On the post road from Liping Mansion to Guiyang.
A burst of rapid horse hooves shattered the tranquility of the morning. This was the scout of the Chang'an Army. He had just discovered the traces of the rebels two hours ago. A team of about 3,000 people quietly moved towards the Chang'an Army under the cover of night. Touched it.
It was now the fifth watch, and most of the civilians in the camp had just gotten up, yawning and waiting for breakfast.
"Report, report... report to the mayor, something bad is going on!"
The scout spoke in a long tone and walked to the front of the handsome tent before reining in his horse.
Zhu Renxia had just washed his face, and before he could even pick up the towel to wipe away the water stains on his face, he asked, "Why are you panicking?"
The scout turned over and dismounted, raised his hand and reported: "Report to the mayor, I found a rebel army coming towards us two hours ago. It seems that there are about three thousand people."
"Oh...it seems that the rebels have discovered our traces!" Zhu Renxia couldn't help but frowned, "How far is it from our army?"
The scout clasped his fists: "When I found it, it was about twenty miles away from our army. I estimate that there are still about fifteen or sixteen miles left at this moment."
Zhu Renxia nodded, waved his hand and said: "Take a few brothers and continue to monitor this rebel army. If there is any situation, report it at any time."
"yes!"
The scout agreed, mounted his horse and left.
Zhu Renxia then ordered his guards to immediately summon Jiang Guanjun, Jin Zhu, Pang Feihong and others to discuss countermeasures.
Hearing that the situation was urgent, within a moment, three people arrived at the commander's tent one after another.
After listening to Zhu Renxia's explanation of the situation, Jiang Guanjun said: "It seems that the rebels have discovered our whereabouts, so they plan to eliminate us with superior force."
"how to respond?"
Zhu Renxia picked up the horn kettle in front of him and took a sip. He was about to face the first battle, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
Jiang Guanjun pinched his chin and said: "The soldiers are coming to cover up the water and the earth. We just take this opportunity to deal heavy damage and achieve the first great success of our Chang'an Army since the expedition to Guiyang."
Zhu Renxia clasped his fists and said, "Please third uncle to command this battle."
Jiang Guanjun nodded and said: "Yesterday evening, before setting up camp, I inspected the surrounding environment. There is a ravine about five miles to the west. The terrain is dangerous and it is a good place for an ambush. Let's act immediately to set up an ambush there and kill the rebels. Caught off guard.”
Following Jiang Guanjun's order, the Chang'an Army immediately took action.
Except for the Seventh Company led by Ouyang Feng who stayed to guard the camp and protect the food and baggage, the other eight hundred soldiers immediately took action and marched five miles west as fast as possible to the dangerous hillside to set up an ambush.
"Quick, quick... act quickly!"
In order to keep quiet, the Chang'an soldiers kept silent, quietly left the camp, and marched in the dark in the hazy early morning.
"Where is Hou Jie? Call him here!"
Jiang Guanjun was wearing silver armor and a white cloak on his back, which made him stand out in the night.
The messenger immediately rushed to the marching Sixth Company Square and conveyed the regimental commander's order: "Company Commander in waiting, Commander Jiang has invited you."
"okay!"
Hou Jie put his legs under his crotch and lightly knocked on the belly of his mount. He flicked his whip and the horse galloped out with a neighing sound.
It didn't take a moment to catch up with Jiang Guanjun, who was walking at the front of the team. "Captain, what are your orders?"
Jiang Guanjun ordered on the horse: "The rebels will definitely send scouts to spy on our movements. You choose some brothers with sharp ears and eyes and quick movements, and all carry crossbows forward to intercept. If you find the enemy probing the horse, shoot him immediately!" "
"yes!"
Hou Jie agreed and rode back.
He quickly returned to his company, quickly selected twenty elite soldiers, all mounted horses, crossed the running team, and vigilantly searched for rebel scouts in the night.
The sky is getting brighter and brighter, and the east is gradually turning white.
After less than half an hour of rapid march, the Chang'an Army finally arrived at the dangerous place Jiang Guanjun mentioned.
"Xu..."
Zhu Renxia reined in his horse and looked up.
I saw that the width of this valley was about four to five feet. The valleys on both sides were not too steep, and there were dense pines and cypress trees, which were very suitable for concealment and ambush.
"It's a great place. It can be said that one man can't open it but ten thousand men can't open it!"
Zhu Renxia was full of praise and was convinced of Jiang Guanjun's keen observation. As expected of the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he actually inspected the surrounding terrain in advance when setting up camp. It seemed that he had to learn from this.
During the march and the battle, I was still a young boy, so there was absolutely nothing wrong with handing over the command to Jiang Guanjun and being a hands-off boss!
"Everyone dismount and ask Company 12 to hide the horses!"
Jiang Guanjun dismounted and commanded loudly: "The first battalion is ambushing on the left, and the second battalion is ambushing on the right. The 11th company is at the rear, cut down some trees and cut off the enemy's path."
Soon, all the horses were gathered by the people of the 12th company and withdrawn from the battlefield to avoid being noticed by the enemy due to the neighing of the horses.
Zhu Renxia and Jin Zhu led 400 people from the first battalion to ambush on the left, while Jiang Guanjun and Pang Feihong led more than 400 people from the second battalion to ambush on the right, quietly waiting for the enemy to arrive.
At this moment, the sky is about to dawn, but before dawn, a layer of mist envelopes the valley, hazy and dense, like an ink painting.
Hou Jie, who was ordered to search for enemy scouts in advance, did indeed gain something. He successfully captured three scouts alive, shot two to death, and successfully made the enemy lose their sense of smell and become blind.
The rebels who had not received the news for a long time did not stop their advance and continued to attack the Chang'an military camp with torches.
In the early morning, the rebels meandered on the mountain road for several miles, like a long snake squirming in the mountains.
The leading general was Xiang Chou, the younger brother of General Xiang Fan under Yang Yinglong. He was seen constantly urging the rebels to advance on his horse.
"Hurry up for me! You've been dragging your feet all night. You've walked fifty miles all night, and it's going to be dark soon. How about a sneak attack with a hammer? Your grandma is such a waste!"
It turned out that Yang Yinglong's scouts had obtained information about the officers and soldiers, and the governor of Jiangdong mobilized people from various prefectures to reinforce Guiyang. During this period of time, the seven prefectures in Guizhou continued to send people to reinforce Guiyang.
So Yang Yinglong immediately conveyed instructions to Xiang Fan and Deng Wuqian on the front line: surround the point for reinforcements, concentrate superior forces, and eat the people who came to Guiyang from all over the country in batches, so that Jiang Dongzhi's plan would be in vain.
After Xiang Fan received the order, he immediately sent out three troops to intercept and support Minzhuang in Guiyang, each with between 2,000 and 3,000 men.
It was Xiang Fan's brother Xiang Chou who was ordered to intercept the Chang'an Army. After his scouts detected the whereabouts of the Chang'an Army, he quietly approached yesterday evening.
However, due to the mist that fell in the mountainous areas near Guiyang last night, the marching speed of the rebel army was affected, and they only traveled less than fifty miles in one night.
Seeing that it was getting dark, but the whereabouts of the Chang'an army had not yet been discovered, this made Xiang Zhou impatient and cursed along the way.
"General, there seems to be a valley ahead." The deputy general pointed the horse whip in his hand and reminded Xiang Chi vigilantly.
Xiang Zhao said impatiently: "What are you afraid of? We have sent a dozen scouts. If Minzhuang makes any moves, they will definitely report it as soon as possible."
The lieutenant general was still a little worried: "It's already too late anyway. Let's rest for half an hour and wait until the sky is completely bright before passing through this canyon to avoid being ambushed."
Xiang Zhao laughed loudly on his horse: "Haha... ambush? Do these bunch of mud-legged minzhuangs know how to write the word ambush? Do you think these minzhuangs are regular troops?"
After hearing Xiang Zhao's words, the rebel generals laughed one after another, with arrogance and arrogance written on their faces.
"Haha... what General Xiang said is that, let alone Mudlegs who doesn't know the art of war, what's the point of fearing even if there is an ambush?"
"Tian Zongren's Minzhuang regiment has been completely defeated and dispersed by Lu Xiong. This regiment was temporarily formed by the new prefect Li Yao. It is estimated that apart from the mud-legged people who farm the land, they are also the woodcutter who chops firewood. Let alone fight. I'm afraid to listen When gunshots are heard, they will be scared to death!"
"Brothers, come on, I heard that the soldiers under Deng Wuqian successfully ambushed Minzhuang of Shiqian Mansion, beheaded more than 300 people, and captured more than 200 people. The 600 Minzhuang troops sent by Shiqian Mansion were completely wiped out. One escaped, now it’s our turn to make contributions!”
"According to the scouts, the Minzhuang sent by Liping Mansion is close to a thousand people. This is a big fat sheep. We must eat enough this time!"
