stubborn thief

Chapter 535
The sky is covered with lead clouds, and the villages in Yingzhou, Datong Township, are burning.

A huge wooden frame was piled up next to the well, and the stripped corpses were neatly placed in the wooden frame wrapped in mats and burned on the spot.

There is a Cihang Temple on Nanshan Mountain. Flags symbolizing the Eight Banners are planted all over the gate of the temple. The weather has turned cold. Huang Taiji is wearing a large fur robe tributed by the Harashen tribe, overlooking the burning village below the mountain. His broad face is full of helplessness. There was an indelible gloom between his brows—it was not the corpses of the villagers who were burned down the mountain, but the dead soldiers of the two yellow flags and the two white flags.

When the soldiers and horses set off from Shenyang, he didn't expect that the battle would be so useless, or that the war was completely different from what he had imagined.

In fact, the intrusion into the side wall from outside the border of Xuanfu was very smooth militarily for the Hou Jin army.

The Eight Banners is a powerful force trained in countless battles between the white mountains and the black waters. There is no doubt about its combat effectiveness. More importantly, the strong mentality brought to the army by repeated victories and Mongolian surrender. Any opponent can carry any equipment and possess any force. Appearing in front of them, they all dared to draw their knives and slash.

The situation of the battle is indeed going smoothly. Since the summer floods, Huang Taiji led the army to declare large, and reaffirmed Houjin's suzerainty over the Hara Shen tribe outside the border. In July, he destroyed the wall and entered from victory. Fort entered Datong, and Azig and Dorgon entered Xuanfu from Longmen.

Afterwards, Huang Taiji, Abatai, Haoge, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming also led their troops from Xuanfu to Shuozhou. The three routes finally converged in Yingzhou and besieged Yingzhou City.

In less than two months, it went well.

But this is the problem that made Huang Taiji uncomfortable and even feel useless. When he sent troops from Shenyang this time, he only had two strategic goals.

He didn't come to Xuanfu to attack the city, but because his hometown Shenyang suffered from floods, we are fleeing famine with armed forces, in order to eat up Monan Mongolia and repay the blood of Manchuria.

As for the second, it is to establish Jin Kingdom's dominance in Monan while recovering blood, and turn all those allies in the past into vassals.

In Huang Taiji's conception when he sent troops, this time he went to the west to fight a big battle, and wiped out all the disobedient tribal nobles in Monan Mongolia in one go. Obviously, there is no need for Hongyi cannons to deal with the Mongols on the Monan grassland .

Therefore, among the fifty newly cast Hongyi cannons in Shenyang, Huang Taiji only pulled two strong ones, and didn't bring many shells. Anyway, these two masters were just to frighten those Mongolian nobles who were like frightened birds, and there was a high probability that they didn't need to fire cannons.

In the entire army, only Geng's second, Shang's fourth's Tianyou, and Tianyou's two Han troops carried some light artillery specially designed to fight against Mongolian soldiers.

But in this world, it can always bring surprises to people. The Mongolian tribes on the Monan grasslands are not just waiting for the wind to fall, they are simply fucking victorious.

No, sorry, there is no Yingliang, only Jing Cong.

Huang Taiji was about to cry, and ran all the way to Monan, only to find that the Mongols in Monan were poorer and miserable than Houjin who was hit by the flood.

The Horqin Grassland is suffering from drought, and all cattle, sheep and horses have died; the rivers in the Xilin Gol Grassland have dried up, and the Ulanqab Grassland has been sunburned to be full of saline-alkali land, and Xiaohaizi can boil salt; The beach guards the Yellow River, and the soil moisture is not bad.

But there just happened a plague of locusts over there. After all, the Great Wall was not built for locusts, so it can't stop this thing.

Huang Taiji, Geng Lao Er and Shang Lao Si led [-] to [-] Manchu tramps all the way from Shenyang to Zhangbei. Tumed, who is not convinced, will make a big fuss and kill them!

Who would have thought that when the nobles of these tribes saw him, they would be like a drowning man seeing a straw, and would hold on tightly and would not let go!One by one, they shouted and expressed their loyalty: Who the hell is not a Manchurian—I’m sweating, I’m hungry!
Now it's all right, Huang Taiji has 12 homeless homeless people in name.

So what to do.

Due to the situation, Huang Taiji was forced to change his strategic goal before departure. Of the 12 homeless people around him, only less than [-] were credible people, and they were all screaming with hunger. He had to plunder Daming to come Strengthen Jin's dominance in Monan and ensure that the Manchu-Han coalition army can return safely to Shenyang surrounded by hungry Mongols.

To a certain extent, Han soldiers are more reliable than Manchurian soldiers, because at this moment, only the two yellows and the three banners inlaid with blue are considered Huang Taiji's direct descendants. issued.

But his army seems to be invincible, and it should be smooth on the battlefield, but in fact it is the opposite, making it difficult to move an inch.

Among the castles behind them, none of them were able to fall swiftly, and even many castles could not be conquered seeing that the walls were crumbling and in disrepair for a long time, there was no food in the city, no soldiers on the walls.

Yierde of the Zhenghuang Banner is a fierce man, Yangguli's nephew, followed Huang Taiji several times, and made many achievements. Chongzhen surrounded the Daling River for four years, and the defenders left the city. Yierde led the troops to charge. The troops who had left the city were driven back to the moat; one of Zu Dashou's generals charged at Huang Taiji's camp with horses and bows, but Yierde rushed over and cut him off his horse.

This time in the Xuanfu, Yierde was the vanguard as usual, and he and Xingna brought one armored man per bull, that is, less than 600 armored soldiers, and together with more than [-] banner slaves, they marched all the way after destroying the side wall. ferocious.

As a result, the Ming army in Xuanfu was also very fierce. Seeing the beacon fire, Kong Dengke, a member of the Zhongquan Battalion who led the army to practice near the Longmen Station, led his troops to pounce on it, thinking that tens of thousands of people in the countryside fled into the Longmen Station to buy time.

Another name of Zhongquanying is Biaoying. This name comes from "Zuo Zhuan·Xuangong 12 Years", which refers to the fact that the Chu State sent troops and divided them into five armies, namely Youyuan, Zuozhui, Qianmao, Zhongquan, and Zhongquan. stamina.

The heavy soldiers mowing the grass are the left army, the chariots are the right army, the front army holds Mao Jing to open the way, the middle army weighs the strategy, and the rear army uses the elite soldiers to hold the rear.

Kong Dengke's Zhongquan Battalion was established to forge a blade to defend against enemy troops entering the wall. Their battalion is all Xuanfu vanguard soldiers.

He is in the middle power, and Yierde is only at the top. Kong Dengke knows this, the fire of the beacon, the enemy's army exceeds [-], and five beacons and five cannons will be fired.

But what Kong Dengke didn't know was that behind Yierde was the main force of the Two White Banners led by Azig, Dorgon, and Duoduo, and [-] troops arrived on the battlefield one after another to join the attack on the Xuanfu Zhongquan camp.

The result of this battle was not happy for both parties involved. Azig, who had the superiority in strength, did not win. Kong Dengke fought in the field, and retreated into the Longmen Station when he saw that he was outnumbered. The army had not captured the city yet.

Although Kong Dengke did not lose, he suffered huge losses after a bloody battle. His standard battalion had a total of 3000 people. In the first battle, two commanders and more than 800 soldiers were killed, more than 400 were seriously injured, and more than [-] mules and horses were lost.

Nearly half of the Zhongquan Battalion, the most powerful in the Xuan Mansion, was lost, and only Houjin Qianyu was killed in battle. The most important thing was his head, because he was unable to control the battlefield, and Houjin's banner slaves cremated all the corpses on the spot. .

After a battle, they only got three heads in the skirmish before the battle started.

Why can't you beat the Longmen Institute?Just because Huang Taiji didn't even think about knocking on the castle on the Xuanda defense line when he went out, he didn't bring cannons, and the only iron hooks that could be used as siege tools were the iron hooks that pulled the wooden fences and the light cannons that accompanied the two Han armies. , How to attack the city.

Of course, it is not impossible to use cold weapons to attack the city. It is just that there are more casualties, and it takes a little time to rush to build siege equipment. But wouldn't the Ming army encircle them if they had time?Even if there are a lot of people and they are not afraid of the encirclement of the Ming army, there is still a very critical problem, that is, Huang Taiji is in a hurry.

The Hou Jin army has a strong organizational ability, not to mention entering the border from the white mountains and black waters, all they see are patches of fertile fields. , which further enhanced combat effectiveness.

The most important thing is that the Manchurians are afraid of death. They will do their best not to die. If they die on the battlefield after fighting this battle, they will die today. If they don’t fight this battle, the whole family will not survive this winter.

The same is true for Huang Taiji. He attacked the city for food and livestock. When the beacon fire came, the people nearby hid in the city. Only by attacking the city can they get food.

But as time progressed, the people in the entire Xuanda territory knew that Houjin had entered the bandits, and they all took their property and hid in the big city. What else would he rob?So it was embarrassing. If you want to grab the food nearby, you have to attack the city; when you attack the city, the people in the distance will bring food and hide in the city.

However, the Xuanda Frontier Army's defensive will is extremely strong.

Kong Dengke was only at the Longmen Institute. In fact, Huang Taiji divided his troops into four groups, so he was frustrated everywhere.

The two yellow flags and the 400 troops of the Han army attacked Shenjingbao, and they had to retreat after two days. The loss of casualties of the Manchurian army and the Han army became meaningless; Only four houses were burned, and more than [-] corpses were burned and evacuated.

Along the way, the coach De Gelei led the three flags to attack Chi Castle, but failed to take down. Because of burning houses and killing people, the 80-year-old lady was taken away and jumped off the cliff, which made the soldiers and civilians angry, and there was a desire to kill thieves everywhere. , so that the post-Jin army camped in the enemy's territory could not sleep well.

There was also the attack on Fort Zimarin, the one in the fort was so daring to the sky, he actually wanted to attack at night, and it really made him find 170 ghost soldiers who were willing to give him ghost soldiers.

You said that this month's military salary is four qian and you still owe half a year, what are you desperate for?
This group of people went to the Wanjun camp outside the city to make a big fuss at night, although they only brought back seven heads, they scared the Houjin army camped outside the city to trample on each other, and they withdrew overnight.

And Wanquan Zuowei, the city is rotten and short, and there is no food in it, but in such a shabby place, Zu Dabi, the second lunatic of the ancestors, jumped out of the city with 250 riders, like a dump truck, without a word. He killed Tulushi, the third-class baron Tulushi, the leader of the Xianghuang Banner Forward Battalion.

The most interesting thing is not here, but the Great Wall in the north of Shanxi. Like Shaanxi, it has two walls, which are commonly known as the second side wall. Inside the second side wall are Xuanfu and Datong.

What is the situation here?

Huang Taiji's army was surrounded by the Great Wall. None of the cities and castles in the circle were breached, and the Fourth Route Army was blocked everywhere. But this situation has nothing to complain about for the Houjin Army. The current situation just shows that the Houjin army is well-trained, has high combat effectiveness, and has very strong morale.

They have performed at a super level. The four-way army, without controlling any city in Xuanda territory, failed to break any fortress, the three-way army can still maintain its organizational system and gather in Yingzhou in the south of Datong, and there is another lone army on behalf of Shan One stationed troops outside the city of Shuozhou in the southwest of Datong to guard against reinforcements from Shanxi.

What is this called?
This is the autumn of the seventh year of Chongzhen. The most powerful bandit leader on the land of China has changed hands. Aixinjueluo Huang Taiji is the most powerful bandit leader at this time.

Xuanda has always been an important town in the north of the Ming court, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is solid, but in the Chongzhen Dynasty, this is not the case at all.

As the threat of Mongolia, the old enemy in the north, gradually weakened, the imperial court shifted its defense focus to Liaodong.

Moreover, the Ming army did not dare to go out to fight in the city. In June, when Huang Taiji was still in the Horqin Grassland, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to the border forts and cities: if they are breached by Hou Jin, the guards will impose a heavy code and execute them.

This order made the defenders of the Ming army to behave negatively towards the enemy, but the defense of the city was extremely exhausting, so that the two sides were so embarrassed.

Huang Taiji wanted to attack the city, saying that he didn't want to attack the city is nonsense, who doesn't know that the greatest wealth is in the city, but the problem cannot be conquered; then he had to change the strategy, and the second is to rely first, then the gold generals can conquer battles, However, the Ming army showed the characteristics of being weak in large-scale battles. It eliminated the heavy army groups of the Ming army through field battles, and then captured the city.

Huang Taiji was forced to feel uncomfortable by this situation. The more time passed, the more difficult it was for him to go home, and he could not order to go home at this time. In total, more than 1000 people were tied up, and a lot of cattle, sheep and livestock were robbed. , but it was simply not enough for him to go home.

Not to mention that there are tens of thousands of newly attached Mongols in the Guanwai University. He has already received news that the Mobei Sanhan is also leading troops in Ordos and other places, and together with the Ming army stationed in Xuanda, these guys are waiting for him to withdraw. go home.

As long as he ordered the withdrawal of troops, his army would not be able to perform as well as it did on the way home, and it would be a situation where they would be beaten on all sides.

At this moment, he stationed troops in Yingzhou to attract Datong, Yanghe and two heavy Ming army groups to fight with him, but Zhang Zongheng, governor of Xuanda, ignored him at all.

So Huang Taiji made two preparations. The first was to write a letter to Zhang Zongheng in Datong City to negotiate a peace, to delay himself.

On the other side, horsemen were sent out of the customs in a hurry to convey the news to Shenyang that the war was unfavorable and the losses of soldiers and horses were not small. The cavalry was left on patrol to guard against a sneak attack on Phi Island, and each cow recorded steamed and fried noodles to take the army back to the division.

At the same moment, Zhang Zongheng in Datong City had the same idea as Huang Taiji, and he was also preparing with both hands.

While writing to the emperor, he stated that the battle was not easy to fight. The forts and battalions within the two side walls were able to defend the city well. It is to attack the crowd with a few, so it needs to be delayed for a while, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. Huang Taiji wants to negotiate a peace, and it is suggested to delay him.

The emperor's reply was quick and calm: "Don't panic, reinforcements are on the way."

To be honest, when Zhang Zongheng saw this list of reinforcements, his heart broke down a bit, with mixed feelings.

The front of the list is quite normal, Shanxi General Zhang Quanchang is rushing here with Pingyang General Fu Renxi.

In addition to the Shanxi army, the imperial court also planned to ask Fu Zonglong, governor of Jiliao, to prepare a reinforcement army of 3 soldiers, including [-] troops from Jizhen and Miyun, [-] Guan soldiers, and [-] Ning soldiers. It seems that the situation is very good.

But what is outrageous is that the reinforcements are not only from the east, but also from the west. There are many familiar and unfamiliar names to Zhang Zongheng on the list.

Just like Liu Chengzong.

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)