Qingyang Mansion, on the large plateau outside Ningzhou City, is the headquarters of the governors of the five provinces.
The altar has been set up, and the sergeant placed half-cooked pig heads, chickens, and fish on the table, as well as popular fruits, candles, and incense burners. Chen Qiyu held a coarse incense and muttered to the statue of the Earth God.
Military camps were dotted on the plateau. Ai Wannian, the deputy commander-in-chief of Gushan on Yulin East Road, who had rushed from Mizhi, had a sallow face and stood behind Chen Qiyu with his arms in his arms. He looked at the statue of the Earth God on the altar and sighed silently.
Ai Wannian fought in Shanxi for several years and suffered from severe rheumatism and hemorrhoids. During the war, Mi Zhi's family was wiped out. After being promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Gushan, the emperor allowed him to return to the guard for recuperation. This was only natural. After half a year, the hemorrhoids on my body were cured, but on the contrary, my heart was hurt, and I vomited blood frequently. It seemed that I would not be able to live for a few more years.
Catching up with Liu Chengzong's eastward march, he was recruited by Chen Qiyu and rushed to Qingyang Mansion even though he was sick. As the leader of the second line of defense of the Ming Dynasty, he thought that the battlefield would soon be pushed to this side, and he recruited several groups of thieves. The soldiers were stationed in Qingyang, but they didn't expect that Chen Qiyu would actually pay homage to the Lord of the Land by placing fruit and fruit.
And they have to worship every day.
He even suspected that Chen Qiyu had been secretly replaced by someone who looked similar. How could the dignified governor of the five provinces believe such a thing before the war?
Chen Qiyu, who devoted himself to worshiping the land, knew that all the generals under his command were puzzled by his behavior, and he himself did not understand it, but there was really no way - Tang Jiuzhou was missing.
A battalion of troops marched south from Huating County into Jingfu Mountain. They were supposed to appear in Longzhou in the south. It has been eight days, and they have never come out again, as if they have disappeared from the world.
When it comes to fighting, a battalion of troops is sometimes like a handful of sand. It's normal for it to disappear immediately. But the problem is that Liu Chengzong didn't take action. Chen Qiyu has been sending people to keep an eye on Liu Chengzong's movements. Those tens of thousands of troops are stuck in six. There was no movement on the winding mountain.
Chen Qiyu was confused.
Being full of knowledge was of little help at this moment, so he had no choice but to turn to the Land Master for help.
After all, the real confrontation in this battle has not yet begun, and the metaphysics is already tilted in favor of the Marshal's Mansion.
Chen Qiyu thought to himself: Liu Chengzong hadn't even started to kill people yet. Even if the city wall took the lead and killed one of my generals, how come the mountains couldn't get past me? Another fucking battalion of my troops!
After worshiping the land, Chen Qiyu called the camp commander who was responsible for keeping an eye on the battlefield in the west as usual, and asked: "There is no news about Tang Jiuzhou?"
The answer was the same as before. Chen Qiyu did not go into details, but just said to Ai Wannian: "Commander Ai, please move to Huating to prevent the enemy from attacking Pingliang."
Ai Wannian accepted the order with clasped fists. Chen Qiyu had discussed these matters with him early in the morning. Originally, he was transferred to Qingyang Mansion. His plan was to lead the Qi Army Battalion to wait for an opportunity to cross Liupan Mountain. When Liu Chengzong's main force entered the east of Liupan Mountain, he would leap into the rear and attack Its second-line troops cut off their retreat.
However, Deng Qi and Tang Jiuzhou, who were serving as the main barracks, were both dead and gone. Whether he would jump to the rear later would depend on whether the front line could bear it.
In fact, the war situation itself was not that pessimistic. Tang Jiuzhou just entered the mountainous area and did not come out. He might have encountered something bad. However, Deng Qi fell to his death before the war started. It was like a gust of wind blew the big banner into pieces before the battle, leaving the Ming army From the coach to the soldiers, everyone's mentality has collapsed.
No matter what news comes from the front line, people can't help but think in a bad direction, saying that Tang Jiuzhou has been captured by Mandrill, but some people actually believe it.
After all, no matter how bizarre it is, can it be more bizarre than Deng Qi being thrown to death from the city wall?
In comparison, Liu Chengzong had more confidence in the Ming army generals.
Not only did he not believe that Tang Jiuzhou had an accident in the mountains, he even didn't believe that Tang Jiuzhou got lost in the mountains.
It was a coincidence that a general fell to death before the war started. There won't be so many coincidences in the world. What's more important is that Liu Shizi believes in everyone's ability to lead troops. Generals in this era will not make such low-level mistakes as getting lost. mistake.
He was convinced that he was in a period of explosive growth of good generals. In these days when he was leading troops in wars, every one of them was a famous general.
After all, the intensity of wars is different. In the relatively peaceful years of Jiajing and Wanli dynasties, a small soldier might become a general officer after a battle. A soldier who had been in the army for thirty years might not be able to do more than just a soldier. Those battles were fought.
Because there aren’t that many battles to fight.
And what era is this now?
The conflict between the Ming Dynasty, the Peasant Army, Mobei Mongolia, Monan Mongolia, and Hou Jin Dynasty has intensified unprecedentedly. The wars have been going on year after year. The entire land of China has not been without war for a month or two. In just a few years, people who have fought thirty battles, big and small, Walking all over the place, there are many generals who have survived a hundred battles.
Almost every general who can lead a battalion on his own in battle has endless practical combat experience. Surviving in such a cruel war may not necessarily mean he is outstanding, and being killed by chance does not mean he is inferior in skill.
The deciding factor is largely luck, as well as the support and help behind you.
Therefore, Liu Chengzong never thought about the possibility of getting lost in Tang Jiuzhou. If he dared to go into the mountains and forests like this, didn't he know how to use the village guide to guide him? Even Li Hongsi, who had never taken office before, approached Suzhou and simply refused to go in because he was unfamiliar with the terrain.
He felt that if Tang Jiuzhou dared to enter Jingfu Mountain, which had no official roads or post roads, he would have to rely on him; wandering in circles in the mountains would only result in him discovering that Marshal Juntang's soldiers were intercepting him in front and behind, and he changed his tactics to lure the enemy in Jingfu Mountain.
Liu Chengzong has always been good at capturing the intentions of enemy generals. As long as the enemy generals reveal any clues about their intentions, he will instill will around the enemy's intentions on the battlefield, and this time is no exception.
Originally, he was bound to annihilate Tang Jiuzhou's troops near Longzhou, but when he discovered that Tang Jiuzhou had the intention of luring the enemy into the mountains, he immediately stopped worrying.
Luring the enemy is a tactic that maximizes strengths and avoids weaknesses. In Liu Shishi's understanding, the tactics and preset battlefields chosen by everyone must be the most beneficial choice for them after careful consideration.
For example, if you defend a city with a strong wall and a clear field, it must be because the defenders think that defending the city is more advantageous than fighting in the field; those who dare to leave the city to fight in the field naturally think that fighting in the field is better than the enemy - in this world, the leader of the war will not use his brains, and will attack everyone he sees. He must have died in the second or third year of Chongzhen.
Of course, Liu Shishi can understand, but that doesn't mean that his group of proud soldiers can accept Tang Jiuzhou's subtext.
During the military meeting, Gao Yingdeng frowned and said, "Why does Tang Jiuzhou think that leading a bunch of Changping brats can defeat our Western Army in the mountains of Shaanxi?"
Zhang Tianlin didn't say anything about this matter, but if he could fight, he would have started shouting.
The two camps of Gao Yingdeng and Wei Qian'er are relatively normal mixed camps that can adapt to various situations. Especially Gao Yingdeng's camp, the heavy gun team has one large, three small and four lead pellets stuffed into one tube. A ruthless character who looks like a cannon when he fights.
But Zhang Tianlin's camp is different.
He knew his own family affairs, so fighting Tang Jiuzhou in the mountains would really not get him any favors. After all, they were all cavalry troops. They did not have heavy artillery, and their firearms were not that interesting. Their strength was in rockets, and their effectiveness in mountain combat was very poor.
As for Wei Qian'er, he didn't say anything, he just expressed his position and hit wherever the commander pointed.
He knew that Liu Chengzong actually didn't value Tang Jiuzhou's tribe that highly, because Zhang Xianzhong came to see him when Liu Chengzong knew that Tang Jiuzhou was moving south from Huating.
The Minister of Rites was the person with the most bad temper in the Marshal's Mansion. When he approached Wei Qian'er, he made it clear that he had no soldiers, but wanted to deal with Tang Jiuzhou, so he came to seek Wei Qian'er's conspiracy to ask Liu Chengzong to fight - no Enter Jingfu Mountain, but rush forward from the western foot of Liupan Mountain, take advantage of the emptiness of Huating from the west, block Tang Jiuzhou at both ends, and suffocate him to death in the mountain.
Wei Qian'er did not agree to Zhang Xianzhong, but immediately went to Liu Chengzong: Your idea is good, and now it belongs to Mr. Wei.
But Liu Chengzong said at that time that it was not necessary.
It's the same now. Liu Shishi just smiled and said: "Why bother to compete with him for a while? Since Mr. Tang feels that he is stronger in the mountainous area and I am weaker in the mountainous area, let him grow first."
He pointed at the map and said: "To the north, Yubu is hiding in the mountains to lure the enemy, so he can't go south. Let's go south. We just need to leave a battalion at the southern exit of Jingfu Mountain to block him. This matter... is high. Come General."
In fact, Wei Qian'er's plan to plagiarize Zhang Xianzhong's double-blocking plan was quite tempting to Liu Shizi, because it was indeed feasible at the time.
The mountain road that Tang Jiuzhou took had twists and turns, and the western foothills of Liupan Mountain were much easier to walk. If a large battalion rushed over at that time, Huating, which was empty of defense, would probably not be able to defend it, and Tang Jiuzhou in the mountain would not have time to return to defense, so blocking both ends would be successful. .
However, the north is not Liu Chengzong's main attack direction. If Wei Qian'er's troops collide with the Ming Dynasty reinforcements stationed in Huating, it will increase the difficulty of commanding the next battle, so this seems unnecessary.
Compared with Tangjiuzhou in the mountains, Longzhou and Guanzhong are more critical places.
Before Wang Wenxiu arrived, Liu Chengzong left the three battalions of Luo Rucai, Yang Chengzu, and Li Wanqing to respond at the western foot of Liupan Mountain, and immediately ordered the remaining troops to descend from the eastern foot of the mountain.
Gao Yingdeng's camp was stationed at the southern exit of Jingfu Mountain in the north of Longzhou, and the army spread out. With the remaining two camps as the main force, Zhang Tianlin's troops took Baoji directly, while Wei Qian'er's troops rushed to Fengxiang Prefecture to clear the customs. Pass through the middle road and seize the army's food and grass.
As for the remaining battalions, they were stationed near Longzhou and prepared to capture Longzhou City.
Longzhou is a small city with a strategic location. It is built at the intersection of Beihe, Ganhe and Mercury River. It is surrounded by rivers on three sides and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are only two ways to attack this city, either by water or by attacking alone. West wall.
With only one side facing the enemy, there is no doubt that this terrain can give the defenders a huge advantage.
Because of this, even though this city has a thick wall only one foot high, it has never fallen despite being invaded by peasant armies many times in the past years.
However, today is different from the past. As the garrison mutinied, Deng Qi slipped and fell to his death, and the Sichuan barracks rushed south to Baoji, only a few hundred rural soldiers and civilians trained by Zhizhou Hu Erchun were left in Longzhou City. Facing the fact that he personally led the army to cross the border, he defended the city. The people have been strong for a long time.
Taking this city means that Liupan Mountain has been completely opened up. There will be an important stronghold for troops to be dispatched from Shanxi to Shandong, or to retreat from Shandong to Shanxi.
Liu Chengzong's army arrived at Longzhou City. The soldiers and horses set up a company camp on the west side of the city and on the other side of the river in the south of the city. They asked the squires and people nearby about Hu Erchun's whereabouts, and actually found out something very interesting:
Hu Erchun's position as the magistrate of Longzhou was actually won through connections.
The interesting thing about this matter is that due to the swarming uprisings of peasant armies and successive years of drought, the mortality rate of officials in Shaanxi was so high that people were disgusted with it. In many places, there were no chief officials at all, and no one wanted to be an official.
The fourth- and fifth-grade official positions were left lying on the ground without anyone taking them for several years.
As for Hu Erchun, he was also a capable Jingkui who got third place in the civil service examination. He married Zhang Sizhi, the Minister of Rites from the same town, and was recommended to the magistrate of Longzhou.
Liu Chengzong inquired about it and found out that Hu Erchun had been in Longzhou for more than three years and had done nothing major. The only thing he could do was to train more than 300 people to strengthen rural soldiers and repair city walls. Liu Shishi thinks this person is pretty good.
Shaanxi is suffering from severe drought and locust plague these days. What political achievements can it achieve?
There are no political achievements and no big troubles. Training troops and preparing bandits to prevent small groups of bandits from entering is already the biggest political achievement.
What's more interesting is that before Liu Chengzong sent a letter to Longzhou to persuade him to surrender, Hu Erchun in the city had already taken the initiative to write him a letter.
The tone of the letter was general, but the meaning was clear. It has been difficult for the people of Longzhou in recent years. The small town of Longzhou has no wealth and is not worth attacking. I hope Liu Chengzong will lead his troops to leave quickly and not to invade the place.
It is true that Liu Shixin said that the small town of Longzhou is not rich, but to say that this geographical location is not worthy of attack is to tell lies. However, he did not embarrass Hu Erchun, and just wrote back: "Longzhou is bound to be won, and attacking the city is inevitable. The people are dead and injured. If Hu Zhizhou wants to avoid military disaster, it is better to open the city and surrender, and I guarantee that nothing will happen in the autumn."
Hu Erchun was quite stubborn and refused to reply. A moment later, Ding Guodong, who was stationed in the west of the city, sent someone to report: "Commander, Longzhou Minzhuang has added a lot of defensive equipment to the west wall. It seems that it will defend to the death. Gansu Third Battalion We are ready for a strong attack."
On the earthen fortress in the south of the city, Liu Chengzong took another look at Hu Erchun's letter, sighed, "What a pity," and then waved to the messenger: "Tell General Ding to march."
To deal with such a dangerous city surrounded by rivers on three sides, there is no other way but to attack by force. It is impossible to fill up the river. The only thing that can be attacked is the west wall. The faster the city is attacked, the more likely it is that both the attacker and defender will die in the siege. There are fewer people.
Within a moment, the war flags were fluttering and the war drums were roaring. Ganzhou battalion commander Bee Tail Needle took the lead with artillery, setting up a Qianjin cannon position four hundred paces away, and then launched a bombardment on the battlements of the west city wall amidst the roar of artillery fire, suppressing the city. A few cannons at the top.
The two battalions of Suzhou and Liangzhou, led by Ding Guodong and Milayin, followed suit and used guns and chariots as cover. They used mules, horses and carts to transport door panels, earth and rocks, and built bunkers more than a hundred steps below the city to further increase the amount of lead sprayed towards the city. Marutiezi, at the same time, began to bury the trench in the west of the city.
Under the west wall of the city, Zhizhou Hu Erchun, who was clutching Liu Chengzong's letter urging surrender, listened to the roar outside the city, looked at the figure wearing a plain gauze python robe beside him, and the brocade-robed fanzi holding a knife next to him, and felt bitter in his heart.
It's not that he doesn't mean to surrender, it's just that the Shaanxi garrison eunuch is by his side, how can he say he wants to surrender? (End of chapter)
