On September 19th, autumn rains fell one after another, and as the autumn wind drifted between the sky and the earth around Changsha, Hunan, the originally mild weather suddenly swept into the chilling late autumn. At the same time, two armies, each numbering more than 100,000, were pushed by fate to the east of Changsha, between the Laodao River and the Liuyang River, to confront each other.
Among them, a total of two armies and nine towns led by the Ming Dynasty General Li Zhongshan, the Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty Nanwang Pingxi General Li Fuchen, with a total of 120,000 Ming troops, occupied Yong'an City on the south bank of the Laodao River and set up camp. Yong'an City, about sixty miles away from Changsha City, has changed from what it was at the end of August. Two shallow trenches were dug around the outside, wooden fences were erected in the shallow trenches, and breastworks were built with sandbags. Yong'an Commercial City, surrounded by tents and surrounded by countless tents, has long been deserted of civilians. Even the houses have been burned down by fire. Now it has become a temporary military city. Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's The Chinese army was stationed in Yong'an City.
The Laodao River meanders from the north of Yong'an City to the foot of Changsha City before joining the surging Xiangjiang River to the north. From Laodao Henan to Liuyang Hebei, there is a relatively flat land. Although there are ups and downs, it does not affect the more than 200,000 troops of the two armies of Ming and Zhou dynasties from forming formations to fight on this land!
The Liuyang River south of the Laodao River also merges into the Xiangjiang River under the city of Changsha. These two rivers, which are not big or small in Hunan, both originate from the same mountainous area and merge into the same Xiangjiang River, where they merge into the Xiangjiang River. They are all outside Changsha City, and the distance between the two entrances is only four or five miles. So from the map, these two meandering rivers form a trumpet shape that is wide in the east and narrow in the west. The mouth of the trumpet is in Changsha, which is only 60 miles away from Yong'an City.
What is currently blocking Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's army from approaching Changsha is the hundreds of thousands of Wu and Zhou troops stationed around Langli City, thirty miles west-southwest of Yong'an City, next to the Liuyang River!
On the morning of September 9th, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen immediately stood on a commanding height in the south of Yong'an City, which was not very high, overlooking the villages and fields to the west. That area was originally a prosperous land full of rice fields, but before the Ming army arrived, Wu Guogui had already issued an order to strengthen the walls and clear the fields. The rice that was not fully mature was harvested, and the villages to the west and south of Yong'an City were also deserted and turned into ruins. The bridges on the Laodao River and the docks on the south bank of the Laodao River were also burned by Wu Guogui's people, and even the boats on the Laodao River disappeared.
However, Wu Guogui did not harm the territory in the eastern part of Changsha Prefecture. His people only cleared the plain south of Laodao River and north of Liuyang River.
Obviously, Wu Guogui turned the flat land between Laodao River and Liuyang River into his ideal battlefield for the decisive battle!
Wu Guogui's choice surprised Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen. They originally thought that Wu Guogui would retreat to Changsha City, which was very strong and difficult to be besieged (the Ming army had no navy on the Xiangjiang River), instead of fighting a decisive battle between the Laodao River and Liuyang River east of Changsha City.
"It seems that Wu Sangui is really about to die." Li Fuchen sighed, seeming a little sad, "otherwise Wu Laosan wouldn't be in a hurry to fight!"
Li Zhongshan said: "Even if Wu Sangui can still hold on, my father-in-law does not dare to delay. Because if he delays, he will not get many reinforcements, but our strength will continue to increase. He Tianran's Seventh Army has already captured Chenzhou is here and will soon be able to launch an attack on Hengyang. King Li Zhong's Eighth Army is passing through Mubu Mountain and will reach the north of Laodao River in at most ten days.
By then our military strength will surpass Wu Guogui! "
The competition between He Tianran and Wu Shijue has already come to a close. After all, He Tianran's Seventh Army has a total of seven towns with more than 80,000 people, while Wu Shijue only has 20,000. The huge military disadvantage cannot be reversed by Wu Shijue's command level. In mid-to-late August, Wu Shijue could also use Wu Guogui's remaining power to bluff and scare He Tianran.
But when He Tianran took out his ace model Third Town to take the lead and went to find Wu Shijue for a decisive battle, Wu Shijue could no longer hide it. If he didn't even dare to touch He Tianran's vanguard, then who would still believe that he had a large army in his hands?
But as soon as he touched it, he completely lost his confidence. His 20,000 troops were defeated by 12,000 troops. Although the loss was not huge, it still exposed his true power.
At this time, He Tianran finally let go and led the army across the Nanling Mountains and marched towards Guiyang Prefecture and Chenzhou in Hunan. Wu Shijue, on the other hand, had no choice but to block from left to right, struggling to cope.
From this, Ming Dynasty also knew that Wu Guogui had left the southern front. That's why Li Fuchen and Li Zhongshan judged that the Wu Zhou army they encountered in Changsha was commanded by Wu Guogui.
On the other side, the army of Prince Zhong's Mansion, which already knew that Wu Sangui was not in Jiujiang, had completely trapped Jiujiang City.
They dug three trenches outside Jiujiang City and captured Hukou and Xingzi. Jiujiang became an isolated city and Wu Yingxiong could not escape.
However, as Jieshu's home base for many years, Jiujiang's city defenses were very strong. Li Zicheng personally supervised the army and fought for more than ten days, but they could not get through it. Now we have no choice but to change from a strong attack to a long siege.
At the same time, Li Zicheng mobilized 30,000 elite troops to form the Eighth Army, led by Li Laishun, and crossed Mubu Mountain to help Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen. Accompanying Li Laishun were a large number of Hubei civil servants and a large amount of grain and grass.
When Li Laishun arrives, the total strength of the Ming army east of Changsha Fucheng will exceed 150,000!
The rumble of hoofbeats interrupted the discussion between Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen. A group of cavalry was approaching rapidly below the high ground. This is a group of bamboo spear cavalry from the Wu and Zhou army, numbering more than two hundred.
There were many Wu and Zhou cavalry on the Liuyang River-Laodao River battlefield, and they were very strong and dared to attack with lances and cavalry! Although the Li family's armored cavalry were no worse than them, their number was still too small. Even if the cavalry from each town and Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's personal soldiers were gathered together, there would only be four to five thousand, which was still much less than the cavalry from Wu and Zhou.
Therefore, the cavalry currently wandering on the Liuyang River-Laodao River battlefield are mainly Wu Zhou's cavalry, and the Li family's cavalry must avoid them. It's not that it can't be defeated, it's that it can't afford to lose. There are only four thousand cavalry in total. If they are all used up, then Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen will have no choice but to go home.
Seeing Wu Zhou's cavalry discovering him, Huo Lu Bu and Li Fuchen had no intention of going up to compete. Instead, he turned to Li Zhongshan and said: "Your father-in-law's cavalry is here, we should go back."
Li Zhongshan raised his binoculars and looked at the group of cavalry. They were all bamboo lance cavalry. The little tricks he taught the Wu family back then were now used against him by the Wu family. What retribution!
"Let's go!" Li Zhongshan gritted his molars, said "go", turned his horse around, descended from the high ground, and headed towards the camp in Yong'an City.
Just when Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen led the cavalry to the camp in Yong'an City, in an abandoned village only three or four miles away from them, a pair of half-brothers were watching with binoculars together. He led the Li family and his son to run away.
After seeing that Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen did not accept the challenge and ran away decisively, one of them looked at his older brother, put down his binoculars, and said to the younger brother who was looking at him: "Second brother, both Lu Bu and his son have escaped. It seems that their The desire to fight is not urgent.”
This older brother was none other than Li Zhongshan's father-in-law, Lao Taishan, and Wu Sangui's adopted son, Wu Guogui, and the one he called his second brother was Wu Yingqi.
Although Wu Guogui calls Wu Yingqi his second brother, and Wu Yingqi calls Wu Guogui his third brother, Wu Guogui is several years older than Wu Yingqi!
No one has ever stipulated that a younger brother must be younger than an older brother, right? Wu Guogui is an adopted son. He entered the school later than Wu Yingqi, so he is his younger brother. This is just like when senior brothers discuss ranking, the order of apprenticeship shall prevail. The five-year-old apprentice is in the front, and the eighty-year-old apprentice is behind you. The eighty-year-old apprentice is also the junior brother, and the five-year-old apprentice is the senior brother!
Wu Yingqi also put away the telescope, smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if they are not eager to fight. Now they have fallen into our trap! They have plunged into the Liuyang River and Laodao River. And our cavalry has more With absolute advantage, you can surround them at any time. Third brother, your plan is really clever!"
Wu Guogui still tried his best to help Wu Sangui deal with the Li family and his two sons. The strategy he formulated for the decisive battle of Liuyang River was also quite clever.
First of all, he did not choose to defend Changsha.
It is true that Changsha is a fortified city, but if Wu Guogui wants to defend it, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen will definitely not be stupid enough to attack it. When the time comes, they will send troops to the Laodao River and even to the north of the Miluo River. They will first join forces with Li Zicheng to eliminate Wuchang Prefecture and Yuezhou Prefecture, and then move the Yangtze River Navy into Dongting Lake and the Xiangjiang River. How can they defend Changsha?
Moreover, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen had been operating like this for at least half a year. What would happen if Wu Sangui died?
Secondly, Wu Guogui did not choose to tangle with Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen in the mountainous areas on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi. Firstly, fighting in mountainous areas is not conducive to the performance of the cavalry; secondly, if the Li family and his son are not allowed to go deeper, it will not be easy to cover their retreat; thirdly, now the Wu family cannot afford to delay the battle quickly!
Thirdly, the battlefield between Liuyang River and Laodao River was also carefully chosen by Wu Guogui.
This area is all plains, and the terrain is neither open nor narrow. Enough for more than 200,000 troops to start a decisive battle!
Taking advantage of his home field advantage, Wu Guogui first set up camp on the Liuyang River, leaving the Laodao River to the Li family and his son. He also preemptively demolished the bridges on the Laodao River and plundered the boats on the Laodao River.
This made it impossible for the Li family's army to use the Laodao River to cover the army for detours. At the same time, once they were defeated, they could only flee eastward, but could not cross the Laodao River to escape north.
In this way, Wu Guogui's cavalry group could easily use Liuyang River to cover the army to make a detour and outflank the Ming army's retreat route to the west.
Once their retreat is cut off, can Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen remain undefeated?
Thinking of this, Wu Guogui smiled and said: "Second brother, since you think my little brother's plan is still useful, let's start taking action as soon as possible! This autumn rain is almost done, and it will stop tomorrow at most.
Early the next morning, second brother, you will lead the main force out of the Langli City camp and march eastward, attracting the Ming army to come out for a decisive battle. The younger brother led a group of infantry and cavalry one day ahead of schedule and set off tomorrow, marching from the south bank of the Liuyang River, avoiding the Ming army's Tanma Luo soldiers as much as possible, going around to the southeast of Yong'an City and then heading north, stealing the Ming army's retreat route in one fell swoop! "
"Okay!" Wu Yingqi nodded, "That's it! I have an army of 100,000, which is enough, and I'll give you the rest! I'll give you 10,000 for the cavalry, is that enough?"
"Enough, enough." Wu Guogui said again, "Second brother, you must be careful of Li Zhongshan's fusiliers. Although they are only infantry, their ability to conduct a frontal attack is amazing. If they are allowed to achieve a breakthrough from the front, , then we will lose."
Wu Guogui is talking about the three model towns. Because they are all infantry, their mobility is really not very good, so the main tactic is to attack head-on! Rely on the powerful infantry firepower provided by flintlocks, rifled guns, and miniguns to break through the enemy's front.
Although this style of play is stupid, once a breakthrough is made from the front, it will be the final word!
Wu Yingqi frowned, it was a coincidence. He actually liked the frontal view too! But instead of using infantry, they use cavalry and artillery to attack the enemy's front! That is, after the artillery fire, the cavalry charges, and after the cavalry charge, the artillery bombardment. Occasionally, the cavalry will be sent to make a detour.
And his frontal style of cavalry was also very effective when pacifying Shaanxi and Gansu and sweeping the Western Regions!
Is this the point of contact now?
When Wu Guogui saw that his "little second brother" didn't speak, he would teach his "little second brother" martial arts and the art of war if he didn't know it in the future.
"Second brother," Wu Guogui said to Wu Yingqi, "in order to withstand the attack of the pure fusiliers of the Ming Army, we must thicken the infantry formation and form at least three large horizontal formations. The first and second The Daheng team is the main force, and the third Daheng team is the reserve team. This reserve team must be reserved enough so that it can be used to fill gaps and counterattack at critical moments.
In addition, the cavalry cannot be easily thrown into the attack. It is best to wait until the younger brother's roundabout troops are in place before jumping into the attack, so that he will be attacked from both sides! "
Wu Yingqi nodded: "I know the key to this battle is that the main force and the roundabout force must launch a fierce attack at the same time, so that the enemy can be defeated in one fell swoop!"
"Second brother, you are wise! Then let's act according to the plan!"
"Okay!" Wu Yingqi paused and then said to Wu Guogui, "Third brother, the boss will probably never come back. In the future, the Wu family will rely on us to support each other, so you have to help me!"
"Of course," Wu Guogui smiled, "You are my second brother, if I don't help you, who else can I help?"
On September 20th, the autumn rain stopped and the weather became cooler.
It's late September in the lunar calendar. If we calculate it based on the Western calendar of Brother Tian's birthday, it's almost mid-October. It would have been okay if the earth was in a warm period, but now we are at the end of the Little Ice Age. Although it is not as cold as the late Ming Dynasty, the humidity and cold in Hunan in mid-to-late October of the Western calendar is still very uncomfortable.
What makes people feel even more uncomfortable is the chill and pressure before the war.
Li Zhongshan, who had experienced many years of war, felt nervous and uneasy like never before on the night of September 20th.
Yes, just nervous and uneasy!
When he found that the Wuzhou Army camp thirty miles away was brightly lit at night, and the light from lanterns and bonfires filled the wilderness, he knew that the battle was about to begin!
Li Zhongshan also immediately asked people to light lanterns and bonfires, and also turned his camp into a sea of stars on the ground.
Before the battle, you can't lose in a competition to see who has more lanterns and a bright bonfire, otherwise you will lose morale!
After ordering the camp to light up the lights, Li Zhongshan convened the last military meeting before the war in the central camp.
"It seems that Wu Zhoujun is going to have a decisive battle with us in the next two days!"
At the military meeting, Li Zhongshan expressed his judgment from the beginning. He frowned and said, "Wu Guogui will not fight a battle that is uncertain. Since he is ready to take action, he must be sure!"
"General," Zhou Chang said, "according to the investigation, Wu Guogui may have received reinforcements from Shaanxi and Gansu!"
"Wu Yingqi," Li Zhongshan murmured, "He is here?"
"Not sure." Zhou Chang shook his head.
Wu Yingqi concealed his whereabouts, so that it would be difficult for Li Zhongshan to judge whether Wu Zhou's Shaanxi-Gansu elites were coming?
"Be lenient when expecting the enemy," Yao Qisheng said, "General, we should assume that he has brought the elite from Shaanxi and Gansu to Hunan. The number of enemies in Hunan is estimated to be 150,000, which is 30,000 more than us. And they also have the advantages of cavalry and artillery. !”
In fact, there is no shortage of cannons in the Ming Dynasty, but there are not enough drafts to pull the cannons!
Therefore, on the Liuyang River-Laodao River battlefield, the Wu and Zhou army must have more artillery than the Ming army!
Li Fuchen laughed: "Okay, they have many people, horses, and artillery, so they should take the initiative. Tomorrow we will set up a defensive formation and let them attack first!"
"No!" Li Zhongshan shook his head, "Although they have more people, more horses, and more artillery, the advantage lies with me. We have to attack first, and then make a roundabout outflank to cut off their retreat to Changsha!"
(End of chapter)
