Although the Chu State was very large in history, it was not that big at the beginning. It gradually encroached on surrounding forces and small countries, and eventually developed into the largest vassal state in the south.

Just like the woolly bear in the north, it gradually encroached on the land from a small principality in the 14th century to become the largest country in the world.

According to the timeline, the Cossack City and Nerchinsk City near the Ergun River have been built for more than 20 years.

The current Qing army is basically composed of Han people. Han people fight Han people, which is a civil war.

Fighting foreign devils is the most exciting thing.

He really wanted to learn how strong the Cossack cavalry of the so-called fighting nation like Mao Xiong was.

However, these are things for the future, and we still need to take care of Manqing before we can free up our hands to take care of the furry bears.

…

After receiving Tieniu's order to send troops, Wu Zhiyang led his troops to march to Jingzhou, and Lei Meng followed with three thousand Yao soldiers.

At the same time, Du Yi also marched from Xinhua County to Chenzhou Prefecture.

Tieniu continued to sit in Shaoyang City with his main force.

This time the troops were dispatched, there was no intention of covering up at all, but on the contrary it was done with great fanfare, as if they were afraid that the enemy would not know that they were coming.

But this was indeed what Tieniu ordered to do on purpose.

The purpose is also very clear. If the Qing army intends to resist, it will send troops to intercept them halfway. On the contrary, it will give the Qing army an opportunity to concentrate on annihilation.

If the Qing army was scared out of their wits and ran away directly, it would be even more trouble-free. The invaders could seize the territory without any blood, and of course they would be happy to do so.

In Wu Zhiyang's view, the Qing soldiers in Jingzhou are more likely to run away on their own initiative, because there are not many of them left at all. If they want to stop the Dang Kou army from taking Jingzhou, they are simply trying to overestimate their capabilities.

However, the development of things was a bit beyond Wu Zhiyang's expectation.

Although they did not encounter any obstruction by the Jingzhou Qing army on the march, they were attacked by an unknown armed force when they reached a place called Baoding Mountain in Jingzhou.

These attackers shot arrows from the top of the mountain, threw stones, and set many traps on the road. It seemed that there were quite a few of them.

Because the march had been going smoothly before, the bandits were more or less relaxed, so there was a slight confusion when they first encountered the attack, and they suffered slight losses.

But Wu Zhiyang quickly calmed down, reduced his troops, ordered to stop advancing, and defend on the spot.

Then send someone to find Raymond to discuss.

The three thousand Yao soldiers led by Lei Meng did not march with Wu Zhiyang's main force, but kept a certain distance.

This is also a common practice when marching, especially when in enemy-occupied areas, so that you can be easily beaten when encountering an enemy attack.

Raymond heard that the main force was attacked and rushed over quickly.

"Lao Lei, where do you think the people who attacked us came from?"

Wu Zhiyang asked.

Now everyone in the Dang Kou Army knows that Lei Meng will soon be Shen Mo's eldest brother-in-law.

Although strictly speaking, because of the low status of the concubine, her brothers definitely cannot be regarded as serious uncles.

But those are ordinary people. Shen Mo is now the king of a country and will be called king and emperor in the future. As long as there are no accidents, Lei Jiumei's position as a concubine will definitely be no problem.

For those above the prince level, the concubines are all serious and have status, and they are completely different concepts from ordinary concubines.

Moreover, Lei Jiumei's marriage to Shen Mo was originally a political marriage.

Although if Shen Mo didn't like it, this marriage wouldn't be possible.

However, as the leader of one party, marriage is not as pure as ordinary people, and there are bound to be many factors to consider.

Lei Meng, his Yao soldiers and the Yao people behind them are Lei Jiumei's dowry, and they are also the main reason why Shen Mo agreed to marry Lei Jiumei.

Otherwise, there are so many women in the world, and there is no reason for Shen Mo to marry a Yao girl.

Calculated this way, Raymond's status is definitely not as simple as that of an ordinary uncle.

Moreover, since Raymond led his troops to Wugang Prefecture, he has made numerous military exploits and fought very hard. Everyone from Tieniu down has a good impression of him.

The most important thing is that although Raymond looks a bit naive, he is actually quite low-key and good at being a good person. He does not feel that he is superior to others just because his sister is about to marry Shen Mo. Instead, he is very measured in front of direct generals such as Shen Mo.

Therefore, Wu Zhiyang regarded Raymond as a true comrade-in-arms.

Raymond chuckled and said: "The way these people fight looks very familiar, especially the way they set traps, which is almost exactly the same as those guys in Wugang Prefecture."

Those guys in Wugang Prefecture are naturally talking about the chieftains in Wugang Prefecture.

Wu Zhiyang nodded and said: "So you also think that the people who attacked us are the chieftains of Jingzhou? I just don't know if these people today are their combined forces or the members of a certain chieftain?"

Lei Meng said in a loud voice: "Old Wu, you will know after a fight. It's the same old method. You bring the main force here to attract them, and I will take my people to go around behind them and poke them in the butt. Then we will have a fight

Just attack from the front and back and that's it."

The two of them were very skilled in using this kind of tactical cooperation in Wugang Prefecture.

The Dangkou army is good at fighting on the ground. If they rush into the mountains and forests without being familiar with the terrain, the gains outweigh the losses.

Wu Zhiyang quickly made a decision to lead the main force of the bandits at the foot of the mountain and pretend to defend hard to contain the attackers on the mountain. He also had to give the illusion that they might be defeated at any time to lure the attackers away.

Run away and continue the attack.

At the same time, Lei Meng and his three thousand Yao soldiers stopped their troops and silently went around behind Baoding Mountain under the leadership of local guides to outflank the attackers.

This group of attackers was indeed composed of several chieftains from Jingzhou who jointly sent troops.

The news of Wu Zhiyang's march was so big that it was difficult for them not to know about it.

The officials in Jingzhou can run away, the Qing soldiers can run away, but they chieftains cannot run away.

How can a family property that has been saved so hard for generations or even more than a dozen generations be thrown away so easily?

Although the news that the Dang Kou Army completely defeated the Eighteenth Route Princes Alliance in Wugang Prefecture, and even captured the prefect Kong Zonglie, and made all the chieftains in Wugang Prefecture obedient, the news that the Dang Kou Army was really powerful has already spread to the surrounding areas.

It's frightening.

But the news you hear and what you experience yourself are always two different things.

There will never be true empathy in this world.

When you watch the news online and see that someone somewhere and his whole family was killed in a car accident, or that someone suddenly got terminally ill at a young age, you can sigh for a moment or two and then do what you should do. It will definitely not be because of this kind of news.

And it affects your mood throughout the day.

But if this kind of thing happens to you, it will feel like the sky is falling and the whole life will instantly become bleak and hopeless.

Similarly, others will casually lament your misfortune and then continue to live their own lives.

Therefore, if they don't personally experience how powerful the bandit army is, these chieftains will definitely not be willing to hand over the land, property and serfs they control.

Wu Zhiyang marched with great fanfare, so the march route was also clear.

For these chieftains who have lived in Jingzhou for generations, the advantage of playing at home is too great.

Under the joint organization of Gong Shiyi, the most powerful chieftain in Jingzhou, various chieftains sent troops to form a coalition force with nearly 10,000 people, and set up an ambush in Baoding Mountain, hoping to stop and defeat the bandits.

Plan to capture Jingzhou.

As the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Gong Shiyi has more than 3,000 troops.

He was a fairly cautious person and did not think about severely damaging or annihilating the Dang Kou army. If he could make the Dang Kou army retreat in spite of the difficulties and give up the idea of ​​capturing Jingzhou, his goal would have been achieved.

At first, the bandits were caught off guard by their attack. They did not launch a counterattack, but switched to defense on the spot. This made Gong Shiyi suddenly feel that the rumors seemed a bit exaggerated.

This bandit army is not as powerful as rumored.

This feeling gave him a bold idea. Maybe the result of this battle could be greater?

If they can severely damage the rebel army, they will know that Jingzhou is not a place where they can do whatever they want, and they will inevitably retreat in the face of difficulties.

This idea excited Gong Shiyi, and he summoned several other chieftains to express his judgment and thoughts.

The chieftains unanimously agreed that they decided to launch a tentative attack on the Dangkou army at the foot of the mountain to judge the strength of the Dangkou army.

The chieftain coalition troops cautiously approached the temporary camp set up by the Dang bandits from the mountains, but did not encounter too fierce a counterattack.

Although their tentative attack ended in failure, it made Gong Shiyi and all the chieftains feel excited.

Because the Dangkou army reluctantly repelled their attack.

The chieftain coalition forces had almost attacked the Dangkou army's camp, but were finally driven away by a sudden volley of gunfire.

Gong Shiyi gathered the chieftains together again, his fat and oily face shining with excitement.

"Although we didn't capture the rebel camp this time, their strength has been basically exposed. As long as we attack again, we can break into their simple camp that even wild boars can't stop."

Someone questioned: "But the rebels have firecrackers? Our soldiers have never seen firecrackers at all. As long as the rebels use firecrackers, we can only run away."

Gong Shiyi glanced at the guy who questioned with disdain, and snorted coldly: "It's just a firecracker, and it's not as scary as you think. The thief army doesn't have that many firecrackers, otherwise it would be impossible to let them go."

We rushed to the front of the camp. Moreover, it is very troublesome to launch firecrackers, which are not as fast as bows and arrows. As long as we have more people and rush faster next time, their firecrackers will also be ineffective."

Gong Shiyi was the most knowledgeable of all the chieftains, and had even purchased fire guns from the generals of the Qing court, so his words made the doubter shut up in anger.

Soon, the chieftains reached a consensus again and decided to launch another attack on the Dangkou army.

This time the coalition forces dispatched more people and attacked faster.

At first, it looked like the Dang Kou Army's camp would be overrun by them at any time, but every time they were about to attack the camp, the Dang Kou Army would launch a wave of counterattacks, making their efforts in vain.
To be continued...