Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 225: Close the door and beat the dog (please subscribe for a monthly ticket)

The territory of Shili Xuanwei Division is not large, but its location is extremely critical.

To the north is Kuizhou, the gateway to eastern Sichuan, and to the west is Chongqing Prefecture, which itself is located at the junction of Sichuan and Huguang.

In addition, Qin Liangyu's mother and son were loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and they once prevented Zhang Xianzhong from entering Sichuan.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong also hated Shi Ling Xuanwei Division deeply.

However, due to the high mountains, dangerous roads and complex terrain in the Shidui area, and the fact that the white pole soldiers were accustomed to fighting, Zhang Xianzhong had no choice but to blockade the Xuanwei Division of Shidui.

The roads leading to Shili Xuanwei Division from Chongqing or Kuizhou were heavily guarded. At this time, it was almost impossible for them to make a sneak attack.

However, Zhang Xianzhong never dreamed that the Liaodong Army would plunge into the mountains, pass through the complicated chieftain gathering area, and arrive at Shidong Xuanwei Division from Huguang.

Although Ba County, where Chongqing Prefecture is located, is the core city in the entire eastern Sichuan region!

But their goal this time is to occupy Kuizhou. To the east of Fengjie, the capital of Kuizhou, is the Three Gorges and to the west is Wanxian.

Only by occupying Kuizhou can we control the Three Gorges and completely block Zhang Xianzhong's retreat from Huguang to Sichuan.

Qin Liangyu suggested that he should first feign an attack on Chongqing Prefecture and attract Zhang Wenxiu's troops in eastern Sichuan to Chongqing. Then they would go north in one fell swoop, occupying Wanxian first, and then capture Fengjie, the capital of Kuizhou.

Such great things can be accomplished!

Zhang Zhiji and Cao Bianjiao were both guest soldiers coming from afar.

Moreover, this time they crossed the mountains and abandoned all their war horses. Now the Liaodong Army is only infantry, and its combat effectiveness is still greatly reduced.

So they followed Qin Liangyu's suggestion.

Soon thousands of white soldiers appeared in front of Qingxi Pass east of Chongqing Prefecture.

Seeing the dense crowd of chieftain soldiers, the guard at Qingqing Pass quickly sent someone to ask for help from Zhang Wenxiu of Chongqing Prefecture.

Zhang Wenxiu, Marquis of Zhennan, as the adopted son of Zhang Xianzhong and the top general of the Daxi Army in eastern Sichuan, naturally could not sit idly by.

Soon he led 10,000 troops from Badong to Qingxiguan!

At this time, Qingxi Pass was in a mess, with corpses of the Great Western Army everywhere. Qingxi Pass guard Feng Shuangxi was leading the last thousand people to resist.

With a low horn sound, these white-pole soldiers withdrew.

Feng Shuangxi and others almost cried with joy. He said excitedly: "Fortunately, the Marquis of Zhennan arrived with his army in time, otherwise Qingxiguan would have been lost!"

Zhang Wenxiu said: "General Feng, you also have five thousand troops, how come you only have this few people left in less than two days!"

Feng Shuangxi said with some shame: "Qin Liangyu, the old immortal, personally takes command, plus 'Xiao Ma Chao' Ma Xianglin is so brave, the brothers really can't stand it!"

Zhang Wenxiu was also worried about the combat power of the white pole soldiers. Fortunately, his father had the foresight to predict that after the Ming army launched a large-scale attack on Huguang, the white pole soldiers might be dishonest and arrange themselves to guard Chongqing in advance. Otherwise, there would really be chaos in the backyard.

It's just that the white-armed soldiers have been trapped in Shili Xuanwei Division for a long time, and they have long been exhausted. How come they suddenly feel like they have been injected with chicken blood?

This made Zhang Wenxiu have some questions.

Feng Shuangxi said: "This attack on Qingxiguan includes not only Shi Ding's white-armed soldiers, but also several other chieftains' troops. There are no less than 10,000 people in total!"

No wonder Qin Liangyu dared to attack. It turned out that several nearby chieftains had joined forces.

The lair of this group of barbarians was in a dangerous terrain, and I couldn't do anything to them; now that they had escaped from the ravine, I naturally wanted them to look good.

Qin Liangyu, Ma Xianglin and others are all here at Qingxiguan, which shows that the main force of the enemy army is under the city.

Nowadays, this group of barbarians has a lot of troops, and it seems that they need to increase their numbers.

So Zhang Wenxiu ordered soldiers and horses from Kuizhou to come to support here.

But strangely enough, since my main force arrived at Qingxiguan, these white soldiers have not attacked the city very much!

Just confront yourself at Qingxi Pass!

Feng Shuangxi said: "These barbarians are very slippery. They know that the main force of our army has arrived, and their attack will definitely cause heavy casualties, so they simply don't attack!"

At this time, Zhang Wenxiu frowned. If they didn't attack, they should withdraw their troops.

Thousands of them have been confronting him in front of the prison, obviously trying to hold him back.

No, Kuizhou's reinforcements are in danger!

Soon Zhang Wenxiu's worries became a reality, and soldiers came to report: "The reinforcements from Kuizhou were ambushed by the Ming army not far from Wanxian, and then the Ming army mingled with the defeated army and fled to Wanxian. Taking advantage of the opportunity, we cooperated inside and outside to seize Wanxian!"

"At this time, the Ming army is attacking Fengjie, the capital city of Kuizhou!"

Zhang Wenxiu shouted: "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Qin Liangyu, Ma Xianglin and nearly 10,000 chieftains are all confronting him at Qingxiguan. Where did the Ming army come from?"

"Could it be that they fell from the sky?"

Now Liu Wenxiu can't control so much. If the Ming army captures Fengjie, Daxi's main force in Huguang will become a lone army.

He couldn't let this happen no matter what, so he ordered three thousand cavalry and launched an attack on the white soldiers outside the city.

Although the white-armed guns in the hands of the white-armed soldiers had a certain restraint effect on the cavalry, after all, it was infantry versus cavalry, and Liu Wenxiu still felt that he could break through their blockade.

Seeing the Western Army cavalry coming straight from Qingxiguan, Ma Xianglin showed a look of contempt.

At the beginning, the white-armed soldiers were directly carrying the Tatar cavalry outside the pass, so naturally they would not take the Western Army's cavalry seriously!

After leaving the city, Zhang Wenxiu quickly discovered that something was wrong. The weapons in the hands of the white-armed soldiers were still white-armed guns, but what they wore were actually heavy cotton armors from the Ming army.

This shows that the Ming army not only appeared in Shili Xuanwei Division, but even sent them a large amount of supplies.

Not long after, Zhang Wenxiu heard a familiar voice.

"Bang, bang, bang"

As the Rumi gun sounded, more than a hundred riders rushing in the front row instantly fell to the ground.

Zhang Wenxiu didn't hesitate at all and quickly called for gold to withdraw his troops.

Unfortunately, the nearly a thousand cavalrymen in the front row had no time to turn their horses, and they soon became the dead souls of the white soldiers.

While being happy, Ma Xianglin was also filled with emotion. What if they could have such equipment in Liaodong?

He had led the white-armed soldiers to defeat the Tatars a long time ago, so why did thousands of men in the stronghold stain Kuandian with blood?

Qin Liangyu said, "The prince of Liaodong County is a broad-minded person. He treats us sincerely, and we naturally want to repay him!"

Li Xianzhong not only sent equipment to Shili Xuanwei Division, but also brought them corn, potato and sweet potato seeds, and sent several experienced people to stay and guide them in planting.

The Shidui area is mountainous and there are few large tracts of fertile farmland. Not only is the yield of rice cultivation not high, but it is also not easy to take care of.

Although these things cannot completely replace the staple food, the scattered land in the mountains can be used.

It is said that the yield of these crops is very high. With them as a supplement, at least they can solve the problem of food and clothing!

Zhang Wenxiu should not dare to take risks to support Kuizhou after this setback.

At this moment, they rushed to join Zhang Zhiji and seize the entire Kuizhou Prefecture.

Although the channel to the west to reinforce Kuizhou has been cut off by them, the road to the east to support Kuizhou from the Huguang area is still open. If they cannot seize Kuizhou quickly, things may easily change!

Although the 1 troops led by Zhang Zhiji and Cao Bianjiao were from the Liaodong Army, after more than two months of crossing mountains and ridges, they had begun to gradually adapt to this kind of mountain warfare.

After all, the Liaodong Army's usual training is also quite rigorous. These soldiers have high military quality and strong adaptability.

Coupled with Qin Liangyu's younger brother Qin Minping serving as their guide, it was very easy to defeat these second-line Western troops in Kuizhou.

However, to capture Fengjie City, a strong attack may not be effective!

Fengjie City was built in the 10th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty. It was built on the back of a mountain with a river. It has a total of five city gates.

Although the city is not big, it is extremely dangerous.

Today's Liaodong Army does not even have a 6-pound field gun around, although it can suppress the defenders on the city with the range advantage of the Rumi Gun.

But it is still very difficult to break the city.

Just when Zhang Zhiji was at a loss what to do, Cao Bianjiao led his men to intercept a batch of grain and grass.

After asking around, I found out that they were transporting grain from Shunding Prefecture to Kuizhou.

Now that the main force of the Great Western Army is in Huguang, the pressure on grain and grass is very high, so grain needs to be transported from Sichuan to Huguang.

This is really a sleepy pillow. Although they, the Liaodong Army, will reveal their secrets as soon as they open their mouths, Qin Minping still has some local people who can impersonate him. The Liaodong Army only needs to follow them!

Moreover, the composition of Zhang Xianzhong's people is also very complicated. The earliest veterans were from Shaanxi, and then there were people from Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and South Zhili. Of course, now the majority are from Huguang and Sichuan.

So it's not difficult for them to sneak into the city.

Soon Qin Minping personally led the team and entered Fengjie City disguised as a Western Army delivering food!

Originally, they wanted to wait until dark before taking action, but they were exposed in advance.

Although these Liaodong troops were equipped with the equipment of the Western army, they were too tall, obviously a head taller than the local Sichuan people.

A large group of tall grain transporters quickly attracted the attention of the city gate guard!

Seeing the risk of being exposed, Qin Minping and others stopped pretending. Anyway, they had already entered the city. They took the guy out of the car and started fighting with the Western Army!

Zhang Zhiji saw a melee going on at the city gate and quickly led his men to attack!

Fengjie originally had 5,000 defenders, but Zhang Wenxiu had previously transferred 2,000 to support Chongqing. Now there are only 3,000 in total.

Both the Baigan soldiers and the Liaodong army are solid and strong soldiers with first-class close combat capabilities.

These second-line Western troops were no match for them. Soon Qin Minping and others took control of the city gate. After Zhang Zhiji arrived with his army, the battle was completely unsuspicious!

In less than an hour, the defenders of Fengjie surrendered!

Then they took advantage of the situation to capture Qutang Pass and controlled the Qutang Gorge and Wushan areas!

With the arrival of more than 10,000 reinforcements led by Qin Liangyu and Ma Xianglin, the entire Kuizhou Prefecture was under their control.

Then Cao Bianjiao led five thousand main troops down the river in small boats and captured Badong, the gateway from Huguang to Sichuan.

Although Zhang Wenxiu later gathered the troops in eastern Sichuan and tried to counterattack Kuizhou, they were blocked by Ma Xianglin in Wanxian.

And Badong, guarded by Cao Bianjiao, is also impregnable.

After learning that Kuizhou had been lost, Zhang Xianzhong hurried back to his army, but his passage into Sichuan was actually cut off by the Ming army?

He must go back quickly to clear his way back.

He left Zhang Dingguo to defend Hanyang and hold back the Ming army in Wuchang, while he led his 80,000 main force back to try to recapture Kuizhou.

It is naturally impossible for such a large-scale withdrawal to escape the eyes and ears of the Ming army.

Chen Qiyu said: "Prince Qi, the Western Bandits in Jiangbei have been mobilized frequently, and there seem to be signs of withdrawal!"

Li Xianzhong calculated that the time he had agreed with Zhang Zhiji was almost over.

Regardless of whether Zhang Zhiji succeeded or not, he should launch an attack!

There are currently 4 Liaodong troops in Wuchang City, plus Chen Qiyu's Ming troops.

However, all the capable generals around Li Xianzhong have been sent out. Although Chen Qiyu also has certain abilities, Li Xianzhong is still worried.

It would be too risky for Zuo Liangyu and Chen Qiyu to deal with Li Dingguo, the "famous king of two pouts" in history!

In the end he decided to take charge personally!

However, in order to capture Li Dingguo alive, he did not attack Hanyang City directly.

Instead, he ordered Zuo Liangyu to capture Huangpi from the north, and Chen Qiyu to cross the river from Quankou Town in the south of Hanyang, and outflank Hanyang City from the north and south wings.

Relying on the powerful mobility of the Liaodong cavalry, this goal was quickly achieved.

The naval guns of the Liaodong Navy directly destroyed the city wall of Hanyang, and then the Liaodong Army quickly entered the city.

Chen Qiyu said excitedly: "In this battle, a total of 2 Western thieves were annihilated, including more than prisoners!"

It is a pity that Li Dingguo did not appear among the 2 people. Of course, he was still called Zhang Dingguo at this time.

According to the prisoners' accounts, Zhang Dingguo left Hanyang on the night Zhang Xianzhong retreated.

Zhang Zhiji and his men had few troops, and it was obvious that they had to face the pressure from the east and west armies of the Great Western Army. Naturally, Li Xianzhong did not dare to delay for a moment.

He ordered Zuo Liangyu to lead an army to attack De'an and threaten Xiangyang; he also ordered Chen Qiyu to advance towards Chengtian Mansion and outflank Jiangling.

Then let the Liaodong Navy march toward Jiangling along the Yangtze River and cooperate with Mao Wenlong to capture Jiangling.

At this time, he has done everything he can do. Whether he can capture Zhang Xianzhong depends on whether Zhang Zhiji can hold Kuizhou.

Kuizhou is in danger of the Three Gorges. According to the original plan, Zhang Zhiji should shrink his troops to guard Wushan at the intersection of Daning River and Qutang Gorge.

However, Cao Bianjiao believed that although Wushan was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Zhang Xianzhong was placed in the Three Gorges area after all. Although it was difficult for large troops to pass through, he himself could easily escape from the small road.

Therefore, he chose to lead five thousand elite troops out of Sichuan to capture Badong.

Defending Badong completely closed the door to Sichuan, forming a "close the door and beat the dog" trend.

Of course, the risk of guarding Badong is also extremely high. After all, Wushan is not far from Fengjie City, so even if something changes, we can still get support.

But Badong is separated from Fengjie by the entire Three Gorges, so Cao Bianjiao can only fight alone!

Not long after Cao Bianjiao captured Badong, he encountered a counterattack from the Daxi Army.

Naturally, Zhang Xianzhong's main force did not return to the defense so quickly. He faced the 2 Western Army sent by Zhang Kewang from Jiangling.

Zhang Kewang knew the importance of Badong very well. Although Jiangling faced the threat from Mao Wenlong at this time, he still sent troops to recover Badong as soon as possible! From Jiangling to Kuizhou, the three places along the way, Yiling, Zigui and Badong, are the most important.

But compared to Yiling and Zigui, Badong's city seems much smaller.

Fortunately, Badong City is small, otherwise Cao Bianjiao's five thousand people would not be enough.

The person who was ordered to attack Badong was Zhang Kewang's general Bai Wenxuan.

As soon as they arrived in Badong, they launched into the attack without saying a word.

Badong is located at the easternmost end of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Although the city is not large, it is built close to the mountains and rivers.

It will not be easy to break through Badong.

Relying on the difficult terrain and the huge range advantage of Rumi Gun.

Cao Bianjiao and others were very relaxed.

A burst of rocks and rolling wood can cause considerable casualties to the Great Western Army.

The improved Lumi gun has an effective range of nearly 200 steps, making Bai Wenxuan pay a heavy price for every step forward!

Although the supervisory team of the Daxi Army prevented the siege team from retreating through killing, they still failed to capture Badong City.

Even the number of times they attacked the city was only a handful.

More than ten days later, when Zhang Xianzhong led the main force to Badong, he found that less than 2% of Bai Wenxuan's 3 troops were left!

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong had no good method, and it was definitely impossible to lure the enemy.

Time waits for no one, so he has no choice but to attack with force.

He ignored the hardships of traveling and quickly urged his soldiers to attack the city.

Although the Liaodong Army on the city repelled countless attacks by the Daxi Army, the enemies below the city were still densely packed, advancing one after another!

At this time, what Cao Bianjiao was most worried about happened. The Lumi guns in their hands had misfired due to too many shots.

The barrel of the blunderbuss that I carried with me has been replaced, and there is not much ammunition left!

Even the Daxi Army under the city felt that the sound of fire and gunfire on the city was becoming increasingly rare!

Zhang Xianzhong knew that the opportunity had come, and he shouted: "Everyone who captures Badong City will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and a hundred acres of fertile land!"

Although the corpses of the Daxi Army were already piled under Badong City at this time, there must be brave men under the heavy reward. Soon they rushed up like a chicken blood, shouting slogans!

Without the cover of Lumi Gun, it became much easier for the Daxi Army to climb the city wall.

Even the archers of the Daxi Army under the city fired bursts of arrows at the top of the city.

At this time Badong entered the most brutal hand-to-hand combat!

In terms of combat quality, the Liaodong Army wearing heavy cloth armor is naturally much stronger than the Daxi Army, not to mention they have the advantage of defending the city.

However, two fists cannot defeat four hands, and a hero cannot stand against the crowd.

After fighting for a long time, the Liaodong Army's physical strength has almost reached its limit!

At this time, a soldier shouted: "General Cao, use the thunder, otherwise the brothers will be unable to withstand it!"

Cao Bianjiao stabbed down a Western soldier in front of him with a spear and shouted: "Throw the thunder!"

At this time, the Liaodong Army on the other side of the city wall lit the fuses of the thunderbolts and threw them under the city.

A moment later, a deafening explosion came from under the city wall.

After the explosion, there were broken limbs and broken arms everywhere, as well as the screams of survivors!

This scene directly stunned the Western Army who followed.

I don't know who shouted: "The Ming army knows magic!"

The following troops ran away!

Without the support from the city, the Western troops on the city were naturally unable to resist, and were quickly driven back by the Ming army!

This is already the third day of Zhang Xianzhong's attack on Badong. If Bai Wenxuan's previous attack is included, the Ming army in Badong City has held on for fifteen days.

Although Zhang Xianzhong still wanted to fight again, he had no chance.

Zhang Kewang, who fled to Badong at this time, said: "Four days ago, Mao Wenlong and Chen Qiyu attacked Jiangling from front to back, and almost all of Ha'er's 40,000 troops were wiped out."

"They are heading towards Badong at this moment. Father, please retreat quickly!"

Zhang Xianzhong had lost 2 troops at Badong City in the past few days. How could he be willing to retreat at this time?

But now the Ming army's pursuers are coming in an instant. If he continues to stay in Badong, he may not even have a chance to escape!

Zhang Kewang said: "Father, we still have a strong Xiangyang City. As long as we can defend Xiangyang, we still have a chance!"

Finally, Zhang Xianzhong had no choice but to order: retreat to Xiangyang!

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(End of this chapter)