"Pa!" The tea cup fell to the ground and the tea soup splashed. Zhao Chongbi shouted regardless of his identity: "Jinxian fell? When did this happen?" He seemed not to have heard Li Dan's answer, sweat dripping from his forehead. He looked pale and murmured:
"What are the bandits going to do when they go north? Are they going to attack Nanchang instead of Fuzhou?" He is now the "Inspector of Xuanfu in Central and Southern Jiangxi." Before the bandits have taken action, the county town has been lost. He has to be allowed to Shocked.
"Inspector, please don't panic, sir." Li Dan's calm voice woke him up. "The city was lost, but the team escaped." This was obviously a comforting word. Zhao Chongbi couldn't help but smile bitterly, but he heard Li Dan say again:
"The garrison is dead, but General Han Fengguo is still there. He gathered the remaining soldiers and retreated to Tangxi, with his back to Buffalo Ridge and Fuhe River, claiming to defend Nanchang."
"Oh? So finally there is someone brave." Only then did Zhao Chongbi remember to take out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his forehead, and then said, "How is the situation in Jinxian City?"
Three days had passed since the news came, and messages continued to flow between Meigang and Anren. Only then did everyone gradually learn something about the situation. It turned out that the city was not destroyed all at once. The defenders resisted at first, but because the enemy entered from the south gate, the people ran to the north of the city.
The county magistrate, who "loved the people", asked people to open the two northern gates to let the gentry escape. Unexpectedly, it suddenly caused a great panic in the city.
If we were to unite and defend, the small group of bandits who had sneaked in might not be able to succeed. However, when I heard that all the gentlemen had escaped from the north gate, everyone immediately lost the idea of fighting again. Everyone just wanted to escape first or hurry up. Go home and settle down in your own home.
As a result, the officers and soldiers were in disarray and began to show signs of collapse. The guards were suddenly hit by arrows during the melee, causing them to lose their determination to hold on in the end. The morale of the Jiangshan Army was greatly boosted.
At this time, two important figures appeared. One was General Han, who led the main force of the army to retreat to the west gate. Fortunately, the Jiangshan Army did not have enough troops to surround the other gates, so this group of people broke out.
The other was a prisoner from the iron smelting factory named Lai Wubao. He organized a group of prisoners, young men and officers and soldiers who refused to surrender, and actually made Jiangshan's army retreat continuously.
However, he discovered that enemy groups were entering the city one after another, and he decisively led his troops to retreat to the east of the city, defeating the Jiangshan Army who had just occupied the east gate and storming out. Later, he took the remaining troops to protect the people and retreated eastwards.
This man later set up an ambush in Taiping Ridge to defeat the pursuers and killed a leader of the Jiangshan Army. Only then did everyone turn the corner and successfully cross the river from Chaxi to Fengtang in the east.
Another group of people fleeing to the east separated from them on the way, and were later picked up by Song Laoqiaomen who were rushed to Chijialing.
It was from this person that the newly appointed inspector Lai Wufa of the inspection branch heard the news that General Han and others were heading west, and immediately sent inspector Yu Liang into the lake to deliver a letter to Dabaiyan, asking him to send someone He notified Hutouling to try to rescue and protect these people, and at the same time diverted to contact Commander Han.
The person who now occupies Hutou Ridge of Qinglan Lake is Zifeng, one of the seven original Huxi families. He is led by Bai Yan, so after Zhou Datou's death, this territory was assigned to him by Da Baiyan.
Li Dan reported that the Fengqiao Inspection Branch had sent an inspection horse to escort Lai Wubao to Anren. He was curious about what kind of prisoner he was, who could lead a ragtag group of people to fight out of the rebel army and survive whole body. retreat?
Zhao Chongbi was also curious: "How come there is such a person among Tieguan's prisoners? How did he enter the city?"
The Jinxian Iron Smelting Works is actually not only for smelting iron. Along the Fuhe River, from Xiaowenling to Zhangshanling, the east bank stretches for more than ten miles. There are facilities such as the craftsman camp, the labor camp, the iron government office, and even merchants' houses, wine shops and brothels.
Therefore, Li Dan's statement that there were 4,000 people in that area was definitely not groundless. However, when the Jiangshan Army captured the county seat, they also occupied the surrounding areas. Li Dan didn't know. You must know that Lidu not only has an iron smelting plant, but it is also the well-known producing area of Fuhe brewing shochu!
The reason why Li Dan cares so much about Jinxian is mainly because it has the largest iron smelting plant in the world, a famous shochu producing area, as well as Baiwei's huge reserves of limestone, porcelain stone, and coal in Zhongling. These resources are all urgently needed. , and its reserves are larger and easier to mine than those in Yugan.
"Humble position
I don’t know what’s going on here, but let’s meet this person first. If he can be used, please ask your Excellency to forgive his sins, or ask him to lead troops to eliminate his sins. Li Dan said softly.
"Let him lead the troops? Join the official army?"
"I think in my humble opinion, there must be someone to take charge of the prisoners, officers, soldiers and young men he brought out, right?"
"Shouldn't these people be dispersed to various ministries?"
"Well my lord, if we are separated, how can we help the Han general to regain Jin Xianli?"
"Uh, ah?" Zhao Chongbi was startled and stood up: "What did you just say? Want to take back Jinxian? Do you have a plan? How sure are you?" He suddenly thought:
"But what about Dongxiang and Fuzhou? Didn't you say that if this delay continues, the Yang family might join forces with Yintuo? Then if the troops are transferred back to attack Xian, won't Anren's side be weakened? We have done so much now Are all the preparations in vain?"
"Sir, please stop and let me finish my words." Li Dan smiled bitterly. He had been discussing countermeasures with the staff for the past two days.
Obviously, the fall of Jinxian disrupted all deployments. If we still follow the original plan, we will run the risk of Yi Zhixiang leading his troops back south, or going all out to attack Maple Harbor and Meigang to the east, and enter their own hinterland.
Although troops can be arranged to block it, whether the combat effectiveness of the militiamen and rural warriors can be used beyond normal in a field battle is a risk not worth taking.
If not blocked, the inspection divisions in the west may be destroyed, and when attacking Dongxiang, they have to divide their troops to defend the rear. This is too passive.
In addition, Yi Zhixiang is a "famous general" who conquered Jinxi and Jinxian, and his combat experience is obviously much stronger than those of his patrol envoys!
After much deliberation, Li Dan felt that he could not just sit back and watch Yi Zhixiang gain a foothold in Jinxian. He suggested that he should suddenly attack back and seize the county seat when he was not prepared.
But Zhao Jingzi felt that this was no different from driving him back to Dongxiang. It was better to keep these two thousand people in Jinxian to achieve the purpose of cutting off Yang Xing's arm.
However, there are several prerequisites that cannot be circumvented in order to achieve this: collaboration and cooperation with the Hongdu (Nanchang) officers and soldiers; how to solve the problem of insufficient troops and inexperience on the northern front; and how to close the door and defeat all the enemies. The problem of annihilation.
Obviously, Inspector Zhao must be asked to coordinate the actions in Nanchang, and most of the credit must be given to the officers and soldiers.
As for the soldiers, several people discussed that in addition to the troops that had been mobilized, they also planned to invite Da Baiyan and Zifeng to participate. Of course, the two remnants of the army, Han Baizong and Lai Wubao, were also included.
But after talking for a long time, it was not enough to attack the city with the strength of these people. Li Dan then thought of using a trick to lure out most or some of the enemies and annihilate them, and then it would be much easier to seize the city.
So he advocated letting Lai Wubao go back to lead the team because of this consideration.
Zhao Chongbi first heard that Li Dan was determined to recapture Jinxian, which was a bit strange. Later, after careful consideration, he felt that the opponent's foothold was not stable. Now he could catch him by surprise, but once the opponent gained a firm foothold, he would have to mobilize seven or eight thousand people. Only people can accomplish this.
"So, the north and south started almost at the same time? First weaken the enemy of Jinxian, and then the Hongdu army regained the county seat (Minhe Town). At the same time, the southern line captured Yujiang, lured the enemy and distracted their attention, and then attacked Dongxiang The battle begins.
After Dongxiang was captured, the troops moved westward, and Jinxian's troops went south from Jinshan Pass to attack the enemies of Fuzhou. Is that right? "Zhao Chongbi asked.
"Exactly!"
"So, what troops need to be mobilized for the attack?"
"The North Road is led by Dong Houyong, and the participating troops include the Yugan Guards Camp, the Sixth Battalion, the Seventh Battalion, the Fenggang Militia Squadron, and the Teaching Team, with a total strength of 2,300 people. Huxi can participate How many people there are is currently unknown.
The main column on the South Road includes the troops of the headquarters, as well as the 1st and 2nd Battalions, the Chinese Military Battalion, the Meigang Militia Brigade, and more than 3,700 soldiers. The other flank column consists of the 3rd and 4th Battalions, with the targets Yujiang and Jinxi, and the Transport 2nd Battalion. Follow the action. There were 1,500 people on this journey.
The First Mobile Group of Shuiying defends to the south, and the Second Mobile Group passes from Shuiying Headquarters through the west of the lake to the south, enters Fushui, and supplies Fuzhou from the water.
, and escorted the Marines to land at Shushan Temple to cut off the enemy's connection with Jinxi. There were also fifteen hundred people on the water. "
"Are you putting all your efforts into this?" Zhao Chongbi sighed slightly.
"I have no choice but to force them to do it!" Li Dan spread his hands, but immediately said: "Don't look at the numbers on paper. The team is expanding too fast. Only 30% of the people here have actual combat experience. It's hard to say anything else. .So the help of the government and army is necessary!”
"I know, I know!" Zhao Chongbi nodded: "I will order the remaining troops of Jinxian to cooperate with the army, and at the same time ask Nanchang to send the left guard of Hongdu to participate in the battle of Jinxian's recovery. They are all waiting for punishment now, how can they? What’s the reason for not sending troops?”
He paused and continued, "In addition, I have some news for you. Your Majesty has issued an order to mobilize thousands of troops from the north to Poyang to stabilize the situation in eastern Jiangxi.
Therefore, I know that the Prefect of Wan has informed me that he has sent a Qian Zong to lead troops to Anren to await deployment. I think this troop will just serve as our Chinese army's reserve.
I will also leave Zhu Qi's town headquarters under your command. I dare not expect to rescue Fuzhou in one fell swoop and recover Jinxian, Yujiang, and Dongxiang. It will be a great achievement for you all! "
At noon the next day, Li Dan just walked out of the Sanqing Hall and saw Shen Jie and Shen Wu approaching. Next to Shen Wu was a man with red skin and dark skin, and a thick stubble around his mouth.
When Shen Jie saw Li Dan, he stopped, made a military salute and said, "Sir, my younger brother came back from Jinxian, and with him was Lai Wubao."
"Oh? Is that him?" Li Dan looked up and down with interest, and Lai Wubao stepped forward, knelt on one leg and loudly announced his name. Li Dan helped him up and called everyone to the side hall to talk.
As soon as he entered the house, Lai Wubao knelt down in front of Li Dan. Li Dan hurriedly turned around and pulled him up, and asked in surprise: "Brother Lai, what are you doing? If you have anything to say, please sit down and talk."
"Sir, I don't know who told him. It's up to you to decide whether his sin can be absolved, so..." Shen Wu told him apologetically.
Li Dan suddenly understood and laughed loudly: "Tell me first, what happened?"
Lai Wubao sighed and told Li Dan his story. It turned out that Lai Wubao was a high-ranking person in Yuanzhou Mansion on Huxi Road. He had practiced martial arts since he was a child, and later became an apprentice to a blacksmith.
In the fourth year of Jingwu, Lin Zhang led the Sixteenth Mine uprising in Yongfeng. Ji'an urgently recruited volunteers to defend the city and assist the army in the encirclement and suppression. Lai Wubao actively applied and was promoted to the leader of the volunteer team with his single-handedly winning the fifth level of military exploits.
Unexpectedly, Lin Zhang failed and the volunteers were disbanded. Lai Wubao, who returned to his hometown, found that he had become a "wanderer" with no source of livelihood. He was depressed and decided to try his luck in Fuzhou.
When I arrived in Fuzhou, I did odd jobs for people, and the casual workers went to drink alcohol. One day, he saw a bad boy teasing a girl. Lai Wubao came to help him, but unexpectedly knocked out one of his teeth. Only when he was half drunk did he realize that the boy was the second son of Fuzhou Zhizhou.
When the matter was brought to court, the Linchuan County magistrate did not dare to make the decision and went to the magistrate for advice. Fortunately, the magistrate knew that his son was naughty. He waved his hand and said that young people don't know the importance of things. Just teach him a lesson.
The county magistrate caused a drunken brawl and injured someone, and sentenced him to one year of hard labor at the Jinxian Railway Station.
Because it was a misdemeanor, and because of his previous military exploits, Ambassador Tieguan looked at him in a different light.
This iron official had an eighth-grade ambassador and a deputy ambassador each. The deputy ambassador was in charge of security and protection and needed someone, so the ambassador discussed with the deputy ambassador and asked him to lead a team of misdemeanor criminals to suppress domestic and foreign lawlessness.
This was originally a good thing. In fact, there were still 400 guards stationed locally, so usually nothing serious would happen. Lai Wubao thought it would be good to go out for a year like this.
Unexpectedly, last month the city's garrison sent a general to inspect the armaments and training of the Iron Guards' troops, saying they were "preventing bandits." The ambassador received him warmly and found the best local girls to accompany him.
At night, there was a sudden noise and a large number of craftsmen poured into the streets. Lai Wubao's surprise was not a trivial matter. After asking around, he found out that this man had gone crazy after drinking and decided to swim in Fuhe River at night.
As a result, on the river bank, I met a teenage girl who came out to fetch water. In front of everyone, she was dragged into the reeds. The accompanying deputy envoy and others looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward to stop her.
After he vented his anger, he was so proud that he came out and praised the little lady for how smooth and tender her skin was and how she enjoyed herself.
The horse walked away in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, this young lady is the daughter of Guo Jinshan, the ironworks craftsman, who also has the status of a master craftsman (the highest level of a craftsman). His whole family searched for his daughter, only to find her naked and dead in the reed field.
After checking, I found out that this group of people was the only one passing by on this road tonight. How could he bear it?
His friend Wang Ermei, the head craftsman of the Armor Factory, happened to be looking for him. After hearing about this incident, he immediately went back to find someone to join him. A group of more than 400 people surrounded the Iron Office and demanded an explanation. The general was so frightened that he issued a warning and mobilized the guards to confront him.
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two parties was not right, Lai Wubao hurriedly came forward to make peace, and negotiated with the chief to ask him to pay for the burial of the deceased, and to compensate the Guo family for fifty taels. Unexpectedly, the general manager cursed loudly and accused Lai Wubao of blackmail and collusion with the military craftsmen.
At first, Lai Wubao tried to persuade him patiently, but the scolding got worse and worse, and he started to beat him with a whip. Lai Wubao couldn't help but gave him a shove.
This guy also deserved a short life. He was caught by a stone on the ground, and the back of his head hit the corner of the steps. He died at that time.
When the guards saw that they dispersed in a hurry, Lai Wubao knew that he had caused a big trouble, so he went to the ambassador to speak out. Because he was cautious and hard-working, the ambassador and deputy envoy did not want to embarrass him, but they could not let him go, so they imprisoned him.
The next day, he reported it to the garrison office and the county government. Unexpectedly, the general's subordinates fled back overnight and complained first.
The guards were furious, so they sent another general down with more than 300 soldiers. Lai Wubao, Guo Jinshan, Wang Ermei and other generals captured 200 people and brought them to the county government office and handed them over to the county magistrate for interrogation and finalization of the case. They were ordered to be sentenced individually. The crime of gathering a crowd to rebel. .
Fortunately, the county magistrate was tolerant and understanding. He took everyone into prison, but he was in vain with the guards. Before the result was over, the Jiangshan Army called, and the defenders' attention shifted to defense, so the matter was temporarily forgotten.
But the county magistrate did not dare to let them go, so he had no choice but to take care of everyone and provide them with prison food for a few more days. The officials heard about the cause and effect and appreciated their grievances, so they did not make things difficult for them.
"I see." Li Dan nodded: "So you were all in the city that night when the city was broken? Was it the county magistrate who let you out?"
"It's the county magistrate who Mr. Han sent to look for." Lai Wubao replied. That Boss Han sympathized with everyone, and besides, Boss Boss, the dead ghost, always did evil things and refused to deal with him, so it would be a good idea to die!
So Mr. Han secretly helped the prison chiefs with some money and bedding. Anyway, this prison had not held so many prisoners for a long time.
At night when the city was broken, Mr. Han's first thought was to release this group of people to help, so he sent someone to the county government office.
At that time, both the county magistrate and his old wife had committed suicide. The man had no way to go directly to the prison, cut off the bolts and iron chains, released everyone, and then took them to get weapons. This is how Lai Wubao later protected General Han's retreat. .
After listening to everything, Li Dan understood that the cause was not actually due to Lai Wubao. His crime was that he accidentally injured an officer's life.
However, both the garrison and the county magistrate who were determined to protect him were dead. I'm afraid the matter would not be clear for a while and could only be discussed after the war. The reason why Lai Wubao fought hard was probably to prove his innocence and ability.
"How many of your men are capable and dare to fight?" Li Dan asked him.
"There are 200 people in the ironworks, plus 70 to 80 officers and soldiers, and there are about 200 civilians in the city," Lai Wubao said.
"Didn't all the officers and soldiers retreat with General Han? How come there are still people left?" Zhao Jingzi, who came in later, asked sitting opposite him.
"Sir, most of the officers and soldiers withdrew with Commander Han. Only Mr. Zhou Qi, who came to rescue us, led his troops to fight with us. Later, he gradually took in some scattered officers and soldiers and followed us. Arrive at Maple Harbor."
Lai Wubao didn't recognize Zhao Jingzi, but he saw that he was very elegant. After he came in and saluted, he sat next to him and listened. He felt that this person must be of a high position, so when he heard his question, he quickly stood up and crossed his hands to answer.
"There are more than four hundred and less than five hundred people, which is enough." Zhao Jingzi turned to Li Dan and said softly.
