A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 763 Take Huguang first, then Shaanxi!
The Gu Junen who spoke was elegant, with three long beards under his chin, and he spoke with a Huguang accent, but he was from Zhongxiang of Chengtian Mansion.

He was dressed in a scholar's uniform. He was about forty years old this year. He was a Xiangsheng in his early years. Not long ago, he joined Li Chuang together with Yu Shangyou and Yang Yongyu. This is slightly different from history. In history, he was born after Li Zicheng captured Xiangyang. Only defected to Chongzhen in 16 years.

Gu Junendo had many strategies. As a counselor, he once again suggested to Li Chuang and put forward various plans. In history, he also proposed the strategy of first taking Shaanxi, then attacking Shanxi, and then taking Beijing. Li Zicheng trusted him very much and basically obeyed.

Among the three who defected at this time, Gu Junen was also the one who received the most attention. His words were astonishing. At this time, he proposed to Li Zicheng to capture Xiangyang and seize Huguang.

"Your majesty is wise, and the candle illuminates everything. You should know that Henan is a dilapidated area, and it is no longer able to supply the food and grass for our millions of volunteers. However, Huguang is different. There is a saying that 'Huguang is ripe, and the world is full'. If you can take it, you will definitely Greatly increase the momentum of my rebel army!"

Gu Junen spoke slowly, his tone was cold and flat, although Huguang was his hometown, he didn't feel guilty at all for letting thieves into his house.

He has a good appearance, but at the same time he is a person with a vicious mind. If he could meet Wen Shiyan, he might definitely attract him as the same kind.

"Why not take Shaanxi? Will Shaanxi be inferior to Huguang?"

Some generals around Li Zicheng disagreed, and Niu Jinxing squinted at each other. At this time, he asked coldly, Gu Junen stole his limelight as soon as he came, it is really hateful!
All the generals in the Chuangying camp nodded. Compared to Huguang, they wanted to go to Shaanxi. The generals in the Chuangying camp were basically from Shaanxi. Thinking about the feeling of returning home, they couldn't wait.

Gu Junen arched his hands at him, and said with a smile: "What Junji Niu said is true!"

He stroked his long beard slowly, looking like he was holding a pearl of wisdom: "Of course we want to take Shaanxi. Guanzhong is the hometown of the great king. With a hundred and two mountains and rivers, it occupies two-thirds of the world. If you take it, you can build a foundation, but at this time To take it is too hasty to lose it.”

He said: "Qin Fu Feng Shikong strictly guards Tongguan. Tongguan is naturally dangerous, and there are a group of people such as He Renlong and Niu Chenghu. It is not easy to fight, but it is defeated. Like Henan, Shaanxi suffers from repeated droughts and lacks food and grass. , my rebel army will eventually seek to capture Huguang!"

He said with high spirits: "Huguang is rich in food, and in terms of terrain, it is a land extending in all directions like Henan. If you capture Huguang, you can attack Zhili in the south, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou in the south, and Sichuan in the west. An important place is obviously more favorable than Shaanxi."

For a while, Li Zicheng and the others became contemplative, and Gu Junen continued: "In terms of resistance, it is easier to seize Huguang than Shaanxi. At this time, the 'thief general' Zuo Liangyu's troops stationed in Xiangyang have been defeated by us as early as the first battle in Zhuxian Town. The rebels were terrified..."

He deliberately concealed Zuo Liangyu's "ping thieves general" and Ping thieves became thieves generals, causing everyone present to burst into laughter.

"...Although Zuo Liangyu was defeated in Kaifeng, he recruited surrenders and rebels in various places in Xiangyang, recruiting a large number of troops. It's just that his troops are paid according to the imperial court, and there are only more than [-] soldiers. How can he support so many soldiers under his command? They all come from the local people to search and plunder, and every time they search for the bones and absorb the marrow, the people hate it to the bone!"

Speaking of this, Gu Junen's eyes also shot a deep cold light. Obviously, his family members have also suffered. He continued: "So my rebel army will go south, and the people will definitely respond! It is Zuo Liangyu who resists stubbornly. How can he fight against me? I am on par with a million volunteers?"

He resolutely shouted: "Xiangyang, definitely go down with a drum!"

Li Zicheng nodded with excitement on his face.

Gu Junen observed the words and expressions, secretly complacent in his heart, and his face remained calm, he said loudly: "Therefore, it is a good opportunity to seize Huguang at this time... Of course, if you want to seize Huguang, you must first capture Nanyang Mansion and Runing Mansion, otherwise the officers and soldiers will be able to seize Huguang. Discuss me later, for fear of future worries."

Niu Jinxing interrupted and said: "When my rebel army was rushing to Henan Mansion, General Yuan and the others had led hundreds of thousands of troops south to Runing. It was only a matter of turning back! As for Nanyang Mansion, the remnant soldiers were defeated and the army went south. It will be destroyed by the time."

Gu Junen nodded slightly: "In this way, there will be no worries!"

He finally said: "Again, in terms of military strategy, if I seize Shaanxi first... Huguang Governor Song Yihe is cunning, and he will definitely lead Huguang officers and soldiers to take the opportunity to go northward, posing a serious threat to the rear of our rebel army. To attack Huguang first, at this time Sun Chuanting is on the sidelines." Assuming office, He Renlong and others are frightened birds, and they are far away, and it is impossible to send troops to follow me in a short period of time, so it is inevitable to attack Huguang in the south and attack Zuo Liangyu and other troops first!"

He gave a deep salute to Li Zicheng, with a weeping expression: "I implore King Chuang to send his troops to the south and save my father and elders in Huguang from the fire and water!"

Li Zicheng helped Gu Junen up, and said repeatedly: "Sir, please get up quickly!"

He said with emotion: "It is a blessing for me, Mr. Li, to have Mr.'s help."

He also saw that in terms of military strategy, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others were still unable to compare with Gu Junen. Gu Junen's refuge was a timely rain for him.

In fact, he also wanted to attack Shaanxi with all his heart, and only after he captured the Runing Mansion, he sent his troops westward.It's just that after listening to Gu Junen's analysis, it is indeed a better choice to move south to Huguang at this time.

The issue of food and grass has always been a headache for him. His subordinates are tens of millions of people at every turn, and the food and grass for a day cost thousands of stones.Henan has long been unable to solve his food and grass problem, and marching to more affluent places has become inevitable.

Moreover, looting was indeed faster than business operations. After he captured Luoyang in the twelfth lunar month of the 14th year of Chongzhen, he was too stimulated by Wang Dou and decided to farm in Henan Province, distribute the fields, and train elite soldiers.

However, when these elite soldiers fought against Cao and Wang, they were defeated. Li Zicheng was deeply disappointed. In the end, he relied on ants to kill elephants, and he defeated them in Guide Mansion. He was already somewhat disappointed with this elite soldier policy. Not eye-catching.

Moreover, after defeating Cao and Wang Xinjun once and hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers in Zhuxian Town twice, Li Zicheng was full of confidence.

There is no lack of sharp and powerful troops among them, and there are also powerful musketeers equipped with East Road firearms, who were also defeated by him.Cao Bianjiao and others piled up a lot of money and food, and the painstakingly trained new army was still overwhelmed by their own worthless hungry people. This is the case.

So, why do I have to spend money and food to train these arms that are not as rewarding as investment?The food, equipment, and even sharp firearms that I need are constantly delivered to my door by officers and soldiers, so why do I have to forge and manufacture them myself?
Also, he was hoarding grain in Henan Province, not to mention not receiving a grain of grain, but still pouring it into this bottomless pit continuously. How long will it take to wait until the harvest?
He was even more impatient to do these things. The failure of Henan Mansion's management gave him the best excuse.

He still had an idea in his mind, to capture more affluent places in the imperial court, at most it would be better to set up officials in these places to collect taxes.The most important thing is to expand more territory and collect more food and grass to support your own army.

Of course, the shadow of the threat from the imperial court's new army is still there, and he still needs to train a group of powerful gunslingers to use at critical times.

Niu Jinxing and the others had nothing to say, and seeing that Gu Junen was so highly valued by King Chuang, they all looked at him with jealousy. This person is much better than himself in strategy, and this is not a good thing for them.

Only Li Yan said in a deep voice: "What does Mr. Gu mean, is the Henan Mansion going to be abandoned?"

When Li Yan was talking, his heart was cut like a knife. In the past year, he had invested a lot of effort in various parts of Henan Province, farming, managing politics, and managing canals. He was really reluctant to give up.

Gu Junen smiled and said: "It can't be helped. Henan is located in the Central Plains. It has been a place of war since ancient times, so it is not a good place for farming. Moreover, Henan Prefecture is close to Shaanxi. At that time, our rebel army and the Qin army were fighting and fighting. This place is full of dangers. , it’s really not where the seed is planted.”

He said meaningfully: "What's more, when the two armies are fighting, they need to fortify the wall and clear the country, and they need a buffer zone, right?"

What he said made everyone stunned, and then he continued with high spirits: "Even if they are farming, Nanyang Mansion and Runing Mansion are better than Henan Mansion. Of course, if the rebels capture Huguang, they can no longer abandon it after the occupation. You can assign officials, leave some troops to garrison and garrison, open courses to recruit scholars, select scholars and employ people, and tell the people to return to their jobs..."

Li Zicheng smiled and nodded, but he didn't think so in his heart. In this way, didn't he disperse his troops?

What did he rely on to sweep Henan?Millions of troops!

And the farming, like the Henan government, when will it be done?

It's just that with the expansion of the territory, farming operations are inevitable, which is really a headache.

Gu Junen talked endlessly, and the generals who entered the camp were also very headaches. It was okay to let them fight and plunder unconstrainedly. It is really troublesome to let them garrison the fields, open courses to obtain scholars, and tell the people to return to their jobs.

They were suffering from headaches. Seeing King Chuang's expression of approval, Gu Junen was encouraged, and he said even more impassionedly: "In this way, King Chuang will touch the world with benevolence and righteousness, have great ambitions, prohibit killing and plundering, promote benevolent government, and great things can be accomplished!"

After he finished speaking, he saluted Li Zicheng deeply, and Li Zicheng nodded and said, "Okay, okay, Mr. Gu said it well."

More and more literati under his command took refuge in him. In front of these literati, he naturally had to put on a posture of enlightenment.

Moreover, the arrival of more literati also helped him a lot.Among other things, Li Yan's fabricated ballads such as "Chuang Wang came and didn't pay for food" made the army even more powerful. They often came to the city, and before the city was attacked, the hungry people in the city opened the city to respond.

Li Yan also cheered up, thinking: "Mr. Gu's words are true. King Chuang is still aware of the harm of running away. If he captures Huguang and farms to support him, there will be great achievements."

He even thought: "The government has no way, princes and dignitaries deprive the poor of people, break into the king to do justice for the sky, and crusade against the unrighteous court. I will do my best to follow and serve, and follow the rebel army to create a new dynasty and prosperity."

After returning to his old camp, Li Zicheng asked Gao Yigong beside him, "Where are He Ye and the others now?"

Gao Yigong said in a low voice: "I heard that they gathered again in Master Cao's camp, drinking and feasting together."

A gloomy look flashed across Li Zicheng's face.

(End of this chapter)