Traveler Major League

Chapter 175 Xi'an

At this time, Yang He, the governor of the three sides, was in Xi'an. Seeing that the giant bandit Liu Ze occupied Fuping County, which was only more than 100 miles away from Xi'an, which seriously threatened the safety of Xi'an, he hurriedly ordered soldiers from Guyuan, Lintao, Hezhou and other towns to come to help at night. General Du Wenhuan, the governor, came from the northwest.

Order the governor Lian Guoshi to lead Zhang Quanchang, Zhao Dayun, Yang Jiamo, and Wang Chengen to dispatch standard soldiers, battalions, and township soldiers from various places. As long as they can move, they will move, cut off the access to the mountain from the direction of Hancheng and Baishui, and regain Liu Ze's previous occupation. From the counties in the mountains, selected elite soldiers came from the northeast.

He also ordered Zheng Chongjian, a rightist in Shaanxi, to lead troops from Xi'an to deploy troops along various rivers to delay the attack of the People's Army, and urged Hong Chengchou to lead troops from Tongguan in the southeast to encircle him.

However, the People's Army, who didn't know about it, was still constrained by the movement speed of the huge Chinese army. It had just gained a foothold in Fuping County. Under the constant sweeping back and forth, the resisters everywhere were unable to accomplish anything, and could only be described as invincible. Even when crossing the river, they could use the generation of weapons to defeat the defense of the officers and soldiers on the other side.

After the successful capture of Yaoxian County and the defeat of thousands of officers and soldiers in the [-]th Li South of Tongchuan, the entire senior leadership of the People's Army is full of optimism. Late.

It wasn't until this time that Liu Ze received the news from the militiamen left behind. Huanglong County, the only way to enter the mountain, was first recovered by the army, and the militia supplies of the rear army were blocked. , Most of them have surrendered. It is not necessary to guess that the counties in the mountains they occupied before will all be recovered by the army. Because of Liu Ze's relocation policy, everywhere is extremely empty, without even a shadow of a person, causing the army to take over. Basically, it can be said that there is no bloodshed.

And what followed was more bad news. Large groups of officers and soldiers were found in all directions around Fuping County, especially the local gentry and landlords who had been offended by the land distribution policy before, and many of them recruited soldiers from the countryside who had lost their wealth. The government and the army assisted in the suppression.

At this time, Liu Ze understood Li Zicheng's difficulties. These officers and soldiers were like flies everywhere. The main force equipped with rifles and artillery had no ability to attack, but those officers and soldiers did not fight at all. Just run and play hide-and-seek in this vast Guanzhong Plain, while the militias of the People's Army are lacking in combat effectiveness. The basic comparison of combat effectiveness is regular troops of the People's Army > Official Army > Militia = Township Soldiers.

In this way, the people's army basically conquered a town, leaving the militia to divide the fields and land, but it would not be long before it was taken back by a small group of officers and soldiers. In the same situation, fortunately, Chao Zhongchen's cavalry battalion wandering around tracked around, which prevented the militias around Fuping County from collapsing.

The most serious thing is that various county towns and large villages and towns have begun to arm themselves. For example, Sanyuan County, sixty miles west of Fuping County, has an extremely rigid county magistrate, Sun Zhou.

There were no soldiers and horses in the county, so he collected the army and deserters everywhere, cleared the walls and cleared the fields ten miles outside the city, burned all the trees and houses, blocked the wells and polluted them, and evacuated all the civilians to the county. The women are young and strong, and the whole people are organized as soldiers, making weapons and gunpowder, and learning to make explosive kits similar to the People's Army, supplemented by wood rolling stones, and desperately resisting. Stay within the walls and build morale by example.

As a result, the forward who had been invincible before retreated because of exhaustion of ammunition. After returning to Fuping County for supplies, he went to attack again and found that the resistance of Sanyuan County was more determined. Ten men for one man is more casualties than riflemen and artillery, not to mention the militias whose combat effectiveness is basically the same as that of civilians. There are more than 1 militiamen with nearly [-] casualties, and they have not yet been able to capture them. When Liu Ze receives the news When Xin arrived with backup, even Yang Zeming, who had always been arrogant in fighting with the army during this period, said it was hard to fight.

"Ze Ming, how are the casualties now?" Liu Ze led a rifle battalion, an artillery battalion and nearly [-] militiamen. He was very curious about the tough battle at this time.

Yang Zeming touched the black smoke marks all over his face, then rubbed his hands and sighed: "Although this county is small, it is not easy to fight. When I first arrived, I wanted to capture the thief first and the king first. The county magistrate attacked the city with all his might, but after a few shots, the county magistrate was so desperate that he failed to die on the spot, and let the soldiers carry him around the city, swearing to resist, that's why it was so difficult to fight."

"If this is the case everywhere else, then we..."

Yang Zeming didn't say any more, but everyone knew what he meant, and Liu Ze didn't answer. He just frowned and looked at the county town in front of him and asked, "How many soldiers and horses are there in the city?"

"There are no soldiers and horses, neither artillery nor firecrackers, and there are few bows and arrows, but we dare to die. Before, we had a rifle company that took advantage of the artillery to injure the county magistrate and forcibly climbed the city wall, but we haven't waited for follow-up support to catch up. When they arrived, they were driven down by the people in the city, and lost a platoon of troops, all of which were killed by them with explosives."

"Not to mention those militiamen who attacked the city with ants, they couldn't even go up to the top of the city, and they couldn't dig the city wall with a pickaxe. The city gate was blocked by bricks and stones, and even a hundred catties of explosives were spent. , unless digging tunnels and using explosives to blow up the city walls like you mentioned in your class, Commander, it will take more time, and besides, we are short of gunpowder."

This is one of the main directions of attack. The moat has long since dried up, and it is covered with yellow weeds. It is in a mess, and it will fall down when the wind blows, but there are more corpses within sight. The dead bodies of the militiamen were densely intertwined, and the broken long ladders were scattered at the foot of the city wall, and the rolling stones could be clearly seen among the piles of corpses.

"The people in the city are determined to defend the city, so there is no need to waste time here."

"Don't fight, leave [-] militiamen here to dig trenches and besiege the city. Let's concentrate all our main forces to raid Xi'an!" Liu Ze took a telescope to carefully observe the deserted city in Sanyuan County. They went back and forth quickly, but it was difficult to see the figure clearly. They all hid behind the battlements, and occasionally leaked some and passed quickly, just to prevent guns and guns.

Although he had made up his mind, Liu Ze launched another attack while waiting for the workshop equipment personnel to wait for the large army. This time there were as many as twelve cannons concentrated, all of which were fired with explosive shells. It was the first time in the history of the people's army, but even so, those guarding the city still went forward, not afraid of life and death. Only Liu Ze saw with his own eyes that there were no fewer than ten people who hugged each other and died together. .

Seeing this situation, Liu Ze immediately stopped the attack, and when the rear troops arrived in the evening, leaving behind [-] militiamen to besiege the city, the main force immediately turned to Gaoling and Lutai, and the soldiers pointed directly at Xi'an.

During this process, the evil results of the inability to attack Sanyuan County in the past few days finally appeared, and the defensive desires of other places were significantly enhanced. The next [-] militiamen continued to besiege the city, and the entire brigade no longer cared about the rear, and went straight to Xi'an before the officers and troops on all sides arrived.

It's just that the transfer speed of the Chinese army's brigade is far slower than everyone's imagination. Even if they are urged from the left to the right, and there are officers and soldiers from the countryside everywhere, they sweep the surrounding area while walking, carrying more and more luggage. The food and grass team can only move forward at a faster speed than in the mountains, with an average of no more than twenty miles per day.

Every family has its own troubles. At this time, Yang He in Xi'an City is even more anxious. Seeing that the vanguard of the People's Army has arrived at Baqiao and the guarding army is shelling each other, he is urging the officers and soldiers from all walks of life seven times a day. Gathering in Xi'an, the news from the east has been cut off, and the frontier army led by Du Wenhuan, the main force, has not yet arrived. Although the other officers and troops are constantly regaining lost ground, they are constantly biting behind the people's army.

But the disregarded people's army is rushing to Xi'an, regardless of these things, it is too contrary to the common sense of the military, not only the officers and soldiers around look puzzled, but also the knowledgeable militia inside the people's army began to feel fear. If the siege of the city is unsuccessful and the government and army besiege from all sides, then the 10,000+ people will collapse immediately.

The Bahe River is also called Zishui, with a total length of 109 kilometers. It is a tributary of the Weihe River. In February and March, all rivers have entered the dry season, and the Bahe River is no exception. It can make the viewers standing on the bank sincerely admire. When a gust of river wind blows, just close your eyes gently, as if you can see the river rushing forward in the wet season, like thousands of horses The child passed by before your eyes, and before you had time to react, it disappeared without a trace.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was still a bleak scene, except that there were a few more black birds singing hoarsely on the branches, and the only remaining river in the middle was still flowing slowly, as if it had stopped.

Zheng Chongjian, a rightist in Shaanxi Province, was on the bank of the Bahe River at this time. According to the scouts, the people's army divided up and besieged Gaoling, Lutai County, and Sanyuan County. They concentrated here, but his battalion soldiers were only [-] soldiers, and there were less than [-] cavalry soldiers inside.

Behind the hillside on the west side of the Bahe River, this place cannot be attacked by the artillery of the People's Army. Now it is Zheng Chongjian's large tent of the Chinese army. Compared with yesterday, the sound of the official army's artillery was much quieter. That's because it was silenced by the artillery of the People's Army.

"The number of these thieves has increased again today. It seems that they must pass through us. As long as it takes another day, Lord Du's front army will arrive, and in two or three days, the rear infantry will also arrive. Everywhere The officers and soldiers can also arrive, let’s talk about it, how should we fight?” Zheng Chongjian looked at the buzzing sound in the tent, and said with a soft snort.

Seeing Zheng Chongjian looking at him, Cao Youzhan's eyelids drooped and he could only bite the bullet and said: "We still need to find out how many bandits there are, and we should attack together after all the troops are in place."

"Then let's stay here?" Another general surnamed Zhao asked, he just arrived today, and he hasn't suffered as much as others, so he was bold, squinted his eyes and looked around, Continuing to say triumphantly: "There are less than [-] bandits on the other side today, and most of them are unarmored soldiers. Why don't we go across the river and strangle these bandits' former troops, so as to avoid being bombarded here."

Within a short while, several shells landed on the hillside in front of the military tent, causing the artillery positions of the officers and soldiers above to scream.

Cao Guerrilla smiled. He had the same idea before, but before he could put it into practice, half of the battalion soldiers were killed by a row of guns from the people's army on the opposite side. These were recruits, and they spent real money, which was the fighting power of the army. Guaranteed, he was so distressed that he boiled clove seeds in bitter soup and bitter kernels in bitter water. It was so bitter, so he immediately became honest.

At this time, the atmosphere in the big tent became more and more dull. Except for General Zhao, everyone else had suffered or seen others suffer. Having the army in place is a great achievement.

Zheng Chongjian twitched the corners of his mouth. He really wanted to get credit, but he also knew himself, so he used to hold back and fight, but now it's different. Seeing that the biggest reinforcements will arrive tomorrow, his desire to make credit is gone again. Get up, this time is to test the minds of the subordinate generals, but it really doesn't work out.

Seeing that most of the generals had no fighting spirit, they had no choice but to give up. Zheng Chongjian had no choice but to comfort everyone and said: "Since everyone puts safety first, then this officer will follow the good advice, but let's talk about the ugly things first, and wait for a few days. The officers and soldiers are all here, if you dare to shrink back, if you dare not advance, if you don't hear that the gold will retreat first, you will be killed immediately."

Hearing this, all the generals in the tent clasped their hands together and said, "Follow your lord's order!"

Zheng Chongjian twirled his beard and looked at the crowd with a smile, thinking about the decisive battle in a few days. According to the military intelligence report, the way for this group of thieves to enter the mountain has been cut off. In the heart, the arrangement of the bandits is also top-heavy. Those with bursting guns and cannons are all in the front army, and the miscellaneous soldiers in the rear company battalion seem to be large in number, but among them, only cavalry with less than a thousand people can gallop back and forth to resist the official army. The combat power is strong, but the whole body is iron and can hit a few nails, and sooner or later he will be dragged to death.

In fact, just as Zheng Chongjian and others thought, Liu Ze's strategic arrangement was completely done by laymen. There are so many people and horses without dividing troops, but the hedgehogs are gathered in this place, and they are greedy to stay in the county towns on the road. The strategy is to use a hammer in the east and a stick in the west. It only takes a few days to divide and encircle the 10,000+ people.

But when the generals in the tent were about to disperse, suddenly a soldier came to report: a large group of bandits came across the river!

This is to force the overlord to attack!

(End of this chapter)