Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 355 The advantage is mine, Wu has a trap. Let's fight! (ask for subscription, ask for monthly pass)

On September [-]th, the autumn rain fell one after another. With the autumn wind falling between the sky and the earth around Changsha, Hunan, the originally mild weather was swept into the chilling late autumn.At the same time, the two armies, both numbering more than [-], were pushed by fate to the east of Changsha, where they confronted each other in the area between Laodao River and Liuyang River.

Among them, Li Zhongshan, the Great General of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Fuchen, the General of the Southern King Pingxi of the Ming Dynasty, led a total of two armies and nine towns, with a total of 12 Ming troops, occupying Yong'an City on the south bank of the Laodao River and set up a camp.Yong'an City, which is about sixty miles away from Changsha City, has changed its appearance compared to the end of August. Two shallow trenches have been dug on the outside, wooden fences have been erected inside the shallow trenches, and parapets have been built with sandbags. Covered with tents, Yong'an Commercial City surrounded by countless tents has long since lost its people, and even the houses were burned down. Now it has become a temporary military city. Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's The Chinese army was stationed in Yong'an City.

Laodao River meanders from the north of Yong'an City, flows to the city of Changsha, and then joins the Xiangjiang River, which flows northward.From Laodao Henan to Liuyang Hebei, there is a relatively flat land. Although there are ups and downs, it does not affect the more than 20 troops of the Ming and Zhou armies to fight on this land!

The Liuyang River to the south of the Laodao River also flows into the Xiangjiang River under the city of Changsha. These two rivers, which are relatively small in Hunan, both originate from the same mountainous area and flow into the same Xiangjiang River, and where they flow into the Xiangjiang River They are all outside Changsha City, and the distance between the two entrances is only four or five miles.So from the map, these two meandering rivers form a trumpet shape that is wide in the east and narrow in the west. The mouth of the trumpet is in Changsha, which is only sixty miles away from Yong'an City.

Now, what is preventing Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's army from approaching Changsha is the tens of thousands of Wu Zhou's army stationed around Langli City, [-] miles west-southwest of Yong'an City, next to Liuyang River!
On the morning of the ninth day of September, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen were immediately on a commanding height in the south of Yong'an City, which was not very high, overlooking the villages and fields to the west.That area was originally a wealthy town full of rice fields, but before the arrival of the Ming army, Wu Guogui had already issued an order to fortify the walls and clear the fields.The rice that hadn't fully matured was cut off, and the villages to the west and south of Yong'an City were also devoid of people, turning into ruins everywhere.The bridges on the Laodao River and the pier on the south bank of the Laodao River were also burned by Wu Guogui's men, and even the boats on the Laodao River disappeared.

However, Wu Guogui did not harm the land in the east of Changsha Mansion. His people only cleared the plain south of the Laodao River and north of the Liuyang River.

Obviously, Wu Guogui turned the flat land between Laodao River and Liuyang River into his ideal battleground!
But Wu Guogui's choice surprised Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen.They thought that Wu Guogui would retreat to Changsha City, which was very strong and difficult to besieged (the Ming army did not have a navy on the Xiangjiang River), instead of a decisive battle between the Laodao River and Liuyang River east of Changsha City
"It seems that Wu Sangui is really on the verge of dying." Li Fuchen sighed, seeming a little sad, "Otherwise Wu Sangui wouldn't be eager for a decisive battle!"

Li Zhongshan said: "Even if Wu Sangui can hold on, my father-in-law does not dare to delay. Because he won't get much reinforcements, but our strength will continue to increase. He Tianran's Seventh Army has already captured Chenzhou is now, and we will soon be able to launch an attack on Hengyang. Li Zhongwang's Eighth Army is passing through Mubu Mountain, and it will reach the north of Laodao River in ten days at most.

At that time, our military strength will surpass Wu Guogui! "

The contest between He Tianran and Wu Shijue has already been decided. After all, He Tianran's Seventh Army has a total of seven towns with more than 2 people, while Wu Shijue has only [-] people.The huge disadvantage of troops cannot be reversed by Wu Shijue's command level.In the middle and late August, Wu Shijue was able to use Wu Guogui's bluff to frighten He Tianran.

But when He Tianran took out his trump card Model No. [-] Township to lead the battle to find Wu Shijue for a decisive battle, Wu Shijue couldn't hide it anymore.If he didn't even dare to touch He Tianran's vanguard, then who would believe that he had a large army in his hands?
But as soon as he touched it, he completely let go.His 1 troops were defeated by [-] troops. Although the loss was not large, it still exposed his true strength.

Now He Tianran finally let go of his hands and feet, led the army across the Nanling Mountains, and marched towards Guiyang Prefecture and Chenzhou in Hunan.And Wu Shijue had no choice but to block from left to right, tired of coping.

From this, Daming also knew that Wu Guogui had left the southern line.That's why Li Fuchen and Li Zhongshan judged that the Wu Zhou army they encountered in Changsha was commanded by Wu Guogui.

On the other side, the Zhongwangfu army, who already knew that Wu Sangui was not in Jiujiang, had completely trapped Jiujiang City to death.

They dug three trenches outside Jiujiang City, and took Hukou and Xingzi. Jiujiang became an isolated city, and Wu Yingxiong could hardly escape.

However, as Jieshu's lair that has been operating for many years, Jiujiang's city defenses are very strong. Li Zicheng personally supervised the army and fought for more than ten days.Now we have to change the strong attack to the long encirclement.

At the same time, Li Zicheng mobilized another [-] elite troops to form the Eighth Army, led by Li Laishun, to help Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen through Mubu Mountain.And arriving with Li Laishun, there are also a large number of Hubei peasants and a large number of grain and grass.

As soon as Li Laishun arrives, the total strength of the Ming army to the east of Changsha Fucheng will exceed 15!

The sound of rumbling hoofs interrupted the discussion between Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen, and a group of cavalry was rapidly approaching under the high ground.This is a group of bamboo spear cavalry from the Wu Zhou army, with a number of more than two hundred.

On the Liuyang River-Laodaohe battlefield, there are many cavalry from Wu and Zhou, and they are very strong. They dare to shoot spears and cavalry assaults!Although the armored cavalry of the Li family were no worse than them, they were still too few in number.Even if the cavalry from each town and Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen's personal soldiers were gathered together, there would only be four to five thousand cavalry, which was still much less than Wu Zhou's cavalry.

Therefore, the cavalry wandering on the Liuyang River-Laodaohe battlefield are mainly Wu Zhou's cavalry, and the Li family's cavalry has to avoid them.It's not that you can't beat it, but that you can't afford to lose.There are only four thousand horses in total. If they are all consumed, then Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen will have to go back home.

Seeing that Wu Zhou's cavalry found him, Lv Bu and Li Fuchen didn't have the slightest intention to go up to compete, but turned to Li Zhongshan and said, "Your father-in-law's cavalry is here, we should go back."

Li Zhongshan raised his binoculars and looked at the group of cavalrymen. All of them were cavalry with bamboo spears. The tricks he taught the Wu family back then were now used by the Wu family to deal with him. What a retribution!
"Let's go!" Li Zhongshan gritted his back molars, said "go", turned his horse around, got off the high ground, and headed for the camp in Yong'an City.

Just when Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen led the cavalry and turned to Daying in Yong'an City, in an abandoned village only three or four miles away from them, a pair of good half-brothers were watching through binoculars together. He ran away with the Li family father and son.

Seeing that Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen did not fight and fled resolutely, one of the younger brothers looked at the older brother, put down the binoculars, and said to the younger brother who was looking at him: "Second brother, Lv Bu and his son have all run away. Look at them. The desire to fight is not urgent."

This older brother is Li Zhongshan's father-in-law Lao Taishan, Wu Sangui's adopted son Wu Guogui, and Wu Yingqi is called the second brother by him.

Although Wu Guogui calls Wu Yingqi the second elder brother, and Wu Yingqi calls Wu Guogui the third younger brother. But Wu Guogui is several years older than Wu Yingqi!

No one has stipulated that the younger brother must be younger than the older brother, right?Wu Guogui is an adopted son, and he came in later than Wu Yingqi, so he is the younger brother. This is like when discussing the ranking among seniors, the order of apprenticeship shall prevail.People who are five-year-old apprentices come first, and you who are 80-year-old apprentices are behind, that is also an 80-year-old apprentice, and a five-year-old apprentice!
Wu Yingqi also put away the binoculars, smiled and said, "It's okay if they are not eager to fight. Now they have fallen into our trap! They have plunged into the trumpet terrain of Liuyang River and Laodao River. And our cavalry has Absolute advantage, you can surround them at any time. Third, your plan is really clever!"

Wu Guogui was still doing his best to help Wu Sangui deal with the Li family's father and son, and the strategy he had drawn up for the decisive battle between Laodao River and Liuyang River was quite brilliant.

First of all, he did not choose to defend Changsha.

It is true that Changsha is a strong city, but if Wu Guogui wanted to defend it, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen would definitely not be foolish enough to attack.At that time, they will send troops to the Laodao River, or even to the north of the Miluo River. First, they will join Li Zicheng to solve Wuchang and Yuezhou Prefectures, and then drive the Yangtze River Navy into Dongting Lake and Xiangjiang River. How can Changsha be defended?
Moreover, Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen have operated for at least half a year. What will happen when Wu Sangui dies?
Secondly, Wu Guogui did not choose to entangle Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen in the mountains on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi.First, fighting in the mountains is not conducive to the cavalry; second, if the Li family and his son are not allowed to go deeper, it will not be easy to cover their rear; third, now the Wu family can't delay the quick battle!

Again, the battlefield between Liuyang River and Laodao River was also carefully chosen by Wu Guogui.

This area is all plains, and the terrain is neither open nor narrow.More than 20 troops are enough for a decisive battle!
Wu Guogui, on the other hand, took advantage of his home court, first took the Liuyang River to camp, and left the Laodao River to the Li family father and son.

This made it impossible for the Li family's army to use the Laodao River to cover the army to make a detour. At the same time, if they were defeated, they could only flee eastward instead of crossing the Laodao River to escape north.

In this way, Wu Guogui's cavalry group could easily use the Liuyang River to cover the army to make a detour and outflank the retreat of the Ming army to the west.

Once the retreat is cut off, can Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen remain undefeated?

Thinking of this, Wu Guogui smiled and said, "Second brother, since you think the little brother's plan is still useful, let's start acting as soon as possible! This autumn rain is almost here, and it will stop tomorrow at most.

In the morning of the next day, second brother, you will lead the main force out of the camp in Langli City and march eastward, attracting the Ming army to come out for a decisive battle.And the younger brother led the way one day in advance and set off tomorrow, marching from the south bank of the Liuyang River, avoiding the Ming army's scouts as much as possible, going around to the southeast of Yong'an City and then going north, copying the Ming army's retreat in one fell swoop! "

"Okay!" Wu Yingqi nodded, "That's it! I have [-] troops, and I'll give you the rest! I'll give you [-] cavalry, is that enough?"

"Enough, enough." Wu Guogui said again, "Second brother, you must be careful of Li Zhongshan's pure flintlock team. Although they are only infantry, their ability to attack from the front is amazing. If you let them achieve a breakthrough from the front , then we will lose."

What Wu Guogui was talking about was the three model towns, because they were all infantry, and their mobility was really not good, so the main tactic was to be tough!Relying on the powerful infantry firepower provided by flintlock guns, rifled guns, and miniature bullets, they forced their way through the front of the enemy.

Although this style of play is stupid, once a breakthrough is made head-on, it will be the final word!
Wu Yingqi frowned, it was a coincidence. In fact, he also likes to be straight!But instead of using infantry, use cavalry and artillery to assault the enemy's front!That is, the cavalry rushed after the cannons were shot, and the cavalry rushed to bombard them, and occasionally the cavalry was sent to make a detour.

And his set of cavalry's just frontal style of play is also very useful when calming Shaanxi and Gansu and sweeping the Western Regions!

Now is the tip of the needle meeting the wheat awn?
Seeing that his "little brother" doesn't speak, Wu Guogui will ask him to teach him if he doesn't know how to do it in the future. In fact, he taught his "little brother" martial arts and art of war when he was young.
"Second brother," Wu Guogui said to Wu Yingqi, "to withstand the attack of the Ming army's flintlock squadron, we must thicken the infantry formation, and at least three large horizontal formations must be formed, of which the first and second The big horizontal team is the main force, and the third horizontal team is the reserve team. This reserve team must be reserved enough so that it can be used to fill gaps and counterattack at critical moments.

In addition, the cavalry cannot easily invest in the impact. It is best to wait until the younger brother's detour troops are in place before investing in the impact, and give him a back and forth attack! "

Wu Yingqi nodded: "I know the key to this battle is that the main force must launch a fierce attack with the detour force at the same time, so that the enemy can be crushed in one fell swoop!"

"Second brother, you are wise! Then let's act according to plan!"

"Okay!" Wu Yingqi paused, and then said to Wu Guogui, "Third brother, the boss probably won't be able to come back. In the future, the Wu family will rely on us to support each other, so you have to help me!"

"Of course," Wu Guogui smiled, "You are my second brother, who else can I help if I don't help you?"

On September [-], the autumn rain stopped and the weather became cooler.

It is now the end of September in the lunar calendar, and it is almost the middle of October in the Western calendar of Brother Tian's birthday.The earth's warm period is also good, but now it is the end of the Little Ice Age. Although it is not as cold as it was in the late Ming Dynasty, the humidity and cold in Hunan in the middle and late October of the Western calendar still make people very uncomfortable.

What makes people feel even more uncomfortable is the chill and pressure before the war.

Li Zhongshan, who had experienced many years of war, also felt the tension and anxiety he had never felt before on the night of September [-].

Yes, it is nervous and uneasy!
When he found that the camp of the Wu and Zhou Army thirty miles away was brightly lit at night, and the light from the lantern bonfire was dotted across the wilderness, he knew that the battle was about to begin!
Li Zhongshan also immediately ordered people to light lanterns and bonfires, turning his camp into a sea of ​​stars on the ground.

Before the battle, you can't lose if you have more lanterns than anyone else, or you will lose morale!

After ordering the big camp to light the lights, Li Zhongshan convened the last military meeting before the war in the Zhongjun camp.

"It seems that Wu Zhoujun will have a decisive battle with us in the next two days!"

In the military discussion, Li Zhongshan expressed his own judgment from the very beginning. He frowned and said, "Wu Guogui will not fight an uncertain battle. Since he is going to fight, he will definitely be sure!"

"General," Zhou Chang said, "according to the investigation, Wu Guogui may have received reinforcements from Shaanxi and Gansu!"

"Wu Yingqi," Li Zhongshan murmured, "He's here?"

"Not sure." Zhou Chang shook his head.

Wu Yingqi concealed his whereabouts, so it was difficult for Li Zhongshan to judge whether Wu Zhou's Shaanxi-Gansu elites came or not?

"Be lenient to the enemy," Yao Qisheng said, "General, let's take the number of enemies in Hunan as he has brought the elite from Shaanxi, Gansu, and Hunan. It is estimated to be 15, [-] more than ours. And there are cavalry and artillery advantages! "

In fact, there is no shortage of cannons here in Ming Dynasty, but there are not enough horse-drawn cannons!

Therefore, on the Liuyang River-Laodaohe battlefield, the Wu Zhou army must have more cannons than the Ming army!

Li Fuchen laughed: "Okay, they have a lot of people, horses, and guns, so they should take the initiative. Let's set up a defense tomorrow and let them attack first!"

"No!" Li Zhongshan shook his head. "Although they have many people, horses, and cannons. But I have the advantage. We have to rush to attack, and then make a roundabout outflank to cut off their retreat back to Changsha!"

(End of this chapter)