Xiangxi is a very beautiful stream. It originates in the Shennongjia Mountains, flows through limestone cracks, filters and precipitates through caves, "the water color is like dai, clear and lovely". It flows into the Yangtze River from north to south, and the confluence is clear and distinct, reflecting each other. Legend has it that Zhaojun's pearl was lost in the stream, so the stream water is blue and clear in all seasons, and the water is fragrant.

The source of Xiangxi is three kilometers north of the Muyu Village in Shennongjia, Hubei, and it is said that it was the washing pond of Yandi Shennongle when he was collecting medicine. The pond water is full of the essence of the herbs, and the spirit of Shennong is melted, so the thirst for drinking fragrant stream water can not only make people beautiful as Zhaojun, but also make people as noble as Qu Yuan. Someone summed it up in four sentences: the clear water source is long, Shennong is a hundred grass houses, the beautiful women are famous, and the fragrant stream water is more fragrant.

However, at this time, this intoxicating beauty of the stream is witnessing a bloody battle that has nothing to do with adjectives such as beauty.

Zigui Xiangxikou, here is an important passage into the Yangtze River in Xingshan County, which was guarded by Li Laiheng's troops. The 30,000-lake Guangqing army, under the leadership of Admiral Dong Xueli, came from Yiling with great momentum, intending to break through the eastern defense line of the Kuidong Ming army and enter the base area where it had been operating for many years.

If the Shuo army had not gone out, Dong Xueli would not have dared to attack brazenly. Because the mountains and rivers in the Kuidong area are high and the water is urgent, the shape is dangerous, and there are many places that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. This is only one of them, but the main thing is that there are many mountains and steep mountains, and it is very difficult to transport grain.

Whether it is to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, or to attack and plunder, Admiral Dong Xueli thinks that 30,000 soldiers and horses are enough to make a difference. The thirteen families in Kuidong cut off the passage between Sichuan and Hubei, and at the same time had to face the pressure of the Qing army on both sides, and the eastern and western fronts had to stay on the defensive, and the main force attacked and plundered Yunyang and Xiangyang, and there were inevitably not many troops left behind.

However, the stubborn resistance of the Ming army at Xiangxikou surprised Dong Xueli, which was not all due to geographical advantages, but the Ming army used a new musket with an astonishing rate of fire and power. There are also shells that explode when they hit the ground.

Rounds of gunfire kept ringing out, as if they did not stop, and the Qing soldiers in armor and shields screamed and fell to the ground screaming with bloody arrows in front of the Ming army's position, suffering heavy casualties; From time to time, there was a muffled sound behind the Ming army's position, and shells swept through the air and exploded among the craggy rocks. The scattered stone fragments that burst out flew in all directions, exerting full power, and after each explosion, the Qing army was surrounded by a mess of Qing soldiers screaming and wailing.

"Mingjin, Mingjin." The hope in Dong Xueli's heart became smaller and smaller, and he finally couldn't hold on anymore, so he hurriedly waved his hand and ordered.

The gongs rang out one after another, and the attacking Qing soldiers were like being amnestied, and smoke was rising under their feet. He crawled to the ground and quickly retreated. The face is pale, the gaze is glazed, with fear and dazedness. Several charges brought a great shock to the Qing soldiers.

In front of the Ming army's position, the wounded soldiers who could not withdraw were crying and cursing, some lying down and waiting for death, and some struggling to crawl back. Leaving traces of blood.

Dong Xueli blushed and looked up at the flags fluttering in the Ming army's position. "Little Tiger" Lee Lai Heng. That's right, this guy, when did he become so powerful? No, it's not that the Ming army is strong in combat, but that the weapons are powerful.

"Why don't you attack Lao Dong?" Li Laiheng, the Duke of Linguo, was no longer as nervous as he was at the beginning, and looked at the Qing army with a gold-inlaid telescope. teased: "Not many deaths?" Let the sons and daughters go and collect the heads, those armors are all taken off, and the tinkering seems to be better than what we wear. ”

"The last general obeys!" A subordinate general responded and waved his hand to order.

A hundred and ten axemen rushed from behind and crossed the trenches. Slash and slash on the hillside. Screaming, wailing, cursing, begging for mercy, the abandoned wounded soldiers of the Qing army were not as lucky as the dead, the fierce executioner, the bloody blade, let them suffer the fear of death, and then they were relieved.

"General Feng smiled." Li Laiheng looked at the corpses of the Qing army on the hillside that had become naked, turned around and smiled, and said to the officers of the Marine Corps: "This is a poor and remote place in Kuidong, and there is a shortage of materials, so we are also afraid. ”

"Guogong killed his subordinates, and he belonged to a small officer, how can he be called a general?" Feng Dake hurriedly saluted and said: "This cleaning the battlefield, don't miss and waste, it should be, what is the joke?" ”

"Oh?" Li Laiheng asked in a questioning tone: "I thought you came from a rich place and didn't look down on these rags?" Isn't-"

"There is a misunderstanding between the national princes." Feng Dake thought for a moment and explained: "The materials transported by the sailor this time are indeed rich, but they have also been accumulated for a long time, and they are even borrowed. It is not easy for His Highness to raise these materials. ”

"If you borrow it, from whom?" Li Laiheng blinked, a little puzzled.

"It's like borrowing from everywhere." Feng Dake scratched his head, and said not very clearly, "Xiyi, merchants, people, well, it seems that there is still the country of Siam." The subordinates heard from Admiral Chen that His Royal Highness Min had complained in private, saying that he owed one or one that debt, and asked the sailor to pay attention to saving ammunition. ”

Li Laiheng wanted to laugh and hurriedly held back, sighing and covering up, "His Royal Highness Min is really-well, money, food and materials can support the war in the southwest and southeast, and it is really not easy to assist our army!" ”

"Exactly!" Feng Dake nodded again and again with deep sympathy, and said: "The tribute of foreign countries, the filial piety of local officials, I heard that even the marriage of His Royal Highness's concubines, His Royal Highness has sold them to replenish military supplies!" ”

"Where did you know that?" Lee Rae-hyung was a little unconvinced.

"It's in the newspaper!" Feng Dake said with confidence: "If Your Highness doesn't take the lead, how can some misers and misers be willing to pay?" And how are people willing to buy bonds? ”

"That's really, really hard work, really sacrificing the family for the country, really-" Li Laiheng opened his mouth, and his words were a little poor and couldn't keep up.

The Ming army did not make such a mistake, but there were indeed not many troops left behind. In order to compensate for the lack of troops, the Ming army adopted the tilt of weapons and equipment. The expedition only took 3,000 flintlock musketeers, Li Laiheng on the eastern front had 1,000 muskets, Yuan Zongdi on the western front had 1,000 muskets, and the naval division divided 500 marines each to strengthen the defense of the two fronts.

In this way, the troops of the eastern and western fronts each had 4,000, and Fengjie had 6,000 troops from the princes of Jingguo, Guangxing, Yidu, Houta Tianbao and other families as mobile troops. The enlarged naval division patrolled the river, and wherever there was a policeman, it could be loaded with the Fengjie army, and take advantage of the mobility of the waterway ships to quickly rush to reinforcements.

Unless it is a joint operation of the Qing army in Sichuan and Huguang, the Ming army may have some difficulty. If only one side is dealt with. The defenders and mobile forces of the Eastern Front, plus the 4,000 marines of the naval division (after joining with the thirteen naval divisions, the number of ships has reached more than 500, and the number of marines has also expanded to 5,000, of which 2,000 are cold weapons), the army facing the enemy can reach more than 14,000. Taking advantage of the terrain, it was enough to resist the Qing army's 40,000 or 50,000 horses.

Even now, when reinforcements have not yet arrived, although the Huguang Qing army has a great numerical advantage, it is limited to the terrain and terrain and cannot be deployed at all. There are more than 4,000 people in Li Laiheng's department, and they are condescending to use the fortifications they have built, and it is not too difficult to resist.

Li Laiheng had seen the training of musketeers, and he also knew that the muskets that came to his aid this time were very powerful. But the real insight on the battlefield still shocked him.

"The other armies are equipped with these muskets, right?" Li Laiheng smacked his lips with envy, "The defense is powerful, I think the field can also be very powerful, distant bullets, close bayonet stabs." The key is to be fast, this training has been less than a month, even if it is practicing knives, guns and sticks. I'm afraid I can't do it. ”

"When it came down, only the exterminating army was fully loaded. The other armies are not even in number! Feng Dake was cautious, Chen Shangchuan repeatedly explained, be careful when you speak, don't make the soldiers of the thirteen families feel discriminated against and used, "This batch of guns and ammunition deployed by our army is still on credit from Xiyi by His Highness Min!" ”

Li Laiheng nodded. In fact, he didn't mean to be disgusted, but he just hoped that all soldiers could be equipped with this kind of weapon, and the combat effectiveness would skyrocket. The armies of the thirteen families fought against the Chu army, and even if they were equipped with the original equipment, they won more than they lost. If you change all of them. Then the Chu army still dares to fight at the doorstep?

"I wonder when the next batch of guns will be replenished?" Li Laiheng shook his head again after speaking, and said: "I'm afraid it's not easy, it's too much to let the Yangtze River sailors go back and forth." ”

"It is estimated that the next replenishment should be land transportation." Feng Dake guessed and said: "If you join forces with the Jin King in Sichuan and capture Chongqing, the contact with the outside world will be unimpeded." ”

Li Laiheng opened his mouth and smiled slightly bitterly, but did not say anything more. The estrangement with the former Great Western Army still exists, and it is not so easy to completely eliminate it. At the beginning, the remnants of these Dashun armies fought for thousands of miles, how many people died on the way, and how much hardship they endured, before they could gain a foothold in the poor countryside of Kuidong. The reason for this is not that it was squeezed out by the Great Western Army. Going back further, as early as when the Dashun Army and the Great Western Army were fighting for Sichuan, they had already formed a grudge.

……………

"My lord, the thief's firearms are sharp, and he occupies an advantageous area, so it's not a way to attack so hard!"

"And what do you have in mind?" Huguang Admiral Dong Weiguo glared at his generals angrily and turned his head back.

The Huguang Green Battalion is not strong in combat effectiveness, and it can barely be regarded as a second-rate army. Historically, in the suppression of the three provincial capitals organized by the Qing court, they were the only ones who were defeated by the counteroffensive of the thirteen coalition forces. The Qing armies in Sichuan and Shaanxi were victorious and thwarted the final counterattack of the Thirteen Families.

Turning history backwards, during the rebellion of the three feudatories, Wu Sangui drove straight forward in Huguang in three months, and even captured Yuanzhou, Changde, Chenzhou, Changsha, Yuezhou, Hengzhou and other strategic towns, drinking horses and horses on the Yangtze River, and most of the officers and soldiers of the Green Banner surrendered in response.

The continuous occurrence of such a situation can only show that the people of Huguang are not so desperate for the Qing court, and they do not like this new regime established by foreign races. In other words, until the rebellion of the three feudatories, the Qing regime had ruled for thirty years, and it still did not win the hearts of the people. From the perspective of the people's will, opposing the alien rule of the Qing Dynasty and hating the corruption of the local government was in line with the aspirations of the broad masses of the people.

Judging from such a mentality, the Huguang Green Battalion, and even the Green Battalion in various places south of the river, are not unable to fight, but do not want to fight. Under the pressure of the Manchurian generals, they had to raise their swords and guns and take a salary to support their families. But as soon as there is a chance, it is in the fiction story, the shape changes, and there is even the possibility of a counterattack.

The first battle was frustrated, and the morale of the army was greatly damaged, and Dong Weiguo knew it. Although there are many troops, he is not allowed to give full play to the advantages when the attack is dangerous, and he also knows it. Although he was mentally prepared before the operation, it was beyond his expectation that the difficulties were so great and that there were so many casualties.

"Or can it be a detour?" The general saw that the Admiral's eyes glared again, and hurriedly changed his words: "It's better to send a boat, go up the river, and attack the weak place of the thief's heart......

"Fart!" It's a pity that changing his words didn't avoid Dong Weiguo's scolding, "Are you dead when you are the enemy's sailors?" Also go up the river, feed the fish and shrimp *! ”

The generals had no choice but to retreat. Colleagues cast sympathetic glances, don't mess with adults at this time. If you really have a clever plan, don't you ask for bad luck if you don't have a charter?

"You, don't you usually claim to be familiar with the art of war, but you are talking!" Dong Weiguo did not let go of his silent subordinates. Glancing, I found another guy who didn't like the eye.

"The art of war, this art of war has clouds: the enemy does not fight, and the ground does not attack; Seeking advantages should avoid disadvantages, and operational planning will be flexible. "The guy who doesn't like the eye is very good-talked, but the art of war is unknown to others.

Dong Weiguo rolled his eyes and scolded: "Which art of war is this?" You're making it up so smoothly, don't do this leader. Get out on the street and tell a story! ”

After scolding this, Dong Weiguo still didn't give up, and set his sights on another one.

"My lord, the thieves and firearms are fierce, and they think of a way to resist them." Seeing that he couldn't hide, this guy simply spoke first.

Dong Weiguo snorted and said that he could say it, but if he said it wrongly. I still can't hide from it.

"I heard that when the puppet king Dingguo attacked Zhaoqing, the soldiers covered themselves with quilts. Arrows don't work. King Houping Nan used a hook spear to finally break the enemy's formation. Our army may try to resist enemy firearms with quilts. ”

Dong Weiguo blinked, he seemed to be really impressed, but he couldn't remember exactly which battle report he had read it.

In fact, Shang Kexi wrote in the war report at that time: "The enemy army has long been covered with cloth and quilts. Swords and arrows are difficult to work", and this subordinate either can't remember clearly, or deliberately tampered with it, in order to escape the reprimand, and pass this level for the time being.

"Let's try." Dong Weiguo has no other way. His face softened slightly, waved his hand, arranged it, and waved off the generals.

The soldiers have a heart of cowardice and war-weariness, which has been hinted at since the opening of Yiling, and it is even more obvious after the attack is frustrated, Dong Weiguo knows this in his heart. Dong Weiguo is also helpless against these Hubei Yankees. Even when Hong Chengchou established the shogunate in Changsha, he also knew that the hearts of the people of Huguang were largely tied to the movements of the gentry, and he also adopted a strategy of fighting for the Huguang gentry, and won the cooperation of the Huguang gentry through various means such as visiting the gentry, quelling rebellion cases, recruiting people to enter the curtain, and recommending officials.

Cooperation, but not desperate. Although Hong Chengchou's extensive work has diluted the resistance of the Hunan gentry, it is still far from being completely eliminated.

If it is the Southern Ming generals who occupy Kuidong, they should be able to achieve greater results and cause greater impact when facing Huguang. It's a pity that he was born in the original Dashun Army, and many Huguang gentry still regard him as a thief and are unwilling to help. This is also an important reason why the Thirteen Families of Kuidong can raid Huguang and obtain materials from time to time, but they cannot firmly occupy it.

But this situation is changing, the thirteen families have belonged to the Ming army, and ranked as one of the seven armies, and the Ming court sent the Yangtze River water division to meet it, which shows the attitude of the Ming court. The mighty fleet sailed across the Huguang River with the rumbling sound of cannons, and the huge impact brought about by this set off a change in people's minds, and Dong Xueli could feel it.

Because of this, Dong Xueli didn't dare to take risks, and any detours and tracing the river were all not in his plan. As long as it can pose a threat to Kui Dong's lair, that's enough. If these 30,000 soldiers and horses have an accident, Yiling will also be difficult to defend, and it will be difficult to control the Ming army that has been killed out of the cage. Compared with Zhang Changgeng's planning and command on the map, Dong Xueli, as the front-line commander, is more aware of the combat power of his generals, and is more afraid of the strength of the Ming army's Yangtze River Water Division.

Kuidong Thief Kou Yuan also had a naval army, but it was not a big ship, and it lacked heavy weapons, so it was difficult to break through the river defense fortifications mainly built by barricades and rolling river dragons. But now it's different! Dong Xueli had seen the warships and cannons of the Yangtze River Naval Division, but lacked confidence in the re-established river defense fortifications.

Like a tiger with wings, Dong Xueli sighed in the tent. Yunyang, Xiangyang and other places in the upper reaches of the Han River have been lost one after another, and they must have been bombarded by thieves with artillery. The Governor had not yet recognized the form, and hurriedly sent reinforcements from all walks of life, only to be broken by the thieves one by one, and in vain to increase his strength. What encircled Wei to save Zhao, criticized the hypocrisy, and bluntly applied the art of war.

At that time, the most correct counterstrategy was to first secure Yiling, block the enemy's rush out of the Three Gorges, and echo the possibility of the Hanshui offensive. Then gather heavy troops in Wuchang, go up the Han River, repel the enemy army, and regain the lost territory. Of course, the best way is to play the imperial court, please transfer Henan Green Camp or Shaanxi Green Camp to come.

It's just that the governor is concerned about his face, and he is also worried that the court will condemn him, and he will never take the last plan unless he has to. He will inevitably mobilize troops to recover the lost ground and save face with the power of Huguang. But will such a delay make the enemy sit on a big seat and it will be difficult to remake it again?

Dong Weiguo thought about it, but he couldn't feel at ease, so he called in the personal guards, sent an order, and ordered the scouts and sentinel ships to step up their efforts to spy on upstream intelligence, and if the enemy fleet came to reinforce it, they would report back immediately.

If you can capture Xiangxikou, it is naturally the best, and you can give an explanation to the governor; If the enemy reinforcements arrive, then they will retreat to Yiling, which is reasonable. Dong Weiguo had already made up his mind in his heart, and the anger and scolding in front of the generals just now were very cover-up.

And how can such a military action like this, which is to retreat without a fight, and only respond to the military action of the superior, win?

…………… (To be continued......)