The three passes of Yiyang are near Xinyang, located between the lofty mountains of Dabie Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, the terrain is very dangerous, it can be said that one man is the pass, unless the strength of the two armies is too far apart, generally speaking, it is not difficult to hold the three passes of Yiyang.

In contrast, the Nanyang Basin is much wider and more unfavorable to the defending side, so since ancient times, whenever the north and south have competed, they have often avoided the three passes of Yiyang and launched an attack from the Xiangyang-Xinye-Nanyang line...... The Nanyang Basin, which is easy to attack and difficult to defend, can be called a veritable place for soldiers.

Nanyang was called Wancheng in ancient times, who controlled the entire Nanyang Basin, and went south to Yicheng Passage or Shunhan Underwater Wuchang, which could sweep the Yangtze River Basin; Go north to Yichuan, and the soldiers will point directly at Luoyang; Go west to Shangluo and enter Shaanxi, which is the 800-mile Guanzhong Plain; East...... It is a little troublesome to the east, and after following the Fangcheng passage to the east out of the Nanyang Basin, you must first defeat the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King, occupy their old nest Pingding Mountain, and then enter the Central Plains of Yima Pingchuan.

(The Golden Horn King was just joking, but of the several roads in and out of the Nanyang Basin, the Fangcheng Pass was the most threatening to the north, the shortest and fastest road, directly from Pingdingshan into the hinterland of Henan, except for the Yellow River, the entire North China Plain was unsafe.) ）

In a word, the Nanyang Basin is not easy to keep, and the strategic location is too important, and it is not safe to be under the jurisdiction of any province, so the rulers of all dynasties have divided the Nanyang Basin into two and ruled by provinces, with the north of Xinye to Henan and the south of Xiangyang to Hubei, which is the so-called "mountain and river system".

"Although Xinye is small, Wu Jingdao has heavy troops. It's not good to fight. Li Guo said: "I have long sent a detailed investigation to find out that there are more than 6,000 Henan green camps in Xinye City, and there are military village passes in Bowangpo and other places. The terrain here is too dangerous, and although the Qing army in Henan is unable to rescue Xiangfan, it is more than enough to protect itself. ”

Wu Jingdao, governor of Henan in the Manchu Qing Dynasty. At this time, Henan did not have a separate governor, which belonged to the jurisdiction of the governor of Zhili, and it was not until the Yongzheng period that Henan and Shandong were separated, and Tian Wenjing served as the governor. During the Shunzhi period, the governor of Henan was the highest military and political governor in Henan.

After the Ming army surrounded Xiangyang City, Wu Jingdao had already mobilized heavy troops to guard the Henan side. From Xinye to Dengzhou, from Dengzhou to Nanyang, and even several important passages in and out of the Nanyang Basin, they are all guarded very tightly. Bowangpo is located sixty miles southwest of Fangcheng County. North negative Funiu Mountain. Hidden Mountain in the south, leaning on the White River in the west, is the Mangang that Funiu Mountain extends here, the terrain is dangerous, it is the throat of the Fangcheng passage, and the other end is connected with Pingdingshan and Xuchang.

"You don't need to fight in Xinye County, and Bowangpo can also go around! We will send a fine cavalry to fight into Henan from the east side of Xinye. Avoid the Bowangpo Pass and head north from between Tang County and Nanyang. Go south and call into Funiu Mountain......" Ma Jinzhong drew a march route on the map with his finger.

"What? Don't you even fight Nanyang? Well...... don't go to Xuchang either? Gao Yigong's mind was spinning rapidly, and he still couldn't keep up with Ma Jinzhong's train of thought.

It's easy to understand if you don't hit Shinno. The peasant army was called Liukou back then, and the war has always avoided the real and the virtual, wandering everywhere, and then the strength became strong before it began to attack the strong city, skipping the small but difficult to bite Xinye County, directly into the Nanyang Basin, this tactic is very in line with the style of breaking into the camp, Ma Jinzhong is also from the Shaanxi peasant army, everyone thinks of going together.

But it's strange not to hit Nanyang. After skipping Xinye, Nanyang Fucheng was clearly the most suitable target for attack...... Okay, Ma Jinzhong may have a bigger appetite and is staring at the whole of Henan, but why should he avoid Bowangpo and not consider marching to Xuchang, but go headlong into Funiu Mountain?

Gao Yigong and Li Guo were both generals of Rong Ma for half their lives, and when they heard Ma Jinzhong say "select a fine horseman", they immediately set their sights on the Fangcheng passage on the map. Cavalry is the most suitable for mobile combat on the Great Plains, and sending a cavalry from Fangcheng to Xuchang and Huanghuai for thousands of miles is indeed a bolder and sharper battle plan, full of temptation.

After Azig captured Wuchang, Henan became the rear of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the garrison was not much, Leke Dehun, Kong Youde, and Tan Tai made several southern expeditions, and Dolgon attacked Shanxi, and constantly transferred green battalions from Henan to help in the war, and the strength of the Qing army in Henan became less and less. By the time the camp counterattacked Hubei, Wu Jingdao deployed heavy troops at the three passes of Nanyang, Xinye and Yiyang, and the Qing army in the hinterland of Henan had become extremely empty, and only some green battalion soldiers were stationed in various state capitals...... Not much, as long as there is a Ming cavalry of two or three thousand people into the hinterland of Henan, the short-legged green battalion infantry can not catch up, can not fight, can only shrink in the city to defend to the death, the Ming cavalry is already invincible, will definitely be able to turn Henan upside down, forcing Dolgon and Kong Youde to divide troops to come to Henan rescue.

The only problem is that the Fangcheng Pass is a long and narrow corridor, and the terrain of Bowangpo is the most dangerous, after the Qing army stuck Bowangpo, the Ming cavalry wanted to rush into the Central Plains, and they had to storm this dangerous pass. Li Guo and Gao Yigong's hearts were like electricity, and they immediately saw this key issue, and their minds were quickly judging the risks and weighing the pros and cons, but they were slightly stunned when they heard Ma Jinzhong say that they wanted to bypass Bowangpo.

Gao Yigong frowned and asked, "Go south to call into Funiu Mountain?" Although entering Funiu Mountain can temporarily get rid of the pursuers, where does the food and grass supply come from? It is not easy for the cavalry to make a detour after entering the mountain, and it is easy to be blocked by the Tartars' pursuers......"

Li Guo glanced at Ma Jinzhong, thoughtful, and interjected with a smile: "Kwai Yu must have arranged a backhand, he must have other plans to go to Funiu Mountain after running so hard." ”

"Hu Shuai is really smart, this twist and turn in my heart is all of a sudden, and you can see through it all of a sudden!" Ma Jinzhong gave a thumbs up, slapped his fart sincerely, and then turned around and shouted outside: "Lengwa, don't come in to meet Hu Shuai yet!" ”

With his shout, a middle-aged man in his thirties stepped in, with a wide face, big eyes and high cheekbones, dressed in an arrow suit and full of energy, but the clothes were a little shabby, the front of the cuffs were covered with several patches of different colors, and he was wearing a felt hat on his head that could no longer see the original color, and a single knife with a sheath straddled diagonally around his waist.

This arrow coat and felt hat is the standard dress of the Shaanxi Peasant Army, and it is now rare in the camp, and Li Guo and Gao Yigong immediately felt a little closer. One side of the water and soil to raise one side of the people, this man's appearance is obviously from Shaanxi, and his gestures also have a special temperament, this kind of temperament outsiders don't feel it, but Li Guo and Gao Yigong are very familiar, without opening their mouths to interrogate, they know that this man must be from the Shaanxi Peasant Army, and it is definitely not fake.

"Meet the Tiger Shuai! My name is Zhang Qilun, nicknamed Lengwa, I was under Gu Shuai's mark back then, and I have lived in Baishizhai in Funiu Mountain all these years......"

The man came to the door, and Li Guo carefully inquired about some details to confirm his identity.

His name is Zhang Qilun, who was also born in the Shaanxi Peasant Army and is Ma Jinzhong's cousin. After the Qing army entered the customs, Zhang Qilun's peasant army was wiped out by the Qing army, the main general died, he led the remnants to flee into Funiu Mountain, occupied the mountain as the king, opened up the wasteland and tuntian, continued to grow and develop in the past few years, and the Han people who did not want to shave their heads and surrender to the Manchu Qing Dynasty came to vote, and they have gathered three or four thousand people. Because it was hidden in the deep mountains and old forests, the Manchu government never knew that there was such a large group of "thieves" in Funiu Mountain, so they did not send troops to suppress it.

Zhang Qilun was closed to news in the mountains, and he heard about the whereabouts of Ma Jinzhong and Chuang Camp not long ago, so he went down the mountain to Hubei and got in touch with his cousin Ma Jinzhong.

"In the past few years, the wind and rain have been smooth, we have a lot of food in Baishizhai, and there are more than 2,000 soldiers and soldiers who can go into battle, but there is a lack of armor, swords and guns. If Hu Shuai is willing to send troops to Funiu Mountain, he can settle down in Baishi Village, and he doesn't have to worry about food and drink......"

"Where is Baishizhai?" Li Guo's eyes flashed, it turned out that there was still such an anti-Qing volunteer army hidden in Funiu Mountain, and with them to respond, the tactics he could choose were much more flexible.

"It's in Jiugao Mountain, Song County." Ma Jinzhong pointed his finger on the map.

"This place, it's very good......," Li Guo leaned forward and carefully examined the map.

Eight hundred miles of Funiu Mountain, across the west of Henan, if the location of Baishizhai is too partial, it is of little significance. However, Jiugao Mountain in Songxian County is located at the northern foot of Funiu Mountain, only one hundred and fifty miles away from Luoyang, to the west you can attack Mianchi, threaten Tongguan and Fenglingdu, to the east you can attack Dengfeng, enter the North China Plain, there are many attack points you can choose.

"Since Hu Shuai said yes, it must be right, my trick called the black tiger to dig out his heart, and he was inserted into the stomach of the tartar at once!" Ma Jinzhong was triumphant, and said: "If this battle is fought well, the credit is no less than that of the Eastern Expedition, and it is not interesting to send some foot soldiers to fight a small fight, so you must go to the cavalry." I don't have many cavalry, I want to make up with you, how about it, let's get together with his 3,000 cavalry and go to Henan to make a big fuss! “

Only by sending cavalry can we get rid of the encirclement and interception of the Qing army, quickly cross the Nanyang Plain, and enter Funiu Mountain. More importantly, after sending troops from Baishizhai again, only cavalry was suitable for mobile combat on the Qianli Plain and dealt the most powerful blow to the Qing army.

Gao Yigong's expression was stern, and he said: "The strange soldiers highlight Funiu Mountain, this method is indeed good, but I am afraid that these three thousand cavalry will not come back." After the disturbance in Henan, Dolgon will inevitably send the Eight Banners to the south to rescue, and Kong Youde may also send troops back to help Henan, these 3,000 cavalry are easy to go out of the mountain, but it is not easy to enter the mountain again. “

"Why do you want to go so far? Take advantage of the opportunity. Liu Tichun interjected: "Don't fight hard with the Tartars, if you see that the limelight is not right, hurry into the mountain, there is no big problem." If you are willing to do it, I will send five hundred cavalry. ”

Li Guo thought about it and said: "We can't make our own decisions about this matter, we must ask Wang Junmen first, but I think Wang Junmen will definitely agree to ......" (to be continued......)