Qingshui Mingyue Pass is located 32 miles northeast of Qian'an and is one of the great passes in Jizhen.
Because the Shahe River passes through the pass, the water is clear, the water area south of Guanzuo City is wide, and the bright moon shines in the sky, reflecting the gurgling spring water. The night view of the landscape has been around for a long time, so it is named Qingshui Mingyue Pass.
Later, Kang Mazi passed by here and was blown away by the cold wind, so he changed its name to Lengkou Pass.
All elegance is lost.
Qingshui Pass is built on the steep Phoenix Mountain. From a distance, it looks like a phoenix with its head held high and its wings spread.
There are two turquoise rocks on the mountainside of the main peak in the middle, which look like the eyes of a phoenix. On both sides of the main peak, there are mixed green, brown and yellow rocks, like spread out colorful phoenix wings, and the twelve consecutive peaks are like spread out phoenix tails.
There are castles built on the twelve peaks of the mountain, so it is called "Twelve Camps Phoenix Mountain".
Guancheng was built along the mountains, and the city walls were built with bricks. There was a military training ground in the south of the city.
At midnight in early summer, just after a heavy rainstorm, the sky was overcast, and the heating was filled with moisture, which made people irritable and unable to sleep.
The more than 300 soldiers guarding Qingshui Pass can't tell whether they are the Ming army or the Jin army.
Anyway, when Hou Jin left, it would be the Ming army, and when Hou Jin came, it would be the Jin army.
The hungry soldiers huddled together under the city wall, enduring mosquito bites. Their hungry bodies were racking their nerves, making them unable to sleep or energetic.
As for keeping a lookout...
Whoever wants to come will come. People like them are not afraid of death anymore, so what else are they afraid of?
Rustling sounds continued to sound all around. When some impatient people opened their eyes, they saw hundreds of black shadows surrounding them.
The black night and the black shadows are like the devil coming.
The man opened his mouth to shout, but then saw the steel crossbow in front of him, and immediately wisely closed his mouth.
Those "devils" kicked over one after another, waking up all the soldiers.
A group of people were made prisoners in a daze, and they didn't even know who captured them. They were all imprisoned in a castle and could not enter or exit.
The only thing that reassured them was that they finally had something to eat.
Since they were given food, it meant that this group of people did not want to kill them.
So the soldiers hid in the house with peace of mind and no longer cared about things outside.
In the early morning, Zuo Mengeng led a large force and finally arrived at Qingshui Pass.
This trek made the whole army exhausted.
Especially walking with an artillery gun on a muddy mountain road is even more maddening.
Fortunately, the whole army worked together, and with the fury of revenge, they finally walked out of the vast mountains. Even Wang Siyi personally went to the battle to help, and was covered in mud and water.
The reconnaissance team that arrived here first had already prepared meals so that the entire army could have hot food when they arrived.
Just under Guancheng, Zuo Menggeng and other officers began to discuss the deployment.
"Now that the Shahe River has swollen, it is impossible to swim across it. In order to connect the two sides, a pontoon bridge must be built first."
The Shahe River flows through the middle of the pass. Although the road through the pass is in the west of the river, there are also trails to climb the mountains in the east of the river. If there is no defense, the Jin army can completely climb over the platform ridge through the trail and escape to the north of the Fire Dragon City.
Liu Yiyuan reminded: "There is also a passable road in the valley between Jianzuo Tower and Fire Dragon City, so heavy troops must be deployed."
Mao Yuanyi looked solemn.
"Our army doesn't have enough troops, so I'm afraid we won't be able to defend it."
But Zuo Mengeng was very determined.
"If you can't defend, you have to defend. When Huangtai Ji returned from the north, we didn't catch up. Even if we caught up, we couldn't defeat it. But if Amin escapes easily this time, I will feel uneasy.
I'm afraid you are like this too. Go back and tell everyone that we will not give up an inch of ground in this battle, and we will fight bloody to the end, and we must let the Tatars bleed like rivers here."
All the officers nodded in agreement and were fully mentally prepared for the next battle.
Zuo Menggeng pondered the terrain and proposed a plan.
"In this way, the first brigade is deployed in front of Guancheng. Zuo Rong, the terrain here is flat. And our weapons and equipment are useless for defending the city. You can only rely on Guancheng to face the Tatar attack. Remember, you will die.
We cannot retreat, we must firmly block the Tatars in front of the city."
Zuo Rong did not issue any military order, but said: "I understand."
He is a steady person, and if he says so, he will definitely do it.
"Zuo Hua..."
Zuo Mengeng named the second team again.
"Your brigade is guarding the mountains to the west, as well as the small road called Jiaochanggou. We must not only prevent the Tatars from encircling the rear, but also support Zuo Rong."
When he heard that he was asked to personally protect his brother's flank, Zuo Hua immediately became energetic and focused like never before.
"Zuo Dai, your troops are a reserve force and will stay in Guancheng. Wherever the fighting is serious on both sides of the Shah River, your troops will send people to support them."
Zuo Mengeng inherited so much knowledge of battle cases and knew the importance of the reserve team very well.
Although the Hou camp was not as powerful as Hou Jin, he still set aside a large reserve team.
Zuo Dai was obedient and not dissatisfied.
Finally, there is Zuo Yong’s fourth brigade.
"Your unit is the only infantry brigade in Hedong. All the pressure is on you. Can you withstand it?"
After looking at the terrain, Zuo Mengeng knew that once a fight broke out, Hou Jin would definitely raid the mountains to the east. Not to mention the issue of seizing the road, occupying the high ground in the east would be able to suppress the rear camp in Hexi from a high position.
Zuo Yong did not give a guarantee, but asked: "Who can help me?"
Zuo Mengeng named Zuo Shi.
"The Cavalry Brigade will help you."
Zuo Yong said to Zuo Shidao: "Fifth brother, when the fight breaks out, you must listen to my command."
Zuo Shi is depressed.
"You brats, they're all riding on my head. Just wait until our cavalry brigade has horses."
Everyone laughed, and the solemn atmosphere before the battle finally disappeared.
"The three squadrons of the artillery brigade are deployed separately. One squadron is deployed in the mountains to the west, and one squadron is deployed on the high ground behind, under my personal command. There is also a squadron deployed in the mountains to the east of the river near the river. Li Xiangzhu, you cross the river to take command.
"
Li Xiangzhu looked at the terrain and said, "Then my squadron must be deployed on the way to Fire Dragon City. Otherwise, we won't be able to help the west bank."
Of course, the use of artillery should not just focus on the immediate situation. The best way is to form cross fire on both sides to help friendly forces cover areas that cannot be reached.
Zuo Yong immediately said: "Then our brigade will line up on the ground at the foot of the mountain, and Fifth Brother's cavalry brigade will spread out along the line of the pointed tower to cover our flanks."
In order to strengthen the east bank, Zuo Mengeng added: "I will give you the third squadron of the reconnaissance brigade and deploy it directly in front of the artillery position for protection."
Lixiangzhu's artillery position was only a hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain. No one could guarantee that Zuo Yong would be able to block Houjin's impact.
Therefore, it is always right to add an extra layer of defense.
This battle was to block Hou Jin's retreat. The role of the reconnaissance brigade was no longer significant, so except for a few who had escaped, most of them had withdrawn.
During the nearly six months of battle, other units were doing fine, but the reconnaissance brigade suffered heavy losses, with more than two hundred people killed in action.
There's no way around it.
Scouts need to move forward to various positions, and they can easily run into Houjin's scouts.
The scouts were not equipped with muskets when performing their missions, and they did not have an absolute weapon advantage in the stranglehold against the Houjin scouts.
It can be said that the rear battalion was still able to fully grasp the battlefield situation while hiding in the fog of war. This was all due to the hard work of these scouts.
Although more than two hundred people were sacrificed, the entire reconnaissance brigade was tempered the most.
The remaining people already have the temperament of a military king.
The losses they caused to Hou Jin are the most gratifying.
According to statistics, at least eight or nine hundred Houjin scouts died in their hands.
Why did Hou Jin feel like he was in a deserted land after breaking through the barrier?
In addition to the traitors leading the way, Houjin's elite scouts are the guarantee of their invincibility.
These hunters who came out of the white mountains and black waters were born with a keen sense of smell, which covered the entire battlefield very well and made it difficult for the Ming army's scouts to move.
Why did Yuan Chonghuan take a detour to Jizhou?
Firstly, it was faster to take the official path, and secondly, because Zhao Shujiao was destroyed in Zunhua, he was afraid of making the same mistake again.
The third reason is that Hou Jin's scouts covered the battlefield, preventing him from detecting the situation. How could he dare to take the narrow route of Qian'an, Qianxi, and Zunhua?
These unscrupulous Hou Jin scouts were only truly defeated and lost their intelligence initiative after encountering the scientifically trained scouts of the Hou camp.
At this point, the combat deployment of the entire rear camp is completed.
All departments took action quickly.
The artillery brigade transported artillery one by one to the mountain to increase the range of the artillery shells and have a wider firing range.
Several infantry brigades began to dig trenches and prepare to resist the cavalry.
The General Logistics Brigade is the busiest.
They first pulled the barbed wire in front of the trench, and then laid mines in front of the barbed wire. In front of the mines were various snagging ropes, caltrops and other mechanisms, which were definitely enough for the Golden Cavalry to drink.
Seeing how busy everyone was, Wang Siyi was ready to make a move.
"Zuo Mengeng, what am I doing?"
Zuo Menggeng smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, Shimei. When the Tatars burst in, they will have to fight hand-to-hand. It will be a good opportunity for Shimei to kill the enemy."
This little girl has unparalleled strength. If her bayonet is really red, she will definitely be a killer.
Wang Siyi couldn't help but feel pleased with Zuo Menggeng's praise. She took out two hundred-jin hammers and danced like windmills.
After a day of preparation, the fortifications took initial shape and the sky became clear.
The sun in the west became increasingly bleak, reflecting the sunset and turning half the sky red.
Suddenly, a horse came running quickly from a far distance. As it ran, it kept waving the blue flag in its hand.
Three clicks to the left, three clicks to the right...
It represents the incoming army.
Shortly after the scout rushed into the camp, the ground began to vibrate like a drumbeat.
Immediately afterwards, a large black tide rolled in quickly from the horizon in the distance. When they got closer, flags of all red, all yellow, blue with white, and other colors were flamboyant, wrapped in thousands of troops and horses, and rushed towards the door.