"General, my Shizhu troops, a total of 7,500 people, are all here!"
Qin Liangyu had received a secret order from the emperor a few months ago, ordering him to select young men from among the Tujia people in Shizhu to train a white-pole army.
All military expenditures, weapons and armor, but if there is any shortage, you can go to Chengdu to find Zhu Xieyuan, who was then Zuo Bu's political envoy.
Zhu Youxiao had already transferred Xu Keqiu, the former governor of Sichuan, back to the capital to resume his duties. All matters in Sichuan have been handled by Zhu Xieyuan, the chief envoy.
He had already received the secret order and secretly recruited five thousand soldiers, who had been training for more than two months.
Therefore, he almost helped Qin Liangyu with all his money. In addition to leaving a batch of military rations and weapons and equipment for himself in the Sichuan treasury, the rest was secretly transported to Shizhu and handed over to Qin Liangyu.
In the past few months, Zhu Youxiao also secretly sent them a batch of fine armors, all of which were border army standard cloth armors. There were five thousand pairs in total, and the two of them divided half of them equally.
With the assistance of this batch of equipment, the new soldiers recruited by Qin Liangyu and Zhu Xieyuan formed an army very quickly, and they quickly acquired good combat effectiveness.
A few days ago, he finally received a letter from his brother Qin Bangping. His Majesty ordered her to rush to Chongqing to garrison before September 20th.
She was also given a decree, which said that her white-armed soldiers would be recruited again to go north to Liaodong to quell the slave trouble.
Qin Liangyu knew that this was a lie. The reason why His Majesty gave her such a decree was to help her enter Chongqing Fucheng unhindered and legitimately.
So on September 13th, Qin Liangyu gathered the 5,000 new soldiers and 2,000 veterans she had recruited, as well as 500 of her own guards, and prepared to set off for Chongqing.
…
…
After receiving Chen Guang's letter, Zhu Xieyuan of Chengdu issued several military orders without hesitation.
He directly mobilized seven of the eleven guard posts in Chengdu, with a total strength of nearly 20,000 people. They were all led by Wang Ping, the commander of the capital, and all gathered in Neijiang.
Then he personally led the five thousand soldiers he had trained and set out from Chengdu to Zigong, preparing to face She Chongming's main force head-on.
Another 10,000 Chengdu garrison troops were mobilized, led by Lu Qin, who was known as the top general in the southwest, and outflanked Yibin, preparing to attack She Chongming's rear from the northwest.
Qin Liangyu and Zhu Xieyuan sent out troops at about the same time. Before dark on September 20, except for Lu Qin's troops, all the other troops and horses had entered the designated positions and were resting and waiting.
There was such a big commotion in Chengdu, how could She Chongming, who had been paying attention, not know about it.
But by the time he obtained this military information, he had no room to turn around, because on the 18th, he had officially announced his rebellion against the Ming Dynasty and surrounded and annihilated a Ming army garrison.
There was no turning back when the bow was fired, so She Chongming had to strictly order all ministries to speed up the march. They must complete the set strategic goals and capture Luzhou and Zunyi before the main force of the Ming army reached the front line.
By the time She Chongming and his son led the main force to Luzhou, the Ming army in Luzhou had already been prepared. She Chongming beat his chest and said, "God will not help me."
But the matter has come to this. His 30,000 troops are attacking hundreds of miles away. How could he just withdraw like this?
Moreover, there were not many Ming troops garrisoning Luzhou City at all. There were only a thousand troops and some battalions, which totaled only 2,000 people.
And he had an army of 30,000, but he didn't believe that a small Luzhou city could stop his attack.
He immediately issued a military order for a full-scale attack on the city, and Luzhou must be captured before dusk arrived.
In this short half-day, the rebels attacked Luzhou seven or eight times in succession, but because they did not have large-scale siege equipment, they were eventually repelled by the Ming army with difficulty.
She Chongming originally planned to attack Luzhou by surprise, so his 30,000 troops came lightly.
Unexpectedly, his whereabouts were discovered early, and the Ming army in Luzhou City had long been prepared to hold on.
As for artillery, a powerful siege weapon, not to mention local chieftains like them, not even the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had it.
Weapons of this kind that are extremely lethal and capable of attacking fortified cities are only available in the north.
She Chongming watched his side retreat several times from behind, scolding his subordinates for their incompetence, and became furious.
On the top of Luzhou City, more than a thousand Ming troops were busy. After the rebels were repulsed, they still did not dare to relax. There were shouts and arrows everywhere, and there were missing arrows and rolling stones.
Qianhu, a guard from Luzhou Qianhu Station, quickly grabbed a flag-bearing soldier and asked after urgently filling in the defenses everywhere:
"Has the messenger crossed the river?"
Seeing Qianhu's almost cannibalistic expression, the flag-bearing soldier faltered and said:
"It's passed. We crossed the river half an hour ago. Qianhu, don't worry. As long as we survive tonight, reinforcements will be here!"
"Now you go to the city immediately to mobilize the people and ask them to help us defend the city. Pull up all the young men and distribute weapons to them. Those with strong shoulders should teach them how to use bows and crossbows. Even if they risk their lives, they have to give it to me. Make it through tomorrow.”
"Those old and weak people, let them start a fire and rebel. Make sure the brothers have hot food to eat. Bring me all the stones and wood in the city and prepare the golden juice."
"Anyone who dares to disobey will be guilty of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the city. I will take all of it and tell the people that if the rebels attack the city, no one will survive. They will massacre the city!"
Several of the soldiers around Qianhu quickly left in response, and he was finally able to take a short rest and regain his energy.
Zhu Xieyuan in Zigong was the closest to Luzhou. The first place where the messengers who broke out from Luzhou City to report the news arrived was Zigong.
Zhu Xieyuan learned that the rebels had launched a large-scale attack on the city and that Luzhou was at the end of its battle and was in danger of falling at any time. He immediately ordered his five thousand troops to advance at full speed and cross the river to aid Luzhou.
At the same time, he sent a letter to Wang Ping, the commander of the capital in Neijiang, ordering him to lead his army across the river and attack in a roundabout way to the rear of She Chongming, and then attack him from both front and rear.
But Zhu Xieyuan had just arrived at the riverside when he saw the defeated soldiers escaping from Luzhou.
Just half an hour ago, Luzhou was captured by the rebels. Tens of thousands of rebels had already taken control of Luzhou and were eyeing the other side.
It turned out that during this night, although the rebels did not attack Luzhou, they were not idle. They built siege equipment such as rams, ladders, and several catapults overnight.
And they suddenly launched a fierce attack when the sun was just rising. The number of Ming troops in the city was already very different from that of the rebels. They had previously been able to repel the rebel attack with their defensive advantages.
But things were different after the rebels had siege equipment. The Ming army also lacked sharp weapons to defend the city and could not resist it. After only two attacks, Luzhou was declared to have fallen.
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