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

Chapter 475 The Battle of Huangtu Ridge
After the Ming army set up camp, they also dug deep trenches around the camp and set up wooden fences.
The battle between Songshan Mountain and Rufeng Mountain was covered with dense clouds, and there were banners all over the mountain and the mountain, filled with a strong atmosphere of the battlefield.
On that day, except for some sentry riders from both sides came out to spy and chased each other south and north, there was basically nothing wrong, and they were all making intense preparations for the battle ahead.
As night fell slowly, the armies on both sides began to light fires and cook food. The camps of the Ming army, the auxiliary soldiers of the brigade, and the fire soldiers of the brigade also carried their own buckets to fetch water from the water source.On the edge of Songshan Fort, there are no obvious big rivers, but it is in a low-lying area, and the groundwater resources are still abundant. As long as the wells are dug deep, water can still be obtained.
It's just that the food and grass are okay for the time being, and the drinking water problem for the 10,000+ army is not a solution in the long run. It must be taken to the area near the river.
People called Ma Sizhong, everywhere was busy, besides the people carrying water and making food, there were also huge convoys, which continuously went from Xingshan and other places to Songshan to sell food.
The supply of grain and grass for the frontline army is astronomical every day, so on the road from south to north, there is an endless stream of civilians transporting grain and soldiers from various supply camps.
Among the food transporters, there were also the supply soldiers of the Jingbian Army's heavy battalion. The army arranged for some of them to guard Changling Mountain, and some of them continued to transport food and various supplies.Generally, the grain and grass are transported to Changling Mountain first, and then slowly transferred to Songshan Daying Camp.
Wang Dou stood quietly, watching the noise and noise of the military camps all over the country at first. The sound of bucket bang drums came continuously.
In the end, the hanging lights of each battalion were lit up one by one, regardless of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the camps of both sides were full of lights.As the sky got darker, the lights became brighter, forming a sea of ​​lights from around Songshan Fort to Rufeng Mountain, making Wang Dou suddenly come to Chongqing in later generations.
Wang Douding was wearing armor and a cloak, his face was expressionless, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Behind him, Zhong Tiaoyang, the chief guard general and middle officer, Zhong Xiancai, the general of the right battalion, Han Chao, the general of the rear battalion, Zhao Xuan, the general of the artillery battalion, Li Guangheng, the general of the cavalry battalion, and Wen Daxing, the general of the sharp whistle battalion, also stood quietly with their helmets on. .
Only Sun Sanjie, the general of the supply battalion, was in Changling Mountain at this time, but he was not by Wang Dou's side.
Behind the generals of each battalion, there are Qian Zongs of their respective battalions, also standing solemnly, following Wang Dou's gaze.
Finally, Zhong Xian looked at Wang Dou and couldn't help asking: "What is the general thinking?"
Wang Dou turned his head, saw Zhong Xiancai staring at him with two big round eyes, smiled, and said: "I was thinking, in this world, human history is changeable, but mountains, rivers, and the universe and starry sky are eternal." Nothing ever changes. In contrast, human life is too fragile and too short.”
Zhong Xiancai said in admiration: "The general's words are too profound, Xiancai doesn't understand."
Han Chao said in a deep voice: "The general is right, because of this, so we need to do something meaningful with a promising body, so that this life will not be wasted!"
Wang Dou looked at Han Chao with admiration. This old man who had been together with Jing Biandun for a long time, seemed more mature and stable, and he also had his own thoughts.He patted Han Chao on the shoulder and laughed: "General Han is right. Because life is short, I have to think about how to make my life more exciting."
Wang Dou looked at Zhao Xuan and the others, and asked with a smile, "What about you, what ideals do you have?"
Zhao Xuan murmured, "I don't want to think about anything else. I just want to have cannons that have been rotten for tens of miles in the artillery camp next year."
Li Guangheng said: "The final general hopes that in the future there will be [-] cavalry troops, who will conquer the north and the south, and take the heads of the enemy chieftains like searching for something."
Wen Daxing, the rough-and-tumble leader of Yebushu also explained his ideal: "The final general hopes that the Yebushu under my camp will go to the sea in the east, the grassland in the north, the desert in the west, and the jungle in the south. Myriad valleys."
Zhong Tiaoyang said in a deep voice: "The world is peaceful and the people are happy."
Xie Yike suddenly shouted: "I will always do my nights."
Everyone laughed together, Wang Dou also looked at Xie Yike, and shook his head dumbfounded.
Finally, Wang Dou looked at Zhong Xiancai and said, "What about you Xiancai? What ideals do you have?"
Zhong Xiancai pondered for a long time, and finally raised his head to look at Wang Dou, and said: "General, the last general is willing to follow his subordinates, conquer south and north, and fight forever."
Wang Dou nodded solemnly, looked at the crowd again, and said with a smile: "Yes, we will have a beginning and an end."
He looked at Zhong Xiancai for a while, and said with a smile: "Xiancai, people say that you like cleaning very much, it is true, you just took a bath, right?"
Zhong Xian said embarrassingly: "I haven't bathed for two days, it smells bad, so I took water to wash at the end."
Everyone clicked their tongues and said, "I can't bear it if I haven't showered for two days. Like me, I waited seven or eight days and didn't wash for a month. How can I live?"
Everyone joked to Zhong Xiancai that when he was away on an expedition, it was really no better than the camp on the East Road, and it was extremely inconvenient to use water.Moreover, it was a hot day and they were wearing armor, so everyone often had a strong smell of sweat on their bodies.However, everyone was used to fighting, so they didn't care about it, only Zhong Xian did everything possible to take a bath every one or two days, which was a joke for everyone.
Moreover, Zhong Xiancai still has many inexplicable things. Fortunately, he has been in contact with Zhong Xiancai for many years, and everyone is used to it. Who doesn't have some eccentricities?
Counting Zhong Xiancai to be in his twenties, he got married early, but his wife Li Shi has never had any children, and Zhong Xiancai did not want to take concubines, but he adopted many adopted sons and daughters.
Everyone laughed for a while, Wang Dou looked at the sky and said, "Let's go, go into Songshan City."
The army gathered at Songshan Fort, and the governor of Jiliao, Hong Chengchou, summoned the generals and governors to discuss matters. The time was set at Xu time.
Wang Dou's camp is two miles east of Songshan Fort. Adjacent to his camp are the camps of Wang Pu, the commander of Datong, Yang Guozhu, the commander of Xuanfu Town, and Fu Yingchong, the deputy general of the former camp of Shenji camp.
The Governor's Xingyuan was set up in Songshan Fort, and Wang Dou and Zhong Tiaoyang, the general of the Chinese army, stayed behind in the camp, leading the generals of each battalion, each battalion commander, and guarding soldiers, a group of people rushed to the south gate of Songshan Fort.
After the new battalion system was established, there were some changes in the generals of each battalion, such as Lei Xianbin, Huang Yujin, Tian Zhijue, and Xie Shangbiao under the Han and Korean battalions, and Yin Yijin, Tian Qiming, Yang Guodong, and Gao Gui under the Zhong Xiancai battalion. .
Lei Xianbin and Huang Yujin were originally the officers of the Han and Korean troops, but now they have become the chief executive and the Han and Korean subordinates.
As for Tian Qiming and Tian Zhijue, they were originally servants of Tian Changguo, the head of Baoan City, and Tian Qiming was the head of Tian Zhijue's family.Now the two are on equal footing, just like Wen Daxing and Wen Fangliang.
Xie Shangbiao used to be the boss of Wu Zhengchun, Shen Shiqi, Zhong Xiancai and others, but now they have become guerrillas and guards, Xie Shangbiao is still President Qian, and Zhong Xiancai's subordinate.Nothing is more wonderful than this.
However, it is the principle of the Jingbian army that the capable go up and the mediocre go down, and it is not just based on their qualifications.
When several Qian Zong met each other, they couldn't help joking with each other, joking, and rode away to Songshan Fort behind the camp leaders.
It can be seen that the Ming army camps are heavily guarded, and soldiers are constantly patrolling. Soon, Wang Dou and others came to Songshan Fort.
Songshan was originally just a post station. After the Liao Incident, the fortress was built bigger and stronger, but it still only had the south gate.
At this time, Songshan defenders included Songshan Deputy General Xia Chengde, Songshan Youying General Liu Zhengjie, Songshan General Fan Chenggong, the city guard was still honored, and the city guard was sitting in the camp guerrilla Ge Chaozhong.And Ningqian Taoist soldiers prepared Zhang Dou, and Jinyou Guan Liangtong sentenced Zhu Tingti to everyone.
Now Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, has settled in, accompanied by all the supervisors, military equipment, and his sub-battalion, which will fill a small city.
When Wang Dou and his party arrived at the south gate of Songshan Mountain, they met several generals Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, and Fu Yingchong. Behind them, there were also generals in full armor.When everyone met each other, they couldn't help exchanging greetings, and then they walked together. Along the way, the deputy general of the Shenji Battalion kept complaining to Wang Dou about the drinking water problem.
Everyone entered the fort. Songshan Fort was built in a low-lying area, and it is still cool in summer. Like other military forts in Ming Dynasty, the style is simple and heavy.The barracks, granaries, fodder yards, arsenals, and horse farms in the city are the key points. Facing the south gate, there are densely packed artillery, including several Hongyi cannons.
Since Songshan Fort was beaten by the Qing army's Hongyi cannons for many months, especially the south gate was the main focus of attack.
Governor Xingyuan is in Yuanbingbei Mansion, close to the east of the city, and everyone enters the mansion.
The Xingyuan hall is spacious, and as soon as you enter the ground paved with bluestone slabs, a burst of coolness hits your face, which refreshes everyone's spirits.
The upper and lower sides are filled with chairs, and there are several screens. The guards of Hong Chengchou's supervising battalion lead everyone to sit down one by one.
Successively, Bai Guangen, the chief soldier of Jizhen, Li Fuming, the general soldier of Shanxi, Zuo Guangxian, the general soldier of the aid and suppression, Ma Ke, the general soldier of Shanhaiguan, Tang Tong, the general soldier of Miyun, and Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan, all arrived with large groups of generals behind them. When the general soldiers met each other, they chatted and laughed again.
Wang Dou was still seated first on the right, and then Yang Guozhu, Bai Guangen, Li Fuming and others took their seats one by one. The rest of the lieutenants under their command participated in the guerrilla, and there were no seats left. Not to mention.Only Fu Yingchong represented Shenjiying, occupying a seat at the bottom.
This time, how many officers, such as Deputy, Shen, You, and Chief Qian, are under your command?Including the local generals in Liaodong, there are hundreds of people.As everyone sat down one by one, the wide hall seemed to become narrower, and it was full of generals in armor in front of them.
It wasn't until the time of Xu that the noisy hall quieted down. The supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, the supervisor Wang Chengen, the governor of Liaodong Qiu Minyang, and many civil servants such as military equipment, general judges, Tongzhi, etc., followed the Governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou and turned from behind the screen. out.
It can be seen that Hong Chengchou is in good spirits, with a smile on his elegant face. He greeted the generals cordially, and after he was seated, he ordered his attendants to take out hundreds of Wu fans, and each general in the hall was given one.Iced melons and fruits were also brought out, and each general and soldier had a share to eat.
This is a good thing. It is really enjoyable to eat a piece of iced melon and fruit when you are hot and thirsty.
At present, all the generals are eating melons, like Bai Guangen, Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian and some rough people, even the skins are eaten clean.
Seeing the generals eating melons, the generals standing behind each of them can only envy them.
After eating the melons and fruits, Hong Chengchou became serious and began to discuss matters.
……
"...The situation of the slave thieves is very clear. They just want to rely on the mountains and the walls to consume the strength of our army. Therefore, we cannot be led by the nose by them."
The Qing army's deployment of fortifications in various places on Rufeng Mountain has been thoroughly inspected by the Ming army. Although the Qing army sentry cavalry intercepted the Ming army's night reconnaissance very hard, but they forgot that the Jingbian army did not accept the night, and they were extensively equipped for thousands of miles. Mirrors and other sharp tools.
The telescope at this time is of course not comparable to that of later generations, and it cannot magnify many times, but large objects several miles away can still be seen clearly.
Under the strict monitoring of the Qing army, although it shows that the army sentry cavalry can't get close, but their rough arrangement, Jingbian army still checks clearly if they don't close at night.Naturally, Wang Dou would not hide such important matters, and generously shared them with all the commanders.
After continuous investigations at night, the Qing army's earthen walls and trenches were mainly concentrated in Rufeng Mountain and Huangtu Ridge.
The trenches are similar to Wang Dou's trenches, with traps and spikes inside, which is similar to the Ming army and the Qing army.
Their earth and stone walls are of course not low walls like Wang Dou's, but a kind of village wall, similar to a small city wall, about ten feet high.In the gentle mountains everywhere, the wall of the village is high, like a city wall, people can climb the wall to fight, and there are many gates.
The wall of the stronghold is slightly lower at the dangerous point, and the defenders are mainly patrolling at the chest.
This kind of wall is the main wall. In front of the main wall, a deep trench is dug, making the wall actually about one to two feet high.
In front of this wall trench, two small trenches were dug at intervals.The two trenches are slightly shallower, about eight feet deep. A low wall is built behind the trench, or horses are arranged on the side, and wooden stakes are driven.A rope is tied to the stake, a bell is hung on the rope, and a big dog is placed beside the bell to prevent people from sneaking into the trench at night.
Rufeng Mountain and Huangtu Ridge are composed of many mountains of different sizes. Along each mountain, there are quite a lot of earthen walls and ditches.The Qing army set up defenses layer by layer, even if they captured one mountain, they had to face another mountain, approaching the main peak, and they didn't know how to fight hard.
This is just Rufeng Mountain and Huangtu Ridge. In fact, the Qing people are still deploying defense lines in many places, such as Songshan Ridge and Maojialing.These places, one is on the side of lying down, and the other is entering the important area of ​​Jinzhou, not to mention the daughter river, how did the Qing people arrange it?
After everyone shared the information, they all felt that the captives were well-arranged, and it was really too difficult to break into Jinzhou and break the siege.
However, the siege of Jinzhou needs to be solved. The focus of the dispute is whether to attack Rufeng Mountain or Huangtuling first?
There are differences of views here, represented by General Wang Dou, the general who conquered captives, and Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan.
Wu Sangui believed that since Jinzhou was in danger, it was natural to attack Rufeng Mountain first and open the main road into Jinzhou.
His point of view was strongly supported by Bai Guang'en, Chief Soldier of Jizhen, Ma Ke, Chief Soldier of Shanhaiguan, Tang Tong, General Soldier of Miyun, General Zu Dale of Liaodong, Vice General Xia Chengde of Songshan, General Liu Zhengjie of Youying, and other Liaodong officials.
Wang Dou objected. He believed that the Qing army had a strict arrangement on Rufeng Mountain.
He believes that Jinzhou is worry-free, so there is no need to be in a hurry to rescue the siege. The most urgent task is to clear away the threats around Songshan, such as Huangtu Ridge in the east and Songshan Ridge in the southeast.Sweeping these two places can relieve the worries of Songshan, and it can also push towards Xiaolinghe, occupy Xiaolinghe Fort, and attack the east of Jinzhou along the river.

(End of this chapter)