The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 359 Xiangyang
"Finally we have come this far..."

Chen Wang closed the document in his hand.

Although the current situation is very different from the historical situation in many places, in many places they reach the same goal through different paths.

The situation in the South is about to reach an extremely important turning point.

Hu Zhiyi, who was standing aside, had puzzled eyes. He didn't know why Chen Wang expressed such emotion after seeing the letter from Huguang.

"What happened in the south?"

Chen Wang clicked on the letter on the desk and had no intention of hiding it.

"See for yourself."

Hu Zhiyi walked over and unfolded the letter that Chen Wang had closed. When he saw the first line of words, his expression became solemn.

Sichuan experienced drastic changes, and Huangling City was defeated by a fierce tiger-like army.

General Liu Shijie and guerrilla Guo Kai died in the battle. The fierce tiger's son Meng Xianjie and his nephew Meng Zhong were trapped in a tight siege and died on the battlefield.

A group of personal guards fought tooth and nail to protect Meng Ruhu, and finally broke through the siege.

But the price was that the eight hundred Guyuan Jingqi who originally followed the fierce tigers southward had less than three hundred people left after this battle, and all of them were injured, and the rest were lost in the Battle of Huangling.

Zhang Xianzhong jumped out of the encirclement again and was galloping towards Huguang.

Hu Zhiyi's expression became more and more solemn, which was not good news for them.

Most of the troops in the Southern Kingdom have been recruited by Yang Sichang, and the soldiers and horses of the imperial court are now in Sichuan to quell the rebellion.

In Kuizhou Prefecture and Huguang Province, there are not many soldiers and horses that can be mobilized.

Once Zhang Xianzhong escapes into Huguang, the damage caused will be immeasurable.

"Zhang Xianzhong actually returned to Huguang."

Hu Zhiyi frowned and looked solemn.

Yunyang and Hanzhong are their basic bases.

Zhang Xianzhong broke into Huguang from Kuizhou Prefecture, and went directly to Yunyang to the north. Through Yunyang Prefecture, he could enter Hanzhong Prefecture.

Hanzhong Mansion has been in business for a long time and is where they started.

And now most of Yunyang Mansion is within their control.

"There are only 2,000 soldiers and horses stationed at Yunyang Mansion. Even including the social soldiers, the total is only 6,000 soldiers and horses."

Hu Zhiyi put the letter back on the desk and frowned.

The social soldiers that Hu Zhiyi mentioned were naturally not the social soldiers in Kaifeng City today, but the social soldiers in the Yunyang Mountain area.

Today's Yunyang Mansion is almost entirely under Chen Wang's control.

In the name of the suppression campaign, Chen Wang found many fields and mines in Yunyang Mansion and found various reasons to acquire them in the name of others, but in fact they were under his direct control.

Through trade and the soldiers in hand, Yunyang Guard has also been dragged into the water. Kang Ruiwu, the commander of Yunyang Guard, is already on the same boat as them.

Although Chen Wang did not tell Kang Ruiwu about his plot, it did not matter.

No permanent friends, only permanent interests.

Kang Ruiwu, like Qianhu Guan Qilin who guarded Qianhu Station in Mian County, could never look back.

As the governor of Yunyang, Wang Aoyong is a mediocre official, and his evaluation deadline is coming soon.

They just want stability within the country and almost don’t care about other things.

Chen Wang took advantage of the opportunity, and with the help of the map he took from Wang Aoyong and the military power in his hands, he almost monopolized the trade with the mountain people.

The surrounding mountain people were gradually brought under their rule, and dozens of mountain people gathering places formed societies under their influence.

Later, under the leadership of the Supervisory Office, mountain people from various places were recruited into the army. A total of 4,000 mountain people were recruited and distributed weapons as social soldiers for joint defense under the society.

The training methods of these social soldiers are all based on the training methods of the Hanzhong Army, but due to the problem of food, the intensity is lower, and the weapons only have the most basic spears, and as for the armor, they don't even have half a collar.

Chen Wang doesn't have many soldiers and armors under his command now, and even the soldiers and horses under his command are not fully equipped. Where is the extra armor to arm these second and third-line troops.

"Although there are only more than 6,000 people under Zhang Xianzhong's command, they are stronger than the tens of thousands when he was in Yunyang. Zhang Xianzhong now has more than 6,000 people under his command, all of whom are cavalry. One person has two horses or even three horses. They are all historical figures. The elite of war.”

"Xing'an only has more than 3,000 guards from Du Wugang."

"With our troops in Yunyang and Hanzhong alone, we can defend the city against Zhang Xianzhong's elite soldiers and generals, but the fields and buildings outside the city..."

Hu Zhiyi didn't finish speaking, but Chen Wang naturally understood what Hu Zhiyi meant.

In Yunyang Mansion, they did not carry out any large-scale construction, but now in Hanzhong Mansion, they have built a large number of water conservancy projects and facilities. Moreover, after the money and grain seized in Luoyang were transported back, many large-scale projects were launched.

Dams blocking rivers, water wells, irrigation water trucks, etc. cannot be moved into the city. Once Zhang Xianzhong enters Hanzhong Mansion, the damage caused will be unbearable.

"Zhang Xianzhong will not go to Yunyang, let alone the courage to go to Hanzhong Mansion."

Chen Wang pressed the letter on the desk. He knew very well that Zhang Xianzhong's plan and Hu Zhiyi's worries would not come true.

Zhang Xianzhong decided not to leave Yunyang in his current situation, let alone enter Hanzhong.

Yunyang is not a good place. The reason why Zhang Xianzhong surrendered was because both ends were blocked, so he could only flee into the mountains to survive, and finally surrendered.

Hu Zhiyi stood beside Chen Wang, concerned and confused. He was also worried that his foundation would be damaged and made a mistake in judgment.

After Chen Wang's reminder, Hu Zhiyi quickly realized Zhang Xianzhong's true purpose.

"Is Zhang Xianzhong planning to enter the central part of Huguang, heading towards Jiangxi, to meet with the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo?"

Chen Wang nodded slightly. Hu Zhiyi's strategic vision has indeed reached a qualified level now. After hard work, he is enough to guard one side as a general.

"Yes, but not entirely right."

It was normal for Hu Zhiyi not to guess all Zhang Xianzhong's thoughts.

Because normally speaking, going to Jiangxi to Huihe Gezuo Fifth Camp is the safest way.

But the person leading the army was Zhang Xianzhong.

He Renlong was called a madman.

But Chen Wang felt that compared to Zhang Xianzhong, He Renlong's madness was undoubtedly much milder.

Zhang Xianzhong is a real madman, and he is also an extremely arrogant madman.

"If he doesn't go back to Shaanxi and Jiangxi, where can Zhang Xianzhong go?"

Hu Zhiyi's eyes were confused at first, then hesitant, and finally turned into shock.

Because he thought of something extremely crazy...

……

The night was like ink, and it was pitch black outside Xiangyang City.

The occasional crows chirped, adding a hint of fear to the already dark background.

Accompanied by the rapid sound of horse hooves, the light of stars flew from a distance.

The commotion startled countless birds in the forest.

The crow's crow sounded extremely harsh under the otherwise silent night sky, seeming to indicate that something ominous was about to happen.

On the official road, a group of cavalry was galloping in from a distance.

The burning torches flashed with each other as the horses leaped, and the knights on the horses all had gloomy faces, with evil spirits flowing between their eyebrows, making people involuntarily look at them in fear. It was already late at night, and everything in Xiangyang City was completely silent. Only the city walls on all sides and the palace of Prince Xiang and the mansions of large families in the city were still lit with some lights.

The rest of the place was dark, and almost everyone had fallen asleep.

The sound of horse hooves outside Xiangyang City naturally attracted the attention of the generals guarding the city, and also cheered up all the soldiers on duty.

Everyone noticed the approaching fire outside the city, and his mind kept beating with the fire.

The generals guarding the city frowned. Judging from the light of the fire, they could only number twenty or thirty people at most.

With this size, it is naturally impossible for them to be enemy troops.

If it was the enemy, why would they only send twenty or thirty people?

What kind of disturbance can twenty or thirty people create in this huge Xiangyang City?
The generals guarding the city have encountered this kind of thing several times.

The general guarding the city already had a suspicion in his mind. He felt that the fire was probably the torch held by the messenger who came to convey the military order.

Before the general guarding the city could think too much, the group outside the city was already getting closer and closer to the city wall he was guarding.

"We are here to deliver a message on the order of Governor Yang, and we have military symbols and command arrows to prove it."

There is a vertical brazier standing every ten steps on the city wall of Xiangyang, and the blazing flames illuminate the surrounding walls of Xiangyang City almost as bright as day.

In Xiangyang City, even though it was midnight, there were still many soldiers on duty on guard.

All of this is naturally due to the Tang newspaper that came from Yiling not long ago.

Zhang Xianzhong actually escaped from Sichuan and returned to Jingzhou Prefecture from Kuizhou Prefecture in Sichuan. He had arrived in Dangyang not long ago.

Dangyang is only more than three hundred miles away from Xiangyang, which is why the city defense of Xiangyang City is so tight now.

"The military order is urgent, but we also have responsibilities. We must check our identities. Please also put the general's talisman and command arrows into the basket."

The generals guarding the city used the firelight to clearly see the cavalry below.

There were twenty-eight cavalry in total, which was undoubtedly more than the number of cavalrymen who were delivering orders.

But now that the war is in chaos and there are many rogue bandits in various places, it is normal for more cavalry to carry out orders.

"It's natural to save money."

At the foot of the city, the leading young man cupped his hands and spoke quite kindly.

"Everyone has a responsibility."

"Thank you for your understanding."

The general guarding the city smiled and returned the salute with his fists clasped.

The inspection of military symbols and command arrows is naturally not something that can only be done by the generals of the city defenders.

The generals who defended the city had low authority, so important matters such as inspecting military symbols and arrows naturally required a higher-level official to take charge.

Soon while the two were talking, Zhang Kejian, as the deputy military envoy, also climbed to the top of the city.

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Kejian promoted Huguang Qianshi and supervised the Yunxiang armies. Later, after Yang Sichang went south to supervise the division, he has been Yang Sichang's right-hand man, so he was left in Xiangyang.

After Zhang Kejian climbed onto the city wall, the generals guarding the city quickly stepped forward and presented the general's talisman and command arrows one by one.

Zhang Kejian could tell the authenticity just by looking at it.

He served as the supervisor of the army under Yang Sichang, and he had naturally seen military symbols and command arrows.

The military symbols and command arrows are of exquisite workmanship and cannot be easily imitated, and Yang Sichang's handwriting is even more difficult to imitate.

Everything proves that the command cavalry below is indeed the army that came with the order.

"There is no problem with the seal. Let them in and temporarily place them in Chengtian Temple in Xicheng."

After confirming that the seal was correct, Zhang Kejian handed over the resettlement responsibility to the generals guarding the city.

Now Zhang Xianzhong's headquarters is in Dangyang, which still poses a certain threat to Xiangyang.

As deputy military envoy Zhang Kejian, naturally he did not dare to slack off.

Now the defense of Xiangyang City rests entirely on his shoulders, and his responsibilities are extremely heavy.

The strong winds on the city wall continued one after another, blowing the braziers on the city wall almost to the point of going out.

Zhang Kejian's eyes kept flashing like the dancing firelight. After all, he couldn't help but sigh. The storm was about to come, and now everything was bad.

After sighing, Zhang Kejian did not stay on the tower for long and returned to the government office.

Zhang Kejian did not notice that the young man leading the cavalry that had just entered the city followed his figure until his figure completely disappeared into the darkness.

After Zhang Kejian returned to the government office, he finished handling the military affairs arranged by Yang Sichang, wrote all the orders for troop deployment, and then fell asleep on the table because he was too sleepy.

When Zhang Kejian woke up again, it was not because of the cockcrow in the city.

There were a lot of people outside the hall at this time, the footsteps were chaotic, it seemed that many people were running, and there was a lot of noise outside the house.

"What happened?"

As soon as Zhang Kejian walked out of the hall, several officials from the government office rushed towards him as if they had seen a savior.

But their next words were like a sudden thunderclap, making Zhang Kejian feel dizzy.

"The bandits have entered the city!"

Zhang Xianzhong was not still in Dangyang, but still two to three hundred miles away. How could there be rogue bandits in the city? !

"There's something going on over there with King Xiangfu. Li Guerji has already rushed over..."

The cries of the people below made Zhang Kejian feel dizzy and frightened. At this moment, a huge explosion suddenly rose.

Zhang Kejian turned his head sharply to follow the sound, and saw that under the originally dark night sky, in the direction of Prince Xiang's Mansion, a stream of fire had risen into the sky.

In the howling wind, there were countless noises and cries gathered together.

Xiangyang City was in complete chaos.

Zhang Kejian didn't understand what happened, and his brain was in chaos.

By the time Zhang Kejian led the people to the street, the entire Xiangyang City had already fallen into chaos.

There were fires everywhere, cries everywhere, and chaotic jingo fighting sounds everywhere.

At this moment, a ray of fire also rose from the direction of the west city.

"It's over..."

Zhang Kejian's face was pale and his mind went blank.

At this point, he still didn't know what was going on.

On the west wall of Xiangwang City

Li Dingguo was wearing a blue arrow suit and holding a blood-stained sword, strolling on the city wall.

Just under his feet, a group of Ming troops guarding the city were scattered, and they had already walked all over the place.

Li Dingguo looked outside the city of Xiangyang.

At this time, in the western suburbs of Xiangyang City, dense firelights connected together, converging into dazzling seas of fire.

The sea of ​​​​fire was sweeping towards the direction of Xiangyang City.