It was the third day of February in the twentieth year of Hongxing's reign in the Ming Dynasty.
The morning breeze blew coldly from the top of the city in Lueyang. The city that was a hot city a few days ago now gave people a cool feeling.
On the low first level of the city, a few defenders were sparsely deployed. A flag of the Three Armies Command and a flag embroidered with the words "Gong Wu of Liang Kingdom" were dancing in the wind at the head of Lueyang City.
This Lueyang City is not an old city, but a new city built by the Dashun Dynasty, which mobilized tens of thousands of people and took several months to build. It is located at the corner of the Jialing River and Rhinoceros Horn, with the Elephant Mountain at its back and a long and narrow city in front of it. peninsula. It is not a bastion, but a mountain city built on the southern slope of Xiangshan Mountain. The city wall is low, but it has four floors built one after another. The highest floor is built to the middle of Xiangshan Mountain.
Needless to say how important the geographical location of this castle is, just look at Wu Sangui's general flag and the three-army commander's flag still flying high on the top of the city... Kong Tingxun, the long-legged general, in early February He fled back with hundreds of defeated soldiers the next morning! In the afternoon, evening and morning of the third grade of junior high school, more than 3,000 people came back one after another, all of them stripped of their armor and in a miserable state.
From the mouths of these defeated soldiers who ran back, Wu Sangui learned that Shang Kexi and Shang Zhixin, his father and his son, had become loyal martyrs. He also learned that the Dashun Dynasty had at least 60,000 troops in the Hanzhong Basin, including at least 1,000 people with broken-eared horses. Elite cavalry.
With so many elite rogue soldiers stationed in the Hanzhong Basin, Wu Guogui who marched from Malingguan would probably be defeated!
In addition, Wu Sangui also sent a small group of troops to test Yangping Pass in the past few days, and found that there were many defenders there, and they were quite elite!
But Wu Sangui was still reluctant to give up Lueyang.
Because Lueyang was too important, as long as Lueyang was defended, Sanguan Road and Qishan Road would be firmly controlled by the Ming army, and reinforcements, baggage, grain, grass and artillery would be continuously transported from the Guanzhong Plain. Moreover, Hanzhong, Jinniu Road, and Yinping Road in the hands of the rogue bandits will be under pressure from the Ming army at any time, and they will be extremely passive strategically.
For Li Dingguo, the gains and losses in Lueyang were equally important, and could even be compared with the gains and losses in the Hanzhong Basin.
Because Lueyang is the junction of Sanguan Road, Jinniu Road and Qishan Road. If it cannot be recaptured, not only Sanguan Road will be firmly under the control of the Ming army, but even Qishan Road will also be occupied by the Ming army - Li Dingguo did not Plan to give up Qishan Road! He stationed heavy troops in Qiuchishan, Chengxian, Jiezhou, Linjiangguan, Wenxian, Yinpingzhai and other places. If the Ming army only attacked from Qishan, the defenders in those areas could hold on for a long time.
However, if the Ming army attacks from both ends of Lueyang and Qishan, and is attacked from both sides, the Shun army on the Qishan Road will not be able to hold it back... Once the Qishan Road is lost, not only the Yinping Road will be threatened by the Ming army, but also Songpan. Wei may also have problems!
Therefore, the success or failure of Lueyang City will be directly related to the success or failure of the Ming Dynasty's battle into Sichuan!
Wu Sangui, who had already made up his mind to defend Lueyang, had been in the Chinese Army Hall in Lueyang City with several staff since the early morning of the third day of February, calculating how much supplies he had on hand could support his troops and the volunteers who followed him. Hold on for a few days in Lueyang... The terrain in Lueyang is difficult, and the city is considered strong, so it can be defended. The problem was that the food reserves were not enough. When the bandits retreated, not a single grain of rice was left behind, and the food supplies carried by Wu Sangui's army were almost exhausted. If it weren't for the "volunteers" from Lueyang and Fengxian areas who brought food to the army, Wu Sangui might not have enough rice to support him if he wanted to defend it.
"Commander, it's not enough!" Liu Maoxia had already made up his mind and said to Wu Sangui with a bitter face, "There are now more than 8,000 soldiers in Lueyang City, and there are as many as 54,000 volunteers and refugees from all over. There are still many mules and horses..."
"Don't count the mules and horses," Wu Sangui waved his hand, "No one can take care of them anymore...the animals have been slaughtered for army rations! How many days can this last?"
"If you don't kill the animals, you can last for up to fifteen days!" Liu Maoxia said, "Even if you kill the animals and save some food, you can last for up to twenty days."
Guo Zhuangtu, another confidant of Wu Sangui, said: "Commander, if you want to last a few more days, you have to..."
He didn't say anything further, but Wu Sangui also knew what he meant - if he wanted to hold on for a few more days, he would have to kick him out! Drive out all the people in the city. If there are fewer people, there will be enough food.
This guy is still very good at math!
However, Wu Sangui was a little embarrassed to speak, because most of the food in Lueyang City was provided by the volunteers who came to seek refuge... Old Wu had been a warlord for most of his life, but it was the first time that he was so popular with the people. The crowd welcomes it! Are you turning your back on me now?
"Commander," Guo Zhuangtu understood what his master meant, so he thought of a way and said, "We can move the people to Feng County. The grain shipped from Guanzhong should arrive in Feng County today."
Wu Sangui looked at Liu Maoxia again, and Liu Maoxia quickly shook his head and said: "It's more than 200 miles from Feng County to here... The people walked away for at least ten days. What do they need to eat in these ten days? Are they allowed to take them with them? Do you want to leave the city with ten days’ supplies?”
Of course this won't work!
Liu Maoxia added: "If General Wu is defeated, the bandits will probably outflank Malingguan. By then, these 40,000 to 50,000 people will be captured by Li Dingguo! Most of these people are strong... Li Dingguo will be captured It will definitely drive them to attack the city!
Rather than letting them be used by rogue bandits, it is better to incorporate them all into the official army. He trained hastily for 15 days, and then sent him out of the city to fight the thieves to the death! "
Wu Sangui frowned, and when he was hesitating, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the lobby, and then he saw Wu Sangui's personal battalion officer coming in and saluted: "Commander, there are a large number of bandits heading up the Jialing River. Come... my subordinates can see it from the city wall!"
"What?"
Wu Sangui took a breath of cold air, stood up suddenly, and walked out of the lobby with quick strides. This lobby is located on the top floor of Lueyang City, and outside is the city wall built against the mountain. The city wall is facing the Jialing River, and it is well realized. You can see the Jialing River more than ten miles away - the distant view is invisible because it is blocked by the mountains on both sides of the Jialing River.
Lifting the telescope, Wu Sangui could clearly see two parallel fleets of ships appearing on the narrow Jialing River waterway. The fleet was not sure how long it was. Anyway, he could only see the heads, not the tails at all. All the boats were pulled by trackers and moved slowly. The decks were full of "men in blue", some of whom were still working hard to paddle.
"It seems that Li Dingguo has been preparing to attack Lueyang for a long time..." Wu Sangui frowned.
How many days has it been since the fight in Mian County was completed? The rogue bandits to counterattack Lueyang have arrived! This shows that Li Dingguo was prepared to counterattack Lueyang after the decisive battle in Hanzhong from the beginning!
Guo Zhuangtu and Liu Maoxia also followed Wu Sangui out of the lobby. They both took the telescopes from Wu Sangui's soldiers and saw the Dashun fleet on the river.
"Commander," Guo Zhuangtu said, "the thieves are powerful... there may be some of their craftsmen among the people in the city. You must not be benevolent as a woman!"
Liu Maoxia retorted: "There are at least 20,000 strong men in the city. How many spies can there be? Now is the time to disperse them and recruit them into the army. They will be supervised and controlled by veterans to fight against the thieves!"
"Sichuan people may not be willing to fight with thieves!" Guo Zhuangtu shook his head.
"The people of Sichuan have been bitter thieves for a long time. If the commander-in-chief can grant land to military households, why can't he be loyal to the country?"
"How can the commander-in-chief have the right to grant land to Sichuan people?" Guo Zhuangtu still didn't believe in the people.
Liu Maoxia said: "The commander-in-chief has the right to act expediently, and the matter is urgent, so why not? Moreover, the land is not given to military households for free, they are all paid for by people's lives!"
While the two were discussing, Kong Tingxun hurried over again and brought bad news! A large group of bandits (Chen Yongfu's tribe) coming from the direction of Hanzhong have already arrived at Feihuling... and can cut off the traffic between Lueyang and Malingguan at any time.
Wu Sangui gritted his teeth and said: "Forget it, I just believe these Sichuan people once... Xuanchu, go and talk to Wang Youwen and ask him to choose more than a hundred righteous leaders who will be listened to. I am handsome If you have something to say to them!”
