The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 424 Li Yan
The night is like ice and the spring breeze is like a blade.

South of Nanjing City, the Western Army Camp.

The blazing flames continued to leap in the Western Army camp, gathering into a sea of ​​fire, illuminating the dark night sky. The rising flames licked the cold air, as if they were going to tear the icy night apart, and the heat and cold clashed fiercely in the darkness.

Beyond the sea of ​​fire, dots of fire were scattered around, like stars in the sky falling into the mountains, flashing a faint but firm light.

Under the firelight, there were shining swords and guns and the murderous soldiers of the People's Army.

Their shadows were stretched out in the firelight, like countless silent mountains, standing in the cold night, waiting for the upcoming battle.

Fire flickered in their eyes.

Beside the stars, winding fire dragons, with fangs bared and claws bared, shuttled rapidly through the night.

It was a team of countless torches, rapidly gathering towards the battlefield.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded like thunder throughout the suburbs of Nanjing City, shaking the earth slightly.

The rapid beats of the war drums, like thunder, violently hit everyone's chest.

The bone-corrosive murderous aura filled the air. The cold wind was howling, and the leaping flames and the cold light of weapons and armor were intertwined.

On the central observation tower of the Western Army camp.

A large ochre-yellow flag illuminated by the fire looked particularly gloomy.

The flag moved slowly in the cold wind, as if telling something silently.

Li Dingguo was wearing iron armor and a ochre-yellow battle robe, standing on the central army's observation tower.

Countless leaping flames obscured his eyes, and one winding fire dragon after another filled his vision.

"Pan Du'ao..."

Li Dingguo clenched his teeth, suppressing the anger in his chest. His eyes were cold and full of resentment.

It was only at this point that he finally received definite news.

His adoptive father Zhang Xianzhong was discussing confidential matters with Li Yan in the Imperial College, but Li Yan suddenly attacked and killed his adoptive father on the spot.

His sworn brother Sun Kewang was also killed in the Imperial College by the Wanmin Army. It was unknown whether Xu Yixian was alive or dead, and no news had been received. It was likely that he was captured and imprisoned by the Wanmin Army.

And the reason why Li Yan dared to take action during the meeting.

It’s because of Pan Du’ao!
This scholar took the initiative to join Zhang Xianzhong's camp in Gucheng.

This scholar had previously been relied upon by Zhang Xianzhong as his right-hand man.

Li Dingguo didn't know that Pan Du'ao and Li Yan had already secretly colluded with each other.

But Li Dingguo has now figured out why Pan Du'ao went to join Li Yan.

Pan Du'ao was not good at military affairs, and he was the first scholar to surrender.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong has always treated Pan Du'ao with courtesy and entrusted him with important tasks.

However, with the subsequent joining of Xu Yixian, Pan Du'ao's status gradually declined.

Pan Du'ao was good at mathematics and was responsible for allocating food and fodder to the military camp and managing internal affairs.

Xu Yixian was familiar with firearms, was responsible for making military armor, and specialized in military management.

Pan Du'ao and Xu Yixian were one civil and one military.

If it were a peaceful and prosperous time, Zhang Xianzhong would definitely rely more on Pan Du'ao.

But now is a time of chaos and disorder, so Zhang Xianzhong naturally relies more on Xu Yixian.

Therefore, when Zhang Xianzhong entered and left the army, he often only asked Xu Yixian for advice, and Pan Du'ao's status in the Western Army began to gradually decline.

Pan Du'ao commanded all the troops in the city and arranged in advance the commanders of the supporting troops, all of whom were his trusted confidants.

When Li Yan suddenly launched an attack in the Imperial College, Pan Du'ao calmly gave orders, ordering the troops in the camps surrounding the Imperial College to stay put and watch Zhang Xianzhong's personal soldiers fall into despair.

The Wanmin Army took the initiative and mobilized a large number of guns, artillery and soldiers in advance.

The personal soldiers brought by Zhang Xianzhong were already in an extremely relaxed state after several days of negotiations, and were at a loss what to do when suddenly attacked.

Therefore, the personal soldiers brought by Zhang Xianzhong were quickly slaughtered.

There were indeed many generals and officers in the Western Army who were loyal to Zhang Xianzhong.

If it was when Xiangyang had just been captured, Pan Du'ao would naturally not have been able to do it.

After all, when he was in Xiangyang, Zhang Xianzhong had extremely strong control over the army, and almost all of his officers were promoted by Zhang Xianzhong himself.

But they were no longer in Xiangyang. The army had expanded many times from Xiangyang to Wuchang and then to Nanzhili.

As the Western Army grew stronger, Zhang Xianzhong's temper also grew worse, and he would often beat and scold his generals.

Although the military strength and combat effectiveness became stronger, Zhang Xianzhong's control over the army gradually began to decline to a certain extent.

However, Pan Du'ao had been managing military affairs for Zhang Xianzhong and offering advice and suggestions, so he was naturally very clear about the situation in the army.

Pan Du'ao is good at guessing people's minds and secretly operating inside the army. He also has a considerable team in the army.

This is also the reason why Pan Du'ao dared to rebel and then quickly took control of the Western Army.

As soon as Li Yan launched the attack in the Imperial College, Pan Du'ao had already launched a countermeasure and killed all the generals and officers in the city who were loyal to Zhang Xianzhong.

The means are so cruel that they are terrifying.

In a short period of time, the Western Army troops remaining in the city were completely wiped out.

Even a large part of the troops outside the city were controlled by Pan Du'ao.

Now Li Dingguo can only control more than 40,000 soldiers and horses, and the area he controls is only Yuhuatai and a section of the city wall in the south.

The rest of the Western Army camp has already been controlled by Pan Du'ao.

With the cooperation of Pan Du'ao, the Wanmin Army marched south in large numbers, took control of the entire city of Nanjing, gathered the Western Army camps, and took over the entire Jinling area.

Li Dingguo reacted very quickly, but he did not expect that Pan Du'ao would rebel, nor did he expect that Li Yan would dare to kill Zhang Xianzhong directly.

With a powerful enemy in front of them, they actually fought within the wall.

Chen Wang is already powerful, so this would only give him an extra boost.

Li Dingguo never thought that Li Yan would be so unwise as to make such a stupid move.

"Scouts in the east reported that the Wanmin Army has added another battalion of soldiers and horses to the south."

Below the observation tower, the adjutant once again brought intelligence from the front line.

Li Dingguo's eyes were as sharp as a knife, sweeping across the flickering flames in the distance.

The cold wind howled, blowing the ochre-yellow battle robe that Li Dingguo was wearing, making a rustling sound.

Li Yan was a member of the Henan Cavalry. In just a few years, he swept through the southern country like lightning and captured important towns. He was definitely not an easy person to deal with.

He was a man of deep thought, extreme prudence, and numerous wise strategies. He defeated the imperial reinforcements in the battles of Fengyang and Pizhou.

Now, once the attack begins, they are ruthless and do not give anyone the slightest chance.

When Li Dingguo received the news of the riot in Nanjing, he immediately wanted to control the city walls of Nanjing's outer city, and at the same time take over the defense of the southern gate of Nanjing's inner city.

However, Li Yan had already prepared for counterattack and immediately assembled heavy troops for defense.

Pan Du'ao in the military camp outside the city also launched a back-up plan, instigating several camps of soldiers to rebel, causing unrest.

By the time Li Dingguo reacted and led his troops back to quell the rebellion, the Wanmin Army had already assembled more than 10,000 cavalrymen, crossed Zhongshan Mountain, and arrived at the east of Yuhua Terrace.

The leader of the troops was none other than the old Hui people Ma Shouying.

Ma Shouying was a veteran cavalry commander on the battlefield, and there was absolutely no flaw in his mobilization and dispatch.

Because of his distraction and the chaos in the army, by the time Li Dingguo stabilized the army, the space available for movement had become extremely small.

Li Dingguo launched several attacks in an attempt to break the impasse, but ultimately failed.

As time went on, the Wanmin Army's control over Nanjing became increasingly solid.

In fact, Li Dingguo’s situation is not good now.

Although they escaped from Nanjing, they could not get rid of the pursuit of the Wanmin Army.

"Where are the troops closest to us?"

Li Dingguo turned his head and asked Feng Shuangli who was standing beside him.

"Jiang Pu."

"But Jiangpu only has more than 10,000 soldiers and horses."

Feng Shuangli frowned and sighed.

"The navy of the Wanmin Army is coming upstream from the east and has cut off our army's route to the north..."

Li Yan had planned everything and launched an attack at once, which was naturally a plan that he had exhausted all his tricks. It was also within Li Dingguo's expectations that Jiangpu was cut off by the Wanmin Army's navy.

Li Dingguo had a cold expression and felt even more depressed. The situation they were facing now was extremely complicated and critical.

He knew very well that the Wanmin Army had cut off their way to the north and that Jiangpu's troops could no longer be relied upon.

If you want to cross the Yangtze River, you can only look for a ferry in the south, but the situation in the south is also not optimistic.

If you want to cross the Yangtze River, you can only go further south and find a ferry to cross the river.

The current situation is extremely unfavorable for them.

In order to attack Nanjing, most of the Western Army's available field troops were gathered around Nanjing, and only basic troops for maintaining public order were left in other places.

The two huge prefectures of Anqing and Luzhou had only about 30,000 to 40,000 troops stationed there.

Thirty to forty thousand people, and they are all second- and third-line troops, what use can they be at this moment?
The main forces of the Western Army were mostly concentrated around Nanjing. The forces in other areas were weak and it was impossible to gather enough troops in a short period of time.
Only the troops led by Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi who stayed in Wuchang could be used at this time.

Once Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi led their troops to leave Wuchang.

Zuo Liangyu was fine, but Chen Wang would never sit idly by and would definitely order his troops to advance to Wuchang.

Today, Zuo Liangyu is no longer the only one in Huguang. Chen Wang's Hanzhong Army is also included.

By then, both people and land will be lost, and there will be no recovery.

Li Dingguo could see far ahead. If Li Yan didn't move, it would be fine. But if he moved, it would be like thunder and lightning, leaving him no chance to react at all.

Li Dingguo sighed lightly. He had already advised Zhang Xianzhong to pay attention to military discipline and not beat or scold officers, but Zhang Xianzhong simply would not listen to him.

Except for these four righteous sons, Zhang Xianzhong would beat, scold and rebuke the other officers at will, showing no mercy.

When the Wanmin Army entered the Nanjing Palace first, Zhang Xianzhong was furious. He whipped and beat his generals and scolded them for half an hour.

Otherwise, how could Bai Wenxuan, who was stationed in Nengren Temple, side with the Wanmin Army after the incident.

Like Feng Shuangli, Bai Wenxuan had followed Zhang Xianzhong all the way from Shaanxi and could be considered veteran generals in the army.

However, he was still whipped and scolded for a long time in public by Zhang Xianzhong outside the palace.

Zhang Xianzhong’s brutality and tyranny are undoubtedly one of the important reasons leading to the current situation.

Feng Shuangli sighed, walked up to Li Dingguo and said.

"The people in the army are in a state of panic now. The officers and soldiers below can only do their best to suppress the chaos and maintain stability."

"General..."

Feng Shuangli clasped his hands together, looked solemn, and asked.

"Where should we go now?"

"Where to go?"

Li Dingguo's eyes were confused.

How could he know where they should go?

The road ahead was unknown and extremely dark, so dark that Li Dingguo could not see the road ahead at all.

At this point, they only have one option left - to fight to the death.

"Inform the entire army..."

Li Dingguo tightly grasped the goose-feather knife at his waist. He had prepared for the worst and was ready to give the final order.

But at this moment, a burst of hurried horse hooves broke the silence of the night sky.

"Military intelligence is urgent, please send it as soon as possible!"

Li Dingguo turned around and looked back at the stage. The cavalry who brought the news was already coming hurriedly with the seal in hand.

"Messenger of the Ten Thousand Peoples Army, please see the general."

Everyone around the observation deck was silent, and Feng Shuangli looked at Li Dingguo.

Li Yan sent an envoy at this time just to persuade them to surrender.

"not see."

Li Dingguo shook his head firmly without any hesitation.

But the next sentence made Li Dingguo look stunned, and he even doubted his hearing.

"General Lee."

A moderate and peaceful voice sounded from under the observation tower, attracting Li Dingguo's attention.

Li Dingguo stood on the observation deck, looking down at the area below.

At the bottom of the watchtower stood three messengers of the Army of Nations holding scepters.

The voice came from the envoy standing in the center.

The envoy was tall, with eyes as bright as stars and sword-like eyebrows. Anyone who saw him would praise him as a handsome young man.

Although he was clearly in the enemy camp at this moment, he remained calm in the face of the fierce murderous intent of the soldiers.

Li Dingguo suppressed the murderous intent surging in his chest, held the goose-feather knife at his waist, and walked towards the bottom of the observation deck step by step, saying in a cold voice.

"Don't waste your breath. Now that things have come to this, there is only one way to go."

"Do not."

The chief envoy of the Wanmin Army held his head high and looked at Li Dingguo.

There was not a trace of fear in his eyes, his eyes were full of determination.

"It's the worst possible situation where both the fish and the net are broken."

"General Li, you and I both know that Chen Wang has his people watching us covetously. If we continue to fight among ourselves, we will both suffer losses in the end, and he will reap the benefits."

A heart-pounding murderous intent flowed in Li Dingguo's eyes.

"Since you knew this, why did you set up the Hongmen Banquet, do such a thing of betraying your faith and righteousness, and fight against each other within the walls?"

"because……"

The chief envoy of the Ten Thousand Nations Army had a calm look, without the slightest change from beginning to end, and even his voice was equally calm.

“This is the only way.”

"The only way?!"

"You know your foster father well. You know what kind of person he is. In his eyes, the covenant you made is no different from a piece of waste paper."

"The imperial army is approaching, and only if our two families cooperate sincerely and join forces can we have a glimmer of hope."

"But do you think your godfather can do it?"

Li Dingguo stood there in silence, because what the envoy of the Wanmin Army said was right.

"Is this the reason?"

"That's the reason."

The chief envoy of the Wanmin Army looked at Li Dingguo calmly with a firm gaze. He raised his hands, bowed with both hands, and then knelt down.

Li Dingguo looked stunned and confused.

The chief envoy of the Ten Thousand People's Army knelt on the ground, with a sincere look and a sad tone, and spoke sincerely.

"The world is in darkness, and treacherous officials are stealing lives."

"The country is in ruins and the people are having a hard time making a living."

"The lament of the common people spreads all over the earth, and it tortures my spirit all the time."

Li Dingguo had a solemn expression. He looked at the envoy of the Wanmin Army in disbelief. A crazy idea popped into his mind.

He tightly gripped the goose-feather knife at his waist, unconsciously took half a step back, and spoke in a concentrated voice.

"You are……"

The chief envoy of the Ten Thousand People's Army still bowed with both hands and said respectfully.

"My name is Li Yan, and I'm here to meet General Li."

Perhaps some readers think that Li Yan’s personal risking of his own life to persuade the surrender may be a little cruel.

But there are many such things in history, such as Huo Qubing riding alone into the camp, confronting King Hunxie and ordering him to kill the mutinous soldiers.

Li Shimin drove back the Turks along the Wei River, and Zhu Yuanzhang stayed overnight in the camp of the surrendered soldiers.

At this time, Li Yan was unwilling to be a puppet forever, and had given up everything to take this gamble. He wanted to retain as much living strength as possible in order to deal with the next offensive from Chen Wang and the court.

He also knew that if he wanted to persuade Li Dingguo to surrender, there would be some chance only if he went there in person.