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As the Yangtze River neared Wuchang, the sails were like clouds. Han Xiu and his 8,000 men sailed down the river from Yueyang. The river was flowing and the boats were moving fast, but Han Xiu kept urging them on.
The eight thousand soldiers had mixed feelings, with both anxiety about being involved in a major battle and a desire to gain military merit.
In Makou Town on the bank of the Han River, Ningyuan's 8,000 troops were marching quickly. In order to speed up, all the soldiers only carried simple swords and bows, and even the arrows would be replenished after they arrived in Wuchang.
All the food and fodder were set up by the logistics department in advance along the way according to the itinerary. Once the soldiers arrived at the supply point, they had hot meals and hot water to drink. After a short rest, they immediately set off again.
Even though the marching speed had reached the limit, Ning Yuan kept riding his horse in front of and behind the army, shouting: "Hurry up, damn it, the Governor is fighting a bloody battle with the Tartars, and the brothers in Chizhou are also buying us time with their lives. The blood has flowed like a river, and the corpses have piled up like a mountain. Are you dawdling and only sweating a little? Are you worthy of your brothers who are fighting a bloody battle? Hurry up! Hurry up, run!"
In Yunmeng County, Li Jiu's 3,000 cavalrymen galloped past. The sun was blazing, the ground was covered with yellow dust, and the thirsty soldiers' lips were already cracked, but they were still galloping desperately.
The Qin army's victory after victory, coupled with the fact that Qin Mu personally entered the trapped area and fought a bloody battle with the Tatars in exchange for an opportunity to encircle Ajige, kept the morale of the Qin army high and the soldiers were willing to die. Although such a forced march was very hard, everyone was enduring it for the sake of victory.
At Dihe Village of the Bashui River, Liu Fangliang led 20,000 cavalrymen and were trying to cross the river with their horses.
Although they were still wearing the uniforms of the Dashun Army, their flags had been replaced with the black flags of the Qin Army. This place was less than a hundred miles away from the Ju River, and there was a flat plain of 10,000 square kilometers between the two rivers. With the speed of the cavalry, they could reach Fanshang Village, where Qin Mu was defending, in half a day and a night.
The only difference is that these former Li Zicheng soldiers were probably afraid of being killed by the Tartars. They should have been the fastest to reach the battlefield, but they were too cautious. Now they have just crossed the Bashui River and are still hundreds of miles away from Fanshang Village.
The newly appointed military deputy commander Zhao Han had urged Liu Fangliang many times and explained the pros and cons to him.
However, it was hard for the soldiers to get rid of their fear. Zhao Han also knew that in this situation without the support of other troops, it would be too dangerous to advance too quickly, nor would it be good to use too much force.
Eighty miles behind them, in Huangjiazhai, the 50,000 troops led by Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongde, Liu Tiren and others were also marching at a rapid pace.
With Liu Fangliang's 20,000 cavalry in front, they did not slack off, and in the south there were Liu Meng's 25,000 Qin troops to assist them; the two armies were separated by 40 to 50 li, with messengers running back and forth and scouts crossing each other. Wherever the army passed, yellow dust filled the sky and flags blocked out the sun.
Less than a hundred miles further east, Meng Ke's 30,000-strong army was racing against time to dig trenches, lay mines, and seize strategic passes in the gap between the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains and the Yangtze River, trying to tighten the gap and prevent Ajige from jumping off the wall and escaping eastward.
The lights in the side hall of the Wuchang General Staff were completely bright. A tense and suspicious atmosphere made people almost suffocate. Information flew in like snowflakes, and orders were issued like water.
Qin Mu had set up a big chess game. But now he was trapped in Fanshang Village on the east bank of the Ju River. He had to dispatch troops from all directions to encircle Ajige. Each move required the General Staff to issue orders and coordinate.
In this battle, there were two hundred thousand troops deployed, and the supply of food and fodder and the dispatch of weapons alone were a huge and complicated matter.
This was the first time that the Qin army faced such a huge and urgent battle, which was a major test for both the army's combat capability and its logistics supply system.
Sima An and others not only had to decide on the numerous combat orders, but also had to constantly worry about whether Qin Mu could hold on. If he couldn't, whether Qin Mu could successfully escape to the west bank of the Ju River.
What Sima An was worried about had nothing to do with Qin Mu. The bloody battle at Fanshang Village made him unable to think about these things. He tortured the captured Tatars and once again angered Ajige.
The anger of a common man can make blood splatter every five steps. The emperor... Although Ajige was not an emperor, his anger was enough to make blood flow like a river.
Although Fanshang Village was not a city, it had a special terrain. It was sandwiched between two rivers, forming a special "U"-shaped terrain. Qin Mu dug many trenches at the top of the narrow "U", and also had fifteen cannons and hundreds of Hundred Tigers running arrows to assist, which formed a fatal obstacle for the Tatar cavalry.
To capture this position is not much easier than to attack a city. Qin Mu took advantage of this and deliberately angered Ajige in order to achieve the goal of mobilizing a large number of Qing troops. Even if all 20,000 people were killed, it would be worth it as long as Ajige was crippled.
Ajige repeated his old trick and captured hundreds of old, weak, women and children and used them to fill the trench. This time Qin Mu did not hesitate at all. He first pulled out two hundred Tartar prisoners to serve as scapegoats for the civilians, and then resolutely ordered the artillery to fire.
He had tried his best the first time. Now the remaining 15,000 troops were very tired after a series of bloody battles. With the addition of Wu Sangui's 20,000 troops, the Qin army could no longer attack. It was already difficult to hold the position by relying on trenches and artillery.
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and watched the fire burst out from the muzzle. The barrage of bullets would fill the trenches and kill the Tartars, leaving corpses all over the ground. The people trapped by the Tartars would inevitably be injured.
The Qin soldiers saw this and felt somewhat reluctant, because they were, after all, unarmed civilians. Some soft-hearted soldiers quietly turned their heads away, trying not to watch such a scene.
But everyone knew that this had to be done, otherwise Ajige would never stop. Even if these people could be saved, more people would be captured by Ajige and used as human shields.
The first time Qin Mu risked his life to save the people, the rude and unwise Ajige mistakenly judged that he would not fire this time. So he invested a large number of troops in order to fill the trench as soon as possible;
However, when more than a dozen cannons in front of the Qin army roared at the same time and the Tatars filling the trenches were swept by the horrific barrage of bullets, Ajige was so overwhelmed with endless regret and anger that he spit out a mouthful of blood.
The first time he was not sure whether Qin Mu would fire, so he only sent a small number of troops to hold the people hostage and approach the enemy camp. Qin Mu did not fire, but sent troops to rescue the people; this time he sent more people to fill the trenches, and Qin Mu immediately opened fire. This was clearly a sinister scam. At least that's what Ajige thought.
No matter how heavy the casualties are, the trenches must be filled. Otherwise, not only will the horses not be able to rush through, but even the infantry will not be able to crawl through using their hands and feet.
Ajige was so angry that he was bleeding, he didn't care about many things anymore. He only knew that if he didn't destroy Qin Mu's troops, the Qing army would probably avoid Qin Mu when they saw him in the future.
After spending an entire afternoon and paying a huge price, they finally filled the trench. It was already nightfall, but Ajige refused to give up and launched a fierce attack on the Qin army overnight. The two sides fought fiercely. The Qin army's defense line was compressed bit by bit. By midnight, they had nowhere to retreat because the Jushui River was a mile behind them.
In this life-and-death melee, some Qing soldiers who were captured by the Qin army last time escaped with injuries and stumbled to the high slope where Aji was. They reported to Ajige: "Your Majesty, it's bad. Wu Sangui is colluding with Qin Mu. Your Majesty, be careful of Wu Sangui..."
"What?" Ajige was shocked. Wu Sangui was responsible for the main attack in the north, and he was responsible for the attack in the east. It was dark at night. If Wu Sangui really colluded with Qin Mu and outflanked him, the consequences would be disastrous. "Tell me quickly, how did you know?"
"We were originally trapped at the back, and the Qin army kept retreating. Qin Mu's tent was squeezed not far from us. Qin Mu put all his troops into the battlefield. No one was guarding us. We took advantage of the chaos to cut the rope and escape. Seeing that everyone was fleeing to the east, we were afraid that we would be discovered by the Qin army and would not be able to escape, so we turned south and crossed the Ju River to escape. When we passed Qin Mu's tent, we heard a general under Qin Mu's command anxiously persuading Qin Mu that the army could not resist and asked Qin Mu to immediately agree to Wu Sangui's conditions. Qin Mu hesitated for a moment and immediately agreed. When I escaped, Qin Mu was writing a letter to Wu Sangui..."
"Tell me quickly, what conditions did Qin Mu agree to for Wu Sangui?"
"I don't know. Qin Mu and the others didn't mention what Wu Sangui's conditions were."
"Your Highness!" Ajige's aide Fan Zha slapped his thigh anxiously and said, "No matter what the conditions are, if this is true, it means that Wu Sangui and Qin Mu must have colluded long ago."
"Wu Sangui's attack today was quite hard, unlike..."
"Oh, Your Majesty, it's not that Qin Mu didn't agree to Wu Sangui's conditions before, that's why he's working so hard. Your Majesty, isn't Qin Mu writing a letter to Wu Sangui? Let's quickly send someone to hide outside Wu Sangui's tent to see if there is really a messenger from Qin Mu looking for Wu Sangui. Wouldn't that make everything certain? If we can kidnap the messenger, that would be even better. Your Majesty, this matter is extremely urgent and there is no time to hesitate!"
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.(To be continued..)
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