In commanding war, the most important things are intention, determination and command.
Intention is the result desired through military action, determination is the military means used to achieve the intention, and order is the specific military command. At the same time, the determination of the superior is the intention of the subordinate.
As the Gansu Governor's Office came up with the autumn grain budget, maintaining the presence of the army became Liu Chengzong's most important intention. Ningxia, Songshan, Qinzhou, and even Gansu had to stand aside in front of this matter.
Liu Chengzong was a general who cherished his soldiers very much. This kind of love came from the warlord's maintenance of his own strength. The army was an extension of his strength and power, so he would never gamble with the lives of soldiers.
This kind of military structure determines that he never engages in head-to-head decisive battles. Even if the enemy is setting up camp and building trenches right in front of him, his first intention is to find ways to increase the possibility of victory, rather than to act recklessly.
For this army, the advantage is that it naturally creates a kind of blind worship in the army. From the generals to the soldiers, the common understanding of war is that as long as the commander-in-chief gives the order to attack, we have a great chance of winning.<
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The disadvantage is that at every moment, Liu Chengzong prefers to conserve his troops rather than attack aggressively.
Facts have proved that Hong Chengchou still didn't understand Liu Chengzong. His original intention was to trap Liu Chengzong in the west of Liangzhou. The lack of money and food was a test of endurance for the Ming army generals. This was normal, and it was just a common way to disturb the morale of the army. However, Liu Chengzong's endurance in this regard is negative. You cut off my food supply not to disturb my military morale, but to dig out my lifeblood.
As long as there is a slight sign of food shortage, the iron chain he has tied to himself will be broken.
For victory, Liu Chengzong could only bear a trivial price.
But in order to exist, he will give everything.
At noon on June 19th, the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, a messenger cavalry from the east rushed into Ganzhou City carrying a package of letters and delivered Liu Chengzong's autographed letter to Cao Yao, the governor of Gansu Province.
The content of the letter is that Liu Chengzong handed over two battalions to his command, namely the Sanjie Battalion for the king's own use and Gao Yingdeng's main camp, which was moving to Yongchang Guard at this time.
At the same time, Han Shipan from Huben Camp Zuoqian headquarters was dispatched to Ganzhou as a reserve officer corps in Gansu.
Cao Yao was directly deceived by the important task entrusted to him by Liu Chengzong. He originally had the authority to control the army and the people of Gansu, and had jurisdiction over nearly 20,000 banner troops. He was also assigned Huang Shengxiao's standard artillery battalion, commanding a force of more than 20,000. p>
And with Liu Chengzong's order arriving in Ganzhou City, it means that Cao Yao has become the person in charge of the largest number of troops in the entire Marshal's Mansion... Although the quality of the flag army is not good, in terms of quantity, he has more troops than Liu Chengzong personally led.
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However, for Cao Yao, Liu Chengzong did not give him command of troops in vain. At the end of the letter, he also issued a defensive order to the Gansu Governor's Mansion.
"I am determined to annihilate the enemies entrenched in Zhuanglanghe. I am going to Shihehuang. I ask my brother to set up defense lines in Yongchang, Shandan, and Ganzhou to prepare for incoming enemies. For major events in Gansu, I ask my brother to make quick decisions and act expediently." p>
Along with the letter, a long box was delivered to Cao Yao.
Cao Yao opened the wooden box in confusion and saw the Zhu Gong Hei lost and the bronze ax in the box. He was stunned for a moment, then as if he thought of something, his eyes widened for a moment, his blood surged up, and the old scar on his forehead turned red.
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I saw him turning around solemnly, picking the stomach of the alms bowl, lifting up his armor and skirt, kneeling down and kowtowing to the messenger: "Please tell the emperor that Gansu has made a mistake, I will raise my head to see him!"
The frightened and confused messenger cavalry almost ran out of the governor's office in Gansu Province.
Cao Yao knew very well that what Liu Chengzong gave him was the second of the nine tins, the red bow and axe. Zhu Gong was specialized in fighting injustice, and the axe was specialized in killing the guilty.
Liu Chengzong asked someone to take this thing and hand it over to Cao Yao. So to Cao Yao, it didn't matter what Liu Chengzong's status was, whether he was the king or not, he was the emperor.
What's more, Liu Chengzong even took out this thing. He obviously had some judgment about the situation. Cao Yao knew very well that since he received this letter, he probably wouldn't see Liu Chengzong for a while.
There is no doubt that Gansu and these 30,000 troops have become a game for Liu Chengzong in a short period of time.
Because Liu Chengzong not only gave him two grain-producing lands in Gansu to take care of, but also assigned him an army that could be supplied by the grain-producing lands. This army could rely on the two oases in Gansu to be self-sufficient in its spare time and fight.
Sometimes he has to rely on himself.
This tone and determination made Cao Yao feel very familiar - the lion is hungry.
Soon, as Han Shipan arrived in Ganzhou with 1,200 tiger troops, Cao Yao launched a defensive deployment against Gansu. The first person to receive the order was Wang Ziyong, the commander of the Sanjie Battalion, who ordered him to attack the real enemy in the eastern part of Yongchang Guard.
Jingmayi deploys the first line of defense.
Later, Ge Jin, the commander of Yongchang Guard, was ordered to lead three thousand old and weak banner troops to Ganzhou, leaving the rest of the army to take care of autumn grain in Yongchang Guard.
Following Gao Ying's main camp, Cao Yao ordered him to retreat to Shandan Guard to set up a second line of defense. The commander of Shandan Guard, Zhu Houji, also led more than a thousand banner troops to retreat to Ganzhou, leaving the rest of the army to take care of it.
Autumn grain.
The final third line of defense is headed by Huang Shengxiao. It is stationed outside Ganzhou City and is assigned to the reserve officers of the Huben Battalion. The nine thousand old and weak banner troops of the Ganzhou Guards, Shandan Guards, and Yongchang Guards are integrated for training to form a general.
A reserve force of 13,000 troops.
His order to Wang Ziyong was to explore the enemy's situation eastward, ensure that Gao Yingdeng on the second line of defense would be informed as soon as possible, and delay the enemy's troops when encountering an enemy attack, creating opportunities for Gao Yingdeng's troops to gather and maneuver. Gao Yingdeng's camp has the strongest combat effectiveness and is the center of Gansu's counterattack. When encountering weak enemy forces in the front, Gao Yingdeng can quickly annihilate them. Even if he encounters a strong enemy, he can block them for a while, creating an opportunity for Huang Shengxiao to outflank the rear.<
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As for the troops in Suzhou, Chijin and other places further behind, Cao Yao regarded them as civilians, responsible for transporting supplies to Ganzhou. As a result, their logistics supply lines were shortened by half, and road consumption was greatly reduced. Even if there was no cool weather,
The food grown in the state can also be self-sufficient.
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On the same day that Cao Yao received Liu Chengzong's letter, cavalrymen also arrived at Gulang's Qianhu Station and saw Generals Feng Yu and Wei Qian'er holding the defense line after occupying the castle.
Liu Chengzong's order to them was to conduct reconnaissance, and sent Tangqi to investigate all the mountain roads within a fifty-mile radius of Gulang Gorge. As long as they were mountain roads that could be used for horse racing and marching, they would all be surveyed and suppressed. The terrain, spring villages, high and low dangers, and the difficulty of marching were all mapped out.
Pictured.
Within a few days, Ming troops in all directions in Gansu were frightened.
The first person to bear the brunt was Li Hongsi from Liangzhou City.
After the initial exhaustion tactics and the loss of the ghost soldiers, the Liangzhou defenders no longer expected to rely on their own strength to defeat Liu Chengzong, so they simply gave up the idea of going out to fight in the city and took turns to defend the city every day with peace of mind.
Now that I have lowered my expectations, I find that my life is not bad. Although Liu Chengzong built three terrifyingly large cannons under the city, he never bombarded the city wall again.
Originally they thought that life could continue like this, at least until the crops outside the city matured, there would be no more changes. Unexpectedly, they suddenly woke up one day and the defenders on the city wall discovered that the enemy troops in the west of the city had completely left.
All tents have been collected.
The defenders who encountered the sudden change quickly reported the news to Li Hongsi and Liu Shaozong, who hurriedly summoned the generals in the city to board the city. People looked at each other, and no one could believe that Liu Chengzong would withdraw his troops at this time.
The two city guard generals were wondering... Is this Liu Chengzong's new idea to lure us out of the city?
The two of them did not really sit still and wait for death. After careful consideration, the first strategy they determined was to remain unchanged in response to any changes and resolutely not allow the army to leave the city in case they were ambushed by the marshal's army.
At least it's safe in the city.
On this basis, the second after he discovered that the Marshal's Army had withdrawn, Li Hongsi sent Tang soldiers to all directions outside the city to explore the movements of the Marshal's Army on the oasis.
"Be sure to find out the enemy's movements when leaving the city this time. When they advance, you must know the direction of their advance; when they retreat, you must also detect their retreat route!"
Also on this day, the Tang soldiers who left the city in Liangzhou detected that the Marshal's Army was gathering towards Gulang Gorge. To be precise, it was not them who were detecting, but the main force of the Marshal's Army bumping into them.
Zhang Tianlin's garrison position was originally at the border wall in the northeast of Liangzhou. He was assigned there to defend the Ming army from the direction of Ningxia, and he was quite happy.
Originally, for a military leader like him, having capable soldiers in hand and capable battles in front of him was enough for him to be happy. War is an opportunity, not to mention defending the Great Wall and being able to defeat the King's division.
Addiction.
Who would have expected that when he arrived at the garrison, he would find that the Great Wall could not be seen at all. He could not open his mouth to speak when the wind blew, and his mouth would be filled with sand. He had never enjoyed this treatment as a soldier in Yuhe Fort.
There was nothing but sand in front of him and under his feet. He thought he was standing on the Great Wall. His soldiers dug up the sand for several days before they finally found themselves at the foot of the mountain, and it was also the foot of the mountain to the west of the Great Wall.
Zhang Tianlin walked another ten miles to the east, peeling off the sand under her feet, and finally saw the beacons of the Great Wall. Even the Great Wall built along the mountain ridges could not stop the invasion of the Tengger Desert.
Crossing the stars is not afraid of the desert, because the Ming army that can cross the desert must be a chariot camp, then his good friend Liu Guoneng can come in handy. In order to have a chance for Liu Guoneng to go to heaven, he can fight along the Great Wall day after day.
sand.
But the car camp in Ningxia direction didn't come, so Zhang Tianlin was helpless. He was so idle there that his hair almost grew.
Under such circumstances, he suddenly received an order from Liu Chengzong, asking him to lead his troops south to the Gulang Gorge. Zhang Tianlin was so happy that she almost jumped up. She immediately packed up the camp, packed up the soldiers and horses, and ran south.
To be honest, Zhang Tianlin has never run so fast in her life, even if she chased officers and soldiers all over the ground in northern Shaanxi - there is also a Ming army car camp in Gulang Gorge.
He was really eager to fight. There were less than 5,000 people in the entire camp. In order to run faster, he simply divided his troops into three groups. Tangqi, who was at the forefront, detected that there was a Ming army Tangqi near Liangzhou City and thought that the Liangzhou defenders had left the city.
, the three brigades went straight towards the Tang soldiers and chased them away, the horses' hooves almost stepped on the Tang soldiers' faces.
Zhang Tianlin chased all the way to the bottom of Liangzhou City and found that the Ming army in the city did not run out, but only released No. 100 Tang soldiers. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and took his beloved big rocket to beat horseback two miles east of the city.
Turning around, he raised his whip and pointed again and again at the city head.
So disappointed!
But it was useless to be disappointed. He had no choice but to do anything if the defenders did not leave the city. After all, he was not crazy enough to hold rockets and release them into the city, so he had no choice but to lead his troops to the south and rush towards the Gulang Gorge.
Li Hongsi in the city was quite puzzled by this. He couldn't understand the meaning of the rebel general walking around in circles under the city. However, he could empathize with Zhang Tianlin's anger and embarrassment, and even felt that a great revenge had been avenged.
He used to chase the rebels in Shaanxi for several days with their horseshoes raising dust. Even when he couldn't catch them, he would occasionally think: If you dare to run slower, I will trample you to death with my horse's hooves!
Maybe this is what the traitor general under the city is thinking. If you dare to leave the city, I will trample you to death with horse hooves!
Hey, grandpa, no!
On the other side, the Ming army who was guarding Gulang Gorge was greatly shocked. After abandoning Gulang's Qianhu post, Ding Shaoyin was able to rearrange his position north of the black pine forest because Feng Yu and Wei Qian'er did not continue the pursuit.
On the defensive line, Chai Shihua and Bai Guangen were also called back.
Ding Shaoyin had already realized that something was wrong. Bai Guangen's escape route had obviously been planned in advance, and his goal was very clear. When he was stopped, he had already run eastward along the Huangyang River to Shixia Pass.
This is a very normal escape route. From Shixiaguan to the east, along the northern foot of Maomao Mountain, you can lead to Yongtai City, which is the only place Ningxia frontier troops must pass when dispatching to the west.
But Chai Shihua's retreat direction was very strange. He did not follow Bai Guangen to the east. Instead, he ran south along the Gulang Gorge, passed Chakou Station, and then ran towards Zhuanglangwei.
If the three battalions retreated in an orderly manner, it would be understandable to retreat to Zhuanglangwei and hold on to the last position. But if you are about to run away, why should you go to the core of the enemy's north-south attack and surrender to the enemy?
This made Ding Shaoyin sure of one thing. In a real fight, the two of them would run faster than the other, but if they really wanted to care about it, Bai Guangen would be more likely to fight alongside him, at least he would not be harmed.
Although Chai Shihua is a disciple of the general, he is obviously no longer on the same page with the imperial court at this time; while Bai Guangen, although he was born a thief, is still on the same side with the imperial court at this time.
On the first day after retreating to Black Pine Forest Horse Station, Ding Shaoyin called the two of them together and put Chai Shihua under house arrest on the spot. Then he rode alone to the Biao camp left by Yang Jiamo and called on the soldiers to guard Gulang Gorge with him and wait for the outcome of the battle.
Return to Liangzhou City if something changes.
Ding Shaoyin is from Liangzhou, and most of Yang Jiamo's pacesetters are also from Liangzhou. This army easily accepted Ding Shaoyin's command... You, Commander Ding, know how to seize power on the battlefield and are not afraid of death. What are they afraid of?
People are also full of confidence in the task of defending Gulang Gorge. The terrain here makes it difficult for large groups to deploy, and small-scale conflict operations are the strengths of the Ming army.
But what happened next in Gulang Gorge was really scary.
Tang soldiers, Tang soldiers without helmet tassels and helmet flags, appear in every mountain road and mountain ridge near Gulang Gorge. They will emerge from the mountain valleys at any time, as if they are surrounded, they are everywhere.
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During the confrontation between the two sides, the Marshal's Tang soldiers used their absolute numerical superiority to compress the Ming army's Tangqi in the valley within a ten-mile radius centered on Ma Yi in the Black Pine Forest. In the end, they could only secure more than a dozen reconnaissance posts on the mountain roads.
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And in more places, east, west, north and south, people's silhouettes looked longingly, indicating to the Ming army that something terrible was coming up the mountain.