He Renlong suddenly appeared in Henan, and he came so fast and violently, which was completely beyond Li Laiheng's expectation. Although he estimated that after the Chu army broke through Luoyang, Emperor Chongzhen would definitely order the governors of the three sides to lead the Qin army and Baoding.
The governor-general led the Zhili army to suppress Henan.
However, according to Li Laiheng's estimation, it would take at least a month for Chongzhen's order to arrive and key forces from various places to be mobilized one after another to enter Henan for suppression.
However, He Renlong appeared on the west wing of Luoyang at the critical moment when he was dealing with Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan. He Renlong's troops were all elite soldiers and generals of the Qin army, and their strength was by no means comparable to that of Henan's official army, which had been depleted in peace and armament.
Among the frontier troops, they were also among the most powerful.
Li Laiheng had to pay attention to this. As soon as he received the relevant war situation in Baima Temple, he immediately redeployed his troops. Li Laiheng left Guo Junzhen on the front line to be responsible for guarding against the movements of Li Xianfeng, Chen Yongfu, and Gao Qian, and left Gao Yigong in Luoyang
For the president's overall situation, he led the remaining mobile forces of Hao Yaoqi, Zhang Pili, Li Shiwei, Miao Lichen and others, all galloping westward.
In his last words before his death, Yang Sichang ordered the troops of He Renlong who participated in the encirclement and suppression of Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai to be moved to Lushi County in southwest Henan. Although Yang Sichang was narrow-minded and self-willed, he did possess considerable military talent.
Although Zhang Xianzhong also attacked Xiangyang and killed the king of Xiang, Yang Sichang saw that Xiying's defeat of Xiangyang was completely different from that of Chuangying's defeat of Luoyang.
To break into Luoyang, the first step was to attack Yongning and Yiyang counties around Luoyang. After thoroughly sweeping away the surrounding officers and soldiers, the fruit of Luoyang City was picked like a ripe melon.
As for the attack on Xiangyang, it relied on intercepting the official and army messenger's seal halfway, relying on Zhang Dingguo's disguise as a Ming army, cooperating with the outside, and a surprise attack with surprise troops, and finally hit Xiangfan.
Therefore, as soon as he broke into the camp and captured Luoyang, it was like a dragon rising out of the sea, setting fire to the prairie fire, igniting the situation in the entire Central Plains. Although Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang, he could not stay in Xiangyang for a few days and was still not out of the dragnet of the official army's encirclement and suppression, and could not change the overall situation.
Yang Sichang had a very clear grasp of the situation. Before his death, he transferred the troops who were originally responsible for suppressing Xian. Cao's He Renlong sent his troops to Henan to deal with Chuang camp. This was because he saw that the situation was different from the past and that Chuang was stronger than Xian.
"Stab in the back!"
Li Laiheng was lying on the back of his horse, wearing half of his mountain armor. The Fanyang hat he often wore in imitation of Li Zicheng was now replaced by an iron helmet. The total number of mobile troops that the Little Tigers could mobilize was only
With about 400 people, he demolished the east wall and repaired the west wall. After sending Liu Jingting to Li Xianfeng's camp to maintain the situation, he managed to mobilize 150 more soldiers.
But even so, it is only a weak force of 550 people.
He Renlong is a general of the town, and his troops are all strong soldiers of the Qin army, and his military strength is still higher than that of Chen Yongfu. Even if he rushes to advance and does not bring all the troops, his strength must not be underestimated!
"Zhang Pilu, how is the enemy situation in Yiyang County?"
Zhang Pikui, who was running back from the front line near Yiyang, was waiting for a team that stayed up all night and moved in a hurry. The horses were covered in sweat and everyone was breathing heavily. Zhang Pikui rode on the horse, cupped his fists and replied: "Shaolin, sir,
When He Renlong passed through Yiyang County, Baiwang's troops gathered soldiers from Xiong'er Mountain and joined Li Hao and other troops to attack Yongning County on the Qin army's rear route."
"But He Renlong left a thousand men in Yongning County, and the wealthy gentry in the county also invested money to help in the battle. After half a day of attack, Baiwang's team was defeated by the Qin army's elite cavalry who came out of the city for a counterattack. The thirty-six village owners who fought
Three officers and soldiers killed them on the spot, and the village soldiers and militia suffered casualties of at least five to six hundred people!"
Bai Wang's vigilance was indeed strong enough! After he discovered that He Renlong was heading eastward from Lushi County to Luoyang, without waiting for Li Laiheng's order to arrive, he immediately summoned more than a thousand village soldiers who were scattered in Xiong'er Mountain and were half-farming and half-fighting.
When He Renlong arrived in Yiyang County, he led his troops to attack Yongning County behind Yiyang County.
It's a pity that the Qin army is far more powerful than the Yu army. He Renlong left about a thousand troops in Yongning County, and the squires in the county also tried their best to support the official defense. The more than a thousand village soldiers led by Bai Wang were unable to attack for a long time.
Losing their vigor, they were defeated by the Yongning garrison's counterattack out of the city.
In the defeat of Yongning, the invading army suffered between five and six hundred casualties, and the number of siege equipment and military supplies lost was even more than this number.
Ever since Li Laiheng joined the camp, he has never suffered such a big loss!
Li Shiwei saw that Li Laiheng's face was extremely hesitant, so he walked to him on horseback and asked cautiously: "The Qin army is strong and coming with menacing force. What's more important is that west of Luoyang, we don't have enough time to choose a dangerous place to build a wooden fortress...
…Should we retreat to Luoyang City?”
Zhang Pizhu continued: "I have not received any information from the enemy all night before, saying that the Qin army has passed Yiyang, and there are about 800 soldiers and horses, all of them cavalry. He Renlong's troops are advancing very fast, and now they have almost reached the enemy's territory.
We’ve crossed the Wulonggou line.”
Li Laiheng gritted his teeth and said: "What a madman He! He came so fast! He only brought cavalry. He has grasped our weakness and wants to attack Luoyang at any cost!"
"Among the officers and soldiers, it is Madman He who has fought the most against the Chuang army!" Even Hao Yaoqi, who has always been rough and arrogant, was frightened when he mentioned He Renlong. "This guy knows our Chuang camp very well. He has pretended to be a Chuang army several times.
Sneak attacks, or sending people into the camp to act as spies, or using methods to bribe traitors, even the old boss suffered big losses at the hands of Madman He."
He Renlong dared to raid Luoyang with only 800 elite cavalry, and he was sure that the main force in Li Laiheng's hands would stay in the north to defend Li Xianfeng's Yu soldiers. However, he also left a thousand infantry in Yongning County to defend the back road, which was enough.
In case the raid failed and Luoyang City could not be captured, the preparation measures were indeed bold and careful, and the troops were ruthless while leaving room for leeway.
"Eight hundred riders want to rob Luoyang City. I want to tell Madman He that he is dreaming!"
In fact, although Luoyang City's defenses are strong, there are too many hidden dangers and unstable factors in the city. If He Renlong's 800 elite cavalry can successfully knock the pass, although the wealthy gentry in the city will be centralized and controlled in Prince Fu's Mansion.
There are already very few troops breaking into the camp in Luoyang City. Once the gentry rises up, Gao Yigong may not be able to suppress the situation.
When the time comes, the inside should cooperate with the outside, and it will be really dangerous to break into the army.
And even if these 800 cavalry cannot directly attack Luoyang, as long as He Renlong arrives at Luoyang City, it will definitely have a very bad impact on the negotiations between Li Laiheng and Li Xianfeng.
No matter what, the Chuang army must stop He Renlong in front of Luoyang Xiguan!
Li Laiheng rode on his horse, spread out a scroll-shaped map, looked at it and said: "Once Madman He rushes through Wulonggou, he will reach Jianxi, which is only a stone's throw away from Luoyang Xiguan. And he will never go back to Luoyang."
From the west to the north of Jianjian, we can also attack Shibei Nao Village with Li Xianfeng and Chen Yongfu, and then the situation will be out of control."
He frowned and looked at the map for a while, and asked Hao Yaoqi, Li Shiwei and other generals: "Congratulations, Renlong has 800 fine cavalry. We also have 550, but only 150 cavalry. What should we do?"
To respond to the enemy? We don’t seek to defeat Madman He, but we must try to hold him back or scare him off. As long as Li Xianfeng reaches an agreement with Liu Jingting and the Henan army stands still, He Renlong will definitely not go further alone."
Hao Yaoqi replied: "Commander, the Qin army's cavalry is much more powerful than Gao Qian's and other Henan soldiers. Even if we have eight hundred cavalry, we may not be able to defeat Madman He in head-to-head combat. What's more, there are not enough troops and cavalry now."
I think we can only rely on the terrain and try to defend."
"Brother Hao, we don't have enough time!" Li Shiwei objected, "Madman He is a cavalryman who is extremely fast and erratic. We really don't have enough time to dig trenches and set up camps for defense."
Li Laiheng was so anxious that he held the whole map in his hand, looked at Miao Lichen, the leader of the Henan Mining Disciples, who was always taciturn and seldom spoke among the Shaanxi people in the Chuang Army, and asked: "Old Miao,
How much time do you need to set up defenses in Xiguan, Luoyang... and build a stronghold in Jianxi? You must make it clear that the overall situation is now in your hands."
Miao Lichen acted very calmly. Although he didn't speak much, every sentence was focused on the key points. "There is Fengpo Ridge in the western suburbs of Luoyang. I have mined in that area in the past and am familiar with the terrain. Fengpo Ridge is in the west of Jianjian."
On the other side, the officers and soldiers cannot easily bypass it. There are still old camps left over from the time when the mines were opened. If we use the old camps to build strongholds, we can complete the task in one day at most."
"One day! It's too long. You only have half a day." Li Laiheng threw the crushed map to the ground and insisted, "I'll give you half a day to repair Fengpoling Village and make every improvement possible."
He then ordered Li Shiwei: "You lead the infantry and fire gun teams to assist Lao Miao. After the repairs are completed, you will set up defenses at Fengpoling Village to meet us!"
"Hao Yaoqi! I'll take a dozen personal guards with me and I'll make a bet with you that we can stop He Renlong for a long time. Do you dare to try?"
Hao Yaoqi's eyes widened and he stared blankly at Li Laiheng. Then he laughed heartily and said: "Hahaha! I just want to fuck Crazy He. Don't talk for a long time. The whistler wants me to take off Crazy He's head."
Level is not a problem either!”
"I wonder, do you have this ability?"
After Li Laiheng laughed and cursed jokingly, he quickly asked Li Shiwei and Miao Lichen to go to Fengpo Ridge to set up defenses. He himself took more than a dozen personal guards, together with 150 cavalry led by Hao Yaoqi and Zhang Pizhu.
Take the initiative and prepare to intercept He Renlong on the flank west of Wulonggou.
The invading cavalry, which numbered less than 200, had to attack He Renlong's 800 fine cavalry with their eggs and rocks.
Li Laiheng took a deep breath of air, this would be a bloody battle unprecedented since he started his army.