The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 089 Hancheng

Leaving aside how Zhou Lun and Gao Yingxiang discussed bargaining with the government in Fugu and how they planned to gain some benefits through "pacification," let's turn our attention to Xi'an in the south. Hong Chengchou led five hundred men out of Xi'an, traveling day and night to the front lines.

After rushing all the way, Hong Chengchou arrived in Heyang, only to suddenly receive news that Yanchang in the north had been captured by the rebel army.

After capturing Yanchang, the rebel army continued its southward advance without stopping, and its forces had already reached the Yichuan area.

Upon learning of this situation, Hong Chengchou quickly made adjustments. Originally, he planned to go to Yichuan first, and then head north to Yanchang. But now Yanchang had been lost, and the rebel army was heading south to attack Yichuan. According to the route, even if Hong Chengchou traveled day and night to reach Yichuan, it would probably be too late.

Moreover, if the advance were delayed, Yichuan, which already had few troops stationed there, would be no match for the rebel army's attack. If Hong Chengchou had continued northward as planned, Yichuan would likely have already fallen by the time he arrived.

After careful consideration, Hong Chengchou decided to change his plans and abandon his journey to Yichuan. He hurriedly led his troops directly northeast to Hancheng.

Three days later, Hong Chengchou arrived in Hancheng.

When Fang Yongzhong, the magistrate of Hancheng County, saw Hong Chengchou arrive, he was overjoyed and tears streamed down his face.

"Lord Hong, you've finally arrived!" Fang Yongzhong jogged forward to greet him, his voice trembling slightly. "I've been waiting day and night! With your arrival, Hancheng is saved!"

These days, Fang Yongzhong is in agony, like an ant on a hot pan.

Especially after the news of the extended loss came, he was terrified and became extremely anxious every day.

Hancheng's geographical location is extremely important, bordered by the Yellow River to the east and Liangshan Mountain to the west. From the north, capturing Hancheng would open the crucial gateway to Tongguan Pass, a vital passage to southeastern Shaanxi.

As a natural barrier to the north of Tongguan, Hancheng controlled the vital north-south route to Tongguan. Wang Jiayin divided his forces into three routes, first attacking Yanchang and then Yichuan, but his true objective was to capture Hancheng. Only with Hancheng in hand could the rebel army open the road to Tongguan. If they could seize Tongguan, not only the entire Shaanxi province, but the whole country would be shaken.

Hancheng is now practically devoid of garrison troops. Apart from a few hundred local garrison soldiers, yamen runners, and able-bodied men hastily assembled, Fang Yongzhong has almost no one else available.

Moreover, he was a civil official and had no experience in warfare. As for the soldiers, the highest-ranking officer was merely a centurion of a garrison; how could they possibly defend Hancheng? Just as Fang Yongzhong was extremely anxious, he suddenly heard that Councilor Hong Chengchou had arrived, and he was overjoyed. He quickly went out to greet him and met Hong Chengchou at the city gate as he entered the city.

"My lord, when will the rear guard of reinforcements arrive?" Fang Yongzhong felt a little relieved after receiving Hong Chengchou. But when he saw that only a few hundred dusty and weary government troops had accompanied Hong Chengchou, he couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and look back. After looking for a long time, he still couldn't see the rear guard. "How many troops are there? Please tell me, my lord, so that I can make arrangements in advance."

"There is no rear guard." Hong Chengchou dismounted and casually tossed his riding whip to his personal guard.

"What? No rear guard?" Fang Yongzhong was stunned, and the joy that was just on his face froze instantly.

He never expected that Hong Chengchou would bring such a small number of people.

Originally, it was thought that Hong Chengchou had brought a large army to rescue Hancheng, but now it seems that Hong Chengchou brought only about five hundred people at most.

What use are these few men? The rebel army in the north is enormous, reportedly numbering in the tens of thousands. Can Hong Chengchou's five hundred men possibly hold them off? Even if you include the garrison in Hancheng, the total force is at most a thousand or so. The difference in strength is simply too great.

"M-Master..." At this thought, Fang Yongzhong's heart jumped, and his face turned pale.

Hong Chengchou glanced at him and instantly understood what Fang Yongzhong was worried about. However, he didn't explain, and said to Fang Yongzhong with a calm expression, "Let's go, first to your county office. Oh, and fetch the garrison commander from the city; I need to discuss some matters!"

"Yes...yes...yes..." Although Fang Yongzhong was uneasy and wanted to know more about Hong Chengchou's plans to defend Hancheng, he was only a seventh-rank county magistrate, while Hong Chengchou was a third-rank councilor. As a subordinate official, with his superior present and giving instructions, he could only suppress his questions for the time being. He quickly nodded in agreement and personally led the way, taking Hong Chengchou to the county government office.

Upon arriving at the county government office, Fang Yongzhong invited Hong Chengchou to take a seat, then hurriedly ordered tea to be served, even planning to have a banquet prepared to welcome Hong Chengchou. However, Hong Chengchou waved his hand and declined. After the tea was served, he didn't beat around the bush and directly inquired about the current situation in Hancheng from Fang Yongzhong.

Faced with the questioning from his superior, Fang Yongzhong naturally dared not conceal anything and immediately explained the actual situation in Hancheng to Hong Chengchou in detail.

Hong Chengchou sat there quietly, his face remaining calm as ever, as if the urgent situation before him had nothing to do with him. Only after Fang Yongzhong finished explaining everything carefully did he pause to think for a moment, then nodded slightly.

The situation in Hancheng was roughly in line with the information I had. The number of troops stationed in Hancheng was not large.

The garrison had about two hundred soldiers, commanded by a centurion; the rest were yamen runners, laborers, and some able-bodied men temporarily conscripted by Fang Yongzhong, totaling just over four hundred.

These four hundred men, plus the five hundred soldiers they brought with them, totaled less than a thousand. Defending Hancheng with such a small force, resisting the approaching rebel army, and ensuring the city's survival was no small feat.

Wang Jiayin divided his forces into three routes. The main force is currently besieging Yan'an. The detachment heading towards Yichuan and Hancheng, according to reports, numbers approximately 5,000. This rebel army is currently riding high on morale, and with 5,000 men, attacking a mere Hancheng is practically a sure thing. Even if Hong Chengchou's 500 men were to arrive as reinforcements, the five-fold disparity makes holding Hancheng an almost impossible task.

Although it was difficult, Hong Chengchou still had to defend it. Or rather, he had no choice but to defend it.

Hancheng is absolutely not to be lost. If Hancheng falls, the gateway to Tongguan will be lost. If the rebel army continues its southward advance, and Tongguan falls, the entire situation will be in grave danger!

Hong Chengchou volunteered to lead reinforcements, and when he made this decision, he had already considered the difficulty of the task.

Fear? Of course Hong Chengchou was afraid. But even if he was afraid, he had to bite the bullet and go for it.

Yang Shen once said: "The state has nurtured scholars for 150 years, and today is the day to uphold integrity and die for righteousness!"

This is also what Hong Chengchou firmly believes in right now. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, and he ultimately has to sacrifice himself for his country, Hong Chengchou will do his utmost to turn the tide!

"Fang Yongzhong!"

"Your humble servant is here!"

"I ask you, how much grain does Hancheng have now? How much silver is in the county treasury?"

Fang Yongzhong was taken aback, wondering why Hong Chengchou was asking this. However, he still answered truthfully, "Reporting to Your Excellency, Hancheng has 12,000 dan of grain in storage. As for silver, there are over 8,500 taels."

Hong Chengchou raised an eyebrow instantly, a hint of joy flashing across his face.

"Where did this mere city of Han come from, with so much grain and silver reserves?"

"My lord, you are unaware that Hancheng belongs to the Tongguan Circuit of Tongzhou. The supplies to Tongguan have always been handled by Tongzhou and Hancheng. Most of these stored grains and silver were temporarily stored in Hancheng for transport to Tongguan. Because of the trouble caused by the rebel army in the north, I have been busy setting up city defenses these days, so there has been some delay and the supplies have not been able to be shipped out..."

"Good! It's good that it was delayed!" Hong Chengchou clapped his hands and laughed.

No wonder Hancheng has so much grain and silver stored up; it turns out it's the grain and salary reserves of the Tongguan garrison. Hong Chengchou was just pondering how to defend the city, but now that he knows there's such a batch of grain and salary, it saves him a lot of trouble.

"Issue my order!" Hong Chengchou said sternly, "As the Shaanxi Grain Supervisor and under the military command of Governor-General Yang of the Three Border Regions, I have the authority to directly allocate this batch of grain and provisions. No one may use it without my written order!"

"Your subordinate obeys." Fang Yongzhong agreed without hesitation.

Although Fang Yongzhong was only temporarily in charge of this batch of grain and provisions and it did not belong to Hancheng, the problem was that Hong Chengchou had made the decision, so Fang Yongzhong naturally would not object.

Moreover, Hong Chengchou was the Shaanxi Grain Supervisor, an official position with full authority to allocate all resources. From this perspective, Hong Chengchou had every right to dispose of this batch of grain and provisions.

Moreover, Hong Chengchou's arrival in Hancheng was on the orders of Yang He, the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, who was appointed by the imperial court to suppress bandits in Shaanxi. With this endorsement, how could Fang Yongzhong, a mere county magistrate, possibly object?

Hong Chengchou nodded, then remembered to ask Fang Yongzhong if the centurion he had asked to summon had arrived.

Fang Yongzhong hurriedly said that the person had arrived and was waiting outside. Hong Chengchou waved for Fang Yongzhong to call the person in. A moment later, a stocky man in his thirties, a centurion, strode in. Upon seeing Hong Chengchou sitting in the main seat, he quickly stepped forward, kowtowed, and said, "Centurion Liang Jun greets Your Excellency!"

"You're Liang Jun?"

"This humble servant is..." Liang Jun knelt on the ground, his buttocks sticking up high, his attitude extremely humble.

This pleased Hong Chengchou greatly. In the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were valued more than military officials. Given Hong Chengchou's official rank, even a first-rank general would have to take the initiative to pay respects to him, let alone a mere centurion.

However, Hong Chengchou did not act arrogantly.

He stood up and walked towards Liang Jun. When he reached him, he bent down and helped Liang Jun up from the ground. He looked Liang Jun over with a smile, nodded slightly in praise, and said, "Before I came to Hancheng, I heard that Commander Liang was a valiant and heroic general, a rare talent in our Great Ming. Seeing him today, I can see that his reputation is well-deserved. No need for formalities, come, come, sit down and let's talk."

As he spoke, Hong Chengchou took Liang Jun's hand, led him to the side, and forced him to sit down.

This action left Liang Jun, who had been feeling uneasy when he entered, completely bewildered. When did he, a mere centurion with no reputation, acquire such renown? And how did his fame even reach Lord Hong's ears?

This...this...is really too surprising.

At the same time, a warm feeling welled up in his heart, a feeling he found extremely comforting. In an instant, his impression of Hong Chengchou improved dramatically, and he even felt a strong urge to die for someone who understood him.