The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 375: North and South
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, it was the seventh day of the tenth month.

The night is deep, and among the mountains, there are silent sounds of insects and beasts.

Autumn is strong, and everything is desolate.

The sky was filled with dark clouds, covering the bright moon and stars in the sky.

Xiangyang, Zigai Mountain, Hanzhong Army Camp.

In the ink-black surroundings, the firelights throughout the camp even seemed much dimmer.

In the central military tent, Chen Wang sat diagonally on the head seat of the central military tent, holding one side of his forehead with one hand, and hanging his other hand on the armrest, closing his eyes and concentrating.

A document with the governor's seal was placed on the table in front of Chen Wang.

The document has been opened, and Chen Wang has read the contents inside.

It was so quiet inside the Chinese military tent that you could hear a needle drop.

Zhou Yumao sat on the right side, and Zhao Huailiang sat next to Zhou Yumao. The two of them sat on their seats in silence with their eyebrows lowered and their eyes lowered.

The atmosphere of silence,
I don't know how long it took, but a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent, followed by some noise outside the tent.

In the Chinese military tent, Zhou Yumao and Zhao Huailiang raised their heads and turned to look at the curtain.

Chen Wang also slowly opened his eyes at this time.

The curtain was opened by the soldiers waiting outside the tent.

Chen Gong, who was wearing bright armor, held the Yanling saber at his waist and stepped into the tent at a rapid pace.

Facing the gazes of several people in the tent, Chen Gong strode forward, walked straight to the left side and sat down.

After Chen Gong sat on the seat, he took off the Yanling knife from his waist, placed it on the table, and explained.

"The bandits in Xiangyang City are not at peace. Someone attacked the camp in the west city. It took a lot of effort to fight them off, which wasted some time."

The current commander-in-chief of the siege under Xiangyang City is Chen Gong.

Coming all the way from Xiangyang City, I naturally arrived a little late.

"It doesn't matter."

Chen Wang didn't feel anything wrong because of these side events.

The sentry outside the tent had already come over to report on the situation outside Xiangyang City.

I saw a large fire suddenly ignited in the west of Xiangyang City.

Chen Wang also heard the roar of artillery in his tent.

During these days, Li Dingguo only stood by the city wall at the beginning, and now he has begun to constantly try to take the initiative, even sending small groups of troops to attack the camp and harass them.

They were training troops, and Li Dingguo was also training.

"How is the reorganization of the Sixth Battalion in Huguang going?"

Chen Gong picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, then answered.

"Everything that needs to be replaced has been replaced. The original soldiers below have basically been replaced a lot. Counting the expanded recruits, the old soldiers now only account for 50% of the total number."

"After several rectifications, the military discipline of each battalion is much better, and the Military Law Office has also deployed personnel to the bureau level."

Chen Gong paused and asked in a questioning tone.

"The casualties during the siege during this period were considerable, and the morale of each battalion was declining. Isn't it..."

Chen Wang raised his hand and interrupted Chen Gong's subsequent words.

"From tomorrow onwards, Xiangyang City will only besiege but not attack. Just let Sun Shenwu lead the navy to be on guard."

Xiangyang is indeed a strong city, but now Xiangyang does not have the assistance of the navy or the army, and there is no Fancheng and Sanxian Mountain as the horns.

Xiangyang is just an isolated city, a solid isolated city.

Although Li Dingguo has excellent military skills, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. With the existing military strength, there is no way to stir up trouble.

The wide Han River surrounded Xiangyang, which made it difficult for the attackers to attack Xiangyang City and deploy their troops.

But with the help of the navy, all this is not a problem.

If you really want to conquer Xiangyang, as long as Chen Wang is willing to pay a sufficient price, ten days will be enough to capture Xiangyang City.

The Hanzhong Guard Ordnance Bureau, in addition to making infantry cannons, has also begun to make heavy siege artillery weighing 18 pounds.

Eighteen kilograms is the weight of the cannonball, and kilograms are kilograms. When converted into pounds, it is about twenty-four pounds, which is a twenty-four-pound cannon.

The twenty-four-pound cannon, as a siege gun, is powerful enough in the South.

And heavy siege mortars are also being trial-produced.

With these heavy artillery for siege, it will only be easier to siege the city in the future.

But why should we capture Xiangyang?

After Xiangyang was captured, there would be no such good excuse to find the same place to develop and train troops with peace of mind.

"All the men and horses of Huguang Sixth Battalion will be withdrawn tomorrow."

"Now that we have had enough training, there is no need to fight anymore."

"Yu Mao."

Chen Wang leaned on the chair and turned his eyes to Zhou Yumao, who was sitting on his right.

"The general is here."

Zhou Yumao didn't show any hesitation. He saluted with both hands and leaned forward to obey the order.

After such a long time, Zhou Yumao has already become a member of Hanzhong Town controlled by Chen Wang.

Zhou Yumao was a native of Dongdenglai, Shandong. He was a Jinshi during the Tianqi period. He originally served as a garrison in Shandong, and later went to Shaanxi to suppress the army. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, he set up camp in Hanzhong and was promoted to Hanzhong guerrilla due to his merit.

How this guerrilla came about may not be clear to others, but Zhou Yumao knows it himself.

Military merit is indeed a solid military merit, but being promoted costs a lot of money.

But this guerrilla position was almost lost when Gao Yingxiang entered Hanzhong in the ninth year of Chongzhen.

In Xing'an, facing the overwhelming intruders, everyone's face inevitably showed a look of fear.

But Chen Wang didn't change his expression and remained calm.

Later, in the battle of Heishui Yu, Chen Wangzhen defeated Gao Yingxiang, and his reputation spread far and wide.

It was Chen Wang who gave him the official title of guerrilla, and later helped him get promoted to the rank of general.

Zhou Yumao was naturally very clear about what Chen Wang wanted to do.

Conspiracy is a serious crime, so Zhou Yumao is naturally afraid.

But many times, there are not many choices in life.

In Hanzhong Mansion, all those who wanted to resist Chen Wang disappeared without exception.

In Huguang Sixth Battalion, most of those arrogant and powerful generals who did not obey orders died in unknown circumstances.

Open the bow without turning back the arrow.

Treason is indeed a serious crime involving the clan.

But once successful, Conglong's merit will be the great achievement of the Fuze clan for hundreds of years!

"The command of Huguang Sixth Battalion will be temporarily handed over to you."

Zhou Yumao's expression moved slightly, he lowered his head again and responded with great respect.

"General, obey your orders!"

Although he often led a battalion alone, Chen Wang never gave him command of the rest of the battalion.

At the moment, Chen Wang chose to directly hand over the command of the Huguang Sixth Battalion to him.

If Xiangyang's affairs can be properly handled, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to future development.

"Xiangyang City is in Xianjun's hands, which is more beneficial to us."

Chen Wang nodded on the desk in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly.

"Nearly 6,000 corpses were thrown under Xiangyang City, and the court had nothing to say."

Naturally, the siege attack would not involve launching large-scale attacks every day. Except for the high intensity of the siege in the early stage, which caused a lot of casualties, the subsequent intensity was within a controllable range.

"The situation in the southern country changed three times in January. Sun Chuanting has been appointed as the governor and has now arrived in Peixian County."

Chen Wang picked up the document on the table and handed it to the guard at the side.

The personal guard took the document with both hands and handed it to Chen Gong first.

After Chen Gong finished reading, his expression became much gloomier involuntarily.

The document was then passed to Zhou Yumao and Zhao Huailiang.

The expressions of the two of them also sank because of the documents.

Sun Chuanting was released from prison and became governor of Baoding on the recommendation of Chen Xinjia, Minister of War.

In just ten days after taking office, Sun Chuanting led his troops to defeat Yuan Shizhong, who had gathered tens of thousands of troops to rebel in Daming Mansion, and besieged Yuan Shizhong in the imperial city of Dongchang Mansion in eastern Shandong.

Then, Sun Chuanting sent people to fly Lu Xiangsheng's banner outside the city.

Yuan Shizhong was from Damingfu, and he revolted in Damingfu, so those who followed Yuan Shizhong in the uprising were all Damingfu people.

Seeing Lu Xiangsheng's banner outside the city, and hearing the voices of officers and soldiers persuading them to surrender, there was a burst of crying.

Yuan Shizhong knew that the important matter was over, so he led dozens of his followers to escape from the east gate of Chaocheng, and disappeared without a trace.

Afterwards, the rebels occupying the city opened the city gate and surrendered to the Ming army besieging the city.

The civil unrest in Daming Mansion was eliminated.

Sun Chuanting solved the civil uprising in Daming Mansion as soon as he took over as the governor of Baoding, which made Chongzhen feel much better about Sun Chuanting.

Life in prison for more than a year has smoothed Sun Chuanting's edges a lot.

Sun Chuanting hid his sharp edge and softened his words a lot, which also gained Chongzhen's favor.

So shortly after the war, Chongzhen issued an edict.

Because the current situation of the civil unrest in Guan is completely different from that of a few years ago.

Therefore, the powers of the Governor-General and Prime Minister also need to be changed accordingly.

The governors of the three sides are responsible for the affairs of Shaanxi.

The suppression mission in the South was divided into two parts.

In the south, the military affairs of the four provinces of Zhili, Huguang, Sichuan, and Jiangxi are headed by Hou Xun.

In the north, the military affairs of the four provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong were headed by Sun Chuanting.

The imperial edict was issued and conveyed to all provinces. Sun Chuanting accepted the appointment during the march, and then issued military orders to join forces for suppression.

Sun Chuanting went all the way south and stationed troops in Peixian County, looking at Xuzhou in the distance.

"That side of Henan..."

Chen Gong looked gloomy and walked all the way until now.

He is no longer the servant who only knew how to fight fiercely and had no understanding of the political situation and officialdom.

"The imperial court subdivided military affairs and appointed Hou Xun to be in charge of the four southern provinces and Sun Chuanting to be in charge of the four northern provinces. They are obviously targeting us."

"You are right, this edict is just for us..."

Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

Hou Xun was used to take charge of the four southern provinces. First, because Hou Xun was Zuo Liangyu's benefactor, he could use Hou Xun to control Zuo Liangyu.

The second reason is that Hou Xun is a member of the Donglin Party, and the Donglin Party is based in the Jiangnan area.

Hou Xun is in charge of the southern part of the country, and he can rely on this status to gain support from the Donglin Party both inside and outside the government.

And using Sun Chuanting as the prime minister of the northern part of the southern country was to use Sun Chuanting to restrict him.

Although he has always fulfilled his duties, it is normal for the court to be wary due to Zuo Liangyu's mistakes.

When you reach a certain level, loyalty or not is actually not important.

Everyone knows the story of wearing a yellow robe.

"Now is not the time."

Chen Wang raised his hand and pressed it. Chen Gong's face couldn't hide anything. He could see what Chen Gong meant at a glance.

"The situation is not as critical as you think."

Chen Gong frowned, his expression changed several times, and finally he made up his mind.

"Brother, maybe the situation is not as critical as I thought."

"But we are developing so much that we can no longer hide it. You also know the situation in Hanzhong Mansion."

“The longer it goes and the more things go on, the easier it is for things to go wrong.”

"When interruptions continue, I will suffer chaos. I think the time is not right now, but I think now is the best opportunity!"

Chen Gong stood up, walked to the platform with the map hanging on the side, pointed to the location of Nanzhili and said.

"Now Li Yan is causing great trouble in southern Zhili, and his combined army of 500,000 soldiers is surrounding Fengyang. If there is no external intervention, the Ming army of the Southern Kingdom will be overturned in just a matter of days."

"The situation in the Liaodong war has become increasingly tense. Soldiers and horses from the north have gathered in the northern continent and are unable to move south."

"The troops and horses on the three sides are restrained by Li Chuang and cannot move."

Chen Gong clenched his fists, his expression was excited, but he still suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice.

"We have 31,000 soldiers in our town, 13,000 in the six Huguang battalions, and 15,000 in the seven Henan battalions. A total of 60,000 soldiers and horses, who can resist us if we start an attack now?!"

Chen Wang's expression was slightly condensed. Chen Gong had always been following him and never refuted his decision.

But now, Chen Gong raised objections for the first time.

Moreover, everything Chen Gong said was extremely logical, and he could see the current situation very clearly.

Chen Gong now fully possesses the ability and vision to guard one side.

Chen Wang did not rush to answer, but looked at Zhou Yumao and Zhao Huailiang first.

Zhao Huailiang's eyes flickered, but he was obviously moved and eager to try.

Zhou Yumao's expression did not change, but the slightly trembling arms still exposed the fear in his heart, but the eagerness in his eyes made people see the desire deep in his heart.

"It is true that no one can stop him, but his reputation is not right, his words are not smooth, and although his swords and weapons are sharp, it is difficult to conquer the world."

Chen Wang picked up the tea cup in front of him, took a sip of the tea in the cup, and said calmly.

"The name is unfair and the words are unfair, I know that, but we are running out of time."

Chen Gong's expression changed. He didn't know this truth, but he couldn't wait for the changes in the current situation.

"The Henan Seventh Battalion is still in our hands, the social soldiers in Kaifeng City are also in our hands, and Henan Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, and Ruzhou Prefecture are also under our control."

"But this was when Emperor Tiangao was far away. Yang Sichang was in Sichuan at that time, and Hou Xun later went to South Zhili."

Chen Gong was a little anxious. He had no way not to be anxious, and he had no way not to think about these things.

"Now, Sun Chuanting is in Peixian County, only a few days away from Henan."

Sun Chuanting stationed in Peixian and took over Shandong's military affairs.

Once the banditry in Shandong is resolved, I am afraid that the military affairs in Henan will begin to be rectified.

By then, their control over the Henan Seventh Battalion will inevitably decline.

And these are just the beginning...

"I know all these things."

Chen Wang looked at Chen Gong calmly and shook his head slowly.

He knew better than Chen Gong what kind of person Sun Chuanting was and what kind of things he would do.

"But the time has certainly not come yet."

Chen Wang's eyes moved away from Chen Gong and moved to the map beside Chen Gong.

"but……"

"It's coming soon..."