In a few months from early summer to early autumn, with the help of Shanxi merchants, Shaanxi experienced a rare peace. It was this kind of calm that made all the soldiers and horses in Shaanxi feel relaxed, and the Oara people and Tatars were also invaded by the Xuanfu and Yunnan.
The government troops and horses were restrained, the Mongols continued to fight among themselves, and the Shaanxi border troops on the three sides were even more lax in their armaments.
No one expected that the peasant army led by Wang Jiayin would fight back to Shaanxi at this time. The Ningxia border army did not show any improvement to Wang Jiayin's actions. Since there was no obstruction in the north, Wang Jiayin's troops broke into Pingliang Mansion directly, as if there was no one there.
Within two days, the three important towns of Kehuating, Lingtai and Baishiyuan were captured. The main force led by Gao Yingxiang went south from Lingtai Town and captured Shiyao Pass in less than half a day.
Then Gao Yingxiang took Li Zi as the vanguard and the Four Heavenly Kings Li Yangchun as his deputy, and stationed in Duyang Mountain and Qishan respectively. In a blink of an eye, he cut off the connection between Fengxiang Mansion and Xi'an Mansion. The reinforcements were blocked, and they could not stop them with only the few manpower of Fengxiang Mansion.
The peasant army was invading like a tide. The prefect Gao Wenjian actually ordered the evacuation of Fengxiang Mansion and retreated along the ancient road to Hanzhong.
However, the official Qin Yu and the guard Ye Changhe of Fengxiang Mansion stayed behind and called on the soldiers and civilians to defend the city together. Unfortunately, Gao Yingxiang captured the city in just four hours. After this battle, Fengxiang City suffered numerous casualties. Qin Yu and Ye Changhe
Die in battle.
The peasant army's attack was so fast that the Xi'an Prefecture had no time to react. Western Shaanxi had already become the domain of the peasant army. Yang He ordered all ministries to rush to Xi'an Prefecture to prevent Xi'an Prefecture from falling into the hands of the peasant army.
.Right now, Yang He is staying in Xi'an City. If the city is broken and captured, then he, Yang He, will become the first governor-general in the history of the Ming Dynasty to be captured alive by the peasant army.
Liu Yingyu and Cao Wenzhao led their troops to urgently assemble in Xi'an Prefecture. Wu Guofu from northern Sichuan was also ordered to go north to guard Hanzhong to prevent the peasant army from breaking through Hanzhong and pouring into the Bashu land along the Chencang Ancient Road. For a time, civil unrest in Shaanxi began
In the past six months, not only the officers and soldiers were recuperating, but the peasant army was also preparing their troops.
Wang Jiayin was deeply aware of the gap between the peasant army and the officers and soldiers in the previous battles. The peasant army seemed to have a large number of people, but most of the time they were defeated in one battle and were chased and beaten by the officers and soldiers. The reason was that the peasant army did not have the strength to fight.
After training, he never experienced real fighting. During his stay in the northwest, Wang Jiayin used people with military backgrounds such as Li Zicheng and Wang Monk to conduct intensive training for various departments. In just half a year, although there was no qualitative improvement,
But at least now I understand military orders and marching order.
Under the training of Li Zicheng and others, the peasant army underwent many changes, which was the main reason why the peasant army was able to quickly conquer Pingliang and seize Fengxiang Mansion.
On September 13th of the second year of Chongzhen, Cao Bianjiao's vanguard troops collided with Zhang Yichuan, the sweeper king under Wang Ziyong, and the two sides started a small-scale fight in Sanshui County. In this encounter, Cao Bianjiao was extremely brave.
He took the lead and repelled Zhang Yichuan's attempt to conquer Sanshui County. Zhang Yichuan saw that the situation was not good and retreated to Lingtai Town. Cao Bianjiao had limited troops and did not dare to pursue rashly, so he stationed in Sanshui County.
Although it was only a small encounter, it completely exposed the real intention of the Peasant Army. Gao Yingxiang's troops seemed to be attacking quickly and vigorously, and they made a big show of attacking Xi'an Prefecture in Fengxiang Prefecture. However, the real killer move of the Peasant Army was Wang Zi's soldiers.
horse.
Wang Ziyong's troops were stationed in the area of Lingtai Town. To the northeast they could reach Qingyang Prefecture and Yan'an Prefecture, and to the southeast they could attack Xi'an Prefecture.
In Chunhua County, Cao Wenzhao and several generals in the army were urgently discussing the next plan. In the battle of Sanshui County, the peasant army seemed to have suffered a heavy loss, but in fact there was not much loss. On the contrary, Cao Wenzhao
Wow, I have a terrible headache.
"Now it seems that Wang Jiayin intends to divide his troops into two groups. Gao Yingxiang occupies Fengxiang Mansion and threatens Xi'an Mansion. Wang Ziyong sits on Lingtai and can attack anywhere at any time to the east! In half a year, Wang Ziyong has tens of thousands of armored men under his command. His strength is
It is much stronger than before. And we now have two choices, either go directly to Xi'an Prefecture or stay in Chunhua County."
As soon as Cao Wenzhao finished speaking, a deputy general raised his hand and said: "General Cao, we currently have insufficient troops and it is difficult to take care of all aspects. According to the general's wishes, we should go directly to Xi'an Mansion."
This proposal was echoed by many people. Cao Wenzhao frowned and said nothing. He did not blame these people. Others might have made the same choice. Going to Xi'an Mansion was a response to the three sides.
Governor Yang He's order, so that no matter how corrupt the situation in Shaanxi becomes in the future, they will not have to bear the main responsibility. But if they don't go to Xi'an Prefecture, once there are changes in Xi'an Prefecture, the court will punish them heavily.
Cao Bianjiao was young and energetic, and didn't bother to care about other people's faces. When his temper got angry, he stood up and said angrily: "Look at each of you. The traitors haven't even come here yet, and you are already thinking of how to shirk responsibility. No wonder Shaanxi is so miserable."
The attack has made a group of refugees miserable, all because of you bunch of losers."
"Brother Cao, who are you talking about?" All the supervisors looked at him angrily, and some people had already put their hands on the handles of their swords. If it weren't for the fact that Cao Bianjiao was Cao Wenzhao's nephew, how could he be allowed to be so arrogant?
Cao Bianjiao showed no intention of restraining himself at all, and snorted coldly: "You can talk to anyone who talks to you!"
Everyone stood up after hearing the sound. Seeing that the two sides were about to stage a full-scale martial arts show, Cao Wenzhao finally couldn't control his emotions and slammed the table, "That's enough, sit down, general. You, get out of here."
Go outside and calm down."
Cao Bianjiao was naturally dissatisfied. It was clearly the fault of this group of winebags and ricebags, so why was he the one who was kicked out? He was still dissatisfied, but looking at Cao Wenzhao's stern eyes, he still said "oh" and went out obediently to stand.
.
Cao Wenzhao is more mature than Cao Bianjiao. Naturally, things will not be that simple when he considers things. Staying in Chunhua County is indeed a good choice, but the interests of everyone must also be considered. If you can't use kindness and power at the same time, these people under your command will not do it.
Working hard.
Looking at the group of local Shaanxi generals in front of him, Cao Wenzhao also had a headache. Not long ago, he was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Suide due to his merits, and Yang He also had good intentions. At that time, Yang He intended to retain Cao Wenzhao, an elite soldier from Liaodong.
After coming down, racking my brains, I thought of promoting Cao Wenzhao to the deputy commander-in-chief of Suide. Unfortunately, Yang He didn't know that Suide after the war was no longer what it used to be. As one of the nine sides, Suide's armaments were so lax.
To the extent that it makes you a Muggle.
It took a lot of effort for Cao Wenzhao to unite these Suide generals. If he didn't have some elite soldiers brought from Liaodong, Cao Wenzhao would have been worried about whether he would be able to exercise the power of deputy general.
that power.
I had a headache before, but now it's even worse. If the border troops from Xuanfu and Datongfu are still there, why is it so big as a fight?
There was no other way, so Cao Wenzhao had no choice but to listen to everyone's opinions and go to Xi'an Mansion. With insufficient troops, he could not take care of Xi'an Mansion in the south when he could only care about the north. In comparison, Xi'an Mansion involved more and wider interests.
The next day, Cao Wenzhao ordered his troops to march towards Xi'an Prefecture. As a result, Cao Wenzhao's troops were blocked by a large number of peasant troops in Xianyang. Coincidentally, Wang Yan and Yingshan Honghua Xiaorong were killed by Li Yangchun in a gust of wind.
Ordered to attack Xianyang and cooperate with the main force of the peasant army to encircle Xi'an Prefecture. Not long after Wang Yan and Hua Xiaorong conquered Xianyang, they heard that a group of officers and soldiers from the north came to kill them.
Xianyang guards the northern gate of Xi'an Prefecture and is adjacent to the Yellow River. Its geographical location is very important and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Wang Yan and Hua Xiaorong finally conquered Xianyang, so naturally they refused to give it up. Unfortunately, Xianyang City
It was broken and no effective defense could be formed. The two could only send people to notify Li Yangchun while organizing the remaining troops to meet the enemy.
Xianyang's geographical location is important. Wang Yan and others knew it, and Cao Wenzhao knew it even better. Therefore, in this battle, Cao Wenzhao did not play any fancy tricks. He directly used a small number of cavalry to detour from the flanks, and the army covered it from the front.
Wang Yan's troops had been fighting Xianyang City for a long time and were exhausted. Now they encountered Cao Wenzhao's unreasonable attack. In just one hour, Wang Yan and Hua Xiaorong were beaten to the west.
Withdrawing, Li Yangchun and Li Zicheng failed to respond in time, otherwise it is unknown whether Wang Yan and Hua Xiaorong could have been withdrawn alive.
Returning to Duyang Mountain, Wang Yan was unwilling to curse and shouted: "Mother, I saw that Xianyang was already in my hands, but I met a man named Cao. Alas, the cooked duck flew away."
Li Yangchun did not blame Wang Yan and Hua Xiaorong. He had personally learned how capable Cao Wenzhao was. Seeing the unwillingness on their faces, he comforted them: "Brothers, don't worry about it. No one expected it."
Cao Wenzhao will come so quickly, I believe that Chief Wang will not blame us when he knows what happened."
"I hope so. After all, we are all outsiders. Although we have surrendered to King Gao Chuang, Zhang Dashou and Zhang Cunmeng have always disliked us. If these people secretly cause harm, our brothers will suffer the same."
"Whatever anger I have now, I can only endure it. Hey, how great would it be if Leader Wu was still here?" As he spoke, Li Yangchun showed a look of loneliness on his face. What was his status when he followed Wu Yangui?
The Four Heavenly Kings, Li Yangchun, was inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people. Now it was better, when he came to Wang Jiayin's side, he was always being criticized. If Gao Yingxiang hadn't helped him from time to time, he would have been squeezed out by people like Zhang Damou and Zhang Cunmeng.
Zhang Damou and Zhang Cunmeng, who are all stars in the sky, are all Wang Jiayin's cronies. To say that Wang Jiayin has no knowledge of the things Zhang Dayou and others did is pure lies.
.......
In Xi'an Prefecture, after learning that the crisis in Xianyang was over, Yang He and Hong Chengchou breathed a long sigh of relief. Yang He was a civil servant and did not know how to fight, but one thing is worthy of admiration, that is, he can listen to other people's opinions. Now think about it,
The most correct thing he did was to listen to Hong Chengchou's advice and try his best to keep Cao Wenzhao in Shaanxi.
As for the current situation, if Cao Wenzhao hadn't been there to support it, Shaanxi would not know what it would have become.
Holding the official document, Yang He read it over and over again, and said with some trepidation: "General Cao's official document stated that he wanted to lead his army to station in Xianyang and form an angle with Xi'an Prefecture. Mr. Hong, what do you think?"
Hong Chengchou thought for a while and said with a deep eyebrow: "Superintendent, according to my opinion, General Cao's suggestion is a mature move. Xianyang is too important. If Xianyang is not defended, then Xi'an Prefecture will not be able to defend it.
At that time, we will be too passive. Therefore, General Cao should be allowed to lead his troops to stay in Xianyang."
"But... Xi'an Mansion's military strength..." Yang He hesitated. He was embarrassed to say some words, but Hong Chengchou understood them clearly. But Hong Chengchou also had no choice but to smile bitterly and sigh.
.
Although Xi'an Mansion has many soldiers and horses, the quality of the soldiers is uneven and cannot be compared with Cao Wenzhao's soldiers and horses. In short, Cao Wenzhao's soldiers and horses are not stationed in the city, and they always feel helpless.
"Superintendent, we really need General Cao to be in charge of Xi'an City, but equally, we need Xianyang even more. Although the quality of the soldiers in the city is not very good and their combat effectiveness cannot be guaranteed, the city is high and the walls are thick, so the thieves can't even fight for a while.
To the good.”
"The plan for now is to quickly request reinforcements from the imperial court. As long as the Xuanfu and Datongfu send troops and horses for reinforcements in time, we will be able to drive the traitors out of Shaanxi again."
"Hey, that's the only way it can be!" Yang He had to agree with Hong Chengchou's opinion.
Cao Wenzhao stationed himself in Xianyang and sent troops to defend Qishan. In a short period of time, the peasant army in Fengxiang Prefecture failed to gain favor. However, Wang Ziyong near Lingtai Town saw the right opportunity and sent troops to the northeast to attack Sanshui County.
This time, without the obstruction of Cao Wenzhao's troops, Zhang Yichuan took Sanshui County in only half a day.
Once Sanshui County was broken, a gap was opened in the east. Wang Ziyong's peasant army passed through Sanshui County like a tide and poured into Qingyang Prefecture. Faced with this situation, Shaanxi's shortcomings of insufficient military strength were undoubtedly exposed.
Cao Wenzhao and Yang He watched the peasant army ravage Qingyang Mansion, and they really had no choice.
There were too few officers and soldiers in Shaanxi, or there were too many peasant troops. Not long after Wang Ziyong defeated Qingyang Mansion, another leader under his command, Zhang Xianzhong, attacked Yan'an Mansion. At the same time, Baoan County was on guard, and the former Ningxia Commander Qian Yu
Jingyuan led the crowd to mutiny, killed the county magistrate Wenduo, and opened the city gate to welcome Zhang Xianzhong into the city. Zhang Xianzhong knew that troops are very fast, so after taking Baoan County, he attacked Ansai City non-stop southward, with his troops pointing directly at Luochuan.
In less than half a month, the peasant army set fire to Shaanxi with beacon smoke. Today, Shangluo Road in the southeast of Xi'an Prefecture is still peaceful, while other places are already filled with wailing and war.
Official documents asking for help from Shaanxi were sent to the capital one after another. The court was shocked and held successive court meetings. Faced with the chaos in Shaanxi, the civil and military officials of the entire court could not come up with any good ideas.
It is actually easy to solve the problem in Shaanxi. As long as there are enough reinforcements, the peasant army will not be a problem. But the key is that to mobilize troops, you need money and food, and soldiers also need to eat and drink to support their families. But where can Chongzhen get money and food now?
In desperation, Chongzhen once again proposed collecting business taxes and sent people to Jiangnan to urge donations.
But as soon as this idea was put forward, it was strongly opposed by many officials headed by the cabinet. As for the Jiangnan donation, it was even more impossible. Chongzhen wanted to send someone, but no one from the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty came forward. Chongzhen personally named those people.
They also push, block and find various reasons to shirk.