Chapter 115 Not for Zhang Suiyang, but for Yan Changshan
"Gu Jinglue!"
As soon as Xu Du walked to the shore of Weishan Lake, he felt the wind was biting and cold, and his exposed ears felt icy cold; only his breath, which seemed to be hot, disappeared in an instant.
Part of the lake has melted, and a few ships have docked on the shore. Gu Kecheng stood on the bow. He personally led his guards to inspect the other side of the lake. He was wearing iron clothes and was not afraid of the cold at all.
.
Xu is from Zhejiang, not from northern Shaanxi like Gu Kecheng. He had already put on two cotton coats and a cloak, but he still felt bitingly cold.
A day's worth of frost and snow had gathered on the ship's planks, and Gu Kecheng reminded Xu Du to be careful of the ship's planks slipping. The soldiers' armor also had a layer of frost on it, which was both icy and cold.
Xu Du exhaled and said: "The weather in Shandong is so cold now that it is difficult to use the lakes for defense. The situation in Xuzhou is critical! However, I heard Gong Wencai, Ma Yingxian and other local generals in Shandong say that such weather is at best
Just keep it like this for another two or three days. After this time, spring will begin in Xuzhou and the ice and snow will melt. By then, the land will be muddy and the lakes will thaw, and it will be difficult for the Donglu cavalry to move freely."
All the greenery in Weishan Lake in winter has receded, and the deserted lakeshore has completely lost its bright summer look.
Gu Kecheng disembarked from the boat on the shore facing the north wind. The remaining lotuses in the winter were hanging down in the lotus pond in that bay. At a glance, they looked like countless musical notes rising and falling on the water.
Some leaves were frozen in the water, crawling and kissing the water, while pieces of reeds were trembling in the water.
Xu Du stood solemnly on the shore of the lake. Although he was a scholar, the famous Dongyang hero was never a scholar without the power to restrain a chicken.
Shandong Zhaozhi's straight and straight body still showed him a somewhat heroic temperament.
Xu Du had just arrived from Qufu. After Ma Bao went to Liaocheng for reinforcements, the task of resettling the Kong family was handed over to Xu Du. Although Xu Du was also a Confucian scholar, he was different from ordinary literati in that he had a strong martial arts temperament.
I am not a person who likes Confucianism and ink, but I particularly admire those first-class heroes and assassins in history.
Xu Du studied and even took the imperial examination, just because in the Ming Dynasty, taking the imperial examination and becoming a civil servant was the only way for the children of the gentry to be promoted.
He himself did not have any special feelings towards the Confucius family in Qufu. Instead, he treated Kong Yinzhi and others much more cruelly after the King of Jin sent one after another secret orders demanding that the Confucius family in Qufu must be strictly restrained and dealt with.
After the Battle of Liaocheng, Li Laiheng was worried about the situation in Shandong, so he secretly ordered Guo Sheng, the Shandong Jiedu envoy, and Xu Du, the recruiting envoy, to move all the children of the Confucius family in Qufu to live in Kaifeng.
But before they could move, the Qing army broke in from the southwest of Shandong, so the move to Kong had to be temporarily abandoned. Guo Sheng, the governor of Shandong Province, was sitting in Dengzhou at this time, commanding the Dashun army to defend the Azige headquarters in Jinan.
Shandong's envoy Xu Du temporarily put aside the matter of Qufu and led a rebel army under Gong Wencai's command, originally planning to rush to Yanzhou to fight.
Before Xu Du arrived at Yanzhou, the Qing army had already broken through Puzhou and Yuncheng, and marched straight to the north of Weishan Lake. The rapidity of Dorgon's troops was really surprising.
But only this kind of style can make people remember that only a few years ago, when the Qing army often broke through Mongolia and plundered, wasn't it the same across thousands of miles, traveling all over the world without any opponents?
In the past year or so, the Qing army's encounter with the Dashun Army increased the fighting spirit and confidence of the Shun Army soldiers, but it also led people to underestimate the power of the Donglu, especially after the death of Huang Taiji.
, underestimated Dorgon’s skills!
Xu Du then hurried south from Yanzhou Prefecture, passing through Zouxian County and Tengxian County, and rushed from the east bank of the Grand Canal to the vicinity of Xuzhou on the south bank of Weishan Lake, where he met up with Shandong Governor Gu Kecheng.
At this time in Xuzhou, the heavy snow has not completely melted away, the ground is still solid, and the snow that has not yet melted has turned into mud.
Gu Kecheng had already deployed defensive forces here. With less than 10,000 troops at hand, he fought against the vanguard of the Qing army many times near Weishan Lake.
After Gu Kecheng got off the boat, a wild duck disturbed him due to the sailing of the boat. It seemed to be flying on the water, jumping like a dragonfly on the water. The wild duck seemed to have seen many such disturbances. It is not strange to see so many.
Move a few steps slightly away from the ship without flying away.
Gu Kecheng leaned his sword on the ground, pointed at the wild duck on the ice lake, and said to Xu Du: "Xu Sheng, look, a wild duck can be so calm and unhurried, why should we worry? Isn't it worse than a duck?"
Xu Du smiled bitterly and said: "If a hundred thousand Manchurians come to hunt down this wild duck, how can it sit still?"
While the two were talking, the sound of artillery shelling, slashing and miserable screams could be heard vaguely from the far shore of the ice lake.
Xu Du's face became even more ugly: "Jinxiang, Yutai front line... Gu Jinglue, Jinxiang, Yutai front line, have they all fallen into the hands of Hu Qi?"
Gu Kecheng nodded heavily, and Xu Du finally understood how critical the situation in Xuzhou was now. He only brought a few thousand rebels, and after joining forces with Gu Kecheng's troops, the defenders only had 10,000 soldiers.
How can it be possible for only a few people to fight against a hundred thousand enemy troops?
Jinxiang and Yutai counties are located on the northwest shore of Weishan Lake. They are only a short distance away from Xuzhou.
"Jinxiang and Yutai counties have long fallen into the hands of the Donglu. But the good news is that the enemy cavalry has not crossed to the east bank of the Grand Canal."
The forward position of the Xuzhou Shun Army is now located at Feiyun Bridge outside the south gate of Peixian County, Xuzhou. Feiyun Bridge is above the river. The bridge is close to the Gefeng Tower, because in the "Great Wind Song" written by Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, "the wind rises and the clouds fly"
The sentence is named after Feiyun Bridge.
Gu Kecheng took a boat from near Feiyun Bridge through a section of lake where the ice and snow had melted, arrived at the east bank of the Grand Canal, and met Xu Du near Shagouji.
After the Qing army entered southwestern Shandong, it may have been to move south as quickly as possible to avoid Yanzhou, Jiningzhou and other important strongholds on the Grand Canal where the Shun army was heavily fortified.
Therefore, its military strength has always been limited to the west bank of the Grand Canal, and has never developed towards the east bank of the canal.
This is good news for Xuzhou Shunjun. At least the east bank of the Grand Canal is not under attack by the Qing army. The Shunjun field army, local guards and rebel forces located in Denglai area can all
Gather safely from the east bank of the Grand Canal to Xuzhou.
Xuzhou is the critical point where the Yellow River and the Grand Canal meet. It is also the most important transportation hub between Henan, Northern Anhui and Shandong. It is indeed a battleground for military strategists.
Dorgon abandoned the rear and almost used desperate gambling methods to quickly attack Xuzhou. This was to pin all his hopes on quickly conquering Xuzhou, completely destroying Shunjun's transportation hub, and joining forces with Nanming.
"We must defend Xuzhou, and we must defend it for a few more days." Gu Kecheng said, "The King of Jin's army is following the Qing army. I think it will take at least three or four days to catch up."
"We can hold on for three or four days." Xu Du also gritted his teeth and said, "If it's not for Zhang Suiyang, it's for Yan Changshan. Since I am a great obedient minister and have been favored by the King of Jin, I will definitely not ruin this official robe.