Chapter 1085 – Zhang Xianzhong’s Ambition
Shaanxi, Xi An.
To protect the Great Xi country, before leaving, Zhang Xianzhong was even prepared to have an all-in battle. But after the north conquest began, the things progress totally differently from what he had expected.
Never in his dreams would he expect that the Great Xi army would take down Xi An in just five days. This was the old city that belonged to Great Shun.
Even when the Great Xi army moved into Xi An, Zhang Xianzhong was still a little stunned.
When he moved into the majestic palace of Xi An, Zhang Xianzhong finally came to his senses. He realized that a great chance was placed in front of Great Xi.
His ambition to rule China had once again risen up.
“Nothing is impossible.”
Zhan Xianzhong sat on the ice-cold throne and thought about it for an entire night before finally making a decision. The next morning, he ordered that apart from 30 thousand troops left to defend Xi An, the remaining would spread out.
“To claim territory!”
Zhang Xianzhong did not bother to hide his desire for territory. He directly told the generals, “Go all out, take all the territory you can into Great Xi rule.”
“Yes!”
When the Great Xi generals got the order, they were really pumped up as they led their troops out.
Zhang Xianzhong took charge of Xi An, calming down the civilians while contacting his country to let the Imperial Court send officials over to help him run it.
He was already planning to move the capital of Great Xi over.
“Qing army backing off, the north does not have a ruler. It’s the best time for Great Xi to rise up.” Zhang Xianzhong was filled with confidence.
…
Henan, Kaifeng.
Two days after the west army took down Xi An, the middle army successfully moved into Kaifeng.
Li Jing did not lead the troops into the city. Instead, they camped outside of the city. The 60 thousand Guards Legion Corps troops were like the most loyal soldiers who guarded the middle army barracks.
Night fell.
However, the commander tent’s light was still brightly lit, and under the flickering candle was Li Jing’s freckled and old face.
Li Jing was facing a tough question.
Ever since the army entered Henan, signs had started to sprout out.
At the start, the Great Shun and South Ming soldiers only lacked punctuality or were lazy in their traveling speed. They did not dare to actually go against Li Jing.
As time went on, the soldiers became bolder and bolder.
Some did not return to camp at night and were drunk in the inns, and some were corrupt and accepted bribes from civilians or nobles.
There were even some who directly brought prostitutes into the camp.
Their discipline was really lax.
Li Jing took counter measures right away, using the Guards Legion Corps to form a military law unit. He captured a bunch of them, either caning them or executing them.
No chances were given to those who went against the rules.
As a general, Li Jing knew the importance of military discipline and would not go soft on that. If not, and this continued to develop, the entire army would collapse without fighting.
The moment the army became too relaxed, to gather them up and raise their spirits would be really difficult.
After killing and beating a few examples, the discipline did show some improvement, and the bad signs were actually suppressed.
However, Li Jing did not think of it that way.
“They act like they accept it, but deep down, they do not.”
In the end, they were not Great Xia soldiers, so why would they allow Li Jing to do whatever he wished with them?
Especially the Great Shun army. Since the start, they treated themselves as reinforcements and did not feel that they were under Li Jing. If he was too strict on them, it might actually backfire.
If it were not for the 60 thousand Guards Legion Corps troops taking charge, things might have gotten out of hand already.
The Great Shun army was a peasant uprising army. From the generals to the soldiers, they were all used to pillaging and killing. They could not resist the temptation of jewelry and food.
Being restrained by Li Jing naturally made them feel really uncomfortable.
The current camp was like a huge barrel of gunpowder, and it was just one spark away from exploding.
What Zhang Xianzhong was doing in Shaanxi was that spark. When the Great Shun generals learned of the matter, that Zhang Xianzhong had actually shamelessly occupied Xi An, they were furious.
“Bastard, that is our land!”
The generals all flushed red with anger; it was like a piece of their flesh was taken away from them. They had forgotten that just a few months ago, they were being chased away by the Qing army and were in a terrible state.
Along with Li Zicheng dying, Shaanxi did not have anything to do with Great Shun.
The Great Shun generals did not think that way, “There are some things that we can bear and some that we cannot!” Immediately, they told Li Jing about it and hoped for him to step up and mediate.
“Chase Zhang Xianzhong out of Shaanxi!”
Li Jing was only the commander of the middle army, and this matter involved territory disputes, so how would he be able to stop it?
Furthermore, the Great Xi army was just cooperating with South Ming to attack the north. They were not his subordinates, and if Zheng Xianzhong wanted to, he could use the letter written by Li Jing to wipe his ass.
“Since the general cannot handle it, then we will solve it ourselves.”
Same as the Great Xi army, peasant uprisings like Great Shun adhered to the, ‘Whose fist is bigger is one that makes more sense’ theory. Since one could not use logic with the other, they could only use force to handle it.
The Great Shun army immediately asked to fight, hoping for the army to switch over to Shaanxi to reclaim their territory.
Li Jing obviously did not agree. If they really allowed the Great Shun army to leave, and both sides engaged in Shaanxi, would there still be a conquering of the north?
One wanted to leave, while the other needed to force them to stay.
Both sides quarreled unpleasantly in the commander tent, and the atmosphere was nervous to the maximum.
In the end, maybe due to the strength of the Guards Legion Corps, the Great Shun generals left the commander tent fuming. From then onward, they did not bring up this matter until the army entered Kaifeng.
Li Jing knew that this matter definitely was not over.
As expected, that night, Li Jing received bad news.
Under the night sky, the 30 thousand Great Shun troops left the camp and disappeared into the wilderness. It was obvious that they were going toward Xi An.
If it were not for the Guards Legion Corps taking control, the entire camp would have exploded. When the news spread to the South Ming camp, there was an uproar that only faded very late into the night.
“Commander, should I lead troops to chase them back?” Er’Lai asked.
Under the light of the candles, Li Jing’s expression became really unclear. After pausing for a long time, he shook his head, “Let them leave, even if we chase them back, they would still escape.”
“….”
Er’Lai did not know what he should do.
The Great Shun army was determined to leave. As a result, no matter what, they would not be able to make them stay. Even if they did stay, it would leave behind a huge problem.
“I need to write a letter to the king.”
Li Jing realized that this battle had been greatly affected.
