After Chang Yu heard that Zu Dabi was besieged in Tashan Fort, he hurriedly took Kuang Ren and more than 20 personal guards to set off first, followed by his second battalion.
Running wildly in the flying snow, the man was not very tired except for shivering from the cold, but the horse under his legs was panting. However, his life was at stake, so he did not care to protect the horse and galloped with his whip.
After all, Zu Dabi was one of the chief generals of the Ming army. If he was captured or killed, it would have a particularly great impact on the morale of the army!
During the war, Chang Yu did not allow this kind of thing to happen. He would try his best to save Zu Dabi, both public and private.
And he didn’t think it was a shame that Zu Dabi fell into the trap of the Tatars and was besieged, let alone a troublemaker. During the confrontation between the two armies at the border, this kind of thing happened every day among the horse exploration groups, but This time it happened to the general.
Chang Yu himself has done this kind of thing and experienced this kind of thing.
When they were two miles away from Xingshan Mountain, they saw thick smoke billowing from the mountain, and the light of fire was faintly visible. Everyone was surprised, and the personal monk couldn't help shouting: "The Tatars have set fire to the mountain."
Kuang Ren rolled his eyes at him: "This snow is thicker than your quilt, you can burn it and see."
"What's that for?" Monk Fan asked, "It's not just warming yourself up in there."
Kuang Ren shook his head: "We'll find out when we get there."
"It's such a cold day, we also want to warm ourselves up by the fire." Chang Yu couldn't guess what was going on on the mountain at this time, so he could only shrink his neck and speed up his horse. When they reached the bottom of the mountain, the horse was already tired. No one knew what was going on on the mountain, and they didn't The horses were in a hurry, but they walked slowly and took the opportunity to recover some strength.
Halfway up the mountain, I saw dozens of war horses scattered on both sides of the mountain road, standing still in the snow, or wandering in the woods. I knew they were dropped by the reinforcements from the front, so I inferred that they came in a hurry. So fast that the horse was exhausted.
"Brothers below, please give me your camp number." At this moment, several people rushed down the mountain and shouted.
"Dongchang Guards", Kuang Ren shouted loudly, and the other party rushed over after hearing the sound. They were people sent by Guimenguan. In fact, they had already seen clearly that they were friendly troops. They were a little surprised to hear that they were Dongchang Guards: "Dongchang Guards Why are our brothers here...Master Wang, Master Kuang..." They recognized Wang Zhengnan and Kuang Ren, but they didn't notice Chang Yu next to them. After all, Chang Yu was wearing a helmet and armor, with his face covered, and it was covered with snow. , they couldn’t recognize it without looking carefully, and they didn’t expect Chang Yu to come in person.
"Stop talking so much nonsense, what's going on above?" Wang Zhengnan walked up non-stop, and several people trotted beside him, saying: "There is a confrontation inside. There are hundreds of Tatars, and we also have hundreds of people, but General Zu and other two More than ten people were surrounded by Tatars in a small courtyard..."
"Is General Zu okay?" Chang Yu asked quickly.
"The injury seems serious," the soldier replied quickly, and felt that the voice sounded familiar. Chang Yu frowned, and Wang Zhengnan couldn't help but said, "Then why don't you take action quickly? You won't be afraid of long nights and dreams!"
The soldier looked embarrassed and said: "Brothers ran for dozens of miles in one breath. The men and horses were too tired to walk. Moreover, it was so cold that my hands and feet were numb from the cold... I just wanted to catch my breath. This has just happened." Prepare to take action, you are here..." As he spoke, he recognized Chang Yu, but at this moment he was so nervous that he could only pretend not to recognize him, but he winked at the person next to him, who was also an exciting person, and ran quickly Went to the barracks to communicate.
"Oh, it turns out you are the ones warming up in the fire." Monk Fan suddenly realized, while Wang Zhengnan snorted coldly: "You still want to warm up the fire when your life is at stake..." At this time, Chang Yu raised his hand to stop him and looked at the mountain with squinted eyes: " Does that mean the Tatars didn’t take action?”
"No, they are warming themselves up too."
"It's interesting." Chang Yu sneered, "Let's go up and warm ourselves by the fire."
As soon as they reached the gate of the ruined fort on the top of the mountain, Gui Menguan, who received the news, ran to the horse and clasped his fists in front of his horse and saluted: "Director..."
"Unbridled" Kuang Ren shouted: "Where is this place so open-minded?"
Gui Men Guan shivered in fright and quickly changed his words: "Little Gui Men Guan has seen adults."
Chang Yu's identity is very sensitive. If the Tatars know that he is here, Dorgon will immediately send all the soldiers and horses from Songshan City and even Jinzhou City to kill him! So Chang Yu’s identity must be kept secret.
"What's going on inside?" Chang Yu dismounted and walked toward the fort. Guimen Guan followed behind and said quickly: "The Tatars have surrounded General Zu in a courtyard. Their strength is about the same as ours. All they need is an order from your lord." , the little ones can take action at any time!”
"It's not in a hurry. It will take a while." Chang Yu walked in through the snow and looked back. Wang Zhengnan and others and more than 20 personal guards dismounted and entered the fort. There were too many ruins and debris. There were too many, and it was covered with thick snow and it was impossible for a horse to move.
"Wang Zhengnan, let the brothers warm their hands by the fire and get ready to work." Chang Yu shouted and continued to walk forward. Fortunately, there was a clear path in front of him. Otherwise, he would be in trouble. Don't tilt your feet.
Wherever he passed, there were many Ming soldiers either standing near a low wall or gathering around a broken wall to warm themselves over a fire. Seeing him approaching, they only turned their heads and glanced at him. After all, Chang Yu was wrapped tightly and did not get close to take a closer look. He could not come out. The sound was completely unrecognizable.
But seeing Gui Menguan following behind and saying something respectfully, one could guess that this person had an extraordinary identity.
"He's from the East Factory Guards. Look, that person is the commander of the great eunuch's bodyguards, the sharp archer..." Someone recognized Kuang Ren and pointed to his companions.
"Why are they here?" Someone murmured: "The chief eunuch's bodyguards are here, so maybe the great eunuch is here too."
"That's not the case. He can't come here at this moment. He must have sent his men to supervise the battle. After all, it is the second son of the ancestors who is trapped here."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. That eunuch is very courageous. He dares to break into the dragon's pond and tiger's den in Jinzhou City. It's not unusual for him to come here." Some people disagreed.
"You know what the heck, just because he went to Jinzhou City, the Tatars are eager to eat his flesh and drink his blood. With the limelight so tight and a war imminent, how can he risk his life and come here again..."
While the soldiers were whispering, Chang Yu was observing as he walked. Everywhere he saw were ruins covered with snow. He looked up and saw the dilapidated city walls. There were vague figures of people. He looked into the distance again and saw dozens of fires. There are many black shadows everywhere.
"Sir, it's right there." After dozens of steps into the fortress, Guimenguan pointed ahead behind a broken wall. Chang Yu looked over there and saw a fire a few meters ahead. There were a dozen Ming soldiers holding swords. To warm themselves up by the fire, a dozen or so steps further to the north were the fires of the Tatar soldiers, dozens of them in several places, and a few meters behind them was a yard.
Chang Yu climbed up the broken wall to get a clear view, but Gui Menguan reached out and pulled him down: "Sir, there are archers on the opposite side to guard against cold arrows."
"There are so many of you standing here and you haven't seen them shoot cold arrows." Chang Yu smiled faintly and scratched his head: "You have a different status, so you should be more careful."
"You should be cautious." Chang Yu looked to the side. There was a high snowdrift in the corner over there. He guessed that there should be a pile of rocks under the snow, so he climbed up and leaned on the corner, took out his telescope and looked at the yard.
This courtyard is considered the most complete building in the fort, because it is the headquarters of the fort, and is where the generals who garrison the fort live and work on weekdays.
Later, it was destroyed along with the city wall, but when the Tatars came to rebuild the fort, the garrison soldiers also lived here, so it was still intact. Even though it was later demolished and burned by the Ming army, the relative strength of the fort was still intact. The other buildings here are still intact. Although the roofs have been lifted and the courtyard doors have been demolished, the courtyard walls are still there.
Chang Yu could clearly see the situation in the courtyard. Several Ming soldiers were holding knives and warming themselves on the fire inside the door. There were people around the walls of the courtyard. Through the telescope, he also saw the military building where Zu Dabi and his group were, but only in detail. I couldn't see several people clearly, and I couldn't see which one was Zu Dabi.
Then I looked outside the yard. On the south side of the yard, more than ten meters away from my eyes, there were fifty or sixty Tatar soldiers, one by one wrapped like rice dumplings. Although they were warming up by the fire, they kept looking at this side with eager eyes and from time to time. They yelled, cursed and taunted them, but the Ming army here ignored them and sent them all kinds of greetings and warmth.
There were about ten people on the west side of the courtyard, more than ten people outside the courtyard gate, and the rest were twenty or thirty people on the north side of the courtyard. Chang Yu looked towards the high place over there and found a few archers. He looked carefully at the people above. The man was saying something below. Following the man's direction, Chang Yu saw another fire in a corner.
Yes, from this angle, we can only see a pile of fireworks in the corner of the broken wall. No one can be seen, and it is blocked.
Chang Yu didn't pay much attention at first, but when he saw that the people at the top kept talking to that corner and pointing back and forth with their hands, his heart suddenly moved. Could it be that Tatar reinforcements are coming too!
