The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 435 Zuo Liangyu

After the North and the South were severed, Chen Wang's actions were more like those of a hero in troubled times.

The world is about to change, and people are harboring the intention of separatism and trying to covet the sacred weapon.

But what Chen Wang said now made everyone realize that their previous thoughts were too shallow.

What Chen Wang wants is not just to establish a new dynasty.

Instead, we must change the world, overthrow the Ming Dynasty, which has always stood tall under the sky, and eliminate all the ills left behind by the Ming Dynasty.

The biggest drawbacks of the Ming Dynasty are laid out in the open.

All the officers present here, who have become battalion commanders, have experienced many years of ups and downs in the officialdom, and who have not crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

They have long been accustomed to burying everything deep in their hearts.

He had long been accustomed to the intricacies of officialdom and had always adhered to the principle of "speaking half and keeping the other half hidden" to protect himself.

Because only in this way can you protect yourself.

Otherwise, it would have been eaten until not even a bone was left.

No one had ever spoken such blunt words to them.

Chen Wang tilted his head slightly and looked towards Zuo Liangyu.

Among all the people present, the one who would join him at the slightest hint from him was undoubtedly Liu Guangzuo.

Although Liu Guangzuo was the general, he did not have much actual power. He had only more than 4,000 soldiers under his command, all of whom were under the command of Mengruhu.

As long as Zuo Liangyu is willing to surrender, everything will fall into place.

Zuo Liangyu now has an army of about 35,000 people under his command.

At this time in history, Zuo Liangyu was entrenched in Jiujiang with an army of over 200,000, but his troops were a mixed bag and their combat effectiveness was not strong.

A fierce battle broke out between the Ming army and the Chuang army in Zhuxian Town. The main reason for the Ming army's defeat was that Zuo Liangyu's troops were defeated first.

But this time, due to the influence of Chen Wang, Zuo Liangyu did not expand his army and develop his power as he did in history.

In Chunhua's words of exhortation: "Throughout the dynasties, the world's powerful armies have all been those that enforce orders and have strict discipline."

And Chen Wang's subsequent strength eventually changed Zuo Liangyu.

Zuo Liangyu embarked on another path. Although he was still criticized for being arrogant and domineering, he never repeated the historical mistakes of allowing his troops to become corrupt.

Therefore, there were not many soldiers in the left army who were just filling in the numbers.

Therefore, until now, the army has only expanded to 35,000 people.

The soldiers under Zuo Liangyu would train regularly as long as there was enough food.

Most of the soldiers in the left wing have experienced the baptism of war, and the newly recruited troops also have a certain combat effectiveness.

The biggest reason for the weak combat capability is the lack of weapons.

The armor rate of the left wing is now less than 40%, with half of them wearing cotton armor and half wearing cloth armor, and the quality is worrying. There are only more than 2,000 pieces of high-quality Ming armor.

These Ming armors were basically worn by the servants of the officers in each camp and were quite scattered.

As long as the armaments are replenished, the left wing will still have strong combat effectiveness.

And most importantly, the troops under Zuo Liangyu's command now include the most scarce resource for Chen Wang right now - cavalry.

When fighting in the South, the number of cavalry required is not high.

However, in the future, when the situation in the south is stabilized and the northern expedition to the Central Plains is launched, this cavalry-based force will surely become the key force in recovering the north.

Most of the soldiers under Zuo Liangyu had a background in cavalry.

The Changping troops that Zuo Liangyu originally led to support the suppression were all cavalry. Although they lost many lives due to successive battles, they still recruited some of the best horsemen who were good at fighting among the bandits.

Back in Chunhua, Chen Wang sent 500 elite cavalry and 1,500 cavalry captives to Zuo Liangyu.

Not to mention the 72nd Battalion of surrendered soldiers who were later recruited by Zuo Liangyu.

Those who were able to break out of the bloody battle in Shaanxi and escape to Huguang were all elite cavalry soldiers selected from hundreds of miles away.

However, given Zuo Liangyu's financial resources, he naturally could not afford to support so many cavalry.

It was also for this reason that Chen Wang bought a lot of horses from Zuo Liangyu.

But even so, Zuo Liangyu still has more than 10,000 cavalrymen under his command.

However, Zuo Liangyu lacked horses, but Chen Wang was not so short of horses.

Chen Wang started trading war horses on a large scale very early on, and there were more than 5,000 usable war horses in Hanzhong Prefecture.

What Chen Wang lacks now is not war horses, but cavalry, cavalry with superb horsemanship. Zuo Liangyu pondered in his heart, he noticed the look Chen Wang cast at him, and he naturally understood what Chen Wang meant.

Along the way, he often watched what Chen Wang was doing and imitated him.

Chen Wang occupied Hanzhong Prefecture, developed military farms, gathered craftsmen to repair armor and weapons, set up businesses, opened mines, and continuously stockpiled food and weapons.

So when Wan Yuanji left the army to observe mourning and the imperial court gradually weakened, he began to manage De'an and Chengtian prefectures.

He began to recruit refugees, reclaim wasteland, house troops in the garrisons, and take control of the garrison's military equipment bureau.

Because of Zhang Xianzhong's rampage, these two prefectures suffered great damage, most of the officials were killed, and now a new batch of officials has been replaced.

With the help of the weapons in his hands, he has now managed to gain a foothold in the two governments. Otherwise, he would have to rely on the food and salary from the court.

Thinking of this, Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

At this point, he had to admit: Chen Wang was indeed much smarter than him.

In the same chaotic times and with the same army, Chen Wang was able to get the people to line the streets to welcome him and secretly accumulate such a powerful military force.

But Zuo Liangyu could only barely survive by relying on swords and weapons.

"Ugh……"

Zuo Liangyu sneered and finally let go. He stood up facing everyone's gaze.

"In the fifth year of Chongzhen, the imperial court sent me to the pass to suppress the bandits. It has been ten years since then."

"Ten years..."

Zuo Liangyu sighed, his eyes filled with sadness.

“How many decades are there in life?”

How many decades are there in this life? He is already forty-three now.

After ten years of wandering and ten years of blood and gore, he was already exhausted.

However, in his current position, there was no way he could take a single step back.

If he loses his military power, the Jinyiwei's guardsmen will probably be standing in front of his door the next day.

After ten years, Zuo Liangyu also saw himself clearly.

He does not have the talent of a leader, and he cannot control the towns like Chen Wang.

The territories of just two prefectures and more than 30,000 soldiers were enough to make him overwhelmed.

Chen Wang was in charge of Henan, Huguang, Nanzhili, Hanzhong Prefecture and other places, and he was able to command his troops in all directions with ease and was invincible.

Zuo Liangyu stared at Chen Wang.

Chen Wang stood in front of the chief seat, holding a sword and a belt, looking dignified, with heroism between his brows and high spirits in his eyes.

Zuo Liangyu suddenly felt a little dazed. Not long ago, he had the same expression.

But the infighting in officialdom had already smoothed out his edges.

In front of the civil officials he could only bow his head and plead guilty in front of the commander-in-chief.

The benefactor who had helped him up with both hands after he made a mistake and said to him, "A man should die on the frontier, and be buried wrapped in a horsehide," is no longer in this world.

"This shouldn't be the case..."

"you're right."

Why do their generals sacrifice their lives and shed their blood on the battlefield?

In the end, he can only be ordered around like a house slave.

Zuo Liangyu's voice was hoarse and trembling.

As his Adam's apple rolled, he seemed to have swallowed down countless unspeakable pains.

"I have no power to change the world."

"But I know……"

Zuo Liangyu slowly raised his head, his eyes sharp as torches.

He looked up at Chen Wang and spoke word by word.

"you can……"

"Ming History·Biography of Zuo Liangyu": Liangyu had 800,000 soldiers, claiming to be one million. The first five battalions were his personal troops, and the last five battalions were his surrendered troops. Every spring and autumn, he would train his troops in the mountains of Wuchang. Each mountain had a flag of the same color, and the valleys were full. Military law required two people to gallop on horseback, which was called "passing the pair". The horses' feet shook the ground like thunder, and the sound could be heard for several miles. Among the soldiers in the various towns, Gao Jie was the strongest, far inferior to Liangyu. However, since the defeat of Zhuxian Town, Liangyu's elite troops were almost gone, and those who returned later were mostly a motley crowd. Although the army was strong, the laws no longer deterred them. Liangyu's family was annihilated in Xuzhou. When he was in Wuchang, the prostitutes in the various camps sang and danced until dawn, but Liangyu was alone, without any prostitutes. He once had a banquet for his colleagues at night, and summoned more than ten prostitutes from the camp to drink. They walked on the water and crossed each other. After a while, they looked left and coughed, and were led out one by one. The guests were solemn, and no one dared to look up. He had a good command, and his subordinates were convinced by this. But by that time, Liang Yu was already old and sick, and had no intention of returning to Zhongyuan.