The conflict between Gao Jie and Bai Guangen is whether to fight or to retreat.
Gao Jie leads the battle, while Bai Guangen leads the retreat.
This is also related to their life experiences.
Although both of them were traitors to the Peasant Army, the reasons for their rebellion were different.
Bai Guangen only pursued glory and wealth, and the court gave him a lot, so he became an official of the court.
If he couldn't do it, he wouldn't mind surrendering again and taking refuge with Li Zicheng.
But Gao Jie can't.
He knew very well that once Li Zicheng took over the world, he would die without any means of burial and would have nowhere to escape.
Who told him to abduct Li Zicheng's wife just for beauty?
Li Zicheng suffered this great shame and humiliation, with his head covered with green hair. It was absolutely impossible for Li Zicheng to tolerate Gao Jie alive no matter what.
Therefore, the person who wanted to put Li Zicheng to death the most was Gao Jie.
Both of them were leading generals and Sun Chuanting's right-hand men. These two people had different opinions, which greatly affected the Ming army's operations.
In fact, how to choose has nothing to do with the conflict between the two people.
Seeing the hungry army and the unrecoverable food routes, Sun Chuanting knew very well that this battle would have to be fought if not fought.
If we win, there is still a glimmer of hope.
But if you lose the fight, everything will be over.
Under such circumstances, Sun Chuanting chose Gao Jie's opinion.
This made Bai Guangen feel resentful and decided to sit on the sidelines.
Just outside Nanyang City, Sun Chuanting waited for Li Zicheng's main force.
The battle to determine the fate of the Central Plains began.
"General Gao, you use the cavalry as the vanguard of the entire army. After disrupting the enemy's position, General Bai will follow up. Everyone, whether we live or die depends on this battle."
Sun Chuanting expressed his sincere hope that the generals from all walks of life could unite as one in times of crisis and tide over the difficulties.
It's a pity that he doesn't understand that when the building is about to collapse, people's hearts cannot be united no matter what.
Gao Jie used all his strength and led three thousand cavalry to launch a fierce attack.
Li Zicheng's response was still the same old method of the peasant army.
Put hungry people on the front line to serve as cannon fodder and consume the enemy's strength.
Behind the cannon fodder are infantry with certain combat experience, and then the cavalry holds the line.
Basically, any enemy will not have much energy left as long as they are consumed by these two levels.
The last one is his trump card.
That is the heavy armored cavalry and the old battalion with the most powerful combat effectiveness.
At the beginning, Gao Jie's attack went smoothly. Those loose cannon fodder and ordinary infantry could not stop the cavalry charge.
The Ming army was so powerful that it defeated more than ten formations of the Chuang army.
Sun Chuanting was very excited to see Gao Jie being so brave, but he soon realized something was wrong.
"Why haven't General Bai's troops been dispatched yet? Send an order quickly for General Bai to follow up."
The messengers rushed out of the Chinese army, but what they brought back was news that horrified the entire army.
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, General Bai led his headquarters to retreat all the way back without saying hello."
The generals of the Ming army were all cold and immediately understood that the situation was over.
On the frontal battlefield, Gao Jie finally exhausted all his strength.
There were so many soldiers and horses in the Chuang army that he kept killing them, but he felt like he couldn't finish them all.
Seeing that his cavalry could no longer charge, Li Zicheng waved his hand and threw in the heavy armored cavalry.
If the heavy armored cavalry were dispatched at the beginning of the invasion, Gao Jie would definitely choose to fight. Taking advantage of the light cavalry's light armor, he would slowly consume the strength of the heavy armored cavalry.
But now after the continuous battle, his cavalry could no longer run. Seeing the heavy armored cavalry of the invading army crashing into them like mountains and walls, he could only wait helplessly to die.
Even the most elite cavalry failed. How could other Ming armies still have the will to fight?
The collapse begins quickly.
More than 100,000 Ming troops completely let go of the sheep, and everyone began to flee randomly to find their own way out.
Although he had already foreseen this scene, but actually saw it with his own eyes, Sun Chuanting still felt sad and could not persist.
Under the escort of his staff and personal guards, he went all the way west and withdrew to Tongguan.
In the end, the Ming army that fled back to Tongguan only had 40,000 troops. All of them were old, weak, sick and disabled, and the camp was full of wounded soldiers, with no fighting capacity.
Gao Jie was injured all over his body. After returning to Tongguan, he wanted to find Bai Guangen and fight for his life.
But Bai Guangen retreated to the side, and the military formation was tight, leaving Gao Jie helpless.
"Superintendent, the matter has come to this, and our army is unable to fight anymore. Tongguan cannot be defended. It is better to retreat to Xi'an and use Xi'an's tall city wall to have a chance of survival."
Gao Jie's hard advice did not persuade Sun Chuanting.
"If an intruder enters Tongguan, will the Qin people still serve me?"
Gao Jie couldn't answer his question, and he didn't even know the result.
Over the years, the imperial court has acted perversely in Shaanxi, which has aroused the anger of the people. Once Li Zicheng returns, all the people of Shaanxi will definitely flock to him.
Rather than being trapped and dying in Xi'an, it is better to take advantage of the natural dangers of Tongguan and give it a try.
Guyuan.
This place has been captured by Liang Yue.
Today, in the Gansu area, the Ming Dynasty has long lost its control and cannot organize any troops.
Liang Yue's 100,000 troops galloped freely in this area, and no one could defeat them.
After defeating Xu Yaqing's plot, Liang Yue successfully captured Lanzhou and then sent troops to attack.
Taozhou, Minzhou, Ningxiawei, Gongchang Prefecture, and Pingliang Prefecture have all fallen into his hands.
The people here now only know Marshal Liang and don't know about the Ming Dynasty.
The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty in Shaanxi could only watch helplessly, but there was nothing they could do.
Unless Sun Chuanting defeated Li Zicheng and returned to the army, no one could withstand Liang Yue's army.
The messengers rode fast horses and rushed into the military camp like the wind.
"Commander, there is news from the Central Plains that King Chuang and Sun Chuanting fought in Nanyang and won a great victory. Now that Sun Chuanting has retreated to Tongguan, the day when King Chuang will return to Shaanxi is not far away."
Inside the commander's tent, hearing the situation in the Central Plains, all the generals had different thoughts.
"Commander, do you want to fight against King Chuang?"
Because they are as close as brothers, Jiang Chaoyun goes straight to the core essence.
Liang Yue has developed to this day and dominates the northwest, and has become powerful. But if Li Zicheng returns to Shaanxi, he will inevitably have entanglements with Liang Yue.
Although Li Zicheng made it clear in public that he promoted Liang Yue to an equal position with other leaders, everyone understood that there are no two days in the sky and no two masters in man.
In this world, it is enough to have one master.
If Liang Yue chooses to fight Li Zi, they will inevitably fight against each other and become enemies.
"When I was in despair, King Chuang took me in and gave me more trust, so I am where I am today. No matter what, I will always obey King Chuang as my master, and I will never dare to disobey and betray."
Liang Yue thought seriously and expressed his thoughts.
Many of the generals breathed a sigh of relief.
They were also from the Chuang Army, and they also regarded Li Zicheng as a heavenly being. They really could not imagine fighting against Li Zicheng.
Jiang Chaoyun nodded, admiring Liang Yue's loyalty very much.
But now that he is Liang Yue's subordinate, he must consider his own interests.
"The Commander-in-Chief's loyalty is something that can be learned from heaven and earth, and is admired by the world. However, my brothers have been through life and death, and even today we still have to deal with it properly. I have a way, which is to protect the Commander-in-Chief's loyalty, and at the same time, let everyone have the same loyalty.