At noon on March 12, Ding Guodong listened to the military intelligence report of his subordinates at the guerrilla general's house in Jiayuguan.
The soldiers who were stationed on Turtle Gai Mountain on the east side of the hanging wall came and reported that an army of more than 3,000 people in the Marshal's Mansion had approached the city wall through the trench, and they began to cut the wall.
Hearing the news, Ding Guodong showed no surprise on his face. On the contrary, his mind was extremely calm. He just held the tea bowl and said: "I know, go back and keep watching. I'll tell you, Mr. Bai, to withdraw according to the order and close the door." Good wine and good meat."
The soldiers who reported the report did not appear to be panicked, and looked as if they should take it for granted. After saluting, they left happily.
The sound of artillery outside the pass was still roaring. After the soldiers left, Ding Guodong took another sip of tea, sighed softly, got up and walked slowly around the guerrilla general's house.
He has sent all his subordinates out, and the mansion is too empty.
The few days when Jiayuguan was besieged were longer than three hundred years for Ding Guodong. His mentality also changed again and again. From the initial eagerness to seek battle, to the later hope of holding on and waiting for help, it almost changed every day.< /p>
As soon as I took two steps, I heard the sound of footsteps again outside the Yamen Hall. This heavy sound could be heard as Suzhou Wei Qianhu Hei Chengyin.
As soon as Ding Guodong turned around, he saw Hei Chengyin entering the hall holding a bowl with a tassel in his hand. He was about to salute when he stopped him: "No, let's talk about it."
Hei Chengyin held his helmet between his hands and cupped his fists: "General, Zhao Zhirui has been defeated."
The Jiayuguan garrison was resentful towards Suzhou General Zhao Zhirui. The soldiers in Gansu were all border guards, and the soldiers from Chijin Fort to Jiayuguan were border guards within the border army.
Strategically, every border guard knows that their duty is not to achieve victory. The sacred mission on their shoulders is to use their lives to delay the enemy's attack on the hinterland in wartime, delaying it for one hour, two hours, one day, or two days. until the rear is ready to meet the enemy.
When the war comes, the border guards cannot see the day of victory. People have been stationed here for generations. Every man from generation to generation knows that they will eventually become a line in the history books: In the spring of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the bandit army thinned the city, Jiayuguan was broken, and Ding Guodong was guerrilla The following are all in national calamity.
There are only one defender, and no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.
But you, Zhao Zhirui, as the commander, Jiayuguan is besieged, you have to come to help, right? Where are the people!
"Don't call them by their first names."
Ding Guodong still respected his immediate boss, and his face still didn't change much when he heard the news, and asked: "How did you lose?"
"I don't know. The Tang newspaper only said that he divided his troops. The cavalry of the Suzhou Battalion was defeated in the Maliantan Desert. The thief who defeated him was named Zhang Tianlin."
Hei Chengyin paused and said: "Right now, apart from the military households in Suzhou City, only Qianzong Mi Layin is surrounded by Linshuiyi City... There are no reinforcements."
"If not, then there won't be." Ding Guodong gritted his teeth slightly, then asked in a blink of an eye, "How is Jianbi Qingye doing?"
Liu Chengzong's preparations for the siege outside the pass did not scare Ding Guodong. From the beginning, he knew that Jiayuguan would have a high probability of being unable to escape the aid of the city, so he simply did not make any harassment to the besieging army and just took advantage of the enemy's siege.
During the preparation time, concentrate on strengthening the wall and clearing the field.
What he was clearing was not the outside of the pass. There was nothing outside the Jiayuguan Pass except Chijin Fort and Geima City. What Ding Guodong was clearing was the inside of the pass. He ordered the army to transport all the edible, dismantling and usable things around the pass into the pass.
.
…
If it cannot be stored in the pass, it will be transported to Suzhou City. In short, nothing will be left for the army outside the city.
Even Ding Guodong himself couldn't tell what kind of mental state he was in when he issued such an order. He said he wanted to defend to the end, but he actually didn't have the determination to defend to the end; if he said he wanted to surrender to the enemy, he definitely had no such intention.
Ideas.
He only knew that he was the Jiayuguan guerrilla general of the Ming Dynasty.
The cellars were filled with food as never before, and the city gates were filled with defensive equipment. It was our duty to find ways to keep the eight hundred soldiers in such a small isolated city, all with dangling Chinese flags on their heads.
"It will take another half a day." Hei Chengyin took a deep breath and babbled to Ding Guodong: "Hanhan sent people to Guanxia again to persuade him to surrender. He still used hard words and soft words, saying that he sent troops to plot the whole of Hexi. If even Jiayuguan was
If we can't defeat it, we won't send troops. Let the general think carefully."
After saying that, Hei Chengyin turned around and cursed in a low voice. He didn't even know who he meant to scold.
They are all muscular generals who have worked hard all day long, and none of them has a good temper. Being stuck in Guancheng all day long listening to persuasion to surrender, the clay figure is still very angry.
After scolding him, he clasped his fists and said to Ding Guodong: "General, let's go to Suzhou. The hanging wall can be broken down at any time. We can't stop it, so we can only defend it tightly. Suzhou still has a chance."
For the first time, an expression appeared on Ding Guodong's peaceful face. He sneered and said: "I am the guard general of Jiayuguan, not the guard general of Suzhou... We have food, let the brothers eat well and drink well, and be locked up. Other things
Just be blunt and let nature take its course."
Seeing that he could no longer persuade him, Hei Chengyin said nothing more. He took one last look at the map on the upper bunk of the main hall of the Guerrilla General's Mansion, sighed and resigned.
On that map, Ding Guodong used wooden figures everywhere, and used short ropes to draw the marching routes of the enemy and ourselves. The entire Gansu Province was full of enemy troops coming in and out from east to west, from north to south, and there were enemies on all sides, but their main army looked like
Like a living bastard, huddled in Liangzhou, eight hundred miles away.
For Ding Guodong and Hei Chengyin, they had seen other generals say more than once in Tang newspapers that Liu Chengzong often used force to suppress others. But in the past, no one understood what this meant. They only thought it was because the Marshal's Army was brave and mighty. But at this time, they understood that the Marshal's Mansion's army often won against the Ming army, not because the Marshal's Mansion's army was shrewd and temperate, but because Liu Chengzong was good at fighting.
It is said that those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements. There is no surprise in the marshal's use of troops. The generals have no ingenuity to predict the enemy's victory. They just attack the right opponent at the right time and push the opponent to despair step by step. To send troops is to ensure victory.
On the basis of defeating the opponent who was already in a losing position.
Guerrilla general Ding Guodong actually had some understanding. On this battlefield that lasted for several days, although there was no actual hand-to-hand combat, he could clearly feel Liu Chengzong's attack.
The camp outside the pass is an attack, the roaring cannons are an attack, and the trenches dug are also an attack. Zhang Tianlin, who unscrupulously destroyed the army and destroyed the camp inside the pass, was also an attack by Liu Chengzong.
These silent attacks took away all the initiative on the battlefield, leaving his army restricted and unable to move further.
…
In other words, it was not until the defenders of Jiayuguan had no chance to fight back that Ding Guodong suddenly realized that Liu Chengzong's attack target was not Jiayuguan. All tangible actions were aimed at his will.
Ever since he decided to leave a retreat and not use Suzhou's biggest advantage, kerosene, he fell into the strategy of encircling three gates in the art of war, but this time it was not the three gates that were besieged, but himself.<
/p>
Afterwards, I realized that the defenders of Jiayuguan were like fish on the chopping board and had no power to fight back.
That night, the two attacking and defending armies surrounding Jiayuguan had a tacit understanding.
When the defenders transported the last batch of grain and grass from Bailucang on the east side of the city pass into the city, the cavalry then went out to inform the people in the Jiayuguan border wall that the city wall was about to be breached. Along the way, monks and people drove their luggage to Suzhou City and their families in the wild.
Escape.
Then the defenders on the southern hanging wall retracted their defense line, pulled down the Ming army flags on the city wall, gave up the defense of the long city wall, and lined up with flags and torches back to the city gate from the hanging wall.
The troops besieging Jiayuguan in the Marshal's Mansion turned a blind eye to this and did not take this opportunity to bombard the marching soldiers hanging over the wall.
On top of the mountain, Liu Chengzong was eating fried noodles with pickled vegetables and dried meat, just like the soldiers in the trench with guns and blunderbuss at their backs, and quietly watched the military flags with clear characters withdraw from the defense line.
When those flags completely entered Jiayuguan, a smile appeared on Liu Chengzong's face. The defender's will to fight was shattered. From the moment the Ming army withdrew from the hanging wall, it meant that the defender generals acquiesced to the Marshal's Mansion troops entering the pass.
He walked down the mountain and walked towards the commander's tent while asking the guards to convene the generals of the ninth battalion under his command to discuss matters.
Of the nine battalions besieging the city, only five belonged to Liu Chengzong's headquarters, and the other four battalions were from the Tianshan Army that was about to go to Oirat.
"The war is going better than our preparations, and the fifth battalion of the Commander's Mansion is about to enter the pass."
When the generals of all the camps rushed to the commander's tent, Liu Chengzong said straight to the point, and then said: "The generals of the right brigade, listen to the order."
"The end is here!"
Yang Yao led Gao Yingdeng, and Wei Qian'er came out to salute. Liu Chengzong said: "I order Gao Yingdeng, the general of your left camp, to blow up the hanging wall south of Biegai Mountain tonight, and let the Tianshan Army cooperate to clear the broken bricks."
, transporting sand and soil, leading the way into the pass and encircling Suzhou."
Yang Yao immediately clasped his fists to accept the order and stood back with his two subordinates.
Liu Chengzong said again: "Feng Yu, the commander of Caiguan's right battalion, ordered your troops to enter the Pass as the second batch of vanguards, sweep the forts outside Suzhou to the east, look for Zhang Tianlin's troops, and cooperate with him to advance the battle line eastward to Gaotai Qian.
Household."
Feng Rong also accepted the order. Huang Shengxiao, who was standing not far away, looked left and right and looked at Liu Chengzong. It was obvious that he was eager to know his responsibilities.
Liu Chengzong laughed out loud and said: "Huang Shengxiao, the general of Caiguan Zuoying, and the rear of your army, continue to besiege the defenders of Jiayuguan and cast artillery shells at Chijin Guard. When the front army captures Suzhou City, they will move to the Acropolis to cast cannons."
."
Huang Shengxiao stepped forward and clasped his fists to accept the order. For the first time, he regretted his versatility. Rather than serving as the rear guard forging cannons in Suzhou, he wished he could lead the army and be the vanguard.
But among all the generals in the commander's office, he is the only one who can forge cannons. Even if he wants to shirk this mission to others, he cannot.
Liu Chengzong saw Huang Xiao's disappointment and warned: "The responsibility of your department is no less than that of others. You are from the Guards, and the Suzhou Guards surrendered. The military households must be reorganized for my use as soon as possible. Once the army advances,
There must be no trouble in the rear."
…
Huang Shengxiao quickly saluted: "Don't worry, Commander, I will be optimistic about Suzhou!"
Needless to say, the generals of the Huben Battalion of the Chinese Army were all going to follow Liu Chengzong. However, Batur Hutaiji of Junggar asked: "Great Khan, what about our four battalions?"
The four battalions mentioned by Batur Hutaiji are the two newly formed Tianshan battalions of the Marshal's Office led by Liu Chengzu, and the two battalions reorganized by the remnants of the Oirat nobles.
In fact, for Batur Hutaiji, this battle to enter the Marshal's Mansion is a battle that he must watch, and it is of great significance to Oirat or Junggar.
With the failure of the Heshuote-led invasion of Qinghai, the Oirat Alliance centered on Yinli occupied by Junggar and Urumqi occupied by Heshuote suffered a major blow. The balance in the past was broken. The four coalition forces returned the Oirat nobles and
Most of them were Junggars, and Batur Hutaiji was the biggest winner in that war.
The rise of the Junggar tribe in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains is unstoppable.
But for Batur Hutaiji, there is still an unresolved question, and that is his identity after returning to the Tianshan Mountains: whether he is Batur Hutaiji, the leader of the Oirat alliance, or Earl Batu of the Marshal's Mansion.
Of course, the Marshal's Mansion is huge, but after all, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. It is two thousand miles from Xining to Suzhou via Golmud; it is also two thousand miles from Suzhou to Urumqi via Hami.
The world is about strength. Batur Hutaiji received a lot of courtesy in the Marshal's Mansion, but in the end he was just a prisoner. He lacked bargaining chips in any negotiation, so he agreed to all Liu Chengzong's requests. This was to stay.
Now that he has a green mountain, he doesn't have to worry about having no firewood. These things will not count when he returns to the Tianshan Mountains - just look at the Battle of Jiayuguan.
If Liu Chengzong can successfully enter Jiayuguan, then the army of the Marshal's Mansion will be able to set out from Jiayuguan to conquer Urumqi in a few years. Then whether Batur wants it or not, he will have to be Count Batu of the Marshal's Mansion.
On the other hand, if the Marshal's Mansion cannot capture Jiayuguan from the outside, it will be a full four thousand miles from Xining to the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Then all the Marshal's Mansion can provide him is weapons and equipment exchanged for trade, regardless of whether he
Do you want to think about it? In the end, you can only be your own Oirat leader.
Now that the situation has become clear, Batur Hutaiji also feels reassured. There is nothing that can make him look forward and backward. Naturally, he has to ask Liu Dahan when he plans to let them set off.
Liu Chengzong knew this well and said with a smile: "Don't worry, wait until I enter the pass and you will prepare to leave."
Not long after that night, the soldiers of the Marshal's Mansion at the foot of Tushan lit torches and waved their flags. Within a moment, three fires outside Jiayuguan broke into the night sky.
A moment later, several loud explosions sounded from the hanging wall south of Turtle Gai Mountain. A huge light flashed under the night cover. The three-foot-wide city wall was lifted up like an earth dragon turning over, and broken bricks and hard mud flew into the air.
Sprinkle down.
Amidst the overwhelming shouts and cheers, the road leading to Gansu from the Marshal's expeditionary army exploded with a bang.
Gao Yingdeng's troops all dismounted, climbed up the gap with armor and soldiers, and jumped into Gansu territory first to form small groups to prepare for the Ming army's surprise attack. The Tianshan army, which had rested for the whole day, became busy again at night.
Under the protection of Liu Chengzu's Tianshan Guards, three thousand soldiers from the Junggar Battalion worked hard all night clearing broken bricks, transporting sand and soil.
At dawn, the horns of the camp outside Jiayuguan were rising and falling. The three-foot gap that had been blown to pieces at the foot of Biegai Mountain had been filled with a ramp that could be used for horse racing. All the camps in the Marshal's Mansion rolled up their flags and left the camp.
At the foot of the mountain, rows of sergeants held high military flags and crossed the Great Wall and marched into Gansu. Liu Chengzong held a wine bowl and toasted Liu Chengzu, Batur Huitaiji and others, and said goodbye.
Liu Chengzong warned: "I am about to enter the Pass. You are all my brothers who are going to Tianshan. Take care of them. Those little children will not say anything. Since we are already standing together, farmers and herdsmen live too hard in the world. Everyone
They are all real men, so they must all know why."
"The weather is getting colder. We need more land to raise sheep and farm. No matter whether the land belongs to the Tang Dynasty or the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor or the Khan, we should take back the land of our ancestors."