Guguan is more than 600 miles away from Juyongguan. According to the configuration before the Ming Dynasty, the two places were two war zones. In order to facilitate the new army's cooperation this time, Zhu Youjian asked Liu Yuanbin in Xuanhua to also take charge of Zhenbao Town.
Military command authority.
Zhenbao Town controls the two passes of Daomaguan and Guguan in the four towns in the west of Beijing. The legendary Eight Taihang Classics and the important Confucius Sutra leading to North China are distributed in the four passes in the west of Beijing.
Hao Yaoqi and Liu Fangliang, with 80,000 or 90,000 troops, followed Li Zicheng's arrangement and crossed Pingxing Pass and went straight to Gu Pass. At Gu Pass, they encountered the obstruction of the Fourth Division of the New Army and had to stop.
When 70,000 to 80,000 rebels faced a division of the New Army, even in a field battle, it would be difficult for them to gain the upper hand. What's more, the New Army still had Xiongguan in hand and more than 3,000 local defenders to help. Hao Yaoqi and the others
It's not an advantage at all.
As soon as they arrived at Guancheng, they were severely beaten by the heavy artillery on the city walls. Then a brigade of new troops came out of Guancheng and had a head-on collision with Hao Yaoqi's attacking team on the official road. The beating forced Hao Yaoqi to retreat ten miles.
Stand firm.
After this battle, Hao Yaoqi and Liu Fangliang did not dare to attack Guancheng again, so they had to park their camp ten miles away to work as foreigners. Anyway, their group of troops was a partial division, and the final trend of the war did not depend on them.
On April 18, in Guguan City, the commander of the Fourth Division, Xiong Daheng, received a military order from the Xuanhua West Road Theater Command. Commander-in-Chief Liu Yuanbin planned to launch a pursuit and annihilation battle against the enemies of Guguan in the last few days at the end of April.
For this battle, two main battle brigades from the First Division and the Third Division were transferred. At the same time, the New Army Cavalry Assault Regiment and the Third Division Cavalry Regiment were all transferred to the Guguan line to form a large corps with more than 20,000 people.
Xiong Daheng commanded. It is necessary to defeat Hao Yaoqi's bandits before May, so as to free up space for the decisive battle between the army and other bandits.
Due to the characteristics of the invading army turning like the wind, Liu Yuanbin gave Xiong Daheng a very clear campaign target instruction. First, the enemy army must be pursued continuously for more than a hundred miles, and secondly, the total number of captured and killed intruders must be at least 30,000.
Above. The most important thing is that Liu Yuanbin also set requirements for the captured mules and horses, which must be more than 20,000.
The reason for making such a request was not that Liu Yuanbin was too careful, but that only in this way would Hao Yaoqi's troops be severely damaged. Otherwise, just winning a battle would not have much value. As soon as the army withdrew, they would come back again and win.
It's the same as not winning.
"After the military order from the Division Seat, West Command was issued, the men and horses to be transferred from the First Division and the Second Division set off. It is estimated that in four days, these troops and horses will almost reach Guancheng." Staff of the Fourth Division
Commander Liao Juntao provided additional explanations on the general’s order in detail.
"Commander Liu has very specific requirements for the results of the battle this time. I am a little unsure whether I can complete it. I am confident that I can defeat the intruders. However, most of the intruders have mules and horses, and most of our troops are infantry.
, it is really difficult to capture 30,000 thieves. Does your staff have any good plan?" Xiong Daheng did not fight the Battle of Gubeikou at the beginning of the year. After becoming the commander of the Fourth Division this time, he wanted to prove it.
He was angry, so he paid special attention to Liu Yuanbin's military orders.
"Master, we can hide a brigade of ambushes outside the pass in advance. After the army has dispersed the enemy's formation, the ambush troops can insert from the flanks and intercept the enemy troops. This will make it easier to annihilate them."
"It's okay to arrange an ambush in advance, but the number of intruders is so large that the people we send out may not be able to hide their whereabouts."
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"It can be placed a little further away from the enemy. When the war starts, they will come in from the far flank."
"In this case, let's send a group of cavalry as an ambush. They are fast!"
"Isn't a regiment of cavalry a little short?"
"Let the assault regiment act as an ambush, and their combat power will be almost comparable to that of a main battle brigade."
While Xiong Daheng and his men were discussing the upcoming pursuit and annihilation battle at Guguan, Liu Yuanbin at Juyongguan was facing tremendous pressure.
After withdrawing a main battle brigade and a New Army assault regiment, there are now more than 9,000 soldiers and horses left in Juyongguan City, of which there are only about 8,000 combat troops. Eight thousand versus 200,000, this thing is really a disparity in the strength ratio. The most troublesome thing was that in order to prevent the invaders from setting fire to the pass, a brigade of soldiers and horses had to be sent to defend the enemy outside the pass.
Since they were almost dispersed by heavy artillery that night, the invading army had been dormant for a few days. However, Li Zicheng had no intention of retreating. After coming back to his senses, Comrade Li adjusted his tactics and no longer used the crooked trick of night attacks. During the day, multiple scattered groups of cavalry were sent to charge into the formation.
The Chuang army's charge did not achieve any results, but what is irritating is that the Chuang army seems to be inexhaustible. Once they repel one wave, another wave will come on top. Death seems to have no effect on them. During the day, the positions are piled up. Thousands of corpses were loaded up for one night, and the people continued to kill them the next day.
"Deputy Commander Ma, this battle is about to test our perseverance. We can only rely on your brigade to support us at the moment. It is estimated that we will have to hold on for another ten days before things will ease." Liu Yuanbin sent Ma Youliang to Guancheng to do his work for him. He gritted his teeth for a while. On this battlefield on the Western Front, Mayou Liang suffered the most. The entire New Army had 40,000 troops on the Western Front, but now it was May Youliang who really stood up to Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops. trip.
If there are sufficient troops, it is best to rotate Mayu Liang who is on the front line. But now there is only one brigade available in Guancheng, and there is no condition for rotation at all. We cannot pull out both brigades!
"Commander-in-Chief, please don't worry. As long as I'm here, a mere intruder can't do anything to me."
Ma Youliang's words made Liu Yuanbin laugh a little. How old is he and he still calls himself Lao Ma? This guy is getting more and more confident now. He is the most outstanding among the new generation of generals in the Ming Dynasty. He is only in his twenties and can already lead three thousand men independently. There are many soldiers and horses, and based on the role he played in this battle, it is estimated that he will have no problem being promoted to Zhengyin Division Commander after the war.
He has led thousands of troops in his twenties. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, such opportunities are probably rare. To be honest, Liu Yuanbin is a little jealous of Ma Youliang's fortune. How many battles has this young man fought in? After all, he has only been in the army for less than two years. , but because they were disciples of the emperor, and the emperor was disappointed with the old army, he began to form a new pro-military system, and then the young man got on the rocket of promotion and quickly rose to the top generals of the Ming Dynasty.
"You Liang, this battle is of vital importance to both the Ming Dynasty and Your Majesty, and it is of no importance to our new army. As long as this battle is held, our new army can gallop around the world." Liu Yuanbin envied May Youliang's fortune. , in fact, he himself is very grateful for this opportunity. Before coming to the New Army, he was just a deputy general. Now even his old boss Huang Degong cannot match him in terms of the quantity and quality of the troops he commands. Because of this, he is more enthusiastic about the future of the New Army.