The Crow Road to the north of Wuji Pass is a rugged mountain road in the valley. Especially when approaching Wuji Pass, the road suddenly becomes extremely narrow.
When Luo Guanyi led the army to Wuji Pass, he looked up and took a deep breath.
Wuji Pass is surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and there is no other way out.
There is a small fortress made of stones on the top of the mountain in the distance. Although the pass is simple, the terrain is difficult.
There is only one mountain road connected to it. This road is not only steep but also extremely narrow and can only accommodate one person.
This is really one man's responsibility, and ten thousand men can't stop it.
But at this time, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and start tackling the problem.
Soon Ming troops holding shields launched an attack on Wuji Pass.
Although the large shields of the Ming army could withstand the bows and arrows fired by the Tatars, they could not stop the rocks and rolling logs that fell from the mountains.
Those rolling logs continued to fall along the narrow mountain road, directly smashing the attacking Ming army to pieces.
The screams of Ming soldiers continued to echo in the valley, and sometimes a rolling log could bring down many people.
In a short time, the Ming army suffered nearly a hundred casualties.
At this time, Luo Yiguan's face was ashen. This was not solving a problem, it was simply sending him to death.
Although the Ming army's firecrackers and bows and arrows continued to shoot at Guan Guan, it did not seem to affect the Tatars from throwing rolling logs downwards.
He said to the guide of the Ming army: "How did Ning Yuanbo and General He conquer Wuji Pass before."
The guide said: "Uncle Ning Yuan used a kind of artillery. It is said that he pushed the cannon directly under the pass, and then directly blasted the Wuji pass."
"When Mr. He first attacked Wuji Pass, Ning Yuanbo had already led his troops to the gates of Hetuala, so there were not many defenders in the pass. Mr. He sacrificed hundreds of brothers and waited until all the stones and rolling logs in the pass were exhausted before the pass was captured. This level."
Luo Guanyi glanced at Wuji Pass. The mountain road here is very steep. Even if ordinary artillery is pushed up here, it cannot hit the pass on the mountain.
Now there is only one way to attack by force, hoping to consume all the stone, rolling logs and other objects blocking the enemy.
Later, guerrilla Lu Dayou suggested that the Ming army feign an attack at night to create a greater momentum.
The Tatars in the gate cannot see the situation clearly, and they will definitely throw stones and rolling logs at the gate.
In this way, the enemy's defense supplies can be consumed at a relatively small cost.
Luo Guangyuan felt that this plan was feasible.
Wujiguan is not a big place, with only 200 soldiers stationed on weekdays, and hundreds of soldiers used to carry rolling logs.
When Li Xianzhong destroyed Wujiguan, he ordered the Ming army to cut down and burn all the trees within a few miles of Wujiguan Mountain, and remove all the stones.
Cement was even used to make the originally relatively flat road artificially difficult to navigate.
Therefore, it is quite difficult for Wuji Pass to replenish customs materials such as rocks, rolling trees and logs.
After originally withstanding the Ming army's offensive during the day, the defenders of the gate wanted to use the night to replenish more supplies for guarding the gate.
Unexpectedly, the Ming army did not let them rest at all, and actually lit torches and attacked at night.
The gated defenders couldn't see clearly what was going on down the mountain, so they had to judge their position based on the Ming army's torches.
Once the Ming army's torches approached, they would throw rocks and rolling logs downwards to kill and injure the enemy.
The Ming army took advantage of the darkness and directly planted torches on both sides of the mountain road. From the gate, it seemed that there were many Ming troops at the foot of the mountain.
They also used wooden stakes to be stuck diagonally on the mountain road to change the direction of the falling logs.
Every time the enemy's rolling logs fell, the Ming army made some real and fake screams to confuse the audience.
After a night's work, the city's supplies were almost exhausted.
So much so that when the Ming army attacked the key point the next day, their stone rolling logs were actually exhausted.
The Ming army holding their shields high actually fought all the way up, and soon arrived in front of Wuji Pass.
Tong Guanyuan at the foot of the mountain also seemed extremely excited. The Ming army could finally fight these Tatars in close combat.
But at the critical moment, the Tatars in Wujiguan actually demolished the stone walls around the fortress.
As pieces of stone fell, they caused considerable casualties to the Ming army.
When the Ming army organized another attack, the soldiers had already transported the rolling wood to Wuji Pass.
The Ming army was frustrated in another attack and had to stop its attack.
Just when the Ming army was at a loss and ready to retreat, they saw a sentinel coming on Pegasus.
The sentry rider said: "This is to inform Vice-General Luo. I am here to present the map on the orders of Governor Yan."
Luo Yiguan was overjoyed when he heard the picture was presented. Could it be that there is a path that can bypass Wuji Pass?
He excitedly took the map and opened it, but what caught his eye were the three characters "Hidden Artillery Map".
There is also a line of text below: In the spring of the 48th year of Wanli, Ningyuan Bo Li Xianzhong used a mortar to break Wuji Pass and destroyed it. However, this place is isolated outside the pass and it is difficult to defend it for a long time. I am afraid that the Jianlu will repair it again to hinder our Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the mortar cannon was hidden a hundred meters away from the pass. The generals of the Ming Dynasty only needed to follow this map to find the cannon and break the pass.
Luo Yiguan had to sigh: "Uncle Ning Yuan is truly a god!"
Soon they found a mortar in a hidden cave according to the location of the cannon map.
Soon after, several rounds of mortar shells were also delivered to Luo Yiguan.
However, it was getting late at this time and it was inconvenient to tackle the problem.
So the Ming army secretly pushed the mortar to the foot of the pass under the cover of night, waiting for dawn to break through the pass in one fell swoop.
While Luo Yiguan was fighting fiercely at Wuji Pass, the vanguard of the 10,000 South Route Army led by Liu Wei had also arrived at the Sixth Fort of Kuandian.
Kuandian Liubao is an area composed of six forts: Kuandian Fort, Changdiian Fort, Yongdiian Fort, Damian Fort, Xindiian Fort and Sumian Fort.
Originally, this area was guarded by 10,000 men with the red flag. After Daishan became independent, the red flag was withdrawn to North Korea on the other side of the Yalu River.
Now there are only 3,000 troops with yellow flags here.
Facing the menacing Ming army, Xianghuang Banner, who was short of troops, had to shrink its troops.
The Ming army quickly occupied the other five forts except Kuandian Fort.
At this time, nine thousand Ming troops had already surrounded Kuandian Fort.
Kuandian Fort was built in the first year of Wanli. The circumference of the castle is about 8 miles, the city is more than 8 meters high, wide in the north and narrow in the south, in the shape of a ladder. There is no gate to the mountain in the north of the city.
Although the city is not small, the North City, which is the widest, relies on the mountains and does not need to send troops to defend it.
The terrain of the east and west gates was not suitable for the assembly of large armies, so if they wanted to break the city they had to attack the south city, which had a shorter wall.
Previously, the white pole soldiers led by Ma Xianglin relied on their solid city defense to hold on for three months.
At this time, his adopted son, Liaoyang guerrilla Liu Zhaosun, said: "I am reporting to my father, Commander Wang, that our army has recaptured the Five Kuandian Forts. He was very excited and ordered my father to capture Kuandian Fort as soon as possible within one day. Don’t delay the army’s attack on Hetuala!”
At this time, Liu Wei's face was solemn and his brows were furrowed.
The Ming army indeed easily captured the Five Kuandian Forts, but this was something the Tatars gave up on their own initiative, not what they captured.
Instead of depleting the enemy's strength, occupying these fortresses depleted one's own troops.
Obviously, the Tatars are preparing to compete with themselves at Kuandian Fort!
Liu Zhaosun said: "According to the latest news, Lieutenant General Liu's attack on Wuji Pass is not going well. Governor Wang has ordered other main forces to go south to Kuandian. They should arrive soon. Please don't worry, Commander-in-Chief!"
After hearing the news, Liu Wei shook his head helplessly.
Concentrating 30,000 troops to capture Kuandian Six Forts and attacking steadily is the safest strategy for advancing troops.
Wang Huazhen's move to divide his troops at Wuji Pass was really a waste of time!
It not only dispersed the troops, but also wasted time. Both ends were affected, but the march to Hetuala was delayed!
But since the main force would arrive soon, he didn't waste time.
Liu Wei said to Liu Zhaosun: "Send the order to attack the city!"
Following Liu Wei's order, thousands of Ming troops pushed carts and rushed towards Kuandian Fort.
The guard of Kuandian Fort was Niu Hulu Eyidu, one of the five founding ministers of Jianzhou.
Eryi, who was only two years younger than the Great Khan, started fighting with Nurhachi very early.
He won the trust of Nurhachi, and he was named a first-class Duke for his bravery in battle and was given the title "Batulu".
E Yidu now had three thousand men and horses in his hands.
Jianzhou Niulu and Han Army Niulu each accounted for half.
Although there are few soldiers, Kuandian Fort's 8-meter-high city wall is the highest in the entire Jianzhou area, so he is still very confident in holding on here.
The Ming army's main attack direction must be Nancheng. He deployed 500 people in each of the east and west cities, and personally led 1,500 people to guard Nancheng.
He handed over the 500 reserve troops to his 14-year-old son Yi Bilong. Now all men over 13 years old in Jianzhou are going to the battlefield. This time is just a good time for him to have some experience.
Kuandian Fort has no moat, but there are two trenches.
The first trench was relatively far away from the city. After the arrows from the city were shot, they fell on the Ming army's carriages one after another.
Upon seeing this, the yellow flags on the city cursed the Ming army for being shameless and actually stealing Dai Jin's carriage.
Liu Wei has fought many battles with these Tatars, and has also captured many carts.
After thinking about it, he felt that the Tatars' carts were quite practical, so he had hundreds of them built for siege purposes.
Although the Ming army also had fire cannons, their bird cannons had a range of only 60 steps, and they could not shoot over the carriages onto the city.
Therefore, the Ming army also used bows and arrows. The Ming army used the cover of the carriages to continuously shoot arrows at the city.
At this time, the Eight Banners had been fighting with the Kaiyuan Ming Army under Li Xianzhong for a long time. In fact, they were all accustomed to the Ming Army's firecrackers. Liu Wei suddenly used bows and arrows, which made E Yi a little uncomfortable.
To be honest, he himself was helpless with these carts.
Soon the Ming army successfully filled in the first trench outside Kuandian Fort.
Although both sides were having a great time shooting, unfortunately the distance was relatively long and there were the cover of the carriages and city walls, so the actual damage caused by the bows and arrows to both sides was not much.
But it was different after reaching the second trench, because there was only forty steps away from the city wall, and both bows and arrows and firecrackers could hit the opponent.
Er Yidu seized the opportunity and ordered the yellow flags on the city to be pointed at the Ming army behind the carriage. Suddenly there was a volley of fire.
The Tatar bows and arrows poured down like a heavy rain on the Ming army attacking the city, and the arrows ruthlessly penetrated into the bodies of the Ming army.
Fortunately, the attacking Ming army was an elite force and many of them wore heavy cloth masks, so not many were actually shot directly.
But this wave of attacks still caused a lot of trouble for the Ming army's trench filling.
However, the Ming army had a large number of people after all, and soon the Ming army archers under the city responded in kind.
As waves of arrows rained down on the city, the yellow flag began to suffer casualties.
Although all of them were wearing heavy armor, and not many soldiers were directly shot in the vital points and died, the rain of arrows from the Ming army still blocked their rhythm of firing arrows.
The Ming army also seized this rare opportunity to fill the trenches.
"Bang, bang, bang"
As a burst of white smoke rose, several people with yellow flags holding bows and arrows were shot through the chests by the Ming army's blunderbuss.
At this time, Liu Wei also showed a proud smile. Now the Ming army's bows and arrows and blunderbuss had completely suppressed the Tatars in the city.
As long as the trenches were filled, he was still confident that he could capture Kuandian Fort.
He also knew that half of the Eight Banners of the Tatars today are Han troops, and some of them are Koreans. They can no longer be compared with the Tatars in the Sarhu period.
At this time, Ye Bilong said: "Amma, our Han army Niulu also has a large number of cannons. Now that the Ming army has pushed the carriage within forty steps, our cannons should have a chance to kill them."
Ye Bilong reminded him promptly. When the Ming army defended the city, they often used fire blunderbuss to pierce their carriages.
Since the Ming army could steal their own carriages, they could also use firecrackers to deal with them.
Under the cover of a group of shieldmen, the Han army's gunmen quickly aimed their cannons at the Ming army below the city.
Although their blunderbuss did not have the granular black powder of the Ming army, they could still shoot 60 steps.
Moreover, the Ming army's carriages were not wrapped in cowhide, but simply used wooden boards, so their defense was still lacking.
"Bang, bang, bang"
Soon the Han army's cannon shot at the Ming army's carriage.
Then the soldiers of the Ming army looked at the bloody hole on their chests in surprise, and fell down unwillingly.
It actually penetrated!
As the white fog on the city grew more and more, the number of Ming soldiers killed by cannons also gradually increased.
Although the Tatars' muskets were not always able to kill the Ming army behind the carriage.
But it has already caused enough deterrence to the Ming army.
The efficiency of the Ming army's trench filling was also getting lower and lower.
At this time, a very strange scene appeared on the battlefield. The Ming army was pushing the Tatar carts to attack the city; while the Tatars on the city were shooting with the Ming army's blunderbuss.
This picture feels awkward no matter how I look at it.
Although the Ming army has already suffered nearly a thousand casualties, more than half of the 5-meter-wide trench has been filled in by the Ming army at this time, and Liu Wei cannot stop here.
At this time, the Tatars on the city wall were covered by many shieldmen, and the damage caused by bows and arrows to them was almost negligible.
The Ming army gritted its teeth and came up with a thousand gunmen to fight with the Tatars on the city.
The Tatars could penetrate the Ming army's carriages at this distance, and the Ming army could also penetrate their shields.
For a while, the sound of fire and gunshots came one after another, and white mist filled the city above and below.
At first glance, it really seems to be in a paradise on earth.
Suddenly, with a loud noise, the screams of the Han army came from the city.
Ye Bilong quickly realized that it was an explosion.
At first, it was a few old birdshot guns that blew up their barrels. He could still understand that, after all, they were not new when they bought them, and they would easily blow up their barrels if they were used too much.
But when some new muskets began to explode, Ye Bilong quickly realized that something was wrong.
The Han army held a scrapped new blunderbuss and said: "Master, we have been deceived by those profiteers. The thickness of the barrels of these new blunderbuss is uneven and it is easy to explode."
The special blunderbuss that Li Xianzhong used to deceive the Tatars finally worked. In desperation, E Yidu had no choice but to give up using the blunderbuss.
But when they replaced their bows and arrows, they found that it was too late, because the Ming army had almost filled the moat outside the city.
Liu Zhaosun raised his sword high and personally led Liu Wei's servants to attack the city.
In the past, Liu Wei did this kind of thing by himself, but now he is old. Although he can still hold the iron sword, his body has become worse than before after he was seriously injured last year.
He knew this was probably his last battle.
Being able to pacify Jianzhou in his last battle can be regarded as a successful conclusion to his military career.
The Ming army, under the command of Liu Zhaosun, quickly put a ladder on the city wall of Kuandian.
At this time, the two sides are about to enter a more brutal stage of physical combat.
The yellow flags on the city kept picking up stones and throwing them at the Ming army who climbed the city, while the Ming army archers and fire gunmen below the city kept shooting the prisoners on the city to prevent them from interfering with the siege!
Although the Ming army suffered greater casualties, their numbers were still superior after all, and they soon climbed to the top of Kuandian City.
At this time, there were still hundreds of white-armored Ya La wearing triple heavy armor on the city, although these people were vulnerable to the Lumi guns of the Kaiyuan Army.
However, facing the ordinary Ming army, their combat power was still extremely fierce. Soon the Ming army who climbed onto the city wall were defeated by these white-armored Yala.
Seeing that the most elite servants in the army were being driven off the city, Liu Zhaosun personally went to the city to kill the enemy.
The two sides are already in close combat. The so-called brave man wins when they meet on a narrow road. At this time, it depends on whose willpower is stronger.
Although Er Yidu is nearly sixty years old, he is still extremely brave. The sword in his hand can be seen drawing cold arcs, constantly killing the surrounding Ming troops.
Liu Wei was known for his swordsmanship and was nicknamed "Liu Da Dao".
As Liu Zhaosun's adopted son, Liu Zhaosun naturally got his true inheritance. After killing the two White Pendulums, he rushed towards them.
Liu Zhaosun aimed at Fu Yidu and "Cleaved Huashan Mountain with force", Fu Yidu blocked with his sword. Soon the two blades collided with each other, and even sparked sparks from the friction.
It is said that boxing is not for young people, but the same is true for weapons.
The sixty-year-old Er Yidu was naturally not Liu Zhaosun's opponent in terms of strength, but he quickly relied on his own experience to remove the force from Liu Zhaosun's sword, and then slashed at the opponent with his hand.
I saw two big knives waving continuously in the air, and sparks were produced from time to time.
Liu Wei was observing the battle between the two at the city gate. He could tell at a glance that E Yidu's swordsmanship should be superior to that of Liu Zhaosun, but he only suffered from age and strength. Therefore, the battle between the two talents was inseparable.
At this time, the iron sword in Liu Wei's hand had already been replaced by a treasure eagle bow. Liu Wei has always been famous for his amazing arm strength, and it is even said that he can dance a 120-pound sword.
It is still possible to draw a four-stone bow.
Both of them knew that they would definitely not be Liu Zhaosun's opponent if they continued like this, so they pretended to be defeated and pretended to retreat.
Liu Zhaosun thought that Er Yi was about to run away, so he chased after him.
Liu Wei, who was under the city, secretly thought that it was not good, Liu Zhaosun had been fooled, and Er Yidu would definitely turn around and slash at him with all his strength.
So he held his breath, then loosened the bow string, and a heavy armor-piercing arrow pierced the sky, shooting straight towards E Yidu like a bolt of lightning.
At this time, Liu Zhaosun had already chased him within attacking distance. Er Yidu suddenly turned around and swung his sword, slashing towards Liu Zhaosun in a circular motion.
Liu Zhaosun also understood that something was wrong. He Yidu attacked him with the weight of the weapon itself and the huge inertia. He had no choice but to wave his sword to resist, but he would definitely be knocked away by its huge power.
Just when he tried his best to block this fatal blow, he never waited for the storm to come.
At this time, the forehead in front of him had also been shot through the throat by a piece of armor-piercing heavy armor.
Liu Zhaosun quickly seized the opportunity and swung his sword, directly cutting off E Yidu's head.
Seeing the enemy general being beheaded, the morale of the Ming army in the city soared and they began a frantic counterattack.
Young Ye Bilong raised his spear and wanted to rush over to avenge his Ama.
But at this time, one hand held his spear and said: "You are no match for that Ming general, so let me go."
At this time, Ye Bilong only saw an equally young figure rushing towards General Ming.
Ye Bilong knew that his departure would be a disaster, so he shouted: "May I ask what the name of this warrior is?"
Then a long voice came: "Gualjia Obai"!
Ao Bai, like Ye Bilong, was also behind the "Five Ministers", and both of them were under the Xianghuang Banner. His uncle was Fei Yingdong, who was killed by Li Xianzhong last year.
Now 13 years old, Obai finally has the opportunity to go to the battlefield and kill the Ming army.
When he saw that he was a child, Liu Zhaosun didn't take it seriously and just laughed it off.
I thought to myself that there really was no one left in the Tatars, and even half-grown men like this came here to die.
Seeing the opponent swinging a knife towards him, he also swiped the knife at the opponent.
Soon Liu Zhaosun paid the price for his underestimation of the enemy. His sword was blown away by Obai, and then a cold light flashed by, and Liu Zhaosun fell directly on the city.
After Ao Bai's formation beheaded Liu Zhaosun, the morale of the Ming army plummeted and they were soon driven out of Kuandian Fort.
Liu Wei couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Liu Zhaosun was beheaded by the enemy in just two moves. Judging from the figure, the man should not be an adult.
In this battle, the Ming army killed nearly 4,000 people and still failed to capture Kuandian Fort. Moreover, their elite servants were almost exhausted, so naturally they were unable to fight anymore.
The worse news is that Wang Huazhen's 20,000 troops did not come to Kuandian Fort.
After receiving the news that Luo Yiguan had captured Wuji Pass and Liu Wei had not captured Kuandian Fort, he chose to march directly to Hetuala from Wuji Pass.
Instead, he sent an order for Liu Wei to continue attacking Kuandian Fort.
On November 12, the forty-eighth year of Wanli, Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, led nearly 20,000 Ming troops across Wuji Pass and approached the city of Hetuala.
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(End of chapter)
