1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 582 The Great War Begins ([-])
On December 12, Boluo rode to Juzhou with five thousand and eight banners, and found that the four gates of the city were wide open, and some soldiers of the Qing army who had fled before were wandering in the city, rummaging through the burned ruins for available supplies.

Several soldiers were called to inquire about the situation here, but they were told that Juzhou was captured by the Ming army three days ago, and after burning the food and supplies stored in the city, it seemed to be going west.

Hearing this, Boluo's face turned bitter. The Ming army must be heading west for Yizhou. If they break through Yizhou and burn the grain and grass again, there will be no supplies within a thousand miles from Laiyang to Jining. It can be used by the army.

Boluo sighed, and sent several fast horses to Weixian County and Laiyang. On the one hand, he wanted to let Prince Yu know the difficulties faced by the South Route Army, and on the other hand, he was preparing to retreat the troops stationed in Laiyang and Rushan to the northwest in batches. Zhou returned to Changyi for dinner, waiting for Duoduo's next instruction.Such an arrangement meant that the South Army's offensive against Denglai collapsed, and all hopes were pinned on the North Army's offensive.

After arranging some aftermath matters, Boluo, with a sense of luck, took only two thousand cavalry (no supplies along the way, only a small amount of cavalry) and continued westward, preparing to return to Yizhou, trying to keep it before the Ming army succeeded. The food and supplies there.
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On the night of December 12, a huge flame was burning in the camp of the Qing army outside the city of Ye County. It was extraordinarily dazzling and bright in the dark night. Soldiers ran back and forth, and sporadic cavalry jumped on their horses in the flames, creating a hustle and bustle for a while.

Several fortresses in Ye County and the surrounding areas were extremely cautious about this. Nearly half of the officers and soldiers were mobilized and put on full alert.In addition, according to the prior agreement, when the Qing army's big camp was on fire, the "Bingzibao" on the west side of Ye County would secretly open the city gate to allow more than [-] Ming troops to enter the city.

However, when Yang Chengzu sneaked across the Nanyang River with his troops and sneaked to the "Cingzi Fort", he found that the city gate was still closed, and the guards at the top of the city refused to open the door regardless of Yang Chengzu's explanation, and asked him to wait until dawn. Enter the city again.

How could this make it so that if it was dawn and the Qing army saw that Yang Chengzu's troops had left the camp, they would definitely be alert and would definitely send troops to attack.Then the more than [-] of them were sandwiched between the fortress and the Qing army. Even if they were not slaughtered by the Qing army, they would be attacked indiscriminately by the defenders at the top of the city, and suffered heavy losses.

The massacres carried out by the Qing army in several counties and towns in the south of Denglai have gradually spread to the ears of the officers and soldiers of Ye County. Otherwise, all soldiers and civilians will inevitably suffer the bad luck of Jiaozhou, Jimo, Laiyang and other places.

Even if Yang Chengzu's tribe really surrendered to Daming and returned to the imperial court, the defenders of Ye County still dared not be careless and insisted on waiting until dawn to confirm whether the fire in the Qing army's camp really burned down the food and grass. At the same time, The officers and soldiers of Yang Chengzu who surrendered will also be screened to avoid being taken advantage of by the enemy.

Perhaps because they couldn't bear the begging of Yang Chengzu and other surrendered generals under the city, the defenders of "Cingzibao" put a dozen hanging baskets down from the top of the city, and asked all the officers and soldiers under the city to take off their armor, put them in other places, and then ride Among them, the guards at the top of the city pulled them up one by one.

Yang Chengzu suddenly changed his color, disarmed and abandoned his blade, and was hoisted up to the top of the city one by one in a hanging basket. Isn't it true that everyone is under the control of the defenders in the city, and there is no resistance at all.

However, seeing the bows, crossbows, rolling logs and oil pans prepared by the defenders at the top of the city, they seemed to disrespect their orders and would attack them.Yang Chengzu sighed in his heart, now riding a tiger is difficult, he had no choice but to follow his orders, so he took off his armor and weapons, and led a few confidants into the hanging basket first.

Batu, the leader of the Eight Banners who was ordered to monitor Yang Chengzu, hesitated for a long time, and also took off his armor, but carried a short blade, sat in a hanging basket, and was dragged to the top of the wall one by one by the defenders.

"General Yang, you have returned to Ming Dynasty this time, and you have made great achievements!" Zhou Jizuo looked at Yang Chengzu and the others with a smile that was not a smile, "But this kind of behavior, the general is too great a sacrifice! It is still in the hands of Jiannu. How do you feel about this?"

"Abandoning the family for the country, being loyal to the king's affairs, and revitalizing the Ming Dynasty, that's all." Yang Chengzu said in a deep voice.

"The general is really my loyal and righteous man of Ming Dynasty!" Zhou Jizuo praised.

"This general, if we drop our soldiers on the top of the city in hanging baskets one by one, we may not be able to bring all three thousand officers and soldiers into the city in one night. After dawn, the Qing army will definitely attack. We will not let the loyal The soldiers who returned to the Ming Dynasty were allowed to die tragically in the city, right?"

"It is not necessary to drop all of them to the top of the city in hanging baskets." Zhou Jizuo shook his head and said, "When there are less than a thousand officers and soldiers in the noble department below the city, you can open the city gate and let them enter after the armored battle is lifted."

"..." Yang Chengzu was stunned, the defenders in the city were so cautious, there was fear of unexpected actions during this trip.

"This general, what is the meaning of this?" Under the light of the torches on the top of the city, Yang Chengzu suddenly found that those subordinates who were pendant on the top of the city were all knocked down to the ground and tied up with ropes. Under the struggle, the soldiers were kicked and beaten by the defenders and forcibly subdued.After being tied up, all the soldiers were lined up and taken to a certain place in the city.

"General Yang, you have to do this in an emergency. Don't be overwhelmed." Zhou Jizuo waved his hand and said, "After daybreak, our department will check carefully and see if there is no danger. Naturally, we will treat your soldiers well."

Hearing this, Yang Chengzu felt a tinge of fear in his heart, if after dawn, the Eight Banners armored soldiers mixed into the army were spotted by the defenders in the city, then the opponent would naturally see through their plot to surrender, and he, together with the [-] troops, would also Killed by the opponent.

"...I'm dissatisfied with this general. The last general came here because of the Qing... oh, no, he was ordered by Jiannu to feign surrender." Yang Chengzu suddenly knelt down in front of Zhou Jizuo and said in a mournful voice: " But at the end, General was grateful for the kindness of Daming, and was summoned by His Majesty Yongchu, unwilling to be manipulated and coerced by Jiannu, so he pretended to surrender, and made an act of sincerely joining Daming....Please learn from the general!"

As soon as the words fell, several defenders at the top of the city immediately raised their weapons and surrounded Yang Chengzu and others. They only waited for an order to cut them into pieces.

Seeing this, several confidant generals and personal soldiers following Yang Chengzu also knelt down on the ground, begging for their lives.

Several Eight Banners armored soldiers not far away saw this situation and knew what happened, so they struggled to break free from the shackles of several defenders, took out a short blade from their arms, rubbed their bodies forward, and were about to attack several nearby soldiers.

"See?" Zhou Jizuo said with a smile on his face, "I'll just say, General Yang is a loyal man of our Ming Dynasty, and he definitely didn't surrender in a false way. One sound, all disarmed and discarded blades, climb up from below one by one."

The dying screams of several Eight Banners armored soldiers made Yang Chengzu and others tremble with fear. Now that the false surrender has been seen through by the defenders, it is meaningless to make unnecessary resistance. In the ropes and hanging baskets where the head fell, climbed to the top of the city.Subsequently, the officers and soldiers who ascended the city were tied up one by one, taken to the city, and then waited for the unknown fate.

At dawn, the defenders of the "Cingzibao" in Ye County threw the heads of more than a dozen Eight Banners soldiers out of the city, and then laughed at Jiannu's stupidity and incompetence at the top of the city.

When Duduo became angry, he ordered the Han army to launch a large-scale siege operation. However, under the cross attack of artillery and crossbows in the main city of Ye County and several fortresses, the Han army was defeated several times, leaving more than two thousand corpses. Had to withdraw troops back to camp.

Duoduo gathered all the generals of the Han army together in the main tent, threw the surrender edict entrusted to him by Yang Chengzu on the ground, and asked harshly whether all the generals present had received such a surrender edict issued by the false emperor Yongchu.

In the face of Duduo's persecution, all the generals of the Han army dared to admit that such a thing would happen, they all denied it flatly, never received the so-called surrender edict from the false emperor Yongchu, and once again reiterated their respect for the Qing Dynasty. Loyal and brave heart.

Duoduo was suspicious, but he didn't dare to dispose of all the generals of the Han army without definite evidence. He needed to make more use of these Han troops. It cannot be lost easily.

In the early morning, Bai Yintu, who took a detour through the mountains to attack Zhaoyuan, reported that the Ming army, relying on the solid city defenses and the advantage of the old border river to the left, stubbornly blocked the advance of the Qing army.

Duoduo was immediately annoyed. Now, no matter whether it is the elite of the Eight Banners or the ordinary Han army in the Qing Dynasty, without the red cannons, it becomes impossible to attack the city.The problem is that if you want to send the artillery through the mountain road, pass through Pingdu Prefecture, circle Laiyang City, and then send it to Zhaoyuan City, the day lily will be cold.

This Denglai, why is it so difficult to fight!

Just when Duoduo was under the city of Ye County and was at a loss what to do, an urgent report from Wei County in the rear made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his whole body was icy cold.

The Ming army suddenly landed in Rizhao County, defeated the left behind troops of the South Route Army, broke through Juzhou, and attacked Yizhou. The food road of the South Route Army in Boluo has been cut off, and it is difficult to continue the offensive. Please allow him to pass all the troops through Pingdu The state evacuated to Changyi and Weixian for food, otherwise, the army might be in danger of collapse due to lack of food.

Damn, I have tens of thousands of troops on the north route, and the supply of food and grass is already very tight. If you have tens of thousands of troops on the south route, how can this be enough to maintain?
After weighing again and again, Duoduo then ordered the army on the North Road to retreat one after another, and sent a quick horse to notify the Baiyintu Department, which was still waiting for an opportunity to attack Zhaoyuan in the valley road in the mountainous area, to withdraw to Weixian County via Pingdu Prefecture.

At the same time, he urgently ordered Li Sutai, who was maintaining the Dajun grain road on the North Road, to quickly deliver grain and grass to Weixian and Changyi for the needs of the army.

On December 12th, the Qing army's North Army retreated to Weihe River, where it merged with some of the South Army troops withdrawn from Laiyang, and then spent several days crossing the Weihe River and resting in Weixian County.Although Duoduo didn't say anything about the withdrawal and return, the Eight Banners and the officers and soldiers of the Han army were discussing in private. The battle of Denglai, which started vigorously a month ago, might have ended hastily.

Although I had more than [-] soldiers and horses in the Qing Dynasty, divided into two groups, and in a short period of time, I killed the hinterland of Denglai, occupied dozens of prefectures and counties, and slaughtered more than [-] soldiers and civilians. In the first expedition, our Qing Dynasty failed to do its best. Not only lost more than [-] troops, but also spent a lot of money, food and materials in vain. The small court in Denglaiyongchu did not cause a greater blow.

To make matters worse, after the main force of the Qing army withdrew from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, South Zhili and other places, the situation in the above-mentioned areas deteriorated rapidly.

Fujian Zheng Zhilong counterattacked southern Zhejiang, advancing both land and water, recaptured Wenzhou, beheaded Chen Feng, the rebel general, and then marched into Taizhou to spy on Ningbo.

Jiaxing, Changzhou, Wuxi, Taiping (today's Ma'anshan area), Taizhou, Huai'an, Xuzhou and other dozens of prefectures and cities were either unbearable to be squeezed by the Qing army, or opposed to shaving their hair and changing clothes. Expel and kill the officials and soldiers appointed by the Qing court, respect the Yongchu court, and restore the rule of Ming Dynasty.

Hong Chengchou, the governor of the five provinces of the Military Affairs University, urgently reported to Beijing, asking the main force of the Eight Banners to go south as soon as possible to suppress the resistance in various places and stabilize the situation in the south of the Yangtze River.

If the corruption of Jianghuai and Jiangnan continues, the imperial court may lose an important source of taxation, food and fodder, or it may shake the foundation of our Qing Dynasty's rule of the world and maintenance of rule.

(End of this chapter)