Su He came to Mianzhou and held a military meeting. He and the generals discussed the plan to attack Deyang.
He pointed to the sand table in front of him.
"We capture Mianzhou, and ahead is Deyang.
There are only a few small county towns without garrisons along the way, which can be captured by sending a battalion.
The only two remaining important military towns are Deyang and Hanzhou.
Among them, Deyang is located at the junction of mountainous areas and plains. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and is the focus of our attack.
Hanzhou was the grain and grass transshipment center of the Ming Army in Sichuan and the most important barrier in defending Chengdu.
The main tactic this time was to encircle the point for reinforcements and use Deyang City to draw out all the Ming troops near Rongcheng.
After annihilating these Ming troops and capturing Hanzhou, the defenders of Deyang had no food and no reinforcements.
They are bound to lose.
By capturing Deyang and Hanzhou, our most important goal in entering Sichuan this time, Chengdu, will lose its barrier."
Su He looked at the expectant generals and directly arranged the combat mission.
"The Fourth Division is responsible for besieging Deyang, and the Guards Division is responsible for attacking the reinforcements and taking Hanzhou."
Su He's arrangement is mainly based on the abilities of each division.
The fourth division is mainly composed of Ming army troops, and they are more suitable for siege warfare and city defense warfare.
The Guards Division is the unit he personally led, and is mainly composed of veterans with the strongest field combat ability.
Suhe will not use the Guards Division in siege warfare, as this will not bring out the strength of the Guards Division.
"Do you have any questions? No questions. Let's go now."
When Su Yanyan heard Su He's question, he stood up, gave a military salute, and asked: "Commander Su, when I attacked Zitong, I found that the siege bombs were really effective.
Why don't we attack the city with explosives? As long as we have the assistance of explosives, I am confident that we can capture Deyang within five days."
"It's up to you, Yu Liang, to answer this question."
Su He looked at Zhang Yuliang who was standing aside.
Zhang Yuliang said with a wry smile: "When the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold.
One blooming bullet can buy two hundred ordinary iron bullets.
But the high cost is not a problem, the main problem is that we have too few explosive shells.
In order to seize time for us to capture Zitong, I have already fired 90% of the stored explosive shells.
We want to attack Deyang City, but we have so few explosives left, which will not be of much use."
Su He added: “The main reason is that the processing of blooming bullets is extremely difficult.
Especially for time-delay fuses, the gunpowder needs to be prepared before use. If it is not used for more than a day, the accuracy will be very low.
The raw materials for explosive bombs and gunpowder were recently developed by the Academy of Sciences.
The arsenal went into emergency production and produced a small amount of explosive ammunition.
When the next batch of ammunition arrives, there should be a large amount of explosive ammunition."
As soon as Su He finished speaking, Li Fengming walked in with excitement.
"Commander Su, good news, good news from Hanzhong City.
Our logistics team has arrived, transporting a large amount of ammunition, food and grass, as well as a group of new soldiers."
Li Fengming has been sorting out the information in Zhang Erqi's house.
As the deputy commander-in-chief of Sichuan, he had close correspondence with Sichuan commander-in-chief Hou Liangzhu and Sichuan governor Zhang Lun.
A lot of information about Sichuan can also be sorted out from the official documents and materials in the government.
Su He said unexpectedly: "The logistics team has arrived, why didn't I receive the news?
Which officer was in charge of transportation? Why didn't he report the situation in advance?
There are many rebels now, and there is no large army to support them. If the rebels destroy the supplies, can he bear the responsibility?"
Li Fengming immediately explained:
"Commander Su, I just met the logistics officer.
They sent out messengers, who were walking on horseback halfway. They were attacked by deserters from the Ming army, and all of them were killed.
The logistics team was followed by a group of new soldiers, and the new soldiers wiped out the Ming army deserters, but the soldiers who could ride horses were all killed, so there was no way to report in advance."
When Su He heard the news, he was not surprised at all. This is why he asked the army to protect the logistics force.
Along the way, he led his army to wipe out the large-scale Ming army.
However, some Ming troops fled into the mountains, making it difficult for the larger army to pursue them.
These Ming troops hated them extremely and did not have the courage to attack the city.
They join forces with bandits in the mountains and attack caravans or logistics teams when they encounter them.
When Su Yanyan heard the arrival of the logistics team, he asked: "Commander Su, we should have explosive bombs now. Should we take Deyang directly?"
Su He thought for a long time and replied: "I will modify some details, but the overall plan remains unchanged.
We continue to use Deyang as bait to lure the Ming army out.
We attacked too hard and all these people hid in Chengdu. It would be very difficult to capture Chengdu at that time.
Rongcheng has sufficient food and many defenders. They will defend it for a year or two.
Even if we only defend it for half a year, it will be detrimental to our army.
The Ming Dynasty would never miss this opportunity, and Chongzhen would mobilize troops from several provinces to save Rongcheng.
We first besieged Deyang and lured out the elite Ming troops from Deyang and Hanzhou.
After encircling the points and calling for reinforcements, they captured Deyang and Hanzhou together.
Without these elites, the Ming army would not be able to defend Rongcheng."
Su He adjusted the combat plan based on the actual situation.
He looked at Li Fengming and asked, "Mr. Li, you just said that there is good news from Hanzhong City."
Li Fengming handed the battle report from Hanzhong to Su He.
Su He looked through the battle reports, which were sent from the Hanyin Defense Line and the Weihe Defense Line.
Su Hu blocked the attack of the Huguang Ming Army led by Zhu Xieyuan at the Hanyin Defense Line.
He blocked Zhu Xieyuan in Hanyin and did not let the Ming army advance a step.
Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao of Shaanxi received orders from Emperor Chongzhen.
Cao Wenzhao led Guan Ning's army and tried to attack the Weihe River defense line.
They were blocked by the Sixth Division commanded by Su Shan and the Weihe Fort commanded by Niu Siyuan.
Guan Ning's army tried several times and suffered heavy casualties, so they immediately retreated.
When Su He read the battle report, he would wave his arms from time to time and praise Hanzhong and Baoji for the good fight.
After reading the battle report, he said happily: "This is really good news. The Ming army wanted to attack Hanzhong Prefecture and Baoji County, but they were all blocked by our army.
If Hanzhong Mansion is safe, it can provide us with a steady stream of support.
We can also attack Sichuan with confidence without worrying about being attacked from both sides by the Ming army."
Many generals smiled when they heard the good news.
Li Fengming walked to Su He and asked in a low voice: "Commander Su, Hanzhong City has also sent many letters home from soldiers. We can't send these letters."
Su He knew that Li Fengming asked this question because he was worried that some soldiers would encounter difficulties at home, which would affect the morale of the soldiers.
"All letters sent from the soldiers' homes will be sent to the grassroots level, and the letters of the fallen soldiers will be kept by the regiment commander.
I will ask the grassroots to pay attention to the changes in the soldiers' thoughts.
Even if they encounter any problems at home, the military will help solve them.
If there's anything serious, just come to me directly.
I personally came forward to help the soldiers solve their problems."
Su He is confident that most of the soldiers' families will live better than before.
The vast majority of soldiers are from lower-class farmers.
Now some gentry in Hanzhong will resent him.
But ordinary farmers, especially former tenants, have become better and better in life, and they all support themselves.
……………………
Qin Shanshui was walking on the mountain road, feeling very anxious.
I heard that a batch of letters from home were shipped over. Teacher Zhu from the class had already gone to the Youth League Headquarters to collect the letters. I wonder if there are any letters from him.
Zhu Shisun Ben came over with three letters.
The soldiers in the squad looked at these three letters with burning eyes, hoping that they were letters from home.
"You are all literate. First read the letters from home. If there are any words you don't recognize, ask me for help."
After Sun Ben finished speaking, he handed the three letters to their respective owners.
"Monitor, this is your letter."
"Thanks."
Qin Shanshui received the letter excitedly. After he joined the army, he tried to send letters to his family.
But I haven't received any news from home.
He opened the letter and read its contents.
Dad, this is the letter I wrote to you.
Not long after you joined the army, I was sent to a rural primary school as an auditor. The teachers all praised me for learning quickly.
Dr. Zhang took my mother to Hanzhong for medical treatment, and I stayed in a rural primary school and made many good friends.
My mother went to Wang's Medical Center to see a doctor. The doctor there said that my mother's symptoms were very serious.
Wang's Medical Center can treat it, but it requires a long period of treatment, and one course of treatment lasts seven days without stopping.
Aunt Zhang is a good person. She helped my mother apply for a subsidy for military dependents in need.
My mother entered a textile factory and became a female textile worker.
They also transferred me to the primary school in Hanzhong.
I was very reluctant to leave those friends, but in order to be with my mother, I had no choice but to go to Hanzhong.
We live in the textile factory staff dormitory, and there are many friends here who play with me.
If dad comes back, he will go to the Hanzhong Textile Factory staff dormitory to find us.
When Qin Shanshui saw this, he felt relieved.
The mother-in-law and daughter are both safe, and the mother-in-law's illness is being treated.
Qin Shanshui had just finished reading the letter when he heard someone laughing next to him.
"My wife gave birth, haha, to a big fat boy.
I'm a dad, I'm a dad now, haha.
When we get into Chengdu, I’ll treat everyone to a drink.”
Qin Shanshui was rejoicing with his comrades when he heard many people in the team next to him crying.
"Mom! You left too early, and my son couldn't fulfill his filial piety to you."
"My dad, you haven't seen your son get married yet, you left too early."
When Qin Shanshui heard the cries of these people, he knew someone in his family had died.
Everyone's joys and sorrows are definitely different.
"There was a fight at the front. Someone was cheated on by his wife. He went crazy and attacked his comrades next to him. He was taken away by the military police."
While Qin Shanshui was eating, he heard gossip spreading around him.
……………………
Su Ying walked into Su He's tent. There were only two of them here. Su Ying said straight to the point.
"I think the plan to surround Deyang and bring in reinforcements is not a good one.
I just went to deal with a riot among soldiers. Many soldiers received letters home and they lost control of their emotions.
Many of them have family members who have died.
I think the families of the soldiers will be heartbroken when they receive the news that they were killed in action.
Siege warfare has always been a war of attrition that is filled with soldiers' lives.
We have a way to capture Deyang with minimal casualties.
In order not to know whether this tactic could reduce the casualties in Rongcheng, we chose to sacrifice the soldiers attacking Deyang first.
This choice is not very prudent.”
Su He was very happy when he saw Su Ying's solemn look.
When Su Ying finds any mistakes or omissions, he will point them out bluntly.
Having such people around will be more conducive to Su He's governance.
"I will definitely not use the lives of my soldiers to fill Deyang City."
Su He handed Su Ying a list of names.
Su Ying took over the list, which was the list of surrendered soldiers of the Ming army who had committed capital crimes.
Su He explained: "People who have not committed any crime or are accessories to minor crimes and are willing to serve as soldiers will be recruited into our team.
If they are unwilling to serve as soldiers, they should be sent back to their hometowns or find a place to resettle.
It is not a capital crime that will result in a prison sentence. Depending on the severity of the crime, you will be assigned jobs with different degrees of danger.
I was originally prepared to kill these Ming soldiers who committed capital crimes.
But now give them a chance to form a camp of sinners to attack Deyang City.
These people really had a chance to survive, and they atone for their sins.
I still won't let them go back to live a peaceful life. This is disrespectful to the victims.
The death penalty can be avoided, but the crime of living cannot be escaped.
They will be arranged to do mining and other work.”
When Su Ying heard about this arrangement, he praised: "This arrangement is very good, these people would have died anyway.
Now let them attack Deyang City directly, which is considered a waste.
These people cannot capture Deyang at all, and they can paralyze the Ming army in Deyang."
Su He looked at Su Ying and asked, "You came to me not just to ask about this matter, right?"
Su Ying's expression became serious and he said: "I mainly report on the handling of some soldiers."
He said helplessly: "Most of the contents in other people's books are good things.
But there are some people who encounter special circumstances at home and lose control of their emotions."
Su Ying took out a statistical list and handed it to Su He.
The military police handled a total of 586 reports of soldiers causing trouble.
Three hundred and forty of the cases were minor. Most of them were caused by the death of parents or grandparents, serious illness of parents or the death of the wife due to difficult childbirth.
They lose control of their emotions and beat and scold others.
These soldiers were reprimanded and forced to write letters of apology.
Two hundred and forty-three soldiers, because they were away from home for a long time, their wives and others got involved.
Letters are written by relatives or friends of the family.
These people lost control of their emotions severely, and some accidentally injured their companions.
They were imprisoned.
Su Ying conducted a detailed investigation and found that there were 525 problems with the wives of soldiers in the army.
When Su Ying saw Su He reading the information, he sighed and said, "We have no control over life, old age, sickness and death.
But if a soldier's wife cheats, this must be strictly controlled.
The current atmosphere is very conservative, and a woman who cheats is definitely not a good person and should be severely punished."
Su He looked at this situation and knew that strict laws must be introduced to protect soldiers' families.
The soldiers worked for him, but there was something wrong with his wife at home. He had to take care of this kind of thing.
"You can't just punish the soldier's wife, the cheating partner must be punished even more severely.
Your Military Law Department will study the relevant regulations now and deal with it sternly.
The woman was sentenced to a certain penalty based on the opinions of the parties involved.
Any male who destroys a soldier's family will be punished by castration.
They can't control themselves, we're here to help them."
Su He looked at three more unique cases. They did not harm others, but their emotions were seriously out of control and they were unable to fight.
Their parents died, and their family property was taken away by relatives.
The ancestral property in the family was confiscated, and the parents were beaten and disabled.
My mother and sister were abducted by human traffickers, and my father went crazy.
"I have written down these issues. I will personally write to Wang Zhongce and ask him to deal with these matters."
When Su He saw Su Ying leaving, he wrote a letter to Wang Zhongce.
Also view the government affairs reported by Wang Zhongce.
He was responsible for managing Hanzhong City. The situation was very stable and no major incidents occurred.
Su He also wrote a reply at the same time, giving guidance on matters that Wang Zhongce was undecided about.
……………………
Deyang City.
Hou Liangzhu, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan Province, was in the county government office.
Now all the people in Deyang City have been moved away, and there are only soldiers in the city.
Hou Liangzhu looked at his dejected men and became very angry.
They show this expression, which is a sign of fear of the enemy.
There hasn't been a fight yet, so I think I can't defeat the thief in yellow.
"Cheer up, it's just that the sword gate is lost.
We also have Zitong, Mianzhou, Zhang Ling and Zhang Erqi, both of whom are extremely powerful generals.
Even if they can't resist the thieves in yellow, they can still buy us a long time.
By relying on the fortification of the city, they can also greatly weaken the strength of the thieves in yellow.
Governor Zhang has ordered the deployment of troops, and reinforcements will soon be sent to support them.
There were only a few thieves in yellow clothes. They captured all the young men in Hanzhong, but they could not catch a hundred thousand young men.
The thieves in yellow were attrited by Zitong and Mianzhou, and at least half of their troops were lost.
We in Deyang and Hanzhou have a total of 50,000 troops. With our strong cities, we can easily resist the yellow-robed thieves.
Think about your usual style. Everyone knows that the thief in yellow is in Hanzhong and how he dealt with the gentry and generals.
Once the thieves in yellow break in, we will still be alive.
In order to save our lives, everyone must unite as one to deal with the thieves in yellow."
Hou Liangzhu kept encouraging everyone, and he was also afraid of the thieves in yellow.
The troops of the thieves in yellow were so strong that they defeated Jianmen Pass, the most important pass in the world.
With this Deyang City, Hou Liangzhu had no confidence that he could hold it.
You have to defend even if you can't. The thieves in yellow clothes come in, but people like them won't be able to take advantage of it.
With a bang, the door to the room was knocked open.
When Hou Liangzhu saw his confidant, he directly knocked open the door.
The close soldiers were sweating profusely and looked extremely panicked.
His tone was trembling, and it took him a long time to get the words out.
"Sir, the yellow-robed thieves and the yellow-robed thieves' vanguard have arrived outside the North City Gate."
When Hou Liangzhu heard this, his face turned pale and he said in disbelief: "How is this possible?
Did I remember the time wrong?"
He asked the general next to him: "Today is December 25th, New Year's Eve is six days away, and New Year's Day is seven days away. Is this the right time?"
The general immediately replied: "Sir, the time you mentioned is correct.
In order to let everyone have a good festival, you brought a lot of pasta and got more than a hundred big fat pigs.
I’m going to make dumplings for everyone on New Year’s Eve.”
After hearing this, Hou Liangzhu looked a little dazed.
He roared loudly: "How is this possible? The thief in yellow has wings.
They launched their troops in November and reached Deyang at the end of December.
This is a march with baggage, not a five-hundred-mile fast horse.
Even ordinary caravans can travel without hindrance.
It was around this time that they were able to arrive in Deyang from Guangyuan.
The three strong cities of Jianmenguan, Zitong and Mianzhou did not stop the yellow-robed thieves for several days.
Looking at the marching speed of the thieves in yellow, Zhang Ling and Zhang Erqi are too useless."
Hou Liangzhu quickly walked out of the room and ran towards the north city wall.
He climbed up the city wall and saw a dense crowd of thieves in yellow outside the city.
Many thieves in yellow were setting up cannons, and several hanging baskets were raised next to the cannons.
The height of the hanging basket is higher than the city wall of Deyang City.
"Sir, the thieves in yellow have mastered magic and their soldiers can fly into the sky. It is impossible for us to defeat the thieves in yellow.
Sir, you should find a way to escape quickly!"
Hou Liangzhu took out the knife from his waist and killed the man with one blow.
"Who is talking about fleeing and surrendering, etc., to confuse the morale of the army, like this person."
Hou Liangzhu used forceful means to frighten his generals.
Although he was also afraid of the thieves in yellow, he was afraid that they would really have the power of ghosts and gods.
But before seeing the power of ghosts and gods, Hou Liangzhu would never flinch. Even if he died, he would bite off a piece of the yellow thief's flesh.
……………………
Han Shuliang looked at Deyang City in front of him and felt very unhappy.
He and Wu Jie said: "Commander, why did you let those losers attack the city instead of sending us to attack the city?
As long as you give me three days, I am confident that with the assistance of the artillery brigade, I can capture Deyang City."
Wu Jie ignored Han Shuliang who was snoring.
Fu Xiucheng explained from the side: "Commander Han Shuliang, don't be anxious, sooner or later you will have a chance to perform.
This time we used the sinner camp to attack the city to paralyze Sichuan's commander-in-chief Hou Liangzhu and make him call for help.
If you really capture Deyang in three days, all the Ming troops in Hanzhou will abandon the city and flee to Rongcheng.
These are the most elite 50,000 Ming troops in Sichuan. With them defending Chengdu, it will be very difficult to attack the city."
Wu Jie issued a stern order: "Han Shuliang, this time you are responsible for commanding the criminal camp, but we cannot let them attack fiercely.
We must control the situation well and put pressure on Deyang without making them feel unable to hold on."
Han Shuliang put his head together and walked out of the division headquarters.
He came to the sinners camp and spoke to the Ming soldiers who were wearing their military uniforms.
"You are all Ming soldiers who have committed capital crimes. You kill good people and take credit for your merits, and you often do things like strengthening women.
Originally you would have been executed immediately, but now you have a chance to survive.
As long as Deyang City is captured, we will not execute you.
Anyone who fails to exert force will be directly executed."
Han Shuliang sent his own troops to serve as supervisors and pressed the criminal camp to attack Deyang City.
At the same time, the cannons continued to bombard the city wall. No explosive bullets were used, but common iron bullets.
The cannonball hit the Deyang city wall and directly shattered the stones above.
The criminal camp carried the ladder and rushed towards Deyang City.
They were immediately attacked by Deyang City, Hongyi cannons and rain of arrows.
If someone is lucky enough to rush to the city walls, they will be thrown down by rolling logs and rocks.
There is also boiling hot golden juice, a large pot of golden juice is poured directly into the pot.
The soldiers of the Sinner Battalion who were soaked immediately screamed in agony.
Han Shuliang sent soldiers to supervise the battle from behind. There was no order to retreat. If the soldiers from the Sinner Battalion dared to come back, they would be shot to death.
……………………
Hou Liangzhu saw the yellow-robed thieves attacking Deyang City, but they could not capture it for a long time.
He laughed twice and said confidently: "The thieves in yellow are nothing more than that, they can't capture Deyang Fort.
When they attack a city, they also need to supervise the battle, and their level is about the same as ours.
Shao Jiechun, Zhang Ling, Zhang Erqi, they are too useless.
If I were sent to guard Jianmen Pass, the thieves in yellow would not be so rampant."
In Hou Liangzhu's first few days, he felt that the thieves in yellow were nothing more than that.
The Deyang City he guards is very strong. The 20,000 defenders in Deyang City can kill the thieves in yellow even at the cost of it.
But three days after the yellow-robed thieves attacked the city, they changed their tactics.
The thieves in yellow carried several large iron boxes and threw them at the foot of Deyang City.
The thief in yellow directly detonated this iron box.
A huge amount of gunpowder exploded at the base of the wall, causing several large cracks to appear in the wall of Deyang City.
The artillery of the thieves in yellow specializes in attacking cracks. In some places, the city walls are already crumbling.
Hou Liangzhu commanded the Hongyi artillery and crossbowmen, focusing on the soldiers in yellow carrying the iron box.
Several iron boxes were detonated through cannons, killing many of the thieves in yellow.
But the thief in yellow continued to attack without any hesitation.
When Hou Liangzhu saw this situation, he was so angry that he cursed loudly: "The bandits are indeed bandits, and they really take the lives of soldiers at their own risk."
He felt that with the current military strength alone, Deyang City could not be defended.
Hou Liangzhu immediately called his son Hou Cai, and led his elite troops to break out from the south city gate and go to Hanzhou to ask for help.
