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

Chapter 75 The Alliance in Yan'an
After hearing about Li Zicheng's path to rebellion, Jiang Han couldn't help but shake his head.

The Ming Dynasty is truly inhumane; they can even force honest and obedient subjects to rebel.

Jiang Han sighed softly, raised his eyes to glance at the rebel leaders below the hall, and asked:

"You have all gathered in Yan'an Prefecture today, surely not just to exchange for some food and weapons?"

"Is there anything else?"

The people in the lobby exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Zhang Cunmeng kept winking at Zhao Sheng, the lamplighter behind him, urging him to step forward and start a conversation.

Seeing his manager frantically signaling with his eyes, Zhao Sheng sighed inwardly, stepped out from behind the crowd, and bowed, saying:
"To be honest, General, we have important matters to discuss with you on this trip."

"In northern Shaanxi, uprisings broke out everywhere, but they fought independently and were unable to gain any real strength."

"My family intends to unite various forces to form a righteous alliance and advance and retreat together."

"After discussing it, we would like to elect the general as the leader of the alliance to lead us in resisting the government troops."

It turned out that Zhang Cunmeng had considered forming an alliance with Jiang Han when he heard the news that Jiang Han had captured Yan'an.

He wanted to unite a group of bandits in northern Shaanxi to form a military alliance spanning half of Yan'an Prefecture.

However, he didn't want to confront Jiang Han directly, so he pushed his second younger brother, Zhao Sheng, forward to sound out Jiang Han's opinion first.

Jiang Han fell silent after hearing this.

What various factions?
They're just a few big thief leaders at best; where does their power come from?
Moreover, he had absolutely no interest in being the leader of the alliance.

Currently, the various rebel armies are of mixed quality, with no more than a thousand soldiers and no more than ten generals. Their alliances are nothing more than a motley crew seeking warmth and will not amount to anything.

A group of people who couldn't even afford to gather weapons for their soldiers, how could they possibly talk about resisting the government troops together? It was simply a pipe dream.

Jiang Han glanced at Zhao Sheng and shook his head:
"Gentlemen, to be honest, I never intended to defend Yan'an Prefecture to the death."

“When the government troops come to attack, I will prepare to abandon the city and retreat to find another way to make a living, either to Guanzhong or to Shanxi.”

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent, and everyone stared at Jiang Han in astonishment.

Zhang Cunmeng was even more anxious, as Jiang Han occupied Yan'an Prefecture and could be considered the mainstay of the rebel army.

If he runs away and hands Yan'an Prefecture back to the government troops, what will happen to the rest of them?

Zhang Cunmeng's face turned bright red, utterly bewildered:
"General, what makes you say that?"

"Yan'an Prefecture is surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on two sides, and has city walls for support, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"General, your troops are elite and your generals are brave. I'm afraid even 30,000 government troops wouldn't be able to take the city. Why abandon it and run away?"

"Isn't this like cutting off your own arm?"

Jiang Han glanced at Zhang Cunmeng and asked in return:

"If 30,000 isn't enough, what about 50,000? Or 100,000?"

"If the government troops only besiege the city and don't attack, won't we starve to death in the city?"

Jiang Han sighed and slowly explained,
"Gentlemen, with our current strength, we are simply not capable of holding a place and fighting head-on with the government troops."

"Only by engaging in mobile warfare, avoiding the enemy's strength and striking their weaknesses, can we seize a glimmer of hope!"

“I was a soldier, and there are others here who were also soldiers. You may want to hear their opinions.”

After saying that, Jiang Han turned his gaze and it landed on Shen Yikui.

Shen Yikui understood immediately and stepped forward to explain, "General Jiang is right!"

"I'm not afraid to admit it, but we have served the government army, participated in suppressing rebellions, and besieged the rebel army."

"There was a saying that was often heard in our army back then, and it was widely circulated. You might want to listen to it."

"I'm not afraid of having many thieves, nor am I afraid of them guarding the place; I'm afraid of having few thieves who will run away at the sight of people."

After hearing this, everyone silently pondered the meaning of the words, but after thinking for a long time, they still couldn't understand them.

Zhang Cunmeng scratched his head, his face full of confusion:

"Brother Yi Kui, please explain in detail the reasoning behind this. Isn't it easier to fight a war when there are many people?"

Shen Yikui laughed heartily and waved his hand to explain:
"Boss Zhang, you may not know this, but the saying 'not afraid of a lot of thieves' means that although there are many thieves, most of them are just a motley crew."

"In northern Shaanxi, most of the rebel armies were made up of starving people, runaways, and farmers who resisted taxes. They were lucky if they could even carry knives, let alone have any fighting power."

"Although they outnumbered the enemy, they couldn't fight a tough battle; the government troops scattered as soon as they charged."

He paused, then continued,
"As for not being afraid of bandits guarding the place, it means that if the bandits hold a place and try to resist the government troops, then it will be even easier to deal with them."

"The government army has many soldiers and generals, and can easily mobilize five or ten times the number of troops to surround you completely. When you run out of ammunition and food, you will be finished sooner or later."

"On the contrary, if the rebels are fewer in number, they will be more mobile and more concealed when marching, making it harder for the government troops to surround them."

"At the same time, they will not choose to confront the government troops head-on, but will instead roam around, looking for opportunities to break through enemy lines."

This analysis was incisive, and everyone in the hall suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.

Jiang Han nodded slightly and continued the conversation:
"Gentlemen, it is not that I, Jiang Han, am arrogant or look down on the position of alliance leader, but I am simply not capable enough to take on the role."

"I'll say it again: we need to operate on the move right now, moving back and forth between Shanxi and Shaanxi. We must not hold onto one place, lest we become targets for the government troops."

After speaking, Jiang Han glanced at Zhang Cunmeng, intending to give him a hint.

After all, historically, Zhang Cunmeng was ultimately wiped out by Hong Chengchou because he stubbornly defended Mizhi.

His eight captains also fled or scattered. Some followed Li Zicheng to Shanxi, while others followed the Diandengzi and operated in Shaanxi. In the end, they were all killed by Cao Wenzhao.

However, it seems that Zhang Cunmeng didn't listen at all; his mind was now filled with thoughts of the weapons Jiang Han had promised.

He thought to himself that he had many soldiers and generals under his command, and if he could also obtain the weapons of Yan'an Guard, he could hold off even if the government troops came to suppress him.

Seeing this, Jiang Han sighed inwardly. Indeed, smart people have their own smarts, while stupid people are all pretty much the same.

He was too lazy to persuade him any further and said bluntly:
"In my opinion, we don't need to form any alliances or engage in any of that empty talk about advancing and retreating together."

"Everyone should do their own thing, as long as they can avoid the direct confrontation with the government troops."

As Jiang Han spoke, he glanced at Shen Yikui beside him:
"In addition, there is something else I would like to remind you all."

"Although Governor Yang He has been advocating for appeasement, it would be best if you all did not surrender so easily."

"Yang He is an imperial censor, a civil official by profession. He likes to talk but doesn't have any real skills."

"You all must be extremely careful about the newly arrived Governor of Yansui, Hong Chengchou."

"Although this man is also a civil official, he is ruthless and loves to kill surrendered soldiers. Take his talk of amnesty with a grain of salt and don't take it seriously."

　It was published at 12 o'clock, and I'm preparing to draft it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)