The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 418 Whoever enters Nanjing first will be the king!

"Hahahahaha!"

Zhang Xianzhong laughed like thunder, and the whiskers on his face moved up and down as he laughed.

"It seems that Li Yan really lost his temper after being beaten by Chen Wang."

Looking at the endless stream of military convoys loaded with gold, silver and food coming in, the smile on Zhang Xianzhong's face became brighter and brighter.

Although a large amount of gold, silver, money and grain had just been seized from the Chu Palace and Wuchang City, the Wanmin Army only sent back a few tens of thousands of shi of grain and a few hundred thousand taels of silver.

But this was a signal of surrender by the Wanmin Army, and Zhang Xianzhong also received a letter from Li Yan.

The letter was written in a flowery style and was not very pleasant to read.

But Zhang Xianzhong understood the overall meaning clearly. The Wanmin Army was defeated by the Hanzhong Army in Xuzhou, Suzhou and Fengyang, so they had to find another way.

Li Yan started out in Henan. Within a few years, he had brought together hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and had already swept across Henan, Shandong, North and South Zhili, and completely swept across the Central Plains.

He captured Luoyang, killed Prince Fu, held a meeting in Dengfeng and led the rebel forces from various places but was defeated.

He conquered Xuzhou, took Fengyang, recaptured the five left camps, and took in the leaders of the four camps.

There are camps everywhere for hundreds of miles, and beacon fires illuminate the fields.

First he killed Yang Wenyue, then beheaded Hou Xun, defeated Sun Chuanting twice, and killed three Ming generals in a row!
His reputation was so great that he attracted worldwide attention, and people at that time called Li Yan the leader of the rebel army.

Li Yan's reputation in the underworld is much higher than that of Gao Yingxiang and Wang Jiayin.

But now, Li Yan lowered his head towards him.

He also had the initiative in his hands.

How could Zhang Xianzhong not feel proud and satisfied?

However, after laughing, Zhang Xianzhong did not become too complacent.

"Dingguo, you have fought against Chen Wang in Xiangyang. How much do you know about the strength of the generals under Chen Wang's command?"

Zhang Xianzhong sat back in his chair with a majestic look, and then asked Li Dingguo who was standing beside him.

Much of Zhang Xianzhong's understanding of Chen Wang dates back to the 13th year of Chongzhen.

After withdrawing his troops from Xiangyang, Zhang Xianzhong never confronted Chen Wang head-on again.

Recalling the previous battles with Chen Wang, Zhang Xianzhong subconsciously tightened the armrests of his chair.

In the Battle of Baitu Pass, Chen Wang led the armored cavalry out of the pass, defeated the 50,000 troops left by him in one battle, and captured and killed the young Qin King Bai Gui.

Chen Wang not only had powerful soldiers and generals, but also had extraordinary bravery, and had achieved many feats of beheading generals, seizing flags and breaking through enemy formations.

Zhang Xianzhong was actually not sure about his chances of becoming an enemy of Chen Wang.

"The soldiers under Chen Wang's command are very powerful, much stronger than the other camps and towns within the pass."

On the side, Li Dingguo stepped forward a little and spoke in a low voice.

"When they besieged Xiangyang, it was not because they could not capture Xiangyang, but because they used Xiangyang to train their new soldiers."

Li Dingguo's face was solemn. The Ming army left at least tens of thousands of corpses under the city of Xiangyang.

It was these tens of thousands of corpses and the horrific casualties that transformed the originally weak Huguang Sixth Battalion.

The original Huguang Six Battalions were under the command of Chen Hongfan. Due to lack of pay and food, they suffered heavy losses and the number of personnel was only two-thirds of what was indicated on paper.

They fought against Chen Hongfan many times and almost never lost.

The troops of the Six Huguang Battalions are only slightly stronger than the Guards. They can barely be used to defend the city, but cannot be relied upon in field battles.

But now the Huguang Sixth Battalion has become a truly elite division.

The reason why Xiangyang City was able to hold on for so long was not because of how strong Li Dingguo’s ability to defend the city was, nor because of how strict the city defense of Xiangyang City was.

But the Sixth Battalion of Huguang did not give its full strength.

When the Sixth Huguang Battalion finally put all its efforts into the siege, it only took ten days from the attack to the capture of the city.

"The six Huguang battalions originally commanded by Chen Hongfan are still under the command of Chen Wang."

"Before Xiangyang was captured, the six Huguang battalions had nearly 20,000 soldiers, and each battalion had more than 3,000 soldiers."

Li Dingguo spoke in a low voice with a frown on his face. He couldn't figure out one thing.

The barracks and towns under the control of the imperial court were often short of pay and food, and the number of troops was often falsely reported, with most of the soldiers drawing salaries without being employed. The smallest battalion even had only a thousand soldiers.

But once they were under Chen Wang's command, the troop quota was quickly filled up, or even exceeded.

Where did Chen Wang get so much money?

Chen Wang was just a general who suppressed bandits. How could he be richer than the imperial court?
Why was Chen Wang able to get so much money and grain, while the imperial court could not?

Zhang Xianzhong frowned, and his smile disappeared.

"Chen Wang is now leading nearly 40,000 troops to besiege Fengyang, and there are more than 30,000 Henan soldiers outside Xuzhou."

Zhang Xianzhong stood up, turned around and looked at the map hanging beside him, and said in a serious tone.

"The Sixth Battalion of Huguang has about 20,000 men, and the Deputy General Zhou Yumao of Hanzhong Town has about 4,000 men."

"Li Zicheng's side cannot attack Hanzhong Prefecture. It is said that there are at least 10,000 people in Hanzhong Town defending the two passes."

Zhang Xianzhong held his knife and walked back and forth.

"Damn you Chen Wang..."

You wouldn’t know until you calculated it, and you’ll find out that Chen Wang’s strength is so strong.

"The officers and soldiers in Shandong are now under Chen Wang's command. Liu Zeqing doesn't care, but Gao Jie and the others..."

Sun Kewang looked solemn and frowned.

"Gao Jie..."

Zhang Xianzhong frowned, and felt a little annoyed when he heard Gao Jie's name.

Many people from the old 36th Battalion surrendered to the Ming army, except Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang, Ma Jinzhong and others who were under Sun Chuanting's command.

The others were either under the organization of Sanbian or under the command of Chen Wang and Zuo Liangyu.

Although they surrendered to the government, they actually still had private contacts with each other.

However, since Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang and others responded to the imperial edict to serve the king, contact has been cut off.

There was no further news about Gao Jie and Ma Jinzhong.

Hui Dengxiang was still loyal and finally wrote him a letter back.

The letter did not say much, but simply described the battle at Qingshan Pass.

It is said that they had only engaged in minor skirmishes before, but it was not until they saw the two armies facing off at Qingshan Pass that they knew what a real bloody battle was.

Finally, he advised him to return to the court.

Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang and Ma Jinzhong all have close relationships with Chen Wang.

After the three men surrendered to the imperial court, Gao Jie was the leader because he was the strongest and had the highest official position.

Gao Jie was directly instigated by Chen Wang to rebel, and Hui Dengxiang and Ma Jinzhong were both defeated by Chen Wang.

Therefore, Gao Jie was considered a member of Chen Wang's faction, but there was Sun Chuanting between them, so he could only follow Sun Chuanting's orders.

However, now that Sun Chuanting is dead, Gao Jie and others naturally need to find new backers.

And Chen Wang is undoubtedly the best choice.

Zhang Xianzhong was feeling depressed as not many of the soldiers under Liu Zeqing were capable of fighting.

However, Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang and Ma Jinzhong did have a lot of brave soldiers under their command.

Chen Wang's strength is already strong. Roughly speaking, he has nearly 100,000 people. Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie and others have now joined Chen Wang, making him even more powerful.

Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard. Although he had Li Yan in front of him, he still lacked confidence and was a little confused.

"Military Advisor, what do you think of the current situation?"

Zhang Xianzhong thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out anything. He stopped bothering and turned to ask the military advisor Xu Yixian who was standing beside him.

Zhang Xianzhong had previously used Xu Yixian's strategy to capture Xiangyang, going downstream and heading straight into the Yangtze and Han rivers. He was unstoppable all the way, causing great shock to the world. With just a single call, he attracted the support of the people, and heroes from all directions did respond to the call and attacked the Ming court.

Today, the Ming court has suffered defeats on all sides and is in a state of uncertainty, with signs of national destruction becoming apparent.

There were indeed not many mistakes in Xu Yixian's strategy.

The only omission is Xiangyang.

Xiangyang was ultimately not defended.

However, Zhang Xianzhong did not care.

Some minor details have no impact on the overall situation.

Although they could not control Xiangyang and look to the south, they now occupied Wuchang, Jiangxi, Nanzhili and other places, and had more than 200,000 soldiers, so they had already gained a firm foothold.

"Chen Wang has great ambitions. He is a Ming general, but in reality he is a Ming thief. He is humble and submissive as a means of concealing his true intentions."

"The deliberate planning shows the depth of his scheming, and the forbearance shows the tenacity of his character."

"They have been preparing for battle for many years, and now they are ready to conquer the southern kingdom."

Xu Yixian said solemnly with a serious expression.

"The strength of Chen Wang's troops is probably even more terrifying than what is revealed now. There is definitely more than what is there now."

"The soldiers of the Wanmin Army are elite and their generals are strong. Their main force is not much inferior to the troops of the nine frontiers of the imperial court, but they have suffered more defeats than victories since their confrontation with Chen Wang."

"If our army fights Chen Wang, I'm afraid it will be difficult to gain any advantage."

Zhang Xianzhong's eyes narrowed slightly. How could he not know how powerful Chen Wang was?

Zhang Xianzhong naturally knew how powerful the Wanmin Army was.

Although Li Yan is a latecomer, he is stronger than those who have fought for more than ten years.

The Wanmin Army under Li Yan's command accomplished what they had wanted to do but had not been able to do before.

The reason why they are able to grow stronger now is largely due to Li Yan's ability to tie down the main force of the officers and soldiers who are coming to suppress the rebellion.

Then, the Wanmin Army was now defeated under Chen Wang's attack, which was enough to show the bravery of the Hanzhong Army.

Zuo Liangyu had no more than 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses, and at least half of them were just filling in the numbers.

But on Chen Wang's side, there are no unqualified people.

It is said that Zhang Xianzhong killed people without blinking an eye, but Chen Wang seemed to be even more cruel than him.

The big city of Xiangyang was turned into a huge training ground.

Chen Wang has done such things as training troops directly on the battlefield many times.

Although they started their army in Shaanxi, they have been training their troops in this way all the way.

But they had no choice, while Chen Wang took the initiative to seek such an opportunity.

"Donkey ball..."

Zhang Xianzhong took a deep breath and spat.

"Could this Chen Wang be the reincarnation of some killer star in the sky?"

Zhang Xianzhong spoke in a low voice, so Xu Yixian did not hear it.

However, Xu Yixian still noticed some fear on Zhang Xianzhong's face, so he continued speaking.

"No matter how strong Chen Wang is, the Wanmin Army is now fighting in the front."

"Zuo Liangyu has now retreated to the west of Wuchang. It will take quite some time to reorganize his troops. Wuchang is also guarded by the two sons of the Marshal, so it can be said to be impregnable."

Xu Yixian turned his gaze to the Wanmin Army that was constantly transporting food, fodder, gold and silver into the camp not far away, and then he remembered the authentic ancient paintings that the Wanmin Army's envoys gave him last night, and said.

"Although the imperial court is weak, Chen Wang is still there."

"Chen Wang ruled the southern kingdom and had the ambition to rule the world."

Xu Yixian raised his hands, saluted respectfully, and spoke solemnly to Zhang Xianzhong.

"Although there are some inappropriate things in Li Yan's words, given the current situation, if we fight Chen Wang head-on, our chances of winning are slim."

"Zuo Liangyu, Cao Bianjiao and others are eyeing us covetously in the west and should not be underestimated."

"In the north there is Chen Wang, in the west there is Zuo Liangyu, in the east there are Wanmin. From Jiangxi to the south, the situation in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian is complicated and it is difficult to establish a business there."

Xu Yixian walked closer, pointed at Nanjing on the map, and spoke in a serious voice.

"The only way to survive is to unite our forces and march south to capture Nanjing."

After Xu Yixian finished speaking, all the officers fell silent, waiting for Zhang Xianzhong's decision.

Sun Kewang looked calm, standing quietly with his knife in hand.

Li Dingguo frowned, as if he had other thoughts in his mind, but he remained silent.

After a long silence, Zhang Xianzhong finally made a decision.

"Military Advisor Xu has a point..."

Zhang Xianzhong was unwilling to be inferior to others, nor was he willing to form an alliance with others.

In Zhang Xianzhong's view, the so-called alliance and agreement were as fragile as a piece of torn paper and could be easily torn apart.

But in the current situation, they really have no choice but to form an alliance.

There is not much possibility or potential for development in other directions.

Jinling is a rich area south of the Yangtze River and an important tax collection area in the south.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when many heroes were fighting each other, Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Nanjing and finally defeated them all to become the heir apparent.

If we can occupy the south of the Yangtze River, we can recreate the scene at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

"But it's not easy for us to attack Nanjing right now."

"The troops of Nanjing are nothing to be feared."

Although Lu Xiangsheng served as the commander-in-chief and was in charge of military affairs in Nanzhili and other places.

However, the situation in the South Country cannot be easily changed by a single commander.

"But the court..."

Zhang Xianzhong paused and said.

"I have issued an imperial decree ordering Zheng Zhilong, the general commander of Fujian, to rush to Nanjing for assistance."

"I'm afraid that in four or five days, Zheng's fleet will arrive in Nanjing..."

Zhang Xianzhong was not worried about Lu Xiangsheng, but was worried about Zheng Zhilong.

Zhang Xianzhong was not a fool who only saw the world from a well. On the contrary, he had a certain understanding of the threatening forces and people in the country.

The most famous one overseas is Zheng Zhilong.

As long as you ask a little, you will know the name of Zheng.

"so……"

Xu Yixian looked sharp and took another step forward.

"Because time is of the essence, we must be more decisive at this moment."

"Opportunities on the battlefield are fleeting if you take too little time."

"The navy of the Wanmin Army has reached Guazhou, and most of the army has crossed the river from there."

"Our army must also cross the river immediately from Jiangpu, advance by land and sea, and attack Nanjing together."

"Marshal, do you remember the stories of the Qin and Han dynasties that I once told you about?"

"There is no two suns in the sky, and no two kings on earth."

"Marshal and Li Yan are both called Marshals, and the superior and inferior will be determined eventually. Now... is the most important moment..."

"Whoever enters Nanjing first will be the king!"