Not long after the army marched south, Xu Da from the front came to report in a hurry.
"Marshal, there are about eight or nine hundred soldiers and horses heading here ahead!" Xu Da said.
"Eight or nine hundred soldiers and horses?" Zhu Yuanzhang immediately thought of 'Qin Baotou with a broken nose'.
Zhu Han also thought of them and said with a smile.
"Brother, it must be something about Lupai Village. Huo Bizi found out about it and took the initiative to join us."
"If this is the best, it will save us having to use knives and guns!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
really.
When the army encountered him while marching, the leader of Qin in front rode up to report to his family.
"The villain, Chief Qin, wants to see the marshal!"
Zhu Yuanzhang led Zhu Hance forward immediately and saw Chief Qin, who had come to seek refuge.
After some conversation, according to Zhu Han's instructions, he easily accepted the military power of Qin leader.
"Chief Qin, there is still a shortage of someone to govern thousands of households in Haozhou, so I will recommend you to take the post!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Afterwards, with one thousand households under control and a settlement fee of one thousand taels of silver, Qin ordered Toule's Pidian Piipian to hand over the military power.
The two major forces in Dingyuan County were easily brought under Zhu Yuanzhang's command.
Not only did they get nearly 4,000 soldiers and horses, but they also got more information about the situation in Dingyuan.
at this time.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han were discussing their marching strategy.
"Brother, there are two groups of Tartars in Dingyuan now, one is in Hengjian Mountain, and the other is in Dingyuan City. There are about 30,000 people in Hengjian Mountain, and the leader, Miao Daheng, is a local regiment training troops in Dingyuan. There are about 10,000 people in the far city, and the guard is Zhang Zhiyuan, who are basically Yuan Ting officers and soldiers!" Zhu Han pointed at the simple map and said.
All this information was provided by the rebel soldiers who had just surrendered.
The two enemy armies in Dingyuan are like horns to each other. If one side attacks, the other side will attack from behind.
"They have quite a lot of troops. With our troops, if we attack any place, we won't be able to defend the rear. It's really a bit tricky!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a frown.
"Brother, if you ask me, let's attack the distant city first. After all, there are fewer troops there. Anyway, we can break the city in two days!" Xu Da said.
After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he shook his head and said:
"We don't know what's going on in Dingyuan City. If we can't break the city in two days and the enemy troops from Hengjian Mountain come to kill us, we will be attacked from both sides."
Zhu Han also said immediately: "Not only that, if the enemy troops in Hengjian Mountain attack our rear army baggage, even if they break Dingyuan City, they will not be able to continue to attack Chuzhou."
The supplies carried by Zhu Yuanzhang's army were almost all the reserves of Haozhou City.
If it is captured and destroyed by the enemy, it will be impossible to continue the eastward expedition to Chuzhou, which is more than 200 miles away.
"Then we can only attack the enemy in Hengjian Mountain first!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"Yes, but when we attack Hengjian Mountain, it's best not to attack by force." Zhu Han said with a smile.
"How to fight?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
"Brother, let's have a night attack!"
Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da were stunned when they heard Zhu Han's suggestion.
They have never had any experience in night fighting, nor have they thought about night attacks.
"Is this possible? In Mahakala, you can't see the flag clearly and can't command at all!" Xu Da asked worriedly.
"Yes, we have fewer soldiers and horses than the enemy troops in Hengjian Mountain. If we get into a melee and trade one life for another, it will be a big loss." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han was already prepared for their doubts.
"Brother, I have discovered a big problem in the past two days. Those soldiers and horses in the Donkey Village and the broken noses, as well as many new soldiers who joined the army, all have a disease!" Zhu Han said.
"sick?"
"What disease?"
Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da were both stunned.
They thought about it for a while, and they always thought that these soldiers were quite normal. They all had good arms and legs. Although they were all pitifully thin, they didn't seem to have any diseases.
"Night blindness! That is blindness." Zhu Han said.
"So this is it."
Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da both suddenly realized.
Of course, they are no strangers to blindness, that is, night blindness, because when people do not have enough to eat, they will most likely suffer from blindness. At night, their vision will be severely reduced, and they will even be unable to see with the help of a torch. clear.
In fact, this is malnutrition, a lack of a vitamin.
This vitamin is mostly found in fish, pork liver, sheep liver and other internal organs. For most people who don’t have enough to eat, it is not uncommon to get blindfolded eyes.
"The famine in Dingyuan has been severe in the past two years. The regiment training troops in Hengjian Mountain are basically refugees who have no way to survive. The little food and salary are just to keep them hungry. They are all a group of night blinds!" Zhu Han said.
Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang was already overjoyed.
"Great, if that's the case, it would be a shame if we didn't attack at night." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han said immediately.
"Brother, we can first send people to quietly find out the situation of the enemy camp in Hengjian Mountain. When we are ready, we can launch a raid overnight!"
"Okay, let's do it! There's no need to send anyone. You stay at the camp while Xu Da and I go to investigate!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.
After all, the Hengjian Mountain military camp has a large number of troops. Zhu Yuanzhang would not feel relieved if he did not investigate it personally.
Hengjian Mountain is located 80 miles west of Dingyuan County.
There are springs and streams flowing from the mountains nearby, which can ensure continuous flow even during severe droughts.
Therefore, after Dingyuan tycoon Miao Daheng recruited refugees to form a regiment, he stationed himself at the foot of Hengjian Mountain.
Not only can it defend Dingyuan City, but it can also be used for farming on the spot.
In the Hengjian Mountain military camp.
Dingyuan regiment training commander Miao Daheng was staring at the letter on the table and worrying.
"Dad, what did the letter say?"
His son Miao Youzhen, who was standing by, saw his father's frown and asked worriedly.
"Your uncle said that there is a new commander in Dingyuan, who is the original Haozhou Daru Hua Chi Timur. Hearing that the Haozhou red scarf thief Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to attack, he asked us to lead the troops to Dingyuan City to garrison ." Miao Daheng said.
As soon as she heard this, Miao Youzhen immediately became anxious.
"Dad, we can't agree to this. If we leave, the business here in Hengjian Mountain will be lost!"
Miao Daheng has been operating in Hengjian Mountain for almost a year, and has just made some progress in opening up wasteland and farming. If he leads his army to Dingyuan City, even if the red scarf thief Zhu Yuanzhang does not send people to attack the Hengjian Mountain camp, the surrounding mountains Bandits and thieves will also come to attack the autumn wind.
"If I try to delay it for a while, I don't know where Zhu Yuanzhang's red scarf thief is." Miao Daheng said.
At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door.
"Miao Tuanlian, the red scarf thief is here, you don't know it yet!"
The words came from outside the door, followed by a short and fat Mongolian man who barged in. As soon as he saw this man, Miao Daheng immediately put on a smile, which was quite flattering.
"Brother Bile is in trouble, where is the red scarf thief?" Miao Daheng hurriedly approached him and asked.
