The Guancheng of Yuling Pass is only two or three miles deep, embedded in the col of Fuyu Mountain and Baiji Mountain, with steep cliffs on both sides. It is unique in terrain. Only the front of Guancheng has a relatively open terrain for the enemy to approach.
Over the past few years, it has become an insurmountable ravine even for the Zhejiang and Fujian armies. The valley outside Guancheng is filled with bones, and it is unknown how many women in the palace have dreamed of ending their lives here.
Since mid-August, the garrison at Yuling Pass has suddenly increased from 3,000 to more than 50,000. General Xie Chaozhong set up the main camp of the Western Zhejiang Recruitment Army here.
As the garrison increased, various vendors also gathered, forming a messy gathering place on the northern slope of Guancheng Camp, causing Yuling to suddenly become abnormally prosperous.
There are different flavors. There are all kinds of food shops to greet the generals, prostitutes' villages for the generals to relax and entertain, and pawn shops to relieve the generals' urgent needs. In broad daylight, you can still faintly hear the sound of silk and bamboo coming from the rough prostitutes' village.
Singing female voice…
Deng Yu passed by on horseback. Seeing this situation, he felt very sad - not only the generals of the imperial camp brought by Xie Chaozhong were having fun, but considering the military discipline, even the generals of the original Huinan Army could not hold their tongue.
, Deng Yu severely punished all those caught leaving the military camp without permission, but the comparison between the two also made the generals below complain that he was too harsh.
If he can't go back to Huizhou or enter western Zhejiang, and the two armies are mixed together, at least the Qing will become corrupt! Who said he is just a deputy envoy?
Most of these merchants had connections with the "Two Kings and One Yu", and they paid a lot of "tribute" to Xie Chaozhong, so Deng Yu had no way to expel them from Huizhou.
He drove his horse into Guancheng and entered Xie Chaozhong's stable.
The special envoy sent to Fuyang to watch the battle has returned. When Deng Yu came over, Xie Chaozhong immediately started a military meeting. He first asked the special envoy to give a detailed introduction to the fierce fighting between the Hangzhou and Hu forces outside Tonglu.
"Under the mountain stronghold, there are piles of corpses, the Qianjiang River was sunk, and hundreds of burned warships were destroyed. The Hanghu army suffered heavy casualties, but the rebels also suffered many casualties..."
"Deputy Envoy Deng," Xie Chaozhong looked at Deng Yu with a cold face and said, "The situation is like this. Does Deputy Envoy Deng want to wait for the Hanghu Army to knock down Tonglu before attacking Chun'an with them?"
The Hanghu Army captured Tonglu, and then moved westward along the Yangtze River to Chun'an. The recruiting troops from the west of Zhejiang Province left Yuling Pass, heading east to attack Chun'an, and heading west to attack Wuyuan...
Deng Yu also had an eye in Fuyang and knew that the people sent by Xie Chaozhong did not exaggerate too much. Moreover, Meng Yishan's private letter to him also repeatedly urged Tonglu to send troops - Tonglu was having a hard time, and Yuling Pass sent troops here, even if they could not be dispersed.
Tonglu's defenders can also demoralize Tonglu's defenders.
Furthermore, if the Yuling Pass side remains motionless and the She family's generals from Chun'an and Wuyuan are called to transfer troops and horses eastward to strengthen Tonglu, the Hanghu Army's offensive will be completely contained and withdrawn without success - now the Hanghu Army
The army had already sacrificed three to four thousand lives to enter, but it was withdrawn without any merit in battle. It was impossible to explain to superiors and subordinates.
However, Lin Fu's handwritten letter had also been sent long ago. Huaidong not only asked Lin Xuwen to publicly preside over Deng Yu's plan to defend Huizhou in the court, but also Xie Chaozhong's plan to lead troops into western Zhejiang. Lin Fu's private letter also expressed the hope that Deng Yu
The more he can insist on this - Yue Lengqiu's intention is also to ask Deng Yu to guard his retreat in order to achieve peace of mind.
Deng Yu could ignore what Lin Fu and Huaidong thought, but Yue Lengqiu had shown him the kindness to know, educate, and promote him. He had to pay attention to Yue Lengqiu's opinions, but he could not completely control the situation at hand.
Deng Yu has learned these days that Xie Chaozhong must retaliate. He thought in his heart: Yue Lengqiu left the central government and went to Jiangzhou to supervise the war. Once he and Xie Chaozhong broke up, no one in the court would help him.
Speaking of which, he still couldn't defeat Xie Chaozhong, especially after Xie Chaozhong led 40,000 imperial troops to Huizhou.
Even if Emperor Yongxing ordered Xie Chaozhong to seize his military power, Deng Yu would have no room to resist.
"I'm not feeling well, and I need to rest for a few days," Deng Yu said. "If we don't go ahead with the recruiting envoy, I'll stay at Yuling Pass and Huizhou on behalf of the recruiting envoy, waiting for the recruiting envoy's triumphant return..."
"General Deng has been ill for several days, but he has never seen a doctor once." Yu Pijiang said lukewarmly.
Xie Chaozhong had a dark face, held down the sword at his waist, and stared at Deng Yu: "Deputy Envoy Deng wants me to ask for the emperor's imperial decree again?"
Xie Chaozhong had the guts to come to Huizhou to lead the army, but he still had some knowledge of the size of the imperial army. How could he not send Deng Yu's 20,000 elite troops to lead the battle? In fact, the reason why he came to Huinan to lead the army was
, firstly, they knew that the She family did not have enough troops in western Zhejiang, and secondly, they knew that Deng Yu's 20,000 elite troops could be used after arriving in southern Huizhou.
As far as the current situation is concerned, the She family is in Chun'an and Wuyuan only has 20,000 elite troops at most. Deng Yu has been fighting against the Zhejiang and Fujian troops in southern Huizhou for several years without losing any ground. With Deng Yu's 20,000 elite troops, Xie Chaozhong
The confidence is enough.
It was precisely because he asked Deng Yu to lead his troops into battle that Xie Chaozhong became a little patient with him. Otherwise, he would have asked for an imperial edict to force Deng Yu to bow his head. But at this point, Xie Chaozhong's patience was getting weaker and lower.
If Meng Yishan had to capture Tonglu first, then there would be movement here. Yu Xinyuan, Wang Xueshan, Wang Tian and others would have a hard time raising their heads in front of Chen Xiyan - Huinan had strengthened its troops by 40,000 troops, but the result was that their military achievements were not as good as Hanghu's.
Army, doesn't it prove that Chen Xiyan's original objection to him leading the army was correct? The 40,000 imperial troops came and had no effect at all!
"The emperor must keep an eye on western Zhejiang all the time. Even if General Deng is unwell, he should try his best to share the worries of the emperor and the court!" Liu Zhi advised. He, the supervisor, came here to be in trouble and didn't want to do anything.
Offended, not to mention Long Yan would be furious when the emperor saw the delay in moving.
Deng Yu frowned and thought for a long time, then he took a long breath and said: "Deng Yu will obey the orders of the envoy and will lead his troops out of Guancheng tomorrow!" Although it is not very reassuring to leave the retreat to Xie Chaozhong, but
As long as Meng Yishan doesn't make mistakes like Dong Yuan did in Fuyang, Deng Yu doesn't have to worry about the She family's soldiers and horses in western Zhejiang being able to eat all his flesh and bones.
"Well," Xie Chaozhong saw Deng Yu lowering his head and felt cheerful, and said, "Deputy Envoy Deng will lead his headquarters tomorrow, and Luo Wenhu will follow. You two will leave Yuling Pass and go straight to Huangtian to recruit troops for us in western Zhejiang.
The army is trying to clear away the obstacles along the Daqing River southward into western Zhejiang..."
After leaving Yuling Pass, go south along the Daqing River Valley, and you can go directly to the Qianjiang River. Along the north bank of the Qianjiang River, you can go to Chun'an in the east, Wuyuan in the west, cross the Qianjiang River, and enter Quzhou in the south.
around.
Huangtian is located in the middle reaches of Daqing River, only forty miles away from Yuling Pass on a winding mountain road. When She Feixiong led his troops to attack Yuling Pass, he built a large fort there. This was also the outer defense of western Zhejiang against Huizhou.
If you want to enter western Zhejiang, you must first capture Huangtian.
Deng Yu had no objection to the first battle in Huangtian. Now there was no one in the court to support him. If he wanted to keep his position, he had to rely on military exploits condensed with blood and fire. However, the terrain of Huangtian Village was relatively narrow. Even if he led two troops When thousands of elite soldiers passed by, there were too many troops and horses, and there was no place to deploy them. Xie Chaozhong also wanted Luo Wenhu to lead another ten thousand people to accompany him, so he was not afraid of being crowded?
Deng Yu knew Xie Chaozhong's thoughts and used the Huinan Army to fight tooth and nail in the front. If the Imperial Army did not move at all, Xie Chaozhong's face would be disgraced. In the future, he would not be able to justify sharing his military exploits; and Xie Chaozhong would not give in. Luo Wenhu was controlled by him, and after thinking about it, he wanted to attribute all the control to himself.
Deng Yu secretly cursed in his heart, but did not want to argue with Xie Chaozhong. He only said: "The soldiers and horses have set up camp, and the action is very big. Please ask the envoys to strictly block the news and keep the merchants away, so as not to leak the news and cause Huangtian to suffer." The enemy is prepared..."
"Of course I know this!" Xie Chaozhong said impatiently.
Deng Yu sighed secretly, Xie Chaozhong came to Huizhou and took over all the power. Except for the 20,000 elite soldiers stationed outside the northeastern slope of Guancheng, he had no involvement in the affairs of Yuling Pass and Huizhou - Xin Xin If you want to leak the news, ask the Zhejiang and Fujian rebels to prepare in Huangtian. If they can't attack Huangtian, it may not be a disaster. The worst is to withdraw the troops.
Deng Yu was hesitant and made various calculations before saying goodbye and returning to the garrison to make preparations. Even though he had prepared before, it would still be a bit hasty to send troops tomorrow.
*********************
The soldiers and horses set up camp and made great movements. Xie Chaozhong said it was to strengthen the security, but the hidden sentries sent by the She family were still able to calmly climb over the ridges on both sides and pass the news back to Huangtian.
The autumn colors were thick, and the maple leaves were dyed red under the setting sun. Shewenzhuang was wearing a black robe, like an ordinary old man, and said to Zheng Mingjing: "Although I have prepared for the battle in western Zhejiang, I place my hope on Huangtian. The battle must be fought seriously, but we must also preserve our strength. Whether we can recover from the battle of Huangtian depends on whether we can bring in Huizhou soldiers and horses to close the door and beat the dogs!"
"Xie Chaozhong did not let Deng Yu stay behind and Deng Yu captured Huangtian along the way. Xie Chaozhong would definitely urge him to go deeper along the Daqing River. We "stragglers" who had to escape were naturally the food of the imperial army. ——If the imperial army does not have the first-level skill, it would be unreasonable!" Zheng Mingjing said with a relaxed smile.
Zheng Mingjing was so relaxed that Tian Chang couldn't say anything.
We can't let Deng Yu and Xie Chaozhong feel that western Zhejiang is a trap. Huangtian can't give up easily. We must fight bloody and even kill two or three thousand people. In the end, only some of the "remnant soldiers" can escape into the mountains. Lure Deng Yu's Huizhou elites in to close the door and beat the dogs - although there are other arrangements for the task of closing the door, the biggest hope is that the remnants of Huangtian will reunite with the more than a thousand elites who were previously hidden in the mountain col, and they can successfully recapture Huangtian. Tianzhai, and then relying on Huangtianzhai to resolutely block Deng Yu's retreat, will be under the attack of Deng Yu Huinan Army and Xie Chaozhong's imperial camp.
How many soldiers and horses in the Huangtian garrison could survive at most, and even whether Zheng Mingjing himself could survive, are all unknown. They all chose the dead soldiers personally selected by Wenzhuang, but there is no doubt about it.
The affairs of Shewenzhuang in western Zhejiang still cannot be leaked, so as not to disturb Deng Yu, an old snake who does not fall into the trap. But as long as Deng Yu gets in and Huangtian can successfully close the door, no matter how many Huinan troops there are The elite will all be at an absolute disadvantage.
This day is September 25th, the third day after the war in East Fujian broke out, and the third day after the war at Tonglu broke out. Yue Lengqiu has not made any big moves in Jiangzhou, and Huaidong's troops in Shengzhou have also attacked Dongyang County.
No big moves yet.
Western Zhejiang and Eastern Fujian are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and Shewenzhuang doesn't know whether the retreat of the Eastern Fujian battles has gone according to plan. In front of Huaidong, everything seems to be difficult to plan, and now we can only do our best to listen.
As fate would have it, Shewenzhuang and Tian Chang left Huangtian that night and returned to Wuyuan to make the next deployment.
****************
On September 26, the weather was slightly cold, and the Huinan Army crossed Yuling Pass and headed south to attack Huangtian Walled City.
Deng Yu was of a cautious nature. The army marched along the valley road, and the scouts and scouts dispersed towards the ridges on both sides. They were afraid that there would be ambushes hiding in the valleys on the sides of the valley road. However, the mountains on both sides of Daqing River were undulating, one after another. As Deng Yu said,
If you send scouts, you can only search a range of ten to twenty depths on both wings. If you go deeper into the ridges, valleys and mountains, you can search them out in a short time.
The 20,000-strong army spread out in a long snake, and no one knew how far away it was; the front army engaged the Zhejiang and Fujian outposts outside Huangtian, and the rear army had not yet left Yuling Pass - they were ruthlessly trying to attack Deng Yu's troops.
Xie Chaozhong wanted to fight in front of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies and form a breakthrough in western Zhejiang, so he did not let Deng Yu leave any soldiers at Yuling Pass and rush them all at once.
Got out.
Fortunately, when She Feixiong attacked Yuling Pass, he made great efforts to build the mountain road from Huangtian to Yuling Pass, so that the mountain road could accommodate four horses riding at a time.
Huangtian Village is the main stronghold of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army on the outskirts of western Zhejiang. There are also many outposts between Huangtian Village and Yuling Pass. The garrison is small but elite, and they are easy to defend and difficult to attack.
In order to prevent the Zhejiang and Fujian troops from leaving the stronghold to fight, Deng Yu also sent his confidant general to lead the most elite two thousand soldiers and horses to the outpost. He led most of the troops and the siege baggage and then opened a distance of six or seven miles, and was careful every step of the way.
Deng Yu originally wanted to wait until the outpost captured Huangtian Village before the main force of his troops left Guancheng and went south to penetrate into the hinterland of western Zhejiang. However, Xie Chaozhong refused to do so - Deng Yu really didn't know how Xie Chaozhong could gain the trust of Emperor Yongxing.
The one who leads the troops.
Yue Lengqiu was not in Jiangning. The ministers of the political affairs hall and the court officials above the rank of minister, including Lin Xuwen and Huang Jinnian, talked about the general use of troops, but the specific military preparations and military management were not what they were good at. They were even lacking.
It's amazing that no one can see Xie Chaozhongcheng's lack in this aspect.
The clearing of the outpost was not difficult. After the soldiers and horses of Huangtian Village counterattacked to fight back the Huinan Army's outpost, seeing the fierce coming of the Huinan Army, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army took the initiative to abandon the outer outpost and concentrated their forces in Huangtian Village.
Fight to the death.
This battle was of great importance, and Deng Yu did not dare to be careless. He rushed to the front line to supervise the battle, and drove a brave general in silver armor from the Zhejiang and Fujian Army to lead his troops out of the stronghold to fight.
On the not-so-wide slope in front of the stronghold, the silver-armored general used his horse to attack, stabbing left and right, and scattered a row of shield soldiers. Then dozens of elite cavalry followed closely and trampled Huinan.
The military outpost position was completely changed beyond recognition.
Under the wall of the village, there were hundreds of defenders waiting for the opportunity to pounce.
Although the two thousand soldiers and horses at the outpost were also arranged in three echelons, the first echelon looked ugly, but the second and third echelons were still in order. The outpost commander Ji Lie came over to greet Deng Yu with a somewhat ugly face, along with more than a hundred guards
, all the clan members supported Deng Yu and retreated to a hillside to watch the battle.
"Who is this general? He is so ferocious!" Deng Yu looked at the silver-armored general picking two soldiers with large shields to death in succession, and asked the outpost commander Ji Lie in surprise. He had guarded Huinan for many years.
, was very familiar with Tian Chang, the leader of the She family in western Zhejiang. Tian Chang was not known for his martial prowess. He had many generals under his command, but none of them were brave enough to wear silver armor and be good at using horses.
"The imperial court sent imperial troops to reinforce Huizhou, and the She family sent troops from Jiangxi. This person should be a general transferred from Jiangxi by the She family!" said Ji Lie, "Huangtian is the gateway to western Zhejiang, and there are one or two strong generals here.
, very normal..."
Deng Yu nodded.
"I heard that the news that Xie Chaozhong was going to lead the army reached Xuzhou, and Duke Pengcheng called him a troublemaker. This seems to be true!" Deng Yu's aide Xing Changhe said in a suppressed voice.
If Xie Chaozhong does not come to Huizhou, Tian Chang will have more than 20,000 troops in western Zhejiang. The Hanghu Army and the Huinan Army will attack Tonglu and Huangtian respectively, so the pressure will not be too great.
Xie Chaozhong seemingly led 40,000 imperial troops to strengthen Huinan's use of troops in western Zhejiang, but he also asked the She family to transfer 10,000 elite troops from western Zhejiang to supplement western Zhejiang. One side added 40,000 troops, and the other side added 10,000 troops.
It seems that Huizhou is still capable, but for Deng Yu and his generals, they would rather not have the 40,000 imperial army than the 10,000 elite troops of the She family.
It's a pity that the carnivores above the temple are very precise in addition and subtraction of one, two, three and four, and they don't seem to be confused in general. How can they know the real situation below and the real thoughts of ordinary generals?
It's good to have military exploits to compete for, but if you risk your life and your military exploits are taken away by Xie Chaozhong, no one would be willing to do so.
Xie Chaozhong led the imperial army to fill Huizhou, which was simply a burden. Now Xie Chaozhong forced the Huinan army to fight against the elites of the She family. How could the generals under Deng Yu not hate him? How could he not be resentful?
"What's the use of talking about this all day long!" Deng Yu shouted in a low voice, preventing his generals from complaining. Since the facts cannot be changed, complaining can only weaken his own will. He pointed at the enemy rampaging in front of the slope.
The general asked Ji Lie, "Our Huinan Army has no brave generals who can match him?"
The Huinan Army is not without brave generals, but there are really not many brave generals of this level. Deng Yu personally came to supervise the battle, and the outpost positions were trampled by the enemy.
Can't get through either.
"I'll do it!" Ji Lie responded to Deng Yu with a low growl, and shouted to the people around him, "Bring me my sword!" Ji Lie was not tall, and wearing a black iron helmet, he was half a head lower than Deng Yu, but he had a sword for killing horses.
With his hands, the blood all over his body was boiling, and with a loud shout, which also revealed a murderous aura, he called on the generals on the left and right to follow the flesh and blood, and with the brave soldiers of the bodyguard, they rode their horses and rushed towards the battlefield in front.
The Huinan Army is also an elite force that has been fighting for a long time. The general Youyou is shouting to go into battle, and the armored soldiers are also full of blood. They gather on the two wings and crowd the enemy cavalry, forcing dozens of enemy cavalry to rush eastward and westward and press them down violently.
.
"Who is coming?" Ji Lie was carrying his war horse, holding the hilt of the knife under his arm, pointing the blade at an angle, watching the silver-armored enemy face to face, but still not asking his name.
"Go to the Hall of Hell and ask about it!" Zheng Mingjing, as the personal guard of Shewenzhuang, rarely has the opportunity to lead troops on expeditions, so his reputation is not obvious, and not many people recognize his appearance, but the name "Zheng Mingjing" needs to be spread.
, no matter how stupid Deng Yu was, he could still think of the possibility of Shewenzhuang personally taking charge, and even went into battle and changed his armor with others.
Zheng Mingjing used the big horse to rush forward, causing the horse to stab at Ji Lie. When the two horses were about to catch up, he almost missed it. Ji Lie slashed his sword diagonally at the head of the horse's spear, narrowly splitting the head of the spear.
I only felt numbness in my arms and severe pain in the tiger's mouth. I thought to myself: This girl is so strong.
When the two armies engaged in battle, there was very little chance for the commander to fight. He missed a blow and a large number of soldiers and horses fought together, pushing Ji Lie and Zheng Mingjing away. The infantry and cavalry fought together, the shouts were loud, and each other became more and more invested.
A lot of troops.
Hundreds of infantry and cavalry from the Zhejiang and Fujian armies all participated, and the Huinan army also threw in two echelons, fighting together.
Zheng Mingjin broke off two long spears and felt exhausted. He walked back on horseback and signaled for the retreat of the troops on the wall of the village. He also led his cavalry to bring back the troops who were trapped in the siege. They all hid at the base of the wall.
The arrows were as dense as rain, forcing the pursuers back.
The enemy generals surrounded the city and did not rush to press forward. They then ordered their troops to form a shield array to protect the crossbowmen and press forward. They drove up the baggage behind them and moved forward the shield carriages and side carriages imitating those made by Huaidong.
…
After urging him to ride back, Deng Yu didn't even look at his clothes and armor soaked with blood. He only said: "Organize more manpower to dig trenches and fortifications. Don't be in a hurry to attack the stronghold tomorrow!"
"The messenger will most likely come to urge you." Urged Lie said.
"It's his business to be anxious. Let's fight at our own pace and not mess up a step!" Deng Yu said.
Don't look at the 60,000 soldiers and horses in Huizhou, but the terrain in western Zhejiang is complicated and there is not much open terrain. The 20,000 elite troops of the Huinan Army went south to fight the enemy. Even if the imperial army has some combat power, it is more likely that it will not be able to help.
Even though they were busy, they couldn't exert their strength - the She family still had the ability to gather 20,000 elite troops in the lower valley of Daqing River to attack them, so Deng Yu had to think about his 20,000 men.
Deng Yu did not want to fall out with Xie Chaozhong, so he chose to go to war. However, between the destruction of the 20,000 elite soldiers he had saved over the years and the complete offending of Xie Chaozhong, Deng Yu would of course choose the latter without hesitation.
Decisive, even after waiting for the afternoon, Deng Yu did not see Deng Yu going all out to attack Huangtian Village. Xie Chaozhong could not sit still and sent someone to question him.
Deng Yu only said that he wanted Xie Chaozhong to send someone who knew military affairs to supervise the battle. If he saw any slack on his side, he would not be resentful under the military law - Xie Chaozhong sent Yu Pijiang, an accompanying military counselor, to supervise the battle that night.
Although Yu Pijiang did not have a good reputation, he had served as the prefect of Haozhou for a year and a half. Deng Yu also knew that Xie Chaozhong could lead troops on an expedition. Besides the emperor, the biggest supporter behind him was Yu Pijiang's father, the censor of Zuodu.
Yu Xinyuan.
Deng Yu was still aware of Yu Bijiang's fear of death. When he came over, he only mentioned many possible consequences of recklessly attacking the stronghold. Yu Bijiang no longer rushed to urge Deng Yu to attack the stronghold by force, and only said: "
It's good to be cautious, but General Deng must not disappoint the emperor..."