At the second watch, Zhang Yanling indeed ordered to set off at night. The orderer symbolically notified Gu Dayong and the others, but Gu Dayong had no reply. Zhang Yanling was so happy that he would not care about them. At that moment, the cavalry mounted their horses and set off, taking advantage of the opportunity.
Rushing at night.
Arriving in Shaanxi, the mountains and rivers are completely different from where they came from. There are mountains and mountains of loess everywhere. Under the sun, the mountains and fields are vast and the mountains are like the sea. The cavalry and soldiers walked through this ocean of loess, along the rugged and tortuous official roads.
Dao moved forward hard. In the evening, he finally arrived at Yan'an Prefecture.
Huang Anping, the prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, had already learned the news and led all the officials to greet him outside the city. Zhang Yanling was unwilling to go into the city to rest, because he would have to travel tonight after a short rest. Rather than going into the city and wasting time, it was better to stay outside the city.
Take the time to rest.
Huang Anping had no choice but to persuade him for a while. Seeing that Zhang Yanling didn't seem to be hypocritical, he had no choice but to give up. He only ordered people to bring tea, food, and some wine and food to show respect to the landlord.
After eating and drinking, everyone fell asleep and took a break to rest. At the second watch, the whistle sounded loudly. Everyone got up again, got on their horses, and continued on their way with the waning moon above their heads.
On the evening of the next day, the soldiers and horses arrived at Qingping Pass in Qingyang Prefecture. At this point, they were less than 200 miles away from Lingzhou. In another day and night, they would surely reach Lingzhou.
While the soldiers and horses were resting on the wasteland next to the official road, Zhang Yanling finally received the news from Lingzhou.
The imperial edict had been delivered to Shaanxi Governor Yang Yiqing a few days ago. In fact, after Cao Xiong's defeat, Yang Yiqing had rushed to Lingzhou for reinforcements, and he was already in Lingzhou before receiving the edict.
After Cao Xiong failed to cross the river, as expected, the rebels launched an attack on Lingzhou. Late at night on April 12, He Jinyi led 20,000 soldiers and horses to sneak across the Lingzhou ferry. At that time, there were only Shi Yong's thousand soldiers in Lingzhou city.
After the defeat of the troops and Cao Xiong, there were more than 6,000 ownerless soldiers left.
Shi Yong originally wanted to integrate Cao Xiong's troops and horses for defense, but after Cao Xiong's defeat, his troops were leaderless. They refused to listen to Shi Yong's orders, and were frightened by the failure of the battle across the river and Cao Xiong's death.
That night, when Shi Yong led all his troops to defend the ferry, Cao Xiong's remaining defeated generals hid in Lingzhou City and refused to come out. Originally, thousands of troops could have effectively attacked the enemy crossing the river.
They were given a head-on attack. As a result, because there were too few people to defend the ferry, Shi Yong's thousand soldiers and horses failed to stop He Jinyi's army crossing the river.
After suffering more than a thousand casualties, He Jinyi's troops successfully crossed the river and successfully controlled the ferry. As a last resort, Shi Yong retreated to Lingzhou City to defend.
Fortunately, those frightened Guyuan soldiers and horses did not give up defending the city, nor did they dare to escape. There were still a lot of defenders in the city. In addition, Shi Yong had made preparations before. The mobilization of city defense materials and people was in place.
He Jinyi led his army to launch several attacks, but failed to break through the city.
When Yang Yiqing took the initiative to come to Lingzhou with 2,000 people for reinforcements, He Jinyi also received an urgent letter from Zhu Zhixiu, asking him to withdraw to the north of the Yellow River immediately. He was not allowed to attack Lingzhou rashly because that was very unsafe and inconsistent with Zhu Zhixiu's insistence on Ningxia.
A corner, the original intention of enclosing land and claiming self-proclaimed territory.
Although He Jinyi was annoyed, he also knew not to be reckless. He originally thought that after Cao Xiong's defeat, Lingzhou was empty and the morale of the army was scattered, he could take Lingzhou in one fell swoop. However, the failure to cross the river and attack the city for a day and night already made him a little worried.
After all, in the place south of the Yellow River, reinforcements from all over the imperial court can arrive at any time without being blocked by the Yellow River. Unless Lingzhou can be captured quickly, the ferry channel is likely to be cut off by the imperial reinforcements and surrounded by enemies. That is absolutely impossible.
happened.
Now that Lingzhou cannot be captured, I am afraid that if we continue to do so, we will really get into trouble. To balance the two aspects, it is better to retreat to the north of the Yellow River and defend it.
As a result, He Jinyi had no choice but to order the withdrawal of troops. But before withdrawing, he ordered his soldiers to seize all fishing boats, sheepskin rafts, etc. from all the fishing villages thirty miles along the Yellow River. He burned all the fishing villages and burned all the fishermen.
He was taken captive to the north bank of the Yellow River.
This move was very destructive because He Jinyi knew that if the imperial army wanted to attack, it had to cross the Yellow River. Of course, boats, sheepskin rafts and other river crossing tools could not be left behind, nor could fishermen and people who were able to operate and build boats. Although there was no guarantee that the officers and soldiers would not be able to cross the river.
, but at least let the officers and soldiers spend more time tossing it around. Buy yourself more time to prepare for the battle.
After Yang Yiqing arrived in Lingzhou, he integrated Cao Xiong's troops in the name of the governor of Shaanxi. After the imperial edict was issued three days ago, Yang Yiqing immediately contacted Ningxia Central Guard, Ningxia Defender, Yansui Town and Qingyang Prefecture for reinforcements.
Soldiers and horses from all walks of life have already gathered on the south bank of the Yellow River. They are waiting for Zhang Yanling and others to arrive to discuss strategies for countering the rebellion.
After receiving the above news, Zhang Yanling's anxious heart relaxed a little.
Zhang Yanling's biggest worry was that Lingzhou would be lost, causing the situation to get out of control. Once Lingzhou was lost, the rebels would have too many attack directions to choose from. They could attack Yansui to the east, Qingyang Mansion or Qingyang Mansion to the south.
From Pingliang Prefecture, you can attack Gansu Province to the west. The inland prefecture guards have limited troops and horses, so they can break through quickly. It's like a sore that bursts, and blood flows everywhere, making it difficult to clean up.
The most worrying thing is that wherever the rebels go, they will coerce local people and expand their ranks, creating a snowball-like effect. That is the most worrying thing.
Now, the mouth of the pocket in Lingzhou is blocked, and the rebels have retreated to the north of the Yellow River. Although they have retreated into their shells like a bastard, it is a bit difficult to attack. But after all, the damage is limited and will not lead to a large-scale collapse of the situation.
Regarding Yang Yiqing, Zhang Yanling also had a good impression of him. This person acted quickly. He had already completed important arrangements and gatherings while he was still on the road, and sent someone to inform him of the progress. This is enough to show that this person is acting well.
He is polite and seems to respect himself.
What Zhang Yanling is afraid of is that foreign court officials and local officials like Yang Yiqing will not be in the same pot as him. Yang Yiqing is the military commander in charge of counterinsurgency, and he is the chief military officer. To put it bluntly, Yang Yiqing is in charge of military affairs.
and logistics and various
In terms of affairs, he is the real chief officer. He only decides on military actions and leads the battle. In fact, he is Yang Yiqing's deputy. If Yang Yiqing doesn't respect him and the two of them don't cooperate well, it will be very troublesome.
matter.
Zhang Yanling asked the messenger to go back and report, thanking Yang Yiqing for everything he had done, and he would arrive tomorrow night. Then we would discuss the counter-insurgency strategy.
After another day of hard work in the middle of the night, Zhang Yanling and his three thousand troops finally arrived at Lingzhou City earlier than expected at sunset.
Lingzhou City is already overcrowded inside and outside. Soldiers and horses from all over the place are gathering here one after another. There are military camps inside and outside the city. There are military camps in the wilderness outside the city. Flags cover the sun, people scream and horses neigh, and it is very noisy.
.
Yang Yiqing stood on the official road at the city gate with a solemn expression and dressed in black robes, followed by a large number of generals. They were all here to welcome Zhang Yanling and his party.
Yang Yiqing has a clear face and a calm demeanor, giving people a calm and steady feeling. He has a calm demeanor.
When Zhang Yanling and his entourage dismounted and walked over, Yang Yiqing slowly raised his hands and said in a deep voice: "Yang, together with the generals of the army, respectfully greet Lord Zhang. You have come all the way from the capital. Thank you for your hard work, Lord Marquis and the generals."
Zhang Yanling and all his men hurriedly returned the gift with their hands. Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "It is indeed too far away. I am very anxious, but there is nothing I can do. The road has to be walked step by step. It took seven or eight days to get here."
Yang Yiqing smiled and said: "It's already very fast. I thought it would take at least half a month for Mr. Zhang and his party to arrive. It turned out that it only took eight days, which was beyond my expectation. It took me from the capital to get here.
The road is difficult to walk."
Zhang Yanling nodded and smiled and said: "It is indeed difficult, but the mountains and rivers along the way are majestic and the land is vast. This is why our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and a vast territory. No matter how far you go, it is also my Ming Dynasty's land. Not an inch is too much, not a foot is too much.
Too far."
Yang Yiqing raised his brows, stroked his beard and nodded: "Well said. This is the most exciting thing I have ever heard. Our Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and this is what our Ming Dynasty subjects should be proud of. Unfortunately,
Some traitors do not know how to cherish, but want to cause chaos. This cannot be tolerated. I hope we can work together to quell this chaos and bring peace to the northwest of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Yanling said: "Exactly, I will go all out."
Yang Yiqing's expression seemed to have softened a bit, and it seemed that both parties had a good impression of each other. Although it was only the first time they met, at least at this moment, they had some basic good impressions of each other.
"By the way, where is Eunuch Jungu? Why haven't you seen him?" Yang Yiqing seemed to suddenly remember and looked behind him.
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Eunuch Gu and his party are behind. I am leading three thousand cavalry on the road day and night. Eunuch Gu and his companions can't bear it, so they have no choice but to part ways."
Yang Yiqing was stunned for a moment, with a meaningful smile on his face. He nodded and said: "Forget it, just let them go slowly. It will have no impact on military affairs."
At that moment, the generals in the city came forward to salute one after another. Although they had no affiliation with Zhang Yanling before and had never met each other before, from now on, these leading generals who had gathered from various places were assigned to the counter-rebellion army, and Zhang Yanling was their superior officer.
Even though many people complained about the imperial court sending a young prince like Jianchang Hou to quell the rebellion, they could only accept this reality. Fortunately, with Yang Yiqing here, things would not get out of control.
After the soldiers and horses entered the city, nothing happened that night. Yang Yiqing knew that Zhang Yanling and his party had traveled long distances and worked hard, so he didn't bother them. There wasn't even a welcome banquet. Zhang Yanling and his party had a good sleep and recovered some of their physical fatigue.
.
Early the next morning, when the sky was dark and bright, Zhang Yanling got up and washed up. After rushing to the Lingzhou military office, he learned that Yang Yiqing and others had left the city to observe the enemy's situation at the ferry in the north of the city. Zhang Yanling immediately took Chen Shiyi and more than a dozen personal guards to mount their horses.
Leave the city and rush to Lingzhou North Ferry.
The ferry is not far away, and you can reach it quickly on horseback. Before you reach the ferry, you can see the cliffs standing in front of you from a distance, like a high wall stretching across the front. There is a gap and flat area two or three miles long in the middle, which is naturally formed.
The ferry is located.
Arriving at the top of the ferry, Zhang Yanling stood up on horseback. In front of him was a gentle slope that went straight down.
At this moment, the morning sun is rising and the morning fog is slowly receding. A big yellow river, like a yellow winding giant dragon, is slowly appearing in front of us.