A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 125
On July [-]th, the ninth year of Chongzhen, it was at the middle of the day.

The infantry of the Qing Army Brigade arrived at the foot of the Shunxiang Fort. From the top of the city, there was a sea of ​​red and white flags, and one of them was a huge gold-woven dragon banner, which was particularly attractive.

Under the banner, there are densely packed Qing soldiers in white and red armor, and their shining blades shine dazzlingly under the sunlight.People say that there are more than 5000 troops, and there are no boundaries. Even if there are only half of the [-]-man army, it is no small matter.

Wang Dou stood on the top of the city tower and watched from a distance. Seeing the huge gold-woven dragon banner, he was sure that it was Abatai who had arrived. He didn't expect that even Rao Yu Baylor, who was inlaid with a white flag, would kill him in order to deal with his little defender. They are dispatched, they really think highly of themselves.

Beside Wang Dou, Han Chao, Han Zhong, Wen Fangliang, Sun Sanjie, Zhong Tiaoyang, Lin Daofu, Zhenfu Chi Dacheng and others all stood by, staring at the rolling Qing army.When the enemy came, they calmed down instead. This is the fact, and the next step is to defend the battle.

Han Chao carefully looked at the banners of the Qing soldiers outside the city. After a long time, he said: "One dragon banner, two armored banners, Dongnu estimated that there were 3000 troops, led by a banner owner or Baylor. Black There are two tasseled three-pointed dragon banners, and there are probably two red-tasseled Tartar soldiers with two banners. Looking at the number of their black-tasseled banners, it is estimated that there are about a thousand people per banner. Brother Wen's information is not wrong."

Wang Dou nodded. With five thousand Qing soldiers, Shunxiang Fort will face a few days of hard fighting, and with the current situation of Ming Dynasty, Wang Dou knows that there must be no reinforcements from outside, and everything can only be relied on himself.

Those Qing soldiers slowly gathered outside the south of the city. It seems that they also knew that this place was the most ideal place to attack the city and set up camp.Not far from the south of the city to the west, there are several small streams and a river called Yaozigou. Although the Qing army is 5000 strong, it is enough for their drinking water.

It's not like the Qing soldiers from Jiala a few days ago. After this group of Qing soldiers arrived, they immediately dug trenches and set up camp a few miles to the south of the city, and a large group of Qing soldiers went out to carry water and cook food with them, creating a commotion.Soon, a large area of ​​tents slowly appeared in the eyes of the Shunxiang army at the head of the city.

When the Qing soldiers camped, the huge gold-woven dragon banner slowly came to the head of Shunxiang Fort, and then stopped a mile to the south of the city, where it remained motionless.

Under the dragon banner, Abate is wearing gilded armor. He rides on a horse and carefully watches the city.Beside him, Gu Shan'e Zhen'er Mub Chuhuer from Tumed Right Banner, and Gu Shan'er Zhenshanba from Tumed Left Banner also rode beside him.Behind the three of them were several Jialazhangjings with white flags, Zuoling generals from the Mongolian vassals outside the two banners, and that Jialazhangjing Yanzha.

Behind these people, there are densely packed Baiba Yala soldiers and Kabush soldiers, in addition to a large number of elite vest soldiers guarding them.

Abatai looked at the top of the city for a long time, seeing that the Ming army was waiting in full battle, he said, "A small city with thousands of households is really well-defended. It's just such a small fort, even if a new fort is built in the northwest of the fort. , The week is only four miles, and the soldiers are no more than a thousand, how did my Qing warriors lose their soldiers and generals?"

The two Mongolian banner owners of the outer feudal clan beside him were also pondering, only the generals of the Qing soldiers behind them looked at the top of the city, eager to try.

Abatai shouted: "Yan Zha."

Najia Lazhang Jingyanzha hurried forward and said: "The slave is here."

Abatai glared at him and said, "Tell me, how did you lose your troops under this castle."

In the look of contempt of the crowd, under the fierce sunlight, Najia Lazhang Jingyanzha was sweating profusely. He kowtowed and said: "Rao Yu Baylor, the reason why the slaves failed was because the guns of the Ming army at the top of the city were too sharp. The blunderbuss can even penetrate the multi-layered heavy armor worn by our warriors at a distance of [-] or [-] steps. And their courage in fighting is also extraordinary. The heavy armored soldiers of the slaves attacked the city several times, but they were defeated by them. , They even dared to go out of the city and fight us in the field.”

"Baile Mingjian, there must be servants of famous generals in the city, and they can't be ordinary soldiers guarding the city. In addition to the young and strong people in the city, there must be thousands of soldiers who can fight."

"Oh."

Abatai pondered, only the eyes of Jialazhangjing and Mongolian assistant leaders beside him showed dissatisfaction.

A Lazhangjing said: "Master Yan Zha, have you been overwhelmed by the Ming people and deliberately exaggerated their combat power?"

"Let's not say they have the courage to fight. Their firecrackers can penetrate our two layers of heavy armor at a distance of forty or fifty paces? I have been fighting in the Ming Dynasty for many years, and I have never encountered such a firecracker. It is their bird guns or three-eyed guns, and it is absolutely impossible to penetrate the multi-layered heavy armor worn by our warriors from four or fifty steps away!"

Another Jialazhangjing also said: "Master Yan Zha said that the city is full of servants of Ming generals. Judging from the size of the city and the banner of defending Ming generals, he is just a small defender. There are thousands of servants in Ming Dynasty Yes, they must all be lieutenants, chief soldiers, how could they serve as a mere defense officer?"

After hearing his words, everyone thought it made sense, and Najia Lazhang Jingyanzha blushed and shouted: "If you don't believe me, you can try attacking the city yourself!"

Abate stopped their quarrel, he pondered for a long time, and said, "Go back to the camp to discuss."

……

On this day, Shunxiang Fort has been strictly guarded, but the Qing soldiers have not attacked the city for a long time. Since the afternoon, a group of Qing soldiers on foot and cavalry have been seen going out, and then the soldiers and civilians of Shunxiang Fort heard the faint sound of gunfire from the surrounding area. , I don’t know which castles the Qing soldiers are attacking.

Wang Dou and others judged that the Qing soldiers should have captured the Tunpu Military Fort in Wubao near Shunxiang Fort. In the evening, they saw the Qing soldiers from the brigade escorting many captured Ming people back to the camp.There were men and women in the Ming Dynasty, they stumbled along with the escorting Qing soldiers, some walked slower, and the Qing soldiers beat them unceremoniously with leather whips.

Hearing the cries below the city and the triumphant laughter of the Qing soldiers, the Shunxiang army at the top of the city was filled with anger, but it was no different from last time. Let them go out of the city to fight in the field and take back the captive people.Shun Township Fort is strictly guarded against death, and all defenders and civilians are prohibited from going out.

The day passed like this, and the Qing soldiers did not come to steal the city at night, so Wang Dou and others were relieved.

Just thinking of the captive people outside the city and the looted wealth, everyone in Shun Xiangbao feels as if a knife is piercing their hearts.

In the early morning of July [-]th, the ninth year of Chongzhen.

The horns of the Qing army camp below the city sounded continuously, and groups of Qing soldiers came out of the camp on foot and slowly gathered in front of the camp.

Wang Dou and others looked from the top of the city, and saw that the two Jiala soldiers and the two banners of the Mongolian army from the outer vassals of the Qing army had all come out. They were lined up solemnly outside the city. Abate's huge gold-woven dragon banner was surrounded by countless red and white flags.

Soon, the horns of the Qing soldiers sounded again, and thousands of Qing soldiers lined up, slowly approaching the top of the city. They were dressed in pure white armor with red flags, and their momentum was astonishing.Wang Dou could hear the heavy panting of the generals beside him.

They stopped one mile away from the south gate of Shun Township Fort, and then they saw a movement under the dragon's banner. A Qing official, under the protection of several Baiba Yala soldiers, came here on horseback. , He rushed to a distance of more than 100 steps from the head of Shunxiangbao, and then stopped far away.

He shouted to the top of the city in Chinese: "Listen, the generals on the city, I am Shu Mulu, the general officer of the Qing Dynasty, and I am told by the order of Rao Yubei Le Abatai that my Qing Dynasty values ​​talents and abilities, and treats virtue and talent. Those who are not stingy with the idea of ​​tenderness and rewards, the city's Ming will lead his troops to the Qing Dynasty as he wishes, and Rao Yubeile immediately recommends you as the third-class Lazhangjing post in the Qing Dynasty. Rao Yubeile has a heart of love for talents, you can wait You must know that if you dare to resist stubbornly, our Qing soldiers will break into the fort and burn everything, and it will be too late for regret."

Hearing what the officer said, all the generals in the city looked at Wang Dou, Wang Dou sneered in his heart, and named himself a third-class La Zhangjing?The cost is not small.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji determined the ranks of the full names of military positions: the chief military officer of the Wubei Yu is the first-class official, the first-class general officer is the first-class Angbang Zhangjing, the second-class chief officer is the second-class Angbang Zhangjing, and the third-class military officer is the second-class general. The commander-in-chief is Angbang Zhangjing, the third class.First-class deputy will be first-class Merle Changkyung, second-class deputy will be second-class Merle Zhangjing, and third-class deputy will be third-class Merle Zhangjing.The first-class participants will be the first-class Lazhangjing, the second-class participants will be the second-class Lazhangjing, and the guerrillas will be the third-class Lazhangjing.Beiyu is Niulu Zhangjing, Daizi is Xiaoqi School, Zhang Jing is Xiaoba Shiku, and the banner chief is Hujun Academy.

The third-class La Zhangjing is equivalent to the position of a guerrilla general in Ming Dynasty. For Wang Dou, who is only a small defense officer, this official reward is indeed very heavy.

Everyone in the city looked at Wang Dou, and Wang Dou laughed loudly: "I am a dignified Chinese nobleman, the heir of a god, how can I bow down to serve the barbarians and the slaves?"

"I, Wang Dou, was born as a Daming man and died as a Daming ghost. You go back and tell Abatai that you want to recruit me, Wang Dou, and let him die."

"If he has the ability to attack the city, let him come. Shun Township Fort, the entire fort, is better for broken pieces of jade than for tiles!"

His voice spread far and wide, and everyone in the city could hear it clearly. Hearing Wang Dou's voice, the Ming soldiers in the city stood up straight involuntarily, and everyone showed a proud expression on their faces. The lord general is so loyal, even if they die in battle with him, why would they regret this body?
The passer was a Manchurian, and he was furious when he heard that, so he turned his horses and went back. After hearing the news, Abatai over there was surprised and very angry at the same time.

Soon, there was a burst of noise and crying from the other side of the Qing army formation, but it was a large group of Qing soldiers who escorted the Daming people captured yesterday to this side. Those people came here after being whipped. Crying and screaming, many of them clearly had local accents in Baoan Prefecture, but they didn't know which Tunpu minbao in the territory they were from.

The group of Qing soldiers were triumphant, but they escorted all the people to this side, and the Shunxiang army at the top of the city looked very ugly.

Wang Dou snorted coldly, and with this move again, Wang Dou said coldly to Han Zhong: "Go and bring those captured Tartars up!"

He gave Han Zhong a few orders, and Han Zhong took the order loudly and strode away.

The Qing soldiers below the city killed the captives one by one in front of the guards at the top of the city, ignoring their struggles and pleadings, and even picked a baby girl on the point of the gun. crying.

The Shunxiang army on the city watched with tearing eyes, and the Qing soldiers below the city were torturing, pointing and laughing loudly at the top of the city. The more angry the Ming army on the city was, the happier they were.

Suddenly they fell silent, they all stared blankly at the top of the city.

However, there were bursts of shrill screams from the top of the city, interspersed with screams in Manchurian, and then ten naked prisoners of the Qing soldiers stood upright, their limbs, limbs, and feet were divided by thick Iron nails went through and were nailed to a tall wooden frame. Each person had a wooden frame, and ten people formed a large circle along the semicircle of the urn city.

They howled in pain, the more they struggled, the more blood flowed out from their hands and feet pierced by thick iron nails. They cried out in Manchurian, begging the Qing soldiers in the city to rescue them.

Seeing such a situation, the Qing soldiers below the city were all in a daze, looking at their own kind in the city in disbelief, and couldn't believe how these people were captured.Seeing this situation, the large formation of the Qing army on Abate's side also made a commotion. Dozens of soldiers around Jialazhang Jingyanzha shouted one after another: "It's our Jiala warriors. They were captured by the Ming people. gone."

"It's Hutula and the others. They were all nailed to a wooden frame. These Ming people are too hateful..."

The Qing army below the city screamed and made a lot of noise. Seeing their accomplices being nailed to the top of the city, they were inexplicably sad and angry, and the raging anger burned their whole bodies.Being treated like this by the enemy in front of the whole army depresses their morale.

Abatai's face was also livid. The Ming army was like this, which seriously affected the morale of his army. He didn't expect that he would get such a result by threatening the people of Ming Dynasty. For a while, he felt a little regretful in his heart.Beside him, Tumed Right Banner Gushan Ezhen'er Mub Chuhuer and Tumed Left Banner Gushan E Zhenshanba gasped in surprise when they saw the situation at the top of the city.

Seeing the movement of the Qing soldiers below the city, the Shunxiang army on the city was greatly encouraged, and they laughed loudly: "Tartar, come to attack the city!"

They cut pieces of flesh from the Qing soldiers on the wooden frame, making their screams even more earth-shattering.

The Shunxiang army threw the meat piece by piece at the top of the city, and laughed loudly at the Qing soldiers below the city.

"Look, this is what will happen to you!"

When Han Chao came to the wall of Wengcheng, he said loudly in Manchurian: "Abatai, this is what will happen to you in the future."

As his voice spread, all the Qing soldiers in the city could hear him clearly, and those Qing soldiers were furious. Under the leadership, screaming and rushing towards the city gate.

Sun Sanjie's rear post was defending the Wengcheng and the city wall on the right. Seeing those Qing troops rushing, he said softly: "Good time."

As soon as he gave an order, the firecrackers at the rear post immediately stood up behind him. They were divided into two rows. When the seven or eight Qing soldiers rushed forty steps, Sun Sanjie gave an order, and the deafening sound of firecrackers Dazuo, the 25 gunfire soldiers in the first row aimed at the Qing soldiers and fired at the same time.

Those Qing soldiers were shot and rolled on the ground one by one. When the second round of firecrackers fired again, the smoke cleared, and all the Qing soldiers in the city were killed on the ground. Both eyes, he had been shot seven times, and blood was pouring out all over his body. He was already dead beyond the point of death.

Seeing those Qing soldiers being beaten to death under the city one by one, the Shunxiang army on the city cheered again.

The Qing army under the city was silent, and while they were angry, the power of the Shunxiang Fort firecrackers also shocked them.

Abatai was extremely angry at first, but when he saw the situation below the city, he calmed down. The Ming army on the city was indeed no small matter, and he had to be cautious.However, the thought of breaking Shun Township Castle and killing all the Ming people inside is unstoppable, and a fierce battle is inevitable!
……

Seeing the low morale of the Qing soldiers in the city, Wang Dou and others laughed out loud. Wang Dou ordered his subordinates not to cut up the meat of the Qing soldiers captured on the wooden racks, so that they would suffer more torture and pain, and more effectively deter the people in the city. Tartar soldiers.

Listening to the sound of horns outside the city, Wang Dou knew that a bloody battle was about to begin. This battle was no small matter, and it would be more bloody and tragic than the battles of the previous few days. No matter whether he survived or not, until the last moment of his life, I will fight to the end to protect the city.

He came under the tower and got on his horse. Han Chao, Han Zhong, Wen Fangliang, Sun Sanjie, Zhong Tiaoyang, Lin Daofu, Chi Dacheng and others also got on their horses and followed behind Wang Dou.Wang Dou rode his horse slowly on the city wall. Many horses and many horseshoes knocked on the blue brick boards, making a sound.

Facing Wang Dou's eyes, there were rows of soldiers from Shun Township who stood upright. They held the firecrackers and long spears in their hands tightly, and just looked at Wang Dou with firm eyes. They showed Wang Dou with their eyes, They will definitely follow in Wang Dou's footsteps and fight bloody battles with him to the end.

On the city wall, there are also groups of young and strong auxiliary soldiers. They also look at Wang Dou with admiration. There are also densely packed people under the city. Ladies, they also looked at Wang Dou expectantly.

Looking at the simple faces, including men and women, old and young, Wang Dou's eyes were a little moist. These military households and soldiers in the fort, I don't know how many people will die in the next battle. But a man would rather die standing up than live on his knees.It is better to fight and die vigorously than to live uselessly!

His voice fluttered above and below the city: "You all know what the gang of Tartars below the city are. They are a bunch of beasts who kill people without blinking an eye. If they kill them into the city, everyone knows what will happen. Now I am invincible in the battle, everyone needs to fight to the end, the sergeants are dead, the young and strong auxiliary soldiers are gone! The young and strong auxiliary soldiers are all dead, the men in the castle are gone! To the last person, to the last soldier, never give in to those beasts!"

He pulled out his epee sharply and shouted: "We must win!"

"Victory! Victory! Victory!"

The overwhelming sound of victory was louder than wave after wave, and the entire Shun Township Fort was resounded.

The voice spread far outside the city, and the Qing soldiers outside the city all looked towards Shun Xiangbao in surprise.

When Abatai and others outside the city heard this, they all looked dignified.

※※※

Old White Bull:
Today's update is a bit late.In order to maintain the coherence of the story, now there are no small chapters, and each chapter is five or six thousand words.If the chapter is not finished before six o'clock in the evening, the update will be delayed for some time.Delayed updates are generally between six and eleven o'clock.

(End of this chapter)