Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 149: Taking Gulouguan Pass by Strategy

The Imperial Guard had about 2,100 horses and a total of 2,000 soldiers, barely one horse per person. Even the most elite Imperial Guard and Cavalry Battalions only had slightly better horses. Only a very small number of scouts and officers above the rank of captain had two horses each.

In this surprise attack on Kunlun Pass, the cavalry battalion served as the vanguard and, in a rare act of luxury, used black beans as horse feed to drive the war horses to gallop at full speed.

On the evening of November 23, the vanguard of the cavalry battalion crossed the Hongshui River and was only one day away from Gulou Pass.

Intelligence Bureau detective Lu Shouyi has been waiting here for a long time to welcome the cavalry battalion commander Wu Jie.

"What's the situation at Gulou Pass?" Wu Jie couldn't wait to ask as soon as they met.

"The defenders were lax in their defense and had no idea that our army was about to attack the pass. We have a good opportunity to take advantage of it."

Gulou Pass is located on Gulou Mountain, 40 miles southwest of Binzhou. The area outside the pass belongs to Binzhou, and the area inside the pass belongs to Shanglin. It is the northern barrier of Kunlun Pass. If you want to capture Kunlun Pass, you must first capture Gulou Pass.

Before the Song Dynasty, people traveling from Nanning to Liuzhou and Guilin often took the ancient Moxiaguan Road on the east side of Daming Mountain. During the Xianping period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the government at that time dug a mountain road leading to Kunlun Pass by cutting through the cliffs of Gulou Mountain.

This is the famous Kunlun Road, the most important passage connecting Nanning to Guilin and Liuzhou. Kunlun Pass is known as the "Southern Natural Barrier". Since the Northern Song Dynasty, it has always been a battleground for military strategists, and wars have repeatedly broken out here.

Kunlun Pass is related to the safety of the border and has been valued by all dynasties. In the seventh year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, the Tong people in Bazhai revolted. Wang Shouren, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, led troops to suppress the uprising. He stationed troops at Kunlun Pass, rebuilt the pass city, and built a new pass tower. In February of this year, Emperor Yongli visited Nanning. In order to guard against Hao Yongzhong in Liuzhou, he ordered the deputy generals Zhu Huan and Zhao Kanglu to station troops at Kunlun Pass and rebuild the pass city.

Although Xu Biao was born in a humble family, he knew the importance of Kunlun Pass and sent troops to garrison Kunlun Pass and Gulou Pass. Binzhou, Shanglin County and other places outside the pass were still in the hands of Chen Bangfu.

If the Zhaoyong Army captured Nanning, they could station troops at Kunlun Pass and use the natural barrier to resist the northern troops, thus establishing their own separatist regime.

Not to mention whether we can capture Kunlun Pass, we have to take Gulou Pass first!
"How many troops do you need?" Wu Jie asked, and added: "My mission is to capture Gulou Pass and ensure that the army can reach Kunlun Pass on time. This matter is of vital importance. We must capture Gulou Pass at all costs."

"I know the importance of this." Lu Shouyi answered solemnly: "Most of our brothers in the Intelligence Bureau are at Kunlun Pass, and we still need the battalion commander at Gulou Pass. We don't need a lot of soldiers and horses, just pick forty or fifty smart and capable brothers. Too many people will easily arouse suspicion."

"Well, I'll wait for your good news outside the pass." Wu Jie asked, "When are you going to leave?"

"I plan to set out at the beginning of the morning tomorrow and reach Gulou Pass by the time of 3:00 pm. I hope to get through before the city gate closes. Commander, please follow my signal and take Gulou Pass before dark."

"Well," Wu Jie pondered for a moment and said, "Just tell me what you need. Our cavalry battalion and the intelligence bureau must work together to ensure that everything goes well."

"promise."

At 9 p.m. the next day, Lu Shouyi and his group of 18 people disguised themselves as merchants and arrived at Gulou Pass on time.

Although it was a turbulent time, Gulouguan was guarding the north-south passage of Guangxi, and there were still many travelers and merchants queuing to enter. There were sentries outside the pass for inspection, and because it was wartime, the sentries were checking very strictly.

But Xu Biao was born a bandit after all, and his main force was in Hengzhou and Yongchun, so the troops left to guard Kunlun Pass were not strong. Gulou Pass was not as important as Kunlun Pass, and the pass tower was renovated during the Jiajing period, and it had long been in disrepair and the defense was lax.

It was Lu Shouyi's turn to check the customs. A man who looked like an officer in the bandit army, with a rat-like face, asked arrogantly: "Where are you from? What do you do?"

"Sir, I am from Liuzhou. I came to Nanning to sell medicinal herbs. The mules and horses were loaded with medicinal herbs."

"Ten mules and horses, nine loads of medicinal herbs, what a big deal!" The officer laughed maliciously. Lu Shouyi was not in a hurry and said with a flattering smile: "General, I heard that Marshal Xu was raising troops to fight, and I thought that the Tian army might need medicinal herbs. I specially purchased a batch of high-quality medicinal herbs from Liuzhou and rushed to Nanning overnight to honor Marshal Xu."

Liuzhou is a place where Yao and Dong people live together, and there are many deep mountains and old forests that produce medicinal herbs. During the war, high-quality medicinal herbs became even more precious.

"You profiteers are just like flies. You rush over at the slightest sign of trouble." The officer also came from a lower class background. He believed that all profiteers are profiteers and had no good feelings towards businessmen.

"Look at your behavior, with your spears and swords, you don't look like serious businessmen. Brothers, check them carefully!"

The soldiers understood and started to laugh flatteringly. They were guarding the gate, so they could take the opportunity to exploit the merchants and get some money to supplement their family income.

Lu Shouyi quickly took out a silver ingot, stuffed it into the officer's hand, and said, "Sir, this is a small gift from me. Use it to buy wine for the brothers."

The officer was not surprised. He weighed the silver and found it was about four or five taels. He said contentedly, "Brother, you are a real man, but we brothers serve under Marshal Xu and eat food. We have to do our duty and we still have to conduct the necessary inspections."

"General, you are wise." Lu Shouyi sighed and explained, "The current situation is chaotic, and there are often thieves on the road. We are a small business and cannot afford to hire an escort agency, so we have to prepare a spear and a sword to give ourselves courage."

The officer was not surprised and ordered his soldiers to just go through the motions and investigate any suspicious circumstances.

First, check if the mules and horses are suspicious. If there are marks, they may be military horses, and the people coming may be spies of the enemy army, so you must be extremely cautious. Second, check if the materials they carry are suspicious. If they are not ordinary goods, you need to question them carefully. Third, check if the people are suspicious. If there are calluses on their hands, they may be soldiers pretending to be soldiers.

"The calluses on your hands are quite thick. You look like a martial artist or a military man," the officer asked maliciously.

Lu Shouyi was a leader among the scouts, and his rank was assigned to be a sentry leader. He had a strong psychological quality and said calmly, "I dare not hide it from you, sir. I have indeed practiced martial arts and often go up the mountain to collect herbs. I am familiar with the prices of herbs, so I am trusted by the boss and led the team to transport this batch of herbs."

The answer was flawless. The officer pointed to a load of herbs and asked, "What is this called? What is its use?"

Lu Shouyi had done his homework in advance and answered confidently: "This is called Huangjing, which can be used for weak spleen and stomach, fatigue, dry mouth and poor appetite, dry cough due to lung deficiency, insufficient essence and blood, internal heat and thirst..."

"Enough, enough. You businessmen are the best at deceiving customers and are very eloquent." The officer waved his hands impatiently and interrupted Lu Shouyi.

The sentinels had searched through the load of herbs, and at the end there was a load with a foot-long box in the back. It was made of red sandalwood, inlaid with pearls and jade, and had an exquisite copper lock on the outside. Needless to say, there must be treasures inside.

The officer showed a greedy look in his eyes and asked, "What is this?"

Lu Shouyi looked nervous and said, "Sir, to be honest, there are two old ginsengs in there. They are top-quality goods. My boss is going to give them to Marshal Xu as a gift."

The officer's face showed murderous intent, and his eyes rolled around. Honoring Marshal Xu? The profiteer couldn't possibly have such intentions, and most likely he wanted to bring up Marshal Xu to scare people.

There must be treasures inside, so why not just kill them and take it for yourself? It is common for government troops to rob and kill merchants when they are stationed at the border. However, this matter is serious and needs to be discussed with the city guards.

He had made up his mind and said with a smile: "We are very grateful for your kindness. Please enter the city gate and I will report to the garrison commander so that we can show our hospitality to the host."

(End of this chapter)