Chapter 34 6. Going back to the west of Jiangxi, the decisive battle against Chen Youliang

After Chen Youliang was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang in Taiping, he was furious. He decided to make adjustments first and send troops again. This time, Chen Youliang sent troops to capture Anqing in one fell swoop. Not long after King Xiaoming was granted the title of "Wu Guogong". Anqing is of great strategic significance to Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chen Youliang's attack on Anqing is an obvious challenge.Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Anqing's fall, and his anger was no less than that of Chen Youliang's defeat in Taiping. The angry Zhu Yuanzhang immediately called civil and military soldiers to discuss countermeasures.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Chen Youliang's ambition did not disappear because of the Taiping War, but became more rampant. Now that Anqing has fallen, Chen Youliang's next goal is Yingtian." The fierce general Chang Yuchun said: "Chen Youliang is too deceitful and keeps causing troubles. The general thinks that when he was defeated last time, he should capture his lair." But Li Shanchang thought that Chen Youliang was not easy to deal with, and the war with him had just begun, and he had to make long-term plans. After discussing for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang decided that he could no longer endure it, and he could no longer make small troubles.This time, we must attack with all our strength, go back to the west of the river, and fight Chen Youliang.At this time, Chen Youliang actually had the ambition to fight Zhu Yuanzhang decisively, so this battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang can be described as a strong lineup, and it is a critical moment for the development of both parties to determine the survival of life and death.

Now that he decided to go back to the west of the river, Zhu Yuanzhang had to create some momentum.He knew that Chen Youliang killed Ni Wenjun and then Xu Shouhui, which caused dissatisfaction among many people, and at the same time, Xu Shouhui's subordinates were even more disgusted with him.Zhu Yuanzhang built a huge ship, and erected a big flag on the ship. On the flag were written the eight characters "Hang the people and punish crimes, and Na Shun surrendered", which could be seen from a long distance.After Chen Youliang learned of this news, he was even more angry, thinking that Zhu Yuanzhang was too rampant, what virtue and ability could he have to "criminalize" himself, and determined to fight Zhu Yuanzhang to the death.

The first goal of Zhu Yuanzhang's attack this time was to recover the fallen Anqing first.Because Zhu Yuanzhang received information that Chen Youliang was extremely dissatisfied with his actions and had sent troops to the east. Anqing's guards were weak, so Zhu Yuanzhang regained Anqing without any effort.There is another reason why the recovery of Anqing went so smoothly, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang won over Zhang Zhixiong, a general who was dissatisfied with Chen Youliang.This person was originally a confidant of Zhao Pusheng, the core figure of the Tianwan Kingdom, and Zhao Pusheng had been framed by Zhu Yuanzhang with a plan of alienation. Those who didn't know thought it was Chen Youliang who killed Zhao Pusheng.In fact, it should be said that Chen Youliang killed Zhao Pusheng sooner or later, but Zhu Yuanzhang played a role in promoting it, but it is unknown.Therefore, Zhang Zhixiong was very dissatisfied with Chen Youliang. Of course Zhu Yuanzhang knew this well, so when the two soldiers were comparing each other, he used some psychological tactics to win Zhang Zhixiong over.

After Anqing was returned, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Hu Haihai to conquer Xinzhou (now Shangrao, Jiangxi), and at the same time Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the troops and captured Jiangzhou in one fell swoop.During this period, Chen Youliang's defenders Ding Pulang and Fu Youde surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang.When Chen Youliang proclaimed himself emperor, he moved his capital to Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou was captured, so Chen Youliang was defeated and fled to Wuchang.And Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to take advantage of the victory to attack Jiangxi and Hubei. The defenders in Nankang, Qizhou, Huangzhou (now Huanggang, Hubei), Huangmei, Guangji, Xingguo and other places surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, and the cities surrendered one after another.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's territory continued to expand in Jiangxi and Hubei, while Chen Youliang lost again and again, and the once powerful was shrinking in the struggle with Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were shopping, the military situation in Jiangbei changed dramatically, and this change was very unfavorable to Zhu Yuanzhang.King Xiao Ming and Liu Futong in the north lost one after another in the process of fighting the Yuan soldiers, and the general Chahan Timur of the Yuan Dynasty had pacified all parts of Shandong. King Xiao Ming retreated to Anfeng, and many generals of the Red Turban Army had been recruited. Feng is critical.Zhang Shicheng also launched an attack on King Xiaoming and Liu Futong. Why didn't Zhang Shicheng attack Yingtian while Zhu Yuanzhang was attacking Chen Youliang, instead he sent troops to King Xiaoming?It turned out that Zhang Shicheng had an ambiguous relationship with the Yuan Dynasty. After all, he had an agreement with Zhu Yuanzhang, so at the invitation of the Yuan Dynasty, he sent troops to attack King Xiao Ming.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a decisive battle with Chen Youliang, and received a message from King Xiao Ming asking for help. Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang and his civil and military officers and soldiers fell into contemplation and worry. To save or not to save? At this critical moment, Chen Youliang was about to be defeated. If he divided his troops to go north at this time, it would definitely give Chen Youliang an excellent chance to fight back. But Zhu Yuanzhang has his plan. He thinks that he can develop in the south of the Yangtze River these years because King Xiao Ming fought against the Yuan soldiers in the north, giving himself a natural protection. But if Anfeng falls at this time, he will become the direct target of the Yuan Dynasty. And in any case, he is still under the banner of King Xiaoming, so Zhu Yuanzhang advocates saving King Xiaoming.

Zhu Yuanzhang's claims have always been refuted by fewer people. But at this time, Liu Bowen tried his best to dissuade him. He sincerely stated: "Nowadays, the soldiers cannot easily move north. If Chen Youliang takes advantage of the false counterattack at this time, not to mention the destruction of the favorable front line just drawn up, even the retreat will be destroyed. Cut off. Besides, the lord rescued King Ming, how to deal with him? What effect does he have on the Red Scarf Army and the lord now? King Ming has always been Liu Futong's puppet, everyone knows this."

Liu Bowen's objection had to make Zhu Yuanzhang think twice, but after thinking about it, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that Chen Youliang was now defeated in Wuchang, and the counterattack should not be too serious, and if Anfeng fell, Yingtian would have no natural barriers, and he was determined to send troops to Anfeng. Liu Bowen repeatedly dissuaded him, but he couldn't change Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion. This must be where Zhu Yuanzhang's domineering and stubbornness lies. Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the troops to rescue Anfeng.But before Zhu Yuanzhang and his army reached Anfeng, Liu Futong had been killed. Zhu Yuanzhang led his troops to fight and finally defeated Zhang Shicheng and the army sent by the Yuan army.Liu Futong's death was a good thing for Zhu Yuanzhang, so he readily rescued King Xiaoming, placed him in Chuzhou, and built a beautiful palace for him in Chuzhou, and the servants in the palace were all Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates. soldiers.Anyone who understands knows that it was Zhu Yuanzhang who imprisoned King Xiao Ming here, and on the surface he also won the reputation of respecting the monarch.

Anfeng was saved, and King Xiaoming was also rescued. The more serious problem was what Liu Bowen expected: when Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to rescue Anfeng, Chen Youliang took advantage of the false counterattack and surrounded Hongdu with heavy troops. Linjiang, Wuwei state. This time the siege of Hongdu, Chen Youliang gave everything he had.He built hundreds of warships that seemed huge at the time. These ships had three stories up and down, and they were several feet high. They are all painted with red lacquer.The big ships can hold three thousand people, and the small ones can hold two thousand people.Looking at this batch of magnificent warships, Chen Youliang was very proud of himself, thinking that he was sure of victory, he mobilized an army of 600,000 to besiege Hongdu.

And Zhu Yuanzhang's guard in Hongdu is the young Zhu Wenzheng. In the eyes of the generals, Zhu Wenzheng is just a young man who likes to eat, drink and have fun, and has no experience in war.After Zhu Yuanzhang heard the news, he was really sweating, and everyone was worried about the safety of Hongdu. If Hongdu fell, the next big battle would be Yingtian. Li Shanchang said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Chen Youliang has created such a big momentum, 600,000 people, even if reinforcements are sent now, it is difficult to break through the siege. The biggest hope is Zhu Wenzheng. If Zhu Wenzheng can hold Hongdu, that is the best solution." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled wryly in his heart. Although he had never looked down on this nephew, even he himself had never faced such a powerful army in such a critical situation. And Zhu Yuanzhang is Zhu Yuanzhang. At this critical moment, he was still calm and composed. He sent someone to inform Zhu Wenzheng through a secret channel that he vowed to defend Hongdu to the death, and instructed Zhu Wenzheng in the secret letter. When applying the usual art of war theory to reality.Zhu Wenzheng, a young and energetic guard, is worthy of being Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew. He is calm and composed in front of the enemy, showing his military ability.Although there were not enough sergeants in the city, Zhu Wenzheng deployed them properly, and the few generals in the city were very experienced veterans. Zhu Wenzheng used all his methods to defend and attack. The battle of Hongdu lasted for eighty-five days. The city wall was breached countless times, and Chen Youliang's soldiers poured into the city from the gap. The young Zhu Wenzheng insisted on using his strong and excellent military skills to attack the city. Talent, and fight and defend, defended Hongdu in the fierce battle.In fact, when the battle of Hongdu reached the fiftieth day, Zhu Yuanzhang was already very optimistic. Seeing that Zhu Wenzheng could persist for so long, he let go of his worries and believed that this battle would undoubtedly be won.In July of this year, seeing that the armies of both sides were exhausted, Zhu Yuanzhang thought it was time to send troops to help, so he personally led an army of 200,000 to Hongdu for rescue. Chen Youliang saw that Zhu Yuanzhang came to aid Zhu Wenzheng. After more than 80 days of fierce fighting, his soldiers were exhausted, so they turned around and retreated to the Poyang Lake area. Zhu Yuanzhang is playing happily, of course he will not let Chen Youliang go.In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, the best time has come for a decisive battle against Chen Youliang, and Poyang Lake is the battlefield for this decisive battle. Although Chen Youliang failed in Hongdu, his navy was obviously stronger than Zhu Yuanzhang in terms of form and strength.However, Zhu Yuanzhang's superior military analysis ability is to analyze problems dialectically. He believes that his weakness is also his own advantage, and this advantage will give Chen Youliang a fatal blow at the right time. Before the decisive battle began, Zhu Yuanzhang began to deploy closely.He sent thousands of ambush soldiers to block the exit from Poyang Lake to the Yangtze River, so that Chen Youliang had no way back and no way out, so he could only fight in the water.But the conceited Chen Youliang didn't take it seriously. He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's small boat with weak soldiers, and then looked at his tall and majestic warship connected by iron chains to form water and land, not afraid of wind and waves, and he was secretly happy. What makes Zhu Yuanzhang smart is that he pays attention to people. He knows that people are the key to war and weapons are auxiliary tools. On the contrary, Chen Youliang relies too much on weapons.Originally, Chen Youliang's soldiers had been exhausted after fighting hard in Hongdu for three months, but Hongdu could not be surrounded for a long time, and their morale was low.The morale of the reinforcements led by Zhu Yuanzhang was high, and Zhu Yuanzhang never forgot to encourage the soldiers: "With such a weak force, Zhu Wenzheng can defend the city for three months and keep 600,000 soldiers from outside the city. How can we still fight with 200,000 soldiers?" But Chen Youliang's remnant soldiers are defeated? We are not afraid that his ship is tall and manned, what we need is courage and strategy." When it comes to strategy, Zhu Yuanzhang analyzed with the soldiers: "Chen Youliang's giant ship has the advantage of a giant ship, but his ship They are connected by iron cables, although they are not afraid of wind and waves, but they are inconvenient to move, not flexible enough, and it is difficult to advance and retreat. Everyone knows that the fire burned Chibi, maybe, let’s stage it again.” The soldiers laughed happily, and they had no idea about the war. No fear, but full of confidence in the duel against Chen Youliang. Zhu Yuanzhang seized Chen Youliang's weakness of relying too much on warships, and formulated a detailed battle plan. His main tactic was fire attack, and he prepared to wait for the opportunity to attack Chen Youliang with a large number of firearms such as artillery, firecrackers, rockets, muskets, and iron cannons. big ship.Although the number of Zhu Yuanzhang's navy is small, they are well-trained and disciplined. They are divided into ten teams, and each team is equipped with sufficient firearms and gunpowder.At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang also stipulated a clear command signal, the banner during the day, the lantern at night, the firing of cannons in the distance, and the beating of drums nearby, so that the entire army moved in a uniform manner.In the several times of mutual attacks, both sides suffered a lot of casualties. After several bitter battles, Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself that since ancient times, water battles have had to be favorable in order to win.From time to time, he thought of Zhuge Liang's victory in attacking Cao Ying by taking advantage of the east wind.The problem is, now that Chen Youliang is in the upper reaches, it is not so easy to outwit him, and the method of fire attack cannot be changed.Now that the geographical advantage is gone, Zhu Yuanzhang pays more attention to the human factor. He knows that the weather is not as good as the location, and the location is not as good as the harmony of people. At the same time, he is also waiting for the best time, such as a favorable wind direction. This day finally came. It was the 30th day of the stalemate. Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking hard about the next strategy. Suddenly, seeing the northeast wind, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered all the armies to prepare for war, and the fireboats went ahead with the wind.These fire boats are not ordinary fire boats, but Zhu Yuanzhang's death squads. The death squads first took advantage of the wind to rush into the enemy's line, and rammed into Chen Youliang's big boat with the courage to return to the death. At the same time, they set fire to several accompanying boats. Filled with gunpowder and reeds, for a while, the raging fire burned more and more intensely with the help of the wind. Chen Youliang's boat was connected by iron chains and could not be separated.Zhu Yuanzhang took this opportunity to launch a general offensive.I saw dense rockets, guns, firecrackers, and muskets shooting at Chen Youliang's ships, but Chen Youliang's several large ships could not move at all, becoming a sea of ​​fire in the water.Chen Youliang was also killed by an arrow. This was August in the 23rd year of Yuan Zhizheng (1363). In this huge water battle, the two soldiers fought hard for 36 days. Zhu Yuanzhang defeated the mighty Chen Youliang with fire.Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated the most threatening enemy, and the success of the decisive battle against Chen Youliang became the most critical step for Zhu Yuanzhang to establish his empire.