The Han River is an extremely important tributary of the Yangtze River, running through the entire Hanzhong Province from west to east.

Almost all the important towns in Hanzhong Province are located on both sides of the Han River, and the official roads are also built quite close to the Han River.

The official road, covered in snow, was filled with marching soldiers.

They wore crimson mandarin duck battle jackets, helmets adorned with red tassels, or spears on their shoulders, or three-eyed guns on their shoulders, their expressions relaxed, and they strode forward briskly.

Chen Wang rode a war horse and led dozens of guards to ride on the side of the team, his eyes swept over the soldiers who were marching on the official road on his side.

This army, which was marching on the official road, was the guerrilla battalion under Chen Wang's command.

From Hanzhong to Guanzhong, because of the obstruction of the Qinling Mountains, there were originally only four roads connected, and these four roads were Meridian Road, Fu Luo Road, Bao Slope Road and Chen Cang Road from east to west.

At the time of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Lianyun Road was repaired again, and Lianyun Road was not far from the west of Bao Chuan Road, and it went straight to the Baoji of Fengxiang Mansion.

The military order delivered by Hong Chengchou was for Chen Wang to lead his troops into the southern part of Xi'an Prefecture to suppress a group of thieves in the Shangluo Mountain area in the south of Xi'an Prefecture.

The best path should actually start from Chuxian, then pass through Lianyun Road to Baoji to enter the Guanzhong Plain, and then go east into Xi'an to Shangluo.

This is the fastest and easiest way to walk.

However, Fengxiang Mansion has been plundered several times, and all the prefectures and counties are in difficulty, and they still need the help of the imperial court, how can they supply the military rations used along the way.

Therefore, the military order issued by Hong Chengchou was for Chen Wang to lead his troops from Chuxian, through the Hanzhong Basin, to march in the direction of Shiquan, and then from the Meridian Valley north to Xi'an.

Chen Wang withdrew his gaze and rode forward to a high slope.

The scenery in front of you is still the same, the river is rushing and noisy to the east, and the mountains are turning and turning.

"How far is it from the city?"

Chen Wang frowned slightly, and asked left and right.

If there are no errors in the account, at the end of this month, there will be a drastic change in Hanzhong Province.

When Chen Wanglu passed through the city of Hanzhong, he heard the news that Zhang Yuan had defeated the officers and soldiers of Hanzhong Mansion at Buckwheat Mountain, and then the soldiers came to the city of Guxian.

And Fengxian and other places are also surging, and the thieves are in turmoil, or they are afraid that a large-scale civil uprising will break out in a short time.

He deliberately stayed for three days before leading his troops to the east, but the east seemed unusually calm, and there was not a single news yet.

Hearing Chen Wang's question, Hu Zhili immediately stepped forward and lowered his head to report.

"There are still about thirty miles from Hanzhong City, and according to the current pace of marching, we can reach the outside of Hanzhong City before dusk today."

In addition to serving as the supervisor of the supervision office, Hu Zhili also served as the head of the Chinese army, in charge of military order exchanges.

"Last night I heard the sound of the cavalry returning to camp, what is the situation in the east now?"

Chen Wang looked sideways slightly, looked at Hu Zhili and asked.

The many affairs of the past few days have been pressed on his shoulders, and now leaving Dingjun Mountain is only temporary, and he cannot leave it all at once.

Chen Wang did not think of giving up the business he had been doing on Dingjun Mountain for the past few months.

Occupying Dingjun Mountain can not only affect Chu County, but also radiate Ningqiang, Yangping, Lüyang and other places, and can effectively control the western part of Hanzhong Province.

Guan Qilin is now tied to the chariot by Chen Wang, because now his only son Guan Wenyou is serving as the general under Chen Wang.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was no antagonistic relationship between the guard post and the recruitment, and a large number of soldiers from the battalion came from the guard post in various places.

Many battalion generals and battalion officers were even promoted or transferred from the guards.

Qi Jiguang led the battalion soldiers, but he was actually a guard officer, in the twenty-third year of Jiajing, he inherited the position of his ancestors, served as the commander of the Dengzhou Guard, and entered the official career.

"Yesterday, the Tanqi came to report that soldiers and horses from all over the city were gathering outside the city of Hanzhong Mansion to help the city, and Zhang Yuan, the black killer tiger, is now entrenched in the area of Buckwheat Mountain and is not at peace, and it seems that there is a tendency to come out of Buckwheat Mountain."

Hu Zhili frowned, pondered for a moment and replied.

"To Xi'an Mansion to take the meridian road, Chenggu County is our only way."

Chen Xiang's heart moved slightly, he looked at the map of Hanzhong Mansion many times, and remembered the mountains, rivers and towns clearly.

Buckwheat Mountain is less than the southwest of Chenggu, the two places are separated by only more than 20 miles, and the city wall of Chenggu County can be directly seen from the top of Buckwheat Mountain, which is already a very close distance.

As long as Zhang Yuan wants, then he can lead the army to surround the entire city on the same day.

"Buckwheat Mountain was defeated, Hanzhongwei lost almost a thousand people, and the rest of the men and horses are now retreating to Chenggu County."

"The soldier is a commander of Han Zhongwei, and the reason for the defeat seems to be that the commander was shot and killed in the battle, and his own soldiers were scattered, which led to the rout of the army."

Hu Zhili raised his hand to wipe the snow from the edge of his helmet, and his expression was a little solemn.

"Not all of the fleeing routs returned to Chenggu County, and many of the guards tried to run back to their respective guards, but most of the routs seemed to have been captured......"

】

Hu Zhili's eyes flickered, glanced left and right, and then said in a low voice.

"Everyone inside and outside Hanzhong City is now panicking, the places are in chaos, there are no merchants and pawns on the streets, only soldiers and civilians with weapons and ordnance, and the surrounding towns and villages have been placed under martial law."

"It seems that the Hanzhong City side is still gathering troops, preparing to rush to the aid of Chenggu County......"

Although he had expected it in his heart, Chen Wang still couldn't control his thoughts, and the hand holding the horsewhip couldn't help but tighten, and the big stone hanging in his heart suddenly fell.

Chen Wang raised his horsewhip and pointed ahead, trying to suppress the agitation in his heart, and said in a dignified voice.

"Hurry up and report the situation in Hanzhong to the military gate."

Hu Zhili surrendered his hand, and then counted out a few people, and galloped forward quickly.

In fact, Chen Wang had already written the text as early as when he was in Dingjun Mountain, and now it is just a matter of waiting for the time to submit it.

"Order the whole army, move forward quickly, and be sure to catch up with Hanzhong City before dusk today!"

Chen Wang glanced back at the marching brigade of foot soldiers, and shouted in a deep voice.

The military order was given, and the order was to gallop.

Flags waved, horns continued.

The military horn sounded, and the slow stream on the official road suddenly turned into a turbulent current, and rolled towards the front.

Chen Wang turned his head to look at the official road beside him, and above there were teams of foot soldiers who were advancing in unison.

They were neatly dressed and armoured, and they carried ordnance on their shoulders, and they looked ahead, silently moving forward.

And beside him, there are a group of elite armored horses with a murderous awe-inspiring armor.

The clatter of wheels rolling across the stone road, the footsteps of shoes hitting the ground, and the thunderous hooves of horses rushing past all converged as loudly as the rushing waters of a river after a heavy rain.

Chen Wang had also seen such a scene a few months ago, but at that time he was just an ordinary cavalryman.

But now Chen Wang is no longer the Jiading cavalry who follows the others, and now the army that is marching on the official road is his troops, listening to the orders he gives and obeying the orders he orders.

Chen Wangzheng turned his head, stared ahead, and gently urged the war horse to step away.

In troubled times, there are soldiers who are the king of grass!

The army of soldiers and horses is the foundation of life!

In Shaanxi, it is just a bird in a cage and a fish in a net, which cannot fly or swim.

Staying in Hanzhong, it is like a fish entering the sea, a bird in the sky, and no longer bound by the cage net!

There are large groups of mules and horses in the army, and they are marching on the inner road, so there is no need to worry about ambushes and burying attacks.

When Chen Wang gave the order to march quickly, the speed of the army's march skyrocketed.

But he waited until dusk, and then walked the last remaining 30 miles and arrived outside Hanzhong City.

It was not that the march was not fast, but that on the way they encountered a crowd of fleeing people.

The rich and wealthy gentry chariots and horses are connected in front of the head, the guards and servants each hold swords and guards on the side, and the rear is a group of flat-headed people with wives and children, and the crowd is surging for more than ten miles.

Because of this, the time was delayed, and it was only at dusk that I arrived in Hanzhong Mansion.

When you arrive outside Hanzhong City, you can see the tense atmosphere inside and outside Hanzhong City.

The walls of Hanzhong were full of soldiers and men with armours in their hands, the gates were closed, and there was not a single figure on the streets outside the city, even the lights and candles in the houses.

Those who wanted to leave had all fled from Hanzhong Fucheng, leaving only those who didn't want to leave and those who couldn't.

Chen Wang's face did not change, he did not do anything else, but just ordered his soldiers to set up a military camp in the west of Hanzhong City on the spot.

However, Chen Wang didn't look for anyone, but someone wanted to find him, and the person who was looking for him was Lin Daoquan, the prefect of Hanzhong Mansion.

Chen Wang led his soldiers all the way through the deserted streets, and finally saw the prefect Lin Daoquan, who was wearing a scarlet official robe and buried in the eucalyptus, with a tired face in the government of Hanzhong Mansion.

Lin Daoquan's purpose was very simple, he wanted Chen Wang to stay and help defend Hanzhong Fucheng.

The Hanzhong Guards are overwhelmed, Lin Daoquan knows very well, and Lin Daoquan feels that it is impossible to defend this Hanzhong City by relying on them alone.

"The military order is like a mountain, it cannot be disobeyed, the military gate has issued a military order, ordering me to leave Hanzhong to clear the remnants of Shangluoliu Kou, and I really dare not disobey the order."

Chen Wang's eyes didn't show any waves, but he still made a look of embarrassment and responded.

"However, the lower official learned of the situation in Hanzhong, and ordered the horse to fly to the military gate, if the military gate is changed to the military order, the lower official will definitely ......"

Chen Wang's words were not finished, because when he spoke, Lin Daoquan had already raised his hand and stopped what he was about to say.

Chen Wang didn't continue to talk about it, anyway, it was just a lot of empty words.

"It is indeed not wrong for General Chen to obey the orders of the superintendent, but the sky is not as good as people want, if the current problem is not solved, I am afraid that General Chen will not be able to go to Xi'an Mansion."

Lin Daoquan's face changed slightly, picked up a piece of silk cloth, and coughed several times in a row, as if he was not in good health.

Chen Wang raised his eyebrows, a little puzzled in his heart.

"General Chen is not well-informed."

Lin Daoquan put down the silk cloth in his hand, looking a little weak, but his mid-air was quite sufficient.

"Just yesterday, Zhang Yuan led 50,000 troops out of Buckwheat Mountain, besieged Chenggu County, and the road to the east has been cut off......"

Lin Daoquan waved lightly, and the attendants on the left and right carried a pair of maps and placed them in front of the table next to Chen Wang.

Lin Daoquan stood up, walked to the map, and sighed.

"The real situation in Hanzhong is far worse than General Chen knows, and Hanzhong is already in danger......

Chen Wang's expression was slightly solemn, and he also stood up.

Lin Daoquan pointed to the map on the table, and explained the situation in Hanzhong Mansion today.

The black killer tiger Zhang Yuan defeated the Hanzhong Guards at Buckwheat Mountain, and the Hanzhong Guards who were killed lost their armor and could only retreat to the city.

The losses of the Hanzhong Guard were far more than the rumored thousand people, with more than 2,000 casualties before and after, and more than 1,000 people who fled and dispersed.

The commander who led the troops to the expedition has died, and now it is a thousand households who are leading the troops in Chenggu County.

Han Zhongwei originally did not have many soldiers in the Communist Party, and in order to crusade against Zhang Yuan, they were all temporarily conscripted from thousands of households in various places.

At present, the defeated soldiers in Buckwheat Mountain have lost more than 2,000 people, and Han Zhongwei can be said to have no strength to fight again.

Previously, Tancai came to report that the army was gathering troops outside Hanzhong City to prepare to rush to the aid of Chenggu, and Minzhuang began to cooperate in defending the city, but in fact it was only announced to the outside world.

The military order received by Hanzhongwei was to protect Hanzhong, and as for Chenggu County, it had already been abandoned in secret, and the remnants of the soldiers who fled to Chenggu were ordered to be transferred back to Hanzhong.

Because Hanzhong City needs to face not only the threat from Zhangyuan in the east, but also the Baocheng City to the north of Hanzhong City is now panicked.

In mid-December, that is, after Chen Wang had just led his troops through the Baochuan Road, a civil uprising broke out in Fengxian County.

This time the popular uprising was not suppressed as before, and this time the popular uprising was led by someone and secretly colluded, and it was a planned and organized riot.

The conformists first numbered thousands, and then swelled all the way like balloons, becoming tens of thousands, and the head of the thief was known as the Golden-winged Peng, and no one knew its origin.

Under his leadership, the rebel army defeated officers and soldiers one after another, surrounded Fengxian County, and once grabbed the city wall.

Later, Neiying's plan to break the city was not successful and was discovered by the magistrate of Fengxian County, so they withdrew from Fengxian and turned south.

And when Jin Yinpeng led the troops to the south, he swept away the decline in Feng County, first broke the Sanjiang Estuary, and then broke the Heigu Dam, and went straight to the south through the Hutou Pass, and the soldiers came to the Jitou Pass.

There are only a few hundred defenders of Jitou Pass, and most of the troops guarding the pass are old and weak, and the elite are all transferred by Han Zhongwei to suppress Zhang Yuan.

And the last time the Baocheng County Commander who turned the tide and personally led the people to guard the Jitou Pass has stepped down.

Where are the hundreds of guards of Jitou Pass who are the opponents of tens of thousands of rogues, but in just two days, Jitou Pass was breached.

Today, Baocheng has been surrounded by regiments, and the surrounding towns and villages have suffered from military disasters.

Baocheng is dozens of miles north of Hanzhong Mansion, and you can rush from Baocheng to Hanzhong City in one day.

The current situation in Hanzhong Prefecture is as recorded in the "Liukou Zhi".

The thieves from the mouth of the Sanjiang River in Feng County, through the Heigu Dam, gathered in the east of Baocheng County.

Then the soldiers were divided into three routes: all the way to attack Yang and Yangping Pass. All the way to attack Hanzhong, Chenggu, Yangxian. Attack the state all the way.