Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 35: Fire Escape, Zhu Yunwen's Technique
A flock of crows circled over the ancient city, emitting miserable cries.

It seemed as if he could sense the war that was about to break out.

These crows live in the mountains and forests surrounding the ancient city, announcing the death in a eerie and creepy way.

"Noisy."

Bai Wenxuan drew his bow and shot down a crow.

After receiving a message from the prince yesterday, they also traveled south and arrived outside Tonggu City.

The only difference is that the ancient city of Tong is on the right bank of the Xitang River, while they are on the left bank.

During this period, they discovered the Mangbai army and wanted to cross the river, but were blocked by the Hongsha navy on the Xitang River.

Deputy General Zhang Guoyong reined in his horse and approached:
"Commander-in-Chief, the Crown Prince is currently under siege in Tonggu, and the number of Mangbai's troops is unexpected. Should we return north to Pingmanna, cross the river there, and lead the Shenji Battalion south?"

Bai Wenxuan was conferred the title of Prince, and his confidants also referred to his old position in the Dashi Army.

Bai Wenxuan did not respond, but drew his bow again, and shot down two crows with one arrow.

Repeated: "Noisy."

Zhang Guoyong gritted his teeth and urged again:
"Commander-in-Chief, the Hongsha navy is rampant on the Xitang River. They follow us wherever we go. Thousands of cavalry are also on our tail on the other side of the river."

"There is really no one within a radius of dozens of miles who can cross the river."

"Only Ping Manna has the Ming army to help us cross the river."

Bai Wenxuan glanced at Zhang Guoyong and saw through his little thoughts.

This was because he saw that Hongsha was so powerful that he had the idea of ​​retreating.

They returned north to Pingmanna, a round trip of nearly two hundred miles, and had to travel quickly for one or two days. By the time they arrived at Tonggu City, they would have no idea how much fighting power they had left.

Slow down, can the prince hold Tonggu City for four or five days?
What's more, nearly 10,000 Hongsha soldiers followed them to Pingmanna.

How could the two hundred Shenji Battalion in the city dare to go out of the city to help them cross the river?

Bai Wenxuan looked at Zhang Guoyong and Zhao Desheng. The two generals already wanted to withdraw from Toungoo County to prevent Mangbai from blocking them in the Sittang River Valley after capturing Tonggu City.

"Last year, I lost my country and my army, yet I defeated Hongsha's army of tens of thousands with only a few thousand men. How could I be in hiding today?"

Zhang Guoyong gritted his teeth and pointed to the hundreds of bamboo rafts and boats on the Xitang River:

"Commander-in-Chief, we were able to cut bamboo and wade across the Jinsha River last year because the Hongsha people were unprepared."

"A few months ago, we wanted to build a boat and a bridge to go south to Ava to rescue the emperor, but the Hongsha people burned the boat and bridge several times."

"Mangbai has made full preparations today. Those Red Barbarians have set up artillery along the riverbank. It's really impossible for our three thousand soldiers to get through."

"Commander-in-Chief, you have defeated thirty thousand enemies for the Crown Prince and tied down nearly ten thousand troops. You have done your best and have done your utmost."

Bai Wenxuan's eyes gradually turned cold:

"Is that all I have done?"

"Do you all think I'm doing this for the damn Ming Dynasty?"

"I followed Zhang Xianzhong because the Ming Dynasty was about to fall and the King of Daxi could fight for the world."

"The West Camp is rumored to have seen Your Majesty, and my legs trembled with fear, thinking I had mistakenly seen a real dragon."

“That’s bullshit.”

"In the past, Sun Kewang usurped power and brought disaster upon the country. I defected from Qin to Jin because Your Majesty and the King of Jin are the true rulers of the world."

"I will not surrender to the Eastern Tartars. I will follow the King of Jin and fight on the border to rescue the Emperor, because they are the true Han dynasty."

Bai Wenxuan pointed his sword at Tonggucheng: "Now the prince is the hope of restoring the Han Dynasty and regaining the land. He is the world."

"For the sake of the world and the country, there's no such thing as doing one's utmost to be righteous and just."

"It's nothing more than dying in service to the country in times of crisis."

After saying that, Bai Wenxuan gave the order directly.

"Leave me three hundred horses, each with a thousand men. Tie branches to the horses' tails, and split north and south, pretending to find a ford to cross the river."

"I will lead a thousand soldiers to a secluded spot, pretending to be the remnants of the Hongsha army, cut bamboo to make rafts, and cross the river tonight."

……

Mang Bai held a telescope and found that Bai Wenxuan's troops on the other side of the river split into two and headed towards the upper and lower reaches of the Xitang River.

Dust was flying, and two yellow dragons rolled up clouds of dust, making it impossible to tell which one was the main force.

Have a brief discussion with the generals around you.

The navy was divided into two parts and followed.

"Divide another thousand mercenaries into two groups. Use horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts to carry artillery and firearms. Follow the cavalry and the navy. Make sure the Ming army is not allowed to cross the river."

"Your Majesty, the Ming army's horses are strong and powerful. I'm afraid that even ox carts and horse carriages will not be able to keep up with the cavalry on the other side."

Mang Bai waved his hand: "It's okay."

"As long as Bai Wenxuan's Han cavalry can't cross the river within forty miles, they won't reach Tonggu City today."

Mangbai attached great importance to the real Han Ming army.

After more than a year of fighting, the Hongsha people also realized that the individual strength of the Han people was far superior to theirs.

Thousands of Han people could easily defeat tens of thousands of Hongsha troops.

Therefore, Mangbai did not consider attacking the capital of Ava, which might be an empty city.

Most of the Ming army, led by Li Dingguo, was stationed in Shanghongsha, Mubangmanmo and other places.

Li Dingguo, for the sake of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, led his army south without caring about Dai Qing in Longchuan.

No matter whether the Ming army is one against ten or one against five.

Twenty thousand Ming troops could really resist or even destroy his two hundred thousand troops.

Li Dingguo is like this.

Bai Wenxuan is no exception.

Mangbai deliberately deployed 20,000 miscellaneous soldiers on the left bank of the Xitang River to lure Bai Wenxuan's 3,000 soldiers and horses away from Zhu Cixuan.

As soon as Bai Wenxuan crossed the river, he immediately ordered his accomplices in Tonggucheng to pretend to rebel and lure Zhu Cixuan into a trap.

Pegu Beidaiyun had 20,000 soldiers, and Sharin Pyiu had 30,000 soldiers stationed to defend against Li Dingguo.

Yangmidin pacified Manna's 30,000 casualties, while Bai Wenxuan defeated 20,000 soldiers on the left bank of the Xitang River.

Ten thousand troops followed and targeted Bai Wenxuan. Mangbai brought Ahmudan with him, without slaves or peasant militia, and ninety thousand of the true elite of Hongsha, to surround and kill Zhu Cixuan in Tonggu City.

"As long as Bai Wenxuan can't cross the river today, I will swallow up as many as he can find tomorrow."

Mang Bai looked at Ma Bao, who had a calm expression.

"General Ma, is what Zhu Cixuan said about the Battle of Hongdu true or false?"

Ma Bao said: "It is true. Zhu Wenzheng led 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers and horses without any backup."

"We fought against 600,000 enemies for 87 days, establishing the great Ming Emperor Taizu's hegemony."

Ma Bao wore a knife at his waist, tightly grasped in his left hand.

His eyes would occasionally glance at the back of Mang Bai's neck.

He wondered if beheading King Hongsha would create enough chaos for the prince to break out.

Mang Baize's expression was slightly solemn, but he soon laughed out loud:

"If Zhu Cixuan had 10,000 genuine Han Chinese Ming troops, I believe he could hold on."

The so-called 10,000 Ming troops in the ancient city were all a bunch of ugly Hongsha people.

They were either newly surrendered Hongsha militiamen or soldiers who had received superficial training for two months in the so-called education team.

Mang Bai turned his attention back to Tonggu City.

Yesterday I instructed the chief general of the defending army to deliberately blow up a gap when pretending to escape.

The sun hung above the valley and the morning mist in the mountains dissipated, and Mang Bai sent out 5,000 soldiers to attack the city.

It was obvious that the Ming army in the city was more than just the mismatched ones that Mang Bai described.

Led by a lame brave general, thousands of Ming soldiers marched out of the city and formed a battle line with their backs against the city wall.

The Ming army on the city wall used artillery, muskets, bows and arrows to cover and repel four waves of Hongsha attacks.

The brave general even led dozens of cavalrymen and rushed into the Hongsha army, killing them in large numbers.

Zhu Cixuan personally led people to repair the city wall, dismantled the beams and pillars of the houses, and blocked the gaps.

Wait until the sun starts to set.

After blocking the city wall, the Ming army outside the city repelled another wave of Hongsha soldiers and returned through the city gate ready to go.

"Being able to fight is useless. Forget about defending for three months. Let's just survive tonight first."

Mang Bai was a little angry after being slapped in the face, and quickly mobilized the remaining mercenaries.

"Let those Europeans guard the four city gates with cannons and flintlock rifles."

"Let those losers use fire attacks instead of engaging in open battles with the Ming army."

Mangbai specially arranged a lot of barricades and logs to build walls.

He already knew about Zhu Cixuan's chariot speeding through the army of Marquis Yonggui.

To prevent accidents.

If Zhu Cixuan managed to break through the encirclement by relying on his driving skills, all his preparations would be in vain.

They really built a city outside Tonggu City to encircle and kill the enemy.

The trees on the nearby hills were also cut down, and just like when they dealt with Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan before, they used densely distributed wooden walls to build barriers using trees that were as big as a man's embrace.

Of course, Huo Gong Mangbai had other considerations.

He deliberately kept Princess Binya, the old princes, and the royal nobles who were dissatisfied with him in the ancient city.

So that something unexpected will happen to those who oppose you.

Mang Bai’s thoughts were in turmoil.

The restless noble monks should be drawn out from within the city.

Cut off all of them while killing Zhu Cixuan.

His throne became more secure.

A Hongsha general suddenly reported, interrupting Mangbai's thoughts:

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Ming opened the east gate and released thousands of people."

Mang Bai was puzzled: "What?"

"The Crown Prince of Ming released the princes, nobles, and common people in the city."

"Leading the group are Princess Binya, Master Lanai, and others."

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Ming seems to want to reduce the loss of food in Tonggu City and release all the nobles and civilians of Toungoo."

"Should we take advantage of this opportunity to attack?"

Mang Bai coughed and raised the telescope.

He saw Mang Wen's mother, whom he wanted to get rid of, and a group of royal monks walking out of Tonggu City with a long team.

Attack? How to attack?

Mang Bai doesn't care about the lives of those people.

Princess Binya, as the wife of King Helong, cannot be killed at will.

Mang Bai can kill his brothers, but if he kills his mother, his few remaining reputations will be completely ruined.

Those monks have an extraordinary status.

Mang Bai could not bear the infamy of killing monks and destroying Buddhism, otherwise the entire Fengshang land would hunt him down.

There are also those princes and nobles who are related to the generals in the army.

Even if he ordered an attack, the generals in the army would secretly disobey or even mutiny.

Mang Bai gritted his teeth and said, "Contact An Lai and arrange for people to enter the tunnel. We will capture Tonggu tonight."

……

Zhu Cixuan looked at Deng Kai in surprise:

"Is there a tunnel in the city?"

(End of this chapter)