***
The Shu brocade battle robes are cut by myself.
Peach blossoms immediately ask for long ropes.
There are so many strange men in the world,
Who is willing to travel thousands of miles to the battlefield
Chongzhen wrote very few poems in his life. After he ascended the throne, he worked hard and frugally, devoted himself to governing the country, and had no leisure to write poetry.
In December of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), the Qing army bypassed Xifengkou, captured Zunhua, and reached Beijing. The following year, they moved eastward and captured Yongping, Luanzhou, and Qian'an. The situation was extremely dangerous. Emperor Chongzhen hastily issued an edict to mobilize troops from all over the country to serve the emperor.
Upon hearing the news, Qin Liangyu quickly "donated her family wealth to support the military" and led the White-Pole Soldiers to march north at full speed. At that time, more than 100,000 government troops from various places were stationed in the vicinity of Jimen, watching each other and shrinking back.
Only Qin Liangyu's troops took the lead in attacking bravely. Later, with the cooperation of friendly forces, they fought hard to recapture four cities including Yongping and Zunhua, eliminating the threat of Qing troops to Beijing.
For this reason, Emperor Chongzhen summoned the legendary female general Qin Liangyu to the platform. After meeting the female general, and comparing her with the generals of the Ming Dynasty who had suffered repeated defeats, Emperor Chongzhen was filled with emotion and this poem came out of his mouth. He copied it with his own hand and gave it to Qin Liangyu.
Qin Liangyu's military achievements are far more than these. When she was young, she began to follow her husband Ma Qiancheng to fight, quelled the rebellion of Yang Yinglong, and made great military achievements. After her husband died, she led her sons and soldiers on an expedition to Liaodong and fought many bloody battles with the Jurchens. Among them, the Battle of Hunhe in the first year of the Tianqi reign was recorded in history as "the bloodiest battle since the use of troops in Liaodong."
In September of the same year, Qin Liangyu returned to Sichuan to quell the rebellion of Xuan She Chongming in Yongning, and fought in Chongqing, Chengdu, Luzhou and other places, and recovered Xindu. In the second year of Tianqi, she led the White Spear Army to lift the siege of Chengdu. She returned to conquer Erlangguan and Fotuguan, and recovered Chongqing. In the third year of Tianqi, she defeated Yongning She Chongming and pacified the whole of Sichuan; in the same year, she quelled the "Songfan Rebellion".
In the third year of Chongzhen, the northern army went to Beijing to defend the emperor and recovered four cities including Yongping and Zunhua.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Qin Liangyu led the White Spear Soldiers in the battle to defend the Dalinghe City and built a "first merit".
In the seventh year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan. Qin Liangyu and her son Ma Xianglin, who had just returned to Sichuan, attacked Zhang Xianzhong from the front and back and defeated him in Kuizhou, forcing him to retreat to Huguang.
In the 13th year of Chongzhen, Luo Rucai invaded Sichuan. Qin Liangyu led troops to the area. Luo Rucai was frightened and fled. Qin Liangyu led the white-pole soldiers to pursue him. In Wushan and Kuizhou, she severely damaged Luo Rucai's rebel army, seized his banner, and captured his deputy Tatian.
This legendary heroine has fought all her life and is now seventy years old with white hair. When she heard that Li Zicheng had captured Shaanxi and Zhang Xianzhong had invaded Sichuan again, and Sichuan's survival was at stake, she immediately presented a "Map of the Situation of Sichuan" to Chen Shiqi, the Sichuan Governor, hoping that the government army could increase its troops to defend the thirteen dangerous passes in Sichuan. However, Chen Shiqi did not accept her proposal.
Qin Liangyu did not give up. She made a heartfelt suggestion to Sichuan Provincial Governor Liu Zhibo. Liu agreed with her plan, but he had no soldiers to send. Qin Liangyu had no choice but to lead 3,000 white-pole soldiers to Kuizhou.
The name of the White Spear Soldiers comes from the fact that they all use white spears, which are weapons invented by Qin Liangyu based on the local terrain. They are made of solid white wood (no dyeing is required) into long poles, with a hook with a blade on the top and a hard iron ring at the bottom. When fighting, the hook can be used for chopping and pulling, and the ring can be used as a hammer weapon when necessary. Dozens of spears with hooks and rings connected together can be used as a tool for climbing mountains and walls. Cliffs can be climbed in an instant, which is very suitable for mountain warfare.
Qin Liangyu led a similar army to participate in the campaigns of suppressing the Bo, suppressing the She, aiding the Liao, resisting the Qing, defending the king, and suppressing bandits, and won great merits. However, in the past few decades, there have been bloody battles, and countless white-pole soldiers have been buried in foreign lands, and the soldiers have been replaced one after another.
Perhaps, this is the last batch.
Qin Liangyu was devoted to the country. After she arrived at Kuizhou with 3,000 soldiers, she immediately seized the key pass of Kuizhou. She had fought all her life and was familiar with military affairs. This time, she did not defend the city, but fought for the mountains and took advantage of the terrain. This was definitely a very wise choice. Most of her white-pole soldiers were mountain people from Xidong. They could cross mountains and ridges as if they were walking on flat ground. They could fight for the mountains and take advantage of the terrain to maximize their combat power. Once trapped in an isolated city, it would be difficult to play out their strengths.
Furthermore, when the enemy outnumbers us and we have no reinforcements, giving up mobility and being trapped in an isolated city is a dead end.
Qin Liangyu's decision was correct, but... ... ... The north wind was very cold, the mountain mist was vast and boundless, the world was so grim, a bleak scene of doomsday made people feel cold in their bones.
The 300,000 rebels at the foot of the mountain were like waves, the shouts of men and the neighs of horses were loud enough to stop the moving clouds, and they were like a huge wave crashing against the shore.
Looking at the whole Sichuan, she was the only old woman in her 70s who led 3,000 soldiers to fight Zhang Xianzhong. No one came to help her, not a single meter or arrow was delivered... ... ...
Where have all the people gone
There are countless soldiers and civilians in Sichuan and Shu, and the land is full of officials. Where have all the people gone
Why is there only a white-haired old woman left here, holding out with three thousand soldiers
Three thousand against three hundred thousand. If they took a step back, the gates of Sichuan would be wide open to the rebels. If they took a step back, the two or three hundred thousand rebels would submerge Sichuan like a surging wave.
Looking at the endless rebel army stretching for hundreds of miles below the dangerous pass, the three thousand white-pole soldiers felt extremely sad. Looking at the gray-haired background in front of them, every soldier couldn't help but shed tears, and some even couldn't help crying out loud. They were not afraid of death, but at this moment they didn't know who they were dying for, and they didn't know why they had to die so sadly. Oh, God! Why is it so
"Why are you crying?" Qin Liangyu drew out the sword bestowed by the emperor and pointed it down the mountain, saying resolutely, "My two brothers both died in the service of the king, and my son Xianglin also died for his country in Xiangyang. I am a weak woman who has received the grace of the country for twenty years. At this time when the country is in danger, why should I care about my broken body?"
"Aunt!" said the cousin Qin Ming who was standing next to her sadly, "We are not afraid of death. My Qin family and Ma family have dozens of heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country. How can I, your nephew, dishonor the heroic names of the martyrs? But you have fought for the country all your life, and now you are seventy years old. You should go back to Shiqu first, and leave this battle to your nephew."
"Although I am a woman, I have fought for many years and never retreated. How can I abandon my integrity and live alone in the end? No need to say more tomorrow, prepare for battle!"
Qin Ming was choked with sobs for a moment, he knew it was useless to persuade him any more, so he and his three thousand soldiers wiped away their tears, gripped their spears tightly, and looked down the mountain with gradually firm gazes, ready to die.
The rebels rushed up like a wave, and the shouts of hundreds of thousands of people rose up to the sky, as if with a force as powerful as a tidal wave.
On the top of the mountain, the old woman stuck the imperial sword into the ground and went forward to beat the war drum herself. The mountain breeze blew her red cloak and pale hair. Even if it was three thousand against three hundred thousand, even if there was no soldier to help her, even if she had changed from a heroic woman to an old woman with white hair, the sound of the drum was still enough to shake the earth and frighten the enemy.
At least Zhang Xianzhong at the foot of the mountain did not dare to have the slightest contempt. He had been a defeated general by Qin Liangyu and was expelled by Qin Liangyu the first time he entered Sichuan.
This time, Qin Liangyu set up three lines of defense on the mountain, and Zhang Xianzhong asked his four generals, Zhang Kewang, Zhang Wenxiu, Zhang Dingguo, and Zhang Nengqi, to lead 20,000 people each to launch a round-the-clock battle, fighting for each line of defense.
The first to launch the attack was Zhang Nengqi, the most valiant fighter. Under his leadership, 20,000 rebels shouted and charged towards the top of the mountain. From the sky, it looked like a black torrent rolling towards the top of the mountain.
The white-flag soldiers on the mountain pushed down the stacked stones, making a continuous rumbling sound, smashing the rebels who were rushing up, causing their flesh and blood to fly everywhere and howling in pain. But there were too many rebels, and after one group died, another group rushed up. Various muskets kept firing, the air was filled with smoke, and they finally rushed to the first line of defense.
As soon as Qin Liangyu on the mountain changed the sound of the drum, the thousand white-pole soldiers on the first line of defense immediately jumped up, shouted and dived down. They ran through the mountains as if they were walking on flat ground, as nimble as monkeys, stabbing and slashing with the white-pole spears in their hands, turning the top of the mountain into a bloody slaughterhouse, with blood flowing like a river and corpses forming a wall.
The rebels' first wave of attack was repelled, and another group of people continued the attack. Zhang Xianzhong did not hesitate to exchange ten for one, and seized the defense line on the mountain one by one.
After all, the White Spear Soldiers were not made of iron. They fought for half a day without any chance to rest. In addition, the disparity in troop strength was huge, so they were bound to lose sight of one thing while focusing on another. Finally, the defense lines were broken one by one.
The gray-haired Qin Liangyu watched the rebels getting closer and closer. Three thousand soldiers fell one by one, their blood dyed the hilltops red, and even the sky became solemn. She couldn't help but ooze two lines of turbid tears from her eyes. Holding the sword bestowed by the emperor, she knelt tremblingly toward the north, looked at the solemn sky and cried out in a sad voice: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my incompetence. I, Qin Liangyu, will be loyal to the Ming Dynasty today!"
*********************
ps: It's been too cold these days. Four of my ten fingers have frostbite. What a miserable person. There is no heating in the south. It's like sitting in an ice kiln after nightfall. Not to mention in the morning, there's no room to sit. I don't know when this damn weather will warm up.
Well, let me just shout out a few last words and ask for monthly votes. Please support me, everyone.
.(To be continued..)
...