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

Chapter 152: The Great Pass Stands Alone to Suppress the Southern Sky

At 9:00 pm on the 27th, the early winter sun had risen, dispelling the fog on Mount Kunlun. Guangxi is located in the south, and the winter is not cold. In the breeze, the grass and trees on Mount Kunlun swayed their green leaves, seeming to contain endless vitality.

Looking around, there are still many huge trees on the distant hills. However, near Kunlun Pass, the hills are bare, and the trees were probably cut down to build the city or used as firewood.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside and outside Kunlun Pass is tense, and a great war is about to begin.

Cen Danchu led his personal guards to approach Kunlun Pass and stopped 300 steps in front of the pass. The road in front of the pass gradually widened and expanded in a fan shape, but the flat area was limited and it was impossible to deploy a large group of troops.

The soldiers all dismounted and fought on foot. The personal guards formed several columns in front of the pass, while the cavalry camp climbed up the hill on the right side of the pass. The firearms camp had two musket teams and two artillery teams, which climbed up the hill on the left side to respond to the cavalry camp. The training team moved with the firearms camp and was responsible for protecting the firearms camp.

Kunlun Mountain is a rolling, steep mountain range. It was not easy for the soldiers to climb the mountain to gather, and it was even more difficult to attack Kunlun Pass from the hills. If the troops could not form a battle array on the mountain, it would be difficult for them to maintain their organization, and they could not even maintain their formation, let alone attack!
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist Army bravely fought against the Japanese invaders near Kunlun Pass. This was the most brutal battle in the history of Kunlun Pass, and the two sides repeatedly fought for every hill outside Kunlun Pass. At that time, the infantry skirmish tactics had been quite mature, and the Nationalist soldiers were dispersed into groups of three or five people, and they could also fight against the experienced Japanese invaders.

With the current level of technology and the training level of the Zhaoyong Army, let alone using skirmish tactics to attack the city, being able to climb to the top of the hill without chaos has already made Danchu quite satisfied.

Trapped by the terrain of Kunlun Pass, Danchu could only deploy his troops in this way. This undoubtedly posed a great risk, but it could also deter the defenders. The Zhaoyong Army spread all over the mountains and plains, giving the defenders the illusion that they were enemies everywhere.

Fortunately, the defenders were a motley crowd. If the Zhaoyong army was guarding the pass, Danchu would have ordered the gate to be opened and the enemy would have attacked. The enemy was crowded on Kunlun Road, and the hills on both sides were unstable, so they would have been defeated in one blow.

The Zhaoyong Army was not in a hurry to launch an attack, as if they were waiting for something. The defenders also kept their composure and did not blindly fire their artillery.

Lu Shouyi came over, looking frustrated, and whispered to Danchu: "The scouts inside the city can't be contacted, and the letter of persuasion to surrender has been sent in, but there is no response. According to the scouts outside the city..."

The Intelligence Bureau had scouts lurking inside and outside the city. On the evening of the 24th, Wu Jie led the cavalry to pursue the defeated troops and tried to take advantage of the chaos to attack Kunlun Pass. The scouts in the city responded and set fire to the pass. The defenders closed the gates, put out the fire, and sent messengers to Nanning for help. As Danchu expected, Nanning could not send reinforcements, or the reinforcements were still on the way.

The scouts outside the pass were hiding in an inn. Yesterday, the Zhaoyong Army released a group of prisoners, among whom were a dozen soldiers. The guards were on high alert and would not let anyone in, not even their own comrades. The prisoners kept cursing, but they could do nothing.

Kunlun Pass is tall and majestic, the city wall is brand new, and the defensive fortifications are sound, which makes it awe-inspiring.

He Guozuo, the captain of the first squadron of personal soldiers, looked worried and could not help asking, "Marshal, are we really going to storm Kunlun Pass?"

The soldiers were worried and fearful, which was not a good sign. Danchu was anxious, but he tried to remain calm and said with a smile:

"The Art of War says, 'To conquer the enemy without fighting is the best of all'. China is a vast country with many famous mountains, rivers, and dangerous passes. It is a natural barrier to stop the Tartar invaders. Since the Tartar invaders entered the pass, the pass has been useless. The defenders either fled or surrendered without fighting, and few died in battle. Kunlun Pass looks magnificent, but it is actually a rotten shell. Our Zhaoyong Army marched hundreds of miles to attack Nanning, how could we be stopped by the defenders of Kunlun Pass?"

He Guozuo felt relieved after hearing this and said, "It's all Wu Sangui's fault for accepting the enemy as his father and handing over the natural barrier of Shanhaiguan to the Tartars. Otherwise, the Tartars might have been able to pass through the pass, but how could they have occupied the Central Plains?"

"Yes." Danchu said: "No matter how the Eight Banners boasted of their military power, they were never able to capture Shanhaiguan from the front. Since Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and led the Eight Banners to defeat the Dashun Army, the world began to collapse. "After that, except for the Dashun Army's battle with the Eight Banners at Tongguan, most of the passes in various places were abandoned. For example, Fujian originally had Shanguan and Xianxiaguan as barriers, and Guangxi's Yanguan and Zhenxiaguan were enough to form a separatist trend.

"The Ming army destroyed the Great Wall, abandoned Shanguan and Xianxiaguan, and let the Tartar invaders march straight in. Fujian was lost, and Zheng Zhilong was guilty of a crime that cannot be forgiven. Xu Biao started out as a bandit, and he is very different from Zheng. Now the guards of Kunlunguan are isolated and helpless, and I don't think they will fight to the death..."

A brief chat restored the confidence of He Guozuo and others. The soldiers were relieved to see that their commander was calm and composed.

After a while, Deputy Commander Feng Lin came over, shook his head, and then said, "Marshal, I went to ask questions outside the gate. No one responded at first, but then someone came out and said that they had received the Marshal's letter and were asking for instructions from Nanning."

"Damn it, if you want to surrender, just surrender. Why are you asking for permission?"

"This is clearly a delaying tactic!"

Danchu thought for a moment and asked, "What position does that person hold? What's his tone?"

"He claimed to be the deputy general, and was said to be Xu Biao's cousin. He was wearing armor, so his appearance could not be identified. His tone was quite polite, neither humble nor arrogant."

"Oh," Danchu was disappointed, but he remained calm on the surface, and said with a smile: "It seems that the defenders are already timid, and there may be disagreements among them. It will be easy for our army to break through the pass."

We can only place our hopes on the 200-man special force. Yesterday, the chieftain of the horse head came to see us and said there was a small path leading to Jiutang.

Kunlun Mountain, where Kunlun Pass is located, is a remnant of Daming Mountain, surrounded by mountains. In the middle, there is a Kunlun Road connecting the north and the south, connecting Guilin and Nanning. Kunlun Pass is located in the middle of Kunlun Road, like the throat of the esophagus, and is known as "a majestic pass standing alone to suppress the southern sky".

From Kunlun Pass to the north, through the 20-li Kunlun Road, you will reach Gulou Pass, which is the northern barrier of Kunlun Pass. There are three beacon towers along the way, and each tower can be garrisoned. The Zhaoyong Army attacked Gulou Pass by surprise, and the garrisons along the way abandoned the towers and retreated to the south, and the northern barrier of Kunlun Pass was lost.

From Kunlun Pass to the south, there are a series of important passes, including Wuming Mountain, Laohuling, Kunlun Mountain, etc. The most dangerous one is Gaofeng Pass, 30 miles west of the pass. From Nanning to Kunlun Pass, there are nine stations, including Datang, Ertang, Santang, Sitang, Wutang, Liutang, Qitang, Batang, and Jiutang.

Danchu sent two hundred elite soldiers to take a small path to Jiutang to threaten the retreat of the enemy at Kunlun Pass. It was agreed that the attack would be launched at noon, with the main force attacking Kunlun Pass and the surprise force attacking Jiutang.

Although there were self-ringing clocks in the Ming Dynasty, they were expensive, and the army was still accustomed to using traditional methods such as clepsydra and rosary beads to tell time when marching and fighting. Danchu went against the majority opinion and equipped each standard with a self-ringing clock.

The time is almost up, but the defenders still have no intention of surrendering. Unless they are forced to do so, they will not surrender.

Danchu resolutely ordered an attack. With a cannon shot, the central army raised two flags, one yellow and one red. The soldiers of the Zhaoyong Army, who had been waiting for a long time, began to get busy. On the valley road and the hillside, the soldiers began to advance slowly.

(End of this chapter)