Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 862 Bad news

The speed of mobilization of the Heluo New Army is world-renowned.The current Ming army, except for a few armies such as the Tianxiong Army and the Denglai Army, mobilizes the time in months. Let’s talk about it again... Time passed like this. This is the reason why Wanli decided to send troops at the beginning of the war during the Imjin Japanese Invasion. However, the reason why the Ming army had not yet completed its assembly until the Japanese army captured Pyongyang half a year later was that the mobilization efficiency was too low. The troops are too scattered, and it is not so difficult to gather troops from all over the country.

The mobilization speed of the Heluo New Army is calculated in days, and the entire staff group also formulates combat plans in days!

After Yang Menglong set off, it took only two days for the Heluo New Army to get ready. First came the cavalry, followed by the infantry.The cavalry did not wear armor, the journey was far away, the weather was cold, and horsepower had to be conserved. The armor was thrown to the rear convoy to help them transport it. The Lancers held a four and a half meter long horse lance, which was their pride. When the Thousand Lancers lined up in a neat formation with their horses upright, when they slammed into them like a speeding iron wall, no army could not collapse.After several years of arduous training, the fierce Chasseurs can also charge over the wall, but the formation is far less rigorous than that of the Lancers, and there is a big gap between the impact force and the Lancers.They eliminated bows and arrows and replaced them with flintlock pistols. This thing can shoot six bursts and can pierce through any armor. If it is shot, it will cause serious injuries. It is much more effective than bows and arrows.A seedling knife made of high-carbon steel is their main equipment. This thing is 1.2 meters long, with a thick back and thin blade, and is extremely sharp. With the speed of a galloping horse, it can easily cut through three or four layers of tanned cowhide. With the exquisite sword skills of those knights on their backs, blood would splatter with every swing of the sword. As long as the enemy was hit by a sword, his body would not be complete.Four thousand cavalry marched from the Heluo area mightily, like a huge black arrow, pointing directly to the north, that scene really made people's blood boil.

Behind the cavalry was a larger infantry corps.This was the largest expedition since the formation of the Heluo New Army. None of the three legions were left behind, leaving only a few troops to guard the barracks. The main forces all set off, with Xue Siming's first legion in the front, Han Peng's second legion in the middle, and Yan Yingyuan Behind them, the Third Army Corps, with more than [-] troops galloping in vehicles, formed a tight formation that stretched for dozens of miles.Unlike the gaudy and messy military uniforms of the European armies of the same period, this army, from generals to soldiers, is all wearing black helmets and black armor. The only difference is that the officers' armbands and uniforms have some more conspicuous logos. , and they use knives, while ordinary soldiers all use rifles, with bullet bags hanging on their waists, and five or six grenades inserted at the same time. There are also some bullets in the backpack, a half-meter-long small engineer shovel, and a high It is made of manganese steel and can be sharpened on both sides. It is a great tool for digging holes, chopping firewood, cutting cabbage, opening watermelons, frying eggs, and splitting heads.Li Yan asked everyone to bring more ammunition and less dry food, and travel lightly. The food and grass supplies are provided by the grain merchants, so there is no need to worry, so everyone only put a dozen compressed biscuits and a small can of candied dates in their backpacks. Then we set off, walking very fast.They didn't have a military band to play and trumpet all the way to promote their military power. The waist drums of the military band were thrown onto the carriage. In fact, there was no need for gongs and drums to make noise. The neat footsteps that made the ground tremble slightly as they marched in silence were enough to shock people's hearts. , the people in the Heluo area were excited, but outside the Heluo area, many local officials in Henan watched this army drive past the city in a mighty manner on the city wall, their faces were earth-colored, their bodies were shaking slightly, and they were sweating coldly. Risking, secretly gasped: "Oh my God, why are these evil stars out in force? Didn't it mean that the scourge is dead, and the entire Heluo New Army is in chaos? How..."

The Heluo New Army deserved to be the most powerful army in the Ming Dynasty. The Jiannu Tartars were terrified of them, and even their own people were terrified of them.In front of the Heluo new army, the local officials from various prefectures and counties who dared to point the nose of the Sichuan army and mocked them were as silent as a cicada, and they were as quiet as a chicken. Provide a little food, grass and military pay.However, Heluo Xinjun ignored them and drove straight past.Behind the Heluo New Army is a continuous stream of transport convoys, bringing all kinds of ordnance, food and grass, and a large number of businessmen in front of them are nervously preparing meals and clothes for them. They don't have to pay attention to those local officials complexion.

They don't look at the faces of local officials, those local officials can only look at their faces.

The Denglai Navy made all preparations in just three days. The huge fleet set sail and sailed northward. The efficiency was so high that it was jaw-dropping.Due to the fierce north wind, the entire fleet sailed against the wind most of the day, making it extremely difficult to travel.When he arrived in Shanghai, Shen Tingyang had to change his plan and stayed at Wusongkou for two days to avoid a strong cold current, and at the same time replenish ammunition and clothing for the fleet.After escaping the cold wave, the fleet continued to march north along the coastline with difficulty. Shen Tingyang was extremely anxious, the wind was unfavorable, and the speed was too slow. He was so anxious that he wanted the sailors to land and walk forward!But this is impossible, the sailors who landed are still called sailors?
When entering the Bohai Sea, the maddening north wind gradually stopped, and the sea became calm. This abnormal calm made Shen Tingyang's heart hang.Sure enough, in the early morning of the next day, everyone saw a large piece of ice floating all over the sea, blocking their way. This year, the north was surprisingly cold, and a large area of ​​the Bohai Sea was frozen, making it difficult for boats to sail.Shen Tingyang ordered the fleet to stop advancing, and at the same time sent small boats deep into the ice floes, trying to find a passage.These sailors in charge of exploring the road made great efforts to walk through the dangerous ice floes, trying to find a passage through the ice floes, but they were forced back by the captured ice after several advances, and two small boats collided with each other. The floating ice sank and a sailor died, which was the first blood shed by the Denley Navy in this war.

Shen Tingyang couldn't wait any longer, so he took the risk of getting someone to lift up a hot air balloon. He boarded the hot air balloon himself, braved the biting cold high in the sky, and used a telescope to observe the sea surface for a long time, looking for a passage.However, the scene in front of him made him despair. There were floating sea ice everywhere, not to mention the giant ships of the Denglai Navy, which weighed a thousand tons or two to three thousand tons at every turn, even a canoe could not move!What's worse is that the temperature is still dropping. I believe it won't take long for the entire sea to freeze, even gods can't get through it!
Ren Bao is from Shandong and is familiar with the situation in the Bohai Sea. He said to Shen Tingyang worriedly: "Master Admiral, we must return to Yantai immediately, otherwise when the sea freezes, the entire fleet will be trapped on the ice floe, and then we will be completely finished." !"

Shen Tingyang was both depressed and angry, and gnashed his teeth and cursed: "Damn it! Those civil and military officials who encouraged the Holy Majesty to conquest in winter should be damned! Look at what they did!"

The matter has come to this point, it is useless to scold, the Bohai Sea in winter is too dangerous, no matter how powerful the fleet can compete with it, Shen Tingyang can only command the fleet to turn around and use it to Yantai Port to spend the winter in this relatively warm port.And just as Ren Bao expected, on the second day after they entered the port, the vast expanse of waves in the Bohai Sea was completely covered by sea ice.The weather is not beautiful, which means that the powerful Denglai Navy can only act as a spectator in this war. It has a strong combat power, but it can't help at all.Although Shen Tingyang was resourceful and resourceful, in the face of such a predicament, he had no choice but to curse at the boundless sea ice.

When Shen Tingyang was yelling, Yang Menglong had already arrived at Shimen.A few years ago, an earth-shattering battle broke out here. The Tianxiong Army wiped out 30 bandits in Gao Yingxiang in the first battle, and the world changed color.Over the past few years, with the great help of the Tianxiong Army, this place has developed quite well. Hundreds of thousands of captives have all become Shimen residents. They work hard, planting wheat, soybeans, sunflowers, cotton, potatoes and other crops. When I was young, I went to work in a factory in the city. I lived a busy and fulfilling life. I dare not say how rich I am, but food and clothing are guaranteed, and I can still eat a few meals of meat every month. I started to mess up my mind.

Yang Menglong was forced to stop at Shimen, not because he wanted to hide here and be lazy, but because his body didn't allow him to move on.He had not recovered from serious injuries, and he had been running around for days in the freezing weather, non-stop, and his iron body couldn't bear it. After arriving at Shimen, he couldn't hold it anymore and developed a high fever.The red lady refused to let him continue on his way, and invited the most famous doctor in the local area to treat him.After taking the medicine for a few days, his condition improved slightly, and he was about to go on the road again. The red lady was so angry that she smashed the medicine bowl and called: "You are not rushing, you are courting death! Look, you are all done now." What is it like, if you don't take a rest, you will be finished before you arrive in Beijing!"

Yang Menglong didn't talk back, but just sighed: "I want to get back the lost time... This is a terrible conspiracy. Every day I delay, tens of thousands of people may die..."

The red lady softened her tone: "But you can't not care about your body at all. If you continue like this, you will collapse before you reach Beijing! The two Optimus Primes of the Ming Dynasty, Su Yihou went to Liaodong, Whether you can come back is unknown, if you collapse again, who else can the world rely on?"

Yang Menglong just sighed.

At this time, there was suddenly a noisy sound of people outside. It was buzzing and discussing mixed with exclamations and cursing, which was earth-shattering.Yang Menglong called out in surprise, "Zaji, what's going on?"

Zhaji went out to check with Weng, and came back with a horrified expression, saying, "Master Hou, there are a large number of refugees coming from Yangquan and Taiyuan!"

Yang Menglong was shocked: "There are a large number of refugees coming from Yangquan and Taiyuan? What's going on! Let's go and have a look!" Regardless of Hong Niangzi's obstruction, he stood up and walked out with Zaji.As soon as he went out, he saw many ragged, yellow and emaciated refugees staggering towards the square under the guidance of the officials, who would set up tents there and arrange for them to live temporarily.These refugees did not know how much they had suffered. Many of them had their shoes worn out and their feet were red from the cold. Some girls had chilblains on their originally fair hands and cried in pain. He also saw a woman with disheveled hair. His expression was a bit crazy, and when he saw a seven or eight-year-old girl, he pulled it over to look at it, and shouted, "My daughter, where is my daughter? Where are you?" Apparently her daughter was separated on the road. She was so stimulated that she was going crazy.No one blamed her, Dakong walked past her silently, and couldn't bear to tell her that the child on her back who was not yet two years old was dead.

There was also an old couple lying on the ground, beating the ground and weeping bitterly.Their only son had died of illness on the way, and they had no one to turn to.

Yang Menglong pulled an old man in Confucian clothing and asked, "Old man, where did you come from?"

The old man said: "Taiyuan!"

Yang Menglong was startled: "Taiyuan? It's freezing cold. If you don't stay in Taiyuan, what are you doing here? What happened?"

"What happened?" The old man looked him up and down, his voice was a little weird: "You really don't know?"

Yang Menglong said: "I really don't know."

The old man smiled bitterly, with extreme anger in his bitterness: "I don't know either... I don't know that three or four months ago, the imperial army was reporting frequent successes, but how could it suddenly be defeated like a mountain? I don't know that two months ago, The nine-border defense line was still as strong as an iron wall, so why did it collapse all of a sudden? I don’t even know how the Tianxiong Army, which two months ago led soldiers and horses from several provinces in a bloody battle with the Tatars and was famous all over the world, suddenly turned against their relatives and left. The Shaanxi army let go of the Yulin line of defense, and the Jin army let go of the Shuozhou line of defense, allowing the Jiannu Tatars to march straight in and attack the rear of Tianxiong's army. I also don't know what those generals were thinking. They obviously have so many troops. If they refuse to fight a good fight with the Jiannu and the Tatars, they will retreat as soon as they see the dust and wait for the wind to fall, and a few thousand Tatars will be able to rampage through Shanxi and Shaanxi and become invincible!"

Yang Menglong was struck by lightning: "What? What did you say!?"

The old man smiled sadly: "Don't you understand yet? The nine-border defense line that Su Yihou painstakingly built has collapsed. Jiannu and the Tatars have already broken through Shuozhou and Yulin. Their troops divided into two groups and came to Taiyuan, attacking the city and plundering the territory along the way. It's like entering an uninhabited country. So many fortified cities are not defended at all. The enemy troops surrender as soon as they arrive. Only the Tianxiong army is still fighting hard on the front line, using their flesh and blood to fill the growing gap in the defense line. The imperial court The army was either watching indifferently, or helping the Jiannu and Tatars to fight them!" At this point, his eyes almost burst out with fire, and he let out a sad roar at the hazy sky: "God, open your eyes and take a look! This country is going to die, it’s going to die!!!”

The mournful roar made Yang Menglong's hands and feet cold, and he was speechless. There was only one thought left in his mind: "Why is this happening? Why is this happening?"

(End of this chapter)