The remaining search and suppression battles in Wanxian City continued until that night.
The reason why the fight lasted so long was because Zhu Shuren had higher requirements and stricter regulations.
Qin Liangyu, who was originally in charge of the west side of the city, saw the fire in the city and learned that the Wang brothers from the east had already ascended first, so he planned to attack the west gate and tower with all his strength, focusing on breaking through the two sides. As for the other wall sections of the west city, there was no need to be tightly sieged.
, the south and north of the city can be freed up, allowing the rebel army to break up and flee.
After all, don't chase the poor enemy, and don't stop them when they return to the army. Although Zhang Mingzhi's troops are not strong in combat, if they really jump over the wall in a hurry, they are still enough to drink a pot of white soldiers.
Since the city is destined to be destroyed, it is better to leave two openings, which can not only take advantage of the situation to cover up the killing, but also undermine the determination of the defenders to fight to the end.
However, Qin Liangyu's plan was prevented by Zhu Shuren in advance. Zhu Shuren left Zhang Huangyan in charge of liaison in advance to observe Qin Liangyu's command in the west of the city, and clearly asked Qin Liangyu to "even if he sees a fire in the city and will definitely break the city, he is not allowed to relax."
"The land blockade of Xicheng" will never allow the desperate defenders to escape.
What Zhu Shuren wanted was a complete victory of siege and annihilation, and he wanted to keep the tactics secret as much as possible. This way, some novel tactics could be used unexpectedly several times more, and they could continue to be used in the subsequent attack on Chongqing.
If some new tactics are used only once and are immediately known to the enemy and mentally prepared, it would be a waste. In a small place like Wanxian, how can He De deserve to let Zhu Shuren reveal his trump card?
On the other hand, Zhu Shuren also did not want Bai Wenxuan in Chongqing to know the news of the fall of Wanxian too soon, so that in the subsequent actions, the enemy could stay in the fog of war for as long as possible.
In addition, Wanxian County is bordered by the Yangtze River on three sides, and it does have the objective geographical advantage of blocking news. It would be a waste not to make full use of it.
Qin Liangyu was still a little hesitant at the time, and tried to persuade Zhang Huangyan on the grounds that "the remnants of the defending army would jump over the wall to resist because they had no way to escape."
But Zhang Huangyan was very firm and just analyzed in good faith: "General Qin, it's not that Mr. Futai is making things difficult for you, it's really for the sake of the overall situation. As for the dog jumping over the wall, you don't have to worry about it. You just need to completely seal off the west of the city, and don't worry about the south and north of the city.
As long as you prevent the enemies from leaving the city from the north and south gates, and go west to break through the siege via land, it will be considered a great achievement. After the land route is blocked, the bandits will definitely try to escape by boat directly outside the south gate.
As for the blockade on the Yangtze River, you don’t need to worry about it, I will lead the Huguang Navy to take care of it."
Once Qin Liangyu heard that Zhu Shuren and Zhang Huangyan had thought so carefully before the war, he no longer had any doubts.
This is not truly "surrounded on all sides", but it does leave the enemy with a seeming escape route, and the mentality of jumping over the wall in a hurry will not motivate them.
Only after you actually take this retreat will you realize that this way of survival is actually a dead end and a trap. But above the river, willpower is completely useless. No matter how desperate you are, you will only feed everything to the fish.
The Army is a branch of arms that can improve its combat effectiveness through willpower.
The Navy never was.
The navy is a cold-blooded technical branch. No matter how hot-blooded and strong-willed the soldiers are, even if they are the same as kamikaze squads, there are generational differences in technical and tactical levels and equipment. Ten thousand will kill ten thousand.
…
Zhu Shuren's expectations were finally realized, and the battle continued until nightfall that day.
From afternoon to evening, after realizing that the city was destined to be lost, thousands of deserters swarmed out from the north and south gates. After failing to break through by land, they seized ships and fled.
In order to grab the boat, they even killed each other, which can be said to be the middle finger in the boat.
But no matter how hard they struggled, they would inevitably be completely surrounded and killed by the navy, which had faster boats.
Unless they surrender, they will all be sunk, knocked over and fed to the fish.
Guard Zhang Mingzhi was also on the way to break out of the encirclement, and was knocked over by a naval warship led by Zhu Shuren himself.
It’s not like the navy didn’t give him a chance to surrender. After all, they called for an emergency landing first and then rammed and sunk him. But the opponent didn’t express his surrender until the moment of collision, and he still had a chance to rush out. After falling into the water,
There's not much to say.
The officers and soldiers hurled their harpoons at the struggling figure in the water, stabbed it into a hornet's nest, and then dragged it up with a rope tied to the tail of the harpoon and pulled it back to the city to celebrate.
All the local Sichuan generals, including Qin Liangyu, admired Zhu Shuren for his wise deployment and execution of orders and prohibitions.
The two brothers Wang Guangxing and Wang Guangchang were the first to express their admiration: "The military strategy of Guo Xingye is really the reincarnation of Zhuge Wuhou! The general is really convinced. What a shame, before going to the battle, the general thought that Guo Xingye looked down on us.
I used to be in the bandit's army, and they want us to work hard and give the credit to our direct lineage.
The general was really blinded by lard, and he failed to see the great talent, great strategy, and integrity of the surnamed master. This red barbarian cannon was mounted on the warship and directly blasted the city gates and towers. It was really fun! Whenever there is another war in the future,
We will fight wherever Mr. Guo surname tells us!"
"When the defenders in the city see that we have such powerful heavy artillery that can directly knock down the city tower, they will definitely take advantage of our army's unsteady footing and not many people ashore to counterattack out of the city and try to seize and destroy the artillery. This is a national point.
My surname must have been expected, right?
He is really well-planned and can win the battle thousands of miles away. Such a miraculous plan, my Ming Dynasty is saved!"
Zhu Shu people were a little embarrassed by the praise of these people. Conscience of heaven and earth. The second point these people said was that "the defenders in the city knew that they would die sooner or later if they continued to be bombarded in vain, so they would open the door and rush out to try to destroy the cannons."
Zhu Shuren really didn't expect this before the war.
It was completely because the war reached this point, everything just went with the flow, and it evolved into this form naturally.
But since the newly recovered subordinates want to make up their minds and imagine that the coach is more clever, Zhu Shuren will not deliberately expose it.
Even if it's just an accident, wouldn't it be good to add a layer and a half of Zhuge Liang's halo to yourself? Zhu Shuren certainly knows how much "Zhuge Village Man" has been loved and respected by local people in Sichuan for thousands of years.
At any rate, it can also improve morale more, making it easier to command the troops and enforce orders and prohibitions in the subsequent military operations in Sichuan. So let them continue to misunderstand.
So, he just made a few words of incomprehensible modesty, but he did not deny any specific judgment. He just said: "Hey, it is not a big deal to wipe out ten thousand enemies in just ten thousand counties.
This battle can achieve such a result. My deployment only played a small role. The key lies in the lives of General Qin and everyone. Of course, the most critical thing is that Zhang Xianzhong himself cannot weigh the pros and cons, and is in a dilemma, not knowing what to choose——
If he had been able to go all out and march eastward after capturing Chongqing, attack Fengjie directly, or even capture Fengjie and blockade the Qutang Gorge, how would we have a chance to fight today?
If he could not capture Fengjie and block the Qutang Gorge, then he should have launched an all-out attack on Chengdu, maximized the bandits' roving tactics, and sent no troops to guard the retreat.
In the end, Zhang Xianzhong obviously wanted both. He not only wanted to block the troops from outside Sichuan from entering Sichuan for reinforcements, but also wanted to quickly capture Chengdu and eat the fattest fruit. The result was that at least one of the two would not be available. If he retreated
If not, the people along the way will suffer devastating losses.
In this Wanxian battlefield, after Bai Wenxuan couldn't win Fengjie, he was reluctant to spit it out. If he didn't withdraw all his troops to Ba County, Chongqing, he would have lost! Today, we are just like using chips that the enemy has already planned to lose.
, just take it out from the bank!"
(Note: There were banks in the Ming Dynasty, but there were no banknotes. From the Song Dynasty, there were gradually Jiaozi and Feiqian, but it was not until the Qing Dynasty that there were banknotes and banknotes)
Zhu Shuren's words were heard all over the place, and his momentum was like a rainbow. The people who listened were convinced and their confidence was greatly increased.
All of this is better than calculation. Zhang Xianzhong's partial failure in eastern Sichuan was doomed because he didn't know what to choose from the beginning. He couldn't give up what he got.
…
The decisive victory in the Battle of Wanxian really boosted the morale of the officers and soldiers. In addition, the news was kept very secret. Zhu Shuren only rested for one night in Wanxian, leaving the sick and wounded and some sailors to defend the city and restore order.
The next day, he took the main force with him and continued to advance westward against the current.
There are still four hundred miles from Wan County to Zhiba County in Chongqing Prefecture. The Yangtze River's countercurrent in the mountainous areas is still very slow, and it can only cover up to seventy or eighty miles a day.
The army arrived at Wan County on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, captured it on the 19th day, and set off again on the 20th day.
On the 22nd, he left Kuizhou Prefecture and entered Chongqing Prefecture, arrived at Zhongzhou County on the 23rd, and arrived at Fuzhou County (the place where Fuling mustard is located) on the 24th.
In the two counties along the way, the bandits did not leave any troops to garrison. There were only some local gangsters who had taken refuge in the bandits and changed their skins, maintaining local order there.
Therefore, as soon as the officers and soldiers arrived, there was a direct battle. Zhu Shuren only selected some people who were angry with the people and were identified by the surviving people as having assisted Zhang Xianzhong's army in looting and massacre.
On the evening of the 25th, Zhu Shuren's troops finally passed through the Tongluo Gorge, thirty miles east of Ba County. Originally, if they had marched all night, it would have been possible to reach Ba County in the middle of the night, but Zhu Shuren did not arrive because it was getting late.
It is possible that the siege was launched overnight, and the troops were asked to find a spot with suitable terrain to set up camp at the west entrance of Tongluo Gorge.
Until this moment, Bai Wenxuan, who was in Ba County City, did not know that the army was already so close. The news he had received before was an emergency messenger sent by Zhang Mingzhi three days ago, saying that Wan County was under siege.
At that time, Bai Wenxuan secretly screamed that he was going to suffer, so he asked the urgent messenger to reply to Zhang Mingzhi, saying that it was impossible for the defenders of Ba County to save Wan County.
The Wanxian city is not strong and has no meaning for long-term defense. It is just a springboard for the attack on Fengjie, so Zhang Mingzhi is left to find a way to break out of the encirclement, or even abandon part of the rear troops and flee back to join forces. Bai Wenxuan also promised that he will not pursue the case.
Zhang Mingzhi was responsible for the crime of losing his master, and he would exonerate him in front of the eight kings.
The messenger left Ba County the day before yesterday and returned to Wan County to deliver the letter. Calculating the time, if it is faster, it should have been delivered, if it is slower, it will take at most one day.
Bai Wenxuan was so ill-informed, and we really couldn't blame him. Why did the rogue defenders in Zhongzhou and Fuzhou not send anyone to report the emergency to him? They only cared about their own lives and lives.
Bai Wenxuan would not send cavalry scouts too far late at night. Less than a month after Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, the foundation of local rule was unstable, and effective rule had basically not been established in the countryside. It is not surprising that he was so deceived.
…
It wasn't until early the next morning that Bai Wenxuan realized that something might be wrong.
Because some of the sentinel boat scouts he sent to the city as a routine last night did not come back - Chongqing is close to the Yangtze River and Jialing River, so in order to maintain military reconnaissance, it is necessary to send out land cavalry scouts and waterway sentinel boat scouts at the same time.
The location of the city of Chongqing in the Ming Dynasty was roughly the modern Yuzhong District, especially the area near Chaotianmen Pier as the core. Therefore, the east and south of the city were the Yangtze River, the north of the city was the Jialing River, and Chaotianmen in the northeast corner was the point where the Jialing River merged into the Yangtze River.
Cavalry scouts can only detect the enemy coming by land in the west, while sentinel ships are used to detect the north, south, and south.
Before Zhang Xianzhong's troops entered Sichuan, they did not have naval warships. After entering Sichuan, they began to seize ships on the spot from Bozhou. Therefore, the water force was very weak. This also led to the fact that Bai Wen could not send many reconnaissance forces to the direction of the waterway chosen by Bai Wen, and the ships were still there.
Difference.
After discovering that some sentry ships failed to return, Bai Wenxuan's military sense was not too dull at least. He immediately became nervous and announced that all gates in Ba County were closed and entered into a state of war preparation.
Bai Wenxuan's nervous behavior also aroused the incomprehension of some other left-behind generals and civilian staff in the city.
One of the counselors left by Zhang Xianzhong to Bai Wenxuan, named Pan Duao, came to the former Chongqing magistrate's office, where Bai Wenxuan's shogunate is now, to reason with Bai Wenxuan:
"Captain Bai! The king asked you to guard Dongchuan, why are you so timid and avoid the enemy! The day before yesterday, Captain Zhang sent someone to ask for help, but not only did you not send reinforcements, you also asked him to abandon Wanxian and retreat on his own!
Even if you make the withdrawal justified, you have not sent any troops to respond to Captain Zhang's troops in the past few days. Now if there is any trouble, you will directly close the four doors to isolate the inside and outside. What will our troops do in other places? What if the army can really do this?
Do you think Captain Di's troops in Diaoyu City in Hezhou will be withdrawn if they come so quickly? If the other generals know that you are so timid, won't their troops lose their morale?"
In fact, Pan Duao's cultural level was not very high. Like Song Xiance from Li Zicheng's place, he was a failed scholar. He had been a scholar all his life. He would never pass the examination, so he became a thief.
Pan Duao was originally from Xiangyang Prefecture and Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang. From the ninth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong moved to Xiangyang and the mountains near Yunyang until he was recruited by Xiong Wencan on the spot in the eleventh year of Chongzhen. During those two years, Zhang Xianzhong was in the local area.
He still won over many people, and some scholars mistakenly believed that Zhang Xianzhong could really clear his name and gain a real and lasting identity, so some scholars followed him.
Xu Yixian, Zhang Xianzhong's chief military advisor, followed him at that time, and Pan Duao also joined him at that time. These people also shamelessly compared themselves to Zhuge Liang.
However, because Zhang Xianzhong himself was uneducated and did not have much knowledge about scholars, he still accepted this trick. Fifteen years before Chongzhen, as long as he was a scholar, he would be reused.
After all, Pan Duao was at least in the top five among Zhang Xianzhong's advisers, so Bai Wenxuan didn't dare to put too much trust in him.
In the face of doubts, he also accompanied Xin Xin to explain: "Commander Pan, this governor has been fighting with the king for more than ten years. His prediction of the enemy's situation has always been accurate. Xin Xin can sail the ship for ten thousand years.
Some of the sentry ships that went to the east and north of the city to investigate the enemy's situation did not return. It may be that after the government troops surrounded Wanxian County, they divided their forces and continued to advance rapidly around Wanxian County. If the government troops suddenly attacked the city, it would be a big deal.
But as long as we don’t make any mistakes, as long as Zhang Mingzhi in Wanxian County has not been breached, he may be able to cut off the detour and deep-reaching official and army food routes."
Pan Duao disagreed with this statement: "Can the army come all the way to attack Chongqing? The Jialing River in the Yangtze River is so dangerous. It takes several days to cross the river. How can they attack across the river?"
Then have you ever heard that throughout the ages, have soldiers and horses from the Northern Dynasties been able to directly attack the city of Nanjing at Guazhou Ferry or Caishiji? They can attack Nanjing from across the Yangtze River. You must be scared to death!"
The two were arguing, but outside the former magistrate's office, an officer who reported an emergency rushed in: "Right Governor, the warships of the army have appeared on the river outside Chaotianmen! There are at least hundreds of them!"
Pan Duao was immediately deflated and sweated slightly.
Can any official army really come so quickly? Fortunately, the Yangtze River is wide enough, and no one has been able to cross the Yangtze River or Jialing River to attack directly.