Liu Yan's troops only rested at Lingshan Guard for one day, and then set off with the large army.
The conduct officer Li Jiwen also spent almost all of his family wealth to pull out 1,500 people from the Lingshan Acropolis. Although most of them were beggar soldiers, there were also 600 elite soldiers and horses among them. In Liu Yan's opinion, he looked a bit like a soldier.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of July, and under the leadership of the conduct officer Li Jiwen, more than 4,000 troops from various departments of the Lingshan Guard finally arrived in Qingzhou.
The Lingshan Guard's army stopped thirty miles away from Qingzhou City, and then the conduct officer Li Jiwen sent someone to contact Qingzhou, and received a reply a day later.
At this time, reinforcements from all over Shandong were arriving one after another, and the garrison strength in the direction of Qingzhou City was greatly strengthened. Therefore, after deliberation, a group of Shangguan decided to deploy the Lingshan Guard's army in the Yaoshan Mountain Road northwest of Qingzhou City.
After receiving the order, the conduct officer Li Jiwen sat in the camp with a frown. Yaoshan Mountain Road was the only way to go south to Qingzhou City. If the Qing army really attacked, the soldiers and horses of Lingshan Guard would definitely follow the Qing army. encountered by the army.
"These bastards don't have the guts to go out of the city to set up defenses, but they want us to die!"
The commander Hu Zongming said angrily, and Li Jiwen also sighed and said: "Although we are talking about an army of four thousand on the surface, how many people are actually there? Do you know? Do I know? No one knows. I know, I’m afraid only God knows!”
At present, it is very common for various departments of the Ming Army to have empty pay. It is common for a thousand soldiers to have a shortfall of two or three hundred. A more honest general may have less pay, but he will not have no pay at all.
What's more, in the hands of some generals who are greedy for money, it would be good to have half of a thousand soldiers!
It's no wonder that Li Jiwen and Hu Zongming lacked confidence and gathered in the big tent to discuss countermeasures.
"Perhaps, with the soldiers and horses from Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village, this battle is not without a chance of winning. The thousands of armored troops under Liu Yan of Baihu are still very powerful. If they really encounter the Qing army, they will not be able to win the battle. , but it’s still okay to cover your retreat.”
Hu Zongming looked at Li Jiwen's expression as he spoke.
"Well, I hope so."
Li Jiwen said: "You inform me: tomorrow morning, the army will go to Yaoshan Mountain Road."
"yes."
The next day, the troops of Lingshan Guard began to march towards the mountain road of Yaoshan. Liu Yan also led his troops to move together. Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, Wang Yue and others surrounded Liu Yan. Everyone was riding war horses to supervise the march of the army.
The stretching Yao Mountain in front could be seen in the distance. Miao Shao and others were amazed when they saw it. They had never been to Qingzhou and had never seen such a scene of mountains.
Liu Yan was not only familiar with history, but also knew a lot about some places of interest. Yaoshan Mountain would also be a place of interest in later generations.
So Liu Yan rode his horse, pointed at the mountains in the distance with his riding whip, and said to everyone: "That is Yao Mountain, also known as Yao Wang Mountain. It was named after the legendary King Yao came here on a hunting tour. Yao Mountain is adjacent to Pingding Mountain to the south and Pingding Mountain to the southeast. It faces Yunmen Mountain and Tuo Mountain. Yao Mountain has nine consecutive hills, forming a peninsula shape."
"Yaoshan is a famous mountain. It is not only a holy place favored by Buddhism, but also the birthplace of Dongyi. Throughout the ages, the footprints and beautiful legends of many emperors, famous ministers, sages, and elegant scholars have been left on the mountain. Legend has it that in ancient times, this place was still a seaside , the sea water reached the foot of the mountain. One day, King Yao was drinking with the Dragon King of the East China Sea at the King Yao Pavilion on the top of the mountain. When he was enjoying his drink, the Dragon King made an agreement with Yao: If you shoot an arrow with your bow, I will push the sea to where the arrow lands. So Yao He stretched his bow and faced the east and shot an arrow to Penglai. The Dragon King regretted it, but he made a promise and was reluctant to push the sea eastward. As a result, he retreated more and more reluctantly, and finally formed the prominent shape of eastern Shandong."
When everyone heard this, they all praised Liu Yan for his extensive knowledge. Wang Yue even clapped his hands and praised: "My lord is not only good at martial arts, but also good at literature. Even the scholars may not know these allusions, but my lord is able to make them easily." Come, you can see how great your knowledge is!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone ridiculed Wang Yue as usual, and Liu Yan said with a smile: "I tell you these allusions: Now that we have led our troops to Yaoshan, if the Qing troops arrive, then Let's fight a bloody battle here, stage a great story of defeating the Hu soldiers, and add a new allusion to Yaoshan!"
Everyone clapped their hands and applauded. When the surrounding Dunjun officers heard this, their morale was greatly boosted, and their nervousness about the battle instantly dissipated.
An hour later, all the soldiers and horses of Lingshan Guard gathered at the southern foot of Yao Mountain. Going further north is the Yao Mountain Mountain Road.
Li Jiwen ordered all troops and horses to rest where they were, and then led the generals to climb a nearby hill to observe the terrain ahead.
Liu Yan left the flag officer Wang Yue waiting in the army, and then took Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, and Shen Tuo to accompany Li Jiwen.
Everyone stood on the hill and looked to the north. They saw the Yaoshan Mountains in front of them stretching for dozens of miles, with extraordinary momentum.
A mountain road winds into the Yaoshan Mountains from south to north. This is the Yaoshan Mountain Road.
At this time, Li Jiwen did not speak, he just looked at the mountain in front of him and made a contemplative gesture. Hu Zongming took the lead and said: "Sir, please see, the Yaoshan mountain road is not very fast. According to Ye Bushou's investigation, the widest part is only two meters wide." There are only a few steps at the narrowest point. If we leave a good army to guard the road, we will definitely be able to intercept several times the number of enemies!"
Li Jiwen nodded but still did not speak.
Tang Jingming, the Qianhu Guard Officer of Jiaozhou Guard Qianhu Station, spoke immediately. He pointed to the mountains on both sides of the mountain road and said to everyone: "Please see, the mountains on both sides of the mountain road are not steep, and the main force of our army can be stationed there." The peaks on both sides can not only protect the frontal defense line of Yaoshan Mountain Road, but also attack the enemy from both sides."
Everyone thought they were right and praised Tang Jingming and Hu Zongming for their insight, but Li Jiwen remained silent.
Next to him, Ji Xianhai, the defense officer of Zhongqianhu Station, laughed and said: "Our army lacks firearms, and there are not even many archers. Even if we stand on both sides of the mountain road from a high position, it will be difficult to attack the enemy from both sides, right?"
Tang Jingming suddenly frowned and looked at Ji Xianhai unkindly.
At this time, Zhang Hailin wanted to speak, but suddenly found that he had nothing to say. However, he still found a topic and said: "In addition, will the Qing soldiers appear? The ministries should mobilize elites to go north to investigate at night to prevent I was caught off guard by the Qing soldiers.”
There was another burst of compliments from everyone, with Deputy Qianhu Wang Wenzhen, Deputy Baihu Jia Hongyu, Baiji Dai Jingbin, and Inspector Song Gongming complimenting the loudest.
At this time, the conduct officer Li Jiwen's eyes fell on Liu Yan and found that Liu Yan was frowning and staring at the Yaoshan mountain road ahead, not knowing what he was thinking.
Then Li Jiwen finally spoke. He pointed to the Yaoshan mountain road in front and said to everyone: "What you all said is correct. Although our army has four thousand people, you all know the specific situation very well. With the strength of our army, we cannot confront the Qing soldiers head-on."
"So, I can only adopt your opinions this time and station a few elite troops at the front of Yaoshan Mountain Road, and the remaining troops will be divided into two groups to guard the peaks on both sides!"
Now that Li Jiwen has set the tone, everyone's minds have become active. After all, everyone knows that when defending the Yaoshan Mountain Road from the front, it is better if the Qing soldiers don't come. Once the Qing soldiers really come from the north, they will definitely be a died.
So everyone looked at me and I looked at you. At this time, no one dared to say another word, for fear that Li Jiwen would call his name.
Everyone was in a stalemate for a while, and Li Jiwen also sighed slightly. Since no one said anything, he had no choice but to call his name.
"Liu Baihu is a powerful general from the Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village. He has thousands of elite soldiers under his command. What do you think of the current situation?"
Zhang Hailin, Wang Wenzhen, Jia Hongyu, and Song Gongming all changed their expressions, and Dai Jingbin rolled his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.
Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Shen Tuo had angry expressions on their faces. They were clearly forcing Liu Yan to express his stance. You can't bully others like this!
However, Liu Yan also had his own plans, and he would definitely do his part to defend Yaoshan Mountain Road. If the Qing soldiers really come to kill, the appearance of the other troops and horses will not be able to stop the Qing soldiers' attack. Thousands of soldiers and horses will be defeated by the time, and Liu Yan's troops will not be spared. On the contrary, it is better for Liu Yan to directly lead his troops. Stay on the front and hold the key to the battle in your own hands.
So Liu Yan clasped his fists and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I believe that defending the Yaoshan Mountain Road is of great importance and is the key to the defeat of this battle. Therefore, if the Qing troops come, I would like to lead my troops to garrison the Yaoshan Mountain Road. Share worries and kill enemies for the country!”
After Liu Yan finished speaking, everyone was dumbfounded. They didn't expect Liu Yan to take the initiative to volunteer. Did Liu Yan really think that he could stop the Qing cavalry with thousands of elite soldiers?
No matter what others thought, Li Jiwen smiled brightly and agreed immediately. Then he praised Liu Yan in public and treated Liu Yan very close to him, which made Hu Zongming, Tang Jingming, Zhang Hailin and others jealous.
However, Li Jiwen was still a little worried and asked: "Liu Baihu, if the Qing soldiers really come, can your troops guard the mountain road of Yaoshan?"
Liu Yan said proudly: "Who else could I have fought in the bloody battle with the Tartars? With my thousands of soldiers from Wangjiazhuang's Hundred Households here, the Qing army can't even think of passing through the Yaoshan Mountain Road, one man and one horse!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Shen Tuo said loudly together: "Swear to the death to fight the Tartars and kill the enemy to serve the country!"
No matter how old he was in officialdom, Li Jiwen couldn't help but be moved when he saw such a scene and heard the heroic words of Liu Yan and others, and said excitedly: "Okay! They are all good men, and they are all warriors of our Lingshan Guard!"
Then Li Jiwen said to Zhang Hailin: "After this battle, regardless of victory or defeat, regardless of whether the Qing troops attack or not, Zhang Qianhu must cultivate Liu Baihu well, otherwise I will take advantage of you!"
Zhang Hailin didn't dare to shout, and immediately made a promise that Liu Yan would be put to good use.
Then Li Jiwen encouraged everyone, and all troops began to deploy.
Liu Yan rushed back to the army with Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Shen Tuo, joined Wang Yue, and then led his troops to march towards the mountain road of Yaoshan.
Zhang Hailin, Wang Wenzhen, Jia Hongyu, Song Gongming, Dai Jingbin and others came to see Liu Yan and others off, and other generals also came.
In the eyes of everyone, if the Qing soldiers really came, Liu Yan's troops would probably be defeated. I don't know how many of these thousands of troops could survive.
But what everyone admires is that from Liu Yan to the ordinary Dunjun, all the soldiers of Wangjiazhuang Baihu Station marched to the Yaoshan Mountain Road with their heads high and their chests high. This military morale alone is enough to make the rest of the army proud. All the soldiers and horses were ashamed.
Then Li Jiwen also led his troops to climb the peaks on both sides.
Zhang Hailin led the soldiers and horses of the Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village to station themselves at the peak on the right side of the Yaoshan Mountain Road. The other troops and horses followed Li Jiwen up to the peak on the left to station themselves.
At this point, the more than 4,000 soldiers and horses of Lingshan Guard were divided into three groups. Except for Liu Yan's group, the other two groups were on the mountain peak, far away from the mountain road of Yaoshan. Even Zhang Hailin's group was three or four miles away. The mountain peak station where the ministries led by Li Jiwen were located was six or seven miles away from the mountain road of Yaoshan Mountain.
Liu Yan led his troops to reach the mountain road of Yaoshan Mountain. He turned around and looked at the peaks on both sides. He sneered in his heart: "Huh! A group of people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. This time I want you to see how the elite fight!"
Some people died, but not completely...
