Sitting in the lobby of Shimen County was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a green robe and a black veil on his head. He was sitting in the public seat, wondering about something, and was silent; on the other hand, the people next to him were chattering away.
The young county magistrate's name is Wang Yu, and his reputation is only for supervising students. Not long ago, he thought that his qualifications were limited and there was no hope for his scientific career, so he made some preparations to become an official. Naturally, with such a reputation, he could not wait for a good place to be an official, so he got a remote place in the southwest.
The county magistrate here is pretty good, at least a seventh-grade official. When he came to Shimen County, Huguang, he brought several people with him. Mr. Liang, who was standing behind him at this time, used to be the shopkeeper of his family's shop and had some experience in dealing with officials in his hometown.
, and he was one of our own, so he brought him to Shimen County to assist him as an official, and he was finally one of his own.
There is no trial in the court today, mainly because of a strange matter. The person who is reporting the matter is Inspector He, "When I saw the large number of them, I didn't dare to step forward to stop them, so I sent someone to keep an eye on them from a distance."
As soon as I got there, I hurried back to report the news."
"Where do you come from? Is there a flag to identify you?" Master Liang saw that the county magistrate remained silent, so he asked him questions. After asking, he said to himself, "I have seen all the recent official documents, and there is no one who wants them."
Crossing the border...and there is a key criminal in the prison, we cannot take it lightly."
Inspector He replied: "They were walking from west to east along the Lishui River. The team was neat and tidy, and they didn't look like refugees and bandits. There was a flag, a red bird flag with a yellow background."
A green-robed official next to him interjected: "Could it be that the people carrying such a flag or the royal family members are the troops of the King of Han? Recently there is news that the King of Han has gone south, and many places have surrendered..."
"The King of Han is in the east, how could he come from the west?" Mr. Liang said angrily, "Even if the King of Han has come to Huguang, how come the Yuezhou Prefecture, Changde Prefecture and other places didn't believe him and instead sent people to attack us?
Come from Xiaoxian, aren’t you taking off your pants and farting?”
The green-robed officer's face darkened and he stopped arguing. Master Liang said: "It seems to me that your Majesty must make some preparations quickly and pay special attention to the key criminals in the prison. If they are missing, we will not be able to deal with each other... Do you want to
Invite the two imperial guards from the lodge to come over and discuss matters together?"
At this moment, a Zaoli ran to the door of the lobby. Master Liang made a gesture, and the Zaoli quickly walked in, knelt down and said: "Master, I asked someone to go up and ask about that group of people. They said it was
The soldiers of the Yongding Guards were sent by Shangguan to go to Yuezhou Prefecture. When asked what they were going for, their officials couldn't tell clearly. They had to ask Shangguan or Huguang Dusi."
"It's so strange!" Master Liang said.
At this time, Wang Yu, the county magistrate, picked up a pen, dipped it in cinnabar and wrote a ticket. After writing one, he said: "Immediately send people to all parts of the county to recruit volunteers and soldiers, and weapons of all generations will be sent to the county to defend the county."
An official from the Sixth Military Division hurriedly stepped forward to take the tickets and hurried to arrange for the personnel.
Wang Yu added: "Send Kuaishou to inquire about the whereabouts of that group of people, and report back once an hour. In addition, Wang Dianshi will ask the Jinyi Guardsman to speak in the hall on my behalf."
An official on the left said: "Would you like to send someone to deliver a message to the mansion to inform the superior?"
Master Liang said: "Although the Jin Yiwei came from Changde Prefecture nearby, Changde Prefecture has no control over our Shimen County, so we have to go to Yuezhou Prefecture. Yuezhou Prefecture is to the east of Dongting Lake, and we have to walk by water. I don't know how long it will take for the letter to arrive there!"
"
Wang Yu turned around and said: "The letter still needs to be reported. It is said that a group of more than a hundred soldiers and horses appeared in the jurisdiction. I don't know their origin, and I have not received an official letter. Master Liang came to write this official letter and another one.
Send it to the Cili County government office and ask them if any unknown people have crossed the border and how they crossed the border."
"Yes." Master Liang had no choice but to agree.
After a while, two lieutenants in brocade uniforms and several military attendants came to the lobby together. The two lieutenants were not wearing armor, let alone flying fish uniforms. They were dressed in turbans and hats common among common people. Wang Yu stood up to greet him and asked people to move in.
He asked the two of them to sit down in the lobby and explained the matter again.
Sitting in front, the captain of the Imperial Guard in Jinyi said: "If there are more than a hundred people coming to Shimen County, they are probably trying to rob criminals. As long as County Magistrate Wang orders martial law for a few days to prevent spies from sneaking into the city.
It's foolproof. We won't escort the criminals to Changde for the time being, so as not to be robbed on the way. It's safe to stay in the county jail."
Another younger captain said: "The Ministry of War was originally going to send someone down to mobilize soldiers from the Guard Station to help handle the case, but for some reason they haven't arrived yet. Maybe something has delayed it. Before that, we just need to find out the details of the bandits.
"
Wang Yu wanted to casually ask if it was the influence of the Han King's rebellion, but he immediately realized that these people were Jin Yiwei from Beijing, so he refrained from mentioning the sensitive topic. He changed his mind and said: "I have issued cards to recruit local warriors.
Come to the county government office to consolidate the city's defense. Then I will ask General Li to work with the officials and the people to fight against the enemy."
The fat-bellied captain in imperial robes was very pleased when he heard the magistrate calling him a general, and he said in an arrogant tone: "You are too nervous. It is unnecessary to defend the city. Send people to the city gate to keep an eye on it. Don't let bandits sneak into the city. This is your business."
.Also, people cannot be detained in county jails, and they are patrolled frequently."
Wang Yu was originally just a civil servant and did not understand military affairs. He felt a little relieved when he thought that the county town had city walls and strong soldiers.
…
Early the next morning, Zhang Ning's men and horses were marching along the north bank of Lishui River, and the county seat was already in sight. After the team was exposed, they did not encounter any resistance along the way. He led a few people to the outskirts of the county seat and boarded a small
Observe the situation in the county on the hillside.
According to visual inspection, the perimeter of the county city wall is about ten miles. The shape of the city wall is extremely irregular in the hilly terrain, barely resembling a rectangular shape long from east to west and narrow from north to south. The mountains are high in the north, and there is a water gate near the river in the south. The city wall is simple and about ten feet high, with parts covered with bricks and large
Part of it is made of rammed earth, and there are six large and small gates; although the county is close to the water, there is no moat, which may be the reason why it is too expensive to dig an artificial river to surround the city.
At this time, General Zuo Banner Chen Gai came up on horseback. This man was slovenly and unceremonious. When he came up, he said directly: "Most of the sentry flags sent out from the north have returned. There is no movement near the nearest 1st Guards and 2nd Post.
It’s all mountainous and the road is very difficult to walk. Even if the guard station really wants to send troops over temporarily, they won’t be able to reach it for several days.”
Zhang Ning said: "The defense of the city by the inland garrison is probably OK, but it is difficult to send troops to the surrounding area. I remember that the garrison military system here is eight points for field and two points for garrison. In recent years, the burden has been extremely heavy and there have been many escapes, so the combat effectiveness is just that."
Chen Gai touched his forehead: "It turns out that there are not many soldiers in Shimen County. How many guards do you think are guarding here?"
Zhang Ning said: "There should be no place like this in Shimen County. They are mainly rural warriors recruited from the civil register. They can be used to maintain law and order, but they have no combat effectiveness in field battles. Our focus is to break down the door. Rushing in on the ground can reduce casualties. Pass the order
The brigade continued to advance to the southwest gate and formed an array."
Chen Gai went over to convey the order, and Zhang Ning, Lao Xu and others also went down the mountain to wait for the troops.
There were no artillery on the city, so the whole team stopped and formed up one mile closer to the southwest gate. The soldiers were arranged in a four-row deep square formation in front, with the miscellaneous soldiers at the back. The weakness of this formation was the combat effectiveness of the miscellaneous soldiers behind it.
No, but with the military strength of Shimen County, it is impossible to send a highly mobile cavalry to attack from behind.
Wei Bin, the official of the Hundred Households, and the general flag on the left and right, and Yao Erlang came to the side of the team to talk to Zhang Ning. It was a small meeting before the war. Zhang Ning did not say much and only said: "The mountains in the north are not conducive to the deployment of the phalanx, and it cannot be reflected.
Firepower advantage; Facing the river to the south, we have no ships. Only the southwest gate has a relatively flat terrain. So we still follow the original plan and blast open the southwest gate. As long as we break the gate, there is no urn in this gate, and we will be successful. You still have to rush in.
If you have anything to say, say it now."
Right General Banner Zhang Chengzong said: "We are short of gunpowder. If it explodes without being buried, we will not be able to break through the door in a short time. Sir, please see, firepower can cross on the left and right sides of the tower. One is to prevent rockets, and the other is to
Prevent oil from pouring down from above."
Zhang Ning nodded and said: "I'll tell the soldiers to pay more attention later. Let's take action first to see the situation. If it fails, we can then chop down trees and build weapons. Everyone is in position and ready to attack the city!"
"Load the ammunition, each team checks the fire!" Wei Bin shouted.
Zhang Ning handed the reins to Song Hu behind him and looked up. A young man in official uniform and black gauze hat on the city tower caught his attention. The official was also looking at Zhang Ning. The two looked at each other from a distance.
Neither of them could see each other's faces clearly.
A voice on the old city tower shouted: "Who is coming?" Zhang Ning ignored him. It was of course impossible for the county magistrate to surrender and offer the city at this time, so anything he said was nonsense.
Several fires were lit above, and the smoke was rising. The fire was visible. The smoke seemed to be burning firewood, but I didn't know what the fire was for. Maybe it was a fire that could be used to light rockets?
In front of the formation, the flag squadrons were shouting and talking loudly, and the atmosphere was getting tense. "If you see a large group of enemy soldiers raising their bows and crossbows, follow the order and use your shield to protect your face." "Don't panic after raising your gun. If you don't hear the order, whoever fires will fire.
It's just his mother's itchy skin!" "If you disobey orders in battle, you will not be whipped, but your head will be lost. Then don't blame me for ignoring the neighbor's feelings, disobeying orders, shrinking from the battle and being beheaded, don't think about the thirty taels
Pension money." "If you want to die, die with dignity..."
Wei Bin turned back to look at Zhang Ning, and when Zhang Ning nodded, he shouted: "Bang the drum, prepare for war!"
"Dong dong dong..." The trumpet's leather drum was not very powerful, but the rapid drum beat also played its role. When the order was given to "walk together", the drum beat gradually slowed down and merged with the pace.
Zhang Ning stood on the flank, silently watching the team advance. There was no expression on his face, but he clearly felt his heart beating faster. This was his second time on the battlefield. He still lacked experience in ancient wars, and his battle plan was based on common sense.
It was formulated logically, and he himself didn't know what the outcome of the battle would be. However, after asking Lao Xu, who had been a military general and fought in battles, there was not much wrong with the plan.
When the four-row phalanx advanced for more than 200 steps, arrows began to be fired from the tower, but the arrows only penetrated far into the ground in front of them, which exposed the range of the bows and arrows on the tower. "Stand still... the first row, raise up
Shield forward!" Wei Bin shouted.
The troops then took off the round shields they had temporarily carried on their backs and raised them above their heads. The bows and arrows thrown from the city had a farther range than the muskets, so they could only attack if they were within the range of the bows and arrows. The two sides made tentative contacts one after another, and the battle was imminent.