Chapter 164 Seng Gelinqin died in Caozhou (3)
After the battle in Lushan, Lai Wenguang and Zhang Zongyu led their troops to attack Ye County in the east, but failed; they turned back to the north, harassed Xiangcheng, surrounded Xinzheng, and entered Weishi. It was the end of the year, the sky was full of wind and snow, the soldiers were exhausted, and there were complaints.
Zhang Zongyu, the king of Liang, said: "Your Highness, King Zun, it is freezing cold, the wind is biting, the soldiers are exhausted, and they are in urgent need of rest."
Lai Wenguang looked at the map, pondered for a moment, and said: To the north is the Yellow River, which is blocked by ice, making swimming difficult; the land of Yanling is flat and fertile, suitable for horse teams to maneuver. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the two kingdoms of Jin and Chu were competing for hegemony in Yanling. Duke Li of Jin took advantage of the terrain and shot and wounded the king of Chu, and the state of Chu was defeated. If I kill the monk monster here, the monster army will retreat. Immediately pass on my order to go south to Yanling to raise food supplies, set up ambushes and destroy the enemy, and rest for the New Year.
Seng Gelin pursued them quietly. After a month, he was exhausted physically and mentally. As soon as he arrived at Weishi County, he summoned the generals to discuss the pursuit.
Seng Gelinqin said: The thieves traveled from Dengzhou to Lushan, from Lushan to Yexian, from Yexian to Xinzheng, from Xinzheng to Weishi, and then from Weishi to Yanling. They relied on the speed of their horses to circle with me.
Chen Guorui said: "I report to Commander-in-Chief, the general believes that the battle must be fierce, the pursuit must be tight, and the retreat must be steady." I am tired and the thieves are also tired, so I send a strong force to hold them tightly, and the army follows up, surrounds and annihilates them.
Seng Gelinqin said: "Sneaking and pursuing, we are often led by thieves, but it is not a long-term plan. All the ministries are stationed on the spot, setting up hidden ambushes, and the deputy capital is unified as a security guard. At the speed of 3,000 cavalry, they gallop into Yanling to lure the thieves northward."
Chengbao received the order and arrived at Yanling. Before he could set up his formation, he was surrounded by the Nian army. Chengbao was defeated and retreated in confusion.
After the battle at Heishidu, they stalked and attacked, but were defeated in all battles. Seng Gelin lamented, so he ordered all the ministries to temporarily station in Xinzheng and Weishi counties and wait, holding the northern line firmly to prevent Lu from invading Beijing.
Seng Gelin Qin Dun's troops, relying on Wen Guang, continued to advance south again, attacking Xiping, attacking Runan, and besieging Xinyang. They recruited troops and horses along the way, enjoying themselves leisurely.
Seng Gelinqin was afraid that Lai Wenguang would become powerful and did not dare to stop again. He ordered the whole army to follow and chase them away again.
As the Qing army approached Xinyang, Lai Wenguang suddenly turned back and headed north, crossing Xuzhou and Suizhou, and entered Shandong via the ancient Yellow River road of Kaocheng Libaji. Within two months, they harassed Caoxian, Dingtao, Chengwu, Jiaxiang, Wenshang, Ningyang, Feicheng, Dong'a, Pingyin and other places.
The empress dowagers of the two palaces angrily criticized Seng Gelinqin and Yan Jingming for their inability to pursue and intercept, and for allowing bandits to overflow.
Yan Jingming, the governor of Shandong, accepted the order and urgently summoned the chief envoy Ding Baozhen to discuss countermeasures.
Ding Baozhen said: As the old saying goes, Ji and the river are the only ones in Yanzhou. Yanzhou is an important military town, the thoroughfare of nine provinces, and the throat of Qilu. If you control it, you can protect the territory of Lu.
Yan Jingming said: If a thief swims across the Yellow River and harasses the capital, we will be punished.
Ding Baozhen said: The Monk King controls the troops and horses of the six provinces of Mongolia, Zhizhi, Lu, Henan, Hubei and Anhui, and specializes in suppressing Nian. If the Nian disturbs the capital, the Monk King's crime cannot be absolved, and we are accomplices, so we will have only a small amount of responsibility.
Yan Jingming said: "Brother Zhihuang, can the monk king destroy this remnant?"
Ding Baozhen said: The Nian bandits are all cavalry. They come and go quickly and erratically. The Monk King's cavalry can still pursue and suppress them, but the slow pace will definitely hinder them. It is difficult to remove the thieves from the city, but it is easy to control the rogue bandits. If the walls are strong and the wilderness is clear, the city wall is strong and the way to come and go is blocked. The thieves will gain nothing and will collapse over time.
Yan Jingming said: Brother Zhihuang has a good opinion. If the monk king has this knowledge, why should the nun bandits be eliminated? However, the monks are arrogant and arrogant in taking credit, and it is difficult for the governors of all provinces to get into his eyes. But brother Zhihuang, who is neither arrogant nor humble, can still fight with him. deal with.
Ding Baozhen said: Last year, the monk king ordered me to pacify the Song Jingshi bandit tribe. After the success, he impeached me to recruit and surrender the army. The monk king was biased and it was difficult to agree with him.
Yan Jingming said: Brother Zhihuang has been demoted three levels in a row, which is just a mere matter of rank. The monk king first impeached Guo Songtao for being good at setting up bureaucracies, which led to a civil uprising; later he impeached Tang Xunfang for not granting Meng Cheng the honor, which was out of urgency. The monk has been at odds with my Han ministers for a long time! We guard the city wall and do our duties well; we keep a respectful distance from the monk king.
Seng Gelinqin was scolded by the two palaces, and his blood was raging. He couldn't help but supervise the horse team, and they rushed forward wildly. He did not leave the saddle for dozens of days. His hands were too tired to lift the reins, so he tied his wrists with cloth belts and tied them on his shoulders to control the horses. He was too weak to support them. Fang Jie'an took a break on the left side of the road and drank two giant glasses of fire wine. When he woke up a little, he mounted his horse and chased again.
The soldiers were unwilling to share the hardships and complained a lot.
Seng Gegelinqin said: I am determined to kill thieves, and I will go all out. I will kill Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang from afar, and kill Zhang Lexing, Miao Peilin, and Chen Decai at close range. As the cavalry passes, the situation changes. The world is so vast that apart from the King of Hell, there is no one to fear. What can these mere thieves do to me? I am tired and the thieves are also tired. The one who endures will win! Pass on my military order, if you don't patrol the front line, you will kill without mercy and be executed immediately!
As the pursuers approached, King Zhang Zongyu of Liang and King Renzhu of Lu wanted to engage in battle, but King Lai Wenguang refused and said, "Ding Yao, Baozhen, and Chen are marching to Yanzhou. If we join forces with Monk Yao, all our previous efforts will be in vain." My idea is to immediately go south to Suzhou, seduce the monks and monsters and turn back, and then enter Western Shandong again, wait until the monsters are tired, and then choose an opportunity to gather and annihilate them.
Ren Zhudao: Why not cross the Yellow River north, attack the capital, and be done with it.
Lai Wenguang said: Qingyao's capital is an important place, so there must be heavy troops. The two brothers Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang lost their lives in the capital, which was really a mistake for us. I want to stop the river for the time being and kill the monks and demons in this area.
Zhang Zongyu was depressed for a long time, and then said: Avoid the real and attack the weak. If the enemy is strong, run away and avoid it. If it is not a long-term plan, kill the monks and monsters to eliminate future troubles. We will follow the king's lead and look forward to it.
Lai Wenguang said with a smile: Brother Liang is taciturn and as quiet as a virgin. In his spare time, he never releases the scroll, just like a weak scholar. However, everyone says that Brother Liang is the king of hell. I can't understand why.
Zhang Zongyu also laughed and said: On that day, the King of Luo ordered me to encircle and annihilate Li Zhaoshou's rebel demon. More than ten soldiers refused to obey the order. I immediately killed them, but the King of Luo reprimanded me. I said that I was following my uncle's orders, and Yu did not dare to disobey! King Luo said, "You are the King of Hell." In the past, King Luo was obsessed with women and couldn't extricate himself. I raised my sword and dropped it, angrily killing his lover. King Luo said, you are really the king of hell.
Lai Wenguang said: What King Luo said is true, Brother Liang is really the King of Hell!
Zhang Zongyu said: "The King of Hell is prone to seeing little ghosts being difficult to deal with. If we meet the Seng Gelinqin demon again, we will definitely kill him with our own hands to avenge King Luo and his dead brothers. We will go south immediately and deal with the monk demon again."
Lai Wenguang and others entered the Soviet Union from Lu, but the Qing army was defeated again. Seng Gelinqin was furious and immediately led the army into the Soviet Union. As soon as they arrived, Lai Wenguang and others returned northward, defeated Ding Baozhen's troops, swam across the canal from Wenshang, and arrived at Gaolou Village in the northwest of Caozhou.
Lai Wenguang inspected the terrain and said to Zhang Zongyu and Ren Zhudao: This place is close to the Yellow River, with crisscross weirs and dense water nets. In the reed swamps, there are clusters of willow trees. It can ambush an army of more than ten thousand. The monks and demons are about to die.
Zhang Zongyu said: "It is a taboo for military strategists to fight against the enemy's back. However, if you put yourself to death and survive, you will fight against the monks and demons here."
Lai Wenguang said: "We are waiting for work at leisure. Relying on the Yellow River embankment, we set up ambush on the north, west and east sides of Gaolou Village. Brother Lu will lead the headquarters and lure the monster into the urn from the south. In this battle, slow down first and then rush. Wait until both the demon horse and foot armies are in the ambush circle, and then kill them.
King Renzhu of Lu accepted the order and fought with Seng Gelinqin against Jieyuanji. He pretended to be defeated and retreated to Jiaomi Village. The next day, he retreated to Gaolou Village.
Unaware of the deception, Seng Gelinqin oversaw the entire army. The troops were divided into three groups and advanced boldly. As soon as they entered the ambush, they were defeated in battle. Cabinet bachelor Quanshun, commander-in-chief He Jian'ao and Erjing'e were killed in battle one after another. Seng Gelinqin led the army The remnant troops retreated to Hao Hutong. They broke out in the middle of the night and fought in chaos. It was dark and they could not tell where they were going. When they arrived at Wujiadian, the horse was half dead. The monk king drew his saber and killed him. The horse jumped to the ground and hid among the grain and wheat on the ridge of the field. He was searched by a group of soldiers. , seal the throat with a knife.
