A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 719
On the seventh day of September, at the urging of Yang Wenyue, Ding Qirui summoned all the officials and generals to hold the seventh meeting in Kaifeng City Governor's Xingyuan. Sitting in a sensual posture, trying to maintain the supervisor's graceful manner, in fact, he felt extremely headache.

All kinds of vulgar or angry voices in the meeting hall were still echoing in the hall just now, but it was Hu Dawei, Jiang Mingwuren, etc. who had a fierce quarrel with Zuo Liangyu and others, but Ding Qirui could only sit and persuade him a few times. sentence.

Although he is a supervisor, he actually has no power, and no warrior seems to take Ding Qirui seriously. The position of supervisor has become a joke.

Ding Qirui was secretly annoyed at the domineering and rebellious warriors nowadays, so he could only persuade him gently, there was nothing else he could do.

He slowly looked at everyone, the first person on the left was of course Governor Yang Wenyue of Baoding, followed by Governor Gao Mingheng of Henan, Governor Su Jing, Zuo Buzheng Liang Bing, Guardian Su Zhuang, Military Supervisor Guo Zaijue, and the prefect Wu Shidao and others, these civil servants all frowned.

The one sitting on the right is respected by Baoding General Soldier Hu Dawei, then Zuo Liangyu, General Soldier of Pingzei Town, Chen Yongfu, General Soldier of Henan Province, Yang Dezheng, Fang Guoan, etc., and the rest are all generals. , or Kaifeng Dusi Zhang Wurui, Ren Zhen, Su Jianle and others only stood in the back row.

However, the former deputy commander of Xiaoqi Zuoying in Tongzhen Town, Jiang Mingwu, the governor of the Biaozhong Army in Baoding Town, is also in the position. Jiang Mingwu is quite brave. , The two sides quarreled and almost fought.

Of course Hu Dawei was helping Jiang Mingwu. At this moment, his Chinese general Hu Zichen was standing behind him, glaring at Zuo Liangyu's deputy Wang Yuncheng and his son Zuo Menggeng.

Chen Yongfu persuaded the two sides to be harmonious, and Yang Dezheng and Fang Guoan were also in harmony, but the two were more open to Zuo Liangyu.

Earlier, the second town was ambushed by rogues several times, and all the soldiers under his command suffered a great loss, so they had to coerce some refugees into starving soldiers. On the other hand, Zuo Liangyu defeated the rogues in Shangcai, with tens of thousands of troops, his prestige grew stronger.

In addition, Zuo Liangyu's handling of things is very suitable for them. If nothing else, the two sides have quite a common language in terms of killing good people and pretending to be meritorious. Indistinctly form an alliance.

The towns were at odds, and the civil servants had a headache, but they had to rely on them to fight the battle. When the generals were arguing earlier, Yang Wenyue naturally joined in the persuasion.

His official words with a Sichuan Nanchong accent echoed in the hall: "The general is powerful in the sea, the country favors Yulong, and now the big thief is approaching Bian, and the danger is at stake. If you sit and watch, the thief is trapped in Bian, why does the general thank the court? "

Yang Wenyue's outstretched fingers were still trembling, expressing the pain in his heart. Seeing Yang Wenyue's agitation with righteousness, Zuo Liangyu only said indifferently: "The officers and soldiers are single and weak, and the bandits are sharp. If you rush out of the city to fight, you may be killed If it is lost, Bianjing will have nothing to rely on, and the meaning of this town is also for the sake of prudence!"

Yang Dezheng and Fang Guoan also echoed their voices, and Yang Dezheng said: "What Zuo Zhen said is very true. It is better for us to set up troops to fortify the city and suppress bandits with cameras than to rush into battle. This is the best policy!"

Looking at the three of them, Jiang Mingwu just sneered, and Yang Wenyue persuaded them again, presenting the facts and making sense.

Zuo Liangyu was silent, he stroked his luxurious raccoon fur thick velvet cape, and seemed to move, Yang Wenyue was overjoyed, and tried harder to persuade, and all the civil servants in the hall also joined in the persuasion, Zuo Liangyu had a smug smile on his face.

In fact, he thought over and over again these days, and felt that Yang Wenyue's strategy was also good. Although there were not 40 officers and soldiers, there were still 10,000+. Although these soldiers and horses dare not say that they can defeat the bandits, they can at least stand on the ground. Invincible, if you win...

After thinking about it, he was also moved. The reason why he hesitated to agree was just posturing and putting on airs.

Moreover, most of the [-] bird guns in the imperial court were allocated to his battalion, and the money to buy them was not much. Zuo Liangyu couldn't put it down. Although he hated Wang Dou, it is undeniable that the guns he made The weapons are still pretty good.

Due to cost considerations, Zuo Liangyu seldom equips the army with large-scale firearms, but if there is a supply of cheap and sophisticated firearms, he will naturally not refuse.

In addition, everyone in the hall from the supervisor to the governor to the local governor gave him enough face. Zuo Liangyu's face was extremely radiant. Finally, he let go and agreed to go along with the flow. Immediately, the hall was full of joy, only Zuo Liangyu secretly disdainful , What is the governor, the governor, I have soldiers is everything.

Seeing that Zuo Liangyu finally agreed categorically and no longer shy away from the battle, Jiang Mingwu had an embarrassed look on his face. Although he was a soldier in poetry and calligraphy and was born as a Jinshi in Wu, he was a person with clear grievances and grudges and a bold personality. I just felt that I had misunderstood earlier Zuo Liangyu, a little bit of a villain's heart to judge a gentleman's belly.

He got up and sincerely apologized to Zuo Liangyu: "The general was disrespectful earlier, please punish Zuo Zhen!"

Zuo Liangyu flicked up his luxurious thick velvet raccoon fur cloak, he took a step forward, raised Jiang Mingwu's arms, and said in a stern tone, "Brother Yang, do you think this town is so small? people?"

His eyes were majestic, and his expression was sincere: "The previous disputes, the towns just disagreed with each other in military strategy, but they were all right and wrong, and they were all for the sake of the Ming court. in this way?"

"it is good!"

"Zuo Zhen said it well!"

All the officials in the hall cheered one after another, Yang Wenyue laughed heartily, seeing Zuo Liangyu's persuasion moved him, he felt a little complacent in his heart, Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu looked at each other and smiled, both felt that although Zuo Liangyu was not good at dealing with him, he had a big joint Still stand up.

Ding Qirui was also very happy. All the towns are united and united as one. This battle will definitely defeat the bandits. He said loudly: "We are all loyal to the autumn of crisis. A piece of heart will be immortal with the rivers and mountains!"

Afterwards, Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue spoke to each other in a friendly manner, and then the generals interjected occasionally, and decided to give their strategies one by one, and decided to do their best to fight the bandits in the area of ​​Zhuxian Town. He bowed deeply to everyone: "It's about the rise and fall of the emperor, the safety of the country, please, gentlemen!"

Yang Wenyue and others looked serious, Hu Dawei, Zuo Liangyu and others also stood still, and everyone shouted: "I am willing to die for the imperial court!"

……

On the ninth day of September in the 15th year of Chongzhen, Ding Qirui led more than 40 Ming troops in several towns, with a public number of [-], and marched to Zhuxian Town to gather and camp. Greeted with guns and halberds.

At this time, Li Zicheng and other three families, known as millions, forced them to Chenliu at the same time, in the Zhuxian Township. The two sides set up their own camps ten miles away. , Wopu camp is endless.

At this time, the thieves are arrogant, but the morale of the officers and soldiers is not weak, and a bloody battle is inevitable.

Countless people are paying attention to this life-and-death battle. If the officers and soldiers win, they will not only break the siege of Kaifeng immediately, but also destroy the main force of the rogues, and remove this serious worry for the court. If Li Zicheng and others win, they can defeat the main force of the Ming army. The Central Plains is no longer invincible, and Kaifeng City is even more in the bag.

On September 15th, [-]th year of Chongzhen, the two sides went to war, and they lined up their troops in a decisive battle. On the side of the Ming army, Ding Qirui supervised the standard battalion and Yang Wenyue Baoding Cheying as the central army. Zuo Liangyu, Yang Dezheng, The three towns of Fang Guoan are left-wing, and the three towns of Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, and Jiang Mingwu are right-wing.

This is because Ding Qirui considered Zuo Liangyu and other soldiers to be numerous and miscellaneous, so he put more soldiers and horses on the left wing, and Hu Dawei and others had fewer soldiers, but the elite men and horses are enough to live on one wing, and there are also cavalry from various towns. The local miscellaneous soldiers lived in the rear, serving as garrison reinforcements for the entire formation.

In order to encourage the soldiers, Ding Qirui beat the drum himself and shouted: "Kill the thief, kill the thief!"

Li Zicheng was still the same old way, charging the formation with a steady stream of hungry people, but only attacking the central army with hungry soldiers, and attacking with cavalry on both wings, the momentum was like a tide.

As an observer, Wen Shiyan lived in the Chinese army to watch the battle, surrounded by some fans and military officers of the observation team, and the Jingbian army's blunderbuss guards also followed behind. Seeing the sea of ​​people on both sides, the banners like a forest, full of fighting spirit atmosphere of.

The thieves moved forward one after another in a continuous formation. The frontmost ones were black and hungry people, and then there were spear formations one after another. At the position of the central army, ten thousand Baoding chariot soldiers were waiting for them. The chariots are lined up, and they are loaded with all kinds of Frang machines and extermination guns.

The battle drums sounded on the opposite side, countless hungry people shouted, the whole line was advancing like a wall, and a crowd of people rushed in. The Baoding car camp had excellent training, and Yang Wenyue poured countless efforts on it. If you don't move, even if the thieves are forced into one mile, you will still wait for the order.

All of a sudden there was a sound of a trumpet in the middle formation, and all the soldiers looked at where the flag was pointing at. A sound of swans sounded, and all the officers and soldiers in the middle formation shouted loudly: "Tiger!"

Ding Hu pulled out his saber and pointed it forward, the sharp swan sounded again, and the thunderbolt cannon was loud in an instant.

Yang Wenyue built a large number of chariots, and even used the different heights of the chariots to shoot firearms in bursts. His entire battalion of chariots was divided into three numbers. In the latter, four feet five inches high, the chariots were arranged in three tiers.

When the trombone is played first, the No. [-] car cannon is fired, and after the trombone is played twice, the No. [-] car cannon is fired, and the first car can be filled with medicine for backup. After the trombone is played three times, the No. [-] car cannon is fired, and the No. [-] car can be filled with medicine, and the No. Cannons, the three armies settled down calmly, and the sound of cannons continued.

Amidst the sound of swans one after another, the cannons were fired like a rainstorm. The hungry people who rushed to the formation were killed and injured. Many of the whole team collapsed before they could reach the front. The battalion infantry behind the hungry people also collapsed one after another.

Even if the density of cannons is insufficient sometimes, some crazy hungry people rush up, but behind the chariots on the front floor, there are four gunners on each chariot. on the chariot.

In the formation, each soldier in the first squad clicks one hole in the three-eyed blunderbuss, and one shot sounds at the same time; Retreating, the second squad stepped forward, hitting the three-eyed blunderbuss continuously, knocking down a wave of hungry people.

Sometimes the sound of swans is blown, and the artillery on the chariot fires shotguns...

A frontier soldier beside him saw thick smoke billowing in front of him, and countless bandits were killed by artillery fire, wailing all over the field, and then another wave of bandits was defeated, and the cavalry behind the formation rushed out to chase after them. The battalion drilled really well, if the bandits want to attack me in the middle, it may be in vain."

The smoke emitted by the Francophone made Wen Shiyan feel that his vision in front of him was blurred. He shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

He looked at the two wings. On the right wing, Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, and Jiang Mingwu were in a tight formation. They had [-] new troops in front and about [-] cavalry behind. With the sound of a row of guns, the bandits and horsemen were knocked down to the ground, and the horses hissed continuously. Then the cavalry of Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu attacked, and gained a lot.

Although Jiang Mingwu only had 2000 troops, he tried his best to arrange the three-eyed musketeers and archers in the camp to supplement the firepower of the new army in the second town.

There is also the left wing. Although there are a lot of firearms from the East Road in each town, their shooting seems a bit messy. There are many generals, and this time Zuo Liangyu also fought very tenaciously. His son Zuo Menggeng even personally led his servants to attack several times.

Encouraged by Zuo Menggeng, Yang Dezheng, like Fang Guoan, led his family members to fight several times, defeating several bandits and cavalry attacks, and the left wing stood tenaciously one by one.

Although Wen Shiyan was a little annoyed that Ding Qirui and others didn't pay attention to his suggestion of guarding against the thieves' artillery, the current performance of the officers and soldiers has exceeded his expectations, and he hopes to continue to behave like this. Machine artillery can also survive.

"Kill the thief, kill the thief!"

Amid the deafening sound of killing, Ding Qirui kept beating the drums desperately, and persisted for several hours. The battle in the morning also lasted from Chenshi to Sishi. On that day, the bandits took the initiative to withdraw their troops, and the Ming army rejoiced.

The officers and generals looked at each other with joy, and Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue were even more excited. The two believed that it was the right strategy to fight against the bandits right now. The officers and soldiers were backed by the fortified city, and there was no shortage of food and grass—even if it was intermittent at times. , but at least roughly stable.

On the other hand, for the bandits, it is extremely difficult for them to supply food and grass for millions of troops.

"My teacher's goal is to persevere. Persevere until the bandits are defeated, and then we can settle the Central Plains affairs!"

At the end of the afternoon, Liuying launched an attack on the Ming army again. This time they did not use horsemen, but only attacked the center and two wings with a flood of hungry people and infantry. There were also dense cavalry gathering, wandering outside the large formation. Spy and look for the Ming army's flaws.

The two sides fought inextricably, the Liuying wins in numbers, the officers and soldiers win in firearms, and the thick bloody atmosphere enveloped the plain area. Ding Qirui dispatched troops to constantly replace the tired men and horses, and the new sharp ones. The army is replenished, and the same is true for Liuying.

(End of this chapter)