Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 227 The Heavenly Strategy Iron Hoof, Unstoppable Force

Zhu Jinzhen was in the midst of a rebellion, and had divided his forces into several routes, intending to seize the empire.

It quickly spread throughout the entire Ming Dynasty.

Chengdu Prefecture.

The Commandery of Longzhou Division had already received the news.

They were about to face the elite troops of the Tian Ce Army, personally commanded by Li Chengen, the Grand Commander of the Tian Ce Army.

When the news arrived, the three Sichuan authorities immediately summoned the Longdu Commandery, Bozhou Commandery, Tianquan Six Commanderies, Five Guards and Eight Garrisons for a meeting, and urgently mobilized surrounding troops to protect Sichuan.

But when further news arrived, the high-ranking officials of the Three Sichuan Offices, all the generals of Chengdu Guard, the Five Guards, and the Eight Garrisons were stunned. They almost wanted to bind the Provincial Governor, Commander, and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of the Three Sichuan Offices and surrender the city.

"The situation is urgent, let's discuss it."

"How do we negotiate?" The commander of the Sichuan Provincial Military Region snorted coldly. "That Prince Su has great ambitions and an even bigger appetite. He is not Emperor Taizong. Although it was the same Jingnan Campaign, Emperor Taizong only crossed the Yellow River defense line, fought from Beiping to Yingtianfu, drove Emperor Jianwen off the throne, and then ascended to the throne and ruled the world."

“Our Prince Su is sending out troops according to the standards used by Emperor Taizu Gao in conquering the world.”

"Domineering and forceful, fully displaying his power."

"It seems he wants to tell the Ming Dynasty, and the whole world, that he wants to sit on that throne, and he doesn't care about the title of 'pacifying the rebellion' at all. He will crush the entire Ming Dynasty, and this behemoth of a dynasty will have to submit to him according to his wishes."

"Our first and foremost opponent will be the most elite Tian Ce soldiers under the command of Prince Su's mansion."

"Moreover, according to the spies' reports, the troops are still being commanded by the elite forces led by the Grand Commander Li Chengen."

"Is there really no way to stop them? Sichuan is a land of rugged terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It won't be easy for them to break through from Xining, will it?" The Sichuan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner frowned.

"Do we have any defensible terrain?"

"Why not?"

Almost everyone present, except for the Sichuan Regional Military Commissioner and his generals, looked puzzled.

"Celestial phenomena can easily influence the weather and the atmosphere of the world. With every move, they have the power to split mountains and even ride the wind. Even people from the Shu Mountains can go up to them whenever they want. According to intelligence, there are at least several hundred celestial phenomena in the Tian Ce Army. How can they defend themselves?"

The Sichuan Regional Commander glanced at everyone and sneered, "According to the secret report, all the people of Tian Ce Prefecture have Vajra bodies. This time, Li Chengen was ordered to lead 100,000 Tian Ce soldiers south. Putting aside those above the celestial level, even if we just send ordinary Tian Ce soldiers, all the people from the Five Guards and Eight Offices, they would be wiped out in one round of attacks. How can we defend?"

Even if they were to fight Emperor Taizong Zhu Di to the death, the Sichuan Commander-in-Chief wouldn't be too intimidated by other armies. But what about the Tian Ce Army under the command of Prince Su?
Let's call it a day.

That wasn't fighting a war; it was sending people to their deaths.

"Besides, this is not a barbarian invasion, but a recurrence of history, a 'Jingnan' (a historical rebellion)."

"The men of Sichuan are not afraid of dying on the battlefield. If foreign enemies invade, even if we have to wipe out the Chengdu Guard and the other five guards and eight garrisons, and fill all the Sichuan men with our lives, we will fight to the death."

“But the Prince Su’s mansion is in the right and is acting on the Emperor’s orders to purge corrupt officials from the court. Regardless of victory or defeat, our men will only be sent to their deaths in vain.”

"In the end, you won't gain anything, and you might even only get a bad reputation."

"This battle cannot be fought."

This wasn't just pessimism from the Sichuan military commander; it was a harsh reality.

The army, composed of hundreds of thousands of Vajra Realm warriors, was so powerful that the commander of the Sichuan Provincial Military Commission even dared to say that if all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty since the Hongwu reign were brought to fight in this dynasty, the final outcome would not be changed.

What's even more frightening is that Zhu Jinzhen was not a traitor.

He was a member of the royal family, ordered to quell the rebellion, and was almost within reach of that position.

Their desperate resistance and delays will likely result in the same fate as the former officials of Jianwen. Even if Zhu Jinzhen does not purge them after ascending the throne, it is unlikely that they will receive any compensation or similar funds; it would be tantamount to throwing their lives away in vain.

"Report!"

"The Tian Ce army is less than thirty miles away from Longdu Commandery."

Just then, a soldier suddenly came to report, breaking the peace of the three Sichuan military commands.

A Sichuan military officer suddenly stood up. "What? How could it be so fast?"

"When we received the news yesterday, the Tian Ce army had only just left Shaanxi. Even if they marched at full speed, day and night, it would have been impossible for them to be this fast!"

"calm."

The Sichuan military commander glanced at him and then looked at the soldier who came to report: "You may leave now."

"Yes." The messenger withdrew upon hearing this.

"Commander, what do we do?"

"Yes, does the Tian Ce Army have wings? How can they traverse hundreds of miles in a single day?"

The Sichuan military commander frowned, a bitter smile on his face, and said quietly, "They haven't grown wings, but they're pretty much the same. What we're facing isn't an ordinary enemy, but an army composed entirely of Vajra Realm warriors."

"With the cultivation level of the Vajra Realm, traveling day and night, a few hundred miles is nothing."

The worst-case scenario has occurred.

Their mindset is still rooted in outdated notions of war.

However, the Tian Ce Mansion is preparing to demonstrate a more advanced and comprehensive war strategy with a completely new approach.

With the cultivation level of the Vajra Realm, traveling hundreds of miles a day is as easy as turning one's hand.

Before they could react or prepare their defenses, the enemy was already at their gates.

How to fight with others?

Those who could serve as generals in the Sichuan Regional Military Commission, even if they were just garrison commanders, were all at least at the first-rank innate realm of martial arts, and the best of them were even at the Vajra realm.

Although they were shaken by the news, they also fell silent after hearing the words of the Sichuan Military Commander.

Someone asked, "Then what should we do?"

The Sichuan Regional Commander frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Longdu Division can't stop the Tian Ce Army, and the Songpan Guard probably can't either. The only way is to consolidate our defenses and deploy the Chengdu Left Guard, Chengdu Right Guard, Chengdu Rear Guard, and Dadu River Thousand-Household Garrison along the Minjiang River line to defend the strategic locations and try to block the advance of the Tian Ce Army."

The Minjiang River basin is characterized by steep mountains and swift rivers.

The best strategy is to defend the strategic location.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement with the Commander's plan.

We can't exactly let them clash head-on with Tian Ce, can we?
"Report!"

"After fighting for half an hour, Longdu Division and Songpan Guard were defeated. Part of the Tian Ce army went down the Min River and marched straight towards Chengdu Prefecture. It is expected to arrive in four hours."

Everyone was struck by lightning.

Before they could even make any strategic adjustments, Songpan Guard and Longcheng Division had already been defeated.

"Report!"

"Dong Buhan Hu Si is being attacked by the Ganzhou Left and Right Guards and Tian Ce, and is in retreat. He requests reinforcements."

"Report!"

"The Six Divisions of Tianquan suffered a major defeat, the Jinsha River fell, and Yongning Prefecture requests reinforcements."

"Report!"

"Longdu Commandery and Baoning Prefecture have fallen, and the remaining troops have retreated. Shunqing Prefecture is besieged. We request the support of the Regional Military Commandery."

"Report..."

The bad news came suddenly, catching everyone completely off guard.

The Tian Ce and Shaanxi Guards, like dragons and snakes rising from the land, displayed an aura of overwhelming power and ambition, rapidly sweeping across Sichuan and the surrounding lands with lightning speed.

The Heavenly Strategy moves with the speed of thunder, catching everyone off guard.

In less than half an hour, the Sichuan military commander received one message after another that various places had fallen, prefectures were besieged to the north, and people were desperately seeking help.

Five guards and eight garrisons.

Chengdu Fifth Guard Station.

The troops stationed in various places are as fragile as paper, easily broken at the slightest touch.

Without even giving the Sichuan Regional Commander a chance or time to mobilize troops, they quickly caused most of Sichuan to fall under the iron heel of the Tian Ce army.

(End of this chapter)