Chapter 171: The Power of the White-Pole Soldiers
Qin Yiming led Fang Xinyu, Ma Wanchun, and Ma Xiangling to Shizhu, aiming to recapture Chongqing. Who was the commander of Chongqing at the time? Liu Wenxiu, one of Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons and known as the King of Funan.
Liu Wenxiu, the Prince of Funan, commanded over 70,000 troops to garrison Chongqing Prefecture, but he genuinely disregarded the White Spear Soldiers. While they had never captured Shizhu, the White Spear Soldiers were not adept at sieges. Otherwise, Chongqing would have fallen to them long ago. Furthermore, reports from the front indicated that the White Spear Soldiers numbered only a few hundred thousand. Without a force of 300,000 or 400,000, it would be a pipe dream to attempt to capture Chongqing Prefecture.
Unfortunately, Liu Wenxiu didn't know that the White-Pole Soldiers included the Conquer the Difficult Army, artillery, and new cannons. Furthermore, Fang Xinyu had even made grenades for the White-Pole Soldiers, using artillery for long-range attacks and White-Pole Soldiers for close-range attacks. If you want to engage in street fighting with me, I'll just use grenades.
Moreover, Fang Xinyu also made a hot air balloon specifically for the purpose of command.
At this time, hundreds of thousands of white-pole soldiers were tightly surrounding Chongqing City. Liu Wenxiu, like Sun Kewang, was initially faced with the formidable artillery fire and immediately deployed his troops into the city in batches, preparing for street fighting.
It was a good idea, but what he encountered was the latest 2.0 version of the White-Pole Soldiers. They had sophisticated armor and weapons, long-range artillery, and powerful grenades. Some of them also commanded from high above in hot air balloons, leaving Liu Wenxiu's every move exposed to the White-Pole Soldiers.
After several rounds of artillery fire, the White Spear Troops quickly entered the city. Liu Wenxiu's numerous defensive measures proved ineffective, as Fang Xinyu, commanding from the sky, instructed his wife to signal from a hot air balloon where to locate the ambush. The White Spear Troops first treated the Dashi Troops to a feast of grenades, then engaged them in hand-to-hand combat. Thus, Liu Wenxiu's Dashi Troops were gradually eroded by the White Spear Troops within Chongqing.
Finally, Liu Wenxiu had to withdraw his troops and retreat to Nanchong. The White Spear Soldiers occupied Chongqing Prefecture almost without a fight, and posted a notice to reassure the people, telling them not to panic. The court also exempted them from taxes for three years, allowing them to recuperate.
A book friend commented that Zhang Xianzhong massacred Sichuan, leaving the people in the city unharmed. Haha! History is written by the victors. The Qing dynasty and the Dashi regime fought back and forth, but the blame can't be placed solely on Zhang Xianzhong. Neither side was a good person, and both sides were responsible for the deaths of the people. We're not trying to be mean or exaggerated here; this is the truth!
After entering the city, Qin Yiming said, "Brother Fang, your artillery is really powerful! A few shots can knock down the city gate. If the battles from now on are this easy to win, we can have a feast in Chengdu on the second day of the second lunar month when the dragon raises its head!"
"Yes! And Brother Fang's Kongming lantern is so powerful. It can even send people up to the sky. If we look at Liu Wenxiu from the sky, wouldn't we see him naked? Whatever he wants to do, it can't escape our eyes! And your telescope, you should ask the court for a hundred or eighty more sets in the future, and strive to give one to every sergeant." Ma Wanchun said.
"Dad, that's not called a Kongming lantern! It's called a hot air balloon! When I asked you to go up and command it, you all got scared! How can you compare to my husband!" Ma Xiangling said.
Ma Wanchun was furious when he heard about this exposé on her past. He said, "Hey! You little girl! You're like water spilled after marriage. You've only been married for a few days, and you're already criticizing your father!"
"Father-in-law, not everyone can adapt to this! It's just like some people are born with seasickness, it's something they've been carrying since their mothers' wombs!" Fang Xinyu was embarrassed! He had to help his father-in-law out. Ma Wanchun called him brother, and he called Ma Wanchun father-in-law, which sounded confusing no matter how he listened.
"Hey! That's right! This is definitely not because I, Ma Wanchun, am a coward! This is innate! Besides, without the fear of heights given by your father, can you go to the sky with him?" Ma Wanchun said.
"Brother Fang, now I know how your prince defeated Zuo Liangyu's 800,000 troops. If I had these things, our White Spear Soldiers could also win! Even with 100,000 people, we could recover the capital!" Qin Yiming said happily.
Fang Xinyu thought to himself: If it were so easy, we would have already reached the capital! How could it be the turn of you chieftains?
Fang Xinyu laughed and said, "It's easy to capture the capital, but it's hard to hold on to your throne after capturing it! There's no food there, so how can we feed the people? If this were an enemy country, we wouldn't care. But this is about recovering lost territory, and without food and silver, we can't recover it at all!"
"We are all military men and don't understand these things. Military men should just fight, and let the scholars govern the country!" Qin Yiming said.
Fang Xinyu thought Qin Yiming was a pure warrior, a warrior with no knowledge of politics. Looking at Ma Wanchun again, he began to advise, "We can't just focus on fighting. We also need to understand the situation! The court is so generous this time, we must give it our all! The court has granted us titles and money. Maybe if we reach Chengdu, the court will need us, the Qin and Ma families, to permanently govern Sichuan!"
Fang Xinyu thought to himself: Oh my! Father-in-law! You have a really clever plan! You still want to stay in Sichuan forever? It would be great if you could stay in Shizhu forever. Don't dream of such a grand event!
"Father-in-law! This is a long way off! Let's think about the upcoming war! What I mean is that we should rest in Chongqing for a day and send troops to Nanchong tomorrow. We can't let the western bandits gain a foothold after resting." Fang Xinyu said.
"My dear son-in-law, you are right! Let's rest for a day and set off early tomorrow morning!" said Ma Wanchun.
"It would be great if we could set off tonight! Why wait until tomorrow?" Qin Yiming said.
"Can we go at this time? They will definitely send people to set an ambush! Don't be anxious!" Ma Wanchun persuaded.
After the final discussion, the White Spear Army rested immediately. At four o'clock in the morning, they cooked dinner and set out at five o'clock, heading towards Nanchong!
In this way, the White Spear Soldiers easily occupied Chongqing Prefecture. The next day, they headed straight for Nanchong City without even leaving the garrison behind. Fang Xinyu's reasoning was that the victory or defeat of a city or a place was not a matter of victory or defeat, but rather the destruction of the Dashi Army's effective forces.
Ma Wanchun didn't understand what he meant. Ma Xiangling said to her father, "Dad, what my husband means is that if we kill all the bandits from the west, the city will be ours in the end, right?"
"Hey! If you had told me earlier, I would have understood! Let's go!" Ma Wanchun said.
Qin Liangyu led her small group, followed by the White-Pole Soldiers. Her only defeat was at Tudiling in Chongqing, where she fled in disgrace to Shizhu, a fate she considered a lifelong shame. Seeing the White-Pole Soldiers easily enter the city, she burst into tears. However, she still had one wish: to defeat Li Dingguo. It was Li Dingguo who had caused her to retreat to Shizhu.
The White Spear Soldiers quickly attacked, heading all the way to Nanchong. Liu Wenxiu gathered the defeated troops along the way and retreated all the way to Nanchong City. Once they reached Nanchong City, the White Spear Soldiers immediately attacked the city.
Liu Wenxiu knew he couldn't retreat this time. If he did, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to his adoptive father. Returning to Chengdu would be courting death. Given his adoptive father's temper, he would surely be executed by military court if he led his troops back like that.
Liu Wenxiu had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight the White Spear Army head-on. This time, he changed his tactics and decided not to defend the city. Except for leaving some soldiers behind to pretend to defend the city, the rest of his troops quietly left the city. He planned to engage the White Spear Army in a field battle and decide the outcome in one go!
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