The night wind in the mountains was very cold, the bonfire was swaying, and Tang Jiuzhou's shadow on the military tent was stretched very long.
He has not disappeared, and the organization of the three thousand troops under his command is still intact. He has even set up six battalions and four villages in Jingfu Mountain, and he is well hidden in the mountains.
Just as Liu Chengzong expected, Tang Jiuzhou was a veteran general who dominated the world. The generals Zhao Zhu, Zhou Erjing, Ling Yuanji, and Hu Lianghan relied on in the battle formation were all fierce and capable generals. Sending troops to fight was as easy as eating and drinking. How could he Lost in the land under the Ming Dynasty?
As early as when he was stationed in Huating, he sent people to Jingfu Mountain. This mountain is the Taoist holy land of the Quanzhen Sect. Taoist priests of the Longmen Sect lived in the Hanging Taoist Temple in the mountain. Therefore, the first thing Tang Jiuzhou did when he came here was to find out what the Taoists were doing. Rural guide.
On the one hand, it is to ensure that the army will not get lost when traveling through the mountainous areas when necessary, and on the other hand, it is to prevent these Taoist priests from being used by Liu Chengzong.
After all, there are not many Taoists who spend all day long in the Xuankong Temple in the mountains. They are self-sufficient and may not be aware of the vigorous rebellion outside. Tang Jiuzhou has never met Liu Chengzong, but he has seen many bandit leaders. When the time comes, I will deceive the old Taoist priests into thinking that Master Wang is passing through, and the Taoist priests will lead the way spontaneously.
He was well prepared, and the reason why he did not continue to march was because he froze in the mountains due to command issues.
Deng Qi's death was beyond everyone's expectations. Chen Qiyu received the news of Deng Qi's death earlier than Liu Chengzong, when Liu Shizi was still in Gongchang Mansion.
Chen Qiyu analyzed the time it took for the news to spread, and judged that the deadlock would soon be broken by the Longzhou opening on the defense line. It was estimated that Liu Chengzong would receive the news that Deng Qi had fallen to death within three days at the latest, and he would surely make a large-scale advance by then.
At that time, he did not have many choices. One was to transfer Zuo Liangyu from Qinzhou to the north and garrison Longzhou. However, if he went to the east of Liupan Mountain, he might not be able to get ahead of Liu Chengzong and garrisoned in Longzhou. If he went to the west of Liupan Mountain, he would be alone on the left. One of them may collide with Liu Chengzong's large army.
What's more, Qinzhou will lose it no matter what.
The second option is to keep the front line unchanged and directly mobilize Ai Wannian from the rear to fill the gap in Longzhou, but it is too late. When Ai Wannian passes, it may be a siege.
Mobilizing a battalion alone to hit the main force of the Marshal's Army was like a meat bun beating Liu Chengzong in Chen Qiyu's eyes.
The third option is to transfer Ai Wannian to Huating to garrison, and directly transfer Huating's guard Tang Jiuzhou down, seizing the time gap to garrison in Longzhou. In this way, Qinzhou will not be lost, and the probability of Huating being captured is also very small—— Unless Liu Chengzong's initial goal was Huating.
Moreover, if the time difference between the two parties knowing the news can be grasped, the bad thing of Deng Qi's death and the flaw in the defense line can be turned into a good thing.
The army of the Marshal's Mansion was stuck on Liupan Mountain. With the help of the mountains, it was equivalent to forcibly dividing Liu Chengzong's army and creating a half-crossing attack opportunity. By then, Tangbu would defend the city, Zuobu would go north, and Aibu would go south, and they would be able to attack west of Liupanshan Use the superior force to defeat the first part of the Marshal's army.
Chen Qiyu's abacus was very good, but he missed the group of Sichuan soldiers who wanted to go home, so Liu Chengzong learned about Deng Qi's death one day earlier than expected.
On this day, everything was different.
Chen Qiyu's transfer order was sent to Tang Jiuzhou. Tangbu immediately set off that day. In the mountainous area, relying on Taoist priests to guide the way, his hemp shoes were smoking from stepping on them. He ran for eighty miles in one day and 250 miles in three days. During the journey, eight pack horses alone fell off the cliff, and they arrived fifty miles north of Longzhou at the expected time.
However, Liu Chengzong's troops set off one day earlier than him. They still walked on the broad official road in the west and climbed Liupan Mountain in three days.
When Tang Jiuzhou led the Changping soldiers to rush out of the old forest of Jingfu Mountain, they looked up and saw the Qinghai vultures flying over Liupan Mountain and circling in the sky. They ran into the Marshal's Mansion holding an iron cup and drinking tea under the five-colored horns on the small mountain peak. Tang Bing.
In fact, Liu Shishi was still lying down on Liupan Mountain at that time and could not go down the mountain at all. But for the last fifty miles, Tang Jiuzhou did not dare and could not leave.
Don't want to die?
He was not opposed to fighting Liu Chengzong, but leading more than 3,000 people out of the mountains and into the encirclement of tens of thousands of troops was like a fool who was giving away his head.
I got stuck directly in the mountains.
He couldn't go back. Ai Wannian was about to enter Huating with his troops. He couldn't get in. He didn't know the actual situation on Liupan Mountain, so he felt that Liu Chengzong was squatting on the top of the mountain and watching eagerly.
After a little hesitation and a day's delay, Tang Jiuzhou brought back the information without taking back the information he had sent out. He saw two battalions of soldiers and horses camped outside the mountain pass from a distance.
"Commander, I humbly went to see that camp. The camp was set up in an unorganized manner. Two battalions squatted together. Only one large camp was built, and more than 2,000 people were sleeping in the wild."
The speaker was Zhou Erjing, Tang Jiuzhou's right-hand general, a Shanxi man in his early thirties. His voice was deep and he said: "There are many mules, horses and vehicles, they should be the elite of the Western bandits."
"Many vehicles?"
"Yes, I saw three or four hundred of them alone. I estimate that these two camps have seven or eight hundred carts."
Tang Jiuzhou glared when he heard this, his face was full of murderous aura, and his eyebrows were knitted together. Then he gritted his teeth and paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and shaking his head silently.
Zhou Erjing didn't know why, so he listened to Tang Jiuzhou's silence for a moment and said, "On Liupan Mountain, the road in Longzhou is not easy to pass."
The tone was full of reluctance.
He realized he had a chance.
But by this time, there was no point in realizing it.
Tang Jiuzhou shook his head and did not say more about this matter. Instead, he issued another order: "The terrain of Longzhou City is dangerous, and the Western Bandits may be attacking the city. Pick some good players and bypass the two camps. Watch them attack the city."
Zhou Erjing immediately responded with clasped fists.
This matter is risky, but it is not difficult to just keep an eye on them from a distance. Anyway, if they stop the two battalions, they have to keep an eye on them. It won't be a problem to keep an eye on one more city.
Zhou Erjing was about to leave when he was stopped by Tang Jiuzhou and asked: "Erjing, are you thirty...thirty-three this year?"
"Return to the Marshal, he is thirty-three years old in his humble position."
Tang Jiuzhou nodded slowly, thinking that this official position was promoted so quickly.
Zhou Erjing was a hereditary member of Zuosuo, Huai'an Prefecture, Xuanzhen. He bound his hair and joined the army, fighting with dogs and horses.
In March of the third year, he captured Da'an, and in May he restored Zunhua; in the fifth year, he trained troops in Changzhen, and in September he assisted Ningjin; in the sixth year, he was ordered to follow him to conquer the bandits in Ji and assist the Henan bandits, and the bandits moved south to the south, and the bandits moved north to the north, and to Fu in the east. Looking west, the body does not take off its armor, and the horse does not leave the saddle.
The giant thief He Qianzong was beheaded at Jiangjunling, and the first sentence of the thief was beheaded at Huoshaoshan.
Tang Jiuzhou asked again: "How many battles have you fought? How many heads have you obtained?"
"We have experienced eighty-six battle formations, and killed one thousand and one thieves..." When Zhou Erjing said this, he was stunned for a moment. This was the record of his last performance. He added it in his mind, and then said: "Commander, he has experienced ninety-seven battles and killed one thousand three hundred and fifty-five thieves."
Tang Jiuzhou nodded again. Several generals under his command were like this, with relatively few beheadings. This was mainly because they performed meritorious services and were promoted too quickly and had no soldiers in their hands.
Ling Yuanji, Hu Lianghan, Zhao Zhu, and Zhou Erjing were all low-level military attachés when King Qin was king. By fate, they would stay in Changping. If it hadn't been for the unfortunate assignment of Tan Shang to station in Longzhou, when this battle was over, there would have been four Joined the general.
Tang Jiuzhou encouraged Zhou Erjing and asked him to go down and arrange the orders. He made a decision in his heart to see for himself the camp where the Marshal's army had set up at the mountain pass.
If you have the chance, try to penetrate those two battalions.
Of course, he had also made two preparations. If he really couldn't face him, he would have to write letters of recommendation for his four old subordinates.
It is a crime to delay the war in Dunbing Mountain. If the court punishes them, the generals are still young and have to find a place to go to avoid delaying their future.
But Tang Jiuzhou didn't worry too much about himself. The world was still in chaos, and the court was reluctant to kill him... Even now, he couldn't resign even if he wanted to. The most he could do was strip him of his official position and let him serve in the army.
What's more, it's not like he has nothing to do.
At the moment, his goal is to lure the enemy into the mountains. The troops and horses in Jingfu Mountain cannot be moved, which can offset the superiority of the Marshal's army... Anyway, he has been fighting the rebellion for several years. Tang Jiuzhou is more familiar with the tactics of Liu Cheng than Liu Chengzong. Each of the generals counts, and anyone who enters the mountain will be beaten.
If the two battalions outside the mountain do not enter the mountain, then wait and see, wait for the Ningxia army in the north to free up their hands to move south, or for Liu Chengzong to take the initiative to enter Guanzhong.
Kunyangzi, an old Taoist of the Longmen sect who was next to Tang Jiuzhou, said: Chen Junmen's order is to enter Longzhou. Since it is no longer possible to advance to Longzhou before the Western bandits, it is better to enter Longzhou after the Western bandits leave.
Before Liu Chengzong left Longzhou, it was not impossible to get lost.
Tang Jiuzhou did have high hopes for the Ningxia border troops going south, because before he led his troops to leave Huating, he had just heard that Ningxia had won a beautiful victory against Liu Chengzong, and more than 6,000 heads had been captured.
In fact, this was a misunderstanding. The Ningxia frontier army did fight with others, but the opponent was neither Liu Chengzong as Tang Jiuzhou thought, nor Yang Qi as Hong Chengchou thought, but the Mobei Sanhan who led his troops back north.
The three of them wanted to have a big fight before going home and rob Ningxia before leaving.
Even though Yang Qi was blistering, he didn't stop him, because Sanhan had conducted an investigation in advance and said that the Ningxia border army was now in a difficult period with a shortage of soldiers, armor and horses. He took the opportunity to destroy this military town and stay in the desert in the future. The nobles of Mobei in the south can also live a more comfortable life.
When Yang Qi heard this, he simply stopped trying.
He said in his heart: Okay, you really thought I left you here to look after the home to open up territory for you in Mobei Mongolia, right? You can't tell the difference between the big and the small kings here, so go ahead and fight, and I'll see how you die!
Ningxia's soldiers are indeed short of everything, lack of food, horses, and money, but they do not lack knives and soldiers who can use knives.
Then He Huchen was by Yang Qi's side. How could Yang Qi not know what was going on in Ningxia Town?
Not to mention Hong Chengchou, the powerful Trilateral Governor-General of Ningxia, was in charge of Ningxia. His guest generals Cao Wenzhao and Bai Guangen, as well as the local generals Shen Guangxian, Tu Shixian, Bu Yingdi and others, were all warriors with long experience in battles.
Yang Qi was puzzled. I spent a long time to come up with a circle trade to support you, hey! Don't seek death yourself.
We, the people in the Ming Army system, fight against ourselves. Whoever loses or wins is because of us. You can't think that just because the Ming Army lost the fight with the Marshal's Mansion, you think they are cowards, and attacking you is just like playing for fun.
Sanhan refused to listen and marched into Ningxia with an army of 70,000 men.
Half a month, just half a month, less than 50,000 yuan came out. Gunbu Khan was hit by a stray bullet and was dragged out in a carriage.
When Shuolei and Subadi came out, they didn't even say hello to Yang Qi, and went back to Mobei in disgrace.
It was quite rude, so Yang Qi had no choice but to wave his hand to the sky and swallow his words of 'come and play again when you have time'.
The most important thing is that Tang Jiuzhou didn't know that Cao Yao was sharpening his sword towards Ningxia and had already rolled up the Jinglu Guard surrender troops to advance towards the Ningxia Central Guard.
Zhou Erjing acted quickly. He sent two teams of sentinels out of the mountain in the dark that night, bypassed the marshal's military camp at the mountain pass and rushed to Longzhou City. As a result, two people came back in a panic in the morning, out of breath and said: " General, General, Longzhou...the cannons over there are roaring, and the siege has begun!"
The news was reported to the Chinese Army, and Tang Jiuzhou and four generals assessed the situation in the south.
People's minds were spinning rapidly, deducing and judging the next enemy movement, and the results were not good.
Liu Chengzong would not use tens of thousands of troops to attack this small city, otherwise there would be no need to leave only two battalions stationed at the mountain pass to stop them. Therefore, Tang Jiuzhou judged that the bombardment of Longzhou City at this time should be a partial division, and the main force of the Marshal's Mansion should be at this time. Go south.
This is not good news for them, because Liu Chengzong may not necessarily be going south to break into Guanzhong. At least before entering Guanzhong, he will definitely defeat Zuo Liangyu who is stationed in Qinzhou, otherwise they will not bother to attack Long at this time. State.
After all, whether Qinzhou or Longzhou, they are strategically important places to control Longnan. You either don't want them or you want them.
When Zuo Liangyu is defeated, I'm afraid they will be next.
But it's also an opportunity.
Siege will definitely distract the enemy's attention, and this is also their opportunity to break out from the front.
Tang Jiuzhou made up his mind and ordered: "Come on, the whole army will pull out the camp and move towards them. While Longzhou can still contain the enemy troops, break through the obstruction!"
They moved very quickly, but only two hours after they were on the road, they ran into the sentry who had fled back. Behind them, Marshal Jun Tangqi, who was galloping on horseback and wielding swords, chased them. It was not until they discovered that most of Tang Jiuzhou's soldiers and horses that they turned back. .
The sentry who was lucky enough to save his life ignored the arrow stuck in his back, rolled his saddle and fell off his horse and said: "Commander, Longzhou has been captured!"
"How could the dangerous place of Longzhou be conquered in one day?"
"The rebels destroyed the battlements with artillery, filled the trenches with earth bags, and set up earthen hills under the city. They rode up to the city this morning and occupied the four walls. Longzhou was subsequently breached."
Tang Jiuzhou clenched his fists on horseback and thought to himself, no wonder Deng Qi fell to death on that city and actually asked the marshal's army to attack the city on horseback!
"It's bad. The soldiers from Tang who were chasing me just now are going back to report the news. I'm afraid the situation is not good for me. Hurry up, hurry up and march!"
Tang Jiuzhou thought of the Tang soldiers who turned their horses back, and quickly ordered an urgent advance, but this time his target was no longer the army blocking the mountain pass, but the Liupan Mountain in the north of Longzhou, where Liu Chengzong had just come down.
He wanted to occupy it and cooperate with Zuo Liangyu and other friendly forces to lock Liu Chengzong in Guanzhong. (End of chapter)
