Chapter 009 Jurchen Baylor
In order not to embarrass himself, Chen Cao moved out of Li's Mansion for various reasons the next day and went to live alone in a post station in Shenyang City. Zhao Xin, who wanted to continue teasing in the middle, was beaten by Chen Cao before he stopped. Come down.
"Xin Zhao, do you know what that Tatar looks like?" Chen Cao asked slowly while riding a horse.
Zhao Xin shook his head like a rattle: "No, my subordinates have been in Nanjing for the past few decades. Even if they go on business trips as far away as possible, they have only been to Tianjin to command and envoy Si Yamen. If I hadn't followed you, how could I have come to Liaodong to suffer? ah."
"You bastard..." Chen Cao turned around and shouted.
"Sir, calm down..." Zhao Xin said with a smile: "I heard from people on the road that all these Tatars have money rat tails. I have never seen it before. By the way, sir, you are well-informed, do you know that money What kind of tail is a rat tail? Could it be that people really have a rat tail?"
In his previous life, Chen Cao had only seen pictures on the Internet, which were drawn by others. The yin and yang braids in later Qing palace dramas were all from the late Qing Dynasty, and could only be called money ox tail. At this time, he had never seen a rat tail, but There is no problem with talking big words: "Ahem, although my general banner rarely comes to Liaodong, my father is serving in Liaodong. It is true as you said, the so-called money rat tail means that the hair on the back of their heads is braided so that it can pass through. The copper coin hole is too thin and looks like a mouse's tail, so it is called a money rat tail."
"Sir, you are really knowledgeable..." Xin Zhao and everyone behind him all raised their hands and flattered him.
'People say that if the Jurchens are less than ten thousand, they will be invincible. My current official position is too small, so I must not encounter those Tatar soldiers. ' Chen Cao thought silently in his heart.
In the Baitapu Inn, Liu Lei was eating Liaodong's unique hot pot. The staple food was mutton: "I heard that this was the Jurchen's way of eating. It was passed on to us Han people and improved."
The eating of mutton-boiled meat first came from the Mongols, and then after they colluded with the Jurchens, this way of eating was taken over by the Jurchens, and then spread to Liaodong.
"Sir, Li Rubai has said that he will not go back until spring. Do we have enough time?" Liu Zuo put in a large piece of meat and chewed it hard. It was obviously not cooked.
Liu Lei had a cold smile on his face. After many days of investigation, he finally got some clues. After learning that he was probably thrown on the street by Chen Cao and the others outside Shanhaiguan Town, his hatred for Chen Cao increased significantly. : "Li Rubai didn't detain Chen Cao. He knew that he would never return to the capital, but he was still so calm. I really overestimated the Li family."
Of course, if Liu Lei knew what Chen Cao said at the cocktail party, he would probably be pissed to death.
...
"Third Master, the Jurchens have agreed to send troops, but I don't know how many people will come."
Li Ruzhen looked around, then pulled his close confidant Li Cheng and said, "Have you seen Mulhaqi?"
Li Cheng nodded and said: "I saw it, but his crony Abu doesn't believe us. It's really unclear whether things have changed or not."
Li Ruzhen nodded, and then said: "Hey, it's too late now."
Li Cheng looked confused: "Third Master, what's wrong?"
"My second brother has already promised to go to the capital in Kaichun. Chen Cao can't be killed. Now it's hard to get off the tiger. Nothing can happen to these Jinyi guards. If the Jurchens come to kill them, they must be stopped. Forget it, I will do this myself. Go tell your second brother."
Li Cheng never expected that things would change so quickly. He had been sent out early in the morning to contact the Jurchens, but Li Rubai had changed his mind during dinner that night. Li Ruzhen had even forgotten about it. Now that Li Cheng was back on business, it happened that the Jurchens He agreed, but things have changed.
...
Chen Cao stayed in Shenyang City for three consecutive days, eating and sleeping. Of course, he was not so idle. He inquired about many things in Liaodong from the postmaster Yi Cheng, and gained a lot of knowledge.
There are also Jinyiwei supervisors in Shenyang City, called sitting detectives. The leader is a Qianhu, with a staff of more than 1,100 people. However, he was killed in the battle of Salhu. The Jinyiwei who supervises the army also died and was injured. , the largest official position alive today is only a hundred households, and his subordinates are no more than a general banner unit of Jinyi Xiaowei, and thirty-five Tiqi.
(Note: Among the Jinyi Guards, the serious ones in the Jinyiwei range from the commander to the captain, and except for the small flag officers of the small flag department, among the remaining ten people, only five are Jinyi captains, and the remaining five are called Tiqi, that is, temporary workers, are non-staff personnel of Jinyiwei. In a hundred-household office, there are fifty Jinyi captains and fifty Tiqi. However, in the Jinyiwei guarding thousands of households in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, the Jinyiwei who are compiled Except for officials at all levels, the school captains are basically Tiqi recruited temporarily. This is also the reaction of later generations. In the TV and movies of Jinyiwei, many of the agents of Jinyiwei are either ruffians or beggars, and these people are all Tiqi. )
Coincidentally, the chief flag officer who escaped happened to be supervising the army in the army of Chen Cao's father Chen Fei. Therefore, the two chief flag officers with the same official position met like brothers and talked all night long.
That night after a night of chatting, a group of Jurchen cavalry braved the wind and snow and headed south from Fushunsuo, approaching Baitapu from the southwest of Shenyang. They were only forty miles away from Baitapu.
However, the news soon spread to Shenyang City.
The Jin Yiwei who were responsible for delivering the news and the scouts in Shenyang City passed on the information one after another, but it was not that simple.
Li Rubai was woken up in the middle of the night. The meeting was attended by not only military generals, but also Shenyang officials and Jinyiwei people. After investigating the news, Jinyiwei was obliged to inform the General Soldier and the prefect's Yamen.
"General, the Tatar soldiers are divided into two groups. One group goes directly south from Tielingwei, and the other group rushes in quickly and attacks Baitapu from the southwest. It is only forty miles away from Baitapu." The scout knelt down and said.
Li Rubai's head was getting bigger. In his heart, he didn't want to fight with the Jurchens. However, their arrival was partly due to his own reasons, so the expression on his face was ugly: "How many people are there in the two groups? How many real Tatars are there?"
"There are more than 7,500 people and horses all the way to the south," a Jin Yiwei added: "There are nearly a thousand people riding lightly all the way to the southwest. All the Jurchens under the Blue Banner are Jurchens."
'Not even the Mongols? Li Rubai said in shock: "Mulhaqi?"
Nurhaci's second younger brother, named Mulhaqi, was affiliated with Zhenglan Banner in Manchuria. During Nurhaci's period, he was the leader of Zhenglan Banner and was awarded the title of Baylor. In the early days, he was equivalent to the prince of the Ming Dynasty. Mulhaqi was good at fighting, extremely brave, and had a very good relationship with Nurhachi.
"I wonder if the leader of the thieves personally took action." Li Ruzhen said worriedly.
Lu Hua, the prefect of Shenyang, was a Jinshi in the 46th year of Wanli's reign. He had just been appointed as the prefect of Shenyang. A weak scholar who had never experienced war, he did not say a word from beginning to end.
"If the situation is true, all Zhenglan Banner troops should be dispatched, and Mulhaqi is probably among them," Li Rubai said, "pass the order, and all the troops will be ready to prevent a Tatar sneak attack. Send the order to the surrounding areas quickly." Fortresses, order them to lead their troops back to the city quickly."
"It's an order..."
As he spoke, Li Rubai turned to look at the people around him and said: "Baitapu only has one hundred households. If the group of people from the southwest is the vanguard, Baitapu will bear the brunt. Send someone to notify Chen Cao quickly and ask him to inform the imperial envoy Team, enter the city quickly, and tell the people in Baitapu to pack up and return to the city."
"yes..."
Chen Cao was woken up in the middle of the night. Compared with the cold outside, the warm quilt was the difference between heaven and hell. If he hadn't been shocked by the news that followed, Zhao Xin would have been thrown into the snow by Chen Cao. Go inside and make a living snowman out.
"Sir, let's go quickly." Xin Zhao reminded.
However, Chen Cao turned around, yawned and said, "Why are you so anxious? Let's talk after you wake up. I'm not a hundred households."
Zhao Xin watched with wide eyes as Chen Cao closed the door and went back to his room to continue sleeping, but thinking about the sky falling and a tall man supporting him, he nodded and went back to sleep.
In a village forty miles southwest of Baitapu, all the Han people in the village have been killed. All the Jurchen cavalry are playing in the village. If it were placed in the spring and summer, it would only take half an hour for the cavalry to kill them. Baitapu, however, in winter in Liaodong, in addition to heavy snow blocking roads, it would snow every midnight. If he were not all cavalry, but replaced by infantry, he would never be able to reach the outside of Shenyang City in less than ten days.
"Baylor, we have investigated clearly. According to reports, there are indeed Ming court officials stationed at the inn in Baitapu. I heard that they are still imperial envoys." Abu Cai exhaled and said in a deep voice.
Mulhaqi clasped his hands together and then ordered: "Instruct all the troops to rest where they are. When the sun comes out tomorrow, we will set off again."
"嗻..."
Liu Lei and Liu Zuo don't know these situations. They are considered guests. How do they know the situation in Liaodong? The spies can be placed in a radius of ten miles at most, but the situation is different at the Baitupu Station. Yuan Shizhong was originally scheduled to defend Qianhu of Liao Dynasty in the battle of Saarhu. His troops followed Du Song in the battle, and basically the entire army was wiped out. Only Yuan Shizhong led his troops to resist desperately, but they were defeated like a mountain and were forced to retreat after being defeated. Tianqi ascended the throne and took responsibility for the Salhu Juniper Department. Although Yuan Shizhong refused to retreat at that time, he was demoted and transferred, so he became the guarding 100 households of Baitapu Baihu Station.
After Yuan Shizhong got the news, he immediately gathered his entire army together, packed up his gear, and prepared to ambush the Tatars in Baitapu, and then withdraw.
"I suffered a loss from Zhenglan Banner a few months ago, and I will get it back this time." Yuan Shizhong said this sentence several times while lecturing his soldiers.
The soldiers in the Baihu Station where he was located were all his subordinates who had followed him before, and they were all elite soldiers. Knowing that they were coming from the Zhenglan Banner Tatars, they were all gearing up. Although they did not have an advantage in numbers on their side, they could rely on the Baitapu It is not too late to ambush the Tatars in the terrain and kill them before running away.
Yuan Shizhong led his troops to ambush, but Liu Lei and the others were still sleeping. Who would get up in the middle of the night to take care of the affairs of the military camp? After waiting until dawn and all parties started to take action, Chen Cao slowly walked into the White Tower with his team. Shop station.
On the way, Chen Cao set up various scenarios that could kill Liu Lei in this situation, but he was reminded by Zhao Xin: "Sir, although our Jinyi Guards are different from other guards, if something happens to Liu Baihu, we You will also be punished.”
'That's right.' Chen Cao almost forgot about the continuous sitting system. Of course, there are other situations. For example, when the war begins, the general flees from the enemy, the deputy general leads the team to fight to the death, and then...
Chen Cao couldn't help but laugh like a pig, but when he thought about it, he felt that he was so tight. Damn, this kind of thing is something that you only get once in a while. Normally, he would just think about it, but now he took it seriously. .
"Sir, pack your bags quickly and enter the city quickly." Chen Cao saw Liu Lei and his party standing outside the inn door, so he dismounted and pretended to shout: "The Tatar cavalry is about to arrive."
What?
Liu Lei suddenly felt dizzy, his hands and feet were weak, and his limbs were cold.
Liu Zuo quickly stepped forward to help him and asked: "Is this really happening?" Seeing Chen Cao nodding, Liu Zuo said to himself: "No wonder all the soldiers from the hundreds of families in the shop left." Then he realized it later. He shouted: "Quick, come here, help me get on the horse and leave quickly."
Chen Cao was a little gloating about his misfortune, but now was not the time to watch a joke. The Tatar cavalry arrived. If he couldn't escape quickly, not to mention giving Liu Lei bad medicine, he would have to fall into it himself.
Baitapu is only thirty miles away from Shenyang City. According to the normal journey, it can reach the city in more than half an hour at most. According to the current conditions of heavy snow and road closures, it will take more than an hour anyway.
To the northeast of Baitapu, on the only way to Shenyang, there is a low slope that has been raised a lot due to the heavy snow, making it suitable for an ambush. Yuan Shizhong led his team to wait here, preparing to give the Jurchen cavalry the first blow.
The first ones to arrive were Chen Cao and his party. It was supposed to be a good idea to just go there. Who knew that Liu Lei was suffering from epilepsy and was unwilling to leave at all. It made people laugh and cry. This guy kept saying that he was dizzy. Can't sit on a horse.
There were medical officers accompanying the Jinyi Guards, but in Shenyang City, Liu Lei fell ill at this time. Liu Zuo shouted anxiously and ordered people to go to the city to invite reinforcements.
Chen Cao dismounted and asked with concern: "Sir, do you feel dizzy, your limbs are weak, your hands and feet are cold, and your heartbeat is racing?"
Liu Lei opened his eyes. Although he disliked Chen Cao very much and had made up his mind to go around to get Chen Cao away when he returned to Nanjing, his current situation was really dangerous. Moreover, Chen Cao actually told all about his condition. , nodded no matter what, and said: "How do you know?"
Hey, look at your body, I wouldn’t believe you don’t have high blood pressure or diabetes.
Chen Cao said in a somewhat profound tone: "I've seen this disease a lot before, and it's easy to treat, but it's not possible now."
Liu Lei searched for famous doctors in Nanjing, but no one was sure. He could only treat him as a symptom of various yin deficiency syndromes: "Chen Cao, do you have a way to treat it?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this. Sir, get on your horse quickly. The Tatar cavalry are coming and we won't be able to run away." Chen Cao didn't want to die here.
Yuan Shizhong stood up with his gun in hand and sneered: "A group of old soldiers, what else can they do except arrest people? Now you can't leave even if you want to."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of shouting not far away, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves trampling in the snow. Chen Cao stood up quickly and took a look. It was the Tatar cavalry following them in the distance.
Even though Chen Cao had been mentally prepared for it, he couldn't move now. This was the first time he had seen such a battle.
"Brothers, get ready, the Tatars are coming." Yuan Shizhong shouted, then lowered his body and looked at the prey in front of him like an eagle.
The Ming army only began to decline after the Saer Hu, which is unanimously recognized by later generations. However, four years before the Apocalypse, the Ming army in Liaodong had the courage to take the initiative to fight the Manchus, and they always had a winning rate.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Liu Lei is a playboy. At this moment, he is huddled in a crowd and shivering. Not only is he afraid, but he also has his own reasons.
Fortunately for Chen Cao, he stood still because he was scared when he saw it for the first time. Later, Zhao Xin carried him to the back of the slope and squatted down, and then he realized what he was doing.
'Musket? Chen Cao looked up and saw the weapons held by Yuan Shizhong's soldiers. He took a closer look and saw that they were still matchlock guns, not the three-eyed blunderbuss commonly used by northern soldiers.
As a Manchu nobleman, Mulhaqi had been fighting for many years and had a certain sense of danger. He pulled the reins when he was less than a mile away from the ambush point.
"That's..." Yuan Shizhong thought he was dazzled, so he couldn't help but rub it hard, and then said with a slight trembling: "Mulhaqi..."
Mulhaqi learned that there was an imperial envoy from the Ming Dynasty in Baitapu, so he decided to personally lead troops to Baitapu, and his son commanded another group of people as bait.
"Dohara, your scouts go over and check it out."
"嗻..."
"Oops." When Yuan Shizhong saw the Tatars dividing their troops and stationing, and then sending a small number of people towards him, he knew that the other party was already alert, and then he made up his mind to kill every one he could: "Prepare the muskets, Kill all the dozen Tatars who are exploring the road."
The scout captain Dohara was very envious of his fellow scouts who frightened off Li Rubai's army at Crow Falcon Pass. He frightened Li Rubai's more than 40,000 people into fear with just over 20 scouts.
Just as a dozen people from Dohara entered the shooting range of the matchlock gun, the alert Dohara saw the black barrel of the gun in the white snow. He was shocked and shouted in Manchu, "There is an ambush, retreat quickly." .
"put..."
There was a burst of explosive beans, and the muzzle of the matchlock gun erupted with Yuan Shizhong's anger. Lead bullets quickly flew out of the muzzle and hit Dohara and others.
Although the range of the matchlock gun is criticized, it can still kill people directly within fifty meters and seriously injure opponents within a hundred meters. Chen Cao looked at the musketeers down the slope and couldn't help but shake his head. It was too late to leave at this moment, so he stood decisively Get up, run up the slope, and look around.
Damn...
I didn't want to curse, but looking at the opponent's formation from a distance, just cursing was useless. This was the first time Chen Cao saw the Jurchen cavalry. As described, the Jurchen who fell after being shot really had a money rat tail. The pigtails don't look ordinary and hateful.
"Why, you Jin Yiwei still have the guts?" Yuan Shizhong was not teasing, but stating the facts.
In the early days of Hongwu, the Jinyiwei came from the Pro-Army Guard Division, and all of them were heroes who had been on the battlefield. After Ji Gang failed in his rebellion, the Jinyiwei was completely reduced to a tool. Basically, no one in the guard had ever been on the battlefield, except as a guard of honor. Apart from arresting people, it is of no great use.
Chen Cao looked sideways at Yuan Shizhong, his stomach full of will-o'-the-wisps, but it was difficult to attack at this time, so he could only suffer the loss of being dumb. Then he looked coldly into the distance and said: "The matchlock gun has a maximum range of 150 meters. I can watch hundreds of households." We have no more than twenty matchlocks, and the opponent's cavalry should be more than 800 men. If we fight hard, the whole army will be annihilated."
"Originally I planned to catch them off guard, but unexpectedly they were discovered. Anyway, I should die. Now that I can kill a few more Jurchen Tatars, it will not be a loss if I die."
'Brother, is your head so strong? Chen Cao secretly cursed in his heart, but then he reacted: "Dare you ask this brother's name?"
"Yuan Shizhong, Baitapu guards hundreds of households."
"So Yuan Baihu also participated in the Battle of Sarhu?" Chen Cao asked curiously.
However, Yuan Shizhong did not answer, because Mulhaqi's side had already reacted, and a Niulu man rushed over and began to shoot towards the breakthrough.
Riding and archery is the essence of the Manchus, and it is even better than that of the Mongols. At that moment, several people were killed by arrows.
Chen Cao had to lower his head, but he heard Yuan Shizhong say: "I think you still have some courage, but the Tatars have already come to kill you. Since you are an imperial envoy, you'd better leave quickly. I'll hold on here."
When Liu Lei down the slope heard this, he didn't know if he was coming back to his senses. Without Liu Zuo's support, he stuck his butt up and shouted: "Protect me and evacuate quickly."
Liu Zuo greeted the team's headquarters and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, Chen Cao strode down. Relying on his memory, the instinct of his body, he pulled out the embroidered spring knife with his right hand and pounced on the person who was greeting people with the force of commanding the top of the Catalan Mountains. In an instant, Liu Zuo's head fell to the ground. Chen Cao put his sword on Liu Lei's neck and shouted angrily: "You are the emperor's salary and want to escape before engaging the enemy. I am the commander-in-chief of Fusi of Jinyi Weinan Town." Flag officer Chen Cao has the power to supervise the battle in case of war. Liu Zuo is timid and afraid of death, which has destroyed the morale of the army. Now I will punish him according to the military law of Wei Zhong. Is there anyone who refuses to accept it?"
The knife was still dripping blood, and Liu Lei's previous vigor had completely dissipated. His legs were shaking not from high blood pressure and high blood sugar, but from his heart.
Although he was Chen Cao's boss, Chen Cao's words were flawless. Even if the lawsuit went to the Jinluan Palace, the emperor would still say that Chen Cao did the right thing.
"Mr. Chen Qi, calm down... calm down..." Liu Lei said tremblingly.
Chen Cao glanced at Liu Lei and said coldly: "Master Baihu, if you want to survive, just stay there and don't move."
After speaking, he ignored Liu Lei's reaction and said loudly: "Brothers of Jinyiwei, in the past, others said that Jinyiwei is a villain who relies on power. He has long lost the bloodiness of Taizu's period. Today, let us prove to them that Tatars , also born and raised by my parents, follow me to kill the enemy."
Zhao Xin and other cronies reacted, drew out the Xiuchundao, raised the knife and shouted "Kill the enemy". Yuan Shizhong was shocked for a while by the sudden change, and then his attitude towards Chen Cao changed greatly.
However, there was not much time left for them. A Niulu Jurchen cavalry was only a hundred meters away from the slope. However, their speed had become slower and slower, and this was all seen in Chen Cao's eyes.
The thicker the snow is, the slower the horses will run on it. Chen Cao carefully determined the thickness of the snow on the slope. It was at least one meter or more. In other words, when the cavalry arrived on the slope, In the end, he could only dismount and fight on foot, otherwise he would be a living target on horseback. Chen Cao subconsciously glanced at the somewhat vicissitudes of the middle-aged man in front of him, but he also admired him closely.
"I have some ideas..."
