weaving

Chapter 116
In the 11th year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty, on November [-]th, Gaoyang.

Lu Xiangsheng and others who were stationed in Gaoyang received a military intelligence report from the Ministry of War today. The Dorgon Department of the Qing Army, including Kewan County, Tang County, Qingdu and other counties, intended to encircle Dingzhou with troops. The imperial court ordered Lu Xiangsheng to lead troops Tend to Dingzhou.

After the Haoge troops of the Qing army regrouped, they had Keli County and the two cities of Boye, and ordered Chen Xinjia to lead his troops to march to Qizhou for rescue.

Gao Qiqian led [-] soldiers from various towns in Liaodong to the direction of Hejianfu to monitor the movements of the Yuetuo Department of the Qing army and wait for opportunities to fight to prevent the cavalry from further penetrating into Jinan.

At the same time, Liu Yuliang, the chief assistant who ordered the inspectors of the army, led tens of thousands of soldiers from the Beijing camp to march in the direction of Hejianfu, and cooperated with the towns of Liaodong of the Gaoqi Qianbu to fight against the Yuetuo tribe of the Qing army.

On November [-]th, Lu Xiangsheng led the army to pull out of the camp, braved the wind and snow, and headed for Dingzhou.

After a few days of rest, with a lot of grain seized, and more than [-] stones of grain sent by the people of Gaoyang City, the soldiers temporarily bid farewell to the time of making porridge with wild vegetables. as ever.

Sun Chengzong led the people of Gaoyang to work hard, and sent dozens of pigs and sheep. When fighting against Haoge, there were hundreds of wounded and dead horses collected from both sides. Fortunately, it has turned into winter and the weather is very cold. After processing, it can be stored for the last month, which is by no means a problem.

Lu Xiangsheng led the officers and soldiers of the three towns of Xuanda and left the camp. Sun Chengzong led his descendants and the gentry and common people of Gaoyang to see them off from the city. On the grounds that the wounded soldiers went to Baoding, Sun Ge was also invited to Baoding to preside over the overall situation.

The army of more than 2 horses set off again, but at this moment, there were more mules, horses and carts than before, as well as some improvised wheelbarrows, and some carts and wheelbarrows were purchased in Gaoyang City.

More than 1000 stone grains and hundreds of dead horses were all under the escort of the Chinese army. The morale of Lu Xiangsheng's Xuan army was high at this time, and the grain was also considered abundant. At least it could last until the end of the month, so it was not a problem.

The army is still arranged according to the previous marching, with the main battalion of Xuanzhen's general Yang Guozhu as the forward, Lu Xiangsheng's superintendent battalion plus Zhang Yan's right-wing battalion, and Shanxi Town's general Jiang Mingwu as the central army. The horse meat is all concentrated in the Central Military Department and transported under unified escort.

After the Chinese army, it is the central part of the general army of Datong Wang Pu, and the army and horses of Shanxi Town, the Hudawei Department, are still in the rear. The army stretches for several miles on the official road.

…………

On November [-], Lu Xiang captured more than a thousand heads of the Qing army in the battle under Gaoyang City. In addition, Sun Chengzong insisted on defending Gaoyang, and more than a hundred of the heads of the Qing army were captured and transported to the capital.

There were more leaders of the Qing army this time than when Zhang Cheng and others presented their victories last time. The people in Beijing took to the streets to watch, and for a while, the streets were empty.

On November [-], the chief assistant Liu Yuliang led the army to Baoding Mansion, and then stagnated, sending sentry cavalry repeatedly to investigate the movements of the captive cavalry.

On the [-]th, Gao Qiqian's Liaodong Army pulled out its battalion and set up its camp, raised troops from Gaoyang, and rushed to Renqiu County, Hejian Prefecture.

On the [-]th, Chen Xinjia's Xuanda army entered Boye County, encountered thousands of cavalry from the east, and was invincible. They withdrew and camped at the foot of Gaoyang City, thinking that they would rest.

On the same day, Sun Chengzong, former Shangshu of the Ministry of War, led his family, old and young, escorted the wounded soldiers of Lu Xiangsheng's department to Baoding, found many houses in the city, housed the wounded soldiers, and took good care of them.

On the 22nd, Qizhou was destroyed by the Qing army, and all grain, grain and goods were looted. The population was young and strong, and they were all taken into captivity and served as slaves with the army.

…………

In the 11th year of Chongzhen, on November [-]th, in Dingzhou, there was a cold wind and thick smoke.

It was the bitter winter, when the cold wind could crack the skin, in a forest not far from the Tang River, Ye Bushou, an outpost under Zhang Cheng's command, was quietly lurking.

All of them were wearing felt hats with big coats, and dressed as ordinary households. Beside them, many mules and horses were tied to the trees next to them, and the horses had bits on their mouths to prevent them from neighing.

At this moment, they were looking around vigilantly. After crossing the Tang River, Dingzhou City was not far to the south.

Going further north, Qingdu City is dozens of miles away. Now the army has just passed through Boye County before reaching Dingzhou.

Lu Xiangsheng also didn't dare to lead the army to march fast, the army only marched forty miles a day, and they still had to march in armor.

At this time, the Yebushou people all looked around. There was a plain here, and between the sky and the earth, it seemed that there were only wheat fields and rivers, and besides the rivers, there were wheat fields. There was a small village fortress almost every few miles.

To the west of Dingzhou, the Taihang Mountains can be seen in the distance, but its territory is flat and boundless. There are also Shahe River, Mengliang River, and Tang River running through the whole area.

However, this is the season of cold winter and depression. It seems that there are teams of knights in white armor riding horses everywhere. They don't walk on the official roads, and the frozen wheat fields are also very suitable for riding horses.

From time to time, some smelly and light smoke can be seen in the distance. Of course, those are not cooking smoke, but the traces left by the Qing soldiers who looted and burned the village.

A few days ago, after Lu Xiangsheng led the army out of the camp, he sent out scouts and cavalry to investigate the movements of the Qing army everywhere, thinking that the army was determined to move. Far.

In the past few days, it has been found that the Qing army has entered Dingzhou. Except for a part stationed under the city of Dingzhou to monitor the defenders in the city, the Qing army divided into small groups and looted around. After looting, they are heading to Dingzhou one after another.

When a few people passed by Yaomu Temple in the southeast of Qingdu City yesterday, they encountered more than a hundred Qing troops with white flags there. Save yourself a nasty fight.

Afterwards, they shot back the carbine and captured a Tartar infantry soldier, skinned him alive, tortured him to death, and only slightly relieved the hatred of several people who had been chased for dozens of miles.

At this time, seeing that there was no movement around, he couldn't help but said to a bearded strong man beside him, "Niutou, it's freezing cold, how about making a fuss?"

As he spoke, he took out his pipe from his pocket, and just as he took out the fire bag, he was about to take a good puff.

"No, you're tired of life, brat? Fireworks will reveal our tracks to the Tartars."

The burly man called Bull Head stopped sternly.

Then he sighed again, and continued to speak in a soft voice: "Qiu Huzi in our team was found and captured by the Tartar sentries because he sucked the seed. When we found the body... hey... that way... . . . what a pity."

When he talked about this matter, his voice was a little choked up, and everyone fell silent for a moment, Yebushuo is an extremely dangerous unit.

Especially since Zhang Cheng led troops into the King of Weiqin this autumn, there have been nearly ten nights in the army under his command without receiving casualties while sending out the sentry. In the hands of the Tartar soldiers, it is really impossible to survive, not to die.

Therefore, when they went out to check, they were also extra cautious. They didn't use fireworks at all, and only ate dry food such as light cakes and wheat rice. It also saves cooking time.

If they caught a living sentry cavalry of the Qing army, they would generally torture them to their heart's content. After asking about the military information they needed, most of them tortured to death as much as possible. It seemed that this was the only way to relieve the hatred in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)