The main force of the Ming army and the Jiannu army were in a stalemate outside the Great Wall. Sun Kewang, who was in Hanzhong, did not hesitate anymore and immediately led the army to Chang'an.
In fact, in the past two months, Sun Kewang did nothing in Hanzhong. Instead, he sent spies widely to inquire about the situation in Nanyang and Xunyang Mansion.
Compared to attacking Henan and Shanxi, Sun Kewang wanted to attack Huguang or even Jiangnan.
He originally planned to sneak attack Xiangyang along the Han River while the main force of the Ming army was being dragged outside the Pass by Jiannu, and while the Ming army in Hebei and Shanxi were on guard against the invading army.
As long as Xiangyang can be successfully attacked in a sneak attack, the entire Jingxiang can be locked up, and then it can be swept down the river to sweep the entire south of the Yangtze River and establish a great cause.
Although the Ming army still had more than 200,000 troops in Jiangnan, except for Qin Lihua and Li Dakai in Chongqing, he didn't pay attention to the new recruits in Jiangnan at all.
However, the news he found out made Sun Kewang very desperate.
When Hanzhong went to Xunyang, all the roads and trails in Nanyang were strictly controlled and guarded by the Ming army.
The Ming army even deployed two towns in the two places, with a total of 60,000 troops, all of which were well-trained and well-equipped field troops.
With so many soldiers and horses, not to mention the roads and alleys were blocked, even if they were not blocked, Sun Kewang would not dare to lead his army over the mountains and ridges for a sneak attack.
Because there are high mountains along the way from Hanzhong to Xiangyang and Yunyang, almost everywhere is suitable for an ambush. Once ambushed, the entire army will be annihilated.
This forced Sun Kewang to give up the idea of a sneak attack on Xiangyang, but he was unwilling to do so, so he stayed in Hanzhong to see if the Ming army would transfer the armies from the two places.
Who would have thought that the Ming troops in the two places not only did not move away, but instead continued to strengthen the fortifications in the past two months without giving them any chance. Only then did Sun Kewang give up.
At this time, the 200,000 troops of the Great Western Army had arrived outside Chang'an City. In the main hall of Prince Qin's Mansion, King Chuang was personally hosting a banquet in honor of Sun Kewang's three brothers.
"The three nephews have come all the way. I am very grateful. Come, I would like to toast the three nephews with a drink. I hope that our two families can work together to achieve great things!"
"King Chuang, you're welcome."
"It's time for my three brothers to toast King Chuang."
The three brothers Sun Kewang raised their glasses one after another, said polite words, and drank it all in one gulp.
The other leaders of the Chuang Army also drank together, but their interest was not very high. It was obvious that except for Li Guo, the other leaders did not want to go against the imperial court from the bottom of their hearts, and ended up having their families confiscated and exterminated.
Sun Kewang obviously also saw that something was wrong with the atmosphere inside the Chuang Army, and he frowned slightly.
After drinking for three days and ten days, he looked at King Chuang and said tentatively: "King Chuang, now the main force of the Ming army has been dragged to the grassland by the Jiannu army, and they are unable to do anything. And our two armies combined, there are 400,000 troops. Now,
Waiting for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I wonder what King Chuang has planned?"
After the words fell, the hall suddenly became silent, and everyone looked at King Chuang.
But King Chuang asked back: "My nephew has brought an army of 200,000 people here this time. He must have a plan. I want to hear what my nephew plans?"
"In this case, you're welcome, junior. King Chuang, everyone, now that the Ming army's armies in the north are scattered throughout the country, it's a great time to march into the Central Plains.
Our two armies can join forces and march directly out of Tongguan and take Luoyang. Once Luoyang is captured, the army will divide into two groups, go all the way to Pingyang, take Taiyuan, intimidate Xuanda, go all the way west to Kaifeng, cross the Yellow River and go straight to the capital.
The little emperor must be panicked and confused, and great things can happen!"
"Haha, Nephew Sun said it so lightly. Could it be that Nephew Sun thought that Luoyang was made of paper? Gao Jie and Wu Sangui's 90,000 troops were made of clay?
There are also three towns from the Ming Dynasty garrisoned in Pingyang, Taiyuan and Nanyang. If the attack on Luoyang fails for a long time and the towns arrive, it's hard to say who will panic."
Liu Zongmin said angrily.
"Why, is it possible that General Liu lost his courage after being beaten by that Wu Sangui and became timid before the battle even started? If so, I don't think there is any need to fight this battle. My three brothers will lead the army back tomorrow.
Sichuan, just wait for the Ming army to attack."
Although Sun Kewang said this to Liu Zongmin, at the end of the sentence, he looked straight at King Chuang.
King Chuang's face was also very ugly. After a slight hesitation, he slapped the armrest and said in a voice: "Come here, take Liu Zongmin down and lock him up."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wolf-like guards rushed into the hall and arrested Liu Zongmin who looked in disbelief.
"Brother, what are you doing? I'm also thinking about our future in the army!"
Liu Zongmin was anxious and angry. He did not expect that King Chuang would not miss his old friendship at all, nor did he expect that King Chuang would dare to touch him.
"You are not thinking about breaking into the army, but for your own sake, keep me in custody."
King Chuang said coldly and waved his hand. If it was normal, he would not dare to touch Liu Zongmin in order not to cause internal strife in the Chuang army.
But now that Sun Kewang has an army of 200,000, plus an army of 100,000 under Li Guo's control, there is no need to worry.
If we don't take the opportunity to capture Liu Zongmin and frighten others, there will be no hope of fighting this battle.
"We are facing a formidable enemy, and a war is imminent. If anyone dares to be timid before fighting, to gain the ambition of others and destroy his own prestige, don't blame me, Old Li, for not cherishing old friendships!"
After King Chuang finished speaking, his eyes swept over the old brothers.
"We will follow King Chuang to the death!" Everyone was obviously frightened, and they all quickly expressed their opinions.
The three brothers Sun Kewang looked at this scene, and they all despised King Chuang in their hearts. At this time, they couldn't even handle it with their own men, and they still wanted to take advantage of them. It was extremely incompetent.
It is a big joke for a person like this to still dream of becoming an emperor. No wonder he led an army of one million to the capital, and was defeated by Wu Sangui in the end. He fled back to Henan in embarrassment.
If the Chuang army could directly attack the capital, overthrow the Ming Dynasty, and destroy the little emperor, what would happen today?
After Liu Zongmin was captured, the Chuang Army finally unified its thinking. At least on the surface, no one dared to stand up and make irresponsible remarks.
After a detailed discussion, the two families finally reached an agreement. With Sun Kewang as the commander-in-chief and Li Guo as the deputy commander, they would lead an army of 300,000 people out of Tongguan to attack Luoyang.
Among them, 200,000 were from the Great Western Army, 100,000 were from the Chuang Army, and the other 100,000 were to stay in Chang'an and nearby passes to prevent sneak attacks by Ming troops from various places.
This was also the reason why King Chuang had to agree to Sun Kewang being the commander-in-chief. After all, the Daxi Army not only doubled its strength, but also had to provide the food and grass needed by the army.
King Chuang himself would feel embarrassed if he didn't let someone else be the coach.
In fact, Chuang Wang and Sun Kewang also knew that Luoyang was not easy to fight, and Wu Sangui and Gao Jie's 90,000 troops were not weak.
Especially Wu Sangui's former army, which was the most powerful army in the Ming army besides the Chinese army.
However, the main roads from the northwest to and from the Central Plains and Shanxi were blocked by the Ming army. Only Tongguan was still in the hands of the invaders, so the army could only leave Tongguan and take the main roads to compete in the Central Plains.
What's more, if you don't dare to fight against the Central Plains in this situation, then you might as well just surrender.
Both King Chuang and Sun Kewang knew this very well, because in this situation they could only compete in the Central Plains, and they could only accept their fate if they could not win.