Liu Chengzong did not enter Huozhou.
He only found himself surrounded after receiving two red cannons sent from the imperial court.
Officials and troops were all stationed in Kulongguan in the northeast, Liulang Village in the east, Pu County in the southeast, and Daning in the south.
After judgment, he believed that the officers and soldiers stationed at Liulang Village were the weakest, and he could try to fight.
But the fort was difficult to fight. The terrain was easy to defend but difficult to attack. It blocked the main road into Huozhou. Even if the artillery was set up, there was nothing he could do unless the defenders took the lead.
However, when a large army sneaks across, its baggage cannot get through. If the baggage passes, it is easy to be chased after them.
So he tried to seduce. When the troops dropped their baggage and ignored Liulang Village, they just headed east. After walking two miles, they found that the defenders of Liulang Village were not fooled.
There was nothing he could do if he wasn't fooled, so he had to lead his troops back. He was just being careful. They were all lightly armed troops anyway, so he simply climbed the mountain from the south and sneaked back to the west.
But no matter what Liu Chengzong did, the defenders of Liulang Village remained motionless in the fort.
You are besieged by five hundred men, but I will not stand still by a thousand men.
Five hundred of you are going east, but I, a thousand of them, are still standing still.
You leave your horses and chariots in the west, and I, a thousand people, are still at peace.
Liu Chengzong repeatedly jumped horizontally, but the Liulangzhai defenders refused to take the bait and carried out the bastard tactics to the end.
It seemed that he was battling with the air, and the scene was very embarrassing for a time.
Anxiety makes people scratch their heads and heads.
Liulang Village is in the mountains to the north of the official road from Luliang Mountain to Huozhou. If this fort is not removed, the troops will be cut off from their retreat, and they will not be able to transport stolen supplies to the west.
But when we attack this fortress, we are surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it difficult for the army to spread out and move.
The only option available was to cut off water and food, but during the siege it was easy for the army to block the mountain roads from the east and west sides of Luliang Mountain.
As for the artillery, his small cannons were useless against Shizhai, and the number and ammunition of the cannons were not enough.
To be honest, Liu Chengzong really didn't have a good way to deal with this kind of stone bastard.
If the four surrounding military garrison strongholds were like this, the Lion Camp would be blocked to the west of Luliang Mountain.
But the good thing is, not every stronghold is like this.
On March 20, Tangqi from the direction of Pu County reported back on horseback. After the officers and soldiers there organized their equipment, they turned southwest along the official road and turned north towards Xi County.
Immediately, the official troops stationed outside Daning County also moved. This army was advancing towards Yonghe County. It seemed that they wanted to go around to the north of Xi County, so that the two troops could form a north-south pincer attack.
After receiving the news, the sentry commanders gathered at Doupo Mountain at the western foot of Luliang Mountain to discuss matters.
Chengyun spread the map on the ground and marked the locations of the four enemy armies. Liu Chengzong instinctively turned his head to Cao Yao.
Not to ask for advice, but in this situation, Cao Yao should be the most familiar person here.
Cao Yao smiled bitterly: "Don't these people know anything about Sarhu's lessons?"
In the same way, the enemy is in darkness and we are in the clear.
Likewise, we divided our forces in the mountains and advanced together.
There are also some iron bastards who refuse to move.
Likewise, each route has fewer troops and combat power than the enemy.
This is obviously a large psychic formation, summoning Nurhaci to appear!
Cao Yao began to analyze the pros and cons: "Fight quickly, attack one road first, and then attack the other road before they receive the news. The remaining ones who are still in the camp will die without reinforcements."
"If you want to leave, then gather all your strength to attack Pu County all the way and enter Linfen via Heilong Pass."
At this time, Liu Chengzong raised his hand to signal Cao Yao to stop talking. He frowned and walked aside, standing on the steep slope of the cliff and looking at the rolling mountains.
He didn't think about the strategy to defeat the enemy, he thought about the general situation.
Thinking about how they accidentally collided with each other and put the officers and soldiers in such a formation.
He would like to call this formation...the Nurha Chisarhu Spiritual Formation.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Chengzong found the problem.
The imperial court's arrangement for the southwestern part of Shanxi was to defend the north horizontally, so Xuanfu and Datong were the first line; Kelan and Daizhou were the first line; Taiyuan was the first line; Fenzhou and Lu'an were the first line.
Relatively speaking, Kelan Prefecture and Piantou Pass may be used to partially defend the west, but in Fenzhou Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture, there is no arrangement for vertical defense of the Yellow River.
Therefore, it was difficult for Fenzhou Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture to coordinate. They only knew that there were reinforcements in the north, but the troops in the south moved, but the troops in the north did not.
The border between two provinces, the border between two prefectures, the border between two counties, and even the border between two military districts.
This situation can be created, he realized!
At this moment, Liu Chengzong looked at the shadows of the undulating mountains in the distance, feeling particularly subtle in his heart.
What should I say? The imperial court is teaching me how to fight against the imperial court.
He turned his head and met the expectant or doubtful looks of the sentry commanders under his command. He was filled with excitement and clenched his fists and said: "Fight, first attack the thousand-man army unit from Puzhou going north, and then attack the thousand-man army unit from Daning. If the two officers and troops in the north don't move, forget it; if they move, we'll fight together."
"The battlefield is just south of Xizhou City!"
In fact, there is no other place in this terrain that can be used as a battlefield. There are mountains all over the place, and there are no roads in the mountains. There are only two or three official roads, and it is not easy to find flat ground.
The general direction was finalized, and the commanders of the six combat posts were waiting for him to issue combat missions.
Liu Chengzong was also unambiguous and said directly to Yang Yao: "Commander Yang was injured before. This time you will stay behind as a partial division. I will leave the baggage sentry and work sentry to you, set up a defense line south of Xizhou City, dig trenches and set up camp."
Although Yang Yao felt that he was not seriously injured and could still command the troops, he still nodded in agreement.
He always obeyed the orders of war.
But he also had his own doubts and asked: "I have set up camp in the south of the city. When the enemy troops from the north come, they will sneak into Xizhou City to confront me. I can't defeat them."
No matter how strong the camp is, it will definitely not be as good as the city.
Liu Chengzong nodded and said with a smile: "Garrisoning in the south of the city is not on the official road. Just choose a mountainous place with easy concealment and an escape route. Don't block the officers and soldiers going south. Wait until they pass before intercepting them and keeping them."
It's hard to find if it runs away.
"Go to Weijiayu."
Chengyun then said, "You can't find it anywhere in the mountain. It's not far from the official road. There was a drought the year before last and many people left. Now there are only seven or eight households left in the valley to provide some money and food. Since there are people working for us, It can also help people tide over difficulties and get the best of both worlds.”
He pointed out the location on the map, raised his hand and smiled at everyone: "There are almost two thousand people in the three posts. As long as the location of the huts is well selected and the land is fertilized for others, a good harvest is waving to the people."
"now it's right."
Liu Chengzong smiled and said: "We are outsiders. Even if we want to do something to help the people like in Shaanxi, we have no way to start. But as long as we can do no harm to most people, over time the people will definitely treat us well as local soldiers."
In fact, Qiu has made no mistakes, which is not a high requirement.
To put it simply, it means not disturbing the public, and it will be the same if you come and if you don’t come.
But it is not easy to do it, especially in this era. Liu Chengzong is a soldier and he knows it best.
Not to mention a normal frontier soldier, when he went out to camp for hunting in Yuhe Fort, he would get panicked wherever he went. He would hallucinate when he saw the barren mountains and ridges all over the place, and all kinds of food he had eaten would disappear and appear on the top of the mountains.
Whenever I see a common people's sheep, my eyes light up.
The lambs are bleating live, and the hair removal, bleeding, skinning, and slicing are completed directly in front of the eyes. The aroma comes out as soon as the sun roasts them.
Just thinking about the feeling at that time, Liu Chengzong took out a piece of salt-smoked horse meat from his waist bag, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and said: "Intercept the Daning troops in the north, and then guard against the troops coming out of Kucha Pass and Liulang Village." , the remaining people are going south with me, and the carrier will dispatch half of the medical workers to follow me."
"Clean up the officers and soldiers marching north in Pu County, with Commander Feng's troops as the vanguard."
Cao Yao coughed slightly and said: "General, please incorporate the battalion artillery posts into the vanguard. The last battle made me want to try this style of play."
In fact, it was more than just the last time. This was entirely a revelation to Cao Yao when he concentrated on using small artillery to break Li Bei's front.
However, Cao Yao did not tell Liu Chengzong his thoughts in detail.
Liu Chengzong thought for a while and asked with a smile: "How do you plan to push the red barbarian cannon forward?"
Their red barbarian cannon did not have matching ammunition.
The cannon can fire up to eight pounds of solid iron bullets, and the supporting ammunition is two pounds of solid bullets and two pounds of four-liang loose bullets.
However, there was no matching ammunition, and time did not allow for casting cannonballs on site. The craftsmen could only make wooden horses, or cannonball wooden supports, to hit their existing cannonballs.
Earlier, when they bombarded Liulang Village, they fired three kilograms of iron bullets from General Li Bei's cannon, as well as one kilogram of live ammunition and various sizes of loose powder. A lot of them were cast in the Xingzi River in the winter.
Cao Yao was very confident: "If you can push, just push. If you can't, it doesn't matter. We don't rely on cannons."
Fortunately, the enemy was a guard force that lacked heavy firepower. Liu Chengzong didn't care anymore and just said: "Then I'll see how you fight. Just don't lose the cannon."
"But pull it down. If the cannon is lost, how can I sleep with it at night?"
The generals laughed loudly, and Cao Yao actually slept with the bronze cannon all night.
It was just for one night, but later he said it was too cold and he had to wait until summer to sleep with him in his arms.
The marching direction of the troops was arranged properly, the Lion Battalion organized its troops and equipment, and immediately set off on their posts.
Yang Yao, Liu Chengyun, and Shi Chengwei camped at Weijiayu, and the brigade followed Liu Chengzong all the way south.
They didn't go far, but after fifteen miles, Wei Qian'er, who had gone out ahead, received news that the enemy troops were dividing into two camps in the fields next to the official road in the south, burying pots and making rice.
Enemy scouts also discovered them. The Tang soldiers from both sides fought first, and then retreated after suffering casualties on each other.
By the time Wei Qian'er's second group of Tang soldiers pressed forward, Feng Yu and Cao Yao's vanguard had arrived five miles away from the official camp, and the two sides could see each other across the valley and fields.
The officers, soldiers, and soldiers retreated not far from the camp. A brigade of thousands of people divided into two battalions was gathering. The flag soldiers who were cutting firewood in the distance were also running towards the camp.
Although the local situation of the entire Fenzhou and Pingyang two prefectures is to set up a Nurhaci spiritual formation, this official army is obviously not as brave as Jun Song.
They didn't even want to camp, gathered their troops and began to retreat steadily.
At this time, Liu Chengzong's three sentry troops led by Gao Xian, Zhong Hu, and Wang Wenxiu were still rushing behind. The official road here was narrow and there were mountains on both sides, making it difficult to spread out the troops and march.
The front troops have reached the enemy camp six miles away, and the last troops are still marching ten miles away.
Upon hearing that the officers and soldiers in front were about to flee, Liu Chengzong quickly ordered the sentries to assemble their cavalry, rush forward from the right side of the official road, and reach the battlefield as soon as possible to retain the enemy troops.
However, as a result, the main force's marching speed became even slower.
Fortunately, the officers and soldiers retreated for a mile and stopped retreating.
When Cao Yao sent someone from the front to pass the news back to Liu Chengzong, he said this: "They can't retreat. The road behind is narrow. This is the only place where we can spread our troops."
When Liu Chengzong led his cavalry to the official camp, a thousand official troops from Pu County had already taken up positions in the south.
It is a slope that is high in the south and low in the north.
Cao Yao and Feng Rui were already within a mile of the enemy. They formed a large group across the creek, adjusted their formation slightly, formed a hollow square formation, waded across the creek at a very slow speed, and pressed up against the official formation.
Liu Chengzong could see clearly that at the front of this formation were Feng Rui's infantry and the musketeers at the artillery post, and in the middle were all Cao Yao's gunners.
At least thirty small cannons, weighing less than 100 kilograms, were carried forward by the artillerymen.
There are also six French guns and general guns mounted on three-wheeled artillery carts, which are pushed forward by the artillery.
The red barbarian cannon was a bit unlucky. The new cannon truck moved before it was ready, and the four small wheels seemed to be stuck when they were crossing the creek.
Looking through the telescope, Cao Yao was furious with the gun carriage with four small wheels. He was incompetent and furious at the gun. Finally, he asked his subordinates to raise the tail of the gun, take out the ammunition, load three kilograms of live ammunition, and head towards the slope in the middle of the creek. The officers and soldiers fired a shot.
The officer who was shot was frightened.
As soon as the shells entered the formation, everyone around them dispersed, allowing Liu Chengzong to see clearly.
The shell hit at least four soldiers, killing one and wounding three.
It first hit the tip of a bow that had been stretched. The arrow pierced the body of the soldier next to him, and the broken bow string slapped the archer's face.
Then a helmet gun was broken, and the soldier wearing the helmet was pulled and injured somewhat, and finally it hit an unlucky guy in the chest.
The army's artillery also began to fire. They used squatting tiger artillery, which was stationed in front of the line and fired at once.
The sound was loud, but the distance was far away, and only a few lead pellets and iron bullets fell in front of the formation.
Then the officers and soldiers began to throw arrows in rows. Because of the slope, more archers could shoot at them.
Thanks to the armor and shields sent by the Fenzhou Flag Guard, Feng Yu's soldiers were well protected, and the arrow throws were difficult to achieve. However, several of the musketeers were hit by arrows and bullets, and were dragged behind by the artillery.
Feng Rong's archers began to fight back, but they continued to advance.
Feng Lun's soldiers and auxiliary soldiers cooperated well. The soldiers shot an arrow and took two steps, and the auxiliary soldiers who acted as sword and shield bearers also rose and fell accordingly.
Approaching a hundred steps, Liu Chengzong frowned. This distance was enough to fire.
Gunslingers and bird gunners from both sides started shooting at each other from this distance, firing their guns every few steps, sending a cloud of blood mist in front of the two armies' formations.
But Cao Yao still didn't fire, and kept pushing forward until he reached forty or fifty steps.
Liu Chengzong could already see that the crouching tiger gunners at the front of the official army formation had already moved back into the formation. The archers in the front row put away their bows and arrows, drew out their sabers, and stood together with the spearmen behind them.
Cao Yao's military formation finally moved, and Feng Yu's soldiers began to push back to allow the cannons to fire into the boundary. A row of squatting tiger cannons and gushing pearl cannons were planted in front of the formation.
The officers and soldiers were almost crazy. Two officers in the front row drew their swords and led the troops towards the slope.
The cannon went off.
Puffs of gunpowder smoke erupted irregularly in front of the formation for a short period of time, creating a cloud of smoke at the front of the battlefield where the two formations were connected.
Liu Chengzong couldn't see the two armies engaging in battle. He could only see the military flags in the enemy formation overturned, and the officers and soldiers fell to the ground. Rows of soldiers from the Lion Battalion rushed into the smoke with weapons, and then the officers and soldiers fled in all directions.
