Wang Zhiliang, governor of southern Hunan, can definitely be called "knowing military affairs".
When he received the appointment, he said to Chongzhen in this way: "Zhao thief, sitting on the bandits, confuses the hearts of the common people by dividing the land. The longer the time, the more powerful it becomes. And the soldiers of Huguang all go north to conquer There are no soldiers in southern Hunan for bandits. Even if the squires are ordered to organize and train regiments of bravery, it will take a year to become a battle-ready army. By then, Zhao bandits will have swallowed the mansion and merged the county. Only by training a firearms battalion can an army be formed in a short period of time. , Your Majesty, please bestow firecrackers, artillery, and gunpowder!"
Chongzhen was very generous this time, and immediately ordered to allocate firearms to Wang Zhiliang.
Then, Wang Zhiliang lost his temper.
The cannons are all old objects, and I don¡¯t know which generation of ancestors they belong to. They can be put into museums with their variegated verdigris.
Three thousand guns were given, including the three-eyed guns from the early Ming Dynasty. There are also relatively new types of bird guns, but if one out of ten is usable, it is considered a good fortune for the ancestors.
As for gunpowder, it's not powder or granules, but fucking lumps!
Is this for the firecrackers to smash the lumps of gunpowder first, and then use it to refill and launch?
Before Wang Zhiliang left Beijing, he went to see Chongzhen again, and explained to the emperor the status of the arms he had received.
Chongzhen was also very angry, and he was immediately investigated.
It is still being investigated, but there is no need to investigate, because the gunpowder factory has been blown up.
It was really not a trick of "fire dragon burning the warehouse", but improper storage of gunpowder, which caused a big explosion.
Historically known as the "Anminchang Disaster": within more than ten miles of the capital, the earth's axis was shaken The city wall was shaken, and there was no end to the city in a radius of more than ten miles, and all the trees fell and stood withered. Residents and pedestrians, pillows on each other, death is scorched According to investigations, more than 10,000 residents were killed and injured.
The city walls collapsed, and there were no intact houses in a radius of more than ten miles, and the nearby weapon and equipment warehouses were all destroyed.
Poor Chongzhen, who was short of money, had to take out five thousand taels of silver to comfort the dead and injured.
Wang Zhiliang went to the post empty-handed, called officials from the Huguang Third Division, and arranged for the squires to organize and practice group bravery.
The Huguang Third Division was equally helpless. They had been paying taxes to the imperial court and raising food and grass for the governor for several years in a row. Huguang is one of the main theaters for the encirclement and suppression of rogue bandits, so there is no time to fight against the rebels in southern Hunan. How can we have the financial resources, material resources and manpower to deal with Zhao Han now?
The officials of the third division directly pretended to be dead.
Wang Zhiliang had no choice but to go out in person, at least to persuade the gentry from Yuezhou and Changde to cobble together more than 6,000 regiments of brave men.
At this moment, the news came that Zhao thief sent troops to Huguang.
Wang Zhiliang immediately led his troops and rushed to Changsha.
Changsha must be defended, otherwise the entire Dongting Lake Plain will be exposed to Zhao's soldiers!
"Mr. Yu Qing, you are finally here!" Wang Qisheng, the prefect of Changsha, was so moved that he almost knelt down on the spot.
Wang Qisheng is also considered a capable minister, but his skill points are all in construction. His political achievements all the way to promotion are all building dams, cities, and canals. Fighting bandits is really not his forte.
After Wang Zhiliang inspected the city defense, he was very satisfied with the newly built urn city, and praised: "This can keep Changsha safe." He then asked, "I brought more than 6,000 regiments here. How many troops are there in Changsha?"
"More than eight thousand regiments are brave." Wang Qisheng replied.
Yang Guanji, the county magistrate, suddenly asked: "The late student has also read military books, should we divide the troops to garrison the high mountains outside the city, and form a corner with the defenders inside the city?"
Wang Zhiliang replied: "If there are elite soldiers, it should be like this. But you and I have only a short time to prepare and train soldiers, so how can we divide them out of the city? Weak soldiers should not fight in the wild against a strong army. You should not divide your troops at will. You must use them all. Yu Shoucheng. Since there is no shortage of soldiers in Changsha, I will send 3000 regiments back to guard Xiangyin bravely to prevent Zhao bandits from bypassing Changsha and advancing northward!"
Under Wang Zhiliang's arrangement, Changsha's 11,000 defenders and Xiangyin's 3,000-odd defenders used two cities to block Zhao Han's advance to the Dongting Lake Plain.
The Dongting Lake Plain is the core essence of Huguang. If it falls there, most of Huguang will be lost.
The four Tao brothers, leading more than 4,000 troops, were also stationed in the city.
"How did the governor come so quickly?" Tao Yunfeng, the third brother, said, "Now there are more than 10,000 defenders in the city. With more than 4,000 of us, can we really dedicate the city at a critical moment?"
The second younger brother Tao Juanzhi was also worried: "That Governor Wang, it seems that he really knows how to fight. Once the governor came, the city defense was properly arranged, much better than us."
The four brothers are all scholars. Recently, they have been reading military books crazily. Talking about military affairs on paper can already bluff people, but they can't even understand the most basic military routines.If you are hungry, you will also be in danger of being attacked from front and back. "
"What I mean is," Wan Sitong explained, "send an elite team to attack Xiangyin by day and night. As long as Xiangyin is occupied, Changsha will become an isolated city."
Xiao Zongxian said: "You can send some spies to Xiangyin to inquire about the situation. If there are many soldiers in Xiangyin, ignore it; if there are few soldiers in Xiangyin, send elite soldiers to surprise them."
Hu Dinggui said: "No matter how many he has, first divide the fields in the villages and towns around Changsha!"
Li Zheng said with a smile: "The fields in Liuyang haven't been divided yet. How can there be so many people who come to Changsha to preside over the division of the fields?"
"Then divide the troops to the south," Hu Dinggui said, "and we have to divide the troops in a big way, and send a team to help Huang Bingyuan attack Xiangtan. After defeating Xiangtan, Huang Bingyuan can lead the main force northward and attack Changsha together with us. At the same time Well, the defenders of Changsha City, seeing our division of troops, will probably take the initiative to leave the city, and beat his mother outside the city then!"
"That's a good idea." Xiao Zongxian expressed his support.
Li Zheng glanced at everyone, nodded and said: "Since there is no objection, then divide the troops and pass under the city to see if the officers and soldiers in the city are fooled. It's best to be fooled. If you don't, then divide your troops and go south!"
Sitting at the top of the city, Wang Zhiliang watched the Datong army split up and march south, and only sent an order: "Don't worry about him, just defend Changsha City."
Xiangtan can be lost, but Changsha cannot be lost.