Chapter 380: Lu Xiangsheng's old-fashioned operation, joining forces with Hong Chengchou to fight together
Longhukou City.
The terrain here is extremely dangerous. This fortress city is stuck between steep mountains, firmly blocking the only passage from this area to the outside world.
Any human army in the world today that wants to enter Changping from Juyongguan and then reach the capital must capture this medium-sized pass.
In the meeting hall of the City Lord's Mansion, Lu Xiangsheng sat in the main seat. In front of him and on his left and right were his two younger brothers Lu Xiangjin and Lu Xiangguan, as well as various generals of the Datong Army.
Lu Xiangsheng's family was not very lucky. Although he had six sons in recent years, the first three unfortunately died young.
The remaining three sons were too young, all between three and four years old. If they wanted to help Lu Xiangsheng, it would take at least ten years.
In order to resist the Later Jin Tartars and Li Dingguo's Restoration Army, Lu Xiangsheng has been urgently appointed by the court as the Governor-General of Xuanda, responsible for the military and political affairs of Xuanfu and Datong Prefecture.
Although the high-ranking officials in the court did not like Lu Xiangsheng, a civil servant who was loyal to the royal family, they still had some ideas.
It's nothing, they are afraid of death.
If the Ming Dynasty fell at the hands of the Later Jin clan, they could still surrender to save their lives like the civil servants of the Song Dynasty, and at most they would become second-class people.
But if the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by Li Dingguo and replaced by the Ming Dynasty, these evil guys would be doomed to die and their clans would be exterminated.
No matter from which perspective, the most urgent task is to eliminate Li Dingguo and the Fuxing Army.
And in the Ming Dynasty, Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou, who had the greatest military talents, became their life-saving straws.
Even if he disliked Lu Xiangsheng in his heart, he had to push him to the position of Governor-General of Xuanda, hoping that Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou could work together to wipe out Li Dingguo and the Fuxing Army as soon as possible.
Especially after Lu Xiangsheng broke through to the sixth level not long ago, his authority became even greater.
Together with the 100,000 newly selected and trained new troops and the original 30,000 veterans of the Tianxiong Army, they formed a strong army with equal strength and combat effectiveness that was no less than that of the Later Jin Tartars, and they established great prestige in the army.
Although he was not as influential as Hong Chengchou in the Qin army, no one dared to disobey Lu Xiangsheng's orders during the march and battle.
"Grand Governor!"
Jiang Ge, the general of Datong, asked for orders, "Since we have received solid intelligence that the Later Jin Tartars have evacuated Juyong Pass, why don't we move our troops out as soon as possible and go directly to recapture Juyong Pass instead of waiting for Hong Chengchou's reply?"
"In this case, will we miss the opportunity to fight?"
He said nice things, but actually he just wanted to take credit.
For a long time, the three brothers of the Jiang family, although they were a famous family of generals, had never had any truly outstanding military achievements and were often criticized by the world.
Ever since his elder brother Jiang Rang was promoted to commander-in-chief of Yulin last year, but was defeated in a battle by Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army, the Jiang family has been hit hard and suffered huge losses in all aspects.
Now, the huge Jiang family is now supported by only himself and his younger brother. They urgently need real military achievements to restore their reputation and stabilize the current extremely unfavorable situation.
His younger brother Jiang Xuan was the deputy general of Yanghe, Shanxi, and could not be considered the leader of an army, so all the pressure fell on Jiang Ge.
This is why he is so anxious now.
As long as we can recapture Juyongguan, no matter by what means, it will be a remarkable achievement that can shut up people all over the world.
"Not for now!"
Lu Xiangsheng said decisively, "Now our army is fighting together with the Qin army. If we do not consult with our allies and directly compete for credit, it will be very disadvantageous for future operations."
"The army under the command of Hong Chengchou, the governor of the Three Borders, is several times larger than ours, and is very close to Juyongguan. Hong Chengchou should know the news of the Tartars' withdrawal before our army."
"If they want to steal the credit, even if we set out immediately, we won't be able to enter Juyong Pass before Hong Chengchou, and we will be hated instead."
"Yesterday, after I received the news that the Tartars were withdrawing their troops, I immediately used a pigeon to send a letter to Hong Chengchou. I believe his reply should have arrived by now."
Lu Xiangsheng has always put benevolence and righteousness first. When fighting in coordination with friendly forces, it is impossible for him to do such a thing as stealing credit.
You, Jiang Ge, may not care about fame, but I, Lu Xiangsheng, cannot not care.
"This……"
The generals of the various official armies of Datong, led by Jiang Ge, were speechless upon hearing this. They looked at each other for a while, but they didn't know how to persuade Lu Xiangsheng.
If it were half a year ago, when Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army had not yet started its large-scale expansion and Lu Xiangsheng himself had not yet broken through to the sixth level of cultivation, they would probably be arguing loudly now.
But in the past few months, with the strong rise of Lu Xiangsheng and the Tianxiong Army, they did not have the courage to disobey them.
Lu Xiangsheng is a very old-fashioned person. Once you violate military regulations, he will definitely act according to the rules without any hesitation and will not show any mercy.
This time, they were ordered to fight against the Later Jin Tartars. Due to special circumstances, each tribe received sufficient money and food, and they had no excuse to refute Lu Xiangsheng.
"Whoosh!"
At this time, a figure leaped over at high speed, stopped at the gate of the meeting hall, then strode in, saluted Lu Xiangsheng, and reported, "Grand Commander, I just received a reply from Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three borders. He asked us to break camp and send a 10,000-man army to station at Juyong Pass."
"Hong Chengchou has already led his army to set off, heading out of the Inner Great Wall Pass on the west side of the Changyu Pass Fortress, and marching quickly towards the Chadaokou Fortress!"
"He asked you, the Grand Commander, to lead the army in person and use the same forced march mode to rush to the fork in the road. Then the two armies will merge and approach the Yanqing Prefecture City where Huang Taiji's army is currently entrenched."
"If we are fast enough, we should be able to intercept some of the two white flag Tartar soldiers on the banks of the Qingshui River."
"After all, the Tartar army of 600,000 wants to cross the Qingshui River, and since the number of treasure ships provided by the Shanxi merchants is limited, it will take a lot of time."
The man who came was Yang Guozhu, a fierce general under Lu Xiangsheng. After reporting the latest intelligence, he looked eagerly at the commander-in-chief whom he respected the most.
"Then the governor of the three borders, Hong Chengchou, led the army to bypass the inner Great Wall pass and go straight to pursue the Tartar army?"
"That's great! We have achieved great success this time. We can recapture Juyong Pass without any effort!"
"If you ask me, now is a good opportunity to pursue the Later Jin Tartars! This way, we can recover more towns and fortresses along the way than just Juyongguan! Even all the lost towns in Xuanfu can be easily conquered!"
"Yes, yes! If Huang Taiji doesn't want his retreat to be blocked by the Fuxing Army, he must leave the country as soon as possible!"
"That's right! If Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army takes advantage of the situation and pursues us, Huang Taiji will not be able to escape even if he wants to!"...
As soon as Yang Guozhu finished speaking, there was an uproar at the scene. They didn't expect Hong Chengchou to be so bold that he would directly send out a large army to pursue the Later Jin Tartars, and even wanted to destroy some of the Tartar soldiers who did not retreat in time in the Qingshui River area.
These generals were not stupid. After a little thought, they guessed that the Tartars were in a bad situation.
To be honest, they were all shocked yesterday when they learned that the million-strong army led by Huang Taiji was easily defeated by Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army, and that the Tartar soldiers suffered losses of more than 80%.
Before this battle began, no one could have guessed that Li Dingguo and the Fuxing Army would be so powerful.
That was Huang Taiji who had never been defeated!
Even Ligdan Khan, who had a total army of nearly ten million, was easily defeated by him. It was like speaking from the heavenly book, so unbelievable.
However, it is even more incredible that such a powerful Huang Taiji, who led an army of one million, was defeated in one fell swoop by Li Dingguo's army of about 600,000.
While being extremely shocked, everyone was also secretly thankful that they had not yet engaged in a major battle with the Renaissance Army.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Especially last night, when the news came that the Eastern Army led by Yuetuo and Manggurtai rushed to Jiaozhou Bay, but was defeated by the Fuxing Army of Lingshan Island and was almost wiped out, all the generals were frightened and broke out in cold sweats!
Even the two million-strong Tartar armies, which were so powerful, were no match for the Fusion Army. How could they dare to actively attack the territory already occupied by the Fusion Army?
At the same time, the Later Jin Tatar army, which had suffered repeated heavy losses, was no longer scary in their eyes.
Huang Taiji lost more than 60% of his troops during this invasion, and with his morale low, how could he be a match for Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou, the two most elite and powerful armies of the Ming Dynasty?
After Yang Guozhu reported the latest military intelligence, they were all ready to fight.
Even though our combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the Fuxing Army, we are still far superior to the enemy in terms of both manpower and combat effectiveness when facing the hundreds of thousands of Later Jin Tartar troops who are like lost dogs. Naturally, we will not be afraid at all.
Especially Lu Xiangsheng, who had already broken through to the sixth level of cultivation, gave everyone great courage.
Just the two level five peak green-feathered peacocks in Lu Xiangsheng's hands, which he had just obtained, were enough to give those Later Jin soldiers a good beating.
The advantages in all aspects crushed the Tartar soldiers. How could these generals, who were best at fighting an advantageous battle, not know how to beat a fallen enemy?
I believe that Hong Chengchou also thought of this, which is why he made the current decision so decisively.
"Everyone, the military situation is urgent now. Go to the barracks and get ready. The entire army will set out in half an hour!"
"Lu Xiangguan, you will lead 10,000 Tianxiong Army soldiers as the vanguard and set out first. After entering Juyong Pass, stabilize the order in the city."
"Anyone found taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos will be killed without mercy!"
Lu Xiangsheng finally received news from Hong Chengchou. He immediately stood up, his eyes gleaming coldly, and gave the order.
"Yes! Grand Commander!"...
The generals immediately took the order and left, beginning intensive preparations.
Lu Xiangguan, a military officer who was accompanying the army, hurried to the Tianxiong army camp with a team of personal guards, gathered a team of 10,000 soldiers, rode out of the camp on two horses, quickly rushed out of the west gate of Longhukou, and galloped towards Juyongguan in the northwest direction.
……
"Fan Yubin, can you find more treasure ships?"
"There are only a dozen or so mid- to low-quality treasure ships here. Their transport capacity is too poor. With nearly 600,000 troops here, the speed of crossing the river is too slow!"
"Once the coalition forces of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng arrive, we will decisively attack them halfway across the river. The consequences will be disastrous!"
On the bank of the Qingshui River, Huang Taiji looked anxiously at the fleet loaded with Later Jin soldiers, which was rapidly heading towards the city of Yanqing on the opposite bank, and asked in a deep voice to Fan Yubin, the current head of the Fan family.
After learning that Lu Xiangsheng had broken through to the sixth level and had two fifth-level peak spiritual birds, the emerald-feathered peacocks, Huang Taiji had no confidence at all that he could lead this demoralized army to victory in the next battle.
This time, the Later Jin clan led a large army into the pass and suffered heavy losses. Even if one more person died on their side, it would make Huang Taiji heartbroken.
Although the Later Jin clan still has about three million warriors in the Liaodong region, they seem to be a little powerless to face the two major enemies, the Fuxing Army and the Ming Dynasty, at the same time in the future.
After all, the total population of the Later Jin clan is only tens of millions, and their war potential has basically been fully stimulated.
Without several years of rest, it is difficult to return to your previous peak state.
The only way is to conquer all the Jurchen tribes in the wild and use them for one's own benefit.
But this is easier said than done?
Those Jurchen tribes in opposition had never been submissive to Huang Taiji's Later Jin clan. It would have been impossible to make them their own people without years of wars of conquest.
"Khan, I can't do anything in this rush!"
"Our Fan family's large fleet, all the treasure ships have been basically lost. Even if other big Jin merchants can still put together a large fleet, it is impossible for them to arrive in such a short time."
Fan Yubin was also helpless.
How could Huang Taiji, who was always wise and brave, ask such a stupid question?
Could it be that he became confused after suffering heavy losses from the repeated attacks by the Fuxing Army led by Li Dingguo?
Although these big Shanxi merchants had recently lost a large number of treasure ships which were successively seized by the Fuxing Army, they still had no problem putting together a large fleet.
The problem is that these treasure ships are scattered all over the place. How can they be mobilized to Qingshui River in a hurry?
"Oh... never mind."
Huang Taiji waved his hand feebly and said to Aobai, "You personally lead our army to gather together the 70,000 warriors of the Sauron tribe and go to the important roads near the front to form a military formation and wait for them."
"Once Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou's army comes after us, we must find a way to intercept them. Don't let the enemy's arrival affect our soldiers' crossing of the river!"
The only solution now is to suffer the 70,000 dead soldiers of the Sauron tribe gathered here.
With Abahai's bravery and the super combat effectiveness of these Sauron dead soldiers, it is still possible to stop millions of Ming soldiers in a short period of time.
If there was no threat from the Fuxing Army, Huang Taiji was actually not afraid of the millions of Ming soldiers led by Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou.
After all, here, they still have nearly 800,000 elite cavalry. Even if they cannot quickly defeat the Ming army in a head-on confrontation, they are enough to compete with the other side.
According to the latest intelligence, after hearing that he had led the army back into Datong Prefecture, the Fuxing Army immediately began to mobilize troops. Nearly one million soldiers advanced by land and sea, heading straight for the various frontier fortresses outside the Great Wall!
Their purpose is self-evident. They wanted to block the remaining nearly one million troops of the Later Jin Dynasty and form a situation of closing the door and beating the dog, so as to join forces with the Ming official army to attack the hundreds of thousands of soldiers led by Huang Taiji.
Under such circumstances, how could Huang Taiji still have the mood to engage in a fierce offensive and defensive battle with Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou?
Since the situation is hopeless, the best strategy is to lead the remaining soldiers to evacuate the border as soon as possible.
As Oboi accepted the order and left with a solemn look on his face, the evacuation operation, which was a race against time, became increasingly tense.
Under the personal command of Huang Taiji, the order of the soldiers' emergency crossing of the river was finally stabilized.
(End of this chapter)
