The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 360 Southern Country
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, it was early morning on June 29th.

The turmoil in Xiangyang City has also subsided. All the red flags belonging to the Ming army on the city wall have been pulled down and replaced with blue flags belonging to Zhang Xianzhong.

In the middle hall of Prince Xiang's Mansion, Zhang Xianzhong was wearing a dark blue narrow-sleeved t-shirt, sitting lazily on the throne.

In the palace, a group of soldiers wearing helmets and robes and belts stood with their swords in hand.

Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi stand at the left.

Xu Yixian and Pan Duao stand on the right.

In the center of the hall, an old man wearing a red robe with white beard and hair was kneeling on the ground, but even so, there was no trace of fear on his face.

"Donkey Ball, after all, he is also a high-ranking prince. How can he be humiliated like this? Let us let him go."

Zhang Xianzhong sat on the throne, looked at the old man kneeling on the ground, and said with a smile.

"His Royal Highness Prince Xiang is frightened. The people under our command don't know etiquette. They are all rough and treacherous. Please forgive me."

The old man who was kneeling on the ground was none other than King Xiang Zhu Yiming, who was now nearly seventy years old.

Zhu Yiming slowly stood up from the ground, his robes were still neat.

During the turmoil last night, the guards in the mansion immediately came to protect him, and he was able to put on his clothes.

But he still couldn't escape. He wanted to leave the city from the north city, but the bandits had already ambushed him. Their team was intercepted by the bandits ambushing around the neighborhood just as they were halfway through.

The guards guarding Zhu Yiming were all dead and fled, and Zhu Yiming was naturally captured.

Zhu Yiming straightened his clothes and looked at Zhang Xianzhong who was sitting at the top, but his expression didn't change much and he said calmly.

"Since ancient times, a successful king or a defeated enemy. General Zhang will definitely not let me, the vassal king, go this time when he captures Xiangyang. Why should I be so hypocritical?"

Zhu Yiming has seen too many things, and he has lived for a long time.

Nearly seventy years old, after a long period of turmoil, we have witnessed the ups and downs of the country's power.

Precisely because of this, Zhu Yiming knew very well that there was absolutely no way Zhang Xianzhong could leave him alive.

After Luoyang was captured, the people's army almost wiped out King Fu's lineage, and most of Luoyang was almost burned to the ground.

And Li Yan is still famous among the people for his benevolence.

Zhang Xianzhong is known among the people for his cruelty. Whether he is dealing with enemies or with his own people, Zhang Xianzhong is extremely ruthless.

How could such a person let go of a vassal king like him?

Zhu Yiming knew very well that he was certain to die.

King Fu's death was shameful to many people, because before he died, he begged Li Yan to help someone around him, which showed no trace of the backbone of the Zhu family.

Zhu Yiming did not want to leave the same reputation as King Fu in the history books.

You are a coward and a coward, not the son of their Zhu family!

Zhu Yiming's eyes were determined and his face was cold. He just wanted to die quickly.

Seeing Zhu Yiming's request, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but suppress the smile on his face.

Zhang Xianzhong originally wanted to humiliate the nearly seventy-year-old vassal king in order to relieve the bad anger he had accumulated in his heart.

But after seeing that Zhu Yiming not only did not beg for mercy, but still maintained his dignity, for some reason, he no longer had any thoughts of humiliation.

"Get the wine."

Zhang Xianzhong stood up slowly and gave instructions to the left and right.

The attendants on the left and right received the order and soon brought the wine pot and wine glasses to Zhang Xianzhong.

"You are a man, different from that coward King Fu. We appreciate you."

Zhang Xianzhong walked up to Zhu Yiming, took a glass of wine from the tray held by the attendant, and said to Zhu Yiming.

"But we definitely can't spare your life."

"You vassals are all the bastards of the imperial court. Every year, the imperial court spends so much food, rice, gold and silver to feed you, but we common people don't even have enough to eat. You have enjoyed the blessings for so long, and it's time to pay them back." It's time."

Zhu Yiming looked at Zhang Xianzhong with his expression still as usual.

Zhang Xianzhong picked up another glass of wine and handed it to Zhu Yiming.

Zhu Yiming hesitated for a while, but finally took the wine glass from Zhang Xianzhong.

"Your Majesty, don't blame me. Yang Sichang forced us too hard. We wanted to chop off Yang Sichang's head, but Yang Sichang is still in Sichuan. He has too many soldiers under his command, and we really don't have the ability to defeat him. "

"But if the prince dies, Yang Sichang will definitely not survive. We kill the prince because we want to use his head to kill Yang Sichang. After the prince drinks this glass of wine, let's hit the road."

Zhang Xianzhong drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, faced Zhu Yiming, and said slowly.

Zhang Xianzhong knew the internal affairs of the imperial court.

Within the imperial court, Zhang Xianzhong had his own news channels.

In the past, we were able to successfully complete recruitment, which also included efforts in this area.

Zhang Xianzhong is very aware of the problems Yang Sichang is encountering today.

The fall of Luoyang, the death of King Fu, and the turmoil in Henan brought huge difficulties to Yang Sichang.

There were fierce discussions in the court, all of which said that Yang Sichang was guilty of losing his vassal family and fighting for a long time without success, and that he should be imprisoned.

If it were not for the current emperor, Chongzhen would have defended Yang Sichang against all opinions.

I'm afraid that Yang Sichang has already entered the prison and been captured by the imperial court.

Yang Sichang's current situation is extremely bad. As long as someone adds fire to it at this time, Yang Sichang can completely fall into a place of eternal destruction.

If another feudal king dies at this time.

Even Chongzhen, as the emperor, could not save Yang Sichang.

"Your Majesty, please do not blame us in your grave. If you want to blame someone, blame our Commander Yang."

A cruel smile appeared on Zhang Xianzhong's face, and he casually threw the wine glass in his hand on the guard's tray, then turned around and walked away, sitting back on the throne again.

Zhu Yihuan's heart was cold. He stood in the center of the palace, looked around at all the familiar things around him, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. He said nothing more.

Zhu Yiming, like Zhang Xianzhong, drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Following Zhang Xianzhong's order, Sun Kewang came out of the crowd, ordered several soldiers to follow him, and escorted King Xiang Zhu Yiming out of the palace.

"Hahahahaha."

Looking at Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming being escorted away, Zhang Xianzhong was so high-spirited and heroic in his heart that he couldn't help but look up to the sky and smile.

When the news that he broke through Xiangyang City and beheaded Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming reached the capital, it was when Yang Sichang's head fell to the ground.

In the past year, Zhang Xianzhong has been hunted everywhere by Yang Sichang. After several life and death encounters, he was in a state of embarrassment and panic like a bereaved dog.

Now that Yang Sichang is about to die soon, and the overall situation has been decided, Zhang Xianzhong is naturally very happy.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Congratulations, Your Majesty."

As a military advisor, Xu Yixian took a step forward at this time, and congratulated Zhang Xianzhong happily.

"This time our army attacked Xiangyang, occupied the important town, eliminated Yang Sichang, and harvested a large number of soldiers and armor stored in Xiangyang City. The chess game is now alive, and everyone in the world can go."

This time they captured Xiangyang, and their gains were not small.

Yang Sichang was bound to be implicated because of the fall of Xiangyang and the death of King Xiang.

In addition, they also seized a large amount of military supplies and equipment. Xiangyang was an important place for Yang Sichang to store grain, supplies, and ordnance. Simply put, it was the logistics base for the entire southern Ming army.

Capturing Xiangyang would be equivalent to cutting off the lifeline of most of the Ming army in the southern country.

As the saying goes, before soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first.

Xiangyang was the military warehouse of the Ming army, but now Xiangyang has been captured by them.

Everything Yang Sichang hoarded in Xiangyang became their spoils of war.

"I don't understand what the military counselor said in such a formal way, and I can't play chess. Now I just want to ask the military counselor, after Xiangyang is captured, what should we do next?"

Zhang Xianzhong laughed and bowed his hands.

He was in a good mood at this time. There were tens of thousands of soldiers in Xiangyang City, as well as hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and grass and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. These grains, grass and silver were undoubtedly prepared by Yang Sichang to supply the Ming army.

But now, all of this is for him and will be his help.

Xu Yixian pondered for a moment and replied.

"He who is in Xiangyang is the waist and waist in the world."

"Xiangyang, since ancient times, has been an important place for military strategists of all ages and an important military town."

Xiangyang is located in China, connected to Ruluo in the north, Qin and Shu in the west, covering Huguang in the south, and overlooking Wuyue in the east.

Regarding the situation in Huguang, in terms of the southeast, the emphasis is on Wuchang; in terms of Huguang, the emphasis is on Jingzhou; in terms of the world, the emphasis is on Xiangyang.

To advance eastward, you can stay high up and go straight to Wuchang, and go down the river to reach South Zhili.

Going north, you can drive into Nanyang and enter the Central Plains. The Nanyang Basin is smooth and smooth.

Going south can lead directly to the fertile land of Jingchu. Xiangyang City will inevitably encounter the basin and the endless Jianghan Plain, and there is no danger to defend it.

Historically, Cao Wei only controlled Xiangyang and suppressed Sun Wu from taking action.

During the Song-Mongolian War, the fall of Xiangyang directly led to the collapse of the Southern Song Dynasty and its rapid demise. .

These things are enough to show the importance of Xiangyang City.

Controlling Xiangyang is tantamount to taking control of the initiative in the war.

Advance to attack, retreat to defend.

Xu Yixian has read history books, and he knows these things very well.

"The city of Xiangyang is strong and solid, with dangerous mountains and rivers. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is a place of foundation."

"If you rely on Xiangyang, you can hope for the Southern Kingdom. If you control the Southern Kingdom, you can conquer the world!"

The current situation is just right, everything is developing for the better, and there is no way out for being a bandit all the time.

"The time has come."

Xu Yixian suppressed the excitement in his heart.

In following Zhang Xianzhong for such a long time, Xu Yixian thought many times that he had made the wrong move and chose the right path.

But now, after Zhang Xianzhong really captured Xiangyang, Xu Yixian changed all his previous views. He did not follow the wrong person or take the wrong path.

Zhang Xianzhong has the qualities of a hero and the image of an emperor!
"What Commander Xu said makes sense..."

Zhang Xianzhong's eyes moved slightly, a little moved.

But only for a moment.

"It's just that the total number of soldiers and horses under our command is only 5,000. With these 5,000 soldiers in hand, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect Xiangyang."

"Being trapped in Xiangyang, once the Ming army comes from all over the place and hundreds of thousands of troops surround Xiangyang, won't we become the bastards in the water tank?"

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head and shouted.

"That's not right, that's not right. I feel like it would be more reliable to go back to Ma Ma and call them back."

Xu Yixian's expression condensed slightly and he said quickly.

"We are able to capture Xiangyang, which is a rare thing. If we give up, I'm afraid it will be difficult to obtain it again. Such a God-given opportunity..."

Before Xu Yixian finished speaking, he was interrupted by Pan Duao who stepped forward from the side.

"What the king said is reasonable. Now that our army has insufficient strength, occupying Xiangyang is tantamount to sitting back and waiting for death."

Xu Yixian's expression changed slightly, and he turned to look at Pan Duao, about to question him, but when Pan Duao changed the subject again, Xu Yixian did not say anything else.

"But what Military Master Xu said is extremely reasonable."

"If we go east at this time, we will not be able to move most of the property in Xiangyang Mansion. We will either burn it all and hide it, or leave it to the officers and soldiers again."

With so much gold, silver, and so much food and grass, it was impossible for them to bring all of them.

After bringing them all, the Ming army would undoubtedly be able to catch up with them easily.

Their maneuverability advantage will be completely lost.

"If you rely on Xiangyang, you can hope for the Southern Kingdom. If you control the Southern Kingdom, you can conquer the world."

Pan Duao took a step forward. He was indeed not as good as Xu Yixian when it came to organizing and training the army and managing military affairs.

But when it comes to people's livelihood and political affairs, and when it comes to guessing people's hearts, Xu Yixian is far inferior to him.

"Our problem now is that we have too few troops and horses to occupy Xiangyang and control the Southern Kingdom."

Zhang Xianzhong nodded. He really wanted to stay in Xiangyang. Xu Yixian's words were indeed very attractive to him.

However, with this small number of troops, it would not be enough for the Ming army to fill the gap in a real face-to-face fight.

Pan Duao took a step forward and asked.

“Has your Majesty ever heard of the Ten Thousand People’s Army in Henan?”

Zhang Xianzhong raised his eyebrows. With the people he had placed in the court, he naturally paid attention to the major events in the world.

The Ten Thousand People's Army caused an uproar in Henan, and Li Yan even captured Luoyang and beheaded King Fu.

Although the Ten Thousand People's Army suffered a defeat at the foot of Kaifeng City, the momentum of the Ten Thousand People's Army was not much weaker.

Not long ago, the Ten Thousand People's Army seemed to have captured Shangqiu in Guide Prefecture, plundered it, and suddenly turned to the south of Zhili, destroying several cities in a row.

"Of course I have heard of it."

"Then the king should also know why Li Yan was able to raise such a huge army in just a few months, right?"

Pan Duao took a step forward again, lowered his voice slightly, and spoke to Zhang Xianzhong.

"The military advisor is saying..."

Zhang Xianzhong drew inferences from one instance, and Pan Du'ao just mentioned it lightly, and he had already thought of the meaning of Pan Du'ao's words.

"Your Majesty has a keen mind, and that is exactly what I mean."

Pan Duao looked serious and said in a deep voice.

"The Ming Dynasty planned to suppress the people and imposed additional taxes on money and food, which caused serious resentment among the people and made it difficult for the people to survive."

"The king can now imitate what Li Yan did in Henan, open warehouses to release grain, provide relief to the victims, win over the people, and organize and train the army."

"Declare benevolence and righteousness, prohibit soldiers from killing, and win people's hearts to achieve great things!"