I want to be emperor

Chapter 245 The master of the thief to control the thief

When the left wing of the Ming army was finished, the middle army and right wing of the Ming army saw that the momentum was not good, and ran away one by one.

As a result, the tens of thousands of Ming troops who were expected to reinforce Wuchang in the area of ​​Yuezhou Prefecture suffered a big defeat before even going out of Yuezhou Prefecture.

More than 3000 people were killed on the spot, more than 5000 people were captured, and thousands of people were scattered and disappeared. Only [-] people fled back to Linxiang in embarrassment.

These Ming soldiers who fled back to Linxiang refused to leave the city and enter the east no matter what, so they just huddled in Linxiang City.

If it wasn't for the fear of superiors, that is, Yang Sichang blamed him, he probably would have fled back to Yuezhou by now.

After Yang Sichang of Changde Mansion received the news that the Yuezhou Ming Army suffered a disastrous defeat in the eastern suburbs of Linxiang, he almost spit out his old blood.

An army of [-] is fighting against [-] rebels, and there is definite news that most of the rebels in the face are traitors in uniforms of officers and soldiers... The real gray thieves are probably only a few hundred people that big.

However, Yuezhou officers and soldiers were still completely defeated!

"Is the thief a heavenly man? Three heads and six arms? No, the thief is also a son of man. He has one head and two hands, and he is killed with a knife. The defeat in this battle lies in the fact that the generals have no countermeasures, and the soldiers have no courage to kill the enemy. How can a master of thieves, tigers and wolves be undefeated!"

Yang Sichang was very hurt when he heard the news. Nima, the security guards on the opposite side were also born to his parents.
If the 3000-odd troops who came over were all gray thieves and carried a lot of guns, it would be fine, and it would be acceptable if they couldn't beat them.

But the more than 3000 thieves can tell at a glance that only a few hundred of them are real gray thieves, and the remaining 2000 or so are all rebels who were officers and soldiers not long ago.

After being reorganized by the thieves, these rebels are nothing more than a little full, a little higher morale, a little better swords and spears, and a little more armor, but in essence, they are no different from the officers and soldiers in Yuezhou. .

But it still looks like this.

Wouldn't it be even worse if they met more main force to protect the thieves, facing dozens of hundreds of cannons, tens of thousands of muskets and thick armor?
Moreover, the momentum of the bandit protection army is too strong now, and most of Wuchang Mansion has already been captured and is besieging Wuchang. Once Wuchang cannot be defended, it is estimated that most of Chunan will be lost in the future.

It also means that the security guard may not be long before he comes to his hometown, Changde Mansion. At that time, it is estimated that he has not been able to successfully take over the military affairs of the five provinces as the prime minister.

Thinking of this possibility, Yang Sichang felt a little desperate.

After receiving news of the defeat of tens of thousands of officers and soldiers in Yuezhou in the eastern suburbs of Linxiang, Yang Sichang once wanted to resolutely refuse to take over the post of Prime Minister of Military Affairs of the Five Provinces. Now this post of Prime Minister of Military Affairs of the Five Provinces is not a good position at all, but a huge pit of fire , jump in and you're done.

The thieves' army has now occupied the north of Chu, and launched an offensive in the south of Chu, and the offensive is extremely fierce. The more than 2 officers and soldiers on the front line of Wuchang don't even have the power to parry. There is a high probability that they will not be able to hold on.

At that time, Wuchang Mansion will be completely finished.

Once Wuchang is finished, then the bandit protection army can move west or east.

If you go west, you can kill Yuezhou, Changsha, and Changde, and then occupy the economically important area in the south of Chu, the area around Dongting Lake.

Once the area around Dongting Lake is also captured by the bandit protection army, the strength of the bandit protection puppet Chu will increase significantly.

Because the whole south of Chu is the most important, prosperous, most populous, and the place with the most food production is Wuchang Mansion and the area along the Yangtze River around Dongting Lake.

Once this piece of land is lost, the rest of Chunan is a mountainous and hilly area with a relatively small population.

At that time, even if the security guards fight step by step, the remaining Chunan area will be taken down by them sooner or later.

At that time, the entire Huguang will fall into the hands of the thieves, and the situation in the entire Kyushu will be completely ruined.

Because Huguang is cooked and the world is full, when this important grain-producing area second only to the Jiangnan area is occupied by the Great Chu Empire in the late Ming Dynasty, it will not only provide the Great Chu Empire with sufficient population, money and food, but will also provide The Ming court dealt a huge blow.

In this process of increase and decrease, the blow to the Ming court will be doubled.

This is the consequence of the westward march of the bandits.

If the thieves choose to go east, then the trouble will be even greater.

What is to the east of Wuchang Mansion?
Jiangxi Jiujiang Prefecture, Nankang Prefecture, Nanchang Prefecture, Raozhou Prefecture, Linjiang Prefecture, Ji'an Prefecture and other northern and central areas of Jiangxi. These prefectures are surrounded by the Poyang Lake area and the Ganjiang area. They also have large plains and belong to A land of fish and rice in the traditional sense.

If the thieves occupy these places, the population, money and food they can get will not be tall.

And this is not the most important thing, the most important thing is where is the east of northern Jiangxi?
Jiangnan!
There are ten money and food in the world, half of which is in the south of the Yangtze River!
In the early Ming Dynasty, Su Changshu had everything in the world, but in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the Jiangnan area was not only the most important grain-producing area, but also the most important industrial and commercial center and the most densely populated area.

none of them!

Even though the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming court could no longer obtain much money and food from the affluent Jiangnan region to maintain the entire huge empire, everyone knew that there was a lot of money and food here.

If this area is once controlled by the bandit protection army, even the strength of the bandit protection army will double.

At the same time, once the thieves control the south of the Yangtze River, the lifeline "water transportation" that the North Zhili region relies on for survival will be cut off directly from the source.

At that time, the emperors and ministers of the Ming court will not think about resisting captivity from outside or suppressing thieves at home, but how to fill their stomachs.

And it was this huge harm that caused the Ming court to pay more attention to protecting thieves in a short period of time, and it surpassed Dongbao in an instant!

As for Gao Yingxiang's thieves, their threat level has been reduced to third-rate.

Dongyao, that's just a group of barbarians outside the pass. They are still fighting with the Liaodong frontier army outside the pass. After fighting for decades, they have not been able to break through Shanhaiguan.

To die is to detour through Mongolia and enter Beizhili and other places to plunder.

Although Ming Ting was also beaten very painfully, it didn't make Ming Ting completely collapsed, what was more uncomfortable was the constant bloodletting.

Gao Yingxiang and other rogue bandits seemed to be harmful, but in fact they could not shake the Ming court's rule in a short period of time.

Just when the rural protection army swallowed Chubei this year, Hong Chengchou actually led his troops to drive a group of thieves headed by Gao Yingxiang back to Shaanxi, and continued to encircle and suppress them, winning many important victories.

Now the momentum of Gao Yingxiang and other rebels has fallen to the bottom, many rebels have been severely injured, and the remnants are forced to hide in Tibet.

Most of the main forces of Hong Chengchou's troops have now been dispatched and stationed in Guanzhong Mansion, Xi'an Mansion, Ruzhou, Henan Mansion and other places to fight with the Bao bandits.

In just half a year, Ming Ting's confidant's troubles changed from captives and thieves to thieves in an instant.

Moreover, the security thief was more threatening and more ferocious, like a sharp knife, directly inserted into the hinterland of the Ming court, making the Ming court not only uncomfortable, but also having the possibility of completely collapsing at any time.

Faced with such an army of thieves, to be honest, Yang Sichang himself had no idea.

Before the thieves crossed the south of the Yangtze River, he also hoped to delay for a few months, so that the court would have time to gather more troops from more areas to implement the strategy of encirclement and suppression, and strive to contain the thieves in the northern Chu area.

However, after the security bandits crossed the south of the Yangtze River, the original containment strategy faced a crisis of bankruptcy, because Wuchang was a crucial part of this series of blockade strategies.

With Wuchang, it is possible to block the bandit protection army to the north of the Yangtze River, and then control the bandit protection army in the northern Chu area.

However, can Wuchang still hold on now?

Yang Sichang is very pessimistic about this!

In the past few months, he has continued to collect all the information about the Bandit Protection Army, especially the detailed understanding of several large-scale battles between the imperial court and the Bandit Protection Army.

In the end, it was discovered that the fighting power of the thieves' army was astonishing.

In field battles, relying on fast and mobile artillery can often occupy a huge advantage, and even the siege is very sharp. The first battle of Zhong Xiang thoroughly let many high-level officials in the Ming court know the powerful attacking ability of the thieves.

The ability to attack fortifications that even the Eastern Captives did not possess.

Although Dongyao is also very strong in field battles, and the Jiliao frontier army has no temper, but their siege strength is just like that. Otherwise, the Ming court would not have been blocked from Shanhaiguan for so many years, and they wanted to enter the customs. The looting had to bypass Mongolia.

Facing such an army of thieves, how should we fight?
Yang Sichang didn't know!

This is not just a question of whether the strategic arrangement is appropriate, but more importantly, the thieves' army is too strong. No matter what strategic arrangement one's own side makes, what if they can't even defend the city?
Yang Sichang in Changde's hometown thought for several days, and after repeated discussions with local officials and his staff, he finally came to a conclusion, or found a solution, then wrote a memorial, and dispatched five hundred miles to make an urgent detour Jiangnan was sent to the capital.

He said this in his memorial:

"The strength of protecting the thieves all depends on the sharpness of the guns, especially the light and small red cannons, which have repeatedly injured our officers and soldiers in the war."

"The thieves also plundered a lot of money and food. The thieves and soldiers all had three meals a day to eat. They are strong and strong, and they can walk like flying in heavy armor."

"Our officers and soldiers lack guns and cannons, and food and pay are even more scarce. Even if the soldiers want to kill thieves, they have no power to kill thieves."

"The current strategy is to manufacture guns and guns, collect money and food, and train new troops to suppress them."

"I have already searched extensively for craftsmen to imitate the new guns of the thieves, and also found the method of protecting the thieves and connecting the new army with guns. I want to learn from the leaders of the thieves to control the thieves."

"Wait for me to build two hundred portable red barbarian guns, fifty thousand new bird guns, and twenty thousand sets of armor, so as to put down and protect the bandits overnight."

"However, craftsmen are easy to find, and guns are easy to make, but there is a lot of money and food. I want to build guns and train new troops, but I don't have enough money and food. I begged for 500 million taels of silver to build guns and thick armor, and form a new army of [-]."

(End of this chapter)