On the morning of the first day of March, Changsha City

On the western section of the city wall, the soldiers of Huguang Town were waiting for them, and Pang Yue was also silently observing the movements outside the city at the head of Xiaoximen. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info!

Before dawn, the soldiers of the Ming army in the city were mobilized, and after a hurried breakfast, they rushed to their respective defensive areas to prepare for a possible attack by the Qing army. Among them, Huguang Town had the fastest response speed, and when the rest of the military towns were still in a commotion, the area around the head of the big and small west gate cities had quieted down, leaving only fiery red military flags fluttering in the wind. Under the banner, the officers and soldiers stood like iron towers, and a little cold light appeared in the steel jungle formed by long and short weapons.

But more than an hour has passed since dawn, and the outside of the city has always been in a relatively quiet state. The Qing army camps scattered around the city were heavily guarded, and there was no sign of an attack except for some troops monitoring the Ming army. Coupled with the warm sunlight shining on the land inside and outside the city, it almost creates the illusion of being in a peaceful season.

Is the Qing army going to besiege but not attack? Vainly trying to use the method of siege to consume the Ming army in the city to death? Pang Yue speculated in his heart, however, it may not be easy for the Qing army to realize this intention. At present, the total strength of the Qing army is still more than 70,000, but the total strength of the Ming army in the city also exceeds 60,000, and the strength of the two sides is not much different. Moreover, the Qing army could not accurately grasp the distribution of the Ming army in the city, but the Ming army could take their various deployments into the eyes, and it was easy to find their weak points and break through.

"My lord, the Overseer is here!" Wei Yuan ran over to report, interrupting Pang Yue's thoughts.

Pang Yue turned his head and saw that Zhu Dadian had indeed ascended to the top of the city from the horse road on the edge of the city tower, followed by several staff members and personal soldiers.

"I've seen the Overseer!" Pang Yue greeted him and saluted.

"At present, the great enemy does not have to stick to these false routines." Zhu Dadian walked behind the battlements of the city wall, looked at the situation outside the city, and asked, "Has the Qing Yu not moved?" ”

Pang Yue nodded: "That's right." From dawn to now, there has been no sign of an attack on the Qingyu. However, the soldiers still did not dare to slack off. If the situation changes, it can quickly meet the invading enemy. ”

"That's good. The old man had just gone to the rest of the city gates, and the situation was not much different from the big and small west gates. Qing Lu was just eyeing out the city, but he didn't seem ready to attack. It's a bit unpredictable. ”

"Overseer, the last general has thought of it a little." Pang Yue said. He had already thought of a possibility. I just took this opportunity to propose it to Zhu Dadian.

"Oh?" Zhu Dadian glanced at Pang Yue. Then he pointed to the castle tower, "Go in and talk!" ”

"Yes!"

Then, Pang Yue followed Zhu Dadian into the city tower, and the rest of the people waited outside.

"You can sit down too!" After Zhu Dadian sat down. Said to Pang Yue, "Tell me what you think." ”

"Yes!" Pang Yue sat opposite Zhu Dadian and said, "Supervisor, the last general thinks." I am afraid that the target of the Qing captives is not Changsha, and the siege of Changsha is just a gesture. ”

"Why?" Zhu Dadian's stroking movement paused for a moment and asked quietly.

"A few days ago, the Qing captives have suffered a lot of losses in front of our army, losing more than 10,000 men and horses. Now that our army has a strong city to rely on, and it is not at a complete disadvantage in terms of troops, if the Qing captives are forced to attack, the losses will be even heavier. Therefore, it is likely that the slave commander will not force the siege again. Instead, they will choose another way. ”

"Then what do you think the Qing Lu will do next?"

"Bypass Changsha and go straight to Hengzhou!"

Hearing this, Zhu Dadian's eyes were suddenly shocked. After Pang Yue's reminder, he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. You must know that Hengzhou is the ruling center of the Longwu Imperial Court at present, and Emperor Longwu and his ministers are there. However, the local defense force is relatively thin, even though Xiao Kuang, the general army of Li Jing, who was called to King Qin, has arrived. In the face of the wolf-like Qing army, I am afraid that it will still be overwhelmed. Once Emperor Longwu and the courtiers had an accident, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to the Ming Dynasty. But right now. However, there were not many available soldiers in Huguang for the imperial court.

However, at this time, Zhu Dadian still had some hope, and it was not impossible to say that it was a fluke, and asked Pang Yue: "Is Mu Yuan so sure?" If you don't take Changsha, do you dare to go deep into the hinterland of Huguang without any scruples? Isn't he afraid of being attacked on his back? ”

Pang Yue shook his head: "Did the Inspector forget?" The combat mode of the Qing captives has always been changeable, in the second year of Chongzhen, the slave chief Hong Taiqin led the main force of Jiannu to bypass the Shanhaiguan Pass and enter the Kou from Jizhen, and the soldiers besieged the Beijing Division, and in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the slave chieftain Dolgon and Yue Tuo each led an army, bypassing the Shanhaiguan and the Beijing Division, respectively, from the Qingshan Pass and the Wall Ziling Breach into the Kou, all the way to attack Zhou Kexian, such as entering the land of no man, and even swept through Shandong, captured Jinan. Today, most of the imperial court's forces in Huguang have been concentrated in Changsha, and the defense in the south is empty. As for the soldiers and horses in Changsha City, the superintendent also knows, and the last general will say something that should not be said, not to mention that there are a few soldiers and horses who dare to go out of the city to pursue, even if they go out of the city, they will encounter the Qing captives in the field battle when the troops are not superior, and what are the chances of victory? ”

Seeing what Zhu Dadian was thinking, Pang Yue continued: "Before this, the last general had already thought of this, and today when he saw that Qing Yu was still moving, the guess in his heart became even firmer. If the last general did not guess wrong, the Qing captives were stationed outside Changsha City, firstly to rest and recuperate, and secondly, to wait for the subsequent grain and grass to arrive. In a few days, when preparations were sufficient, Dordor would begin the plan. ”

After being silent for a long time, Zhu Dadian sighed and looked at Pang Yue: "Mu Yuan, if the situation is really as you expected, how are you going to deal with it?" ”

Pang Yue thought for a while and said, "If it really comes to that point, the last general, as a Ming courtier, has no choice but to lead the army to rescue him." ”

*********

The Qing army remained silent throughout the morning, and by the afternoon a medium-sized attack on the north gate had been launched. The Qing army's 24-pounder cannon and 18-pounder cannon and other heavy Hongyi cannons blasted two large gaps in the wall of the urn city after continuous and fierce fire, and then the green battalion soldiers swarmed up. But fortunately, the Ming army in the city had already prepared, and Wang Jincai, who was defending the north gate, resisted desperately, and the rest of the military towns also quickly sent reinforcements to support, and after more than an hour of fighting, the Qing army finally repelled the attack. The gaps in the walls were also blocked by the city's auxiliaries with earthen bags and large wooden frames filled with stones.

After this battle, the Qing army returned to the silence of the morning. The people of the city looked even more panicked, and most of them silently prayed that the Ming army would be able to withstand the Qing army's attack.

In the evening, the secret agents of the intelligence department outside the city sent the latest information to the contact point in the city through the carrier pigeon channel established in advance: the follow-up grain and grass of the Qing army had arrived in Xiangyin. It is estimated that they will arrive at the Qing army camp under Changsha City within these two days.

……

"It seems that the Lord expected it right, the Qing army stopped under Changsha City, just to prepare for the next plan, and their purpose was not in Changsha." Changsha commanded the envoy to the Yamen. Zhang Yunli looked at the information handed over by Pang Yue. Said.

Pang Yue bowed slightly: "In this way, our army will be ready to go out of the city to Hengzhou to rescue the driver." At present, the troops in the area of Hengzhou are thin, and once they are raided by the slave commander Duoduo, the consequences will be unimaginable. The General Staff Department should also immediately conduct a deduction of this unexpected situation. Work out a battle plan as soon as possible. ”

"Don't worry, my lord, I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Yunli promised and then raised some of his worries, "However, I don't know how many soldiers and horses will be able to go to the rescue at that time." The military towns in Changsha City must still leave a part to continue to defend the city, and. Like Liu Chengyin and others, they will definitely shirk and refuse to fight. There are very few available troops south of Changsha, and the two largest ones are Xiao Kuang's army, which has arrived in Hengzhou, and the Huang Dynasty's Xuan department, which is stationed in Youxian. Xiao Kuang's subordinates are not enough, the camp affairs of the Huang Dynasty's Propaganda Department are lax and negligent in training, and they only know that they are poisoning the living beings and harming one side on weekdays, and if they really want to fight against the Qing captives, I am afraid that it is a little reluctant. As for the sporadic garrisons in the rest of the prefectures and counties, they were not able to deal with the bandits and did not play much role at all. Not to mention. The Qing captives could also continuously recruit fresh troops from the rear to enter Huguang, and the situation was very unfavorable for our army. ”

Pang Yue agreed with Zhang Yunli's statement, in fact, this is also what he thinks in his heart. The Qing army was menacing and had a unified leadership core. It can be done in lockstep, but the various military towns on their own side in Huguang are uneven in terms of combat strength, and there are still differences between them, so it can be said that they have lost before the war starts.

"The situation is dangerous. But I have no other choice, in order to keep the Han family's country. Even if you are crushed, you have to face it head-on. Pang Yue pondered for a moment and said, "In addition, Dufutai (Guyinxi, the governor of Huguang) had already asked for His Majesty's will at the beginning of the year and went to the Kuidong area, preparing to recruit the loyal battalion to strengthen the defense force in the south of Huguang again. Not long ago, I received a report from the Intelligence Department that they had crossed the Zhijiang River and were heading for Lizhou (north of Changde). If they can get there in time, the tide of battle will change. ”

Pang Yue remembered that in the original history, the loyal battalion changed from the remnants of the Dashun army since the defeat of the siege of Jingzhou in the second year of Longwu, it retreated to the Kuidong area under the leadership of Li Guo and Gao Yigong, and it was not until the second year of Yongli (1648) that is, next year, that it re-entered the southern part of Huguang, achieved a series of victories, and recovered most of the southern part of Huguang. But now, it may be due to the butterfly effect caused by their own crossing, which has brought this event forward. When he first received this news, Pang Yue immediately gained a lot of confidence, if the loyal battalion could arrive in advance, the balance of forces between the enemy and us would definitely change, and it would undoubtedly be beneficial to the entire Huguang battle situation. It's just that the loyalty camp has been overwhelmed by He Tengjiao and others in Huguang before, and I don't know if Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others will have a grudge and deliberately delay the trip.

Hearing Pang Yue's words, Zhang Yunli's heart suddenly relaxed a lot, of course, it would be great to have such a new force coming. But then he couldn't help but feel a sadness in his heart: the imperial court's descendants were unusable, and they had to rely on the incorporated peasant army at the critical moment.

At this time, Wei Yuan walked in and reported: "My lord, there are people outside the gate who ask to see you!" ”

"Who?" Pang Yue asked casually.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly: "It's a beggar, I want to see you by name, and I can't leave!" He didn't want to give him money. ”

Pang Yue couldn't help but feel a little funny, when did he have a relationship with a beggar? He even asked to see him by name. Although there were many things going on at the moment, driven by curiosity, he decided to meet this alternative beggar.

"Zibin, go back to the staff department first, and work out the next battle plan as soon as possible!"

"Yes, sir!"

After Zhang Yunli left, Pang Yue ordered Wei Yuan again: "Bring that beggar in!" ”