The Juma River, also known as the South Juma River, has two tributaries, one flowing from the northwest of the city and the other from the southwest. They merge into one ten miles south of the city and run straight southeast into Baiyangdian.
Li Yan took a fancy to the place where three rivers converged ten miles south of the city. The river was only a small stream because of the drought, but the river bed was full of green grass, which was very pleasant.
The situation was tense and everything needed to be done as soon as possible. Li Yan immediately ordered his soldiers to dig a trench here, cut off the flow and store water, and set up camp at Erlijia on the shore. At the same time, he sent scouts south to conduct reconnaissance, and learned about Zhou Yuji from Jia Waixiong. At this time, in Dingzhou, southwest of Baoding, thinking of what he had discussed with the young eunuch, he made a bold decision and ordered the scouts to bypass Baoding and try to contact Zhou Yuji's tribe.
After an afternoon of non-stop work, Li Yan set up camp at the intersection of the third stream of the Juma River in the south of the city. In front of the camp, the river overflowed its banks and there were several deep ditches. The rebels could not attack the camp head-on, so they could only go eastward for several miles to bypass this section. Shuishui crossed the river to attack from the side, but trenches were deployed on that side to resist the horses.
At dusk, Lady Hong and Wu Weiying arrived together. Shenjiying was ordered to return to the capital from outside the customs. However, the baggage was too heavy and was not as fast as Li Yan's horse, but it was not too slow. What Wu Weiying did not expect was that there were still ten kilometers away from the capital. When he was still a few miles away, he had to report that Wang Jiayan, the governor of the capital camp, was coming with his troops. This made him very happy. The governor of the capital camp came to greet him personally, which was a great honor!
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a basin of cold water. Wang Jiayan was not here to greet him, but to deliver supplies of cannonballs and gunpowder. At the same time, he sent a message to Emperor Chongzhen to let him go south to follow Chang Yu to suppress the bandits. Hurry!
Going again? Why me! Wu Weiying didn't even have the chance to go back to Beijing to make connections to replace herself, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and pass by the capital and hurried south.
Later, they finally caught up with the unhurried follow-up troops of the Red Lady, and walked side by side southward. When they arrived in Dingzhou, they were ordered to move grain, grass, baggage, etc. dozens of miles away and settled in the new city. The remaining troops and the Shenji Battalion camped outside the city of Dingzhou!
The power of Shenjiying's firearms shined in the battle at Ningyuan outside the pass. Chang Yu relied on this to hold on to Xishan and Wu Sangui and cooperated with each other to defeat Dorgon in one fell swoop.
After this battle, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion grew up rapidly after killing people and seeing blood. They finally had the feeling of a strong and strong man. At least they were not ridiculed by other soldiers when they first left the capital and arrived outside the customs. Made fun of.
Red Lady's medical soldiers entered the city, and the remaining troops were led by General Qin Songwang and stationed on the west bank of the city. The Shenji Battalion's heavy artillery was set up at the head of Dingxing City. The men and horses camped in an empty village a few miles northwest of Li Yan's troops. Two troops were placed in the camp. More than a hundred field guns.
It was late at night when everything was ready, and all the city defenses were basically complete. Li Yan gathered the generals in the city to discuss whether he should take the initiative to test tomorrow or stay put and wait for the little governor to listen and act?
Everyone has learned from Jia Waixiong that Chang Yu has gone to Baoding City, and left a message before leaving that he would not enter the city. If he does not return in two days and no news comes, let them gradually advance south.
With the Second Battalion accompanying him, and the young eunuch being so brave and cunning, Li Yan and Jia Waixiong believed that nothing bad would happen to him, and they could still run away if they couldn't be beaten.
In that case, let's wait until tomorrow.
But at this moment, a scout sent information: first, the governor had moved his troops south; second, Xu Shui, Rongcheng was recaptured and the thieves were used as an outpost; third, the thieves were trapped on the south bank of the Juma River.
Several people were shocked. If Chang Yu went south to mobilize troops, it meant that the network would be opened within a few days. They were not worried at all that the young eunuch could not mobilize the troops, because they knew that if the young eunuch could not mobilize the troops, he would be slaughtered on the spot. Shi Kefa In this regard, both the means and the deterrent power are far inferior to him.
As for the rebel army searching for Chang Yu's whereabouts, they reoccupied Xushui and Rongcheng, and learned that reinforcements from the north were inferred, and they had already begun investigation. With Li Zicheng's virtue at this time, a large army will definitely arrive tomorrow, and within three days There must be a battle.
Prepare for war!
Li Yan sent orders to the three armies. They seemed very excited and inexplicably melancholy. They had different ideas and made peace. Their former colleagues had become life-or-death enemies.
As expected, Li Yan's troops rested for a night and a half and finally received accurate information at noon the next day. More than 10,000 bandits were heading north. The commander raised the flag and Liu Gu was already twenty miles away.
The banner with the character "Gu" was either Gu Ying or Gu Kecheng, or both of them came together. There were many Liu in the bandit army, but only three or four of them made it to the stage. Liu Tiren was wounded and captured in Taiyuan, and Liu Zongmin was the former It is impossible for the military commander to come in person, so the only ones are Liu Fangliang and Liu Zhong.
Liu Fangliang's Eastern Route Army has made great achievements in battle, and today he is more famous than anyone else. However, he may not come in person. Li Yan guessed that it is most likely Liu Zhong, who was named Pingnan Bo by Li Zicheng.
But Li Yan still guessed wrong. Liu Zhong was actually left in Lu'an Mansion to guard the Changzhi area by Liu Fangliang, and it was Liu Fangliang who came. Although he guessed the wrong general, Li Yan firmly believed that the other party should know that he was leading this group of officers and soldiers after a day and night of investigation.
At this time, within a hundred miles of Baoding City, it can be seen that both sides are spying on horses, hiding each other's whereabouts. When they meet on a narrow road, they will inevitably fight and even impersonate each other. However, Li Yan's identity was revealed by some officers and soldiers. , the reason is very simple. The spies under his command are originally traitors. It is not ruled out that some traitors may take the opportunity to escape or be captured and confess.
Li Yan didn't care about his identity being exposed. Since he had changed his mind, he would serve the court well. Those who deserved to be killed would not be merciful, and he also knew that Li Zicheng would never spare him.
In the afternoon, the bandit troops formed a formation several miles away and faced off across the river a few miles east of the officers' camp. They sent men and horses to convey a message and invite Li Yan to talk.
Li Yan looked at each other across the river and just asked: "Is this Liu Zhong here?"
The other party told them that they were Liu Fangliang, the Cihou of Dashun Kingdom, and Guying, the Marquis of Jin.
Li Yan was silent for a while and said to the visitor: "Let him prepare to die. I hope my colleagues will leave his body intact!"
For some reason, everyone who followed the little eunuch became very arrogant.
When Liu Fangliang heard this, he was furious. He cursed his mother and immediately ordered a fierce attack! But little did they know that Li Yan was reborn from the ashes as a phoenix. Not only did his mentality change drastically, but his equipment was also replaced with cannons, and his strength greatly increased. When he saw the bandits coming, he was first hit with a hail of arrows, and then there was a barrage of artillery fire from behind.
Liu Fangliang was shocked. He had even brought out field artillery. This method of attack was rare but simple and practical. The rebels were timid. At this time, Li Yan gave an order to lead his troops across the river to kill the thieves. The rebel army collapsed and ten people were pursued. Yuli.
cannon fodder?
Chang Yu's subordinates all understood this term, and Li Yan also knew it. Although he was sure of victory, it was still a surprise to defeat Liu Fangliang so easily. He immediately realized that this was just a cannon fodder unit for the bandit army, used to consume his own military strength. .
After three days of farewell, the soldiers treated each other with admiration. To say that Liu Fangliang was surprised, he had worked with Li Yan for many years and knew his strength. Li Yan was a counselor and did not command troops, but he had a personal army under him. Although the number was small, the military discipline was strict. , and the combat power of armies with strict military discipline is generally higher than those with lax military discipline, so the combat power is superior among the bandit armies.
But in front of him, Li Yan's strength was far greater than when he was in the bandit army. Almost the entire army was equipped with cavalry, and they were equipped with swords, armor, bows and arrows, and even field artillery. This strength was only possessed by King Chuang's troops. Yes! I thought that the cannon fodder brought this time could at least break his muscles and bones, but unexpectedly, it didn't even break his skin!
After being shocked, he quickly sent someone to tell Li Zicheng that this kid was in trouble now. It would be best to send some more cannon fodder over to stir up trouble. He wanted to have a good fight with Li Yan!
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