A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 377 Chen Yongfu wants to make meritorious service
When Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu's main force arrived in Ruzhou, there happened to be a light snowfall in the sky, but the snow soon dispersed, and only the sky was still covered with red clouds.

This snow removal has lowered the weather temperature, which has no effect on the travel of the Shunxiang Army and Qianfeng Battalion.The roads in the Northland are never muddy in winter, and even after a little frost and snow, the roads are more frozen and easier to walk.Of course, in addition to the great enemy of cold, the road surface will also be slippery, so you need to be careful when traveling.

Hearing that the main force of officers and soldiers had arrived, Qian Zuozheng, the magistrate of Ruzhou, was very happy, and led the gentry out of the city ten miles to meet him. When Wang Dou and others arrived, they were shaking into a ball in the cold wind.

But seeing the approaching rescue soldiers and horses, they were surprised to forget the cold.Iron hooves roared, and the crowd was filled with well-equipped cavalry, probably thousands of people.Following the cavalry, there are dense layers of heavy armored infantry.Behind the cavalry, there are still baggage carts and horses that can't be seen to the side.

Qian Zuozheng and the others were dumbfounded by the ten red barbarian cannons accompanying the officers and soldiers.Even Kaifeng City and Luoyang City didn't have many of these cannons, but there are actually ten of these officers and soldiers?When Chen Yongfu said with a wry smile that these big red guns belonged to the Shun Township Army of Xuanfu Town, Qian Zuozheng looked at Wang Dou in disbelief.

He is no stranger to Wang Dou's army. He has seen Gao Shi Yinren, the forward of the Shunxiang Army. Those officers and soldiers riding horses, wearing iron helmets, iron armor, and cloaks, Qian Zuozheng thinks they are his own life. The only elite seen.

Qian Zuozheng seems to have heard the name of the Shunxiang army. It was widely publicized in the mansion newspaper and killed countless Dongnu.I heard that Wang Dou, the chief general of the Shun Township Army, is now a participating general. In Qian Zuozheng's understanding, these forwards must be the most elite part of the Shun Township Army.

Seeing it now, he realized that he was wrong, that Wang Dou had six or seven times as many elites.He was a mere general, with nearly ten thousand troops, and actually possessed ten red barbarian guns, which was beyond Qian Zuozheng's imagination.

It wasn't until he saw Chen Yongfu's forward battalion that he found some familiar officers and soldiers. Naturally, these officers and soldiers were much more elite than his state soldiers, but unfortunately they were still far behind the Shunxiang Army.Qian Zuozheng shook his head secretly, the officers and soldiers in the mainland of Ming Dynasty just couldn't compare with the elite of the Nine Frontiers.

However, when Wang Dou and others arrived, Qian Zuozheng was still very happy. Tens of thousands of rogues had besieged Ruzhou for more than half a month, and Qian Zuozheng felt that defending the city was quite difficult.Now that the reinforcements have arrived and the elite Shun Township Army is here, it will be more certain to repel the bandits.

The strict military discipline of Gao Shiyin and others in the past two days gave Qian Zuozheng great confidence. With Chen Yongfu around, Qian Zuozheng wanted to win Wang Dou to kill the enemy with all his heart.So he went out of his way and warmly invited Wang Dou, Chen Yongfu and others to enter the city.

In addition to asking Zhizhou to supply the army with food and grass, Wang Dou politely declined his invitation, which surprised Qian Zuozheng.However, under the hint of Chen Yongfu, Wang Dou still agreed to the request of Qian Zuozheng and others to clean up the dust.

When the army came to the east gate of Ruzhou City, it can be seen that Ruzhou is a big state with a tall and thick city.According to Qian Zuozheng's introduction, the entire city of Ruzhou has a circumference of more than nine miles, and the height of the city is two feet and six feet, with bricks on the outside and soil on the inside.

On the east, south, and north sides of the city, there are moats, each one two feet wide and one foot eight feet deep.However, only the east moat has water, and the north and south moats are dry moats.The west side of the city is naturally surrounded by a river, which the locals call the Xier River.There are four gates in the city, all of which are built with urns.

It can be seen that there were traces of the tragic battlefield here, with dried black blood everywhere on the ground, and the wreckage of burned houses outside the city.There was originally a Nanguan in the south of the city, which was the road from Nanyang to Luoyang. It used to be relatively prosperous, but now it has been destroyed.

Everyone sighed, Wang Dou looked very carefully, and actually admired Qian Zuozheng in his heart. In history, this person was good at attacking and defending well. After many months, Qian Zuozheng died because of the strong wind, bombing and burning of buildings.

When Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu entered the city, the Shunxiang Army and Qianfeng Battalion set up camp in the west of the city.

The rogues have retreated to a place twenty miles west of the city, and they will not stop at night. It is found that Ruzhou City is on the west of the river, Qili, and the Gazhuang area is close to Rushui. Several local villages have been abandoned, and it is a good place to camp. The bandit camp is also nearer.

……

In the past, Ruzhou City was quite prosperous, with 72 streets, large and small, intertwined vertically and horizontally.In particular, Zhongda Street is three miles long and six feet wide, and it is an important place that runs through the whole city and connects the east and west gates.In the past, there were rows of shops on both sides, full of shops, and it was very lively. Ruzhou Prefecture is located here.

But after the rogues attacked the city, the city was full of depression, and panicked crowds were everywhere.Seeing Wang Dou and others coming in, they all whispered.

When the reinforcements arrived, Zhizhou Qian Zuozheng and other people made a big splash, especially exaggerating the grand feat of Gao Shi Yinren's defeat of more than ten thousand bandits with thousands of people.Originally, the rogues had been besieging for half a month, and the reinforcements were constantly being repulsed. The people of the state were already in despair. At this time, hope appeared in their eyes again.

Cleaning up the dust, after lunch, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu returned to their camp, and received a promise from Qian Zuozheng to provide five thousand shi of food and grass.Even the local gentry assured Wang Dou and others that as long as the officers and soldiers could repel the rogues, they would be willing to jointly reward the army with 3 taels of silver.

The cities of Henan Province fell one after another, and the gentry officials in Ruzhou had heard about the tragic fate of the gentry. If the city fell, they would have nothing, so they showed rare generosity at this time.Chen Yongfu gave them a generous speech, patted his chest and assured that he and General Dingguo's army would definitely defeat the traitors, you don't have to worry, everyone praised them unanimously.

During the banquet, Chen Yongfu was a little drunk, and only Wang Dou remained sober.

Each battalion has been set up and divided into several places. Chen Yongfu's army camped in the upper river area, as close to the city as possible.Wang Dousun's township army camped in the area around Shilizhuang and Qilizhuang, which are located in the outskirts.Wang Dou's Chinese army headquarters is located in a big house in Qilizhuang, and it is unknown that it is the house brother of a local gentry.

When Wang Dou returned to his headquarters, he heard Gao Shiyin's wild laughter. After Wang Dou arrived in Ruzhou, he also led the Renbu soldiers and the main force to camp and set up camp in Shilizhuang.At this time, beside Gao Shiyin, surrounded by Wen Fangliang, Li Guangheng, Wen Daxing, Zhao Xuan, Sun Sanjie and others, Gao Shiyin talked vividly about the battle situation that day.

I heard Wen Fangliang enviously say: "Old Gao, you have made a great contribution this time..."

Xie Yike beside Wang Dou roared, "General Dingguo is here."

Immediately, everyone turned their heads, the iron armor clanged, and everyone saluted Wang Dou solemnly: "I have seen the general."

Wang Dou said: "All generals please rise."

There was another clang of a nail leaf.

Wang Dou walked up to Gao Shiyin with a smile, and patted him on the shoulder: "Brother Gao, you played well."

Gao Shiyin was actually not much shorter than Wang Dou. He was a very burly man, wearing an iron armor, with a swollen face and a fierce look.In the past, Han Zhong, as well as Shen Shiqi, the current general manager of the new army, were secretly called the three ugly and three evils of the Shun Township Army. Of course, Han Zhong is no longer there.

When Gao Shiyin was praised and slapped by Wang Dou in this way, he immediately smiled and opened his mouth to laugh.

Then Wang Dou sat down, Gao Shiyin sat down respectfully on his lower head, and reported the battle to Wang Dou as softly as possible.

Wang Dou listened very carefully, and said: "Soldiers who have done meritorious service, their merits must be checked carefully, and no one should be missed or underestimated."

He said, "How about the casualties of the soldiers?"

Gao Shiyin said: "Thirteen people were injured, and one of them was seriously injured."

Wang Dou said: "The wounded soldiers, let the doctors take care of them. After recovering from their injuries, these soldiers will be even more brave men in our army."

Gao Shiyin said: "General, don't worry, the last general will visit you every day."

According to what Gao Shiyin said, in the battle that day, although the rogues were all mobs, they were no opponents at all under the formation of Renbu armored spearmen.But after all, there were so many of them, and it was inevitable that some sergeants would be stabbed by the densely packed spears. Although they were protected by iron armor, it was inevitable that some people would be injured.

One sergeant in particular was seriously injured by a spear pierced through a gap in his armor and into his chest.

According to the military law of the Shun Township Army, the order of visits for wounded soldiers is that the team officer visits every day, the general visits every two days, and the thousand generals visits every three days.However, Gao Shiyin led the troops with great care, and the wounded sergeant went to see him every day.

For these battle-tested officers, wounded soldiers are more precious, and these veterans will exude stronger combat effectiveness after their injuries.

Wang Dou said, "Good!"

He said: "All the brothers haven't eaten yet, let's have dinner."

The crowd burst into laughter, before entering the city to meet the wind and cleanse the dust, Wang Dou said that he would come back to have lunch with the generals, so everyone was waiting for Wang Dou to come back for dinner.For them, every meal time with Wang Dou is very cherished.Because that atmosphere is nostalgic.

Several long tables in the lobby were put together, and then there were several large pots on which were boiling pieces of meat.Wang Dou sat at the top, and the generals sat on both sides. There were several flatbreads in front of each of them, and each had a bowl of broth. Eating the flatbread with the broth was a kind of enjoyment in the cold weather.

Before the war, everyone can drink some wine, but of course they can't toast each other with big bowls. They all take a sip and chat while eating, laughing and chatting happily.

Wang Dou picked up a piece of meat and ate it slowly, smiled and said to Sun Sanjie: "Brother Sun, the magistrate of Ruzhou promised to supply five thousand shi of grain and grass. If the bandits are repelled, the local gentry is willing to pay 3 taels of silver to reward the army."

All the generals cheered and shouted strangely. For the Shun Township Army, there was nothing to be afraid of except the lack of food and grass. As long as there was food and grass, the Shun Township Army would not be afraid of any enemy.

Sun Sanjie hastily put down the bowls and chopsticks: "I'm going to bring the food here."

Wang Dou said: "Don't worry, let's talk after eating, they dare not refuse to give food."

Wang Dou suddenly found out that being a guest soldier is also good. There are fires everywhere in Henan, and he has a strong army in his hand. There are many demands from all sides, and no one dares not to give the aid price he offered.The cameo mercenaries are interesting.

Wen Fangliang is the most handsome general of the Shun Township Army, but he is not very elegant in eating. He ate the big cake and said to Wang Dou: "General, Brother Gao's battle proved that the rogues are vulnerable. , We have also figured out the way, do we want to raise our army within a few days, give those rogues a hard blow, and break the siege of Ruzhou?"

Wang Dou said, "No rush."

He smiled and said: "Vice Chief Chen is very envious of the achievements of our Shun Township Army. We can't take all the credit and let the friendly army get nothing."

He said: "When I came back at noon, Vice President Chen told me that the bandits in Ruzhou hoped that his vanguard battalion would take the lead. Vice President Chen said that, and he did what he wanted. Let's see if the officers and soldiers in the hinterland are How to fight, and then see clearly the tactics of the rogues. When the time comes, wipe them all out."

Everyone laughed.

(End of this chapter)