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

Chapter 206 Attacking Jianmen Pass

Upon hearing Jiang Han mention Yinping Road, the generals present suddenly realized what was going on.

But what followed was deeper doubt and worry.

Although the story of Deng Ai's sneak crossing of Yinping and his surprise attack on Shu in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is depicted as incredibly miraculous, Fu Youde in the early Ming Dynasty also imitated this method, sneaking across Yinping and destroying the Xia Kingdom.

But stories are stories, and the hardships of this road have long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Yinping Road, which is nearly 500 li long, is indeed the fourth road into Sichuan.

However, Yinping Road is actually divided into the main road and the side road.

Yinping Zhengdao, also known as "Baishuidao", is named after Baishui County, which it passes through.

This is a route into Sichuan that combines both land and water travel. The route follows the Bailong River, passes through Baishui Pass, Shimen Pass, and Jiameng Pass, and finally enters Zhaohua.

What Jiang Han referred to as the Yinping Road, the route Deng Ai used to conquer Shu, actually refers to another Yinping Trail.

This ancient road is less a road and more a secluded mountain path, both treacherous and narrow, with uninhabited areas stretching for hundreds of miles along it.

Its route starts from Wenxian County, Gansu Province, and goes southwest along the Baishui River. Along the way, it crosses the treacherous Motianling Mountain, passes Luoyigou and Yinping Mountain, and finally reaches Jiangyou Pass.

This is a small path specifically used for military surprise attacks.

The thought of leading a large army down such a path made the generals present somewhat apprehensive.

They had already personally experienced the difficulty of the Shu Road when they entered Hanzhong from Guanzhong.

It should be noted that no matter how treacherous the Chencang Ancient Road was, it was still an official road that had undergone numerous repairs throughout the dynasties.

But this Yinping Trail, to put it bluntly, is just a wild path!
There were no signs or people along the way, and if you got lost in the vast mountains, you would be completely helpless.

Li Laowai, Shao Yong, and the others looked at each other, none of them daring to accept the task.

Let them lead their troops into battle on the plains, and fight a fair and square battle. These men are all experts.

But if they were to face these towering mountains, no one could be sure they would be able to make it out safely.

Death is a small matter; missing a military opportunity is a much bigger deal.

Jiang Han took in everyone's reactions but did not speak immediately.

He already had a suitable candidate in mind.

Jiang Han's gaze fell on Li Zicheng, who was lost in thought not far away.

Li Zicheng certainly understood that, looking at the entire army, there was probably no one more suitable than him to carry out this task.

He immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jiang Han, and volunteered:
"General! Leave the matter of smuggling into Yinping to me!"

He grinned, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, and said...

“We were chased by government troops in the Qinling Mountains for several months. We didn’t learn any other skills, but we were forced to hone our skills in climbing mountains and crawling through gullies to perfection.”

"If those who came before could get through it, so can I!"

Jiang Han nodded after listening, a smile of approval appearing on his face:
"Great! That's exactly what I was thinking too."

He strode to the map and began to explain in detail his plan to enter Sichuan:
"I plan to divide my forces into two groups. The first group will be led by me personally with 7,000 main troops, and will still take the official road, Jinniu Road."

“Guangyuan, Zhaohua and other places are occupied by the troops of Youzhouwei, and it will take a large army to take them down.”

"Once the Ming troops in Guangyuan and Zhaohua are eliminated, I can station my troops at Jianmen Pass."

"At that time, I will adopt a posture of strong attack to draw the attention of the Ming army in northern Sichuan to the Jianmen Pass line."

"In this way, when you lead your surprise attack through the Yinping Trail, you will not encounter much resistance."

Jiang Han glanced at Li Zicheng and continued his analysis:
"After you take Jiangyou Pass, immediately lead your troops north, along the Great Sword Mountain to the south of Jianmen Pass, and then join me in attacking Jianmen Pass from both the north and south."

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng nodded repeatedly.

Overall, there are no major problems with this plan.

Jianmen Pass was indeed a natural barrier for enemies coming from Hanzhong in the north.

If the army from Hanzhong wanted to break through Jianmen Pass, they would have to attack uphill, which was not only extremely steep but also very narrow, making it impossible to deploy their troops.

However, if the attack on Jianmen Pass is from the south, it is an open plain, so there is no need to attack uphill, and it is possible to set up a battle formation.

After the plan was finalized, Jiang Han and Li Zicheng immediately began preparations for their smuggling across Yinping.

Food supplies and baggage are essential.

But horse-drawn carriages are definitely not allowed on the road.

All supplies had to be transported by mules, which are smaller and better at climbing mountains.

These animals could not only be used to transport provisions and supplies, but also, when necessary, to serve as rations for the soldiers.

Li Zicheng estimated that once they reached the Motianling area, these mules would be of no use.

We'll slaughter them on the spot and eat the meat to replenish the soldiers' strength.

To ensure everything went perfectly, Li Zicheng had been spending his free time these past few days meticulously studying historical records of Deng Ai's conquest of Shu.

To this end, he not only consulted "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" but also "Records of the Three Kingdoms" for comparison.

The original text in the Records of the Three Kingdoms is quite short, only a few sentences:

“In the tenth month of winter, Ai traveled more than 700 li through uninhabited areas along the Yinping Road, carving out mountain passages and building bridges and pavilions.”

"The mountains are high and the valleys are deep, making it extremely difficult and dangerous. In addition, the grain supply is running out, and we are frequently in danger."

"Ai wrapped himself in felt and rolled down. The soldiers all climbed the trees and the cliff, advancing in single file."

When Li Zicheng showed this record to Jiang Han, both of them keenly noticed the key point.
"He wrapped himself in a felt blanket and rolled down."

Comparing the specific plot in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the two realized that this part of the story should be the one where Deng Ai led his army to cross the Motianling Mountains.

The terrain of Motianling must have been incredibly treacherous, so much so that Deng Ai, as the commander-in-chief, could only wrap himself in a felt blanket and roll down the mountain to encourage his soldiers to continue advancing.

After reading this, Jiang Han and Li Zicheng were both stunned.

What kind of perilous road must it have been to force a commander to set an example in such a dangerous way?
Who knows, as it rolls along, its head might hit some protruding rock and it would die on the spot.

In order to minimize casualties among the soldiers, Jiang Han immediately ordered an emergency meeting to gather all the skilled craftsmen in the army to discuss and study the issue.

See if we can come up with any way to create some tools to assist soldiers in climbing and descending the mountain, so that they can safely cross the Motianling Mountains.

The craftsmen were also in a dilemma after hearing this.

Large pieces of equipment are too heavy to be brought into the mountains without a horse-drawn carriage.

It would be difficult to make something in a hurry, even in the mountains.

Small tools are unlikely to be of much use in dangerous terrain like Motianling.

After much thought, an experienced old craftsman finally came up with a solution and created something called "bamboo net bullet".

The name sounds complicated, but the actual principle is very simple.

First, take a sturdy bamboo pole about the thickness of your wrist, heat it over a strong fire until it softens and bends into an arc shape, and then tie it with hemp rope and vines to secure it.

Dozens of these bamboo bows are stacked in a crisscross pattern, and then covered with thick pine branches, leather, and soft materials such as cotton quilts to prevent the bamboo bows from piercing each other.

When needed, all that is required is to send a few soldiers down the cliff using ropes to find a relatively flat landing spot.

Then the soldiers tied the "bamboo net bullets" together with hemp rope to create a temporary "safety air cushion".

Soldiers on the slope can then roll or slide towards this bamboo netting array and land safely.

To put it simply, this thing is an upgraded version of Deng Ai's "self-wrapping in a felt blanket". Its principle is to use the strong elasticity and toughness of the bamboo to cushion the huge impact force on the human body when falling.

Most importantly, the main materials for this thing are bamboo and vines.

These two materials are inexhaustible in the mountains.

Soldiers only need to carry some essential materials, such as leather and cotton quilts, and they can make equipment anytime, anywhere using readily available materials.

There's absolutely no need to carry it; you can march through the mountain roads without any effort.

Jiang Han figured this thing would come in handy, so he collected a large number of mules and horses within the territory of Hanzhong Prefecture.

He also ordered the craftsmen to work through the night to make hundreds of thick cotton quilts and leather quilts, which he then stuffed all of them into Li Zicheng's possession.

everything's ready.

In mid-September, Li Zicheng led his more than 2,000 troops and, under the cover of night, quietly left Hanzhong and embarked on a journey to secretly cross Yinping.

Just after Li Zicheng led his troops to Gansu, Jiang Han also raised his troops and personally led 7,000 main force troops south.

His task was equally arduous.

The journey from Mian County in Hanzhong Prefecture to Guangyuan, a major town in northern Sichuan, is a long one, stretching over 400 li.

He must clear all obstacles along the way as soon as possible, amass troops at Jianmen Pass, and adopt a posture of strong attack to firmly attract the attention of all the Ming army in northern Sichuan, thus creating an opportunity for Li Zicheng's troops to sneak across the Yinping Trail.

This time, he was just a decoy; all his actions were to support Li Zicheng.

As the army marched south, Jiang Han was surprised to find that the Ming army's defenses on the Jinniu Road were extremely lax.

He was very surprised that he had caused such a commotion in Hanzhong Prefecture. Were all the civil and military officials in Sichuan blind and deaf?

Jiang Han's first stop was Ningqiang County.

His vanguard had just arrived at the city walls and was not yet ready to launch an attack when the defenders on the city walls vanished without a trace, and no one dared to resist.

The magistrate of Ningqiang County was still enjoying himself with his newly acquired concubine when he was suddenly bumped into by the county clerk.

Upon hearing the news that the bandits were at the city gates, the magistrate abandoned the beautiful woman beside him and ran away without saying a word.

But he hadn't run far when he was surrounded by civilians who were willing to defect to the enemy. They turned around and sent him back to the city gate, where he surrendered.

These people didn't genuinely want to join Jiang Han; they just wanted to gain the credit of surrendering the city to avoid being slaughtered by this group of unknown bandits.

Jiang Han didn't make things too difficult for the people. He was just passing through Ningqiang County. What normal person would massacre a city for no reason?
After passing Ningqiang, you will reach the first important pass into Sichuan: Qipan Pass.

Although this pass was also built in a strategic location, it was located deep in the interior and had fallen into disrepair over the years, with many sections of the pass walls collapsing.

The garrison at Qipan Pass numbered only a hundred men, and almost all of them were old, weak, sick, or disabled, making them utterly incapable of fighting.

The defending troops only fired a few arrows symbolically before being driven down by Li Laowai's team.

This smooth advance put Jiang Han at ease.

At the same time, he also gained a preliminary understanding of the Ming court's control over northern Sichuan.

This vast empire is already riddled with holes.

If he could successfully conquer the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan within two to three years, he might be able to send Emperor Chongzhen to that crooked tree a few years earlier.

The army advanced with unstoppable momentum until it finally encountered some decent resistance when it reached Guangyuan County.

Guangyuan is an important town in northern Sichuan and a hub of the Jinniu Road.

The garrison here is the Lizhou Guard, and its commander is Li Changming.

When Commander Li Changming shakily walked up to the city wall and saw the ten-mile-long camp outside the city with banners covering the sky, he felt his vision go black and his legs go weak.

Although his Lizhou Guard was not a long-established inland garrison, due to the Anshe Rebellion and the Shapu Rebellion, the soldiers in the garrison who could fight were transferred to Guizhou and Yunnan.

Nowadays, there are only a little over two thousand people who can be brought to the city walls to fight.

According to his rough estimate, the bandit soldiers outside the city numbered at least six thousand, and each of them was strong, well-equipped, and powerful.

With such a small force, how could he possibly stop this bandit army outside the city?
But as the commander of the guard, he could not simply flee without a fight.

Li Changming mustered his courage and ordered the entire army to ascend the city walls for defense. At the same time, he quickly found the magistrate of Guangyuan County and ordered him to mobilize all able-bodied men in the city and gather all the registered students to go up the city walls to assist in the defense.

Thus, a rather comical scene appeared on the city wall of Guangyuan.

On one side were the shivering soldiers of the garrison, and on the other side were a group of scholars with bows drawn and arrows nocked, fighting bravely to defend themselves against the enemy.

Jiang Han shook his head as he watched from outside the city, and immediately ordered his soldiers to launch a full-scale attack.

Accompanied by the sounds of drums and cannons, Li Laowai, Shao Yong, and others led thousands of elite troops, carrying ladders, and like a black tide, launched an attack on Guangyuan County.

On the city wall, the students who had been temporarily gathered were all eager to take the lead, wishing they could use all their skills.

However, their numbers were ultimately too small, and the garrison soldiers who should have been fighting the enemy were all terrified of them and dared not risk their lives.

The morale of Li Changming's garrison soldiers collapsed under the first wave of attack, and they turned and ran down the city walls.

In less than two hours, Jiang Han's troops stormed the city walls.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Changming disregarded his duty to defend the city and decisively led his students and personal guards in a hasty escape from the south of the city, heading straight for Jianmen Pass.

His only thought now was that the formidable pass could stop the advance of these bandits.

After successfully capturing Guangyuan County, Jiang Han did not immediately lead his troops to attack Jianmen Pass.

He first ordered the complete purge of all Ming officials who were stubbornly resisting in the city, and then spent several days taking control of the entire Guangyuan County.

Only then did he allocate 3,000 troops to garrison Guangyuan.

Guangyuan County is strategically important, and Jiang Han must establish a firm foothold here to guard against the Zhaohua garrison in the southwest and prevent his rear from being cut off.

After making all the arrangements, Jiang Han led the remaining four thousand men south, finally arriving at the ancient and famous Jianmen Pass.

Despite having heard that Jianmen Pass was extremely dangerous, Jiang Han couldn't help but gasp when he saw it.

Between the two sheer cliffs of Great Sword Mountain and Little Sword Mountain, a small opening appears as if cleaved by an axe, standing facing each other and piercing the clouds.

Between the cliffs, only a narrow stone path and a stream meander upwards.

At the very top, there is a small gate tower, like a nail, firmly wedged into this only passage, completely cutting off the road to Sichuan.

The stone path carved between the cliff and the stream is so narrow that only one person or one horse can pass at its narrowest point, and the slope is almost sixty degrees.

On the gate tower, Li Changming, the commander of Lizhou Guard, was guarding the pass with his soldiers and students, coldly looking down at Jiang Han and his group of uninvited guests.

No wonder even an army of 100,000 couldn't take this natural fortress.

But Jiang Han was now on the verge of action and had no choice but to act.

He had to put enough pressure on the defending troops in order to support Li Zicheng's actions.

As always, Shao Yong led his elite vanguard, raising their long shields and attempting to approach Jianmen Pass little by little along the stone path.

But it was destined to be a futile effort; his soldiers couldn't even get within a hundred paces of the gate tower.

The rolling stones and logs cascading down from the top of the slope, carrying tremendous force, slammed into Shao Yong's sprinter.

Even with long shields on their heads, the soldiers couldn't withstand such a powerful impact. They were smashed to their heads, bleeding profusely, and tumbled down the stone path, suffering heavy casualties.

Seeing this, Jiang Han had no choice but to order the retreat.

Now, the only way to break through the pass is to wait for Li Zicheng's troops.

　I got home a little late today, sorry.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)