I

  Chapter 248 246 [Wonderful Night Attack] (adding updates to "Warm Sun 1314" of the Silver League)

  In the south of the late Ming Dynasty, there were really no decent battles to fight.

  The city is in disrepair, and the military equipment is slack. If Zhao Han really encounters a tough guy, Chongzhen can wake up with a smile from his dream.

  This can be seen from the city walls in various places in southern Shonan.

  Many are new!

  Take Changsha Prefecture as an example, including Changsha City, there are eleven counties and one prefecture. Of these twelve cities, seven of them did not have proper city walls in the last years of Zhengde.

  In such an important commercial city as Xiangtan, wooden city walls were still used in the early years of Wanli.

  But at the end of Wanli, all the prefectures and counties in Changsha Prefecture had all the masonry walls repaired. The fundamental motivation of the local officials to build the city was to prevent peasant uprisings that occurred one after another in southern Hunan during the Wanli period.

  When a group of untrained peasants are killed, they can beat the officers and soldiers to run away with their heads in their arms.

  Local officials were unable to resist, so they could only build cities and defend them, allowing the peasant army to wreak havoc on villages and towns. When the commotion became serious, the imperial court sent troops to encircle and suppress it, and the suppression lasted for several years.

   This is the normal state of war in the South, and it is impossible for Zhao Han to encounter decent resistance.

   Just when Li Zheng was besieging Changsha, the Xia clan in Xiangyin, Ningxiang, and Yiyang joined forces to recruit troops.

  The Xia family originally lived in Yiyang, and migrated to Ningxiang during the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Yongle period, one branch of the Xia family in Jiangxi migrated to Xiangyin, and matched the genealogy with the Xia family in Huguang.

  Three branches of the Xia family stand on top of each other, all of which are located next door to Changsha.

  Although they reacted slowly, they made a big battle. A total of more than 7,000 townspeople were recruited to come to support Changsha.

  Li Zheng sent spies to Xiangyin a long time ago, mainly to investigate the enemy's situation in Xiangyin and see if he could send a small number of troops to steal the city.

   As a result, the direction of Xiangyin was detected, and thousands of regiments bravely marched towards Changsha.

   Li Zheng was so happy that he wanted to besiege the city and fight for aid!

   Not many soldiers were dispatched. Hu Dinggui and Chen Fugui each led 500 regular soldiers, set off at night to circle north, and ambushed in Matan Mountain, 40 miles away from Changsha City.

  Xia's regiment training troop walked very slowly. Hu Dinggui and Chen Fugui rested in Matan Mountain for two full days, and those guys finally arrived late.

  The spies sneaked back into the mountains and said: "More than ten miles to the north, those regiments camped bravely by the river. I don't know what kind of river it is, but it is a small river anyway."

  Hu Dinggui asked: "The South Bank or the North Bank?"

"The south bank," said the spies, "the enemy army started to cross the river in the morning, and they brought all their luggage over in the afternoon. They were probably tired and hungry, and they didn't want to continue their journey, so they camped directly by the river. The camp was in a mess, so it was cut down. Some bamboos were used as fences. There are not many tents in operation, most of the enemy troops sleep in the open air, and they burn grass everywhere in the camp to smoke mosquitoes.”

   Is this **** here for an armed outing?

  More than 7,000 people cross a small river, and it takes a whole day.

   And he also crossed the river to set up camp, which was so considerate that Hu Dinggui didn't have to cross the river to attack the camp.

  After dark, Hu Dinggui and Chen Fugui led troops down the mountain. They took off their armor and put them in the mountains ahead of time. They all marched lightly for more than ten li in the middle of the night, and finally arrived at the enemy's camp by the river.

  The moon is bright tonight, Hu Dinggui quietly touched it, and almost laughed out loud when he got close.

  The regiment training troops run by these gentry are no different from the peasants who just started to rebel. Knowing nothing, the camp in front of him has made almost all the mistakes that can be made.

  Hu Dinggui and Chen Fugui each led 500 soldiers and began to approach little by little.

"kill!"

  Hu Dinggui kicked over the bamboo fence and rushed into the enemy camp with ease.

  Ordinary Tuanyong, almost all sleep in the open air, with a mat or straw mat under their bodies. Although burning grass to repel insects in the evening, the effect has passed by this time, and many Tuanyong were bitten by mosquitoes and could not sleep.

  In this state of being unable to sleep, if you march for a few more days, you will be physically and mentally exhausted before the battle.

  When the One Thousand Datong Army entered the camp, the regiment warriors woke up one after another.

   In the shadows, I don't know how many enemies have come. Their first reaction was to flee, they didn't even bother to take weapons, and ran towards the small river quickly.

  Plop, plop...

  The sound of falling into the water can be heard endlessly, and they all jumped into the river on their own initiative. These Hunan men can almost swim, and they haven't worn armor yet. They had figured it out a long time ago that they would jump into the river to escape if they encountered an enemy. Except for the children of gentry, ordinary soldiers did not want to fight at all.

   Especially those tenants, they participated in the group training purely because the landlord promised to reduce the rent this year, and the group training troops can still manage meals every day.

  The regiment training army of more than 7,000 people seemed to have received a military order, scrambling to be the first to rush northward, jumping into the nameless river in unison. Then make various swimming postures, some dog planing, some breaststroke, some freestyle, and the night attack seems to become a swimming competition.

  On the edge of the Xiangjiang River, some grain transport ships were also docked, and when they heard the movement, they rowed away immediately.

  One thousand Datong troops chased to the river, and they were all dumbfounded seeing the tumbling river under the moonlight.

  Hu Dinggui and Chen Fugui looked at each other, both dumbfounded.

   "How many did you kill?" Hu Dinggui asked.

  Chen Fugui said: "I only cared about chasing the enemy and disturbing the enemy's camp, and I haven't killed a single one."

  One thousand Datong elites attacked more than 7,000 regiments at night, and killed the enemy's camp. It seems that neither side has shed much blood.

   Tuan Yong, who had no time to escape, lay down on the ground and surrendered. In order to disturb the camp as soon as possible, the Datong army rushed deeper and frantically, regardless of killing those lying on the ground.

  Since Hu Dinggui joined the army, this is the first time he has fought such a weird battle.

   After dawn, count the number of people and capture more than 600 prisoners.

   And finally found the casualties, one Tuan Yong was trampled to death, and seven Tuan Yong were stabbed to death.

   "Is this considered a victory?" Chen Fugui was a little puzzled, because most of the enemy troops escaped successfully.

  Hu Dinggui pointed to the food and grass in the camp, and said with a smile: "We must have won the battle. The enemy army has no food and grass. If you think about it, you don't know how long it will take."

  Chen Fugui scratched his head and said, "They are here to deliver food and grass."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

  Hu Dinggui laughed happily.

  There must be a lot of food and grass for more than 7,000 people. It's a pity that half of them were transported by boat, and they had already rowed away at night, otherwise more could be seized.

  Hu Dinggui called the captives and asked, "Where did they come from?"

   "Xiangyin, Xia Jiachong." A prisoner replied.

  Hu Dinggui was a little surprised: "You actually speak Jiangxi dialect?"

  The prisoner said: "I heard from my elders that our entire village was relocated from Dexing, Jiangxi."

   "Old Cousin," Hu Dinggui said with a smile, "I'm from Fengcheng, not far from Dexing, with only a few counties in between. Why do you want to help the government fight the war?"

  The prisoner replied: "Master Xia said that as long as you join the army and be brave, the land rent will be reduced by 10% this year. Send troops to fight, and the master will take care of the food."

  Hu Dinggui simply called hundreds of captives over, and said loudly: "You guys, it's really worthless. A few buckets of rice are helping the landlord to work hard. Has anyone heard of Zhao Tianwang?"

   "Listen... I have." The captives replied sparsely, and many of them looked terrified.

  Hu Dinggui felt that there was a problem, so he said: "Tell me, what kind of person is Zhao Tianwang on your side?"

  No one answered, and no one dared to speak.

  Hu Dinggui pointed to the former prisoner: "Come, tell me, don't tell lies!"

  The prisoner trembled and said: "King Zhao likes to kill people, and he also likes to eat human flesh. King Zhao's soldiers want to kill all the young and strong, want to rob all the women, and even use children as military rations."

   "Damn, these landlords really know how to make up!" Hu Dinggui was furious, and ordered, "Master, come here and tell them, I'm going to sleep first!"

  The soldiers took turns to rest for half a day. After lunch, Hu Dinggui ordered to return, and the hundreds of captives were all used to transport food.

   Along the way, the mission officer repeatedly explained the policy, which made the eyes of these prisoners shine.

  Not only tenants, but also self-cultivated farmers, as long as Mr. Zhao comes, they can also divide the land.

  Hu Dinggui wanted to give Li Zheng a suggestion that after the fight, he would distribute food to the captives and let them go home to actively promote it.

  The captives and food were still on the way. Li Zheng had already received the news and immediately asked people to write more letters of persuasion.

   "Fu Shuai, there are bandits in the north!"

  Wang Zhiliang immediately ran to the north wall, and sure enough, he saw a thousand Datong troops escorting hundreds of captives. There was too much food, hundreds of prisoners were too busy, and hundreds of Datong troops were assigned to transport food.

   Li Zheng immediately asked people to shoot letters into the city, and the guards and soldiers looked ashen with fright.

  Especially those gentry recruiting troops to run regiment training, trembling with fright at the moment. The content of the letter is very simple. Li Zheng lied that he captured Xiangyin and that Changsha had become an isolated city.

  The gentry went to Wang Zhiliang together, and Wang Zhiliang said calmly: "Don't panic, this is a lie."

  A gentry said anxiously: "But the bandit soldiers really came from the north, and brought a lot of prisoners and luggage. Xiangyin must have fallen!"

  Wang Zhiliang explained: "Either the rebels ambushed the reinforcements, or the rebels went to the north to plunder. They snatched the prisoners and luggage."

  The moat outside the city has been filled with soil for a large section by Li Zheng's grain delivery team every day.

  Tao Aizhi looked at the part of the moat that had been filled in, and quietly instructed the three younger brothers. Then he went to Wang Zhiliang, cupped his hands and said, "Fu Shuai, Wansheng can hang out in a basket at night and go to the camp of the rebels to feign surrender. Make an appointment to be an internal response. Three days later, we will raise a fire as a sign. When they enter the Wengcheng, we will come here." Catch the turtle in the urn. Although it can't wipe out the bandit army, it can dampen their morale and boost our army's morale."

  There were more than 11,000 defenders in the city, and the Tao family recruited more than 4,000. Wang Zhiliang attached great importance to the four Tao brothers.

  Wang Zhiliang shook his head and said, "The rebels won't be fooled, and they will detain you. Don't take such a risk."

  Tao Aizhi said: "Wan Sheng can tell the rebels that it was Fushuai who made Wan Sheng feign surrender, and that Wan Sheng really intends to follow the thieves. Then he can get away calmly under the pretext of going back to the city for arrangement."

  Wang Zhiliang did not agree, but fell into deep thought.

  Changsha City is tall and strong, and it must be no problem to defend the city. The problem is that morale has been falling.

  In ancient times, the offensive and defensive battles of cities usually lasted for several months. Unless the whole army has the will to die, they will never block the gates of the city. One of the important reasons for keeping the city gate is to go out of the city to play a few games at any time. A small victory can boost morale, and even a tie can boost morale. Otherwise, the longer the siege lasts, the lower the morale of the defenders will be.

  The mob under Wang Zhiliang's command has only been besieged for half a month, and their morale has already fluctuated. A small victory is necessary.

  At this moment, Wang Zhiliang is looking forward to the rebels rushing to attack the city. He can use the city to continuously inflict damage on the rebels. As long as it can cause damage, it can boost morale, but Li Zheng is just slowly filling the moat.

  Seeing the moat being filled section by section, it was simply a torment for the mob in the city.

  The rebels really attacked the city, but they didn't panic so much.

   That feeling, as if there is still a boot left.

  After thinking about it, Wang Zhiliang decided to take the risk and said to Tao Aizhi, "Then you should leave the city tonight."

  Tao Aizhi also had no choice, the city gate was full of Wang Zhiliang's soldiers. And his Tao family's soldiers were all used to guard the city wall, and they were divided into four groups.

  He wanted to set fire to the city at night, but he was afraid of failure, and the four brothers would definitely be beheaded.

   Only by allowing Li Zheng to lead his troops to attack the city and attack the sections of walls defended by Tao's soldiers, can the two sides cooperate perfectly. But this is tantamount to letting Li Zheng take a risk. If Tao's soldiers cheat, under insufficient preparation, Datong soldiers will definitely suffer heavy casualties.

   Neither Li Zheng nor Tao Aizhi really trusted each other.

   In Li Zheng's view, Tao Aizhi has 4,000 soldiers, and he can just jump back inside the city, and then he will be able to take the opportunity to attack the city.

   To put it bluntly, I want the other party to do it first, so that it has been delayed until now.

  Tao Aizhi ventured out of the city this time because he had to communicate with Li Zheng face to face, otherwise they would not cooperate with each other tacitly.

  (end of this chapter)