The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 429: The Song of Yushu
the river is long and tempestuous, it was like a hero.

Success or failure turned empty.

Aoyama is still there, How Many Suns.

The river breeze is mighty and the spring tide is surging.

The water of the Yangtze River, carrying the snow-capped waves of Bashu and wrapped in the misty rain of Jingchu, flows endlessly towards the East China Sea.

This river has witnessed the change of too many dynasties, carried countless business travelers, and it still flows continuously today.

Chen Wang stood by the river with his sword in hand, staring at the endless flowing river ahead.

The only two people standing beside him were Chen Gong and Hu Zhili.

A group of armored soldiers, riding horses and holding spears, surrounded the four sides.

No matter how many times he stood on the bank of the Yangtze River, Chen Wang could not control his emotions.

There is nothing eternal and unchanging in this world, but this river has been flowing for ten thousand years. For a short human life, this eastward flowing river is eternity.

The spring breeze blows on my face, and the air is full of moist scent.

Chen Wang sighed. He had received news from Liaodong and Xi'an, and had also learned of the deaths of Zu Dashou and He Renlong.

Too many people and too many things changed because of his arrival.

The fate of being trapped by the times can only rise and fall with the times.

But now, most of the territories of Hanzhong, Henan, Huguang and Nanzhili have fallen into his hands.

The general trend has changed, and he has reversed the tide.

Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Zu Dashou and other military officers of the Ming court.

Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, Fu Zonglong, Hou Xun, and other civil officials of the Ming court.

Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Yan, the bandits from the Left Five Battalions and the Seventy-second Battalion.

The Wuyin Rebellion and the Songjin Campaign were both changed because of him.

Historically, Jinzhou, which had been besieged for a whole year, ran out of food, and the tragic scene of murder and cannibalism that had occurred in the old Dalinghhe city was repeated in Jinzhou.

Zu Dashou finally did not hold on and chose to surrender and save himself.

But this time Zu Dashou chose to sacrifice his life for his country, setting the entire Jinzhou on fire and dying in battle outside the city of Jinzhou.

In history, He Renlong was a rampant person who was angry at the court's unequal rewards and punishments because he was competing for the title of General Suppressing Bandits.

There is no such thing as being under Sun Chuanting's military law in history.

After the fall of Xi'an, He Renlong led his servants to fight the bandits in the streets.

More and more rebel troops poured into the city, while the number of soldiers under He Renlong's command decreased.

The battle lasted until dusk. He Renlong was wounded many times and had no strength left to fight anymore. He leaned against the wall, unable to move.

He was unwilling to be a prisoner of the rebel army, so he ordered his servants to kill him and take his head away.

The servant followed the order, cut off the head, hid He Renlong's body in a dry well in a private house, and escaped in the chaos.

Li Guoqi and Luo Shangwen also died in the battle.

Zuo Xian attempted to escape but failed, so he chose to surrender.

Chen Wang was not surprised that Zuo Xing chose to surrender.

In history, Zuo Xing first surrendered to Li Zicheng, and after Li Zicheng's defeat, he immediately surrendered to the Qing army. His bottom line was extremely flexible.

Zuo Xian was the son of Zuo Guangxian.

When he was in Liaodong, Zuo Guangxian had a conflict with Hong Chengchou, and was stripped of his post as general by Hong Chengchou and sent back. Hong Chengchou replaced Zuo Guangxian with Bai Guangen, and since then, Zuo Guangxian has been abandoned.

Later, after Bai Guangen surrendered, Zuo Guangxian also joined Li Zicheng's team.

In the second year of Shunzhi, Li Zicheng was chased by Ajige, the Prince of Ying of the Qing Dynasty, to Huguang and was defeated. Zuo Guangxian and his wife and three sons were also captured by the Qing army. In the end, Zuo Guangxian also surrendered to the Qing army.

However, this time, Zuo Guangxian should not have the opportunity to surrender to Li Zicheng again.

Because Zuo Guangxian is currently in Hanzhong Prefecture.

"How is Zuo Guangxian doing in Hanzhong Prefecture?"

Chen Wang turned around and asked Hu Zhili.

"Zuo Guangxian has accepted the position of commander of the Third Division of Hanzhong Town, leading the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Battalions."

As weapons are replaced and updated, tactics will also be innovated, but it only takes some time to adapt.

With Zuo Guangxian's ability, it would not be a problem for him to lead a division.

The intelligence brought by the Intelligence Department also confirms this.

Under the command of Zuo Guangxian, the officers and soldiers of the newly trained Third Division are rapidly developing combat effectiveness.

Zuo Guangxian led the newly trained Third Division to meet the Chuang army's several attacks on Hanzhong Prefecture.

Chen Wang now controls a large number of soldiers and horses, but he has few generals and officers he can use. There are many who can lead a battalion on their own, but there are very few who can lead an entire division and stand alone.

Chen Wang knew that Zuo Guangxian was unemployed, so when Zuo Guangxian first resigned and returned home, he had already sent someone to establish connections in advance.

Zuo Guangxian had been in battle for a long time. When Hong Chengchou was leading the army to suppress bandits, he made the greatest contribution and was known as a "heroic general."

According to the history of Ming Dynasty, Guangxian was a fierce general who fought against the bandits in Shaanxi and made the greatest contribution.

At that time, the 72nd Battalion of bandits had become a powerful force with considerable combat effectiveness. The fact that Zuo Guangxian was able to rank first among all the officers and soldiers who led the suppression campaign proved his ability.

The reason why he was later dismissed was only because of the conflict with Hong Chengchou, not because of his ability.

Although Zuo Guangxian had some bad conduct in history, the choices he made can be understood.

Moreover, precisely because Zuo Guangxian had the experience of voluntarily surrendering to Li Zicheng in history, Chen Wang would take the initiative to send people to establish connections.

After all, since Zuo Guangxian was able to vote for Li Zicheng in history, he could naturally vote for him as well.

And now, Zuo Guangxian has indeed chosen to surrender.

As the situation gradually became chaotic, especially with Li Zicheng causing chaos in the northwest.

The situation in Central Plains was gradually controlled by Chen Wang. Chen Wang sent people to invite Zuo Guangxian several times, but Zuo Guangxian was still hesitant.

It was not until Li Zicheng led his troops to defeat the Qin army and marched into Fengxiang Prefecture that Chen Wang sent people to Yulin to invite Zuo Guangxian again.

After much thought, Zuo Guangxian decided to take his family south to the safer Hanzhong Prefecture.

Shaanxi was in chaos and the imperial court was completely unable to control it. Zuo Guangxian led his family away from Yulin without causing any disturbance or being subject to any restrictions from the imperial court.

Although Li Zicheng had a strong army at this time, Zuo Guangxian had no intention of surrendering to Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng is now in conflict with the Mongols in Qinghai and has an alliance with the Qiang chieftains in northern Sichuan, but he is still a foreign force.

They burned, killed and looted along the way, which was even worse than when they were bandits before.

When Li Zicheng was defeated and retreated from Beijing, many officers of the Dashun Army surrendered to the Qing Army.

Zuo Guangxian and Gu Kecheng led 20,000 troops to cover the retreat, and later fought with the Qing army at Qingshui River in Dingzhou.

Gu Kecheng was captured, and Zuo Guangxian fell off his horse and broke his foot when his horse's leg was cut during the battle. He changed horses and fought again, but did not choose to surrender.

Later, he abandoned his baggage and retreated into Shanxi, where he joined Li Zicheng.

He did not surrender until the defeat of Huguang and his family members were captured. He had already done his best.

"Henan Town has completed basic training. According to the original restructuring arrangement, Henan Town is divided into three divisions."

"The First Division has now been taken over by Chen Ming. It has five regular battalions under its command. After the reorganization, the total strength is 15,000. They are guarding Kaifeng and defending the Yellow River."

Chen Wang of Henan Town had never had any chance to gain control.

After all, the power of appointment and dismissal was still in the hands of the court at that time.

However, the imperial court is now weak and it is having trouble handling affairs in the northwest and northeast.

Li Yan's capture of Nanjing caused a significant reduction in grain transport, and the situation of the Ming court in the north became increasingly severe.

So Chen Wang directly skipped the court and sent Chen Ming to Henan at this time. Although Chen Ming's ability was slightly insufficient and he had only served as a battalion officer before, the situation in Henan was relatively stable now, so he could barely support it.

Compared to others, Chen Wang naturally trusts Chen Ming, his cousin with whom he has always had a very good relationship, more.

The first division of Henan Town was originally commanded by Chen Yongfu.

However, after the reform, Chen Yongfu's First Division was changed to the Second Division.

The troops that originally stayed in Henan to guard the Yellow River were reorganized into the First Division.

Henan Town has now been transformed, and most of the old troops have been laid off.

The backbone was the Seventh Battalion of the New Army recruited by Chen Wang in Henan, and the follow-up was new recruits from various places.

These new troops were not completely without combat experience. During the long-term offensive and suppression, they had accumulated a lot of experience and witnessed many bloody battles.

"Chen Yongfu is in charge of the Second Division, which is still guarding the Ying and Huoshan districts. It has four regular battalions under its command, with a total strength of 12,000 men."

"Gao Qian is in charge of the Third Division, stationed in Xuzhou, with four regular soldiers under his command, and a total force of 12,000 people."

"Henan Camp Town, a total of three divisions and thirteen battalions, not counting the Kaifeng community soldiers, the total strength is 39,000 people."

Chen Gong paused and continued.

"Sun Qiyun's team has expanded to 100,000 people, with about 70,000 young and strong. According to the previous arrangement, he is leading his troops to march into Nanyang Prefecture. The large landlords in Ruzhou Prefecture have been basically wiped out. Our army followed and obtained about 70% of the silver, money and food."

Sun Qiyun, who was supported by them, became an outlet for the grievances of the people of Henan, and also a sharp weapon in their hands, clearing the obstacles for them to completely rule Henan.

"This amount of food and supplies is enough for Henan Camp to use for about two years."

Chen Gong hesitated for a moment and asked.

"The output of the Hanzhong Arsenal can only supply Hanzhong town at present."

"Should we release the authority of the Henan Military Equipment Bureau?"

Although the Henan Arsenal has been under central control for a long time.

However, it did not vigorously build hydraulic projects and use hydraulic forging like the Hanzhong Arsenal.

Therefore, although the Henan Arsenal has a large number of people, its output is not high.

There is no production of sea oath guns and cannons, and most of the production capacity is used to forge armor and ordinary weapons.

Chen Wang pondered for a moment and did not immediately answer Chen Gong's question, but asked.

"Is there any movement over there, Gao Mingheng?"

Now Henan’s military affairs are almost entirely under his control.

But there is still the governor Gao Mingheng in Henan.

The Ming court still has a profound influence in Henan, and it is difficult to eradicate it in a short period of time.

"Gao Mingheng has shown some uncooperative behavior. He wants to take over the military power and take back the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau and the Military Equipment Bureau in Kaifeng City. The information obtained by the Intelligence Department seems to be a secret decree from the Ming court."

"But now the defenders in Kaifeng City are all our people. He can only command the governor's battalion under his jurisdiction, and it is difficult for him to stir up any trouble."

"Gao Mingheng was very dissatisfied and issued several strict instructions. He asked..."

Chen Gong hesitated at the end and kept silent.
Chen Wang narrowed his eyes and said lightly.

"explain."

Chen Gong took a breath and spoke.

"He asked whether the general was still the general of the Ming Dynasty and whether he was still a minister of the Ming Dynasty."

Chen Wang looked at the river flowing in front of him.

The river breeze is gentle and the waves are rolling.

After a long time, Chen Wang sighed softly.

He knew that he was now standing at the crossroads of fate, and the separation from the Ming court was imminent.

Gao Mingheng was a good official, a good official in the traditional sense.

A capable minister, loyal to the emperor, and patriotic.

If possible, Chen hopes Gao Mingheng can continue to help him manage Henan.

But the fact is that Gao Mingheng is not the same kind of person as them after all.

"The outcome was already determined at Dingjun Mountain."

Chen Wang looked ahead and said firmly.

"The tide of the times is rolling forward, and in many cases, people have no choice at all."

Today, he has established his own territory, powerful enough to challenge the Central Plains and influence the world.

But everything will not change according to his will.

Even if Chen Wang wants to stop now.

The roaring war machine of Hanzhong Town will not stop.

The Chen and Hu families have already put everything on the line. The officers and soldiers who followed Chen Wang are no longer willing to live the life worse than pigs and dogs that they once lived. The soldiers and civilians at the grassroots are even more unwilling to live the precarious days of the past.

Even if Chen Wang didn't want to, they would force the yellow robe on him.

The wheel of history rolls forward. No matter how good the driver or how strong the warrior is, they can only make the frame shift slightly and the direction change to a certain extent.

But this carriage will not stop after all.

And everything that stands in the way of this carriage will be crushed like a mantis!

"Release all powers of Henan Military Equipment Bureau, introduce hydraulic forging hammers, increase the number of craftsmen, and have two shifts."

"All medium-sized and larger mines in Henan are taken over for military use, supplying the output of the Military Equipment Bureau and providing resources for the replacement of equipment in Henan and Huguang towns."

Chen Wang withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked behind him.

The guard leading the horse lowered his head and made way for him to mount the horse.

Chen Wang held the saddle with his hands, exerted a little force, and jumped onto the horse.

Riding on the scarlet warhorse, Chen Wang looked down at the officers around him.

"Everyone."

Chen Wang raised the whip in his hand.

His voice was not loud, but very calm and not passionate.

However, the officers and soldiers nearby could hear it clearly.

The wind on the river gradually grew stronger, clothes fluttered in the wind, and the sound of drums rang out in all directions.

"The wind is rising and the waves are surging."

Chen Wang's eyes were calm as they slowly swept across the officers.

"Achievements."

"Rise and fall."

"Success or failure."

“It’s all in this one move.”

Chen Wang put down his whip, said nothing more, and rode away.

All the armored guards mounted their horses.

In a flash, the roar of horse hooves drowned out the sound of the surging waves in the river.

On the galloping warhorse, Chen Wang's eyes were firm.

He did not look back at the towering city of Nanjing hidden in the thick fog.