Jingming

Chapter 317 Battle of Lotus Leaf Mountain

"How many times has this been going into battle?"

On the lotus leaf mountain, Li Jin felt severe pain in his arms and tiger's mouth, but he still couldn't remove his armor.

"It's been seven times, General. When will the defenders at Jingping and Mayi come?"

Li Jin couldn't answer. After a moment of silence, he just laughed loudly: "We haven't even let go of the blunderbuss. The Tartars have charged seven times, but have they ever made half a step up the mountainside?"

He is a general, can he remember how many times he has been attacked?

At this moment, the captive cavalry are retreating and resting again. This time, it seems that they will not launch a general attack until tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow when soldiers come to help.

But the friendly forces of Jingping and Mayi did not come to help.

Li Jin looked at the banner schools under his command, and after taking a look at them one by one, he said: "I know, we are guarding the middle road, so we don't need to come to the west road. But the northern captives invaded the territory of Ming Dynasty, don't you think this Do two things?"

"... General, we have fought seven battles in less than three days, and we have already lost 82 brothers. Over a hundred of them are too seriously injured to go into battle, and there are only less than seven days left of rations..."

"The tartars have lost a lot of lives! This is the hinterland of Datong Town, what are you worried about?" Li Jin said indifferently, "We are going to drag them out from Heye Mountain. I am not just releasing the news to Jingping , Mayi. The Tartars can’t even gnaw down our temporary mountain, dare to stay here for a long time and wait for the king to encircle it? Don’t talk too much, don’t save food, let the brothers eat enough!”

He drank a few sips of tea, and then stood up again: "Don't worry about cooking, I will lead people to watch their movements!"

When walking out, he could feel the complicated eyes looking at him from behind.

It was his decision to rush to rescue Jingping.

Naturally, this cannot be called "disobeying orders". How to prevent Beiyuan's sudden sneak attack, a network of cities, forts, and strongholds has long been formed between the east, middle, and west roads of Datong Town.

The thieves came from the west road, and the middle road rushed to help immediately. This was a pre-war opportunity change that had been discussed in advance.

Is there a military order on it?Of course there are.

But there is no plan to take the initiative to attack, and the food and grass are not ready. Here, the situation suddenly came. Liu Kai and Li Jian did not come out of the fort. Are you guilty?
Naturally not.

People are here to rob, not to come to many cities to seize land.To dispatch a large army to encircle the encirclement requires His Majesty to issue an order and the court has decided to provide food, grass and military supplies, and it is impossible to make such a decision hastily.

So the Tartars hadn't ravaged the central defense zone yet, so Li Jin didn't have to use it.

Knowing that Datong Town has not yet made a general arrangement and arrangement for this side situation, he came and used himself as a bait, what will the subordinates who are in danger with him now think?
Is General Li Shen crazy about making meritorious service?
Even though the morale was good at the beginning, who wouldn't be frightened if no reinforcements came after fighting for three days?
When he came to the temporary camp piled up with rocks, dry soil and branches, Li Jin took out his binoculars and looked towards the Tartar camp.

There was a slight tremor in his eyes, and Li Jin knew it was because he had shot too many arrows in the past three days.

"Old Qian, do you think the tartar is a little confused now? Why did someone who is not afraid of death suddenly appear?"

A general banner next to him was not in the mood to laugh, and lowered his voice: "If the Tartars really come to surround, the reinforcements still don't arrive?"

Seeing that the other side was very calm, Li Jin really wouldn't come to fight again today, so he put down his binoculars in relief, and then stared at him: "Are you worried too? You don't understand?"

Zongqi, surnamed Qian, looked at his chief general, and saw that the smile on his face was not fake, and his eyes were extremely transparent.

"I really don't understand, so I'm worried."

Li Jin raised his arm and pointed to the opposite side: "It's been three days."

After a sneer, he continued to look at his puzzled subordinates: "It's been three days, and these thousand-riding Tartars are still here, which shows that I'm still guarding it! Now, the Tartars want to gamble, Liu Kai and the others I have to bet! Is this the pocket that my Datong Town made for them? The Tartars must join forces to smash the pocket, or withdraw now! As long as they are not willing, it will be an opportunity to tie the pocket. Liu Kai and other shrewd people don't understand that they will make the Tatars timid if they come here to join forces? As long as the battle is stable, the Tartars will charge for a while at most, and if they fail, they will definitely withdraw their troops!"

Glancing in the direction of Jingping Fort from a distance, Li Jin continued to sneer: "If I can't even defend the first day, Liu Kai and the others will have many excuses, saying that I fought recklessly and they were too late to help. But, I I have pulled these more than a thousand riders here for three days! I can still guard for a few more days, and he can find fewer and fewer excuses. Afterwards, he will be held accountable. I won the first game with my life. Help him win another game. Remember, if we hold on for one more day, we will have a better chance of winning. We are winning, so they dare to come out of the castle to help us!"

"...it's not fair."

"Fucking fairness!" Li Jin patted his stomach, "I just want to win! Let's go, eat first, and continue to watch tomorrow. I still have that tiger crouching gun! If they really want to transfer other people Get up and attack, then give them a surprise!"

This night, it was temporarily calm.

After fighting for three consecutive days, the cavalry of Tumed's troops were resting, and the Ming defenders on Heye Mountain were also resting.

The friendly army who came to help became a lone army standing by and waiting for help. Li Jin needed to let his low-level generals see the hope of winning.

Regardless of other things, he, Li Jin, is also here!
Outside Jingping Fort, sentry cavalry has not stopped.

When it was approaching midnight on this day, three more riders returned to the fort, and after entering, they went straight to Liu Kai's side.

Liu Kai couldn't sleep well these days, so he got up when he heard the transmission.

Hearing the news, he exclaimed: "Really? Are the Tartars from Naihebao coming here?"

"They bumped into each other head-on, the third and the fifth..." The leader of this team of sentry cavalry choked up, "Naihe Fort has been broken, General, our Jingping Fort..."

"...the strategy established early in the first year of Hongzhi, if bandits invade the West Road, the West Route soldiers will be the main force, and the deputy generals of Datong, guerrillas and Pianguan generals will join forces to help, and our West Route soldiers will be distributed in the city and the fort. Invitation to attack. Now that Naihe Fort has been broken, Jingping Fort cannot be lost! Pass on my general's order to fortify the walls and clear the fields, stand firm and wait for help!"

In this land, the news of the Tatar military situation and the military situation of the Datong garrison army has not been cut off.

Even if it is a guard who only wants to protect himself, it does not mean that he is just blind and shivering inside the castle.

They knew the news of Li Jin being besieged on Heye Mountain, and they also knew Li Jin's combat intentions, but not everyone was optimistic about his plan, or in other words, few people had the courage.

At this moment, in Datong Town, Governor Xuan Da, former Minister of the Ministry of War Wang Xian, and Governor Zhang Wenjing of Datong are receiving the order.

"...The reported disaster situation, grain storage, and the construction of the Five Forts of Xuanning have been approved by the State Affairs Hall and the Military Affairs Conference, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Households. 350 taels of silver will be given from Taikuang..."

"The thieves who invaded Shuozhou are still the same. The commander-in-chief of Datong ordered Lin Kuan, the deputy commander-in-chief, to lead the troops to the west road to attack them. If you have made meritorious deeds in defending the land and retreating the thieves, I will reward you for your merits separately."

After receiving the order, Wang Xian stood up, and then looked at Zhu Zhen deeply: "Zhu Zongbing, don't you need to worry now?"

"Since there is a decree, I will guard Datong myself and order Lin Kuan to lead the troops to help! Don't worry, the governor will not miss the Xuanning Five Forts. They must be built urgently to prevent the Tartars from breaking through from the north of Datong! Military situation It's urgent, I'll dispatch troops first!"

Seeing him leave, Zhang Wenjin patted the table angrily: "It took three years to build five forts! In three years, Datong Town reported ten disasters!"

"Your Majesty ordered me to come to Governor Xuanda, isn't it just to stabilize this side first?" Wang Xian's expression was solemn, but he only said, "No rush."

"General Counselor Yang used to govern Yansui, Ningxia, and Gansu, so he could only arrange for Li Jin and a few others to come to Xuanda." Zhang Wenjin gritted his teeth, "Now Li Jin reported that he came to stick to Heye Mountain, and the news has been cut off for three days. , the rest of the reinforcements in the middle are still not moving!"

"Dark man, control your anger!" Wang Xian frowned, "Since Li Jin dares to have such intentions, he must be sure."

"But how impenetrable is Datong Town now? Relying on the weight of the border town of Datong, will it continue like this? How vigorously and vigorously did General Counselor Yang and Mr. Zhang Gongping change in Ganzhou in the past? Please build the Xuanning Five Forts the year before last. The defense line in the north of Datong, this group of people have learned from the past, and they have messed up once, so they should do the same!"

"Wenjin!"

Wang Xian called his name this time instead of words.

Zhang Wenjin sat down angrily, and then he could only mutter: "It's more than 8 taels of silver again!"

"If you didn't have the means of Ganzhou's mutiny and thunder, and the year before last, you asked to build the Xuanning Five Forts within a year and ask them to guard them. You would have followed in Xu Ming's footsteps back then!" Wang Xian's face sank like water, and then he could only Said, "Huguang rebelled the year before last, how did Datong get into chaos at that time? Since last year, it has been built in three years, and there is a separate silver tael. Do you think your Majesty and the counselors don't know the big situation? Don't say it again, the immediate situation is the most important thing! "

There was a cold light in his eyes: "Since the Tartars have come from the border of Datong, after the war is over, they will naturally have something to say. What are you doing for the generals competition and the martial arts examination?"

Zhang Wenjin was a little surprised: "Could it be..."

A former Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and a former minister of the Ministry of War when he was the magistrate of Anqing during the Chenhao Rebellion, went to the city to scold King Ning to attract hatred and let him stay and attack Anqing instead of going straight to Nanjing.

Now, they have been holding back their anger in Datong for two or three years.

What they are facing is a group of generals who have taken root in Datong and are self-respecting.

The provinces in the south are undergoing restructuring, but the border towns have not yet moved.

Although Wang Xian also had a battalion of soldiers selected from the Beijing camp, the entire Datong garrison was over [-], which was far from comparable to those guards in the southern provinces.

"Let's go and supervise the transportation of grain and grass first." Wang Xian got up and walked out, "As soon as the decree comes, I will lead a thousand and five pacesetters to Shuozhou first. If there is any change in Datong, the remaining pacesetters can protect you."

"...Zhu Zhen is not so bold, is he?"

Wang Xian sneered: "The Five Forts of Xuanning have been repaired, who dares to guard them? It is so close to Fengzhou Beach, they have the guts to ask for money, but they don't have the guts to garrison. Who knows what they can do in this battle ? Just in case!"

In the past four years, Datong Town has once again encountered a big border affair, and many suppressed conflicts are brewing.

Important generals in border towns like Zhu Zhen didn't want to rebel, they just tried their best to resist the changes, using the chips they had at hand to test as much as possible.

And the emperor is the one who makes the change.No matter how the Ming provinces other than Bianzhen have changed over the years, Bianzhen has always focused on appeasement, except for the thunderbolt that was the first to deal with the Ganzhou mutiny.

Now, Zhu Houcong in the exercise headquarters in Miyuna was thinking about the border town, while watching the surrounding sand table, talking about the exercise situation that had entered a white-hot stage.

The commander of Shuozhou Wei played a beautiful trick and took back the stone mountain lost by the defender from the attacker.

But he didn't know that his Shuozhou Guard had lost a Naihe Fort right now.

He was transferred from Gansu to Shuozhou Wei by Yang Yiqing, if he could come out on top in this big competition, Zhu Houcong was thinking about what position he could arrange for him.

There was also a group of generals gathered in front of the map in the side hall, discussing the Shuozhou military situation that had been spread here.

Now, they are all unable to get out of this headquarters. Since the emperor has disclosed the news to them, it may be a test.

But some of the latest news was not told to them, Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren who had serious brows.

There was a steady stream of news about the military, and Li Jin was the only one in Datong Middle Road to rush to help according to the defense deployment that had been established for many years. This was the main reason for their concern.

The reason for Datong Town is naturally very good: compared with Shuozhou, Datong is the most important.Thousands of cavalry can appear in Shuozhou. Who can guarantee that the Tatars have not set up another army in the north of Datong?If the tiger is transferred away from the mountain, Datong will be lost, and Xuanfu will be in danger.The Xuan Mansion is in danger, that is, the iron cavalry is coming to Juyongguan, and the soldiers are only a day or two away from the capital.

But they have first-hand information, how can they not know whether there is a large-scale enemy army gathering in the north of Datong?What is Tatar's strategic intention, it can still be done accurately under deduction and analysis.

Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren noticed the emperor's gaze and shook their heads slowly after looking back.

So Zhu Houcong continued to suppress the irritability in his heart.

In the final analysis, Da Ming must first rediscover enough money and food potential from the new laws of the provinces before he can have the confidence to solve the old problems that have accumulated for a hundred years in border towns.

When there is a war, it will burn money.

And before the war, to make the border town look brand new, it would also cost a lot of money to burn.

The reason for burning money is because of people.

Changing generals in frontier towns requires opportunities and reasons.

Now, the candidates are assembled first, and the opportunity and reason for Datong Town have also arrived.

There is no rush, we can only wait for the results.

In the future, some people can be promoted and transferred for meritorious service, and some people can be demoted and punished for crimes.

But behind this is the suffering of soldiers and frontier people.

Zhu Houcong's gaze once again looked at the young faces of Tang Shunzhi, Yu Dayou, and Zeng Mi.

He has endured border towns like Datong Town for four or five years, and finally endured these new bloods to come on stage.

Shouldn't you bear it any longer?
"As long as they hold the stone mountain, they will not be able to go around to the south!" On the stone mountain, the commander of the Shuozhou Guard made He Xun excited, "The rules are becoming clearer and clearer. As long as you don't enter the stronghold within 20 steps, you will be sentry ! A team of 40 people, just go out, don't kill them. Just keep [-] of you here! Come down the mountain with this general!"

It is called an offensive and defensive stronghold, but as the drill progresses, it has become more and more clear: they are going to encounter a battle.

Under the rule of not killing people, you can only rely on bravery when you meet on a narrow road.

In hand-to-hand combat, how can there be a rule that one attacker can beat two?
"Looking at the posture on the other side, it must be that the exercise is about to end." Li Quanli's eyes in the Shixia Fort were frighteningly bright. Sentry!"

In the stockade to the south of Gubeikou in the north, Qiu Luan was very annoyed: "Why didn't this rule be made clear in advance?"

The soldiers in his hands are veterans, and the generals are not considered counselors.

But the general on the opposite side is the mighty general among the mighty generals selected by the entire Ming Dynasty.With some recruits, why did they all engage in road robbery?
It's just an exercise!Really in the wild, facing the real Tatar cavalry, would they dare to fight in the wild like this?
On Heye Mountain in Jingping, Shuozhou, Li Jin gave him the answer here.

He could see that there was some fear in the eyes of the more than 800 generals who could still fight.

This is a real battlefield, surrounded by real Tartars, the horses are raising their hooves, and the neighing sounds are constantly coming from all directions.

After another two days, all the Tartar cavalry really came together, obviously determined to make a show of the Ming defenders who dared to go out of the fort to meet the enemy, and pierce Shuozhou's defense line with their momentum.

If there is no other reinforcements from the direction of Datong, Shuozhou, where the original defenders are all huddled in the city and fortress, is still considered a fortified line of defense.

"We can fire the cannon today!" Li Jin shouted, "Beat the drum!"

In the previous few formations, they were only forming formations to meet the impact of the cavalry.

The generals of the Ming Dynasty may not be good at cavalry charge, but they have accumulated many years of experience in dealing with cavalry charge.

Li Jin was brave enough to fight. The battle formation formed by more than a thousand people in this district had at least defended the several thousand cavalry's advances.

But now, it's thousands of rides.

A moment later, the dull sound of horns also sounded in the cavalry formation.

Next, "Suddenly hot! Suddenly hot!" Thousands of people over there roared like huge waves, rushing from several directions, hitting the small lotus leaf mountain.

"Don't worry!" Li Jin said to the messenger beside him, "Heye Mountain is so small, wait until they get close and the horses are close, then fire the cannons! Don't fire them all at once, take turns!"

The tiger crouching cannon and the sub-cannon should make the opponent a little flustered, right?

Just a little flustered and you'll be fine.

"Stealer team, get ready, let's rush to kill!"

Under Li Jin's command, there are also dozens of cavalry, all of whom are proficient in cavalry and archery, and serve as sharp guards to scout out the enemy's situation.

Now that they are surrounded, naturally they can't talk about investigating anything.

But Li Jin was going to lead them out to charge.

The sound of horseshoes beating the land here, and the sound of whistles overwhelmingly flooded the Heye Mountain. The Ming defenders on the Heye Mountain seemed to be in a storm and could be wiped out in an instant.

"...Damn it! Fight!"

At the core of the battle formation on the mountainside, there are only twelve tiger squatting cannons in several directions.

The gunner looked at the Tartars who were flooding from the bottom of the mountain, his eyes were bloodshot.

Up to now, I can't think about anything else, I can only follow the lifeless general to work hard.

At the last moment of meeting the enemy, the defenders on the mountain also heard Li Jin's morale-boosting cry: "Da Ming wins!"

"Da Ming Wansheng!"

At the moment of life and death, everyone needs this voice.

"Da Ming Wansheng!"

In the voice shouted with a desperate mentality, the flag was waved down, the sound of the war drum changed, and the small flag officer on the artillery position shouted: "First round, let go!"

The sound of the artillery was not dense, but the sound of the artillery and the roaring and shouting on both sides of the place spread out after all.

A few miles to the northeast from here, the sentry cavalry who was galloping heard the faint sounds of thousands of people fighting in that direction.

"Three tigers, return to the supervisor's platform quickly, a fight has already begun. The rest of you, follow me! If you encounter a tartar sentry, you will be eliminated!"

At Jingping Fort on the west side of Heye Mountain, Liu Kai, who was worried that the Tartar cavalry was coming to attack Jingping Fort, was no longer worried.

They were going to Heye Mountain, and Liu Kai also received this message.

The military order from Datong has also been sent, and the deputy commander Lin Kuan led the reinforcements to set off, and they are on their way.

"Five thousand attack one thousand five..." Liu Kai gritted his teeth, "Damn it, if all the thousand and five officers and soldiers are lost, it will be a big defeat! Leave 500 people to guard the fort, and order troops to help Heye Mountain!"

On the lotus leaf mountain, Li Jin has no fear at all now, only excitement dripping from top to bottom.

He is not a general who loves his soldiers very much, sometimes he can even be called harsh. He only sees war and victory.

But is it true that the generals of the Ming Dynasty should not be fighting, but winning?

"Let's take advantage of the chaos and charge!" He clamped the horse's belly hard on his horse, "Follow me and charge!"

Where the commander-in-chief flag of Tumed's cavalry was located, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry who went south to plunder watched in amazement that less than a hundred cavalry rushed down the mountain.

What is this for?are you crazy?
Right now, those dozens of riders are like a weak fish, about to swim against the current into the turbulent waves.

But it had some ripples after all.

"This kind of cannon..." He didn't care about such a trivial matter, and now he listened more solemnly to the rhythm of the cannon sound from the Mingjun Mountain.

It's different from what I imagined.

Then, a horse rode to the left, and the man still had an arrow stuck in his arm.

"There are...reinforcements in the northeast..."

After all, he fainted immediately.

"...Let's go again! Don't you have enough to eat?"

He doesn't care about these things either, could it be that he has assembled nearly five thousand horsemen, so he can't take down the thousand-odd Ming army on the lotus leaf mountain first?

It is the tired army that is rushing to help from a long distance, and it will be fine if the horses charge for a while.

At this moment, Li Jin, who had flicked his tail in the enemy formation and was soaked in blood, was still laughing ferociously, and then he heard the sound of drums coming from the northeast.

"Reinforcements are coming!" He didn't care about anything else, he shouted, "Continue to charge!"

To the northeast, Wang Xian, who was worried about Lin Kuan's marching speed, was marching in a hurry with more than a thousand pacesetters.

Not only that, but it also made people beat the drums.

"Knock more! Always be ready for the enemy!"

On Heye Mountain, the defenders who had been guarding this small hill for seven days and were running out of rations finally heard the reinforcements.

"Hold it! Hold it again! Let the cannon cool for a while, hold it!"

The guards of Datong wanted money, but they didn't want to be convicted.

Being able to defend Datong Town is the bargaining chip for them to ask the court for money.

Lin Kuan walked slowly, but his military orders moved fast.

To the north, although Li Jian was marching safely on the road, after receiving the report from the sentry, his eyes suddenly showed a light full of credit.

"Quick! Go quickly!"

In the winter of the fifth year of Jiajing, the northern captives invaded Jingping, which is also the land of West Road.Li Jin, the general in the middle road, said: "Can it be regarded as two evils?" He rushed to him.At that time, General Liu Kai and Guerrilla Li Jianbing arrived first, but they were terrified and didn't know where they came from.In order to issue an order to warn the public, Jin joined forces and set up an array, first occupying Heye Mountain.The captives clashed and did not move. In the end, they hit the backbone with cannons, and then they rode down to attack them.Captives are invincible and attracted.

After the exercise in Miyun was over, Zhu Houcong was still thinking about the Shuozhou war.

(End of this chapter)