In late May last year, the Ming Dynasty appointed Hou Xun, the former Shangshu of the Household Department who was in prison, as the superintendent. It gathered Zuo Liangyu, Yang Wenyue, Ding Qirui and other troops to fight Li Zicheng in Zhuxian Town near Kaifeng with a force of 450,000. .
The two sides fought fiercely for five days in the Battle of Zhuxian Town, which ended in a major defeat for the army. Li Zicheng annihilated more than 100,000 enemies and captured more than 20,000 war horses and countless military supplies and supplies.
The Battle of Zhuxian Town was of great significance. According to the Superintendent Hou Xun, this battle was a disastrous defeat, and all the "strongest troops" in the world were owned by Li Thief. The rebels were extremely elite, and there was no strong city left wherever they passed. The army was behind them, and they only dared to ask the rebels where they were, and never dared to attack again.
No matter how much shit Hou Xun's words contain, one thing is true. The disastrous defeat in this battle forced the army to shift from strategic offense to strategic defense.
In September, Chongzhen forced Sun Chuanting to lead the untrained Shaanxi army out of Tongguan to launch an attack on Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng defeated Sun Chuanting's Shaanxi army and the "Tuzhaizhiqu" (i.e., the landlord's armed forces) in the east of Jiaxian County. At this point, except for Liaodong, Li Zicheng Outside of the army, the Ming court had no other troops to compete with Li Zicheng.
In December, Li Zicheng sent his army south. Zuo Liangyu, who had retreated from Zhuxian Town to the Xiangyang area, was defeated in a battle and fled all the way to Wuchang. Later, when Li Zicheng went south to attack Yicheng, Guanghua and other cities, Zuo Liangyu did not even attack Wuchang. Dare to stay, retreated all the way to Jiujiang, Jiangxi to wait and see.
Li Zicheng, who occupied Xiangyang, claimed to have millions of troops. Looking around, he saw that there were no more enemies who dared to invade, so he felt that it was time to claim the throne.
As a result, in March of this year, Li Zicheng became the "New King of Shun", established an official system, and established two-level political institutions at the central and local levels;
The central government is divided into civil and military positions. The civil service includes officials such as Taishi, Shangxiangguo, Zuo Auxiliary, and Zuo Bi. It establishes the six governments of officials, households, rituals, soldiers, criminals, and workers, and appoints ministers, doctors, and engaged officials;
The local government has three levels: prefecture, prefecture, and county. The prefecture is Yin, the prefecture is pastoral, and the county is magistrate. Local officials are appointed in six prefectures, eighteen prefectures, and sixty-seven counties in Henan, Huguang, and other places.
In the military, as the situation developed and the number of soldiers increased, Li Zicheng established the Biao, front, rear, left, right and five battalions. Among them, the Biao battalion led one hundred troops, and the other four battalions each led thirty teams.
The highest military position is General Quan, the leading general, held by Tian Jianxiu and Liu Zongmin. The chief generals of each battalion are called generals, held by Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao, Yuan Zongdi, Li Guo and others. In addition, there is General Guo Yi, Wei Wu. There are nine levels including general.
After all this was smoothed out, time had entered July of the 16th year of Chongzhen. An important meeting to determine the future strategic direction was held as scheduled at the "Xinshun Prince" Mansion.
The burly and majestic Xinshun King Li Zicheng sat on the king's chair. When he was attacking Kaifeng City, he was shot out of one left eye by Chen Yongfu, the deputy general of Kaifeng City, so he wore a black eyepatch, which made him a bit more gangster. Looks more like a mountain king.
In the main hall, twenty or thirty civil servants and military officers gathered together and started a heated debate. This debate lasted for a long time and gradually formed three different voices;
A faction headed by Zuo Auxiliary Niu Jinxing advocated sending troops to capture Hebei and take the capital directly.
The faction headed by Yang Yongyu, the Minister of Li Government, advocated occupying Jinling first and taking the entire southern half of the Yangtze River.
The faction headed by Gu Junen, who was engaged in the military government, suggested taking Shaanxi first.
In the new atmosphere of the new dynasty, Niu Jinxing was dressed in a brand-new robe. He walked out of the class with a calm step and said: "Your Majesty, Zuo Zhuan said: A man fights with courage. He goes up and down again. At this time, the Ming court Hundreds of thousands of troops were lost, and there was no fighting force in the Central Plains. From the Central Plains to the capital, there was no danger of mountains and rivers to sustain it. However, our army had a new victory and its morale was high. It was time to make a strong effort to attack Huanglong and capture the capital. If the head is removed, the Ming Dynasty will have free limbs, and it can be decided at that time. "
As soon as Niu Jinxing finished speaking, Yang Yongyu, the Minister of Li Government, immediately came out and spoke generously: "Your Majesty, it may not be the best idea to go directly to the capital. Your Majesty has newly taken Xiangyang and has just established its foundation. It would be too hasty to rush to a decisive battle with the elites of the Ming Dynasty at this time;
Although the Ming court has no fighting force in the Central Plains, it still has a large number of elite troops in the capital and in Liaodong. As the saying goes, a trapped beast still fights. If we rush to attack its leader, the Ming court will fight to the death. I am afraid that we will be able to capture the capital by then. Your vitality will also be severely damaged, and there is no guarantee that others will not benefit from it.
Your Majesty, the south of the Yangtze River is rich, has not been destroyed by war, and has no strong troops to guard it. As long as you defeat Zuo Liangyu's 200,000 mob, it will no longer be difficult for you to go straight to the south of the Yangtze River;
The Ming Dynasty's supply now depends on the corner south of the Yangtze River. As long as the king captures Jinling, the capital's supply will be cut off. After the south of the Yangtze River is stabilized, the king will send his troops northward. By then, the capital will be destroyed without an attack. "
Gu Junen, who is engaged in the military government, is not to be outdone. This debate will be related to the future strategic direction of the Dashun Army. It is of great importance. Once whose plan is adopted, the future status will naturally be different. He immediately went to work to argue. : "Your Majesty, Jinling is located in the lower reaches of the river. Although it is not difficult to obtain it, it is inevitable that this strategy will be slow in setting up the world.
Going straight to the capital, as Shilang Yang said, the Ming court still has hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers. If they cannot win, where will the king retreat? This strategy is too hasty and is not the best strategy;
Looking at Guanzhong again, the state of the great king Sangzi has hundreds of mountains and rivers, and it controls two-thirds of the world. The Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties all flourished in Guanzhong, all because there are many strong soldiers in Guanzhong. If you advance, you can take the Central Plains and sweep the world. To retreat, you can rely on the dangers of the four fortresses. Hold fast, recuperate;
Therefore, it is actually advisable to seize Guanzhong first, then move around three sides to support its troops, then attack Shanxi, and then move towards the capital. Follow this, advance and retreat, and ensure that nothing is lost. "
Although Li Zicheng was violent, one good thing was that he was very good at listening to the opinions of his subordinates and was rarely self-willed or arbitrary.
He rarely intervened in the debates in the palace. After everyone had clarified their opinions, he thought carefully and thought that Gu Junen's strategy neutralized Niu Jinxing's impatience and Yang Yongyu's reluctance without losing safety. In addition, he was from Shaanxi. We also tend to build Shaanxi into a foundation place first.
He raised his right hand and pressed it down gently, stopping everyone in the palace from continuing to argue, and then said in a deep voice: "What Gu Zhengzheng said is in line with the king's wishes. We should first take Guanzhong to advance, attack, retreat, or defend. This matter is safe. Ok, deal."
After Li Zicheng made his decision, all the civil and military personnel in the palace responded without any objection.
***
In Wuchang City, Zhang Xianzhong was waiting anxiously. After Zuo Liangyu's 200,000 troops were forced to the Ezhou area, although they did not advance westward, he was caught between Zuo Liangyu and Li Zicheng, and it could be said that he had trouble sleeping and eating.
Let's go directly to Sichuan, and we are afraid that Li Zicheng will not go south unintentionally, and he will miss the good opportunity to capture half of the country south of the river;
If we go south to Huguang, we are afraid that Li Zicheng also intends to take the south of the Yangtze River first. When Li Zicheng's million-strong army comes with a thundering force, he may not even have the chance to enter Sichuan and will be annexed by Li Zicheng.
Xiangyang is not far from Wuchang. On the third day after Li Zicheng made his decision, Zhang Xianzhong received exact information.
Zhang Xianzhong was anxious when he learned that Li Zicheng had decided to take Guanzhong first. He couldn't help but be ecstatic. He immediately gave a loud order to Sun Kewang and others: "Okay, great. Pass this order to the king. The army will prepare immediately. In three days, we will set up camp and move forward by land and water." , go straight to Huguang.”
Sun Kewang and the four others clasped their fists in response, then exited the hall and went to prepare separately. The messengers rushed to various states and counties to convey Zhang Xianzhong's order. For a while, Wuchang and the surrounding counties were in chaos;
It is not an easy task for 200,000 troops and their families to complete preparations for leaving camp and moving to battle within three days. What's more, strictly speaking, 200,000 troops are not an army at all, but just a mob that has just been gathered together. After Zhang Xianzhong gave the order, people everywhere The chaotic scenes, beatings, scoldings, cries, and shouts made the entire Wuchang and surrounding counties excited.
But no matter what, a few days later, two hundred thousand people came out, and the huge momentum was frightening.
But the flags on the river covered the sun, the sky was filled with yellow dust on the shore, and the armies on land and water stretched for nearly a hundred miles, and it was as dark as dark clouds covering the ground.
Those small counties, let alone resisting, were so frightened that their hands and feet weakened when they saw this formation. Wherever Zhang Xianzhong's army passed, it could be said that it was overwhelming. Officials from various states and counties were like bitches with smiling faces and opened their doors carelessly. The city gate welcomes visitors, so why not abandon the city early and flee;
There were cries all over the northern part of Huguang, and the fleeing officials and people were crowded on the road, panicking and not knowing where they were going.
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