Seventy-eighty horses rode through the boundless wilderness like the wind. Although they were far away from Beijing, Zhu Cixiang and his party still did not dare to slow down. Wu Sanmei took the lead. She had the best riding skills, and the white colt under her hip was a good horse that had been ridden all the way from Ningyuan. Therefore, after leaving Chaoyang Gate, she led the way. The remaining dozens of riders followed Wu Sanmei closely. The third sister put on a white cloth-covered iron armor, which almost became one with the white horse under her crotch. Looking from behind, she could see her tall body rising and falling together.
It is indeed the beauty of sports!
Zhu Cixiang struggled to hold the horse's belly, trying hard to endure the pain in his butt and thighs, and insisted on not slowing down the horse. He can also ride a horse, but his equestrian skills are far behind Wu Sanmei's. The main reason is lack of practice, so the crotch strength is not enough to hold the horse down, and the buttocks can only be kept in close contact with the saddle. Every now and then, it’s like a spanking! If you have to run for hundreds of miles, you will definitely be covered in blood, which is almost like being hit by a royal stick.
Looking back, the castle in Beijing has gradually faded away, and the roar of the cannons and the cheers of the soldiers can no longer be heard. Obviously the battle in Beijing’s inner city has not yet begun!
I don’t know if Li Zicheng is still arranging his troops, or if Luo Yangxing, Gao Yushun, and Guang Shiheng have already knelt down?
If they kneel down, Li Zicheng's pursuers will probably come in force soon...
"Master Chitose," Wu Sanmei shouted, "let's catch up with the brigade!"
The brigade is a group of elite soldiers led by Wu Xiang, Li Ruolian, Zhu Chunjie, and Pan Shuchen. They also escort the retreating dignitaries and the convoy transporting gold and silver.
The so-called elite soldiers were actually made up of improvised troops, including the third battalion of Kenan, the first battalion of guards, the first battalion of tiger guards, the first battalion of dragon cavalry, and some guards of officials' sons. There are about 7,000 people. Among them, there are about 1,300 cavalry, 600 musketeers, and about 1,000 elite infantry capable of hand-to-hand combat. The remaining 3,100 are just a handful of men and horses, which can only be used to guard the carriages, horses, and camels. In addition, there are more than 1,000 able-bodied children and guards from noble officials' families, who also make up the number.
Now 300 Qingqi and Iron Cavalry belonging to the Kenan Camp were dispersed to serve as sentinels, while Wu Sanfu led 1,000 Iron Cavalry from the Tiger Cavalry Battalion adapted from Han generals and noble servants of the capital to go out to bluff. The remaining 5,700 people were controlled by Wu Sanfu, Li Ruolian, Zhu Chunjie and others, and Zhu Cihong left Chaoyang Gate first.
Zhu Cixiang was handing out money because he was guarding the stone bridge on the moat outside Chaoyang Gate. After handing out the money, he closed the door with a small number of soldiers left behind. This group of soldiers was led by Luo Yangxing's younger brother Luo Xiushen, who had also been fed with money before. .
And Zhu Cixiang didn't ask these defenders to be loyal martyrs of the Ming Dynasty... Just care about it.
As for Luo Xiushen, of course he has other important responsibilities!
After witnessing the Chaoyang Gate closing slowly, Zhu Cixiang got on his horse and ran with Wu Sanmei and others under the cover of night to catch up with the brigade that had set off early.
This is almost the last batch to leave Chaoyangmen!
However, this seemingly brave and fearless arrangement was carefully arranged by Wu Xiang, a battlefield escape professional.
Zhu Cixiang is the backbone and cannot run away first, otherwise people will be confused and problems will arise. When the time comes, everyone is scrambling to escape and form a big mess. If Li Zicheng is alerted, there will be no chance of leaving.
Moreover, escaping on the battlefield is not necessarily safe if you run early, but not if you run late.
Because those who ran early might be the heavily armored brigade, and if they walked slowly, they would be easily chased. And those who run late can also be a lightly-armed team, riding fast horses and walking very fast, so it is easy to catch up.
In addition, veterans who are chasing escaping on the battlefield generally like to chase and kill baggage convoys, which is a lot of money!
Very few people would chase the cavalry led by Wu Sanfu. The enemy was poor and fierce, and it would be a fierce battle to catch up with them.
Zhu Cixiang, who was escorted by an elite team, had a small target on the battlefield and might be hunted down during the day. But usually no one touches them at night... Those who can gallop on horseback at night are mostly elite scouts. Who is after them when they are full? The bandit is not a Manchurian, how can he take the initiative to find a hard fight?
Besides, Wu Xiang had already prepared fat for the small group of pursuers - among the escapees from Chaoyangmen and Dongzhimen, there were many lower-status officials and members of noble families who, due to various reasons (or falling behind, Or left the city late) and did not follow the group. Most of them were carrying their families and belongings, just in time to attract pursuers.
In the plan formulated by Wu Xiang, the brigade where Chongzhen and Zhou Hou belonged could actually be abandoned at any time. Once he encounters a large group of pursuing soldiers, he will lead his close servants and his wife Zu Shi to break out of the encirclement.
At the same time, Wu Xiang also brought a signal rocket, which he would launch when breaking through to alert Wu Sanfu and Wu Sanmei.
At that time, Wu Sanfu will lead the cavalry to meet Wu Xiang, while Wu Sanmei will take Zhu Cixiang to join Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu and his son, and go to Wu Sangui together... There will be a large group of people carrying millions of taels of gold and silver to attract the bandits. Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu, and Wu Sanmei can definitely save Zhu Cixiang and break out of the encirclement.
But this kind of breakout method is the last resort...
So when Wu Sanmei shouted that she had caught up with the group, Zhu Cixiang was also relieved.
Wu Sanmei had stopped her horse, then stood up on the stirrups and looked around. Then she turned back to Zhu Cixiang, who had already rode to her side, and said, "Master Qiansui, the whole team is safe and sound!"
"That's good," Zhu Cixiang breathed out, "Are there any pursuers behind?"
This question was not asked to Wu Sanmei, but to the two gray-bearded East Palace guards. Both of them were veterans of the Brave Guard Battalion and had served as scouts. They retired to retire because they were old. A few days ago, he was put into the Kenan Camp, and was later assigned to the East Palace Guards Camp by Wu Xiang.
One of the two veterans, like Wu Sanmei, stood on horseback and looked around, but instead of looking ahead, he was looking to see if there was any dust rising in the air. The other veteran rolled off his horse and lay on the ground with his ears against the ground.
After a while, the two veterans arrived in front of Zhu Cixiang, with serious expressions on their faces.
One of the veterans who looked at the sky said: "Master Qiantose, there are pursuers!"
Another person said: "There are many people and horses!"
Zhu Cixiang looked calm and asked calmly: "How far is it?"
"Twenty miles." A veteran replied.
Zhu Cixiang nodded and said to Wu Sanmei, "Have you seen Tongzhou?"
"Yes," Wu Sanmei said, "there is a city ten miles away, it should be Tongzhou."
"Let's meet up with the brigade first, and then go to Tongzhou together." Zhu Cixiang thought for a while and then said, "Tongzhou has Song Quan, the governor of Shuntian. He has 1,000 people, and there should be some carriages, horses and ships. If we can get the accompanying family members, Get on the ship with Jinyin, and we should be able to reach Wuqing tonight. Cao Huachun will meet us there, and with his care, it will not be difficult to go to Tianjin Wei."
…
Just as Zhu Cixiang was riding his horse towards Chongzhen and Zhou Hou's brigade, on the official road about five miles east of Chaoyang Gate in Beijing, a group of cavalry with white hats and blue robes, about three to four hundred riders, were marching in formation. .
Walking at the front was a burly cavalryman with thick eyebrows and sideburns. He was riding a black horse, holding the reins with one hand, and holding tightly a flagpole with a shining silver gun tip in one hand. A large red flag hung on the flagpole, with a black satin in the center. Embroidered with a big word "Chuang".
The rapid sound of horse hoofbeats came from the front, and soon I saw two cavalrymen in white hats and blue clothes, galloping along the official road. When they arrived in front of the cavalrymen holding the big flag, they suddenly reined in the reins. The front hooves of the two war horses were raised high, and then they suddenly fell to the ground.
One of the knights on horseback bowed his hands to the cavalryman holding the big flag and said with a smile: "Zhang Brigade, the red bandits leaving the city split into two groups, one going to the northeast and one going to the east. Two groups. Lu is not an elite soldier, and he has many fat sheep with him... The brothers in front have already caught a lot! Let's catch them quickly!"
Another knight said: "The brothers who are scouting in front also reported that there may be emperors and queens of the Zhuthi in the group heading northeast, and there may be a prince in the group heading east! I don't know who it is. Is it true or false?”
"What?" The man holding the big flag, who was called the captain, widened his eyes. "All the emperors of the Zhuthief have left the city? Then who is on the Zhengyang Gate?"
