The rainy season in Annan has not yet passed. It often rains in Dongguan City, making people feel that the roads are rarely dry, and the weather is still very hot. Most of the Ming army's troops near Dongguan are in the city and garrisons to reduce the incidence of diseases. It is said that the rebels have occupied various cities downstream of Dongguan.
Liu Ming, the imperial envoy who had been sent to Annan, was feeling very depressed and caught in a dilemma living in Dongguan.
The emperor asked him to come and recruit Chen Jikuan's rebels, but he obviously failed. There was no imperial edict or official document in the court ordering him to return home. Liu Ming could only stay here and ask various people for information. The person he had close contact with recently was Nguyen Tri, an Annan man and the governor of Dongguan Prefecture.
There was a patio in the backyard of the government office. Rain curtains were flowing from the eaves on all four sides, a
More than 30,000 soldiers of the Beijing Army, led by generals such as Zhang Fu and others, carrying a large number of firearms, first boarded the warships of the Chaohu Navy and then traveled to Guilin Prefecture. The water journey was nearly 3,000 miles and took more than one and a half months. If there had not been no rivers and waterways, the Ming army would have taken even longer to walk.Pei Youzhen, in the seat of the Guangxi Provincial Administration, took the imperial edict and asked local governments to gather a large number of corvée men and official ships, and sent the belongings of the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp to Nanning Prefecture by land and water. In Nanning Prefecture, they received tens of thousands of garrison troops recruited from Guangxi and Guangdong, and continued to march towards Annan.It was already mid-September when the army passed through the original border, Zhenyi Pass (You|Yi Pass).According to the seasonal d
The post road from Lang Son to Beijiang Prefecture is less than 200 miles. Zhang Fu's troops marched without any hindrance. The weather was good these days, with only one rain on the road, and the army maintained a marching speed of more than 40 miles a day. It was expected that within four to five days, the government troops would be at the gates of Beijiang.Yin Desheng, the Right Deputy General of the Zhengyi Campaign and Marquis of Heyang, led the troops under Zhang Fu this time; but he really hated Zhang Fu as the commander-in-chief and his old subordinate Huang Zhong.Back then, Yin Desheng was still a young man who admired the heroes of the past and present. He could get excited when he sang "Leaning on the Railing with Furious Hair" and was always ready to serve the court and make achievements. However, the first time Yin Desheng went to the battlefield, he was poured a bucket of cold water, which made him gradually face the reality.He first followe
On the green plain, there was a bustling crowd, flags were flying, people were shouting and cursing like in a busy market, and arrows were whistling in the air everywhere.In some places, the Annan rebels even organized volleys of bows and arrows, forming dense long-range arrow strikes. However, the Ming army usually had elite soldiers with more armor in the front, and the front row was mainly composed of spear and shield heavy infantry; to prevent the front line of the square from retreating too quickly, thus affecting the stability of the entire army. Therefore, if the rebels wanted to make progress only with bows and arrows, it would only be a waste of physical strength.Amid the noise, the rebel infantrymen holding spears and magic guns came to the front one after another and began to approach the Ming army. (The magic gun is a matchlock gun with a cast barrel, sealed by a wooden horse, and firing arrows.)The rebels in the south let out fierce shouts, b
Several large camps of the Dai Viet army were lined up in the east-west direction, not far from each other.The military camp built fences with wood and bamboo to enclose the tents, straw huts, and various supplies built by the Vietnamese army. A thick layer of mud was also pasted on the outside of the fence to prevent it from being burned by fire. There were shooting holes between the bamboo and wood on it. Bamboo towers were built outside each entrance of the fence for observation and archery.There are many ponds and paddy fields around, as well as a large lake. People standing on the bamboo tower can see a large lake in the east with their naked eyes.General Ruan ordered the entire army to line up in the military camp to repel the enemy and use bows and arrows to block the approaching Ming army.The fortifications had been built earlier, but the troops had just retreated from the front and the deployment of defense was very hasty. Not long after G
At that time, a surprise attack from the Ming army first reached the Bac Giang provincial capital. Someone from the Dai Viet army soon opened the south gate and fled. Nguyen Jian was locked up in a corridor in the government office, and it was not clear whose troops were behaving in such an absurd manner.However, the situation in Bac Giang Prefecture became chaotic, and since Nguyen Chien was a Dai Viet official, there was no one to watch over him, so he was able to escape from the government office.Nguyen Chien was born into a family of officials and landlords. His father, Nguyen Feiqing, was a bureaucrat in the Tran Dynasty. Later, when the Hu family usurped the throne, his father continued to serve as an official in the court. The Hu family was originally a powerful official of the Tran Dynasty, so there were many civil and military officials under the command of the Tran Dynasty. It was normal for Nguyen's father to join the Hu family.Unexpectedly, th
Among all the nobles of the Ming Dynasty at this time, Liu Sheng was undoubtedly the most handsome general.He was over 30 years old, tall, with a broad back and a symmetrical face. His skin was naturally light in color, and compared to most of the warriors in the army, he looked cleaner and tidier. Because he was born with a handsome appearance, Liu Sheng also paid attention to his words and deeds, and had a somewhat elegant temperament.Under Liu Sheng's humble appearance, one could always sense a kind of restrained arrogance. Occasionally, he would speak a few literary words or express some truths in front of the soldiers, which made everyone half understand and only feel that he was unfathomable.Now he was standing on a sand boat, gazing at the heaving sea, his crimson cloak fluttering in the wind.The sea route from the mouth of Songtai River (near today's Haiphong City) to the mouth of Majiang River in Thanh Hoa Prefecture is about 300 miles, an
The Ming army Liu Sheng's troops arrived at the mouth of the Majiang River by boat and arrived at the city of Thanh Hoa soon! When the news reached Thanh Hoa, it immediately shocked the government and the public.The defeat of General Nguyen, the Grand Tutor of Dai Viet, had already caused panic among the people. General Nguyen, who claimed to have an army of 500,000, was defeated in the attack on the Ming reinforcements and the military camp defense battle within half a day, and then lost the Beijiang Prefecture. Nguyen Jian, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, rushed back to Thanh Hoa and informed Chen Jikuo of the details, and Chen Jikuo was extremely panicked.Suddenly, there was news about Liu Shengjun, which was like adding insult to injury.The entire "imperial capital" of Thanh Hoa was in turmoil because Chen Jikuo decided to leave Thanh Hoa that day and retreat to his hometown of Nghe An. The defense of Thanh Hoa would be handed over to t
Thanh Hoa City, the second largest city in Annan, is second only to Dongguan (Hanoi), but it is still far from being comparable to the important cities in the Ming Dynasty . This is an ancient city, with moss-covered bricks on the walls, as if telling its heritage.In early October, Liu Sheng led more than 20,000 troops of the government army and stationed them on the banks of the Majiang River and east of Thanh Hoa City.Liu Sheng was riding a horse, more than a hundred steps away from the city wall, looking at the city in front. A few arrows were thrown from the air from time to time, making the guards and soldiers very nervous, fearing that the commander would make a mistake. Liu Sheng, however, looked calm as he listened to the military intelligence report from the scout general who had just arrived."On the day we arrived at Majiangkou, Chen Jikkuo's men went south. The latest detection report was at noon today. Careful inspection found that Chen Jikkuo