Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 964
The desires of people's hearts always increase little by little. When a person gradually climbs from the bottom to the top, and then falls back to the bottom at this time, most of them will be devastated. But is there anyone who can stand up again? People, but not all his subordinates have his spirit.

Most of the generals of the Western Army were born poor people before they climbed to high positions. Perhaps they are satisfied with a full meal every day, and the desire in their hearts is just to have another mother-in-law, but as they become new dignitaries, Naturally, their desires will not be satisfied with a mother-in-law or a full meal. They are already big fish and meat, with wives and concubines in groups, but they may not be satisfied in their hearts.

At this time, if they fall from a high place and live a life of bitter cold again, even if they can eat enough and have wives and children, most of them will not be able to accept it, and they will not be able to walk the road of struggle again.

Li Zicheng suffered several setbacks at the beginning. At the worst time, he was beaten to only a dozen riders, but he was still able to rise again. After he became emperor, once he failed, he never recovered.

In history, there are many such examples, reaching a peak, and then quickly withering. The ancestors said that "the prosperity will decline, and the prosperity will come" still has some truth.

If he really failed, how many people would follow him into the mountains. Sun Kewang doubted whether those generals who had seen a better life would be able to endure hardships with him in the mountains again.

After thinking for a long time, he agreed to Bai Wenxuan's suggestion, leaving only 2000 people, and the rest of them all retreated to Luzhou, ready to put all their eggs in one basket.

As long as he can stick to Luzhou and make the Ming army trapped under the city, he doesn't believe that Hauge will not make a move, and as long as the Jin army joins the war, he will still have a chance to fish in troubled waters.

On the side of the Ming army, He Tengjiao had more than 6000 soldiers, plus the accompanying soldiers and civilians transporting supplies. More than [-] people entered southern Sichuan at the end of June. The first battle was effortless, making Yongning, the southern gate of Luzhou, guard Wei's West will surrender.

He Tengjiao immediately asked Li Dingguo to lead 6000 people as the vanguard, and the rebel generals of the Western Army led the way, opened eyes for the army, and marched into Luzhou mightily.

Less than a year after the Ming army withdrew from southern Sichuan, Sun Kewang and Haoge continued to fight in southern Sichuan, so the situation in southern Sichuan was very chaotic.

As soon as the Ming army entered southern Sichuan, they made a lot of publicity, saying that the great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, who supervised the military affairs of the four provinces of Yun, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Sichuan, and He Tengjiao, the Duke of E, personally proposed that tigers and wolves regained southern Sichuan, and 30 regular soldiers. [-], just listening to the numbers can scare people's livers.

He Tengjiao was originally the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, but in order to command cheaply, the Ming Dynasty added a title to him so that he could coordinate the entire southwest war.

As soon as the Ming army entered southern Sichuan, it was like a flood washing the land. Bandits and grassroots ran away after hearing the wind, and those tyrants who built their villages for self-protection launched attacks one after another to attack the counties and counties controlled by the Western army to welcome them. officer army.

At this time, Sun Kewang also knew that the Ming army was powerful, and he wanted to run away, but he was afraid that if he escaped, he would be like Li Zicheng.

With the advance of the Ming army and the instability in various places, Sun Kewang issued an order to transfer all the western troops back to Luzhou.

For a while, the troops of the Western Army retreated to Luzhou one after another, and some bandits and green forest heroes who supported Sun Kewang also gathered in Luzhou to help the Western Army resist the official army.

At the end of June, with the retreat of the Western Army, many prefectures in southern Sichuan were in a state of vacuum. Wumeng, Zhenxiong, Syria and other places were captured by powerful armed forces, and troops were sent to meet the Ming army, and they were close to the Jin Kingdom. The tyrants in the area chose to join the Jin army.

On July [-], the vanguard of the Ming Dynasty arrived on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River in the south of Luzhou City. Three days later, He Tengjiao led an army to Luzhou, and more than [-] soldiers and civilians began to station a temporary camp on the south bank.

Faced with the pressure of the Ming army, Sun Kewang knew very well that his army could not fight against the elite and powerful main force of the Ming army. He could only concentrate his troops to defend Luzhou to the death, waiting for the Jin Kingdom in the north to intervene in the war.

At this time, the Western Army had all retreated into Luzhou City. In addition to that, there were also bandits who came to help the battle, and the volunteers who followed the Western Army retreated. Nearly 8 people gathered in Luzhou City at once, but the real elite soldiers are only so few. to 3 people.

Luzhou City is located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Tuojiang River. It is surrounded by river water on three sides and dry land on the west side. It can be said that it is the southernmost city in southern Sichuan. It is not because the city is strong, but because of its strength. terrain.

Sun Kewang chose Luzhou for three reasons. The first is because of his terrain, which limited the direction of the Ming army's attack. It could only be the west wall, which reduced the pressure on him to defend, and his time was limited, so it was very difficult to reinforce the four walls. Difficult, but it is easy to strengthen a city wall. He has 8 people guarding a wall, can't he still defend it?
The second point is related to the convenient waterway transportation in Luzhou. The Western Army can quickly withdraw through the Tuojiang River and the Yangtze River, which is the most suitable place for him to gather troops.At the same time, if he is defeated, he can also use the waterway to escape, leaving a way out for himself.

The third point is that Luzhou is rich, which is also related to his convenient water transportation. The city stores the materials and food he collected from various places, which is enough for him to last for a year.

At this time, Sun Kewang was standing at the top of the city, looking at the Ming army camp on the south bank of the Yangtze River with complicated eyes. Three days ago, there were only a thousand small white tents, but now there are mountains and plains, like mushrooms growing after the rain.

"My lord, it's probably just a temporary camp. The Ming army doesn't have a strong navy, so it's impossible to attack us directly from the river! To attack us, we have to cross the river and set up camp," Bai Wenxuan said in a low voice, looking at the south bank.

To the south of Luzhou is the Yangtze River, which is about three miles wide. Such a wide river made it impossible for the Ming army to attack from the water.

Wang Fuchen looked at the Ming army's tents all over the mountains and fields, and trembled in both directions, "My lord, you can't let the Ming army cross the river. If you want to defeat the Ming army, I feel that you still have to send a team of troops across the river to harass the Ming army's grain roads. If the Ming army's supplies are not guaranteed, they will have to retreat."

Sun Kewang let out a sigh of relief and cheered up. He had to show enough confidence, "Sichuan is mountainous and difficult to supply, and the attack on the Ming army's food roads can indeed delay the Ming army's attack. I don't worry about sending others. Let Fuchen lead five hundred old battalion soldiers, plus five thousand native soldiers, across the river to attack the Ming army's grain road, and leave the matter of preventing the enemy from crossing the river to Wenxuan."

After the two listened, Bai Wenxuan embraced the order, while Wang Fuchen had a bitter expression on his face, seeing that Bai Wenxuan accepted the order, he could only embrace the order.

Sun Kewang turned his back to them, in order to see the expressions of the two of them, after he finished speaking, he pondered for a while, and then said: "In addition to the two things just said, the most important thing now is to get Hauge to join the war as soon as possible!"

"I have already sent someone to deliver that letter, but there has been no news yet." Wang Fuchen hesitated, "Your Majesty, I heard that Hauge is seeking peace talks with the Ming Dynasty, does he not want to participate in this event?" War, are you ready to watch the fire from the other side?"

"No!" Sun Kewang waved his hand decisively. He had to say that, and he had to convince his subordinates, "Mingjun and Hauge have forged a deep hatred. With that letter, he should be able to see Ming Dynasty's intentions clearly. What's more, if this king falls, the Kingdom of Jin will have to face the Ming army independently, and Hauge is a smart man, he can see this clearly."

With that said, Sun Kewang turned around and saw that his subordinates didn't seem to have much confidence, so he said in a deep voice: "This king will definitely send Haoge to send troops if he writes another personal letter. You don't have to worry, just stick to your posts , as long as we get through this crisis, this king will not treat you badly!"

Thank you for your reward, please subscribe, ask for a monthly ticket, recommend
(End of this chapter)