Ten thousand finger peaks can bear the fifty-third section of the red water (middle)

On September 14, the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Chishui Wei South.

A large number of auxiliary troops of the Shuixi Army were busy along the road from Aluomisu to Chishuiwei, and the grain transportation teams on this road were either using wheelbarrows or manpower to resist the transport, and the baggage soldiers were flowing back and forth. Some of the officers of the Shuixi Army were still holding leather whips, and from time to time they were pumping at those whom they thought were cheating and playing tricks, and those who were hit also gritted their teeth without saying a word, and their steps were a little faster, and the road was tense and busy.

In the dense forest to the east of the road, several Ming soldiers in yellow armor stood on a hill and looked west. From where they were, the road to the west was nothing more than a thin line looming in the mountains and forests, and whether there were spots on the thin line or not was completely beyond the reach of the naked eye.

It's just that the man in these Ming troops is also equipped with a telescope, and this person carefully stretches the length of the metal cylinder to adjust the focal length, and keeps whispering a series of numbers in his mouth at the same time: "...... Three grain carts, two grain carts, four people with back pockets......"

The man beside the Ming army squatted on the ground, and kept recording the numbers read by his companions into a piece of paper, and they stood on this hill for a day, until the sun turned west, and then packed up their things, turned around and walked east. Their shadows flickered and disappeared into the green forest.

These Ming officers and soldiers swayed in the forest, bypassing one swamp and cliff after another, and it could be seen that it was not the first time they had come, and after walking a few miles in the forest, the Ming army officers led by them stopped their steps. He pulled out a black iron box from his bosom, and several other people watched as he carefully placed the box flat in his hand, and then gently opened the lid on it.

"It's okay, I'm not lost, just to confirm that we've been heading northeast. The Ming officer carefully put away the compass while reassuring the people around him, and then strode forward again. The rest of the Ming army also followed closely behind the officer at the head without saying a word.

That's how they weave through the deserted forest. Occasionally, there will be a bird or two screaming. They walked less than ten miles northeast from the mountain just now, and suddenly there was a sudden brightness in front of them. A huge ground camp suddenly appeared in front of these Ming troops, it was hidden in the depths of this dense forest, and there were flaming red military flags fluttering on the top.

The camp was surrounded by fresh wooden stakes, which looked like freshly cut down trees, and hundreds of Ming soldiers were arranging bundles of planks and piles of barrels and boxes. They do their jobs. Except for the sentries, almost no one noticed the Ming soldiers who had just returned to the camp.

The officer of the reconnaissance squad did not talk much to others, but took a roll of paper and went straight to the central camp, and he ran to the door and said to the sentry: "The engineer team has asked the general Zhang Cen to see the general. ”

Jia Minghe quickly recruited Zhang Cen in, and Zhang Cen carefully reported what he had seen and heard today to the battalion commander of the Xuanfeng Battalion, and then respectfully submitted the report on the enemy situation observed by their team. After casually asking Zhang Cen a few more words, Jia Minghe asked him to retreat, and there were many officers from the Funing Town Staff Division in his camp. The staff officers immediately picked up the data and began to calculate.

"My lord, the enemy's grain transportation has increased today, but it has basically stabilized. There were about 40,000 to 50,000 thieves on the other side of the Chishui River. ”

"Hmm. Jia Minghe replied in a noncommittal whisper. The crossing of the Chishui River by the enemy's Xindi combat units has not been observed for the past two days, and it seems that the main forces of An Bangyan have arrived, and now it seems that it is time to close the net.

In order to avoid startling the snakes, the main force of the Xuanfeng battalion stopped advancing along the Chishui River twenty-five miles east of Chishuiwei. At present, the main force of the Xuanfeng battalion is still concentrated in the camp next to the Chishui River. They attracted the attention of Yambangyandi. In order to prevent the Ming army from attacking eastward along the river, the Shuixi army also blocked several ropes on the Chishui River.

Taking advantage of the confrontation with the Shuixi Army, the Xuanfeng Battalion also opened a path from the forest. No one had ever thought that the army could be supplied enough through the forest, and the Jia Ming River did not expect this either, he only asked the vanguard of the Xuanfeng battalion to carry enough food and grass for a few days, and the real sufficient supplies were to be transported through the Chishui River.

A staff officer pointed to the map and said: "My lord, after repeated reconnaissance by our army, there are not many blocking troops on the Chishui River, and they pull ropes along the river mainly to prevent us from smuggling at night, just to play a warning role." ”

"Hmm. I'm well aware of this. "These days. The Xuanfeng battalion also observed the movement and supply of the Shuixi thieves to the south of the Chishui River. The officers of the General Staff Department estimated that Shuixi's resistance was about 1,000 men, and An Bangyan thought that as long as they could hold back the Ming army's attack, it would be enough. Anyway, the official road is in his hands, and An Bangyan thinks that he has an absolute advantage in troop mobilization.

In order to ensure the secrecy of this camp, no fires are allowed here, and all food is prepared by the camp on the banks of the Chishui River before being brought here. In order to reduce the burden of transportation, the total number of people in this camp was not more than a thousand, and apart from the engineering and baggage brigades, there were very few combat units in this camp, and the combat units entered the camp only at the last moment.

The camp that the Jammin River had set up in the jungle was large enough for four infantry, and the artillery had already dragged four six-pounder guns over. In the past few days, the baggage team has been busy smuggling supplies to this secret base, and now the road through it has been almost designed, and the baggage team is confident that it will be able to move the materials in this camp through the woods for more than ten miles in two days, so as to ensure the supply of the assault troops.

"Immediately send an order to the rear team, let the four infantry teams A, B, C, and D enter this camp tonight, rest for the night, and then go to attack the Chishui River ferry early tomorrow morning, and then attack from both sides to open up the Chishui River route. Jia Minghe finally read the information carefully, and finally felt that everything was ready, so he issued a comprehensive plan.

"Yes, sir. ”

......

Dawn on September 15. Maniso

The vanguard of the fire battalion had arrived at the city of Maniso yesterday, but the artillery had not kept up for a while, so the Ming army did not immediately attack the city.

After Huang Shi came in with an interpreter, the Military Intelligence Department immediately interrogated the few or so prisoners that Zhang Chengye had captured. Zhang Chengye also accepted the surrender of hundreds of Yongning troops, and to Zhang Chengye's surprise, these prisoners confessed that they were already the main force of the Yongning army that were defeated by Zhang Chengye. The Yongning Army originally had only about 30,000 combat troops, and they had already suffered serious casualties when they attacked the Chishui Guard. Probably, the losses will be more than a thousand people.

And after the Ming army cut off the road between the universal place and the Manichae, it was included with the severed ground baggage troops. The total strength of Yongning was less than 40,000. When they learned that the Ming army appeared behind, the Yongning Army rearguard unit thought that this must be a lightly armed force, so they immediately sent an army of 2,000 men to the rear to try to annihilate this Ming army, or at least to contain the Ming army to ensure the safety of Platts.

After receiving the alarm, Yongning's baggage troops all moved closer to the front line at the same time, so Zhang Chengye did not encounter any fish belly troops at all. According to the dejected captives, the first force sent by the rearguard to the north was itself an elite infantry unit of Yongning. When fighting in Chengdu and other places, there were also brave acts of fighting to the death and not retreating.

Therefore, after receiving the news of the rapid rout of this army on the 10th, the rearguard commander of the Yongning Army was very shocked, and those who fled back said that the troops had lost more than 20% in the blink of an eye, and all the leaders, officers and warriors who led the charge were killed in an instant, and the heavy losses suffered by this army had made it completely lose its ability and will to fight.

By the afternoon of the 10th, the commander-in-chief of the Yongning military and land opposite Zhang Chengye was one of the sons of Hao Chongming. Due to the difficulty of roads and communication, the Yongning Army could not launch an attack with tens of thousands of people at once. So they could only let a few thousand people gather along the road and then enter the battlefield to launch a counterattack. In addition, the Yongning army believed that the Ming army did not have many people, and the Ming army could completely collapse after a few attritions, so they were forced to fight a war of attrition with Zhang Chengye due to the situation.

However, the development of the situation was completely unexpected by the Yongning Army, and the combat troops rushed back from the south to help in the battle. In order to make way for the follow-up troops and baggage troops, they were also sent up one by one, and then they were defeated again and again by the Ming army. Each charge was usually led by the leader and the warrior, and with each defeat the army suffered a heavy setback, and after a day of fierce fighting between the two armies, the Yongning army was shocked to find that most of their troops had been scattered.

This time, in order to form an internal line of operations, the Yongning Army also marched in a hurry to attack Chishuiwei, and in a hurry, they did not have much food reserves on the front line, and by the end of the tenth, part of the Yongning Army had already begun to starve. Before noon on the 11th, Yu Chongming personally rushed to command the counterattack. But his luck was not much stronger than that of his son. The Ming army's defenses were as strong as iron and stone, and occasionally the leaders fled back. They all said that the troops were barely able to inflict casualties on the Ming army, and that this was not a war of attrition but death.

In the afternoon, the Yongning army, which was hurrying back, ran out of food completely, and Yu Chongming seemed to judge that this Ming army was the core elite of the Ming army, so Yu Chongming decided to use his long-cherished cavalry to go out to fight. In addition, Yu Chongming also scraped three feet of the ground, found every horse he could collect, and did not let go of the horses that pulled food, and at the same time, in order to further strengthen the attack effect, Gao Chongming also pulled out the landlords and warriors in the remaining troops.

The last cavalry charge that Zhang Chengye encountered was actually the core member of the entire Yongning Xuanfu Division, most of the leaders and their sons and nephews were among them, and those leaders who fled back to their own formation in the previous attack were also put on the battlefield again, fighting to the death in order to kill a way out for the whole army.

After interrogating several captured cavalrymen, it was revealed that although Yu Chongming himself was not in this cavalry group, his three sons all participated in the charge. Huangshi immediately sent people to identify them, and finally found two of them from the corpses, and the other cavalry who died in battle also seemed to be famous, and a large number of leaders and their close branches were identified.

After listening to the captive's confession, Huang Shi felt that the northern flank of the battle was almost over, and the political model of the Yongning Xuanfu Division basically belonged to the category of slavery, and the various leaders and their sons and nephews were the backbone of the Yongning Xuanfu Division. Even if these people haven't been caught all of them now, then seven or eight of the ten have gone. Without the help of these people, Huang Shi estimated that Yu Chongming had basically lost his ability to control the army.

From the 12th onwards, the development of the war continued to confirm the confessions of the prisoners, and the Yongning army was crushed under the attack of the Ming army. Often as soon as the Ming army began to open fire, a large number of soldiers of the Yongning Army could be seen breaking away from the control of the officers and scattering into the mountains and forests, and the Yongning Army could still launch a stubborn attack on the Yongning Army two days ago. After one night, not even the ability to defend was gone.

From the 13th, it was not the resistance of the Yongning Army that restricted the advance of the Ming army. It was the Ming army's own logistics, and the long supply lines from the universal to the front line made the Ming army have to stop and wait for military rations repeatedly. Huang Shi ordered a simple identification of the Yongning prisoners, and organized the low-level soldiers into the Ming army's baggage team, but the Ming army had to leave a guard force to monitor them.

According to Huangshi's orders, the Ming army forbade any form of massacre of prisoners, and Huangshi did not hesitate to increase the logistical burden. It was also necessary to feed the captives, an order that of course further slowed down the advance of the Ming army. In order to transport enough grain to the front, even the artillery team of the Ming army often had to make way for the grain transport team.

From the 14th, a large number of Yongning troops went out of the mountains and forests to surrender to the Ming army, they had been hungry in the mountains for several days, and these dozens of miles of roads were occupied by the Ming army, and they had no way out. For the past three days, Huangshi has been propagating the Ming army's capture policy to the captives, and has also sent activists into the mountains to find their people to carry out propaganda. A large number of Yongning Army soldiers who were hiding were hungry. There is no leader in charge, coupled with the propaganda of the Ming army, many people feel that starvation is death, and it is better to come out and surrender to try their luck.

After the Ming army gave them a full meal, these Yongning soldiers volunteered to help the Ming army carry grain and grass. They used to be oppressed by the chiefs and lived as slaves since they were born. So after they lost contact with Toast and the headman, they all became overwhelmed. Many people faintly feel that helping the Ming army work, even if it is difficult to escape death in the end, at least now it is better to eat a full meal first, and it is better to die than to starve to death in the mountains and forests or be eaten by wild beasts.

Although these people strengthened the logistics and transportation capacity of the Ming army, it took a lot of effort to rectify them, so it was not until the evening of the 14th that the vanguard of the Ming army could be regarded as entering the city of Manisuo.

By noon on the 15th, the long-awaited cannon in Yellowstone had finally arrived. Under the bombardment of artillery, the Ming army quickly wiped out the Yongning army on a section of the city wall. The Ming army set up ladders and climbed the city walls. Then he set up a fire and began to strike at the city. Under the cover of the firecrackers, the Ming army quickly cleared the Yongning army near the city gate.

During this period, a small group of Yongning Army bravely went out of the city to attack the artillery positions of the Ming army. But in the face of cannons, guns, and spears, these brave armies evaporated as quickly as the dew of the sun. After the Ming army on the city wall isolated the city gate, Huangshi ordered the artillery to be moved to the front of the city gate.

Without the cooperation of the two wings, the lonely city gate tower itself would not have much defensive ability, and now the city tower of Mani Institute does not even have a deep counterattack, so Huangshi estimates that the city gate will soon be able to break through in one go. However, when the fire battalion carried the cannon to the gate of Maniso, the Yongning army stationed there opened the door and surrendered.

According to these soldiers, Yu Chongming had fled the previous night, and the little food that Mani had left had already been eaten. Today's defender of the city was originally a close confidant of Hao Chongming, but the head man and his entourage were killed by the Ming army when they went out of the city to counterattack, so the Yongning army in the city lost all the will to resist.

These captives also further confirmed Zhang Chengye's results that day, the ruling base of the Yongning Xuanfu Division had been wiped out by the Ming army, and Yu Chongming could no longer effectively command the remaining Yongning army, so he fled to Chishuiwei with the last group of cronies. It is said that Ahn Bangyan's troops have also arrived, and the siege of the castle of Chishuiwei has been completed, and the rebels are trying to defeat the Ming army defending the city through a tight siege. Yu Chongming hoped to obtain supplies from the Shuixi Army and use their power to regain control of the Yongning Army.

"The Yongning Army is no longer a problem, they may still be able to defend the city now, but they have undoubtedly completely lost the ability to fight in the field. Listening to these troop surrenders, the remnants of the army of Xuan Chongming had neither food nor grass, nor morale, and even a serious shortage of officers, and it was not easy for them to keep the march from collapsing, let alone fighting. ”

Huang Shi wrote another letter and sent it back to Guiyang to report the victory. Up to now. The progress of the Ming army was much smoother than expected, and judging from the combat effectiveness of the Yongning army, it was really impossible for the rebels to defeat Chishuiwei, which was garrisoned by 5,000 Ming troops. At the beginning, He Dingyuan had already made a long-term plan, and he had transported a lot of food into it, if He Dingyuan saved a little more food, there would be no problem for the Panshi Camp to persist until October. He Dingyuan's ammunition was also sufficient, and at that time, he was worried that if he didn't give the rock enough operation, they would be in danger. In order to supply them, the supply of the camp was seriously affected.

......

September 17, Jingshi

Apocalypse has been in danger several times lately. Although the queen cried into tears, the imperial doctors were helpless about it, and the courtiers of the Jingshi also whispered behind their backs. King Xin was only recruited into the palace to greet him, just in case, and Apocalypse himself knew very well that he might have reached the last moment.

In the past few days, in addition to King Xin, Tianqi has also found his adoptive mother Li Xuanzhi to say something. Looking at the two brothers who were raised by her and Apocalypse and Shinwang. Li Xuanzhi was also so sad that he burst into tears, but it turned out that Tianqi comforted his adoptive mother a few words, and made a few jokes with his eighth sister (Li Xuanzhi's daughter). But this little girl's sister had no idea that her brother was in danger.

Yesterday I received a message from Yunnan that Huangshi had launched an attack on the rebels with alarming speed, and after hearing about it, it seemed that the condition of the Apocalypse had improved a little. Since the beginning of July, Apocalypse has often been unable to sleep all night. Even when I fell asleep, I often woke up by myself, but last night I slept very deeply in the apocalypse, and I didn't wake up until dawn today.

I slept soundly last night, and this morning my appetite got better, and Apocalypse ate a few snacks under the service of the Empress. Looking at the empress with a happy face, the young emperor smiled softly. Stretched out his skinny hand and gently brushed his wife's hair: "When I'm ready, I'll make another hairpin for you, no, make two." ”

The queen pressed the withered hand of the Apocalypse to her face, and the young couple remained silent until the eunuch reported that King Xin had come to the palace again to greet his brother.

After King Xin came, the Apocalypse asked him to hang up the map of the southwest, and then King Xin played a chapter against Zhang Heming, circled the locations of the Yellowstone army on the map one by one, and then traced the marching routes of the Ming army on it. Seeing that Apocalypse is so good today. King Shin also came to the spirit. The teenage boy stood in front of the map and danced in front of his brother and sister-in-law about his views on the battle situation.

King Shin excitedly spoke of the strategy in his chest. Apocalypse sat on the bed, leaning on his wife's arms, with a kind smile on his face, watching his brother excitedly in front of the military map. After King Xin said goodbye and left, Apocalypse sighed: "My brother is seventeen years old this year, and he may not know it himself, but this is the golden age of life." ”

After tossing all morning, Apocalypse felt very tired and lay down again, and the queen covered him with the quilt, and the corners and corners were also folded for him.

"When I'm ready, Huang Shuai's side should also win a big victory. Tianqi looked at the ceiling, and bright colors flowed out of his eyes: "I still have to toast Huang Shuai, and I still have to repay the big loan for Huang Shuai." ”

After finishing speaking, Tianqi lowered his eyes, looked at his queen, and smiled again: "When I am good, the queen should also give birth to a prince for me." ”

......

On September 18, south of the city of Manisuo, the Ming army camped

A few days ago, the communication line from Lin Zhou to Pushisuo had been opened, but to Huangshi's surprise, the first to rush over was not a large number of reinforcements from the Ming army, but Zhang Heming, the governor of the southwest.

After Huangshi sent it to Jie last time, Zhang Heming publicized it in Guiyang, and felt that he could not play the role of the governor of the four provinces by sit-in in Guiyang, so he went to the Banzhou camp of the Ming army in person, intending to coordinate the overall situation nearby and think about how the Ming army should act next. Wu Mu also came to Banzhou under the influence of Zhang Heming, and for a time it seemed that Banzhou was about to become the administrative center of the southwest.

But after hearing that Huangshi had successfully crossed the mountains and forests, and that the fire battalion had been inserted between the universal institute and the Mani institute, cutting off the retreat route and grain route of the Yongning army, Zhang Heming couldn't even sit still in Banzhou, and he left Wu Mu to continue to be responsible for the transportation of grain, grass and baggage, and he took a soft sedan chair from Banzhou all the way to Linzhou.

After arriving in Linzhou, Zhang Heming received the news of the recovery of the world, and Mr. Zhang pulled out the map and only glanced at it. He rushed to the universal place without stopping, and finally arrived at the destination with the two battalions of the Sichuan army in the reinforcement area.

After only one night in the Universal Institute, Zhang Heming set off again to catch up with Huangshi's troops. You must know that this old man is seventy-six years old this year, but his physical performance is simply stronger than the young men in the two battalions of the Sichuan army. Although Zhang Heming either took a sedan chair or made a carriage all the way, Zhang Heming came all the way from Banzhou after all, and it was still too admirable that he could continue to set off after only one night's rest.

After handing over the defense of the universal institute to the Sichuan army, the Funing army, which was two infantry units, began to move south. The Funing Army and the Ground Horse Team selected elite soldiers to escort Zhang Heming, and finally sent him safely to the Ming army camp in Mani before nightfall yesterday.

It's after dawn today. Huang Shi accompanied the spirited Zhang Heming boss to inspect the front position. Although the terrain between Chishuiwei and Manisuo is a little flatter, there are also forty miles of mountain roads, and at this time, the first line of the Ming army has arrived twenty miles away from Chishuiwei.

Huang Shi and Zhang Heming climbed a hill occupied by the Ming army, and he pointed out the direction of Chishuiwei to the latter, and the city was already faintly visible: "Zhang Lao, that is Chishuiwei, and now there are about 50,000 to 60,000 thieves around Chishuiwei. ”

"So much?" Zhang Heming didn't understand the situation when he first arrived. Still, he was taken aback by the number.

"Yes, yesterday the general caught a few more thieves and prisoners, and they confessed that General Jia Minghe had captured the Chishui Weinan ferry and set fire to the suspension bridge over the Chishui River, and the thieves had ordered to save rations since yesterday. ”

Zhang Heming coughed and asked people to bring up the map, he leaned on the map and looked at it for a while, then looked up at Huang Shi and asked, "Are the two thieves of Luxury Chongming and An Bangyan among them?"

"Back to the old words. According to the surrendered bandits, both thieves were there. Huang Shi drew a big circle with his hand again, and said to Zhang Heming in a loud voice: "As Zhang Lao expected, the thieves are indeed cunning and refuse to enter the trap for a long time, and the last general ordered General Jia Minghe to abide by Zhang Lao's orders. Investigation, re-investigation, and three investigations finally brought these tens of thousands of thieves into the trap. ”

Huang Shi's words were like a warm current, making Zhang Heming's cheeks on both sides float with a ruddy glow. He raised his chest, twisted his white beard and looked south for a while, and said to Huang Shi in a deep voice: "Huang Shi, if these two thieves are captured, then the southwest will be decided! ”

"The last will obey. Huang Shi bowed behind Zhang Heming and respectfully bowed to the old man.

......

September 19th.

The Ming army continued to attack in the direction of Chishuiwei. Huangshi was on the top of the mountain peak, and carefully observed the battle scene between the two armies with a telescope. Now there are a lot of rebels around Chishuiwei. Almost every hill in the path was defended by rebels. In the past three days, the proportion of Yongning soldiers killed by the fire battalion has been getting lower and lower. The proportion of the Shuixi Army's land is getting higher and higher, and the collapse of the Yongning Army on the southern flank obviously has also had a huge impact on the Shuixi Army.

Clouds of smoke rose from the hill in front of the road. Ming artillery is continuously bombarding various hills on the rebel-controlled roads in order to disrupt the enemy's deployment. Under Huangshi's gaze, the Ming army lined up in a tight battle formation and carefully climbed up a hill in front of them.

Under the cover of the artillery of the Ming army, the rebels could not take advantage of the geographical advantage to resist, and the simple fortifications they built on the mountain in the past were easily destroyed by the artillery fire of the Ming army.

The Ming army quickly climbed the mountain, and then condescendingly attacked the rebels on the back, and as the red flag began to dance, Huangshi knew that a small number of rebels on the back were driven into the woods by the Ming army's fire. Now that the Ming army is attacking slowly one hill after another, Huangshi does not need to attack too quickly, because time is the best ally of the Ming army.

The main reason why the fire battalion is constantly attacking to compress the rebels' territory is to contain the rebels' forces and prevent them from concentrating on breaking through from the southern front. Judging from Huangshi's attacks in the past two days, he thinks that this is the idea that Yu Chongming and An Bangyan fought, because the rebel resistance on the northern front is neither resolute nor strong, and the intention of these rebels seems to be to delay the Ming army's offensive.

By the time Zhang Heming came to inspect the work again, Huang Shi could proudly report to him: "Elder Zhang, we are still eighteen miles away from Chishuiwei. Today it will be within fifteen miles. ”

More and more rebels began to surrender to the Ming army, and as of today, the number of troops in Yongning and Shuixi has exceeded 20,000. As with the previous policy, Yellowstone only controlled all the leaders of the class, and the rest of the soldiers were sent to carry grain and grass, and they could still be fed.

On the hill where Huang Shi and Zhang Heming were located, a long list of prisoners were taken by the Ming army below. At the same time, two guns were pushed in the opposite direction. The Ming army was to deploy them to the hill they had just occupied, which was a very good commanding height. Artillery is deployed there to overlook several hills further ahead.

"There are about 50,000 Shuixi thieves and Yongning thieves in it, they are surrounded in this small area by my Ming King from all directions, they have neither food nor ships, and they will soon be wiped out. Huang Shi stood behind Zhang Heming and pointed out to him the mountains and woods on both sides of the road, which constituted a natural encirclement: "Even if they run into the mountains and forests, on the opposite side of these mountains and forests are the Ming officials and soldiers who are coming. This time, the two thieves of luxury Chongming and An Bangyan are already inescapable. ”

After Huang Shi finished speaking, he took a breath and said loudly to Zhang Heming: "My lord, I am strategic, thoughtful and cautious, and the two thieves of Yu Chongming and An Bangyan have no second way to go except to be captured." ”

Zhang Heming is also wearing a suit of armor now. Although Zhang Heming's armor has been reduced by a lot of bits and pieces, it still weighs more than 30 catties, but the old man still walks like a fly. Since coming to Maniso, I have seen this great situation. Zhang Heming is even more energetic, and he can definitely be called a crane with a childish face.

After accepting Huangshi's compliment with a smile, Zhang Heming also praised loudly: "It's really a strong general, there are no weak soldiers under him, if you can calm the chaos in the southwest in one fell swoop this time, Huangshi, you should be the first to take the lead!"

"Xie Zhang was promoted, and the last general was inscribed. ”

......

September 20th. Chishui Henan, the selection of the front camp camp

A few days ago, after the surprise attack captured the Chishui River suspension bridge, the Jia Ming River lit a fire and completely burned the bridge to the ground. Then the front battalion was selected to attack on two fronts, marched along the Chishui River, and swept away the blocking troops of the Shuixi Army in one day. Due to the loss of food and grass supplies, most of the Shuixi rebels fled through the forest and fled back to the rear lair through the Aluomi Station.

Some small groups of diehards still wanted to play hide and seek with the Ming army, and hesitated not to leave the Chishui River too far. However, Jia Minghe's move was to ensure the smooth navigation of the Chishui River, so he naturally had no interest in going deep into the forest to pursue them. The Ming army simply pulled out the ropes they hung over the river. Then the supply rafts of the Ming army began to transport grain, grass and ammunition forward.

For the past two months. The headquarters of Funing Town also sent thousands of reinforcements. Now the supply line to the rock camp is not working, and it is too difficult to get to the fire camp. Therefore, Jin Qiude has been replenishing the establishment of the Xuanfeng Battalion, whether it is the previous attrition due to illness or the officers and soldiers damaged in this battle, they have all been replenished from the Yongzhen Battalion. Now not only are all teams in the Xuanfeng Battalion full, but Jia Minghe himself also has four reinforcements for a total of 200 people in the general team, and if he needs it, he can also ask for it from the Banzhou battalion.

Gunfire was heard from time to time in the direction of the Chishui River, and for several days the rebels continued to try to force their way across the Chishui River to break through, and the Ming army continued to thwart their attempts. Along the south bank of the Chishui River, a ten-mile-long guard post was deployed, each of which had an infantry unit as a mobile force.

There were only a few places where the water could cross the river with relatively calm currents, and if the rebels were found crossing the river, a large number of musketeers would soon be able to arrive at the scene. Most of the time, when the rebels struggled to cross the rushing river, they were broken to pieces by the Ming army along with their bamboo rafts before they were halfway crossed.

Today, the Banzhou battalion has brought a batch of reinforcements, and now in addition to the Xuanfeng battalion, there are more than 3,000 Southwest Ming troops gathered here, and they mainly help Jia Minghe to be responsible for night security work. During the day, the commanders mainly led their subordinates to make bamboo sticks, and then stuck them all over the shore, hoping that someone would be able to step on them at night. Jia Minghe estimated that in the past three days, the friendly troops had inserted hundreds of thousands of bamboo sticks, of course, the Xuanfeng battalion also accompanied them to insert some, although these things will not have any effect during the day, but the power at night is okay.

Although there is not much difference between forcibly crossing at night and committing suicide, there are a few groups of madmen who can meet every night, and the Ming army has lit piles of bonfires on the river bank for this purpose, and even if the rebels can defeat the invisible whirlpools, rapids, reefs and bamboo sticks, they will be immediately discovered by the Ming army as soon as they come ashore.

The morning of the 20th was calm throughout the morning, and no rebel forced crossings were reported everywhere. Jia Minghe pondered for a while, and then ordered the cordon to be extended again. In the afternoon, there was a faint sound of artillery in the direction of Chishuiwei, Jia Minghe personally ran up the hill to the south to observe, although he did not see any conclusive signs, but the rebels did not have artillery, this is certain, and the biggest possibility should be that the front of the Ming army is pressing over.

In the afternoon, it was reported that a large number of rebel troops had been spotted at the crossing directly opposite Chishuiwei. This place has a shallow water with slow currents, and it is easy to step onto the official road after the crossing, so it has always been the place where the Jaming River pays the most attention to defense, and he has six artillery guns deployed here, and when he hears the alarm, he immediately rode his horse.

As the report says, a large number of rebels are brazenly building bamboo rafts on the other side, and they have cut down entire forests. Seeing this, Jia Minghe ordered the cannon to be fired. A six-pounder cannon roared incessantly, knocking down a few bamboos or a tree from time to time, stirring up patches of dust near the rebel brigade. However, the rebels did not react at all this time, they just continued to build bamboo rafts there.

Jia Minghe took out his binoculars and looked towards the opposite bank. Several officers of the General Staff Division put their hands behind their backs and stood straight behind Jia Minghe, all with their chests held high.

"Well, the thieves are still wearing a kind of bamboo armor. Jia Minghe observed the movement on the other side of the river and whispered: "It seems to be a half-body bamboo armor...... There was a thief soldier who made one, well, it was indeed a bamboo armor, and he also put it on his body and tried the size. ”

The rebels didn't seem to care about the shells that flew around them from time to time, and were just concentrating on building the tools for floating water. Jia Minghe gently took the binoculars off his eyes and looked thoughtfully at the other side for a long time without speaking.

"My lord, let's let the six cannons fire together, maybe we can break them up!"

A young staff officer said his suggestion out loud, but Jia Minghe shook his head: "You are dreaming, Mr. Qian." ”

"Stop firing!" Jia Mingmeng took a few steps back, and put the monocular away vigorously as he gave a loud order. He looked around at the officers around him, and shouted again: "Transfer all four artillery guns, concentrate the defense area of the Xuanfeng battalion in the five miles around here, and leave the other defense areas to the friendly troops to fill." ”

......

That night, the singing of tens of millions of people resounded around Chishuiwei. Huang Shi walked out of the tent, looked at the campfire in the direction of the singing for a while, and beckoned an interpreter: "What are they singing?"

"Back to the adults, these are the ancestral ballads of the thieves, about their heroes, their ancestors and their gods, and have been passed down for more than 2,000 years. ”

"Really?" asked Yellowstone softly. He quietly listened to the chorus of these 10,000 people, the singing seemed to contain infinite emotion and reverence, and there was a faint endless sadness and hesitation under the starry sky, but it was just ...... Among them, there is also a kind of high-spiritedness, straight to the sky.

[Remember the URL . 三五Chinese网]