Chapter 9 9. Li Zicheng defeated Sun Chuanting

In the summer of the 15th year of Chongzhen, the coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai won many victories in Henan, and Kaifeng, where Zhou Fan was left, was surrounded by the rebels alone.Emperor Chongzhen saw that the peasant uprising had reached a point of no return in the Central Plains.Taking into account the current situation of the officers and soldiers, the generals from all walks of life support their own self-respect, but they have no fighting spirit. When encountering a strong enemy, the civil servants who leave the supervisor will flee for their lives.In particular, after He Renlong returned to Shaanxi from Sichuan, he refused to pursue Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and other rebels. Later, he went out with the governor of Shaanxi twice without fighting and was defeated. .So Zhu Youjian secretly ordered Sun Chuanting, the new governor of Shaanxi, to kill him as an example to others.After He Renlong was beheaded, Sun Chuanting promoted He Renlong's rebel traitor and deputy commander-in-chief Gao Jie to the commander-in-chief to stabilize the morale of the army.

After killing the general He Renlong and rectifying military discipline, Sun Chuanting began to strengthen military training, preparing to go out with a trilateral force for a decisive battle with the rebels.At this time, the situation in Kaifeng was already very dangerous, and it might be captured by the rebels at any time.Emperor Chongzhen was impatient, and issued an edict to urge Sun Chuanting to go out and resist the rebels.However, Sun Chuanting heard the news that the rebel army had broken through Kaifeng while he was still on the way, so he had to divert his route and go straight to Nanyang.

When Sun Chuanting sent his troops to Nanyang, he passed through Jia County and found that the places he passed were full of dense vegetation and the terrain was very complicated.He immediately thought that Jia County was very suitable for ambushes. If so, it would be unwise to take the risk to go to Nanyang.So he ordered the troops to station in Jia County and canceled the plan to go to Nanyang. Jia County is still quite a distance from Nanyang, and it is the most dangerous to encounter the enemy while marching, and Sun Chuanting knows this well.The rebels were also good at using ambushes, and they often caught the officers and soldiers by surprise, which has been fully demonstrated in many previous battles.At this time, the rebels had just broken through Kaifeng, so they must have been much more lax in defense than before. They could take advantage of their weakness and capture them in Jiaxian County in one fell swoop.After the on-the-spot survey, Sun Chuanting was more sure of his idea.

Many generals in the official army did not understand why Sun Chuanting stopped suddenly, but stationed his troops in this desolate place.Everyone in the camp discussed this matter, with different opinions, and various public opinions quickly spread in the military camp.Sun Chuanting is a cautious person who usually has ideas and strategies and will never spread them easily. A few days later, Sun Chuanting had gone through the detailed steps of the battle layout in his mind, and he felt that everything was safe, so he summoned a few trusted generals to the account. "I called you here today because I have an important matter to discuss with you. I think you can guess it." Sun Chuanting said.

"My lord, we really don't know what you're doing. Why didn't you stop advancing, but stationed your troops in this remote place." Bai Guangen asked with a frown, and the rest of the officials also nodded their heads in puzzlement. Sun Chuanting said: "I didn't tell you in advance because I think the time is not ripe yet. Now that the time is ripe, I will tell everyone to listen, and everyone will help to provide opinions and make up for deficiencies." He swept everyone around with his eyes and said: "For our army, entering and defending Nanyang is a very dangerous approach. With the enemy's current military strength, it is difficult for us to confront them head-on. However, the method used to defend Nanyang City is very dangerous. It is a defensive battle, although it can be stable for the time being, but after a long time, we will face a situation of insufficient food and wages. If the enemy surrounds Nanyang at this time, wouldn't our army become a turtle in the urn?"

Niu Chenghu was puzzled and said, "My lord is very reasonable, but what is the purpose of your lord to station the army in Jia County?" Sun Chuanting said with a smile: "This is exactly what I want to tell you today. After field surveys, I found that although Jia County is remote, it is a good place for ambushes. The vegetation is lush, and many soldiers can be hidden in it. According to Due to the complex terrain of Jia County, traps can be set up, and if the two are combined, the rebel army will undoubtedly be defeated." After discussion, the generals unanimously agreed to Sun Chuanting's plan, and were ready to make strategic arrangements immediately.

Although Sun Chuanting thought very carefully, he inadvertently overlooked a small problem.The mountain people in Jiaxian County have the habit of collecting herbs in the mountains. Due to years of drought, the mountain people have no food to eat, so they have to go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.When they saw Sun Chuanting's troops digging pits, building forts or breaking willows and cutting arrows, the mountain people understood their intentions and reported the news to the rebels. Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's two rebel armies had just withdrawn from Kaifeng, and the two armies separated.Luo Rucai stationed his troops in a place called Xiangshan, and Li Zicheng was going to lead his army northward to take Luoyang.

After Li Zicheng got the news from the mountain people, he thought to himself that Sun Chuanting is really a man who is good at using tricks.If it wasn't for the mountain people's notification in advance, I would definitely be caught off guard by the officers and soldiers when passing through Jia County. Li Zicheng ordered the rebels to stop advancing. He sent a person to invite Luo Rucai, and called the generals to discuss countermeasures. "Jiaxian County is the only way to Luoyang. Now Jiaxian County has set up an ambush, waiting for us to dig into the 'bag'. According to the current situation, do you have any good strategies to solve the urgent task?"

Li Yan said: "We are lucky to see through the tricks of the officers and soldiers in advance. If we want to find a way to break it, it is very difficult." Li Zicheng shook his head and said, "It's really difficult. You can't go to Luoyang without breaking through Jia County." Luo Rucai walked into the tent and asked, "Why can't I go to Luoyang?" Li Zicheng hurriedly greeted Luo Rucai to take his seat and said, "The officers and soldiers set up an ambush in Jiaxian County, so Luoyang cannot go." "Oh?" Luo Rucai asked in confusion, "There is such a thing." Li Zicheng nodded.

Luo Rucai said: "This technique of ambush is the strategy that our rebels are best at using. Since we are good at it, we can find breakthrough points from it. The ambush is fixed and cannot move greatly. This is a shortcoming. As long as we draw out the ambush , the technique of ambush is solved." When Li Zicheng heard that there was a way to solve it, his heart was shocked, and he hurriedly asked: "Brother, do you have a solution?" Luo Rucai nodded and said: "Tomorrow you lead the army into Jia County, Sun Chuanting will definitely send troops to fight with you, and lure you into an ambush. You can send a small number of troops to deliberately break into it, get defeated, and then pretend to be defeated. Withdraw. Sun Chuanting will definitely mobilize all the troops to pursue. In this way, the ambushes will be exhausted, and it will become an open battle, and the fight will be much easier. I will lie in an ambush in the rear, and when the officers and soldiers chase you here, our two armies will work together If you attack the enemy, the officers and soldiers will definitely be defeated."

"In this way, the enemy's original intention can be broken, but it gives them the 'false' that they can defeat us. When they get into our ambush point, the situation will turn around. It's a good plan!" Li Zicheng couldn't help but praise. After some careful discussions, the deficiencies were made up, and finally everyone unanimously approved Luo Rucai's plan. The next day, Li Zicheng led the rebel army to march towards Jia County.When they reached the border of Jia County, Sun Chuanting sent the general Niu Chenghu to lead the army to fight.Within three minutes of the battle between the two armies, Niu Chenghu pretended to be defeated and withdrew his troops.Li Zicheng knew that this was a seductive tactic, so he sent a group of elite soldiers to pursue, and the army followed slowly. When the vanguard of the rebel army rushed into the ambush point, the ambushing officers and soldiers began to launch a fierce attack on the besieged rebel army.The vanguard of the rebel army pretended to be flustered and retreated one after another. Then, with the assistance of Li Zicheng's rear troops, they broke through the encirclement and retreated all at once. Sun Chuanting didn't know what it was, and ordered all the soldiers to go out to chase the fleeing rebels. Everything was under control, Sun Chuanting led the officers and soldiers to pursue for 20 miles, and just arrived at the ambush point of Luo Rucai's troops.Luo Rucai gave an order, and the rebels immediately surrounded Sun Chuanting's troops in an ambush. Sun Chuanting did not leave the rear support troops, unable to break through the periphery to break through.He knew he had been tricked, and felt extremely remorseful.At this time, the rebel army led by Li Zicheng had turned back, and the two rebel forces were concentrated. The officers and soldiers were caught off guard, Zuo Ye and Xiao Shending were the first to be defeated, and other officers and soldiers followed suit.The rebel army turned defeat into victory, killed thousands of officers and soldiers, 78 generals and schools, and captured a large number of horses. Sun Chuanting took advantage of the loophole and led the troops to break out of the encirclement and retreat northward. After the Shaanxi government army retreated into Tongguan, the rebels took advantage of the momentum to recover Henan prefectures and counties, and occupied Luoyang again on October 25.So far, the only remaining officers and troops in Henan south of the Yellow River are Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, who is guarding the fiefdom of King Mingchong-Runing Mansion. As the last life-saving straw for the Ming government, Sun Chuanting's strategy on the battlefield is not lacking in merit. He can quickly judge the favorable terrain and carry out an ambush, which is also a good battlefield strategy.It is a pity that the unpopularity of the Ming government prevented his plot from succeeding, and instead, the rebel generals took the Ming army into their ambush and wiped it out in one fell swoop.As the saying goes, what the people want is the trend of the times.Even if the scheme is well-thought-out, if it is unpopular, it will be a waste of effort, and it will eventually be wiped out.