The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the battlefield, and the noisy battlefield gradually calmed down, but there were still many wounded soldiers groaning, and from time to time, ownerless horses passed by, disturbing the new army soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield.
At the temporary station of the New Army Central Army, two corpses were placed in front of Liu Yan, namely Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Wenxiu.
Liu Yan looked at Zhang Xianzhong's body carefully, with a trace of relief on his face: This battle was not in vain, at least he killed Zhang Xianzhong, one of the two big troublemakers in the late Ming Dynasty!
Regardless of Zhang Wenxiu, who is also Liu Wenxiu, Liu Yan felt a little sorry. After all, Liu Wenxiu was still a good man in history. At least he did not surrender to the Qing army and persisted in resisting the Qing until he died of illness.
"Alas! Maybe this is the regret of history."
Liu Yan sighed with emotion and said: "If you bury Zhang Wenxiu's body properly, don't behead him. Just keep the seal and armor. When you report back to Yang Sichang, you will say that the body was shattered by artillery."
"yes."
Liu Yan pointed to Zhang Xianzhong’s body and said, “Cut off this thief’s head!”
"yes!"
A flag commander drew his sword and stepped forward to take action.
"My lord, everything is listed."
Xun Jingyun, the governor of the town, came over, invited Liu Yan to the side, and lowered his voice and said: "There are more than 40,000 people in Zuo Liangyu's army. In addition to the more than 10,000 people who were defeated by various bandits, our army killed about a few people." Thousands of people, and the remaining more than 10,000 people were defeated, these people are trouble!"
Liu Yan had naturally expected this situation a long time ago. The battlefield was extremely chaotic. It was impossible to capture all the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses without missing a single one. The news that he had attacked Zuo Liangyu would definitely spread.
But this is no longer important. Anyway, Zuo Liangyu is dead and has no evidence. When the time comes to meet Yang Sichang, Liu Yan can say whatever he wants. With Yang Sichang's treachery, he will not embarrass Liu Yan, the leading general, for a dead man.
"How much does it cost to behead a stray thief?"
Now each battalion is sending messengers one after another to communicate and report on their respective beheadings, deaths and seizures.
As of now, no trace of Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Nengqi, and Zhang Kewang has been found in any battalion, and no bodies of the three have been seen. It is estimated that the three of them escaped in the chaos.
Xun Jingyun said: "The current figures reported by each battalion show that our army has beheaded thirty-eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty-two bandits. The actual number of beheadings must be more than this number, and should exceed forty thousand. But there are many The corpses of all the bandits were badly beaten by artillery and cannons, and their heads were shattered, so they were not included in the statistics."
"Among them, 36,990 are under the command of Zhang Xianzhong, and the rest are under the command of He Yilong."
Liu Yan said: "Based on the information given by Yang Sichang and the information that each battalion did not conduct inspections at night, Zhang Xianzhong's troops are around 60,000, which means that there are still 20,000 to 30,000 bandits who have escaped."
Xun Jingyun said: "There is no way. Our troops are insufficient. We are spread out on the battlefield with less to attack more. It is impossible to encircle and annihilate all Zhang Xianzhong's troops. Your Excellency has tried his best."
"It's just a pity that He Yilong ran away in Lian Ge's eyes."
Liu Yan said: "Forget it, this battle is already a great victory, let's not be too greedy."
Then, Liu Yan asked: "What are the casualties in each battalion?"
Xun Jingyun said: "Sir, the casualties of each battalion are not large, only the cavalry battalion has slightly greater casualties."
Liu Yan nodded. After all, the cavalry battalion was ordered to delay Zhang Xianzhong's main force and would definitely rush into battle with the bandit army.
"Fifty-two people were killed in the front camp, 73 people were killed in the rear camp, 31 people were killed in the left camp, 40 people were killed in the right camp, 28 people were killed in the middle camp, there were no casualties in the guard battalion, and there were no casualties in the artillery battalion. , two hundred and ninety-six men of the cavalry battalion were killed.”
"In this battle, our army lost a total of five hundred and twenty soldiers, and a total of one hundred and twelve wounded."
Such casualties were still within Liu Yan's tolerance. More than 500 people were exchanged for more than 30,000 thieves. The exchange ratio was 1:60, and he also captured the two thieves leaders Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Wenxiu. It was already a great victory. .
Xun Jingyun said: "Sir, do you want the soldiers of each battalion to withdraw? I think you should go back to the Chinese army camp as soon as possible, before Zuo Liangyu's defeated troops escape back, so as not to be passive."
Liu Yan sat down on the spot, and the army fought fiercely for a whole day. Even though Liu Yan did not go into battle to kill the enemy, but was only commanding the battle in the middle army, he was still hungry and exhausted at this time, let alone fighting for a day on the battlefield. of the soldiers.
So Liu Yan said: "Don't worry, Zuo Liangyu's remnant troops can't make a difference. Send someone to inform them that all the troops will clean the battlefield within half an hour, rest on the spot for half an hour, and then retreat eastward to the Chinese army camp."
"yes."
"By the way, is the cavalry battalion still chasing the enemy?"
"Commander Xu sent a messenger half an hour ago. He said that he had pursued us to the west of Agate Mountain and asked if he should continue the pursuit."
Liu Yan thought for a moment and said: "Forget it, the cavalry battalion will suffer quite a lot of casualties in this battle. Let Xu Ming withdraw."
"yes."
At the same time, more than ten miles west of Agate Mountain, Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang, and Zhang Nengqi were galloping on their horses in embarrassment. The broken troops all over the mountains and plains were also running. Many of them were exhausted, but they still gritted their teeth and persisted, fearing that After falling behind, the Ming army caught up.
After a large number of defeated troops ran away for a while, Zhang Dingguo ordered to stop and rest. Zhang Kewang sent people to investigate behind with uneasiness, and then he called Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Nengqi to come over and discuss the next plan together.
The bandit troops suddenly stopped, and many of them fell down directly on the ground and never got up again. They were exhausted to death.
Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang, and Zhang Nengqi were also silent when they saw this.
After a while, Zhang Kewang said: "I saw with my own eyes that my adoptive father's banner fell down, and the Chinese army was wiped out. What should we do in the future?"
Zhang Dingguo suppressed the sadness in his heart and said: "Liu Yan's tribe came from the east road, which means that the fourth brother Wenxiu is also in danger. Now there are only three people from the three families left. You can tell me whether to go or stay. "
Zhang Nengqi looked at Zhang Dingguo and said, "I listen to my elder brother."
Zhang Kewang paused and said, "Brother, please speak."
Zhang Dingguo said angrily: "Sichuan can't stay any longer. I think we should gather our troops and go directly north to join King Chuang!"
Zhang Kewang and Zhang Nengqi were very surprised. Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng had always been at odds. Now that they have taken refuge in the past, Li Zicheng will definitely annex everyone's troops. Can they still live a good life?
Zhang Dingguo said: "Let's gather our troops and horses. There should be ten or twenty thousand people left. In addition, we have fought against Liu Yan's tribe and know his details. We will be useful to King Chuang in the future. With King Chuang's general strategy, we will definitely not treat him badly." we."
Zhang Kewang and Zhang Nengqi looked at each other and nodded immediately in agreement.
When Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang, and Zhang Nengqi packed up the remaining troops and continued to retreat, the setting sun had gradually disappeared into the mountains, and night gradually enveloped the earth.
At this time, Liu Yan led the battalions of the New Army and began to rush towards the Chinese army camp. The soldiers of each battalion marched in formation holding torches high, and also carried a large amount of captured supplies and military merit heads.
Shen Wen marched with his captain. In today's battle, Shen Wen's rear camp defeated many bandit soldiers. Shen Wen also killed two bandit soldiers in the fierce battle. The captain recorded them in Military merit is meager.
In the New Army, beheading two ranks may not necessarily lead to promotion. After all, the New Army has always had rich military exploits. Almost most of the officers will have achieved something after one station. If they are all promoted, there will not be so many official positions.
However, Shen Wen was still very happy. He was able to gain something on the battlefield for the first time, and his joy was beyond words.
At the same time, according to the captain, even if these two military merit heads cannot be exchanged for promotion, they can still be discounted as a reward of silver. A bandit's head is worth three taels of silver, and a slave thief's head is worth one tael of silver. If it is Enemy generals or officers at all levels also have corresponding rewards.
"After the first battle, I will be rewarded with six pieces of silver, which is more than 10% of the military salary. It is a great deal!"
Shen Wen also thought about using the six coins to buy something for his father to take back. It would be better to fight a few more battles, capture more heads, and get more silver rewards. After returning, he could buy a cow to avoid sharing one with his neighbors. .
Shen Wen was thinking about this, and the corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly.
"By the way, I really want to hear that Old Qiao beheaded eight levels. Wouldn't it mean that you can get two or four silver coins just for the silver reward? I guess there is a shortage. With these eight heads, Old Qiao can still be promoted!"
At this time, Shen Wen was envious of Lao Qiao from the neighboring team and regretted why he didn't shoot more accurately during the battle and killed two thieves.
"Boss."
Shen Wen looked at the captain leading the team in front and said in a low voice: "Boss, do you think we will fight the bandits next? When will we go? I want to kill a few more bandits."
The captain glared at Shen Wen, cursed secretly, and scolded in a low voice: "Shen Wen! You forgot the 17th article of military regulations, which states that no noise is allowed when the army is marching! You want to get slapped with a military stick!"
Shen Wen was immediately startled. In his excitement, he even forgot about the provisions of general law. He hurriedly lowered his head and hurried away, for fear of being discovered by the patrolling pickets.
The captain turned back and glared at Shen Wen, and then whispered: "I guess we will return to Jimo Camp City soon."
"ah?"
Shen Wen looked at the captain in surprise, very puzzled. How long had it been since the army arrived here? They had just fought a battle and were about to go back?
The captain said: "What are you doing here? The thieves were beaten to death, why don't you go back and stay here to retire!"
Shen Wen sighed and muttered a few words in annoyance. Then he was glared at by the captain, and he was so frightened that he quickly shut his mouth.
Suddenly, a burst of iron hoofbeats came, and a large group of guards and Ye Bushou rode past. In the middle, a general wearing fine armor rode past. The officers and soldiers of the New Army along the way raised their arms and cheered. The cheers of the officers and soldiers of the army continued from behind to forward. , like ocean waves.
"It's Sir General!"
Shen Wen looked excitedly and saw Liu Yan galloping past on horseback. The guards of the brigade and Ye Bushou followed around and also rode past.
Shen Wen also raised his arms and cheered at the top of his voice. He and his colleagues around him looked at Liu Yan who had passed by. Their eyes were full of admiration and support.
"Sir, we will reach the Chinese army camp in a few miles."
Miao Shao followed Liu Yan on horseback. Liu Yan nodded and said, "When we arrive at the Chinese army camp, let the soldiers of each battalion return to the camp to rest. You and your guards will follow me to the Chinese army camp to see Yang Sichang and bring Zhang Xianzhong's Take the corpse's head and Zhang Wenxiu's armor and seal with you."
"yes."
At this moment, Liu Yan saw a few Ye Buzuan riding horses in front of him. Everyone hurriedly slowed down in front of Liu Yan, and then rode their horses to keep pace with Liu Yan.
"My lord, I'm sorry. I'm waiting for news. Zuo Liangyu's son, Zuo Menggeng, suddenly arrived at Yang Sichang's army at night!"
Some people died, but not completely...
