weaving

Chapter 1505 The Great Ming Dynasty's Double Slaughter!

The peaks stand like a gathering of people, the waves surge like a raging storm, and the Tongguan Pass lies between mountains and rivers.

Looking westward towards the capital, I hesitated.

Heartbreaking are the places where the Qin and Han dynasties once stood; countless palaces have all turned to dust.

Prosperity brings suffering to the people;
Death, the people suffer!
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Tongguan was first established at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The old pass was built on the Loess Plateau. During the Sui Dynasty, it was moved several miles south. However, during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, it was moved back north to the foot of the Loess Plateau, becoming the old site of Tongguan City.

Tongguan Pass is located at a Yellow River crossing in the eastern part of the Guanzhong Plain. It is a strategic pass connecting the three provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, and controls the vital post road from Chang'an to Luoyang. It is the key to entering and leaving Shaanxi, and has been an essential passage and strategic pass for entering the Central Plains from the east and advancing into Guanzhong and the Western Regions from the west since the end of the Han Dynasty. It has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists and has been known as the "most dangerous pass within the capital region", the "throat of the four towns", and the "120-fold pass".

This place is extremely strategically important. To the south lies the Qinling Mountains, to the southeast the Forbidden Valley, and south of the valley are the Twelve Linked Cities. To the north, the Wei and Luo rivers converge with the Yellow River and flow down the pass, while to the west lies the perilous Mount Hua.

It can be said that Tongguan is surrounded by mountains and peaks, with deep valleys and steep cliffs. The roads are narrow and winding, with only a narrow, winding path that can only accommodate one cart and one horse at a time.

The phrases "the narrow path is so dangerous that even monkeys struggle to cross it" and "the only road in the world is the perilous Tongguan Pass" aptly describe the perilous terrain of this place. Even Du Fu, after traveling here, wrote the lines, "The old man sees the strategic point, so narrow that only a single carriage can pass through. He struggles to wield his long halberd, and for all eternity, only one man can do it," which have been passed down to posterity.

Because of Tongguan's important location, the Ming Dynasty specially set up Tongguan Garrison to guard the peace of the area and began to repair and further expand Tongguan.

The expanded and renovated Tongguan City walls meander along the mountain slopes, encompassing Qilin Mountain, Yantai Mountain, and Bijia Mountain to the southeast, and Phoenix Mountain and Scorpion Mountain to the southwest. The section of the Tong River flowing into the Yellow River is also included within the city walls, allowing the Tong River, which flows from south to north into the Yellow River, to pass through Tongguan City.

As a result, the defensive capabilities of Tongguan City were greatly enhanced.

At the same time, the Tonghe River also served as irrigation and drinking water for the city, irrigating more than a thousand acres of farmland in Tongguan City. This greatly alleviated the food supply problem in Tongguan City, making it truly easy to defend and difficult to attack, and enabling it to be held for a long time.

Tongguan City is higher in the south and lower in the north, bordering the Yellow River to the north. The city walls on the east, west, and north sides are five zhang high, while the highest point of the southern wall is ten zhang high. The entire city has a circumference of nearly twelve li.

There were a total of six city gates, each with two openings and connected by a barbican. The east gate was the closed gate, named "Jindou", and the west gate was named "Huaiyuan". There were also the upper south gate, the lower south gate, the large north gate, and the small north gate. Among them, the east, west, and north gates all had gate towers. In addition, the south water gate and the north water gate were also built.

In addition to its tall, thick, and magnificent city walls, Tongguan also boasts numerous temples, monasteries, and wooden and stone archways, all exquisitely constructed with carved beams and painted rafters, both inside and outside the city walls and on the mountainsides.

The main streets within the city walls include Yuxian Street, Shuaifu Street, Sipaifang Street, Pailou South Street, Pailou North Street, Fubu Street, Xianmentong Street, Nanmen Street, and Xiguan Street, which are arranged in a crisscross pattern, with more than fifty streets and alleys of varying sizes, densely packed together.

Although Tongguan City was not very large, it was quite prosperous. There were very few civilians inside the city; most of the residents were Ming soldiers guarding the pass and their families. However, there were many merchants coming and going, which contributed to the prosperity of Tongguan City to a certain extent.

As an important pass, Tongguan City had a very strict passage system, and it was a necessary passage for entering and leaving Guanzhong.

Whether pedestrians or merchants, anyone wishing to pass through Tongguan had to go through the east and west gates of the city. The gates opened every morning when the sun rose, and closed as soon as the sun set, prohibiting all passage.

Therefore, travelers and merchants passing through Tongguan would almost always stay overnight in the fortress, and many goods would be stored here before being transported to Shaanxi, Henan and other places, which made the commerce in the fortress prosperous.

The Tongshui River flows through the pass and empties into the Yellow River via the Tongjin Bridge. Inside the pass, there are numerous temples, bell towers, river-viewing towers, Lüzu Temple, Yueshu Tower, Xiangshan Patriarch Temple, as well as archways and pavilions, which were once described as "magnificent and resplendent, reflecting the plains and rivers".

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"The mountains are majestic in the Three Auxiliary Regions, and the pass guards the Nine Provinces."

Looking at the magnificent fortress before him, the Earl of Yongning used a line from an ancient poem to praise the Tongguan Pass. Chen De, who was riding beside him, also spoke up: "Indeed, such a formidable pass, if guarded by a capable general, even an enemy army of 100,000 would not be able to breach it."

Zhang Cheng glanced back at him and said, "The key is these four words you mentioned: 'capable general.' No matter how strategic, fortified, or magnificent a fortress is, it depends on who guards it. Only with a capable garrison can it be held."

Just like Suiyang during the Tang Dynasty, if it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold it for even a month, but Zhang Xun was able to defend the isolated city for two years with only ten thousand men, which is the best example.

Yuan Fucheng, who had just joined the army, said: "To defend a city and safeguard the world, with a few thousand exhausted soldiers, to fight against a million-strong army that grows daily, to shield the Yangtze and Huai Rivers and thwart their momentum, whose credit is it that the world does not perish?"

All this is thanks to Zhang Xun of Nanyang. Lord Zhang, you are truly a valiant man!

"General Lin and the others are here!" Just then, Zhang Mingyuan, the commander of the central army, pointed towards the direction of the pass and called out.

Everyone looked closely and saw a cavalry force of less than a hundred men galloping from the gate. Although they were too far away to see their faces clearly, they could tell from their clothing that the one in the lead was Lin Fangping.

Soon, the cavalrymen arrived, and everyone could see that the person behind Lin Fangping was Chang Zhengbiao, the former captain of the Yulin Cavalry B Division of the Weiyuan Camp.

Lin Fangping bowed respectfully from his horse, saying, "Commander-in-Chief."

Chang Zhengbiao, however, dismounted from his horse a dozen paces away, rushed forward, knelt on one knee, and kowtowed, saying, "Chang Zhengbiao, Imperial Guard, greets Commander."

Zhang Cheng looked at Chang Zheng Biao kneeling on the ground, nodded in satisfaction, and said gently, "Wearing armor eliminates the need to kneel; this is a long-standing rule in the army. Get up!"

"Yes, sir." Chang Zhengbiao loudly accepted the order, then stood up and obediently stood to the side of Yongning Bo's horse.

Has Commander Sun reached Tongguan yet?

Chang Zhengbiao clasped his hands and replied, "Commander Sun sent a letter saying that he will not arrive at Tongguan until noon tomorrow. Please enter the pass and rest first, Commander. I have already prepared wine and food for you."

"Okay. Let's proceed!"

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It turns out that after leaving Zhuxian Town, the Earl of Yongning traveled west through Xuzhou and Luoyang, not only to visit Chen Zheng and Zhang Guodong to encourage them, but also to meet Sun Chuanting in Tongguan.

Now, Sun Chuanting has also established a firm foothold in Shaanxi. He first devised a plan to kill the fierce general He Renlong and divided his troops. Although they were still commanded by his subordinate generals, they had swept away the bad habit of being unruly and disobedient, and had become Sun Chuanting's capable subordinates.

Just as the Earl of Yongning led his army to defeat Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, at Zhuxian Town, Sun Chuanting, taking advantage of the Earl of Yongning's victory over the rebels, also raised his sword in Shaanxi.

Zhang Cheng's trip to Tongguan to meet with Sun Chuanting was to encourage and inspire him...

Under the vast empire of Ming, there cannot be only one Zhang the Butcher!

Since you, Sun Chuanting, have already raised the butcher's knife, there is no turning back once the arrow is released. We must let Sun Chuanting kill to the bitter end, so as to fulfill his name of "Sun the Butcher".

Only in this way can the legendary fame of the "Twin Slayers of the Ming Dynasty" be finally fulfilled!

Otherwise, wouldn't it be too lonely for only his name, "Zhang the Butcher of Xuanfu," to be known?