Chapter 280: The sword points at Japan (6) The trend is irreversible
The Sichuan Army is progressing smoothly, but the Guizhou Army is having a lot of difficulties. The Guizhou Army has been defeated more than once before, and its core combat strength has been greatly damaged. Although Gao Pragmatic directly intervened after that to urgently allocate some firearms and food to Guizhou,
But the combat effectiveness cannot be greatly improved immediately.
Wars are always fought by people. Even if the training time of firearms troops is shorter than that of cold weapons, the premise is that the army has qualified generals and middle- and lower-level officers. If the generals and officers themselves are familiar with firearms,
If you only have a partial understanding of chemical warfare, the effectiveness of your training will naturally be reduced with half the effort and twice the result.
Unfortunately, because the Guizhou Army has always been poor, firearms are often just embellishments in the army. They really cannot teach the soldiers under their command in highly firearm-based combat like the one advocated by Gao pragmatism. Therefore, although the Guizhou Army has more firearms recently,
However, the improvement in combat effectiveness is still limited. Perhaps after the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy is completed and opened in the future, the generals of the Guizhou Army will be generally improved.
Talking back to the Guizhou Army itself, Tong Yuanzhen, the commander-in-chief of the Guizhou Army on Wujiang Road, and Longcheng, the local magistrate, dispatched Bayang soldiers and Yongshun soldiers to attack Wujiang Pass first.
Taki Cheng himself traveled to the Wujiang River, observed it and sighed: "The Wujiang River is indeed a dangerous shoal. There are rocks in the river, and the roar of the river is like thunder. The Wujiang Pass is built on the top of the slope, guarding the Guizhou-Bo channel. It is really easy to defend but difficult to attack. Mr. Tong
Rong, how long do you think it will take our army to capture Guancheng?"
Tong Yuanzhen also observed it first, and then replied: "Our army is well prepared this time, and there will never be another scandal of being defeated by the rebels. At present, pontoons have been set up on the Wujiang River, and there are many firearms covering them."
A large army is crossing the river. Under such a heavy attack with heavy weapons and all-out weapons, how can Wujiang Pass survive?"
However, words are easy to say but things are hard to do. The actual situation was that the Ming army climbed Wujiang Pass under the rain of arrows and was repelled many times. Tong Yuanzhen then remembered that the principle of using firearms is to concentrate, so he ordered to concentrate the firearms to attack one point.
The change of thinking was indeed effective. In just about three moments, Guancheng was bombarded by artillery. The Ming army once again organized a fierce attack. Seeing that the situation was over, the Miao soldiers stationed at Wujiang Pass had to abandon Guancheng and flee to the river.
The local magistrate Takicheng ordered a pursuit, and the Ming army's cavalry rushed forward to cover up the killing. Almost none of the Miao soldiers were spared. Tong Yuanzhen was overjoyed, saying that having these firearms would make a difference, and it would be really refreshing to fight the rich battle. So
On the next day, he ordered the entire army to continue advancing.
The Miao people were greatly shocked when the city fell at Wujiang Pass. Then the Ming army was invincible in successive battles and captured three hundred troops in the capital. The Miao soldiers from all over the country collapsed one after another. Tong Yuanzhen laughed at Yang Yinglong, who was strong on the outside but was strong on the inside, and reported the victory to Song Liangzuo.
, at the same time, various Ming armies also received good news frequently, and the situation seemed to be very good.
Unexpectedly, Yang Zhaolong took the opportunity to send troops from Jiandao at this time, falsely claiming that the Shuixi tribe had bluffed their way through the border, and not only counterattacked Wujiang, but even invaded Guizhou. Tong Yuanzhen and Tongcheng were shocked when they heard about the "Shuixi Rebellion".
Taki Cheng said hurriedly: "The Shuixi'an family has always been very obedient to the imperial court, so they were able to accompany the army on this expedition. How could there be a sudden rebellion?
Could it be... could it be that the chieftains and the Yang family are still secretly communicating with each other, and have accepted Yang Yinglong's various promises, so they will choose the opportunity to rebel and turn against each other? If this is true, then all armies will be in serious trouble!"
Tong Yuanzhen stamped his feet and said: "No matter what, the rebels have invaded Guizhou, and we must return to the division immediately for rescue! I will order General Yang Xian to lead the Yongshun troops to rescue. The prefect of Long can check the Shuixi incident with the various roads, and
Please consult the governor together with the governors of Guizhou and Shu provinces. I will deploy skirmishers here to guard this place, so as to prevent the lone army from going deep and being attacked from both sides."
Taki Cheng was a local official, so naturally he would not disagree with Tong Yuanzhen on such a major matter involving loyal ministers and traitors, so he immediately agreed.
Yang Zhaolong learned that the Guizhou army had begun to return to rescue, and ordered to set up an ambush in Wujiang River. Yang Zhaolong smiled and said to his subordinates: "We have snatched a lot of firearms from the officers and soldiers along the way, and the profit is not small. If the officers and soldiers want to return to rescue Guizhou, they will send out large numbers of soldiers. For
Please cross the Wujiang River as soon as possible. All the floating bridges here will be used.
Order: Bury gunpowder secretly under the pontoon bridge, and hide the whole army. No trace of the crowd should be shown here. When the officers and soldiers are halfway across, they will use firearms and rockets to ignite the gunpowder under each bridge and destroy all the pontoon bridges!"
The Ming army rushed to the Wujiang River near dusk and saw no one around. Yang Xian became suspicious and ordered a warning shot to be fired. He tried many times, but there was no response from both sides of the Wujiang River.
Yang Xianwei rushed back to Guizhou as soon as possible, and it was too late to send people everywhere for detailed investigation, so he ordered the entire army to cross the pontoon bridge and quickly cross the river. On the other side, Yang Zhaolong saw that the time had come and immediately ordered the entire army to launch firearms and rockets.
The Ming army was in the middle of crossing, and naturally panicked due to the ambush at the front and rear. Many people jumped into the river to escape. The gunpowder on each pontoon bridge was often ignited, causing a series of explosions. In the end, the pontoon bridge broke into several sections and collapsed, and most of the Ming army was involved.
In the Wujiang River.
Seeing the opportunity, Yang Zhaolong succeeded and immediately took advantage of the situation to cover up the attack. The Ming army suffered numerous casualties and was almost wiped out. General Yang Xian, guard Chen Yunlong, Ruan Shiqi, Bai Mingkui, Yang Xuzhi and others were all killed in the battle at Wujiang.
Yang Zhaolong won a great victory over Wujiang and immediately contacted the front to attack Tongyuan Town. At this time, Tongyuan Town and Tongcheng had just received their revenge. They knew that Yang Zhaolong had only falsely claimed that Shuixi was invading, and they were filled with hatred and guilt.
In order to avoid being besieged, Tongyuan Town quickly ordered his troops to retreat, but they happened to meet Yang Zhaolong on the way, and the two sides engaged in a melee. However, Tongyuan Town was determined to withdraw its troops and strictly ordered its troops not to fight. As a result, the Ming army's battle formation was chaotic and it became very difficult.
They were quickly defeated and almost turned into stragglers by Yang Zhaolong's troops, while the rest fled across the Wujiang River in embarrassment.
As a result, the Guizhou army suffered heavy losses, and many of them were missing due to being dispersed by the river and being chased by the Miao soldiers. After Tong Yuanzhen returned to Guizhou, he counted the casualties, gathered the remaining troops, and asked Guizhou Governor Guo Zizhang and the governor Song Liangzuo for help in the battle, but was defeated.
Not to mention the crime.
On the other side, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Chen Liang was controlled by Deng Zilong and left Longquan, assisted by Xuanfu envoy Shan Yi and deputy envoy Hu Guifang. His opponent was He Tingyu, who came to fight with 30,000 Miao soldiers on Yang Yinglong's order.
He Tingyu concentrated his troops to set up ambushes on the only way to go, and sent four detachments to guerrilla as suspects. Chen Liang got the report and said: "According to what the Zhijun said, Liu Wei and Ma Lin were the two generals to attract the main force of the rebels. Ma Kongying
The commander-in-chief is second, so what our army encounters are just scattered Miao soldiers, so there is nothing to worry about, but we should not give up the military exploits we have captured so easily... You can just go hunting."
So Chen Liang's troops were divided into five groups, each with 3,000 troops. Hu Guifang and Shan Yi each led one group, and they marched forward in echelons to seize the city and build the stronghold. Chen Liang led one group himself and then followed up, and then divided into two groups to form left and right wings to clear out the seedlings.
They can also coordinate various forces to coordinate and protect the safety of Chen Liang's army.
Hu Guifang, the vanguard of the Ming army, led 3,000 troops towards Bozhou, and was immediately surrounded by Miao soldiers led by He Tingyu. In order to make a quick victory without disturbing the subsequent Ming army's advance, He Tingyu set up two ambush points along the way.
Hu Guifang was allowed to pass through the first ambush safely, but an ambush was carried out at the second so that reinforcements from the rear of the Ming army could arrive.
Hu Guifang's troops were ambushed, and the Miao soldiers fired poisonous arrows with crossbows. Hu Guifang urgently ordered a breakout, but the Ming army broke out ten times and was repulsed. As a result, the morale of the Ming army collapsed, their fighting spirit declined, and they fled in a panic.
At a loss, Hu Guifang himself died soon after being hit by a poisonous arrow.
The accompanying chieftain quickly asked for surrender, but He Tingyu ignored him. He was eager to rush to another ambush to wait for the Ming army behind him, so he was not allowed to surrender and was strictly ordered to be killed without mercy. He was considered a comrade at war.
Shan Yi, the envoy of Xuanfu, was following up with his team. When he heard Hu Guifang's troops shouting for death in the distance, he ordered his troops to move forward quickly to investigate the enemy's situation for rescue. Unexpectedly, when passing through the mountain col, an ambush suddenly arose around them and fired countless rockets.
Torches, and then someone pushed down about fifty boxes of gunpowder barrels used by the Ming army, igniting the oil-soaked fodder hidden in many places. As a result, the fire broke out and the front and rear routes were blocked by the fire.
Shan Yi was in a desperate situation, with no master, and the three thousand Ming army kept wailing. He Tingyu laughed and said: "This Chen Liang has no way to manage the army. Thousands of troops underestimated the enemy and rushed forward. Let alone being unprepared. Once he was frustrated, he wanted to retreat and suffered
If you are besieged, you will lose your will. How can you be undefeated?" As soon as he finished speaking, He Tingyu ordered to shoot with bows and arrows to kill them all as soon as possible, so as to gather the entire army to directly attack Chen Liang.
At this time, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Chen Liang saw a sudden fire ahead and thick smoke rising into the sky. He knew something was wrong and quickly ordered his left and right wings to shrink their forces and join the Chinese army. He was not hopelessly stupid at this time and did not add fuel to the fire.
He moved forward with the intention of rescuing, but instead stood still and ordered to form a formation on the spot and line up to meet the enemy.
However, at this time, He Tingyu had led the entire army to attack Chen Liang's tribe. He came to report to Chen Liang that the Miao soldiers were many times larger than the Chinese army. Chen Liang was frightened. When the Miao soldiers arrived, the two armies engaged in battle. After two bloody battles, the Ming army was ready.
Seemingly helpless, the accompanying chieftain also took the lead in fleeing.
Seeing that Chen Liang couldn't stop drinking, he actually turned his horse and retreated with the chieftain. The Ming army that was still fighting was suddenly in chaos and retreated. In the end, Chen Liang lost most of his troops, and only a few of the defeated troops retreated from Bozhou together. From then on, they did not dare to return again.
In the words of war, He Tingyu withdrew his troops and returned to the division to join Yang Zhaolong's troops. The two of them went to block the delayed offensives of Ma Kongying and Deng Zilong's troops respectively.
In March, the secretary Ma Zhong suggested to Yang Yinglong: "Liu Wei is about to march all the way to Loushanguan. Loushanguan is impregnable and we have Bozhou's elite to respond at any time, so there should be no serious problems. Now the nine groups of soldiers and horses of the army have retreated to two groups.
, the offensive of the other routes is being delayed by the seedlings, I have a plan to retreat two more routes.
It can be seen from the previous battles that the Guizhou army has the weakest fighting spirit and the highest greed. Officials in Guizhou Province are just unjust people who see profit. If they bribe the generals of the Guizhou army with heavy sums of money and promise to restore old friendship with the attached chieftains, they will definitely
There are excuses to stay put.
I heard that the Tian family has an old relationship with Takucheng, and now that Tongcheng has been defeated, if I suddenly get a lot of money to lobby, it will be used by me to control the chieftains under my jurisdiction. In this way, we can concentrate our forces to attack the main force of the Ming court, the Sichuan army Liu Wei.
As long as Liu Wei is defeated, this battle will be won!"
"We might as well try this strategy." Yang Yinglong nodded and said: "The Sichuan army is strong, Liu Wei knows Bozhou well, and Loushanguan is not foolproof. We really need to concentrate our efforts to repel the Sichuan army. From this point of view, if the Guizhou army can stand still
, that would be perfect, in your opinion, who can be responsible for this lobbying mission?"
Ma Zhongdao said: "The third son is eloquent and is born to the Tian family. He can bring Tian's personal letter and more than a hundred messengers to lobby the generals and chieftains of the Guizhou army." Yang Yinglong agreed.
On the 26th, Yang Weidong led Tian's messenger to meet with Takichen secretly. Yang Weidong said: "Earlier, we falsely claimed that Shuixi would counterattack Wujiang, which frightened you. I'm really sorry. But you also know that our target has always been the official.
The army did not want to fight with various chieftains in the same room.
In the early years, I, the Yang family of Bozhou, had many misunderstandings with the Five Sis and Seven Surnames, and my father was indeed inappropriate. For this reason, I specially sent five thousand taels of silver and promised that the Five Sis and Seven Surnames would have their own rights. I look forward to sharing with you all
Let's get back together. If you still remember the old relationship with Tian, Tian will be grateful. Please accept these gifts and promote the harmony between the Five Sis and Seven Surnames and the Yang family."
It is indeed difficult for chieftains to "cut off their robes and sever their righteousness". This is normal, so Takicheng invited Yang Weidong to sit down and said: "The third young master is really polite. I feel ashamed to receive such a generous gift. It is rare that the Yang family of Bozhou has the intention... But I still
Somewhat worried.
Most of the troops mobilized by the imperial court this time were elite divisions, which were far inferior to the previous garrison troops stationed in the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu. Not to mention that Song Gong, who made the army, and Guo Gong, the Fu army, both had the determination to pacify Bozhou.
Nanning, I heard that he personally gave instructions to Liu Wei and other generals on how to pacify Bozhou many times...under such circumstances, can the Yang family really resist?"
Yang Weidong smiled and said: "You don't know something about this. Although the officers and soldiers have many soldiers and generals, they seem to be attacking in separate lanes and attacking in an all-out way. But now all the roads are restrained and delayed by me, making it difficult to advance. As for Qijiang, Liu Wei, and Ma Lin
Along the way, they are indeed the most adept at fighting, but we in Bozhou have also concentrated our forces and will surely annihilate this group at Loushanguan.
In this way, the weather, the location, and the people are all in the Yang family. This Loushanguan is the burial place of Liu Wei all the way. After that, Bozhou will fight in various places. Each army can't support it alone. Wherever Bozhou's troops are powerful, the army will be defeated.
.”
With a smile on his face, Takichen said: "In this way, the Bozhou Army is indeed invincible, which is really gratifying and congratulatory. Then I will accept this generous gift, and I will definitely... urge the Five Divisions and Seven Surnames to join the Yang family
Fight to the end!"
Taki Cheng's face suddenly changed when he said this, and he shouted and called the guards, who immediately captured Yang Weidong and others on the spot. Yang Weidong was surprised and cursed fiercely.
Takicheng had already put away his previous smile, snorted coldly at him, and said sternly: "The Yang family has been oppressing the chieftains for a long time, and the chieftains have already reached the end of their tolerance. Now that the imperial army is approaching the border, Yang Yinglong has no choice but to surrender, and he still dares to resist.
If you don’t obey, you will be ruining yourself!
To tell you the truth, the destruction of the Yi clan by your Yang family is what I look forward to most. I will definitely convey to the officers and soldiers exactly what the Third Young Master said just now. As for the money... I still have to thank the Third Young Master again.
Your Majesty's good intentions are really disrespectful, so I have to accept them with a smile. I think even if I control the army and Fujun knows about it, he will definitely reward me, hahahaha!"
Later, Takichen beheaded Yang Weidong and Tian's messengers, and presented their heads to Guizhou Governor Guo Zizhang. Generals of the Guizhou army such as Tong Yuanzhen, Zhu Heling, Li Yingxiang, etc. also accepted bribes, but used them as military pay and beheaded them again.
The envoys offered their heads to ask for merit. Even An Jiangchen, the great chieftain of Shuixi, personally tied up more than 20 envoys to show that Shuixi would never rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
How lucky is it that the Ming Dynasty has not suffered a defeat for more than 20 years after the military reform! What's more, today is in its prime, and there is Gao Pragmatism, the world's best literary commander, sitting in the center of the court. Who among the Guizhou chieftains would be so stupid as this?
To have a secret affair with Yang Yinglong?
When Yang Yinglong learned that Yang Weidong was dead, he became furious and scolded Ma Zhong, the clerk: "You incompetent villain! Listening to your nonsense has caused me to waste money and lose face in Bozhou! You actually encouraged my son Weidong to host the lobbying, and now the bodies are separated.
, tragic death in the bandit camp! How dare you, an incompetent person like you, claim to be resourceful?
I think you secretly collected bribes from the officers and soldiers, and came here to plot and plot to harm my son! I want you to pay for my son's life!" Ma Zhong begged for mercy again and again, crying that he didn't know that the chieftain would have such a reaction, but Yang Yinglong was so angry that he didn't even think about it.
Listen, give a stern order to push him out and behead him.
As a result, both Yang Kedong and Yang Weidong died unexpectedly. Yang Yinglong couldn't help but cry bitterly when he thought of his two sons' voices and smiles, filled with grief and anger. Military advisor Sun Shitai, eldest son Yang Chaodong and brothers Yang Zhaolong, He and Tian came to comfort him one after another. Yang Chaodong urged his father to cheer up.
Kill all the invading enemies to avenge Yang Weidong and Yang Kedong.
Yang Yinglong turned to hold back tears and secretly vowed to teach the Ming army and help the chieftains to pay for their blood debt.
Song Liangzuo, on the other side, laughed loudly after receiving the report, and praised the paintings on the left and right: "Although these Eighth Route Army soldiers are not all elite troops, their strength and power are enough to make Yang Yinglong and other rebellious parties have a chokehold. If they don't have enough troops, they will use it.
I am also on guard against this.
But in the final analysis, among the eight routes, Liu Wei is still the most threatening, and Ma Lin's route is the most threatening. When Yang Yinglong is distracted, the Loushan Pass may not be impregnable. Once the Loushan Pass is broken, Yang Yinglong will definitely be forced to gather troops to resist. The rest of us will
The road will be like entering uninhabited territory. There will be very few natural dangers left in Bozhou."
His staff Zhao Xinkui said: "What Zhijun said is absolutely true. Loushan Pass blocks Bashu to the north and chokes Guizhou and Guizhou to the south. It is the throat of northern Guizhou. It is a battleground for military strategists. It has been called a natural hazard since ancient times. I am fortunate to have passed through this place."
, there are thousands of peaks in the pass, numerous mountains and steep cliffs, like an axe, piercing the sky like a halberd, and the Sichuan-Guizhou Mountain Road spirals past. Only Liu Zongrong's troops can conquer it in one fell swoop."
He may not know that Loushanguan even affects the heart of Gao Jingshi who is far away in the capital, because even Gao Jingshi is very aware of the dangers of this pass. However, Gao Jingshi’s understanding of Loushanguan comes from the Red Dynasty
Taizu's poem "Recalling Qin'e·Loushanguan":
The west wind is strong, and the geese in the sky are calling in the frosty morning moon. In the frosty morning moon, the horses' hooves are clattering, and the trumpets are honking.
The long road through Xiongguan is really like iron, but now we are crossing it from the beginning. Crossing it from the beginning, the mountains are like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood.
After Song Liangzuo listened to the words of the left and right, he secretly said in his heart: Liu Wei, Liu Wei, the Marquis has high hopes for you. You must fight the battle of Loushanguan for the headquarters! Once this battle is won, the next battle will be continued.
Probably only Hailongdun is left and needs some extra effort, but that's just catching a turtle in a urn, and you will surely get it sooner or later...
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "llhz", "Cao Mianzi", and "klauszx" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: Posted half an hour late, but this chapter cost 5K, and I paid off 1K in debt. I forgot whether I still owed it, so I thought I still owed 1K, and I still have to find an opportunity to pay it back later... I just hope that I can pay it back later...
Schools in the area must not close again next week.
