Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 323

Song Qingshu really felt that his time was changing. He had just attacked Tiantangzhai on this side, and before he could gain a foothold, there was news that Gao Yingxiang led an army of 40 to attack Fengyang. Song Qingshu almost cried, Fengyang Where is the imperial mausoleum, the ancestral tomb of Emperor Chongzhen.

In the era of ruling the world with filial piety, ordinary people have to work hard when their ancestral graves are dug up, not to mention the emperor, Fengyang is only a few hundred miles away from Tiantangzhai, and it is easy to fight a big battlefield. With his power, he still cannot control the world In the overall situation, so much effort into the mountain is likely to be smashed into ruins.

Song Qingshu waited in fear for more than two months. A miracle happened. Gao Yingxiang didn't even enter the Dabie Mountains this time. The mighty peasant army directly rushed to Guanzhong. The main battlefield of the Central Plains was immediately transferred to Guanzhong. The main force of the Ming Empire They all followed the westward movement, and the northern Anhui and eastern Henan were all empty.

Now the Yangtze River Basin is considered the top local tyrant, with an army of [-], if he doesn't do anything, Song Qingshu will feel sorry for himself.

The Qihuo army has two goals in the east. It can attack Lu'an in the north, go down to Hefei, and seize the entire Luzhou. It can also attack Anqing in the south to contain the Yangtze River.

Although Luzhou is rich, it is not easy for the beggar army to defend because of the water in the plain, especially since it once again threatened Fengyang, the central capital, and once the ancestral grave was dug up, Zhu Youjian was already mad, and Song Qingshu suspected that he could still Before stepping into Fengyang, the Qin army came back again.

Attacking Anqing is more in line with the interests of the beggar army. Yingshan and Tiantangzhai are all in Anqing, and Dabie Mountain also extends here. If we can control this place within a short time, we can also use the Yangtze River to take the opportunity to communicate with Huizhou and extend Song Qingshu's dream tentacles to Nanjing.

The grain transported eastward from Huguang and the merchant ships on the Yangtze River can even make the beggar army rich overnight.

Of course, the premise has to be laid down first, but so far, Song Qingshu has been quite successful. The little radish and Mei Zhihuan's performance in Lu'an was enough to transfer the nervous officers and soldiers to the north. Standing there is Miao Mei's third division and the militia formed by strong men from the mountains. Although the combat power is not much, there are [-] to [-] troops. Anyway, in the eyes of the officers and soldiers, the rebels are all tattered. They can't see the flaws either.

The real strength lies in QS County. Zhou Yuji, Liu Tichun's first and fourth divisions, and the three divisions of Gezuo Fifth Battalion are all placed here. This is the only way for Anqing City to support the north.

2000 defenders were mobilized from the city, and 4000 troops were mobilized from the nearby Yangtze River Water Camp, and Linjiang Guards mobilized [-] troops, and more than [-] officers and troops rushed north for reinforcements.

The same hills and hills in Qianshan, the Luzhou government is very urgent to ask for help, now in a tense period, Liu Shizhong did not dare to neglect Anqing's defense at all, and the Anqing defenders, who were almost all infantry, did not dare to stay for a moment. They rushed over without noticing that in the dense forest, pairs of eyes were already waiting for them hungry.

Grandpa Mao's tactical essence of mobile warfare back then mobilized the enemy army and devoured the enemy's vital strength during the movement. The Central Army that beat Jiang Bald's head was still easy to capture, let alone the Ming army of this era. Desperate, and marching on their own land, these officers and soldiers didn't even dispatch scouts, so they just crashed into the encirclement.

Wearing Fanyang felts and chant uniforms, the officers and soldiers strode forward, and Sa Yazi walked with their heads closed. Two people lined up, and 4000 people pulled a large team of more than 1000 meters long. However, these officers and soldiers were not as good as the northern officers and soldiers. In the words of the physical education teacher, he was so full of water in his crotch that he was in diapers, and he was lying in the dense forest by the side of the road. Ma Shouyin's old face was full of disdain, and he slapped the mosquitoes on his old face. , Old Hui said contemptuously.

"If I knew that the official dog was so helpless, I would have gone to the south of the Yangtze River to fight. How come now?"

But it was too late to say anything, the [-]th Battalion of Ge Zuo was almost completely annexed by the Qihuo Army, and just as Lao Hui was muttering, a short but black and thin soldier came trotting over from a mountain.

"Ma Shuai, Zhou Shuai sent a messenger to send a message. After a while, he will release a row of firecrackers, and then he will go straight down with the bayonet. When the bayonet sees red, the battle is over!"

Now it has been reduced to the point where Zhou Yuji can give orders, but Laohui doesn't realize it now, instead he smiled and slapped his chest proudly: "Go back and tell your master, so he can rest assured. There are more soldiers than he has ever seen!"

"Follow the order!"

What Song Qingshu admired was the almost machine-like army trained in modern times. Although he had only joined the beggar army for half a year, the hard training had trained the soldier like a piece of wood. With a cold promise, the orderer turned around. Just leave, but Lao Hui snorted boredly.

But immediately, his attention was shifted away. In the entire army, the only cavalry, more than 100 Anqing garrison guards also trotted into the encirclement, and suddenly snatched a piece of cavalry from his own soldiers. With the firecracker, the old man was lying on the dug trench, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle staring at the bottom.

On the opposite mountain peak, a tall dead tree fell abruptly, startling a group of birds in the woods to circle up, and with a sudden cleverness, Anqing guarded looked over in astonishment, and suddenly there was a sudden sharp sound from behind, In a blink of an eye, he was behind him.

…………

At noon, the Anqing garrison sent out, and the garrison on the city was obviously thinner, but because of this, the nerves of the officers and soldiers were extremely tense. At night, the Anqing garrison lit braziers on the city wall, There was a bright light, there was a post at five steps, and a post at ten steps, and there were patrolling officers and soldiers everywhere.

But at this tense moment, the sound of messy horseshoes sounded rapidly under the city, which immediately shocked the defenders at the top of the city into a mess, and shouted loudly from a long distance away.

"Who is coming? Get off the horse quickly and report your name, and wait for the officers and soldiers to deal with it, otherwise you will be killed!"

The black cannon was also adjusted, and the group of cavalrymen hurriedly fell off their horses in a panic, and a low-breathed voice ran to the front and shouted weakly.

"Don't fire! I'm the garrison Liu Shizhong! It's an emergency, I want to see the prefect!"

"It's Liu Shoubei!"

Although the status of the military officer is low these days, after all, he is also the general who has commanded the troops of Anqing Mansion for many years. The defenders on the top of the city are also panicked, allowing the cavalry to run under the lights of the city gate, and some people quickly ran to the yamen , went to inform the government, and in less than a moment, Wang Chonggu, the magistrate of Anqing, hurried up the city gate while putting on his clothes, looked down for a long time by the light of the fire, and then confirmed it.

But the prefect of Anqing still didn't open the city gate, but stood on the tower and shouted: "Liu Shoubei, you were ordered by the emperor to go north to help Lu'an. Why did you flee back in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid that the military law will be ruthless? Where is your army?"

"Master Zhifu, the siege of Lu'an by the thieves is a lie. The main force of the thieves is all in Qianshan! The final general encountered no less than 20 main forces of the thieves in Qianshan Hegu. He escaped after a hard day. Please open the door quickly. , the thieves will kill them at any time!"

While talking, Liu Shizhong looked north from time to time. Hearing his yelling, the city was in a mess. When they heard 20 thieves, the officers and soldiers turned pale and whispered, Looking around, Zhang Chonggu scolded angrily: "Hurry up, what's the proper way? The thief hasn't come yet, and anyone who dares to speak nonsense will be killed!"

Zhang Chonggu has some skills, he quickly yelled at the army under his hand, and then stood on the city wall and yelled downwards.

"Zhang Shoubei, as a garrison, you are responsible for guarding the land. How can you leave the army and escape? This mansion gives you this opportunity. You will lead the cavalry under your command to line up outside the city gate. After a while, the bandits will kill you. Serve the country by killing thieves! Otherwise, this government will definitely join you in the crime of losing your teacher!"

He almost vomited blood, and his arm was still wrapped in a bandage, but Liu Shizhong turned his head in embarrassment, and whispered to the soldier behind the firelight who covered his face with a big Fan Yang felt: "My lord, that magistrate doesn't open the door! "

"Continue to beg him, as long as you drag him here, that's fine!" The soldier had a sullen face, but the words he said were majestic that didn't match his identity. Liu Shizhong couldn't help being shocked when he heard it, and hurriedly turned his head again. He yelled with a bitter face.

"Prefect Wang, the last general has been working for you for many years, and there is no credit but hard work! I beg you to see that the last general has an eighty-year-old mother and how many children are waiting to be fed, let the last general go to the city!"

"Presumptuousness, national affairs, what are your family's trivial matters?"

…………

Anqing City is adjacent to the Yangtze River. During the battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang in Hongdu, Chen Jun once leaned against the wall with buildings and ships that were level with the city wall, and almost captured Hongdu. Lu shrank for about half a mile. After Ming Chengzu moved the capital to BJ, Anqing's military function declined and its economic function increased. Huguang's grain and grain passed through it. This area of ​​Linjiang outside the city formed a large bustling port.

At this time, Liu Shizhong was begging for help at the north gate, and almost the whole city's attention was focused on the north gate. The south gate, which was far away, seemed much deserted. In the dark of the day, there were only a hundred or so veterans left. Also drowsily leaning on the city gate tower.

No one noticed that on the pitch-black Yangtze River, a long and narrow fleet was rushing down the river in the darkness. Each boat had two dim lights hanging from the prow and stern, except for the oars. The sound of splashing water was as quiet as a ghost.

Down the river, this fleet docked quietly at the outer port of Anqing. Immediately afterwards, the brigade of soldiers and horses were unloaded from the ship in such a quiet manner, which clearly showed that they were well-trained. The horses still maintained a complete formation in such darkness, one by one, pressing towards the city gate in a hurry.

No one noticed along the way, until these sneak attacking soldiers and horses were forced under the tower, a patrolling veteran vaguely saw it through the moonlight, and shouted in horror.

"The thief is under the city!"

More than a hundred officers and soldiers were all awakened, grabbing rusty spears and rushed to the edge of the city wall, but the officers and soldiers were not too alarmed, after all, the city gate had been closed long ago.

It's a pity that what kills people is often the long-accustomed rules, and the city gate is used to resist the invasion of foreign enemies, but tonight the city gate is not working. There was a humming sound, the tiles on the turret fell down, and the officers and soldiers on the top of the city staggered one by one, and even fell directly from the tower.

From the beginning of the question of hot weapons, the insurmountable defense of the city wall has been weakened more and more. Yellow gunpowder is more a product of modern warfare, not to mention that the begging army had long had spies in the city. During the war in Liaodong, Nurhachi relied on Kaiyuan, Tieling, and later Liaoyang, Shenyang and other important cities of the Ming Dynasty were transferred to the inland for military use, which is still easy to use.

Even Wang Chonggu, the magistrate at the north gate, could hear the heavy explosion clearly. In an instant, the militaristic magistrate of Anqing turned pale, and shouted angrily: "No, it's a trick!"

"Fire right away and kill this traitor, Mr. Xu Qian, Mr. Ma Qian, you immediately lead your troops to the south gate, and you must take the city gate back!"

The cannon that had been placed on the city gate for a long time roared and poured out flames, but it was a pity that there was heavy thunder and little rain. Eight iron balls smashed hard on the mud outside the city, and there were dozens of cavalry away from Liu Shizhong. He was taken aback, but the gloomy-faced soldier was full of surprise.

"The handsome man has succeeded! Let's go!"

Pulling the horses, dozens of riders turned around and ran away. The defenders on the top of the city did not chase after them, but ran down the city wall even more hastily, but before they ran far, the defenders on the top of the city panicked again. shouted.

Suddenly, the plain outside the north gate lit up, and in the dark night, thousands of troops and horses were exposed in front of them in an instant. stunned.

"Gunner, go forward!"

They were stunned, but the begging army was not stunned. While the battalion commanders shouted loudly, the two of them carried a tiger squatting cannon and ran quickly to the gate of the city. There were more than 200 tiger squatting cannons. The black muzzle of the cannon pointed at the city gate with murderous intent.

Water is impermanent, soldiers are impermanent, and a feint attack may not be able to turn into a real attack. What's more, Song Qingshu has a lot of resources in his hands, full of king bombs, and has a full advantage. The three divisions of the fifth battalion of Gezuo are all here, and the tiger crouches in an instant The cannons exploded on the city wall, and those stunned officers and soldiers were beaten to death by the lead bullets the size of pills, and large pieces of female walls were cracked, and fragments were scattered everywhere.

The magistrate Wang Chonggu, who just ran down the city wall and came back in a hurry, was about to vomit blood, his face was scratched by a broken brick, and he also shouted angrily: "Fire! Counterattack! Counterattack!"

"My lord, what about the South Gate?"

The shouts from the south were already approaching the center of the city. Looking back suddenly, the old magistrate staggered back a step, clenched his fists and lowered his head.

"Don't do anything, fight to the end!"

…………

The commander is full of fighting spirit, but the soldiers under him may not think so. In the 200 years of Taiping in the south of the Yangtze River, the guards were corrupt to the extreme, and a large amount of land was occupied by officers. They fled away, and when Zhou Yuji's first division, which was going down the river, hit the north gate, the battle was over.

He was stopped yesterday and did not come up, but this time, Song Qingshu swaggered up to the south city wall, and brought his newly married daughter-in-law Yunjiao Zhu Youyan along with him.

Looking at the past, the vast Yangtze River came into view, and the reflection was still a piece of brilliant glass. Looking at this beautiful scenery, Xiaojiao, who had been a little bored in the mountains, immediately screamed excitedly and fell to the side of the city gate. superior.Taking a deep breath of the slightly fishy river wind, Song Qingshu himself exhaled drunkenly.

The mountains and rivers are so beautiful, no wonder countless heroes bow down for them!Obsessed with looking at the splendor in front of him, Song Qingshu suddenly stretched out his right hand to the Yangtze River, and opened one hand fiercely, as if he wanted to hold the whole river in his hands...

(End of this chapter)