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

Chapter 241 Encirclement of Hou Liangzhu

The news that the detachment from Shiquan County had been completely annihilated and that Governor Liu Hanru and Lieutenant General Ding Yunxiang had died in battle quickly spread throughout northern Sichuan.

The entire officialdom of Sichuan was shaken.

Governor Zhu Xiewen was so angry that he jumped up and down, constantly cursing Liu Hanru and Ding Yunxiang, those two idiots.

Although he was furious, all the troops that Chengdu Prefecture could mobilize had been lost.

Now, on the entire battlefield in northern Sichuan, only Zhang Ling, who is trapped in Baoning Prefecture, and Hou Liangzhu's main force remain.

Zhang Ling is trapped in the city by Jiang Han's army, like a turtle in a jar.

But Hou Liangzhu was as slippery as an eel. Jiang Han tried to lure him into the trap time and time again, but he could never catch him.

When Hou Liangzhu received the order from Governor-General Zhu Xieyuan, he broke camp and set up camp that very day, cursing and swearing. However, he still played a little trick on the marching route.

He first led his troops to easily capture the poorly defended Zitong County, but instead of heading east to Baoning Prefecture, he went south along the Xiaotong River and ran to the Nanbu County area.

This completely baffled Liu Ning, who was following him closely.

what's the situation?
Zitong County is only 300 li away from Baoning Prefecture, and it would only take three days of rapid march to reach the city.

Why did this guy surnamed Hou end up in Nanbu County, which is 500 miles away?

So, when our allies are in trouble, we remain unmoved?

To Liu Ning's utter surprise, according to reports from the people of Shunqing Prefecture, a government army suddenly appeared in Qu County and was desperately heading north.

I heard that this unit came all the way from Chongqing.

It is estimated that in about ten days, they will be able to reach Nanbu County and join forces with Hou Liangzhu's troops.

According to the scouts who went to investigate, the force numbered over three thousand, all dressed in uniform indigo blue.

Their weapons were mostly white-shafted wooden spears with red tassels, and most importantly, the commander of this team was a woman.

Unlike ordinary Ming troops, this army was solemn and disciplined, and did not commit any offenses in its path, clearly a strong force.

Liu Ning dared not delay and immediately sent someone to inform Jiang Han, who was under the city of Baoning.

Jiang Han hadn't expected that Hou Liangzhu was actually waiting for reinforcements.

Red tassels and white spears, a female general, Chongqing Prefecture.
Jiang Han immediately understood; Qin Liangyu had arrived.

To be honest, Jiang Han didn't expect Zhang Ling to actually invite Qin Liangyu.

It should be noted that Shizhu, where Qin Liangyu was located, was in Chongqing Prefecture, which was at least a thousand miles away from Baoning Prefecture.

Jiang Han's situation is now rather delicate.

If Hou Liangzhu and Qin Liangyu were to join forces, that would amount to more than 10,000 Ming soldiers.

With our current troop strength, I'm afraid we might not be able to take it down.

If Zhang Ling of Baoning Prefecture were to take the opportunity to cause trouble again, I'm afraid I would suffer a defeat.

Inside the central command tent, Jiang Han stared at the map in silence.

He now faces three paths:

First, before reinforcements arrive, launch a full-scale attack on Baoning Prefecture and strive to capture the city within ten days and kill Zhang Ling.

Second, before Hou Liangzhu and Qin Liangyu could join forces, they should divide and annihilate them.

Third, withdraw the troops.

Inside the main tent, the generals were arguing fiercely, some advocating attacking Baoning Prefecture, others advocating attacking Hou Liangzhu.

In short, no one was willing to withdraw their troops.

The entire Sichuan province is probably watching Baoning Prefecture closely. If Jiang Han retreats now, the losses will be far more than just a little bit of food.

If Jiang Han cannot seize this window of opportunity to swallow Baoning Prefecture and annihilate the main force of the Ming army in Sichuan, then he will have to face a pincer attack from the Ming army in Hanzhong and Sichuan.

“I think attacking Baoning Prefecture is the safest option. While Hou Liangzhu is hesitant to fight, I will personally lead the main force to storm the city. We will surely be able to break through the city in one fell swoop.”

"Don't underestimate Zhang Ling. Although we easily took over the two outer defense lines, there are still quite a few Ming troops left in the city."

"Not to mention that a direct assault would result in heavy losses, if we fail to capture the city, we'll be surrounded and annihilated by reinforcements."

"When the government troops attack our army from both inside and outside, even a god couldn't save us."

"I think we should withdraw our troops first and annihilate the main force of the government army. The city is right here, and we can attack it at any time. There's no need to rush."

"You make it sound so easy. If we retreat, what if the Ming troops in the city follow us out?"

The argument among the generals inside the tent continued, giving Jiang Han a throbbing headache.

He slammed his hand on the table:
"Shut up, everyone!"

"This is the central command tent, not the execution ground!"

"What are you all arguing about!"

Upon seeing Jiang Han's anger, the tent fell silent instantly.

The generals, who had just been arguing heatedly, now looked like chicks who had made a mistake, heads bowed, not daring to say another word.

Jiang Han glanced around the tent and slowly spoke:

"Listen to me, put the city aside, attack Hou Liangzhu first, then Qin Liangyu!"

"No matter what, we must annihilate the main force of the Ming army in this battle!"

Upon hearing this, the generals inside the tent exchanged bewildered glances.

They couldn't understand why the commander-in-chief was so hasty in his military campaign, even risking being caught in a pincer movement to annihilate the main force of the Ming army.

In their view, the safest approach is to proceed cautiously step by step.

Baoning Prefecture now consists of only one isolated city, which can be taken in ten days no matter what. What the crowd doesn't know is that Jiang Han's vision extends far beyond just one city or prefecture.

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, he then explained:
"The opportunity is now rare. The imperial court's main force is too busy to deal with anything else. We only need to deal with the Ming army in Sichuan."

"If this drags on, we may face a pincer attack from the Ming armies in Hanzhong and Sichuan."

Actually, there was another reason that Jiang Han didn't mention, and that was the movement of the Later Jin.

According to the news brought by Deng Yang, the Later Jin had unified the Mongol tribes.

Jiang Han knew very well that Huang Taiji was about to take action against Korea and bring it into the vassal state.

On the other hand, they were still figuring out how to take over Sichuan Prefecture, and their progress was far too slow.

Jiang Han set a goal for himself: to capture Chengdu Prefecture within a year and then take over Sichuan Province.

Within three years, take over Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and then seek an opportunity to move out of Hanzhong and pacify the Northwest.

Time was of the essence, so Jiang Han had to take bigger steps.

"Our army now has 30,000 men, and I plan to divide them into two groups."

“A unit of Ming troops, mainly composed of militia, was assigned to guard the city of Baoning.”

"Leave 10,000 men along this route, and 6,000 men to guard Panlong Mountain in the north to prevent Zhang Ling from breaking out by land."

"Another force of four thousand men will rely on the coastal defenses and the navy to block the Ming army. Once they discover that Zhang Ling is trying to break out by water, they will immediately cut off the pontoon bridge."

"I will personally lead the remaining 20,000 troops to besiege Hou Liangzhu."

With the plan finalized, the generals began the orderly handover process.

On the Baoning Prefecture side, Dong Erzhu led the troops, leaving half of the heavy artillery behind to continue besieging the city and stirring up trouble, in order to avoid alerting the Ming army in the city.

Jiang Han, along with Shao Yong, left Baoning Prefecture under cover of night and headed straight for Hou Liangzhu in the south.

Nanbu County, Ming army camp.

Hou Liangzhu was extremely anxious at this moment, feeling as if he were being roasted over a fire.

Zhang Ling of Baoning Prefecture sent one urgent letter after another plea for help, each word revealing the despair of the city's imminent fall.
Governor-General Zhu Xiewen was even more stern, practically pointing his finger at him and scolding him for being a coward, warning him that if he continued to hesitate, he would immediately submit a memorial to the capital to reach the emperor's ears.

Hou Liangzhu slammed the urgent report in his hand on the table in anger, and began to curse:
"Nurture me, urge me, all you ever do is rush me!"

"I only have this many men at my disposal. Without Qin Liangyu's White-Spear Soldiers, how am I going to fill the gaps between those 30,000 bandits' blades?"

"Zhang Ling is a veteran of the battlefield, can't he even last ten days or half a month?!"

Seeing the undisguised warnings and threats in Zhu Xieyuan's letter, Hou Liangzhu became even more irritated.

"If you continue to be cowardly and hesitant to advance, I will certainly report this to the court and punish you for delaying the battle."

"That Zhu Xieyuan is truly vicious! What do you mean by 'hesitating to advance'? I was clearly waiting for reinforcements, but in his mouth it became 'cowardice and fear of battle'! It's utterly absurd!"

Despite his complaints, Hou Liangzhu dared not continue to dawdle.

He knew Zhu Xieyuan's methods better than anyone else.

If they dare to back down again, that old man is really capable of petitioning the capital and getting himself killed.

"Send the order!"

"The entire army shall break camp and set up camp! March north along the Jialing River to relieve Baoning Prefecture!"

Unable to withstand the pressure, Hou Liangzhu finally gritted his teeth and ordered the camp to be broken up.

He made up his mind: slow down! It had to be slow!
They moved along the Jialing River towards Baoning Prefecture, hoping to delay as long as possible.

Only if Qin Liangyu, who had been dragged to the stone pillar, arrived and joined them, would they have a chance of winning.

To Hou Liangzhu's utter surprise, while he remained unperturbed, the bandits were far more anxious than he was.

Jiang Han, who had been waiting impatiently, had personally led 20,000 main force troops to attack him.

Upon receiving the news, Liu Ning's troops silently followed Hou Liangzhu's army.

Hou Liangzhu dawdled and didn't go far from Nanbu County, walking along the riverbank for less than a day.

Suddenly, a soldier who was in charge of reconnaissance rushed from the front, looking flustered and pale.
"General Hou! Something terrible has happened!"

"The main force of the enemy has been spotted fifteen miles ahead; it's a massive, dark mass of people!"

"Banners blotted out the sun, dust flew everywhere, and the number of people...the number of people was so great that it was impossible to see the end!"

Hou Liangzhu was shocked upon hearing this, and the horsewhip in his hand fell to the ground.

"what?!"

"How could the main force of the bandits be here?!"

An ominous premonition instantly enveloped his heart.

Could it be that the bandits were after him?
Hou Liangzhu reined in his restless warhorse and made a decisive decision:
"Quickly! Pass on the order!"

"Discard all baggage and provisions, take only your personal weapons, and immediately withdraw the entire rear guard to the front guard!"

"quick!"

The instinct for survival overrides everything; rescuing Zhang Ling or the governor's strict orders are not as important as saving one's life at this moment.

The order was given hastily, and the government troops were thrown into chaos.

Heavy grain carts and tents were haphazardly pushed over by the roadside, and the soldiers panicked and turned around, crowding towards the southern county behind them.

But the caravan had only gone less than three miles when a series of muffled hoofbeats suddenly came from the previously calm plains on the left!
The officers and soldiers looked in the direction of the sound and saw a black wave surging in from afar, instantly engulfing several low hills.

(End of this chapter)