Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 406 Good Place

Qipanguan is indeed an important pass on the Jinniu Road, but if we fail to consider the overall situation, our understanding of the word "important pass" will be somewhat distorted.

For example, before Shu Han captured Hanzhong, every checkpoint in the Jinniu Road was of great tactical significance, and all parties repaired and maintained these checkpoints at all costs. Their defensive capabilities were naturally unmatched by ordinary cities.

But this situation is not static. In the unified dynasty, the importance of Qipanguan was greatly weakened, and its maintenance and repair remained at a very low level.

Such things are naturally not isolated cases. Generally speaking, the value of obstacles will change with the changes in the overall situation.

Specifically speaking of Qipanguan at this time, as a place that has been reduced to a document handover location, its defensive strength is self-evident.

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"Your Majesty, please move away, in case bricks and stones fall."

After hearing Hu Yiqing's advice, Zhu Cilang, who was still looking at the Qipanguan city tower, took a few steps back.

He never doubted whether the twenty-odd small cannons could destroy Qipan Pass, but he was still a little surprised that it only took a little more than a day.

By this time the sky had already brightened and the fighting inside the pass had completely ended. He had nothing to do so he came to the gap and looked around.

"This brick and stone is at least several hundred years old."

"Your Majesty's lesson."

Picking up a piece of broken brick scattered on the ground, Zhu Cilang made a general judgment. After hearing his words, Hu Yiqing took a quick look and expressed his approval.

Unexpectedly, it made sense.

The court's attitude towards these barriers was generally to maintain their existence, so the amount of money allocated was not that much.

But corruption in the Ming Dynasty was systemic. It was customary for officials at all levels to take away how much money under what pretext, and it would not change at all due to the amount of silver.

Therefore, it is not too difficult to understand why only superficial improvements are made on the basis of the old levels.

Mixed feelings.

This word can basically describe Zhu Cilang's true feelings.

He knew very well that if every penny allocated by the court was spent on the Qipan Pass, even if he could still destroy the pass with continuous artillery bombardment, it would take much longer than one day.

But on the other hand, it was impossible for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty to be happy about such things.

"Go look inside."

His expression was uncertain for a long time, and Zhu Cilang finally moved his gaze away from the gap.

No matter what, corruption is pervasive. Unless he can try to do it himself like he did in Yingtian and pay enough attention to every node, such things can only be serious or not, how can they be completely eliminated.

"Your Majesty, be careful."

"It doesn't matter."

Seeing Zhu Cilang heading straight for the gap, Hu Yiqing shouted and hurriedly followed. Although Zhu Cilang was not good at martial arts yet, his physical fitness had improved a lot after more than a year of military service. He just waved his hand in response to Hu Yiqing's cautious attitude.

Due to the leisurely cleaning of the battlefield inside the pass, the gap was still covered with rocks and uneven. When Hu Yiqing followed His Majesty into the pass, he heard his Majesty laugh without warning.

Seeing this, Hu Yiqing was a little confused, but since His Majesty did not mention it, he did not dare to ask any further questions. He immediately looked around the situation inside the pass to ensure the safety of the environment.

Zhu Cilang's chuckle was not without reason. It was because he thought of some quite interesting things about corruption.

six million dollars to transport nine sheep;
A water cup that costs $1,200;

A toilet seat that costs $10,000;
a small refrigerator for $16,571;
At that time, he was still inexperienced in the world and, influenced by some people's propaganda, he once thought that there was really no corruption in that place. But later, as the country grew stronger, the filter on his eyes was taken off.

Only then did he realize that the fact that there was no corruption was simply that corruption had been legalized.

I don't know whether the corruption in the Ming Dynasty was more serious or the methods of the Shangzhu Lighthouse were more sophisticated.

Well, I guess they're about the same.

The Dianzhu Lighthouse killed two waves of people who came to check the accounts, and a Minister of Justice of the Ming Dynasty also died.

Thinking of this, the smile in Zhu Cilang's heart suddenly disappeared, and then he cast his gaze around the interior of the pass.

Although the Qipan Pass fell very suddenly, it was not known whether it was because it was dark or because Luo Luohun had already planned to abandon the pass and flee. After defeating the Tatars who came to attack the artillery positions, the Ming army did not encounter any fierce resistance.

Although the ground inside the pass was still covered with messy traces at this time, there were not many bloodstains to be seen.

Zhu Cilang was not quite moved by this. After taking a quick look, he walked forward again. While he was searching among the busy crowd, Xiang Rensheng ran down from a tower.

"Your Majesty, why are you here? The pass has not been cleaned up yet. If..."

"Don't talk about this. This is not my first time on the battlefield."

Faced with Xiang Rensheng's persuasion, Zhu Cilang would not stop, but after walking a few steps he stopped, as if he had thought of something.

"Is there anyone alive?"

"Reporting to His Majesty, Luo Luohun retreated decisively and we only captured two Niulu Ezhen."

"What's the question?"

"Nothing else, except that Luo Luohun intends to block our army along the way and delay our army's march north as much as possible."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly after hearing the words, and after a moment's thought, he continued, "Do the Tartars have any gunpowder?"

A few hundred years ago, roads like the Jinniu Road, which were built along the mountain, were difficult to build, but at the same time they were also difficult to destroy.

But now the power of gunpowder has been greatly improved due to the improvement of the formula, so it is not difficult to blow down a few rocks.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang had to pay attention to the gunpowder reserves of the Tatars.

"Your Majesty, according to what those two men said, when Hauge retreated to Jinniu Road, he left all the artillery and gunpowder in the camp. The Tartars should no longer have these things."

As Xiang Rensheng's words continued to come, Zhu Cilang's eyes couldn't help but reflect on the scenes he saw when passing by the Tartar camp, and then he continued to speak to Rensheng.

"After such a great battle last night, we should have given the soldiers some time to rest and recuperate. However, the situation in Hanzhong is urgent and we don't have much time left."

"Your Majesty, give the order. We didn't put in much effort last night, so it will be the same if we rest tonight."

"Well, I will order you to lead the imperial guards to continue the journey, and we will set out immediately after breakfast."

"Understood sir." After hearing the military order, Xiang Rensheng naturally took the order and left. However, thinking about the arrangements made by the Tartars along the way, Zhu Cilang was still unsure whether he could reach Hanzhong in time.
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Zhu Cilang's worries were not unfounded.

Although the Qing army probably did not have enough gunpowder, they still had to pass two checkpoints if they wanted to enter Hanzhong from the Jinniu Road.

Needless to say, as a checkpoint that is almost giving up its function as a post station, its perfection is even inferior to that of the Qipan Pass.

The other one is Yangping Pass.

Logically speaking, this place should be in the same situation as Qipanguan. Even if medium and large artillery cannot arrive in time due to the difficult road conditions, small artillery should be able to break it after a few days of bombardment.

But this place is Yangping Pass after all. It played an extremely important role during the Three Kingdoms and the Mongols and Song dynasties. Its name alone cannot be taken lightly.

Under such circumstances, not only Zhu Cilang, but also Hauge paid much more attention to him than usual.

"Luo Luohun can hold out for a few more days, but you must take this opportunity to reinforce the city defenses as quickly as possible."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will make the southern barbarians smash their heads and bleed here!"

As Hauge's military order was issued, Du Lei immediately stood up and expressed his determination, but after he finished speaking, he asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, why don't you let someone else guard the pass, and I will go to Hanzhong with you."

"Nonsense! Can military orders be negotiated?!"

I have to say that Hauge has a different view of Du Lei.

If these words were spoken by someone else, even if he was not beaten with a military stick, he would definitely be scolded. But when it came to him, Hauge just said something lightly, as if this was not disobeying orders.

It is said that there is no love without reason, and there is no hate without reason.

Although this Du Lei is just a Gushan Ezhen, he is from the Zhenghong Banner.

Since Huang Taiji came to power, he has been cracking down on the four great beiles who participated in the political affairs. While the second beile Amin and the third beile Manggurtai were successively convicted and killed, the eldest beile Daishan, who held two red flags, has survived to this day.

Why?

After all, the deaths of the second and third beile were just a power struggle, but the eldest beile saw the opportunity very early and took the initiative to assume the role of a tool after Huang Taiji came to power.

Under such circumstances, although Daishan arranged positions for all his descendants in the name of cultivating future generations, he had no good way to deal with the infiltration and solicitation of Huang Taiji and his sons.

By this time, it seems that similar examples of people who are clearly under the two red flags but serve others are not uncommon.

"Don't think that you can only get military merit in Hanzhong. If you can hold on until the siege of Hanzhong is lifted, I will record your great merit. So what?"

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

Seeing that Haoge promised such a reward, Na Dulei immediately knelt on the ground. However, looking at his performance, Haoge was not happy at all. Instead, he could not help but look worried.

He knew very well that the battle with the Ming army that day was just a brief encounter. Even if the army was ultimately defeated, in the eyes of the generals in the army, they were simply being consumed by the bandits for too long, so they chose to temporarily avoid the Ming army, whose morale was high.

To be honest, he had the same idea at first.

After all, he had been leading his troops south for more than two years, during which time he not only fought several battles with the bandits, but also had to endure the unbearable hot weather.

Under such circumstances, it is reasonable to retreat.

But this thought did not last long in his mind. When he was about to reach Yangping Pass, he had become more cautious about the Ming army.

When exchanging prisoners that day, he sent Li Guohan to attack the flank of the Ming army, but in the end he suffered heavy casualties and had to flee in panic.

Originally, he thought that Li Guohan ended up like this because he mistook the Ming army for the same ones he had encountered before.

But during the march, he summoned the remnants of Li Guohan's troops. After asking them in detail, he realized that the troops under the Emperor Ming not only had powerful firearms, but their soldiers also showed no signs of chaos when facing the cavalry.

It's not that Haoge looked down on the Ming troops he had encountered in the past, but those guys just ran for their lives after being shot from a distance.

In comparison, the troops under the Emperor Ming could indeed be considered elite.

"Don't think this is an easy job. Before I lift the siege of Hanzhong, you will have to die at Yangping Pass."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will order people to repair the city defenses right away!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Du Lei left the tent directly. It was obvious that Haoge's words had some effect. But when he was feeling a little relieved by the other party's obedience, he saw a figure running into the tent in a hurry.

"Your Highness, someone from Hanzhong reported that the enemy, with the help of He Zhen, broke into the granary through the secret passage. Minister Xing Ne was defeated and had to retreat into the valley."

"He Zhen?! Isn't that Li Dingguo?!"

As the voice spread, Hauge was startled and stood up from his chair. Then all kinds of thoughts floated in his mind. But after only half a breath, he sat back down as if he had lost his strength.

He knew He Zhen, and also knew that this person had become entangled with Sun Shoufa because of overt and covert weakening.

When he headed south, these two people had already abandoned Hanzhong and disappeared. As a result, he was able to rush to Guangyuan without losing a single soldier before Zhang Xianzhong blocked the Jinniu Road.

If I had known this earlier, I should have dealt with them first!

Thinking of this, Haoge couldn't help feeling annoyed, but he had seen a lot of storms after all, and he calmed down completely in an instant.

"Why didn't Xing Ne come to join us?"

"Your Highness, according to the people who came, Minister Xing Ne was worried that the enemy troops would enter Guanzhong from Xiegu, so he occupied this place first to serve as a shield for Xi'an."

"Humph! He has a good plan."

After saying this coldly, Hauge raised his hand to signal the soldiers to leave. Then he straightened his clothes and armor which were messed up when he just stood up, and then he began to think calmly.

Hanzhong City is located at the southern end of Xiagu Valley, and its position is like that of Guangyuan to Jinniu Road.

However, he did not completely despair because his retreat was cut off. No matter what, Hanzhong City had already been in ruins. If he spared no expense, he could capture it within a few days.

At that time, the enemy soldiers in the city would have no choice but to retreat to the granary like Xing Ne did, and his army could naturally retreat smoothly from outside the city into the Xia Valley.

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Hanzhong is a plain, and the only waterway flows along the edge.

This kind of terrain is extremely advantageous for the cavalry.

With this in mind, Hauge called another soldier in. After hastily writing a letter, the soldier took the letter and went straight west.

(End of this chapter)