Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 810
Back then when Azige and Wu Sangui attacked Xiangfan, the army robbed and killed Northwest Hubei and formed a huge wave of refugees.

After Wang Yan went south to Jiangxi, He Tengjiao asked him for advice, and he suggested that all the residents in the north of the Han River be moved to the south of the Han River, lest the Qing army come to loot again just after recovery.

Last year, King Liangshun went south again. The north of the Han River was already barren, and it became a place for the Ming army to graze horses.The Qing army did not get a grain of grain from this, so this time Azig went south to plunder, and he had never considered the barren north of the Han River in his mind.

At this time, in the north of the Han River, between Dahong Mountain and the valley at the foot of Dabie Mountain, there is a vast expanse of snow. More than [-] Ming troops are wearing two cotton armors, and the generals will wear an additional iron armor. Wearing white cloaks, the sleigh pulled by mules and horses was also covered with white cloth. The whole team blended into the snow-white world of Jiangbei. It was difficult to spot this team without approaching.

Days of heavy snow, and the official road has been covered by weeds and trees, making it very difficult for soldiers to walk.

Dai Zhifan led his horse and trudged through the knee-deep snow. From time to time, soldiers behind him stepped on the air and fell into the ditches on both sides of the official road. Fortunately, the snow was so thick that they were not hurt or touched. When he reached the water, he was immediately pulled up again by his comrades.

"Where are you going?" After walking for a long time, Dai Zhifan raised his head and looked at the sky. The snow had stopped, and a round of winter was hanging in the sky, but it was colder than when it was snowing.

A soldier beside him hurriedly took out the marching map, then took out the compass, put it away after looking at it for a while, and hurriedly chased after him, saying: "Duzhen, the mountain in front is Yingshan, and you should be able to see it after walking twenty miles." Abandoned Suizhou City."

In order to prevent the Qing army from discovering their traces, the army did not go to the Han River Plain. If the Qing army wanted to investigate, they not only had to cross the Han River, but also climbed over the Dahong Mountain to find the traces of the Ming army. The possibility of the Qing army doing this is miniscule.

Hearing this, Dai Zhifan frowned, "I just arrived in Suizhou? Didn't I just walk halfway through?" He stopped, straightened up, and looked into the distance, "Heading! The army speeds up and must reach Zaoyang within three days. "

Zaoyang is located in the east of Xiangfan and south of Xinye, and it is also deserted. When the Ming army arrives here, they can join Xiangyang on the left and right to attack Xinye and cut off the retreat of the Qing army.

When the soldiers heard the order, they immediately yelled a few words back, and the soldiers who heard the voice passed the order back, and the more than 3 horses stretching for several miles were really faster.

The Qing army, Azige, had been criss-crossing south of the Han River for nearly a month. When they swept towards Jingzhou, they wanted to use their might to force Jingzhou to surrender, so that the Qing army could make a fortune. Wang Guangtai dared to go out of the city to form an array, looking for him to fight.

This made Azig very annoyed. The difference between this invasion and the time when they broke through the wall and robbed Beizhi was really big.

At that time, he followed Huang Taiji to break through the side wall, Guan Ning avoided the battle, the Ming army everywhere was corrupt, and the city couldn't hold it, let alone go out to fight in waves, but this time his cavalry can still roam in the wild, but they are broken. The city was no longer as easy as it used to be. Not only did the villagers rely on the city to defend themselves, but they also fought hard and died when the city was broken. There was no sign of the Ming army fleeing or surrendering everywhere.

This kind of situation made Azig feel a little anxious in his heart. Wang Guangtai lined up against the city, covered by artillery, and placed refusal horses on both sides, just waiting for the Qing army to rush to him, but Azig was not stupid, and the cavalry tried After a while, seeing that there was no opportunity to take advantage of it, the army turned to Wuchang.

The city of Wuchang is located in the south of the Yangtze River. There are warships of the Ming army on the river, and the Qing army cannot threaten them.The reason why Azig rushed to Wuchang was because Huguang was the headquarters of the Chu Party, and Wuchang was also the provincial capital of Huguang. Bing's consecutive failures saved a little face.

The original structure of Wuchang City was too small. Last year, Wang Yan was in the north of the Yangtze River, south of the Han River, where the two rivers meet, and built a new city in Hanyang. The academies, martial arts and various government offices for the training of officials for the Chu Party, as well as the warehouses of many companies , warehouses are here.

Although Wang Yan entered Nanjing, he did not give up the management of Huguang and other places. He understood that his power relied on the support of Huguang and Guangnan. Without the support of these places, he would not be stable in Nanjing. of.

Azig's goal is Hanyang New City. If he can snatch the best, but he can't, he hopes to make a fortune. In the end, he can also deter Huguang and hit the morale of the Ming army.

This is incomparable with approaching Beijing, or approaching Nanjing, but Wuchang is a provincial capital after all, and Qing cavalry killing them can always damage the prestige of the Southern Ming court, and also save a little face for the Qing court after losing Jiangnan.

Outside the new city of Hanyang, Azig personally led the cavalry to the bottom of the city. On the city, the governor of Huguang, Wu Jinxi, and the guard Ma Jinzhong watched from the top of the city. Outside the city, the Qing army was hunting in the cold wind. placed outside the city. .

When the two of them looked around, all they saw were moving horse heads. It had to be said that the momentum of the cavalry was stronger than that of the infantry. Ten thousand soldiers could create the momentum of a hundred thousand infantry.

Seeing the scattered sentry cavalry of the Qing army, the Ming army on the city rushed directly to the bottom of the city, screaming strangely, cursing the city leaders in Manchu, and provoking them.

Over the years, soldiers have been lost at a very fast rate during the battles every year. After recruiting new soldiers from various ministries of the Ming army, most of them will be recruited as gunners.

Although at this time, there are still many shortcomings in firecrackers. In many cases, they are not even useful for bows and arrows. However, it takes too much time and resources to train an archer. Within a month, you can use it very proficiently.

With the improvement of the Ming army's finances and the recovery of the workshops, the proportion of the Ming army holding firearms has now slowly returned to [-]-[-]%, and it is still rising.

Ma Jinzhong's deployment also included a large-scale addition to the Five Zhong Army at the beginning of the year, and then all of them were supplemented with bird gunners.

If these soldiers go out to fight in the city, they may not be ready for a little bit, but if they fire guns in the city, there will be no pressure at all.

Several Qing cavalry provoked under the city, and the soldiers on the city were out of breath. Under the command of the general, more than a dozen gun guards lit the matchlocks, came to the wall, raised the guns and fought for a while, and a Qing cavalry under the city immediately fell off the horse. Seeing this, the rest of the Qing cavalry dared not shout any more, pulled the reins and rushed back to the main formation.

The Ming army in the city was about to cheer, but the Qing soldier who had fallen from his horse got up again. It turned out that the distance was too far, and this guy was wearing double armor, so the projectile failed to penetrate.

He got up and made an insulting gesture towards the city. One of the soldiers on the city was out of breath and wanted to shoot another gun, but was stopped by Qianhu next to him. It hurt morale.

That Qingqi got on his horse again, and didn't dare to stay below the city any longer. He followed the other Qingqi and ran back.

Wu Jinxi, You Youlun, Ma Jinzhong and others in the city frowned when they saw the formation of the Qing army.

Wu Jinxi whispered to the wandering friend Lun beside him, "|This year, the imperial court seized Jinling and defeated Donglu. Everyone in the court thought that Donglu was weak from now on, but now there is only a wall between Donglu and us. We still have to be vigilant and considerate." , you can't underestimate arrogance!"

"The eastern captives have been in power for more than ten years. When you look at the cavalry under the city, you should know that their strength is still there." You Youlun also said.

At the side, Ma Jinzhong heard the two civil servants talking about Qingqi, and felt a little unhappy, "The strength is still there? Then we will completely maim them this time, break his four legs, and see if he dares to go south to fight in the future!"

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(End of this chapter)