Chapter 223 Dead End (Part 1)
Besides Tian Baisheng, Liu Chao was the second unpopular leader among the Ming army generals.
Originally, a mere guerrilla officer of the camp only killed a few soldiers to stop the roar of the camp, and then he was promoted to general! What about Da Po Guan Shang Guan, Li Ke Long Li... isn't it just that you are lucky? If I had known that there were only a few suspects left by the rebels, wouldn't it be a great victory for any battalion that rushed forward? This guy has taken advantage of all the ready-made advantages, how can this be done!
Leveraging the unstoppable strength of Tian Baisheng's troops, the army led by two generals, Zhang Fang and Xie Zhongren, headed straight to Dafang. Liu Chao was grandly deployed by them on the west bank of the Yachi River in the rear area, euphemistically known as guarding the ferry. , to ensure the safety of the army's retreat - in fact, there are only two purposes: first, to deny you the opportunity to make new achievements; second, there is no land to encircle there, no benefits can be obtained, and I will eat you honestly Get your own share of the occasional food and salary!
This is also because the military system of the Ming Dynasty was too chaotic and everyone did not belong to each other. Grandfather Taizu was worried about the longevity of the old Zhu family - the lessons of the Tang Dynasty's feudal rule were too terrible, so after the world was settled, Zhu Yuanzhang massacred military generals and uprooted and destroyed the power of the military group. On the other hand, the guard system was used to disperse the strength of the military leaders, so that the largest military leader in the entire empire could only control the military strength of one province. At the same time, two tightening curses were added: the number of soldiers The approval is controlled by the Ministry of War, and the food and salary are distributed by local civil servants! That's not all. The clever Taizu also buried two trump cards as a back-up strategy. One was the huge vassal guard army spread throughout the empire as an external deterrent, and the other was the "big and small system" system to use against his own army. of internal disintegration.
But Grandfather Taizu, despite all his calculations, failed to plan for his own death. The fourth son immediately chopped up his eldest grandson and disappeared without a trace! Immediately afterwards, Grandpa Cheng summarized his successful experience, and eliminated the royal guards from all over the country to the last ten. Of course, the "big and small phase system" was perfectly inherited by the fourth master as the unique secret recipe of the old Zhu family.
From the design of this military system, we can clearly see that whether it is Taizu or Chengzu, their number one imaginary enemy is the uneasy military generals who raise their troops to rebel, and the rest are small-scale riots by rebels and traitors. . By confining the strength of the military leaders to such an extent that they would never dare to rebel, and at the same time being able to exterminate small groups of bandits in the province, wouldn't the Zhu family be able to enjoy eternal peace?
Unfortunately, both father and son were wrong.
Whether it is facing giant bandits like Guan Shengyun and Zhang Hu, or large-scale rebellion by She'an and his ilk, the original system is completely unable to cope with it - regardless of the fact that the guard station has become useless, even if it is still useful , the imperial court can't allocate all the soldiers in an entire province, can it?
Then you can only draw from various places.
Liu Chao was transferred to Guizhou from Hechi, Guangxi by the imperial court. This has caused a phenomenon: it sounds like the total military strength is huge, but in fact the troops are not subordinate to each other. In theory, there are both civilian prime ministers dispatching and generals under the unified command. In operation, everyone plays their own role!
If Liu Chao were a subordinate of either Zhang or Jie, he would also be jealous to varying degrees if he made meritorious deeds, but it would still be much better - a rising tide lifts all boats, and the merits of his subordinates will definitely be reflected in the superior, even if his official position has been At the top, for example, Zhang Fang, who is both the commander-in-chief and the seal of the plain barbarian general, can no longer be promoted, but he can still find ways to gain honorary titles or worldly positions. Sometimes the imperial court even deliberately rewarded the officers heavily, and the generals who had made great contributions were simply brushed off... Of course, at this time, the angel or civil servant who conveyed the favor would take advantage of the time when no one was around to mutter a few words to express his grievance: Alas, General You have made such a great contribution to the imperial court. The Holy Emperor and the elders have also said that no matter what, it is not an exaggeration! It's a pity that you can't break the rules when the commander is there... I believe you understand the truth during this period, right?
What the hell! The only thing that the illiterate martial artist can understand is that both the Holy Emperor and the Elder know my merits, and it was that idiot who blocked my way and robbed me of my wealth! We must find an opportunity to kill this bastard!
Understanding this level, it is not difficult to understand why in real history there were so many mutual traps or refusals to save each other within the Ming army.
By the way, adding sand and burying nails is called "the control of small and large".
This is a dead end that was created by the old Zhu family early on.
But Liu Chao was a blessing in disguise. Being left behind has no advantages, but it gives you an advantage when it comes to withdrawing troops and running away. Liu Chao immediately divided his troops into two groups, leaving one battalion with the weakest combat power to guard the pontoon bridge at the ferry and to receive the army, while the other two main battalions quickly crossed the river and set up defenses in Yachi.
As the commander-in-chief of the army, Zhang Fang had no choice but to lead his troops to the rear of the army, with Wang Ershan staring at him with hatred. The person running at the front was Xie Zhongren, and Wang Ershan and Chen Qiyu were in the middle army.
The soaring fire in Dafang City was the signal, and An Bangyan came out with all his strength. As soon as the army passed through the scorched earth of Jinji Post, Wang Ershan of the Chinese Army received urgent military information from the former Deputy Commander of the Army: Miao Ni were densely packed on the Liuchong River, and they spread out along the river for more than twenty miles. I'm afraid there are more than 100,000! The former army failed in the attack and now abandoned the boat and landed ashore, and retreated by land towards Yachi. Wang Ershan let out a long sigh, his face turned ashen: It was too late to investigate where the large number of An Ni sneaked in. What Xie Zhongren called a failure in the attack was that he was beaten badly, and he abandoned the boat and landed on the beach without even giving up the baggage and clothing - abandoning the waterway. He can only walk on two legs, but he also runs out of food. Not to mention him, the entire army's massive military supplies and equipment may not be saved!
Chen Qiyu, who had been observing Wang Ershan's face, came forward and said, "Sir, the thief is powerful. How about I protect you and get out of the way first?"
Wang Ershan's heart trembled and he said angrily: "Are you asking me to abandon the army and flee? If I run away and the whole army collapses, the thieves will be able to carry out their treacherous plot without any blood! Don't mention such nonsense again!"
Wang Ershan looked at Chen Qiyu's retreating figure, and then looked at the ruins of Jinji Station not far away. He was startled, and called his personal chief, Wang Fu, to explain a few words, and Wang Fu left in a hurry. Not long after, Wang Fu came back, and when there was no one around, he reported in a low voice: "Sir, the old slave stole it, and the grain station was burned to the ground, but... there is not a grain of grain in the ruins!"
Although he had doubts, Wang Ershan was still struck by this bolt from the blue: "Are you sure you have seen all the places? Can you see them all in such a short time? Are you lazy, old slave!"
Wang Fu said with aggrieved face: "Master, please. If the grain warehouse is burned, there must be coke, right? At a glance, there are small piles of ashes on such a large grain platform, and only empty warehouses are burned. Moreover, Master I am a scholar, and I don’t know much about trivial matters. I tell you, this food is not easy to burn! You have to pile up many tinders, and unless it is spread out completely, no matter how big the fire is, it will burn. It's the food on the outside. The food inside is indestructible. Before joining the master, the old slave had eaten food burned by thieves in his hometown. After peeling away the coke on the outside, the food inside was fine and could be planted in the ground. It’s sprouting…”
Wang Ershan didn't listen to Wang Fu's chatter at all. Except for one thought, his mind went blank: Someone was involved in a thief!
After a long time, his face regained his composure. He took off the governor's seal from his belt and handed it to Wang Fu. He said solemnly: "Take this and leave quickly. Don't let others see it. Be it Guiyang or Zunyi, just find the official and hand it over. Then." Go straight home and tell grandma*.”
Of course, An Bangyan couldn't deploy 100,000 Miao soldiers on the Liuchong River - at this moment, he only had more than 20,000 people in his hands, and there were only more than 3,000 people on the Liuchong River to intercept them with great fanfare. Xie Zhongren ran so fast that he left behind all the important personnel, took his direct line soldiers and more than 3,000 strong auxiliary soldiers, and quickly ran to the other side of the Yachi River. He was about to escape.
An Bangyan's main force was ambushing in Shexiangyi, watching the Ming army pass by, and then bit Zhang Fang's troops who were behind.
It has to be said that although the Shuixi Army's combat power is weaker than She Chongming's, An Bangyan's brain is really good: if it is intercepted head-on, although the result is no suspense, the battle damage of the headquarters will definitely be greater—— Everyone knew that the only way to survive was to fight out, so the Ming generals had no choice but to drive the Han soldiers to charge desperately. This is not the case with tail-to-tail pursuit. As long as the bite is tight, no unit will be willing to be left behind as a scapegoat, so they will rush forward with all their strength - you rush, I rush, and the friendly forces fighting side by side will They become life-and-death competitors and will collapse sooner or later! At this time, if you send troops to press, you will basically get a free advantage.
Zhang Fang was completely panicked when she found out that An Bangyan had bitten her. After walking for a whole day, I wanted to abandon the army several times, but thinking about how I first ate the common people and sold human flesh, and then sold military supplies to support the enemy, and surrounded such a large area in the middle... I had caused so many and such big disasters, even if There is no way I can survive as a biological father, so I can only continue to bite the bullet and take it one step at a time. However, at noon on the second day, when An Bangyan put up a charging posture and launched a feint attack by the Miao soldiers, Zhang Dashuai couldn't bear it anymore. He shot all the fireworks in the army into the sky and aimed at the king of the Chinese army. Your Excellency and Brother Chen ask for help.
Xie Zhongren has long since disappeared. Only Chen Qiyu’s two battalions in the Chinese army are fully organized. The rest are used to escort miscellaneous troops with baggage. But Zhang Fang must be rescued no matter what. On the one hand, his lips are dying and his teeth are cold, and Wang Ershan After all, the Lord is a very principled scholar, so when he saw the signal for help from the rear team, he ordered to stop advancing, burn the baggage that could not be taken away, and the entire army returned to meet Zhang Fang. Unexpectedly, upon hearing the order to burn the baggage, Chen Qiyu drove his horse straight towards Wang Ershan. Mr. Wang was thrown to his back. Immediately afterwards, Chen's troops went on a killing spree and dispersed several battalions of miscellaneous soldiers who did not belong to each other. They lay down on the ground with their hands and heads in their hands - they knew that no matter which party needed coolies to move things, wouldn't eating someone's mixed flour pancakes mean they would survive?
Chen Qiyu, who was riding on the horse, was very proud: It doesn't matter whether Wang Ershan is dead or alive. The official seal of the governor of Guizhou is very important! Unexpectedly, Wang Ershan committed suicide with the Emperor's Sword on the spot. He searched the body, boxes, luggage and the governor's seal but found nothing, so he had no choice but to lead his troops to kill Zhang Fang angrily.
The great cause of victory, which was already in sight, suddenly took a turn for the worse and fell into a dead end in an instant.
*There is a reason why I added this paragraph^_^
Of course Wang Ershan is based on Wang Sanshan, but there is another literary character who is also based on Wang Sanshan. You must have heard of it, hehe.
Have you heard of the Peking Opera "Nv Qi Jie"? Have you seen the scene in "Three Words, Two Shots" about "It's hard to find a husband after a long time in a jade house"? "Su San left Hongdong County and came to the street", "There are no good people in Hongdong County"... Sound familiar?
The male lead in it, Prince Jinlong, is based on Wang Sanshan!
Unexpected? Ha ha.
Of course, it is true that Governor Da Yin was taken away by his family. Although Mr. Wang is a bit bookish, he is doing well.
