While staying at the residence, Luo An ranked first in the Xing Palace as a military attaché for thousands of households. But at that time, it was very free.
After escorting Zhu Houcong to the capital and succeeding to the throne, he was specially promoted to two ranks to become a commanding officer, and was temporarily assigned the post of commander of the Jinyi Guards. After the sixteen years of Zhengde, he was promoted to the right one due to his merits. Although I was busy at that time, I didn’t have to leave Beijing.
Now, Luo An has been trekking in southern Hunan for more than half a month.
To the east of Baoqing Mansion, Baima Pass.
In front of them is a piece of ruins, and the pass that was not majestic before has been scorched.
There are many white horses in the world. This is probably due to the love for white horses.
The White Horse Pass, located east of Shaoyang, Baoqing Prefecture, at the junction of Changsha, Baoqing and Hengzhou Prefecture, is not as famous as the White Horse Pass in Deyang, Sichuan, where Pang Tong died nearby, nor is it as famous as the White Horse Pass on the Great Wall in the northern suburbs of Beijing. Guan Youming, but at this moment, more than 3,000 elite soldiers slowly came here.
"How far is it from the mouth of the Heoshui River?" Luo An stopped his horse, and then continued to give instructions, "rest for a while, feed the horse and drink water."
Behind him, the commander of Baoqing Guard quickly replied: "We'll get there in more than twenty miles. Commander Luo, are you really not going with the army?"
Luo An shook his head: "Although the Baoqing Guards were persuaded by Zhan Huabi to surrender and took away two soldiers from Qianhu Station, but seeing that they burned Baima Pass instead of stationing troops here, we know that they have no intention of defending Hengzhou Prefecture. Presumably, the news that Marquis Funing has entered Yongzhou Prefecture from Guilin Prefecture has reached Hengzhou Prefecture. In addition to retaining enough troops to guard against thieves, your Baoqing Guards should join forces with Jiuxi Guards to advance along the Haoshui River and attack Hengyang City."
Haoshui is a tributary of the Xiangjiang River and merges into the Xiangjiang River at Hengyang County, the capital of Hengzhou Prefecture.
But now, Luo An had to go faster and could not move slowly with the army.
The direction he wants to go is to Yongzhou Prefecture in the south.
After a rest, the white horse closed, and Luo An only left one sentence: "Meet at Hengyang."
Then, he once again led only thirty people to the pass and looked south. The remaining two hundred or so Jinyi banner schools who finally met with him in Changde Mansion were all gone at this moment.
At this moment, Zhu Qicai, the general military officer of Guangdong and Guangxi, had just led 3,000 elite troops to the Elephant Trunk Mountain at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong, and saw Dong'an County in Yongzhou Prefecture.
Zhu Qi, who was deprived of the title of knighthood, now only has the title of Marquis of Funing and the official position of Guangxi Chief Military Officer.
For the past three years, he has been suppressing bandits in Guangxi. The situation in Tengxia is extremely complicated.
Chen Jin and he spent three years concentrating on Guangxi, and now they have been quite effective.
But Chen Jinhe was even downgraded from the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the commander-in-chief of Guangxi to the governor-general of Guangxi and the commander-in-chief of Guangxi. Zhu Qi has not yet received rewards for his merits and regained his title and title qualifications.
But Zhu Qi knew very well that those things before were probably only considered "partial responsibilities." As Chen Jin said, the real credit is not these, but the restoration of Jiaozhi planned by His Majesty.
Now there is an opportunity to achieve success in advance: counterinsurgency.
After the news of King Ji's rebellion reached Wuzhou, Zhu Qi did not dare to move at first. Only after the imperial decree arrived urgently on August 17th, he ordered his troops and set off from Guilin with 5,000 people, along the upper reaches of the Xiang River to Quanzhou, and finally entered the boundary of Huguang today.
Since the army is on the move, there are constant sentinels.
Zhu Qi stopped here first, waiting for the sentry report.
The Xiangshui River turns eastward at Elephant Trunk Mountain, and walking a few dozen miles further east is Lingling County, where Yongzhou Prefecture is located.
He entered Hunan from Yongzhou Prefecture and surrounded the south of Hengyang City along the Xiang River. Whether Yongzhou Prefecture was captured was the first problem to be solved.
As for going north through Lei River to encircle Hengyang City to the south, that is a matter for Guangdong. As far as Zhu Qi knew, Chenzhou in the upper reaches of Lei River had rebelled. The first difficulty the Guangdong army had to face was the Guang'an Institute and Ningxi Institute on the Nanling Mountains.
Two moments later, the sentry returned.
"Your Majesty, two thousand elite soldiers of the Ningyuan Guard have arrived in Lingling County from Daozhou along the Xiaoshui River, and are preparing to capture Changning County, Hengzhou Prefecture, via Qiyang. This is the news that reached Dong'an from Lingling County two days ago."
"Yongzhou Prefecture is not rebelling?"
"No, everyone in Yongzhou Mansion should be operating as usual."
Zhu Qi's heart was slightly relieved: "Okay! You go to Lingling first with my letter. Since Yongzhou Mansion is still loyal to the emperor, we will prepare food and boats first. The soldiers are very fast. We will reach Lingling within three days and take the boat. Qiyang and Ningyuan Guards will join together and conquer Changning County together!"
Changning County, Hengzhou Prefecture, is not on the bank of the Xiang River. From Yongzhou to Hengyang, there is actually a direct road from Guilin to Hengyang.
However, when a large army goes on an expedition, not to mention how much time it takes on the road, the army will definitely become exhausted along the way.
Taking a boat will be faster and easier - provided there is peace in Yongzhou Prefecture.
He could choose this way, but Gu Shilong could not.
In Changsha Mansion, Gu Shilong spent several days dealing with many problems, but the Yuezhou Guard, Wuchang Guard and Shenji Camp Selected Front did not have to be idle.
Now he only had to sit in Changsha first. Tang Peiyu escaped, the remaining Changsha guards surrendered, Xiangtan and Xiangxiang counties south of Changsha Prefecture were quickly retaken, and the Nanchang guards who came from afar finally appeared in Liling.
It was a place of rebellion before. Every time a county was recovered, troops had to be divided and garrisoned.
Now the Jiuxi Guards who had regained Xiangxiang only dispatched 1,800 people to join the 1,000 people dispatched by the Baoqing Guards in the west of Hengyang City. They walked over the mountains and ridges.
The Mianyang Guards left a thousand men to guard Xiangtan, and the other three thousand men also had to walk through Hengshan to reach the northwest of Hengshan County.
The Wuchang Guards, with more than 3,000 men in total, and the 3,000 men from the Shenji Battalion, are able to go south. This army is the main force, but they cannot go up the Xiang River carelessly.
They were taking the Chidao from Changsha to Hengyang.
The marching speed is not fast. In front of them, Hengshan County, located northeast of Hengyang County, is a nail that must be pulled out first.
Although the Nanchang Guards were a tired force, after Tang Peiyu fled south, they easily entered Liling County. After resting, Gu Shilong's order for them was to capture You County and Chaling Prefecture in the southeast corner of Changsha Prefecture, and then capture Anren County in the southeast corner of Hengzhou Prefecture, thereby relieving the siege army from worrying about the eastern front and cutting off the rebels' march to the southeast. The escape route.
In Hengzhou Prefecture, there are not many troops now.
Changde Guard, Hengzhou Guard, Guang'an Guard, Ningxi Guard, plus the Changsha Guard "fighting" for Pu Zitong for more than a month, and the gold and silver treasures Zhan Huabi robbed and brought away from Changde Mansion, Hengyang City This battle will never be as simple as Changsha City.
Gu Shilong was calculating his troop strength and thinking about how to fight the battle in Hengyang City, when one of Si Long's subordinates came over to report.
"Master Marquis, Si Baihu has received military orders from Commander Luo. We have another mission in the battle of Hengyang City."
Gu Shilong was furious: "Your Majesty has a decree. After you stay in Huguang with Sun Hou, you will be controlled by me. What does Commander Luo mean by this?"
"... I don't know that I am humble, but Si Baihu only ordered me to come and deliver the message."
"Where is Commander Luo?" Gu Shilong asked and then ordered his soldiers, "Go and ask Huang Xingxing to come."
Gu Shilong was feeling that the battle of Hengyang City would be difficult to fight, and Si Cong's special service team and Huang Yanzhong's Jinyiwei Huguang Lieutenant might be able to get in touch with people who had lost contact before in the subsequent battle and obtain more information.
"Where Commander Luo is, I don't know because of his humble position. The flag officers under Commander Luo go directly to Xiangtan to deliver orders."
Gu Shilong pondered for a moment, knowing that there was no point in getting angry at him.
After Huang Yanzhong arrived, he also said: "I am about to bid farewell to the Marquis. I just received the military order from Commander Luo. Commander Luo already knows that the Marquis has conquered Changsha, and I have other missions next."
When Gu Shilong was confused, the soldiers outside the door came to report: "Master Marquis, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, why is it safe to see you?"
"...please quickly!"
Based on He Quan'an's official position, there is no doubt that He Quan'an was the high-ranking official that Luo An took with him to go south.
He Quan'an entered the official hall of the original Changsha Guards. When he saw Huang Yanzhong, he first received a salute from him, and then saluted Gu Shilong and said, "I was ordered by the commander to come to discuss military matters with the Marquis."
Gu Shilong's face looked a little ugly: "Your Majesty, do you have a will?"
After conquering Changsha, he had just arrived in the capital two days before he was ready to inform him about his next move. Why should Luo An discuss any major military matter with him?
He Quan'an asked Huang Yanzhong to leave first, and also asked Gu Shilong to send out the rest before saying: "Commander Luo received His Majesty's order when he was in Changde Mansion. He first joined the five military camps in Sichuan to select the front, and then went straight to Baoqing Mansion."
The western front of the First World War in Changsha was completed by Geng Yongfeng leading the Jiuxi Guards and Lizhou Qianhu. The situation at Baoqing Mansion was left to Luo An. Gu Shilong knew these things.
But He Quan'an first introduced the latest situation in Baoqing Mansion, and then said: "Commander Luo received the order from Changde Mansion, and His Majesty gave the command a mission to rescue Prince Rui and her son."
"...rescued Prince Rui and his son in Hengyang City?"
He Quan'an nodded: "Changsha City had not been conquered at that time, and Commander Luo had no idea how the war would develop. Now that the rebels have gathered in Hengzhou Mansion, and the army of Huguang, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Jiangxi are encircling him, things may be planned."
Gu Shilong only frowned.
Why bother? It is difficult enough to win directly and capture Hengyang City, but it is even more difficult to rescue Prince Rui and his son first.
"You said it was His Majesty's will, but what is it?"
After all, Gu Shilong is also the commander-in-chief of the main force of the counter-rebellion army. In his thinking, the first priority is to make persistent efforts to defeat the rebels, capture Hengyang City, and put down the rebellion as soon as possible. He does not want to make it more difficult for himself.
"I have brought you the humble post. Please take a look at it, Lord Marquis."
He Quan'an came prepared. When Gu Shilong got it, he saw that it was not a formal edict, but a secret order, and it was only stamped with Zhu Houcong's treasure seal.
But this is the real emperor's decree after all.
His face was ugly: "What is Commander Luo's plan? How do you want me to respond?"
"Please ask the Marquis to draw up a seal for the book, take his humble position as the official envoy, and use Huang Yanzhong and Sicong as guards to go to Hengyang City to recruit surrender."
Gu Shilong's eyes narrowed: "There is also Captain Jinyi in Hengyang City, and I know this. But if the three of you enter the city, it is still unclear whether your lives can be saved. How to rescue Prince Rui and his son?"
"Then it depends on the ability of the humble people." He Quan'an's expression did not change.
"...You serve as a commanding officer in Jinyiwei. What is your position?"
"A humble and full-time commander of the newly established special service office under Fusi in Beizhen."
Gu Shilong looked at him deeply: "This is all I need to do? You have to know whether you can succeed or not, I will not change the counter-insurgency strategy."
"Commander Luo will naturally not interfere with how to quell the rebellion."
"good!"
It didn't matter to Gu Shilong that he just tried to surrender first.
And in his surrender letter, he didn't have to promise anything. He just stated his great righteousness, informed all the armies of the encirclement situation, and persuaded them not to resist stubbornly with the momentum of Changsha's victory.
Half a day later, in the west of Changsha City, He Quan'an, Huang Yanzhong, and Si Long got on a boat, sailed upstream along the Xiang River, and quickly headed south.
On the boat, Huang Yanzhong and Si Long realized that they had another mission to enter the tiger's den.
"Afraid?" He Quan'an asked calmly.
Huang Yanzhong and Si Long didn't dare to say they were afraid.
Nowadays, there are a lot of Taibao among the Jinyiwei. Wang Zuo, the Jinyiwei North Town Fushi, is the leader. He Quan'an ranks second. Even Liu Zhenyuan, who is in charge of thousands of households in the North Town Fusi, ranks third.
After Si Long committed a crime and was demoted, he was trained by He Quan'an, and then went south as the first special service member sent out.
"It's still a few days before we arrive at Hengshan County. I'll tell you what to do on the way."
At this time, Tang Peiyu, who was the first to flee from Changsha City, finally crossed Hengshan Mountain and arrived in the northwest of Hengshan County.
A total of more than 2,000 people left the city in two groups, and there were only more than 1,000 people when they began to flee.
At this moment, there were nearly two thousand people.
This is because they plundered several villages and towns on the way, captured some young men, and gathered four groups of bandits.
Seeing so many people "attacking the city", the Hengzhou guards in Hengshan County refused to open the city gate.
"General Tang, the commander-in-chief is in Hengyang City. The last general has been ordered to hold on to Hengshan City. The food and grass in the city cannot support the general's troops. Please continue to go south and discuss with the commander-in-chief about joining the army in Hengyang City!"
There are only a thousand direct defenders in Hengshan City, plus the bravery they have recruited. How can the thousands of Hengzhou guards who defend the city dare to let Tang Peiyu enter the city?
If it were swallowed up, wouldn't Tang Peiyu be able to negotiate better terms with Pu Zitong if he owned Hengshan City?
Tang Peiyu was furious. He originally hated Pu Zitong for his betrayal. Now his subordinates have fled for more than 200 miles, but they can't get supplies in Hengshan City.
But it would be unseemly to ask for help here shamelessly.
"General, Pu Zitong calls himself the Grand Governor. Now that we go to Hengyang City to defect, we will be dispersed and the general will be idle." A man without armor behind Tang Peiyu came over, "In the opinion of the last general , it is better not to enter the city. There is a peak at the south end of Hengshan Mountain and north of Hengyang City, less than twenty miles away from Hengyang City. If we guard there, Puzitong will definitely be in trouble!"
Tang Peiyu was not very familiar with Hengzhou Prefecture. Now he relied on a bandit leader who knew the location well, and also needed the brave bandits under him to support the situation.
The defeated general is in real trouble.
What's more, this Yan Daniu Naoguazi is really good.
After being dispersed, the nearly two thousand subordinates now need to be reorganized. Along the way, Yan Daniu knew the way and really helped Tang Peiyu a lot, and now he has become one of his new confidants.
"You, Zhu Rongdong, have always made a living in the mountains. Now that I have an army of two thousand, how can I survive in the mountains?"
Tang Peiyu knew that what he said made sense. If the two thousand remnants of the Changsha Guards did not enter the city, but stayed outside Hengyang City, Pu Zitong would indeed use the rat weapon. When the imperial army comes, they may have to guard against some Changsha guards.
By doing this now, one is to let Pu Zitong see that Changsha Guards still has a lot of troops and can still be used, and the other is to use this faint threat to get Pu Zitong to show his attitude.
The Changsha Guard cannot be dispersed. The enemy is currently facing us, so it all depends on the pattern of Pu Zitong.
But if we stay at the Congqu Peak, what will happen to our food and grass?
Yan Daniu said again: "Below the Gongji Peak is the Xiang River and Chidao. As long as the grain and grass are transported to Hengshan City twice, Pu Zitong will have to come and discuss with the general."
Tang Peiyu's eyes lit up: "Is that true?"
"It's absolutely true! We have robbed many caravans and grain ships on the Xiang River and the Chi Road!"
Tang Peiyu was a little happier: "My general has heard of the name of Three Caves and Nine Villages on Hengshan Mountain in Changsha Mansion. Pu Zitong has always been ineffective in suppressing bandits, but the demand for food, wages and military resources is too much. Now you want to join the rebel army, but you did not vote for Pu Zi Tong but you voted for this general." Why is that?”
Yan Daniu said bitterly: "Although Pu Zitong has no intention of serious suppression, the brother who was the last general to worship the leader did die in his hands. How can I surrender to him?"
The rebels and the bandits were the same family, but now they had different identities. Tang Peiyu only felt that he was particularly kind.
"Then you go and rob first. There is not much food and grass left with the army!"
"General, take your orders! In addition, the Tianhu Village is located on the top of the mountain. Don't worry, general. When the general takes his brothers to pacify it first, there will be no shortage of food in the stronghold! After the general succeeds, the village will be cleared to welcome the general." Village!"
"Okay!" Tang Peiyu looked back at the dangers of Hengshan Mountain, and felt that if something big happened in the future, with a team of nearly two thousand people, it would not be a bad idea to become a mountain king, "If Tianhu Village is willing to surrender, you must surrender first. Given the current situation, the more brothers under my general’s command, the better!”
"yes!"
After Yan Daniu finished speaking, he took the original more than a hundred brothers in his village and the more than 300 bandits from another village he had conquered along the way and set off.
Tang Peiyu then put away his smile and looked at his back.
Of course I can't believe it.
After entering Hengshan, there were few villages and towns, and no officials or soldiers from the imperial court were encountered. There was no chance for them to receive certificates of investment.
However, they were brave when they helped him kill some bandits who refused to surrender. Now let’s see if they can do well in plundering Puzitong’s grain and grass and pacifying the Tianhu Village.
Tang Peiyu needs to strengthen his strength again and needs people. He can choose to believe first.
But his true confidants will never leave him for a moment. Bingjia and military supplies will not be provided to these new bandits now.
"Go south along the Xiang River! If you encounter a village on the way, just recruit food, grass and military supplies first!"
Tang Peiyu entered the boundary of Hengzhou Prefecture, how could he have any scruples?
After setting off and heading south, Tang Peiyu became even more silent when he saw a fort every few miles along the east bank of the Xiang River.
With Changsha Guards as cannon fodder, Pu Zitong has made full preparations in Hengzhou Mansion.
Under this situation, he really needs these Hengshan gangsters more and more.
It's difficult.
(End of chapter)
