King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 724: Ili Can Never Be Conquered
The Ming army chased for two days before they narrowed the gap from more than 20 miles at the beginning to three or four miles at present.

Don't underestimate the 17 or 18 miles that have been shortened. It is extremely difficult under the current conditions and cannot be accomplished without the most elite troops.

Seeing that we were almost at the pass, eating now would indeed delay some time, and time was most important at this moment.

If the enemy's main force was allowed to enter the pass and form a solid defensive formation, the Ming army would pay a heavy price.

At this time, Wang Jie led his subordinates to press forward, and Zhu Jinghong ordered the follow-up troops to follow up as soon as possible.

The mountain pass was only two or three miles wide, and too many troops would be useless if they went there. Zhu Jinghong ordered the follow-up troops to follow up so that they could replace Wang Jie's troops later.

Of course, other armies are not completely powerless. For example, all artillery units can be withdrawn to suppress the enemy's defense from a distance.

A few minutes later, Wang Jie's troops had lined up in front of the mountain, only 300 meters away from the enemy position in front, and were still out of the range of artillery.

The enemy is in a state of extreme exhaustion. Their formation has not yet been fully adjusted, and many artillery pieces are not ready.

So now is the best time to attack, every second of delay is a huge waste.

As the sound of drums and suonas rang out in the army, the Ming army began to advance.

Yaowu Zhongwei currently has 4,200 soldiers, with about 100 people organized into a square formation. There are a total of 40 square formations advancing forward in two rows.

About 500 meters away from the battlefield, on a relatively high hillside, Zhu Jinghong was looking at the situation ahead with a telescope.

In his previous life, he saw on the Internet that someone said that line infantry was the most romantic game for men. At this moment, he just wanted this person to stand in the first row of the army and then ask him how romantic he really was!

In addition to Wang Jie's army advancing forward, the Guoyong Left Guard and the Fenwu Left Guard behind him were also lined up under the command of officers.

If Wang Jie's men cannot push forward, they will take over and will not allow the enemy to have a moment to breathe.

At this moment, these lined-up troops can rest after they have completed their formation, and recover their strength as much as possible to prepare for battle.

As Wang Jie's troops pushed forward, the Ming army's artillery also moved forward. They carried their artillery to the positions and began to prepare for loading as quickly as possible.

After seeing the artillery position, Zhu Jinghong turned around and said to Liu Cheng: "The artillery is too far away... let them get closer!"

"Your Highness, it's less than 130 feet away, which is already very close!" Liu Cheng said under pressure.

Zhu Jinghong turned around and said in a deep voice: "One hundred and thirty feet is a safe distance, but how accurate can you be if you can hit the enemy? Is it more accurate than someone looking down from a high place?"

"The artillery in the middle facing the enemy can remain stationary, but the east and west artillery groups must continue to advance!"

Zhu Jinghong's tone was firm. Liu Cheng didn't dare to explain at this moment, so he asked: "May I ask Your Highness, how much should we let them advance?"

Turning his head and continuing to look at the battle formation ahead, Zhu Jinghong said, "Push as close as you can. Even if you have to put it on their captain's shoulder and aim straight... you have to reach the enemy formation!"

"Yes!"

Liu Cheng immediately went down to find the messenger, while Zhu Jinghong continued to observe the situation ahead with a telescope.

Wang Jie has advanced one hundred meters, and according to the fighting patterns in recent months, the enemy will probably open fire at a distance of one hundred meters, while the Ming army can basically hold out to eighty meters.

This was due to the good morale and organization of the Ming army, as well as their complete armor.

Although armor will eventually be completely eliminated in the age of firearms, it has not yet reached that point, and armor still has a certain defensive effect.

Coupled with the Ming army's integrated loading bullets, the Ming army won a complete victory in a one-to-one situation.

At this time, the artillery of both sides was already firing. The initial test firing had a poor killing effect, but soldiers from both sides fell.

Finally, the Ming army stopped at 40 zhang (120 meters), on the one hand to make final adjustments, and on the other hand to give the artillery time to perform.

In fact, the artillery bombardment from both sides had continued, and the soldiers of the Ming army's east and west artillery groups were still following orders and continuing to advance.

These people advanced to about 150 meters down the hillside, which was already an outrageous distance. They were just short of carrying cannons and firing directly as Zhu Jinghong said.

After the left and right artillery groups were in place, they began to deploy their forces in full swing, while the enemy troops on the mountain were also deploying their forces.

Compared to the mountains, the uneven terrain on the mountains makes it difficult to set up, so only about 40 doors have been ready so far.

The Ming army's central artillery group had more than a hundred guns, and the left and right artillery groups had sixty to seventy guns each. At this moment, they had an absolute advantage in firepower.

Of course, this level of output is only possible because the artillery of several guards is concentrated.

There was no need for special orders. All the artillery pieces opened fire automatically after they were in place, suppressing the enemy's front-line positions as Zhu Jinghong had said.

At this time, the advancing Ming army was even less anxious to move forward because, generally speaking, the enemy was dying faster.

But it is worth mentioning that artillery shells from both sides are flying overhead, and maintaining the formation at this time does require a very high level of organization.

Just standing in this position, these soldiers are already heroes.

"Commander-in-chief, look... the enemy is rushing out!"

Wang Jie had actually seen it. Although he was surprised that the enemy army rushed out on their own initiative, it was definitely a good thing.

The reason for this is actually very simple. Because the Ming army has dense artillery fire, standing still would mean waiting for death, so it is better to rush out and give it a try.

As for retreating... they would face an attack from the infantry in the rear, and these people have already formed their battle formations.

These people only walked twenty meters and opened fire as Wang Jie expected, but the next moment they rushed forward.

Obviously they did not intend to line up and be shot, but to charge directly after a wave of damage, hoping to defeat the Ming army from a high position.

Many Ming soldiers fell, but without Wang Jie's order, not a single gun was accidentally fired.

"Open fire!" Wang Jie shouted. At this moment, the enemy had advanced to sixty or seventy meters.

Gunfire rang out densely, and as the distance got closer, a large number of the charging soldiers died.

After the Ming army opened fire, the front row retreated, and the back row followed closely, and then launched a second wave of attacks, also taking away another wave of enemy troops.

At the same time, all the soldiers tightly grasped their guns, which had bayonets already installed on them and were about one and a half meters long.

"Kill..." Wang Jie shouted, and then the soldiers rushed forward.

If you don't increase your speed a little, you will be very passive when facing the impact.

Lining up for execution was a test of courage, as was bayonet fighting. All the soldiers gave their all.

At this time, the shelling was still going on. The Ming army was attacking the enemy's follow-up troops, while the enemy coalition forces were directly targeting the battle zone and launching an indiscriminate attack.

As the fighting continued, the Ming army's follow-up troops were advancing. At this time they were very safe because the enemy's artillery positions were basically destroyed.

It was precisely because of the advance of follow-up troops that pressure was brought to the fighting enemy forces. After the fight lasted less than four or five minutes, the enemy forces showed signs of retreat.

After losing cities and territories one after another and being chased for two days, the morale of these troops was already low. In addition, they had climbed more mountains and consumed more physical energy. It was not surprising that they were defeated at this time.

"Charge..." Wang Jie ordered to pursue the victory.

The troops behind him, as well as the artillery further behind, continued to advance in stages.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Jinghong knew that it would be basically no difficulty to take the pass.

Looking at the several staff officers behind him, as well as the accompanying general and deputy general, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Pass the order down, take five cows and fifty sheep, and send them to Yaowu Zhongwei for me!"

It seems that this battle was won easily, but the center back Yaowu also paid a lot, so he should be rewarded well after the war.

However, the war is not over yet. The next step is to rush to the pass and block the enemy's counterattack, and then attack the enemy after consolidating the position.

The following battles can basically be said to be safe and sound and were basically passed smoothly.

An hour later, Zhu Jinghong arrived at Yaowu Zhongwei, and the war was completely over at this time.

The pass had been taken, the main force of the enemy had been defeated and fled, leaving behind a large number of artillery and supplies. They were basically unable to form any combat effectiveness in the river valley.

Yaowu Zhongwei had withdrawn in more than half an hour. Although the subsequent war had nothing to do with them, they were still the first to contribute in this war. While other armies were busy transporting supplies, consolidating positions, and continuing to pursue, Yaowu Zhongwei had already set up camp on the Gobi Desert outside the pass, and the soldiers were busy slaughtering sheep and cattle and cooking.

It was clear that everyone was very happy, and it was clear that the post-war celebration was indeed an enjoyable moment.

"Commander-in-chief, His Highness is coming!"

Hearing the shouts coming from outside, Wang Jie walked out of the tent and immediately shouted, "Beat the drums and line up!"

The next moment, the "drum" of emergency assembly sounded, and the busy soldiers quickly gathered under the command of the officers.

Still using one sentry (full strength of 100 people) as a unit, all the columns came to the open space on the east side of the camp and lined up in three rows with each column (full strength of 1500 people) as a row.

About seven or eight minutes later, Zhu Jinghong, along with a group of generals, deputy generals, and several commanders, rode to the Yaowu Zhongwei camp.

Just now, they saw the Yaowu central guards gathering in the distance. They were able to gather in such a short time, which showed that they were very elite.

Wang Jie stood at the very front, with several deputies standing behind him, including the commander-in-chief and the assistant magistrate.

He took three steps forward, then drew out his sword and held it in front of him, saying in a high-pitched voice: "Your Highness, the Yaowu Central Guard has been assembled, please review it!"

Zhu Jinghong nodded slightly, then rode his horse forward, followed by the senior generals behind him.

"I wish Your Highness a long life and good health!" shouted the lieutenant general in charge.

All the soldiers with guns also shouted together, and the sound was so loud that it was breathtaking.

After the great victory in the previous battle, Zhu Jinghong also held a military parade. At that time, the generals were about to shout "Long live the emperor", but Zhu Jinghong was frightened when he heard it. He quickly convened a meeting and decided to shout "Long live the emperor".

Riding his horse forward, Zhu Jinghong looked at these elite troops with an unchanged expression.

But when he was about to reach the end of the team, he saw a young captain (deputy captain level), who was not holding a knife but holding a jar of wine, standing behind his boss and looking at him with hope.

This man was probably in his twenties. He was promoted to the rank of Qianzong at such a young age. It was obvious that he was a noble who was admitted into the Dragon Guards and then sent out.

But Zhu Jinghong really didn't have much impression of this person.

In fact, this is not surprising. There are more than a thousand Dragon Guards, and it is impossible for him to be familiar with all of them.

Moreover, he guessed wrong. This person did not come from a high-ranking military family. His father was a local commander and he was selected into the Dragon Guards through his own hard work.

He had been sent out two years ago and had been serving as a captain in the Beijing Camp for two years. Two months ago, he was promoted to a captain because of his military merits.

As Zhu Jinghong won victory after victory, this captain, like everyone else, regarded Zhu Jinghong as a god.

But he is different from others. For example, he is holding a jar of wine now, just wanting to drink and chat with the god in his heart at today's celebration banquet.

Behind Zhu Jinghong, the general commander in charge of commanding the Yaowu Central Guard stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, this man has no respect for military discipline and should be severely punished!"

The army has its own system for assembling, and the regulations are extremely detailed. To be honest, this captain did violate military discipline.

Even though the general officer looked at him coldly, Li Chengyong was still in high spirits. He said, "Your Highness, we won a great victory today. I would like to offer you a glass of wine!"

Wang Jie quickly rushed over after discovering that an accident had occurred, and just happened to hear what Li Chengyong said.

He actually admired Li Chengyong very much. After all, he was extremely brave in battle and he had a very good impression of him, so he was very angry about his rash behavior at this moment.

Before Wang Jie could say anything, Zhu Jinghong said, "Since we are in formation, we should follow military regulations. Do you know that you are wrong?"

Li Chengyong was somewhat disappointed when he heard Zhu Jinghong ask this.

But before he could answer, Zhu Jinghong said, "But after today's great victory, it's okay to make an exception for once!"

The purpose of formulating military law is to better restrain the army, not to enforce it.

In this kind of situation, we really shouldn't be too rigid.

Li Chengyong was overjoyed, but before he could say anything, Zhu Jinghong said to the general behind him: "He still needs to be punished, I will pardon him again!"

"Yes!"

After responding, the general said, "I will fine you thirty military sticks. Since His Highness has pardoned you, you can be exempted from execution!"

This was a happy outcome for everyone. Zhu Jinghong looked at Li Chengyong again and asked, "What's your name?"

This was a rare opportunity. Li Chengyong took a deep breath and almost shouted, "Your Highness, I am the commander of the Yaowu Central Guard... Li Chengyong!"

"Li Chengyong... I will remember you. I hope I can see you again when I conquer Yili!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong rode away, followed by a group of senior generals.

At this time, the lieutenant general in front of Li Chengyong finally turned around and punched him in the chest.

"Damn it...what are you crazy about!"

The lieutenant general had just cursed when Wang Jie snorted coldly, so he turned around immediately.

Just when the lieutenant general thought he was going to be scolded, Wang Jie just stared at Li Chengyong and said, "This won't happen again. Behave yourself!"

After saying this, Wang Jie walked to the front of the entire army and ordered, "Disband!"

So everyone returned to their positions, and Wang Jie led his associates, as well as a large number of lieutenant generals and captains, and rushed towards the main tent.

This celebration banquet was very lively. Li Chengyong also fulfilled his dream and personally clinked glasses with Zhu Jinghong and drank.

After the celebration banquet, the Ming army only rested for two days before continuing to advance southward.

There will still be battles in the following period, but they will be on a smaller scale because the enemy has lost a lot of food and supplies and it is difficult to support large-scale military operations.

The Ming army walked for nearly twenty days, stopping and starting, and crossing the Tianshan Mountains from the pass. The entire journey was nearly two hundred miles long and winding.

On the ninth day of September, the Ming army finally crossed the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at the Ili River Valley, where the climate was much more comfortable.

Yili City was only a hundred miles away, and it could be reached in three to five days' march on the plain. Zhu Jinghong was not in a hurry to attack.

After marching for more than twenty days, the entire army was very tired. It was undoubtedly a more reasonable decision to rest for a few days.

But on the other hand, he also wanted to send more scouts out to gather more military intelligence.

Yili was the stronghold of the Dzungar Khanate. The city was tall and strong, so it was not easy to take it down.

Originally there were Jinyiwei in the city, but Ili has been under martial law recently and no news can be transmitted at all. Military intelligence can only be obtained by relying on the Ming army.

During the rest period, Zhu Jinghong did not forget to relax. He held a banquet with his generals and discussed the siege.

When everyone was chatting happily, someone outside said that the Jinyiwei had sent a report, which surprised Zhu Jinghong very much.

"pass!"

After a while, a letter was delivered to Zhu Jinghong, and in the distance there were Jinyiwei waiting for him to summon him.

After opening the letter and reading it for only a few seconds, Zhu Jinghong's face changed drastically, which made all the generals present feel nervous.

Then, Zhu Jinghong looked solemn and said slowly: "Everyone...we will never be able to conquer Yili!"

Everyone was shocked and started talking about it. Some said that the enemy had recruited more soldiers, some said that the Rakshasa Kingdom had sent reinforcements, and some said that Britain and France had provided firearms.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Jinghong smiled and asked, "Do you know why?"

Everyone looked over, and Geng Zonggui, the commander-in-chief of the Fenwu Camp, asked, "Your Highness, please explain clearly!"

Holding up the white letter in his hand, still letting it sway in the wind, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "It's only because... the city of Yili was opened, and they surrendered voluntarily!"

(End of this chapter)