Because there was a military order from the emperor, Zhu Xieyuan sent messengers early the next morning to inform Lu Qin on the South Road and Wang Ping on the East Road that if they did not receive a military order to attack within ten days, they were absolutely not allowed to attack the rebels.
Two days later, the sentinel he sent across the river finally returned. He also learned that She Chongming had already led the main force down the river to Chongqing, so he quickly sent someone to transmit this important information to Chongqing.
Officials, garrison and the emperor rushing to Chongqing.
In order not to make the rebels on the other side suspicious, he would send small groups of troops from time to time to pretend to cross the river and conduct tentative attacks to see how heavy the rebels guarding the river were.
Then, analyze and respond to the rebels' combat effectiveness and the loopholes in the river defense, find the weak points of the river defense, and make adequate preparations for the real river-crossing operation that will come in the near future.
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Qin Liangyu's army set out from Shizhu and arrived in Zhongzhou in just one day. She and She Chongming had the same idea and took a boat to Chongqing along the waterway.
After Qin Liangyu entered Chongqing with the emperor's imperial edict and the governor's documents, he immediately took over the city defense and military camp.
After an inventory and inspection, it was found that the food stored in Chongqing's treasury was at its lowest, and the battalions in the city were also very weak. Qin Liangyu immediately conducted a screening, but repeatedly lowered the standard, and there were still only 5,000 qualified soldiers.
Although Chongqing is not a big city, it only has 10,000 sergeants for defense, which makes it seem a bit weak.
So he used his authority as the commander-in-chief of Sichuan's military affairs to order several chieftains near Chongqing to have each of their families send out an elite force, which she would temporarily command.
After receiving the military order to send troops, several chieftain chiefs of the Zhuang and Miao nationalities immediately summoned their tribesmen and each selected 3,000 tribesmen and handed them over to Qin Liangyu.
The other ethnic groups and other chieftains did not pay any attention to Qin Liangyu's military orders, or in other words, they did not take the Ming Dynasty seriously at all.
Some people even tore up or burned the order in front of the messenger, completely challenging the bottom line and authority of the court.
After Qin Liangyu learned about it, she continued to reorganize the army and arrange defense as usual. She had already been mentally prepared for this. The conflict between the chieftain and the court was getting bigger and bigger, and the conflict of interest was too serious.
Instead, she was glad now that she, as the commander-in-chief, still had some authority when speaking, and at least she could recruit thousands of soldiers to serve her, so that she would not be a one-man show.
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The rebel army captured the defenseless Zunyi City in just one day. Fan Long then led a bodyguard to Bozhou in person to contact the chieftain there.
More than 20 years ago, Yang Yinglong, the chieftain of Bozhou, had rebelled against the Ming Dynasty. Although he had been put down long ago and all Yang Yinglong's relatives were killed, the chieftain here still refused to accept Zhu Ming's rule.
Their anti-Ming sentiments have always been extremely high. In addition, due to the war, the people here were miserable. The chieftain leaders needed money and food to build weapons and armor and train the army.
The local officials also exploited people more harshly than usual. The two cannibalistic forces seemed to be competing to see who could extract more from the people.
As long as there is a little bit of oil and water, they will be squeezed out ruthlessly, and no one will care about their life or death.
Fan Long's arrival was like the first ray of sunshine in the morning, shining on these restless chieftains who had great prejudice and resentment towards the court and officials, and had been oppressed for decades.
Fan Long effortlessly pulled all the big chieftains from Bozhou into his camp.
The chieftain chiefs, big and small, formed a blood alliance with Fan Long and Zhang Tong in the rebel military camp, determined to rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
After three days of integration, and with the full help of the suffering people at the bottom, these chieftains gathered an army of more than 20,000 people. Together with the 7,000 soldiers of the She army, the number reached nearly 30,000.
After incorporating Bozhou's military forces, Fan Long and Zhang Tong followed the original plan and led the army from Zunyi to the north. They first descended to Suiyang and then attacked Tongzi. Then they defeated the Ming army twice in the field, killed more than a thousand Ming soldiers, and captured three cities.
At a pass.
Along the way, the She army's partial divisions received good news one after another, the rebels' reputation was greatly shaken, and the names of Fan Long and Zhang Tong were also resounding in surrounding prefectures and counties.
With successive battles and victories, the rebels marched surprisingly fast. In less than five days, they had marched to the lower reaches of the Yue River, and their frontline was directed towards Chongqing.
During the march, they successively recruited many surrendered troops. Some of the chieftains who were still waiting and watching also made their choice. They chose to take a gamble. If they win, they can dominate the southwest. This temptation is too great.
When the rebel army showed its power in southern Chongqing, the main force led by She Chongming did not feel so good. As soon as his army disembarked and crossed the river, it was violently attacked by the Ming army and was forced to retreat upstream to rest.
The people who led the army to attack She Chongming were Zhang Fengyi, the daughter-in-law of Qin Liangyu and the wife of Ma Xianglin, whose reputation was also well-known throughout Sichuan and Shu, and Qin Gongming, the second son of Qin Bangping.
Following Qin Liangyu's general order, they led 5,000 white pole elites and 3,000 chieftain soldiers to ambush at the crossing of the river. They had been waiting for two days, and finally their wait was not in vain.
As soon as the rebels got off the ferry, and before they had time to form an army, they launched a surprise attack from three directions, killing so many of the rebels that they were reduced to pieces, and countless people were drowned in the river.
After such a defeat for the rebels, the morale of the army must be unstable. Zhang Fengyi was just thinking about how to destroy them all at once when he received an order from his mother-in-law to withdraw the troops. This made him extremely puzzled. Victory was right in front of him, so why did his mother-in-law let go of such a good opportunity?
However, she was still puzzled by the fact that military orders must be carried out to the end. After she led the army back to Chongqing, the doubts in her mind were finally solved.
The emperor has settled in Chongqing, and the order to withdraw the troops is exactly what the emperor wanted.
Ma Xianglin and Qin Bangping, who had been on an expedition to Liaodong for two years, finally saw their relatives and beloved wives. The joy in their hearts could be seen on their faces.
"The reason why I ordered the withdrawal of troops is not because I am afraid that you will make great achievements, but because the opportunity is not there!"
As soon as Zhang Fengyi and Qin Gongming entered the city, Zhu Youxiao held a military meeting.
He also finally met Qin Liangyu, the only legendary heroine in history who was a female general, made a lord for her meritorious service, passed down an independent career, was unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness, and has been admired by the present and future generations for hundreds of years.
Zhu Youxiao sat on the chair and continued:
"General Zhang won't blame me for not being able to achieve this feat!"
Zhang Fengyi quickly knelt down on one knee, lowered her head and cupped her hands and replied:
"I don't dare. How can your majesty's grand strategy be understood by a small minister? As a military general, I only know how to act according to military orders. If your majesty says to attack me, I will fight. If your majesty says to retreat, I will execute it without hesitation.
!”
Qin Liangyu nodded secretly, obviously very satisfied with his wife's answer.