Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 101 Becoming Brothers
Hu Yiqing underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, intending to capture Lian Guoan, but ended up falling into the enemy's formation.

As the sky darkened, the Ming army was outnumbered and gradually lost the upper hand. Although Hu Yiqing was brave, he was holding Xian Guoan with one hand and could not use his full strength with one hand. Soon, he was stabbed twice and had to let go of Xian Guoan and chop him at close range with his horse spear.

Xian Guoan dodged hastily, but was stabbed in the right arm, and blood was flowing. The guards quickly protected him, helped him onto his horse, and handed him a spear.

He was a brave general of Dongjiang Town, about the same age as Kong Youde, but he was already nearly fifty years old and not as brave as he used to be. Having lost face in front of his subordinates today, Lian Guoan was furious and ordered his soldiers to fight back, determined to cut Hu Yiqing into pieces.

The Qing soldiers had been badly beaten by the Ming army all day long. Seeing that Hu Yiqing was alone, they wanted to save face and surrounded him in the middle.

Hu Yiqing held the lance tightly with both hands, but he was injured after all, and his men and horses were outnumbered. He charged left and right in the Qing army but could not break out.

I really underestimated the enemy today. Hu Yiqing sighed to the sky, is his fame going to fall here?

At the critical moment, Danchu led his army into the encirclement, with a horse lance flying up and down, as powerful as a swimming dragon, bringing about a bloody storm. Wherever the lance blade touched, the spear shaft broke, the armor was torn, and the skin bled.

His skill in using the horse lance was not as good as Hu Yiqing's, but he was young, had no serious injuries, and had eaten dry food at Gantang Ferry, so he was full of energy.

The most surprising thing is that the Yong'an Army used "concentration" as its magic weapon for victory. Whenever there was a battle, even if it was just a small-scale encounter, they would gather as many troops as possible to achieve the effect of defeating the fewer with the more troops.

Cen Danchu had less than 300 men and horses, and they fought in teams. Each team was very concentrated, with no space in the middle, so the cavalry on the left and right could pull each other.

This tactic enabled the Yong'an Army to deploy more attacking power at one point, thereby achieving a stronger assault capability.

Danchu led his personal guards into the encirclement, and the Qing army was defeated continuously. Finally, he joined forces with Hu Yiqing.

When Hu Yiqing saw Cen Danchu, he was as if he had been pardoned. He said, "If you hadn't come, I would have been captured!"

The sky was getting dark, which was not conducive to fighting. Cen Danchu said, "Marshal Jue, there are many Qing troops, please return to Gantang Ferry as soon as possible."

Hu Yiqing had no choice but to give up and lead the Yunnan troops to retreat. The Qing army did not dare to pursue, and the Ming army calmly withdrew to Gantangdu.

Before reaching the bridge, I could smell a pungent smell of blood, much stronger than before.

It turned out that Jiao Lian decided to camp at Gantangdu and set up defenses on both sides of the pontoon bridge. There were more than a thousand Qing prisoners, and the Ming army had no time to deal with them. Jiao Lian simply ordered that any prisoners with a Liaodong accent be killed, and the rest be forced to do hard labor.

On the battlefield, it was dark, so this order could not be well executed. Some prisoners refused to speak, so they were killed. Some prisoners spoke with a northern accent, so they were also killed. It was already dark, and some troops were too lazy to identify them, so they just killed them all.

The Yongan Army was given more than 200 prisoners and 160 war horses, which were guarded by the standard camp musket team. Deputy battalion commander Feng Lin stayed behind to collect the spoils and killed 70 prisoners. The remaining 130 prisoners were all disarmed and tied together with ropes, waiting for Danchu's decision.

Ferreira was busy taking the dead horse and roasting it to prepare a treat for his fellow soldiers in the standard camp. Unexpectedly, Danchu came back with Hu Yiqing's 300 cavalrymen.

Everyone who came was a guest, and there were plenty of dead horses on the battlefield anyway. Ferreira quickly found someone to drag the dead horses to entertain the Yunnan soldiers.

After searching the entire camp, they got two bags of inferior wine. Danchu took a bag and handed it to Hu Yiqing, saying, "Marshal, the conditions are simple, so just drink some inferior wine to relieve your fatigue."

Hu Yiqing was so hungry and thirsty that he ate horse meat and drank the broth. When he heard that there was wine, his eyes lit up and he smiled, "Really? Bring it over!"

The local liquor that Danchu brought was a common liquor in the south, made from sweet potatoes, with a spicy and touching taste. A sip of local liquor would first burn your throat and then your stomach, and it was the best way to relieve fatigue, and it was the favorite of the lower-class warriors.

When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, first rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty, he attacked the Yuan Dynasty for disturbing the people with its alcohol monopoly. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty was very liberal with alcohol, and with the developed commodity economy and folk brewing industry, drinking was also very popular among the common people.

Danchu had been in the military camp for a long time and had gotten used to drinking, but he usually drank rice wine and not white wine.

Hu Yiqing drank three sips of wine, feeling satisfied, and said to Danchu: "If it weren't for my brother risking his life to save me today, I would have died."

Danchu's answer was also very appropriate, saying: "Marshal Jue is extremely brave and can use a pair of horse spears to perfection. How could he be injured by the Qing invaders?"

At this time, the guards saw that the two men had eaten and drunk enough, so they came over to take off their armor. The doctor was also waiting on the side to check if there were any injuries.

Danchu replied to the doctor, "Today, my right armpit was injured by an enemy soldier's boring knife. I haven't taken care of it yet, but I don't think it's serious."

The medical officer was very cautious. He held up a torch and came closer to examine it. He said, "Marshal, the skin under the armpit is relatively tender. The wound has already broken through the skin. A few stitches should be sewed to speed up the healing process."

Danchu said without hesitation, "Okay, I'll listen to you." He turned to Hu Yiqing and said, "Marshal Jue, let's continue drinking."

He raised his right arm, let the medical officer sew up his wound, endured the pain, and chatted and laughed with Hu Yiqing.

Hu Yiqing was very surprised when he saw this. This guy had only been in the army for a year, but he was promoted from a small soldier to a general and was appointed General of the Barbarian Expedition.

I originally thought that he was good at scheming, and that he had protected the emperor twice, and had also gotten close to Qu Shisi and Jiao Lian. Today, during the battle at Sanli Bridge, I realized that he was indeed capable, and I was saved by him, and I owed him a huge favor.

Hu Yiqing thought for a moment and said, "I admire Master Guan the most in my life. You are talking and laughing happily while healing your wounds. You really have some of Master Guan's demeanor."

"I dare not, I dare not. How can I, Cen, who is not talented enough, dare to compare with Master Guan?"

"Brother, have you ever learned to use a horse lance?"

"No, no. I have only read a few military books and paid attention to asking old soldiers for advice. I have never learned the art of horse lance."

"Well," Hu Yiqing pondered for a moment and said, "I am from Jianshui, Yunnan, and I come from a family of warriors. I have inherited the secret skills of horse lance. Today, my brother saved me from the enemy's formation. I am not talented, but I am willing to teach you the secret skills of my family to repay you for saving my life today. What do you think?"

Is there such a good thing? Danchu was overjoyed and said, "It's just a small matter, how can it be called a life-saving grace? It's just that the master Jue uses the pair of horse lances to perfection, which is fascinating. Danchu is willing to worship the master Jue as his teacher and learn the skills of horse lance."

Hu Yiqing already knew that Danchu's teacher was Qu Shisi, so how could he be his teacher? He firmly declined the offer.

Danchu suddenly had an idea and said, "Marshal Jue, if you don't mind my ugliness, I would like to become brothers with you, how about that?"

Born in troubled times, warriors also lack a sense of security, often adopting sons and grandsons, and often becoming brothers with each other. In the event of a battle, it is common for brothers to risk their lives for each other.

Hu Yiqing gladly accepted it, and he and Danchu pointed to the Li River as a vow to become brothers.

(End of this chapter)