Great Qing Dynasty talker

Lin Huaisheng said coldly:
"Grain Supervisor, please record this."

"The first military order is to notify the defenders of Guyuan, Huating, and Longxian to immediately burn down the city walls and cover the wells. Retreat eastward and merge into Qingyang Prefecture, Pingliang Prefecture, and Baoji County. Hold this line of defense and block the possibility of the northwestern rebels fleeing to Shaanxi."

"Second military order, notify Xi'an that there is no need to transport food to the army. The army will leave the mountains soon and can collect food on the Ningxia Plain."

The grain inspector finished writing it hastily.

After Lin Huaisheng reviewed it, he stamped it.

The senior staff officer at the side asked:

"Does Marshal Lin want to clear the countryside?"

Lin Huaisheng explained seriously, "I'm familiar with this area. The people here are tough and the ravines are crisscrossed. It's a good place to hide people. If the enemy is determined to deal with our army, it will be very troublesome."

"So, Marshal Lin plans to start with logistics?"

"Yes. The biggest weakness of this area is supplies. This bitter cold place cannot support a large army without work."

……

Lin Huaisheng continued to give orders:

"Starting tomorrow, soldiers will burn down any villages they encounter along the way, cover up any wells, and destroy any nearby bodies of water."

"If the people are willing to migrate, they can follow the army on foot, and the government will be responsible for moving them to the land with abundant water and grass in the western region."

"Those who openly disobey will be killed."

after that,

The army galloped all the way.

After marching silently on the wilderness for 10 days, they successively captured Tongxin Castle, Hexi Town, Hongsi Fort, and Zhong'an Fort.

Stationed by the Yellow River.

Looking at the rolling Yellow River.

Lin Huaisheng rarely sent people to the nearby area to look for an old acquaintance of his when he was a swordsman. Although he did not return home in glory, he still wanted to repay his friends.

……

Mingsha Castle.

Ma Qingshu, the original shareholder of Xiliang State and former general of Ningxia, paced back and forth in the room, feeling anxious.

He has realized that the current Wu army is more terrifying than the Wu army in the Battle of Jiangbei.

"General, should we fight or retreat?"

"Keep digging the mountain, don't stop for a moment. My Mingsha Castle is not so easy to chew."

"Whoo."

Mingsha Fort is a sturdy fortress built by hollowing out half of a mountain.

The 3-foot-thick natural stone wall on the outside can even protect against ordinary artillery shells.

It is located on a high ground and has sufficient food and ammunition.

It is no exaggeration to say that it is the strongest city in the Ningxia Plain.

It had been under construction for two and a half years, and several thousand laborers had died. There were mountains of food and grass inside, and the soldiers were all men of great determination.

……

It's funny to say.

In the battle of Yangzhou in Jiangbei, the Qing army suffered a crushing defeat.

Ma Qingshu, the general of Ningxia, who had escaped, was entrusted by Wang Tingzan, the governor of Gansu, to build this fort to block the rising rebels in the province. (At that time, it was Ningxia Prefecture, Gansu Province.)
As a result, the Qing Dynasty fell.

Gansu Governor Wang Tingzan packed his bags and fled with his family to join Wu.

Looking at the flag of Xiliang Kingdom fluttering in the wind.

The soldiers cheered wildly:
"Long live the Xiliang Kingdom."

Every day, the defenders in the fort would cheer like this several times. This was their ideal and their belief in fighting.

The feeling of working for yourself is different.

……

"Fourth brother, you are here."

Ma Qingmu was exhausted. He picked up the tea bowl and drank it down in one gulp. He had run all the way from Lanzhou Prefecture to Ningxia Prefecture and was indeed exhausted.

"Third brother, let's retreat quickly."

"Don't withdraw."

There was silence in the house.

The two brothers were huffing and puffing a bowl of noodles each.

After eating, Ma Qingshu wiped his mouth:

"My eldest brother is dead. You and my second brother should guard Lanzhou. Be careful."

Ma Qingmu said:
"I don't agree with defending the city. If we get more cavalry, they can come and go like the wind. Why should we defend the city so hard?"

Ma Qingshu slammed the table in annoyance:
"You silly boy, you don't want any city. What is our Xiliang Kingdom? Are we horse bandits? How can we call on the heroes in the northwest?"

"Ah~"

……

Mingsha Castle.

It's like a construction site, with stonemasons busy all the time.

The sledgehammer hit the iron wire, sparks flew, and gravel fell.

"I have hollowed out half of the mountain. Look, with such a strong fortress, what can Wu Jun use to attack it?" Ma Qingshu sneered, "Unless his shells have eyes and can explode."

"Where's the food?"

"Enough to feed the 3000 men in the fort for two years."

The entire mountain looks like a concrete building, covered with windows.

It has been dug into 7 layers, and each layer has dozens of holes of different sizes. The small ones can be used for shooting guns and arrows, and the large ones can be used for cannon bombardment.

Morale is high.

Men from the Northwest are not afraid of death.

In the past, we fought for the imperial court, but this time we fight for our own people.

"Brothers, you are all loyal subjects and heroes of our Xiliang Kingdom. Defend Mingsha Fort and let 50 soldiers of the Central Plains Dynasty die."

The soldiers shouted enthusiastically:
"Long live!"

……

Walking out of Mingsha Castle, Ma Qingshu whispered:

"Fourth brother, hurry up and leave. The Wu army hasn't blocked the Ningxia Plain yet. When they have more soldiers, it will be difficult for you to leave."

"Tell the brothers in Lanzhou that if they want the Central Plains Dynasty to recognize the Western Liang Kingdom, they must defeat the Central Plains Dynasty at least three times!"

"If they miss one more time, they won't be convinced."

"We must unite and never quarrel among ourselves."

Ma Qingmu jumped onto the horse.

The 20 riders went west and disappeared from sight.

Ma Qingshu returned to the house to wipe his weapons.

suddenly,

He felt the ground shake slightly, grabbed his machete and rushed out of the house, colliding with a henchman.

"Enemy attack, a large group of cavalry."

……

To the east, smoke and dust were rolling.

The Wu army's light cavalry corps arrived.

The veiled Wu Simai lightly pulled the reins and rode on the waves, with thousands of troops following behind him.

More than 8000 cavalry surrounded Mingsha Fort.

A Torghut man reined in his horse and said:

"Commander, the Xiliang Army just ran away! There are horse hoof prints on the ground, smoke and dust in the sky, and the fallen horse manure is still fresh."

"You, take 500 cavalrymen to chase after them and bring back the head."

"Yes."

A cavalry detachment dropped the bedding rolls they were carrying and gave chase lightly, with each man riding two horses.

……

Inside Mingsha Fort.

Ma Qingshu was very worried and silently prayed to the gods to protect his brother so that he could escape this disaster.

He used a telescope to observe the Wu army's formation, and Wusimai was also using a telescope to observe the fortress's defenses.

The two people's eyes met in the air, and each of them cursed: "Damn it."

Both sides exercised restraint and there was no exchange of fire.

Wusimai waited for the infantry to come with the cannons before gnawing at this incredibly solid turtle shell.

Naturally, Ma Qingshu would not come out to provoke, but quietly deployed firepower and continued digging.

……

After running for two hours, the Torghut people finally saw the enemy's backs, and there were only a few dozen of them.

The advantage is mine.

Everyone excitedly drew their swords and raised them high above their heads, and the unique intimidating howls of the grassland rang out one after another.

Ma Qingmu lay on the horse's back and looked back, secretly thinking that something was wrong.

"Abandon the baggage and disperse."

The 20 cavalrymen following him split up on the spot.

The Torghut people also split up and held on tightly.

2 quarters of an hour later,
The horse's speed began to decrease.

The horses on both sides could not bear it anymore.

……

In front of them, the figures of Wu army infantry suddenly appeared.

When an infantry platoon that was collecting grain saw an enemy attack, they could not distinguish friend from foe and overturned the grain cart to use it as an obstacle.

The soldiers squatted behind the grain carts with flintlock rifles and fired freely.

Gunfire rang out.

Ma Qingmu groaned inwardly.

Suddenly, the warhorse under him was shot, let out a whine, and its front hooves went limp.

He flew out and rolled a long way.

When the guards saw their master fall off his horse, they hurriedly urged their horses to rush over to rescue him.

The non-commissioned officer hiding behind the grain bag witnessed this and immediately realized that this was a big fish.

Shouting:

"Brothers, kill that enemy general."

Ma Qingmu was shot repeatedly in the back and fell to the ground with blood gushing out.

Seeing that friendly troops were blocking the road ahead, the Torghuts promptly displayed a "Thousand-mile Horse" flag to identify themselves, which meant that the Western Expedition Army had finally joined forces. …

4 days later,

There was smoke in the air in front of Mingsha Fort.

The Wu army assembled more than 100 cannons of various calibers and launched a fierce bombardment.

The sound of cannons was like thunder.

On the hillside, gravel rolled down.

Inside the fort, the Xiliang army just sat there and did not fight back.

Ma Qingshu walked around, encouraging everyone:

"Let him bombard and hit as he pleases."

“Even if Mingsha Castle is bombarded with 10,000 shells, it will still be Mingsha Castle.”

Half an hour later,
Li Xiaowu took the initiative to stop the artillery.

When the smoke cleared, he took a deep breath.

"We're in big trouble."

……

On that day, under the cover of shield carts, the Wu army infantry launched two attacks.

The area in front of the fort is bumpy and difficult to navigate, so it must be filled up first.

One hour was wasted and more than 1 people were killed or injured.

The mountain-splitting cannon in the fort spewed out flames from time to time.

The Wu army was almost unable to suppress the mountain-splitting cannons hidden within the stone wall.

It took a lot of effort to fill up those gullies.

We found that the mountain where Mingsha Fort is located is smooth, and the only passage up the mountain has narrow stone steps that can only accommodate one person.

After more than 200 casualties, Li Xiaowu decisively called a halt to the attack.

Order the artillery to use the only two 2-pound cannons to bombard and observe the damage.

Ultimately, he decided it didn't mean much.

……

"Commander?"

"You see, artillery can hardly drill into the stone wall. Unless the shells drill directly into the hole and hit the inside. This is too difficult and the probability is very low. If it depends entirely on human lives, who dares to bet on how much gunpowder is stored in this fort?"

The staff officers nodded silently.

The artillery officers also sighed as they looked at the fort.

Veterans can see that the casualties from a full-scale attack would be terrifying.

If things go wrong, even half the legion won’t be able to fill it.

……

"Send someone to ask Marshal Lin for instructions, and tell him that Mingsha Fort is strong. I suggest not to attack it for the time being, but to set up a long-term siege instead."

The next day,

Lin Huaisheng’s reply came.

"Yes."

One infantry battalion, one cavalry company, and one field artillery company were left behind to carry out the long-term siege.

The soldiers recruited more than 1000 nearby laborers and dug a circular encirclement of Mingsha Fort consisting of three trenches and three low walls.

Four barracks and more than 4 wooden lookout towers were built.

The cavalry camped a mile away to ensure that no one could escape.

The soldiers also pulled back the bodies of Ma Qingmu and his group, pierced them with wooden sticks, and left them in the sun to dry.

The soldiers did not know Ma Qingmu's identity and only thought that he was sent by Mingsha Castle to contact reinforcements, thinking that this might help to undermine the morale of the enemy.

……

The Wu army knew the purpose of the Xiliang army, and the Xiliang army also knew what the Wu army was thinking.

In short, everyone can only wait and see.

Whoever loses patience first and attacks first will be finished first.

Consumption!
Until all the food in one area is eaten up.

The days of siege were quiet and boring.

Soldiers from both sides patrolled, sat in a daze, and basked in the sun every day. Sometimes they got too idle and went crazy and started cursing at each other.

……

The Wu army tried to persuade them to surrender, but to no avail.

The enemies in the fort were very stubborn and arrogant.

After a routine patrol, during lunch time, cavalry lieutenant Wu Laoer suddenly said:
"There must be a well in the fort."

Everyone nodded.

"Second Lieutenant, this place is not far from the Yellow River, the groundwater level is not low, and digging a well is not difficult."

Wu Laoer was eating rice while mumbling:
"Sooner or later their food will run out."

The crowd echoed in a mess.

However, I always feel tired just wasting time like this.

The soldiers, who were bored to death, couldn't help but offer suggestions.

For example:

Flooding the seven armies, casting curses, driving cannon fodder, throwing in sick and dead corpses and so on.

……

The lieutenant in charge of the siege mission did not dare to make a decision on his own. He asked his superiors for instructions seriously, but was rejected.

Driving cannon fodder and throwing in sick bodies are both feasible in theory.

but,

Lin Huaisheng had concerns.

He and senior military officers and staff were all worried about getting out of control and the disease spreading without distinguishing between friend and foe.

Forcing civilians to serve as cannon fodder can easily arouse local public anger and lead to instability in the rear.

Therefore, his military order to the lieutenant was very clear:
"Just a long and patient siege."

"After the army controls Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai, we will drive the captives here to consume the gunpowder from Mingsha Fort."

……

However, Wu Laoer still came up with an idea.

熏！
When the wind direction was right, they would pull the homemade catapult and throw the wet straw bales nearby.

Add some sulfur, chili pepper, and kerosene to increase the power of the smoke.

I'll focus on one thing. Although I can't kill you, I won't let you have your pleasure either.

First I make you cry, then I make you bleed.

Wu Jun was bored, so he did this.

The defenders in the fort were filled with resentment and finally could not suppress their anger and took the initiative to attack.

The Wu army fired their guns and artillery, and the defenders left behind hundreds of corpses. They suddenly realized their mistake and decided to stay in the fort like turtles no matter what happened outside.

They are eating up all the food and waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

……

More than half a month later, more than 10,000 Wu troops arrived at the bank of the Yellow River along a section of the later Beijing-Tibet Expressway.

Along the way,

There is a lack of water and food from time to time.

This is a trouble that Wu Jun has hardly encountered since he started his business - a logistical crisis.

The eastern region is densely populated and has many rivers, so there is no worry of running out of food or water.

During the expedition to the southwest, we did encounter the problem of transporting food over long distances, but we did not suffer from water shortage.

When we arrived in the northwest, we were short of food and water.

In terms of logistics, it is also impossible to use the Yellow River to transport supplies.

……

Lanzhou City is on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The floating bridge above the river still exists at this time.

There are two reasons why the Xiliang Army did not dismantle the pontoon bridge in advance:
First, it was difficult and expensive to rebuild after demolishing it. Second, it was difficult for the Wu army to attack on the pontoon bridge under the fire of artillery and rockets.

Out of caution, they prepared a large amount of flaming oil on the south side of the pontoon.

If you can't hold it, you can set fire at any time.

On the north bank of the Yellow River, there is Baita Mountain next to the river.

The Xiliang Army set up three camps here, stationed 1800 soldiers and equipped with 10 artillery pieces, serving as the gateway to Lanzhou.

The Wu army used 300 surrendered soldiers of the Eight Banners wearing heavy armor as the vanguard, and the armored soldiers of the expeditionary army followed.

After a fierce attack of one hour, they captured the hilltop.

At the temple on the top of the mountain, the corpses of the two armies were spread all the way from the stone steps to the main hall.

It turns out that

Heavy Armor Commandos are still effective.

At this point, the Western Expedition Army completely controlled the north bank of the Yellow River.

……

Lin Huaisheng was ecstatic.

Through the telescope, the Lanzhou city wall on the opposite bank was bustling with activity, flags flying, and cannons pointed at the enemy.

There are many camps along the Yellow River.

Soldiers patrolled back and forth, and the deer camp was surrounded by trenches.

He put down the telescope and suddenly laughed:
"That's great, it's all here."

A consultant made fun of it:

"Marshal Lin, you worry too much. Lanzhou~ ahem, is what they call the new capital of Xiliang. If we don't defend it, Xiliang will be destroyed."

The officers were all amused.

……

For the current Wu army, the most favorite combat mode is when the enemy gathers troops, either by defending the city or fighting in the field.

It is convenient for our side to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

What we dislike most is the enemy hiding in the mountains and forests, or becoming bandits.

Strictly speaking, horse bandits are the most harmful.

The northwest desert is sparsely populated. If there are a dozen gangs of hundreds of horse bandits shuttling back and forth, roaming around without fighting, burning, killing and looting, it would be a logistical nightmare.

Wu Jun hates fighting security battles. (End of this chapter)