Chapter 757: First Take Huguang, Then Seize Shaanxi!

The speaker, Gu Jun'en, had a refined, scholarly look, with three long strands of beard beneath his chin. He spoke with a Huguang accent, for he was a native of Zhongxiang County in Chengtian Prefecture.

He wore full scholar's robes and was in his early forties. In his youth he had been a licentiate, and not long ago he had thrown in his lot with Li Chuang alongside Yu Shangyou and Yang Yongyu. This differed slightly from history, where he had only defected in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, after Li Zicheng captured Xiangyang.

Gu Jun'en was full of stratagems. After becoming an advisor, he repeatedly proposed plans to Li Chuang, offering various schemes. Historically, he had also proposed the strategy of first taking Shaanxi, then attacking Shanxi, and finally seizing Beijing. Li Zicheng trusted him deeply and generally followed his counsel.

Among the three who had recently defected, Gu Jun'en was the most highly regarded. He spoke with startling force, and now he put forward to Li Zicheng the proposal to capture Xiangyang and seize Huguang.

"Great King, with your heaven-gifted wisdom and insight that illuminates all, you surely know that Henan is ruined, a shattered and broken region, already incapable of supplying fodder and provisions for our million-strong righteous army. Huguang, however, is different. As the saying goes, 'When Huguang ripens, all under Heaven are fed.' If we can take it, it will surely greatly boost our righteous army's momentum!"

Gu Jun'en spoke slowly, his tone cold and cutting yet even. Though Huguang was his homeland, he showed not a trace of guilt over inviting the wolf into the house.

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He was good-looking, yet also a man of vicious and ruthless mind. Had he been able to meet Wen Shiyan, he would surely have recognized a kindred spirit.

"Why not take Shaanxi? Is Shaanxi somehow inferior to Huguang?"

Some of the commanders beside Li Zicheng disagreed. Niu Jinxing, in particular, cast a sidelong glare and now barked a cold rebuke. This Gu Jun'en had stolen his thunder the moment he arrived — truly detestable!

The Chuang camp commanders all nodded. Compared to Huguang, they would rather go to Shaanxi. The Chuang camp commanders were nearly all Shaanxi natives, and just thinking of the taste of returning home in silken robes made them impatient.

Gu Jun'en cupped his hands toward him and said with a slight smile, "Military Advisor Niu speaks truly!"

He slowly stroked his long beard, the very image of one who holds all the answers: "Shaanxi must of course be taken. Guanzhong is the Great King's native land, a region of a hundred and two mountain strongholds. He who holds it holds two parts in three of all under Heaven; taking it would surely establish a foundation for our enterprise. But to take it now would be overly hasty."

He continued, "The Shaanxi Provincial Governor Feng Shikong is strictly guarding Tong Pass. Tong Pass is a natural barrier, and there are men like He Renlong and Niu Chenghu there. Not only is it no easy fight, but even if we took it, Shaanxi, like Henan, has suffered drought year after year. Fodder and provisions are just as scarce. Our righteous army must, in the end, still plan to seize Huguang!"

His expression animated, he said, "Huguang is rich in grain, and in terms of terrain, it is, like Henan, a place that reaches out in all directions. Once we seize Huguang, eastward we can attack the Southern Metropolitan Region, southward we can attack Liangguang and Guizhou, westward we can seize Sichuan. Taking Huguang first as a vital base is clearly more advantageous than taking Shaanxi."

For a moment, Li Zicheng and the others all fell into deep thought. Gu Jun'en continued, "In terms of resistance, taking Huguang is easier than taking Shaanxi. The 'Bandit General' Zuo Liangyu's troops currently garrisoning Xiangyang already had their courage frozen by our righteous army at the Battle of Zhuxian Town…"

He deliberately omitted the word "Pacifying" from Zuo Liangyu's title "General Who Pacifies Bandits," turning "General Who Pacifies Bandits" into "Bandit General," which drew a great roar of laughter from everyone present.

"…Although Zuo Liangyu, after his defeat and retreat from Kaifeng, has been enticing surrenders and recruiting defectors everywhere around Xiangyang, broadly gathering men and horses, his troop quota, based on the imperial court's pay provision, is only a little over twenty thousand men. How can he possibly support the vast forces under his command? He gets it all by plundering and extorting from the local commoners, always sucking the marrow from their bones. The commoners all hate him to the core!"

As he reached this point, an equally bone-chilling cold light shot from Gu Jun'en's eyes. Clearly, his own family and clansmen had likewise suffered. He continued, "Thus, when our righteous army marches south, the commoners will surely swarm to respond! Even if Zuo Liangyu stubbornly resists, how can his mere remnant troops possibly compare with our million-strong righteous army?"

He declared decisively, "Xiangyang will certainly fall at the first drumbeat!"

An expression of excitement appeared on Li Zicheng's face, and he nodded repeatedly.

Gu Jun'en read his expression, secretly pleased with himself, though his face remained impassive. He said in a clear voice, "Therefore, now is precisely the opportune moment to seize Huguang. …Of course, to take Huguang, we must first take Nanyang Prefecture and Runing Prefecture. Otherwise, if government troops threaten our rear, I fear we will have worries behind us."

Niu Jinxing interjected, "When our righteous army's elite cavalry surged toward Henan Prefecture, General Yuan and the others had already led several hundred thousand troops south to Runing. Taking it is as easy as turning over one's hand! As for Nanyang Prefecture, it holds only remnant soldiers and defeated troops; we can simply wipe them out in passing as the great army marches south."

Gu Jun'en nodded slightly. "In that case, there will be no worries behind us!"

He finally said, "And in terms of military strategy, if we take Shaanxi first… the Huguang Provincial Governor Song Yihe is a cunning man. He will surely lead the Huguang government troops northward to seize the opportunity, posing a grave threat to our righteous army's rear. But if we attack Huguang first, Sun Chuanting has only just taken office, men like He Renlong are still birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, and they are a thousand li away. In the short term, they cannot possibly dispatch troops to dog our heels. Therefore, attacking Huguang to the south and striking Zuo Liangyu's forces first is truly the necessary course!"

He bowed deeply to Li Zicheng, his expression one of weeping blood: "I beseech the Chuang King to turn his army south and rescue my Huguang elders and kin from water and fire!"

Li Zicheng helped Gu Jun'en up, saying repeatedly, "Please rise, sir, quickly rise!"

He said with emotion, "To have your aid, sir, is truly a fortunate thing for me, Li."

He could also see that, in terms of military insight, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and the others still could not compare with Gu Jun'en. Gu Jun'en's allegiance was a timely rain for him.

In truth, he had previously been single-mindedly set on attacking Shaanxi, planning to march west as soon as Runing Prefecture was taken. But after hearing Gu Jun'en's analysis, it was indeed true that shifting the army south to Huguang at this time was a better choice.

The problem of fodder and provisions had always given him a terrible headache. His forces casually numbered hundreds of thousands or even a million men, requiring several thousand dan of fodder and provisions a day. Henan could no longer solve his supply problem; advancing into wealthier regions had become a necessity.

Moreover, plundering was indeed far quicker than managing and developing. In the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, after he captured Luoyang, overly stung by Wang Dou's example, he had also decided to establish military farms in Henan Prefecture, distribute land, and train elite troops.

But when these elite troops faced Cao and Wang's men, they were utterly routed, which deeply disappointed Li Zicheng. In the end, it was still by relying on ants gnawing an elephant to death that he defeated the two at Guide Prefecture. He had already begun to look down somewhat on this elite-troop policy.

And after first defeating Cao and Wang's new army, then defeating the several hundred thousand government troops at Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng's confidence was overflowing.

Among those forces were no lack of sharp and powerful armies, including formidable musketeers equipped with Eastern Route firearms, yet he had still routed them utterly. The new-model elite troops that Cao Bianjiao and others had painstakingly trained, piled up with vast sums of money and grain, were still overwhelmed by his own worthless starving mobs. That was what ants gnawing an elephant to death meant.

That being the case, why should he still waste money and grain training troop types whose returns did not match the investment? The fodder, provisions, equipment, and even the sharp firearms he needed were all continuously delivered to his doorstep by the government troops. Why should he forge and manufacture them himself?

Furthermore, his grain stockpiling in Henan Prefecture had not yielded a single grain of harvest, yet he had continuously poured resources into that bottomless pit. How many years and months would he have to wait for a harvest?

In his heart, he grew even more impatient with these matters. The failure of the Henan Prefecture management gave him the best excuse.

He also harbored another thought: after capturing more prosperous regions of the imperial court, at most he would just establish officials there to collect taxes. The most important thing was to expand more territory and gather more fodder and provisions to sustain his great army.

Of course, the shadow of the threat from the court's new army still lingered. He still needed to train a batch of formidable elite musketeers for use at critical moments.

Niu Jinxing and the others had nothing to say. Seeing how highly the Chuang King regarded Gu Jun'en, the looks they cast at him were full of jealousy. This man far surpassed them in strategy — this was not a good thing for them.

Only Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Does Mr. Gu mean that we are to abandon the territory of Henan Prefecture?"

As Li Yan spoke, his heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife. Over the past year, he had poured enormous effort into every part of Henan Prefecture — military farms, civil administration, canal works — and he truly could not bear to abandon it.

Gu Jun'en smiled slightly. "There is no helping it. Henan lies in the Central Plains, a battleground since ancient times, and thus no good place for military farms. Moreover, Henan Prefecture is close to Shaanxi. When our righteous army engages the Qin troops, with fighting back and forth, this place will be fraught with danger on all sides. It is truly no place for farming and planting."

He added meaningfully, "Besides, when two armies clash, one must strengthen the walls and clear the fields, and buffer zones are needed, are they not?"

Even as his words made everyone's hearts quail, he continued with great animation, "Even for military farms, Nanyang Prefecture and Runing Prefecture are better than Henan Prefecture. Of course, if the righteous army seizes Huguang, after occupying it we need not abandon it without holding it. We can dispatch officials, leave a portion of the army to farm and garrison, hold civil examinations to select scholars, choose and employ men of talent, and instruct the people to return to their livelihoods…"

Li Zicheng smiled and nodded, but inwardly he was somewhat dismissive. Wouldn't this scatter his military strength?

What had he relied on to sweep through Henan? A million-man army!

And military farming — like in Henan Prefecture — how long would he have to wait?

Yet as his territory expanded, farming and management became inevitable. It was truly a headache.

Gu Jun'en spoke on and on, and the Chuang camp commanders listened with aching heads. Letting them campaign and plunder with unbridled freedom was fine, but this talk of farming and garrisoning, holding examinations to select scholars, instructing the people to return to their livelihoods — it was truly a vexation to the brain.

As they nursed their headaches, Gu Jun'en, seeing the Chuang King's expression of approval, was greatly encouraged. With even greater fervor, he declared, "Thus, the Chuang King moves all under Heaven with benevolence and righteousness, harbors great ambition, forbids slaughter and plunder, and promotes benevolent governance. The great enterprise can be achieved!"

When he finished, he bowed deeply to Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng nodded and said, "Good, good, Mr. Gu speaks well."

More and more literati were defecting to his banner, and before these scholars, he naturally had to assume the posture of an enlightened lord.

Moreover, the arrival of more literati had helped him tremendously. To say nothing else, the ballads Li Yan had concocted, such as "When the Chuang King comes, no grain taxes are paid," had given the great army wings. Often, when they arrived beneath a city's walls, before they even attacked, the starving people inside would open the gates and respond of their own accord.

Li Yan also rallied his spirits and thought, "What Mr. Gu says is very true. The Chuang King has still realized the harm of roving banditry. If we capture Huguang, establish farms and cultivate our reputation, the great enterprise can indeed be anticipated."

He thought further, "The officials are without the Way; the princes and nobles viciously exploit the poor. The Chuang King carries out Heaven's will and punishes the unrighteous court. I must exhaust myself in devoted service, following the righteous army to found a new dynasty and a flourishing age."

After returning to his own main camp, Li Zicheng asked Gao Yigong beside him, "Where are Master He and the others now?"

Gao Yigong said in a low voice, "I hear they have gathered again in Master Cao's encampment, drinking and feasting together."

A dark and brooding look could not help but flash across Li Zicheng's face.