The warm spring sun dominated the sky of northern Sichuan for three days in a row.

In just three days, life is like hearing the starting pistol, and they all wake up one by one, and begin to compete in the mountains and streams, creating colorful and gorgeous mountains and rivers in northern Sichuan.

On the first day of February, Feng Rubao's special reinforcement battalion completed the assembly in Jincheng Walled City and began to attack in the direction of Tongcheng Walled City. The newly formed No. 1 Squadron of the Yilong County Brigade, under the leadership of Shi Yongxiao, the squadron leader and supervisor, and Xu Sheng, the deputy squadron leader and officer and soldier Qianhu, followed the task force. The task of their squadron was to build a fortress in Sanjiao Town.

Sanjiao Town is the north gate of Yilong County, more than 20 miles away from Jincheng Town. This place is the intersection of Langzhong, Bazhou and Yilong counties, the north enters Bashan through the gate ditch, the south is Mao'er Mountain, the west is the Fairy Mountain, and the southwest is Yang Shanying's old nest Dayi Mountain.

The mountains on all sides enclose a small basin near and to the southwest of the town. The basin is rich in water and soil, dotted with thousands of acres of barren fertile land. If this vast area can be developed and planted with corn and sweet potatoes that are being vigorously promoted by the Shu Wangfu, then the paddy field and dry land can reach at least 20,000 mu, with an annual output of 30,000 stones.

Therefore, the construction of a fortress in Sanjiao Town can not only block the passage of Damengou but also ensure that the logistics road of the task force is unblocked; It is also of great significance that the garrison can be stationed to reclaim land and control the surrounding areas and further compress the living space of the local rioters.

When Deng Wenxing, a gentry supervisor from Sanjiao Town, asked Feng Rubao, the commander of the task force, for help, Feng Rubao, who had never been too lazy to take care of logistics, specially ordered that all the infantry of the task force should each contribute to the construction of the fortress - it was too late to build many carts, so each person carried fifteen catties of earth and cement on the road!

The officers and men of the task force walked from Guang'an or Qu County to Yilong County, trekked on the mountain road for several days, and yesterday they easily lined up to take a cold shower. It's all washed in vain.

As a result, the dead old lady became the scapegoat of the three brothers of the Feng family, and was by the angry soldiers in their hearts.

Spring is in full bloom and the roads are dry.

Before noon, the large army arrived at Sanjiao Town. The soldiers, who were all gray and white, threw down their cement bags at the designated place and headed towards the mountains to the north. War is imminent, and no one wants to stay in this desolate and dilapidated town.

By evening, the task force had already covered more than half of the eighty-mile road between the Golden City Walled City and the Copper Walled City. Just as the soldiers were having dinner in front of the ruins of a village on the side of the road and preparing to camp, Feng Rubao received a personal report from the commander of the third cavalry battalion, Dongbu Gyatso, that there was a stone village called Tianbao Village on a mountain beam on the side of the road five miles ahead. The local thugs were stationed in the stone village, blocking the way forward.

Feng Rubao got the information and was not worried that the local tyrant would slip away at night. After waiting for the soldiers to eat and drink, he said goodbye to Gyatso, and then led his troops to the foot of the Tianbao Zhai Mountain, camped and set up camp, and put on a posture of a strong attack on the second day.

After completing his task of tactical reconnaissance and battle demonstration, Dong Bu Gyatso led his Dong Bu cavalry to fight Ma Nanben and returned to Sanjiao Town. They rested in Sanjiao Town for one night, and then turned around tomorrow and advanced towards Yuxichang, joining the battle sequence commanded by Liu Zhenfan, the deputy general of northern Sichuan.

……

The warm spring sun also shone on the head of Bazhou City.

Before dawn, Wang Xiang led Lu Nianyu and a group of generals to inspect the city as usual, and the focus of the inspection was on the south city opposite the South Niche Mountain.

Entering the camp early in the morning to inspect is a habit that Wang Xiang has developed for many years to lead troops. He knew that he was from a humble background, and unlike many generals who were born in Jiangmen, he had neither his father nor his brother to teach him by word and deed, nor a group of relatives and friends to help him, and he did not even have a family heirloom book, so only by paying more than others could he stand tall and even stand out in the armies of northern Sichuan, which were full of generals.

The local rioters on the South Niche Mountain are getting up to make a fire, and several local rioters are squatting on the top of the cliff, pooping and urinating in the direction of Bazhou.

The top of the cliff is two miles away from the head of the city, and Wang Xiang, who is standing on the head of the south gate, can see it clearly. Wang Xiang rubbed his itchy nose contemptuously, and ordered left and right: "Yesterday, the local rioters attacked from the opposite side. Keep an eye on it today! ”

The guerrilla general Lu Nianyu scolded indignantly: "The city wall is too close to the mountain! The thugs went out of the camp and down the mountain, crossed the river, and in a blink of an eye they were under the city. Damn X, this Bazhou city wall, I don't know that fool and stupid guy built it! ”

"I don't care how Bazhou cultivates, and I can't control it. But the local tyrant should regret it now, regret not demolishing this Bazhou city! ”

Wang Xiang rarely said a joke. But he didn't get any response from Lu Nianyu, so he changed his cold tone again: "Now the general only knows that the prince let us defend Bazhou." Defending Bazhou, the Bazhou soldiers are the first credit! ”

At noon yesterday, the soldiers at the north gate saw a reddish object floating in the Ba River, which was very eye-catching. The officers defending the city reacted quickly and immediately ordered the soldiers to go down to the river to fish. Almost at the same time, the moths on the other side of the river also noticed the movement in the river, so the two sides started a swimming competition. Fortunately, the officers and men were highly skilled and took the lead in getting the items back.

The object was quickly delivered to Wang Xiang, a large sealed bamboo tube brushed with vermilion lacquer, poked open with a wax seal, and inside were two pieces of silk paper and a note. The silk paper with the red dragon printed on the yellow background is the will of Zhu Pingjian, the son of Shu. There are only a few sentences on it, but it is shocking to read.

Zhu Pingjin didn't say half a word of nonsense, and directly asked Wang Xiang to "fight to the last soldier!" "Do whatever it takes, stick to Bazhou. People save the city, people die and the city is lost! ", and promised that "Bazhou will not lose, and Wang Xiang should be the first merit of the official army!" ”

The silk paper with black characters on a white background is a letter from Liao Daheng, the governor of Sichuan, to Wang Xiang. In the letter, Liao Daheng gave a detailed account of Zhu Pingjin's great importance to Bazhou, and explained that tens of thousands of national protectors and northern Sichuan officials had been dispatched and were attacking the local tyrants with Bazhou as the center. Zhang Zuokai, Jia Denglian, Yang Zhan, and Tu Long will all receive similar orders to hold on, and they will become a springboard for the Protector Army and the official army to rescue Bazhou and attack the enemy north.

Liao Daheng also made a special explanation to Wang Xiang that the prince attached great importance to Wang Xiang himself, and personally called him "my general"; The prince was also very kind to the officers and soldiers, Zhao Ronggui was defeated in Guang'an City, and the prince personally sent him to the hospital for treatment, and the dead and wounded soldiers were all compensated. Now the Protector Army is strong and strong, and with the power of Guang'an's great victory, it has been transferred to Bazhou. As long as Wang Xiang holds Bazhou, a fundamental change in the situation in northern Sichuan is just around the corner.

As for the small note, it was a note from Yang Zhan's general Wu Yazhen to Wang Xiang.

The general of Wu Ya said that he had received an order from Liao Fu to deliver a message to Bazhou, but his men were all miscreants, and none of them were willing to float down the icy tributaries of the Ba River to Bazhou to deliver the message. So he had to throw two of these bamboo tubes into the Ba River every morning and evening. Fortunately, Shizi and Liao Fu were worried that Wang Xiang would not receive the order, so they made a lot of wills and sent them, and he couldn't finish them for a while. The guard general also deliberately reminded Wang Xiang that in this way, Wang Xiang received the will, and the local tyrants also received the will, and the intention of the officials and soldiers to hold on to Bazhou would be revealed to the local tyrants.

"If it is not expected, the local rioters will still attack from the opposite Nanyan Mountain and Jinbang Mountain today." Wang Xiang smiled.

"There are so many artillery pieces on the city, and the local rioters are worried about the dead and wounded, so of course they have to attack from the nearest place!" Lu Nianyu responded. There was an imperceptible scorn in the response.

"The Soil Tyrant is not as smart as you think, you see, the Soil Tyrant is out again." Wang Xiang said loudly. After speaking, he pointed with his hand, and saw that the South Niche Mountain and Jinbang Mountain, covered by green trees, suddenly gushed out thousands of gray-brown earth rioters like seeping green buckets. They carried ladders and swords on their backs, and flowed silently across the small river below the mountain.

Wang Xiang finally showed a smile: "As soon as the day is over, the local tyrant will be exhausted!" Tonight proclaim the will of the prince to the whole army, and then feast on meat. In the middle of the night, the whole army set out, moved all the artillery to the feet of the general, and aimed at the foot of the opposite mountain! ”

"General, here comes your bow!"

An old soldier brought a big bow with jade horns on his face, and two pots of long arrows on his back. Wang Xiang grabbed the big bow, and raised his hands to let the old soldier pin the quiver to his waist.

The thugs rushed a hundred steps outside the city before they let out a loud cry and rushed towards the city wall. In the surging crowd, a large banner with black letters on a white ground is particularly eye-catching: Breaking the King of Food.

"Hold Bazhou, the first merit of the whole army? Well, the prince of the world has underestimated me Wang Xiang! ”

Wang Xiang snorted lightly and put on an iron arrow; There was a creak, and the big bow was full.

……

Compared with Wang Xiang's ease, Jia Denglian, who was guarding the Tongcheng Walled, and Ma Gan and Zhang Zuokai in Yuxichang were very thrilling.

In the face of the swarming local rioters, Jia Denglian didn't care about his feelings, and regarded Zhou Changzhong, who came to be a lobbyist, as his general, and let him lead 500 rotten soldiers to the incense burner village. Zhou Changzhong was not ambiguous, and he did not complain about the death of more than 200 subordinates in three days. It wasn't until Yang Weidong, the Chinese army, who was worried about his safety, took the initiative to bring 300 auxiliary soldiers to reinforce that he saved the predicament of Xianglu Village.

Jia Denglian himself acted as a cavalry reserve in the defense area, constantly rushing eastward through the C-shaped gap, killing and wounding a large number of the local rioters gathered on the flat dam, and making it impossible for the local rioters to form a complete encirclement. The local tyrant had no choice but to take the mountain beam that the cavalry could not attack, and fight with the condescending Jia Ying on the C-shaped mountain beam. Back and forth, the Tongcheng Walled area was quickly submerged in a sea of corpses and blood.

The Yuxi Field, which the local rioters focused on, was even more tragic than the Copper Walled City.

The Tyrants appeared on the 27th of January and immediately attacked the east, but they were blocked by a silted riverbed and were held back in front of the official barracks, and suffered heavy casualties.

On the 28th, the local rioters crossed the official barracks from the north and south and surrounded the fishing creek from all sides. The focus of the Turbulrs was on the southern mountain beams, which posed the greatest threat to them. In the evening, Li Xiangchun, covered in blood, took the only ferry boat and retreated across the Yuxi River. Of the 500 officers and soldiers he took out, less than 30 returned.

On the 29th, the local tyrants began to concentrate their forces to attack Jinbao Village in the north.

Jinbao Village is a small village, it is the refuge of the local gentry and the common people spontaneously built, built at the confluence of two mountain beams in the north and south, the cliffs on three sides, a gentle slope on one side, the gentle slope is built with the stone base stone blockhouse and the deer stone, the end is very dangerous.

In addition to the 300 officers and soldiers, there were also 7 or 800 local people who had fled; In addition to the artillery guns of officers and soldiers, there are also seven-pin cannons (stone throwers) and pine cannons made by the people. Unable to deploy superior forces under the small and dangerous Jinbao Village, the Tyrants wasted two days and lost their troops, but found nothing, and were forced to turn their attention back to the fishing creek field.

On the first day of February, the local rioters pinned down Jinbaozhai with a small force, and concentrated more than 20,000 troops to launch an attack on the north of Yuxichang.

This bold and resolute attack pushed more than 4,000 people of Zhang Zuokai's department to the brink of life and death almost instantly.