Win the Ding 1617

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The northern part of Guangdong, with high mountains and dense forests, has much less arable land and water sources than the Pearl River Delta region. Historically, it was the only way for Hakka people from Jiangxi and Fujian to go south.Over the years, this is where the so-called local-official conflicts are sharp. In order to compete for land, mountains and forests, and water sources, people often carry out vendettas that last for decades or even generations.In order to survive in the chaotic world, against bandits, wild beasts, harsh natural environment and clan fights that may occur at any time, people formed villages one after another to protect themselves.

Marching all the way, any villages and villages encountered along the way were surrounded by rammed earth walls with glutinous rice paste and three-component soil. Deep trenches were dug around the village, suspension bridges were used for entry and exit, and archery towers were built at the four corners. The guards are on duty according to the shift.

Some Zhuangzi’s walls are still built with bricks and stones, and the outside is plastered with ashes purchased with a lot of money. Some big surnames, big clans, and even dozens of villages stretch into one piece. Communicate with each other with horns and flags, just like small independent kingdoms.

Since the turmoil in Guangdong, fences have been built in various villages.

Along the official road, stretching for hundreds of miles, there are dotted with large and small fences and stockades, which are called the walled area in the military newspaper of the South Central Army.Under the banner of Lianzhuang self-protection to the outside world, it looks like a commoner, but in fact, it also acts as a bandit from time to time. In the area, it distributes donations and taxes. For the passing business people, they either collect taxes and fees, or block roads and rob. Even the officers and soldiers in Guangdong were sometimes rumored to be disarmed when they passed through the encircled area.Regardless of these large villages or Dazhai, all of them are surrounded by Shenhao.Bumiqing built a high wall of sheep and horses.The walls of some villages are as deep as the local county towns and prefectures. Some of the richer villages have forts on the top of the walls, which are equipped with artillery such as Dafo Langji and six-pound guns.

In November of the tenth year of Chongzhen, it was already early winter in Lingnan, and occasionally people walking on the road were all wearing cotton clothes.

Go forward along the official road, between the hillsides on both sides and the flat ground.Occasionally, farmers can be seen packing straw bales in the fields.After the late rice harvest, individual straw bales are thrown in the drained fields.From a distance, it looks like a line of soldiers.

In Guangdong and Fujian, these fields.Most of them are clan fields.It is also the so-called "dead landlord" - owned by the ancestral hall.According to the 23-year investigation of the People's Republic of China by Chen Hansheng and others.The ratio of clan land to the total cultivated land in Panyu and other counties in the Pearl River Delta is: 50% in Panyu, 60% in Shunde, and 50% in Zhongshan.Xinhui 60, Nanhai 40, Dongguan 20, Heshan 40, Baoan 30, Huiyang 50, Boluo 40, Gaoyao 40, Kaiping 40, Enping 40, Taishan 50, Sihui 30%. [38].The family farm in Sha Tin District is as high as 80% [39].Zheng Zhenman also said that the number of clan farms in Guangdong is particularly large, accounting for a relatively large proportion of the total farmland, with an average of about 30-40% in some areas and 50-89% in some areas[40].Qin Hui wrote: "At the beginning of the 20th century, clan lands accounted for 50-80% of all real estate in the counties of Guangzhou Prefecture, and non-clan lands (Xuetian, Miaotian, Huitian) accounted for another 1-5%.

Farmers, who were tidying up the last harvest of the year in the field, were alarmed by a loud noise. Looking up, on the official road, a group of marching troops whose head and tail could not be seen came along the official road from Fengshun to Wuhua. .The smoke and dust brought up by the wheels soared to cover the sky, and the ground trembled in orderly steps. The rushing momentum brought by the march of the large group of people seemed to be unable to stop them from marching even if the mountains and rivers in front of them.From time to time in the queue, the whistles of the team officers and sentry officers used to adjust the queue, as well as the occasional neighing of mules and horses pulling the baggage vehicles.

In the queue, soldiers armored one by one, wearing breastplates, iron-pointed helmets with eight-petal hats on their heads, and thick cotton coats under the armor, carrying firecrackers on their shoulders, and thorns hanging from their waists.

In the cold wind, the flag in the hands of the flag bearer was unfurled.

This is the marching team of the District Dapeng Brigade of the South Central Army to Wuhua County to conquer the "Taoyuan Grand Society" Lianzhuanghui entrenched in that area. "Sing a song!"

"Clear river water, green rice fields, this is my home, my pastoral..."

"The flag is fluttering, the horse is rustling, good man, good man..."

"The morale of the brothers is good!"

Ou Dapeng, the brigade commander of the Sixth Security Brigade, was the guy who clamored at the meeting that he didn't want to be a security brigade. Shou Han saw that he could fight and rush. Too little, so he was transferred from Nanzhong to Guangdong.

"Tell my brothers, we can lose the title of the guard brigade and replace it with a mixed brigade after we finish fighting the Taoyuan Taisha who disobey the general's orders!"

The Taoyuan Grand Society is an armed unit of the Lianzhuang Society entrenched in Wuhua and other seven or eight counties.Although it is Lianzhuang, it also has a strong clan color. It should be said that it is armed with the Lianzhuang Association based on the clan.The several clans headed by them are said to be the Hakkas who migrated to Guangdong in the Song Dynasty to escape the war in the Central Plains, namely the Liu family, the Guan family and the Zhang family.It has thrived in this area for hundreds of years, and Dingkou is becoming more and more prosperous.

With the popularization of a novel by Luo Guanzhong, these families took Taoyuan's loyalty as a call, communicated with each other, intermarried, watched and helped each other, and competed with other clans, and gradually formed a group that could hold the local government hostage. Strength.After the turmoil in Guangdong, they even used their own financial resources to recruit the strongest people in the clan, to organize camps, build equipment, and set up flags, just like an army.

Distributing food and donations internally to supply the army's salary, and dispatching strong men to serve as soldiers, while externally, they attack each other and kill each other, which has become the source of harm to one party.

After Shou Han issued the order that the armed forces in Guangdong and Guangxi must stop all activities and stand by for orders, ready to wait for the order to check the deployment, the forces in various places either accepted the deployment, or hesitated to wait and see.Only this Taoyuan Grand Society, relying on its own high mountains and long roads and numerous soldiers and horses, in the past, the official army dispatched to suppress it was only a temporary action, and after a while it would be fine.

Not only did they turn a deaf ear to the military orders to appease them, but they also mobilized more than [-] people to wipe out a South China Army task force and more than [-] armed guards who were promoting the military orders of the Governor's Mansion near Wuhua County, and killed them all.Beheading, caesarean section.They even used four buffaloes to tie the captive's wounded hands and feet, and tore them apart abruptly with the force of the cattle.

Therefore, Ou Dapeng, who has always been known for being able to fight and kill, was transferred to the vicinity of Wuhua, preparing to use the armed forces of Taoyuan Taisha to show the miscellaneous armed forces in various places in Guangdong. Ruthless, fighting on land is even more invincible.

"Send scouts! Go forward at least fifteen miles along the official road to carry out scouting, to prevent anyone from tricking us!" Put away a single-eye telescope.Ou Dapeng ordered Wang Hai, the team officer of the brigade scout team.Strengthen the reconnaissance and vigilance of the road ahead.

"On the hills on both sides, send a team of soldiers up each side, and post the guard post behind the vanguard and before the vanguard. After the brigade passes, follow the guards and march!"

Although Ou Dapeng is famous in the whole army for his daring and ability to fight.But it's not the kind of brave man who only knows how to wield a knife.If only that.He also couldn't achieve the position of brigade commander.

With the sound of the trumpeter's trumpet, groups of soldiers were separated from the marching team like the streams of a big river.Quickly occupy the hills on both sides of the avenue to cover the marching brigade.

Scouts, vanguards, forwards, central army, supply team, containment team, rear guard, according to this marching sequence, the Qu Dapeng brigade is like a huge iron roller, although the speed is not fast, but it is unstoppable towards Wuhua County direction.

"Walk another [-] miles forward and you will arrive at today's campsite. You can order the baggage team to go ahead and go to the house, boil water and cook. Let the brothers go to bed after eating early. Tomorrow, we will enter the activity area of ​​Taoyuan Grand Shrine. Always be ready for a fight!"

Qu Dapeng ordered the troops in front to clear the way to one side of the road, ordered the vehicles of the transportation team to go first, and camped in the pre-planned Beidou Town for the whole brigade.

The sounds of whips and shouts rang together, and the wheels of the heavy vehicles, large and small, rolled up a cloud of smoke and dust on the official road and rushed towards Beidou Town.

"Stop! The baggage train is temporarily stopped!"

A scout rode his horse and rushed towards the marching direction of the brigade.

"Stop advancing! There is a situation ahead!"

Hearing the situation ahead, the officers of each regiment and battalion immediately ordered the troops to stop, and the forward soldiers even took out their bayonets from their belts and put them on the muzzles of their firecrackers.

"My lord! There is a large group of people in the towns and intersections in front of me! Jiachang ordered me to come back first and report to my lord! He took people forward to check the other party's situation!"

After listening to the scout's report, Ou Dapeng was very satisfied. This kind of handling was very safe, which not only prevented people from being raided, but also avoided possible misunderstandings.This time the main target of the battle is the Taoyuan Shrine, not the destruction of jade and stone.He turned his head and ordered the trumpeter, "Blow the horn, let the brothers rest and wait for orders!"

A bugle sounded, and upon hearing this sound, whistles and passwords sounded in the ranks one after another, from each regiment to each battalion, from each battalion officer to the sentry officer, from the sentry officer to the team officer, and from the team officer It was passed on to the chief armor, and soon passed on to everyone in the team. The soldiers who were still nervous just now relaxed immediately, but the bayonet on the muzzle was still shining coldly.

Someone took out a kettle and began to drink water and eat dry food, and someone chose a relatively dry ground to sit down and rest.After several soldiers asked for leave from the chief armor and the team officer, they went to the side of the official road and unbuttoned their pants and started to release water.

The heavy soldiers of the baggage team didn’t care about rest, and seized the time to check the vehicles to see if the axles needed to be refueled, whether the ropes binding the supplies and ammunition were loose, and a groom grabbed a handful from the material bag with his hands and fried them with salt. Hold the beans in your hands to add some power to those hard-working horses.

After about a bag of cigarettes, there was another puff of smoke and dust rising on the official road, and dozens of war horses galloped like thunder.

"Du Lei, old mother! Who has such a big style!"

Ou Dapeng knew that the scouts in front did not have so many horses, so it must be that the scouts came to contact the troops assembled in the nearby town.

It is strange that this cavalry is holding high the red and black flag of the South China Army as the main color.Behind the military flag, a flag bearer held high a triangular recognition flag with red and yellow flames, and a black word "Wu" in the white moonlight.

Recognizing the flag, a big man came on horseback, wearing iron armor, a war robe inside, and the fiery red cloak on the back was blown up by the wind, and a thick iron rod was inserted into the horse's press sleeve.The face of the visitor was full of joy.

It was Wu Liuqi who had recently been recruited by the Nanzhong Army!

"My lord! When Master Wu heard that we were going to conquer Taoyuan Grand Shrine, he volunteered to the general to fight with our army." The scout officer Wang Hai and Wu Liuqi's younger brother Wu Biao introduced the two sides together.

Wu Liuqi led more than three thousand troops.Gathered in Chabei Town, marched all the way through Liuhuang Town and Pantian Town, and finally rushed to wait in the attached town before the arrival of District Dapeng Brigade.

After exchanging greetings and courtesies with Wu Liuqi, Ou Dapeng urged his horse into the attached town and saw that the soldiers and horses on the streets in the town and in the open space outside the town were obviously elite soldiers who had been carefully selected. Ou Dapeng couldn't help curling his lips in his heart.

From head to toe, Wu Liuqi's more than 3000 people can be described as messy.There are those wearing hoods on their heads, those wearing eight-petal hats and iron pointed helmets, and those wearing red-tasseled felt hats.Wearing a bamboo hat.There are those who wear waist armor or full armor. These are double-breasted padded armor, which only reach the shoulders, and the red jacket with two arms exposed.Like a breastplate.There are also only one cyan number.The weapons in his hands are still neat.At least there are no kitchen knives and sticks.

There were only 500 people, probably belonging to Wu Liuqi's personal soldiers, and their uniforms were basically the same as those of the South China Army.It's just that there is not such a neat and thick cotton coat inside the breastplate.The weapons in their hands are mainly cold weapons, knives and guns. Unlike most people in the South China Army who use firearms, knives and guns are only in a subordinate position.

But Wu Liuqi's team in front of him was just the opposite. Most people in the army used cold weapons such as knives and guns, and even the commander Wu Liuqi himself had an iron rod across the horse.

Looking at the large and small cannons in the South China Army's ranks, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva for Wang Jin, who was in command of Wu Liuqi's elite soldiers. "No wonder they were able to control the provincial capital in one fell swoop, we are at most entering the prefectural city."

Because of the rendezvous with Wu Liuqi's troops, the original plan to camp in Beidou Town had to be stopped, and the two armies had to reorganize and re-determine the marching sequence.

That night, the two troops camped in the attached town.

The officers met in the Guandi Temple in the town to discuss the military situation.The soldiers arranged camps in open places outside the town and in ancestral halls and temples in the town.

The soldiers and junior officers of Wu Liuqi's new brigade looked enviously at the transport vehicles and cannons guarding the sixth brigade.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..." Someone counted the number of eight-pounders and twelve-pounders in the artillery team with great interest, "My dear! The muzzle is like a fist There are twelve cannons the size of a sea bowl, and as many as eight cannons the size of a sea bowl!"

A leader enviously counted the large and small artillery of the artillery team.

Not only these eight-pound guns and twelve-pound guns, but also a group of soldiers from the newly formed brigade gathered around a large French machine, looking at this shining cannon with joy and curiosity.

"Hey! I'm afraid there are dozens of cannons?!"

"Brother, don't worry! According to our general's practice, a bowl of water is level. As long as you fight for him properly, silver dollars, artillery, knives, guns and equipment are all the same!"

Huang Lei was quite proud of his son, Huang Damu, the battalion officer of the Sixth Brigade Artillery Corps, patted the shoulder of the leader of Wu Liuqi's subordinate and told him with pride.

"What kind of cannon is that?"

The leader pointed at the weird artillery on a truck not far away. The huge muzzle and the short and thick barrel made it look like a frog about to jump up and catch bugs.

"That? That's a mortar, the big one is for 48-pound shells, the small one is for 24-pound shells!"

Hearing Huang Damu's talk about the types of shells, the leader was somewhat skeptical. How could such a short and thick cannon be able to fire shells that were twice or four times heavier than twelve-pound shells?With such a short barrel, how far can the shells be fired?

While the leader was doubtful, as the sun set in the west, accompanied by a sliver of sunset, the trumpet sounded one after another inside and outside Fucheng Town.It's time for dinner.

Originally, Wu Liuqi ordered his younger brothers Wu Biao, Wang Jin and others to collect in the town (it sounds like a collection, but in fact it is a robbery.) A batch of pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and other items, bought a lot of wine, and prepared a large amount of firewood. I prepared hundreds of cauldrons, and planned to have a good meal with the new colleagues of the Sixth Security Brigade in the evening, so as to make a good impression on myself.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the Sixth Security Brigade entered the attached town, the artillery team mobilized eight Dafolang machines to set up artillery forts at the four corners of the town, and then placed cannons at the three entrances and exits of the town.Scouts and patrol troops were arranged outside the town. After the temporary camp was secured, dozens of cooking vehicles were lined up in front of the stage in the center of the town, and dinner was prepared for the brothers of the two brigades. .

The cooks took out the baskets of rapeseed oil from the cooking cart, stuffed coal cakes into the furnace to ignite, and soon, the tongue of fire happily licked the bottom of the pot, and the town immediately began to be filled with the unique aroma of rapeseed oil .

This four-wheeled cooking cart has two oven holes, and is equipped with water tanks, oil drums, rice noodle tanks, and large cabinets for storing vegetables and meat.These containers are placed on top of a chopping board as a worktop, which can be used for staple food processing while preparing dishes.According to the design requirements, the food for about 300 people can be completed within half an hour, and the requirements are hot dishes, hot rice and soup.After years of use, the officers and soldiers have also explored some experience. The more these cooking vehicles are used in a concentrated manner, the more efficient they will be.

"General Wu, your title has not been officially announced yet, but we have long heard that your Ministry will organize two brigades, so calling you the brigade commander is somewhat aggrieved and reckless. Since our two families are one family , then you don’t have to be polite, the brothers in your department are not fully equipped for a while, so feel wronged, and together with us, everyone will make up for it, and when the battle is over, the lord will naturally equip your department with all kinds of equipment.”

Ou Dapeng smiled and pointed at the dinner prepared by the soldiers for Wu Liuqi, Wu Biao, Wang Jin and others in front of the statue of Master Guan.

"Let's make it easy, how about a taste of our Nanzhong Army's food?" (To be continued...)