"Untie all the ropes on their bodies." A group of Chinese workers arrived at the place where Sun Qisheng and others were staying. Sun Qisheng said,
A dozen soldiers went up and quickly untied the ropes around them.
"Didn't you hire us to do the work?" Chen Luer asked in confusion after the rope around him was untied.
"We are all Chinese and will not push you into a pit of fire."
"I understand, you are the rebellious Chinese army, right?" Cai Jiu said suddenly when he saw that Sun Qisheng and the others had rosy faces, not sallow and thin like them.
"This is not the place to talk. I will send you out of the city first. After leaving the city, keep going south. You will meet our people soon."
Sun Qi Shengdao.
"Thank you all heroes for your help." Although Sun Qisheng did not directly respond to their identities, from the fact that they disguised themselves as Indians and sneaked into the city, Cai Jiu guessed that they were seeking information for the Chinese rebel army.
At that moment, Cai Jiu said bluntly, "Dear heroes, we have just come down from the Peruvian city gate fortifications and know a little bit about their army deployment. I am willing to stay and lead the way for the revolting Chinese heroes to check the Peruvian intelligence."
"Do you know the military deployment of the Peruvians?" Sun Qisheng didn't believe it.
"I don't dare to deceive you. The villain thought of a way to escape while building fortifications at the city gate, so pay attention to the number of Peruvian soldiers while working,"
Cai Jiu saw that everyone was listening to him, and then said, "The Peruvian military camp is heavily guarded and does not allow Chinese workers to approach. However, because they have to go out to train and eat every day, I observed the construction site for five or six days and roughly calculated
The Peruvians deployed their troops at every city gate."
As he spoke, Cai Jiu picked up a small stone on the ground and drew on the ground: Please see, everyone, among the four gates of Arequipa, the south gate is most likely to face an attack by the rebels, so the Peruvians arranged it here
Two thousand people were stationed at the east and west gates, and about 800 people were stationed at the north gate. The other troops were under the jurisdiction of Arequipa's military governor Iquidoque, and the specific number should be 2,000.
Cai Jiu drew the rough deployment of Arequipa's troops on the ground, and then waited for Sun Qisheng's reaction.
Sun Qisheng looked at the distribution map carefully and asked, "Brother, I'm very curious about how you know so much about Arequipa."
After saying this, Sun Qisheng looked at him warily. Once he showed signs of guilt, he would immediately take them down.
We can't blame Sun Qisheng for being paranoid. Investigating and investigating the enemy's situation is related to the success or failure of the Chinese army. Every detail must be carefully analyzed and no trace can be omitted.
Although the Chinese Independence Army has achieved two major victories in succession, the Chinese army, surrounded on all sides, is still in a disadvantageous position. Once the Chinese army suffers a defeat, the Peruvians may think that the Chinese are vulnerable and launch an attack against the Chinese.
Moreover, the territory occupied by the Chinese Independence Army is already bordering the Bolivians. If the Chinese are not strong, the Bolivians, who are jealous of the saltpeter producing areas, may regard the areas occupied by the Chinese as fat and pounce on them to get a piece of the pie.
Cai Jiu did not expect that Sun Qisheng would doubt him, and explained, "These brothers and I were working on a plantation in Arequipa, and the last time we escaped, the army that captured us was the Arequipa garrison.
Sent by Commander Igidok."
"Brother, don't be offended. The investigation intelligence is related to the life and death of the 80,000 rebel brothers outside the city. I cannot help but be cautious."
After carefully observing Cai Jiu's group, he found that the scars on their bodies were all one or two months old, and they were not freshly left to lure them into taking the bait. Combined with the fact that there were no flaws in Cai Jiu's words, Sun Qisheng believed what he said.
"Captain Sun has high regard for the Peruvians. They have never read the Thirty-six Stratagems. How could they think of using the bitter flesh tactic to deal with us?" Wang Chenglin said.
"You all have important responsibilities, so you should be careful." Cai Jiu agreed.
"According to your information, there are about 7,000 Peruvians in Arequipari. If you inform Commander Li and Commander Luo who are sweeping out, they will raid the South Gate with the least number of people in the middle of the night. Li Ying Wai and Xia should have a great chance of winning.
." Sun Qisheng pondered.
"Captain Sun, Arequipa is an important town in Peru. There will definitely be support from other armies in the next few days. If we don't take advantage of this good opportunity to capture it, it will be even harder to capture it in the future."
Wang Chenglin advised.
"Captain Sun, although we are injured, if we beat the Peruvians, all the brothers will be as strong as the young men." Hearing that Wang Chenglin wanted to beat Arequipa, Cai Jiu felt that there was hope for revenge and said.
"Whether we should attack Arequipa or not is not something we should consider. We will first pass the news to the nearby mopping up troops and let them report to the Crown Prince for the decision."
Sun Qi Shengdao.
"As commanded,"
"Wang Chenglin, you take five brothers to deliver the message to the two division commanders. Brother Cai Jiu, you pick a few brothers who are in good health to be your guides, and the others will leave the city later."
"Captain Sun, just change your brother to deliver the message. My marksmanship is good. Staying in the city may be of greater help."
"Okay, then let me replace you with a brother."
Sun Qisheng thought for a moment and agreed to Wang Chenglin's request.
Among the one hundred and four Chinese workers, Cai Jiu selected six who were not seriously injured to stay. The others left under Anthony's cover half an hour after the messenger left.
"You are saying that the military deployment in Arequipa City was taken over by you." Li Sandou asked the soldier who reported the news at Li Sandou's temporary station in Luolinshan.
"Yes, Commander Li." The reporting soldier repeated the information to the two of them.
"Brother, you have worked hard. Go down and rest first. As for the intelligence matter, Commander Luo and I will seriously consider it."
After the reporting soldiers went out, Li Sandou opened the map, pointed at Arequipa and said, "Commander Luo, Arequipa is fifty miles away from us. If we make a long-distance attack, we can reach it tonight."
The two divisions of Li Sandou and Luo Linshan had finished their mopping up and gathered together. When they were about to go back, they heard the intelligence from Sun Qisheng, and they had the idea of Arequipa in mind.
"Captain Sun's information should not be false. I don't want to let go of such a good opportunity." Li Sandou saw Luo Linshan lowering his head and thinking, and continued.
"This is indeed a good opportunity, but our mission is to sweep the surrounding towns. If we attack Arequipa without the Crown Prince's order, I am worried about causing the Crown Prince's dissatisfaction. Moreover, we did not bring heavy siege equipment this time. I think
It is not easy to capture Arequipa with more than a dozen field guns." Luo Linshan considered.
"The lack of siege artillery is indeed a problem," Li Sandou frowned.
After capturing two cities, the Chinese Independence Army gradually became richer and had 20 heavy artillery used to attack the city. (The heavy artillery here was only a relatively easy-to-carry small mountain artillery.) Li Mingyuan organized them into a heavy artillery battalion.
Returned to the command of Luo Zhongguo's artillery regiment.
Because Li Sandou and Luo Linshan were raiding small towns and mines, they only carried a dozen small mountain cannons and did not carry heavy artillery that was difficult to transport.
"Commander Luo, let's make a change. We'll send someone to notify the Crown Prince first. At the same time, the two divisions will rush on overnight to surround the city of Arequipa. We'll attack the city after the Crown Prince sends heavy artillery troops."
"It's a pity to waste such a good opportunity. I agree with Master Li's suggestion to reply to the Crown Prince in our two names. Even if the Crown Prince wants to blame us, we will bear the responsibility together."
Although the two of them wrote to Li Mingyuan to introduce the situation in Arequipa, their behavior was to kill first and then report later, so Luo Linshan hesitated just now.
"Don't worry, Master Luo. The prince advocates that frontline generals should have their own judgment and know how to fight flexibly. They don't need to ask the headquarters for instructions on everything."
Li Sandou smiled.
"Then I feel relieved." Luo Linshan later joined the Chinese Independence Army, so he acted cautiously.
After the two chief officers made their decision, the soldiers of the two divisions quickly gathered and marched towards Arequipa overnight.