In Yanzhou City, in the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Yuan Chonghuan, the commander of the Xuzhou capital of the Ming Dynasty, was reading several battle reports. With the title of Commander-in-Chief, he praised the more than 100,000 soldiers and horses on the Shandong front line. He had Mangui and Zu Dashou's elite cavalry under his command, as well as
The more than ten battalions of mountain soldiers under Mao Wenlong's temporary command, as well as hundreds of thousands of villagers in Yanzhou City, were all under his management. It can be said that he was in charge of the army and the people, and his affairs were very busy.
Since the great victory at Liguo City during the Spring Festival, all the troops and horses in Shandong were under his control. Taking advantage of the victory, he advanced six hundred miles to the north and reached Tai'an Prefecture before being blocked by Dorgon who had reappeared. After several hard battles, there were concessions.
The battle lines gradually became stalemate on the Yanzhou front line.
The Qing army was brave and invincible in field battles, but one fatal weakness was the lack of food and grass. There were 150,000 horses. The people needed food and the horses needed grass. After the severe drought, the northern provinces simply could not provide that much food and grass, so
The best countermeasure is to fight a protracted war, with Yanzhou as the center, and hundreds of thousands of troops to defend the city and camp, instead of engaging in field battles with the Qing army. Every day the enemy holds out, the enemy's logistical pressure will increase, and the enemy will be closer to retreat.
One step. These days, Yanzhou has been holding a no-war card. Facing the Qing army's scoldings, it is ignored. If the opponent attacks the city, then it is what they want. Steam cannons and repeating crossbows are waiting. All the trees in the city have been cut down to make repeating crossbows.
With the arrows of the traitor troops of the Han Eight Banners and the Green Camp, even the ladders were shot so hard that they ran away. If the Qing army attacked the camp of Mangui or Zu Dashou, the troops in Yanzhou City would be killed.
They went straight out to take the Qing army's camp, and the three sides acted as horns to cover each other. The total strength of the two sides was basically the same. Dorgon did not have the ability to win three battles at the same time.
If this continues, victory is just around the corner, but the military rations shipped from behind are getting worse and worse. Not only are they old rations for many years, but they are also mixed with countless amounts of sand and mud. I can't stand it, but the military pay is actually three months in arrears. The following is
The soldiers were incited to cause trouble, and were forced to resort to thunderous tactics to kill a few of the leaders. They collected some money on the spot in Yanzhou Prefecture to suppress it, but it was not a long-term solution. The governor of Zhejiang Province had money and grain
It was clear to Miao Kejian, the military commander, that he deliberately delayed the military plane and hindered himself. This guy was Cui Chengxiu's confidant. He must have been instructed by his superiors to be so arrogant. He really wanted to kill this young man, but he knew very well that if he killed him,
Miao Kejian, the political opponents who are worried about not being able to grasp their own leverage will be happy. This is the end of the commander-in-chief. Whether he is an official or not is a trivial matter. If a mediocre person is used to lead the army, wouldn't it be a failure of the people who care about the motherland?
Don't the elders of Shandong regard the lives of their soldiers as child's play?
I just received an urgent document, saying that Cui Chengxiu, the governor of Shandong, who is the governor of the Ministry of War, is about to arrive, and he has to go thirty miles out of the city to greet him. Cui Chengxiu is an old enemy. This time he is in charge of the governor of Shandong. He is a feudal official, responsible for military, horse, money, food and civil affairs.
, no matter what, the governors of the Ming Dynasty usually also have the official title of deputy censor, which means that Cui Chengxiu is not only the head of the local administrative and military affairs, but also the work of the Discipline Inspection Commission. Now he is sure to get the job. He is in charge of military affairs.
It can't be compared to the admiral who supervises military affairs. When the governor arrives, he should hold the baton and kowtow. After Yi Guan takes the solemn greeting, he should be more polite. This is the politeness that subordinates should have, and it is also a system. Thinking of kowtowing to his old enemy, Yuan Chonghuan
I couldn't help feeling sick.
"Has Mao Wenlong arrived?" Yuan Chonghuan asked the soldier standing under the hall. This Mao Wenlong is from Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He was born in Songshengli, Qiantang County, Hangzhou Prefecture in the fourth year of Wanli. His family was poor since he was a child. He was poor when he was young and worked for others.
He made a living by looking at fortune telling. He also learned Sun Wu's art of war and was good at talking about war. At the age of thirty, he went north alone and became the king of the mountain in the mountainous area near Yanzhou, Shandong Province by relying on his martial arts and military skills. He started with 20 people and gradually developed.
They became a group of powerful bandits who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, and came and went without a trace. Later, the Manchu Qing Dynasty enforced the order of shaving their hair. Many Han people with integrity did not want to shave their hair, let alone lose their heads, so they went up the mountain to surrender to the bandits.
, this group of people included many scholars, and their joining gradually transformed Mao Wenlong's bandit team into a rebel army with an anti-Qing flavor.
Mao Wenlong's base is in the Shanting area of Yanzhou, at the southwest foot of the Taiyi Mountains. The terrain is complex and diverse, with many mountains and hills and few plains. In the east, there are mountainous areas of more than 200 feet, with many mountains and rolling hills; in the west, there are low mountains of less than 30 feet.
There are mountains and hills and sloping flat land in front of mountains. Low mountains are continuous, hills are everywhere, rivers and canals are crisscrossed, and there are few plains. There are 1,234 large and small hills. Located in the northeast, Yiyun Mountain is also known as Yiyun Mountain and is the highest peak in southern Shandong.
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Mao Wenlong overcame obstacles, prepared weapons, gathered refugees, and built a stockade on Yiyun Mountain. In a short period of time, he added tens of thousands of troops. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, he repeatedly defeated the green camp troops who came to attack. This attracted the attention of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ministry of War sent
After recruiting soldiers, Mao Wenlong was given the title of Shanting General, and the army organized more than a dozen battalions, which were called Shanting Town.
Although Mao Wenlong received the imperial edict and became a general, he was also an official of the imperial court. The tens of thousands of people under his command were nominally the people of the Ming Dynasty. However, he was not from an orthodox background. He was not as good as the Imperial Imperial Guard and had sufficient food, pay and weapons.
Armor. They can only be regarded as a self-financed public institution. Their cash income basically depends on robbery and kidnapping, and they rely on their own cultivation of food. They occasionally send troops to harass Zoucheng and Tengxian County, but their lives are quite happy in small places like Zoucheng and Tengxian.
Since the Qing emperor's southern expedition, Mao Wenlong has been constantly harassing and sabotaging the Qing army's rear. After the Ming army launched a counterattack, he fully cooperated and sent personnel to infiltrate Zoucheng and Yanzhou. They cooperated inside and outside to assist the army in taking the two cities, and achieved great military exploits.
After the Yanzhou defensive battle began, a defense line was set up in the mountainous area, which stopped the Qing army's idea of detouring to the rear to attack.
Yuan Chonghuan admired this man very much and wanted to promote him to join the Yuan Family Army, also known as the Xuzhou Army System. However, this guy was very attached to the promising career of banditry. He always listened to the instructions and ran his own business.
The small kingdom made Yuan Chonghuan grit his teeth with hatred. After the Ming Army's Northern Expedition, Mao Wenlong also had some food and salary, but it was all allocated by the Xuzhou Army. Yuan Chonghuan stopped the food distribution of Mao Wenlong's department, not to mention the money, and wanted to put further pressure on him.
Take the initiative to vote.
But Mao Wenlong, a cunning man, was not so obedient. He somehow managed to get on Miao Kejian's path and gain connections with the fellows from Hangzhou. He obtained a lot of weapons and armor, but even more refused to buy Yuan Chonghuan's account.
This is the third time Yuan Chonghuan has written to Mao Wenlong, persuading him to pull Shanting Town out to join the Xuzhou Army for unified command. This time, he was directly ordered to come to Yanzhou for a meeting to prepare for a final fight.
Sure enough, the principal replied: "Come back to the commander-in-chief, General Mao Shen has not arrived yet."
Let's forget about Mao Wenlong for the moment. The person we have to deal with now is Cui Chengxiu. He wants me to go out thirty miles from the city to meet him, huh.
Thirty miles outside Yanzhou City, the Zhejiang Army set up camp. Cui Chengxiu had already prepared the Hongmen Banquet, with 18,000 men and horses spread out on the left and right wings. A banquet was served in the Chinese Army Camp. It stands to reason that Yuan Chonghuan should have given it to the governor who came from afar.
A banquet is held to catch the wind, but if you want to kill people, it is better to do it at home. Just think of it as the governor hosting a banquet to reward the border army generals. There are five hundred swordsmen and axemen ambushing behind the big tent. When the time comes, they will throw cups as a sign, and the swordsmen and axemen will
Rush out and kill Yuan Chonghuan directly.
Cui Chengxiu fiddled with the wine glass and waited patiently for Yuan Chonghuan's arrival. He was surrounded by his own people from all directions, including a battalion of pacesetters brought from Beijing and Miao Kejian's personal troops. They were all strong men with big shoulders and round waists, not to mention Fan Wencheng.
The martial arts masters under him came to help, and even if Yuan Chonghuan's soldiers rose up to resist, it would be of no avail.
"Your Majesty, there is a group of troops arriving in Yanzhou City." A small school ran over to report. "We are finally here." Cui Chengxiu put down his wine glass and called to Miao Kejian, "come with me to greet Yuan Chonghuan."
Miao Kejian said curiously, "My lord, you can just sit in the tent and wait for him to come and pay your respects. Why bother to greet him from afar?"
"It doesn't hurt to greet a dying person once." Cui Chengxiu smiled magnanimously and walked out with steady official steps. Miao Kejian secretly admired Cui Shangshu's courage and paused for a moment before following his master.
He walked out slowly from the right side. When he looked back, he saw that the commander of the Guards was following behind with his head tilted up. He was so angry that he kicked him over, "Hurry back and ambush, don't forget to throw a cup as a sign!"
Cui Chengxiu was wearing a red official uniform and stood at the gate of the camp with dignity. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the smoke and dust in the distance. His expression became worse and worse. The soldiers and horses did not have any ceremonial flags at all, they were just a team of fast horses reporting news.
Sure enough, the men and horses came closer, and the first general rolled his saddle and dismounted, prostrated himself in front of Cui Chengxiu, "Master Shangshu, the last general Niu Yong has been ordered by Yuan Shuai to welcome you."
Cui Chengxiu was speechless for a long time. All the arrangements were in vain. He let Niu Yong kneel on the ground without letting him get up. After calming down his anger for a while, he asked Chacha: "Why didn't your Marshal Yuan come to greet you?"
My officer?"
Niu Yong blinked his small eyes and said: "The Tatars suddenly mobilized their troops and generals with unknown intentions. The commander-in-chief was afraid that Yanzhou would be damaged and did not dare to leave his post without authorization. He sent a special general to greet you on his behalf. The commander-in-chief also said that you are very open-minded.
I won’t care about these false courtesy.”
Cui Chengxiu said in her heart, of course I don't care about false courtesy, I want the head of your commander-in-chief! But if Yuan Chonghuan doesn't come, he can't kill Niu Yong instead. In the future, he may need these generals to control the Xuzhou Army.
Thinking of this, Cui Chengxiu laughed and nodded, "The one who knows me is Brother Yuan." He stepped forward to help Niu Yong, "This is General Niu Yong. I have heard of your name for a long time. You are really famous."
Let’s meet, today I can see the might of a tiger, he is really a fierce general. Please get up quickly.”
Niu Yong stood up happily and said: "Your Majesty, please set up camp. A house has been prepared for you in the city. It is the residence of the former King of Lu when he was granted the title of Yanzhou. It is magnificent and suitable for you to live in."
Cui Chengxiu smiled and said: "It's such a hard work. General Niu, let's take a rest first. I will make a decision on whether to enter the city or not."
A general came over and took Niu Yong aside to drink water and rest. Seeing his back disappearing behind the tent, Cui Chengxiucai flicked his sleeves, his expression suddenly changed, and he went back to the tent angrily, followed by Miao.
Ke Jian didn't dare to say anything. Damn it, Yuan Chonghuan was so courageous that he didn't come to greet him personally. This Hongmen Banquet was in vain.