While he was still exploring the intelligence, taking advantage of the performance of the Fuming Army that had just attacked the city, Zhu Youdong reorganized the Miao people of Yang Yisi and the collected troops into two guards. In this way, the Restoration Army, which is now stationed in Pingyuewei, has three guards and horses.

Zhu Youdong asked the veterans of the former Restoration Army to seize the time to train the recruits who had just been reorganized, and at the same time selected some practical skills for the Miao people to cross mountains and mountains to join the training, so as to improve the army's ability to fight in mountainous areas.

Seeing that it was already October 20, Miao only came with the news. The Qing army really sent troops to recruit Guo Liai, who occupied Guiyang, but Guo Liai did not get what he wanted and refused to hand over Guiyang. The two sides are in a stalemate under the city of Guiyang, and it may be that the Qing army is not ready, so they have not forcibly attacked the city.

When Zhu Youdong heard the news, he was overjoyed and asked, "How many Qing troops have arrived in Guiyang City?" What are the leading generals? Although the Miao people have been trained for a few days, they have not inquired in such detail, and said: "This is a little unclear, I see that the flag they played is red in the middle and white on the side. There are many other flags that are the same as the Qing army in Guizhou. ”

Zhu Youdong said: "It seems that the Qing army sent back the Eight Banners with red flags, and there should be a large number of surrendered troops." How much is the total number of troops? Na Miao said: "The total number of troops is about 20,000, and now Guiyang City has been surrounded." Zhu Youdong said: "Okay, you go and rest first." ”

Zhu Youdong found Ta Tianbao and said: "Tomorrow I will go to Guiyang with the army to see if we can take Guiyang, so that we will be more sure to block the back road of the Qing army." Ta Tianbao said: "Master Hou, how many troops are you going to bring?" If it's less, I'm afraid it won't work. ”

Zhu Youdong said: "I will take two guards to go, leave one guard for you, and stay in Duyun Mansion." Ta Tianbao said: "Why don't you bring all the three guards, now I have scattered troops from all over the country to paralyze Duyun." Zhu Youdong looked at the sky and said: "It's enough for me to bring two guards, along the way, there are still Miao people to take refuge and surrender some places to surrender the army, and wait until Guiyang is estimated to have 30,000 troops, which is enough to deal with the situation in Guiyang." ”

Zhu Youdong thought for a while and said, "What's more, if I really get to Guiyang City, I can still contact them in Qihou, so that my troops will be more sufficient." When it comes to General Ta, you have to make a good living in Duyun, and if possible, do a good job in the defense of Duyun Mansion as soon as possible, and then reorganize the army. ”

Ta Tianbao said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely run Duyun Mansion well, and I won't let the Qing army run to the rear of Hou Ye." Zhu Youdong shook his head and said: "Not only to be optimistic about Duyun Mansion, if possible, I hope that General Ta can use the current garrison of Duyun Mansion to recruit Miao people and surrender troops to form the Eighth Field Army, with you as the commander." Be ready to go on the expedition at all times. ”

Ta Tianbao was stunned and said, "Going on the expedition?" Now that Guizhou has not subsided, how to go on the expedition? And even if the Eighth Army was formed, it would only be 10,000 men. Where does Master Hou want to fight? Zhu Youdong didn't answer, but said: "How is Kui Dong, who is not here, now." Speaking of Kui Dong, Zhu Youdong actually remembered Tan Shuanghua a little.

Ta Tianbao said: "There are Wen Inspectors in Kuidong, Jing Guogong, Linguo Gong and Anhui Guogong, I think it must be fine." Zhu Youdong said: "I hope so, when I get to Guiyang, I will definitely think of getting in touch with them, but General Ta must also be ready to go on the expedition, which is a very important matter." General Ta must be attentive and must not be negligent. ”

Ta Tianbao said: "Okay, although I don't know where you want to fight, but don't worry, I will definitely make the army ready at any time." Zhu Youdong saw Ta Tianbao say this, and said with a smile: "With General Ta's words, I will be relieved." The main reason is that I am not short of sure whether I can lay down Guiyang now, so it is not good to make a decision now. Do you think, if we take Guiyang, then the Qing army must not be in a hurry to attack Guiyang, but once we hold Guiyang, where can the Qing army return to the north? ”

Ta Tianbao said: "If we can hold Guiyang, if the Qing army wants to go back to the north, they will have to go through Wumeng Mansion to enter Sichuan, but now that Sichuan has been occupied by us, it may not be so easy for them to fight back." And now the grain and grass of the Qing army can no longer be supplied, and if we delay it too long in Sichuan, then they will definitely be defeated. ”

Zhu Youdong said: "Yes, besides, the current Manchurian Qing army is no longer the Qing army that could struggle in the ice and snow back then." The King of Jin was the king of Hunan in Hunan, which is the best illustration. They will definitely not choose the road back to Sichuan. Guiyang was blocked by us again, and they had to take the road of Guangxi. However, the road in Guangxi is also a high mountain and dangerous road, and the food along the way is not guaranteed. I guess they can only want to return to the Liuzhou area as soon as possible, and they must give up unnecessary baggage, so if we can block the Qing army in the Nanning area. ”

Ta Tianbao took over and said: "Then they will be completely trapped in the wilderness of the southwest, and the Qing army will definitely collapse if it doesn't last long." Zhu Youdong said: "Because the Qing army burned and looted everywhere after entering Yungui, the local people have been resentful of it for a long time, and if they find out about the situation of the Qing army, they will definitely not let them go." ”

Only then did Ta Tianbao understand why Zhu Youdong asked him to prepare for the expedition. He immediately said: "Don't worry, Master Hou, I will definitely form the army as soon as possible, and wait for this Lord Hou's military order at any time." ”

After Zhu Youdong arranged the affairs of Ta Tianbao, he set off along the official road with the army the next day. But now the official road has long been blown up by the Restoration Army, looking at the road in front of him, Zhu Youdong sighed: "This is really lifting a stone and hitting yourself in the foot, I didn't expect the Qing army to block it, but blocked itself here." ”

In desperation, it must be too late to build the road now, so I had to let the Miao people take the small road to bypass. But there is no direct road to Guiyang. Zhu Youdong had no choice but to lead the army from the south of Longli Division into the area of Guiyang Wolong Fansi. There are more than a dozen large and small Fansi in this area, and these Fansi belong to the Zhongjia Miao, which is different from the Miao people outside. Now when they saw Zhu Youdong and others arriving with an army of more than 10,000 people, they were very afraid.

After Zhu Youdong took Miao and these leaders to explain, those leaders were relieved. Luo Ren, the head of the Wolong Division, said: "It turns out that you are the army of the Ming Dynasty, and we thought you were the army of the Qing court." Zhu Youdong said: "Have the troops of the Qing court also come here?" ”

Luo Ren said: "I've been here, but they're here to rob things and kill people." We don't welcome them to come, they only bring disaster. Zhu Youdong said with a smile: "Then please rest assured, we are here to beat them away." Can you tell us about the current situation in Guiyang? ”

Luo Ren said: "Now Guiyang is fighting, and it has been three days. The Qing army was attacking the city, and it was not known who occupied Guiyang. Zhu Youdong said: "The Qing army has not captured Guiyang yet, and I don't know how many people they have killed and wounded." ”

Luo Ren said: "This is not clear, our people did not come close to see it." However, looking at their situation, it is estimated that the Qing army suffered no less than 2,000 casualties. And this is still yesterday, it is estimated that the Qing army will attack the city today, and more people will die. ”

Zhu Youdong thought for a while and said: "Thank you Luotou people for providing us with the information, I estimate that in two days, the Qing army's siege army will suffer heavy casualties, and Luotou people should quickly inform your people to go to the mountains to avoid trouble." Luo Ren said: "Their Qing army is attacking the city, what disaster can we avoid?" ”

Zhu Youdong said: "Once the Qing army attacks the city and encounters a city that cannot be attacked, it will capture the common people in the local area to be the siege army, so you must quickly inform the clansmen to go into the mountains to avoid trouble." Luo Ren was shocked: "Ouch, how did I forget about this, more generals to remind me." I will send a message to my people, and tell them to hurry to the mountains to the south to avoid trouble. ”

Seeing this, Zhu Youdong did not bother Luo Ren, and after returning to the army, he asked the army to camp first. The Restoration Army also prepared to approach Guiyang from the mountain path. That night, in order to thank Zhu Youdong for the reminder given to them, Luo Ren made a special trip to send a batch of grain and grass to the Restoration Army. Zhu Youdong was very happy, but he still paid Luo Ren two taels at the market price.

As soon as Luo Ren went back and said, many Miao people suddenly brought their family's food to sell to the Restoration Army. Zhu Youdong was overjoyed when he saw that the army was short of food, so he asked the Fuming army to pay all the silver taels according to the price. This is still Zhu Youdong has no salt in his hands, if there is salt, Zhu Youdong estimates that the situation can be better.

Zhu Youdong led the Restoration Army to Qingyan Town, outside Guiyang, on October 27. Zhu Youdong did not dare to let the army be stationed directly in the town, and the sentry of the Qing army here had already begun to increase. Fortunately, as long as the Restoration Army marches in the dense forest, it will definitely be disguised. So there was no danger along the way to avoid the sentry of the Qing army, but it was not easy to go further. Zhu Youdong let the army disperse into the mountains and forests, and camped separately with the general flag as a team.

As soon as Zhu Youdong and his army were hidden, a spy sent out to report: "Master Hou, now the Qing army is still attacking the city, and it has been attacking the city for four days even today, and now there are not many defenders in Guiyang City, at most it should be about 5,000." The casualties of the Qing army are also very large, estimated at around 5,000. ”

Zhu Youdong said: "How is it possible, didn't you say that Guo Liai brought a total of 3,000 troops?" At this time, Daniel Zhang said: "It should be that Guo Liai also incorporated the 3,000 Qing soldiers stationed in Guiyang City, and also gathered some people, otherwise it would be impossible for his 3,000 men to hold for so long." ”

Zhu Youdong thought about it and made sense, and immediately said: "Okay, let's explore again." By the way, did anyone else sent to contact Wujiangguan come back? Lin Asan, who helped manage the news, said: "Master Hou, not yet, we are constantly marching, and the news has not come so quickly." ”

Zhu Youdong thought for a while and said: "We shouldn't be in much of a position now, you immediately send someone to contact Qi Hou, and then if you can't find us when you come back, go directly to Wolong Fansi." Lin Asan said: "Okay, I'll arrange it." ”

In the camp of the Qing army under Guiyang City, Ba Sihan scolded loudly: "You useless Han dogs, a Guiyang City has been fighting for four days, and it still can't be defeated, do you want the Qing army to run out of food?" ”

Wang Xing, who was standing below, Hu Yiqing didn't dare to speak out, and in the end, it was Li Ruchun, the chief soldier transferred from Hunan by Hong Chengchou, who said: "Lord Ba, the city wall of Guiyang is high, and it is normal that it is difficult to attack, and the generals are also hard. But now there are more than 6,000 defenders in Guiyang City, and Minzhuang is close to 10,000 defenders, and it is inevitable that it will be difficult to capture it in a hurry. ”

Hearing that someone took the lead, Wang Xing, Hu Yiqing and other generals also complained one after another. Ba Sihan said: "Difficult to attack? Is it possible not to attack a city if it is difficult to attack? So what should we do with our current army? The grain and grass I brought with me are now only enough for three days, and if we can't capture Guiyang, then our army will only be hungry. ”

Li Ruchun said: "Don't worry, Lord Ba, when I personally supervise the army tomorrow, I don't believe that I can't capture Guiyang." Ba Sihan said: "Okay, tomorrow will be supervised by General Li Bing." Then he looked at Wang Xing and other generals and said, "Tomorrow, all of you will go to attack the city, and you will not withdraw your troops until you capture Guiyang." Tell his soldiers that Guiyang City will not be sealed for three days after it is broken. ”

Except for Wang Xing and other generals who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in Guizhou, the other generals suddenly had a bright eye. Ba Sihan was also very happy to see that his morale had improved. Li Ruchun said: "With this encouragement from the people of Ba, I believe that it will be easy to break through Guiyang tomorrow." Other Qing generals such as Zhu Shouquan and Wang Liucang immediately echoed: "Of course, now with the encouragement of the Ba people, the morale of the soldiers is high. Tomorrow will be able to capture Guiyang City, if not, Lord Ba is asking for us. ”

Wang Xing and Hu Yiqing glanced at each other, very tired of these generals, but now they were helpless in the Qing camp. is also very worried about the people in Guiyang City.

The next day, the Qing army really went out of the camp to prepare for the siege of the city, and Guo Li Ai on the city saw the situation under the city, and quickly notified the defenders to enter the city one after another. At this time, Liu Dongcai, the general under his command, said: "General, the Qing army under the city today is a little different. Guo Li Ai also said when he saw it: "It must be the Qing army that slaughtered the city to boost morale, so these soldiers who were sick two days ago are now demoralized." ”

Wang Mingchi said: "The general should think of a way." Guo Li Ai said: "The Qing army wants me to wait for Guiyang to be sacrificed for free, and then slowly rectify us." They don't even think about it, let them see our strength and see if they give a good price. Go and bring out the money from the treasury, and today the general will reward the army. ”