After the two argued at the South Bank, Wu Sangui had no choice but to return to the North Bank angrily.
Because he had no right to deal with Tang Tong at all. Even if Tang Tong did not respect his military orders, he had no choice but to report it afterwards.
But now the words and deeds of the army commanders and the chief military officers of each town are recorded by the students of the Jiangwu Hall. They are especially strict during wartime. Therefore, let alone disobeying military orders, even if they are passive and sabotage, they dare not
.
This was why Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, Tang Tong and other commanders-in-chief of the town, although they did not take Wu Sangui seriously in their hearts and even wished to kill him, they had to strictly implement his military orders.
After returning to the north bank, Wu Sangui thought about it and finally allocated 10,000 troops to Tang Tong to strengthen the defense in Gucheng, Junzhou, and Xunyang to prevent the bandits from crossing the Han River north again and entering Nanyang.
Then he led his army across the Han River, followed the official road south to Gucheng, passed through Fang County and entered Nanzhang County.
In the past, it would have been a fantasy for Wu Sangui to allocate 10,000 troops to Tang Tong.
But now both of them felt that it was normal, and Wu Sangui did not feel distressed at all, because all the generals realized that the soldiers and horses in their hands did not belong to them, but to the imperial court.
The reason for this change is that, in addition to the perfect military system, the main reason is that the martial arts hall students in various towns and armies have completely controlled the thoughts and daily training of ordinary soldiers.
Not to mention that the generals simply don’t dare to engage in the art of winning people’s hearts in the military. Even if they dare to engage in it, under the daily propaganda from the students of the Jiangwu Hall, it may not have much effect.
Under such circumstances, treating the army as one's own is undoubtedly deceiving oneself and others. Even the servants of generals at all levels are no longer as loyal as before and have begun to have second thoughts.
After all, there was no chance to be promoted before, and life and death were in the hands of the general. It could be said that everyone would be prosperous and suffer losses, so the servants had to give up.
But things are completely different now. Although they are still nominally servants of generals at all levels, they are actually treated the same as other soldiers.
This time Wu Sangui also had to abandon his food and baggage and chose to travel lightly. The cavalry battalion was transferred to Nanyang and did not follow him.
There was no other way. Although Wu Sangui was extremely disgusted with marching in the mountains, he had to choose to take the mountain road.
Because only by taking the mountain road can the army enter the Hanjiang plain ahead of the rebels. Otherwise, the army would have to bypass Xiangyang and go south via Zaoyang, which would take at least several hundred miles more.
No matter how arrogant Wu Sangui was, he could not guarantee that he would be able to enter the Jianghan Plain ahead of the rebel army.
Huguang is no different from the north. The New Deal is being implemented everywhere, and it is a vibrant scene. It is also an important grain-producing area of the Ming Dynasty. Now there are only pitifully few standing armies in various places. If the bandit army breaks in first and burns, kills and loots indiscriminately, your Majesty will
If you have such a bad temper, you really won’t be able to eat it and walk away.
Therefore, Wu Sangui kept urging the army to speed up along the way. Fortunately, the former army had to conduct outdoor weight-bearing running training every day on weekdays, and the food was good, so almost everyone had sufficient physical fitness.
Although the mountain road was difficult to walk and we suffered a lot, no one was left behind. Especially from Fang County to Nanzhang, there was no official road at all, it was entirely a mountain trail.
After arriving at Fang County, Wu Sangui had to detach 5,000 troops again to strengthen the defenses of Fang County, Baokang, and Zhushan counties to prevent Sun Kewang from sneaking into these mountain counties.
Sun Kewang really wanted to raid these counties to replenish supplies, but seeing that the counties were heavily defended and learning that Wu Sangui had led an army into the mountains, he had no choice but to rob the hunters in the mountains and climb over the mountains towards Xiangyang.
It took ten days to finally emerge from the mountainous area southwest of Xiangyang.
Not only did only 50,000 of the 80,000-strong army remain, but they all looked like savages, and they were in an extremely miserable state.
"Brother, fourth brother, how did you end up like this, with only so few troops left?"
Liu Wenxiu looked at them with their brows furrowed and her heart sank to the bottom.
"Third brother, I didn't expect you to actually succeed in the sneak attack on Xiangyang. Let's talk about it first in the city!" Sun Kewang waved his hand with a tired look on his face, and then called the army to enter the city.
After tens of thousands of troops entered the city, they finally had a full meal and a peaceful sleep, and their morale was restored a lot.
After drinking and eating, Sun Kewang explained the hardships along the way. After speaking, he said with a somewhat lonely expression: "Third brother, fourth brother, this time it was the eldest brother who miscalculated and underestimated the Ming army, which caused harm to you and hundreds of thousands of brothers.
.”
In fact, Sun Kewang had already started planning when he was in Hanzhong.
From the beginning to the end, Sun Kewang never thought about helping King Chuang to defend the northwest, let alone defeating the Ming army across the north.
Because even if they gain an advantage for a moment, the main force of the Ming army will probably give up the Tumote Department without hesitation and choose to return to the Central Plains. In the end, they may not even be able to defend the northwest.
Therefore, Sun Kewang chose to go north to join forces with the Chuang Army, send troops out of Tongguan, and assume a posture of attacking the Central Plains. This was all to attract the Ming troops in Xunyang and Nanyang Xiangyang to the north, and then secretly march south to Huguang.
Because in Sun Kewang's view, only by occupying Xiangyang and Huguang, and then moving down the river to capture the south of the Yangtze River, can we truly compete with the Ming Dynasty, and this is also the only way out for the Great Western Army.
His original plan was to attract all the Ming troops to the north, and then send an elite force to sneak attack Xiangyang. Then the army would abandon their food, grass and baggage and quickly take the mountain road to Nanyang, so as to garrison Xiangyang before the Ming army arrived.
Finally, with lightning speed, they swept through the counties around Xiangyang, completely blocking the entrance to Jingxiang, and blocking the Ming Dynasty's army to the north of the Han River.
In this way, the army can be divided into two, one is stationed in Xiangyang and the surrounding counties to resist the Ming army, all the way to Jingzhou, and the other two are attacking Qin Lihua and Li Dakai in Shizhu Chongqing.
After leading the army that destroyed the two men and opening up the passage between Sichuan and Jingzhou, the army can go down the river and take Nanjing directly. As long as Nanjing and Jiangbei are conquered, it will be too late even if the main force of the Ming army all moves south.
But what Sun Kewang never expected was that the Ming army was so fast that Wu Sangui arrived at Nanyang before him, forcing him to continue walking on the mountain road and take a detour to Xiangyang. What he didn't expect was that Tang
Tong unexpectedly fought so hard, and the two reacted so quickly.
As a result, although the army has arrived in Xiangyang, there are only less than 60,000 men and horses left. What's even more terrible is that Wu Sangui arrived at Nanzhang three days ago, and Zuo Gengmeng's army arrived at the north bank of Xiangyang five days ago.
In this situation, let alone conquering the counties around Xiangyang and locking the entrance to Jingxiang, even Xiangyang would not dare to wait any longer.
"Alas! There is no need for me to blame myself, brother. I didn't expect that the Ming army would be completely different from before. It was as if they had been reborn. Perhaps this is what the second brother said. If I am not here, no matter how good the plan is, it will be in vain!"
Liu Wenxiu sighed.
He knew that his elder brother's plan, although it involved huge risks, still had a high chance of success. However, the current Ming army was completely different from the previous Ming army.
The troops in each town were dispatched quickly and without any delay. In this situation, as long as the commander-in-chief was not a fool, they would have no chance at all.
“It’s no use talking about this now, what is the most urgent thing to do?
Xiangyang has become a place of death. If you continue to stay here, you will definitely die. I guess Wu Sangui may have let us enter Xiangyang City on purpose, otherwise he would not have blocked us at the gate of Xiangyang City."
Enengqi said angrily.
"There are mountains to the west, the Han River to the north and east, Wu Sangui to the south, and Zuo Mengeng to the north. Where else can we go?" Liu Wenxiu shook his head.
"Let's go. Let's go immediately. We will cross the river to the Dabie Mountains tonight. Third brother, you must have gathered a lot of boats, right?"
Sun Kewang naturally understood what Liu Wenxiu meant, which was to stay in Xiangyang and negotiate with the Ming army, but he was unwilling to surrender like this.
"Brother, why do you insist on going your own way? It's impossible for Wu Sangui not to guard against us crossing the river. Even if we cross the river and escape to the Dabie Mountains, where can we go? Is it possible that you still want to attack Nanjing?"
Liu Wenxiu saw that he was still planning to lead his brothers to death, and finally couldn't help but blush and yell.
"The east bank of the Han River is so long, where can't it be docked? I don't believe Wu Sangui can defend it. We'll wait until we reach the Dabie Mountains."
Sun Kewang's face was gloomy and uncertain, and he finally waved his hand.
"Forget it, eldest brother is going to go by himself. I won't go anyway. I will stay in Xiangyang. As long as the little emperor agrees to my terms, I will surrender. If he doesn't agree, I will burn with Xiangyang City.
Fourth brother, what about you? Do you want to follow your eldest brother, or stay with me?"