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Chapter 60 Yang Sichang is here

There are more than [-] people in their outpost. Every day, a team of sergeants is stationed at the bridge, and a team of soldiers patrols between the stone bridge and the camp, and rotates every other day. The rest are stationed in the camp.

With such an arrangement, even if there are hundreds of cavalry, breaking through the stone bridge, it will be difficult to break through the camp for a while, not to mention that the outpost camp faces the stone bridge and the official road, and there are several No. [-] Frang machine guns and tiger crouching guns Arranged there.

As long as this side warns, the other side of the ruined castle can immediately support, not to mention hundreds of captive cavalry, even one or two thousand captive cavalry can resist fighting for a while, and when the surrounding Xuanzhen army comes to help, the captive cavalry will be in danger.

Zhang Yan had seen the layout of the camp and the bridge, and there was no major problem. After inquiring about the recent harassment by captive cavalry, he rode his horse to the direction of the big stone bridge about two miles to the south.

…………

About two miles to the southeast of the abandoned fort where Zhang Cheng camped, there is an abandoned pier about two feet high, and the rear post of the infantry headquarters is responsible for guarding the stone bridge here.

At this time, Zhang Cheng, general Zhang Yan and others were standing on the broken pier, looking around.

On the pier at their feet, facing the direction of the stone bridge to the east, there are two No. [-] Franc cannons, and eight sub-guns stand beside them, ready to be fired at any time.

The surrounding pier walls are basically intact, and the damaged parts have been repaired with piles of soil. Outside the pier walls are facing official roads and other places that are easy to be attacked, and there are objects that resist the enemy, such as horses and caltrops.

On the pier wall facing the official road, two tiger crouching guns were also driven to guard against possible captive cavalry.

About ten feet to the east of the pier, a stone bridge connected to the official road lies across the Liangshui River. Like the official road, the stone bridge is about three feet wide and more than ten feet long.

The bridge is also covered with barbed terriers, shining a little bit of cold light under the reflection of the morning glow. At the point where the bridge head connects to the official road, several horse-rejecting piles are placed there. About three feet away from the horse-rejection piles, there is a newly built breast-length earth wall. , forming a semi-circular arc, on the official road are three large carts running sideways.

On the earth wall to the south of the official road, there is a No. [-] Frang machine gun, and on the north side, a tiger squatting cannon, both of which are facing the direction of the stone bridge.

A group of soldiers leaned against the earthen wall to avoid the cold wind in early winter. Several campfires were burning in front of them, and a large pot was boiling water on it.

Another group of sergeants was going back and forth between the banks of the Liangshui River and around the pier. They were divided into three directions, cross-checking everything around them.

Looking further east, in the direction of Tongzhou on the other side of the Liangshui River, there are endless plains and water beaches, with occasional low-level mounds, and some villages burned by the Qing army can still be seen, billowing thick smoke, The fire flickered.

Zhang Cheng turned around and looked north, and the majestic figure of Beijing City could be seen faintly.

A few days ago, when Qin Wang’s army and horses from Xuanda’s third town had just moved to the outside of Yongding Gate, Director Gao Qiqian allocated a batch of grain and fodder to Lu Xiangsheng, but it was only a symbolic amount of food and fodder. For the more than [-] soldiers and horses that have been recruited into the town, it is really like a drop in the bucket, and there is not much time left at all.

Standing beside his uncle, Zhang Cheng couldn't help reminding him: "Uncle, when the camp was moved the day before yesterday, the grain and grass allocated by the supervisor Gao Gong was not enough. Now the Tartars occupy Tongzhou, and the water transportation is cut off. In the future, I'm afraid..."

Zhang Cheng didn't continue, because he saw his uncle Zhang Yan staring at him, and heard Zhang Yan say in his ears: "For the matter of food and grass, the governor and the military will take care of it. We just need to guard the eastern suburbs."

In fact, Zhang Yan was not without worry in his heart. The food and grass he brought from Xuanzhen was not much at all, and it all depended on the supplies after joining the aid. There are not many, and it can barely last for more than half a month.

This man is like iron, and his food is like steel. If he doesn't eat a meal, he will be so hungry.

If the food and grass were really cut off, neither the men nor the horses could bear it. No matter how strong the soldiers were, the combat effectiveness would drop sharply.

But here he can only say this, no matter how anxious his heart is, he can't show the slightest bit on his face, the military spirit is what matters!
Seeing that Zhang Cheng stopped talking, he said softly again: "Cheng'er, after you have finished your work as a king, you will definitely be able to rank as a general. When you talk and do things, you must think more and more, and you must not talk too much when things happen. , only cause trouble."

Zhang Cheng looked at his uncle, lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Uncle taught you well, Cheng'er has memorized it."

…………

The cold wind on the pier was approaching November, and the north wind was picking up and it was getting colder. Zhang Cheng wrapped his armor tightly and stood beside his uncle, motionless and continued to look in the direction of Beijing.

I heard Liang Song, the head of the infantry army, say to Lin Zhiyi: "This pier and even the stone bridge are arranged in such a way that we can hold back hundreds of Tartar troops."

Then Lin Zhiyi's voice came: "The capital's village fortress is well built. As for the abandoned fortress we garrisoned, if there is enough food and medicine, even if thousands of Tartars come to attack, we will be able to defend it."

Liang Song teased him with a smile: "Then what if there is not enough food, grass and medicine?"

Following Lin Zhiyi's hesitation, he said boldly: "With the governor and Yang Junmen here, Eunuch Gao will surely allocate enough food and grass for us. Right, General?"

Zhang Yan smiled wryly, and said in his heart: "Food and grass, it's hard!"

Just as his nephew Zhang Cheng said: Tongzhou is occupied by captive cavalry, water transportation is cut off, and the supply of grain and grass to the capital is difficult, not to mention the frontier troops who have joined them.

If the troops had not been divided, perhaps the matter of food and grass was still somewhat guaranteed, but now that the troops have been divided, it seems that Gao Qiqian and Yang Sichang will be bound by Lu Xiangsheng everywhere, and it may really be possible for Kalu Xiangsheng's neck in the matter of food and grass in the future.

At this time, Zhang Cheng interjected again in a deep voice: "In our opinion, it is not easy to expect the Gao Guild to allocate too much food and grass."

He shook his head, turned his eyes to the direction of Tongzhou, continued to sneer and said: "It's really urgent, I have to grab the Tartars."

Everyone looked sideways, looking at Zhang Cheng in astonishment, even Zhang Yan did the same.

"It's not that we haven't snatched it before. Anyway, we want to kill the Tartars. Why don't we plan well and grab some food and grain together? Wouldn't it be easier!"

Zhang Cheng looked firmly in the direction of Tongzhou in the distance, his face was stern, and he spoke in a cold tone.

A gust of bitter cold wind blew by, and Zhang Cheng shivered.

Suddenly, he remembered an extremely important matter, and he couldn't help turning his head to look north, at the bank of the Xiaolong River where Governor Lu Xiangsheng's Supervising Biao Battalion was stationed.

…………

On October 11th in the [-]th year of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, at the middle of the day, the sky was fine, and the sun was slanting in the eastern sky, illuminating the earth.

More than 20 miles south of Yongding Gate in Beijing, where the Xiaolong River flows into the Liangshui River, a military camp straddles both sides of the Xiaolong River, with a camp gate in the north and south.

Governor Lu Xiangsheng did not occupy the surrounding villages and forts, but camped along the banks of the Xiaolong River, guarding the three bridge passages.

Today, Governor Lu Xiangsheng summoned all the generals from Xuanda and the three towns of Shanxi to King Jingqin to Xingyuan to listen to his lectures.

In the Xingyuan, Lu Xiangsheng seriously asked the generals of the three towns of Xuanda about the situation of sentrying the captive cavalry in the eastern suburbs these days, and the strategies of each department to deal with the harassment of the captive cavalry.

When he heard that all the generals in various towns had achieved more or less gains, he also seemed to be in high spirits, and loudly encouraged the generals to be loyal to the king and serve the country, and to fight the enemy with all their strength.

When a general mentioned the increasing shortage of food and grass in the army, the governor Lu Xiangsheng was very helpless. He didn't say much, but told everyone to serve the country loyally and not to be discouraged because of the small number of soldiers.

Just at this time, the soldiers came in and announced: "The cabinet minister Yang Sichang has come to Xingyuan."

(End of this chapter)