Chapter 33 Ningde crosses the river Liu Yun makes a move

On the twenty-eighth day of the first month of the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, the Yellow River south of Baotou finally began to open.

During this time, Ningde went to the south of the Yellow River every day to see the ice conditions. What Ning De is worried about is that this year is probably going to open the river.

The opening of the Yellow River is generally divided into two ways: "Wenkai River" and "Wukai River". The so-called "Wenkai River" is that after the river is frozen, the amount of water in the river trough is small, and when the earth is rejuvenated, the water temperature gradually rises, the frozen layer begins to thaw from top to bottom, and the ice water is safely discharged or melted on the spot, and the Ling Qing is lifted. The "Wukai River" refers to the freezing period of the river, the upper section of the river is thawed first, and the ice of the lower section of the river is still fixed, and the ice water is down, and the water drum is open. In the "Wukai River", sometimes a large amount of ice blocks are easily blocked in the curved narrow channel, forming ice dams, causing the water level to rise, forming a serious flood.

Now the Yellow River seems to know that a bloody storm is coming, and the color of the white ice surface in the Baotou section has not changed, as if it is unwilling to open the river to see the upcoming catastrophe of human beings fighting each other. However, the ice in the upper reaches of the Yellow River could not wait, and the ice in the Yellow River had begun to rattle and crack under the agitation and squeezing of the upstream river water, and after several days of stalemate, the ice surface of the Yellow River finally could not withstand it, and began to move downward with a bang. Ning De and the officers and soldiers around him all breathed a sigh of relief, and Ling Xun could be lifted this year. Because the Yellow River did not form an ice dam because the ice could not be discharged, it caused a disaster. The opening of the Yellow River every year is very dangerous, and this year the ice surface has moved together, which is a good sign. The movement of the ice surface is a gradual acceleration process, and once the ice surface of the Inner Mongolia section moves, it will quickly rush downstream, because the downstream river opens earlier than here, so there will be no congestion.

After a few days, the Liuling in the Yellow River was almost gone. The soldiers of the Dashun Army on the south bank of the Yellow River also heard the sound of "booming" steamers from inside the Yellow River, which was that the Yaogang people had started to transport goods in the Yellow River with tugboats again. They've long been used to that sound.

But at dawn, the tugboat dragged the barges to the south bank of the river, where there was still residual ice. As soon as the barge docked, they jumped ashore on a gangplank and went to hundreds of kiln soldiers armed with brake rifles and machine guns. There were two barges that disembarked with cavalry. After they went ashore, the cavalry infantry split up and quickly surrounded the Dashun army castle on the other side of the Baotou River. At the same time, along the south bank of the Yellow River, many vigilant soldiers were sent to both sides. They were given the order that those who came on both sides were only allowed to enter and not to go out. In a word, block the news that the soldiers of Yaogang crossed the river.

After the Yaogang soldiers surrounded the castle, they immediately sent out the soldiers who had served here as soldiers of the Dashun Army to send a letter to the castle to persuade them to surrender.

The soldiers of the Dashun army in the castle are a little reluctant this time, the last time the kiln gang people beat this castle again, it is understandable, because their people did cross the river to harass them, and they also killed the people on the other side, and they didn't have anything to say when they came over. But since then, the Dashun army here is a man with his tail between his legs, not only do they dare not cross the river to harass, but even the people who come from the north of the river are very polite, for fear of angering the people of the kiln gang opposite. But it's such patience, and the kiln people still come to find trouble, which is really a bit of a bully.

However, the leaders of the castle, looking out from the earthen wall, knew that the kiln men were well prepared, and this time it was definitely not a joke, they set up their cannons and heavy machine guns. It's impossible to go out and send someone to deliver a letter. He understood that as long as he did not agree to surrender, people would be able to bombard his own people with a single shot, and no one would be able to run past the heavy machine gun bullets. There was no way, the leader led more than 500 soldiers and surrendered.

They were sent across the river by boat to find a place to take care of it, and the Yaogang soldiers themselves garrisoned the castle for the Dashun army.

Then the four tugboats in Yaogang began to get busy. The two tugboats were joined together by steel frames, and a huge cement anchor was hoisted on the shelf between the two boats with a tower crane on the dock, tied with ropes, and then the two boats moved to a predetermined position to throw the stone anchor into the river. In some places, thrown into the river are steel cages filled with large stones of steel welded steel bars. The four boats threw stones and anchors for two days, and both sides of the Yellow River were blocked. After throwing the stone anchors and steel cages, the kiln sappers tied the wooden boats to these anchors, and then put planks on the wooden boats, and a pontoon bridge was erected. These huge stone anchors and steel cages, deeply and firmly embedded in the mud at the bottom of the river, have been tested to be very safe. Ning De led the brigade and began to cross the river.

Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He were waiting for news from Ningde's side in Tongguan. Knowing that Ningde and they had succeeded in building a bridge, he immediately notified Liu Yun that they acted at the same time.

This day is the 10th day of February in the 19th year of Chongzhen.

After crossing the river in Ningde, they marched west along the south bank of the Yellow River, led by a cavalry regiment led by Li Kui. This is what he is trying to get from Ningde, and Ningde can't twist it, so he has to agree. Following them is the engineering regiment, they are to carry out construction in a difficult place to pass, to ensure that the convoy behind can pass, that is, the work of opening roads and building bridges in the mountains and rivers. They carry a lot of *** fierce**, and when they encounter a bad place, they will take an eye, blow it up with **"boom", and then fill it with soil and stones. This road along the Yellow River was originally the road stepped by the slender men and porters on the Yellow River, and it could not be opened to traffic at all, but after the efforts of the sappers, the traffic conditions were greatly improved. The engineer regiment pulled out a long way along the way, and in order to reduce the impact on the brigade behind, they ran forward as much as possible, and then repaired the road, which was basically done, and when the brigade came, their road had been repaired.

As for the Dashun army posts and camps encountered along the way, the Yaogang cavalry regarded them as nothing. It's easy to get rid of.

The brigade marched along the banks of the river, each of the four tugboats on the Yellow River dragging a long line of barges to follow the procession. Those officials who followed up were all arranged by Ningde to the ship. Because most of them were literati, Ningde was afraid that they would not be able to endure the hardships on the road. Actually, each of them has their own carriage, but because the road is not too good, there are some bumps. On this route, Ningde's brigade first advanced along the south bank of the Yellow River, reached the bend of the Yellow River, and then advanced south along the Yellow River. Along the way, there are many Mongolian and Han settlements on both sides of the Yellow River, and the Ming Dynasty here has long been unable to control, and Li Zicheng can't manage it, and the Mongols have no one to care except for sometimes coming to loot. Many Han people here still retain the original customs and habits, they said that they were immigrated during the Han Dynasty, and later the Huns, Western Xia, and Mongols came when they were strong, and they were not killed and no one cared about them. Every time Ningde goes to such a place, he tells them that there will be someone to take care of here in the future, and we Yaogang people will not ignore you. According to Zhang Zhimu's research in advance, they left them a lot of things, such as cloth from the kiln, horse lanterns, kerosene, medicines, and so on. The people here are very happy to hear that the court of the Han people has come again. They thought that the Yaogang people were the court of the Han people. It is not easy for them to survive here, and the connection between here and the outside world is through the slender men who sail the boat. Through the slender boatmen, they can exchange for some outside daily necessities. Ningde also told them that they would come here every year in the future to buy their sheepskins and other items, which could be exchanged for things. If the children want to read, they can follow the boat to the kiln to read.

They seldom saw such an army, and not only were they so kind to them, but they also gave them things, so they believed their words, and said that they hoped that they would return. However, the Mongols they encountered along the way were still wary of them. Since it was not convenient to communicate with them, they did not take any destructive actions, and Ningde ignored them.

When they arrived in front of Ningxia Mansion (Yinchuan), it took nearly 20 days. There are basically no decent battles, and the main difficulty is to use them for road repair. Because of Ningde, they were followed by a large group of men and horses with a long convoy. If the road is not repaired, the carriage will not be able to pass, so a lot of work will be delayed. But it's all planned. Because of Li Zicheng, it is impossible for them to judge that Ningde will take this road. Because it was his soldiers who discovered Ningde and them, and there was no means of communication to notify Li Zicheng. Now Li Zicheng's attention has long been drawn to the southeast and southeast directions.

During the time when Ningde and them rushed to the front of Ningxia Mansion, Liu Yun and their progress was too great.

Liu Yun and Liu Chenghuang have been on standby for a long time on this side of the river. Since they needed to wait for Ningde and their men to act together, they had to wait patiently.

Waiting is a painful thing, and even Liu Yun, who has always been very steady, is irritable.

Liu Chenghuang smiled and said, "I see that the commander can't hold his breath anymore, why don't we go to Zhou Yuji and Li Yan together." Let's see how well they're prepared. Even the Yellow River on their side of Ningde is open, and it will take a few days to cross the river. ”

"Good! Let's go and see if Mr. Zhou still has any good wine? Liu Yun agreed with Liu Chenghuang's proposal.

Liu Yun and their station in Hequ were not far from the station of General Zhou and their station in Biguan, and they arrived soon on horseback.

Li Yan and Zhou Yuji were also anxious, and they were naturally very happy to see Liu Yun and Liu Chenghuang coming. Immediately set down the wine to entertain.

It seems that the best affection for a few people is Zhou Yuji, as soon as the wine is drunk, there are more words.

"Oops! I envy you, you are the first people to follow Mr. Zhang to fight the world. I'm new to the team, and I'm finally going to catch up with the fight, so you guys will definitely let me have a good chance. To be honest, I'm under a lot of pressure! In order to let the emperor give me an order to send troops, Mr. Zhang sent the emperor one million taels of silver at once a year ago. Do you think I'm stressed? ”

Listening to Zhou Yuji's words, the three of them all laughed. At this moment, Zhou Yuji was a little stunned, "I'm not drunk yet, what are you laughing at?" ”

Li Yan smiled and said, "I said Lord Commander, you don't understand the situation. The silver we lend to the emperor every year is at least two million taels, but in the past, the emperor sent someone to borrow it, and this time Mr. Zhang took the initiative to send it over. If we don't borrow the money from the imperial court, won't they break up the yellow shop? Mr. Zhang understands that it is all lent to them, so it is better to take the initiative to talk about your troops by the way this time. The emperor is also a smart person, he can't control you if he doesn't give an order, and he won't be a favor? So, you don't have to mind that. ”

"Oh! Oh my God, two million taels of silver a year! Zhou Yuji said, "We can raise our own soldiers to fight the world." ”

"Not enough!" Li Yan said, "The cost of raising one soldier is more than enough for you to raise ten soldiers." Besides, it was worth spending two million taels of silver to let the emperor look at the Manchus and the Mongols in the north. ”

"What Li Gongzi said is that the cost of raising soldiers now will already exceed the cost of ten soldiers for one soldier." Zhou Yuji gestured and said, "Let's just talk about the clothes that our soldiers change, how much silver is needed for each soldier, and they are all the best fabrics, brand new inside and out." I'm afraid they have never worn such a costume in their lives, let alone eaten. Such a soldier is simply an uncle, and those rich men can't live such a life! ”

Liu Yun said: "Mr. Zhang said that the soldiers live a life of licking blood with knives, and try to make them as good as possible if they can live a little better." After we conquer the whole world, the life of the people will be better, and the life of the soldiers will be better. ”

"What a pity! I can't follow Commander Liu to fight Li Zicheng. Zhou Yuji said with the strength of wine, "But it is okay to follow Li Gongzi to fight Mongolian Tatars." The thought of these Mongolian tartars makes the roots of my teeth itch. These miscellaneous things have harmed us Han people. If the court can't do it, the people will suffer. Those miscellaneous things were robbed when they crossed the Great Wall, and they were killed when they saw people, and young men and women were taken captive as slaves. They didn't live long in the past before they all died. ”

Zhou Yuji's words made everyone feel a little heavy.

After taking a big sip of wine, Zhou Yuji said, "Although my lady is Mongolian, I don't have a good impression of those Mongolians opposite. If Mr. Zhang hadn't agreed, we would have left none of us in the past. ”

Li Yan said: "I also know that leaving them will be a scourge in the future, but Mr. Zhang said that we will do so." ”

"After I took office here, I carefully studied the affairs of the Mongols on the other side of the river, in fact, it was not the place of their Mongols, because the power of the Ming Dynasty was getting weaker and weaker, and the Mongol Tatar and Warat tribes became stronger. In the Ming Dynasty, the grandson of Dayan Khan, Gunbi Rich, Morgan inherited the title of Jinong, and only then did they call their tribe Ordos. So there's nothing wrong with us driving them away and killing them if they don't leave. When Zhou Yuji spoke, the roots of his teeth rang out.

Liu Chenghuang joked: "I said Lord General Soldier, why didn't you say these words in front of President Zhang?" ”

"Haha!" Zhou Yuji laughed and said, "I'm not that stupid! If I talk too much, Mr. Zhang will not be at ease and will not let me go out with Li Gongzi. What do you say I should do? ”

A few people discussed the matter of marching while drinking, and Liu Chenghuang said: "After we fight, we will immediately divide the troops into two routes." One way, I led along the Great Wall to attack. I think that General Zhou Bing, you should have some of the troops who took over the Great Wall, and some of them should follow us. Otherwise, when our army is over, if you pass again, the distance between you and us will be shortened. It's not easy to connect. ”

Zhou Yuji and Li Yan both nodded yes, and then they made some specific arrangements.

Finally waiting for the news that they had begun to erect a pontoon bridge in Ningde, Liu Yun and Liu Chenghuang came to the special station of the squadron sent by Li Jing. The squadron leader of this squadron is a veteran of Li Jing, and he is also very familiar with Liu Yun, and he has been following Li Jing to call Liu Yun his senior brother, and when he saw Liu Yun coming, he knew that the mission was coming, "Senior brother, is there good news?" ”

"That's right! It's your turn. "Liu Yun likes Li Jing's brothers very much, in terms of skills, these people are good, Liu Yun and Li Jing are much different, and they often work together when they have nothing to do," General Ningde, they have already begun to build a pontoon bridge. Do it tonight. ”

"Good! If you don't take any action, the brothers will be suffocated. ”

Liu Yun was very satisfied with their morale, but he didn't have time to say anything else to them, and he had to look at the other troops who participated in the operation tonight.

As soon as it got dark, the special forces set off. They carried their equipment on horses, walked upstream, and after walking upstream, they stopped and began to prepare. The squadron leader looked at his brothers, and when the big battle came, they were all calm, unhurried, and methodically making preparations, not at all like the anxious look when waiting, and nodded with satisfaction. This is an invincible team.

At midnight, the squadron leader looked at his watch, waved two black rubber boats, and rowed into the Yellow River rapids at night. On the black rubber boat, there is a special forces soldier in a black suit, even his face is covered with black veil, and only two eyes are exposed. They paddled gently along the rapids, slowly approaching the west bank of the river, and then drifting downstream along the rapids. Their target was the eastern starting point of the Great Wall in Shaanxi.

Baohetai in Dazhan Village is the first station in the Great Wall Fugu of Yansui (Yulin) Town, and the Baohetai of Datangkou and the ancient ferry at the west entrance of the gray ditch camp in Hequ County face each other across the Yellow River. Datangkou Baohetai was built on the mountain to the west of Dazhan Village. The whole mountain is stony, the top of the pier platform (beacon tower) is built of earth, it is rectangular, the length and width are more than one zhang each, the side is high and low, there is a mouth in the south, leave the broken bricks, there are several layers of stone wall on the outside, the pier platform is the earth wall to the east to the river, the outside of the wall is the mouth, and the wall is the mouth.

Although the place is not large, its importance is clearer to the Dashun Army, so although the transportation here is inconvenient, there are still two or three hundred soldiers of the Dashun Army stationed. These situations have been investigated clearly before the Yaogang civilian military has been investigated. They are just a guard platform here, and the Qingshui battalion behind them is the place where a large number of troops are stationed. However, if they are allowed to send out the alarm here, a large number of troops from the Qingshui camp will come up, and the Yaogang people's army will be more troublesome before the river is crossed. Although Liu Yun didn't take the combat effectiveness of the Dashun army to heart, if the sneak attack was successful, there was no need to use brute force to attack hard.

There is an earthen wall from the bottom of the pier to the east of the river, but because of the fear of river erosion, the part that enters the river is all made of stone.

The special forces of the kiln gang quietly leaned the rubber boat against the end of the stone wall in the river, and controlled the rubber boat with their hands on the wall. There were no sentinels here, maybe it was still too cold, or it was okay to stay there for a long time, and they were all paralyzed. Anyway, as if it had been reconnoitred beforehand, there was no one to keep watch here. So they paddled the dinghy into the side of the side wall. Leaning towards the shore, a total of twelve people came down from the two rubber boats, all of whom were holding good *** pistols in their hands and carrying automatic rifles behind them. When they came ashore, they quickly came under the wall outside the pier wall.

Just as they were about to climb over the wall, the alert special forces heard a low wheezing sound faintly coming from inside the wall.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".