Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 409 I Walked on the Highway

The arrival of the Ming army naturally could not be hidden from the Qing army scouts. Even when several high-ranking generals approached to investigate, the Qing army also made corresponding arrangements.

Those men were quite alert. They retreated directly after just a quick look. The sharpshooters hastily mobilized by the Qing army had made a wasted trip.

Luo Luohun and Dulei in Yangping Pass naturally felt a little regretful about this.

After all, being able to shoot and kill the enemy general before the battle begins is a very morale-boosting thing.

However, they thought they had made sufficient preparations, and even without these tricks, they could still make the Ming army suffer a bloody defeat in front of Yangping Pass, so this regret was only a slight one, but it did not affect their mood.

just
January 7

Yangping Pass

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Ming army has only been here for two days. It is reasonable for them to rest and recuperate."

After looking at Luo Luohun who was frowning, Du Lei put the tea bowl on the table and then spoke slowly.

According to Hauge's military order, the defense of the Yangping Pass area should be fully responsible by him, Gushan Ezhen.

But who would have thought that he had just renovated the dilapidated Yangping Pass, but Luo Luohun, the Duolo Prince, would stay here.

If Hauge's military order was to defend Yangping Pass to the death, he would naturally welcome Luo Luohun's arrival with open arms.

After all, the Ming army had powerful firearms, and his headquarters had only four or five thousand men. If he really defended the pass, he would inevitably suffer huge losses after the pass was breached.

But the military order he received was only to delay the Ming army. As long as the enemy troops in Hanzhong were annihilated, they would be eager to open the pass and have a good fight with the Ming army in this open area.

Under such circumstances, everyone naturally felt resentful of Luo Luohun's refusal to leave.

"Something is wrong."

Luo Luohun didn't take Du Lei's slightly perfunctory words too seriously.

After all, he is Daishan's grandson, and his status can easily crush Du Lei. However, he is stranded in Yangping Pass at this time, and the credit that seems to be within his grasp may not be his. It is understandable that he feels a little resentful.

But then again, how could Luo Luohun, a dignified prince, be greedy for such a small achievement?
If he wasn't really worried that this reckless guy Du Lei would fall into the Emperor Ming Huang's trap, he wouldn't bother wasting time here.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so nosy. We have built the pass and occupied the vacant land. We have even deployed scouts all around Dingjun Mountain. I'm afraid the Ming army has no other choice but to charge at us head-on."

It has to be said that under Du Lei's leadership and command, the loopholes in Yangping Pass have basically been plugged. The current situation is just as he said. If the Ming army wants to enter Hanzhong, they can only force their way into the pass.

But Luo Luohun had met the Emperor Ming and fought in a battle with him, but he just couldn't believe that the Ming army would choose to rest in such a tense situation.

"That being said, there is still something wrong with the Ming army's movements."

"Your Majesty, you always say that something is wrong. What is wrong?"

When these words came out, Du Lei's tone had already added some urgency, but Luo Luohun hesitated for a moment before expressing his doubts.

"Although Hanzhong has the elite troops led by Li Dingguo, the rest are just remnants of defeated troops. I think it will take no more than eight or nine days for Your Highness to capture them. How can the Ming army still have the energy to rest and regroup when they are already there?"

Du Lei didn't agree with what he heard, but the man in front of him was a prince after all, so he could only hide his thoughts with a thoughtful look.

The Ming army arrived forty miles outside the Great Wall the day before yesterday. After staying there for one night, they moved to the river bend about twenty miles away and set up camp.

Calculating the time, the Ming army's journey was not fast, but considering the various obstacles set up by Luo Luohun along the way, they must have been quite tired.

Under such circumstances, what would be unusual in taking three or two days to repair the system before launching an attack?
Could it be that the Ming army could still use its own troops as Aha envoys?

Thinking of this, Du Lei felt that Luo Luohun was making a big deal out of nothing.

After that he stopped talking, just frowned and stared at the tea bowl on the table in a daze. It was not until three or four cups of tea had passed that he seemed to suddenly think of something.

"Your Majesty, look at my memory. Today we have to seal the ground. Let's ask the shaman in the army to deal with it."

"Go."

Such remarks saved Luo Luohun's face. After getting Luo Luohun's permission, he bowed and retreated to the door.

By this time, he had probably already seen some clues.

What was wrong was that Luo Luohun had lost all his courage and no longer had the guts to fight the Emperor Minghuang.

This was not just some random guess on his part.

In the final analysis, although the army managed to turn the tide against Zhang Xianzhong in the end, the whole process could be described as one of heavy casualties and repeated defeats, with more than 100,000 troops reduced to just this small number now.

Such losses were truly unprecedented for Hauge's army. Even though the morale of the troops slightly improved due to the final turnaround, withdrawal and rest became the expectation of the entire army.

Of course, the expectation was not strong at that time, and as a military general, he did not need to pay too much attention to it.

But the key point is that the subsequent prisoner exchange turned into a major war, and the Qing army was defeated without any chance to fight back.

At this point, the expectation became even stronger, and in Du Lei's opinion, Luo Luohun's troops, who had suffered one more defeat, could be regarded as the best among them.

Alas~~~~~They are always taken care of by their ancestors, but they still lack some resilience.

With this in mind, Du Lei looked behind him and went straight to the city. It was unknown whether Luo Luohun, who was left behind, was still wondering about the abnormality of the Ming army.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of thinking.

Luo Luohun is the eldest son and grandson of Lao Daishan. His father Yuetuo not only had great military achievements, but was also the only prince of the third generation of the Aisin-Gioro family who was the leader of a banner for a long time.

With such a family background, Luo Luohun's career was naturally much smoother than that of ordinary people. However, his father died of illness when he was less than 40 years old, and his mother was a scheming person.

Under such circumstances, although Luo Luohun lacked experience on the battlefield, he was much better at intrigue than his peers, and his judgment of the Ming army was not aimless. To be honest, if he were in a nearby area, Luo Luohun would have sent his men to test the Ming army camp. This would not only verify his own ideas, but also make the Yangping Pass defenders united.

No matter what, at this moment, the two armies were each stationed on an open space on the river beach. Whoever dared to take the initiative to attack would be at a disadvantage.

But he only has eight or nine thousand soldiers with unstable morale. If he suffers a defeat, there is probably no need to defend this pass.

The two Qing army generals in Yangping Pass had their own ideas and concerns, but since the Ming army remained on hold, this slight disagreement did not cause much trouble.

As time passed, the sun gradually set into the mountains. After the ritual in Guancheng was over, he returned to Luo Luohun.

"Your Majesty, I have figured it out. Those who worry too much will win when leading troops in battle, and those who worry too little will lose. If you think the Ming army will play any tricks, why not add more scouts tomorrow?"

As soon as he entered the room, Du Lei started talking like this, and Luo Luohun, who was still staring at the map, was startled by his sudden change.

However, this was both unexpected and reasonable. After all, they had already been tied to the same rope with Hauge. If they did not fight hard to win this battle, they would inevitably end up in a disastrous situation.

After figuring this out, Luo Luohun planned to have a few more heart-to-heart words with Du Lei, but before he could open his mouth, a voice sounded from outside the room.

"Your Majesty, my Lord, Dingjun Mountain was attacked!"

"How could it be?! Aren't there sentries and scouts in the valley? How did the barbarians get here?!"

As the words spread, Luo Luohun was so shocked that he froze in place. If it weren't for the shouting that followed, he didn't know how long it would take for him to come back to his senses.

During the time that Du Lei was away, Luo Luohun thought that the Ming army would use water to flood the small camp on the open space outside the pass, and he also thought that the Ming army would come from the north like Liu Bei did.

But after he thought about it, he realized that the plan of flooding was too obvious. Once the water level dropped, it would definitely be discovered by his own side. And going around from the north would only lead to the north side of Yangping Pass, which would be of no use in breaking through the pass except to tie down some troops.

Therefore, he finally felt that the Ming army would make some trouble on Dingjun Mountain, so he planned to add some defenses there after talking to He Dulei.

But who would have thought that before he could even start laying the groundwork, the whole show was interrupted by this sudden news. When he came to his senses, the soldier who was grabbed by the collar was already reporting in a trembling voice.

"I don't know the details. The enemy only said that they were attacking from the south. Our army has focused all its attention on the valley to the west, so."

"South?! How can it be south?! Prepare your horses! Follow me to rescue!"

After asking about the general situation, Du Lei walked out of the room directly. At this time, Luo Luohun was filled with a deep sense of frustration, but he watched Du Lei leave without saying a word.

The time goes back several hours.

At that time, Du Lei was watching the shaman's ritual on the city wall, while Luo Luohun was thinking about the Ming army's move in the room. However, at the foot of Yangshan Mountain, about six or seven miles away from Dingjun Mountain, the guards led by Zhu Cilang had quietly sneaked to the edge of the valley.

"Your Majesty is truly a god descended from heaven. Even He Zhen might not know this secret."

As the view gradually widened, Hu Yiqing couldn't help but sigh towards Rensheng, and then a plain sandwiched between two mountains appeared in front of them, which meant that the first step of this encirclement was completed.

In fact, after the withdrawal that day, both Xiang Rensheng and Hu Yiqing were a little confused, but Zhu Cilang took them straight south without any explanation.

Seeing His Majesty like this, they did not dare to ask more questions. When they arrived at a certain place and His Majesty ordered people to search for the local people, they finally saw some clues.

It has to be said that this place had been invaded by large armies several times, so it was really difficult to find the common people. They even waited for Li Guo and Mei Chun, and the scattered soldiers finally found a few families in the mountains.

The rest of the story was simple. Zhu Cilang asked the common people about the rivers that originated from the surrounding mountains. After making some arrangements with Li Guo and Mei Chun, he let the common people lead the army to a river that flowed from west to east.

At this point, everyone could guess that the river flowed to Hanzhong, but the river was not big, and its source was far away from Jinniu Road. Even if the generals racked their brains, they could not figure out how His Majesty, who was here for the first time, knew about such a river.

Zhu Cilang would not give any further explanation to the generals' doubts. After all, he could not say that he had ever traveled on the Beijing-Kunming Expressway and was deeply impressed by this valley not far from Dingjun Mountain.

"Take a rest, and walk six or seven miles north along this river to reach Dingjun Mountain."

As Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Xiang Rensheng and Hu Yiqing, who were planning to express their feelings a few more times, followed his orders. Afterwards, both the soldiers and generals waited quietly for the night to come, but Xiang Rensheng said to Zhu Cilang after hesitating for several times.

"Your Majesty, now that we have found the way, you and Yiqing can go back."

"Going back where?"

"Of course, I'll go back to General Li."

"They are probably about to run into Wenxiu. Aren't you afraid that I will be taken away by a tiger after such a long journey?"

"."

Seeing that his Majesty started to play tricks, Xiang Rensheng felt helpless.

The tiger problem in Sichuan is rampant, but Your Majesty is not only accompanied by Hu Yiqing, but also by a group of guards. Not to mention whether you can meet one, even if you really do meet one, it will only add a tiger skin. It is not as mysterious as Zhu Cilang said.

Because Xiang Rensheng had been with Zhu Cilang for a long time, he did not deliberately hide what he was thinking. After seeing his expression, Zhu Cilang straightened his face and then spoke seriously.

"It's not that I want to make things difficult for you. It's just that after we capture Dingjun Mountain, we still have to follow the Tatars' actions and respond accordingly. If I'm not here."

Although Zhu Cilang did not finish his words, Xiang Rensheng knew that His Majesty was worried that he would not be able to react in time.

He did not think there was anything wrong with this worry. After all, looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, His Majesty was unmatched in both military strategy and political struggle. As a laborer like him, he would not think there was anything wrong with this statement.

But this is a solitary expedition, and my death is nothing, if something happens to your majesty...
Thinking of this, Xiang Rensheng was about to give them some more advice, but before he could open his mouth, Zhu Cilang spoke first, "It doesn't matter. It's just one battle. After we capture Dingjun Mountain, we can contact Wenxiu and Li Guo along the valley road that Liu Huangshu took. We won't be alone in the deep."

At this point, Xiang Rensheng had no choice but to obey orders. At nightfall, he led the central army quietly towards Dingjun Mountain, while Zhu Cilang stayed where he was, protected by Hu Yiqing and a group of guards.

"Your Majesty! There's a fire on the mountain!"

Seven or eight miles was nothing for the central army. It took only more than half an hour, and a faint fire was lit in the dark night.

"I wonder if the Tartar commander has the courage to follow Xiahou Yuan's example."

(End of this chapter)