Li Laiheng didn't know that many subtle changes had occurred in history due to his appearance. He allowed Chuangying to break through the county seat at Zhuxi at a very small cost, and he also made it possible for Chuangying to win the battle of Lingchuan, which was originally defeated by Chuangying in history.
The result of this major victory was that, firstly, Chuangying recovered its strength faster than in history, and secondly, Yang Sichang spent far more money to encircle and suppress western Hubei than in history.
Historically, the only real participants in this encirclement and suppression campaign by the official army were two Chu soldiers, Yang Shien and Luo Anbang, with less than 6,000 men. They were ambushed by Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai at Xiangyouping and suffered total losses.
But now not only Yang Shien and Luo Anbang's two troops, but Min Yiqi and Yin Xianmin's two thousand soldiers, who had been stationary at Shuiyue Temple in Xingshan County in history, appeared near Yiling; all of them originally stayed in Nan
The Gan soldiers who were stationed in Zhangzhou watching the opera were also mobilized to Damuping under the personal dispatch of Huguang Governor Fang Kong. In addition, the soldiers of Feng Shangbin of Jingzhou Road who were originally staying in Jingmen were left in Jingzhou.
Governor Biao of Huguang also participated in this life-and-death battle with varying amounts of troops.
The number of officers and soldiers gathered in several counties near Xingshan, Yiling, Zigui, Yuan'an and Nanzhang has exceeded 10,000. This is the largest search and suppression campaign carried out by the imperial court since Hong Chengchou was transferred from Qin Governor.
Fighting.
Li Laiheng, Liu Zongmin, and Wang Guangen led their troops respectively and marched back to Miaoping in the wind and snow. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly depressed, and everyone had a stone hanging in their hearts. Can Yilingzhou City be captured? When will the Yuan soldiers cross the river?
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All this is hard to say!
Bai Wang, who stayed behind in Miaoping, was very efficient in his work. He managed all the prisoners and settlement residents in an orderly manner. After Liu Zongmin and Wang Guangen's soldiers arrived, Bai Wang also asked the people in Miaoping to cook some meals for the army's lunch.
Li Laiheng took Liu Zongmin, Wang Guangen and others directly to Guandi Temple, where dozens of officers and soldiers were captured. This group of people would be crucial to the outcome of the Battle of Yiling.
"Uncle Jiexuan, Wang Zhangpan, these officers, soldiers and prisoners are willing to lead the way for us." Li Laiheng pushed open the palace door and walked in, saying, "We mixed the elite soldiers with the prisoners and tricked the city gate into opening. It is now snowy and foggy.
It spreads, and it is extremely difficult for the officers and soldiers to distinguish clearly. As long as we can deceive the city gates and swarm in, we will easily capture Yilingzhou City."
The dozens of captive officers and soldiers were still kneeling on the ground. After hearing what Li Laiheng said, the leading officer nodded repeatedly and said: "Yes, yes, yes, your lords, don't kill me! We are just Sichuan guardsmen, Sichuan Fuhe
Governor Yang was at odds and did not want to send elite troops to help in the battle. So he recruited some guards soldiers from everywhere to guard Yiling. Our guards soldiers did not have enough to eat, did not wear warm clothes, and were oppressed by the soldiers in the camp. The king let him go
We have a way out, I can lead the way for the rebels!"
"Oh?" Wang Guangen narrowed his eyes, feeling that the situation seemed to be promising, "Are all the troops stationed in the city also guard soldiers?"
The prisoner raised his head and replied: "Report to your Majesty, the garrison at Nanjinkou is also a garrison soldier from Sichuan, with about 400 people. In the state city, there are 400 garrison soldiers and 200 camp troops."
Li Laiheng also added: "The guardsmen and the camp soldiers are not treated equally, and there has always been a contradiction. There are only 600 defenders in the city. If we take advantage of the gap, we will surely achieve a great victory. The other officers and soldiers in the city are all because of the two deputy officers."
The general soldiers were surrounded in Yangjiao Mountain and went out of the city to rescue."
Wang Guangen sized up the situation and finally nodded. Many of the rebels were from the northern Shaanxi frontier army, and many of them were from military households in the garrison. He naturally knew that since the military system of the garrison was destroyed, the imperial court switched to the camp and town military system.
, although there is some overlap between camp soldiers and guard soldiers, there are also many contradictions.
These captives who surrendered in the Guandi Temple were to a large extent because they were oppressed and treated unfairly by the camp soldiers, so they were quickly willing to surrender and lead the way. If the contradiction between the guard soldiers and the camp soldiers could be fully exploited, they could quickly
It is not impossible to defeat Yiling before the Yuan soldiers arrive.
Li Laiheng patted the table and said, "What do you think of Wang Zhangpan? Time waits for no one, so please make up your mind immediately."
"This..." Wang Guangen was still hesitant. He looked at Liu Zongmin and finally made up his mind, "Okay! I will fight with you this time! The entire Guanying army will rush forward and break Yiling City!"
"Since Brother Shouyu has made up his mind, let's get started." Liu Zongmin laughed heartily and finally put down all the stones hanging in his stomach. As long as Guanying is willing to cooperate fully, he feels that there is still hope for the war.
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"Laiheng, Kecheng, you and Bai Wang go quickly to mobilize troops, we can't waste any more time."
Li Laiheng and Gu Kecheng both agreed. Li Laiheng called Uncle Qing and immediately left the palace. He asked Uncle Qing and Hao Yaoqi to organize the Little Tiger Team, while he and Gu Kecheng found Bai Wang and brought Liu Zongmin's order to Liu Zongmin.
Bai Wang. In a short period of time, all the troops of Chuangying who were originally dispersed in Miaoping were gathered together. Except for Gao Yigong who stayed behind at Damuping Village just in case, all the forces that Chuangying could use were mobilized.
Concentrated here.
The smoke of the residents cooking for the army in the temple gradually extinguished. Wang Guangen's third brother Wang Chang ordered the horns to be blown, and the Guanying soldiers and horses waved their flags, taking the lead in heading south. Following closely, Liu Zongmin, Li Laiheng, and Bai Wang also left with their men and horses.
The dozens of guardsmen who had been captured in the Guandi Temple in Miaoping also joined the team that broke into the camp.
They walked at the front and were responsible for leading the way. Some of them had already taken off the Ming army's armor and handed it over to the most capable soldiers in the camp to wear. They were ready to mix in with the prisoners of war and control the city gates in one go.
Due to limited time, the army did not prepare siege equipment, which was equivalent to placing its hopes entirely on the dozens of surrendered soldiers. The risk was too great, but with such limited time, it was also a solution that had no other options.
The wind and snow got worse, and there were no people on the road. Li Laiheng took into account Hao Yaoqi's poor record of failing to deceive the city in the past, so he did not give him this task. Instead, he put on Ming army armor himself and mingled with the prisoners of war to deceive the city gate.
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Liu Zongmin also handed over the important task of commanding the entire army to Wang Guangen. His natural power and bravery were even better than those of Hao Yaoqi. There were only dozens of prisoners captured by the officers and soldiers, and there were about 20 elite soldiers of the Chuang army mixed among them.
With these dozens of people seizing the city gate, Liu Zongmin naturally felt that he had to go into battle himself.
The soldiers who broke into the camp were all cold and silent. They followed the government prisoners to the gate of Yilingzhou City alone. The rest of the army stayed further back, relying on the cover of heavy snow to hide their traces to avoid being noticed by the defenders.
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There was also a lot of flying snow piled up on the city wall at this time, and the defenders at the top of the city looked listless. Their guardsmen's treatment was much lower than that of the camp soldiers, and few of them wanted to work hard for such treatment. Some people saw that
At the end of the day, the officers and soldiers were calling the city gate. After a little identification, they recognized a few familiar faces and opened the city gate without thinking about it.
Li Laiheng was greatly relieved by the laxity of the guards. All the soldiers who broke into the camp were attentive. Li Laiheng and Liu Zongmin followed the prisoners and slowly walked into the city gate step by step. As they walked,
, while putting their hands into their blouses, holding down their respective weapons, just waiting for orders from Liu Zongmin and Li Laiheng.
Three or four guardsmen came down from the city wall. When they saw Liu Zongmin's iconic beard, they were a little surprised. They couldn't remember that there was such a big figure among the defenders. One officer approached and stared at him.
Liu Zongmin asked, "Brother, do you look a little strange?"
Liu Zongmin grinned, took out the dagger from his coat, grabbed the guard soldier's shoulder with his left hand, and pulled him over like a chicken. With a swipe of the dagger in his right hand, he beheaded him.
"Do it!"
Li Laiheng roared angrily, and all the elite soldiers who broke into the camp opened their blouses, revealing their weapons. A cold light flashed inside and outside the city gate. Before the soldiers guarding the city could react, they were surprised by the scene in front of them.
The elite soldiers of the battalion broke into the city.
The soldiers' actions were very smooth. Most of the guardsmen lacked sufficient military training. Many of them immediately dropped their weapons and ran into the city. Only a few battalion soldiers rushed to the city head, trying to block the city gate again.
.But for Liu Zongmin, his martial prowess is still higher than that of Hao Yaoqi. In terms of pure bravery, he is one of the most powerful figures of this era.
With only a short knife in his hand, Liu Zongmin killed several people in a row and was unstoppable. He strode up to the top of the city, kicked all the braziers over, and caused a fire above the city gate. Wang Guangen and Bai Wang, who were hiding outside the city,
After they saw the lights on the city wall, they knew that Liu Zongmin and Li Laiheng had succeeded, so they immediately gathered all their troops and rushed directly to the city gate.
Li Laiheng was unhurried. He organized the soldiers who broke into the camp and the officers and soldiers to secure the city gate inside and outside. He also repulsed the camp soldiers who wanted to close the door. Although the defenders in the city had absolute power against Li Laiheng's dozens of soldiers and horses.
Superior strength. But they were caught off guard. There were not many defenders at the city gate, and Liu Zongmin set fire to the city wall and charged and killed, which also caused a lot of chaos and tied down part of the defenders.
When the defenders in the city finally reacted and hurriedly concentrated their troops towards the city head, Wang Guangen and Bai Wang also arrived with their troops. The wind and snow hid their traces very well, so that thousands of troops were hiding at the gate of the city.
Very close without being discovered.
"'Ruhu', what a great job!"
Wang Guangen gave Li Laiheng a rare compliment, and then the troops from the Guan camp surged in from the city gate. The thousands of soldiers were simply not something that the 600 defenders in the city, mainly guardsmen, could resist. In the Damuping mountain stronghold, the Ming army was defeated
Guanying, which was suffering from elite soldiers, now vented its anger on the defenders, and the charge and killing was very fierce.
Li Laiheng took off his red tassel felt hat, wiped the blood on his forehead, and said to Bai Wang, who was leading the troops to control the city gate: "Fortunately, we acted quickly enough, and the Yuan soldiers have not arrived yet, so things are going smoothly!"
When Liu Zongmin got off the city, he led his two powerful lieutenants, "Nine Dragons" Gu Kecheng and "Tiger Flame Spot" Xin Sizhong, to the center of the city to control the intersection. Wang Guangen sent his third brother Wang Chang to lead
Hundreds of people annihilated the remaining enemies in the city, and sent deputy general Li Shiying to attack the prefectural government office.
After a fight, the sky was getting closer to evening and the snow was getting lighter. Li Laiheng looked at the darkening sky in the distance and suddenly heard the sound of a cannon. He felt uneasy and asked, "Where did the sound of the cannon come from?"
Hao Yaoqi and Zhang Pili ran down from the city wall and shouted anxiously: "Yuan soldiers are coming!"