Blood from Daming

Chapter 839 Cao Wenzhao’s Death

At the end of the seventh year of Chongzhen, after the peasant army Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and other departments entered Henan to eat, they held a peasant army gathering in Xingyang, which was known as the "Xingyang Conference" in history; The peasant army gathered together to make fire. At the Xingyang Conference, general Li Zicheng made his debut. His proposal of "dividing troops and targeting" with the core of overthrowing the rule of the Ming Dynasty was affirmed by the leaders of the various peasant armies, thus establishing the The strategic policy of the peasant army commander in the future.

At the beginning of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and other 72 Peasant Army 20 Battalions had nearly [-] horses. The Peasant Army was divided into four groups, East, West, South, and North. On the east side where the enemy's forces were weak, this strategy and tactics worked. Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong led the main force of the peasant army to advance eastward.

In the first month of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the peasant army Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others drove directly to Fengyang. Fengyang was where the dragon veins of the "ancestral mausoleum" of the Ming Dynasty were located. Outnumbered and outnumbered, Zhu Guoxiang committed suicide, Yuan Ruizheng and Lu Chengyin died in battle, and Fengyang Mansion fell into the hands of the peasant army.

Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and other peasant armies then burned the imperial mausoleum to the ground, burned the halls to ashes, killed 30 burnt pine trees, killed more than [-] eunuchs guarding the mausoleum, and killed more than [-] criminals who committed crimes against the high wall. He also killed dozens of people, including Tui Guan Wan Wenying, and destroyed more than [-] public and private residences. The imperial tombs and palaces were also burned to white ground, and the flames could be seen hundreds of miles away.

After Zhang Xianzhong burned down the palace of the imperial mausoleum, he actually called himself the "Emperor of the Ancient Yuan Zhenlong". Later, Gao Yingxiang also proclaimed himself emperor in Fengyang, claiming to be the first year of Xingwu. Fengyang Mansion suddenly had two emperors. The only difference from the Ming Dynasty is that Without the establishment of local government, Emperor Chongzhen became very angry when he knew that he had committed a crime. At the same time as he issued the "crime decree", Emperor Chongzhen took refuge in the palace in plain clothes, arrested Fengyang governor Yang Yipeng and Zhenying and put them in prison. After that, Yang Yipeng was abandoned in the city, executed and sent to Fengyang. Multiple officials.

Emperor Chongzhen urgently dispatched Zhu Dadian, the right servant of the military department, the governor of Shandong, the governor of the water transport and Fengyang, and cooperated with Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces, and Lu Xiangsheng, the right deputy capital censor and the servant of the Huguang governor's military department, to suppress Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and other thirteen peasant armies. The 72nd Battalion of Rogues.

However, the peasant army will never stay in Fengyang and wait for the official army to attack. The peasant army adopts the usual method of mobile warfare. Led by Taihe County, Fengyang Prefecture, entered Henan, passed through Luyi and Qixian County, Henan, and entered the mountains of Mixian County, led by King Sweeping along the way, attacked Haozhou, walked to Xiayi, Henan, and surrounded Guide. Later, these two troops They joined forces in Guide, Henan, and planned to go west to Tongguan and return to Shaanxi.

The other route, led by Zhang Xianzhong and others, entered the territory of Luzhou Prefecture, successively captured Lujiang, slaughtered Chao County, Wuwei and Qianshan, Taihu Lake, and Susong in Anqing Prefecture, and then met the resistance of Zhang Guowei, the governor of Yingtian, and entered Macheng, Hubei Province. , Entering Henan, Zhang Xianzhong's men and horses attacked and plundered the most fiercely. After going south to Luzhou and Anqing, except for one city in Lujiang, all other cities were captured, so that the local officials of the imperial court could not resist with the help of the city walls.

After Fengyang Ming Emperor's Mausoleum was burned, at the beginning of March in the eighth year of Chongzhen, a white-clothed scholar, one of the top ten martial arts masters, raised a flag in Jinhua, Zhejiang, claiming to be a descendant of Emperor Jianwen. Burning, and the common people of the Ming Dynasty were suffering from hunger and hunger. The white-clothed scholar called himself "Fengtian Justice Generalissimo", appointed former Ming army general Huang Xida as "Fengtian Justice General", and called for the overthrow of Emperor Chongzhen and the establishment of the Ming Dynasty with Jianwen blood.

"General Fengtian Justice" Huang Xida went to seven counties including Jinhua, Lanxi, Yongkang, Dongyang, Wuyi, Pujiang, and Tangxi. Only one county in Yiwu County resisted firmly. "General Fengtian Justice" Huang Xida failed, and then Huang Xida invaded Hengzhou In the Fulongyou area, the army presides over the prefectural capital.

The white-clothed scholar raised his army for more than a month, and his military strength has grown to more than 4. He owns almost the entire territory of Jinhua Prefecture in Zhejiang Province, as well as parts of Hengzhou Prefecture, Yanzhou Prefecture, and Chuzhou Prefecture. It didn't cause much repercussions among the Ming gentry and the public, and it was just an ordinary rebel team.

However, Emperor Chongzhen, who was far away in Beijing, didn't think so. He attached great importance to the "Marshal of Fengtian Justice" who was a scholar in white, and strictly ordered the governors of Zhejiang and Fujian to join forces to destroy them. Xiong Wencan from Guangdong ordered the Fujian guerrilla general Zheng Zhilong to cooperate with the Zhejiang side to suppress the rebel white-clothed scholar "Fengtian Justice Grand Marshal".

But at this time, Zheng Zhilong was busy fighting against his former brother Liu Xiang, so he only sent his fifth brother Zheng Zhibao to lead an army of [-] troops from Quanzhou. Before leaving Fujian, Zheng Zhibao finally left Fujian under the urging of Fujian Governor Zou Weilian. After entering Chuzhou, Zhejiang, he stopped his troops. Instead, he robbed and harassed the people in the garrison.

The troops from Zhejiang were either transferred to Henan to suppress the Wenxiang Sect, or they were secretly controlled by the Xue family army in Hangzhou. The officials of the Third Department of Zhejiang who supported the imperial court were powerless and could only watch helplessly as the anti-thief white-clothed scholar "Fengtian Justice Generalissimo" sat up day by day. After Emperor Chongzhen was excited for a while, he focused on the peasant army such as Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Li Zichengzhi, which allowed the officials in Zhejiang to muddle through.

The reason why Emperor Chongzhen paid so much attention to the suppression of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Li Zicheng was because Cao Wenzhao, the commander-in-chief of Lintao, who was relied on by Emperor Chongzhen to grow up, died in battle. The place where he died was Jijiashan in Luochuan. The imperial court presented Cao Wen The prince Taibao and Zuo Dudu ordered Yousi to build a shrine and worship in the Spring and Autumn Period. The cemetery is about ten acres.

It turned out that Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng led their troops to Ningzhou to the west, and joined forces with Guotianxing, Xiezikuai, and King of Troubled Times in Qingyang. Wannian, the guerrilla Wang Ximing led 3000 troops, the Ming army defeated Ai Wannian and his deputy Liu Guozhen was killed, Liu Chenggong and Wang Ximing were seriously injured and escaped.

After hearing the news, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces stationed in Binzhou at that time, inspired Cao Wenzhao to go out to attack Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng. Wenzhao led [-] elite troops from the headquarters to conquer. The peasant army and Cao Wenzhao had a sworn feud. Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng who got the news planted a large number of ambushes in the Qiutou area.

On June 27, Cao Bianjiao, Cao Wenzhao's nephew, led a sharp division to fight in the vanguard. , Beheaded hundreds of peasant soldiers.The rebel army pretended to be defeated and retreated to the east. Cao Bianjiao pursued it for dozens of miles and arrived at Diaoling Pass.

Cao Wenzhao's troops were scattered and scattered, and the head and tail were difficult to look at. There were heavy casualties and blood flowed into rivers. They were trapped in a deserted village. Cao Wenzhao's troops lacked food and water, and the wounded could not be treated. The pioneer Li Zicheng took turns to attack the village where Cao Wenzhao's troops were located. Seeing that the village was safe, he fought and retreated. He was lured to the west by the peasant army. The peasant army ambushed Wanqi and surrounded Yafei Hedgehog set.

But the peasant army didn't know that it was Cao Wenzhao who was surrounded. At that time, a soldier of the Ming army was tied up and pointed at Cao Wenzhao and said, "This is Cao Zongbing." Killed dozens of peasant soldiers and suffered more than ten serious injuries. After passing through the red mud city of Baozigou in Yancun, he ran to Jijiashan. More than half of the imperial edict's troops were lost, more than [-] guerrilla generals and generals died, and the imperial court lost Cao Wenzhao, a famous general who was famous for his combat skills.

After Hong Chengchou received the news of Cao Wenzhao's defeat, he looked up to the sky and cried bitterly. When Cao Wenzhao was in Shaanxi, he won many battles.In Hong Chengchou's view, Cao Wenzhao probably hasn't won a battle that he can't win!Unexpectedly, this rash decision eventually defeated Cao Wenzhao, a generation of good generals.

As the governor of the five provinces, Hong Chengchou was short of major generals and could no longer cope with the Shaanxi peasant army. Seeing this situation, the imperial court hurriedly discussed countermeasures. The military affairs of the five provinces of Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, and Huguang are specially bestowed with Shang Fang's sword, which can be done cheaply. In this way, the tasks of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng have a clear division of labor.

Hong Chengchou suppressed the northwest, and Lu Xiangsheng suppressed the southeast. If the peasant army re-entered Shaanxi, Lu Xiangsheng would enter the pass and attack together.At the same time, the imperial court appointed Dai Dongmin, Miao Zuoshi, and Shi Kefa as the censors of Henan, Huguang, and Nanzhili respectively. The purpose of all that Emperor Chongzhen did was very clear in mobilizing elite troops to join the battle, that is to wipe out the peasant army as soon as possible and free up energy to deal with the Xue family army inside the pass and the Jianlu outside the pass.

The Xue family army stationed in Wuchang, Hubei received an order to retreat from Hangzhou at the end of the seventh year of Chongzhen. Ren Ruping was going to return to Hangzhou, Zhejiang after the new year. Huguang governor Yao Zongwen and Huguang general Qin Yiming got the help of the Xue family army led by Ren Ruping, and successively wiped out the Several peasant armies near Wuchang, Yao Zongwen, Qin Yiming and Ren Ruping got along well with each other, so they repeatedly asked Xue's army to garrison Wuchang.

Xue Polu led the navy and land army back from Annan in triumph. The fleet sailed into the port of Kaohsiung. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians including Commander Shi Chuyi, Tainan Military Region Commander Lian Xiongwei, Lu Laobo, and Wen Laobo greeted him. Xue Polu ordered Taiwan Island to celebrate for three days. The whole of Taiwan is immersed in the joy of victory.

Xue Susu asked Xue Polu to become a monk after a few days of staying in the senior official, which frightened Xue Polu. How could Xue Polu dare to agree with Xue Susu to become a monk? Because of uncleanness, Xue Polu insisted on becoming a nun, so Xue Polu had no choice but to ask Chang Shi Chuyi for advice. Chang Shi Chuyi thought that Xue Susu was probably advancing by retreating, so as to wash away the fact that he was taken over by Dongman Li Zhengman. Regarding the matter between the master Xue Yun and Xue Susu, Chu Yi gave Xue Polu an idea to let Xue Polu build another nunnery in the palace of the official, and let Xue Susu lead the cultivation in the nunnery of the palace.

(End of this chapter)