weaving

Is Chapter 1417 a trap?

The Tengshe Battalion has been stationed at the Daguantou camp, just like the Qinglong Battalion in Liuzhuang, jointly guarding the left and right flanks of the Xinchengji Yongyi Army camp, ready to attack at any time.

After the rebel army suffered setbacks in its fierce attacks on the three forward camps of the government troops at Daguantou, Liuzhuang, and Xiangongmiao, the two sides entered a stalemate and maintained a very delicate strategic balance on the surface.

On the surface, they each guarded their own camps and did not attack each other, but in secret they were making their own preparations.

…………

There is only one exception – the Xiangongmiao military camp. Unlike the simple stalemate at Liuzhuang and Daguantou where the two sides do not interfere with each other, this camp has been surrounded by the rebel army in layers, like an iron barrel.

There are over ten thousand men from the Yongyi Army's White Tiger Battalion and the Mangshan Militia inside and outside the Xiangong Temple, plus some laborers conscripted from Kaifeng Prefecture. There has been no news from them for over a month.

This was also a decisive factor in why the Marquis of Yongning rashly launched a war against the rebel army!
Although Chen Zheng and his men carried a large amount of grain, gunpowder, and cannons with them, enough to sustain the war for several months, and there were many wells inside and outside the Xiangong Temple, cooking always required a fire. I'm afraid that after a while, we would have grain but no firewood. We can't just eat grain raw to fill our stomachs, can we?

Back in the Battle of Jinzhou, Zu Dashou was trapped in the city in the same situation. He still had grain, but no firewood to cook. At that time, all the houses in the city had been demolished, and there were no more houses to demolish or wood to take. He was truly in imminent danger.

If it weren't for a fierce battle outside the city, in which the Ming army narrowly defeated the Qing army, Jinzhou would probably have already fallen into the hands of the Jianzhou Tartars.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng would naturally not sit idly by and leave Xiangong Temple unattended. Not to mention that his brother-in-law, Yang Shijie, the second son of the Yang family and the head of the Mangshan militia, was trapped inside, the more than 10,000 soldiers of Xiangong Temple could not be easily abandoned. Moreover, his loyal and brave general Chen Zheng was also inside!

Therefore, the decisive battle with the rebel army at this moment is imminent and inevitable.

…………

The Tengshe Camp received orders to advance on Yangquan Village, to hold back Liu Zongmin's rebel army and prevent them from going to Jiajiagang to reinforce it, so that Chen Zheng at Xiangong Temple could meet up with Zhang Guodong who was coming to reinforce them, and then launch a full-scale attack on the old camp of the rebel army in Zhuxian Town.

The Daguantou camp is currently guarded by Deputy General Tang Xiancheng and Garrison Commander Qin Dazhong, along with a unit of artillery and three units of supply troops. Even in terms of numbers, they are no less than the enemy forces outside the camp. In addition, with their advantage in artillery, they are more than capable of repelling the enemy forces if they launch an attack.

Similar to Zhang Guodong's situation, Wei Zhice also had to abandon the firepower advantage of chariots and supply wagons due to the need for an emergency march, and could only wait for his cavalry and infantry to advance rapidly.

Of course, tanks and supply wagons are slow to move and not suitable to accompany the army, but the tiger crouching cannons, small mortars and small breech-loading cannons can be carried by the infantry, so the more the better.

Moreover, he ordered the removal of rocket magazines from many of the tanks, which were then carried by the infantry in rotation, or tied to the backs of warhorses and mules.

Due to the needs of the march, although the chariots and supply wagons were left at Daguan, the mules and horses used for pulling the troops were all requisitioned by Wei Zhice and became heavy laborers in this forced march.

They also set off quietly under cover of night, with cavalry leading the way and infantry following behind, and arrived silently outside Yangquan Village at dawn.

Because the army was exhausted from the march, and because the Yongning Earl's orders were only to keep Liu Zongmin occupied and wait for an opportunity to strike, rather than to launch a major attack, the army was ordered to rest on the spot.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhice also ordered two cavalry units to keep watch at a distance, concealing the movements of the main army on this side and trying to avoid being discovered by the enemy. He also required them to take turns resting every half hour to maintain combat effectiveness.

According to the military order of the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Guodong will launch an attack at Chenshi (7-9 AM); Wei Zhice calculated that Zhang Guodong will be able to capture the bandit army south of Xiangong Temple in at most half an hour, and Liu Zongmin will not receive the news until the beginning of Sishi (9-11 AM) at the earliest.

Therefore, Wei Zhice ordered the cavalry to launch a major offensive only at the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM), expanding their reconnaissance area to the vicinity of Liu Zongmin's garrison at Taojiadian, and deliberately drawing in enemy scouts to intentionally expose their own positions. This was intended to distract Liu Zongmin and prevent him from fully committing to rescuing the enemy forces south of Xiangong Temple.

Xie Junyou and the two bandit generals Xie Yinglong and Zhang Hong had just led their troops away from the camp when Wei Zhice already knew about it and had prepared a trap for them, waiting for the bandit army to fall into it.

However, Xie Junyou and the others were completely unaware of all this.

Xie Junyou, Xie Yinglong, and Zhang Hong led 7,000 cavalry and infantry bandits, marching rapidly towards Yangquan Village.

They did not take the government troops of Yangquan Village seriously, thinking that they were only slightly stronger than the likes of Zuo Liangyu, but no matter what, they were definitely no match for them.

This sense of pride was very common among the rebel army, and even among the officials, soldiers, and people in various parts of Henan.

They all naively believed that this was "heaven helping the rebel king," and a real sign that the rebel king was about to change the world, which is why groups of people flocked to join him.

They had traveled less than three miles northeast when they encountered a group of government cavalry, numbering about five hundred, who seemed to be the vanguard of the government army.

Xie Yinglong volunteered to be the vanguard and lead the first battle against the government troops.

Seeing his enthusiastic attitude, Xie Junyou naturally couldn't refuse him, so he agreed to his request and personally led five hundred cavalrymen to cover for him.

Xie Yinglong was originally a subordinate of Luo Dai, a general and deputy commander of the Ming Dynasty. He was skilled in firearms. Because Luo Dai was defeated by the combined forces of Zhang Xianzhong and Zuo Liangyu at Luohou Mountain, he was able to escape and fled to Luoyang. He was still a member of the government army. Later, when the rebel leader Chuang Wang captured Luoyang, he joined Chuang Wang and became a member of Chuang Wang's army.

Having spent many years in the army, he was highly skilled both on horseback and on foot. As a mid-level officer, he had a group of brothers under his command and gradually became a new generation of generals in the rebel army.

This time, seeing that the opposing government troops were not numerous, he felt a desire to make a contribution and volunteered to fight.

Xie Yinglong had two thousand bandits under his command, including three hundred cavalry and the rest infantry. After receiving permission from Xie Junyou, he shouted and led his troops out of the formation, charging straight at the oncoming government cavalry.

Three hundred cavalrymen led the way, followed by seventeen hundred infantrymen, shouting and yelling incessantly. Their momentum was quite impressive, especially Xie Yinglong, who was leading the charge, glaring and yelling.

Although the opposing government troops numbered five hundred, for some reason, they retreated after less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Seeing that the government troops were about to flee, Xie Yinglong could not allow it and led his troops in pursuit, shouting and yelling.

"Master Xie, the government troops engaged in battle and then left. Could this be a trap?" Zhang Hong reminded him from the side.

Xie Junyou waved his hand dismissively and said, "Hmph, how many soldiers do they have? They'd be lucky not to run away when they see us."

Indeed, although the opposing soldiers appeared well-equipped and quite valiant, they only numbered five hundred cavalry, while Xie Junyou's side had a full seven thousand cavalry and infantry, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, their imposing presence truly astonishing.

Xie Junyou gripped the reins of his warhorse tightly and shouted, "All troops, pursue! Kill the government soldiers!"

The seven thousand cavalry and infantrymen, as if injected with chicken blood, shouted and rushed forward, following Xie Junyou and Zhang Hong's horses, and hurriedly gave chase...