The two commander-in-chiefs have roughly the same amount of troops, but in terms of combat effectiveness alone, Yang Yufan's army is inferior to Mou Wenshou's. The fundamental reason is that the Mou family is considered to be a prosperous family and is second to none in the local area. ,
The men of the Mou family who sent troops with Mou Wenshou this time included more than ten senior officers above the rank of General Qian. Counting the armed servants raised by the Mou family, the number of personal soldiers alone was nearly a thousand, which was already the same as that of the ancestral family in Liaodong. On par.
The so-called "Guan Ning Cavalry" is just a title that scares people on the outside. Zu Dashou relied on the Menggu Cavalry to dominate Liaodong. Without these five thousand mercenary soldiers and horses, claiming to be "invincible" is a big joke.
The close Menggu cavalry led by Na Muqi, Wu Marsh and other generals are the claws, while the three thousand servants under the Zu family are the saber teeth, Jinzhou is the tiger's mouth, and Shanhaiguan is the tail. Only in this way can it be regarded as a lying head. Tigers in the Western Liaoning Corridor.
In contrast, the various generals in the pass did not have the financial resources to recruit Menggu cavalry to serve for them. They were so poor that they could hardly support their own people, let alone the mercenaries in the Monan area.
Horse soldiers were even more scarce. During wartime, a war horse weighing 600 kilograms needed to eat 60 kilograms a day, accounting for one-tenth of its body weight. The official label states that the monthly feed consumption is three stones. "Food" refers to grains, beans, salt and other feeds. Ordinary forage must be calculated separately.
It's okay to just eat grass, but if you serve the war horses like this, the mounts won't show much physical advantage on the battlefield. If they run forty or fifty miles with the horsemen on their backs, they will basically be useless. You have to slow down. It will take a while before we can continue on our way.
Without war horses, there is no way to talk about pawns. Hong Chengchou had only managed to get 5,000 horsemen for Luo Dai through seven pieces of work. Otherwise, he would have rushed to help if the troops were too few. Even if he discovered that Zhang Nizai was leading troops to besiege Xiangyang, he would not be able to relieve the defenders.
Yang Yufan only had 500 horsemen under his command, and gold was very valuable, so he cherished it. As long as he was not chasing the rebels on the plains, he would always invest a large number of infantry into mountains or attack cities. At most, he would use firecrackers to cover the attack.
The officers and soldiers fighting in the south are so unsightly that they do not have an advantage in terms of strength except for their firearms advantage. The horsemen are at an absolute disadvantage and are much smaller than the rogue bandits, so they have always been Being led by the other party's nose.
Fortunately, Wang Dingguo's troops on the opposite side were also very bad. They only had 2,000 troops and lost most of their heavy firearms. The reason was that a certain general got mad and started a bombardment with the Xiangfan Navy on the shore.
The result was that even the men and the artillery were beaten by the army's warships. They were bombarded by the enemy on the shore and fled in panic. The soldiers of the military school ran to the hinterland and no longer dared to go head-to-head with the navy with strong ships and powerful artillery. .
The side effect of this was that when Wanshan encountered a follow-up attack by the army, in addition to more than a dozen small muskets that could provide fire support, Wang Dingguo, who had very few horsemen left, had to rely on infantry to resist the opponent. of onslaught.
Most of the infantry dispatched by the rebels are auxiliary troops with limited combat effectiveness. There are not many real elites. The king will not allocate the few elites to Wang Dingguo for use. He will give priority to his third son Zhang Wenxiu and his fourth son. Zhang Nengqi.
"The officers and soldiers are weak! They will die with one strike! Kill the commander-in-chief and reward him with a thousand taels of silver!"
Wang Dingguo had never studied and had no good way to motivate his soldiers. He could only come up with what he thought was the most effective way of motivation, which was highly recognized by everyone.
"okay!"
Although the minions who didn't even know Doudazi knew the commander-in-chief on the opposite side, they all wanted to take the thousand taels of silver, so Wang Dingguo's words still received a response.
Ordinary soldiers have no elegant pursuits. It would be a great pleasure to earn a hundred taels of silver per month and steal one or two women for fun. ,
"Give it to me! The officers and soldiers have money. If you kill one of them, it will all belong to you!"
Even though there were countless officers and soldiers rushing over, the generals, as small leaders, did not dare to disobey Wang Dingguo's decision. If they were timid, they would be the first to be killed, as low-level officers.
The boss is also very good at deceiving people. They can't offer a reward like Wang Dingguo's, but they also know everyone's thoughts very well. It's a good thing if they can make some money after winning the battle.
"Kill"
They were bombarded by warships on the riverside in the morning, and then watched the officers and soldiers rushing away. They didn't want to continue to be beaten, so everyone waved various weapons and fought towards the oncoming officers and soldiers.
At present, these guys who like to work and hate labor have a very simple idea, that is, they must find ways to hack to death the officers and soldiers, otherwise they will be hacked to death by the officers and soldiers. They don’t know how many people they can hack to death, so they must first set a small goal for one person.
People who have never fought in a war don't know that how many enemy soldiers to annihilate is a question that generals need to consider. Most of the soldiers during the war think that they can kill one to make up for their losses, and kill two to earn one.
Facts have also proved that it is wrong to aim too high when one's own martial arts skills are extremely limited. Except for those killers with superior combat power who could fight ten of them with one strike, most of them were ordinary people who struggled to fight one by one.
But if the opponent fires a bow and arrows, or even uses a firearm such as a Folang machine, it is basically a fool's errand.
On the battlefield, whoever can win will be justified. Even if you dig a hole and use a lasso, as long as you can destroy the opponent, that is your skill.
Yang Yufan's advantage in firearms was not too obvious. The Xiaofo Langji's range was only about two hundred steps, and the Tiger Crouching Cannon was even closer.
Due to the dampness, the range was greatly reduced, and in the end he had to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the bandits.
The two forces from top to bottom and from bottom to top collided halfway up the mountain like a tide, and the sound of swords clashing could be heard all over the mountains and plains.
The rebels did not have many firearms, and their strength was only half that of the opponent. As a result, they were unable to take advantage of their terrain advantages and were unable to drive the advancing officers and soldiers down the mountain.
Due to the dampness, the performance of their firearms was greatly reduced. They could only use a large number of infantry to forcibly attack the mountain. Facing the enemy soldiers on the mountain, it was difficult to win quickly.
It is very difficult to attack from above. The soldiers not only have to climb the mountain, but also have to fight to the death with the enemy soldiers, and then continue to climb the mountain. In the process, they have to avoid the opponent's cold arrows.
Therefore, the advancement process of the officers and soldiers was difficult and the speed was extremely slow. Yang Yufan, who was supervising the battle from the rear, could only worry after watching with a telescope, but there was no immediate good strategy to implement.
Attacking a mountain is not a matter of generals giving orders. The lieutenants shouted vigorously, and the whole army beat gongs and drums and went up. If it were so easy, everyone would be like Sima Yi.
Wanshan is not a high place, but it is not a place that can be captured easily. It has always been a battleground for military strategists, not to mention the desperate resistance from the other side.
In the third year of Xianchun reign of Emperor Duzong of the Song Dynasty, that is, 1267 AD, in order to capture the important town of Xiangyang, the Yuan army first captured Wanshan, the western barrier of Xiangyang.
As the defender of Xiangyang, Lu Wenhuan heard the news and led tens of thousands of troops to capture it but failed. The Song army returned defeated several times, which led to Lu Wenhuan finally surrendering to the enemy and Xiangyang failed. Only three years later, the Yuan army captured Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. .
"This thief deserves to be punished! Send my order to the general, and the entire army will attack. We must seize this mountain as soon as possible!"
Today is different from the past. Yang Yufan can completely lead his troops to bypass Wanshan and directly join Mou Wenshou who is blocking Zhang Ni's rebel army from going south in the south of Xianshan.
But since it has been encountered, it is necessary to severely damage or even annihilate it. If you make a hasty detour, you will most likely encounter an interception from the opponent and be cut off in the middle, which is even more unwise.
As soon as a cannon is fired here, Zhang Ni, who is engaged in battle with Mou Wenshou, will know that there are officers and soldiers chasing behind him, and he will definitely take action, but it is not easy to kill Mou Wenshou's troops quickly.
Although the "bone" in front of him is difficult to crack, it is the safest way to advance the army at the moment. As long as he wins, Zhang Ni's army will be unable to take care of both the head and the tail.
There was no good way to attack the mountain, but to use crowds. The only thing that made Yang Yufan happy was that he observed that the rebel army did not seem to have heavy guns, and there were only a handful of light guns that could fire. This greatly reduced the risk. The difficulty of attacking the mountain.
Yang Yufan decided that except for the horsemen, gunners, cooks, and heavy troops, all the others, regardless of their official position, would go into battle to kill the enemy. He did not believe that if he invested more than 3,000 men at one time, he would not be able to conquer the mountain in front of him.
Even so, the officers and soldiers still stayed halfway up the mountain, making it difficult to push them up in one go, and they also lost five to six hundred soldiers.
"Master! The army's offensive is becoming more and more fierce. What should we do?"
General Ya saw that his defense line had been squeezed closer and closer to the top of the mountain. Although it had not collapsed yet, it was not far away, so he hurriedly asked his master what he meant.
"Hmph! Do you think I'm so poor? The wind is blowing from the southeast right now. Our army can set fire to the mountain! Send the order and light the fire immediately!"
Wang Dingguo heard the allusion from the king about the poor skills of a donkey in Guizhou, but he only remembered the words "donkey" and "poor", but this did not prevent him from showing off his literary talent in front of his subordinates.
I had already formed two formations by the riverside before. If I tried to find the king's troops again, I would be afraid of getting a big red slap in the face. If I wanted to withstand this menacing army, I could only "borrow troops" from God. .
When the mountain fire starts burning, uncle, let me see how you attack the mountain. It is best to burn it with a fire until there is no grass left. Anyway, we men will leave after fighting, and you guys, the officers and soldiers, will clean up the mess here.
The rebel soldiers also knew that they were about to be unable to withstand the attack. The official army had lost a lot of troops. They had no firearms support, and even more troops died in the battle. After receiving the order, they quickly lit fires in the hope that the mountain fire would delay the official army. advancement.
It rains as usual in the northern part of Huguang. Although the rainfall is not sufficient, the land is not cracked like in Henan. The red fields are thousands of miles away and can be ignited when a fire is lit. Moreover, the fire quickly spreads down the mountain with the help of the wind.
"Ahem"
After a bloody battle, the officers and soldiers who were about to win did not expect that the rebels had such a hand. They coughed uncontrollably due to the thick smoke produced by the mountain fire, shed tears at the same time, and had to retreat in defeat.
They were able to defeat the bandits, but they were unable to withstand the increasingly fierce mountain fires. The walls of fire were almost insurmountable for flesh and blood. If they were not splashed with enough water, they would be burned by the flames. .
The officers and soldiers had no choice but to retreat step by step. In the end, they completely gave up on the mountainside they had captured and began to retreat on a large scale down the mountain. With Wang Dingguo's magical strokes, the rebel army reversed the previous decline in one fell swoop and still controlled the east side of Wanshan.
"The whole army advances eastward along the foot of the mountain and detours to Yanghu Mountain!"
Seeing that the fire was difficult to extinguish, Yang Yufan could not let his soldiers rush through the flames, so he immediately ordered to give up the attack on the mountain, and his troops passed under Xiangyang City and encircled Zhang Ni's troops in a roundabout way.
Different from the Song army, now the official army is on the offensive and controls Xiangyang City. Wanshan is no longer the only way for the official army to pass, but it is a must-defend place for the rebel army.
Yang Yufan did not believe that the rebel army could set Wanshan, Yanghushan, and Xianshan all on fire. If that happened, their "big king" would also be buried in the sea of fire.
"Report! General! The dog officers and soldiers have retreated!"
"Hahahaha good!"
Wang Dingguo also saw that the officers and soldiers could not withstand the mountain fire coming towards them and retreated to the foot of the mountain. He was even more proud and laughed heartily.
Having suffered consecutive defeats before, now they can finally feel proud. Even though their troops lost nearly a thousand soldiers, they were able to repulse the attack of the army and secure the Wanshan position, which is really gratifying.
Looking at this situation, it is estimated that the mountain fire will burn until the evening. By then, the king has already led his troops to fly away. Even if the Hong bandit army arrives here, it will be unable to catch up. He will have completed the task of cutting off the aftermath.
The rebels on the top of the mountain were not troubled by the fire, but after drinking all the water they carried, they were still scorched by the sun, so they were not much better than the officers and soldiers who turned around and ran away below.
It was impossible to go down the mountain to get water. We could only collect some from the mountain stream behind us, which was barely enough to quench the thirst of these thousands of people. Otherwise, the officers and soldiers on the opposite side could not attack and could still use the Folang machine to carry out artillery bombardment.
Wang Dingguo's troops did not know that most of the troops carrying them had been dampened, otherwise they would be more emboldened.
The mountain fire forced Yang Yufan to change his previously planned attack plan of flanking front and rear. Mou Wenshou still blocked Zhang Ni in the south of Xianshan, but he had to attack Zhang Ni's troops from the flank instead.
Now that they have been discovered, there is no need to talk about a surprise attack. If Mou Wenshou's troops in the front can block Zhang Ni's attack, the two groups of people will encircle the rebel army, otherwise it will become a pursuit.
"Brother Yang! Don't worry, I'm coming!"
The person who spoke was Tang Tong. Hearing that Mou Wenshou and Yang Yufan's troops had arrived and were preparing to encircle Zhang Ni's troops, Tang Tong encouraged Jiang Mingwu to send troops and borrowed two thousand troops from Yang Shi'en.
In this way, the defenders also sent out five thousand soldiers, which was a token of their sincerity. It was a way of thanking the two generals for their joint efforts in defending the city. It would be convenient for them to report their military exploits when Young Master Hong arrived.
Mou Wenshou and Yang Yufan attacked Zhang Xianzhong with little chance of winning. At most, they only delayed his escape.
When Tang Tong and Jiang Mingwu joined, the strength of the official army increased a lot, almost to the point where they could fight the rebels to the death.
But when the battle came back, it was still impossible to annihilate this bandit army. If the king insists on leading his troops to break out of the encirclement, most of the officers and soldiers will not be able to stop him.
Tang Tong's headquarters originally had more than 7,000 people, but more than 1,000 people were left in Jizhou's hometown, mainly to take care of heavy firearms. There are still more than a thousand people in Nanzhang who are sick and acclimatized, and less than five thousand people follow them into the mountains.
After regaining a city, he planned to borrow 3,000 troops from Hong Shaobao, and then add the original 2,000 troops to make a comeback. It was still a long time before he lost everything.
It's good to think about it, but it also depends on the outcome of this time. If the army wins, Tang Tong's plan can be implemented. If not, it will be postponed, so Tang Zongbing is interested in serving. result.
Jiang Mingwu didn't have Tang Tong's eagerness to make a comeback, but it was a bit unreasonable to turn around and run away before encountering the bandits in the mountains.
In order to make some capital before Hong Shaobao returned to Xiangyang to help Xiangyang, he had to show off his skills. It would be great if the four commanders in chief on the southern front could join forces to severely injure Zhang Ni. 11
