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In Lushun, the Ming army is settling the Han people who have moved in from various parts of southern Liaoning. The total number is more than 60,000. Except for 6,000 young and strong people among them, the rest are stationed in military camps according to the Baojia system.
During last year's sea-crossing battle, the Jinzhou Army relocated more than 280,000 Han people from the Liao area. More than 50,000 people froze and starved on the way. In the end, less than 230,000 people survived. 170,000 of them were transported to Dengzhou by the Jinzhou Navy.
The resettlement took four months. The remaining 60,000 people were resettled nearby in Lushun.
Lushun was once the Zhongzuo Station of Jinzhou in the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing army captured Lushun, they expanded the castle on the basis of the original Zhongzuo Station. When Huanglong led the army to attack Lushun, the buildings in the city were damaged to a certain extent. After the Jinzhou Army regained Lushun, it was out of the control of the Liao Dynasty.
Considering the establishment of a bridgehead in the south, Dayong ordered the renovation of Lushun Fort in order to restore the Liao frontier in the future.
Lushun is guarded by Nanguan in front of it and Lushunkou Military Port is behind it. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it can receive support from the sea at any time. It can be called the best outpost in southern Liaoning.
Dayong plans to build Lushun into a military base with a capacity of 100,000 civilians and a garrison of 20,000 to 30,000 troops. With Lushun as the central axis, he will establish a business and trade center extending from North Korea and Pidao in the east to Jinzhou and Ningyuan in the west and Denglai in the south.
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To put it bluntly, this trade center transported Liaodong's fur specialties to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, and then transported the goods of the Ming Dynasty from the mainland to North Korea. The profits from this trade were used to support the Jinzhou Army.
Dayong has begun to use the navy to purchase food from Jiangnan and other places. Now the Jinzhou Army is short of gold and silver, but food.
Dengzhou and Lushun are limited by terrain, making it difficult to establish large-scale military camps. Affected by natural disasters, their output is also limited. The Jinzhou Army in Dayong's plan will expand to 100,000 troops, so it is difficult for Lushun to support Dengzhou alone.
who raised this army.
Since ancient times, wars have been fought with money and food. Without money and food, this war cannot be fought. Of the two, the latter is heavier. If you can't even eat your stomach, what's the use of having a pile of money.
Although sea trade can bring huge profits, it is not easy to convert these profits into food.
Fortunately, everything has been started. It won't take long before the envoys sent to Jiangnan will bring back good news. After all, Dayong now has the best goods on hand that the merchants never dreamed of, and there are also large quantities of goods snatched from Donglu.
A sum of gold and silver can support his large expenses.
Merchants are profit-seeking, and Dayong believes that as long as the price he offers is enough to tempt those merchants, the grain he needs will be continuously delivered, and even part of the grain that should have been on the canal will be sent to Dengzhou.
Everything was starting to go on track, but with the sudden increase in affairs, the restructuring of the Jinzhou Army and the establishment of Dengzhou, and the establishment of the Lushun Local Affairs Yamen became more urgent.
Dayong has a headache. He has never been an official who is good at civil affairs. For this reason, he decided to use a group of exonerated traitor officials to let these educated guys act according to their own wishes. But it is really difficult to give them a name.
Yes, Dayong does not have the power to appoint or remove officials. Even his Jinzhou Army is temporarily holding the official position appointed by Shi Dayong. There are only a few districts that actually have military positions in the imperial court.
The name is not justified, and Dayong now really wants to be recognized and delegated power by the court, so that he can have military and political jurisdiction over Dengzhou and Lushun. It is best to follow Sun Yuanhua's old practice and establish a Deng brigade governor to facilitate management. But this will not happen until Dayong
Without going to the capital, it is purely an extravagant hope, and even after Dayong enters the capital, he cannot guarantee that the court will give him what he wants.
Time, Dayong needs time now. He is waiting for the day when the court no longer doubts him but desires him.
After all, this day is not far away.
When he saw the latest newspaper saying that Chen Qiyu had surrounded Gao Yingxiang in the Carriage Gorge, Dayong became even more confident about the arrival of this day.
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Under Zuo Liangyu's inducement, Gao Yingxiang led his troops into a valley. The road in the middle of the valley was fairly flat, but only a few feet wide, making it difficult to move quickly.
The night was getting dark, and the thieves lit torches for illumination, but the mist in the valley was steaming and formed a fire dragon. It could only be seen three to five feet away. The rocks on both sides became misty, with strange peaks and jagged rocks. It's about to attack you. Such strange images make the thieves and bandits wonder.
After walking for nearly an hour, it was estimated that the large group of people behind had also entered the valley. Gao Yingxiang ordered An to make a meal and led Zhang Miaocai, Gao Yigong and others to the front for inspection. However, he saw Li Zicheng leading Gu Junen in a hurry and asked: "King Chuang, where is this place?"
"It must be the fault of the carriage. Where is Zhang Debao? Call him over and ask."
Gao Yingxiang looked around, but there was no figure of Zhang Debao, and his heart sank. Zhang Miaocai and others became anxious when they saw that Zhang Debao was gone. They sent people to look for him, but they could not find him. At this time, everyone was anxious and realized that they seemed to have been fooled.
"What should I do?" Li Zicheng asked Gu Junen in a low voice.
Gu Junen frowned and looked up at the surrounding terrain, and then said to Li Zicheng: "General, it doesn't matter whether this is a carriage gorge or not. What matters is that the two peaks of this valley are facing each other. The situation is dangerous and easy to enter and difficult to exit. We have tens of thousands of troops. Crowded in such a narrow place, once the officers and soldiers guard the valley mouth on both sides, they will be attacked from the front and back, and it will be impossible to escape even with wings. You must not camp here!"
Li Zicheng was shocked when he heard this, and said hurriedly: "Then speak to King Chuang!" Before he could finish his words, a cannon rang out from the top of the mountain, a shower of stones fell, and as countless rockets were shot down, the tent's food and grass suddenly burst into flames. .
Everyone screamed and ran for cover, and Li Zicheng shouted, "Come out with me!" He swung his sword and ran forward. After walking for less than a few miles, countless rocks had already been piled up in front of him, blocking the entrance of the valley. , the mountain was illuminated brightly by lanterns and torches, dozens of war flags roared, and a big man under the banner laughed loudly and said: "Thieves, do you still recognize us?"
Li Zicheng took a closer look and saw that it was Zhang Debao who was missing. His heart suddenly felt like a heavy hammer, and he yelled: "Zhang Debao, a hero, came down to see us to win or lose. How can you be a hero with such poisonous calculations?"
"Hahaha... You are a grass bandit who doesn't know how to die. You are still so stubborn when you are in such a situation! To tell you the truth, we are not Zhang Debao, we are Changping deputy general Zuo Liangyu! Humph, you and other thieves are trapped here. How can you survive? It’s retribution! Let me tell you, this clever plan was thought up by Marshal Chen. It’s useless if you can’t swallow this breath, you’re afraid you won’t be able to see him.” Zuo Liangyu waved his command flag, and arrows rained down from the mountain. , Li Zicheng and others hurriedly retreated. Under the rain of arrows, at least a thousand thieves and soldiers were shot, and for a while the valley was filled with wailing.
The Ming army only surrounded the rebels in the valley, but did not attack. They only relied on the geographical advantage to suppress the rebels' counterattack. Gao Yingxiang commanded the leaders to organize brave men to rush several times, but they failed to break through the Ming army's siege. Instead, they ruined the lives of thousands of heroes. On the other hand, The Ming army suffered almost no casualties, which made the tens of thousands of rebels in the valley feel desperate.
In the middle of the night, it rained heavily, soaking the armored tents. After working hard all night, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Miaocai, Chuang Taotian and others were hungry, cold, and exhausted.
It was getting light, Gao Yingxiang sent an order, and all the leaders gathered in the Chinese army camp to discuss countermeasures. Li Zicheng told Li Guo and others that the army only wanted to be trapped and would not enter the valley to fight. Be careful of the cold arrows on the mountains and not act rashly. Then he took Gu Junen with him I hurried to the camp. Along the way, I looked around and broke into a cold sweat. I saw two steep cliffs rising up like a knife and an ax, straight into the sky. It was early summer, with dense forest and grass, and thorns all over the place. I feel that it is long, narrow, gloomy, and winding, making it difficult to walk.
At this time, Gao Yingxiang also saw the terrain in the valley clearly, and couldn't help but secretly complain. He was so careless that he actually lured people into a desperate situation. He had no way to go to heaven and no way to go to the earth. He was trapped and died here before his eyes. This cost the lives of tens of thousands of brothers! Suddenly I was covered in cold sweat and filled with regret.
The camp was built in a small and winding cave, with torches lit and a flat boulder surrounded by three people, Gao Yingxiang, Xie Kuan and Zhang Miaoshou, all with heavy expressions. Gao Yingxiang had a white belt tied on his right shoulder, indicating that Half soaked in blood, he stepped forward and asked, "Is King Chuang injured?"
"It doesn't matter, I was hit by an arrow. The arrowhead has been taken out and the golden sore medicine has been applied." Gao Yingxiang smiled and raised his right arm slightly to show that the injury was not serious, but the pain caused the corners of his mouth to twitch twice and thin threads to appear on his forehead. beads of sweat.
Scorpion Block looked at Li Zicheng, and said with a sinister smile: "My bones have been injured, how can it not be serious? Brother Zicheng, you led the way! I'm afraid I won't be able to escape this time. Shouldn't you be with that Zuo Liangyu?" Are you colluding to sell us out?"
Li Zicheng was startled, and felt so sad that he didn't know how to defend himself. Someone at the entrance of the cave shouted: "If he dares to be so unjust, I, Lao Zhang, will be the first to spare him!"
Following the words, Zhang Xianzhong strode in, sat down, and said to Xiezi: "If he surrendered to the army, why would he come to the camp? He could just stay on the top of the mountain and wait for the body to be collected. Why come to accompany us!"
Gao Yingxiang also said strangely: "I asked Zuo Liangyu to lead the way, what's the matter with Guan Zicheng?"
Knowing that he had gone too far, Scorpion Block smiled bitterly and hid it: "It's a blessing to have Brother Zicheng collect the body for me. It's better to get a whole body and maybe a coffin than to be chopped up by those officers and soldiers." You're a piece of shit and you feed it to the tigers and wolves in the mountains!"
Zhang Xianzhong slapped him and shouted: "Why are you so frustrated! We will just stay in the valley. If he comes, we will kill him. We will earn a profit by killing each more. What are we afraid of?"
"It would be great if the officers and soldiers are willing to come in and fight to the death, or even have a glimmer of hope of escaping. But if they insist on not fighting, a lot of our food and grass will be burned. How many days can we survive? We will starve to death." "
Gao Yingxiang's face was solemn, he sighed, and said worriedly: "There are heavy troops ambushed at the north and south exits of the Carriage Gorge, and there are cannons and crossbows on the mountains on the east and west sides. Nearly 100,000 of our brothers are besieged here, and many soldiers have been wounded by arrows. It rained heavily again, and there was no place to hide. The swords and armor were covered with rust, and many arrow feathers fell off and could no longer be used. Morale was low, and people's hearts were wandering. We must find a way as soon as possible, otherwise if we delay for one day, we will be in danger for another day."
Zhang Xianzhong slapped his thigh and said: "Rush out! Otherwise, you will die sooner or later if you stay in this narrow valley."
Gao Yingxiang shook his head and said: "Breaking out is not a good idea. We are at the bottom of the valley, and the officers and soldiers are at the heights. We can defend according to the danger. It can be said that one man can block the barrier and ten thousand people can't open it. Even the birds can't escape! If we just charge and kill, it is nothing more than taking advantage of the enemy. Life is on the edge of the knife. Morale is low now. If we lose again, we will only lose our position. Once the army's mentality changes, it will not be restrained."
Everyone was silent for a while, and Li Zicheng suddenly felt that the moisture in the cave had increased. Gao Yingxiang saw everyone's expressions were different, stood up and bowed to everyone: "I, Gao Yingxiang, swear to live and die with all my brothers, and I will never betray my righteousness for profit or sell myself for glory! The matter is critical and we must not be suspicious of each other. As long as we work together, this is not a desperate situation."
Zhang Miaoshou disagreed and asked: "What is it if it's not a desperate situation? It's better to give yourself peace of mind! In my opinion, forget it! When you are too hungry to hold a knife or a gun, you will have no choice but to be slaughtered by others!"
Scorpion Block said: "Why don't we just break up the gang, break it up into parts, everyone cares about their own business, pretend to be woodcutter mountain people, and escape this hurdle first."
Zhang Xianzhong joked: "My brother's appearance has been painted for many days. I'm afraid there aren't many soldiers in Chen Qiyu's camp who don't know you. Without good disguise skills, it will be difficult to get through." Scorpion said for a long time. Speechless. Everyone quarreled for a while, unable to think of a perfect solution, so they looked at each other and fell silent.
"I have a plan. I wonder if the leaders are willing to listen to it?" Gu Junen stepped forward and bowed deeply. He had been standing in the shadow so that no one noticed.
Gao Yingxiang greeted: "It turns out to be Jun En! Come and sit down, tell me what you have to say, why are you just hiding in the dark?"
Gu Junen bowed around and said: "The only way to go now is to pretend to surrender."
"Fake surrender? I thought it was some astonishing trick, but it turned out to be just a trick. Shen Yikui, Wang Jiayin and the others have long been tired of using this trick. The officers and soldiers have suffered so much, how can they believe in us again?" Zhang Xianzhong raised his hands and sneered. Everyone felt that they had asked something important and were waiting for Gu Junen's answer.
"Eight Great Kings, what you said is true. But since ancient times, soldiers have never been tired of deceit, so they have many clever tricks that have been tried and tested. If you use it for Yang He, you will naturally use it for Chen Qiyu."
"How do you know?" Zhang Xianzhong heard that he was quite conceited. How could he believe it?
"Back then, Wang Jiayin, the leader of the gods, was recruited by Yang He, but we had to take the initiative to ask for surrender, which shows our sincerity. Firstly, secondly, we were in a desperate situation and our soldiers were unable to fight anymore, so the officers and soldiers had less chance to deal with us. To soothe the vigilance of rebels. Thirdly, the officers and soldiers are greedy for profit and merit. Let us use it for profit and dedicate all the jewelry we get to Chen Qiyu. He will naturally be happy to gain both fame and wealth. Fourthly, if he has any concerns again, please know Reasonable."
Gu Junen glanced at the leaders, saw them nodding slightly, and then said: "This is the most important. Hong Chengchou killed too much, and the emperor was angry. The emperor was a little alienated from him. Chen Qiyu must not want to learn from Hong Chengchou. Besides, we can go out and pacify Liaodong. As a bait, if he can eliminate internal strife and get rid of foreign troubles, Chen Qiyu is not a fool. He also wants to leave a name in history, how can he be willing to give up such unparalleled achievements to others? "
"Who can take on this important task?" Gao Yingxiang's eyes flickered, "I am injured..."
Li Zicheng said without hesitation: "If King Chuang goes forward, we will be underestimated. If everyone agrees to this plan, I will go see Chen Qiyu!"
Gao Yingxiang thought: "Zicheng, be careful if Chen Qiyu takes you as a hostage."
"If he takes me as a hostage, he will sincerely accept surrender and appeasement. Otherwise, he will definitely use his trick to lure us out of the valley to hunt and kill us. We must be careful." Li Zicheng looked solemn.
"Then what should we do? Isn't it a dead end?" Scorpion Block and Zhang Miaoshou were shocked. Gao Yingxiang smiled slightly and said: "It will be no longer up to him then. Let's risk death and survive. Which of the brothers will not fight to the death?"
Zhang Xianzhong shouted sternly: "I, Mr. Zhang, first chopped off Chen Qiyu's head to make a wine bowl!"
"You don't need to chop him down, Chongzhen will definitely not be able to spare him." Gao Yingxiang stood up and said, "Bring me some wine and make yourself strong!"
Seven or eight large bowls were filled, and the cave was immediately filled with the aroma of wine, which diluted the moisture a lot. "Take care!" Everyone drank together and smashed it to the ground.