Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 229 Li Dingguo succeeds to the throne (please subscribe for monthly tickets)

Although Gao Jie was domineering in history, he did not betray after surrendering to the Ming Dynasty. In this regard, he was already stronger than many Ming Dynasty generals!

Now that he has cheated on Li Zicheng and killed Zhang Xianzhong, he has no way out whether facing Dashun or Daxi.

There is no choice but to serve the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly!

Even if he is not knighted, he will still be loyal.

Li Xianzhong had his own considerations in giving him this title.

He used Gao Jie as a benchmark. Anyone who had made great achievements and surrendered his land would not be treated badly by the court.

In addition, the land of Hanzhong is indeed very important to me.

Occupying this place, you can go north to Guanzhong or south to Bashu with ease!

Hanzhong strangled Shuzhong by the throat, while Yangpingguan strangled Hanzhong by the throat.

It leans on Jigong Mountain to the south and Jialing River to the north, and the terrain is extremely dangerous.

It leads to Sichuan in the south, Lueyang in the north, Longnan in the west, and Hanzhong in the east.

No matter you take the Qishan Road or the Chencang Road, if you want to enter Sichuan, you will eventually be unable to bypass Yangping Pass.

Yangping Pass is the gateway to the "Golden Bull Road", the most important passage into Shu.

Now that Yangping Pass is still in the hands of the Daxi Army, the top priority now is naturally to capture Yangping Pass!

Although Sun Kewang was ordered to lead an army of 3 troops south to Chengdu, he still left elite troops at Yangping Pass.

Gao Jie had just been named Gui Yibo, so he naturally wanted to show off in front of Li Xianzhong.

Although the terrain of Hanzhong is dangerous, it is connected to it by the Han River.

Although the large warships of the Ming Navy could not sail into Hanzhong, they could still use waterways to transport Hongyi cannons.

As long as there is a place connected by a large water system, no matter how high the mountains and the roads are, it is relatively convenient to transport grain and artillery.

For a dangerous pass like Yangping Pass, if there is no heavy artillery, the enemy can only be lured out of the pass.

It is almost a fantasy to rely entirely on storming to seize the pass.

Fortunately, we were in the north of Yangping Pass, so the artillery was able to deploy. If we were in places like Jianmen Pass, there would only be a narrow road connecting them, and the mountains would be steep.

Ordinary artillery firing angles are not high enough, and it is impossible to hit the barrier at all. Only by pushing the mortar to the barrier can it be possible to break the barrier, which increases the difficulty by more than one level.

Although the Ming army's 18-pound rifled artillery was not enough to directly destroy Yangping Pass, the huge power of the explosive shells also killed a large number of defenders.

After only three or four rounds of shelling, the city was already in a mess.

Following Gao Jie's order, three thousand men and horses held their shields high and pushed the ladders and charged towards Yangping Pass.

Although the Western Army at Yangping Pass suffered heavy losses due to the Ming army's artillery bombardment, they still relied on the favorable terrain and used stones and rolling logs to kill a large number of Gao Jie's troops.

Zuo Liangyu and Chen Qiyu on the side were also trembling with fear!

Fortunately, these are Gao Jie's men. It would be very painful if they were his own men!

The front of Yangpingguan is not very spacious, and it is already the limit to invest 3,000 people at one time.

Soon most of the 3,000 people in the first batch were killed or injured, and Gao Jie joined the second batch.

The Ming army provided powerful artillery and sent out gunmen to suppress the Western army in the pass. It would be unreasonable if they could not defeat Yangping pass in this way.

Gao Jie did not hesitate, he drew his sword and went into battle to tackle the problem himself!

The second group of people were all the main force of Gao Jie's old camp, and their equipment and combat effectiveness were stronger than those of the first group of siege troops.

Gao Jie personally participated in the attack, which greatly boosted the morale of the troops attacking the city!

They all work hard and want to seize the credit of "getting there first"!

Sure enough, they attacked Yangping Pass in one go!

If the Western Army had left 1 troops at Yangping Pass, then this siege battle would definitely be repeated.

However, now that the Western Army at Yangping Pass is short of troops and has been killed a lot by artillery fire, there is no suspense anymore!

More than half an hour later, the Ming army captured Yangping Pass.

At this time, the 2 Daxi Army led by Zhang Kewang had also passed through Jiange and entered Mianzhou.

After Zhang Kewang captured Yangping Pass, Gao Jie turned against him.

After learning that Zhang Xianzhong had been killed, Zhang Kewang originally wanted to lead his army back to Nanzheng to avenge his father!

However, Zhang Jiao, the national master, dissuaded him in time.

Zhang Jiao said: "The situation in Hanzhong is unclear now. As His Majesty's adopted son, Zhendong Hou's first task is to return to Chengdu, take over the power of Daxi, and let Zhang Nengqi hand over Chengdu's troops!"

Zhang Kewang thought the same thing. Gao Jie's 5 troops were concentrated near Nanzheng, while Daxi's other troops were on the front line to resist Li Zicheng.

Even if the 3 people in his hands fight back to Nanzheng, they may not be able to defeat Gao Jie.

If some more soldiers and horses are lost, the strength will be further damaged, which will not be conducive to the fight for the position of Emperor Daxi.

Moreover, the Ming army had already occupied Langzhong and cut off the Micang Road. If they occupied Jiange and blocked the Jinniu Road again, they would become the turtle in the urn.

After much thought, Sun Kewang left 5 men to garrison Yangping Pass and retreat all the way to the middle of Shu.

Fortunately, they acted quickly enough and retreated before the Ming army!

However, Zhang Kewang still had his own concerns. He said: "The fourth brother is based in Chengdu and controls nearly 8 troops. He is the largest powerful faction in the Western Region today."

"I'm afraid that he won't hand over his military power and become a vassal to me!"

Zhang Jiao said with a smile: "My army brought out your majesty's seal in the chaos. When the time comes, as long as I take out the edict and say that your majesty ordered Zhendong Marquis to succeed to the throne, who will dare to disobey?"

Zhang Kewang was overjoyed and said: "As long as I succeed to the throne, I will definitely not treat the imperial master badly!"

The ecstatic Zhang Kewang was in a state of excitement and just wanted to return to Chengdu as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the Ming army near Deyang.

In fact, this cannot be blamed on Zhang Kewang. Who would have thought that the Ming army did not intercept him at Jiange, but appeared in Mianzhou, which is further away.

This sudden scene caught him off guard.

Zhang Jiao said: "It seems that the Ming army has blocked the road leading to Chengdu. Let's quickly divert to Mianzhu."

The Ming army was ambushing on both sides of the road. Now the enemy's situation was unknown. If they stayed for a moment longer, there would be more danger.

Zhang Kewang was now in a hurry to return to Chengdu to succeed the throne, so naturally he did not dare to delay, so he took his close associates and headed north to Mianzhu.

Fortunately, the Ming army did not pursue him, but in this battle, Sun Kewang lost another tens of thousands of people.

When he arrived in Chengdu, there were only 1 people left.

Zhang Kewang originally wanted to enter Chengdu first, then announce the death of Zhang Xianzhong, and then Zhang Jiao would take out the edict so that he could succeed to the throne in one fell swoop.

But things were far from going as smoothly as Zhang Kewang thought.

The city gates of Chengdu were tightly closed, and Zhang Nengqi simply refused to let Sun Kewang's army enter the city!

Zhang Jiao said: "No, news of His Majesty's death must have reached Chengdu. It seems that Zhang Nengqi also has ideas about Daxi's throne."

"For the current plan, we have to enter Chengdu first to explore the reality!"

The person who sent the message to Chengdu was naturally Zhang Jiao. If Zhang Kewang's army were to enter the city at this moment, Li Dingguo would not be in trouble as the successor to Daxi!

Whether it was setting up an ambush in Mianzhou or delivering messages in Chengdu, they were all designed to buy time for Li Dingguo.

After Zhang Jiao entered the city, he did not mention a word about the decree left by Zhang Xianzhong, but repeatedly asked Zhang Nengqi to let Zhang Kewang lead troops into the city.

Although Zhang Nengqi controlled an army of 8 people, they were distributed in various prefectures in Sichuan, and many of them had surrendered to the Ming army. Chengdu only had 3 troops. But even so, his strength is obviously stronger than Zhang Kewang!

Now that his second brother Zhang Wenxiu and third brother Zhang Dingguo are alive and dead, the only one who can compete with him for the inheritance of Daxi is Zhang Kewang.

Of course he couldn't just give up.

In the end, Zhang Nengqi agreed to Zhang Kewang's entry into the city, but he could only bring 300 people with him.

Now it was Zhang Kewang's turn to be in trouble. It was too dangerous for 300 people to enter the city. If Zhang Nengqi had malicious intentions, wouldn't he have thrown himself into a trap?

So the two sides faced off in Chengdu for many days.

But time was not in favor of Zhang Kewang, because his troops did not bring much food and grass with them when they returned from Hanzhong.

It was obvious that Zhang Nengqi was forcing him to compromise.

Just when Zhang Kewang was in a dilemma, another large army arrived outside Chengdu.

The leaders were actually Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Wenxiu.

They had many men and horses in their hands. Li Xianzhong handed over all the elite Western troops who surrendered in Xiangyang, Kuizhou, and Hanzhong to Li Dingguo, totaling 2 people.

Both Zhang Kewang and Zhang Nengqi were very surprised by their arrival.

After the city of Xiangyang was broken and Chongqing fell, the two of them must have been captured by the Ming army. How could they appear in Chengdu?

Zhang Dingguo did not shy away from it. He said: "The two of us were indeed captured by the Ming army and surrendered to Li Xianzhong."

"Li Xianzhong is busy dealing with Li Zicheng now, so he accepted our surrender and asked us to lead the army back to Chengdu to persuade Daxi to surrender to him!"

Isn’t this too ridiculous?

Li Xianzhong not only accepted their surrender, but also asked them to lead troops back to Chengdu? Zhang Kewang said: "This is absolutely impossible. Li Xianzhong is not an idiot. How could he do such a stupid thing?"

Zhang Dingguo said: "Then I don't know. Maybe he was kicked in the head by a donkey. Anyway, my second brother and I did lead troops to Chengdu and brought back the body of my adoptive father!"

Now that Zhang Xianzhong's remains have returned to Chengdu, Zhang Nengqi naturally can no longer keep them out of the city.

Finally, they discussed that each of the three parties would station 1 men inside the city, while the rest of the troops would be stationed outside the city.

Empress Chen of Zhang Xianzhong presided over the funeral ceremony.

Now that the Ming army has arrived at the city, Zhang Xianzhong's funeral cannot be held in a grand manner.

It was impossible to have an imperial mausoleum. They built a simple tomb for Zhang Xianzhong on Longquan Mountain east of Chengdu and prepared to bury him!

Zhang Xianzhong's biological son was separated in the chaos early on, and now his four adopted sons naturally carried the coffin for his funeral.

After all, he was still Emperor Daxi. Although the tomb was simply built, the funeral scene was still very grand.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 100,000 people from Chengdu mourned him!

People in Chengdu are prohibited from entertainment for seven days.

The thorny issue now is still the issue of Onishi's successor.

Zhang Xianzhong did not establish any prince during his lifetime.

Zhang Kewang currently has the smallest number of troops, only 1, which is inferior to Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Wenxiu's 5 and Zhang Nengqi's 2.

Trying to convince them of primogeniture would certainly not work.

At this time, it was the turn of the National Preceptor Zhang Jiao to come forward. He said: "Your Majesty had already issued an edict before his death!"

After saying that, Zhang Jiao took out a wax-sealed box!

Although the wax seal of the box has not been opened, who can know the authenticity of this edict?

Zhang Nengqi knew that Zhang Jiao came to Chengdu with Sun Kewang, so they must have been in the same boat for a long time.

He was the first to object and said: "May I ask the Imperial Master, did your Majesty draft this edict himself?"

How could Zhang Xianzhong, a big boss, draft the edict by himself?

Zhang Jiao said: "His Majesty dictated it and my master drafted it on his behalf!"

Zhang Nengqi said: "In this case, it is not the Imperial Master who has the final say on who succeeds to the throne. It's not that we can't trust the Imperial Master. This edict is really hard to convince the public!"

Zhang Kewang quickly objected and said: "The Imperial Master is highly valued by my father. I dare to risk my life to guarantee that the Imperial Master will never do anything false!"

So Zhang Nengqi looked at Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Wenxiu.

Zhang Jiao is the person that the eldest brother Zhang longs for, so the two of them must be opposed to it.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Dingguo said: "The Imperial Master has worked hard for me, Da Xi, and I trust his character!"

Zhang Wenxiu immediately agreed!

With a ratio of three to one, they concluded that the edict was valid!

After Zhang Kewang opened the edict with great expectations, he was dumbfounded. The heir to Daxi in the edict was actually Zhang Dingguo, the Marquis of Zhenxi!

At this moment he realized that he had been tricked by Zhang Jiao!

Completely ignoring what he had just vowed, he asked: "When the father issued the edict, the life or death of the third brother was uncertain. How could he pass the throne to the third brother?"

Zhang Jiao said: "My master also asked your Majesty at that time. Your Majesty said that the Marquis of Zhenxi had the courage to defend Xiangyang and had an overall view. He believed that the Marquis of Zhenxi would be safe and sound."

"Now it seems that His Majesty is really good at predicting events!"

Zhang Kewang's face was flushed with anger at this time, but he had no way to refute.

At this time, Zhang Nengqi said: "Brother, if you didn't swear to guarantee the national master before, do you want to break your promise now?"

Now that Zhang Nengqi has also expressed his stance, Zhang Kewang has the fewest troops and horses, so naturally he is unable to save the situation, so he can only acquiesce in this result.

However, out of dissatisfaction with Zhang Xianzhong's edict, he changed his name back to Sun Kewang!

After seeing it, several other people simply changed their names back to their original names.

On the seventh day of August in the second year of Hongguang, Li Dingguo succeeded the Daxi Emperor in Chengdu. He named Sun Kewang the King of Dongping, Liu Wenxiu the King of Nanping, and Ai Nengqi the King of Beiping.

At this time, Li Xianzhong, who was angered by Li Dingguo's "false surrender", appointed Zhang Zhiji as governor of Sichuan and Cao Bianjiao as commander-in-chief of Sichuan; he also sent Mao Wenlong, governor-general of Huguang, and Qin Liangyu, commander-in-chief of Chongqing, to assist him in the encirclement and suppression of Daxi.

Zhang Zhiji ordered Qin Liangyu and his son to send troops from Chongqing to occupy Jiading Prefecture and attack Chengdu from the south. Mao Wenlong sent troops from Baoning Prefecture to occupy Tongchuan Prefecture and advance to Chengdu from the east. He himself went south from Yangping Pass to attack Jiange and approached Chengdu from the north.

Facing the three armies of the Ming Army, Chengdu is in danger!

National Advisor Zhang Jiao said: "The Ming army is about to encircle Chengdu. Although we have more than 6 people now, if we are trapped in Chengdu by the Ming army, we will definitely be dead."

"Now the two Ming armies in the northeast are the main force of the Liaodong Army. Only Qin Liangyu and Ma Xianglin in the south are relatively weak! We must quickly break out of the encirclement to the south and jump out of the Ming army's encirclement!"

At this time, Sun Kewang said: "Although Xiangnan can escape from the Ming army's encirclement, it will be very difficult to supply because there are chieftains along the way."

Sun Kewang's worries are not unreasonable. There are more than 6 of them, and it is a big problem to withdraw supplies all the way south.

If Xiangnan can only grab food from those toasts, this road will not be easy!

Li Dingguo said: "The Ming army's combat power is too strong. If we are trapped in Chengdu, we will only die. Withdrawing from Chengdu is inevitable!"

"Let's go south first, so the Ming army must think that we will enter Yunnan directly from Sichuan; and then go east to kill Guizhou by surprise. Guizhou is not yet under the control of the Ming army. The mountains there are high and the roads are dangerous, which can be our temporary A place to stay.”

"As for those chieftains, if they are willing to provide some food, we will let them go. If they dare to stop us, they will be killed without mercy!"

Thank you to all book friends for your support with monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and follow-up subscriptions!

　Thanks to book friend "Haijianyefeng" for the reward and book friends "Yidian Xiaohanmang", "Jumao", "gfxfyy" and "Only Demon" for their monthly ticket support!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)