1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 473

In October 1642 (the 15th year of Chongzhen), after the Qing army won the Battle of Songjin, the slave chieftain Huang Taiji took Abatai (the seventh son of Nurhachi) as the general on the grounds that the Ming court refused to negotiate a peace. Gerge and others led their troops westward along the Daling River.

In November, Jiannu entered the pass in two ways. The left wing entered through Gubeikou, which destroyed the Great Wall, and the right wing entered through Huangyakou of Yanmen Pass. The two roads merged with Jizhou (now Jixian County, Hebei Province), and met Bai Guangen, the general soldier of Jizhou. The initial battle was unfavorable, and several generals including the third-class captain of light vehicles, Jaisamu, Shenling Wudana, Zuoling Chuoketuo, Ebei, Hunda Chan of the Guarding Military Academy, and Erzihe, the captain of cavalry, were beheaded in the Before the battle.Afterwards, the army of slaves who joined forces along the way rushed to attack Jizhou, and Bai Guangen was defeated.

Afterwards, the Jiannu army drove straight in and attacked the eastern part of Yanzhou. They successively broke Hejian (now Hejian, Hebei), Shunde (now Hebei, Hebei), and Yanzhou; they captured eighteen prefectures and 67 counties, and killed the Ming clan. Zhu Yipai, king of Lu, and thousands of kings and officials from the prefectures of Leling, Yangxin, Dongyuan, Anqiu, and Ziyang, obtained more than 200 taels of gold, [-] million taels of silver, and captured more than [-] taels of people. There were more than [-] camels, horses, mules, cattle, donkeys and sheep, and the soldiers stopped in Haizhou (northern Jiangsu) in South Zhili.

At the beginning of March 1643, the Qing army gradually stopped all offensives, and the army gradually shrank and entered Juzhou (Ju County, Zhaoshi City today) to recuperate.

On April 1643, 4, Abatai, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, ordered that the army return to Liaodong immediately.Tugerge supervised the front army to lead the way, and he led the army to escort the looted materials and people to move forward slowly.

On May 1643, 5, five miles south of Rizhao Town (today's Zhaoshi) in Juzhou, at the mouth of the Futuan River (today's Futuan River in Zhaoshi).

More than [-] small galleys and some fishing boats docked quietly on the bank of the river mouth, shaking up and down with the current.And hundreds of meters away from the shore, there is a temporary camp with more than a dozen tents built inside. Occasionally, there are people swaying in it, but there is no noise, and it looks extremely quiet.

On the west side of the camp, Xu Chuanxing, the company commander of the [-]rd Marine Corps of the Qi State Navy, walked up and down a little restlessly, and looked up to the west from time to time.The several waves of search teams sent out in the morning, by this time, it was already noon, and no news had come back yet.This made him anxious, but also a little worried.

In Juzhou, more than 100 miles away, tens of thousands of Jiannu troops gathered, and in the nearby Rizhao Town, a few miles away, there were sporadic Jiannu rangers, so he couldn't help but worry about any accidents.

After absent-mindedly eating lunch, Xu Chuanxing checked several security posts, and then prepared to go back to his tent to take a nap. After two or three days of sailing, he only landed here in the early morning today, and he was really tired.

After falling asleep for less than half an hour, a guard woke him up, saying that the two squads of soldiers who went out to search had returned and brought news of Jiannu.

"Tell me, what news did you find out?" Xu Chuanxing asked eagerly after seeing the soldiers who went out to investigate the situation.

"Company Commander, we found a group of Jian slaves near the west bank of the river, about seven or eight miles away, and they escorted many vehicles to the direction of Juzhou. Besides, there were many civilians and a large number of people in the group. Livestock such as mules, horses, donkeys, cattle and sheep.”

"Many vehicles, how many vehicles? Many people, and how many people?" Xu Chuanxing asked angrily, "Didn't you find out the exact number? Also, how many Jiannu people are there, and how many cavalry and infantry are there?"

The team leader who reported was reprimanded by Xu Chuanxing, and suddenly he was a little afraid to speak. He opened his mouth and did not speak for a long time.

"Company commander, there are about 520 to 120 soldiers in the convoy escorted by Jiannu. There are more than 600 cavalry, and the rest are infantry. The cavalry has iron armor on their upper bodies, and the infantry wears leather armor. The weapons are all knives and guns. "A handsome soldier came out and replied: "The vehicles escorted by Jiannu are about [-] vehicles. What is loaded in them is impossible to find out because they are covered with cloth. There are about [-] to [-] people accompanying them. Most of them are young and middle-aged, and there are hundreds of young women among them."

"Yue Zhongwu, you are very good." Xu Chuanxing glanced at the soldier, with a satisfied smile on his face, "If you behave like this, you will have a bright future in the army!"

"Thank you, sir, for your compliment!" Yue Zhongwu said excitedly.

"Go down and rest, maybe we have a hard fight to fight."

Xu Chuanxing's officers and soldiers of the 260rd Marine Corps plus more than [-] local soldiers from Changshan Island in the south made a total of more than [-] people. Three days ago, they set off from Changshan Island in the south and sailed along the Shandong coastline, all the way to the seaside of Juzhou. Prepare to attack Jiannu escort convoy here.

The reason why they took the risk to come to the seaside of Juzhou to wait for an opportunity to intercept the looted goods of Jiannu was because Nanchangshan Island was short of food.

Since the Jiannu army invaded Shandong in December last year, countless refugees have flocked to Jiaodong. By March of this year, no less than [-] fleeing people had gathered in Penglai County on the opposite side of Nanchangshan Island.There is no fixed place to live and no fixed meals. In the past winter, more than [-] people died of cold and hunger.

I don't know when, someone learned that a group of overseas strongmen gathered on Nanchangshan Island not far from Penglai County, built forts, built docks, reclaimed farmland, and accommodated refugees.Although the government vaguely knew about it, considering that some of the islands on the opposite side were relocated and abandoned a few years ago to prevent slavery, and the other party had never harassed the coastal counties and towns, they turned a blind eye and let them occupy it.

The many refugees gathered in Penglai County heard that the island could have enough food, so some refugees floated to the island to beg for food despite the cold weather.From mid-March to the end of April, in less than two months, more than [-] people fled to Nanchangshan Island.

Looking at those refugees who came to the island regardless of the dangers, almost all of them were alone, with haggard faces, and came to the island with a little survival instinct. Zhao Hongxing, the commander of Changshan Island, couldn't bear it, and ordered them to come to the island. A temporary camp was set up outside the fortress, and the accumulated grain was boiled into gruel, which was given to them every day.

Originally, in December last year, most of the immigrants from Changshan Island had been transported away by the immigrant fleet, leaving only 1000 people with food rations for more than half a year. Ships from Hanxing Island or Xinsheng Island deliver supplies.

But now, more than [-] people have poured into the island at once, and as the weather gets warmer, more refugees will come from the sea every day.Then the food accumulated on the island is simply unbearable.

For this reason, Zhao Hongxing mobilized all the ships on the island, carrying some gold and silver left by Luo Rucheng last year, and went south to purchase food.However, from the coast of Shandong to the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huaihe and Huaihe regions, Hanzhou people simply cannot buy enough grain.Because of the enslavement of the slaves and the rampage of Hebei and Shandong, countless refugees flooded into the Lianghuai area, causing grain merchants from all over the country to hoard and reluctance to sell. Landlord farms in the countryside were also closed fortresses, and they would not easily put the grain in stock on the market.

As a result, the Hanzhou people who went south to buy food spent nearly a month and only bought more than 7000 shi of food, which was not enough for 20 people on the island to feed for [-] days.

In desperation, Zhao Hongxing sent people to sail to Hanxing Island (today's Miyako Island) to ask for help, and organized all the fishing boats to go fishing. At the same time, he hoped that some grain could be harvested from the fields reclaimed last year, which would relieve the urgent need .

But all these efforts are not enough to delay the severe food shortage on Changshan Island. Zhao Hongxing and other military and civilian officials sadly estimate that if there is no food supplement, perhaps after mid-May, the entire island will be destroyed. Completely cut off food.

Just when Xu Chuanxing and other Marine Corps officers and soldiers decided that if the island ran out of food, it would be better to take troops to the coastal areas of Dengzhou, Qingzhou, and Juzhou to find a weak point, break through a county and town, and bring back some food for emergency.There was news from Penglai County that Jiannu was preparing to evacuate and return to Liaodong after having ravaged Shandong for several months.Jiannu plundered Hebei and Shandong, and plundered countless, not counting the population of gold, silver and jade, even the food and livestock they carried were countless.

Hearing the news, Xu Chuanxing immediately made a bold decision to rob and build slaves!
Zhao Hongxing and other civil affairs officials were stunned when they heard that Xu Chuanxing was going to rob Jiannu and return to the escort convoy.A few months ago, an army of [-] Jiannu invaded Shandong, besieging the city and conquering the territory, including dozens of prefectures and counties, invincible, and the Ming army hardly had any resistance.For this reason, a group of military and government officials in the Qi State paid close attention to the movement of land and sea, for fear that Jiannu would learn that the "thieves" who raided Gaizhou last year were hiding on this small island, which would incur Jiannu's crazy revenge.

Moreover, it is rumored that the number of soldiers entering the customs for Jiannu is in the tens of thousands, which is not something that can be provoked by the hundreds of armed forces stationed on the island by the Qi State.

However, Xu Chuanxing said that it was urgent for Jiannu to return to Liaodong after months of looting, and with a large amount of seized materials, it might not be less than tens of miles in length, and it would certainly not be possible to achieve strict defense by all troops.The Marine Corps and some local soldiers, as long as they can select Jiannu's emptiness and weakness, intercept Jiannu's single troops, and after a successful blow, they can quickly escape by boat and stay safe.

Besides, the island is extremely short of food. If they don't go to rob Jiannu to get it, why not go to the coast of Shandong and plunder Daming County?Don't forget, because of the establishment of slaves and the invasion of bandits, there may be as many refugees gathered in many prefectures and counties in the coastal areas of Shandong as Penglai County, and there will be no more food reserves.

After everyone listened, although they were still worried, they could only agree with Xu Chuanxing's suggestion and began to actively prepare supplies and equipment for the battle.At the same time, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps were constantly warned not to go deep into the inland, and beware of the cavalry of the slave brigade.If things go wrong, you must withdraw to the sea in time, and don't easily throw the lives of Qi's children to Jiannu for nothing.

Considering that it was the interception of Jiannu's plunder and the need for manpower to carry the supplies, Xu Chuanxing brought more than 260 strong and strong peasants in addition to more than 400 soldiers and township soldiers, and gave each of them a shot. Spears, in times of crisis, can also have the power to fight.

(End of this chapter)