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The 28th, at dusk.

The gate wall of Xiguan in Xingtai has also been repaired. Although it is not as high, thick and sturdy as the city wall, it is still much stronger than the walls of ordinary villages and hamlets. Even if the Jurchens attack, it can be defended with this wall.

Moreover, there were cannons on the western city wall of Xingtai, as well as long-range fire support from archers and gunners. Such a three-dimensional defense was quite formidable and difficult to attack before the rise of firearms.

Outside the West Gate, many cavalrymen were still galloping back and forth. They were strengthening the patrols of the West Gate to prevent the Jurchens from launching a surprise attack, while they were constantly heading towards the North and South Gates to investigate the Jurchens' movements.

Although Xiguan was not small, it was difficult to garrison all of Hu Zichen and Sha Shiguang's troops. Only Han Zikai, a subordinate general under Hu Zichen, was stationed there. There were 300 cavalrymen and more than 200 infantrymen under Hu Zichen, as well as 1,000 soldiers from Huya Village under Sha Shiguang.

The remaining infantry and cavalry troops that came to Xingtai were stationed inside the city. A small portion of them were transferred to reinforce the north, east, and south walls, but most of the main force of the reinforcement troops remained in the west side of the city so that they could go out of the city to reinforce Xiguan at any time.

…………

"It's strange, is it? Were the Jurchens really so terrified by General Hu's might? Why did they remain silent after retreating and ceasing hostilities at the end of the hour?" Chen Jiayin, the Assistant Magistrate of Shunde Prefecture, exclaimed as he looked north from the southwest corner tower of Xingtai.

Zhongjun Deng Renhe, standing to the side, clasped his hands and said, "General Hu is truly awe-inspiring. It seems the Tartars dare not invade Xingtai again."

Before Hu Zichen could respond, Prefect Ji Kongjia said with a smile, "It's getting dark. The Jurchens will not attack the city again today. General Hu has come from afar to aid Shunde. He will drive back the Tartars in one battle and relieve the crisis in Xingtai City."

This prefecture has already ordered a banquet to welcome General Hu and celebrate his victory, to express the gratitude of the entire city's soldiers and civilians for his assistance. We hope General Hu will not refuse.

Hu Zichen clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Prefect Ji is so kind, I should not refuse. However... now the city is surrounded by enemy bandits. Even if we repel them during the day, we must guard against them sneaking into the city at night. I really dare not accept Prefect Ji's request."

Ji Kongjia did not allow Hu Zichen to refuse. He stepped forward, took Hu Zichen and Sha Shiguang's hands, and said warmly, "The city defense has been arranged by this government. We will strengthen patrols on the city walls at night, and we will be able to detect any alarms."

Generals Hu and Sha have come from afar to provide assistance, which is truly a great favor to Shunde. This prefecture is merely expressing our gratitude. We will only discuss military matters and the defense of the city, and will not drink excessively. I do not expect this will cause any problems.”

Without saying a word, he grabbed Hu Zichen and Sha Shiguang and headed towards the North Gate.

…………

As expected, everything went exactly as Ji Kongjia had predicted; the Jurchens did not launch a night attack on Xingtai City.

On the morning of the 29th, the Jurchen cavalry marched out in large numbers, circling the city as if to demonstrate their power to the soldiers and civilians within. However, they did not launch another attack on the city.

At 9:00 AM, more than a thousand enemy cavalrymen headed north, but the main force of enemy cavalry, before noon, escorted the captured refugees and sped northeast towards Ren County.

According to Hu Zichen, he originally wanted to take advantage of the enemy's retreat to lead his infantry and cavalry to attack and rescue the kidnapped refugees from their suffering.

However, Ji Kongjia, the prefect of Shunde, was determined to dissuade them. He worried that if they launched an attack, they would not only fail to rescue the captured people but also be defeated by the Jurchens. If the Jurchens returned and attacked Xingtai again, how could the soldiers and civilians in the city defend it?
Most of the people who were captured by Tan Tai's Jurchen troops were from Guangping and Shunde prefectures in southern Ji. Since the prefect of Shunde strongly dissuaded them, Hu Zichen naturally could not insist on his own ideas.

Even after the Jurchens retreated, Ji Kongjia still refused to let Hu Zichen and Sha Shiguang's troops leave, insisting on keeping them for two more days under the pretext of the upcoming New Year. Finally, Hu Zichen invoked the orders of Zhang Cheng, the commander of the Western Route Loyalist Army and Earl of Yongning, and Ji Kongjia dared not insist on retaining them any longer. However, he still proposed to the court to appoint Sha Shiguang as the garrison commander of Xingtai, leaving Sha Shiguang's troops to continue garrisoning Xingtai.

Hu Zichen could no longer refuse outright. After discussing it with Sha Shiguang, he decided to send a portion of his troops back to Huya Village to garrison and defend the city, while Sha Shiguang would lead a thousand soldiers to temporarily garrison Xingtai to assist in the defense.

After Hu Zichen meets with the Earl of Yongning, he will then consult the Earl of Yongning for a final decision!
…………

In this battle, both Hu Zichen's and Sha Shiguang's troops suffered heavy losses, but their achievements were also quite substantial...

Hu Zichen's cavalry suffered few losses. They mostly engaged in skirmishes with the Jurchens. Although they charged repeatedly, they did not get entangled in close combat with the Jurchen cavalry. Only eleven men were killed and only seventy were wounded, most of whom were not seriously injured.

The cavalry's kills and wounds against the Tartars were not significant, only about forty men. In terms of casualties, they were at a disadvantage!
Hu Zichen's main losses were on the infantry side. Post-battle statistics showed that 43 people were killed in action, and more than 120 were wounded, including nearly 30 seriously wounded who were unable to return to the battlefield.

However, they killed or wounded fewer than one hundred Jurchens, and only about thirty or forty of them could be confirmed as having been killed. This shows that the infantry's combat strength was still far inferior to that of the Jurchens.

Of course, Hu Zichen's infantry was still a bit short. If he had another 500 veteran soldiers, he might have been able to kill more Jurchens.

Sha Shiguang's side suffered greater losses. After all, they had not experienced a real battle before. It was already remarkable that they were able to hold their ground under the fierce attack of the Jurchens and not collapse.

They suffered 123 dead and more than 270 wounded, resulting in direct combat casualties of one-fifth of their total strength, which was indeed a tragic loss.

It can be said that Sha Shiguang's team was on the verge of collapse!
However, they only killed more than fifty Jurchens on the spot, and even the number of Jurchens wounded did not exceed one hundred. The kill ratio was simply appalling.

If Hu Zichen had reacted even a little slower, or if Shunde Prefect Ji Kongjia had made the decision to send reinforcements out of the city a little later, Sha Shiguang's troops would probably have collapsed on the spot.

However, although Sha Shiguang's troops suffered great losses, from another perspective, his troops also underwent the test of the battlefield, proving that Sha Shiguang's training was very successful and that in time they would become a brave and elite force!

This was also the main reason why Shunde Prefect Ji Kongjia tried his best to persuade Sha Shiguang to stay, after all, he had witnessed the fierce battle outside the city.

Even though he had repelled the attacking Jurchen invaders, Ji Kongjia still felt lingering fear when he thought about it, which was why he insisted on refusing Hu Zichen's offer to lead his troops in pursuit.

Hu Zichen and Sha Shiguang were both unwilling to accept such a result, but the facts were there, and they could not say anything more. Instead, they had to stabilize the morale of the troops and boost their spirits.

The happiest person was naturally Ji Kongjia, the prefect of Shunde...

He not only defended Xingtai, the capital city, and gained credit for the entire city's defense, but also killed more than 400 Tartars, earning him the merit of slaying slaves. Furthermore, he found a valiant general to guard Xingtai, making him arguably the biggest winner of this campaign.

The good news of the victory was sent to the capital by express cavalry on the very day the Jurchens retreated. At the same time, the messenger personally reported the victory to Sha Shiguang and requested the Ministry of War to grant him an official position so that he could remain stationed in Xingtai. (End of Chapter)