weaving

The cavalry led by General Guo Yingxian of the Xuanfu was only [-] cavalry, most of them were the cavalry of the Zhengbing Battalion of Yang Guozhu, the former general of the army, and there were more than [-] cavalry from the Zhengbing Battalion of King Pu of Datong, and more than [-] cavalry under the command of Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi.

Ever since he received the governor's order, he didn't dare to delay, so he immediately led his men to ride to Songshan Mountain.

However, on the way, he received a letter from Zhang Cheng, the chief soldier of the Xuanfu, asking him not to rush on the road, but to walk slowly, and always check the path ahead, and must not rush forward to avoid being ambushed by the Tartars.

Although Guo Yingxian didn't know Zhang Cheng's scheming, but he firmly believed in Zhang Cheng's order, and immediately changed from rushing forward to slow-moving, not as impatient as before.

But what he didn't know was that on the way back to Huangtuling, Zhang Cheng received another letter from Changling Mountain, saying that soldiers and horses from Manchuria with red flags had also appeared at the foot of Changling Mountain.

So far, the most elite core force of the Tartars, the Eight Banners of Manchuria, has revealed its true face. Since the Tartar soldiers of the Four Banners of Manchuria have appeared in the direction of Changling Mountain, their picture must be Xingshan Fort.

After Zhang Cheng learned of this military situation, he couldn't care less about getting tired. He changed his route and turned back to Shimen Mountain, heading straight for Hong Chengchou's camp.

Holding the letter from Zhang Cheng in his hand, Hong Chengchou's heart was also heavy. In fact, when he learned that there were Tatar-studded white flags and two yellow flags at the foot of Changling Mountain, he already concluded that the Tatars' plans would never be on Songshan's side. .

It's just that the burden on him is too heavy, bearing the gains and losses of the entire Liaodong war, the safety of hundreds of thousands of troops and hundreds of thousands of people is tied to him, so he dare not make hasty decisions.

Moreover, in his opinion, with Zuo Guangxian and Meng Dao on Xingshan Mountain, and Liu Zhaoji sitting in Tashan Mountain, facing tens of thousands of fine horsemen from the Tartars, even if they dare not fight, they can stick to Xingta Jiancheng without any worries.

As for the Ta thieves cutting off the grain roads in the field, so what, the tens of thousands of troops here can still be trapped by the tens of thousands of Ta thieves?

When it really comes to that time, with hundreds of thousands of powerful troops, it is enough to return to Xingshan to eat. Forgive him, tens of thousands of horses in Duduo will definitely not be able to resist.

But now facing Zhang Cheng, he was unwilling to speak like this, and Zu Dale, the three mobile cavalry forces formed before, was operating with the Ningyuan Army and was stationed at the foot of Shimen Mountain.

And Guo Yingxian's troops have been dispatched to Xingshan Fort, and only the deputy general Chen Zhongcai's troops are still under Songshan City. This is the only army that Hong Chengchou can dispatch at present, so naturally it cannot be easily mobilized.

However, Zhang Cheng suggested that the defense line of Huangtuling should be handed over to Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, and he would only lead a battalion of infantry under Xuanzhen's command, and add a battalion of Che Battalion to Xingshan, both to rescue Xingshan Fort and Changling Mountain, It can also prevent the Tartars from cutting off the grain road.

At the beginning, Hong Chengchou didn't agree with Zhang Cheng bringing back the army to help at this moment, but under Zhang Cheng's repeated pleas, he couldn't come up with a better solution, so he could only agree as a last resort.

But at this time, Xie Sixin suggested that Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, would be unable to support him alone in Huangtuling. Even with the assistance of a troop from Fu Yingchong, the deputy general of Shenji Battalion, it would be difficult.

In fact, what he said was ingenious. In fact, he just couldn't trust Wang Pu and himself. He was afraid that if Zhang Cheng left, there would be no backbone in Huangtuling, which would cause bad things.

In the end, it was Zhang Cheng who suggested that Wei Zhice, a guerrilla from Xuanfu, temporarily serve as Wang Pu's lieutenant general, and lead the remaining Xuanfu soldiers and horses, assisting Wang Pu to defend Huangtuling, and taking into account the safety of Xiaoling River Estuary. …

Although the Xiaoling River has not stopped flowing, its current is not as fast as it used to be, but even so, it still cannot be crossed at will. There are only a few shallow areas suitable for people and horses to swim across.

You only need to send people to watch day and night, and once you find that the Tartars are crossing the river to attack, you only need to deploy defenses in advance, and you can protect the city walls everywhere.

In view of this, Hong Chengchou agreed to Zhang Cheng's proposal, but he also put forward a condition, that is, Zhang Cheng must return to Huangtuling first and arrange everything before leading his army to Xingshan.

So far, everything seems to be developing in the direction Zhang Cheng expected.

Chen Zheng, the hard nail he planted in Changling Mountain earlier, has also played a role at this moment, and he ordered Guo Yingxian to walk slowly because he actually wanted him to wait for his footsteps.

However, at that time, he was not sure whether Hong Chengchou would agree with him to lead the army to help, so he didn't make his words too clear.

The military situation was urgent, Zhang Cheng didn't dare to delay, he left Shimen Mountain out of greed, and first ordered Zhang Mingyuan to lead [-] cavalry to Xingshan to chase Guo Yingxian's army, and told him the situation here, and asked him to wait for himself before marching.

At the same time, Zhang Chengfang was sent to lead [-] cavalry to the direction of Niangniang Palace, to report the decision here to Zhang Ruoqi, the commander in chief, and Wang Pu, the commander in chief of Datong, and ordered Zhang Guodong's troops to return to Huangtuling to stand by.

As for Zhang Cheng himself, under the escort of his own soldiers, he rushed directly back to the Huangtuling camp, and proper arrangements must be made there, otherwise, if something happens here, it will be worthwhile.

…………

"No..."

Wang Pu's expression was anxious, he didn't care about being decent, he stepped forward and said anxiously: "Shuai Zhang can't go to rescue Xingshan, the military situation here is also urgent, slaves and bandits crossed the river yesterday to attack our grain storage camp at the mouth of the river, who can guarantee that they won't come tomorrow?" Come again?"

Fu Yingchong also disagreed, and he said aside: "Fu also doesn't approve of Zhang Shuai going to Xingshan. If the military situation is really urgent, you can send a capable general to lead the army to help. Why do you need Zhang Shuai to go in person?"

Zhang Ruoqi also objected to Zhang Cheng's going to aid Xingshan, he continued, "I will just write the book and the governor, and ask him to order other generals to lead the army to help."

Zhang Cheng looked at the people in the military tent, and he didn't know if they really loved him, or if they were worried that he would go to Xingshan, and the safety here would not be guaranteed.

Taking another look at the generals under his command, they were standing on the side of the military tent, all of them remained calm and calm.

After all, they are the generals brought out by themselves. They are now accustomed to obeying orders, and they are not afraid of the Tartars on the other side of Huangtuling, which is why they are so calm.

Zhang Cheng smiled and said to several people: "How did you make it look like I was going to die?"

"Bah... bah... bah..."

Hearing this, Wang Pu hurried forward and said, "The battle is imminent, don't say such depressing words."

Zhang Cheng smiled and didn't care, and said: "On the way back, I received a letter from Chen Zheng again, saying that he has blocked the Tartars for two consecutive days with the help of the dangerous mountains and the trenches he built, preventing them from advancing an inch.

However, the Tartar bandits are powerful after all, even though General Guo Can led the army to help, I still can't rest assured, Xingta is an important place for the army's food and roads, if there is a slight difference, it will be an unbearable pain for my Liao army. "

He paused for a moment before continuing: "For this reason, I personally asked Governor Hong to lead the army to help. This is a plan for me to help Liao's tens of thousands of troops, and I have made up my mind. You don't need to persuade me any more." .”…

"However, as Wang Zongbing and Deputy General Fu said, the Huangtuling area is also important. Therefore, my Xuanfu's army and horses still focus on Huangtuling, and we must keep a large army here."

Regardless of the dissuasion of Zhang Ruoqi, Wang Pu and others, he glanced at the generals of the Xuanfu, and after a while, he said: "This time to aid Xingshan, Zhang Guodong, Zhang Guangda, and Lin Fangping will lead the troops, and the left part of the chariot will accompany us. .

The rest are all staying at the Huangtuling area, but the commander is no longer here, and there must be someone in charge! "

The generals of the Xuan Mansion looked at Zhang Cheng nervously, wondering who the commander-in-chief would order to take charge of the military affairs here on his behalf.

Zhang Cheng looked sternly at the generals under his command, and said in a deep voice: "When the commander-in-chief is away, Wei Zhice should be the one who decides in the military, and He Zhenfu is still in charge of monitoring military discipline and assessing merits and demerits. Whatever matters, big or small, you The two should decide at random.

If you can't decide on your own, you can make an agreement between the two of you. "

Everyone has no objection to Zhang Cheng's arrangement, among the generals of the Xuanfu, Chen Zheng, Zhang Guangda, Zhang Guodong, and Wei Zhice were the first to lead the battalion alone.

Although Wu Zhizhong was also a veteran during King Qin's period, most of the time he was in charge of recruiting and training the new army. Although he was equally respected, he never had the opportunity to fight with the army, and he was always inferior.

Now, Chen Zheng is guarding Changling Mountain, and Zhang Guangda and Zhang Guodong will follow him to help. Then, among the remaining generals and officers, Wei Zhice will naturally be respected, not to mention Wei Zhice's strategy and military insights are obvious to all. How can you not accept it?

All the ministries left behind in Che Ying were originally Wei Zhice's subordinates, and Dengfeng Ying was the recruiting general who was edited and trained later. Although He Zhenxiong is a genuine guerrilla general and his military rank is equal to that of Wei Zhice, he has just been subordinated to Zhang Cheng after all. There will be no comments.

Zhang Cheng saw that all the generals had no objection, so he ordered again loudly: "Everyone must listen to the truth. In my Xuanfu army, Wei Zhice and He Biao are respected, and all matters are decided by them.

However, in the defense of Huangtuling and Xiaoling River Estuary, the military affairs of Datong Wang Zongbing should be respected, and everything should be dispatched by Wang Zongbing. Wang Zongbing's orders are like the orders of the commander. Military law is engaged! "

"Here!"

There was a sound of orderly applause in the big tent.

"Let's all go down and get ready, the army will start at Maoshi tomorrow!"

"Marshal, you've been working hard for days, why don't you take a break?"

"No, the military situation is urgent, so there should be no delay."

"Here!"

After all the generals in the Xuan Mansion had retreated, Zhang Cheng turned to Zhang Ruoqi and the others, and said with a smile, "Your Excellency Supervisor, you don't need to worry. There are Wang Shuai and General Fu at Huangtu Ridge, and the Tartars have nothing to fear."

Zhang Ruoqi was still anxious, but he also knew that he was destined to not be able to persuade Zhang Cheng, so he could only say: "I hope, I hope."

The helplessness in his words was fully expressed, and Wang Pu even murmured: "I have to go? Can I not go..."

Zhang Cheng smiled and comforted him: "Wang Shuai also has nearly ten thousand soldiers under his command. In addition, there are Shanxi Li Zongbing, General Fu's Shenji Battalion here, and my Xuanfu still has thousands of elites stationed in the Huangtuling area. All of this was done under Wang Shuai's military order.

On the other hand, the Tartar bandits on the other side only had one part of the blue flag, and they came back at the mouth of the river the day before yesterday. I predict that he will never dare to cross the river to attack again in these days. "...

…………

After Zhang Mingyuan caught up with Guo Yingxian, he conveyed Zhang Cheng's military orders to him, but Songshan and Xingshan are not far away, even if they set up camp early to prevent the Tatars from attacking, they would soon enter the territory of Xingshan Fort .

And Zhang Cheng led the cavalry battalion and the tiger guard battalion to set off before dawn on the second day, while Zhang Guodong's infantry battalion and Yu Jin's chariot left hurriedly caught up behind.

Duoduo, Prince Yu of the Qing Dynasty, received the report that a Ming army cavalry was rushing from the direction of Songshan, Zhang Cheng was already less than five miles away from Guo Yingxian.

At this moment, he saw that the army had already attacked the main stronghold of the Ming army defending the mountain, he thought that he would be able to conquer it in one fell swoop today, and just now he ordered all the Baya soldiers from all banners to attack.

Even the master of the second dan of the slave king, Shikule Qihun, who was assigned to the Baya camp with a white flag, also led the warriors in the team to rush forward.

Looking at Le Qihun's back, Wang Erdan seemed to have forgotten the pain on his body. He seemed to see the scene where his master beheaded the dog's head of the Ming army in a trance, and couldn't help but softly called out: "Happy!"

He heard a violent roar, and even the ground under his feet trembled. When he was suspicious, he saw a large cloud of smoke and dust on Changling Mountain that kept churning upwards and did not disperse for a long time.

Seeing this situation, all the generals of the Qing Dynasty at the foot of Changling Mountain were shocked. What kind of cannon is it that has such power?
Although Prince Yu Duoduo was also shocked, he pretended to be calm. He hurriedly ordered his sentry to inquire, what happened on the mountain ahead?
The sentinel riders had only walked for a while, when they saw a dark red body that looked like blood mixed with sand and soil, he rushed to the front, already out of breath: "Report...Report Yu... Prince Yu..."

Duoduo saw that it was Niu Luzhangjing under his Xiangbai banner who had been praised by himself for his bravery in battle not long ago. Seeing his current appearance, Duoduo said angrily: "What a mess? Useless things, tell me quickly Come on, how is it on the mountain?"

"Back to Yu...Prince Yu...Ming Gou is cunning...Gunpowder was buried on the mountain...I, Da Qingyong...Warriors...were all...bombed...all gone..."

Doduo was furious when he heard the words, but he suddenly pulled out the saber from his waist and slashed vigorously at the neck of Niu Luzhang. The land before Tudor's feet.

It is a pity that such a true warrior who was extremely loyal to the Qing Dynasty did not die at the hands of the soldiers of the Ming army, but ended his short life in such a way!

Prince Yu Duoduo held up his treasured sword and shouted loudly: "Niu Luzhang Jing Guerda, he retreated before the battle without obeying the military order, and even spoke out to confuse the soldiers, so he beheaded him for public display."

His cold and gloomy eyes swept across the generals, and even Baiyintu couldn't help but tremble, only to hear Duoduo continue to shout in a louder voice: "Although the southern army in Changling Mountain is stronger than other places, In the end, it is not my opponent of the Qing warriors.

Now our army has attacked outside the gate of its main village, and Changling Mountain can be breached anytime soon. Now, the king's military order has been handed down. After breaking through Changling Mountain, not a single Nangou will be left behind. I don't want anything else on this mountain except for artillery. want! "

Duoduo's words undoubtedly issued a massacre order. He wanted to kill all the Ming soldiers and civilians on Changling Mountain, even at all costs.

It seemed that this was the only way to relieve the resentment in his heart!
As the military orders were conveyed layer by layer, the sound of war drums urged the warriors in the various banners of the Qing army to rush to Changling Mountain.

Until this moment, Duduo asked softly to the sentry cavalry who reported back just now: "How far is the reinforcement from the Southern Dynasties?"