At the Yezhuxia temporary camp, Tie Mo lay under the dead tree, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
In the late spring season, it should be lush and green, with everything reviving. However, Yezhu Gorge is full of dead trees, with an occasional patch of green grass, showing a hint of spring.
After a long period of drought, it is difficult for vegetation to grow. Hungry people are everywhere, and bark, wild grass, and wild vegetables have become good things to satisfy their hunger. In the spring, many wild grasses and wild vegetables have just grown, and they are dug up by the hungry people to satisfy their hunger. Wild Boar Gap Hills
Above, there are mostly elm trees. These elm trees are all bare and their bark has long been stripped dry.
This is northern Shaanxi, where everything is dead and a place of vicissitudes of life. Every plant and tree is trying its best to survive just like people. The plants and trees are ruthless, and the people are even more ruthless.
Looking at the scene on Yezhu Gorge, Tie Mo felt that suppressing bandits was a joke. If disaster relief was not effective, how could we suppress bandits? The rogue bandits in Shaanxi were like leeks in the wetland, harvesting one crop after another.
He was not optimistic about the prospects of suppressing bandits, but he still admired Cao Wenzhao. After two months in northern Shaanxi, Tie Mo truly realized the gap between himself and these heroes of the late Ming Dynasty.
He occupied Zhangbei and unified the Hanhai Grassland, mostly by relying on knowledge far beyond this era and relying on the superiority of firearms. When it comes to military tactics and strategizing, he is really not very good. Most of the time, he just pretends.
Get into position and confront others head-on.
But Cao Wenzhao was different. Under the absolute disadvantage, he relied on planning to forcibly build up the momentum of thousands of troops. The disadvantaged side, but under Cao Wenzhao's command, seemed to have become the side with superior military strength.
Suspicious soldiers, luring the enemy, storming, besieging, and containing, every step was taken care of by Cao Wenzhao. Tie Mo sometimes thought that if he were Wu Yangui, he would probably end up with the same fate.
When it comes to marching, fighting, and commanding operations, Cao Wenzhao is obviously superior. Compared with him, Cao Wenzhao is like a newborn baby.
Those who underestimate this era will surely pay a heavy price.
.....
In Yan'an City, Wu Yangui squatted under the corridor, and an icy chill came from the steps. At this moment, he was in a dilemma. He was suffering in his heart, but he could not tell others.
He regretted a little. He really should have listened to Wang Zuoguan, took the supplies, and then abandoned Yan'an Mansion and went south across the Yellow River. He went south to Hanzhong, entered the Bashu land, and occupied a piece of territory.
It's a pity that Wang Zuoguan didn't listen to him. Because of this incident, Wang Zuoguan left Ganquan City in anger. If Wang Zuoguan had been here, Ganquan City would not have been lost, and it would have developed to the point it is now.
The officers and soldiers surrounded Lan Dao's troops near Yezhu Gorge without destroying them. Their intention was very obvious, which was to use Lan Dao as bait to induce them to send troops for a decisive battle outside the city. On the surface, it seemed stupid for the other party to do this, and it was a disadvantage.
Now, even if it's a decisive battle outside the city, what chance does the other side have of winning?
But after so many things happened, Wu Yangui had long lost his previous contempt. He felt that since the officers and soldiers dared to do this, they must have something to rely on, although he didn't know where the officers and soldiers' confidence came from.
He knew clearly that the officers and soldiers had a premeditated plan, but he had to rescue him. If the more than 10,000 soldiers were allowed to be wiped out by the officers and soldiers, what would the remaining brothers think of Wu Yangui? Once the hearts of the people were lost, there would be no way to lead the team.
In his heart, Wu Yangui didn't want to join the game, but he couldn't help it. The officers and soldiers surrounded him but refused to annihilate him. This move was so cruel that Wu Yangui had no other choice.
If you save him, you will definitely be led by the officers and soldiers, and you may lose your current foundation. If you don't save it, the people who have finally gathered together will disperse. Once the prestige is lost, who is Wu?
After a long time, Wu Yangui stood up with difficulty. After sitting in the corridor for so long, he was just trying to cheer himself up. As long as he responded properly and used all his strength, what could the officers and soldiers do?
The serious shortage of officers and soldiers is their fatal flaw.
Soon, a letter was quickly sent to Ansai City. The letter fell into the hands of Li Yangchun smoothly. After reading it, Li Yangchun smiled bitterly and said: "Brothers, Leader Wu ordered us to send half of our troops to Yezhu Gorge to fight with Wu.
The leader's main force will attack the officers and soldiers there."
Azalea Xiaorong frowned, pinched her chin, and sighed softly, "Hey, Leader Wu is going to fight the officers and soldiers to the death. Leader Wu hasn't been forced to do this for a long time."
Li Yangchun nodded and said with a helpless smile: "Leader Wu was forced to do nothing. Yezhu Gorge is not too far from Yan'an City. If the officers and soldiers are allowed to destroy Lan Dao and others without sending troops to rescue, the brothers will
What do you think?"
This was Yuan Ma, the red-eyed Rakshasa, dragging his injured arm and humming gloomily: "You can think whatever you want, it's better than being led by the officers and soldiers, right?"
As soon as Yuan Ma said this, everyone else stared angrily, and there was a cold snort of boredom in the room. Li Yangchun also frowned, do you think everyone is just like you Yuan Ma, eating human flesh at every turn, and not taking human life seriously at all?
thing.
At this time, there was a middle-aged man sitting in the middle of the row on the left. This man had a blue robe, a wisp of beard, and a loyal and powerful appearance. He was Li Zicheng who had just joined him, because he had hundreds of close followers under his command, and he had a loyal and powerful appearance.
After his previous defection, Li Yangchun also valued Li Zicheng very highly.
Li Zicheng wanted to say something, but considering that he was a new recruit, he hesitated. Li Yangchun happened to look over and said with a smile: "Brother Li, if you have anything to say, it doesn't matter."
"Now that the King of Heaven has said it, I will boldly say it. In fact, Leader Wu's move seems helpless, but it is not without merit. If this battle is fought successfully, we can defeat the officers and soldiers in one battle, and from then on
After that, we can firmly occupy Yan'an Mansion."
"Now that the imperial treasury is empty, it is barely enough to allow the border troops to participate in the suppression of bandits this time. If the officers and soldiers are defeated this time, it will be difficult to organize large-scale operations in the future. Moreover, when I was in Gansu,
I once heard from the kingdom that the court is now troubled by the events in Liaodong, and the Liaodong Jurchens may go south at any time. The court will have no time to take care of us in the future, so as long as we can defeat the officers and soldiers entrenched in the Wild Boar Man, northern Shaanxi will
It’s Leader Wu who has the final say.”
What Li Zicheng said was sound and reasonable. Thinking that after the first battle, he might become the master of northern Shaanxi, the faces of the leaders became rosy.
People are ambitious. Who doesn't want to find a wife and a son? If Wu leader becomes the lord of northern Shaanxi, he will definitely reward the meritorious officials, and then all the brothers here will also be able to get high-ranking officials.
There are risks in the decisive battle at Yezhu Gorge, but it is also an opportunity.
Li Yangchun looked at Li Zicheng with unconcealable joy in his eyes. He really liked Li Zicheng more and more. All the leaders were clearly worried before, but after his words, they were all inspired and their morale was high.
The next day, Li Yangchun personally led most of the soldiers and horses to leave Ansai City, leaving Yuan Ma and others to garrison Ansai City. In fact, Li Yangchun was not too worried about Ansai City. Now the officers and soldiers were gathered in the Yezhu Gorge area, and those in Bailuo City in the north were
The officers and soldiers were frightened and did not dare to cause trouble in Ansai City. Therefore, for the time being, the safety of Ansai City is guaranteed.
This time, Li Yangchun brought out nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses directly from Ansai City, which was far more than half. There were more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in Ansai City, plus the main force under Leader Wu, which added up to more than 70,000.
People don't believe that they can't defeat those officers and soldiers.
There appear to be 30,000 officers and soldiers entrenched in Yezhu Gorge, but in fact, only tens of thousands can actually fight. The main force is the elite soldiers of the three towns. As long as the troops are concentrated to defeat the elite soldiers of the three towns, this battle will be won.
20,000 people were used to contain Liu Yingyu's old soldiers, and 50,000 people were concentrated against the elite soldiers of the three towns. Almost five people were fighting each other. If they still couldn't win, what qualifications did they have to rebel?
The Yezhu Gorge area is mostly plains with no obstructions. We can fully exert our military superiority. I don't believe that we can't win even if we outnumber the enemy by five times.
In half a day, Wu Yangui and Li Yangchun joined forces, and more than 70,000 troops marched towards Yezhu Gorge in a mighty manner. Sitting on war horses, the long queue stretched from south to north, with no end in sight.
At this moment, Wu Yangui felt a strong sense of pride in his heart. He recalled that when he withdrew from Shanxi and first arrived in northern Shaanxi, he had less than 30,000 troops under his command. However, in more than half a year, the number of troops under his command increased from 30,000 to 70,000.
Ten thousand, and eventually expanded to hundreds of thousands, and his reputation even surpassed that of Wang Jiayin in the south.
As long as the officers and soldiers of Yezhuxia can be defeated this time, Mr. Wu's reputation will surely rise to a higher level. By then, Wang Jiayin will have to give up his position as the leader of the rebel army.
Wu Yangui sent troops for half a day, and Cao Wenzhao finally issued a new order. The border troops from the three towns began to gather north, and Liu Yingyu's troops began to carry out the final clearing of Lan Dao and others in the encirclement. This also heralded the
The end of Lan Dao and others is coming.
Lan Dao and others actually knew in their hearts that the day Leader Wu sent troops to rescue them would be the day they died.
Once the fish has taken the bait, the bait has lost its meaning. But everyone has the instinct to survive. Under the threat of death, Lan Dao, Wu Zicai and Shi Chai led the remaining soldiers to make a last-ditch effort.
Unfortunately, all efforts were in vain. Liu Yingyu used his crossbowmen as the main force and fired several rounds of volleys before launching his troops into close combat. In just an hour, the mess was cleared. In order to avoid future troubles, Liu Yingyu took a prisoner
They didn't even ask for it, and they even ordered a follow-up attack on those rebels who were not dead.
To the northwest of Yezhu Gorge, there is a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with the Sky Pillar Blue Saber, Hunshi Wang Wu Zicai, and the Nine-Insect Shichai leaders standing out among them.
A few crows landed on the branches and emitted a menacing cry. The spring breeze swept across the earth, and the smell of blood floated into the distance. The world was filled with desolation and sadness, as if there had never been light here.
It is ironic to say that not long ago, Wu Zicai and Shi Chai resolutely gave up on Gao Changhe and saved their lives. But now, they died near Yezhu Gorge, while Wabei King Gao Changhe was still alive as a prisoner.
The officers and soldiers annihilated Lan Dao's troops in one fell swoop, leaving no one behind. This incident dealt a blow to the peasant army and also aroused the anger of Wu Yangui and others. At this time, it was even more impossible for Wu Yangui and others to retreat.
The flame of revenge burned quickly and filled the hearts of the entire peasant army. In this way, the two sides finally collided on the plains more than 30 miles northwest of Yezhu Gorge.
...
April 29, the second year of Chongzhen, was sunny and windy.
The strong wind from the north cracked the earth, and also blew the long, dry hair. The dark crowds, from east to west, from south to north, filled the world. Looking from a high place, it seemed that there was no end in sight.
of sea.
Facing so many people, even Cao Wenzhao could not help but feel a little nervous. Soon, there was a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. This was the first time he had faced such a confrontation since he joined the army.
With 30,000 people under his command at once, and an army of 70,000 on the opposite side, Cao Wenzhao suddenly felt a lot of pressure. Under such pressure, he became a little constrained.
However, in comparison, Tie Mo was more calm. He was used to seeing thousands of horses charging on the grassland, and seeing this kind of human sea offensive again, he didn't feel so much pressure.
"General Cao, according to Tiemou, we don't need to leave any backup this time. With the rebel party's attitude, if we don't use our best, we won't be able to survive the night, and we will be overwhelmed."
"Yes, Mr. Cao is still thinking that the rebellious party will attack steadily and deal with us."
Cao Wenzhao raised his hand and touched the cold sweat on his forehead. At this moment, he didn't know whether to praise Wu Yangui or laugh at Wu Yangui. It was brainless for Wu Yangui to rush up the troops like Wu Yangui, and it was a taboo for military strategists.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Wu Yangui did not understand the art of war at all.
However, Wu Yangui's brainless behavior really hit the mark of Cao Wenzhao. The biggest weakness of the officers and soldiers was the lack of troops. As long as the battle line was extended, the peasant army was likely to take advantage of local breakthroughs and cause
overall advantage.
Sometimes, when fighting, I am really afraid of people like Wu Yangui. He doesn't make any sense, and comes up with all his chips, with a desperate attitude of "I will die if I don't kill you." If you can resist this kind of brainless three-point ax,
It's easy to fight from behind, but it's not that easy to resist.
The three towns have limited elite troops and a limited defensive range. Once the peasant army breaks through from both wings and outflanks them, it will be very bad.
Soon, under Wu Yangui's order, the peasant army launched a fierce attack. It's not that Wu Yangui didn't know anything about the art of war. At least he knew how to give full play to his military advantage. Once they came up, the peasant army stretched the front line very long.
.From east to west, along the plain path, there are battlefields for nearly five miles from east to west. Along this narrow strip, the two sides launched repeated battles.
At this moment, the officers and soldiers were passive. They were obviously under-strength, but they did not follow the rhythm of the peasant army. If they did not open the battle line and allowed the peasant army to break through from the flanks, the battle would be even more difficult to fight.
From Wu Shi to You Shi, Liu Yingyu was beaten until his scalp was numb for more than an hour. Worried, he found Cao Wenzhao in a panic.
"General Cao, we can't fight this battle like this. It's only been fought for less than two hours, and I don't have half of the reserve team under my command. The brothers are under a lot of pressure now. Once the rebels bite a hole somewhere, I will not be able to fight."
The general cannot send a single reinforcement."
Liu Yingyu is also a person who is used to seeing wind and waves. He has fought against the Oara people before. In his more than ten years of military service, this is the first time he has fought such a battle. Both sides did not leave any reserve teams when they started. They are not afraid of people who rebel against the party.
Up to now, there are still many troops pushing forward from behind, but on our side, there is really not a grain of rice in the pot.