I

  Chapter 558 555 [It is as Xu as a forest, and it is as fast as the wind]

  On the north wall, there are not only Sinicized Jurchens, but also Jianzhou Jurchens transferred from other places.

  After Nao Dai fell off the city wall, more than a dozen soldiers accompanying him were also killed to only two or three. It wasn't until this time that the Eight Banners Army on the nearby city wall finally realized that something was wrong, and rushed to fight under the leadership of the officers.

  To the east of the city, it was very lively. The Datong army pushed the ladder and advanced slowly under the cover of artillery fire.

  To the north of the city, quietly, the Datong army carried ordinary wooden ladders, but rushed towards the city wall in the dark.

   "If you hold another half stick of incense, the reinforcements will arrive at the city!"

  Zhang Fengyan hissed and roared.

  No matter how fast a young person recovers, it is impossible for a fracture to heal in more than a month. He was still dragging a wooden frame on his legs, fighting together with the soldiers under his command, and was flanked by the enemies on both sides.

  When the first Datong soldier climbed the city wall, hundreds of Sinicized Jurchens had already suffered hundreds of casualties.

  If it weren't for the reinforcements being close at hand, with nearly 20% casualties, these Sinicized Jurchens would have collapsed long ago.

   "Kill all the Tartars!"

  Zhang Mingzhen led his troops to climb up the city wall, and the morale of the Sinicized Jurchens was greatly boosted, while the Eight Banners Army on both sides were frightened.

  For these Eight Banners soldiers, they are already in a desperate situation. The main general is dead at this moment, and there are many fires in the city, and their family and property are also in jeopardy. If they continue to fight, the whole family may die.

  The formation of Sinicized Jurchen has been cut out of the gap, and Zhang Mingzhen personally fills in.

  This man's weapon is not a spear or a waist knife, but a two-handed sword. The front of the sword is narrow and the back is wide, it can chop and slash the enemy, and it can also stab through armor.

  A sword actually pierced through the cotton armor and directly pierced the Tazi soldier's abdomen.

  Draw out the sword, with a string of blood beads.

  Because of the crowded terrain, it was too late to change his tactics. Zhang Mingzhen slammed into the point of the Tartar's spear sideways. The angle was deflected and the attack distance was shortened, greatly reducing the damage of the opponent's long spear. After bullying, Zhang Mingzhen stabbed the opponent's throat with his sword, and immediately killed another enemy.

  In the darkness, Zhang Mingzhen was invincible, killing and wounding six tartars one after another.

  The Datong Army and Sinicized Jurchen behind him became more courageous under his leadership. The morale of the tartars was already low, and when they encountered a fierce man like Zhang Mingzhen, they quickly collapsed and fled.

  The Tartar soldiers fled into the city and went straight to their homes, trying to take advantage of the chaos and leave with their families.

   "Don't chase the enemy, take the east wall first!" Zhang Mingzhen shouted.

  Zhang Mingzhen was born in Nanjing Jinyiwei family, a young ranger, famous in the capital, was introduced as a guest of honor by the **** Cao Huachun, and at the same time had a close relationship with the Donglin Party.

  In history, it was not until the end of Chongzhen that he got an official position and served as a guerrilla general in Zhejiang. After King Lu was defeated, Zhang Mingzhen trained troops in Zhoushan, and then welcomed King Lu back to eastern Zhejiang. After joining forces with Zhang Huangyan, he sent troops to the Yangtze River three times and besieged the Qing army in Chongming City for eight months.

  After conquering Zhoushan for the third time, Zhang Mingzhen unfortunately died of illness, and the remaining troops were led by Zhang Huangyan.

   Zhang Mingzhen in this time and space learned that the prince and daughter were going south, and immediately bid farewell to Cao Huachun, and ran to Nanjing to try to join the army. But there is no way to join the army, because the expansion of the Datong Army is based on priority selection from farmers and soldiers.

   It took a full year and a half before the Datong Army recruited troops from abroad, and they only recruited those skilled in bows and horses—expanding the cavalry.

  But he said that Zhang Mingzhen killed the Tartars in the North City and immediately led his troops to the East City.

  The Tartars stationed in the east city heard the fighting in the north city, but they didn't take it seriously at first, thinking that the north city was under attack. This is normal, because there is also a Datong army in Dongcheng, and they are also waiting to fight.

   It wasn't until the North City sent someone to ask for help, saying that the Lord General had an accident, that the Tartars in the East City led their troops to kill.

  The two sides collided at the northeast corner of Phoenix City. Zhang Mingzhen rushed forward with swords in both hands. After meeting the enemy, two long spears stabbed at the same time. Zhang Mingzhen avoided the vital point, and used his armor to resist the enemy's attack.

  This gentleman is like a flesh-clad assassin, who wears armor to let the enemy attack, and then kills himself with a single blow of the sword.

  Under the leadership of Zhang Mingzhen, the Datong army turned into an awl, and Zhang Mingzhen was the tip of the awl, severely cutting the Tartar army formation.

"kill!"

  The Datong army in the east of the city, who had been dawdling for a long time, finally speeded up, pushed the ladder against the gunfire, and approached the east wall.

  There were enemies outside the city, and enemies on the side. The fire inside the city became more intense, and the tartars who stayed behind on the east wall finally couldn't bear it anymore. Before the Datong Army's cloud ladder could attach to the city, these Tartars fled one after another, and then the whole army fled, fleeing from the city to search for their family members.

   There were also Tartars who didn't care about their families, and ran all the way west, trying to open the west gate and jump into the river to escape.

  The west gate opened, and hundreds of Tartars rushed out. There was still some distance from the river bank.

   "Da da da da!"

  The tartars didn't run very far out of the city. Lin Zhidong led his cavalry and charged out from the foothills in the northwest.

  The Tartars, while running away, took off their armor, because they couldn't swim across the river without taking off their armor. When they heard the sound of horseshoes, they panicked even more, and their legs ran faster, but the armor on their bodies could not be taken off no matter what.

   Plop!

   Plop!

  Like dumplings, Tartar soldiers jumped into the river one after another. But if you fall into the water wearing a cotton jacket, there is nothing for a good swimmer, unless you dive all the way from the bottom of the river.

   A few Tartars turned around and fought, but scattered infantry, how could they be opponents of cavalry?

   "Fire out, fire out!"

  In the city, Zhang Fengyan did not fight any more, but took the Sinicized Jurchen to carry water to put out the fire amidst the chaos. Their family property is also in the city. Although they deliberately avoided their own house when they set fire to it, a quarter of the buildings in the city have been burned due to the spread of the fire.

  In the early morning, Lu Xiangsheng entered the city with his own soldiers, and half of the buildings in the city were reduced to ashes.

  The air was filled with the smell of blood and burnt. In addition to human corpses, there were also horse corpses and the corpses of many livestock. In the middle of the night, livestock and war horses were frightened by the fire, and even the Datong army who put out the fire was killed by a running bull.

   "General, the city is under control!" Zhang Mingzhen came to see him.

   Lu Xiangsheng saw that his body was covered in blood and his cotton jacket was also punctured, and asked, "Are you injured?"

  Zhang Mingzhen replied: "It's all flesh wounds."

  Lu Xiangsheng said: "Go and bandage it, there is still a battle to be fought."

  Further north of Phoenix City is Tongyuan Fort.

  Tongyuan Castle is composed of three small cities, each of which is so small that it has only one gate. In fact, it is a group of fortresses composed of three castles.

   Take Tongyuan Fort, and then take the Lianshan Pass further north, and Lu Xiangsheng's troops can go straight to Shenyang. You can also choose to go out of Shanxi and attack Liaoyang behind Haizhou.

Lu Xiangsheng called Lin Zhidong over: "The cavalry rested for half a day and put on Tartar armor. They all shaved their hair and left their braids. Take a few Sinicized Jurchens who surrendered, and set off immediately with five days of dry food. Instead of going to Tongyuan Fort, follow the Caohe River Valley. Go to Caohe Fort in the northeast. We must march at full speed, cut off the valley west of Caohe Fort, and not allow a single Tartar to pass through the valley. Then, surprise Lianshan Pass!"

   "Yes!" Lin Zhidong took the order to retreat.

  Lu Xiangsheng's journey is to clear the game.

  It is all mountainous, and the route of attacking troops is fixed, and they will fight one by one.

  Tongyuan Fort is too difficult to fight, and it will definitely take time. Then ignore Tongyuan Fort, go in the direction of Caohe Fort, cut off the enemy's communication, and directly attack Lianshan Pass.

  The Datong Army wanted to go to Lianshan Pass, either through Tongyuan Fort or Caohe Fort, and there was still a Phoenix City stuck ahead. The Manchu Qing defenders at Lianshan Pass only knew that the Datong Army was attacking Phoenix City. How could they have expected that the Datong Army would suddenly kill them in front of them?

  In the previous two months, Lu Xiangsheng fought the war with a strict eye, strengthening the camp and digging tunnels all day long, so stable and dull to the point of heinous.

  At this time, the style of the military order has changed drastically, and it is actually a risky surprise attack.

  Once there is news that Lin Zhidong's dragoons may be ambushed by the Tartars, cut off their retreat and blocked in the valley, the entire army will be wiped out.

  Even if they were not ambushed, if the surprise attack failed, they would not have enough food, and the whole army would have to come back hungry. If there is a slight accident and they cannot return, they will all starve to death.

   Just as Lin Zhidong retreated, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly said: "Leave a hundred cavalry and go to Tongyuan Fort."

  All the dragoons shaved their heads, Lin Zhidong rested for half a day, the soldiers and horses regained their energy, and set off along the river valley in the afternoon.

  By the dawn of the next day, a few miles away from Caohe Fort, people and horses hid in the mountains to recharge their batteries. Rest for a day, continue to advance along the river valley at night, until approaching Caohe Fort, then lead the horses up the hill, and bypass the Caohe Fort from the forest.

  This kind of marching route can only be used for small-scale surprise attacks, and it is impossible for a large army to cross mountains and mountains.

   Traveling day and night for four days, they are about to reach their destination, but the food they brought is almost finished.

  Lin Zhidong's task was to pretend to be a defeated soldier and escape from Tongyuan Fort to Lianshan Pass. That route was to escape to the other side of the river at Lianshan Pass. From Caohebao, it is directly along the river to Lianshan Pass.

  In order to act forcefully, Lin Zhidong personally led dozens of cavalry, and a few Sinicized Jurchens, crossed the river in advance and marched to the opposite bank.

  The rest of the cavalry hid along the river in a ravine three miles away from Lianshan Pass.

  Lianshan Pass is very small, just a fortress.

   There are only one hundred troops in the garrison, but there are many bannermen and family members nearby, and there are hundreds of nearly a thousand soldiers when they are mobilized.

  The chief general who guards the pass is just a mid-level officer.

  Lu Xiangsheng sent a hundred cavalry to take a walk in Tongyuan Fort. The defenders of Tongyuan Fort were terrified and sent someone to Shenyang for help. When passing through Lianshan Pass, the defenders of Lianshan Pass also knew that the Phoenix City was gone and that the Datong Army was attacking Lianshan Pass.

   This is a plan to kill birds with one stone, because the Tartars of Caohebao also got the news. He thought that the Datong Army had gone to Tongyuan Fort, but Lu Xiangsheng's main force was actually heading towards Caohe Fort at this time.

  Two forts and one pass, all were deceived by Lu Xiangsheng.

  Lin Zhidong took the cavalry and fled to the other side of the river at Lianshan Pass in embarrassment. The accompanying Sinicized Jurchen yelled towards Guancheng: "Send a boat over here and take Naodai Beizi across the river!"

  The defenders didn't hear clearly, but they also saw the clothes on the other side, all of which belonged to "our own people".

  A defender came to the shore, finally heard what he was shouting, and hurried back to report: "Naodai Beizi is not dead, Naodai Beizi is back!"

  (end of this chapter)