Gou Xunli smiled enigmatically, and Hu Lanyan knew what "material" this brother had to educate him.
"Brother, you must know that there is a canyon above the Guijiang River, called Duanteng Gorge."
"I know that, that is the territory of the Yao people."
"Yes, the Yao people in Duanteng Gorge rose up to rebel against the government during the Jiajing Dynasty. Their leader was Hou Dagou. He once led only 700 people to conquer Wuzhou, captured several officials of the court, and killed them. The chief envoy."
"Is this happening?!" Now it was Hu Lanyan's turn to be surprised.
"Of course it's true." Gou Xunli said, "That's not all. From the Tianshun years to the Chenghua years, the Yao people attacked Wuzhou seven times. Each time, they defeated more with less - are we not even as good as a few Yao barbarians? What?"
These words moved Hu Lanyan's heart, but Hou Dagou actually had 700 men, and they only had 200 men. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty and the soldiers of the Kun Thief were not the same thing.
"...So what we have to do is not to knock down Wuzhou..."
"If we don't kill them, how can we make a fortune?" Hu Lanyan was disappointed, "We are not officers and soldiers. We can get credit by rushing in and beheading a few people - besides, how many taels of silver can we get for each head? If we don't make trouble, we can still get it. I'll give it to those who are officials, don't do it, don't do it."
"Haha, brother, you are wrong. I think there is no need to behead people." Gou Xunli said, "Did you know that there is a priceless treasure in Wuzhou City - as long as you get this treasure, promotion and wealth are just around the corner... …”
Hu Lanyan slapped his thigh and said loudly: "Brother, stop rubbing people, you are so surprised. Just say it frankly. What are you going to do?!"
"Okay!" Gou Xunli knew that he had made Hu Lan's decision, so he stopped playing tricks and said, "The biggest treasure in Wuzhou City is the 'director' of Kun Thief!"
"director?"
"He is the veteran of Zhenkun." Gou Xunli nodded heavily, "As long as we catch him and present him to Governor Xiong, haha..."
"But he is in the city, how can we catch him?"
"So, we are doing a sneak attack, 'taking out the bed'." Gou Xunli said, "We only have so many people in total. It is no wonder that we are going to capture Wuzhou and plunder it for three days. But to attack Wuzhou in a sneak attack, we can kidnap this true Kun." But it’s not like there’s no chance.”
The idea was audacious. Hu Lanyan was stunned for a moment. However, he thought about it and realized that the temptation of this trophy was indeed too great - so far, the imperial court had never caught a real Kun in the battle with the Kun thieves, nor had it even killed the leader of the fake Kun in a formation. Once Zhen Kun is captured and presented to the imperial court, the credit will definitely not be small. Moreover, there is a big difference in temperament and image between the real Kun and the fake Kun, so it is difficult to impersonate him, and there is no need to worry about Xiong Wencan not believing him.
"Brother, this is my idea! But if they are in Wuzhou City, they must be heavily guarded. How do we start?"
"I went to the city a few days ago and have a thorough understanding of the situation in the city. When the director of the bandit came to the city, he was busy with unimportant things. He didn't care about the military preparations. Instead, he was smearing on the walls every day. Words, asking people to sing and talk on the streets, and engage in "propaganda" to confuse the people; telling merchants to open businesses and "prosper the market", and eager to collect large sums of money, to "build bridges and roads" - they only focus on being a hundred miles away. Only. I don't care much about military preparations alone. This is an opportunity that can be taken advantage of..."
"What year are you a soldier?" Qian Duo asked Zhu Si on the way to the headquarters.
The Senate's army, like all armies in the world, inevitably likes to rank people based on seniority. Which year you are a soldier can roughly determine your status.
Although the soldiers of the National Army come from a wide range of sources, all the officers are from the Fubo Army. Zhu Si was no exception. He immediately replied crisply: "Report! I was originally a soldier from Denglai Town in the Ming Dynasty. In 1632, I was introduced to the army by Battalion Commander Huang Ande when he was serving in the Shandong detachment. When I joined the army, I was affiliated to The Shandong detachment advanced into the column."
"Oh, that's a veteran too." Qian Duo nodded, "Where did you serve before being transferred to the National Army?"
"Served in the Lingao Garrison Battalion." Zhu Si was very proud of this part of his resume: Although the Lingao Garrison Battalion has limited strength, it is a force that defends the capital and the Senate. The officers and soldiers inside are known as the "Yulin Army." Self-proclaimed.
"What rank?"
"Corporal." Zhu Si was a little embarrassed when he said this. He had served in the guard camp for a long time, but his performance was not good. It was just a step-by-step promotion to private class based on seniority. This "corporal" rank was promoted just before he was transferred to the National Army - you can't let a superior soldier be transferred to the National Army to become an officer.
Many of the soldiers who enlisted in Shandong at the same time as him have become officers, and sergeants are very common.
"No wonder you became the captain as soon as you came out. You are a veteran!" Qian Duo said in an appreciative tone.
"Sir, it's funny." Zhu Si was very pleased with what he said. He said respectfully, "This is all cultivated by the Senate!"
Although Zhu Si is only one level lower than Qian Duo in terms of military rank, the Fubo Army's military rank is much more "valuable" than that of the National Army. After all, the officers in the National Army are all sergeants from the Fubo Army. Transferred from the Fubo Army to the National Army, it is really called "promoted to three levels in a row."
Wuzhou's city defense headquarters is located in Cangwu County Yamen. Next to it is the Wuzhou government office, which serves as the city government. It is close to the city wall and is one of the few large masonry buildings in Wuzhou City. It is more convenient for troops to move or garrison.
Qian Duo spread out the Wuzhou city defense map on the table and pointed on it.
"It turns out that we don't have enough troops, and it's very difficult to defend Wuzhou." Qian Duo, the actual supreme commander of Wuzhou City, instructed on the map of Wuzhou, "As you can see, the perimeter of Wuzhou City is nearly three kilometers, which is basically a company. not enough."
Zhu Si was secretly surprised when he saw the deployment plan. Wuzhou's city defense is too weak. No wonder he originally only commanded a squadron, but before setting off, he suddenly had to reorganize it into a brigade - the elder Mr. Jie here is just trying to make an empty city!
"In addition, we have to guard the prisoner of war camp in Sanhezui. The prisoners of war in this camp have not been transferred yet, and there are currently about a thousand people. Although we have used some of the reserved government officials to guard it, there are no troops of ours to support the battle. There is no way the Zhuangban government officials can suppress these soldiers."
"I understand, please give me your instructions, sir. What is the mission of our brigade?"
"Your mission is to replace the third company in the city's security mission. In this way, I can gather the third company as a fist and can use it at any time. I'm afraid you also discovered on the way here that the environment along the way is very complicated. To the west of us is Xiong Wencan's Guangxi Ming army who is still entrenched in Teng County, and is surrounded by countless Yao and Tong villages. The situation is very unfavorable to us. We must deal with possible attacks anytime and anywhere."
"Yes! Guaranteed to complete the task!" Zhu Si had already roughly understood the situation before coming to Wuzhou. He was a soldier from the old camp and was not afraid of fighting as a soldier - as long as he had money and promotion. The years he spent in the guard camp had already worn him out: standing guard, escorting, and practicing formation every day. One day he would be able to accumulate enough merit to become an officer.
After being transferred to the National Army, even though he was promoted to more than three levels, the National Army was not considered a regular army and all he did was odd jobs. Zhu Si was quite discouraged. He didn't get excited until he heard that he was going to be on the front line. Not only was he not afraid, but he was also a little happy: fighting with the Senate rarely resulted in death, but there were many opportunities to make meritorious deeds.
"Okay, come and see." Qian Duo pointed on the map with red and blue pencils:
"Our current location is the Cangwu County Government Office, and next to it is the Wuzhou Government Office - the new municipal government. Chief Xie and the entire municipal government team are here, so this area is the focus of our defense."
Zhu Si nodded.
"Which squadron in your brigade has the strongest combat effectiveness and is the most reliable?"
"Of course it's the No. 1 Squadron," Zhu Si said. "They are composed of old naturalized citizens. They are all equipped with Nanyang rifles, and their officers are all veterans."
"Then your No. 1 Squadron will be stationed here, and will also be responsible for guarding Nanxun Gate and Dezheng Gate, that is, the Big South Gate and the Small South Gate. These two gates were seriously damaged in the siege battle. You have to Keep an eye on this place!"
"Yes! Chief, I have set up the brigade headquarters here, and I am personally responsible for it!"
"Okay." Zhu Si nodded and moved the pencil on the map, "Look, directly south of the Wuzhou City Wall is Nanxun Gate, which is the Big South Gate. It extends to the west to Dezheng Gate, which is the Small South Gate, and then to the northwest to the West Gate. Jiangmen - is the west gate, then bends north to Dayunmen in the north, then extends east to the foot of Beishan, along the north mountain to the southeast to Yangmingmen in the east gate, and finally turns back to Nanxunmen. Your second The squadron is stationed at the West Gate and the North Gate; the supplementary squadron is stationed at Yangmingmen." Qian Duo straightened up, "The third squadron is stationed at Sanhezui. Guard the prisoner of war camp."
"Yes, sir."
"We will all deploy the third battle company at the third general headquarters. This will become our core mobile force."
Zhu Si understood Qian Duo's intentions. The Third General Office was the commanding heights of the city. The strongest troops could be deployed here to control the whole city, and to provide assistance to various places at any time. It is equivalent to the total reserve force of the entire Wuzhou army.
"To be honest, I'm more worried about replenishing the squadron. This squadron has only been established for more than ten days. Most of them are stragglers and local unemployed men, with poor combat effectiveness and discipline. I originally planned to reorganize the third platoon, but now it seems , for them to play their role, the third platoon can only remain in this squadron as the backbone."
However, in this way, the third company lost one-third of its strength, which was really uneasy for Qian Duo.
When Zhu Si heard this, he quickly came to share his worries: "Reporting, I suggest that some personnel be transferred from the other three squadrons of the National Army and mixed with the supplementary squadrons."
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 351
