Liu Ziguang's official title was the General of the Conquest of the West. He controlled all the troops in the Western Army and was awarded a big General Seal. However, he was not happy at all because he had a supervisor, and the emperor thought Liu Ziguang was not familiar with him.
On the grounds of border affairs, he continued to retain Yuan Chonghuan, and also gave Yuan the title of Commander-in-Chief. He is now the Minister of the Ministry of War, Zuodu Censor, Governor-General of Shaanxi Trilateral Military Affairs, Supervisor of Food and Pay, and Supervisor of Border Guards in Hexi and other departments. Although he is nominally the General of the Expedition to the West,
He commanded all the troops of the West Route Army, but they had to be controlled by Yuan Chonghuan.
Yuan Chonghuan has long been the commander-in-chief of the army and horses of a province, and now he has the power to take charge of the Ministry of War. Although Liu Ziguang moved quickly, he had worked under others after all.
The tradition of mastering martial arts has always been there, and it cannot be changed by Liu Ziguang, so he has to do this job even if he pinches his nose.
The imperial edict required Liu Ziguang to immediately take up his post in a light carriage, and his red shirt troops immediately set off from the defense line and rushed to Tongguan at night. They had to prepare their own weapons, horses, and food. They must arrive within a month, otherwise military law will be imposed.
The Red Shirt Army was mobilized from thousands of miles north, and the vacancy left was taken over by the Hebei army led by Xu Zengshou. At this time, the imperial court had already dispatched part of the Zhejiang Army and part of the Fujian Army to the north to reinforce the Hebei Army trained by Xu Zengshou to deal with the remnants of the Qing army outside the pass.
The enemy's hand was not a problem, and the imperial court played the game very skillfully. The base Liu Ziguang finally established was demolished in one fell swoop. As soon as the army as the core force left, those fields, mines, factories, local bureaucracies at all levels and even co-prosperity
Isn't the puppet court just the meat in people's mouths?
Fortunately, the Red Shirts are gone, but the Beiyang Navy is still there, and has set up a naval base and Dagukou Fort in Tianjin. The Navy has expanded to 20,000 soldiers. Once the Red Shirts leave, they will take over all the naval forces.
In terms of defense, as for the Manchu and Qing puppet army Jing Jing, they also looked at Li Yan's eyes and had nothing to do. Everyone did not take Xu Zengshou seriously, so it was not easy for the court to steal the beam and replace the pillar.
The Red Shirts are very powerful. They do not have the imperial army's establishment at all. The huge establishment that has grown to 30,000 people is still Liu Ziguang's personal barracks. Although the imperial court has opinions, it has not dared to intervene directly. In Liu Ziguang's view, this deployment of defense
It may not be that he didn't mean to consume this army by the hands of the Xixia people, but in the current situation of foreign captives, everyone has the obligation to go into battle and kill the enemy. Now is not the time to be pretentious about such things, so he still obeyed the order and said goodbye to his wife and children.
After embarking on the long journey of the Western Expedition, he also sent a long telegram to Li Yan, asking him to arrange matters in the north and urge the Red Shirt Army to arrive at Tongguan on time.
As soon as the news came out that Marquis Zhenwu was taking charge of the Western Expedition, the Western Region Funds skyrocketed. Even the second wave of sales sold well. Although the 30 million yuan could not be digested immediately, more than 5 million taels were sold.
Naturally, Liu Ziguang made a big fortune. The auspicious day for the expedition came soon. The emperor personally led hundreds of officials to bid farewell to him by the river. The spring was cold and cold, the river was wide and the clouds were low. The general of the Western Expedition, wearing a golden helmet and gold armor, was so heroic that he fought three consecutive battles.
After a glass of wine, he threw the glass and said, "Your Majesty, let's see how I will conquer a new and huge frontier for you."
Zhu Youxiao's eyes were slightly red and he said: "I take care of you, my dear sister, and I will take care of you. I'm waiting for your good news!" As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand, and the eunuch handed over a sword with a black leather scabbard.
It is gilded with a thick layer of gold, and the sword is embossed with a mythical beast whose eyes are embedded with gems. The whole sword is rough and bold, with an obvious exotic feel.
"This is the sword once used by Emperor Yongle. I will lend it to Aiqing now. I hope that the spirits of our ancestors in heaven can bless Aiqing to win the victory and protect the Ming Dynasty forever. Aiqing, take the sword!" Zhu Youxiao!
With that said, he solemnly handed the sword to Liu Ziguang.
Liu Ziguang took the sword with both hands and immediately felt that the sword was extraordinary. Its weight alone was lower than five ordinary swords. It was indeed a magic weapon. He immediately knelt down and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
General Zhengxi boarded the ship with three hundred soldiers. The crowds of people on the shore waved goodbye. Among the thousands of people, there was a thin figure holding a baby in his arms and watching the warship go away with tears in his eyes.
The toddler's little arms waved slightly, "Daddy is at war, so be good."
The still ignorant Liu Kangyang suddenly burst into tears, and stretched out his little hands into the distance, as if he wanted his father to hold him again, which made the eldest princess also shed tears.
Liu Ziguang, who was far away on the battleship in the middle of the river, suddenly trembled, and the cries of his wife and children seemed to be heard in his ears. However, he did not look back, but held on to the hilt of his sword and said to the accompanying senior class students of the Jiangwu Hall: "Here we go.
Shaanxi, some of you may have to stay there forever, are you afraid?"
"Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the mountains, why bother returning them wrapped in horse leather? Commander, we are not afraid!" The ones who replied were Xia Wanchun and Liang Shiyi, who were dressed in crisp red shirts. This pair of student leaders of the Fushe and the Iron Blood Society had already received three months of military training.
The Red Shirt Army reserves mid-level officers, and it is their dream to be able to go on an expedition with the general. It is their dream to learn war in the war. It is the time when youth is showing off its spirit, and it is too late to be high-spirited, so there is nothing to worry about.
Liu Ziguang's route was to take Xuzhou and cross Henan to reach the front line of Tongguan. When passing through Xuzhou, he made a special trip to the Liguo Railway Plant and made some work arrangements. The army went ahead without using food and grass. The most important thing for the Red Shirt Army in fighting was not food but grass.
It's arms. The Liguo Iron Works has become the largest supplier of the Ming Dynasty's military. They produce all the equipment of the army division, ranging from artillery tanks to armor and arrows. There is something going on in the west this time. The weapons and ammunition are
Indispensable, production and transportation plans must be arranged in advance so that Liu Ziguang can rest assured. Without firearms for his soldiers, it is like a tiger without teeth. Claws alone cannot do it.
After arranging the logistics, the group set out on the road again, rushing to Tongguan through wind and rain. What they saw along the way was the war-torn Central Plains. Henan was seriously infested with banditry, and only ten houses were empty. Only in recent years has it become a little more stable. The states they passed through
The counties were all barren and in ruins, waiting for prosperity. Xia Wanchun and others who came from the bustling fireworks area in the south of the Yangtze River saw this special country and were filled with emotion. This is the harm caused by successive years of war. In order to stop the war, only
Taking up arms and resisting is the only way out,
There are still sporadic bandits operating in the land of Henan, and the roads are not easy to walk, but the three hundred of them are all equipped with powerful three-horse horses, as well as rapid-fire cannons and rocket launchers. Not to mention the small group of bandits, there are thousands of them.
The army also had to be wary, so the march was quite fast, and they arrived at the Tongguan camp in more than ten days.
Tongguan is located at the junction of the three provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi. There is the Qinling Barrier in the south, the Yellow River natural moat in the north, the Nian Tou Yuan Tower in the east, and the Forbidden Valley, Yuanwang Valley, Manluochuan and other natural defense lines that cross the east and west, forming a potential
The trend of "closing the gate and choking Jiuzhou, and flying birds cannot cross it" is the east gate of Shaanxi, the choke point linking northwest, north China and the Central Plains. It is also a key to control Guanzhong. All dynasties have attached great importance to the status of Tongguan, and the city wall has been built more and more.
The higher you go, the mountains are undulating, with archery towers and bunkers rising one after another. Wengcheng, Qianjin gates, forts, and caves for hiding soldiers can be seen everywhere. It is really a majestic pass.
One hundred thousand troops of the Western Army were stationed in Tongguan. Some of the troops lived in the city. There was a company camp ten miles east of the city. When Liu Ziguang and his party were about forty miles away from Tongguan, it suddenly rained heavily. They drove lightly and followed
We didn't bring a tent, and there was no shelter from the rain nearby, so we had to put on a waterproof cloak made of South Sea rubber and continue walking, trying to get to the camp before dark to rest.
It was raining heavily, but Liu Ziguang's sharp eyes still spotted the lights of the company camp. He shouted and encouraged everyone to work harder. In the dark night and heavy rain, they could not walk fast. When they walked through mud and water with difficulty, they were two feet away from the camp.
When we were in the field, the scout walking in front suddenly brought two sentries.
The two sentries were soaked to the skin and covered with mud. Even their faces were dark. Liu Ziguang said: "The quality of the Western Army is pretty good. The latent sentries have been placed two miles away. Which commander-in-chief are you under?"
?”
It was raining heavily, and Liu Ziguang's banner had already been rolled up, but judging from his posture and tone, he was a senior general, so the sentry replied: "Sir, we are not from the Western Army, we are the General of the Conquest of the West.
I belong to the pacesetter red shirt army." When he answered, his tone unconsciously showed a sense of pride.
Liu Ziguang was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He didn't expect that his troops would come faster. He was indeed a good boy of the Red Shirt Army. He praised: "Not bad, he looks like a Red Shirt Army. He was incorporated into the Western Army so quickly."
The army has performed its mission, but why is it that they don’t even have a waterproof cloak when lurking on a rainy night? Don’t they have any equipment?”
The sentry replied: "Sir, we are not performing the mission of the Western Army. We are the latent sentries of the forward battalion of the Red Shirt Army. The army has just arrived and has not yet entered the camp."
Liu Ziguang was puzzled, so he gently clamped the horse's belly and continued to move forward. Not far away, he saw a shadowy square formation standing in the open space in front of the Western Army camp. It was dark and there were about a thousand men standing upright in the rain.
Something was wrong, so Liu Ziguang immediately asked the two sentries to come and talk to their battalion officer. Not long after, the two sentries arrived with more than a dozen horses. When they saw Liu Ziguang's face, they immediately knelt down in the muddy water: "Final General
Zhou Peigong and Wang Fuchen came to see the commander-in-chief."
"Get up and talk, what's going on? Why are you standing outside in the rain in the middle of the night?" Liu Ziguang asked.
This forward battalion of the Red Shirt Army is not actually a real Red Shirt Army, but a fake Red Shirt Army adapted from the elite of Jingzhou. Liu Ziguang deliberately arranged this so that the main force of the Red Shirt Army would stay in Beijing, and Jingzhou would be the enemy anyway.
*In fact, it can be regarded as my own strength. It is too late to be happy about upgrading them to the Red Shirt Army. Zhou Peigong and Wang Fuchen are not willing to fight against Hong Chengchou. They are really willing to come to Shaanxi to fight the Xixia people. It is the first time to use the Red Shirt Army's
Naturally, I was in a state of excitement during the identity battle, and I wanted to do something good to claim credit, so I worked hard and traveled through the starry night. The forward camp of 3,000 people actually moved faster than Liu Ziguang's light chariot. By the time they arrived outside the camp, it was already dusk, and the opponent discovered that there was someone there.
The large group of people came and hurriedly closed the camp gate and put up their bows and arrows in a defensive posture. They waited for the documents to be handed over and then relaxed a little. A general came out and asked a few words and asked them to stand outside and wait for the superintendent to order troops.
, but after waiting for several hours, it began to rain heavily again. The soldiers did not give orders and no one dared to move. They could only stand in the rain and wait.
"Why don't you go take shelter from the rain?" Liu Ziguang asked.
"We dare not act rashly until the military order is issued. If we act laxly, we will lose the reputation of the commander-in-chief." Zhou Pei said impartially.
Liu Ziguang understood, this is Duke Pei of Zhou and his ministers competing with the Western Army. Are you deliberately neglecting us and not letting us enter the camp? Then we will stand in the rain until you open the camp gate. Yes, it is a bit like the red shirt army.
!
"Okay, I will stand and wait with you to see when they will come to order troops." Liu Ziguang said, taking off his rubber cloak and wearing a half-worn red shirt, he walked to the front of the team and stood with the soldiers.
When they were together, he didn't need to say anything. The three hundred soldiers, including the students from the martial arts hall, all took off their cloaks and stood together with the brothers from the forward battalion.