Amidst the clattering of horse hooves, an inconspicuous team of horses set off from the camp, passed through Liangfangkou Pass, and prepared to set off in the direction of Gaizhou on the Liaodong Peninsula. This was a team of more than ten people, led by Sang Wenlai, the oldest of the Imperial Guard of the Revolutionary Army. The team was composed of the elites under Zhou Qingfeng, all of whom were veterans with actual combat experience.
After half a year of training, they could be considered veterans. At least they were well-fed, strong, and not afraid to march and fight. They were much better than the poor beggars of the Ming Army. However, compared with the highly organized slave military groups of the Jurchens, they were still too immature. Don't look down on the current Jin Kingdom, in terms of mobilization and discipline, they were much better than the Daming Dynasty.
In order to fight against Nurhachi, the Daming Dynasty didn't mobilize millions of people in Liaodong, and needed to mobilize indigenous soldiers from Sichuan thousands of miles away to participate in the war. This kind of thing was so strange that even novels didn't dare to write it, but it really happened.
In order to prevent his army from becoming useless, Zhou Qingfeng made up his mind to train. However, his own military ability was also sloppy, and sometimes he had to throw his men out to grow.
Before setting off, Zhou Qingfeng explained clearly, "War is a very serious matter. If you don't understand the enemy's situation, you will lose half of the battle. If you don't even understand the roads, rivers, terrain, cities, and so on, you will basically lose. So you have to do a simplified version of the Staff Officer Tour to prepare for the more tragic battles you will participate in in the future. "
Logically speaking, this kind of thing should be led by Zhou Qingfeng himself, but now there was no high-end combat force to protect Yingkou Base. If Zhou Qingfeng left, the risk would be too great. So they could only let the officers of the Imperial Guard gather together and set off. Their goal was a stronghold called Wanghai Fort in the south of Gaizhou, where a pirate leader called 'Sea Flipping Dragon' used that as a starting point to constantly attack the camp.
Sang Wenlai and the others all climbed up from the bottom and were well prepared for this long-range reconnaissance mission. However, when they set off, they found that their preparation was not enough.
The Staff Officer Tour team had just set off when it rained.
The ground was muddy and difficult to walk on. There were several feet of weeds on the roadside.
Liaodong had been developed for thousands of years. Although there were a large number of villages scattered like stars in the sky, the wilderness was still in a very primitive state. As soon as one left the city, one would see nothing but desolation. Not even a ghost was seen along the way.
Before this, Sang Wenlai and the others had been following the main force. At the worst time, they still had Zhou Qingfeng as their backbone. Now that it was their turn to act, they felt that their surroundings were desolate and uninhabited, and they were in a hopeless situation.
Riding on horseback, they would occasionally see a large patch of weeds forming a nest by the side of the road. Chai Jie, who was in the group, asked curiously when she passed by, "Who would build a nest here?"
The group's guide came from Liang Fangkou Pass. Zhou Qingfeng used some silver to exchange for passage. When the Ming Army stationed there learned that Sang Wenlai wanted to go to Gaizhou, he specially gave her some pointers. The guide also rode past the collapsed grass nest by the roadside. He glanced at it and said, "That wasn't built by humans. It was built by tigers."
What …? Tiger!
Wu Daimen was a hunter. He rode over to take a look and said with certainty, "That's right. This is a tiger's nest. Everyone be careful. Tigers especially like to ambush in the grass to approach their prey. Once it feels that there's an opportunity, it will pounce. " Qiao Xuenan could be considered the weakest in the group. When he heard this, he trembled with fear. He took out a pen and paper from his pocket and wrote down the situation.
They could not see the threat of tigers in the wild, but the large herds of mantises flying randomly in the grass were very scary. Every time these blood-sucking insects were alarmed and flew up, they would make a buzzing sound.
There were many mantises. When they flew up, they were like a dark cloud and sounded like muffled thunder. Once the horses were bitten, they would bleed non-stop and kick and jump around. This caused the entire group of riders to be disturbed, but they had no way to avoid them.
As it was a staff trip, the group of horses did not travel fast. Instead, they had to look for paths that the troops could pass through and even camp in the wild. When the mantises did not come out to cause trouble at night, the mosquitoes were even more overwhelming and more powerful than the mantises. The riders' palms would be covered with blood when they patted the mosquitoes. After a while, they felt that they were going to be sucked dry.
"There are too many damn mosquitoes." Wu Daimen had clearly applied grass juice to his body to repel mosquitoes, but his exposed skin was still bitten with large bumps. Because he had been bitten too many times, his skin had become numb and swollen. "The mosquitoes in this plain grassland are more numerous and bigger than those in the forests of Fushun. They are not afraid of humans at all. How can this be?"
Seeing that Wu Daimen was going crazy, Qiao Xuenan, who was also suffering, wrote down in his notebook, "There are many weeds and swamps near Gaizhou. When marching and camping in the wild, pay attention to driving away mantises and mosquitoes."
In the end, there were too many mosquitoes. Gao Daniu was forced to throw a Flame Talisman near the campsite to burn it. At the same time, he gave everyone a Clear Drizzle Pill to reduce swelling and pain. Only then did everyone get a good night's sleep.
The next day, with the people from Liang Fangkou as a guide, Sang Wenlai and the others boldly passed through Gaizhou City. Due to the obstruction of Qianshan Mountain Range, Gaizhou City guarded the land passage to and from the Liaodong Peninsula. To the east were rolling hills, and to the west was the sea. The area that could allow a large force to advance was very limited. If they controlled this place, they could effectively seal off the land passage to and from the west of the Liaodong Peninsula.
The four Qianghu offices of the Gaizhou Guards were all located in Gaizhou City. Its population was twice that of Haizhou, but the number of troops stationed there was less than that of the Haizhou Guards. In theory, it should have more than 2,800 infantry troops. But according to the guide — 2,000? There were not even 200. The officials were so poor that they didn't even have porridge to eat. They had to sell their children to survive. The guide came from Liang Fangkou Pass. After eating with the team for two days, he egged them on.
The guide came from Liang Fangkou Pass. After eating with the team for two days, he instigated, "I say, my dear rebel lords, why do you want to go to Wanghai Castle? Just attack Haizhou City. I'll lead the way for you. It's definitely not a problem. Even if we can't attack Haizhou City, we can attack Liang Fangkou Pass. Kill Li Beiyu, who is stationed at the pass, and all the people in the pass will thank you. "
Sang Wenlai and the others looked at each other and smiled bitterly. After a while, the pride in their hearts naturally surged. This was the feeling of being respected and being looked forward to. After Zhou Qingfeng publicly raised the flag of rebellion, he instilled revolutionary ideas into his men every day. But no matter how much he instilled, it was not as good as a few words from the Ming Army's small soldiers — they were really looking forward to being liberated.
Sang Wenlai did not dare to agree. He still led the team to Wanghai Castle in the south of Gaizhou. The group easily passed through the loosely guarded Gaizhou. When they left the city, Chai Jie looked back at the city wall and said, "This city is too dilapidated. There are only a few guards, and it's close to us. Why didn't you attack it?"
This was a good question!
Gaizhou City was not big. It was no more than five li in circumference. The city wall was five meters high, and the moat was three meters deep. The walls were old and cracked everywhere. Handfuls of weeds grew out of the cracked bricks. This city was too dilapidated. It could really be taken down in one fell swoop.
Fu Shun City was still facing the invasion of the barbarians from the north. With the large amount of funds provided by the border trade, the defense was still considered good. But ever since Gaizhou City was built, there had been no need to worry about the invasion of foreign enemies. It had lived peacefully for more than two hundred years. The people here had never thought that war would break out.
Zhou Qingfeng had stationed 10,000 men and horses at the entrance of the camp. It was only a day's journey from Gaizhou. Almost a month had passed. By right, the surrounding Ming Army should have known, but the soldiers of Gaizhou did not take any action to strengthen their defenses. They were still lazy and lax.
Everyone's thoughts were stirred by Chai Jie's question. Gao Daniu said, "If I attack, I only need 200 men to ride out from the entrance of the camp. Within a day, I can kill my way into the city through the Xining Sea Gate. After entering the city, I can directly attack the Commander's yamen. If the Commander here doesn't have any special abilities, I'm afraid I can kill him. "
"What if the Commander here activates the city's defenses?" Wu Daimen asked. "Our Lord activated the city's defenses in Fu Shun, but even the Female Zhenren can withstand it."
"It's not our Lord who is defending the city. Will the commoners in the city listen and help? How strong can the city's defenses be? "Sang Wenlai shook his head." If it were me, I would just use explosives and break it in one blow. Then your infantry can go up and accept the surrender. "
Seeing how pleased Sang Wenlai was, Gao Daniu and Wu Daimen snorted coldly. Qiao Xuenan said in a low voice, "I've seen the map. This Gaizhou is connected to the north and south of the Liaodong Peninsula, but it is also being attacked from both the north and south. If we take over this place, it will be easy to defend the north, but it will be troublesome to defend the south. "
To the south of Gaizhou, there were still the Fuzhou Guards and Jinzhou Guards.
Qiao Xuenan had learned a lot recently. He found a branch on the ground and casually drew the approximate positions of Bohai Bay, Gaizhou, Haizhou, and Fuzhou in the south. He even clearly drew the direction of the mountain ranges in the east.
Sang Wenlai and the others pointed at a few roads on the map and discussed casually. Based on their own understanding, they talked about the problems that needed to be paid attention to in marching and fighting. Even Chai Jie had to say a few words. They were engrossed in their conversation, but the Ming Army guide was speechless when he heard them. He couldn't help but interrupt, "The few rebellious lords are really great military talents. You really know the geography and roads of our place like the back of your hand."
Ancient geography information was top secret. Even the government didn't have an accurate map. The army had to rely on the local people to fight a war. Otherwise, they wouldn't even know the roads. Sang Wenlai and the others heard the guide's praise and stopped talking. They turned back together. The guide hurriedly swore that he wouldn't pass on the information he heard to outsiders. He even expressed his willingness to submit. At least he could eat a few more meals.
However, Sang Wenlai shook his head and said, "When it comes to war, we haven't even learned the basics. The truly amazing one is my Lord. He is the one who is engrossed in war. Every time he calculates, he can always trap the enemy to death. "
Zhou Qingfeng himself was a half-baked military strategist. However, Sang Wenlai and the others naturally had to praise Zhou Qingfeng. The guide listened with fascination. He could no longer imagine what Zhou Qingfeng was capable of. However, while they were happily chatting by the roadside outside Gaizhou City, they didn't notice that a few passersby were paying attention to them.
A man with a sallow face rode by and saw the map that Qiao Xuenan had drawn on the ground from afar. The other man with him had sharp ears and heard the word "rebellious" from the guide. The two of them slowly brushed past each other without batting an eyelid. When they were dozens of meters away, the sallow man said to his companion, "There's something wrong with this group of horses. The ground seems to be drawn with the topographic map of Liaodong."
The other man said, "This is Gaizhou. According to the information sent from Haizhou, the Zhou rebels' troops are at the entrance of the camp. It's only a day's journey from here. This group of people might be the rebels' spies. "
"This group of people doesn't look capable. Brother Luo, do you want to capture a few of them and interrogate them?"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
