Ping An Biography

The four gates of Ruichang County, the Chief Secretary of Jiangxi Province, have been closed and martial law has long been imposed. A few days later, Zhu Heng led the crowd out of the city to meet an important person. Only then did people know that Zhang Ning had arrived. In order to prevent spies, Zhu Heng did not disclose the news of King Xiang.After Zhang Ning's carriage entered the city from the west city gate and went along the main road to the temporary camp office of the Yongding Camp, other people in the army heard the news.

Most of the soldiers and horses of the various armies and sentries were stationed near the barracks office, and some soldiers who were not on duty for the city defense came out of the barracks to watch.

Of course, the news was true. Two guards opened the door at the back of the carriage, and Zhang Ning, dressed in military uniform, bent over and slowly got out of the carriage. A guard hurriedly stepped forward to support him.The guard of honor in front of the barracks office rectified their military appearance and raised their arms neatly to salute; Zhang Ning opened the guards who were supporting him by his side, and also performed the unique military salute of the Suzaku Army.Seeing that there were many soldiers behind him, he waved his hands around a few times.Seeing this, all the troops seemed to have hope ignited all of a sudden after the depression of the big defeat. They shouted "Xiang Wang, Xiang Wang...", and the atmosphere suddenly became enthusiastic.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Heng and the others next to him knew very well that Zhang Ning's prestige in the army could not be compared with that of a Senate chief, even the chief general and commander Wei Bin of Yongding Battalion could not match it.

Zhang Ning cared about his injured leg, and couldn't walk like this, so he had to sit in the wheelchair prepared for him again, and was escorted by the guards to the gate. [

At this moment, I saw a big man with shirtless arms tied behind his back walking towards this side. Zhang Ning turned his head and saw that it was Zhang Chengzong, who is currently the commander of the third army of Yongding Battalion. Zhang Chengzong's soldiers and horses.Zhang Chengzong is really a veteran who followed Zhang Ning's rebellion. At the beginning, more than 100 people attacked the county seat of Huguang, and Zhang Chengzong was one of the generals.

Seeing him tying himself up, Zhang Ning already understood, and seemed to have the intention of pleading guilty.Sure enough, after Zhang Chengzong walked over, he fell to his knees on the hard brick floor, and his voice was like a bell: "Zhang Chengzong, the general of the defeated army, caused several deaths and injuries to the soldiers of the third army due to poor command. I ask the prince to execute him as an apology!"

Zhang Ning remained calm, and he still had a good idea of ​​Zhang Chengzong's merits and demerits in his heart. In the battle of Xinkaiji, his command was not brilliant, but from the report, it seems that there was no low-level mistake of dereliction of duty... Don't want to kill him.For a veteran like this who has been following the left and right from the beginning, unless his buttocks were in the wrong position and made a mistake of betrayal, Zhang Ning would definitely give him a way out.

Standing next to them are several other generals of the Yongding Camp. In addition to the commander Wei Bin, there are also the commander of the First Army Wu Liangxiang and the commander of the Second Army He Cong. Low-level officers, because of the rapid expansion of military regulations, had to promote some people with reliable backgrounds... I am afraid that the only strength is reliability, and most of them are not very good in terms of military ability.

Not to mention the invisible talents, even in terms of appearance, he is not as good as Zhang Chengzong. The man named He Cong is very thin; the other Wu Liangxiang's face is not symmetrical, so his appearance is not good-looking. A strong image is nothing but a heap of flesh.Looking back at the shirtless Zhang Chengzong who was kneeling in front of him, his naked chest muscles were bright yellow, and the abdominal muscles in his abdomen were clearly defined. This is an excellent man.

Zhang Ning pondered for a moment. He couldn't say something like "It's common to win or lose a soldier." Leave this sentence behind?He thought for a while and said, "It's not good luck to kill a general before the battle. Besides, the battle is so urgent right now that I don't have time to question whether you are right or wrong. Put the matter aside for now, and you will continue to lead the rest of the Third Army for now. After we return to Wuchang, we will then Trial by the Senate and conviction."

Zhang Chengzong knelt on the ground for a long time without getting up, looking ashamed.Zhang Ning ignored him and let the guards enter the gate together with Zhu Hengweibin and others in a wheelchair.

Zhu Heng briefly described the course of the battle again. A few days ago, because the first part of the Shenji Battalion protruded from the left wing, he originally wanted to send troops to confront each other to try it out, but he didn't expect to ruin most of the entire Third Army.

"In the current situation, after the Shenji Battalion won the first battle, our army retreated to Ruichang County, but the official army did not push into the city, and there were no signs of preparing to attack the city. The official army is now stationed here..." Zhu Heng pointed with his finger Approximate location on the map.

Zhang Ning nodded: "If the officers and soldiers want to take the initiative to attack the city, they won't delay until now."

Zhu Hengdao: "Their strategic goal should be to occupy a stronghold on the south bank of the Yangtze River and find a foothold for the subsequent main force of the Beijing camp. Judging from the calmness of this army today, the Beijing camp is really not to be underestimated. The suspicion of underestimating the enemy. Based on this, I judged the imperial court’s intentions. The Qianfeng Shenji Battalion seized the opportunity of Jiujiang Prefecture’s weakness, rushed into the south of the Yangtze River with light troops, stabilized the position and did not seek merit; and then bought time for the arrival of the follow-up army.”

"The latest report, where is the main force of the Beijing camp?" Zhang Ning asked.

"There are signs of the Beijing camp from Hutou Pass to Pinghu Pass. The Beijing camp should not have passed the Dabie Mountains...if their marching route is still going south from the border of Henan." Zhu Heng pondered, "Except for this road, from the west of Jianghuai To enter, you need to cross mountains and ridges, which is not conducive to the movement of the army, so I think that the Beijing camp has not yet crossed the mountains."

Zhang Ning asked again: "How many people are there in the Shenji Battalion monitoring our army outside Ruichang City?"

Zhu Heng replied: "There are troops stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. We found out that the number of the Shenji Battalion on the south bank of the Yangtze River was about [-]; however, the reinforcements of the King of Han Army were defeated outside Jiujiang City and retreated to the mouth of Poyang Lake. The navy did not take them back. , and was forced to stay on the west side of Poyang Lake. This army has a large number of people. It is wexe to the size of Jiujiang City. The Shenji Battalion must have a left-behind force in Jiujiang City... If so, we should have [-] officers and soldiers in our camp. About one thousand, at most no more than twenty thousand."

A lot of information is based on sporadic intelligence, and there is no accurate intelligence at all. Now even the names and origins of several people in power in the enemy army have not been fully inquired about.Zhang Ning felt that the ancients did not pay enough attention to intelligence agencies.

After a while, Zhang Chengzong also came in.Zhang Ning then asked him face-to-face about the details of the weapons and tactics of the Shenji Battalion.

Zhang Chengzong said: "The officers and soldiers are well-trained and proficient in using firearms. The muskets they use are larger than ours, and they need to be supported by brackets, but the range is also longer. The two armies advance, and within a hundred steps, the officers and soldiers will start Salvo. By the time we entered the effective range and fired the first round, we had already been hit by two rounds of firearms, which was very passive and unfavorable... My lord, you ask about the artillery? In terms of heavy artillery and long-range bombardment, the official army's artillery is much worse than ours. They used a newly-made heavy artillery called the 'Tiger Squat Cannon', which has a range of more than one mile, and is thrown from the back, but the accuracy and damage range are not very good..."

"...But the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp are not afraid of death, and they are brave in battle. They must be the strongest opponents that our Suzaku army has encountered so far. The third army fought to the death and suffered heavy casualties. This defeat is by no means greedy for soldiers. Because of the fear of death." [

Zhang Ning listened to the description of the crowd, and said seriously: "Where is the main force of the Beijing camp? What we know is that it's possible" that they have not passed the Dabie Mountain. The situation is already extremely dangerous, and we cannot allow the Shenji camp to stand like a nail. Jiangnan must be wiped out as soon as possible. Now order all the troops to rest for a while, and then prepare to dispatch to fight the Shenji Battalion to the death."

Everyone looked at each other after hearing this, and Zhu Heng couldn't help but said: "In case there is a mistake in the Yongding camp, the Wuchang and Yuezhou prefectures will resist, and the prince must be aware of it."

Zhang Ning pretended to be calm and said: "Zhu Butang is still afraid that he won't win. If we really can't win, we can say... We raise troops and are determined to 'overthrow the tyranny', so we want to win militarily. There is no way to take the imperial army, so there is no way. That's why I want to fight this game, and don't choose whether to win or not."

After hearing this, Wei Bin couldn't help nodding his head slightly, and Zhang Ning's idea was still agreed with.

Zhu Heng asked again: "My lord has a plan in mind, doesn't it mean he already has a good strategy for victory?"

"On the battlefield, it is a good strategy to kill the enemy with real swords and guns. What else can we do?" Zhang Ning blurted out.All the generals couldn't help smiling after hearing this, even Zhang Chengzong couldn't help laughing.

Zhang Ning stretched out his hand and patted Zhu Heng's arm, "Don't worry, everyone should also understand who created the war that uses guns as the main weapon of battle? We should teach them another lesson. Tonight we will summon all the above-mentioned generals to the battalion office, and we will arrange tactics for the Shenji Battalion's operations."

The morale of the Yongding camp was low after the defeat, but Zhang Ning's deliberate self-confidence and suspicion after his arrival greatly encouraged people.The Suzaku Army was established by Zhang Ning from Daoyou himself. He is very influential in the army, so a person's performance often has a great relationship.

For two or three days in a row, the generals gathered for several discussions, and everyone had once again built up their confidence in defeating their opponents.A saying quickly spread in the army that the king of Xiang had never been defeated in a battle, and the precedents of winning more with less were vivid, and this time was no exception.

But Zhang Ning knew in his heart that with so many people involved in the war and complicated factors, it was difficult to be a victorious general, and no one could guarantee the result.If you can't bear the consequences of defeat this time, which previous battle can you afford to lose?The fear can never be eliminated, but at this time Zhang Ning feels that he seems to be more calm, and he doesn't know why.

Soon the Chinese Army Barracks Office issued a military order to prepare for the battle. After the martial law, the small Ruichang County became noisy again, and the army was about to be dispatched.