Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 194

It was the night when Wang Yan returned to the camp from the Governor's Mansion, he quickly summoned many generals and asked them to prepare overnight, and immediately leave the camp and head north early tomorrow morning.

In order to maintain a strong army, the Dubiao pro-army did not recruit new soldiers, but all selected old soldiers from the south of the Yangtze River. They are not only powerful in combat, but also loyal and absolutely obedient to Wang Yan.

At this time, the Ming army in northern Hunan was retreating south, but after they received the order to go north, they packed their luggage overnight without any doubt.

At that time, Dai Zhifan was in charge of car camps, supplies, food and salaries. He had just entered Chenzhou, and it would take seven or eight days to get to Changsha. Pursuit of Qing soldiers.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, without saying goodbye to his parents, Wang Yan led 4000 troops northward along the Xiangjiang River. When all the troops retreated south into Changsha, this official army marching northward to meet the enemy attracted the attention of the defeated army.

"Whose team is this, aren't they afraid of death?"

"I heard it's Duke Chu's army~"

"It is the Duke of Chu who once guarded Yangzhou alone and defeated [-] Qing soldiers."

"They are all warriors~"

The Northbound Superintendent and Pro-Army followed the gold and iron horses to the north amidst the discussions of the rout of troops along the coast.

Wang Yan rode before the armies. Although he was confident in front of many military academies, he regarded the Qing soldiers as local chickens and dogs, but in fact he knew little about the situation of the Qing soldiers in Yuezhou. The reason why he had the courage to go alone Going north is only because of these four thousand elite sons and the rear army who are about to come to meet up.

On the way to the north from Changsha, Wang Yan saw several Ming troops heading south. It seemed that He Tengjiao had really made up his mind and only wanted to guard Changsha.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, Wang Yan's army marched to the new wall adjacent to Yuezhou, but he did not expect that there would be an official army here.

Wang Yan then recruited his generals to ask questions, only to find out that there were only 2000 people in this team, and the generals were Zhang Kuang's Fubiao General Man Dazhuang.

Originally, Man Dazhuang wanted to withdraw to the south and shrink towards Changsha, but Zhang Kuang ordered him to guard the new wall. Firstly, he could cooperate with Wang Yan, and secondly, he could be used as an outpost for Changsha.

"How many Qing soldiers are there in Yuezhou City?"

"The Qing soldiers in the city are mainly Zu Kefa and Zhang Yingxiang, both of whom are green camps, with about [-] soldiers. Manchu and Han Eight Banners soldiers and Mongolian soldiers all went west to chase and kill Governor Du."

"Are there cavalry in the city?"

"Yes~ but not many, there should only be more than a thousand."

Knowing the situation in Yuezhou from Man Dazhuang, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel more at ease. This is similar to what he thought. Luck Dehun didn't pay attention to He Tengjiao who fled without a fight, and the main force went to chase him down. Shunjun.

The battles of the Qing army are divided into several ranks. Manchuria is the strongest, followed by the Eight Banners of Han and Mongolia. In Wu Sangui, Li Chengdong, Jin Shengheng and other elites of the Ming army who surrendered into the system, the rest are green battalions adapted from messy troops.

Wang Yan is now facing the green battalion, but the [-] green battalion guarded by the city is not something he can deal with. He basically has no possibility of attacking Yuezhou.

In Yuezhou City, Zu Kefa, the guard of the Qing court, was the adopted son of the famous general Zu Dashou. He surrendered to Houjin after the Battle of Daling River. The law conferred the post of Deputy Commander of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army.

The following year, Zu Kefa followed Prince Zheng Jierhalang to conquer Zhonghousuo and Qiantunwei, and was named Yiyun Qiwei for his meritorious service.

In April of the Jiashen year, when the Qing soldiers entered the pass, Zu Kefa defeated the Shun army several times in Beizhili. The Qing court appointed him as the commander-in-chief of Henan Weihui as the right governor.

During this period, he defeated the Shun Army again, and defeated more than [-] Shun Army in Huaiqing.

This time the Qing army rescued Hubei, Zu Kefa was once again entrusted with an important task by the Qing court, and he was named Zuo Dudu, serving as the general guarding Huguang and stationed in Yuezhou.

At this time, he had [-] soldiers and horses in his hands, and he wanted to go straight to Changsha, but the commander of the Qing army, Le Ke Dehun, ordered him to guard Yuezhou. After the Eight Banners defeated the Dashun Army in western Hubei and northern Hunan, he decided to go south .

Zu Kefa had many exploits in battle, and he was a famous general, so he regarded himself as Sheng Gao. He saw that He Tengjiao fled without a fight, and all the ministries of the Ming army collapsed to the south. The order forbids him to lead troops across the new wall, so he can only endure it.

On the 21st day of the first lunar month, Wang Yan crossed the Xinqiang River after resting at Xinqiang for a day, and led his troops to look at Yuezhou.

Wang Yan's 4000 troops entered the border of Yuezhou, and was soon detected by the sentry cavalry of the Qing army. When the report was reported to Zu Kefa, he was overjoyed immediately.

When he learned that the person who came was Wang Yan, Duke of Chu of Ming Dynasty, he immediately prepared to lead his army out of the city to fight.

Wang Shiheng's name is now well known to many Qing generals. The news that he defended Yangzhou alone, defeated Duoduo's two-month siege, and then beheaded the Qing court general Zhunta, defeating Li Sutai has been spread all over the world.

All the generals of the Qing court believed that among the generals of the Southern Ming Dynasty, only Wang Shiheng, as well as Chen and Yan Ergong who died in Jiangyin, were capable of fighting.

Zu Kefa has always regarded himself as Sheng Gao, and since he entered the customs, it has mostly been smooth sailing, so he has long intended to fight Wang Yan.

Today Wang Yan only led more than 4000 people to attack Yuezhou. Isn't this a gift from thousands of miles away?

Zu Kefa thought that if he could defeat Wang Yan and annihilate the 2 Ming troops, his reputation and status would definitely be greatly improved, so he quickly gathered [-] horses and prepared to go out of the city to meet them head-on.

At this moment, his lieutenant Zhang Yingxiang stopped him and said: "Wang Shiheng is well-known, and his soldiers are extremely good at fighting. The commander-in-chief must not underestimate the enemy. Today, all the ministries in the Southern Ming Dynasty have retreated, and only Wang Shiheng came north alone. In order to fight quickly, it is better for the general army to hold on to Yuezhou, wait until its anger is exhausted, and then go out to attack it, and then we can win."

Zu Kefa heard the words, but shook his head and said: "No! Our army is 4000, and we are no match for [-]. How can [-] escape into the city and dare not face [-] people? ridiculed by others."

Zhang Yingxiang saw that Zu Kefa would not listen, and then said: "Wang Shiheng used his troops cunningly, and it is better not to confront him head-on. Between Yuezhou and Xinqiang, there is a natural danger on the Xinqiang River. Wang Yan decided to cross the river. The general would like to lead 5000 troops straight to the river to cut off Wang Yan's retreat, and the general will lead the army and attack the last general on both sides, then Wang Yan will be defeated."

After Zu Kefa listened to his persuasion, he was already a little unhappy. He didn't take it seriously for Wang Yan who came to attack Yuezhou recklessly with four thousand troops.

He felt that Wang Yan was nothing special, and he only came with 4000 troops, while he had [-] soldiers. He didn't need to play tricks with him at all, and he could be completely crushed with an upright and upright army.

Zu Kefa didn't listen to Zhang Yingxiang's words at all, and ordered him to lead 1 horses to defend the city, while he led [-] green battalion soldiers, and left the city from the south gate in a mighty way to find Wang Yan for a decisive battle.

(End of this chapter)