In Guangyuan City, Zhang Xianzhong could not help but feel short-tempered when facing the Yangping Pass where one man was in charge and ten thousand men could not open it. He was even forced to call his adopted son-in-law to give the worst possible explanation.
He once again established Zhang Kewang's identity as heir, and even told them that if he was defeated and died, they would lead his army back to the Ming Dynasty.
The four eldest sons knelt down and cried, thinking that they should not be discouraged, but Zhang Xianzhong was indeed desperate.
Zhang Dingguo asked to divide his troops to find a way out and fight a bloody road.
Although Zhang Xianzhong agreed, he also asked the prime minister's son-in-law Wang Zhaolin to send an envoy to Shunqing Phoenix Mountain to visit Wen Anzhi, apologize to the Ming army, and ask for help at the same time. Although he believed that the Ming army would sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight at this time, and even
It may be possible to add insult to injury at any time, but under the current circumstances, there is no other way but to kill the horse and treat it as a living horse.
After receiving the military order, Zhang Dingguo led an army to the northwest and marched along the Bailong River, intending to detour through Jiezhou and open the way to Tianshui, Qinzhou, or detour through the Chengxian area in the upper reaches of the Jialing River, and then go to Yangpingguan via Zaomaling Road, or detour
The larger circle runs from Lueyang via Wuxing Road to Yangpingguan.
However, this road was extremely difficult, because no matter how he walked, he had to pass the 700-mile Yinping Trail first.
The Jinniu Road where Yangpingguan is located is already very difficult and dangerous. Most of the roads are built by drilling holes and inserting wood into the cliffs, but the Yinping Plank Road is even more dangerous and difficult.
The plank road is steeper, more winding and narrower.
More than 200 miles northwest from Guangyuan, we still have to face the obstruction of Yulei Pass, which does not allow Yangping Pass. An outrigger wooden beam bridge is built on the Bailong River in front of Yulei Pass, called Yinping Bridge Head, which can allow soldiers and horses to pass.
It has always been a dangerous place for military strategists to guard the pass, and it is also a must-win place for military strategists.
Zhang Dingguo led his troops through the valley plank roads and walked more than 200 miles arduously until they arrived at the head of Yinping Bridge.
At the intersection of the Bailong River and the Baishui River, on the right side of the Bailong River, the Yinping Bridge stands between the two cliffs.
Li Dingguo couldn't help but marvel when he looked at this terrain.
"Your Highness, this is the Yinping Ancient Bridge, and across the bridge is Yulei Pass."
A Qiang guide reported to Li Dingguo.
Li Dingguo looked at the Xiongguan Ancient Bridge and was in a dilemma.
This dangerous place is no weaker than Yangping Pass. It is too difficult to attack and seize it by force.
An aide also lamented, "During the Three Kingdoms period, Wei general Guo Huai personally led his army to build a city under the bridge to attack Shu general Liao Hua. This city was called Guo Huai City. After more than a thousand years, Guo Huai City is no longer there, but the city site is still there.
, but the locals have always called it City Wall Dam, and there are still many ruins that can be seen."
"Later, when Deng Ai attacked Shu, he defeated Jiang Wei at the Yulei Pass Bridge in Yinping, which is right here. Jiang Wei abandoned the pass and retreated to Jiange, but in the end he was unable to recover, and the Shu Kingdom perished."
"Open a chasm in the sky and lock the throat, control the two hundred states in the southwest, the imperial aggressors have their own way, and the mud is unclear, and there is no warning and analysis at the important gates!"
Zhang Dingguo had an increasingly headache.
Jiang Wei took the initiative to abandon Yulei Pass and retreat to Jiange. At that time, Deng Ai was coming from the direction of Wudu. Now, on the contrary, he was going from Guangyuan to the direction of Wudu.
"Liu Jinzhong has already confirmed that he has surrendered. Now that he is guarding this pass, he will not let us pass."
Liu Jinzhong was one of the few generals of the Western Army whom Zhang Dingguo admired. Most of his heroic cavalry battalions were from northern Sichuan. They were all brave and capable of fighting. They were also famous among the 120th Battalion of the Western Army.
In contrast, Zhang Dingguo, the adopted son of the Western Emperor, was still relatively young at this time. He was a young general who had emerged in recent years. Although he was brave enough to fight, he was still the adopted son of Zhang Xianzhong. He was a close servant, but his experience was still limited.
It was not rich enough, so Zhang Nengqi, Zhang Dingguo and others previously attacked Ma Ke in northern Sichuan and He Zhen in Hanzhong, but they were defeated in succession.
Facing Liu Jinzhong, the commander of the Xiaoqi Camp, especially Liu Jinzhong who had surrendered, Zhang Dingguo had no confidence.
But Yulei Pass and Yinping Bridge block the only way.
"Get ready to fight!" Zhang Dingguo ordered helplessly.
·······
In the city of Yulei Pass.
At this time, the main generals of the Shaanxi-Gansu camp of the Ming Dynasty imperial camp had also arrived here early, and all the ministries that had barely completed the reorganization of the camp also urgently transferred 5,000 troops.
"Zhang Dingguo is Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son. Although he is only twenty-six years old this year, he has won his trust and is brave and brave. He was named King of Anxi, sealed as General of Anxi, and commanded sixteen battalions. He was born in a poor peasant family and was only ten years old.
He joined Zhang Xianzhong's army at the age of 17 and was adopted as his adopted son because of his bravery. When he was 17 years old, he had already begun to lead 20,000 troops to fight with Zhang Xianzhong in Huguang, Henan Province. When he was 20 years old, he disguised himself as an officer and led an army.
With twenty cavalry, he sneaked into Xiangyang overnight and captured Xiangyang City for Zhang Xianzhong in one fell swoop. He was nicknamed Little Weichi!"
Deputy Admiral Liu Jinzhong told his sworn brother Zhang Dapeng about this little Yuchi.
As soon as Zhang Dingguo left Guangyuan, the camp here received a secret report, and he quickly mobilized troops to strengthen the defense of Yulei Pass.
"You thief!"
Camp Director Wen Xieji snorted coldly and said with great disdain that it is even more unforgivable to become a thief at the age of ten. None of the Western thieves are worthy of trust. They jumped around repeatedly and rebelled uncertainly.
"Soldiers are coming to block it, water is coming and the soil is flooding. No matter how arrogant Zhang Guoding is, he is just a little thief. As long as we guard the Yinping Bridge and the Yulei Pass, can Zhang Guoding still be able to fly over with his wings?"
Gu Xin
"No matter how fierce he is, if we can't defend him, we can just cut down the bridge or burn down a section of the Yinping plank road to stop him."
Liu Jinzhong had also joined Xiying, so he was a little uncomfortable with Wen Xieji's attitude. "The Yinping Seven Hundred Mile Plank Road is extremely dangerous. If it burns down, it will also cut off our way back to Sichuan. It will be very difficult to repair it."
As the admiral, Zhang Dapeng has been looking at the map.
During the reorganization of the camp during this period, his identity has always been a bit subtle. It is not said that Liu Jinzhong was a general of the Western Army, nor that the three brothers Wen Xieji were the sons of Wen Anzhi, or Tang Zhenbang who came with him.
That is also the famous toast in Huguang.
As for the rebel generals who had revolted locally and in the Shaanxi-Gansu area and finally returned, many of them were originally officers and soldiers of the imperial court, or they were also powerful forces. Even if they failed to attack Xi'an, they quickly gathered many troops after they returned, and even occupied an area of 100,000 square meters.
State-controlled counties.
In comparison, Admiral Zhang Dapeng was just a poor man working as a day laborer more than a year ago. Even after he entered Sichuan, he was just a newly appointed battalion officer.
But in the end it was he who took the admiral position.
For a battalion that was almost completely new, his status has always been questioned.
Fortunately, Zhang Dapeng withstood the pressure and didn't think much about anything else at this time. He only thought about how to complete Wen Jinglue's mission and live up to His Majesty the Emperor.
Withstanding the pressure, he reorganized various troops, established military regulations and marching laws, and even took the newly built camp to fight several battles. Not only did he have to deal with the surrendering landlords who had taken advantage of the situation and turned to the Qing court, but he also had to
Deal with the rebel soldiers and bandits who take the opportunity to commit plunder.
After several battles, Zhang Shipeng would make detailed arrangements before each battle. During the battle, he would lead the death battalion to the front. After the battle, he would reward meritorious deeds and punish delinquencies. He was very fair and strict.
In addition to the support of Liu Jinzhong, Tang Zhenbang, Wen Xieji and others, He Hongqi, Li Mingyi, Jiang Dennglei, Wang Yuan, Ma De, Guo Junzhen, Liu Wenbing and other generals were also convinced.
Zhang Dapeng treated He Hongqi and other former camp generals equally, he treated former court generals, and he treated powerful landlords equally. Even if they were dissatisfied with him, he was very polite to them. It was his courtesy that added
He took the lead and was very fair. Coupled with the support of Liu Jinzhong, Tang Zhenbang and others, he gradually gained a foothold.
But the few battles we fought before were all small scenes.
This time facing Zhang Dingguo who came with 20,000 troops, this was the key battle.
Each of the generals has his or her own opinions.
Governor Ma Xieji was determined to have troops to fight tit-for-tat, and even suggested that the Western thieves would not be allowed to come over if they could not defeat the Burning Bridges and Burning Plank Roads.
Liu Jinzhong believed that the bridge and the plank road should be preserved, and even thought that they could be negotiated.
As for General He Hongqi, they were not willing to fight head-on with Zhang Dingguo, and thought it would be better to retreat to Tieluzhai in Wen County and Linjiang Pass behind it.
Don't fight them, fight them!
"Everyone!"
Zhang Dapeng lightly knocked on the table a few times.
"Zhang Dingguo came with 20,000 troops. According to current intelligence, he wanted to use the road to fight the Tatars."
"It's hard to say." Wen Xieji said.
Zhang Dapeng stood up and said, "When I was serving as a guard at His Majesty's side, I often heard His Majesty say that we must distinguish who is the enemy, who is the friend, who is the main contradiction and who is the secondary contradiction, and we must not reverse the priorities."
"His Majesty has said more than once that the main enemies of the Ming Dynasty today are only the Tatar family."
"Whether it is the original Shunying, Xiying, or other green forests and grasslands, as long as they are willing to put aside their past grudges and fight the Tatars together, they are our brothers, and we should all unite as one."
"I, Zhang Dapeng, was just a day laborer in the past. I have never read a book and I don't understand any big principles, but I will never doubt the words of Lord Long Live in this life.
Long live God has given us the Ming Dynasty and the saints of the Han family.
Everything your Majesty said is absolutely correct!"
Wen Xieji reminded Zhang Dapeng, "I also fully support the saint, but Xianthief and Xiying cannot be trusted. They go back on their word and are rebellious."
"Civil Supervisor, I think back then Shunying invaded Beijing and even forced Emperor Lie to death, but what did His Majesty do to the remaining troops of Shunying? He personally issued decrees to actively recruit people, bestowed titles and officials, and established Zhongzhen Town. How incredible is this?
Courage?
Isn’t it precisely because of His Majesty’s generosity that Shunying is now fighting for the Ming Dynasty?
It is true that Zhang Xianzhong has no credibility and surrendered but then rebelled again, but now is not the time to dwell on this."
He stood in the hall, looked at the generals, and said loudly and loudly, "I, Zhang Dapeng, will accept it as a dead end. As long as it is the one who fights the Tatars, I, Zhang Dapeng, and the Shaanxi-Gan Xingying camp will definitely help!"
"Send someone to meet Zhang Dingguo on the opposite side. He wants to fight the Tatars. I, Zhang Dapeng, will give him the Yinping Bridge and draw a path for him to go around behind the traitors at Yangpingguan. Not only that, I will also help them with some arrows."
Arrow grain.”
"Tell Zhang Dingguo that we are all descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties, and we are all Han people. When aliens invade, the Tatars want to force us to shave our heads and change clothes, and to subjugate our country and exterminate our species. We should stop fighting among ourselves. We should put aside other things for the time being and deal with the Tatars together first.