The 40th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, July 2.

Sangmuguan is an important passage leading to Zheng'an and connecting Sichuan in Banzhou, Sangmuguan is hundreds of zhang high, and the cliffs on both sides are like ladders, therefore, this place, since ancient times, is the place where soldiers must fight.

And today, the originally extremely calm Sangmu Pass, but ushered in an "uninvited guest", led by the commander of the capital, Tongren Counselor Shi Bangxian led by the 20,000 forwards, has been near the Sangmu Pass, camped.

And behind them, there was an army of 40,000 led by Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang!

From the city wall of Sangmu Pass, looking into the distance, there are camp tents built by the Ming army everywhere, the camp tents are full of fully armed armor soldiers, and a feeling of mountain rain is about to come and the wind is full of buildings, shrouded in the hearts of the defenders of Sangmu Pass.

At this time, Yao Ge, the guard of Sangmu Pass, looked at the Ming army stationed near Sangmu Pass, his face full of worry.

You must know that before this, the defenders of Sangmu Pass were only 3,000 people, and later Yang Lie sensed the intention of the imperial army to conquer Sangmu Pass, so he quickly dispatched more than 8,000 soldiers from all over to support.

But even so, in Yao Ge's opinion, with the strength in his hands alone, he would definitely not be able to resist the attack of the imperial army!

The general who is in charge of commanding the army on the other side can be compared with He Qing in Sichuan, Shen Xiyi in Guangxi, and Shi Bangxian!

Most of the rewards he received were given to his soldiers, so Shi Bangxian's soldiers had extremely strong combat effectiveness and very tacit cooperation, and they were often able to achieve the effect of one against ten.

Yao Ge felt that even if he gave himself several times the strength of Shi Bangxian, he was not at all sure that he would be able to gain the upper hand from Shi Bangxian!

Moreover, Shi Bangxian's current strength is almost twice as much as his own, and whether it is weapons and equipment, or combat quality, the soldiers under his command are completely incomparable to him.

What's more, how can Banzhou alone be able to confront the powerful imperial court, which is backed by two capitals and thirteen provinces?

Just when Yao Ge felt upset about this, the voice of the deputy general Liu Zhongcai came from the side.

"Will ...... General, what should we do next, with the strength in our hands alone, we will definitely not be able to hold Sangmu Pass! ”

"Moreover, it is said that the imperial court came to quell the rebellion this time, so aren't we rebels?"

"It is clearly written in the Da Ming Law that all conspirators will be executed by Ling Chi, and they will also be connected to the nine clans!"

"General, why don't we surrender to the imperial court, so that we can save a life, right?"

When Yao Ge heard this, he was immediately furious, and then he pointed at the nose of the deputy general Liu Zhongcai and scolded.

"Hmph, bastard, even dare to say such rebellious words, have you forgotten, who gave us the opportunity in the first place, without the consolation of the envoy, can we have today?"

When Liu Zhongcai heard Yao Ge's words, the look on his face was quite angry, and he said against it.

"For so many years, we have been born and died for him, in the early years in the war with Guizhou Xuanxuan envoy An Wanquan, our brothers under our hands, dead and wounded, without us, he Yang Lie can win An Wanquan, can he have a good life today?

"We did so much for him, but in the end, we were squeezed out to Sangmu Pass!"

"We have been born and died so many times, and it can be regarded as repaying his kindness, general, this time is not the same as before, this time the army of the imperial court is coming, let's surrender, so ......"

Before Liu Zhongcai's words were finished, he saw Yao Ge on the side suddenly pull out the long sword at his waist and press it against his neck, and a trace of blood came out.

Seeing this, Liu Zhong hurriedly swallowed all the words he hadn't had time to say back into his stomach, and at this moment, his eyes were full of fear.

"If you dare to say these bastard things in front of me again, don't blame me for not thinking about brotherhood!"

"Yes, General!"

When Liu Zhongcai heard Yao Ge's words, he couldn't help but respond.

After this, Yao Ge removed the long sword from his neck and said coldly.

", don't show up in front of me lately!"

"Yes...... Yes, General! ”

When Liu Zhongcai heard this, his face suddenly showed an expression of the rest of his life, and then, he left the room without looking back.

What Yao Ge didn't notice was that when Liu Zhongcai left, a trace of imperceptible resentment flashed in his eyes.

……

On the other side, outside the Sangmu Pass, inside the Ming army camp.

At this moment, Shi Bangxian and several lieutenant generals were studying the map in front of him.

On the map, the topography near Sangmuguan is depicted in detail, and whether there are small roads around.

Then, I saw Shi Bangxian pointing to several marked places on the map, and commanded.

"You see, from tomorrow, send 8,000 soldiers and horses, divided into three roads, from the left, center, and right, to attack Sangmu Pass!"

When the lieutenants on the side heard this, their expressions immediately turned grim and they replied in a deep voice.

"Yes, General!"

At this moment, there was a rapid sound of horses' hooves from outside the tent, and then, I saw the armor soldier in charge of guarding the tent walk in and report respectfully.

"General, the governor has sent someone!"

"Oh, let him in!"

When Shi Bangxian heard this, he took his eyes off the map in front of him, raised his head, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Yes, General!"

After listening to Shi Bangxian's instructions, the armor soldier did not hesitate at all, and immediately left the camp.

As soon as the soldier entered the tent, he immediately bowed his head and bowed in a deep voice.

"I've seen the general!"

When Shi Bangxian heard this, he glanced over the soldier, and immediately asked.

"Tell me, what did the Governor send you for?"

"General, this is the governor, entrusted to send it from your subordinates, about the two guards of Sangmu Pass!"

When the words fell, I saw that the soldier would record the two guards of Sangmu Pass, and the paper with the specific situation was respectfully handed over to Shi Bangxian.

"Well, the official knows, and he's tired!"

I saw Shi Bangxian take the paper from the soldier's hand and say so.

"Now that the things have been delivered, let's not stay too long!"

After the soldier finished speaking, he bowed his hand to Shi Bangxian, and then walked away.

After the soldier left, Shi Bangxian focused on the paper in front of him, only to see that it was written.

"The main general Yao Ge and the deputy general Liu Zhongcai, in the early years, once personally led the Banzhou soldiers to fight with An Wanquan, the Guizhou Xuanzhi envoy, because of the courage in battle, he was repeatedly promoted, and later was assigned to guard Sangmu Pass, and his troops were ......"

Shi Bangxian quickly finished browsing all the contents on it, and then, I saw him put the paper aside, and said with emotion.

"It seems that the rumors in the court are true, Lord Governor, I really know a lot about the toast in the southwest!"

After finishing his sigh, he saw Shi Bangxian come back to his senses, looked at the deputy general on the side, and commanded in a deep voice.

"General Chuanben's order, immediately start making a fire to make food, let the brothers take this opportunity, have a good rest, and tomorrow according to the previous deployment, officially attack Sangmu Pass!"

"Also, you must not take it lightly, the enemy army is likely to take advantage of the night to sneak attack, we must strengthen patrols, set up a few more secret posts, and do not give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage of!"

When Shi Bangxian's words fell, the deputy generals on the side all responded in a deep voice.

"Yes, General!"

But the development of things was beyond Shi Bangxian's expectations, after the Ming army began to make fires and make food, the defenders of Sangmu Pass did not act rashly, and did not even send a small force to attack and harass.

The secret sentinel arranged by Shi Bangxian earlier did not come in handy, and the night was spent so peacefully.

……

In the early morning, when the sky was just white, in the camp tent, Shi Bangxian got a report from his subordinates.

"It seems that the other party is planning to hold on!"

Shi Bangxian said with emotion after listening to the report of his subordinates.

"General Chuanben's order, according to yesterday's deployment, the troops will be divided into three ways to launch an attack on Sangmu Pass!"

"Yes, General!"

After listening to Shi Bangxian's order, the subordinate quickly walked away.

'Knock knock-'

With the sound of drums like raindrops, more than 8,000 Ming troops, divided into left, center, and right directions, launched a fierce attack on Sangmu Pass.

'Boom! ''Boom! ’

In the position of the Ming army, more than 20 tiger squatting cannons that had been silent for a long time, as well as the new cannons sent by the Ordnance Division earlier, made bursts of roars, and countless Ming troops, under the cover of the cannons, came towards Sangmu Pass.

Every time a cannonball explodes on the wall of Sangmuguan, it will take away a large area of life, and after a few rounds, the seemingly impregnable wall of Sangmuguan has become crumbling, and there are gaps everywhere.

The defenders on the city walls also suffered heavy casualties, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere, and a disgusting smell of blood filled the air.

Not only that, but in the distance, there were also Ming troops armed with firearms, constantly firing at the defenders on the city walls.

This part of the Ming army used the improved musket through the Weapons Division, and its range and power were greatly improved compared with the previous arquebuses.

Coupled with the assistance of paper shell bullets, it was possible to fire only one shot in the same amount of time, but now it can fire three shots!

At this moment, Yao Ge looked at the situation in front of him and couldn't help but be stunned, he originally thought that as long as he couldn't hold out, he would be able to rely on the dangerous terrain of Sangmu Pass to carry out a strong defense.

Who knows, the artillery of the Ming army, several rounds of salvo fire, made the indestructible Sangmuguan city wall after many reinforcements become crumbling.

Not only that, but there are also Ming troops with firearms in the distance, suppressing firepower, as long as the defenders on the city wall, as soon as they show their heads slightly, it is very likely that they will be hit by stray bullets!

Yao Ge can see that the firecrackers in the hands of the Ming army are very different from the previous firearms, not only are they powerful, but also have a much longer range, and more importantly, their loading speed is also several times that of the past.

I saw Yao Ge pull out the long sword at his waist, his eyes were red, and he shouted hoarsely.

"Don't retreat, give me a top! Go up! ”

"Shoot the arrows! Shoot the arrows! ”

At this moment, on the city wall of Sangmu Pass, there were rivers of blood everywhere and corpses everywhere, and under the command of Yao Ge, the defenders on the city wall finally began to organize a counterattack.

I saw that the defenders on the city wall began to draw arrows with bows and arrows, and shot arrows at the Ming troops who rushed towards Sangmu Pass.

These arrows are different from ordinary ones, their arrows are quenched with poison, once they are shot by this kind of arrow, they will definitely die in such a harsh environment.

The arrows fell like raindrops, hitting the Ming army in front of them, charging towards Sangmu Pass, from time to time there were Ming soldiers in armor, wailing and falling to the ground, and then, the soldiers behind him, trampling on the corpses of their companions, continued to attack towards Sangmu Pass.

Soon, this round of arrow rain played its due role, and the Ming army's offensive was delayed a little.

'Knock knock-'

The war drums sounded again, and more Ming troops began to step on the drums, and launched a rapid attack towards the Sangmuguan city wall, with a deafening shout of killing, soaring into the sky!

At this moment, looking down from mid-air, I saw a black torrent with no end in sight, which was constantly impacting Sangmu Pass.

Then, another roar of cannons rang out, and the cannonballs blasted a large gap in the wall of Sangmu Pass.

The attacking Ming army, seeing this situation, couldn't help but boost their morale, and immediately accelerated the pace of attack, and Yao Ge, who was a defending general, saw this situation, his face was pale, and he didn't know what to do for a while.

He knew very well that his morale would definitely fall to the bottom because of this, and in less than an hour after the two sides started the battle, his side had already lost more than a thousand soldiers, and you must know that the defenders of Sangmu Pass were only more than 11,000 in total!

Just as Yao Ge regrouped, organized the defenders on the city wall, and repelled the Ming army's offensive, a horn sounded.

'Woo-'

Yao Ge's face changed suddenly after hearing the sound of the horn, because it was the sound of an urgent horn.

Then, I saw a soldier with a bloodstained face come to Yao Ge and make a report.

"General, the city wall on the right side can no longer be defended, and the army of the imperial court is about to attack the city wall!"

"What, what is he Liu Zhong doing to eat!"

After listening to the soldier's report, Yao Ge's face became extremely gloomy, and then, he saw him pressing his sword with one hand, looking at the soldier, and questioning.

Yao Ge knew very well in his heart that once the right side was lost, it would not be far from the fall of Sangmu Pass.

He never thought that only two hours after the two sides started the battle, they had already been attacked by the imperial army.

Then, I saw him pull out the long sword at his waist and command in a deep voice.

"Someone, follow General Ben to support the wall on the right!"

"Yes, General!"

Subsequently, I saw Yao Ge draw defenders from all over the place, and go non-stop towards the place where Liu Zhongcai was guarding, and went to support.

On the other side, on the city wall, the Ming army that ascended first had already started a fierce battle with the defenders on the city wall.

I saw a Ming sergeant, holding a Yanling knife, after stabbing the defenders in front of him, he pulled out the Yanling knife and rushed towards the next enemy non-stop.

At this moment, Liu Zhongcai was already covered in wounds, and his armor was full of traces left by the sword after slashing.

Liu Zhongcai had already been killed by the Ming army that was constantly pouring onto the city wall and was not afraid of death.

Moreover, the current Ming army is obviously an elite soldier who has experienced a hundred battles, so the battle loss ratio between the defenders and the Ming army besieging the city soon reached an extremely exaggerated point.

Since most of these Ming troops were covered in armor, it was usually necessary to pay the price of seven or eight defenders before they could kill a Ming army.

What frightened Liu Zhongcai even more was that before they died, those Ming soldiers would use the fire fold they carried with them to ignite a very powerful bomb, once this bomb exploded, the surrounding soldiers would suffer heavy casualties in an instant, and completely lose their combat ability.

Therefore, Liu Zhongcai was only able to lead the remnants of the defenders and fight and retreat.

With the Ming army pouring onto the city wall, more and more, Liu Zhongcai showed a look of despair, he knew that if there was no support in the future, the city wall might not be able to hold!

At this moment, I saw Yao Ge leading reinforcements to arrive and fight with those Ming troops on the city wall.

Seeing this, Liu Zhong couldn't help but feel refreshed, and then led the remnants of the defenders to join the battle together.

With the concerted efforts of the two of them, they finally barely held the city wall, and worked together to drive down the Ming army that climbed the city wall.

On the other side, Shi Bangxian, who was in command of the Chinese army, saw that the attack was frustrated, and immediately looked at the adjutant general on the side and ordered in a deep voice.

"General Chuanben's order, Mingjin retreats!"

When the adjutant general heard this, his face was full of hesitation, and then, he plucked up his courage and asked Shi Bangxian.

"General, we are about to take the city wall, why ......?"

When Shi Bangxian heard this, he glanced at the lieutenant general and explained.

"The brothers are exhausted, and if you organize a few more attacks, you can indeed take the city wall, but this will cause a lot of unnecessary casualties, so let's retreat first!"

"Yes, General!"

Soon, Shi Bangxian's order was passed down step by step.

Subsequently, when those exhausted Ming soldiers heard the sound of the gong symbolizing the withdrawal of the Ming Jin, their faces suddenly showed expressions of the rest of their lives, and they quickly receded like a tide.

The defenders on the city wall, seeing the Ming army retreating, had expressions on their faces that had survived the catastrophe, and at this moment, they didn't care about celebrating, because the surrounding area was already full of corpses and rivers of blood.

Wailing, moaning, screaming, all kinds of sounds mingle together, making people feel irritated.

Yao Ge couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that the Ming army was temporarily retreating, and immediately, he saw him summon his subordinates and ordered in a deep voice.

"Passing on the order of the general, start collecting the corpses and strengthening the city walls!"

"Yes, General!"

After the armistice, the two sides began to collect the corpses and clean up the battlefield with a very tacit understanding.

At this moment, the two sides are like wild beasts, licking their wounds and waiting for the next battle to begin.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was evening, and the crumbling city wall, which had been bombarded by the Ming artillery, had also been symbolically repaired.

At this moment, in the hall, Yao Ge was sitting on the top, listening to the report from his subordinates.

"General, in this battle, we have suffered a total of more than 2,820 casualties!"

When Yao Ge learned the specific number of casualties from his subordinates, his face was full of disbelief, and his eyes couldn't help but widen.

He didn't expect that his own casualties would be so heavy!

You must know that relying on the steep terrain of Sangmu Pass, you are waiting for work to defend, and in this case, nearly 3,000 people were killed and wounded.

The defenders of Sangmu Pass, with a total of only more than 11,000 people, only fought for one day, and they were killed and wounded by a third!

"If you meet the Ming army head-on......"

Yao Ge said this, a corresponding picture had already appeared in his mind, and then, he suddenly came back to his senses, his face was full of horror, he didn't dare to think about it anymore!

On the other side, the faces of Liu Zhongcai and many other officers were also full of fear.

At this moment, their fighting spirit has been completely defeated by those Ming troops who are not afraid of death!

After all, the two sides had only been fighting for one day, and they had lost a third of their troops, which had never happened before!

Then, I saw Liu Zhongcai pluck up his courage, looked at Yao Ge, who was sitting on the top at the moment, and cautiously spoke comfortingly.

"General, you have also seen that we are not the opponents of the imperial army!"

"Today, the army of the imperial court is about to capture the city wall, but the generals of the other party chose to withdraw their troops from Mingjin, in the final analysis, because the other party did not want to cause unnecessary casualties!"

"If we continue like this, wait until tomorrow, the army of the imperial court will officially launch a general attack, with our current strength, we are simply powerless to resist, once the city is broken, all of us will be executed by the imperial court for the crime of rebellion!"

"The court is here to quell the rebellion this time, we are doing this, we are going against the court, that is a crime of rebellion, we might as well surrender now, maybe we can save a life!"

Liu Zhongcai's words fell, and many officers on the side also followed suit.

"Yes, General, this is a crime of rebellion, and it is to punish the Nine Clans!"

"General, let's surrender quickly!"

Yao Ge, who was sitting at the top, was furious when he heard this, only to see him glance over the many officers present one by one with his gaze of selecting people and devouring people.

"Hmph, a group of bastards who are greedy for life and afraid of death, the consolation envoy sent someone to deliver the news not long ago, we only need to hold out for three more days, and reinforcements will arrive soon!"

"When the time comes, relying on the topography of Sangmu Pass, it will be easy to defend!"

When Yao Ge said this, he looked in the direction where Liu Zhongcai was and said coldly.

"Hmph, Liu Zhongcai, General Ben hasn't held you accountable for your crimes, you still dare to shake the heart of the army, since this is the case, then don't blame General Ben, regardless of the past feelings!"

Then, I saw Yao Ge snort coldly, stretched out his hand to point at Liu Zhongcai, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Come on, pull this traitor who has troubled the hearts of the army to General Ben and take strict care of him!"

"Yes, General!"

As soon as Yao Ge's words fell, the guards on the side immediately stepped forward and controlled Liu Zhongcai.

Seeing this, Liu Zhong struggled to break free from the control of the guards, his face was full of hideousness, and then, he saw him look in the direction where Yao Ge was, and said word by word.

"Hmph, wait, you'll regret it!"

"General Ben is in charge of the defense of Sangmu Pass, and it's not your turn to point fingers!"

Hearing this, Yao Ge glanced at Liu Zhongcai and replied.

Subsequently, Liu Zhongcai, who was not angry, was escorted down by the guards.

The remaining officers in the room, seeing that Liu Zhongcai, who had followed Yao Ge from birth to death, was escorted down, and they all looked at each other, not daring to make any more moves, nor daring to mention surrender in front of Yao Ge. (End of chapter)