Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 331 The end of the road

"The Tartars have all fled. The Jizhen army and the Marquis of Zhangyong are on their way." Qin Liangyu said decisively, "My Lord, there is no need to worry. The Yongwei Battalion is the emperor's personal guard. They are chasing and encircling the Tartars. Who is more willing to march quickly and fight to the death than us?"

Dayun nodded and didn't think any more: "Rest for another quarter of an hour, then go south to Xiaolinghe Posthouse after passing Liushui Fort!"

This time, the Yongwei Battalion suffered a lot and fought the battle poorly.

But their previous strategic goal had always been near Nailingao, preparing to tighten the pocket at a critical moment. As a result, the battle situation kept changing, and this pocket now seemed to be to the east of Jinzhou.

Between the two rivers, there is the sea to the south and the open wilderness leading to Yizhou to the north. This is not a suitable place to set up a trap.

After receiving Li Chengliang's "suggestion" to recapture Dashengbao, Qin Liangyu said that Li Chengliang could only give advice, after all, he could not command the emperor's personal guards on behalf of the emperor.

In fact, he should have hoped that Dayun could adapt to the situation and rush directly to the north of the Tatars to surround them.

Dayun was a surrendered foreigner. Although he was trusted by the emperor and appointed as the commander of the Yongwei Camp, he became more and more cautious after arriving in the capital.

But Qin Liangyu did not seem to have this burden.

At this moment, in the north of Jinzhou, they had hurried to the vicinity of Liushuibao.

This is a fort on the straight road from Jinzhou to Yizhou. When they arrived at Liushui Fort, Qin Liangyu came forward and said, "The Marquis of Xiliang is here! The Marquis of Ningyuan and Governor Yuan should have received military orders. Why is there no movement in your fort to encircle and suppress the enemy chieftain?"

"This general is..."

"I am Qin Liangyu, the guerrilla general of the left wing of the Yongwei Battalion!"

She was now in military uniform, and the captain on the wall of Liushui Fort looked at her again after hearing this.

He had heard of this person, and she seemed to be a woman...but she had presented captives to the emperor together with Marquis Zhangyong...

"So that General Qin will know that if Liushui Fort is lost, Kaizhou Tun will be to the north. We are following the military order of Ninglubo. Even if Jinzhou City is lost, we must not let the Tartars easily break through Yizhou from here..."

"This time, that time!"

Dayun rode forward and said: "The Tartars are determined to cross the river and disrupt Liaodong. You leave half of your men to guard the fort, and take the other half with me. If we want to break your Liushui Fort, we must first defeat my Yongwei Battalion!"

One was an earl conferred by the emperor and the admiral of the Brave Guard Battalion of the Emperor's Imperial Guard; the other was a female general who was favored by the emperor and was awarded the rank of general.

The commander of Liushui Fort, who had other thoughts in mind, could only obey the order.

Otherwise, if he is reported to the emperor in the future, who will the emperor trust more? Is there any need to say it?
I have to say that Dai Qing’s judgment is actually more accurate.

At this moment, many of the troops to their north and west who had come to encircle the city in compliance with the order were actually worried. Some of the border troops, like those at Liushui Fort, were planning to wait and see and only wanted to ensure that they could defend the city without any mistakes.

But they met the Yongwei Battalion who were eager to prove themselves and avenge their previous shame.

At this time, the battle in their southeast began again.

Li Chengliang's Beijing camp army had to cross the Xiaoling River from the north of Songshanbao, and they also had to build a pontoon bridge, so he said it might take half a day to a day.

It is not impossible that the Tatars will attack them halfway across the river, so everything needs to be done with caution.

The Jinzhou defenders did not have to cross the river, but they had been living in fear for a long time in Jinzhou City after the Tartars broke through the western border wall. Now they were temporarily doing the job of protecting the Beijing camp on the north bank to cross the Xiaoling River.

It was still the Liaodong border army led by Yuan Keli who had to deal with the final frenzied attack of the Khan's army alone.

"Brother, if you delay any longer you won't be able to leave!"

Dai Qing's third and fourth brothers shouted wildly on their horses.

They still used the old tactics, riding their cavalry to attack from all sides, first disrupting the Ming army's formation with arrows, and then trying to break through and disperse them. Once the Ming army fled in all directions, they could be easily harvested by arrows or scimitars.

But the Ming army was still very tenacious, so they had to turn their horses and run away, out of the range of their guns, cannons, bows and crossbows.

"There is still time. Li Chengliang is older and more cautious now."

Dai Qing looked at the big banner not far to the south and said: "If the Khan charges in person, maybe this time it will work."

This time, Lindan Batur no longer just drove the army to attack from behind, but went to the battlefield himself.

Just as he turned a corner, he suddenly saw two or three thousand cavalrymen surrounding the big banner and heading southeast.

With his eyesight, he looked at it and exclaimed, "Shi Bao!"

The man leading the army was his fifth brother.

The Khan wanted to charge into battle personally, so of course he had to arrange people to fight beside him, while he would lead the armies of the four Lingnan tribes, including Aohan and Naiman, on the other wing.

At this time, a messenger also came over.

"Du Ling! The Khan has issued an order to find out that the Han people are building a pontoon bridge in the southeast to provide support. The Khan ordered the left wing to prevent the Han people from freeing up manpower to support that side. The pontoon bridge was built very quickly. The Han people must have prepared a lot of food and military supplies in the east..."

He hurriedly spoke of Lindan Batur's decision, which was nothing more than harassing the Ming army defending the bridgehead on the west bank from the south, but also pretending that they were temporarily unable to defeat them immediately after a long battle.

"That's a trap!" Dai Qing said immediately, "The Han people have explosives, it's easy to blow up the floating bridge!"

"Brother, maybe they can't hold on any longer, so they want to cross the river and guard the other side to make it difficult for us to pass."

When Dai Qing heard his third brother say the same thing, his heart sank.

But in such a short time, they only had time to say a few words. The herd of horses turned a corner and attacked the flank of the Ming army again.

"Kill!" Dai Qing gritted his teeth, "No matter what, we must defeat the Han people in front of us. Li Chengliang must also be more cautious in deploying his troops to fight the enemy!"

He looked towards the southeast worriedly, without time to think any further.

"Beat the drums louder! Shout: Great Ming will win!"

Yuan Keli was wearing armor and standing in the gap of the "wall" formed by the chariots. His general flag had always been there.

The drumbeats representing military orders continued incessantly, now even louder.

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

The horses' hooves kicked up dry grass and dust, and on the blood-pumping battlefield, the heat and smoke from the men, horses, and cannons made the entire battlefield steam.

"The sound of the artillery is still there, so the reinforcements will hear it and know that we are still here. Tell them not to be so anxious, and they will be the fresh troops when the time comes!"

After that, he ordered, "Push the swarm forward. They are fighting hard, so there is no need to be stingy. Let them suffer a big loss!"

After dealing with the Ming army for so many years, the Tatars have long been familiar with the Ming army's firearms tactics.

Although musket arrays and artillery are powerful, there is always a gap in reloading.

They had already learned to use the mobility of horses to deceive bullets and artillery, and then take advantage of the opportunity to attack.

Yuan Keli knew that the flintlock rifle was available, but it could not be mass-produced now, and the border troops still mainly used the old firearms.

But it can be used flexibly. In the previous battles, firearms like the swarm of bees had not been used. The main weapons were matchlock bird guns and tiger squat cannons, accompanied by three-barreled guns, spray guns, etc.

Now, these "siege" vehicles that were previously protected by the outer military formation were actually a swarm of tanks being pushed towards the front line.

They will be a pleasant surprise in the reloading gap of the bird gun.

Thirty-two rockets can be fired at a time. In fact, I really hope that the Tatars can rush closer.

Not far from the camp in the southeast is a narrow river bend.

In the west, Qiao Yiqi and the remaining 800 people held out.

"A real man should leave a name for himself after his death, even if he is not granted a title of nobility. How can I sit on a cold blanket, guard a broken inkstone, and be cramped under the shaft?" He shouted, "Look at my amazing archery!"

He spoke in a very literary manner, not caring whether the other soldiers could understand him or not.

But everyone knows that Deputy Chief Qian Qiao is very powerful.

Qiao Yiqi was born in a wealthy family. He liked to spend money to make friends with heroes and practice martial arts since he was a child. Although he was well educated, his martial arts were also amazing. He could shoot with a five-stone bow and wield a spear as fast as flying.

In those days, he was famous throughout the Three Wus for his bravery and riding and shooting skills. At that time, the Japanese pirates had already attacked Korea, and the people in the south of the Yangtze River were also worried about the Japanese pirates. So he naturally recruited local militia to maintain peace in the area. This led to the Chenqiaoyi mutiny when they were drinking and chatting.

Now he shot three arrows in succession, then took a breath and suddenly stared at a man: "That man must be the bandit chief! Bring me a strong bow!"

He had two bows, one light and one heavy.

A stronger bow can shoot farther, but of course it also requires more effort.

Qiao Yiqi took a deep breath and then said, "We must make the Tartars think that we are in danger and that we must protect the reinforcements from the east coast! If I shoot this thief, the Tartars will fight to the death!"

After saying that, he suddenly exerted force, and the bow became like a full moon. Then he held his breath, steadied his arms and moved slowly, looking for the opportunity to let go.

"We've only charged twice and already lost more than 10% of their men. Why don't the Han people come to rescue us?"

On horseback, Shi Bao stared at the Ming army in front of him excitedly, and also said something to his entourage.

"How dare they rebel when Daiqing Duling and the Khan are suppressing them? Why don't they build a bridge over the river behind the camp?"

The attendant was a little strange.

"Never mind. The river is narrower here. Look at how scared the civilians are." Shi Bao looked into the distance. "Stop it. The Khan wants to wait until they finish building the floating bridge before seeing what happens."

On the river ahead, many boats were paddled to the middle of the river on the other side, and then they were struggling to move the big stones that were carried by the boats. Ropes were tied to the stones, which sank to the bottom of the river like anchors, and then someone laid wooden boards and nailed them to the boats.

The scene was tense, after all, there was a fierce battle on the west bank of the river.

Shi Bao suddenly felt that this was not a easy job. How could he make the Ming army nervous about building the pontoon bridge without scaring them away because they could not build the bridge?
The Khan asked him to bring 3,000 men with him, so as not to appear cowardly and afraid to fight.

"Pretend that the arrows are not enough, get closer and then..." When he turned around to give the order, he suddenly felt a chill on his forehead and a sharp sound of breaking through the air was heard.

Then his eyes went dark and he fell off the horse after being tossed around a few times.

"it is good!"

Amid the cheers, Qiao Yiqi let out a breath and clenched his spear tightly: "Victory!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Dai Qing's fifth brother was killed in the battle, and the people he led suddenly became furious. They no longer cared about holding back and waiting for the pontoon bridge to be built.
"Hura!"

"Hura!"

Arrows rained down like rain, heading straight for the position on the west bank of the river.

Both the main camp and this place seemed to be crumbling under the attack of the enemy cavalry all over the field.

But they are always here.

Yuan Keli looked far toward the southeast and suppressed the compassion in his heart.

He didn't need to worry about whether the floating bridge could be built or not. He just wanted the chief to have one more choice and one more hesitation in his mind, so as to delay them a little more time here.

Even if it's only half an hour or even a quarter of an hour.

At this moment, the enemy cavalry on the west side suddenly moved southward as a whole.

After only a moment, Yuan Keli shouted, "Inform all camps that reinforcements from Yizhou have arrived!"

He was just guessing, but the sound of war drums came from that direction in response.

Then, the enemy cavalry seemed to just shrink to the south to make room for their sprint, and then rushed forward quickly like a tide.

Yuan Keli stared blankly at the enemy cavalry that seemed to be splitting into two distinct battle groups. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind: "Quickly send 3,000 people from the right wing to help them. The Tartars are not united, and some of them want to escape to the north!"

After just one round of charge, Lindan Batur, who noticed something unusual on Shi Bao's side, saw unusual movements on the left wing.

He was stunned for a moment and then said hatefully: "Dai Qing!"

At the critical moment, Dai Qing seemed to be ready to lead the four Lingnan tribes to attack in the direction of Yizhou.

At this time, the cavalrymen in the southwest returned to the battle formation and came to him, panting and shouting: "Great Khan! The dragon flag of the Han Emperor! The Han Emperor is coming, in the southwest, with 2,000 cavalrymen, led by the Han Duke Ying!"

Lindan Batur's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and he roared, "Go tell Dai Qing not to run away! Capture and kill the Han emperor, and the situation will be reversed immediately!"

Then he brandished his golden sword and said loudly: "The Han emperor hastily crossed the river. Let's go with this Khan to capture and kill him!"

Yuan Keli watched from the side as the enemy cavalry suddenly became chaotic and showed signs of turning their horses to head southwest.

Why is it such a mess?

He didn't know why Lindan Batur went crazy, and he couldn't have imagined that a situation of "kings meeting kings" would suddenly arise.

In the mind of Lindan Batur, who was only a teenager but was in an increasingly desperate situation, the Ming emperor was also a proud and ambitious man. Otherwise, why would he dare to start a war on the entire front from Xuanda to Liaodong?
It was reasonable for him to lead the army in person at the critical moment.

The two thousand cavalrymen arrived first, of course, to boost morale here and delay time.

This is the simplest and most effective method.

Similarly, for Lindan Batur, this is also the best chance for a comeback.

For him, who is only a teenager and easily gets drunk, this is a new choice.

On the east side of Xiaoling River in the southwest, Zhang Weixian held the flag nervously.

After this thing was suddenly delivered from Shanhaiguan, Li Chengliang asked him to take his men to rush to the battlefield first.

Doesn't this cost his life?

(End of this chapter)