The Sichuan Army is progressing smoothly, but the Guizhou Army is much more difficult. The Guizhou Army had been severely defeated more than once before, and its core combat strength had been severely damaged. Although Gao Pragmatic directly intervened after that to urgently allocate some firearms and food to Guizhou, the combat effectiveness could not be greatly improved immediately.
Wars are always fought by people. Even if the training time of firearms troops is shorter than that of cold weapons, the premise is that the army has qualified generals and middle- and lower-level officers. If the generals and officers themselves are familiar with firearms, If you only know a little about chemical warfare, the training effect will naturally be half the result with half the effort and greatly reduced.
Unfortunately, the Guizhou Army has always been poor, and firearms are often just embellishments in the army. They really cannot teach the soldiers under their command to engage in highly firearm-based combat like the one advocated by Gao Pragmatic. Therefore, although the Guizhou Army has more firearms recently, The improvement in combat effectiveness is still limited. Perhaps after the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy is completed and opened in the future, the generals of the Guizhou Army will be generally promoted.
Talking back to the Qian Army itself, Tong Yuanzhen, the commander-in-chief of the Qian Army on Wujiang Road, and Tong Cheng, the prefect of Tu, dispatched Bayang soldiers and Yongshun soldiers to attack Wujiang Pass first.
Takichen himself traveled to the Wujiang River and after some observation he sighed: "The Wujiang River is indeed a dangerous shoal. There are rocks in the river and the roar of the river is like thunder. The Wujiang Pass is built on the top of a slope to guard the Guizhou-Bo channel. It is really easy to defend but difficult to attack. Mr. Tong Rong, how long do you think it will take our army to capture Guancheng?"
Tong Yuanzhen also observed it first, and then replied: "Our army is well prepared this time, and there will never be another scandal of being defeated by the rebels. At present, pontoons have been set up on the Wujiang River, and there are many firearms covering them." The army is crossing the river, and under such an all-out attack with heavy troops and sharp weapons, how can Wujiang Pass be closed?"
However, words are easy to say but things are hard to do. The actual situation is that the Ming army braved the rain of arrows to climb Wujiang Pass and was repulsed many times. Tong Yuanzhen then remembered that the principle of using firearms is to concentrate, so he ordered to concentrate the firearms to attack one point.
The change of thinking was indeed effective. In just about three seconds, Guancheng was bombarded by artillery. The Ming army organized a fierce attack again. Seeing that the situation was over, the Miao soldiers stationed at Wujiang Pass had to abandon Guancheng and flee to the river.
The local magistrate Takicheng ordered a pursuit, and the Ming army and cavalry rushed forward to cover up the killing. Almost none of the Miao soldiers were spared. Tong Yuanzhen was overjoyed and said that having these firearms would make a difference. It would be really refreshing to fight the wealthy battle. So on the next day, he ordered the entire army to continue advancing.
The fall of the city at Wujiang Pass gave the Miao people a great shock. Then the Ming army fought successively and became invincible. Tong Yuanzhen laughed that Yang Yinglong was strong on the outside and was strong on the inside, and reported victory to Song Liangzuo. At the same time, various Ming armies also reported good results frequently, and the situation seemed to be very good.
Unexpectedly, Yang Zhaolong took the opportunity to send troops from Jiandao at this time, falsely claiming that the Shuixi tribe had managed to get through the customs all the way, and not only counterattacked Wujiang, but even invaded Guizhou. Tong Yuanzhen and Long Cheng were both shocked when they heard about the "Shui Xi Rebellion". Long Cheng said hurriedly: "The Shuixi An family has always been very obedient to the court, so they were able to accompany the army on this expedition. How could it happen suddenly?" Rebellion?
Could it be... could it be that the chieftains and the Yang family were still secretly communicating with each other, and had accepted Yang Yinglong's various promises, so he would choose the opportunity to rebel and turn against each other? If this is true, then all armies will be in serious trouble! "
Tong Yuanzhen stamped his feet and said: "No matter what, the rebels have invaded Guizhou, and we must return to the army immediately for rescue! I will order General Yang Xian to lead the Yongshun troops to rescue. The prefect of Long can verify the Shuixi incident with the various departments, and Please consult the governor together with the governors of Guizhou and Shu provinces. I will deploy skirmishers here to guard this place to prevent the lone army from going deep and being attacked from the front and back."
Taki Cheng was a local official, so naturally he would not disagree with Tong Yuanzhen on such a major matter involving loyal ministers and traitors, so he agreed immediately.
Yang Zhaolong learned that the Guizhou army had begun to return for reinforcements, and ordered to set up an ambush in Wujiang River. Yang Zhaolong smiled and said to his subordinates: "We have robbed a lot of firearms from the government and soldiers along the way, and the profit is not small. If the government and the army want to return to rescue Guizhou, they will send out troops. In order to cross the Wujiang River as soon as possible, all the pontoon bridges here will be used.
Order: Bury gunpowder secretly under the pontoon bridge, and the entire army will lurk. No trace of the crowd will be shown here. When the officers and soldiers are halfway across, they will use firearms and rockets to ignite the gunpowder under each bridge and destroy all the pontoon bridges! "
The Ming army rushed to the Wujiang River near dusk and saw that there was no one around. Yang Xian became suspicious and ordered to fire warning shots and tried many times, but there was no response from both sides of the Wujiang River.
Yang Xianwei rushed back to Guizhou as soon as possible. It was too late to send people everywhere for detailed investigation, so he ordered the entire army to cross the pontoon bridge and quickly cross the river. On the other side, Yang Zhaolong saw that the time had come and immediately ordered the entire army to launch firearms and rockets.
The Ming army was halfway across the river and was naturally panicked by the ambush. Many people jumped into the river to escape. The gunpowder on each pontoon bridge was often ignited, causing a series of explosions. In the end, the pontoon bridge broke into several sections and collapsed, and most of the Ming army was involved. In the Wujiang River.
Yang Zhaolong saw the opportunity and immediately took advantage of the situation to cover up the killing. The Ming army suffered numerous casualties and was almost wiped out. General Yang Xian, guards Chen Yunlong, Ruan Shiqi, Bai Mingkui, Yang Xuzhi and others were all killed in Wujiang.
After Yang Zhaolong's victory over Wujiang, he immediately contacted the front to attack Tongyuan Town. At this time, Tongyuan Town and Tongcheng had just received their revenge, but they knew that Yang Zhaolong had only falsely claimed that Shuixi was invading, and they were filled with hatred and guilt.
In order to avoid being besieged, Tongyuan Town quickly ordered its troops to retreat. However, they happened to encounter Yang Zhaolong on the way, and a melee broke out between the two sides. However, Tong Yuanzhen was determined to withdraw his troops and strictly ordered his troops not to fight. As a result, the Ming army was in chaos and was quickly defeated. It can be said that they were reduced to stragglers by Yang Zhaolong's troops, and the rest fled across the Wujiang River in embarrassment.
As a result, the Guizhou army suffered heavy losses. Many of them were missing due to being dispersed by the river and being chased by the Miao soldiers. After Tong Yuanzhen returned to Guizhou, he counted the casualties, gathered the remaining troops, and asked Guo Zizhang, the governor of Guizhou, and Song Liangzuo, the governor of the battle, for help, regardless of the guilt of the defeat.
On the other side, Chen Liang, the deputy commander-in-chief, was controlled by Deng Zilong and left Longquan. He was assisted by Shan Yi, the Xuanfu envoy, and Hu Guifang, the deputy envoy. His opponent was He Tingyu, who came to fight with 30,000 Miao soldiers on Yang Yinglong's order.
He Tingyu concentrated his troops to set up ambushes on the only roads he must pass through, and sent out detachments to act as guerrillas. Chen Liang got the report and said: "According to what Zhijun said, the two commanders-in-chief, Liu Wei and Ma Lin, were the main ones to attract the main force of the rebels, followed by commander-in-chief Ma Kongying, so our army encountered only scattered Miao soldiers. It’s nothing to worry about, but don’t give up easily on the battle achievements you’ve gained so easily… You can just go hunting.”
So Chen Liang's troops were divided into five groups, each with 3,000 troops. Hu Guifang and Shan Yi each led one group, and they advanced in stages to seize the city and build the stronghold. Chen Liang led one group to follow up, and then divided into two groups to form left and right wings to eliminate the suspected Miao soldiers. He was also able to coordinate with each group and coordinate to protect the safety of Chen Liang's Chinese army.
Hu Guifang, the vanguard of the Ming army, led 3,000 troops towards Bozhou, and was immediately surrounded by Miao soldiers led by He Tingyu. In order to make a quick victory without disturbing the subsequent Ming army's advance, He Tingyu set up two ambush points along the way. He first let Hu Guifang pass through the first ambush safely, but then carried out an ambush at the second place so that the Ming army's rear troops could arrive for reinforcements.
Hu Guifang's troops were ambushed, and the Miao soldiers fired poisonous arrows with crossbows. The enemy was surrounded by water. Hu Guifang urgently ordered a breakout, but the Ming army broke out ten times and was repulsed. As a result, the morale of the Ming army collapsed, their fighting spirit waned, and they fled in all directions. Hu Guifang himself died soon after being hit by a poisonous arrow.
The accompanying chieftain quickly asked for surrender, but He Tingyu ignored him. He was eager to rush to another ambush to wait for the Ming army behind him, so he was not allowed to surrender and was strictly ordered to kill without mercy. He was considered a comrade at war.
Shan Yi, the envoy of Xuanfu, was following up with his team. When he heard Hu Guifang's troops shouting for death in the distance, he ordered his troops to move forward quickly to investigate the enemy's situation for rescue. Unexpectedly, when passing through the mountain col, an ambush suddenly appeared around them, throwing countless rockets and torches. Then someone pushed down about fifty boxes of gunpowder barrels used by the Ming army, igniting the oil-impregnated fodder hidden in many places. As a result, the fire broke out and the front and rear paths were blocked by the fire.
Shan Yi was in a desperate situation, with six gods and no master, and the three thousand Ming army kept wailing. He Tingyu laughed and said: "This Chen Liang is incompetent in running the army. He underestimated the enemy with thousands of troops and rushed forward without any defense. Let's not talk about it. Once he was frustrated, he was determined to retreat. When he was besieged, he lost his will. How could he be undefeated?" As soon as the words fell. , He Tingyu ordered to shoot with bows and arrows and kill them all as soon as possible, so as to gather the entire army to attack Chen Liang directly.
At this time, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Chen Liang saw a sudden fire in front and thick smoke rising into the sky. He knew something was wrong and urgently ordered the left and right wings to shrink their troops and join the Chinese army. At this time, he was not hopelessly stupid. Instead of rushing forward to rescue, he stood still and ordered to form formations on the spot and line up to meet the enemy.
However, at this time, He Tingyu had led the entire army to attack Chen Liang's troops. Tan Ma came to report to Chen Liang that there were many Miao soldiers, several times as many as the Chinese army, and Chen Liang was frightened. When the Miao soldiers arrived, the two armies engaged in battle. After a bloody battle, the Ming army became exhausted, and the accompanying chieftain also fled first.
Seeing that Chen Liang couldn't stop drinking, he actually turned his horse and retreated with the chieftain. The Ming army that was still fighting suddenly fell into chaos and retreated one after another. In the end, Chen Liang's troops lost most of their troops, and only a few of the defeated troops joined together to withdraw from Bozhou. They did not dare to fight again after that. He Tingyu withdrew his troops and returned to the division to join Yang Zhaolong's troops. The two went to block the delayed offensives of Ma Kongying and Deng Zilong's troops respectively.
In March, the secretary Ma Zhong suggested to Yang Yinglong: "Liu Wei is about to march all the way to Loushanguan. Loushanguan is impregnable and we have Bozhou elites to respond at any time, so there should be no serious problems. Now the nine groups of soldiers and horses of the army have retreated to two groups. , the offensive of the other routes is being delayed by the seedlings, I have a plan to retreat two more routes.
It can be seen from the previous battles that the Guizhou army has the weakest fighting spirit and the strongest greed. Officials in Guizhou Province are just unjust people who see profit. If they bribe the generals of the Guizhou army with a lot of money and promise to restore old friendship with the attached officials and chieftains, they will definitely There are excuses to stay put.
I heard that the Tian family and Takicheng have an old relationship. Now that Takicheng has been defeated, if I suddenly get a lot of money to lobby, I will definitely use it to control the chieftains under my jurisdiction. In this way, we can concentrate our forces to attack Liu Wei, the main force of the Ming Dynasty's Sichuan army. As long as Liu Wei is defeated, this battle will be won! "
"We might as well try this strategy." Yang Yinglong nodded and said: "The Sichuan army is strong, Liu Wei knows Bozhou well, and Loushanguan is not foolproof. We really need to concentrate our efforts to repel the Sichuan army. From this point of view, if the Guizhou army can stand still , that would be perfect, in your opinion, who can be responsible for this lobbying mission?"
Ma Zhongdao said: "The third son is eloquent and is born to the Tian family. He can bring Tian's personal letter and more than a hundred people to lobby the generals and chieftains of the Guizhou army." Yang Yinglong agreed.
On the 26th, Yang Weidong led Tian's messenger to meet with Takichen secretly. Yang Weidong said: "Earlier, we falsely claimed that Shuixi would counterattack Wujiang, which frightened you. I'm really sorry. But you also know that our target has always been the official. The army did not want to fight with the chieftains from all walks of life.
In the early years, I, the Yang family of Bozhou, had many misunderstandings with the five surnames and seven surnames, and my father did do something inappropriate. For this purpose, I specially sent 5,000 taels of silver and promised the five divisions and seven surnames the right to have their own independence. I look forward to getting back on good terms with you all. If you still remember the old relationship with Mr. Tian, Mr. Tian will also be grateful. Please accept these gifts and promote harmony between the Five Sis and Seven Surnames and the Yang family. "
It is indeed difficult for chieftains to "cut off their robes and sever their righteousness". This is normal, so Takicheng invited Yang Weidong to sit down and said: "The third young master is really polite. I feel ashamed to receive such a generous gift. It is rare that the Yang family of Bozhou has the intention... But I still Somewhat worried.
Most of the troops mobilized by the imperial court this time are elite divisions, which are far from the previous garrison troops stationed in the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu. Not to mention that both Song Gong and Fu Jun Guo Gong were determined to pacify Bozhou, but Gao Nanning, who was famous all over the world, was said to have personally given instructions to Liu Wei and other generals on how to pacify Bozhou many times... and so on. Come on, can Yang really resist? "
Yang Weidong smiled and said: "You don't know something about this. Although the officers and soldiers have many soldiers and generals, they seem to be attacking in separate lanes and attacking in an all-out way. But now all the roads are restrained and delayed by me, making it difficult to advance. As for Qijiang Liu Wei and Ma Lin Along the way, they are indeed the most adept at fighting, but I, Bozhou, have also concentrated our forces and will surely annihilate this group at Loushanguan.
In this way, the weather, the right location, the right people, and the right people all belong to the Yang family. This Loushanguan is the burial place of Liu Wei. After that, Bozhou fought in various places, and each group was unable to support it alone. Wherever Bozhou's troops were powerful, the army would definitely be defeated. "
Takicheng said with a smile on his face: "In this way, the Bozhou Army is indeed invincible, which is really gratifying and congratulatory. Then I will accept this generous gift, and I will definitely... urge the Five Divisions and Seven Surnames to join the Yang family. Fight to the end!”
Taki Cheng's face suddenly changed when he said this, and he shouted and called the guards, who immediately captured Yang Weidong and others on the spot. Yang Weidong was surprised and cursed fiercely.
Takichen had already put away his previous smile, snorted coldly at him, and said sternly: "The Yang family has been oppressing the chieftains for a long time, and the chieftains have already reached the end of their tolerance. Now that the imperial army is pressing on the border, Yang Yinglong can't help but surrender, and he still dares to resist. If you don’t obey, you will be ruining yourself!
To be honest with you, the destruction of the Yi clan by your Yang family is what I look forward to most. I will definitely convey to the officers and soldiers every word of what the Third Young Master just said. As for the money... I have to thank the third young master and your father again for their kindness. It's really disrespectful for me, so I have to accept it with a smile. Presumably even if Zhijun and Fujun knew about it, they would definitely reward me, hahahaha! "
Takichen then beheaded all Yang Weidong and Tian's messenger, and presented their heads to Guizhou Governor Guo Zizhang. The generals of the Guizhou Army, such as Tong Yuanzhen, Zhu Heling, Li Yingxiang, etc., also accepted bribes, but used them as military pay. They also killed envoys and offered their heads for merit. Even An Jiangchen, the great chieftain of Shuixi, personally tied up more than 20 envoys to show that Shuixi would never rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
After the military reform of the Ming Dynasty, it has not suffered a single defeat for more than 20 years. How lucky is it! What's more, today is in the prime of life, and Gao Pragmatic, the world's best literary commander, is sitting in the center of the court. Who among the Guizhou chieftains would be stupid enough to have a secret affair with Yang Yinglong at this time?
When Yang Yinglong learned that Yang Weidong was dead, he became furious and scolded Ma Zhong, the clerk: "You incompetent villain! Listening to your nonsense has caused me to waste money and lose face in Bozhou! You actually encouraged my son Weidong to host the lobbying, and now the body is separated. , died tragically in the bandit camp! How dare you, an incompetent person like you, claim to be resourceful?
I think you are secretly collecting bribes from the officers and soldiers, and you have come here to plot a plan to harm my own son! I want you to pay for my son's life! "Ma Zhong repeatedly begged for mercy and cried out that he didn't know the chieftain had such a reaction. However, Yang Yinglong was so angry that he didn't listen at all and ordered him to be pushed out and beheaded.
As a result, both Yang Kedong and Yang Weidong died unexpectedly. Yang Yinglong couldn't help crying with grief and anger when he thought of his two sons' voices and smiles. Military advisor Sun Shitai, his eldest son Yang Chaodong, and brothers Yang Zhaolong, He, and Tian came to comfort him one after another. Yang Chaodong urged his father to cheer up and kill all the invading enemies to avenge Yang Weidong and Yang Kedong.
Yang Yinglong turned around and held back his tears, and secretly vowed to teach the Ming army and help the chieftains to pay for their debts with blood.
Song Liangzuo, on the other side, laughed loudly after receiving the report, and praised the paintings on the left and right: "Although these Eighth Route Army soldiers are not all elite troops, their power and power are enough to make Yang Yinglong and other rebellious parties have a chokehold. He wants to use force when he is short of troops. I am also on guard against this.
But in the final analysis, among the eight routes, Liu Wei and Ma Lin are the most threatening. While Yang Yinglong is distracted, the Loushan Pass may not be impregnable. Once the Loushan Pass is broken, Yang Yinglong will inevitably be forced to gather troops to resist. The rest of our The road is like entering uninhabited territory. There will be little left of the natural protection that Bozhou relies on. "
His staff Zhao Xinkui said: "What Zhijun said is absolutely true. Loushan Pass blocks Bashu to the north and chokes Guizhou and Guizhou to the south. It is the throat of northern Guizhou. It is a battleground for military strategists. It has been called a natural danger since ancient times. I am fortunate to have passed through this place." , that pass has thousands of peaks, numerous mountains and steep cliffs, like axes and halberds, piercing the sky, and the Sichuan-Guizhou mountain road spirals past, and only Liu Zongrong's troops can conquer it in one fell swoop."
He may not know that Loushanguan even affects the heart of Gao Jingshi who is far away in the capital, because even Gao Jingshi is very aware of the dangers of this pass. However, Gao Pragmatic's understanding of Loushanguan comes from the poem "Recalling Qin'e Loushanguan" written by Taizu of the Red Dynasty:
The west wind is strong, and the wild geese in the sky are calling Shuang Chenyue. In the frosty morning and the moon, the sound of horse hooves breaks and the trumpets sound.
The long road through Xiongguan is really like iron, but now we are crossing it from the beginning. From the beginning, the mountains are like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood.
After Song Liangzuo listened to what he said, he secretly said in his heart: Liu Wei, Liu Wei, the Marquis has high hopes for you, you must fight the battle of Loushanguan for the headquarters! Once this battle is won, Hai Longcun will probably be the only one left that needs some extra effort, but that is just catching a turtle in a urn, and he will surely get it sooner or later...
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "llhz", "Cao Mianzi" and "klauszx" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: Posted half an hour late, but this chapter cost 5K, and I paid off 1K in debt. I forgot whether I still owed it, so I thought I still owed 1K, and I still have to find an opportunity to pay it back later... I just hope that I can pay it back later... Schools in the area must not close again next week.
