The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 186 Butterfly Wings
Chongzhen ten years, February 25th.

Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Prefecture, and Jingyang County.

Outside the city of Jingyang, the sky was full of smoke and dust, and countless messy banners were constantly shaking under the blowing of the north wind.

People and horses are dense and mighty, as if stretching endlessly.

The soldiers and horses of the brigade blocked the official road, and the queue spread all the way to the surrounding fields.

Looking up, the mountains and plains are full of crowds of people, and the darkness is overwhelming.

There are thousands of flags, like mountains and seas, almost covering the entire field outside Jingyang City.

Among the densely packed banners, a large banner with a height of one foot and three feet stood out from the crowd.

The black banner is black, with a black pole and a black handle, four feet long and three feet wide.

Pearl tassels are inserted on the top of the flag, and pheasant tails are attached to the bottom. The seven-foot-five-inch-long ocher-yellow horn belt keeps fluttering in the crowd of the fierce north wind.

The tassel of the flag is red, the spear of the flag is silver, and the surface of the flag stretches in the wind, revealing a large white character - "Chuang"!
Under the towering banner, Li Zicheng rode a green horse and stood in front of everyone.

The whole body of this blue horse is blue, without any variegation.

It was originally Zhang Waijia's mount, but after the Battle of Sanshui, this horse became Li Zicheng's mount.

Li Zicheng is wearing a red hat and a green cloth arrow jacket, looking into the distance.

Spring has arrived, and it is the time for everything to recover, but the cold still has not completely dissipated.

The weather is getting colder every year, and Shaanxi is getting drier every year.

As far as the eye can see, there are loess and black sand, where can you see a scene full of vitality.

Li Zicheng and Gao Yingxiang's eyebrows are slightly similar, and they both have high noses and deep eyes.

But it's only the similarities in eyebrows, the rest of the two people have no similarities at all.

Just as Li Zicheng was observing Jingyang City not far away, a muffled low humming sound suddenly came from a distance.

Li Zicheng turned his head suddenly, and tightened his grip on the rein. He knew that he was definitely not hallucinating just now.

The green horse under the seat also snorted lightly at this time, and pawed its front hooves.

Li Zicheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he raised his eyes to look into the distance.

At the end of the horizon, the originally calm horizon seemed to suddenly start to squirm for some reason.

"coming……"

Li Zicheng raised his head slightly and whispered to himself.

Liu Zongmin and Gao Yigong, who were following behind Li Zicheng, also restrained their expressions at this moment, and raised their eyes to look into the distance together.

As time went by, the faint low humming sound became clearer.

And the horizon in the distance is still jumping, but everyone can clearly see why the horizon is jumping.

Just to the southeast, a group of horse cavalry in gray armor was sweeping from the east field.

Without hesitation, Li Zicheng raised the whip in his hand and drove the blue horse under his seat towards the direction where the cavalry came from the east.

A group of guard cavalry also raised their whips and leaped their horses one after another, and followed Li Zicheng to the east.

Following Li Zicheng's actions, everyone's eyes were focused on where he was going, whether it was the invasion army south of Jingyang City or the Ming army further south of Jingyang City.

Sun Chuanting's face was dignified, and he was wearing the same armor as before, including a high-topped helmet.

Beside him, Luo Shangwen and Li Yuchun had the same expressions, but there was still a little fear in their eyes.

Li Yuchun was seriously injured in the Battle of Heishuiyu before, and he recuperated for more than half a year before returning to the battlefield.

Luo Shangwen was transferred, and now he is directly led by Sun Chuanting.

Now under Sun Chuanting's command, in addition to the [-] Qin soldiers in the headquarters, the other two battalions are the trilogy of the two, and the three battalions have a total of more than [-] soldiers.

"Where are Cao Wenzhao, He Renlong and the others?"

Sun Chuanting frowned, looked at the two waves approaching in the distance, and asked in a deep voice.

Hearing Sun Chuanting's question, the soldiers beside him who were in charge of receiving and delivering information immediately rushed forward to report.

"Half an hour ago, I returned from the inspection. Cao Zongbing, He... He Renlong has led the troops into Xianyang territory. According to the distance calculation, the vanguard should be able to arrive in two to three hours."

Sun Chuanting's eyes narrowed slightly, and when he heard He Renlong's name, he glanced at Luo Shangwen and Li Yuchun each.

Luo Shangwen didn't look sideways, and didn't show any emotion.

Li Yuchun lowered his eyebrows and bowed his head, unable to see his face clearly.

Sun Chuanting withdrew his gaze and sighed inwardly.

Last September, General Qi, King Renyi, King Hunshi and other ministries under Li Zicheng occupied Baoji, and He Renlong was ordered to attack.

He Renlong led the army to break into Jiajia Village, and after a long battle, he finally won.

But during the pursuit, Li Zicheng suddenly led the Jingqi to kill, and the situation on the battlefield was instantly reversed.

Although He Renlong fought and retreated, and Sichuan general Zeng Glory added reinforcements later, but in the end he was still unable to stop Li Zicheng and others. The troops under his command suffered heavy losses, and He Renlong himself suffered several injuries.

Outnumbered and outnumbered, defeat is really helpless, and should not have been harsh.

However, the final result of the Ministry of War's handling was that He Renlong's deputy commander was directly taken away, and he was temporarily retained to perform his crimes and meritorious service.

Since the campaign, He Renlong has made great achievements in battle and has a high prestige among the towns in Shaanxi. This time he was taken off the post, which caused an undercurrent in the army.

Although most people didn't open their mouths, the dissatisfaction didn't need to be opened to be discovered.

Nowadays, Chinese in the court place more emphasis on martial arts than martial arts, and it is normal for generals to be punished after defeat. He Renlong was originally dismissed from office, but Hong Chengchou saved him and gave him a chance to make meritorious deeds.

A defeat must be paid for by someone, and these things are hidden rules.

Sun Chuanting knew the inside story very well, and also understood what those people in the court thought.

This situation has been going on for a long time in the court, but it has always been like this, but it does not mean that it is right.

Proud soldiers such as Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen, relying on the large number of soldiers and horses under their command and their strength, did whatever they wanted, even plundering.

After they were defeated, they didn't even respect orders, but the Ministry of War didn't even say a word, just took it as a deaf ear

Sun Chuanting knew it was wrong, but he was just the governor of a province. He seemed to have a high position and authority, but in fact he had many constraints. The real power was not great, and he could not change this situation.

Sun Chuanting always feels that if the current situation continues to spread like this, and the imperial court's policies and methods have not changed, I am afraid that it will cause disaster...

Sun Chuanting shook his head, drove out all the messy thoughts in his mind, and then turned his gaze back to the crowd in the distance.

"After you return to the camp, restrain the army, guard the camp, closely monitor the Chuangni remnants, wait until Gao Yingde, Xiezikuai and other troops pass through, and block the eastward intersection."

After a brief absence, Sun Chuanting regained his former composure and calmness, and decisively issued a new military order.

At this time, the two groups of soldiers and horses outside Jingyang City were already close together, and one was Li Zicheng who entered Fengxiang Mansion from Gongchang Mansion and threw off Hong Chengchou's pursuit.

The other part is the remnants of the Chuangjun led by Gao Yingde, Xie Zikuai, Zhang Miaoshou and others.

Gao Yingde is Gao Yingxiang's adoptive son. When Gao Yingxiang entered Ziwu Road, he handed over all the infantry and hungry soldiers of part of the fine cavalry army under his command to Gao Yingde.

The current situation is very clear, the two departments may have secretly contacted through some channels, and decided to find a local meeting and take action.

Sun Chuanting's eyes were deep, staring into the distance, and suddenly asked Li Yuchun at the side.

"What kind of banner is Gao Yingde playing this way?"

"banner?"

Li Yuchun raised his head with a slightly puzzled expression.

"like……"

Li Yuchun recalled the banners he had encountered in previous battles, but he didn't have much clue.

"Did you play the banner of 'Chuang Wang'?"

Sun Chuanting was silent for a while, and then asked more clearly.

"That's not the case. In the past few battles, it seems that the teams have encountered a lot of Chuangjiang Banners, but no one has used Gao Yingxiang's previous name."

Li Yuchun realized later, he was stunned for a moment and understood why Sun Chuanting asked such a question.

Sun Chuanting's eyes flickered, and several thoughts flashed through his mind.

After Xunxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and other troops broke through the line of defense, according to deduction, the whole army should have entered Nanzhili together.

But the final result is that Gao Yingde, Xie Zikuai, Zhang Miaoshou and other tribes who belonged to Gao Yingxiang suddenly transferred to Shaanxi, and parted ways with Zhang Xianzhong and others.

That's why Sun Chuanting was caught off guard, allowing Gao Yingde and other troops to enter Shaanxi Province.

At the end of last year, Sun Chuanting had almost reorganized the four guards of Xi'an, and the main army's shortages were filled by seven or eighty-eight. Now the guards and battalions have sufficient food and wages, and they have initially formed their combat power.

If it wasn't too sudden, Sun Chuanting would be able to mobilize tens of thousands of guards from the four guards of Xi'an, directly block the road for Gao Yingde and others to enter Shaanxi, and trap them to death in Henan Province.

It's a pity that there is no if, no one can imagine such a situation happening.

When the news reached Xi'an, Gao Yingde, Xie Zikuai and other ministries had already led the cavalry under their command into Xi'an Mansion.

"It seems that something happened in the south..."

The biggest possibility should be that Zhang Xianzhong wanted to take advantage of Gao Yingxiang's death and annex the tribes that belonged to Gao Yingxiang in one go, but Gao Yingde and others were unwilling to join, so there was a disagreement.

Sun Chuanting already guessed the inside story of the matter with a good guess.

Gao Yingde didn't play the banner of Chuang Wang all the way, and Xie Zikuai, Zhang Miaoshou and others still claimed to be Chuang Jiang.

It should be that Gao Yingde's qualifications are still inexperienced and his methods are not enough. Although he is Gao Yingxiang's adopted son, he has no way to make Xie Zikuai and Zhang Miaoshou willingly obey.

Gao Yingde and others entered Shaanxi this time, and their preparation to join Li Zicheng might not be as simple as joining forces.

During this period of time, Li Zicheng has turned upside down in Shaanxi Province, and I am afraid that he has already learned about it.

Gao Yingde brought them here, probably because he wanted to nominate a new King Chuang.

Li Zicheng is Gao Yingxiang's nephew, and the two parties are related by blood.

And most importantly, Li Zicheng's reputation in the 72nd Battalion is not low. Although he is a breakthrough general, his reputation in the capital of the 24th Battalion ranks first, almost equal to that of Zhang Xianzhong.

The new Chuang Wang who is about to be elected is probably Li Zicheng.

The elite of Chuangjun's big strides have already followed Gao Yingxiang and perished in Heishuiyu.

However, the power of Chuangjun and the remnants of the party should not be underestimated. They were originally torn apart because of Gao Yingxiang's destruction.

But now that Li Zicheng inherited the title of King Chuang, and gathering them together, the impact on the situation is not insignificant.

"Ling, the Hanzhong vanguard, Hanzhong left guard, and Hanzhong right guard three guards, only the garrison sergeants are left, and all other soldiers who can fight, all move closer to Sanyuan."

Sun Chuanting's expression was serious, and with his mind turning, he made up his mind.

"Report to the Governor, the reunion of Chuang Rebel's remnant party intends to re-elect Chuang King and make things happen again."

"It is advisable to assemble a heavy army at the beginning of its rise, and use thunder to break the trick, and it will be shattered immediately, so that the crowd can be shocked!

……

Outside Jingyang City, a high platform has been built at some point.

On the high platform, Li Zicheng looked solemn, and solemnly took a golden seal from Gao Yingde's hand with his hands raised.

Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong, General Manager Qi, King Huntian, King Renyi, Little Red Wolf, Xie Zikuai, Zhang Miaoshou and other battalion leaders all looked at the golden seal.

Everyone has different expressions, some are curious, some are sad, some are meaningless, and some have a bit of greed in their eyes...

Li Zicheng took the golden seal, first looked around at the people standing on the stage, then stretched out a hand, held the golden seal and raised it slowly.

"Now the situation is critical, even critical life and death."

"Thanks to everyone's trust, I wish to take the title of King Chuang temporarily."

Li Zicheng's voice was sonorous, firm and firm.

There was no hatred or anger in his eyes, only perseverance and composure.

"Now that I have been entrusted with this great trust, I will be promoted to King Chuang, and I will surely stain the soldiers with blood and avenge my revenge!"

……

Sun Chuanting's conjecture was correct, Gao Yingde and the others came to Shaanxi to elect a new King Chuang.

But Sun Chuanting's speculation is not without problems.

For example, the biggest problem is the selection of the new King Chuang.

Sun Chuanting speculated that Gao should not have the ability and experience to persuade Xie Zikuai and Zhang Miaoshou, so he had to support Li Zicheng.

But in fact, when Gao Yingxiang entered Meridian Road, he had already decided everything and made Li Zicheng his successor.

This is not the original process...

The original process was that Gao Yingen, who was Gao Yingxiang's younger brother, took over as King Chuang, then Gao Yingen was defeated and died, and the last elite under Gao Yingxiang's command was also lost.

But Gao Yingen died in Binzhou, at the hands of Cao Bianjiao...

The reason why Gao Yingen died at the hands of Cao Bianjiao was because Cao Wenzhao did not die in Qiutou Town, but was arranged to be in Binzhou after the war.

The Ming army won a battle that they did not win, and also achieved a great result.

Gao Yingen's death made Gao Yingxiang finally replace his successor...

The breeze caused by the gentle flapping of the butterfly's wings is getting bigger and faster under constant changes...

At this time, Chen Wang was preparing his troops, gathering the troops under his command, and preparing for the coming of the storm according to the original plan.

He didn't expect that the series of chain reactions triggered by Gao Yingen's death would soon make everything unrecognizable, far beyond his worst prediction...

(End of this chapter)