Chapter 153 Good conscience
"Zhuge Juncheng, I wonder what you think about this matter?"
After hearing this, all the generals on the field sneered. Zhuge was a civilian official. What could he think of this? Does his opinion matter? How can a corrupt scholar talk about military matters?
But who knew that our Zhuge Juncheng did have something to say:
"Junjun, the Taishan bandits are attacking Mou County in the middle of the night, so they must be rescued. Otherwise, once Mou County is defeated, our triangular formation of Mou County, Ying County, and Fenggao in the Laiwu Valley will be broken. By then, the enemy will occupy Mou County. , there is a mountain pass in and out of Yishan, so it is up to him to advance or retreat. "
Pang Zun, the leader of the thief Cao, did not expect that Zhuge Gui had hit the point. Zhuge Gui also discovered the key point of Mou County. If Mou County is in the hands of the imperial court, no matter how they escape, these Taishan thieves will eventually be trapped and die in this triangular city defense. Once Mou County falls into the hands of bandits, they can use it as a stronghold to attack whenever they want and retreat whenever they want. In other words, the bandits occupied Mou County and took the initiative in the war.
Pang Zun has always heard that Zhuge Gui is the kind of rotten person who talks about benevolence, justice and morality, but can't do anything with his hands. Looking at it now, at least he still has this insight. Pang Zun naturally supported sending troops, so after Zhuge Gui finished speaking, he immediately agreed:
"What Jun Cheng said is very right. Not only that, the Taishan bandit's original attack on Fenggao was just a false shot, but his actual intention was Mou County. He went to attack at night in the middle of the night. It was a little smart, but they didn't expect that we were going to attack Fenggao. Gao, after receiving this news, no longer sat in the city, but also sent troops to pursue. "
At this moment, Pang Zunyue said, he felt more and more clearly that his thoughts were clear:
"My lord, if you think about it, if the Taishan bandits attack in the middle of the night and capture the city, it is also the time when we are most relaxed. We will send troops to attack at this moment, go straight to the city, and defeat the bandits in one fell swoop. And if we are lucky, the Taishan bandits will not capture Mou County in the night attack. Below the city, that's better. We rush to Mou County and respond to the front and back of the city to annihilate the thieves. So no matter what, it is a good idea to send troops to rescue Mou County at this time."
Liu Yin, the camp commander on the side, saw that Pang Zun was getting better and better at what he said. He was afraid that the prefect would be persuaded, so he quickly interrupted:
"Pang Jun really turned his hands to make clouds and rain. I still remember that day when Pang Jun said that he would stick to Fenggao and order Yingxian soldiers to attack the tail of Taishan soldiers? It only took one day, but he changed his strategy?"
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Pang Zun despised this stupid man and sneered:
"Don't General Liu Ying know one moment and the other? The Xiangshi Taishan bandits are still attacking Fenggao, so yesterday's strategy can naturally be used. But now that the Taishan bandits have changed, then naturally we must also change. Is the principle of carving a boat in search of a sword still valid? Do you want me to talk to General Liu Ying again?”
Liu Yinran:
"What kind of sword should I carve? A certain family has a sword. Why should they carve a boat?"
As soon as this was said, the whole hall laughed. This Liu Yin is indeed a reckless man who knows nothing and is nothing.
Liu Yin immediately realized that his words might have made a fool of himself, and his whole face turned red. He slapped the desk and stood up to leave.
These Fenggao people are too bullying. It's a bullshit fight, don't let Naigong send an army.
Seeing that Liu Yin was really angry, Zhang Jugang, who was sitting at the head of the hall, quickly winked at County Lieutenant Li Xiang and signaled him to stop Liu Yin.
Li Xiang understood and quickly stood up, dragging Liu Yin with him while laughing:
"Old Liu, don't be as knowledgeable as Xiao Pang. Sit down first, sit down first, sit down and listen to what our prefect has to say."
In fact, Liu Yin didn't dare to leave. Not only did he walk away in front of a man with two thousand stones, but Zhang Ju still had the entire camp's food and wages in his hands, he didn't dare to really break up with Zhang Ju. .
So when he saw Li Xiang holding him, he sat down, but he was also smart and immediately said to Zhang Ju:
"Your Majesty, you have seen thousands of miles. At this time, I still need you to come out and give me the right words. No matter what your Majesty's intention is, we support it. It's just the military salary. Jun Jun should worry more. It's not that I, Old Liu, don't know the general situation, but It’s the brothers in the camp who are really anxious, and everyone at home is waiting for the grain to fall into the pot.”
Seeing Liu Yin talking, his eyes were red, and he was afraid that he would make him cry in court. Zhang Ju quickly waved his hand to stop what he was going to say, and then said righteously:
"As a herdsman officer in this county, the country trusts me and entrusts hundreds of thousands of people in Mount Tai to me. This county will protect the peace of Mount Tai even if its bones are shattered. Therefore, Mou County must be saved, and it must be saved now. , rescue immediately
As for the food and wages mentioned by Lao Liu, you also need to understand the difficulties faced by the county. During this time, the county was hit by disasters and no money or food was collected. So Lao Liu, when you go back, talk to the soldiers in the camp, and if you wait a little longer, we can reward the Taishan bandits together. Old Liu, if you go back and work harder, you must inspire the conscience of all the generals in the battalion. If you suffer again, I will take the blame. Just tell the camp soldiers that this is what the prefect said. ”
Hearing that Zhang Ju was using this high-sounding thing again and still refusing to pay him, Liu Yin secretly resented:
"I talk all day long about stimulating conscience and encouraging the loyalty of all the generals in the camp. I see that the most unscrupulous and unloyal people are you guys. Loyalty, loyalty, what's the use of just talking about loyalty? Can it fill your stomach?"< br>
But Liu didn't dare to show the dissatisfaction he felt in his heart, and in the end he could only remain silent.
In this way, Zhang Ju made the final decision and appointed the thief Cao Pang Zun and the camp general Liu Yin as generals. They led a total of 2,000 troops and immediately mobilized their troops to assist Mou County. In addition, Zhang Ju sent a message to the county magistrate Ying, ordering him to raise a thousand troops to attack Mou County from the right. Fenggao City originally had a thousand county soldiers and five hundred battalions. Later, when the Taishan bandits came out, Zhang Ju recruited another 2,000 soldiers in the city, making the total force 3,500.
This is the system of this dynasty. Since Guangwu implemented a soft government and made peace with the people, he dismissed the soldiers of the prefectures and states all over the world. For example, in the seventh year of Jianwu's reign, "all the chariots, knights, officials, buildings, ships, and military officials in the world were dismissed, and all were returned to the people, but they were kept as before." The military service since the previous generation was cancelled.
But soon after the Ming Dynasty, the state and county soldiers were restored. Because the county had no soldiers in the past, once something happened, it was often caught off guard. When the incident happened, more troops were added and generals were sent, and the central army was sent to fight. Firstly, the response was not timely, and secondly, most of the soldiers were recruited, which was not a success. Therefore, gradually local counties and counties became their own characteristics of the military system. On weekdays, a few county soldiers and county soldiers maintain the place. Once something happens, use these as the backbone and recruit brave men to form an army. They may be recruited with money and grain, or they may be recruited on the condition of being exempted from corvee service.
This military system that combines formal work with temporary work is also a characteristic of this dynasty.
This time Pang Zun and Liu Yin commanded 2,000 soldiers, of which 500 were former county soldiers and 1,500 were newly recruited soldiers in the city. As for the original 500 elite battalion soldiers and the 500 old county soldiers, as well as the 500 newly recruited soldiers, they were all left behind in Fenggao City by Zhang Ju.
Zhang Ju is really a shrewd man of two thousand stones. Even now, he can still distinguish priorities. Compared to Yuanmu County, he knew very well that Fenggao's safety was the top priority. Mou County was lost, and he was ordered by the superiors to ravage the prefectures and counties with thieves. Generally speaking, the superiors would ask him to perform meritorious service. But if Feng Gao was lost, not only would his career be over, but his life would also be lost. Therefore, Zhang Ju handed over all the most elite veterans in the county to Lieutenant Li Xiang, and protecting Feng Gao was the top priority.
As for whether this would dilute the reinforcements to assist Mou County, did he order Ying County Magistrate to send troops to rescue him without seeing him? There were already two thousand soldiers, and one thousand more soldiers were added, making a total of three thousand soldiers, which was enough.
That day, Fenggao's reinforcements left the city with only three days of food. They didn't know that Guan Yu's ambush was waiting for them ahead.
Guan Yu's three troops had already moved to this ambush point, a small depression, after receiving Zhang Chong's military order last night.
This place is located at the throat of Mou County, Ying County, and Fenggao. To the south is the prominent hilly area where Yishan Mountain protrudes from the Laiwu Valley. The mountains are steep, inaccessible, and the water source is far away. It can be said that it is a natural left side barrier. Then in the middle is Mouwenshui, which leads directly to Mou County. From here, you can go eight miles north to Yingmushui, and from here you can go directly to Yingxian County. Then forty miles west of him is Fenggao. It can be said that if Feng Gao wanted to save Mou County and take the official road between the two places, this place would be the most ideal place for an ambush.
There was originally a dock wall here in the small depression, but it had been pulled out by Guan Yu in the morning, and Chen Huan was left with his generals Zhao Jian and Duan Xiu to guard the north of the road.
Guan Yu told Chen Huan to always watch the smoke on the southern slope of the highland. Once three streaks of smoke rise, Chen Huan will move his entire army out of the wall to attack the rear of the Fenggao soldiers and cut off the Fenggao soldiers' return to the west.
Later, on the east road of the small depression, Guan Yu ordered Ding Sheng to lead Jin Quan and Zhao Rong, also with 400 people, to erect a fence and build a stronghold to directly block Fenggao's troops from aiding Mou County in the east.
Guan Yu gave Ding Sheng an order:
"Hold the camp tightly, and no retreat is allowed under any circumstances without orders."
Ding Sheng obviously knew how difficult a task Guan Yu had given him. He took 400 soldiers and set up a stronghold on the road like this. Then the high-ranking soldiers were not allowed to attack him to death? He expected that there would be a lot of reinforcements from Fenggao, and he would have to rely on one of his 400 troops to defend them. He can defend, but why let him do this hard work? He just wanted to refuse on the grounds that his troops had just experienced a hard battle yesterday and were about to make repairs.
Over there, Guan Yu said to Ding Sheng:
"This battle is won, thanks to you."
As soon as these words came out, Ding Sheng showed his face. What else is there to say, Shou!
Finally, on several small slopes two miles south of the dock wall in the small depression, Guan Yu himself and Wang Zhang's 400 soldiers from Deng Chong and Shi Lang's troops served as backup.
Guan Yu's plan was like this, with Ding Sheng's troops setting up a stronghold on the road to snipe the enemy's eastward move. When the enemy soldiers were in full swing of attacking the wall, he raised three smokes and asked Chen Huan to intercept the enemy soldiers' retreat. Finally, he commanded the whole army to press forward and launched a general attack on the enemy's middle section.
But now, it's just waiting for Feng Gaobing to fall into a trap.
Here, Guan Yu has prepared everything, and the whole army has ceased its activities and is in repair. But until noon, no movement was seen on the road. Just when Guan Yu was about to release his horse sentry cavalry again, bursts of exclamations came from behind. Guan Yu quickly turned around and was shocked by this sight.
I saw two miles behind me on the Mouwen River, there were boats and boats connected with each other, carrying troops and setting up tents, and going down the river.
It was bad this time. I never expected that Feng Gao's reinforcements would take the waterway.
(End of chapter)