In the early morning of the 20th, the north wall of Tongchengyi. Tongchengyi is an important node on the north-south post road. It is larger than some small counties. Like those county towns, it forms the Guanxiang area outside the city wall. The town is five miles long from north to south.
The area within the city wall is roughly two and a half miles, with the east and west walls being as long as
The length is one and a half miles, and the total length of the city wall is eight miles.
The southern part of the town is a section of the old Yellow River route. Due to the gradual extension of the town, it formed a low-lying area. The town and city walls also undulated with the terrain.
Because it is located in a low-lying area, Nancheng often suffers from floods, and there are many collapsed areas. The rammed earth is washed away by the water and turned into low earth slopes, with some gaps reaching a width of ten feet.
The scope of the collapse of the north wall was less than that of the south, with only three larger gaps. Three squads of armored soldiers were stationed at night. Several bonfires were lit inside the north gate, and people threw firewood into it from time to time. Copper City
Pu is an important post road town with a large population and prosperous commerce. Although many people ran to the countryside, they could only take away valuable items, but not firewood. The Anqing Camp spent some money to purchase sufficient firewood.
Many places are burning firewood for heating. Walled places are always better protected than wilderness. With the protection of city walls, they are not afraid of enemy night attacks and reconnaissance. Tongcheng Station does not have yamen management, so the Anqing camp will not encounter obstacles when entering.
So Tu Dianli thought of this place first when he retreated, but this was still not the best defensive point that Zanhuafang thought.
At this time, there were still many peasants busy at the gap in the north wall. They were dismantling building materials nearby. There were also a few local people who braved the cold to watch, and occasionally quarreled with the peasants.
"Your Majesty, if only the bricks were removed and could be repaired, the rammed earth in these two gaps has collapsed. It would be very difficult to fill them up overnight."
The person who spoke was the commander of the baggage department. He had nothing to do during the war, but he was the busiest before and after the war. He even had to take charge of repairing the city wall at night.
Pang Yu was also followed by Zhuang Chaozheng and Tu Dianli. The three of them looked around and found that the progress of the project was slower than Pang Yu thought. There seemed to be only more than a hundred people transporting earth and stone on the north wall, and there were also only a few people loading it.
not enough.
Pang Yu asked the baggage manager, "Why are there only these people?" "As an adult, notices were posted in the town during the day, recruiting laborers at the price of five silver coins per day. Women paid three coins, and seven were recruited before dark.
There are more than a hundred people. Each of the civilian husbands from Anqing will lead ten people to work. They will be given half of the money first, and some will get it.
The money ran away, and we couldn't see clearly at night, and we Anqing citizens couldn't control it. We couldn't recognize the people, and we didn't know where they lived. It was late at night and the sky was freezing, and only more than two hundred people were left."
At this time, there was a commotion beside the city wall. Several soldiers pressed their hands on the hilts of their swords and surrounded Pang Yu warily.
Pang Yu turned around and saw that a few local people were not allowed to demolish a house. The demolisher spoke with an Anqing accent, and the two sides refused to give in. "Such a repair project should be contracted out to local gentry, and local ruffians can also do it.
You only ask for construction requirements, whether it is a vehicle frame, stone or wood, and as long as the blockage is blocked before dawn, you will pay him one or two per day.
Both are fine, as long as the city wall is completed." Pang Yu thought about it and said, "You are in charge of the Transport Department and you have a lot of things to do. You can let Chief Tan Bao handle this kind of thing."
"Chief Tanbao disappeared in Balizhuang, Linqing while delivering food. I'm afraid he has..." Pang Yu exclaimed a little surprised. He had just heard about this, but people died all the time during the war, and they couldn't talk about it after they got used to it.
Feeling sad, he waved his hands and said, "After daybreak, follow the instructions of my officer. You must do it before noon."
The north wall must be repaired."
"Then the south wall still needs to be repaired?" "Repair the north wall first. The whole town wall is too long. If the Tatars come quickly, we may only be able to defend half of the city. There are three walls from the cross street to the north, so we only have to defend one side.
.After repairing the north wall, you first let the civilians build the north city barricade and the south wall.
It was fixed at the end.”
The baggage manager nodded repeatedly, "My subordinate must be faster."
Pang Yu turned to Tu Dian and said, "If we have to defend the city, let us know what is missing from the top priority supplies." "Gunpowder, bamboo tubes, iron nails, there are five firecrackers sellers in the town.
There are a lot of goods prepared during the Chinese New Year, so it is best to buy them all. There is a saying at the dock that you can find a gunpowder seller, but the shopkeeper ran away, and you have to find where his warehouse is to sell it.
There are six bamboo shops that can process bamboo tubes, and there are seven iron shops, and there is no shortage of nails..."
"Make a list and give it to the baggage department. Those who are in the shop will be given money to buy, and those who are not available will be requisitioned first." Tu Dianli immediately ordered Zan Hua behind him. Pang Yu took a breath and suppressed the slightly anxious mood in his heart. Chongzhen
When resisting the rogue bandits for the first time in seven years, Tongcheng made a large number of bamboo tube fire thunders, which were actually big artillery firecrackers with iron nails. They were amazingly powerful in killing unarmored rogue bandits. However, after the garrison camp was established, Pang Yu preferred to take the initiative to attack and defend the city.
There are fewer and fewer, and this kind of bamboo tube fire thunder is rarely used. This time, Pang Yu did not expect that there would be any
The defensive battle didn't even bring a single fire thunder, and now it can only be made temporarily.
"Sir, there is one more important matter." The general manager of the Provisional and Transport Department came over. "There is not much cash left. If we want to buy so many gunpowder equipment, we are afraid that we will not be able to buy enough rice and beans." Pang Yu nodded, and the Anqing camp's initial battle
The plan is only to last until the end of November, or at most mid-December, which means that now is the time for the return trip. The cash I brought with me was unexpectedly consumed in Xuzhou, and the price of food in Shandong has increased.
It's expensive and consumes a lot of cash. "Here at Tongcheng Station, you can ask the dock to make up for the silver later. The price can be set higher. Regardless of whether the owners agree or not, we must get the supplies first and tomorrow morning
Then we started making fire mines, so that everyone in the firearms team
Go and teach on site.”
"Sir, you said you can't..." "It's true that we can't rob, but we can requisition." Pang Yu said matter-of-factly, "We have to pay, how can we call it robbery? If those bosses don't give us gunpowder, the city will be guarded.
If you can't stop it, the Tatars take it away. This is called
He is an enemy, so we would be polite if we don’t chop off his head.”
"Your Majesty is right."
At this time, a few snowflakes fell. Pang Yu looked up at the dark night sky. Fortunately, it was not that kind of heavy snow.
Pang Yu turned to Tu Dianli and Zhuang Chaozheng and said, "Be prepared to defend and wait for the results of the cavalry's battle in Dong'a tomorrow. Have you handed over Chen Rulie's plan?" "I just handed it over, saying that the cavalry division lost yesterday.
It is quite large, and it also needs to defend the outpost of the training ground. The cavalry can dispatch up to three rounds with four guns, and all the rangers are dispatched. The rangers set out before dawn to set up an ambush at the Nanjing store, and after dawn
Chen Rulie personally led the cavalry to attack Dong'a Jiannu. The rangers will be ready to set off when your Excellency signs the battle order." Pang Yu frowned after hearing this. Tongcheng Station is forty miles away from Dong'a. There are two nodes in the middle, respectively.
They are the Beijing Store and the Nanjing Store. The Rangers set up an ambush in the Nanjing Store to deal with possible sentry cavalry of the Qing army and prevent the conventional cavalry from being discovered prematurely.
, once the Qing army is prepared, it will not be easy to break through their camp.
The situation in Dong'a that was detected yesterday was relatively vague, and the location of the Qing army camp was not determined. The last Qing army seen was near the North Gate martial arts training ground of Dong'a, and it was possible that they were stationed there. Previously, the Anqing camp passed by Dong'a, and the North Gate martial arts training ground was
There is a wall. Yesterday's reconnaissance estimated that the Qing army was more than 200. I wonder if new Tatars will arrive today, but even if there are only 200 Tatars, Pang Yu does not believe in the Anqing cavalry.
We can conquer the opponent's camp. After all, an entire cavalry unit was beaten to a pulp by forty Tatars yesterday. Pang Yu did not dare to send his own troops to attack because the enemy's situation in the east direction was unclear.
Thousands of people would have to follow. The armored soldiers had to walk forty miles to get there. If the attack was not successful and then walked back, it would be eighty miles in one day. Even if they could come back, it would seriously affect the subsequent defense operations. The biggest possibility is that they would be cleared.
The army cavalry was trapped on the way, just like what Cao Cao did by the Qingliu River. After a night of siege, these majestic armored soldiers would probably
He froze to death on the road. Therefore, Zanhuafang's suggestion was to only send the cavalry to Dong'a. If they can't fight, they can still run back. It was just a trial. Tu Dianli looked at Pang Yu expectantly. He wanted to withdraw the most.
Dong'a, entering the mountainous area to the south,
It is best to cross the Langxi River and set up defenses in Jiuxian or Wanggudian areas. The defensive situation will be much better. It will be difficult for the Qing army to exert its numerical advantage in the mountains. Pang Yu looked at Tu Dianli. According to the current cavalry strength,
Combat strength, the possibility of success in attacking the Qing army in Dong'a is very small, but it seems that it can be tried. For the cavalry, eighty miles round trip is not too far, and the Qing army in Dong'a has not yet
I must have received news from Chiping, so I may not be very well prepared. It seems that I can give it a try. After thinking for a moment, I said, "Bring the order letter for signing and tell Chen Rulie that the cavalry is an offensive unit, so be more courageous."
…
"Uncle Qin, I'll give you some of the money given by Pang Pang." On the cross street toward the west gate, there is a Bixia Yuanjun Temple. It seems to be very popular every day. There is a large stable surrounding the temple. On weekdays,
It was a place for pilgrims to feed their animals. Now it is also full of horses, but they are all tourists.
Cavalry.
Mandal was opposite the west stable, with a cut silver ingot in the palm of his outstretched hand. The cut was still very smooth. Under the reflection of the flames in the street, the silver inside could be seen to be shiny, and it could be seen that it had just been cut.
Qin Jiuze, who was sitting against the wall next to him, waved his hand, "It's 90% silver, so you can keep it for yourself."
Seeing this, Mandal put the money away again. Qin Jiuze asked calmly, "How much did I give you?"
"Forty taels, it's not a head reward, it was calculated for me by Mr. Qi." Mandal paused for a while and then said, "Yang Guangdi and the others don't have any."
"They also have it, but they only collect it when they go back. The Pangda people know that we are from outside, and they are afraid that they will worry too much if they don't give us money."
Mandal turned around and said, "You said that Pang Da people still treat us as outsiders."
Qin Jiuze took a bite of the pancake and exhaled a breath of white air from his mouth, "I'm not saying that I'm an outsider, I'm saying that I must have thought about it before being paid like this. This Anqing camp takes us seriously and cares about how you came up with the idea.
"
Mandar said, "This battalion is good, but there are only a few fire soldiers. You have to do everything by yourself, such as feeding the horses."
When he looked up, he saw someone coming, and he quickly touched Qin Jiuze and said, "General Manager Qi is here."
The two of them stood up quickly, and Commander Qi followed an officer. The officer looked fair and clean, unlike ordinary officers. "I told you about the military regulations. You cannot walk beyond the letter at night, but you must be led by an officer above the deputy commander."
Okay." Mr. Qi looked at the officer respectfully and said, "This is Mr. Zhang, the clerical officer of our Second Cavalry Division. He is going to the military hospital soon.
To see the wounded, you can take a few soldiers with you. You want to see Yang Shisan, and you happen to be going with Secretary Zhang."
Qin Jiuze and Qin Jiuze had never heard of a clerical officer in Xuanda University. It sounded a bit like a scribe, but judging from Mr. Qi's respectful attitude and the title of Mr. Zhang, he was definitely not a scribe. When they arrived at Anqing Camp, they
Constantly fighting, and only being exposed to the level of the flag team, the organization above is confused. I only listened to Yang Guangdi’s idle talk, and the ones I understood were Zhen Fu, Bai Zong, and General Zong, but I couldn’t understand some, such as various
Mr. Si and Mr. Qian
There are special praise paintings for the department, including those in charge of baggage and transportation, as well as those in charge of combat training, as well as sergeants and artillery commanders. These are all things Xuanda does not have. They were confused at first, and now there is a clerical officer.
He didn't dare to ask questions, so he could only nod respectfully and thank you. The officer held a lantern and took the lead to the cross street. Commander Qi waved his hand and led the two of them to follow.
later.
His tone was very gentle, "Both of you are heroes who killed slaves. I heard that you fought bravely in Sansanlipu today and made great military exploits." The two of them didn't know how to answer. Qin Jiuze subconsciously hunched his back.
The clerk added, "In the future, we should teach our comrades in the camp more. Our Anqing camp has strong infantry, artillery, and naval forces, but the cavalry is inferior.
Anqing is close to a big river, so people ride more boats and fewer ride horses, so practicing cavalry is more effective with half the effort..."
The clerk talked a lot. After walking towards the cross street for a long time, I heard him keep talking. The three of them couldn't talk to each other. Just when they were feeling a little embarrassed, they heard an order from the front.
"Who's coming?"
The clerk said calmly, "Here comes someone."
"Night!"
"North Gorge."
The other person replied, "Tiger"
A sentry came over in the darkness, and the clerk handed over the badge. The sentry looked at it carefully with a lantern, looked up at the clerk and said, "Where are you going?"
"Go to the military hospital to inspect the wounded."
The sentry must have seen it a lot throughout the night. He handed back his belt badge without any surprise, then stood up straight and crossed his right arm across his chest to salute, "Your Majesty, please."
After walking a few steps, Mandal asked in a low voice with a surprised look on his face, "Is he literate?" "Our military cards in Anqing are different from other families. Each military center and rank is marked. It only takes a day or two to memorize it."
Remember." Mr. Qi said to Mandal patiently, "The carpenters of the Second Cavalry Division have all been transferred to watch the barricades.
I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a little longer for the Shijun card.”
Mandar said carefully, "Young man, don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry."
Clerk Zhang said gently, "You two newcomers, if you don't understand anything, just ask Zhang. It's okay for big and small matters. Don't let anyone see you outside." These southern soldiers gave them the same feeling as ordinary officers.
Strict and dignified at the level of President Bai, but Pang Pang was very polite. The clerk even called himself Zhang, and his attitude was particularly polite. This made the two of them very uncomfortable and made them even more suspicious.
I don't know what this official does.
Mandar plucked up the courage and asked, "Mr. Zhang, how much monthly salary can the rangers in our battalion receive?" "From the moment you pass the assessment and get the ranger badge, the base number is three taels, and the increase will increase as the non-commissioned officer increases by one level.
One tael, for Qin sergeants it was four taels, and there were skills pay, five taels for bows and crossbows, one tael for riding and shooting, one tael for Mongolian language, and finally settled on six taels and five.
Money, Mandal, you know these things, but you are not a non-commissioned officer, it should be five or two or five dollars, but there is no need to worry, according to Mandal's skills, becoming a non-commissioned officer will happen sooner or later."
Mandar'er opened his mouth repeatedly and danced, "Master Zhang, what else can I add?" "There are also literacy, semaphore, musketry, ranging... There are so many skills that Zhang can't remember them all at the moment. 2
As a new member of the camp, there is indeed no kung fu test. Although he is not yet a formal ranger, Pang Pang asked the rangers to be assessed based on their combat skills. Mr. Chen Qi has determined that all three of you are qualified. Your Majesty has authorized you to be paid as a ranger.
We will take the assessment after returning to Anqing. The assessment is a military discipline. You must pass the assessment before you can be issued an official Ranger badge." Clerk Zhang stopped.
Come, point to a lantern in front and say, "We are here as soon as we speak. The military hospital is located here. You come with me to inspect the wounded."
Commander Qi whispered from behind, "Sir Zhang, the rangers will set off in half an hour. They will arrive at the Nanjing store before dawn to ambush. After visiting the wounded of our team, we will return to the camp first without waiting for you to join us."
Secretary Zhang obviously knew about this. He raised a hand and said to General Qi, "General Chen Qi, the Rangers are the best of our battalion. The losses this time are already considerable. Please be careful. Everyone must be careful."
Very important, very important."
"The villain understands..."
Secretary Zhang waved his hand, "But killing the Tatars is also important. Zhang is waiting for your good news."
Without waiting for Mr. Qi's reply, Mandarer took a step forward and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, we will definitely kill all the Tatars in Dong'a." Clerk Zhang nodded encouragingly at Mandarer. Qin Jiuze looked at the ground with his nose.