Chapter 364 Volume C: A last-ditch battle
Ganzhou City, also known as Zhangye in later generations, was the administrative seat of the Five Guards of Gansu Province and the administrative seat of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division. However, as the power of the general garrison system grew stronger, the Shaanxi Xingdu Division was actually reduced to more of a control of various parties. The garrison management organization of the garrison town, and the real power of training troops and fighting has been concentrated in the hands of the garrison commander.
With the loss of the Seven Guards of Guanxi, Ganzhou has actually become the most prosperous city in the western end of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, the so-called prosperity here cannot be compared with cities such as Datong and Xi'an, not to mention cities such as Jingshi, Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Jinling. However, in the Hexi Corridor, including the Hetao, this is a major city that is second to none.
Including the garrison soldiers, officers' families, and the merchants and residents who provided services to the town and city guards, the city totaled more than 30,000 people, which could be regarded as a prosperous place in the entire Western Frontier of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
When Feng Ziying and his party arrived at the General Military Mansion, the entire General Military Mansion was already in chaos.
Since the death of the previous commander-in-chief, the deputy commander-in-chief Ma Xia has been acting as the commander-in-chief, but this commander-in-chief Ma is obviously not qualified.
Yesterday, Feng Ziying and his entourage came to the General Military Mansion early in the morning and asked the guard. The guard only said that the Deputy General had not seen anyone early in the morning, and even his bodyguards were missing, so it was not clear where he had gone. It might have been Went to inspect the town army.
The circumference of Ganzhou Town reached ten miles, and various departments were stationed at four gates. With the fall of Liangzhou Guard and Yongchang Guard, the situation here became increasingly tense.
At such an emergency, Mr. Ma suddenly disappeared, and no one was seen from yesterday to this morning. He also had dozens of bodyguards with him. It was obviously incredible that he just disappeared like this.
When Feng Ziying, Zhang Jin and others rushed to the General Military Mansion, they even caught up with a general who came to report the military situation with a livid face and was cursing.
"What's going on, brother?" Feng Ziying already had some bad predictions, but he still tried to understand the current situation. If the situation is really out of control, I'm sorry, it's important to run away from the west gate. He would never lose his life in a place like this. Even if he took a detour from Xining Guard, it would at least be better than being killed here among the chaos.
"Who are you?" The strong man wearing iron leaf armor unceremoniously pushed away Feng Zuo who was blocking the front, and said sternly: "Are the important areas of the General Military Mansion allowed to be intruded by unrelated people?"
“The commander-in-chief has already fled, so why talk about important territory?” Feng Ziying sneered and asked, “Who are you?”
Hearing Feng Ziying say that the general had run away, the strong man's face suddenly changed. He was about to move the waist knife in his hand, but Feng Zuo had already held it down with one hand: "Don't be impatient, we are not outsiders!"
The strong man felt the strong aura from Feng Zuo. He raised his hand slightly without moving it. After another movement, Feng Zuo's hand was loosened. Then he squinted his eyes and looked at Feng Ziying and the others, and said in a deep voice: "Who are you waiting for? Hurry up and tell me your name, otherwise I won't blame you for being rude. Come on!"
Several soldiers in full armor had already rushed out with guns, and one of them was actually carrying a three-eye blazing gun.
Before Feng Ziying could speak, Zhang Jin had already stood up: "I, Long Jinwei, Deputy Qianhu of Fusi, North Town, Zhang Jin, have been ordered by Mr. Chai, the right minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of the three sides, to work with Feng Keng, who is accompanying the army to praise paintings. Go as envoy to the Tumote Department and supervise the army in Gansu!"
Long Jinwei Beizhen Fusi? This really shocked the strong man in front of him, with an expression of disbelief on his face. However, when he saw Zhang Jin's Dragon Guard badge, the general quickly bowed his hand and said, "The last general of Gansu Province." Guerrilla general He Zhisheng has met Mr. Zhang!"
Seeing Zhang Jin returning the gift, He Zhisheng was a little confused about Feng Ziying's identity as a commoner.
He was also a martial artist. Although he was living in this Gansu town, he still knew the status of a Shujishi, but he had never heard that a Shujishi could accompany the army and praise paintings.
Generally speaking, the person in charge of the Ministry of War should be the one who praises paintings with the army. Why did he become a nondescript commoner who came to praise paintings with the army? Also sent as envoy to the Tumote Department?
It seems that even Zhang Qianhu is still dominated by this young man?
After a slight hesitation, He Zhisheng reluctantly raised his hand: "I have seen Feng Zan's paintings before."
Zan Hua is not an official position, just an errand, but you can’t call him Feng Shujishi, right? That's too much to say.
Feng Ziying looked the other person up and down, "Uncle He Qianhou of Shoushan Bo's family, who does he respect?"
The strong man was startled and looked Feng Ziying up and down: "He is the uncle of the last general. I don't know how to respect him..."
“Ah?!” He Zhisheng was shocked, “Are you the Feng family’s eldest son?”
The Feng family and the He family are not too close, but they are both regarded as martial arts heroes. Like Shoushan Bo, the He family and the Feng family are different from the four princes and eight princes. They all followed the dragon after Zhou Taizu raised his army to fight in the north.
The He family is a family of military generals from Baoding, Beizhi, just like the Feng family is a family from Linqing, Shandong, they both belong to the northern martial arts, and are different from the old martial arts heroes like the Four Kings and Eight Gongs who started from Jinling.
Obviously He Zhisheng has also heard of Feng Ziying’s name.
Feng Ziying had the impression that He Qianhou was the current head of the He family. He seemed to be a hereditary second-class man who had always been idle at home. However, Feng Ziying was deeply impressed by his legitimate son He Zhi.
Because He Zhizhong was the commander of the Dongcheng Army and Horses Division, Liu Xianglian had already dealt with the Army and Horses Division when he bought the garden, and Feng Ziying even came to visit him specifically for this purpose.
Moreover, the He family’s appearance is particularly distinctive, with a pair of high cheekbones and thick black eyebrows that can be recognized at a glance.
He Zhizhong and this guy are really a bit like brothers. I didn't expect them to be cousins, but then I thought about it. This guy actually went to a remote place like Ganzhou to be a general. He probably wasn't even a direct descendant. He was just a concubine who was kicked to the town of Gansu, but judging from his appearance, he seemed to be a capable fighter. It was considered good to be able to infiltrate the guerrilla generals.
"Brother He Shi, I didn't expect to meet Brother Shi here. I should have said it was a pleasure to meet you, but the current scene really cannot be said to be a pleasure meeting." Feng Ziying also bowed her hands and said, "My younger brother, the right minister of the Ministry of War, the governor of the three sides, Lord Chai, and After being ordered by Mr. Yang, the right censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, to go on a mission with Mr. Zhang to the Tumotebu Shitu Tribe, they took a detour to Gansu Town to inspect and supervise military affairs, but they did not expect to encounter such a thing as soon as they arrived..."
As soon as the conversation started, it was like meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign country. They were both children of the martial arts in Beijing, and Feng Ziying deliberately made friends with them. They quickly became warm: "Brother He Shi, it seems that Ma Xia has run away. Who does the city think of now?" host?"
He Zhisheng also had a bitter look on his face, "To be honest with you, I just arrived last night. Brother Yu was originally stationed at Gaotaisuo. He received the order from the Commander-in-Chief Jun, so he set out the morning before yesterday and arrived at the Commander-in-Chief Mansion last night. When I reported in, it was said that the Commander-in-Chief had not returned. After paying the order, he went back to rest. Today, it has become like this..."
Feng Ziying knew Gaotai, which was the chokepoint between Ganzhou and Suzhou. Generally speaking, a guerrilla general would lead three thousand troops to garrison it. It seemed that Ma Xia originally planned to concentrate his efforts to defend Ganzhou, but he probably saw that When the rebel army became too powerful, they were afraid that they would be surrounded in the city and unable to leave, so they simply left.
"Is there anyone in charge in Ganzhou City now? How many troops can be mobilized?" Feng Ziying had no time to say more. He only had to ask if there was any room for recovery. If not, then he quickly took He Zhisheng and fled westward, fleeing to Let’s talk about it on the high platform.
He Zhisheng hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "Brother, I don't know, but if General Ma fled alone, then there should be three to five thousand troops in the city. Does General Guo Shengyao know Da Lang?"
Feng Ziying shook her head and said in a deep voice: "Brother Shi, I just want to ask, can he organize the city's defense immediately and keep an eye on the rebels' attack? Add your people too!"
"Dalang, I only brought a thousand people. Although there are still three to five thousand soldiers in the city, I don't know how many can be gathered." Seeing Feng Ziying's eyes burning like a torch, staring at him motionless, He Zhisheng finally faced hardships He nodded and said: "General Guo is considered a high-ranking character in Gansu Town. You have to find him and ask him to find out."
"Then send someone to look for him immediately!" Zhang Jin's sinister voice shocked He Zhisheng, and then he remembered that there was a ruthless man named Long Jinwei next to him, "Okay, I'll send someone to look for him immediately."
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"How sure are you?" Feng Ziying stood at the top of the city and looked at the rebels under the city wall who had begun preparing for the second round of siege. He knew that what he was saying was unprofessional, but he still wanted to ask.
He Zhisheng ignored him, and Feng Ziying could only shut up.
The rebels came very quickly, not at all like the so-called weak troops, but their number was smaller than expected, only about 8,000 people and less than 10,000 people. This gave Feng Ziying some confidence.
But the situation in the city is even more chilling. There are only less than 2,000 soldiers. General Guo Shengyao went to the city personally in the round of enemy raids just now. He was seriously injured and is now unconscious, but he successfully defeated The first round of offensive launched by the enemy with vigor was defeated.
I have to say that Ganzhou City did not fall, and it was largely due to the death of Guo Shengyao's two thousand soldiers that it was able to survive.
The town of Ganzhou was too big. If the eight thousand rebels wanted to disperse and attack, they would obviously be unable to do so. Therefore, the rebels were very smart and directly chose the weakest south gate as a breakthrough point.
Of course, harassment is unavoidable. A harassment of three to five hundred people can make the defenders in the city panic. Once a breakthrough is made, it can have the effect of breaking through.
"They are all Liu Baichuan's soldiers, no Mongolians?" The ten Ye Bu Shou and Jian Shao who followed were divided into several groups. Each group led thirty or fifty soldiers to patrol the city wall. Once rebels climbed the city, they would They were responsible for culling, while Zhang Jin and Feng Zuo personally led a hundred elite troops as a reserve team to attack once a breakthrough was made.
He Zhisheng took a deep breath. As a guerrilla, he was chasing a duck. He was responsible for guarding the entire city by himself. However, in such a large Ganzhou City, even 10,000 men and horses were not enough, let alone two or three thousand men. Fortunately, the rebels are not enough.
(End of this chapter)