The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 387 Snare
"The Ming army is moving!"

A strong wind blew up the huge dark black flag on Shiniushan Mountain in the east of Fengyang Mountain.

Shiniushan Mountain is located in the easternmost part of Fengyang Mountain Range.

Looking from Shiniushan Mountain, one can see all the movements on the eastern plains of Fengyang Prefecture.

Li Yan wore armor inside and a crimson cloak outside, with a bow and a sword at his fingertips, standing on a platform at the edge of the cliff.

After several years of military service, Li Yan is no longer the weak scholar who was unable to even lift a chicken.

Along the way from Henan, they experienced countless hardships and obstacles.

In many bloody battles, Li Yan drew his sword and led the troops into battle.

Nowadays, Li Yan doesn’t dare to be called a brave general, but he can still withstand everyone’s praise for his bravery.

"finally come……"

Li Yan stared intently at the Ming army being constantly mobilized at the foot of the mountain.

The messenger of the Wanmin Army, carrying the command flag on his back, half-knelt on the ground and reported all the news about the Ming army around Fengyang.

"The Ming army's northern route launched a fierce attack on our positions at dawn. A quarter of an hour ago, the Shizifen camp fell. Our nine camps in the north of Fengyang City have all been eliminated. General Li Jiyu has led his troops to retreat to the outer city wall of Fengyang."

"The Ming army's northern route has now slowed down its offensive and is no longer advancing."

Li Yan looked towards the north, but his vision was still vast. It was dozens of miles away and it was difficult to see what was going on even if he stood on the top of the mountain.

However, Li Yan's purpose was not to see the situation in the north.

It just refreshed my understanding of the combat effectiveness of the troops under Chen Wang's command.

Although he and Chen Wang had connections with each other, he did not let up even the slightest bit in the defense of the north. He arranged for the defense with only his elite troops and even asked Li Jiyu to stay behind to take charge.

Chen Wang is a ferocious tiger, so one must be careful and cautious if he wants to kill him.

Li Yan was also worried that Chen Wang's conspiracy with him was fake, and he actually wanted to annihilate them.

But within one day, Chen Wang led his troops to capture nine of his camps and forced his troops back to the outer city wall.

The elite level of the Hanzhong army far exceeded Li Yan's original expectations.

Li Yan originally thought that after continuous training and a series of bloody battles, the elite troops under his command should be able to fight against the Hanzhong army. Even if they could not compete on equal terms, they should not lag behind by much.

But at the moment, it seems that the combat effectiveness of the Hanzhong Army is still much higher than that of the most elite troops under his command, and is in a class of its own.

Li Yan frowned. There were more than ten thousand soldiers and horses in Hanzhong Town under Chen Wang's command. It was not known whether it was the regular battalion under Chen Wang's command that was so brave, but it could be said that the rest of the soldiers and horses were equally powerful.

If it is the former, then Chen Wang’s threat is acceptable.

If it is the latter, then Chen Wang is a little too terrifying.

This is definitely not a blessing for the People's Army...

"The Ming army's eastern corps is returning to defend the city. Most of them have retreated to the west of the Hao River, leaving only three bridgeheads on the east side of the river. After a detailed investigation by the scouts, we found that there were more than a thousand officers and soldiers guarding each of the three bridgeheads."

"The walls of the three Ming army bridgeheads are strong, and it is difficult for the artillery of the front army to destroy them. The soldiers in the forts are elite, and many of them are wearing armor."

Building a wall with earth in winter does not require any adhesive. Just pour some cold water on it. When the cold wind blows and freezes it, it will become a solid barrier that is difficult to blast open with ordinary small and medium-sized artillery.

The Wanmin Army had suffered losses from artillery several times, so they consciously collected artillery. As a result, they collected a lot of artillery and formed their own artillery team.

However, the places that the Wanmin Army passed through were all inland, so the caliber of the artillery they captured was naturally not large.

They are basically outdated falconets and some light and medium-sized cannons, and their attack capabilities are not strong.

This is also an important reason why the siege on Fengyang City failed after a long time.

If there really were heavy artillery, such as the heavy red cannon commonly used in Liaodong, it would only take a few days of bombardment of the walls of Fengyang City to create a gap in its walls.

"The Ming army's troops heading south to attack the mountain this time have a total of about 12,000 soldiers and horses, and they are divided into five formations."

"The flag of the front formation is the Baoding General Hu Dawei, and the other four formations are all under the Baoding flag. They are the troops directly under Sun Chuanting's command. The middle formation is led by the pseudo-Ming commander Sun Chuanting himself."

Li Yan held his sword with one hand and held his outer battle robe with the other hand, standing on the edge of the cliff overlooking the fields below the mountain.

On the wilderness.

A large group of Ming troops slowly surged in like a tide.

The Ming army scouts, wearing red armor, roared across the land, like leaping fire dragons with bared fangs and claws, rapidly pressing towards the foot of the mountain.

Even though they were several miles apart, the murderous aura emanating from the army was still palpable.

The sight of the Ming army slowly approaching made Li Yan look sideways and exclaim in admiration.

"There is no false reputation. Sun Chuanting is so famous, he is indeed extraordinary."

In the Battle of Fuli Bridge, Li Yan set a trap and defeated the troops led by Yang Wenyue from Baoding and Hebei towns.

Now most of the troops under Sun Chuanting's command were reorganized from the rebel army recruited from Daming Prefecture.

"In just a few months, they were able to train such elite soldiers."

Yuan Shizhong on the side frowned and looked serious as he looked at the neat formation of the Ming army. Even though he was extremely unyielding in his heart, he still had to admit that he was far inferior to Sun Chuanting.

"I feel really bad for not delaying it a little longer."

Among these soldiers, most of them were his former subordinates.

Yuan Shizhong spent about a year planning in Daming Prefecture and contacted a group of people to respond to the uprising of the Wanmin Army.

Originally, they were unstoppable along the way, defeating the Ming army in succession and even conquering Kaizhou in Daming Prefecture, Hebei. At its peak, they had as many as 100,000 followers.

When you call out from a high place, everyone will respond. How can this not make people feel great?

only……

All the things in the past, with all the support and attention, vanished in the blink of an eye.

The instigator of all this is one person - Sun Chuanting!

Yuan Shizhong had a solemn expression, tightly gripping the sword at his waist, staring at the center of the Ming army at the foot of the mountain.

Ten days.

From the time Sun Chuanting took office as the Governor of Baoding and led the army to attack, to his repeated defeats, and finally being besieged in the imperial city of Dongchang Prefecture in western Shandong.

Sun Chuanting only spent ten days in total.

Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue are different.

He is not a weak scholar, nor is he an incompetent and corrupt Confucian.

He is a general who has fought his way out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield. He is a commander who dares to fight in person and charge into battle.

Just like...

Just like Lu Xiangsheng...

"Sun Chuanting was an extremely capable person. When he first took office as the governor of Shaanxi, he was able to rectify military affairs and clean up the local areas. He captured and killed the King of Rebellion in Heishuiyu and defeated the Jiannu in the north at Qingshan Pass."

"The slave rebellion in Liaodong started during the Wanli period. First, there was the defeat at Sarhu, then the fall of Shenyang and the disastrous defeat at Guangning. They invaded the border several times to plunder and plundered the capital. The nine northern borders were terrified at the mention of slaves. There was even a rumor that 'if there are less than 10,000 Jurchens, they are invincible if there are more than 10,000.'"

Li Yan looked at the Ming army slowly advancing down the mountain and spoke in a deep voice.

"Under such circumstances, Sun Chuanting led his troops to defend the king and won a great victory at Qingshan Pass..."

Liaodong was in ruins, the Jiannu were gaining power, and all Chinese people were deeply distressed.

Li Yan had also been indignant about this, but it was a pity that his career was not going well. Although he wanted to serve the country, he was unable to hold office.

The great victory at Qingshan Pass had already spread throughout the world.

The court's official reports were extremely enthusiastic. The nine border towns worked together and tried their best to attack the mountains, rescue the people and recover the lost land.

Thousands of officers and soldiers were buried in Qingshan Pass, which ultimately broke the myth that "less than 10,000 Jurchens are invincible, more than 10,000" and greatly enhanced China's prestige, sweeping away the decadent defeat in Liaodong. Li Yan was not at all surprised that Yuan Shizhong was defeated by Sun Chuanting.

At that time, Li Yan's advice to Yuan Shizhong was not to stay in Daming Prefecture for too long, but to quickly move south to join the main force of the Wanmin Army led by him.

However, after Yuan Shizhong's power expanded rapidly, he had different ideas in his mind. He was unwilling to be controlled by others, so he stayed in Daming Prefecture.

In the end, he was defeated by Sun Chuanting, which made things difficult for Sun Chuanting.

Li Yan glanced at Yuan Shizhong, who was full of regret, but did not blame him.

Things have already happened. Saying too much will be useless and will only cause disunity among your subordinates.

"Sun Chuanting is a veteran of many battles and has outstanding abilities. He can be called a great general. It is not unfair for you to lose to him."

Li Yan had been a commander for a long time, so he naturally knew how to control his subordinates.

Yuan Shizhong had a high reputation, was brave and good at fighting, was quite knowledgeable about battle formations, and was capable enough to stand on his own.

Although I initially wanted to start a new business and had ambitions.

But now I have already seen the situation clearly and myself clearly, and I will only be more loyal.

Yuan Shizhong will not become a stumbling block for the Wanmin Army in the future, but will instead be a great help to him.

"Moreover, Sun Chuanting relied more on Lu Xiangsheng's power. Otherwise, with the fortified city, he would not be able to hold out for more than a month at least."

Yuan Shizhong nodded.

Li Yan spoke to the heart of his heart. Who could have thought that Sun Chuanting would actually send people to attack Lu Xiangsheng's banner, directly undermining the morale of his troops.

Whenever he thought of this, Yuan Shizhong would often sigh.

"Ugh——"

The deep sound of horns came from the distant Ming army's formation.

The Ming army's scouts pressed forward, forced back the last cavalry of the Wanmin Army at the foot of the mountain, and took control of the entire battlefield.

The various units of the Ming army have stopped, are making final preparations, and are beginning to respond to the flag.

In the field of vision, the various Ming army units were in neat formation, with bright uniforms and armor, and a murderous aura.

Countless flags waved one after another and rose and fell with each other. At first glance, the Ming army's formation looked as magnificent as the rise and fall of the tide.

The passionate and majestic voice soared into the sky and echoed across the wilderness.

Around Li Yan, Yuan Shizhong had a solemn look on his face, and Yidou Gu and a group of officers and soldiers from the Wanmin Army also had a solemn look on their faces.

The officers and soldiers have seen it many times, and tens of thousands of them have seen it before.

However, the Ming army led by Sun Chuanting was in high spirits, completely different from those of other officers and soldiers. Their spirit and energy were completely different from those of ordinary Ming troops.

The only Ming army that is more powerful than the one currently led by Sun Chuanting is the Hanzhong army led by Chen Wang.

It is precisely because of this that the generals of the Wanmin Army have surprisingly consistent expressions.

Li Yan had a cold expression.

Li Yan naturally admired Sun Chuanting.

But, I just admire you.

But on the battlefield, when soldiers meet, there is no room for mercy.

Their positions are different after all.

Sun Chuanting stood on the side of the court.

He still held on to the fantasy that he could eradicate the court's ills, eliminate the poisonous influence in the nine borders, and revive the Ming Dynasty again.

It is precisely because of the illusions in our hearts that we are unable to see the reality when we are in the situation.

Sun Chuanting couldn't see the reality clearly, but Li Yan, who was outside the situation, saw it clearly.

Ming dynasty……

Already decayed...

It's too late now.

The one who sits on the throne of the emperor today does not have the ability to eradicate the evils and revive the Ming Dynasty.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

The rumbling sound of war drums came from the fields below the mountain. It was the sound of the Ming army's drums.

The Ming army was powerful, and as the flags waved, the large formation moved along with them, pressing towards the foot of the mountain like a black cloud.

On the cliff, all the generals of the Wanmin Army had serious expressions.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

Sun Chuanting's reputation has long been known throughout the world, so how could he not make people afraid of him?

Li Yan looked around and had already taken in the expressions of the surrounding generals.

If a general is like this, the soldiers under him will naturally be even better.

"How can a skilled woman make soup pancakes without flour?"

Compared with the solemn and dignified generals of the Wanmin Army, Li Yan's expression was much calmer.

Although the Ming army at the foot of the mountain looked powerful from the outside, in Li Yan's opinion, they were weak inside.

Li Yan knew very well the details of the Ming army led by Sun Chuanting.

Most of these Ming troops were Yuan Shizhong's former subordinates, and they had limited battle experience. Sun Chuanting had only been in charge for a short time, so even with daily training, they could only barely form an army.

It is still far from being a truly elite force.

And most importantly, Li Yan was fully aware of the Ming army's food shortage and wage arrears from Chen Wang and the spies he planted.

"The Ming army is so powerful now, only because of its winning streak along the way."

"The winning streak has already gone to their heads."

Li Yan's voice was deep and resounding in everyone's ears.

"Under our attack, the tens of thousands of troops from Nanzhili could only retreat to the inner city of Fengyang!"

Li Yan slowly drew out the sword from his waist, looked at the generals of Yashan, looked around at the soldiers around him, and said loudly.

"The army coming to our aid from the south was afraid of our might and hesitated to come to our aid, and stopped at Nanjing."

"We fought all the way from Henan over a thousand miles, conquered Luoyang, killed Prince Fu, and captured Xuzhou, winning battle after battle!"

"Tens of thousands of Baoding garrison soldiers who once fought bravely were all defeated by our swords and guns."

"In the past, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses were unable to defeat us."

Li Yan's momentum continued to rise. His words were passionate and very contagious, causing everyone's emotions to rise wildly involuntarily.

"Today in Fengyang, victory will surely belong to us!"

"Natural disasters continue, border disasters continue, we will take advantage of the situation and rise up like a soaring dragon, we will surely soar above the nine heavens!"

Li Yan stood with a knife in his hand, his expression cold and his eyes determined.

In response to him, there were countless soldiers with weapons raised all over the mountains and plains, and countless flags moving in response to his orders.

Li Yan raised his head and looked into the distance, gazing far into the distance.

At the end of the horizon, several black lines are slowly moving towards Baiyun Mountain.

Li Yan also expected the Ming army to fight to the death...