The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 174 The Story of the Downfall of the Wang Jiayin Group

Inside Shanzhou City, all the leaders gathered together in a solemn atmosphere.

The problem of Jiang Han's insufficient troop strength weighed heavily on everyone's minds like a boulder.

All the leaders knew very well that without Jiang Han's elite troops stationed there, their rebel army would have been wiped out by the government forces long ago.

What to do next has become the most pressing problem facing everyone.

"Commander!"

Liu Guoneng spoke first, breaking the silence.
"I think that after we rest and regroup, we should immediately head south and invade Hubei and Hunan!"

As the saying goes, when Hubei and Hunan are prosperous, the whole country is well-fed.

"There's plenty of money and food there. As long as we establish a foothold, why should we worry about replenishing our troops?"

These words immediately drew a chorus of agreement from the crowd.

"That's right! Huguang is great, known as the land of fish and rice, it's the perfect place for us to make our mark!"

"Occupying Huguang (Hubei and Hunan) will allow us to enter Sichuan to the west and Jiangnan (southern China) to the east!"

"When the time comes, we'll slaughter all those fat, bloated landlords in Jiangnan. Damn, just thinking about it is exhilarating!"

"Yes! Let's go to Huguang and establish a base there!"

The group of leaders chattered excitedly, spittle flying everywhere, as if the prosperous Huguang and the bustling Jiangnan were already theirs for the taking, within easy reach.

Even more extreme, some have already begun to fantasize about taking over Nanjing and skinning those officials who usually act arrogantly and domineeringly.

Each of their words was filled with hatred for the old order and boundless imagination for the future.

As the conversation in the room gradually veered off course, Jiang Han felt a headache coming on.

Huguang?

Is that place so easy to get to?
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, who did not know the importance of Huguang?
That place is the lifeline of the Grand Canal, known as the key to the waterway.

The granaries were not only heavily guarded, but also tightly controlled by the three major towns of Xiangyang, Jingzhou, and Wuchang, which controlled the water and land routes.

In addition, the area of ​​Huguang is crisscrossed by waterways and rivers. Without a guide familiar with the terrain, once the army gets trapped, there is no way to escape.

Another crucial point is that the disaster in Huguang is not that severe right now. If we rush into Huguang and find that we are surrounded by enemies, what should we do?
We can't just follow the example of Zhang Xianzhong and Zuo Liangyu and massacre Wuchang several times in a fit of rage, can we?

Jiang Han shook his head, about to speak and interrupt the group of leaders who were daydreaming.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside, and a guard rushed in, knelt on one knee, and loudly reported:

"Commander!"

"There is a man outside the city who claims to be a messenger from Zijinliang. He says he has an extremely urgent matter to attend to and wishes to see you!"

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent instantly, and everyone was taken aback.

Zijinliang?
Isn't that the Left Chancellor under Wang Jiayin?
What were these two rebel armies doing, one in the east and one in the west, hundreds of miles apart? Why would they suddenly send people here? And in such an urgent manner?
Jiang Han frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

He looked at his personal guards and gave the order in a deep voice:
“Bring in the messenger to speak.”

Before long, a middle-aged man, looking travel-worn, staggered in.

His clothes were already torn to shreds, and his face was full of anxiety and exhaustion, clearly indicating that he had traveled a long way to get here.

As soon as the messenger entered the room, his eyes swept casually across the room and immediately locked onto Jiang Han, who was sitting at the head of the table.

He took two steps forward, then knelt down with a thud, his voice urgent:

"Great Tiger King, the Eastern Route rebels are in dire need of help! We beg you to send troops to save our brothers on the Eastern Route!"

Hearing this, Jiang Han felt even more uneasy and quickly asked:
"Urgent?"

"Your Eastern Route Army is numerous and powerful, with strong troops and horses, and the Heavenly King Heng is in charge of the central army. How could you suddenly be in dire need of help?"

He stared intently at the messenger and said in a deep voice:
"What exactly happened? Tell me in detail!"

Upon hearing this, the messenger was overcome with grief, and with a choked voice, he uttered a shocking piece of news:
"Hengtian King is dead!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room jumped up.

Even with Jiang Han's resolute will, he was still filled with disbelief at this moment.

Is Wang Jiayin dead?
That notorious bandit who boasted an army of 100,000 and once stirred up trouble in two provinces has actually died?
The man wiped his face and then explained the whole story in detail.

It turned out that the person Wang Jiayin was facing was none other than Hong Chengchou, who was ordered to oversee military affairs in two provinces.

In order to suppress Wang Jiayin, Hong Chengchou mobilized troops from all sides.

This included Song Tongyin, the governor of Shanxi; Wang Guoliang, the general of Shanxi; Xuan Mo, the governor of Henan; Wang Pu, the general of the Beijing garrison; and a host of capable civil and military generals, including deputy generals Zhang Yingchang, He Renlong, Wang Chengen, and Ma Ke.

Hong Chengchou led an army of 50,000 and laid a tight net in Shanxi and Henan, determined to completely eliminate Wang Jiayin, this major threat.

Hong Chengchou mobilized such a large army for several reasons. First, Wang Jiayin's power was too great, with various leaders leading refugees and claiming an army of 200,000, which shocked the court and the public.

Secondly, it was because Wang Jiayin acted too arrogantly, not only daring to overstep his bounds and claim the title of king, but also establishing his own government and system;
Moreover, they repeatedly targeted various vassal states, intending to plunder the treasuries of the vassal kings to fund their military operations.

It must be said that Wang Jiayin is indeed an incredibly audacious individual.

Previously in Taiyuan, he wanted to attack the Jin vassal state, but after Jiang Han politely declined, he still did not give up.

He then led his troops to attack Lu'an Prefecture, intending to plunder Prince Shen, but they were rebuffed and failed to capture it.

But he wouldn't let it go, and turned his attention to the Prince of Fu in Luoyang.

After all, the Prince of Fu's family was incredibly wealthy, making them a notorious target of greed in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Wang Jiayin mobilized his entire army, stationed them in Huaiqing Prefecture, and prepared to cross the Yellow River at Mengjin Ferry after it froze over, then march straight to Luoyang.

With the Yellow River about to freeze over, the enemy soldiers would be able to cross it once the river surface was frozen, and the natural barrier of the Yellow River that Wang Pu's troops relied on would no longer exist.

Hong Chengchou was extremely anxious and led his army to launch several fierce attacks on Wang Jiayin's troops from all directions.

However, Wang Jiayin had a large and powerful army and occupied a strategic location. Although the government troops achieved some victories in several battles, they were never able to completely defeat him.

Just when Hong Chengchou was in a state of great anxiety, things suddenly took a turn for the better.

One of his subordinates stood up and reported that there was a man in the army who claimed to be Wang Jiayin's brother-in-law, named Zhang Liwei, who had important business to discuss.

(In his early years, after capturing Huangfuchuan Fort, Wang Jiayin passed through Yaomao Village in Fugu County and saw that Zhang Shi, the beautiful daughter of Zhang Maoxiu, a prominent local family, was his wife. This Zhang Liwei was Zhang Shi's younger brother.)
Upon hearing the news, Hong Chengchou was overjoyed, realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He immediately sent someone to invite Zhang Liwei to the central command tent, dismissed his attendants, and after a private conversation, Hong Chengchou decided to arrange for Zhang Liwei to feign surrender and defect to Wang Jiayin.

Wang Jiayin, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see that it was his brother-in-law who had come to seek refuge, and didn't have time to think much about it.

He assumed it was because of his power that his relatives had come to seek refuge, so he gladly accepted Zhang Liwei and arranged for him to serve under his command.

He never imagined that what was meant to promote his relatives would turn into inviting a wolf into the house!

Zhang Liwei was a silver-tongued man. He actually colluded with Wang Jiayin's cousin, Wang Guozhong, and the two conspired to assassinate Wang Jiayin.

During the banquet that night, they took turns toasting Wang Jiayin, getting him completely drunk and unconscious.

While Wang Jiayin was fast asleep, the two men hacked him to death with a series of blows.

After successfully killing Wang Jiayin, Zhang Liwei and Wang Guozhong immediately set fires throughout the rebel camp as agreed, creating chaos and alerting the government troops in the distance.

Hong Chengchou had been waiting for a long time. When he saw the enemy camp engulfed in flames and in complete chaos, he immediately ordered his entire army to attack, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to break through the enemy camp.

Upon hearing the deafening shouts of battle outside the camp and the flames rising within, the rebel generals immediately went to the central command tent to request Wang Jiayin to take charge of the overall situation.

However, as soon as they entered the tent, they were horrified to find that Wang Jiayin had already fallen into a pool of blood, with a short knife stuck in his chest.

With their commander-in-chief dead and their camp attacked, the rebel army, boasting 200,000 men, collapsed in an instant without a leader.

Countless soldiers surrendered, fled, or died; in the end, only 30,000 remnants managed to escape.

Bai Yuzhu, the Right Chancellor previously appointed by Wang Jiayin, surrendered to the government troops as soon as he saw the situation was not good.

Upon hearing that her husband had been assassinated by her own younger brother, Wang Jiayin's wife, Zhang, was filled with grief and indignation. She immediately drew her sword and committed suicide.

The remaining 30,000 defeated soldiers, along with Gao Yingxiang, Luo Rucai, Tuo Yangkun, and others, fled frantically.

These rebels were all agile and quick. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they immediately led their respective groups and fled.

Later, the various rebel armies that managed to escape, having nowhere else to turn, jointly elected Wang Jiayin as their Left Chancellor, and Zijin Liangwang Ziyong became the new leader of the rebel alliance.

Wang Ziyong had no choice but to accept the mission in this critical situation, but he only had more than 30,000 defeated soldiers under his command, their morale was low, and their food supplies had been burned to ashes.

Wang Ziyong knew very well that it was almost impossible for them to force Hong Chengchou to retreat with just their small force.

Left with no other option, Wang Ziyong could only send messengers to seek help from all sides.

Jiang Han's forces, being the most powerful rebel army at present, naturally became his primary target.

Jiang Han was completely stunned when he heard the news brought by the messenger.

The way Wang Jiayin died is almost exactly the same as the historical record, except for the timing.
In the original history, the one who used this plan to kill Wang Jiayin was none other than Cao Wenzhao, who had previously been defeated by Jiang Han.

How come now that it's Hong Chengchou, Wang Jiayin still ended up dying at the hands of his brother-in-law Zhang Liwei?

Jiang Han had severely injured Cao Wenzhao in the Lüliang Mountains, indirectly saving Wang Jiayin's life.

But now, how come Wang Jiayin still died in the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign?

It turns out that Zhang Liwei was originally a lowly soldier in You Shilu's army.

Initially, it was You Shilu and Cao Wenzhao who were tasked with suppressing Wang Jiayin.

As a result, Jiang Han intervened and defeated Cao Wenzhao in the Lüliang Mountains, while Wang Jiayin defeated You Shilu in Kelan Prefecture.

After this battle, Cao Wenzhao and You Shilu were transferred back to Shaanxi to suppress bandits due to their poor performance in the campaign.

Then came the Battle of Octagon.

In this battle, You Shilu's old wounds recurred, making him unable to lead troops into battle. Therefore, he handed over his troops to Hong Chengchou for command and returned to the rear to focus on recuperating.

Thus, Zhang Liwei went from serving under You Shilu to serving under Hong Chengchou.

Jiang Han felt a mix of emotions after hearing this.

He thought that he, a butterfly from the future, had changed the course of many things.

But to his utter surprise, after all the twists and turns, Wang Jiayin still couldn't escape this calamity.

Jiang Han found it somewhat unbelievable.

Wang Jiayin, a notorious bandit who dominated two provinces, died such an unjust death!
One was his brother-in-law, and the other was a cousin. Both of them were related to Wang Jiayin and should have been the people he trusted most. However, they conspired to kill him and defected to the government army.

Jiang Han thought and thought, but he still couldn't figure out what these two traitors were thinking.

Could it be that back in Fugu, Wang Jiayin, relying on his large army, forcibly married Zhang?

Only in this way can we clearly explain why Zhang Liwei betrayed Wang Jiayin: it was to avenge his sister, Zhang.

After thinking it over, Jiang Han felt that this was the only explanation.

But what about Wang Guozhong?
He was a cousin of Wang Jiayin, whom Wang Jiayin had personally raised from Shaanxi.

Wang Guozhong joined Wang Jiayin in starting a rebellion, but he so easily betrayed his own kinsman.
Picture what?
　I'm so sleepy, I'll add 4K.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)