Chen Wang was not very impressed by Zhang Waijia.
There are very few records of this person in history books, and there are only some records in You Shiwei's biographies.
Zhang Waijia was the deputy general of Ningyuan, Liaodong. In the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, the imperial court ordered You Shiwei to serve as an official, and together with Zhang Waijia, he commanded 5,000 cavalry outside the customs to suppress the enemy.
Later, the 2,500 cavalry led by You Shiwei were dispatched by Hong Chengchou and participating general Xu Laichao to station in Yongning and Lushi respectively, guarding the Lancaochuan and Zhuyangguan passes in Luonan to prevent the rogue bandits from escaping from Shaanxi and returning to China. Enter Henan.
Zhang Waijia led the remaining Liao soldiers and followed Hong Chengchou from Tongguan into Shaanxi for suppression.
Zhang Waijia was not famous in Liaodong, and Chen Wang didn't have much memory of him. After all, there were so many generals, deputy generals, and staff generals in Liaodong.
In Liaodong, as long as you have money, know how to camp, and have certain connections, it may be difficult to become a deputy general, but it is easy to become a general and guerrilla.
However, Chen Wang had no intention of returning to Liaodong.
Some generals and guerrillas are said to lead a battalion with one thousand and two thousand soldiers, but in fact they only have one or two hundred servants under their command, and the rest are just casual soldiers.
Speaking of which, the number of soldiers actually under his command was not as many as Chen Wang's now.
Then again, if I really go to Liaodong, I won’t even know how I died.
Liaodong is already in a mess, riddled with holes. No one who presides over Liaodong can restore the situation in Liaodong.
The biggest problem in Liaodong is not actually the Houjin outside the customs, but comes from within the Liaodong Group.
Chen Wang stood outside the tent and waited for only a short time. News came from inside the tent that he was allowed to enter.
Generally speaking, as a general, you cannot go beyond the rank to ask for an audience with the chief officer, but as a battalion officer who was born as a servant, you can actually ignore this rule in many cases.
There is a difference between closeness and distance. Servants, especially personal servants, are almost in the same status as people of the same clan and clan.
Chen Wang lowered his head slightly and walked into the big tent through the opened curtain.
The furnishings in the tent are still the same as before, with only a few tables and chairs, simple and clean, without too many decorations, everything is for convenience.
The lights in the big tent were bright, and Cao Wenzhao was sitting on a chair at this time, holding a letter in his hand. He should have been reading the letter before.
"Chen Wang, of humble rank, pays homage to the general."
When Chen Wang entered the tent, he did not continue to move forward. Instead, he bowed respectfully and waited until Cao Wenzhao raised his hand to signal that he would move forward again.
"sit."
Cao Wenzhao spoke concisely and pointed to the chair nearby.
Chen Wang bowed slightly, bowed his hands and saluted again, and then sat on the chair in front of him.
Chen Wang was sitting on the chair, with his back straight and his body leaning forward. He put his hands on his knees and did not occupy the entire seat.
"The news from Chunhua, please sit down for a while, I haven't finished reading it yet."
Cao Wenzhao slightly raised the letter in his hand to signal, then lowered his head and continued to read the letter in his hand.
Chen Wang responded and continued to sit on the chair quietly, without much fluctuation in his heart.
Some things cannot be rushed and must be patient.
Chen Wang moved his gaze slightly to the right and glanced at the letter in Cao Wenzhao's hand and the open envelope on the table with his peripheral vision.
There was some speculation in his mind, and Cao Wenzhao said that the news came from Chunhua. Judging from the outer envelope, it seemed to be conveying military information.
In this case, there is only one possibility. This letter is related to the bandits who went south from Qingyang Mansion. Calculating the time, Li Zicheng and Hui Dengxiang may have already reached the city.
The defeated Liao soldiers under Zhang Waijia should have almost been gathered together.
Chen Wang didn't wait long. While he was still thinking, Cao Wenzhao had already put down the letter in his hand.
Cao Wenzhao said with a solemn expression.
"Zhang Waijia attacked several times, but was repulsed by the firearms from the opposite side."
Noticing Cao Wenzhao's gaze, Chen Wang leaned forward a little more.
"The defeated soldiers who returned to Chunhua said that the thieves used three-eyed muskets and bird muskets as the front row, with French guns hidden in the rear, tiger crouching cannons, and rockets fired at the same time. The front of the formation was filled with smoke. After they broke through the front formation, , many people were injured by the Franchise, Tiger Crouching Cannon and rockets, and they had to retreat in the end."
Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly and his heart trembled slightly. This was obviously imitating his previous tactics.
"This is the military information coming from Chunhua, take a look."
Cao Wenzhao moved the letter in his hand forward a little, his voice was a little low.
"Compared to three years ago, the bandits are getting stronger now and they are learning faster and faster."
Chen Wang glanced at the letter handed over by Cao Wenzhao. He didn't show any pretense. He stood up and saluted, took the letter, sat back in his chair and read it carefully.
The letter contained a report on the destruction of Sanshui City. The reasons and process of the fall of Sanshui City were clearly written, and they should have been understood from Jiang Bing's mouth.
Relying on the strength of the crowd, the rogue bandits surrounded Sanshui City on all sides.
During the siege of the city for many days, Zhang Waijia led his troops into battle several times but was repulsed, killing and wounding hundreds of his cavalry, so he retreated to the city to defend the city. Only when the enemy attacked the city would he lead his troops out of the city to intercept and rush for reinforcements at critical moments.
There were cannons on the city, and there were also strong men to help defend the city. Zhang Waijia had no problem sitting on guard for many days.
The reason why Sanshui City fell was because Zhang Waijia did not pay attention to the situation in the city. The magistrate of Chunhua had previously let many refugees from Zhenning enter the city, but Zhang Waijia did not know about this.
After repelling the attacks of the rogue bandits for several consecutive days, the defenders gradually began to slack off.
And that night, a fire suddenly broke out in the city. Nei Ying took advantage of the chaos to open the city gate, and the rogue bandits rushed into the city.
At this time, most of the defenders in the city were asleep, and the bandits set fires everywhere, causing riots.
Zhang Waijia's first reaction was to drive him out of the city. After all, the more than two thousand cavalry under his command were all elites from Liaodong.
But the result was that the location of their military camp was clearly discovered, and the enemy troops directly surrounded them.
By the time Zhang Waijia wanted to retreat again, it was already too late.
Then most of the Liao soldiers who broke out were intercepted and killed by the horse troops and elite cavalry who were familiar with the terrain outside the city. Many of them did not even wear armor or even take their weapons when they fled in a hurry. Most of them were killed and injured on the way to escape.
After counting the broken troops who fled back to Chunhua, there should have been more than 2,100 soldiers, but only 900 cavalry remained, and most of the ordnance was lost.
Only one or two hundred people still had armor and weapons, and all of them had only one war horse. Originally, they were basically one person and two horses, but their spare horses and ordnance were lost in Sanshui City.
Of the nine hundred cavalry, only one commander was left. Zhang Waijia and most of the generals in the army were trapped in Sanshui City.
Chen Wang's breathing became a little heavier, and his eyes gradually became intense.
He originally just wanted to seek the identity of President Qian, but now it seems that he may be able to seek more than just President Qian...
