The 40th year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty, July 2nd.
Sangmuguan is an important passage from Bozhou to Zheng'an and Sichuan. Sangmuguan is hundreds of feet high, with cliffs on both sides standing like ladders. Therefore, this place has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
But today, Sangmuguan, which was originally extremely peaceful, received an "uninvited guest". Twenty thousand forwards led by Shi Bangxian, the commander of the capital and Tongren's military commander, had already set up camp near Sangmuguan.
And behind them, there is an army of 40,000 led by Feng Yue, governor of Huguang!
From the city wall of Sangmuguan, looking into the distance, there are tents set up by the Ming army everywhere. The tents are full of fully armed soldiers. There is a feeling of rain coming and the wind is filling the building, shrouding the Sangmuguan. In the hearts of the defenders.
At this time, Yao Ge, the guard of Sangmuguan, looked at the Ming army stationed near Sangmuguan with a look of worry on his face.
You know, before this, the defenders of Sangmuguan were only 3,000 in number. Later, after Yang Lie noticed the imperial army's intention to conquer Sangmuguan, he quickly mobilized more than 8,000 soldiers from various places. Come to support.
But even so, in Yao Ge's opinion, the military strength at his hands alone would never be able to withstand the attack of the imperial army!
The general in charge of commanding the troops opposite is Shi Bangxian, who can be compared with He Qing of Sichuan and Shen Xiyi of Guangxi!
Most of the rewards he received were given to his soldiers. Therefore, Shi Bangxian's soldiers had extremely strong combat effectiveness and cooperated with each other very well. They could often achieve the effect of one against ten.
Yao Ge felt that even if he was given several times more troops than Shi Bangxian, he still had no confidence that he would be able to gain the upper hand over Shi Bangxian!
Moreover, Shi Bangxian's current military strength is almost twice that of his own, and whether it is weapons, equipment, or combat literacy, the soldiers under his command are completely incomparable to him.
What's more, how could Bozhou alone be able to compete with a powerful imperial court backed by two capitals and thirteen provinces?
Just when Yao Ge felt confused about this, the voice of deputy general Liu Zhongcai came from the side.
"General...General, what should we do next? We will never be able to defend Sangmuguan with just the troops we have!"
"Furthermore, it is said that the imperial court is here to quell the rebellion. Doesn't that mean we have become rebels?"
"It is clearly written in the laws of the Ming Dynasty that all those who conspire will be executed without delay, and the nine tribes will be implicated!"
"General, how about we surrender to the court? In this way, we can save our lives, right?"
When Yao Ge heard this, he became furious. Then he pointed at the nose of deputy general Liu Zhongcai and cursed.
"Hmph, you bastard, you even dare to say such treasonous words. Have you forgotten who gave us the opportunity in the first place? Without Sir Xuan comfort, would we be where we are today?"
When Liu Zhongcai heard what Yao Ge said, he looked quite unhappy and contradicted him.
"For so many years, we have fought for him through life and death. In the early years of the war with Guizhou's comfort envoy An Waquan, our brothers died and were injured. Without us, Yang Lie would have been able to defeat An Waquan. Wan Quan, can you live a good life like today?
"We have done so much for him, but in the end, he was pushed to Sangmuguan!"
"We have gone through life and death so many times, so we have repaid his kindness. General, this time is no different than before. This time the imperial army is coming. Let's surrender. In this way..."
Before Liu Zhongcai finished speaking, Yao Ge suddenly pulled out the long sword from his waist and pressed it against his neck, causing traces of blood to flow out.
Seeing this situation, Liu Zhongcai quickly swallowed all the words he had not yet said in his stomach. At this moment, his eyes were full of fear.
"If you dare to say these bastard words in front of me again, don't blame me for not caring about brotherhood!"
"Yes, General!"
When Liu Zhongcai heard what Yao Ge said, he couldn't help but echo.
After that, Yao Ge removed the sword from his neck and said coldly.
"Go away, don't show up in front of me recently!"
"Yes...yes, General!"
When Liu Zhongcai heard this, his face suddenly showed the expression of surviving a disaster, and then he left the room without looking back.
What Yao Ge didn't notice was that when Liu Zhongcai left, there was a trace of imperceptible resentment in his eyes.
…
On the other side, outside Sangmuguan, inside the Ming army camp.
At this moment, Shi Bangxian and several lieutenants were studying the map in front of them.
On the map, the terrain near Sangmuguan is described in detail, as well as whether there are trails around it.
Then, Shi Bangxian pointed at several marked places on the map and gave instructions.
"Look, starting from tomorrow, eight thousand soldiers and horses will be sent out, divided into three groups, from the left, center and right to attack Sangmuguan!"
When the lieutenants on the side heard this, they immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
"Yes, General!"
At this moment, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves coming from outside the camp, and then the soldiers responsible for guarding the camp came in and reported respectfully.
"General, the governor has sent someone!"
"Oh, let him in!"
After hearing this, Shi Bangxian looked away from the map in front of him, raised his head, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Yes, General!"
After listening to Shi Bangxian's instructions, the soldier immediately left the camp without any hesitation. Not long after, he saw a hurried soldier entering the camp.
As soon as the soldier entered the camp, he immediately bowed his head and said in a deep voice.
"Meet the general!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Bangxian glanced at the soldier and immediately asked.
"Tell me, why did the governor send you here?"
"General, here is the governor, who has entrusted me to send you information about the two guards at Sangmuguan!"
As he finished speaking, the soldier respectfully handed the paper recording the specific situation of the two guards at Sangmuguan into Shi Bangxian's hands.
"Well, I know, I'm ready for the work!"
I saw Shi Bangxian taking the paper from the soldier's hand and saying this.
"Since the things have been delivered, I won't stop here any longer!"
After the soldier finished speaking, he bowed his hand to Shi Bangxian and walked away immediately.
After the soldier left, Shi Bangxian focused on the paper in front of him and saw what was written on it.
"General Yao Ge and deputy general Liu Zhongcai personally led Bozhou soldiers to fight against Guizhou's Xuanwei envoy An Waquan in their early years. Because of their bravery in battle, they were promoted many times and were later assigned to guard Sangmuguan. Their troops..."
Shi Bangxian quickly browsed through all the contents above, and then he put the paper aside and said with emotion.
"It seems that the rumors in the court are true. The governor really knows the chieftains in the southwest very well!"
After finishing his emotion, Shi Bangxian came back to his senses, looked at the deputy general on the side, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Pass this general's order to start making fire and cooking immediately. Let the brothers take this opportunity to have a good rest. Tomorrow we will officially attack Sangmuguan according to the previous deployment!"
"Also, we must not take it lightly. The enemy is likely to make a sneak attack at night. We must strengthen patrols and set up more hidden sentries to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of any opportunities!"
When Shi Bangxian finished speaking, the lieutenants on the side all responded in a deep voice.
"Yes, General!"
But the development of the matter was beyond Shi Bangxian's expectation. After the Ming army started to light fires and cook rice, the defenders of Sangmuguan did not act rashly, and did not even send a small force to attack.
The hidden sentry arranged by Shi Bangxian earlier was of no use, and the night passed peacefully.
…
In the early morning, when the sky turned pale, Shi Bangxian received a report from his subordinates in the camp.
"It seems that the other party is planning to hold on!"
Shi Bangxian said with emotion after listening to the report from his subordinates.
"According to the general's order, according to yesterday's deployment, the troops will be divided into three groups to attack Sangmuguan!"
"Yes, General!"
The subordinate quickly left after listening to Shi Bangxian's order.
'Dong dong dong——'
Accompanied by a rain of drum beats, more than 8,000 Ming troops, from the left, center and right, launched a fearless attack on Sangmuguan.
'Boom! ''Boom! '
In the Ming army's position, more than 20 squatting tiger cannons that had been silent for a long time, as well as the new cannons sent by the weapons department earlier, roared. Countless Ming troops, under the cover of the cannons, came towards Sangmuguan.
Every time a cannonball explodes on the city wall of Sangmuguan, it will take away a large area of life. After several rounds, the seemingly indestructible city wall of Sangmuguan has become shaky, with gaps everywhere.
The defenders on the city wall also suffered heavy casualties, with broken limbs and broken arms everywhere, and a disgusting smell of blood filled the air.
Not only that, but in the distance, there were Ming troops holding firecrackers and constantly shooting at the defenders on the city wall.
This part of the Ming army used the improved firecrackers passed through the Department of Ordnance. Its range and power were greatly improved compared to the previous matchlock guns.
Coupled with the assistance of paper shell bullets, originally only one shot could be fired in the same period of time, but now it is possible to fire three shots!
At this moment, Yao Ge couldn't help but his eyes were splitting as he looked at the situation in front of him. He originally thought that as long as he could hold on, he could rely on the dangerous terrain of Sangmuguan to carry out a strong defense.
Unexpectedly, several rounds of volleys from the Ming army's artillery made the Sangmuguan city wall, which had been reinforced many times and was indestructible, become crumbling.
Not only that, there are Ming troops holding firecrackers in the distance, suppressing fire. As long as the defenders on the city wall show their heads, they are likely to be hit by stray bullets!
Yao Ge could see that the fire cannons in the hands of the Ming army were very different from the previous fire cannons. They were not only powerful, but also had a much longer range. More importantly, their reloading The speed is also several times higher than before.
I saw Yao Ge pulling out the long sword from his waist, his eyes red, and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Don't retreat. Come on! Come on!"
"Fire the arrow! Fire the arrow!"
At this moment, on the city wall of Sangmuguan, there were rivers of blood and corpses everywhere. Under the command of Yao Ge, the defenders on the city wall finally began to organize a counterattack.
I saw the defenders on the city wall beginning to draw their bows and arrows, and fired arrows at the Ming troops rushing towards Sangmuguan.
These arrows are different from ordinary ones. The arrows are all tempered with poison. Once shot by such arrows, in such a harsh environment, it is absolutely impossible to escape death.
Arrows fell like raindrops, hitting the Ming army in front of them, charging towards Sangmuguan. From time to time, Ming soldiers wearing armor fell to the ground wailing, and then the soldiers behind them trampled on the bodies of their companions. , continue to attack Sangmuguan.
Soon, this round of arrow rain had its due effect, and the Ming army's offensive was delayed a little.
'Dong dong dong——'
The war drums sounded again, and more Ming troops began to beat the drums and launch a rapid attack on the city wall of Sangmuguan. Their deafening shouts of killing soared into the sky!
At this moment, looking down from mid-air, I saw a black torrent with no end in sight, which was constantly impacting Sangmuguan.
Then, there was another roar of cannons, and the cannonballs blasted a large gap in the city wall of Sangmuguan.
Seeing this situation, the attacking Ming troops couldn't help but feel greatly boosted in morale, and immediately accelerated the pace of their attack. As the defender, Yao Ge turned pale when he saw this situation, and he didn't know what to do for a while.
He knew very well that his own morale would definitely hit rock bottom because of this. Moreover, less than an hour after the two sides started fighting, he had already lost more than a thousand soldiers. You must know that the total number of defenders at Sangmuguan was only eleven thousand. Yu Ming!
Just as Yao Ge was regrouping, organizing the defenders on the city wall, and repelling the Ming army's offensive, a trumpet sounded.
'Woo——'
After Yao Ge heard the horn sound, his expression suddenly changed, because it was an emergency horn sound.
Then, a soldier with a bloody face came to Yao Ge and reported.
"General, the city wall on the right can no longer be defended. The imperial army is about to attack the city wall!"
"What, what does Liu Zhong do for food!"
After hearing the soldier's report, Yao Ge's face became extremely gloomy. Then, he pressed his sword with one hand, looked at the soldier, and asked.
Yao Ge knew very well that once the right side was lost, the fall of Sangmuguan would not be far away.
He never expected that only two hours after the two sides started fighting, the imperial army would already attack the city wall.
Then, he pulled out the long sword from his waist and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Come here, follow this general to support the right wall!"
"Yes, General!"
Afterwards, I saw Yao Ge dispatching defenders from various places and heading non-stop towards the place where Liu Zhongcai was guarding to provide support.
On the other side, on the city wall, the Ming army that had ascended first had started a fierce fight with the defenders on the city wall.
I saw a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, holding a Yanling sword. After stabbing the defender in front of him, he pulled out the Yanling sword and rushed towards the next enemy without stopping.
At this moment, Liu Zhongcai was already covered in wounds, and his armor was full of marks left by swords.
Liu Zhongcai had already been defeated by the Ming troops who were constantly swarming up the city wall and were not afraid of death.
Moreover, the current Ming army was obviously elite men who had experienced hundreds of battles. Therefore, the battle loss ratio between the defenders and the attacking Ming army quickly reached an extremely exaggerated level.
Since most of these Ming soldiers were wearing armor, it usually took seven or eight defenders to kill one Ming soldier.
What frightens Liu Zhongcai even more is that before they die, those Ming soldiers will use the fire sticks they carry with them to ignite a very powerful bomb. Once this bomb explodes, the surrounding soldiers will suffer heavy casualties in an instant. , completely losing combat capability.
Therefore, Liu Zhongcai could only lead the remaining defenders and retreat while fighting.
As more and more Ming troops swarmed up the city wall, Liu Zhongcai showed a look of despair. He knew that if there was no support in the future, the city wall might not be able to hold on!
At this moment, Yao Ge arrived with reinforcements and fought with the Ming troops on the city wall.
Seeing this situation, Liu Zhongcai couldn't help but cheer up, and then led the remaining defenders to join the battle.
With the concerted efforts of the two of them, they finally managed to hold on to the city wall, and worked together to drive down the Ming army who climbed onto the city wall.
On the other side, Shi Bangxian, who was commanding the Chinese army, saw that the attack was frustrated. He immediately looked at the deputy general on the side and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Pass this general's order and withdraw your troops with gold!"
When the deputy general heard this, his face was full of hesitation. Then, he summoned up the courage to ask Shi Bangxian.
"General, we are about to take down the city wall, why..."
When Shi Bangxian heard this, he glanced at the deputy general and explained.
"Brothers are exhausted. If we organize a few more attacks, we can indeed take down the city wall, but this will cause many unnecessary casualties. It's better to retreat first!"
"Yes, General!"
Soon, Shi Bangxian's order was passed down step by step.
Later, when the exhausted soldiers of the Ming Dynasty heard the sound of gongs symbolizing the retreat of Ming Jin's troops, their faces suddenly showed the expression of surviving the disaster, and they soon receded like the tide.
The defenders on the city wall saw the Ming army retreating, their faces full of expressions of surviving the disaster. At this moment, they couldn't care less about celebrating, because the surroundings were already covered with corpses and rivers of blood.
Wails, moans, screams, all kinds of sounds intertwined together, making people suddenly feel irritated.
Yao Ge couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that the Ming army had temporarily retreated. Immediately, he called his subordinates and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Pass this general's order and start collecting the corpses and strengthening the city wall!"
"Yes, General!"
After the truce, both sides began to collect the corpses and clean up the battlefield in a tacit understanding.
At this moment, both sides were like wild beasts, licking their wounds and waiting for the next battle to begin.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was evening. The crumbling city wall that had been bombarded by the Ming army's artillery was also symbolically repaired.
At this moment, in the hall, Yao Ge was sitting at the top, listening to the reports from his subordinates.
"General, we suffered a total of more than 2,820 casualties in this battle!"
When Yao Ge learned the specific number of casualties from his subordinates, his face was full of disbelief and he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He didn't expect that his side's casualties would be so heavy!
You must know that our side relied on the steep terrain of Sangmuguan and carried out defense while waiting for work. In this case, nearly 3,000 people were killed or injured.
As for the defenders of Sangmuguan, there were only more than 11,000 people in total. The two sides only fought for one day, and one-third of them were killed or injured!
"If we encounter the Ming army head-on..."
As Yao Ge said this, the corresponding picture appeared in his mind. Then, he suddenly came back to his senses, with a look of fear on his face. He no longer dared to think about it any more!
On the other side, the faces of Liu Zhongcai and many other officers were also full of fear.
At this moment, their fighting spirit has been completely defeated by those Ming troops who were not afraid of death!
After all, the two sides fought for only one day, and they lost one-third of their troops. This has never happened before!
Later, Liu Zhong only plucked up the courage, looked at Yao Ge who was sitting at the top, and carefully spoke words of comfort.
"General, you have also seen that we are no match for the imperial army!"
"Today, the imperial army is about to capture the city wall, but the opponent's general chose to withdraw his troops. In the final analysis, it is because the opponent does not want to cause unnecessary casualties!"
"If this continues, tomorrow, the imperial army will officially launch a general attack. With our current strength, we are simply unable to resist. Once the city is defeated, all of us will be executed by the imperial court for treason!"
"The imperial court is here to quell the rebellion. By doing this, we are going against the imperial court. That is a charge of rebellion. We might as well surrender now. Maybe we can still save our lives!"
After Liu Zhongcai finished speaking, many officers on the side also followed up with words of admonishment.
"Yes, General, this is a charge of rebellion, and it will punish the nine tribes!"
"General, let's surrender quickly!"
When Yao Ge, who was sitting at the top, heard this, he suddenly became furious. He glanced at the many officers present one by one with a selective and devouring gaze.
"Hmph, they are a bunch of bastards who are greedy for life and afraid of death. The messenger sent someone to deliver the news not long ago. We only need to hold on for three more days, and reinforcements will arrive soon!"
"When the time comes, relying on the terrain of Sangmuguan, we can easily defend it!"
When Yao Ge said this, he looked in the direction of Liu Zhongcai and said coldly.
"Humph, Liu Zhongcai, I haven't held you responsible for your crimes yet, but you still dare to shake the morale of the army. If that's the case, then don't blame me for ignoring the past kindness!"
Then, Yao Ge snorted coldly, pointed at Liu Zhongcai, and ordered in a deep voice.
"Come here, bring this traitor who is ruining the morale of the army to my general, and keep him under strict supervision!"
"Yes, General!"
As soon as Yao Ge finished speaking, the guards on the side immediately stepped forward and controlled Liu Zhongcai.
Seeing this situation, Liu Zhongcai tried his best to break free from the control of the guards, with a ferocious look on his face. Then, he looked in the direction of Yao Ge and spoke word by word.
"Hmph, just wait, you will regret it!"
"This general is responsible for the defense of Sangmuguan, it's not your turn to point fingers!"
Hearing this, Yao Ge glanced at Liu Zhongcai and replied.
Later, Liu Zhongcai, who looked unhappy, was taken away by his guards.
The remaining officers in the room saw Liu Zhongcai, who had followed Yao Ge through life and death, being escorted down. They all looked at each other and did not dare to make any more moves or mention surrender in front of Yao Ge. (End of chapter)
