"I've been waiting for you day and night, and finally I've got you here."
The people who spoke with tears in their eyes were Gong Heng, Gong Duan's younger brother Gong Dian, and cousin Gong Su.
Gong Su is the son of Gong Nai's younger brother Gong Nai.
Gong Lu is also a well-known figure and one of the main allies of Shanzuo poetry circle. He passed away more than ten years ago.
Gong Lu had four sons, none of whom had any official career. The eldest son and this son have no heirs and have already moved elsewhere.
Now the third son, Gongsu, is in charge of the family, and together with Gongdian, he manages the official family property.
At the beginning of the year, I learned from Gong Duan that the new army would not be able to get through for a while. After discussions between Gongdian and Gongsu, they both felt that Mengyin County could not be defended. So the family moved out of the county and returned to Gong's old house at the east gate.
Relying on the dangerous terrain of Yanggu behind the Upper East Gate, Gongshi repelled the White Lotus Sect's attacks several times. Although he paid a heavy price in casualties, he finally saved his home.
Even so, Gongshi was at the end of his rope.
If the new army doesn't come yet, they might be defeated by the White Lotus Sect next month.
"These beasts have caused great harm to villages all over the country. It is said that there is no one alive in the county. Zuo Shenzuo, you must avenge the villagers."
Speaking of the suffering of the past few months, Gongdian burst into tears and hated the White Lotus Sect to his core.
Although Gongshi has been a minister for many years, he has never lived in a fish and meat village. On the contrary, he has really done a lot of good deeds. Because of this, they were convinced by the local people and united to defend their homeland.
"Brother Haruno, don't worry. When our army comes this time, it will definitely wipe out the entire White Lotus Sect."
Zuo Mengeng gave the guarantee, which made Gongdian and Gongsu extremely happy.
"You can rest assured, Zuo Shen, we will carefully prepare for the supply of food and grass, and we will definitely not lose the consumption of the army."
Zuo Mengeng hurriedly waved his hand.
"I would like to teach you two brothers that our army has its own rules and regulations for logistics supplies and never troubles the place. If you are serious, please send some guides."
Gongdian and Gongsu were surprised to hear that the new army did not invade the place, but at the same time they breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past six months, the White Lotus Sect has caused great harm to the local area. All production has been completely destroyed, and the people do not have enough food to eat. If we continue to bear the burden of food and fodder for a large army, there is no doubt that people will starve to death.
But throughout the history of the imperial court's wars, the common people had to endure such pain.
Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the New Army does not disturb the local area is enough to conquer the hearts and minds of the local people.
"It is our duty to be a guide."
Zuo Mengeng has other requirements for the formula brothers.
"The county magistrate of the Party wants to take over the county seat. He takes office alone and has no one to rely on in the local area. He also asked the virtuous Kun Zhongxiang to help him."
The local government in Mengyin had been completely destroyed, and not a single official was left. When the party still took office, it was faced with ruins.
Not only must the government be reestablished, but the economy must also be restored.
Without the help of the court and colleagues, they can only seek support from the local area.
Of course, Formula Brothers will not fail to do such good things.
Helping the party restore the local order is equivalent to taking the formula's local influence to a higher level.
Gongsu took the initiative and said, "Then I will accompany the Ming Mansion and go there in person."
After being tortured by the White Lotus Sect, the local people may not trust the officials sent by the imperial court, but they will definitely be convinced by the people of the Gong family.
Zuo Mengeng sent a battalion to follow the party Huan Chun to take over Mengyin County.
The Gong brothers only thought that Dang Huanchun took office alone, and did not notice that there were some high-spirited young people following Dang Huanchun.
These are young people who have recently graduated from the government affairs class, and they will start from Mengyin to hone their administrative abilities.
The next focus of the New Army's strategy is Meng Lianggu.
This is the only stronghold of the White Lotus Sect in the northern part of the Yimeng Mountains.
If this place is removed, the White Lotus Sect will be blocked on the road to the north, and can only be trapped in the Mengshan Mountains waiting to be surrounded and suppressed by the new army.
"The White Lotus Sect on Meng Liang Gu has about 10,000 people, and its leader is Murong Cai's disciple Bai Dasheng. This guy is quite smart and has set up eighteen lines of defense on Meng Liang Gu, blocking all the roads going up the mountain."
Zuo Mengeng looked down at the sand table and asked something else.
"Where's Murong Cai?"
Zuo Fu is pragmatic.
"We don't know at the moment, but the most likely reason is that they went to join Zhao Si and Dong Dacheng. Currently, the leaders of the White Lotus Sect have suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining ones can only join the group to keep warm."
Zuo Mengeng was keenly aware of something.
"Did Bai Dasheng and Murong Cai get into trouble?"
Zuo Fu paused, then smiled and said: "Although there is no information, it seems that it should be so at present."
At the same time, he also admired Zuo Mengeng's keenness.
How did he know that in Zuo Mengeng's mind, the so-called Jianghu figures, their benevolence, morality, and Jianghu loyalty were all fake. When fighting for power and gain, the methods are more direct and vicious.
This Hundred Dasheng is obviously more sophisticated, otherwise it would be impossible to gather more than 10,000 people.
Intelligence showed that when Murong's Ministry of Finance was driven out of Qingzhou, there were only more than 19,000 people left.
Bai Dasheng has most of the strength in his hands, so it would be strange not to think of replacing Murong Cai.
"Then if we say that, if we win a hundred battles, Murong Cai won't come to the rescue?"
Huang Sanhu said with a smile: "Even if he comes, he will only die."
The strength of the new army, against these White Lotus Sect, there is no difference between 10,000 and 30,000.
Zuo Mengeng was very cautious.
"Operations in mountainous areas are different from plains. The terrain will make it difficult for us to deploy our troops. In some local areas, we may even be at a disadvantage."
As the commander-in-chief of this battle, Sui Zhizhong expressed his approval.
"Currently, Baidasheng's troops are mainly concentrated in Lutou Mountain in the northwest, Dayanding and Diaowo in the northeast, and Wanquan Mountain and Huangguding in the southeast. We need to pull out these places one by one, and we must not pull them out. If it falls, we won’t be able to attack Meng Lianggu’s main stronghold.”
Mao Yuanyi lay on the sand table and studied for a long time, then asked: "Can't we attack Meng Lianggu directly from the valley in the south?"
Wei Qiyou explained: "Although the valley in the south is relatively close to the main peak of Menglianggu, the height difference between the top and bottom is huge. When you attack halfway up the mountain, you will be attacked from both sides."
The fighting methods at this time were different from those during the Liberation War.
At that time, the range of artillery was very long, so even if the artillery was set up in the river valley, it could hit high places. But today's artillery can only sigh at the top of the mountain.
In addition, the infantry's cap guns could not be compared with the automatic firearms that were more popular at that time.
The flash cap gun must be used in an organized manner to show its power. Once dispersed, it is not as good as a spear.
After all, in mountainous areas with complex terrain, as long as you fire a shot, other people's knives and spears will come to kill you without allowing you to reload.
If you attack from the top, the advantages of firearms will be offset a lot.
Therefore, the best way to attack Meng Lianggu is to attack from other peripheral routes. Although it is slow, advancing step by step to the top of the mountain can give full play to the advantages of the new army group operations.
After discussion, the new army decided to start from Lushan Head, northwest of Menglianggu.
The top of Lushan Mountain is not high, only one or two hundred meters, but it is the gateway to Meng Lianggu. After passing Lushantou, there is a road along the ridge that leads directly to Daguding.
Although this series of mountains is collectively called Menglianggu, in fact the highest peak is Dayuanding, followed by Dayuanding, and Menglianggu can only be ranked third.
The reason why Bai Dasheng's main stronghold was placed on Menglianggu was because it was flatter than the top of Da'an and Dagu and could accommodate more people.
Gu refers to a mountain with a relatively flat top.
However, before attacking, Sui Zhizhong raised a question that had to be considered.
"Senzuo, if we attack, will Bai Dasheng escape?"
The New Army's troops were insufficient, and it was impossible to completely surround Meng Lianggu with only the dissatisfied regiments. If Bai Dasheng wants to run away, the new army can't stop him.
After Zuo Menggen studied the terrain, he said with certainty: "As long as we don't surround him from all sides, Bai Dasheng will not run away for the time being. He has nowhere to go? Murong Cai, Dong Dacheng and Zhao Si met at the same place. He is stronger than him. If he dares to go to Mengshan, Murong Cai will never let him go."
Mao Yuanyi didn't understand.
"Why don't we attack from all sides? Bai Dasheng won't run away?"
Although Zuo Mengeng came here for the first time, he was more familiar with Meng Lianggu than anyone else.
"This is a stone mountain, and there is no water on it. If we are surrounded from all sides, and the thieves on the mountain cannot go down to get water, they will definitely break out. If we don't besiege, Bai Dasheng will have a chance. When he wants to run away in the future , I have been injured for a long time."
For a military expert like him, the Battle of Menglianggu was naturally a material to study carefully.
I remember clearly that the 74th Division was reorganized because there was no water to cool the machine guns in the mountains.
During the battle, the combat effectiveness of the reorganized 74th Division plummeted due to lack of water. Now they have to prevent there being no water source, forcing Bai Dasheng to escape early.
Times have changed, and operations have also been deployed accordingly.
