Chapter 139 Xiangyang at night

On the night of the third day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Zuo Liangyu, the general of the Ming Dynasty who had withdrawn from Baimadu, led his army back to Xiangyang City.

As soon as he entered the city, he ordered the gates of each city to be closed and not allowed to be opened again.

The lesson that this city was deceived by Zhang Xianzhong's small group of elite men last year made Zuo Liangyu extremely cautious in such chaotic moments.

Although Wang Yuncheng, the deputy general who caught up with him and entered the city with him, repeatedly stated that he had never noticed the rebels following him, Zuo Liangyu still did not dare to take it lightly because he really could not predict what Li Zicheng, who was more cunning than Zhang Xianzhong, would do.

And not long after entering the city, Zuo Liangyu returned to the West Gate (West Gate) where he entered the city, and stood for a long time in the dark corner of the city wall.

No one knows what he is thinking.

At this time, although the sky was completely dark, there were still a large number of soldiers and horses gathered outside the city gate's super wide moat who wanted to enter the city.

These soldiers and horses are basically all kinds of armed forces originally stationed outside the city. Because of the difference in the time when the news was received and the reactions and sensitivities of the generals, even if Zuo Liangyu's army has been defeated and returned to the city, there are still many forces that cannot be reached in time.

Retreat into the city.

Of course, there are also some who are the defense troops along the river who are closer to Xiangyang and want to withdraw into the city after completing their security and cover tasks. There are even some small groups of infantry who returned from Baimadu but were too tired to run and were left far behind.

These people were blocked outside the city. You can imagine the chaos and clamor.

They crowded around, yelled, cursed, and begged. Some of them even swam under the city wall and begged, but the city gate was firmly closed, the suspension bridge always stood high, and even more on the city wall.

There is always silence.

There are six gates in Xiangyang, and there is an urn outside each gate. The moat is 130 to 250 meters wide and is named "City Lake".

Such a wide moat naturally blocks the possibility of most people coming to the city without tools, and also allows the defenders on the city wall to basically not worry about whether there will be bandits sneaking in and attacking the city.

Without organization to cross the river, it would be impossible to attack the city.

Gradually, most of the soldiers and horses no longer had extravagant hopes, and many began to walk south and around the east side of the city, probably intending to escape into the great bend of the Han River in the east of Xiangyang City, but there were also some who were unwilling to give up and were waiting in the moat outside the west gate.

The Iron Buddha Temple is nearby, and many seem to have entered the temple.

The lights in and around the Iron Buddha Temple are brightly lit, and you can even faintly hear the chanting of monks.

After an unknown amount of time, Zuo Liangyu, who looked tired and tired, finally moved his body, which had not moved for a long time, and turned around to look at the brightly lit and chaotic city, but he staggered and almost fell.

Zuo Mengeng, who was standing by, hurried to help him.

Seeing how haggard Zuo Liangyu was, the generals Wang Yuncheng, Ma Jinzhong, Zhang Yingyuan and Wu Xueli who were waiting quietly nearby also hurried forward to check on the general's condition.

Zuo Liangyu, who was being supported, didn't even try to break free for a moment. It seemed that he was really exhausted.

He frowned and looked at the fires that were rising everywhere in the city. He shook his head when he heard the bursts of loud sounds in the south outside the city, and his face became even more gloomy.

A large number of troops crowded into the city, and even thinking about it, they couldn't stop it.

What's more, the defenders of Fancheng also withdrew into Xiangyang, which further aggravated the panic and fear of the troops in the city.

As for the vast residential areas for common people and merchants between the south of the city and Yanggu Mountain and within the great bend of the Han River, the chaos is even more conceivable.

In fact, it was only after Zuo Liangyu entered Xiangyang City that he learned that the deputy commander-in-chief Chen Keli and the commander-in-chief Fang Guoan who were staying in Fancheng had abandoned the city and retreated into Xiangyang shortly after he left the city, leaving Fancheng without any defenders.

Then, Fancheng has not been occupied by the peasant army yet, which is simply funny.

Zuo Liangyu glanced at the surrounding generals and said nothing, but turned around again and looked to the west.

Lieutenant General Wang Yuncheng finally couldn't hold himself back anymore. He muttered with a sad face: "Commander, Xiangyang has become an isolated city. We are short of food, and with so many people and horses gathered together, it is difficult to defend this city!" His mental state seemed to be that

Very bad.

Zuo Liangyu turned his head sharply when he heard this.

In the night and darkness, Wang Yuncheng could not see Zuo Liangyu's expression clearly. He only thought that Zuo Liangyu was expressing dissatisfaction with him, and he lowered his head in shame.

But there was actually no anger or blame on Zuo Liangyu's face. On the contrary, it was full of thoughts, and his eyes were even more erratic.

Wang Yuncheng's fear suddenly reminded Zuo Liangyu of Kaifeng. There are too many similarities between Xiangyang and Kaifeng today, which also touched the depths of Zuo Liangyu's most worried heart.

If Fan City is still there, if there are still defenders on Yanggu Mountain, Zuo Liangyu plans to take another look at the situation.

Yanggu Mountain!

That's right, the nearby Yanggu Mountain is now filled with abnormal darkness and silence. There is no explanation other than that the defenders are no longer outside.

Zuo Liangyu didn't even bother to verify.

Isn’t this nonsense!

Zuo Liangyu was no longer depressed. He found that his control over the army seemed to be declining, and it was declining sharply.

Losing Fancheng means that the fleet on the river has lost its safety guarantee, but if Yanggu Mountain is not defended, Xiangyang will surely die!

"Are the defenders on Xian Mountain still there?" Zuo Liangyu finally spoke.

"Except for me and a few personal guards, the general's military and horse equipment are in Xian Mountain and have not been touched without permission." Deputy General Ma Jinzhong hurriedly answered with clasped fists.

But Zuo Liangyu didn't answer for a while, but only stared at Ma Jinzhong.

Ma Jinzhong had no choice but to look at Zuo Liangyu calmly.

After a while, Zuo Liangyu nodded slightly, and then suddenly said in a deep voice: "Fan City has been lost, Xiangyang can no longer be defended, and there is a risk that something will change."

In the surprise of the generals who had not recovered, Zuo Liangyu turned to Zuo Mengeng firmly and resolutely and said: "My son, immediately send someone to give an order to the generals above the guerrilla level. The entire army will withdraw from Xiangyang early tomorrow morning and move eastward along the Yangtze River.

Next. Remember, you must warn your generals not to pass this order to your subordinates and let them know it. Otherwise, once the news spreads, the whole army will be frightened and blow up the camp, which will be bad."

"But? Commander, Father, we won't retreat until tomorrow morning. What should we do if the invading army surrounds us tonight?" Zuo Mengeng just turned around but turned back and asked hesitantly.

"The thieves are tired. They haven't seen any trace of their troops for a long time. They are probably resting and recuperating, or they are worried about being ambushed. Fancheng has no more troops, but it is still not lost. This is clear evidence. In this way, the thieves will not come to investigate until tomorrow day at the earliest.

its brigade

Crossing the river requires more effort. Our army will move eastward tonight, not to mention that our elite troops will be weak due to long battles during the day. The sudden announcement of orders at night will make all armies frightened and afraid of changes in the army. It is better to be safe." Zuo.

Liangyu patiently explained a few words.

In Zuo Mengeng's sudden realization, Lieutenant General Ma Jinzhong took a small step forward. After handing over his hand, he interrupted and asked: "How can we notify the troops still outside the city?"

Zuo Liangyu immediately looked up to the sky and sighed, and then used his exaggerated body movements to show his heartache and said: "Liangbi has retreated to the west, and there is no danger. The other armies can only be sorry for the time being, especially the guerrilla Li Ping.

It's a pity. I just hope they can understand my difficulties. I don't want to pass on the message, but it is actually outside the city. There is no guarantee that there will be no traitors taking credit for the traitor army. As a general, I can't lose the big for the small!"

Zuo Liangyu said that Hui Deng's courtesy name was Liangbi, which was intended to show his closeness. However, Li Ping had no choice because he was under twenty years old and had no characters.

Although rituals and music had collapsed by the end of the Ming Dynasty, and many men had adopted Chinese characters in their teens, Li Ping was considered to be from a wealthy family, and it was normal for him to strictly abide by rituals and music, so he was not suspected by others.

"It's embarrassing for the old general." Ma Jinzhong sadly handed over his hand and retreated silently.

When all the generals saw this, they all bowed and left.

Compared with the decadence of Zuo Liangyu, the highest military commander in Xiangyang, Wang Yongzuo, the highest local commander in Xiangyang, was completely worried.

Yunfu means Yunyang Fuzhi, the full name is "Fuzhi Yunyang and other places and supervises military affairs". It is in charge of the military and civilian affairs of the five provinces and eight prefectures in the adjacent areas of Hubei, Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi. It is probably the same as the governor. This is the Ming Dynasty.

An official position was established in the 12th year of Chenghua (1477) and was stationed in Yun County, Yunyang Prefecture (today's Yunyang District, Shiyan City, Hubei Province).

Lu Xiangsheng, Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Zhongliangyuan, who died in the war against the Qing Dynasty in the 11th year of Chongzhen, once held this position.

Wang Yongzuo originally stayed well in Yunyang, but after Xiangyang fell and King Xiang was killed last year, he had to move to Xiangyang to take charge of the overall situation.

Ever since Zuo Liangyu was defeated back to Xiangyang from Henan, he had been depressed enough, because the Zuo Army's looting of the place was really unbearable for him, and he could hardly sleep day and night. But for the sake of the overall situation, he had to endure it.

This time the peasant army went south, Wang Yongzuo thought that with Zuo Liangyu's 200,000 troops and the danger of Xiangyang, the peasant army would be beaten to death.

But it only took a day, Fancheng was no longer defended, and Zuo Liangyu, who had left the city to resist the enemy, also retreated in defeat.

What is going on?

Wang Yongzuo was completely confused.

He was eager to find Zuo Liangyu to ask clearly and discuss what should be done next.

However, Wang Yongzuo discovered that he could not even see Zuo Liangyu's face. Not to mention that he could not see the person, he did not even know where he was. All the Zuo army soldiers had no idea.

Isn't it child's play to not be able to find the general when the enemy is in front of us?

————

While Wang Yongzuo was going crazy with anxiety, Li Ping was leading his army through the passage between Yanggu Mountain and Wanshan Mountain.

He walked very smoothly, surprisingly smoothly, which made him very surprised and speechless as he was worried about being intercepted.

"Only a camp was seen on Yanggu Mountain, but not a single officer." The intelligence report brought by this reconnaissance company made Li Ping's jaw almost drop to the ground.

To defend Xiangyang, you must defend Yanggu Mountain. Now that there is no one on Yanggu Mountain, Xiangyang will become a dead place tomorrow.

Isn’t this an international joke?

As for the large number of soldiers and horses who want to enter the city blocked outside the Xiangyang City Gate, this is not surprising.

Li Ping knew very well that except for Zuo Liangyu, there was no possibility that the Xiangyang City Gate would be opened again at night. Zuo Liangyu asked him to retreat to Yanggu Mountain first based on this consideration, rather than letting Li Ping go

Guard Yanggu Mountain.

But now, it doesn't seem to be a big problem for Li Ping not to go to Yanggu Mountain, because all the original defenders have fled. His reason for not going to fill the hole is strong enough.

Is this sadness or happiness? Li Ping was a bit dumbfounded.

———
To be continued...