Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 177: First Hearing of the Bright Army
“Everyone likes money, but compared to money, some things are actually more difficult to obtain, such as lofty ideals, great ambitions, and all kinds of talents. In fact, you have the ability to escape, so you can be considered a talent.

It's easy to let them go, but where can you go?

Although the world is big, it is only me, Chen the Judge, and the Qing Dynasty. I don't need to say much about how you have been living under the rule of the Qing Dynasty over the years. As for how the people under my rule are living, you might as well send someone to Luzhou and Jiangjin to take a look.

If you think it's okay, can you consider living under my rule?" Chen Ju advised.

Xie Guangfeng looked at Chen Jue deeply and sighed, "In fact, every dynasty is similar. There is always a period of good days, and then it will get worse and worse. It was like that in the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty."

"That's not necessarily true. Let's go to Luzhou and Jiangjin and see. Besides, even if every court is the same, there are always people living a good life in any court. You have no chance in the Qing Dynasty." Chen Gu said with a smile.

"Will you definitely live a good life if you follow the king?" Xie Guangfeng asked.

“Not necessarily, but there’s always a chance, right?

Having an opportunity is already good, as for whether you can seize it, that depends on your ability!"

"My king, please give me some time to think about it!"

"Of course, I look forward to the day when you call me leader!" Chen Gu said with a smile.

The army moved forward slowly. One day later, Chen Gu led the army to Zizhou City, which was less than two hundred miles away from Chengdu, one hundred and twenty miles away from Longquanyi, and seventy miles away from Jianyang County. After passing Zizhou, the road ahead was flat.

It can be said that at this time Chen Gu's horse's hooves had already stepped onto the territory of Chengdu.

"There are no soldiers in Zizhou City who can resist the king. The major clans in Zizhou are headed by the Tang and Jiang families. The two families are spread all over Zizhou, and their tentacles even extend to Chengdu.

Both families have more than 10,000 members and over 100,000 tenants. Knowing that the king was coming, they had already concentrated their population and food supplies in Ziyang City in advance, and gathered more than 10,000 young and strong men, with servants and guards as the backbone, intending to deal with the king to the end.

Because troops have been sent from Shaanxi, and the experienced and famous general Fu Cha Mingliang led more than 20,000 troops to support Chengdu. "Xie Guangfeng said in a gloomy tone.

"You actually know so much detailed information?" Chen Gu asked in surprise.

"After all, I am a captain-general of the imperial court. After the general left Zizhou with two thousand captains and several captains-general, I am now the highest-ranking military officer in Zizhou. Naturally, I know some secret reports from the imperial court." Xie Guangfeng said with a wry smile.

Chen Gu nodded and asked, "Then do you know where the Ming army is?"

"I don't know. The news of the army's departure came five days ago, using an express train that could deliver 300 miles. According to the time, Mingliang should have at least left Hanzhong.

If Mingliang led the vanguard and traveled light, they might have already reached Guangyuan." Xie Guangfeng thought for a moment and added.

Chen Gu couldn't help but frown. Mingliang coming so quickly was a bit beyond his expectations.

Zheng Ming sighed and suggested, "Divide the troops. Send out an elite force. The number of people does not need to be too large. Two hundred people are enough. Advance the Shu Road quickly. It would be best if we can advance to Jianmen Pass.

Our army will bypass Zizhou City and directly attack Jianyang, and then Deyang and Mianyang. We should be able to stop Mingliang on the Shu Road. Mingliang will have no choice but to retreat, either taking the Mi Cang Road to Bazhong or the Jialing River to Chongqing. Anyway, it will be impossible to withdraw from Chengdu. This way, our army can have at least one more month to attack Chengdu. "

Chen Gu thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "We can divide our forces, but we must fight for Zizhou. Since the Tang and Jiang families have already transferred all the food and people to Zizhou City, other places must have adopted similar measures.

Jianyang may have become an empty city. As for Deyang and Mianyang, they are certainly not easy to attack. Our army is lightly equipped and lacks supplies, so we must capture Zizhou as our rear base. Not only can we obtain a large amount of supplies, but the subsequent joint defense team will also have a place to stay.

Otherwise, our army will be completely isolated and deep in the enemy's territory. If Zizhou and Chengdu get angry and cut off our retreat regardless of casualties, it will be too dangerous. Although our army is powerful, it needs to rely on a large amount of ammunition supplies, so the logistics line cannot be cut off. "

Chen Gu was not afraid of fighting, nor was he afraid of fighting a tough battle, but he could not turn it into a protracted war. Traveling light also meant a lack of supply points. Once a protracted war was turned into one, the weakness of material shortages would inevitably be exposed.

"Feng Yuanqiao!" Chen Gu shouted loudly.

"My subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead the Sword and Shield Battalion to cut down bamboos, build bamboo platforms, and make bamboo ladders to prepare for the siege!"

"Your Majesty's Order!"

"Scar!"

"My subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead two hundred soldiers from the logistics battalion, two hundred soldiers from the firearms battalion, and two hundred soldiers from the spear battalion, and march lightly into Shu Road to stop the Qing army led by Fu Cha Mingliang.

Inform Lao Nian and ask him to investigate the specific marching movements of Mingliang's troops, and at the same time, step up contact with various gangs and strongholds along the Shu Road. If it is impossible to do so, burn or blow up the Shu Road to slow down Mingliang's marching speed!"

"Your Majesty's Order."

The road to Shu is difficult to travel, as there are cliffs in many places. To destroy a place, one needs to take a long detour.

Unfortunately, if he had known about Mingliang's military expedition earlier, Chen Gu would definitely have led his army to attack Jianmen Pass in person. As long as Jianmen Pass was in his hands, he would only need three to five hundred men, and Mingliang would not be able to enter Chengdu even if he had tens of thousands of troops.

After the bamboos were cut and the strips were split, Chen Gu also chose to build a bamboo platform a hundred meters away from the city wall. Zizhou was a big city, and the east wall was about two kilometers wide and about four and a half meters high.

This time, Chen Gu did not choose to attack from all sides. After all, there were tens of thousands of young and strong soldiers defending the city, and the troops were too scattered. If the enemy found the weak point and chose to concentrate their forces to go out of the city to fight with cold weapons, then his side would be at an absolute disadvantage.

So Chen Gu built bamboo platforms on the east side of the city wall, but he built ten bamboo platforms at the same time.

Just as the soldiers of the Sword and Shield Battalion were carrying bamboos and running to the location for building the bamboo platform, the sound of gunfire rang out from the city wall. There were nearly twenty cannons, but solid shells were not very effective against a scattered formation. Only four soldiers were hit by the twenty shells, which was well within their tolerance range.

But the opponent's spear surprised Chen Gu. The barrel of the gun was more than two meters long. Even though the distance was a hundred meters, it could still knock the man to the ground.

(End of this chapter)