On December 24, the 9th year of Chongzhen, there were only a few pedestrians on the front street of Tongcheng County. Those who met acquaintances heard low-pitched New Year greetings.
The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is the time to celebrate the New Year and worship the Kitchen God. In peacetime, every family will start to prepare new year goods. However, the Spring Festival in the eighth year of Chongzhen was invaded, and many families had their relatives and friends killed. The New Year and the festival were close, and the festive atmosphere was lost.
many.
As news of rogue bandits spread this year, many people in Tongcheng have fled to Anqing and Songyang, and the streets have become even more deserted. On the contrary, government soldiers and officers and soldiers wearing soap clothes can be seen everywhere.
A group of people passed through Xianqian Street, did not stop at the eight-character wall of the county government office, and went directly to the branch office on Fenshou Road in the west.
This branch used to be small in scale. It was just a small courtyard with front and rear halls. It was specially used by Fenshou Dao for inspections. Anchi organized troops and prepared roads and also had the responsibilities of Fenshou Dao, so it was prepared for Shi Kefa.
His official residence is Anqing, but since Tongcheng is the northern gate of Anqing and faces the greatest threat, Shi Kefa spends most of his time stationed in Tongcheng, and the size of the branch has doubled.
Also built is the sub-inspection road branch, which is mainly used for investigating major cases when the sub-inspection road comes down. After the rogue bandits broke out, they basically stopped investigating cases. It has been used by Yang Erming as the residence of the strong squad.
Accompanying Pang Yu in the queue was Ruan Jin, the leader of Tongcheng's second squadron. Although he still had a rough face, after two years of experience, he looked much calmer. He was different from the former one who thought about going to the countryside every day.
The speed of blackmailing people is completely different.
"About 300 bandits entered Dongxiang two days ago and looted villages in two miles and nine villages. Hundreds of people were killed."
Ruan Jin reported in a low voice on his horse with a very respectful attitude. Not only because Pang Yu is an old leader, but now 60% of the salary of the three hundred strong squad members in Tongcheng is sponsored by Pang Yu. The terms negotiated with Yang Erming are in
During the Tongcheng battle, Pang Yu was under the unified command. There were more than a hundred strong squads, which were exactly the same as the garrison battalion, about the size of a bureau.
"The reports from Liu Liangzuo and Mou Wenshou are only sketchy. Has Tongcheng itself received any new information?"
"The Lujiang thieves are part of the Tibetan King. They left Liu'an Prefecture from Huoshan and then entered Lujiang via Jiandao.
Chao County is one of a hundred thousand people, and the people in the county and its suburbs have all fled into the lake, and there are no officers and soldiers in the Hanshan area of Hezhou."
The situation in Tongcheng is worse than Pang Yu expected. The large stocks traveling eastward from Nanyang have now reached the Guanggu area, Hun Shiwan and Ziweixing have been active in Jiangbei, and King Zuojin's eyes may have come out of Huoshan.
Zhu Dadian's defensive deployment was for stability. Liu'an Prefecture, where Liu Liangzuo was stationed, was extremely important. It isolated the three groups of bandits and prevented them from converging into the same army as last year. Mou Wenshou's army was stationed in the Quanjiao area, mainly to defend Chuzhou and prevent the bandits from going north.
, and his own camp stayed in Fengyang.
The current threats to Tongcheng mainly come from the northeast. Although Beixiaguan and Kongcheng Town were blocked, the country roads could not be blocked. The burning of the Songyang warehouse and the massacre and looting of Dongxiang were all committed by small groups of rogue bandits.
It did not affect Tongcheng's defense, but brought an increasingly heavy sense of oppression to the people and defenders.
Tongcheng currently has nearly 3,000 officers and soldiers, as well as 300 strong squads. Currently, too many are used to deal with scattered thieves. If the big thieves join forces, these few troops and horses are too few, and they cannot be mobilized in the direction of Susong. They are very passive.
of.
This is one of the reasons why Pang Yu insisted on transferring the Second Division back to Qianshan. The recent transfer lacked goals and no clear strategy. Wherever there was news of bandits, more troops were added. Once the army left the station, its combat power would be reduced.
There is a certain degree of decline, and the longer you leave, the greater the decline, especially if you move frequently.
Pang Yu looked unhappy. In the six counties of Anqing, except for Taihu Lake, there are currently no garrison camps in the other five counties. They have been mobilized many times within a month. The speed at which Zan Painting Officer updates the map is not as fast as that of Daotai Yamen.
The speed of mobilizing troops was so fast that even if Shi Kefa expected that Shi Kefa would be unhappy, Pang Yu still planned to propose the division of defense zones.
The county government office was not far from the branch office. Pang Yu did not stop at the dismounting stone, but jumped off the horse and took He Xianya and Ruan Jin into the branch office. As soon as he arrived at the back hall, he saw Shi Kefa, accompanied by Yang Erming and Pan Keda.
"General Pang is here."
The dark and thin Shi Kefa's face turned even darker. He waved to Pang Yu and said, "I just received the news that Zhao Shoubei died for his country in Jifeitan."
Pang Yu couldn't help but was stunned. He knew about this Zhao Shou Bei. Zhang Guowei was also a well-known soldier. The first choice for recruiting troops and horses was a son of a good family, and the most favored general was a soldier with a martial arts background. This man's full name was Zhao Yin, and he had the title of garrison from Jiangnan.
Tiao Anqing, who also had a martial arts background, led about 200 soldiers. He had been guarding Longjing Pass a few days ago and cooperated with the cavalry division sent by Pang Yu to Qianshan for reconnaissance. He had fought a battle with rogue bandits at Jifeitan. It was clear that
It belongs to Xiao Sheng.
"When... did this happen?"
Shi Kefa sighed and handed over a report. It was from Yang Zhuoran, the magistrate of Taihu County. Pang Yu took it in a hurry. It seemed that he was very worried about his cavalry department at this time. The one who led the team to Jifei Beach was General Chen Rulie.
Yang Erming seemed to know what Pang Yu was thinking, and said from the side, "When the bandits arrived at Qili Ban, General Chen led the cavalry to rescue Taihu Lake. From time to time, bandits reappeared in Jifei Beach. Zhao Shoubei led the troops to attack, but the cunning thieves fled. Zhao Shoubei
I didn't check for a moment, and when I was chasing the thieves, I was surrounded. The soldiers who escaped said that the thieves came from behind with 300 cavalry and shook the army formation, and Zhao Defei failed to break the siege."
Pang Yu was a little relieved after hearing this, but when he heard the bad news as soon as he arrived, the atmosphere in the hall was very depressing.
The report sent by Yang Zhuoran was relatively brief, but Pang Yu could still guess the general process. The bandits' tactics were still the same, but they seemed to be becoming more and more proficient. This time, Zhao Shoubei's more than 200 subordinates only escaped.
More than thirty people came out.
This year's war has just begun, and both sides are still testing the waters. This defeat is a blow to the morale of the officers and soldiers. It also shows that the bandits are fully capable and confident in annihilating small groups of officers and soldiers, and they are becoming more and more familiar with the terrain in the Dabie Mountains.
With this defeat, the officers and soldiers will no longer dare to divide their troops. Each group will cost at least about 500 troops. And Anqing only has a total of six to seven thousand officers and soldiers. If they are all dispatched, they can only be divided into more than ten groups. This will not be able to block so many mountain passes.
, if this trend continues, the defense along the mountain will be very difficult.
After thinking about it, Pang Yu said to Shi Kefa, "Master Daotai, fighting with thieves in the mountains like this is not a long-term solution."
Shi Kefa was a little at a loss at this time, because there was no big battle last year. He had been preparing for the invasion for more than a year, and visited almost all the checkpoints in Anqing. He thought it was foolproof, and there were many small victories in the early stages. It was a time when he was full of confidence.
I thought I was suddenly hit in the head.
"General Pang said, how should we guard against thieves?"
"It is better to kill thieves than to control thieves and let them in."
Pang Yu looked up at Shi Kefa's map. He had seen this map many times, but it was too impressionistic. It took him a long time to find the location of Jifei Beach. He pointed there and said, "To the north.
The terrain in the mountains is complex, and thieves are accustomed to appearing in the mountains. When they see large soldiers, they scatter into the mountains. When our officers and soldiers enter the mountains, it is not only difficult to attack the thieves, but also to find them. If we are not careful, we will be taken advantage of by the thieves.
The purpose of the bandits is to seize food for the winter. The food is all outside the mountains. The bandits want to escape from the mountain through Longjing Pass. In this case, we let them out to fight."
Shi Kefa looked at Pang Yu hesitantly, "General, you can defeat these giant thieves outside the mountains, but these thieves are all horse soldiers. Once they go out of the mountains and gallop in the plains, they will be even more difficult to control."
"In the matter of fighting, I dare not say that I will win, but the bandits are very good at hiding. If our Anqing officers and soldiers fight with them in the mountains, we will use our own shortcomings to attack the other's strengths. After coming out of the mountain, the bandits will not be able to catch up with them.
There are hills along the plains and post roads, so thieves and horses cannot go everywhere.
If the thieves leave Longjing Pass and wait until they reach Qianshan, the lower official can send infantry to block Longjing Pass through the mezzanine road, and then gather soldiers from Anqing to attack from both ends of Taihu Lake and Shijingpu. As long as one group is killed and the leader of the thieves is killed, the group can be defeated.
The thieves are so frightened that at least this year they will not dare to enter and leave Anqing at will."
Yang Erming's eyes lit up after hearing this. Pang Yu's plan was to let go of Qianshan, let the bandits come out of the mountain, and then encircle them on three sides. The purpose was to concentrate their forces and wipe out one group. Compared with the current situation of setting up defenses everywhere, it would certainly be more inspiring.
He looked at Shi Kefa expectantly, only to see Shi Kefa shaking his head and saying, "I am the pastor of one area. As long as it is the lives and property of the people in the territory, I should protect them everywhere. To sacrifice the people for the sake of killing thieves is to sacrifice the basics and the weak.
Furthermore, if we put the thieves into the hinterland, if it fails to intercept them, we will be unworthy of the people."
Pang Yu was silent for a moment and said, "If we don't let them in to fight, then we will fight out. The mountains are not conducive to fighting, but there are bandits coming out of the mountains in the direction of Lu'an Prefecture. Vice General Liu is guarding Lu'an Prefecture, but there are very few troops along the way to Shucheng.
As long as we work together with Lieutenant General Liu to identify the location of the bandits, I am willing to lead the garrison out of Beixia Pass and attack the bandits in Shucheng from the north and south. We must take the head of a bandit chief."
Shi Kefa's eyes changed. Pang Yu came today. He was also prepared. It was about the command of the army. He never expected that there would be a defeat in Jifeitan. Now both sides have not mentioned the command issue, but the plan proposed by Pang Yu.
They all have to take the initiative to attack, and now they have to attack the area under the jurisdiction of Governor Fengyang.
He shook his head again and said, "The imperial court has its own system for enclosing borders. If you want to go to Shucheng to suppress bandits, you must first negotiate with the governor of Cao, Zhu Du. Otherwise, if you suffer defeat because of this, you will inevitably have quarrels with the governor of Cao."
, which is not conducive to future cooperation.”
Pang Yu looked at the map coldly and did not answer Shi Kefa's words. The four episodes of Rogue Bandits now rely on Liu Liangzuo from Lu'an Prefecture to divide the east and west sides, but Liu Liangzuo's thousands of soldiers cannot defend the entire Lu'an Prefecture, which is crucial to Anqing.
There are very few troops in Shucheng, and the bandits from Huoshan can move freely. If they merge with the large forces from Lujiang and Chaoxian, it will be very difficult for Tongcheng's soldiers and horses to deal with it. Even if they don't take the initiative to attack, the three or four thousand troops in Tongcheng will be defeated.
Trapped here, unable to move at all.
Pang Yu hoped to take the initiative to attack the rogue bandits in Shucheng. The terrain here was more suitable for garrison tactics than in the mountains. This way he would not only have the strategic initiative but also serve as a warning to the monkeys. Unexpectedly, Shi Kefa still disagreed.
In normal times, Pang Yu also knew how to flatter others, but when it came to war matters, something might happen to him at any time, so he didn't want to use that false courtesy anymore.
Shi Kefa coughed and said, "General Pang doesn't have to think about the big war. We must not be too hasty in suppressing the bandits. It is not easy to raise the main force of the Anqing guest army. We must not throw it away rashly. We must make a decision before moving."
Pang Yu endured the anger in his heart and said to Shi Kefa in a slow tone, "Your Majesty, it is clear that the bandits were diverted from Nanyang. The eight bandits heading south from Huguang should still be in Xiangyang or Macheng. The west of Anqing is still peaceful. At this time,
We should then concentrate our troops to annihilate the northeastern two sides, and make sure they don't dare to take action. If we just defend, when the eight thieves come from Guangji and Huangmei, there will be thieves on three sides of Anqing. How will we deal with these thousands of troops?"
Shi Kefa sighed and said, "I also understand General Pang's feelings. It's not that I don't want to fight with the thieves, but I'm afraid that we don't have enough troops."
Pang Yu asked in surprise, "Why?"
..."Brother Pang, I'm here to say goodbye to you."
Outside the branch guard's wall, Xu Ziqiang looked relaxed and patted Pang Yu on the shoulder.
Pang Yu had heard the news from Daotai Yamen before, but at this time he was still surprised and said, "Where is Mr. Xu going to be transferred?"
"We are separated again, aren't we?"
Xu Ziqiang pretended to be angry, and immediately calmed down his expression and said, "The emperor understands that the troops and horses in Jiangnan are overused, and has authorized not to recruit them this year. However, the bandits are really raging right now, and there is a shortage of troops everywhere. Zhang Duye compromised.
, transfer brother to Longtan Port to guard the imperial mausoleum."
Xu Ziqiang couldn't help but feel proud as he spoke.
As a guest general, he had been away from his base for more than a thousand miles, and even almost went to King Qin. Now that war was about to start at any time, he was finally able to go to a safe place like Nanjing, so he was naturally overjoyed.
"Then I really have to congratulate Brother Xu."
Pang Yu had a sincere look on her face, "Although my brother is looking forward to defeating the bandits together with Mr. Xu, I am still glad that my eldest brother has left this place of right and wrong."
Pang Yu was unhappy. The transfer order came from Zhang Guowei. The Longtan where Xu Ziqiang went was on the Nanjing River. It was said to be guarding the mausoleum, but in fact it was just a gesture. If the rogues could not cross the river, there would be no need to set up troops to defend the mausoleum.
If the rogues did cross the river, it means that even the soldiers and horses from the north of the river could not stop them, and even Xu Ziqiang's small army could not protect the tomb.
However, Xu Ziqiang's high rank shows that Zhang Guowei attaches great importance to the defense of the imperial tomb.
However, Anqing really needs troops and horses, and it has just suffered a defeat at Jifeitan. Any force deployed now will have an immeasurable impact on morale.
Moreover, Xu Ziqiang was originally stationed in Anqing Fucheng, and Pang Yu could mobilize Fucheng's Third Division and land combat drivers for operational operations at any time. Now that Xu Ziqiang has left, Pang Yu has reduced the strength of at least two more bureaus.
"Now that I'm gone, I don't know when or what month I will be able to meet Pang Xiandi again."
Xu Ziqiang said in a low voice, "We will hold a banquet for my brother in the evening. You and I will get drunk before we retire."
He laughed heartily after saying this, patted Pang Yu on the shoulder, mounted his horse and walked away, leaving Pang Yu and his entourage standing outside the branch door in the howling cold wind.
He Xianya beside him didn't say a word. The division of defense zones was not completed. Instead, he got two bad news. He knew that Pang Yu looked bad without looking.
After a while, he whispered, "Second brother, do you want to go back to the drug store first? Your mother came to ask twice just now and asked you to go back and eat."
"Of course I want to go, and you should go too."
Pang Yu took a breath. Due to his father's stubbornness, his parents are still staying in Tongcheng, but things are better than before. At least his father is willing to talk to him.
"We can't fight like this."
Pang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "No matter how hard Shi Daotai fights, we must at least wipe out the one in Qianshan Taihu Mountain. Otherwise, let alone rescuing Jiangnan, it will be difficult to save Anqing. I have to transfer the First Division from Tongcheng."
, what do you think should be done?”
"Shi Daotai is in Tongcheng. We can't transfer him directly like the second division. We can only go to Zhang Duye and explain the reason clearly. It will be easy to handle it if Zhang Duye nods."
Pang Yu pondered for a moment and then said, "That's it. We'll write after we go back to the drug store and have dinner."