Chapter 1010 Wu Sangui regrets...

(1010)

【Today's first update is delivered!】

When Zhang Jun was in a happy mood, he took a boat back to Busan Port and was about to launch a strategy to Japan, there was a person who was suffering in pain. This person was Wu Sangui. Speaking of which, Wu Sangui was also Zhang Jun's old acquaintance, but after a large number of imperial officials defected to the Hu Ben Army, Wu Sangui continued to serve the court.

When the Hu Ben Army besieged the capital, Wu Sangui's troops were stationed in Tianjin Wei and confronted the Hu Ben Army stationed in Dagukou. During this period, Wu Sangui and the Hu Ben Army also had some contacts. However, from beginning to end, Wu Sangui did not show the desire to surrender to the Hu Ben Army. Zhang Zhun seemed to have no intention of recruiting Wu Sangui.

When Gao Qiqian was arrested and imprisoned, Wu Sangui's troops were also transferred to Datong Prefecture, directly under the leadership of Wang Kun, Shi Kefa and others. Here, his connection with the Hu Ben Army was cut off. Then, Wu Sangui followed the court all the way south. At present, the army stationed by Wu Sangui is in Fengxiang Prefecture, Shaanxi.

This place is also a strategic location. To the east is Xi'an Prefecture, where the imperial court gathered heavily, and Emperor Chongzhen was there. To the north is Qingyang Prefecture, Pingliang Prefecture, Guyuanzhou and other places controlled by the Shaanxi Uprising Army. To the west is the deserted Shaanxi Xingdusi. To the south is the plank road entering Shu.

What is death?

This is the death place!

Wu Sangui's troops were stationed here, and their relationship with the Hu Ben Army was completely cut off. Even the news about the Hu Ben Army could not be known in time. The court was worried that the Hu Ben Army would attack Tongguan, so it set up a large number of troops in Tongguan and prohibited any pedestrians and business trips from going to Tongguan. Basically, all the contacts between the inside and outside the pass were cut off.

Of course, this is not a good thing for Wu Sangui. Without Gao Qiqian as his backer, Wu Sangui was always uneasy. He wanted to continue to maintain a certain connection with the Hu Ben Army. If something happened, there would be a way out. However, he was trapped in Fengxiang Mansion, and all this seemed to be futile!

"I know..."

When there was no one, Wu Sangui often muttered to himself.

I knew that when Gao Qiqian was imprisoned, he should have decisively surrendered to the Hu Ben Army. It was really easy to surrender from Tianjin Guard to the Hu Ben Army. It only takes half a day to go from Tianjin Guard to Dagukou. It can also offer a Tianjin Acropolis to the Hu Ben Army, adding a little bit of credit.

With his relationship with the Hu Ben Army, he should be able to get a good position on the Hu Ben Army. Maybe Zhang Zhun can just speak casually and let him continue to lead his troops and continue to station in Tianjin Wei in the name of the Hu Ben Army. Unfortunately, at the last moment, Wu Sangui hesitated. He did not seize this best opportunity.

When Wu Sangui received the order to move to Datong Prefecture, he did not make up his final decision. In fact, his confidant aide had already tactfully reminded him that there would be no store after passing this village. However, after thinking for a night, Wu Sangui finally led his army to Datong Prefecture.

The main reason why he hesitated was that he always had a bad intuition, and felt that behind Zhang Zhun and him, there was always a little strange vision. What kind of vision? It felt like ridicule, thought, and contempt, and it was all over the place. This feeling made Wu Sangui feel very uncomfortable.

Wu Sangui didn't know why he felt this way. He analyzed it carefully and could not explain from any angle. Why did Zhang Zhu look at him with such a glance? Logically speaking, there should be no personal grudge between him and Zhang Zhun! But, in fact, Wu Sangui felt such a strange look.

On the battlefield, Wu Sangui was decisive in killing. However, Wu Sangui was very cautious in choosing the path of life. He did have the intention to surrender to the Hu Ben Army, but he was not as strong as he had to surrender. Because Gao Qiqian's arrest and imprisonment did not affect him. On the contrary, the troops he led even increased a little.

Wu Sangui could clearly feel that the court was trying to win him over. While increasing his troops, he also generously gave him the title of governor of the Right Army Governor's Office. Such a title was not even his father. To be honest, this title did make Wu Sangui happy for several days, and his loyalty to the court seemed to be a little stronger.

After Zu Dashou led a large number of Liaodong cavalry to surrender to the Tartars, only the 4,000 Liaodong cavalry that were famous for their time were completely in the hands of the court. The court was afraid of throwing rats and did not dare to have too much stimulation to Wu Sangui, otherwise, the last 4,000 cavalry would probably be destroyed. Therefore, both the new chief assistant Yang Sichang and the Minister of War Chen Xinjia felt it necessary to win over Wu Sangui.

In fact, Wu Sangui always felt that the court had a good impression of him. His journey to promotion was always smooth. When he led his army to rescue his father Wu Xiang, the court once used this as a good story to spread the filial piety to the Jiubian. His name of Wu Sangui has been familiar to more people since then. Putting aside Zhang Zhun, Wu Sangui is the youngest general in the court army.

It was because he always felt that the court was good to him that Wu Sangui could not make up his mind to surrender to the Hu Ben Army. If it weren't for Zhang Zhun's strange eyes, Wu Sangui might have taken the initiative. However, when he thought of Zhang Zhun's strange eyes, Wu Sangui couldn't help but hesitate. He subconsciously felt that Zhang Zhun was not very expecting his surrender. He might even have a little bit of a rejection from thousands of miles away.

As long as he thought of Zhang Zhun's strange vision, Wu Sangui's idea of ​​joining the Hu Ben Army quickly dissipated. For a while, he even forgot this idea. After retreating to Xi'an Prefecture, this idea gradually became stronger. Nothing else, mainly because the current situation is a bit bad. If he couldn't find another way out, he would probably have to be buried for the court.

The imperial court retreated to Guanzhong with a large number of people, resulting in a sharp increase in population here and soaring prices. The situation in Xi'an Prefecture is slowly changing to the capital. It may even become a little worse than the capital. In the capital, at least as long as you have money, you can still buy food to satisfy your hunger, but in Xi'an Prefecture, it may be a bit difficult to have money.

Except for one area around Xi'an Prefecture, other places in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province were repeatedly banished by war. Nine out of ten rooms and thousands of miles away. It was impossible to produce any grain. All the grain in Guanzhong must be transported from other places. At some point, even the most basic drinking water cannot be guaranteed.

When they were in the capital, prices soared. After they arrived in Guanzhong, prices still soared. Not to mention ordinary officials, even the senior officials at the upper level, they could not support them. Many officials who fled here were already desperate and were seeking their own way out. No one knew where they went. Bad news came, saying that people had already started to eat human flesh.

The shortage of supplies, soaring prices, unable to fill the stomach, and not covering the body, naturally brings morale to the extreme. What everyone does every day is to think about how to fill their stomachs. The same is true for the army. Although the army is working hard to ensure the supply of the army, it is also a shortage every few days. All the imperial army has reached the verge of collapse.

"How is the situation in the troops?"

One day, Wu Sangui asked his military officer with great worries.

“No food.”

“No forage.”

“No bedding.”

...

The quartermaster came out as soon as he spoke.

There is nothing, nothing, this is the current situation of Wu Sangui.

He led five thousand cavalry. The cavalry consumed much more than ordinary infantry. Cavalry had war horses and needed to consume a lot of forage. All parts of Guanzhong had been greatly damaged and had a long-term drought. Not to mention the forage made of soybeans, alfalfa, etc., even the most basic green grass could not be guaranteed. Looking around, the fields were all bare. A gust of wind blew, and there was dust all over the sky. How could there be any green grass?

The soldiers' rations cannot be guaranteed. Guanzhong is a ghost place, and the most lacking is food. Even if you have silver, you can't buy food. However, Wu Sangui's troops are very calm about this. Because they are cavalry, if they don't have enough food, they will probably be able to withstand the hunger for a while.

There is still a last way to retreat for the food rations. The problem of bedding cannot be solved. You can't treat horse skin as bedding, right? It's September now, and there are still two months left before the beginning of winter. If the bedding that has not been in winter was sent down before the beginning of winter, the troops would probably mutiny. Who would be willing to bear the feeling of hunger and cold?

Wu Sangui estimated that the court would not be able to solve this problem in a short period of time. It was already very difficult for the court to get the food needed to maintain the lives of soldiers. It was a delusion to think that they would solve the problem of being subdued.

All of this made Wu Sangui very regretful. If he had known it, he would have surrendered to the Hu Ben Army. The current Hu Ben Army is powerful, with strong troops and strong territory, and the territory it controls has exceeded half of China. Idiots know that the world in the future will be the Hu Ben Army. Continuing to follow the court is simply seeking death!

The problem is that if Wu Sangui wants to surrender to the Hu Ben Army now, he can only surrender alone. It is probably impossible to bring these 5,000 cavalry from Fengxiang Mansion to Luoyang. However, if you surrender alone, Zhang Zhun will not be very valued. If you don’t bring any benefits to Zhang Zhun, why should Zhang Zhun accept you? Why should you give you high-ranking officials and generous salaries? This is an obvious thing. There are not many people like Lu Xiangsheng in the court.

"It's all fate!"

Wu Sangui can only sigh so helplessly.

The only way out at present is to find ways to get enough supplies for the troops, safely spend this winter, and then look for another opportunity. As long as there is enough time, Wu Sangui believes that he still has the possibility of leading the troops to surrender to the Hu Ben Army.

The imperial court stayed in Xi'an Prefecture, and the biggest source of supplies was Shuzhong. All food, clothing, equipment, etc. were transported by Shuzhong. However, it was indeed difficult to transport materials from Shuzhong. The road to Shu was difficult and it was difficult to reach the sky. In this case, even ordinary people knew that it was very difficult for people on Shuzhong. Not to mention a large amount of transportation materials. Wooden ox, flowing horses and the like are always legends.

The King of Shu and others unanimously urged Emperor Chongzhen to enter Sichuan as soon as possible to reduce the pressure of food transportation, and his colleagues strengthened the defense power in Shuzhong. Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian, ​​Concubine Yuan and others who arrived in Shuzhong in advance also persuaded Chongzhen to enter Sichuan as soon as possible. However, Emperor Chongzhen was still hesitant. Before, he even hinted at the Liangzhou Guard, but later, he was dissuaded by the ministers and gave up this idea.

For the current imperial court, Shu is indeed a dead land! According to information, the vanguard of the Hu Ben Army has arrived in Fujian. Some of the troops have reached Jiangxi. The Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Army Navy have already been traced back to the Three Gorges area. Some of the Hu Ben Army have even entered the area around Dongting Lake.

In the north, the Hu Ben Army also began to gather in the Nanyang area and prepared to attack Xiangyang. Once the Hu Ben Army captured Xiangyang, there would be no court in the entire Jiangnan. Without the southeast half, relying on Shuzhong alone, how to support it? What's more, the Hu Ben Army will definitely continue to march towards the Yunnan-Guizhou area. Once the Hu Ben Army occupied Yunnan, Shuzhong would be completely surrounded.

The thing Chongzhen was most afraid of was that he would become the king of the country that was destroyed. Therefore, he was always hesitating about this matter. In a vague manner, Chongzhen was a little bit self-deprecating. Since he went to Shuzhong, he was also the king of the country that was destroyed, and in Guanzhong, he was also the king of the country that was destroyed. Then, is there any difference in Shuzhong and Guanzhong? No! Since there is no, why run away from the east and west?

It is said that Chongzhen loves face, which is indeed the truth. After retreating from the capital, Chongzhen was already reluctant to leave. After losing the Forbidden City, he didn't know how to explain to his ancestors in the future. After arriving in Xi'an Prefecture, he began to regret it again. Since they were all going to die, it would be better to die in the Forbidden City!

"General, the order from the Ministry of War has come down."

While Wu Sangui was hesitating, his confidant staff arrived.

He handed Wu Sangui a new order from the Ministry of War with both hands.

"Let's head towards Liangzhou Wei?"

Wu Sangui frowned and said a little unhappy.

Liangzhou Wei is the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division. The so-called Shaanxi Xingdu Division is actually the area under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi, which can be commonly understood as a second-level province. The entire Shaanxi Xingdu Division has a vast land and sparsely populated areas. Those who live here are all military households migrating from all over the country. Like Shaanxi, Liangzhou Wei also has frequent wars and rebel troops. Even a large number of nomadic peoples occasionally invade the border, burning, killing, looting and looting.

The court asked him to lead his troops to Liangzhou Guard? What is the purpose? Could it be that the court was determined to move westward? This is not good news! As we headed west, the terrain and landform became worse and worse, and the difficulty of marching and fighting would become greater and greater. Food would also become a big problem. Wu Sangui would rather enter Shu than go to Liangzhou Guard.

"It seems that it's time to make up your mind."

Wu Sangui muttered to himself silently.

...

Shaanxi, Xi'an Prefecture, Qin King Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen's palace is located in the Qin Palace.

Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia, Fu Zonglong and others were in the side hall of the Qin Palace, anxiously waiting for someone. After a while, Wu Mengming, the commander of the Jinyiwei, arrived in a hurry. His face was a little dim, and he nodded simply, even if he was bowing.

"Is the message confirmed?"

Yang Sichang asked nervously and expectantly.

"It has been confirmed... Sun Chuanting has indeed defected."

Wu Mengming nodded and said bitterly.

"What should be come is coming!"

Chen Xinjia said coldly.

"well!"

"well!"

Yang Sichang and Fu Zonglong sighed silently, saying nothing.

Sun Chuanting's defection seemed to be foreseeable under such storms. Since the Hu Ben Army intends to win him over, he must of course respond positively. Fortunately, Sun Chuanting did not take his troops away. Otherwise, the situation of the court would be even more difficult.

"Hong Chengchou..."

Chen Xinjia said coldly again.

What he meant was that Sun Chuanting defected, and Hong Chengchou, as his mentor, could not have no news. So, it is necessary to take measures against Hong Chengchou to prevent worse situations.

"No!"

Yang Sichang said decisively.

"careful."

Fu Zonglong also spoke.

The two of them mean that they must not stimulate Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou is in charge of the defense of Tongguan. If he forces him to rebel, the Xuanwu Legion of the Hu Ben Army stationed in Luoyang will immediately break through the pass and clean up all of their people.

"Okay! Let's just stop here!"

Chen Xinjia probably felt that the situation was serious and did not object.

"The Emperor..."

Yang Sichang frowned and said meaningfully.

Fu Zonglong said slowly: "It's not sent it yet!"

Wu Mengming shook his head and said deeply: "Not yet."
To be continued...