The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 465 From the South, one can look out over the world!

On the open fields outside Yangzhou, as far as the eye can see, there is devastation.

Broken swords and spears lay askew in the frozen earth, and tattered banners were half-buried in the blood-soaked mud, their mournful cries torn apart by the cold wind.

Several wildfires were still burning, with wisps of black smoke rising into the air.

A biting chill clung to the corpses scattered across the ground, freezing the still-wet pools of blood from the previous night into dark red ice crystals.

The morning mist, like a veil, slowly drifted over the battlefield strewn with corpses.

The soldiers of the Jingnan Army were cleaning up the battlefield. They silently carried the bodies of their comrades, carefully arranging the fallen brothers neatly and covering them with white sheets.

Even more numerous were the corpses of the Wanmin Army, lying haphazardly across the wilderness, their remains left uncollected.

A procession of dejected prisoners of the Wanmin Army were led past, their armor tattered, their faces covered in blood and exhaustion, their eyes vacant and numb.

The road ahead is bleak, and the defeated are speechless. They know that their fate is no longer in their own hands.

The survival of the defeated depends on the single thought of the victor.

The eastern sky turned bluish-gray, revealing the tragic scene of frost and blood-red ice intertwined on the ground.

The river flowed swiftly, and the broken mast drifted southward with the current, while the half-submerged, half-floating planks rose and fell with the waves.

The withered reeds on both banks trembled in the cold wind, and the grayish-white reed flowers were torn apart by the wind and scattered on the turbid water.

The mast of one Fujian-style ship was plunging into the cabin of another, and silk sails wrapped around a corpse hung in the water like white funeral banners.

A school of fish swam by, disturbing the sediment, which stirred up a few wisps of dark red, fluffy material, which were quickly dispersed by the rushing river.

A cold wind swept across the river, carrying the smell of gunpowder and blood, heading southeast.

Chen Wang placed his left hand on the jade belt at his waist and his right hand on the goose-feather knife at his waist. His crimson cloak fluttered in the north wind, and fine frost clung to his crimson iron armor inside.

He silently gazed at the devastation around him.

The guards and soldiers also remained silent, standing like statues.

With Li Yan's death, the last resistance of the Wanmin Army vanished.

Although the remaining Wanmin Army still numbered over 200,000, they were no longer capable of causing any further trouble.

Zheng's fleet has entered the canal near Yangzhou, controlling the waters on the southeast and southwest sides, and the Wanmin Army's navy has been completely annihilated.

The vast rivers and lakes could not accommodate even a single plank belonging to the Wanmin Army.

After the main force of the Wanmin Army was annihilated, the three forces guarding the eastern suburbs of Yangzhou—Left Jin King He Jin, Reform King Liu Xiyao, and Chaos King Lin Yangcheng—sent their surrender documents.

Although Li Yan was not yet dead at that time, everyone knew that the outcome was already decided.

"Our army has now taken control of the entire Yangzhou area. It has been confirmed that General Zhao Shouping, nicknamed 'Waguanzi,' and General Ma Shouying, nicknamed 'Lao Huihui,' of the Wanmin Army died in battle."

"Ichidou Valley often saw Xi lead his troops to retreat into the fortress on the western edge of the city, and then dismissed his followers before burning himself to death inside the fortress."

Zhao Huailiang walked over from the side and handed over a military report from the General Staff.

"Birds circled and did not land in the reeds along the riverbank. They searched the area at night and found Yuan Shizhong's body by the water. He had seven wounds and was hit by five arrows. The fatal wound was a knife wound to the neck. He should have committed suicide. The person who hid his body should have been his personal guard."

"He Yilong from Geli has surrendered. General Li dares not act on his own and asks the commander-in-chief how to deal with him?"

As the curtain falls, the ownership of Yangzhou has completely changed hands, and the change of ownership of the southern kingdom has become a foregone conclusion.

At dawn, the remaining Wanmin Army either surrendered or was wiped out.

There is no third option left for them in this world.

War is indeed cruel.

The victors enjoy everything, while the losers can only entrust their fate to others and hope for the victors' mercy.

"Granted."

Chen Wang did not take the military report from Zhao Huailiang's hand.

He already had a plan in mind from the very beginning regarding how to deal with the officers and soldiers in the Wanmin Army.

Waguanzi, Yidougu, and Yuan Shizhong, these few die-hard supporters of Li Yan, chose to follow Li Yan to their deaths.

However, apart from Ma Shouying, who died in the melee, the remaining members of the five battalions of the Revolutionary Left chose to surrender.

Chen Wang was not at all surprised by the surrender of the five battalions of the Left Revolutionary Army.

After he took control of the military in the South and established a de facto separatist regime, he repeatedly sent letters to Li Yan urging him to surrender.

Appeal to their emotions and move them with reason.

As long as Li Yan chooses to surrender, he will not hesitate to bestow rewards and commendations.

However, despite the vast disparity in strength, Li Yan still refused to give up the Southern Kingdom and still wanted to firmly grasp the power in his hands.

He was even willing to gamble with the lives of his 500,000 soldiers and the fate of China for thousands of years, to seek revenge against a powerful enemy and to collude with the Qing Dynasty in the north.

At this point, Li Yan's fate was already sealed.

But all of these choices were made by Li Yan.

Most of the soldiers and civilians in the Wanmin Army, including officers and soldiers, were simply swept along by the tide of the times and by Li Yan's personal will.

Driven by burning ambition, Li Yan broke his oath, forgot his promise, and burned away the last hope of the Wanmin Army.

"The world does not belong to the gentry and kings!"

"The world should belong to all the people of the world!"

Even if Li Yan ultimately wins, the world will simply have a new master and a new emperor.

The world has never changed.

It was merely a group of kings and nobles replacing another group of kings and nobles.

The world will not belong to all the people.

Li Yan couldn't even do that.

His army of ten thousand people, like Li Zicheng's Shun army in history, could not stop the Qing army...

When he chose to ally with outsiders, he had already lost the demeanor that a great ruler should have.

If we keep winning, that would be great.

But as long as you suffer a single crushing defeat.

Neither Li Yan nor the Wanmin Army could recover from their defeat.

After repeated escapes and abandonments, they had long lost the courage to fight to the death and the determination to burn their bridges.

Just like Li Zicheng in history.

After their crushing defeat at Shanhai Pass, they fled in panic like stray dogs, lacking even the courage to defend Beijing.

Chen Wang's heart was as hard as iron; the devastation before his eyes could not affect his emotions in the slightest.

Sometimes, he wondered what it would be like if he were Li Yan.

What he will do.

At such a moment, in such a desperate situation.

He had pondered this many nights.

However, Chen Wang did not have a definite answer.

Because he would never end up in the same situation as Li Yan.

From beginning to end, what he wanted was not the throne of the emperor.

His ambition was never to become the ruler of the world.

Initially, he simply wanted to fight for his own survival.

But now, when they hold power and bear the fate of tens of millions of people on their shoulders.

What he wants.

It is to prevent tragedies like the one at Yai Shan from happening again.

Let the land of China never again hear the sound of the Huqin.

It is to restore peace to the world and to give the world a new look.

for real.

A complete overhaul!

He had made up his mind.

We have made all the necessary preparations.

He won't run away.

no way.

No matter how violent the wind and rain.

No matter how tortuous the road ahead may be.

He will still rise to the challenge and forge ahead.

Chen Wang didn't know if the path he had chosen was the right one.

The limitations of his era and the constraints of history determined that he could not completely change the world.

However, this did not affect his determination to continue.

A seed called hope was sown.

They will eventually take root and sprout on this fertile land of China.

The path for future generations.

Future generations will have to follow in their footsteps.

What he needs to do is preserve this life.

To leave a legacy for future generations.

A legacy that can change the world.

"Big brother."

A soft call interrupted Chen Wang's thoughts.

Chen Wang looked in the direction of the sound.

A familiar figure appeared in his field of vision. "You've come."

Chen Wang's calm face finally showed a slight change.

The newcomer smiled slightly and walked towards Chen Wang, meeting his gaze.

The person who came stretched out his arms, and Chen Wang also stretched out his arms to welcome him.

The two embraced tightly.

Just like during the bloody battle in Liaodong.

"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life."

The person who arrived was none other than Chen Gong.

Chen Gong, who had been sent by Chen Wang to recruit and train soldiers on both sides of the canal earlier.

Today, Chen Gong is no longer the impulsive and reckless young man who has always followed Chen Wang.

Chen Gong has gained a more composed and unhurried demeanor.

Years of battles and meticulous guidance have made Chen Gong completely different from his former self.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Looking at his younger brother's tired face, Chen Wang's expression softened considerably.

Last year, in the fifteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, after Chen Wang's grand wedding in Xiangyang, he sent Chen Gongdong to the banks of the Grand Canal in Southern Zhili.

After the canal transport was cut off, millions of canal workers on both sides of the canal were unemployed, which led to chaos.

Southern Zhili suffered repeated wars, and the Wanmin Army eradicated a large number of landlords and gentry, resulting in a large amount of unclaimed land in Southern Zhili.

Therefore, these canal workers were basically reorganized into garrison residents and resettled in various places in Southern Zhili in the form of military settlements.

The canal workers were actually the best soldiers.

They are physically strong, hardworking, orderly, and obedient.

It would be a real shame to leave them as villagers.

At that time, the soldiers of Southern Zhili had already been almost completely wiped out in the Battle of Fengyang, and even the defenses of various cities were in trouble.

Therefore, Chen Wang dispatched Chen Gong to establish Jingnan Town, setting up a troop strength of six divisions and training 72,000 soldiers.

Chen Gong was transferred to be the garrison commander of Jingnan Town, in charge of all military training affairs.

Later, the imperial court bestowed upon Chen Wang the title of Earl of Jingnan. To avoid using his name, Chen Wang renamed the troops under Chen Gong Town as Pingnan Town.

This army has been training in Sizhou, east of Fengyang Prefecture in Southern Zhili.

Because the surrounding area is filled with military settlements, which have been training their militias, it is difficult to know anything about them without careful investigation.

Through intelligence reports, Chen Wang had always known that Li Yan was unaware that he possessed such a force in Sizhou.

Although Chen Gong's troops had already undergone nearly three or four months of training by this time.

However, they had never experienced battle and their military equipment was outdated.

If they were directly deployed to the battlefield, they would not have much effect, and might even be used as a breakthrough point by the Wanmin Army.

Therefore, Chen Wang kept this trump card to himself, never revealing it.

As time went on, the Wanmin Army's attack gradually became more and more frenzied.

Chen Wang then ordered Chen Gong to lead his troops and rush to Yangzhou overnight.

In preparation for the Battle of Yangzhou, Chen Wang mobilized not only his own soldiers, but also a large number of civilians from Southern Zhili as laborers to dig trenches, transport grain, and manufacture weapons.

Because of the activities of the Intelligence Division, the information that the scouts, sentries, and spies of the People's Army could obtain was extremely limited.

That is why Chen Gong was able to lead his troops to the outskirts of Yangzhou like a divine army descending from the heavens, bringing this great battle to a final close.

Under the cover of night, the Wanmin Army had no idea how many people they had.

They were also unaware that the Jingnan Army was pouring in from all directions.

In reality, it was just an army that had only been training for a short time.

It was an army that was only half-equipped with weapons.

The surprise attack by cavalry shattered their defenses.

The flames, like a sea of ​​stars, came from all directions, shattering his courage.

An army whose morale has plummeted.

An army that has lost its courage.

Ultimately, only annihilation awaited them.

"finished?"

Chen Gong's face was pale, showing signs of exhaustion from his long journey.

"Finish?"

Chen Wang smiled, a hint of weariness flashing in his eyes as well.

"It's over, but it's not completely over yet."

Chen Wang shook his head.

The south was pacified, but the fall of the north to the Qing army was a foregone conclusion.

Li Zicheng dominated the northwest and looked south towards Sichuan.

The Khoshut Khanate occupied the snowy region and kept a watchful eye on the southwest.

The Zheng family was deeply entrenched and controlled maritime transport.

This is all just the beginning.

Chen Gong nodded thoughtfully.

“Li Yan is dead, but the remnants of the Wanmin Army still exist. Brother, decide how to deal with them.”

Chen Wang's expression returned to normal.

The Wanmin Army still has considerable remaining strength.

Li Jiyu was still in Nanjing, in the various prefectures of the South, and there were still remnants of the Wanmin Army.

Some of them were remnants of the Five Revolutionary Battalions, while others were rebels from Henan. How to deal with them was indeed a problem.

However, Chen Wang already had the answer in his heart.

Historically, this occurred when the Qing army entered the pass and massacred people in the Central Plains.

At a time when large numbers of Ming soldiers surrendered and countless officials and gentry defected.

It was those peasant armies, whom the Ming court had always called bandits and rebels, who raised the banner of resistance against the Qing.

Compared to the officials and gentry of the South, the Wanmin Army, which has always been their adversary, is actually more reliable.

The peasant armies at the end of the Ming Dynasty initially went down the wrong path and made many mistakes.

However, their limited knowledge in that era restricted their vision, and some unfortunate events led them to the wrong end.

However, when danger strikes, when the country is on the verge of collapse.

More people chose to join forces to overcome the national crisis.

They persevered to the end.

The stalemate lasted until the third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

The Qing army amassed 200,000 troops and besieged the last army still bearing the Ming army's banner at Jiulianping on Maolu Mountain.

Their commander was named Li Laiheng, the adopted son of Li Guo, who had always been part of the rebel army.

After repeated defeats and with no hope of breaking out, they were facing exhaustion of food and reinforcements.

Li Laiheng dismissed his generals, killed his wife, burned down the mountain stronghold, and resolutely committed suicide.

His generals obeyed his dying wish and fought the Qing army to the death; most of them died and few surrendered.

The Yongli Veritable Records states: "After Lai Heng's defeat and death, there was not an inch of land or a single person left in the Central Plains to serve the Ming dynasty; only the Zheng troops were stationed overseas."

Chen Wang did not discriminate against the peasant army in any way.

They simply took the wrong path and made the wrong choice.

Such is the way of the times, such is the way of the world.

An individual's fate is so insignificant in the face of the tides of the times.

Chen Wang could not fully comprehend how much regret and despair Li Dingguo felt when he collapsed in despair, lying paralyzed on his sickbed, leaving behind his final moments.

Li Dingguo's last words were only seven characters long.

Those seven words were written in blood.

"We would rather die in the wilderness than surrender!"

At that time, Li Dingguo was no longer a peasant army wholeheartedly opposed to the Ming court.

He was not the brilliant general known as the Prince of Jin.

He was just an ordinary Ming Dynasty person.

Yashan has almost erased thousands of years of accumulated Chinese culture.

Chinese civilization was reborn from the flames of war and smoke.

The North had only been lost for a few hundred years, and the northerners did not know what the Chinese were, thinking that the southerners were all foreigners.

"The Central Military Command drafts an order to be sent to the Southern Kingdom."

Chen Wang's tone was completely calm and even.

"Li Yan is dead."

Those who surrender will be pardoned.

"Those who defy..."

"Death!"

The trend is like a surging tide.

Rolling eastward.