Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

Although he valued scholars like Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, what they understood were only some armchair military strategies. When it came to fighting, they were not as experienced as his brothers who had gained from years of bloody battles.

Li Zicheng used Niu Jinxing mainly for the purpose of managing logistics, formulating rules and regulations, winning over people's hearts and minds, recruiting talents, etc. He also served as a think tank. The same was true for Song Xiance. He was recommended to Li Zicheng by Niu Jinxing. He was responsible for divination and fortune-telling, and predicting destiny. He mainly did some shaman work. The two of them, one was a military advisor and the other was a shaman, and they had no outstanding military knowledge.

Li Zicheng is also an old Roosevelt.

Tian Jianxiu, the only Confucian general in the camp, said, "I heard that Yang Sichang wants to fight us. Judging from his deployment, the battlefield should be Zhending, a major military town that protects the capital!"

Liu Zongmin smiled and said, "Let's fight! If we win this battle, our rebel army can march all the way to the capital!"

"That old man Yang first deployed defenses in Zhending to prevent our rebel army from attacking the capital. How did he get the confidence to believe that we would attack the capital? Why don't we trick him and cross the Yellow River to attack Shanxi?"

"I think it's better to go back to Shaanxi..."

After discussing for a while, some of the generals agreed to go north and directly capture the capital, while others suggested returning to Shaanxi. That would be enough. It would be wonderful to divide the land and be crowned a king, and return home in glory.

From this we can see that the morale of the people within Li Zicheng's team was not at all united.

Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing and asked, "Where do you think our army should go next?"

Niu Jinxing said: "King Chuang is wise and intelligent, and he knows everything. He should know that Henan is a ruined area, and it is a devastated area. It supplies food and grass for our million-strong army. Moreover, most of Henan has fallen into the hands of Jiang Han. However, Zhili is different. It is the capital. If we can take it, it will definitely greatly increase the momentum of our army!"

He stroked his long beard slowly, looking like he had everything under control: "Of course we have to take Shaanxi too. Not to mention that Guanzhong is the hometown of all the generals, from ancient times to the present, whoever controls Guanzhong can establish a foundation. However, there is not much food and grass in Guanzhong right now, so it is too early to take it. As long as my righteous army takes Zhending, we can take Shaanxi as well."

Li Zicheng pondered and said, "I heard that old man Yang has gathered troops in Zhending Prefecture. There are many elite border troops among them. If we really fight head-on, the outcome may be unpredictable."

Niu Jinxing smiled and said, "Don't worry, Prince Chuang. According to reports from spies, the plague is raging in Zhending Prefecture, and the people are in dire straits. The imperial court's army has also been infected in large numbers, and there are too many graves to bury them every day."

Gao Yigong, the general standing by, suddenly asked, "Will that dog emperor mobilize troops outside the Great Wall?"

Gao Yigong is Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, and is known for his calmness and thoughtfulness. His idea suddenly gave everyone an epiphany. Indeed, few people would think about what is happening outside the Great Wall. If the other party brings the border troops over, wouldn't they be doomed?

Li Zicheng was also a little worried. Those frontier troops that had fought against the Tartars were indeed difficult to deal with. In the past, Cao Wenzhao and other frontier generals had given the rebels a hard time. A few years ago, Cao Bianjiao chased him for more than a thousand miles with 3,000 cavalrymen. More than a thousand miles? He almost rolled his eyes when he ran! He didn't want to look back on that period of his life.

Niu Jinxing said proudly: "Don't worry, the troops outside the Great Wall will definitely not come. Not to mention that the Liaodong generals are unwilling to enter the Great Wall to fight, even if they want to come, they can't leave."

"how do I say this?"

Niu Jinxing took out a letter and said, "Yesterday, a Jiannu spy shot an arrow outside our camp. The writer was Ning Wanwo, a Jiannu university scholar. The letter said that they wanted to cooperate with our rebel army and could send troops to attack Shenyang, contain the Ming army outside the pass, and help us establish our rule in the Central Plains."

After this attack, the Qing army was seriously damaged. If they want to enter the pass again, they have to recuperate for a few more years. However, now the God-given opportunity to rule the Central Plains is right in front of them. Huang Taiji must consider whether this is the only chance in his life, so he doesn't want to let it go. Although I can't go south, I still have the ability to disgust you with these rebels, and it's very powerful!

Liu Zongmin was puzzled: "Tartar? What kind of trick is this?"

The generals of the rebel army generally had no idea about the Qing Dynasty. They thought they were just a group of barbarians. Hadn't they been beaten like dogs by Jiang Han before? They were just a bunch of baskets. How could they achieve anything big?

Li Zicheng pondered and said, "I'm worried about the south. What if my rebel army is stuck outside the capital, and Jiang Han leads his troops north and cuts off our retreat? What should we do then?" To be honest, Li Zicheng was extremely wary of Jiang Han. He was an experienced person. Anyone who could not get away with both Hong Chengchou and the Tartars in his hands must be a ruthless person.

Liu Zongmin said: "The army under Jiang Han's command was frightened by the plague and dared not move south. I heard that even the Yangtze River was blocked. Would he dare to go north?"

Niu Jinxing said: "According to my guess, Jiang Han's eyes are probably not on Guanzhong, but on Nanzhili. And judging from his actions, he may be sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight."

Li Zicheng was surprised and asked, "You mean, that guy is going to attack Nanjing?"

Niu Jinxing stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "This man has great ambitions, and he always puts stability first when governing his people. Now he has the capital of the Ming Dynasty right beside him. How could a man like him allow such an incompetent court to hinder his steps?"

Niu Jinxing affirmed: "Prince Chuang, go north without worries. As long as we win this battle, the capital will be easy to conquer!"

Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo also said: "Prince Chuang, according to our spies, the plague is rampant along the way from Zhending Prefecture to the capital, especially in the capital, where thousands of people die of the disease every day. Even many officers and soldiers in the Beijing camp have been infected and buried. This is a great opportunity for our rebel army!"

Everyone in the hall looked at each other, and Li Zicheng nodded. He quickly made a decision in his heart that when fighting against the main force of the Ming leader, he could use hungry soldiers to continuously consume their military strength.

However, there were several scholars in the hall, and he also claimed to be a benevolent and righteous army. Such tactics can be implemented on the battlefield, but they cannot be put on the table...

Song Xiance suddenly laughed, bowed deeply to Li Zicheng, and said: "Prince Chuang, the Ji family's worries are not in Zhuanyu, but within the imperial court. The Ming court is corrupt and the country is doomed. We, the righteous army, are destined to be defeated. The epidemic in Tianjin and the capital is a punishment from heaven. Even if the court has many reinforcements, how can we live in disgrace?"

He was so confusing that all the generals in the field were at a loss for words. Liu Zongmin frowned slightly and said, "Sa, sa, sa, what did you say? Can you please let me fart a little?"

Li Zicheng shouted angrily: "Don't be rude to the gentleman!"

Song Xiance forced a smile and said, "Master Liu is quick to speak, no problem, no problem!"

Li Zicheng glared at Liu Zongmin, then his expression eased a little, and he said, "Military Advisor, please tell me whether this trip north will be a good or bad one."

Song Xiance stroked his beard and smiled: "Okay."

Everyone in the tent stretched their necks to watch the fortune-telling. When many warriors looked at Song Xiance, the charlatan, their eyes were filled with curiosity and a hint of awe.

Song Xiance is an old shaman in the rebel army. He is well versed in numerology and good at divination. Whenever there is a war, Li Zicheng would ask him to tell his fortune so that he would feel at ease. This is the same as applying a buff before starting a war.

After taking out the fortune-telling bamboo tube and other props and fiddling with them for a while, Song Xiance stopped, stroked his beard and pondered, just like chanting a spell. His voice became louder and softer, and was erratic. He said something about this piece of land, something you have never seen... These words were completely incomprehensible and seemed extremely pretentious.

No one could hear clearly what he muttered, they all listened to his explanation with eyes wide open.

Li Zicheng couldn't wait to ask, "How is it, military advisor? Is it good or bad?"

Song Xiance spoke up and said, "This is a very good omen. Congratulations to King Chuang!" Li Zicheng smiled when he was about to take office. The generals in the tent also smiled happily, saying that it was God's will that was on their side. It was settled!

Niu Jinxing bowed to Song Xiance and smiled slightly. He was not surprised by this kind of charlatan's behavior. So many soldiers had discussed it. You said that this trip would be very dangerous, and you would be hacked to death. However, Song Xiance was recommended to Li Zicheng by him, so naturally he would not destroy the other party's plan at this time.

Niu Jinxing said: "If our army marches north, the people will certainly respond in droves! Even if Yang Sichang continues to resist, how can he compare with our army of hundreds of thousands? This battle, the army will win!"

Li Zicheng's face showed excitement and he nodded continuously.

Niu Jinxing added: "From a military perspective, if I first seize Shaanxi as my base, then if Jiang Han goes north, it will definitely pose a serious threat to the rear of my rebel army. If I go directly north to Zhili, Jiangnan is thousands of miles away from us, and it is impossible for us to send troops to follow us in the short term, so going north is inevitable!"

Li Zicheng continued to nod, without hesitation, and shouted decisively: "No matter whether we attack the capital in the future, Zhending Prefecture must be captured, and the main force of the officers and soldiers must be eliminated, so that the flag of my righteous army can gallop across this Central Plains!"

"Yes!" The generals responded with a roar.

Zhending was under the jurisdiction of Zhending Guard, which had jurisdiction over the three passes of Guguan, Longquanguan and Daomaguan. It was known as the "Three Passes" and was one of the important military towns guarding the capital.

Since June, more and more reinforcements have arrived in Zhending, with flags everywhere and densely packed tents occupying the entire area south of the city.

In the military camp that stretched for dozens of miles, there were flags of various colors, including those of Liu Zeqing's troops from Shandong, Wang Wannian's troops from Shanxi, He Renlong's troops from Shaanxi, Niu Chenghu's troops, Yang Wenyue's troops from Baoding Town, Hu Dawei's troops from Xuanfu Town, and Wang Tingchen's troops from Miyun Town...

All the elite Ming troops in the north of the Ming Pass gathered in Zhending, numbering as many as 200,000, claiming to be 500,000.

An army of 200,000 consumed a huge amount of food every day, which posed a huge test to the Ming army's logistical food supply.

Chongzhen also knew that this battle was of great importance. There was no money in the national treasury, so he took out all the millions of taels of silver that he had saved through hard work and frugality, and used them to buy fodder, assign laborers, and vehicles.

Zhending Prefecture and even northern Zhili could not bear so many manpower and material resources, so the court transferred grain from Shandong and Shanxi, and even used the semi-abandoned grain transport system to transport grain to the north continuously.

The rebel army marched northwards towards Zhending, taking with them hundreds of thousands of hungry people along the way. They claimed to have an army of one million, and a war was about to break out.

At this moment, in Yangzhou City

Jiang Han held the front-line information sent from the intelligence department in his hand, took a long breath, and murmured: "After all, I can't escape..."

Historically, the decisive battle between Li Zicheng and the government troops was in Zhuxian Town. In that battle, Li Zicheng basically destroyed the main force of the government troops in the Central Plains, took the initiative strategically, and laid the foundation for seizing the Central Plains.

The Battle of Zhuxian Town took place in the 15th year of Chongzhen, but now it is only the 12th year of Chongzhen. The time and battlefield have changed, and the commander-in-chief of the Ming army has also changed, but the main generals and armies of both sides have not changed.

Jiang Han was not optimistic about this battle. According to intelligence, the plague situation in Zhending Prefecture was still serious, and there were many infected people in the Ming army. Although a large number of soldiers in the Chuang army also died of plague, what was the level of your Ming army? You Yang Sichang and others were in charge. Can he be a general? No, I don't have the ability, right? Especially the people and the army in the jurisdiction were unstable, which had a great impact on logistics and the battle situation.

All I can say is that no matter how much you plan, it is still not as good as God's will. I have already changed the world line in this way, and the inertia of history will still make what is supposed to happen happen.

Wang Dang said slowly: "Brother Jiang, are we really not going to send troops north? If the Ming army loses this battle, there will be no army in the northern part of the pass that can resist the rebels, and the bandits can march straight into the capital. By then..."

Several volunteer army staff officers nearby also said with concern: "Sir, the people in the north are in dire straits. Isn't it a bit unfair for us to just watch like this?"

Jiang Han sighed and said, "Then let me ask you, who are the people in the Chuang Army? Why is it that it is only October now, and the Chuang Army has entered Henan for less than half a year, but the number has grown to hundreds of thousands and nearly a million?"

Wang Dang thought for a moment and said, "Most of them are refugees..."

Jiang Han shook his head: "They are also human beings. As the ancients said: Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. They don't want to be content to starve to death, but to follow the example of the praying mantis. How can you blame them? Wasn't the Ming Dynasty also seized in this way?"

He continued, "Any dynasty will have many problems at the end of its reign, with corrupt officials running rampant, serious land annexation, and the country being rotten to the core!"

Jiang Han said helplessly: "Indeed, we have the ability to destroy Li Zicheng, but have you ever thought about it, after killing all the millions of refugees, what will happen next? Who will govern us?"

Wang Dang replied: "Of course we can't rely on those corrupt officials, we can only rely on officials sent by us."

Jiang Han nodded and said, "Yes, we can reassign officials, but have you ever thought that we don't have enough officials with management experience to assign? Moreover, the epidemic is rampant and manpower is even more scarce. Henan has begun to have insufficient manpower and has to promote former officials. But who can ensure that there are no officials who value money over life?"

"How do those hungry wolves with empty stomachs feed themselves? Isn't it eating the people to get fat? Now that people's livelihood is declining, we must focus our attention on this pandemic. Some problems are bound to not be effectively taken seriously. By then, won't there be chaos again?"

Wang Dang was shocked when he heard this, as if he could imagine all the chaos in the north at that time.

During the past six months, Jiang Han has replaced all the political management systems under his command. However, this only applies to a few prefectures. There are too many prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty, and more officials are needed at the local levels. The education reform has only been implemented for a short time, and the talents produced are far from enough to fill the gaps.

He even had a dark idea in his heart, which was to let Li Zicheng, the local ruthless man, deal with these fat-bellied beasts. From the royal relatives to the civil and military officials, let Li Zicheng roast them all, and roast them until they make a sizzling sound, so that he can take a good look at the problems of you guys!

Volume 392: Chapter Chapter : The Coming War

Ever since hearing that Li Zicheng was recruiting soldiers and causing chaos, Yang Sichang was determined to destroy Li Zicheng, and he led an army of over 100,000 to block his way like an iron wall.

Li Zicheng did not engage him in combat, but turned around and went for a ride with him in his old nest in Shangluo Mountain at the border of Shaanxi and Henan. Yang Sichang followed him all the way, just like a Barbarian King who meets an enemy on a narrow road in the wild area of ​​Summoner's Canyon, driving his ultimate and chasing him all the way...

However, Yang Sichang wandered around in the mountains for several months without seeing any trace of the rebel army. He posted notices in the surrounding county offices: Anyone who can capture and kill Li Zicheng will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver!

Not long after, Yang Sichang's camp office suddenly found a leaflet from Li Zicheng, which also read: "Anyone who kills Yang Gebu will be rewarded with three coins of silver!"

He originally wanted to play a psychological game and cause the bandits to fight among themselves, but Yang Sichang was shocked and started to become suspicious of the people around him.

The Ming army of more than 100,000 was tied down by Li Zicheng's tactics and was exhausted. However, even more terrifying news came: Li Zicheng made a feint to the east and attacked in the west, returned to Henan, and attacked Luoyang directly, which the Ming army had always believed was the safest place. He used a trick to break the city of Luoyang, and Prince Fu Zhu Changxun was killed!

It was the time of the Henan Provincial Examination, and the imperial court sent the Imperial Censor to Luoyang to examine the scholars. Li Zicheng sent people to disguise themselves as Confucian scholars and wear Confucian caps to enter.

In the middle of the night, they set fire to the city, causing chaos in Luoyang. The rebel army attacked the city for half a day and finally broke it.

Before the city was breached, countless defenders requested Prince Fu to take out some of the food and property from his homes to help the army. However, Prince Fu seemed to have learned the essence of his father's tactics. The countless requests fell on deaf ears and received no response. "You soldiers can't afford food, so what has it got to do with me, Prince Fu? Keep playing the music, keep dancing!"

It was not until the city was breached that Prince Fu decided to run away. However, his weight of over 300 pounds made him gasp for air after every two steps, and he had to be carried by others to go out. With his weight, how could he possibly run away?

After being caught like a pig, Prince Fu knelt on the ground and tried to kowtow, but his belly was too big to kowtow, so he could only kneel and beg for mercy. Li Zicheng looked at the living pig and cursed: "You are a prince, the richest man in the world, but you are unwilling to give a penny to help the people during such a famine. You are a real slave!"

Prince Fu did not receive Li Zicheng's forgiveness after all, and his end was tragic. He was carried away, washed clean, and stewed together with the venison. There were more than 300 kilograms of it, which was enough for many people to eat!

All the wealth of Prince Fu's Mansion went to Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng's army brought a large number of carts and pulled several thousand of them but still could not move all the wealth. Tens of thousands of stones of grain were piled in the warehouse and were about to become moldy.

Eventually, Li Zicheng settled down in Luoyang, proclaimed himself "King of Xinshun", reformed the military system, appointed officials, provided relief to the victims, sent people to unite the surrounding rebel forces, and issued the "Exhortation to Suppress the Troops and Reassure the People."

The manifesto read: "The ruler of the Ming Dynasty is incompetent and unkind. He favors eunuchs, values ​​imperial examinations, is greedy for taxes, imposes heavy penalties, and cannot save the people from the dire situation. Our people have been engaged in farming for ten generations, and we are urgently raising a benevolent army to save the people from the disaster. The people should not panic, and should live their lives in peace. If you are willing to ring the trumpet to welcome our royal army, I will immediately give you important positions!"

In order to rectify military discipline, Li Zicheng even issued an order: "Killing one man is like killing my father, raping a woman is like raping my mother! Anyone who kills innocent people in the camp will be executed!"

Li Zicheng's actions won him the support of the people of Henan. There were many spies in the army, and the folk song "When the King of Chuang comes, we won't pay taxes" was sung everywhere.

Natural disasters and plagues were rampant in the Central Plains, but the imperial court levied three additional taxes. Local officials were rampantly corrupt, and often levied additional taxes of dozens or hundreds of times the regular taxes, which made the people's anger uncontrollable. Many people took the opportunity to join the rebel army.

As soon as the news came out, various rebel armies in Henan, Shandong and Shanxi responded one after another, gathered in Luoyang and joined Li Zicheng. Outside the city of Luoyang, flags were fluttering, and hundreds of thousands of troops gathered together, with a huge momentum.

On the city wall, Li Zicheng, wearing a cloak and a sword at his waist, stood on the battlements with umbrellas lined up across the city wall, gazing at the rebel armies below.

"Yuan Shizhong of Henan led 30,000 brothers to join King Chuang to discuss the great cause together!"

"Shandong Gu Yingsheng led 20,000 brothers to come and wait for the King of Chuang's orders!"

"Wu Yousheng from Shanxi led 8,000 brothers to join Li Zicheng, willing to share life and death with him and overthrow the Ming Dynasty!"

"...

Li Zicheng led his army to inspect the camp. Looking at the endless camps in front of him, he smiled and said, "Our rebel army is getting bigger and bigger!"

The generals around him were all excited. They followed the King of Rebellion in Henan and Shaanxi, singing as they walked. Along the way, they gathered hundreds of thousands of troops. With so many troops, the monthly consumption of food and fodder was extremely huge.

Only by constantly conquering cities and territories could the rebel army obtain food, fodder, and property, and replenish its military strength. However, the more soldiers there were, the greater the consumption. In order to support the huge rebel army, Li Zicheng had to keep attacking cities, and the cycle continued.

In the old camp, war horses were neighing, shouts of killing were heard, and the soldiers were training in an orderly manner.

When Li Zicheng heard that most of the officers and soldiers had arrived to reinforce, especially with many strong soldiers and generals, he tightened the training of the old camp and the cavalry.

As for most of the infantry, Li Zicheng did not have high requirements. As long as they could fight in formation and stab forward with spears, it would be fine. After all, the Yang family spear techniques that the Ming army trained in daily life only had a few moves.

Tens of thousands of people practicing spear formations was quite spectacular, and the training of sword and shield soldiers and archers also looked very similar.

"Prince Chuang! It seems that the imperial court has sent more troops to old Yang. Now, the imperial court has more than 200,000 and almost 300,000 soldiers. Can we withstand it?" Liu Zongmin found Li Zicheng and expressed his concerns.

In fact, his worries were justified. These rebel armies sounded like they numbered hundreds of thousands, but in reality, most of them were just a bunch of rabble and could not be considered combat effectiveness at all. Of course, the Ming army was not much better.

After hearing Liu Zongmin's words for a long time, Li Zicheng said, "Call the leaders of each camp to discuss the matter in the central army tent."

......

Several tables were set up in the army tent, and the leaders of various rebel forces sat there, drinking and playing finger-guessing games with each other, waiting for Li Zicheng's arrival.

There was a rich variety of food and wine on the table, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, which made people's appetite grow just by looking at them.

One leader worriedly said, "I heard that King Chuang lives a simple life, shares the joys and sorrows with his soldiers, and eats coarse grains and wild vegetables. If we drink and eat lavishly here, will we offend him?"

Yuan Shizhong put down his wine glass with a snap and frowned, "What kind of talk is that? Why did we rebel? Wasn't it for good food and drink? Even if we continue to live a hard life like this, what's the point?"

"Yes, although I admire the King of Chuang as a person, I cannot agree with him in terms of eating and drinking!"

"......"