"King Chuang, let's ...... What are you going to eat tonight......"

"Either grass or meat!"

Gao Yingxiang replied indignantly, closing his eyes weakly.

The questioning little commander didn't dare to say much, and left in a huff.

More than 200,000 thieves have been surrounded by the Ming army in the mountains of northern Mizhi County, and it has been more than half a month!

For thieves, eating grass or meat has become a big problem!

Food, long cut off!

But, horse meat is still available!

It's just that it's all rotten meat!

No way!

There were so many tired and starving horses that the soldiers couldn't eat them, and they all became rotten meat, and I wanted to gag when I smelled them!

I'm so hungry that I can eat it even if it's baked!

It's just that after eating, whether you will vomit and diarrhea, whether you will have a fever and weakness in your limbs, no one can guarantee!

The living war horses are fresh, but no one dares to kill them!

Therefore, it has become a kind of luck to be able to eat grass!

It's a pity that the drought in northern Shaanxi has been repeated for many years, and it is difficult to grow an inch of grass!

Even if there is no drought, there is not much grass on the Loess Plateau!

Eating grass, it's easy to say!

Whether you can find grass or not depends on luck!

"King Chuang, your head has risen to three million taels; Huang Hu's and I heads are even more valuable, and they have risen to five million! ”

Hearing Li Zicheng's words, Gao Yingxiang opened his tired eyes.

Looking Li Zicheng up and down, and then at Zhang Xianzhong beside him, his self-esteem was seriously hit, and he closed his eyes depressedly.

It's really depressing!

Am I the king, okay?

Why is my head not as good as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong?

Liu Guoneng and Luo Rucai were even more depressed!

He is also a well-known leader, why, his head is worthless?

"King Chuang, if you don't try to break through, the people below may mutiny!"

Hearing Zhang Xianzhong's words, Gao Yingxiang was full of excitement and sat up suddenly.

The soldiers mutinied, this is not a joke!

Alas!

The artillery of the Ming army is really powerful!

As long as there is an explosion, no matter how many people will flee from the wind!

It's just that the Ming army has artillery, and shamelessly, it used the trick of "high bounty"!

Wang Jiayin, the "leading brother" of the year, was cut off by the people below when he was cornered, so he surrendered to the Ming army!

The most infuriating thing is that the person who cut off Wang Jiayin's head is his brother-in-law Zhang Liwei, and the most trusted general Wang Guozhong!

After Zhang Liwei surrendered to the Ming army, he not only received a reward of several thousand taels of silver, but also was named the deputy general of the Ningxia Left Guard!

The reward for that time was only a few thousand taels!

This time, the bounty turned out to be millions!

Touching his neck, Gao Yingxiang broke out in a cold sweat!

I'm afraid that in my sleep, I will be cut off by my nephew or Zhang Xianzhong!

At this time, around Mizhi County, there are Hong Chengchou in the west, Lu Xiangsheng in the east, Zuo Liangyu in the north, and Cao Wenzhao in the south!

If you want to break through with the whole army, it is almost impossible!

The soldiers under the command of the leaders of each department, there are only 30,000 or 50,000 soldiers who can really fight, how to break through?

Even if the breakthrough is successful, where can you go?

And how far can you run?

What's even more infuriating is that the new "Governor of the Five Provinces to Suppress Thieves" is said to be a eunuch!

This guy is so ruthless that he doesn't even accept surrender!

Bribery or fake surrender, there is no more hope!

"King Chuang, according to my observations in the past few days, the Ming army is along the Wuding River, and the defense is relatively lax - only in the daily Mao and Shen times, there will be a team of cavalry patrolling here!

If we pretend to break through on all four roads, but concentrate heavy troops on the front line of the Wuding River, we will be able to succeed! ”

"Not bad! Where there is life, there is hope! Zhang Xianzhong swallowed a large piece of carrion, and hiccuped: "King Chuang, let's go up the Wuding River and go to Yansui!"

If the Ming army comes, let's cross the Great Wall and continue north, to the territory of the Mongolian Yuan'er Dusi!

When I got there, I didn't believe that the Ming army would dare to chase after me! ”

Smelling the rancid smell in Zhang Xianzhong's mouth, Gao Yingxiang was nauseated, and quickly covered his nose!

If you think about it for a while, going northwest to enter the Mongolian territory looks dangerous, but in fact there is a glimmer of life!

Because, the Mongolian tribes have fought with the Ming army for more than 200 years, and they have long lost their former glory!

I also heard that after they took refuge in the Jurchens, they became rich one by one!

Moreover, the Jurchens are far away in the Northeast!

Just ransack the Mongolian tribes of the Jacket Dusi!

When the Jurchens come over, then hide south of the Great Wall and sit back and watch the Ming army and the Jurchens fight!

Well, that's a good idea!

That's it!

……

In fact, deliberately relaxing the defenses of the upper reaches of the Wuding River and forcing the thieves out of the plug is Chen Qiyu's strong recommendation!

Wang Li thought hard for a long time and readily agreed!

As Chen Qiyu said, wildfires can't be burned, and the spring breeze blows and grows!

Thieves operate in the mountains, and it is difficult to completely eradicate them!

If you force them north of the Great Wall, it's different!

Thieves will raid and plunder the Mongol tribes, that's for sure!

Huang Taiji brought troops over to take revenge, almost certainly!

can really be like this, just in response to Guan Ningjun's "encirclement of Wei to save Zhao";

Even if Huang Taiji refused to return to help, the raids of the thieves could more or less weaken the strength of the Jurchens and the Mongols;

Moreover, the terrain north of the Great Wall is flat, and your own cavalry can gallop at will!

No matter how many thieves there are, they can only be beaten passively!

Most likely, they were beaten violently by the Ming army, the Mongols and the Jurchens in turn!

The most important thing is that the thieves went to the north of the Great Wall, and the northwestern provinces of the Ming Dynasty happened to be at peace!

Well, that's a good idea!

That's it!

……

November of the eighth year of Chongzhen (AD 1635).

More than 200,000 thieves fought hard to kill, and finally broke through the encirclement of the Ming army and went north out of the Great Wall!

In Baoning Fort in Yansui Town, Wang Li climbed the Great Wall, looked at the desolate and lonely Saibei grassland, and felt cool in his heart!

Nima!

Yansui Town, anyway, is one of the nine important towns of the Ming Dynasty!

Why is the Great Wall in this area so dilapidated?

Such a wall can stop the Mongols and Jurchens?

What? The Great Wall in Gansu, Ningxia, Yansui and Taiyuan is all so dilapidated?

I'll it!

Why didn't anyone tell me in advance?

Such a city wall, there is a bird?

More than a thousand miles of border plugs, who knows where the thieves will go south?

"Brother, you don't have to worry too much!" Hong Chengchou pointed to the ravines south of the Great Wall, and smiled nonchalantly:

"Huang Taiji entered the customs from the Great Wall twice, when did he choose to go west of Datong?

You look at the terrain in this area, the Mongols and the Eight Banners, who dares to come?

I'm afraid that before the mountains have been turned over a few times, they will have already eaten all their food!

What else can you do but retire? ”

"Sounds good, but ...... The thieves are different from the Mongols and the Eight Banners!

The topography south of the Great Wall is very familiar to them!

They have eaten and drunk enough outside the plug, and they will come back at any time!

And we can't stay along the Great Wall for a long time, right? ”

Wang Li was full of worries and cried bitterly!

Hong Chengchou was still dismissive, and said with a smile: "The defense of the Great Wall is a systematic project, and it does not just rely on a few sections of earth walls!"

I stationed an army in Yansui and Guyuan, and at any time, the enemy soldiers did not dare to easily cross the Great Wall and go south! ”

"Hmm!"

Wang Li nodded cautiously!

If you think about it, this is not unreasonable!

The "Guyuan" in Hong Chengchou's mouth is also one of the important towns on the nine sides!

Unlike the other eight towns, Guyuan Town is not connected to the Great Wall, but more than 200 miles south of the Great Wall!

Even so, Guyuan Town's defense range is very extensive!

Unexpectedly, from Yansui Town in the east, to Dalanzhou and Lintao in the west, the total length is more than 500 miles.

Strategically speaking, Guyuan Town is the "big rear" of the three towns of Gansu, Ningxia and Yansui!

If a heavy army is stationed in Guyuan, it can support the three northern towns if it advances, and if it retreats, it can attack and harass the rear of the invading enemy army!

The Mongols and the Eight Banners, if they hadn't eaten the bear's heart and leopard's gall, would not have dared to invade from here!

At this moment, the wood is already in the boat, even if you regret it, it is too late!

I only hope that the thieves will not dare to go south easily!

……

Saibei grassland, flat terrain.

This is the area controlled by the Mongols, but the cavalry of the Ming army did not stop, completely exceeding Gao Yingxiang's expectations!

Under the continuous pursuit, the fewer ears Cao Wenzhao can bring back, the fewer!

In March of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636 AD), the shadow of the thief could no longer be found on the Saibei grassland of Nuoda!

The general soldiers from all walks of life were happy, but Wang Li was worried!

In his opinion, not finding the leaders of the thieves does not mean that they have been wiped out!

I don't know if it's Hong Chengchou or the historian's play, anyway, Zhu Youzhen knows the news that the "thieves have been exterminated"!

In the eyes of Zhu Youzhen and the officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the thieves were driven out of the fortress in the cold winter, and they were killed by the cavalry for several months, and the whole army must have been wiped out!

No matter how bad it was, the Ming army also achieved a phased and decisive victory!

So, the edicts urging Wang Li to return to Beijing were sent one after another!

Wang Li repeatedly explained in his letters, but Zhu Youzhen always turned a deaf ear and kept urging him to return to Beijing!

In this regard, Wang Li turned a blind eye to it!

"Factory father, long live the lord has sent twelve edicts! If you don't return to Beijing, I'm afraid that the officials of the Manchu Dynasty will use the topic to play! ”

"I also want to go back to Beijing, but you have also seen the situation in the past two months, do I dare to go back to Beijing?"

"Alas!"

Song Zhe sighed lightly, and there was no way!

Originally, the spring rain in February fell for several days!

The drought in several provinces has shown signs of easing!

In order to prevent new thieves from "reborn in the spring breeze", Zhu Youzhen gritted his teeth and allocated 200,000 yuan of disaster relief money and grain according to Wang Li's suggestion, and transferred a batch of crop seeds from all over the country!

If you leave, I don't know where this batch of disaster relief materials will go!

The chaos in the northwest is not over!

On February 10, Ningxia, an important town on the nine borders that had just resumed garrison, mutiny resumed, and hungry soldiers besieged the official office!

Wang Ji, the imperial historian and governor of the right capital, was "killed by the hungry soldiers" because he couldn't take measures!

Ding Qirui, the deputy envoy of the military garrison, led the army to arrive, captured and beheaded seven people, and the mutiny was finally suppressed!

In March, under the nose of the West Factory, there was another corruption and disaster relief money and grain incident in Henan!

The hungry people had no food, and the bark and blades of grass were eaten away!

The tragic situation of "cannibalism" is staged again!

Dozens of officials were stripped of their skins and grass, and the West Factory urgently transferred a batch of disaster relief materials, but it could not appease the hearts of the people in the province!

If the chaos in the northwestern provinces cannot be fundamentally resolved, the thieves will inevitably rise again!

Wang Li wanted to turn the tide, but he felt powerless!

He is only the "Governor of the Five Provinces to Suppress Thieves", not the "Governor of the Five Provinces" - only in charge of military affairs, but not civil affairs!

Zhu Youzhen urgently urged Wang Li to return to Beijing, in fact, it is understandable!

Because, Sun Chengzong's old man's "encircling Wei to save Zhao" did transfer back the Eight Banners soldiers who invaded Korea!

But at the same time, because of Old Man Sun's caution, Guan Ning's army did not achieve the scheduled results!

And because of this, Huang Taiji was enraged!

At this time, the Daling River was besieged by more than 80,000 Eight Banner soldiers, and the situation was extremely critical!

In Wang Li's opinion, with Old Man Sun's prudence, it would not be difficult for the Ming army to hold Daling River, Jinzhou and Ningyuan!

However, Zhu Youzhen and the officials of the Manchu Dynasty did not think so!

"Leave him alone!"

Wang Li gritted his teeth, threw the edict aside, and ordered: "Cao Wenyao, Cao Dingjiao, Cao Bianjiao, and Song Yi, each lead 3,000 cavalry to go deep into the Yuan'er Division, and be sure to obtain the heads of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng, Liu Guoneng, Luo Rucai and other thieves!" ”

"Whoa!"

The governors of Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, Ningxia, and Ganxiao provinces were all arrested on suspicion of corruption;

The disaster relief in Shaanxi, as well as the defense of the two towns of Yansui and Guyuan, are fully responsible for Hong Chengchou!

Henan's disaster relief matters are temporarily in charge of Zuo Liangyu;

Shanxi's disaster relief matters are temporarily in charge of Cao Wenzhao;

The disaster relief in Ningxia is temporarily in charge of Lu Xiangsheng;

Disaster relief in Gansu is temporarily in charge of Yang Sichang;

In these five provinces, there is corruption and disaster relief money and grain, and the resumption of cultivation is not effective, and the factory will not spare it! ”

"......"

"Governor Wang, ...... Ningxia and Gansu"

Zuo Liangyu's words came to his mouth, and he suddenly realized that something was wrong, so he swallowed the words back!

Because, Wang Li, the "Governor of the Five Provinces to Suppress Thieves", does not include Ningxia and Gansu in his jurisdiction!

Not to mention the government affairs of several provinces!

According to the law, the governors of several provinces must be appointed by the imperial court!

Wang Li himself assigned the general army to be responsible for disaster relief and civil affairs, which was obviously an usurpation of imperial power, which was a big crime of the Jiu clan!

However, just now, Wang Li did not call himself "Governor", but called himself "Factory Prince"!

"Admiral of Xichang", if you want to arrest the governor of a province or a local official, you don't need to play to the court!

Moreover, Wang Li's hand is holding Shang Fang's sword!

As a result, Hong Chengchou and several general soldiers did not dare to disobey, and they came out one after another!

Wildfires can't be burned, and the spring breeze blows and grows again!

If the relief is not effective, the thieves will rise again!

If the restoration of farming is not effective, there will be no end to disaster relief!

Since the matter of suppressing thieves has achieved "phased results", Wang Li really doesn't want to give up easily!

Finally, the drought eased, and finally forced the thieves out of the plug!

If you grasp it well, this year will be a great opportunity to extend the Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Youzhen urged him to return to Beijing, he should have been bewitched by the ministers!

As long as he explains in detail and enlightens carefully, he should understand!

If he doesn't understand yet, force him to understand!

Big deal, turn your face!

Anyway, the northwestern provinces are uneven, and I will never return to Beijing!