Bozhou.
Liu Wei stood expressionlessly in front of the army. Ever since they had joined forces, the army had set off. In the early stages, they did not spend much effort. Basically, they swept across the battlefield horizontally. After all, Yang Yinglong did not have many troops that could be placed outside. The decisive battle would definitely be held in Yang Yinglong's lair.
Liu Wei dispatched his troops from Qijiang to conquer Rainbow Pass, Jiupan Pass, Zhenxi Pass, Shihu Pass, and finally Loushan Pass. Apart from Loushan Pass, Liu Wei wasn't too worried about the other places.
As the hereditary chieftain of Bozhou, the Yang family had been operating in Bozhou for 29 generations. It could be said that their roots were deep, and they were very familiar with everything here.
Although Liu Wei had arranged several groups of people, most of the other people were local chieftains. Basically, they were just there to support. Although they were not there to watch the excitement, they were not much better. The main battlefield was still up to Liu Wei. The route that Liu Wei had chosen was also very clear, and that was to attack Loushan Pass.
Last time, Sichuan's Inspector-General Wang Jiguang attacked Loushan Pass, but he suffered a crushing defeat and suffered heavy casualties.
Loushan Pass was also known as Taiping Pass. Its original name was Loushan Pass and later Taiping Pass. It was located at the junction of Huichuan District and Tongzi County. It was an important pass on the Sichuan-Guizhou transportation route.
The origin of the name originated from the name of the Lou Mountain Range in ancient times.
It was a hundred miles south of Zunyi, at the junction of Huichuan District and Tongzi County, north of Bashu, south of Guizhou and Guangxi, as the throat of northern Qianbei, a place that all military forces must fight for.
It was called a natural stronghold.
The pass was surrounded by a thousand peaks that were tens of thousands of feet high, and the cliffs were like axes or halberds that pierced the sky. It was known as the most dangerous place in northern Guizhou, and there was a saying that a single man could hold the pass against ten thousand enemies.
Even though Liu Wei was confident in his men, he didn't dare to underestimate the Loushan Pass. This place was deadly.
In later generations, a great war had also taken place here. The First Front Army of China's Workers' and Peasants' Red Army fought with the Qian Army in front of Loushan Pass. After repeated battles, two regiments of the Qian Army were annihilated.
The prelude to the Battle of Zunyi was unveiled.
The two battles of Loushan Pass had ensured the smooth convening of the Zunyi Conference, which was an important "red" base of our country.
Taizu also wrote a poem, which was the famous Memory of Qin E, Loushan Pass.
The west wind was fierce, the wild geese were calling in the frosty morning moon.
The frosty morning moon, the clattering of hooves, the choking of trumpets.
The impregnable pass was as tough as iron, and now he was striding over it.
From the top, the mountains were like the sea, and the setting sun was like blood.
At this time, facing Loushan Pass, Liu Wei was also very worried. Yang Yinglong was not a fool. He had defeated Wang Jiguang last time. This time, the imperial court had sent an army. The Yang family had been operating in Bozhou for so many years, so they were naturally prepared.
Yang Yinglong sent his son Yang Chaodong to Loushan Pass to set up thirteen fences and dig deep pits to defend the pass.
Under these circumstances, it would be very difficult for Liu Wei to easily take Loushan Pass. Yang Chaodong was indeed very confident.
He spent all day drinking and having fun on Loushan Pass, acting as if he didn't take Liu Wei seriously. Although he knew that Yang Chaodong was angry at him and Liu Wei kept telling himself not to be angry, he still couldn't help but be angry. It was just that Liu Wei didn't show it in front of everyone.
In this attack on Yang Yinglong, if he couldn't take him down with a thunderous force, Liu Wei would consider it a failure.
He had gathered so many chieftains to intimidate them. He wanted them to see that Yang Yinglong couldn't withstand a single blow from the Daming Qiang army. Only then would they be honest. Otherwise, how could they possibly be honest?
Now that everyone was looking at him, Liu Wei naturally didn't want to waste too much time. He knew that he still had to fight Mang Yingli later on. If even Yang Yinglong had to put in so much effort, how would the emperor think of him?
"Bring me the people from the Artillery Battalion!" Liu Wei said in a deep voice with a very solemn expression.
Under these circumstances, the first thing that Liu Wei thought of was the Artillery Battalion. For the Daming, the first thing that came to mind was the Artillery Battalion. Naturally, Liu Wei was no exception.
Very soon, the people from the Artillery Battalion arrived with a very solemn expression. After seeing Liu Wei, they hurriedly bowed and said: "Greetings, Grand Marshal."
Liu Wei naturally knew this person from the Artillery Battalion. He had also graduated from the Imperial Martial Lecture Hall and specialized in artillery. He could be considered Liu Wei's junior, Zhang Yan.
Waving his hand, Liu Wei directly said: "There's no need to be so courteous at this time. I called you here to ask if the Artillery Battalion is confident in taking Loushan Pass?"
"Replying to the Grand Marshal, I'm not confident!"
Zhang Yan didn't hide it and directly said: "Unless we use heavy artillery, it's basically impossible. But heavy artillery is too difficult to transport.
The mountains on both sides are also very steep, so it's impossible to transport artillery up there. Light artillery probably won't be able to blow up Loushan Pass. "
Hearing Zhang Yan's words, Liu Wei's heart became even more irritated. "What about the gunpowder bags?
Will gunpowder bags work? "
"Just look at the walls of Loushan Pass. The Yang Family has put in a lot of effort here. Although we can try using gunpowder cannons, the chances of success are not high." Zhang Yan spoke again.
Just as Liu Wei was about to say something, a person suddenly came to his side and bowed. "Sir, the Armaments Division is here and wants to see the Grand Marshal."
Hearing the guard's words, Liu Wei suddenly froze. People from the Armaments Division?
What are they doing here?
However, Liu Wei didn't dare to be negligent. The Armaments Division's status in the Daming military was very high now.
Now, all the good things used in the Daming military basically came from the Armaments Division. Under such circumstances, the Armaments Division's status naturally rose.
Liu Wei turned back to the camp and soon saw the person from the Armaments Division. It was a thin, middle-aged man in his forties. Liu Wei didn't know him.
"This lowly official Liu Lianchuan greets the Grand Marshal!" After seeing Liu Wei, Liu Lianchuan bowed in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing.
Liu Wei hurriedly greeted him with a smile and reached out to help Liu Lianchuan up. Then he said: "Sir Liu, Bozhou is a remote place. May I know why Sir Liu is here?"
Although he didn't know what this Liu Lianchuan of the Armaments Division was here for, Liu Wei also knew that this person definitely wasn't here for nothing. After all, Bozhou was an inhospitable place.
The biggest possibility was that he was here to help. As for who had sent them here, it was even easier to guess. Apart from the emperor, no one could mobilize the people from the Armaments Division.
"This lowly official has come to Grand Marshal's place by the emperor's imperial edict to experiment with a new kind of cannon," Liu Lianchuan said with a smile. He didn't say that he was here to help Liu Wei.
Although Liu Lianchuan didn't say it, Liu Wei was excited. Liu Wei naturally knew about the cannons of the Daming. There were all kinds of cannons, and they were getting more and more powerful. The new cannons would definitely be better than the previous ones.
Facing Liu Wei, who was at his wit's end at Loushan Pass, how could he not be excited when he heard that there was a new cannon?
"What kind of cannon is it?" Liu Wei looked at Liu Lianchuan excitedly and asked loudly.
"It is a brand new cannon named the mortar!" Liu Lianchuan didn't beat around the bush and answered directly.