It is the only place that leads from Xi'an Prefecture to Qingyang and Pingliang Prefecture.
The pack mules meandered, the carriages and horses rustled, and the boatmen on both sides of the Jingshui River shouted slogans as they loaded and unloaded vehicles loaded with military supplies onto the ships.
On the small ridges beside the shore, flags indicating the road were planted on every hilltop. Groups of soldiers carrying swords and spears marched in armor, forming long snake formations that were constantly opening and closing according to the terrain.
The military flag is hurriedly heading north.
The huge Northern Expeditionary Army of the Marshal's Mansion was like a bolt of lightning, almost blocking the official road from Xi'an to Qingyang, so it bifurcated and split on the northern plateau of Tingkou Town. Along the official roads and paths between the mountains and ridges,
The troops were divided into five groups and spread northward.
The logistics grain road also divided into three roads here. According to the road conditions, donkey carts were used to transport the army on the official road, pack mules were used on the mountain paths, and large and small ships were used on the Jinghe River waterway to transport military supplies in batches to Qing Dynasty in the north.
Yangfucheng and Pingliangfucheng in the northwest.
Liu Chengzong's marching shogunate was temporarily stationed here.
Listening to the chaotic people shouting and neighing, and watching the huge smoke and dust rising over the valley, shrouding the distant mountains in haze, Liu Shizi was very satisfied with this dispatch.
Although looking at the chaos in Zhankou Town, Liu Shizi was still very satisfied with the initial situation of the march.
Because from Xi'an Prefecture to the north, through Yaozhou to Pizhou, the mountain plateaus run north to south, there are many people walking there, and the roads are smooth.
The ten battalions of soldiers, horses and baggage were lined up in columns on the large plateau. The mule carts took the official road, and the soldiers walked lightly on the small roads, spreading out and walking very comfortably.
But once you enter the boundary of Pizhou, the road becomes difficult to walk. Not only does the terrain become higher and the slope begins to climb, but the mountain gradually changes to an east-west direction. All roads on the plateau converge at one point, leading to more than 100 miles of land in Changwu County.
, this is the only good road that can carry heavy vehicles.
Pizhou, Ningzhou, and Jingzhou belong to the three prefectures of Xi'an, Qingyang, and Pingliang respectively. In this fringe area where the three prefectures are connected, even the official roads have not been repaired for more than ten years.
The road was in disrepair and was full of potholes. After the snow melted, the ground was filled with mud. The clan camp as the vanguard was busy building roads in the mountains and building bridges when encountering water. The reports sent by Jin Chanzi to Ren Quan'er were full of curses and doubts.
How can there be trees growing on this official road?
Let Jin Chanzi be the vanguard because he used to be active in this area, jumping repeatedly between mountain trails and rivers, and leading the poor sect of the Han Dynasty through various mountain roads.
But the march of a large corps carried a lot of baggage, carriages and horses. After all, it was different from the hundreds of people he used to run back and forth on his legs. Many roads were impossible to walk.
What's more, the world has changed. In the past, this place was a geomantic treasure for the wandering golden cicadas, because the poor road conditions could effectively delay the march of the army, and the trees that hindered the official road were all planted by his people.
But now he is an officer.
But the morale of the clan camp is pretty good.
The people of Han Fan and Su Fan were supervising Qin Fan's new recruits who were filling in the pits. They were talking about how they would be liberated after Qing Fan was dealt with. They would leave all the dirty work to Qing Fan.
people.
The Marshal's Mansion has a mature clan management method to ensure that everyone goes where they should go.
Those who are brave and willing to get honors immediately can join the sect's camp as soldiers; those who are intelligent and want to be officials can join the Li Yamen as officials; those who are full of evil can be hung on a tree; those who are not qualified to climb a tree can be given to Zhou Taimeng and Dong Ou Tuan
Children play.
Or being played with.
Anyway, it's a one-way ticket to the same destination.
This march benefited from the increase in experience and the good organization of the new field brigade. Although the number of soldiers exceeded 30,000, and the manpower even approached 40,000 including baggage and transportation, Liu Chengzong felt very comfortable in command.
Like an arm pointing a finger.
Of course, there are also problems, such as the slow march of several battalions and the congestion of troops, horses and supplies in Changwu County.
But this was not commanded by Liu Chengzong. Even if the road was blocked, each battalion army had a pre-arranged station area. While the horses and mules were letting their horses and mules graze, each battalion was also practicing long-distance marching and camp defense during the march. The situation was very
optimism.
As for those battalions that marched slowly, they were mainly the reinforcement battalions of the two brigades. Their marching speed was extremely slow, only reaching half of the field march regulations of the Marshal's Army.
This is a question of the establishment of reinforcement battalions.
The reinforcement battalion was full of gunners. Firearms and ammunition occupied the space for mules and horses to carry, and they were also equipped with armor, which made their march too slow.
Regarding the organization of the Ming army, no matter whether it was Qi Jiguang's infantry or Sun Chengzong's chariot camp, the firearmsmen did not wear armor, which was a compromise between defense and logistics.
Although this resulted in the Ming Army's firearms vehicle camp being easily surrounded by Da Mangzi, it also ensured their mobility and ability to arrive on the battlefield on time and build vehicle barriers to support the front line.
However, the battalions of the Marshal's Mansion did not recruit new soldiers and uniformly equip them. As the war progressed, the peasant troops surrendered by the surrendered troops and the leaders of various groups were continuously replenished. There were always more soldiers than the number of soldiers, and more armor than soldiers.
.
Originally, Liu Chengzong's approach to this situation was to take advantage of the large number of mules and horses to add more light tanks to each unit to increase the carrying capacity of carrying guns and heavy guns.
There haven't been any problems.
But after all, he had little experience in commanding large armies, and had only marched three times with large armies of more than 20,000 people.
The first time was from Xining to Gansu. It was very smooth. Although there were no roads outside the pass, the hard road surface in the Gobi Desert created favorable conditions for the Marshal's army to move quickly with a large number of vehicles.
Moreover, in the vast Gobi desert in the northwest, the requirements for commanders to be familiar with the roads and find water sources are relatively high, but the impact on command is minimal.
The second time was the Eastern Expedition. The first time he commanded a huge force, although he also had no logistics, he encountered problems of command failure and improper placement.
But this time Liu Chengzong had no problem, the problem was the road conditions.
The heavy carrying of the reinforcement battalion had no problems in daily drills in the Guanzhong Plain, but problems arose when we carried out the Northern Expedition according to those road conditions.
This time they were walking from low to high, and almost every step was climbing. The normal movement of animals was a heavy task, not to mention carrying soldiers' armor and firearms. As a result, more than 60 mules and donkeys died in the two battalions in four days.
head.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! When the animals died, the soldiers had to pull the carts. As a result, the carts moved slower and slower. Not to mention the infantry, which can travel eighty miles a day, even the artillery, which can travel sixty miles a day.
I can't even keep up with the speed of ten miles.
Liu Shizi was surprised at first. The two reinforcement battalions were holding arms and falling behind. Could it be that they were going to rebel?
But I didn’t think so. Tang Tong, the commander of the first brigade reinforcements battalion, is from Jingyang, and even if he wants to rebel, the second brigade reinforcements battalion will not rebel. The commander there is Ah Liu from Yongning, who is mainly responsible for an incompetent person.
No one to rely on.
Later, I discovered that it was really slow and the cannons were being pulled by people. Eight people could not hold up a donkey.
This is just a piece of cake. By the time you two get to the battlefield, everyone on the fucking frontline will be dead.
Just as they arrived at Zhankou Town, Liu Chengzong ordered the two of them to go straight to the garrison in Xindi and wait for the mules from behind before marching forward. There was no need to rush if they walked slowly. Anyway, the road would be smooth after this section.
After passing Changwu County, go northwest, whether you are going to Qingyang or Pingliang, it is easy to go.
The junction of these three prefectures happens to be the intersection of Malian River, Pu River and Jing River. After passing here, you will go up to the north-south plateau to Qingyang, and to Pingliang, you will enter the Jingshui River Valley. Not only is the road easy to walk, but there are also many things prepared along the way.
Forage and dry food.
In comparison, Pingliang Prefecture prepared more dry food, and Qingyang Prefecture prepared more fodder.
Of course, these were not for nothing. Liu Chengzong only had the honor to levy corvee at will in his base camp in Qinghai.
This is not possible in Pingliang and Qingyang. The people have to prepare food and have money to buy it.
Of course, the most critical thing is Pingliang and Qingyang. Under the governance of Jiang Yingchang and Ju Sirang, only when someone has land can they have the opportunity to spend money.
In Qinghai, walking two miles with money, let alone buying things, is enough to get robbed, so he can only be forced to do corvee labor.
Although Liu Chengzong's large army was moving slowly in Zhankou Town, the pioneers of the Zongren camp had already entered Pingliang City together with the Tang soldiers and began to deliver the Tang report from the front to the shogunate station.
The first Tangbao was Wang Wenxiu's notification that a group of more than 400 surrendered generals, named Ningxia guerrilla Liu Fang and commanded by Tongzhi Ma Xiantu, had participated in the mutiny in Ningxia and fled to half the city to knock at the pass and ask for surrender.
Later, Zuo Liangyu's troops pursued him.
Yang Yanchang, the guard of the second border wall, has put it into half of the city.
Liu Chengzong read this newspaper and nodded secretly. The fully automatic general was relatively safe.
Half of the city is to the north of the two side walls, with the side wall in the middle and the Red Castle to the south. If you place the surrender there, even if it is a false surrender, there will be no problem.
Liu Shizi was more curious about Hong Chengchou than this. What on earth did this guy do in Ningxia that was so outrageous that he caused the border soldiers to mutiny? Even high-ranking local officials like guerrilla generals and commanders came to him.
Half an hour later, Wang Wenxiu from Pingliang sent another newspaper.
The Tang newspaper said that Yang Yanchang ordered his subordinate Xiao Guangdou to abandon half of the city and put all the soldiers and surrendered generals inside the border wall, intending to gather troops to go out and launch a defensive counterattack, leaving the pursuing Ming army in half of the city.
Liu Chengzong was shocked when he saw the newspaper, and he was heartbroken.
When Yang Yanchang heard Zuo Liangyu's name, he just ran away without running away. He actually had the courage to fight a defensive counterattack and even wanted to keep him in half of the city.
The question is, is Zuo Liangyu so easy to beat?
Now among the commanders of the Ming army in Guan, in terms of combat effectiveness, Liu Chengzong ranked Zuo Liangyu number one in the world.
For no other reason, Zuo Liangyu, an old man, knows how to preserve his strength. At the moment, he and Zhang Yingchang have the most complete organizational structure.
Zhang Yingchang had never met Liu Chengzong at all, while Zuo Liangyu was already an old man who had escaped danger several times.
The key is that Yang Yanchang's courage came at the wrong time.
First of all, Zuo Liangyu's tribe did not want to go south to rob Shaanxi, they were just chasing the mutinous rebels.
Secondly, when Yang Yanchang made this plan, he did not know that Liu Chengzong of Xi'an had launched the Northern Expedition.
Liu Shizi rummaged through the defense map. At this moment, the nearest reinforcements to Yang Yanchang were in Pingliang, three hundred miles away. Why are you so fierce?
"Don't let Zuo Liangyu kill him!"
Liu Shizi quite likes Yang Yanchang. After all, they are old friends.
Originally, according to his idea, he wanted to place Yang Yanchang as a general in the two brigades directly under the control of the Chinese Army, so that he would know the basics.
But Ren Quan'er told about the situation in the Yan'an camp. Yang Yanchang was a fully automatic general in that camp, and the capable generals who worked with him were actually Liu Chengzong's uncle Liu Xiangshan and brother Liu Chengguang.
When Liu Shizi was a child, he studied with his father at home. Later, he went to Mizhi with his father when he was very young. He was not very close to the elders, uncles and brothers in the family.
But after all, they are blood relatives, and there are not many blood relatives, not to mention that if someone doesn't vote for him early on, it will be his own fate when he is King Qin.
The eight-member group of Yunshun family, Chang Guangzong and Yaozu, Chengchang died of illness early. Chengshun died in Liaodong when he followed King Yang Yanchang and Qin. Chengyao is still alive, but he is young, only half a boy, and is still studying.
age.
Chengguang followed Yang Yanchang and surrendered to him. Being able to lead troops to fight was not entirely a bad thing.
It's just that Liu Chengzong definitely can't let Chengguang be by his side, because he is a boss, and the gap is too big. If he looks anxious around him every day, it will make people complain about him in their hearts.
It is better to put it out and put it in a place where it is easy to make merit, get some credit at will, practice and improve it.
After all, in the Chinese Army, I'm afraid he wouldn't have much chance to make meritorious deeds.
That's why Liu Chengzong assigned Yang Yanchang to Wang Wenxiu's Longxi Brigade and sent him to guard the border wall.
Anyway, in Guyuan, even if the second border wall is broken, there is no fear. The Qingshui River Valley is between the two mountains, and Ningxia soldiers will have to be beaten out if they enter from there.
But Liu Chengzong really didn't expect that Yang Yanchang would be so brave that he would go out and beat people up whenever he found a chance to fight.
As soon as Liu Chengzong read the newspaper, he hurriedly sent someone to reply to Wang Wenxiu and asked him to send reinforcements to meet the border wall.
In addition, orders were sent to Zhang Zhen and Ding Guodong of the Yanqing brigade, asking Zhang Zhen to guard against the direction of Yansui, and instructing Ding Guodong to attack the Ningxia rear guard from Huan County in three days, cutting off the connection between Ningxia and Yansui.
At the same time, Liu Shizi also prayed in his heart that Zuo Liangyu had better not be fooled, as his army has not yet been deployed to its expected position.
The outcome of a small encounter at this time would be of no benefit to the overall situation, and would also make Hong Chengchou take precautions in advance.
After all, it was so far away, so all he could do was march and pray at the same time.
Early the next morning, Liu Chengzong was stationed in the wilderness between Changwu County and Jingzhou. As soon as his troops set off, he received another frontline report forwarded by Wang Wenxiu.
The fight started.
But it was different from Liu Chengzong's imagination, and it was also different from Yang Yanchang's plan.
His plan of asking Xiao Guandou to give up half of the city and trapping the Ming army inside was very brave.
But the Ming army was more courageous, and the leading general was named Xu Yong, a guerrilla general under Zuo Liangyu's banner.
Xu Yong can no longer say whether he fell into the trap or not.
When he saw the half of the city that Xiao Guandou had given up, he didn't even look at it. He just thought it was the Marshal's defenders who were afraid of him, and rushed to the side wall with the military flag of Zuo Liangyu's troops.
Yang Yanchang's plan was directly used, blocking him on the Great Wall and starting to attack the city.
For two days in a row, Liu Shishi walked from Jingzhou to Pingliang City, revisiting his old place and reading all the newspapers sent by Yang Yanchang and Wang Wenxiu.
The fighting on the front line was very lively. In the evening of the previous day, Xu Yong led his troops to wander outside the city wall, looking for weak points.
Early the next morning, taking advantage of the fog from the Qingshui River, we crossed the shallow ditch outside the side wall and began to dig the city wall.
After half of the chiseling, the defenders moved over and fired at each other. The siege army retreated; they moved to another place and continued chiseling.
It was like whack-a-mole, hammering here and there and chisels in the west, mobilizing the defenders back and forth along the shallow ditch.
In the evening, this guy started to call for battle across the ditch again, wanting to fight Yang Yanchang in the field.
Seeing that the defenders on the border did not respond, they camped under half of the city that night. However, they sneaked away with their troops before midnight, leaving Yang Yanchang who was out of the city to attack in vain.
Just after they came out of half the city, Xu Yong turned around and came back with his cavalry to lure the enemy.
It wasn't until he saw the artillery team on the west bank of the Qingshui River that he understood Yang Yanchang's plan, so he didn't pounce on them and led the army north.
Let Liu Chengzong laugh at Yang Yanchang in his heart.
Although Yang Yanchang did not suffer any losses in this encounter, Yang Yanchang became confused after the plan failed to keep up with the changes. Xu Yong completely seized the initiative and led the way.
"Commander, this Yang Baihu is a disgrace to the country's prestige. He is so stupid that he makes me, Lao Zhang, worried!"
The Minister of Liya read the Tang newspaper and was very dissatisfied with the results. He shook his head and said, "It's not Zuo Liangyu who came here. Why are you afraid of him?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said with a smile: "This is good, at least it can paralyze Hong Chengchou. If we use heavy troops to annihilate Xu Yong and let Hong Chengchou start setting up defenses, it will be difficult for Ningxia to make a surprise attack. It would not be beautiful."
At this moment, another urgent report arrived.
This time Liu Chengzong took the letter, read it again and again, with a sarcastic look on his face, and handed it to Zhang Xianzhong: "Look, Hong Chengchou has come to apologize and wants to negotiate peace with us."
Zhang Xianzhong was surprised, took the letter and read it, frowning and said: "What he said is quite nice. Why is Ningxia suffering from disaster, but he still looks down on his face and asks the commander to borrow food? Why should he negotiate peace with us?"
"You are right, he has no right to negotiate peace."
Liu Chengzong pointed casually on horseback and said with a smile: "Send someone to put this letter into a gift box and ask Prince Su to send someone to deliver it to the court. As the governor-general of the military, Hong Chengchou actually wants to negotiate a peace privately without the emperor!"
"Um!"
Zhang Xianzhong nodded one after another, having endless aftertaste of this operation, and immediately said: "How the marshal wants to reply to the letter, Li Ya will write it for him now."
Liu Chengzong was stunned by this sentence.
He paused, seeming to be thinking about something, then he rode his horse out of the way, took Zhang Xianzhong to the nearby mound, and said: "He sent this letter, the peace talks are false, but the temptation is true."
"Calculating the time, the letter has already been delivered as soon as Xu Yong withdrew from the border wall. This means that Xu Yong did not catch up with Liu Fangming and sent someone to report the letter to Hong Chengchou, who had already written it and sent it here."
"He knew that I must have heard about the mutiny in Ningxia from Liu Fangming, but I don't know whether I had captured the governor Wang Ji before or got the news about the mutiny in Ningxia from elsewhere."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and tapped the letter in Zhang Xianzhong's hand: "So with this letter, on the one hand, I am trying my luck to see if I can give him time to clean up the military camp and fight again. On the other hand, the main purpose is to test my position."
"Write a letter tomorrow and say that I was very angry in Xi'an when he sent his generals to attack the border wall. We will go to the Red Castle in three days and then send him out."
Liu Chengzong grinned silently: "I asked him to see the letter the morning before and see me the next evening!"