The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 334 Muddy Waters
"Kaifeng, Li Yan can only go to Kaifeng now."

Around the sand table, a group of generals from the Hanzhong Army stood in clusters.

Hu Zhiyi, Zhao Huailiang, Zhang Er, and Huang Long were on the near side of Chen Wang.

Chen Wang's eyes slowly passed over the cities on the sand table.

The war situation in Henan is gradually becoming clearer from a confusing state.

"Luoyang is a Jedi, and Li Yan is not a fool. He will never stay in Luoyang for a long time."

"To the west is Shaanxi. Shaanxi is the hardest hit. Most of Li Yan's troops are soldiers from Henan. They are not familiar with the terrain of Shaanxi, so they will never enter Shaanxi."

"To the north is Huaiqing Mansion. The spring flood season of the Yellow River has arrived. It is difficult for a large army of thousands of thieves to cross the river. If they are caught up by our army when they are halfway across the river, they will suffer heavy losses."

"And the most important thing is that they have nowhere to go north. Whether they go to Shanxi or Beizhili, they are going from one Jedi to another."

Many people may not be familiar with Huai Khang, but when it comes to Hanoi, many people should have an impression.

During the Han Dynasty, the three counties of Hedong, Hanoi, and Henan were called "Sanhe", and they were together with Sanfu and Hongnong counties as the land of Jifu.

After the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Han court recruited the imperial troops from the Five Schools and the Three Rivers Knights in order to put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

The jurisdiction of Huaiqing Mansion is probably the western part of Hanoi County in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

To the east of Hanoi County is Weihui Mansion, which is also under the jurisdiction of Henan Province, and to the east is the jurisdiction of Beizhili.

To the northwest of Huaiqing Prefecture is the Taihang Mountains. The eight passes and passes in the Taihang Mountains isolate Shanxi Province from Hebei and Henan.

Although we have reached this era and the mountain roads have been opened several times, it still takes a lot of time and a huge price to break through these pass fortresses.

Both of these points are impossible for Li Yan to accept at this stage.

And the most important thing is that the Nine Borders include Shanxi, and there are a large number of troops in Shanxi.

Li Yan led his troops to go north into Shanxi, which undoubtedly put him in danger.

To the northeast of Huaiqing Mansion is the road to Beizhili.

Northern Zhili is now the place with the strongest military power in the Ming Empire.

Not to mention the border troops in the surrounding Xuanda, Jiliao and other places, just talking about Baoding Town and Changping Town in the Gyeonggi region, the battalions in these two towns are enough to protect the security of Beizhili.

"Now we occupy our position in Ruzhou and cut off their path south."

"So Li Yan actually had only one way to go from beginning to end."

As more information is collected, the situation in Henan becomes clearer.

Chen Wang picked up the command whip placed on the edge of the sand table and pointed it straight at Kaifeng, the largest city to the east of the sand table.

"Kaifeng..."

Hu Zhiyi's expression changed, his brows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice.

"If Li Yan goes from Luoyang to Kaifeng... then Li Xianfeng..."

"Li Xianfeng could not have expected that Luoyang would fall so quickly. According to the military report three days ago, he led Henan soldiers and horses to fight fiercely in Zhengzhou and Yidou Valley."

Huang Long, who is now a guerrilla general under Chen Wang, was nicknamed Yi Dou Gu when he was under Gao Yingxiang.

However, this bucket of grain is naturally not the other bucket of grain.

Yidougu in Henan is another person, a native of Henan.

The nicknames among the Peasant Army are repeated from time to time, but they are not completely different.

Many times after some leaders die, their nicknames will be adopted by their successors or someone who wants to replace them.

Li Zicheng's title of King of Chuang was inherited by Gao Yingxiang.

Many times, there are duplicate names.

The name of Yidou Valley in Henan is unknown. Like Crock Pot, he is a local rebel commander. He is in charge of the Eastern Route Army and blocks the reinforcements from Kaifeng Prefecture rushing to Luoyang.

The Henan soldiers and horses led by Li Xianfeng were blocked by them in Zhengzhou. For more than ten days, they did not make any progress. This shows how high the combat power of the Henan soldiers and horses is.

There is no way to deal with even a partial division. When the main force of the Ten Thousand People's Army led by Li Yan arrives, I am afraid that it will collapse in a matter of days.

"Li Xianfeng led his troops to help Luoyang and took away almost all the fighting soldiers in Kaifeng Mansion. If Kaifeng is defeated, I'm afraid Kaifeng..."

Hu Zhiyi frowned, the current situation was really not good.

If Kaifeng also falls, King Zhou also encounters a military disaster, and Kaifeng Mansion loses control, then the next situation will be very bad for them.

Just yesterday evening, military rations that could last for ten days had been transported to the camp. Even if they wanted to stay put, there was no excuse.

The death of a prince has already caused great shock among the government and the public. If the second prince dies again, the previous excuses will not be used.

The siege of Luoyang was indeed powerless, but now Kaifeng can be saved.

If he is not saved, it will undoubtedly make people think of other places and doubt his true purpose.

Chen Wang knew very well that his hands and feet were not clean. Although many of the things he did in Hanzhong Town were basically within the rules and considered acceptable, in fact they could not withstand careful scrutiny.

Nowadays, the power of the Ming Dynasty is still quite strong, and the situation in various places is relatively stable, and it is far from the time for Ming Dynasty to show its cards.

"Kaifeng must be saved."

In fact, Chen Wang didn't have much worry about the safety of Kaifeng City.

The rescue of Kaifeng was more about expressing an attitude and showing it to the court.

Historically, Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng City three times, which spanned a year and a half. It was not until the last time that he gathered heavy troops that he captured Kaifeng City.

The first time and the second time were both bruised and bloody in Kaifeng City.

Chen Wang naturally knows this history very well.

Li Yan's current military strength is stronger than that of Li Zicheng who had just captured Luoyang in the original time and space.

But even so, according to Li Yan's current strength, it is impossible to capture Kaifeng City.

There is a big gap between Kaifeng City and Luoyang City.

Kaifeng is the seat of Zhou Wang Zhu Gong's vassal residence.

King Zhu Gongzhen of Zhou was not as lewd and foolish as King Zhu Changxun of Fu.

Historically, when the peasant army besieged Kaifeng City, Zhou King Zhu Gongzhen personally took out 500,000 yuan from the treasury specifically to reward the army.

A very high reward was offered. Anyone who kills a thief at the first level will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver. Anyone who can kill a thief will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver. Those who can shoot a thief or be injured by a brick or stone will be rewarded with ten taels of silver.

Not only that, the King of Zhou also invested his own money to build Kaifeng City to strengthen Kaifeng's defense.

There must be brave men under the heavy reward, so the morale of the soldiers and civilians defending the city was high, and the peasant army suffered a bloody blow in Kaifeng City.

"At this time, the rescue time is too urgent. Even if our army brigade travels eighty miles every day, it will still take six or seven days."

Hu Zhiyi looked at the sand table in front of him and shook his head.

It's too late for them to get the news now. In six or seven days, Kaifeng City will probably be surrounded by the main force of the Ten Thousand People's Army.

Starting from Ruzhou, they cannot take the Zhengzhou line and must take a detour, because these areas are controlled by the Wanmin Army, and many places are suitable for ambush.

"So, we have to divide our troops in Ruzhou."

As early as after receiving the news of the fall of Luoyang City, Chen Wang had already expected that Li Yan would probably transfer to Kaifeng, so he had already made plans in his mind.

"Divide the troops?" Hu Zhiyi raised his eyebrows slightly, not understanding what Chen Wang meant.

The peasant army is now at its peak, and it is at the peak of its power.

And their military strength is weak, with only more than 20,000 people. This kind of division of troops will only make their own military strength weaker and even more vulnerable.

"I know what you're thinking."

Chen Wang waved his hand, suppressing the doubts in the minds of the generals.

"Kaifeng Fucheng must be rescued, no matter what, and the sooner the better."

"So this time we rush to Kaifeng, I will personally lead the team. Except for the Huguang soldiers and horses, the other battalions will gather cavalry together, and I will lead the troops to rush to Kaifeng."

Rescue Kaifeng is a matter of politics.

As long as you show your face in Kaifeng City, your impression on Chongzhen will be much better.

Many things will happen next.

And, the most important thing.

Regardless of whether Li Xianfeng died in the battle or not, there was no way he could continue to serve as governor of Henan.

Another reason why Chen Wang wanted to personally lead the troops to Kaifeng was to take charge of the entire Henan military in this vacuum period without the governor of Henan.

The soldiers are very fast, but the infantry moves slowly and cannot come to the rescue in time.

The only way to catch up with the Battle of Kaifeng is indeed through cavalry reinforcements.

"Headquarters..."

Zhao Huailiang looked serious, took a step forward, and frowned.

"There are only more than 3,000 cavalry in each battalion, but Li Yan's command now has more than 200,000 people. The general town leads 3,000 cavalry to assist Kaifeng. Once..."

Zhao Huailiang didn't finish his words, but everyone understood what he meant.

Zhang Er and Huang Long also stepped forward to dissuade him at this time.

Like Zhao Huailiang, they held opposing views.

They didn't care at all what happened to Kaifeng. The important thing was that Chen Wang, the big tree, must not make any mistakes.

During this period of time when they were serving as servants under Chen Wang, Zhang Er and Huang Long finally had a good life.

The soldiers and horses under his command have completely changed compared to the past. New equipment is installed one after another, and military pay is paid in full every quarter. Where can you find such magical days?

"Don't worry, since I dare to go, I am absolutely sure."

Chen Wang naturally couldn't say that he knew Kaifeng would not fall, so he went to Kaifeng to show off.

"If it is a forced march, the cavalry can rush to Kaifeng in three days."

Hu Zhiyi did not dissuade Chen Wang. After so long, he knew very well that every decision made by Chen Wang was based on careful consideration.

Therefore, Hu Zhiyi is just thinking about whether there is any room for improvement in the plan.

"There may be small groups of bandits on the road. To deal with these bandits, we may need to conserve our combat power, but it only takes four days, so it is indeed enough time."

"It doesn't matter, but what kind of trouble can a group of clowns make?"

Chen Wang didn't care about the thieves along the road.

Chen Wang naturally knows the situation in Henan.

These small groups of bandits and thieves did not pose much danger at all.

With the experience of the last emergency march into Sichuan, it will be easier to rush into Kaifeng this time.

The three thousand cavalry under his command are well equipped, and each of them has two or even three horses.

It is indeed a dream to defeat hundreds of thousands of civilian troops with these three thousand cavalry alone.

But it is not difficult to escape intact.

Li Yan started his power in Henan, and most of the soldiers and horses under his command were also from Henan, and there were very few who were skilled in bow and horse.

In the previous battle of Ruzhou, when Hu Zhiyi was asked to command the battle, Chen Wang had already observed his details clearly.

"Since the main town has led troops to help Kaifeng, where should we go?"

Chen Wang said before that he would divide his troops and that he would rush north to aid Kaifeng, so they must have other tasks.

"You will directly lead the remaining battalions, go north and enter Luoyang Mansion, and first retake Luoyang, Yanshi, Gongxian and other places."

Chen Wang turned to look at Hu Zhiyi.

Recovering Luoyang is also a credit, and it can save some face of the court.

But this was not the reason why Chen Wang asked Hu Zhiyi to lead his troops north to Luoyang.

"Li Yan led most of the ten thousand bandits to the east to invade Kaifeng, but there should still be many bandits wandering around Luoyang Prefecture."

"Your mission is to annihilate the remnants of the thousands of thieves in Luoyang Mansion and restore order in Luoyang Mansion."

Chen Wang's words were very cryptic, but Hu Zhiyi already understood the underlying meaning of Chen Wang's words.

"Don't worry, the head of the town, you will eventually understand."

When he was in Yunyang Mansion, Chen Wang said the same thing.

The so-called rebuilding order is indeed rebuilding order, but what is established is the order of their Hanzhong Town.

At that time, Yunyang Mansion was plagued by military disasters one after another. A large number of officials and gentry were killed. Many fields became ownerless wasteland. Many mineral resources also lost their owners. Many places were also in a power vacuum.

Before the imperial court sends anyone to take over, this is the best opportunity to operate.

Zhang Er and Huang Long's eyes also lit up. They were also very familiar with what Chen Wang said.

Because they had dealt with many similar things when they were in Yunyang Mansion.

Many wealthy landowners, wealthy families and powerful people will unite to form strongholds to protect themselves, and even build fortress-like buildings, that is, Wubao.

In the Ming Dynasty, many things were subject to specification restrictions. For example, there were strict regulations on the height of city walls at the county, state, and prefectural levels.

Wubao is naturally an illegal building.

But there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, and many things go unchecked by the people and go unchecked by the officials.

It's like stipulating that each class should wear the clothes of its own class, otherwise it would be transgression.

However, with the loosening of regulations, many regulations have long become empty words on paper.

Coupled with the fact that some clans are powerful in the countryside, it makes sense.

In fact, both Wubao and Dazhai are widespread things.

When they were in Yunyang Mansion, they destroyed many such Wubao and Dazhai.

of course.

The banner used is naturally not the banner of the Hanzhong Army...

(End of this chapter)