Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 181 Xu Da Arrives Here
Shocked!

The only feeling left in Tongguan was shock.

No one expected that the arrogant Li Zicheng would be defeated like this.

The defeat was so complete and there was no chance of fighting back.

At this moment, Sun Chuanting even felt that if he had been skeptical before, he now completely believed that the other party was His Majesty Chengzu.

Because only Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu could have such devastating power when they came down to earth.

As a result, Sun Chuanting became much more respectful afterwards and obediently followed the orders of the young Zhu Di. He also said that after the war, he would immediately go to Xiangyang to meet Taizu.

Afterwards, the young Zhu Di ordered the entire army to attack. More than 10,000 people in the city went out of the city to chase after Li Zicheng's troops who had been defeated. They chased them for another hundred miles and killed 20,000 people.

Li Zicheng's defeat was like a landslide, and he fled back to Ruzhou in a miserable state four days later on October 10, the 16th year of Chongzhen.

In the next few days, Li Zicheng gathered the scattered soldiers and counted the number of people, only to find out how great his losses were.

Countless supplies of equipment were lost, and more than half of the elite soldiers were killed or wounded.

This means that out of the 100,000 soldiers, about 60,000 survived, about 50,000 were intact, 30,000 were dead or captured, and about 20,000 were injured.

Not only did the fifth battalion suffer heavy casualties, but the old battalion also suffered considerable casualties.

During the escape, many elderly, weak, women, children and their families were lost, trampled, chased and killed by the Ming army, or accidentally injured. In total, more than 50,000 people were missing.

The total number of soldiers from the five battalions and the old battalion who were able to escape was about 300,000. It can be said that Li Zicheng was seriously injured.

And it was on the sixth day of October that young Zhu Di defeated Li Zicheng.

On the seventh day of October, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xu Da to lead Zuo Liangyu and Lu Daqi's troops, totaling about 40,000 people, and bring another 1,000 Hongwu soldiers to the south to wipe out Zhang Xianzhong.

Lu Daqi himself stayed in Changsha, and in the name of the governor, ordered officials from all over the country to begin to govern the territories they had recovered, requiring them to immediately restore local order, protect the people, and obey his orders.

Zhu also sent people to distribute disaster relief food and asked Lu Daqi to accommodate Zuo Liangyu and the hundreds of thousands of refugees and garrison soldiers he brought with him.

At this time, Li Qiande had already surrendered.

He also sent Tang He and Li Qiande to inspect the areas around Changsha, to investigate local corrupt officials, to arrest local gentry who plundered the people, to hold a punitive meeting, to execute many officials and evil gentry, and to distribute land.

Compared with Zhang Xianzhong's looting everywhere, this action undoubtedly caused an uproar among the gentry in Hunan. Local scholars and retired officials wrote to the court one after another, impeaching Lu Daqi for lawlessness.

As a member of the gentry, although Lu Daqi was "upright by nature and impartial", he actually did not have the ability and courage to do such a thing.

Once you go against the gentry class, you will inevitably be attacked by everyone.

Especially the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The landlords and gentry in places including Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and other places were extremely powerful and could influence the court politics far away in Beijing.

Although the power of the Hunan gentry was not as strong as that of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang gentry, it was not weak either, and they were in collusion with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang gentry.

The gentry were all juren and jinshi graduates, and they all used to be officials in the court. It was normal for them to know a few good friends and have some friendships like classmates or teachers.

Therefore, when they discovered that Lu Daqi seemed to have the intention of harming their interests, in addition to the impeachment accusations that flew to Beijing like snowflakes, many letters were sent to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, calling on friends and relatives to bring Lu Daqi down from office.

of course.

Impeachment takes time, and filing a petition takes even more time.

In fact, until now, Chongzhen didn't even know that a Ming Taizu had appeared in Hunan.

Old Zhu came on September 18th, but it was not until four days later, on September 22nd, that someone actually wrote to the court to inform him that someone in Hunan claimed to be the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Zhu sent people to deliver letters to Li Qiande, Lu Daqi, Zuo Liangyu and others, saying that he had come down to earth and ordered them to come and submit.

After learning the news, these people prepared to attack Changsha while submitting memorials to the court, in which they angrily denounced a lunatic who claimed to be Taizu and said they would capture Changsha and behead him to set the record straight.

However, the journey was long, and Henan and other places had fallen, so the only way to Beijing was by water. Therefore, Chongzhen had no idea that the south had changed dramatically in just twenty days.

Historically, it was not until October 8th that he learned the news of Sun Chuanting's defeat in Ruzhou.

At this time, sixteen days had passed since Sun Chuanting's defeat in Ruzhou, and even two days had passed since Sun Chuanting's death in Tongguan in history.

Chongzhen had no idea that Sun Chuanting was dead, and he issued an imperial decree to strip Sun Chuanting of his titles of commander-in-chief and minister of war, and ordered him to "take the blame and gather the remaining troops, hold the pass, provide assistance when the opportunity arises, and seek merit to redeem himself."

From this we can see that it takes at least ten days just to transmit the news from Henan to Beijing.

It takes even longer to get from southern places like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hunan. Ten days or half a month is considered fast. Under normal circumstances, there is usually a time difference of about a month. Sometimes, due to war, it is normal that memorials cannot be delivered.

Therefore, although the Hunan gentry were trying their best to get rid of Lu Daqi, it would take more than two months to go to Beijing and back, which resulted in the reform continuing.

At present, the affected areas are only Changsha, Xiangyin, Yueyang, Xiangtan, Yiyang, Zhuzhou and other areas around Changsha, and it will not cause much wind and waves.

Now, Zhu is using thundering means to govern Hunan.

Internally, he investigated officials, landlords, and gentry, distributed relief food and land to the people, appeased refugees and disaster victims, and attempted to restore governance as soon as possible.

Externally, Xu Da was sent south to attack Zhang Xianzhong.

On October 11, Xu Da led an army of 40,000 troops southward, arrived in Hengzhou, and stationed his troops outside the city of Hengyang.

To a certain extent, Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu and Zhang Xianzhong actually follow the same pattern.

That is, the army follows the family members.

There is no need to say much about Li Zicheng. The so-called 400,000-strong army consisted of 100,000 soldiers and 300,000 elderly, weak, women and children.

The same was true for Zuo Liangyu, who had more than 30,000 soldiers and about 200,000 refugees, the elderly and the weak.

Zhang Xianzhong was similar.

His army also had about 200,000 soldiers, with the main force being only about 30,000 to 40,000 people, and his family members numbering about 200,000.

When he was in Wuchang, he was beaten back by Zuo Liangyu. Although his military strength was similar to Zuo Liangyu's among the three, his strength was the weakest.

However, he destroyed the Palace of Prince of Chu, broke through the Palace of Prince of Ji, carried out a large wave of reinforcements, entered Hunan, and did not harm the lower-class people, thus winning the hearts of many people.

After that, the team grew rapidly. From entering Hunan in August to now in October, in just two months, the troops expanded greatly, with a total number of about 300,000 people, and the main force has reached about 60,000 people.

Historically, his total military force had reached more than 400,000 before he entered Sichuan in the first month of the 17th year of Chongzhen. It can be seen that the four months in Hunan were a time of rapid development for Zhang Xianzhong.

However, unlike Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng took advantage of Sun Chuanting's training in Shaanxi and stayed in Henan for about a year to catch his breath. Therefore, he conducted military training and ensured the combat effectiveness of the army.

It has only been two months since Zhang Xianzhong entered Hunan in August. Firstly, he did not have enough time to train his troops. Secondly, he did not stay for four months as in history, so his strength was far from reaching its historical peak.

So, although Zhang Xianzhong seemed to have a large number of troops, they were still mostly bloated. Facing Zuo Liangyu, who had defeated him before, Zhang Xianzhong did not despise him, but prepared for battle.

It is early winter now. Under the influence of the Little Ice Age, the temperature in Hunan drops rapidly. It can still maintain 12 or 13 degrees during the day, but it is very cold at night.

Zhang Xianzhong's troops all wore thick cotton clothes.

This is also due to Zhu Yuanzhang's forceful promotion of cotton. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, cotton-padded clothes had become basically popular among the people, allowing people to get through the winter safely.

The north wind was blowing. Standing on the Hengzhou city wall, Zhang Xianzhong saw from afar groups of Ming troops slowly approaching in the northern wilderness.

"Father."

Ai Nengqi, who is still called Zhang Nengqi now, saw this scene and immediately realized something. He said to Zhang Xianzhong: "They didn't bring the family camp."

Zhang Xianzhong pondered and said, "I originally thought that the so-called Taizu in Changsha could defeat Kewang, so he must have some ability. I also wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, but I didn't expect him to be defeated so quickly. Now I guess Zuo Liangyu has set up his family camp in Changsha."

Sun Kewang at the side said immediately: "Father, I am willing to redeem myself from my crime and lead the cavalry to Changsha via a detour."

The reason why Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu and Zhang Xianzhong took the soldiers' families with them when they fled was to ensure the soldiers' loyalty.

If Zuo Liangyu placed the soldiers' families in Changsha, once Changsha was captured, Zuo Liangyu's army would collapse without a fight.

Li Zicheng had suffered such a loss before. In the 15th year of Chongzhen, he moved his old camp to Tang County, Nanyang, Henan. But he was found by Sun Chuanting and his "wife was killed". When the rebels heard the news, "the whole camp cried".

Therefore, from then on, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong would bring their family camps with them.

Seeing that Zuo Liangyu had made the same mistake as Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong felt that he couldn't miss the opportunity. However, he glanced at Sun Kewang and said, "This battle is of great importance. We can't be reckless. You have just been defeated. I am afraid that you will be too eager to make a contribution and attack Changsha, but you will miss the opportunity. Let Hongyuan go."

"Yes, father."

Sun Kewang showed an unwilling expression on his face.

Having said that, in fact, Zhang Xianzhong had begun to distrust him because of the failure in the Battle of Changsha.

But after a moment he said, "Father, I think we should be more careful. The man in Changsha who claims to be Taizu has powerful firearms. Zuo Liangyu defeated them, so he must have some too."

Zhang Xianzhong waved his hands impatiently and said, "It's probably because they had a large amount of gunpowder stored up and used it all on you, so it was so easy for Zuo Liangyu to break through."

Without waiting for Sun Kewang to explain, he said to Ai Nengqi, "Yunzhi, send someone to inform Dingguo, and then ask Funan to coordinate."

"Yes."

Ai Nengqi immediately sent out a messenger.

Zhang Xianzhong's troops were mainly led by his four adopted sons.

Among them, Li Dingguo's cavalry had the largest number.

In fact, the peasant uprising army had a large number of cavalry.

The History of Ming Dynasty: Biography of Zuo Liangyu records: "The enemy's horses galloped hundreds of miles a day and a night. We had more infantry and fewer cavalry, and we would get tired after walking dozens of miles, so we were very afraid of the enemy."

It is said that at its peak, 70% of Zhang Xianzhong's troops were cavalry, and many soldiers were even equipped with two horses, so their mobility was very fast.

At this moment in Hengzhou, Zhang Xianzhong led his own troops and the troops of Ai Nengqi and Sun Kewang, about 30,000 people, to garrison the city.

He also arranged for Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu to be stationed outside the city to support each other.

Liu Wenxiu's army had about 20,000 men, mostly infantry. Li Dingguo had only about 10,000 men, but they were all cavalry, so it was most appropriate to send him to raid Changsha.

After arranging a response plan, Zhang Xianzhong quietly observed the movements of the government troops.

It was still noon at this time, and he found that the government troops did not set up camp on the spot, but after crossing the Zhengshui River, continued to march towards Hengzhou City, and were only about five or six miles away from the city.

Could it be that the other party wants to attack the city directly?

Zhang Xianzhong was confused.

A moment later, the cavalrymen who had been on the lookout came back and reported to Zhang Xianzhong: "Report, my lord, the enemy commander's flag has the word 'Xu' written on it, and the flags of the other deputy commanders have the words 'Zuo', 'Liu', 'Lu', 'Ma', 'Jin', etc."

"what?"

Zhang Xianzhong became even more confused.

He had been dealing with Zuo Liangyu for a long time and was well aware of the other side's military system and main generals.

The "Lu" on this flag should be Lu Ding, the "Ma" is Ma Jinzhong, and the "Jin" is Jin Shengheng, so it is not clear who this "Liu" is.

But why is “Zuo” a deputy general?

The commander’s surname is “Xu”?
what's the situation?
Could it be that the imperial court sent an important official named "Xu" to take charge?

impossible.

Would Zuo Liangyu let someone lead his troops?

Even Lu Daqi doesn't have this ability.

"Explore again!"

Zhang Xianzhong didn't understand, so he could only continue to let the cavalry go out.

At this moment, outside the city, Xu Da was riding on a horse, with Zuo Liangyu beside him.

On both sides behind him, the flags of the Ming Dynasty were shining brightly.

There were a thousand knights at the front of the team, carrying AKs, and they all looked relaxed, without a trace of nervousness.

Not to mention that they are all elite soldiers who have fought in many battles, they are invincible just with the automatic rifles in their hands.

The Ming army was getting closer and closer, and by the afternoon it was less than two miles away from the city.

Zuo Liangyu also had a telescope in his hand, observing the city defenses and said, "Duke, they shouldn't leave the city to fight us."

Xu Da smiled and said to the guards beside him: "Release the drone and tell them to surrender."

Zuo Liangyu was surprised and asked, "Zhang Xianzhong, this thief, killed the King of Chu and drove away the Kings of Ji, Hui, and Gui. Is His Majesty Taizu willing to accept him?"

"Taizu came from humble beginnings, so he had the world in his heart. Many of Zhang Xianzhong's troops were civilians who could not survive, and Taizu did not blame them for rising up in rebellion."

Xu Da said calmly: "Taizu said that those corrupt officials should be killed, and the people should be treated with kindness. Otherwise, you robbed the people, which is a capital crime. How can you stand in front of me?"

"Yes Yes Yes."

Zuo Liangyu broke out in a cold sweat. He felt the pressure from facing Xu Da was as heavy as a mountain.

But after a moment, Zuo Liangyu said again: "It's just that Zhang Xianzhong is cunning and fickle. He surrendered to the court at first, but later rebelled. I am afraid that he is pretending to surrender."

"It doesn't matter. Give him this chance only once. Besides, Your Majesty is here. Can't you subdue these rebels?"

Xu Da smiled.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was a god-like figure.

As long as everyone in the world believes that he is His Majesty Taizu, then wherever he goes, everyone will submit to him.

What's more, Zhu Yunfeng brought a large amount of food.

With food, even if Zhang Xianzhong wanted to rebel, would his subordinates dare to follow him and continue to rebel?
The difficulty is that in the eyes of his subordinates, his prestige is greater than that of Zhu Yuanzhang?
Unrealistic things.

Therefore, Xu Da was confident that as long as Zhang Xianzhong was willing to surrender, his rebellion could be quickly put down, and there would be no possibility of any false surrender.

“Buzz buzz buzz!~~”

The drone quickly circled into the air and then flew to the top of the city.

When the soldiers on the city wall saw this scene, they immediately started a commotion.

"what is that?"

“What a big dragonfly.”

"How can it be a dragonfly? It looks like a grasshopper."

“It should be locusts.”

"Wrong, there is no such a big locust. It must be a bird."

Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers, who were unaware of the situation, were talking about it.

The drone flew to where Zhang Xianzhong's flag was and began to broadcast a voice: "The founding minister of the Ming Dynasty, the minister of honor, the right pillar of the country, the imperial tutor, the right prime minister of the Central Secretariat, and the military affairs of the state, Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, has come here. Zhang Xianzhong, I advise you to surrender immediately, surrender immediately, and do not resist stubbornly. Those who resist stubbornly will be killed without mercy, without mercy!"

Everyone was shocked.

This big bird can actually make sounds.

What kind of magic is this?
Even Zhang Xianzhong was confused.

Not to mention the peculiarity of the big bird, the amount of information contained in it alone is enormous.

Xu Da, the founding duke of the Ming Dynasty?
what happened.

Could it be that Zuo Liangyu's troops did not capture Changsha, but were annexed by the Taizu of Changsha?

At that moment, Zhang Xianzhong's mind was in a mess.

(End of this chapter)