Ping An Biography

In the twelfth month of the 27th year of Jianwen in the first year of Xuande, Zhang Ning had completed all preparations for the war in the Wuling Mountains, and important materials such as food could not afford the consumption of more than 700 people, so he had to expand outward.There is no choice, unless the soldiers and horses that are not easy to train are disbanded.The top and bottom unanimously agreed to send troops, with the goal of Yongdingwei.

All available resources are used to equip the five brigades of the left post.There are two teams of Musketeers, equipped with about 400 matchlock guns and [-] single swords; the other three brigades are equipped with more than [-] spears, two feet long, square shields, single swords, two-foot short spears and other weapons.The whole army is equipped with bamboo armor, which is a scale armor made of hard bamboo pieces. The defense is relatively weak. The advantage is that it is made of local materials, light in weight, and has a certain defense against long-range arrows. Under such circumstances, brainstorming to come up with something is much better than incomparably "running naked|running" in the face of crossbow shooting.

The teams formed a neat queue and marched from the main road in the middle of the village to accept the inspection by Zhang Ning and others.The soldiers beat the drums and raised their hands to salute. The lineup looked very strong.The villagers on the side of the road were elated and cheering.

Field's gray military uniform, iron helmet, soap boots, and tall and straight posture are indeed very heroic and handsome.The women saw their men, and from time to time someone in the crowd screamed.Of course, the main reason is that the soldiers who came back last time got a large reward, and the villagers thought that their men's going out this time would also improve their family's situation.People's nature of profit-seeking makes it easy to ignore possible risks in the face of the temptation of interests.

Among the people standing next to Zhang Ning, there was a "rare guest". This man was Zhou Mengxiong, a "military advisor" sent by Emperor Jianwen himself.Zhang Ning had never seen him before, and I heard that he was a general who followed Jianwen from Nanjing in the early days.What Zhou Mengxiong is here for is still unclear for the time being. Zhang Ning thinks it may not be a good thing, but he dare not neglect it.

After Zhou Mengxiong learned about the plan of Zhang Ning and others, he was not very optimistic.He has already obtained a lot of news about Yongdingwei from Jianwen's news network: Zhu Yong has transferred troops from Yongdingwei, but still regards Yongdingwei as an important stronghold on the northern line, with more than 1000 officers and soldiers left behind; The city has strong walls, a moat, and urns at the gates, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Siege requires an absolutely superior force, which is completely military common sense in Zhou Mengxiong's view.But the reality is that Zhang Ning's army has fewer troops than the defenders, so it seems impossible to fight this siege.However, Zhou Mengxiong was quite knowledgeable, and he didn't babble. He also saw the situation in front of him: these people were huddled in the remote Fengxia Mountain, and they would soon be unable to survive.

However, Zhou Mengxiong also secretly marveled at the achievements of the third prince. It is by no means easy to produce so many armed forces in such a poor place.Zuo Xiao's soldiers and horses are not at all the appearance of an insurgent army raised by peasants, and it can be seen at a glance.Although he was not very optimistic about Zhang Ning's prospect of attacking the official army, he was also very clear about one situation: Zhang Ning had such a team in his hands, and the insiders could not easily move him.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole army of Zuo Shao was dispatched.

The New Year is approaching, and the Chinese New Year is coming soon.No one can preach: end the war before New Year's Eve and go home for the New Year.It seems that this year's festive season can only be spent on the battlefield.

The whole post was divided into six routes to the east, because the road out of the mountain was rugged and narrow, if they crowded together and marched, the team would not know how long it would take, so they had to divide the road and marched in desperation.Fortunately, it is almost impossible to encounter an ambush on the road. The officers and soldiers obviously don't like to fight in this kind of deep mountains.

The vanguard scout brigade scattered to open the way, and a few days later they had contacted the officers and soldiers, and a fight broke out.So it is estimated that Yongdingwei has already noticed and is prepared.

The soldiers and horses from all walks of life temporarily stopped in the forest near Yongdingwei, waiting for orders.Zhang Ning first waited for the news from Shuidang'ao stronghold in Changde Mansion that Zhu Yong's main force had already occupied Luxi in the west of Chenzhou and was dealing with the Miao rebels.

This is good news. Luxi is hundreds of miles away from Yongdingwei, and the terrain along the way is complicated. The route that can be marched must bypass the Tianmen Mountain in the south of Yongdingwei and cross the Lishui River.Even if Zhu Yong wanted to send troops to reinforce Yongding Guard, it would not be so easy.The Yongding Guards had no reinforcements, and it was time for a one-on-one duel.

Zhang Ning ordered the scouts to go down the mountain to find out the movements of the officers and soldiers, and wanted to find a place to go down the mountain and gather troops first.

Zhou Mengxiong said: "Commander Liu Heju of Yongding Guard will not stop us from going down the mountain. He must wish that we go down the mountain to gather, so as not to be scared away. After His Royal Highness's soldiers and horses go down the mountain to gather, don't be busy building engineering equipment, and prepare for field battles first." , Liu Heju will definitely go out of the city to fight."

Zhang Ning looked at him in astonishment, and he did not hide his pessimistic expression: "What will we do if we have more than 1000 people occupying the strong fortress and encounter hundreds of rebels coming to attack?"

In the afternoon, the scouts came back to report that the four gates of Yongding Guard were closed, and there were no large groups of soldiers and horses moving within the radius.Zhang Ning had no choice but to praise Zhou Mengxiong for his ingenious calculations and his foresight to predict the enemy.

The location of the Acropolis is very good, it was built on the south bank of the Lishui River.The north of the city is surrounded by water;If you want to attack the Acropolis, you can't surround it. You have to attack one gate: either the west gate or the east gate. It is difficult to communicate with each other.Zhang Ning's army came down from the mountainous area in the west, without ships, and could only attack the west gate for a while, and only there was a long and narrow flat area here.

As the situation was like this, Zhang Ning had a brief discussion with the generals, and only ordered all the soldiers to go down the mountain to gather... because since they are coming to attack, they can't stay in the forest.

The soldiers first descended the mountain to form formation one after another, and the Acropolis remained silent.The Acropolis was ten miles away from the mountains and forests to the west, and it was difficult to attack suddenly out of the city in broad daylight, so the mules and horses with supplies came down the mountain one after another.

It is the dry season, and the surface of the Lishui River is quiet. When the wind blows, the surface of the water shines like fish scales, and the winter sun is very comfortable on the body.The outline of the mountains in the south stands like a shadow in the sky, the surrounding is very quiet, and the sparrows under the trees are fluttering and dancing.

The group decided to set up camp ahead.After choosing an open space near the river, the troops split up and started working.First, they dug trenches, and some of them took axes and saws to cut down trees. The denser forests within a mile radius were set on fire to avoid blocking the line of sight from being attacked by night.

At night, the trenches of the camp were dug, crude sentry towers were built at the four corners, some fences were built around them, and tents in the camp were also set up.As the sun went down, the camp could not be completed for a while, so everyone had to light a fire and cook, planning to do it tomorrow.Of course Zhang Ning was afraid that the officers and soldiers would rob the camp, so he asked Wei Bin to arrange a lot of guards to monitor the Acropolis.

After dinner, it was getting dark, and many soldiers by the river were carrying water to wash dishes, and piles of bonfires were lit in the camp.Zhang Ning looked up at the sky, only to see that the sky was clean, full of stars, very beautiful.Have to admit, it was a pretty good night, no mosquitos, clear weather, neither too cold nor too hot for the fire.

Having gone through several small battles, Zhang Ning felt that most of the time in the war was not so exciting. The soldiers did most of their work, such as walking, eating and lodging, chopping firewood, building fire, building camps, etc. It took nearly ten days to march from Xiashan Mountain. When we arrived, the enemy army was right under our noses. It was still like this.There was a burst of booing not far away. In the firelight, it turned out that two big men were competing for arm strength, and a group of onlookers around them made noise.The morale of the soldiers is still very high. They have been training for several months without stopping every day, just to fight on the battlefield. In the current situation, most soldiers still look forward to a real battle, not an endless battle. March without land.

Beside the fire in front of the Chinese army tent, Zhang Ning patiently listened to Wei Bin's defense arrangements.At this time, a hundred households murmured: "Will the commander surnamed Liu stay in the Acropolis and wait for us to attack the city?"

Zhang Ning said calmly: "If they don't move tomorrow, let's fix the camp first." He turned to Zhou Mengxiong again, "General Zhou seems to have said that there are twelve ways to attack the city?"

Zhou Mengxiong said: "Exactly."

Zhang Ning said with a smile: "If it weren't for our poor foundation, in my opinion, there is only one way to attack the city. Use large-caliber artillery to bombard it in turn, and the city that never falls will fall."

Zhou Mengxiong was noncommittal, maybe he had never seen a cannon capable of siege, he was silent for a while and said: "The Xiangyang cannon of the Yuan Tartars is a powerful weapon for siege, and I have a servant who can make it, as long as I can find some carpenters... But the war If it drags on for too long, I'm afraid Zhu Yong's mobilization of troops to rescue will not be worth the loss. I still say that digging the wall is the best way; Can."

"This trick is a bit too damaging." Zhang Ning shook his head and sighed, "It can only be done when it is necessary."

...After sleeping all night, at dawn, Zhang Ning got up, put on his clothes and bamboo armor, and immediately summoned the scout team to come to question him.Originally, the Ordnance Bureau proposed to forge a pair of iron armor for him, but he refused.Zhang Ning was originally a literati, and he was incapable of leading troops to charge into battle. If he needed to go up to the point of fighting on the battlefield, it would be useless to have iron armor. He simply wore the same clothes as the soldiers.

The scouts reported that most of the soldiers from the guard station had left the city and lined up in Ximen Yicheng, but there was no sign of dispatching for the time being.Once again guessed by Zhou Mengxiong, the people in Acropolis had no intention of defending the city at all, they just wanted to defeat the "rebels" like Zhang Ning; after spending time together, Zhang Ning felt that Zhou Mengxiong was not a person for fame, but might really be Jianwen Dynasty The actual combat generals who came over.

Generals from more than a hundred households went to the Chinese army tent to discuss, but most of them were actually those people. Zhang Chengzong and Chen Gai, the two general banner officers, had already been promoted to the chief of the hundred households, and Wei Bin was promoted to the left post Qianzong.There is no way, the army was formed in just a few months, most of its personnel are villagers, with no general background or experience, Wei Bin and others have at least stayed in the army for a long time, and have experience in running the army and fighting.

Zhou Mengxiong believed that the officers and soldiers did not take the initiative to attack, because they wanted to lure the army to approach the Acropolis, so that they could pursue and capture them in the narrow and flat area to the west.Wei Bin and others agreed that we should take the initiative to attack, otherwise we would not be able to build the barracks with peace of mind, and it would be a waste of time and useless.

After discussing for a while, everyone turned to look at Zhang Ning, wanting to understand his decision. After all, it is a recognized fact that the military power is in Zhang Ning's hands.