On the twelfth lunar month of the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Xuande, Zhang Ning had completed all preparations for the war in the Wuling Mountains. Food and other important materials could not bear the consumption of more than 700 people, so he had to expand outwards.../
///There is no choice, unless we disband this group of soldiers and horses, which are very difficult to train. Everyone unanimously agrees to send troops, and the target is Yongding Guard.
All available resources were used to equip the five brigades of the left sentry. There were two teams of musketeers, equipped with about 300 matchlocks and 300 swords each; the remaining three brigades were equipped with more than 400 spears, with a length of two
Zhang, as well as square shields, single swords, two-foot short spears and other weapons. The entire army is equipped with bamboo armor, which is scale armor made of hard bamboo pieces. The defense is relatively weak. The advantage is that it is made from local materials, is light in weight, and is effective against long-range arrows.
Yaya also has a certain degree of defense. When iron raw materials and manpower are insufficient, what he can come up with through brainstorming is much better than "running naked" and facing bow and crossbow shooting.
Each team formed a neat queue and marched from the main road in the center of the village to be inspected by Zhang Ning and others. The soldiers beat the drums and raised their hands to salute. The lineup looked very powerful. The villagers on the roadside cheered happily.
The gray military uniforms in the fields, iron helmets, soap boots, and upright posture are indeed very heroic and handsome. When the women see their men, some people in the crowd scream from time to time. Of course, the main reason is that the soldiers who came back last time were greatly
As a reward, the villagers thought that their men could improve their family situation this time. People's profit-seeking nature makes it easy to ignore possible risks in the face of the temptation of benefits.
Among the people standing next to Zhang Ning, there was a "rare guest". This man was called Zhou Mengxiong, a "military advisor" personally sent by Emperor Jianwen. Zhang Ning had never seen him before. I heard that he came out of Nanjing with Jianwen in the early days.
General. It is not yet clear what Zhou Mengxiong is here to do. Zhang Ning feels that it may not be a good thing, but he does not dare to neglect it.
After Zhou Mengxiong learned about the plan of Zhang Ning and others, he was not very optimistic. He had already obtained a lot of information about Yongding Guard from Jianwen's information network: Zhu Yong had transferred troops from Yongding Guard, but still regarded Yongding Guard as the North
It is an important stronghold on the line, with more than a thousand officers and soldiers left behind; Yongding Guard is an important guard city with strong walls, a moat, and urns at all gates, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
In Zhou Mengxiong's view, it is common sense in military affairs to attack a city with an absolute superiority of troops. However, the reality is that Zhang Ning's army has fewer troops than the defenders, so this siege seems impossible. However, Zhou Mengxiong is quite sensible and does not complain.
Waiwai, he also saw the situation in front of him: these people were huddled in Fengxia Mountain in a remote and remote area, and they would soon be unable to survive.
However, Zhou Mengxiong also secretly marveled at the achievements of the third prince. It was not easy to produce so many armed forces in such a poor place. Zuo Shao's troops did not look like a peasant uprising at all. It was obvious at a glance.
Although he was not very optimistic about Zhang Ning's prospects of attacking the official army, he was also very aware of the situation: with Zhang Ning's troops, people inside could not easily touch him.
On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, the entire Zuoshao army was dispatched.
The New Year is approaching, and the New Year will soon be celebrated. No one can preach: end the war before New Year's Eve and go home to celebrate the New Year. It seems that this year's festival can only be spent on the battlefield.
The whole post was divided into six routes to march eastward. Because the road out of the mountain was rugged and narrow, if they marched together, the team would not know how long it would be. In desperation, they had to separate and march. Fortunately, it was almost impossible to encounter an ambush on the road. The officers and soldiers obviously did not
I like fighting in these deep mountains.
The forward scout brigade dispersed to clear the way, and a few days later they came into contact with the official sentries, and a fight broke out. So it is estimated that the Yongding Guards were aware of it and were prepared.
Various soldiers and horses temporarily stopped in the mountain forest near Yongding Guard, waiting for orders. Zhang Ning first waited for news from the Shuidang'ao stronghold in Changde Prefecture. Zhu Yong's main force had already occupied Luxi to the west of Chenzhou and was fighting with them.
The Miao rebels are circling.
This is good news. Luxi is hundreds of miles away from Yongding Guard. The terrain along the way is complicated. The marching route must bypass Tianmen Mountain to the south of Yongding Guard and cross Lishui. Even if Zhu Yong wants to send troops to reinforce Yongding Guard, it will not be that easy.
There was no reinforcement from the Yongding Guard troops, so the next step was a one-on-one duel.
Zhang Ning ordered his scouts to go down the mountain to find out the movements of the army. He wanted to find a place to go down the mountain to gather his troops first.
Zhou Mengxiong said: "Liu Heju, the commander of the Yongding Guards, will not stop us from going down the mountain. He definitely wants us to go down the mountain to gather, so as not to be scared away. After His Highness's soldiers and horses come down the mountain to gather, don't be busy building engineering equipment. Prepare for field battles first."
, Liu Heju will definitely go out of the city to fight."
Zhang Ning looked at him in astonishment, and he did not hide his pessimistic expression: "What will happen if we have more than a thousand people occupying the fortress and encounter hundreds of rebels attacking?"
In the afternoon, the scouts came back and reported that the four gates of Yongding Guard were closed and there were no large troop movements within the surrounding area. Zhang Ning could only praise Zhou Mengxiong for his clever calculation and foreknowledge of the enemy.
The Acropolis is in a very good location. It was built on the south bank of the Lishui River. The city is close to the water to the north;
It was difficult to connect the two sides of the east gate. Zhang Ning's army came down from the western mountainous area and had no ships. For a while, they had to attack the west gate. Only here was a narrow and flat area.
The situation was such that Zhang Ning had a brief discussion with the generals and ordered all the troops to go down the mountain to assemble...because since they came to attack, they couldn't stay in the mountains and forests without coming down.
The soldiers first went down the mountain and formed formations one after another, but there was no movement on the Acropolis. The Acropolis was ten miles away from the mountains and forests to the west, and it was difficult to suddenly leave the city for an attack in broad daylight, so the mules and horses carrying baggage also came down the mountain one after another.
It is the dry season, and the Lishui River is quiet. When the wind blows, the surface of the water shines like fish scales. The winter sun shines on the body very comfortably. The outline of the mountains in the south stands like a shadow on the horizon, and the surroundings are very beautiful.
Quiet, the sparrows fluttered their wings under the trees.
Everyone decided to set up camp in front. After choosing an open space near the river, the troops divided up and started working. First, they dug trenches, and some used axes and saws to cut down trees, and then set fire to the denser woods within a mile.
Burn it to avoid blocking the view from night attacks.
In the evening, the trenches of the camp were dug, simple sentry towers were built at the four corners, some fences were built around them, and the tents in the camp were set up. As the sun went down, the camp could not be built for a while, so everyone had to light a fire to cook and plan for tomorrow.
Do it again. Of course Zhang Ning was afraid that the army would rob the camp, so he asked Wei Bin to arrange a lot of sentries to monitor the movement of the acropolis.
After dinner, it was getting dark. Many sergeants were carrying water back to wash dishes by the river. There were piles of bonfires in the camp. Zhang Ning looked up at the sky and saw that the sky was clean, dotted with stars, and very beautiful. He had to admit that
, it was a pretty nice night, there were no mosquitoes, the weather was clear, the fire was on and it was neither cold nor hot.
Having gone through several small battles, Zhang Ning felt that most of the war was not that exciting. The soldiers mostly did walking, eating and lodging, chopping wood to make fires, building camps, etc... The army started from Feng.
Starting from Xiashan, the march took nearly ten days. When we arrived at the place, the enemy troops were right under our noses. The situation was still the same. There was a burst of booing not far away. In the light of the fire, it turned out that two big men were competing for strength. A group of onlookers followed them around.
Noisy. The morale of the soldiers is still very high. They have been training for several months and have not stopped every day, just to fight on the battlefield. In the situation in front of them, most of the soldiers are still looking forward to fighting in a real battle, and
It's not an endless march.
Beside the fire in front of the Chinese army's tent, Zhang Ning patiently listened to Wei Bin's defense arrangements. At this time, a man from a hundred households muttered: "Will the commander surnamed Liu stay in the guard city and wait for us to attack?"
city?"
Zhang Ning said calmly: "If they don't make any move tomorrow, let's fix up the camp first." He then turned to look at Zhou Mengxiong, "General Zhou seems to have said that there are twelve ways to attack a city?"
Zhou Mengxiong said: "Exactly."
Zhang Ning said with a smile: "If it weren't for the poor foundation here, I think there is only one way to attack the city. Use large-caliber artillery to bombard the city in turn, and the city will fall."
Zhou Mengxiong was noncommittal. Maybe he had never seen artillery that could attack a city. He was silent for a while and said: "Yuan Tarzi's Xiangyang cannon is a powerful siege weapon. I have a domestic slave who can make it. As long as I can find some carpenters... But the war
If the delay is too long, Zhu Yong may send troops to rescue him, but the gain will not be worth the loss. I still say that digging the wall is the best way; there are many military households outside the acropolis, just send troops to catch Ding and drive them to dig the corner.
Can."
"This move is a bit too damaging." Zhang Ning shook his head and sighed, "You can only do it as a last resort."
... After sleeping all night, at dawn, Zhang Ning got up, put on his clothes and bamboo armor, and immediately called the scout team who was coming to question him. Originally, the Ordnance Bureau suggested that they forge a pair of iron armor for him, but he refused. Zhang Ning originally
He is just a scholar and cannot lead troops to charge into battle. If he has to fight hand-to-hand in battle, it is useless to have iron armor. He can simply wear it like the soldiers.
The scouts reported that most of the guardsmen had left the city and were arrayed against the city at the west gate. There was no sign of dispatch for the time being. Zhou Mengxiong guessed again that the people guarding the city had no intention of defending the city at all, but only wanted to defeat Zhang Ning's "rebels";
After spending time together, Zhang Ning felt that Zhou Mengxiong was not just a person seeking fame, but might actually be an actual military general from the Jianwen Dynasty.
Military generals from more than a hundred households came to the Chinese military tent to discuss. In fact, most of them were still those people. Zhang Chengzong and Chen Gai, the two general flag officers, had already been promoted to the chief of hundreds of households. Wei Bin was promoted to Zuo Shao Qian. There was no way. It had only been a few months.
Most of the members of the assembled army were villagers with no general background or experience. Wei Bin and others had at least been in the army for a long time and had experience in running the army and fighting.
Zhou Mengxiong believed that the officers and soldiers did not take the initiative to attack because they wanted to lure the troops closer to the Acropolis, so that they could pursue and capture them in the narrow and flat area to the west. Wei Bin and others agreed that they should take the initiative to attack, otherwise they would not be able to build military camps with peace of mind, and it would be a waste of time and useless.
.
Everyone discussed for a while and turned to look at Zhang Ning, wanting to understand his decision. After all, it was a recognized fact that the military power was in Zhang Ning's hands.