On April 19, the 10th year of Chongzhen, outside the south entrance of Fengxiang Station, a red flag measuring 1.2 feet tall was fluttering in the wind, with a big word "Cheng" on it. There were some corpses scattered around, and more than ten empty horses. Some soldiers are beheading, and there are
Some are trying to catch the horses.
"The heads and horses of the thieves killed by Chen You are not allowed to be divided privately. When Chen You returns, they will all be handed over to his subordinates."
After Cheng Long finished speaking, the surrounding reinforcements and suppression generals had no objections. Most of the troops here were infantry. Those who could fight the rogue bandits mainly relied on the servants of King Chen Yu and Jiang Ruolai. All the troops in Anqing that could be used for mobile warfare were here. Here, the number of troops should be 5,700, and the actual number is about 4,500. Due to the severe military situation, Zhang Guowei and Shi Kefa checked the number of troops very strictly.
There are more than half of the actual troops, which is almost all the mobile troops in the Jiangnan area. Dozens of red-coated official cavalry have just returned. The first one came to the banner. There were two knife marks on King Chen Yu's scales. He then Sitting on the horse, he said loudly to Cheng Long, "I have killed about the same amount of damage as the enemy. The thieves are very determined to fight. They are very different from those in Chuzhou. I'm here."
It’s better to be on the safe side.”
"Thieves just have no other place to go. If they have a strong will to fight, they will not be called thieves." When everyone looked over, it was the chief trainer Lu Wangyou. This man was a bearded martial artist with a strong back and a strong waist, wearing cotton armor. Wearing chainmail, he looked even more burly when sitting on the horse. He looked at Chen Yuwang and said with a smile, "I'm just afraid they'll run away.
The stronger the will to fight, the better. Only when he kills will he be happy. As long as he kills hard, he will naturally lose his will."
Zhan Peng, the general commander of Yongsheng Prefecture Camp, asked Chen Yuwang: "If we go by what General Chen said, is it safer to fight, defend, or withdraw?" Chen Yuwang ignored him and still looked at Cheng Long and said, "Caught. Several horse thieves confessed that the eight thieves were working together with Chuang Taotian to attack the Qishui River and could not go east. We only brought a few days of food and grass, so it was not suitable to fight with them. After this small victory, we should retreat to avoid his attack.
"
Cheng Long did not express his position, but looked at Pan Keda. After all, he was the main soldier here. Shi Kefa was not here at this time, so he had to seek his opinion. Pan Keda said without thinking, "According to General Chen, here If we don't fight, Fengxiang Post is not suitable for defense. There is no city in Taihu Lake, and there is no city in Qianshan, so it is not suitable to fight and defend it. It is safe to retreat to Tongcheng. The thieves have no place to go, so they gather in Susong and Taihu Lake.
Qianshan, this time if we are safe, we will lose most of Anqing. I think this is the most unsafe thing."
Cheng Long frowned and turned to look at his friend behind him, "Where does Shi Daotai want us to retreat to?"
The screen friend glanced at Ling Xin again and said, "Taihu County, wait until the garrison camp gathers, and then we can push back the enemy."
Pan Keda turned to Cheng Long, "Master Cheng clearly knows that the garrison camp is all infantry. By the time they come to Taihu Lake, these horse thieves will either have already fled or fought with us in Taihu Lake. At that time, should we fight or not?" retreat?"
King Chen Yu's lips trembled twice. These people all opposed his opinion. They were about to get angry, so they held back and said, "We can replenish some food and grass in Taihu Lake, and there are two roads. The garrison camp comes from Shipai. Here The road can guarantee food and grass." "We can't fight without the garrison camp!" Pan Keda heard the word garrison camp repeatedly, and the grudge he had with Pang Yu for several years erupted inexplicably. He was one level taller than Chen Yuwang. He shouted to King Chen Yu, "I asked you just now. The garrison camp is mostly made up of infantry. If they arrive too late and the bandits arrive at Taihu Lake first, then shall we retreat? There is no city in Taihu Lake, and there is no city in Qianshan." , nothing is safe now. There have been several gangs of thieves in Yinghuo Mountain this year. A few days ago, there were reports of thieves setting up camp in the fields of Yingshan. It will take a long time.
We are stationed in planning. When the giant thieves are entrenched in Qantai, a message comes from the military gate, asking us to recover the lost territory. Could it be that we are sending troops from Tongcheng to fight? By then, we will still have these soldiers and horses, and the thieves will be waiting for work. Why fight hard now?
"
King Chen Yu said coldly, "General Pan is afraid that I will wait for the foreign soldiers to leave by then, and you will have to fight by yourself. General, please rest assured. Zhang Junmen has given orders. If the giant thieves does not retreat, we will not leave Anqing." Pan
Ke said angrily, "The year before last, there were tens of thousands of giant bandits in Susong. I led a thousand soldiers and horses to fight them. At this time, the army was gathered, and there were only two battalions of thieves on the opposite side. What is there to be afraid of, General Chen? Just retreat like you did."
After going to Tongcheng, who decided that the bandits would only stay in Qantai, so what if he occupied Shijingpu? If Shijingpu was lost, Tongcheng and Anqing would be separated, and the massive garrisoned stone plaques would be left hanging outside, and they would definitely not be able to defend it.
Wangjiang was divided again. The thieves chose a place to besiege and attacked. They couldn't defend it everywhere, and the city was lost.
This pool is your safe gift today."
King Chen Yu's expression changed, and he drew out his riding crop and was about to hit him. Cheng Long quickly leaned over to hold him back, and asked the familiar Jiang Ruolai to separate King Chen Yu to prevent the conflict from intensifying. Zhan Peng was the training general of the Yongsheng Prefecture camp, and he took advantage of this opportunity.
In the confusion, he rode his horse close to Cheng Long and whispered, "When the military gate was leaving, we strictly ordered that any thieves entering Anqing should be dispatched with force to suppress them. Mr. Ma is still guarding Taihu Lake. What should I do if he retreats like this?" Pan just now
But what he said is reasonable. The thieves have nowhere to go this time. If they take hold of Susong or Qantai without the need for military orders to recover, Mr. Ma will force Shi Daotai to return. The thieves are indeed waiting for work.
, why refuse to fight at this time?
It's favorable, and we are all infantry. Four thousand people turned around and retreated, hundreds of miles away from Tongcheng. The bandits and horse soldiers were chasing after them. If it was unfavorable, these Qiu Ba would collapse in one fell swoop."
"But the eight thieves and Chuang Taotian camp together, there are already two big camp heads, and the leather eye also fled to Guangji. If they come back together, can we handle it?" Zhan Peng hesitated and said,
"This time we only captured Chuang Taotian camp. Our officers and soldiers were gathered together. I have never heard of the bandits working hard to fight. Zuo Liangyu only had a few hundred servants. Those bandits were said to be tens of thousands, and there were still
If it doesn’t collapse at the first touch, how can it come about?
The fighting spirit is very strong.”
Cheng Long's eyes changed for a moment, and Zhan Peng said cautiously, "Mr. Ma made it clear, sir, if you want to be promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief, you must have some outstanding military exploits, so that you can talk to the military..." Cheng Long looked at it
Looking around, they saw that King Chen Yu's mood had calmed down a little. He paused for a while and then said, "The army sent me and others from thousands of miles away to come and kill the bandits. In the past, we couldn't find him. Now that we have seen him today, we should kill him."
He depends on General Chen
The army fought hard and won its first victory, taking away the momentum of the bandits. The so-called morale can be boosted but not let down. My plan has been decided, and the whole army will move forward to meet the bandits!"
…
On April 20, in Leigang, Wangjiang County, a group of soldiers in the garrison camp looked eastward. Smoke and dust were billowing outside Wangjiang County in the distance, and smoke columns shot straight into the sky.
"Sir, the sentry report is that the Susong bandits are in urgent need, and Wangjiang County Magistrate has ordered the burning of all houses near the city."
"Report the situation to each division. The officers will control the army and there should be no commotion." Pang Yu frowned for a moment, then turned and returned to the Chinese army's tent. The officers behind him followed, and the generals of each infantry division and water camp were there.
.
After standing in front of the square table in the tent, Pang Yu looked at the map and said, "Thank you, Zhaofa, for you to continue reading the Tang newspaper sent from Shidaotai." "On the 19th of this month, I received a newspaper from Deputy General Cheng, saying: Officers and soldiers met at Fengxiang Post.
The thieves and soldiers fought hard and captured thirteen horse soldiers and seventeen horses. The rest fled to the old county and captured three thieves alive. They were the third sentry horse soldiers and thieves in the Chuangtian camp.
Tangshan
After hearing the confession, the sentry officer Gao Zhao said that he and the eight thieves came to Anqing together and must go to Fucheng..."
After listening, Pang Yu said again, "Inform me about the situation of the bandits." "As of yesterday afternoon, there were bandits camping along the Erlang River in Susong. The bandits who arrived at Erlang Town three days ago have followed the post road to the east of Taihu Lake.
Currently, only a small number of the Eight Thieves’ camps are still there, but their old camp has not been found. I don’t know if they are
The whole battalion came, but there were very few bandits around Susong County. Only a small group went eastward along Longhu Lake. At about 2:00 today, a few horse thieves were found in Fengyi Shangxiang. They were just looting nearby and there was no sign of sentinels. "
Pang Yu muttered in disappointment, "That means the bandits don't plan to go to Shipai." On the map, the labels of the supporting officers and soldiers were still at Fengxiangyi. They were gathered from Qianshan, Shijingpu and other places. The supporting and suppressing troops were there.
Yilu, with the rogues' cavalry superiority and intelligence capabilities, they must know the strength and location of the officers and soldiers, but they still want to
The advance of Taihu Lake shows that they are determined to fight, instead of avoiding the real situation and attacking the weak. According to previous estimates, if the supporting and suppressing officers and soldiers are stationed on the post road, the usual practice of using rogue bandits to avoid the real and attack the weak may be repeated.
Susong Xingfa sneak attack on Shipai, and then went straight to Anqing Fucheng. Therefore, the garrison camp left the cavalry division in Shipai City.
Pang Yu led his infantry to hide in Leigang. Wangjiang was surrounded by rivers and lakes. Rogue bandits rarely sent sentries in this direction. The only land route was also easy to intercept. Ships were prohibited from going up the Leigang River. It was easy for the garrison to remain hidden and wait for the rogue bandits.
After moving from Susong County to Shipai or Wangjiang, the garrison camp then landed in Susong by water, surrounded the bandits on the sidewalk, surrounded them from both ends and annihilated them. But now it seems that the bandits have not entered the urn and are still going.
Post road, so
As soon as the plan failed again. "Another order came from Shidaotai, ordering me to leave one division in the garrison to garrison Shipai, and all the other departments were transferred to Taihu Lake." Pang Yu looked up at several officers and said, "Shidaotai also
Cheng Long was ordered to return to Taihu Lake, but Cheng Long and Pan Keda refused. Do you think I
How should the garrison battalion conduct this battle?" After hearing this, the big tent was quiet for a moment. Everyone knew that the plan had failed. If they were mobilized according to the order letter, they might repeat the useless march before. Even if they won, they would only be a small victory. But now
Even Cheng Long and Pan Keda didn't want to listen anymore, so Pang Yu
Not to mention, it only depends on whether the reserve battalion can find a more suitable combat plan.
No one spoke for a while, but Xie Zhaofa looked around and suddenly said, "I have a plan here."
Pang Yu nodded and said, "Speak to anyone who has an idea." "Your Majesty's intention is to gather and annihilate the bandits. The bandits will not go to Shipai. We just can't gather and annihilate them on this section of the pedestrian road, but it is not without a chance." Xie Zhaofa
Putting his finger on the post road in Susong section, "The reinforcements and horses are at Fengxiang Post, and the bandit army is at Tongxiang Post."
Between Lingzhai and Fengxiangyi, there is clearly a better situation to gather and annihilate..."
Pang Yu stared at the map for a moment, his eyes slowly concentrating. "If the bandits want to fight against the Fengxiangyi reinforcements and suppression army, they must have the elite in front and their families behind. The road behind them is empty. Sir, attack Susong directly from the water. The bandits must be in advance."
They were unable to send out sentries. They didn't know that my army was coming until my garrison camp landed ashore. The elite troops in the front couldn't be mobilized back in time. Our garrison camp only needs..." Xie Zhaofa followed the Fengxiang Post to the west with his fingers, and finally landed on the location of Erlang Town.
, "Your Excellency, lead the troops to land from Susong and go straight to Erlang Town. As long as Erlang Town is captured, all these camps of bandits will be intercepted."
On this sixty-mile post road."
Xie Zhaofa's voice was very calm, but Yang Xueshi, He Xianya and others next to him were breathing heavily. With the movement of Xie Zhaofa's fingers, they all understood the meaning of this plan. Whether the bandits came from Huangmei or Guangji, they had to pass through Erlang Town.
, the roads with the best road conditions are all controlled by this point, which means that evacuation must also pass through here. Now the vanguard of the rogue bandits has arrived at Fengxiang Station, while the rear of the group is far behind Erlang.
Town, Xie Zhaofa's analysis is very consistent with common sense. The elite of the rogue bandits must be in the vanguard, not at the rear, because they have no idea that the main force of the garrison camp is hidden on the other side of Longhu. If Pang Yu suddenly comes to the camp at this time,
Songluncheng is only thirty miles away from Erlang Town. It only takes half a day to seize this key node on the post road. However, the rogue bandits are as many as sixty miles away from Erlang Town. The roads are full of slaves and carriages. It still takes a long time.
It is impossible to provide timely support to Erlang Town if orders and mobilization are required. The Susong section of the post road runs east-west, with the Dabie Mountains in the north. There is no major mountain access from Erlang Town to Fengxiang Post. Even the leather eyes can only leave the mountain through Qianshan and Taihu Lake.
, to the south is the complex hilly terrain, and to the south is the river. This is Pang Yu
The chance of a big victory that I have been looking forward to, the encirclement and annihilation of tens of thousands of rogue bandits.
But the scale seemed to exceed Pang Yu's expectations. If the scale was too large, it might not be enough to survive, but once it succeeded, it would be a great victory over Chuzhou. Everyone in the tent tilted their heads around the map and started talking in low voices.
Pang Yu looked at the location of Erlang Town and asked, "What camp heads are there currently?"
"The survivors captured by the Marine Division's sentry in the lower reaches of the Erlang River were from two battalions of Chuangtaotian and the Eight Thieves, as well as seven effect leaders who usually followed them. According to their accounts, the new partners seemed to have Youli
slip."
"Slick?" Pang Yu turned to look at Yang Xueshi, "Has this small camp leader been following Cao Cao's troops for a long time?"
"As adults, it's true, but it's not always the case." Yang Xueshi thought for a while, then turned to his book.
Xie Zhaofa seemed to have a better memory, and he said directly to Pang Yu, "I remember that the last time I received information about the whereabouts of this camp, it was heading east from Nanyang, and I was traveling with Cao Cao at that time."
"That means Cao Cao may also be here." Several generals looked at each other. They were beaten to shame by Cao Cao's cavalry in Chuzhou, and were forced to risk crossing the Qingliu River. It can be said that they narrowly escaped death. Later, according to the information collected about the rogue bandits,
It seems that there are a large number of deserters from the border troops in Cao Cao's camp, and they are among the best in terms of combat effectiveness of both infantry and cavalry. It was previously confirmed that the Eight Kings part and the entire Chuangtaotian camp, plus the small camp head, should be seven or eight battalions.
At present, the garrison camp has 4,000 people, so it can be forced to attack. If Cao Cao is there, the risk will be urgent.
The drama increases.
The information is very vague. Cao Cao may be nearby or far away in Huoshan, depending on whether Pang Yu wants to gamble.
Pang Yu felt that his hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he immediately put them on the edge of the table, "You are the mainstay of my camp, do you think we should fight?"
Yao Dongshan was the first to raise his hand and said, "The official said we should fight."
"Give me your reasons."
"I have been looking for half a year, just waiting for such a good opportunity, so naturally I want to fight. I have nothing else to say." Pang Yu smiled and looked at the next one. Not counting He Xianya and others, there were six officers here, four
The commander-in-chief of the Infantry Division, the commander-in-chief of the water camp, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Marine Corps, and the commander-in-chief blacksmith of the Marine Corps went to lead the sentry in person, but they have not returned yet. Next to Yao Dongshan
It's Zhuang Chaozheng. "I thought we should wait for the sentry to find out." Zhuang Chaozheng became more confident since he became the commander-in-chief of the personal army. His eyes were not as evasive as before. He looked at Pang Yu and said, "My subordinates are not afraid of that.
The Eight Thieves and Chuang Taotian, the subordinates are worried about Guang Ji Huang
Meiliu thieves gathered in large numbers. After our camp occupied Erlang Town, if another new camp came over from Huangmei Guangji, for example, it was Cao Cao, my four thousand soldiers and horses would fall into the thieves' den. If one of them failed, he would be surrounded by thieves.
." Pang Yu nodded and looked at Wang Zenglu, who said respectfully, "The villain continued what General Zhuang said, I have captured Erlang Town, and the bandits must attack Deputy General Cheng to survive.
Greedy for a living, these old thieves have very low combat power. Most of the officers and soldiers who assisted in the suppression of Jiangnan have not experienced combat, and their subordinates thought that they could not stop them. If Deputy General Cheng was defeated, the rogue bandits would have a way to the east, and our battalion would not be able to encircle and suppress this group.
Therefore, my subordinates believe that after our battalion captures Erlang Town, we must take advantage of the chaos of the stray thieves and immediately attack their rear along the post road without allowing the enemy to move at all. Once the attacking battalion leaves, Erlang Town's
There will be fewer soldiers and horses left behind. If a new battalion of bandits arrives at Erlang Town at this time, will our battalion continue to encircle and suppress it?
If the rogue bandits on the east side of Erlang Town do not attack, then Lieutenant General Cheng will be defeated, and the eight thieves and Chuang Taotian will turn around and join forces with the Guangji Huangmei New Camp to surround our camp."
Pang Yu looked at the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Battalion again. The former harpooneer Tuesday was still dark and thin, and his behavior was more gentle. "My subordinates agree with this plan, but Commander-in-Chief Wang is right. We have occupied Erlang Town."
After that, should we sent out sentries to explore both sides of Huangmei and Guangji? If there are no enemies, then attack Fengxiangyi. In addition, we need to go from Susong to Erlang Town. We have to cross the Chema River on the way.
The first-class thief burned the bridge, please thank Sili for preparing the crossing route in advance."
Ren Dalang of the Navy was not in charge of land warfare. He just explained that the previous plan was to transport only three divisions. If all infantry need to be transported according to the new plan and there are still insufficient ships, we need to go to the lake immediately to grab some civilian ships. The rest
It was the Land War Department. Pang Yu looked at the deputy commander. This time, because across the Long Lake, the sentry cavalry also withdrew the ship. The responsibility of the sentry fell on the more suitable Land War Department. Blacksmith Bai personally transferred him.
Soldiers formed a sentry team in Susong
He stopped at the entrance of the Erlang River to take charge of reconnaissance operations.
This deputy general was dark and capable, but rarely spoke. Pang Yu didn't expect him to say anything.
The deputy commander raised his chest and said to Pang Yu in a military-standard manner, "If you don't have any more, if your Majesty decides to capture Erlang Town, please hand over Erlang Town to the Department of Marine Warfare. The Department of Marine Warfare will hold on until I wipe out the intruders."
.”
Pang Yu was a little surprised, then smiled and said, "But why do you think you can hold on?"
The deputy commander raised his head slightly, "Because marines are the most elite soldiers. They obey Pang Pang's military orders, strictly observe military disciplines, practice hard, and never flinch in the face of any enemy." "What you want is this arrogance." Pang said.
Yu patted the deputy commander and encouraged him a few words. The Marine Division was the light infantry among his infantry. They were only equipped with leather armor, and half of them had no auxiliary arm armor and leg armor. However, after watching several drills, they often
Give him more ferocity
It feels powerful, but the defensive effect may not be as good as that of heavy infantry. All officers have expressed their opinions, and the final decision still needs to be made by him. This plan will gain the greatest benefits, but also take the greatest risks. It may be to break through the sky and collapse.
The eight thieves were completely wiped out. It is also possible that the garrison camp was completely wiped out among the hundreds of thousands of thieves.
The army was wiped out. Pang Yu turned to look at the table. The three small words Erlang Town had never been so conspicuous.