Chapter 125: Leaping Thousands of Miles into Taihang Mountains
After Lu Feiyan left Yangzhou, she returned to Huaibei with additional supplies.
More than 5,000 soldiers of the Taihang Column in Huaibei are ready to go. All local industries in Huaibei have been handed over to the Huaihai Company. This will become the flank buffer zone of Xuzhou.
Lu Feiyan took the soldiers to the agreed place by Weishan Lake, where a large fleet was already waiting.
According to the opinion of the General Staff, they will arrive at Zhili by boat. The canal is basically the eyes of the Huaihai Navy. At the same time, if transported at night, it is not easy to be discovered by the Qing court, and the Shandong area that the canal passes through can be regarded as half of the Huaihai Sea.
Army territory.
All those who went to the Taihang Mountains this time were carefully selected elites, and the slightly inferior ones were left behind in the farms in Huaibei.
Before the transfer, the Taihang Column also did enough work and repeatedly emphasized discipline during the transfer.
The ship traveled day and night, and after two days it arrived south of Botou Town, Cangzhou. This was the end of the shipping. If it went further north, it would be noticed by the Qing army besieging the Taiping Rebellion's Northern Expedition. The Taihang column disembarked here and marched westward non-stop all night long.
Enter, bypassing important towns along the way.
In Anping County, the troops split into two groups, fighting all the way to Fuping County and then to Pingshan County. Finally, they reached their destination before the Qing government could react.
Fuping and Hepingshan counties are not located on the main road connecting the east and west sides of the Taihang Mountains like Laiyuan County and Jingxing County. These two counties were relatively isolated and poor at first. Similarly, the Qing army was also very weak.
Now the main force of the Qing army is around Tianjin. The western part of Zhili only has military handlers in some important positions. In some small places, there are only a few local regiments to guard them.
The sky was as dark as ink, and the mountains on both sides of the mountain road were like gods squatting beside the road, with different shapes. But the mountain road was completely white, with unmelted snow everywhere.
More than 100 special forces members of the Taihang Column were wearing thick duck down cotton-padded jackets and snow-white cloaks. They were moving quickly on the snow-covered mountain roads. This group of people could not be seen from a distance.
Fuping County is a small county. It is located in a mountainous area and is not on a major transportation road. Its business and trade are very backward. There are only more than 1,000 people in the county. The entire county's defense force is only 300 regiments, which are cobbled together from various towns and villages.
The county town is built on the mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but after all, it is a small town and the wall is only more than four meters high.
Because there was a banditry in Zhili, there were regiments stationed on the city wall. However, it was winter now, and all the regiments keeping vigil were hiding in the watchtowers to warm themselves by the fire.
We can't blame these regiment trainers. They are all mountain people recruited by the local gentry just for a meal, and they simply don't have a thick cotton coat.
The leader responsible for today's vigil is called Fang Jiuyuan, the head of the Zhang family in Fuping. This man used to be one of the top masters in Cangzhou City, but now he is the title of the county's troupe leader. He is the only one wearing a fur coat, and occasionally
We will also walk around the city wall.
Fang Jiuyuan is quite conscientious and can still walk around the city wall in the middle of the night.
In order to keep warm, Fang Jiuyuan drank too much hot tea at night, and suddenly felt an urgent need to urinate. So Fang Jiuyuan took out the bird and poured water outside the battlements.
He didn't know that 10 special forces members wrapped in white cloaks were squatting at the base of the wall.
The water column released by Fang Jiuyuan happened to pass over the lurking special forces team members and landed on the snow outside the base of the wall.
Following the city wall, Qian Feng, as the captain of this team, led nine team members to deal with the enemies in the tower and clear the way for the second wave of people to climb the city wall.
Qian Feng put his ear close to the city wall, paying attention to every move of the man on the wall.
The man stopped on the city wall just now, which really made Qian Feng's palms sweat.
Each of them has a hand crossbow made of special steel. This is specially made by the arsenal for special operations.
There is no silencer yet. If special operations want to be silent, they still need to use cold weapons. Therefore, Dong Shuheng specially asked the arsenal to make a batch of recurve hand crossbows with special steel. This kind of hand crossbow has a short arm and is easy to hide.
The power is several times that of ordinary hand crossbows.
"Fuck, I've been nervous for a long time, it turns out I just peed." Qian Feng complained in his heart.
The sound of footsteps sounded again, and Fang Jiuyuan walked back towards the watchtower. Even though he was wearing fur, he was almost frozen to death outside. The mountain wind was mixed with some snow foam, which hit people's faces like a razor blade.
When Fang Jiuyuan was peeing just now, he felt a throbbing in his heart for some reason. He could faintly smell something in the air. After traveling around the world for many years, Fang also had some special skills.
But his nose was frozen today, otherwise Lao Fang would have been able to tell whether there was anyone around him just by relying on the smell, instead of just having some doubts in his heart like now.
After returning to the watchtower, he did not go to bed immediately, but listened carefully to what was going on outside.
Qian Feng waited for a while before ordering his men to move their bodies. They had been lying on the wall for a long time, and even if they were wearing duck down jackets, they could not avoid being stiff from the cold.
Fang Jiuyuan thought for a long time by the fire, what was that smell just now? He recalled the various smells he had smelled in his experience.
"By the way, it seems to smell like duck. There is a sandy river running through Fuping County, and farmers raise ducks by the river. Isn't that what ducks smell like? But why is there the smell of duck near the city wall?"
Fang Jiuyuan was puzzled.
Fang Jiuyuan's heart suddenly tightened and he put his ear against the wall. He heard the sound of footsteps. Only masters could walk this kind of footsteps. When walking, he used the soles of his feet to move, so ordinary people couldn't hear it at all.
That is to say, Fang Jiuyuan has traveled around the world for many years and knows these tricks and how to distinguish them. There are about ten people on the other side, and they are all practitioners. He is the only one who can fight on his side, and he looks at those sleeping soundly next to him.
Team training.
Fang Jiuyuan thought briefly in his mind.
If you wake up the team training, it means breaking up with the opponent, and the two sides will definitely fight to the death.
After looking around him and thinking about the ten people who had come prepared, Fang Jiuyuan made the most important choice in his life.
He hid the weapons that the regiment had put aside and the gong used as a warning.
Then he whispered to the outside through the wall: "Brothers on which road? Please tell me your name. I have no intention of becoming an enemy."
Qian Feng has never been in such a situation before when he led his team in action. It seems that he met someone of the same kind today.
He used to be in the martial arts world. When he heard what the other party said, he raised his hand and signaled to the brothers behind him, telling them to stay on guard.
"Brothers on the opposite side, we are the Feiyan Army, teachers of benevolence and righteousness, and we are all righteous soldiers who fight against the Qing Dynasty. As long as brothers are willing to surrender, we promise not to kill anyone. Since brothers do not want to be enemies, then we can all be friends. Please also
Everyone inside put your hands on your heads and walked out slowly." Qian Feng said to the inside.
At this time, the group trainers in the watchtower also woke up one after another. Some people saw the change in the situation and were about to scream in panic, but were stopped by Fang Jiuyuan with a wave of his hand. It was obvious that Fang Jiuyuan usually had great authority among these people.
"Brothers, we have been surrounded. Outside is the vanguard of the rebel army. Everyone must do as I say to survive. Do you understand?"
Everyone nodded, everyone came from a miserable background and every family had a family to support. Who would be willing to risk their lives for the sake of those officials and landlords?
After the rebels enter the city, the only ones who will be unlucky are the dignitaries in the city. Most of these regiment trainers are recruited from the countryside and mountains, and they all live in poverty, so there is no need to be afraid of the rebels.
"I'm willing to surrender!" Fang Jiuyuan said to the outside, and then walked out of the watchtower first with his hands raised. The regiment members behind him also walked out one after another.
Two special operations team members ran into the watchtower and checked again to make sure no one reported to Qian Feng.
Qian Feng ordered people to grab a few torches from the watchtower and send a signal to the outside of the city.
Soon the remaining ninety people came over.
Whoosh whoosh... More than a dozen flying claws flew to the top of the wall, and the special operations team members under the city wall nimbly climbed along the ropes to the wall.
Fang Jiuyuan lowered his head, raised his hands above his head, and looked at the group of people with the corner of his eye.
I saw that they were all dressed in the same clothes, wearing thick cotton clothes underneath, emitting a faint smell of duck down. No wonder I smelled this smell on the city wall just now.
Each of these people has a unique hand crossbow in his hand, a musket behind his back, and a blunderbuss in his waist. If he had led others to resist just now, he would probably have become a dead soul under the crossbow now!
Fang Jiuyuan sweated silently in his heart, and suddenly thought of the fourth concubine who often hid behind Mr. Zhang and gave him ogling looks.
She was a plump young woman, and she was still a bachelor in her early forties. That old man Zhang, a bad old man, was dominating four women. It was a waste of money.
If the rebels succeed this time, I must marry the fourth concubine.
"What's your name? You look like you're a gangster. From now on, just follow our Feiyan Army. Don't work for those landlords and old money anymore."
Fang Jiuyuan raised his head, looked at the person who came and said, "I am also begging for food. The world is difficult now. If the leader has anything to do, just ask me, and I will definitely cooperate with you."
"Okay, get up." The commander said, "You should know all the county offices, treasuries and big households in the city. Help us lead the way. If you do a good job, I will report the merits to you above."
"It turns out that this person is not the big boss. Looking at the more than 100 people, they are all elites and should be forwards. Then the strength of this rebel army must not be weak. I think I have suppressed the right treasure." Fang Jiuyuan thought secretly in his heart.
Under the leadership of Fang Jiuyuan, the special forces quickly occupied the county government office, the treasury, and controlled the two city gates of the county. Fuping County was built against the mountains and had only two city gates.
After dawn, when Lu Feiyan's army arrived, the king's flag was already changing on the top of Fuping City.
After stationing in Fuping, Lu Feiyan handed over the administrative work to the staff sent by the military government. He tried the original officials and landlord bullies, confiscated the property of the landlord bullies, and rescued the poor people.
Feiyanjun has rich experience in this area.
The poorer the mountainous area, the easier it is to win back the people's hearts. The people are really suffering, and even a little bit of good can make them burst into tears of gratitude.
After enough garrison personnel were retained, the army was dispatched in several groups.