The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 326 Henan

"Li Yan, this thief, is different from other thieves."

Yang Sichang's expression was solemn, whether it was the former bandit leader Wang Jiayin, the successors Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang, or the bandit leaders such as Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai.

They were either postmen, soldiers, generals, merchants, or landowners, and their statuses ranged from high to low.

But none of them can compare with Li Yan.

The Li family in Qixian County was a family of officials, and their clan was well-known in the local area. Therefore, after Li Yan's rebellion, he was able to quickly rise in power.

Then the actions Li Yan made further confirmed his extraordinaryness.

Although it was not stated explicitly, Yang Sichang already had a plan in mind at this time for Chen Wang to lead his troops north to quell the unrest in Henan Province.

Nowadays, the situation on the three sides is complicated. Li Zicheng suddenly moved westward. The soldiers and horses of the three sides, led by Zheng Chongjian, pursued him all the way and were entangled with him.

The soldiers and horses in the southwestern provinces were also exhausted because of Zhang Xianzhong. The 5th Gezuo Battalion in Ying and Huoshan Mountains contained the soldiers and horses in the southeastern provinces.

However, the establishment of slaves in the north is about to start recently, and the Mongolian tribes are not stable. Naturally, all the soldiers and horses in the towns in the north cannot be mobilized.

Although Henan is located in the center and is close to the towns, there was no way to spare excess troops to rush for reinforcements.

The only remaining force closest to Henan that is still capable of fighting is the Hanzhong Town Soldiers under Chen Wang.

Chen Wang understood Yang Sichang's intention to appoint him to go north to quell the rebellion. He looked solemn at the moment, made a listening gesture, and said respectfully.

"Please give me some instructions from the Ministry of Cabinet."

Yang Sichang was even more optimistic when he saw Chen Wang sitting calmly and upright, with an attitude of humbly listening to his teachings.

"Li Yan was born into a family of officials and was well-read in poetry and books. The disaster he caused was several times more severe than that of Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang in the past."

The rogue bandits plundered everywhere and did not engage in production. They burned and killed everywhere. They only focused on the present and did not care about the future. "

But Li Yan did not take the same path as other bandits.

"Li Yan released grains in Henan to win over people's hearts. He also made songs and sang songs to promote his name. The hungry people in Henan looked at the clouds as if they were in a severe drought, and even feared that Li Yan would not come."

Li Yan broke through prefectures and counties, occupied cities, took in the hungry people, opened warehouses to relieve the hungry people, and bought people's hearts.

Hungry people from far and near rushed to pick up the hoe, and those who responded were like running water, day and night, with millions of people calling out, and the civil upheaval was like a prairie fire.

Li Yan made up nursery rhymes and asked children to sing them everywhere. He also sent people disguised as merchants, travelers and refugees to spread the rumors to all directions.

The world respected Li Yan as Mr. Li, and regarded the soldiers and horses under Li Yan as an army of benevolence and righteousness, an army that saved all people.

Therefore, Li Yan directly called the army under his command the Ten Thousand People's Army.

Now the name of the Ten Thousand People Army has spread throughout the Jiufu in Henan.

"Li Yan organized his army into five battalions. One is called the Biao camp, with more than 8,000 troops, all of whom are cavalry. The other is the front, rear, left and right battalions, each with thousands of troops."

"Unlike the chaos of rogue bandits, Li Yan's subordinates are well-trained, practicing golden drums and formations, and their military ranks are the same as those of Jiubian Yingzhen."

Yang Sichang looked solemn, and the information sent from Henan made it difficult for him to open his eyebrows.

"The troops of the people of the people commanded solemnly and attacked Dengfeng without committing any crimes in autumn."

Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, hearing this, even he couldn't help but feel a little moved.

Qiu has no fault. Chen Wang, who leads the army, knows very well how heavy the weight of these four words is.

A glimpse of one spot reveals the whole leopard. From this alone, you can know how powerful Li Yan's ability to command troops is.

Talking about the chaos in Henan, Yang Sichang felt even more gloomy.

"Nowadays, all the bandits in Henan Province also implicitly respect Li Yan as their leader. After Li Yan defeated Dengfeng, he hesitated, and bandits from all over the country gathered in Dengfeng."

Li Yan is like a flag in Henan.

Li Yan has now left Qixian County in Kaifeng Prefecture, marched westward, passed Xuzhou, Xiangcheng, captured Dengfeng, and fled from Kaifeng Prefecture into Henan Prefecture.

Because of the failure of the officers and soldiers in Henan, civil uprisings continued to occur in some places, and rogue bandits that had been extinct in various places also began to flourish again.

There was news that these bandits and militiamen were all gathering towards Dengfeng.

Li Yan stopped in Dengfeng and seemed to have issued a summons order.

Such an obviously abnormal behavior was naturally extremely wrong, and it also made Yang Sichang smell dangerous.

Dengfeng is located in the southeast of Henan, with Luoyang and Kaifeng, the two most important cities in Henan Province, on its left and right.

Chen Wang looked solemn and suppressed the sparkle deep in his eyes.

The familiar place name Yang Sichang mentioned, Dengfeng, reminded him of historical records in an instant.

In the original time and space, it was none other than Li Zicheng who led the troops to suppress the officers and soldiers in Henan, and finally gathered troops in Dengfeng.

Not long after Li Zicheng defeated the Henan invaders at the Dengfeng Conference, he did something earth-shattering.

Li Zicheng captured Luoyang and killed the King of Fortune Zhu Changxun...

Due to his own reasons, the butterfly effect changed the course of history. Li Zicheng is still in the northwest, which ultimately led to Li Yan's independence.

Although Li Zicheng is no longer there, Li Yan's marching route has begun to overlap with that of Li Zicheng in history.

Chen Wang's mind turned over and over again. With this route and method of march, Li Yan's goal was probably Luoyang.

Perhaps the strategy for capturing Luoyang in history was proposed by Li Yan, which can explain why Li Yan is taking such an advance route now. Chen Wang remained calm, his eyes quietly passing over Yang Sichang's face.

At this time, Yang Sichang's face was full of worry.

"Now the situation in Henan is extremely dangerous, the bandits are powerful, and they are as anxious as fire..."

Yang Sichang pondered for a long time, then turned his head to Chen Wang, and finally asked straightforwardly.

"I want to send you north to put down the rebellion, but I don't know how sure you are."

Although Chen Wang has outstanding talents and military skills, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Most of the soldiers and horses under his command are newly recruited. Although the previous campaigns have been great victories, the losses are not small.

Yang Sichang felt that it was not safe enough to ask Chen Wang to deal with Li Yan, who was currently in the limelight, and a group of Henan bandits, so he naturally wanted to ask.

"The general's understanding of the situation in Henan is limited and he dare not boast."

Chen Wang's mind was spinning. He knew that Yang Sichang was worried because his Hanzhong Town was not strong on paper.

The reinforcement battalions under Chen Gong and Zhou Yumao are now staying in Hanzhong Mansion in order to protect the safety of King Rui and Hanzhong Mansion.

Now there are only more than 5,500 soldiers and horses under Chen Wang's command. Originally, there were 5,000. The extra 500 are the servants under Chen Hongfan's command.

Counting Zhang Er's and Huang Long's battalions, three thousand local soldiers, and two thousand Wang Guoning's subordinates, the total number was more than thirteen thousand.

During the battle to encircle and suppress Wang Guoning, most of the soldiers who died were Huguang soldiers and horses who were originally under Chen Hongfan's command.

According to the data on paper, most of them are new recruits with limited combat power.

Naturally, Chen Wang would not be stupid enough to reveal all the details. Yang Sichang's inquiry would allow him to legitimately ask for some benefits.

Moreover, Yang Sichang took the initiative to ask, which saved him a lot of trouble.

"According to what the cabinet said, the situation in Henan is complicated, and the strength of each battalion has been greatly reduced. It is probably not possible to annihilate the bandits in Henan with the current troops and horses under the general's command alone."

Before talking about the benefits, it is natural to explain the difficulties first.

Yang Sichang looked serious and frowned slightly.

"Thieves have sprung up in Henan and bandits are rampant. They are so powerful that they are indeed different from the past."

Yang Sichang was naturally aware of the issues mentioned by Chen Wang, otherwise he would not have asked this question. The information sent from various places in Henan was indeed not optimistic.

"I remember that after Chen Hongfan resigned, the troops and horses under his command were settled in Zhu and Fang."

Hearing the song and knowing the elegant meaning, when Yang Sichang mentioned Chen Hongfan, Chen Wang already understood the meaning of Yang Sichang's words. It seemed that Yang Sichang intended to hand over the command of this army to him.

Among the old troops under Chen Hongfan, those under the Huguang Camp were basically soldiers from Huguang.

Huguang has been at peace for a long time, but has only been affected by war in recent years. Therefore, most of Huguang's soldiers are still mediocre in combat effectiveness.

But the troops under Chen Hongfan's command were an exception. Although their combat power was not as good as that of Jiubian's generals, they could still be regarded as superior among the inland camps.

The main barracks directly led by Chen Hongfan can be regarded as elite even if they are placed on Jiubian.

Chen Wang suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and answered.

"Going back to the Gebu, the old troops under General Chen Hongfan's command are indeed still in Zhu and Fang. When the former general was ordered by the Gebu to encircle and suppress Wang Guoning's troops, he was also recruited."

Yang Sichang pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"The bandits in Yunyang Mansion were eliminated, and Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai fled into Sichuan. There is no need to keep so many soldiers and horses in Yunyang Mansion."

"Henan is in turmoil and rogue bandits are rampant. The troops under your command alone are indeed not enough to cope with the current situation. If coupled with the old troops under Chen Hongfan, there are still more than 7,000 people, are you sure?"

Chen Wang's eyes moved slightly, his brows furrowed, and his face looked thoughtful, as if he was deliberation.

Chen Wang knew very well that he could not agree immediately. He could win Yang Sichang's trust by pretending to think first and then agreeing.

After a while, Chen Wang replied.

"If we add the more than 7,000 people under Chen Hongfan's command, we will be 70% sure that the situation in Henan can be stabilized."

"it is good."

"it is good!"

Yang Sichang's face indeed showed a smile.

Chen Wang's guess about Yang Sichang's psychology was not wrong.

If Chen Wang had agreed immediately, Yang Sichang might have thought that Chen Wang was telling lies or had other intentions.

But Chen Wang answered the question after thinking about it, and his answer was very measured, without boasting, and very conservative, which proved that he was really thinking about counterinsurgency.

"The overall situation of Henan cannot be lost. This important task is entrusted to you, so you must be careful."

After receiving Chen Wang's affirmative answer, Yang Sichang relaxed a lot, and finally made up his mind.

Chen Wang suppressed all the floating thoughts in his heart, stood up, took a step back, bowed to Yang Sichang, and responded in a deep voice.

"The Cabinet has entrusted each other with important responsibilities. General Chen Wang will do his best to live up to expectations!"

　There’s another chapter at 10 o’clock

　　(End of this chapter)