Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 387 Go to Langzhong

After hearing this news, Yang Zhan and Zeng Ying did not dare to delay even for a moment.

After returning to the camp, they prepared to march to Guangyuan while sending a fast cavalry to Guang'an to report the news.

This is understandable. After all, the gains and losses of Guangyuan are related to the next direction of the war in central Sichuan.

Although they only have four or five thousand soldiers, if they can capture the city before the Tartars, they will have a chance to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

By then, even if we don't defeat the Tartars, it will be no problem to drive them back to Hanzhong.

As for Liu Wenxiu
Just wait and see.

After all, the only remaining senior executive of Daxi is not as discredited as people like Wang Zhaoling.

If Your Majesty comes forward in person, not only will it be possible to make use of the precious wealth to buy horse bones, but there will also be no need to worry about any adverse effects.

So the two lieutenant generals led their troops away with peace of mind.

Guang'an was not too far away, and with quick riding, the news about Guangyuan reached Zhu Cilang's ears that night.

However, he had been making plans based on the victory of the Dashi Army in the past two days, and when he suddenly heard the news of Zhang Xianzhong's death, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

"Why didn't he run away?"

After he finished speaking, Hu Yiqing, who was guarding beside him, suddenly felt a little at a loss.

Firstly, His Majesty's words seemed to be a soliloquy, so he naturally did not dare to interrupt rashly; secondly, he was quite familiar with the affairs of Yunnan and Jiangxi, but he only knew of Zhang Xianzhong as a person.

With the combination of these two factors, the silence in the military tent became unbearable.

"Do you think he can't escape or doesn't want to escape?"

"Your Majesty, the bandit has been on the run for so many years. If he could have escaped, he would have done so long ago."

As Zhu Cilang's voice came again, Hu Yiqing had no way to avoid it, but after he said what he was thinking, His Majesty just nodded slowly, as if he was lost in thought again.

"Your Majesty, I wish to see you."

"come in."

The silence in the tent did not last long. After a short while, the civil and military officials who had received the news were outside the tent.

"According to Generals Yang and Zeng, Zhang Xianzhong was killed on the Jinniu Road because his subordinate Liu Jinzhong turned against him, and Liu Wenxiu led the remaining troops to retreat to the Bazhou area. At this time, the two of them have led their troops to Guangyuan, so the previously planned plan has to be changed again."

When everyone arrived, Zhu Cilang went straight to the point and told them the news from the north.

Everyone was shocked to hear the news, but such changes were ultimately beneficial to the Ming Dynasty, and within a moment, everyone's surprise was replaced by joy.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. The thief Xian died and Guangyuan was not lost. This is great news for our Ming Dynasty!"

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

As Fan Yiheng's cheerful voice was heard, all the civil and military officials congratulated him one after another. However, faced with such a scene that should have made him very happy, the smile on Zhu Cilang's face always seemed a little forced.

This is not to say that he mourned the death of Zhang Xianzhong. The key point is that according to his original idea, after defeating Zhang Xianzhong, he would be able to bring a group of fresh blood to the Ming Dynasty. Even if he could not recruit the four adopted sons, there would always be people like Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli.

But now, the four adopted sons were either killed in battle or missing, and the remaining Liu Wenxiu led only tens of thousands of remnants of the army in a hurry to the south.

Under such circumstances, the idea of ​​gathering forces from all sides to balance the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty suffered a severe blow.

Forget it. Liu Wenxiu is also a talent in domestic affairs. His presence can play a certain restraining role.

With this in mind, Zhu Cilang cheered up and accepted the congratulations from his ministers. After the congratulations in the tent died down, he got back to the main topic.

"Now that Zhang Xianzhong has been defeated, the previous plan must be changed. However, the situation has changed suddenly, and it is difficult for me to make a decision. I wonder if you have any good ideas?"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, there are two urgent matters."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yingxiong stood up immediately, and after attracting everyone's attention, he continued, "The first is to send a letter to the cities in Sichuan to prevent those with ill intentions from taking the opportunity to cause chaos. The second is to send troops to the north to reinforce and strengthen the barrier in Sichuan."

Wang Yingxiong already had some understanding of his Majesty's style.

He knew very well that although His Majesty said "it's hard to decide", he had probably figured out all the pros and cons of the matter.

The reason why I ask this question at this time is, on the one hand, to give everyone a chance to show themselves, and on the other hand, I also want to use this opportunity to find out and fill in the gaps.

"Well, what do you think?"

Sure enough, after the words fell, Zhu Cilang looked away without even thinking, obviously he had already understood the proposal clearly when Wang Yingxiong was speaking.

"Your Majesty, Governor Wang's proposal is quite comprehensive, but it is not enough to just issue a proclamation in Sichuan. It would be better to send some troops to deter them."

As the two highest-ranking officials present, since Wang Yingxiong had already stood up, Fan Yiheng naturally could not fall behind.

But then again, his remarks were not just for the sake of supplementation. After all, most of the cities in central Sichuan were still in the hands of the Dashi Army at this time. If there was no military suppression, trouble would inevitably arise.

just
"Your Majesty, we cannot have too many troops occupying each city, otherwise the troops deployed to Guangyuan will appear a little thin."

Just as Fan Yiheng finished speaking, Li Guo, who had seldom spoken since arriving in Sichuan, stood up, contrary to his usual behavior. Then a look of surprise flashed across Wang Yingxiong's face, and the atmosphere in the tent became a little weird.

Li Guo and Wang Yingxiong only spent half a year together, but even with this relationship, he could be considered a member of Wang Yingxiong's party in the eyes of people in Sichuan.

Under such circumstances, he, a surrendered general who had only been in the Ming Dynasty for a short time, stood up to "supplement" the advice of the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi. No matter how you look at it, this seemed to be an attempt to save Wang Yingxiong's face.

"Well, this matter does need to be carefully considered."

Zhu Cilang was naturally aware of the unusual atmosphere in the tent, but Li Guo's reminder was indeed something he could not ignore, so after he finished speaking, he did not care what the ministers thought and started thinking directly.

Because of the Guangyuan battle, Chongqing and Kuizhou had basically fallen into the hands of the Ming army, but apart from these two places, the remaining more than ten cities were still occupied by the Dashi Army.

Normally speaking, since Zhang Xianzhong had died in battle, it was only natural for these cities to belong to the Ming Dynasty.

But everyone has his own thoughts and each family has his own plans. Zhang Xianzhong could die at the hands of Liu Jinzhong, so who knows how many of the Dashi generals would be loyal to the Tartars?
If we think in this way, we should indeed send more troops to each city.

But then again, even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

At that time, in addition to the two armies of the Suwei Zhonghou with more than 10,000 men, there were only Li Guo's troops of more than 20,000 and the various armies in Sichuan with less than 30,000 men. Among these troops of less than 30,000, four to five thousand had already gone to Guangyuan.

It is obvious that the troops sent to each city should come from various tribes in central Sichuan. The remaining 20,000 people are just enough to be scattered among more than ten cities.

If calculated in this way, the maximum number of people that can be transferred to Guangyuan is about 30,000, which would be a bit difficult to face the equal number of elite Tatars.

Of course, the central guards are all equipped with heavy armor, and the rear guards are all equipped with firearms. The combat power of the two is naturally incomparable.

However, it is always better to be more lenient when facing a strong enemy. Moreover, Zhu Cilang's goal has always been to kill the Qing army's manpower. Faced with such a situation, if he did not try to keep all of Hauge's troops, wouldn't Ajige, who died in Ganzhou, be left alone?

"Send an order, order Huang Fei and Wu Yi to dispatch boats to assist Li Chengdong's troops to enter Sichuan as soon as possible."

As Zhu Cilang finished speaking, the attention of all the ministers in the field was immediately drawn to him.

The generals in Sichuan didn't know who Li Chengdong was, but the two guards and the two commanders had heard of him. Xiang Rensheng and Mei Chun were both from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and they knew a lot about this group of people, but the two commanders only knew that this was a group of people who rebelled and surrendered, so they were naturally a little surprised why His Majesty would send them here from afar.

"Your Majesty, this."

In response to the two commanders' questions, Zhu Cilang simply waved his hand without giving any further explanation.

He could naturally guess the reasons why Fan and Wang were doubtful, but this group of people had already been in Wusong for more than half a year. During this time, not only had they laid off the old and weak and updated their equipment, but they had also extended the tentacles of the Advisory Council to the level of the small flag team.

Up to now, although on the surface this team is still Li Chengdong's original team, their combat effectiveness and loyalty are no longer the same as before.

It was for this reason that he mobilized a large army and brought him here from afar, in order to give Hauge a surprise in the subsequent battle.

"Li Guo!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to lead our troops north tomorrow and make sure you reach Guangyuan before the Tartars reopen the Jinniu Road."

"Order!"

"Fan Yiheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to lead the generals in Sichuan to recapture the cities and ensure the stability of Sichuan!"

"Minister! I obey your order!"

"Wang Yingxiong!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to return to Chongqing to organize food and military supplies. Anyone who meddles in this will be killed without mercy!"

"Minister! I obey your order!"

"Xiang Rensheng! Meichun!"

"Chen is here!"

"You two will lead our troops and follow me north tomorrow!"

"Order!"

As military orders were issued one after another, almost all the civil and military officials present received their tasks. But when everyone thought that tonight's meeting was over, Zhu Cilang's voice was heard again.

"Send a message to Liu Wenxiu, order him to move his troops to Langzhong instead of heading south. We will discuss this matter when I arrive."

After these words were spoken, everyone in the tent was inevitably surprised at His Majesty's kindness, but after thinking about it, they felt that this was reasonable.

According to common sense, a newly surrendered general like Liu Wenxiu should not only go south to meet Zhu Cilang in person, but also find a reason to completely separate him from his troops.

But now Zhang Xianzhong has passed away, and he has only led more than 10,000 remnants of his army to flee south in a hurry.

Under such circumstances, according to the regulations, naturally no one can say anything, but your majesty's actions can not only win the hearts of the people, but also set a good example for the Dashi Army scattered in Sichuan.

If you think about it this way, this can be considered a business that makes a lot of money with no investment.

Things had come to this point, and it was time for the military meeting to come to an end. That night, Li Guo ordered his cavalry to pack up and get ready, and to set off for Guangyuan when it was almost dawn.

This is the advantage of cavalry.

Ordinary infantrymen could only travel about thirty to forty miles a day, but cavalrymen could travel hundreds of miles a day if they did not spare the use of horsepower.

But then again, how could cavalrymen spare no effort in using horsepower? In comparison, the messengers who delivered military intelligence were the pinnacle of speed in this era.

Take the messenger who returned to Bazhou to deliver the military order for example. He had left Guang'an camp within a matter of incense sticks of time after Zhu Cilang issued the imperial edict.

By the time Li Guo's troops passed Xichong, Liu Wenxiu's camp located south of Bazhong had already appeared in his sight.

"Stop! Who are you coming?"

"I have come from Guang'an to convey the imperial edict of the Ming Emperor to General Liu Wenxiu!"

The messenger did not show much arrogance towards the obstruction of the sentry outside the camp. When the soldier went inside to report, he looked at the hastily built camp from a distance.

To be honest, he had seen dozens of camps, if not a hundred, but Liu Wenxiu's was the most special one he had ever seen.

There is not much reason why it is special. It's just that from a distance the layout of the military tents in the camp seems to be a little different from that of ordinary military camps, which makes the messenger, who has some knowledge but only knows one side of the story, unable to explain why.

Faced with the messenger sent by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Wenxiu, a newly surrendered soldier who was like a rootless duckweed, did not dare to keep him waiting for long.

After only one or two incense sticks, he saw the door of the camp open, and then a large group of people walked out quickly with a young soldier in armor.

"The defeated general Liu Wenxiu welcomes the angel!"

"General Liu, please don't be like this. We are just a small flag. How can we deserve such a great gift from you?"

"Angel, you are too polite. You are carrying His Majesty's decree. How can we treat you lightly?"

"General Liu, although that is true, there is no reason for you to bow to me. Please stand up quickly. It will not be too late to bow to me when I announce the decree."

Seeing so many generals, led by Liu Wenxiu, about to kneel down and kowtow to him, the messenger was so frightened that he kept refusing.

He was good at speaking, and with just a few words, he persuaded Liu Wenxiu, who was almost kneeling on the ground, to stand up. Then he straightened his face and shouted loudly: "Pass it on! The Emperor of the Great Ming has given his order!"

"Defeated General Liu Wenxiu! I respectfully listen to your Majesty's orders!"

"You don't need to bother with all the hard work. I also need to go to Guangyuan to meet Haoge. You can lead your troops to Langzhong and wait for me. I order you to do so~!"

"Defeated General Liu Wenxiu! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Wenxiu began to perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows, and the messenger accepted it with his head held high, without refusing as he had done before.

"Angel, please come in and rest."

After completing the process, Liu Wenxiu went up to the messenger and quietly handed him a gold ingot as big as a child's fist.

"I thank General Liu for the reward, but I have to go back and report, so I can't delay for a moment."

Seeing the other party's words, Liu Wenxiu tried his best to keep him, but since Zhu Cilang came to power, the rules in the army have become much stricter. After some refusal, the messenger mounted his mount and headed straight south.

"The little emperor has a lot of rules."

Just when the messenger's figure completely disappeared and the generals were about to turn around and return to the camp, a rather sarcastic complaint came from the crowd.

Liu Wenxiu didn't say much about the complaints he heard, but when he turned around, a flash of confusion appeared in his eyes, as if there was something difficult to decide in his heart.

(End of this chapter)