Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 205: Seizing the Pass
Outside Chaozhou City, in the Wuxiang Army camp, Li Mingzhong sat at the top, with Yang Yandi, Yi Zhi, Guan Can and other Wuxiang Army generals on his left, and Liu Qijiao alone on the right.

After Liu Qijiao led his army to recapture Huizhou, Zhang Tongchang's letter was also sent back to Guangdong Province, so Liu Qijiao led his cavalry directly to Chaozhou, joined Li Mingzhong and others, and prepared to attack Chaozhou City together.

Li Mingzhong glanced at the people below and said

"You have also read the letter sent by Minister Zhang. Now the situation in Fujian Province has changed. What are your opinions?"

When the news of the victory in Guangdong Province spread to Fujian Province, Shi Fu and others finally chose to join the Gui Regent. However, the Qing court responded very quickly. Zhang Cunren, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, directly sent troops to take over Quanzhou and headed straight for Anping.

Anping City was originally just a market town. After Zheng Zhilong became rich, he expanded his hometown Anping into a city. However, Zheng Zhilong built Anping City to use it as a distribution center for Zheng's maritime trade.

The newly built Anping City was not only small in area, but also had low walls, which made it impossible to accommodate such a large number of troops for garrison. Therefore, after consultation with Shi Fu and others, Zhang Tongchang decided to abandon Anping and withdraw to Tongan, and then withdraw to Zhangzhou along Tongan to establish contact with the Guangdong Provincial Court.

Liu Qijiao thought for a moment and then spoke directly

"According to Minister Zhang, the Qing army has now occupied Quanzhou, and Zheng's main force Shi Fu and others are now retreating to Zhangzhou Prefecture."

"I think we should temporarily suspend the attack on Chaozhou and immediately send troops to capture Fenshui Pass and control the passage into Fujian."

There are two ways to enter Fujian from Chaozhou. One is to go by water via Dapu to Tingzhou, Fujian Province. The other is to go from Chaozhou to Zhao'an, Fujian Province and enter Zhangzhou.
The border between Zhangzhou and Chaozhou is densely covered with mountains. The only passable land route is from Chaozhou to Zhao'an. Fenshui Pass is built right on this passage, which is the real throat of Fujian and Guangdong.
It can be said that whoever controls the water diversion pass can freely enter and exit Fujian and Guangdong.

As long as they controlled this pass in advance, the Ming army could enter Fujian at any time to support the remaining Zheng forces who were retreating to Zhangzhou.

Liu Qijiao looked up at Li Mingzhong, his face straightened, and he spoke

"Please give me ten days' worth of military rations. I am willing to lead my soldiers to set out immediately to capture Fenshui Pass."

Li Mingzhong looked at Liu Qijiao who was serious below him, but his eyes flickered slightly. He gently pressed his palm, motioning Liu Qijiao to sit down, and then he spoke.

"General Liu's words make sense. The Qing invaders will certainly not watch the remaining troops of the Zheng family retreat. We should seize Fenshui Pass first and enter Fujian to support the remaining troops of the Zheng family."

"However, General Liu's subordinates are all cavalrymen from the Longxiang Army. It is a waste of talent to use such elite troops to attack a small Fenshui Pass. Moreover, General Liu is a favorite general of Lord Jiao. If something goes wrong, I, Li, will not be able to explain to Lord Jiao."

After Li Mingzhong finished speaking, he looked directly at Yi Zhi below and said without waiting for Liu Qijiao to speak.

"Yi Zhi, I will give you 3,000 men. It is possible to capture Fenshui Pass within five days."

"The last general takes command"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhi immediately stood up and bowed his hands in response.
As this Fenshui Pass was a key point for entering Fujian, Li Mingzhong and others naturally sent people to monitor it early to prevent the Qing army from entering Guangdong and rescuing Chaozhou.
Li Mingzhong and his men had already roughly understood the situation at Fenshui Pass. During the Longwu Dynasty, Fujian and Guangdong were both under the control of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the Ming court's military forces were all stationed at Xianxialing Shanguan and other places to guard against the Qing army from Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces. Who would station a large army in the rear for no reason?

Therefore, during the Longwu Dynasty, although the Fenshui Pass was an important road between Fujian and Guangdong, the imperial court had no one guarding it except for setting up checkpoints to collect taxes. After the fall of Longwu, Fujian Province was in chaos, and no one would guard the Fenshui Pass.

After Li Shilian retreated into Chaozhou City, he hastily sent several hundred soldiers to guard Fenshui Pass in order to protect his retreat route.

But he did not expect that the Ming army would actually send more than 10,000 troops to besiege the city. Now Chaozhou City has been surrounded by water and Li Shilian and others dare not even open the city gate. The so-called retreat is naturally meaningless.
At this time, everyone in the army could see clearly that there would be a battle between the Ming and Qing dynasties in Fujian Province. Seizing the Fenshui Pass, a key point for entering Fujian, would be an extremely conspicuous military achievement.

Li Mingzhong has a large army under his control and sufficient manpower. How could he give such military merit to Liu Qijiao, a member of the Longxiang Army?

Liu Qijiao's expression changed slightly when he heard this, but although he was unwilling in his heart, he had no choice but to obey the order.

Although Liu Qijiao was not a general of the Wuxiang Army, Li Mingzhong was the commander of an army and a marquis, so he naturally had the power to control the military and command the war.

Moreover, Liu Qijiao and his companions had come to Chaozhou alone, and now they were relying on Li Mingzhong for food and wages. If Li Mingzhong was unwilling to allocate food, Liu Qijiao would not be able to act on his own.

Li Mingzhong ignored Liu Qijiao's expression, looked at Yi Zhi below, and said

"Fenshui Pass is a key point for entering Fujian, and must be controlled by the court. If you need anything, you can get it from the army first."

Yi Zhi heard this, thought for a moment, and then said

"I don't need anything else on this trip, just food, money and flying ladders. Please transfer the flying ladders made for the attack on Chaozhou to me first."

The Wuxiang Army had been besieging the city for several days, but they had not attacked because they were preparing siege equipment such as flying ladders and cloud chariots.
Li Mingzhong waved his hand and said

"You can adjust whatever you want. I only have one request, that you must take over the Dividing Water Pass within five days. It's possible."

"If you fail to take Fenshui Pass within five days, I will bring my head to you."

Yi Zhi stood up and bowed his hands in response.

After everyone finished discussing, Yi Zhi and Guan Can led 3,000 soldiers and marched towards Fenshui Pass that afternoon.
At Fenshui Pass, teams of Ming soldiers climbed up the ladders and rushed to the top of the city wall, but rocks fell from the top of the city like rain, constantly knocking down the Ming soldiers below the city.

Rows of ladders were put up on the city walls, but were quickly pushed down. There were deafening shouts of killing everywhere in front of the city walls.

Guan Can came over with a few personal soldiers, his robes stained with blood and dust. He looked at Yi Zhi who was looking at the city wall and said, "General Yi, there are more soldiers in the city than we expected, and the city is well prepared, with a lot of stones and logs."

"I led my men to charge several times, but they were beaten back each time. It's already afternoon, and we haven't set up camp yet. Should we retreat and set up camp first, and then attack again tomorrow?"

Yi Zhi and his men arrived outside Fenshui Pass this morning. As soon as they arrived, Yi Zhi ordered his men to attack the city directly. However, they did not expect that the city garrison commander was extremely cautious and arranged the city very tightly. Guan Can and his men attacked for a whole morning but still failed to break into the city.
Guan Can saw that they could not attack in a short time, so he planned to retreat and set up camp. It was already afternoon. If they continued to attack, they might have to sleep outside the city tonight.

Their army came from afar and was not familiar with the surrounding terrain. If they could not enter the city today and camped outdoors, they might be defeated if the rebels in the city attacked their camp at night.

Yi Zhi looked at the battle situation in front of the city for a while. Nearly a thousand soldiers on the front wall kept climbing up the ladders to attack the city, but the rebels on the top of the city repeatedly repelled the Ming army that climbed up the city, showing that they were extremely tenacious.

The frontal attack was unsuccessful, but the feint attacks on both sides were quite successful. There were only two or three hundred soldiers in the feint attack. Although they were eventually driven off the city wall by the rebels in the city, the two feint attack soldiers actually climbed up the city wall.
When Yi Zhi saw this, he was certain that he had seen through the reality of Fenshui Pass, so he said in a deep voice:

"There are no more than 700 or 800 Qing troops in this city. How can we set up camp in an isolated city with only a few hundred remnants?"

"We have already spent two days on the road. The general ordered us to break through the Fenshui Pass in five days. Could it be that we will really break through the Fenshui Pass on the fifth day?"

"Pass on my military order. The soldiers in the army are divided into three teams. Each team will take turns to attack. We must break through this water barrier today."

"Tell the soldiers in the army that we will spend the night at Fenshui Pass."

After Yi Zhi finished speaking, he ignored Guan Can's stunned expression and walked directly to the back. With the help of his personal soldiers, he put on his armor.

As the military order was passed down, the Ming soldiers who had just retreated from the city wall launched another attack with ladders. Three rounds of soldiers launched the attack in succession. Every time one group retreated, another group of Ming soldiers rushed to the city wall with ladders.
The Ming troops outside the city took advantage of their numbers to take turns resting, while the rebels on the top of the city had almost no time to breathe.

After three rounds of attacks, the rain of falling rocks and arrows on the city wall finally began to decrease. At this time, Yi Zhi finally led nearly a hundred armored guards to attack the city wall.
In front of Fenshui Pass, Yi Zhi held up his shield and jumped onto the city wall from the ladder

After Yi Zhi climbed up the city wall, he threw away his shield, drew his long sword from his waist, and chopped down a soldier with one blow.

As Yi Zhi climbed up the city wall, dozens of armored soldiers quickly climbed up the city wall and guarded Yi Zhi on both sides.

Yi Zhi glanced around the top of the city wall, and his eyes quickly fell on a short and strong man not far from the tower. He immediately determined that this man was the defender of the city.

Most of the soldiers on the top of the city wall were unarmored, regardless of whether they were from the Ming or Qing dynasties. However, the short and strong man under the city wall was wearing iron armor, and the dozen people beside him were also wearing leather armor and cloth armor. Who else could this man be but the commander?
When Yi Zhi discovered the generals defending the city, the general guarding Fenshui Pass also instantly discovered the elite troops on the top of the city. However, Yi Zhi did not say a word. He raised the long sword in his hand and rushed towards the tower with dozens of personal guards behind him.
The soldiers led by Yi Zhi were all elite soldiers in the army, and everyone was wearing iron armor. The swords and knives of ordinary soldiers had no effect on them at all.

Yi Zhi and his men rushed forward fiercely. Before the commander guarding the pass could react, they rushed up to him and hacked him to death.
With the death of the city guard, the rebels on the city walls finally collapsed. They either fled into the city or surrendered by throwing down their swords.

In front of Fenshui Pass, the city gate was opened, and a group of Ming soldiers rushed in, hacking and killing all the scattered rebels, and then went to search and kill in the city.
Yi Zhi was wearing a suit of black iron armor and standing on the city wall. The commander who was guarding the gate fell to the ground with a ferocious look on his face, but blood was constantly flowing from his body, staining the brick wall on the top of the city red.

Yi Zhi wiped the blood off the knife, glanced at Guan Can beside him, and said

"Cut off the guard's head and send it to the general."

Guan Can looked at Yi Zhi, who was calm in front of him, and a trace of admiration flashed in his heart. He immediately responded.
It's easy to say "lead by example", but when it comes to the battlefield, how many people can really lead the troops to charge into the front? Everyone can say "charge after me", but not everyone can do it.

When Guan Can served under Ding Kuichu's Guangdong Army, Yan Yuncong and other generals would give them official titles and promises if they wanted them to fight for their lives, and then let them charge into battle. After arriving at the Wuxiang Army, Guan Can finally saw the superiors who would charge into battle with them.
Yi Zhi led his troops to capture Fenshui Pass and arranged for soldiers to control various parts of the pass. The messenger also took the head of the commander of Fenshui Pass and went to Chaozhou to report the victory.
Outside Chaozhou City, the army camps were lined up one after another, and the four gates of Chaozhou City were also closed, with soldiers guarding the city everywhere on the top of the city walls.
After the Ming army surrounded Chaozhou, they were busy making siege equipment. The two sides have been facing each other across the city for the past few days.

Although the Ming army had not yet attacked the city, the morale of the people in the city was getting lower and lower. The army outside the city was besieging the city, and it was unknown whether the reinforcements would come. How could the morale of the people in the city be high?
In the afternoon, several cavalrymen suddenly galloped towards Chaozhou City. They rushed to within a dozen meters of the city wall, then pulled the reins of their horses and shouted at the top of the city wall:

"Listen, rebels in the city. Fenshui Pass has been breached by the imperial court. You have lost your retreat route and Chaozhou is now an isolated city. If you open the city and surrender now, the imperial court will only execute the main culprit, Li Shilian."

"In two days, the imperial army will attack the city. If you still hold out, all the rebels and traitors will be executed when the city is captured."

"This is the head of the commander of Fenshui Pass. This is the fate of those who stubbornly resisted the imperial army. You better take care of yourself."

After the cavalrymen finished shouting, a burly soldier suddenly rushed forward, riding his horse to the bottom of the city wall, and then swung his horse violently, throwing a head onto the top of the city wall.

The ferocious head fell on the city wall, and the soldiers on the top of the city wall scattered in all directions, with terrified expressions on their faces.

The few cavalrymen below the city ignored the uproar on the top of the city wall. After throwing the heads, they rode away directly. During the whole process, there was no reaction from the top of the city wall, and not a single arrow fell.

On the second morning, just after daybreak, the north gate of Chaozhou suddenly opened, and three or four hundred cavalrymen rushed out of the city gate and then fled rapidly to the north.
In a bush in the north of the city, Yang Yandi looked at the cavalrymen rushing out of the city gate in the distance and cursed

"Damn it, you made me feed mosquitoes here all night, and you didn't even grab the opportunity to escape. You deserve to fall into my hands."

"Get on your horse and follow me to kill the enemy!"

Yang Yandi waved his hand, and the eight hundred cavalrymen wearing red cloth armor immediately jumped on their horses and gathered behind Yang Yandi.

As soon as Li Shilian's cavalry rushed onto the official road, 800 Ming cavalry suddenly rushed out from the side of the forest and directly cut Li Shilian's cavalry in half.

Eight hundred cavalrymen, all wearing iron armor, kept charging in and out. In less than a quarter of an hour, the ground was already covered with corpses.
The official road was littered with the bodies of fallen horses, gold and silver jewelry and other valuables scattered all over the ground, dyed red by blood, and the air was filled with an alarming smell of blood.
At noon, as hundreds of heads were piled up on the official road in front of Chaozhou City, the gate of Chaozhou City finally opened slowly, and the Ming army that had been waiting outside the city also filed in and occupied Chaozhou.

With Li Mingzhong and others stationed in Chaozhou, the entire Guangdong Province was finally controlled by the Ming army again.
(End of this chapter)