Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 186: Marching into Anqing (Part )

At the south gate of Luzhou City, Ye Sheng and Lu Qianhou each led a battalion of cavalry. All of them were well-armored, but they were all using armor that had been captured before. Moreover, there were slight differences between the two battalions. Ye Sheng had more spearmen, while Lu Qianhou had more archers.

One thousand seven hundred cavalrymen may not sound like a large number, but in fact, if they were deployed in formation, they could cover an area of ​​two miles. In the Jianghuai Plain area, this was already a considerable cavalry force.

The temporary artillery team led by Yang Huan, Liu Chuanyi, Yu Tongyuan and Qin Jinglin was also ready to go. Although these people had no armor, each of them was equipped with a sword for self-defense.

The artillery carts and mules and horses were fully equipped. The six 14-jin cannons and two 23-jin howitzers were pulled by four mules and horses, and the remaining two 40-jin heavy cannons were pulled by six horses. There was also an ammunition cart hung in front of each artillery cart, each equipped with more than rounds of ammunition.

Each gun has more than 40 rounds of ammunition, which is enough for a battle. Lu Jin will lead them first, and then Feng Guoyong will bring another batch of ammunition supplies.

The group of half-grown children in the artillery team were all very excited. They had only boring practice every day and might not be able to fire even after reloading a hundred times. Now they finally had the opportunity to go to the battlefield and make merit.

"Report to the commander-in-chief, our artillery team is ready and can set off at any time. Please give us instructions." As the temporary captain, Yang Huan immediately stepped forward and reported.

"Let's go. Be careful when you get on the boat. I will go by land with the cavalry and reunite with them in Lujiang. Tongyuan and Chuanyi are both naval commanders. Yang Huan and his team have never been on a boat before. You two should help them."

"Yes, we will both pay attention to it." Yu Tongyuan also agreed with a smile.

Lu Jin nodded and said nothing more. He also wore a set of fish-scale straight armor, with a bow and arrow and a goose-feather sword on his waist and a Fang Tian Ji on his shoulder. The attendants beside him also helped him carry the telescope. He sat down on his Yaoguang BMW, waved to Ye Sheng, and led two battalions of cavalry from Feixi around the lake.

It would be too troublesome to maneuver more than a thousand cavalrymen by boat. It would be better for them to go around Chaohu Lake by land. After all, cavalrymen run fast and can just meet up with the artillery team in Lujiang.

While Lu Jin was still maneuvering towards Lujiang, Liao Yongan's central army vanguard on the front line had already engaged in combat with the Yuan army scouts in Tongcheng.

Liao Yongan's side was mainly composed of infantry, and there were only more than 30 cavalry scouts forward, so they just kept moving around, with the main goal of finding out the enemy's movements.

The scouts from Tongcheng were even more cowardly. They didn't dare to engage in battle with the cavalry of the Shengwu Army at all. They would start running back when they saw them from a distance. When the two sides met and were close to each other, the scouts from the Shengwu Army would give chase, but they didn't dare to advance too far, for fear of falling into the enemy's trap.

The scouts of both sides fought for a day, and no one from the Shengwu Army was killed, while only two from the Tongcheng defenders were killed. One was captured alive and taken back to Liao Yongan's camp for interrogation.

"Your Majesty!"

"General, please spare my life. General, please spare my life. I am just a young and strong man captured temporarily. I have elderly and young children at home." When the scout saw that the person in front of him was a high-ranking official in Ming armor, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed for mercy.

Liao Yongan frowned when he saw this, and immediately shouted angrily, "Shut up, stop shouting, and answer a few questions for me. If you tell the truth, I will spare your life."

"Yes, yes, I will tell you everything I know."

"First question, who are you serving as a scout for?"

"General, I am a subordinate of General Zhen and was recruited only two months ago."

Liao Yongan nodded and asked, "How many generals are there in Tongcheng now, and how many soldiers do they have?"

"Reporting to the general, General Zhen is the local volunteer marshal of Tongcheng. He recruited 3,000 soldiers in his hometown of Tongcheng, and there are two thousand-household officers transferred from the Wanhu Mansion in Anqing. One is named Shao Yongjian and the other is named Ge Yanling. They both lead 1,000 soldiers each. There is also a hundred-household officer of the crossbow army named Mao, who has more than 100 archers under his command." The captured scout said hurriedly.

Zhao Yong, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and whispered to Liao Yongan, "Commander-in-chief, this Shao Yongjian actually has the same name as Brother Liao."

There are many people with the same name these days, so Liao Yongan didn't care, but continued to ask, "Do you know how they are preparing to fight? Have they sent people to Anqing for help?"

The captured scout immediately showed a bitter face and said in embarrassment, "General, I don't know how the commanders will fight, but Tongcheng did send people to ask for help, and it was the Darughachi of Tongcheng who drove a carriage and went there personally, saying that he would definitely call for reinforcements."

Liao Yongan's eyes suddenly lit up, "You mean that Darughachi went to Anqing in person to ask for help?"

"That's right. Many brothers and civilians in the city saw it. It must be true. That guy was driving a carriage with his concubine and valuables. Some people in the army said that he might be asking for help but it was fake. He was afraid of fighting and fled first."

Liao Yongan and Zhao Yong looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes. As long as the other party asked for help, their first phase of the plan to encircle and attack the reinforcements would be half accomplished.

Zhao Yong also pressed the issue at this time, "You really don't know how the city is preparing to fight the enemy?"

"This this"

"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't hesitate. Or I'll chop off your head!"

"Yes, yes, I heard from the messengers of several generals that everyone should prepare their armor and practice battle formations. It seems that they are going to line up outside the city to meet the enemy, but I dare not guarantee it. This is just my guess."

Zhao Yong and Liao Yongan looked at each other again, both with some doubt in their eyes. According to the confessions of the prisoners, their previous scouts, and the information provided by Lu Jin, the three parties had verified that the 5,000 troops in Tongcheng should not be false.

However, their central army had tens of thousands of troops attacking, and Tongcheng was already outnumbered. They could have just stayed in the city and waited for reinforcements. Why were these people lined up outside the city to fight?

Liao Yongan couldn't figure it out, but he had a plan. He waved his hand and asked someone to take the prisoner away. He also called two messengers to deliver messages to Miao Daheng and Guo Zixing on the left and right respectively, asking them to move faster. Tongcheng had already sent people to ask for help, and no one knew when the reinforcements would arrive, so they should be prepared as soon as possible.

On the other side, in Tongcheng, several Yuan army generals were also listening to the report from the scouts coming back from the front. Shao Yongjian asked in surprise, "What did you say? The bandits only marched 20 miles today and then set up camp? What are they trying to do?"

Shao Yongjian was very puzzled. From Lujiang to Tongcheng, the distance was only eighty or ninety miles at most. It would take at most three days to walk there. If they marched quickly, they could arrive in a day and a half. But for some reason, Liao Yongan walked so slowly.

The scout said hurriedly, "General, the enemy not only set up camp, but also robbed the gentry everywhere in the countryside, asking them to release their slaves, abandon IOUs, and offer cattle and wine to help with the military pay. They also openly set up a private court in the village to try cases, claiming that they want to rule for the people. Many foolish people and women were deceived and were willing to serve as laborers and transport grain for the bandits.

"Although the bandits are marching slowly, their numbers are increasing. If they continue to march all the way here, I'm afraid they will need several thousand more civilians."

Ge Yanling heard this and analyzed, "Could it be that the Liao family's military rations are insufficient, so they are collecting military rations along the way and recruiting some civilians to serve as the first to attack the city, hoping to use these foolish men and women to consume my city defense supplies?"

"It is indeed possible. Last year, Lu Jin frantically expanded his military forces in various places in Luzhou Road. Now he has at least 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers. With so many soldiers, I'm afraid he doesn't have enough food, so he has to continue to march towards Anqing. If this is true, we are not afraid. We just need to defend the city and withdraw when the enemy's food and grass are exhausted." Shao Yongjian also analyzed.

Zhen Yanlong was not so optimistic, and instead suggested another possibility, "Will Liao be short of military rations? I don't think so. It is true that he does not have much military rations, but it is definitely not to the point where there is not enough to eat, otherwise the bandits would have been in chaos a long time ago, and how could they have stayed calm to open a mine and smelt iron there?
"I think Liao Yongan might be waiting for the army behind him."

"What do you mean?" Shao Yongjian and Ge Yanling asked at the same time.

"Didn't the Luzhou Red Turbans organize a divisional system? Liao Yongan is the commander-in-chief. He has at least four infantry regiments under him, each with four to five thousand people. We only saw two of them in person, and the other two have not shown up. Do you think Liao is waiting for them, waiting for the other two regiments to come, and then add the civilians he captured in the past few days to gather more than 20,000 people to attack our Tongcheng?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present gasped. County Magistrate Ning Chun was even more panicked and said, "If the enemy sent out 10,000 troops, we would already have difficulty resisting them. If they sent out 20,000 troops, how could we still hold on?"

Shao Yongjian also frowned and pondered, and said after a while, "Even if we really send out 20,000 troops, we can still hold out for some time. The key is reinforcements. We have to ask Anqing for help again and ask them to gather more reinforcements. If they only have a few thousand troops, it's better not to come.

"If the reinforcements come in batches of a few thousand, it will probably be like adding fuel to the fire, and they will all be eaten up by the Red Turbans in the end. If we really want to send reinforcements, we must first gather tens of thousands of troops in Anqing, and then come together as a group. Only in this way will there be a chance of victory."

"Brother Shao is right, but this is just our guess. We need to continue our surveillance and send more scouts to see if the bandits are waiting for the large group behind us." Ge Yanling also suggested.

"Well, let's do it this way. This time we need everyone to work together. You and I are in the same boat. Whether we can survive depends on this." Shao Yong made a firm tone, and immediately stood up to wait for the arrival of the enemy. At the same time, he sent people to Anqing for help again.

Over the next two days, both sides continued to spy on each other, but things were becoming increasingly bizarre.

Three days after Liao Yongan sent out his troops, the central army had only traveled more than seventy miles and was still more than ten miles away from Tongcheng. This marching speed was obviously problematic.

However, the scouts in Tongcheng came back to report that they did not see the other two infantry regiments coming to join them, but instead a group of cavalry came from the direction of Shucheng, with about several thousand soldiers, but the scouts could not figure out the number of this army.

Later, with the addition of this large group of cavalry, the rangers of the Shengwu Army completely covered the battlefield north of Tongcheng. The scouts from Tongcheng could no longer come to patrol, and they completely lost contact with Liao Yongan.

However, the guess from Tongcheng was not wrong. Liao Yongan was indeed waiting for the two detachments on the left and right, but they were not coming to join him. Instead, they were advancing from both wings, preparing to intercept the reinforcements from Anqing.

"Marshal, why did you come here in person?" Liao Yongan asked in surprise when he saw Lu Jin personally leading the cavalry and artillery.

Lu Jin immediately expressed his guess. He held up the map and previous intelligence and said, "Our battle this time is different from the previous battle with Kang Maocai. This time we are attacking the entire Anqing Road. Although our target is only the three cities in the north, Anqing can mobilize officers and soldiers from the entire road, and it is very likely that they will also transfer troops from the three cities in the south, so that we will be at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.

"The plan of besieging a point and attacking reinforcements is a good one, but what if the enemy gathers 8,000 or even 10,000 troops at once and comes together? Your two detachments on the left and right only have one regiment each. You can stop the reinforcements, but how can you wipe out all of them?"

Liao Yongan frowned and thought for a while, and found that it was really what Lu Jin said, so he asked immediately, "What should we do? How about sending out scouts first to find out the movement of the enemy reinforcements? As long as the enemy reinforcements come out, let the left and right divisions meet up, change from attacking the reinforcements to blocking the enemy, and then we will quickly capture Tongcheng, and then bring the central army to meet up and fight the enemy?"

This means that the 'pretend to besiege a point, but really attack the reinforcements' was changed to 'real siege a point, pretend to attack the reinforcements', and the attack on the reinforcements was changed to blocking, and the siege was changed to capturing the point. This flexibility is acceptable, but when the two detachments on the left and right meet up, will they have enough time?

Lu Jin thought about it and said, "Well, you should follow the original plan to surround the point and force the enemy to send out rescue troops. As long as the enemy troops in front send out troops, you must immediately launch an attack on the city. Don't delay. As for the enemy troops in front, I will deal with them myself. No matter which group they are, as long as they are joined by my cavalry battalion and artillery team, they may not be powerless to fight. After Tongcheng is taken, you can go to the front and join me."

"Yes, since the Marshal is here in person, how about the command of this battle?"

"Well, this battle should still be commanded by you as the commander-in-chief. I am here to help you. I will bring two cavalry battalions and let Lu Qianhou's battalion obey your orders. I will take Ye Sheng and the artillery team to bypass Tongcheng and go to the front to meet the enemy. The rest you still follow the original plan. I estimate that no matter how many reinforcements the enemy has, it will not exceed ten thousand. I have my own ways to deal with it. Even if I can't win, my men are all cavalry and can run back to join you." Lu Jin interrupted him quickly.

"Yes, then the Marshal must be careful." Liao Yongan said quickly.

"Don't worry, it's not like I haven't been on the battlefield before."

After saying that, Lu Jin called Ye Sheng and Yang Huan's artillery team, bypassed Tongcheng from the mountainside on the eastern foot of the Dabie Mountains in the west, and headed upstream of the Shahe River. He wanted to meet up with Guo Zixing, and then go downstream and intercept possible reinforcements along the way.

On the other hand, the left and right armies also moved very quickly. Liao Yongan's central army only walked 20 miles a day, which was almost like a walk. Miao Daheng's left army was faster, with the entire army traveling 60 miles a day. Two days after setting out, they attacked Fushan Village at night.

There were not many defenders here, only a few outposts and a centurion stationed there, which were easily captured by Mu Daheng. Then the entire army continued to advance rapidly, and on the third day of departure they arrived at the predetermined combat target, the southern foot of Qingshan Mountain, the area north of Congyang Town, and then ambushed in the mountainous area.

After the 12th Regiment set up camp, Miao Yi, the second son of Miao Daheng, personally disguised himself and went down the mountain to scout, and captured a big treasure that night.

"Dad, I caught a treasure, look!"

(End of this chapter)