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   Chapter 367 365 [Siege]

   Jizhou.

Hong Chengchou said to several generals: "There are still more than ten thousand soldiers in the city, but there is not much food left. At first, I wanted to rely on Li Chuang, and he could send some food as soon as possible, but now it is obviously useless. Let me tell you, How should this battle be fought?"

  In the past two years, Hong Chengchou has been farming in Ji Town, but the drought has been severe for two consecutive years.

  In addition, there are rebels everywhere around, and Hong Chengchou still has to suppress the mob, and the food he finally collected is also consumed.

Jiang Zhu, the deputy general who escaped from Liaodong, said: "We can only break through the siege. After breaking through, we can go to Shanhaiguan and join forces with Li Chuang to attack Huangtaiji. At that time, Li Chuang will have to give the army rations. Or, after breaking through the siege, we can go south directly." , go to Shandong to join forces with Zuo Liangyu."

  Jiang Zhu never thought of defecting to Zhao Han, because he was born in Hunan.

  His family’s property was distributed to military households by Zhao Han. The whole male family was sent to mine, and the female family members were also forced to remarry.

   It can be said that Jiang Zhu and Zhao Han have a sworn feud!

  Wang Tingchen said: "I think we should stick to it. When the army rations are finished, we will eat... The longer we stay here, the greater the chance of winning for Li Chuang. Maybe we can kill the old thief (Huang Taiji)!"

  Hong Chengchou actually tends to stick to it.

  The Manchu Qing sent out troops in a hurry, and there was no time to come out in full force.

  Huang Taiji only had 40,000 soldiers in his hands, Hauge and Dorgon each had 10,000, and the remaining Eight Banners troops were still gathering in Liaodong. Although Hong Chengchou didn't know the exact number, judging from the speed at which the Manchus dispatched troops, he could guess that the opponent must have insufficient troops.

   On the Jizhou side, there are more than 10,000 soldiers. If they work together, they can defend until the Qing army runs out of supplies.

   Li Zicheng's 80,000 army is very likely to defeat Huang Taiji!

  Cao Bianjiao said: "If you defend for a long time, you will lose. Tang Tong and Bai Guangen surrendered in anticipation. There may be people in Jizhou City who will surrender. You can defend for three days and five days. After ten and a half months, what if someone secretly informs the Tartars?"

  Although these words are ugly, they make sense.

  The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have fought over the years, and many times they have the upper hand. Some people flee for no reason, and some people surrender for no reason.

   "It's because I didn't plan well, and I made a big mistake in employing people." Hong Chengchou had to admit his mistake, because all the generals had resentment in their hearts.

   Tang Tong was brought by Hong Chengchou from Xuanhua. He believed that this person was trustworthy, so he arranged to defend the direction of Lengkou. Unexpectedly, Hong Chengchou surrendered without firing an arrow. Hong Chengchou is responsible for knowing people and not knowing.

Cao Bianjiao stood up and pressed his saber: "The two armies of the Tartar bandits joined together, and their strength is only 20,000. Including Tang Tong and Bai Guangen who surrendered, the strength is also less than 30,000. Tang Tong and Bai Guangen are both incompetent people, but they are large in night attack When the time comes, take the opportunity to attack the Tartars. If the Tartars are in chaos, they will attack fiercely. If the Tartars are not in chaos, they will retreat to the city. Whether it is to defend or go, first win a battle and then talk about it!"

   "That's right, let's talk about winning one game first." Wang Tingchen nodded in agreement.

  Hong Chengchou asked: "Who is willing to lead troops to attack at night?"

  Cao Bianjiao smiled and said: "Since it was my idea, I should go to attack at night. You can prepare for it. Once the Tartar camp is in chaos, the army in the city will come out to kill the thieves."

   Discussed the details again, and Hong Chengchou finalized the matter.

  Cao Bianjiao immediately selected the best and strongest in the army, and after nightfall, he led more than 400 cavalry and 500 infantry out of the city to attack the camp.

  After many battles, Cao Bianjiao's family cavalry, now there are more than 400 left.

  The night raid went very well.

  Although Tang Tong actively offered advice and meritorious service, the troops under his command had no fighting spirit, and felt that with the Qing soldiers in charge, the defenders would not dare to go out of the city to attack.

  Unprepared, Cao Bianjiao led the cavalry into the camp, and the infantry set fire to the enemy camp and killed them.

  Tang Tong woke up in the middle of the night, and was so frightened that he rode his horse and ran away.

   "Father, save me...ah!"

   Tang Tong vaguely heard his son's screams, but he couldn't care less. His son can be reborn after death, but he has nothing when he dies. He frantically rode his horse towards the Qing army camp.

  The camps of Tang Tong and Bai Guangen are serialized together, but the camps of the Qing army are separated by a long distance.

  Bai Guangen's reaction was similar to Tang Tong's. He rode on his horse and fled in the direction of the Qing army's camp.

   There were probably more than 2,000 routs, all of whom fled to the Qing army camp. Disrupting the periphery of Dorgon's camp, Dorgon was terrified, and ran in the direction of Haoge in fright, while ordering the soldiers to blow the trumpet to assemble.

  Dorgon is very fierce in political struggles. As for civil affairs and military affairs, to be honest...it’s terrible.

  He was attacked by Cao Bianjiao at night at Xifengkou, and was almost hacked to death on the spot. Now that he has become a frightened bird, he will run away before he encounters an emergency, and dare not gather troops in place.

   "Trumpet, trumpet!"

   "Woooooh~~~~"

  The camp of the Qing army was in chaos, and Cao Bianjiao blew the horn. According to the established plan, the army in the city should fight out together.

   "Open the city gate and send troops!" Hong Chengchou was overjoyed.

  Jiang Zhu said: "Master Supervisor, the Tartar camp may not be in chaos yet, so you can wait a little longer."

   It's really not that messy.

  Dorgon's camp, chaotic but not collapsed, is being dispersed into multiple groups of troops.

  Haoge has completed gathering troops and is heading towards Cao Bianjiao.

  Of course, if the Jizhou defenders take the opportunity to fight out, there is a certain chance of winning.

   But no one is willing to take risks, Jiang Zhu is not.

  Wang Tingchen was dispatching troops to fight, but the generals under his command were trembling. Wang Tingchen rushed out of the city gate with his servants, and his generals were still hesitating, so they just watched the main general rushing alone.

   "Bastard!"

  Wang Tingchen rode out for a while, suddenly felt something was wrong, turned his head to look, and was immediately blown away.

   "Zhuzi is not enough to plan, go back to Beijing to pick up his family first!" Wang Tingchen took two hundred family members to the south, neither supporting Cao Bianjiao, nor returning to the city to stand firm.

  Cao Bianjiao rushed and killed several Manchu nobles. The elite infantry he brought out were all dead, and there were only three hundred family cavalry under his command.

   So far in the fierce battle, the friendly army has not come to support, Cao Bianjiao already knows what's going on.

   "Breakout to the south!"

  The small group of Qing soldiers who had just gathered were quickly dispersed by Cao Bianjiao. Before Hauge and Dorgon led troops to encircle, Cao Bianjiao rushed out of the enemy camp in a thrilling manner, leaving only more than 160 riders around him.

  Wang Tingchen heard the sound of horseshoes behind him, and immediately ordered his servant to rein in his horse and stop.

   "Woooooooooooo!"

  The horn sounded, and Cao Bianjiao came to join him in search of the sound.

   "Why don't you come to support!" Cao Bianjiao asked angrily.

  Wang Tingchen explained: "I am out of the city, and all the generals will not follow. How can I support you?"

  Cao Bianjiao said depressedly: "What's the next plan?"

Wang Tingchen said: "I want to go back to Beijing first, take my family away, and then go to the south together. It's good to go to anyone, anyway, you can't stay in the north. Once Jizhou falls, the Tartar bandits will plunder everywhere, and even attack Shanhaiguan from behind. , Li Zicheng will definitely lose this battle!"

   "You can still go back to pick up your family, but I can't even go home!" Cao Bianjiao became more and more angry.

  Wang Tingchen and his servants belong to the Three Thousand Battalions of the Ming Dynasty Jingbing.

   During Zhu Di's period, this army was the strongest cavalry in the entire Ming Dynasty. Later, it rotted away. When Wang Tingchen first led the troops, he saw the enemy running away after hearing the news.

  Wang Tingchen had no choice but to learn from the frontier generals, relying on embezzling military pay, equipping his cavalry, and turning part of the Ming Dynasty's 3,000 battalions into his own private servants.

   In this way, the combat effectiveness has increased greatly.

  Wang Tingchen himself, as well as the relatives of his servants, are all inside and outside Beijing at this moment.

  They were so eager to return home that they were reluctant to stay in Ji Town for a long time.

  Hundreds of cavalry ran south for a while, and soon headed west towards the capital.

  Run to dawn, stop to rest.

  Cao Bianjiao asked: "Who is going south to vote for?"

  Wang Tingchen said: "We all have vendettas against thieves, do you still dare to seek refuge with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong?"

  Cao Bianjiao said: "Zuo Liangyu is not a candidate. If he is in danger, he may sell us at any time."

  Wang Tingchen said with a smile: "Then go through Shandong and join the Jiangxi Zhao bandits!"

  …

   Jizhou City.

  Hong Chengchou was so angry that he reprimanded the generals who did not dare to fight.

   What else could he do besides impotent rage?

  The next day, Jiang Zhu opened the door to surrender, and the rest of the generals also surrendered.

  Jiang Zhu had no psychological burden, his family was ruined by Zhao Han, and he only occupied a lot of farmland in Ji Town. This is where his only remaining family business is located. Surrendering to the Manchu Qing will save his life, save his family business, and keep his troops!

  Hong Chengchou was arrested by Hauge, and he did not commit suicide, surrender, or go on a hunger strike.

  Haoge and Dorgon entered the city to rob, and then kidnapped the nearby people as civilian husbands, and plundered all the way in the direction of Shanhaiguan.

  The defenders of Shanhaiguan were taken away by Li Zicheng, and only Ma Ke was left with 5,000 soldiers to garrison.

   While guarding Guancheng, Ma Ke sent someone to report to Li Zicheng.

   Yong'an Fort.

   "Your Majesty, it's not good, the Tartars stormed Shanhaiguan Pass!"

   "Step up the siege!"

  A few days ago, Li Zicheng had received news that two forces from the Qing Dynasty had crossed the Great Wall to attack Jizhen.

  Li Zicheng felt that Hong Chengchou was capable of playing, and it should not be a problem to defend for two or three months.

  Unexpectedly, in less than half a month, the army of Jizhou was already destroyed!

  Li Zicheng did not dare to divide his troops back to defend Shanhaiguan, so he could only believe that Ma Ke could hold it. He has attacked Yong'an Fort for 46 days, and he must do his best today.

   Tens of thousands of soldiers attacked the city in turn, rushing forward without risking their lives.

  The hot oil, gold juice, and rolling logs of the Qing army had already been exhausted. Cannons and firecrackers were fired continuously, and the walls of Yong'an Fort were also bombed in two places.

   But just can't get in!

  The Dashun army attacked wildly, while the Manchu Qing army gave up their lives to defend. The intensity of the war far exceeded the battles in the south.

  On this day alone, the total casualties on both sides exceeded 8,000.

  Huang Taiji's heart is bleeding, more than 600 Manchurian flag soldiers died today. Several times, the surrendered generals like Wu Sangui couldn't stand it, and they let the Manchu heavy armored infantry go up to carry it hard.

   "Withdraw!"

   At night, Li Zicheng's entire army retreated, and it was meaningless to continue fighting. It would be more beneficial to return to Shanhaiguan for defense.

  Huang Taiji immediately sent cavalry to chase after hearing the news.

  However, the Dashun elite did not leave any openings, and even withdrew their troops in an orderly manner. If it were the Ming Dynasty's official army, they would have retreated halfway and fled.

  The war situation changed again.

   Li Zicheng and Ma Ke were trapped in Shanhaiguan, Huang Taiji led troops to the outside of Shanhaiguan, Haoge and Dorgon led troops to block Shanhaiguan.

(PS: Regarding Li Zicheng’s military discipline of the Dashun Army, it can be divided into two stages. When Beijing was first occupied, Qiu committed no crimes, and the people in the capital were very willing to marry their daughters to Dashun soldiers, and they were proud of it. After the defeat of a piece of stone, The military discipline of the Dashun Army deteriorated rapidly, and they robbed and even raped women during the retreat. Yang Shicong’s record should be the most credible. His wife, second concubine, and daughter committed suicide, and he had a deep hatred with Li Zicheng. Too good to be true.)

  (end of this chapter)