Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 190 He Tengjiao retreats without a fight
The Wang family was not a wealthy family. After the army returned to Changsha, Wang Chaoli and the Zhang family returned to their house in the west of the city.

The real change in their lives would have to wait until the news of Wang Yan's high position spread to Hunan, and after Emperor Longwu's edict spread to Changsha, the prefect at that time came to the mansion on Tuesday to meet him in person, and allocated more than [-] acres to the Wang family. Good paddy field.

At this time, the Hengyang Wang clan also sent their children to repair the house for the Wang family, and only then did the present Wangfu come into existence.

After Wang Yan reunited with his parents, he did not return to the military camp, but stayed at home, wanting to spend more time with his old parents.

He saw that the Ming army had the upper hand on the battlefield and was completely on the offensive, while cavalry accounted for half of his 4000 men and horses, which did not help the siege of the city, so he simply waited for the chariot battalion to come to Changsha before heading towards Hubei.

In the first month of the lunar year, there is a hint of happiness inside and outside Changsha. In the military camp outside the city, chickens and sheep are slaughtered. Wang Yan also wears the new clothes his mother made for him in the palace, eats the good food that his mother asked the cook to prepare, and drinks with his old father. .

Wang Chaoli has now resigned from his errand in the Changsha Mansion, and spends his days at home drinking tea and playing chess. Now that Wang Yan is home, he and the Zhang family have one thing in common.

Wang Yan is the only son of the dynasty, and the family is thin, so the two elders hope that Wang Yan can spread out as soon as possible, but Wang Yan is now in a high position, and his father thinks that he should find someone who is well-matched, while his mother thinks that a woman from a good family is fine. If not, you can take a concubine first.

Seeing that the two elders were like this, Wang Yan had no choice but to tell him that he had a beloved man in his heart, and he helped him manage the family business in the Duke's mansion in Guangzhou, and the two elders felt relieved.

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Wang Yan learned that Che Ying had crossed the Lingnan Mountains and arrived at the border of Chenzhou.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a very important day in the New Year. It is customary to visit graves and pay homage to deceased ancestors.

The ancestral graves of the Wang family are all in Hengyang, but Wang Chaoli also built an ancestral hall in Changsha, so Wang Yan, the twenty Wang children brought out from Leiyang, as well as his father and distant relatives of the family, had an early dinner and went to Ancestral hall worship.

At that time, the winter sun was still slanting in the sky. After a group of people worshiped, Wang Yan saw that it was still early, so he accompanied his father and led twenty Wang's children to cross the Xiangshui River and climb Yuelu Mountain. Enjoy the river view.

This situation reminded him of the time when he was studying in the academy when he was young, and he was deeply moved.

The scenery is still the same, time has passed, Wang Yan stands on the top of the mountain and looks at Sanxiang and four rivers. He is no longer the innocent boy who swam in the river when he was young, but has become a hero who has picked up a knife and gun, been on the battlefield, and has suffered a lot. Marshal of the injured country.Just when Wang Yan was feeling emotional, a disciple of the Wang family pointed to the north and said, "Look~ so many warships~"

Wang Yan was surprised when he heard the words. Now that the war in Hubei is in a hurry, all the supplies from Hunan are shipped to the north. How can there be so many warships coming to the south?
At this moment, Wang Yan turned around and looked north, but he saw countless boats coming against the current in the distance, and there seemed to be a large number of troops along both sides of the river, so he frowned immediately, and ordered a member of the Wang family to escort Wang Chaoli back Mansion, and he immediately walked down the mountain quickly.

When Wang Yan came to the foot of the mountain, the fleet from far away also happened to arrive in Changsha. He saw thousands of sails and thousands of boats sailing across the Xiangjiang River.

"Defeated?" Wang Yan burst into anger when he saw the scene in front of him.

At the same time, he couldn't believe that the Ming army was defeated like this.

Doesn't it mean that the army has the upper hand? Can the 30 Ming army not defeat the [-] Qing soldiers?
Wang Yan really wants to cry but has no tears, his heart is cold!

At this time, he was standing by the river, watching the defeated army swarming into Changsha, he couldn't help sighing a lot, then hurried across the river, changed his official uniform in a hurry, and found the government office.

He had to know which route was defeated and how, and whether the Qing army took advantage of the momentum to attack Changsha, these were all matters of life and death for Chudi.

When Wang Yan came to the governor's mansion, it was completely dark, and the guards who went in to report hadn't come out yet, so Wang Yan could only walk back and forth in front of the mansion anxiously, and at the same time couldn't help feeling angry.

He is the Duke of the imperial court, with a high status, it is really unreasonable for He Tengjiao not to greet him personally, but to let him wait outside the door.

At this time, when Wang Yan was about to get angry, he saw a second-rank official in a red robe and embroidered golden pheasant coming out of the governor's mansion, so he didn't care much, and directly blocked his way, bowed his hands and said: "This governor It is the young master of the imperial court, the Duke of Chu, Wang Yan, I don’t know how to address this lord? Can you move forward and talk?”

The official heard Wang Yan's name, but he couldn't help being surprised when he saw that he was so young. After a moment of shock, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Kuang, Governor of Hubei, has met the Duke of Chu. Straight up."

Wang Yan saw that the other party was the supervisor of the East Road Ming Army this time, so he hurriedly sent horses to bring him back to the army.

In the military tent outside the city, after listening to Zhang Kuang's words, Wang Yan couldn't help saying angrily: "The governor said, why are there still tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and thousands of boats and ships after being defeated? It turned out that they retreated without a fight! Four generals, Ma and Wang They should all be beheaded directly, and the military law has been established. Why is He Du so confused when he retreats like this?"

Zhang Kuang heard Wang Yan's words, but couldn't help but blushed. He and He Tengjiao insisted on using their own people, but after repelling the Dashun Army, the organized own people were a group of mobs.

He Tengjiao swore an oath at the end of December, and went to Xiangyin on the second day of the first lunar month to recruit all the troops to join the army in Yuezhou. Zhang Xianbi, the commander-in-chief, used the excuse that the horses he bought had not arrived, and the delay would not come, and the rest of the generals also waited and watched.

A few days later, the four towns of Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncai, Lu Ding, and Wang Jincai stationed in Yuezhou heard that the Eight Banners soldiers who had rushed to Wuchang to support them from Jiangnan were going to attack Yuezhou, so they fled south by boat. The Qing court surrendered and dedicated Yuezhou.

He Tengjiao finally waited for the people from various towns and was rushing to Yuezhou, but on the way, he suddenly encountered people from the four towns fleeing south.

At this time, he only learned from the mouths of the four towns that the Qing soldiers were approaching, but he did not find out the strength and combat intentions of the Qing troops.

Wang Yan couldn't help being speechless for a while, but he had to consider the consequences of He Tengjiao's retreat, and since the Qing soldiers had arrived, he couldn't be careless.

"Daowu, bring the map of Huguang!" Wang Yan had no choice but to cheer up at this moment, and said to Zhang Kuang: "Governor Zhang, please also tell me what you know about the movements of the Qing army and Governor Du's arrangements in Jingzhou. Point it out to Ben Du."

Zhang Kuang and He Tengjiao actually didn't realize the seriousness of the problem. They were all civil servants leading the army, and they didn't understand battle formation at all.

At this time Zhang Kuang saw Wang Yan's anxious look, and couldn't help but feel tense, and began to realize that because they retreated rashly, the overall situation of the entire Huguang might be ruined.

At this time, Xie Kuang brought the map and laid it out on the table. Zhang Kuang tried his best to recall what he knew in his mind, and pointed it out on the map, while Wang Yan marked them one by one.

In this way, the situation is clear at a glance, even Zhang Kuang himself can see that it is not good, while Wang Yan sat down on the seat, "Once Yuezhou is lost, Manchuria can take advantage of the cavalry to detour to the south of the Yangtze River, Running for thousands of miles, blocking the governor's luggage and camp on the south bank, the battle of Jingzhou may be lost."

Thanks to Shushan Qinpandeng for the monthly pass
(End of this chapter)