Chapter Forty-Five: The Perilous Land - Ashen Slope

  The same thing happens to different people, often with different results. It is not known whether it was because of this that he harbored hatred, but Di Sanpin chose to betray and surrender to the Qing side after capturing Feng Shuangli, the King of Qingyang. In contrast, Zhang Guangtu seemed to have a tendency to reform and make amends for past mistakes. From the beginning, he actively approached Zhu Yongxing, the imperial clansman who was left behind to guard the city, showing a strong desire for personal gain.

  To be frank, although Li Dingguo was the most outstanding military strategist at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he really made many mistakes, especially with a strong sectarian bias, treating people differently within the Ming army (for example, calling Sun Keshuang's soldiers Qin soldiers, Liu Wenxiu's soldiers Shu soldiers, and referring to the old soldiers in Yunnan Province as Jin soldiers). As a result, many generals felt that they had been treated unfairly and were not very willing to follow his orders.

  The imperial clan stayed behind to guard the capital and exercise the power of regent, which almost allowed them to rival Li Dingguo, the Jin king who held the yellow pennant. This gave those discontented generals room for choice: whether to surrender to Zhu Yujun and gain favor in times of need, or continue to serve under the Jin king and suffer discrimination - a decision that seemed not difficult to make. Although this was not Zhu's intention, once the imperial clan stayed behind to guard the capital and exercise regency, such an outcome became unavoidable.

  Zhu Yongxing pointed to the top of the mountain and said, "General Zhang will do his best to defend it. I will lead an army to support him from behind." After a pause, he added, "It's best if we can hold on for ten days. If not, three to five days is also acceptable. The most important thing is to preserve our strength as much as possible. There are still several treacherous mountain passes ahead, and the Qing army will have to shed enough blood before they can reach Tengchong."

  "Your Highness can rest assured, I will make sure the Qing army bleeds like a river and doesn't gain an inch." Zhang Wenchui's expression turned ferocious as he gazed down at the mountain pass, as if it was already littered with corpses.

  Zhang Wenci had such confidence, not arrogance, but this was indeed a very dangerous place to control the enemy. Huipo, no grass grows, thousands of meters high, over 70 degrees steep slope, more than half a meter thick floating soil, hence the name. And Xiaohengou is located on the mountain ridge of Huipo, it is the intersection of two ancient roads from Yunlong via Lichai Ferry or from Yongchang via Menggu Ferry to Tengchong, and it is a must-guard place for military strategists.

  In such a terrain, Zhang Wencui had once imagined himself as a Qing soldier and thought that it would be a terrifying nightmare. If it rained again, the half-foot thick floating soil would all turn into glue-like mud, how could the Qing soldiers launch an assault on this deadly slope? In the half-foot deep muddy mud, crawling and struggling, stepping down was like oil, but pulling up was even more sticky. On the steep slope, facing a rain of arrows and spears, they also had to worry about their feet, if they lost focus for a moment, as soon as they fell, they would slide all the way down, undoubtedly meeting certain death.

  It's extremely perilous, just thinking about it makes my scalp feel numb and I suddenly feel weak. Zhang Wencui was extremely fortunate that she was on the defensive side and didn't have to risk her life with this thick floating soil or deadly quicksand.

  Zhu Yongxing led the crowd to inspect the defensive deployment on the mountain top again, and the fences, deer thorns, trenches, and overhead works were all basically completed. In such a dangerous place, if supplies are sufficient, it is enough to hold out for a long time, making it a cruel and bloody meat grinder.

  If they could repel the Qing army at Mount Gaoligong with relative ease, Zhu Yongxing felt that the strategic goal had already been achieved. Although he also made arrangements in Tengchong City, it was a last-ditch effort to turn defeat into victory, and success or failure was still an unknown quantity. After all, this was his first battle against the Qing army, and being able to preserve his forces without defeat, drive back the Qing army, and gain combat experience from this, would be enough to boost the morale of his troops.

  But Zhu Yuxiang also made a mistake, or rather, was not thorough in his consideration, so that even though the blocking operation was successful, he had to withdraw from Tengchong and engage the Qing army in a final decisive battle.

  ……

  Although Zhang Yong had inquired about many local people before the expedition and brought a lot of guides, after crossing the Nujiang River and contacting the Gaoligong Mountains, he felt its unusualness. The old heaven left the steepest side on the west bank of the Nujiang River, where it was almost steep and towering everywhere. The easy-to-defend mountain head pinched the ancient road like a pair of pliers. If there were Ming troops defending, wanting to break through easily and advance to Tengchong would be an extremely difficult task.

  Although aware that this expedition may be very difficult, Zhang Yong did not become pessimistic or lose confidence. The three routes of the Qing army attacked the southwest, whether it was the Manchu army, the Han army, or the Green Camp, the Qing court selected the most elite troops. As the most elite troops, in addition to being able to fight, they were also very capable of enduring hardship. In Guizhou, where "the land is not flat for three feet and the sky is not clear for three days", the Qing army encountered unprecedented difficulties. At that time, the Qing army was walking on steep mountain roads, and heavy rain had fallen for nearly half a month, with mud three feet deep, stone paths steep and narrow, and countless people and horses were exhausted and fell to the ground.

  After entering Yunnan, the jungle was dense, the mountains were undulating, the road was rugged, and the miasma was rampant. The Qing army marched and fought in such a harsh environment. Therefore, Zhang Yong firmly believed that his troops, who had undergone hardships and tempering, could overcome countless difficulties and win the final victory.

  It was precisely because of this confidence, and also considering the long distance to be covered and the approaching rainy season, which would make it difficult to replenish supplies, that Zhang Yong did not choose a safer but longer and more circuitous route. Instead, he first marched south along the east bank of the Nujiang River, crossed the river at the old ferry crossing of Guyidao (where the Huitong Bridge is now located), passed through Songshan, took Longling, and then attacked Tengchong from the north.

  Yongchang crossed the Nujiang River, traversed the Gaoligong Mountains, and went straight to Tengchong. This was a straight line, the shortest route, in line with Wu Sangui's intention of quickly eliminating the enemy, and also in accordance with Zhang Yong's pre-war planning for a quick battle before and after the rainy season.

  However, Zhang Yong did not expect that the remnants of the Ming army would hastily gather together and, without the command of famous generals such as Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan, would give his Qing army a hard time in the Gaoligong Mountains.

  The battle with no suspense first unfolded in Huishan, at this time it was already April 19th. Feng Shuangli, the King of Qingyang who was stationed in Jianchang, Sichuan, had been captured by his general Di Sanpin and was leading his troops to surrender to the Qing army in Yunnan, thereby opening up a trend of surrender among the Ming forces in Sichuan.

  "Advance with shields, advance!" The Qing army commander shouted hoarsely, directing the soldiers to form a shield array, trampling on the floating soil to attack the mountain. Behind the shield array were auxiliary soldiers carrying earth bags to fill the moat, behind them were archers and long spearmen, preparing to suppress and cover after approaching, and finally, there was a charge to break through the array.

  Dust flew up in the trampling, and the Qing army general shouted a few times, only to feel that his mouth and nose were already full of mud. He had no choice but to close his mouth, silently cursing in his heart. From time to time, some Qing soldiers fell down, their bodies hitting the dusty ground, kicking up even more dust, blocking the view of the soldiers behind them.