Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 122 Timid as a Mouse
(PS: The new month is here, and the new week is coming too. For the sake of the update of the Chapter of Pure Wolf, do you guys bring the recommended tickets and monthly tickets?)
On the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Tianqi, the main force of the slave establishment retreated from camp, hurriedly ended the siege of Jinzhou for more than ten days, turned around and retreated eastward towards the way they came from.After repeatedly confirming the accuracy of the news, the city of Jinzhou was completely boiling. The streets and alleys were lit with torches, and the soldiers and civilians were crowded with cheering and celebrating everywhere. This hard-won victory—if it wasn’t for Young Master Zhang who had already scavenged all the firecrackers and fireworks in the city to make gunpowder weapons, Jinzhou City would definitely be ringing with firecrackers tonight. There were still countless soldiers of the Ming army firing their guns at the sky, ping-pong-ping-ping-ping-pong, which added a lot of atmosphere to the celebration of victory.

"Congratulations to Mr. Zhang, congratulations to Mr. Zhang." Of course, the center of the celebration crowd was Mr. Zhang Haogu, the military equipment of Jinzhou. What Mr. Zhang has done in Jinzhou in the past few months is obvious to all. The initial contempt has turned into sincere admiration now. I admire Young Master Zhang for sharing weal and woe with ordinary soldiers and being honest and honest. .Therefore, at this moment of victory, no matter it was the generals of the Ming army, ordinary soldiers, or the people of Jinzhou, they all spontaneously rushed to the East Gate Tower of Jinzhou where Master Zhang was, to express their highest respect and warmest congratulations to Master Zhang.

"Brother Zhang, you've really achieved a feat this time!" Ma Shilong, the former general of Shanhaiguan, hugged Young Master Zhang, and cried with tears in his eyes, "You not only led us to withstand Jiannu's attack, but also held the You captured Jinzhou City, and even severely injured Nuerhachi, the old Jiannu. You saved our Jinzhou army and all the people in Jinzhou!" Other Ming army generals also echoed, "Yes, yes! Ah, brother Zhang's contribution is really great." "I don't know what the emperor and Jiuqian will be like if the old Jiannu Nuerhachi was seriously injured and reported to the capital." "Zhang Brother, you are the No.1 general in the world!" "Tanhualang, our family will be honored with you this time."

"Soldiers and soldiers, folks of Jinzhou, please calm down, please calm down." Contrary to the ecstatic soldiers and civilians of Jinzhou, Young Master Zhang's expression has always been very calm, waving his hands on the tower to calm everyone down, finally calming down the noise , Young Master Zhang said loudly: "Brothers in the Ming army, folks in Jinzhou, I understand your feelings. The Jiannu withdrew and Jinzhou was defended. It is worth celebrating and happy, but we must not take it lightly. Ah! Jiannu's army hasn't gone far, if we just relax and neglect, Jiannu's cavalry can fight back to the city of Jinzhou in a few hours, and kill us by surprise, then wouldn't our previous efforts be wasted?"

"Brother Zhang, we understand." Ma Shilong put away the smile on his face, stood at attention and bowed his hands to Young Master Zhang, and said loudly: "Please rest assured, Mr. Zhang, before the army of founding slaves goes far, the generals and soldiers of our Jinzhou army will definitely be as good as before." Just be on guard for a few days, take turns on duty, patrol the city day and night, and never give the slave army a chance!"

The same is true for generals such as Man Gui, Zhao Lijiao, and Wu Xiang. They all promised that they would never relax military discipline and neglect military conditions because of the establishment of slaves and withdrawal of troops.Only then did Young Master Zhang nodded, and then ordered: "Well, let the unrelated people on the city wall wait to return to the city to celebrate, and the army on duty will return to their posts and prepare for battle at any time. You can give the brothers extra meals for today's dinner, but no alcohol is allowed. You are not allowed to open the city gate." Speaking of this, Young Master Zhang put on a straight face, raised his voice, and shouted sharply: "Anyone who opens the city gate without my consent, no matter who it is, will be executed!"

"I would like to obey the orders of the soldiers!" The Jinzhou generals cheered up and agreed--Master Zhang gave them the impression that in addition to not deducting military pay and sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, there is also one thing that the military law is ruthless. Anyone who violates the military law is caught by the young master Zhang. , no one can escape punishment.Young Master Zhang nodded again, and then led the eunuch Ji Yong, Mao Yuanyi, Song Xiance and others back to the city tower to continue discussing the military situation.

After entering the city tower, Song Xiance immediately asked Young Master Zhang: "Master, from your appearance, it seems that you still don't quite believe that the slave army is really withdrawing, right? Could it be that Master, you have seen something strange?" Young Master Zhang shook his head, He said worriedly: "So far, I haven't found any flaws or strange things, but I always feel that Jiannu retreated too quickly and too easily. The purpose of Jiannu's southern expedition was to rob food to overcome the food shortage. Grabbing one grain at a time, but losing troops and generals at the foot of Jinzhou City, and withdrawing troops like this is too inconsistent with Jiannu's greedy and brutal character."

"Tanhualang is overthinking." Ji Yong said with a grin: "Jiannu's army didn't get any benefits and even lost their soldiers and horses, but the old Jiannu Nuerhachi was severely injured by you with the Hongyi cannon. Is it okay not to withdraw troops? If he dies on the Jinzhou battlefield, the morale of the army will not be in chaos? At that time, let alone continue to attack the city to grab food, it will be fine if you don’t seize the opportunity to fight back. The successor has not yet been established, if he does not rush back to hand over the position, once his sons of Jiannu fight among themselves, the country he managed to conquer will be wiped out."

"Boss, I also think that if Nurhachi is really seriously injured, then the slave-building army must withdraw." Song Xiance also agrees with some of Ji Yong's views, but he is not sure whether Nurhachi is really injured. .Young Master Zhang calculated for a long time with a gloomy face, and ordered: "Grandpa Ji, I will reward those slaves who surrendered tomorrow, and add them to General Ma Shilong's army to continue serving as soldiers. Keep an eye on them, and report to me immediately if there is any change.”

Ji Yong is the eunuch who supervises the army. He has two sets of troops, light and dark. He specializes in monitoring the generals and lieutenants of the Ming army.Young Master Zhang murmured again in his heart: "Old Jiannu, Nuerhachi, I would rather not have this extraordinary skill than let you die. If you are really accidentally bombarded to death by the Hongyi Cannon, your My son's yellow stewed chicken is much more difficult to deal with than you..."

………………

On the morning of the seventh day of the lunar new year, five Jiannu soldiers headed by Long Laosi were released. Young Master Zhang met them personally and rewarded each of them with 30 taels of silver. The few Jiannu soldiers were very grateful He also happily accepted Young Master Zhang's arrangement to incorporate them into Ma Shilong's army.But to the surprise of Young Master Zhang, in the next few days, these Jiannu soldiers did not contact any suspicious persons, nor did they have any unusual actions or words, but Jiannu's army went further and further away On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the Jiannu army had already withdrawn from Dujiatun. At the same time, the Ming army searched the valleys and forests near Jinzhou, but found no Jiannu army ambushing.As a result, almost everyone in Jinzhou City, except Young Master Zhang himself, believed that the army of founding slaves had really retreated, and representatives of the common people flocked to Young Master Zhang, begging Young Master Zhang to open the city gate and let them go out of the city to rebuild their homes, so that Start spring farming.

"Master, another group of people from Youtun are coming outside, please open the city gate and let them go back to Youtun to renovate their houses." Zhang Shitou reported to Young Master Zhang with a sad face: "The little one has already explained to them until his throat is smoking. , said that Jiannu hadn’t gone far, and hadn’t confirmed whether Jiannu’s army had really retreated, and let them wait in Jinzhou City for a while, but they just didn’t listen, and said they didn’t hurry up and go back to repair the house, When spring comes, they have to repair the house and plow the fields, so they will be too busy no matter what.”

"Tell them to wait a few more days until Jiannu's army withdraws across the Sancha River." Young Master Zhang who was flipping through "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" replied without raising his head, and added: "By the way, go to Ji Gonggong, Lu Wanling, Mao Yuanyi, and other civil officials sent a message, telling them not to be idle, and to spread the word among the common people, so that the common people can wait for a while longer with peace of mind."

"Okay, I'll try to explain again." Zhang Shitou, who thought he was unlucky, went out with a sad face.After a while, Ma Shilong and the second general Man Gui got into Young Master Zhang's room again, and shouted to Young Master Zhang together: "Brother Zhang, Jianu has been away for four days, can we open the city gate and go out? The brothers are all bored in the city, and they all want to take a walk outside the city, exercise their muscles and bones, and hunt for prey to improve their food." Man Gui emphasized again: "Brother Zhang, and our war horses, don't go out for a stroll , A good horse will be spoiled."

"Wait a few more days until the main force of Jiannu has crossed the Sancha River." Young Master Zhang still said the same thing.Ma Shilong and Man Gui exchanged glances, and finally Man Gui said hesitantly: "Brother Zhang, we are cautious and don't make fun of the lives of soldiers and people, so you don't open the door. But most of the brothers don't understand this." , They all blame you for being unkind, the Jiannu have been evacuated for four days, and they have to work day and night when they are fighting, and they are not allowed to rest, and they still refuse to open the city gate, and... there are people.... "

"Some people say that I'm as timid as a mouse and can only hide in the city like a turtle, right?" Young Master Zhang asked calmly.Man Gui nodded embarrassingly, and added: "But brother Zhang, don't worry, the soldiers who said these words were all whipped by Brother Ma and I to let them know that you are doing it for the good of everyone, not brave. Small as a mouse."

"Thank you two big brothers. The army would like to ask you to be more careful. Don't let them slack off and underestimate the enemy and relax their vigilance." Young Master Zhang nodded his thanks and asked, "Brother Ma, is there any news about the messenger we sent to contact Ning Yuan?" Send it back? And Ningyuan's scouts, have you contacted us yet?"

"Nothing at all." Ma Shilong shook his head and replied, "Our messenger went to Ningyuan on the seventh day of the first lunar month. According to the distance calculation, if there is no accident on the road, he should have arrived in Ningyuan last night. It will take two or three days to wait for a reply. time."

"Even if it takes time for the messenger to go back and forth, why haven't Ningyuan's scouts contacted us yet?" Young Master Zhang put down the book, pinched his smooth chin and said, "If I remember correctly, Ningyuan's scouts should include Jinzhou Including Youtun, Jiannu has lifted the siege of Jinzhou for four days, why haven't Ningyuan's scouts appeared yet?"

"I'm also very surprised about this matter. The scouts we went to the south did not meet the scouts from Ningyuan." Ma Shilong was also puzzled by this question.Young Master Zhang thought for a while, and then ordered: "How about this, let the scouts going south double the patrol distance and double the number, and we must restore contact with Ningqian and Shanhaiguan."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements later." Ma Shilong agreed, and then said cautiously: "Brother Zhang, there is one more thing I have to say. Before the war in Jinzhou, although we had stockpiled enough wood for heating and defending the city in winter, But this year's weather was too cold. The army and people in Jinzhou City burned fires to keep warm, and used much more wood than in previous years. During the battle of the city, it was used to smash slaves and repair the walls and houses. Now there is not much wood left in the city, shall we send some troops out to chop some wood and transport it back to the city for use?"

"Yes, yes, there are also war horses, so I must slip away." Man Gui, who loves horses like his life, also echoed.Young Master Zhang was helpless, and after thinking for a while, Young Master Zhang had no choice but to smile bitterly and said: "Well, how about it, today we will tear down the ice wall blocking the west gate, and from tomorrow onwards, we will send a thousand troops out of the city every day to cut down trees. Brother Man, you take the cavalry Walking out of the city to help transport timber and protect the logging soldiers. But there are two points to remember. First, the army must return to the city before you when you leave the city. When you return to the city, you must carefully count the number of people. Second, Without my order, the ice walls of the other three doors are not allowed to move!" Ma Shilong and Man Gui were overjoyed, and quickly agreed to go out and make arrangements.Young Master Zhang was worried, knowing that when the city gate opened, it might be the day when the Jiannu army turned around and returned.

…………

On the morning of the [-]th day of the first lunar month, the west gate of Jinzhou opened first. A thousand cavalrymen led by Man Gui took the horses and protected a thousand infantrymen out of the city. After the city, it is natural to run wildly to exercise your muscles and bones, and breathe the fresh and pure air of the ice field.However, the people in Jinzhou City did not know, and they flocked to the city gate to ask to leave the city. Young Master Zhang quickly ordered the army to stop them, and it took a lot of talking to persuade the people to return to the city.However, after one day, thousands of soldiers felled not a lot of wood. The Jinzhou generals went to Young Master Zhang to make a request, hoping to expand the size of the army out of the city and harvest enough wood at one time. Young Master Zhang sternly refused, unwilling to take any risks risk.

There is also a reason for Young Master Zhang's worry. During the two consecutive days on the [-]th and [-]th of the first lunar month, the Jinzhou defenders never restored contact with Ning Qian, and the messengers and scouts they sent never returned. Back in Jinzhou City, although the scouts who were scouting the movement of the Jiannu army still had news reports that the Jiannu army was still retreating, but excluding the time they were delayed on the road, Young Master Zhang had a better grasp of the movement of the Jiannu army than he was. The actual situation is more than one day at night.Faced with such a complicated and gloomy situation, the cowardly Young Master Zhang is naturally more cautious in his actions, for fear of any accidents, but what Young Master Zhang doesn't know is that the real test for him is yet to come...

"Young Master, Young Master, it's not good!" On the morning of the [-]th day of the first lunar month, Young Master Zhang, who had stayed up all night trying to analyze the complicated battle situation, just fell asleep when Zhang Shitou stumbled into the room and shouted to Young Master Zhang, "Master, hurry up!" Go to the east gate, there is a big accident at the east gate, and the Youtun people who plan to go back to Youtun are tearing down the ice wall blocking the east gate!"

"What?" Young Master Zhang opened his eyes suddenly, jumped up from the kang, dressed indiscriminately, led his soldiers and rushed straight to the east gate of Jinzhou.When I arrived at the scene, there were indeed a large number of people pushing small carts and carrying parcels crowded beside the east gate of Jinzhou, and some people and soldiers were digging the ice wall blocking the city gate with iron chisels. Young Master Zhang was furious and crowded Go up and shout: "Stop! Who told you to tear down the wall?"

"Master Zhang is here, Master Zhang is here." Relying on the prestige established a few days ago, the civilian soldiers who were digging the wall stopped immediately and took the initiative to greet them.Young Master Zhang was so angry that his face was livid, and he pulled out one of the officials at the east gate, slapped him hard on the face, and shouted: "You bastard, who told you to tear down the wall? What if the army suddenly turned around and killed them?"

"My lord, the Jiannu army has already retreated, why are they coming back?" The city gate officer covered his face swollen by the young master Zhang, and said aggrievedly: "The houses of the common people in Youtun and Xiaolinghe have been burned. Now that the slaves have retreated, the people there are going back to build houses and prepare for spring plowing. If I don’t open the city gates to let them go out and delay their spring plowing, what will they eat this autumn?”

"So, you are the one who agrees with the people to open the gate and the city wall?" Young Master Zhang asked sullenly.The city gate official replied aggrievedly: "My lord, I am doing it for the common people..."

"I don't care if you're doing it for the common people, I'm asking, do you agree to open the east gate wall?" Young Master Zhang raised his voice and shouted.The city gate official nodded, admitting that he made the decision without authorization.Young Master Zhang grinned ferociously, and asked Jinzhou Counselor Ma Shilong who came over after hearing the news: "General Ma, how did I give the order about the city gate?"

"Return to Mr. Zhang. At that time, Mr. Zhang said that anyone who opens the city gate without your direct order will be beheaded." Ma Shilong stood at attention and replied.When Ma Shilong wanted to say something more, Young Master Zhang waved his hand to stop him, and shouted: "Just remember this order, come here, push this city gate official down, and behead him for public display! In order to maintain military discipline!"

"Ah?!" Young Master Zhang hadn't finished speaking, the city gate officer was already dumbfounded and screamed, and the surrounding soldiers of the Ming army and the people of Jinzhou were also in an uproar.Ma Shilong hurriedly said: "Brother Zhang, he is at fault, but he also has merit. This time when the slaves attacked Jinzhou, he beheaded three by himself. Please see for his merit, please spare his life." "

"No, the military order is like a mountain. As a door officer, he took the lead in violating the military order and cannot be spared." Young Master Zhang shouted with a livid face, "What are you still doing? Push him to the top of the wall and behead him, as an example to others!"

"Master Zhang, please forgive me! I don't dare to do it again!" The city gate officer panicked, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed to beg for mercy. The surrounding people also knelt down, begging for mercy for the city gate officer. He said that the city gate officer violated the military order for his own sake, so please ask Young Master Zhang to spare the life of that gate officer. The Jinzhou generals who came over after hearing the news did the same, kneeling down to beg for mercy, and hoped that Young Master Zhang would do the same. Spare that city gate official.Facing the sound of begging for mercy, Young Master Zhang slowed down and said to the city gate official: "Well, since you are kind and considerate of the common people, I can forgive some of your sins."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, thank you, Mr. Zhang." The city gate official thought he had narrowly escaped death, so he quickly kowtowed in thanks.Unexpectedly, Young Master Zhang said darkly again: "Don't thank me first, I forgive part of your sins. After you are beheaded, you will be treated as death in battle, and the same amount of compensation will be given to your family members, so that you can go on the road with peace of mind. Your crime of beheading , I will not forgive you."

"Master Zhang—!" There was another voice begging for mercy from around.Young Master Zhang didn't pay any attention, he just shouted to his soldiers: "Push him to the top of the wall and behead him for public display!"

"I'm wronged, my lord, I'm wronged—!" Amidst the cries of the unlucky city gate officer, Young Master Zhang's personal soldiers rushed forward, tied him to the city wall, and cut off his head in public to warn the soldiers of the Ming army.When the bloody head fell to the ground, the turmoil of the soldiers of the Ming army cooled down, but the people of Jinzhou raised their voices against Young Master Zhang. He lost his courage, so the Jiannu army withdrew thousands of miles, and Young Master Zhang, a coward, did not dare to open the city gate.But the thick-skinned Young Master Zhang simply didn't bother to pay attention to these scolding. He just ordered Ma Shilong to arrange another manpower to repair the broken gate wall, and led the guards to continue patrolling the city to check whether the defenders were slack or lazy. Once discovered, they will be punished immediately, forcing the already lax discipline of the Jinzhou defenders to become stricter again.

Amidst the complaints and insults from the people in the dark, another day passed quickly, but the scout envoy sent by Jinzhou to contact Ningyuan still did not reply, and Young Master Zhang was inevitably more anxious. He also led his personal troops up to the west gate tower, where he and Wu Xiang, the guard there, supervised the logging soldiers back to the city.When Master Zhang and his party went up to the West Gate Tower, the logging soldiers happened to be transporting wood back to the city under the protection of Ma Dengyun cavalry. Said: "We must count the number of people, and we must not let Jiannu sneak into the city."

Wu Xiang agreed, ordered the army to respond to the organization, sent the wood transport vehicles into the city one by one, and carefully counted the number of people.Seeing that all the timber convoy walking in front were about to enter the city, Wu Sangui, the eldest son of Wu Xiang next to him, suddenly yelled, "Father, Mr. Zhang, the situation is not right. We had 1000 infantrymen who went out to cut timber, and there were 60 more when we came back." !"

"What?" Young Master Zhang and Wu Xiang changed their faces together, and Wu Xiang exclaimed: "Sangui, did you count clearly? Did you make a mistake?"

"There is absolutely no mistake in counting." Wu Sangui pointed to the symbol carved with a dagger on the arrow stack in front of him, and said loudly: "Father, please see, every time my child counts 100 people, I will carve a horizontal bar, counting ten 100 people , there are 60 more people.”

"Could it be that Ma Dengyun's cavalry got off their horses to help?" Wu Xiang was still considering this possibility, but Young Master Zhang had already sternly shouted: "Don't worry about it so much, first gather the infantry who came back from logging, and then let Ma Dengyun Yun rushed into the city and counted the number of his cavalry. Also, as soon as the cavalry entered the city, close the city gates immediately! Then send an order to Ma Shilong, asking him to dispatch [-] troops to help maintain order."

The orders were conveyed one by one, and the infantry who went out to log the city were quickly gathered together, and Ma Dengyun's thousand cavalry and cavalry also quickly entered the city, and they also gathered together to count the heads.In this way, Young Master Zhang didn't dare to hesitate anymore, and quickly ordered the army to surround the more than 1000 logging soldiers, asking them to report their team numbers and generals one by one, and return to the team after the generals confirmed.As Young Master Zhang had expected, after his order was announced to the logging soldiers, someone in the soldier ranks immediately shouted, "Brothers, you have been spotted, hurry up! Go to the city gate!"

"Kill!" About sixty Jiannu soldiers disguised as Ming soldiers drew their waist knives, slashed at the surrounding Ming soldiers, and rushed to the city gate.Young Master Zhang commanded calmly: "Let our own people drop their weapons and spread out to the left and right, and let the Jiannu soldiers rush to the city gate. Those who don't throw weapons will be beheaded!"

"Brothers of the Ming Dynasty, throw down your weapons and scatter around!" The soldiers of the Ming army surrounding the logging team shouted loudly, and the chaotic Ming army logging soldiers quickly dropped their weapons and ran back to their own team with their hands raised high. In a short while, the fifty or sixty slave soldiers who sneaked into the city were fully exposed—of course, there were also smart slave soldiers who threw down their weapons and sneaked into the Ming army again.But Young Master Zhang was more treacherous than them. Even if the logging soldiers who dropped their weapons escaped from the battle circle, they had to gather together and re-screen.And that group of soldiers who built slaves was also very brave. They still charged towards the gate of the city with outnumbered enemies, trying to open the gate to welcome the army of slaves who built slaves into the city. The bird guns fired in turn, and more than 50 slave soldiers were quickly beaten into a beehive, and they went to the underworld with blood all over their bodies to ask their slave masters for credit and rewards.

"Report—!" Almost at the same time as the last Jiannu soldier fell, one after another, the messengers rushed in front of Young Master Zhang, and reported to Young Master Zhang in turn: "Report to Master Bing Bei, the South Gate found an unknown number The slave cavalry is approaching!" "My lord, the slave cavalry was found at the north gate!" "My lord, a large group of slave cavalry was found at the east gate!" "My lord, the slave cavalry rushed to our west gate!"

"Why are you staring blankly?" Under the gaze of countless admiring eyes, Young Master Zhang smiled slightly and said loudly: "Leave 1000 people to continue screening the traitors, and let the rest go to the city wall. Jiannu wants to kill us. We are caught off guard. I have to surprise them with guns and cannons! Also, the few traitors who came to feign surrender that night were also arrested immediately by Lao Tzu and executed immediately!"

"I would like to obey the orders of the soldiers and soldiers!" In Jinzhou City, the voices of Jinzhou soldiers and civilians answered respectfully and neatly again.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping!" Amidst the dense gunfire, the slave cavalry who thought they could directly enter Jinzhou City were blasted to pieces by grape bullets and musket bullets. Dazed, these Jiannu cavalry who had been lying in ambush for a long time in the snowy mountains and old forests, or turned around day and night to fight back, never thought that Jinzhou City was so well prepared after a few days of siege?The defense is still so tight?And those daredevil warriors who have sneaked into the city, why haven't they opened the city gate to welcome us into the city?
"These are all in exchange for being scolded by me." Young Master Zhang replied.

(End of this chapter)