national surname chiming

Chapter 315 Tai Chi Master is a Professional
Chongzhen's imperial decree was sent to Hefei, and it had to be delayed until the third day of July.

Then it will be delivered to Chongqing in the middle of July - regardless of the straight-line distance between Chongqing and Beijing, it is only twice as far as Hefei is from Beijing, but it is very slow to pull the fiber upstream of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.Moreover, the road into Sichuan is winding and winding, and it must not be estimated by straight-line distance.

However, even if the eunuch Wang Gonggong who announced the decree rushed to Chongqing on July [-]th, he still could not deliver the decree to Zhu Shuren—because Wang Gonggong was sad to hear that Governor Zhu was not in Chongqing , but temporarily went north to Hanzhong!

It's just cheating!Eunuch Wang has been exhausted for more than half a month, and he feels that he can finally take a rest, so he actually did this!
Didn't they agree that the reason why they stayed in Sichuan was to chase after Zhang Xianzhong and Sun Kewang?Didn't it be agreed that Sun Kewang fled to the Daliang Mountains in the southwest of Sichuan?Why would you go to Hanzhong again!

Of course, he also threw out this angry question without reservation, questioning Zhang Huangyan, the Sichuan soldier who stayed in Chongqing and represented Zhu Shuren in dealing with the bandit suppression in southwestern Sichuan.

Zhang Huangyan invited the other party to treat him with delicious food and beverages, and relieved his fatigue, while explaining with a smile on his face:

"Eunuch, you misunderstood. The pursuit of Sun Kewang in Southwest Sichuan is indeed very important. Before the governor left, he also asked his subordinate Haosheng to supervise it. Everything is going smoothly now. The Ministry of War requires Sun Kewang to be resolved within three months. It should not be a big problem.

As for why the Governor-General went to Hanzhong, it is actually like this: more than half a month ago, the Governor-General learned from the former Taiyuan General Soldier and the current Hanzhong General Soldier Cao Bianjiao Cao Junmen that there were changes in Guanzhong more than half a month ago.

The intruders rushed back to Guanzhong, defeated Governor Sun Chuanting and Sun Chuanting on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, and occupied Xi'an.There are also rumors that Governor Sun may have died for the country. Because our army is in Xichuan, the news is blocked, and it is difficult to verify it for a while.

Governor Zhu was afraid that the intruders would really take advantage of the situation, and even took advantage of the situation to enter Baoji, Dasanguan and other places in Fengxiang Mansion. In this way, Sichuan would have no peace in the future, and Hanzhong would always be under the threat of intruders.

As a last resort, he went north to inspect the defense, and met Cao Junmen by the way to check for omissions and make up for vacancies.In addition, Governor Zhu also considered that although he has not yet received His Majesty's decree, after he was asked to completely deal with Sun Kewang, he immediately turned around to deal with the intruders.

But for the sake of the country, he figured that this matter must be very important, so he had to arrange some measures in advance to prevent the northern line from being corrupted.The father-in-law knows that when Zhuge Wuhou attacked Guanzhong from the north of Sichuan, it was because the grain road was unsustainable, and the Chencang crossing was occupied by the Wei people, so he suffered repeated setbacks.

Now if the intruders really occupy all of Guanzhong and occupy Dashanguan and Baoji, they will lose all the bridgeheads in Guanzhong and the grain storage points north of the Qinling Mountains that will be used in the Northern Sichuan Expedition in the future.

But if the imperial court can occupy Dasan Pass and Baoji.Then Governor Zhu's future northern expedition against the intruders in the Guanzhong and Heluo areas can also be used as Zhuge Wuhou Longzhong's opposition. He will use the troops of Bashu to directly enter Qinchuan, and use the troops of Jingchu to attack Wan and Luo, so that the intruders cannot see each other from head to toe. —

Governor Zhu asked fearlessly about this matter, and his only concern was that the military situation was on fire, and before he could ask for an order, he made his own initiative and arranged preparations for the crusade against the intruders.Please also ask your father-in-law to speak truthfully and kindly when he returns to Beijing, and clarify Governor Zhu's embarrassment. "

Zhang Huangyan usually doesn't like to make long speeches with people, but after all, the opposite party is here to announce the decree on behalf of the emperor, and the round trip between Beijing and Sichuan may take two or three months.

The information gap between the two parties is so serious that it is almost like being disconnected, and the amount of data that needs to be synchronized every time they reconnect is relatively large.

Wang Gonggong listened patiently, and he was stunned for a long time. It took him a long time to realize that Governor Zhu was really not to blame for this matter, and he was simply a model of being diligent in royal affairs.

Before Chongzhen made an order, Governor Zhu was already on guard against Li Zicheng, and was preparing for the follow-up maintenance of the Northern Expedition route.

If no preparations are made for this, given Sichuan's geographical isolation, if the entire northern side of the Qinling Mountains falls into Li Zicheng's hands without a single bridgehead, then it will be like Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition in the future, and food will not be transported up.

The world knows how poor Shaanxi has been in recent years. The arable land has been destroyed by a vicious circle to the point that it cannot be planted. There are thousands of miles of barren land, and the Sichuan government and army are going to make a northern expedition, so the military rations must be provided by themselves.

Wang Gonggong had no choice but to accept the hard work, and said that he would rest for a few days before going north to Hanzhong to pass the decree.

It is helpless to say that Hanzhong is far closer to Beijing than Chongqing in theory.Going to Chongqing for a while is actually a wrong way.

But even if Chongzhen had already known that Zhu Shuren had gone north to Hanzhong before Chongzhen sent an envoy to deliver the decree, it was impossible to go straight to Hanzhong to deliver the decree.

Who let Guanzhong in the middle be occupied by Li Zicheng? There are only three roads to Hanzhong. You can either go south from Guanzhong through the deep valleys that cross the Qinling Mountains, or go north from Bashu on the Jinniu Road and wait for the Shuzhong Mountain Road.

The last one is to travel up the Han River from Xiangyang via Yunyang, and shuttle between the north and south branches of the Qinling Mountains. During the Three Kingdoms period, after the death of Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, who took over from Ji Han, considered going along the Han River from Hanzhong. Go down the river, attack Shangyong and other three eastern counties, and threaten Xiangyang.The land of Shangyong at the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms was the Yunyang Mansion at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Theoretically, after the end of the Guanzhong Road, it is the most time-saving for the imperial envoys to go to Xiangyang first, and then go to Yunyang to Hanzhong.But this road is still not completely cleared.

Yunyang can also be regarded as a place where thieves have ravaged for many years. Luo Rucai's forces have been entrenched there for many years.After Luo Rucai was killed by Li Zicheng, the main force he brought to Henan was annexed, but some scattered small thieves who stayed in Yunyang were all kings without leaders.

Fortunately, these thieves did not use the banner to fight against Da Ming. There were so many more difficult thieves in Da Ming that they couldn't get rid of, so they just turned a blind eye and let these guys go as ordinary bandits.

This move harmed Chongzhen and cut off another channel of communication between him and Zhu Shuren, so that in the end he had to go around in circles to get in touch.

There is really an urgent situation, and I really can't find anyone for two or three months.

And Zhu Shuren obviously did not plan to break through Guanzhong and allow Hanzhong to re-establish direct contact with the capital through Guanzhong for some reasons that are not suitable for description.He didn't intend to completely wipe out the remaining bandits in Yunyang, and felt that this matter was not a high priority.

If the envoys of the imperial court dared to take the risk and go to Yunyang Road to deliver the decree, there was a high probability that they would be intercepted and killed by bandits.

……

The envoys of the imperial court delayed for more than half a month, and did not find Zhu Shuren until the beginning of August.

And before they found Zhu Shuren, Zhu Shuren was not idle during the period from May to August.

Before June, after Zhu Shuren visited Changde, he returned to Chongqing first, and then tried to find a way to surround Sun Kewang.

His approach is also quite ingenious, belonging to the kind of play that "does not block the head, does not cut the waist, only chases the rear". At most, he "blocks" the waist occasionally to induce Sun Kewang to turn in the direction.

He didn't want to fall into the trap of a traitor, so it was impossible to directly communicate with Sun Kewang by letter.At most, he just publicized on a large scale that Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu are still reforming in prison and have not suffered.

The other is to hit Sun Kewang in a targeted manner during his migration and maneuvering.

For example, during May and June, when Sun Kewang passed through the Daliang Mountains in western Sichuan, if he attacked those familiar chieftains who had long been loyal to the imperial court and were more inclined to accept the imperial court's tasks, then Qin Liangyu's troops would chase them closely.

Once they catch up with Sun Kewang's rear army, they will immediately rush to annihilate them, and capture a batch of dirt that Sun Kewang just robbed but has not had time to digest.

After suffering a loss once or twice, Sun Kewang didn't dare to stay any longer, and almost crossed the entire Daliang Mountains. At the end of May, when he arrived near Huichuanwei, he couldn't cross the Jinsha River because of the lack of supplies. ,
So Sun Kewang tentatively massacred a barbarian tribe that was originally quite brutal and never obeyed the orders of the imperial court. It is said that he followed Yang Yinglong's Bozhou Rebellion back then, and later participated in the Qianguimiao Rebellion during the Tianqi period.

This time, the reaction of the officers and soldiers suddenly slowed down a lot. Of course, Zhu Shuren also knew that the old general Qin Liangyu was very ruthless, and he didn't want to tell Qin Liangyu his true thoughts. For a lifetime of reconciliation, why bother to drag people into the water to ruin the evening festival.

Therefore, when encountering this kind of pursuit that requires relatively little effort, Zhu Shuren will use the excuse that "Old General Qin has been chasing for a month, and he is already too tired. It is time for the troops to switch defenses", and then ask his cousin Zhang Huangyan to take the lead. With some foreign soldiers brought by Huguang to chase,
They also tried their best to select soldiers from Hengzhou, Changsha and other places as well as the source of troops in western Hunan, because these soldiers are more adapted to the subtropical climate in the south.

This is the hottest time in May and June of the lunar calendar. When Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times in his southern expedition, they all "crossed Lu in May and went deep into the barren". When they hit the border of Yunnan and Guizhou, the resistance to military operations would naturally increase.

After chasing him a few times, Zhu Shuren realized that the summer battle was too exhausting, so he slowed down the pursuit just right, and just had an excuse to delay the hottest time.

As for Sun Kewang, after summing up the rules, he also knew that he could no longer attack those tribes who supported the reformation of the native land, and could only pick and kill those who resisted the reformation of the native land, so as not to be retaliated by Zhu Shuren .

After two months of friction, the two sides did not pass through directly, but they also established a tacit understanding through actual combat experience, and did not leave any clues or loopholes.

In addition, although Sun Kewang could keep killing assassins and robbing, his life was really difficult. As time went by, there were fewer and fewer assassins in his army who stubbornly hated the Ming court.

The reason is also very simple: a considerable part of the Huguang troops sent by Zhu Shuren are not adapted to the hot summer climate on the border of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and even produce tropical diseases.Among the troops brought by Sun Kewang, there are still many backbone soldiers from northern Shaanxi. Naturally, those Shaanxi people are not used to the scorching heat of the tropical rainforest.

Sun Kewang's troops were lost and exchanged at a rate of about [-]% per month in midsummer without the help of the officers and soldiers. The old thieves in Shaanxi in the north died of illness in batches, and the young men from Yunnan and Guizhou were forcibly recruited into the army.After the summer, the death rate of Shaanxi people may drop a bit, but by that time, the composition of the native place of the bandit force has already changed by a small half.

As Sun Kewang's remnant's hatred for the imperial court became less and less firm, and there were fewer and fewer diehards, it was an inevitable trend that they would eventually have to surrender, the difference was only sooner or later.

If Zhu Shuren does nothing, I believe that when next summer comes, Sun Kewang will definitely surrender. It can be guaranteed that in this difficult environment, next year will be the most scorching heat, and it is estimated that there will be few Shaanxi people left. To live in the rainforest, if the Shaanxi people are almost dead, they will naturally vote.

And if Zhu Shuren does something, you can speed up the process, so you don't have to wait for another scorching heat.

……

In May and June, Zhu Shuren personally deployed in Chongqing to restore order and production in Sichuan after the war, and Sun Kewang pursued them.By mid-June, he had already gone north to Hanzhong.
Because he had already received the bad news of "Sun Chuanting's defeat and the fall of Xi'an" around the tenth day of June. At that time, there was no official news, and it was not confirmed whether Sun Chuanting himself was dead or not.

Knowing this, Zhu Shuren must of course make some arrangements to ensure the northern gateway of Sichuan, and keep a bridgehead that can be used for the northern expedition to Guanzhong at any time in the future.

So there were some things that Zhang Huangyan told Wang Gonggong later.

After getting the news on the [-]th day of June, he didn't stop, took only a few thousand troops, and went to Hanzhong to find Cao Bianjiao.

Because it is patrolling in a stable defense zone of one's own side, the troops do not need to be too many, a few thousand people are definitely enough.

Speaking of which, Cao Bianjiao saved his life from Xingshan only a year and a half ago, relying on the rescue of the Liaodong Army's grain and water fleet arranged by Zhu Shuren, otherwise he would have been sent away directly by Hong Chengchou in history.

Cao Bianjiao also knew this situation in his heart, and kept thinking about Zhu Shuren's well-being.

However, compared to Li Fuming, Cao Bianjiao's favor was not so deep - after Li Fuming was rescued for the first time, he was still placed near Shanhaiguan, stationed at Funingwei, Yongping Mansion.This year he fought again with the Tartars, and after being seriously injured, he was picked up by Zhang Mingzhen's fleet from outside the customs again.

Cao Bianjiao was rescued only once, and then returned to Shanxi, and later transferred to Hanzhong.However, after hearing that Sun Chuanting was defeated and killed, Cao Bianjiao was also a little bit afraid, and even more regretful.

The last thing I was afraid of was that if Zhu Shuren hadn't asked the emperor to transfer him to Hanzhong, then he would have stayed near Linfen, and sooner or later he would be recruited by Sun Chuanting to participate in the decisive battle against the intruders.

In that case, if Sun Chuanting is still defeated, he may not be able to escape with his life.Cao Bianjiao and his uncle Cao Wenzhao have fought with two generations of trespassers for more than ten years, and their hatred is very deep.

And what he regretted was that if he could have fought side by side with Sun Chuanting at that time, Sun Chuanting might not have been defeated.But with the intruder's tenacity and good at escaping, even if he defeated Li Zicheng, he would retreat temporarily, and then try to make a comeback. It is almost impossible to expect that one battle will set the world and kill Li Zicheng.

In this complex emotion, Cao Bianjiao learned that his former savior, Governor Zhu, was coming to Hanzhong for inspection, so he attached great importance to it and organized the defense under his rule very strictly.

This was the first time he had seen Zhu Shuren with his own eyes, and he had only been known for a long time before.

(End of this chapter)