"Hmph, I really didn't expect that this young boy like Timur was not much worse than his father! If we want to drive away the Mongolian Tatars in the future, this person will also be a big obstacle!"
In a military camp south of Jingzhou, Zhao Desheng said with a dark face.
After Xu Baisheng received Zhang Yangquan's order, he sent Zhao Desheng and Bian Yuanheng to divide their troops into two groups to attack Jingjiang.
Bian Yuanheng took the Quanzhou Road, and Zhao Desheng took the Jingzhou Road. As soon as he arrived in Jingzhou, he heard the news from the north and immediately summoned the generals to discuss.
A general said solemnly: "My subordinates think that Kuangkuo Timur is easier to deal with than Chahan Timur!"
Zhao Desheng glanced at the general and recognized Xu Da, who had just returned and surrendered. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? How do you say this?"
Xu Da said slowly: "Chahan Timur was dedicated to serving the country and had no selfish motives. This is why generals such as Badulu, Li Siqi, and Zhang Liangbi were willing to listen to his orders."
"Looking at Timur, even though his military ability is not inferior to that of his father, he is too shrewd, too selfish, and too young. Looking at the future, he will never be able to conquer the masses, and the Yuan army is likely to
Infighting!"
Zhao Desheng glanced at him in surprise and said, "You said there will be internal strife in the Yuan army?"
"The general just said it was possible."
Xu Da stretched out two fingers and said: "The Tatar court currently has two major hidden dangers. The first hidden danger is in the temple, where the prince and the emperor are at odds. The second is in the army, where the generals are dissatisfied with each other!"
Zhao Desheng laughed, looked around, and said with a smile: "It seems to make sense, what do you think?"
Zhang Biao said anxiously: "Commander, what do we care about the affairs in the north? We should hurry up and discuss the attack on Jingjiang! Otherwise, the credit will be taken away by Marshal Bian and Marshal Chang!"
"That's right! No matter what those Tatars do, just focus on the present!"
"Commander, let's quickly kill that boy Ding Pulang!"
"Marshal Chang is far away, so it doesn't matter. Marshal Bian has already won two battles, so we have to move faster!"
Other generals agreed.
Everyone knows that the king is about to ascend the throne, and he will be awarded a title based on merit. Everyone is looking forward to getting a title, honoring the ancestors, and blessing future generations.
Zhao Desheng touched his beard and said, "Okay, let's not mention it! Let's talk about the plan to attack Jingjiang first. Who among you has a good idea?"
Everyone who had been impatient just now fell silent for a moment, and there was silence in the big tent.
Zhao Desheng glared and said, "Why don't you say anything?"
Zhang Biao touched the back of his neck and said, "How about just beating us all the way?"
"This is a crappy idea!"
Another general asked: "How about sending someone to persuade you to surrender?"
Zhao Desheng covered his forehead and said: "We haven't won a single battle, will they surrender? Think before you speak!"
The generals were silent again.
Zhao Desheng looked around, and when he looked at Xu Da, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"General Xu, I see you have quite an idea. Please tell me what we should do!"
Xu Da was a newly-reigned general. He didn't want to make any public announcements. When he saw Zhao Desheng asking, he said solemnly: "The last general thought he could send a special force good at climbing and take the mountain road straight to Jingjiang Administrative Office, Lingui County!"<
/p>
Zhao Desheng frowned and said: "If we take the mountain road, what about the logistics supplies?"
Xu Dadao: "You can carry some dry food with you and search for the rest in the mountains. I have been a hunter in the mountains, and I am confident that I can lead three thousand brothers to survive in the mountains for more than half a month!"
Zhao Desheng said blankly: "Three thousand people? I'm afraid they won't have much effect even in Lingui County!"
Xu Da said in a deep voice: "Ding Pulang is now being attacked by our army from three directions and is under great pressure. Moreover, he is the only force left in Jiangnan, and he also knows that no one will rescue him."
"As long as we approach the city, I believe that either he or other Jingjiang generals will lose their fighting spirit and surrender to our army!"
Zhang Biao suddenly said: "What if Ding Pulang is stubborn and refuses to surrender?"
"Even if Ding Pulang can withstand the pressure, his generals cannot hold on and will definitely surrender the city!" Xu Da said confidently.
Although Zhao Desheng was not good at fighting, he was very good at reading people. He looked at Xu Da for a moment and then slapped him on the knee.
"Well, I allow you to select 3,000 people from the army, and you will personally execute this plan. We will also continue to attack the surrounding counties of Jingjiang!"
Xu Da stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Marshal!"
Xu Da was extremely cautious in everything he did. It took him two days to select the three thousand soldiers he needed.
Immediately, he found a few more local guides to accompany him, and he also brought a military doctor with him.
Finally, he spent another day studying the marching route with the guides. Finally, he decided on three routes, one was the main route and the other two were alternatives.
After doing all this, on the morning of the fourth day, Xu Da finally led 3,000 troops into Baizhang Mountain, bypassed the mountain road to the west of Lingchuan County, and went straight to Lingui County.
The soldiers marched along the rugged mountain road. In the past few days, the army lived on dry food. When they encountered edible wild vegetables and plants, Xu Da asked everyone to pick and reserve them.
The remote southwest of Jingjiang has not been exposed to much war. There are still a lot of game in the forest. If you catch a few, you can also add to your food rations.
After bypassing Baizhang Mountain, Xu Da led everyone to search for Yangjiang. After spending two days, they finally found the upper reaches of Yangjiang.
Yangjiang goes straight through Lingui County. Once you find Yangjiang, you can tell that the river flows straight to Lingui.
The army marched along the river, and when they encountered shallow water areas, they would go into the water to catch fish for food.
After marching for two more days, the army was less than thirty miles away from Jingjiang.
The sergeants were exposed to the weather, and their clothes were torn by the thorns in the forest. They looked like savages, but they were all in high spirits, looking forward to the great success they were about to achieve!
At noon the next day, the army walked ten miles east along Yangjiang River, when a temple suddenly appeared in front of them.
Xu Da looked from a distance and saw a thick black smoke rising from the direction of the temple. He immediately felt something was wrong and sent a scout to inquire about the situation.
Not long after, the scout came back with a very surprised expression on his face.
"General, there is an army ahead attacking the temple!"
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Xu Da asked: "How many soldiers are there?"
The scout said: "There are less than a thousand people, so it should be a team of a thousand people."
Xu Da asked again: "What is the name of the temple and how many monks are there?"
The scout said: "The temple is called Dayuanji Temple. There are many monks, more than 400 of them. They all blocked the entrance of the temple with sticks and resisted fiercely."
Xu Da pondered for a long time and said: "Give me the order to go around the forest south of the temple and gather three miles east of the temple."
Military orders were conveyed quickly.
The sergeants quietly walked around the south side of Dayuan Temple and came to the official road between Lingui and the temple.
Xu Da observed the terrain for a while and then conveyed new orders.
"Two thousand-man teams will follow me to raid this thousand-man team. Wu Qianhu, you lead 500 people to guard here to prevent any fish from slipping through the net."
"Zhou Qianhu, walk three miles eastward and guard the official road. If the enemy has reinforcements arriving, immediately send out arrows to send a message!"
The two of them accepted the order in unison.
Xu Da immediately led two thousand people and rushed towards Dayuan Temple, shouting: "Bold madman, how dare you attack the Buddhist holy place!"
When the monks heard what Xu Da said and saw that they were in rags, they thought they were believers from nearby villagers. Their morale immediately increased and they cooperated with them to attack the Thousand-Man Team.
This thousand-man team is no match for Xu Dabu in a duel, let alone being attacked from both sides?
The battle did not last long and the enemy army was defeated.
Some abandoned their weapons and surrendered, while others scattered and fled. All those who fled towards Lingui were captured by Wu Qianhu.
While Xu Da was interrogating the prisoners, the monks were divided into two parts. An old monk, surrounded by the monks, slowly walked over.
The old monk clasped his hands towards Xu Da.
"Thank you to the benefactor for helping me. Old monk Qiu Jiang is so polite!"
Xu Da returned the gift: "We happen to be passing by, so you don't need to be polite."
Monk Qiujiang glanced at the sergeants and suddenly said: "If the old monk guessed correctly, the donors are Jiangdu soldiers, right?"
Xu Da was shocked and thought: "Since these monks were attacked by the army, they should have a grudge against Ding Pulang. There is no harm in telling him his identity."
"Master has good eyesight. We are indeed Jiang Dujun. I wonder how master can tell?" he asked.
Monk Qiujiang sighed: "Looking at your weapons and skills, I know you are soldiers. Now that the Jiangdu Army is attacking Ding Pulang, you are naturally the Jiangdu Army!"
Xu Da probed: "Master seems to have a grudge against Ding Pulang?"
Qiu Jiang sighed again and said: "He wanted the old monk to do something for him, but the old monk refused, which is why today's disaster happened."
Xu Daqi asked: "What does he want you to do?"
Qiu Jiang said: "He wants the old monk to go to Dadu, ask for canonization from the imperial court on his behalf, and then ask the imperial court to send troops from Yunnan to help him resist the noble army!"
Xu Da was even more surprised: "Why did he ask the master to go to Dadu? Could it be that the master knew Emperor Yuan?"
A young monk raised his head and said: "My master is your majesty's mentor today!"