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

Chapter 349 The Struggle Between Suppression and Appeasement
Just as Jiang Han was putting all his effort into preparing the intelligence department, the Central Plains battlefield in the Huguang and Henan areas, thousands of miles away, was already in complete chaos.

According to the original plan of Emperor Chongzhen and Yang Sichang, this conscription of 120,000 soldiers, laying a tight net, should have been a vigorous and decisive campaign to eradicate bandits.

However, in reality, it was all talk and no action.

Since Xiong Wencan took office as the premier of the anti-bandit campaign in six provinces, the expected fierce offensive has been delayed and instead dragged on.

Upon assuming office, Xiong Wencan immediately employed his old skills—appeasement.

As the third commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty's suppression campaign, Xiong Wencan was worlds apart from Chen Qiyu and Lu Xiangshan.

He lacked both the ability to command large armies in combat and, deep down, a lack of enthusiasm and conviction for the encirclement and suppression strategy.

And that's not surprising.

Xiong Wencan was a sycophantic person. His so-called reputation for "knowing military affairs" was earned by the Zheng family through their pacification efforts, and had nothing to do with him.

Therefore, faced with the devastated situation in the Central Plains, his first thought was to offer amnesty.

When Xiong Wencan arrived at the Premier's residence in Anqing, he ordered people to distribute and post proclamations of pacification.

He solemnly promised the leaders of various rebel armies in the Central Plains that as long as they were willing to surrender, the court would forgive their past transgressions and provide them with resettlement.

Among them, the three groups led by Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Luo Rucai, who wielded the most power, attracted the most attention.

Upon receiving the pacification document, the three leaders immediately gathered in the Xinye area of ​​Nanyang Prefecture to urgently discuss countermeasures.

The atmosphere inside the central command tent was extremely heavy.

Although Xiong Wencan sent a letter of surrender, the encirclement by the various Ming armies did not loosen at all; on the contrary, it seemed to be pressing closer step by step.

Therefore, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Luo Rucai were all unsure whether the offer of amnesty was genuine or not.

“Brothers, I think the government troops have come with ill intentions this time; it’s definitely not a simple matter of appeasement.”

Gao Yingxiang, holding up the surrender document, spoke first.

"Last year, the imperial court spent a fortune increasing the levies for the suppression of the rebellion, and even changed the commander-in-chief."

"I heard that the newly appointed governor of six provinces was specially transferred from Fujian. He has a reputation for being knowledgeable about military affairs and should not be underestimated."

Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai also had solemn expressions, constantly examining the documents in their hands.

“I sent someone to inquire, and the man’s name is Xiong Wencan. He once wiped out the notorious pirate Liu Xiang in Fujian and was highly regarded by the Ming court.”

"In my opinion, this attempt to win over the enemy is probably just a ruse."

We need to find a way to break through.

The three of them talked amongst themselves, and they all seemed very wary of Xiong Wencan.

It's no wonder they're so cautious; the previous two prime ministers who were in charge of suppressing bandits had terrified them.

Chen Qiyu's strategic planning nearly led to the complete annihilation of the main force of the rebel army at Chexiang Gorge;
Lu Xiang-sheng fought across thousands of miles, almost wiping out the elite forces of the rebel army and the Western Camp.

Now there's Xiong Wencan, and nobody knows what he's really capable of.

Zhang Xianzhong slammed his hand on the table and cursed in a gruff voice:
"The rebel leader is right!"

"Although the Xiong family sent a letter of pacification, the local government troops never relaxed their efforts."

"Our previous attempts to break through were all thwarted, resulting in significant losses."

"Most importantly, the government troops we encountered this time were not only fierce in their fighting style, but also very tenacious in their defense. They were nothing like the kind of troops that would collapse at the first touch before!"

"The Central Plains region is indefensible, and the three of us coming together would make us too big a target."

"Once the government troops complete the encirclement, there will be no way to escape."

"In my opinion, we must choose a direction, tear open a gap, and break through!"

As he spoke, he pointed to a corner of the map.
"Let's head east and storm into the Southern Zhili region, which is incredibly wealthy."

"If we take over Southern Zhili, we can cut off the Grand Canal, and we will have leverage to negotiate."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yingxiang hesitated.

The reason is simple: the rebel army had already suffered a great loss in the previous battle to attack Chuzhou.

The area was teeming with officials and gentry, offering no foothold for the rebel army. If their siege failed, they would likely be besieged and annihilated by the arriving Ming army.

At that time, the tragedy of the Battle of Chuzhou will be repeated.

Gao Yingxiang had painstakingly managed the Hubei and Hunan regions and Henan for a long time, and finally he had a relatively stable territory as his base. Many of his family's belongings and military dependents were settled here.

Once you abandon your territory and head east, it means all your previous efforts will be in vain, and you'll have to start all over again.

Therefore, he showed little interest in Zhang Xianzhong's plan, and was even somewhat resistant to it.

Zhang Xianzhong directly pointed out Gao Yingxiang's true thoughts, claiming that Gao Yingxiang's trip to Sichuan was a misguided one, that he insisted on learning from Sichuan and was fixated on that small piece of land.

Gao Yingxiang naturally couldn't admit it, and only said that Zhang Xianzhong only knew how to act recklessly and didn't understand the importance of a base area at all, and that he was still a bandit at heart.

Just as the two were arguing, Luo Rucai proposed a compromise:

We can temporarily agree to Xiong Wencan's offer of amnesty, play along with him, negotiate terms, and buy time.

Firstly, it could lull the government troops into a false sense of security and lower their guard; secondly, it could also provide an opportunity to ascertain the strength and deployment of the government troops.

When the time is right, the three families will launch a sudden attack and break through the weak point of the government army's encirclement.

Faced with Xiong Wencan's offer of amnesty, Luo Rucai resorted to his old trick, attempting to feign surrender and then break through the encirclement.

Immediately after the meeting, the three sent envoys to Anqing and also delivered a joint letter.

In the letter, they all expressed their willingness to be recruited, but were worried that Xiong Wencan would discard them after they had served their purpose.

Therefore, the three made a request, hoping that Xiong Wencan would order all Ming armies to stop their retreat and withdraw another twenty miles to show his sincerity in pacification.

Upon receiving the letter, Xiong Wencan had no doubts whatsoever; on the contrary, he was overjoyed and praised the messenger repeatedly.

He believed that the bandits in the Central Plains were just like the Zheng family in the southeast—they were all thieves, merely haggling over prices.

But just as he was about to nod in agreement, some in the army raised doubts, believing that the bandits were cunning by nature and might be planning to feign surrender again.

The skeptics cited several examples of the rebel army on the banks of the Yellow River and in Chexiang Gorge, attempting to persuade Xiong Wencan to be vigilant and not be misled by a single letter.

Just as the internal strife within the government troops was raging, some people couldn't sit still any longer.

Hong Chengchou, the governor-general of five provinces, was far away in Xi'an, closely monitoring the every move of the Central Plains anti-bandit army.

When he learned that Xiong Wencan had taken office, he was furious because instead of actively organizing an attack, he was only interested in sending envoys to appease Xiong.

"This is simply unreasonable!"

"No wonder he was chosen by Yang Wenruo as the premier; he has learned the Yang family's policy of prioritizing appeasement perfectly!"

The Yang Wenruo mentioned by Hong Chengchou was naturally Yang Sichang, whose father, Yang He, was Hong Chengchou's superior back then.

In Hong Chengchou's view, simply appeasing the rebel army was tantamount to raising a tiger to cause trouble.

To avoid wasting national resources and missing opportunities in the war, Hong Chengchou decided to take action himself, after all, he still held the title of Governor-General of Five Provinces.

So he simply bypassed Xiong Wencan and, in the name of the Governor-General of Five Provinces, directly issued a strongly worded order for battle to the governors and generals of the four provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Huguang, and Henan.

Hong Chengchou ordered all Ming army units to immediately cease their observation and advance according to orders, gradually tightening the encirclement.

He ordered Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, to immediately lead his elite Qin army out of Tongguan and advance eastward along the ancient Xiaohan Road to guard the border between Shaanxi and Henan.

Then, He Renlong, Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Guangxian and other troops crossed the river from Shanxi and put pressure on Henan.

He ordered Tang Hui, the governor of Huguang, to advance westward along the Yangtze River and gradually erode the space where the bandits operated.

There was also Zuo Liangyu, who ordered his Jizhou troops to garrison the Xiangyang area to block the retreat route of the bandits.

Even Liu Yuanbin, the Imperial Guard sent by Emperor Chongzhen to supervise the army, and General Long Zaitian and others were transferred to the Central Plains battlefield to put pressure on the rebel army.

In an instant, several elite government troops set out from all directions and charged towards Dengzhou and Xinye, where Gao Yingxiang and his men were entrenched.

Hong Chengchou even took command at the front line in Nanyang Prefecture, coordinating troops from all sides and setting up a trap.

Faced with the sudden encirclement and suppression by the government troops, Gao Yingxiang and others initially tried to break through to the Funiu Mountain area, attempting to retreat into the deep mountains of Yunxi.

However, under Hong Chengchou's strict orders, the government troops changed their previous laxity and launched extremely vigorous and fierce attacks.

Sun Chuanting's troops successively broke through two rebel forces blocking their way at Zhuyangguan and Taojiazhuang.
After He Renlong's troops crossed the Yellow River, they headed straight for the Nanzhao area, launching a fierce offensive. Zuo Liangyu, in particular, achieved a series of victories near Gucheng.

Under this multi-pronged and high-intensity encirclement and suppression, the rebel army in the Central Plains suffered repeated defeats and extremely heavy losses.

Many of the states and counties they had previously occupied were lost, and the area under their control shrank dramatically at a visible rate, causing the situation to deteriorate rapidly.

But just as the government troops at the front were advancing triumphantly, Xiong Wencan, who was stationed in Anqing, became furious.

When the news of victory reached his ears, it did not bring him any joy; instead, it felt like a resounding slap in the face.

You, Hong Chengchou, completely disregarded him, the premier of five provinces, and bypassed him to issue combat orders directly to the governors and generals of each province.

He was the emperor's appointed prime minister in charge of bandit suppression; how dare Hong Chengchou overstep his bounds?
Is this a slap in the face for me, Xiong?
This is clearly a slap in the face of the Minister of War, and a slap in the face of the Emperor!
Hong Chengchou's brazen use of force completely destroyed the peace and stability he had painstakingly built.

Before Xiong Wencan's envoys to offer pacification had even returned, various government troops surrounded him. What about his credibility as the Premier of six provinces?
How can we gain people's trust in the future?
"How dare Hong Hengjiu'an bully me like this!"

Xiong Wencan was so angry that he trembled and smashed several pieces of valuable porcelain inside the Anqing headquarters.

He believed that Hong Chengchou was arrogant and domineering, and that he disregarded the overall situation in order to gain credit.

Enraged, Xiong Wencan immediately launched his counterattack:

On the one hand, in his capacity as "Imperial Appointed General in Charge of Military Affairs in Six Provinces," he used the 800-li express post road to send official documents to the governors and generals at the front lines.

He showed no mercy, directly rejecting Hong Chengchou's battle order, accusing the governors and viceroys of acting without authorization from the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry), which was a violation of regulations, and demanding that all departments immediately cease their offensive and not engage in reckless fighting.

On the other hand, he sent a memorial to the capital, lodging a complaint with the emperor.

In his memorial to the throne, he tried his best to defend his policy of appeasement, claiming that he was using both suppression and appeasement, taking a two-pronged approach.

The current pacification efforts are already showing initial results, with Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and others expressing their intention to submit. The campaign is about to conclude.

However, Hong Chengchou was arrogant and domineering, disregarding the imperial system, overstepping his bounds, and rashly starting a war, which caused the rebels to be alarmed and the pacification bureau to be completely destroyed.

He earnestly requested Zhu Youjian to issue a stern reprimand to Hong Chengchou, clarifying the responsibilities for suppressing and pacifying the bandits, so as to unify authority and avoid falling into the predicament of rampant banditry again.

(End of this chapter)