stubborn thief

Guanzhong, outside the city of Xi'an.

The siege camp was still noisy.

Compared with the war in Henan, the siege of Xi'an seemed extremely gentle.

Not to mention others, even Liu Chengzong, the commander-in-chief, found it outrageous.

A few days ago, Gao Yingdeng reported that the First Field Brigade had completed its reorganization. Two Mongolian divisions and two Western Fan divisions had been transferred to Guanzhong and incorporated into the camp.

Liu Shizi then went down to the camp to review the drills and found that the four generals of the First Brigade were quite capable. They had quietly replaced the equipment of the two divisions and four departments.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows the equipment level of the Mongolian and Western Fan soldiers.

As an auxiliary force, they use captured equipment.

The first class used equipment captured from the Ming army, the second class used equipment captured from the Oirat army, and the third class used equipment captured from the Mongols in Qinghai.

In comparison, if we don't count the muskets in the hands of the Western Fan soldiers, the Mongolian soldiers' equipment level is even better. After all, the best-equipped Western Fan soldiers are called Mengji Fanzi in the Marshal's Office.

In short, sheepskin yokes, red tasseled helmets, crooked spears, nomadic cavalry's hard bows, and wooden sticks with iron heads as bone buds are the more common armaments of regular soldiers. Among them, the more advanced ones include some protective equipment such as four-mirror armor, chain mail, and iron-studded leather armor.

When Liu Shizi organized the army, he did not take their equipment level into consideration. The original plan was that after the reorganization was completed, as winter was approaching, the rear of Lanzhou would transport winter clothes to the front line and have the Military Equipment Bureau re-equip them as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, the generals led by Gao Yingdeng had already accomplished this matter in the city of Xi'an.

He went down to the camp to review the drills. The soldiers of the two thousand headquarters changed their sheepskin-lined vests into the standard battle jackets of the Ming army garrisons, and the outer chain mail was also replaced with iron armor with purple flowered cloth.

The red tasseled helmet on his head was replaced with a red tasseled hat-hat of the Ming army, and there were also many vermilion lacquered helmets with the word "Yong" on them.

All the equipment is obviously second-hand.

The battle jackets are generally slightly larger and don't fit well.

The purple flower cloth armor is not purple, nor does it have flowers, but the cloth is called purple flower cloth, and the color is light ochre.

Especially the armor, all they wore were infantry armor that had been privately modified.

There is a big difference in the shapes of infantry armor and cavalry armor, and people who know the difference can tell the difference at a glance.

The infantrymen were fully armored, reaching their ankles, and armor plates were inserted from their armpits to their hips, so they did not have to worry about the effects of movements such as crouching.

The armor of the two Mongolian officers at present is a modified cloth armor in the shape of infantry armor. The hem has been shortened to above the knee, and the armor plates from the armpits to the hips on both sides of the ribs have been removed. External crotch protectors, armpit protectors, and waist protectors have been made to prevent the armor plates from pressing against the armpits and rubbing against the hips when riding.

Some people even equipped themselves with leg slings, which were iron greaves.

Not to mention the iron helmets, they also wore chain mail under the helmets.

Everyone even carried a sword on their waist, and the crudely made bone-shaped hammers were replaced with iron-handled golden hammers; the Mongolian hard bows were replaced with the Ming army's standard large-scale soft bows.

These equipments obviously came from the besieged city of Xi'an.

In fact, according to junior officers on the siege front, armor was not the biggest source of income in the siege trade.

When the Ming army went to the camp to buy food, they preferred to use silver, because the prices in the city were too high and the silver in their hands was no longer valuable.

In addition, the largest amount of equivalents are miscellaneous consumables such as gunpowder, lead bullets, iron bullets, and arrows.

According to statistics from the various camps besieging the city, they replaced more than 20,000 forged arrowheads alone, and the number of lead balls and iron bullets was countless.

As for gunpowder, more.

After Gao Yingdeng's First Brigade was reorganized, Wang Wenxiu was appointed commander-in-chief of Longxi Road, and he was transferred to Gongchang and Pingliang with Li Wanqing and Yang Chengzu. When his army left, they had more gunpowder than when they entered Guanzhong.

Liu Chengzong also prepared a deputy general of the surrendered army for Wang Wenxiu, named Ouyang Gun.

Ouyang Gun was from Ganzhou. He had just received an order to be promoted to deputy general of Lintao when Liu Chengzong attacked Gansu.

He helped Yang Jiamo set up two Ganzhou camps, and was then surrounded by Liu Shizi in Liangzhou like a prisoner, until he surrendered with Li Hongsi.

The Marshal's Office is more confident in using this person than Li Hongsi.

Because Li Hongsi is from Shaanxi and Ouyang Gun is from Gansu, it ultimately comes down to a matter of place of origin.

His hometown had become the land under the jurisdiction of the Marshal's Office. The Ming Dynasty was too far away and Xining was too close, and people always had to eat, so not long after he surrendered, he was hired by the old master as an instructor at Xincheng Academy, specializing in the study of cavalry tactics.

Later, he worked with Dalai Taiji in the military training camp.

Wang Wenxiu was transferred to Longxi because Liu Chengzong wanted to transfer Ren Quaner back to Guanzhong to form the Second Field Brigade of the Marshal's Office.

With the experience of forming the First Brigade, things became much easier for the Second Brigade, and Liu Chengzong was able to focus more on Henan.

The person in the Marshal's Office who is most concerned about the developments in Henan is Zhang Tianlin.

As soon as Zhang Yichuan captured Yongning, Zhang Tianlin cooperated with his troops to open up a Tangbao route between Tongguan, Hongguan and even Yongning County.

After all, the western Henan area was still under the threat of the plague. With their capabilities, Henan was out of reach, but intelligence was indispensable. Therefore, they could only weigh the pros and cons and select soldiers to risk going out to form a fast channel for transmitting intelligence.

Liu Shizi was very happy that Henan and Guanzhong established connections.

In the commander's tent, he chatted with Zhang Xianzhong, King Han and other ministers of the Court of Rites, flipped through letters with a smile, and praised Zhang Yichuan highly.

The 5th Battalion of Henan fought several beautiful field battles in the western Henan region.

There are many mines in western Henan, which has always been a breeding ground for desperate criminals. By recruiting an army with the mountain miners as the backbone and fighting a few tough battles, Zhang Yichuan's military quality will be greatly improved.

At the same time, the idea of ​​attacking Yongning first and then Luoyang is also a good idea. Having a rear base can maximize the morale of the besieging army.

Even if we take a step back, the army will not panic too much when encountering setbacks. At most, they can retreat to Yongning County. Even if Yongning cannot stop them, they can retreat directly to Tongguan.

But just as he finished his words of praise, he saw in Zhang Yichuan's letter that after conquering Yongning County, he killed Wan'an Prince Zhu Caiqing.

This made Liu Chengzong's face turn pale.

The King of Han was sitting in the general's tent, observing Liu Chengzong's expression. When he saw Liu Chengzong's smile freeze, he asked, "General, what's wrong?"

"Zhang Yichuan, after the city was captured, a prince was killed."

The smile on King Han's face froze, and after a pause he returned to normal, saying, "The prince in Yongning City is King Wan'an, right? He is a branch of the Yi clan. Just kill him, Marshal. There are no good people in his branch."

Liu Chengzong did not comment.

"Punish him, Marshal!" Zhang Xianzhong, the Minister of Rites, obviously understood etiquette better. He said with wide eyes, "Zhang Yichuan, you captured the prince, you should have escorted the prisoner to Guanzhong, but you killed him in Yongning County privately. Is that what he can do?"

Liu Shizi raised his eyelids and looked helplessly at the Shangshu and the head of the Rites Yamen, as neither of them got to the point.

He didn't care whether the executed prince was an evil king or a wise king, nor did he care that Zhang Yichuan, who was a bandit leader, had no sense of subordinates.

What he cared about was that Zhang Yichuan did this thing without any brains.

Just like Zhang Tianlin likes to destroy Buddhist temples, it is meaningless.

The princes and dukes of the Ming Dynasty were of no significance to the Marshal's Office or to the bandits.

The only meaningful things about the vassal state are the mountains of wealth and the educated population.

The former can enrich financial and material resources, while the latter can be exiled to the barren and cold Tianshan Mountains, allowing them to do something meaningful for the world with their useless bodies and limited talents.

As for princes and dukes, if they leave the vassal state, not killing them would be a waste of food, and killing them would be a waste of knives. To put it bluntly, they are useless people.

"He killed the Prince of Wan'an just for the sake of momentary pleasure without considering the consequences. The prince should not have been killed. It's my fault for not telling him in advance."

Liu Chengzong shook his head in annoyance: "These princes are rich and powerful, but when faced with the danger of siege, they are like lambs to be slaughtered and stay out of it. Firstly, they are under the rule of clan law, and secondly, there are no princes who have been killed, so even if the city falls, they will not feel that their death is near."

He didn't say the rest, but his meaning was clear.

In the past, the feudal lords did nothing when faced with sieges because there had never been a feudal lord who was killed when the city broke. After all, the bandits and armies outside the city were not as scary as the imperial patriarchal system that hung over their heads and could easily demote people to commoners or expel them from their thrones.

With the example set by Prince Wan'an, the princes in the future who are afraid of death may really use their money to offer money to recruit soldiers in times of crisis.

The key point is that Zhang Yichuan is still in Henan Prefecture, and Luoyang is just around the corner.

The biggest reason why Liu Chengzong did not approve of this was that Luoyang, the capital of Henan Prefecture, was home to Prince Fu, who was famous for his wealth and power.

If you, Zhang Yichuan, really want to kill a prince, but spare Prince Wan'an's life, send him to the city of Luoyang to tell Prince Fu not to act rashly in the city, lower the morale of the Ming army, take Luoyang, and kill Prince Fu.

  Now that Luoyang has not been taken, but the Prince Wan'an who was so close to him has been killed, how can Prince Fu not be afraid?

The key point is that the prince is not a general. Even if he is afraid, he cannot abandon the city and escape. He can only risk his life and spend money to smash it.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengzong shook his head, raised his hand and called the Yulin cavalry, saying: "For Zhang Yichuan's contribution in capturing Yongning, let the military office make a reward plaque to encourage the soldiers to make persistent efforts. When the plague in Henan subsides, another reward will be given. Send it first... Then report it to the Li Ya, and report it to all officers at all levels of the army."

Zhang Xianzhong failed to respond immediately.

Liu Chengzong's views on the vassal kings made him feel deeply.

He began to study Liu Chengzong again with an obsessive mind.

But this time, there is a little new inspiration mixed in.

He felt that although Zhang Yichuan was cruel to the princes, he was obviously more respectful to them than Liu Chengzong.

At least in Zhang Yichuan's eyes, the princes of the Ming Dynasty were the number one enemies worth killing, and even worth boasting about after killing them.

This is basically the same as Zhang Xianzhong's own opinion. For any leader who started out as a bandit, executing a vassal king can bring a huge sense of inner satisfaction.

But he found that Liu Chengzong obviously did not think so. Liu Chengzong really had no respect for the vassal kings from the bottom of his heart. He did not even regard the vassal kings as individuals, without any mixture of good or evil, joy or anger. He just regarded them as tools like chopping fish on a chopping board or flies and mosquitoes.

It was this view that touched Zhang Xianzhong deeply - when he was trying to stop a chariot with his bare hands at the Zhuanglang City Wall, Liu Chengzong had the same view of him at the time.

When Liu Chengzong frowned, King Han touched Zhang Xianzhong with his arm, and he finally reacted and quickly said, "Yes, what does the commander-in-chief want me to tell you?"

"What can you report?"

Liu Chengzong was somewhat dissatisfied with his daze, and said: "Spread the word about how to treat the princes and dukes of the royal family. Just as you said just now, if you capture the princes of the royal family, collect all their merits and demerits in the vassal states, and escort them to the central army of the general's mansion. They should not be executed on the battlefield."

"Not only should the message be sent to the entire army, but it should also be sent to Henan, Hanzhong, and the south of the desert."

The one in Henan was Zhang Yichuan, the one in Mobei was Yang Qi, and the one in Hanzhong was Gao Yingxiang.

Gao Yingxiang's expedition this time was really unlucky.

Everyone sent troops out together. Liu Chengzong was invincible in Guanzhong, and Li Zicheng also rushed into Huguang and advanced rapidly. Gao Yingxiang was trapped in the mountainous area between Jialing Valley and Han River, and was in a dilemma.

Liu Chengzong encountered a locust plague. Gao Yingxiang had just advanced into Hanzhong and fought a few battles, capturing only two cities, Fengxian and Lueyang, when heavy rains fell in the Hanzhong Basin for forty consecutive days, and mountain torrents raged, flooding the area.

When the road was just opened some time ago, Gao Yingxiang sent someone to deliver a letter, confessing that he was farming in the mountains and would go down to attack Hanzhong after the crops were harvested.

When Liu Chengzong saw the letter, he laughed so hard that his stomach hurt, and immediately said that he could provide a batch of gunpowder.

Master Gao is considered an expert in construction and deserves the title of the King of Farming. He farmed in northern Shaanxi and he continued to farm in southern Shaanxi.

Liu Chengzong first asked the Military Office to send encouragement to the soldiers and agree on post-war rewards; then he asked the Etiquette Office to send regulations to various departments and establish a system for dealing with the Ming Dynasty’s relatives in the future.

Finally, he wrote a letter to Zhang Yichuan himself.

The letter did not mention the punishment for Zhang Yichuan's unauthorized killing of Prince Wan'an, but only told him the reason why the prince was not killed, and reminded him to send troops to attack Luoyang as soon as possible, and at the same time block the news, and never use the killing of the prince as a propaganda tool to spread fear.

However, Liu Shizi himself knew that this letter of his was probably an afterthought and it would be too late by the time it reached Zhang Yichuan.

So he didn't say much about it, it didn't make much sense.

He only ordered Zhang Yichuan to send the topographic maps of Henan Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture, as well as the defense map of his troops for the siege of Luoyang, to the interior.

Liu Chengzong guessed that Zhang Yichuan was going to lose the battle.

It's not just because Zhang Yichuan killed the princes, it might also make Prince Fu use his family wealth to offer money to recruit soldiers and boost morale.

Also because he had not heard of the news that Zhang Yichuan had captured Mengjin, Sishui, Xingyang and other places.

Fortified cities have always been difficult to defend because the attackers have already eliminated important strongholds outside the city before taking it, and a large-scale battle will most likely break out in the wild.

For example, before Liu Chengzong attacked the city of Xi'an, he broke through the encirclement of tens of thousands of Ming troops on the Xianyang Plateau.

By the time he attacked Xi'an, he had no food and supplies inside and no help outside. He had only tens of thousands of hungry soldiers and a strong city. He had no ability to fight outside the city, and he lost his ability to defend the city after besieging it for a long time.

However, the situation in Henan Prefecture was not the case. Zhang Yichuan did not clear out the important strongholds in Henan Prefecture, nor did he cut off the ancient Xiaoguan Road located in Sishui, which connected Songshan Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. He also did not take down Mengjin County, which was intended to intercept the attack from Shanxi.

To attack Luoyang, Zhang Yichuan could only win quickly, otherwise there would be a high probability of failure when the Ming court reinforcements entered Henan Prefecture.

Of course, for Liu Chengzong, it would be best if Zhang Yichuan could win, but if he cannot win, he should prepare to receive the defeated troops of his own army.

"Tell Zhang Tianlin to see how many of his soldiers who survived the Tongguan plague have recovered, and to organize them to station at Hongguan, east of Tongguan. If the battle on the front line goes badly, order the five battalions of Henan to withdraw to Hongguan." (End of this chapter)