Li Laiheng couldn't help but shed a few drops of cold sweat when he thought about the possibility of a Qing army raiding and replicating the Battle of Shanhaiguan. He was deeply afraid of his carelessness.
He immediately said to Fang Yiren: "You are right, the river defense cannot be ignored. The strength of Xiaoyuan Camp has been weakened a lot. Yuan Shizhong and Chen Yongfu gathered together, but they only had more than 10,000 troops. Their morale was low again, and overnight
Even if we march east as a team with all our strength, it is impossible to break through our defense line."
Li Laiheng pointed to the north with one hand and said: "Deploy troops immediately and go north immediately. If the Ming army organizes river defense troops on the bank of the Yellow River, don't conflict with the Ming army first and just monitor their movements. If Chen Yongfu has organized all the river defense troops
If they are withdrawn, our people must fill the gap."
In the pouring rain, Fang Yiren was still dressed as a scholar. His clothes were already more than half soaked by the rain. At this moment, he couldn't help but shuddered and asked: "Is there anyone who can choose the master of the palace?"
Candidate?
Li Laiheng thought about it for a while, Zhang Pizhu went to inquire about the Qing army's movements, Hao Yaoqi, Li Shiwei and other generals took control of the front-line troops again to block Chen Yongfu's eastward advance, and could not move easily...
"Let Brother Gu go. He is my deputy and does not directly control any troops. It is more appropriate to let him go at this time."
Fang Yiren nodded thoughtfully. Li Laiheng left Guo Junzhen in Wuchang to lead Huguang's military, but took Gu Kecheng, a veteran general in the army, as his deputy. This was also a very interesting arrangement.
After all, Gu Kecheng was a newcomer assigned by Li Zicheng after Chu Chuang had established a foothold in northern Hubei. Although he had an old friendship with Li Laiheng as early as the Battle of Yiling, and because of Liu Zongmin's entrustment, he had always been loyal to Li Laiheng.
Takes a lot of care.
But all things considered, Gu Kecheng is not Li Laiheng's direct descendant. He is even more estranged from Gao Yigong and Bai Wang. He can be regarded as one of Li Zicheng's interjections.
Therefore, Li Laiheng has always used Gu Kecheng as his deputy, placing him in a position with a high status but without direct control of more military power.
"It is very appropriate to leave this matter to General Gu."
When Gu Kecheng received this task, he was quite surprised, but he still did not think too much and immediately led his troops northward, preparing to take advantage of the cover of wind and rain to venture to the south bank of the Yellow River and be ready to take over the river defense at any time.
It rained all day, and at night, the Chuang army attacked Xiayi County with a lightning-fast and fierce offensive. Li Laiheng placed the headquarters and the army participation department in the county walls of Xiayi County, as a
In the center, take a peek at Ma Muji, the last key point between Guide and Xuzhou.
Chen Yongfu, whose movements were unusually slow for some unknown reason, finally came to his senses at this time. According to Zhang Pizhu's reports, thousands of Ming troops were stationed in Mamuji, and an emergency fort was built in the town.
Defense fortifications were built to prepare against the invasion.
"Chen Yongfu has always been a bold, careful and decisive person, but I don't know why his actions are so slow this time? We have only sent troops to Ma Muji now. It seems that our actions are still too conservative!"
Li Laiheng did not expect that Chen Yongfu would fall behind others in this way. What happened in Guide? Chen Yongfu's poor performance made Li Laiheng regret that he did not make a more bold detour.
As for Gu Kecheng, he took about three thousand troops and headed north. Taking advantage of the storm and darkness, he quickly approached the south bank of the Yellow River.
There were some noises of chickens and dogs along the way. As a result of the intruders preventing the Yellow River from bursting its banks, Henan's social production and economic situation were much better than in history. A panicked chicken that was accidentally born under the sword of the rebels couldn't stop.
The cry seems to be reporting an ominous day.
"Fortunately, the wind and rain have helped our army a lot. Marching in this kind of weather will make it harder for the three armies, but it will be difficult for the enemy to notice... Even if they notice, neither Chen Yongfu nor Yuan Shizhong will dare to go out of the city to pursue.
"
Gu Kecheng was also a bold and brave man. He was fully armed and led the charge at the front. The closer the intruders came to the Yellow River, the more refugees they found. Some refugees heard about the arrival of the intruders and came south from the ferry.
Some other refugees also fled to the ferry in panic after hearing that the intruders were coming.
The soldiers of the rebel army had no time to think about anything else at this time, and they had no spare time to take care of these refugees, but Gu Kecheng still left one or two hundred people on the road, asking them to help maintain order and try to guide the refugees to the Bozhou area.
Because he knew that once the Qing army crossed the river, those who continued to stay near the Yellow River crossing would surely suffer disaster.
"Secretary Fang has always known things well, and I support his idea. In my opinion, the possibility of Donglu heading south is extremely high!"
Gu Kecheng boasted that he was a sharp man at that time, and his martial arts skills were still higher than those of Hao Yaoqi. He was brave and fearless. However, the soldiers and horses under him were not his old subordinates for a long time, so he could only lament his old companions.
Without Xin Sizhong by his side, it would be difficult to conduct as he wished.
Since a few days ago, the heavy rain that has not stopped has blocked Gu Kecheng's sight like a gauze screen. But through the gauze screen, he can still clearly see the situation near the south bank of the Yellow River, where the Ming army still retains
He had used up some of his strength, but just by looking at them, he was already planning to withdraw!
The above-mentioned official road was crowded with people, horses and various vehicles. Under the impact of the storm, the road had lost its original regular form and was connected with the ditches, wild paths and fields on both sides to form a large area.
The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were howling and cursing, the horses were neighing, and the swaying vehicles squeezed between the people and horses also made a "clattering" sound. Everyone wanted to go faster and escape to them as soon as possible.
A safe zone in mind.
There was really no room for people on the official road in front. Some people were riding horses or walking on foot to run wildly on the wild trails and fields covered with some withered crops. The official road and nearby areas had long lost their original boundaries and were scattered from the middle to both sides.
More and more people are coming, just like the water of a river that has burst its banks and is bound to overflow to the low ground outside the river bed.
At this time, the weather became worse. In addition to the storm, there was also hailstones as big as the mouth of a bowl, which rained down indiscriminately. The rain came so fast that the ditches and channels that had been dry for a long time were filled with billowing turbid water.
The turbid water rushed rapidly towards the low-lying areas, and some soil slopes were washed away in large chunks by the rain.
This area has turned into a mud swamp.
People, horses and vehicles walked in the mud, constantly slipping and spinning. Sometimes they were squeezed by the people and horses behind them, and once they stepped into the deep mud, it was difficult to extricate themselves. Some people and horses who slipped had no time to get up, and they squeezed up from behind.
The men and horses trampled over them, and the wheels rolled over them, causing casualties.
Li Weiqun, an officer who was transferred to Gu Kecheng's army, asked: "General, do we want to attack?"
The Chuang army arrived at the edge of the Yellow River just in time to seize an excellent opportunity for the Ming army to temporarily withdraw from the river defense. The retreat of the Ming army officers and soldiers in the heavy rain, without a fight, almost turned into a battle that would make Chen Yongfu feel heartbroken.
A shattering defeat.
If the Chuang army launches an attack at this time, it will be easy to completely wipe out the Hefang Ming army.
But Gu Kecheng looked at the Ming troops huddled together on the muddy road and said calmly: "No, let them go. We will stay put. After all the Ming troops have withdrawn, we will take over the river defense and guard against the east."
The captives went south."
Li Weiqun was surprised: "Are you just going to let the Ming army leave like this?"
Gu Kecheng had his own ideas. His first task was to take over the river defense. Fighting now would not only cost unnecessary losses, but also cause greater chaos on the south bank of the Yellow River.
No one knows what Donglu's movements are now. Donglu has arrived in Yanzhou. This is the news several days ago. Where are they now?
If he was already on the north bank of the Yellow River, he could cross the river south at any time, so Gu Kecheng had to be more cautious.
Moreover, in his opinion, after Li Laiheng cut off the connection between Guide and Xuzhou, Chen Yongfu and Yuan Shizhong had no choice but to submit to the Chuang Army. They were by no means loyal ministers and righteous men of the imperial court. Yuan Shizhong might have wanted to be Song Jiang, but he
His subordinates are definitely not Li Kui.
That's why Gu Kecheng planned to let this Ming army go!
Li Weiqun still felt very regretful: "Now that they are being ravaged by cavalry, it won't take much effort to defeat this Ming army."
Gu Kecheng shook his head and said: "The overall situation is the most important thing."