In the twenty-sixth year of the Yongli calendar, it was early morning on the first day of May.
With a loud thunder, the summer rainstorm came as expected, and it came down loudly. This rain was brought by a typhoon blowing from the southern sea, and it came and fell very hard. Almost instantly, the mountains and rivers around Guangzhou Prefecture were covered with a curtain of rain. Looking from afar, it was a vast expanse. No one could be seen clearly even twenty or thirty steps away. Everything seemed to be covered by a Milky Way flowing from the sky to the earth and then into the ocean. All that was left was white, foggy chaos. In my ears, I could only hear the quiet sound of water and rain. Between heaven and earth, there seemed to be nothing else but the pouring rain. People have completely forgotten that a war that will determine the future and destiny of the entire nation is taking place on this land, and it has reached the most critical moment!
In the midst of the expected heavy rain, groups of Qing soldiers, carrying flags and weapons, were passing continuously on the official road from the west bank of Zengjiang to Guangzhou. This official road has been neglected and neglected for decades. There are potholes everywhere. In addition, due to the continuous exposure to the sun for many days, the official road is covered with dust. When it rains heavily, it turns into mud. road.
But no matter how bad the road was, it could not stop the Qing army under Shang Kexi from advancing in the rain. Because of the rapid march back and forth before, many Shangjun soldiers had thrown away their extra salutes, including rain gear. Naturally, I was soaked all over now, and when the strong wind blew, I shivered with cold. Under other circumstances, the Qing soldiers would never march out in such horrible weather.
Even if the team was forced to drive out, the officer leading the team would definitely be worried - for fear of bombing the camp! Unless there are a large number of Manchurian heavenly soldiers guarding them, the question is why should the Manchurian heavenly soldiers suffer this?
But today's situation is too special... Guangzhou City, the home base of these Qing soldiers, is already under the attack of Zhu San Taisun! Moreover, Zhu San’s great grandson seemed to possess the magic method that could attack the city. If they cannot rush back in time, once Guangzhou is destroyed, their wives, children, and children will all be killed by others.
This is really not alarmist!
The flag troops and green camp soldiers who followed Shang Kexi all had their hands stained with the blood of the Guangdong people! There are millions of enemies in Guangdong! Outside the city of Guangzhou, except for the Xinhui people, Qiongzhou people, and the poor and unruly Hakka people in northern Guangdong, all other Cantonese people are their enemies. Do you want them to follow Zhu San Taisun into the inner city of Guangzhou and slaughter them all?
For the sake of the parents, wives and children at home, these Shang family army officers did not care about the heavy rain and muddy roads. From officers to soldiers, they all stepped on the muddy water and passed through the rain curtain, dragging general cannons and other miscellaneous military supplies. He headed towards the battlefields of Longtoushan and Matoushan, which are only dozens of miles away from Dongguan, Guangzhou.
They had to get to their destination before the rainstorm completely ended, and then launch a fierce attack between the rainstorms or when the rain became lighter.
Longtou Mountain and Ma Tou Mountain are almost the eastern barriers of Guangzhou City. Long Tou Mountain is in the west and Ma Tou Mountain is in the east. Both mountains run north-south, just like two mountain gates, blocking the east side of Guangzhou.
The two mountains are seven or eight miles apart, with a relatively flat area in the middle. Although there are several hills, a few groves, two or three villages and some rice fields scattered here and there, it is still an ideal battlefield for the two armies to fight.
According to Shang Kexi's estimation, if Zhu Heji wanted to prevent his army from entering Guangzhou City, he would have to set up defenses at Longtou Mountain or Matou Mountain, and most likely he would choose Longtou Mountain.
Because the location of Longtou Mountain is close to the Pearl River, it is more advantageous for Zhu Heji, who has the advantage of naval forces.
And in the south of Longtou Mountain, close to the north bank of the Pearl River, there is also a sea temple called Nanhai Temple.
This is the national temple to worship the Poseidon of the South China Sea. It has a very long history and covers a large area. It was rebuilt a few years ago by Shang Kexi himself. Because it is newly built, the building of this Poseidon Temple is very sturdy and is suitable for use as a large stronghold on the battlefield.
In addition, the main road from Huizhou to Guangzhou also passes between Nanhai Temple and Longtoushan. As long as Nanhai Temple is occupied, this main road will be cut off.
If Shang Kexi doesn't want to storm the Nanhai Temple, he can only pass through the path through Longtoushan... If nothing goes wrong, the two sides will have a bloody battle at the intersection of Longtoushan!
Only Zhu Heji's magic spells cannot be used in the heavy rain, that is, they meet on a narrow road and win fiercely!
Wearing a raincoat and riding a horse gifted by the Portuguese in Macau, Shang Kexi was marching in the middle of the army. The more he walked, the more confident he became!
Shang Kexi, who had been fighting bad wars all his life, could feel the increasing fighting spirit of these Qing soldiers before and after him.
Marching in such a heavy wind and rain, and also preparing for a "water battle in the rain", this energy... is almost as strong as when I first entered the customs!
Moreover, there are many veteran soldiers in the army that Shang Kexi leads. They are all veterans who have fought in the Battle of Guangzhou, the Battle of Wencun, and the Battle of Jieshiwei. Their experience and martial arts are sufficient. It’s just that after a long period of good times, they become afraid of death and hardship... If their comfort zone and family were not in danger, they wouldn’t be fighting like this!
Now they are already "not afraid of hardship". As long as they are "not afraid of death" again, they will definitely win!
...
Shang Kexi's prediction was correct. Zhu Heji was immediately on the hillside near the Longtoushan intersection. Dozens of "bearded scholars" riding ocean horses surrounded him. The people and horses were silent, like statues of gods. I just watched more than 10,000 soldiers wearing raincoats working in the rain, building a defense line according to the mountains on both sides of the intersection.
Of course he also knew that the mountain pass in front of him would be a key "victory point" for the two sides.
Nanhai Temple is also a "victory point", but that temple is very difficult to defeat. First, the outer walls of the temple are very strong, and the buildings inside the walls are also tall and strong. There are also buildings such as gatehouses and high pavilions that can be used to place artillery and musketeers.
In addition, there are many buildings in the Nanhai Temple that can provide shelter from wind and rain, which can be used to set up a sugar medicine workshop before the battle, so that the sugar medicine can be brewed before the battle, so that the sugar medicine will not get damp.
Therefore, in Zhu Heji's opinion, Nanhai Temple is very easy to defend, so it will not become the focus of Shang Kexi's attack.
The key point of Shang Ke's attack must be the Longtoushan intersection!
Therefore, he divided the work with Zhuge Military Advisor. Zhuge Military Advisor personally led a town of elite soldiers to guard the Nanhai Temple, while he himself led three towns of new soldiers to set up defense at the intersection of Longhu Mountain.
And his defense strategy is to attack the stronghold from the front - who hasn't watched "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? Who doesn’t know the lesson of Lost Street Pavilion?
Even if he really didn't know, Zhu Heji would not deploy his troops into the mountains and forests during the heavy rain... With such heavy rain now, sugar pills are too easy to get damp and difficult to preserve. Therefore, the sugar grenade hammer and flower hammer cannot be used at the Longtoushan intersection. These two weapons cannot be used, and the accompanying skirmishing tactics are naturally useless.
Therefore, Zhu Heji could only arrange the Jinyi troops from the three towns at the intersection and at the foot of Longtou Mountain, with the east slope of Longtou Mountain as their back. They cut down trees, erected Juma and Luzhai, and set up utility buildings. To lay out the canopy and fence for the artillery.
Twenty-four six-pound iron cannons wrapped in waterproof tarps were also hauled up by people and horses, and they were all hidden behind the fence under the awnings - of course the number of awnings and fences far exceeded the twenty-four The number has reached seventy-two, so the happy people have to guess what is behind those fences?
From the early morning of the first day of May, when the soldiers and horses from the three towns of Zuo, You and Qin led by Zhu Heji arrived at the mountain pass until now, everyone has done their duty, braved the pouring rain, and been busy with the work at hand. No one complained or was lazy. Everyone's morale was high and the whole construction site was filled with enthusiasm.
Looking at the rain curtain, Juma, Luzhai, fences, and awnings were constantly being built and placed. A line of defense stretching for seven or eight miles along the mountain was gradually taking shape. The corner of Zhu Heji's mouth finally showed the expectation of victory. smile.
Although this army under his command is a primitive one with insufficient training and equipment, they have firm beliefs, are united from top to bottom, and know who they are fighting for and why!
Is it desirable to have such an army? Did Emperor Kangxi have it?
When he was really proud, several crisp gunshots suddenly rang out on the open plain to the east.
The sound of the gunshot penetrated the rain, fog and water, and was still very clear when it reached Zhu Heji's ears. He knew that it was the sentry he had placed in the village ahead who fired their turtle-dove-foot muskets for early warning!
It should be gratifying that the exhausted army has arrived!
