Chapter 216 Lieutenant General
Xie Zhongren finally got his wish and got the title of deputy general, and was leading his men to Longli with great pride.
Not long ago, Xie Zhongren was a staff general of the Tonggu Guards. He received the title of deputy commander because he came to aid the Ming army in the battle between the Pingyue Guards and the Anbangyan rebels.
However, Lieutenant General Xie did not participate in that battle, and the Ming army lost the battle completely, losing more than 3,000 people. It was precisely because Xie Zhongren did not participate in the battle... Oh, well, to be precise, it was precisely because this defeat was directly related to him that he was promoted to deputy general.
Wang Ershan stayed in Yuanjiang until June, when he received an official order from the imperial court: Multiple armies had been mobilized to Zhenyuan Mansion to assemble and be on standby, and Wang Ershan, the new ruler of Guizhou, should go quickly without delay. There was no reason to procrastinate any longer, so after being besieged in Guiyang for half a year, Mr. Wang finally led more than 6,000 people to leave the prosperous Huguang, and stepped back into Guizhou Province step by step - Wang Ershan had already patched things up in Yuanjiang. However, no one in the various places who received the order to mobilize troops was willing to hand over their own elites who were responsible for the family fortune to Lord Wang to take to Guizhou. Therefore, most of the more than 10,000 people were auxiliary soldiers who were old and weak, and many of them simply They are farmers caught temporarily to make up the numbers. During this period of time in Yuanjiang, more than two thousand people traveled one after another, some died of illness, and some were dying... Fortunately, Tian Baisheng had already made an agreement with Mr. Wang that as soon as the army arrived in Longli, he would be killed. If you believe it, General Tian will lead his troops to join the army.
Along the way, Wang Ershan watched the crooked melons and split dates following him getting more and more desperate. However, when he arrived at Zhenyuan, he was a little surprised to see Qinglang Guards General Xu Shizhen waiting here. Xu Shen will lead a lot of people, more than three thousand. According to Xu Shizhen, a great victory had just been achieved: the chieftain in the 15th cave of Qiongshui was ready to make a move, but Xu Shenjiang decisively attacked, completely shattering his luck. Now the chieftain has changed his mind and contributed more than a hundred stones to the army. forage!
More than a hundred stones of food was really not that much, and there were only a few heads to prove the so-called victory. However, this was indeed a good sign and far exceeded Wang Ershan's expectations. So overjoyed, Mr. Wang promoted Xu to General on the spot. For the deputy general!
Then, General Xie Zhongren was angered.
Xu Shizhen is a staff general of the Qinglang Guard, and Xie Zhongren is a staff general of the Tonggu Guard. The relationship between the two has always been at odds.
The reason is of course the military camp.
Each of the two guards had their own farmland. Originally, the well water did not interfere with the river water, but Qinglang Guard was located upstream of the Qiong River, so Xu Shenjiang took advantage of the geographical advantage. Earlier, there was a drought that had not happened in many years. There was not a drop of rain in eastern Guizhou for eight or nine months. Xu Shizhen asked the auxiliary troops to build a dam on the Qiong River without saying a word. The water source of Qinglang Weijuntun was solved, but Xie Zhongren's side was almost dry, so he sent auxiliary soldiers to secretly dig a dam. Unexpectedly, Xu Shizhen had already taken precautions and arranged a full battalion of soldiers to guard there, beating the auxiliary soldiers of the Tonggu Guard to a bloody pulp. Unable to swallow this breath, Xie Zhongren mobilized all his elite soldiers, Ding Bai Lai, and set a fire in Xu Shizhen's land and brought back dozens of cattle - if the matter hadn't been too big and alarmed The two prefects Zhenyuan and Liping came forward to jointly suppress the situation, and a bloody battle between generals Xu and Jie was about to break out! Then came the floods. A heavy rain fell continuously for more than three months. General Xu Shen, who had been waiting for this day for a long time, dug many flood discharge ditches. All the rainwater was diverted into Qiongshui, and the floods flooded the army of General Xie Shen that year. No grain harvest! In these two major disasters in the past three years, more than a thousand of Xie Zhongren's serf auxiliary soldiers were starved to death. If they had not finally had to bear the pain and opened a warehouse to release more than 200 stones of grain, they would have been able to assist General Xie Shen in growing grain in the coming year. There are only a few soldiers left alive!
There are so many grievances between the two sides. When he learned that Xu Shizhen was promoted to deputy general, could General Xie not be furious? Besides, why the 15th Cave of Qiongshui responded to An Ni, changed his mind, and contributed military rations, it was all nonsense - Xu bastard bullied Mr. Wang when he first arrived and lied about his military exploits! Who doesn’t know that Dongmantou Yang Zheqi and Xu Shizhen are so good that they can wear a pair of trousers? Those bastards were cutting wood in Dongman Mountain and selling it privately to Huguang. Yang Zheqi was the guarantor of this guy's "catch the white and release the black"*!
Wang Ershan sat in Zhenyuan and taught Generals Xu and Jie to go to Pingyue Guards first. After they had established a foothold, Master Wang took his six thousand "heroes" to join them. The reason for this plan is that Zhang Fang and Huang Yuanqing took the route of Caotang, Huangping and Pingyue when they joined Guiyang, and there was no danger along the way. Wang Ershan estimated that An Bangyan's rebels would concentrate in the Leping, Xiaopingfa, and Baipingzhai areas in the east to intercept reinforcements, while in the south, Shangmaqiao, Xiaochengfan, Weifan, Wolongfan, Dalongfan... Look at the map With these place names, thieves are inevitable!
So Mr. Wang decided to avoid the truth and avoid the truth.
Then it overturned.
In fact, Wang Ershan's judgment is not bad. Because Zhang Fang and others were deliberately allowed to pass through once before, An Bangyan felt that the reinforcements were unlikely to surrender and walk all the way to darkness, so they did not send many troops in Pingyue. Only the old man Yang Yisi brought seven or eight hundred People are there to look after homes. If nothing unexpected happens, the reinforcements may really bypass Anbangyan's heavily guarded east road and go straight to Longliwei from Xintiansi!
Since we say "if", it means that something really happened.
And twice.
There was such a big hatred between the two generals that they naturally could not get along. Wang Ershan was alone and could not be separated. Since he had to sit in command far away, the former army had no civil servants who could suppress these two men. When the army arrived at Duyun Prefecture, Xie Zhongren took the lead and occupied Qingping, then stopped and refused to leave. In the evening of that day, someone saw two men in civilian clothes hurriedly leaving the camp and heading west. They looked vaguely like Xie Zhongren's personal guards, but to the west was Yang Yisi who had attached himself to An Ni. This kind of thing can be messy. It was impossible to talk about it, so no one dared to mention it until the end.
At around noon the next day, by the time Vice General Xu's team arrived, almost all the nearby places that could be used to station organic troops had been occupied by the Tonggu Guards. In the only one or two places left, a few floating corpses were thrown into the wells. The most important thing when the army is stationed is to protect the water source. It will definitely not survive if it is polluted - throwing corpses into the well is the simplest and most effective way.
Xu Shizhen had no choice but to keep moving forward. Fortunately, the reconnaissance cavalry reported that no enemy traces were found at Pingyue Guard and Yangchang Pass in front, and seven or eight fishing boats had been intercepted on the Maha River for the large army to ferry. Lieutenant General Xu thought about it for a while and decided to rush across with the entire army, cross the Maha River, and spend the night in Pingyue City!
The Qinglang Guard's scouts were right, there was indeed no trace of the enemy ahead. They even rode their horses to explore the forest on the slope. If there was a large group of enemies, they would definitely not escape their well-trained eyes.
However, what the scouts have to be wary of is the large group of enemies - they don't realize that there are a few pairs of vigilant eyes deep in the forest that are always staring at them.
Pingyuewei is almost an empty city. However, if the scouts traveled a few miles further, they would find that in addition to the seven or eight hundred Miao soldiers already gathered at Yang Yisi's place, men, women, old and young from the surrounding villages were also gathered together, totaling two to three thousand people. ——They seemed to have received some news in advance!
When Xu Shizhen's forward battalion began to cross the river, someone in the forest ran quickly to the west. After running a few miles away, probably out of hearing the Han soldiers crossing the river on the bank, they stopped, put their hands on their cheeks, and let out a series of "Ou Luo Luo Luo" sounds.
The same response sounded in the distance, and then further away, and then further away...
The message reached Yang Yisi, and the old man waved his hand, and the Miao soldiers quickly and silently drove towards the Maha River, followed closely by the old and young Miao women.
Xu Shizhen had three military battalions under his command. The two battalions were the first to cross the river to guard, and then the Chinese army's food, grass and baggage. In order to prevent the nearby Jie Gou from robbing supplies and causing trouble, one battalion was left behind. So far, everything has been going smoothly. However, when loading supplies, the boats were too slow. Either they couldn't reach the shore for a long time, or they rowed into the whirlpool. Just after they were pulled out, the boats got stuck again. It took too long. At that time, seeing that the sun was approaching the top of the mountain in the west, all the supplies were transported over. At this rate, the remaining battalion would not be able to cross over until dusk. But it doesn't matter, anyway, when the last soldier comes ashore, these boatmen will be killed with one knife - Lieutenant General Xu has already thought about it and settled down comfortably in Pingyue. In three days, he must be punished for being fearful of the enemy and delaying the military plane. He must be punished so severely that he will have to shed a layer of skin even if he is not dead! As for killing Zhouzi, there are many reasons for escaping from battle, preventing military intelligence from being leaked, Miao Yi's meticulous work...
The camp at the rear had just crossed the halfway point when Yang Yisi's Miao soldiers came out of the forest shouting like heaven and launched a surprise attack.
Regarding crossing the river in enemy territory, the Ming army had clear regulations: the reconnaissance cavalry crossed first, then the forward battalion formed a guard, followed closely by the auxiliary soldiers carrying armor and garrison equipment. While the forwards wore armor, the auxiliary soldiers dug trenches to hold back the horses. Build simple fortifications, then the cavalry. After crossing the river, cross the fortifications and set up a warning circle one to three miles away. If encountering an enemy attack, counterattack as appropriate to buy more time for the general, and then the Chinese army's baggage. However, Xu Shizhen led the guardsmen, so it would be very valuable if they did not fall behind. How could we use this standard to demand them?
The Miao soldiers were unarmored, and the guards soldiers were not wearing armor when marching across the river. One side came prepared, but the other side was attacked in a hurry. The battlefield advantage was obviously on the side of the Miao people. What's even more terrible is that on the mountains behind the Miao army's forward, even though it was just dusk, several winding fire dragons actually appeared! Dots of torches were lit one after another. At a glance, there might not be as many as four or five thousand, and they were flashing towards the Ming army. The Miao thieves had been lying in wait for a long time, and they were already ready to fight at night in the dark!
The frightened Xu Shizhen ran back with her close guards. When they arrived at the river, they saw the boatmen suddenly showing their daggers, stabbing the soldiers around them and jumping into the river.
"It's over, you've been caught in a trap!" As soon as this thought came to Lieutenant General Xu's mind, the small circle around him was overwhelmed by the rebel army - the general had escaped, who would foolishly fight against Miao Yi! The company's soldiers, auxiliaries, and civilians captured along the way all turned around and crowded towards the river. The supplies that had just been unloaded were piled up in a mess, exacerbating the chaos. In an instant, the organization of the army no longer existed, and everyone Running around screaming like a headless fly.
Drums rumble.
A Ming army with bright armor came from the east bank of the Maha River. Xie Zhongren, who was riding a flower horse under General Zhang Er, looked high-spirited.
Finally, the soldiers in a few small boats tried their best to get the boats to the shore, but they all stayed on the east coast. The soldiers who got off the boat ran to the general's horse and knelt down one after another, pointing to the west bank, thinking they were begging him to help. Following their hands, Xu Shizhen clearly saw Jie Zhongren grinning at her, even though he was across the river, and then swiped his hand on his neck, making a beheading gesture! Then he gave some instructions, and the soldiers of the Tonggu Guard formed a formation to outflank the half of the battalion that was still in a panic on the east bank...
This was the last scene Xu Shizhen saw.
Xie Zhongren watched with satisfaction as the big enemy Xu bastard on the other side had a spear tip coming out of his chest and fell under his horse. Another Miao soldier came forward and imitated the Han soldiers and cut off his head, provoking and threatening him. He raised his head... Not only did General Xie respond with a warm smile, he also raised his arms and raised two big fingers at the guy to show his praise - the guy was stunned on the spot and froze with his head raised. on the spot!
The Qinglang Guards were almost completely wiped out. The old man asked the villagers, old and young, to use two torch-wielding suspects to crush everyone's will to resist. Thousands of people died by the Maha River: hundreds of Miao soldiers killed less than half of them, and most of them trampled on each other. and those who ran into the river and drowned.
Wang Ershan was horrified when he received the news that Xu Lieutenant General Xu's army was annihilated because of his greed for merit. Fortunately, Xie Zhongren was mature and prudent, and he even managed to gather hundreds of Qinglang Guards' defeated troops. Their strength did not decrease but increased. Now the only thing the Ming Army in eastern Guizhou can use is General Xie. In order to stabilize the morale of the army and boost morale, General Xie Shen, who was both unfaithful and unkind, naturally became the deputy commander of Xie.
*The so-called Dongman are today’s Dong people. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various ethnic groups lived together in southeastern Guizhou, with different customs and influences on each other. Some Miao people have the custom of "washing Miao bones": after the death of their loved ones, a simple ceremony is held and they are hastily buried in a coffin. The next year, the coffin is opened and the bones are washed, and the bones are whitened, and this is done seven times. If a family member is sick, they will attribute it to "the bones of their ancestors are unclean, so they still take them and wash them again." The Yao people also have a similar habit, and with their neighboring Dong people, they have developed a trading rule of "catch the white ones and let the black ones go."
The Qingjiang area is rich in forest resources, and most Dong people make tree planting their profession. There is no need for huge trees in mountainous areas, so they are often transported to Han areas for trade by the Han people, making huge profits. Many Han merchants have limited capital, and traveling thousands of miles is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In order to maximize efficiency, wealthy Dong people will act as guarantees for them, so that Han merchants can leave with as much wood as possible. If the Han merchants never come back, the Dong forest owners who do not understand Chinese and cannot go out to seek recourse will adopt this method of "catching the white and releasing the black", digging up the tombs of the ancestors of the mediators, and asking for their bones from the sponsors. payment.
