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Volume 13 Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 617 Battle of Shanxi

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    Chapter 617 Fighting Shanxi

    Sun Chuanting and Zuo Liangyu will naturally not let it go easily if they get such a good opportunity to show off their abilities.  Early the next morning, more than 12,000 people were gathered and headed straight for Shouyang.  After them, the 15,000-strong Liaodong Army, all cavalry, also marched out from Pingding Prefecture. After going around a circle, they attacked Taiyuan with light cavalry. They just waited for the troops there to be empty, and then took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in and occupy it.  This is the most important place in Shanxi.

    But it was said that Shouyang was actually a territory belonging to Pingding Prefecture. It was only because the rebel army was too powerful that the local officials and troops were unable to defeat it, so it was occupied by the rebels.  However, after occupying the city, the number of rebel troops in Shouyang decreased.  Because there are still a large number of cities around it that they need to capture, and the Guotianxing and Shangtianlong tribes that originally occupied it also lost most of their troops due to the previous battle, and now there are only about 5,000 people guarding the city.  , this is still the result of the cooperation of other anti-military forces.

    Seeing the officers and soldiers coming in a mighty manner, which looked like thirty to fifty thousand people, the rebels guarding the city suddenly became a little worried.  After all, they are not formally trained soldiers. They can take advantage of the situation when things go well, but once they encounter any difficulties, they are prone to psychological problems.  However, they also knew that only by holding on could they save their lives, so although they were worried, they still arranged according to the order and prepared to block the attack of the army.

    Seeing that the rebel troops were waiting in the city, Sun Chuanting and his two men were not too worried. They knew the combat power of the more than 10,000 Liaodong Army.  The city walls and defenses of Shouyang City, which is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, rarely suffered from military disasters, and is not a key place, cannot be compared with those fortified cities and passes built in Liaodong to resist the Jin people, and they also prepared several gates.  With artillery, it is not difficult to blast open this weak city gate.  However, they knew that their real purpose in attacking Shouyang was not to attract the rebels near Taiyuan and lay the foundation for a surprise attack on Taiyuan.

    So after setting up camp, they just sent more than two thousand people to conduct a tentative attack on the city.  Use archers to suppress the city head, and then send some soldiers to attack the city.  The rebels on the city would not think that this was just a tentative attack by the government troops. They did not dare to slack off at all and fought back with all their strength against the government troops who had reached the bottom of the city.

    The rebels in the city lacked bows and crossbows, and could only use the most basic defensive weapons such as stones and rolling logs to stop them. At the same time, pots of boiling oil were poured down the city, which actually injured many officers and soldiers who rushed at the front.  .  When Sun Chuanting saw this, he offered gold and retreated his troops.  He must conserve his strength and wait until the right time to deliver the most powerful blow.

    It was not until the Ming army retreated completely that the rebels on the city stopped their actions. They had already consumed nearly half of the weapons they had prepared, and the official casualties were only a few hundred people.  This also reflects the lack of calmness of these people. They only know how to blindly smash down rocks and trees, but they do not maximize the damage of their weapons.

    At this time, the city defender was still thinking too much. After learning about the damage at the top of the city, he was also very worried and demolished many buildings in the city overnight to use as weapons at the back.  But Shouyang is not a big city, and there are not many buildings that can be demolished. This is obviously a stopgap measure.

    On the second and third days, the army continued to attack Shouyang, but they often retreated after small battles, constantly consuming the supplies on the city.  This was quickly noticed by the knowledgeable people in the city, but no matter what they said, once the mob who were guarding the city saw the officers and soldiers coming with a terrifying momentum, they were still frightened and tried their best to destroy the weapons on the city.  The fight continued in order to prevent the officers and soldiers from advancing, which resulted in fewer and fewer weapons available in the city.

    "Your Majesty, now we can only ask other people for help." The confidant beside Guo Tianxing advised.

    At this time, looking at the mess in the city, Guo Tianxing lost his previous heroic spirit.  At first, I thought that the army was just a bunch of incompetent people, and that I could lay a large foundation with just a few thousand brothers. But now it seems that not only in the battles on the ground, but also in the defense of the city, my brothers are still too young.  point.  This made Guo Tianxing very depressed, and he no longer had the original ambition. He nodded and said: "Yes, but who around us can really help us now? The Heavenly Dragon has been captured, and the strength of other people is still there.  Not as good as us.¡±

    "Your Majesty, now we have no choice but to surrender to Chuang Taotian and the others. They are now the strongest force in Shanxi. It is said that they have hundreds of thousands of troops and control many cities in Taiyuan and surrounding areas. As long as we can get their help, right now  These officers and soldiers are naturally no match."

    "Okay, then I will send someone to ask Chuang Taotian and the others for help. The officers and soldiers are the enemies of all of us, and I think they will not leave us alone." Guo Tianxing still agreed with this proposal. In their minds,  , now Luo Rucai and Liu Guoneng are the natural leaders of the army

    But now that the government and soldiers are surrounding the city, how to go out for help has become a difficult problem before them.  After thinking about it for a while, Guo Tianxing finally decided to use all his troops at night and send people to break through.

    At this time, Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Liangyu were also worrying about this matter in the official and military camp outside the city.  They surrounded the entire Shouyang area in order to quickly attack them. How could the rebels ask for help now?  If we place our hopes on the initiative of the rebels in Taiyuan, it seems a little impossible.

    "Brother Zuo, I thought the rebels would definitely try to send people to break out in the past two days. They have consumed too much stone, wood and boiling oil in the past few days, and they have very few weapons available. If they continue, they will not be able to defend at all.  It¡¯s a city.¡±

    "Yes, but how should we let them go? If we don't stop them, I'm afraid they will see the flaw, but if we stop them, I'm afraid they won't be able to get out at all." Zuo Liangyu smiled bitterly, and there was still hope.  When the surrounded enemy can rush out and ask for help.  They knew the capabilities of the rebels, but under the siege of the Liaodong Army, they couldn't get out at all.

    "We will only watch it when the time comes. I hope those people won't let us down." Sun Chuanting also smiled bitterly.

    On that night, the rebels who were trapped in Shouyang City suddenly launched a massive counterattack. Three thousand people rushed out at night and attacked the official camp.  However, this could not disrupt the Ming army's position at all. At any time, the official army would arrange nearly a thousand sergeants to guard outside the camp, and these 1,000 people were enough to withstand the 3,000 rebels.

    Soon, other people in the army camp were also awakened and came out with weapons.  Although they did not put on armor and did not have time to mount their horses, in the foot battle, the Liaodong Army was still not something ordinary rebels could resist. The rebels were killed and scattered.

    The fight soon came to an end. At this time, among the chaotic rebels, several people suddenly changed their direction. Instead of retreating to the city like the others, they ran towards the west.  Over there, the archers who saw their actions were about to shoot them off their horses, when Zuo Liangyu's soldiers came and gave an order: Don't chase the enemy, let them escape to weaken the fighting spirit of the rebels.  !  Although they felt that this was a bit wrong, these well-trained officers and soldiers still followed their orders.

    On this side, the official army did not take advantage of the victory to attack Shouyang, but continued to besiege it, which also relieved the rebels who fled into the city in a hurry.  They finally saw how powerful the official army was, and some of them were even glad that they had not taken the initiative to attack the official army together with Tianxing and the others before.

    After withdrawing his troops, Sun Chuanting immediately wrote the news and sent it out using the carrier pigeon given to him by Tang Feng.  This is the most critical step in the entire plan. As long as Tang Feng can receive the news as soon as possible and respond in time, Taiyuan will be more easily captured by them.

    The carrier pigeon flew all night and flew into Tang Feng's army the next morning.  This kind of homing pigeon specially developed by Jin Yiwei can not only recognize the road, but also recognize its owner, so even in strange places, they can quickly find their destination and convey the message.  At this time, Tang Feng's army was hiding in a small town called Wangjiaji, which was only more than fifty miles away from Taiyuan. Everyone here was under control, so no one knew that the army was actually here.  .

    After reading the news, Tang Feng smiled with satisfaction: "It seems that Sun Chuanting and the others are on track. In just a few days, they can force Shouyang's enemies to ask for help." After saying this, his face became solemn.  : "Give the scouts an order to keep an eye on Taiyuan. Once there are troops and horses moving out, report them to me immediately!" After waiting for another day, the scouts sent news that there were troops and horses being mobilized in Taiyuan City.  , depending on the situation, reinforcements will be sent to Shouyang.

    At this time, soldiers and horses in Taiyuan City were constantly mobilizing, and the two most powerful people in the Shanxi rebel army were also discussing how to reinforce Shouyang.  They knew very well the truth of the situation, and they would never allow the army to easily take the only way to Taiyuan.  But there is still a little difference between the two of them, that is, how to provide reinforcements?

    Liu Guoneng¡¯s intention was to use the simplest method to directly reinforce him.  But "Cao Cao" Luo Rucai, who was more resourceful than him, had his own opinions. He thought of encircling Wei to save Zhao, and attacked Pingding Prefecture to relieve Shouyang.  His reason is also very simple, because the people in Shouyang are not his direct lineage, why should he marry someone else?  Moreover, now that the official army is attacking Shouyang with all their strength, their rear must be empty, just in time to capture Pingding Prefecture in one battle.

    Liu Guoneng was somewhat disapproving of this strategy.  In his view, their enemies were the officers and soldiers. As long as the officers and soldiers were wiped out, those cities would not move and would naturally fall back into their hands.  And this time Guo Tianxing came to ask for help. As long as he saved them, he would not only gain the allegiance of this group of people, but also increase his reputation. How could he only care about a small profit and ignore the other party's request for help?Just before dispatching the troops, the two still could not reach an agreement. Finally, Liu Guoneng said: "In that case, let's divide the troops into two groups. Anyway, we now have a surplus of men and horses. Even half of them are enough to defeat the official army and save life."  It¡¯s sunny.¡±

    Luo Rucai agrees with this point. They have fought with the government and the army not once or twice, so naturally they will not think that their troops are no longer their opponents.  So they ordered their two generals, Mao Chang and Hu Kong, to go out with 20,000 troops each, one to aid Shouyang and the other to pacify it.

    Coincidentally, the route taken by the group led by Hu Kong coincided with Tang Feng's idea. They also bypassed Shouyang from the north and then attacked Ding.  We have to pass through the small town called Wangjiaji.

    On the tenth day of April, in the morning, just as Tang Feng and the generals were discussing how to attack Taiyuan, whether to attack Taiyuan by force or bombard the city with artillery, a scout rushed into the town hurriedly.  When he saw Tang Feng, he reported: "Master Hou, a group of people appeared more than ten miles ahead. They should be dressed as rebels."

    "Huh?" Everyone was a little surprised, and a thought flashed through their minds: "Could it be that our whereabouts have been exposed? Are the rebels sending troops to fight us?"

    In this regard, Tang Feng was very calm: "No, they obviously did not come here for us. Otherwise, we would not have learned their whereabouts so quickly. They must have come here to rescue Shouyang. But  Have you found out how many troops there are?"

    "Look at the formation, it should be between 20,000 and 30,000." Although he is a professional scout, he cannot clearly judge the strength of the opponent's troops in the somewhat chaotic formation, and can only give a rough estimate.

    Tang Feng glanced at him and immediately knew the reason. Now he was even more confident.  If they were really coming for them, how could the rebels be so disorganized?  "Send the order, the whole army is dispatched, this time we are going to have a big ambush!"

    The Liaodong Army did not pay any attention to the rebels who had greater military strength than its own.  With Wu Sangui's previous victory, how could they still be afraid of these rabble?  So soon, all the officers and soldiers were well prepared and hidden on both sides of the road outside the town. At the same time, many crossbowmen and musketeers were also placed in some houses in the town.  As for the people in the town, they were temporarily taken to the woods behind the town, and they would only be allowed back after the war.

    Hu Kongzhi proudly led his troops to walk on the official road. He was originally a pig butcher, but because he had learned martial arts for a few days and had strength, he was favored by Luo Rucai and became one of his confidants.  Now he can actually lead tens of thousands of troops to fight. This is something he could never have dreamed of before.  However, he was not worried about this, because since the uprising, they had always been unfavorable. The officers and soldiers were simply decorations, and this time was no exception.

    Seeing that it was almost noon and there was another small town ahead, Hu Kong ordered: "Brothers, be more diligent and take a rest when you get to the town. Let's continue on our way after eating."

    This, of course, won the approval of others. Although these rebels claimed to be soldiers, they were actually farmers, small businessmen and local gangsters. It was obviously difficult for them to be on the road all the time.  They left Taiyuan yesterday afternoon and traveled more than 30 miles, and this morning they traveled more than 10 miles. They were exhausted and scattered long ago.  Now that I can take a break, everyone is naturally happy, and my steps have become much lighter.

    In order to get more rest, some rebels unconsciously increased their speed, which made the already chaotic team even more disgraceful.  Hu Kong did not interfere in this matter. He had limited knowledge of this situation and would only lead people to kill.

    Just when the town was in sight and the news was about to be obtained, with a "bang" sound, many neatly dressed cavalry suddenly appeared on both sides, rushing straight towards the rebels with murderous intent.

    When the battle started, most of the rebels didn't react at all. The people on both sides were quickly overwhelmed, and then there was a burst of screams and they wanted to disperse, but not many people could organize a decent resistance.  Hu Kong drew his sword in his hand and wanted to lead his men into a fight with the officers and soldiers who suddenly appeared, but then he found that he was completely unable to command and the team was in chaos.

    "Kill!" Wu Wangui held a spear and rushed among the enemies. Suddenly, he saw a man on a horse with different clothes and armor. At that time, he knew that this man should be the leader of these rebels.  .  Without saying a word, he dismounted his horse and rushed towards Hu Kong.

    The hunting wind sounded, and a person came straight towards him. A layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on Hu Kong's body, but no one could save him at this time. He had to shout loudly and waved his knife to parry this menacing move.  .

    "Dang!" Two weaponsTogether, with a loud noise, the knife in Hu Kong's hand was also knocked to the ground.  Not only was Wu Sangui stronger than his opponent, but he also relied on the momentum of the horse. How could a butcher who had studied martial arts for several days compare to him?  Just when he was stunned, Wu Sangui had already turned the horse's head, stretched out his arms, and pulled Hu Kong off the horse in one fell swoop.  The officers and soldiers who followed him stepped forward and tied him up.

    The fall of the general made these rebels lose their fighting spirit. After less than a hundred people died, others laid down their weapons and surrendered.  This shocked Wu Sangui and all the soldiers. Can this be called a war?

    With the prisoners far more numerous than himself, Wu Sangui returned to the town, and Tang Feng had already greeted them.  After praising the soldiers, Tang Feng asked people to bring Hu Kong up, and then asked him carefully about his identity and the reason for coming here.

    Hu Kong had been scared out of his wits for a long time, so now he naturally answered all questions without daring to hide anything.

    After hearing his purpose, Tang Feng showed a smile on his face and said to him: "You have two choices now, one is to be executed, and the other is to obey my orders. Which one are you willing to choose?"

    Needless to say, Hu Kong certainly chose the latter.  And this time, Tang Feng also found a more convenient strategy to take down Taiyuan City
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