weaving

Chapter 1352 July Fire
"I'm afraid that if we forcefully attack the new city, there will be heavy casualties!"

Facing Song Xiance's concerns, Liu Zongmin said nonchalantly: "What are you afraid of? We have hundreds of thousands of hungry people. Keeping them is a waste of grain. It happens that we are short of grain now. Sending them to Xincheng can not only consume the bows and arrows of the government army and weaken their morale, but also save us grain. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Yuan Zongdi also echoed: "That's right, keeping the hungry people is a waste of grain. We brought them here from afar just for today's use. We have raised them for so long, it's time for them to repay us."

"Ugh……"

Niu Jinxing sighed and said in a fake voice: "In the current situation, in order to save the people of the world, we can only temporarily make the people of Henan suffer."

He was obviously speaking on behalf of Prince Chuang. After all, he was going to be the emperor in the future, so how could he leave behind a bad reputation as a tyrant? Even if it was Liu Zongmin who said to use the starving people as cannon fodder, Prince Chuang was the supreme commander of this army, so he had to consider how historians would record this in the future.

Now with Niu Jinxing's words, King Chuang felt relieved. After all, it was for the benefit of the people of the world, not for himself.

"Grand Marshal, when the world is settled in the future, please exempt the people of Kaifeng from taxes and grain levies for three years so that they can recuperate and restore their former prosperity." Niu Jinxing once again delivered a hypocritical message to Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng did not understand what he meant, so he immediately replied, "Okay, everything will be done according to Mr. Niu's wishes."

Using the excuses given by Niu Jinxing, the King of Chuang offered a big empty favor, and he even added directly: "The people in the Central Plains are suffering, it's all because of the incompetence of the Ming emperor in the capital, the corruption of the court officials, the fear of death and the cowardice of the generals, all of whom only know how to exploit the people, there must be an end to it.

We have set up the banner of the 'Fengtian Initiative' in order to end this chaotic world and create a peaceful and stable prosperous era, but someone has to sacrifice. Today, the people of the Central Plains are suffering. When we have pacified the world in the future, we will allow the people of Henan Province to be tax-free for five years!"

"The Grand Marshal is truly a merciful Lord!"

Niu Jinxing immediately sang the same tune with King Chuang's performance: "Jinxing believes that when the people of Henan know this good news, they will definitely be grateful to the Grand Marshal. They will appreciate the Grand Marshal's grace and will surely charge bravely on the battlefield to pave the way for my army."

Liu Zongmin and Yuan Zongde also praised the King of Rebellion for his kindness. Although Gao Yigong also praised the King of Rebellion with them, a trace of reluctance appeared on his face.

Even the military advisor Song Xiance put away his compassion and followed the others in praising King Chuang's kindness and love for the people!
…………

In July in the Central Plains, the night is like a huge and deep black brocade, weighing heavily on this land that has suffered from drought, locust disasters and the baptism of war.

"The scorching heat of July"!
The huge fireball had now quietly moved westward, still like a flowing flame, carrying the omen of the summer heat gradually dissipating, overlooking the land of Zhongzhou which was about to change color.

Inside and outside Kaifeng City, especially in the vast land dozens of miles south of the city, the atmosphere was like a taut bowstring, ready to explode at any moment.

The hundreds of thousands of troops led by King Chuang were like a torrent hidden in the darkness, moving silently under the cover of the night. The soldiers' footsteps were light and firm, and the "rustling" sound made by the friction between the soles of their shoes and the ground was like a breeze blowing through dry grass.

From this we can see that the fact that Chuang’s army has been able to win battles again and again in Henan over the past two years was not entirely due to luck, but its military rules and discipline also played a huge role!
The battle uniforms they wore were very simple. Although they had won many victories, they seldom had new uniforms. After all, King Chuang had expanded his army too quickly in the past two years. Hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly appeared. Where could they get so many armors and uniforms?
The figures of the soldiers of the Chuang army appeared and disappeared in the moonlight, like ghosts. The generals rode on tall war horses, each of them with an upright posture, sharp eyes, and excited expressions on their faces. They rode their horses between the troops, conveying orders in a very low voice, and their gestures were also simple and powerful, urging the soldiers to speed up their march.

…………

At the same time, the government troops were also quietly deploying and mobilizing in secret.

In the government army camps around Xinchengji, faint lights flickered in the night. If you look closely, you can see that the soldiers are hurriedly preparing their armor and weapons.

Their faces were covered with a very solemn expression. They tried their best to suppress the movements of their hands to avoid the crisp sound of metal colliding. The fact that a camp with thousands of troops could organize war weapons in such a quiet and orderly manner showed how strict the military regulations were.

The military flags of each camp were shaking silently in the night wind, as if they were intentionally suppressing the fighting spirit that was about to erupt!
However, due to the long trenches of the rebel army, the government troops could not effectively deploy their forces between the various camps. But under the starlight, one could still see teams of government troops quietly leaving the camp and disappearing into the vast night...

I'm afraid no one knows where they are going except themselves!

…………

From Kaifeng City to the south to Zhuxian Town, within a radius of hundreds of miles, with Xincheng Jiyongning Earl Zhang Cheng's governor's headquarters as the center, the troops of both officials and bandits were like two dormant dragons, secretly competing with each other in the dark night.

Relying on their superiority in military strength and their control over the terrain, the rebel army was very careful in their movements, but their main purpose was to conceal their whereabouts in order to avoid being noticed by the government troops and having to take precautions, which would have been a loss.

They are like hunters in the dark night, quietly locking onto their prey!

The government troops, relying on the barracks and fortifications built earlier, were busy arranging their defenses, trying to build an indestructible barrier in the darkness, and quietly sending out teams one after another, disappearing into the pitch-black night...

The night gradually became darker.

The crescent moon that kept moving seemed to be trembling slightly because of the upcoming battle, making itself incomplete.

The secret mobilization of troops between the government forces and the bandits was like the magma silently surging underground. Once it erupted, it would surely cause a violent storm that would shake the world.

This outbreak will surely shake the world. It will not only determine the future of the Yongyi Army and the Chuang Army, the two most powerful armies in the world, but will also determine the future of this land...

It will even seriously affect the entire Ming Dynasty - its future destiny!