I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 206: The Army Marches East and Occupies Yingtian
In June of 1635, the eighth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the People's Salvation Army launched a multi-pronged attack on Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces).

One route was personally led by the dynasty, starting from Xing'an in Shaanxi, passing through Xunyang, heading east along the Han River, and entering Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang.

Led by Wang Dahu, the army traveled from Qutangwei in Sichuan, along the Yangtze River, past Wushan, and into Jingzhou Prefecture.

At the same time, Li Yu and Wang Shi led their troops from Guizhou into Chenzhou Prefecture and Jingzhou.

A total of four armies launched a joint attack on Huguang.

Because of the previous efforts to suppress the uprising led by Gao Yingxiang, most of the troops in Huguang were transferred to the border area between Huguang and Henan and Southern Zhili.

This led to the emptiness of the south in Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces).

Li Yu and Wang Shi marched along, and almost no city could withstand them; after a few cannon shots, they all surrendered.

Perhaps those high-ranking officials and nobles were willing to resist the attack of the People's Salvation Army.

However, the ordinary soldiers at the lower ranks didn't have that thought.

In any case, even if the People's Salvation Army occupies the city, they will only target high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants. The soldiers at the bottom level will just become civilians.

Isn't this what they've always longed for?
In the Ming Dynasty, how difficult was it to change one's military registration to civilian registration?
And now, all of this is within reach.

Without the support of the lower-ranking soldiers, how could those high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants and powerful families possibly resist the ferocious People's Salvation Army?
Surrender obediently and you might survive; if you fight to the death, you will only be killed and your clan wiped out.

Therefore, their attacks were incredibly successful.

In less than half a month, they had already occupied the territories of two prefectures and began to enter other prefectures in Huguang.

Wang Dahu, who traveled down the Yangtze River, encountered even greater resistance.

However, facing Wang Dahu's army formations and guns, the Ming army along the way had little resistance, and in just over half a month, they had already occupied Jingzhou Prefecture.

In fact, the Ming army that the dynasty faced was the most powerful force.

Although after Gao Yingxiang and his troops entered Shaanxi, Lu Xiangshan and others, after some discussion, led most of their troops eastward to Henan to suppress Zhang Xianzhong and his forces.

However, to guard against Gao Yingxiang's surprise attack, Yunyang Prefecture still maintained a garrison of nearly 100,000 troops.

Unfortunately, they were facing the strongest army and dynasty in the world, armed with countless guns and cannons.

A thousand-foot-long golden dragon symbolizing the nation's destiny coiled above the dynasty, its boundless dragon aura spreading out in golden clouds, suppressing all hostile supernatural beings.

With no chance for the dynasty to intervene, and their true energy suppressed, the Ming army on the other side had no ability to resist guns and bullets, just like lambs to the slaughter.

Moreover, if combined with military formations and blessed by the dynasty's ability to mobilize national fortune, each person's firearms would be comparable to machine guns.

And artillery is no less powerful than ordinary missiles.

Even if he brought a million more troops, let alone 100,000, it wouldn't make much difference.

They occupied Shangjin in one day, Yunxi in another, and Yunyang Prefecture in yet another.

These are the places with the largest military garrison; nine out of ten thousand troops are stationed here.

After occupying this area, the dynasty immediately dispatched troops to sweep through Yunyang Prefecture and advance into Xiangyang Prefecture.

Three days later, they had completely occupied Yunyang Prefecture.

They marched down the Han River, capturing Junzhou and Zuoqiying along the way. On the third day, they also occupied Xiangyang Prefecture, and then successively occupied various prefectures and counties in Xiangyang Prefecture.

Their advance was even faster than the Ming army's request for reinforcements.

Therefore, even though the dynasty had already occupied the two prefectures, Lu Xiang-sheng had not yet received news that the People's Salvation Army had sent troops to attack Huguang. He was still in Henan searching for Zhang Xianzhong's whereabouts and carrying out a siege against him.

On the contrary, it was Chongzhen who noticed something was wrong immediately.

From a spiritual perspective, a bright yellow national destiny force is rolling eastward across the entire western part of Hubei, rapidly covering the entire region.

The fate of the Ming Dynasty was being rapidly swallowed up and assimilated.

The golden dragon representing the nation's destiny above the capital began to emit mournful cries, roaring repeatedly towards the southwest, its surrounding dragon energy surging, but to no avail.

Countless chains bound it, preventing even a trace of dragon energy from leaking out.

How could Emperor Chongzhen not have noticed such a major change?
He immediately contacted Guoyun Jinlong to examine the situation in the Huguang region from Guoyun Jinlong's perspective.

However, after the fate of the Ming Dynasty there was annexed and assimilated, it became a black hole for Chongzhen, and he could no longer observe it.

However, the People's Salvation Army had just advanced and had not yet had time to attack the occupied areas. Although the People's Salvation Army also influenced the national fortune and disrupted the surrounding atmosphere, making it impossible for Chongzhen to see the specifics.

However, he could also see some traces of the People's Salvation Army.

Not to mention, just by looking at the place where the nation's destiny was swallowed up and disappeared, one could guess that this was the People's Salvation Army launching an attack.

In an instant, Emperor Chongzhen became extremely anxious.

Especially after witnessing the speed at which the nation's fortunes and territory were disappearing, he almost vomited blood again. What were those garrison troops doing? Were they all useless?
Emperor Chongzhen intended to split the dragon's aura into multiple forms again to attack the location of the People's Salvation Army.

However, he also worried that he would be swallowed up again by the golden dragon of the National Salvation Army.

However, although he hesitated about whether to separate the dragon's golden dragon clone, Chongzhen did not hesitate to send troops to encircle and suppress it.

Immediately, Emperor Chongzhen issued several imperial edicts, urgently ordering Lu Xiangshan to go south to suppress the bandits, and also ordering Hong Chengchou and Qin Liangyu to resist the People's Salvation Army.

However, all of this will take time.

In particular, Hong Chengchou and Qin Liangyu.

After basically suppressing the rebel army, Hong Chengchou had already withdrawn to train his troops again.

While the People's Salvation Army marched east to attack Huguang, Hong Chengchou was discussing cultivation with Qin Liangyu in Shizhouwei.

Therefore, even if Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial edict, they would most likely not receive it.

However, they did learn that the National Salvation Army had already launched an eastward offensive, since it was right next door and their main target of defense was the National Salvation Army in Sichuan.

However, the militia's offensive was too swift, and by the time they received the news, Wang Shi had already reoccupied Changde Prefecture.

Only four places remained under their control: Shizhou Guard, Yongshun Pacification Commission, Jingzhou Pacification Commission, and Yuezhou Prefecture. The surrounding areas had already been occupied by the Salvation Army.

They were already surrounded in the middle. If the main target of the People's Salvation Army's attack had not been to keep moving eastward, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold these four places either.

Wang Shi and Wang Dahu each dispatched a detachment to attack Jingzhou Pacification Commissioner's Office and Yuezhou Prefecture, respectively.

Although the two detachments were not strong, they still managed to overwhelm the Ming army.

Even with the personal command of Hong Chengchou and Qin Liangyu, and the extraordinary army they assembled, the outcome was still far from optimistic, with the army suffering repeated defeats.

At this point, what could they possibly use to stop the militia's attack on Hubei and Hunan?
In just one month, the Salvation Army had occupied most of Hubei Province. Only Shizhouwei and the surrounding area were still struggling to hold on due to the resistance of Hong Chengchou and Qin Liangyu.

However, they had already reached their limit. The newly formed superhuman force, including those who died, were captured, and escaped, had suffered heavy losses, leaving less than 20,000 men.

In addition, there were no reinforcements and a shortage of food and supplies.

At this moment, the two were utterly disheartened, and they already knew the final outcome.

Meanwhile, the dynasty had already led its army into Southern Zhili and was advancing on Yingtian Prefecture.

By this time, it could be said that the entire Ming Dynasty had received the news.

Southern provinces and Yingtian Prefecture were all mobilizing troops to prepare to resist the attack of the People's Salvation Army.

Governor-General Lu Xiang-sheng of the four provinces, disregarding the suppression of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, immediately led his troops to aid Huguang.

By the time he arrived, the entire northern part of Huguang had already been occupied by the Salvation Army. He led his troops to charge several times, but to no avail; instead, his own side suffered heavy losses.

Seeing that he could not break through the defenses of the People's Salvation Army, Lu Xiang-sheng had no choice but to lead his troops eastward, hoping to cut off the People's Salvation Army's advance before it entered Southern Zhili.

As a result, the dynasty was almost at Yingtian Prefecture when he finally arrived in Southern Zhili.

Because of their previous victories, most of the cities that the dynasty and its forces passed through surrendered without a fight.

What the dynasty and its allies needed to do was take over the cities.

On July 20, Wang Chao led his army to besiege Nanjing, and Wang Dahu began to lead his troops to recover the Southern Zhili region south of the Yangtze River.

In August, Lu Xiang-sheng traveled all the way to the north of Yingtian Prefecture, the secondary capital, and looked across the river from Yingtian Prefecture.

He had launched several battles across the river, but each time he suffered heavy losses and was defeated.

In September, reinforcements mobilized from various southern provinces finally arrived outside Southern Zhili, preparing to relieve the siege of Yingtianfu, the secondary capital.

Although many people saw through the dynasty's purpose, it was nothing more than to surround and attack, preparing to wipe out the Ming Dynasty's vital forces in one fell swoop.

However, they had no choice but to save them.

If the militia were to occupy Yingtianfu and establish defenses along the Yangtze River, the Ming Dynasty would be completely divided.

At that time, the only areas truly under the control of the Ming Dynasty will be Beizhili, where the capital is located, and the three provinces of Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong.

Is the Ming Dynasty, which has lost more than two-thirds of its territory, still the Ming Dynasty?
Not to mention, in Henan and Shandong, there were also peasant uprising armies led by Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng.

It can be said that at that time, the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse and had entered its final countdown to destruction.

It can be said that Yingtian Prefecture was extremely important and absolutely could not be lost.

Unfortunately, none of this is up to them.

After the reinforcements entered Southern Zhili, they were immediately met with a fierce attack from the People's Salvation Army led by Wang Dahu.

The troops and soldiers of Jiangnan.
Yes, they haven't been involved in combat for a long time and have neglected training.
They're good at bullying ordinary people, but when they encounter a regular army, they crumble at the first touch.

Not to mention facing the People's Salvation Army.

The 400,000 troops gathered from several southern provinces were routed by Wang Dahu's 5,000 iron cavalry, who pursued them for dozens of miles, killing and capturing countless prisoners.

If this weren't within the country, and if the dynasty hadn't repeatedly instructed against excessive killing, probably only a few of the 400,000 reinforcements would still be alive.

Even so, it still resulted in nearly 50,000 casualties, leaving corpses strewn across the fields and rivers of blood flowing.

Faced with the god-like Wang Dahu and the People's Salvation Army, the remaining 300,000 soldiers had no courage to resist whatsoever.

Upon encountering the militia, they either fled or surrendered.

In the end, Wang Dahu and his men captured more than 200,000 people, while fewer than 100,000 escaped.

Under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for 5,000 people to guard more than 200,000 prisoners. It would be perfectly normal for them to rebel and mutini again.

However, they had already been terrified by Wang Dahu's army.

Faced with the guards of five thousand militiamen, no one dared to act recklessly.

In October, after receiving news of the reinforcements' crushing defeat, the morale of the defending soldiers in Yingtian Prefecture plummeted, and they lost all courage to resist.

On October 5th, the ministers of the six ministries in Nanjing, along with princes and nobles, surrendered the city.

The dynasty did not have a good impression of them, and naturally did not give them a friendly look.

Under their trembling gaze, the dynasty left behind only one sentence.

"Business as usual!"

Upon hearing this, the surrendered officials and royal nobles were initially taken aback, but were then overjoyed.

Then, they were taken in and held captive by a group of fierce and ruthless militia.

Only then, facing the dark muzzles of guns and the cold-faced militiamen, did they realize what was happening.

The king said everything was as before, but he wasn't speaking to them; rather, he was giving instructions to the People's Salvation Army.

In November, batches of Ming Dynasty nobles were dragged to Caishikou and beheaded as a warning to the public.

Over a period of more than ten days, at least tens of thousands of people were killed, their property was confiscated, and their families were all forced into hard labor.

After that, the dynasty began to deploy defenses along the Yangtze River, preparing to attack Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

He planned to conquer Jiangnan before heading north to completely destroy the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)