The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 399 The building will collapse

Outside Yancheng City, the two armies parted ways at a fork in the road.

The friendship between soldiers is deep, and the comrades who once shared life and death on the battlefield are about to leave.

Due to military orders, the officers and soldiers of the Hanzhong Army could only stand in the queue and could not move forward.

But soldiers have their own unique way of saying goodbye to each other.

"With one heart and one mind... the mountains can be shaken!"

I don’t know who it was, but someone sang loudly in the queue.

The next moment, a burst of laughter came from the military formation.

However, the laughter only lasted for a short moment, and more people continued singing.

"Only loyalty and righteousness can make one's spirit so strong that it can fight a bull!"

Swan sound, that is the military bugle call of the Hanzhong Army.

"The Lord loves me, more than my parents do."

"If you violate military law, you will not be free."

Military songs are loud on the official road.

The soldiers who were leaving waved their hands, said goodbye to the soldiers of the Hanzhong Army, and sang the same military song.

"The orders are clear and the rewards and punishments are credible."

"I dare not delay in facing fire and water!"

The soldiers of the Hanzhong Army would sing this song before a battle, when resting, or when gathering.

The lyrics of this song are simple and the tune is catchy.

Most people have kept it in mind through what they have seen and heard.

The singing is so loud that the sound echoes through the trees.

"Report to the emperor and save the people."

"Kill all the bandits and find a title of nobility!"

The local soldiers waved goodbye and went away, and the soldiers of the Hanzhong Army raised their weapons high, paying their final respects to their comrades who had shared life and death with them.

Chen Wang reined in his horse and stopped, standing on a low slope.

The local soldiers left, and now the troops under his command were all directly under his command, with no other camps.

Many things that were difficult to do can now be done with ease.

"The candidate for the new governor of the Southern Kingdom has been decided."

Chen Gong rode his horse forward and reported to Chen Wang in a low voice.

Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly. Hou Xun's death had left the Southern Kingdom's commander-in-chief in suspense for many days.

Now that Sun Chuanting is temporarily serving as Prime Minister of the North and the South, it is difficult for him to split his time and coordinate efforts.

The selection of a new governor for the Southern Kingdom will naturally be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

But who will be the commander-in-chief of the southern country is a big problem.

The situation in the South is now deteriorating, and the People's Army is powerful and aggressive.

As the prime minister, if he fails in battle, it will leave a huge stain in the history books.

Therefore, the Prime Minister of the Southern Kingdom is now a hot potato, and no one in the court is willing to take it.

Several court meetings ended in silence.

Chongzhen was furious, but to no avail.

Only the Minister of War Chen Xinjia was willing to rush to the South and volunteered to lead the army.

However, Chen Xinjia's proposal was naturally rejected by Chongzhen.

Chongzhen also needed Chen Xinjia to be in the court to manage the affairs of the Ministry of War and coordinate the affairs of the various towns.

"The position of Southern Kingdom's governor has been vacant for so long, how come it's suddenly decided?"

Chen Wang frowned slightly. The Supervisory Office had already set up a base in the capital.

The current Ming court has already become a huge sieve. As long as one spends money, one can buy news from the court.

It is precisely because of this that Chen Wang knew about the position of the Southern Kingdom's commander-in-chief.

Chen Gong looked solemn and said in a deep voice.

"Lu Xiangsheng, the period of mourning has ended."

Chen Gong's voice was not loud, but to Chen Wang's ears, it sounded like a heavy hammer.

"Lu Xiangsheng..."

Chen Wang's eyes were solemn and he gripped the reins tightly.

He had considered many situations, but he had forgotten the possibility of Lu Xiangsheng taking over as Prime Minister of the South.

After the Battle of Jiazhuang, Lu Xiangsheng was seriously injured. Chongzhen was dissatisfied with him at the time, so he was allowed to return home to mourn.

Now no one in the court is willing to go south.

With the encouragement of many parties, Chongzhen finally remembered to employ Lu Xiangsheng.

"Lu Xiangsheng..."

Chen Wang sighed in his heart.

Perhaps dying in Jiazhuang, dying at the hands of foreign invaders, would be the best outcome for Lu Xiangsheng.

Facing the bandits who were burning, killing and looting, Lu Xiangsheng could raise his sword without hesitation.

However, they were faced with the strictly disciplined Army of the People, which was called the Army of the People and was welcomed by the people lining the streets along the way.

Can Lu Xiangsheng still raise the sword in his hand?

But all this has nothing to do with him for the time being.

Moreover, the current situation in the South Country can no longer be changed by selecting a certain person as the commander-in-chief or prime minister.

It is now the fourteenth year of Chongzhen.

Faced with internal and external troubles, the Ming Empire was in a state of decline. The central government's control over the local areas was becoming increasingly weak, and separatist forces in various towns were gradually forming.

The three important towns in the northwest were dragged into the quagmire by Li Zicheng, and the Ming Empire had already deployed 130,000 troops from eight towns in the Battle of Songjin in Liaodong.

Wang Jun and Li Qingshan of Shandong rebelled and cut off the grain transport.

The southwest is remote and has inconvenient transportation, making it difficult to support the central government, and it also needs to support the war in the northwest.

In the southeast region, there was the Wanmin Army led by Li Yan in Nanzhili, and there was Zhang Xianzhong in Jiangsu.

Zuo Liangyu felt aggrieved and had seen through the weakness of the imperial court.

He knew that his consistent behavior had already angered the court.

The reason why he is fine now is because the imperial court still needs his troops to suppress the rebels.

Once all the bandits inside the pass were wiped out, or all the troops under his command were killed, he would definitely not have a good ending.

So now Zuo Liangyu is entrenched in Wuchang and recruiting soldiers in order to accumulate strength and find another way out.

However, He Renlong today is not as arrogant and domineering as he was in history and kept issuing orders.

After all, He Renlong was not under Yang Sichang's command, and there was no such lucrative position as General Pingze Bandits for him to compete for.

However, the quagmire in the northwest caused the military commanders on the three fronts to complain bitterly and accumulated a lot of resentment, which was also an extremely unstable factor.

In the northwest, Gushri Khan had overthrown the Tsangpa Khanate established by the Karma Kagyu sect, established the Khoshut Khanate, and fully controlled Tibet.

Gushri Khan himself became the Khan of Gansu, Qinghai, Kham and U-Tsang, and the ruler of all Tibetan areas.

At the same time, his eight sons led their troops to Qinghai and established a Khoshut base with him as the leader.

Li Zicheng's troops now include Qiang, Han and Mongolian peoples, all of whom are cavalrymen. They come and go like the wind, making it difficult for the military towns on the three sides to conceal themselves.

At this time, the envoys sent by Gushri Khan also arrived in Shengjing of the Qing Dynasty, and Huang Taiji went out of the city to welcome them in person.

The two sides have actually formed an alliance.

At this time, the Ming Empire was attacked from all sides, trapped both internally and externally, and was completely terminally ill.

Lu Xiangsheng is powerful, but he is not someone who can save a collapsing building.

The world's situation has been determined, and military garrisons in various places are disunited.

Due to the prolonged shortage of food and salary, the imperial edicts could no longer be implemented in the southern country.

“What happens in the southeast has nothing to do with us.”

"Send a message to Chen Yongfu to guard the mountain checkpoints and prevent the bandits from sneaking into Henan immediately." The worse the situation in the southeast, the better it will be for Hanzhong Town.

The southeast is the base camp of the Donglin Party, and the powerful gentry there are deeply rooted and have far-reaching influence.

Now Chen Wang is still under the system of the Ming Dynasty and has no good way to deal with the southeast.

Even if we establish our own banner in the future, dealing with the Southeast issue will cause a series of political problems.

But the Wanmin Army and Zhang Xianzhong are different.

The Wanmin Army and Zhang Xianzhong only need to raise their butcher knives high.

Just like Huang Chao in the Tang Dynasty.

Any forces that dare to stand in the way will be crushed by the anger of the people.

"Zuo Liangyu is stationed in Wuchang, and Zhang Xianzhong has no way to enter Huguang. The current situation is favorable to our army."

"Now the areas under our control are all stable, with no bandits invading. We just need to vigorously develop them and prepare for the right time."

Build walls high, accumulate grain, and slowly become king.

This was one of the important reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang was able to win the battle among many heroes at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

This is also the policy that Chen Wang is currently implementing.

"The court..."

Chen Gong glanced towards the north and asked in a deep voice.

The wind and sand rose again, blowing up thousands of flags.

Chen Wang narrowed his eyes and said calmly
"The four words 'Henan Civil Rebellion' are enough to deal with the imperial court."

Chen Wang tilted his head to glance towards the north and continued.

"Send a secret letter to Sun Qiyun, telling him that the Royal Guard Cavalry Battalion will arrive at the foot of Linying City at noon tomorrow. Ask him to lead most of his troops to evacuate Linying and head to Ruzhou Prefecture early."

"In the north of Linying City, I want him to be defeated first. Later, Chen De will lead the Henan troops to suppress him, and he can win."

After Chen Wang finished speaking, all the Hanzhong military officers around him remained calm.

The civil uprising in Henan was nothing more than a self-directed and self-acted event from the beginning to the end.

Sun Qiyun is from Henan, but he was also recruited as an agent by the Supervisory Office.

Now, because of the need, with the instigation of the Supervisory Office, he took advantage of the situation and became the leader of the uprising.

The reason why Henan’s civil movement has been able to develop so rapidly today is entirely because of Chen Wang’s push behind it.

How could an archer from the Inspection Office be more astute than Li Yan, how could he know so many things, and how could he capture the county and integrate all the troops in such a short period of time.

The Henan uprising was just an excuse, an excuse to escape from the southeast vortex.

"Li Yan has already discussed it. He is a smart man and knows the consequences of provoking me."

The reason why he really fought with all his strength during the Battle of Fengyang.

To a large extent, it is a display of military force as a deterrent.

Facts have proved that after the Battle of Fengyang, Song Xiance, who came to negotiate, had a very gentle attitude and tone, and was very humble.

“Southeast is the only place for Li Yan to go.”

"Henan, the Wanmin Army will not turn back again."

Chen Wang continued speaking as he guided the somewhat uneasy warhorse under him.

"And this Li Yan seems to have a bigger appetite than I thought."

"Isn't Li Yan's goal to cut off the canal transport and collect canal workers as a source of soldiers?"

Chen Gong was very confused. He didn't understand why Chen Wang said that.

"Now the goal of cutting off the canal transportation has been barely achieved, but the purpose of using the canal workers as a source of soldiers is probably going to be in vain."

Li Qingshan started an uprising in Shandong, occupied Liangshan, and raised the banner of acting on behalf of heaven.

Although it was not Li Yan who cut off the canal transport, he could still be considered to have achieved his goal.

After all, Li Qingshan and Wang Jun's forces have basically completed their merger and opened up a path between them.

Like Wang Jun, Li Qingshan also respected Li Yan as the leader of the alliance and was granted the title of general.

Li Yan now occupied Fengyang, Suzhou and Xuzhou, with Fengyang as his base. He was no longer called Prince Xin, but called himself the Grand Marshal of Civil and Military Affairs of Fengtian.

In the areas under its rule, the Wanmin Army provided oxen and farm tools and encouraged farming.

At the same time, the Ten Thousand People's Army recruited civilians to cultivate land. The fields of those powerful families were confiscated by the Ten Thousand People's Army and handed over to the people for cultivation.

In the first year, the Wanmin Army did not collect any land tax, and only had to pay taxes in the second year.

In terms of military, Li Yan now uses war as training to reorganize the troops and streamline the forces again.

It is reported that Li Yan has cut down nearly half of the 400,000 soldiers and horses.

The soldiers who were laid off were used as garrison soldiers, farming in peacetime and serving as auxiliary troops in wartime.

Now the 200,000 troops were divided into ten battalions by Li Yan, with more than 20,000 people in each battalion.

Except for the central camp which was directly led by Li Yan, the other nine camps were commanded by nine generals.

The nine-battalion generals are:

Li Jiyu, Yuan Shizhong, Zhao Shouping, the clay pot man, and Yidougu are often seen.

The old Hui people Ma Shouying, the Geliyan He Yilong, the Zuojin King He Jin, the Gai Shi Wang Liu Xiyao and the Chaos Shi Wang Lin Yangcheng.

As for Wang Jun and Li Qingshan, they were also appointed as generals.

"I said Li Yan has a big appetite because of what he is about to do, not what has already happened."

Chen Wang held the horsewhip in his hand and looked into the distance.

"Do you still remember that Li Jiyu led his troops to capture Chuzhou and Liuhe not long ago?"

"Naturally remember."

Chen Gong nodded. Chuzhou is just northwest of Nanjing, and Liuhe is less than a hundred miles north of Nanjing. They are a real threat to Nanjing.

Naturally, he would not forget such a major event.

"Li Jiyu showed signs of attacking, but his attacks were all fake and only produced a lot of noise but little results."

"Nanjing's Tangbao wrote countless letters, but they could not cover up this fact."

"The military center of gravity of the People's Army is constantly moving northward."

"Five of the nine battalions of the Wanmin Army are located along the canal."

Chen Wang emphasized his tone and spoke in a serious tone.

"In Shandong, Li Qingshan has joined forces with Wang Jun. According to recent news from the Supervisory Office and reports from the court, both groups are moving southward."

"You mean..."

Chen Gong raised his eyebrows slightly, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

"good."

Chen Wang nodded, he knew that Chen Gong had figured out the key.

"Li Yan does have a big appetite."

"It's so big that it wants to devour all the troops from the five towns led by Sun Chuanting in one gulp..."

When he first discovered it, Chen Wang was also shocked by Li Yan's strategic deployment.

"Li Yan picked a good time."

"The imperial court will soon no longer have the energy to govern the Southern Kingdom."

"The battle in Liaodong will soon decide the outcome..."

Chen Wang raised his whip and sighed.

According to the historical chronology, the Battle of Songjin was almost reaching its most intense stage.

The Qing army suffered successive setbacks on the front line, and its morale gradually declined. The encirclement of Songjin was about to be completely broken by the Ming army.

How could Huang Taiji, who had painstakingly built this line of defense, bear it?

At this time, the Qing army had probably begun to launch a general mobilization.

To use the small to defeat the big, we should do it gradually and weaken it gradually.

But now, on the gambling table of national destiny, the Ming Empire, which was under internal and external pressure, had to put all the elite troops from the nine borders to work in order to solve the predicament it was facing.

The consequence of this is that whether the Qing Dynasty wants to or not, it has to continue to raise the stakes.

Huang Taiji's choice was: regardless of whether they were Manchu, Mongolian or Han, those over the age of fifteen would all be mobilized to join the army, conscripted into the army, and sent to the Songjin front.