Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 716 Sending troops to the Savior
In Taiping Mansion, after Wang Yan rested in Wuhu for a while, the army began to move towards Dashengguan, but the marching process was very cautious.

After all, the emperor and his party had already left Wuhu for eight or nine days. If they were in the city, a month or so would not be a big problem, but in the wilderness, plus the Hong bandits' intentional calculations, what would happen, I dare not imagine.

At this time, the sentry cavalry had already been dispersed by Wang Yan, and they went forward for twenty or thirty miles to open eyes for the army.

At this time, the army had left Wuhu and arrived in Dangtu.

At this time, a cavalry just happened to gallop over against the direction the army was advancing.

A hundred horsemen stopped not far from Wang Yan, quickly dismounted from their horses, ran quickly, and saluted on one knee, "Your Majesty, the scouts have brought back news of Dasheng Pass."

After Wang Yan became king, the officials and generals around him mostly called him His Highness, but the soldiers at the bottom mostly called him King.

This "big king" was originally a title for the princes, but later some grass bandits who occupied the mountain as king also called themselves this, so they made this word a bit gangster, not as elegant as "Your Highness", but Wang Yandao liked it very much With this title, I feel that for ordinary soldiers, the king can undoubtedly unite people's hearts better than His Highness.

After listening to the report, Wang Yan's eyes flickered, and he raised his hand and said, "Bring it here!"

Hundreds of households took orders, and not long after, a general flag with a helmet flag came over, it was the leader of the scouts who had detected the vicinity of Dasheng Pass.

Running all the way, he was quite tired, breathless, so he first reported politely: "Your Majesty, I am humbled to go deep into Yingtian Mansion for more than [-] miles, and ventured to explore outside Dasheng Pass. The army is cleaning up the battlefield and moving the corpses."

When the camp was broken, Wang Yan's heart suddenly rose. From this point of view, the Central Route Army was defeated.

"What's the specific situation? Is there any news from His Majesty?" Gao Yigong and others beside him also changed their expressions and asked anxiously.

The general flag took out a few military plaques from his arms, put them up with both hands, and sighed: "In the wilderness outside the Great Victory Pass, there are dozens of miles of corpses of people and horses. From the situation on the battlefield, it can be seen that the situation of the battle is inevitable." It's very tragic. I just searched a little and found so many, but fortunately, I didn't find the banner of His Majesty and Jindu Town."

Hearing what he said, Wang Yan casually picked up a military plaque from his hand, on which was written "Commander of the Panshi Battalion of the Wuwei Zuo Army", and turned it over to see that there were three Chinese characters "Xu Qiren" engraved on it.

Wang Yan's heart was shocked, and the expressions of the other generals who picked up their military badges also sank.

This Xu Qiren was Jin Shenghuan's confidant general, and it was through his help that Wang Yan instigated Jin Shenghuan's rebellion during the southern Jiangxi war.

Wang Yan didn't expect him to be killed in battle. Although the scouts didn't find the flags of the emperor and Jin Shenghuan, the situation might not be optimistic.

For this battle in the south of the Yangtze River, the Ming army's preparations were rather hasty. Wang Yan insisted on procrastinating for more than three months, and when he was almost ready, he went east along the river.

He knew that the emperor threw off the left and right wings and rushed forward to the Dasheng Pass, and he was a little worried. If the lone army went deep, if the soldiers were exhausted and the Qing soldiers suddenly attacked, the emperor might suffer a big loss. Now his worry is really true. happened.

Wang Yan's eyes became gloomy. The Central Route Army can be said to be the essence of the Jiangxi Ming Army. They are all elite soldiers. Now that the emperor is defeated, the Ming Army will definitely be severely injured.

In this Battle of Jiangnan, the strength of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was equal. If more than 4 elite soldiers were lost at once, the comparison of troops on the Western Front would change. The Battle of Jiangnan would probably be very difficult to fight.

Compared with the loss of the Ming army in Jiangxi, Wang Yan was more worried about the emperor's personal safety. If the emperor was captured and killed, the momentum of the entire Ming Dynasty in the past two years would plummet.

Leaving aside, let’s just talk about the current dynasty. After the Tumu Fort change, the Mongolian soldiers and horses went directly to the city of Beijing. The court was almost ready to abandon Beijing. After Emperor Hongguang was captured, the Ming Dynasty was divided for a long time. In such a state, there is no power to parry the attack of the Qing Dynasty.

If the emperor is captured, I am afraid that there will be an inevitable struggle for succession within the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?" asked Gao Yigong and others beside him.

Wang Yanwen calmed down, now he should think about what to do, where is his army going.

He has to retreat now, defend Anqing, and prepare to establish another emperor, but the emperor he established, Jiangxi, Fujian, and the King of Lu may not buy it. There may be a situation where the three families contend for each other in the Ming Dynasty, and the good situation will collapse.

Continue to move forward without knowing the situation of the army in the middle. If he crashes in, there will be more than 4 people in Jin Shenghuan, and the emperor is all dead. A decisive battle, then he is simply courting death.

Wang Yan thought for a while, the battle in the south of the Yangtze River was a battle of national destiny. Up to now, there is no reason to give up first when the situation is not clear. Besides, the army is easy to retreat, but the luggage is not easy to retreat. He and the other Ming armies, for the sake of This battle has cost nothing, and unless there is definite news, it is impossible to retreat.

"The scouts will continue to investigate and send out all the Hengchong horse troops. We must find out what happened to the Central Route Army, and whether the emperor will survive or die, or be captured by the Qing army. You must give me a letter of approval. "

Wang Shixiu, who was next to him, immediately took the order, but Wang Yan was still not at ease. His current position was already very forward, and he was very likely to be surrounded.

After the Hengchong horse army set off, he ordered his men to check on Sun Shoufa, Li Guo and Dai Zhifan in Jiangbei, and ordered them to block the surrounding Qing soldiers.

It would be really dangerous if these two men and horses did not block the Qing soldiers and let Duoduo or Xiao Qihui steal his way.

After Wang Yan finished his work and gave his orders, suddenly another scout came back to report, but it was the one that rushed to the foot of Ma'an Mountain, saying that the Qing army's company battalion at the foot of Ma'an Mountain was rushing to attack the Ming army on the top of the mountain.

After hearing this, the generals and staff were sure that it must be the defeated army of the Central Route Army, trapped on Ma'anshan.

The Central Route Army was raided by the Qing soldiers at the Dasheng Pass, and the east was blocked by the Dasheng Pass. The Qing army surrounded them from the southeast, and they could not run back with the cavalry. They probably fled along the Yangtze River and took the opportunity to find ships to escape. , But in the end still did not escape and was trapped on Ma'anshan.

Since Wang Yan knew that the Central Route Army was still fighting, he had to go to rescue them.

If all the [-] elite soldiers were lost, the Ming army would be seriously injured and would have to turn to defense again, and within four or five years, they should stop thinking about recovering Jiangnan.

If the emperor is captured, the nominally unified central government that has been formed with great difficulty in the past two years will immediately disintegrate.

The one who can inherit the great rule is King Gui, but the contribution of the Tang clan to Daming over the years is obvious to all. There are many people who support the Tang Dynasty, and the King of Lu is not a fuel-efficient lamp. The Qing forces are very likely to be completely split.

The blow brought by the emperor's capture to the army and the people will inevitably cause turmoil in the hearts of the Ming Dynasty and low morale. Whether it can guarantee that the current territory can be defended under the circumstances of changing offensive and defensive positions is still a big problem.

(End of this chapter)