Hanzhong Prefecture, Baishui Town.
Baishui Town is located at the junction of Hanzhong Prefecture and Gongchang Prefecture. Twenty-three miles to the north is Yuguan.
As the junction area between Hanzhong and Gongchang, Baishui Town thrives on commerce.
It's just that this prosperity has now been reduced to a void, and the originally popular Baishui Town has become a sea of fire.
Speaking of which, this is not the first time Baishui Town has suffered a military disaster...
The fire shot up into the sky, reflecting the dark sky red. The drizzle of rain could not extinguish the ferocious fire.
Above the official road, a group of ragged people slowly walked south along the official road. Their faces were ashen and their steps were staggering. Many of them were carrying their wives and children, and they only had a few luggage.
The crackling sound of burning wood mixed with the wailing sound echoed in everyone's ears.
All the property in Baishui Town has been taken away, and even the town has been burned to the ground.
They were all citizens of the town. Not only was the place where they lived burned down, but they were also snared into the ranks of the bandits.
The young and strong civilians and brave men were organized into the ranks of hungry soldiers, and the rest of the elderly, women and children were organized into the old and weak camp.
Many horse soldiers were watching on both sides of the women, children and the old and the weak in these old and weak camps.
They control the life and death of these people, as well as the fate of these people.
In the rogue army, everything is more cruel than before.
If they were the family members of Ma Jun's elite cavalry, not only would their life safety be guaranteed, but they would also have no shortage of food, clothing, housing and transportation.
The families of the troops can also have some protection, but the families of the hungry soldiers have no protection at all, and it is even difficult to see each other.
It is common for elite horsemen to seize the wives and daughters of hungry soldiers, but the hungry soldiers don't even know about it. After being divided into two battalions, it is difficult to see each other again. If they do not become troops, it is normal for the horsemen to say that heaven and man are separated forever.
Li Yangchun's face was cold, he pressed the knife and stood up, staring ahead. The fire illuminated half of his body red.
The fire was so fierce that everyone's mounts were shaking uneasily or digging at the ground.
"After passing Baishui, go straight south to Lueyang. There are two ways to go."
Li Guo lightly pulled the reins and controlled the horse to take a few steps forward.
"Go all the way southeast to the hinterland of Hanzhong, all the way south to Yangping Pass, and then go to Ningqiang Prefecture City via Yangping Pass."
"Originally, when I entered Hanzhong Mansion with my uncle and others, I went south first to attack the city of Ningqiang Prefecture. However, at that time, the combined troops of all the tribes had more than ten thousand people..."
The first time Baishui Town was robbed, neither Li Yangchun nor Lin Shengquan were present, and it had nothing to do with them, but it was related to Li Guo.
This is not the first time Li Guo has entered Hanzhong Mansion.
As early as the seventh year of Chongzhen, more than a dozen rebel armies, including Gao Yingen, Li Zicheng, Guo Tianxing, and Hun Tianxing, set out from Qinzhou, Gongchang Prefecture, and marched towards Hanzhong via Huizhou and Lueyang.
Gao Ying'en, Li Zicheng, Hui Dengxian and other nine troops formed a coalition to capture Ningqiang Prefecture in October, executed commander Xu Daxing, and then divided into three groups to enter Sichuan.
The reason why Hanzhong Prefecture still has more than 100,000 rogue bandits scattered in all directions is precisely because this military disaster left a poisonous effect.
"At present, my three armies are combined, and with the newly recruited troops, we only have over 30,000 soldiers. I'm afraid it will be difficult to attack Ning Qiang..."
"I remember there seem to be people from Laoying in the east of Hanzhong Fudong?"
Li Yangchun pondered for a moment and then asked.
Li Guo nodded. The people of the old battalion that Li Yangchun mentioned were naturally not the old battalion soldiers that are often referred to in the army today, nor were they the women and children who were referred to as the old battalion, but the original thirty-sixth battalion.
"The Black Killing Tiger Zhang Yuan and the Sky-Drawing Harrier Wangcheng both have about 50,000 people. They should be in the Xixiang and Ziyang areas in the east."
"Hanzhong Mansion covers a vast area, and many of the other ministries are scattered. There has been no contact for nearly a year. Many of the other ministries have no news because they are active, and they don't know where they are, so they can't be contacted..."
Li Yangchun raised his riding whip and sneered.
"It's easy to contact them..."
"When we enter Hanzhong and head east, they will naturally join us."
"Uncle Li means..."
Li Guo's eyes moved slightly and he whispered.
A trace of ferocity flashed in Li Yangchun's eyes, he raised his riding crop and pointed it straight ahead.
"Go forward, go to the hinterland of Hanzhong, plunder Hanzhong, the brigade will sweep all the way eastward, enter Xixiang, join forces with Zhang Yuan first, and then look for Wang Cheng."
"The rest of the rebel armies in Hanzhong will definitely come to surrender one after another when they see the huge momentum of our army. We don't need to look for them, they will naturally come to us!"
Li Yangchun's spirit lifted slightly, and the dissatisfaction accumulated in his heart also dissipated a little.
Along the way, the strange Ming army was hanging behind them like a cat playing with a mouse, rushing forward from time to time to kill and then turn back to mind its own business.
Along the way, they were chased by the Ming army and abandoned their armor. The generals under their command could not restrain them at all. When they saw the Liao cavalry banner, they had no fighting spirit at all and were invincible.
Li Yangchun's expression gradually turned sinister.
It's not a good feeling to be controlled by others. Not only is your wealth and life controlled by others, but even your actions and everything are controlled by others. The feeling of being like a puppet on strings is extremely depressing and suffocating. .
Li Yangchun loosened the blue scarf tied around his neck, and his expression calmed down a little.
"Instruct all the ministries to divide into six battalions and go south according to the original plan, and spend one day in Lueyang to collect food."
"Then go directly to the southeast through Lueyang and gather at the entrance of the southeast official road where the smoke is burning."
"As you command!"
All the generals and commanders responded one after another, and the cavalrymen who delivered the order also responded one after another, and then took the order and left.
As the military order was passed down, on the official road, a group of bandits heading south let out strange roars and screams.
Naturally, it is not allowed in the regular army, but the army he leads is not a normal army.
What he said about raising food was just a nice way of saying it.
In fact, raising food means looting. The so-called day of raising food means looting at will. During this day, no matter what they do, they are allowed to do whatever they want.
Li Yangchun's expression didn't change much. Such confusion was normal.
"Long live!"
I don’t know who shouted Long Live first, and then more people shouted.
For a time, the entire official road was filled with people and it was quite chaotic.
"Long live!!"
Li Yangchun's expression changed slightly, and a different emotion suddenly appeared in his heart. An inexplicable emotion seemed to be growing in his heart, and it was extremely rapid.
That feeling is incredible...
Long live……
The corners of Li Yangchun's mouth raised, revealing a sinister smile.
He likes this slogan and these two words very much.
Li Yangchun turned his head and looked behind him.
That was the direction of Yuguan, and they had just passed Yuguan in the morning.
They slaughtered all the five hundred Ming troops in Yuguan, and the newly built Yuguan was burned to the ground again.
Li Yangchun did not stop any longer. He raised his riding whip, slapped it on the horse's buttocks, and led a group of knights to gallop past the side of the official road, galloping towards the south amid bursts of cheers.
…
Yuguan, known as Yuguan in ancient times, is also called Xianrenguan, although it is hidden deep in the Jialing River Gorge at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains.
In the fourth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Song general Wu Jie's army held fast at the Xianren Pass. He used the weak to defeat the strong and defeated the Jin army with a small number. The Jin army's attempt to go south was shattered and the land of Hanzhong was saved.
But more than five hundred years have passed since time passed, and Yuguan has not been able to create another miracle and play its due role.
Chen Wang was walking on the ruins of Yuguan, and everything around him was black and scorched.
The air is filled with the strong smell of blood and the burnt smell of burning wood... and the slight smell of meat...
Chen Wang looked gloomy, and Ye Bushou investigated everything very clearly.
There are five hundred garrison troops in Yuguan, led by one garrison.
They held on for a total of two days, and then broke through the city.
The head of the guard was now hanging in front of the gate of Yuguan. His body was casually discarded aside. He was wounded in five places and shot with seven arrows, which proved that he was not a surrenderer.
Along with him, there was a "Jingguan" formed by the piled-up heads of soldiers in the pass.
This was undoubtedly a demonstration by the bandits against him.
Chen Wang did not send people to clear it out first, but let Jingguan exist. He ordered all the generals to pass through the gate. After seeing the "Jingguan", he allowed them to be laid to rest.
Chen Wang raised his eyes and looked around. He was examining the terrain of Yuguan.
Yuguan was surrounded by natural dangers but was breached within two days. This was not because the defenders were not brave enough.
Traces of fierce battles can be seen in many places. Most of the wounds on the defenders who died were in the front, and most of them died from multiple wounds.
Yuguan experienced two battles, and the first time it was broken by force. The nine allied forces each sent their elites to break through the pass.
But this time, it was largely because Guancheng was already dilapidated. A year had passed, and many places in Guancheng had not even been fully constructed.
Yuguan is located at the foot of Iron Mountain, the main peak of Qingni Ridge. This section of the ancient Shu Road is steep in the mountains and is an important transportation route from Guanzhong and Tianshui areas into Hanzhong.
At the same time, it is also the choke point from Shaanxi to Sichuan. It has always been known as "the key to Shaanxi and Gansu and the throat of Shu".
If the Guancheng is complete and more than 500 soldiers dare to fight and work hard, they can stop thousands of people from wandering under the Guancheng.
Even in the face of roving bandits and fine cavalry attacking the city, it is enough to hold on for more than a week.
As long as three thousand soldiers and horses are placed here, equipped with tiger crouching, Fran machine, and a few cannons, it will be difficult for another 20,000 to 30,000 people to break Yuguan.
The land of Hanzhong, the land of abundance, surrounded by mountains, is the domain of kings and tyrants.
When Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was granted the title of King of Han, he established a kingdom in the Han Dynasty. He then advanced to Guanzhong and then conquered the world.
Hanzhong is surrounded by mountains. It is guarded by Yuguan in the northwest and Yangping in the southwest. From Guanzhong to Hanzhong, there are only Baoxie Road, Tangluo Road, Ziwu Road and other small roads. In the east of Hanzhong, there are Lu Pass, Baitu Pass and other passes to guard.
As long as these key points are occupied, the small can resist the large and the weak can defeat the strong.
Firearms defense can undoubtedly take advantage of this to even greater extent.
Chen Wang looked at Yuguan and had already started planning. If he was asked to defend Yuguan, how should he defend it and how should the city be built.
Simply closing the city is undoubtedly a waste of such a dangerous place.
Firearms are constantly improving, and the power of artillery is becoming more and more powerful.
After the continuous advancement of firearms, the West also began to reform its defense fortifications. Bastion is the result of the improvement of defense fortifications.
The bastion is not suitable for people to live in, but it is extremely suitable for garrisoning.
If the bastion and Guancheng are combined and improved, it will not only prevent the enemy from bombarding Guancheng with artillery, so that the defensive advantage will exist no matter what, but also streamline the troops and reduce financial expenditures.
Hanzhong...
The sky was dark because of the light rain, and the soft sound of raindrops falling on the felt hat above his head reached Chen Wang's ears.
Chen Wang left Guancheng in Yuguan and walked all the way out of the ruins.
Above the official road, a group of military generals were marching.
It didn't take five or six days, it only took four days in total, three and a half days to be precise, and hundreds of miles of road had been traveled.
Chen Wang led his troops all the way from the south of Li County to Yuguan.
This time it was a forced march, and the vanguard of the expedition was naturally the Liao Cavalry.
The forward Liao Qi detected that all the bandits had entered Yuguan and entered Hanzhong.
There was naturally no chance of an ambush, because the Liao cavalry had been hanging behind them, and the rogue bandits had no time to set up an ambush.
Chen Wang moved forward and came under an awning.
Under the awning, Zhao Huailiang and Tang Shiping stood with their hands tied.
Hu Zhili and Chen Gong led the infantry and cavalry troops respectively. Naturally, they were not here.
Under the awning, on the table, is an extremely detailed map.
Everything is described very clearly on this map, whether it is the pass city, or the main roads of villages and towns, everything is clear.
This map was taken directly from the army by Cao Wenzhao and given to Chen Wang. It was a detailed map that Chen Wang had no way to obtain.
Compared to Li Yangchun, who was not clear about the situation in Hanzhong Mansion, Chen Wang had more information advantages. Cao Dingjiao had already explained the situation in Hanzhong Mansion to him in detail, and many extremely detailed things were recorded on the map.
In today's Hanzhong Prefecture, the two largest groups of bandits are the Black Killing Tigers and the Zuotian Harriers, which have about 50,000 people. They are respectively entrenched in the mountainous area to the east of Hanzhong Prefecture, in the Xixiang and Ziyang areas.
In addition, there are rogue bandits in Ningqiang and Yangxian counties, with about 20,000 people.
There are also activities of more than 20,000 rogue bandits near Xing'an Station, but this cannot be the same, because Xing'an Station is located in the southeast of Hanzhong Prefecture, far away from the Hanzhong Basin, and cannot respond to Li Yangchun and other tribes.
What needs to be taken care of is the rogue bandits in Ningqiang, Yangxian, Xixiang, and Ziyang. Once Li Yangchun joins forces with them, Hanzhong Prefecture will probably be completely overturned.
Although there are tens of thousands of Black Killing Tigers, Sky-Diamond Harriers and other tribes, most of them are just mobs.
Although the two battalions are from the old 36th battalion, they are both ranked in the middle 24th battalion in the rankings, and the Sky Harrier is still at the bottom.
The soldiers of Hanzhong Prefecture guarded dangerous key areas, and had always been able to ensure the stability of the surrounding villages and towns of the main city. There was a delicate balance between the two.
However, Li Yangchun, Lin Shengquan, and Li Guo had mostly elite cavalry troops with strong combat capabilities.
Their arrival is bound to break this balance...
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(End of chapter)
