Gao Yingxiang has never forgotten the reason why he came to Nanzhili. He came to rob supplies and expand his strength, not to fight the king of hell.
There was no point in guarding Lengshuiguan, and the gains outweighed the losses by sending troops to Laoshan, so this was a difficult situation. After a while, Gao Yingxiang shook his head with a wry smile, "It seems that we can only withdraw the Gushan army quickly. When the army withdraws, we will
Then we can move our troops away from Lengshuiguan and have the power to deal with the officers and soldiers in Tongling."
Hearing what Gao Yingxiang said, Niu Jinxing breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he had thought about withdrawing his troops for a long time, but he just didn't dare to say it. When Chen Bing Gushan made the Gushan army a nail, locking the area around Luzhou Prefecture
The soldiers and horses of Nanzhili were Gao Yingxiang's proud work. Now that we are talking about evacuating Gushan quickly, doesn't it mean that Gao Yingxiang used a stupid move at that time?
Fortunately, Gao Yingxiang said it himself, otherwise Niu Jinxing would have really thought about how to say this.
Gao Yingxiang and Niu Jinxing had made a decision, and the next thing would be much simpler. Of course, Gao Yingxiang was not stupid. He first asked people to pay attention to the situation of Zhou Dingshan's army at Lengshuiguan. For two consecutive days, Zhou Dingshan did not order an attack on Lengshuiguan.
Gao Yingxiang concluded that the target of the officers and soldiers was not Lengshuiguan, so he ordered the troops from Gushan to withdraw southward.
In order to prevent Zhou Dingshan's army from intercepting Beishan, Wang Yan was ordered to take the initiative to contain it. In this way, three days later, Gushan's 20,000-strong army finally withdrew to the south of Lengshuiguan safely. With Gushan's army withdrawing, Gao Yingxiang no longer had any worries. With a wave of his hand, he ordered Wang Yan to
Yan abandoned the defense at Lengshuiguan, and the army gathered in Lujiang City.
In this way, Gao Yingxiang was able to dedicate nearly 30,000 troops to the battlefield in Tongling. Zhou Dingshan naturally happily occupied Lengshuiguan, but in comparison, the Southern Zhili generals in Tongling kept scolding Xuan.
When the soldiers and horses of the government entered the territory of Luzhou Prefecture, they expected the Xuanfu border troops to contain some of the bandits. Unexpectedly, these Yankees were so clever. Not only did they not contain the main force of the bandits, they also drove the bandits swarm to the vicinity of Tongling.
In early November of the third year of Chongzhen's reign, the weather suddenly cooled down, and even the south was affected by the cold wave. Fortunately, Hailanzhu and Chang Minyue had prepared a lot of winter clothes in advance. However, Gao Yingxiang found it difficult and had to
He ordered his generals to start looting, which made Anqing Mansion complain. But even so, the peasant army around Tongling still lacked warm clothing.
On the fourth day of November, Tie Mo and Wang Zuogua entered Chaoxian County along Chao Lake. At the same time, Geng Zhongming and Liu Guoneng increased their troops at Lengshuiguan, and they were ready to attack Lujiang City in one fell swoop. Lujiang City could be related to the safety of Tongling's army. Once Lujiang River
If it is lost, the Xuanfu frontier army can go south along the Lujiang River and cut off the road from Tongling to the west and return to Anqingfu. Therefore, the peasant army is naturally unwilling to give in easily. Gao Yingxiang and Niu Jinxing discussed it and assembled 40,000 troops to garrison the Beixia southwest of Lujiang.
Pass, and Lujiang City are at odds with each other. As long as the Xuanfu soldiers and horses dare to send troops to Lujiang City, Gao Yingxiang will dare to draw the army out to fight a fierce battle.
It can be said that Gao Yingxiang was fully prepared for the sake of Lujiang City, and even had the idea of asking Wang Yan to withdraw to help. But when Gao Yingxiang made all arrangements, the Xuanfu army stationed at Lengshuiguan stalled.
For several days in a row, in addition to normal training, all the soldiers and horses of the Xuan Mansion were warming up over the fire and watching the scenery. Their posture had no intention of attacking Lujiang City.
Gao Yingxiang really couldn't see through it, and jumped up and down in anger, "What the hell is the Living King of Hell doing? He marches to Lengshui Pass just to see the scenery? Tongling is fighting so fiercely, and this guy doesn't care. What do I think, he
Do you want us to capture Tongling City?"
The corner of Niu Jinxing's mouth twitched, and his expression was a little painful. Even though he was cunning and wise, he couldn't see through this game. It was really the King of Hell who was always messing up, and he didn't know what he could do. In the past two years, after
After many contacts, Niu Jinxing became more and more annoyed with the King of Hell. He finally figured out that the King of Hell was completely different from other generals of the Ming Dynasty. He dared to do things that others did not dare to do. Others were willing to do them.
He may not be able to do things, so every move of the Living King of Hell cannot be inferred based on common sense. After pondering for a while, Niu Jinxing said hesitantly: "King Chuang, do you think it is the Living King of Hell who wants to
Are we going to attack Tongling City? He sent troops to Lengshuiguan not for Lujiang City at all."
"????" Gao Yingxiang stared. His first reaction was that he didn't believe it. He thought Niu Jinxing was joking. The King of Hell was the newly appointed governor of the three provinces of the imperial court and was responsible for suppressing bandits. How could he have the courage to look at it?
The rebel army gnawed down Tongling City, so he wasn't afraid that the court would accuse him? But looking at Niu Jinxing's serious face, it didn't look like he was joking, so he couldn't help but said with a sad face: "This...Mr. Niu, are you sure you didn't do it?"
Are you joking?"
How could Niu Jinxing not know Gao Yingxiang's inner thoughts? In fact, he himself thought it was quite ridiculous, but he also thought it made sense, "King Chuang, it's not just my subordinate's random thoughts. If you think about it, since the King of Hell has come into contact with us, he has not
Is it something you dare to do? You colluded with Li Yangchun before and deceived the Chief Minister of Henan Province. How dare someone else do this? My subordinates observed that Living Hell King is very courageous. He doesn’t seem to be afraid of the court’s blame. And the court, it seems,
There's nothing we can do about him, King Chuang, don't forget, the tens of thousands of troops under the living King of Hell were raised by himself, will he really obey the orders of the court and do some thankless things?"
"This...seems to make sense." Gao Yingxiang rubbed his forehead and felt a headache. The Living King of Hell was really unpredictable. The generals of the imperial court were not afraid of the imperial court's censure. No matter how much they thought about it, they felt very uncomfortable.
Reliable.
Compared with the tranquility of Lujiang City, the treatment of Tongling City is not so good. After entering November, the temperature dropped sharply. Li Zicheng and others also noticed the disadvantages of climate change, and wanted to conquer Tongling as soon as possible before the arrival of winter.
City. On the second day of November, Li Zicheng took Zheng Guosong as the vanguard and increased the siege force. For a time, the pressure on the defenders of Tongling City increased sharply. Now the person in charge of the military affairs of Tongling is Wu Shixun, the commander-in-chief of Nanjing. After the self-defeating bandits approached Tongling, Wu Shixun
He was called over urgently.
Wu Shixun was also from a famous family, but he had a rift in his chest. After he came to Tongling, the first thing he did was to collect bricks, stones, vegetation, and build the city wall. In particular, he added many barbs to the city wall, which brought huge conflicts with the peasant army.
Trouble. Although there were less than 40,000 garrison troops, Wu Shixun relied on flexible arrangements to prevent Li Zicheng from getting any advantage.
However, the thing he was most worried about happened. Li Zicheng gave up his tactics and once again used the tide of rogue attacks. Li Zicheng attacked the city from all sides and sent long archers to suppress it. In this way, Tongling's problem of insufficient troops was revealed.
came out, and under the urging of the leaders of the peasant armies, tens of thousands of peasant troops attacked Tongling City like crazy.
Wu Shixun stood at the top of the city, looking at the battlefield in front of him, his expression becoming more and more solemn. After all, Tongling is too small, and the city's defense foundation is too poor. Once the rogue army invades the border and attacks the city at all costs, Tongling will become precarious.
Before, he tried his best to attack the peasant army attacking the city, hoping to inflict pain on the peasant army and make Li Zicheng restrain himself. However, Li Zicheng was really powerful. He actually saw through this move. Not only did he not fall for it, he also did the opposite.
.
Since the longer the delay is, the more disadvantageous it will be to oneself, so it is better to make a big gamble while the morale of the army is still there. This is what Li Zicheng had in mind, but what Li Zicheng did hit Wu Shixun's heart.
On the surface, the 40,000 garrison troops are sufficient, but in fact, the number of soldiers is uneven, and their combat effectiveness is very problematic. Once an all-out war breaks out, the pressure will increase suddenly, and there may be problems. Sure enough, the peasant army attacked the city in large numbers.
An hour later, a hole was dug out of the Beijing camp troops stationed in the west city.
A Qian general named Mo Tai in the West City was horrified when he saw the peasant army crawling up the mountain like ants. He was so frightened that he fled down the city. This Mo Tai was the son of Mo Qinghe, the minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing. He had a very noble status and originally joined the military camp.
He was gilded and wanted to join the Ministry of War to find a job, but he didn't expect to encounter the peasant army attacking the city. In desperation, he came to Tongling. It was fine before, but now the peasant army is attacking crazily, and the weakness in Motel's bones is immediately revealed.
Ordinarily, Mr. Qian, who ran away from the battle, should be caught and killed on the spot. But the one guarding the west city was Wei Zitai, the general of the Beijing camp. He was afraid of Mo Qinghe's revenge, so after hesitation, he let Mo Tai run away. Mo Tai's move
The more than 2,000 men under his command immediately lost all morale. The leaders ran away, and the soldiers below were even less willing to work hard. Although there was pressure from above, they passively faced the enemy, and the Xicheng section was quickly invaded by the peasant army.
Come up.
It was Liu Zongmin who was in charge of attacking Xicheng. As soon as Liu Zongmin, the leader of the Centurion, saw the gap, he rushed forward like an evil spirit smelling the smell of blood. The big knife flew left and right, charging and killing,
The surrounding officers and soldiers were so frightened that they were killed. Under the leadership of Liu Zongmin, the gap was opened wider and wider, and finally affected the entire Xicheng defense.
Liu Zongmin did not stay at the top of the city, but led people into the city along the stone steps. This would cost Wei Zitai his life. A corner of the west city was affected by the peasant army, causing chaos, which directly led to the failure of the defenders and heavy supplies.
Many soldiers and horses rushing to aid Xicheng were also attracted, which made the crumbling Xicheng city defense even more difficult.
In desperation, Wei Zitai finally sent a letter asking for help to Wu Shixun. The messenger hurried to find Wu Shixun. At this time, Wu Shixun was supervising the battle in Beicheng. When he heard about what happened in Xicheng, everyone yelled. Wu Shixun did not blame Mo Tai. Mo Tai was a second-generation ancestor.
It is natural to be reliable, but it is evil to be reliable. If Mo Tai is not reliable, then Wei Zitai will also tie him up at the top of the city. If this person dares to escape, he will be chopped with a knife. At this point, how can you take the identity of the other person into consideration?
?
"Wei Zitai, you made a mistake." Wu Shixun cursed and quickly calmed down. Even if Wei Zitai was wrong, he couldn't be touched at this time. If there was a problem with Xicheng's defense, he had to find a way to make up for it. After thinking for a while, Wu Shixun's mind
With a fierce voice, he ordered: "Go to Nancheng and tell Gu Changhe to arrive at Xicheng within a quarter of an hour without any mistakes."
In doing so, Wu Shixun actually took a big risk. He transferred Gu Changhe to Xicheng. Once the peasant army noticed it, they would definitely rush to Nancheng with all their strength. But at this time, there was no other way, and he had a reserve team.
, but they are not of much use. The only ones who can really fight and have any hope of repelling the rebels entering the city are the elite soldiers under Gu Changhe.
The three thousand soldiers of Tuishan Battalion under Gu Changhe's command were led by his father-in-law Xu Hongji all year round. Their combat strength was the first among the sixteen battalions in Nanjing. In such a tough battle, only Gu Changhe could be counted on.
After Gu Changhe received the order, he said nothing and quietly withdrew from the Nancheng battlefield with his troops. In order to prevent the peasant army from discovering something was wrong, he deliberately attacked all the reserves behind him and even launched a counterattack.
After withdrawing from the city, Gu Changhe knew exactly what happened. At this time, he also understood a little bit why General Wu withdrew the Tuishan Camp at this juncture.
"Hey, Wei Zitai, Wei Zitai, why do you want to eat? You just maintain the relationship on weekdays. At this time, you are still thinking about not offending others." Wei Zitai will definitely be unlucky after the war, and no one dares to intercede for him. I think.
Thinking about this makes me a little angry. Wei Zitai will be held accountable, but the culprit Mo Tai may not be fine. Those civil servants are very powerful.
Gu Changhe rushed to Xicheng in an emergency, and met Liu Zongmin on the way, who was leading troops to burn and kill. The two could not help but fight together. However, Gu Changhe was still very smart. He led some of his troops to entangle Liu Zongmin, but let everyone
Some soldiers and horses rushed towards the west city wall.
When Gu Changhe did this, Liu Zongmin panicked. Liu Zongmin had keen observation and could tell at a glance that this army and horse were unusual. Once this army and horse blocked the gap, would Liu Zongmin be the winner in the jar?
As a result, Liu Zongmin forced Gu Changhe back with one move. He didn't even want the knife anymore, turned around and ran towards the city wall, "Brothers, pull out..."
Gu Changhe held a spear and narrowed his eyes, "This person is really smart!"
Although it was a pity, Gu Changhe did not rush to pursue Liu Zongmin, but focused his energy on fighting for the gap. With the strong combat force of Tuishan Battalion joining in, the counterattack of the officers and soldiers went much more smoothly. By the end of the battle, it took an hour
After a fierce battle, Liu Zongmin's troops were finally repulsed, the gap was closed, and the alarm for the Xicheng city defense was temporarily lifted.
A day of fierce fighting came to an end in prayer.
As the sun sets, there are no cheers in Tongling City. Many people sit among the piles of corpses, gasping numbly. Many people don’t know how they survived. For these soldiers from the Beijing camp, this fierce battle is a grind.
, is also a blow.
How many more days will this kind of fighting last? How many more days can I hold on?
In one day, Tongling City was on the verge of collapse, but what about two days or three days?
Wu Shixun knew very well that at this level, Tongling City could not hold out for three days. Therefore, reinforcements were necessary. No matter how difficult it was, there must be reinforcements!