The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 348 Looking at the world from Heluo
In the attack on the west of the city, Chen Wang led the armored cavalry and cooperated with the cavalry led by Chen Yongfu to attack from both sides. They not only defeated the 3,000 soldiers of the left-wing North Formation, the main force of the Wanmin Army, and killed almost all of them, but also trampled through ten of them. A military formation of tens of thousands of new soldiers.

However, the Ming army's battle losses were very few. There were only about a hundred casualties. It could be described as a magnificent victory.

Under the leadership of Li Yan, the Wanmin Army strictly defended its own formation and gave up its efforts to support the left-wing Northern Front.

The subsequent cavalry rush from Nancheng only protected the formation and attacked the cavalry led by Gao Qian.

Therefore, Chen Wang also had time to clean up the battlefield and capture the head.

Therefore, in the attack on the west of the city, the Hanzhong Army under Chen Wang and Chen Yongfu's troops captured a lot of heads. After counting, there were as many as 3,294 qualified heads.

During the Ming Dynasty, the inspection of the head was extremely strict, and it had to be complete and correct to be considered a first-level head.

At the beginning of the defense of the city, the King of Zhou sent 500,000 taels of gold to the treasury as a reward for the army. The wealthy households in Kaifeng City also donated a lot of money at the request of Gao Mingheng and offered extremely high rewards.

Those who kill a thief at the first level will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver, those who can kill a thief will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver, and those who can shoot or injure a thief will be rewarded with ten taels of silver.

Since it is difficult to calculate the number of casualties and kills due to fighting outside the city, only the heads are counted.

But even so, the silver reward to be distributed this time is also an extremely generous reward.

A battle of 3,294 heads meant that a total of 164,700 taels of silver would have to be paid as a reward. This was undoubtedly a huge number.

But the king of Zhou did not break his promise, and Gao Mingheng did not find excuses to delay.

The 160,000 pieces of silver were divided into several carts and escorted by the guards of the Zhou Palace according to the gains, and sent to the military camps of Chen Wang and Chen Yongfu respectively.

Along the way, the reward army's team beat gongs and drums, not shying away from it, and even deliberately flaunting it, opening the box so that everyone could see the heavy silver ingots inside.

The reason why the troops of the reward army were so grand was because of Gao Mingheng's arrangements.

Gao Mingheng's idea was very simple, that is, he wanted to take this opportunity to show everyone that the government and the court kept their promises, and the silver reward was the reward and would never be withheld.

As for the threats that may arise from the exposure of money, Gao Mingheng is not worried.

How could a strong man, no matter how fierce he was, dare to rob the army of supplies in the city at this time?
Besides, even if there are really stupid people who want to rob the gold and silver, are the soldiers of the Zhou Palace who are the guards just a decoration?

In this way, most of the guards in Prince Zhou's Mansion have been in battle, guarded the city, seen blood, and the weapons in their hands can kill people.

The bans between cities and towns were temporarily lifted, and many people followed the troops to the front of the military camp to watch the fun.

Chen Wang's Hanzhong army captured more than 2,000 heads, so the silver sent totaled one hundred thousand taels.

More than 100,000 taels of silver were loaded into five carriages and were sent all the way to the gate of the Hanzhong Army camp before stopping.

The guards of Prince Zhou's Mansion were scattered around, protecting five carriages loaded with silver.

The people who came to watch were separated by more than ten steps.

Chen Wang was already waiting outside the camp gate with a group of generals. Gao Mingheng had already sent someone to notify the troops before they set off.

Most of the reward troops came from the Zhou Palace, but the person in charge of the reward was Gao Mingheng, who was the patrol censor, and the deputy envoy was an official in the Zhou Palace.

The reason is actually very simple. Since Yongle, all the vassal kings have been treated like pigs and have no real power at all.

During the Zhengde period, that is, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, King Ning's rebellion made the identity of the vassal king extremely sensitive.

As a vassal king, he has a high status, and he can be well-dressed and well-fed, indulge in luxury, dominate and dominate, and indulge in arrogance and lust in a land of fish and meat.

All of these can be done, and when reported, it will be just a few light words of rebuke, and there will not be too many substantial punishments.

However, as long as it involves military and political affairs, no matter how big or small, almost all will be severely punished.

The King of Zhou gave the banquet this time because the defenders of the city had won a great victory.

At the banquet, after the King of Zhou gave a few words of encouragement at the beginning, the conversation during the banquet was all on point, and he did not dare to get involved in military and political matters at all.

This time, Gao Mingheng took the initiative to request so much money to reward the troops, citing Henan's financial difficulties.

For example, King Rui, who took the initiative to send people to reward the army, sent only a few thousand taels of silver including meat, rice, oil and food.

The reason is precisely because of his status as a vassal king, he did not dare to get too involved with the imperial army and officials.

In the Ming Dynasty, as a clan, although life and death could be guaranteed, on the other hand, it was extremely restricted.

They are not destined for an official career, and it is quite difficult to do some work. In many cases, they can only live by the money they are given.

However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, due to official corruption and financial difficulties, the lumi distributed was often withheld.

In fact, the life of ordinary clan members is not as good as many people imagine.

Chen Wang looked at the troops of the rewarded army and felt a little emotional in his heart. The Ming Dynasty's vassal system was indeed overcorrected.

The convoy of soldiers came to a slow stop. As Gao Mingheng, the patrol officer wearing a round-collar official robe and a black gauze hat, got off the sedan, Chen Wang also drove his horse forward, and then dismounted to greet him.

Such a scene was naturally seen clearly by the people who were watching.

Chen Wang wore an iron crown on his head and a bullfighting uniform, which attracted the most attention among the generals wearing armor.

All the people were looking over here, looking towards where Chen Wang was. After all, this was a character that had only been seen in storytelling in the past.

The place became very lively and noisy for a while.

"That person is General Ping Thief. I saw him before when I was on the top of the city. He is so majestic!"

Among the crowd were soldiers who were resting. When they saw Chen Wang appearing in front of everyone, they spoke with a complacent expression.

They were honored to have defended Kaifeng.

"General Pingthief, mighty!"

Those who do good things will shout loudly in the crowd, imitating the people in the army and shouting for power.

Everyone laughed together at first, and then couldn't help but shout together.

"General Pingthief, mighty!"

Gao Mingheng looked at the crowd of people who came to watch the excitement, couldn't help but put a smile on his face, and said to Chen Wang.

"General Ping Thief is already famous all over the world at such a young age and is well known to everyone. He has made great achievements this time and his future is limitless."

Chen Wang's eyes moved slightly, he glanced at Gao Mingheng's expression without any trace, hesitated for a while, and then said.

"The clouds protect toothpicks, and the stars contain swords."

"The title of Marquis is not my intention, but I hope the sea will be peaceful."

"As a military minister, rather than worshiping generals and becoming marquises, the general hopes to see peace in the world and peace in the world."

Gao Mingheng looked slightly startled. Even though he had been in officialdom for many years and had been in officialdom for a long time, he still couldn't help but be moved by Chen Wang's words.

The poem Chen Wang was reading was exactly the poem written by Qi Jiguang.

How could Gao Mingheng not know the meaning? And Gao Mingheng could tell that Chen Wang really meant it when he said this.

"If all the generals in the world are like generals who are thieves, how could they end up in such a situation..."

Facing Gao Mingheng's praise, Chen Wang did not hesitate and responded modestly, but he was thinking about other things.

Because of this attack and the fact that he rushed thousands of miles to rescue Kaifeng, he is now well-known among the people in Kaifeng City.

This has also been confirmed among the social soldiers, and it also makes Chen Wang more confident about controlling the Kaifeng City social soldiers in the future.

For the Kaifeng soldiers, it is temporarily difficult for them to go out to fight, and they may encounter various difficulties.

But if it is used to guard Kaifeng, it will undoubtedly be a powerful force. If used properly, it can play a huge role...

Gao Mingheng naturally didn't know what Chen Wang was thinking.

The two sides completed the handover of money in front of the military camp. After Chen Wang said goodbye to Gao Mingheng and the surrounding people watching the excitement, he returned to the military camp with a group of generals.

Chen Wang didn't keep any of the one hundred thousand taels of silver for himself. He directly had it transported to the school grounds and distributed it to all the soldiers who participated in the battle on the spot according to the battle merits recorded at the beginning.

In addition to pensions, bounties were also given to soldiers who were killed or wounded in battle. The bounties were temporarily collected by the military judge. When they returned home, they would be transferred back together with the military judge at the military academy.

Chen Wang's move caused everyone in the military camp to burst into cheers again, and their morale also increased.

One hundred thousand taels of silver is not much for Chen Wang now.

The most important thing in governing an army is to make clear rewards and punishments.

Using one hundred thousand taels of silver to buy the loyalty of three thousand armored cavalry was a good deal for Chen Wang.

……

Although the Ming army achieved a great victory in the attack on the west of the city, the Wanmin army did not retreat immediately.

On the second day, as usual, the Wanmin Army launched another attack on Kaifeng City in the early morning.

However, the intensity of the siege this time was obviously much lower than at the beginning, perhaps because of the successive setbacks and the decrease in morale and morale.

The defenders in Kaifeng City were encouraged by the recent victory. As a result, the defense line became more and more stable.

Outside the city, the security of the Ten Thousand People's Army formation was tighter than before, and the layout of the front line was more reasonable than at the beginning. Many key places were even equipped with simple anti-horses.

In the early morning of the fourth day, the Wanmin Army did not launch another attack on Kaifeng City as usual.

After completing the assembly, hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the civilian army took the road eastward and slowly moved toward the east.

The main force of the cavalry of the Wanmin Army stayed at the rear of the team, serving as the palace army to prepare for possible pursuit.

The withdrawal of the siege of the Wanmin Army caused a great sensation in Kaifeng City. The soldiers and soldiers guarding the city cheered, hugged each other and cried, and the people in the city were all smiling and running to tell each other.

The Ten Thousand People's Army has left, and their lives can finally be the same as before. They no longer need to be imprisoned in the city where they live, and they no longer need to be afraid and live in panic.

On the reopened streets, the people in Kaifeng City walked out of their homes and greeted each other, looking extremely happy.

The Wanmin Army retreated, but Chen Wang did not order the pursuit.

In the attack on the west of the city, he did not choose to defeat the main force of the Wanmin Army in one battle. He only cut off some of the elite and defeated some new soldiers, just to keep Li Yan and give himself a reason to stay in Henan and control Henan.

Hu Zhiyi has successfully recovered most of the lost ground in Luoyang, and has also gained a lot of gains, far exceeding original expectations...

Moreover, the morale of the Wan Min Army has indeed dropped a lot, but Li Yan still stabilized the morale of the Wan Min Army.

Subsequent attacks also confirmed that Li Yan was still in stable control of his Wan Min Army.

Although the retreat of the Wanmin Army was a little chaotic at the beginning, it did not take much time to adjust and began to retreat in an orderly manner.

The formation of the Ten Thousand People's Army is not chaotic, the queues are neat, and the flags and drums are orderly. The troops responsible for the rear are also on full alert.

Going out of the city to pursue them at this time will definitely not bring much benefit.

Chen Wang's original purpose was to lift the siege of Kaifeng and gain greater authority and autonomy.

But now that the goal has been achieved, there is no need to add unnecessary unnecessary fuss and waste it in vain.

There are not many soldiers and horses under Chen Wang's command, and even fewer cavalry. It can be said that they are all treasures, and it is not economical to lose them here.

Chen Wang's decision did not make anyone feel wrong.

Gao Mingheng even came to meet Chen Wang after receiving the news that the Wanmin Army had withdrawn from the siege. He told Chen Wang that the enemy should not be pursued and that the preservation of Kaifeng should be the first priority.

Chen Wang had no intention of pursuing him in the first place, but Gao Mingheng came here specifically to give instructions. Naturally, he agreed to Gao Mingheng's request by borrowing the donkey from Poxia.

Chen Wang's performance made Gao Mingheng even more satisfied.

After all, there are too many arrogant generals now who are unable to control themselves. Chen Wang now has strong soldiers and horses under his command. He is also a member of Yang Sichang's lineage and is trusted by the emperor.

If he doesn't obey the command, Gao Mingheng actually doesn't have many ways to restrain him.

However, Chen Wang has always been extremely respectful to him, and would report to him first when giving orders.

These actions undoubtedly made Gao Mingheng feel great respect.

Therefore, Gao Mingheng's attitude towards Chen Wang became more and more kind.

The imperial edict was sent to Kaifeng on the seventh day of the attack.

The round trip from Kaifeng to Beijing was nearly three thousand miles, and the military situation was raging. The road was expedited for eight hundred miles.

The edict was conveyed, and Gao Mingheng acted as governor of Henan and took charge of the campaign, while Chen Yongfu led the general army of Henan.

Chen Wang, on the other hand, was ordered to temporarily take charge of the troops and horses in various towns in Henan, and make every effort to hunt down the remnants of the thousands of thieves.

The first edict did not include any reward, it was just a change of authority and he took over as director.

After every battle, the reward will basically take a while to be reduced. After all, how to award the reward requires careful discussion.

But some things do need to be rushed.

Henan's current military situation is on fire and the situation is dire, and someone must take over immediately.

Chen Wang didn't care about the reward.

Anyway, most of the rewards given to him are some gold and silver, some kind of clothes, honors, jewels and cloth.

What Chen Wang cares about is the authority in his hands.

Among the first edicts handed down, what concerned Chen Wang most was not the authority to temporarily control the troops and horses in various towns in Henan, but an inconspicuous line of small words in it.

"Train new recruits and restore the combat effectiveness of each town..."

(End of this chapter)