At the Huoshao Shop, twenty miles south of Xiangcheng, less than 20,000 Ming troops gathered here. They were nervously repairing the gaps in the wall, collecting wood, collecting water, and preparing to bury pots to make rice.
Fu Zonglong, the governor-general of the three sides, and Yang Wenyue, the governor-general of Baoding, both had a common idea at this moment.
They insisted that generals such as He Renlong and Li Guoqi had strong troops and were the first to escape. They must have suffered little loss, and they would never escape too far, presumably only as far as Xiangcheng.
After all, in today's Ming Dynasty, even if the imperial court is somewhat unable to control these generals, losing the commander is still a serious crime. They will never completely abandon the two governors unless they have to.
But now the fire shop has thousands of soldiers and horses from the two governors' standard camps, plus the thousands of soldiers and horses from the Zhenbao General, and there are even deserters gathered along the road. If you can hold on for a day or two, it's nothing. Big question.
At that time, how could He Renlong, Li Guoqi and others who had fled to Xiangcheng be willing to risk defeat and sit back and wait for help?
Therefore, they will inevitably return from Xiangcheng to rescue them. When the time comes, they will attack from inside and outside, and work together to fight against the thieves. Not only will the troops stationed at the Shaoshao shop be in no danger, but they will also be able to defeat the thieves in a single battle.
As the fleeing officers and soldiers from various ministries arrived one after another, each battalion divided their territory and repaired the collapsed walls of their respective defense areas. At the same time, they buried pots, lit fires, and began to cook food.
Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue inspected various places side by side. After questioning several of their generals, they learned that in addition to the more than 8,000 people from the two men's base camp, the troops who came to the fire shop were also accompanied by the real security officer Hu Dawei. Thousands of men and horses, plus the defeated troops gathered along the way, it is estimated that the entire division still has 15,000 men and horses.
After Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue dismounted, they walked into a long-deserted temple inside the Huo Shao Shop.
Half of the temple's veranda has been destroyed, and the courtyard is full of weeds. Broken stone tablets have fallen to the ground. After they entered, they first asked the soldiers to stand in the distance to protect them, and the two of them had a secret conversation.
Fu Zonglong, the governor of the Three Borders, first said: "Director Yang, the student has been ordered to leave the capital to serve as governor of Shaanxi and the Three Borders. The emperor wants the student to lead the officers and soldiers of Guanzhong to come to Henan to exterminate the bandits.
How can I imagine that today's battle will lead to a complete defeat? It is really shameless to face the mighty Huang En and the common people of Guanzhong and Central Plains. "
Yang Wenyue quickly comforted him and said: "Why did the governor say this? Since ancient times, victory and defeat have been a common occurrence for military strategists. Why should Governor Fu be sad? For several years, the officers and soldiers always panicked and fled when they encountered thieves. Therefore, students often advocated restraint." , I don’t dare to fight with the thieves easily.”
Fu Zonglong couldn't understand what he meant, but the matter was at this point, and it was useless to talk more. He could only sigh and said: "It's not that the student is unwilling to be cautious, but the emperor is pushing too hastily.
Zong Long knew that fighting would not necessarily result in merit, but if he did not fight, he would definitely be punished. However, he had to choose one of the two. Therefore, the student decided to fight. He would rather die on the battlefield than die in the West Market. How can a man fight against the jailer again? ! "
Hearing this, Yang Wenyue felt that his words just now were a bit excessive, and hurriedly comforted Fu Zonglong and said: "I know Yuan Xian's difficulties well. As of now, we can only stay here and wait for help.
Fortunately, during the melee just now, the soldiers around you and me have not been defeated. There are still more than 10,000 troops here. Although there are more infantry, they can still hold the position. As long as you and I command calmly and encourage the soldiers to work hard. Loyalty, unity of heart and virtue, there is no harm in sticking to it for a few days.
In addition, Governor Ding is close to Shangcheng and Huangchuan, and Zuo Kunshan is also east of Xinyang, not far from me. It is expected that if they are quick, they will definitely come to our army.
If they don't come, it won't be too late for our army to retreat towards Xiangcheng after taking a short rest, and then retreat towards Xiangcheng. Besides, Commander He Renlong, Commander Li Guoqi, and Baoding deputy general Zhang Dechang and other generals are not far away. It should be near Xiangcheng.
Tonight, the two of us reported to the emperor the critical situation of the defeated army, and at the same time we flew to Xiangcheng to ask He and Li Ershuai to return to the army to rescue the burning shop. At the same time, we also called to Inspector Ding and Zuo Zhen to come to the rescue. "
Fu Zonglong's mood has recovered at this moment, and he is not as excited as before. He nodded and said: "That's exactly the idea. Brother Dou Wang, let me deploy the military now.
After everything is properly arranged here, the two of us will report to the court separately, no need to jointly sign. "
Yang Wenyue also said: "Now that our military strength is not as good as before, we should re-draw the flood areas of each camp. There are fewer soldiers and horses in the northwest around the governor, so the southeast area will be defended by Governor Fu, and the defense of the northwest side will be left to the students. How about shouldering the responsibility of Baoding soldiers and horses?"
What he said is true. Most of the Shaanxi soldiers and horses brought by Fu Zonglong fled with He Renlong and Li Guoqi. They were only surrounded by his troops from the Biaoying camp. In addition to the Biaoying troops, Yang Wenyue also had the real security chief Hu Da. Powerful soldiers and horses.
Fu Zonglong looked at Yang Wenyue affectionately, expressed his gratitude for his kindness, and said: "Okay, this is how we divide the flood defense, we just need to make a few adjustments.
We will follow the agreement just now and make some adjustments while immediately ordering everyone to dig trenches and repair the gaps in the wall overnight. "
While the two of them were talking, another burst of killing sounds came from outside the burning shop. It turned out that a bandit army was chasing them outside the stronghold.
At the moment, Yang Wenyue was in charge of deploying defensive matters, while Fu Zonglong immediately went to the stronghold to watch. He saw that there were not many "thieves" coming. There were only more than a thousand foot thieves chasing them, but they were still far away from the officers and soldiers. Attack the fire shop.
Fortunately, many small cannons were not abandoned during the retreat. Fu Zonglong immediately ordered the soldiers to fire cannons. For a while, the sound of cannons was deafening and smoke rose.
I saw a thief general running back and forth in the smoke, waving a small flag, and then gongs sounded, and the thief army slowly retreated.
Taking this opportunity, Fu Zonglong hurriedly ordered the officers and soldiers to dig the trench as quickly as possible, digging it as deep and wide as possible. At the same time, all the gaps in the southeast wall of the village were blocked with wood and bricks from demolished houses.
They also used cut branches to make temporary horses, blocking all intersections leading to the village so that the rebel cavalry could not charge directly.
In order to boost morale, Fu Zonglong also put aside his pretense as a governor and personally dug trenches to show that he shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. This was something he had never done since he became an official.
If today's situation hadn't been extremely critical, I'm afraid he wouldn't have lowered his profile so low and dug trenches and moved earth himself in order to boost morale.
Of course, he was just showing off, and he was replaced by other generals after a while, but even so, the morale of the army was boosted and motivation was in full swing.
After being busy for a while, Fu Zonglong returned to his army. When he was about to draft a memorial to the emperor, he remembered that his Shang Fang sword and imperial edict were lost.
It turned out that during the melee in Mengjiazhuang, his Shang Fang Sword had been lost, because the trusted Chinese soldier who carried Shang Fang Sword for him was shot to death by random arrows from the rebel army in order to protect him from escaping. Even the Emperor The edict given to him was also lost.
Only his governor's silver seal was luckily saved because it was tied around his waist.
It really took a lot of hesitation as to how to word these things and how to describe them in such a way that it would not be too far away from reality and would not make me more guilty.
After a long time, Fu Zonglong couldn't help but sigh. He seemed to have some thoughts, and then he began to draft a memorial to the emperor himself.
During the battle in Mengjiazhuang, even the few copywriting staff who followed him were dead or lost, and the only one who survived was seriously injured.
Therefore, even though his eyesight is dim, he still has to write and write by himself.
Just after writing a few sentences, Yang Wenyue hurriedly came to see him and said to him: "Director Fu, according to the students, it is not appropriate for us to stay here for now.
The bandits just pursued us, and they only charged for a while and then retreated. They must have been testing our defense and waiting for the follow-up troops of the brigade to arrive before launching an all-out attack.
It is now known that the thief will be "a tiger" Li Guo. This man is the nephew of the intruder Li Zicheng. He is very brave in fighting and should not be underestimated. I think if the bandit army arrives in force, they will definitely surround the burning shop. By then, if we try to escape, we will be unable to do so.
I heard that the intruders had tens of thousands of people on foot and on horseback, and the main force was still behind. If we waited for the complete arrival of their army, and we were surrounded on all sides, wouldn't we just sit in the fire shop and wait to be killed?
Go, go, go quickly! "
But Fu Zonglong said firmly: "Du Yang, I have made up my mind. Rather than die outside the Huoshao shop, it is better to die inside the Huoshao shop. Now, Du Yang just wants to rush to Xiangcheng or Shenqiu.
According to my opinion, we can neither reach Xiangcheng nor Shenqiu. As soon as the army leaves the fire shop, it will be defeated in the wilderness.
Therefore, I have decided that I would rather die here than escape! "
Yang Wenyue saw that he had made up his mind and was unable to persuade him, so he had to say: "As the governor of Baoding, Wenyue will never abandon the governor and escape alone. No matter life or death, I will be with the governor. Please rest assured, Governor Fu." "
After Yang Wenyue said this, he returned to his station to organize defense matters, while Fu Zonglong continued to write the memorial.
After he finished writing, he couldn't find anyone to copy it, so he had to randomly call a young staff member to copy it over. Although he knew that this staff member's small handwriting was not very good, there was no other way.
At the same time, he personally wrote a letter to He Renlong and Li Guoqi, earnestly asking them to return to the army as soon as possible to rescue the burning shop, and promised that after this battle, he would seek credit and reward from the court for them.
After writing it, I briefly checked it again and saw that there was nothing that could be revised, so I handed it over to the Central Army and asked him to quickly send people to Xiangcheng or Shenqiu overnight to make sure to find the second commanders He and Li.
Then, he picked up his pen again and was about to write another letter asking for help to Supervisor Ding Qirui. At this moment, there was a sudden noise of people outside and it seemed very chaotic.
He couldn't help but turn pale with fright. The brush fell to the ground without realizing it, but he no longer cared about it. Fu Zonglong quickly ran out of the house, looked at the situation, and asked loudly: "What's the matter? What's the matter of panic?"
It turned out that after Yang Wenyue came back from Fu Zonglong's place, he found that his Baoding soldiers and horses were in groups here and there, gathering together and talking.
He immediately issued an order that everyone should strictly defend their respective positions and not leave the defensive position without authorization. However, just as this military order was passed down, the chaos in the camp became even worse.
Suddenly, a group of men and horses jumped out of the trench and fled to the southeast, followed immediately by a second group.
Yang Wenyue knew that this was a critical moment of life and death and could not tolerate any hesitation. He immediately issued a strict order: Anyone who escapes without permission and the leading officer will be beheaded.
His Shangfang sword was not lost during the retreat. At this time, he quickly took it out of the yellow satin sheath and unsheathed the sword to show that he would follow the order.
But at this moment, people were in panic, but no one listened to his military orders, and no one was afraid of his Shangfang sword. Seeing that the soldiers and horses were more chaotic, more people escaped.
Zhang Guozhen, his deputy general in the Chinese army, ran up to him and begged in a panic: "Supervisor, go quickly, go quickly! The morale of the army is in chaos and is beyond control. Don't die here in vain."
Yang Wenyue asked angrily: "What's going on?"
Vice General Zhang said urgently: "The officers and men all thought that the only way to stay here was to die, so they did not want to stay here, so they fled one after another. Please mount your horse quickly, and I will protect you and escape to Xiangcheng."
Yang Wenyue said angrily: "I will not leave. I have agreed with Governor Fu to guard this place together until reinforcements arrive. Now that I have just spoken, is there any reason to abandon Governor Fu and run away?"
If this is the case, how can he be worthy of Governor Fu?
How can one go to the imperial court and live up to the emperor's grace? "
However, Vice General Zhang said: "Director Yang, something has happened suddenly. We can no longer defend. If we are a little later, we may not be able to leave even if we want to. Besides, now that the troops have moved, it is impossible to stop them."
Please mount your horse quickly, Governor! "
Yang Wenyue was furious: "Use Shang Fang's sword to kill several generals, see who dares to escape?"
When the surrounding generals of the Supervisory Base Camp heard this, they all said repeatedly: "It can't be killed, it can't be killed. The morale of the army has changed. If this is true, I am afraid it will cause greater chaos..."
In the chaos, several generals gathered around the governor Yang Wenyue at the same time. They winked at each other, and Vice General Zhang stepped forward to hold Yang Wenyue's arm, while another general also held his arm from the other side.
The other generals and guerrillas urged together: "Please mount the horse... mount the horse..."
While they were persuading, they forcibly lifted the governor Yang Wenyue onto the back of the horse. How could Yang Wenyue not know what they meant, but he was unable to resist due to being held up by the generals, so he could only let them control him.
Now, when Yang Wenyue saw that the situation was like this, he had no choice but to sit on the horse. He sighed and thought to himself: "I'm so sorry for Fu Yuanxian."
Just as he reached out to grab the bridle, a guerrilla from behind hit his horse's butt and whipped it hard. The horse was in pain and immediately galloped away to the east.
The generals of his Biao camp surrounded him and rode out of the fire shop together. Thousands of Biao camp soldiers followed closely and fled in a rush.
When Fu Zonglong heard that Yang Wenyue had escaped, he stamped his feet repeatedly and shouted loudly: "Where is Hu Dawei? Where is Hu Dawei now?"
A close general next to him hurriedly replied: "When the Baoding Tiger Commander saw Governor Yang escaping, he also led his troops to pursue him northeast."
Fu Zonglong felt as if he was struck by five thunders. He was stunned on the spot, looked up at the sky, and shouted: "Heaven! Heaven!"
He didn't say anything more. He was in a confused mood, his legs were trembling, and he could hardly stand. He was confused as to what he should do.
At this moment, Mr. Ren, who was accompanying the supervisor, and his deputy general Chen, came to his side and advised him to lead his army to flee towards Chenzhou.
Fu Zonglong seemed not to have heard anything and asked blankly: "What are you talking about? What are you talking about?"
They had no choice but to say it again. At the same time, other generals were also talking to him, urging him to lead his army to flee to Chenzhou first and then make plans. There must be no delay.
(End of chapter)
