The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 187 Ganzhou Pasture
While Cao Wenzhao and his men were bogged down in the towering Qinling Mountains, Jiang Han had already split his forces into two groups, bypassed Pingliang Prefecture, and breached Xiaoguan Pass.

Xiaoguan Pass has been one of the four major fortresses guarding Guanzhong since ancient times, and is known for its majestic and dangerous terrain. Logically speaking, it should not have been so easily breached.

But now, Xiaoguan is all show and no substance, rotten inside.

In order to achieve a complete victory and eradicate the banditry in one battle, Hong Chengchou transferred a large number of elite troops from various border towns, preparing to devote them all to the Shanxi battlefield.

In order to fill the gaps in the border wall, he had to resort to robbing Peter to pay Paul, transferring the garrison troops of inner passes like Xiaoguan to the border to prevent the Mongols from encroaching on the border.

This gave Jiang Han an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

The army encountered almost no significant resistance and easily broke through Xiaoguan Pass, marching in a mighty force into the Qingshui River basin.

Jiang Han's first destination on this trip was here: Ganzhou Qunmu.

"General! The Great Camp City is just ten miles ahead!"

A soldier galloped back, dismounted, and reported in a loud voice.

"understood."

Jiang Han responded calmly, then suddenly pulled on the reins, bringing the car to a steady stop on a small hill.

Instead of rushing forward with his entire army, he took down the telescope hanging beside his saddle, brought it close to his eyes, and carefully peered at the large camp city not far away.

In the distance, a solitary rammed earth city, like a giant, earthen-yellow beast, lies quietly on the plain beside the Qingshui River.

The city looked gray and gloomy, full of traces of being repeatedly polished by wind and sand and the years.

This is Daying City, now known as Ganzhou Qunmu Suo.

Ganzhou Qunmu Suo is located 20 li west of Guyuan Town, close to the Qingshui River. With abundant water and grass, it has been a natural pasture for horses since the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Jiang Han had heard a little about its history.

Dayingcheng was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty. Legend has it that it was related to the camp of General Yang, hence the name Dayingcheng.

During the conflict between the Song and Xia dynasties, this place was one of the front-line military camps. Later, the Song dynasty was defeated and was unable to launch a westward expedition.

Left with no other option, the Song people set up an official horse market in this area, exchanging goods such as cloth, silk, and tea with neighboring Tibetan, Uyghur, and Dangxiang Qiang tribes for horses to supplement their military supplies. This was known as the "tea-horse trade" or "silk-horse trade".

Dayingcheng was thus renamed Yangmacheng (Horse Breeding City).

In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to solve the problem of horse shortage, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang specially established the Ganzhou Pasture on the site of the old Dayingcheng.

Furthermore, Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed his fourteenth son, Zhu Yan, as the Prince of Su, establishing his fiefdom in Lanzhou, and assigned the Ganzhou pastures to the Prince of Su's lineage.

Through the telescope, Jiang Han could see the details of the city's defenses clearly.

The rammed earth walls of Daying City were much taller and thicker than those of ordinary cities, estimated to be more than three zhang high. The walls were steep, and ordinary ladders would not be able to climb them easily.

Both the south and north sides of the city were fortified with crescent-shaped barbicans. Although their internal depth and structure were not clearly visible, they must not have been easy to break into.

There was a corner tower at the northwest and northeast corners of the city, which could see the movements within a radius of several miles outside the city.

Outside the city, there are two moats that originate from the Qingshui River, like two jade belts enveloping the entire city.

Among them, the most troublesome for Jiang Han was the several beacon towers near the city.

It should be noted that this place is only twenty miles away from Guyuan Town. As soon as the signal fire is lit, the reinforcements from Guyuan Town will probably arrive in an instant.

Guyuan Town was originally the location of the Three Border Governor's Office. Even though the Three Border Governor has now led troops on an expedition, there should still be a considerable number of troops left in the city to guard it.

“It’s not easy to fight.”

Jiang Han looked at the city before him and couldn't help but sigh.

"Second Brother Han, what are you afraid of!"

Dong Erzhu urged his horse forward, grinning widely, and said nonchalantly:

"It's just a dirt city. We'll line up a dozen heavy cannons and blast it to smithereens!"

When it comes to close-quarters combat, Zhu Zi may not be very good at it, but when it comes to attacking cities and capturing strongholds, his artillery battalion is the absolute main force, so his voice naturally becomes louder.

Shao Yong and Li Laowai, standing to the side, became much more cautious. They exchanged a glance and offered their opinions.

Both believed that with their own troops and firepower, capturing Daying City would not be too difficult.

After careful observation, the two discovered that there were not many soldiers guarding the city, and according to intelligence from some soldiers from Gansu, the guards here had always been at odds.

One part consisted of the herdsmen's army composed of Enjun soldiers, and the other part consisted of local garrison troops.

(Enjun refers to criminals who were exiled to this place to serve in the army.)
But as I said before, the real trouble isn't in the city, but in those beacon towers.

Once the beacon towers on the city walls light up with smoke, reinforcements from Guyuan Town will arrive in less than an hour, at which point the army will likely find itself in a predicament of being attacked from both sides.

After much deliberation, Jiang Han decided to fight a match first.

The strategy is to besiege the enemy stronghold and lure out the reinforcements from Guyuan Town.

He was determined to take this city!

If they can capture the warhorses in the main camp, Jiang Han's cavalry force can at least double in number.

It should be noted that during its heyday, the Ganzhou horse breeding institute raised more than 10,000 horses every year. Even if the horse administration has shrunk now, there should still be several hundred horses, right?

There are three pastures in the Shaanxi area. One is the Andong Pasture, which belongs to the Prince of Han in Pingliang Prefecture; the second is the Ningxia Pasture, which belongs to the Qing Prince.

The third one is the Ganzhou Pasture in front of us, which belongs to the Prince of Su of Lanzhou.

Jiang Han planned to capture two of the pastures, expanding his cavalry force to around two thousand men.

With two thousand elite cavalry, he was confident he could annihilate Cao Wenzhao's Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, instead of letting that guy escape every time.

"Pass on my orders!"

With this in mind, Jiang Han's voice suddenly rose as he began to outline the battle plan.

"Li Laowai!"

"You shall immediately lead your two thousand elite troops to the east of the main camp and ambush the reinforcements on their inevitable route."

"I'll launch a feint attack first. Once the signal fire is lit, Guyuan Town will likely send reinforcements."

"Understood!" Li Laowai nodded, then mustered his troops and prepared to go east to set up defenses.

Jiang Han's gaze then turned to Dong Erzhu and Shao Yong:
"Zhu Zi, you lead the artillery battalion to attack the city with me. Bring all the heavy artillery up and place them two hundred paces away from the city wall. They will obey my orders."

"Shao Yong, send out the cavalry to guard the north gate. Under no circumstances should the city's defenders let the horses escape!"

"Yes!" The two nodded and clasped their hands in unison to accept the order.

Once the military order was given, all the troops began to prepare for the attack on the city, and a large net tightly surrounded the Ganzhou pasture.

Such a commotion outside the city naturally could not be kept secret from the garrison at the herdsmen's quarters.

Inside the city of Daying, a gloomy atmosphere prevailed, and people were filled with anxiety.

The pastor, Ye Ziheng, paced back and forth on the corner tower with his hands behind his back, his face ashen.

Several days ago, news of the fall of Xiaoguan had already reached his ears.

Ye Ziheng immediately realized that he was likely to be the bandits' next target.

After all, the number of warhorses in his own pastures was not small.

Although the horse administration of the Ming Dynasty had long since declined, the Ganzhou horse breeding garrison, relying on Prince Su, still managed to raise nearly two thousand warhorses last year.

A thousand bolts of silk were presented as tribute to the Prince of Su's residence before the Lunar New Year, and now there are still more than a thousand bolts left.

These are all Mongolian horses specially purchased from the Tumed tribe; they are all top-quality warhorses.

Realizing his precarious situation, Ye Ziheng immediately dispatched a messenger on horseback to Guyuan Town, twenty miles away, to seek help from General Yang Lin.

They hoped he could send more troops to assist in defending the city.

He sent out four or five waves of messengers, but they disappeared without a trace, like mud oxen sinking into the sea.

After much anticipation, they finally received a reply, only to be met with three cold words: "Wait a little longer."

Upon hearing this news, Ye Ziheng was stunned. What was he waiting for? To die?!

There's no other way; I can only rely on myself now.

"Send the order!"

Ye Ziheng abruptly stopped and hissed at the guards beside him.
"From today onwards, the troops will be divided into two groups. One group will be led by me personally, and the other group will be led by the deputy warden. Both groups will patrol day and night, and there must be no negligence whatsoever!"

Ye Ziheng planned to personally lead the patrols, with the second-in-command, the deputy supervisor, on a rotating basis.

He knew very well that at this time, he, as the highest-ranking officer, had to personally take charge.

If the lower-ranking soldiers were sent to patrol, the bandits would probably be able to sneak into the city and behead him.

The guards in the herds were of mixed backgrounds and could be described as a disorganized mess.

Some of the "enjun" were actually convicts and their families who were exiled to the frontier to serve in the army.

These people, if not hated the imperial court to the core, at least harbored resentment towards it.

Expecting them to fight to the death for the Ming Dynasty is nothing short of wishful thinking.

Ye Ziheng would be grateful if these people didn't betray him and join the bandits outside the city in rebellion.

The other part consisted of the remaining five or six hundred garrison troops in the local garrison.

These people have been in the borderlands for over a decade and have long since become seasoned veterans. Do you really expect them to risk their lives for a few warhorses belonging to the Prince's mansion?

Pull it down.

"Ye Tou'er, are you making us patrol again?"

A garrison commander, hands tucked into his pockets and puffing out white breath, lazily complained.

"It's freezing cold. In my opinion, we should just hand over the city to the bandits. There's no need for us to risk our lives."

"Exactly, the brothers' bellies are full of nothing but water and no oil or fish, how can they have the strength to do this?"

(End of this chapter)