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

Chapter 303 Sun Chuanting's efforts fall short, Gao Chuangwang survives a close call.

Having made his decision, Jiang Han dispatched a messenger with a secret letter to leave Chengdu quietly and head straight for Hanzhong.

The messenger traveled day and night, turning from Nanjiang County onto the treacherous Micang Road, passing through Xixiang, and finally arriving at Shiquan County, where Gao Yingxiang was temporarily stationed.

After a period of rest and recuperation, Gao Yingxiang's troops had finally regained some strength and were no longer as panicked as stray dogs.

Furthermore, Gao Yingxiang recruited a group of starving people in Hanzhong to bolster his troops.

He was eager to lead his troops along the Ziwu Road to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhong and catch the Ming army off guard.

However, the arrival of Jiang Han's messenger poured cold water on his plans, forcing Gao Yingxiang to suspend his journey north to Shaanxi.

Inside the temporarily requisitioned county government hall, Gao Yingxiang dismissed those around him and opened Jiang Han's handwritten letter.

"It's been a long time since we met Gao Chuangwang."

"Since we parted in Shanxi, several years have passed in a flash. I miss you dearly and often think of the time we spent side by side."

"I have heard that your troops are entrenched in Hanzhong and intend to carry out the Ziwu Raid. I am very worried about this."

“Times have changed. The newly appointed governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting, is far superior to mediocre and cowardly people like Gan Xuekuo.”

"His talent and courage are no less than those of Hong Hengjiu and Lu Jiandou."

“Since Sun Chuanting arrived in Shaanxi, he has rectified official corruption and investigated military farms, which has yielded considerable results. He is by no means a man without soldiers or food.”

"This person must have already figured out the true situation in Hanzhong and is currently setting up an ambush along the Ziwu Road, waiting for your troops, the King of Chuang."

"If you insist on going north, you will probably fall into their trap and lose your reputation of several years in one day."

"Although you and I each occupy a different territory, we have raised the banner of righteousness together to resist the tyrannical Ming Dynasty. I really cannot bear to see your troops trapped in such a dire situation."

"For the sake of the overall anti-Ming cause, it would be better to temporarily move the camp and go to Sichuan to rest and recuperate."

"I am willing to provide you with provisions and military supplies to lend you a helping hand. At the same time, I will open the waterway at Kuizhou so that your troops can advance eastward along the river and return to Huguang."

After reading the letter, Gao Yingxiang's expression shifted between light and dark. He felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

Gao Yingxiang felt a sense of dread that his carefully planned strategy had been seen through.

After the initial shock, a feeling of anger and embarrassment welled up within him.

Was my plan really that bad? Was it so easily exposed?

He instinctively clenched the letter, his chest heaving.

But then he thought again, the person who wrote the letter was Jiang Han, a senior who had fought alongside his elder brother Wang Jiayin back then.

His reputation for sharp insight and skillful military tactics was widely known among the rebel army.

Now it controls the entire Sichuan province and is extremely powerful.

Being seen through by him doesn't seem too shameful, does it?
However, Gao Yingxiang was still somewhat unconvinced.

Jiang Hanyuan was in Chengdu and had never dealt with Sun Chuanting. So why was he so sure that he would lose?

What makes you think that Sun Chuanting can see through your scheme?

He has everything ready and is about to head north. If he were to easily abandon the military campaign because of a single letter, wouldn't that be a bit childish?

If this gets out, what prestige will he, as the leader of the rebel army, have left?

Gao Yingxiang suppressed his emotions, put the letter into his pocket, and nodded to the messenger:

"I appreciate the King of Han's kindness."

"Even though the King of Han is far away in Chengdu, he still cares about the safety of my troops. This is truly my good fortune."

"However, this matter of retreating troops is related to the lives and future plans of thousands of brothers, and it is by no means a decision that Gao alone can make."

"This matter is of great importance, and I need to discuss it carefully with the other leaders in the army."

He paused, appearing very polite:
"Well then, the envoy has come from afar and must be tired from his journey. He should go down and rest for a while."

"It is not too late to reply to the King of Han after I have discussed the matter with the generals and reached a conclusion."

The messenger sent by Jiang Han didn't waste any words; he simply clasped his hands in a respectful bow and then withdrew.

Anyway, he had already delivered the letter, and whether the rebel king listened to it or not was beyond his control.

After sending the messenger away, Gao Yingxiang did not summon the other leaders, but instead sat alone in the hall, lost in thought.

Should I go to Huguang instead?

To be honest, Gao Yingxiang was a hundred times unwilling to go there.

His decision to go north to Shaanxi was made after careful consideration.

The most important reason was to replenish the troops, especially to restore the elite core members of the old camp.

Previously, he had been relentlessly pursued by Lu Xiang-sheng, resulting in heavy casualties among his elite troops. His old cavalry, which had been the backbone of his forces, was completely wiped out by the Guan-Ning Army.

Although Huguang was a wealthy region, the quality of its soldiers was not very good, and Gao Yingxiang looked down on them.

Only by returning to the three border regions can he recruit those brave and battle-hardened border soldiers who are skilled in horsemanship and archery, and rebuild his old cavalry.

After thinking it over, Gao Yingxiang was still somewhat unconvinced, or rather, he didn't believe in superstition.

Jiang Han's letter was perhaps just a cautious guess.

A true man should not abandon important matters because of a single word.

Finally, he slammed his hand on the table, making up his mind:
"I want to see if Sun Chuanting can really stop my advance, just as Jiang Han said."

Sun Chuanting, who was in Xi'an Prefecture, was undoubtedly the most qualified to speak on this issue.

Since Sun Chuanting took office as the governor of Shanxi, he has been working tirelessly for the past few months without a moment's rest.

Sun Chuanting, courtesy name Boya, sobriquet Baigu, was a native of Zhenwuwei, Daizhou, Shanxi.

As the last capable official of the late Ming Dynasty, he was on par with Lu Xiang-sheng in terms of managing domestic affairs and planning military strategies.

Sun Chuanting was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, and passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-seven.

He subsequently served as magistrate of Yongcheng County and Shangqiu County, and as the chief clerk of the Verification and Sealing Department of the Ministry of Personnel.

During the Tianqi era, Sun Chuanting resigned from his post in anger because he was dissatisfied with Wei Zhongxian's monopolization of power and harm to the country. He remained unemployed at home for nearly ten years.

It wasn't until the eighth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, when the Later Jin army invaded the pass for the second time, that he once again distinguished himself.

In order to protect his homeland, Sun Chuanting resolutely sent his servants Wang Chengsi, Sun Jian, and others to lead his privately trained local militia into battle, successfully repelling a small group of Qing troops.

This incident was truthfully recorded by Wu Shen, the then Governor of Shanxi, in his "Report on the Merit of Capturing and Killing the Bandits," and was submitted to the Emperor.

“For example, local gentry trained their own men. Sun Chuanting, a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel, sent Wang Chengsi and others to use cannons to attack the bandits, who then fled far away. He also sent Sun Jian and others to set up an ambush and capture horses and mules.”

It was this memorial that led the overwhelmed Zhu Youjian to discover this capable minister out of office, and he urgently summoned him to the capital to take up his post.

In April of the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign, the situation in Shaanxi deteriorated further due to the ineffectiveness of Gan Xuekuo, the then governor of Shaanxi, in suppressing bandits.

Enraged, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Gan Xuekuo to be escorted to the capital and imprisoned for questioning.

This is the third governor to fail in Shaanxi. Lian Guoshi was exiled first, and Li Qiao was stripped of his official rank later.

The position of Governor of Shaanxi had reached a point in the imperial court where "no one was willing to take it, and no one dared to take it."

At this critical moment, Sun Chuanting stepped forward and volunteered to go to Shaanxi to take up his post.

Zhu Youjian was deeply moved by this and specially approved 60,000 taels of silver for Sun Chuanting as start-up capital.

Of course, this money wasn't given away for free; Emperor Chongzhen made his own demands of Sun Chuanting:

"Now, after the annual salary payment, they are allowed to set up their own offices, which is not in accordance with regulations."

This means that in the future, Sun Chuanting will be responsible for raising funds and provisions for soldiers in Shaanxi, and the central government will no longer be involved.

Left with no other choice, Sun Chuanting accepted the money and went to Shaanxi to take up his post.

But the problem was that Shaanxi, which he was facing, was a mess where "bandits were everywhere, but there were no soldiers and no pay."

The government troops and the rebel army fought a protracted tug-of-war in the Shaanxi region, amidst both natural disasters and man-made calamities.

The soldiers and civilians on this land struggled on the brink of hunger and death every day.

After Sun Chuanting took office, Shaanxi's military, political, financial, and legal systems were on the verge of collapse.

Taking military settlements as an example, in the first year of the Chongzhen reign, there were still more than 460,000 hectares of military settlements registered in the Shaanxi area.

However, by the ninth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the number of military farms still in operation was less than 20,000 hectares.

The three border regions of Shaanxi were already impoverished, yet they still had to support several vassal kings, including the Prince of Rui, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Han, and the Prince of Su.

The saying goes, "Shaanxi supplies three towns externally and four kings internally, leaving the people in dire straits."

Faced with the crisis at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the three great figures, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangshan, and Sun Chuanting, each offered different solutions.

Hong Chengchou was rather brutal, and tended to resolve the conflict between population and land through killing and plunder;

Lu Xiang-sheng, on the other hand, relied on his superb governance skills and personal charisma to mobilize the gentry and the common people to overcome the difficulties together.

Sun Chuanting, however, was different; he directly targeted the vested interest groups in Shaanxi—the powerful local gentry.

In order to revitalize Shaanxi's economy and military, Sun Chuanting unleashed two major weapons: "governing officials" and "clearing out rural settlements."

Based on his early experience governing Yongcheng and Shangqiu, Sun Chuanting's first act upon taking office was to target the officialdom of Shaanxi.

He wants to vigorously rectify official corruption.

In his letter to Emperor Chongzhen, he clearly stated:
"To quell the bandits, one must first pacify the people, and pacifying the people depends especially on carefully examining the officials."

After taking office, Sun Chuanting issued strict orders to all levels of prefectures and counties in Shaanxi:
When ordinary people file lawsuits and seek justice, no one may abuse punishment or collect ransom.
When it comes to collecting money and grain, no extra extortion or surcharges are allowed; government daily necessities must be purchased fairly at market prices.

The problem is that although the regulations have been issued, most officials in Shaanxi Province do not take them seriously.

Why do people come here to become officials? Isn't it just to make money and get promoted?
Especially in a place like Shaanxi, which is a battleground, one could easily be killed by rebels and rioters as a sacrifice.

If you don't take the opportunity to gain benefits and pave your way for promotion, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?
We're all officials, why be so strict?
A new broom sweeps clean, but just going through the motions is fine.

However, they greatly underestimated the new governor's determination to reform long-standing problems and save the crisis.

Having spent a long time in officialdom, Sun Chuanting was well aware of the nature of these corrupt officials; they were the kind of people who wouldn't shed a tear until they saw the coffin.

So he personally made arrangements and dispatched his trusted officials to investigate in various places;

At the same time, he also arranged for officials at all levels, including vice ministers, imperial inspectors, and censors, to travel back and forth to various prefectures and counties.

The secret agents investigated everywhere and soon found a typical case in Jingyang County—the magistrate He Shouqian.

He Shouqian, that scoundrel, levied an additional five cents on every tael of silver during tax collection. During his tenure, he collected a total of more than 23,700 taels of silver, plus an additional 1,100 taels of silver.

He not only overcharged, but also tampered with the weights on the scales.

He instructed the yamen runners to set the weight, making each ounce three parts heavier than the common people's, and then deliberately inflating it by six or seven parts when weighing.

With this method of operation, an extra qian of silver was collected for every tael of silver used to pay taxes.

Adding to the various underhanded tactics mentioned earlier, ordinary people actually need to pay nearly 20% more in taxes!

The worst thing was that when He Shouqian took office, the former magistrate of Jingyang County, Wang Chengxian, was impeached by Sun Chuanting for corruption and abuse of power.

He Shouqian can be described as "the successor to the corrupt," taking the baton of corruption from his predecessor and carrying it forward.

Upon learning the news, Sun Chuanting flew into a rage and immediately ordered He Shouqian to be arrested, interrogated, and severely punished.

Other officials, such as Li Gongmen, the deputy envoy in charge of Guanzhong, embezzled more than ten thousand taels of government funds and grain, and also helped powerful families evade corvée labor.

After the incident, this fellow actually turned around and falsely accused Prefect Xiong Yiyuan.

Fortunately, Sun Chuanting was perceptive and quickly found out the truth of the matter.

Faced with Sun Chuanting's questioning, Li Gongwen shamelessly thought that it would be over after a reprimand, and that he could at most punish himself with three cups of wine and send some money to avoid trouble.

Unexpectedly, Sun Chuanting was serious.

He joined forces with the censor Wang Tan to expose Li Gongmen, leading to his immediate arrest, dismissal, and investigation.

After several exemplary cases were set up, Shaanxi officials finally became afraid, and the entire Shaanxi officialdom was shaken.

Unexpectedly, the new governor was serious, and many people began to restrain themselves and dared not easily exploit the people anymore.

Of course, Sun Chuanting was not entirely hardline.

He knew very well that simply adopting a high-pressure policy would not be enough to revitalize the stagnant officialdom in Shaanxi.

For some dedicated and effective officials, Sun Chuanting specially approved a sum of money to pay their back wages owed for many years and rewarded them according to their performance. Shaanxi was already severely lacking in officials, and many prefectures and counties were so plagued by frequent uprisings that no officials dared to take up their posts.

The county's administration was entirely maintained by local officials.

In response to this situation, Sun Chuanting boldly promoted the capable individuals among them and relied on them as his confidants.

For example, in Heshui County, the magistrate has been in office for several years, but no one dares to take up the post.

The selected officials preferred to remain idle at home rather than go to Heshui County.

It should be noted that Heshui County was repeatedly ravaged by the bandit leader Shen Yikui, and various rebel armies would frequently visit Heshui County to plunder and take advantage of the situation.

Therefore, Sun Chuanting recommended the prefectural judge of Fenzhou to promote him to the position of magistrate of Heshui County.

This prefectural judge of Fenzhou was only a tribute student, not even a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations), but when he was acting as the county magistrate, he was "capable and competent, and able to help the people and the community".

Sun Chuanting's practice of recommending talented individuals regardless of their background has garnered strong support from many people.

For officials and generals who have made minor mistakes, he focuses on the major issues and lets the minor ones go, prioritizing punishment and education.

Sun Chuanting also took good care of some officials who were suffering from illness due to overwork, and even gave them a sum of money as a consolation payment.

Thanks to his tireless efforts, the entire Shaanxi officialdom was transformed, and most officials were completely convinced of the new governor's authority.

With the officialdom initially cleaned up, the next challenge was the more difficult issue of money and grain.

Sun Chuanting was well aware of the hardships of ordinary people, so he did not focus his attention on them.

He decisively targeted the powerful and wealthy families in Guanzhong.

These powerful families not only seized land and military settlements, but also exploited the soldiers and forced the military households to work for them.

They colluded with civil and military officials to assign various kinds of labor to the soldiers in the garrisons.

For example, the garrison troops of the Left, Front, and Rear Guards of Xi'an were actually assigned to watch night watch, guard manor prisons, and some even became bricklayers.

It can be said that these guards did everything except for training and fighting.

In order to change the status quo, Sun Chuanting adopted a strategy of first trying diplomacy and then resorting to force.

He issued an edict to local powerful families, calling on them to cooperate with the government in clearing out the garrisons from the perspective of national righteousness.

Sun Chuanting severely reprimanded those who resisted, labeling them as outcasts.

To further complete the clearing of the villages, he encouraged the people and military households to come to the government office to report and complain, promising to severely punish every case discovered.

Not only will they take the land, but they will also impose fines.

No matter who comes to greet him, Sun Chuanting only responds with two words: "No need to talk."

This policy has been introduced, and soon some people have run into trouble.

Soldiers Li Jincheng, Xu Tongjiang, Chen Zongde, and others each seized dozens of acres of land and refused to serve in the military.

Moreover, they colluded with local powerful families and took advantage of Sun Chuanting's land survey to launch a mutiny.

This group robbed families who profited from the clearing of villages and even stormed the governor's office, trying to intimidate the officials and common people who supported Sun Chuanting's clearing of villages.

But Sun Chuanting was prepared. Taking advantage of Li Jincheng's unpreparedness, he immediately sent troops to capture all of them.

After being subjected to severe torture, Li Jincheng not only confessed to his crimes but also revealed the powerful and influential families behind him.

After investigating the situation, Sun Chuanting immediately imprisoned all the powerful figures behind the thugs and had the mastermind be beheaded and his head displayed to the public.

To deter those with ill intentions, he even ordered that the heads of prisoners be hung on the city walls of Xi'an for people to admire.

To some extent, Sun Chuanting even had to "thank" the rebel army.

As the region where the uprising began at the end of the Ming Dynasty, many prefectures and counties in Shaanxi were repeatedly ravaged by various rebel armies.

It was their tireless efforts over the years that dealt a heavy blow to the local gentry power in Shaanxi.

With large tracts of farmland becoming unclaimed, Sun Chuanting's policy of clearing out rural settlements faced significantly less resistance.

In the Jiangnan region, where the gentry's influence was deeply entrenched, Sun Chuanting's actions would have been extremely difficult.

It should be noted that during the Wanli era, officials and gentry in Jiangnan had already devised such ruthless measures as resisting mining taxes.

To consolidate the results of the pacification campaign, Sun Chuanting divided his battalion into several groups to strictly monitor local powerful families and prepare to suppress any counterattacks.

Under the threat of force, the officials and gentry in Shaanxi reluctantly endured it.

In order to appease them, Sun Chuanting also made a compromise, indirectly acknowledging that these farmlands belonged to the Shaanxi officials and gentry.

As a condition, local officials and gentry had to pay taxes on time according to the fertility of the land.

Through a combination of persuasion and coercion, the clearing of military settlements in Shaanxi was finally able to be sustained, laying the foundation for raising funds and provisions.

Through these measures, Sun Chuanting stabilized the situation in Shaanxi in a short period of time.

However, he had no way to deal with the four princes of Shaanxi, who were the largest landlords.

The imperial family and nobles are beyond the jurisdiction of a governor like himself.

Therefore, Sun Chuanting's reforms only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause.

At the same time, Sun Chuanting's iron-fisted methods also led to deep grudges between him and the officials and gentry in Shaanxi.

With the emperor's backing, Sun Chuanting enjoyed immense favor and power, leaving the officials and gentry with no choice but to lie low for the time being and wait for the right moment to launch a counterattack.

Regardless, Sun Chuanting's appointment has indeed injected a shot in the arm into the stagnant Shaanxi province.

Based on this, dealing with a severely weakened Gao Yingxiang was more than enough for him.

Therefore, when Sun Chuanting learned that Gao Yingxiang had entered Hanzhong, he felt only excitement.

Unexpectedly, his opportunity to make a name for himself came soon after he took office.

Gao Yingxiang was a stubborn man, and even after receiving Jiang Han's warning, he still decided to continue heading north.

However, out of caution, he changed his plans at the last minute, and it was this small change that saved his life.

Gao Yingxiang divided his troops into two and sent Wang Guang'en, the Prince of Qin, with three thousand men as the vanguard to scout ahead.

He himself, however, was cautious and, under the pretext of "guarding the rear and preventing the Ming army in Hanzhong," temporarily stayed in the Hanzhong area.

Wang Guang'en was unaware of the deeper meaning behind Gao Yingxiang's arrangement.

He, along with his cousins ​​Wang Guangtai and Wang Changyi, generously accepted the order and immediately assembled the army to set off.

The three Wang brothers were from Junzhou, Huguang (present-day Hubei and Hunan provinces), and in their early years they were active in the border area between Huguang and Shaanxi.

It wasn't until Gao Yingxiang arrived in Yunyang that the three Wang brothers led their troops to surrender.

To conceal his intention to take the Ziwu Valley route, Gao Yingxiang even dispatched two separate units of troops.

One force feigned an attack on Hanzhong Prefecture to the west, while another force harassed Xing'an Prefecture and Pingli area to the east, attempting to mislead the Ming army.

After making thorough preparations, the vanguard of the rebel army plunged into the Meridian Road.

However, to Wang Guang'en's surprise, he encountered fierce resistance as soon as he led his army into the Ziwu Road.

Chen Jieqi, the Ming army commander stationed at Sanhe Pass, led the local militia in a desperate resistance.

Wang Guang'en led his troops in a fierce attack for four days before finally breaking through the pass and being able to continue his northward advance.

At this critical juncture, the movements of the rebel army were quickly reported to Xi'an Prefecture.

Sun Chuanting, who had been closely monitoring the situation in Hanzhong, was overjoyed to receive the military report.

He thought that Gao Yingxiang had personally led the main force and had already entered the Ziwu Pass.

It is worth mentioning that before taking office as the governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting submitted a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen entitled "Ten Matters for Discussion on Border Affairs," which detailed his ideas for suppressing bandits.

He believed that once the bandits gained power, they would launch attacks in all directions, but once they weakened, they would return to Shaanxi to recruit soldiers and horses.

Because the bandits were very familiar with the terrain of Shaanxi, it was essential to pay close attention to the defense of the Shaanxi area.

In terms of combat, Sun Chuanting believed that the main peasant army forces should be eliminated, such as the rebel leader Chuang Wang, the Eight Great Kings, and the Scorpion Bandits.

Once these strongest bandits are wiped out, the other smaller bandit groups can naturally be pacified with a simple proclamation.

Therefore, after Gao Yingxiang entered Hanzhong, Sun Chuanting sent out a large number of spies to keep a close eye on the movements of Gao Yingxiang's troops.

In his view, Gao Yingxiang, having suffered a major setback in the Central Plains, would inevitably return to Shaanxi.

The other three roads in Hanzhong have been blocked by the Ming army in Hanzhong, so he will definitely enter Shaanxi through the Ziwu Road.

The news that Chen Jieqi, the commander of Sanhe Pass, sent it out also indirectly confirmed Sun Chuanting's point of view.

Upon receiving the news, Sun Chuanting personally led the main force of the standard battalion, rushing day and night to the Ziwu Pass to make arrangements.

At the same time, he issued a wide-ranging military order, mobilizing troops from the surrounding areas to converge on Guanzhong, setting up a trap and vowing to annihilate the "Chuang bandits" in the Qinling Mountains.

To Sun Chuanting's utter surprise, Gao Yingxiang only sent a detachment to scout ahead.

After Wang Guang'en and his men broke through Sanhe Pass, a sudden storm at night triggered a flash flood and mudslide, destroying the main road of the Ziwu Road and making it impassable.

Left with no other choice, Wang Guang'en led his troops to turn back and take another branch route—the Black Pu Road.

Heipu Road is located near Baoxie Road, bordering Foping County to the south, the Pu River of Ningshan County to the east, and the Hei River near Zhouzhi County to the north, hence the name Heipu Road.

Wang Guang'en's troops continued to advance northward, while Sun Chuanting, after receiving reinforcements from He Renlong, immediately rushed to Mazhao Town in Zhouzhi County, from where he entered the Heipudao.

After carefully surveying the terrain, Sun Chuanting finally chose to set up an ambush on both sides of the Blackwater Valley.

Heishuiyu, or Heiyu for short, is located near Heihe Reservoir in Zhouzhi County. It is also known as Manggu because of its proximity to Mangshui.

Sun Chuanting planned to block the exit and annihilate the main force of the rebel army as soon as they entered the canyon.

To this end, he also dispatched his deputy general Luo Shangwen to lead a detachment to bypass the Tangluo Road and cross Tianhua Mountain, attempting to completely cut off the retreat route of the rebel army.

Soon, Wang Guang'en's vanguard entered Heishuiyu and, unsurprisingly, found themselves surrounded by government troops.

The three Wang brothers led their troops in a desperate battle, even managing to repel the government army's adjutant, Li Yuchun.

However, at this moment, Luo Shangwen's detachment had already reached its designated position and launched an attack from behind Wang Guang'en's forces.

Just when Wang Guang'en and his men were in dire straits, Gao Yingxiang, who had been observing from the rear, personally led the main force to follow up in time, and in one fell swoop defeated the government army's rearguard, successfully rescuing the besieged Wang Guang'en.

After escaping the predicament, Gao Yingxiang dared not linger and immediately led his troops away from the battlefield, retreating southwards.

In the midst of the chaos, Wang Guang'en's cousin, Wang Changyi, was unfortunately killed in battle, beheaded by government troops.

Upon learning that the enemy general had been killed in battle, Sun Chuanting was overjoyed and even thought that Gao Yingxiang had been beheaded.

But after interrogating the prisoners and examining their heads, he was greatly disappointed.

It turned out that he was just a subordinate general in the rebel army, not the rebel leader himself.

"Why is it someone surnamed Wang? Where's the thief?!"

Sun Chuanting found it hard to accept.

His meticulous planning over the past few months, mobilizing a large amount of manpower and resources, resulted in the annihilation of only a detachment of the rebel army.

"All our efforts have been in vain!"

Looking at Wang Chang's corpse, he couldn't help but sigh deeply, his words filled with regret.

He couldn't understand it at all; when had the thief become so cunning?

At this point, Gao Yingxiang dared not linger. He led his troops back to Hanzhong and retreated to Shiquan County, no longer daring to look north.

After this battle, Gao Yingxiang was filled with fear and lingering dread.

If it weren't for Jiang Han's letter reminding him to be more careful, he would probably be dead in Blackwater Valley by now.

Even if he wasn't killed in battle, he would be captured alive and sent to the capital to be executed by being cut into a thousand pieces.

"He's definitely a veteran of rebellion! His judgment is indeed sharp!"

The more Gao Yingxiang thought about it, the more he admired and felt fortunate.

Overwhelmed with gratitude for surviving the ordeal, he abruptly stood up and shouted loudly towards the outside of the tent:

"Somebody come!"

"Quickly prepare a generous gift! I will personally travel to Chengdu to express my gratitude to the Prince of Han for saving my life!"

(End of this chapter)