Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 380 Liu Jinzhong's Helplessness
At this time in central Sichuan, the three forces all had their own judgments and plans on the current situation, but due to information asymmetry, the judgments of the three parties all had some problems, big or small.

Hauge believed that Zhang Xianzhong would not dare to pursue into the Jinniu Road, so he stopped and reorganized his troops.

But he didn't know that Hanzhong behind him had been attacked, and he didn't know that his decision put Zhang Xianzhong under tremendous pressure.

Zhang Xianzhong thought that the Ming army would be afraid of fighting as they had been in the past, so he thought that "negotiation" could delay the Ming army's advance northward.

However, he firstly misjudged the fighting spirit of the Ming army, and secondly, he ignored the unstable factors within his own army.

As for Zhu Cilang.
To be honest, he was greatly obscured on the tactical level. Not only did he know almost nothing about the battle in Guangyuan, he also had no understanding of the current situation in Hanzhong.

But this is only on the tactical level. On the strategic level, he has advantages that Hauge and Zhang Xianzhong could not even achieve.

That is, the Ming army stayed away from the battlefield, and not a single soldier participated in the Guangyuan battle.

Don't underestimate this section.

You have to know that in the complex game involving dozens of countries in later generations, the rabbit and the eagle almost tried their best to maintain their positions.

And those small animals who are already in the middle, no matter what their stance is, are forcing the two families to take action personally, openly or covertly.

Please note that this kind of coercion does not distinguish between camps or positions. As long as the two families can be dragged into the muddy water, even if it means hurting their own family members, they will do so.

Fortunately, the current situation in central Sichuan was not that complicated for Zhu Cilang. Not only was no one forcing him to die quickly, but Zhang Xianzhong even managed to delay the Ming army's march north.

If he hadn't been worried that the war would spill over and cause the situation to become chaotic again, he might have stayed in Chongqing for a while longer.

However, it is reasonable that the situation has developed into this state.

In essence, communications over the past six months have been basically carried out by shouting. The commander cannot even claim to be fully aware of the movements of his own troops, let alone the enemy troops who are doing their best to cover up their own tracks.

"General! There's a sentry blocking the road ahead. They said they'll let you pass only after you verify your eligibility."

"I'm so fucking stupid!"

After hearing the report from the soldiers in the front, Liu Jinzhong first glanced at the general beside him inconspicuously, and then pretended to be quite angry and urged his horse forward.

He had waited in Dazhou for such a long time and thought that there would be no more news from the man coming from the north. However, unexpectedly, on the day when the news of Guangyuan's victory came, his companions came to find him.

It was obvious that these people were not alone. If the one who went back to report the news had not yet received any news, and the battle in Guangyuan ended with Dashi's victory, it is possible that Liu Jinzhong would not have known of their existence until the end.

Originally, Liu Jinzhong planned to ignore this person.

After all, Hauge himself was driven into the Golden Bull Sect. Anyone who knew how to seek benefits and avoid harm would not surrender to the Qing court at this time.

But if he dared to come here alone, how could he not be prepared at all?

When the man recited the letter of surrender written by Liu Jinzhong word for word, the positions of the two sides changed completely.

When things came to this point, Liu Jinzhong certainly understood that he had no way out.

He could even imagine that if anything happened to this man, the news of his collusion with the Tartars would definitely reach Zhang Xianzhong's ears.

This is probably the result of getting on a pirate ship.

A moment later, a group of soldiers hiding behind chevaux de frise and roadblocks appeared in front of Liu Jinzhong. Instead of reining in his horses, he lightly whipped his whip and made the horses trot.

"General! Stop! If you come any further we will shoot you!"

The soldiers' threats were obviously weak in reality. Even though Liu Jinzhong had already approached the roadblock, he still dared not release the arrow with his bow.

"What? You want to kill me?"

"General, please don't make things difficult for me. I have received orders from my superiors. I cannot pass through unless I meet the appropriate people."

"Superior? Which superior?"

After the words were spoken, the soldiers on guard didn't know how to respond for a moment.

There are more than 100,000 troops in Dashi. It is impossible for a few ordinary soldiers to know Liu Jinzhong.

But if the soldiers on sentry post cannot recognize people, how can they not recognize armor accessories?

When they saw a general of such rank wanting to ask his "superiors", these poor soldiers stationed in the wilderness immediately didn't know how to answer.

"We won't make it difficult for you. I am General Liu Jinzhong, the commander of all the camps in Dazhou. I am not summoned to Guangyuan, so there is nothing to worry about."

At this point, Liu Jinzhong paused, and the leading soldier looked embarrassed, but he continued: "How about this, I think the superior you mentioned is just the camp commander, so I will write a letter that is suitable for you."

"Thank you, General, for your consideration! Thank you, General, for your consideration!"

After hearing this, the leading soldier immediately knelt on the ground. Then a hastily written letter was handed to him, and he thanked him profusely, obviously feeling grateful to this easy-going general.

After a while, all the chevaux de frise and roadblocks were removed, and then teams of soldiers crossed the sentry posts and headed north.

However, Liu Jinzhong did not leave with them at this time. Instead, he stood beside the sentry post and chatted with the group of sentries.

"What is the current situation in Guangyuan?"

"Reporting to the general, I don't know much more, but I heard that your majesty has led General Pingdong and General Dingbei into Jinniu Road to pursue the Tartars."

"Then the ones stationed in Guangyuan are General Funan and General Anxi?"

"I'm not sure about that, but we haven't heard many orders from General Anxi these days."

It was not known whether the soldiers were grateful for Liu Jinzhong's understanding or they dared not hide anything due to his status. In any case, during this question-and-answer session, the soldiers answered all his questions without reservation, which surprised Liu Jinzhong somewhat.

After a while, soldiers from various units passed the sentry post one after another, and Liu Jinzhong had no reason to stay here any longer. However, after he took a few steps forward, he stopped his horse, turned around and asked a question.

"Isn't this military order from General Funan?"

"General, you are joking. Why would General Funan send a message to us?"

"Oh."

Liu Jinzhong replied calmly and rode away. When his figure gradually disappeared, the soldiers on the sentry post immediately relaxed. "Boss, is everything alright?"

"What's going on? What could possibly happen? The Tartars have been driven away, what else could possibly happen?"

The leader of the soldiers responded unhappily and was about to say something to the crowd, but before he could open his mouth, another wave of questions came over him.

"No, I mean will General Qian blame me?"

The leader of the soldiers turned his head to look at the soldier who was speaking, and then said helplessly: "Open your eyes and see clearly, the general just now is not an ordinary person, even if the captain comes in person, he can't stop him."

After he finished speaking, the soldiers had nothing more to say. They worked together to return the chevaux de frise and roadblocks to their original positions, and the sentry post returned to its previous tranquility.

Liu Jinzhong naturally knew nothing about the episode that happened after he left. At this moment, he was constantly savoring the information he had obtained.

To be honest, he could understand why Zhang Xianzhong sent people to pursue the Tartars, but he could not understand why Zhang Xianzhong would personally lead his generals there.

To put it bluntly, don't chase a desperate enemy. If you push them too hard, the Tartars will surely do something desperate. There are not many places in the Jinniu Road where large troops can be deployed, and if a battle breaks out, it will be extremely risky.

just
Hey~, we are not from Daxi anymore, why are we still thinking about these things?

Thinking of this, Liu Jinzhong couldn't help but smile bitterly, and his thoughts were a little confused.

At first, he was inspired to rebel because of those inexplicable people passing by, but as he got more and more information, he realized that those people must have followed Li Dingguo somewhere, which was completely different from what he had originally expected.

But so what?
The handle was in someone's hands, and even if he wanted to regret it, he did not dare to take the risk because he was afraid of Zhang Xianzhong's methods.

What's more, he had led his troops to the vicinity of Guangyuan without any military orders, so he had no choice but to go all the way.

This probably has something to do with the idea that every sip and every bite is predestined?
When Zhang Xianzhong started his rebellion, he was probably only thinking about robbing money, food, and women, and he would not have had too many demands on his own style of doing things. Later, due to his reputation, the resistance against him in Sichuan became extremely fierce.

If he was just passing by, it probably wouldn't matter whether he resisted or not, or how fiercely he resisted. But at that time, he had already made up his mind to make Kawanaka his base, so he became more brutal when dealing with his resistance.

It was precisely because of his cruelty that Liu Jinzhong, who could not bear to see it, chose to speak out to dissuade him. It was also because of his cruelty that the exiled Liu Jinzhong thought his life was in danger at the slightest sign of trouble.

Thinking in this way, the fate of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng seemed to have been determined when they started their rebellions, and even after struggling for such a long time, it has not changed at all.

In comparison, Zhu Cilang is much wiser.

When he was in Yingtian, he chose to feign complicity with representatives of the old forces such as Qian Qianyi and Zhu Guobi.

For this reason, he did not even choose to confront Liang Yungou head-on when he dared to challenge his authority.

If he had been like those brainless bandits who only knew how to use violence to solve problems at the beginning of the rebellion, he might have returned to Beijing by now. How could he have led his troops to fight in all directions?

Of course, for Zhu Cilang now, this is all gone.

Even though he still felt that the main contradictions should be grasped and all forces that could be united should be united, there was no need to engage in hypocrisy when facing certain forces.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!"

Outside the city of Guang'an, the chieftains who could usually decide the life and death of the people in an area knelt before a young man dressed as an ordinary military general in fear, as if they had seen their nemesis.

This young man was Zhu Cilang, who was leading the army northward. Before leaving Chongqing, he had already passed the news of his march northward here. This city, which nominally still belonged to Dashi, not only immediately changed the flags on the city walls upon receiving the news, but also notified the surrounding chieftains to come and welcome him.

Such performance can be said to be diligent, but at this moment Zhu Cilang's face was as gloomy as water, and it seemed that he did not feel the slightest joy because of the order.

"Did you do the same when Zhang Xianzhong came?"

After hearing these words, all the chieftains just kowtowed and pleaded guilty to the death penalty, but no one dared to say a word in defense.

Speaking of it, the local chieftains are also quite helpless. Some of their families have been in power for hundreds of years, while some have been in power for more than a thousand years. They have always been chieftains who remain unchanged and emperors who come and go.

As long as the imperial court changes its master, they will naturally change their ways. However, there are very few people like Qin Liangyu in Shizhu who are willing to die with a certain dynasty.

Of course, this change of course is extremely difficult.

Not only do they have to assess who is strong and who is weak at the moment, but they also have to assess whether the weak can turn around, and whether the strong can continue to prosper.

In the original history, although the chieftains in central Sichuan rarely opposed Zhang Xianzhong openly, they gave a lot of support to the Ming army in secret. But when Hauge entered Sichuan, they not only decisively abandoned their previous allies, but also became one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Ming army in central Sichuan.

However, the Tatars at this time had failed to successfully enter Sichuan, and the Ming Dynasty had already shown signs of revival. Under such circumstances, they naturally had to return to the embrace of the Ming Dynasty.

What was beyond their expectations was that the little emperor did this as soon as he met them, which made it difficult for these chieftains who had no idea about the change of their status to accept it.

"Forget it. Considering that you have provided a lot of support to the tribes in central Sichuan, I will not pursue your crime of surrendering to the enemy."

Sure enough, he just lifted it high and put it down gently.

After hearing this, the same thought began to arise in the minds of the chieftains present, and they couldn't help but feel relieved. Then, quite a chaotic voice of praise sounded outside Guang'an City.

"Your Majesty is so kind! We are so grateful!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive us for what we have done. We will serve you till our death!"

At this point, the chieftains present thought they had figured out the underlying tricks and took the initiative to cooperate with the Ming Emperor.

After all, as the Ming army moved north, Dashi would be caught in a pincer attack. Under such circumstances, Zhang Xianzhong would either flee in panic as before or die in the middle of Sichuan.

And these chieftains had officially accepted official positions in the Dashi, even if this was only a tradition for many years, it would be difficult to convince the people if the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not say a single stern word.

At this time, the Emperor had already struck the target with a stick of force and had found reasons to pardon the chieftains present. How could they, the parties involved, be so ignorant?

But they still thought it was simple.

In Zhu Cilang's view, although there were chieftains in Sichuan, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, most of the land in Sichuan was governed by itinerant officials, and the remaining chieftain power was far inferior to that in Yunnan, let alone Guangxi.

With such a reasonable reason, how could he miss such a godsend opportunity?

"But even if you can escape the death penalty, you can't escape the punishment of life. If you have helped the tyrant to commit atrocities, I will still punish you according to the law of the country."

(End of this chapter)