The smoke cleared.
There are corpses everywhere inside and outside Chenqiao Town, the corpses of the bandit army.
Commander Lu Yuan led more than 500 cavalry battalion soldiers from two sentries to launch a surprise attack. They first fired a volley of cannons, and then charged on horseback. The rogue soldiers stationed here could not resist it at all. When a wave of cannon fire was fired, he was shot dead on the spot, and the remaining bandit soldiers were killed and wounded in a mess.
What's more, under the charge of the cavalry battalion soldiers, he jumped into the rolling waves of the Yellow River and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Lu Yuan stood at the ferry. There were many large ferries around. He sent someone to count them and found that there were more than thirty ferries. Apparently Gao Yigong, who was in charge of the defense here, left these ferries to facilitate the bandits' army to cross the Yellow River.
Gao Yigong obviously did not expect that Liu Yan would lead tens of thousands of new troops to kill at this time and get these ferries in vain.
Not long after, Liu Yan led the main force of each battalion to Chenqiao Town. Shang Wenyuan looked at the hundreds of corpses of bandit soldiers that had been piled up. He rushed forward angrily, picked up a broken wooden stick on the ground, and began to beat them. Those corpses were still cursing, as if they were mad.
Liu Yan glanced at it for a few times and ignored it. He just let Shang Wenyuan vent his anger over there, and then began to make arrangements for crossing the river.
"The left camp, the right camp, the middle camp, and the rear camp cross the river in order, followed by the guard camp, then the artillery camp, and the cavalry camp behind."
"After the soldiers of each battalion crossed the river, they immediately deployed in formation on the south bank of the Yellow River to prevent possible raids by the bandit army."
"After each battalion crossed the river, they immediately sent Ye Bushou to explore south. The main direction was near Kaifeng City."
Liu Yan issued orders one after another, and 70,000 new army soldiers crossed the river one after another.
There are more than thirty large ferries, all in the style of flat-bottomed sand boats, each of which can transport hundreds of people across the river.
Of course, there was no place for these three hundred people to sit down. They had to stand close to each other, face to face. Fortunately, the ferry didn't take too long to get from the north bank to the south bank, otherwise it would have been really hard.
Even so, there are more than 70,000 soldiers in each battalion of the New Army, plus the horses assigned to each battalion, the artillery of the artillery battalion, and a large amount of money, food and baggage, etc., which are transported round by round, and the more than 30 large ferries They went back and forth more than twenty times, and it was not until the time of lighting that the entire army was transported across the Yellow River.
When Liu Yan set foot on the land on the south bank of the Yellow River, stars could already be seen in the sky. At this time, the soldiers of each battalion had already set up camp. In the camps stretching for several miles on the south bank of the Yellow River, the "Galaxy" composed of countless bonfires and torches was a spectacular sight.
In the Chinese army's tent, the commanders and envoys of each battalion, as well as Xun Jingyun, Bao Xuezhen, Shang Wenyuan, etc. gathered together. Liu Yan directly unfolded the map of Kaifeng Fucheng and the surrounding terrain, and said to everyone: "Now our army is here Here: Taojiadian Ferry, which is less than fifty miles away from Kaifeng Fucheng, I think the army of thieves will not get the news of our army's arrival before tomorrow morning."
"so……"
Liu Yan looked at the crowd and said loudly: "Tonight the whole army will stop setting up camp and rest for half an hour. Then the whole army will march forcefully and strive to reach Kaifeng City within two hours!"
"Traveling all night?"
Everyone was shocked. The New Army had marched at night before, but this was in Henan Prefecture, and the opponent was an elusive bandit. The enemy might have known the whereabouts of the New Army, but they still had to march overnight. Isn't it too dangerous?
Shang Wenyuan hurriedly said: "Sir, the bandits are all here and there, usually a few probing horses appear, then hundreds, thousands, and finally even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of troops arrive in an instant. With such enemy forces, our army will be defeated all night long. Isn’t it too dangerous to travel?”
Liu Yan said: "Order the whole army to light more torches, and the cavalry battalion to open the way in front, with the middle camp in front, the left camp and the right camp as the two wings, the rear camp in the rear, the artillery battalion and the guard battalion in the center, taking into account the army's baggage, and the whole army." The army marched south in a single mass."
"The road from Taojiadian to Kaifeng City is smooth. There is no place for the bandits to set up an ambush. If they attack with soldiers, we will fight them decisively. Even at night, there is nothing to fear!"
Everyone was shocked by Liu Yan's arrogance and no longer objected. After discussing the details, they rushed back to each camp to deploy.
Half an hour later, each battalion of the new army continued to set off south. Along the way, each battalion rode out in groups at night, searching for the scouts and scouts of the bandits more than ten miles away from the army.
Xu Ming led the cavalry battalion officers to clear the way in front of the army. More than 12,000 cavalry officers marched southward holding torches. Along the way, they also encountered two groups of rogue soldiers and horses, both with thousands of people, red. The banner is the soldiers and horses of the right camp.
However, these bandits were basically infantry. Facing more than 12,000 cavalry soldiers, they were like throwing an egg against a stone. They were unable to withstand them. Xu Ming only sent one sentry soldier to defeat the two groups of bandits. , beheaded four hundred and ninety-three levels, and the rest were defeated.
"Speed up and move forward. Ignore the little shrimps on the road. The whole army rushes to Kaifeng City!"
Xu Ming gave an order, and the cavalry battalion of more than 10,000 soldiers advanced rapidly. The small groups of bandit soldiers and horses along the way were ignored and handed over to the infantry army at the rear.
Finally, Xu Ming led the cavalry battalion officers to arrive in the north of Kaifeng City at midnight. When Henan Governor Gao Mingheng and deputy general Chen Yongfu heard the news, they came to the north city wall in surprise and looked at the endless cavalry army illuminated by torches outside the city. , both of them were so excited that their eyes filled with tears.
Kaifeng City can be saved!
In the middle of the night, Liu Yan led the infantry battalions and artillery battalion officers to arrive outside Kaifeng City. At this time, the walls of Kaifeng City were already filled with people, including the defenders in the city and the people in the city. Everyone looked at the people outside the city. The reinforcements all held their heads together and cried.
It was also from this night that all the turmoil in Kaifeng City calmed down. Countless people began to clean up the mess with sad faces, quietly waiting for reinforcements to enter the city, and waiting for the day when this bloody war would end.
That night, Liu Yan led his army into the city from the north gate of Kaifeng City, and tens of thousands of soldiers marched into the city.
Henan Governor Gao Mingheng and deputy general Chen Yongfu led a group of civil and military officials in the city to wait for Liu Yan inside the north gate.
Although Gao Mingheng's official position was higher than that of Liu Yan, Liu Yan was the chief military officer who bore the seal of General Dinglu and was also granted the title of Dinglubo. Therefore, Gao Mingheng did not dare to ask for help. After seeing Liu Yan, he took the initiative to Come forward and salute.
Chen Yongfu was even more like this. He directly regarded himself as a subordinate and led a group of military attachés in Kaifeng City to pay homage to Liu Yan.
Liu Yan got off his horse, greeted him with a smile, and exchanged greetings with everyone.
At this time, by the light of the fire, Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu saw the powerful military appearance of the new army in Qinglai Town, with shocked expressions on their faces.
"The general's men are so powerful. They are indeed a powerful army that has defeated slaves and bandits many times. They are truly the most powerful army in our Ming Dynasty!"
Gao Mingheng also smiled and said: "Haha, with General Liu here, Kaifeng Mansion will have nothing to worry about!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "Our army has arrived in Kaifeng City. Li Zicheng will know about it tonight, so our army will immediately take over the defense of Kaifeng City to prevent the bandit army from attacking the city. Is this no problem?"
Of course, Chen Yongfu had no problem, and Gao Mingheng was eager to hand over the task of guarding the city as soon as possible, so they both agreed. m.
"good!"
Liu Yan said: "Then please move forward, sir, and follow me to the capital commander's office in the city. Let's hold a military meeting tonight, how about that?"
There are many official offices in Kaifeng Prefecture. In addition to the Henan Governor's Yamen, the Xuanwuwei Commander's Yamen, the Kaifeng Magistrate's Yamen, the Xiangfu County County Yamen, the Henan Chief Envoy's Yamen, the Henan Du Commander's Yamen, and the Henan Governor's Yamen, there is also the Zhou Palace Here, it can be said that there are many government offices.
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. They didn't expect that Liu Yan was also a resolute person, so they followed Liu Yan to the capital commander's office.
Before leaving, Liu Yan said to the several commanders following behind him: "The left camp is stationed in the west city and south city, and the right camp is stationed in the north city and east city. The rear camp immediately takes over the defense of the arsenal, treasury, and various government offices in the city. . The center battalion, cavalry battalion, guard battalion, and artillery battalion went to the military camp and school grounds in the city to station and await orders."
"Got the order!"
Accompanied by a team of guards, Liu Yan, Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu went to the capital commander's office. As for all the civil and military officials, Liu Yan dismissed them on the spot.
Kaifeng is the seat of the Henan Prefecture. The city is attached to Xiangfu County. The provincial, prefectural and county government offices are all gathered together in one place. All the government offices are in the southwest of the Zhou Palace. With the Bell Tower as the center, the Chief Secretary's Office is on Bell Tower West Street, and the General Command Department is on Bell Tower East Street. It consists of the Judicial Affairs Department, the Prison Department, the Governor's Department, and the Experience Department.
Surrounding these government offices are a series of official residences with high walls, red doors and magnificent houses.
It's just that the streets are dark and dim at this time, and Kaifeng City has been reduced to a hell on earth during this period, so the prosperity and grandeur of the past have now disappeared.
When they arrived at the yamen of the capital commander, Liu Yan and the governor Gao Mingheng showed humility to each other, and then they went straight to the center.
Liu Yan will not show off at this time. Since he wants to win this battle, the initiative must be firmly in his hands. Whether he is the governor or the prince, he must obey orders during the war. This is the state of war. !
Governor Gao Mingheng and deputy general Chen Yongfu sat on either side of Liu Yan. The generals of the New Army were busy rectifying the city's defense. Xun Jingyun, Bao Xuezhen, and Shang Wenyuan were also busy with military affairs in the army, so no one followed.
After everyone sat down, Gao Mingheng wanted to ask why not all the officials in the city were allowed to attend the military meeting. Chen Yongfu was also confused.
Liu Yan said with a smile: "People talk too much, and it is hard to explain clearly when discussing important matters. Li Zicheng already knows that our army has arrived in Kaifeng tonight, and it is estimated that he will gather an army to test it tomorrow, so we must discuss the battle tonight, people Too much will only cause trouble."
Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu looked at each other, and then Chen Yongfu said: "General Liu, I can say that from now on, I, my more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, and thousands of young men guarding the city will all obey General Liu's orders. "
Gao Mingheng said: "Now the money and food in the city have bottomed out. Not long ago, turmoil began in the city, and there were even cases of cannibalism. Now the situation in Kaifeng City is very critical. I wonder if General Liu Bing has food in his army. To relieve the suffering of the people!"
Liu Yan frowned slightly. He didn't expect that the situation in Kaifeng City was so dangerous. He thought for a moment and said: "Before our army crossed the Yellow River, we received a batch of military rations from the Ministry of War. However, this town cannot take out all of them, and can only give out 50,000 shi of grain. Distribute it to the people in the city."
"Fifty thousand stones?"
Gao Mingheng shook his head and said: "There are still hundreds of thousands of people in the city now, and this mere 50,000 shi of food cannot last for a few days."
Liu Yan said: "What I can do is to prevent the people from starving to death, rather than to feed them!"
"From now on, our new army will implement a rationing system for all supplies in the city. All people will be given food according to the minimum standard, as long as no one will starve to death."
"In addition, all the young men who guard the city have been disbanded. Starting from tomorrow, the new army officers and soldiers will begin patrolling the city. Any act of robbing, raping, killing, cannibalism, etc. will be regarded as collaborating with the enemy and will be killed without mercy!"
"Starting from tomorrow, all officials in the city will gather at the government office to listen to orders. No one without an order from this town is allowed to go home, and they are not allowed to enter or leave their respective government offices at will. Anyone who disobeys the order will be regarded as a collaborator with the enemy and will be killed without mercy!"
"Starting from tomorrow, anyone who disobeys the orders of the New Army, hides food, medicine, clothing and other materials secretly, and is unwilling to turn them over for unified distribution will be regarded as a collaborator and will be killed without mercy!"
Having said this, Liu Yan added: "Of course, if the people hand over food, clothing, medicine and other materials, the town will purchase them at a high price and will not let the people suffer."
Chen Yongfu wiped his sweat, but he didn't expect Liu Yan to be so tough.
Gao Mingheng said, "Did the King of Zhou in the city also let me know?"
Liu Yan said: "That's natural. I will pay a visit to His Royal Highness King Zhou early tomorrow morning. This time a rationing system is implemented in the city, and the Prince of Zhou's Mansion is also among them. They must also turn in the grain, grass and baggage in the government!"
Gao Mingheng and Chen Yongfu were immediately dumbfounded.
Some people died, but not completely...
