Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 212 Leading the Enemy by the Nose

The hot summer wind whistled past, and the flying dust mixed with ocean vapor added a hazy filter to the world.

Surrounded by rolling hills and mountains on three sides, a newly renovated fortress stands on the official road in the valley.

The Han army's bannermen followed their master's orders and climbed up the wall to assist in defense, and their lazy patrol footsteps occasionally passed over the top of the wall.

Niulu Zhang Jing Kuntai, who was guarding the city, heard that scattered Ming army troops had landed in various places in southern Liaoning and many bannermen had been killed. He hurriedly ordered the soldiers to be on high alert and to rotate in two shifts day and night without any mistakes!
It was the winter wheat harvest season, and the slave owners had to go out of the city to supervise the slaves in harvesting wheat and paying taxes.

Anyone who goes out of the city to patrol or supervise food must be in a team of fifty people. If they encounter Han dog guerrillas, they must not fight to the death.

The defenders were not worried about the Han dogs attacking the city.

Although Yongning is a small fortress, it is also small and powerful. Without artillery bombardment, even thousands of elite soldiers would not be able to take it.

This place is fifty or sixty miles away from Fuzhou. Even if a large number of enemy soldiers besiege the city, the Fuzhou garrison can provide quick support.

But Kuntai doesn't think that a large number of Han dogs will land——

King Zhishun's navy swept across the waters of southern Liaoning, enough to cut off the enemy's ammunition and food supplies.

How could the Han dogs, without supplies, sustain the siege? They had to retreat to Shandong in disgrace, and were finally annihilated by King Zhishun on their way back.

Kuntai looked towards the north, hoping that the army assembled by His Majesty would move south as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to cross the Bohai Sea to plunder Han Gou's wife, cattle and sheep.

Perhaps his prayers were answered, as a figure actually appeared in the north.

A group of armed men gradually appeared at the edge of vision, and they slowly stepped out of the horizon.

"Enemy attack!"

The bannermen who were temporarily conscripted into the army screamed, and the news of the army's attack quickly spread throughout the fortress with the calls one after another.

The defenders in the fort hurriedly took their positions, and the northern wall was soon crowded with bannermen and baoyi.

The bannermen were in a state of panic, but the flag bearers were calm and composed.

Kuntai held the scimitar hanging at his waist and looked ahead with a serious expression. Nearly a hundred people were riding war horses, nearly a hundred men in plain clothes were holding weapons, and the remaining two hundred or so thin men in simple clothes were helping mules push carts.

Hundreds of strangers gradually came within the range of the Yongning defenders.

Kuntai raised his eyebrows and found that the riders of this army were all dressed in Qing-style cloth armor, and the rest of the armed men or the surplus grain farmers also had bald heads with only a rat-tail-like braid.

Bannermen, bondservants, slaves, this lineup combination looks like our own people?
Just when Kuntai was confused, his "own people" in the city spoke.

Several armored soldiers on horseback dismounted and walked out of the formation, and several armored soldiers surrounded one person and walked to the foot of the city.

The man waved towards the wall, his resonant voice carrying a familiar tone: "Kuntai, it's me, Hakan! I've been ordered to transport food for the army heading south. Quickly open the gate and let me into the city to rest!"

"Hakkan?"

Kuntai frowned in confusion. Didn’t Hakan send a fast horse to report that he had encountered the Han dog troops?
Were the Han dog guerrillas eliminated so quickly?
Kuntai fully conveyed his doubts. Hakan seemed to have expected the other party to ask such a question. He turned around and waved to his subordinates.

The rest of the armored soldiers were seen twisting several packages of coarse cloth in their hands and throwing them forward one by one.

More than a dozen heads with their hair tied in buns were clearly visible, and even the helmets worn by these enemy soldiers were also visible.

Kuntai only took one look and knew that this was absolutely the real thing!
During the Qing Dynasty, everyone had to shave their heads and change their clothes. It had been more than ten years since anyone had seen someone with their hair tied up in the Han style.

Kuntai laughed heartily and congratulated Hakan on his military achievements. He thought that he would be promoted to Jiala Zhangjing soon.

With the "assistance" of several armored soldiers around him, Ha Kan talked about some family matters with Kun Tai, and said that you don't have to envy these military exploits. Once the heavy troops heading south are assembled, there will be many Han dogs' heads to be taken.

This set of military achievements and empty promises made Kuntai itchy, and he no longer had any vigilance in his heart.

The emperor's intention to conquer the Southern Dynasty is growing stronger. If he neglects the grain transport team and causes others to make mistakes, he will also be implicated.

So Kuntai immediately shouted, "Open the door!"

As the gate of Yongning opened, a team of hundreds of people quickly formed three columns, with horses in front and carts in the back.

Unexpectedly, the convoy pushed by slaves suddenly stopped in the center of the corridor. Several carriages were stuck at the gate, and even the slave carts behind them could not move forward.

Hakan said very apologetically that the mule cart was damaged in the battle. Although it was temporarily repaired, it still broke down in the doorway.

But it doesn't matter. As long as these lazy slaves carry the mule carts in, the city gate will soon be open again.

"It's okay." Although Kuntai remained calm on the surface, he was grumbling in his heart.

If Hakan was not a true Manchu, he would never have surrendered to the Han dogs. Kuntai would have thought that there was something fishy about the accidental car breakdown.

Suddenly, a guard on the wall pointed to the west and shouted, "Enemy attack!"

What other enemy attacks? Kuntai looked in the direction of the sound and saw, as expected, over three hundred people approaching with banners held high.

The first thing he saw was a black flag with a skull on it, which was not the flag of the Qing army at all.

"Enemy attack! Clear the mule carts and close the gate!"

However, before Kuntai's order was conveyed, the riders who had entered Yongning dismounted and ran straight to the top of the city wall, followed closely by the armed bannermen.

Kuntai originally thought that Hakan's bannermen were eager to fight and planned to climb up the wall to assist in defense, and was about to praise them.

Unexpectedly, nearly a hundred "bannermen" suddenly tore off their disguises, drew their swords and machetes like a group of brutal and brutal bandits, stepped over the unguarded stairs, and rushed to Kuntai. "The great emperor sends you sincere greetings."

The leading "flag soldier" held his head high and chest out, and the dagger in his hand had already stabbed into Kuntai's neck. He then pulled it out decisively, letting the blood gush out.

Even though his throat felt cold, Kuntai's poor brain still couldn't react.

Why did the flag bearer point his dagger at him? Wasn't he a flag bearer of Hakan?

Kuntai tried his best to wave his hand to knock Qi Ding's helmet off-center, and suddenly saw the thick sideburns under the helmet.

Only people in the Southern Dynasties who did not shave their heads would have hair on their temples.

They are not the bannermen of the Eight Banners Manchus, but Han dog soldiers pretending to be bannermen!
The shock of being deceived paralyzed his whole body. Kuntai held on to the wall of the fort and retreated in an orderly manner. However, the blood gushing out of the wound was getting more and more, and he could not stop it by just pressing with his palms.

His throat felt like it was burning with fire. Kuntai turned his head and saw Hakan, who looked guilty, standing under the wall.

The latter was knocked to the ground by a punch from the "flag bearer", and his hands and feet were tied but he was not harmed.

The constant loss of blood took away Kuntai's strength, and he lay weakly on the ground looking up at the sky.

The shouts of the fake flag soldiers and fake bannermen shook the heavens, and the sudden attack, which was well-planned but not intentional, caught the defenders off guard.

The world in front of Kuntai became dim, and only familiar voices echoed in his ears.

War horses neighed, the Baoyi screamed, and the vicious false flag Ding roared to the sky, as if to shake the heavens, "Sacrifice blood to the Blood God, and offer your head to the Skull Throne!"

……

The news that the Ming army had captured Yongning and taken a large number of slaves to besiege Fuzhou shocked the Qing government and the public.

What shocked all the civil and military officials in the court was that several fortresses such as Lushun and Jinzhou had not yet fallen, but the enemy soldiers actually bypassed the strong cities and besieged the middle part of the city.

Aren’t you afraid of being wiped out by taking such a risk?

The frequent attacks on Tangma in recent days have been reported back to Shenyang. The Qing Dynasty is not good at boats and has no way to deal with the Ming army maneuvering along the river.

If you chase him, he will run away; if you leave, he will come back.

This group of guerrillas was quite powerful, and each of them was a brave and fearless hero. As a result, the flag soldiers along the coast for dozens of miles did not dare to go out without companions.

Huang Taiji hated these bugs.

The subsequent reports sent back showed that this Ming army was the Black Flag Camp that defeated Yuetuo and Dorgon. Only then did the civil and military officials in the court suddenly realize the situation.

It turned out that these were the few elite soldiers that the Ming Dynasty had trained with great difficulty. In this way, their foolish action of going deep behind enemy lines seemed quite meaningful.

It's like a rookie's stupidity is just stupidity, but a master's stupidity may be a disguise with a deeper meaning.

Huang Taiji speculated.

The Black Flag Camp's guerrilla harassment was only to attract the attention of the main force of the Qing army. In fact, it was secretly gathering guerrilla forces. While avoiding the Qing navy, it took the lead in capturing a city and a half to serve as a base, providing a foothold for the subsequent landing of the Ming army.

The Black Flag Camp did not take the nearby Lushun and Jinzhou, but instead surrounded Fuzhou from afar, like a nail stuck between Jin and Fuzhou, directly cutting off all military supplies and communications to all fortresses south of Fuzhou.

Even if we take the southern route to transport food and send messages, the time required will be several times longer.

If the task of transporting grain is assigned to King Zhishun's navy, then the task of chasing and suppressing guerrilla ships will not be carried out.

Once the food in Lushun and Jinzhou is exhausted, the Black Flag Battalion will be able to capture Lushun, Jinzhou, Fuzhou and other southern Liaoning fortresses in one fell swoop, killing two birds with one stone.

This is like a crucial move in Go that kills a large number of pieces. The Black Flag Camp's move hit Huang Taiji's weak spot.

Some suggested mobilizing a large army to capture and relieve Fuzhou. The Black Flag Battalion, however formidable, consisted of only a thousand soldiers and horses, accompanied by several thousand slaves. The arrival of the main Qing force would surely disintegrate the enemy.

However, Huang Taiji disagreed. He believed that the key to defeating the Black Flag Camp was not by land, but by water.

The Dongjiang Town founded by Mao Wenlong disturbed the Qing Dynasty for many years. If Yuan Chonghuan had not killed Mao Wenlong, the Dongjiang Town would have been leaderless, fighting among itself, and even rebelling against the Southern Dynasty.

How could the Qing Dynasty accept the troops, heavy artillery and warships of the Three Shun Kings and One Shun Duke?
I heard that most of the members of the Black Flag Battalion, renamed the "Beiwei Army", are from Liaodong, and their fighting will and ability are ten times stronger than those of the Dongjiang Town!
What would it matter even if the Black Flag Camp was scared away?
If they split up into small groups and went into the mountains to continue guerrilla warfare, would the Qing Dynasty just do nothing in the past few years and play along with them?
The spies inside the pass reported that the young emperor of the Southern Dynasty ordered Governor Hong Chengchou to plan a way out of the pass.

If Huang Taiji delays in southern Liaoning for too long, and the Ming Dynasty launches a heavy attack, how will he cope with both sides?

Western Liaoning and southern Liaoning are hundreds of miles apart, so there is no room to defeat them one by one.

Therefore, Huang Taiji decided to take ruthless measures to eradicate these black flag soldiers and bandits.

The enemy troops who came across the sea were fighting behind enemy lines, and the ammunition and food they needed were all transported by ships.

Huang Taiji ordered all areas in southern Liaoning to fortify their defenses and clear the fields, harvest all wheat in advance, and burn down all forts and garrisons with insufficient manpower. He also ordered that the Black Flag Camp not be allowed to eat a single grain of food from southern Liaoning or live in a single house.

He also strictly ordered King Zhishun to seal off the sea area of ​​Lushun and Fuzhou, and not to transport any more troops and food to the enemy.

He appointed Hauge as the General of the Southern Expedition, commanding 20,000 bannermen and bondservants, as well as more than 10,000 troops from Han princes and dukes, to march south to Fuzhou.

When the enemy soldiers run out of ammunition and food, the army will march south to kill the enemy.

Even if the Black Flag Camp scattered and hid, they would have no food or fodder to replenish and would soon be wiped out by the Eight Banners cavalry.

Once the war is won, Huang Taiji will personally lead tens of thousands of elite troops to meet Hauge, cross the sea together and attack Shandong of the Southern Dynasty to seize the land of Denglai!

(End of this chapter)