Jiajing forty-two years, February 10th.
Jiliao Town is one of the Nine Borders of the Ming Dynasty.
During the Jiajing year, Jiliao governed the three governors of Shuntian, Baoding and Liaodong, and served as a barrier against the Mongols.
Wang Shizhen's father, Wang Yan, was impeached and killed after serving as governor of Ji Liao. Wang Yan's crime was that he was unfavorable in guarding Ji Liao.
However, in order to deal with Su Ze in the southeast, the imperial court had agreed to peace with Mongolia and opened mutual trade in Datong, which could be regarded as temporarily calming down the border troubles in the north.
Zhang Fu, the current guerrilla general in Jiliao Town, is having a meeting in his military mansion.
"Have the winter coats arrived?"
The logistics officer in charge of military supplies immediately said: "General, it has been delivered, and it has been distributed to the soldiers today."
Zhang Fu nodded slightly and said: "After receiving the winter clothes, prepare immediately. The army will set off south in three days!"
The logistics officer immediately said: "The food, grass and equipment are ready, general, don't worry!"
Zhang Fu was a little distracted. He was still thinking about the taste of the Yangzhou thin horse sent by the merchants from the capital yesterday. He licked his chapped lips and said:
"This battle is related to the overall situation of the imperial court, so there must be no trouble!"
"understand!"
In the military camp, when the soldiers received cracked winter coats mixed with broken grass, they began to curse.
"Damn it! These winter clothes are for us to march, not to freeze us to death!"
"The winter clothes issued by the imperial court are too shabby!"
"These clothes can't keep out the cold in the room, so we still have to march in these clothes?!"
Facing the soldiers' questioning, the quartermaster responsible for distributing winter clothes immediately said:
"These clothes were purchased by the Ministry of War! What are you going to do? Rebellion?"
"It's great to have these winter clothes! The general has an order to set off in three days! Go back and pack your things quickly!"
The quartermaster also received a kickback from it. Businessmen like Hou Ping negotiated with him and gave him a one-cent silver kickback as long as he was given a winter coat.
The fat quartermaster finished distributing the winter coats for this battalion and immediately rushed to the next battalion. He wanted to distribute these 3,000 winter coats as soon as possible. This was three hundred taels of silver!
The soldiers who had received winter coats gathered around a young soldier.
"Brother Xiao Wu! It's so cold this year! Wearing this winter coat going south will definitely freeze you to death!"
"Brother Xiao Wu, you are usually the most resourceful, come up with a solution quickly!"
The soldier named Brother Xiao Wu was named Yang Wu. He was originally a disciple of a general. His father once served as a hundred households under Qiu Luan. Later, Qiu Luan was liquidated after his fall. Yang Wu's father was killed and Yang Wu was dismissed. Military personnel were assigned to guard the border.
Yang Wu was literate and knowledgeable about military affairs. Although he was an ordinary soldier, he was supported by other soldiers in the military camp.
Yang Wu looked at the winter clothes mixed with straw and said, "I'm sure you can't wear this clothes. Let's go to the market and buy some rags and cotton, stuff them in and find someone to sew them."
Everyone still said angrily: "You have to pay for yourself while working for the imperial court. How can there be such truth in the world!"
"Yes, yes! This year's military pay was already in arrears, and now it costs money to buy these things. Is it possible that we still have to pay to serve as soldiers?"
Yang Wu looked at the brothers in the camp and could only clench his fists and said: "Everyone should go quickly. We will leave in three days. If everyone goes, the price of these things will increase."
The soldiers rushed out quickly, and Yang Wu returned to his barracks.
Yang Wu pulled out a newspaper from the thatched bunk in the barracks.
This is the "Warning World Newspaper" that printed the "Revelation against Rebellion". It was slowly brought over by merchants at the border.
Such things are naturally contraband in the military camp. Yang Wu read the appeal again and felt very satisfied.
He carefully hid the newspaper close to his body. Originally, Yang Wu just read it in the military camp to relieve the depression of being sent to guard the border.
But what happened today made Yang Wu determined. He was going to secretly spread this message in the military camp to let the soldiers know how the imperial court treated its own people!
Liaoyang Town, further north than Jiliao, was still covered in ice and snow.
Li Ruzhi was the young man who was sent back to the tribe by Li Chengliang to recruit soldiers last time. Because of his merits in recruiting soldiers, he was adopted by Li Chengliang as his adopted son. He was given the surname Li and the name Ruzhi.
Li Rushe, who is not proficient in Chinese, does not know the insulting meaning of the name. He is still happy that he got the name.
But he was not happy for long. After the winter clothes were handed out, the newly recruited Jurchen cavalry surrounded him and complained:
"Aren't you going to freeze to death if you wear these clothes and go south?"
Li Ruzhen immediately picked up a winter coat and rushed to Li Chengliang's general military mansion.
At this time, Li Chengliang was listening to a play in the backyard. This troupe was specially brought from the south by businessmen from the capital. Unfortunately, it was not a troupe from Suzhou Prefecture, and it had a bit of Jiangnan flavor.
Li Chengliang was just a commander-in-chief of Liaoyang. He was able to raise so many adopted sons and servants, and he was able to cover the sky in Liaoyang with one hand. Naturally, it was not because of his small salary.
The merchants who delivered winter clothes this time were much better than when Xu Ge's hometown contracted the winter clothes business.
Not only was it given to the troupe, but also corresponding money was given, instead of just relying on the relationship with the elders like before and not sharing any profits with the officers in the border town!
Li Chengliang was in a happy mood, but Li Rushe broke in and ruined his mood.
"Father! The winter clothes handed out by these profiteers are not warm at all. They will freeze people to death!" Li Ruzhen said in half-baked Chinese.
Then Li Ruzhen raised the winter coat in his hand above his head.
Li Chengliang glanced at him from the corner of his eye and said, "I understand, please step back."
"Father! We can't leave Liaodong at all, and the soldiers will freeze to death!"
Li Chengliang was originally enjoying the opera, but when Li Ruzhen was so annoyed, he felt angry again.
He jumped up, picked up the riding crop at hand, and started whipping Li Rushe.
"You're a Jurchen barbarian who's not well-raised! I understand, I said, but you can't understand human language!?"
Li Ruzhen was beaten until he was rolling on the ground, and there were several whip marks on his face.
Li Chengliang then said: "Don't you Jurchens live in the white mountains and black waters? How can you survive if you don't resist freezing? This winter coat is the winter coat issued by the imperial court!"
"Put on these winter clothes and head south in three days! Anyone who freezes to death on the road is not a qualified soldier and deserves to freeze to death! You can save on the general's food and grass!"
"Get out of here!"
Li Rushe rolled and crawled out of the General Military Mansion. His face was full of hatred and anger, but he didn't know how to vent it.
Li Chengliang finished venting and then started listening to the show again.
The main force going south this time was their Liaoyang cavalry, with a total of 7,000 troops sent, of which 4,000 were cavalry from the Liaoyang main formation, and the remaining 3,000 were the newly recruited Jurchen cavalry.
The reason why Li Chengliang paid so little attention to the Jurchen cavalry was because the three thousand newly recruited soldiers were all naturalized and were not disciplined cavalry at all.
These people are just servants on the battlefield, in other words cannon fodder.
Li Chengliang's real elites were the thousand "housekeepers" he raised with high salaries. These thousand people were elites in the north who were good at riding and shooting. They were all trained by Li Chengliang from childhood. They were his capital to dominate the north.
The other three thousand people are the Liaoyang cavalry outside the "household". This unit can also fight well in the north, but the treatment is slightly worse.
Li Chengliang's "housekeepers" and the elite Liaoyang cavalry all wore leather jackets in winter and had no use for the court's winter clothes.
The reason why Li Chengliang wanted to report 3,000 more soldiers was to get more military pay and recruitment money. In addition, the court needed to pay for the horses and equipment needed to recruit these soldiers. The more soldiers he had, the more military pay he would get. So, Li Chengliang didn't care about the life or death of these Jurchen cavalry.
After Li Ruzhen returned to the barracks and saw the tribesmen gathered around him, he gritted his teeth and said, "The chief soldier said that these winter clothes were issued by the imperial court."
Seeing the whip marks on Li Rushe's body, the tribesmen also fell silent.
Li Ruzhen said viciously: "The Han court is unkind to us. If they don't give us winter clothes, we will get them ourselves!"
"How to get it?"
Li Ruzhen immediately said: "After we leave, we will find an opportunity to sneak into the Han villages to rob!"
These Jurchens said fearfully: "Is it possible?"
Li Ruzhen said: "If you don't rob, you will freeze to death! Do you want to freeze to death or rob?"
"Rob!"
This time, the imperial court mobilized a total of 30,000 cavalry from Jiubian, plus 50,000 from the Beijing camp. It was considered that half of the northern force was transferred south.
The reason why they did not go out in full force was because they still had to guard against the Mongols in the north, and the food raised by the court was only enough to feed so many soldiers.
Soldiers and horses from nine sides mobilized southward, and the entire northern part of the empire was in turmoil.
March 1st, Anqing Mansion.
Zhang Juzheng received the official document from the court. He slumped down on the imperial chair. Liu Shiyan stepped forward to take the official document. After reading it, he said in surprise:
"Bu Tang! The imperial court wants to abandon Southern Zhili!"
Zhang Juzheng nodded feebly. These days, he had spent a lot of time strengthening Anqing's defense, casting cannons and building gun towers. He had been busy for a long time.
Unexpectedly, Su Ze's army in Jiujiang did not attack, and the imperial court ordered him to withdraw from Xuzhou.
Zhang Juzheng added: "Xuzhou is the decisive battle site discussed by the cabinet and the six ministries. The news of the withdrawal from Xuzhou must be kept secret among the military."
Liu Shiyan immediately said: "My subordinates understand!"
Zhang Juzheng clenched his hands into fists and said: "I am not willing to give in! If we don't fight, we will withdraw!"
Zhang Juzheng was also arrogant. He became famous in his hometown as a child prodigy at a young age. He also passed the imperial examination very smoothly and did not encounter any major setbacks after entering his official career.
However, Su Ze, a freak like him, was a huge cloud hanging over his head.
Su Ze did not continue the imperial examination, but he was Jieyuan of Fujian and his literary name was well known all over the world. He founded new schools and established sects.
In terms of literature, Su Ze is also a literary scholar in the world, and "Three Dreams" became famous all over the world.
In terms of military affairs, Su Ze was a master of military affairs. He separatized the southeast at the first incident, forcing the imperial court to mobilize elites from nine sides to go south.
In terms of miscellaneous studies, Su Ze was even regarded as a god by hundreds of workers. The book "Tiangong Kaiwu" can be said to make millions of families rich and create several profitable industries out of thin air.
Even the miracle doctors of the world said that Su Ze's medical skills were superb.
Such a person made Zhang Juzheng feel that he was so good that he was so good.
However, this sentiment is wrong. Su Ze's equal opponent is the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Juzheng is not worthy of being Su Ze's opponent now.
This made Zhang Juzheng feel deeply frustrated again.
Just when Zhang Juzheng was thinking wildly, a soldier suddenly rushed up and reported:
"Budang! Lord Marquis! There are enemy troops! There are enemy gunboats on the river!"
Zhang Juzheng stood up all of a sudden!
Liu Shiyan looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked, "Butang, do you want to fight or not?"
Zhang Juzheng immediately said: "Fight! Of course we have to fight. Of course we have to fight when it comes to our door!"
Sitting on the flagship, Lin Liangjun looked at the gun towers in Anqing with his binoculars and said to the adjutant next to him:
"This Juzheng is really a talent. He can repair Anqing like an iron barrel. If it weren't for the new cannon, it would really take a lot of effort to capture Anqing."
"Brigadier, the gunboat is waiting for your order."
"Wait a minute, these gun towers alone cannot prevent our navy. Zhang Juzheng must have a back-up plan."
Sure enough, another army rushed out from the gate of Anqing City.
The composition of this force was complex, including horses, mules, and oxen, and they pulled artillery carts toward the coast of the Yangtze River.
Moreover, this unit has all kinds of artillery, including Ming Dynasty's Xuanwei general cannon, Folang machine cannon, and artillery imitated from the red cannon.
This force left the city in a mighty manner and pulled to the riverside on the road repaired by Zhang Juzheng. The soldiers set up their artillery and aimed at the fleet on the river.
Even the adjutant's expression changed at this moment. He didn't expect that Zhang Juzheng had cast so many cannons in Anqing these days.
"boom!"
A salvo of artillery fire was fired, but unfortunately the accuracy and range of this artillery unit were too poor, and they did not hit a single ship at all.
Lin Liangjun said: "If it is a decisive battle on land, these artillerymen will indeed be troublesome, but on the river, then don't blame me for being rude!"
"Gunboat attack!"
As the herald waved his flag, a dozen gunboats rushed out of the fleet.
There are only two people driving these gunboats, and four people are dedicated to operating the artillery. The artillerymen who know how to calculate immediately began to calculate the cannons and shots after stopping the ship.
The soldiers worked together to adjust the direction and angle of the muzzle. With the smooth loading and firing, more than a dozen artillery pieces fired in unison, accurately landing on the Ming army's artillery position on land.
Only three of the dozen or so shells missed, and the remaining shells fell into the crowd, causing great panic in the artillery.
However, this unit was led by Liu Shiyan carefully after all. It did not collapse after one shelling, but continued to prepare for the next launch.
But they didn't expect that the second brigade's reloading speed was much faster than them, and they didn't need to adjust the angle.
After the barrel cooled down, another round of shells fell on their heads.
Now, even if Liu Shiyan personally commanded the artillery, the artillery could not hold on any longer. The soldiers gave up their artillery and rushed into Anqing City.
Lin Liangjun laughed and continued to order: "Unplug the gun towers! Bombard Anqing City!"
Standing on the city wall, he saw the turrets he had painstakingly built being torn out one by one. The firepower of Su Ze's army made Zhang Juzheng's hands and feet cold, and he dejectedly ordered the organization to withdraw from Anqing City.
That night, Zhang Juzheng and Liu Shiyan led 50,000 troops to withdraw from the city of Anqing. After the troops left the city, Liu Shiyan was unable to fully control the army. Nearly 30,000 of them mutinied and bombed the camp. Zhang Juzheng and Liu Shiyan could only take the remaining troops with them. Twenty thousand people continue to evacuate.
On the same day, the troops of the third brigade, led by Lin Deyang, arrived at Fengyang City.
Originally, Lin Deyang's target was just the pastoral supervisors near Fengyang, but he did not expect to know the news that Su Ze's army was approaching. The Zhu Ming clan in Fengyang Imperial City, led by Zhu Huaye, rioted and rushed out of Fengyang Imperial City. Then he opened the gate of Fengyang Mansion, and Lin Deyang attacked Fengyang Mansion without firing a shot.
Xiong Wu, who was operating in Nanjing, finally got the information that the Ming Dynasty was going to fight in Xuzhou. He personally disguised himself and went out of the city and delivered it to Su Ze who was in Shanghai.
After seeing the results, it turned out that there were several judgment points made by the staff department.
Su Ze smiled slightly, "The place for the decisive battle decided by the Ming Dynasty is very good, but who said I must fight here?"
Su Ze looked at Dagokou near the capital.
Don’t worry, everyone, this is not the time to go to Daku.
ps1: There are new tests today, and the blood sugar is still being adjusted. There is only one update, and two updates tomorrow. I’m really sorry, so I won’t ask for votes today.
ps2: Many people say that the writing of Fat Bird War is simple. To be honest, isn’t this a bad writing? If I could write a good war, I would like to write ten chapters, but if I don’t have the ability, I’d better not write it. It’s painful for everyone to read it. Therefore, the war is mainly focused on pre-war strategy and post-war influence, which can be regarded as exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses. After all, there’s no need to draw lines of troops in “Victoria 3,” right?
(End of chapter)
