Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Eight: A Nest of Bears
The night wind blew, and the weather in late September was already very cold. During the Little Ice Age, the cold winter in the north always came very early.
The mountain wind on the Loess Ridge is also extremely cold. Even if Zhang Cheng, Zhang Ruoqi, Zhang Dou and other three people are wearing fur cloaks, they can still feel the fierce chill of the mountain wind.
Standing on the top of the mountain and looking at the wilderness far to the north, Zhang Ruoqi seemed to be lost in thought. After a moment, he actually said: "The commander-in-chief coincided with the meeting, but he was unable to participate in this final battle. Can you regret it?"
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Cheng looked up to the sky and laughed, and after a long time he said: "Brother Tianshi is joking. If I kill him again and come back with a great victory, where can I put the face of Governor Hong and General Wu?"
"Ha ha……"
When Zhang Ruoqi heard this, he and Zhang Cheng laughed together.
Although Zhang Dou has been reprimanded many times by Hong Chengchou for speaking out recently, he must also be the Ningqian military commander in Liaodong. He still has to maintain the dignity of Jiliao Military Town and cannot do it too obviously, which is not in line with his character.
Zhang Dou looked around and talked about him, and actually mentioned Wang Pulai, who also belonged to Xuanda: "I really don't know how General Wang Pu feels at this time."
Zhang Ruoqi was in the best mood at this moment since he arrived in Liaodong to supervise the army. Although he was far away from the power center of Liao affairs, he was still out of sight and out of mind.
At this moment, he hugged Zhang Cheng's thigh tightly, first captured Huangtu Ridge, then won the victory at Changling Mountain, and finally even saved Beacon Mountain to store grain, all of which were attributed to him.
So far, he seems to have surpassed Hong Chengchou in terms of military exploits, at least Zhang Ruoqi understands this!
When the Liao Dynasty is over, I will have something to brag about when I return to the court, and I will be worthy of the cultivation of my soldier Chen Ge. Even if I am in front of the emperor in the future, these will still be my bragging rights.
What's more, in addition to his military achievements, Zhang Ruoqi is in charge of the distribution of grain and grass in Hekou, and he also has dividends from dried fish shares. This job is more profitable than sitting in the yamen for five years by himself.
Every time he thought about these easily obtained gold and silver, he hated himself for not coming to Liaodong to supervise the army a few years earlier!
At this time, he laughed and continued: "General Wang's face was not very good when he was leaving."
Zhang Dou then continued: "The director didn't know something. When General Wang first heard the military order from the governor, his face was uglier than pig liver."
He shook the fur cloak on his body and continued: "I have seen it with my own eyes. General Wang asked the commander for support. The look was really..."
Zhang Dou has been dealing with the Xuanda generals these days, and the one he has the most contact with is Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong. Although he is not very complimentary of his ability to lead the army in battle, he still fully agrees with Wang Pu's ability as a person.
Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, gained a lot from his aid to the Liao Dynasty. He not only expressed his loyalty to Zhang Cheng, but also found a powerful backer for himself on the battlefield.
Through Zhang Cheng's relationship, he was already very familiar with several of Hong Chengchou's staff, as well as Chen Jiugao, Fu Yingchong, Wu Sangui, Zhang Ruoqi, etc. During this period of time, the war was not tense on the Loess Ridge, and he spent most of his time
On top of the interactions with Zhang Ruoqi and Zhang Dou.
Although Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, also had the same idea, compared with Wang Pu, he was far behind. Not only was his actions not as bold as Wang Pu's, but his conversational skills were also inferior.
But this time the two of them aided the Liao Dynasty and made a lot of military achievements, which far exceeded their expectations!
Of course, this is all due to the fact that after they moved closer to Zhang Cheng, they received Zhang Cheng's support and care, which gave them a lot of military merit. Even the Shenji Battalion ate a lot of meat with the Xuanfu Army.
In fact, it’s not that their soldiers and horses cannot fight, but they dare not fight!
Fearing the Tartars like tigers, fearing the captives to fight, and turning their faces into slaves were common problems among the generals and soldiers in the border towns of the Ming Dynasty at this time. They were not unique to Datong and Shanxi towns.
Just like the Shenji Battalion's chariots and guns and cannons, overall they still have a much greater advantage than the Qing army. Not only are the chariots and guns and cannons very sophisticated, but the means of firing guns and cannons are also as good as those of the Qing army.
After all, it is a veteran artillery force, and it still has some foundation.
But its shortcomings are also very obvious, that is, it can only shoot guns and cannons from a distance. Once the enemy threatens to rush closer, they will immediately panic and even collapse.
Of course, this is also a common problem among the Ming Dynasty's officers and soldiers. No matter whether they are fighting Tatars or bandits, once they are rushed to the front of the formation, they don't even need to break the formation, and they will start chaos themselves.
How many generals, commanders, and supervisors were defeated and died because of this!
However, in this battle to aid the Liao Dynasty, Wang Pu and Chen Jiugao had a general idea, which was to fight closely behind Zhang Cheng. Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army was there to do the hard work, and they could just follow and drink some soup.
In fact, they not only drank the soup, but also gnawed on the bones.
Even Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi who had redeemed himself for his crime, initially ignored Zhang Cheng, but after the battle at West Shimen, he completely defected to Zhang Cheng's side.
Of course, making the right choice will bring many benefits. This time in the Battle of Huangtu Ridge, there was also the Changling Mountain that came back to support the Xingta Grain Road. In the Battle of Bijia Mountain, Shenji Camp, Datong Town and
The general officers and soldiers of Shanxi Town have gained a lot of military honors.
At this time, Zhang Dou suddenly felt that he should not talk about Wang Pu like this behind his back. He sighed and said, "Oh, I won't talk anymore, I won't talk anymore. I'm sorry for General Wang by gossiping behind his back."
"Hahaha"
Everyone burst out laughing again.
It turned out that in accordance with the military strategy of the governor's camp, Datong Town soldiers and horses were mobilized northward to attack the corner of the Xiaoling River from west to south, pretending to cross the river and advance northward, threatening the Qing army from fully blocking Wu Sangui.
When Wang Pu first heard the governor's order to dispatch his troops to the north, his whole body froze, as if the whole world froze at this moment.
Wang Pu did not want to lead his troops from Datong Town into battle without Zhang Chengxuan's army and face the ferocious and brutal Tatars alone.
Even if the Datong Army follows Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu Army, they will be like tigers descending the mountain. But once the Xuanfu Army is gone, they are still a group of cowardly lambs.
This is like a wolf leading a group of sheep, who can defeat a group of wolves led by a sheep!
When the Xuanfu Army was there, the Datong Army was like a group of sheep led by a wolf. They dared to face all enemies because they firmly believed in their hearts that with the Xuanfu Army there, they would be able to defeat the enemy.
And once there is no Xuanfu army, they will quickly turn into a pack of wolves led by a sheep.
The reason is that the Datong Army lacks self-confidence on the battlefield. They never dare or refuse to believe that they can defeat the enemy with their own abilities.
As the saying goes, "A soldier is a raging enemy, and a general is raging in a nest." And Wang Pu, the general of Datong, is exactly the person who is "a raging general."
Therefore, after he received the transfer order from the governor's headquarters, he did not rush to prepare for departure. Instead, he harassed Zhang Cheng for two consecutive days and asked him to send Xuanfu troops to support his battle.
According to Zhang Cheng's original intention, he did not want to send any soldiers from the Xuanfu to him. After all, he sent troops without authorization from the governor's camp. Once someone with an intention knew about it and secretly caused harm, it would be difficult for Zhang Cheng to explain it.
However, in order to seek help from the Xuanfu Army, Wang Pu actually claimed that he was a member of the Xuanfu Army. Although in the eyes of outsiders, he was the chief military officer of Datong Town, in his heart he had already regarded himself as Zhang Cheng, a member of the Xuanfu Army.
Lieutenant General.
Everyone’s attitude is already here, what can Zhang Cheng do?
What's more, Zhang Cheng's greed for Datong Town is not limited to one day or two. Even if Wang Pu is transferred from Datong Town in the future and goes to serve as a chief military officer elsewhere, his connections in Datong in the past few years cannot be transferred.
For this reason, Zhang Cheng finally readily accepted Wang Pu and made him a member of Xuanfu Town.
Since everyone is already a family, naturally we can't ignore Wang Pu's safety. Therefore, Zhang Cheng sent Zhang Guangda to lead the cavalry battalion to help in the battle. And just to be safe, he specially transferred the remaining chariot battalion back to accompany Zhang Guangda.
Go north to support Wang Pu.
Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, it was only Zhang Cheng who sent his chariots and cavalry to help the battle out of favour. As for Wang Pu's complete surrender, it should not be publicized.
Moreover, Zhang Guangda was fighting as a Datong town. Even if he had military exploits, he would not be credited to the Xuanfu army. On the surface, it seemed that Zhang Cheng suffered a big loss.
However, it also won him a good reputation for emphasizing love and justice!
Seeing that the night wind on the mountain was getting stronger and stronger, several people no longer wanted to watch the situation of the Ming army camp in the north. They called their servants to follow them and returned to the Chinese army camp.
…………
There is a small hill at the northern foot of Shimen Mountain, where the governor of Jiliao, Hong Chengchou, observed the situation on the other side the night before yesterday. This is where his temporary governor's residence is located.
Nowadays, a high platform has been built at the highest point of the hill, and a large military tent has been erected on it. Hong Chengchou directs and dispatches the armies to fight from here.
The great eunuch Wang Chengen also got up before dawn. As the chief companion of Emperor Chongzhen, he was still very concerned about the war in Liaodong, but Wang Chengen knew the ins and outs.
As long as what Hong Chengchou did was to relieve the siege of Jinzhou as soon as possible, he would not intervene, and would even support Hong Chengchou's actions. Only when he felt that Hong Chengchou was not doing his best, would he express a strong stance.
Just like the strategy of crossing the river and going north this time, he did not object, but he still had some objections to Hong Chengchou not using Zhang Cheng and the Xuanfu army, but he felt that it would not affect the overall situation, so he did not say anything to stop it.
The two young eunuchs who were waiting around him were not as energetic as him, but they did not dare to show anything in front of Wang Chengen. They only secretly yawned when their backs were turned to him, and touched the sound of sleepiness.
Raw tears.
Hong Chengchou was also a little surprised by Wang Chengen's performance, but he admired him very much in his heart. He ordered his followers to get a charcoal stove for the prince as soon as possible. After all, the morning was already very cold at this time.
The sun has not yet risen, but the south bank of the Nuer River is already crowded with people. There are rows of rafts on the river bank, as well as many fishing boats and boats that have been launched, arranged neatly.
If you look carefully, you will find that there are small cannons placed in front of the fishing boats. Some small boats cannot withstand the recoil of the small cannons, but they are also equipped with some large and small firecrackers.
Obviously, these ships will be the first batch to cross the river. The reason why they are equipped with artillery is entirely to cooperate with the cannons of the Shenji Battalion to completely suppress the artillery fire of the Qing army on the other side.
However, Chen Jiugao, the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Battalion, had made it clear beforehand that the muskets and artillery in his camp could be used at will, but the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion would never get on board to operate muskets or cannons.
There is only one reason, and that is "seasickness"!
Although Wu Sangui, Bai Guangen, Ma Ke and others felt that this "excuse" was very ridiculous and low-level, there was nothing they could do against Chen Jiugao.
In fact, Wu Sangui can say that his Ningyuan Army is also very rigorous in daily drills, and the proportion of firearms is not low, and there is no shortage of gunners.
But Bai Guangen and Ma Ke were different. Although the proportion of firearms in their battalions was also very high, they did not pay much attention to this waste of money, and the quality of the gunners was also uneven.
What's more, during the previous defeat at the northern foot of Shimen Mountain, the battalion's few gunners also lost some.
Therefore, it was indeed a little difficult for them to operate the cannon on their own, but as they were willing to redeem themselves, they did not dare to argue with Chen Jiugao, let alone go to Governor Hong Chengchou to raise conditions.
In the end, it was Qiu Minyang and Yao Gong who were responsible for supervising their operations, respectively, who transferred some gunners from their own Biao camp to make them feel at ease.
…………
The battle is about to begin. Looking at Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others, they all have calm expressions. It is just when the storm is about to come, but there is no trace of emotion on their faces.
Even Chen Zhongcai, the deputy general of Hong Chengchou's Biaoying camp, was the same, with a calm look on his face.
Only Chen Jiugao, the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Battalion, was rubbing his nose constantly. There was tension in his expression, but he was more excited.
Nervousness is inevitable. Although Chen Jiugao is usually very carefree, he has not experienced enough wars to be able to deal with it calmly. His strength actually lies in communication.
The excitement comes from the fact that the artillery team in our own camp can start a huge performance!
Chen Jiugao personally told Wu Sangui yesterday that his Shenji Battalion would fully support him. For this reason, the cannon firing elsewhere would have to be counted, but Wu Sangui required that the cannon barrel be red before stopping.
At the same time, he even sent his deputy general Fu Yingchong to sit in the army supporting Wu Sangui to show his sincerity. Now he is looking forward to the performance of his subordinates with an excited expression.
He followed Governor Hong Chengchou closely, and despite the cold morning wind that penetrated his bones, he did not feel the slightest chill.
Cao Bianjiao, who rarely spoke on weekdays, couldn't help but asked: "Why, is Mr. Chen nervous?"
Chen Jiugao was stunned for a moment, then he puffed out his chest and belly, and said loudly: "We are not nervous, it's just a Tartar, we can see a lot."
At this time, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, had exchanged a few words with the eunuch Wang Chengen, then turned to Chen Jiugao and asked: "General Chen's artillery team, are they all ready?"
When Chen Jiugao heard the Governor's inquiry, he did not dare to make excuses. He stepped forward and replied seriously: "Go back to the Governor. The artillery team of the Shenji Battalion is ready. We are just waiting for the Governor's order."
Wherever my banner of the Ming Dynasty points, slaves and bandits will be wiped out in ashes, and mere Tatar bandits will be insignificant under the fire of our Shenji Camp!"