession is completely different from everyone else, then he must die.
A certain prince was most disgusted with this kind of fool who was trying to be clever. In the north, Lu Xiangsheng took the blame for him, but he could still deal with the matter. But when he arrived in Huguang, Zuo Liangyu was not stupid. He could tell at a glance that he and the imperial envoy were in the same category. Man, so he slipped away like a loach.
Without the scapegoat by his side, Yang Sichang suddenly revealed his true colors. Although the officers and soldiers attacked from all sides, the bandits continued to kill them. On the contrary, they killed more and more. In the end, he died in a hurry. If this guy is really smart, he would not go south. Supervisor.
Just ask the few people in front of you to understand whether the job of the Supervisor is good or not. The life and death of the Superintendent are all tied to a defeat at a certain point in the future. The winner in life, Governor Yuan, was completely defeated in the end.
"I am afraid, but I must obey the imperial edict!"
Sun Chuanting attended the court meeting for three days, and the prince dismissed Yang Sichang and jailed him on the first day. His attitude at that time was very clear, even if he couldn't kill you that day, he would surely kill him in a few days.
With this lesson learned as a reference, Sun Chuanting could roughly deduce the prince's temperament. I am afraid that the prince hates those fools who are self-righteous and shirk their responsibilities.
It doesn't matter if you make a mistake, as long as you can admit it in time and correct it, the prince will still be tolerant and will have the opportunity to atone for his sins. He will not be like the emperor, who arrests and kills whenever he wants.
"...Sigh~! However, the area occupied by the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo is really difficult to encircle and suppress. We might as well take advantage of the strategy and put the main force on the battlefield in northern Huguang, focusing on attacking the Luo Rucai Group and Zhang Xianzhong's headquarters. Give the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo a try. Leave room for movement, lure the snake out of its hole, lead it out of the Dabie Mountains, and tempt them to attack Fengyang or Nanjing!"
Yaoji didn't even think about going into the mountains to suppress bandits. One hundred thousand officers and soldiers went to encircle and suppress them, and they wouldn't do anything to the fifth battalion of Gezuo hiding in the mountains. On the contrary, our own forces will be dispersed. Once the enemy breaks out of the encirclement, the hinterland will inevitably be annihilated.
Suppose a certain prince wants to eliminate 20,000 enemies, but if he goes to the mountains to suppress the bandits and fails, and the enemies eat 20,000 horses, then there will be a difference of 40,000 inside and outside.
Rather than that, it is better to maintain the current situation. Although my troops cannot destroy you, they will not lose money. It will not be too late to launch a full-line attack when the terrain is conducive to the army.
"Your Highness, there is an imperial mausoleum in Fengyang, so there is no room for failure!"
Seeing that the prince actually used Fengyang as bait, Hong Chengchou hurriedly reminded him, fearing that the prince would even forget about the imperial mausoleum.
Because as early as the eighth year of Chongzhen, Fengyang was captured by rogue bandits. They not only destroyed the tombs of Zhu Laoliu's parents, but also burned Fengyang to ashes. The participants at that time were Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. .
It has only been four years, and the situation in Fengyang will not be much better. The most they can do is repair the imperial mausoleum. Minju has no time to take care of it. Moreover, Fengyang is not in danger. As long as the bandits come again, this place will be safe. It will inevitably fall again.
"This place has already been lost. Besides, how can we catch big fish without heavyweight bait? If the fifth battalion of Ge Zuo were to attack Fengyang in full force, the surrounding officers and soldiers could just follow them and annihilate them in Fengyang area as a comfort. The spirits of my ancestors in heaven! However, I think that although Fengyang is easy to conquer, the bandits may prefer the rich Jiangnan area. As long as they conquer Nanjing, they can take all the treasures and food in the city. This is their most important thing at this time. Something needed!”
The unconquered Fengyang is equivalent to a priceless blue and white vase from the Yuan Dynasty. Once the vase is broken, it will be a pile of garbage that should be swept away. The only meaning of Fengyang's existence is fishing.
Whether the imperial mausoleum will be destroyed by rogue bandits a second time is none of my business. The rogue bandits gave up the wealthy Nanjing and chose to attack the poor and scumbag Fengyang. I really want it. If they really do this, they will There's soot in the brain.
Yaoji really couldn't believe that the cunning fox-like Fifth Battalion of Ge Zuo would be so stupid and launch a massive attack on various places in the south of the Yangtze River. The destructive power to the court would be much greater than going north to Fengyang. Jiangnan was the biggest tax on the imperial court. Give important land.
"Your Highness, you are so right!"
Hong Chengchou understood that if he continued to speak, the 100,000 troops he had managed to gather would be divided a lot, so he stopped at the brink and began to praise the prince's decision.
The fifth battalion of Ge Zuo was still in the Dabie Mountains, still far away from Fengyang, but Zhang Xianzhong's Xiangyang was very close. Once he rebelled in Gucheng, he could advance along the water and land and appear outside Xiangyang City in less than a day.
King Xiang Zhu Yiming lives in the city. If the bandits break into the city, King Xiang's life will be in danger. As a feudal official, how can I explain to His Highness the Crown Prince?
If the prince believes that the living are more important than the dead, then when the army goes south, they will take the lead in protecting King Xiang, not to mention King Hui in Jingzhou and King Chu in Wuchang. These are important objects that must be protected and dare not not be protected. .
Regardless of the clan, if they can encircle the northern part of Huguang and even annihilate Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong's troops in one fell swoop, the Gezuo Fifth Battalion existing alone in the Dabie Mountains will be a lonely force.
For the imperial court, it was just around the corner to wipe out the rogue bandits who had caused trouble for many years, and even they could not resist the swarming of more than 100,000 officers and soldiers.
When doing things, especially big things, you must prioritize things.
Among the three major gangs, the priority was to severely damage Zhang Xianzhong's group, and the priority was to divide Luo Rucai's group.
Those from the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo could only be ranked at the bottom of the imperial court's purge. Only those who jumped out of the mountains and actively sought death would be "warmly received."
Yao Ji believed that the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo would not take the lead before Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion: "Fengyang has nothing to offer except the imperial mausoleum, and the rogues may not attack it. Nanjing is heavily guarded, and the city is high and the pond is deep. Yi If it is difficult to defend and attack, the rogue bandits will be afraid. That is to say, Jiujiang, Anqing, Chizhou, Tongling, Wuhu and other cities along the Yangtze River will be threatened. If the rogue bandits really go deep into the hinterland of Jiangnan, they may be able to come but not go."
There are still no less than 50,000 troops in the Jiangnan area, but they are scattered in various places. If the 5th Gezuo Battalion attacks Suzhou and other places, it will give the Nanjing 6th Division time to gather troops.
When reinforcements from all walks of life arrive in droves, it will not be so easy for the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo to escape. The best option is to go south into the mountains of northern Zhejiang.
In this case, what they do is almost like bandits, they just grab something and run away, and the threat to the court will be greatly reduced.
A certain prince also wanted to thank them, which gave him a good excuse. When Hong Chengchou's army entered Jiangnan, he could withdraw money from the ATM machines there, starting at ten million taels...
First, fill up your own pockets and collect the expenses for this year and next. As for the life and death of the merchants, it has nothing to do with a certain prince.
I even dare to use imperial mausoleums as bait, and businessmen who have long been evading taxes are even more miserable.
If the ATM machine cannot withdraw money, it has no existence value and is worse than scrap metal!
