After agreeing on the current direction of the war, the two groups of rebels joined forces and marched quickly to the southwest, with their destination being Dachang, an important town in eastern Sichuan.
The battle is 400 miles away, and the road is still mountainous. It is really difficult to move forward. However, for the rebels, the current situation is grim. If they want to turn defeat into victory, they must do something in the exposed weak points.
However, I heard that the Sichuan soldiers were weak and easy to fight. Bashu was rich and had plenty of money and food. As long as the city was broken, the silver and women could be taken away. This relieved the negative mood of the soldiers who were full of complaints.
Four days later, the army arrived at Guanyin Rock, a bridgehead located southeast of Dachang. The deputy general of the army, Shao Zhongguang, led two thousand troops to garrison here.
However, as the rebels had heard, the Sichuan soldiers had low morale and lacked discipline. Under the fierce attack of the rebels, they collapsed after a little resistance and directly gave up the water stronghold.
This caught the eight general officers in charge of the pursuit by surprise. Before they could lead their troops and engage in a pincer attack with the local defenders, the defenders had already disappeared under the heavy blows of the bandits.
There were also reasons for misjudgment. After the bandit army joined forces and marched, the pursuing officers and soldiers also adopted the same strategy.
The four general officers of the Qin army led 4,000 horsemen in front, while Yang Yufan, Mou Wenshou, Tang Tong, Jiang Mingwu and others led an infantry of more than 10,000 horses.
However, the rapid fall of Guanyinyan shocked the officers and soldiers who were chasing the rebels. They also planned to attack from behind when the two sides were fighting fiercely, and then severely damage the rebels.
Unexpectedly, the rebels only attacked once, but the defenders here actually did not want to hold on, and voluntarily abandoned the camp and chose to flee. It was incredible to them.
The next day, after winning the first battle, the rebel army did not repair on the spot. Instead, they took advantage of the strong morale and planned to besiege Dachang, a military town in the northwest.
But what Luo Rucai, Zhang Xianzhong and others didn't expect was that Zhang Zuokai, the defender here, heard that Guanyin Rock had been lost and tens of thousands of rebel troops were rushing towards him. He was so frightened that he led 5,000 defenders to abandon the city and ran to the mountains to take shelter. Fight.
This allowed the rebels to win without a fight, seize Dachang without bloodshed, and plunder all the money and food in the city. Even the people did not bother to slaughter, so they evacuated from the place with a large amount of loot.
Fu Zonglong, who replaced the former governor Shao Jiechun, was stationed in Fengjie, which was less than a hundred miles away from Dachang. When he received the battle report, he became furious and wanted to kill the two cowardly generals immediately.
Immediately ordered the commander-in-chief Fang Guoan to lead his headquarters of 5,000 soldiers and horses, striving to quickly recapture Dachang, which had been captured by the bandits. Due to the rapid advance of the bandits, by the time Fang Guoan led his troops to Dachang, the city had already been recaptured by the two commanders.
Fu Zonglong also knew that Fang Guoan's troops had limited combat power and were likely to be defeated by the rebels, but this had to be done now, otherwise it would be a joke for him to stick to Fengjie when a large area of eastern Sichuan was lost.
What's more, Fengjie is supported by Qutang Pass. This place and even the natural barrier have always been easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if tens of thousands of bandits invade, as long as they stand firm and wait for reinforcements, the bandits will be helpless.
Due to the expropriation of food and salary by the former chief military officer Luo Shangwen, the troops under Fang Guoan's command had been restrained for a long time. Their weapons were crude, their clothes were ragged, and their armor was scarce. Even if they had just been replenished, it was indeed difficult to use them.
After Fang Guoan led his troops to Dachang, he was not so active in pursuing the bandits heading west toward Kaixian. The horsemen and infantry were traveling at the same speed, completely passively disobeying orders.
At this time, all Fu Zonglong could rely on was the 20,000 white pole army led by Yipin Gaoming's wife, the governor Tongzhi, and the prince's Taibao Qin Liangyu, as well as Zhang Ling's troops.
After the King of Shu was taken away by the Jin Yiwei, all the money and food stored in the Prince of Shu's mansion were temporarily redone as military supplies.
Since there was only one vassal king in Bashu, and the most recent King of Rui, Zhu Changhao, was also in Hanzhong, after hundreds of years of accumulation, all the money and food from the palace of the King of Shu and the house belonging to the King of Shu, Zhu Zhishu, were moved away.
After counting, it was almost possible to feed the entire army of Sichuan. Qin Liangyu, who was sixty-six years old, benefited from this and was able to expand the White Army to 20,000 with special approval from the imperial edict.
Together with the 10,000 Xitong native soldiers recruited by Qin Liangyu himself, the total force reached 30,000. The Baigan Army was also the only official army in the entire southern region that was allowed to expand on a large scale by the imperial court.
Qin Liangyu thought there was nothing wrong with adding 10,000 troops and horses to the court's request. The imperial edict stated that he could increase his combat troops to 20,000, and the auxiliary troops responsible for transporting grain and grass were not counted. This implication is obvious. .
After receiving 300,000 taels of silver and 50,000 stones of grain and grass from the new Sichuan Governor Fu Zonglong, the old general expanded the size of his troops to a considerable level within the scope of his financial resources.
Since the Qin family has been loyal and loyal for generations, fighting for the Ming Dynasty in the south and north, with brilliant records, and Qin Bangping and Qin Minping died in battle during the expedition against the Donglu and the rebels, so a certain prince specially gave Qin Liangyu a higher grade than Fu Zonglong. Official position.
His son Ma Xianglin and nephews Qin Yiming and Qin Gongming were all named general military officers. Qin Zuoming and Qin Zuoming were promoted to deputy generals, and his grandsons Ma Wannian and Ma Wanchun were named guerrillas.
A certain prince gave Qin Liangyu the Shangfang Sword. Anyone among the generals, even the chief military officer, who he deemed to be slow to advance or to escape before the battle could be killed first and then reported.
Everywhere the Baigan Army goes, they will receive priority supplies of weapons and food and wages. Officials from various places must be expected to actively cooperate. Anyone who disobeys the order will be severely punished once the situation is verified.
Fu Zonglong also thinks there is nothing wrong with Qin Liangyu's unit taking away nearly 30% of his salary. Looking at the entire Sichuan, the only unit that can conquer and fight well is the Baigan Army.
If you don't have this trump card in your hand and just rely on other useless soldiers and horses to resist the enemy, once the rebel army enters Sichuan, it will be like entering a no-man's land. By then, your official position will not be saved, and your head will not be saved either.
After taking office, Fu Zonglong, who received instructions from a certain prince, made targeted deployments after understanding the situation in eastern Sichuan and taking into account the possible direction of the rebel army's entry into Sichuan.
They mainly set up defenses along the Yangtze River and Chengdu. The former is to defend eastern Sichuan, and the latter is to defend the hinterland.
In particular, the elite must be deployed in the eastern Sichuan area to prevent the various state capitals in the area from being captured by the bandits on a large scale.
Fu Zonglong's previous deployment was that Shao Zhongguang led 2,000 troops to guard Guanyin Rock, Zhang Zuokai led 5,000 soldiers to guard Dachang, Fang Guo'an's troops guarded Fengjie, Qin Liangyu's Baigan Army stationed in Yunyang, and Zhang Ling's troops guarded Wanxian.
However, the rapid fall of Guanyinyan and Dachang caught Fu Zonglong, who was stationed in Fengjie, by surprise. It took the rebels less than half an hour to attack Guanyinyan, and they captured Dachang without any blood.
Fu Zonglong's original plan was that as long as the defenders in these two places stood still and waited for reinforcements, they could hold off the enemy for three days. For three days at most, tens of thousands of reinforcements would arrive to relieve them.
However, the performance of Shao Zhongguang and Zhang Zuokai clearly failed the governor's trust. One just pretended to say hello and then collapsed, and the other led his troops to run away without even fighting.
In desperation, Fu Zonglong had no choice but to send flying cavalry to quickly inform Qin Liangyu and Zhang Ling of the battle situation ahead, and asked the two to send troops from Yunyang and Wanxian to pursue and intercept the bandits that penetrated deep into eastern Sichuan. They must not advance to the Nanchong line. .
Originally, Fu Zonglong wanted to stop the enemy in the area east of Dazhou, but looking at the map, judging from the time, the rebel army might have passed Majiazhai, and then passed through Pengxi to Kaixian County.
To the west of Kaixian is Xinning, and to the northwest of Xinning is Dazhou. Fu Zonglong estimated that the official army would not have time to stop the rebels from attacking Dazhou. It would be quite good if they could contain their offensive on the line between Langzhong and Nanchong.
The combat power of other ministries is weak, and the general is even more afraid of the enemy. At the moment, all Fu Zonglong can count on is the 30,000 white pole army and the 5,000 troops and horses led by Zhang Ling.
Fu Zonglong's original plan was to take active defense and let the Baigan Army serve as a mobile force to attack the bandits attacking a certain node. However, all previous plans came to nothing due to changes in the battle situation.
The local army has changed from active defense to passive pursuit, and must advance faster than the rebel army. Otherwise, if the rebel army crosses the Jialing River and approaches Chengdu, there will not be many defenders there to defend it.
After receiving two consecutive pieces of bad news that were like a bolt from the blue, Fu Zonglong finally received a piece of good news that comforted him. That is, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under the command of the Qin Army and Hong Chengchou also entered Sichuan to look for and annihilate the bandit army. .
In addition, Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou led an army of nearly 100,000 troops nearly a hundred miles behind. In the near future, they planned to join forces with Fu Zonglong to annihilate all the bandit troops that had entered the area in the Bashu area.
This made Fu Zonglong, who thought he was alone, suddenly became enlightened. With the strong support of a hundred thousand troops, it was no longer an empty talk to pursue, block, or even annihilate the bandits who were attacking the city one after another.
Within three days, the two sides met at Zhurenping. Hong Chengchou came with four generals including Ma Ke, Feng Ju, Yang Guozhu, and Liu Guoneng, leaving Li Wanqing to garrison Gucheng, Miao Youcai to garrison Fancheng, and Luo Dai to garrison Xiangyang.
Sun Chuanting took Bai Guangen, Long Zaitian who killed Bai Gui, and Yulin General Soldier and Qiang Han General Soldier Zhao Guangyuan to the appointment, leaving Sun Xianzu, Li Shourong, Xue Minzhong, Zu Dabi and other four general soldiers to deal with Junzhou The thieves in the area.
Hong Chengchou's army had more men and horses, about 55,000, while Sun Chuanting's men and horses were smaller, but it could reach 35,000. The total number was no less than 90,000 officers and soldiers, with a company camp of more than ten miles.
In comparison, only Fu Zonglong was more embarrassed. After beheading Shao Zhongguang and Zhang Zuokai who had lost the defensive zone in public, he recovered the two troops, which totaled only 7,000 people.
Fang Guoan's troops were already pretending to go west to pursue the rebels, but Fu Zonglong didn't expect much from the troops, so he could only rely on his two colleagues who came from afar for the time being.
"You two young guards, I plan to stop the bandits at Langzhong and Nanchong. If we pursue them quickly, we may be able to fight them in the Yingshan area!"
After the meeting, in view of the successive losses of Guanyinyan and Dachang, Fu Zonglong had no intention and did not dare to say in front of his two colleagues who knew the military that the local army could stick to Dazhou. If Dazhou was really lost, it would be a disgrace.
"...I wonder what the strength of this frontline force is?"
After Sun Chuanting looked at the map, he inquired. Judging from the enemy's offensive and the weakness of local soldiers and horses, the defenders alone might not be able to hold back this line of defense.
"There are 2,000 troops under Luo Wanxiang in Langzhong, 2,000 troops under Han Guangrong in Nanchong, more than 1,000 troops under Liu Gui and Tan Yi in the south and Pengzhou, and Fang Guoan has led 5,000 troops to pursue them. The bandits, Qin Liangyu and Zhang Ling, also attacked northward from Yunyang and Wanxian respectively."
In this way, the number of defenders in central Sichuan was no more than 12,000, and if Fu Zonglong himself was included, the number would be close to 20,000. However, if it were spread over the slender defense line, it would not be enough.
"I wonder how many days the defenders from Langzhong to Nanchong can hold on?"
When Hong Chengchou heard this, he felt a chill in his heart. It would be fine if there were four to five thousand defenders in each place, but only one or two thousand would not be able to stop the thieves' onslaught. This was just a paper defense line.
I heard that Zhang Zuokai, who was stationed in Dachang, led his five thousand troops but did not dare to fight the rebels and ran directly to the mountains to escape. One can imagine how unsightly the Sichuan soldiers were.
"...Maybe I can withstand it for two or three days!"
Fu Zonglong was extremely embarrassed by the question and could not speculate further. He could only give a more realistic time limit. This was on the premise that the defenders would not take the initiative to escape.
"Um!"
Hong Chengchou also knew the situation of his colleague. If it were him, even though he had careful planning and good command, his men were all greedy for life and fear of death. How could he stop the vicious army of thieves?
Holding on for two or three days may be too much. The four important towns of Langzhong, Nanfang, Pengzhou and Nanchong are all unable to withstand the attack of the rebel army, and if they break through at the slightest moment, the whole line will collapse.
"I hope we can stop thieves from this line of defense!"
The information Sun Chuanting received from Xue Chengcai was roughly similar to what Fu Zonglong speculated. The rebel army did intend to attack the Kaixian, Xinning, and Dazhou front lines. Their subsequent destination was still unknown.
As long as the rebels invade Dazhou, they will have no choice but to continue marching westward and attack Chengdu, or go north to Guangyuan and then leave Sichuan and enter Shaanxi. Sun Chuanting did not believe that the rebel army would pass through Chongqing and then invade Xiangzhou.
After a brief discussion between the two commanders-in-chief and a governor, they no longer planned to waste time here. After joining the camp, they immediately announced that they would march westward to pursue the bandits.
Led by local horsemen, five thousand fine cavalry set out first, trying to shorten the time to get in touch with the eight general officers who were following the bandit army in the front, and then wait for an opportunity to outflank the bandit army.
If the rebel army takes a lot of time to attack the city by chasing after them like this, it would be okay. If the defenders are like Dachang, the rebel army can take all the money and food in the city without spending much time. That will affect the situation of the official army. It is no longer optimistic.
Fu Zonglong had previously ordered the generals from all over the country to lead their troops to defend the defense area. If there was any cowardice and retreat, they would be severely punished. However, the generals in central Sichuan were afraid of the enemy and did not take the governor's order seriously.
With these two bastards, Shao Zhongguang and Zhang Zuokai, there would be no chance of a third person disobeying military orders in the future. Fu Zonglong was not sure whether he could successfully stop the bandits on the front lines in Langzhong and Nanchong.
What he discussed with his two colleagues was the plan he had drawn up. The plan to defend the rebels in eastern Sichuan was also implemented as scheduled. The effect was a mess. Even the battle report to the court, Fu Zonglong did not know how to write...
The Black Prince in the Late Ming Dynasty 9... Friends who are reading, you can search "Blue Chinese Network" and you will find this website as soon as possible.
