Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong became kings in Xiangyang and Wuchang one after another, which greatly shocked the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen hurriedly issued an order to appoint special governors in Jiangxi, Huguang, Yingtian (Nanjing), and Anqing. The governors were stationed in Jiujiang. Lu Daqi, the right minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed as the governor. Governor.
Zuo Liangyu first looted the Jiujiang area in the name of raising wages, and then claimed that he was unable to advance due to illness, all because there was Li Zicheng in Xiangyang and Zhang Xianzhong in Wuchang. Zhang Xianzhong had 200,000 troops, and Li Zicheng was known as one million.
Although Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000-strong army was just recruited after capturing Wuchang, the soldiers under Zuo Liangyu were not much better. His 200,000-strong army also drove the people into the army when they were in Xiangyang, and it was not long after they were raised. of.
Although they had looted all the way from Xiangyang and developed some ruthlessness, strictly speaking they were not considered an army and could only be regarded as a group of habitual bandits. Zuo Liangyu, who was afraid, complained of illness in Jiujiang.
Lü Daqi, the newly minted governor of the four provinces, had to go to Zuo Liangyu's bedside to express his condolences. It is not known exactly how Lü Daqi expressed his condolences to Zuo Liangyu, whether it was with chrysanthemums or silver. However, after expressing his condolences, Zuo Liangyu at least sent troops to Wuchang.
On the other hand, after Zhang Xianzhong captured Wuchang, he threw Chu King Zhu Huakui into a pot and cooked it. Then he called himself King of the West, established the governor's office of six ministries and five armies, and appointed local officials. Wuchang was renamed Tianshoufu, and Jiangxia was renamed Shangjiang County. They also opened schools to recruit scholars and recruit talents. On the surface, they were extremely prosperous.
In fact, Zhang Xianzhong was not having a hard time. When he became king, Li Zicheng sent someone to congratulate him: "Lao Huihui has surrendered. Cao, Ge, and Zuo are all dead, and they are with you."
This is not a congratulation, it is clearly a naked threat: Among the rebel leaders who conquered Luzhou with you Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui has surrendered, Cao Cao, Ge Liyan, King Zuo Jin and others are dead, and now it is their turn You are Zhang Xianzhong.
Although Zhang Xianzhong also pulled up 200,000 horses, the blind man ate glutinous rice balls, and he knew it well. Yesterday, his 200,000 people were digging in the fields with hoes. There is no comparison with Li Zicheng's veterans who have been fighting for several years.
Li Zicheng from Xiangyang wanted to devour him, and Zuo Liangyu from Jiujiang also wanted to bite him. Zhang Xianzhong, who was attacked on both sides, was irritable and was throwing a cup in the palace of Prince Chu.
He is thirty-seven years old today. He is tall and thin with a yellowish face. His beard is more than a foot long. He is a tough guy, especially his pair of inverted eyebrows that make him look majestic, with a rough and wild flavor. .
His rather peculiar appearance even saved his life. When he joined the army in Yansui Town and was sentenced to death for breaking the law, the commander-in-chief Chen Hongfan took advantage of his strange appearance and interceded for him with the commander-in-chief Wang Wei. , Zhang Xianzhong avoided death, and then beat him with a hundred military sticks to drive him away from the army.
In addition to military counselor Xu Yixian, there are four generals in the hall, namely Pingdong General Sun Kewang, Funan General Liu Wenxiu, Anxi General Li Dingguo, and Dingbei General Ai Nengqi. All four are in their twenties.
Sun Kewang looked arrogant and ambitious.
The same goes for Liu Wenxiu. Judging from his expression, this person may be a bit headstrong.
Li Dingguo was special. He was majestic with a hint of bookishness, and was known for his kindness in the army. He defected to Zhang Xianzhong at the age of ten. He was known for his bravery when facing the enemy, but he also loved reading military art and history books. Zhang Xianzhong's army was full of violence. Among the angry rebels, he can be said to be an anomaly.
Ai Nengqi is the toughest-looking one among the four. He has a beard on his face, a tiger's back, and a murderous spirit. He always takes the lead in battle, dares to fight to the death, and is extremely brave.
These four people were Zhang Xianzhong's most capable generals. In order to better recruit them, Zhang Xianzhong became the queen and adopted the four of them as adopted sons and changed their surname to Zhang.
After throwing the cup, Zhang Xianzhong sat down on the big tiger-skin chair and asked in a deep voice: "You all tell me, how should we go next?"
Sun Kewang's personality was most similar to Zhang Xianzhong's, and he was usually the most liked by Zhang Xianzhong. He came out first and cupped his fists and said: "Father, our territory is connected with Li Zicheng's. If we fight Zuo Liangyu with all our strength, Li Zicheng is very likely to go down the Han River and sit down." You have to be careful about reaping the benefits of being a fisherman.”
Liu Wenxiu said: "I suggest that my adoptive father take Sichuan to the west. Sichuan is a country of abundance and has its own style. Why not learn from Liu Bei and take Sichuan first. After managing it well, go north to Hanzhong to take Guanzhong, and go down the river to overlook Controlling Jing Lake can be used to attack and retreat, so it is indeed a sound strategy."
Li Dingguo then stood up and said: "Father, our troops have just been recruited and have not been trained. When Zuo Liangyu's army of 200,000 came, Xishui, Dazhi, Yangxin and other places fell one after another, and the officials who were dispatched fled. Rebellion is a rebellion. It can be seen that our time in Wuchang is too short, and the hearts of the people have not yet surrendered. If we go directly to Sichuan now, I am afraid that many people will not be willing to follow, and morale will be low. The road to Sichuan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. And Zuo Liangyu If we follow and pursue, the consequences are unpredictable. Looking around, Huguang is rich, but the defense is empty. We might as well send our troops south, capture Huguang first, and then attack Jiangxi. In this way, we can hope to capture half of the country in the south of the Yangtze River. "
Zhang Xianzhong nodded and asked Ai Nengqi: "Nengqi, what do you think?"
"Returning to my foster father, I agree with going south to Huguang. As the saying goes, choose the soft persimmon. Huguang's defenses are empty. Why should we abandon the near and seek the far away to enter Sichuan? It's not too late to capture Huguang first, and then attack Sichuan."
Zhang Xianzhong finally asked Xu Yixian, the military advisor: "What do you think the military advisor is doing?"
Xu Yixian shook his feather fan and replied: "From a humble point of view, Zuo Liangyu is not afraid. The king's territory has been connected with Xiangyang. Zuo Liangyu is afraid of being beaten by Li Zicheng. If we don't leave, he will never dare to do it." When he first attacked Wuchang, under the pressure of Chongzhen, Zuo Liangyu only dared to show off in the Xishui, Dazhi, and Yangxin areas to deal with Chongzhen. "
Zuo Liangyu's offensive did slow down slightly in the past two days. Zhang Xianzhong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Commander, please continue."
"As for whether to take Huguang first or take Sichuan from the west, we have to take into account Li Zicheng's next move. If Li Zicheng intends to take the capital directly, we can take Huguang and Jiangxi first, and then sit on the entire Jiangnan. This can form a mutual response. , which is conducive to our current battle, and also conducive to a draw in the future by dividing the river. Or Li Zicheng plans to take the south of the Yangtze River first, and then march north to the capital. When we go south to Huguang, we will immediately face the situation of two tigers fighting, which is very unfavorable to us, so Li Zicheng. If we want to go south of the Yangtze River first, our best strategy is to go west to Sichuan."
Xu Yixian was a scholar and always compared himself to Zhuge Liang. Since he followed Zhang Xianzhong, Zhang Xianzhong often asked him to explain the art of war and strategy, and he was highly respected.
Of course, this is a superficial phenomenon. Zhang Xianzhong came from a rough background and had an instinctive rejection of scholars. It is not difficult to find some clues from the fact that he called the queen, adopted Sun Kewang and four others as adopted sons, and made them four town generals, while Xu Yixian was still a military advisor. It is not difficult to find some clues. .
But Zhang Xianzhong felt that Xu Yixian's rebuttal was indeed reasonable. Li Zicheng was powerful and now occupied Xiangyang. If Li Zicheng planned to take Jiangnan first, it would be unwise to fight with Li Zicheng himself. It would be better to avoid his advantage for the time being, take Sichuan from the west and gain power later.
But if Li Zicheng took Yanjing north and marched westward to Sichuan, he would have lost his best opportunity to seize Jiangnan. Therefore, Li Zicheng's next move is the key.
"The military advisor's words make sense. He was immediately sent to inquire about Li Zicheng's movements. Once we have the results, we will decide where to go."
It is not difficult to find out Li Zicheng's movements. The rebels are often composed of one among you and one among me. Many of Li Zicheng's men have close relations with Zhang Xianzhong, such as Luo Rucai, who is now second only to Li Zicheng;
When Li Zicheng wanted to kill Zhang Xianzhong, it was Luo Rucai who saved Zhang Xianzhong's life and gave him 500 horses, so that Zhang Xianzhong could quickly make a comeback. With these connections, it is not difficult to find out Li Zicheng's next move, and Wuchang is very close to Xiangyang. It doesn't take more than a few days to go back and forth.
***
On the school grounds of Qianhu Institute in Huichang, Qin Mu was shirtless, with a few purple bruises on his back, and his shoulders were red and swollen. He was in a group with Xiang Liancheng, and Huo Sheng was in a group with another Baihu Hou Chang, each carrying a hundred Many kilograms of wood stood on the white lime line. The sun was blazing in the sky. Everyone was sweating profusely and their clothes were soaked.
With the sound of gongs, two groups of people rushed towards the finish line at the same time carrying giant trees. The school grounds were surrounded by soldiers, each one shouting excitedly and cheering for Qin Mu and the others. The scorching sun could not match everyone's enthusiasm, and the shouts were loud. Up in the sky.
Huo Sheng and Hou Chang were both big and thick men. Qin Mu was not as strong as them. He was thrown away by more than two feet after starting.
As Huo Sheng ran, he did not forget to add his head to tease Qin Mu: "Sir, please take your time, don't be in a hurry, we will wait for you at the finish line."
Qin Mu ignored it, gritted his teeth and kept accelerating towards Liancheng. Under the scorching sun, he would be sweating profusely even if he stood empty-handed. What's more, Qin Mu and the others had to run carrying nearly two hundred kilograms of wood, and their pants were all wet. It felt like it had just been fished out of the water, it was wet and clinging to the body, and even the shape of the balls was faintly visible.
The shouts of the soldiers around him were getting louder and louder, and most of them were cheering for Qin Mu. They were all shouting at the top of their lungs, and the energy consumed was probably not much less than that of Qin Mu and the others. Huo Sheng saw Qin Mu and the others catching up. Quite a few, he started to speed up in a hurry. As a result, Hou Chang behind him failed to coordinate the reduction in time and was staggered.
The soldiers who were watching suddenly burst into an uproar, and they all gloated and shouted:
"Yo ho."
"Pour, fall, fall quickly."
"Oh, it hasn't fallen yet, it will fall soon."
"Hahaha... ... ... ."
Amidst the strange cries of thousands of soldiers, Huo Sheng realized his mistake and quickly slowed down.
However, it was a good thing that he didn't slow down. When he slowed down, Hou Chang, who had just quickened his pace to keep up, was disrupted again and fell to his feet.
Qin Mu and Xiang Liancheng sped up in silence, passing by Huo Sheng's annoyed yells. The cheers for Qin Mu from all around became louder and louder, while Huo Sheng and the two were booed.
By the time Hou Chang got up, Qin Mu and Xiang Liancheng were less than two feet away from the finish line. Hou Chang and Huo Sheng were so impatient that they chased after them desperately. In the end, they only ran a few steps, but due to poor coordination, the two squeezed and fell. The dog ate shit, and the giant tree on its shoulders rolled five or six feet away. It was only after Zhou Guan's soldiers stopped it that the giant tree stopped.
Amid warm cheers, Qin Mu and Xiang Liancheng both crossed the finish line. The wood on their shoulders was thrown away, and Qin Mu stepped on the giant tree. Although he was panting like an ox, he did not forget to turn around and look around, as if he was looking for someone. "Huo Sheng, where have you been? Didn't you say you were waiting for me at the finish line?"
The soldiers who were watching all laughed loudly after hearing this. Some of them even laughed so exaggeratedly that they fell to the ground. Huo Sheng, who had just gotten up and had not had time to wipe off the dirt on his face, stopped wiping off the dirt. He just kept it. It was just right. Block the redness on your face.
Qin Mu made a gesture to calm everyone down and then said loudly: "In terms of strength, Huo Sheng and the two of them are indeed stronger than me and the two of them. They lost because they failed to coordinate their rhythm. This truth seems simple, but it is Marching is the easiest mistake to make. During Song Shenzong's five-pronged expedition to Xia, the overall strength of the Song army was much stronger than that of Xixia. However, because the five-pronged armies were not well coordinated, there were many such battles, involving as few as two people. In combat, if you can coordinate and cover each other, it won’t be surprising to defeat an enemy that is stronger than you. Okay, think about it more, everyone, keep practicing, keep practicing.”
With Qin Mu taking the lead, thousands of soldiers were enthusiastic. They formed groups of two and carried huge trees and ran. The yellow dust billowed on the school field and the shouts shook the sky. Listening to the passionate roar and seeing that a strong army was expected to be formed, Qin Mu felt that the fatigue on his body had been relieved a lot.
At this time, Liu Meng approached him and reported: "Sir, Xu Yingjie has brought more than 20 craftsmen to see you."
"Oh, okay, okay."
Qin Mu hurriedly returned to the main tent, put on his clothes and rushed to the county government office. He had made an agreement with Xu Yingjie before, asking him to help find skilled craftsmen in smelting, casting, etc., in order to build his own military logistics system. Now Xu Yingjie Yingjie finally found someone, and he was naturally eager to meet him.
...