The sun never sets in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 719 Comeback
Small-scale battles between Hong Chengchou's troops and the Qing army occurred frequently. Both sides were tentative attacks, and they were weighing each other's weight.

After a few months, the Ming army did not suffer a big loss and made some small gains. The victory news was delivered to the capital, and Chongzhen was overjoyed and ordered to praise Hong Chengchou and various generals. Many civil and military officers were honored.

Hong Chengchou was complacent, and believed that as long as he had enough patience and did not make the mistake of underestimating the enemy, life for the Qing army should be difficult.

well!What a pity!Hong Chengchou's comfortable days are only more than a year.

The Qing army found that Jinzhou was not only difficult to attack, but the siege troops were constantly under the counterattack of He Kegang's troops, and casualties occurred every day.

Hong Chengchou, who came to the rescue, was careful at every step. His defense line was impeccable, and Jiannu came to Jinzhou City to fight fiercely.

On the surface, Hong is still calm and careless, and at night he always tosses and turns and can't sleep, the corners of his mouth are cracked, obviously getting angry.

At this critical juncture related to the overall situation, a fire broke out in Daming's backyard.

That's because last year, in the spring of the 12th year of Chongzhen, Li Duyan, the king of wedding clothes, made a comeback. He led thousands of people out of Shangluo Mountain.

It is also because Sun Chuanting worked in "Nanming", and now he has been promoted to a guerrilla general in the first battalion. At this time, he is leading his subordinates to clear the guerrillas in the mountainous areas of the Indochina Peninsula.

Although Li Zicheng lacked the help of Zhang Xianzhong and the advantage of the two places echoing each other, but without the natural enemy Sun Chuanting, Li Zicheng's success was no less than that of his re-emergence in history. In a year or two, the number of people grew to tens of thousands.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen, Li Duyan, who had been taught a lesson, made a comeback and did not focus on killing, but began to invite people to buy. Not only that, he also set up a list to recruit talents, pretending to be humble and eager to seek talents.

Soon, a group of down-and-out literati such as Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing, and Li Yan came to join him. With the advice of scholars, the recklessness gradually changed.

Ever since: "The dynasty seeks promotion, and the evening seeks harmony. Recently, it is difficult for the poor to survive. Open the door early to pay homage to the King Chuang, and the discipline is joyful. Kill cattle and sheep, prepare wine, and open the city gate to welcome the King Chuang. When the King Chuang comes, he does not pay food. .Eat his mother, eat her mother, if you don’t have enough to eat, you will be King Chuang. If you don’t work as an errand, you don’t pay food, everyone has a good time.”

This kind of nursery rhyme that deceived tens of thousands of people appeared. They don’t pay food, and they don’t farm to produce food. Of course, they rely on robbery to maintain their living needs.

However, it was difficult for ordinary people to distinguish the authenticity from the false, and coupled with the intense class conflicts during the Chongzhen period, Li Duyan's army soon numbered [-] to [-], and the number of ordinary people who belonged to it reached as many as one million.

In the same year, Li Duyan's army entered Henan. This place, which has been repeatedly poisoned by rogues and bandits for many years, is devastated. The people who are unwilling to leave their homes have just resumed production and have a season of harvest. Looking forward to the future, the daydreams of wives and children are ruthlessly crushed Broken.

The main general of the Ming army who fought against the rogues was Zheng Chongjian, the right servant of the Ministry of War and the governor of Shaanxi Trilateral Military Affairs. The generals under his command who could fight were the commander-in-chief He Renlong nicknamed "He Crazy", and the Mongolian commander-in-chief was as fierce as a tiger and so on.

It's a pity that Li Zicheng, who made a comeback with eighteen riders, is not the same. He inherited Gao Yingxiang's "Chuangwang" banner, and he is no longer an insignificant "Chuangjiang".

Gao Yingxiang's old troops who were dispersed quickly gathered under the command of the new "Chuang Wang", many of whom were cavalry from Gao Yingxiang's troops who were defeated by Heihu and Lu Chengzu.

Li "Chuangwang" inherited the legacy of Gao "Chuangwang", and his strength increased dramatically. Those old bandits who had blood feuds with the Ming army found an organization again, and their fighting power was astonishing.

The various Ming armies in the imperial court were willing to work hard. Of course, they fought repeatedly and failed repeatedly. It is inevitable that the trespassers who often win battles and get a large number of captures will become stronger as they fight.

In August, Yang Sichang, who was seriously ill, gave Shang Fang a sword as a "supervisor and assistant minister" and went to Shanxi, Shanxi and Henan to personally arrange to suppress the bandits.

Without Sun Chuanting, Yang Sichang was replaced, and Li Zicheng's sharp offensive was finally curbed.

With ideological understanding, the cohesion of the rogues has been greatly enhanced. Too many of them rebelled not because they couldn't survive, but because they were careerists who were ready to drag the emperor down from the horse.

The rogues have a political platform, and the overall appearance has changed. At least they don’t set fire to houses indiscriminately, and they don’t want people to trample on wheat fields. More and more ordinary people are deceived by illusions. The Ming army also gradually increased.

With too many soldiers and down-and-out literati joining the team, the rogues are no longer completely mobs. Not only the number of people has expanded, but the combat effectiveness has also been greatly improved. The Ming army for suppressing bandits is obviously at a disadvantage.

The Central Plains has been corrupted for thousands of miles, even if Yang Sichang is talented, it will not help if he does not have soldiers, horses, money and food under his command.

Too many starving Ming soldiers began to plunder the common people. Under the warning of the "Nanwang", they only robbed things and did not dare to kill people for no reason.

The two warring parties not only fought on the battlefield, but also tried their best to take the lead in robbing the food of the common people. The innocent people were dead before and after. Too many people who could not escape to the "Nanming" by the river and sea became rogues and thieves.

Chongzhen did not solve various local conflicts at all and did not increase investment in reconstruction. Many Henan people who were deeply disappointed in Ming Dynasty joined the rebel army one after another, and Li Zicheng's development momentum was in full swing.

The rogue bandits seem to have a tacit understanding with the Qing army. When the Ming army was in full swing to resist the foreign invasion in Liaodong, the flames of war in the interior were like a prairie fire.

In the autumn of the 13th year of Chongzhen, Henan was in turmoil. Many ordinary people did not get a harvest and knew that it would be difficult to survive the next year. They could only choose to rebel. The situation in the Central Plains went from bad to worse.

The army of thieves attacked the city like destroying the dead, and the color of the mountains and rivers changed in the same room, and the blood of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor was shed...

Liu Baili, who was in a hurry, asked for help, and reported the fall of the city, was delivered to the capital without interruption. Chongzhen, who was originally very calm, could no longer deal with it calmly.

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. There was nothing he could do. Only by resolving the battle of Jinzhou as soon as possible could the court be free.

The imperial edict to demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall again was sent to the Ningyuan Liaodong Economic Strategy Office.

Hong Chengchou, who had been working step by step for a whole year, was shocked when he received the edict, and the strategic deployment of exchanging time for space was disrupted.

The 10,000+ troops under his command had already been overwhelmed with the salaries and food they needed. The court also expected these powerful troops to enter the Central Plains to suppress bandits.

Hong Chengchou was not reckless, nor did he take the imperial power too seriously. He was going to put aside the emperor's edict at the risk of the world, and still use up the Qing army according to the plan.

But the next six hundred miles from the capital were rushed one after another, and the court's words to urge Hong Chengchou to make a decisive battle became more and more severe each time.

(End of this chapter)