The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

May 8th, the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Datong, Shanxi.

Atop the tall and majestic city walls, red flags fluttered.

Jiang Xiang ran her hand along the cold brick wall as she slowly walked along the passageway of Datong's city wall.

A group of heavily armored guards followed closely behind, their hands on their swords.

In the distant countryside, squads of armored cavalry roared past.

Each troop of armored cavalry sweeping across the outskirts of the city would elicit shouts from countless soldiers on the city walls.

In just one day, the banners on Datong City changed hands. The black flags representing the Shun army had long been discarded like worn-out shoes, and replaced by a sky full of red flags.

Of the more than 20,000 Shun soldiers, more than 5,000 were killed, and the rest surrendered without daring to resist.

Jiang Xiang's clothes were stained with dried, dark red bloodstains.

It was formed from the blood he shed nine days ago at midnight when he led his troops into the Datong government office.

At that time, he personally led his armored soldiers straight to the Datong government office.

The Shun soldiers on duty outside the government office were lax and negligent, completely unaware that a conflict was brewing within their own ranks.

Even when faced with weapons, they were unable to mount a proper resistance in time.

Jiang Xiang led his troops straight in, crossing the courtyard and bursting into the inner hall.

Tian Jianxiu was hurriedly woken from his sleep at this moment. Before he could even put on his armor, he was surrounded by his attendants and stumbled out of his bedroom.

But it was too late; they couldn't escape. The entire government office was completely surrounded by soldiers led by Jiang Xiang.

In the dimly lit corridor of the back hall, Jiang Xiang bumped into Tian Jianxiu, who was still in shock and unaware of what had happened.

In the flickering firelight, Tian Jianxiu mistakenly thought that Jiang Xiang had come to protect the emperor, and greeted him repeatedly, eagerly inquiring about the situation, and even wanting to discuss with him how to break through the encirclement.

Jiang Xiang didn't say a word, but stepped forward and brought his knife down.

The astonishment on Tian Jianxiu's face froze instantly, and his body slumped to the ground.

Yu Zhongshun's guards tried to fight to the death, but were all killed by Wang Fuchen, who had been promoted to guerrilla by Jiang Xiang.

Then Jiang Xiang brought Tian Jianxiu's head, with Wang Fuchen standing guard beside him with a large spear, and they left the government office.

After the incident at the government office, a detachment of Shun troops from a nearby military camp rushed to provide support and happened to witness the scene.

Upon seeing Tian Jianxiu's death, the Shun army was thrown into a panic.

The commander leading the troops was a confidant of Tian Jianxiu, who wanted to kill Jiang Xiang.

Wang Fuchen charged single-handedly into the Shun army's formation, his spear striking down all who stood in his way, causing the entire army to retreat.

Wang Fuchen killed more than ten people, rushed into the enemy formation, and killed the Shun army's commander-in-chief.

The Shun army in the city was astonished by the man's talent and lost their morale. Seeing their commander killed in battle, they lost all will to fight and surrendered en masse.

Of the Shun troops stationed outside the city, five or six out of ten were killed or surrendered, and very few managed to escape.

A series of heavy footsteps came from below the city, and Jiang Xiang looked in the direction of the sound.

Dozens of armored soldiers marched along the ramp of the city wall to get closer.

The leader was a burly man, wearing a helmet and armor. Everyone behind him was a head shorter than him, making him stand out from the crowd.

The newcomer was none other than Wang Fuchen, the military officer who had recently accompanied Jiang Xiang in storming the Datong government office and single-handedly fought against a hundred men.

Wang Fuchen had a fair complexion and an extraordinary, heroic appearance; he was tall and handsome with eyebrows like silkworms.

He closely resembled the portrait of Lü Bu that circulated in the world, and because of his bravery and skill in battle, he earned the nickname "Living Lü Bu" in the army.

Wang Fuchen strode over, his brocade robe stained mostly with blood, the vibrant patterns intertwined with the dark red of blood.

Upon approaching, he immediately knelt down, placing a severed head on the ground.

"Ke Tianxiang has been executed."

Jiang Xiang stared at the hideous human head on the ground.

The head had disheveled hair, a ferocious face, and beard matted with blood, but Jiang Xiang still recognized it.

This man was Ke Tianxiang, who was stationed outside with troops and served as Tian Jianxiu's deputy.

Ke Tianxiang's eyes were wide open, his shock, anger, and resentment before his death still frozen on them.

Jiang Xiang did not ask how Wang Fuchen caught up with Ke Tianxiang or how he killed him; he simply nodded slightly and praised him.

"well done."

A slight smile appeared on Wang Fuchen's face. It was quite rare in Datong Town to receive praise from Jiang Xiang.

This time, he has made a great contribution.

Jiang Xiang always rewarded those who made contributions, and he never mistreated his generals.

Having received his praise, they naturally wouldn't treat him poorly.

Just like after the Battle of Songjin, he was just a servant, but because of his merits before the battle, he was directly promoted to captain, and then went on to become a guerrilla commander.

Jiang Xiang remained calm, but Jiang Xuan, who followed behind her, was quite excited.

Jiang Xuan is Jiang Xiang's younger brother, and both are deputy commanders of Yanghe.

He rose up with Jiang Xiang and regained control of Yanghe. He then led his troops to Datong and joined forces with Jiang Xiang.

"Okay!"

Jiang Xuan strode forward, picked up the hideous human head, and laughed loudly.

"The entire Datong is now in our hands. With the head of General Quan, Tian Jianxiu, and the head of General Zhi, Ke Tianxiang, we have our pledge of allegiance."

"Second Brother, this time, a promotion and a higher rank are just around the corner."

Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers of Datong Town all showed excitement, and the city wall was filled with joy.

However, Jiang Xiang did not show much joy.

"Promotion and ennoblement..."

Jiang Xiang sighed softly, looking at the group of officers and soldiers around him, his smile somewhat bitter.

Seeing Jiang Xiang's strange expression, Jiang Xuan frowned slightly and asked.

"Second brother, what's wrong?"

"Chen Wang did indeed bring up the matter of promotion and ennoblement."

Jiang Xiang's expression was gloomy, and his tone was low.

Chen Wang replied that in the past, when the situation was difficult and Datong was isolated, our surrender of the city and joining forces with the Shun army was indeed a last resort, and we will not pursue the matter further.

"If we are able to seize Datong, we will certainly write to the court to explain our innocence. Being granted titles and generalships will be nothing more than that."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Jiang Xuan was puzzled and frowned.

"Since Chen Wang promised that the court would not investigate his past transgressions and also offered him a high-ranking official position and generous salary, why does Second Brother look unhappy?"

Jiang Xiang's expression remained gloomy.

His gaze was fixed on the distant southern horizon, his expression still as somber as water.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke.

"We're heading south."

Jiang Xiang finished speaking.

The joy on the faces of the officers and soldiers on the city wall instantly froze, replaced by a deathly silence.

Heading south.

They were to be the vanguard in the attack on the Shun army.

Today, there are not many Shun troops remaining in Shanxi, and the total number of garrison troops in various places is only about 40,000 to 50,000.

Most of these were hastily assembled garrison troops, with only a few thousand actually capable of field combat.

Yanmen Pass is now in their hands.

The roads leading south into Taiyuan are unobstructed.

Conquering Shanxi was not an overly difficult task.

However, everyone knows that the key to the problem lies elsewhere.

The key point is that, having been ordered to head south, they were about to leave Datong.

Their control over Datong will undoubtedly be greatly weakened.

"How many troops does Chen Wang want us to send, and how many people can he leave in Datong?"

Jiang Xuan's expression was gloomy, his brows furrowed. After pondering for a long while, he looked at Jiang Xiang and suddenly spoke. On the city wall, all the soldiers and generals of Datong Town also focused their attention on Jiang Xiang, wanting to know the answer as well.

"Chen Wang's order is..."

Jiang Xiang took out a silk letter from his sleeve. The edges of the letter seemed to be slightly wrinkled from being repeatedly rubbed.

He did not answer immediately, but placed the silk scroll in Jiang Xuan's hand before slowly speaking.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight in everyone's ears.

"The whole town moved south."

Jiang Xiang's words were like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up huge waves in the hearts of the generals on the city wall, instantly causing an uproar.

"what?!"

"This order must not be obeyed under any circumstances!"

"Datong is the foundation of our town. We have been building Datong for many years, and now we are giving it up..."

The generals had different expressions, and their worries were evident on their faces. Various opinions arose one after another.

Jiang Xuan suppressed his joy. His mind was already in turmoil because of Jiang Xiang's words, and now the generals were all in a mess, talking over each other, which made Jiang Xuan even more annoyed.

"Shut up!"

Jiang Xuan glared fiercely, her angry voice drowning out the voices of those around her.

The generals, intimidated by Jiang Xuan's imposing presence and seeing his anger, finally calmed down.

"Chen Wang wants us to head south, and he mentioned how many troops we can leave in Datong Town?"

Jiang Xuan frowned and asked in a deep voice.

All the generals looked at Jiang Xiang.

Jiang Xiang calmly met Jiang Xuan's gaze without saying a word.

Jiang Xuan took a half step back, feeling a chill in her heart.

Jiang Xiang remained silent, but Jiang Xuan understood what Jiang Xiang meant.

The entire town moved south, leaving not a single person behind.

"Cao Bianjiao will soon take over the defense of Datong."

The generals' expressions turned completely gloomy, with not a trace of hope remaining.

Jiang Xuan's expression was stiff as he gripped the silk scroll tightly in his hand.

The Jiang family has been a military family for generations, and their influence in Datong Town is deeply entrenched.

However, the Cao family was not much weaker than them.

Because of Cao Wenzhao, the Cao family's influence in Datong Town was even greater than that of the Jiang family in previous years.

Although Cao Wenzhao died in Songjin, the Cao family's power did not diminish much as a result.

Many military officers in the garrisons and military posts throughout Datong Prefecture had received favors from the Cao family.

Now Chen Wang has replaced them with Cao Bianjiao to guard Datong.

It won't be long before the entire town of Datong truly falls into Chen Wang's hands.

This time, they may truly lose control of Datong.

Datong cannot be used as a bargaining chip in their hands.

"Chen Wang wants us to leave Datong?"

Jiang Xuan's expression showed struggle; he still didn't want to give up.

"If we leave, what if the Mongols invade from the Great Wall? Their iron cavalry could arrive in a day and the war could spread to Datong..."

Jiang Xiang shook his head and said calmly.

"The main forces of the various tribes in southern Mongolia are now under Chen Wang's surveillance. If they make any unusual moves, they will be wiped out in an instant."

"In the Battle of Jining, Chen Wang defeated 170,000 Qing troops in one battle, killed Huang Taiji in battle, and his prestige spread throughout the country and his fame reached the nine border regions."

"At such a time, do you think the Mongol tribes south of the Gobi Desert would still dare to invade the border?"

Outside Jining City, Chen Wang used more than 50,000 severed heads to build eight mounds of skulls on the south bank of the Fu River.

After the Battle of Jining, the Jingnan Army's reputation spread throughout the land. The Mongol tribes witnessed the terror of the Jingnan Army firsthand. When the news reached the Gobi Desert, all the tribes reined in their horses and stopped outside the Great Wall.

During this period of time, Jiang Xiang did not even receive a single report of Mongol troops harassing the border.

This is enough to show that the Mongol tribes were indeed terrified by the Battle of Jining.

"This excuse is untenable; don't even think about it."

Jiang Xiang recalled the letters Chen Wang had written to him.

He was extremely wary of Chen Wang.

He felt that Chen Wang completely understood his thoughts.

In many ways, they understand him even better than he understands himself.

He was certain that his conspiracy was completely unknown to outsiders.

However, Chen Wang congratulated him on capturing Datong beforehand, and then ordered him to move the town south.

The letter arrived on the very night he left the Datong prefectural government office.

It was personally handed to him by a spy from the Jingnan Army Intelligence Division within Datong Prefecture.

Chen Wang had long known that he would launch an attack ahead of time, and that he was capable of killing Tian Jianxiu and annexing the Shun army stationed in Datong.

"General Commander".

Just as everyone was silent, a deep voice broke the stillness.

Everyone's attention shifted and finally landed on Wang Fuchen.

The speaker was Wang Fuchen, who had just returned from outside the city to report on his mission.

Jiang Xiang's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Wang Fuchen with some confusion.

"General, do you harbor the ambition to conquer the world?"

Wang Fuchen bowed slightly, his posture as upright as a pine tree, his eyes shining brightly, yet his expression was unusually calm, as if the earth-shattering question he had just asked was nothing more than a routine military intelligence report.

Jiang Xiang frowned slightly, a look of confusion flashing across his face.

Standing beside him, Jiang Xuan's expression changed drastically, a hint of shock and anger flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to rebuke the audacious words, but was silently stopped by Jiang Xiang's raised arm.

Jiang Xiang looked at Wang Fuchen and shook his head.

Wang Fuchen remained unfazed by the surprised or scrutinizing glances from the other generals around him. After receiving a negative answer from Jiang Xiang, he continued without changing his expression:
"Since the general has no ambition to compete for power."

"In my humble opinion, this time our entire division is heading south, which is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Go on."

Jiang Xiang's eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment's thought, he gestured for Wang Fuchen to continue speaking.

"Chen Wang commanded hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers, who occupied the southern region and connected with the Huai River region in the Central Plains."

"This time, we marched north and defeated the Jurchens, recovering the northern kingdom. Our momentum is like the rising sun."

"Chen Wang's intentions are obvious to everyone. Although the Ming Dynasty still exists, it will only take a moment for it to change sides once the world is unified."

Jiang Xiang nodded slightly.

Now the entire Southern Kingdom is under Chen Wang's control.

Although the emperor was still the emperor of the Zhu family.

But in reality, everyone knows that real power is entirely in Chen Wang's hands.

Chen Wang still followed the Zhu family's emperor only because he still needed the banner of the Ming Dynasty.

Even without unifying the world, Chen Wang could take another step forward and don the dragon robe.

The reason Chen Wang hasn't officially ascended the throne yet is simply to make his legitimacy more legitimate.

At that time, Chen Wang, having saved the day from collapse and prevented the empire from crumbling, accepted the abdication, which was entirely in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people.

Seeing that Jiang Xiang tacitly agreed, Wang Fuchen continued to offer his advice.

"Since the General has no ambition to ascend to the throne, and all he seeks is to preserve himself and bring glory to his family, why should he be so attached to this corner of the Great Harmony?"

"Now the main force of the Shun army is concentrated along the Tongguan line, and the remaining troops in various places are extremely weak. Our southward march will surely be a series of victories, and our momentum will be unstoppable!"

Wang Fuchen's arms trembled slightly, his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, and his breathing became a little rapid.

"The General can seize this opportunity to achieve outstanding military merits, not only clearing his previous name but also using it to ascend to a high position, be granted a noble title, and even become a king or marquis, thus securing his wealth and status in the new dynasty." (End of Chapter)