In Xingshan, Hubei Province, about tens of kilometers away from Xingshan City, there is a mountain called Maolu Mountain. The terrain of this mountain is dangerous and you can't see the end at a glance. It leads to Bashu in the west, Xiangyang in the north, and not far to the south. Yangtze. This section of the Yangtze River in Maolu Mountain is also called Xiling Gorge. From Xiling Gorge to Maolu Mountain, it is densely covered with thorns and extremely steep, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Just because Maojuan Mountain is located in Baiyangzhai Village, Nanyang Town. Most of the houses in the mountains are huts, hence the name.
At this time, on the top of Maolu Mountain, the leaders of the thirteen armies of Kuidong gathered. In the middle was a white-robed general with a resolute face. He stared at the half-kneeling sergeant in front of him and asked, "Is this true?"
"Absolutely true."
"Gao Shouyi, Gao Shouyi, are you really worthy of the word 'Shouyi'?!"
The white-robed general drew his sword angrily. With a "pop" sound, a square wooden table on the right side moved away.
"I swear to kill you!"
The rebel leaders of the thirteen armies around him seemed to understand what was going on at this moment. Some were cursing, some were silent, and some were looking at the white-robed general, waiting for a decision.
"Your Highness, General Zhang is outside the door asking to see you!"
came a voice. Before the sound even fell, a young general about eight feet tall had already arrived in front of him. With his hands clasped in his fists, he knelt down and said, "I've seen the general."
"Please get up quickly!" He supported the young general with both hands and his eyes were bright.
It turns out that this young general in white robes was born to King Chuang's adopted son Zhang Nai and his adopted daughter Huiying. His name was Zhang Xiaobao. He was born with supernatural powers since he was a child. He was deeply loved by Mrs. Zhenyi (Mrs. Gao, the wife of King Chuang) and became a rare member of the Zhongzhen camp. A brave general. The white-robed general, who was in his early thirties, was the grandnephew of Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng. He was pardoned by the Southern Ming Dynasty and granted the title of "General Yin Taizi Shaobao Lin Guogong", so he was named "His Royal Highness Guogong", also known as "General". His father, Li Guo, died in the war, and his mother, Mrs. Huang, now lives in Dazhai, Maolu Mountain.
"General, Gao Shouyi, Gao Shouyi surrendered to the Qing army." Zhang Xiaobao said anxiously.
"I already know, you go and take a rest." Li Laiheng said while looking at a few dusty soldiers standing outside the door. They all came from Xingshan Guard Dazhai, and they were still out of breath after traveling nearly a hundred miles on the mountain road.
It has been almost a year since the Qing soldiers were defeated by Li Laiheng in Xingshan in the second year of Kangxi and retreated to Dangyang. The rebels then built no less than a dozen camps and stockades along the more than 100-mile stretch from Xingshan to Maolu Mountain. Among them, Xingshan, Baiyangzhai and Jiulianping are the largest. The Xingshan garrison was led by Zhang Xiaobao, Gao Shouyi, and Liu Shun, son of Huaihou Liu Guochang. The Zhongzhen camp has 10,000 elite cavalry troops and 5,000 infantry troops, equipped with a firearms battalion. Gao Shouyi, who surrendered to the Qing soldiers, was originally Mrs. Gao's close nephew and a little-known soldier of Mrs. Gao's uncle, King Gao Chuang. Due to qualifications and nepotism, three thousand troops were allocated to the headquarters to guard Xingshan Dazhai together with Zhang Xiaobao and Liu Shun.
"My lord, it would be better to make plans early." said a short and stocky young man next to him. This person is Song Qingping, the son of King Chuang's counselor Song Xiance, who is currently the counselor of the Chinese Army.
Hearing this, many people nodded in agreement. Li Laiheng glanced at everyone and gave instructions:
"Come on, call Niu Xi!" The general outside the door agreed, and there was a sound of horse hooves. Everyone was waiting eagerly. After the tea time passed, the rapid sound of horse hooves sounded again. Li Laiheng led everyone out of the house and said to himself:
"Ah, here we come."
The guards outside the door were taking the people's horses and walking towards the horse pile not far away. I saw a tall and mighty general followed by seven or eight energetic soldiers walking toward him.
Li Laiheng stepped forward with a stern expression.
"General", a military general in strict armor saluted with clasped fists.
"Well, let's go in and talk!" He glanced at the soldiers standing with their hands crossed and saluting, turned around and led everyone back to the house, and said:
"The situation is very serious now. Xingshan is close to Dangyang. Now Azig leads 50,000 troops and poses a great threat to Xingshan. Moreover, Gao Shouyi has betrayed his faith and left. Xingshan may be lost." There was a pause. , looked at everyone, and continued:
"Niuxi, you hand over the personal camp to Zhang Shun, take my military talisman, and go with Fuying to quickly mobilize Gufu, Xiakou, and Huangliang. The three towns have 15,000 soldiers and horses to quickly reinforce Xingshan! Xingshan cannot be done. We're missing! Set off immediately and be sure to arrive at noon tomorrow!" Lai Heng glanced at the sky outside. It was almost Shenyou hour, and it started to drizzle again. His face was heavy.
"Yes, General" Niu Xi crossed his hands and saluted.
"Go, be careful on the road!" Li Laiheng patted Niu Xi on the shoulder, handed over the military talisman, and glanced at a middle-aged scribe standing next to him wearing a blue cloth shirt, wearing a square scarf on his head and a sword on his back. I saw him clasping his fists and saluting Laiheng and then immediately followed Niu Xi away.
Li Laiheng walked outside the gate, stared in the direction of Xingshan for a moment, and said to his soldiers: "Hurry and prepare your horses!" He then said to the leader of the soldiers, Li Yong: "Pick 60 men and 60 fast horses, and prepare to follow me. Let's go." After saying that, he walked into the door with steady steps without any rush. Everyone in the room, including Song Qingping, knew that this expression was like the sky before a storm. It wouldn't take long for him to rush into the enemy camp with a wave of his hand, like a thunder and lightning that shocked the world, and the storm was about to begin. .
"My lord, I have something to report," said Kuang Hanju, a leader of the soldiers outside the door.
Song Qingping quickly walked out of the house and pulled the leader of the soldiers to the side.
Li Laiheng looked at Song Qingping's back outside the door and was stunned, "What happened again?"
Song Qingping quickly came to him and whispered excitedly:
"Hongxia's men are waiting for orders in Xiling Gorge. Only Lady Hong and a few of Hongxia's soldiers are going up the mountain. Do you want to report to Mrs. Zhenyi?"
"Where did you come from?" Li Laiheng asked in surprise. After all, the Red Lady's husband and brothers were killed by King Li Chuang.
"Coming from Jingzhou, it is said that there are tens of thousands of Qing soldiers led by Duduo stationed in Jingzhou. The exact number is unknown." Song Qingping replied.
"Then tell them to go to Ciqing Palace and meet grandma first." "Qingping, go in person." Li Laiheng added.
The two looked at each other and Song Qingping left. "It should be a viable force, but I don't know..." Li Laiheng was pacing and thinking, and suddenly:
"Gui Huaiyuan, Li Keming, and Li Xuexiu, together with the troops of our headquarters, guard the fence and set up more antlers and horses to prevent Jingzhou's troops." "Mao Shoudeng, Lang Wu, and Wang Jincai, the three of you command our headquarters to rush forward. The lower village between Gui Huaiyuan's Xiakou Town and the Feng brothers' Huangliang Town is built on the main road. Deep ditches and high fortifications must be built as soon as possible. The ditches, observation towers and other fortifications must be completed as soon as possible." The generals received the order with a bang and filed out. Remaining in the house were Hei Yougong, Li Shoujun and Tian Jianxiu's son Tian Zhongshun who guarded Nanyang Town, Li Shouyu, Wang Guangsheng and Ruan Longde who guarded Baiyangzhai.
"Hei Yougong, Li Shoujun and you two rush back to Nanyang Town." "Zhongshun, please don't go," the general continued.
"Thank you, Shoujun. You two will quickly lead your troops to cross the Xihe River north and camp on the path from Wollongong to Xiangyang. Set up many checkpoints along the road to make sure there are no mistakes!" "Yes!" The two of them turned and left.
"Shou Yu, Guang Sheng, Long De, you three will go back to the stronghold to mobilize troops and plant more flags in Baicheng, Changping and Wanchaoshan areas as suspicious soldiers to prevent Dangyang enemies."
"Follow the order!"
At this time, only Tian Zhongshun was left in the room. It felt melancholy to see everyone following the orders and leaving without sending him. Just as he was about to ask a question, Laiheng spoke first:
"Zhongshun, time is running out, you and I will talk about it on the way..."
