Soldiers are very fast. Although everyone knew that there were many uncertainties and loopholes in the little eunuch's plan, taking advantage of the opportunity to seize the city was a surprise attack and there was no way it was absolutely foolproof. There was no way to refute it, so everyone hurriedly made preparations. .
Chang Yu's personal guards were all experienced warriors on the battlefield. They were ready to fight as they went. Kuang Ren greeted everyone, prepared their bows, arrows and knives, got on their horses and left the city. Not long after, Jin Shenghuan also led his troops to leave. His cavalry suffered losses in the previous strategy, but not much. In addition to the retainers of Xu Hongji and others, more than a thousand people marched along the west river bank towards Wuhu in the rain, followed by Lu Daqi. More than half of the original three thousand soldiers and horses were killed and wounded. Although I was tired after staying in Dangtu, I still gritted my teeth and persisted in pushing southward in the rain! Of course, in order to boost morale, we informed the friendly forces that they were crossing the river to attack the city, and we went to get reinforcements. If we arrived late, we might not even be able to drink the soup. Otherwise, if we take them to attack Wuhu City, which has tens of thousands of thieves, few of them will be weak-limbed.
When Kuang Ren led his troops south from Dangtu, Wang Zamao in Wuhu City had not yet received news of the defeat. At this time, as Chang Yu expected, his energy was focused on the officers and soldiers on the other side of the bank. There had been constant movements on the other side of the bank since the morning. Although the river was rolling fast on a rainy day, thousands of ships were setting sail and were ready to move. Wang Zamao guessed that the officers and soldiers would most likely have to cross the river today, so he transferred nine out of ten troops in the city to the river bank west of the city. Of course, most of them were cannon fodder, which he brought here himself. The regular bandit army only had 3,000 and 500 left for Chen Dafa to swindle northwards.
However, he waited for a day by the river in the west of the city, but he only saw heavy thunder and light rain among the officers and soldiers. Perhaps because of the big waves or other reasons, he did not cross the river and waited for a day in vain, but the rebel army was soaked in the rain for a day. Wang Zamao also cursed and returned to the city, instructing his subordinates to report any trouble as soon as possible.
As for why the news of Chen Dafa's defeat and death has not reached Wang Zamao's ears, this is due to many factors. The first is that Chen Dafa underestimated the enemy. Before the war started, he did not send the scout horse to check the spot carefully. In addition, the scout horse did not try his best on the rainy day, so he was attacked before and after. Attacked from a flank, the troops were defeated and fled like a bereaved dog. Since the Yangtze River was to the west, they fled eastward when they broke through. Some were captured and some escaped by chance and crossed the river east to hide in the Daqing Mountains. Who would have the courage to go out to report the news, even if they were professional I was also worried that my outcrop would be caught by officers and soldiers on horseback, and I wanted to wait until dark and the rain stopped before leaving, but the rain kept falling and got heavier and heavier, and the two places were more than 70 miles apart. When I fled for my life, I abandoned my helmet and abandoned my horse, leaning on my two legs. How could the news be sent back so quickly?
In addition to the already active scouts of officers and soldiers around here, after the war, a large number of Jin Yiwei and Dongchang fans joined in, and a strict surveillance network was set up between the two cities. Even if someone slipped through the net and wanted to go back to report, they would inevitably be intercepted and killed. Such a fate that nearly two hours after the defeat, Wang Zamao still knew nothing about the war in the north.
However, when it was getting dark, Wang Zamao finally became suspicious. Chen Dafa had hurriedly sent out troops last night and should have arrived at Dangtu by now. Regardless of whether there was a fight or not, there should have been news, but there was no news. This was contrary to common sense. So Yan Xuming was invited to discuss it. This dog-headed military advisor also felt strange. Could it be that he had encountered or even been defeated by the officers and soldiers? It can be said that if the officers and soldiers found out that the rebels were attacking, they would naturally hide in the city and dare not go out to fight. Even if the battle started and Chen Dafa suffered a big loss, there should be news that the whole army would not be wiped out.
Maybe this guy was attacking the city and wanted to send a good news after taking it. The two of them speculated, but to be on the safe side, they still sent people to find out the news.
It was getting dark, and three of the four cities in Wuhu were closed. Only the west gate was left open to facilitate the communication of news. Of course, it was guarded by Wang Zamao's trusted bandits. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, it was impossible for the officers and soldiers to cross the river at this time. Wang Zamao was thinking about whether to move his troops back to the city. After all, being caught in the wind and rain by the river was not a problem. Of course, he was talking about his regular army of thieves, and he didn't care about the life or death of those cannon fodder.
However, Yan Xuming had a different attitude towards this. No one could guarantee whether the officers and soldiers would do the opposite when they behaved in a deceitful way, so they crossed the river at night. What they did during the day was just paralysis, Wang Zamao said to This dog-headed strategist almost obeyed his words. When he thought that this was the case, he asked people to carry a few pigs to the outside of the city to reward his men, and promised that after defeating the officers and soldiers, there would be a big reward!
His brothers were blowing in the wind and rain by the river, while Wang Zamao was leisurely and contented in the city. He and Yan Xuming were holding a woman in their arms and having fun playing with wine in the county government office. But suddenly someone outside shouted: "General,... Oh no, the officers and soldiers have crossed the river."
ah! Wang Zamao was so shocked that he pushed the woman beside him away and glanced at Yan Xuming next to him: "Brother Yan is really a god, as expected." He kicked the table in front of him and said, "That's it. Let him never come back." He said and rushed out.
It was raining heavily outside. Wang Zamao took the coir raincoat handed to him by his subordinates and put it on. He looked up at the dark night sky and couldn't help but cursed: "You really know how to pick the right time to fuck his grandma." Then he left the county government office and got on top of Ma Tong Yan Xu. Ming and several soldiers rushed towards the west gate.
In the west city gate, more than 20 bandits were gathering around the fire, drinking wine, and talking about how tender the girls they played with the day before yesterday were, eliciting bursts of obscene laughter. Wang Zamao cursed angrily: "Everyone should be smarter. They were all fucking drunk and had their heads cut off and they died without knowing how.”
These thieves laughed disapprovingly: "General, why do you want to leave the city so late?"
"The officers and soldiers are about to cross the river. What should I do if we don't get out? You all should be smart and watch the door for me." Wang Zamao cursed. The rebels were shocked when they heard this: "It's raining so hard. Are the officers and soldiers crazy?"
"I just like mad dogs." Wang Zamao drove his horse out of the city. He saw many refugees on both sides of the doorway clinging to shelter from the rain and didn't bother to scold him. He looked due west and could vaguely see the flickering fire on the other side. You have to know the distance here. The Yangtze River is still several miles away and it is still raining. You can still see a fire, which means that the other side of the river is already in flames.
"What the hell, there's a lot of commotion. I'm afraid I don't know you crossed the river." Wang Zamao cursed as he hit his horse and ran towards the river bank. His eyes were fixed on the river, but he could only see a few scattered light spots. , a little confused in his heart: "How many ships are there?".
"The general knows how many ships are hidden in the darkness." Yan Xuming thought this was an opportunity for the officers and soldiers to hide in the dark. He deliberately set fire to the other side to attract attention, secretly sent his troops to disperse across the river, and may have even expanded the battle line by more than ten miles. It was possible, so he told Wang Zamao to be flexible and mobilize his troops as he pleased to expand the defense line and defend tightly to prevent him from landing easily.
Wang Zamao thought so, and couldn't help but feel nervous. Although it was difficult for the officers and soldiers to cross the river on a rainy night, it was also not easy for him on the defensive side. If you couldn't see clearly and couldn't touch it, you didn't know where the main force of the officers and soldiers landed from. How many troops does the opponent have?
The riverside position was noisy, and the movement on the other side made everyone nervous. Whether they were bandits or cannon fodder, they all knew that the force of the officers and soldiers was about to start. They were preparing for war, shouting, and making a mess.
After Wang Zamao arrived at the riverside, he climbed up to the observation deck and watched for a while. He saw more than ten boats with lights shaking violently in the middle of the river, which showed that the river was rushing. He thought that these officers and soldiers were really brave. Those boats were moving slowly for a while but still bumped in the middle. It seemed that due to the wind and rain and the strong waves and strong water, they could not come over so easily.
"Look at this situation, the officers and soldiers are afraid that their hard work will be in vain tonight." Yan Xuming smiled beside him, but Wang Zamao raised his eyebrows: "I hope they come here smoothly, otherwise our hard work will be in vain." .
"General, general..." At this moment, a bandit soldier shouted loudly under the high platform: "A troop of nearly a thousand cavalry officers and soldiers were found on the riverside twenty miles away to the north, running towards this direction!"
What the hell? Wang Zamao was stunned for a moment, stared at Yan Xuming and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yan Xuming was also confused. There were more than a thousand cavalry, weren't these the reinforcements from Nanjing mentioned in the intelligence the day before yesterday? How did they get here? Didn't Chen Dafa lead 3,000 troops to intercept yesterday? Why did he come at the back? No wonder no news came from Chen Dafa, a loser. It seems that he missed him and didn't encounter him!
"What should we do?" Wang Zamao was angry and anxious. When the Ming army crossed the river and landed, it would be very troublesome for reinforcements to come.
Yan Xuming snorted, with a relaxed look on his face: "General, don't be upset. How can our officers and soldiers have such courage on ordinary days, marching alone on a rainy night? The reason why it is so abnormal is to disturb people's eyes and ears, distract our energy and troops, and assist the other side. The officers and soldiers are just crossing the river, and they only need to send a few hundred troops and horses to intercept them, and they will be destroyed without attack."
Wang Zamao felt that this was the truth, so he hurriedly ordered a small leader to lead more than a thousand miscellaneous troops to stop the officers and soldiers. Although he was no longer panicked, he was a little confused. How could the officers and soldiers on the east and west coast cooperate so well? Just as the people on the other side were about to cross the river, the people on this side came to harass them!
