The cavalry detachment sent out from Lueyang to Qiu Road in Mioxian County successively sent people back to report on the afternoon of the 27th of the first month of the 20th year of Hongxing - no sign of any enemy troops lurking was found!
Not only was there no ambush, but the Qi road from Lueyang to Mioxian was very smooth and had not been damaged in any way. There were no materials, vehicles or horses abandoned by the wandering bandits along the way. Moreover, the Ming army cavalry responsible for the search also encountered many local people who were "welcoming the king's division". After inquiry, I learned that the government households in dozens of towns between Lueyang City and Mioxian County had been evacuated one after another in the winter of the 17th year of Gongzhi. By the beginning of the first year of Dongping Daxing, there were no government households in this area. Soldiers lived.
The rule of the rogue bandits in the local area is based on the fubing households. The withdrawal of all the fubing households means that the rule of the rogue bandit court in the area no longer exists.
Considering that the retreat started last winter, that is to say, after Li Guo's death, the rogue court had already begun to deploy a general retreat from the Hanzhong area...
"Commander, it seems that the bandits have long planned to abandon Hanzhong. We should be able to win this battle easily!"
"Commander, my subordinates have prepared an army of 15,000 people and are ready to march to Mian County at any time...Please give me the order, Commander-in-Chief!"
In Lueyang City, Shang Kexi and Kong Tingxun were challenging Wu Sangui, who had just arrived last night. If Wu Sangui hadn't arrived, the two of them would have led their troops to attack. But now that Marshal Wu's people have arrived, they can't do it without asking for instructions... Now it depends on whether Wu Sangui is interesting enough and willing to give them this opportunity to make a contribution. .
While Wu Sangui was listening to the two people's invitation to fight, he clasped his hands behind his back in the middle hall of his temporary commander's residence and looked at a map of the battlefield situation that had just been hung up. He frowned slightly and did not answer directly, but asked: "Where to explore at Yangping Pass pass?"
“Cavalry has been dispatched,” Kong Tingxun said, “but they failed to get close to Yangping Pass and were blocked by rogues’ cavalry in the area of Juting Town… In addition, on the slopes on both sides of the Jialing River near Juting Town, , and also found signs of the rogue army setting up defenses."
"What about Qishan Road?" Wu Sangui asked again, "Have you searched it?"
"We searched for fifty miles along the Rhinoceros River," Kong Tingxun said. "The situation is similar to that between Lueyang and Mioxian County. All the soldiers in that area have also been evacuated."
Shang Ke said happily: "Commander, it seems that the bandits have abandoned Hanzhong and Longnan and are preparing to defend Yangping Pass."
Wu Sangui glanced at Liu Sheng and Wu Yinglin again.
Liu Sheng said: "Commander, you can let Admiral Wu go out of Malingguan, let Admiral Shang and General Kong go out of Lueyang, and cooperate with the three divisions from the south of Qinling Mountains to capture Hanzhong... As long as one of the five armies succeeds, Hanzhong is ours.
The subordinates led their troops to attack Yangping Pass to explore the true and false status of the rogue bandits. "
Wu Yinglin said: "Commander Father, there must be the main force of rogue bandits at Yangping Pass. It is a waste of effort to send troops to test. It is better to let Hao'er and Admiral Liu lead their troops to march along the Rhinoceros River and join Admiral Shi to take the Qishan Road."
Of course Wu Yinglin was eager to make contributions. He was not the eldest son, could not ascend the throne, and could not inherit the position of Protector of Anxi, so he had to work hard on his own. And this time the battle between the leveling bandits is undoubtedly a good opportunity to make achievements. He didn't want to waste the opportunity in front of Yangping Pass, which he couldn't defeat...
Wu Sangui understood his son's thoughts and nodded, about to agree. Liu Sheng on the side suddenly said: "Commander, if my subordinates and the young master lead the troops to Qishan Road, there will be fewer soldiers here in Lueyang. If the bandits from Yangpingguan invade in large numbers..."
"Don't be afraid!" Wu Sangui waved his hand and said with a smile, "I have ten battalions of soldiers beside me, three of which are Yi and Ding iron troops, and two battalions of artillery. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on."
Liu Sheng was still a little worried: "Commander, my subordinates have brought 30 battalions to Lueyang. We won't need so many to march westward to Qishan Road. It's better to leave five battalions in Lueyang."
Wu Sangui nodded: "That's okay... That's it! Remember, you must be careful on the road, the mountain road is rugged, don't let the bandits ambush you!"
Of course there is no ambush!
Li Dingguo never considered setting up an ambush on the rugged mountain roads in southern Shaanxi from the beginning.
There are three reasons for not setting up an ambush. First, the enemy will be very cautious in advancing - the past eight years of war have taught them too many lessons, so they will definitely be on guard against Li Dingguo setting up an ambush in the mountainous areas, and the Hexi Army and Anxi Army under Wu Sangui , Sichuanbian Army has undergone many modifications and changes, and now it can adapt well to mountain warfare. Therefore, fighting in rugged mountainous terrain, it is impossible for the Dashun Army to take advantage of the terrain.
The second reason for not setting up an ambush is that there are four roads into Hanzhong, and the transportation connections between them are very inconvenient. It is impossible for Li Dingguo to split the troops at hand and spread them around - this is not an ambush, this is a way to divide the troops!
The third reason for not setting up an ambush was that the Dashun court began to evacuate local military households before the start of the southern Shaanxi campaign. As soon as the government soldiers withdrew, the grassroots political power of the Dashun court in the mountainous areas of southern Shaanxi disappeared.
Considering the oppression of the working people of southern Shaanxi by the Dashun court in the past 20 years, it is very likely that the people of southern Shaanxi will side with the Ming army...
So Li Dingguo simply made the most unexpected arrangement. Instead of setting up an ambush and fighting in a dangerous place in southern Shaanxi, he put his opponent into the Hanzhong Basin and fought a decisive battle on the plains of the Hanzhong Basin.
Yes, it's a decisive battle on the plains, a grand battle!
For Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, and Kong Tingxun, this style of play is definitely the most unexpected.
Because in the past eight years, Li Dingguo has never won a battle on the plains - if he could win, he would have entered Xi'an Fucheng long ago, and he would have been blocked by Wu Sangui here and there. Year?
The reason why the Dashun Army couldn't win was also very simple - the Dashun Army nestled in the southwest mountains was simply not an army that could fight in a majestic formation on the plains.
The equipment and tactics of the Dashun Army determine that they are a mountain unit. If you ask a mountain division to fight a tank regiment on the plains, they will not win!
Therefore, the generals in the Ming Dynasty would never think of Li Dingguo fighting them in the flat Hanzhong Basin. Even if they thought of it, no one would be afraid.
Just as the Five Ming Army, a total of more than 80,000 people, was cautiously advancing towards the Hanzhong Basin, Li Dingguo had already gathered 60,000 elite soldiers in the Dingjunshan camp!
In addition, he placed 15,000 people along Ziwu Road, Baoxie Road, and Tangluo Road to delay the enemy. Another five thousand people were placed by Li Dingguo at Xunyang and Xing'an in the east of Hanzhong Prefecture to prevent the Ming army from sneak attacks through the valley trail in the east of the Qinling Mountains.
In other words, Li Dingguo only opened the two passages from Malingguan to Baocheng (the one from Liuba to Baocheng belongs to the southern section of Baoxie Road) and from Lueyang to Mioxian, waiting for Wu Sangui and Shang Kexi to come to their door. .
"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui's troops have moved!"
"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui's troops are coming in two groups!"
Li Dingguo's two lieutenants, Luo Hu and Chen Yongfu, quickly entered the Chinese army at Dingjunshan Camp, and brought two pieces of good news that cheered up Li Dingguo, who was dozing off.
Li Dingguo suddenly stood up from a chair covered with tiger skin and strode to the large table covered with maps.
His sons Li Puxing and Li Sixing were also in the lobby of the Chinese Army. After hearing what Luo Hu and Chen Yongfu said, they immediately placed the two wooden figures at the corresponding positions on the map.
"Just come!" Li Dingguo looked at the map, "Do you know how many people there are?"
"I'm not sure." Luo Hu said, "I guess there won't be too many... Wu Sangui's soldiers can't all go to Hanzhong. He can't ignore the directions of Qishan Road and Yangping Pass. He also has to stay in Guanzhong. People and horses, defenders must be deployed all the way from Dashan Pass to Lueyang."
Chen Yongfu said: "The Ming army also came from Ziwu Road, Baoxie Road, and Tangluo Road... This time the Ming army came in five groups, each with a maximum of 20,000 people. We just happened to defeat them one by one, just like Just like the Qing army in the Battle of Sarhu!"
"Who to fight first?" Li Dingguo asked.
"First attack the team coming from Lueyang!" Luo Hu said, "Send out 50,000 troops and form an array to fight on the north bank of the Han River."
