Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 265: Western General
In the hall of the Governor's Mansion, all the civil and military officials of your province gathered.
Zhu Lang sits at the top, with Qu Shisi, Fan Yan, Zhang Huangyan and other civil officials on his left, and Jiao Lian, Ma Bao, Zheng Wenxiong and other military commanders on his right.
Zhu Lang looked at Qu Shisi, whose hair was gray, and felt a little emotional.
"It has been half a year since we last parted. I didn't expect to see you again, but you are already in this southwest. You look much thinner now."

Qu Shisi looked at the young man in the dragon robe and said,

"Since I left Guangdong, Your Highness has personally led the expedition to Fujian and Guangdong, defeated the enemy leaders, and intimidated the enemy. I only regret that I cannot always be by Your Highness' side and watch you defeat the Qing invaders."

"The old minister's body is not worth worrying about. Now the weight of the country is on your Highness. Your Highness must take good care of your body."

After he left Guangdong and entered Guangxi last year, the court had been busy with major events. Although he had gathered thousands of troops in Guangxi, it was still not comparable to what Your Highness had done in Guangdong. With the great victory in Guangdong and Fujian, and the conquest of southern Zhejiang, the situation in the court was getting better day by day.

Thinking back to half a year ago when Fujian and Beijing fell and the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, he and Ding Kuichu and others in Guangdong Province hastily supported His Highness to become the emperor. Now that the Qing invaders have been defeated and the old territory has been recovered, it has only been half a year. It really feels like a lifetime ago.
Fan Yan and others below looked at the emperor and his minister with a look of envy in their eyes. Just based on the conversation between the emperor and his minister, it is likely that no one will be able to shake Qu Ge Lao's position as the Prime Minister for a long time in the future.
Zhu Lang consoled Qu Shisi and the officials of the province, and then Qu Shisi stood up and said:

"Your Highness has come to the West this time and has once again defeated the Western bandits. After this battle, the Western bandits will no longer be a threat to us."

"It's just a deliberate plan, it doesn't count for anything"

Zhu Lang waved his hand, but looked down and added:

"Of course, the Longxiong, Tengxiong and Gui troops fought very well in this battle. After the military's military achievements are counted, the rewards must be distributed as soon as possible."

After Qu Shisi and his men defeated He Jiuyi, they immediately sent a letter to the court, reporting that the Western Army was refusing to surrender and was coming to attack. Zhu Lang in Yuanzhou learned the news and immediately moved his camp to Guizhou to prevent any loss to the province.
When the Ming army reached Qingping, they unexpectedly captured a Western Army scout who was trying to explore the road to Huguang.

After the Ming army discovered the situation under Guiyang City, they immediately sent cavalry to reinforce and eventually defeated the Western Army under Guiyang City.
The Western Army's defeat was actually somewhat unfair. The defenders in Guiyang City were beyond expectations, but how could they have expected that the main force of the Ming court would enter this narrow place of Guiyang Province in large numbers at this time? The Western Army's defeat this time was really not a crime of war.
Zhu Lang looked at Qu Shisi below and asked

"How many casualties were there in this battle with the Western bandits?"

"The Gui army defended the city for ten days, but with the support of the city walls, only a few hundred people were killed or wounded."

"According to current rough statistics, this great victory killed 3,000 bandits and captured nearly 6,000 Western bandits. The Western bandit camp was also burned down by the court, and the invading bandit army was almost completely wiped out."

Zhu Lang was relieved when he heard this. He led only 20,000 imperial guards into Guizhou. He had originally hoped to recruit the Western Army to replenish his military strength in the southwest.
However, the sudden attack by the Western Army at this time made Zhu Lang less confident about the pacification. If the Gui Army was still seriously damaged, the imperial court's military strength in the southwest would be stretched to the limit.
Qu Shisi hesitated for a moment, then spoke again

"In fact, the number of prisoners captured this time is not limited to this. Last time, the bandit army of He Jiuyi was defeated by General Zheng in a night raid, and more than 2,000 people were captured."

"But later, the Western bandits attacked in large numbers, and the city had no choice but to order the beheading of these two thousand people."

Zhu Lang's expression froze when he heard this, but then he regained his composure and said

"It doesn't matter. The situation was like this at the time, and you had no choice but to wait."

Qu Shisi and his men only had 7,000 men. The Western Army was attacking in force at that time. If they had detained these 2,000 Western Army prisoners in the city, it would have been like placing a powder keg in the city.
The imperial army did not know when it would arrive, and detaining these people would cost a lot of manpower and food, so Qu Shisi and others executed all the captives in the city on the second day after the Western Army arrived.

Zhu Lang skipped over this matter and asked about Qu Shisi's arrangements after arriving in your province. After listening to what Qu Shisi said, Zhu Lang nodded slightly.

There is nothing wrong with Qu Shisi's deployment in Gui Province. He will seal off the Wujiang River in Bijie to keep the rebels out of Gui Province. After the imperial army enters Gui Province, he will use the army to resolve the chaos in the southwest.
The only thing that surprised Zhu Lang was that the Western Army would attack so brazenly. However, the Western Army of the Ming court was originally a powerful enemy, so it was not surprising that the Western Army refused to surrender and attacked in a large-scale manner.

After hearing about the loss of Wujiang Pass and Qu Shisi's speculation that Pi Xiong had abandoned the city and fled, Zhu Lang's expression turned cold.

"Send an order to summon this Pi Xiong back. After a thorough investigation, if the facts are true, he will be dismissed and punished. The soldiers under Pi Xiong's command will be incorporated into the Gui army."

Qu Shisi stood up and accepted the order, then spoke again

"After defeating He Jiuyi's army, I sent someone to summon Pi Xiong back to the city, but there was no response. Later, the Western bandit army besieged the city and there was no news from Pi Xiong. I'm afraid he may not be willing to come back at your order."

"Give him seven days to come back. If he refuses to come back, we will send troops to destroy him."

Zhu Lang had a casual look on his face, and waved his hand and said, "Pi Xiong has only 4,000 soldiers in total. With the fall of Wujiang Pass, Pi Xiong must have lost some of his troops. But even if Pi Xiong still has 4,000 soldiers at this time, Zhu Lang doesn't care."
Pi Xiong was the first to lose the city gate, so he was guilty. Now he was even more disobeying the imperial order. As long as the imperial court announced that only the chief culprit would be executed, the generals under Pi Xiong's command would probably tie Pi Xiong up and take him back to the imperial court.
After experiencing Liu Chengyin's incident, Zhu Lang also began to realize the benefits of the title of "Da Yi". When the military force is superior, "Da Yi" can really achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After Zhu Lang dealt with Pi Xiong, he no longer cared about this person. After thinking for a moment, he said

"Ma Bao, lead the Tengxiang Army and the Zhongzheng Battalion to set out immediately to recapture Wujiang Pass and wipe out the remaining Western Army along the way."

"After we take back Wujiang Pass, we will immediately build a pontoon bridge and set up a camp on the north bank of Wujiang River. The imperial guards will then head north to Sichuan. I want to see what the Western Army is up to."

Although Zhu Lang wanted to pacify the Western Army, if the Western Army was determined to resist to the end, he could only strangle them completely in Sichuan Province.
Zhu Lang led his troops into Sichuan not only to deal with the Western Army
At this time, Sichuan Province had just been conquered by the Qing army, and there were still a large number of former Ming army members left in Sichuan Province. These people still had awe for the Ming court at this time, and now was the best time to recruit them.

If we leave it alone now, after a few years, these people will probably be either wiped out or become new military leaders, and Sichuan Province will become another Huguang.

The reason why Zhu Lang only brought 20,000 people into Guizhou was because there were still a large number of former Ming Dynasty troops in Sichuan Province.

These people would certainly not be able to fight the Qing invaders head-on, but they could be used to defend various places and completely liberate the imperial guards.
Zhu Lang then learned about the food and salary situation in the city, and then everyone dispersed and began to prepare for the army to enter Sichuan.

In the Governor's Office, Bai Wenxuan, Feng Shuangli, and Wang Shangli were brought into the room with chains on their hands.
As soon as the three of them entered the room, they immediately looked up to the young man who was sitting behind the table reviewing memorials.
When the three saw the five-clawed dragon on the young man's robe, their expressions changed slightly.

When Zhu Lang saw the three people being brought into the room, he also put down the memorial in his hand. Li Chengzhi, who was standing beside him, whispered in Zhu Lang's ear the identities of the three people.

After Zhu Lang matched the three names with the people in the hall one by one, a smile appeared on his face. Zhu Lang looked at the three people below and laughed softly.

"Bai Wenxuan, Feng Shuangli, and Wang Shangli are all famous figures."

These three people are all famous figures in history books. Zhu Lang certainly knows their names.

In the previous life, the Qing army broke through Yunnan Province. Three Qing armies split up to search and suppress. The situation of the Ming court was already difficult to support. Bai Wenxuan retreated all the way, but he never surrendered. He even retreated all the way into Burma. It was not until he ran out of ammunition and food in Burma that Bai Wenxuan surrendered to Wu Sangui.
Although Bai Wenxuan surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in the end, he persisted until the last moment when it was almost impossible to do anything. It is difficult for anyone to be harsh on him.

After Feng Shuangli was defeated in Yunnan Province, he also refused to surrender and retreated all the way to Sichuan Province.

Feng Shuangli originally planned to go to Kuidong to cooperate with Li Laiheng and others to continue to support the Ming and oppose the Qing. However, he was betrayed by his generals halfway and was eventually kidnapped to the Qing court. He also vowed to never surrender.
Wang Shangli Zhu Lang didn't remember much information, but vaguely remembered that this person seemed to have died in the battle between the Qin and Jin vassals of the Western Army.

However, since this person is now the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, his position in the Western Army in the future will probably be quite high.

The imperial court defeated the Western Army under the city of Guiyang this time, and never thought that it would catch so many big fish in one net. He Jiuyi, Yang Wu and others, Zhu Lang also had some vague impressions of them. I'm afraid they were also famous military officials in the history books of the previous life.
The Ming army captured so many famous generals of the Western Army at one time. Although there was some luck involved, it was actually reasonable.
The Western Army had just been defeated, and now there were more generals than soldiers in the army. These former Western Army generals probably only had a few thousand men under their command, which was why they were captured by the Ming Army. Upon hearing this, a trace of shame and anger flashed across Wang Shangli and the others' faces. They were considered the backbone of the Western Army, and it was not surprising that the Ming court knew their names. Now that they were captured in one fell swoop, the Ming court was naturally very proud.
Zhu Lang ignored the expressions of the three people, just sighed, and then the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and he said

"I have called you here to ask you something. You are the Western Army that has fled here in defeat. The imperial court has given you food and land. Why don't you surrender?"

This was also what puzzled Zhu Lang. Zhang Xianzhong died, the Western Army was defeated, and Sun Kewang and others fled to Bozhou, having lost many soldiers and all their supplies.
At this time, the Ming court came forward to recruit them, not only giving them food, salaries and official titles, but also allocating land for them to recuperate. Zhu Lang really couldn't understand why the Western Army would refuse to recruit them.

Zhu Lang had been planning for a long time and had chosen this perfect moment. He originally thought that the matter of appeasement was a sure thing, but he never thought that the Western Army would still rebel.
Bai Wenxuan and the other two looked at Gui Jianguo, who looked puzzled, and their faces were silent.

Bai Wenxuan and others were neutrals in the Western Army. They had no objection to the Ming court's offer of appeasement, but they were also quite tempted by Sun Kewang's suggestion.

The Western Army had rebelled against the Ming court for decades and was very familiar with the situation of the Ming army.

Although the Western Army had fled to Bozhou, they still did not take the Ming Army from your province seriously.

As Sun Kewang said, since the Ming court has food to pacify the people, wouldn't it be better for them to directly attack your province and seize the Ming court's food and money? This way, they don't have to be dragged into Bozhou to fight the Qing court.

However, Bai Wenxuan and others never expected that the main force of the Ming court was not enjoying themselves in the southeast, but suddenly appeared in your province.

If they knew that the Ming court would send a large army into Guizhou, they would definitely not rush in, but it is too late to say anything now.
Seeing that the three of them remained silent, Zhu Lang's face turned cold and he shouted in a cold voice:
"Your Western Army has been causing trouble in the Central Plains for more than ten years. The Western Army of the Ming Dynasty is like fire and water, and it is impossible to spare us. But now the Tartars are invading the south and disturbing our Han Central Plains. I am thinking that your Western Army has fought hundreds of battles and is the elite of our Han people. That's why I persuaded the court to surrender you."

"I surrendered you not because I cannot destroy you, but to unite the forces of all Han people and drive the Tartar out of the Central Plains together."

"But now it seems that you and your people are indeed stubborn and unyielding. Since you want to die, I will grant your wish and wipe out all of you Western bandits!"

Wang Shangli, who was below, heard this and his face flashed with anger. He said in a cold voice:

"We are not as skilled as you and have been defeated by you. You can kill me or chop me up as you wish. If you beg for mercy, I will no longer be named Wang. But if you want us to surrender, there is no way that I can do that."

"While I am alive, I will rebel against your Ming Dynasty. Even after I die, I will rebel against your Ming Dynasty."

Li Chengzhi's face turned cold, and he was about to step forward and knock Wang Shangli to the ground, but Zhu Lang waved his hand to stop Li Chengzhi.
"You want to die?"

"Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. I will let you live and watch how the imperial court will destroy you and the Western Army step by step."

Wang Shangli's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately said

"Although we have been defeated, we still have tens of thousands of elite soldiers in Daxi. I want to see how your Ming court is going to conquer Bozhou."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lang sneered and said directly
"If we want to destroy your Western Army, why do we need to attack Bozhou?"

"You should not have much food and money left, and the Tartars should be reaching Bozhou soon. I can just use my cavalry to lock down the city and prevent your army from leaving. Within two months, you will be wiped out. Why would I need to send a large army to attack?"

When Bai Wenxuan and the other two heard this, their expressions suddenly changed. They had also seen the strength of the elite cavalry of the Ming court. At this time, the Western Army in Bozhou City was almost entirely infantry, and it was almost impossible for them to resist the blockade of the Ming court cavalry.

Their attack on Guiyang consumed most of the food and grass in the Western Army Camp. If the Ming court really used cavalry to blockade the city, it would not take two months. I am afraid that in less than a month, the city would be completely out of food.
The next sentence of Gui Jianguo is even more vicious. Once the Qing invaders arrive, the Western Army will be caught between the Ming and Qing factions.

When the armies of Ming and Qing confront each other, the Western Army will be caught in the middle and will probably be torn to pieces by both sides.
Bai Wenxuan's heart sank when he thought of this. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke:

"There are also differences among the Western Army on whether to accept the Ming court's offer of amnesty..."

As Bai Wenxuan narrated, Zhu Lang also understood the situation in the Western Army at this time. Li Dingguo was inclined to accept the amnesty and then use the Ming court's food to avenge Zhang Xianzhong, but Sun Kewang was determined not to accept the Ming court's banner.

Zhu Lang also understood Sun Kewang's thoughts. If the Western Army accepted the offer, the four generals would become Ming officials, and they would be truly equal. Sun Kewang's status as Zhang Xianzhong's eldest son would no longer be useful.
Sun Kewang had already regarded the Western Army as his own power, and obviously could not accept this, so he brazenly launched an attack first, hoping to completely cut off the possibility of the Ming court recruiting him.
Zhu Lang was relieved when he heard this. If someone in the Western Army was willing to surrender, then there was still room for negotiation. And the person Zhu Lang valued most was Li Dingguo in the Western Army.

Zhu Lang's real purpose in coming to the southwest this time was to deal with the Qing army in Sichuan Province. If it was not necessary, Zhu Lang did not want to fight a battle with the Western Army before fighting the Tartars.

Wang Shangli was furious when he heard Bai Wenxuan tell him the whole story of the Western Army. He stared at Bai Wenxuan and shouted angrily.
"Bai Wenxuan, you traitor, how dare you sell out my Daxi intelligence..."

Bai Wenxuan remained silent, but before he could reply, Zhu Lang spoke in a cold voice.

"Traitor? You should thank Bai Wenxuan for saving your life. If he didn't tell you now, your life would be dead for sure."

"Also, my patience is limited, so please stop making a fuss, or I will make you speechless from now on."

Wang Shangli looked at Gui Jianguo who had a cold expression on his face. He was suddenly startled. He hesitated for a moment, but finally did not dare to provoke him again.

Although Wang Shangli did not speak, his eyes were still wide open, staring at Gui Jianguo above him with indignation.
Zhu Lang stopped paying attention to Wang Shangli and looked at the three people below. He said

"Among the three of you, who is close to Li Dingguo?"

Wang Shangli and the other two heard this, and then all looked at Bai Wenxuan beside them. Seeing this, Zhu Lang's eyes also flashed with a hint of understanding.

"Yeah, it should be you."

In the previous life, Sun Kewang wanted to establish his own state, while Li Dingguo raised his army to support the Ming Dynasty. The two armies confronted each other. Sun Kewang's military strength was almost several times that of Li Dingguo at that time. In the end, Bai Wenxuan turned against Li Dingguo, which allowed him to win in the end.

It is not surprising that Bai Wenxuan had a close relationship with Li Dingguo.

Zhu Lang did not avoid the three people. He looked at Bai Wenxuan below, thought for a moment, and then spoke

"I will send someone to send you back to Bozhou later. Please tell Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo and others in the city a message for me."

After Zhu Lang explained to Bai Wenxuan, he ignored the three people who looked shocked and ordered Li Chengzhi to take Bai Wenxuan and the other two out of the room.

Three days later, dozens of cavalrymen led Bai Wenxuan to the north. Wujiang Pass had been recaptured, and the Ming army had built a pontoon bridge and marched towards the north bank of Wujiang River.
(End of this chapter)