stubborn thief

Chapter 519

As night fell, a desperate Ding Shaoyin stood on Yingpan Ridge, looking up at the dark night sky expressionlessly.

The entire mountain was trapped in a dangerous night, and there was turmoil. Even though the fighting had ceased long ago, there were still muffled sounds of light birds firing from time to time in the dense forest, echoing in the mountains and valleys.

He held a letter in his hand, written by Liu Chengzong, the content of the letter mainly praised Bai Guangen's ingenuity and courage, and did not mention Ding Shaoyin's persuasion to surrender, but every crack between the lines was persuasion.

Liu Chengzong said Brother Ding, a very exciting battle was fought along the Gulang River, in case you don’t know, I’ll write you a letter.

This Bai Guangen is very courageous, he was defeated in Huangyangchuan first, retreated to the fork of Gulanghe River and reorganized the army, relying on his quick wit to set up an ambush, he really caught my general Zhang Tianlin by surprise.

Brother always thought that Bai Guangen would come to join you. Who would have thought that he would dare to pretend to be defeated and fight back alone?

There is also Zhang Tianlin, the hero of our army. You are not familiar with this person, but I know very well that he is strong-minded. Most people are relaxed and ambushed suddenly. Even if they are not defeated, they will be forced to retreat.

He was good, he fought and retreated, killed four times in a row and returned to the carbine, and finally defeated Bai Guangen in Bai Guangen's ambush position. He is really a powerful man.

But the most powerful one was Bai Guangen. After he was defeated, he did not choose to flee south. Instead, he took more than 300 people and ran away from the north under the eyes of his brothers. He had already passed Shimenxia and went to Ningxia.

This is a smart man, with a high level of skill, knowing that he is surrounded.

At the end of the letter, Liu Chengzong told Ding Shaoyin that this battle also taught me a lesson. Even if the lion fights the rabbit, even if you are sure of winning, you have to use your best not to relax. Now the only one who prevents me from returning to Hehuang is my brother. You say, yes Isn't that the truth?

Ding Shaoyin had been scolded for three days, but now he read the letter, he couldn't get it right, and almost choked to death.

He thought that I was only a commander of the Liangzhou Guard, not even a commander, so who the hell did I provoke?How could he be placed in such an important position by fate, facing such a terrifying opponent?

My officers were either killed at the beginning of the battle, or they squatted in Liangzhou City as bastards; my colleagues died in battle before fleeing, and surrendered if they couldn't do it.

Now the situation is very clear, Bai Guangen's escape route and Liu Chengzong's letter mutually corroborated that the marshal's army had set up an ambush in the south and surrounded them tightly.

Because this is a mountain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack because of the geographical advantage. The geographical advantage is always mutual.

When Ding Shaoyin found out that there was no food inside and no reinforcements outside, it was an extravagant hope for them to rush down the mountain to die in battle... The end could be seen at a glance, either they were set on fire and burned to death, or they were besieged to starve to death without food.

At this moment, Ding Shaoyin thought of Chai Shihua who was under house arrest.

Although Chai Shihua was under house arrest, he was content with his life under house arrest. The year this man was born, his father, Chai Guozhu, was already the commander-in-chief with two general seals. He had seen a lot, heard a lot, and knew a lot Many, fear nothing.

Ding Shaoyin can put him under house arrest, but he will not be in more danger in the camp. Conversely, because Ding Shaoyin put him under house arrest, he has no guilt in this war and has nothing to fear.

So in the past few days, he had eaten and slept soundly on the mountains. Others would lose more than a dozen catties of meat when they went to war. Fortunately, he had some flesh growing on his originally thin and long face, showing a bit of richness.

Not long after he fell asleep at night, he heard the soldiers report Ding Shaoyin's arrival, and Chai Shihua got up from the couch and put on his clothes.

He knew the reason for Ding Shaoyin's visit. Before Ding Shaoyin could speak, he poured a bowl of water, drank it by himself, shook his head and said, "General Ding, why are you looking for me at this time? You can't beat me right now. Let's go." You can't get away, there is only one guard."

Chai Shihua didn't really hate Ding Shaoyin, even though this man took his power and embarrassed him on the battlefield, he didn't blame Ding Shaoyin too much in his heart.

Because since the beginning of the war, Chai Shihua has been in the same mental state as the Gansu Ming army, at a loss.

Before Liu Chengzong broke through Jiayuguan, he led Yang Jiamo's general battalion to Zhuanglanghe to suppress the formation. He could not fight a battle that had no chance of winning. The battle of odds cannot be fought.

In fact, ordinary people can just think about surrendering for this reason, but Chai Shihua still can't accept surrendering. He is not a commoner.

These three embarrassing and difficult problems all disappeared with Ding Shaoyin's seizure of power.

So on the surface it was Ding Shaoyin who put Chai Shihua under house arrest, but in fact Chai Shihua cooperated with Ding Shaoyin to put him under house arrest.

As soon as Ding Shaoyin came in, he took a soft nail before opening his mouth. He opened his mouth and remained silent. After a while, he said in embarrassment: "Bai Guangen was defeated. General Cao didn't believe it. There are enemy troops in the north, east and south, and we are surrounded. .”

Chai Shihua also sighed at the battle situation. He really wanted to say something, such as the fact that the battle should not be fought like this, and the battalions and soldiers should not be separated.

It's useless to say anything at this moment, Chai Shihua comforted lightly: "The general tried his best, Yingpanling has beautiful mountains and clear waters, it's not bad to die in this place."

Ding Shaoyin nodded, stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Please, General, arrange defense together with me."

Chai Shihua was originally calm, but suddenly became anxious when he heard this, he patted the short guy and said angrily: "When I have soldiers, you seize the soldiers under house arrest and disperse the boss's children, but let me arrange defense with you, arrange a fart!"

"Let me tell you, the armies of all routes should not be separated. Wouldn't it be better for a group of more than ten thousand troops to cross the Yellow River? It's too late to say anything at this time. You might as well tell the whole army that you are willing to surrender!" Those who want to surrender, those who want to go go, those who want to stay stay!"

Ding Shaoyin didn't say much, got up and bowed to say goodbye.

He really heard Chai Shihua's advice, and that night he summoned the lieutenant generals and asked them to inquire about the wishes of the soldiers, those who were willing to leave, and those who were willing to stay.

Early the next morning, two Ming soldiers without armor came down the mountain to ask for surrender. Liu Chengzong readily agreed to this request, promising that as long as the Ming soldiers on the mountain surrendered voluntarily, they would be given a Liangzhou battalion establishment, and all officials would follow their original posts and join the conscript. He also promoted Ding Shaoyin to a higher level and made him the commander of the Liangzhou Guard.

However, Liu Chengzong also kept an eye on it. He asked Han Shiyou, the general manager of the Huben camp, to surrender at the east of Yingpanling and on the bank of the Gulang River.

After a short while, soldiers from Yingpanling came down the mountain one after another, and Han Shiyou took over at the bank of Gulang River. After working for an hour, the messengers arrived at the north of the mountain.

He reported to Liu Chengzong: "Marshal, 440 and [-] people were surrendered. This is the list. There is no Ding Shaoyin. He is still on the mountain and refuses to surrender."

Liu Chengzong frowned slightly when he heard the words, looked at the directory, and said in surprise: "Yang Jiamo's clansmen have surrendered, and he Ding Shaoyin is a fellow guard, but he wants to fight to the death with me? Let Han Shiyou send someone up the mountain to talk. If he is dissatisfied with the official position, Just give him another place; if he doesn’t want to serve me, let him disperse his troops, and I’ll give him a piece of land and let him settle down in Ganzhou.”

Han Shiyou on the bank of the Gulang River could not help but smile wryly when he heard the guards delivering the commander's order.

The two brothers Han Shipan and Han Shiyou defected to Liu Chengzong along with Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu's Guyuan soldiers, but the others became foreign generals and the two brothers became Liu Chengzong's personal soldiers.

Since joining the Lion Camp, the two brothers have basically never left Liu Chengzong's side. Han Shiyou is too familiar with Liu Chengzong's habits. When he heard this, he knew that the weird temper of their commander had come up again-don't look at us The rebels just like loyal people.

But this time Liu Chengzong was going to be disappointed. Not long after, Han Shiyou handed over the army to his general, and ran to the North Road Camp to meet Liu Chengzong himself. Let his wish be fulfilled."

Liu Chengzong asked: "How do you say this?"

"The surrender has already been said. Ding Shaoyin is a hereditary commander. His only son is Ding Zizhen. Before the war, Ding Shaoyin had already decided to seek death and asked Ding Zizhen to go to Ningxia to find Hong Chengchou."

Speaking of this, Han Shiyou shook his head: "There are many sons in the world who don't care about me, but I don't care about my son very rarely. Ding Shaoyin must have a steelyard in his heart."

Liu Chengzong didn't answer, just looked at Yingpanling silently, skipped the topic after a long time, and asked: "There are still 600 people on the mountain?"

"The defeated soldiers on the front line are Ding Shaoyin's headquarters." Han Shiyou nodded and said, "Almost."

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly. He could understand Ding Shaoyin's mentality of wanting to use his wealth and life to pave the way for his son, and he could also accept that the Ming army on the mountain refused to surrender in the end: "Send an order to the second battalion of Gansu and Zhang Tianlin's battalion, and order the third battalion to be in Yingpanling Dig a trench and build a wall at the foot of the mountain."

"The commander wants to surround them to death?" Han Shiyou clasped his fists and asked for a fight: "It's better to let the Huben camp attack the mountain. There are only a thousand of them, and they should be able to go down with one blow."

Liu Chengzong looked at Han Shiyou helplessly: "Their troops have decreased, but their guns are all on the mountain, their will is firm, and their combat power has not weakened; on the contrary, the road to the Zhuanglang River Valley has been unimpeded, and we still have to fight with them." what?"

Encircle the mountain, dig trenches and build fortifications to ensure that the enemy cannot escape with heavy firepower. Even if more than a thousand light soldiers escape, they cannot control the situation of the battle.

At this moment, there were several gunshots from the west of Yingpan Ridge, followed by intensive gunfire.

Liu Chengzong frowned immediately, and looked to the west with a puzzled face... At this time point, the Ming army who wanted to surrender on the mountain surrendered, so it was the best time to break through the Ming army, so the gunshots on the battlefield were unstoppable. strangeness.

But seeing this direction, Liu Shizi was dumbfounded, and muttered to himself: "Yingpanling is a mountain, and the west of Yingpanling is still a mountain, right?"

His pond soldiers have already made a general survey of that side. There is still a mountain on the other side of the mountain, and there is an old forest surrounded by a mountain top. In the future, the Emperor Chongzhen can even go in to find the old forest for the coffin. .

Because of this, Liu Chengzong didn't plan to encircle the west even if he planned to siege, the army there would not be able to enter, and the enemy army on the mountain might go out, but there was no way to the west until the west end of the Liutiao River.

Further west of that place is a small basin surrounded by mountains called Zhang Yi.

In fact, this Zhangyi is the seat of Zhangye County in the Han Dynasty. During the Wuliang Period, it was always an important military town in the Hexi area that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It only experienced thousands of years of wind and rain. Names related to war remnants.

As for people, they also lost seven or eighty-eight in the process of forming these names, which is now rounded up to no man's land.

Liu Chengzong's army only left a hundred or so Tangqi in Huoshaogou, and they were scattered in various mountain passes, mainly occupying the commanding heights to observe the enemy's situation in Yingpanling on the opposite side, without considering that anyone would run there.

Not long after, the Tang soldiers from the west came to report: "Commander, more than 800 people ran to the west and plunged into the woodland. At present, the first ten or so people have begun to climb the mountain. Do you want to pull the artillery over and shoot them down? "

"Light pack?"

"Dress lightly."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "Then why bother, let them go into the mountains to be bandits... This Ding Shaoyin would rather drill into the forest than surrender, and there are more than 800 people following him. It's really strange. I guess we will still be in Liangzhouwei." goodbye."

Ding Shaoyin is the commander of the Liangzhou Guard. If he got into the mountains, if he can come out alive, he will definitely go to the Liangzhou Guard that has not yet fallen.

Unexpectedly, not long after, the general from Han Shiyou's side also ran over, reporting that he had found important information from the Jiangbing mouth, saying that the Ming army on Yingpanling was divided into two factions.

One faction is dominated by Yang Jiamo's pacesetters. This group of people will follow Ding Shaoyin to the end and will never surrender.

The other faction was dominated by the chariot battalion formed by the Liangzhou Guard Banner Army. These people were all soldiers brought out from the Liangzhou Guard by Ding Shaoyin. Many of them had already descended and surrendered, and those who stayed on the mountain had other plans.

Their plan was to follow Chai Shihua to the west. This so-called west was far beyond Liu Chengzong's imagination. He thought that this group of people might go to Zhangyi. Who knew they wanted to go crazy-Turpan.

Chai Shihua said that Gansu fell to the hands of thieves, and he wanted to serve the country, but with this little force, he couldn't do anything big, and surrender was not what he wanted, so it's better to take the risk and go far away to start a new business.

Liu Shizi wondered what kind of weird two-way rushing was this. The soldiers of the standard battalion of the general army did not follow the generals of the standard battalion, but followed the commander Tongzhi; Flickering to travel two thousand miles.

The key is what is the composition of the two thousand miles. In order to get away from the enemy, they have to bypass the enemy-occupied area and walk on the Qilian Mountain Road that stretches for thousands of miles. Qilian Mountain is indeed not particularly cold in this season, and the march is not considered hell.

But the problem is, the end point of their expedition is Hami, two thousand miles away.

Liu Shizi shook his head. He felt that Chai Shihua was not telling the truth without the Ming army.

He thought about it, maybe Gansu and Jiayuguan can be bypassed by taking the Qilian Mountains, but Dunhuang, Hami, and Balikun from south to north, if he wants to go to Turpan, these three places cannot be bypassed.

And Dunhuang, Hami, and Balikun, aren't those still my territory?

"It's just Chai Shihua." Liu Chengzong smiled secretly in his heart. This little long-distance runner, he waved and ordered: "Order Zhang Tianlin's camp. After the three trenches are repaired, Gulangxia will be his residence. To defend Shixia Pass, he will encircle it by the way." There are seven or eight hundred people living in Ding Shaoyin on the mountain."

"Surround until the food is cut off first, and then try to persuade him to leave. Anyway, it is the set of rhetoric to thank his loyalty to the army and serve the country. If he is willing to leave, let him leave the artillery equipment, give a small amount of food and grass tolls, and allow him to retreat through Shixia Pass. Enter Ningxia, reunite with father and son; if he still refuses to leave, let him starve to death on the mountain."

Liu Chengzong thought to himself, this group of people did not fight, they squatted on the mountain, and finally retreated to Ningxia without surrendering. This news spread among the Ningxia army, which should be of great benefit to him in the next year's war.

As for the rest of the army, Liu Chengzong smiled: "Let's go back to Hehuang and enter Lanzhou!"

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)